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Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 2: Of Dire Tides


Xinnidy
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Tarquin wasn't exactly sure how to explain what had happened, had he really managed to break her? It was almost saddening to cause such an event, especially considering how difficult it was for him to connect with people. He needed time to process things for himself, let alone put them into words for Avery. However, Bill seemed to have him covered, although Tarquin wasn't entirely sure if he could rely on a man who seemed to take joy from the obsessive eradication of dirt.

"I was just using the old domestos to get some gunk out from the elevator button, then the first thing I saw was this little tyke trying to help out the sheila, poor little battler, he was. Thought she'd had a little too much amber fluid, but it was too early for that. Not even the swaggies drink until the arvo. Figured something had to be wrong." Bill began, only for Tarquin to speak up. As insane as his ramblings were, it had given him enough time to focus, or at least force him to think fast enough to get him to stop.

"Yes, that's what happened when the elevator door opened... I think." Tarquin replied, hoping that Bill's story actually correlated to the truth - he didn't have a clue what a swaggie was at all. "Beforehand she had been asking questions about her own hypothetical demise, and whether there was value to her existence beyond her functionality. She appeared to be emulating... or even experiencing sadness. I knew she was artificial, but it seemed to genuinely upset her to consider her end. Her eyes began leaking water and her voice changed too, I'm not sure if robots are meant to do that."

Bill looked at Hannah, almost shocked by the revelation. "You mean our spiffy little friend here's ticking and tocking? No wonder she was such a hassle to up and over. Makes you wonder who else'd rust in the rain..." he remarked, not having taken much more away from the explanation.

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"Hmm." Roxanna simply gave a weak nod, "I'll be fine, really. Anything shows up, and... I'll try to be relevant." She shrugged, deciding it was best not to waste the Ensign's time any further. There was a bit of an awkward pause as she looked down to the floor, her mood as foul as it seemed, albeit her best efforts to not show the rest of the crew. It was then that something moved her enough to speak again. "Actually... Tristan?" She lifted her head again, some faint courage in her tone. "If the Admiral... or anybody else, calls us and the captain isn't here, please put me on the line." If it was a matter of pushing herself... she would probably fail, but she'd try. I'll call him myself, later

All Aboard

Once again, Elaine left Makoto's questions unanswered, had the boy done something to tick her off, or was it meant to imply it was alright to go to the labs? "Uhh, sure." Being taken to the labs, Makoto hoped it would be the latter.

It was hard to keep up with Elaine, but eventually Makoto could match her pace well enough. That said, he was practically jogging to keep up, and at that point the boy seemed pretty clear something was up with the pilot --from her impatience, tone, and overall body language--, it seemed she was uncomfortable, or so the boy assumed. He glanced a curious look as Elaine knocked on the lab entrance. "You know... what if there's nobody inside?" Makoto placed his hand under his chin, concerned about the possibility. "You can just come in if you want, right?" This was really confusing to him!

No sooner though, a beep sounded from the mechanical door, and it opened itself to reveal them the inside of the mechanic labs... and a very confused mechanic looking at them incredulously. "What? What was that about?" A skinny man with hoary hair and sideburns stared at them, not bothering to hide his annoyance at the sudden call.

"Do you just think you can yell as loud as you want at these parts? There're people focused on projects here, for God's sake. You scared the lights out of me! We need silence here, maximum precision, tit-for-tat! Those spare parts trashed in combat aren't going to fix themselves." The lecture had an ounce of irony with how loud the man was being himself, but it seemed he was either oblivious to it, or simply didn't care at that point. With a huff, he leaned forward, squinting judgingly at Elaine. "...Who are you, anyways? ID?" He held his hand in front of him, demanding Elaine's identification. The man seemed almost comically upset, but at least he wasn't shooing Elaine just for that?

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"Well... this one isn't the last time, would be actually nearer to the first than anything, but it's been on my mind again recently. I'm blaming it on the dream, I guess it was, that I was having when I must've been dying, before you patched me up," Abigail sighed a little, collecting herself before continuing. She'd made peace with the way things had shaken down, at least, she thought she had, but given how personal a subject it was, she still found it hard to talk about. If it hadn't been for the genuine interest and sympathy she sensed from the doctor, she wouldn't have bothered at all, but for whatever reason, in her own slightly detached kind of way, it seemed Megumi really cared what happened to her. Even so, she was going to cut out a lot of the details, and just give the summary version.

"This happened back when I was young, growing up, figuring out who I was, what oiled my engine, made me tick, the works. My parents..." a dark look briefly flashed across Abigail's face as she said the word, "...were highly conservative, and deeply religious. Of course, all my life I'd heard about what a sin certain things were, but the central tenet was always supposed to be forgiveness anyway, and what's supposed to be closer than family, right? I trusted I could confide in them, maybe get a little guidance. But that was a big fucking mistake. I still like to think my father might've been sympathetic, but just let himself get overrun by mother, though maybe that's just because I was always daddy's little girl when I was young. Maybe he really meant what he said back then, felt the disgust and shame he claimed I brought the family. Either way, it wasn't worth sticking around in that kind of hateful environment, so I ran away. So much for misguided optimism..." A wry smile snuck its way across her face as she reminisced. "I wonder what they would think of me now? It'd probably be even worse. Now I'm not only a filthy sinner, but a terrorist too, huh..."

 

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"She, what? Yer tellin' me the android started feelin' sad an' crying? I ain't... I'm too young fer this shit. Fu, e-er... Frickin'. Sorry Tarquin. Iunno what the hell Colony One's puttin' into their androids nowadays... Just give it one more sec, an'-- Alright... Hannah? You all in there?" The 'why's had stopped early into Avery's debugging, the android slowly looking around at everyone around her.

"I-I... I'm, Hannah? I... I-I--"

"Slow down. Stop yer processin'. Focus on me, okay?" Avery stopped to let Hannah refocus, holding her there for a second. "Yer just gonna overheat an' clog yerself up iffin ye trudge back down that road. Yer gonna come with me, alright? Gonna update yer system, gonna install an extra set of processors, an' see iffin I can't make yer coolin' better too, okay?" Avery made sure that Hannah was focused on her the whole time. It was a bit of an alien situation, but these sorts of androids were new, like, within the last two years new. It wouldn't be surprising for an error like this to spring up out of nowhere. They weren't fool proof.

"I... O-Okay. I will go, Miss Avery. I am sorry, for the trouble." And whatever had transpired with her voice was still persisting, her words coming out almost as clearly as a human's. There was still a slight mechanical tinge to her way of speaking, but that was all that was left.

Slowly standing up, she tried not to look at Bill, Tarquin, or even Avery. "I am, sorry. For causing trouble. I hope to be back at full functionality soon, as to not incite any further worry. Let us proceed, Miss Avery."

"Okay... Thanks, Tarquin, Bill. I'm still tired, but I got enough rest. Four hours'll do me until tonight. Good job with th'quick thinkin' tho', Herrin'ton. Buck's prolly still busy workin' on the mechs. An' Bill, actually, y'mind comin' with? Gonna need yer mop fer some o' this. Won't be longer'n an hour, promise." What, exactly, Avery was going to do, was up to the imaginations of the people present.

On Deck

While Tristan certainly felt bad for the XO's current predicament, the self pity didn't fit her. Cocky was a better look, even if she couldn't back it up. It meant confidence, at the least. And that confidence peaking back up a moment with her asking, that was their XO. As long as she didn't get a big head about it, she could hold herself up just fine.

"Of course. You're in command while the captain is gone, after all. I'll make sure to patch any calls over to your desk." Hopefully, she'd be able to hold onto that courage, and use it to help herself.

Life From an Idol View

"Flour, flour, flour... Okay. Time to make some dough..." Christina hadn't quite expected Kim's literal life story, but she had asked. She just didn't expect the girl to be so open about it. She could read into that a few ways, though it wouldn't help things, right now. Getting the ingredients working, and walking around the kitchen a bit, she listened intently. The most shocking part to her was hearing about the life of an idol.

She'd read into a few things on a whim once-- random searching through Google, you find articles, they lead to others; that sort of stuff. Apparently it was a very abusive market, and there was a lot of expectations placed on the girls... She just didn't expect to hear all of that. So they had to be both perfect little poster girls, and perfect students? "I got by on just Bs... I can't imagine being barred from everything, were I to get less." Kim's point on American schooling was right, at least. They really didn't care if you made Cs, Bs, As. Maybe if you made an A. They gave you a name on a list, maybe you got a scholarship, depending on your choice of education.

"Seems like you took this whole perfect thing to heart, huh... You're a pretty perfect pilot, all things considered." Christina had only passed piloting school due to her ties with the TCI and her flying scores. Most all of her ground scores were below average, but she could fly a plane... As long as she wasn't being shot at. The talk was telling her plenty about Kim, but also a lot about herself. Mostly about how she didn't fit in, here. Surrounded by all these perfect pilots, she was just average... Even with her connection to the T-Link, that was a niche use, at best. How many telekinetics were they going to have to fight? Her guess was not many.

She folded some meat into a section of the dough, getting oil ready in one of the nearby pots. "At least I can cook... A few things." She'd only been talking to herself, even if it was loud enough for Kim to hear.

"Do you think I get in the way of your piloting, Kim?" Christina didn't look over, almost embarrassed to do so. "Maybe today was fine, you needed someone to help with the machine, and Brant couldn't be set aside for it... But, with it being properly calibrated, won't I just make things worse? You're... You're so perfect, you've done wonderfully all your life, right? I..." You have to help her. "I, I..." You owe them your life. "I just, don't know if..." You'd be dead if not for them.

She bit her lip, shivering. I know, I do... But what if I end up taking one of their's? Because I'm such a coward, because I'm so scared, I-- "Ow! Shoot..." She flinched back, a small cut starting to bleed on her finger. "S-Sorry. Wasn't paying attention. Never mind all of that, I was just overthinking things. Of course I-I help. You said so yourself, that it was fine... A-And why shouldn't I believe you, right? Ahh, bandaid, there you are." You're still here because of them... So you're going to help them. And stop being a coward. You're going to work until you can't, anymore... And that's, th-that's fine. That's what you deserve. That's how you can make it up, to everyone...

On Assignment

 


"I hope the commander puts all that to use... Knowing what the Riese can do really helps out our planning... But that Velite was a surprise. Didn't think the ANF would have personal flying troopers so soon, but I guess Bismarck was putting their foot to the pedal on that one..." Vera sighed, working herself out of her coat, having arrived back on base. She'd finished reporting to Commander Helena, and was going to change into something casual to hit the gym with, but a familiar clinking put her on edge-- a bit too late. She'd reacted well, turning around, but machinery reacted faster, metal coiling around her arms and shoving her back against the locker.

"Vera~ Please, stop playing around with me... That Ivanov isn't good enough for you, why can't you realize that? No more teasing, dear..."

Vera grit her teeth and scowled down. "For starters, he doesn't shove me up against walls and hold me down. Good step above you, snake. He's as sweet as they come, as shy as I like them, and cooks whenever I ask. He's probably even a better pilot than y--"

"How about I shoot him down and prove you wrong," she snarled, eyes glaring at the thought of such a comparison. "Make you stop thinking about him, so you'll--"

"Or I could kill you, right here... Threaten him one more time-- If you think I can't make a move, you've underestimated--"

"Darling, our prosthetics are made of the same metal; cut the tough act and stop playing so hard to--"

"Are you serious?!" Helena's voice burst through the room, herself stepping timely into the hall, staring at the two with a look of tired scorn --it wasn't an uncommon occurrence, sad as it was to say. "How long am I going to have to deal with two grown-ass women bickering about men and partners?" Helena's expression only soured, two fingers rested against her temple as her frown mellowed. "I am serious when I suggest you might just be better off on the East Side, Louise. Sometimes I'm confident Adrian could use your help better." She sighed, cutting her point off quickly. As much as Helena never admitted it, being able to tell off these problem children with her old military tone was cathartic. "If you're done messing with Vera, I want to have a talk with you. You're finally going to make yourself useful again, I've got a job I need done."

"Khh... Commander." Louise uncoiled herself from Vera, who quickly tugged her arm free, stepping away from the half monster.

Vera had little to say, she felt she'd done nothing wrong, of course. With a half salute, she walked past Helena. "If you need me, I'll be in the gym."

Louise watched Vera leave, before sighing. "I would prefer not to be shipped across the ocean... If I must prove myself useful to stay here and keep enjoying myself, then so be it. What did you have in mind? ... I hope it's off to the west. Ohhh, I'd love to dig my claws into that wretched Alphonse~" She flexed her hands, daydreaming.

"And how is the good doctor with my new model? Unfortunately, these new on loan toys aren't enough to keep up with some of the ANF's best pilots... Like that bastard."

Helena simply watched in mild contempt as the two women finally broke off their argument. Helena wouldn't tell Louise anytime soon, but her threats weren't as easy to follow through as she let believe. Still, it was a good way to check if their peculiar lieutenant still had a grasp in what was fine and otherwise. Sometimes, it was really hard to tell.

"Your guess was a good one." Helena started, her expression mellowing as much as it seemed to be able to. "You're going to provide backup to our forces there. Whether punching through to the mainland, or cleaning up resistance in the coast first, I'll leave the decision up to you." Be as it were, Louise was still a competent, experienced member of Apotheosis, even if people started questioning her wellness after she recovered that failed mission...

"I believe Doctor Watanabe said he was working with our mechanics to assemble and calibrate the final parts. He seemed pretty quick to work on your unit, even if the... specifications confused him at first." Helena remembered the doctor's face well when she first asked him about it. It was clear he was holding back a glare, due to his position, but the raised eyebrow made it clear he suspected it to be something at his expense. "If you want something more specific, you should contact him, he knows you're the supposed pilot."

"Wonderful~ But I won't be so bold, no no. Alphonse won't come out of his hole unless I provoke him to... And with a new mech or not, charging their central base by myself, well that would be suicide. Foolish, unplanned, and downright stupid. I couldn't go off dying while Vera is still so confused, no no~" She waxed on her little fantasy a moment, nodding, and swinging her tail about, the slicing noise it made through air cathartic to her.

"Then let's go see him, hmm? Unless you've got other things to be doing... And can't stand to be around me, knowing you're only number two~" Not that she would ever try anything with Helena... Vera was a lieutenant, and could be replaced should something go horribly awry... Helena was their leader. Messing with her could topple the entire organization. And that was the one thing Louise put above everything else. With that in mind, she slithered along, gently waving for her commander to come with.

Though she didn't want to let Louise know, Helena did get some amusement out of her antics. With a restrained smirk, Helena slightly shook her head at Louise's final quip, taking it bemusedly. "Isn't that a shame. Being number two." Continuing to shake her head, Helena followed her peculiar lieutenant along towards their upper hangar. While only meant to house spaceships, the Doctor insisted the scale of the project would take a room bigger than what the other hangars could offer. "You're not going to win points with Vera this way, you know?" In the awkward silence that would take to get there, Helena, for her own reasons, thought to strike up a conversation that could pretty well not turn out all that pleasant. They still needed to take a lift to get to the hangar level...

"Such a shame, I know I'm just the best catch we have here on base, and yet I only have eyes for one person. How unfortunate for everyone else, ugh..." She played it up, shaking her head and scoffing at the end. Yet she only sighed as Helena mentioned winning points.

"I know I won't. And I can't win any. Not so long as that foolish boy continues to draw breath... I'm not going to follow through with any threats of shooting him down, so try not to be too alarmed with me... It still frustrates me that he had to come to pass... Though I suppose that a military base isn't the best place to be making advances on your allies, as I am... Ah, well." A solemn stare sat on her face, quietly sighing again, moving on to the hangar. It was best to let it sit. Not that she'd be able to. In this world, everyone was living on the edge. Vera could be dead tomorrow. Louise could, as well. To die with regrets like that, who could possibly want that?

Whatever the case, the doors opened to the larger hangar, Louise's worries shoved aside for the moment. "Dr. Watanabe, what is this glorious beast!? Please, tell me everything~" She a hand on her chest and a big smile on her face, she slid to his side, eyes scanning every inch of her new toy. "It's beautiful..."

To Helena, it was just hard to take Louise sometimes. Her jovial sass would've been much appreciated in another universe where she never got shot down that day. They all had to learn how to deal with war in Apotheosis. They were instigators, yet... even a soldier could lose so much in war they'd need intense care. Helena would've had considered asking Louise to retire were this any military group. Unfortunately they hadn't the luxury.

Instead, Commander Helena just accepted the situation, nodding at Louise as she went on, and then silence reigned again. There wasn't much she could say in good conscience after that.

Thankfully, they were able to reach the hangar without interruption, and were instantly greeted by the incredibly alien machine. It was a mech, at least... well, it wasn't going to walk on two feet like a mechanical walker, but it took a lot of similarities from a mech in its appearance.

From the torso up, the thing was very much a mech, though it lacked a paintjob. The metallic framework was fairly similar to the style of their new loaned mechs, though perhaps a bit more angular, its head intimidating, and slimming down below the waist. In fact, it looked slimmer than most, because it seemed to lack a conventional backpack. What the model lacked in width, it certainly made for below the separating skirt. At that point, the unit was massive, certainly finding trouble to fit a spaceship hangar without shoving other units aside or hitting the ceiling. Its tail easily spanning thrice the upper torso's length and thinning in width at the end. It was a half-snake unit, akin to its pilot. 

"...Hmm?" Doctor Juuzou Watanabe seemed almost too absorbed to provide an answer, but Helena's presence gave him some insight of how important that ocurrence was. Given the lieutenant's appearance, it was clear who was going to be the pilot.

"This 'toy' will be your next unit. Once we calibrate some quirks, it'll be good to go, tracking your motions as perfect as can be. I also added a few experimental beam weapons into it." There was a bit of pride in how Watanabe held himself for that, short-lived as it were. "Honestly... I'd suggest giving it a test run, but it'd be hard to find open space to practice inside the base."

"What else does it do? And what do you mean it will track my motions? Am I to believe this machine is going to move as I will? ... That sounds to me as though you've watched too many cartoons, Doctor..." While she was unsure of the specifics of the machine, it was a wonderful sight to behold, and if they didn't have the space to test it in their base...

"Then strap me in and send me off to a nearby ANF base. We can unleash it and I can see how well it works while I'm wiping it out, no~? If it's just as outfitted as the others we have on loan, the barrier should be more than enough to take care of things, were it to malfunction..." She locked eyes with the doctor, a certain depravity in her stare, as though the thought of crushing a base was nothing more than functions testing.

"...It's not what you're thinking." The doctor shook his head at the Lieutenant's assumption. "It won't track any motions made by organic parts, or anything like a TK signal unit. You don't need to worry about wearing a specific suit for that." To be fair, he had no idea if she was a TK... oh well, they should've informed him otherwise. "I will simply use your... legs--" The doctor had no idea how she preferred it addressed, and after a brief moment of consideration, decided to leave her to correct him. "--You'll connect them as you enter the cockpit, and the unit's lower body will receive information in its place, so don't be surprised if you feel your lower body going numb."

Helena stepped to Louise's side, observing the hulking machine with a stern judgement. It still seemed bizarre to her that such a model would actually be... feasible. "So you're just reusing the same technology that makes Louise move, in a larger scale? That seems a bit... too simple." There were doubts in her mind if something like that was even feasible, and she'd much rather not risk setting Louise up to be shot in a combat zone while her mech flopped around in the sand like a fish out of water.

"It's quicker than making an entire control set for the tail that would feel the least bit intuitive." Watanabe interjected, indifferent to the commander's complaints. "All we need is to calibrate it according to the intensity of the signals, everything else should convert properly." Its dimensions were considerably different, so they needed to amplify the signal a lot, but amplify it no more than what was proper. Analog signals were always a pain... "It's a peculiar project... if everything goes fine, this could work as an all-terrain unit. That said, we haven't thought of making it move in space. That would take more time to--"

"As it is will be all Louise needs." Helena cut the doctor, patting her Lieutenant on the shoulder. "You've heard the man. we'll drop you near the coast to test it out. Ready to give it a go?"

"I won't question the technicalities of how you managed to devise something so elaborate on short notice... If it moves as well as this tail does, then we'll have nothing to worry about. Just like I won't have to worry about anything going numb... I suppose you weren't privy to the knowledge of why I'm parading around in such a bizarre wheelchair~" Louise grinned wryly as Helena patted her shoulder, looking at the commander for a moment.

"Of course~! Strap me in and set me free. I can't wait to work out some stress. Which base did you have in mind? Ohh, there's one just waiting to be smashed in Vancouver... I've always hated that rich, stuck up city. How about there? I can run it through in minutes with this, I promise~"

"I wouldn't be able to create this in such short notice, but I didn't need to." The Doctor seemed a bit smug about that comment. "Colonies 1 and 5 worked to produce something similar... It was a bit of a controversial project, trying to make a mech read information from an android's frame, not unlike a TK's brain, so that any android we built could pilot any future mech with perfect precision... I'll spare you the details, it got shut down for several reasons." He shrugged, another roadblock imagined by the top brass of the ANF stopped them from progress, foolish skeptics... but now Juuzou had free reign, and no brakes were going to be set in his projects. So much to do... "I am not privy to every machination that makes your prosthetic thing work, take it as numb or unresponsive or what have you. All I care is that I can take the information it outputs as it moves."  It seemed the doctor didn't gel with Louise's intonation, or perhaps it was just his nature to be that serious and grumpy all the time... "It will have a small delay, so you should worry about that instead. If it moves in a way it shouldn't, or stops responding, you come back to have it checked. Call for a ship to take you back." Honestly... like mapping a mech to slither like a snake, take into account terrain, and ford through water, would be any faster than an output conversion. Do I look like a biologist?

"Vancouver? Hmm, I'll tell the boys to provide you backup, then." Helena seemed satisfied enough, or was just filtering out the doctor's explanations by that point. "You take that lift and see if it works as well as advertised. If not, our good friend here will have a lot of explaining to do." Doctor Watanabe audibly sighed at that point, returning to oversee the unit through a control panel in front of its parking spot in the hanger. "Be a dear and lower the lift for her, will you?" Helena's tone seemed almost mocking, but she didn't care, she could get away with it. "And remember, anything goes wrong and you call a ship to pick you up."

"Sounds like a waste," Louise commented off hand, waiting for her lift. "Why not use something like that? What's the ANF scared of? Their loss~ Quite literally... Mmmm, I'm going to make so many of them squirm~ I'll try to keep that in mind, but... Ooo~" She held her arms, smiling, letting out a small sigh. "I'm already getting chills~ I'll quite easily make up for any delays... I'm quite the pilot."

Confidence assured, she held up a hand when Helena mentioned backup. "None of that, dear... If we're to have a baseline for this, I'd wish to go in alone... Unless you believe the ANF can puncture through shields on this with its output... Gosh, does its output look good~" The lift arrived, Louise wasting no time in slipping onto it, letting it go back up.

"I'll call for a ship if I desperately need it, but considering how wonderful this machine looks, I doubt it greatly~ Ta-ta~" With a wave and laugh, Louise vanished into the interior, making her way to her 'seat'.

Helena shook her head, but she wasn't mad at Louise's antics this time. The lieutenant's liveliness was almost uplifting this time. "Well, alright." Deciding to leave Louise to test her bot solo, Helena walked towards the same control panel the doctor seemed so intent in analyzing, a more stern glare his way. "Keep track of this unit." She warned, tone as militant as when she chided Louise and Vera earlier. "The cockpit is safer this time around, right?"

"Look, I already implemented your barriers, so I question the priority." Juuzou had no place to argue with her, but he wasn't just going to stand around and take the commander's heat like that. He was a scientist, and not a recruit for her to hardass at. "But I tried for the same safety standard we have on newer ANF machines. I can't help it if she let the barriers down and takes a direct hit from a battleship's particle cannon. Other than that, she should be fine." You couldn't cure stupidity, in that case. "She's a lieutenant, she'll be fine." Slipping his fingers under the glasses and rubbing his eyes, Doctor Watanabe pressed a button in the control panel to release the machine, the suspender beams holding it in place unlocking and leaving the mech free to move.

"I've worked too hard on this, I need a break..." Juuzou mumbled, walking away from the panel. He knew the start would be rough, but cooffe alone wasn't holding him up for much longer. That had been a nonstop project for him and the mechanics, and he could only consider himself lucky at the amount of materials the base could provide. Right now, though, all he wanted was to crash. I've spent most of my time here working on a snake hybrid mech for a woman with issues... He never thought he'd start wondering if the ANF was all that bad... no, they were pretty frustrating still. A nap and a focus shift to a less rushed project would do Juuzou good. I could get started on a new beam weapon...

Louise sat herself down, hopefully as intended-- clamps locking onto her attachment as soon as she did. There was an odd sensation along her spine, something as if... Her range of motion had been extended. It felt natural, as natural as her tail had begun to feel so far. The robot shifted slightly; the harness must have been released. Putting in mind what the doctor had said, she tried to move her tail. With a slick smile sinking into her face, she watched as the machine's end began to sway, in near perfect fashion to her own motions.

"Helena. Helena are you seeing this?" She attempted to contact her commander, almost on the brink of giggling. With what little space they had in the hangar, she began to move, the all natural movements of a snake that she'd been growing accustomed to flowing out like it was nothing. There was no stopping her giggles now. "Heheheeeeehahahah~ This is wonderful! I can't even begin to imagine, this in a battlefield... With the same shields from the Sacarians, heeheeeee~!" Like a child with a new toy; a kid in a candy store; a teenager with free reign of the house, Louise had been presented with something truly magical.

Helena had to see this unit in action to check for herself that Louise wasn't in danger. Like the Lieutenant, she felt the unit's prowess seemed a bit too make-believe to be true, especially for the amount of time the mechanics had worked on him. Thankfully, the doctor proved to be no fluke, and even Helena looked impressed at the result being at all functional. She can really move that. Impressive, what else can the doctor do with the tech we have here? To have an esteemed ANF scientist on their side and so willing to cooperatd was bound to be a boon, especially with the information he had about the ANF. "I've got to say, doctor. You'll have a lot more work after this feat."

"Seven hours." The doctor raised his voice again, no longer hiding his exhaustion. "Or whenever Vancouver is leveled down and rid of military, whichever comes last." It seemed he had a lot to say, but he only bothered that much before he reached for the hangar's entrance to open. "We will discuss more about this technology you have at your disposal then, right?" The doctor paused long enough to throw Helena a last question, important enough the man needed to hear before he left.

"Of course, a promise is a debt." Helena confirmed with a nod, "Just don't forget you're past the point of no return now, doctor." Whether a warning or an attempt to corral the doctor, Juuzou barely took heed of Helena's words past the affirmation, walking out of the hangar and --presumably--, to his quarters. Commander Helena huffed, amused at the scientist's priorities, but dropped the matter at that point, content in watching Louise's joy at her new toy.

"Why don't you take it for a swim? That thing should be sturdier than any ANF mech, since it's our materials. You should probably familiarize yourself with the weapons before you bring them out in Vancouver." The commander encouraged Louise on, perhaps a bit infected by her demeanour. "Go easy on the civilians when you're there, you're free to shoot down ANF soldiers at will. Understood?" With a smirk, Helena had mild wonder in thinking what went through Louise's head at that point. Certainly this unit would have an impact in their favor.

"Ah, no more waiting~ I'm taking one of the Chaldenes right now and heading for Maple Ridge's base. If you must assign me a squad, then so be it, but they're watching until anything comes up. Canada's practically under our thumb, anyway... This will be no problem~ Those fools clinging to life on the west coast are about to be stamped out." Louise disengaged herself from the seat with a calm sigh, taking the lift back down.

"Have my room ready for when I return... I'm going to need to take a nice, relaxing bath after this~"

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Tarquin was relieved to see that Avery had some sort of plan, he might even be able to overlook her involvement in his near death experience if she could pull Hannah through whatever problems she was having. Was the problem really something that could be solved with a hardware upgrade? It wasn't really his position to protest, but he needed to ask, if only for his own peace of mind. What he'd seen appeared so natural, so organic. How could a software malfuction be responsible for something so genuine?

"Miss Wright? What was happening with Hannah?" Tarquin asked, watching as Hannah rose to her feet. There was a strange feeling in his middle. It wasn't painful or being hungry, it reminded him of how he felt when he'd first met Nikolai. There were things he wanted to know, leaving this to Avery and going off to mind his own business wouldn't quite cut it. He looked over at Bill cautiously, the janitor giving him a nod in response.

"I want to come as well, just to make sure she's OK." Tarquin requested, adamant that he wanted to see things through. It was hard to think that only a few days before he'd shown no interest in the wellbeing of anyone other than himself. So far his journey aboard the Riese had taught him a lot, things that he'd considered pointless before. Bill gave a chuckle, picking up the mop he'd leant against the wall.

"Figure having the anklebiter along wouldn't be too much trouble. I'm about an hour ahead of schedule, not as much as a stain on a single dunny from here to the bridge. Probably ought to give my list a good eyeballing, need to shave a minute or two here and there to keep things ship-shape." Bill replied, his answer not even remotely concise. "We can make a whole picnic of it, might have to hold back with the durries, our friend here's a little too young."
 

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"ID...Right ID, uhhh-" Elaine started fumbling with the pockets of her outfit looking for her ID card. Thankfully, she found it, and took it out for the man to see. On it was a profile view of Elaine with a rather blank face on view. The number shown as HR-8998, the specific number given to her once she joined upon the Riese. "Sergeant Hedrick. First name, Elaine. And I was just showing our newest passenger, here, around the ship, and was maybe sort of hoping he could take a look in the mech labs? He's really interested in this sort of thing. Come on, it wouldn't hurt to let him have a look, right?"

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The Deal

"What's happenin'? Uh... And you wanna come with... Alright. Come on. Best t'explain it once she's powered down, I don't want t--"

"Powered down? M... Miss Avery, I..."

"Hol' on, calm down... I ain't changin' nothing. I don't know what they do on the colony, but yer not property. Just need t'turn you off fer a bit so I don't electrocute m'self er break somethin'."

Hannah seemed to calm down a bit, continuing on, as Avery wasted no time in waving Tarquin and Bill along with her.

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"Just as expect to be in Korea. Was bit strange at first, come here, told it alright to miss target, alright get hit... feel odd that Captain and other feel that okay, hard adjust." Kim replied to Christina's comment about her supposed "perfection" in the field... it still didn't feel that way. Today's sortie had gone well, and she supposed that was what Christina was gauging her assessment on, but the Telekinetic's prior engagements had gone far less smoothly.

"Still make too many mistake call perfect. Today consider outlier, almost certain due to performance Mk.III." Seung-Min continued, musing a bit at the prospect, before Christina's next question came, and along with it, a storm cloud of emotions over the girl. Trying to place what Christina was feeling, along with properly articulate her answer, took long enough for a yelp to fill the air, Christina's own thoughts distracting her enough to cut her knife with the finger, the physical pain apparently dulling her thoughts, if but for a moment, although the stormy sea of negativity continued to emanate from Christina mere moments later as though nothing had happened, despite her outward appearance.

"Not get way at all, Chrissy. If anything help pilot bit better, give reason not go hard as might if alone, get too reckless. Once cockpit fix up proper and get used to fly again, could help even more. Reflex might be good, but cannot see everywhere same time, extra set eyes ears better only one. Like say, today not usual performance... usually take few hits, sometime even come back bad damage, you see last time. Expect be perfect all time, not actually there yet. Still have ways go, having you round help lots." Kim replied, as she walked over to Christina, reaching the girl just as she was grabbing the bandage, stopping her before she had put it on.

"Work raw meat, make sure wash cut before bandage. Not look too deep, should be fine, make sure see Doctor onboard if feel bad, okay? Not want infect." She noted, looking over the cut for a brief moment before giving her assessment. With that taken care of, Seung-Min let out a sigh, gently wrapping one arm around Christina's shoulders and giving the girl a gentle squeeze.

"Not going pry what making you upset this time, since seem from before don't want tell me, but can say this sure, Chrissy. Not get in way, not make difficult, okay? Appreciate have you here."

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The doctor listened intently, even more so once she learned that Abigail had a religious background. Far too often this sort of tragedy occurred; the young seeking guidance, or at the very least a familiar, comforting presence, and then the expectations of both parties were shattered irreparably. Megumi doubted Abigail's parents would be proud of their daughter, all things considered. That was just too bad, really. While a person ought to be held to account for their own actions, it should never be forgotten that those actions were heavily influenced by their parents, caretakers, and their mentors. As much as the doctor had taken her life into her own hands, it merely amounted to being a reaction to what her own mother--or template, Michelle, had put her through. Not just her, but the staff at the facility she and her two sisters spent much of their childhood in. If Abigail's parents couldn't look past the surface, and see what Abigail was trying to do, then it simply couldn't be helped.

"I see," Megumi started slowly, "Then that's ..." she paused, trying not to let her anger, this time from a different source, creep up; Abigail likely wouldn't understand without an explanation, and it wasn't her fault, besides. "That's one more reason for you to not give up, here." Megumi saw Michelle Amparo in her mind, her head hung, eyes fixed on the ground, taking whatever 'punishment' Sarah, the oldest of her living clones, felt like dishing out. She was a woman that was worn out, full of regret and self pity, and she was one of Megumi's greatest sources of frustration in this life. Yes, Michelle was an insufferable person, but to see her so ready to throw in the towel and let her dream die with her was unacceptable. What did Michelle's incredible weakness say of Sarah, Ellen, and Megumi herself? If she would give up during the final stretch, what did that say of her clones, whom all had the same predispositions? This had very little to do with Abigail, but Megumi's time with her 'mother' had filled her with a longing for completion, if not outright success. Giving up halfway or worse still, near the end, wasn't something she could easily tolerate in others.

"I don't like to make demands, but ... don't give up, no matter what happens. If you can survive this, being a prisoner of the ANF, I mean, then survive it. If you need a little optimism, embrace it, whatever it takes to get through. Then, if it's possible, confront your parents. Don't let them off so easily." Far too often, Megumi had seen and heard of parents getting all the credit for what their children accomplished in life, while said children got all the blame for any failures that accrued. As ridiculous as that was, it was still more or less the norm. Only the shrinks seemed to care about that most curious of double standards, and Megumi, given her own mess of a home life. If Abigail's parents were even remotely like those, they needed a rude awakening. "Finish the book I gave you, and don't forget a word of it." A rude awakening delivered by a silver tongue was usually preferable ... "As long as you're alive, there's still a lot you can change for the better. Even the colonies might still be saved." The doctor let out the remainder of her breath in a relieved sigh.

"... okay, that's better," Megumi concluded, clearly better off for the effort.


"Hey," Brant waved back. It looked like it was time to get out for a moment and see what was up. Heading back to where he'd first gotten into the water, and where his bag and towel were, Brant hauled himself out of the water, grabbed his towel, put on his sandals, and made his way over while contending with his hair. By the time he reached Jessica, he'd gotten it to a step down from damp, and it was no longer an immediate bother. The towel rested on his shoulders from that point. "Sorry for the wait. Were you getting bored over here?"

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Not Perfect

Christina jumped a bit as Kim came over, giving her another pep talk. She kept forgetting that Kim could feel her beating herself up, even if she didn't know what it was. She wasn't about to get into why either, but the small comfort was worth every moment Kim was putting into it. If she got it told to her enough, maybe she'd start to believe it. "Hope you get used to screaming, then... Especially if Avery turns that seat around." The thought of having to watch live combat was enough to make her shiver, but that was another hump to get over. And you're going to get over it... No matter what it takes. Make yourself useful, like your parents wanted.

Trying to shake herself from the crushing voice in her head, she nodded at Kim, setting things down to go wash her hand. "Er... Thanks, Kim... I... Yeah. Can I ask you, something...?" Maybe getting her earlier thoughts out would help to deal with this... But it wouldn't be pretty, if things got out of hand. Washing up and slapping the bandaid on, she looked over at Kim, only for a moment.

"If... If, it had been you f-firing... Instead of Thorvald. Would you..." She froze on the next words, trying to get them out, but not finding herself able to. "W-Would... You, h, have... S-Sorry, I... I don't know if I can... Finish." Squeaking out her sentence, she bit her lip, and curled it into a wry smile. "If you can p-piece that together... It's been plaguing me for a bit. You act, like you c-care so much, but... I'd... I, I'd b-be dead..." she finally cracked out, "had it been y-you, or B, Brant... Huh?" Cat was out of the bag, now. There was a certain sense of relief, but it was quickly eclipsed by the dread she felt for Kim's answer. And if she says yes... You aren't going to be able to handle it, are you?

Get to Know

Ohhhh, right, people typically come over after you get their attention... Jess shrunk down some, hoping the edge of the jacuzzi would hide her. It wasn't doing a great job. "Ehhm, uh... N-No! Not at all, eheh... It's a-actually really relaxing in here. I was... Just watching you swim. You r-really like it, huh?" She rolled over to get her back up against the rim, glancing back to talk to him.

"If you're enjoying y-yourself, then... W, Well, keep going, of course. Otherwise, it... I-It'd be nice to talk, some. I need to get t-to know the crew better, and... Well, I, I was wondering if you could tell me more about your experiences. As a pilot... My forte isn't p-planes, after all. Even if the Riese is sort of like, a... Giant bird. Haha." Smooth enough for Jess' standards.

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"Ah, uhm, ok then. Uhm... Right. Err, Olivia?" She stayed focused on Dwight, not looking back at the girl she was talking to. "In the cabinet back there, there should be a small brown bottle of round white pills? Could you grab those for me?" Smiling at Dwight, she explained, "These are just... stronger versions of your standard painkillers. Nothing that should affect your mental state or anything like that. Starting out, just take one when you have pain. If that doesn't help, you can move up to two, though you shouldn't take more than six in a day. Uhm... if that still doesn't help, then you should come back to the doctor and she can try and see if there's something more that we can do. Any questions?"

Colt chuckled, watching the two get so excited over the small cat. Shaking his head, he decided to try and make himself useful, so he headed away further into the hangar where he spotted someone working inside one of the Velites. It looked like Buck though it was a bit hard to tell from the ground, but he figured it was a safe guess. "Hey, Buck, got any work I can do? Looks like most of the mechs came in ok, but I'm sure there are checks and that sort of thing that need to be done." He would love to work on the badly damaged bot that Juria was the co-pilot for, but he figured that Buck might be waiting on Avery for that, so letting the boy tell him what to do would have to do for now.

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Kim visibly flinched as Christina began to ask her question... so that was what had been bothering her, huh? Well, she could certainly see why that might have caused Christina to act as she had been. Taking a moment to think it over, she decided to quickly address Christina's first point before moving to the heavier one.

"Used screaming, was bit show off at academy, some less... adventure professor get kind work up when think not going make sharp turn on exam..." Seung-Min replied, trying to be somewhat jovial about it before moving on to her question.

"Honest, probably right. Always taught never take chance with enemy, too value lose some freak accident. Starting see not necessary true, all enemy need wipe out... but at time... not wrong. Not have hesitate... am glad was Thorvald, not me. Older, wiser, more experience... saw you in position not be threat, didn't continue assault. Will need ask more about later, thank for that." Kim replied, stopping for a moment, biting her lip

"You show me that Apotheosis not necessary evil. Not need finish off enemy disable or surrender... not something had consider before. When always taught oppose pilot will do whatever take kill you, hard see other way... until have face place on them."

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Okay, that settled it. It kind of felt like she hadn't really done any of the work, but somehow Abigail had already won a friend. Megumi's reply made it more obvious than ever that she was firmly in her camp, and honestly it was quite the relief, given that sharing intimate details like that does open oneself up to getting hurt.

"I'm too stubborn to give up. At least, that's what Calina would say, I'm sure," Abby answered, her lips twisting into a bit of a crooked grin. "But it does get hard some times, so the support is certainly appreciated. I'll pull through this, as long as you'll be around to watch. Your book's been surprising too, not what I'd expected, and well... while I'm not sure I can follow through with all its suggestions, starting little by little should be better than nothing right? As for my parents..." she paused here, looking into the distance. "Well, if I see them again, we'll deal with that when it happens. I don't think I really need or want to go of my way to seek them out. They made themselves pretty clear, and so did I, the last time." Even though Megumi was advocating she confront them, what merit was there really in that?


~~~~

 

HAN4 had seemed like she'd wanted to protest his reasonings at first, but continued to listen, and had been at least partly persuaded. Thorvald had also been relieved to hear that she couldn't actually do something so crazy as large scale mech reconfiguring on the fly, unlike how she'd basically played operation with her own hardware. However, when she'd suggested that maybe if she were given a little more time, if left unmolested in some non-combat situation awhile, she might be able too, he felt a bit of stunned awe. It was unlikely to be a joke as well, given the android's personality. Could he pretend he just, didn't hear that and move right along? He could try.

Point three appeared to have caused some issues, however, above and beyond her protestation at being called cute. While she apologized for being difficult from time to time, the overly developed seriousness of her attitude had her following up with her concerns about his marital fidelity. Thorvald didn't know whether to be confused or amused at this point. He ended up waving her off feeling a mixture of the two, calling after her salute, "Right, I'm sure Avery wouldn't mind giving you another look. Until later." Then he headed to the pilot's changing room to get out of his flight suit and back into something a little more comfortable.

Feeling a bit peckish, he decided it was as good a time as any to head to the kitchen to fix himself a snack. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd use to fill the hole in his stomach, but he'd figure it out when he got there. Maybe yogurt and granola; maybe celery, peanut butter, and raisins; maybe some corn chips with cheese melted onto them? There were a lot of good options. Thorvald whistled a little to himself on the lift ride down, alone in the elevator, then strolled into the kitchen and headed straight to the fridge to see if that wouldn't help resolve the dilemma. He didn't notice the other occupants just yet, as he made for the fridge, but odds were he would soon enough.

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Off Duty

For once, Roxanna returned the gesture with a soft smile, thankful that at least the Ensign was about to listen to her requests. Roxanna was at least number two in this ship now, so she'd better use her opportunity well! "Thank you, Ensign." Dismissing him with a nod, Roxanna decided to stay on her desk. A passing thought tempted her to leave for her room... but that would solve no problems now. They'd help overseeing the vicinity while Cabello prepared to leave, and then she'd call HQ. Yeah, that seemed better...

Strangers in the Labs

The mechanic took Elaine's ID brusquely, he took reading the information seriously, perhaps to make sure the card wasn't falsified. After a few moments, something shifting his head up to stare at Elaine, he seemed convinced enough, giving her back the card. "A pilot huh? Well, you guys are authorized to check the labs... why didn't you just swipe your card on the reader? Did you not see the machine to the left of the door?" Resting his arms on his hips, he took a moment to sigh, shaking his head at the goofy duo. "I told the guys that painting it the same color as the walls would be confusing... well, whatever, come in." Signaling for them to enter, the man stepped aside, giving full vision of the room.

"A-Awesome! So it'll be alright, then?" Makoto got his hopes up, at first things seemed uncertain, and the man's mood certainly wasn't cooperative, but it seemed that Elaine was very much an important person in these parts. "Alright!" Dashing in front of Elaine, Makoto went to check out the labs for himself, but an unexpected hand pushed his rushing step back to a halt. "Oof!"

"Calm down! No running in the labs." The mechanic had stopped him, waiting for Elaine to walk in and guide the boisterous kid. "You're free to look around, but please don't try to break anything. It's already bad enough with the work we have." The man was very cautious about the work in the labs, it seemed he was going to supervise their little sightseeing session, at least.

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Too stubborn to give up ... though confronting her parents again seemed to be close to her limits, Megumi noted. It was a start, at least, and without a clearly defined reason, something Megumi almost never lacked in her own dealings, Abigail's uncertainty was understandable. Equally understandable was the Riese prisoner's inability to fully utilize what she was learning from the book Megumi had loaned her. There were tidbits the doctor had a hard time following, as well ... like smiling at the right times, or smiling at all. It happened once in a while, but full moons were a more common occurrence. Still, just about anyone could get enough out of that and many other books to considerably improve their standing in any given situation and life in general, so that alone warranted their use.

One of Abigail's big concerns seemed to be having someone there that was on her side, willing to see this through with her to whatever conclusion was coming down the pike. Megumi had plenty vested in Abigail's situation, already, and was even starting to view the woman as a friend. The doctor would certainly oblige her in her time of need. "I'll be here," Megumi assured Abigail, "but that also means I'm going to keep insisting on certain things," she added pointedly. She was teasing Abigail, but like always her doll like expression blurred interpretation slightly.


Getting to know the crew better? Right. A good idea, in fact. It was just too bad Brant didn't have a lot of topics to work with that wouldn't upset one or both of them, at least none that came to mind immediately. The thought of Rosa and her gently worded demands were still fresh in the Alkaev pilot's mind. Brant gave a worried grin, a subtle warning before saying, "Are you sure you want to know about all that? It honestly might bring down the mood. I almost hate to admit it, but my best adventures are happening, right now."

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Little Brown Bottle

"You could at least look at me if you're gonna ask," Olivia snarked back, not bothering to look up from the book, herself. With only her peripherals, she snagged the bottle Val wanted, walking it over to her, and holding it out. She'd been reading the entire time, apparently too entranced to put it down. It was a marvel she didn't trip herself on something. "These should be the right ones."

Shrinking Further

Christina closed up as Kim answered, expecting it, but not at all wanting to hear it. Why had she bothered to ask? Just to get it out of her mind? Now she had this new weight in there! And it was only compounding everything else she'd been feeling, stabbing her heart harder. You should be dead you're going to help them until you die your mother wants you to be the best die and never come home your father would never have thanks mom for all of your support I should have pulled the lever I--

"I should be gone... Sh-Shouldn't I?" She managed to look Kim in the eye, a small, wry smile crawling onto her face-- and then Thorvald walked in, apparently oblivious of everything going on. What a terrible mess. There was nowhere to run, really. Kim would just chase her down and beg for answers, Thorvald would try to play peace keeper in this situation; he'd saved her after all, of course he had a say in things. There really was... No where to go. Not home, not back to school, not be in the ANF, not be with these people, acting like everything was fine.

She sat down next to the counter, curling up behind it, face pressed to her knees. "I don't wanna be anywhere... I just want to disappear."

Bring it Down

"Well... M-Maybe." That was somber. The whole point of bringing him along was to follow Megumi's advice... But... Maybe it was just best to relax? Ohhh, but she wouldn't have the courage to try this again... "I-I think I'd like to hear, but... O, Only if you're alright with it, Brant. This isn't an order, o-okay? Not asking as the captain, just... J-Just Jess. So if you're not up to telling Jess what's happened to you, then she'll... I-I'll respect that. Ugh. Stupid words..." Jess looked up at Brant and tried her best to seem sincere. She was, of course, but sometimes intentions were difficult to put into practice.

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The doctor had conditions, one of which she'd already spelled out: Commit the methods from the book to heart. If they were all just things of that nature, and they probably were, then sure, no problem. But it was a little hard to read Megumi's expression, so Abigail narrowed her eyes, nodded, and answered with a caveat, "There will be some things I won't do, even if you demand them of me. But I'm sure you've already gathered as much haven't you, Megumi? Anything reasonable, though, I certainly can't object to. Thank you again, I mean it."

~~~

Thorvald had located a bagel in the freezer compartment, some cheese and pepperoni, and was about to make an impromptu mini-pizza, when the thud of someone sitting down, hard, and the words 'I just want to disappear' broke him out of his food hunting reverie. Spotting an open bit of countertop, he closed the fridge, set his ingredients down there, and tried to take stock of the situation.

Lt. Kim and Miss Troy were over near some pots by what appeared to be dumplings in the process of being prepared, though Christina had sunk to the floor and was looking despondent, while Seung-Min seemed, a little ill at ease? He was no TK, but it didn't take one to read the atmosphere to at least some degree. "If this is a bad time, ladies, I can come back later. But on the other hand, if there's something I could help with... well, just ask."

 

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Megumi supposed she could just keep pestering Abigail if she wanted. That might even be somewhat fun if it didn't cause too much stress or cast a shadow over her visits. "Expect me to keep insisting if I feel it's important ... but you're welcome, and thank you for sharing, Abigail." No ... she couldn't quite manage a smile yet, not without forcing it. But she'd gotten close. Very close. Maybe next time.


It certainly wouldn't do to stonewall Jessica after such an earnest effort on her part, and there were plenty of topics that weren't too touchy for Brant's taste. The trouble was picking one without having thought about it ahead of time. With the recent call from Rosa, only the worst of the worst were standing out in the Alkaev pilot's mind so far. Thinking back on the initial question, Brant tried to zero in on his general impressions rather than specific events, and on the positives, rather than the negatives.

"Well planes weren't the only thing I piloted, but that'll always be my preference. It's just so liberating to be airborne, moving that fast, that high up. Sure, I've got to come back eventually, but it never feels like it in the middle of a steep climb or turn. That's not to say every live flight was a joyride. I've been shot down over a dozen times."

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Seung-Min wasn't quite sure how to approach this situation, She'd felt things vaguely like this before, but never up close, never this strong, never from someone she cared about. Attempting to take a step towards Christina, Kim felt herself stumble, barely managing to catch herself on the counter before toppling to the floor, though she still lurched forward in obvious discomfort, slapping her free hand across her mouth to try and combat the feeling of nausea growing within her. Why was this effecting her so much, despite having persevered through the magnified T-Link on the field? Was it simply that unlike the whirling chaos of feelings in battle, to which she had been forced to grow accustom, this assault was something that Kim had no experience with? It seemed a feasible enough answer, not that it helped her any. 

Swallowing down the bile that had started to build in her gullet, Kim shakily righted herself, stepping forward into the tumultuous storm of emotion seeping out from Christina and swirling about her head, threatening to strike her with a knockout punch. Stepping through it with what strength she could muster, Kim closed the distance to Christina, entirely oblivious to their newfound audience. Shakily wrapping an arm around Christina, Kim pulled the girl close, pressing Christina's face against her shoulder, lightly stroking at her hair, trying to comfort the girl despite not even realizing she had defaulted back to Korean on instinct, and it was more likely than not Christina wouldn't understand a single word.

"<I don't want you gone, Chrissy. Please stay, please don't disappear. I want you here, and I'm sure if you asked Brant he'd say the same thing.>"

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Really?

Jess slumped down against the edge of the jacuzzi, staring at Brant in a mix of awe and slight daze from having been in the warm water for a bit. It was so nice to hear him talking about the experience of flying, really... She'd never thought of flying robots or piloting the Riese as more than a job. To take that sort of enjoyment in it was foreign to her. Maybe she'd have to try it, one day? Get into an accensus and take off... Her flight scores weren't awful, compared to her mech scores. They were similar to the riese, just far smaller, and faster.

"Huh?" Jess snapped a bit out as he mentioned being shot down. "Over a dozen times? How? You're such a good pilot... Oh, d-did you want to come in? There's space in here for about... six people... Oh..." Now that she was done gawking and awing, she was starting to notice the scars. She bit her lip. "A-Are those from your crashes? Sh... Should I not ask that?" Tricky ground, this was. She wanted to know more about him, bad or good, but whether or not it would upset him... That was the balancing act, of it all.

What Are You Saying

There he was, there was Thorvald... Did he even care? Was it just obligation? Because he was the older, caring soldier, the one who'd managed to even take her in, instead of... The thought was disturbed by her being pulled slightly, but she didn't pick up what was being said at all-- Oh... I-It's Korean... But I don't know what she's saying... "I'm s-sorry, Kim... I don't know, what you're saying... I'm... I'm sorry..." Why did I say I wanted to be gone...? Look at her... She's not running away. She can probably feel everything I'm going through... It's probably awful on her, and, I-I'm...

"Why do... Do you care?" It was the same question she'd asked her before. She still didn't have an answer she could agree with... But for whatever reason, Kim kept acting like this. Even if it was just some crush, it didn't make sense... At least, to here. "...But you know why, y-you do..." Even if I don't get it, is it okay, t-to cling to her feelings? Will I find some meaning in them? Is it selfish of her, or... Or, of me... I don't know...

"I'm sorry," she whimpered again, burying herself deeper against her body. "I-I don't... I don't know what to think right now... I shouldn't, have asked what I did. It's not your fault... It's not, m-my fault, I... I just... I don't know what to do. What... What do I do, Kim? What do I do?"

There weren't even tears on the verge of things, Christina didn't know what to feel. Things were just empty... but... Maybe Kim knew? Was it wrong to put her life there? She didn't know this girl, not really... This felt comfortable, her caring, her being close, but that didn't mean it was the right thing. It's not like I have any other idea. Maybe Kim does... Or, o-or Brant, or Thorvald, even... Even the captain. I haven't messed this up, yet... Have I?

Slightly uncoiling herself, Christina looked up at Kim, the worry in the pilot's eyes more than evident. "Have I messed up? With all of you, or... Or any of this? I can't trust myself right now... You're the only person I can ask." Thorvald was still there, but, she felt asking him would give her a positive answer either way. She didn't have a good read on him past his pleasantries...

Extra Hands

"Colt?" Buck poked his upper body out of Hannah's cockpit, hanging off the edge. "Yeah! Sure. Go ahead and work on that one! Just don't make any changes to it! My PRIDE's on the line!" He tried to slam his chest, and ended up slipping out of the cockpit... Luckily his harness had been attached to the inside properly, so after a "Whoa!!" he was sighing, dangling safely to his attached cord.

"Sorry about that! Got a bit too excited! But, yeah, go ahead and fix it up, okay? The hands'll help you out. Well, some of them. The rest are too afraid to get near my toys 'cause they're afraid they'll blow up! Rude, if you ask me. Now, let's... Come on, arms..." With some hefty effort, Buck spun himself around and crawled back into the cockpit, going back to fixing some of the monitors that had cracked while Hannah was being assaulted.

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Elaine stepped inside and Makoto followed in. She was thankful that they were allowed in, and was even more thankful that it seemed to distract Makoto from his earlier questions. Rather than focus on him, however, Elaine began to take in the sights. Computers lined the multiple tables in the lab, each with their own set of schematics displayed on the screen. Nearby were parts of mechs with varying degrees of completion, though none of them looked legitimately finished. One in particular that stood out to her was the beginning of a beam sword, though it looked too unfinished for Elaine to get a good read on it.

Out of the corner of her eye, however, Elaine spotted a schematic of what looked to be a unique sort of rifle. She walked over and sat down on a nearby chair to take a closer look. "Now, what do we have here?" She said. On inspection, the rifle seemed to have the design for somewhat of a hybrid rifle, which, in theory, would switch between two types of ammunition; beam and ballistics. There was some sort of contraption that made it switch between the two, but no real way to activate it at the current stage of planning. As for the design of the rifle itself, the separated sections showed an elongated barrel, most likely for increased accuracy, as well as a blade meant to protrude from the bottom of the gun, much like a relatively ancient gun called a Musket. The idea get her curious, but, at least in her opinion, it wasn't without it's quite blatant issues.

"Well, this is a neat toy you got here." She said, looking back at the mechanic that had let her and Makoto in. "The idea of switching between ammo sources is pretty interesting, I'll give you that. But, it looks like you're putting way too much into a single weapon. For one, how is it supposed to store and use both a beam power source and a selection of balistic ammuntion? Either you're gonna have to cut down on how much it can carry, or increase the size of it, because as it stands, the scale you're using is not gonna be enough. And what's the deal with this huge blade on the bottom of the gun? You're just asking for balance issues there, if not just holding the damn thing awkwardly. You could use that space for storing the ammo, but instead you put this thing in?" She turned in the chair to face the mechanic. "Honestly, you're probably gonna have to cut some features outta this baby if you want to make it as compact as it is, otherwise you gotta increase the size and change up the design."

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It took until Christina pointed it out for Kim to realize she had slipped into Korean on instinct, the telekinetic pausing for a moment, continuing to hold onto her friend as the storm raging in her mind seemed to calm, still turbulent but less aggressive on the whole. Still shaking, she looked up at Christina as she asked her first question. 

"<I care because you're my-> C-care because Chrissy fr-friend. Need other reason?" Kim replied, catching herself midway through her answer and correcting in appallingly bad English, broken and filled with stammering and stutters, as she shook her head in an attempt to clear the fog mucking up her senses. Well, that and to attempt to mask herself swallowing down another wad of bile, letting out a groan and a cough as her head stopped moving.

"Is okay... would keep bother it not say any. Not wrong about, I need work make sure better. Glad, very glad was Thorvald, not me. Can't thank enough... not fault Chrissy, just be self. Here, alive, all matter. Just be self, I here for you okay?" Seung-Min croaked out, trying and failing to get much of any point across verbally as she clung to the other girl, gently stroking Christina's back as she let herself sink further into Kim, somewhat confused by her last question, and taking a moment to respond.

"Mess up? What mess up? Do nothing wrong?"

 

 

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Keep Your Hands

Makoto followed Elaine more cautiously after the man's complaints, though still showing a starry-eyed admiration to the unfinished pieces and schematics if Elaine bothered to look at him. As they progressed, he seemed pretty curious about the unfinished beam sword, puzzled at its assembly. "So that's how they generate the field to hold it together..." It seems he was getting some classes school would never teach.

Elaine's curiosity at the rifle brought his attention to it too, listening to her fully before adding a comment, perhaps by lack of experience in comparison. "I wonder... it seems like the goal is a swiss-knife kind of weapon, right? Depending on how accurate the gun is, it should make for its weight because you're carrying less... maybe?" Considering it was unfinished, maybe it was too early to judge.

The mechanic made it his duty to keep following Elaine and Makoto around, though he was silent enough to let them do their thing. Once Elaine spoked up, he sighed, following with a shrug. "That's Avery's project... you should ask her what's the deal with that. She likes keeping details to herself about this stuff --Case in point, that new unit she kept locked in until now. Hmph!" The man crossed his arms, though this grumpiness didn't seem to differ from his usual expression, maybe he wasn't all that bothered? "She was kind enough to give data on a portable V-drive design, though. That, I can't wait to work on."

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Right, Brant hadn't been shot down since joining the ANF. He hadn't even taken any meaningful damage since that exercise gone wild over at Dry Lake. The telekinetic had to admit that his prior training had thus far paid off; knowing how easily a well coordinated team could down him in any plane or suit kept him from getting a big head, and having been subjected to such unrealistic conditions so woefully often, Brant was able to keep a cool head in the face of almost certain death. His training hadn't done anything to get him through unusual social situations, though. That he had to learn from personal experience and a modest amount of research.

Glancing at his scars when they came up, he nodded. "I actually had more than these, much worse too, but those were removed. These are ... newer, and I know how to protect myself, now." Since standing around was going to start feeling awkward sooner or later, Brant carefully made his way into the hot tub. "But yeah, I got shot down a lot in training. That ornery old bastard wanted the fear of death and our egos crushed, so he randomly put us in impossible scenarios. One day you're going into the field for a weapons exercise, next thing you know, the weapon you're testing shuts down, along with your radar and comms, and then you're taking heavy fire from sixteen directions. All you can really do is deal back as much fire as you can, don't panic, and don't get hit in the cockpit. That was it, really; you were still going down no matter what." Even Tonya, the best pilot the Alkaevs had ever created, wasn't able to win in the end, though she'd certainly made them question just how perfect their methods were.

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Well, no one told him to bugger off, and it didn't seem like they were fighting, so Thorvald supposed as long as he didn't get in their way things shouldn't be a problem. Kim went in to hug Christina, saying something he couldn't make out, and the other girl didn't seem opposed to it, so he figured he ought to just let the two of them work on things for now. Without any context, butting in further would be as useless as tits on a bull. Maybe if things continued on in this matter until after he'd finished his snack, then he'd get involved, but at present there was no point in forcing it.

Turning back to constructing his work of deliciousness, he tried not to eavesdrop, a process helped along by the fact that the lieutenant was slipping in and out of Korean, and foreign languages tend to roll over one like water off a duck's back. Thorvald probably would have managed to miss the whole conversation, had his name not come up near the end of it. It's just how things work, people are wired to react to their names, it's like Pavlov's bell. He unconsciously turned and looked again, pursed his lips, and wondered curiously what on earth this was about. He couldn't think of anything he'd done to upset Christina, and certainly not recently. It was hard not to interject at this point, very hard, but he'd already offered help if they wanted it, and since Kim hadn't followed up on his name with anything directed toward him, nor had Christina indicated an interest to take him up on it, he was going to struggle to keep to his guns, not to jump in unless asked.

Edited by Balcerzak
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