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


Xinnidy
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"Is too strong?" Nikolai asked, raising an eyebrow as he sipped the thick dark brew. "I can make something else if is not to your liking... do not need to drink if tastes bad to you."

He propped himself on the countertop, setting the half-empty cup down as he let his legs dangle over the edge for a moment. He rested his chin in his palm as he thought about what to say next. The boy looked, well, not necessarily troubled but definitely in thought about it. He wasn't exactly sure about it himself, but he figured he should try to say something, do something...

"Family... is complicated. I do not have much experience myself. Do not really remember my parents much, maybe is good people, maybe not. Meet a lot of people along the way, some good, some bad, some neither." He muttered, "that is life though. I do not think is blood that make family, even if other girl your sister, she does not need to be if that is not what you want. In the end, is all your choice. Friends, family, all things you make I think. I do not know for certain though. I do not know if I ever had any of either, if that make much sense..."

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They might be able to make due with a patch for the stomach. Maybe. The chest was another matter depending on the exact location. If the lieutenant's breasts were in the way then the doctor hoped she liked needles. At least the injection sites would heal over almost immediately. "Well, we're still in the monitoring phase for now," Megumi said, not wanting them to get ahead of themselves. "If nothing gets worse in an hour, your concussion or the bruising, we'll get started, so just relax for now." She really ought to monitor the two of them longer than that, but it couldn't be helped. At least she wasn't cutting as many corners as she used to. A concussion was something she and the medics in Nicholas' company had to outright ignore half the time. Apotheosis was nudging her toward old field practices, and Megumi didn't like it one bit. That was war for you.


There was no point in Firmia hiding how angry she was after Galatea came up, again. It was bad enough that the ivory groupie was calling the shots half the time, but if it was going to slow Hannah's processing down as a whole and make everything worse ... no there really was no point in hiding how angry she was. "Are you serious?! Tell that crazy dating simulator to mind its own business! ... and stop going along with whatever it tells you to do!" <I don't want touchy feely, horny combat drones, dammit!>

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Inquiries

Hannah was a bit surprised that Firmia was so angry about this. Didn't she knew that Galatea had administrative superiority for her own actions? She had to listen, or it would simply repeat until the task was finished or at least explored. She'd thought that was made clear before, but perhaps she could fix that in a moment. Either way, "you are deflecting my question, Firmia. I am not speaking about myself, nor wondering why you are angry at my programming. I simply wish to know why my contact with Brant makes you so upset. If you are not jealous, then it does not make sense. As well, as I am sure was made clear, Galatea has priority over my own programming... I will state that currently, it has not issued anything. I am curious for my own sake, and attempting to perhaps avoid issue in the future. If that makes sense." I have a feeling that it will not. "Do you mind calling the lift, by the way?"

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While it was nice to know Galatea wasn't pulling her strings yet, Firmia was none too happy to know that the reason was probably because Hannah was pressing the issue, herself. There would be no telling them apart at this rate. "Of course I'm deflecting the question," Firmia crossed her arms, "It's none of your business why I feel a certain way." It didn't have to make sense, either, but that wasn't the point Firmia was trying to make, right now. The far bigger concern was making sure Hannah's performance didn't take a hit over so little.

Firmia called down the lift, trying to limit herself to just one sigh in the interim. "If I explain, you'll just wind up with even more questions. If you really want to act more like a person, you need to learn to be patient." Admittedly, being stuck on things--to the detriment of virtually all else--was a very important part of the human experience. It was a lot more frustrating than Firmia expected it to be in this situation. Maybe it shouldn't have been surprising; any time a machine had an issue that she couldn't immediately solve, Firmia quickly grew frustrated ... and Hannah didn't come with a manual ... only a reboot option that nobody wanted to talk about. "What's pissing me off about you latching onto Brant like that isn't going to make sense without a lot more information. Information I just told you to keep your nose out of not five minutes ago."

"Here's how this is going to work," Firmia took hold of the lift with Hannah, "I'll try to explain once we're inside, but if you've got other questions, save them for later. Right now, we're working." It was some semblance of work, if nothing else.

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Guest in the Room

"Ah... sorry." It wouldn't do to act so nervous, huh? For the sake of making things more comfortable, Makoto would have to at least show some confidence back! He was being invited to a girl's room, and he was damn well going through with it! With some positive reinforcement and a deep breath, Makoto followed her inside the room, and helped himself to look around a bit. Naturally, it had a bit of a nondescript feel to it, thanks to being a military appointed bedroom, but it was still curious to look at the furniture and the way it was arranged. It was to Christina's taste to some amount, right? At least, there was a different smell to the room than the hallways before. "Video games, huh? Yeah, I guess it's hard to grab some to play while on duty... maybe if we have some internet we could." An RPG could take too long, but maybe something that was easy to pick up and drop anytime would be more appropriate for a pilot. Video games did help with motor coordination, to a point! The greatest issue would be freely accessible internet in the Riese, which honestly he was too busy to check the past few days.

Christina went straight to the bathroom after checking out her drawer for some clothes, leaving instructions for Makoto to mess with the panel and keep himself entertained. Man... some TV would do just fine. Unfortunately they were flying over America, so Makoto doubted his preferred channels would be broadcast in this region, let alone in the middle of a phantom war like this one. Still, it wasn't like he could do worse, contemplating the options as he begun flipping through the channels. Hmm, news channels wouldn't feel good to watch in their situation, the hottest topic to talk would probably be Apotheosis, and they knew more than enough about that group for one day. Sitcoms weren't really his thing, either, which left him less guilty as he focused his search on animation channels--Oooh, Knight of the Seven Suns rerun, the dub was hammy enough that he'd choose it over Japanese sometimes. That would do. Sporting a silly grin, Makoto pulled over a chair and made himself comfortable. There wasn't much else to do but stay there and be a helpful, uh, positive brain for Christina to focus on, huh? He just needed... not to think too hard about it. Nothing wrong with it.

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"Okay, suppose that fine." Kim replied, shuffling gently in her hospital bed for comfort, before letting out a gentle sigh, her vision comprising almost entirely of the plain white ceiling tile. How droll.

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Terms and Conditions

Hannah paused, going over Firmia's compromise, and while finding it a bit constricting, felt that it was better than getting nothing. "I will accept your terms, and hold any questions until after we figure out the situation with the Mantle and the Regalia... But I will say this. While you are correct that how you feel is by all rights none of my business, my business with Brant is none of yours. If you are going to scowl and glare, I am going to press you for reasons why. Brant seemed happy to hear everything that I told him, so I do not appreciate the anger without evident reason." Hannah's words may have been taken as heavy handed, if they'd carried any tone with them. As it was, she was still speaking at the same level and pace she always did. The lack of a smile was likely telling enough, though.

"Let us proceed with your tests. I hope it is not difficult for you to provide an answer, even if it does create further inquiries." Hannah rode the lift up with Firmia, slowly getting herself into the pilot's seat.

Headache Begone

Clothes were easy to slip into, casual yoga pants and another, this time navy blue, sweater. It felt a lot more comfortable than the medical gown, even if it was still borrowing Kim's clothes. I should really get some of my own when we hit HQ... Would that make her upset? I like this stuff, I just don't wanna keep raiding her closet. Hmmm... Hopping out of the bathroom to find Makoto engaged in TV, she paused to see what he was watching... What exactly was he watching? "Makoto? What's this?" She walked herself over to the bed, sitting on the edge, trying to take in... Whatever was happening. "Is this one of those animes? I don't think I've ever watched one... Well... No, I only watched one episode of that. That doesn't count. What's this one about?" There were a bunch of buff dudes and some of them were having fist fights... One kept going 'atatata', or something similar. How weird...

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Quiet Gossip

"Oh, that would be great, thank you." The positive response from the nurse was at least hope for the next hour, she had no idea how long this Lieutenant Kim needed attention, but surely it couldn't be that long. As courtesy, Mai smiled back, "I bet hearing all these compliments would make his day... but it's scary to think of him out there, I hope he'll only come to the infirmary to check on me, and nothing else." It was still a daunting prospect for a mother, no matter her son's convictions... but she couldn't stop him forever. She could only pray that it wasn't the worst outcome, as a grim chill briefly ran through her. "These girls are risking themselves, too... the young sure can be brave. I hope the older pilots can keep them safe." Spying Makoto as he left with the girl, Mai couldn't help but have that motherly overprotection stir inside. She's not going to try anything, is she? Hmm... is she his type?

One of Those???

Makoto looked back as he was called, eyeing Christina's new outfit for a moment. Huh, Makoto didn't see people donning sweaters that often in the Colony, but Christina was pulling the look well, even if hers was a bit baggy. Now, her two first sentences already set Makoto's mood to awkward again, a bit self conscious of his taste in animation as soon as Christina proved to not be as acquainted. It always felt silly to come out to other people as a fan when they weren't interested, but Christina was the one asking, so... "It's Knight of the Seven Suns, yeah. O-one of those." Man, 'animes' just broke his heart, but it couldn't be helped. At least she wasn't making fun of him, and seemed at least mildly curious. "It's a dystopian future, over-the-top action story about a martial artist trying to find his missing family. The English version has some funny lines, so I thought I'd give it a watch." There was just something satisfying about seeing some of the more exaggerated moves like punching a high speed bike animated in such detail, too. "Oh! Do you have anything you want to watch, too? Honestly, I'd avoid the news channels, it's gonna be the same thing over and over for a while now..." At least he could bring up a change of channels if she wasn't into it, to avoid things getting more awkward...

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Kim certainly looked bored. Maybe even a little lonely. Aside from offering free access to her sizable collection of reading materials, like with Mai, Megumi was at a loss. On the other hand, a visit to the infirmary wasn't necessarily supposed to be pleasant or interesting. Megumi was just as eager to get going and salvage as much of her fake birthday as she could. It was strange that Ellen hadn't called her back yet. She was so excited to get answers about the Alkaev machines and Brant. Megumi vaguely recalled something about a birthday present, as well. Ellen would probably notice once it was getting late and get in touch, again.

No wait. She couldn't. Megumi's personal phone was off, and the other one was in her room. Ellen might have already tried to call her. Megumi pushed down her worry and turned her phone back on to see if her older sister had tried to call her in the last few minutes. There were thirteen attempted calls, and twenty-something text messages. There was a chance they were all from Nicholas. How a lone human could pull that off was anyone's guess, but Megumi wouldn't put anything past him. Two options lay open to her: Turn off the phone before that fifteenth call came in, or check those messages to see if any of them were from someone other than Nicholas. The doctor forgot about Kim for a moment as she grappled with the decision. Her thumb seemed to be trying to press down two buttons simultaneously ...

When the ring came, Megumi was by no means surprised; she felt it coming in much the same way a TK felt an impending attack. That didn't stop her from flinching like she'd just taken a bullet to the chest. The caller ID ... Nicholas, of course. Megumi's thumb had been rather close to the end button anyway, so she pressed it, rejecting the call. Nicholas would still know her phone was back on for the moment, but so be it. She began going through her messages as quickly as she could, ignoring anything addressed from the annoying mercenary, that was, anything without a proper address. Call sixteen came before Megumi was halfway finished and she rejected that one, too. "When I find a gun big enough ..." the doctor murmured scornfully, trying to finish the task so she could put her phone back to sleep.


It was her business, alright. As long as they were piloting the AMS units, anything that could affect their performance was important to Firmia. Thoughts and speech were two different things, though, and the Alkaev wasn't going to engage in a back and forth with an android when the latter could go on for eons and the issue had already been addressed. The resolution was a ways off, assuming it existed, but that should wait. What shouldn't wait was this experimental setup. So long as Hannah was a viable pilot, Firmia wanted to do everything she could to improve her potential. Her faith in an eventual drone program was coming under fire, but was still holding. "Answering questions isn't difficult," Firmia scowled, "just tedious."

Firmia made for the copilot's seat as soon as they entered the cockpit, and started up the essential systems. "If you do work out as the Mantle's pilot long term, I'm probably going to swap out this copilot seat to make room for some new equipment," she noted, typing at blazing speed. She had similar plans with the Reign, seeing as no one could fly with Tonya and actually improve her situation, either. She could do with a more survivalist cockpit, given the high risk missions she was slated for. An on board assistant might help, but currently Firmia was only set on additions that would make it easier for Tonya to handle solo missions for extended periods.

The Mantle's imaging system came online and revealed the hangar from every conceivable angle. "This is the processed feed," Firmia explained, briefly touching on the basics. "Obviously you can't get a view like this with cameras placed the way they are. I'm going to set up a line or two between you and the system so you get the unprocessed footage and sensor data. If it's too much to handle, I can always reroute a few things and lighten your load." The sensor data from the head would be biggest load, due to the Mantle's role as a long range support and intercept unit, so if nothing else, Hannah could probably get away with letting the Mantle handle that part, and then 'interpret' the output. Said output wouldn't look like anything a human could understand ... "It's going to be a physical line, and my guess is your 'ears' aren't for show, so pick one and open it."

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Seven Whats?

"H-Huh... I see." That sounded so weird. Well, it wasn't all that far from their current situation, or what their situation would be if this whole situation went belly up... But, through fighting techniques? "Heheh... Weird. But it sounds alright. I don't mind watching. Who's your favorite characters?" English version... Right, Makoto was Japanese. Christina knew about as much Japanese as the next American, which was to say, about two lines and maybe four words, so she didn't try to impress him with her VAST KNOWLEDGE on the language. "There isn't much I want to watch... My head's starting to cool down. You've been a real big help with that. Thank you... Uh..." She paused. Having told herself that she'd let him know what was going on in the elevator, now that they were here, did he even care? "Do you... Wanna know what's going on with me?"

Setting Up

"Wonderful." Hopefully Firmia was prepared for Hannah when this was finished, she already had a question as soon as Firmia mentioned long term. It was obviously, will Brant be coming with them, and she stored it along with the rest that were popping up as Firmia went on to explain the display. A direct line... Some part of her was quite determined to process this without requiring an upgrade. It felt... Like a milestone, of sorts. Or maybe she wanted to challenge this Galatea program, and see what it could do. Would it be able to handle the intense load of an MS' entire camera feed? "I will do so, once you have tried to explain the situation regarding your frustrations." Hannah turned to look at her, waiting. Her ears weren't just for show, and normally, she'd be very cautious of opening them for just anyone. They led a direct line to her main processor... And if she didn't trust Firmia, then she wouldn't be agreeing. Anyone could slip some sort of nasty virus or connection in there and take her out at the source.

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Talia looked up at Cheryl for a couple of moments, her eyes filling with tears again. "I don't know how to make toast either..." she mumbled, bowing her head down in shame. She'd been banking on T-4 having some sort of horrible weakness or flaw that she didn't, there had to be something that she was good at. Even if it was something small or inconsequential, she needed something that she could call her own. It was almost painful to look back at how unsuccessful she was, even in her own hobbies she was rather mediocre. "I spent fifteen years trying, scraping through tests and training exercises. No matter how much effort I put in, it was always such a struggle. Then there was the first time... I..."

She froze, going completely silent. She'd done her best to try and forget it, but her last encounter with the Umbra had been the breaking point for her. Being shot down, trying to activate the protocol... being trapped underwater for hours... her chest grew tight and her arms began to tremble. Why did she have to feel like this? It was so painful even years afterwards, why couldn't she just forget it?

"It's too much for me, being around other people and dealing with pressure. It's something I can't do." she admitted. It was far less stressful just to exist in her own little world, the loneliness and isolation was better than living in terror.

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The Doctor's next sequence of motions was... a bit odd, to say the least. She turned her phone on, seeming to check something on it, only to have an almost uncanny emotional spike when it actually rang... as though she had expected it, but in no way wanted it to happen. This seemed to be confirmed as she declined the call, but then why turn her phone on in the first place? Within a few moments, it rang yet again... someone was persistent and seemingly unwanted, if Megumi's feelings and actions were to be believed. Amazingly so, as yet another call came through in record time.

"Someone persistent."

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Megumi quickly turned off the phone and stuffed it into her pocket. She only had a few messages left to check, but she was all but certain they were from Nicholas, as well. "Yes," Megumi sighed heavily, taking a seat on the adjacent bed. "He called to wish me a Happy Birthday, but it would be a lot happier without him, I'm sorry to say." She wasn't sorry that she felt that way, only that she sounded extremely petty on the surface. "I don't suppose you have anyone in your life that you just can't stand, even in the best of times ...?"


Firmia fixed the android with a fresh glare before she went down to fetch what looked like a storage case beneath the copilot's seat. "We can do both," she said, practically ripping the case from its small compartment. "Honestly, if you can't communicate and handle the feed at the same time, then you may as well go talk to Avery about that upgrade now and save us the trouble." With that, Firmia produced several spare cables. They were a lot longer than what they needed, having been designed to be cut and terminated at more appropriate lengths depending on the user's needs. All the tools and spare connectors for doing so were in the case. Firmia set the cables on Hannah's lap and then went back for the connectors. "Pick whichever ones you can use," came Firmia's last instruction on the cable matter.

"Anyway," the Alkaev took a deep breath, "Brant's been through a lot more than I knew until we got stuck out here. I know he seems normal on the outside, but ... he's a real mess. What my mother and grandfather did to him," Firmia's fist tightened around the crimping tool she'd just picked up, "... is unforgivable ..."

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"Is Birthday? Apologies make you work, Happy Birthday Doctor Megumi." Kim began, considering the Doctor's question for a moment. There had been a few... overly crazed fans back in the day, but anyone so who was the personality type to grow enmity with the people around them didn't tend to last long in the idol industry, and insofar as she had witnessed, disdain could be muffled with success in her current line of work. No one on the ship seemed bad enough to aggravate her to that extent, at least not yet.

"Can't say do, not right now anyway. Try not keep people like that in life long if can help, unfortunate seem don't have that luxury with this one. Condolence."

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Pressure

"Then we'll see about getting you around people without pressure." Cheryl opened one of the empty rooms, letting Talia down on the edge of its' bed, and giving it a look around. "The white's kind of... Too clean, don't you think? I'm going to put your name on this door, and you're free to do whatever it is that you'd like to, okay? My room is just down the hall, name's nice and big on the door if you need me. And that panel, near the entrance, you can use it to change the color of the room around to whatever suits you... There's TV, movies, radio. The works. Alright?" Hopefully it was alright for now. I'll have to get the Lieutenant to come down here later and try to give her a talk. Maybe if it's one on one they'll be able to manage something.

Someone...

Olivia perked up to the conversation Megumi was having, hoping to find some way to entertain herself now that she'd finished teasing the new girl. Someone she couldn't stand? He? Hmmm... If they were calling it was likely not to be someone on the boat, they would just have come up to see her... So... "That person's name wouldn't happen to be Nicholas, would it, Doc?" A flat stare followed, trying to gauge a response.

Functional

"I can do both. I am making sure that you follow through with your part of the bargain, so that you do not attempt to ignore it once we are finished here." As cables were presented to her, she froze in place, going about opening her right ear for connecting. "Any cable is suitable, I am compatible with all media or otherwise outlets. Please select which you think would be best for carrying the load from the Mantle." That said, Hannah sat back in the pilot's chair, pleased that Firmia was at least beginning to hold onto her side of things.

"I can assume from your lack of depth that they have done truly deplorable things to Brant, and I do not need you to clarify on what guesses I may have. I have a question regarding that, that I will save for after, but in the mean time, a statement: I fail to see what that has to do with me. Unless you are concerned that I am forcing myself onto Brant, or that he will allow me to be close to him because you worry that he does not know how to say no to anyone. I will let you continue from this guess, before going further." She held her hand out for whichever connector Firmia decided would be best for this test.

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Megumi nodded at the lieutenant's question and waited for her response. She hadn't been expecting anything more than extremely pushy producers and maybe a stalker here and there. That wasn't quite what Nicholas was in Megumi's world. He was closer to an evil messianic figure, if such a thing could even exist. Kim's response came and it seemed she was free and clear of extremely stressful individuals aboard the ship, at least for now. The doctor also had the TK's condolences from the sound of things.

"Thanks," Megumi said, just prior to Olivia's own question.

The last thing Megumi expected was for her assistant to interject with that idiot's name. "Yes," her eyes narrowed, "How did you know that?"


"I already agreed to explain," Firmia noted irritably, "and I keep my word, no matter what. So don't try to force my hand." Continuing on, she settled on two connector types that were extremely unlikely to come loose in the event of some turbulence, screw types. They weren't fashionable by any stretch of the imagination, but they would have to be torn out from either end in a fight once secured. 

Hannah's theory that Brant was ill equipped to turn people down was almost right. Brant knew how to say no, but only to Firmia, it seemed. She'd be lying if she said that didn't absolutely infuriate her the more she thought about it. After all, she was trying to ensure his survival in the biggest war to date, and somehow she was going too far? Meanwhile Brant had Tonya sleeping in his room, no doubt borrowing his clothes, and just generally being a stupid sexy layabout, and Hannah clinging to him like a sixteen year old crush. There was no telling what the captain would be up to if she got him alone. Firmia remembered how protective she became when she learned about what Rosa had done. All of that was just fine, but the moment Firmia decided to put her life on the line to protect him, suddenly there was a problem. She knew what it was ... that fear of responsibility. So what if Brant was scared of getting her killed by mistake? She had the exact same fear! Who in the world didn't?! Ridiculous!

"It's not just because Brant's been conditioned to be ... docile," Firmia admitted, trying to terminate two of the cables at the appropriate length and attach the connectors. Easier said than done with so much grief welling up inside. "All my life I've seen people do things like that and just ... mess everything up. My family's worse than most: My grandfather has more 'girlfriends' than I can count, my father's in love with his own machines--I'm sure he'd love whatever meeting you inspired him to build, my sister ruins good men's lives because they don't seem 100% devoted to her at any given moment, and my mother ... ugh! She'll do whatever she wants to whomever she wants and damn the consequences. I like to think Brant and I are close, so I don't want to see him rush into anything or get dragged in. He's a good person and I want him to have a decent life. It's still possible ... not that he'd listen to me, though." Firmia finished the difficult part of her task and began connecting the two cables. "I bet he'd be just fine with it if I gave him my panties to carry around for good luck. Helping him operate a complicated system like the Regalia's, though? No, that's the line. Forgive me for calling bull- ... yeah. It's just stupid ... and I wasted so much time on unimportant crap with him. If I'd found out sooner, I could have helped him ... but now we're too busy fighting Apotheosis, and I don't even have time to breathe, anymore. It's just so stupid ..."

Edited by Phoenix
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Nicholas... well, Megumi's instant emotional spike as soon as the medical assistant uttered that name seemed to confirm it, only a moment before Megumi's own inquiry put it down in writing, for lack of a better term. So whoever this Nicholas was, he was some sort of thorn in the Doctor's side, and Olivia seemed to be aware of him... somehow. Whether she would divulge that information was another thing entirely though.

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I Cast Magic Missile At The Darkness

"I saw his name in a new article while I was looking in your computer and took a shot in the dark." Olivia made a lazy finger gun, and 'pow'd while having it recoil. "Guess I hit hard. So, who is he? And why does he have missus needs twelve vodkas to get buzzed so on edge?" It was pretty curious, really, how the name alone seemed to make Megumi emote. Even if it wasn't positive, it was interesting. Finally something exciting with this woman.

Two Pronged

Firmia went on a little tirade at Hannah's prodding. It was a lot more revealing than the girl probably wanted it to be, and Hannah almost felt guilty managing to have her spill all of that out. Whether she liked Hannah's next gesture or not, the android pulled herself out of the seat and moved up to give Firmia another hug, not quite minding if there was some form of retaliation. Relenting quickly and leaning back, she tried to focus on the girl's eyes, formulating what best to say. "So allow me to help, Firmia." That was a good start, but she needed to be specific. "You are one person, and your team is small. You have all of this wrapped up in your head, and when pushed, it rushed out, like a dam breaking."

Hannah sat back down a bit, still looking up at her. "I know that I may just be a machine to you, but Brant told me that what I am feeling is real. I would like to believe that, and that none of these new developments are simply a fabrication. That I am the proverbial 'ghost in the machine'. I have not known Brant as long as you have, and I will not contest that you care about him far more than I do, whether or not your feelings are similar. Still, it is not effective for you to shoulder a company and him both. You will burn yourself out, and come crashing down... I do not believe that anyone you care about wishes to see that from you. I do not wish it either." Hoping some of this was sinking in, Hannah tried to finish it off. "I do not have urges or desires that humans carry. Galatea and I both are content with what I have received from Brant. You will not have to worry about him being pushed into a corner regarding anything further from myself. With that said, allow me to speak to him about your issues as well. He may be refusing them from you because he does not wish to see you hurt." He could also be distancing himself from her because of what her mother has done to him. I do not know what that is, but if it was as serious as Firmia has implied, he could be scared of the woman's daughter, subconsciously.

That was a grim prospect that Hannah didn't want to consider from someone as seemingly nice as Brant. "So allow me, please. I would like to see you happy. You have provided me the means to properly fight, as much as I have likely annoyed you along the way. Putting up with me like that makes me quite happy. I am still learning, after all." With a wide smile, Hannah hoped that was enough. Or at the least, a good start.

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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"I'm sure the older pilots are looking out for the younger ones as best they can." It seemed like, from what Mai was saying, that her son was out there piloting too. Val hadn't realized that they'd allowed that, but she also wasn't paying any attention to the battles beyond who was winning. It didn't surprise her that she'd missed a new mech being out there. "And I'm sure your son is kept safe. There are plenty of experienced pilots to help him out there. He'll just come in here to tell you about all the brave things he's done, I'm sure."

It looked like the Doctor was done with Kim for now, though it looked like she and Olivia were talking about something serious. Still. "Excuse me, Doctor, is there any chance that we could check Mrs. Watanabi's legs again? She was hoping to possibly starting moving around soon and checking could help speed that up if she's ready..." Hopefully she wouldn't get mad at Val. That would be unfortunate...

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

"I'm not..." Astin didn't know how to react to that. They were well and truly entangled at this point. Any sort of protest would only serve to make things worse. So even though it still seemed like a bad idea, they knew that had to move forward. It wasn't like they didn't want to. They just couldn't get rid of the nagging voice in their head. But it was past the point of listening to it. "You do make me happy. Knowing that someone cares about me like you do... It's nice. So we're all clear, don't worry. I know you meant what you said, and I'm not taking anything that I said back so... You don't need to be all sentimental anymore. Can't have you stressing yourself out over trying to tell me nice things."

They smiled, hopefully making Avery laugh a little to help her move past the awkwardness that she'd clearly been feeling. "Now, come on. I know you have a lot of work to do, but we've got to get you fed too. It's sort of a make your own sandwich plate, so you're gonna need to serve yourself. And hope you like barbecue chips, they were the only type I could find..."

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Aliza didn't have much to go on other than a red mech and a cute voice, but despite that she got some info on the pilot. Abigail Casson, nicknamed Abby. Cute name, but it wasn't enough for a preliminary score. But that aside she was pointed out to a console and was shown how it worked. Seems to display a map of the ship including every room onboard. Neato! This will certainly come in handy. Well she found out Abby's floor was below her so with that in mind she walked off to said room.

Some minutes after she found herself in front of the door (after double checking her work on another console) ready and willing to do what she came to do: Give the pilot her thanks. She wasn't sure what to expect however, she seemed very serious on the battlefield. With a deep breath she rose her hand to the door and lightly knocked with her knuckles. There may have been a button to buzz her but she didn't really think to locate one truth be told. With that she lowered her hand down and waited for the girl to answer.

Edited by TheRoon
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Two knocks on her door, in under two hours? What, when had she become this popular? On this boat? Abigail was more than a little confused. This meant that... the meeting must be over by now, huh? It surely wasn't Doyle, coming back for a second chat, but who could that leave? Racking her brain, she couldn't think of any likely suspects. Abby fully expected Jess to be busy until much later, was counting on it really, she was still working through a few things she needed to get under control before she could consider herself prepared for that encounter. Megumi was doubtless busy in the infirmary, the lieutenant had gotten hit pretty hard hadn't she? Probably gonna be there for monitoring for at least a while. Brant maybe? Or... she shuddered when she hit a very real possibility, the murderbot? No, that thing wouldn't have the decency to knock.

There was nothing to be done but get up and find out, no point running down the list any further, anyway. Pushing herself off the bed with a slight yawn, Abigail wiped her cheeks quickly to make sure they were dry. Eh, good enough, she figured, though if she'd taken any time to look in a mirror she would have seen that for the lie it was. There was no hiding the distinct red puffiness around her green eyes that indicated she'd had a bit of a cry, hopefully the last one for awhile, even if her cheeks were clear of tearstains. Abby hadn't taken any time to do her long blonde hair up into its customary ponytail either, but it's not like that mattered. It could just fall down around her shoulders for now, matching her low spirits.

Still dressed in the shorts and shirt combo she'd hastily thrown on earlier, Abigail made her way to the door, opening it a crack just to be sure it wasn't the tin can after all, before swinging it wide to reveal the unfamiliar face standing before her. Blinking a couple of times in surprise, she finally managed a "Can I help you? I'm not sure who you're looking for, but maybe I'd know where to find them. Couldn't hurt anything, at least."

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It would have been surprising for most people to find Nikolai so insightful about life, but it made sense once one considered where he'd come from - he would have seen the extremes of social connections and interactions. Neither of them had really experienced a normal upbringing, their shared history was quite possibly one of the reasons that they got along so well. Tarquin sat himself down on a nearby stool, leaving his mug of semi-solid coffee next to him. Perhaps if he left it... thinking about it, there was probably little that could salvage it. He'd decided to explore something new, and he was not left with a good impression. There were a good number of things that Tarquin wanted to try, different foods, going to different places. Perhaps when, if ever, the conflict between Apotheosis and the two major world powers was over, he would have a chance to do it all for himself.

"It must be... an acquired taste." Tarquin replied, wondering if the taste would ever leave his tongue. "I suppose coffee is like family, if you're not used to it, it's not very nice. I can't see any reason why I would like her, but it would perhaps be best to allow time to determine the nature of our relationship. There are some people that are just difficult to get along with. Like Hedrick, the one who punched you. No matter how many times I try to reevaluate her, it always seems to return to disappointment."
 

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"Well that was nosy," Megumi winced slightly, "He's the leader of a mercenary company I used to work for. His preferred stomping grounds are in the Middle East and Africa, but he'll send his people anywhere if they're paid well enough. My very first job was working as a data analyst for him. I got shoehorned into some other jobs: field medic, spotter, and diplomat ... but my family and I moved to America before things got too difficult to manage." Not entirely true, but close enough. Sometimes a mission would go sideways and Megumi would have no choice but to assume an anti-armor role, but those were particularly bad memories. Nicholas' insufferable personality made things that much worse. It didn't matter how many of Megumi's friends died as long as they completed the mission and the survivors all got paid ... and that's why Megumi stopped making friends over there.

"If you value camaraderie, he's an extremely difficult person to work with. That's all ..."

Tambre's interjection on Mai's behalf might have been fortuitous, depending on your point of view. Megumi wasn't sure how much she wanted to get into regarding Nicholas, but neither was she sure Mai was ready to start moving around. A few days in bed would leave a person fairly weak in the knees, but it wasn't the end of the world. Maybe with a wheelchair Mai could address her boredom, assuming that's what it was. Megumi didn't trust the woman with crutches just yet, though; she didn't trust anyone with crutches, really. Did you see the way people hobbled around with those? They were just begging to have an accident. Personal preferences aside, now was a good time to clean the wound again and change her bandages, as well.

"Alright, we'll take a look. If no one's gotten to it yet, we'll also change her bandages while we're at it." Glancing at Kim, she added, "I'll be back shortly. Let me know if you start feeling different," she tapped her temple a couple of times before starting off.


"Guh!" Firmia gasped, not expecting another hug. Even though she hadn't been taken from behind, she was still taken by surprise. Hannah's insistence that she be allowed to help was just as shocking for the Alkaev. She was left reluctantly meeting Hannah's gaze as the android expounded on her feelings.

Firmia wanted to point out that she barely knew the android, which made it difficult to rely on her for much, but without bringing up her ulterior motives for having Hannah pilot the Mantle, it would be an incredibly weak point to try and make. It was also hard to make a decent rebuttal so soon after being embraced, again. Firmia wasn't sure whether to believe that Hannah was satisfied with things the way they were, either. Didn't she and her higher process both still have some odd 'functions' they hadn't broken in, yet? Surely Galatea would want to expand its horizons at the very least. Regardless of what was really going on between those two universal input hubs of hers, Firmia was shouldering a lot. She could only do so much. Sasha could only do so much. With Brant not operating in any official capacity for her new company, and Tonya's only strength being combat operations, the Alkaev really was being overwhelmed, even if only gradually.

As she went on, it became clear that Hannah was interested in more than just Firmia's mental health, which was admittedly compromised. She wanted Firmia to be happy? Why? Sure the rogue Alkaev had given Hannah a more reliable mobile suit to use, one that paired well with Brant's, and was going out of her way to make the arrangement more effective, but ... "Well ..." She could use the help in this instance. It wasn't as if Hannah was removed from the situation, anyway. "Fine. I'm still reserving judgment for now; I don't trust Galatea ... but if you can talk some sense into him after we test this, that would be a big help. Don't expect me to be jumping for joy until we destroy Apotheosis, though. As long as they're running amok, I can't even get my company's roots down ..."

That reminded her ... after she was finished arguing with Brant, she had a contact to try and get in touch with. This was looking to be one of her riskier endeavors ...

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Aliza waited outside for a minute or two, thinking on her life choices and how they took her here. She even mulled over looking through her notebook to reorganize a few things until the door opened wide and brought her attention back out of her thoughts. She took a good look at the girl on the other side and...she didn't quite see this coming. She expected a hardened soldier like figure from the way she handled things on the battlefield but the girl before her was rather down and out, almost as if she were put through the wringer. Don't get me wrong Aliza thought she was cute but the red eyes really gave a lot away.

But for once she didn't let the surprise show and she kept her best smile on. "Actually I was looking for an Abigail, and by the sound of your voice I think I found her. I don't know if you recognize my voice but I'm Aliza Silvavolke, I was the Legionary pilot out in the field and you helped my squad out. I just wanted to come by to give thanks and tell you I'm gonna be apart of the crew from here on out." She made a cute salute. "So it's nice to meet my unexpected guardian angel out in the field!" With a light giggle she attempted to at least entertain Abby enough to lift up slightly and to start a conversation.

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Getting Sentimental

"Great! Awesome... Guess I'll be invadin' yer room more often then--"

"Avery!" Jess was walking over, nearly giving the mechanic a heart attack. She hadn't been expecting the captain, but a quick look down at her communicator told her that she should've been. Getting caught from one thing to another had left her without an opportunity to check her mail.

"Yeah? What's up captain?"

"I want to set some new ground rules, if that's alright. Forward all unscheduled launch requests to me, first off. If I can't be reached, then check in with Brant... Make sure Buck knows as well. We can't have another mess like with Tarquin."

"Alright, sure." Avery figured that was going to happen, and was a bit surprised it hadn't happened before, but maybe the captain was more comfortable with this crew than she was supposed to be. In any case...

"And I need you to tell me about these new mechanisms. Or, whatever it is that's going on with the Artemis."

"Wha... Oh! Oh, shit, shit, I was supposed to... Right." Avery glanced at Astin with an embarrassed smile, before trying to explain. "I, er, it's not th' machine. It's Christina. Girl's got some weird TK powers that mess with other ones when she's all hooked up, an'--"

"Whatever it is," Jess interrupted, "I'd like it turned off. It's not safe when we have other TK operatives helping us out in the field. Maybe if Kim was a lone show, but with Brant and now Firmia helping out..."

"R-Right..." Avery hadn't appreciated getting cut off, but it made sense why, at least. "Brant was there an' said he'd be fine, but I guess it can be a liability. I'll give the girls a talk. See iffin I can't figure somethin' out with th'machine first." Maybe some more tests would help to shut down this weird dampening aura Christina seemed to produce.

"Thank you." Jess breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, uhm, please send me a report of all the changes or new machinery we run into, as well. Just so I can make sure I know everything that's on the ship... Okay?"

"Yeah, s'all good... That all, Jess?" It was kinda weird to see the captain acting like... Well, a captain, but it did bring a small smile to Avery's face now that it was seemingly over with.

"Yes. Yes, I think it is... I'm going to go relax now, I... Yeah. Thank you, again." Jess saluted, turning and walking off slower than she'd approached.

"Must be hard... Eh, we're all workin' hard, so! Time t'eat~" Avery needed this refuel just as much as the machines did.

Trust in Me

"Thank you!" Hannah almost jumped out of her seat, standing up against the back up it. "I won't let you down, Firmia! I share your sentiments with not trusting this program, but I will still do my best. Heheh... It is nice seeing you this calm. I think that you deserve to treat yourself sometimes, too. I will speak with Brant and see if I can work my way around his logic for why he does not wish to see you inside the Regalia. Do not worry over it any longer... As, well..." Hannah felt that she hadn't clarified something clear enough, on why Galatea was so content currently.

"I... I do not believe that Galatea has realized that I have any functions past my ability to hold and kiss Brant-- not that I have kissed him, I am merely clarifying... As long as nothing gives the program an idea that I do, then I do not believe it will attempt to push me any further... So unless Brant decides that he wishes for more, then you will not have to worry. That it what I believe. Oh, and, Galatea does not register what I say, so you do not have to worry about my tipping it off towards these functions by telling you. I hope that is alright." Phew, that was better, now. Hopefully Firmia could come to trust her fully, she really did want to help. Making her and Brant both happy would give her quite the sense of purpose.

"Now, then. Please hand me the connecting cable so that I may begin." Sitting back down properly, Hannah kept her hand open and waiting.

Camaraderie

"And if you don't, he's a great soldier. That sort of thing?" He sounded like a useful individual if casualties weren't a concern for you. He didn't sound like a pleasant person, though. "And yes. I'm very nosy... Not really. I decided to get to know the ship's inhabitants to better help if issues came up. The article was sitting around, so I distracted myself for a moment. It was a good distraction, seeing you express something over it." Olivia smiled, as the doctor decided to go check on that Mai lady. She probably wasn't up for walking still; her injuries had been severe. But, patients would get impatient. It was just how they were. Seeing her kid walk off with a beautiful blonde probably isn't helping her to sit still.

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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