Katara was putting off a nap...or general sleep really, as long as she could. She wouldn't do it for long: she'd read up on the effects of those who missed a lot of sleep, and hallucinations didn't seem like her idea of a good time. So she resolved to get some sleep soon after a little wandering: honestly, she was feeling anxious and preferred to have something to take her mind off of that dread. So far she'd been doing well: she'd met Daja and Mulan, had a talk with Sheeana, had a confrontation with Alia and had gotten to know Nanoha and her best friend and girlfriend Fate a little better. All in all, it had been a pretty cheerful last few days
( ... )
Sima Yi's finally got the new ammo belt loaded when she arrives; he makes a mental note that it's something he's going to need to practice, until he can do it a lot faster. "Nor had I, before I came here," he rerplies. "This machine isn't even from my world, let alone my time." When she introduces herself, he inclines his head politely in return. "It's nice to meet you, Miss. I am Sima Yi, styled Zhongda, First Secretary to the Imperial Han."
"Sima Yi," Katara repeated. playing with the words a moment. He sounded like he might come from her world, but she knew better than to think that: after all, Mulan wasn't either, and her name had also sounded like she would have been part of her world. She could clearly see that he was familiarizing himself with the machine though: he was still getting used to the way things operated, and that, she knew, was no easy feat. What she was curious about was the whys.
"If you don't mind me asking sir," Katara continued on, "what exactly are you trying to do with this machine? Are you just trying to understand the technology, or are you training in the new team that just opened up for piloting ships?"
"Right now, I'm mostly trying to gain a better understanding of the technology. There are a few machines just like this one in Weapons and Possessions - perhaps they'll be of use in the days to come." If there's a situation that requires heavier armaments, he wants to be able to meet it - and while he'd rather be able to rely on his sword and spear, it's clear even from the equipment on the ship that he'd be far outmatched if he tried.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Katara said, looking up with awe at the machine. "But if you're going to try and familiarize yourself with modern technology, why don't you look into gaining a better understanding with the firearms? Its not my cup of tea, since fighting for me is usually done through martial arts, but a gun usually does in a pinch what long ranged weapons from my time could never do."
Oh, they were getting there, of course, but they were nowhere near as affective as the ones on the ship.
"In my world, battle is done with martial arts and more traditional weapons as well, but even the best repeating crossbow can't come close to the five hundred rounds a minute this machine's Gatling gun is capable of. There may come a time when I need the firepower." Evidently, being podpopped in the middle of a zombie attack has somewhat colored his opinions of his circumstances. "And personal firearms are easy to use and maintain, so I've been studying them when trying to memorize the schematics for this thing gets to be a little much."
Katara nodded, understanding. "I can understand why you would do that. Martial arts isn't the most sensible way to fight if someone can take you out from a distance. My brother is starting to learn it himself since he's a swordsman and its important for him to help on our missions. I actually had to learn how to shoot a gun on the fly."
She smiled. "Luckily for me, I'm a master waterbender in my world." There was no point in waiting for him to ask what that was, so she dropped some water on the ground from her pouch and streamed it in the air, and then gathered it in her and flung it toward Sima Yi, glancing off him now as ice particles.
"I commend you for being such a quick study, then. Guns may be easy to use, but they are exceptionally scary." The first time he'd tried out the Luger he found tucked away in his newly-acquired mech's cockpit, he'd dropped it - the noise and kick had been more than he was expecting. The rapidity with which he was getting to enjoy it, however, was a little unnerving.
He remains silent at the mention of waterbending, trying to process exactly what she means, before Katara gives him a demonstration - and even though he's aware that the cheap illusions that comprise the sorcery of his world have nothing in common with the abilities some of his crewmates possess, it still catches him completely off guard. "That is... quite the talent indeed," he manages.
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. My first time picking one up and shooting it was a little scary, I wasn't expecting such a loud noise, or the quickness of the bullet. Luckily, i had some friends help me get the hang of it. I prefer me bending though, to be honest. It helps me take out a person without having to kill them. I'm not exactly big on that."
Katara gave him a look. "Well, it is talent, but also training and lots of hard work involved. Being a waterbender isn't any different from martial arts: you can be fairly decent at what you do, or you could be a master. Back in my world there was a war on the rise, so it was kind of expected that I would do whatever was necessary to get stronger and help stop the violence in my world."
"That much is the same between our worlds, but nothing like - if you'll pardon the term - your sorcery has ever existed in my world, apart from cheap illusions to be worked on the superstitious and gullible." Even illusions have their place in battle, but it's clear that there's a line between simple misdirection and the kind of illusion he's talking about. "Anyway, where I come from, order has only comparatively recently been restored to my country's northern heartlands, and there are still a number of rebels to be dealt with - though, thanks to my late lord, the people can enjoy a measure of peace and recover from the hardships of war."
Katara sighed. She really didn't like it when people talked about her bending as if it were magical, or some kind of thing she was just able to do with the wave of fingers. "I know it seems like illusions or magic, but it isn't: it takes a lot of time and dedication and knowledge so that you become proficient in it in the first place. Anything worth knowing usually requires practice and failure, they go hand in hand. But as for peace in your world, well, we just achieved that where I'm from, after a hundred years of war. I just didn't get to see what peace looked like because I was brought here."
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"If you don't mind me asking sir," Katara continued on, "what exactly are you trying to do with this machine? Are you just trying to understand the technology, or are you training in the new team that just opened up for piloting ships?"
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Oh, they were getting there, of course, but they were nowhere near as affective as the ones on the ship.
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She smiled. "Luckily for me, I'm a master waterbender in my world." There was no point in waiting for him to ask what that was, so she dropped some water on the ground from her pouch and streamed it in the air, and then gathered it in her and flung it toward Sima Yi, glancing off him now as ice particles.
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He remains silent at the mention of waterbending, trying to process exactly what she means, before Katara gives him a demonstration - and even though he's aware that the cheap illusions that comprise the sorcery of his world have nothing in common with the abilities some of his crewmates possess, it still catches him completely off guard. "That is... quite the talent indeed," he manages.
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Katara gave him a look. "Well, it is talent, but also training and lots of hard work involved. Being a waterbender isn't any different from martial arts: you can be fairly decent at what you do, or you could be a master. Back in my world there was a war on the rise, so it was kind of expected that I would do whatever was necessary to get stronger and help stop the violence in my world."
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