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

[TheRoon]

Aliza giggled as she was lead along, totally enjoying what had happened. She had always loved cheering people up, especially cuties. Such a glorious feeling when that happens. However before they could continue along came the red head dropping an interesting yet slightly awkward greeting. The new girl was also cute, another one. However her cuteness, while ripe with potential, seemed untapped. Unrefined. Don't get her wrong, she thought this new one was adorable but she had competition. It didn't help that she also carried a very strange aura of tension, at least that's what it seemed like from her serious expression. Still the potential was indeed there, and it was enough for Aliza to drop a score of...

"6.5."

...

There she goes speaking aloud. But this time she didn't have her love struck face so maybe it wasn't as obvious. "...oh I mean hiya! I'm Aliza Silvavolke the new pilot. Nice to meet you." She kept a smile on. "You wanna join us? That sounds neato, the more the merrier I say. But..." She looked at Abby. "Do you mind?"

[Xinnidy]

Too Positive?

Well, Christina's reaction wasn't something Makoto was expected to deal with at all. She seemed... shy? Maybe scared? It left the boy a bit confused as to why she felt that way... flustered? Too many compliments? I guess I'm laying it on too thick? I think girls don't like that, or was it something else... Makoto wasn't really the best or most experienced at things, though like most things in life, carrying a positive outlook led to a sense of competence that made things work themselves more. At least until he was stumped pondering the details --ah! That's no good!

"Ah, yeah! Well, if you need anything, just say the word, okay?" That was probably enough pep talk, anyways, the episode was halfway done already! Now was the part where Sousuke entered the temple of the Gemini knight, a fight of brains, if memory served well. A slow start to a pretty cool fight overall! "Ah... are you hungry, by the way?" Makoto remembered he sort of skipped lunch with all the meeting rush... it was half past noon as it was, Christina probably didn't eat either. "It helps with a headache if you're not on an empty stomach!"

[Nanami Touko]

Too Valuable

"Whoa... You don't think that's kinda sketchy? Just getting forced to be a soldier...?" It sounded sketchy. Though, that was something the ANF would do, wasn't it? Not as bad as the EU, but still bad... "Did you really have no say in it? I can't imagine you'd have wanted to drop everything... If not, even if you're content now, sorry. Can't imagine picking your whole life up and dropping it somewhere else was very easy." Olivia almost felt bad for asking now, but she didn't want to make Kim feel bad. The conversation had been her decision. "Hopefully the mechanics can hit up your robot to fight back better against that Luna, you said? Going for moon names, are they? Wonder if that means anything." It probably meant about as much as ANF naming schemes did, which was to say, little.

Deflection

"My apologies Brant, but while I understand you have reservations, that does not answer my question of why, specifically, you do not wish to have her piloting with you. You have stated that you've never flown together in this specific manner, and that it would drop your performance, but that is not a definitive answer." Hannah looked back at Firmia for a moment, before adding, "in the short time I have known the two of you, I have come to pick up that both of you like to deflect when answering personal questions. While I understand it can be difficult, this does not help conversation, or coming to a conclusion. Please answer as directly and as best as you can, Brant. This is for Firmia's sake as well as yours, as you know."

Help Needed

"Mmm, sandwiches're great. Don't worry, I ain't picky. Y'can just make 'em full next time, iffin there's a next time... And ye can, ye. Hop inta th'Ceres, an' download the fight data. Gotta run it through some estimates an' make th'thing more Astin proof, heh." Especially if they were going to throw themselves up against that Luna again... It was a scary thought, but the job needed to be done.

Just Say Go

"I will, Makoto. Thanks, again." How did someone remain this positive and upbeat in the face of terrorists... Maybe he was treating it like one of his animes. The heroes would come out on top... She could only hope they would. If we're even the heroes in this situation... We're not the bad guys, but I don't know if we're the good guys. Apotheosis doing what it was doing wasn't impressive by any means other than its scale, they were evil people killing innocents and ANF alike... But that didn't mean the ANF was some saintly organization from on high that was going to swoop in and save things. Christina sighed, that chain of thoughts had ruined her good mood. Was this really the only way to change the world?

"Oh! Uh... Sure. I don't really want to leave my room, though... It's cozy in here, and I can only feel you. But... Er, I don't mean to abuse your good will, but if you want to get me something... I wouldn't mind. I could really kill for some eggs..."

Edited December 14, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

Definitely related to Olivia's current antics then, as the other medical assistant asked the Doctor if she could be dismissed for a time, annoyance projecting from her as clear as day. She'd have to keep that much in mind in case it became relevant past whatever internal dynamic existed between the two of them. For the time being, Olivia's thoughts on Seung-Min's own predicament were fairly standard for those that heard the story... displeased but not entirely surprised.

"Those with extraordinary ability have a duty to serve and protect those who do not. That what said to me, many times. After recruiter get back result test, everything happen very fast. Family sudden very supportive move to military, and what family say goes, at least how was in Korea. Seem strange how quick come around at first, but probably something brag about friends. Was fourteen at time, within about week set up with dorm in Military academy in America, paired with American model agent help acclimate." Kim began, biting her lip a bit as she recalled the whirlwind that was her move to America those years ago.

"Probably not as proud wanted be, though. Surely expect news great accomplish by now... must be disappoint not have anything to hear." Kim concluded with a dejected sigh, lazily fingering the fabric of the hospital bed as she spoke.

"Not sure if name mean anything... so many models unknown name, might even be coincidence. No way know right now... trust Avery to fix proper, but she have a lot on plate right now, and Artemis take extreme heavy damage."

[Balcerzak]

Abby groaned a little at Elaine's appearance. "Ignoring me all morning, now suddenly that I'm heading off to eat with the new girl you conveniently want to tag along," she started, a little exasperated, before sighing and giving up. It wasn't worth wasting her energy over. "Fine, whatever, there'll be plenty of room, plenty of food."

There was no way the other pilot had missed her text, or failed to understand it. Abigail had spelled things out as clear as day. But, while part of her still wanted to get the matter settled, to take back what was hers, another part of her was wondering if it might not be better to forge ahead without, to keep going with this fresh start, as best she could. The whole duel idea had been something she'd kind of strongarmed Elaine into in the first place, after Christina had provided the inspiration. And as the effort/reward ratio was now wavering somewhat...

Aliza's numerical outburst confused her somewhat. Abigail's first assumption was that it was some kind of anger management thing, counting to ten or whatever you know? But most people worked with whole digits for that, and besides, the girl was happy and bubbly enough that picturing her dealing with rage issues seemed rather laughable. Whatever, let's make this fun, Abby decided, and played along.

"Thirty-three and a third," she added with a playful elbow to the other girl's side and a laugh.

[Dandragon]

Two blinks and an eyebrow raised. That was Elaine's response to the absolute random number that the new pilot seemed to come up with. Yes, as expected, Abigail had some sort of quip for her coming along, angry that she hadn't bothered to appear for the competition for piloting the Heracles, but before she could even make some sort of response, apologetic, sarcastic, or otherwise, the new girl, who now introduced herself as Aliza, had suddenly said '6.5', after what looked to be her sizing her up. Was...was she rating her? If so, for what? Maybe she couldn't exactly let her guard down around this one, at least not as much as she thought.
 

"Uh huh..." She said, trying to see the humor that Abigail was trying to put into the situation. Props for trying, she supposed. "Okay. Well, I'm Elaine Hendrick. And it's nice to meet you, too." She smiled back at the two, and let them lead the way to the cafe, preferring to stay behind them for the moment.

[Phoenix]

Megumi thought having Val get her some more equipment before she took her lunch break. She even considered having her help out with the hardening injections, but thought better of it. It wasn't necessarily a two man job, and she would be more useful on a full stomach--assuming she didn't overeat. "Sure, go ahead," Megumi nodded.

---

"Doesn't the ship already have a therapist?" Firmia mumbled, just about finished with her work. The next time Hannah got in touch with the sensor data, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting to interact with. Nothing but code next time around ...

There was an audible sigh from over on Brant's end after a brief moment. "If it were up to me, I'd rather die alone."

Firmia gritted her teeth as she plugged the connector back in. She was angry, furious even, but she knew what was on her fellow TK's mind, right now. She shook her head in spite of that realization. Brant just didn't get it; she was stronger than him, now. With Firmia helping him in the Regalia, dying would be the last thing either of them had to worry about.

"If you take away the other issues," Brant continued, "that's what it comes down to. It's not up to me, though. That's why I want to settle this another way."

Leaning away from the interface, Firmia handed the connector back to Hannah. "Here. I want you to download the file here," Firmia indicated a folder on the screen, "so you can read the code it's sending." She didn't know if Hannah could already interpret the data, but better to be certain.

[Nanami Touko]

C to The O to The N

Olivia tried not to let the small flare in her emotions be noticeable, or widen her eyes. Did Kim really not understand what had happened? To her, it was clear as day, but that was because of her own relationship with the ANF. Kim probably had no idea of what had happened to her or that her family was being blocked from communicating with her. She almost sighed. "You must've been really impressive, then. Good work, Lieutenant." Christ this makes me sick. I don't want to be the one to tell her... I wonder how she'd feel, though. Maybe she'll find out one day. Ugh... "Artemis, huh? Doesn't seem like standard ANF naming operations. Any reason it's called something different?" Olivia decided to sit down next to Kim's bed on one of the nearby chairs, if this was going to be a longer conversation.

Die Alone

Hannah paused. She didn't quite follow what Brant meant about dying alone. Was he expecting to die while piloting? She had to think about what to say next, it had suddenly become tough to know what to say. "The simple response would simply be to not die. I understand that this is war, and that it is very dangerous, but why do you believe that you will die here? We have survived plenty, and I find this fear to be rather unfounded. Perhaps I do not know enough about what you have gone through in regards to training to understand fully, but you are not flying alone out there, Brant. Any other ways to settle this seem like delaying an inevitable that you are simply too afraid to approach." Perhaps too blunt, Hannah mulled over what she'd said while Firmia handed her the connecter.

"Understood. Downloading." Hannah plugged herself back in and went about processing both the file and the data, finding the load a lot less heavy than before. "Reinstating body temperature. Diagnosing... Situation much better than before. I will probably ask Avery for upgrades either way, simply to avoid any fringe scenarios."

Edited December 15, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

The sudden spike of anger from Olivia was clear as day, even if it lasted for only a split second. Kim had been looking at the ceiling mostly out of comfort, but she turned her head rather sharply at the assault of emotion, looking at the medical assistant, though her expression seemed rather normal. Still, that flare was unmistakable... to cover it so fast, Olivia must have had experience dealing with telekinetics... but why the sudden anger? Perhaps she disagreed with recruitment at such a young age, but then she would have been fuming about Tarquin almost all of the time, wouldn't she?

"Surely not that impress, after all, family haven't contact me since move to America. Not much send back to them, suppose." Kim replied, shaking her head a bit and sighing as she settled back into place. Now that Olivia brought it up, the Artemis was a tad strange compared to other ANF machines in that regard.

"Because Avery ask me out of blue to name it, not follow standard convention. Seem fitting enough to me, but suppose does stick out bit."

[Phoenix]

Brant didn't really think the timing involved mattered all that much. Whether it was in this war with Apotheosis or just a lucky shot from some enemy pilot somewhere down the road, those were just 'details.' Firmia must have understood, deep down. Whether she cared or not was another matter, entirely ... "Hannah, anyone expecting all of us to walk away from this war with Apotheosis has a bad case of victory disease ... but that's beside the point ..."

Firmia nodded reluctantly at that, reminded of Jessica's captaining style. It couldn't be faulted on its initial results, but if Apotheosis made the best use of their technology in the coming days, the Riese Crew would be eating a humble pie.

"My point is I can't protect her like that. If she's somewhere else, I can lay down covering fire, or just charge in and shield her, directly. If she's in here with me, though ... that one mistake is going to kill us both." Brant was referring to a very specific mistake, and not simply alluding to some fatal error in the future. It was the same mistake that saw his machine reduced to rubble whenever Dima turned the snipers on them. Not everyone survived the assault when that happened. Even Tonya couldn't defeat them all. "I've been shot down so many times, and they all just sort of blend together, now. I don't want someone else's survival to come down to just my skill as a pilot. That's not enough."

"There is NEVER ... EVER going to come a time when YOU save MY life," Firmia raised her voice to just shy of a shout, "I'm doing this to keep YOU alive and the REGALIA in tact!" It was good that Hannah was having an easier time now, but Firmia's attention was squarely on Brant, now. "Don't you dare underestimate me or my contributions, here--I'm stronger than you, now!"

"... huh." Brant wondered if she would mind actually proving that last point.

[TheRoon]

Aliza sensed some sudden tension between the two through Abigail's words. She wondered if there was some bad blood between them, or maybe an awkward situation happened at some point at least. Either way it wasn't her place to pry she just took note of that. Then came the elbowing and quip from Abby. The Italian knew she screwed up with that outburst but thankfully they didn't seem to take much of it. In fact Abby played along, which made Aliza laugh a bit back. Man a score out of a hundred would be something, but she decided to keep it simple. "Ahaha..." She took a nod at them both, really enjoying the lifted mood. "I'm gonna enjoy my time here alright. Anyway lead on."

[Nanami Touko]

Bite it Back

Olivia almost let that same emotion flare up, but she'd told herself to expect small bombs like that from now on, so it wasn't anything more than an ember. "You should try to contact them at some point. Just see how they're doing." That's all I'm gonna do. Anymore and I'll get too invested in this situation. I can't put myself through that again. "So, why Artemis then? You into Greek gods? I've read a fair bit, myself..."

Escalating

Hannah let Brant and Firmia have their exchange as she parsed the data and made the camera feed 'normal' again. Hmmm. This is a very difficult situation. Brant is surprisingly stubborn in this situation. I do not know what exactly to press. "I believe Firmia means in regards to telekinetic ability as I find it difficult to believe that she would be able to over power you physically. In any case, it sounds to me like the both of you wish to protect each other, but do not think that you require the other's protection? Or at the least, that is Firmia's case, and you simply wish to have her be in a 'safer' place from which you can keep her safe. Brant, may I ask another personal question?" Hannah paused again, wondering if this was appropriate. "Do you love Firmia?"

[Ether]

"Maybe... not sure want hear from me as am now." Kim replied, unsure of the suggestion. Surely Olivia meant well, but if they had any interest in speaking with her, they would have reached out by now, surely. They had always told her how important it was she be able to take care of herself and not rely on them or come to them with minor problems. Still, it didn't feel like that bad an idea... she'd have to think on it.

"Not especially... Artemis' weapon system name Mars, seem theme, suppose. Honest just seem right when see it... not very good name things, don't have much reason really."

[scorri]

"Thank you Doctor. I'll return after I've gotten some food. If you want anything, just let me know." After a slight pause to see if she would ask for anything, Val turned and walked out of the infirmary without looking over at Olivia. Once outside, she sank against a wall, burying her head in her hands. I'm such an idiot. Still in love with her, can't get rid of that. Told her I just want to be friends, can't go back on that... I mean, I could, but she's clearly moving on... Slowly pushing herself off the wall, Val slouched off towards the elevators. She couldn't get caught up in all of this or she'd end up knocking on Olivia's door at 2 AM, a move that was sure to end in regret.

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

"Ah, yeah, can totally do that! I'll head over there now. You enjoy the rest of the food, alright?" Grabbing the bag of chips and one of the cans of pop, Astin made their way over to their bot. Calling the lift down and then riding it up, they entered into the cockpit and settled down into their chair. "Alright then... downloading information... Wonder if there'll be anything interesting from the fight with the Luna..."

[Phoenix]

"I'm fine. Thank you, Tambre," Megumi answered, letting her assistant go on her lunch break.

---

"My abilities with a T-Link are a given," Firmia noted irritably, "what I'm talking about is the operation of the Regalia and my mental state. I know it and every other Alkaev machine like the back of my hand, and I can access any system and make any needed changes during a mission before he even has the chance to ask, AND unlike him, I'm not afraid to take responsibility for someone else's life. I've been doing that since I freaking got here. It's wartime now, so no one gives a damn about anyone else's preferences ... or at least they shouldn't if they want to win ..." She wished she hadn't trailed off with that rebuttal, but it couldn't be helped. She was getting a bit too close to home.

When Hannah asked Brant if she could hit him with a personal question, Firmia had no idea just how hard of a hit it would be. She expected something Galatea related, or to have her angry panties example brought up at an inopportune moment like this, but instead, Hannah asked Brant if he loved her. She asked Brant, straight to his face--well, as straight to his face as she could get over the radio, if he loved her ...

<"... why?">

"Whoa, okay ..." Brant said, sounding about a tenth as surprised as Firmia, "... yeah ... I do. Just one more reason that this isn't a good idea." His tone became non serious as he went on. "Yeah, I'm afraid of getting her killed, especially, but just imagine how much worse it'll be if I've got to fight with her in here in that white and gold SKINsuit."

"Buuuullshiiiiiit," Firmia groaned.

[Nanami Touko]

Artemis... And Mars?

Olivia paused... Thought about it... Nope. "Forgive me, I'm... Trying to connect Artemis and Mars in my brain. Maybe I haven't read enough? Hah. Mind explaining it to me? This machine sounds pretty advanced, anyways. That Luna machine ran right in and out of Colony One without a single scratch on it, but you're managing to go toe to toe... Truly impressive how the ANF responds to crisis."

Love

There was that emotion again. Hannah paused and looked up at the ceiling of the cockpit-- well, turned her head towards where she believed to be, she was still seeing from the camera of the Mantle. "Hmm." Humans were definitely interesting, confusing, and difficult. Hannah couldn't understand Brant right now. If he did love her, then it made more sense to the android to keep the girl close, that way he would be able to put all efforts on focusing on himself and his machine, instead of having to keep tabs for two. Saying that didn't feel like it would work, though. Hannah smiled at Brant's quip, but with a quick glance back at Firmia-- or where she was supposed to still be, Hannah sighed.

"Okay. It appears that I am not human enough to help solve this dilemma... I do not have a solution that I can present to make the both of you happy. You will simply have to resolve it yourselves, then. With whatever competition Brant is thinking up, or any other ideas Firmia may have... Love is very confusing, isn't it...?" A small sadness had crept into her voice, but she didn't say anything past that, waiting for Firmia to start any further testing.

[Ether]

"Well, Artemis represent huntress, icon of strong women, protector... seem least somewhat fitting. Mars is..." Kim began, pausing for a moment, wracking her brain. Turning pale for a moment and burying her face in her hands, the Lieutenant practically squeaked out the remainder, not doing a very good job of covering the blush that came to her face soon after.

"Roman. Mars... Roman god of war. Not Greek... such stupid mistake..."

[Phoenix]

"Humans can't fix stupid either, Hannah," Firmia said, sighing. She wasn't sure how to address the love thing. She wasn't sure she wanted to. Brant hadn't taken on the question seriously, but that didn't mean he didn't ... mean it. It was a bit much to deal with right now, though. For now, Firmia's main concerns were making sure Hannah was mission ready, and convincing Brant to shut up and accept her as his copilot.

Brant was quiet on his end for a moment. "Yeah, love's confusing, alright. Sorry you've got to deal with some of it."

"You wouldn't have to if you didn't ask so many questions," Firmia interjected, meeting eyes with Hannah. "That's a good point, though. What's this bet you were talking about, Brant?"

Brant was the one to sigh this time. "Nothing complicated," he began, sounding all business, now, "We take the Regalia out for five minutes. If in five minutes I can't make you blackout, you win. If you do blackout though, I win. The ship's still resupplying and the Regalia's been repaired, so we shouldn't have any problems." He did want to inform Jessica about it, though ... and that just made this whole thing seem petty. Maybe it was, but it was a means of settling the issue once and for all, not choosing the most optimal setup ... Firmia already won that argument. "If you win, I'll take you as my copilot ... again, with no complaints. I'll keep my opinions on that to myself ... but if I win, you drop this and let me pilot the Regalia myself for now. I've already got a copiloting solution anyway, it's just going to take some time. I can't do anything about the T-Link, but my AIs can handle system changes with some new programming."

Firmia understood, and she was still annoyed. Brant wanted a competition that he could easily win to force her to drop the issue. He would definitely win if she agreed to this without any extra conditions, thanks to these damn SKINsuits. Fortunately, Brant was being extremely vague, and it was to his own detriment. No, his own good, actually. Yes, him losing this bet and giving up on this issue was definitely for his own good. One thing Firmia would do was try to bring the time down a little ... the rest, the rest could be taken care of in secret~ "Three minutes and you have a deal. I'll be honest, though. If you can't put me down in the first minute, you've already lost." She could see him shrugging at that in her mind ...

"Sure, works for me. Three minutes is fair. We do need you for something though, Hannah. I can't keep an eye on Firmia's vitals and fly at the same time, so if you could do that and let me know when she blacks out, that'd be great~"

Edited December 15, 2017 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Too Cute

"Hee, haha~ I didn't think a professional idol could blush like that... It's fine. You're Korean, it's an English name, it's a Greek deity. It got lost in translation somewhere... So don't worry about it." This was pretty fun, family matters aside. Olivia leaned forward a bit, sliding a hand onto Kim's shoulder. "You're a lot cuter up close, Kim. And maybe it's just a good first impression, but you're pretty fun to talk with. You think we could see each other again outside of the infirmary? I'd really like to talk more without the setting being so... Professional, and stuffy. How's that sound?" Her file said she was seventeen, so Olivia couldn't actually make a real move on her without getting in trouble with the ship's crew... That didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the girl and make a mark before that birthday passed. Only two more weeks, huh? Sorry Aliza... This one's a lot more than an eight point five.

Can't Fix Stupid

"Huh?" That remark caught her off guard. Were therapists not designed for that purpose in mind? To help fix people that were having issues or that didn't quite know how to solve something themselves? Hannah didn't quite understand then that some things couldn't be fixed by humans. Were there just things that she'd never learn? That thought was... Terrifying! Wait. Hannah suddenly smiled. She was looking away from Firmia, so hopefully the gesture wasn't caught, but she couldn't help herself. That must've been Galatea's doing, but... Wow! Fear! For the first time! Even if it was over something technically pointless, that thought was... Actually scary!

Pleased with herself and a new emotion, Hannah listened in to the conversation taking place. "If you believe that the Captain will give you permission to take off, that may work as a solution, as much as I worry that it could be mildly reckless considering the air space. If a sniper were to get a good shot off, your worst fears would be realized, Brant. As well, what if Firmia cheats?" Hannah's glowing eyes looked back at her again, unable to hide her smile. "She has full access to all of the Alkaev machines, does she not? She could tamper with the systems mid flight and reduce the speed of the Regalia to a bearable point."

"Other than those concerns, I would be happy to monitor this silly contest~"

Edited December 15, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"Muuuhh... if say so... not seem that surprise, still human." Kim replied softly, taking a moment to try and compose herself after an embarrassing mistake... what if anyone else asked about it, she'd have to explain it all over again... a slight emotional shift might have alerted Kim to the incoming touch on her shoulder, but she had been a bit too preoccupied to register it in time. Oh well, it wasn't a huge deal at any rate.

"Sure not very cute not have chance clean up after battle. But still, not sound bad. If get actual downtime, could fun."

[Phoenix]

"Whose side are you on?," Firmia glared at the bright eyed android, "Besides, if he shuts off the limiters or something, turning them back on wouldn't be cheating. It would be counter-cheating." If there was an actual word or phrase for that sort of activity in English, Firmia didn't know it. She was just glad she hadn't mentioned any specifics that would tip Brant off on just how vague his conditions really were. He knew now, and could try to patch said conditions, but there were still things neither he nor Hannah had considered, yet. Those were cards she would keep extremely close to her chest until it was time to fly.

Brant's concerns were a little different, but he resolved them quickly. If Apotheosis was able to deploy snipers and 'oneshot' mobile suits so easily, then why didn't they do it in the one situation where it would actually help them defeat the Riese? During the initial stages of battle. Brant had no intention of underestimating the enemy, but overestimating them would rob them of any legroom in this war at best, and paralyze them at worst. He could risk getting Firmia killed just this one time, or risk getting her killed each and every sortie from now on. The choice was easy, coming at it from that angle. There were also the maneuvers they would both be enduring throughout those three minutes. Only the very best would have any hope of hitting them at long range with the kinds of maneuvers Brant planned on employing against Little Miss Stronger Than Thou.

"Okay, new rule," Brant said, "No accessing any systems or functions that I can't also access. I'm fine with some back and forth here, but only if it's fair. No locking me out of systems, either."

Firmia got the hidden meaning there, too. A quick enough maneuver would throw her hands off ... typing error-free would be near impossible under those conditions, but that worked both ways. "Fine, but no lockouts, PERIOD." Firmia wanted to throw in a rule of her own ... no turning off the limiters. Hannah had a point about Apotheosis, though, so speed was important in all areas, and any time Brant spent trying to make adjustments would be time he wasn't pulling hard maneuvers. Those would be Firmia's openings to work her own magic.

[Nanami Touko]

Call it...

"I'm sure you could use a comb and some time in front of a mirror, but that doesn't change how you're acting. And it's pretty cute, 'kay?" Her own personal time with an idol... Ahhh, just two more weeks, Olivia... Maybe. She smiled, leaning back in the chair some, and pulling a book from seemingly nowhere. "If you want to talk anymore, and tell me about your other Greek deities, then just speak up. I'll be right here... Nowhere else to go in this infirmary, anyway, heheh~" Call it a date~

Who's Side

"I'm on my own side, silly~ This is a lot of fun. I never thought I'd get to make friends here on the ship, but I guess life works in weird ways." Hannah was smiling contently to herself, but her voice was... Odd. "You sure that I can't slip into this test and make sure no one does any funny business? I can take the Gs more than either of you two can. Comes with the whole, being a robot thing. Though I'm not sure I'd fit... So even if I was there I wouldn't be able to stop anyone. Oops!" 'Hannah' chuckled to herself, quietly sighing afterwards. "Well, at least you two reached some sort of conclusion. Seriously, the back and forths, over and over. I was sure you'd give poor Hannah here a heart attack. Not that I have one! Hee~ Ahhh, robot jokes are so much fun~" And then the bubbliness stopped, 'Hannah' looking back at Firmia again. "Ooops... Iiiiii wasn't supposed to come out. Haha... Just seemed like so much fun! Didn't really want to watch anymore, so I--"

"Resume, activities!" Hannah's regular tone suddenly sprang back out, the robot sitting back and looking straight ahead, mouth agape, eyes wide. "What... What happened, Firmia? I blacked out for a moment; did I short out? Perhaps I should see Avery about those enhancements sooner than later... That was quite shocking."

[Phoenix]

Firmia had some choice words for Hannah when she said she was on her own side, but something was off, and the words were lost to the ether in very short order. Hannah continued on in a jovial manner for a moment or two, trying to weasel her way into the competition proper, and even punctuated the request with a joke. Hannah had been trying out jokes and other social maneuvers too advanced for basic AIs, but this was something else. In terms of social skills, she'd 'leveled up' several times. At first, Firmia thought the android was using the opportunity to test some styles of speaking she'd been holding back for their sake, but the instant Hannah referred to herself in the third person, everything clicked.

'Hannah' seemed to realize her mistake, and then quickly vanished as the real Hannah returned. It was so fast, Firmia could hardly believe it. "What the crap!" the Alkaev swiftly grabbed Hannah by both sides of her head, trying to get the confused android looking squarely at her. All the while, Firmia was looking straight passed her. "Get back here and explain yourself, you randy run-time!"

"Uh ..." Brant was at a loss but curious all the same, "status report? Damage report? ... anything?"

"It's freaking Galatea," Firmia yelled over the radio.

That made sense, at least as far as explaining Hannah's sudden and dramatic shift in personality. So was Galatea in control there for a moment? If that was the case, then her evolution was looking to be even more complicated than he first thought. It may or may not be as delicate as Brant thought, depending on how Hannah would come to view the program, in light of all this.

"Alright, simulations can wait. Time to disconnect before it messes with the systems or who knows what ..."

[Nanami Touko]

Galatea, in the... Code

"Firmia, I don't understand-- my head-- please disconnect the cables--"

"Hello, Firmia!" A different tone this time, though just as bubbly and bright. Hannah hadn't said anything, which could only mean... A small, pink haired... Person? They displayed as such, wearing a toga... Hannah quickly unplugged herself and resumed normal sight, quickly becoming just as bewildered.

"What... Who?"

"I'm Galatea! And... It was getting really hard to just watch you have all of this fun on your own, Hannah! Gosh, all that hugging, talking, joking, messing around! Even if I was the one prodding you to do it, that doesn't mean I didn't want to join in! Geez..." The tiny person on screen folded their arms, puffed up their cheeks, and stuck their tongue out, before losing the gesture in another laugh. "So! I decided to leave the poor android alone and hop into the Mantle... But, Firmia! Before you have an aneurysm from sheer anger! I'm not going to do a thing to your robot. I don't have the permissions or the access codes to do so, anyway... I've only got the rights to run whatever I want to in Hannah, nothing else. I promise!" She placed a hand over her chest and nodded seriously, before returning to smiling again. "I only got in because of the cables. Thanks~"

Hannah was beside herself. This... This was Galatea? This bubbly, mischievous little program was what had been driving her to act the way she had? "Hold on a moment, please, I..."

"Hannah, I'm sure you have a lot of questions that I can prooooobably answer, but right now, I'm more worried that Boris-ette is gonna try and delete me... And I'd much rather be friends with all of you, so if you could hear me out and ask whatever you need to ask before activating Kaspersky, or, whatever nonsense they use in Russia, that... That'd be great." As cheerful as the program had seemed initially, she was certainly getting worried now.

"I... Okay. I believe it would be in all of our best interests to listen to her, Firmia." Hannah mostly didn't want the source to all of her issues to up and disappear without a single motion. Hopefully Firmia would be... Patient.

---

Morning Call, 0830 CST, August 2nd

The rest of the day on the Riese passed with little issue. There was no follow up attack by Apotheosis, and refueling the ship went as scheduled. Morning started to crest over the ship, as the sun shone down on its reflective panels, and the first person to be disturbed that morning was Roxanna. As Jess wasn't present on the bridge when the call came in, it was swiftly forwarded right to Roxanna's room.

"XO! XO Martinson, please respond! This is Ensign Mitchell Abernathy, come in!" The name may have been unfamiliar to the second in command, but the message that followed would definitely prompt a response. "I'm hailing the Heion Riese from ANF headquarters! We've finally been able to establish a closed line with the ship. Please, respond! This is urgent!" Whatever information needed to be heard, had to be heard soon. To top it all off...

"Martinson! Please, wake up!" Tristan was at her door too, knocking not too loudly, but with urgency. He could hear the mumbling of the call from within her room. "The captain isn't responding to calls and she's not opening her door! I don't think she's in her room. Wherever she is, this is too important to wait! Please!"

Unfamiliar Setting

Avery snapped herself away, smacked her head against the ceiling of the Ceres' cockpit, and groaned. "Fuckin', hell... Fell asleep in 'ere, huh... Chris'... Ugh, that'll smart fer a bit. Now where was... Phew." She smiled, at least one thing had gone right. She'd managed to finish working on the inner repairs to the Ceres and updating its OS to top ANF standard. There had been bits and pieces of the Colony code lying around inside it. This would make it run just a tiny bit smoother. Must've nodded off puttin' th'final touches on it. Glad I got e'erythin' else done, whew. That woulda been a mess. Yawning hard, and adjusting their hat after that bump, Avery carefully led herself out of the machine and onto the lift, spinning gently as she took it down. "All in a day an' night's work! Now I jus' gotta get some fuel in m'self." Astin was probably still sleeping... How unfortunate. She'd so enjoyed being served by them.

Still Psychic

Christina woke up with a hefty groan, but not because of anything but her headache. It was still around, and worst of all, she could still feel... Whatever was wafting into her room from the others. That meant... "These aren't going to go away any time soon... Uuuuugh. That's awful. Literally, just, awful..." So it hadn't just been some freak accident, this was here to stay. Stay for at least a few days, if nothing else, but that was getting very optimistic. She pulled herself out of bed and towards the conjoined bathroom, hoping that a nice, long, hot shower would help her calm down and feel better. "At least I had fun with Makoto yesterday... Mmmnnn... So tired."

 

Edited December 15, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Dandragon]

8:30 AM, and Elaine was already up and making breakfast for herself. It was a simple meal for herself, some scrambled eggs and an apple, along with a cup of Coffee to get her started for the day. After all, a little bit of caffeine wouldn't be too bad, especially when the last few days had been nothing but deployments and fights. It was only five days ago that they were back in Nevada, just training against dummies before getting interrupted by Apotheosis agents, and yet so much had happened in those five days that it felt like it had been far longer.

"*Gulp* Ah...Okay. Awake. Ready for anything. Not gonna catch me of guard this morning."

Edited December 15, 2017 by Dandragon