(no subject)

[basic_powers]

[OOM: ...could be a comic book and no one would ever believe it. ]

Tyler stomps in through the door leading from his bathroom and right up to the Bar, placing a comic book long box on top of Bar.

"Bar, could you send that up to my room? And could I please borrow Ray's training drone for a couple of hours?" He requests politely. "I wanna get some defensive training in today."

The box disappears to be replaced with a large metal ball with various buttons and settings.

"Thank you."

A few minute later there's the whine of the red training saber and pyeeewpyeeew of the drone coming from the back yard area someone works out a few issues from today.

Botherable after the deposit or during his practice routine.

Comments

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

Data happens to be sitting at the bar when the transaction takes place.

"Hello, Beauford," he greets. "It has been a while since I have seen you. How are you?"

[basic_powers]

"...huh?" Replies the not-quite ten child, giving the gold-skinned man a look of vague recognition.

He's seen that face, and recently too...

Though not in the context Data would likely assume.

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

Data has to give the person a second look. It seems that his face-recognition program made an erroneous assumption. Or rather, it failed to take other, more obvious pieces of visual information into account.

This person is younger than the person he encountered on his first visit to Milliways.

He blinks. "I apologize. I believe I mistook you for someone I know," Data says. He is possibly the same person Data met before, but either way, he clearly has not met Data at this point. Data decides not to reveal any information regarding their previous encounter.

"What is your name?" he asks.

[basic_powers]

"Tyler, Tyler Marlocke. Who're you?" Tyler replies, snapping what appears to be a flashlight (but scans indicate that it is a sophisticated non-lethal self-terminating laser sword of some terran manufacture) to his beltloop and grabbing the training ball.

...For some reason he's associating this guy with Career day, which doesn't make sense cause there was..only..

Oh.

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

Data glances at the training weapon with some interest, but does not comment on it for the moment.

The name that the boy gives is not the one he was expecting. Perhaps this is a different person, then. He introduces himself, "Lieutenant Commander Data, of the starship Enterprise. It is nice to meet you."

[basic_powers]

"...Nice to meet you too, sir." He very cautiously extends a hand towards Data to shake and complete the proper greeting. Somehow, it doesn't get any easier meeting someone who may be 'fictional' in your world.

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

Data shakes his hand firmly. If he notices Tyler's caution, he is not showing any sign of it.

"May I ask what that is?" he says, pointing at the training ball. He has never seen a device like that before.

[basic_powers]

"It's a training drone. Ray lets me borrow for when I want to practice my defensive sword forms." Tyler answers readily enough. It is very obviously not terran in manufacture, however. "It shoots some lower power darts. They sting if they hit you sometimes, so the whole point of using this is to avoid getting stung."

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

"That would be a useful training device," Data agrees. He does notice the strangeness in its design as he examines it curiously from this distance. He has never met anyone in Milliways named Ray, and he wonders what sort of world this person comes from.

"Do you happen to know where the device originated from?"

[basic_powers]

"Nope. Ray Stantz might, since he said he got it as a gift from a friend." Tyler shrugs, moving for the back door out into the yard.

He'd really like to spend an hour or so in here before his next class and just... It's a word somewhere between unwind and work out frustrations, and given that Tyler isn't even ten yet, his vocabulary doesn't bridge the gap.

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

"May I watch you?" Data asks, interested to see Tyler's training exercises. But he would also understand if Tyler does not want to be disturbed while he is practicing.

[basic_powers]

"Sure, just stay back about 10 feet so the drone doesn't think you're part of the training."

After selecting a nice flat open stretch of the backyard by the shooting range that isn't Ironhide's favorite blasting hole, Tyler starts his warm ups. By pressing several buttons on the ball, it wrrrs into life and is tossed a good four feet away from the boy to hover in midair before darting around a bit.

-snaphsss!- -whrrrm-

The stance Tyler is using bears some similarities to the chinese broadsword, but that's where the similarities end. The drone fires off a few bursts of light, to which the boy responds either by moving the blade to deflect, or by hustling out of the way.

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

Data watches from about 15 feet away. He is fascinated by both the drone and the exercise itself. Tyler is quite good, he thinks.

"How long have you been practicing with this weapon?" he asks, at a point in time that seems like it might be convenient for Tyler to answer.

[whipped_weapon]

The ruckus and the light-show draws the drow in warily from his way back from the herb gardens. The drow keeps a hand on the hilt of a hidden dagger as he cautiously makes his way over to the source of the noise. The first thing that he sees is a small figure, dodging blasts of light. That was quite enough to make him head straight for the commotion.

From 30 feet away he can see Tyler, of all people, seeming to be attacked by a large floating ball that is throwing light -bolts at him.

This does not look good to him. At all. He picks up his pace, intending to rush over and at least help, only to see, once he is closer, that there isn't a single cut, singed mark, or drop of blood on his young friend.

Then comprehension hits him, fortunately before he gets within light-dart range.

Oh. He's sparring. And dodging or blocking all but 1 hit in every 9 attacks too, very skilled.

"Greetings, Tyler. I had no idea that you were so skilled with a blade." The drow offers, having come to a stop around 16 feet away from his friend.

[basic_powers]

He'll also note that Tyler isn't using a single offensive stance or move... they're all either defensive or sheer gut-flailing reaction to dodge.

"Thanks, I kinda don't mention it with most people." Outside of Milliways, only Cecil and The Revenant know about Tyler's practice, but only with the wooden blade. "It's not a real blade anyways. Just a training one."

The blade of red light swings and dips, and flares when it connects with a light-bolt to send it in another direction.

[whipped_weapon]

Why, yes, he did notice that. And he's wondering why he doesn't have any offensive strikes. A part of him (the same part that enjoyed teaching Drizzt) wants to offer Tyler some training so he can get some hits in, but, well, he's fairly sure Tyler's not going to ever want to be in the 'killing people' line of work. Besides, what's the protocol for these things? Did Tyler even want him to eventually find out? Agh.

Why is he even studying how to fight with the blade?

"Alright." Zak says, quietly watching his friend. Not a real blade, hm? A part of the drow would like to get his young friend a real blade (shining, lethally sharp and elegant, and not too big to carry?) but again, he's not sure of Tyler's stance on such things.

"You don't seem to have any offensive moves." He ventures cautiously.

[basic_powers]

"Not in this set of katas."

As to Tyler's stance on killing things...the kid got squicked out killing fish for food on april fools. And he's really trying to concentrate on not getting hit at the moment so he offers a quick reply. "This routine'll finish in about five minutes, gimme a bit."

[whipped_weapon]

"Alright." Questions can wait.

The drow watches Tyler sparring with the floating ball-thing with silence and great interest. He will wait for his young friend to finish his sparring, though he is intrigued by the fact Tyler had referred to it as this 'set' of 'katas'. Zak assumes a kata is a set of blade techniques, if what Tyler's displaying is any indication.

[basic_powers]

It's a set of bodily stances and movements, so Zak's assumption is fairly spot on. Soon enough the ball lets out a beep to know that the routine has finished before dropping slowly to the ground.

As Tyler trots forward to pick it up he glances back at Zak, switching off the red blade of light with a ksssszh.

"Sorry I didn't tell you I practiced with training swords, but sometimes it's safereasier if I don't let people know all the stuff I can do." At least not right away. Why lose that element of surprise?

[whipped_weapon]

"It's alright." Zak says, smiling slightly. "Would it be alright with you, if I asked, what did you plan to use such a skill for? Because while such dedication to your blade-training is very admirable*, I was under the impression your world was... relatively peaceful?"

Because he wants to find out if Tyler plans to ever use a real blade someday. It's always better to know these things in advance.

(*Particularly since Tyler started much earlier than Drizzt.)

[basic_powers]

"Self-defense...Just because my world is peaceful right now, doesn't mean it's going to stay that way." He's fiddling with the ball again, working several buttons to select the next set of katas to practice. "I told you my world has superheroes, right?"

[whipped_weapon]

Hm. Superheroes here, and superheroes in Beauford's world too? Coincidence? Zak doesn't think so. "I think you did." He offers. "And you have supervillains too, I suppose?"

[basic_powers]

They're not the only world with superheroes. There's at least 3 others out there.

"Yeh, and random monsters, and invasions from other worlds." He replies, throwing the ball a few feet away to have it hover up again and start focusing itself on him. "Superheroes can't be everywhere at once, and sometimes using their powers to fight makes things worse."

[whipped_weapon]

True, but Zak doesn't know that. Though the bit about random monsters does remind him oddly of home.

"I see. Will you be getting a real sword then, when you are done with your training?" The drow asks, before he went quiet as the ball starts focusing on Tyler, not wanting to distract his young friend from his 'sparring partner'.

He'd probably ask Tyler's views on metal blades and the use of them for slaying dangerous creatures, but it seems his young friend is busy; The drow doesn't want to disrupt his training, and wants to see how he will do in the next set of 'katas'.

[basic_powers]

There are several notable differences between this set and the last one. For one, the drone isn't limiting it's shots to Tyler's arms and upper body, and it's shots are much more agressive. His stance is different and it is very clear to Zak that this is the offensive set, not just deflecting the light bolts away, but attempting to deflect them back at the drone.

And Tyler is getting hit 1 out of 3 times on this set, so he's not quite as versed in this form as the last one. The drone finally lets up after Tyler's gotten 5 shots deflected back to it.

"I won't get a real lightsaber until I prove that I can build and handle one without cutting off my own limbs, uphold all the laws of the Jedi, and pass four virtue tests." Tyler pants out as the drone drops back down, and bending over with the training blade switched off.