Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 1: The Culmination

[Shin]

The strange chicken mascot had left them to await their food, freeing both Tarquin and Nikolai from its unsettling presence. Being called a kid was a mixed experience for Tarquin. He knew that physically he appeared young, no doubt even below his chronological age, but was his demeanour and mindset really that of a child? He always found adults easier to get along with, they weren't interested in the same petty things that teenagers were. There were some adults that were more like children than he was. His experiences weren't exactly typical of a forteen year old, even looking around at the people in the restraunt he could see people roughly his age. Talking to their friends, fretting about school, getting in trouble with their parents, all things that Tarquin had never and never would experience. It was probably better he didn't, their world still seemed so trivial and petty, to them, Tarquin probably just appeared as an oddball.

"Nikolai, how old are you? I'm forteen, I think you might be a little older than me." Tarquin asked, the thought popping into his head sporadically. It was hard to gauge, mostly because Tarquin's interest in his peers resulted in him completly neglecting them. Nikolai seemed older than him, but by how much was anyone's guess. "If I were like normal children, I'd probably still be in school. How about you?"

In addition to his lessons about chicken, Tarquin was rapidly finding his conversational skills were incredibly lacking. Nikolai probably didn't care a great deal about theoretical physics or techtonic plate activity on Earth, but there was the subtle desire within Tarquin to try and continue a conversation.

[scorri]

"You doing alright Avery? If you need to sleep, we can look around the ship some other time. I wouldn't want to make things worse for you if you're already feeling under the weather." Astin sat down near Avery and smiled at her, hoping she'd say she was fine, but meaning what they were saying. "If I can help you with anything, get you some water, something, just let me know, alright?" Hopefully she's up for exploring. I really do need to find out more about this ship... I know basically nothing about it beyond some stuff about who's on it. It'd be good to know more about what's on here and how it runs and all that.

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai warily watched the strange, bloated creature retreat to hassle another customer. For the moment, it seemed that the pair would be safe from any danger it posed. He lowered his guard, keeping an eye on the chattering people around him. He had no idea what they were saying, and part of him figured that even if it did, he wouldn't be able to understand.

What did regular people even talk about?

Nikolai scratched his head at the question as though that would somehow dislodge the answer from the depths of his brain. He kept his eyes on the floor, slightly embarrassed as he muttered out an answer, "I'm not sure. The file says nineteen at the clinic, but I have no way of knowing if that is correct. Pretty funny, isn't it?"

He clicked his tongue dismissively, frustrated at how vague and unclear anything from his past was. If he was the protagonist of a story, it would be a dreadfully unclear and annoyingly confusing one (not to mention he would be the least sympathetic one he could think of).

"I think I would've liked that though, going to school. I never went but some of the boys in the PLA were taken from them, they seemed like good places... or at least, better than where we all ended up."

[riariadne]

"That's not surprising, then. No matter how much you maintain it, age will tend to shine through on a ship with time- it certainly got its time and worth in, so there's no shame in it being decommissioned after that." He gave a small smile at the statements on tech advancements. "After being out of the military, I've not kept up with technologies as well, so I was in for a shock with the new technologies here. That's a trend that always seems to be true of the old as they retire." He gave a chuckled before nodding at Thorvald's rather enlightening comment. "That would go a long way to help with your skills, then. When I was younger, I was a more traditional seafarer, and while not all of the skills transfer over to space voyages, enough of them do that it was valuable time."

[Phoenix]

"For the ANF it might not," Megumi shrugged. "So then ... the only civilians you were targeting were people like me," the doctor thoughtfully concluded. She was too deep in thought at that point to bother assuring Abigail that she wasn't trying to turn the woman's excuse back on her as a negative. The sounds of gunfire had been the painful trumpets of hope when Megumi had first encountered mercenaries. For most on the colony, they had been the polar opposite. Many people had perished, and many of the survivors had their lives changed forever. Megumi often found herself comparing herself to others in situations like these, wondering how she might have turned out if not for her unique and extremely unpleasant circumstances. Once again, she felt she probably wouldn't own quite so many firearms, at the very least.

"I believe you, actually," Megumi said, crossing her arms, "Before I joined the ANF, my sisters and I worked with a mercenary company. I was only a data analyst ... most of the time. That's why I know just how badly these sorts of missions can go. That's also why I was curious about your background."

---

Brant sighed. The good news: no more hostile androids. The bad news: no other staff members in the building, either. That meant the trip thus far had been a passable workout at best, and a total bust at worst, at least for Brant. The captain seemed interested in the 'Ceres' model kept at the facility. Was she planning on taking it for the Riese crew? The idea seemed a little rude, but if the facility had been completely abandoned, anyway ... Well, Brant personally didn't care if they went around grabbing equipment in situations like this. The colony wouldn't even be here in tact if not for the Riese.

Maybe it wasn't all bad, then. Maybe Brant could salvage the situation, somewhat. It was worth a try, at least. "Okay, Hannah, next question: Does Bismarck have any 'portable' component printers? Something industrial grade I could use." Brant couldn't get an assembly line of machines in his room, but fortunately that wasn't the idea. He wasn't aiming to construct anything as tall or complex as an android.

Edited April 3, 2017 by Phoenix

[Shin]

Strictly speaking, Tarquin had never gone to school - all his education was either direct one-on-one tuition or from his own reading. Perhaps with enough time to adjust to it, perhaps he would have liked the idea of it as well? Nikolai was older than he'd expected, there was a good half decade between the two of them but it didn't really bother Tarquin. If anything, that made things easier, he'd always found his own age-group the hardest to deal with.

"Maybe you can go to school one day?" Tarquin suggested, assuming that the ANF would be able to make accomodations for Nikolai. He didn't know where or which age group he could hypothetically be placed in, but it wasn't as if Nikolai couldn't function around people if he wanted to. "I never went to school properly, being able to read lets you learn about whatever you like all by yourself. When my schedule was empty, I'd go to my room and read for hours all by myself. The Professor was really nice, he'd get me new books if I asked for them."

It had been years since he had been at the research facility, since the move to the training base his contact with his creator had been sporadic at best, he hadn't seen him in person for months. It was strange though, Tarquin hadn't missed him as much as he did when he was first transferred. Was he perhaps adapting to isolation, or did his current companions offer the kinship that he apparently needed? The likes of Elaine and the XO were definitely people he wouldn't miss, but the others had been far more tolerable than when he'd first met them.

"I never had any teachers, but there were some grown ups who were good to talk to." Tarquin added, recalling his odd companionship with Bruno. He had been nosy and he hadn't understood everything he'd talked about, but he was the only person at the training base that he didn't resent spending time with. "There was a man called Bruno, he talked a lot and tried to help me in ways I still don't quite understand, but I think he was a good person."

Their order was finally ready, the chicken was presumably guarded by its containers, allied with tall cups and what Tarquin could only assume were fries. It wasn't quite what Tarquin had expected, the heat and smell radiating from the banquet was overwhelming. Did people really like this  The meal itself could prove the greatest challenge Tarquin had faced all day - even more so than putting up with Melissa's inane ramblings. Picking up the tray carefully, Tarquin soon spotted an empty table in the corner, a perfect location for the duo. "So far so good, I think we can sit down now." Tarquin assured, hoping to get Nikolai as far away from the mascot as possible.

-

Bill stood himself up, the medical bay floor had proved a formidable foe but the horrors of Dr Amparo's work was no match for the assault of Bill's cleaning armada. A job well done always put a smile on Bill's face, his fleet of floor cleaning fighters always ensured the battle against grime was in their favour. Checking his watch, Bill laughed, it had passed ten already, he'd already gotten halfway through his shift and there was so much to do. "This is Papa Koala, Bandage Land has been liberated, moving to take contractual obligatory break." he reported through his radio. "Will resume activity in fifteen minutes."

As much as Bill loved his job, he knew rests were essential. His team were entitled to their own rest breaks, he needed to follow the rules just as much as they did. A mother duck that never stopped swimming would end up drowning her ducklings behind her!

-

Talia looked across the room, her eyes setting on the book she'd thrown at the floor. Was this all she was capable of any more? She was approaching the end of her teenage years, and she had nothing to show for it. All the heroines in her stories seemed to have done so much more, and at an earlier age to boot. It was true in reality too, the girls in Femme Formation were barely a year or two younger than her and they'd become stars. Where was her fate changing moment, her chance for a new exciting journey? Had she failed hers entirely? Was her crash the end of any hopes she had of a future? Wasn't there anything she could do? She'd worked so hard, she'd been practically made to succeed. All she had were her stories and games, not a single friend let alone any adoring fans or dashing princes.

Looking over at a poster on her wall, she looked at the members of Femme Formation, wondering how hard they'd worked to get where they were. "Seung-Min? It must be nice being the best... not having someone around to make you look like a joke." she lamented, flopping her head down onto her pillow. "Do you even know what it feels like to fail?"

[Nanami Touko]

Model Helper

"The Ceres model? That robot has been put in storage for being deemed obsolete compared to the--"

"That's great, Hannah, but... Well, we don't have a lot of variety on the ship, you know?" Jess scratched at her hair a bit. "And we're not running around with rookies... I read what was public about the Ceres, it seems like a fast, melee centered robot. I think we've got a few people on board that would be able to make great use of that. We could even get Avery and Buck and their mechanics to give it a touch up, and up to ANF standards!" She sighed.

"I just... Don't like the thought of something so interesting sounding going to waste. These sorts of fights are life and death. Shouldn't we make use of all resources available? If they were just going to keep it in storage here..."

Hannah paused, staring at Jessica and blinking a few times.

"Request acknowledged. Your logic is sound. Were I more capable in regards to the specifics of mecha
output and specifications, perhaps I would be able to offer a longer argument. If Ms. Wright is able to perform
what you claim, then the assumption that a Ceres model with the output of an ANF Velite would likely prove
useful for a more seasoned pilot is not unfounded."

Hannah made sure to store Jessica's request into her banks as Brant asked his, the Captain smiling and nodding.

"Yes, Lieutenant, there are printers on site. Depending on the size of what you would like to produce
they may not be as portable as you wish. Would you be able to go into more detail for me? And Captain,
once I am finished with the Lieutenant's question, I shall provide security clearance for you to raise the model
from the basement floor."

A Sickness

"Nah, nah, I ain't sit, just... Yahhhhh... Tired..." she managed, with a yawn, sighing again after. "Ah'm all good! Now, what're you needin' t'ask me? Lookin' 'round the ship, right? You an' me can take care o' that right now, iffin you want. Buck seems like he's got things handled, an' I don't mind him pokin' 'round one o' those Phalanxs. He needs somethin' t' stimulate himself anyway. Ain't allowed to touch the other models on board much, or captured mechs. This'll give him the freedom he wants to play around.

[Phoenix]

"Nothing too big," Brant shook his head, "I was just thinking of rewarding B1 and B2 for all their hard work. Having little drones to get around on their own with seems fair, don't you think?" He smiled, imagining the two rudimentary AIs buzzing around the Riese's corridors. He couldn't see the joyride lasting long unless they found some way to be useful rather than just annoying. Another thought occurred shortly afterward, one of his AIs walking around in android bodies like Hannah's. He quickly dismissed that idea. That kind of project would take more equipment than he could get into his room. Besides, his childish AIs wouldn't know what to do with bodies that big. If they had hands, they wouldn't know to keep the blasted things to themselves, either. A funny thought all the same.

"You've been around the Riese," Brant noted, "so just make sure the equipment I can use can will fit through the bedroom doors of the crew's quarters."

[scorri]

"Good that you aren't sick. I wouldn't want to have to worry about you. Who knows what I might need that worry for instead." I know exactly what I need that for but that's not for her to know... "Well, if you're sure he won't explode the hangar while you're gone, I'd love to see more about the ship, yeah. I gotta say, they don't exactly teach us much about the ship that's going to be our home for however long, you know? And well..." They trailed off, looking around with a small sigh. "Er... I was saying something... Right. Knowing stuff about the ship could make a real difference, you know? Knowing where weaknesses are, where strengths are. All that. It could help us protect it if something went... wrong."

They paused for a second before chuckling. "I probably sound all weird. Sorry about that. I just... I never know what information might be helpful. So sometimes it's nice to have it. That's all. So yeah. Lets go exploring."

[Xinnidy]

And Here We Are

"Ah, private sector..." Roxanna's wonder as to Thorvald's experience was quickly answered, perhaps in a manner too upfront, but she knew better than to pry for details were Thorvald not fine with it. Besides, if she really wanted to, she could always look it up herself. "Well, the Riese is certainly a change of pace, I'm sure. Even with that experience, Thorvald, I'm sure it's nothing quite like being sent on a terrorist pacifying mission as your first assignment." It was sort of stating the obvious, but it was bizarre to reminisce now, how many expectations were set on the Riese from the get go. Does the top brass truly believe this is the top team the ANF can muster, I wonder...

Dwight's own reminiscence of his time back as a traditional seemed to strike some unexpected interest from Roxanna, whom listened to his words intently. "I suppose there are some similarities, huh? My-- Admiral Alphonse always seemed to favor seafaring ships, from what I remember. I don't think he's ever set foot in space... well, never for combat." For a man called Admiral, a complete unfamiliarity with spacefaring seemed bizarre, though perhaps his duty as Earth Navy Admiral only required him to hone his strengths in the atmosphere.

Thorvald's comment on technological breakthrough did return a nod from the XO, even a smirk. "I guess technology really is unpredictable... I say it's hard to top the Riese, but before I was assigned to Dry Lake, I doubt I'd think even the Riese was possible with current methods. R&D really knows how to make ends meet."

Approval

Makoto couldn't help but beam a smile as the sleepyhead engineer gave them the okay. "Really, can we? Awesome!" He almost dashed up to the nearest lift, but his restraint reminded him that he was being overseen by someone. "Ah, Elaine, can we see the Velites? Please? I've never got to see one up close before!" Actually, he had just yesterday, but that was a detail lost to poor wording. "They're so mobile for that size! Really amazing how far they got from the Mark I."

Special Delivery!

"Ah, there we go!" Officer Grey opened the front hatch, waving back from the now exposed cockpit. "Heya, boy!" In the meantime that they waited for the lift to lower, Grey decided it was more convenient to drop the Phalanx model in front of the lift, rather than carry the whole truck up there. "Got a few things to carry too, this model's designed to be outfit for different environments, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle." With Lyra right beside the model, now it was just a matter of a minute or so to have the model properly transferred and ready to be worked on.

[Ether]

"What wrong, Christina? Not stressful as pilot mech, surely?" Seung-Min gently jabbed, as the ex-rebel made her way over, seemingly out of breath, listening to the back and forth about the Ceres model. Taken out of production, replaced by the Velite. Still, it was obvious who the Captain intended to have make use of that model, based on who they had on board.

"Worst case, use Ceres spare part. Still better than leave here, long as not too much hassle get to Riese."

[Balcerzak]

Captive Audience

The calm confirmation in agreement with the notion Abigail had expressed came as no surprise. The feds likely wouldn't give a shit about intentions, good or otherwise, only the results that ensued from the attack on the colony would matter. That was the usual pattern of things. What did startle her a bit to hear, however, was Megumi's lumping of herself into the same category contracted civilians as the targets of the raid had been. Weren't ships' doctors usually military? While she'd been avoiding looking at the other woman for some moments now, this particular bit of news caused her to turn and pay her renewed attention, watching her face and expression as she continued with a bit more of her story. What sort of special circumstances were at play here?

There wasn't a lot more forthcoming, which was only natural, but the doctor's next words were illuminating regardless. Megumi was ex-mercenary herself, though her contributions had been in more of the supporting role, it seemed. Suddenly the special treatment Abigail had found herself getting made a good deal more sense. All the earlier puzzling pieces were snapping into place, and she saw no reason to doubt the story. Abby could hardly ask for a better advocate, in the days to come, so she'd have to do her best and make sure not to do anything that might cause the well of good luck to dry up.

"Well, you've certainly every right to be curious, by the sounds of it. Your sisters... are you still working with them, now that you're with the ANF or...?"

It was probably entirely the wrong question to be asking, but she found she couldn't help herself. If they were also members of the crew, she just hoped they hadn't been hurt by her or her men, though that seemed unlikely given how things had played out with the doctor's attitude so far. It was far more likely that the hazards of the mercenary life had simply caught up to them, and once she'd become alone, Megumi had had no real other choices. That's the sad reality of their line of occupation.

[Nanami Touko]

Printing Problems

"N-No, it's nothing to do with stress... I just have no stamina. Ugh. Running to the Phalanx, running back... I'm beat. At least flying a robot only takes endurance. I should probably start running in the ship's gym, huh..." Christina sighed, finally gathering her breath.

"You want something like that on the Riese, Brant? You don't think drones will cause any issues...?" Jess grumbled a little bit and rubbed at her head, thinking about it. "If you can make sure you're always with them, I'll allow it, but... Don't let them start flying off on their own. People will start questioning if we have things like that rolling around the ship." That was good enough for her, and it certainly wouldn't cause any problems. Brant hadn't caused issue yet.

"That is all? I can bring a sizable printer for your quarter back with me on returning to the ship."

"Er, wait, returning?" Jess paused, turning her bemused head scratching to the android. Hannah paused in turn.

"I... Would like to stay aboard the Riese. Is that permissible, Captain?

Jess was... A bit stuck. "I... I guess so? We'd have the jurisdiction for it, but... What if the colony gets attacked again? I thought you were--"

"I have several sister units installed within this colony. They were destroyed in the attack before they
could be activated, but colony repairs will make sure they're running for the foreseeable future. Normally
we are too expensive to all leave running, but the colony's typical situation has been changed."

"Is that so..." It wouldn't be a bad thing to have her on board the ship. It would provide a rather effective layer of security, really. If they were ever boarded, any boarders wouldn't be expecting such a security system. That, and she was a capable pilot, if given proper instruction. And unlike any of their crew, Hannah could be fixed if broken. That left her open for more dangerous scenarios...

"Sure. If we can get you cleared to, you can stay on the Riese. I don't see a problem with it. I can only see benefits, really."

Hannah smiled.

"Then, I will input security clearance for your access to the Ceres model, and see about
relocating a printer to Lieutenant Abrams' room."

Sounding Weird

"Naw, he ain't gonna blow up the hangar... Might blow himself up, but that ain't ever stopped him before." Avery nodded, as awake as she was going to get. "And y'ain't weird, either. ANF just don't go teachin' pilots 'bout the ships 'cause they ain't ever gonna fly 'em or fix 'em. That's what we're here for. Ain't nothin' wrong with y'all knowin', though. Most just consider it useless info. But, I won't say no t'spendin' time with a cutie all alone in the ship's engine room. I'm gonna get somethin' bitter t'drink and prolly eat, but you find me or I find you after that, and we can drag each other off to see how this thing runs. Yeah?" It sounded like a plan to her.

As that fostered itself, Buck couldn't help but smile with intense glee as the Phalanx was loaded onto the lift, alongside all the extra parts. "Does this thing have frames!? This is like something straight out of a cartoon! Uh... Gosh, what was it called, uhm... uhhhh!" Buck wracked his brain while the rest of the extras were moved on, finally jumping with an, "Aha! It was Venus Predecessor Cosidena! Got that stuck in the back of my head past all of what I want to do to this thing..." An eager grin spread behind a quiet cackle, as Buck greedily rubbed his hands together. He had so many plans~

SKIP COMING LATER TODAY IN A NEW TOPIC
YOU MAY POST TO CLOSE OFF CONVERSATIONS BUT PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE ON TO NEW TOPICS O3O!!

[Phoenix]

That latest pair of questions caused Megumi to frown, but it lasted so briefly, most people might have missed the crack in her composure. "My sisters aren't fit for service in the ANF," she began. It was true, though the most vague explanation she could have given. Her sisters were small, weak, lacked anything resembling stamina, and had absolutely no respect for authority figures. They truly were unfit for service in the ANF. "Even if they weren't suffering from serious medical problems, they don't follow orders well. Instead, they work from home, writing books for their fans and scripts in the movie industry." Megumi wasn't sure why they sold their work for the extra income; both girls were always left furious and extremely bitter when they found out about any changes that were made to their work, especially Sara. Ellen knew how to cope, but Sara had her name taken out of the credits of a recent release after a small but 'theme damaging' batch of changes. Megumi certainly knew how infuriating it could be to have colleagues and superiors negatively affecting her work ....

---

So they were keeping Hannah on the Riese from now on? That was better news than the Ceres and the new printer combined to Brant's ears, especially since the request had come from Hannah, herself. "Welcome to the team, Hannah," Brant smiled. "By the way, I'll help out with the printer if it's not too heavy ... unless you need me for something else?" Brant ended the question with his gaze on the captain.