Open RP Thread: Ground Control to Major Tom

[lugged-nut.livejournal.com]

Who: RED and BLU Soldiers + audience? maybe
When: 5/19, 0600 hours
Where: The Vault

At six AM sharp that morning, however reluctantly, the former RED Engineer trudged across the hard-packed earth toward the Vault. His helmet straps jounced listlessly against his unshaven cheeks. Only half his collar was turned up. The other half sagged listlessly against his shoulder, along with the butt of his rocket launcher. He had to pause periodically to rub his eyes, with the air of somebody who dearly wished he hadn't skipped his morning coffee in his haste to get dressed.

But he was there, he figured, despite the fact that he could barely see the ground in front of him. And at this hour, that was what counted, right?

Letting out an impressive yawn, he rounded the last corner and glanced around for his teacher, all but certain the lunatic BLU had made it there before him.

Comments

[lugged-nut.livejournal.com]

Sid took a deep breath. He tried his best to attend to what Soldier was saying, but the thought of the incoming explosion had the soles of his feet tingling already. When the other man promptly blasted off, the light and the sudden sound had him flinching reflexively back. He only realized as the other man was descending that he hadn't been looking at his feet at all.

Chest tight with dread and anticipation, he tried to shift his feet apart, pointing the muzzle of the launcher down clumsily and thumbing the safety off. "Y'want me t'-- try 'n do it, or?" he asked the ground lamely.

[rocketsredglare]

Soldier glared.

"No, I want you to stand there and look... sparkly," he grunted, giving the healing beam a snort. He learned without a Medic holding his hand. Or someone to explain it to him.

"Yes, maggot, I want you to try! T MINUS FIVE SECONDS, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! LIFTOFF, CRAFT FAIR!"

[lugged-nut.livejournal.com]

The former Engineer made a small, terrified choking noise in the back of his throat and fired his launcher to hide it. The rocket detonated at his feet, the blast propelling him a few feet in the air and turning the lower half of his uniform into a charred and smoking mess. He hit the ground a few moments later, clumsily, and promptly stumbled backwards into the Medic.

"Shit --" He grit his teeth against further curses, lurching forward again and promptly stumbling to his knees. He hadn't even tried to jump. At least his legs were intact, he thought. The fact that they felt like they were on fire was probably a good sign.

He coughed out a sob and looked up at his teacher, chagrined and a little afraid.

[pocketdok.livejournal.com]

Niklaus knew the drill for this situation all too well, instinctively shifting the beam onto the BLU to patch him up while he gave Sid a few last pointers.

He flinched as the RED Soldier's first attempt of the morning turned out to be a sloppy one as it sent him flailing upward, keeping his gun trained on him, and braced himself when he came back to earth and into him. He would only grunt as he caught him with his shoulder, the beam bending around as he turned.

Yup. This was going to be a long morning, he thought as he sighed and watched poor Sid trip clumsily.

[rocketsredglare]

Soldier regarded the crumpled and charred excuse for a fellow Soldier at his feet.

"Your legs are still on. And you got a couple feet in the air." Having never tried to teach rocketjumping, Soldier had no frame of reference, but he figured that Sid hadn't taken his bottom half off this time was an improvement. He held out a hand to help Sid back on his feet.

"Come on, walk it off and try again, Sidney Beans."

[lugged-nut.livejournal.com]

The unfamiliar sound of grudging praise relaxed a little of the tension in the Soldier's shoulders. He accepted the hand up, blinking a little in surprise at the sound of his name. "Sorry," he mumbled, getting to his feet again. At least the Medigun had soothed away most of the pain from his feet.

He wanted badly to remark on the way Soldier had said his name, and stared at him curiously for a moment more before concluding that maybe it was a bad idea to put the guy on the spot like that. "S'ere somethin' else I oughta be doin'? T'like -- I dunno, get higher up or somethin'?"

Does it always hurt like that? he wanted to ask, but he suspected maybe Soldier would like that question less.

[rocketsredglare]

"You could try jumping," Soldier told him. "Try to think of it as one action. You shoot and jump in the same move."