Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

This forum is for picking apart tricky issues facing any authors in the community. Word choice, action scenes, dialoguing, or plot development. If something isn't working for you, put it up here and see what your fellow community members can make of it. Try to keep examples short and to the point as much as possible.

Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » November 14th, 2013, 2:53 am

Rather than clog up the plot bunnies thread with this, I'm shifting it over here.

--

Initial snippets
Spoiler: show
0068

The familiar appearance of the Garden of Time came into view as the teleport ended. She blinked. Mostly familiar, as she didn't recall some things being where they were when she left. And everything seemed... older? But that couldn't be, since she had only been gone maybe a couple of hours.

"Fate? Arf? You're back!" Fate only managed to be turn part way before she was wrapped in a hug. She looked up to find her mother. Why...? "It's been a long three years waiting for you to make it back. So much has changed...."

"Surely you're joking, Mother? Right? I caused the freighter with the Jewel Seeds to break up over that Non-Administered World like you wanted and came right back."

Precia sighed and pulled Fate back into the hug. "I wish I were. When you sabotaged the freighter, something happened. You and Arf were flung forward in time, the Jewel Seeds largely thrown backward in time, and the past has changed for that world. In a way, everything's changed."



It took some time to get Precia to actually speak on the changes, as she frequently apologized to Arf and Fate over how she had acted. Fate had some trouble adapting to the more loving and doting mother that replaced the familiar unhappy disciplinarian. But after a week, they finally managed to get her to elaborate on how things had changed. She brought up a map of Non-Administered World #97 on a screen.

"Everything starts with the freighter. When it came apart over Earth, something happened. I researched it for four years and haven't been able to determine anything on how it happened. Two results occurred – anything teleporting off the ship as the break-up started was thrown forward in time, while any cargo or people on the ship as the break-up progressed was randomly thrown back in time. Or fell free and landed on Earth without any time travel at all.”

Arf had to interject as something didn't add up. “Wait. How could you research it for four years if we were only thrown forward three years?”

Precia coughed. “Time shenanigans.”

“That makes no sense!”

“The ship was sabotaged three years ago. You two teleported off and took three years to make it back. The ship was thrown backwards one year and broke up. The cargo and researcher was thrown an additional ten plus years into the past.”

Arf blinked, but couldn't find an objection to that sequence of events.

“Right. The cargo – the Jewel Seeds – was largely contained to the area of the planet corresponding to the country of Japan, though at least a quarter of them landed elsewhere on the planet.” A part of the map was highlighted to note where the country was, then a number of creatures were displayed in sequence as she continued speaking. “They activated over time, mutating creatures, plants, even parts of the landscape into giant monsters that came to be referred to as kaiju, in reference to a genre of Japanese monster movie. And not all kaiju came from Jewel Seeds. When the first one appeared fourteen years ago near Tokyo in Japan, the military was slowly managing to deal with it, but a group of magic using girls showed up and displayed more effect against the creature. The difference in scale caused issues with the girls doing sufficient damage. After the third incident where magical girls provided key help in stopping the kaiju, countries started working on a way to better allow the girls to assist."

She paused to take a sip of water and brought up a number of images of various tech, progressing through different concepts as she spoke. "At this point I suspect that the archaeologist that was escorting the jewel seeds came forward to help. He probably provided assistance regarding magic channeling Devices that the countries began working to reverse engineer and modify to work in this situation. Japan made the first break-through with the Gertie power system that enabled a magical girl to channel her power into the system. When hooked up to sufficient power, the system actually enabled the magical girl to use her attack abilities at higher power and size without needing to be at the source. Within a year, the Russians and Chinese had created a mobile system to contain the Gertie, the Europeans had found a way to enable a magical girl's power into the system to charge and power the attacks without external power supplied, and the Americans provided a control system. Within another year they had managed to work out the kinks in the systems and teams of magical people began forming world-wide to deal with kaiju attacks."

Arf stared at the image, and turn an incredulous gaze to Precia. "They were given the Device concept and instead of making Devices, they made GIANT ROBOTS that make use of the Device concept?!"



Fate wandered through Uminari City, her home for at least the next few years. Arf had sent her off to explore rather that stay around to help move into their new home. Seeing a park, she sighed happily and made her way in. Given her life up to then, getting used to so many people being around would take a while and the respite was welcome.

After a short walk, she found the forest thinning out to show the sea. Down the seaside path a ways was a brown-haired girl about her age sitting on a bench watching the ocean. As she got close, the girl spoke. “Go away.”

Fate blinked. Had she wandered onto private property? “Um...?”

“I can sense you. Go away, rookie. I'm not going to give advice, stories, autographs, or anything else.”

“Huh?” Fate was now utterly confused. “Did I accidentally wander onto your property?”

The girl looked over at her and blinked. She looked past Fate down the path, then down the path the opposite direction, back to Fate in confusion, then settled on staring out at the ocean again. Fate was building up the courage to ask again when the girl spoke. “I apologize for my rudeness. I thought you were here about something else.”

“Rookie? Does that mean you're a Ma–” Fate cut herself off as the girl's gaze cut over to her. Instead she turned to the ocean view. Thinking things over, she turned back to the girl with a giggle. “I apologize for my own rudeness. It seems neither of us is doing well at first impressions, neh?”

A gesture of the head and a small smile had Fate walking over and sitting on the bench. “I'm Testarossa Fate.”

“Takamachi Nanoha. Nice to meet you.”

“Are you from around here? My guardian and I just moved here and she sent me to start learning the area while she finished getting everything moved in.”
--

Rough timeline (contains "spoilers")
Spoiler: show
  • Pre-0054
  • Jewel Seeds scattered back through time land on Earth, many in the area of Japan. They activate over time and mutate plants/animals/landscape into giant monsters.
  • Other similar artifacts and so forth begin awakening to eventually form kaiju themselves.
  • Actual giant monsters also disturbed by the jewel seed arrivals.
  • 0054
  • First Kaiju appears near Tokyo.
  • After the third Kaiju attack stopped with major aid of magical people, an international effort to design and build systems to better enable them to defeat kaiju begins.
  • 0055
  • Nanoha is born. Official year of birth for Fate.
  • First functional prototype of a “giant device” is fielded and ends up battling a kaiju, emerging victorious.
  • 0056
  • First production standard GDs are completed and the Mahou Shoujo organization officially forms.
  • 0057
  • First combat death occurs via mutual kill move in Africa. Lethal oversyncing determined to be a leading contributor to the death.
  • Second combat death occurs in South America.
  • 0059
  • Third and fourth combat deaths occur in same engagement. Death 3 determined to be due to lethal oversyncing causing instant death in pilot when GD was decapitated. Death 4 followed within 15 minutes via self-destruct move after being too injured to be able to escape or stall until help arrived.
  • Sync limiters added to all GD in the wake of the two deaths to prevent pilots from lethally oversyncing.
  • 0062
  • Fifth combat death occurs during team engagement of what is later designated a “MS Killer” kaiju. Official cause of death is crushed by a massive boulder that breached the cockpit of the heavily damaged GD.
  • 0064
  • Freighter breaks up over Earth, dumping its contents into space/orbit/atmosphere.
  • Nanoha discovers Raising Heart and learns she's a magical girl. Nanoha becomes a Mahou Shoujo pilot soon after.
  • 0065
  • Freighter sabotaged, Fate and Arf stuck in transit.
  • 0066
  • Sixth combat death occurs from a 3v1 solo fight in South America. Afterward, discussion begins that ends with stopping the solo pilot rule. Sufficiently skilled solo pilots have the option to remain solo. Nanoha takes the offer to remain solo.
  • Euro-American cartridge system project begins based on information provided regarding the Ancient Belkan cartridge system.
  • 0067
  • Combat death 7 occurs in northern Japan when Pluto is ambushed by four kaiju during a 1v1 engagement. Technically the pilot dies in the OR, but it's still considered a combat death.
  • Nanoha Takamachi spontaneously generates sustained flight systems before teleporting from southern Japan to the battle site. She dispatches all five kaiju before personally teleporting Pluto and herself to the nearest MS base.
  • Following the death, Nanoha retires. Rules are added to prevent new MS pilots below age 15.
  • 0068
  • Fate and Arf arrive at the Garden of Time after three years in transit. Discover time shenanigans occurred with the sabotage and the past being altered. Learn that Precia is terminal.
  • Precia Testarossa dies.
  • Fate and Arf move to Uminari City to live at Precia's request. Fate meets Nanoha and slowly becomes her friend.
  • 0069
  • Fate begins investigating White Devil in attempt to figure out how Nanoha performed the feats she did in 0067. She also begins modifying and upgrading the GD Precia designed and built for her.
  • Fate and Nanoha meet Hayate via a shared friend.
  • Pluto returns to the living.
  • Late in the year, BoD filled due to actions of two TSAB familiars and Defense Program rampages.
  • Nanoha attempts suicide via saving the world, saved by Pluto and Fate. Fight to contain the program eventually includes over two dozen MS from around the world.
  • 0070
  • Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate drop off the face of the planet for most of the year, “coincidentally” being out of contact during negotiations and related trial stuff over the BoD.
  • 0071
  • Nanoha returns to active duty.
--
Some terminology
Spoiler: show
Pilot – when used by MS and support units, refers to MS pilots by default. Other pilots are specified by craft type or generally using “conventional”.
Unit – designation for an MS and their mecha. Units can be given unique monikers, and the monikers can be used to refer to the pilot, the mecha, or the unit. Context is important to determine which.
Ace - (0056-0071) Pilot with 5 or more kills. Pilots with 25+ kills referred to as Ace of Aces. (0071- ) In addition to kill count requirements, requires pilots to display Mode Set capability. While officially there is no distinction between assisted vs unassisted/solo kills for Ace awarding, pilots generally rely on their solo kill count to determine ace status among each other. There has been a call from a number of pilots to move the redefined Ace to a new designation so as to keep the original requirements version for those that lack Mode Set capability. (There may be more types/designations of Aces that just these.)

Sortie – Any time a unit is deployed for the purpose of engaging a kaiju.
Engagement – Fight with one or more kaiju with one or more units, spans from shortly before battle starts to when the last kaiju in range is defeated (or the unit successfully disengages). An engagement generally covers a unit plus the kaiju its facing within a 20km radius. If another unit is within the radius and engaged at any point, it is considered a team engagement and the distance covered by the engagement includes the radius around the other unit.

Mahou Shoujo - Organization name for the group that fights the kaiju threat around the world, generally used to refer to the actual pilots. Despite it translating as "magical girl", there are male mages within which would technically be designated "Mahou Shounen." It's just that no one that matters cares enough to bother making a deal over it.
Gertie - Nickname for the system that enables a Mahou Shoujo to upscale their attacks to better battle kaiju. Using a mix of magical power from the user and an external power supply, the Gertie increases the size of the attack while preserving its relative strength. Which really means that Gertie-powered attacks pack a lot more punch than the normal versions of them.
Giant Device - One of a number of names for the mecha, none of which can be agreed on. "Giant Device" or "Gertie Device" are preferred by some because the abbreviation also covers many's first reaction comment on seeing one up close. Other general references to it include "mecha," "mech," "giant robot," and "ride." (Possible that each region has a different "official" name?)
Sync – Term representing how a pilot controls their ride. Higher sync means more accurate replication of movement and lower delay between pilot and machine. “0” indicates unsynced, while “100” represents the perfect sweet spot for syncing. Going over “100” is called oversyncing and allows negative feedback to the pilot ranging from feeling pain from damage received in mild cases to receiving bruises where the mecha is damaged in moderate cases to near perfect damage transference in 'lethal' cases.
Cartridge System - System that allows a pilot to pass through more magic at a time, officially introduced into the upgrade pool in late 0067. General limit is one cartridge in a sortie, or if time between engagements is long enough, one per engagement. Cartridge limit testing is performed to determine if a pilot is capable of using two cartridges in a short timespan without over channeling magic and literally burning themselves out.
Mode Set - Capability discovered in 0067 and revealed in 0069 that allows for a unit to temporarily alter the mecha and even generate new components.

Pilot Generation - There is significant debate among MS regarding what a generation is considered. Some contend that the First-generation pilots end once the Cartridge system was officially deployed in late 0067, while others say it ends when the Ace requirements were changed in 0071. A few pilots say that there are actually three or even four generations of pilots, and that the redefining of the Ace requirements to require Mode Set capability indicates the start of the newest generation. Those that claim four generations indicate pilots trained after the introduction of sync limiters are second-generation, while post-Cartridge pilots are third and post-Mode Set are fourth. Officially, MS Command does not have a stance regarding pilot generations.
Monikers
Spoiler: show
Assigned by MS Command. Units do not operate with a moniker until one is assigned to it by command. Fandom likes to unofficially designate units that lack monikers, some of which are fairly accurate to the eventual official one. In general, the monikers also serve to determine chain of command among the pilots, as long as pilots keep up to date on such things and don't let their ego get in the way.

Some important "classes" of monikers
“Devil class” – Only two given in the history of the organization. Devils are apex predators in engagements. First was the Red Devil, while the second was the White Devil.
“Demon/Angel class” - Second in importance to the Devil class, Demon/Angel monikers generally separate the great from the merely good.
“Afterlife class” – Fairly general class, the overall ranking for certain monikers is equal or above the Demon/Angel class, but is generally fill the space below that class. (Ghosts, specters, reapers, etc)
"Royalty class" - Another fairly general class that at the upper end is roughly equal to a low Afterlife class.
Notable Pilots/Teams
Spoiler: show
Usagi Tsukino - Support Pilot, Unit Serenity. Achieved first kaiju kill 0054. Leads MS Team Senshi. Assigned Japan North Base.
Kushina Uzumaki - Support Pilot, Unit Kurama. KIA due to self-destruct move, taking four kaiju with her (0059). Specialty: Chain binds.
Nanoha Takamachi - Offense Pilot, Unit White Devil. 22 Unassisted Kills (0064-0067). Teleported ~1400-1500km (roughly Kii Peninsula area in Kansai to somewhere between Wakkanai and Monbestu in nothern Hokkaido) in first Unit teleport (0067).
- Offense Pilot, Unit Red Devil. 26 Unassisted Kills (0056-0071). First-generation Ace of Aces.

Team Senshi - Consists of Units Mercury, Venus, Earth (TuxBoy/Endymion), Serenity (leader), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. Pluto killed 0067, revived 0069. Initially fully based Japan North Base, currently split between Japan North and Japan Central bases. Career 109 kills (0056-0069) + 1 non-Unit kill.
Notable Locations
Spoiler: show
Uminari City - located SW of Tokyo in Shizuoka Prefecture. Roughly analogue to real world Fuji+Numazu. May also contain Mishima and Fujinomiya.
Japan North Base - MS base located in northern Honshu. Responsible for Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, and northern Chubu regions.
Japan Central Base - MS base located in central Honshu. Responsible for southern Chubu, Kanto, Kansai, eastern Chugoku, and eastern Shikoku regions.
Japan South Base - MS base located in Kyushu. Responsible for Kyushu, Shikoku, and Chugoku regions.
Garden of Time - location unknown. Fate's private retreat and testing area (0069-).
--

Other existing snippets
Spoiler: show
0071

The Mahou Shoujo looked over the congregated pilots mingling in one of the amphitheaters. She was annoyed. Many of the pilots were part of the vocal minority that thought their slightly greater than normal cartridge limit made them hot shit and the old timers like her should go ahead and leave the field with some dignity. Sadly, that group was slowly increasing in size because they were apparently too stupid to realize some key facts about the veterans and one veteran in particular.

One was that “retirement” or “inactive” meant a thing. You don't retire from piloting. You die, or get injured so field work is no longer possible, or you choose to move into a non-field position. Most new pilots in the last two or three years seemed to see the “retired” or “inactive” tag on one Takamacha, Nanoha after only three years of service and assumed it meant she wasn't that great, never bothering to look at her actual record.

The second was that veterans never referred to another pilot or their mecha by a fandom or unofficial designation. If they referred to someone as the White Devil, it wasn't because the fans called them it but because the unit had been given the moniker. More importantly, some monikers carry more weight than others. Veterans jokingly refer to them by classes, and the rarest was certainly the Devil class. Only one had received the designation in the first eight years of the organization, and it took three more years for a second to receive one. Two Devil monikers in fifteen years. The Red Devil and the White Devil.

The third was that you never disrespect someone with a higher kill count and length of service than you. Fifteen years of service and twenty-six unassisted kills. She was an Ace of Aces, but most rookies see the 15 years of service and write her off as past her prime. She already had to “chastise” a few rookies in field training spars to show that their egos were writing checks their skills couldn't cash. It was as if they didn't even recognize her. It was pathetic but the veterans didn't entirely mind, as any time one of them needed to cut an ego down to size was a chance for a betting pool on the fight. Though it looked like there was going to be a redefinition of "Ace" in the near future, and she didn't mind being a "first-generation Ace of Aces."

Out of the rest of the list, the most important was that the veterans had a good grasp on sensing a pilot's power level, and many could get a good indication of future potential. This meant that when veterans entered a room with each other, there was no need to establish a pecking order because they could all tell who was the top dog within seconds. And the top dog was finally entering the room. Many of the barking dogs saw her as a has been or weakling because she had been retired two years and technically inactive this last year. The blonde following was nearly as frightening power-wise as the White Devil, though her money was down for an official moniker involving “Reaper”. She had to admit that “Black Angel” wasn't a bad alternate, but “Reaper” better allowed for “Demon Duo” as a team name. Maybe she should make her way down and meet with Takamachi, one Devil to the other?

It looked like the meeting would have to wait, as some overinflated rookie decided to ask if the “has been” wanted to impart some advice to a future Ace. A quick check on her tablet revealed the rookie hadn't even finished all her certification stages yet, particularly the “sync limiter” calibration that normally came before cartridge limit testing. Oh dear, THIS lesson was going to be amazing, which seemed to be a thought shared by many of the veterans in hearing range of the request.

Ten minutes later, she had a good spot to view the training area used for calibration and limit testing of new pilots. She navigated through the system to the audio feed and tagged the channels between White Devil and the student, and White Devil and the grounds command center. The rookie was on the field already, and was making comments over the mech's speakers wondering what was taking the other person so long. A number of other pilots, rookies and veterans, were perched in her general area to watch.

Two mecha strode into view. The first caused several pilots to stiffen in surprise, which wasn't surprising since White Devil had synced with no one other than its master and thus was rather famous for that alone. The second mecha split off to deposit a trio of people in a safe spot nearby. Ah, paramedics. Yes, this would certainly be a memorable lesson.

“Alright, I know that your ride wasn't parked here this entire time, so you at least know the basics of syncing with your mecha. I want you to give me 100, or as close as possible.”

“I'll give you 110!” the rookie boasted.

“Give me 110 and I bust you off combat duty and back to the training nappies that you apparently didn't spend enough time in,” came the retort, to the amusement of many watching pilots.

The plain mecha was silent with its gaze at the ground. Finally the pilot spoke up. “Okay, I think I have it at 100.”

“Good. Look at me.” The Red Devil barely held in her laughter as the mecha looked up just in time to take a punch to the face and topple over.

“What the hell was that about? That fucking hurts!”

“That means you're oversynced. Dial it back a bit. If you can get the one-to-one movement ratio with near zero delay in response, then you're good to go. But if getting hit hurts, then you've gone a bit too far.”

The plain one stood up again and was silent for several second before looking at the White Devil and responding that she was ready. And when the fast punch came in, the rookie managed to pop her arms up in time to block the hit. “Gah! That stings! Need to dial it down again.”

The Red Devil shift the feed between command and instructor to mute and flipped on the speech to text for that channel while the trainee made her third and successfully non-oversynced try. Seeing the text scrolling by, she knew this was where the fun part occurred.

“Good, good. Now, I want you to sync as much as possible with your mecha.”

“But we were just working to get me not to oversync like that!”

“Trust me to have a good reason for this and do it.” The White Devil moved so it was behind and to the right of the plain mecha.

“Holy cow! This is amazing. … Where are you?” The pilot apparently noticed the pressure on her 'right arm', as the mech's head turned to look at it. Perfect timing to see the White Devil slam the forearm into its knee, snapping it and leaving it bent at an odd angle. Bits of sparking cable, pistons, tubes spewing fluid, structural beams could be seen sticking out. The window-rattling shriek of agony that resulted was nearly music to veteran ears.

Then one of them spoke up. “And that, kids, is why we have sync limiters installed. She was lethally oversynced when that arm broke. I imagine the condition of her arm looks something like that at the moment. Given the way it was broken and that it was done while lethally oversynced, I'm estimating at least a week will be needed to heal that. Hope it wasn't her dominant side.”

A few of the green-faced rookie pilots fled to find a place to empty their stomachs. One of the remaining ones was confused. “But, the sync limiter is always on to prevent that from happening! How...?”

The Red Devil coughed to get their attention. “This is why one should always be polite and respectful when asking for training or the like from a more senior pilot. Once both of you are on the field, the senior pilot is the instructor, the other is the student. And instructors can have command deactivate equipment on the student as needed for the lesson. One of the three the lesson has hopefully imparted. The second is the lesson itself on why you never, ever disengage that limiter without feeling it is absolutely necessary to do so.”

“And the third?”

“Do not ever look a Devil in the eye and insult them. They will make you pay for it sooner or later. Nanoha Takamachi holds the record for First Teleport, First Cross-Country Teleport, Most Engagements in One Day twice with three each, Most Kills in One Day at seven, and Most Kills in One Engagement at five. That was in her three years of service. Five of those six records were set in one day. Since she moved from retired to inactive, she's set the record for most cartridges loaded in a single engagement, during the extinction threat fight a year ago. I'm not sure of the exact count, but she had reached four by the time the first reinforcements arrived on scene to help. She had twenty-two kills in three years and for that third year was the only solo MS in the world to take the offer to remain so after the rules were changed to disallow such things.”

The blonde pilot from the watching mecha walked up. “A fourth lesson is that you should always be worried when the instructor bring paramedics along to the training.”
jg had some stuff as well, but I figured I'd hold off in case he wants to tweak them to fit the info/clarifications in this post. Though to be fair, I'm kinda having to tweak my own stuff since I can refer to a timeline now and spot where I forgot to include a few years, or where I needed to shave off a year. Also, no familiars have attempted piloting, so I dunno how well they'd work with the whole familiar thing. Also... Unison Devices with a pilot inside the mecha? That could get quite terrifying power-wise.
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 15th, 2013, 1:10 pm

I can work with this and tweak it a bit. I was doing my snippets on the general assumption that Harry had started around the same time, or shortly after, Nanoha did, but was around the same age, perhaps two or three years older.

I see that you made the Red Devil the first Ace of Aces. Makes some sense, as she started at the beginning.

As for Ace of Aces, I think that should be more than simple kill counts, but also recognition by other Aces, or Aces of Aces. Kills count, but unless it's 25 Unassisted Ones, then there are other ways which can be just as hard in some respects. Looking below, I have Harry recognized as one less for his kills, but for his actions. The fact that he earned a Demon moniker shows that he is certainly an excellent pilot. Also, the Devil - Demon/Angel separating the good from the great... I think that having a moniker would emphasize that the pilot is good by sheer dint that those monikers are earned.
Spoiler: show
Harry Potter: Offense Pilot, Unit Iron Demon, First Generation Ace, Second Generation Ace of Aces
Period of Service: 0065 - 0067, 0068 - Present
Unassisted Kills: 20
Confirmed Kills: 64

First Trans-Continental Teleport (London, England to Naples, Italy, 0070)
Most Combat Injuries sustained in a single engagement (Battle of Naples)

-->"He isn't the most powerful, but damn! That kid just keeps getting back up for more!" - Red Devil in 0068 after the battle which earned him the moniker of Iron Demon

Events in his life:
  • 0053: Harry Potter Born
  • 0064: Harry enters Hogwarts
  • 0065:
  • CoS incident. Harry finds one of the items from the freighter and kills basilisk. MS community notices and recruits him over Albus Dumbledore's objections. Compromise reached to allow him to continue magical studies at Hogwarts
  • Working with Red Devil, gains his five kills and becomes a First Generation Ace
  • Earns first four unassisted kills
  • 0067: Fifth unassisted kill
  • Entered into the unofficial pecking order amongst Aces
  • Taken off the active rolls for remainder of the year after Nanoha's "retirement"
  • Kidnapped from Hogwarts and used for Voldemort's resurrection
  • 0068:
  • Reinstated to Active Duty
  • Confirmed Unassisted Kills 7-16
  • Earns the moniker of Iron Demon, due to him remaining in the fight while sustaining injuries which would take a pilot out of the battle
  • Voldemort's attempts on his life gain attention from the MS Community
  • Death Eaters ruled a terrorist organization
  • 0069:
  • Participates in BoD Incident as part of the team of MSs sent to assist Nanoha, Fate and Pluto
  • Earns Ace of Aces Designation at conclusion of incident with 25th Kill. The resolution of the BoD incident is credited to all the participants
  • Battle of the Ministry, Harry's second engagement against Voldemort
  • 0070:
  • Harry comes up with plan for the MS Organization to successfully hide Nanoha, Fate and Hayate from the TSAB during the aftermath of the BoD Incident
  • Battle of Naples, Harry sets teleportation record and participates in what becomes the largest engagement against Kaiju, quickly involving every European MS Pilot.
  • Harry taken off active duty rolls due to injuries and put on Medical Leave to recover and put under consideration for a Devil Moniker
  • 0071:
  • Harry's recovery is accelerated by Dr. Shamal Yagami
  • Death Eater takeover of the British Ministry of Magic sparks the MS-Wizard War
  • Harry uses MS resources to speed up the Horcrux hunt
  • Battle of Hogwarts concludes MS-Wizard War when Harry kills Voldemort, most Death Eaters killed during the battle
  • Harry returns to active duty
Snippet:
Spoiler: show
Harry watched the training "match", more like slaughter with more than a little amusement, especially as the Red Devil then lectured the other rookies as to why it was unwise to piss off a veteran, especially one with the Devil moniker. He would have added that those with any moniker were also not to be annoyed, but that would have been redundant, especially as the older pilot had already gotten the rookies' attention.

He spied Fate, the Black Angel, walk over to where the White Devil would exit the training room. His amusement rose, as he knew that this would be entertaining, considering that of all the MSs, she was only slightly less powerful than the White Devil. It did impress him that the girl had managed a moniker so quickly, having only been active for less than a year when she earned it, but anyone able to go up against an extinction threat and pull Nanoha's ass out of the fire was worthy of respect.

He signaled one of the staff and indicated that she should grab a tray of drinks for them, mostly for Nanoha. Now that she was old enough to return to active operations, the usual age restrictions on various privileges no longer mattered.

There were, however, major stigmas for an MS Pilot getting drunk, as they can be called at any time.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » November 16th, 2013, 11:08 am

Yeah, I realized that, with the timeline being somewhat hard to line up properly without laying it out, you might've gotten the idea that Nanoha was an early pilot rather than a more recent one and thus thought Red Devil was younger.

Something I realized is that Nanoha had 22 kills in 3 years. Barring five of the seven kills on her last sortie, that'd put her at 17 kills, or 5.67 kills per year (including those 5 kills puts her at 7.3 kills/year). The 109 kills for Team Senshi averages to 7.27 kills per year. Trying to extrapolate that out to the world, and we'd be looking at potentially hundreds of kaiju a year attacking. So I'm thinking about it. Japan/west Pacific area gets higher than usual kaiju frequency due to three factors. Silver/Golden Crystals with Team Senshi, the bulk of the Jewel Seeds landed in Japan area, and the Dragon's Triangle. So likewise, the areas near the Bermuda Triangle also have a slightly higher frequency (not as high as Japan area does). I figure most parts of the world probably average 1-3 kaiju attacks a year, somewhere near the Bermuda Triangle might be more like 3-5 per year, and Japan is approx 5-7 per year. This means there's probably less than 50 kaiju attacks at year at low point, and possibly close to 100 at high point.

(Amusingly, with 109 kills, Team Senshi average 10.9 kills per person, and no member of the team is an Ace of Aces.)

--

I meant to have a section defining the pilot types (Offense, Defense, Support). Offense pilots are those whose skills and magic are oriented to attacking and have that killer instinct needed to "wade in" and slaughter the enemy. Defense are pilots whose magic is more oriented to blocking, deflecting, countering, negating, and otherwise preventing kaiju from damaging friendly forces. Support can be healers, crowd control, etc and pilots who are mainly offense but lack that spark needed to be an Offense pilot (or whose magic, while offense centric, is not front line compatible).

Cartridge System, Earth
Spoiler: show
Still not entirely sure how to work this other than handwaving about magic~, but here's my current thought.

All mecha have what amounts to power limiters in place, which throttles the max amount of magic that can be dumped into the system at a time. Each cartridge loaded temporarily removes a limiter, boosting the amount of magic pushed into the system. If a pilot has insufficient reserves, they end up eating through all their magic before literally burning themselves out unknowingly using life energy. Pilots with barely sufficient reserves merely put themselves into the hospital with magic exhaustion. The bulk of MS pilots cannot exceed one cartridge and a few can manage two cartridges.
Mode Set
Spoiler: show
Basically... pilots don't use an activation or anything before they step into the mecha. It's Usagi Tsukino piloting, not Sailor Moon, for instance.

What Nanoha discovered (and then proceeded to never mention until the book of darkness incident), is what happens if you activate a Device or pull/have out a sufficiently powerful magic item inside an active mecha. The mecha generates an access port for the item to be placed in, at which point the mecha transforms. Plates shift, new equipment possibly generates, and it gets glow lines across the entire body. This is effectively stage 1 Mode Set. Nanoha thinks of it as Sacred Mode, while Fate refers to hers as Lightning Mode.

In the case of Nanoha, Fate, and Pluto in 0069, dual cartridge systems were generated during the transformation. Nanoha's glow started at a dull orange and brightened to a light orange before darkening into darker shades of red as more cartridges were active simultaneously. Fate started at dark red and shifted towards dark orange and ending at bright orange. Pluto lacked solid glow lines, but had pulses of purple flowing down the glow line paths, with the pulse rate increasing with total active cartridges.

Sacred Mode is what Nanoha was in when she teleported to Pluto's aid in 0067. In 0069 she started wondering if that was the limit or if the cartridge system would enable more. During the first part of the fight (vs Reinforce), she knew there was another mode available but refused to use it. Once the Defense Program got loose, Pluto and Fate arrived and Nanoha revealed to them how to activate Mode Set and switch to that higher mode. Namely, it needs four active cartridges while in the stage 1 form, then activate the other mode. Pluto has Super mode (likely shared name with all Mode Set capable senshi). Fate has Sonic mode, which generates a number of thrusters/jump jets on the arms and legs along with a large jet pack under the dual cartridge system on the back while thinning down the armor to give her mobility/speed increase. Nanoha has Aggressor Mode, which adds thrusters/jump jets but also ups the armor so it maintains normal mobility/speed with better protection.

There is possibility of additional higher modes, but no one is sure how they'd reach them if they do exist currently.
--

And yeah. Monikers are officially assigned by the MS Organization, but how they determine whether to do so or not (and what moniker is assigned) was left unmentioned. Though the fact that Nanoha served three years with 15 unassisted kills without ever getting a moniker, only to get officially assigned White Devil after her last sortie kinda provides some insight on things. But what it comes down to is that a pilot has to earn their moniker.

--
Spoiler: show
0067
Japan Central Base

A well lit conference room held half a dozen people, and three of the screens on the wall opposite them had at least as many each. The center most person in the room opened a folder in front of him and coughed for attention. “Okay, this meeting is regarding combat death number 7, Unit Pluto. Before we get into the decision making that had Pluto going out there alone, I think we need to discuss Takamachi.”

The woman at the far end of the table spoke up. “White Devil.”

Outcries came from a few of the people on the wall, and intrigued murmurs came from most of the rest. The chairperson sighed and turned to her. “This is not the time to talk about a moniker, and without assigning one we won't refer to her using one.”

“Do you comprehend what the fuck happened up there? Do you? One of the last communications from Pluto indicated that all four kaijus ambushing her were 'killers.' That means that there were five MS Killer level kaiju present. The sensor telemetry from the mecha corroborates her statements. Normally we'd be looking to engage those sorts of numbers with five or more units because of how strong those kaiju are individually. Takamachi obliterated all five in less than five minutes from when she appeared on scene.” She paused to glare at the people video conferencing. “And, mind you, her getting on scene involved teleporting a several thousand ton mecha approximately fifteen hundred klicks first. Then after the massacre, she enters Pluto's mecha, recovers the pilot, and teleports the pilot and herself from northern Hokkaido to Japan North Base. Where she sat outside the OR until Meioh died on the table and the other Senshi guided her away to get a shower and new clothes on. Who here seriously believes that did not earn the moniker White Devil?”

A twintailed blonde at the other end of the table nodded and chimed in. “I agree. And regarding Takamachi, she fell asleep at some point after the shower. Mars and Venus switch off staying with her because she's having trouble getting solid stretches of sleep currently. I'd be with them if it weren't for needing to be here as Pluto's team leader.”

Silence sat over the meeting before the chairperson carried on. “It's good to hear she's at least getting some sleep. Do you have anything on her mental state?”

“Not a doctor, but I have to say it looks seriously unnatural to see a thousand-yard stare on a twelve year old. Mercury suggests pulling her from active duty and lots of therapy, but she's not a psych doc either. She also thinks odds favor Takamachi quitting in the near future.”

“Noted. Okay, we'll get back to Takamachi near the end. Let's get started on the events leading up to Pluto's death. Japan North, go.”
Book of Darkness Incident
Spoiler: show
The Book activates some time early 0069. Hayate does like usual and has them not work on activating the Book but just being her family. Once she starts showing medical issues that the Wolkenritter connect to the book, they decide to gather magical energy to try to save her. And they make the brilliant call of not attacking mages on Earth. So with only mages in TSAB/Non-Administered Worlds getting drained, Earth is unaware of any issue. Nanoha and Fate meet Hayate via a mutual friend mid-0069. Eventually they meet her guardians, the Wolkenritter. Nanoha senses their power levels, and can tell they can sense her and Fate's level. So she steps outside, as does Signum. They speak a bit regarding who Signum and co are and where they're from, etc, and go back inside, each satisfied with the results of the conversation. The two continue to meet up with Hayate, and sometimes talk magic and Devices with the Wolkenritter.

In late 0069, Hayate ends up in the hospital. While visiting her, Signum takes Nanoha aside and asks her if she knows a way to contact TSAB. A message is asked to be passed along regarding the Book of Darkness and its imminent activation, likely in less than a day. Nanoha passes along part of the message (the whole message gets sent out because surveillance). After Fate finds a way an hour or so later to get their non-magic friends clear of the hospital area, Nanoha goes to White Devil and sorties. She returns in time to see three Wolkenritter get killed and Hayate summoned in view to see the last death. Before it happens, she speaks up (surprising all involved because how the hell does a giant robot sneak up on you?) and the two disguises are dropped to reveal masked men. Last Wolkenritter is killed, Hayate loses it and Book activates.

Would need to rewatch the TV version of A's ending to fully figure out things. Generally, I figure Reinforce vs Nanoha would start out evenly matched. Nanoha gets tossed into fantasy land (never discusses what happened in it, but I think it could've been some section of the canon Nanoha timeline), comes out extremely upset and proceeds to show why you do not enrage a AAA-rank mage that's piloting a magic amplifier (and she goes stage 1 Mode Set at this point as well). Defense Program released. Nanoha starts getting slapped around. Pluto and Fate show up, Nanoha reveals how to activate Mode Set stuff to the two. Pluto, Fate, and Nanoha hold the line until reinforcements arrive. Some put up barriers to try to contain the program, others attempt to prune the thing back. Then Nanoha gets an idea... The Defense Program is corrupted. Silver Crystal purifies... so couldn't Serenity use the crystal to un-corrupt the program? Senshi rally on Serenity to power her up, Nanoha and Fate go high and create Blast Calamity to hit he program with. After the blast clears, Serenity goes to work and successfully purifies the Book.

Given that the relative strength of an attack remains the same... does anyone really want to think about what an S-rank combo technique scaled up to giant size with resultant increase in power would result in? TSAB arrives in orbit roughly about the time Nanoha and Fate decide to redefine overkill. Think I'll elaborate more on that side of things and immediate aftermath later.
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 16th, 2013, 7:19 pm

I corrected the details on the Red Devil when I redid my stuff for this thread. Anyway, I have a couple of ideas.

The Age Limit:
Spoiler: show
It all boils down to numbers in the end and the first fifteen years of what would be known as the "Kaiju Wars", there were never enough MS Pilots.

As of 0067 there was not official age minimum to become MS Pilot, but there was already a strong movement to do so. It had reached to the point that by 0065, they already had an unofficial age minimum of twelve for new pilots, which is why Harry was recruited. This was more for the fact that by the age of twelve, children were beginning adolescence and was actually the average age when a viable MS Pilot began to show the signs.

Part of the reasons for the unofficial policy was to reduce international pressure, though they knew it would not prevent it. Even the policy adopted in 0067 didn't stop the pressure, but it did contribute to a significant reduction. Youths in their mid teens, well on their way through puberty, raised far fewer criticisms than kids who were twelve or younger being recruited.

Clear exceptions, such as Nanoha, who was just that damn gifted and had joined before the unofficial policy was even adopted, merely reinforced the rule. Even then, those exceptions were suffering from the strain. In 0067, it was decided to place all MS Pilots under the age of fifteen on inactive status after the Pluto Incident. It also didn't hurt that by then, they had what they thought there were finally sufficient numbers of pilots available that the loss of the current crop of underage pilots would not sufficiently impact operations.

They still looked for viable pilots and some of the regional MS Organization HQs began to establish formal training programs, where the age minimum was less of a requirement, though none under the age of twelve were accepted. The MS Organization also realized that the younger candidates also allowed them to fill in some support positions while they were "training", particularly maintenance. This has allowed, by 0071, to have a new generation of pilots who had a better understanding of the Organization, Administration, GD Systems and their thorough training in squad tactics, which significantly reduced the casualties amongst rookies.
The MS Organization:
Spoiler: show
The MS Organization is a worldwide paramilitary NGO formed for the specific purpose of fighting Kaiju. It is broken into regional offices and is under a UN Mandate to handle the situation. They have a main HQ as well as regional HQs. They have a lot of bases throughout the world, though for pragmatic reasons, their largest, though probably most sparsely populated, are the R&D/Testing Facilities in the United States, Germany and Russia, largely via using existing military installations.

Trivia About It:

Organization HQ: Bern, Switzerland, doubles as the European HQ
Largest Facility: Yuma Proving Ground Test Site, Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona United States (US Army Installation)
Largest Training Facility: Grafenwöhr Training Facility - Grafenwöhr, Germany (former US Army Base, handed over to MS Organization in 0061)
Most HQs in a Single Country: Japan
Most Sought After Assignment: North Japan Base - Hokkaido, Japan
Best Kept Secret Assignments: More desirable than their locations would imply
  • North Atlantic Base Reykjavik - Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Arctic Sortie Base Novgorod - Novgorod Oblast, Russia
  • Southern Base McMurdo (Bottom of the World) - McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Most Hidden Location: Garden of Time, Dimensional Sea (Jokingly referred to as Fate's Secret Fortress of DOOM by those in the know)
The Battle of the Mediterranean (Changed from the Battle of Naples):
Spoiler: show
In 0070, the largest Kaiju incursion to date in the Mediterranean Sea was noted from MS Sortie Base Naples in Naples, Italy. The initial contact was contained around Mt. Vesuvius until a larger Kaiju presence was noted and the base called for reinforcements. As the battle continued, more and more incursions were reported on the Mediterranean coastline, from the Rock of Gibraltar to an incursion that was reported in the Dardanelles. Within two days, every active MS Pilot in Europe was involved in a battle that occurred over the majority of Europe's Mediterranean coast. Within a week, reinforcements were being sent in from other nations.

What makes this unusual is the number of Kaiju, with over 100 involved. While it is as of yet unknown why so many Kaiju were there, it was noted that the previous year was unusually calm in several active regions. Still, the MS Organization has requested that Naval Forces do what they can to search the sea floors for unusual activity and the possibility of dimensional rifts, which were theorized, but not entirely believed. While only rumored at the time, it was also a significant worry that there was an intelligence behind the Kaiju attacks, as a large incursion at a normally quiet region demonstrated some strategic thinking in it.

Notable engagements were in the following locations:
  • Naples, Italy, where the first battle began. Would be attacked three times over the course of the battle
  • Siege of Gibraltar - Site of the largest engagement over the entire battle. 30 Pilots would fight over 60 Kaiju, suffering 25 casualties (10 fatal). Participants from the Royal Navy, French Navy and US Navy would also suffer the loss of several ships. As other regions were cleared up, the remaining European Pilots would arrive and participate in the battle, eventually relieving the siege
  • Battle of the Straits - 10 MS Pilots would hold the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles from 30 Kaiju. The force would be supported by the Turkish, Greek, Ukranian and Russian Armed Forces, which utilized heavy artillery, guided missiles and naval forces to wound several Kaiju.
  • Battle of Marseille - 10 MS Pilots would hold the line off the coast of Marseille, giving the city time to evacuate most of the population before being forced to fight the Kaiju within the city itself. MS Pilots supported by the French Armed Forces, which would be credited with killing three of the Kaiju. All of the MS Pilots would become casualties, though only two died.
On a more humorous note. I found something that could do as an unofficial theme song.

Last edited by jgkitarel on November 19th, 2013, 7:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 16th, 2013, 8:55 pm

Ah, forgot to ask this Phht.

Considering the types we're having as MS Pilots, I would take it that they're stronger than the average mage by a good deal. This would allow for there to be relatively few, despite a magical population numbering in the millions. Say that the average MS Pilot would be around A Rank by the TSAB's reckoning when discovered?

Meaning natural A Rank, due to how young they are when usually found.

Hmm, with that...

Rankings (by TSAB Reckoning):
Spoiler: show
Team Senshi (cue TSAB Oh Crap)
Usagi Tsukino - SS (SSS with Mode Set)
Rei Hino - AAA (S with Mode Set)
Ami Mizuno - AA+ (AAA with Mode set)
Minako Aino - S- (SS- with Mode Set)
Makoto Kino - AAA+ (S+ with Mode Set)
Haruka Tenou - AAA (SS with Mode Set)
Michiru Kaioh - AAA (S+ with Mode Set)
Setsuna Meiou - S (SS+ with Mode Set)
Hotaru Tomoe - AA+ (SSS with Mode Set)

This group is so high powered it isn't even funny. Due to the fact that they are so powerful, the entire team is rarely all in one place for an engagement and is usually broken down into teams of two, with Usagi generally coordinating their activities. Teams of four are used when major incursions happen, but the number of times the entire group has been called since it was formed can be counted on one hand. The only ones who are S Rank outside of Mode Set are Usagi, Minako and Setsuna due to being more in tune with their powers. The others may get that good, but they all understand that if Hotaru has to go Mode Set...

Nanoha Takamachi - S (SS with Mode Set)
Fate Testarossa - AAA (S with Mode Set)
Harry Potter - AAA+ (S+ with Mode Set)
Victoria Scharnhorst - SS (no Mode Set)

It should be noted that Victoria (Unit Red Devil) is the only one of the four here without Mode Set capability and is that powerful. Partially due to her experience, but fifteen years of combat operations has given her the growth in power and control necessary to unleash some truly frightening levels of magic. Only Usagi is stronger in terms of absolute power, something both recognize and aknowledge.

On Harry being stronger than Fate. Keep in mind, he is older, has combat experience and by the time she came into the picture, the age restriction came into effect. However, in time she will probably surpass him in power, not that he would mind, considering how many of the ladies are more powerful than he is.
EDITs:

It should be noted, however, that Team Senshi, despite having no Ace of Aces amongst their ranks, is considered probably the top team of MS Pilots out there.

On another note, some terminology I made up to be possibly used by MS Pilots. WARNING: Some of the terminology can be coarse and/or mildly offensive.

(Good God, I'm gonna be modifying this frequently)
Spoiler: show
Acronyms (those developed by the Mahou Shoujo Organization):

AoA: Ace of Aces
AOM: Angel of Mercy - Member of the Red Cross
AR: Apocalypse Run
BS: Bronze Skull - Unassisted Kill Decoration (The other Meaning is not lost on pilots, either)
CF: Conventional Forces
GD: Giant Device, called Gertie by pilots
GS: Gold Skull - 10 Unassisted Kills Decoration
FK: First Kill
HS: Hell Sortie
MR: Magic Resistance
MS: Mahou Shoujo - Applies to males as well, much to their irritation once they realize what the term means in Japanese
MSC: Mode Set Capability
MSK: Mahou Shoujo Killer - Kaiju type known for being very dangerous for MS Pilots to fight
MSO: Mahou Shoujo Organization
RR: Rookie Run (First Sortie for a Rookie)
PS: Platinum Skull - 25 Unassisted Kills Decoration
SC: UN Security Council
SD: Skull Decoration - Decoration on GDs to recognize Unassisted kills (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum)
SS: Silver Skull - 5 Unassisted Kills Decoration
TA: True Ace - Ace with 5 Unassisted Kills
UK: Unassisted Kill

Terms:

Apocalypse Run: Any Kaiju engagements that requires a large MS Presence (The aftermath has been likened to a localized apocalypse, hence the name)
Hell Sortie: Any sortie that results in multiple engagements in quick succession

Cartridge Burn: MS Pilot term for using the cartridge system as the sudden boost often feels like liquid heat going through one's body.
Cartridge Crash: MS Pilot term for when the boost from using the cartridge system ends, as the feeling has been likened to a caffeine crash.
Cartridge Shock: MS Pilot term for a severe cartridge crash. Often the result of using the cartridge system multiple times in an engagement. Initial warning signs are reduced magical output on each use, with continued usage resulting in painful damage to the body which may not be noticed due to the adrenaline and endorphins flowing during an engagement. After an engagement ends, however, the effects hit the pilot all at once, frequently sending them into shock.

Skull Decorations: These decorations are allowed of GDs for unassisted kills a pilot makes, each one referring to having made at least that many. They are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum to refer to 1, 5, 10 and 25 unassisted kills respectively. The other meaning for the acronym referring to the Bronze Skull is not lost on pilots. It should be known that while there is no official on the number of skulls, it is unofficially considered bad taste for pilots to have multiple Skulls of different types (i.e. Silver and Bronze, Gold and Bronze, etc.), though multiples of the same type are considered acceptable.

Unassisted Kill: Any Kaiju Kill made under the following conditions - Solo (rare post 0067, but still happens), in a team without the teammate(s) assisting but available (often the first one is through this when an experienced veteran allows a younger pilot to do so), the team is otherwise occupied (common in larger engagements)

Mode Set: Using the TSAB's mage rankings, this capability allows for the use of additional capability, along with a "boost" in terms of power throughput of around one rank (Hotaru a clear exception due to being a Little Miss Apocalypse). However, this is not like the cartridge system, as it is not a burst of power, but sustained. The boost is more of an unlocking of potential which allows for the MS Pilot to use their power better and more efficiently, allowing them to get more bang for their buck.

Code Omega: Also known as the Apocalypse Order. Used only once during the war so far, this code is a request to the nearest nuclear power to use tactical nuclear weapons on the Kaiju. The MSO, knowing full well the kinds of threats that they are dealing with, insisted on this, though they didn't request having nuclear weapons of their own, instead insisting on an open channel of communication to the heads of state for those nations which have them. It was used in 0060 off the coast of Wonsan, North Korea when three Kaiju completely destroyed the MS squad defending the location and a division of the Korean People's Army.

It was considered during the Battle of the Mediterranean, but each part of the battle was brought under control before it was deemed necessary, though the Siege of Gibraltar had it come close when it was reduced to 5 combat capable MS Pilots before reinforcements arrived.

Other:

Oder of the Brown Pants - Jokingly given to a pilot after soiling themselves during a sortie (usually the first)
Spare Rags - Change of clothes for after a battle (due to being soaked/stained in sweat, blood and other stuff)
Triple S-F - Shit, Shower, Sleep and Food - Main priorities of an MS Pilot after getting back from a sortie, not necessarily in that order.
Repair Shop - Infirmary
Litterbox - Bathroom
Out of Service - On inactive status, usually for medical reasons
Partly Retired - Lost a limb
Permanently Retired - Dead
Retirement Home - Graveyard/Cemetery
Meatpacker - Derogatory term for a recruiter
Diaper Brigade - Derogatory term for rookie pilots in general (He/She's a member of the Diaper Brigade)
Allowance - Joking reference to pay
Godheads - Derogatory term for religious fundamentalists, non-denominational
Angels of Mercy - International Red Cross and its variants, which has had members heading to a battle in order to provide medical assistance. Highly respected by MS Pilots.
Old Schooler - First Generation Veteran (pre-0067)
High Schooler - Post First Generation Veteran (Harry, Nanoha and younger Old Schoolers are often confused for them)
Shocked - Suffering from PTSD
Water Park - Bar
The Dryer - Alcohol Abuse Treatment and Counseling (There is a strong stigma against alcohol abuse amongst MS Pilots due to the number of pilots who are minors.)
Babysitter - A veteran with a largely rookie team
Vomit Comet - High Altitude Drop
Last edited by jgkitarel on November 19th, 2013, 7:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » November 17th, 2013, 7:42 am

When I was reading the Age limits section, there came a spot where I was "...is he reading my mind?" because we approached things slightly differently but ended up at the same conclusion (no pilot under 15). With me, it was "rules say no one under age 15 can become a pilot" and most regions simply interpreted it as "no pilots under 15" and shuffled forces around to cover for the pilots that end up with leave as a result.

The Battle there extends well from the Pluto Incident, since everyone agreed that an ambush with 5 MS Killer strength kaiju just reeked of some sort of enemy intelligence directing things. Given that the Senshi started as a 5-man team, it's possible that maybe the Dark Kingdom had never been defeated and decided to go big instead of going home?

--

Power-wise, never really considered it other than they're generally much scarier in the ride than outside. I would say the weakest pilot would be B or B+ outside the mecha while still being able to successfully fight, but most of the pilots would probably be A- to A+. Now, if we took into consideration things like adaptability, creativity, etc in rankings, the senshi would likely be lower while Nanoha would be on par with Red Devil without Mode Set. I would also put Fate under Harry as of 0069. In 0071... well, she spent a year off the grid with the White Devil. There was probably intensive training involved beyond Nanoha getting the rust off. (Let's not talk about poor Hayate if she recovered use of her legs....)

I would think most "wand" mages would be D-B rank. Dumbledore/Voldemort/Harry would definitely be A-AAA range. As of 0069, Mars and Jupiter are not Mode Set capable. Not that this is a major issue, as they could scrounge the Moon Kingdom/castles for a magic weapon that fits, get their hands on a device, or even just have Serenity go stage 2 Mode Set and manifest custom weapons just for them.

Incidentally, MS Killer strength Kaiju would likely be considered AAA- to S- in power, hence the nickname.

--

Red Devil's mecha, I think would likely be similar in appearance to Pacific Rim's Tacit Ronin jaeger, though the physical blades are gone by 0067 in addition to any other upgrades.

Kinda realized that the mecha are almost like Unison Devices that operate kinda in reverse. So Reverse unIson DEvice, or RIDE, could end up their name as coined by Fate (0069ish?). Except someone (possibly one of the Wolkenritter or Reinforce) would probably point out that they lack certain key parts that make a Unison Device, so it might end up instead being a hybriD Reverse unIson Device, or DRIVE (starting 0070-0071ish?). Or go "just use either one, it's not that damn important which one is used."

Some last words
Spoiler: show
"Oh god, I didn't think this through enough. Living Kaiju innards are disgusting this close up." -- ?, KIA 0057
"I think I've-- Oh, clever girl." -- ?, KIA 0057
"Tch. Why's it got that useless long tail on it? Bind down the others, I'm going to grab that tail and slam this thing around." -- ?, Unit Redacted, KIA 0059
"Cartridge load. Kurama, I...." "It has been an honor." "...Yes, it has. Maelstrom." -- Kushina Uzumaki and Kurama, Unit Kurama, KIA 0059
"No, I'm not abandoning her! We're going to get loose and evac. Just get in there and distract or kill the damn thing before it decides to come over here." -- ?, Unit ?, KIA 0062

Yes, it was determined that someone fucked up so badly that their moniker was redacted from all official records (and if they weren't KIA they'd probably have been booted out afterward).
Moniker changes
Spoiler: show
Devil class - restricted to Offense pilots. Pilots eligible for this show, among other things, adaptability and creativity with their spells (they can adjust size / power on the fly instead of simply using the default version of a spell), high power, a killer instinct, unstoppable by kaiju, and a well above average brutality when it comes to killing kaiju. (Nanoha was likely to get a Demon moniker until the Pluto Incident because she apparently lacked that last part.)
Demon class - restricted to Offense pilots with less stringent requirements than Devil class. The Angel class is the equivalent for Defense/Support pilots. And yes, this means that there's an as-yet-unnamed equivalent to the Devil class.
Afterlife class - unrestricted by pilot type. Less stringent requirements than Angel/Demon classes.
Royalty class - unrestricted by pilot type. Less stringent requirements than Afterlife class.
Myth class - unrestricted by pilot type. Has lowest requirements short of unclassed monikers.
Unclassed - monikers that don't have extra importance placed on them. Receiving any moniker requires a pilot to earn the moniker.
Unique class - otherwise classed/unclassed monikers that are equivalent to different classes than otherwise.

Harry - Hm, I think he'd likely fail either the adaptability/creativity part or maybe the brutality part on Demon reqs.
Fate - I think the changes means she's not likely to end up with Black Angel, unless she takes up a Defense/Support role. Or she gets it and it just ends up Unique class.

Basically, it takes a while to earn a moniker. MSO does not want the hassle of redesignating a unit with a new moniker (Measure twice and cut once, etc), so getting one fast might mean they aren't expecting much improvement out of you in the future (unclassed moniker). Nanoha took three years before one was assigned to her, for instance. Until a moniker is assigned, a unit is referred to by the pilot's last name (such as Unit Takamachi) except in cases where the last name might be mistaken for a moniker, in which case the first name is also included (such as any pilot with last name Pope).

Semi-related, mecha designs may not be unique to each pilot, but the paint job is. Technically a pilot should be able to ID another pilot in the field solely by the paint job regardless of the mech design it's on.
TSAB and MSO/Earth
Spoiler: show
TSAB encounters the MSO in mid-late 0068 while checking for the freighter that disappeared. With explanation of what happened (to everyone's best knowledge), the TSAB ship worked with the MSO to recover the remaining loose Jewel Seeds, and left with the whole collection. Yuuno decided to stay on Earth. TSAB worlds and citizens take interest in how Earth managed to make a Device-like item despite the tech gap. So it's mostly neutral to positive.

Until the Book of Darkness incident. After Nanoha learns that Hayate is being financially supported by a Gil Graham that canceled his regular visit to Hayate that year due to "work", she calls some old co-workers in MSO to dig into who this person is. Cue complete lack of history except for some stuff decades prior (before he left to join TSAB). Suspicions begin to mount when it turns out Hayate's "family" is unconnected to him and would've been present during the time he usually comes for a visit.

Two masked men kill 3 of the Wolkenritter and teleport Hayate up to the roof, where they've taken up disguises of "mage" Fate and Nanoha in order to kill the last one and cause the activation to occur. Everyone's surprised at White Devil being there and it reveals the deception. Disguises drop, and they kill the last Wolkenritter. Nanoha transmits the magical signature for the two (near identical at that and reminds her of the feel familiars have) to base and request the data on Gil Graham's connection to Hayate and the description/data on the masked men get sent to TSAB in case world ends. Unnamed Enforcer receives the message, says they'll pass it on.

In the aftermath, an Enforcer attempts to take Hayate into custody to stand trial for the actions of the Wolkenritter. Nanoha takes exception to a victim being tried for such things. With a conference call between the Enforcer, the ship captain, and pretty much everyone in the area with a comm system, Nanoha pieces together that Gil Graham has two familiars. The ship's captain discovers that no data was passed on from the ship, and on receiving it, discovers a match with the magic signatures of Graham's familiars. Nanoha says TSAB should be going after him for everything instead of Hayate. Enforcer calls in mages to put up a barrier to keep the MS there locked down so he can take Hayate into custody while making no real commitment on the topic of Admiral Graham.

Nanoha gets fed up, goes Mode Set stage 2, and puts the barrier mages into the hospital when she brute-force teleports Hayate, Reinforce, and White Devil to the Garden of Time. Fate follows and relocates the Garden so tracking the teleport won't reveal the location. The Enforcer squad retreats and the mess gets kicked up the ladder. Once TSAB is gone, the group returns and plans are discussed regarding getting Hayate off the grid while the mess is dealt with (and unspoken reason being to keep Nanoha from doing something during that time like discovering she can teleport the unit extreme distances and taking White Devil to "speak" with Gil Graham).

Between the back and forth over Hayate and Graham and Earth's overall disgust at how TSAB would likely handle Hayate (put her on trial, decide to be lenient in light of the facts, give her 6-12 months "community service" working for them, after which she'd likely make a career out of it) that they see as a fancy way of conscripting people without causing an uproar. Things sour more when it's learned that Admiral Graham is not charged with any crimes regarding his role and that of his familiars in the whole mess.

Then a news story breaks on Mid-Childa regarding the mess as a result of a news team wondering why there was a sudden shift in relations between Earth and TSAB and visiting Earth to investigate. Not sure what the fallout from that is, but it managed to salvage things a bit with Earth.

Ship and post-battle Enforcer involved in the BoD mess is not likely Arthra/Chrono (they might've been involved in the investigation elsewhere and could not be redirected to help). I will admit that part of this is fueled by dislike of how things went in canon. I mean, post-A's Hayate is serving TSAB while on probation, and she was a victim of all of this. Flipside, Gil Graham -- the guy that hid the knowledge of who the next master of the Book was, financially supported her for years, then proceeded to have his familiars actively interfere in the investigation and capture attempts and deliberately activate the book on a planet with 6-8 billion people living on it in the hopes he could have it permanently sealed away -- is never charged with anything and is just retired from TSAB. How the hell does that make any sense?
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 17th, 2013, 3:15 pm

I think we can also add that the Age Limit is also there to make it easier for them mentally train/condition potential pilots, many who are under 15. The way I worked it still allowed them to have a "reserve" of pilots available, as these recruits, gofers and wrench monkeys are also prospects. In other words, these kids still have a job with the MSO, just not a combat one. The only time this rule would have been potentially broken would then have been the Battle of the Mediterranean, due to the scale of the battle.

Good build on the Monikers.
Spoiler: show
I do think Harry could qualify for Demon class on the adaptability/creativity side as he is well capable of out of the box thinking, which was furthered by his training and experience. Also on the brutality side, again he is capable of that level of brutality in canon, though he has to be provoked. Again, several years fighting Kaiju until being forced to go inactive due to being too young has taught him that a certain degree of brutality is necessary. Also, consider who I have as his mentor.
Fallout from the BoD Incident:
Spoiler: show
Yes, Earth called out the TSAB and it soured relations. On an unrelated note, the ship captain and enforcer found them selves getting the TSAB equivalent of a Reassignment to Antarctica with their careers killed. The Three Admirals did not appreciate the interference and withholding on information those two did. Not to mention the potential confrontation with a group that has walking, armored monstrosities that might as well have "Fuck You" stenciled on them to any mage.

Still, the MSO would have possibly handed over Hayate if HQ did not already know how the pilots felt and the potential risk of a mutiny if it did so was very real. They could have gotten some serious concessions from the TSAB in the process, but even a quiet mutiny by just the participants in the BoD incident would have been a serious matter that would have made such concessions pointless. They couldn't afford to lose that many pilots to disciplinary measures, especially good ones. It already has enough problems keeping pilots in line without adding fuel to that particular fire.

The news team becoming aware of the soured relations gets information from several participants in the incident, including international participants. When the story breaks on Mid-Childa, it causes an uproar, the very thing the TSAB wished to avoid. While the High Council tries to bury the story, the Three Admirals immediately go into damage control mode and it is Gil who decides to offer himself up as a sacrificial lamb. The negotiations go into overdrive as the MSO sends Usagi as a representative of the pilots along with some trained diplomats. Usagi was chosen largely due to her known ability to defuse situations and her ability to keep her head (now at least) in matters that involve pilots.

The negotiations take place both on Earth and on the TSAB ship Arthra over the course of several months. The TSAB agrees to drop the matter of Hayate while the MSO agrees not to call for Gil Graham's head, though Usagi points out that he should at least deliver a formal public apology the Hayate. The TSAB agrees, reluctantly, to this, as it implies involvement on their part, despite Gil acting on his own. Further results are that Gil is required to resign his position and is also persona non grata where Earth is concerned, the setup of formal liaisons between the TSAB and Earth and channels of communication to hopefully avoid this situation in the future.

A month after the negotiations, Gil delivers his formal apology to Hayate in person. Hayate, backed up by several MS Pilots who were at the battle, accepts the apology.

On a side note: As for the TSAB's conscription in all but name, the MSO has a lot of leeway when it comes to recruiting pilots itself. While the organization generally follows the "volunteer" rule, it is not unheard of for pilots from less developed regions in the world to just simply be pressed into service. Not that those particular pilots complain much, as it usually results in a considerable improvement to their situations, or outright saved their lives.
EDIT:

It just dawned on me that Harry's time as an MS Pilot would also affect how he does his schoolwork, or I should say, how he approached essays and the potential for confrontation with Hermione. (Long enough and with enough detail to please the higher ups, but no more than that)
Spoiler: show
Harry shook his head in a combination of wry amusement and annoyance as he read over Hermione's Transfiguration essay. Not only was it three times longer than required at 60 inches of parchment, but she put in so much esoteric data that was only tangentially relevant to the subject matter they were to write about. While he can understand not just simply going for the bare minimum, especially after Her Unholiness (the Red Devil) made him rewrite his reports constantly, getting more sarcastic each time in her comments, until he did them to an acceptable standard. That is, long enough to explain just what happened in enough detail that they wouldn't have to go and explain the details in person to the regional HQ more often than absolutely necessary, but not a word more than that.

That didn't even approach her usage of the English Language which made him itch for a dictionary, or even a just simple thesaurus to make sure he understood it properly. While he would admit that Hermione was certainly thorough and detailed, a trait he learned to appreciate over the last year, it was too much.

He looked at his friend and stated simply. "Hermione, while I'm sure Professor McGonagal appreciates you willingness to do more than the minimum, I wonder if she appreciates your going into far more detail than you need to."

Hermione sniffed as she looked over Harry's essay. She admitted that there was nothing incorrect in it and it was the appropriate length, but she could see several places where he could have gone into greater detail. "Harry," she said. "I know that with your "side job" that you often have a hard time making sure your homework is adequate. You are the last person who should be telling me how to write an essay."

Harry sighed. "Hermione, just ask her when you turn yours in tomorrow." He said.

He wasn't surprised when she glared at him for the rest of the day after class. He was surprised that she waited until after dinner to get an explanation as to how he knew that.

"Dealing with the Red Devil and her snark with my own reports," he replied. "She would have me rewrite them until she was pleased, or the higher ups would be pleased, which is the same thing in my case. That meant long enough, enough detail and not one word more." He shuddered. "I learned that she has good reason for that, after she sent me to Bern to explain an engagement, since it was my report that got them to asking for more explanations."
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 21st, 2013, 4:18 pm

While reading Genkai Fan's Poison Pen, it dawned on me that if the MoM tried a smear campaign on Harry, he would have some avenues of approach to handle it. It also reminded me that I neglected to set up an Office of Public Affairs for the MSO in order to deal with things like the press. With that, a couple of additions.

MSO Office of Public Affairs:
Spoiler: show
The Mahou Shoujo Organization Office of Public Affairs (MSO-OPA) has the responsibility of managing the MSO's relationship with the general public, local governments and the press. The main office of the OPA is at the MSO Headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, along with offices in every Global Theater along with smaller offices at major locations. One of their main duties, assigned to an overworked officer at every MSO base is to handle government and press interactions as the Public Affairs Officer. The Public Affairs Officer is a member of the Base Commander's staff and is often one of the least appreciated, if one of the most necessary, jobs at any base. After all, the MSO needs to maintain at least generally positive relations with the local, lest they apply pressure to the host governments.

The Public Affairs Officer's role in dealing with the press means that he or she ends up developing contacts and relationships with major press organizations, mostly non-magical, but they keep contacts with the magical press as a matter of course.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » November 25th, 2013, 1:45 pm

The bigger question is... how attached is the British MoM and the Wizarding World in general to the Statue of Secrecy, and how would that affect things in ICW countries?

A Public Affairs Office is probably a good idea. The closest to PR stuff I had thought of was basically music videos involving the units.

I had the thought of Fate and Nanoha being assigned to TSAB (minus their rides) in 0071 as part of a tentative exchange program. They come back in 0072 with a few TSAB mages. Then maybe they bring their rides with them on a quick trip in 0073 to do a demonstration at one of the TSAB Academies. Them being with TSAB in 0071 means they could be in position to assist in the Coastal Airport 8 fire, then have their demonstration while Subaru and Teana are still in training. ;)

I'm using the general borders of Adaga Island just off Okinawa as one point, Miyake Island south of Tokyo as another, and Kita-Iwo Island as the last corner for the Dragon's Triangle region.

--

Rides
Spoiler: show
Giant robot, mecha, giant device, ride, drive, vehicle, etc. There have been a multitude of names used for the other half of the MS unit. Giant Device was the first "name" for them, but was generally ignored. Ride and drive picked up popularity in 0068 and onward, largely seeming to phase out the other terms for referring the mecha by 0071. Technically, the most accurate would likely be "Giant Device", RIDE (short for Reverse unIson DEvice), and DRIVE (short for hybriD Reverse unIson DEvice). These are the behemoths that allow humanity to go toe to toe with attacking kaiju without needing massive amounts of military forces and multi-day battles.

Their primary offensive capability is via the Gertie system, which allows the Pilot to use the ride to up-scale their magical attacks (and up-scaling the strength, not just the size) to better affect kaiju. Linked with that is the power system, which takes low amounts of mana in order power a pseudo-perpetual motion engine to output significantly larger amounts of energy (the mana input cancels the effect of the energy output, resulting in net change of zero energy lost in the engine) for use in powering the ride's various systems and feeding the power needs of the Gertie when attacks are being performed. Secondary weapons mainly include the ride's fists, arms, legs, and feet, but does not discount the possibility of mounting conventional weaponry as well. Power is routed from the Virtual Cockpit Pod.

Movement is handled via the Virtual Cockpit Pod, which reads the movement of the pilot and translates it into movement for the ride. How quickly and smoothly the reading and action is performed changes based on how synced the pilot is with the ride. The pilot infuses their mana into the pod and has part of it flow out through the control circuits throughout the ride. A perfect sync has near zero difference between pilot movement and ride movement. Oversyncing occurs past that point when negative neural feedback begins occurring, resulting in the pilot feeling pain from damage taken by the ride at the low end up to bruising from damage taken to relevant location on the ride, to the worst case scenario --known as lethal oversyncing --, where damage is translated back to the pilot (this can result in broken bones, pulped organs, and even death).

Sensors for the rides include all spectrums of light humanity can make viable cameras of appropriate size for, from the visual spectrum to UV and IR. There are also external audio receivers and numerous other sensors designed to help the pilot sense their surroundings as if they weren't in a giant robot. The first generations of ride equippable magic sensors and visual overlays began to be introduced in 0069.

There is a computer core within the ride that handles the energy side of things. It handles power regulation and distribution, as well as sensors, communications, and the various overlays the pilot can see. It learns from the pilot's actions and over time can begin accurately predicting the pilot's choices, allowing it to allocate power where needed before the pilot puts their decision into action. Eventually, the core becomes semi-sentient in much the same vein as an Intelligent Device. As a result, the computer core is one of the better protected parts of the ride, enabling crews to pull it from totaled rides to install in a new ride for the pilot.

Rides are broken up by type and generation. Generation refers to the 5-year block the ride was built in, rather than the hardware within. This is due to the regular refits of rides to keep them all at peak performance. Since the locomotion, power, gertie, and other systems are regularly upgraded to increase their capabilities, the main limitation of a ride comes from structural fatigue and damage, rather than obsolete equipment.
  • First Generation: 0056-0061
  • Second Generation: 0062-0067
  • Third Generation: 0068-0073
There are no First Generation rides on active duty as of 0069. "Demilitarized" rides can be found at a few museums, and parts of rides that were totaled beyond repair continue use as training simulators or as memorials/museum pieces around the world.

A ride's type determines the pilot that controls it. The prototype ride in 0055 would be classed as a Balanced-type. As the pilots skill sets expanded, other types became introduced. The first specialized types were Offense and Defense, which split by the Second Generation rides into Offense, Defense, Support, and by the end of the Second Generation had formed into the current five types of rides: Balanced, Melee, Ranged, Defense, Support. Each type is designed to best benefit a pilot with matching skills/magic, but can be further tweaked and customized to the pilot's preference. Offense pilots would likely use Melee, Ranged, or Balanced types, Defense pilots would likely use Balanced or Defense types, and Support pilots would likely use Ranged, Support, or Balanced types.

Defense types generally have the best armor, while Support tends to be the fastest. Customization for a pilot can cause the actual stats for a particular unit to be quite different from factory defaults.
  • Armor
  • Defense
  • Melee
  • Balanced
  • Ranged
  • Support
  • Speed
  • Support
  • Ranged
  • Balanced
  • Defense
  • Melee
  • Power Efficiency
  • Ranged
  • Defense
  • Balanced
  • Melee
  • Support
  • Sensors
  • Melee
  • Support
  • Balanced
  • Ranged
  • Defense
Kaiju strength
Spoiler: show
Kaiju strength wasn't started to be measured until around 0065, when the first orbit-usable magic sensors began being placed in satellites orbiting the planet. From 0055 until 0065, the MSO used an ad hoc "level" system, where Level 1 was the weakest kaiju, and power increased as the level increased. This was a rough determination and not too accurate. Early magic sensors were deployed near fights starting in 0058 to gather data on the kaiju, and the levels of earlier kaiju were slowly adjusted in placement based on their apparent strength relative to the ones with data collected. With fairly accurate magic sensors in use by 0065 on recon aircraft/drones to support the orbital sensors, the level system was removed from use and replaced with the general TSAB power system. Using the data collected and the reports of earlier kaiju, they were given estimated power ranks under the new sytem. Nicknames for difference classes of kaiju soon were formalized with the new system
  • Fodder - C-rank and lower (should any kaiju lower than C-rank ever appear)
  • Grunt - C+ to A- rank.
  • Elite - A to AA+ rank.
  • Mahou Shoujo Killer - AAA- to S+ rank.
  • Extinction Threat - SS- to SSS+ rank. (first kaiju rated at this level was the Book of Darkness/Defense Program in 0069)
Edit: added a chunk I forgot about regarding the ride's computer systems.
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 26th, 2013, 4:52 am

The attachment to the Statute of Secrecy within the Wizarding world and amongst the ICW members varies from region to region and even culture to culture. Those which have had a long history of conflict with the non-magical communities and/or religious organizations are considerably more attached to it than, those who have less of a history of such conflict.

Some nations are split, such as the North American nations, where the desire to maintain it rises and falls depending on region and how influential religiously motivated political organizations are.

TSAB-Earth relations: 0071-
Spoiler: show
The aftermath of the BoD incident in 0070 left their relations soured and took a year of diplomacy on both sides to repair. One of the points, which both sides did agree to, was for the TSAB to provide training to MS Pilots and selected magical personnel (wizards, witches, sorcerers, etc.) on Lost Logia incident handling and establishing protocols to prevent future misunderstandings. The TSAB got a chance to send a few mages to Earth to get a closer look at the Second and Third Generation systems that the MSO utilizes.

In 0071, the first of what would hopefully be several MS Pilot teams was sent to Mid-Childa for training, though they left their rides behind, as most of their time would be spent learning how to use TSAB devices. Nanoha and Fate were noted exceptions as they already had Intelligent Devices of their own, which created an administrative hassle all on its own, though it got sorted out. Several months into the program, an airport fire happened and the MSO personnel dropped whatever they were doing to go out an assist, as disaster relief and rescue operations in the aftermath of a Kaiju attack came with the job. The senior-most MSO Officer on site, Captain Sarah Rutherford coordinated rescue and firefighting efforts between the MS Pilots and TSAB Rescue personnel with TSAB Ground Forces Major Genya Nakajima, who had been arriving to meet his daughters at the airport when the fire broke out. Within an hour, all civilians were accounted for and rescued.

After the completion of the training course, the MSO Personnel took several TSAB mages to Earth for them to see their systems in action. During this time, it was noted that most TSAB personnel had serious issues with handling the Gerties as they were far too used to using their magic certain ways. As the MSO had dealt with this problem several times before, they began working out ways to modify the training programs to accommodate the different requirements for TSAB mages. It was also noted that TSAB mages generally excelled at ranged combat and support roles, though the few defense and melee specialists who emerged proved quite capable, especially after several MSO Melee and Defense specialists got a hold of them (cue training from hell).
Last edited by jgkitarel on November 26th, 2013, 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Wraith5 » November 26th, 2013, 8:07 am

Uhh... as entertaining a typo this may be, you might want to fix it. :lol:
...as they were fat too used...
"Boss, why is it that you always say 'I've got a plan' like a terrorist says 'I've got a bomb'?" - Garrus Vakarian in Razor's Edge: Requiem (a Mass Effect fan-fic)
"Sometimes I stop to think and forget to start again." - t-shirt
"I don't understand, but I disagree." - my older sister misquoting my younger brother ("I understand, but...")
"Come to the Darkside; We have bacon." - t-shirt
User avatar
Wraith5
 
Posts: 542
Joined: July 31st, 2013, 2:43 pm

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » November 26th, 2013, 9:43 am

No no. You would not believe how many TSAB mages fail to complete a simple 5 mile Run/Jog/Walk/Stagger/Crawl the first time. But only one per group ever tries to cheat by flying. There's a pilot in a ride watching for such things and slaps the mage down. ;)
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 26th, 2013, 7:22 pm

They even make a game out of it and see how many times they can make them bounce. Recruit dribbling is a known sport within TSAB training circles.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 30th, 2013, 5:40 am

A couple of ideas which hit me with a football bat (will take some work to flesh out).

JS Incident and First Dark Kingdom Incursion

Background
Spoiler: show
By 0073 of the Mid-Childa calendar, relationships between the TSAB and Earth had thawed considerably, largely through the diplomatic efforts of the United Nations, the MSO and the TSAB's High Command, though there were some areas of contention, such as the status of Gil Graham, both sides decided to politely ignore those for the sake of improving relations. In 0074, MSO Lieutenant Hayate Yagami fielded the idea of forming two joint units combining TSAB and MSO resources; one of Earth and the other on Mid-Childa to better enable joint operations. While the idea was not original, Lieutenant Yagami wrote a proof of concept report which detailed the roles and responsibilities of both units and even detailed which groups would need to support it.

Both the MSO HQ and the TSAB High Command were both impressed with her research and admitted that the idea had been fielded before the BoD Incident scrapped it, though Joint Training was now going on. That one of the principals of the BoD Incident came up with the idea, one which was, not surprisingly in hindsight, supported by Gil Graham (TSAB Navy ADM-Ret.) through his contacts within the TSAB added weight to the matter. That the proposal would require support from elements outside the direct control of both organizations was noted as well.

The negotiations were reputed to be heated, along with several formal meetings and gatherings hosted by both organizations. By January 0075, an agreement was reached.

The Earth based unit would initially be based in Grafenwöhr with the responsibility of Kaiju response and investigating the origins of the Kaiju incursions. The addition of TSAB scientists would aid with the research for the fourth generation GDs as well as developing Earth based device technology along Mid-Childa and Belkan lines. Belkan Knights from the Saint Church were included for security and training purposes, as their combat style best reflected Earth MS Pilot styles.

The Unit on Mid-Childa would be responsible for Lost Logia recovery, investigations and incident response. It was felt by the TSAB that the firepower that the MSO could bring to bear with even a small team of MS Pilots would make certain situations easier to handle. A feeling that would quickly bear fruit when Jail Scaglietti made his move. It would also allow the MSO access to TSAB medical knowledge, particularly in cybernetics, as such could restore otherwise capable pilots to full combat duty within reason.
JS Incident
Spoiler: show
The newly founded Joint Duty Section Six, also called Riot Force Six, has not even been active for two months when they had their first call to track down an illegal Lost Logia shipment by rail. While the recovery of the Lost Logia known as a Relic was a failure, the data gathered during the investigation and subsequent fight with Combat Cyborgs proved invaluable for intelligence purposes and the formation of a set squad to respond to them. The squad, commanded by MSO Lieutenant Nanoha Takamachi, stepped up it's training using gathered data and the general assumption that any opponents they would face would be stronger. It was also the first major indication that Jail Scaglietti was involved.

TSAB Ground Forces Lt. General Regius Gaiz was often a thorn in the side of the unit, often due to pressure from the High Council, but carefully worded messages from his staff to the unit provided effective early warnings of interference. Major Genya Nakajima, the commander of the joint unit and no stranger to the TSAB's internal politics took them for what they were and managed to keep the unit intact through several investigations by Internal Affairs. At the same time, Investigator Verossa Acous was tipped off on the interference and quietly began his own investigations.

A major lead came about with the recovery of the girl, Vivio by Nanoha and her squad. The subsequent cyborg attack was beaten back easily and led to the near capture of several of the cyborgs, who managed to escape through the efforts of the one known as Sein.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Wraith5 » November 30th, 2013, 7:21 am

Hmm... depending on how much you flesh out the back-story, you could make the first mecha look like Metal Gears...

EDIT: I only thought of this because I just finished watching Let's Plays of MGS4 and MGR:R (and then LPs of Metal Gear (1 and 2) just because I was curious...)
Last edited by Wraith5 on November 30th, 2013, 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Boss, why is it that you always say 'I've got a plan' like a terrorist says 'I've got a bomb'?" - Garrus Vakarian in Razor's Edge: Requiem (a Mass Effect fan-fic)
"Sometimes I stop to think and forget to start again." - t-shirt
"I don't understand, but I disagree." - my older sister misquoting my younger brother ("I understand, but...")
"Come to the Darkside; We have bacon." - t-shirt
User avatar
Wraith5
 
Posts: 542
Joined: July 31st, 2013, 2:43 pm

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 30th, 2013, 11:38 am

Well, fleshing it out on a document. Probably delete the previous post and repost when completed. More like a formal report... maybe... I don't know. It's going to be a lot of info.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » November 30th, 2013, 3:34 pm

Hmm... depending on how much you flesh out the back-story, you could make the first mecha look like Metal Gears...
I kinda see the frantic development cycle going along these lines:

Tracked/Wheeled vehicles: First thought they had. Deemed unusable due to scale issues and their effect on maneuverability and terrain crossing. Basically, consider something larger than a Maus by far -- though probably not as huge as the ridiculously silly Ratte concept -- and then try to imagine it engaging a kaiju in mountainous terrain, or on a beach, or in a forest.

Jet/VTOL/Helicopter: This would technically solve many of the maneuverability and terrain issues. But other issues arose. A jet would be fast and agile, but that would cause issues giving time to use the Gertie on the kaiju. A VTOL or Helicopter would counter that issue with their hover ability, but may have speed issues. Further more, given the size of the Gertie system at the time, the craft would be somewhere in the C-130 to C-5 range. This eliminates the speed of a jet while also losing the maneuverability of any of the options. The size would be unfeasible for a VTOL or helo as well. The final issue that ended up sinking that design area is that while you're circling and shooting in the sky, nothing is stopping that kaiju from advancing further.

Ships: Briefly considered before being discarded due to being stuck in the sea and thus not being able to pursue kaiju inland. Airships would simply be too slow and easy a target to even consider.

Walking designs: Humanity and animals manage to get just about anywhere they want, so a design based on them was considered. Concerns with balance sparked the idea of using neural-based controls (using the pilot's sense of balance to help keep the machine's balance). Three or more legged designs were considered, but dropped in favor of a bipedal design to ease neural control issues. It's likely that at least some prototypes were Metal Gear-esque, but the squat nature (among other things) probably led a redesign to a more human-esque design. So they only would've been around a few months somewhere in 0055 to 0056. Mainly because unless you're an overweight magical girl midget with T-rex arms and limited jump ability, a Metal Gear style design is not going to work well with the neural control/sync advances.

Though that magical girl would probably be hilarious to see.

--

You know a fun way to completely screw up the JS Incident? Move Vivio to Earth after her recovery. Force the Numbers to engage in battle away from TSAB control where they might have familiarity/support. Either it completely screws things up as the Numbers get defeated repeatedly trying to recover Vivio and the Saint's Cradle is never fully activated, or....

Maybe have JDS6/RF6 escort her to Earth via Garden of Time, then they stick around due to the start of a major incursion event on Earth. Some time while dealing with that, the Numbers manage to retrieve Vivio and return to Mid-Childa. Saint's Cradle activates, Mid-childa capitulates, JS is annoyed by how 'meh' the TSAB leaders are. "We'll just wait a month for JDS6 to finish up with the mess on Earth and they'll come back and take you down." Thus JS soon decides to take the Saint's Cradle to Earth to conquer it. It comes in too close, and Nanoha/Fate/Hayate/Saturn/etc hit it like the fist of an angry god. Excellent piloting allows it to crash land without killing everyone on board (and possibly on the planet...). I'm kinda partial to Attu Island, maybe 5-10km west of the deactivated Casco Cove USCG Base (America sighs in relief that the Attu Island National Historic Landmark was not destroyed by the crash). At which point MSO/TSAB now has to dig the Numbers and JS out of the wreck past all the surviving gadget drones.
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 30th, 2013, 3:44 pm

You know, that would be awesome. Add in that Nanoha takes a shine to Vivio, who suddenly finds herself with a whole host of overprotective aunts and uncles who, as a Warhound Titan Princeps put it, "Wear and angry house to work." The TSAB is already leery of provoking the MSO, considering that they do, now, know how to do a dimensional transfer. Also, the idea of Jail realizing just why the TSAB was so blasé about the matter and needing to change his pants... :biggrin:

Adding in Phht's stuff (not writing it in), her we go, with smartass comments by various MS Personnel
Spoiler: show
JOINT DUTY SECTION SIX (RIOT FORCE) SUMMARIZED REPORT

Joint Duty Section Six was formed as one of two joint units between the Time Space Administration Bureau (TSAB) and the United Nations Mahou Shoujo Organization (MSO), based in Crannagan, Mid-Childa. The duties and responsibilities of the unit was to provide a joint environment for MSO and TSAB personnel to work together in a shared Area of Interest (AOI) in Lost Logia containment, investigation and incident resolution involving Lost Logia.

Formed in 01/0075 MC, Joint Duty Section Six, called Riot Force Six (RF6) for the purpose of this document hereon out, utilized personnel from the MSO operating on Earth and TSAB personnel to operate within the Crannagan Administative Region of Mid-Childa for Lost Logia Investigation and Retrieval Operations. The MSO provided six (6) pilots, twelve (12) medical personnel and twenty mages of various roles and functions for a total of thirty-eight (38) persons for operations purposes. They also provided 100 non-magical support personnel for maintenance, recovery, security and administrative functions. The TSAB, being the hosting organization, provided the rest of the personnel to include 50 combat mages rated at B-Rank to AA Rank and 150 support personnel. (see attached annex for full breakdown of personnel and equipment)

- Yatta! Someone did us a favor and didn't put all crap that in! (Unit Maelstrom)
- Naruto, don't make me force you to read the full report (Lieutenant Haruno)


ACTIONS PARTICIPATED IN

RF6 was quickly assigned with the responsibility of tracking multiple Lost Logia of similar type commonly known as Relics. Based off of Belkan magecraft, the Relics were considered to be heavily used by the Sägbrecht Dynasty of Sankt Kaisers during the Unifcation War. By 06/0075, the unit would be involved in several actions to locate and retrieve the Relics, several of which led to combat operations against Combat Cyborgs. Due to the combat capabilities demonstrated by the cyborgs, it was determined that the training of a squad with the specific purpose of countering them was necessary. The squad, led by MSO Lieutenant Nanoha Takamachi and TSAB Master Sergeant Ginga Nakajima, spent the next month training and honing specific combat skills, while the rest of the unit continued with the investigations and dealing with the internal politics which were endemic in the TSAB forces assigned to the Crannagan Administrative Region.

- Blah, blah, blah, booooring details and minutiae. Skipping this crap. (Unit Red Devil)
- Damn it Victoria, quit cutting out things before the rest of us see it! (Unit Serenity)
- It's supposed to be a summary, Usagi. (Unit Red Devil)


A significant lead was achieved with the recovery of the girl Vivio (see Olivie Sägbrecht – Project F Clone) by Lieutenant Takamachi, along with the recovery of two Relics and the subsequent engagement with Combat Cyborgs sent by Dimensional Criminal Jail Scaglietti. It did not take them long to realize the importance of the girl and a surprisingly quick decision to get her OFF of Mid-Childa as quickly as possible to derail whatever plans Scaglietti had.

- Okay, who decided to edit this, it's starting to read like a bad story written by our fans (Unit Iron Demon)
- You have fans? (Unit White Devil)
- More fangirls than you, Nanoha. Not as many fanboys, thankfully. (Unit Iron Demon)
- Both of you, behave. (Unit Author Avatar - B)


*Insert Phht's (Unit Author Avatar - A) idea*

Also, some (made up) quotes by pilots:
Spoiler: show
- "You will be hurt by me. You will be humiliated by me. You will learn to hate me with a passion. You are my student and I WILL teach you how to survive. That I have you in the frilliest and girliest outfit I could find is just for my amusement." - Victoria Scharnhorst (Unit Red Devil) to Harry Potter at the start of his training.
- "This is going to suck. 60 Kaiju, here?! OPEN FIRE AND KEEP FIRING!" - Unit Yankee-1 (American Transfer to Europe) at the Siege of Gibraltar.
- "Pluto? Pluto, respond. Pluto, respond! *silence* No. No, no, no, NO, NO! You... You killed her. You killed her. *sobs* I... will fucking KILL YOU!!!" - Nanoha Takamachi to the MS-Killer Kaiju which mortally wounded Setsuna Meiou (Unit Pluto), Pluto Incident
Last edited by jgkitarel on November 30th, 2013, 6:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Tempest Kitsune » November 30th, 2013, 4:18 pm

I know the YYH boys don't really fit the setting, but I can't help but cackle at picturing how they'd function as a team in giant mecha. Also, imagine what Mech-enhanced versions of their signature attacks would look like...

Oh god, Dragon of the Darkness Flame affected local weather conditions when it was just Hiei using it...
"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move."
— Captain America

Naruto RP Character - Takuma Itsuki, Special Jounin
User avatar
Tempest Kitsune
 
Posts: 4684
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 30th, 2013, 5:07 pm

I know the YYH boys don't really fit the setting, but I can't help but cackle at picturing how they'd function as a team in giant mecha. Also, imagine what Mech-enhanced versions of their signature attacks would look like...

Oh god, Dragon of the Darkness Flame affected local weather conditions when it was just Hiei using it...
Hoo boy, that would be interesting.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » November 30th, 2013, 6:19 pm

Adding information.

Discovery of the First two Rifts
Spoiler: show
In the aftermath of the Battle of the Mediterranean, serious investigations of various places on Earth took place to pinpoint Kaiju origins, as it became clear that Kaiju of Elite Strength and higher were clearly artificial in creation. Since the vast majority of Kaiju incursions come from the sea, a combined effort of the world's naval forces scoured the seafloors. Initial findings detected a rift in the Pacific Ocean (tie in to Pacific Rim/Precursors if wanted) and another within the Arctic Circle. The two rifts had clearly different signatures, signifying that the Kaiju may be coming from different origins. A noted anomaly about the Arctic Rift was that it was not visible, but would register on magical sensors within a few kilometers of it, explaining how it remained undetected for so long, despite having a "height" of several hundred meters, going to about 100m above the arctic ice.

The data was passed to the various HQs and a quick identifier was made for the Arctic Rift by Team Senshi, who clearly recognized the signal of an old foe. As Usagi Tsukino (Unit Serenity) observed, the activities by their previous foes had apparently stopped shortly after the first few Kaiju Incursions. An observation she clearly understood was now in error.

The discovery of two rifts early on raised hopes of finding more quickly, but there is a lot of seafloor to cover still. However, the two rifts are now monitored by extensive sensor networks which spread out towards the nearest landmasses, aided by a fleet of ships equipped with the latest sensor suites to track Kaiju movements. This has led to the result of Kaiju being spotted well in advance and with days of warning instead of hours 90% of the time.

In 0076, the MSO made a first attempt at assaulting the Arctic Rift...
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » December 1st, 2013, 12:00 am

I'd like to think the Bermuda Triangle zone isn't a rift so much as a Lost Logia dump site (though it could be a rift that allows the Lost Logia to arrive there...). Which, besides the danger of Lost Logia mutating and possessing plant/animal/landscape and go kaiju, would likely interest researchers the galaxy over. After all, what the hell is up with the area that it apparently attracts wandering Lost Logia to dump themselves there?

--

I'd actually figure that if the YYH group was in this 'verse, they wouldn't be MSO pilots. Because fighting giant monsters is outside their jurisdiction, so to speak. They deal with their stuff and let others deal with the kaiju.

--

Shamelessly cribbed the first part from the Pacific Rim prologue. Call it the intro for an documentary/dramatization regarding Nanoha's career (probably as part of a larger series covering the MSO and the top pilots of its history).
Spoiler: show
“It was a year before I was born when the first Kaiju attacked in Tokyo. By the time the military and magic users halted the creature two days later, a third of Tokyo was in ruins.” A giant lizard-esque creature rampages through a section of northern Tokyo. Military attack forces could be seen unloading on it from all directions, and flashes of other light streaking in against it. News footage then passes by showing clips from two other kaiju attacks. “A month later, a second kaiju struck the United Kingdom with similar results. After the third kaiju death two months later requiring the aid of magic users to deliver sufficient damage, the world began working together to enable the magic users to hit kaiju harder.

“To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own.” A blood red painted humanoid mecha brutally dispatches three kaiju while another one can be seen in the background dealing with another kaiju. The news clip switches to a squat bipedal design firing a magic attack to kill its kaiju opponent. “The Mahou Shoujo Organization was created. The first mecha kill of a kaiju came a year later in 0055. By 0056, the first-generation rides entered service globally. They quickly proved their worth, stopping kaiju around the world. Pilots became rock stars.

“Danger turned into propaganda, kaiju into toys. I was the youngest pilot ever when I joined in 0064. Over the next two and a half years, I got really good at it, with fifteen unassisted kills on my record. Then it all changed.”



0067
Japan, east of Kumano, Mie Prefecture

The kaiju roared, and received a punch to the face in response. A tail flashed forward from the water, forcing the mostly white mecha opposing it to dodge further out to sea. Keeping its tail striking at the robot, the kaiju itself moved toward the city in the distance. The mecha shifted, poised to strike as it eyed the tail. Then, as the tail swept out on another strike, the mecha grabbed it and proceeded to use it to throw the kaiju away from the city. An arm came up, pink energy swirling into existence in front of its palm as the kaiju rose back to its feet.

“Divine Buster.” Pink energy turned into a beam, lancing through the kaiju's torso and out the other side. The corpse began toppling as the beam died out. “Central, this is Takamachi. Kaiju down. Board green yet?”

“This is Central. Kaiju kill confirmed. There's another kaiju inbound. Looks to be aiming for the Kii Peninsula roughly sixty kilometers from your current location. Time to landfall estimated fifty to ninety minutes.”

“Copy. I'm redeploying to intercept.” The machine pivoted toward the southwest and began running through the coastal waters in the direction of the Kii Peninsula. A quick “jog” covered the distance over the next hour, and the kaiju came into view as Takamachi came around the west side of Kii-Oshima Island. She broke into a run, vaulting part of the island just past where the roadway bridge connected to it, and continued the sprint straight to the kaiju south of Tsuya Island.

It met her charge with its own. The white mecha lowered itself and tackled the kaiju. Having stopped its approach, she lifted it up and tossed it back toward the sea. The mecha's left arm stretched to the side, a pink naginata construct forming in its hand. The kaiju closed in, swinging its fists at the mecha. Takamachi dodged the blows, lashing out with the weapon to leave gashes deep in her opponent. It attempted to hit her with an overhead blow with both fists. She moved back, allowing the arms to come down in front of her, then stabbed the blade forward into the head of the kaiju. A twist or the weapon and the kaiju's head exploded, leaving the construct short its blade.

“Okay, second kaiju down. Is the board green finally?” She dismissed the construct and began walking back to the coast.

“Situation is contained for the most part. But... Pluto went out against a solo kaiju that we couldn't get aerial surveillance on. She IDed it as an MS Killer. After engaging, four more MS Killers appeared and attacked. No one's in range to help her.”

The walk turned into a sprint northward.

“Nanoha, she's in northern Hokkaido. There's no way you can reach her in time. Return to base. Nanoha–”

She switched off the comm and continued her dash north. “Come on, I need more speed. Come on!”

[My Master.]

She desynced enough to glance down at her chest instead of the mecha's, and noticed the red orb necklace floating upward. “...Raising Heart?”

[Yes.]

"Raising Heart, onegai!"



Northern Hokkaido

Unit Takamachi appeared in midair, two thousand meters above the fight. Nanoha glanced down, slightly adjusting her location before the mecha dropped the distance in two seconds. An unfortunate kaiju standing away from the group served as her landing pad, with magic flowing out to prevent the transferred energy from continuing past the kaiju into the surroundings. The mecha stood upright and turned to face the remaining kaiju. No life signs were being read from the mangled remains of Unit Pluto.

"Pluto. Pluto! Meioh-sempai! Respond!" Three of the four broke away from where they were tearing into the downed Pluto, a bit of the mecha being torn loose as one of them turned toward her. The gaps began glowing between the shifted armor of Nanoha's mecha. "...Die."

The trio charged toward Nanoha, with one looping out away from the others. Two giant globes of energy formed over the mecha's shoulders and streaked toward the two charging kaiju. Nanoha formed an energy naginata and headed for the third kaiju. She swiped low at the kaiju's knees, causing the leg to give out. A pair of explosions signaled the end of the other two kaiju as she spun around to the backside and drove the blade into her opponent's chest. She followed it forward as it toppled, detonating the blade within the kaiju. Turning toward the last kaiju gave a moment's warning before she was knocked off her feet as it plowed into her side. Nanoha rolled with the attack, gaining some space and reforming the naginata. The last kaiju roared, and she advanced with a matching roar.

Twirled past a swing. Blade lashed out to hobble a leg. Ducked under another swing. Blade flicked up to disable arm. Step back and both tails severed as they spear toward her. Parried next swing and leave a series of shallow gashes across the torso. On it went, Nanoha dodging the blows and slowly carving into the kaiju. After a couple minutes, the kaiju's other leg gave out and it crashed to the ground face-down. She moved in and drove the naginata through its back, pinning it down. The mecha made its way to the kaiju's head, stepping around its feeble efforts to get free. Coming to a halt by its head, one foot came up and then slammed down on top of the kaiju head, crushing it.

“... Pluto!” The mecha turned toward the downed pilot and raced over to the wreckage. It skidded to a halt by it and Nanoha dismounted to enter Unit Pluto. Some cutting via magic was necessary for her to gain access to the barely intact cockpit. The green-haired pilot was crumpled against a wall and blood was splattered everywhere. “No no no no no! Come on, you can't die! You don't get to die just after you get rescued!”

She reached the pilot. A circle of energy formed underneath the pair, and a moment later they were gone.
The 0067 meeting snippet would go after this set. Incidentally, going 2,000m in 2 seconds means White Devil went from zero to about Mach 2.94 in a fraction of a second. And then uses magic bullshit to keep all that energy with the kaiju landing pad instead of it passing through into the landscape.

I will just go ahead and note that the taking a couple minutes to slowly kill the last one is important. At some point when Fate and she are talking about that fight, she reveals why she knows it's her fault Setsuna died. Everyone says it's not her fault because she killed them all as fast as possible and at least gave Setsuna the chance to survive. Nanoha tells Fate that she could've ended the fight with the last kaiju far faster, but got lost in the rage and took her time to torture and carve up the kaiju like it and its brethren had done to Unit Pluto. As a result, she wasted precious minutes that allowed Setsuna's condition to worsen to fatal levels despite the hospital's efforts.
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Wraith5 » December 1st, 2013, 12:11 am

Hmm... depending on how much you flesh out the back-story, you could make the first mecha look like Metal Gears...
...
...
...
Walking designs: Humanity and animals manage to get just about anywhere they want, so a design based on them was considered. Concerns with balance sparked the idea of using neural-based controls (using the pilot's sense of balance to help keep the machine's balance). Three or more legged designs were considered, but dropped in favor of a bipedal design to ease neural control issues. It's likely that at least some prototypes were Metal Gear-esque, but the squat nature (among other things) probably led a redesign to a more human-esque design. So they only would've been around a few months somewhere in 0055 to 0056. Mainly because unless you're an overweight magical girl midget with T-rex arms and limited jump ability, a Metal Gear style design is not going to work well with the neural control/sync advances.
...
...
...
A few things: Since they wouldn't know what to expect as far as mental feedback, etc., I don't think they would go straight for neural control/sync. For an initial (manually controlled) prototype, a Metal Gear REX-esque vehicle would be useful, mostly for getting the hang of bipedal movement. Something similar to Metal Gear RAY could work for the next level prototype, adding in arm-type components. You don't have to add in the weapons (the railgun, machine cannons, missiles, and laser on REX, and RAY's missiles, machine cannons, and water cutter).
"Boss, why is it that you always say 'I've got a plan' like a terrorist says 'I've got a bomb'?" - Garrus Vakarian in Razor's Edge: Requiem (a Mass Effect fan-fic)
"Sometimes I stop to think and forget to start again." - t-shirt
"I don't understand, but I disagree." - my older sister misquoting my younger brother ("I understand, but...")
"Come to the Darkside; We have bacon." - t-shirt
User avatar
Wraith5
 
Posts: 542
Joined: July 31st, 2013, 2:43 pm

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby jgkitarel » December 1st, 2013, 7:51 am

I'd like to think the Bermuda Triangle zone isn't a rift so much as a Lost Logia dump site (though it could be a rift that allows the Lost Logia to arrive there...). Which, besides the danger of Lost Logia mutating and possessing plant/animal/landscape and go kaiju, would likely interest researchers the galaxy over. After all, what the hell is up with the area that it apparently attracts wandering Lost Logia to dump themselves there?
I left out the Bermuda Triangle, as that is in the Atlantic, not the Pacific or the Arctic. Hmm, cribbed up a few more ideas.

Rift Zones:
Spoiler: show
While the Pacific and Arctic Rifts were persistent rifts during the Kaiju Wars, they were not the only regions which had Kaiju appear. Within two years of the discovery of the two persistent rifts, it was discovered that there were certain regions which became noted for rift activity. These rifts, while temporary, were well noted for consistently appearing within a specific geographic region.

Atlantic

The Atlantic Ocean should be noted for having several highly active rift zones, the most notable being the one centered on the Bermuda Triangle. Investigations by the MSO and the TSAB showed that this region had a surprisingly thin barrier between Real Space and the Dimensional Sea, with at least one rift which was detected to pierce completely into Imaginary Space (see Savannah Incursion)

The Bermuda Triangle became a hotbed of Joint MSO and TSAB operations as several Lost Logia, some dating as far back as Al-Hazard, appeared there, along with a notable incident involving the Belkan Biological Weapon: Mariage (see Mariage Incursion - 0077) and the reappearance of Ixpellia von Rabenauge, the Dark Ruler of Galea. Further research and sensor probes sent showed that the dimensional activity within the region now called the Bermuda Triangle Rift Zone led regions of Dimensional Space which had heretofore been inaccessible to the TSAB, possibly leading to the near mythical Al-Hazard (see Earth Legends and Myths: Atlantis)

Other regions within the Atlantic noted for Rift Activity were the Chixulub Crater off the Yucatan Penninsula in the Caribbean Sea and the South Sandwich Trench near the Sandwich Isles. The Laurentian Abyss was considered such a region until further investigations showed that Kaiju activity there was from the Arctic Rift.

Pacific:

Challenger Deep Rift Zone - Difficulty of reaching this zone has made mapping the rift activity difficult.

Drake Passage - Notable rift zone which is responsible for many Kaiju attacks on Antarctica

Indian Ocean:

Shiva Crater Rift Zone - High rift activity noted, even after the "end" of the Kaiju Wars.

Mediterranean Sea:

Thera Rift Zone - Noted as the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. The region is volatile with rifts producing a Kaiju once every three rift events.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

My current project on FFN, Mystic Knight Online
User avatar
jgkitarel
 
Posts: 2534
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: D.C - Baltimore Area

Re: Magical Girl Pilot Nanoha

Unread postby Phht » December 1st, 2013, 9:30 pm

I mentioned the Bermuda Triangle since it was listed as a kaiju hotspot elsewhere and you hadn't touched it at that point. :-)

Ahaha, love the connection between Al-Hazard and Atlantis myths. And the use of two craters that could be extinction event related from the dinosaurs era. Do have to wonder if people still live on Thera, or if they were all evacuated at some point.
A few things: Since they wouldn't know what to expect as far as mental feedback, etc., I don't think they would go straight for neural control/sync.
Using the same start-off point as PacRim did, the first VCP concepts would've likely had more controls with eye tracking systems and virtual HUD elements. That probably got tossed to something more like PacRim's Jaeger cockpits due to pilot complaints on the mostly control layout. To be fair, it's a valid issue. Would you rather try to teach a 14-15 year old magic user how to use something like an F-22 cockpit, or a Jaeger cockpit?

No real idea on when they discovered the syncing. Maybe once the cockpit and power/gertie got hooked up that they noticed the sync effect trying to occur. Then researching that and developing it more as everything started coming together would start leading to the control-less design. So VCP advances began dictating design changes to allow better pilot handling.
User avatar
Phht
 
Posts: 3624
Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Location: Southeast US


Return to “%s” Writer Workshop

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron