Mess Hall -- Spec. Ops. HQ (open)

[Val - Warning:Contains Sarcasm]

Danee smiled, relieved that her apparently absence hadn't gone particularly noticed by the woman, She was even more grateful that the question hadn't been turned back on her. It wouldn't be a good first impression if she said she was Force sensitive. It did give her the ability to rush enemy positions though. Even fortified ones. She smiled inwardly, deciding her special training must certainly be Assault Specialist. She smiled though as the woman demonstrated with her fingers just how a pop-pop would go. A long ranged sniper? Danee hadn't hung around with them much before. Then again you can't really see much further in a jungle environment than 30 or so feet, and she could pretty much hit anything at that range with her rifles. Heck, she could probably throw a sword that far.

She gave a pleasant smile, without baring her teeth. People usually don't expect it when a row of canines are presented in a smile. She looked once more at the human's hand. Probably too small to be an accurate size of her sniper rifle. She tried to keep the conversation going, not wanting to be particularly vulnerable to having to talk about herself too much.
"I never was much good with sniper rifles. Always preferred something close range. Though snipers were always intriguing to me." She paused intentionally, as though thinking up a new question, even though she had it already formulated in her mind. "Made any truly amazing shots in your time?" It wasn't an amazing question, but she was interested and seeing what sort of shots the soldier had managed to make. Even maybe what sort of action she'd been involved in in the past. Danee didn't doubt she was sitting in front of a good soldier, but spectrums exist for a reason.

[Mara]

Ambria nodded in understanding at her first comment. She could definitely understand that the other woman felt more comfortable with shorter range weapons like blasters or other more conventional weapons. She herself was comfortable with both her pistols and her rifles, but her accuracy, of course, lay with the sniper weapon. Plus, she knew she was a fair hand-to-hand combatant, her father teaching her everything he knew. Her father, who had been a major in the army before turning back to farming in peace time, letting the younger ones go to the front of the battles, content with training the next batch of recruits, including his own sons and daughter.

She waited there, both hands back in her lap as the Togruta female paused a moment and then posed her question. Her eyes widened slightly as she considered the question. In her lifetime, she had never been asked a question like that, and she was pleasantly surprised. This soldier was not typical of the ones she used to spend time with. She definitely belonged in the spec ops. Her fresh thinking might be just what they needed.

"You ask a good question," Ambria said before retreating back to her thoughts. Which was her best shot? She had made so many and without thought, that it was hard to go back through them all, especially in the better part of a decade that she had been in the position of sniper after entering the military, her skills discovered. There were so many; how could she pick one or two? What ones stood out to her? The dark-skinned woman wasn't sure, so she just thought of the first one that entered her mind that sounded amazing enough for the other woman.

"Well, I had one time in my first year or two of being an official sniper where I had to take out a Republic guard so that my unit could infiltrate the base it was guarding." The irony of the upcoming mission was not lost on Ambria. "I had my rifle all lined up, stock on my shoulder, one eye looking through the scope. I aimed in and pressed the trigger. It was so far, I barely saw the man drop with the naked eye. I checked my scope later, twice, not believing that the distance had been 600 meters." She shrugged. "Not sure how amazing that one is, but it's one that sticks in my mind."



EDIT: Changed 300 to 600 meters.

[Val - Warning:Contains Sarcasm]

Danee paused, considering her tale. 300 meters? She'd be sure to keep her as a close friend. If, as skills tend to do, she was a better sniper since that shot many years ago, she'd probably be able to hit much further now. 300 meters, that would be... she calculated quickly. 500 feet? No way that's natural. She tried to figure out what exactly 500 feet in Dxun would be, but she wasn't sure. It was probably the distance from the base to the first scout camp. That was a heck of a long way to knock off a Republic guard. Even with a scope. Danee grinned, knowing she'd never make that shot. She'd struggle to even use the Force at that distance, if at all.
"Sounds like a truly amazing shot. I'm looking forward to seeing you in action on Shogan." She paused, considering how the shot had supposedly stuck out in the sniper's mind. Maybe she was just rather pleased with the shot at that point in her career, or maybe it was a lot more difficult than it sounded. Not that 500 feet didn't sound difficult already.

She quickly scooped up the last piece of meat from her plate, quite content with the meal, though not full, but she didn't want to be if she intended on training. Though training may be later. She was interested in talking with this soldier at the moment. Arcane was certainly not the typical soldier she had hung around on Dxun. Scarred veterans, raw recruits more eager on killing animals than fighting wars. Most of them giving her wide berth, either from knowledge passed around or from what seemed to be a social norm. She was like an outcast there, but she didn't care. Here though, they didn't seem to care. Or they didn't know. Whatever it was, she wanted to keep it that way. Swallowing, she moved her plate aside and brought her hands together on the table.

"Are you intending on doing some training at all today? Not that I'm trying to send you away or anything..." She paused herself, not knowing why she had said that. She wasn't used to much social interaction. It tended to be strictly business, no time for feelings to get in the way. She smiled a little sheepishly, looking around a little, partly for distraction but also to see if she could identify anyone else who might make a decent sparring trainer for her. None that would apparently put up the type of fight she wanted, though Arcane would certainly be enough for her concerning company.

[Mara]

She smiled and nodded slightly at the Togruta's comment. Now that Ambria thought about it again, it was pretty amazing. 600 meters, and only recently had she switched into being a sniper full-time instead of a regular grunt in the army. But at the time she had just aimed and taken her shot, not thinking about the distance, only her job. Now it was something to reflect on and, yes, amaze at, though by now she had well surpassed that number.

And, Shogun, she thought. It would be good to get back into a real battle again. She was lost quietly in her thoughts as the other woman went silent as well, finishing her meal. Not that Ambria had been completely unhappy with her job on Coruscant. She had patched up her comrades a fair deal, allowing their medical treatment back on Concord Dawn to go a lot smoother. And she had been able, though only briefly, to use her rifle went they first infiltrated the museum. And before that to dispatch a guard quickly and efficiently with her small pistol. But besides that, Ambria hadn't done much more than wait around in the Star, wondering how her team members were, wishing she was in the thick of things, while they were fighting for their lives. Hopefully now on Shogun she could show what she was really made of. Prove that she deserved her new rank.

Ambria was startled out of her thoughts when the captain spoke up again. She faced her again, thinking about it. Before the briefing, she had been on the rifle range with the general, some friendly rivalry and getting some more time in with her rifle. Then there had been the briefing and now some chow. She had been thinking of going back to her room and checking on a few things, but.... a little sparring wouldn't hurt. The young woman hadn't had a chance to do much in the last year or more. It would be good to dust off the skills originally taught her by her father. Ambria smiled. "A little hand-to-hand might be perfect."


EDIT: Changed 300 to 600 meters. And added "though by now she had well surpassed that number" to end of first paragraph.

[Val - Warning:Contains Sarcasm]

Danee felt as though she had distracted the woman from her thought processes as she answered, accepting her invitation for some hand-to-hand sparring. Danee looked forward to it. She hadn't sparred with someone new for months now, and fighting the same faces every time tends to lead you into being able to estimate what the opponent was going to do. Not that she needed familiarity to let her know that. But no, she would refrain from using the Force in this duel, as she did every other. It was far too much of an advantage for her to be able to move at such a speed, even with her armour weighing her down slightly.
"I would look forward to sparring with you and seeing what you can do." She teased a little, and she knew she did, but she meant no harm by it. She was genuinely interested in seeing whether the fighting forms here were any different to what she was used to.

Rubbing her hands across her eyes in an effort to stimulate them to life, she stifled a yawn. She hadn't had a very eventful day and hopefully some inspirational fighting would give her the buzz she needed to get to sleep that night without feeling she'd wasted the day, near enough. She liked this soldier, certainly. She pulled all the right strings as far as Danee's inner detectors were concerned. Didn't seem pushy, warmongering or creepy like most soldiers she had seen. It was a refreshing feeling. Though she felt that from several soldiers here. Maybe it was just Dxun. Maybe it was just her. She didn't really have the philosophies necessary to debate behaviour against environment, but standing, eager to get their sparring fight started, she decided she didn't need them. Fists beat philosophies any day.

[Mara]

((I'm having her leave... you can join her in the training area when ready )


A larger smile spread across her features. Ambria would be interested in seeing how the Togruta sparred as well. She knew little about them, but had heard they could use their montrails as some sort of ESP feature, able to anticipate movements. If she had her facts straight. It would be quite a spar if her opponent knew where she was aiming or moving next. But the new lieutenant also had gotten used to keeping multiple moves in her head, not deciding until the last second what she was doing. It helped a great deal when she was younger, fighting her friends who could anticipate most of her moves.

Ambria drained off the rest of her glass of water and pushed up from the table, untangling her crossed legs and gathering her empty tray of food. She nodded at Captain Xoxin. "Meet you in the training area in ten?" With that, she left the table and walked across the mess to put away her tray for cleaning and exited, deciding to go right to the sparring room after a moment's hesitation. Ambria wanted to get a little stretching in before the other woman joined her for a little friendly fight. For the first time that day, she was glad she wasn't wearing her armor but some simple clothes.


[to Mandalorian Spec Ops HQ Training Areas...]

[Rabbit]

Another Day, Another Dinner... [Hammy; Open]

----------------------------------------------

Sheresh turned away from the mess hall food line and glanced around briefly before making a beeline for the fresh fruit-and-vegetable "bar" against the wall to her left. The selection wasn't very big - after all, Mandalorians weren't known for their vegetarian tendencies - but there was at least a decent selection of fresh blumfruit and a few salad makings.

The young medic hummed softly under her breath as she piled a small plate high with a few veggies. She eyed the blumfruit skeptically - they were fresh, but most of them looked as if they were a little too close to the "over-ripe" stage. She wondered when was the last time anyone had bothered to check the fruit for their general state of edibility.

Maybe I should mention something to the mess staff, she mused, as she wrinkled her nose and turned away. In some ways, we'd be better off with dried fruit around here, as often as folks seem to eat anything that wasn't killed yesterday.

Sheresh entertained herself along that train of thought as she made her way toward the back of the mess hall, to a small spattering of tables next to the drink dispensers. The carniverous eating habits of her fellow soldiers never ceased to amaze her - true, a high protein diet was desirable, when muscles were required. But, she had to wonder if the general level of IQ correlated directly to the amount of fruit and vegetables an individual ate...

She sat her tray down on the farthest back-table and looked around one more time before pulling out her seat. Rollick was no where to be seen and she was pretty sure that a four-armed sentient wouldn't be hard to spot in the nearly deserted mess hall. She glanced at the chrono above the chow line - five minutes to 1800. So, he still had a few.

The young medic sat down and pulled her plate closer toward her. She eyed her choice for the evening - a mess of meat, sauce, and noodles and poked at it for a moment. She still remembered the time she'd found a bug in her food. All in all, she found the base mess hall quite lacking, but it was better than eating meals-ready-to-eat.

But, only barely...

[Hammy]

Five ‘til. Plenty of time. Rollick ducked into the mess hall, hair still somewhat damp and spiky from the ‘fresher. Sheresh was right; this was the best time. There was hardly anybody here. Consequently, her bright hair was easy to spot in the general area where they’d agreed to meet. It didn’t seem like she’d noticed him yet, and the smell of the food was quite attractive.

A few of his squadmates in Basic had called him a disposal, not necessarily because he ate large amounts, but more so that he’d eat anything. Even the odd mystery meal. So when he saw the blue, fruity-looking paste with the chunks of something that might have been cheese, he asked for a helping. It jiggled slightly next to a chunk of nameless meat, bread slice, and steamed vegetables that were clearly overcooked as he walked to the back of the hall. As with his philosophy about fitness, he believed in balanced meals over anything. Even if the food left a little to be desired, he was content.

After swinging by the drink dispenser for some water, Rollick slid into the seat across from Sheresh. “Su cuy'gar, vod!” he greeted with a grin. He held up a hand before she could speak once he was settled. “My only condition for you is that I get to ask questions after you’re done. Deal?”

[Rabbit]

[OOC: I'm really, really sorry about the sporadicness of my posts! I found out this week that I'm pregnant, so by the time school is done for the day, I'm worn out. -.- It takes a lot outta ya' to make a babeh.... Anyways! I'm still here...just posting...really slowly.... -.- I hope you don't mind!!]

--------------------------------------

Sheresh was sorta' lost in her own little world, so when she heard a cheerful -

"“Su cuy'gar, vod!”

She squeaked a little and jumped. She was holding a glass of juice in her hand at that precise moment, as well, and ended up spilling about half of it down the front of her. Thankfully, Sheresh was still in armor and the juice just ran down the smooth curve of her chest plate. She had to stand up quickly, though, to keep from sitting in it.

"Sorry," her face flushed bright red and she couldn't quite force herself to look up into Rollick's face.

Even though it didn't really matter - he was her vod, after all - Sheresh was afraid of looking up and finding him laughing at her. Though, what she'd done was quite laughable and really, if she hadn't been caught off guard so much, she'd be laughing herself. But...well...she was hoping to make a better impression than that of a twitchy klutz.

"Guess I wasn't really paying attention to anything," she babbled as she reached for the flimsi napkin dispenser in the middle of their table and hastily sopped up the juice in her seat. "Kinda' got a lot on the mind, y'know?"

The two settled themselves down for dinner and Sheresh tried not to fidget. For some reason, she was feeling high-strung and nervous. She snuck a glance and Rollick and wondered - was her deeply ingrained fear of men biting her in the butt yet again? It had been...a sufficient amount of time since Saa's death for her to start and notice that the other gender did actually exist. And she had thought that maybe she was over her old, instinctual fears.

But, maybe not, after all...

Rollick didn't seem to notice her inner turmoil - or maybe he was too well-bred to point out her social failing. In any event, he just grinned and made her feel a little bit more at ease.

“My only condition for you is that I get to ask questions after you’re done. Deal?”

"Deal," Sheresh was thankful to have something to talk about and take her mind off of things.

She flashed Rollick a brilliant smile, but then thought a moment and pursed her lips. She titled her head to the side and watched him thoughtfully.

"Y'know...I asked all the questions last time. I'm perfectly happy just sitting here and letting you ask questions first, if you want. If you're curious about something, just go ahead and ask," she flashed him another quick smile. "I don't have much to hide."

[Hammy]

OOC: First off, congratulations! That’s so exciting! No worries at all about posting, as I’m pretty bad about it most of the time, and I only have work to worry about.
--

Rollick winced. “Sorry about that,” he said. The loss of any kind of sustenance was lamentable in his book, regardless of how it happened. He waited while Sheresh gathered herself. “You’d think I’d be more coordinated,” he began with his lopsided grin, holding up all four hands, “but one time I dropped a whole pitcher of caf during basic training. Destroyed a whole platter of fried steak and eggs.” . He definitely was abashed when the caf incident happened, so maybe that could help dispel any kind of embarassment.

"Y'know...I asked all the questions last time. I'm perfectly happy just sitting here and letting you ask questions first, if you want. If you're curious about something, just go ahead and ask.”

Not unprecedented, her idea, but Rollick found himself hesitating in spite of indeed being curious. “Oh, ok,” he said after taking a drink of water. Using a whole conversation to find out about somebody he wasn’t planning on killing for money was still somewhat unfamiliar territory.

“So, um…Where you from? I take you’re not human, right?” he said finally and a little bit lamely, gesturing to Sheresh’s hair. Hopefully he had assumed correctly. That’d be a little embarrassing if she was really an attractive human with eccentric tastes. Oh boy. He promptly scooped up a spoonful of vegetables to occupy himself while she answered.