Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 3: Crisis Point

[Nanami Touko]

Parked

Cheryl immediately got out and went about stretching with a sigh, being cooped up in a car for the better part of two hours was rough. It was definitely worth it, and she understood the distance; keeping the important military facility away from faculties would probably be a good decision if it was attacked... And through the wavy heat of the desert, there were heavily defended outposts lining the distance. They'd not left this place unguarded, to provide hostage situations... And mobile suits were a lot faster than cars, if the need to rush here arose.

"A good outline it is... I just have to mention one thing that's been eating at me for a bit, much as it's probably been eating at you. We can't buy new smokes while we're here," she mentioned, walking over and slipping an arm around his waist. "I don't know about you, but I definitely want to kick the habit for good... And it's almost been a week without a puff. If I focus on you, and everything you do to me... It makes it pretty easy to replace the craving. So lets keep each other in mind, instead of tobacco, and see how far we get. Sound good?"

Framed

"I can see if Avery or Buck would be able to spare one of the extras stored on the Riese. I think it would be better to go that route, than to try and beg more favor from Central... They've given us plenty... Actually..." Hannah thought pretty hard about it, wondering if it would be feasible to offer some sort of trade. "Firmia, how do you feel about trying to trade information for that set of legs they managed to remove from the Apotheosis lead machine?" They were definitely housing some powerful tech, and it didn't seem like either Avery or Buck had plans for them... More than likely, Buck hadn't thought of a plan yet, but might've been trying to.

"If any part of your drone plans could be shared with the Riese, in exchange for that raw material, we might be able to build an upper frame around what we get, and model something powerful from scratch... Oh, uhm, p-pardon me, I got too involved in that tangent. As far as names go..." Firmia had been going with an Arthurian theme so far, hadn't she? Hannah wasn't exactly up to snuff on her Arthurian lore, but... "Avalon... Maybe?"

Read My Mind

"That... Sounds pretty scary, come to think of it. I wouldn't want to be able to read anyone's mind. It's bad enough getting to know what people think face to face, knowing what everyone thinks about me behind their veils... Haha. No thanks." Criticism was fine when she could respond to it... You couldn't just call someone out for having thoughts, people would call you crazy. But, if that was the next step... No, it kind of made sense. TKs were already reading someone's mind, they were just picking up feelings, not thoughts. Surely the next step would be that... No telling how long it would take the human race to get there, but it was a pretty spooky thought. Espionage would be crazy.

"Good for her! I was pretty worried when that shrinking violet came on board, but... I wasn't much better at the start, was I? It's good that she's getting along with people better... What about you, Kim? Do you talk to many of the other people on board? I see you with Christina so often, but I guess I don't actually see you that often. Who're you hanging around?" Time to make some mental notes of crew relationships.

Space Held

"Hah! Astin, hun, she wanted us to hold the court. Come on, head outta the clouds~ Let's go." Avery slipped her arm around Astin's and chuckled, walking off across the sand. "This feels real normal. I think I like it... I think i needed it, y'know? Workin' on robots, day in, day out, only gettin' a few hours off, now takin' those hours t'see ya... It's been real drainin'. So thanks, darlin'. Ye've made life real easy to live, for the past week. Hope I can keep it goin' longer." Avery giggled mischievously to herself, looking over yonder at the court... Seemed like a group was just wrapping up their own game.

"Hey, perfect! Right on time. Let's make sure no one else takes the net."

Interrupted

"Hey," Chris started, without about as much tact as a tank shell. "You three, do you wanna play some volleyball? We're getting a group setup, and... Well, we can play with just a few of us, but a full game would probably be more fun. And if we're all here, might as well enjoy the beach for what it's for." She looked at all three of them before blushing a bit. "S-Sorry for butting in and all that, but... Well, it's better to get that sort of stuff out of the way right away. Anyway, if you're interested in playing, just say so." She folded her arms, her eyes making a bee line for the sand. It had suddenly become very interesting.

Edited April 10, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"It was... very strange to say the least. I don't think... it's the sort of thing that anyone will be doing without... a specialized T-link. At least not any time soon." Kim added... what a heavy topic this had become, but that wasn't entirely unexpected. The Captain taking things to a more docile place was appreciated for the intended atmosphere of the day, to be certain. Though the Captain's question had highlighted some of Kim's own social failings as of late.

"She has made a lot of progress... though to be honest, I haven't been speaking with people... as much as I would have liked. Between several... incidents in the field, and being alone in the... simulation area, most of the time, I haven't gotten much... chance to talk to the rest of the crew, lately. Most of it has been with Christina... trying to make her more comfortable."

[Phoenix]

Sasha smiled at Cheryl's final amendment, nodding along toward the end and bring his arm gently over her shoulder. "I started with those things because of love troubles. We'll be alright," he promised. That drive had been a little tough around the midway point, but he was doing much better, now. Hearing Cheryl mention it specifically was just more motivation not to slip up.

---

Firmia could certainly agree that asking Commander Vance for more was out of the question, even if he was willing to go just a bit further. Hannah hit up on a completely different idea in the middle of her suggestion, however, asking if they might be able to trade information for some of the recent parts. Firmia drew a blank on what sort of information to entice them with, figuring the mechanics would see more value in actual materials than one of her more long term ideas. Hannah's suggestion turned out to be related to Firmia's drone program, conveniently, the same program she was making the most progress with.

Firmia had several variants fully designed and ready to build, already, including a variant simply headed as 'Riese Drone.' That variant was a defense unit designed to stay close to its carry ship and fire on any enemies or ordnance that closed in, freeing up the ship's native weapons and mobile suits for other tasks. It had been designed before Firmia knew she would have a vessel of her own to command, and so the name 'Riese Drone' was officially outdated. She might keep the title, though. It might help sell Avery and Buck on this trade Hannah was suggesting.

As far as building a new mobile suit with the legs already accounted for, that was almost half the work done, already. Firmia could definitely get behind the idea. She nodded, indicating as much just before Hannah circled back to the Megalodon naming issue. Firmia was left dumbstruck at the first submission. "Hey, that one was actually on my list!" It was nice to be on the same wavelength. "It was definitely the best one I had so far ... Camelot isn't quite the right fit, Caliburn is something I'd rather name an actual weapon ... and Albion is completely off theme ..." There were items further down the Alkaev's mental list, inspired by longer and weightier ship names, but they were further down the list for a reason.

---

"Weight training, mostly," Tonya explained briefly, "A little bit of cardio, too. We were trying to make up for lost time since he's always fighting Apotheosis and can't afford to head into battle wrecked like this." Unfortunately, rest and relaxation meant different things to different people, and for Chris, it meant a fun game of volleyball with full sized teams. Tonya gave a grinning wince as she imagined how much pain she and Brant would have to endure to compete properly in their current state. That was a handicap if ever there was one. "Well ... maybe?" She glanced at Brant, wondering if he was up for it. "I wouldn't mind having something to do, but ..."

"Hmm," Brant grimaced at the thought. The physical pain was something he could work through, but he was starting to realize more fully that yesterday's evasion tactics hadn't just been for Jessica's sake. Even though he wanted to speak with her, the idea of actually running into her on this beach was dreadful. It didn't matter if Abigail was with her or not, though that certainly wouldn't help matters. "Yeah, I'll pass." Keeping his distance from the group in general would make it easier not to get blindsided and avoid the Captain until he got himself mentally prepared for it.

[Shin]

Sand, water... Tarquin would have been convinced he were at a coast if he hadn't known he was in the middle of the desert. The ANF certainly had funds to spare if they could create an artificial beach in addition to their plethora of military projects. The outing hadn't exactly been his decision, but openly disobeying Command directly was too bold a move to make at this stage. Even if it were time off, Tarquin still didn't feel like he could rest - recent events were still very much on his mind. Apotheosis wouldn't be taking a day off from their schemes, and Nikolai's rest was as forced as his own. Tarquin watched curiously as Buck ran towards the water, it would be expected for most people within their age group. Perhaps he'd be able to feel like that one day, his own mind wasn't quite as willing to distract itself with a day at the beach. Beach fashion was completely lost on Tarquin, a pair of swim shorts and a plain t-shirt were the most he could manage.

"Makoto? I'm fine, the beach isn't exacly a location that I am familiar with..." Tarquin replied, his mind returning to reality from his internal contemplation. "I've never been to one before so I'm not exactly sure what people do normally. If volleyball is a regular beach activity, it would make sense to partake in it. Mister Taylor educated me on the rules of the game before we left this morning, although the techniques and tactics required may take further time for me to comprehend."

-

Bill stepped out of the changing rooms, sniffing the air and letting out a satisfied sigh. The beach reminded him of home, it had been years since he'd had a chance to let loose on a beach. Admittedly, this one wasn't exactly authentic, but it made a valiant effort at creating a good atmosphere. The crew had a chance to get away from the seriousness of the battles they'd faced, Bill could think of a good few people who definitely needed a break. The kids, the captain, Elaine... they'd all been under a lot of pressure recently, now would be a good time for them to unwind and return to their challenges with a fresh face. It would be good for himself too. Bill wasn't exactly the brainiest cabbage in the field or particularly important on the ship, but the beach was his domain. Swimming, surfing, volleyball... they were as natural as breathing to him.

There was a small gathering of people looking to get started with volleyball. The blonde girl in particular seemed incredibly keen, although something seemed a little off about her, almost like she was someone else entirely. He approached the group, giving a jovial wave before crossing his muscular arms. "If you've got space for one more, this ocker wouldn't say no to some volleyball or air ping pong. Haven't had a real chance to play since high school. Coach said I shouldn't gone for one of the college teams, real shame that my noggin wasn't the college type!"

Edited April 10, 2018 by Shin

[Dandragon]

“Weight training? Looks like it was pretty intense for just-“ Elaine was cut off by the ‘tank shell tact’ of Chris, waltzing on over and interrupting their conversation to ask if they wanted to play some Volleyball. And, admittedly, it wasn’t a bad idea to get the blood pumping that way. But, Tonya seemed hesitant to join in, while Brant flat out refused the offer, like a big old party pooper. For goid reason, though.

“He’s sore from yesterday,” Said Elaine, turning back to Chris, a small, teasing grin on her face. “Went to workout something fierce, apparently. So that’s why he looks like a grump, right now.” Again, teasingly stated. Still, Elaine looked back at the two. The first chance she had been given to leave Brant yesterday and she had taken it, and she still felt guilty about it, even if it had seemingly helped Roxanna. She didn’t want to do that to him, again. “...You know what, I think I’m gonna pass, too. Sorry. Maybe later, if you guys are still playing?”

[scorri]

"Oh... I'm..." Astin blushed and kicked at the sand as Avery started talking all sweet. "I'm glad I make you happy. It has been nice. I guess we'll see where the future takes us."

They were getting a good crowd at this point. "Seems like we have enough for teams of three or four depending on how many of that group join. How do we think it'll be best to split up?" Glancing around at the group, Astin didn't see the most natural split. They figured Avery would want to be in their team but besides that, they weren't sure the best split.

[Nanami Touko]

Too Good

"You sure you're real, Sasha?" Cheryl was feeling suddenly melancholic, trying to smile, but finding it a bit difficult. "You show up out of nowhere, we find each other so utterly desirable... You're smooth, kind, funny, and you're willing to change on almost the drop of a hat, just for us. Sometimes I wonder, maybe this is some long dream. Maybe a coma. I don't really see why I deserve someone so fantastic. If you've got problems, I haven't run into any of them yet. You'd think something would spring up after a few days, maybe a scuffle or a small argument, but..." She sighed, smiling for real, looking up at him. "Here you are, still making everything work. What did I do to deserve you...?"

Garden of Avalon

"Eheh... Admittedly, Arthurian Lore is not something I have looked into yet. I told myself to do so when you started tossing around those call signs, but... Well, a lot has been happening, and the wifi is too weak here to properly educate myself on things. I'll have to do so back on the ship." The other names were... Well, yes, not that great. Avalon was likely the best. "Why don't we go with that? Keep up the theme with us, and the rest of our machines and pilots. It will create a good brand. Vivian and her Knights of Avalon. Heh." Maybe Firmia would appreciate the mental image. It could work very well for their image, especially if they went with branding or other options on the machines.

Tagging Along

"Bill? You're... The janitor, right?" He was probably fit enough to jump around on the beach. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead... At least someone's interested in playing. Hopefully high school wasn't too long ago, and you still remember how to hit the ball." That left these three... Chris narrowed her eyes, mostly at Brant. "You'll pass? Uh huh... Well, I guess since you're so tired and beat, you won't be able to stop me dragging your ass along anyway, will you? It's fine if you don't play, Tonya, Elaine, but this sad sack? He's doing something other than moping. Come on, Brant!" With a firm grip and perhaps more strength than Brant was expecting, Chris linked her arm around his and started pulling him across the sand.

"Do you even know how conflicted you feel right now? You're like a dormant volcano trying to decide on whether it erupts or not. And you think I'm just gonna stand around and give you the old 'oh, of course Brant, relax and take it easy'-- no fuck you! Stewing in your mess, what kind of idiot are you?" She sighed, grumbling towards the court, slowing down a bit to hopefully let him catch his pace. "Wh-What kind of friend am I if I let you hurt yourself? At least try to do something of a distraction... You'll have fun. Promise."

Lone Wolf

"Not really spending a lot of time around other, huh... I guess we're both just as bad at that? Still, you should talk to other people than just Christina... She seems alright, now. At least, alright enough. Talking to people wearing something like that, with how she was before... Takes a bit leap. Good work on helping her at least, Kim." Jess had skimmed over the thoughts on mind reading, the more she didn't think about that, the better.

"Well, now that we're out here," she said with a small sigh, adjusting her hat some, "what do you think we should do? Could relax in the 'sun', go for a swim, trying that talking to people thing... A-And as long as it's the shallows, for water. I'm not a great swimmer..." Always sank like a stone, this one. Maybe one day she could get properly taught how to swim. Today, probably not the best to spend her whole time doing that. "Ideas, O' lieutenant, my lieutenant?"

Teams

"O' course I'm happy, ye crazy? Ye put up with so much o' my nonsense, Astin. It's great. An' y'seem t'have fun with the rest of it." Sneaking out a snicker, Avery looked at the group of people coming over... Chris was coming back, followed by-- "Well, that's one way to get someone to play. Haha! You go girl." Avery gave a thumbs up in the direction of the angry blonde and her unfortunate TK target. "Figure we don't want all them TKs on the same team. Sounds like cheating. As much as it pains me, we might have to split up... Alas~ At least you can show me iffin yer worth as much as ye said ye were."

Invitation

"Uhm... Excuse me?" Christina slipped up next to Makoto and Tarquin, giving them a small wave, trying her best to smile. "You two, wouldn't be busy, would you? Er... Chris is trying to organize a volleyball game. Wanna, play? Eheheh..." This was a lot harder than she'd thought, having to do this by herself. "Just... Since this is such a limited opportunity and all, figure we should get to try out some of the, more unique stuff at the beach." She ended up twiddling her thumbs, staring at the sand... "If you're busy, that's fine too, just... Thought I should ask. A bigger game is more fun, after all. Right?"

Edited April 11, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Xinnidy]

Super Friends

"Well, on the beach you swim and everything. Play sports, surf, enjoy the salty wind... stuff like that I think." It wasn't like Makoto was a pro at that, but between him and Tarquin, he'd be the one selling the idea of enjoying the beach that day. "If it's a no-go I'm sure we can enjoy the food at least." They sure had different option, from ice cream to steamed clams, there was a dish for all tastes. At a moderately inflated price.

Speaking of, they'd been scouted by Christina rather quickly. Seems like they weren't the only ones entertaining the idea! "Oh, volleyball? We were just considering finding people to play with, sure!" Funny how things turned out. Makoto beamed his best smile back, giving Christina a thumbs up. "I'm not too shabby, and Tarquin here said he's learning. You can count on us to do good!" He glanced back at his young friend, wondering if he felt any more invested.

Extra Creamy

"Ah, t-thanks--Yeah, two bottles, right!" Caroline didn't seem as sure to reply to Aliza's casual compliment but was quick to return to business, taking out two chilly bottles of water from the box. "Alright, here it is, and I do have rocky road here! Fancy choice ma'am." She picked the pots up as she rummaged through her products. "Got a couple left of that, actually... I've also got plenty of others. A lot of fruit flavored --lime's a favorite over here--, also chocomint... milky way and dulce de leche are popular too. Also, if you don't find the flavor you want I might still have them back at the stand!" She was truly eager to sell, and it showed in how earnest her expression was. In fact, some might think it overblown. "Anything for a happy customer."

[Phoenix]

Sasha took his free hand and began patting his chest down just to check. He was fully tangible at the very least. "I think so, yeah," he grinned, "Don't wait around to wake up. Simply enjoy this, my sweet," he added, kissing her on the head. "Really though, we'll have plenty to argue about. I for one still think there's room for a Pasternak somewhere in that lovely name of yours~"

It was funny that Cheryl would mention problems cropping up. In some ways, his previous relationships were baggage he was bringing into this, but they were also important life lessons, too. Sasha knew what it felt like to be lead on, ignored, harshly criticized, lied to, smacked, and cheated on, and these were all things he had no intention of subjecting anyone else to. If Cheryl thought he was fantastic, it was because he was putting some hard life lessons into practice for both their sakes.

"I want to reach a point where any issues that do come up don't hit us quite so hard. I'm glad you had the idea to head out here to the theater. Desert heat be damned, we need a change of scenery."

---

Firmia felt she ought to brush up on her Arthurian knowledge, as well. She knew plenty, but there were many different versions of different tales and it was easy to get lost. That said, Vivian and her 'Knights of Avalon' sounded like a refreshing bit of Alternate History right there. Playing around with that theme could be fun, especially if they could do more with it. Branding was one idea, like Hannah suggested. "Well if we both like it, then I think that's a good sign," Firmia beamed. She wasted no time punching in the name to her tablet. She planned on sending the information back to the base sometime today so they could make the necessary changes and get the name registered officially.

"That reminds me," Firmia mused aloud, "What I had that name in mind for originally were those processor suites I asked the ANF for. Normally they'll just be handling client requests or running solutions for me in combat, but I also wanted a virtual space for Brant's AIs to use. A simulated world for them to shape however they wanted. I'm interested in seeing what they could come up with ... but since we're using Avalon for the ship, now ... maybe the 'Garden of Avalon' would be more appropriate?" Had the singularity arrived in the form of Hannah and whatever future AI emerged through her influence? Perhaps. Did Firmia particularly care? No, not really~

---

Brant hadn't expected Bill, the Riese's head janitor, to show up. Everyone really had been kicked off the ship as a whole. Doctor Amparo probably got to stay behind due to Nikolai, though. That aside, Brant knew he was in trouble the moment Chris came over, and his 'no' hadn't amounted to anything useful in the end ...

Tonya squinted as Chris hauled Brant away from the small gathering. She wondered if maybe this was for the best. She would have preferred to let him think and try and come up with some new solution, come at the Jessica problem from a new angle or something, but maybe not getting bogged down in that mess was for the best, right now. After all, Brant could reach a point where he wasn't fretting about the problem, he just had to stop thinking about it long enough for his social instincts to take over completely. Starting after them, Tonya's thoughts drifted to that third ring Brant had given her. She could still end this ... or ... maybe something else would come up.

Brant tried to think as Chris hurried him along. It felt so strange to be getting forced into a volleyball game like this. He really had expected her to not give a flip about someone in his state and just focus on getting other, more motivated players for the game. Chris explained why she was dragging him along, despite himself, well before he had a chance to ask. "Friend, huh? Thanks ... I think." He supposed she would be the regular 'stumped' sort of friend if she let him carry on like this, but she clearly had other ideas. "Alright, I'll try ... just keep in mind it's not just that, today ... training was rough."

[Dandragon]

“...Well, I guess this is happening.” Elaine watched for a moment as Chris dragged Brant away, and Tonya followed close behind. Then, looking to Bill and shrugging, she jogged over, closing the distance until she was walking right next to Tonya, behind Brant and Chris. “Well, what are you thinking, Tonya? Wanna sit on the sidelines and watch? Or do we play, after all?” Elaine easily accepted that she wouldn’t be getting a chance to talk to Brant until the game was over, at the most, so there was at least the opportunity of aquainting herself with some of the Russians while they were still here. If not, at least she would be able to play a fun game of Volleyball.

[Ether]

"Now that... she seems to be able to stand on her own... a bit better, I think that's... what I'll try to do." Kim replied, pausing for a moment as Jessica asked her opinion on what they should do. A good question, that... ideally they'd want to touch on all of those bases throughout the day, so really it was a matter of ordering and priority.

"Well... a good day at the beach... usually has all of those. If we're looking to add... to our entourage, we could see if anyone else... wants to join in either swimming or relaxing. Or if you'd prefer, I can see about... taking a look at your swimming. I'm no expert but... laps are good to keep in shape, and we used to do... a lot of beach and pool shoots, so it isn't like... I'm not familiar."

[Shin]

It appeared that circumstance had decided that Tarquin would be playing volleyball after all. It wasn't as though he were opposed to the idea, he needed to try and free himself from his own mind, even if it was only going to be for a few hours. Upon closer inspection, the game of volleyball wasn't too dissimilar from chess or from battle. Physical capabilities would have to be matched with psychological warfare to create openings... perhaps this was why people took such an interest in team sports. He would be at a disadvantage from a technical point of view, he would need time until his superior learning ability could kick in.

"It would be a suitable opportunity to experience beach-time recreation, as well as competing against crew members in sport." Tarquin muttered, still pondering the new angle he'd been granted regarding the game. "I would very much be interested in partaking in such a game. I've never played it before, but I am willing to try."

-

"That's me, William Taylor, but Bill's less of a mouthful. Not exactly the star of the show, but I'm more than happy to sweep some floors on the side!" he laughed, his gaze setting on Brant. Brant Abrams, reasonable hygeine habits, a good adherence to correctly selecting bins for trash... notorious for having multiple people in his room. Bill couldn't hold too much against him, he was a victim of a nasty space gremlin infestation. He was glad that the others had convinced Brant to join in with the merriment - he was giving off a defeated aura that needed dispelling.

Bill gave Brant a friendly pat on the back, giving the pilot a grin as Chris dragged him along. "Give the ball a bash or two, you'll be grinning like a shot fox before you know it." he added, wondering if his own telephonic powers would help his game at all. "Mind you, you'll have to earn a victory. The ankle-biters look mighty fired up, even I'm spoiling for a good smack around."
 

[TheRoon]

She laughed at the girl's very forward selling tactic, yeah she sure was a real ambitious one. But she was cute as a button and hit all the right notes with the Italian pilot. "Just the bottled waters and rocky road, but thank you." She spoke as she took out her card from her bag. "Thanks a lot. Name's Aliza, I'm a soldier posted here for a little getaway with my crew." She kept her smile as she lowered her shades a bit. "But if you don't mind my asking do you work around here often? You mentioned a stand so I'd probably guess so."

Edited April 11, 2018 by TheRoon

[Xinnidy]

Curious Customers

"Just the rocky road and water, alright. Can do!" Sales were sales, Caroline seemed pleased enough with the result, handing over the ice cream next and taking up a card reader from her denim's pocket to complete the transaction. "Nice doing business with you, Aliza! I'm Caroline, Caroline Schmidt. I just... work, kinda. I rented one of the spaces to sell food during the day, I'm here every other day. I also work at the mall complex at night, but... that's just while my main job remains slow and keeps me around. I don't know how long that will last." She swiped the card and handed the reader to Aliza. "Long story short, I'm employed by an outsourcing company and was assigned to help the ANF --not enough pilots to make the squads they want--, so I'm kind of like you, except I never went to pilot school and am just learning on the fly. Pretty badly."

Caroline kept the mood light with a giggle as she confessed her ineptitude, but it did paint a more desperate face to the ANF. Outsourced pilots, people that were crash coursed at best were being enlisted to bolster their forces. The Riese's consecutive victories seemed like localized phenomenoms in contrast. "It's not so bad, I've never been to the frontline, I just patrol. The timeslots are pretty generous and I really need the bonus my company gives." Caroline waved it off, possibly trying to reassure Aliza. "My squad is going to be disbanded soon, though. I heard the ANF were letting some captains call dibs if they wanted more pilots, I just hope whoever I work under next is as calm as the Major."

Moving On

...That was enough laying down on her lonesome by now, Roxanna wasn't in the mood for artificial sunbathing, honestly. "Ugh, I should've brought a sun hat." Too late now, but whatever. Standing up, Roxanna was quick to notice a crowd of their crew was gathering. The pilots were all kind of tightly-knit, from her impression. Roxanna's people really never seemed to interact that closely aside from the odd couple, in her Kraken days, so that was a curious sight. Perhaps it was why they seemed to have such incredible teamwork.

But nonetheless, Roxanna wasn't that interested in sports. No, her target quickly shifted, spotting a blonde who interested her far more than the sports crowd. "Firmia?" Roxanna approached the rich girl and her companion droid (when did Hannah change her hair?), trying to act as casual as she knew how. "I've been meaning to ask you something... you're not awfully busy right now, are you?" The beach break really seemed like the perfect time.

[Balcerzak]

"Swimming laps, at the beach?! How boringly diligent of you," Taken by surprise, Abigail couldn't help but groan. As he went on to discuss his admiration of the pilots and their needing to handle the Gs and all that, she gave him a second, more appraising look. True to the claim of his thrill-less exercise regimen, the man was pretty toned, and in good shape. Which actually gave her a bit of an idea...

"Listen up Ensign..." Abby trailed off meaningfully and waited for him to provide his name, because she honestly couldn't remember it. "You could probably hack it in the cockpit from the look of you, but stop thinking about work right now. I'm gonna get you into the true beach spirit, kicking or screaming. In the mood for a good chicken fight, and you look like you'd be an excellent bottom, so I'll be taking you. Now I just gotta scrounge together a suitable opposing team. Thinking of a few good choices, gonna see if any of them are interested in biting. Feel free to warm yourself up while I get our enemies lined up for us. I'll be back soon."

An amused and cocksure grin on her face, the rebel turned and headed for the changing rooms, she could have sworn she'd seen the lieutenant head in there. She was definitely high on the list of good challenges, either as top or bottom, so hopefully she could get her on board with the idea with minimal fuss. Poking her head in, she called out, "Kim, you in here? Got an idea I think you might like."

 

---

 

"Haha," came a hearty rumble from Thorvald. "We'll have to see about that, lad. No offense but you've still got some growing to do, so I reckon I could still take you." All good natured competitive ribbing, of course. But as it turned out, despite a valiant effort at catching up, with his finest front crawl, he ended up about head and shoulders behind Buck as the young mechanic tapped on the rock designated as the goal.

"Well, I'll be," Thorvald exclaimed, between catching his breath. "Looks like there's quite a bit more to you than just tinkering with machines. Good show, good show."

 

---

 

Jess had opted to remain behind in the infirmary. Though she'd been perhaps borderline recovered even for an outing, she didn't feel that confident, and certainly couldn't have really enjoyed herself. Not that she'd enjoy herself here either, but that was beside the point. She'd awoken yesterday, shortly after a phonecall the doctor had taken had intruded on her fitful dreams, and they'd had a bit of a talk about her prospects for recovery. The doctor had been cautiously optimistic about being able to fix her eye, but Jess felt it in her heart. It was a total ruin, she'd never see the way she had before again. Her wrist would be fine, just needed time, much like that other woman's legs. So until then, there was nothing to do, but wait.

She stood up from her bed, keeping her one eye closed, mostly out of habit from whenever she'd had much more minor issues with it, like if some dust had got caught in there and scraped the surface or something. Stopping to think about it, however, it was also just common courtesy for others' peace of mine. Nobody would want to have to meet gaze with a ruined socket if they didn't have to. She really ought to ask about getting an eyepatch, then, her muscles would get tired having to stay clamped over it twenty-four seven. Making her way to the tank, she reached out her good hand and rested it up against it.

"So this is the one who traded his health to save what was left of mine?" She mused aloud. "Maybe I shouldn't have bothered sending that distress. There's no way two broken pilots are better than one whole one."

Edited April 13, 2018 by Balcerzak

[Nanami Touko]

Full Teams!

"Really? Great! Come on, then, you two." That went well! Christina wasn't expecting them to both be so agreeable, but it sure felt good that they were. "It doesn't really matter how good either of you are to me... I'm sure even Chris is just here to have a good time, not treat it like a serious competition." Hopefully. "We can sort out teams once we have everyone. I hope we all end up having a good time." They were meant to relax, so if they managed that, or at least managed some fun, then mission accomplished, right?

Mr. Perfect... Pasternak

Cheryl narrowed her gaze some, but her raised eyebrows showed her amusement. "I guess no one's perfect, in the end. At least it's something that small. I was... Pretty worried we'd end up arguing on smoking or anything like that." The change of scenery had definitely been a good idea... Cheryl couldn't help but wonder about this, though. Was it just karma, for her terrible life, up to this point? Other people definitely had it far worse, but still... Maybe. Not that I'm one to believe in that sort of spiritual nonsense.

The air conditioning of the mall hit like a truck, a very cool, comfortable truck, though it did make Cheryl shiver and cling onto Sasha's arm just a bit more. "They sure do like to crank it up in here, don't they? Glad I wore jeans... Might have to do up my shirt, though. Guess it's to combat the desert, but wow, that change was drastic..." The theater was down at the far end, so they had a small walk ahead of them. "Should we snag food court food for the movie, or go with popcorn?"

Names Continued

"It's probably the best one we could assign with the current naming scheme. I'll make a mental note of it as well." Hannah made sure to take down everyone in their current crew, marking their assigned names, and... "Oh. I'll need a new callsign as well, then..." Hannah looked at Firmia, wondering if she had any ideas brewing in her mind to fit in with the current Arthurian setup they had going. "I'll really have to download and look over some articles when we return." Onto the next piece of information...

"We could just refer to it as the Garden, to be less on the nose with references. I think a certain amount of subtlety in places can help with ideas like this. What do you think? Oh... Should we have Galatea installed there?" It would help to have a proper AI that didn't need to be moving about helping organize things. "If I ask her, she'd be more than willing."

Hannah was thinking about how into the idea Galatea would be when Roxanna showed up. Firmia wasn't busy at all... What did the XO have to share?

Rough

"What, don't want to be friends? 'Think' nothing... I know what you're hung up on, I said I'd help... So I am. The more you think about it, especially today... The more it's gonna hurt. Don't think about it. Just treat this like a beach! Play volleyball, go swimming, soak in the sun... Even if it's artificial. This isn't Russia anymore." A part of it had followed him though, looking back at Tonya. "Was she really that rough? I thought you were tougher than that." Chris cracked a smile and let go of his arm, heading over to the court. "Don't dally, Brant! I'm opposite whatever team you're on! You're not gonna beat me!"

Callout

"No way, I can't swim. I just sink. I don't want to spend all day learning how to manage a doggy paddle... Huh? What was..." Jess looked back towards the changing rooms, did she just hear someone say Kim? "Think someone might be looking for you back in the changing rooms, Lieutenant... Might've missed us leaving. Wanna go see who it is, while I see about getting myself a good place to lay down?" Relax first, action later. Jess wanted a big destresser, just for today... And those beach chairs looked really comfy with the head beating down on her. It was an artificial light, so she wouldn't burn, right...?

"Come find me if you need me, Kim." Jess gave her a tiny wave and headed towards the closest one, flopping onto it with a hefty sigh. "Just wanna be lazy for a bit..."

Chicken!?

"My apologies for being boring. I prefer to think of myself as... Normal. Not everyone can be special, especially in a ship as big as the Riese. You're all so unique... Someone has to be bog standard." He didn't really consider it an insult, he was perfectly fine with how average he seemed. Maybe in the captain's chair he'd be able to stand out more, but he didn't think he was up to doing a better job than Jessica was.

"Stop thinking about work? Hahaha, impossible. I'm even worried about the ship's repairs as we speak. I don't want anything to go wrong with them refueling... It would be the worst surprise to have a tank fill improperly, and only notice hours out from base." Kicking or screaming, was it... Wait, chicken fight? A good bottom!? "Uh," was the first reaction that came to mind, Tristan taking a quick survey of those around the beach... And realizing just how much of the crew was female. "I, uh, am not quite sure I'm the best fit for a game like that, Abb-- Hey, wait!" And she was gone... Tristan putting his slightly red face in his hand. At least his darker skin helped to hide his embarrassment, but it was definitely apparent in his speech.

"I'm... Not cut out for this sort of stuff."

The Winner!

Buck gasped for air as he nearly swam face first into the rock, slowly climbing his way on top. He'd gotten there first, but he was way more out of breath than Thorvald. The power of youth... And the power of an adult. So different... "Gahhhhhhhhhhh... I woooooon..." He absently played one of his favorite opening themes in his head, managing to sit up. "I-I'm working on machines all day. Of course I'm tough! That stuff's heavy, and we gotta climb all over 'em... S-Swimming's nothing... Whew, that was a workout. You're, definitely stronger than me though... Haha..." Buck couldn't keep his balance, as he flopped backwards... But his body hit something. The air? Oh, the end of the area. The rock must've been used as a marker to show where the beach's waters ended, and the opposite wall of the facility began. "Ahhh... Gonna take a break out here, if that's fine with you. That took everything outta me."

Looming

"They look like they're having a lot of fun... What do you think, Louise? Should we step in yet?"

"No, of course not. Ruin the day that quickly? None of them will be happy to see us, not a soul~ A few of them might even open fire. Are you so interested in getting shot by that Lieutenant again, Vera?"

The purple haired woman grunted, folding her arms. They appeared as normal skin, the prosthetic coverings doing a great deal to keep her enhancements concealed on the beach... Louise, meanwhile, had her hair over her mechanical eye, and was... Sitting in a wheel chair.

"You'll get shot at first. They know I can stop any of that nonsense. You're just a cripple without your attachments, you know that, right?"

"That's fine. I'll get to test out the good doctor's new toy, and laugh any gunfire off. Besides, you know what to do if they actually manage to kill me, don't you? We're not here to start anything, after all..."

"Yeah, got it covered. Don't worry... I wouldn't mind playing some volleyball too, though..."

Edited April 13, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

"See~?" Sasha grinned widely at Cheryl's remark, "We're hitting our quota," he gently squeezed her with his arm a couple of times. "And don't worry about stuff like that. I might still be addicted, but it's worth quitting."

Cheryl was right about the air conditioning, too. Sasha hadn't really expected it to be about as chilly in the mall as on the Riese but the ANF seemed to have AC standards across the board. Fortunately he brought his jacket along, though it could have been ten degrees hotter outside and twenty degrees hotter inside and he still would have brought the thing ... "Was kind of nice~ Just don't think about the drive back to the ship unless we're hanging around until sunset," Sasha chuckled. "And ... yeah, popcorn sounds good going in," he nodded at the question, figuring they could have a proper lunch between showings.

---

Firmia didn't mind the shortening much, even though it felt almost too short on her first hearing. That 'The' would definitely be a necessary component regardless of whatever the official name turned out to be in the end. As for one of the key residents, Firmia had been planning on placing Galatea in the suite, as well. Whether or not she wound up with a body, her nature as a more traditional AI made her a perfect resident for the system. More importantly, the nosey AI would have an important job aboard the ship, helping to monitor systems and reassigning system priorities based on the situation. She could react faster than Firmia could, and she didn't need to sleep, so if she wasn't roaming around in humanoid form, she could be seeing to that.

"I'm glad she'd be willing because that's exactly what I want to do," Firmia nodded, "I don't want to waste any of our potential just letting crew members sit around doing nothing. One way or another everyone's going to end up with the biggest responsibilities they can handle well." The emphasis on 'well' was particularly important. A lot of times, a person could wind up in a position that was just slightly too much for them to do efficiently, and so they were too good for a demotion, but too inept for a promotion, and the result was a function within an organization being performed just barely up to par. None of that aboard the Avalon, Firmia quietly swore to herself.

The young Alkaev wasn't expecting Roxanna to come over, not unless it was about the new ship and how that came about. Firmia certainly wasn't busy, though. She was trying to be, but tossing out names and other ideas with Hannah was just simple conversation at heart. "I can talk. What can I do for you?" It wasn't her usual greeting, but Firmia wanted to keep her good relations good, if not improve them, and that was coming through in her words.

---

Tonya sighed as she thought on Elaine's question. "I'll play as long as the teams won't be uneven. Also don't mind sitting out a round or two to let someone else in. Either way's fine. Just want to make sure my student isn't all by himself, right now."

Was Bill telling him to pull off a good volleyball move or two? That might prove a bit challenging. Even if he wasn't feeling sore and stiff over the majority of his body, Brant had never played volleyball before. He'd played plenty of dodgeball, but that game was quite near the opposite of volleyball in terms of each side's goals and tactics. "I'll see what I can do," he told the head janitor, figuring he wouldn't be managing much. He wasn't going to be too pessimistic about the game, though. It wasn't important enough to warrant that much negativity, and the adrenaline might have something to add once things actually kicked off.

Brant winced at Chris' question, though it didn't look or sound serious. According to her, Chris was taking the opportunity to get his mind off of Jessica. In some ways that was helpful, but it was also making it hard for him to figure out what he would say, and exactly how he would say it, the next time he saw the Captain. Brant supposed he would have to deal with this for now, though ... a volleyball game on this artificial beach. That was almost fitting the more he thought about it: A fake smile on a fake beach. He could definitely manage that, though, it was a wonder Chris cared this much about his 'Jess problem.' Brant had been expecting her to, at the very least, get frustrated and focus her attention elsewhere until the situation was resolved and he wasn't such a pain to be around. Christina was someone she liked now, so she seemed like a better choice for this rare outing. Chris wouldn't have to feel guilty leaving him to sulk, either; Tonya was still keeping his head above water like she always did. It really wasn't unreasonable for her to just forget about him for today ...

Telling Chris about yesterdays training hadn't really gotten him much in the way of understanding from her. She just wound up sizing up Tonya briefly and teasing him about his endurance. Oh well ... After that, though, Chris let him go and made her way to the court, letting him know flat out that she wanted the two of them on opposite teams. That actually ... stung a tad, but as long as he and Tonya were on the same team, Brant could at least somewhat enjoy this.

"We should probably stretch, a little," Tonya mused aloud.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Phoenix

[Dandragon]

“Stretching is probably a good ide- wait, did you say ‘student’?” Elaine looked back and forth between Brant and Tonya, trying to determine whether or not Tonya was a good deal older than him. This was not the relationship she had initially thought of between the two Russians, and Elaine wondered if she had stumbled into something a bit more scandalous than it seemed. I mean, Tonya looks around the same age as Brant, give or take, what, maybe 3 or 4 generous years? And she’s...Well, she’s got some looks to her. “Alright, I’ll bite. What exactly have you been teaching Brant?” Forward, as usual, but Elaine was curious, and there wasn’t much that could stop her when she was.

[Ether]

She hadn't noticed it until Jess pointed it out, but Kim did hear what vaguely sounded like the end of her own name as she listened for it.  Making a mental note of where Jessica had flopped down, Kim turned back towards the change rooms.

"Okay... I'll go see... what's up. Be back... in a minute." She noted, before jogging back to the lockers, coming to a stop just outside when she was confronted by a feminine backside sticking out from the door of the locker room, head poked inside past the door. Based on the tuft of blonde hair visible at the back of her neck, it seemed the culprit was Abby. Well, she didn't seem angry, so it was unlikely she was here to defend Jessica's honour from being play-flirted with... not that Abigail seemed to be the type to overly take offense to that sort of thing anyway.

"Were you... looking for me, Abby? Surprising as it... might be, you don't need to... use your ass as bait." Kim asked, giving the ex-rebel a light smack on the back, about midway between her tailbone and shoulders, accompanied by a light chuckle.

Second time's the charm?

 

All in all, the mall excursion had been a good thing. Chris had gotten along well with Christina, if less so Kim herself, until Brant had taken her off their hands. They had managed to buy Christina a good few outfits of her own, rather than selections from Kim's own wardrobe, and now they had finally gotten back to the ship, and parted ways for the night. Having taken some time to relax and shower off the day's ails. Kim found herself lounging on her bed later in the evening, browsing her communicator when she came across something she had forgotten... right, Avery.

 

Quote

Hey Avery, sorry about yesterday? Now that things are a little less busy, do you think you have time for that coffee?

Quote

Coffee might be a bit late, but if you needed to talk, I'm in my hangar. You've got clearance, come on in if you need to.

Avery sighed, looking the Artemis over,  having moved it in here to mess with it. What the actual fuck was that system? ARES... She rolled her eyes. She'd called her dad before, but he wasn't willing to share anything about it. He must've known... So why not? "Stupid..."

Quote

That's fair... any other sort of drink you want me to pick up on the way?

Kim responded, quickly slipping out of the robe she had been lounging in, and into some casual clothing of the non-bedroom variety. That should give Avery enough time to respond with any requests.

Quote

Whatever's in reach when you get your stuff. Not picky... Guess no coffee is a bit picky, but you get what I mean.

Checking her communicator before she stepped out, Kim read the reply... anything was good, huh? In that case... grabbing a couple of bottles from the miniature fridge in her room containing some organic juices, Kim left her room, reaching Avery's hangar in a matter of minutes, Kim quickly entered, her credentials accepted by the electronic lock. She quickly picked up Avery's emotions, over by the Artemis... she seemed frustrated.

"Here... have a drink."

"Oh, hey... So, what's up? Wha'cha wanna talk 'bout?" Avery took the... Organic juice? Divas. She rolled her eyes a little bit with a smile and popped the cap, chugging half of it back. "Don't mind me, just havin' issues tryin'a figure stuff out."

"I just... wanted to apologize." Kim replied, biting her lip apprehensively as she took one of the chairs lying about with a heavy sigh.

"Wait what? Huh? Apologize? ... What'd you do?"

"About the whole... leg incident. As you said it was... incorrect of me, to push as I did." Kim replied, shame covering her face as she bowed her head down to Avery.

"Oh! Oh... Sorry. Well..." That's a bit awkward, Avery had nearly forgotten about that entirely... And she'd told Kim to fuck off because of her... Avery scratched at her head, sighing quietly. "It... It did strike me a bit off, comin' after me, tryin'a console me... I dunno. All this TK stuff, I'm not super used to it. Kinda felt like, ye were cheatin' t'try an' get t'what I was feelin'. Still... I didn't mean t'explode on ya like that. Sorry, Kim."

"It isn't... it's not your fault. It is not the first time that I have... erred, pushed too far. I simply... didn't want to lose my chance at a friendship with you... over my instincts." Kim admitted, shuddering slightly. It didn't take a telekinetic to understand the shame she was radiating at present, at any rate.

"Well hey I'm fine, now... 'S long's ye're still fine, then... Nothing lost, right? Wasn't goin' t'hold it against ye, I wasn't really in th'right state o' mind at the time. We're all good, alright?" Avery hoped Kim wasn't going to beat herself up over this... Avery had been the one in the wrong at the time, as far as things were concerned.

"I suppose so, I just..." Kim paused for a moment... it had hurt, but nowhere near as much as Avery must have been hurting... was it even worth bringing up?

"I just... worry. it is not... uncommon for telekinetics to quickly become... segregated. No one trusts... a filthy mind reader, after all." Kim let out, her expression darkening as she spoke, biting her lip.

"Oi, now that ain't fair. It wasn't that kinda situation, Kim. Ye can't hold yerself against it like that. Come on..." Was she seriously going to go this way with how it went? I was havin' a panic attack... Ye can't call that a normal situation.

"I... yes, you're right. My apologies, Avery. I didn't mean to imply such a thing, I just..." There it was, the dam had broken. Lurching forward in her seat just a bit, Kim tried as best she could to hide the tears as they began to form. Why now, of all times? This was supposed to be a child's issue, one she had gotten over... why now?

Avery frowned, she didn't really know how to deal with this sort of situation. "Is... Is there anythin' I can do t'help? Y'wanna talk about it, or..." She ended up scratching her hair while Kim wasn't looking, not quite sure where the sudden outburst of sadness was coming from. "Should I call Christina over, or...?"

"No, no, it's... I am fine." Kim replied, sucking down a gulp as she rose back up. Still shaking slightly, drying the tears from her eyes, trying to form a smile... semi-successfully.

"I just... if I am going too far, please let me know. And... if you would forgive any... transgressions, I would appreciate it. It is... unbecoming of me, to behave in such a manner."

"I already said ye were fine, Kim... Ye don't gotta worry 'bout it." What else could she say? Kim really didn't have to worry, Astin and Thorvald had helped her through the episode, both of them had apologized, why was she still like this? If it was some past trauma with her abilities, wasn't that what the Psychiatrist was for? Avery still didn't get it, but she tried to smile back.

"Yes... you're right. Thank you, Avery." Kim replied, her smile finally returning in proper... what an embarrassing episode... it would seem she still had a ways to go, yet.

"Ah, but I... it seems I took your time for something rather silly... if you did not recall. Have you... made any progress, on the Artemis?"

"Nope, no progress. Tried talkin' t'my dad, he wouldn't cough up answers, tried hackin' inta it, wouldn't lemme all th'way in. Tried t'disable it, couldn't. Seems set in th' system, no matter what I tried... So, just... Iffin ye think y'can handle it, maybe with Christina helpin' ya, go ahead an' use it, but... I'd get her in it an' test it 'fore hand. Last thing we need's you collapsin' in battle cuz y'pressed a button that y'shouldn't've."

"I see... I wonder why he wouldn't... tell you. At every turn... this machine seems to have more secrets... how strange." Kim pondered... anything to take her mind off of her earlier slip up.

"I will... test it when the chance comes... today was a long day, I would rather not... stir her."

"I'm not gonna front, I ain't real comfy with y'pilotin' it without knowing exactly what's goin' on with th'systems, but that's life, innit? We ain't got time t'sit down an' analyze all that stuff... Jus' keep safe with it... Don't wanna stir her, huh?"

Avery smiled wide, narrowing her eyes. "Where she sleepin'?"

"Yes... sadly, I do not think that I would be of much use piloting a Mk.II... at the current stage of the war. Despite the danger... we must do what needs to be done." Kim replied, Avery's sudden shift in tone blindsiding her somewhat... she had a small amount of advance notice, but not enough to brace to the point of avoiding a light blush.

"In her own... quarters, as you might expect." Kim replied, narrowing her own eyes in response to Avery.

"Hmmmm... Okay~" That blush was all the tell Avery needed though, turning back towards her console and setting up another test to run on this nefarious program. "How far?"

"Nowhere near... as far as you. Christina has a lot of... baggage. Progress is slow, but it is coming... I hope to be able to allow her to be... happy, again." Kim replied with a gentle chuckle. If there was one thing about Avery, it was that her rather abrupt bluntness was rather refreshing.

"That ain't an answer~ But I'll leave it there... It's good that she ain't runnin', means yer doin' somethin' right, I s'pose. Just hope Chris don't eat you alive. Girl seems trouble... She gettin' along with Christina?"

"It's answer enough, surely. I was... concerned about Chris, but she and Christina seem to be getting along... better than expected. She still seems... to adamantly hate me, but if having her around will make Christina happy... I will deal with it." Kim replied with a sigh, leaning back into her chair.

"Is there anything... you would like me to do, to help with testing?"

"Hmm..." Avery put a moment of thought into that, coming up with a bit of something. "Well she's a clone, ain't she? Means she might have Christina's memories too, yeah? Might be thinkin' 'bout somethin' that Christina ain't. Might be makin' her think less o' ya cuz of it. Talk to her?"

It was an idea, Avery shrugging her way towards the Artemis. "Other'n give me a better name, miss mixed myths, I ain't sure there's much ye can do right now without messin' ye up. So take it easy fer now. We got some time off, an' all that."

"Hmm... perhaps." Kim began, stopping when Avery hit on that particular point... dear oh dear, this coming up again?

"I... like the name, despite that. Besides, with that ARES system... it fits now."

"I suppose~ Now, skedaddle, I'm gonna be runnin' tests all night. Go make sure Chrissy ain't gettin' too cold~"

"Well... she'll have to call me, if she is. We're not quite... that far yet." Kim replied with a smirk, standing up and moving towards the door.

"And Avery...? Thanks."

"Ye're welcome an' all... But, ye sure? I ain't sayin' y'gotta do anythin' to 'er, but... Well, ye'd be surprised what good a warm body does in times like these. Don't be 'fraid to push things along, jus' a bit." Only advice she could give with this. Christina was a pretty sensitive person, wasn't she?

"Mmm... perhaps. I will think on it... thank you again, Avery."

"See ya, Kim. Take care o' yerself."

Edited April 13, 2018 by Ether

[TheRoon]

Ohh my did things get heavy fast. She didn't expect the sellsgirl to be a fellow soldier, and it seemed like she was in an awkward spot. "Hm...that right?" She responded while listening to her story. Man was the army really that desperate to go to hiring people off the streets? Really made her thankful for her academy training. It also spoke volumes about how eager they were to give new machines to as many trained soldiers as possible. Really hit Aliza. "Well I'm not that much more experienced than you to be honest. I was trained in the academy yeah but I didn't see real combat until very recently, and I froze when someone I knew...blew up." She paused for a sigh. "I mean I think I've gotten better at it but...aah..." She shook it off a bit. "Sorry, didn't mean to spill out a sob story like that. But I guess it really does go to show how much they appreciate trained soldiers."

Edited April 14, 2018 by TheRoon

[Phoenix]

With Bennet and Tambre out with most of the crew for the day, Megumi had to deal with any patient issues that came up, including Ms. Barnes. She'd been asleep before but now she was up and about ... musing about an unsettling matter by Nikolai's tank. The doctor made her way over from her desk, her thoughts on the battle and who had been where and when. The minor details didn't seem to matter all that much. Two pilots were badly injured during that incident, permanently so. It was too easy to think in terms of what ifs or in Jezebel's case, 'trades.' In Megumi's experience though, negligence was at the heart of most disasters like these. Once that was accounted for, all that was left was the luck of the draw ... or some force indistinguishable from it.

"That isn't a bit of survivor's guilt I'm hearing, is it?" Megumi asked, closing the distance between them, "To be honest, Nikolai won't be piloting anymore. In your example we actually only have one broken pilot." No point in sugarcoating it, she decided. "I'm going to treat both of you, but that's the situation."

---

What exactly? Tonya wasn't sure how to answer that one, initially. After a second of deliberation, she shrugged. "Nothing recently. We were just catching up on the old workout routine. What I drilled into him in the past though was how to fight. On top of being one of the Alkaev company's test pilots I was also an instructor for the more gifted pilots." It was hard to think of her days training Brant without also thinking of his older brother, Rex, whom she also trained at the same time. She still wanted to beat some sense into him, but he was off doing whatever it was he did in the EU. Being stuck over here with the ANF was a little frustrating when she thought of how much trouble he was probably getting up to ...

[scorri]

Astin suddenly became very interested in the sand at all the compliments, but was able to recover as the talk of teams came up. "O-oh, yeah, I mean, that'd be fine. It's not like we need to be on the same side all the time. Right? But... yeah, that's a good group. And if Christina gets the other two... Brant, Chris, Christina, you, me, Makoto, Tarquin, Elaine, the janitor, and Tonya... That's 5v5. So uhm... split the TKs into two sides, and then... I don't know. What do you think would be good teams?" It didn't really matter, did it? It wasn't like this was going to be some intense competition. It was just a fun time.

[Dandragon]

"Really? You taught him to fight... And how to be a pilot." Well, that explained a couple things. Okay, more than a couple. It explained a lot, actually. "You must of been a pretty good teacher, considering how well he does." Elaine said, admitting how good of a pilot Brant was...And subtly admitting to herself how worse she was by comparison. How worse she was in comparison to a good chunk of the pilots on the Riese. Kim, Brant, even Tarquin, she could barely compare at times to them, and she honestly blamed how she had been thrown out of the Academy so soon...which was her fault. Rather than dwell on how her inexperience was her own fault, however, she instead thought of how she could try and learn, how she could become a better pilot in the face of so many pros. ...And then her eyes drifted to Tonya. "Hey...You ever think about letting some other people into that workout routine? Or, like, I dunno...Teaching some folks on the Riese?"

[Nanami Touko]

The Drive Back

"I might just put the seat down and lay across you for the drive back. You sounds pretty comfy, on a long drive like that. As long as having my head on your legs isn't going to cause any distractions..." Movie popcorn it was. It had such a great taste, but always felt terrible later... The worst and best of junk foods. Hmm. "As for your name... What would you think about taking mine, instead?" Cheryl wanted to see his reaction to something like that. "I know it's unheard of, but whatever... And doesn't Sasha Hart sound nice? Much better than Pasternak... No offense."

Setup The Teams

"Maybe... S'pose it's what everyone wants when they all get over here. Y'really want us on th'same team, though? 'Fraid I'll spike circles round ya?" They did have a fairly large group now, looks like the blondes had done great work in getting people up for playing a game.

Chris ran ahead of everyone, spinning around on the sand and surveying the players. "Avery, Astin, Elaine, Brant, Christina, Bill, Tonya, Tarquin, Makoto... And me. Wow, ten? Guess people really are up for a game today." Well, no point in sorting teams, not yet, at least in her mind. "Christina! Toss me the ball!"

Lagging a bit behind with Tarquin and Makoto, Christina didn't expect the shout, flinching a bit, before realizing it was Chris. "R-Right! One sec... Heave... Ho!" A fairly sad looking overhead toss, but the ball did make it, Chris catching it with no effort expended, trying not to laugh at her sister's amazing lack of technique.

"A-Alright... How many of you guys know how to play volleyball?" She tried to get her voice loud enough for all of them to hear, hoping that some had the idea of the game down. "If I need to run through the rules once, I will... And if people need to toss this around for a bit to get the feel for where to hit it, that's fine, too. Any stretching or otherwise... We can decide teams once everyone's ready." She had an idea in her mind, but it would require splitting Brant and Tonya up... And that probably wouldn't sit great with either of them, having already been roped into this against their will. She shrugged it off.

"Gonna work on stretches, myself... Let's see... Makoto, catch!" Throwing the ball back Christina's way, with more better aim and a lot more force, she hoped the poor guy was paying attention. Him and Tarquin, they seemed like they'd need the most practice.

[Xinnidy]

A Tough Request

Roxanna had gone this far and caught Firmia's attention, as well as the android's. "I see. Good, Well..." Now wasn't time to start having second thoughts, Roxanna held her breath for a moment. "Firmia, it's true you've been trying to get your own company off the ground, right? From the deals you've struck with high command, the resources and ship you have... I didn't get to think on it during the Riese, but I wanted to know... if you're still searching for investors." Maybe it was a bit sudden, or a bit too late. "As of earlier this week, I'm the sole heir of the Minister of Finance, Martison's money. If you've been following the news, he was shot down by an Apotheosis attack while flying over Canada's border with the United States. Now... I have a lot in my shoulders." Perhaps it was thanks to what Apotheosis had done to her, but as much as Roxanna tried to think of ways to invest and keep her family inheritance safe, her thoughts came back to the war efforts.

"Right now, there's nothing I want more than Apotheosis going down, but Admiral Alphonse, my uncle, doesn't see me eye to eye... That's when I thought of contacting you." Roxanna tried to hide a wince, as she mentioned her uncle. It was a troublesome relationship, and at this rate it would only further harm the ANF, but it couldn't be helped. "I know the ANF is already helping you, but I have my own offers." At the very least, there was real estate in Canada on her family name that could be repurposed, if it came down to it...

Sad Customers

"Ah, I'm sure real combat must be a mess... once during a scouting mission we caught unidentified fighter planes in the radar. I could feel my blood freeze." Caroline tried to offer some comfort, but she couldn't speak anything about the death of an acquaintance. "It... really sucks. When it comes down to it, I don't want war, to fight or kill, yet Apotheosis is threatening to kill us no matter what, so I hope I'm keeping people safe, if only a little. I wouldn't know what to do in real combat, especially if my squad was getting shot down... but..." In the end, it seemed that negativity had rubbed off on Caroline, who bit her lip and cut the talk short. "Yeah, we're definitely counting on you guys. I'm just support." She tried to offer Aliza a comforting smile in return.

"Well, uh, I'm sorry I had you relive that moment, Aliza. I really don't want to let a customer leave on a sour note, so, uh..." Caroline shot a hand at her pouch, quickly grabbing a small, square-ish item from inside. "Here. I'll add a brownie, on the house. I'm sure you'll like it, I make those myself!" At least it was something?

Think Fast

Hoo, it seemed like they were up against some tough competition. So many of the TKs! Could Makoto even stand a chance? "Well, looks like we got our work cut out for us, Tarquin." He wasn't a volleyball pro by any means either, but certainly he could do well enough to be on par? Certainly it couldn't be worse than his simulation training struggles against Chris. Speaking of... "Wait, what?" She asked him to just catch, right? Why did she throw it with so much force?! Makoto jumped to cover the ground, grabbing the ball like a desperate goalie and crashing on the sand himself. "Oof! That was mean." Really, he could've used some more warning... he picked himself up, slowly, trying to play off the silly maneuver. "Well, so I guess we can practice now, Tarquin. Want to get a feel for your throws?" That'd help a bunch, probably.