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Aeon - The Odyssey


Phoenix
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"Oh, I remember the first time I got out of Platinum... that was a good time~ Oh uhh... if you could just call me Monika, that would be... appreciated." The redhead murmured, as her Frame Ops tag was tossed around a few times between the two of them. What a mess, what a mess...

"I suppose that it wouldn't hurt anything to have a round with you... but uhh... maybe after the presentation? I'd rather not miss it..."

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Well... It was nice to know that Karina hadn't changed at all. "You are always so focused on winning, franchement..." Melanie didn't quite get it, but the girl was how she was. The ranking up was impressive, at least, but getting higher in tiers didn't really matter to Melanie. She had a strong following where she was, and she was always on the cusp of promoting to the next rank... She just took the game more casually, so going one more never happened. Whatever the case was with Karina's mad dash for first, there were more pressing matters.

"Oui, Monika ees right... Désolé for using votre user name, I will stick to juste Monika. We should watch ze show and chat about what 'appens, not bicker about 'aving matches right now... Donc, Karina, lend me your shoulders. I was using Monika's, ben, ze revelation shook ze totem. I need a new ladder to see ze stage properly."

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"Sure. Monika." Karina repeated the name to help sink in as this girl's preferred name. "Of course I'm talking about after the presentation! I want to fight you, but I'm not about to take attention away from this. You know, I was glad to watch the battleship from a café before Melanie decided to show you to the world... it still feels like a better option than sticking here." Karina didn't get why being closer but squished into the masses sounded good to some people.

"Wait, uh, what." Melanie wanted her to ve a totem pole... it was at that point that Karina realized she was probably the most fit in that regard, out of the three, but totem pole role...? "... maybe? We could like, watch from the café upper floor, if you want?"

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"Zere ees no time for zat! Get down and let me up! I 'ave a Ticks account to server!" Melanie wasn't about to try and run herself over to the cafe now, Felix was about to come out on stage! Rushing over to Karina, she started pushing on the girl's shoulders. "We bose know you are fine wis my legs around your 'ead anyway, 'urry up! Pwetty pwease, nyah?" Karina was a regular at her stream... Maybe the cat talk would work on her.

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"Plan H? ...Hitomi that's...," Linus began to protest, but the girl was excited, on a roll, and stopping for nobody. Lightly pinching the bridge of his nose as he waited out the storm, he ended up chuckling a little when it became apparent that his friend was not only still skipping letters, but just rebranding one of the old ones after giving a minor tweak to some of the details. This was fine. No problems here.

"Oooh, sure thing," Linus cooed a bit as he agreed to her suggestion. Divide and conquer was actually sensible, no need for them both to be in the limelight when whatever shoutout might happen, happened. He wasn't jealous for attention or anything, so the fact that his lot today landed him working the backstage, as it were, wasn't a problem. "Just make sure you smile pretty for the cameras when he drags you on stage," he finished with a bit of a tease, wearing a slightly impish grin, then killed the call and tried to quickly select the most reasonable venue he could find on short notice.

There, that oughta do just fine... assuming it wasn't packed to the brim already. On any other day it would have just been some hole-in-the-wall, second floor cafe, but with the traffic today, who knows what it'd be like on the inside. Now then, it was just a matter of fighting against the crowd to get there.

Oofph! And quite the fight it was. During the course of the jostle, some slender, pigtailed blonde had given him a fierce elbow to the gut, clearly in a rush to get closer to the stage. Why hadn't she planned ahead and gotten a spot early, if it was that important to her? Shaking his head and holding his stomach, Linus opened the door, and made his way up to the cafe.

"Reservation?" A cool, slightly disinterested voice greeted him from one of the staff as he entered. "Uh... no, walk-in okay?" He answered back cautiously, casting his glance around the area. It didn't seem too busy, actually rather quiet for today, all things considered. Linus could spot several open tables, even some of the booths hadn't been filled. That said... wow, suit and tie? That wasn't your typical convention going attire. Looks like some businessmen had got themselves caught up in the wrong place, and were just trying to make the best of it or something, though one seemed to be just leaving.

"Might end up being a bit of a group, if things go well," Linus confessed, pulling his attention back to the employee and trying to negotiate. "If you could set me up at a table where there wouldn't be much trouble dragging another over if things do end up getting busy..." he trailed off, and pulled out his phone, ready to punch in the waypoint and send it Hitomi's way if he wasn't turned away.

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With that order of business settled away for later, it seemed that Melanie was looking for another totem base... well it was good to know that this was just something that the girl was set on, rather than being some strange method of teasing her specifically. Karina seemed about as reluctant as she had been, but Melanie was being far more forceful with the newcomer than she had been with Monika. Was it knowing her longer, or simply urgency? Either way, it elicited a giggle from the redhead.

"Well at least now I know it's not just me."

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Helena starts taking snapshots of the event, being a teen in a convention does not make her immune to the peer pressure to record the going ons...despite no one else to share them with. She remembers to breath through out the ordeal. Shocking.

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"Ugh, alright, fine." Mew really wanted this, huh? Stooping as low as her cat act she'd do on her streams... not that Karina cared. "I'm just doing this so you can stop begging like a cat. Hop on." Like she'd cave in to Mewlanie's thighs, hmph. "Yeah, that's just how this girl operates Kei-- hm, Monika, right?" Whatever she wanted to be called.

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"Oui, oui, I believe you, merci, you can stand now!" Melanie hurried, climbing up onto the girl. Karina was a lot stronger than Monika was, thankfully. Melanie had never done this with her, but she figured the girl could hold her up just fine. "Très bien! Merci beaucoup, I will treat you to somesing to eat after zis, as well. Time to get ze best photos of Felix and ze presentation zat I can~"

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It was almost surreal, seeing roughly what had happened to Monika herself earlier transpire once again, with a different girl no less, in what seemed like a fraction of the time. The streamer certainly had a way of persuading people... though in order to make a living as an online personality, that sort of talent was likely necessary. Standing next to the totem, Monika found herself having similar troubles to Melanie in one regard... from back here, she was just too damn short to see much of anything on stage. She could hear fine, and it wasn't like she knew enough about this Felix fellow to miss seeing him, so she supposed that was fine, in the end.

"If the pattern keeps up, you'll fall over again and recruit a new totem base... who knows, by the end of the day you might be treating the whole con to a meal." The redhead teased, sticking her tongue out at Melanie in jest.

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Ahh... there it was. A masterpiece of ice cream, blended milk, silver sprinkles with dark chocolate swirls painting the inside of the cheap collectible Batcon 2405™ cup. Felix took a sip. Hmm. It wasn't awful, but he wouldn't go out of his way to purchase this when he could whip something up in the kitchen just as good, if not better. Some soda water would have improved the texture and chopped fruit could boost its nutritional value, albeit at the cost of ruining the look. It really did resemble Double Tap in simplistic milkshake form. 

Hitomi probably wouldn't mind if I asked her to taste test my version, Felix mused. But it had to wait. Team Odyssey was about to be thrown under the spotlight, and Matsuo was right that Felix helping out afterwards came with its own set of problems. How many players and fans would show up wanting to talk to the infamous Silver Bullet? Or cosy up to Hitomi in a bid for a connection to the Moto name? Not that it would work, of course. 

Those problems wouldn't disappear if Felix wasn't present though. Be less obtrusive? Certainly. Still, Odyssey needed fresh blood and Matsuo and himself were going to lure in plenty of fish today.

Felix headed out on stage as the clapping grew in volume; seems like Matsuo was at it again. He does so love playing to a crowd.

"Thank you all! It's a real pleasure to see so many passionate Frame Ops players and fans here today." As the noise died down, Felix gave everyone a small grin. "My name is Felix Lis, formerly known as the Silver Bullet and member of Team Strays. It wasn't so long ago that I was in your shoes, playing alongside him." A nod to Matsuo. "Or challenging myself in Aeon solo queue. Treat today as not only an opportunity to find out just how warships will impact multiplayer meta, but a chance to form a team! Some of your closest friends may come from playing Frame Ops." 

"However," Felix paused. "We can talk more about that later. Actions speak louder than words, and this video," A sweep of his hand gestured to the screens. "Will show you everything!"

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Even before the lights all throughout the plaza began to dim, people were applauding, Hitomi included ... and her palms were still hurting. The displays were showing them nothing but black, and as the lights turned almost completely off, the lights from the odd showy outfit and people's mobile devices stood out like nothing else. The Independence class vessel drifting blissfully above them was a little ways past the stage and those watching from the shopping center would be able to just barely catch sight of its engines. Hitomi couldn't help but spare the ship a glance while waiting for the presentation video.

Up on stage, Matsuo gave Felix a thumbs up and a toothy grin, just as the ambiance picked up. It was starting ...

The Battle Networks' logo appeared in white amidst the darkness on every last display at the event, which prompted a few scattered claps and some whistles. A few people even snapped some photos.

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... when the darkness resolved into something recognizable, the audience was confronted with the post apocalyptic wastelands Frame Ops's campaign missions were famous for. For the uninitiated, it would be difficult to tell what planet they were on, but it was Earth, North America to be specific. It was midday, and as the scene was set, more and more ruins came into view. The camera drew the audience back for a wider view of the area when something massive began to pass beneath it. After a few tense establishing shots, it was clear to everyone that they were looking at an Independence II class battlecruiser, one with some aesthetic changes that seemed in keeping with the times. It loomed over the city ruins as support craft and combat frames began securing the area. Whatever this ship was doing here, its crew did not want to be disturbed.

Eventually the camera pulled all the way back from the ship, and what looked like a big operation against another faction began. The whole area shook as the warship began a full assault against an unseen target, firing plasma weapons and magnetic accelerator cannons and high yield missiles. The screen faded to black again as the thunderous salvo rumbled across the plaza. The atmospheric controls seemed to be immersing the audience even further by kicking up a breeze at ground level. Warm air raced out from the stage and Hitomi flinched at the sudden thought of actually standing under all of that devastating firepower.

Words appeared in white ...

Will you stand and fight?

The words faded and were quickly replaced by a second message ...

... or yield?

As the darkness faded, a small group of gunships could be seen making their way toward a barely hidden ground base. Another operation was underway, one involving several high performance frames. Each of them was being outfitted with a large booster system, one many players would recognize from some of the more difficult campaign missions, as well as a few of the special multiplayer stages. There were three units in total, and it seemed inevitable that they planned to take the fight directly to the warship, in the only way they could ... a direct, close range assault. Preparations didn't take long, and each of the three frames assumed its ready position on its own catapult as the ground crews prepared to launch them. Would this really be enough to take down a ship of that size? Hitomi certainly didn't think so, but the tension, and the hope that maybe they stood some kind of chance kept her gaze fixed on them.

As soon as launch preparations were complete, evidenced by the presentation's score and its dramatic buildup, the target was marked on their radars. Like virtually everyone suspected, they were going after that warship. One thing Hitomi noted was that there were a lot of targets besides just the ship. They were scattered over a large area. That likely meant the enemy had gotten a foothold and was now controlling the entire area. There had probably been a decent jump forward in the timeline during the scene change. Hopefully they didn't get banged up along the way, she thought with a grimace. They would have enough trouble trying to close in on the ship even without the grunts on the ground.

The launch order came and the three frames were launched from the catapults. Their booster units all ignited at the same moment, and they began a perfectly synchronized battlefield insertion that was played up to eleven! Hitomi gripped the rail as another gust wrapped around her ankles and the three frames raced toward their targets. "Go ... go ... go ..." Hitomi urged, fully immersed at this point. She couldn't help but imagine herself as the lead frame, spearheading one of the most dangerous insertions ever. She hoped the pilot in there was smiling. She couldn't right now, not with her heart pounding like this, but she hoped they were. This was just one of those missions where you'd feel amazing just for trying, just for hopping into the machine and charging down a titan.

Half a dozen flybys showcased the sheer power and speed of the booster units carrying these three mysterious pilots and their frames. Then ... it happened. They began evasive maneuvers, even with the boosters pushing them hard toward the incoming fire. The lead frame flew low toward the ground, evading a beam of plasma that would have annihilated it, and launched a single missile toward the enemies in front of it. It quickly burst open to reveal its true nature as a spread missile, and released its payload. The small swarm of missiles destroyed the forward outpost that had been attacking them. Every battlemech that was out in the open was brought down instantly. Cutscene power was on full display here, but it didn't bring Hitomi out of the action, not when the warship itself started shooting at them.

The three frames pressed on past the first line of defense, and began closing in on the city while dodging everything the warship threw at them. Hitomi could almost sense it, though. She knew they couldn't possibly make it all the way to their target without a scratch. She didn't realize just how bad it would be, though. Just as they reached the city, that old refitted behemoth managed to strike a direct blow against the right most frame, completely destroying it in one shot. The left most frame's booster took a glancing blow and exploded, causing it to fall into the city, where it endured a hard landing. Without enough time and speed to escape, it was brought down by a full burst from one of the warship's main batteries. That just left the lead frame. Their booster broke up as planned as soon as they reached the ship. Hitomi was leaning halfway over the rail, hoping against hope that somehow this one pilot alone could finish the fight.

It was absolutely brutal. This one frame picked off countless point defense weapons and support units scattered over the ship, all while staying out of the line of fire of the larger guns, but it required incredible momentum, and despite the mounting damage, it was clear that it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. Hitomi knew they had to deal some kind of critical blow to the ship, but the bridge was too well protected, and the outer hull was too strong for the weapons the frame carried. In a sudden twist of fate, the frame was struck hard in the chest, and that same speed that had been carrying it through enemy fire was now forcing it uncontrollably away from the ship. A gunship was crushed as the heroic frame plowed through it on its way down into the ruins below, and Hitomi realized that this battle was simply too much for a single frame ... even three. Possibly even ten. It was just too much. If there was one thing that seemed depressingly realistic about this presentation, it was that even through insertion, figura stood almost no chance against a battlecruiser ...

Hitomi braced herself for the end as the seemingly doomed frame came crashing down, rocking the plaza itself and sliding to a dead stop by the road. The camera focused on the warship, and a particular gun battery that was lining up the kill shot on this horrifically outgunned hero. "C-come on," Hitomi pleaded with tears in her eyes. There had to be something they could do. The frame's main optics were closed off behind armored shutters, and it felt to Hitomi like a dead man closing his eyes in anticipation of the end, which only served to make her worry even more. It just couldn't end like this!

"Target acquired." The words came from everywhere, even speaker systems that hadn't been linked to the video. Something, instinct maybe, brought Hitomi's eyes upward, and she saw the the real Independence's gun batteries quietly repositioning themselves. She might have started panicking if they were aimed right at the plaza, but there seemed to be something strategic about the exact angle of the guns and the placement of the ship itself. "Weapons free."

Everything that had been building up became clear when brilliant flashes of light came from the actual ship, just seconds before lights from heaven rained down on the modified Independence class battlecruiser. Above the convention, streaks of light raced from the massive ship's guns off into the distance, and they just kept coming. In the presentation, those lights seemed to manifest right in time with the real ones, and bore into their target with contemptuous ease. Clearly the present day model had better upkeep, because the refit version from Frame Op's future was torn in half and eventually shredded to pieces in the ensuing bombardment. The camera switched to the inside of the sole surviving frame's cockpit, showing only the lower half of the pilot's face. From what Hitomi could tell, they were probably meant to represent a very young Felix. The pilot grinned, and Hitomi with him, and the final fade to black came.

"Target sunk. Awaiting new orders."

FRAME OPS

Hitomi couldn't help but cheer and clap and even jump a few times. Show or not, that pilot was saved by the very same ship floating right above them. Now she understood. Sure, having a ship show up at the event was impressive, but having it actually fire its weapons to save a character during a presentation video? Just whoa! Hitomi supposed they hadn't been real beams, otherwise the station would be in serious trouble, right now, but the look and feel of that salvo from the ground completely overpowered her sense of time and place, and made that desolate future in Frame Ops seem like it was only a literal stone's throw away. She wanted to go meet that lucky pilot, congratulate him for not getting vaporized, and even give him a big hug for taking on that behemoth.

"They have arrived, ladies and gentlemen~" came Matsuo's voice as the stage lights and most of the others began to come back on. The displays left the Frame Ops logo up, and quietly faded in the Battle Network logo just above it in a smaller size. "They have arrived~"

Edited by Phoenix
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"Hmph, treat me to something, alright..." Karina mumbled, and couldn't help but chuckle as Monika joked about it. Wouldn't it be funny if she fell again? Well, it'd be rude, in quick second thought. Besides, Karina was fairly sure she was built of stronger stuff than that to just fall from a back swing of Mewlanie's --no offense meant to Monika--. "I've got her down secured, no worries." Karina assured, with a firm (though hopefully not constrictive) grip on Mewlanie's thighs. Thankfully, she wasn't having as much issue seeing the presentation as her neighbour, though the view still wasn't perfect for Karina, too many people on the front indeed.

Felix started speaking, and that was a good trigger to grab her attention. He was about the player she'd looked up to the most, expecially since his past, what little was known, was a topic of interest to her. One day... She'd often think, One day maybe I'll be taken seriously, even by the military, and my family won't stop me. Perhaps one day, but that would be very far off. Quickly, the presentation turned to a video, showcasing a cinematic to get them started with the new season. Warships, alright. The whole presentation was very well done, and Karina couldn't help but look at the fringe details of the cinematic. From the missiles to the refitted warship, somebody was working incessantly to get the most of the camera angles, informations and hints to new weapons the enemies were using... some nerds would have a field day dissecting the video in social media, for sure. And then there was the fall from grace from their main suit.

Seeing that towering warship ready to finish off their silent protagonist was dreadful, and there was a notable silence at the convention at that point (moreso than the other parts of the film). Still, when light quite literally rained from above, the woos and cheers started without pause for the cinematic to end, and Karina had to admit she was impressed with the idea. It was rather fresh, for a game like this. "Nice. Nice nice nice..." She kept holding Mewlanie tight, but at that point Karina had her head somewhat pushing against the girl's stomach, looking up to meet the warship's fading light show.

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"Whoa, ayoi... I-I am not going to fall again! Now, juste... Let me..." Phone out, Karina seemed to be holding on tight... A bit too tight, but Melanie had expected that, and she'd deal with it. The girl was too afraid to admit anything anyway, it didn't bother her. She had a show to focus on, anyway! And with things starting on the main screen, Melanie switched her camera over to video mode. "Bonjour, mes amis! I am 'ere live for ze main show of Batcon, and... Well, 'ere we go!" She wasn't going to say much else as things began, the presentation swiftly taking her, and everyone else around, off of their feet. Between the slow start up of equipping the frames, and the set up of charging the enemy ship... A few 'mon dieu!'s escaped her as things escalated, as far as the ship knocking the the last guy off of it. Weapons trained on him...

"Non! Survivre!" She'd almost forgotten she was watching a video, as things finally came to a close, her little heart beating like crazy. "Franchement... Eh, m-merci, everyone." She turned off her video, sighing heavily. "Zat was... Ben lâ. zis ees why I love zis game. Coming out 'ere today was worsewhile." And upload to Ticks... Her phone could deal with that, while she talked. "Ehh, y-you can let me down now, Karina. Merci for your 'elp."

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Mewlanie was going nuts, too, and almost forgot she was being held while watching the video. It was cute, but a less attentive 'totem bottom' would have let her fall in one of her reactions, for sure... what was more curious was her plead to go down, right after the video ended. But, wait... "Uh, isn't there more to the presentation?" She had to ask, it's not like Karina wanted to keep hold onto Mewlanie for any longer than needed, but she preferred seeing a job to its completion when asked of her.

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"Oh... Ees, zere? I, geez... Eh, désolé, I will, stay up, zen." She'd forgotten about the rest of the show with how overwhelming and immersing the presentation had been, blushing a bit and hiding her face behind her phone. "Sorry... Ah, m-merci for keeping me up." Franchement, Melanie, wake up! She ees right! Get an 'old of yourself...

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Well that was certainly a presentation. These battlecruisers certainly seemed impressive... from her vantage point, it seemed like frames would have little chance against such a thing... perhaps she was overthinking the logistics of a cinematic, but why send them against one at all? She supposed they had to have a weak point besides other ships, but that was something to think about at a later time. It was obvious that the two other women had developed a quick attachment to the movie's protagonist, and she had to admit it certainly was a tense moment.

"That sure was something, huh? I wonder how they'll be implemented into the game..."

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"Please not be micro-transaction exclusive, please not be micro-transaction exclusive, please not be micro-transaction exclusive..." Helena chants, keeping both her fingers crossed as she does so. Her dusky eyelids firmly shut as the mantra goes on.

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Well, that was something. People were freaking out, literally jumping up and down in excitement. Sure, Venitus was curious, and happy that they were finally adding in warships, but that trailer didn't really answer any of his questions. In fact, it really made warships look under-powered. Sure, the three frames hadn't been able to completely take it out, but they had done some major damage. Whatever play that trailer was imitating is obviously representative of high-leveled competitive, and that meant that these warships would basically become giant golden eggs that were big and fragile. Of course, this was all inferred from a purely CGI trailer that was basically designed to feed a hype loop and featured no actual gameplay footage, so this could all be a completely wrong assessment.

Regardless, it was nice to see everyone else excited. The two dudes on the stage were getting into said excitement as well, despite knowing that all this junk was going to occur. Junk being an intentionally derivative term, having the real battleship do something, no matter how staged, sent shivers down his spine. Shivers of excitement, not ter- why was he explaining his own actions to himself? Venitus had that habit, it wasn't an issue persay, just led to long internal monologues. That said, the blanks the battleship had just fired were extremely realistic. Perhaps it was just perspective, but there was next to no visible difference between that and a real fire of the guns. Had he known such a salvo was coming, he would've been set to scan it with his optic eye, but it had passed and the only thing left to scan was a bit of smoke, or steam. At this distance it was irrelevant. The music died down, and a voice came out of the speakers. Oh hey, that guy has started talking again. Wonder if he'll say something that isn't hokey this time.

Edited by DarthR0xas
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Well, they definitely delivered.  Friedrich smiled as the trailer concluded.  There were a couple things that caught his eye, such as the possibility of multiple objective targets.  Could it possibly be a hint of a new game mode?  He would have to rewatch the trailer later to check and see if there was anything else of interest.  More importantly, the synchronized firing of the Independence’s guns was spot-on. 

Otto would be beside himself if he was here.  I bet he’ll be laughing about it once he sees the video.

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Now that she was beginning to come down from the spectacle, Hitomi realized her father would probably try to work his way toward putting a spotlight on her. Maybe. She found herself bracing for it either way, rather than worrying about whatever the rest of the actual program would be.

Matsuo took a moment to pull up his sleeve, which revealed the emitter for a holographic display. Once he turned it on, he started fiddling around for a moment. "There we are~" A broadcast message was sent out from the convention stationwide, reaching anyone and everyone with a known interest in Frame Ops and no special restrictions on messages received. The message sent by Battlenet was an overview, as well as some important fine print covering the introduction of warships into Battlenet's Frame Ops. Hitomi checked her display reluctantly as the screens both above the stage and scattered all throughout the area began to showcase the gems of that same message. Little gameplay clips would play briefly with each new listing, showing off some of the maneuvers and firepower of the featured ship, before moving onto the next.

Hitomi wound up multitasking somewhat, her eyes darting between her own display and the center screen above Matsuo and Felix. It was no surprise that the Independence II class was the first one shown. It was also one of the most expensive, though the actual cost of these things weren't exactly prominent in the listings. In fact, this brochure was really pushing the fact that a team with a big enough sponsor wouldn't necessarily have to put down any credits for one of these assets, and seemed wholly invested in that method of acquiring warships. In just about every ship she'd seen thus far, Hitomi found a listing of sponsors that would cover most or all of the cost for one of these ships for any teams they were sponsoring. Hitomi almost missed the 22,000cr price tag for the Standard Edition Independence II. That was far above a quarter's earning for a wage slave, so it was no wonder the sponsors were getting most of the attention here. The Premium and Special Edition versions were even crazier, with the latter being about a year's earning for an entry level worker down at the docks. Of course, those versions came with more than just a ship. The Special Edition had a bunch of frames and even a mobile worker force thrown in. Battlenet assets were no joke. It was no wonder they came down so hard on anyone trying to circumvent the rules; there was a lot of money at stake, here.

Hitomi was slightly amused to see Babylonian ships so early in her perusing. It wasn't terribly long ago that tensions were extremely high between the League and Babylon, so seeing them add some of Babylon's best ships made her chuckle. After all, it was a good sign, for her--as well as her Babylonian friend, Carmen--and for peace. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal, though. Most of the companies weren't that interested in interplanetary politics, or at least they didn't make a show of it. Seeing the Millennium class battlecruiser not far down from the Independence II helped remind Hitomi why the Jovians and Babylonians were getting along a little better these days. The Millennium class was partly developed by Global Arms, and it was phasing out the Galla class cruisers Babylon had been flaunting for centuries. The Babylonians ultimately went with a significantly larger version of the design, and supposedly tacked on the name 'Millennium' as a statement of how long the ship would remain viable ... but the final design still had that classic Jovian blockiness to it ...

Naturally, being distracted by actual information on the warships Battlenet was adding, Hitomi forgot that her father wanted her near the front for a reason. "Incredible isn't it?"

Hitomi felt a chill run up her spine as she snapped back to reality. When she glanced up at the stage, her father was looking right at her. As if the eye contact wasn't enough of a hint that she was out of time, he even gestured at her.

"Hitomi!"

Hearing her name echo throughout the entire plaza was the biggest shock she'd felt in years. The bewildered teen's only saving grace was that the displays were still showing the audience the best of the best from the new team assets. Only the center monitor was displaying Hitomi, and only because a small camera seemed just as interested in her as Matsuo was.

"Come up here for a moment."

Hitomi complied ... making her way carefully over the railing. She was careful climbing up on stage, but Matsuo gave her a hand up just to be safe. Hitomi couldn't bear to turn and face the crowd directly, even with a good portion of them checking out the full ship listings. It was starting to make sense, though. Matsuo wanted an opportunity to help her without stopping the whole show. What better time than during a slight lull like this? Of course having to come up onto stage was going to net her way more attention than she expected. If she stayed mixed in with the crowd, people probably wouldn't have even realized that she and Matsuo were family. Hitomi supposed it would be stupid of him to try and hide that fact, anyway. Like with most things, Matsuo was just rolling with it ... and adding some momentum of his own ...

"Your team's preparing for the upcoming gaming season, right?"

Hitomi squinted. She knew where he was leading her, but wasn't sure if she should mention their team's name. Battlenet hadn't hit Odyssey with a warning to shape up just yet, but anyone looking up the now two man, unsponsored team might suspect they were on their last legs. Still, it wasn't worth hiding and dodging every little issue that came up. Publicity was the only way out of this mess, so why not just do what her father always did and just roll with it? If she stuck with Linus and his endeavors, then they were eventually going to become famous, with all the praise and ridicule that came with it. Better to just play life like she played the game.

Time to suffocate their enemies and win over their skeptics with pure, unbridled optimism! "Yep!" Hitomi matched her father's smile with her own, "Team Odyssey's going all in this year."

If Matsuo was surprised by Hitomi's positive energy, he certainly wasn't showing it, only reflecting a mirror image. "Wonderful! Any of the new ships catch your eye?"

Hitomi began to slowly lift her head up. "Ummm, yeeeeah ..." Soon, both she and Matsuo were both staring up at the genuine article floating above the event. Matsuo laughed, along with some in the crowd. "We could definitely use one of those~" Crossing her arms, Hitomi began pretending to mull over their options aloud. "That Titan looks pretty good too, though. So many options ..."

"Indeed~ Now, are you in the market for anything in particular, or just looking to participate in the new game modes?"

Hitomi suspected Matsuo wasn't really asking about the ships or the warship modes that time. No, he had to be hinting at the team itself, and what it needed to actually compete this year. Fairly easy to leap off from that. "I like all rounders, myself," Hitomi said, glancing out at the crowd, "but once we find our sponsor for this season, I'm sure we can convince them to get us an extra ship so we can change things up~ We really could use some new team members, too."

"Ah!" Matsuo looked so pleased Hitomi knew for certain his last question had been the cue, "Well there's no better place to look," he waved his arm out, indicating the crowd and the rest of the plaza. He was right about that. Their online searches had been abysmal. Hopefully having people to talk to in person would work out better.

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Karina had been right to keep her up there. Matsuo had sent everyone out the standard terms and agreements, as well as the data on the upcoming models. Melanie had almost pressed pre-order on the special edition set for an Independence II, considering today's showing, but it wouldn't really do to own one of these without a team... Well... Xenowear in specific had been pushing her to try and find a team to join. Something about, it would help spread their brand to existing teams if someone moderately popular was wearing it, and getting their team to wear it as well. Sync up with your team mates for the match, some corporate nonsense like that. Vicware wasn't against the idea, it would definitely be a good sell to have more than just Melanie using their products on a stream, but they weren't that adamant. Still, one company pushing for it and the other being fine with it, definitely meant she couldn't keep putting it off... There were just so many, where was a good place to start--

"Eh? 'Oo ees zis?" Some girl had been pulled on stage... Melanie zoomed in with her camera and did a quick photo search... Hitomi... Moto? Wait, Moto? The guy doing the presentation was Matsuo Moto, right-- "Franchement!?"

That meant this girl was his daughter, right? She didn't look old enough to be a sister... And right on queue, they were doing a setup to advertise her team. "Eef zis ees not parfait timing..." Would Karina and Monika be interested? The latter Melanie could likely drag along to at least go and see, but Karina? The girl was extremely competitive, Melanie was no exception. Would she want to be on the same team? Zere ees no use een sinking and waiting, I must address zis maintenant!

Opening up Hitomi's profile in Frame Ops, Melanie got to constructing a message. Whether or not the girl would see it immediately was fine, but she had to strike before the crowd did. Who wouldn't try to apply to the team of the daughter of THE Matsuo Moto, given such a perfect opportunity?

'Bonjour! You may or may not know 'oo I am, Miss 'Itomi Moto, but zat ees fine. Before zis crowd overwhelms you, I wish to juste say, zat I am interested een joining your team. My name ees Melanie de la Croix, you can find ze rest of ma account info srough Frame Ops. Eef zere ees somewhere I can meet wis you, zen zat would be even better. Please let moi know, once you get a moment, from your lovely little stage play. Merci~'

A bit unfortunate that her automatic accent autocorrecting cut the H out of the girl's name, but it was accurate, at least... And send! She didn't expect an immediate reply, but anything to get it out there.

"Donc, Karina, Monika, 'ow do ze two of you feel about joining a team?"

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Thankfully Linus's negotiations with the cafe employees hadn't been too rough. He'd had to put down a few credits deposit in advance to secure a table, but it wasn't anything outlandish by any means. Typical batcon prices for typical batcon business. If he and Hitomi ended up needing a second table, that would likely be a second round of talks, but more than enough time to cross that bridge when they got there. Locking in the waypoint and transmitting it, he took a seat and turned his attention out the window, just in time for a spectacular lightshow, as the sound systems shifted gears from their previous channels to full surround with 'Target acquired; weapons free'. Even... no, especially coming from above, where that hulking center of attention was prominently floating. Well, he'd clearly missed a lot, definitely going to have to check out the vod on that later.

Ah, and sure enough, in the aftermath--as the crowd was furiously flipping through the electronic brochure outlining the hows and whys of warships, with teasingly tailored amounts of information carefully curated as to not quite present the whole picture--came the moment Hitomi had given him a heads-up on. Linus couldn't quite help his heart from beating faster as his friend stopped just short of shouting out "Inertia!" (one of her favorite battlecries), when she plunged headlong into the thick of things with the optimism of a small child. For better or worse, the spotlight was certainly on Team Odyssey now.

"Juno's jugs," he swore softly to himself and tried to prepare for what was to come. He was going to need a coffee for this. Maybe an irish... no, that would just be foolhardy. Espresso shots only, today. At least until after the peak of whatever madness was about to descend had passed.

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Makala felt a strange pause. His head swam within the boisterous sauna of the crowd (compuncted with Mewlanie & her 'photogenic' entourage being just an arm's grasp). But now he was, empty? It was one matter to have high expectations & wishful thinking going into major announcements. But this, were his hopes turning themeselves inside out.

Did Battlenet go mad passing around the staggering prices for these battleships for each edition? The Independence in the clip seemed way too hard for even a team of frame pilots to take down. Surely, these would come to dominate the meta - to become the zenith of performance that all players would only find at the top - with frames being mere pawns. The private betters would drop high price on these quickly. Seems only v-sports pros, diehard fanboys, & the elite would be the earliest adopters of the battleships, but would they come to be the only? He would need to step up his booking if he was to profit the most off of commission, but it had to be quick enough to stand with his peers.

Now they were taking volunteers for Team Odyssey? He watched Mewlanie bob & sway, cheering as her fingers hammered away at her phone. No, she couldn't be applying! He wouldn't let his idol be wisked away from him.

His walls inched closer, and he would be squeezed out sooner than he would become their core.

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As information for the battleships was passed around, Karina took a moment to check the info she'd received on her own device. It was daunting indeed, she could afford it, but not without raising great concern on her father over her spending, that's for sure. He already doesn't think very highly of this... It was unfortunate, very. On the bright side, they weould probably not impact solo ranked matches, or else the balance would make a dive too deep into p2w. That'd really be a jump for Battlenet. It really does seem tailored to team matches... And there was another announcement, curiously starting at the height of the lull from their first announcement. "Who's that?" Karina questioned the girl's presence at first, but her device, now directed at the pair presenting, seemed to identify the girl as a relative of the host's. Huh...

"...We really could use some team members too."

Her attention was caught instantly, eyes stuck observing the pair. That was... an opportunity, was it? It definitely was an opportunity. Karina made quick work of searching up Hitomi in Frame Ops, sending a friend request as well as a rather short-worded message:

Yo. just heard the announcement and im interested in joining. been rising up high recently, if you wanna know how good i am feel free to ask a duel i guess.

Karina had just been promoted, it had to give a good looK --and what was that? It seemed like Melanie had similar ideas.

"I'm counting on my luck. Maybe I'll get in, that'd help me stand out." And fight better people than solo.

Edited by Xinnidy
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