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

[Nanami Touko]

Old Trials

Jess turned around as Brant got himself into the hot tub, sinking down to her shoulders again. No confidence was striking, despite his thumbs ups. "New, huh... And worse? That's..." She had no scars. All of the ANF's pilot training was done in simulators, live fire wasn't the standard, not for captains at least. Thinking about it, she didn't know if live fire was standard for the regular pilots, she only knew about her own training... And you couldn't just get into a battleship willy-nilly for fire testing. Even the most decorated students didn't get that privilege. She sure hadn't... That made this whole Riese thing even weirder, but no use thinking about it right now.

She wouldn't be able to think about it with Brant diving into what was perhaps the most ridiculous training regiment she'd heard of. "Wh... Live fire, too? That's... That's absurd! Why? You... You could've died." Jess didn't want to think of that, she'd never heard of that sort of ridiculous training, ever... It might've been the reason that Brant was such a good pilot, but at what cost? "...Who's the ornery old b-bastard?" she managed to ask. His father, or, someone related to the Alkaevs? Someone, probably... "Sorry, i-if this is getting personal, ahaha... Y-You can ask me stuff, too! O-Only fair... Not that I have anything interesting to say."

New Trials

"I... I guess, so." But if it was that simple, why should she believe her? Christina wished she could tear out her brain and give it a talking to before putting it back in... Everything was just too confusing. Kim seemed to sincere to ignore, though... Glad it was Thorvald... You wouldn't have ever known who you shot down if you did, you know. But I guess... Hindsight. Twenty twenty. Like they say... "I'm sorry, Kim..."

"Y-You say I haven't done anything wrong, but look at what I'm doing to you. You're shaking... I can smell what you're keeping down on your breath. I'm so sorry... I..." She shook her head, trying to push the awful back. It wasn't working very well, but if she could really pin everything on Kim... "If you don't think I'm worthless... O-Or, a burden. I can start there. It won't be right away... Not t-today, maybe not for weeks. Is that okay? If I collapse, l-like this, again? If you're there to help, me back up, I... you, o-or Brant... Even... H-Hey, Thorvald. Sorry, to you too..."

It would be best not to ignore him further, he was already being kind enough, not trying to butt into things. "I have a lot of, baggage. Even b-before all of this... So it's... It's catching up. Getting sh-shot, down... Almost dying, t-taking up all this space on the ship, while not... Not doing anything of worth. Bad memories like to spring up everywhere, don't they?" Another wry smile accompanied that, as the tears finally started to form. She didn't let them get further than that, wiping her face on her sleeve. "I'll be okay, today... Kim. Thank you. Sorry, again... I... Can you take me to my room? I need to think. A lot..." What to do, now. How to face her fears... And how to deal with them as they came. I just hope I don't break something in the Mk.III... Wouldn't that just be the worst, huh?

 

Edited June 21, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[riariadne]

Dwight accepted the bottle he was handed over, nodding. "Thank you. I think that should be enough, and I'll use them appropriately. I appreciate your time, and hopefully this will be effective enough that I won't be in more trouble any time soon." He shook Val's hand, then with a wave, departed the infirmary for his own room.

He took one of the pills as instructed, thinking over the realities of the perilous situation that everyone worldwide was now a part of. Douglas... I wonder how he is faring, he pondered.

[Ether]

"Just not used strong feeling like this. Not fault, no apology." Kim replied, shaking her head a bit at Christina's statement.

"Body react strong to, is all. Definite not worthless or burden. Be here if need, okay?" She continued, as Christina noted the root cause of her feelings surging, before asking to be taken to her room.

"Sure, can do that."

[scorri]

Val waited until Dwight had left before turning towards Olivia. "I was talking to him and explaining what was going on. It's not like you're paying any more attention to me than I was to you. Even if I had... Even if I had looked at you, what would it have mattered? You would just be busy reading your book. You... Ugh." She turned back away, moving towards the other side of the medbay as she remembered that they were not alone in the room. Her face was bright red, but she had to admit it had felt kind of good to vent a bit at the other girl. She couldn't really explain why but it did.

 

Colt grinned at Buck's enthusiasm and gave a mock salute. "Aye aye. I'll get on that then." Wandering back towards the bot, he signaled some of the other mechanics to follow him. Reaching the base of the mech, he looked up and his grin broadened into a smile. "Right then. Lets see if we can't get this gal all fixed up before dinner, alright?" Rolling up his sleeves, he grabbed a scanner and stepped onto the lift. Most of the big damage was obvious and would be relatively straightforward to fix, but the first step had to be checking for any other subtler damage that could cause major issues if not fixed.

[Phoenix]

If any of the Alkaev pilots thought for even an instant that they were safe, the exercise likely wouldn't have had the desired effect. More importantly, not everyone survived those ambushes in the end. Brant could have indeed been killed, severely upsetting some and merely disappointing others as a result, but he hadn't. "Yeah you'd be surprised what they've gotten away with while whipping me and everyone else into shape. As for the old man, he's the former head of the company, now retired, Dima Alkaev."

Admittedly, so long as they weren't on the topic of Rosa, Brant was comfortable enough to explain most things. Still, he was curious about Jessica's situation, too. Between her shock at what was just 'life' to Brant, and her unusual skill and placement, the Alkaev pilot could think of a variety of questions. He settled on the most appropriate one for the time being. "Well since you offered, what is it like training in a 'normal' setting? I honestly have no idea."

[Dandragon]

"Makoto, I'm not debating whether or not the weight makes up for the number of ways this gun can function." Elaine shook her head and turned back to the schematics themselves. "I'm saying that the ratio of mass to volume for this thing is not physically possible. From what the schematics show so far, than this thing is gonna need to be much larger. Something like a two handed cannon, not a one-handed rifle, not matter how long the barrel is."

The grumpy mechanic spoke back, saying that he barely knew anything about the weapon, which troubled Elaine. Even more so when she heard Avery was working on this thing, solo. "She's doing this alone? Oh, for... Doesn't she know that projects like this aren't meant to be done with one brain!?" Elaine, with a very annoyed look, slapped the top of her face with her palm. Even she knew that two heads were better than one in this line of work. Of course, she had learned out the hard way. But, thanks to help of Jane, she had been able to finish the Marionne and make it realistically proportioned. Avery, however, didn't seem to have learned this fact, and it was showing. With a sigh, Elaine kept on studying the plans for the gun.

"Don't even know what kind of bot this is being made for... Uggggh." She scratched her head through her fiery red hair, getting more and more annoyed the more she looked at the schematics. "I'm gonna have to talk to her about this. Or something." She mumbled. "See if I can't convince her to not fuckin' throw a bunch of ideas onto a single weapon without a single god damn care for how the god damn thing is gonna work. UGH!"

Edited June 23, 2017 by Dandragon

[Nanami Touko]

Heading off

Christina nodded and gave a small smile to Thorvald as she was taken out of the cafeteria. Looks like she'd have to finish cooking those eggs another day. At least things were a bit easier to think about, having put them all out in front of her. And the biggest thing she was thinking about was how not to be useless. Breaking down like that... That's not going to help me. I don't have to be strong, b-but, I have to be all here. If I can help her, then I can help myself... Right?

Afraid

Olivia only pulled her eyes away from the book to say one thing to Val. "You're scared." She didn't feel there was anything more that needed saying. The girl was terrified of sinking back into old patterns... And as long as she was, Olivia wasn't going to make any progress. Not that pushing her harder than this would help things, if she did, Val would just end up listening to her without a word... And that wasn't going to make either of them happy.

Swimming Deeper

"Doesn't s-sound like a very pleasant old man t-to me..." He sounded like an awful devil, from the way Brant was telling things. Live fire, to a ridiculous degree... It was insane. Definitely insane. For once, Jess felt the need to keep Brant safe, despite how well he'd been doing that for himself. Even when this was all over, she didn't want to give him back to such an awful place. He's a person, not a toy to test... Disgusting. He did her a favor and gave her a different venue to think about, one that wouldn't upset her...

----------

 

Scenario 5: Left Behind

Quiet

The meeting room was the same as always. A bit dim, projectors waiting to be lit up, the captain sitting at the other end of the table... Abigail standing next to her.

Jess had thought she'd experienced awkward before. She'd thought her interactions with Roxanna were awkward, she'd thought her talks with the crew before had been awkward... This deafening silence hanging about the room was the most awkward she'd ever had to sit in. She didn't expect people to be sunshine and rainbows about Abigail being present, but this was... This was new.

"So... Uhm..." She dared to break it, hoping no one shouted her down immediately. At the least, Kim hadn't pulled her gun and taken shots in instinct, so maybe there was hope. "This... Th-This is Abigail. And... And she's going to be f-fighting with us, from today on. We... Don't have th-the luxury of pulling any other p-pilots, so... She's, going to bolster the numbers. Uhhh... A-Any, questions?" The most terrifying part. And even before anyone could answer, Jess felt her eyes pulling themselves closer to Elaine, waiting for an outburst. If it's going to be anyone, it's going to be her... This is awful.

Aside from Elaine, Jess could only hope that Abigail would keep her calm. She was about to be under a lot of fire...

//All the PCs, Roxanna and Abigail can post! Any NPCs you feel should be present can be asked about!

Edited June 23, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Xinnidy]

Wine and Blue Cheese (July 29th wrap-up)

Spoiler

There'd been a bit more conversation on related trivial topics--for instance following the revelation that Dwight had sailed on blue seas as well as black, at least in his youth, Thorvald had mentioned that if they ever found themselves near where he'd grown up, he wouldn't mind taking him to the best damn fishing spot known to man--but eventually things had wound down, and the ex-vice admiral had excused himself to go and see to other matters. This left just himself and Roxanna, with the state of affairs set back to nearly a clean slate to work forward from again. The initial overtures had gone well, and Thorvald felt they'd both gotten at least a little more comfortable with each other, and that--under more ordinary circumstances--the groundwork for a smoother working relationship would have been perfectly laid. Under normal circumstances, yes...

Thorvald hoped the inquiry he was about to make wouldn't destroy all that, but he knew there was no way he could just ignore the issue. Especially not after how distraught Jess had been when he'd checked in with her. His lips pursed slightly, sliding to one side as he wrestled with the discomfort the situation was causing him. Finally he gave up, deciding that the best way to deal with this particular scab was to just going to have to be ripping it straight off.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing left but to get to that one thing on the agenda I warned you about from the outset," he opened up, still frowning. "I'm a little lost how to really ask, but I don't suppose waiting any longer will give me any magical inspiration so I'll just out with it. What exactly happened last night between you and Jess? I stopped by her room after missing the meeting, and well, she was a mess. Nearly the first thing she said was something ridiculous, like she thought you'd sent me to kill her, or just what I don't quite remember. She calmed down eventually, but..."

He trailed off there with a shrug, hoping Roxanna would take the cue to volunteer her side of the story without any more prompting from him which might potentially color the details, though he was prepared to follow up with more if that's what it took to get the wheels turning.

The conversation continued well, though it started to get somewhat dull for Roxanna. While she appreciated Dwight's stories, his trials were not something she would concern about in her lifetime. Technology had truly come quite a ways since. Even if it had to slow down eventually... probably.

The Admiral giving his farewell, that left just Roxanna and Thorvald in her room again. For what it was worth, their conversation was cut short by Dwight, so that left things to adress, what was it again...

That wouldn't be necessary once Thorvald brought up a topic of his own, however. The subject matter enough to make Roxanna raise an eyebrow. "She said that?" Honestly, Roxanna pegged the pipsqueak a bit more confident and professional.

Wait, no, she did not.

"...We continued to argue in the meeting room, once everybody else left." Roxanna started, she didn't seem particularly excited in retelling yesterday's events, but was complying enough, probably a result of Thorvald's strategy in talking about himself first. "We started trading insults at some point, it figures we disagree much further than just who should be captain." She just scoffed, deciding to not go in those details unprodded. "In the end, she... I think she punched me, in the jaw. It drew some blood, and... I had to go to Megumi to fix my teeth." Not the proudest thing to admit, Roxanna winced as she spoke. "When Captain Gefalscht came to senses that she assaulted me physically, she was scared as a deer in headlights. She sprinted off of the meeting room and... that was the last I saw of her that day."

Well, for the most part Roxanna's story matched up enough with the captain's, which was in some ways a relief. Whether forgetting to mention that she slapped Jess first was an intentional cover-up, or whether it was honestly lost in the shuffle of her memories due to the resulting counter, wasn't a serious sticking point for him, so he didn't belabor it further. The important part was trying to just heal this rift before it got even worse, and nitpicking too far over certain facts wasn't going to do anyone any favors.

"I see... I really wish I'd made it to that meeting then, but I was tied up taking care of the captive in the medbay with Rapunzel, as you probably noticed," Thorvald sighed, then tried following up for more information. "How divisive did things get in there, anyway? I mean, before everyone left, it's pretty clear that afterward was a bit of a wreck."

Roxanna's mood wasn't the brightest after pouring all that story out, but Thorvald's quip on his medbay duties got a good chuckle out of her. "Fucking Rapunzel... it's fine, though, it's not meant to be your problem, you're a pilot." For as much praise as Thorvald deserved, he was still just a crewman. "You could just say nuts to the nuthouse and let things up here worsen until the chain of command kicks me or Jessica or both of us. I'm sure being a father on duty must be stressful." She sat down on her chair, leaning against it as somebody who'd just run a marathon. In truth, only her voice really did work that afternoon. "That was the first time I saw the... Jess, get confrontational. Still, she was pretty passive, but tired of me, it was clear. She deals really poorly with my critique... it escalated pretty quickly from there. I'm a blunt person, and... she was just tired of me." Roxanna took another sip of her glass. Overall, her story had been pretty... vague.

 

Roxanna's opinion that what went on in the bridge, or even just those parts of her job close enough to to the bridge for government work, was not particularly of concern to the pilots was a little unsettling, and he'd certainly have to address that, but at least the woman didn't seem to be taking any of what he'd had to say the wrong way, and her spirits seemed to be at a reasonable middle ground, considering the circumstances. Her final conclusion though, that Jess was just tired of dealing with her shit, seemed a little optimistic though, in the face of what he'd heard from the captain after given her a little pushing that night. Well, one thing at a time.

"To an extent you're right, maybe us grunts shouldn't be worrying too much about the mystic workings that go on above our heads, but on the other hand... I'd really rather not have anybody die out there on a mission because our bridge is too busy fighting with each other to be fighting the enemy, if you know what I mean? Sorry if that's a little blunt of me, but you're right, being a father does come with its own worries, and leaving an orphan is certainly one of them. I mean, making someone this cute," he fished around for a couple choice pictures of his daughter and slid them along the table, "...grow up without a father, that'd be heartbreaking, don't you think?"

"Heh, that's actually been the cause of a couple of our fights, me and my wife, and this recent transfer wasn't exactly the most joyous state of affairs neither, to be perfectly honest. I mean, I suppose it didn't get quite as bad as the blow-up we had before Holly was born, over Anya's decision to quit her job and raise her... she had real talent you know, she'd be doing much greater things than I am, that's for sure. But she wanted to be a full time mother, and well, eventually that's just how it ended up playing out. Huh... I suppose maybe, that's something worth thinking about, no? Treating this captain/XO relationship sort of like a that of a couple. There's gonna be fights, there's gonna be squabbles, it can get downright ugly. But above all else you keep it together for us kids, you know?"

Finishing the last swallows from his glass, Thorvald reached for one final joke, looking a bit sheepish as he did, given how it stretched the boundaries perhaps overmuch, "I guess the real downside of your and Jess's relationship is that you won't get to enjoy any make-up sex, haha."

Not that that would have been in the cards anyway, with both of them being women, he thought to himself.

And Roxanna could already tell Thorvald wasn't going to give up on that topic... which was bound to happen. He was being tactful about it, at least, which only made things more complicated to dismiss again. "It... hasn't devolved to the point where the bridge stopped functioning. As far as on duty, I work on what I can, and so does the captain. I, know I don't let it get to me when your lives are at stake." Roxanna spoke again, but it sounded more like she was talking to herself than to Thorvald. "I certainly hope that's not impacting the pilots negatively..." It wasn't that out of control, not in her mind, at least...

Then came the quip about this being more like a couple's relation, which seemed to get a reaction out of the XO. A bit of a chuckle, although she looked embarrassed about the parallel drawn. "I... hmm." She didn't seem comfortable to joke about it, but the way Thorvald pressed about it being important to do their best for the pilots looked to make it hard for her to return a point against. Then came the final joke, which seemed pretty effective at embarrassing Roxanna further. "Oh, oh god, no. She's like, ten years younger than me!" She tried to laugh, although she was clearly a bit awkward when doing so. "Hah... nice one." Perhaps jokes of that nature were pretty effective at taking the XO off-guard, she certainly didn't seem open about it.

Thorvald nodded as Roxanna offered her defense, though she seemed to have somewhat less than unshakable confidence in it. Or maybe that was just the wine slowing her down? At the very least, despite a little bit of understandable embarrassment, she still managed to keep her sense of humor about her. That was good, that was very good. She certainly wasn't the ogre Jess thought she was, and he was starting to feel some optimism about the two of them getting things patched up sooner than later. There should be plenty of time for that in the days ahead, and while it might be hard work for each to own up to their faults and how they were causing friction for the other, it didn't seem like either were the type to be completely opposed to putting in the effort needed. Jess probably would have the harder end of the deal, being younger, and as she confessed, inexperienced with conflict, but that was only natural. Maybe it was premature, but he felt like hanging a Mission Accomplished banner.

"Heh, tell me about it!" Thorvald guffawed in response to Roxanna's shocked protestation at his final joke. "This crew is mighty young. Heck, Tarquin's of an age he could practically be my son, even. Then again, I suppose we do have Dwight, but he's pretty much on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I guess if the youngsters start making me feel too out of place, maybe I'll come back knocking on your door for another chat. Just to get, y'know, recentered or something. As for today, though, I'm starting to feel like we might've just about exhausted the conversation," he paused to look at the table where the empty bottle was sitting and poked at it playfully. "We've certainly exhausted the wine."

"...Yeah, wine for three ends up fast." Roxanna calmed down pretty quickly, looking down at the empty bottle. From her expression, it seemed she was pretty content with the afternoon. "I could get used to these gifts, it's been a while since I've had one." Looking to Thorvald, she nodded in approval, appreciating the last gulp that was in her glass. "Usually I prefer no visitors, but feel free to come back again. As you say, when you need to 'get recentered', this was a nice conversation." It seemed like things were going to wrap up, but at least Thorvald had left a clear positive impression on the XO. If it weren't for the hasty nature of their early missions, maybe Roxanna would put more faith in her pilot team.

...Now if only she was the captain.

On Assignment

Spoiler

"Ensign, anything to report from the scouts?"

"Nothing, sir... Whatever's going on with Apotheosis, they seem content to sit on their thumbs in the plains, and Ontario..."

Maple Ridge's Officer grunted, waving off the ensign. He was too paranoid. Their base was next on the list after Alberta, and the last holdout there had fallen over a week ago. What were they waiting for? Canada was practically entirely destroyed, was there something they needed in Vancouver? Or, were they just not worth their time, anymore? It was too much to think about, and he hadn't gotten any sleep. He really should just lay down and--

"Sir! New readings, one mile out from the base! It's an enemy ship, codename Chaldene!"

"I knew it-- all hands! Battlestations! We've had more than a week to prepare for this, we're going to show these bastards that--"

"Uh... S-Sir, there's only one other reading. We don't have a visual yet, but... There appears to only be one deployed suit."

"Wh-- What?"

He rushed over to the main navigations console of his Kraken vessel, and sure enough, there was only two readings. One was definitely the size of the ships that had been spreading across the country, while the other... It was too large to be a regular mobile suit. What is it? What could be that size, but not be a ship?

"Sir, we have a visual, i-it's... I don't exactly know how to say this."

Stepping back to his captain's chair, he took a look at the video feed being given to them, and it... it was both confusing and terrifying. "What is this? What is this!? All hands, battlestations!"

"Sir!"

----------

"So long, light of dawn~ Darkness take me in, soundlessly, holding on~"

Louise was calmly singing to herself, sliding her new toy along the ground... "Oh, we never did name this, did we? Hmmm... I think a plain snake name would be too expected... And something like Lamia is just so, so overdone..." It took her a moment, before the right term sprung to mind. "The Regina Septem sounds a bit strange... But it fits~ Onward, then, my lovely Regina." With a silly name in mind, and a small chuckle floating about her cockpit, she went back to singing. The base was just coming into sight, too~

"In the depths, silent world, long ago... Captain~?" she called into her radio, having just turned it on."

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Have the squad ready to go, but don't deploy them alongside me yet. I want to see what this thing can accomplish by itself... And if I raze the whole base, then we'll have our benchmark, won't we?"

"That... Is a dangerous move, but you are in charge, Lieutenant Park... I will listen to your command."

"Good boy... Ta-ta, then~ Hmm, hmm... SIlver sky, falls upon, you and I~"

With song on her lips and sights set on the base, Louise engaged thrusters, shooting her monstrosity towards the base. Immediately, she was met with a hail or artillery, all of it bouncing harmlessly off of her shields, neither impeding her progress or harming the mech.

"Another hope, fades away, into light~"

It only took her a few moments to get to the base proper, crossing that mile distance in only a minute. The Velites weren't ready.

"Distant melodies, a sweet luuuullabyyyy~"

A sweeping tail caught the first line unawares, knocking them all over, crushing the legs of some. Arms outstretched and aimed at nearby turrets, small, concentrated blasts of energy firing out from them. One by one, placement by placement, they all fell, harmlessly firing shots at her monster.

"Will lead me, tooooo, youuuuuuuuu~ Firefly, glows upon, you and I~"

A large salvo struck the side of her shield, gently making the Regina sway to the side. Louise grinned. Legionaries, finally~ Something that could tickle.

"Another hope, fades away, into the lonely niiiight~"

The finale of her mech's maiden voyage was about to be made, as the torso leaned back, panels on the chest sliding aside, and several large cannons began to charge.

"When morning comes, the gentle voice will lead you~ Toooo, the liii--"

And they were interrupted, a particle cannon smashing directly into the shield, something finally managing to pierce through the glowing green and toast the outside of the Regina's armor. The Kraken class that had been overseeing the base was charging forward, all guns aimed at Louise.

She could only smile wider, despite having taken considerable damage from such a blast.

"Close your eyes, as the stars grow dim~!"

There were no issues with this. Despite the hailing from the Chaldene, she simply turned the Regina towards the ship, beams charged. There was a moment of pause from the machine, but only a moment, as its own charged particle cannons blasted their way through the air, into, and out of the hull of the Kraken class. Multiple explosions followed, as well as a sinking vessel, coming down just beyond the base.

"You interrupted my singing... Serves you right. Now, let's clean up the rest, hmm?" There was nothing left but desperate Legionaries and Velites, firing what little they could at the Regina. All their rounds couldn't hope to accomplish what the ship had, as Louise calmly started humming again, firing off plasma, crushing the ones that attempted close combat. A symphony of destruction, conducted by her~ After her defeat at the hands of Alphonse, something like this... It was ravishing.

Any stragglers left in the burning rubble of what was once an ANF base were retreating, or had abandoned their robots. The Regina slowly coiled up its tail, Louise sighing in pleasure and satisfaction.

"When morning comes, the gentle voice will lead you... To, the light~ Captain, please, come in~"

"Lieutenant, are you unharmed!? You took a direct hit from--"

"Shhh, sh sh sh... Can't you see? Damage or not, my lovely Regina is already repairing itself... And if it takes a battleship to penetrate my armor, then... I'd call this a resounding success, wouldn't you~?"

"I-I... Of course, ma'am. We'll come pick you up, then."

It had only been a matter of minutes, but Louise was incredibly pleased. To go from losing to Alphonse, to being able to singlehandedly crush this much... The next time I see you, Alphonse~ I'm going to sing you the last song you'll ever hear.

----------

Back at home base, back in her room, back on her bed. She'd donned a robe, crawled out of her wheelchair, of sorts, and was sitting quietly on the edge of her bed, waiting for the commander. It was embarrassing, but she did struggle with every day things, now... Without the use of her legs, she needed help getting in and out of the bath. Using her prosthetic to do so was out of the question; as advanced as it was, getting it water logged would just cause trouble. Alas, Vera would never agree to something, and there was no way she was going to let any rank and file see her so weak. That left Helena, as much as Louise was sure she didn't appreciate the distraction.

"Well, whatever... After the numbers I brought back, I'm sure she'll be more agreeable, this time."

In due time, the door to Louise's room opened, without as much as a knock Helena had appeared, entering the room casually. It didn't take much for Helena to notice her mood was uplifted, offering a few claps as she walked towards Louise, no doubt her hunch had been right. "First, well done on your mission, Lieutenant." Helena stopped in front of Louise, "In the report, I did receive that you took a direct hit from the battleship, but the unit seemed to have recovered with little trace as it docked in the hangar. This time, I'll take your maneuver as data collecting."

A sly smirk, rare for the commander, really showed how pleased she was at the result. "A promise is a promise, I prepared the bath this time, like you asked." Before carrying the Lieutenant, Helena seemed to wait for anything she wanted to add. "It's good to have you back."

"Humph... I got distracted. I didn't think they'd have a ship left to defend the base with. But it's fine~ The doctor's mega particle cannons made quick work of it... I can't imagine there's much that would be able to stand up to something like that. Mm... A-And just, put me at the edge. I can work myself out from there." It was more than embarrassing, even if it was the commander, but she had no one else she could ask.

"Good to have me back, pah... Don't t-try to go winning yourself any points, Helena. You're still married, anyway... As good as that is, with what we're doing. You don't think you'll ever be able to go back to him, do you? And be honest..."

Seeing Louise in any form of embarrassment was always a bit jarring, if welcome, a return to her more human sidem and memories of old. Helena's gaze setting down on the woman if ever a bit more understanding, giving her a silent nod. As she went to pick her Lieutenant up, Helena couldn't help herself a laugh, muffled as it were, at Louise's retort to her 'kindness'. "Really, your doors would be open for me? You are either very open-minded, or have very strange taste, Louise." In comparison to Louise and Vera, Helena had already hit her 30s, she was still the picture of health, but her mind kept drilling her how much faster time was going now. There were just things one wouldn't be able to do much later.

The mention of her husband did bring a more somber shade to her expression, picking up Louise with a huff. "I don't know. Jordan and my parents evacuated, I had to pull a few strings to get them to vanish from ANF territory. They'll probably never be able to live their lives there anymore, all because of me." Her pace was careful, trying not to disturb the grasp on Louise on her arms, all they needed was proximity to the bath for it to open, however (which could only be locked from inside), so that was a clumsy maneuver avoided.

"I didn't want them to be used against me, once I revealed my face. The ANF isn't all fun and games and no backbone. From the information we had, the option to blow colony 1 up had gotten some serious traction. How much of a fool they'd look if they were late..." The tone Helena spoke with was almost of disgust, if a bit dismissive. Her reasons to abandon the ANF military were never explicit to the others in Apotheosis, but it was clear her reasons to lead the ANF attack were very personal.

"The only way I'll see them again is if we succeed. I'll accept no less... so I guess I'll take those points if it means you'll work harder." Helena cut out her own somber tone with a light joke, a weak smile as she set Louise down on the edge of her bath. "Just like you asked, princess." This was a quip Helena always made when helping Louise with her bath, sometimes with a mocking tone, sometimes neutral. This was more the latter. "Anything else you need?"

"Pff... Weird. I suppose I am. But it's not like you're that much older than I am... You've only got eight years on me, don't you? The fitting image of personal health... Definitely far less unhinged than everyone else around here, especially myself," she compared, with a small scoff.

"Perhaps I should leave Vera to her mistake and start pining for you, hmm? Not that it would be good for the organization to do so. If i ended up being too rough, or you got too attached... Well, I suppose the latter would never happen." Helena went on to say so, herself. She'd given up far too much to make this all work, still without much explanation as to her personal reasons.

Of course, she'd built the organization on the grounds that the ANF and the EU weren't up for leading the world. That as things stood, life would stagnate, and humanity would not progress. A violent take over, forcing progression from all sides, was exactly what Apotheosis was designed to do. Even if they lost, in the end, the human race would take one more step forward... And if they won, they could keep pushing. A win win, as far as Louise was concerned... Not that she wished to die.

All of that thinking aside, having a grown woman carry her was just... Too much. She was glad for the scientists they had on hand; being able to move around still was quite the gift, but for these little things... It was too embarrassing. As soon as she was picked up, she shut herself up tight, not bothering to speak again until she was set down.

"Princess, khh... I'm having a good day. Don't do that to me..." She didn't hate it, really. But it was needless teasing, in a situation where nothing would ever transpire. Not much better than what I do with Vera then, is it... A lesson in humility? I'd never thought of it that way. Hmm. Perhaps. Louise's one good eye glanced up at Helena, trying to manage herself some pride.

"Stay with me for a bit. And if you're willing... Tell me what your stake is, in this. I don't suppose I deserve to know, yet... But I'm too curious not to pry. This is the most pleased you've been with me, after all."

This time, Louise wished to pry and make Helena stay, leading to a sigh. It wasn't the first time, or even like Louise was subtle about prying onto Helena's motives, she was the most important piece of this base, so it made sense that others were curious. "Stay with you? Next moment you'll be asking to dip in the shower together." The tease was really just a way to continue insular in the face of Louise, and it always worked its effect, but this time, Helena assumed she really did owe the Lieutenant as much as amusing her.

"I suppose it's fine." Commander Helena, after saying as much, sat down next to the edge with her legs, crossed, clasping her hands as she looked at the bath with a pensive face. "I don't really have much to say... I'm eight years older than you, and by then I was a foolish girl with aspirations of becoming something in the ANF's Earth Navy." Helena was slow spoken, perhaps wanting to describe only what was necessary, or perhaps because the trip down memory lane brought her more memories than necessary. "Somebody important, at least. My parents have always been nobodies, and they've done so many mistakes in life the future has nothing for them aside from debts and job insecurity... I felt I needed to make up for them, to provide for them, maybe." She shook her head. "My dreams were very naive."

"The world has a way to bring you down, no matter how hard you climb. You either luck out and strike it rich, get to the top, or get put on the top by people already there. Self-merit is just decoration, especially in this age." Helena seemed to catch herself after that quip, sighing. Things would be really long-winded if she just went on that tangent. "The Earth Navy taught me there was no spot left until those over me died. Even with exams and studies, I'd only enter the army as a Sergeant, because I had no funding and public school. I'd take me decades to be of a proper rank to support more than me and my husband. " Helena sighed, "There are so many humans and we live so long... it's a great thing, but we've never changed the system to compensate." Gosh, she'd just keep on and on if she went that tangent. Helena decided to stop there, falling in an awkward silence.

Louise got herself into the water as Helena continued to prod, doing her best to ignore the teasing comments. Her robe set aside, she kept her ears open, finally getting a piece of Helena's reasons. They were a bit shallow, all things considered... Better than Louise's own, but for someone to be leading this sort of thing simply because they were wronged in life, well... It was shocking. Not troubling, but shocking, all the same.

"I'd figured that the ANF killed your family, not your dreams... That's enough for revolution, Helena? I'd scoff if I didn't trust you... Really, there's no more to it than that?" Louise almost hoped she was being lied to, as though Helena would chuckle it off and say that she wouldn't be sharing her real reasons. Alas, none of that was coming. Shocking...

"You've got me beat, I suppose. Your reasons are better than boredom. I can't say I'm not a shallow woman, sometimes... Ahhh, but I've got personal reasons, now. You don't know how alien it is to have all the feeling of a warm bath cut off below your waist... Makes you never want to take them, despite how good they make you feel, after."

"Still, I'm glad you have a reason, if anything. It makes you a lot more... Human. Not just the terrifying leader of the world's largest terrorist organization. Perhaps you can slide into first place~" Louise idly played with a strand of her hair as she mused the concept. "Poor Jordan~"

Helena smiled, apparently expecting this sort of response to her spiel. "Maybe there is more to it." Was all she affirmed, before shaking her head. "I don't enjoy getting long-winded, I'd say that's enough for now." Louise had already learned plenty of her past, for now. She'd done good, but it wouldn't justify dropping a bible on the girl. "If you are that curious, you'll have to keep up the performance." Another encouragement to go out and crush the ANF's forces, another half-smile. The commander certainly enjoyed playing distant, despite her concerns for the lieutenant.

"Vera would be heartbroken to hear that, Louise. Careful with what you say." Helena joked, as usual, in retaliation to Louise. Still sat in front of the bath, she had promised to stay this time, and would do so. Even the quip on her husband earned a scoff, momentarily closing her eyes. "Don't make me worry about him, right now. Or my parents. Not until this is over."

"I won't pry further, then... And you don't have to worry about him. You've got us to deal with, Helena~ You should be more worried about the havoc Vera and I are going to bring... How did you manage to get these two maniacs right under your thumb~" Louise waved her off gently, shaking her head.

"Go ahead and leave me be. I'll try not to get too attached... But thank you, Helena. For the robot, your patience... And opening up, even if just a bit. We won't let you down."

"Well, that's why I'm here. So all this havoc becomes something meaningful once the dust settles." Helena affirmed, finding the lieutenant's constant friendliness ever amusing. What a playful soul. "And don't thank just me for the mech, I just put it on top of the list." Standing up, the commander made way to exit the room, taking a last glance at Louise. "I'll be counting on you."

 

Crickets

Oh, it's your fault, Roxanna, being so harsh on the girl. Give her a chance, she knows what she's doing, Jessica passed captain training with flying colors!

Every time Roxanna thought maybe she could see competence in Jessica, that maybe she could... tolerate working under her, she pulled a new idiot move from her magical top hat of who thinks this is okay? The silence was fitting, complimented by a sharp glare from Roxanna at their Captain. If stares could cut through flesh, Jessica would be Swiss cheese right about now.

But oh, finally, the pipsqueak spoke up, finally an opening! "I do have a question." Roxanna spoke up, raising her head as she traded glances with Abigail. "Why a woman convict of terrorism and murder over anybody else in this ship?" There was no excuse to not be blunt this time, and Roxanna would damn make use of it. "If we're so short on pilots, crash course one of the mechanics. Hell, send me out in a mech, that'd still make a lot more sense than this."

Edited June 23, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Dandragon]

Disbelief. Disbelief was all Elaine had at the moment when the captain told everyone what she had done. She was completely speechless, and thus waited for someone else to make the first comment. That person was Roxanna, the XO, and while it was pretty obvious about her general distaste for Jess, Elaine found that she couldn't disagree with what Roxy was saying.

"Captain, I'm gonna level with you, here... Roxanna is right. You are completely insane. The boy, Nikolai, is already pushing some boundaries, but you really think that getting the leader of the rebels under Apotheosis, the same guys who attacked Colony One, is a trustworthy enough person to place in one of our bots?!" It took a good moment for Elaine to find the words she needed in order to speak, because right now she was completely baffled with the captain's complete stupidity. There was being a bleeding heart, and then there was being completely naive. "Jess, what you're doing...this is what people do mutinies over! I just...I can't support this. At all!"

Edited June 24, 2017 by Dandragon

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai's ears turned slightly pink as he heard his name being called. He wasn't surprised about Abigail's presence, all things considered and frankly he didn't particularly care. If this nuthouse wanted to add another lunatic to run their asylum, let them. It wasn't his concern as long as she didn't get in the way.

Sure, Nikolai knew that on a certain level, this... girl was absolutely right about him pushing the boundries of propriety, hell, she was probably right about Abigail. But something about her presence got under his skin. He didn't have any strong feelings about protecting the captain, but at the same time he did owe his life to her...

"Oi, shut the fuck up, da?" He barked, his teeth bared in a snarl. He knew he should be playing nice, but fuck, at the same time he figured that standing up for the captain crybaby was nice in it's own way. She was obviously soft, after all, and would probably just let them walk all over her like a doormat. "Do you have degree from Big Fucking Hero Who Decides Everything academy? If captain wants to trust us crazy bastards on death mission, then let her. If not, is free to... how do you say, fuck off short pier."

[Ether]

"No one mutiny anything. Stand down, Sergeant." Seung-Min barked out in a sharp, oppressive tone, projecting her voice to boom over the room's ambient noise as the atmosphere within grew thick and heated rather swiftly. As she did so, Kim left her hand resting inches from her sidearm on her hip, ready to draw and stun a target if needed. Granted, there was plenty reason for the air to be tense, considering the situation they had been put in, with the Captain apparently deciding that the rebel leader was a deploy-able asset in the field. Hopefully that would at least quell any imminent brawling from breaking out within the meeting.

"Normally would agree crazy, not already done two time already. Captain seem confident this correct decision... even bit crazy, not let down yet, when counts. Assume have some sort contingency in place if need, Captain?"

[Shin]

The presence of Abigail had made things incredibly awkward, not only for the Captain but the crew themselves. Whilst Nikolai had been a last resort in order to save Tarquin, but now Jess was voluntarily deploying a wildcard who none of them had any ties to. He looked at Abigail and Jess curiosly, even he was able to tell neither of them were completely comfortable with the meeting. Whilst they'd lost a good number of their team over the last few days for various reasons, filling a hypothetical gap with Abigail wasn't exactly a reassuring move.

Jess could be trusted to some extent, but a move like this didn't exactly fill Tarquin with confidence. As much as it pained his heart to admit it, Elaine actually had some sort of valid point - albeit mixed in with her usual lack of judgement. Either the Captain would be able to explain herself, or she simply was so desperate she had no other options. If it were the former, he only hoped that she wouldn't trip over her own words. And if it happened to be the latter, 

"Captain, I would like to ask some questions regarding your new inclusion." Tarquin asked, looking firmly at Abigail. "Her ability is combat has been confirmed by our entire crew, but we need reassurance that she is willing to cooperate, as well as the reasoning behind it. It is unlikely you came to the decision on a whim, but without the justification for it, I cannot say that I am entirely convinced that she would be able to be trusted on the battlefield. Is the nature of this mission such that her inclusion is essential?"

With Nikolai he'd been able to make a personal connection, and he'd seen a side of the boy that reassured him. However, he had no such ties to Abigail - Jess would really need to market her well to satisfy everyone. Kim wasn't exactly helping the situation, although her opening fire would create a rather swift resolution. Nikolai, through his own wondrous vernacular, had raised another point about the mission. Surely if it were simple they wouldn't require her help? He needed someone like Thorvald to step in and calm everyone, the man seemed to have a way of subduing tension for at least the short term.

[Dandragon]

"ExCUSE me?!" Of course, someone disagreed with her. There was always someone who did, no matter what. And this time, it was possibly the rudest asshole out of all the pilots gathered here; Nikolai. With his own 'intelligent' way of speaking, he, like many others, told her to shut her mouth and blindly follow the captain. And at this point, she had had enough. "And who the hell put YOU in charge of telling people when they can speak? And WHAT did you call me?! Short pier?!" Her temper was flaring up, yet again, but every time these meetings came about she felt disrespected each and every damn time. Her own self-loathing was one thing, but she wasn't going to let this kid tell her what she could do. "I'll speak when I want unless someone with actual authority tells me not to, asshole! Not some...not some goblin who only knows how to say 'fuck' all the time!"

Of course, he wasn't the only one that told her to basically 'shut up'. She had already heard Kim, and, out of the corner of her eye, Elaine spotted her placing her hand very much near her firearm. And so, Elaine, in her anger, had her hand near her own. Even if it was only a taser to stun, she did not want to get shot by her own teammates. "Kim...Even you have to realize that this is a terrible idea. Nikolai may have been able to prove himself, but that doesn't mean that she will. For all we know, this is a ploy to just get us to trust her so she stabs us in the back! And I do not wanna take that chance!"

[Ether]

Well, she supposed Elaine's reaction was about as expected, the pilot's temper flaring further as she reached for her gun. Aside from her face scrunching in annoyance, Seung-Min didn't give much of a reaction, stoically watching Elaine's movements like a hawk.

"Agree, not seem good idea. Captain clearly have reason, let explain before judge, fly off handle. Let be blunt, walk in here no context, anyone think you crazy one here. Calm down." Kim stated bluntly as she continued to watch Elaine. 

Edited June 24, 2017 by Ether

[Phoenix]

Seeing Abigail, the leader of the mercenaries from the fight at Colony One, was something Brant hadn't been expecting. That was par for the course aboard the Riese, though. It was hard to tell who was in more trouble here, Jessica, or the prisoner she'd released, seemingly at random. More importantly, the telekinetic was somewhat distracted. Today was the day the Alkaevs would try to set up a rendezvous point with the Riese and deliver the Regalia. Compared to that, another team addition could only register a far off second on his short list of priorities.

Naturally, Roxanna wasn't thrilled with any of this, and voiced her concerns before anyone else had. Elaine chimed in next, as if she'd been waiting for the opportunity. Understandable; no one wants to lodge a complaint no one else agrees with. Brant frankly, didn't care. Christina turned out alright. Nikolai turned out alright. Abigail seemed like she would, too. That wasn't to say Brant trusted Jessica's judgment completely, no questions asked, but as long as Abigail was willing to fight Apotheosis, and wouldn't make off with one of their mobile suits or sabotage the ship, what did it matter?

Suddenly, there was a warning beep on Brant's alpha tool. That was it, the call he'd been both waiting anxiously for, and somewhat dreading. There could only be one person on the other end of that line, after all. Rosa. At least Brant would get a mobile suit of his own out of this, one that actually fit his style. He stood smoothly from his seat. "I've got to take this." He looked at the captain, nodding microscopically at her. "I'll come back if the meeting's not over by then." Making for the door, Brant smiled faintly at the source of all the tension in the room. "Welcome to the team, Abigail. Just down a few enemies for us and that should break the ice."

Megumi wondered what was so important that Brant was leaving right this second. On the other hand, the doctor herself probably wouldn't be here if her friend and the captain weren't both in the middle of this miniature trial. Whatever he was up to, Brant seemed to think Abigail joining the team was a foregone conclusion. Megumi just hoped he was right about that. As much as she wanted to say something in their defense, the most she could manage was that Abigail had gotten a raw deal from Apotheosis and had goals far removed from what actually transpired. There were two problems with that approach, though. Firstly, it almost certainly wouldn't ease the tension in the room or win over anyone in particular. At best it would remind people that Abigail had deliberately worked with Apotheosis before, which would only drive their own points against her and the captain home even further. The second problem, though certainly less important, was that it might still be something Abigail would prefer to keep to herself. At the rate things were going, it might have to come out, though, being the only route to any semblance of vindication. Megumi supposed at the very least she should advise people not to be so quick on the draw. It figured the Riese's card carrying NRA member would be the one to do that ...

"Please stop motioning for your weapons like that; it's only making this more tense. Try to stay calm and focus on the discussion."

[scorri]

Astin stared at the rebel pilot, the rest of the room largely tuned out to them at this point. They were glaring at her, too focused on figuring out their thoughts to pay attention to anything else. She was with Apoth. That's not ok. The risk... No, I can't be worrying about that, but what if... The Captain doesn't know everything. There's no way to know what all this... Abigail knows. Who knows what lies she's told to hide what she knows... But if she knew.... NO. She was working with Apotheosis. That's all there is to it.

"Captain, I... I can't. I'm sure you have your reasons to trust her, but I can't. She was trying to kill us out there and was working with the people that are trying to kill us now. Our team was working just fine without her and yes we have fewer numbers than we'd ideally like, but that does not justify bringing in a rebel leader to fight with us. We've gotten lucky twice. That doesn't mean we'll get lucky a third time. I can't..." Astin took a deep breath, knowing they were about to go past the point of no return. "I don't know what story she told you to get you to believe her, but not a single one of us knows her. Have any of us even talked to her? I can't... I can't trust her. And if I can't trust her, I'm going to be fighting distracted. At which point it would be better if I wasn't fighting at all." There. The implied threat was out there. It couldn't be taken back. But Astin didn't want to take it back. The risk was too high to ignore at this point.

[Balcerzak]

Thorvald needed only one look to recognize the wounded enemy he'd pulled from her craft and carried to the infirmary, though she was obviously doing a lot better currently. The big question was: What was she doing in the meeting room? And then, Jess put that to bed with her timid sounding declaration. Of course, given her track record with handling 'any questions' settings, he figured she was bound to freeze up almost immediately, and given the gravity of the current situation, that would be possibly the worst outcome, depending on who did or said what.

Roxanna was the first to chime in, skepticism very strong, but at least she was offering a counterpoint rather than just tearing down. Even if her replacement idea had holes of its own. Elaine springboarded off her disapproval, taking it to eleven, as her quick temper was wont to do, stopping a cat's whisker short of suggesting mutiny. Nikolai didn't take kindly to her basically speaking for everyone else before they had a chance and ever-so-politely told her to take her opinions and shove them, which of course elicited further escalation. Tarquin had taken a calm and measured approach, with a list of questions for the captain, each of them good ones and well reasoned, while Kim was trying to play mediator... aggressively. Brant was almost comically unphased, dipping out of the meeting to answer a call, which had better have been damn important. Astin seemed, troubled, and dropped a big hint that as of right now deployment would be a 'me or her' scenario, not both. Even the doctor had spoken up, another voice in the clamor calling for calm. There was no way Jess would be able to handle all this without freezing up. Not with her track record.

"Okay, captain. First thing's first. I want to thank you for doing this the right way this time. Holding a meeting for it, going through things in advance, and not just having her fly in during live combat. That said..." a big sigh, then Thorvald continued. "You have your work cut out for you. Since I know you tend to get overwhelmed, I'm not going to add on to that burden. There's plenty of time, so we can, and should, take this slow."

~~~

As for Abigail, aside from Megumi, Nikolai, and the captain, this was a sea of people she'd never seen before and had no idea about. Well, except there, that one. The short-haired red-head with a quick fuse, the one the captain had warned her against clashing with. It was a struggle to keep from interjecting with a 'Now look here' or anything else, but she'd more or less promised the captain that she'd be quiet, and let her do the talking. It got to the point where, not sure she could trust herself to keep her mouth shut without putting something in it, she brought her left hand to her face and bit down on her index knuckle until the urge passed. She could manage this. It was a hard trial, but, she was harder.

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai felt a bitter laugh build in his chest as he watched the girl put her hands on her weapon. He figured he had found a weak point, and well, he was right. If he had any sense of self-preservation, he supposed that he would be slightly unnerved by the show of violent intent, but at the same time it was almost cute. Almost charming, really. Either way, he would twist the knife and prod because honestly, that was exactly the sort of thing he was wont to do.

"Oh no, is a taser pointed at my scrotum, what ever shall I do, that is literally never happen to me," He said, letting that chuckle out as he shook his head, "is your own fault for bringing up Nikolai, da? At least I know I'm trash, Miss Big Bad Hero. What do you think we are all here for, for proving self-worth? for redemption arc? for creating big happy family with crazy neighbour Nikolai and loyal lap dog Red? Think, koorva."

He tapped his temple with his finger as if to accentuate his point as he stepped forward, utterly unfettered by the fear of getting tazed. Honestly, he had had much worse happen to him anyway. Compared to being forced to hold a live grenade in between his teeth for mouthing off, the possibility of being electrocuted for doing the same was honestly almost quaint.

"We are soldiers, love. Not big war heroes. Not protagonist. We are tools, we follow orders, we shoot the other guy who does same damn thing as us. I might only be stupid goblin boy who only knows fuck, but even I know that."

[Nanami Touko]

Overwhelmed

There was Roxanna, immediately, cutting remarks into the room. Jess could almost feel them hitting her as she went along. She wasn't even wrong, that was what hurt the most. Well, mostly wasn't wrong. "W-We don't have time, to--" but she couldn't get this one at a time, that was also expected. Elaine, right on cue, was nearly barking out her disapproval. "I, I know you can't, but, j-just one at a time..." And Nikolai... Of course, as soon as he was mentioned, he'd get defensive about things, wouldn't he? Wait, was he standing up for her? Really? After everything he'd said, Jess figured he'd be standing there quiet the entire time...

Things didn't get much better when Kim jumped in and Tarquin put more questions on the pile. She still hadn't had time to answer Roxanna! To make matters worse, Brant left, leaving Jess without another support to look for. Astin threw in what Jess had been fearing the worst, a 'me or her' ultimatum. She didn't have an answer for that, trying to speak up, bubble caught in her throat. Thorvald was trying to play mediator, without a gun, telling her to keep calm and go at this one at a time but with Nikolai speaking back up again and escalating thing further she couldn't--

"S-Stand down!" Jess slammed a fist onto the table, trembling. "Elaine, shut up! Kim, get your hand away from your gun! Nikolai, quit making things worse!"

Jess had to take a moment to calm herself down, first... After some deep breaths, a shudder, and a shaking of her head, she looked up at everyone with the most focus she could have. "I understand y-your reservations, but I asked for questions! Not for you all to a-act like a pack of untaught school children!" She was pretty much done with meetings always going like this. And she was the captain, wasn't she? Did she have no authority at all? Had everyone not told her how well she was doing? Or was that just the people on her side...

"W-We don't have time to train one of the mechanics or you. H-Have you seen your pilot scores? You will not be deploying in anything, Roxanna. And you, Elaine, i-if you can work alongside Nikolai and Christina, then you can do this too! The s-same goes for you, Astin! I don't care i-if either of you think the scope isn't the same, we, we pulled Christina from an Apotheosis fighter and now you all smile and laugh with h-her like nothing's wrong! Do you even know who Abigail is? And N-Nikolai, should we lock him back up too? He was f-fighting there just the same!" What was with everyone's double standards?

"If not knowing who she is, i-is all you're worried about, then talk to her! God... If you c-can't trust her, then you can't trust me! When have I done anything wrong!? Tell me, r-right now!" Jess was growing a bit of an ego as she got more and more upset, but was she even wrong? "E-Ever since the test mission, none o-of my choices have put the crew in danger! In fact, a-all of them have not only h-helped us, but some of them have saved us! How would a-all of you have dealt with Tarquin's episode on the C-Colony if I hadn't stepped in? I don't care if I b-broke ANF code-- this is war! This is... This is not s-some time to be sitting on our thumbs arguing over who we c-can or can't trust when we have a r-real threat breathing down on us!"

She hoped she was being clear enough with this. She expected Elaine and Roxanna to still argue back against her, but maybe it would get through to Tarquin and Astin, at least somewhat. "I trust her. I, I let her out of her cell, I walked her through the Riese. She had, e-every moment she could have had, t-to grab me, restrain me, use me a-as a tool to get a sh-ship and leave. But she didn't. She had nothing to lose, either! H-Her men are gone, she has no chance of escape, a-and... And she didn't take it. If that's not enough, then I-I don't know what is. But this... This prattling on like, l-like children, is stupid. We're adults. A-Act like it." Jess sank back into her chair, tirade finished. She'd take some serious heat for it, surely... But she was learning how to be frustrated. How to be angry. No, she didn't deserve this back talk... Everyone kept telling her how good of a job she was doing; Alphonse, Thorvald, Brant, Megumi, they all had faith in her. What was wrong with having a bit of faith in herself?

Edited June 24, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

Megumi didn't quite grasp Astin's reasoning, at least not the implication therein. Being 'distracted' in the field was certainly dangerous, but short of a not having enough machines to accommodate their pilots, there were few reasons to have any pilots standing by on the Riese in the middle of a large battle. Furthermore, if Abigail was really that untrustworthy, then keeping her in check, or fighting back against her in the event of a betrayal, would work far better with more pilots in a position to do so, not fewer. Protecting oneself first and foremost was a smart decision, but it didn't strike the doctor as particularly considerate of the overall situation, or the other pilots. There were less drastic ways to address the crew's trust issues, and plenty of time to do so besides.

More pressing was Nikolai and his goading of the most volatile of the Riese's pilots. Megumi felt the urge to try and rein him in tugging at her, but she doubted he would listen, and so didn't take action right away. As long as no one got shot over this ... and that was when Jessica took the situation by the shoulders and shook the whole meeting room to its foundations. It was a refreshing blast of authoritative rhetoric that the doctor honestly hadn't known she wanted. Maybe it had more to do with how one sided things had been up until that point. Now Jessica was firing back, not leaving a single anti-Abigail argument hanging in the air. She was taking shots at them one by one, and Megumi found herself silently cheering the captain on, though with about the same energy as a half sleeping desk worker. The doctor doubted this was over, but just the same, she welcomed some actual discourse, and not a one sided argument, punctuated by insults and appeals for order.

[scorri]

"Hindsight is 20/20 and you can't use the logic of 'All these other bad ideas I made turned out well so this one will too' and expect everyone to buy in. I worked alongside Nikolai once without knowing about it until it was too late and once because I had not had a chance to discuss my reservations with you. And at that point he had already not betrayed us when he had the chance to kill you in doing so. Christina is a... unique situation. Had I known she was going to deploy beforehand, I would not have been happy about it, but she was also in the mech with one of our best, if not our best, pilots who I believe is also likely skilled in personal combat given her telekinetic abilities. She could be controlled if she tried anything and was not in a position to do so easily."

Standing up, Astin had their arms crossed and was clearly frustrated. "You keep trusting people. One day that's going to backfire on you. I would prefer it was not a day when my safety was the one at risk. You say talk to her, but how do we know she won't just lie to us about everything? Our squad is working together perfectly fine the way it is. Add in a wild card and you run the risk of destroying everything we've fought so hard to build. Toss in three wild cards and you're just asking for a catastrophe."

[Shin]

The arguments around him were beginning to get rather unpleasant, it was starting to get difficult to keep track of who was threatening who. Would they even reach the battlefield without some sort of incident. They reminded him a lot of the teenagers from the training base, and part of the reason why he'd never got involved with them - aside from his poor social skills. All he needed was clarification from Jess, her authority would be sufficient with a good enough reason. Abigail was a wildcard, but Tarquin was still convinced there had to be something about their upcoming task that made her inclusion valid.

His heart sank a little at the mention of his antics on the colony, his pride had done a fairly good job of putting it to the back of his mind. Jess had made several questionable calls, but somehow they'd all worked out. If it had been one or two, he'd have been less sure but her record actually painted her in a favourable light. There was no way that he had the social skills to defuse whatever was happening between Kim, Elaine and Nikolai - at best he'd be able to calm Nikolai alone whilst infuriating the other two. All he had was his own curiosity and reasoning, two things that usually took him far in his career.

"Captain, Sergeant Doyle's concerns are valid, I would like to request the mission brief before Hedrick finds herself on the receiving end of a taser or within the prison wing." Tarquin announced, considering the squabble almost beneath someone like himself. "I cannot say I share the same trust you do with your candidate, but does the mission really require her assistance? If the task is such where her input is more valuable than the risk of her betrayal is detrimental, we should all accept her deployment on a logical basis. Beyond this, any disagreement on a personal level is simply unproductive."

He stared coldly at Abigail, who hadn't said anything for the duration of the meeting. Was it some sort of trick or plan or her part? He couldn't be entirely sure. Their crew appeared to have a thing for taking in outsiders, yet so far they'd come out with a good track record.

[Phoenix]

Astin's rebuttal came first, and it confirmed to Megumi that Astin was primarily interested in their own safety, at least that's how it came across both the first and second time. Pointing out this self interest wasn't a good argument in and of itself, but in the larger context of a war scenario, it could be properly framed as personal preference for the roster weighed against a captain's authority. From there, one could argue that it should bear little if any weight, as an organization's soldiers were meant to obey, not dictate, or dish out subtle ultimatums. And this was why the brass nearly always preferred a large number of obedient warrior ants to a handful of extremely talented free thinkers.

Tarquin followed up, affirming Astin's concerns but not taking it any further than that. He likely wanted the captain to try and address the points so that he could finally decide where to cast his support. Tarquin then expressed his concerns regarding Elaine and where things could end up if the situation didn't change. Megumi wasn't really concerned with Elaine flying off the handle past this point, if only because it wasn't as likely as it seemed, in her view. Incidentally, even if it did happen, it would give the doctor a fortuitous juxtaposition to use in this argument. The squad was functioning perfectly fine according to Astin, but was it, really? Oh not even close; they simply got results in spite of their shenanigans. Elaine was nearly impossible to control, and the crew knew so little of each other as a whole that it had thus far been impossible to prevent any of the disasters instigated on their side, such as Elaine attacking against orders or Tarquin nearly wiping out half the squad in a suicide maneuver. Between their own red headed pilot, who the captain and doctor both knew had a short fuse, and Abigail, who also had one, the latter was definitely more in control of herself and able to function predictably in extreme circumstances. That's what this conversation and the reactions of those involved should have been showing everyone.

Of course there was the issue of trust, which Megumi didn't even know where to start with. As far as she was concerned, few people in the crew could be fully trusted, if at all. The doctor herself had no loyalty to the ANF whatsoever, and was simply here to fund her life's work. That wasn't to say she would even consider switching factions given the opportunity, but it was worth pointing out. If the ANF collapsed, there would only be safety and monetary concerns for the doctor, nothing more. She could permit herself a slew of actions that might undermine the ANF in any number of ways, either knowingly or unknowingly, as a result. A handful of the pilots weren't even trained by the ANF and were simply picked up along the way or showed up at Dry Lake base before the ship's launch. One was even a Russian national, sent over seemingly at the last second, for no publicly discernible reason. Would Abigail be more trustworthy with a deeper tan and a charming smile, perhaps? Either way, no one had adequately countered Jessica's point about speaking to Abigail and getting to know her, so Megumi decided to second that suggestion. After all, it's what the captain and doctor had done.

"There are plenty of people here we trust but shouldn't," Megumi said pointedly, "like our Russian friend that just stepped out, for a new example. That's a personal problem and not one that should be held up as an actual argument. Like the captain said, you don't know her. She's been sitting in the brig since I operated on her, and to my knowledge, I was the only one to visit her up until her release." Well, that cat was out of the bag, though most would likely write it off as a professional follow up after the surgery, which it admittedly had been in the beginning. "You all had the opportunity to speak with her if you felt like it, but you didn't. Now's your opportunity, so instead of talking about what she might do, why don't you try to figure out what she wants to do? Could she be lying? Absolutely. In the same way I might be lying about a variety of things. Get to know her, then argue that she shouldn't be piloting. That's not an unreasonable suggestion, is it? I'm sure if you put your heads together you can come up with any number of solutions to the problem of guarding your backs."

Edited June 25, 2017 by Phoenix

[scorri]

"Why would we talk to someone who as far as we knew was being taken back to be interrogated and executed?" Astin shot back at the doctor. "The only reason she's even being considered as a pilot is because of Apotheosis deciding to take over the whole world and then some. Trust is more than a personal problem when it comes to us fighting the enemy. When someone betraying us could lead to mission failures and enemies achieving goals they shouldn't achieve, trust becomes an everyone problem." She was clearly in the captain's camp here, which was only going to make this harder. The captain having someone that she clearly respected backing her up was going to make her more firmly believe she was doing the right thing.

"We don't have the luxury of time. Even if you've decided in the last two days that she's trustworthy, that's still more time to develop something that what we're being asked to do. And you're not the one out there having to rely on her to shoot an enemy down. You're safe in here in the nice battleship getting to watch while we fight." That was unfair but Astin didn't care enough to take it back. "We came up with a solution. Not flying with her. Any other solution requires dedicating time and attention that we cannot afford to spend in battle situations. As for Brant, bringing him into this is ridiculous. Russia isn't going to ally with Apotheosis and Brant has fought with us multiple times. Never against us and never with Apotheosis. Is Russia up to something? Quite possibly. But they're not the immediate threat. So they're not something we can afford to waste time worrying about right now. But we do know that she was working with our immediate threat. Maybe she fed you some sob story that has you convinced she's good way deep down. But that doesn't make this decision the right one."

Astin's voice had remained surprisingly level throughout this, though their emotions would betray them to those who could sense them. A storm of anger, fear, and distrust was whirling around inside them and they were fighting hard to keep the emotions out of their voice. They had lost that battle the few times they had directly named Apotheosis, spitting the name out in a forced manner, betraying the effort they were putting in to remain seemingly calm.

Edited June 25, 2017 by scorri

[Xinnidy]

Ms. Captain

There were many point in Jessica's argument that would have made Roxanna hiss, if not for the ridiculous chaotic environment the situation devolved into. After rolling her eyes, the XO had a glare set on the pilots, waiting a moment for all the antics to die down.

"First, I want to see everyone sitting properly on their seats. Second, neither me nor the captain are fucking deaf, I don't want to hear another yell unless someone feels like helping the janitorial team off-mission. And yes, the captain and I are allowed to speak as loud as we want, not you." If everybody was going to act like they haven't learned discipline in military school, Roxanna would be more than happy to play instructor. Her glare had more or less centered somewhere between Nikolai and Elaine, a not-so-subtle way to tell them to suck it and stuff it. Something Jessica mentioned was alarming, but pointing it out in the middle of talks was going to be too disruptive. Goodness... these people have been trained by the ANF, right? Why are they bringing guns to a meeting? Just pointing a loaded gun to another acting officer, lazyness or accidental, is a serious fucking offense... I'm going to need another bottle of wine. Faction tensions and terrorism allowed armymen to carry loaded guns off-mission... but stun guns or not, bringing them to the tiny meeting room was off-putting, begging for disaster. She'd need to talk Jess about enforcing protocols when she could. This was war, but guidelines were there for a reason, which brought her next point...

"If there's no time, you should've brought the matter up earlier so we could have options, captain. That you've let it go to the point where we need another captive out there is on you. And don't bring those dated pilot scores in account, it was years ago and in that case I'd be crash coursed aga-- it was just hypothesis anyways, fuck." Damned Jessica, derailing the conversation with her attempts to dig dirt on Roxanna, and definitely not Roxanna derailing herself. "I can say I at least... if Doctor Amparo has examined the subject, it makes for a bit more consideration." Which really was information the both should have said first and foremost, the XO shot a glare at the doctor this time. "But I'd rather no comments on our original crew's trustworthiness be made, in light of the authority that selected each one. It is not your place to poke holes in that, Doctor. Neither is to say our pilots should have become acquainted with a person whose relevance to our operations has been as an enemy, up until this point." The top brass was the top brass, but Jess... well, she was the highest authority as far as the ship went, but she needed to talk things with Roxanna, ideally.

"So I'll ask, Captain." Roxanna stared Jessica in the eyes, "Considering the need for more numbers out in the field should not have been just as sudden, why her?"

Edited June 25, 2017 by Xinnidy