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

[Balcerzak]

That Kim had a great sense of humor. Abigail couldn't help but smile and laugh. She seemed mildly interested in the game too, but also a bit cautiously curious as well. Not much to it then, but shrug and explain.

"Can't say I put all that much thought into things. Just, well, maybe it's strong first impression, but you seemed a bit the rough and tumble type, from how you handled Elaine in the meeting room. So unlike some, you didn't seem like you'd shy away from a challenge. And... being honest. I haven't got on the best with everyone; maybe you've gathered. I mean, take Doyle for example. While she did apologize and all recently, surprising as it was... I don't know that she'd really even entertain the idea if I sprung it on her. I've got, um, maybe you, Aliza, Jess..." Abby paused and thought some more. "Megumi's back at the ship still, and hmm... Christina possibly? But can you picture her chickenfighting?" She'd left out any mention of Nikolai, both for obvious reasons and because, well, it was Nikolai.

If it had been a few days ago, Brant might have made that list too, he'd been friendly enough, but... with things as they were currently... Ha. Fat chance. The Russian coming to mind, Abigail gave a quick look around. Looked almost like some of the girls were playing tug of war with him. That popular with the ladies, huh? And yet he was stubborn enough not to give up when he was this far behind. Well... that was his choice. As long as he wasn't denigrating what she and Jess had going, or actively making himself an unwanted pest, she figured she could tolerate him okay. But why invite the potential for trouble while there were still other options available?

"If you're not game, that's cool too," Abby turned back to the lieutenant and shrugged. "It's not something that really has to happen, just a sudden whim I had." Jess looked to be thoroughly melted into her beach chair, having taken the relaxation option again, like with the hot tub at the pool party. She had leaned up and taken notice at their arrival, and attempted to dismissively wave off Abigail's compliments. A foolish move, that.

"Oh, I'd just been trying to recruit Kim into a little bit of water festivities, but she didn't want to leave you in the lurch, so here we are. And as far as your suit goes? Yeah, sure, it's the same one as last time, but I don't remember complimenting you on it then, do you? Might've been because I was a little distracted by someone's tattoo," Abby was sporting a wicked grin as she explained herself. "But that's only so much excuse. Figured I better set the record straight this time. You look good in that, alright? Don't fight it!"

 

---

 

The vendor had apparently been intrigued--whether by Thorvald's generosity, or by the potential for more customers in the direction he and Aliza were headed--following along behind them. He nodded along as she mused that the whole group was part of the armed forces, "Earth Navy," he corrected, "Not Army." Then all at once, gears clicked, and she called out in surprise, a starstruck expression coming to her face. Being the subject of hero worship was an entirely new thing for the older pilot, and not something he'd ever really chased after. It felt... almost ticklish. "Yup, that's us. I'm Thorvald. And sure, pull up a chair and watch if you want," he beamed back at her. "It's free real estate. Maybe if someone tires out, you could even sub in!"

Avery was on board with their arrival, but not entirely forthcoming with much else. Maybe she hadn't been the organizer? Eh, didn't matter that much to Thorvald in the end. As far as teams went, it seemed everyone sort of knew what they were supposed to be--aside from himself and Aliza--but at this point it seemed to be simplest to just add one on to each of the sides rather than reshuffle everything. So with an infectious grin, he hustled across the sand over to the engineer. That would end up leaving Aliza on the opposing team, but there was no reason she couldn't chitchat before they started up proper. Seems she'd made friends with Avery and Astin at some point, so shooing her off to join the folk on the other side of the net would be just rude. Thorvald had missed entirely the other Legionary pilot pulling out or putting back her notebook, there'd been just too many other things of interest to keep up with.

Things had seemed to be going well, with everyone smoothly falling into the sociable atmosphere, a few of the members warming up and getting their game face on. But then Brant and the clone had a bomb to drop. They were bailing out. "So, what does this mean for teams then?" He reached up and stroked his beard. "We still good and balanced, or do you need me to swap sides?" It really depended if the departing two had been on opposite teams to begin with, or the same one--and which one it had been, in that case.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

"I suppose that's... fair enough." Kim replied... was Abigail unaware that she was a telekinetic? It was certainly possible, with how little time the ex-rebel had spent on the ship so far. She hadn't exactly been hiding her abilities, but perhaps Abigail hadn't noticed... also, looking over in the direction of the volleyball court, it appeared that her options truly were few and far between, whether she knew or not. The only people she could see outright who weren't playing were Brant and Chris, and Brant seemed to be having a mental storm of his own... jerking her head at Abigail, who also appeared to be growing upset just looking at the man... well, that option was out.

"Although... looking at everyone at the volleyball court... unless Jessica wants... to play, I think we might be out of luck... regardless."

[Xinnidy]

Just a Bystander

"Me? Oh no, no. I'm not that good, I just want to watch, if you guys don't mind." Thorvald's offering was quickly deflected. Perhaps the girl was intimidated by their overwhelming pressure? Or maybe voleyball just wasn't her thing. "Thank you, though... I'm sure I'll be seeing something great no matter what." And there went that trust in the crew. Quickly two of the members asked to drop it, which left the girl a bit disappointed, but nothing actually serious. "G-good luck with your game..." Pulling up a chair, as suggested, Caroline was still intent in watching the game some.

[scorri]

"Bwuh?" Astin jumped as Avery again distracted them with a kiss. "S-sorry. Thought I recognized someone from my Academy days. Don't think so though. Must just have one of those faces, ha." Glancing around, it seemed like their party had grown yet again, and now they even had a spectator. "Well, if Chris and Brant aren't playing, but Thorvald and Aliza are, it should be fine, right? No need to change teams around too much unless someone wants to for whatever reason." It wasn't like this was going to be super competitive or anything, especially with Brant and Chris out. Just a nice fun and relaxing game. That wasn't too much to ask, right? A fun game to take their mind off of everything...

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

Val stirred, realizing that Olivia hadn't returned yet. Maybe she'd gotten lost or something? Standing up with a stretch, she glanced around. Not immediately spotting her, she set off, determined to find her and make her enjoy the day. "Maybe she's in the locker room still?" Either way, it was a good first place to check.

[Nanami Touko]

Pride

"Oh, stuff your pride. If you end up crying I just get to hold you more~ Sounds like a win to me." Butter on popcorn was so extra, but he wasn't by any means out of shape, he'd probably work it off later. As for herself... Well... The gym was probably too difficult to get back into just like that, even with quitting smoking, so she'd be going with just salt. It was movie popcorn, it always tasted pretty good, either way.

"You wanna go get out tickets, then? I'll grab the popcorn... And your butter, heh." Letting go of his arm, it was time to play roulette with how much he liked.

Working Together

If that was how Roxanna saw things, and she was willing to come aboard, then... "With all of that said, I think it would be fair to add you to the list of Firmia's intended financiers. Ones that are willing are better than ones we have to convince... Not that I have any doubt we would be able to succeed in convincing them. Still, the best path to walk in business is the one of least resistance. We can work out the contract in a bit, Roxanna, but for now, it is good to have your support. We will not disappoint." Hannah smiled, noting a few things down in her head, saving them to upload to the Avalon later. This was definitely a worthwhile step forward.

Distance

"Look, I get it. I really do... So we'll do things this way." Pull Brant over to some of the empty beach chairs, she set him down with his back facing Jess, sitting herself on the one across from him, crossing her legs and folding her arms. "There. Problem somewhat solved... Now you don't have to catch her, and you can try to focus on other things. You aren't feeling her from here unless you really try, so you don't have to worry about that either. And, Brant? It's not pathetic. Please don't go down that road..." Her gaze looked over at Christina for just a moment, before she shook her head.

"I get how you feel, so rest assured that I'll do my best to help you through things. Let's get your mind off of it, then... Can you tell me much about using our TK nonsense for weapons? I know my limits when it comes to handling funnels, but I'm not super great at the specifics of control. It's probably because Christina has no memories or experience with this stuff... Since hers' work a lot differently. How do you get your control? ... This isn't something I should be asking Firmia, is it?" Taking her own time to get comfortable, Chris shifted to laying down, resting her hands behind her head and staring at the fake sky. She knew it was fake, but there was no way to tell with how good the simulation was. Impressive.

"And if you're not up for talking TK... What did Tonya put you through? You almost look like a car hit you."

Looking Good

"Er... Uhm, o-okay." Jess' face formed into a bit of a silly smile, she hadn't expected Abby to be so... Genuine. No innuendo, no overbearing compliment, it was... Nice. The comment before it less so, but she'd expected that this time. Maybe she could get laser surgery after all this and have it removed, or, something... Wouldn't that leave a mark anyway? I've no idea how far this sort of stuff has come.

Sliding legs off the seat and standing up, Jess hopped in front of the other two, adjusting her sunhat some. "So, water stuff? Like what? Volleyball?" Jess looked around until she spotted the gathering, surprised she hadn't noticed them before. And... That was Brant, right? Sitting out of things, with... That was probably Chris. She couldn't tell without asking, they were identical at a distance, but the body language of both blondes in sight was pretty evident which was which. It's good that he has someone he can talk to.

"Well," she started, turning her head back around, "if we can't find anyone else, I'm sure we can still figure out something to do. I should probably try to spend time with a few other people, captain and all, but this is a good start. Maybe you can grab Christina, if we can't find anyone else?" For some reason, she couldn't see the blonde playing volleyball... Then again, Jess didn't know the teams situation, so it might be disrupting things to remove her.

Team Count

"Yeah, seems 'bout right... And hello there~ Why yes we are the Riese crew. How 'bout that? Y'already got a fan, Astin. Prolly ain't got a clue who I am, stuck in th'grease pit th'whole time, heh~" Despite that, Avery seemed pretty pleased to have someone looking up to her work, even if it was indirectly.

Christina smiled a bit as well. "I'm glad to see we're having an impact. So, teams... Uh... Me, Avery, Astin, Tonya, Tarquin, Makoto, Bill, Thorvald, A... Aliza? And Elaine. That's ten... So we should be good! Uh... Me, Avery, Astin, Makoto, and Bill... Against Tonya, Thorvald, Aliza, Tarquin and Elaine? Does that sound alright to everyone?" That seemed to fit the general skill level of everyone involved... Probably.

I'm Back

"Hey, Val! Sorry for that." Olivia came jogging back over, fiddling just a bit with her phone. "Had to take care of something, but I'm all free now... What do you wanna get up to? We've got a whole beach." She seemed a lot less flustered over Val's outfit, now. A calm smile and a much paler face. Not gonna catch me off guard twice.

Edited April 25, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Dandragon]

Under many other circumstances, Elaine might have wanted to switch to the other team, but compared to whatever Brant was dealing with that was making him look so unenthusiastic, her issues with Tarquin were insignificant. If he could grin and bear whatever was getting him down, then Elaine could play a game of volleyball with someone she disagreed with. 

“Seems good to me. I don’t have any objections.” Elaine was already feeling warmed up from her slight stretching session earlier, and was eager to start the game soon. It would be good exercise that could make up for the times she hadn’t hit the gym for the past few days. Need to get back on that schedule. Gotta get the heart pumping again. From a good workout, not from any of the other bullshit.

Edited April 25, 2018 by Dandragon

[Phoenix]

"Yeah, I'll take care of the tickets," Sasha nodded, "Don't forget the extra napkins," he added teasingly as they parted.

... and so it turned out that this Disney movie was called 'Medusa.' That put all sorts of thoughts in Sasha's head. What was this movie going to be like? Neither the promo poster nor the title card behind the clerk indicated a comedy. It might be one of the darker ones, probably not on par with the true classics from the twentieth century, but maybe somewhere in that neighborhood? Now the theater was quietly laughing at him triumphantly or ... something. Sasha's mental image of the 'mischievous theater' was starting to become lost on him, too. He paid for their tickets and then took a closer look at the promo poster. "... hmm, well someone's definitely getting turned to stone, I'll wager that much," he chuckled. With that, he made his way over to the theater's snack bar to catch up with Cheryl.

---

Firmia definitely would have been forced to pour all her energy into her mobile suits if not for the processor suites. They would only take up a single room aboard the Avalon, but they were almost as important as the ship itself. Hannah had a point that they should probably handle the finer details later, once they weren't on this little vacation and could address any lingering concerns. The introverted Alkaev was glad that her friend was saying 'we' the way she was, asserting herself as a member of the company. Firmia hoped Hannah wouldn't be too shy about doing that sort of thing, and thankfully she wasn't. At least until Firmia was comfortable and fully acclimated to the business world, she wanted that kind of help in steering conversations and earning trust.

Roxanna was curious about what else the Alkaev was planning on working on, though. Maybe it would help ease the pressure she was under if she knew a little more going in? It wasn't even a secret at this point that Firmia's drone program was chief among her projects. If Apotheosis didn't know about it, then the mole problem wasn't even half as bad as she feared ... that or Jessica really wasn't one of them. Thinking back on her program, Firmia supposed it was essentially the company's flagship. And for good reason.

"I think you're going to love our drone program," Firmia beamed with enthusiasm as she imagined her drones hard at work. The mental scenes she was putting together were a little too fantastic at the moment, but someday ... "I thought of it for the war but it goes far beyond that: Search and rescue, conservation, prospecting, machine repair, recon and surveillance, personal transports, mobile turrets, cargo loading, security like you said, probes, cartographers, decoys groups, countermeasure systems, remote terminals, and so on. There are a lot of different markets we can hit with them within and without the military." They just had to get that pesky drive system working along with Golden Eyes. Those were the keys, both to the program itself, and to humiliating any knockoffs that popped up down the line.

"As for the post-war market ..." Firmia paused, going over two of her three mental lists. The second of the three, the rejected list, wasn't worth going over. After all, those were ideas she concluded on her own had risks or long term problems that outweighed the potential benefits. That left her personally approved list, with ideas she was going to work on but refine as necessary, and her pending list, which were ideas she couldn't bring herself to commit to without running them by a few people, first. "We may just have to hold an official meeting on that when there's time. There are a lot of options and I'm open to suggestions either way."

---

Chris brought him over to the beach chairs. Thankfully there were plenty of them, so they weren't too close to Jessica or even Firmia and Hannah. With the latter two, Brant ran the risk of drawing their attention away from whatever they were doing with Roxanna. Firmia and the Riese's second in command seemed to be on good terms, so interrupting their discussion wasn't something Brant wanted to risk. Firmia needed all the allies she could get. Being faced completely away from Jessica was a little weird at first. In its own way it left Brant needing to make a more conscious effort not to think about her. Chris assured him the way he was feeling wasn't pathetic, but it was a hard sell. He could just imagine the sort of reactions that would come if the whole ship knew what was going on. Maybe there was a better way to describe it, but ... yes, pathetic just felt spot on when he said it. Just because he had feelings didn't mean they were right, or even that they mattered in the grand scope of things.

Don't go down that road, she said? It must have been more bad memories. Brant followed Chris' glance toward the volleyball court, then focused back on her in silence. He couldn't inquire about Christina without winding up right back at square one. Fortunately, Chris broke the silence, aiming for a subject that had absolutely nothing to do with Jessica. It was just far enough to left field, and just relevant enough to get Brant really pondering the question and not just slapping down a quick premise. It might take some actual thought to explain. While he was mulling that over, Chris asked about Tonya and their workout routine. This one wouldn't take much thought to explain at all.

"Heh," Brant rubbed the side of his head, recalling how much worse the soreness had been before he downed those painkillers. "Normally it's just 'enhanced' training, but apparently I've been letting my form slip. A lot ... so, she fixed that. It's a fun thought, doing reps with a woman on your back or riding your shoulders ... but actually doing that, all the while keeping that perfect form? I'm hurting in places that don't even exist," he explained, grinning in pain and embarrassment.

Brant thought he should segue back to the TK issue at some point, as well. Firmia could explain just about anything better than he could, but there was no stopping Chris from getting more details out of the Alkaev later. Right now they were trying to keep him from ruining this outing for everyone. Chris wouldn't have put it that way, but it was just as accurate in his view. At least it was working? That fire inside him was dying down by the second, and Brant wasn't even intoxicated this time ...

[Nanami Touko]

Popped

"Right, one medium, one large, extra butter on the large. Two drinks, we'll fill them ourselves, yes. Thank you~" The food would take another minute, Cheryl turning around to see Sasha with the tickets. "So it's Medusa, right? Think someone's getting stoned?" The obvious reference was hard to miss, but it was Disney, so maybe they'd put a different spin on things... Or they'd both end up crying for real.

Perfect Body

"Really? Tonya doesn't look like she weighs more than one fifty... You must be out of shape, or she's hiding an extra thirty pounds of muscle somewhere." Chris scoffed some, a confident smirk on her face. "I should get her to put me through the same to show you how easy that sort of stuff is. Hell, I bet I could do a proper routine with your weight on me. Then again, I guess I was made perfect, and it's easy to keep things up when you're already at your peak~ It's almost cheating." When left alone to talk, as long as Chris wasn't pulled towards how she was feeling, she could let her emotions drive themselves... And her physical capabilities were a thing of great pride. Even if they'd been given to her, they were still hers, and letting them go to waste would be an insult to having them at all.

"Well, we'll see if I can't get you a bit more fired up. You could use a rival that isn't your Goddess... I'll be on your new ship soon, anyway. Firmia hired me." More like 'got pushed into taking her', but the results didn't change. "The ANF doesn't want me fighting for security reasons... Which I guess, I understand. Firmia seemed alright with it, though... I'm sure Christina will be fine. I... Should probably trust that Kim more. Bad memories, but they aren't even mine, and she hasn't done anything to get me to worry about their situation." Before continuing on about their relationship, and perhaps steering Brant back into murky waters, Chris swerved back onto another conversation.

"Where am I staying, anyway? Do you know anything about her new boat? Guess it'll probably have enough rooms... Wonder if it even has a gym. If it doesn't, we definitely have to get her to install one... Oh, right, the TK thing?" That was a lot to lay on him, huh...

[Shin]

Tarquin's time for observation had finished, Makoto had decided that it was time for him to give it a try for himself. He looked up at Bill, the janitor giving him a thumbs up. There wasn't much on the line, but Tarquin was motivated to try his best. It was hard for him to get into the mindset of being an ordinary person, could he pretend that everything was OK... even just for one day. He wasn't given any longer to contemplate his situation, the ball was already in the air. Bill had let the ball reach its peak before he jumped, his hand motion fluid yet powerful. It wasn't something he would be able to replicate, it would be an exercise solely for him to get a feel of it all. 

Gathering his bearing, Tarquin pushed off from the ground, his palm connecting with the ball as it began its descent. He wasn't entirely sure how hard he needed to hit it, his approach was to apply as much force as possible. Making an audible slap against the ball veered off to the side somewhat, the strike far less precise or powerful than Bill's. The ball bounced against the sand, Tarquin felt his hand sting slightly as he watched the ball slowly roll to a halt. His training and genetics likely contributed a lot to his performance, but at the end of the day, he was still a fourteen year old with no experience with the game. There was still a subtle sense of satisfaction with it all, it was like when he first started kicking a soccer ball about.

"Not too shabby for an ankle-biter. If you can work on the aim and your stance, you might hit a few corkers." Bill commended, clapping his hands together. Tarquin wasn't particularly thrilled with the teams, but Bill had no issues in the slightest. "Sound ace to me. Might play setter to start with, give the tykes a chance to get used to the game."

[Phoenix]

A quiet chuckle escaped Sasha as he took a spot beside Cheryl. "Oh yeah, there's going to be at least one ... probably dozens," Sasha mused, "Every time Medusa shows up in something there's a whole area filled with people she's taken down. You know, it'd be nice to see more material where she's still got the stone gaze but isn't the antagonist or part of a plot device." This might actually be one such movie, given the title. Medusa had something very close to her classical look, and that was making it a bit difficult for Sasha to judge. She wasn't ugly though, so ... "Come on, Disney, don't let me down. Make an evil twin if you have to. Hell, use Stheno and Euryale, even."

---

There she went again, underestimating Tonya ... though Brant could understand why. It was one thing to hear about something and another to see or even experience it firsthand. He hadn't been keeping on top of his old routines since joining the ANF. Brant had been too distracted by ... things. So in truth he was slowly getting out of shape. It didn't really matter, though. Tonya always pushed him to whatever his limits happened to be whenever they had one of those special workouts. If he could endure twice as much, they would have gone twice as hard or twice as long until he was sprawled out on the gym floor. Tonya probably wouldn't mind doing the same to Chris once she was healed up; just because Tonya was playing passenger half the time didn't mean she wasn't doing her own routine ...

And Chris apparently felt she could handle the weight of someone heavier than her if she went through the same routine, Brant's specifically. She was even offering to be his rival. That was interesting, and pretty fitting for her. "Anything to stay close, right?" he teased, though the accompanying smile had just barely made it over the receding flames. It could have been much stronger. "Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind bringing you in on it, especially if you're going to be working on the new ship." Sasha's days of mild routines were nearly over, too. Brant knew it was only a matter of time before Tonya dragged him into this. "... sorry to say, though ... I don't know anything about the ship. I only caught a glance of it when we left the Riese. Best guess is we're all getting our own rooms. We probably have priority over anyone else coming aboard." It was a little sad in Brant's view that he knew next to nothing about the ship considering he would be holed up in there for ... the foreseeable future. There was just no way Firmia wouldn't take advantage of the situation now that she could and outright ban him from setting foot on the Riese, again.

Quickly, Brant turned his eyes back on Chris, before his mind had time to drag him back down to that dark place in his heart. He took a second to look her over once. Chris really was in a very good place physically. Her muscles were on display, but she didn't look like she was on steroids or starved for food and validation. Like Tonya, her breasts absolutely refused to yield, even as much of the rest of her body's fat stores gave way for a more ideal ratio. Whether she was facing toward or away from him, her thighs were as charming as ever and her wavy locks looked longer than Apotheosis' future. While she didn't remind him of Christina all that much due to her personality and mild Kim aversion, in terms of pure aesthetics, a good way to describe her was 'Christina Perfected.' Almost on reflex, he gave her a double thumbs up. "Overdue, but ... today's been rough." He still needed something better than that. Best to act as if she hadn't earned anything higher, yet ...

"But yeah. The TK thing ... as far as I know the only suit with a T-Link we've got right now is the Regalia, so ...?" So where did that leave Chris, exactly? She would probably be starting off as Brant's own copilot, wouldn't she? He'd need one if Firmia was going to be commanding her ship directly. Trying that from the Regalia just ... just wouldn't work very well. "I guess if you wind up as my copilot you'll have to get used to the Regalia's funnels and that annoying transceiver signal."

Edited April 29, 2018 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"Well... Abby called it... chicken fighting. Something about teams of two in the water, trying to knock the other off. I don't think... I should be the one to explain though." Kim replied, looking over at the volleyball gathering again. Even Christina seemed to be playing, though Kim herself wasn't so sure she was the type who would enjoy what Abby was going for anyway.

"It seems like... they've recruited just about everyone already, though." Kim noted, before pivoting back to Jessica and Abigail. It seemed the Captain was having a bit of embarrassment over her tattoo.

"I wouldn't worry too much... about your tattoo, Captain. It's nothing too... severe, and it adds character~ At least it's not one of those... insert here tattoos, or something like that. I'm sure you can live with a little... bit of attention drawn to your butt by it." The Lieutenant added with a snicker.

Edited April 27, 2018 by Ether

[TheRoon]

Well the teams were set up while Aliza was busy finishing one last note in her book. She quickly stuffed it away and took a nod at taking in the names of her current teammates. Well Thorvald seemed like a cool enough guy, and she knew Elaine. So she was good with the team set up. She simply nodded in agreement with a smile. Speaking of which. "Great!" She shuffled her way toward Elaine and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder and a confident chuckle. "Looks like we're team mates. Good, glad to have someone I know sticking with me." She shot off a grin. "Played before?"

[Dandragon]

Elaine wasn’t able to catch Aliza messing with her notebook, but she did see her coming over to greet her with the same, big old smile that Aliza always wore. 

“Hey there.” She said in response to the shoulder pat. A rather physical approach, but it was between friends, so that made it okay. Right? “Yeah, I’ve played a couple times, before. It’s been a while, but I think I can spike a few onto their side. They won’t know what hit ‘em.” Elaine returned Aliza’s confident chuckle and grin. It had been plenty of years since playing, but it was like riding a bike! The motions never leave the body. At least, that’s what she thought. What could possibly go wrong?

Edited April 27, 2018 by Dandragon

[Xinnidy]

A Confident Start

"Wow... nice job, Tarquin!" Makoto was rather thrilled by how his friend quickly took to the sport, he'd be outperforming Makoto in a moment for sure. "It's a good thing you can jump well... I'm sure we're going to do great now." There was the matter of the teams, though. As Christina voiced her preliminary placements, it seemed like Tarquin and Makoto were being separated after all --natural, but he couldn't feel like the enemy team... was a bit stacked. Tarquin isn't even going to be that bad there... On the other hand, Makoto wasn't sure if he was going to be his team's weak lin-- Gah! Have you no faith in Christina? She was one of the first to gather interest, she had to know her way around a volleyball!

"Y-yes, I'm good to go!" He saluted quickly, before walk after the ball --Tarquin managed to send it quite a distance.

Future Prospects

Hannah being amiable and emphatic was one thing Roxanna would take time getting used to, for sure. The XO certainly appreciated the reassurance, but having it come out from a machine was surreal. "Thank you, Hannah. I will depend on you, you can count on that." It was still nice to have a safety net like this one... maybe she could get used to this. I should start thinking for myself... this is my future now, no more uncle or father. Maybe she'd lose it all... but at least she'd only be dragging herself under.

"A drone program, is it?" Roxanna would ask how good a program Firmia was talking, but it would be moot. The little entrepreneur was definitely confident, and the concept was flexible as it were. They'd make a profit even in a restricted post-war market, provided enough companies survived Apotheosis' wave of conquest. "I'm certain it will keep the company up during the war, at least. There will be a lot the ANF will need help with that drones could make quick work of... I'm assuming you're not talking about the classic, small and frail variety, from the areas you pointed out." It wasn't an over-saturated market either way, which put some of Roxanna's anxiety to rest.

"Well, you have a point. It's a bit too... distracting, here. I suppose it's good for the pilots." In retrospect, Roxanna could probably do with some easing up... when did she become this way, so frail and weary, so contemplative? Her father's demise certainly did a number on her. "I'm afraid my field of expertise is a bit narrow, but I'll try to gather my own suggestions before that reunion. Thank you, Firmia." It was a refreshing promise... perhaps not all was dread at the end of the tunnel, Roxanna even took the moment to ease up and take a seat. The chairs weren't there just to be stared at. "...You could certainly do with another company name, though. Unless people start thinking you're a branch." Firmia probably knew that already, but still.

Unsung Heroes

"H-hi there!" Caroline waved a hand back to the cheery mechanic almost immediately. "Ah, I'm sure everybody on the Riese is something else! To think you guys have a winning streak against Apotheosis... let, let everyone know we're all very grateful for you guys. The coast war here has just been... tense." Maybe that was a bit gloomy, Caroline sighed. It was time to let these people have their fun, and enjoy her popsicle.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

Other Evils

"Why can't we just hope for them all to be good? Too many stories about evil medusas that take pleasure in turning people to stone. Besides, it's Disney. They're supposed to be for kids and adults... Can't have a terrible snake monster in something like that, can they?" And there was the popcorn... "Guess it's time to settle in for a few hours. We'll have to see if it's all worthwhile, when we get out. At least getting away from the office is already doing me good... And getting off that ship. Suddenly feel so very normal~"

Eyefuls

Chris glanced over at Brant's thumbs up, scoffing, letting him finish his piece. A few things to think about in that, but mostly... "Anything to keep you from going crazy. Don't know whether it's you getting to stare, or just having someone to talk to, but you're already calming down. Guess it was worth it." He still didn't feel great, but it was better than raging inferno. Where to start, then... "That's unfortunate that you don't know anything about the ship. It looked pretty tiny, I got a glimpse when we were being ushered onto that bus, but with a starting crew as small as Firmia's, I don't think being small will causing any problems. Probably be more cozy, if anything, having everyone so close together. Hmmm..."

Copilot was certainly a thought, though... Did he need one? Well, if she was taking over TK for him, it certainly wouldn't hurt, as long as having someone else in the machine wasn't going to cause him problems, or make him play too defensive. "How many funnels did the Regalia have? If it's less than eight, you don't need to worry, even if they're larger than standard bit size. Like I said, my control could use some work, but I know how many I can handle. No big deal there... Not going to get in the way of you flying, I hope." She didn't really know his stance on the whole copilot situation, but given his relationship with Firmia, he'd probably listen anyway... Or be forced into listening.

Chris snickered suddenly, and gave Brant a thumbs up back, closing her eyes and settling into the chair just a bit more. "Well, long as you're comfortable, I guess this is fine... Not a big fan of being stared at, but it's just you, right? Nothing for me to worry about~"

Chicken Fight

"R-Really? Heh, you sure we should be doing something like that? You're not gonna go for the suits, are you, Abby?" It was a move Jess could see her pulling in perhaps the more private setting of the ship, but maybe not here on the beach. Still, it was something to ask about. Better to get it out of the way before they-- "K-Kim?"

Jess flailed her hands immediately, shaking her head. "No! No, no no, nothing like that, ever. Yikes. That's... Not a good look. For anyone." Jess couldn't imagine anyone intentionally getting something like that... Or why they'd want to. "Yikes..." She hook her head one more time, looking around, trying to get back on topic. "S-So, who's number four? We can't play chicken with three people."

Game Set

Christina clapped her hands, everyone seemed entirely ready, even Makoto and Tarquin had gotten a moment to try hitting the ball. "Alright! Let's go get ourselves setup, then. If everyone's fine with Bill starting us off, then he can!" The ball was over there, anyway. With somewhat of a smile, she hopped over to the court, setting herself on one side. Hopefully everyone would follow suit, and this would get started without a hitch.

"Ain't nothin' t'worry 'bout, miss. Just glad t'help. C'mon, Astin, let's kick some butt~" Avery shrugged off the mildly depressing statement and started dragging Astin off to the side Christina'd wandered off to.

Edited May 1, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

"Sounds like optimism," Sasha noted, his eyebrows leaping up at the thought of a cast of friendly gorgons. "Dangerous thinking," he smirked, "but alright. Let's hope. Either going to be pleasantly surprised or ... not at all."

With the popcorn acquired, it was time to track down some suitable seats. Sasha had a strong preference for the front three rows in particular, mainly because the fewer people there were in front of him, the easier it was to pay attention to what was happening onscreen. Depending on how empty the theater was though, he wouldn't mind a few heads in front of him. Stupendously bright phone displays, though ... ugh. That was what got him into his first three rows comfort zone to begin with. Some people wouldn't know courtesy if it ran ahead and opened the door for them, which it so often did.

Sasha was glad Cheryl was enjoying herself and this golden opportunity all the same. They would have to get creative going forward. "I still can't believe how much time you spend in there. And without me around, too." This poor woman. "This may be our last chance to get off the ship, too-" 'Ships,' Sasha quietly and irritably reminded himself, "Guess we're milking it."

---

Firmia nodded her head assuredly. The combat drones wouldn't be viable if they were easy to take out. "We're making sure they're tough enough to fight lighter mobile suits and smart enough to win with large numbers or other kinds of support." Definitely no classic drones, useful as those would theoretically be in overwhelming numbers. "They will be small for now ... a bit smaller than the Phalanx, but I'm going to be compensating for that with enhanced mobility, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Anyway, I'll think on the company name," Firmia smiled almost sheepishly, "and you can come up with those suggestions for later."

---

Brant shrugged weakly. "Probably a bit of everything. I want you to feel happy when you're around me, not worried. That's reason enough to try and rein this all in, isn't it?" Either way, Chris had enough on her own plate to deal with.

Would a smaller ship really be cozy, Brant wondered? People would be bumping into each other more often at the very least, but in Brant's case, that wouldn't have been a good thing, necessarily. The Riese was absolutely gigantic, and that was starting to feel like a blessing ... strangely enough. A smaller ship with Firmia in command sounded more like a fancy cage with a big hangar attached at the aft. Plus, as much as Brant wanted to talk to her, the mere thought of Jessica made him feel awful. For an extrovert like him, that was like torture. There wasn't much hope of saying what he needed to say to her until he got those feelings sorted out. Maybe it was more than just the physical distance, after all.

Thankfully, Chris rescued him again, about half a second into his downward spiral. His brain couldn't focus on two things at once, so instead of his former captain, his mind reached for an image of the Regalia. "Just six funnels, though there are transceivers in the shield and the hyper beam rifle too for some reason," Brant explained, "I think Firmia's also going to convert the grappling hook into a wired funnel for ... her shenanigans. I guess if you're going to be my copilot then they'd be our shenanigans, now."

Six was Brant's current limit, but he never really felt comfortable with more than two, mainly because he learned how to control funnels using his own arms as proxies. Getting beyond that number hadn't been as challenging as one might think, but Brant was at his best with two, and knew a trick or two for handling more 'accurately' if the need arose. If Chris could handle eight of them, then having her use four at a time while Brant used two would hopefully allow for some efficiency during a multi directional attack. Chris didn't seem sure she wouldn't be a burden, though. This was in stark contrast to how she felt when it came to contests of strength and endurance, funnily enough. Then again ... it might have been something else. "When I started out, I preferred to pilot by myself. I make a mistake and I'm the only one that has to pay for it, directly. It felt right, but ... I'm over it. Besides, if you're going to fight Apotheosis you need weapons, and the Regalia has them."

Brant didn't see his own gesture coming, and it took him a second to process it, so he just sat there staring blankly for a moment as Chris settled in. Apparently she didn't mind being stared at so much since it was just him. But of course; he was a professional ogler now, not some amateur with no training or credentials ... Brant started laughing at the thought, though he quickly came up with a more likely reason. "You mean since I won't make a move or anything like that, right?"

Edited May 4, 2018 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Company Name

"We could always just call ourselves Camelot, to keep with the theme. Too on the nose?" Hannah was keeping mostly quiet to let Firmia be the boss of her own company's decisions. It was nice to see her taking command, even with a mostly casual business partner. She'd handled the ANF top brass, and now she was handling Roxanna very well. Growing so much, so quickly~

Making Moves

"Reining all that in for me? I'm flattered... I don't think you'll make any moves, but even if you did, I'd have no reason to stop you. Go ahead, Brant. Ruin your plans and get over things in one fell swoop~" Chris stretched just a bit, chuckling to herself, thinking about the Regalia. Since it was setup to have a copilot, apparently, how tight was the cockpit? It probably had plenty of room for both pilots... Hopefully the seats were good too. Piloting did mean sitting in a high pressure situation... "Hmm... Six funnels..." She could make them all move without issue, of course, it was her aim that suffered when she got higher in numbers. Maybe they'll make something like missile funnels or, something... Then I can just crash them into enemies and they can explode. Way easier than aiming.

Rolling onto her side to give Brant a once over, she put a hand on her chin and puzzled for a moment. "You think the weapons and shield have transceivers so we can move them around and fire them manually? I mean... I've never tried to hold up a full sized weapon, nothing beyond the size of a funnel, so it'd be something to test, but if we could manage that, it'd be a pretty ridiculous defense, don't you think? Someone comes up behind us ready to swing and the rifle suddenly flips around and blasts them away... That's horror movie shit, dude. I'd hate to go up against someone like that. A complete defense... Is totally unfair. Oh, God, don't tell Firmia, she'd definitely set up some simulations with an enemy like that. A hyperion that could do that..." She shivered, shaking her head. "Forget I said anything. Just keep it between us, maybe we can make it work and surprise her."

 

[Balcerzak]

Kim was worried Jess wouldn't want in, and what they'd do then... which was a good point. Abigail gave a look over the landscape, and the already slim options got even slimmer, given how the rest of the crew seemed to have split off. "Well, we'll cross that bridge if and when we need to. Worst case, I try to ambush someone not from the Riese and rope them in for a round or two. Seems like there are at least a few other feddies here enjoying a holiday too."

Then there was the matter of correcting the captain's misunderstanding. The lieutenant had chimed in and nipped that in the bud, making it clear they weren't here recruiting for the volleyballers, but left the bulk of the explanation waiting for the person whose idea it had been in the first place. Only fair.

"Yeah, chicken fighting. It's like, two teams each make a mini totem pole in chest deep water, putting on on the other's shoulders. Goal is to knock the opponent's upper member into the drink. The tops are the ones that do most of the fighting, with the bases having their hands full just trying to keep their passenger secure, as well as not stumbling with their footing and capsizing the whole pile in a big splash," Abby nodded as she went along, a few helpful gestures to illustrate the point.

When she was accused of maybe playing dirty, and going for a strip, though, she laughed and defended herself. "Oh heavens no. It's more than enough dealing with your one unwelcome suitor that won't take 'no' for an answer without showing everyone else what they're missing out on and inviting more. Your suit is safe from me. And it just wouldn't be right putting my hands on the lieutenant that way either, so please," Abigail waved her hand dismissively. "Everything fair and square on my end. Don't you worry."

Then the matter of the final member surfaced. "Oh, yeah, I already nabbed one before I came looking for more. Ensign Cavel... Kendall... Calvin?" She frowned as she couldn't quite remember the man's name, then moved to just describe him in a way nobody should miss the mark. "Over-serious chap, who looked like he needed some serious loosening up. Had been musing about doing laps. At the beach, can you imaging that? All work and no play is not the way to be." Crossing her arms in front of her and nodding her head, she finished. "I made him agree to be my partner already, so it'll be up to you two to decide how you want to go. I'm on top, for my team, if that helps you to decide."

---

Thorvald nodded at the distribution of teams, as Christina rattled them off. One of the other may have had a slight edge, but it was hard to say without knowing more than he did. And it was all in good fun anyway, so it wasn't like it needed to be tournament matchups or anything. People were already warming up, and it wouldn't do to keep them waiting any longer. He hustled on over with Aliza to the other side of the net, where Elaine and the others were waiting. Raising a hand in a friendly wave, he piped up with a bit of a rouser. "Alright, let's show them we're here to have a good time."

[Shin]

Christina had decided to get the game rolling, with both sides gathering at their respective halves of the court. It almost seemed like an intention choice to place Tarquin with the people he wasn't particularly fond of. Thorvald had treated him like a child, although admittedly it was well intended. Tonya had left a bad impression with whole Hannah incident and Elaine went without saying. The fact that an unknown stranger was the one he had the best relationship with was rather telling. Elaine's bragging didn't fill him with confidence - her habit of overselling herself meant should could be anywhere between passable and disastrously bad. Although the game was entirely for recreation, the company he had was going to limit how much fun he could have. He watched as Makoto went to fetch the ball, wondering if Makoto felt as out of place on his own team.

"Despite the intention for recreation, my objective is to use this game as a learning exercise." Tarquin replied, his eyes focused on Bill and Christina. They were likely to be the ones with the most technical ability, so they would be the logical choice to learn from.

-

Bill readied himself on his side of the court, it was funny to think that he was playing a game with people who were practically saving the world. Whilst he couldn't fly a giant robot or defeat armies of terrorists, he could definitely knock a ball around on the sand. "I don't mind getting the ball rolling, get a good rhythm going whilst people find their groove." he replied, waiting for Makoto to return with the ball. It didn't matter if it were battle or a game, getting along with the people around you was important everywhere. "Nobody can be too miffed if everyone's had a good crack at it."

[Ether]

""I've seen them... before. Certainly grabs attention." Kim replied, giggling a bit at the Captain's flustered reaction, before Abigail explained the game again, assured Jessica she wouldn't employ and strip tactics... and even noted that they already had a fourth, should the Captain choose to join in. Ensign Calvin, huh? Well, he seemed fit enough, he was military personnel, after all.

"Well, I suppose it's up to you, Jessica."

[TheRoon]

After quickly setting her bag aside and discarding her now unzipped sweat shirt right next to it the Italian pilot hustled on the scene with Thorvald. She took some preliminary stretches with her arms while she formed a wide grin across her cute face. "Good. Cuz I'm a little bit of a competitive person. I'm not a sore loser but victory just tastes better, ya know?" With a wink to Elaine she turned to Thorvald, swapping arms up. "Hope you feel the same. Just sounds more fun when everyone's putting their best foot forward." After another few seconds to wait for a response she lowered her arms and reached for her toes. Then after she was satisfied she rose back up with a huff. "Alright, ready over here!" She called out.

[Dandragon]

"Competitive? I never thought you were the type." She said, watching Aliza stretch and warm-up. "But yeah, I feel ya. Nobody likes to lose." The wink, however, caught Elaine off guard, slightly. She blinked, unsure how to respond. Eventually, she shook it off, instead smiling as Aliza announced that she was ready and waiting for the game to start. If nothing else, the constant energy that Aliza had brought her spirits up, tremendously. Even just being around her was enough to brighten up the day that Brant's downer attitude had nearly ruined. "Yeah, I'm ready, too. Let's have some fun."

[Xinnidy]

Ready, Set!

A short moment later, Makoto was back with the ball, his dash had toned down to a casual walk back. The boy felt pretty relaxed, feeling he had just enough time to practice before things got rough. That wasn't going to be the case, though. "O-oh, we're starting already, huh?" Oops, he'd have to get rid of his rust on the fly, but that was fine. "Well, let's get started, then. My bad!" He tried to put his usual optimistic smile to excuse his goof. Not that people were waiting for long, he didn't think.

"Alrighty... No issues with who starts with the ball, right?" Just to make sure he didn't miss some important ruling... "If you're all ready, I'll serve!"

 

Caroline seemed quite content with her observer spot, simply giving Aliza's team a well-meaning thumb's up. It seemed she had favorites.

Beach Business

"Oh wow, a bit smaller than a Phalanx?" Yeah, that certainly wasn't standard drone size, as far as Roxanna knew. That was rather ambitious, but then again, this was an Alkaev. "I'm really curious as to how you're going to get them that maneuverable... but we can talk about that later." They were just mentioning how this was an inappropriate time for business talk. It'd be annoying to continue pestering her with questions. "But yes, I do see how that can be useful..." Depending on how efficient they were, Firmia could hit some untapped markets quite easily. Roxanna would certainly keep the suggestions coming as the project came along, she could do that much.

"That definitely sounds on the nose." Camelot. My, and who would be the knights of the round table, the stockholders? Roxanna almost snickered at how hammy it made the whole company sound, suppressing with a smirk at Hannah that probably came out more condescending than Roxanna hoped. "You won't need any pretentious names after Apotheosis took the trophy home, either. Just make it your own thing."

[Phoenix]

Apotheosis definitely took the trophy on pretentious names; that term really shouldn't have such a negative connotation, but here they were, these arrogant revolutionaries claiming deification or something akin to it. Camelot probably wouldn't work for the actual company name, even though Firmia had wanted to use said name somewhere. Thankfully Avalon was a perfect fit for the ship ... and at least one apple tree was getting put in there just for good measure. The name fit, but what to call the company itself? That would require some more consideration. Maybe some light reading, too.

Make it her own thing ... "I'll figure something out," Firmia nodded, her brain having already set aside some energy for it. The rest of her attention was on the here and now, and what she should do now that they were more or less finished speaking with Roxanna. Relaxing all day just felt ... weird. Maybe some music? She ... hadn't brought any headphones with her to the beach.

... she didn't own any headphones.

---

Brant was sure that taking advantage of the situation wouldn't help him get over Jessica, though it would almost certainly ruin his attempt to win her back and make him feel even worse about himself. That wasn't worth thinking about though. Absolutely none of it was worth thinking about right now, so instead he tried to focus on the Regalia and the arrangement coming together there.

As far as the TK transceivers were concerned, they definitely had the potential to help control the hyper beam rifle and the shield, though neither the rifle nor the shield had a propulsion system. Using them exactly like funnels was likely out of the question, but just having them fire when prompted via the T-Link? That was a much more realistic prospect, and probably a part of the initial design concept. Really, they just had to make sure the interface was set up, properly. The Regalia had been combat ready when it was shipped out, but not all of its weapons were set up for use with the T-Link; all that was in place right now were the transceivers for relaying commands and outputting that feedback signal.

"I think it could work," Brant nodded in amusement, "but I don't think we'll have it figured out before Firmia catches on. They need some minor upgrades, first. The rifle's just a beamstick-" see 'boomstick'-"right now and the Regalia's flight mode needs the shield to work." As long as they didn't need to be in flight mode for some reason, using the shield to defend the suit in all directions--and possibly as an independent missile turret--was definitely something to look into. "I guess that's why my callsign is Merlin. Everything the Regalia's designed to do, from flying to throwing around funnels, it all looks pretty 'magical.'"

[Nanami Touko]

Calvin!?

"Tristan? Seriously? I... Well that does sound like him, at least." Jess took a quick sweep of the beach and there he was, standing around like there was nothing wrong. "Oh my God I can't believe he actually agreed. What the heck? That's... That's so odd. I thought he'd just be back out there doing laps but there he is, waiting... Oh." Jess scoffed, shaking her head. "He's probably just waiting until we get back. Doesn't want to be rude and leave you hanging for an answer." But, a chicken fight, huh... "Hmm... Well, if he actually does agree, then sure, why not? Something fun to do. But, Kim, you're on top. I have a hard enough time keeping my balance when I'm standing normally, doing it on someone else's shoulders? That sounds near impossible. The water should help me stay a bit more stable too, less room to take sudden missteps." People moved slower through water, after all.

"Think you can take Abby?"

Play Ball!

"Alright, then! Makoto, serve us up!" It looks like everyone was finally ready. If Makoto was up to serve, then that was that. It was a friendly game after all, no point fussing over which team started. Hopefully Tarquin got the general gist of things, though. He was so small, too... Would this work out? No point thinking about it now. Christina shrugged and got into place. Hopefully the first few returns didn't come right at her...

Figuring it Out

"Well... Let me know when you have more ideas, Firmia. I am happy to discuss whatever you need discussed with you." Hannah looked about the beach, things seemed to be getting fairly lively with the crew. She'd have to sit out of any games like that, while she could put limiters on her physical strength, she still weighed upwards of three hundred pounds. Any trips of stumbles in the sand could injure the other pilots, and with threats looming so close, it was simply a bad idea.

"Hee... It's nice to see everyone like this, though. Nice to see that they can be... Normal. Despite everything they're going through."

"Yes, quite exciting, isn't it?" A voice spoke up from behind them, a woman with teal-green hair coming up beside Hannah... In a wheelchair. "I wonder how they find it in themselves to relax like that. Isn't Apotheosis on the ANF's doorstep? I'd be shaking with anxiety if I was a part of the army... You wouldn't happen to be Firmia Alkaev, would you?" The woman looked past Hannah, offering a smile, and a one eyed greeting. An eyepatch wasn't exactly standard in this day and age, most people would opt for a cybernetic replacement.

"You can call me Ms. Park. I couldn't help eavesdropping on your conversation a moment ago, hearing all about your lovely little business. Would you mind telling me more about it?"

Watching

"Hey there little vendor. Mind if I stand by and watch with you?" A rather tall woman with sriking violet hair strode up beside Caroline, arms folded, smiling at the game. "I kind of wanted to play, but the teams looked even at a glance. Couldn't really step in and make them odd again, so I'll have to watch for now. Unless you're feeling up to joining me?"

Magic Man

"Well, I'd say you're pretty magical too. Maybe it's mixed in with this whole TK nonsense? Fits you and the machine. Hmm..." Callsigns... "What's my callsign gonna be, flyboy? Got any good ideas in mind? I'm sure you've got a creative bone in there somewhere." Chris stuck her tongue out for a second, glancing over towards Jess... Seemed like she'd gotten some little gathering going, not that it was clear what they were going to do. And over with Firmia... Huh, a wheelchair? Well that was unfortunate, for whoever that was. Not being able to enjoy the beach was certainly terrible.

"I'm not good at the creativity stuff... Which is weird, since Christina's a musician, you'd think I'd retain some of that. But, I can play what she plays, can't come up with stuff. I guess this cloning stuff really is faulty, heh."

Edited June 1, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa