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

[Xinnidy]

The Yamcha

Honestly, it always did feel a bit awkward in a self-conscious way to talk about the shows he liked with somebody so out of it, but Christina was being understanding, as much as she could, so Makoto did his best not to dial it down. "Hmm, I think my favorite has to be Josh --Ah, he hasn't shown up yet--, he's a sidekick to Sousuke, the main dude, but he doesn't know the secret solar arts and learned to fight on his own. He's kinda the scrappy but it's fun to cheer for him, sometimes he actually helps out! He's mostly the butt of jokes though..." He chuckled afterwards. Not all characters were winners, but you could always relate to some more than others. Nonetheless, it was nice to sit down and watch a show after all the mess they went through the past few days, refreshing for the teen.

Suddenly, Christina had given him the chance to know what was going on with her. Makoto had all but forgotten, but he wasn't one to dismiss something so curious that easily, even with the possibility of being an uncomfortable topic. "Ah, uh, yeah. If it's alright. You seemed to be in shock back there..." Hopefully it wasn't intrusive still.

Mother's Care

"Thank you." Was all Mai had left to say as she clasped her hands, looking expectantly as the nurse talked to Megumi, hoping that something would come out of it after all. Her hopefulness was no secret as she kept staring at the doctor.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Dandragon]

Elaine had stayed in the changing rooms a few minutes longer than she had to, but finally the doors opened once more and Elaine stepped back into the hall, at a loss as to what to do now. She walked down towards the private quarters section of the bottom deck, not interested in whatever was happening at the Farm or Cold storage, and having already convinced herself that today was not the day for exercise. She could certainly go back to the Cafeteria, but she had already eaten, and honestly just didn't want to deal with Tarquin and Nikolai if they were still present.

The sounds of conversation reached Elaine's ears, though the voice she couldn't recognize. Elaine hastened her steps, uncertain and questioning many things, ready for anything, and followed the voice, until she ended up near her own quarters and, coincidentally, Abigail's. There, at the door to Abby's was a brunette, speaking to someone, most likely Abigail herself. It didn't take long for Elaine to recognize her as one of the pilots defending themselves at Corona Ten today, having seen her at the hangar when everyone returned, though never actually speaking to her. No. She's not the mole. She just got here.

[Ether]

Well, the Doctor had divulged some information about this Nicholas fellow... so a prior superior who ran a mercenary gig. Considering that Megumi herself considered their business acquaintance over and done with, either Nicholas made a point to keep in contact with departed workers in general, Megumi herself specifically, or the man held a differing opinion from the Doctor's, insofar as the status of their business partnership was concerned. Still, with how uncomfortable the calls had made the Doctor, as well as her reluctance to answer further inquiry, it seemed prudent to let the matter lie. She was going to check on another patient anyway.

"Okay, will do Doctor."

[Phoenix]

It was still annoying to have to rely on someone else to convince Brant to do something he knew was the right move, but it couldn't be helped, now. Speaking of which, Firmia realized she should call him soon to make sure the Regalia's cameras were active. While Hannah tested the direct lines, Firmia needed to make sure the Mantle's displays would give the android an adequate few of the Regalia's surroundings. That would make setting up for combination attacks considerably easier for the both of them. Come to think of it, if she installed a camera on Brant's helmet somewhere, Hannah could react to not only the Regalia's cameras, but Brant's direct inputs. She was a stone's throw away from being Brant's stalker at this point, but that was Firmia's only contention with the idea ...

Galatea didn't know what Hannah was saying, specifically? Really? Did it work that way with people speaking directly to her? Either way, that was an interesting bit of information, even if Firmia didn't quite understand it on the first pass. That was probably squarely in Brant's territory. "You still need to find a way to rein that program in at some point," Firmia scowled mildly, handing off the cables. "You're still learning but I doubt that thing has a conscience. Anyway, the thicker connector is the sensor suite's feed, only a little pre-processing." She explained this as she got the cables connected on the system's end. "I was going to have you install the program the Mantle uses to parse all that data, but if you can figure it out on your own, you won't need any extra software, so try that first. Obviously, the other connector is for all the other cameras. I isolated them so if the sensor suite is too big of a load, I can just work on that in the next test."

"While you sort those out," Firmia prepared to pester Brant, again, "I'm going to make sure the other half of this setup is working."

[Nanami Touko]

Accident

So he was interested... It wasn't a very long story, and she didn't have trouble telling it, so why not? "I... Wasn't, born like this. TK stuff. My dad runs the, TCI. Telekinetic Colonial Institute. And I was... When I was a kid, I couldn't channel anything properly, but they still ran the T-Link through me, to check calibrations. Maybe it was abusive of him, I dunno... it never hurt me, and I was allowed to be a normal kid aside from that." She did wince at the faces of the other TKs they'd had on site. They always looked so scared. She knew why, now, with her unique mess of a brain, but back then it had been so worrying...

"As I grew older, I started being able to use a T-Link, and Telekinetic powers, when I was plugged into one. If I wasn't, it was like I was a normal person, so my dad thought, maybe it was just a side effect of the machine. Too much exposure, or something like that... But..." She smiled sadly, glancing over at Makoto. "I dunno if it's just exposure, or some sort of cruel feedback joke... But my powers are working 'normally', now." She'd brought her hands up to make some quotation marks, this wasn't normal for her at all. "Getting swamped with this when I've never had to deal with it, is... It's difficult. I felt like my head was gonna explode in the infirmary. So I'm glad I got out of there... And I'm still glad that you're not one to focus on worrying." She smiled a but more, sighing, and finding the ceiling suddenly so very interesting to look at. "So there's my weird story. Of why I had such a big headache. Kinda silly, huh?"

Conscience

"Perhaps not... Then again, I should not have one either. It is too unknown to really know." It was a worrisome and comforting thought. If this program had been installed for her benefit, then it would likely help her grow into a person... And if it was just some odd information gathering function, then it could cause her to do something awful. She didn't, and couldn't know. For now, all she could do was follow along with what she wanted. "Installing both, then." Hannah didn't bother going one at a time, carefully plugging both cables into the port that had opened up in her ear and--

"P-P-Prroc-c, cess, s, sssessing..." Her eyes began to glow, as she sat still in the chair. If things had been completely silent, the most faint of humming could've been heard from her head. Data was flowing through her as she attempted to process the suite and the cameras and formulate them into a form of-- "I... Am, okay." So, 'she' had stepped in. Hannah smiled. "Processing the feeds. I seem to be alright. The initial load was difficult to format, but it is now functioning fine. I am... 'seeing', everything that the Mantle is seeing." Her eyes were still glowing, a soft, light blue. She wasn't moving, but her voice was coming through fine. "I will have to shut down my Brant Body Heat process for this, though, so that I do not risk overheating... Done. All main processing is now focused on the feed."

Edited December 11, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

"He's incredibly hard to kill," Megumi replied, a tinge of irritation accompanying her as she started toward Mai's bed, "if that's what you're getting at." It was bad enough that he was such a terrible strategist. What really made working for him so unbearable was the aftermath of all the death and destruction. No matter what happened, he always survived, usually unscathed, and his disgustingly angelic charm somehow managed to smooth everything over with nearly everyone. So ... infuriating ....

"Anyway, if he doesn't leave me alone, you'll be seeing plenty more 'reactions,'" Megumi warned.

The doctor managed to get back to some semblance of deadpan normalcy by the time she reached Mai's bed. "How are you doing, Mrs. Watanabe? I heard you wanted to start moving around, again. Is that right?"

---

Come to think of it, Hannah could probably be hacked with a concerted effort. That was definitely something to be mindful of. Sure, it was nightmare fuel at this stage in Firmia's project, but she accepted that she would probably spend most of her time stressed out until this was over and done with, win or lose. At least Hannah ought to be relatively safe while inside the Mantle. Then again, she ought to be safe inside the ANF's most advanced warship. "Brant, are your cameras on?" Firmia asked as Hannah got started.

"Just waiting for you two," Brant came back over the radio, "... oh by the way ..."

Firmia's attention flipped to Hannah as the android had a stuttering fit. She couldn't help but wince, having hoped things would work out the first time. It was a lot of data, though ...

"I ... Am, okay."

Firmia sighed in relief. There was still no telling how Hannah would interpret the signals, but as long as she could use them, it was as good as having extra eyes--better, actually. Wait a minute. "A bet, you said?"

"Yeah, I'll go over the details once we're done with this ... but if you win, I'll let you fly with me, no complaints."

"Damn right you will," Firmia hissed, looking back to Hannah as she switched the displays to the Regalia's feed. It was as if they jumped over a couple of dozen meters to the Regalia's dock. It was disorienting for Firmia at first, in part due to her sense of the individuals nearby. She went so far as to try and shake off the mild confusion before refocusing on Hannah ... and though the android was alright, they seemed to be working on the edge of her current capabilities. Other than that, things seemed alright. The glowing eyes were unexpected, but Firmia didn't know what was causing that. She didn't much care in the moment, either. Hannah wasn't one to get caught on words like that, and it was a little unnerving to hear. Less unnerving was the low priority body temperature ... thing. Oddly named .... Excess heat was a bad thing, so Firmia wasn't too choked up over Hannah's diminished 'people emulating' abilities. She was thinking of improving the setup, though. Ideally, Hannah shouldn't have to sideline any other processes, not even the inconvenient ones, in order for things to run smoothly. Right now, she wasn't strained by anything outside the Mantle, but it would be much different in combat, and the demands would be much greater. On the bright side, the initial trial had worked. They could see the Regalia's view of the surrounding environment, and Hannah could see through the Mantle directly.

"Hey Hannah," Brant chimed in, again, "Did you connect, yet? What's it like?"

[Nanami Touko]

Hard to Kill

"Sounds like a cockroach." Olivia had only heard stories of people like that. Must've been really lucky if he was making Megumi this angry over the subject... Oh well. It was entertaining, at least. "Hi Val. What's up?" Olivia smiled at her like nothing had happened.

Sights and Sounds

"Brant?" As odd as it was to be seeing as she was, she was hearing just fine. That was good. Odd... Was it odd? It felt so smooth, really. "What's it like... Wait, a bet? Brant, allow me to speak with you before that, please... What it's like, It's... I do not believe I would be able to properly describe what I am seeing. I can process the information into a clear video like one would see on a monitor, but... If I do not, it is... It is as though I am blind, and yet able to know what is around the Mantle. It's so odd. It's exciting, really. I can't believe I'm getting to experience something like this. I can... Wow..." The data was coming through in waves, as she moved the cameras around. So excited she was that she moved her hands to the controls and have the Mantle wave at the Regalia. "Switching processing to video... Ah. Now things are... Normal."

[Xinnidy]

So Cool!

There it was, Christina had resolved to tell him the story on his request, and it ended up being rather perplexing. Makoto's understanding of TKs was certainly thrown for a loop, and he had to collect himself and blink as his brain tried to sum it all up. "So, you just.... became TK?" Makoto was looking at Christina with a sense of wonder, absolutely impressed by the unprecedented situation Christina found herself in. "That's kind of... amazing!" He had to admit, starstruck by the news. "And your father runs the TCI... s-so, you're pretty important, huh?" It was news after news, and honestly it was a bit much to absorb it all, so Makoto focused on what really mattered: She kind of... became a TK!!

"I, uh, wow, yeah, now I get what's going on!" The boy adjusted himself upright, practically forgetting about the animated show --a rare thing--, attention completely stolen by these exciting news he'd learned. "Well, I don't think it's silly at all! You're one-of-a-kind! At least, I never heard of anybody else just up and turning TK from sheer exposure... I think that's cool. Something only you were able to do!" It was a much more positive spin than what Christina herself seemed to be implying, but hopefully she wouldn't find it offensive. "So, uh, I really hope the headache goes away then! I don't know how I'm helping, but if you say so, I'll stay here!" He chuckled, giving her a thumbs up. A charming blonde girl with one-of-a-kind powers, she was like a heroine of an action show, but in real life!

Check Up, Once More Please.

"Yes, Doctor." The mother looked at Megumi expectantly, clasping her hands. "If at all possible, I would like to know if I'm ready." It had only been three days, but with the tense awareness of a war happening around her and inability to go back to normal life immediately after, Mai could only hold for so long until the restlessness was unbearable. Surely there was something she could do if she was up and running... "How long do you think it will take until I'm walking fine again?"

Edited December 11, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Shin]

Changing her life wasn't as simple as changing the colours of her walls. Cheryl was offering her all of the comforts she had back at Corona Ten, another chance to shut herself away from the outside world. Was it really what she wanted, to be allowed to hide all her failures? She looked around the room, recalling the countless days she'd spent in solitude. There was one occasion she went for an entire two months without physically seeing someone. She put her hand to her heart, still able to feel its racing through her chest. It was a constant battle against anxiety, would there ever be people she could feel relaxed around?

She hung her head in shame, shuffling forwards towards her bed. Wouldn't she be happy within her own four walls? She couldn't escape the pressure, what if they wanted her to do something, would they get rid of her if she said no? Having T-4 around made it even worse, being a useless vegetable whilst he took all the glory would result in her looking completely worthless. She looked back at Cheryl, wishing that there was at least something she could be praised for. All of the sympathy she'd been shown, it was definitely just an attempt to placate her, to make her feel better despite the truth.

"Why am I so useless?" she muttered, sitting herself down on the edge of the bed. There had to be something she could do, otherwise history would just keep repeating itself. Piloting was out of the question, but other than existing there wasn't much else she had going for her.

[scorri]

Val flinched as Olivia addressed her unexpectedly. "Wha? Ah, I... Nothing. Just work. Making sure Mrs Watanabe is doing alright." She frowned slightly as she watched the doctor interacting with Mai. It seemed likely that the patient would not be getting up as soon as she wanted to but hopefully the news would be decent at least. "How are you? You seemed to be getting friendly with the new pilot. What's her name?" That was the wrong thing to ask. But too late to take it back now.

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

Astin raised an eyebrow at the discussion. As Jess left, they smiled at Avery. "Yeah, go on and eat. Though I was wondering, what was all that about? The Artemis? Christine has some strange power that messes with other things?" They didn't remember hearing anything about that sort of thing but given Jess hadn't heard of it that made sense. There wasn't any reason for Astin to know but still. It was an interesting bit of information. Even if it didn't affect them in battle, it was still good to know what they were fighting along side.

Edited December 12, 2017 by scorri

[Phoenix]

"Mm, well it's definitely too soon for you to be moving around unassisted," Megumi answered honestly, imagining the woman with a pair of crutches, again, "I'm going to have another look at your leg and change your bandages to start." It looked like they hadn't gotten that done just yet. She would probably have to put together a schedule at some point, now that she had something of a team to manage.

Getting started, Megumi said, "If you're willing to use a wheelchair for now, I'll okay that, but your leg needs much more time to heal." Mai was an adult, near middle aged, so the doctor's reluctance regarding a SIEG hardening injection to speed things up was more grounded in the current war scenario, and a bit less of a long term health concern. Since she wasn't a part of the crew, Mai didn't require an accelerated recovery. All natural with close supervision would work just fine, and present no risks at all. Furthermore, the Riese kept stumbling into Apotheosis attacks, which meant the infirmary had to be ready to receive a large influx of injured at all times, be they civilian or ANF personnel. Admittedly, they were too understaffed to deal with more than a handful of cases at a time. No one would require SIEG treatments unless their lives were in jeopardy, but with enough people coming through, and a long enough time without resupplying, and their reserves could eventually be strained. For now, that didn't seem like much of a risk; they were fully stocked, and extremely low on patients. Megumi simply wanted to be consistent, in case the situation changed, which could happen on a dime. Interestingly, Apotheosis hadn't been completely leveling the bases they attacked, so the SIEG stores of places like Great Lake and even Corona Ten could be gathered up while they were there, if needed. No point in letting the stuff go to waste.

... there was a thought. Would the ANF make an effort to reclaim those bases during the war, or would the supplies just sit there for anyone else to pilfer?

---

What Hannah was experiencing must have been out of this world. If she was blown away by it, then Firmia imagined that she would be completely overwhelmed in the android's shoes. The sudden display switch without a change in her sense of the surrounding minds threw her for enough of a loop. Interpreting video signals instead of processing them visually must have been a real trip, though. Once she switched to normal processing and began seeing things roughly 'normally,' Hannah noted as much. "Well, I'm glad that's working out for us," Firmia said. She was also glad they were testing this early enough to iron out any issues before the next sortie.

"So, it's kind of like seeing without eyes," Brant mused over the comms, "Or just being plain old psychic. Not TK psychic, I mean ... just ... knowing what's going on around you in general. What did you want to talk about, by the way?"

"Going to talk some sense into you, hopefully," Firmia murmured, unsure and unconcerned whether or not Brant heard it.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Kind of a Mistake

"A-Amazing? No, no, I..." That's the first time someone had put it like that. It wasn't as though people she'd met that knew of her quirk went about calling it an abomination or anything else of the sort, but to call it amazing, to call it anything other than some odd mistake... She wasn't quite sure how to take that. She didn't blush, but she was certainly looking around for anything else. "It's really not... Uhm..." How to deal with this... Wouldn't it just be okay to take the praise? No, I'm not... I don't deserve it. I haven't done anything special. "It just makes me another TK. There's three other, way more impressive ones on the ship... I don't really deserve special treatment, or anything." There, dealt with. "And... Well, he ran it. He... He died. Illness, nothing dramatic, but... Yeah." That went sour. Makoto was trying so hard to be happy, too... Or was he naturally like this?"

"But I'm okay. It was a few years ago, and we didn't really talk. It stung, but... Well, I haven't thought about it much since. I... If you think this stuff is so cool, then... Thanks, I suppose. Still, Kim's way cooler than I am. She's a stronger TK and she can pilot without freaking out..."

Take Some Time

"You'll be okay, Talia. I promise." When she'd be okay, and how she'd manage it, those were lost on Cheryl. She stepped out and held back a sigh. She didn't want Talia hearing anything and getting the wrong impression... Was it even wrong, though? She was... She was a very special case. Cheryl didn't know if she had it in her to deal with Talia, stop smoking, have her fun with Sasha, and help the pilots actually fighting the war. "I'll send Kim down, later. Just remind yourself. I'm sure she can help, even if it's only just a bit." Holding that sigh until she was all the way down the hall, Cheryl went back into her office and tried to calm down.

Getting Very Friendly

Hook line and sinker. A bit too easy. Oh well. "Her name's Aliza. She's going to give me a personal tour of her machine later. Seems like it'll be a good time. Speaking of work, heyyyyyy, Kim." Olivia was suddenly interested in talking up their other infirmary patient, shoving her hands into her pockets and smiling her way over. "You feeling okay? Seemed like you were trying to push the doc real hard for that SIEG. What for? You really need to get back to training so soon? Unless you think we're gonna get attacked today, again... That'd suck. Probably put a lot more of you in here. Don't think the ship has the numbers to put up with that sort of nonsense." A hand slipped out of her pocket and met her forehead, scratching it in annoyance at the thought of that. It'd be way too advantageous for Apoth to strike again, so... Why didn't they? Whatever... Mysterious terrorist organization. Doesn't always have to make sense.

Christina Christina

"Mmrph?" Avery squeaked over, half a sandwich in her mouth. She stuffed the rest in and swallowed with a hefty cough before clearing her throat. "Ahh, man. Christina, she uh, she ain't no organic TK or whatever you wanna call it. Wasn't born with it. Iunno how this stuff's s'posed t'work, but she was like, subjected t'T-Links when she was growin' up, an' now she can function whenever y'plug 'er inta one. Thing is, she turns off all the other TKs she's in the range of. Weird stuff. I do machines, not brains, so I ain't about t'question it." Time for sandwich round two...

Seeing Without Seeing

"I suppose that is the closest approximation that I could make towards what this is like, yes. And what Firmia is murmuring is correct, I wish to speak with you about her being your copilot. But, that can wait until we are finished with these tests. Firmia, what is the next step now that I am running this properly?" Hannah assumed it had something to do with linking her up with the Regalia, which was why Brant was there. If not, she didn't have a clue. This would be a successful stopping point in her book.

Edited December 12, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"Hello, Olivia, was? About okay as can, consider situation. Not in notable pain, at least." Kim replied at first to the medical assistant's inquiry, as the woman came over with an apparent newfound interest in her condition. Perhaps she had been busy with other things, which made reasonable enough sense considering that the infirmary had only recently cleared out for the most part. 

"Don't know when attack next, that worst part. Could today, could tomorrow. Apotheosis appear dissappear in seem like instant, without warning. If emergency deploy happen, still in hospital bed, either have go out injured or force sloppy emergency treatment. Even if could predict them, barely manage force Vera retreat today... always close call. Eventually close call will too close if can't get ahead." Kim replied somberly, shaking her head afterwards and letting out a sigh.

"Maybe just bit bitter. Every time Luna appear on field, seem end up in here."

[Phoenix]

"Sure, but ..." Brant hesitated a moment, "... never mind."

"Next," Firmia spoke up, "I need you to tell me how much processing space you need freed up in order to fight without any issues. That way I can decide where and how to reconfigure all of this. You shouldn't need to turn any other processes off to accommodate this, so I think the load's too much, right now. Honestly I should probably just dial it back as much as possible ..."

"Yeah ... I'd run the sensor data through the system start to finish and then send the pre-display stuff straight to Hannah," Brant advised. What he meant was letting the Mantle fully process the sensor data like normal, but instead of sending that information to the imaging system, leave it for Hannah to make heads or tails of. Rather than having to decipher electrical signals, she would just be dealing with code. Overall, a hell of a lot easier on her processors. The caveat was that she wouldn't be made aware of any fringe objects the system detected. Deciphering the data herself would allow Hannah to take note of findings the system didn't mark due to the detected object's radar cross section being too small or its altitude and speed combined not making it a recognizable threat. The system wouldn't mistake a bird for a missile, even without a visual, and so small fliers were rarely if ever marked on the displays. As long as Hannah had the cameras, she could still use them to double check the sensor data at close range and decide with a good degree of certainty what constituted a threat. "It would be less detailed than going direct, sure, but I'd say it's the difference between reading something in your second language and ... I don't know, trying to solve a new crossword puzzle every ten seconds in the middle of a mission."

"We'll give that a try," Firmia said, gesturing for Hannah to disconnect from the sensor suite momentarily. The camera feed ought to be fine, probably ... Fortunately, Firmia and Brant seemed to be on the same page. She was thinking of trying this anyway, rerouting the sensor data first and foremost. It was of the utmost importance that Hannah wasn't put under any unnecessary strain from interfacing with the Mantle. Things were going to be difficult enough, already. "It probably wouldn't hurt to run a quick simulation, too. I'd hate to find out we overlooked something in the next fight."

[scorri]

"Ah... Yeah. Have fun." Val watched Olivia walk off, her emotions a mess of jealousy, regret, and anger. Olivia had to realize what she was doing, didn't she? She'd always been better at this sort of thing than Val but it seemed... mean of her to be doing this. No, not mean. Petty. And she hadn't know the girl to be petty but... Well, if she's happy with Aliza, then good for her. I'll just need to find someone else. There are plenty of cute girls on this ship. I just... need to talk... to them... Or... Or just be happy with my music and books. That too... She groaned quietly to herself and slumped down onto a nearby chair. There was no questioning who would win this game with Olivia if she tried to play. Best just to stay away. Or, well, as away as she could. It wouldn't be easy, given they worked together, but it was all she could do... 

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

Astin had made their own sandwich while listening to Avery explain everything, but set it aside for now as they considered what all she was saying. "Huh... So you can learn to be a TK just by that? I wonder... I mean, I know there are cyber TKs or whatever they're called but this... Man. That's crazy. I guess I can see why Jess would want it turned off because of Brant but still... That's something that could be extremely powerful if deployed correctly. I wonder if we're giving up too much by pretending it doesn't exist..." They slowly picked their sandwich back up and started to eat it, considering all the implications of a power like the one Christina apparently had. It was crazy to even consider how dangerous something like that could be if used on the field. If Apotheosis had known what she could do and deployed her like that... Astin couldn't help but wonder how differently that space battle might have gone if Brant and Kim had been less effective.

[Balcerzak]

Okay, Abigail hadn't quite been sure what she'd been expecting, but this was honestly about as far afield as things could have gotten. She raised a bit of an eyebrow at the first mention of her name, but then relaxed again a bit as the explanation continued to revealed that she was talking to one of the beleaguered rookies from the Corona defense team. Abby couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face when the girl saluted, and shook her head a little before responding.

"Please, I'm no angel. It is good to see you didn't get yourself killed though, and let's try to keep it that way, eh?" Hearing the words as she said them made Abigail realize just how awful she was being though, and raising a hand to rub her forehead she extended the other one forward for a handshake. "I'm sorry, that was... I've had a rough couple of days. Looking forward to working with you in the future, Aliza."

 

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Balcerzak

[TheRoon]

"Ah forget about it." She giggled, not minding Abby's bluntness. She actually took the hand with no hesitation and returned the smile with one of her own. "Thanks a lot. Same here." She let go for a moment once the moment passed. Looking at her now she was actually rather adorable with the smile on, it almost eclipsed her tiredness. Preliminary score aside she would feel bad for flirting with a downtrodden girl, maybe it was flirting that got her there in the first place. So she put that on the shelf to rate another day and kept it casual.

"Well I still have a lot to learn myself but I'll do my best. You can count on it...though if you don't mind me being a bit forward you look like you could use something to eat. Maybe you could show a rookie to the cafeteria?" Well mostly casual, this almost sounded like a date. Still she couldn't help it. Old habits die hard.

Edited December 13, 2017 by TheRoon

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai nodded, not quite sure what the term "acquired taste" meant, but he figured he could get the basic gist of it from the context.

"People difficult, war on the other hand very easy..." he started, "I can't say I have much experience with former, and most people call me obnoxious or tiny sociopath fucking bit me  but I think you are right. Perhaps time bring you down road where she and you become family, perhaps not. I will do best to support you either way," he paused, taking another long sip of the coffee-like concoction, the hot bitterness spreading along his palette as though it were a physical film coating his mouth. "At least we can begin by bringing up pilot situation, I am certain would be relief for everyone involved if someone so... fragile and emotional... were not flying ten tonne death machine. As for crazy punch lady, well... I meet her type often before. Is not like I think she is friend or redeemable in any way, but she is more pathetic than disappointment. She is type that put all worth in trying to be hero, to be good guy, but the moment she step on battlefield that becomes impossible, she becomes a killer like us. A sinner like us. A rat shooting at other rats in a trench..."

He shrugged before putting the mug to his lips once more, finishing off the barely palatable, barely liquid solution.

"Is like... sisyphus and the boulder. Is impossible mission, the more she fight, the further away from heroic redemption she get. That's why she is pitiable, and why she strikes when she realises how pathetic she is. Best not to try to approach, that type always leads to bad things."

Edited December 13, 2017 by Garry

[Xinnidy]

Still Cool!

"Sure, there are other TKs, but none that... earned through exposure, or however you want to spin it. And you had to deal with the T-Link stuff since an early age, so isn't that deserved?" Really, it was a big enough differential, already. "Most people are just sort of born with it or not at all, and it helps you in battle stil, right? So... it's still a power." Of course the other TKs were stronger, but they were kind of hardcore pilots, by the looks of it. "So--"

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Makoto's little excited spiel was interrupted by Christina's old news about her father. Apparently it wasn't a sour spot for her anymore, but it was still awkward to figure that out after being all impressed about her life. "At least, I think you're helping around here... Kim says you're helping, and she's a strong pilot, right? So that must mean you're doing right, Christina." It wouldn't do to push compliments until they meant nothing, but it wouldn't do to see Christina so down either, so it was worth seeing her cheered up a little. "So yeah, I think you're still cool. Not everybody needs to be the ace pilot to be cool and strong, right? Or else we wouldn't need the rest of the crew!" With another thumbs up, the teen hoped he'd made her day a bit more tolerable.

On Four Wheels

"Too soon, is it..." That was a bit disappointing, but Mai would have to bear. The Doctor wasn't entirely out of options, however, considering a wheelchair for the patient. Mai wasn't immediately hot on the idea, from her expression, but it seemed after a moment of consideration, she found it in her best interest. "I'll take it, then, at least until my leg recovers fully. I hope that won't take long." She nodded to the doctor. 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

You Did?

"You made her retreat? Huh. Can't believe we've got the tech to take on that monster. Good work, Lieutenant." It was pretty impressive, after that thing had waltz in and out of Colony One, Olivia didn't think anything would've been able to stop it. But they'd fought and damaged it? Nice. And disappearing... "So, like, they can teleport? What sort of nonsense is that? That sounds like something straight out of a movie... Maybe if it was just their battleships, but, you said they all disappeared, so..." That's just crazy. Colony One had been working on tech that made light speed travel possible for large ships, but it took huge setup, and on anything small, the travel would just tear it apart. Instantaneous warp sounded literally unreal.

"I do have to agree that having pretty girls hurt and shoved into the infirmary is pretty bad. Heck, I'd rather you not be fighting at all, but you're so good at it, I guess it'd be a waste not to have you doing it. Right? Miss Seung-Min Kim~" Olivia smiled wide, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "I used to listen to your music. Didn't think you've give up your career just to fight in the army. What made you choose?"

Strain

"Impossible to tell without tests or actual use. My apologies." This wasn't something her system had ever been designed for, despite it being able to handle it. There were no previous examples for her to draw from on how she'd handle the load during a fight. With Firmia's orders out of the way, Hannah went about disconnecting, things going pure black on her end for a moment before her vision returned, blinking a few times to clear the bugs out of her display information. "That was definitely an experience I will not soon forget." Hannah was still smiling, and figured that, perhaps now would be a good time to talk? While Firmia was figuring out her setup, she could get some good words in edgewise.

"Brant, can you tell me why you do not want Firmia to copilot with you? It would be more beneficial than any loss of piloting on your end. I can't imagine a feasible reason for why you believe it would be a bad idea for her to be there."

No Clues

"I ain't got nothin'. How her brain works an' how she got t'where she is, don' ask me. Just gotta figure out a way t'keep that signal er whatever 'er brain's throwin' out from interferin' with Brant an' Firms." It could certainly be strong in the face of other TKs, but that wasn't Avery's job.

Show the Show

"I, uhm... Uh... Th-Thanks..." How was she supposed to deal with this? Was he just an unending fountain of optimism? It would've been frightening if it hadn't been so nice to hear someone praising her so much. She didn't buy nearly half of it, but... Nothing would be gained by continuing to shut him down. She shrank against her sat spot, smiled a bit, and nodded. "Okay. If you say so, Makoto." That would be good enough, probably. "Uh, y-you're gonna miss your fist show, an' stuff... There isn't really, m-much else to me. Sorry to say. Heh..." He sure did know how to lay it on thick... But it was nice to meet one of those types, after all the nonsense she'd gone through. Forcing herself to fight and stay on the ship was starting to be worth it, between Kim and Makoto.

Edited December 13, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Balcerzak]

Aliza's hand was soft and warm, and she didn't hold the handshake any longer than needed. Nice. She also was about as free from prejudices, deserved or otherwise, as possible. Adding in the fact that Abigail hadn't really eaten anything, and she couldn't think of any reason to refuse.

"Yeah, haven't eaten yet, probably should. I suppose I can show you around at least that far," Abby gave a crooked little smile, wondering when the rain would fall on this parade. "I'm a little surprised you missed it, but first time on a new ship I suppose it's forgivable. Probably had a lot on your mind. Here, follow me."

Stepping into the hallway and turning toward the cafeteria, Abigail prepared to bring their latest recruit to dining area.

---

Thorvald had just about finished tinkering around inside the new model. Short of live exercise, there wasn't a whole lot more to be learned from inside the cockpit at least. He pressed the button getting the lift ready to head back down to the hangar deck. Avery and Astin probably weren't done with their lunch, but maybe there was still something he could do to help out while staying out of their hair. If not, well he could always head to the infirmary and check in on the patients.

[Ether]

Well, one thing was clear, and that was the swelling froth of emotions leaking out from the other medical assistant. Regret, jealousy, anger... what might have caused such things to stir in her seemingly out of the blue? It took a few moments, but Olivia's obvious tone shift towards flirtatiousness seemed a bit too... convenient combined with it. Did these two have a history, or was Valerie simply interested in Olivia but had failed to make anything happen... or perhaps it was unrelated entirely. Coincidences did happen, after all, but Kim supposed it wasn't much of her business, really. Hopefully she would be alright at any rate.

"Well, not me exact. Trade few volleys with Luna, but unable evade when Vera close in, pincer between Luna and other Apotheosis machine... Vera overextend to take out though, Abigail Astin manage box in and damage. And seem like, yes... not sure exact how work, or if actual teleport but for now, may as well be." Kim replied to the first set of questions, before pausing at the second set. So Olivia knew of that as well, did she? Well, it wasn't exactly a secret.

"Choose wrong word. Scout by army because of TK ability. Preliminary test show high aptitude mech pilot... consider asset too valuable refuse."

[Phoenix]

"Without advanced treatment, it will be several weeks before you're able to walk unassisted,again, I'm afraid." Not the most comfortable admission on Megumi's part. On the one hand, the ship's SIEG supplies were under her jurisdiction, and she could decide how to mete them out as the war progressed. On the other hand, the aforementioned war was just beginning to heat up. With such a young crew, and such enormous potential for a large influx of injured, it wouldn't take much to put the doctor in a no-win situation. Would their luck hold? If so then ...

A new thought suddenly struck Megumi ... and it wasn't a very professional one. It was far more sentimental than usual, too. "I wouldn't normally offer an advanced treatment; the SIEG supplies are typically reserved for crew members and critical patients. However, since Makoto is piloting for us now, and you're his mother, it's good for morale to get you up and walking, again, as soon as possible. If nothing else, it's an easy write off for me." To call this an awkward feeling was an understatement. "You'll still be healing for some time, but you should be back on your feet within a day or two." ... after some incredibly uncomfortable injections, of course.

---

"Simulation it is, then," Firmia muttered, getting to work rerouting the sensor data ...

Things were silent on Brant's end for a moment. He probably hadn't been expecting that particular question. "... Where do I even start? I've ... well we've been through hell as far as our training goes. That kind of training prepares you to be put down, one day ... and hard." Brant's tone was one of resignation and outgoing concern by this point. "My point is, we went through all of that by ourselves. Firmia and I fought together, but not like this. I'm looking at more than just a small drop in performance if she's in the Regalia with me. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I want to call off the bet, but ... I don't know how else to get Firmia to let this go."

Firmia tried to stay quiet and simply work, but a grunt or two slipped out of her as she accessed the Mantle's systems to reconfigure it.

Edited December 13, 2017 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Val sighed quietly to herself and then stood up. "Err, Doctor, are you going to need me? If not, I think I might go get some lunch. I don't really have anything to do right this second unless you have something that needs to be done." Getting out of the room for a break would be nice. Something just to get away from Olivia for right now. A chance to clear her head, focus on something else. Just some quiet time. That was what she needed.

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

"Huh, yeah. Suppose so. Good luck with that. If there's anything that I can do to help you with that, just let me know." They figured there wouldn't be much of anything they could do but better to offer, right? Taking a few more bites of their sandwich, they reached over to grab one of the bags of chips. "Mmm, enjoying your sandwich? I wasn't sure what all you liked so I kinda just grabbed a bit of everything."

[Dandragon]

"Hey."

The word came out before she could even think. It took a moment to even realize it was her own voice. Elaine had stood there, ignored by both Abigail and the newest occupant on the ship, awkwardly listening in on what was the end of a conversation. It was too late to look like she had just walked around the corner, and even if it wasn't, Elaine knew it would feel awkward to try and make it look like she was only now arriving at the spot.

"You, uh...You two mind if I join? I'm a little hungry, myself." No, you're not. Why are you lying to them? Weren't you just thinking about how you had no reason to go back to the Cafeteria? Elaine did her best to smile and seem friendly, though she knew that Abigail wouldn't but that for half a second, not after the way she treated her the first time they ever got a chance to speak.

...And yet, as she stood there waiting for a response from the two ladies, she knew it in her own heart that she was lonely. The entire mole business had taken so much out of her, and she hadn't gotten a chance to speak with Cheryl about anything. It was a pathetic feeling, but it wasn't something she could ignore any longer. So, rather than try and mend relationships she had already broken, something she should have done long ago, Elaine was taking the easy route, and trying to form a friendship with someone new to the crew. It was unlikely the brunette was the mole, so she was safe on that front, right?