Today is Day 25 of NaNoWriMo! Only 5 days left of the month. Where had it all gone? Oh right...I've been too busy writing to notice XD My total for day 24 of NaNoWriMo was 1,163 words, and that's with me getting some online gaming time in ;)
All passages were in order from yesterday's post, so here's what I wrote:
The guys searched for the pods with their own name so they could claim them and then opened the lid. Unsurprisingly they all found the new padding intriguing as was as the new location for the input screen. I started to get impatient when they were still slow to jump into the new machine, but I had to remind myself they couldn’t appreciate the upgrades unless they had the chance to take their time.
“Your simulator is already in transit to you,” Nazre said to me. “Should arrive later today or early tomorrow.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I’ve been eager to get it in my room.”
Nazre pointed to Vesser. “Looks like your team captain could use help with the display.”
I chuckled and walked over to Vesser who was struggling. “Issues?”
“I don’t have a simulator pod of my own, just the helmets, so I don’t know how this works,” he admitted.
I smiled and punched the proper commands. “Just lay back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”
He chuckled and did as instructed. Once I entered the final input requirement, I carefully shut him in, checked on the others to make sure they were all set, and then went to stand by Nazre again who was setting up a display so we could watch the four test out the pods.
My stomach began doing flips as I watched the boys phase into the test area and instantly be hit with sensory overload from the upgrades. Both Thuldren and Vesser nearly fell over because of it, and I felt bad for almost laughing. A smile crept onto my face as I watched the excitement grow in each of my teammates. They may not have reacted well when I made my announcement, but seeing them enjoy the new simulator now, allowed me to forgive them.
“When do you want to throw them into the battle simulation?” Nazre asked.
I grinned wickedly. “Now.”
He used his handheld computer and initiated the attack simulation. Like with me, an orc appeared in each of my team member’s separate simulations and attacked. Rial froze the creature out reflex when he jumped in fright, and Vamir, being a healer, took off running. Vesser, not surprisingly, attacked the brute head on, and while Thuldren took a more strategic approach to dealing with the monster.
I smiled when each of them were hurt in some way, even though I knew it was bad to do so. It just felt good to see how they reacted to such realistic scenes and situations. When my amusement settled, I felt bad for Vamir so I had Nazre remove the orc from his simulation, and then waited for the others to finish off theirs.
When the last orc was dead Nazre handed me a communicator. “Let’s call them to get their input.”
I nodded and strapped the communicator to my head while Nazre did the same with another one and then used a messenger to call into the guys. So that’s how it’s done. I have to remember to ask about this feature.
“Hello?” Rial asked when we were connected in a party chat.
“So, what do you guys think?” I asked
“Rinneth?” Vesser asked. “When did you get in this simulation?”
I giggled. “I didn’t. This is another feature Nazre and his team added.”
“What are you connecting to us with?” Rial asked.
“A communicator.”
Overcome by excitement, the four of them started talking at once and Nazre had to yell to calm them down. “I’ll explain without getting into the confusing technical details. We’re very aware of how long people use these simulator pods and it can become irritating to miss a call or a message. Expensive third party programs were created to help with this issue, but they’re not perfect, and our team never liked how much these developers charged.
“So, to circumvent this issue, we designed a program that acts as a link between the communicators and the pods. This program is located in a software update in the messenger, making it more essential for communications beyond identifying calls or text messages.”
“How does someone obtain this program?” Vamir asked.
“It comes with the purchase of an upgrade simulator pod,” Nazre admitted proudly. “Well, except for you four. Thanks to Rinneth, you get all of these for free.”
“Rinneth, you’re my new favorite teammate,” Rial said.
I laughed. “Thank you. I now feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.”
“These perks for knowing you are nice,” Vamir admitted. “You holding out on anything else?”
I laughed some more. “Perhaps. You’ll have to find out in time.”
Nazre clapped his hands together. “So, what are your first impressions?”
“Amazing is the only word that comes to mind,” Vesser said.
“Same here.” Vamir said.
“Agreed,” Rial and Thuldren said.
“Rinneth, you guys are amazing,” Vesser complimented.
I shook my head and chuckled. “Nazre and his team did all the work. I just made sure my dad signed the checks.”
Nazre laughed. “Well, I’m glad you all appreciate all the hard work we put into this. And I’m glad all of you were willing to try this out. It will help Fallon during the press release tonight.”
I nearly choked. “What? That’s not until next month.”
He looked at me with confusion. “No, I’m pretty sure your father told me earlier it had been moved up to tonight. It’s why we’ve been working extra hard to make sure we had four working machines on top of your custom request.”
I took the communicator off my head and put my own on as I dialed my father’s signal.
“Yes, Rinneth?” he said when he picked up.
“What is this I hear about the press release being moved to today?” I asked.
“I told you I had.”
“No you didn’t.”
“Rinneth, I’m pretty sure I did.”
Ramos leaned closer to me. “Fallon, I didn’t even know. You didn’t tell either of us.”
“All right, well, it’s tonight. Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know, is getting my team ready for tonight when I’m sure they have nothing to wear to this, a problem?”
“Why must they--”
“Because you sponsor them, stupid! And all teams need to be there for the reveal.”
“Oh, right…”
I sighed and hung up. as I turned around the guys were climbing out of their pods. “Do you guys have anything nice to wear for a press release?”
They looked at each other but only Rial raised his hand. “I think I do. It’s been a few years since I’ve worn it, so I’m not totally positive. Why? Do we have to go?”
I pinched my nose. “Yes. Beyond the reason that my father sponsors the team, all teams, especially qualifying teams for the tournament in a few months, have to be present. I didn’t think to tell you yet because I thought I had a few more weeks.”
“So what do we do?” Vesser asked.
“I make a call.”