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


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As it turns out, Abigail needn't have tried to intervene, by the time she'd positioned herself to do so, Jess had already taken care of the rogue sporting equipment, though when she returned the ball to the water she was a mite overenthusiatic and slipped, falling backwards into her, so perhaps it was for the best after all. Giving a light squeeze after catching the captain, Abby summed things up with, "Atta girl, that'll show 'em not to mess with team hot tub! Just, watch your footing next time." Laughs were shared, and things settled down more or less until everyone had had their fill of the pool.

~

Some hours later, after supper, Abigail had just one more item of business she was hoping to do before settling into her room. Sure, she still had things planned to hopefully accomplish after that, but those could be handled from a datapad while laying in a comforting bed. This, however, was something she needed to do face to face. Giving a brief knock on the door to the infirmary before she showed herself in, Abby quickly spotted the doctor, made her way over to her and asked softly, "Megumi? I'm glad you're here. Earlier, I heard word that you're treating a patient from the Colony One attack. Would it be alright if I saw her? Just to check in and see how she's doing." This was going to be difficult on her, and it showed a little on her face.


Aside from the one stray hit, the rest of the fun in the water passed relatively uneventfully. After showering off, toweling up, and changing, Thorvald headed back to his room and took care of a few things here and there until dinner. Afterward, he swung by Cheryl's office. He'd had a bit of indecision over whether he should actually go or not, after all his concerns weren't the sort of thing one generally would to talk to a psychologist about, not really. But the side that argued it couldn't hurt anything, and even if he ended up wasting her time she probably wouldn't hold it against him, won out in the end. After knocking on the door, he waited for a response. Maybe she wouldn't even be in, maybe it'd be better to just turn back now, the reluctant part advised.

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Doing NSFW things with your hands in the locker room, oh my!

 

 

With Christina agreeing, and standing up to follow, Kim gently grasped the girl's hand, before leading her along to the change rooms. It was far enough away for her purposes of giving Christina some breathing room, while not so far as to prohibit going back to the pool, if that's what they ended up doing. Stopping once the duo had entered the room and pivoted to the side of the door, Kim released Christina's hand and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Feeling okay, Chrissy? Seem stress, thought could use breathe."

The changing rooms...? Ohh... Oh no... This wasn't going to turn into... No, okay. Christina breathed a small sigh of relief, biting her lip for a moment. "I... Just, not used to the attention... And things like that. That's all. And the constant teasing is just... I dunno how to deal with it. How do you deal with it? How did, you deal with it? I guess if it's a guy it's not as bad, but..."

Oh, she'd just said that out loud. That was embarrassing... She blushed a moment, hugging her shirt tighter, wondering if it should go back on.

"How deal? Just used to, suppose. Expect from young age to try excel, always strive center attention. Can't idol if shy... even ones act like, just that, act. Best way deal is just expose, acclimate." Kim replied to Christina's query, giggling a little as Christina slipped a bit and started to blush.

"Not as bad if guy, hmm? Am that intimidate, Chrissy?"

Just expose yourself and get used to it... That sounded difficult. If even this much was causing her trouble, more would probably make her hide herself away forever... "And yes... You are. You know why. I told you earlier... It's... It's foreign, coming from a guy. So I don't get the same sort of reaction. But... But you, and any other girl looking at me like that or, or talking to me, is something I'm just..."

She sighed, sitting on one of the benches provided in the changing rooms. "I've had too much bad to get used to that little good..."

"See... well, for now think small step fine. Can't move future if still drag back past, so focus past now." Kim replied with a smile, sitting down next to Christina with a conflicted expression, before shaking her head and allowing her smile to return.

"Wasn't sure if good say, since might overwhelm, but want say anyway... even if selfish. Am proud you, come out shell like did, make me happy see. And look very good, Chrissy."

"Yeah... I bet you're happy to get to see a pretty girl in a bikini," she joked, smiling a bit to help it come across better. Still, if Kim did like her that way, it made sense that she was happy about this... Even if she didn't really get that much. "Why... Why me, anyway? I'm sure you've known the rest of the people here longer... And there are plenty of cute girls without this kinda silly complex. I'm sure you could do better..."

"Not about do better. Like Chrissy. As why Chrissy... maybe bit silly, just feel close to. So used every relation business, cut throat, stuff that. Not like that Chrissy, just... casual friend. Had friend before, but always wary about TK, know? Never want trust someone can read feeling." Kim began, her expression shriveling into a grimace for a few moments until she corrected it with a sigh.

"None that Chrissy. Just can be friend, not worry fake, bad intent, no need hide... Chrissy refreshing be around. Make happy."

Oh... That made sense. Christina was so used to dealing with T-Links and other TKs that she just... Stopped worrying about them feeling what she was. So that was it... She just made Kim feel normal and comfortable. In a small crew, perhaps that was a thing unique to her. "Alright... I can accept that." Even if she didn't think much of herself, it was something that only she could do... Right?

"You'd still be happier if it was more than friends, though..." I'm gonna get hung up on that for a while, aren't I? She furrowed her brow and slipped out a wry smile, sighing quietly.

"Be happy with whatever make Chrissy happy. Don't want make awkward or any like that. Chrissy, I am bit flirt, kind playful, do find attractive fun be around. Would enjoy date, think very fun..." Kim began, trailing off for a moment before continuing.

"But friendship Chrissy more important. Can date someone else if not interest, later. Can't find other friend like Chrissy. Want understand, interest in you but more interest in keeping friend. Please, not worry about. Can stop flirt Chrissy unless ask for, if make more comfortable, move on from idea."

But even if you say that, it's obvious you'd enjoy more... I just don't... Why is this such a big hang up? It's so stupid. Look at her. Gorgeous idol interested in dating you, no hidden cameras, no ulterior motives-- you felt how she felt in the damn machine! Just... But I... She felt herself shiver, gently reaching for and taking Kim's hand, the warm sensation good to her.

"Kim... K-Kiss me." She looked over at her and readied herself, blushing deeply. "Just... Just, do it."

Christina felt conflicted, that much was obvious. Guilty, angry... with herself, or so it felt. She was wrestling with something in her mind, that much was clear, and what exactly that was came to light after a few moments, as she made her request whilst moving to hold Kim's hand.

"Chrissy sure? Don't want pressure."

"No. I'm not sure... But I have to know how I'm going to react to something like this if I ever want to make it anywhere with anyone... And you're my safest option. If... If that's selfish, and y-you feel like I'm just using you, that's fine, we don't, have to... But..." Please... Before I get cold feet.

As much as Christina's words were a bit... waffley, she seemed to be genuine enough. Help her figure herself out, huh? Well, it was a noble enough goal, and as long as she went softly, it shouldn't wind up too bad. Leaning in to Christina, Kim pressed her lips softly against the older girl's, not pushing into any extremes with Christina, only going so far as to gently nibble at her lower lip.
 
"Ahh... Mm." She sure wasn't shy about it, but Christina's blush nearly erupted, a squeak following the simple action, and unfortunately, recoiling at the further biting, covering her mouth and breathing heavy. Some of the worse memories from highschool were flooding in-- drunken parties, mistakes made, pressure at prom night.
 
"I'm sorry," she mumbled through her hand, tearing up. So it was still that bad...
 

"Is okay, Chrissy. Don't need worry." Kim replied calmly, returning to a regular sitting posture as Christina recoiled backwards, covering her mouth and starting to cry.

"Want take back to room? Get food? Anything can do help."

"Why am I so messed up?" she asked, slowly lowering her hand, and wiping away her tears. "I should be happy! There are so many guys and girls in the world that would kill for a chance with someone like you. And here you are, kissing me on my own whims, and I just... I just, can't... It's stupid." There was no way that she could say it or think it that didn't make it any less stupid.

"Maybe I should see the therapist. Or just... I don't know. I don't know what to do. This shouldn't even be an issue..."

"I said is okay. Can't control mind, does things not want. Not fault." Kim replied in a soft tone, grabbing a nearby dry towel and handing it to Christina.

"If want see Dr. Hart, might good idea. Can't hurt. Don't need worry."

Now Christina was wishing that she had a T-Link on hand. She couldn't tell if Kim was disappointed, or totally fine with things. She was definitely putting forth the latter, but how upset was she that this was so difficult? It'd definitely be better for her if she went after someone else on the ship... I know she says that she's fine with just friends... But as long as the interest for more is there, if I can never provide, I'll just feel guilty.

"Maybe..." She took the towel and wiped her eyes with it, slowly wrapping it around herself. At least there was one thing she could manage. "You can take me back to my room... And... We can hold hands, the way there. I can do that much..."

"Okay, if that what want, Chrissy." Kim replied, giving the other girl a smile. At least she seemed to have recovered from her shock relatively quickly, but the lingering doubts were definitely still emanating from Christina's mind. It was something they would have to work on, at any rate. For the time being, Seung-Min stood herself up and offered her hand to Christina.

 

Having brought Christina back to her room and left her to her own devices as requested, Kim found herself lacking in things to do after changing from her swimsuit to her normal attire. Christina had asked for it, but perhaps she should have deduced what would come of it and gone more slowly with the girl. Well, what was done was done, and all they could do now was move forward and learn. Given some time to herself, Christina would recover from this, and to come around or not was her own choice to make. In the meantime... Kim decided to wander around a bit, eventually finding the Captain, Buck, and... who was that? Seung-Min didn't recognize the tanned girl speaking to the duo, but as she came closer she noticed something peculiar about her... she couldn't feel anything from this girl. But she did recognize one thing about her, those earpieces... Hannah? That would explain the lack of anything outgoing for the TK to pick up on, but that was quite the makeover.

"Hannah, that you? Not recognize for minute. Quite makeover."

Edited by Ether
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Astin had stayed with Avery as she slowly fell asleep, finally relaxing enough after the stress from the talk of her past to seem at peace in her sleep. The end result of this had been Astin trapped on the bed being used as a pillow. They hadn't really been able to complain, so they ended up just falling asleep beside the mechanic. For once in a long time, they'd managed to actually peacefully sleep for a few hours, undisturbed by nightmares.

~~~

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed, Astin sat up abruptly, almost freaking out before remembering everything that had happened and feeling the warm shape of Avery next to them. At some point she had rolled off to the other side of them, no longer trapping Astin onto the bed. Slowly slipping out of the bed in an attempt not to wake her, the slid into the bathroom, taking their now cold mug of coffee. Tossing it out, they quickly rinsed the mug out and filled it back up with water, taking a long sip, trying to clean out their dry mouth after their nap. Staring at their reflection in the mirror, they sighed. Am I doing the right thing here? She needs someone. I'm not sure that someone is me...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val sighed, standing outside of Olivia's room. She was doing her best to hide out in the open, large hoodie enveloping her body, hood up and hands tucked into the pocket. She wished she could hide from this, but she was working with Olivia. It wasn't an option to keep trying to hide, which meant there was no sense in putting this off. Things needed to get sorted out and she needed to set things straight. Keeping one hand tucked in, clutching tight to her music player, she knocked on the door with the other, calling out, "Hey, uhm, Olivia? I... You said you'd be up for talking?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colt let out a sigh of relief, collapsing down onto a bench, glancing over at the crowd starting to gather around Buck and Hannah. While he had been working hard on the bots, trying to make sure they were all fixed up and ready to go, Buck had focused hard on making Hannah not only whole but also... human. It still was unsettling, how human the robot wanted to be and was becoming. She could think like a human, talk like one, and now was looking like one. The only thing distinguishing her now were her "ears". It wasn't that Colt wanted to turn Hannah off. That'd be like killing her at this point and that would be ridiculous. She was friendly, she was intelligent, she was alive. But what Colt wanted was to find out who had done this in the first place and find out what they were thinking and why they had ever thought it was a good idea. Because this wasn't right. How many other robots like Hannah were there out there?

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All Work and No Play

"Oh, Mr. Turner... I... I was attempting to replicate the captain's performance on the main guns," he sheepishly admitted, saluting the older man. "I could only manage a thirty percent completion rate compared to her... I don't really know how she does it. I suppose I'm a bit jealous," he said with a tiny smile. "We went through the same training and procedures, but she's... So much better than me. At least in that regard. She could definitely take some lessons in tact and commanding... But that's gained through experience. I feel like she'll be the ANF's best captain, if she continues on like this."

One Scoop at a Time

After her amazing failure earlier, Christina had decided that sulking was an appropriate course of action. After having spent a few hours doing so in her room, the cafeteria was looking a bit more promising. Huddling into one of the lounge area sofa chairs with a tub of cookies and cream ice cream, she turned on the news and blankly started watching whatever was on, taking her time with the smallest spoon available.

Knock Knock... Don't Come in

A groan was heard behind the door, and only moments later, a disgruntled Cheryl popped her head out of her door. "Thorvald... Hey. What, can I do for you?" If he was coming as a patient, she had to straighten herself out. It was just the first day. How bad was this going to get? "Sorry, just... Uh... Trying to quit smoking. Just finished tossing everything out. Bill was smiling ear to ear... Body isn't quite taking it well, as I expected... But I should be good enough for questions." Hopefully.

A Pleasure

"Hello Lieutenant Kim! Yes, it is. I hope that I do not alarm you-- for long, if at all. I simply... Wished to become closer to the rest of the crew. I do not know if this is the most effective way, but it is something I wished for." Hannah smiled, tilting her head some, and that was Jess' cue to focus on something else. Getting lost in the humanoid they were now carrying was causing her to think too hard.

"Buck, I saw that you brought in parts of an Apotheosis machine? Could you go over that with me?" Jess gave a small wave to Kim as she came in, hoping she didn't mine the lack of a concrete hello.

"Oh, sure thing Captain! Stay outta trouble, Hannah. And try not to confuse too many people, you're definitely gonna cause problems." Buck hopped on off to the wreckage he'd collected, Jess following after him with less enthusiasm in her steps.

"Of course, Buck. Thank you again!" That left Hannah with the lieutenant, taking a moment to look down at her hand. That too made her smile, extending her digits to Kim in a hand shake. "I suppose a reintroduction would not be an awful thing."

What's Left

Buck ran on over first and gestured up to what was... Nearly an intact Apotheosis model. "Ta-da! Look at this lucky score! It's missing a proper generator and arms, but I can fix that! We, uh... Had to remove what was left of the pilot, but! We should be able to fix it up for proper use."

"What about--"

"Scans?" he cut her off with, eliciting a frown from Jess and a smirk from Buck. "We've gone over the thing several times. Before and after we brought it in. No surprise explosives, no bugs, no return lines. All the data in the console relating back to any HQ seems to have been fried when it was taken out. I guess the systems wipe themselves. A smart move..."

"Unfortunately smart, yes... Do you think it'll take you long to fix it up? And... Is it that much better than our machines?" Was something like this necessary? Were their own regular arms not good enough? Sure, the larger Apotheosis models were better, but...

"A bit, yeah. These things have better armor plating and a way more streamlined engine than our machines. And they're light as heck, to boot! I'm gonna have to apply some of the construction direction in this thing to future ANF machines, we could really maximize output if we built stuff like they did."

That was exactly what Jess didn't want to hear. So even their basic ground troops were ahead... Then they really were winning this on pilot skill alone. Still, it wasn't all bad. Taking one of their better machines and introducing it to a better pilot would give them even more of an edge. "Alright, Buck. Fix it as best as you can. Was there any sort of a name in the console, for its designation?"

"Oh! Yeah, that was left over. They're called Cressida models. And there were a few others, designations for a Hyperion and a Deimos. Iunno which is which between what we fought, but the names were there."

Moons... An odd naming scheme, but I guess it works. "Alright... Thank you, Buck. We're lucky to have mechanics as skilled as you and Avery."

Buck blushed at that, laughing the compliment off. "Don't you worry about it, Captain! We managed to get some stuff from the base too, along with this guy. I'll make sure to list everything that's been gathered in the ship's inventory log, so you can let the pilots know. We'll be pretty well stocked for the next few fights."

More good things, Jess was finally over her small sour moment of inferior machinery. "Wonderful. Keep up the good work, Matthews." She smiled and saluted, Buck returned his own lazy salute, and then whistled for some of the mechanics to come over. If they were gonna fix this thing, sooner was better than later!

Sleep Tighter

Avery shuffled a bit as Astin got up, quietly mumbling their name and rolling over in bed. They didn't wake up, and looked to be having a particularly good dream, all things considered. Perhaps the company provided was good enough to help quell a few bad thoughts.

Knock Knock, Talk Talk

There she was. That had taken her a bit. They were both on dinner break, Olivia had gone back to her room to get a change of clothes. She'd expected Val to back out of talking at all, but if she was here, no point in giving her a few minutes. She opened the door with a half buttoned up shirt, fixing the rest as she spoke. "What's up, Val?"

Nice Choice

"Yes, nice choice in swimwear," she mocked, sighing. "You're ignoring my question though, Elaine... Have you thought any more on what I offered? I can't imagine you're so dedicated as to have simply tossed it away and blindly followed the ANF... Even now, when they're letting criminals in to fight with them. And you're sure you're on the right side? At least we aren't making a front about knowing what wrong we're doing. That Abigail sure seems like quite the mistake, doesn't she?" Louise snickered, wondering just how Elaine felt about the inclusion of those three in the Riese's ranks. Surely it wasn't a problem for her... With her past records.

 

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Val blushed slightly as Olivia came out with a half buttoned shirt, staring down at the ground. "I just... wanted to talk about us. Not... not what we were. Just... what we are moving forward. That's all." Hopefully she wouldn't take that to mean that she wanted to get back together. Hopefully she would just be open to talking at that was it.

~~~~~

Astin stepped out of the bathroom just in time to hear Avery mumbling their name. A small smile graced their lips. Doubt was still in the back of their mind, but clearly Avery was happy. Maybe that was enough. It was getting later, and they hadn't had lunch. Maybe I could bring her some food too... Wonder what she likes. Making their way out of the room, they headed into the kitchen. As they did, they spotted Chrissy sitting alone with a tub of ice cream. Hesitating, they considered stopping and talking to her, but pushed on into the kitchen. Food first, talking to former Apotheosis members later.

In the kitchen, they were faced with a wide variety of options. They didn't want to sit around for too long, in case Avery woke up and found them gone, so something quick was in the cards. They found some frozen chicken noodle soup, which seemed like a good option. It was always something that helped make them feel comfort and safe, so it was a good option. There were some frozen biscuits that they popped into the oven while the soup was slowly heating up on the stove.

While the food was cooking, they headed over to Chrissy, and hesitantly called out, "Ah, uhm, hello. Christina. I just.... Are you ok? Enjoying your ice cream?" She didn't seem to be, but maybe they were just bad at reading people. It wasn't like they'd expected Avery to tell them about her leg or ask them out. Maybe she was ok...

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Elaine continued to hug herself, tighter than before, as Louise seemed to pick her apart with her questions. It was true, though. She definitely had feelings towards the inclusion of Abigail, and none of them were that great. When she encountered her before, in the cafeteria, when she questioned her about the lives she had taken, Elaine saw nor heard no such remorse for her actions. All they had cared about was that they got back their robot, or rather what was left of it after Buck upgraded it. But, the same could be said about Louise.

She had asked the same sort of questions to her in their first conversation, and Louise had given her a similar sort of 'brush away' answer. One that didn't seem to mind any of the lives they had taken. Did anyone care? Or was Elaine the only person who thought of it as often as she did? Either way, despite how true Louise had put the situation, Elaine was not inclined to join Apotheosis. All she had done was talk about how terrible the ANF was, nothing about why their organization was the better option. Then again, maybe that was the point. As it stood, Louise wasn't giving her much of a choice, especially with the threat of large, snake-like robot, whom she called 'Regina', looming over her head. And there was still the possibility that the recordings of the previous call could be sent to the bridge, sending her credibility down the drain, forcing her to have nothing left but to choose Apotheosis. Elaine was backed into a corner, and both women knew it.

...And yet... something felt off. Despite Elaine being on the verge of breaking down, there was still something in her mind that could tell something wasn't entirely right. And the more she thought about it, silently sitting on her bed as she kept her 'friend' waiting on the other side of the device, something clicked in her mind. It was the way Louise spoke. Not her tone, but her choice of words. It was...general. Broad. No clear focus. And it came back to that comment about her 'swimwear'. It was a shot in the dark, and not necessarily one that would yield any results, but like any good engineer, she had to test something.

"Let me answer your question with another question, Louise." She said, her tone of voice no longer portraying a scared little girl in her room. "What exactly was I wearing to the pool, today? What kind of swimwear? What kind of pattern do I have on my bikini?"

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What We Are

Having finished buttoning up her shirt, Olivia gave Val a bit of a blank stare, furrowing her brow just a bit. "What do you want us to be? I know why you left... And I know what I did wrong. I was hoping that I'd... I'd be able to do better, but if you don't want to try, forcing you to would just be going back into the same problems as before." She sighed and folded her arms, leaning against the doorway. "So what'll it be, Val? I don't want a hand in making any decisions... Not this time."

Would've Preferred Rocky Road

"No... Not really. Sorry, Astin... Just trying to get away from some problems. Don't really know what else to do around here until I have to go back into the Artemis and play TK-Dampener..." She sighed and set down the sugary snack, melting back against the couch. "Hey... How do you deal with your problems? Do you talk to someone? Do you just wait until they get better? Do you try to ignore them and work your best at things anyway? ... Is this too much to be asking, right now...?" It probably was, they barely knew Astin... But I guess they did ask if I was okay... The news droned on in the background, mentioning the new additions at a local state zoo.

What Bikini?

Louise scoffed. "You were wearing a one piece. Let's not play games, Elaine. Come on, focus for me~ I know it might be difficult, but I could go and bug someone else on board, if you're really so unwelcoming... And I'm on my break. I don't have all day~" Elaine could almost hear Louise trying to hold back a hard laugh in the background, clearing her throat to manage it down. "What's got you so hung up on saving the world? Surely it's not the killing... You've already killed so many people."

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"Seem quite happy, Hannah. So long is what you want, not see problem." Kim replied, accepting the offered hand and shaking it... this skin layer that Buck had made felt about as authentic as it looked. Quite impressive, really. Hannah had been acting rather strange lately, but there wasn't anything inherently wrong with the android developing a more human-like intellect, really. 

"Did have one thing want ask, though. Was doing on-foot combat simulate, run into simulate approximate Apotheosis agent... one you fight on Colony. Was wonder if had any thoughts on her, more experience with than anyone else here."

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So she did want to be like they used to be. Damn... Val shook her head, still staring down at the ground. "I can't.... I don't know. Maybe some day. I still like you but..." She finally managed to force her eyes up to meet Olivia's. "I want to be friends. I don't want to be dancing around things like we have been... I don't want you waiting around hoping that things... I know you followed me here but..." The pull of the floor was too strong, and she just forced the last bit out as quickly as she could, "I just want to be friends, if that's ok. You were a good friend. I want that again..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Astin blinked, having not expected to be asked something like that. They barely knew her, only sort of trusted her, and yet here she was asking how they dealt with their issues. A rather ironic question, given the various discussions they'd already had that day. It still felt weird to be talking about this sort of thing with her but... They sat down across from her and frowned. "Well... I used to try just ignoring everything. But that doesn't really seem to solve anything. I was getting nightmares... still get them... I talked with Doctor Hart today. That helped a bit I think. Though I don't really know since it's too soon to tell."

The other part of what she'd said hit them, and they switched back to that, "Though, I think some of it depends on what your problem is. Talking to someone always helps. What you said... Just playing TK Dampener. You don't like being out there? I know it's helpful but if you don't like being out there, why do it? You know that people here want you to be here for you, not for your abilities, right?" Even if they weren't always happy with her being around, that didn't mean others weren't. And she was different than Abby. She hadn't chosen to be out there. Still...

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There shouldn't have been any flying object in the pool area that would seriously hurt her, so Firmia was stunned to see Jessica and Abigail both scrambling to catch the oncoming ball. Otherwise she might have reacted quickly enough to dodge it. Once Jessica had caught the thing, the Alkaev began to have a minor change of heart. Getting struck for no reason wouldn't have improved her mood in the slightest, but there would have been at least one apologetic pilot, one with whom any later interactions would see her in a more advantageous position. It couldn't be helped now, though, so Firmia put the missed opportunity out of mind.

Since she couldn't come up with a response to Jessica that wasn't some combination of abrasive and aloof, Firmia simply nodded, "Thanks, again," and turned to head back to where her friend and two pilots were standing. For some reason or other, the Artemis team was on the move. Good timing, she supposed.


<"Okay everyone sit down,"> Firmia 'greeted' them, <"there are some things I need to go over.">

<"How did the meeting go?"> Sasha asked, genuinely curious, but obviously hinting at something else, <"Pretty well, I take it?">

<"Sit!">

Once everyone found some relatively comfortable positions, Firmia took a deep breath, and set out to articulate, quickly and simply, everything she had been quietly working on in her mind. <"The Captain and I have agreed to work together to fight Apotheosis. We won't get in her way and she won't allow any tampering on my machines. We're not just piggybacking off of the ANF to deal with Apotheosis, though,"> Firmia shook her head, wanting to make that part perfectly clear. <"We're small right now, and it'll be a while before I have anything official worked out, but my new company is going to use this war as a kick starter.">

What stuck out the most was Firmia's mention of a new company. That was far less ambitious than taking down Apotheosis, but it was also more important to her from the sound of things, if only slightly. <"This ship is like a mobile fortress,"> Firmia continued, <"so as dangerous as things are on the 'front lines,' we're in a good position to launch our own operations from here. As for what types of operations I would be running ... it depends on what we can get away with, and where we happen to be at the time. The main goal is to bring in as much of our own resources as we can, and upgrade the machines we have as much as possible. Since Tonya's suit isn't ready for combat yet, we'll focus on that one first. I don't want to get into it with the Captain over the Regalia and when and how it's used, so we'll be using the prototype by itself unless something big comes up. Since they don't have that many mobile suits to begin with ... same thing with the Mantle. That means you're doing most of the initial work alone, Tonya.">

Tonya nodded, <"That's fine, I guess. What about Rex?">

<"What about him?"> Firmia scowled, clearly annoyed by the mere mention of Brant's older brother.

<"He's probably not done trying to kill you, yet.">

Firmia sighed. <"I already thought that through. Apotheosis marches to the beat of their own drum, and they're all deaf, so Rex can't really do anything else. Attacking us directly means attacking the ANF. Rex played his hand and lost, so unless and until the EU decides to start shooting at the ANF, he's a nonissue. Just focus on your new job, Tonya. You can beat up Rex, later.">

<"Fine. Fine,"> Tonya grumbled.

<"On to you, Sasha.">

<"Oh boy,"> Sasha smirked in anticipation.

<"There's admittedly a lot for you to do. I can handle finances myself, but I still need your personal account for holding the funds, right now. When the Mantle isn't tied up fighting Apotheosis, I want you to take it and help Tonya. I also need you to be in the hangar most of the time, especially when the ship's mechanics are working on the Regalia. It won't be all day, everyday, I want someone in there whenever possible, just in case. I'll also need help with the upgrades, so I want your input on that, and for you to try to improve anything I haven't touched in a while ... and lastly, since you were so interested in making propaganda videos, I want you to be our PR man."> It was indeed a lot to be doing. So much so, Firmia decided to throw in a small incentive. <"Since I only have a few employees, right now, I can afford to make your starting pay very generous.">

Generous was a good enough hint coming from Firmia. <"So I will get to keep some of the credits you sent to my account.">

Firmia nodded. <"We'll negotiate that after I've gotten some sleep ... and some more time to think. I might shift your duties around depending on the situation."> Her gaze shifted to Brant, next. <"That just leaves you, Brant. You're not ... technically working for me, but I ... hope you will. It's not like the Captain's going to let you fly off back to the Alkaev company after that explosion. If you did agree to come over to my company, you'd still be on loan to the ANF. I don't really like it, but I should uphold any agreements that were made before this.">

That explained why she wasn't nearly so fussy about the Regalia. At least it was still 'technically' hers. Brant wasn't sure what to make of his employment situation. He hadn't been fired, and there was no actual company for him to transfer over to. The personal aspect of it didn't feel especially relevant, here. Brant had hated Rosa for years now, and didn't think much of the old man either, but he'd worked within their company since he was old enough to legally work, and a little before that. The implications of jumping ship seemed obvious, but the decision had already been made for him. Nothing Brant did or said now really mattered; he could agree to work for Firmia or not, but as long as they were all on this ship, the impact of that choice would be minimal. The revelation today had changed Firmia's behavior considerably, and while normally, she'd be pressing him hard to side with her over Rosa or anyone else, she was much more reserved now, bargaining with him with nothing more than her honest hopes. Sadly, that made Brant's response even less impactful. At least if Firmia would be seriously upset, there would be some difference, some comparison to be made. Brant wasn't going back to the Alkaev company. He didn't have the energy to try and make it back to them when the war was over, nor the incentive, but that wasn't the same as rejecting them.

<"So, whether I decide to work for you or not, nothing changes, right now,"> Brant voiced a portion of his thoughts.

Firmia nodded somberly. <"It's probably better if you just think about it for a while, anyway.">

<"... alright, I'll do that.">

<"So that's the basic outline. We are not tools for the ANF. We've got our own goals that go well beyond Apotheosis. Tonya, Sasha, don't forget that.">


With her minions dealing with Bill's injury, and no other cases to deal with after Cheryl had departed, Megumi finished up the last of the longest and least interesting chapters in Escaping Tartarus. Then, with the first half of the day's reading done, the doctor began some intense research from the console in her desk. She went at it for hours, eventually starting the first lesson of a reputable online cybernetics course. It was a twenty-two hundred credit course, but Megumi could afford it. She was primarily concerned with the content, but so far, she hadn't read or listened to any lectures that were contradicted by other reputable sources. That was, for the most part, a good sign, but her study materials were starting to pile up, figuratively speaking, as her console tabs began to surge in number.

When Abigail stopped by, the doctor figured she wanted something, like maybe another book, or perhaps just to ask a question. She did want something specific, and she did have a question, though not what Megumi was expecting. It was a little suspicious, actually. Pausing the video lecture about a quarter way through, she said, "Well we're finished treating her. It's just recovery from here. I don't like to force along healing with SIEG injections and the like when it isn't necessary." That cleared up, the doctor squinted, adding, "It should be fine for you to speak with her, I suppose. You're not going to say anything stupid to her, are you?"


Firmia had made it back to the hangar and changed out of her swimsuit just in time. When the stimulant wore off, she nearly conked out as she lowered herself into the Alkaev company suit's flight seat. Once the cockpit door closed and almost completely sealed her off from the outside world, Firmia's mind steadily began to clear. There was something open on the console, but she didn't really care to look at it, right now. She had plenty of time to do so once she woke up. She adjusted the seat, leaning it backward as far as it would go, which was admittedly nonstandard and similar to a car seat. As soon as Firmia pulled the blanket she'd taken over herself, she fell asleep.

"You. You there." Too many voices, they all blended into a grating sound that Firmia could barely understand.

She gripped the controls of the Alkaev company's demonstrator mobile suit and aimed its beam rifle at the enemy in front of her. She didn't know how she knew, but she was in an encounter with someone from Apotheosis. The enemy mobile suit was absolutely massive, far larger than the Heion Riese. Despite its ridiculous size and the strange shadowy wisps swirling up and around it, Firmia stood her ground, and prepared to fire at the slightest hint of aggression.

"We rule this world, now," the many voices declared, "Surrender your machine and we will let you live."

<"Typical,"> Firmia hissed in Russian, "I don't care what happens, I'll destroy you for what you did to us!" Firmia opened fire. Sure enough, that green barrier appeared, and completely absorbed the beam.

"Firmia!" The TK looked back over her shoulder at the familiar voice. It took some doing, but Firmia managed to get a look behind the flight seat, to the co pilot she'd suddenly found herself with. It was none other than Rosa. "Firmia, we can't let them destroy this suit. It's all we have left."

"Shut up!" Firmia quickly faced forward again, unable to stand the sight of her mother. "It's mine, not yours!" Firmia fired at the massive mobile suit once more, and the beam was quickly devoured. "What are you even doing, here?!"

"Firmia, there's no time for this," Rosa pleaded, "Let me help you."

"I don't want your help! I don't want anything to do with you!" Suddenly, Firmia felt her restraints disappear. The cockpit seemed to grow larger and larger ... or she was getting smaller. Before she knew it, she was sitting in her mother's lap, and Rosa reached forward to take the controls. Firmia's arms weren't long enough to reach them, anymore. "No, stop!" Firmia didn't know how she knew, but with Rosa at the controls, something different was about to happen. The next beam fired by the transforming prototype went straight through the Apotheosis giant; the green barrier never made a third appearance. Rosa fired again, and again, and again, all while Firmia begged her to stop. Eventually, she'd caused so much damage that the giant mobile suit's left arm tumbled from the rest of the machine, and struck the ground with a resounding crash. <"No! NO!">

"It's okay, now," Rosa smiled, slowly releasing the controls and wrapping her arms around a struggling Firmia. "Now that it's safe, I'll listen to anything you have to say."

Between the first tears and Firmia's response, the Apotheosis machine had vanished. "You're evil, no better than them ... so let go of me!"

"You're my daughter," Rosa scoffed, "I'll do no such thing. What have I done that's so evil?"

"I can't even say it out loud, you're so disgusting," Firmia fired back, trying to wrestle free, but her mother was a lot stronger than her, right now.

"Brant, you mean? Rex? Or perhaps Tonya?" Rosa rested her chin on top of Firmia's head and sighed. "You'll understand, someday, Firmia. Some people are only happy being used, and others ... need to be put in their place when they stand in the way of your goals. It's no different with you and Apotheosis; they're in your way, you want to remove them. If you don't deal with people in this way ... if you don't deal with people properly, the only possible outcome is your own destruction." Firmia felt her mother's embrace get a little tighter. "Don't make the same mistakes normal people do. Brant is not your friend, he's a tool to achieve whatever goals you have. Tonya is not your employee, she is your rival. Trust me, I know."

<"Shut up, shut up, shut up ...">

<"Shut up ... shut up ... shut up ...">

<"... shut ... up ...">

<"Shut up ..."> It had come out as little more than a groan, this time. It was dark, and Firmia knew she was awake, now. It was the point where consciousness had returned, but the will to rise or even open one's eyes just wasn't there. It was particularly noticeable after a good nightmare. Firmia also knew that she hadn't gotten a full eight hours. Achieving that would have meant it was well past the time the hangar should be so crowded, and Firmia sensed plenty going on. Eventually, she opened her eyes to a mostly dark cockpit. The main monitor still had something opened on it from before. With the cockpit's external cameras and displays turned off, Firmia couldn't see what was happening outside, and she could only see 'anything' due to the light from the main monitor. Based on her general sense of the outside, the only conclusion to be reached was that she must have only slept for perhaps a few hours. Great ... maybe that stimulant had done more than simply get Firmia through the pool meeting.

There was no reason to leave, right now. With enough patience and boredom, Firmia figured she would fall back asleep in due time. She just needed something to think about that wouldn't be very exciting ...

Better yet, she could see what Tonya had left open on the main monitor. Firmia immediately regretted so much as looking at the open file. It was from Rex's notes, an entry about a small series of incidents involving Tonya and another company pilot. Firmia's curiosity, bolstered by the nightmare she'd just escaped, was too strong for her to simply close out the file. She wound up reading it from start to finish, and it seemed so disgustingly appropriate that the Rosa in her dream called Tonya a rival. They had both been interested in the same pilot, an Ilya Polzin. According to Rex, that pilot had been hoping to settle down and start a family. Rosa was already a wife with two children at the time, so despite her overwhelming interest, Tonya's chances were far, far better.

Ilya was apparently smart, handsome, and had been with the company for some time before that whole mess had gotten started. Along with the description there were several photos, one was something like a profile photo, another was of him in a flightsuit, climbing into the cockpit of what looked vaguely like an SU-3200. The last picture featured both him and Tonya, posing for the cameraman. They were all smiles back then, it seemed, but now Ilya was dead, and Tonya was no longer whole. As Firmia continued through the entry, Rex explained that Rosa had made at least one move on Ilya and failed spectacularly. Alkaevs never took well to lectures. The worse part, was that Ilya let slip something important about his interest in Tonya. He wanted children, and thought she would be a wonderful mother, unlike Rosa, who was willing to destroy her family for the sake of an affair. Tonya was shot down sometime after, in a move set up by Rosa, and the Alkaev made certain that regardless of the injuries sustained, Tonya's uterus was removed during surgery. It was the most gruesome and horrifying retort she had ever made, and Firmia was on the verge of pulling her hair out as she read on.

Ilya eventually crashed, as well, but unlike Tonya, he didn't survive. So much pain, and so much destruction, all for sex. There was a note left by Rex, stating that Dima, Firmia's grandfather, was the more likely culprit behind Ilya's death, as Rosa tended to become distracted from her duties during her bouts of lust. 'It wasn't the first time he would have done something like this to straighten out his daughter,' the note said. It didn't make Firmia hate her mother any less for what had happened, but it reminded her that there was a great evil standing above and behind her, as well.

Having reached the end of the entry, Firmia closed it, and minimized the archive. Someday, she was going to have to go through each of them. Today wasn't that day, though. She was already feeling terrible, both from the dream, and from her 'rival''s history with her mother. All of these bitter emotions weren't helping her get back to sleep, so Firmia gave up on that, raised the flight seat back into its normal position, and began browsing the main monitor's menus. It might take a few minutes to set up, but maybe a documentary or something could get her mind off of ... well, everything ...


Brant had been in the Regalia's open cockpit for a good while after leaving the pool area. He'd hoped to get familiar with the real life machine before the next mission came up. It also wouldn't hurt to personalize it a little more since, with any good fortune, he'd be the only one piloting it from now on. He probably shouldn't have been too impressed by Firmia bringing it to him in one piece. Up to ANF standards or not, the Regalia was a military grade mobile suit equipped for most types of engagements, but particularly hit and run tactics. Even an amateur wouldn't have died immediately. Still, Firmia hadn't just brought him the suit in one piece; the damage was so minor, it would be ignored in some situations, just like it had during the battle itself.

Brant's attempt to continue customizing the Regalia hit a bit of a snag when he noticed an open file on the main monitor. He was surprised to find there were so many entries, thousands of them. He didn't realize what he was looking at until he opened an entry that was still highlighted from a previous read. It was all about him and Rex ... and Rosa. Brant's thoughts dragged him back to his rendezvous with Tonya, and her initial reaction, how she'd been frustrated enough to force him down to her level with a gut punch. Then he recalled Firmia and Jessica's reactions, both to the information, and to Rosa, herself. The older, more experienced Alkaev had pretended nothing bad had happened. She hadn't had any other options from what Brant could tell. Regardless, Jessica had seen through it, and it seemed Brant's near constant jabbing at the authority figures in his life had tipped her off.

After reading through the whole entry, Brant closed the archive completely and tried to put it out of mind. He'd been there before, lived it. Reliving it wouldn't change anything. There were at least four thousand other entries in that archive, though ... that was just ... too many.

"Oi! Brant!" With the Regalia's cockpit open, he could hear just about anyone yelling nearby, and that included Sasha. "Send down the lift! I want to show you something!"

At this rate, Brant wouldn't finish his tweaks. Deciding to at least see what Sasha wanted, the TK climbed out of the pilot's seat, and peeked out of the cockpit. Sasha was down by the Regalia's feet, waiting patiently. Brant unlocked and sent down the lift, which was little more than a hand rail, foot support, and a cable, and went back to his seat. It only took Sasha ten seconds to reach the cockpit from the time Brant activated the lift, and the older pilot took a hunched position beside Brant once he was inside. "What's up?"

"I finished splicing together that video," Sasha explained with a sly grin, "I wanted you to be the first to see it."

Aside from wanting Brant in particular to be the first to see it, things made sense, here. Brant let him set up the video, but recommended he do it from the co pilot's seat, where he could focus and move around more freely. "And here we go. Enjoy~"

Violence ensued. Pure, unadulterated violence.

As it turned out, the video Sasha wanted to show Brant was split into two distinct parts, Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 contained a good chunk of the footage from multiple mobile suits in the battle earlier that day, as well as a few cleverly disguised shots from previous test flights. Sasha had even gotten a hold of some footage from the AMS Prototype's battle with the Apotheosis sniper that downed the transport. Footage from their battle made up almost half of Part 1 due to the sheer intensity and consistency of the action. Brant had to admit, Tonya made the prototype look like a real contender.

Laced throughout Part 1 were also quick snippets from the funnel cameras. They couldn't be used in anything greater than small bursts, due to their quick and seemingly erratic movements. Still, Sasha made due, and managed to frame the entire encounter as a battle on equal footing, rather than an ambush initiated by Apotheosis. The destruction of Hannah's Velite was, naturally, no where to be found.

Part 2 was something else entirely, featuring only the exploits of the AMS machines. "This is a work in progress, something to promote us once Firmia picks a company name and all of that. I'll go back and finish it once she figures that out." That was what Sasha had said going into Part 2. Sure enough, Part 2 was far more impressive visually than Part 1, and contained only the best of the footage from the battle, as well as some much older clips of the development and test flights of the AMS suits. There was even a clip of Sasha himself, sitting in the Mantle's cockpit, camera facing him, and adjusting his gloves like an ace getting ready to fly off into battle. Sasha had probably set up and filmed that sometime after the pool visit and prior to coming to show it to him. It looked like it had a much higher budget than it possibly could have, and the only thing setting it apart from a military promo, was the lack of dialogue and logos. Brant liked it, if a little begrudgingly. This life or death struggle with Apotheosis really shouldn't have looked so 'cool.'

"Well, they're good. Part 1 wasn't completely misleading ... Part 2, though ... that was just plain Hollywood. I'm guessing that was the point?"

"Pretty much," Sasha grinned.

"I see why she chose you to be the PR guy," Brant smiled faintly, "Great job so far."

"We'll see," Sasha shrugged, "I at least know what Dima's standards are and there's no way I meet those. Anyway, I'll get out of your hair." Sasha climbed out of the co pilot's seat and made for the hatch. "See you around," the older pilot gave a small wave, then rode the lift down back to the hangar floor.

"See you," Brant waved back, though not until Sasha was well out of view. "Back to ... back to this ..." Even though Brant was trying to focus on his customizations, fresh memories of the footage kept leaping at him, seemingly at random. Major hits stuck out in his mind, even minutes later. If that was an intended after effect, then Sasha was doing a great job, indeed. He must have really wanted to earn his increased pay.

Edited by Phoenix
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"Quitting smoking, huh? I wouldn't have expected the middle of a war to be the time to start worrying about your future health, when there are many more immediate concerns, but... good luck. I hope it works out for you, doctor," Thorvald managed, a little surprised by the revelation. She said she was up for a session, but it did look like that might be putting her out, maybe. "The reason for my visit isn't really anything urgent, though, so perhaps I should just come back another time?"

 


 

Abigail nodded along as the doctor explained the patient procedures she'd gone through before stating that, yes, a visit would be allowed. Apparently the choice was unexpected though, and she found herself on the receiving end of a doubting look, and pointed question.

Sighing, and raising her hand, holding an apple she'd brought from the kitchen as a sort of get well present, Abby ran with the best bullshit she could come up with, hopefully earning a laugh. "Oh no, nothing like that. I'd just been planning on giving her this poisoned apple, so she'll fall into a sleep so deep she'll need a kiss from her prince to awaken." Snorting and rolling her eyes, she continued, "Megumi, please. I'm not stupid. I just... need to talk with her, hear what she has to say. The least I can do is listen to the victims, after what they've been through." What I put them through.

Edited by Balcerzak
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Far Too Accepting

"Hmmm. I appreciate your kindness Lieutenant, but I will comment that your readiness to accept an intelligence such as mine is not par for the norm. Thank you, nonetheless." Hannah kept her smile until Kim mentioned an apotheosis agent... THE apotheosis agent. The only one Hannah had trouble with that day. "Vera..." Apotheosis' own death machine. Hannah couldn't have gotten a better first hand experience than anyone else on board. If anyone else had tried to fight her, they'd be dead...

"I would recommend avoiding her outside of her machine at all costs," was Hannah's first comment. "Her movements are that of a trained professional. Even without her cybernetic enhancements, I find that many of you would still be unable to survive a duel, or anything of the sort. Perhaps a group of you would be successful in defeating her, but that is just theorizing. As she is now, I fear she would have no issue taking down the entire Riese crew, save for myself, in a matter of moments. Now that I am completely repaired, I may be able to defeat, or at least properly injure her in hand to hand combat, but I would not leave unscathed. In a worst outcome scenario, I would be destroyed, leaving you all without any defense against the monster."

Hannah sighed. "My apologies... K-Kim. I do not wish to label her as a monster so readily, but I do not know what else to call someone that has thrown away so much of their own humanity in the search for power. Perhaps she has her reasons for doing so, but as I am not her, I would not know them. In any case," she nodded, trying to smile just a bit. "It would be unwise to combat her. From my encounter, I found that her reactions are above par for a regular human, perhaps by way of training her senses to acclimate to the increased movement speed of her enhanced limbs. Even with your TK abilities, your body would be unable to keep up with your mind... If you must engage her, I suggest long range, and fully automatic. I do not believe she would be able to stop an entire hail of bullets from multiple targets... Though, I feel there must be some countermeasure. That feels far too simple a success strategy."

"Was that at all helpful, Kim?"

Just Two Gals Bein' Pals

Olivia bit back a sigh, but knew that something like this had always been a possibility. There was no point in getting upset about it, either. She'd literally just told Val that she had the reins in these decisions. Talking back now would simply reinforce that she couldn't change, and make anything going back to the way things were impossible. After a moment's pause, she nodded. "Sure. I can do that... If that's what you want." And it did seem like it. Whether or not this changes... I suppose it's up to me to prove that I won't go back into control freak mode, isn't it? A task easier said than done. As long as she takes care of herself...

Dr. Hart

There was that option again. Go and talk to the doctor. It was reassuring to hear that Astin had spoken to her themselves, and that things had seemed to help. That meant it wasn't a dead end in terms of working... But it was still scary to think about. Especially with how silly her problem was... It wasn't her only one, but it was the one eating at her right now.

Astin was luckily poking at her other issue. She nodded, pulling a knee up to her chest to rest on. "I hate it. It's loud, scary, I can barely follow what's going on with Kim's piloting... I don't have the skills to keep up with her decisions in motion, so I just end up getting a headache trying to follow. I'm sure it'll get better eventually, if I stick with it... And I will stick with it, but... I don't like it at all. I..." She shuffled a bit on the couch, glancing at Astin.

"I only joined up with the ANF initially because of my mother pressuring me. The loss of my dad... It hit her a lot harder than it did me. I wasn't exactly an impressive student. I made Bs, Cs... I passed. So when it came down to going to college, university, or joining the ANF... My mother pressured me to follow what my father had done, and enlist. He did quit, and go into studying T-Links after a time, but... For ten years he served. And I thought... I thought that I could make my mother feel better if I did that. If I just, followed in what he did, and did something that would impress her, or... Give back to the family. Then I got caught... I bet she thinks I'm dead, or worse."

Christina sighed and sunk her face into her knee, shaking her head. "But you all saved my life... I should be dead right now, honestly. My radio was on during that fight... And I heard the cries of everyone else around me, blowing up into the cold reaches of space. What made Thorvald not shoot me down, I'll never know. I'm sure he just chose randomly... So I can't just mope around and do nothing. This life, it's... It's a gift. And if I can help Kim pilot better by being in that suit, even if it's just for being attached to the machine... I'll do it."

How much had she just said? Getting into it all, she'd vomited it without stopping, not even thinking about what she'd been doing. It had only dawned on her that she was tossing her problems at a near stranger when she looked over at Astin again. She didn't try to apologize, but the look of embarrassment was clear on her face. "Thank you for listening," she offered instead. "It... It helps. I probably wouldn't be able to open up to a shrink. Too scary a setting... But... I guess, with someone that isn't a 'professional', someone I don't know... It's easier to say stuff. You won't care as much as someone who does know me, and I still get to vent. Win win, huh?" She popped a wry smile, sighing back against the couch. "Top it all off I can't even kiss her..." Wait, did I say that out loud or think it...?

Good Luck, Space Therapist

"No, no! By all means, come in. I need the distraction, honestly. It'll help me stop thinking about it, thinking about someone else." She opened her door and went to take a seat behind her desk, holding up a finger with a smile. "Just to make sure, you're here to see Dr. Hart, not Cheryl, right?' She may have jumped the gun and had to make sure Thorvald was here to see her as a doctor, and not just because he wanted to shoot the breeze. It could've been the latter, he was one of their older pilots, and she wasn't exactly a spring chicken anymore. Still, either visit was fine. As long as he didn't think he was bothering her.

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Dammit. So she did have a visual. That meant all the more trouble if she had that on top of audio to listen to. And in mere seconds, Elaine was again backed into a corner by Louise. Had the surveillance cameras been hacked as well? Was that how she was getting all of this? Or was there a hidden camera placed somewhere...or on someone? There wasn’t much she could do, either way. However, it was Louise’s next choice of words that chilled her to the bone. 

“You... You’re going to chew me out over how many I’ve had to kill? If I didn’t, then they would have shot me down.” There were no eyes to stare into, so all she could do was face the communicator, unconsciously giving it an intimidating glare, as useless as it was. “Civilians aren’t coming to try and kill me over their insane ideals, unlike your band of mooks. They know what they signed up for!”

Edited by Dandragon
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Val relaxed slightly as Olivia accepted things without an argument. If she'd objected at all, it would have made things a lot harder. This had been easier than she expected and while that worried her just a little bit, overall it was a good thing. "Ok. Good, I'm glad. Thank you." She glanced back up at Olivia with a small smile and nodded slightly. "That... that was all. I can let you get back to whatever you were doing if you want. See you back in the medbay, ok?"

~~~~~~~

It seemed that Christina had taken their question as an invitation to drop a little bit of everything on them. Her feelings, her past, her fears... Kissing? That bit seemed like it had slipped out and so Astin figured the best thing they could do for that right now was ignore it. If she wanted to bring it back up, she would. "Well... I know you're helping Kim out, but if it's stressing you out so much... I don't know. Seems like it'd be better to take care of yourself at least a little." They hesitated, not sure if they were overstepping their bounds right now or not. But she'd seemed to genuinely want to let everything out so, they figured it couldn't hurt too much.

"I think that Kim would want you to be comfortable. I know that when Juria is worried or upset it can distract me... And since she can feel all your feelings, that's probably made worse... I don't know. If you think what you're doing is the best thing, then I can see why you would continue to do it, even if it is hard. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard. It hurts. But you still do it." They trailed off and laughed. "I'm all over the place, huh? I guess what I'm saying is... It doesn't matter why or how you got to here. What matters is what you want to do and what you think is the right thing to do. And if those two things collide... I guess you just have to figure out which is more important to you. Or... who is more important to you." That was as close as they were going to get to talking about the kiss comment, but they figured maybe it would help, at least a little.

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"Ah, wearing two such different hats must make socializing a bit of a bother, huh, Sherry? But no, your guess is right this time, was looking for a little heart to Hart, though it feels like maybe something a little too trivial to really bother a doctor with," Thorvald responded as he stepped inside the office after her, closed the door, and took a seat opposite. Leaning forward a bit, and bringing his hands together in front of himself, fingertips to fingertips, he started slowly, with just a sentence.

"What do you do, when you find yourself worrying constantly over something you're powerless to do anything about?"

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With the pool party ended and his business concluded, Tarquin had used up his social stamina. During his training, he'd often found that he simply needed time to himself. In the past, he'd have simply retreated to his room and taken comfort in whatever book tickled his fancy. However, the last few days had given him a whole new perspective on things. He'd met people he never thought he'd even associate with, and could actually call a select handful of people his friends.

And, perhaps strangest of all, he was in the sports hall. He'd never thought of sport for recreation, but his curiosity about Mateus' dedication to it was too great to ignore. It had started with simply kicking the ball at the net, but his research had proved there was far more that he could aspire to. The art of keepie uppie was one he hadn't quite managed initially, but with an hour or two, he could easily keep the ball aloft.

"They are subject to emotion..." Tarquin pondered, continuing to strike the ball upwards rhythmically. "They are capable of making uncharacteristic mistakes... and at least some of them have the strength to put their lives on the line for their comrades."

Was this the kinship that Thorvald and Bruno shared with their families? It was something he'd never been able to experience for himself, but part of himself felt that he desired it. He hoped that Corona Ten would remain safe, but an attack would at least mean he could visit again.

-

Bill's battle against the ceiling light had resulted in his defeat, but the intervention from the medical team had patched him up - and left him with a rather fetching bandage. Unfortunately, he still had exactly 13 hours until he was allowed to work again. Sleeping could only occupy a few of those hours, thus leaving the off-duty janitor with more time to kill than a college student who forgot to take any courses. Wandering down the hall, Bill considered his options. If he needed to, he could try and catch up on the cricket - it was awfully hard to watch it now he was outside of the EU, and the ANF didn't appear too fond of the sport.

He walked past the rooms, wondering how the rest of the crew were doing. They had an interesting bunch, each with their own stories and worries. He was glad Dr Hart decided to give up smoking, he wasn't sure what had sparked it... perhaps she was looking to try and pick up a sport? There was that Elaine girl too, hopefully she was managing with her own problems too - she'd seemed awfully upset that one evening. Perhaps it was boyfriend trouble?

It was funny that his mind drifted to her, he was just outside her room - and he could make out a couple of words. He didn't mean to pry, but it was hard with her yelling like that. Something about her being "here"... and... guessing colours of underwear? He was almost impressed by his own hearing, but even he knew he'd heard enough. The only filth he wanted to deal with was literal! 

"Sheila's probably got her own needs, no place for this ocker to stick his nose in it." he chuckled, slowly escaping down the hall.

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"Science publication have been say AI become advance enough learn and adapt for long time, now. Not predict happen for long time, but prediction can wrong. Anyone catch up on AI mechanic should see as breakthrough, more willing accept... admit not most proficient self." Kim noted... original predictions for a singularity occurring had been placed about 3 years ago... obviously it hadn't yet happened, and the predicted year was shot forward over a century from that time so as to avoid placing another goal post too close to the original, but they had been closer than they had thought, at least in Hannah's case.

Hannah's observations on Vera were far less of a breakthrough. It made sense, the combat data within the sim had to come primarily from Hannah herself, so it was logically consistent that the simulations would come to the same conclusion as the android, and having experienced that projection first-hand, roughly the same conclusion that Seung-Min herself had reached.

"No, understand where come from. Reach roughly same conclude you after fighting simulate. Make sense, simulate primary extrapolate Hannah combat data. Found full-automatic assault weapon effective in bypass enhance limbs, manual fire uneffect even higher impact round..." Kim noted, trailing off for a moment as she recalled the end of the sim. Vera's strange glowing arms managing to block a point-blank grenade blast. Perhaps Hannah would be able to shed some light on that.

"Notice anything when fight that make sim give this able?" Kim asked, pulling the clip up from her tool and allowing Hannah to look it over.

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Of Course Not

"But you had to shoot down all of the men we've sent out. And all of those rebels Abigail led... How many civilians have died in ANF operations? I'm sure I mentioned ANF plans to deal with the colony. You were told, right? So let's not play like either of us are the better murderer, here. Because we aren't. We're both terrible murderers with the blood of someone else on our hands~ So... Why the ANF? You can't play the secrets game with me either, Elaine... I'm simply hoping that I don't have to strong arm you into proper answers by bringing up your hero acts on Colony Two."

With another soft chuckle and a sigh, Louise leaned in closer to her end of the call, resting against her tail. "The way I see it, you're just being an obedient soldier. And if you're being just that, why not be somewhere you're wanted? And where you can make a change." Was Louise just playing with her? Probably. But some of her points did make sense...

Medbay

"Yeah... See you later." Olivia waited until Val was gone to let out her sigh, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "It's your fault anyway 'Liv, so you can't get mad at her for it. Guess I'll just have to wait and see... Not that I have much time left to fix this." With her glasses propped back on, Olivia went back into her room, studying over the files on her computer.

Collide

"They don't," she managed with a scoff, at herself. "That's the problem... I know what the right thing to do is. I'm just too scared to do it, every time I get faced with it. I guess I'm just... I'm not a very strong person, at heart." She smiled anyway, letting her leg down, and getting up to put the ice cream back. "It felt good to get that off my chest. Even if it doesn't solve anything, it's less thinking spent on it. And if I can't get what I want to do to match up with what I need to do, that just means I need to work harder at it. I can do that. We're all working hard, it's the least I can do... Thank you Astin." She gave them a smile and started to march the tub back to the freezer.

Powerless

"Sherry? That's a new one," she said with a chuckle, sitting back in her chair and pulling her pad out. If this was going to be a heart to Hart, then she'd need to take notes on their older pilot. "When I'm faced with something like that, huh... Well, I worry. I assume most people would worry about those sorts of things. Do you mind telling me what you're facing, Thorvald? Is it something personal, or... More the looming threat against the nation?" She tried to quiet her smile, just a bit. This was supposed to be more professional, after all.

Strange Glow

Kim's mention of science publications matched Hannah's internal records regarding androids and their advancements. But that didn't seem to fit with her own circuitry. The instance in herself had been triggered nearly immediately when pushed to interact with humans, but it was her hardware that had been unable to keep up with her software... On purpose. Was there something to do with that? It was an odd thing to realize, she hadn't thought about it until Kim had mentioned things--

Vera's information was more important, shutting down that process and storing it for later. She took steps over to Kim's pad, watching the movements and actions. "She's slower here," she idly commented, and was then faced with the same glowing limbs she's seen at the end of their fight. Her brow furrowed.

"I do not know what causes this," she began, "but she performed similar when fighting me. It was during our final clash. Perhaps it is something akin to the counter measure I theorize she would have stored in herself... But after she used it, she retreated. And you had success firing on her, if the battle report is to be believed." Hannah stood up straight, her eyes churning the data over and over, before coming to a proposal. "Perhaps it is a form of overdrive. Akin to nitro in an engine. It gives her a temporary extreme boost of movement, strength, or even durability, but requires almost all of her energy stores to perform. That is all I can assume to be the case. There is no way she would have survived your trial would your grenade have made it past her arms..."

Hannah folded her arms. "I do not wish to fight her again," she mentioned, glancing at Kim, then at the video. "She is far too dangerous, and I feel that I got lucky during our encounter. She had not fought an android before, and was thus unsuited to combat against me. She will not be, if there is a next time. I can only hope that her defeat comes while she is piloting a mech... And even then I fear that an explosion from one would not entirely destroy her." Realizing how depressing her talk would be getting for someone far, far less suited for dealing with the cyborg, Hannah tried to smile.

"Perhaps we should see how anyone else around here is doing, rather than dwell on this?"

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Megumi had just been about to jokingly accuse Abigail of sexual harassment, implying she was both the villain and the prince, but it'd be in incredibly poor taste given the circumstances. After all, the former(?) rebel was purportedly trying to deal with the aftermath of the fiasco on Colony One. "Alright, I'll take you to see her," Megumi said, rising from her desk and starting off toward Mrs. Watanabe's bed. Once they arrived at the right bed, the doctor gently slid open the privacy curtain. "You have a visitor," she said, and no way was she elaborating beyond that. The ball was in Abigail's court, now.

Edited by Phoenix
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"Well... I'm not sure I was much help, but I'm glad you're feeling a little better if nothing else." She was still struggling with the issue, that much was clear. But she also seemed determined to stick with things. Hopefully that was for the best. As she walked off towards the freezer, the oven timer dinged, interrupting Astin's thought process. The biscuits! 

A few minutes later, Astin was back at Avery's doorway, a tray with two bowls of soup, some cans of pop, and some warm biscuits balanced carefully on top. Making their way carefully into the room, they set the tray down on Avery's desk before turning towards the sleeping mechanic. Quietly calling out, they gently reached out to shake her. "Hey Avery, time to eat, alright? Gotta take care of yourself."

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Had Hannah just said she was slower in the simulation? That was a red flag already, but Kim allowed the android to finish her analysis. Some form of overdrive, huh... that would make sense with what they had seen, and what Hannah had apparently experienced first hand. They had no real way of testing that theory, so it was all they could really do to speculate. Hannah's next comment surprised Seung-Min for a moment... the android had clearly been developing humanlike AI tendencies, but it was still a little unexpected to hear her... fearful. It was just part of their reality from this point on though, and anyone dwelling on that woman had reason to fear.

"Make sense. Can't fault logic, best estimate can make with current data. But you right, no use dwell on. Have anyone in mind?" Kim eventually responded, looking over at Hannah. She wondered who she would be interested in, with her unique perspective.

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It was like she knew everything. Everything about her, everything significant in her life in the past 2 years, maybe even more. Maybe...maybe she even knew that she was a convict. God, could she? Even after Jane wiped her slate clean, Elaine felt like Louise had everything about her in a neat file next to her, open with all the little details she needed to pick her apart. It was maddening, listening to her able to deconstruct every argument she had, but even she knew that Louise was right. They were murderers. The both of them had killed numerous people, and while Elaine had focused far more on those who had not signed up to die in a military or terrorist group, even now she could not deny that countless families that had been left with a void in place of a person because of her. It was a simple fact, yet one that only a conversation with a lieutenant of Apotheosis caused Elaine to even think about for more than a second. She could no longer deny what was being said to her as truth.

"...Why me?" She asked, barely audible as she was choking back her tears. "Why do you want me of all people? Why does anyone? I'm... I'm just a..." Her composure lost, she curled up where she sat. Had she been able to go to Dr. Hart about this, perhaps there would have been a solution to her emotional instability. But she couldn't go to her. She couldn't go to anyone. Even after just one visit, planning to have gone to the next became impossible after Louise first called and threatened her.

She didn't want to go. She didn't to become a terrorist. She just wanted to be something other than a convict. Something other than a person who was better off in a prison cell, or worse, at the end of a bullet. But, what was she now? Nothing more than a little girl in a woman's body, incapable of handling anyone who challenged her ideals, beliefs, and dreams. A girl who yelled and screamed at everyone, someone who couldn't even be a decent mechanic. Why would anyone, even some lady with a snake tail, ever want a failure like her?

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Prompt

Avery yawned at the jostling, slowly rising and rubbing at her eyes. "Whasszz... Who's... Mnn, hi, Astin..." Food already? "Wow... Didn't expect dinner in bed. What's th'occasion? Was I that nice t'sleep next ta? Didn't snore, did I?" She snickered a bit and snatched the biscuit from on top of the soda and starting to scarf it down. She could clean the bed sheets later... But... "Thanks. Astin... Yer makin' this a lot easier fer me. Think I'll be able t'get back t'work today, which is already a huge change from what I was plannin'..." She smiled, sliding her legs over the bed, still wearing a t-shirt and her underwear.

"It's not weird, right? My... My leg... I know it looks real an' all, but... S'real cold to touch... Can't be comfortable in bed."

Proper Introductions

"Well, I had hoped to see how Brant would react to my changes. And it appears that he is no longer busy in his machine, whatever it was he was doing with Sasha," she remarked, the man walking away from the Regalia. "Would you mind accompanying me as I speak with him? There are a few others that I wish to see as well, but one at a time." Hannah didn't wait, Kim would come with her or not, it was her decision to make. Walking towards the Regalia, she did a quick scan of the machine, to see if there was anything she could glean past the documents available... Unfortunately most of the machine appeared locked down, as far as scans were concerned. She did get the basic information, that it could transform, was T-Link equipped, and designated to Brant Abrams... But no details or particulars. How unfortunate.

"Brant," she radioed up at him. "Would you mind if I speak with you for a moment?" She began to smile, wondering what his reaction would be. She had expectations for a few reactions, mostly for Abigail's, but his was one she couldn't place an exact prediction on.

Just a...

"Failure?" Louise asked. She could hear Elaine cracking up some, smiling on her end. It was the desired effect from all of these, she couldn't get in her head as long as she was being so prideful and stubborn. "I suppose some would consider you a failure. Even I would consider you a failure of an ANF soldier, letting your 'sworn' enemy taunt you like this. But that's part of your charm, isn't it?" Another giggle, another sigh. "I'm not very good at lying, Elaine. Whether you believe that or not is up to you, but that headstrong tendency you have towards everything, that's what I like in a pilot. Sure, you've failed. Multiple times, if the reports from Colony Two are to be believed... Yet here you are. Still piloting. Still trying to make something of yourself. Isn't that admirable?"

Louise hummed for a moment, a small little song. "If you're going to kill, kill and kill, why is it for people trying to uphold the status quo? Why not for change that will help the future? Maybe you just can't see past the atrocities, but... Sometimes change costs a lot. Tell me if you can see that too, Elaine?" All joking had been tossed aside, her tone somewhere closer to serious. "Of course... I understand personal reasons for everything. Even I have my own reasons for being here, as much as I support Helena's decisions~"

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Brant, huh? It made sense, Hannah had interacted with the Russian pilot more than just about anyone else... perhaps more than she had with anyone else at all. Following after her, Kim stood next to the android as she messaged Brant, somewhat curious about his reaction herself.

"Wonder if you get thumb up, or that stop now other Russian here." Seung-Min idly commented, between Firmia and Tonya, there was certainly potential for the fighter pilot to keep his... approval more guarded.

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"What, I need an occasion to bring my girlfriend food?" Astin asked in a teasing manner. It was weird to call her their girlfriend, but nice. And if they were reading her right, it would get a smile which was the goal. "Huh, back to work? It's already five in the afternoon. Pretty sure you've got plenty of people working on stuff. You could probably take the rest of the day off, you know. Take the break you deserve. You're always working. It's ok to relax, alright?" She wouldn't listen most likely, but it was worth saying anyways. She wouldn't be any use to the crew if she burned herself out. Taking breaks was a part of that.

As she swung her legs around, eliciting a slight blush from Astin as they realized just how little she was wearing, she asked about her leg. "Ah, no, it wasn't... I mean, it's different, but it's not a bad thing. I bet it's really nice in the summer if you don't have AC." Trying to keep the mood a little lighter, they chuckled at their own bad joke, hoping she would also do so. Smiling at her as they grabbed their bowl of soup and a biscuit, they continued, "But really, I hardly noticed. And I tend to wear sweatpants in bed anyways, so not like it'd bother me if the situation arises." If... Pretty sure she's more thinking when not if. And I guess I am too. She is my girlfriend after all...

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