I disagree, we should be encouraging her to learn in the classical sense, and letting her take as many of these classes as are held. That same acute awareness will come more naturally to her if she has a broader understanding of the world, and a classical education offers that.

And we should be offering any brand of normalcy we can. Why not? What is it costing her? It won't soften her, and just shutting off any attempt at it is going to alienate her eventually. Cyborgs don't seem perfectly stable.

>>377485
> siiting back and watching movies
Maybe you read it diffeent than I, but the movie lesson consisted of watching with the task to compare two different makes of the same story and compare them with each other and the book they are based on. And work out what those differences do to the story, respectively how they are achieved. That's not sitting back. That's something we want her to be able to do. We want her to be able to use the same facts to spin a different interpretation and we want her to be able to take an interpretation and extract the facts from it.

>tutoring regime from hell
Unless you think depth makes up for breadth, I don't, whatever time we 'save' from not sending her to the lessons, we will have to spend teaching her ourselves and we will have to spend time to research what we teach her. I also think all 'normal' lessons combined remain less than 10 hours a week, which I think we can accept.
I think it better to check Hillshire's lessons and if necessary make suggestions for things we want to add. I don't think Hillshire will ignore a well reasoned suggestion.

>We work for a black ops agency that will literally murder us if we try to leave. We should not be bringing random friends into this without approval.
We know bringing firends in can bring us in trouble with the director. And clearly we should ask before we bring them in. But I don't think the Ministry has people aside from other Handlers we want in prolonged contact with Scylla. Why do you think they take outsiders as Handlers? I think because the long-time Ministry people cannot see the girl in the cyborg and treat them accordingly.

Another problem I see is that the classes are one of the major bonding opportunities outside of ops. Scylla and we won't always sent on ops on our lonesome. IIRC no more than half the missions will be for only one Fratellos.

There is another issue I see with your course of doing everything ourselves. We, James Artioum, are on probation here as well. We aren't a trusted longtime operative on the Ministry. Focusing Sylla as exclusively on us with as few bonds and contacts to other cyborgs as you seem to desire will not be seen with friendly eyes in the Ministry. If we are lucky we will get a warning from Jean first. If we aren't, James Artioum will really disappear and Scylla gets reconditioned.

>>377485
upvoting everything.

Also, we need to talk to our superiors for scientific collection of statistical data on education types in relation to memory loss due to the speculation and the fact it is actively being done by the others. This should be scientific.
Furthermore I would think a greater aspect of this is the conditioning drugs, what amounts did the two cyborgs in question take compared to each other? Can the dose be lowered? Are there alternatives for girls with enhancements? Talk to the scientists working on that aspect.

You chuckle "Now, we walk around the city, and you observe." pausing for drama, you snark "And I answer a lot of questions."

Scyllas face lights in a half grin, her eyes slightly twinkling with mirth as she replies "I cant help that you only tell me about what I ask about" as you begin to lead her into the tourist district.

Shaking your head you reply "Only because I can barely keep up with your questions normally. Now, how was Hillshires lesson, how did he run the class?"

Scylla pauses to think, before responding "He started by outlining the novel for Elsa, Bice and I... and maybe Rico, she looked confused. THen we watched the first film, it was the first take on the novel and done in 1952, it was... boring to me." Scylla pauses again, watching a gaggle of excited high-schoolers walk past surreptitiously... save for breaking conversation, before continuint "He then allowed us to discuss the film, amongst ourselves, and finish our notes before the second film was played. It was a cartoon version of the story from the late 80's." she pauses again, this time to breathe, before adding "It was stupid. After another break for discussion, and a meal, we watched a recent release of the story... which barely stayed true to the book, according to what the other girls said during our third discussion session."

again Scylla breaks conversation to watch a couple at a restaurant, and sniff at the air. So you correct her "Keep talking as you observe, and do your best to hide the smelling. It makes you stand out, which could be disastrous."

Your cyborg nods, before finishing "Then we wrote our papers and Hillshire set to grading them. He said that the next assignment from him was going to be a group project in class... something about a playwright called Shakespeare." Again she pauses to breathe before adding "It was an interesting story, and I wouldnt mind reading the book... but the collection of Greek myths I borrowed from Claes will be more interesting, I think. will I be allowed to continue to attend the classes?"

You ponder for a bit as Scylla continues to observe, looking more and more strained to keep up with everything around her in the increasingly crowded tourist district "Perhaps. The discussions, how involved was Hillshire?"

Scylla shrugs, her nose lingering in the direction of a French bistro you pass, her eyes barely furrowing, and face falling a bit "He kept us on pace, and took his own notes. Mostly when the girls who had read the book were being general about its details with main plot points. He did prompt more conversation when we ran out of things to talk about, but that was it."

You nod, and begin to fall into the familiar routine of answering the increasingly overwhelmed Scyllas questions as you walk. The scents and sounds of different foods, how couples are acting, if pairs even are couples... the stream is almost endless. Well after sunset both your and your cyborgs grumbling stomachs lead you to a small cafe straddling the increasingly deserted tourist district. Scylla is generally able to spot couples as opposed to pairs of friends, as well as leaders in larger groups, but prediction and mood reading are still mostly beyond her at this point. "James, how do I know if a pair that looks like a couple really is a couple, and where are we going next?"

You smirk "That will come with experience, but as a rule of thumb, if they dont look much like a couple until they notice that they are being watched, that is a good tell." You incline your head to a couple, as you ponder how to spend the rest of the night. Scyla taps her pointer and middle finger together on the table, then blinks her right than left eye, a simple sign the two of you had developed over the day that simply translates to couple, in disagreement. You agree with her, and nod at the increasingly less overwhelmed girl. she had seemed ready to burst for a while, but, now that the sun is but a memory, and the Roman nightlife is beginning she seems ready for more of this mental exercise.

A clamor from a few blocks down signifies what is likely the first of many fights to spill out of the bars on this Saturday night. Whether its just friends working out a disagreement or a serious brawl, you cant be sure, but you know for a fact that Scylla would not be able to tell even if she saw yet. You sip at your water to buy yourself a bit more time to think, and to shield yourself from Scyllas response-starved gaze.

I'm... not sure. Do we really want to make her fight in a real brawl so early in the training?

A compromise might be as follows: relocate to a bar, wait for a fight, then make Scylla point out fighters' mistakes. Of course, if the fight comes too close to you, she has permission to defend herself (and maybe you too).

>>378933
I don't think Scylla will be allowed inside a bar. Probably batter to go to a cafè or restaurant and watch the fights as they spill on the streets. That would also be an opportunity to let Scylla watch police breaking up a brawl.

>>378952
upvotey

this would also be a good example to explain to her different kinds of fights. from friends working out disparagement's to serous brawls, as well as let her see how one breaks up a fight without killing anyone.

>>378601
There's a lot of night ahead of us. It's not unreasonable to think that Scylla will be called on to do urban jobs during the night hours, so we should be planning to stay out until maybe three in the morning here so that she gets a good sense of the city well into the nighttime. We'll have to come out here shortly after midnight sometime so that we can watch the city wake up and go into morning and from there to afternoon.

Scylla's definitely not ready to do any actual fighting right now, but we can observe fights and point out things about them- notes on how serious they are, how drunk the participants are, and important external items as well- police response if we can see it, the reactions of spectators, the amount of attention that the noise of fighting attracts.

There are plenty of other aspects of night life that she needs to know and recognize, though. Look at how the sounds of the city change, how traffic patterns shift, how the sort of people on the street and the moods of those people shift with the hour. Watch the restaurants close until only the bars are open. Watch police cars if we see any and look at what they do.

I guess the gist of this is just "keep watching, answering questions, and pointing out things that might not immediately occur to Scylla". Consider buying the both of you coffee as the hour gets late; preferably good coffee out of deference to her sensitive sense of taste. She won't be learning much if she's falling asleep.

After your meals are finished, you announce to your cyborg "And now, we watch how a city looks at night. Note the differences, observe the fights, and stay awake until we leave for the SWA compound."

Scylla nods, and follows you, a bit closer than earlier in the day, as you descend deeper into the main run of bars and nightclubs frequented by the locals. By the time you find a decent all night cafe, with a good view of a few bars, Scylla is more relaxed, and has been watching the city at night for the better part of an hour. Passing a third friendly scuffle, Scylla asks "Are all civilians such terrible fighters?"

You smirk, surprised that she noticed so quickly "No, those are just friends settling their diferences. Notice that they tend to stay together after things are broken up, and hardly throw any proper punches."

Scylla nods "Shoving and shouting, nothing that will incapacitate or injure in the long term." You hear what is coming next as you are about to pass the last bar between yourself and your target cafe.

Scylla doesn't, and is nearly bowled over when the man is hurled through the window. A few seconds later, the cursing, bleeding Frenchmen is accosted by a very angry looking German, by stereotypical German standards at that, wielding a broken bottle of what looks to be Jack Daniels. A few moments later a few more men, mostly French and Germans spill through the doors or the broken windows. Must be an argument over a soccer match, you muse to yourself, as you almost hypocritically mumble "Fucking tourists." while guiding Scylla past the brawl. Once you reach the cafe, you ask the cyborg "I take it you noticed the difference between that and the other fights?"

Scylla giggles "Yes I did. I take it thats what we are going to do from here?"

You nod, while ordering a pot of coffee. Once the waitress leaves, you add "Here come the police. I want you to observe this, and the other peoples reaction to the whole scene. After that, watch the diner, and the streets for more fights."

The cyborg nods, not even noticing the coffee on the table until the entire ordeal is over. Blinking a few times upon turning to face you, she asks "Whats in the pot?"

"Coffee, it helps keep you awake. We have creme, sugar and milk at the table too, if you dislike the taste." Much to your surprise, Scylla likes her coffee black, and strong.

-----

The next morning it is a very groggy looking Scylla that greets you outside her room. The two of you had stayed out to nearly last call the night before. Your little cyborg did much better learning the manerisms of drunks and night owls than she did people by day. Judging by her observations of the locals, you wouldnt be surprised if she could blend in to the nightlife already. Yawning, she asks you "Are we going to have more close combat and sensory training this morning, or will we join the other cyborgs for the morning on the firing range the other handlers planned?"

Not quite sure yourself yet, you ask her back "Why are you out of your room already, and how did you hear about that?"

She shrugs "I wasnty tired, and Elsa kept throwing things at me for making too much noise with the constructor set you gave me. Then at the light when I tried to read. She was quite worried about disappointing Lauro this morning. Something about him expecting her to outperform Rico from the long range tower."

I can't see any harm in another round at the firing range at this point. Scylla did quite well last time as well, and we want to keep encouraging her to be competitive, since it tends to drive her to hone her skills.

Besides which, lets be honest... close combat and sensory awareness are fantastic tools, but she needs to be able to shoot people, it's going to come up in the job, regularly. All the time, really. It is the job.

So yeah, lets head to firing range and involve her. At the very least she'll get to see these other cyborgs competing.

Yeah, go to the range. Don't enter any contests though, Scylla's performance is subpar now.

>>380016
Go to the range. See how much lack of sleep impacts her performance; that'll be good to know. Maybe have afternoon naps and shift the rest of the day's training to the evening if the morning doesn't go well.

I don't know how much we'll actually see the other cyborgs if they're playing around at long range and we're still focused on close to medium range, but eh, Scylla needs to focus on what's important to her chosen methods and not get distracted by unnecessary conformity or competition.

If a convenient moment comes up with the other handlers, mention that you're wondering what the regulations are on letting the cyborgs associate with people outside the organization. Is there a "anyone who knows anything must die" policy in place here, do they not really care as long as in our judgment as a handler there won't be crazy security leaks over it, or something in between? We need to learn the rules here before we make our move to get Scylla a better knife trainer and getting the information informally from another handler would be somewhat more comfortable than our other options.

>See how much lack of sleep impacts her performance; that'll be good to know.

That seems me a tad risky on a full range. I think it would be better to test that on an empty range. Scylla already nearly had an accident her first time on the range.

How about taking her to the range, but not to shoot, but to watch. Give her a little list of tricks to keep awake, like drinking much, or being physically active. Then give her a light duty task like writing a protocol of everyone's hits or counting fired shoots by caliber and person. You will do the same thing. Afterwards you compare.

You smirk "The range I think. You may not have the long range skills to compete with Elsa and Rico, but that doesn't mean you cant see how they do."

Scylla yawns, as her stomach growls "Can we get some breakfast first, none of the others wont be on the range right away either."

Shakeing your head you reply "Come along then, lets eat first."

Scylla isnt ravenous as she eats, though the cyborg does go through two mugs of coffee, much to the shock of the cafeteria workers, as well as Hillshire and Triella, both of whom were already eating when you arrive at the cafeteria "You actually like that stuff?" Triella asks when your cyborg returns with her second cup. Scylla nods, and offers Triella her mug. The older girl takes a tentative sip, making a disgusted "bleh" after the black fluid passes her lips.

Shrugging Scylla accepts her cup back, and returns to her eggs "How did your outing last night go?" Hillshire asks, attempting to start some conversation.

You smile "Well. Scylla isnt ready to be fighting yet, but her observational skills are improving greatly."

Triella frowns "So, you just spent all night watching things."

Nodding again you reply "Its very important to be aware, especially of when a mark may be imitating something as a cover."

"Or when you are being followed as you follow them." Scylla adds, before leaning over, looking at your watch, and adding "Or when its time to go to the shooting range." before downing the rest of her mug and standing, plate cleared, face awake and eager.

Triella grins and imitates her cyborg counterpart, as you and Hillshire shovel your last few bites down and follow suit.

-----

The range is a cacophony of gunshots and noise. Scylla and Henrietta plugging away with their smgs, Trielas K&K G3 adding a lower pitched thrumming to the hiss of the smgs, and whine of Beatrice's pistol. All of it accented by alternating, deafening cracks as one of the girls in the tower above and behind you fire, obliterating a target.

Hillshire and yourself are both a few steps back from your cyborgs, close enough to observe, while Jose and Bernardo both standing just over their cyborgs shoulders, instructing them as they practice. "So, Scylla works best without supervision too then?" Hillshire asks as the cyborg in question handily switches from target to target, weapon set to automatic fire, though each pull of the trigger is a perfect 3 shot burst on a separate target.

You shake your head "No, she is simply comfortable with her weapon and task. If she needs help, or doesnt know something she deeps important, she asks me" you reply.

"Hard to tell I would imagine, she hardly ever talks, and her face isnt exactly expressive." Hillshire replies neatrally.

You shrug "You just need to know what to look for with her. Her face is just barely in a frown, her eyes have a hint of a glint. Shes concentrating, hard."

Hillshire nods "So what exactly are you training her to specialize in? I know that she is taking lessons in stealth and sensory awareness, as well as the specialization in close range weapons your giving her and hand to hand combat. Infiltration and assassination, or do you have something else in mind?"

Before you can answer, one of the snipers bullets strikes one of the abandoned cars off to the far outside of the range. Judging by the fireball the vehicle becomes, she hit the gas tank. and judging by Scyllas startled half-leap and shout, she may have been focusing too much on what was directly down range.

Yes, Infiltration, including extractions, and Assassination/Sabotage are the main directions of her specialization. And as a sideline spotter, perimeter control and pursuit, since they use most of the same skills.

Not sure what to say on the range currently, aside from 'Don't forget your environment and allies when concentrating on a target'.

In general training, I want to advance the stealth training to the grass and wood of the forest outside the Institute. To prepare for that a senses lesson, similar to the one for the city we did last day, is in order.

Otherwise I want to introduce Scylla to lock picking and cat burglary soon. Not necessarily this or next week, but once her shooting is somewhat better for sure. If getting people for armed close combat takes a while, breaking and entering skills might fill the time.

Continue senses, dirty fighting and marksgirl training. Making her familiar with explosive in her senses, smelling and hearing. Smelling various explosives before and after detonation, listening to different types of bombs/explosions.

>>369174
Was this supposede to be Gunslinger rather then Qunslinger?
Also as far as I can tell there is neither wiki page nor questdis thread, so I will create them... as soon as I know the proper quest name

>>382656
In addition to all this there are things we are training her which we should NOT say outloud.
Namely Intelligence (spying on people) & counter-intelligence/internal security (spying on our employers and co-workers specifically)

Also, I think we should talk to the medical staff later on and ask for a comparison of cyborg mental degeneration rates to their conditioning drugs, and what happens to them if they are using lower then recommended dosage of conditioning drugs while having augmentations (remember that each aug increases conditioning drug level by 1 automatically. I want to know why).

>Namely Intelligence (spying on people)
Actually, the Ministry has a whole branch dedicated to this. The spying on people Scylla and ourselves will have to do is more about confirming this is the meeting, which we were told to expect and whose participants we are to disappear or rob.

>including extractions
Items, yes. People, no.

>Assassination/Sabotage
Focused more on the assassination than the sabotage. But combining is acceptable because placing a bomb is placing a bomb regardless of what it is supposed to destroy.

>>382883
>Actually, the Ministry has a whole branch dedicated to this.
Of course they do, what does that have to do with what I said to warrant an "actually"?

yes, its supposed to be Gunslinger Girl. And on the topic of first post derps, I meant to say that it was Jean that brought you in, not Jose. Though I hope the presence of Rico made that fuck-up a bit more obvious, heh

You stifle a sigh, and reply "Yes, I plan for her to be an infiltration, assassination and sabotage. and extraction expert when her training is complete."

Hillshire nods "I imagine we will end up on quite a few missions then, since Triela and I seem to be sent on the most missions where little intelligence is available. And our girls seem to get along well enough on top of that."

Nodding in agreement as you watch Scylla collect herself and go back to shooting, you reply "You find the target, we make it disappear... I imagine our girls could make a strong team, if Trielas strengths compliment Scyllas well."

Grinning with a bit of pride, Hillshire replies "She can trail a target without being seen, then burst through their front door and either take them down or run them to ground quite reliably. Though I do have to reign her in when it comes to targets we need to question on occasion." he pauses to glance at both of your cyborgs as they silently practice, clearly noticing Scylla falling back into tunnel vision at the same time you do. "Since each fratellos first mission is a tandem with a more experienced team, we may be able to test how well the two work together at the end of the month, if you want to."

"Why me?" you ask as you begin to move towards Scylla.

Hillshire shrugs "Triela doesn't get along with Elsa, and I doubt applied explosives would be of much use on the sort of missions I normally get. A cell take-down with the Jose/Henrietta fratello would be a better use of what Bernardo is prepping Beatrice for in my opinion."

You simply nod by way of response, and move next to Scylla as she switches out clips "You need to keep your awareness when firing, Scylla. Just focusing on your gun-sights and whats downrange is a sure way to get yourself injured, or to put an ally in danger."

The girl nods "Sorry, it's just so hard to focus right now. I think I need more coffee."

Chuckling, you shake your head "The more caffeine you put in your system, the harder the crash is Scylla. And its addictive to boot."

As Scylla slams the fresh clip into the receiver, she asks "So, only with breakfast or during late missions then?"

You nod "That is generally when most people drink coffee, so yes. Now back to work Scylla, unless you have any questions, we can talk more at lunch." The little cyborg nods, shoulders her weapon, and goes back to practicing.

-----

After lunch, you take Scylla out to the secondary range, and she, for once, seems to be glad to be separated from Elsa and Rico, as the older cyborgs close victory over Scyllas roommate has them turning everything into a competition. You dont doubt that Lauros only comment to Elsa on the competition was "You were satisfactory. I had expected the more experienced cyborg to win, though I will expect you to win next time."

So, as Scylla wanders about the secondary outdoor range, doing her best to identify wrecks and what was used to detonate them, you ponder what you will work on tomorrow. On top of that, you have Hillshires proposition to consider, and you need to think out how to approach Lorenzo about getting a knife fighting trainer, and the doctors about the specifics of Conditioning. Luckily, Scylla is handily identifying every wreck, pile of rubble and crater as well as what made it, according to the list Bernardo gave you during lunch.

So, after congratulating Scylla once she successfully identifies the last item, you walk with her back to her room in a comfortable silence. Upon arrival, her daily report already done, your cyborg promptly collapses into her bed, asleep in her cloths from the day. With a few hours left before the office closes for the day, you have plenty of time to sign Scylla out for more sensory training in the field, and talk to the director and Doctors should you so choose. It's only a question of what order to approach the separate items on your mental to do list.

Talk first, let our girl get some sleep.

Talk to doctors first

Then director on whether they have (or are willing to bring in) some dedicated specialist teachers for the girls (to be shared by all cyborgs whose handlers show an interest).
Other potentials is not yet dead cyborgs who retired from active missions and the other trainers but it is better to have officially brought in dedicated trainers.

Don't take her out again tonight, she needs her sleep.

>>384506 This.

Sign Scylla out for afternoon(1400-ish) until early night(2300-ish) to go into the forest for tomorrow. Also reserve the urban assault course for weapons training.

Additionally a talk with Hillshire about Triela. I think Triela is mainly Assault focused, but I am not sure. Get correct information about Triela and organize a combined training. For the training lets just take one of Hillshire and Triela's past missions as base and change the places of gurads and objective around a bit. If I didn't miscount today is Sunday, so lets say on coming Thursday or Friday.

Since Scylla went early to bed after that short night, she should be up as early as usual tomorrow. Let's take her on the urban assault course with her guns and silencers. We will teach her sneaking with a weapon and silenced shooting. How to move and carry the gun to avoid extra noise. How load silenced really is in a building. How to react properly to surprise targets with pop-ups, which isn't always shoot it.

Suggestion 2012/02/08(Wed)09:16 No. 385276 ID: 1ec425
File 132872136663.jpg - (65.03KB , 450x696 , watchmen-poster-comedian.jpg )

Are we working from an existing universe here, because, uhh...You know. What the fuck?

Also is it cool if I imagine the Rico chick taking you out as a frame for frame reenactment of the opening scene from the Watchmen movie between Comedian and Ozymandias? Short of her tossing us out the thirteenth floor window, obviously.

>>385276
>Are we working from an existing universe here
Yes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunslinger_Girl
Recommend you start with the first TV series, the 2003 one animated by Madhouse

With Scylla fast asleep, you make your way over to the hospital wing to try to get some answers about the conditioning drugs. The walk is short, but is more than enough for you to get your thoughts in order on how you will phrase your questions and what you will ask once you get there. For the most part, the building is quiet. There is a small red light on over one of the testing rooms, silently requesting privacy, but that is the only closed door you see. None of the other labs, surgical units, or recovery rooms are closed off, though Angelica is patiently sitting in her bed in her room, reading a book. The cyborg looks up and waves to you as you pass on your way to the offices, most of which have their doors open as well. The sound of men and women tapping away at keyboards, or rutting through files is all that breaks the silence of the hallway, save your footsteps as you approach Dr. Bianchi's office.

While technically not the most knowledgeable doctor on the Conditioning process, his role as head doctor, and the primary psychiatrist for the cyborgs makes him the best choice to see if Hillshires argument on teaching the cyborgs has any credence. You knock on the doctors door-frame, and he looks up to ask "James, what a surprise, is something wrong with Scylla?" he asks, clearly surprised by your presence.

You shrug "No, I was just curious about the conditioning process, and the girls mental health and lifespan."

Bianchi chuckles "In short, you need to know more about the cybernization process." The doctor taps a few keys on his keyboard, closing whatever was open, and motions towards the empty seat in the corner of his office. "May as well take a seat, James."

Nodding, you drop into the seat, and ask "I take it you have had this conversation before then?"

Bianchi spins his computer chair around to face you, and replies "Yes, though Lauro hasnt stopped through yet. And the question on the worth of teaching the girls is not as common. I would like to start there, but without the rest of what I'm going to tell you my hypothesis wont make any sense." he pauses to reach behind his back to grab the bottle of water on his desk, and takes a drink. "As I'm sure you know, very little of the cyborgs remains natural. They have sub-dermal armor, as well as thickened skin, artificial livers, enhanced lungs... I could go on for nearly an hour listing what we change in them, what we add, but all you really need to know is that the changes are extensive, and their results. Of course, none of these additions are natural to the human body, so certain drugs are needed to prevent the immune system from attacking what we added."

"So, the primary purpose of the conditioning drugs is to prevent rejection of what you added to the girls to make them cyborgs?" you ask, making sure you understand clearly.

"One of two purposes, yes." the doctor responds "The other main purpose is the mental side of keeping the cyborgs functional. Which means both keeping those memories we removed suppressed, as I'm sure your aware, said memories are traumatic at best, though more realistically, could induce suicide quite easily."

Nodding in understanding, you add "Plus keeping them loyal to both the Agency and their handlers." you pause to choose your words, and continue "Though, I am curios as to why enhancing a cyborgs senses increases their level of conditioning."

"Simply put, without the conditioning drugs injected first, surgical anesthetics are unable to affect the cyborgs. A large dose is the minimum for most invasive surgeries, and something as sensitive as ocular, olfactory or aural enhancement even more so. The level of conditioning is increased as a result of the massive amount of the Conditioning drugs needed to complete such a procedure." Bianchi explains, looking almost bored with the conversation.

"Then, if these drugs are necessary for maintaining the cyborgs, how is it that they can be so harmful to them, and their mental state?" you ask, slightly confused.

Bianchi heaves a sigh "This is where I would generally defer to Dr. Belesario, but I feel that I know enough to explain it to you. The process is highly experimental still, and the different chemicals and drugs to keep their bodies from self-destructing and minds in a sane state do not always interact well. Our most stable line of development for the conditioning drugs has creeping addictive qualities, and all of the different versions of the drug are particularly harsh on the mind."

"Why the mind in particular?" you ask "What about the rest of the body?"

Bianchi shakes his head "Because the most effective method to keep the target memories suppressed, for some reason we have not yet been able to identify, becomes increasingly destructive over time. Added to the addictive qualities of the drug this forms a vicious cycle near the end of a cyborgs life, as they need more and more of the drug to properly function, and the more of it they take..."

"The greater the damage done." you finish, before again asking "And what about of the rest of the cyborgs body?"

Bianchi shrugs "That is unexplored territory mostly. Though, it is commonly accepted that while the mind will be the first and most obvious indicator, other systems may fail."

"How could they fail, and what systems would you expect?" you ask, curiosity piqued.

"Whatever senses were enhanced beyond what is normal would be the most likely to fail. And, depending on how often and how badly the cyborg was damaged during its life, they may lose mobility, or, we may be forced to remove mobility from them, depending on how they break down." Bianchi answers with clinical coldness.

Unsettled, you ask "And, what is your opinion on providing the cyborgs with a traditional education in addition to their training?"

"The way most of us see it, the mind needs exercise just like the body. A man who does nothing to maintain his body falls ill and succumbs to injury more often, and generally lives a shorter life, than the man who maintains his body." Bianchi pauses to breathe, before continuing "So, if the cyborgs are forced to exercise all areas of their mind, the mind will be more healthy, and have more that needs to be damaged before the side-affects of the conditioning drugs become debilitating, or even noticeable. This was impossible to test with animals, but considering that Angelica has only been a cyborg for a few months more than Triela, and is already showing early symptoms, I think its a fairly clear indicator." the doctor chuckles "It was painful before she started going to classes. Angelica was adorable, but air-headed and forgetful when not on missions, and it was getting progressively worse. After a close call on an early breakdown after one of her earlier missions, Marco fell in with Hillshire ant the rest."

You nod in understanding, and, bereft of any further questions, reply "Thank you for your time, Doctor." and rise from your seat to leave.

Bianchi shrugs "Like I said, nearly all of the other handlers have come to me with the same questions. Its become routine for me." he nods by way of a goodbye as he turns his chair around to return to work "Hopefully I wont have to see you or Scylla for quite some time, James."

-----

You manage to catch Director Lorenzo just as he is dropping a final sheet of paper into what is clearly the "out" basket on his desk. Or, that's what he is doing after replying to your knock on his door. "Handler Artioum, how can I help you?" he greets you, gesturing to the seats in front of his desk, which you take one of.

"I had some questions about Scyllas training." you reply, cutting straight to business, as it is clear that Lorenzo does not want to stay any longer than he must.

He glances at his computers screen, before looking to you and asking "After receiving your expense funds for this month, I'm curious as to what you could need."

You chuckle "A sparring partner better than I for Scylla, and someone to train her how to properly use a knife in a fight."

Lorenzo nods "The first will be a bit easier than the second. Feel free to either tap Claes when she isn't helping out with research, or some of the former jarheads that work for our support crew, or Section One if you are feeling more daring for the sparring partners." he chuckles "And I do stress the plural, if you choose the latter of the options, as I doubt anyone short of another cyborg, or truly exceptional skill will be able to hold out for long against one."

Chuckling, and rubbing at one of the many bruises Scylla has given you, you sheepishly reply "I believe that. now, as for the knifework instructor..."

Lorenzo shakes his head "None of the current staff are qualified, as far as I am aware... I take it you have someone in mind?"

You nod "There are three friends of mine that come to mind." is your response.

Lorenzo sighs "Your still a probationary handler, considering how you were recruited. So consider the time between now and when we clear you, which will be after your first mission at the earliest as time to think long and hard about who you want to bring in to this organization." he pauses "No matter what role these references of yours fill here, there is no leaving the SWA, as I am certain Jean and Rico made you aware before you were brought in; and your recommendation will be in much the same situation as you, no matter how things go. So, in addition to prepping a preliminary report on them for me, I would recommend that you contact them, and spend some time talking with them. Discretely gauge how receptive they would be to work here, how they will react to the truth. All of that would need to be done before we can even consider approaching them. that leaves you with just under a month to get Scylla prepped on the basics, and see about your suggestions." Lorenzo glances at a clock "Claes should be just about back to her room from the medical wing by now, so if you want to ask her about helping with Scyllas training, now would be a good time." the man pauses, and moves to power down his computer "Either way, I'm done for the day, James. And I hope the rest of yours is good."

"Thank you, Director, and I hope yours is good as well." You reply, leading the man out of his office.

>so, track down Claes to get Scylla a sparring partner, or try to recruit some support staff for that?
>Start working on contacting possible knifework instructors now, or put it off for later?
>And finally, a second/alternate on tomorrows training is still needed.

also, sorry about the delay on my reply, life happens at the most inconvenient times, haha

>>386274
I'm thinking we should start contacting someone for knifework instruction. The ex-flame seems the most solid choice out of the three to contact first.

I don't think we should bring in our former friends in yet, if ever.
I say tap claes AND some support staff, section 1 and former jarheads. She should get a feel for fighting multiple skilled unaugmented humans and how they differ from another cyborg.

I would like to come back to the doctor at a later date and ask some more things. For example, he mentioned the most effective memory suppressants become increasingly destructive. What if we apply psychological conditioning and slowly transition from the most effect to a somewhat less effective but more stable memory suppression?
Unless they suddenly regain all their memories at once it should be manageable and could significantly increase the effective lifespan of each cyborg. I believe doing some research could easily show that such an approach might be more cost effective in the long term. Not only was the initial surgery expensive but ongoing training and handling costs accrue over the years. And as the cyborg gains experience she becomes more and more useful. Extending the time of usefulness would significantly improve return on investment. Likewise the investment cost psychological conditioning as a supplement to weaker but less deadly drugs should be much cheaper then replacing the cyborg.
Finally, careful monitoring of the psychological condition of the cyborg would catch mental instability early enough as to allow transitioning back to the maximum strength memory suppression drugs. To clarify by mental instability I do not mean the regaining of memories. But undesirable personality changes as a result of not properly handling those memories.

We probably would have to prove ourselves and be accepted on a permanent basis before presenting such an argument to our superiors. But we can already start on the research. check salaries, discuss things further with doctor, etc. Actually I would be interested to know more of the various less effective drugs.

>Based on a manga
Holy shit I didn't know! A bit of search and I found http://www.mangatraders.com/manga/series/348[/spoiler]

>>386274
Based on that description of why the drugs work, it sounds to me like if we could manage to get the girls to accept their former traumatic memories we could drastically increase their operating lifespan. The need to constantly suppress those using more and more drugs is apparently the source of their mind rot; if the memories required less suppression then there would be little need to use drugs for them. Of course, managing that would probably require to spend a great deal of effort and time carefully emotionally twisting them so that they're willing to look past their history and continue to think that staying with their handler is the most important thing.

His summary of the effects of traditional education also back up the conclusion that it's not actually the education method that helps but rather the exercise of the mind in general. If we can do that through training methods which have greater benefits to Scylla's general competence on a per-time basis then we should do so.

>so, track down Claes to get Scylla a sparring partner, or try to recruit some support staff for that?
Definitely start with the support staff. Scylla's primary opponents are going to be fully grown people, and her training should focus on that. Once she's advanced to being able to reliably defeat several prepared adults in melee we can start mixing in Claes.

>Start working on contacting possible knifework instructors now, or put it off for later?
The only one of our mentally selected knifework options that seems reasonable to me is our old girlfriend. We obviously can't bring in someone who would hate what we're doing- and I don't think this agency needs any more amoral bastardly types. Of course, whether we want to drag a lover into this... it can't hurt to give her a call and see what she's been up to, at least. We can gather information without committing to any course of action.

>And finally, a second/alternate on tomorrows training is still needed.
Urban assault training tomorrow morning focusing on balancing noise with objective sounds good. Go over the various things that produce noise- in melee combat as well as when using guns, grenades, etc- and different ways to mitigate those sounds. Silencers and how well they work, the importance of masking noise, how to catch bodies as they fall to manage near-silent takedowns. How to prioritize between guns and melee, using both questions of what weapon is practical at the engagement range and the need for stealth and secrecy. Emphasize the need for fast reaction times and split-second decisions in these matters- Scylla is getting good ambush training and should know that moving first is often far more important than moving perfectly.

Then go for more stealth training in the forest tomorrow afternoon.

Sign Scylla out for training in town again the day after tomorrow- plan on spending all day in the city.

Do we and Scylla have subtle earpieces/speakers yet, so that the two of us can talk easily even when we're not next to each other or aware of each others' locations? If not, make it a priority to get some- should be able to get some military-grade ones that are practically invisible for a few hundred dollars, which is well within our budget at this point.

>knife trainers
Remember that this is a permanent assignment. If whoever we pick decides this is not for them, then the cyborgs will be receiving an impromptu training exercise.

>Therepy
While possible, the risks of both ending up with a suicidal cyborg designed and trained to kill multiple armed assailants loose in the middle of a secret government facility is a Bad Thing, not to mention the enormous monetary loss of a cyborg and their training even if they cause no further damage other than suicide. The best way to propose the idea (or re-propose it most likely) is to focus on one of the cyborgs like Angelica who is already in an advanced state of mental decay, such that it is not immediately vetoed by higher-ups. Additionally, there is still the issue of the drugs required for regular maintenance surgery and any emergencies and modifications.

Might I suggest we consider a different hand-to-hand option? If we're already going to have to ask other people for help in training her I think we may want to give her a non-lethal takedown option suited to confused and mass combats. Something like aikido or (martial) tai chi where she's being provided a set of kata to learn and use, which works well against people attacking her. Understanding that this is how most hand-to-hand practitioners work will give her a lot of insight into how to beat them by figuring out how their style works and breaking its pattern, along with a set of moves that should work well against most people without a formal style.

Totally unrelated, I think that if we're going to keep dragging her around drunks and the low-life side of things we shouldn't put off explaining to her what sex is and why it makes adults incredibly stupid. If we explain that it's a curse that is necessary to keep the species going with a few nice parts to it, and that she should be glad she isn't obsessed with it, that may be exactly as much as she wants and needs to know.

Lastly, it's her lifespan (or what's left of it) that we're talking about when we're discussing the longevity effects of training and the conditioning drugs. She deserves to know why she has trouble remembering anything before coming here (that she is unquestionably much happier not knowing) but that this comes at a price of how long she may live. Also, she should be aware that getting injured in combat means using more of the drug and losing more of her lifespan and mind.
She trusts us right now, even though we're scum of the earth that would be arrested on sight if we ever went back home. Let's try to justify that trust a little bit, eh?

As you walk through the halls of the SWA headquarters, you decide on a few things. First, that you will talk to Claes about helping train Scylla in hand to hand combat, though you think it would be best to start with some of the Section 1 personnel with a more military background, like the Director had suggested. So, as you turn to head for the Cyborg dormitories, you decide on what Scyllas training will be tomorrow, and just before you turn on to the hallway that Triela and Claes' room is on, you decide to make some calls tonight. Unless she has moved, it should be a decent hour of the day for her still.

Without hesitating, you knock on the closed door to the older cyborgs room, and are promptly rewarded with Trielas "Yea?"

"Its Jim, is Claes in, I had a favor to ask of her." you answer through the closed door.

After some rustling and shuffling, a very tired, sore looking Claes opens the door "Yes, Mr. Artioum?" she asks, stepping aside to allow you to enter the book and bear infested room.

You step through the door, and lean against the wall, allowing Claes to drop into the chair next to Triela, who is absentmindedly staring into the eyes of one of the many teddy bears Hillshire had bought for her. "I was wondering if you would be willing to help with Scyllas training on a more regular basis in the future, Claes." you reply, ignoring the slouched over Triela just as she is you.

"And how exactly would I be doing that?" she asks, a bit curious at best.

"Once her training is advanced more, she will need a proper sparring partner. I taught her everything I know, but she needs experience against properly trained fighters. And, once she has surpassed them, she will need a parring partner that can keep up with her physique." You answer bluntly "I can provide any material you need to train yourself." you add, hoping that the enticement of books will be enough to win her over.

She thinks for a while, glancing over to Triela, and making eye contact for the briefest of moments, before she replies "Both training manuals and histories of any martial arts you find me useful self-teaching manuals for."

As you know that you will need the help later on, and have more than enough cash to accommodate the girls demands you promptly reply "Deal. I'll let you know when I find the books you will need."

Triela finally ends her staring contest with the bear, sits up straight, so as to be more on your level, than at eye level with the bear, and interjects "So, no more training sessions out on the urban assault course for the rest of us then?"

You grin "I never said that I wouldn't try to rope the rest of you into more exercises primarily designed to benefit Scylla, its just that I doubt your handlers would appreciate the risks of injury that come with proper sparring matches.".

Triela shrugs "I suppose your right. Hillshire would probably rather I do the homework he gave me, or spend my time on the range anyways." looking just a bit dejected as you turn to leave the room.

-----

The next few hours go by quickly, albeit boringly as you catch Section 1 field agents as they leave the compound, or arrive to work security for the night. A lot of them look at you like your crazy for suggesting they actually fight a cyborg, though more than a few are intrigued by the idea, and, as Lorenzo had hinted, most of the former marines jump at the chance.

In all, about two dozen agents volunteered to help with Scyllas training. A decent number that you will have no trouble rotating out so that none of them get too weary to be of use, or get injured, and provide Scylla with a decent challenge. As you enter your room at the SWA, far too tired to try driving to your apartment, you muse that one thing seems to be a constant no matter which nation you are in, the marines are always the crazy ones, and with half of the volunteers for helping train Scyla being either Lagunari, or San Marco Regiment, that holds true in Italy as well.

You glance over to your phone. Kathleen is gonna bite your head off whether you call now or later, its been nearly a year and a half since you contacted her, and the two of you had parted on good enough terms. Sighing, you pick up the receiver, and dial the country code, area code, and finally Kaths number. When the ringing stops, you hold the phone a bit away from your head, and greet her "Hey Kath, its Jim." and brace yourself.

"Jim, your alive?" she answers, then, a silence grips the room, before she shouts "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! YOU DONT WRITE, YOU DONT CALL! NOT EVEN A DAMN CHRISTMAS CARD!!!"

When the screaming stops, you sheepishly put the receiver back to your ear, and answer "Things got a bit hectic for me, that's all. You sound well enough though. Are you still..."

Having calmed down from her outburst, she answers "Working internal security for the IRA? Yup. Not out of Dublin anymore though. Had to move me after..." she trails off, not wanting to go into detail on the cluster-fuck of a job that had gotten you run off the British Isles more than a little forcefully, and put an abrupt end to your relationship. Though, the slight Irish girl quickly recovers "You still workin for the... what family was it again?"

Mentally, you slam your head against the wall for being dumb enough to call Kathleen on a work line. The woman has no verbal filters "Actually... I'm working for the Italian government right now." your stress the right, knowing she will get the hint that you are calling from work.

The pause is more than enough for you to picture the sheepish grin on the little redheads face, as she scrambles to recover "I, ah, actually, was thinking of taking a break from work for a while... maybe go legit some even." again she pauses as you drop your face into your hands over how shitty her cover-up was. At least she tried. "How'd you manage to go from a mafia fixer to an up and up government worker anyways?"

You chuckle "Well, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"They can do that?" she asks, settling down from her blunder a bit more now.

"Well, none of the agencies you could find on the books, or look up on the net could." you answer, using a gentler form of 'if I told you, I'd have to kill you', or, in this case they will kill you.

"Sounds... nice. I take it you got busted and recruited then?" she answers, clearly a bit worried for you.

"Nice?" you ask, utterly flabbergasted by her reaction to accurately guessing how the SWA bough you in. "And, yea... that's mostly what happened. I was a side-job to keep the local cops happy, not even their primary."

Kath sighs, and answers "Yea, nice. You get benefits, steady pay, and internal politics aren't bloody in the literal sense." she pauses, and continues "Jim, I'm tired of fighting the good fight, at least of doing it like this. Like it or not, I'm in a terrorist organization. And my job is to get close to people so that I can stab them in the back before they stab us. You know how it is for internal sec. I talked to you about it enough when we were together, but..."

Now its your turn to sigh. You know exactly how it is for her. She doesn't fake any relationship, and every time she has to knife a traitor, its friends throat she is slitting, a trusted comrades back she is stabbing. And, being internal security, she has very few, if any friends, as no one knows if they can trust her. "Dont worry about it Kath. And you still probably make more than me."

She sniffles "Like hell I do, ya damn sell-out government man. Its the kickbacks of my job that make me look so damn rich... It'll be a while yet, but I think I'll take a vacation to Italy soon. Where do you work out of, I'll drop by so we can catch up better."

"Kathleen, you know you cant just drop by I already told you what sort of agency I'm working for. You-"

"Jesus Christ, settle down Jim. I just need a city. and you better not lie or I will use my call tracing gear to find you. And dont try saying your on a payphone, I know your too damn stupid to remember to only ever call me on those." she cuts you off, mirth in her voice. You cant help but smile as your memories of Kathleen come flooding back more and more.

"Rome. I have a new cell number, so call me when you're in town, I guess." you answer truthfully.

"It'll be a bit more than a month, I have some things at work I'm juggling right now, and it'll take about that long to close the cases." she answers, before adding "And it must be getting pretty late for you. I'll be in touch, James. she finishes, prompting you to give your own goodbye, before hanging up the phone, knowing it is futile to try to dissuade her from coming to Italy.

At that, you walk over to your bed here at HQ, and promptly fall into it to sleep, exhaustion from the previous late night catching up with you.

-----

Much to your surprise, it isnt your alarm clock, but Scylla that wakes you up in the morning. And, after glancing at your alarm clock, the early morning... just before sunrise. Your pretty sure you know what happened, after going to bed so early, she woke up equally early, and now had snuck into your room to await the days start, already clad in her tan cargo pants and black polo shirt that she prefers.

For a while she patiently waits, not even aware that her opening and closing of your door hadn't been as silent as shed thought. Then, as the shades begin to tint red as sunrise begins, she silently pads over to your box of tech manuals, users manuals, and repair guides for all of the assorted gadgets and modes of transportation you had acquired over the years. Most of it you didn't even have anymore, but you still keep up on how to fix them. After all, you never know when you may need to fix one for work, or something similar enough to what you once owned. Silently, she takes one off the top of the pile, returns to her seat, and begins to read.

Watch her read for a little while. If you fall asleep again, fine, we'll wait for the alarm. If not, and you find yourself wide awake, then quietly greet her (don't startle) and go get ready for the new day!

Wait for her to be distracted and then ATTACK! All in! No holds barred!
Impromptu training! Show her she should've looked for hidden weapons and made sure her "Target" is really asleep.

Remember what manuals she is reading through. Ask questions about them later.

>>389725
No. Tell her if she wants to borrow them, she just needs to ask and you can probably get her copies of her own if she is interested in specific manuals.

Construction is her hobby. We choose to support construction as her hobby, because she has enough interest, motivation and drive in that area to advance on her own. We support her hobby by showing interest in her actions and supply her with tools and materials.
It is supposed to be a counterpoint to the lessons and training where we push her to advance. An activity where she controls the pace, the scope and the direction. As part of that we don't push her, instead we allow her to pull.

>>389719
A surprise attack is a bad idea. We are the one person she is not only supposed to be able to trust, but is conditioned to trust. It is better to not strain that.
At most say Buh!, touch her shoulder or something similar if she seems thoroughly distracted. If she is startled or even attacks, remind her of her task to pay attention to her surroundings.

>>389533
Move silently to watch her read. By the time she notices us, we should be in a position that makes it clear we've been awake for a while. "Good morning, Scylla. Have you found anything in particular that you'd like to build?"

Training for the day is outlined in >>387774. Don't forget to sign Scylla out for another city trip tomorrow- and drop by to schedule a melee session with a couple marines for the day after.

It doesnt take much effort at all to disguise your shifting to watch Scylla as simple tossing and turning in your sleep. Scylla, to her credit, freezes, and fixes her eyes on you for a brief moment. However, she either does not notice that you are awake, or decides that if you had wanted to say something you would have, and returns to her reading. You are about to move to let her know that you are awake and that its time to start the day, when she does something unexpected.

Scylla sighs, and pulls a metal from from her pocket. Looking back and forth between her near perfect replica of what would be the phones frame, if phones had frames, and the picture on the years old owners manuals cover. Putting, she slides the frame back into one of her pockets, and walks back over to your box of manuals.

Waiting until Scylla is thoroughly engrossed in rutting through your box of manuals, assembly instructions and warranty information, you shift in your bed, as silently as you can again. This time, when she moves to return to her chair, she is confronted with you, wide awake, secretly glad that you don’t sleep in the nude, and openly watching her. "I take it you want to build one?" you ask, ignoring the mild shock on your cyborgs face to ask the more important question. Scylla nods, a miniscule blush on her face. "I take it you don’t have what you need to do so?"

She nods again "I think they have what I would need at the Q Branch, but I don’t have any reason to be over there."

You silently ponder your options as you stand from your bed,and walk over to your dresser to get a pair of pants and a shirt before heading to the shower. On one hand, none of the other cyborgs have a cell phone, and when coupled with the fact that you already are unsure about having Scylla take classes like the others, the additional alienation may put her in an awkward situation. However, because you are unsure about her official enrollment status in the handlers school for the cyborgs, and with what you know about how having mental exercises affects their rate of mental decay, introducing her to the eggheads responsible for all of the SWAs non-cyborg R&D and production capacity may not be a bad idea. You even have an excuse, in the form of your 'liberated' military H1. Its a far cry from the luxury and sports cars the other handlers drive, and even though you have made some modifications of your own to it, you know that the techs at Q Branch have been salivating over it since it was shipped here for you. You wouldn't even have to let them touch your car, as it has been just about long enough that a proper tune-up is something the old girl could use. "I'm going to shower and change Scylla, meet me at the cafeteria so that we can eat and get an early start on your training. Have your guns and their silencers ready." you announce, finally realizing that she didn’t react at all to your fumbling about in your boxers for the past few minutes.

-----

When you meet up with Scylla, you find her nibbling on a bagel, and reading one of your manuals "So, they interest you?" you ask her, pouring your own cup of coffee from the pot she has sitting on the table, and spreading some butter on your own bagel.

"Mmm." the little girl replies, taking a sip from the black coffee in her cup as she nods her head.

"Your welcome to read them of course. And if you need any help building something you are interested in, let me know, and I'll see what I can do." you respond warmly as you eat your own light breakfast.

For a while, the tow of you eat in comfortable silence, until Scylla breaks it, asking "What are we going to do today?"

"First, silent and near-silent combat. You need to learn what makes noise, how to minimize those noises,and how to properly prioritize what you learn to ensure that every mission we go on is a success." you answer, pushing your now empty plate away from yourself "Can you tell me what might make noise during a mission?"

Scylla nods "Gunfire, grenades exploding, shell casings hitting the ground, glass breaking, bodies hitting the ground, death sounds."

"Can you tell me which of those can normally be heard over an average amount of ambient noise?" you ask the cyborg as she finishes her coffee, and stands from her seat. Grinning, you stand as well, and as you walk out into the predawn gloom inform her "You will after this morning." as you pull a handful of small, battery operated decibel meters,set to transmit the level of sound around them to a handset still in your pocket.

"What are they?" Scylla asks, fascinated by the little gadgets to the point of taking one from your hand to observe it more closely.

"Radio operated decibel meters. I will have some scattered about the urban assault course. You will be on expected to keep the noise you make down to an acceptable level. As you improve, I will expect you to make the times you have been putting up while remaining under an acceptable noise level." you answer her matter-of-factly.

"Will I be allowed to use physical take-downs?" Scylla asks as you near the course, barely illuminated by the few spotlights you flicked on before heading out this morning.

You shake your head "Not until I have time to walk you through near-silent take-downs during our training tomorrow." Nodding as you approach the course start, Scylla glances back and forth between her hip-holstered M1911 and the case she is carrying her PP-2000 in. "We will start with the 1911, attach the silencer while I explain things to you a bit better."

-----

It is late morning by the time your eerily silent training session is interrupted. Scylla is moving through the course at a quick jog now, and can seamlessly switch between her two weapons without making too much noise. she is still above your average ambient decibel levels, but not by much. "Oh, I wasnt expecting to find anyone out on the course this early Jim." Jose greets you, Henrietta following just behind him.

You shrug "After an early night, Scylla and I thought it would be best to have an early morning." you answer.

"Is Scylla non the course right now?" Henrietta asks, as her eyes go up to the display now showing her performance on the last run through it. Her accuracy and lethality are approaching perfect, both percentages between 85 and 95%, which is expected of a cyborg at the shooting range, though lower marks are expected on the assault course. Her time is, of course, far longer than any handler would find acceptable. The important number for this exercise, is down to 44dB, down from 52dB on her last run, a marked improvement.

"Good job Scylla, down 8 from your last run." you congratulate your cyborg as she comes trotting back from the end of the course, not even sweating form her exertion. Jose raises an eyebrow at the screen, as Scylla and Henrietta lock eyes for a brief moment. Scylla tenses, and her posture goes from relaxed and happy to what can only be described as determined to prove herself, though to Jose and Henrietta it likely looks like she is simply taking her place at your side, mirroring the other fratello.

"If we're interrupting your training, Henrietta and I can go to the range and come back here later James." Jose offers in a warm, generous voice.

Henrietta gets a paintball gun and has to find and tag Scylla. Scylla gets to retrieve an item from a building. Henrietta is not allowed to enter the building. Of course, the building must have several exits and stuff.

As for the car, let the techs tune it somewhat (provided you approve of the changes), but have them explaining everything they do to Scylla. We also want her to know how to start a car without keys, how to break it quick and inconspicuous, where to place demo charges, and how to repair the most common problems.

I think this is a perfect chance for Scylla to practice following someone. Give Henrietta some simple objectives, and a paintball gun. Scylla's task is to follow her, and observe her without being seen, while Henrietta on the other hand is trying to catch her and shoot her, lose her, or keep her far enough away that she won't be able to see what she's doing.

Scylla wins if she can successfully report on Henrietta's movements and goals. Training in following someone who is on guard and doesn't want to be followed will have to be useful.

>>392852
"Oh, don't feel you have to- opportunities for training with reactive, intelligent opposition aren't to be missed. Would you mind helping me out a bit as long as you're here?"

I agree with this, at least in principle- Henrietta should do what she's good at, which is straight-up assault, while Scylla does what she's good at, which is being a deadly sneaky git. Forcing Henrietta into search and destroy against Scylla is just asking for her to get frustrated and angry.

So have Henrietta run through a fairly standard assault course and have her want to avoid/shoot Scylla as a side objective. Scylla's objective is to tail Henrietta, to complete an objective opposed to hers, to plant something on her, or something like that- change it up randomly each round without telling Henrietta. Scylla's rules of engagement can change every round, too, including how she balances being detected against accomplishing her objective.

The competitive exercises suggested are good. We should do them. But I don't think going competitive each and every time is a good idea. Some cooperative work would be useful, too.

As an additional cooperative scenario, the building has been taken over by the enemy. There is a room with documents we need to have. If the guards notice the attack they will destroy the documents.
Scylla is tasked with finding the room and the documents. Then Henrietta is to make an assault to cover Scylla overwhelming the room guards and give Scylla a safe and fast extraction path.

>>393001
That is a good suggestion, but we lack the guards. Or should the handlers act as guards?

>>393009
The course already has targets. There should already be rooms set up with multiple targets. Just place one or two of the decibel meters in a such a room to simulate the document room. Place the rest of the decibel meters around the course to simulate other listeners. Maybe a little radio for the Handlers to simulate talk.

>>393016
That's... that might actually work. We should remember these ideas for when other cyborgs might join us, but even now it's viable, if we have the resources (like, for this scenario, several radios).

>>393040
Maybe we could call over some of the marine volunteers we talked to earlier.

"Actually..." you reply, walking over to the locker you found the paintball guns in last time and retrieving them. "I think we could easily make this a joint training exercise. Most opposition is more reactive than a paper target after all."

Jose raises an eyebrow "You want Scylla to run the course against Henrietta? Using the paintball guns some Section One office workers probably thought no one would find here?"

You shrug, finally understanding where the guns you used the last time you matched Scylla against other cyborgs came from "She has been training for stealth and moving silently all morning. I think both girls could learn from this."

Jose looks to Henrietta and Scylla, each at their respective handlers side now, the chestnut haired cyborg doing a much worse job of hiding the fact that she is sizing up the other than your red haired cyborg, and replies "So long as Henrietta isn't standing guard every run... I suppose so."

You nod, and indicate a path through the course "For starts, lets say that Scylla has to stop Henrietta before she gets through half of this course. If you or I catch her on the cameras on the course, or she sets off any decibel meters within say, 15 feet of Henriettas course, she fails."

Jose nods "Sounds good enough to me. I would like to move on to actual firearms and cooperative runs eventually however. An imitation can only teach you so much." As the girls slowly move to collect their weapons, and move to their starting points, Jose adds "And the animosity between our girls cant be good. Hopefully having them work together instead of against each other will iron that out before it becomes an... issue." after they set off down the course.

"Good teamwork only comes with respect and trust. If they don't know what each other can do how can they either respect or trust each other's ability?
"I agree we shouldn't allow rivalry to build up to disrespect, distrust or animosity though."

>>395090
>"Good teamwork only comes with respect and trust. If they don't know what each other can do how can they either respect or trust each other's ability?
If we are going with that, they should make one run each with the other's specialty. Henrietta a sneaking run and Scylla an assault run. If they haven't tried, it is hard to appreciate the skill in someone else.

The cooperative run in >>393001 can be done with real weapons after they'd done it a few times with paint guns and there aren't any friendly fire incidents with the paint guns.

We can also suggest us new Handlers get together and organize a dry run mission with some helpers. Get some military training gear, like MILES, and equip the girls and a selection of Section 1 agents and Handlers with them to run a scenario.

Hmm, it's true that the idea behind this was to exploit their rivalry to get them to work hard at training, but maybe he's right, if they are already feeling animosity towards each other, we shouldn't be encouraging that.

I don't think we are going to overcome this during training though. I think our best bet is after the days training is done, to have Jose and Henrietta do some leisure activity with you and Scylla.

We'll schedule some co-operative training too, but for now I think them interacting during downtime might be better. Henrietta seems to need that kind of thing.