8386/Unrelated Training

Unrelated Training
Date of Scene:	18 July 2019
Location:	Danger Room - X-Men base
Synopsis:	Rachel and Scott talk tactics, more tactics, and the meaning of life.
Cast of Characters:	Marvel Girl, Cyclops

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Marvel Girl has posed:
Some training is mandatory, sure. Rachel shows up for all of that, of course. But when there's a moment that the Danger Room is open or an open training session, she's there for that too. Granted, it may be because she wants to avoid actual //class// type things, or that learning about this world is confusing while punching things is simple, but she's here all the same.

Right now, she's actually running through the recording of her previous session in the room, the holographs paused so she can walk around them and get a 360 degree view of where she went wrong and ended up in the path of the holographic Sentinel's nullifier beam.

Cyclops has posed:
Scott has just finished a workout in the gym. He was heading to the locker room to change when he noticed the Danger Room was in use. Curious, he went to the control room to look at the monitors. He saw Jean's daughter there reviewing a training scenario.

Scott smiles, watching Rachel pick apart her performance. It was something he had done so many times, and still did. He appreciated that in a team member. Despite the runners, black shorts and t-shirt with a sweat stain down the back, Scott heads around to the door of the Danger Room and keys in.

He walks in and has a look without saying anything to Rachel. He looks at where she was and the angles.

"Were you gambling on the tight angle, or did you lose track of the line of sight over the bus?" he asks appraising the situation.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Overestimated my cover." Rachel glances away from the hologram to Scott as he arrives, then back to the Sentinel. "It's an old, bad habit," she admits. "I'm so used to picking up on intentions from people that when I come up against a machine like this...It's like I'm always half a beat behind. Kind of why I've been in here so much, actually. The holograms don't have thoughts either."

She walks around to where her own reflection is, then steps to get a look on the Sentinel's line. "There," she says, thoughtful. "That's where it saw me."

Cyclops has posed:
Scott crosses his arms and nods when Rachel picks her spot. "It got you a half-step out of cover. So back up another three or four steps. Maybe you can't read it's mind, but what is it thinking before you came out of cover?" Scott asks.

He motions to the control panel and rewinds the recording and runs it forward a couple of times, showing Rachel's movement under cover of the bus. Rachel made excellent time over ground at an almost unvarying pace in those few steps.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"It's a machine, it doesn't think. It calculates." Rachel frowns, head tilting as she stares at the Sentinel to search for some clue to its future actions. "But there was..."

She turns, searching the rest of the scene. "Another attack coming from a teammate here. I thought of it as cover, but it was drawing the Sentinel's attention. And it couldn't help but see me when it was turning that way."

Cyclops has posed:
"Calculates," he corrects himself with a bit of a smile. "Sure. So the distraction didn't work, it tracks you and calculates your speed overland."

"At its size and weight, it has a problem covering arc seconds so it has to predict. It is calculating where you will be in the future. Its shot based on information that is already four steps old by the time it hit you. So if you stutter step before you come out..."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Then I've introduced a variable." Rachel nods, taking a mental note. "Unpredictability works in our favor." That seems to close that topic for her. She gestures for the controls, pushing the recording forward a few more seconds. "Still leaves me trying to figure out what I'm good for once I've been hit with the beam," she muses.

Cyclops has posed:
"But that isn't your fault, that's my fault. I've let everyone run too light, depending too much on our powers," Scott says.

"Any half decent SWAT or infantry team could take us all out if we get depowered. And you can bet they are going to be getting that de-powering technology soon. We will need to change our gameplans so you stay combat-effective after that beam hits," he says and points.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Pretty much." Rachel worries her lower lip between her teeth, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can hold my own in hand to hand, but I don't have a whole lot I can bring to bear against giant robots if I'm out my powers."

She turns back toward Scott, head tilting. "What're you thinking? More equipment?"

Cyclops has posed:
Scott nods. "We're ignoring years of tried and tested gearouts and tactics. We need to re-equip and get Forge on re-arming. Energy weapons, better protection, tactical distractions... The technologies are there, we just aren't using them."

Scott smirks a bit. "The others won't like it, but we need to evolve."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Hey, it's what we do best, right?" Rachel dismisses the recording, ruffling a hand through her hair with a heavy sigh. "For my part, I'm all about whatever works. I mean, I took them on without all the bells and whistles in my time, but going after them with multiple teams and all the tools we could want? Yeah. That sounds better."

Cyclops has posed:
"Doesn't it?" Scott says with a big smile for Rachel. It is the kind of look that only comes out in training and the best after action reviews.

"You're our most experienced anti-Sentinel operative. If you can spare the time from whatever they're making you do," he gestures upwards.

"I'd like to dig into your experience, update our training and develop our tactics together. If you're in."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"I'm all yours." Rachel sets her hands into her pockets, expression serious. "The Sentinels from my time were a little different from these, but. Yeah. Ask me anything."

She moves toward the door, ready to vacate the room for anyone else who wants to train. "I don't even belong here," she points out. "My entire purpose at this point is to make sure things here don't get to where they did in my time. There's no other reason for me to be here."

Cyclops has posed:
"I'm from here and that's all I've got, too," Scott shrugs.
"Maybe the war and who we fight beside is all there really is."

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel hasn't seen her father in a long time. Realizing just how much they're alike... She stares at him for a moment, then finally nods. "Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty much how I've lived. Sometimes it's kind of lonely?" She doesn't seem sure about that though.

"Kind of hard to tell, honestly. Aside from this vague feeling that there's supposed to be more. Not that I know what the hell you're supposed to do with it," she shrugs.

Cyclops has posed:
Scott raises an eyebrow at the pause, but it's forgotten the moment Rachel speaks.

"You'll figure it out," Scott says confidently, but there is something else there Rachel can of course feel. Pain, bitterness, loss. "You're smart, like your mom."

"I should change, I stink," he says with wry smirk, brushing last whateve he felt. "Come find me later and we'll get started."

Scott nods to Rachel and makes his way out to the changeroom.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeah. She always said I got it from my dad." Rachel's lips twist ever so slightly, the sharp edge of a smile, and then she's following him out, hands in her pockets. Some secrets are worth holding on to.