wipesfaith | 02 [action/voice]

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02 [action/voice]

[For all his trouble, Jean got a horse. Which is great, because he's curious to explore what lies far beyond the village and he ain't walking all that way. (What can he say? Some losers from back home have gotten into him a little bit.) First, though, he needs to find a saddle and bridle - apparently, he should have made out with a few more people if he wanted riding gear too. But his pride is worth more to him than that anyway, so he doesn't mind searching through the Item Shop for what he needs.

By the afternoon, he can be found at the stables on the east side of the village. He has spent the past few days visiting Benoit, letting the horse grow accustomed to him as he cares for him. Now that he has something more sophisticated than a rope lead, he's willing to take the horse out farther than the immediate vicinity of the stables. It was already obvious to him that Benoit lacked training. Before he can think about riding him anywhere, he'll have to muster up some serious patience and start from scratch. After fitting him with the sadle and bridle, so he can start getting used to the way it feels, Jean will lead him out to a decent-sized clearing in the forest to get down to business.

Toward the evening, after returning Benoit to the stables, he makes his way back to Flame Building. Residents may have noticed a recent addition outside the building, in the form of a small pen that now houses a little lamb. He'll stop by to check on it for Marco - make sure it's not dead, not that he'd be terribly broken up if it were, because he's never indulged in lambchops before - before finally heading in.

Later, he'll flip open his journal to voice a message.]

[Voice]

Hey. I guess I'm still pretty new here, so I'm just wondering...what's worth seeing beyond this village? I've seen a map, but a map can only tell you so much. There's an...ocean out there, right? [He gets the feeling that some might find his next question a little stupid, and he swears he's sane; he just comes from an insane world.] Is there seriously salt in it?

It's weird... This whole place could probably fit inside Wall Rose - that's what's left of human territory back home - but it still seems like so much...more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think I'll take technology. The explanations tend to make more sense. When there's someone around who can explain, anyway. [He...might have to look into that, actually. Because seriously, the hell.]

I hear you on that. I'm not sure where the teleporters came from, but I'm sure someone that's been around longer would know.

By the way, you might feel a little nauseous after using the teleporter. Not sure if it's a known side-effect or if it was just me, but fair warning.

Because it moves you so fast? I have plenty of experience with that, actually...I was trained to use gear that lets you move at high speeds in any direction you want. So I think I can handle it. [...Maybe. "Fast" isn't exactly the same as "instant", after all.]

[Ginia's used to fast things too; cars, motorcycles, planes, rollercoasters. But a teleporter? Must be the whole molecules being disassembled and rearranged elsewhere that made her stomach funny.]

That gear sounds interesting. Mind if I ask how it works?

[He'll take a while to make some rough sketches (although not nearly so accurate and detailed) before writing back.]

It basically functions on a system of compressed gas and grappling wires to propel and pull your body forward, upward, sideways - wherever you want to go. You're harnessed in, so when you become skilled at using the gear, it starts to feel like an extension of your body.

[Ginia studies the sketches, drawing a rough copy onto some loose leaf paper. It's an interesting sort of mechanism.]

That's a very fascinating device. Is it something commonly used or only by a select group?

Military-issue. The sheaths [and here he goes back to his sketches and circles the metal box on which the gas canister is mounted] hold disposable blades, which can attach to the operating device. [Now he circles the grip-like device.] That's our main weapon.

[Military-issue. "What's left of human territory back home."

What are they fighting that a space equivalent of Luceti is all humanity has left? Ginia wants to ask. She wants to know about what kind of threat, where it came from, the details of the military, there's so much she wants to know.]

How long does it take someone to become proficient with the device?

Three years of training, but you don't spend the whole time learning just how to use the 3D maneuver gear. There's hand-to-hand combat training, survival training, tactical theory, and so on.

Minus use of the 3D maneuver gear, it sounds similar to the training the military goes through in my world.

Yeah? So do humans fight wars against humans in your world, then? [Which might sound like an odd question, but to him it's the idea of humans warring among themselves that is foreign.]

They do, with all sorts of weapons. It's amazing we haven't wiped ourselves out.

What do humans fight in your world?

What a fucking waste.

Titans. Nearly unstoppable human-eating giants. We don't have time to fight among ourselves if we want to live.

No disagreement here. [Because Ginia knows she isn't any better. She's a dog of war by choice and a load of wasted potential.]

Where did they come from?

Nobody knows. We don't even know why they eat us. They survived for 100 years in an environment devoid of human life, so it's not like the bastards need to eat to live.

That's rough. I'm sorry to hear. So I presume the military fends off the giants and Wall Rose is a literal wall?

Basically. There are three branches of the military: The Garrison guards and maintains the walls, the Military Police maintains order and serves the king, and the Survey Corps goes beyond the walls to research titans and fight them in their own territory. The idea is that we'll eventually be able to recover the land we lost.

[And he still finds it hard to trust this wild hope, even though he decided he would.]

[Garrison, Military Police, Survey Corps. Ginia jots down notes in another notepad. Not that it's helpful here, but information is information. It's always amazing what little things are revealed. Like there's a king.]

Humanity, for all the problems we cause in my world, are resilient and crafty. I think you guys will find a way. I hope you do.

[It's a platitude, but there's truth behind it. It may not be immediately, it may take decades or centuries, but in time humanity will find a way to push back.]

In the country I'm from, there are five branches of military.

Army: Protects the security of the US (United States) and its resources.
Marine Corp: First on ground in combat situations, one of the toughest branches.
Navy: Similar to the army, but covers the ocean. Also defends against pirates.
Air Force: Protects the US and its interests in other countries with air power.
Coast Guard: Protects US waterways and deploys with the Navy during wartime.

Hoping and trying is all we can do, really. [Shit, what a line. He never would've said something like that a year ago. Less than that, even. But the way he sees it now, they don't have a choice: either keep that small flame of hope alive, or follow a self-fulfilling prophecy of demise.

He studies the listed branches and each description for a moment. So they can even carry out battle in the ocean...with boats, he assumes, but then...]

What kind of air power do you have? [If she wasn't familiar with 3D maneuver gear, that means humanity must have devised some other means of travelling through the air.]

Jet planes with missiles, helicopters loaded with turrets, unmanned drones.

[It was the last one that was the game changer for modern warfare. Being able to attack an enemy from hundreds of miles away while a controller sat safely behind a control stick.]

And bombs laced with all sorts of things. Explosives, chemicals.

Explosives I get, but I'm afraid I don't have a clue about any of that other stuff.

Hold on, I have some books, let me see if they have any pictures.

[Ginia flips through her stack of books. She has a few knowledge books from a version of Earth, so it doesn't take long to find some pictures of helicopters.

She'll hold the camera up above the book to get a picture.]

helicopters

[He takes a moment to study the pictures, trying to piece together how these "helicopters" work.]

These are operated by soldiers? Inside of them, it looks like. So they've got to be pretty big.

How do they stay in the air?

Most of them only have one or two pilots, but can fit anywhere from less than ten to almost 40 if the supply load is light. Planes also vary in size from fighter jets that only carry two people to passenger and cargo planes that can fit hundreds.

[Hmm.... how to explain this portion. A few spatters of ink appear on the page as Ginia taps the page.]

Have some free time? I could show you at the Battle Dome.

[Planes must be similar to helicopters...but he can't imagine how something big enough to fit hundreds of people could get up in the air in the first place. Color him curious.]

Right now? [He supposes it's not too late - still before dinnertime.] Sure, I can be there in a few minutes.

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