4220/Introduction to Infinite Stratos (IS)

Introduction to Infinite Stratos (IS)
Date of Scene:	15 June 2016
Location:	Academy Island <IS>
Synopsis:	Members of the Union attend an open house of the IS Academy, for a chance to learn about them and to pilot one of the massed produced IS'.
Cast of Characters:	Mairead Sandilands, Nagato, 707, 686, Kotone Yamakawa, 939, 942, Lyria Mason

---

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    The IS Academy on Academy Island is active, as there are reports and rumors of visitors coming to the Academy to see IS and to learn about them. The second year students have gotten things ready in one of the classrooms, while the first years are busy with classes. The third years are finishing up final preperations at the arena and assisting in training the first years. Those who have personal IS' and Orimura-sensei have gone for a few weeks to do additional testing, leaving Yamada-sensei here to teach and handle the first years.

    "Are you ready for this Mairead?" Yamada-sensei asks as Mairead looks and thinks standing at the monorail station. Yamada Maya-sensei, has a petite figure, and doesn't look any different than a student. However, wearing clothes that didn't quite match her body made her look even more petite. And it looked ever more out of place with her large olive green eyes, behind her hazy glasses. "Aye, but I am nervious," she comments. "That's good," Yamada says. "That means you are still up to learning," and Mairead looks. "Aye, but after what happened in Scotland, I am not one who is good in these situations," and Yamada places a hand on Mairead's shoulder, "Relax and just go with the flow," and Mairead smiles.

    As both stand at the station, they look and wait for those to arrive.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato's one of the few to arrive by the station, the Admiral's countenance (and age) is probably one of the more adult ones here, but after reciving an invitation to join the Academy, from one of her own Fleet Mates none the less, it could not have been refused. It's here that she steps off the train and takes a look around, the Admiral dressed in what looks to be a fit uniform for the IS Academy, having taken care of a few things before her current arrival.

    Her eyes look around and soon fall upon the Scottish lass that handed her the invitation and with measured steps, she arrives in front of her and Yamada. "Good afternoon." she comments, bowing gently, "Admir... Nagato. Just... Nagato here, I look forward to the lessons ahead."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Practically since the day that her world Unified, Xiaomu has been all but salivating over the prospect of getting a giant robot, or at least a decent suit of powered armor, or SOMEthing. Hearing about an open demonstration of the Infinite Stratos suits was a chance too good for the sage fox to pass up - and so she arrives, probably standing out in much the same way that a Shaolin monk, for instance, would stand out amidst a team of American special ops commandos.

At least there are familiar faces. "Hey Nagato!" the Shinra agent greets the admiral with a wave and a casual grin; then she looks to Yamada-sensei and Mairead, giving the two of them a polite bow, followed by a casual smile as she straightens up. "Xiaomu, agent of Shinra, glad to meet you and looking forward to the orientation!" she introduces herself, offering a handshake.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Kamui Gakupo is one of those who are coming to see what's going on. He's a bit nervous as he heads to the Academy, via the monorail. He'd heard that only women could pilot the IS, and he most definitely wasn't that. Then again, he's... not even human. And he really can't hide it, if only from the synthesized sound of his voice. Would he even be allowed to enter?

Well, there he is, nonetheless, disembarking from the monorail. His purple hair is done up in a high ponytail (and still manages to almost reach his ankles) and he's wearing an odd mix of futuristic and ancient samurai clothing-- a futuristic bodysuit with an old-fashioned short surcoat and pleated pants over it.

He looks to those assembled, and offers a pleasant wave. "Hello there," he greets. "I am Kamui Gakupo. It's good to meet you all." He bows politely. To Mairead and Yamada he offers, "Thank you for allowing us to come and see this."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is not gone from the multiverse no, she's just been under a massive load of school work,she'd seen mairead's offer and had beencurious as he finally got the hell out of school for a bit. Lyria's style of clothing might be odd as it looked more like a cross of swimwear and what youmigh expect in the tropics also the young lady had a number of visable tattoos on her body. She's in good spirit from the looks of her and following in just after Xiaomu.

"Lyria Mason of Galandia! I was curious when I heard about this!"

She's a magitech engineer and getting to see something like this gets her excited she also pauses as she looks to see Nagato and gives her a slight bow.

"Admiral Nagato."

She also give Xiamou and Gakupo get a grin and a wave out of the Levtani.

Graf Zeppelin (939) has posed:
     Graf Zeppelin....

     ...is not here.

     The one who arrives this day is NAKA. Everyone's FAVORITE FLEET IDOL! Just as she promised she would weeks ago, she's here to play with these IS Systems! It'll be loads of fun! And educational! And Graf Zeppelin asked her to take notes! Or something like that. But really, who cares? HIGH FLYING COMBAT ARMOR! Yeaaaaaah!

     She's wearing casual clothing, along with a beret and a pair of sunglasses. A typical 'idol disguise'. And for good reason too. NAGATO was here as well! And she was supposed to be doing punishment chores at Hikari! Well...

     BACK AT HIKARI

     'Naka' is swabbing the docks with a mop. She's wearing her orange fleet uniform, and her hair is tied up into their usual buns. ...Her bright and happy countenance is a bit subdued however...

     From around a corner, Kasumi spies on this 'Naka', frowning suspiciously. She touches an earpiece and speaks quietly. "N-002, this is K-001. I need you to scour the base for Sendai. No, I don't care what day it is, get a move on." She lowers her hand and frowns still. "...What are you up to, Naka...?"

     BACK WITH NAKA

     The Fleet Idol steps off the train, doing her very best to look reserved and casual, though unable to hide the growing smile on her face as she joined the others... and gave Nagato a wide berth.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
It's time to finally visit Mairead's school! Kazuko's heard a few things about it already, and most of them have been good: A large student body, lots of strong fighters, crazy technology she can't even hope to understand. The martial artist's prepared today, though, since she's come with... A notebook!

     Hopefully, she can just bum a pen off someone else later. Arriving not too far behind a string of familiar faces, Kazuko's dressed in Kawakami Academy's summer uniform and looking not too out of place like a visiting student would!

     Because she totally is. Unlike Naka, however, the brunette's all too easily giving her fellow Elites no berth whatsoever as she hurries on over to catch up with the group (and nearly running right into them). "Kazuko Kawakami here! I'm not late, am I?"

     She certainly sounds excited to be there.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    "Welcome all to the Infinite Stratos Academy," she says to the group. "I am Yamada Maya, Class 1 Vice Homeroom Teacher," and she stands up straight, "This is Mairead Sandilands, First year student and the IS Repersentative Cadet/Candidate of Scotland," and Mairead curties insteads of bows. "Welcome to the IS Academy," she says simply. Yamada smiles and continues as Yamada looks at Kamui and than at Mairead as she blinks, "I...It.... It's ok and you are welcomed," and Mairead just facepalms at Yamada. "If you would all please follow we will begin the tour of the IS Academy and give you information on what an IS is. Additionally, Mairead will help explain some of the systems and we have a number of mass produced IS' that will be able to be used and tried out. Additionally, the Third year students are getting ready for some IS combat to demostrate how an IS moves and the various differences that are possible with an IS," she states as she gestures to the monorail that takes people to the Island. Mairead nods to those whe knows, but says nothing at the time and follows as Yamada waits for everyone to get on, the military watching the interchange.

    "Adcademy Island was created within one year of the arrival of the first IS Incident," Yamada starts. "The entire Island is home to the IS Academy, and since the first IS was built by Japan, the world decided that Japan woould provide protection to the Repersentatives of the countries who are sent here, and would provide teaching on the operation and all mechanical aspects of an IS," and she boards the monorail. "Students are tested and selected to attend, and few are given personal IS' that are provided by their home country," she adds. "Currently, there are three year of students, and each grade includes an avearage of 120 students each. Moreover, only women are able to control an IS, with the except of a single boy. With our arrivial into the Multiverse, there is a possiblity that more males are able to control an IS, but we are unsure," and she looks at Mairead and the others as the Monorail speeds to the station on Academy Island.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato's standing at a military attention, listening to Yamada. She's silent for most of this, at least... until Xiaomu says hello to her... and then Kotone. "Hello you two." she says with a slight bow. She looks between everyone present, giving a nod towards Not!Naka and Kamui, listening to them. And then... there's Kazuko. "Wanko." she speaks a bit coldly, and with a shake of her head. "So roughly three hundred and sixty members attend the classes here, Ma'am?" she questions to Yamada, "Out of all these how are the classes split up?"

    Then when the mention of people able to try it out... and with third years going to do some IS Combat... Nagato gets this slight grin upon her face. She might have to try this on.. and try against one of those third years. "As Hikari Seaport's representitive, we thank you for allowing the opportunity."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Of course they wouldn't jump right to trying the armor on for themselves, thinks Xiaomu as she waves to the other Multiversal arrivals (or greets them by name, in the case of the few other familiar faces). Ah well - she still gets to learn about the background and such.

That's an interesting restriction, though, and the sage fox just has to ask: "Is there a particular known reason why only women can use an IS? What happens to other guys who've tried to put one on and fire it up - does it just not respond, does it actively hurt them, or ... ?"

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
So far so good, Gakupo thinks. He returns the wave from Lyria, with a friendly smile. The smile remains as he nods in greeting towards Nagato. Then he turns his attention to Yamada and Mairead when the former begins to speak, giving a quiet chuckle at the welcome from Yamada. And he follows when the pair begin to head for where this is supposed to take place. As he follows he listens, taking mental 'notes' as the history of the place is explained.

He does mention, "I've heard that only women are able to. I had a bit of a concern myself, not only for being male, but because I'm an android. That said, I've been made to emulate human beings pretty closely." He quiets, though, as Xiaomu asks her question. That's something else he was wondering.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Hearing her name coming from a familiar voice, Kazuko turns to Nagato with a bright grin and tone that's almost the polar opposite of the Admiral's. "Hi, Miss Nagato! So that's what you look like without the ship stuff on..." She stares her for a few moments longer before snapping back to attention as the Academy's speakers... Speak!

     Kazuko's quite attentive and even taking some notes as she follows everyone onto the monorail, taking the more daring route of holding onto nothing as she focuses on jotting things down. "This sounds kinda like a... Military schoovl, then!" She chimes, a thoughtful look crossing her face after a few moments. "Does that mean you just study and train for piloting these things instead of other stuff like math and history, then?"

     It's almost like she's hoping for a confirmation to that end. She doesn't focus on just that, at least, as she leans over a seat to peer out one of the windows towards the island proper. She gawks at the sight for a short while before trying to put on a more studious face (and failing horribly) while turning to Yamada. "Hmmhm... What was the IS Incident?"

     Her attention's on Gakupo, too, when the green-haired woman mentions that the IS have rarely been usable by men thus far. She's not being all that subtle about staring straight at him and grinning, either. It's almost like she's challenging him to DO THE (nearly) IMPOSSIBLE.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa seems to be in goos spirits as she does not Naka and Kamui and she's just taking a moment to take in the various people who have come to see this school. She doesn't seem to mind being on the island heck she enjoyed being near the water, being able to feel it even on anotehr word. She gets the idea this school is something akin to Alexander Acdamey but it's certainly with a bit more of a narrow focus given it's military leanings.

"Thank you for such a warm welcome to us all Yamada Maya, and oy you as well Mairead."

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason seems to be in goos spirits as she does not Naka and Kamui and she's just taking a moment to take in the various people who have come to see this school. She doesn't seem to mind being on the island heck she enjoyed being near the water, being able to feel it even on anotehr word. She gets the idea this school is something akin to Alexander Acdamey but it's certainly with a bit more of a narrow focus given it's military leanings.

"Thank you for such a warm welcome to us all Yamada Maya, and oy you as well Mairead."

Graf Zeppelin (939) has posed:
     Naka does not speak up, as much as she wants to just shout out and make her usual proclamations of love and peace. Nope. She just stands there, and woodenly nods at Nagato and everyone else before she gets onto the monorail with the others.

     How these things seemed to only favor females and rarely males was an interesting little tidbit. Why was that indeed? Thankfully someone else already asked, so she didn't have to out herself by speaking.

     Like Kazuko though, she pulls out a notebook and starts scribbling down notes for Graf. The German Carrier would want them later.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Yamada smiles as she looks at Nagato, "The classes are divided into 20 to 30 students per class per year, and all students attend the IS Academy for three years. Ages range from 14 to 18 years old. Additonally, the classes are attended six days a week 351 days a year. Twice a year, the classes go on a summer trip for classes out of the IS Academy and a few times a year there are interclass and year tournaments. during the tournaments, delegates from the different countries and corporations that manufacture IS' attend and observe what is going on. This is when the tihird years are looked at for possible careers with companies, both private and public or countries. Additionally, a chance for third years to become instructors at the IS Academy is allowed," and Mairead speaks. "Additionally, each student witha personal IS goes through additional training before arriving here," she says. "On top of what is learned here, they are taught and trained by their countries military and trained to handle any situation that occurs, with and without an IS," she mentions. "But each student is trained different based on what their country wants, so there is a broad range of skills," she adds.

    Looking at Xiaomu, Yamada thinks, "There is no reason as to why only women can use an IS," she states. "Any number of reason, but nothing that has been found out in the ten years IS' have been around. As for men, the suits do not respond, and as to only why one male can use it, there are suggestions that it is due to the way he thinks, his DNA due to his sister being the first IS pilot. But no one knows and even the creator of the IS does not know how or why," she adds. Looking at Kamui, Yamada blinks, "Um, we have never had an android try on an IS, so it will be a first, as thisis something to see if there are possibilites," she mentions.

    Looking at Kazuko, Yamada grins, "The IS Academy is more like an all female boarding school," and she grins. "Men are usually only seen outside of the Academy, witht he exception of Ichika-kun," she adds. "Besides training and piloting, all the students go through the noraml classes at any school, including math, history, language, art, music, science. Moreover when summer starts, students get a break for two weeks to return home before returning, although some stay at the academy," she adds as she looks at Mairead, "The IS Incident will be talekd about in Class 3 when we arrive at the IS Academy," she comments. "Some information is needed to be shown more than explained," she adds as she clears her throat.

Nagato has posed:
    "The multiverse is full of strange occurences, perhaps we'll find out what will happen now, won't we?" she gives the Android a curious look before turning back to the women before her. "I am ready to start all the studying and learning for these IS. After seeing what Sandilands was capable of during a few training sessions, this has greatly increased my interest in other multiversal projects." she takes a few deep breaths, obviously anxious about this. Something that the group could feel radiating from the Admiral.

    "Patriarchial society if what is going is correct, however that shouldn't be a problem." she coughs, looking around, "Pardon my anxious attitude. This is... all very intriguing to me, something that I look forward to practicing and getting familiar with." she takes a look towards Mairead, "After all.. one of your reps were glad to have shown me."

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is quite curious as she seems to get a better idea about this world as Yamada gioves more information to the guests and eveyrone else. She thinks for a moment.

"Strange that it reduces your poenital recuits by half still it could be far worse. Don't worry I'll be on my best behaviour."

Given her reptuation back home? She figured it was best to bringt hat up into the open right away as they contiuned to listen.

"I'm curious about how they are put together to be honest, I'm a magitech engineer with a focus on robotics when it comes to education. I'm always cobbling things together for myself."

She also gives a look to Mairead.

"Mairead's certainly made herself known to the union."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo doesn't miss Kazuko's grin though, and turns in her direction, blinking as if confused. He says it with his expression-- 'what?' Though the explanation of the IS units draws his gaze back to Yamada and Mairead. "That's a relief," Gakupo replies, once he's told that the IS will just not respond if it doesn't work. "I'd hate to have to call Mother out for emergency repairs." Pause. "To me, not the IS," he clarifies sheepishly.

Then Nagato's words get his attention, and he nods. "I was just concerned about damage, that's all," he clarifies, with a small smile. Looking back to Yamada and Mairead, "It'll be interesting to see what happens. I may need to actually interface with the system to get it to work. I can do though, though it's probably not ideal."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"I bet having to make the Academy co-ed all of a sudden ruffled some feathers," Xiaomu muses. She's looking around some more, including whatever parts of 'outside' the group's route permits a view of; she seems to devote particular attention to the training yard, even if that's a little belated. "So, another question that's come to my mind ... are all IS units designed for combat? Are there, oh, 'industrial' models? Or something for stage performances rather than real combat?"

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko seems just a little disappointed when Yamada mentions the existence of other non-combat classes. "Aw... Well, the demonstration should be fun!" It's probably not too hard to figure out what her priorities are, and she cringes just a bit when Mairead mentions the school's calendar. "That many days? Whoa... That sounds way too rough."

     She shivers lightly at the thought of it. What kind of weekend only lasts for a day?! It's the sort of hell she could only imagine, but with the school drawing closer and closer...

     "... If we attend, does that mean we'd have to be here for all those days, too?" Kazuko furrows her brow a bit, but giggles lightly when it seems as though she's not the only one that's thought about trying one of those suits as well. "Say... Miss Yamada? You're taking students from outside, right?"

Graf Zeppelin (939) has posed:
     Naka bounces on the balls of her feet, slowly losing her reserved demeanor as she scribbles notes down as the explanations fly in. Graf will love this.

     She peered out of the window, eyeing the passing scenery with not very well concealed wonderment. Sure, she's been to other worlds for concerts, but seeing the world away from Hikari was always so interesting!

     Why, she'd attend the academy if it weren't for the stringent calendar, and her other duties already keeping her busy. But that's okay! The least she can do is take notes and perhaps try out an IS. ...And make it back to Hikari before Kasumi and Nenohi discover that 'Naka' back at base really IS Sendai.

     Whoops.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Blushing, Mairead looks as the monorail stops at Academy Monorail Station. Exiting, Yamada speaks, "Only Shinonono Taban is able to create them and she has not showed anyone how it is done," she mentions to everyone as they exit. "Plus, she is wanted by every country to build more IS Cores, but right now she is in hiding somewhere and only comes when asked by a few people," she mentions to them. "Academy Town was built for those who work at the IS Academy and their families. there are shops in addition to attractions on the Iyo wsland. Additionally, the monorail allows for transport to Tokyo. Academy Island is similar to how Hawaii is, only the entire island is under Japanese protection, except when an IS is needed, than thsoe with personal IS become the protectors," she says as they walk to the IS Academy.

     Entering the Academy, the visitors are greated by a decidedly futuristic look, with all its domes and a branch-like tower in the middle of it. There are plenty of trees and parks to tone down the metallic look. Moreover, at any given time during the day, you can see girls in IS' practicing different skills, from kendo to flying to combat all throughout the IS Academy grounds. There are a number of girls walking with books, others are running and all are dressed int he same Uniform. "The ISACademy has dorms for the students to live at, and attached to that is a cafeteria, that has food from all of the student's home countries that anyone can eat. there is a bath to be used after training and the 6 Battle Arena's that are built for practice and tests. In addition to the classrooms and the infirmary." Looking, Yamada continues, "We also have various clubs that students can join and take part in." and they arrive at the classroom and Mairead opens the door to let people enter.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato's eyes scan the area, watching the girls do their various things. Nagato's head spins with how much she could learn from this place, hell, maybe Ashigara could learn a few things to teach the Destroyers of the Seaport. "Hmm..." she mutters, perking slightly at the mention of battle arenas... tests, practice... she nods, heading into the classroom to take a empty seat near the front. "I see, this should prove beneficial to learn in." she nods, "Perhaps there will be things I don't know and will learn... in fact, I hope."

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is seemngly curious as heck she's got a phone out and is taking pictures though if she's asked she will purge the camera. She cna't help it though it's a new world, new culture, and that was one of the biggest perks of themultiverse at large to he. She stop with the camera though as they hit the main school and she's looking abotu as the group moves ahead. She notices the students training and the flight is what gets her attention the most.

"So what happens to the students who wash out, if I might ask?"

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
As expected, Kazuko's looking around not unlike a tourist! "Whoa.. It's so shiny here! Everything back home is so..." She makes a vague gesture with her hands, apparently focused on the more metallic aspects of the architecture. The mention of food is the only thing that draws her attention away from the decor, however, and the martial artist lets out an intrigued noise when Yamada brings up the types of cuisine available.

     Sch priorities. Once she gets her mouth to stop watering, though, Kazuko finally speaks up again! "So you've got all those arenas.. Do you have test suits for people to try out, too? Or... Is that only for students?"

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo snickers at Xiaomu's statement of the school being suddenly co-ed causing a stir. "Oh, I bet!" he observes. "Hopefully that poor guy doesn't sleep in a hammock in a storage closet somewhere." He leaves the hows and whys of the IS for later thought. There's a lot of things to see here, particularly once they reach the Academy proper!

"Whoa..." Kamui observes quietly, as they're led into the Academy. Listening to Yamada explain about the Academy, Gakupo is thankful he can focus on more than one thing at a time! With all the things going on, he'd never be able to hear what's being said! Also he can record it and play it back internally, so there's that.

He gives a pleasant wave to some of the girls as they pass by, and then looks back to Yamada and Mairead. "So... it's like a normal high school, but with the IS training too?" Now he understands why there are so few days off! Though Lyria's got a good question too, and Gakupo looks eager for the answer. And so does Kazuko, as it turns out.

Gakupo's not going to be wandering too far from their guides here, since he's not at all sure what's going on here yet. He doesn't want to break some unspoken etiquette rule, either. To say nothing of unknowingly wandering into somewhere he shouldn't. Like a locker room.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Somewhere along the line, Xiaomu has 'changed' into an IS Academy uniform, much like Nagato's. It's not exactly the same, mind you - and a close inspection by somebody who KNOWS the uniform could probably pick out distinct errors in the design and construction - but considering that nobody even saw Xiaomu separate from the group long enough to buy, borrow, or steal a uniform in exactly her size, that shouldn't be much of a question.

One of Xiaomu's ears perks up a little as she hears Kazuko asking about test suits. "With that many arenas and such a limited supply of production-model suits," the sage fox comments, "I'd presume they have *something* that doesn't have to be custom-fitted for each individual student .."

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Looking, Yamada speaks, "There ahs not been a single girl to wash out, as everyone has to pass the admittance exam before they can enter. There are a number of students from different conturies, but only 1 Candidate per country," and Mairead speaks, "Basically those who are Candidates are the elites of the elites," she states. "The Candidates also have personal IS' provided by their country they are from. Once here, the conuntry has no say in what happens unless it is tof the most serious matter," and she looks down. "But each Repersentative has special skills, I myself am a master swordswoman. And there are mass produced models that are here. Currently, there are only 467 IS Cores and of those, 322 are used for actual combat and the remaining 145 are handed over to research facilities and enterprises of various countries," she mentions as everyone enters the classroom.

Nagato has posed:
    "IT's a best of the best scenario. They wouldn't waste money on those who'll just fall out." Nagato comments, looking towards Wanko. "But yes I'll echo Xiaomu's question. Even with a limited supply, there are massed produced basic models we're allowed to test, is that right?" she questions, "Even if it's just basic models, that would help learning for certain hands on people than a book would." a pause, looking towards Xiaomu.. at least someone thinks like her..

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"The admission exams must be pretty brutal, then," Xiaomu remarks. "Or do a lot of students just get born with precognition so they can 'know' what gets tested for, even if they haven't been through the classes to learn it yet?"

... no, that question probably doesn't make much sense to anyone else. Xiaomu's probably been watching too much anime (again).

Still, the statistic that Yamada just mentioned - 'one Candidate per country,' and each Candidate has a personalized IS before they even get here ... she seems to be chewing that one over more thoroughly. "That makes it sound like there are a lot of students here who aren't 'Candidates,' then ... ?" is about the best she can make of it.

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason Says "Not a single washout?"

she looks at Yamada politelu but it's clear she doesn't think that's the case every school has it's wash outs it's just how it is then again she sees that they may end up having a heavier screening process before hand too so she's not sure which way it goes.

"Ah trying to produce more basically?

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    When we last left the group, they had just entered the main classroom building and was lead to one of the many classrooms, specifically Class 3-1. As the guests walked, they saw students of various ages, from 14 to 17 and all were carring books. some stopped and commented on those who were walking with Yamada-sensei and Mairead. As they walked, Mairead was thinking on how everything is going so far and already has anidea on what will happen after the group sees the history of the IS and how things have changed.

    Entering the classroom, those here are greated by the sophistication of the classrooms. The classrooms are fitted with holographic desks which show the name of the student when called upon, and a a holographic chalkboard hangs on the wall. in the front of the room is a podium that allows the instructor to teach the class. In total, there are about 30 desks in this classroom and Yamada is standing at the podium and smiling as Mairead waits at the door, "Welcome to Class 3-1," Yamada says to everyone. "Please have a seat at any of the tables," she adds as she gestures to them. Once everyone has sat down, Mairead closes the door and Yamada begins to speak.

    "The Infinite Stratos was first introduced ten years ago and are powered exoskeletons, which were originally meant for outer space exploration. Designed by Shinonono Tabane, each IS as they are called, are equiped with ways that other IS' can locate each other. They each contain a personal communication device that can be used to communicate on both a private or open channel. each Is pilot is able to know the location of other IS pilots due to the IS Network, and anyone who is part of the IS Network can go stealth to hide themselves form others. Additionally, each has an energy shield that will protect the pilot and as they were designed for space exploration, they will protect the pilot in space. However, things changed a month after the IS was shown to the world," she mentions as images of the first is, looking like a 20th century NASA spacesuit but with more armor and two massive tanks on its back.

    "The White Knight Incident as it is known occured when a "mysterious" hacker hacked the military missile bases and ships all over the world launching 2341 ballistic and cruise missiles towards all major cities in Japan." and the image shows satellite track of the weaposn heading for Japan. "A lone IS, named White Knight arrived, sortied and neutralized 1221 of the missiles with a sword and shot down the rest with energy weapons. After the destruction of the missiles, the unknown pilot claimed no allegiance to any worldly nations and was attacked by several major world powers seeking to capture or destroy it. When this occured, the White Knight defended itself fromt he attackers, destroying 207 next gen fighter aircraft in the process, as well as disabling 7 aircraft carriers and their naval escorts. It also destroyed 8 weaponized military spy satellites. Those pilots that survived said the IS moved at such a high rate of speed and pulled high G turns that the pilots were unable to adjust and ejected or lost their lives." and the film shows the recorded incident Yamada is talking about. "Afterwards, the IS disappeared and was never seen from again."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Oooh, holographic projectors in the classroom! Xiaomu has to fight not to totally geek out over that - it's nifty, science-fictiony technology, and it's being used for something that's practically mundane in this world. Despite her best efforts, it's possible that there's a barely-audible, almost-subliminal squee from the sage fox as she takes a seat at one of the front desks. If not for the vulpine ears sticking out on either side of her hair (and the fact that most of her 'hair' is in fact her five tails, hidden in plain sight), she could probably very well pass for one of the actual students of the IS Academy.

Her borderline state of geeking out does not, however, prevent Xiaomu from listening raptly to Yamada-sensei's summation of the history of the IS. And she lapses out of near-fangasm mode in a hurry, too ...

... Mostly with an 'of COURSE' look on her face when Yamada-sensei explains how several nations went 'ooh, nifty new powered suit, we'll take it' (for various meanings of 'take'). Somehow she refrains from rolling her eyes - but as she watches the film, Xiaomu's 'of COURSE' expression metamorphoses into a smirk. "Serves the knuckleheads in power right," she remarks, not at all subtly.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Seating selection! An innocent-looking thing, but if Kazuko's got any plans to do some extra studying here? It's going to be a much more difficult choice in that case!

     ... But she also doesn't feel like thinking too hard about it, so she just ends up sitting near the middle of the room. It's harder to notice her napping back there, but it's still close enough to the front that she cans till hear the interesting and useful parts!

     "So... Wait. That White Knight saved a bunch of people, so everyone wanted to... Attack them? That's dumb." She mutters with a quiet scoff, nodding in agreement with Xiaomu and managing a snicker after a few moments. She's still taking notes as Yamada speaks, although anyone who's sitting close enough to her will notice that she's also doodling.

     A lot more than taking notes, even. Not that she's not paying attention or anything! "So you still gotta be really fit to handle moving around in an IS at that speed, right?"

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo's tagged along mainly because technology always makes him curious. Part of him always wonders if there's any technology that accidentally became sapient, like he did. So when they're brought into the classroom, he finds a seat and quiets as the history lesson begins. It might be odd from the students' viewpoint. He's definitely NOT a student-- he sticks out far too much. He's male, first off. Then there's the 'techno-samurai' look. And then the long purple hair.

But yes. History lesson. He listens, making sure to record it on his internal recording software. He's a singing android, so of course he has ways to do that. He blinks when the talk of the White Knight and its capabilities comes up. And he snickers a bit at Xiaomu's not-to-subtle statement, though he's polite enough to put a hand over his mouth. Kazuko's question gets a thoughtful look. "Ah, I'm glad I don't G-LOC." No blood means no loss of circulation! Though, that said, he might actually overheat if the water in his cooling systems run into trouble with the Gs...

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason has a good deal to take in and the Levitani is actually recording things with her mphone should she need to referance it later. She pauses for a momentand tilts her head looking at this and she just peers.

"That many nations had that shoddy security over WMDs? Are you kidding me?"

She seems stunned and honestly afraid about this. STill the rest of it was curious about things here and there was a lot to dig into.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Mairead smiles and hides a chuckle as she listens to the comments before Yamada begns again.

    "Actually, the White Knight IS was capable of generating a nigh invulnerable shield barrier, 100% optical camouflage, hyper-sonic speeds and capable pulling off high G maneuvers while seemingly unaffected by gravity induced blackout/red-outs and also space flight," she adds as she looks. "The problem was, that no one knows who the hacker was, but was able to hack all the nations at the same time, and due to this incident, the Alaska Treaty was created on the rules of what an IS is able to do. Due to the way the White Knight handled modern weapons and vehicles. Countries are essentially prohibited from employing an IS in any kind of armed conflict. However, the possession of an IS as military-grade units are allowed, since they are the only means of deterring and defending against possible armed aggressions involving enemy IS'. All information and technology related to IS must be disclosed to the world and shared openly and any R&D is placed under the same restrictions upon its actual field-testing, but if the field-testing of newly-acquired technology is done inside IS Academy, the researchers/developers are allowed to keep their technology confidential. The exchanging of IS cores are prohibited under any circumstance. And lastly, Japan and its government are responsible for creating an integrated IS pilot training facility which is required to accept any and all admittance of pilot candidates from any foreign countries, provided they are endorsed by a legitimate government body or foundation. Thus, the Japanese government was forced to fund and maintain such a facility without any external support."

    Looking, she thinks as she ponders. "That is why the IS Academy was founded. The IS now at the IS Academy are the 2.5 to 3rd Generation and there are currently only 1 4th Generation IS and one 3.5 to 4th Generation IS," she comments. "Most are only now getting into 3rd Generation, so there is a lot of information we are still learning about IS'," and Mairead speaks up.

    "Additionally, each IS Core is the heart of an IS, they cannot be created by anyone except by Shinonono Tabane, and currently she is in hiding," she mentions. "Although I think she might be somewhere in Japan..." and she ponders before looking.

    "Currently, only Women are able to pilot IS' and there is no reason as to why, and with only a single boy being able to, it is hard to say. Due to this, a majority of the world have women in control of the countries, and the status right now, is men are more like servants than women were, at least here.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
"Whoa... So this is still pretty new stuff, then!" Kazuko comments with a curious tone, conveniently covering her doodles with her arms while leaning forward on her desk. She certainly sounds excited, even if she's still struggling to come up with a coherent question.

     She needs to at least try and sound a little smarter than she is if she wants to become a super robot magical girl, after all.

     "So is there some kinda test or something that people can take to pilot one of these? Maybe... One without having to study all the details first to see if someone's got good instincts? Or if they don't..."

     Kazuko gives Gakupo an intrigued look. "...G-LOC? Er. Whatever that means. Is that a thing to worry about when you're flying around?" She glances around at that last part, eventually settling back into her seat to take more notes.

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo quiets again, listening to this part of the explanation. He keeps quiet though, just recording, analyzing. A look at his eyes will note something interesting. The highlights of his eyes, usually there in a normal eye due to the light in a room, are... sweeping across his eyes from one side of the surface to the other. A 'loading' indicator maybe? He's still, but not frozen in place, so... what's he loading?

A lot of this he can understand, though he keeps his opinions about it to himself. It's not his place to say anything. It works for them, right? But he does note, "I understand why she's still in hiding. Poor woman; if one of the countries were to get their hands on her they'd use her to gan an unfair advantage over the others. That's how it always works, hm?"

Kazuko's question gets a look. He blinks, not expecting it. "Er... G-LOC is 'G-force induced loss of consciousness'," he explains. "Go fast enough or turn hard enough in an aircraft and it's hard to get the blood to circulate like it's supposed to. There's so much pressue it pushes the blood down out of your head. It's like getting put in a chokehold. Very unpleasant."

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason listens abotu thie White Night and titls her head a bity at the specs there's something curious about that given space, is an thing that has been impossible for her people to get to even with how their magic works. Yamada is doing a good job of sumamrizing but a question is why was japan targeted in the first place it's something to look into and there's a tilt of the head.

"So one male who is able to use it? Does he have a genitic disorder of some sort that the technology might read him as female?"

She's a bit direct but she is a magitech engineer and that makes her try to pick things apart like this.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"*That* can't have gone over well with the hidebound patriarchy," Xiaomu remarks at the fact of overall control having flipped from men to women. "How much upheaval did that generate, or did it go more smoothly than I'm imagining?"

It also seems unlikely that Japan took its 'obligation' to host the IS Academy without some degree of kicking and screaming. Still, the Academy is here, it's even connected directly to the mainland of Tokyo, so whatever hard feelings might have originally been engendered, it certainly seems like they've been swept under the rug - or, perhaps, legitimately resolved over time.

"So if nobody is allowed to use IS tech to launch an attack, what's the technology actually getting used for?" is the sage fox's other big question. "I mean, training to defend against an IS whose pilot doesn't care about the treaties is one thing, but are they actually getting used for spaceflight, construction work, deep-sea research, anything?"

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato is here, being oddly silent for the Admiral. Light scribbling noises could be heard as she writes down notes to everything being said, taking peeks up to make sure she is still following all conversations.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Nodding,Mairead looks, "Aye," she states. "Its like firing a gun and the bullet does a 90 degree turn without any lost of speed or anything," she adds. "IS' can travel at sub-sonic speeds, and some can get up to Mach 1 speeds, but they must have adaptor packs on them to do that," as Lyria asks a question.

    Yamada responds, "No idea as to why, and there has been a number of tests. As to why Japan, it is hard to say, possibly due to the IS was created by someone from Japan, which is also why Japan is the home of the IS Academy and was not directly involved in the White Night Incident," and she thinks. "There is a possiblity that the IS he has remembers that his sister was its pilot and that he has similar DNA, but it is hard to say and even Shinonono Tabane does not know why he can pilot an IS,"a nd Mairead adds in.

    "Basically, there could be an issue that the IS Cores are AI's and as they learn per engagement and adjust to the pilot, they are able to understand what is needed and help their pilot out." Looking at Xiaomu, "They have like what the Olympics are but using IS' and the winner is consideered the strongest IS Pilot in the world. They also have a race called the Cannonball where new technology is used with IS' to see how they work in compitation. Mostly, the IS was designed for space explorationa dn they can still be that way, but are now used as the wild card for countries. massed produced IS' are sold and used in everything from protection of shipments to special forces of the military. As to the switching of power, it is hard for some, as most are still in the mindset that men are better than women, but it depend sont he country. Since Women can pilot IS' it gave them the ace up the sleeve. The IS Academy is ran by Juuzou-sama here and she is very nice. Although I think her husband helps in the running as well, but I have only met her once." Mairead states as she smiles. "Additionally, all of you will get to pilot an IS, and it can be a little overwhelming at first. Testing is hard, as only the best can make it and even if others get in, there is a slim possiblity of getting a personal IS," she adds.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko listens intently to Gakupo's explanation, nodding a few times with a knowing look in her eyes. "Or like those times.... Aaah, okay! I get it~" She sounds rather proud of herself for some reason. Has she experienced it herself before?

     Xiaomu's question actually seems to be getting the martial artist to perk up a bit, too, and she's fully awake when Yamada starts explaining the other uses for the IS's! At least... She's awake for the first part, anyway. By the time she starts talking about politics and power dynamics, Kazuko's already starting to slump in her seat again.

     Thankfully, the teacher says the magic words just in time, and the brunette's back up at the mention of getting to pilot one of those suits. "Ooh! Yay~ We'll be careful, but I bet we could do all sorts of cool stuff in 'em once we figure out how they work...!"

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato makes a loud humming sound as she considers all the possibilities. "This would greatly increase my opeational range..." she mutters, tapping the pencil gently. Perhaps something is going through her head about all of this that gives a slight smirk to the Admiral. "Of course. I am used to training drills and saftey is of utmost concern..."

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo nods once, to the mention of the one male's sister having piloted the IS first. "Ah. That makes sense. Has he ever tried to pilot another one? Or only his sister's IS?" Because that seems like it'd be a good 'process of elimination' way of figuring it out. Besides that, if it is hereditary, male pilots could be 'phased in' via 'inheriting' their female relatives' IS.

He looks utterly disgusted at the mention of the attitudes that people still have, despite the change of power. "Bleh, I cannot abide baseless prejudice," he replies. Though before he can get going too much on that, the mention of the Elites trying out the IS comes up. And he blinks. "I don't know if I'd even work with them. I'm not human," he confesses. "I'm an android. And male on top of that." Even if he looks mighty pretty for a dude, his voice is pretty clearly male. Though a lot of his systems mimic the human body. Would it be enough? Only time would tell, he supposes.

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason says "Humm the sister of a previous pilot? I see I wonder were they twins?"

Lyris is curious and she'l lookinto it later, but that's her last wuestion on the subject she pauses for a moment at the mention of AI and that ralises an eyebrow huh that could explain a few thingsbutshe'd have to do resarch on that.

"Given how rare they are you can't afford to have a half keeled pilot, can you?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu nods slowly at the answer to her question about what else the IS currently gets used for. Basically, contests to show off whose pilots and/or whose technology works the best in real-world situations ... which still isn't really using the technology for what it was seemingly meant for.

But questions do seem to keep popping up. "Hang on a second," Xiaomu says, sitting up straighter. "You said there's only a limited number of IS cores in existence, and only one person who knows how to make them. So what's this about 'mass-produced IS'? Are they suits of armor without that critical, almost-unique core, or do they just mass-produce IS to use the cores that've been alloted, or so they have a suit ready in case any more cores get handed out?"

Not that Xiaomu isn't looking forward to trying an IS out for herself - that's why she came out here, after all! - but she does keep wondering about these little side questions that cross her attention.

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Grinning, Mairead comments, "Its interesting, as it just takes touching an IS and you learn everything in a matter of moments on what the IS has like you have spent years learning," and she looks as Yamada smiles and bows, "May apologies Yamada-sensei," she states. Yamada looks, "The IS Academy has 6 battle arenas where training, class representative tournaments and duels are held. each arena is protected by a energy shields that can stop and a massive energy weapon from breaking through. However, it is possible, just it would take a lot of energy to break it and only Byakushiki is bale to break through the shield due to the design of its primary weapon."

    Yamada looks at Gakupo as she comments, "All can try and being an Android, you might be more close to an IS and could control an IS better than anyone else. If I am correct in understanding, You look like a male and have male features and mannerism. But we have nothing liek you here and so it is a first. Due to this, there are some R&D reps here to see if the possiblity of others using an IS, and if so may open up to more research into IS. We never tried having him use another IS, but it might work, and if so would, like you said Kamui-sama," and she nods, "Once at the Academy, the pilot of an IS who has a personal IS can decide on what they do, since none of the countries have any say in what happens here. All students are more or less non-national students till they are done with school here, which is 3 years. After that, it is up to their home countries what they do with them," she adds. "The testing is done to make sure they are right for what they are to do, besides piloting a massed produced IS, they are tested with everything from psychological to any dieases to ..." and she shrugs.

    "Mass produced IS are those that are manufactured and the cores are copies of an original. As no one has tried to recreate an IS core, since it would involve taking it apart, the chance of getting damaged is a big worry. So the R&D is able to figure out how they work and copy them," and she thinks. "Sor of like cloaning the original. They are IS Cores, but not IS Cores," she says. "Think of an IS Core as a hard drive of a computer and the computer is the IS. As the computer gets better and advanced, they can move the hard drive to the new computer. But if they want to make more than one computer with all the same specs as the original, they need to copy it and so that is what the mass produced IS' are, copies of originals," and she looks at Mairead. "Mairead, come here," and Miread walks to the front of the class.

    "Mairead has her IS with her at all times and can summon it whenever she ants. Each IS is in a standby mode and for personal IS they take on some form of jewelry or somethign else for the pilot," and Mairead holds up her left, that has a green ring on the index finger. Looking at Yamada, she nods and Mairead thinks and the ring glows than her body is covered in light and Mairead's IS appears. "For me, my IS is the ring on my finger," and she looks. "If there is a new IS built for me, it will be brought to the IS Academy and the IS Core of Emerald Lady will be transplanted to the new IS," and she looks as she opens a port and a small orb is shown glowing and pulsing in its housing before Mairead closes it. "Each IS Core learns from the pilot and situation and they are picky, some will not accept new weapons and others will, so it is completely hit and miss on what they will and will not take."

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
"... You're a robot?!" Kazuko sounds legitimately surprised as she looks Gakupo over, a thoughtful hum leaving the girl as she nods a few moments later. "That explains the smell, I guess."

     Seemingly satisfied with that explanation, Kazuko looks towards Mairead as she demonstrates with her IS, an awed 'ooooh' leaving her while she sits at attention. All the history and complex computer talk might have gone over her head, but applications and visuals aren't something she can easily glaze over! Not that she'd want to, of course, especially since she's taking notes... By doodling? Always.

     "So you've gotta get the right fit at the start, then... Is that the same with the mass-produced ones?"

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Ahhhh," Xiaomu nods at the explanation. "So it's like a vintage Famicom compared to one of those Chinese-made retro reconstructions, then. The Shinonono-made cores are the genuine article, but other countries can figure out enough to make cheap knockoffs." She folds her arms, nodding slowly with an air of satisfaction.

... at least, up until Mairead transforms.

Cue the nearly-subliminal squeeing again; it's all Xiaomu can do to actually stay in her seat, and NOT get all over Mairead and Emerald Lady trying to look at them more closely. She knows how to be polite!

... she just doesn't always bother going to the extra trouble. But today, she does. She doesn't want to waste the day so far by getting banned from the Academy for getting overly inquisitive about somebody else's custom IS!

Gakupo Kamui (686) has posed:
Gakupo nods to Yamada's reponse. "That's true," he agrees. "The more different types can use an IS, the more information can be gotten about them. And the more information, the more likely it is that they can be figured out. The appearance of Mairead's IS gets a surprised look. But much like Xiaomu, he too is examining the suit with interest. From afar, of course.

He looks to Kazuko at her question. "An android, actually," he clarifies. "There's a... well, an admittedly academic difference between the two. But yes, I'm an android." A smile. "Also explains the voice, hm?" It does have a synthesized sound to it.

Nagato has posed:
    Mairead's transformation is nothing new to the Admiral, looking slightly nonplussed about it all. "It is still impressive to see the Emerald Lady. Her capabilities far exceeded my expectations." Nagato grins a bit more at this, looking at two of the ones present. "Imagine flying throughthe air in one of those, mayne I can lear how and get my experience from ALO in the real world."

Mairead Sandilands has posed:
    Yamada nods, "In a sense yes, but the massed produced IS are equal to the original, although there are some slight differences. An those that manufacture the IS' decide on how they look and what they have. The Rafale Revive Basic manufacture by the Dunois Enterprise is the third most selling MP IS. We have some here in addition to the Uchigane, Japans' MP IS. the difference between the Rafale and the Uchigane is the Rafale is designed as either close combat, medium range or long range and the Uchigane is close combat and looks liek an armored samuari," and Mairead nods, "I like the Uchigane , but the Rafale is also good too," and her IS disappears and she returns to her IS Uniform. "Emerald Lady is based off the Rafale but each country has different designs." (OOC: there are 3 other companies tha tmanufacte MP IS' but they have not been shown in the Light novel or the anime yet.)

    "Right now, Japan, France and Italy build mass produced IS'" (OOC: there are 1 or 2 other countries, I just cannot remember who they are.) Yamada looks, "I can tell you that if these tests work with members of the Union who are from different worlds, that there amybe more mass produced IS' available based on the way they are made," she adds as the lights turn on. "Now, we will settle for some lunch at the caferita and then got o the Battle Arena's to see some of the third years to duel and let you all try out either the Uchigane or the Rafale IS." and Mairead nods and opens the door.

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason says "I see so this handles a lot like combat aircraft in terms of role then?"

her world uses airships and various fighter craft as well she gets the ghiost of how the IS units re being deployed. At the mention of food Lyria brightens that's certainly a way to learn a lot about a new culture, how they ate and what they ate. She'll follow along now seemingly in good spirits.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Lunchtime already? "Time really does fly when you're having fun," Xiaomu remarks (mostly to herself). Her first choice from the cafeteria is probably going to be inarizushi, or something else with fried tofu; however, she's not above checking out how the local mapo tofu comes out. It should be spicy enough to tingle but not enough to make the unwary customer breathe fire.

And while the group is eating, she studies Gakupo. "So, an actual android, huh ... ? Seems to me like you blend in with people pretty well, or am I on the wrong track somehow?"

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
"France, too? I wonder if there's a Canadian IS builder, then..." Kazuko murmurs to herself as she follows everyone through the door, looking more and more excited with each passing moment. It's almost time to try the IS's instead of just hearing about them, so of course she's going to be excited!

     First things first, though: Sampling this new school's food! A lot can be learned about a school through their food, and Kazuko's not going to turn down this chance. She'll join the others at the table with a heaping pile of vegetables and THE BIGGEST MEAT or a sampling of every type of meat, really.

     She's also going to be putting it down fairly quickly. "Androids are... Uh... Oh! People with robot parts in them? Or on them...?"