Post by superkamiguy1 on Dec 17, 2023 21:33:22 GMT
A door opened up and the Trainees walked down the curved staircase in a single file line.
Vlad was in the middle of looking over the gun when The Minotaur cleared his throat. "Hey there, Hi, I don't think we've been properly introduced yet. I'm Theseus. Theseus Tavoularoulis Of The Minotaurs."
Vlad paused and looked up at the towering Minotaur standing at the same height as Victor astonishingly enough. "Nice to meet you. I'm Vladmir Graveblade Of The Vampires."
"I hope you don't take offense to this but I'm surprised to see a Vampire here." Theseus commented as the team resumed walking. "Don't you guys generally prefer to keep to yourselves?"
"Yeah, most Vampires prefer to hang out in their own corners of the world and mind their own business...but I'm not most Vampires." He responded with a smile. "I'm Super Powerful, right? We all are. So it's only natural that we use that power to protect and defend others. Supernaturals, Spacians, Humans and others. It's only proper. How about you?"
"I can't argue with that logic. Heck, I'm basically following along those same lines of logic. Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test."
"Robert G. Ingersoll, right?"
"That's right! Did you know him?"
"Born: August 11, 1833. Died: July 21, 1899. Sorry but that's before my time. I know it's hard to believe with these dashing good looks but I'm actually fairly young by Vampire Terms. If you want an Old School Vampire, you should look up Necrolai Pimvare."
"Oh I know her! The Underworld Vampire Queen! She comes over to Rootcore for drinks and to catch up with us all the time." Reeva chimed in.
This time it was Vlad's turn to be surprised. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. She's actually fairly chill so long as you mind your manners around her."
"Yeah, that tracks. Vampire Nobility are raised with proper manners more often than not. So long as you mind yours around them they'll usually be civil. Sacred Hospitality goes back a long way after all."
"Sacred Hospitality?" The Toad Woman asked.
"Hospitality is sacred. The Higher Powers dictate that if a stranger comes knocking, the host must offer them fresh clothing, food and lodging. The host cannot ask the stranger about their identity until after the host's duties of hospitality have been fulfilled. When the guest leaves, the host gives gifts and breaks a die, which makes a sacred family connection. The host must not harm the guest, the guest must not harm the host, and not offering hospitality is a serious affront. In Ancient Greek, hospitality was called xenia and was sacred; Zeus was called Zeus Xenios in his function as God and guarantor of hospitality and protectors of guests. This comes from the word for "stranger"; so, for that matter, does "hospitality", "hospice", "hostel", and "hotel". Another word from that root is "hostile", which helps explain why the rules are so severe. It's the same in various other mythologies and religions." Vlad summarized. "Ahhhh but what a hypocrite I am. Here I am talking about proper manners and I haven't even asked you your name."
"Hah-hah, don't worry about it, Fangs, we're all getting used to each other. Name's Tiana Starfin of The Heqet Toadians!"
"The Egyptian Frog Goddess. Wow. I didn't know I'd be meeting Demi-Gods today but here we are."
"More of a...Semi-Demi-Mini-Goddess at this point. We're descended from her but that was a long time ago. The Goddess Blood is still there but it's been diluted somewhat over the ages."
"Your Highness!" The rest of the group replied and bowed their heads with smiles on their faces.
"Ribbit!" Her warty slimy green skin turned beet red and she waved her hands frantically. "Y-you goofies don't need to do that! Like I said: Semi-Demi-Mini-Goddess at this point! Ribbit!"
The squad shared a laugh and resumed marching.
"Well, hey, so long as we're introducing ourselves properly, I'm Podarge Blacktalon Of The Harpies....and I cannot wait to get out of this stairwell."
"Are you okay?" Reeva asked her.
"Yeah....kinda...I just don't like cramped spaces like this. I'm a Bird. I like wide open areas where I can freely fly around. Sorry. It's a bit of a weakness of mine."
"Don't worry about it. That's perfectly normal, Podarge, and you're among friends and teammates here. Once we get down there you'll be able to fly freely again and I know you'll be bullseyeing the targets just like the rest of us." Reeva assured her.
Kurata turned her head and scanned the area. "She's right. It's not much further. Are you going to be okay until then?"
"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. Thanks guys." Podarge slowly blew out her breath and then resumed walking with them while she looked over the Gun. "I have to admit though the weapons are certainly unique."
"You like them?" Victor asked her. "We can literally grow them over in The Science Division. Saves a lot of manufacturing time and effort."
"They're certainly cool. I don't recall Skyforce Rangers using weapons like this for example. That'll make for some interesting discussions when we meet up together."
"Oh hey, they're still around?" Vlad questioned.
"You bet they are! With a brand new roster too: Red Hawk, Black Condor, Yellow Owl, White Swan, Blue Swallow, Green Eagle and Shadow Garuda."
"Seven now, huh?" Kurata asked. "I guess they upgraded the Avian Energy Infusion Tech."
The Avian Energy Waves are an energy source developed to infuse Avian Abilities, based off of Avian Lifeforms, into selected Ranger Candidates to create a squad of supersonically flying super-soldier Rangers for peaceful protection. As far as Kurata knew, the five candidates were selected from specialized civilian candidates and one specifically trained soldier. So it was a little surprising to hear that they'd expanded the roster.
"Yeah, I don't know the real details, kept it secret even when I was training with them, but I did hear about Neo-Generators." Podarge shrugged. "You'd have to ask them."
Kurata raised an eyebrow. For some reason, she couldn't help but suspect some cyberization might be involved here. She made a note to analyze them if they ever met. "Duly noted. We'll keep that in mind." She turned her attention forward again as the team descended the stairs and opened the door.
Victor had a similar mindset. He'd worked with the holographic technology before of course but getting to train with it in a big wide room like this would be fun.
"WOOOHOOO! That's what I'm talking about!" Podarge cheered and took flight. She began flying around in circles while laughing.
"Feel better?" Reeva called up to her.
"You have no idea! There's plenty of room to fly around in here!"
Vlad looked around the room. "I'm familiar with Holo-Tech, sure, but I've never seen it used in a big room like this. Did we just walk into The Danger Room?"
"Not that far off, really." Victor responded with a chuckle.
Reeva looked down at her blaster. "We're on another planet, training in higher gravity, with BioGuns, in a Holo-Room. I am going to have so many stories to tell when I get back home."
"Alright, Maggots, settle down and stand at attention."
The Recruits assembled together in a line and stood at attention.
"That's better. Now listen up. I'm going to start you off easy today with some basic target practice. Thanks to The Khrysos Corporation's advances in Holographic Technology, we've revolutionized our HHTFT, our Hard Light Hologram Target Firearm Training, With the Hard Light Hologram Target Firearm Training system," he began, "users can experience realistic shooting scenarios without any risk to themselves or others. The holograms produced by this device are indistinguishable from solid objects, allowing for an incredibly immersive training experience. We'll use the Shooting Gallery Program for today and then move up to the higher levels as your training progresses. You do a good enough job we'll jump up to the next level early." He pressed a few button and the SLMs activate and a series of shimmering shining lights lit up and swirled around the recruits. They disappeared as quickly as they came leaving them standing in a completely different simulated environment.
The floors, walls and ceiling were all lit up with neon blue lights shining down on them, the environment resembled the interior of a futuristic spaceship now, there was a sitting area with tables and chairs, and there were several doors with targets and numbers on them. There was one door for each of them.
"Listen up! You've noticed those doors by now right? Pick one and step inside and you'll find yourselves in your respective shooting range where your individual testing will begin."
Vlad tapped the floor with his foot and then he knelt down and slid his hand across some tiles. "This is amazing." He gasped. "It feels so incredibly real and smooth."
"I've experienced magical illusions, sure, but this is something else entirely."
"He layered this over the room, right? We're still in the Training Center but it just looks different now?" Vlad asked Victor after standing up.
"Bingo. As long as the generators are turned on, this will appear to us and as far as our senses are concerned, it's completely real, because for all intents and purposes, it is. Don't worry about it, you'll get used to it eventually." Victor explained.
"First time experiencing Hard Light?" Kurata asked the others with a smile while they walked towards their doors.
"Is this standard training out in Space?" Tiana asked her.
"Oh yeah. They have all kinds of crazy tech up there. Hard Light Training Centers is only the tip of the iceberg. I'll tell you more about it later, or, at least what I'm allowed to. I'm still under an I.N.D.A. after all."
"A Non-Disclosure Agreement makes sense, but, what does the I stand for?" Vlad questioned
"Indefinite Non-Disclosure Agreement." Kurata replied to Vlad. "Under Threat Of Imprisonment. There's a lot we need to keep classified."
"Scary. Well then, we'll respect your privacy."
"You're a good man, Fangs."
"Thanks, I try." He joked and they walked into their respective shooting galleries.
After they opened the doors they walked down lengthy hallways until they arrived at the tables on the far end of the hallways. Beyond the tables were wide open expansive shooting rooms with multiple glowing hard light hologram targets appearing in the rooms.
'Now Commencing Target Practice Training. Pupa Gun Has Been Unlocked. Hold While The Gun Molds Itself To Fit Your Hands And Style' A Sultry, Ethereal, English Computerized Voice Spoke Up Overhead. The Trainees looked up at the ceiling briefly at the style of voice that echoed above their heads before refocusing their attentions on their guns as the Pupa Guns scanned and analyzed each of them and their respective physiques and then the handguns began changing their shapes, shifting and molding themselves as they did so, to find the best form for each of their hands right before their eyes in a matter similar to programmable matter! They literally looked like a living thing changing and altering its shape! Vlad's eyes widened as he realized what this was. "Hey now! Is this a form of synthetic biology?
Synthetic biology is a field that aims to engineer cells with "novel biological functions." Such cells are usually used to create larger systems (e.g., biofilms) which can be "programmed" utilizing synthetic gene networks such as genetic toggle switches, to change their color, shape, etc. Such bioinspired approaches to materials production has been demonstrated, using self-assembling bacterial biofilm materials that can be programmed for specific functions, such as substrate adhesion, nanoparticle templating, and protein immobilization.
"That's correct." Huntsman spoke to them over the comms. "The guns, like a lot of our technology, combine synthetic biology and programmable materials to construct complex tissue ecosystems which, in this case, allows us to create firearms that can shape themselves to suit their wielder via combining complex scientific artificial intelligence with genetically engineered biological organisms to exhibit intelligent behavior along with genetically programmed biological codes to perform specific tasks and exhibit automated behaviors thanks to biological and technological computers that can process information, solve problems, control devices, or achieve automation in a biological way. It has almost no limits."
"That's incredible." Vlad confessed. "Have they tried incorporating magical programming or sorcerous calculators into them yet?
"To an extent, yes, but not in any major way like the Magic Rangers outside of what The Magic Division works with. But enough talk. Prepare for the exercise."
"YES SIR!" He called out and looked back down at the gun as it finished changing its shape to resemble a Bat-Themed .45 Long Colt. "Nice."
Kurata's handgun took the shape of a large, 39 cm long , semiautomatic pistol with a shimmering cybernetic theme to it. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Theseus and Victor both ended up with their own guns resembling Enfield Number 2, Mark 1's, earning a smile from both of them. Theseus' gun loosely took the shape of a Minotaur like him and Victor's turned itself into a skull gun!
Tiana was gifted with her gun loosely resembling a Webley Mk V1 Revolver 1 but with a Frog-Theme To It, with a frog-head for the muzzle, the body proportion of a frog, and a rather round design all over. "Ribbit." She commented with a smile.
Reeva's gun shaped itself into a bright pink and gold lined Colt 1851 Navy that resembled a fusion of the Pupa Gun and her usual Magical Pistol she used in her Ranger Form. "Cool."
Finally, Podarge was greeted with a Harpy-themed SIG-Sauer P226 Beavertail Pupa Gun. "Oh I like this."
Now that everyone's weapon was adjusted to their hands and styles, it was time to try them out.