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


Nanami Touko
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The elevator door dinged quietly, and Astin stepped out, glancing around. Making their way down the hallway, they hummed a song quietly until they reached the entrance to the brig. A small frown, a hesitation, and then in they went. Approaching the cell where Esther lay, they stared at her for a long second before pressing the button for the intercom. "So why did she really leave you here?"

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

Val flopped down onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling with a sad frown on her face. She was still in her swimsuit, mostly because she was too lazy to take it off. But she'd gone to so much effort to try and look nice and then Olivia had disappeared for half the time and then Apotheosis had shown up and ruined everything. And as soon as they had gotten back, Olivia had rushed off to go to the infirmary for some reason. They had the day off, their only patients were stable and comfortable, what could be so interesting about the infirmary that it needed dealt with right then?

Sighing, she rolled over onto her stomach, and grabbed her newly fixed communicator from the side table. Typing out a quick message and sending it, she rolled back over staring at the ceiling again. Frustrating, the whole day!

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Oliviaaaa, when do you think you'll be done with stuff up there? I'm just bored and lonely down here... I wish our time hadn't gotten ruined.

 

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"Breathe, Hannah," Brant teased. Not a bad way to remind her that she wasn't just a machine. Truth be told, he was excited, too. With everything going on lately, he hadn't been focusing on either his AIs or Gaertner's. Given his likely duties on the Avalon besides piloting the Regalia, that was likely to change, soon. As for whether or not Hannah's sisters held the same potential she did, Brant wasn't sure. Without knowing her maker's intentions, only time and careful observation would tell. That or a quick and intrusive inspection of their inner workings ...

"Let's catch up with Tonya, then," Firmia shrugged. Her excitement was there, but tempered by the brutally tight schedule taking shape in her mind. There wasn't a whole lot of wiggle room for introductions, and even an introductory meeting with the crew was out of the question right now, since they were already hard at work.

The trip to the bridge was short, but Tonya still arrived ahead of them, some excitement of her own building up. She 'held the door' by proximity until the group caught up when she noticed them, and then headed past the androids to the ship controls. She gave a cursory wave to the duo as the passed.

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Time to Help

"Take notes. Right, yes. That's simple." As it turned out, accepting anything from Jessica was still awkward, but forcing a neutral face, Roxanna made it through with being... compliant. That weird part of her that urged some fight out of pride had dropped to her stomach, rather than her whole being, "And after that, the prisoner and the pilots... do you intend to do something about Nikolai? The Umbra's former pilot. After that accident, we might as well dismiss him, but I'm not sure he has any family we can leave him. In fact, scanning his background was troublesome..." Maybe it'd be best to keep him there, what an unfortunate boy...

Was there something else she was forgetting...? "Ah, right. I remember my uncle saying something. There was a Major that wanted to talk to us, I think?"

Time for Visitors

A voice. Esther slowly rose herself up to look at her visitor, already frowning before she set her eyes on who it was. "Go ask her yourself. It doesn't make any sense to me either. I didn't want to be here." She only roused up enough to sit on her bed, boredom being a major part of her day. For a moment, Esther paused, looking at Astin with an almost anguished expression, before a tick, small wince on her cheek, looking down once more. "I wanted to be out there, fighting. I know I'm capable. Now I'm going to be stuck here for who knows how long. I just want the captain to show up so I can beg for a doctor. I'm probably screwed either way." She pointed to her own head. "You can't stop a Cyber's treatment. It's gonna start ringing hell real soon."

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Elaine felt her heart sink, who was this stranger? Could they tell that Elaine was there for some support too? She'd barely even met them and the girl probably thought she was crazy - just like all of the others. "Uh... yeah, I... sure." Elaine replied awkwardly, a strange relief spreading across her as Cheryl came to her rescue. "Yeah, I'll let you know after... thanks."

It took another small burst of motivation, but Elaine forced herself into Cheryl's office - a room that would expose all her vulnerabilities and insecurities. She sat herself down on the couch, her eyes wandering around the office as she mustered the courage to speak. At least she knew that Cheryl wasn't going to share her secrets with anyone, the rest of the crew disliked her enough as it is without more dirt to spread. Elaine let out a sigh, lying herself back casually. Where to even begin? Her feeling out of place, feeling sub-par... the events with Louise. Perhaps that could wait for another session, talking to Brant about it had been hard enough.

"There's been a lot goin' on in my head... I don't really know how to say it, but I feel like I'm the odd one out in the crew." she admitted, as much as it pained her to do so. "No matter how I try, I always seem to piss people off or get in their bad books. First there was that little test tube shit, then the Captain... Kim wrestled me to the ground as soon as I punched the filthy goblin kid... the list just keeps gettin' bigger. I've got like one real friend in the whole crew, maybe two tops. It's like everyone looks down on me, like I'm gonna go make a mistake or cause trouble. Like with my robot, I had a great plan to get it out and everyone else just wanted to trash it. I might not have the best track record but I get work done. I'm always gettin' the blame for stuff I didn't do wrong, you know what I mean?"

She could feel her own heart pounding, adrenaline flowing through her veins. She'd bottled everything up for so long, it was good to finally have someone listen to it all.

-

Acceptance? It was a feeling that Talia had seldom felt in the past, but people that seemed to tolerate being around her were springing into existence. Even Mr Eriksson had been relatively friendly to her, now that she could think about it calmly. Would people actually like her even if she was a failure? Makoto and Christina didn't know about her abysmal track record, her lonely and painful existence, perhaps it was best that they didn't for the time being. It was like one of her high school anime, she was the new girl on campus being accepted by a small group of people who could go on to become her best friends. Admittedly it was on a battleship with giant fighting robots, but that was like an anime too, right?

"Oh, hello... that's right, I'm Talia, I'm Tarquin's... sister." she replied, giving another one of her nervous smiles. "Hopefully Makoto will be able to teach us a little bit. I've only ever piloted for real twice. I did the basic ANF training program, but it was more than five years ago."

Maybe now with the right support she could actually improve? She was definitely nervous about even a training session, but without legions of scientists analysing her every move, there was far less pressure on her to be perfect. Perfection was something she'd spent her entire life chasing, perhaps there was something between it and utter failure?

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Forward Course

"Right... I guess so. Just, I really want to do more." It wasn't enough if people were getting shot down still. Who would be next, Makoto himself? Well, perhaps that was too pessimistic. I did promise mother I would stay safe. I don't plan to break that, at all. Even if Apotheosis had locked his father in the tightest security chamber, Makoto would have to step up to the challenge, but enough of that. No point worrying about the future that you forget the present, and the present had pretty set goals: to practice and get better than he was yesterday! "Alright, three is a party! I can help with what I know, but just as a heads up: I'm not that great with military terms, so if I sound too vague, feel free to ask me to clear it up." Some maneuvers and concepts didn't have very intuitive names, for the boy. As soon as the two felt comfortable, Makoto led the way to the simulators.

"Right, before we hop in, I should ask what it is you're trying to focus first..." Training was always better if you had focus, after all. Talia implied she wasn't that confident in her piloting skills, rusty and all, so... "Right now I'm trying to get myself to do more things at once, without losing control. It's pretty complicated... but some target practice, or dodging practice is fine too. I still haven't quite aced these." He admitted, with a bit of a chuckle.

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Luckily for Thorvald, he'd finished studying what he needed of the battlemap Commander Vance had drawn up before the man packed up his board with the formal adjournment of the meeting. Another salute, and a few words, "Thank you for the opportunity the Odin presents, Sir. I won't let you down," then he was off to the Riese's hangar bay.

Lieutenant Kim had beaten him to the punch, slightly, as when he arrived he found the Asian had already pulled aside the pink-haired mechanic for few words. Hearing 'Artemis' as he approached, it made the reason only more obvious than it already was, but a pilot having a healthy interest in their machine was perfectly natural.

"Minnie, Bubbles," Thorvald clapped a friendly hand on each of the women's shoulders. "I don't much like to interrupt, but I'm sure you'll forgive me a little for this one." With an infectious smile on his face he turned to the mechanic specifically, and asked, "HQ have you in the dark about these beasts as well, or were you hoping to see the look of surprise on my face that badly?"

 


 

Somehow Abigail had made it through the rest of the meeting without any actual outburst. There'd been that bit of a start at the mention of the killer robots, which had caused Tarquin to shoot her a look somehow managing to seem both snooty and disinterested at the same time. A right judgemental piece of work, that boy was. And then there'd been a bit of snort--painful, given the state of her nose, an instinctive reaction that was truly a mistake--when Alphonse had laid out the obvious 'not everyone sees eye-to-eye on the ANFs treatment of the colonies'. But those two matters aside, Abby'd smashed that meeting flawlessly.

It wasn't quite time to celebrate just yet though. Things were still too busy to turn in just yet. Plus, she really ought stop in to the infirmary and get things looked at. No point suffering needlessly, after all. It'd give her a chance to speak with, or at least at, Nikolai too. Seemed like every previous time she'd gotten it in mind to pay him a visit something else had come up.

Knocking on the jamb of the medbay door as she walked in, not letting anything slow her down, Abigail called out, "Hey Megumi! Long time no see, miss me?" Of course, she was simply assuming the doctor was present, but how likely was she to be wrong?

 


 

Well that hadn't been awkward at all. Was it because her injuries made the redhead self-conscious? Maybe she shouldn't have spoken up at all. At least the therapist herself seemed welcoming enough. Nodding slightly as the pair retreated back into her office, Jess turned and made for the cafeteria, like she'd told the other girl--Elaine, if the name the doctor had spoken was anything to go by. Maybe she'd make a snack or something while she was at it?

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Astin scowled, "I did ask her, remember? She just gave some weird answer about not wanting you to become like her." They had clearly already dismissed that answer. Watching her, clearly seeming to be in pain, they crossed their arms, and shook their head. "Sure, you were plenty good when we fought you before but..." They trailed off as what she said about needing a doctor sunk in. "Wait, Cyber? Ah crap, you're a TK. And not a natural one..." What would the captain want done? More importantly, how mad would Vera be when she inevitably found out if Esther wasn't treated? Given the mole situation, that wasn't going to stay quiet if it happened. Besides... She looked so helpless in there.

"Fine, just... hold on a second." Turning, Astin left the room before picking up the pace. There was no reason not to hurry here. No matter what their feelings on Apotheosis, leaving a girl to suffer wasn't right. Skidding into the infirmary just a bit behind Abby, Astin called out, "Ah, Doctor, no one realized that the prisoner is a Cyber TK. She doesn't have her meds, and is starting to experience pain from it. I... I think she needs help."

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Commander Vance's Amazing Armor Suits

"Of course he does," Avery chuckled off, shrugging the cart away as well. If it was important, Kim would tell her. She'd been given a drive though, likely something important. I'll give 'er a look later. Standard body armor? Wait, body armor? What was Kim getting herself into? Now it was more than just something to deal with, it was moderately alarming. The only real threat they'd need armor for would be Vera... Oh, Kim...

Improving the Artemis' weapons systems is something Avery could manage. "I think I can try an' fit ye two more funnels, 'fore I run into balancin' issues. Other weapons, I can fine tune, s'about all I can do for 'er. Until we figure out what the heck that ARES system or whatever's for, yer about as good as yer gettin'... I know yer prolly worried 'bout them aliens, but we have what we have. I'll do m'best to figure it out as fast as I can--"

Thorvald showed up at a good time, right as she was about done, and should could only smile at his comment. "Just as in the dark as you. I didn't even know we had these things, and thought Vance was a goddamn nutter throwin' 'em on my step. Gettin' a look inside of 'em makes me realize where he was goin' with the designs, but they might take ya a l'il bit t'figure out, old man." If Thorvald was giving them nicknames, Avery was going to give them right back.

"You two wanna see inside? Since yer here an' all, Kim."

Three of a Kind

Hannah ended up running ahead of Firmia as soon as she saw Tonya holding the door open, smiling brightly at the two machines standing before her. They had both finished waving back at Tonya as she'd passed, turning their attention to Hannah, and smiling with a wave as well.

"[Greetings, sister. I am HAn3. You may refer to me as Stephanie, for designation purposes.]"

"[Greetings, as well. I am GAn3. You may refer to me as Jessica, for designation purposes.]"

As Hannah had expected, they seemed like she'd been, before Galatea had started to work her magic... Would she be able to work on either of them? In either case. "Hello! I'm... I'm Hannah. Just Hannah."

Both of them paused a moment, before smiling again. Stephanie spoke first, "[Your designation has been changed in our systems to just Hannah. It is good to see you, sister.]"

"[Likewise.]"

Even if they weren't as advanced as she was, they were still family... And Hannah felt a small pang in her robotic chest as they spoke to her so pleasantly. Unable to stop herself, she moved forward and pulled the both of them into a hug, receiving confused looks, before getting hugged back. "I missed you all..."

Taking Many Notes

Jess took a moment to think, biting back a sigh. No getting discouraged yet. "I think Nikolai should stay here. It's clear that he's getting some of the best treatment possible with Megumi, and while I'd rather he not pilot again, Tarquin has grown quite attached to him. I think it would hurt him to move Nikolai so soon, so not yet, at least. Maybe once things finally calm down, and Tarquin doesn't have to worry about being a soldier, we can see about sending him someplace to rest, and get properly rehabilitated." It was essentially using Nikolai, in a way, but it was necessary. Tarquin was one of their best, after all.

"The prisoner can wait until we're all settled. We'll have to talk to her, but she's not high on my list... And a major...? ... Right, the one we picked up. Jezebal Barnes, I believe... Heh. Another Jess..." She shrugged and let the moment of levity amuse her as the elevator down opened, Jess stepping inside, and waiting for Roxanna. "We'll see to her after the androids, if we can find her."

Voices In Your Head

Elaine sure was a piece of work... Where to start... Some of this was definitely her fault, but if she was so suddenly accused of that, she'd just recoil away and harden her beliefs. "Do you think we could start with your perceptions of your crew mates, Elaine? I believe some part of why they may be against you could be in there. Can you tell me why these pilots seem so against you? At least, from how you see it. I don't really know much about punching any 'filthy goblin kids', so you'll have to let me know. Was he a part of the crew?" Hopefully some information could help shed light on this, just a bit. Elaine seemed to already be getting heated.

"And take your time, Elaine. There's no rush, even if you have to sit there and think for a bit. The more clear you are about all of this, the more I can try to help you."

Same Boats

"I guess that gives us about the same level of experience, Talia. I didn't do much more than that." It seemed like Makoto was going to be taking this in a positive light, and hopefully he made for a good teacher. "Let's do our best!" Christina followed along the other two to the simulators, knowing what she was going to go for in regards to training.

"Well, actually, I brought this along." Christina held up a small flash drive, smiling somewhat sheepishly. "It's the Artemis' flight data. I was hoping to see if I had permissions to use the Artemis as a model in the machines, and try to fly it myself. Kim makes it look so simple, even when she's getting fired at. If I can't at least fly it, I should probably get replaced... She needs someone to jump in and help if she gets hurt." It sounded pretty serious, and it mostly was, Christina losing her smile a bit at the thought of Kim getting so hurt she couldn't fly.

"If I can manage that much, I don't mind using it in firing range simulations with you two. It'd probably be good shooting experience, since it's such a fast machine, even if i'm not as good a pilot as her."

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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It was clear that Avery was... less than thrilled by what she had said. There had to be some sort of misunderstanding there... having more options against Vera, or anyone else Apotheosis was keeping hidden, could only be a good thing, after all. With Thorvald arriving, giving both the Lieutenant and mechanic a clap on the shoulders, it would be fully mobile suit business from this point on.

"Hello, Thorvald. I suppose it couldn't hurt to see what these machines are... about. Super robots... was it? As for the Artemis... if you can add two more funnels, they should... greatly increase my ability to use them for disruption purposes. I also think... we should run some tests, on the ARES system. Everything moved... very fast once I was out of the infirmary... but we can't learn anything about it... unless we test it."

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Were they finally back from that meeting? Megumi wanted to tune in and listen but didn't get the chance to set things up. Today was one full of missed opportunities, it seemed. Abigail was usually busy, so when she came into the infirmary, Megumi assumed she was either paying Nikolai a visit or coming to get herself patched up. It didn't sound like the latter, and Megumi hadn't heard anything about a violent exchange between the Riese crew and Apotheosis, today. The woman could downplay quite a bit, though ...

"I miss everything, apparently," Megumi replied, playing off of Abby's words and feigning disappointment. She rose up from her desk and started toward the front of the infirmary. That was when Astin arrived and informed her about the cyber TK they had aboard. Megumi didn't have any prior experience with cyber TKs before the Riese assignment, or TKs in general. It was an excuse to go for a brief walk, though. She needed more information before she could do anything. Abigail could just come along if she wanted. "Bennet keep your channel open. I'm going to go see what the prisoner needs and I'll need you to check our inventory to save time. Abigail, you can come along if you're ... hm?"

 The doctor's feigned disappointment turned real when she noticed Abigail's injured face. A lesser woman would have needed to be carried in. Probably by Abrams. "Okay, wait. Which chapter of the book did you skip and why did you skip it? Actually skip that; what happened?" Apotheosis wouldn't have let Abigail off with a sore snout, so the doctor was positive another crew member had caught her off guard.


So, Stephanie and Jessica ... Firmia squinted hard at the second name. "... really?"

"Well, that hurt," Brant said, poking around his chest, briefly. "So ..." he glanced at Firmia, "Are you going to make her change her name or ...?"

Firmia flinched. "I- ... no! That's ... way too petty. If anything, this Jessica is bound to be far better than the one we normally have to deal with. In fact ... i-in fact, we should call her Jess Plus or 2.0 ... j-just as a nickname, not an actual change. A ... rrreminder."

Brant scowled. "2.0? You know Captain Jessica isn't an android, right?"

"This is 'Jessica,'" Firmia motioned at GAn3, "and the other one is Jess Minus ... or ... Beta. Betaware. Captain Betaware."

And argument forfeited. Firmia was clearly even more shaken up by the name drop than Brant was. She probably had a better grasp on the long term implications than even he did. Then again, she hadn't overreacted until he brought up the name change, so maybe that was what set her off ... Not wanting to look any more inconsiderate than he already did, Brant approached Hannah's sisters, hoping to recoup a little. First impressions on both sides hadn't been ruined just yet, right? "So you're Hannah's sisters? Stephanie, Jessica, It's nice to meet you both."

"And I'm Firmia Alkaev," the captain of the Avalon said, stepping closer with a heavy sigh and her head held a little low. She certainly seemed to think so.

Edited by Phoenix
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The Heion Riese had become Tarquin's new home relatively quickly, walking through its halls now felt natural and he'd learned where everything was. He couldn't quite shake the sense of isolation though. Bruno, Mateus, Nikolai... even Hannah had left him. She may have only been on another ship, but the number of friends and allies he'd lost one way or another was increasing. He was fortunate enough that Nikolai had survived, but it was a numbing experience knowing that he was but a shadow of his former self. Gone were the days of trying to make coffee, instead it was visiting him in a giant fish tank. Perhaps one day things would be better, but it seemed so far away.

His wanderings had taken him towards the cafeteria, if only to get a change of scenery. He wasn't quite expecting to see anyone else there, especially someone who he didn't recognise. A black haired woman with an eye-patch? It was hard to establish who she was, but she seemed perhaps unfamiliar with the ship. "Are you going towards the cafeteria? I was going to go there myself." Tarquin announced, giving a cautious wave. He wasn't entirely certain who he was speaking to, but he was somewhat more curious than he was usually. "I am Specialist Tarquin Herrington, may I ask who you are?"

-

Elaine paused, she'd never actually sat down to think about her crew mates. Most of her opinions had been built up from individual encounters, changing based on what had happened last between them. There was definitely evidence for how she felt though, her emotions weren't just some teenager's mood swings. It was probably easier to start with the positives, telling Cheryl why everyone hated her from the get-go would be too depressing even for her.

"Well, it's not all negative. People like Brant, Aliza and Astin are pretty OK. I can talk to the first two about stuff and I don't feel too awkward. Astin's kinda alright I guess, I mean, I don't think they like actively dislike me?" she replied, starting to doubt how much Astin actually liked her... they weren't enemies, right? She let out a nervous cough, trying to move on from the point. "Kim's pretty OK, we both speak Korean... well, mine's not super good but we can still talk. She kinda wrestled me to the ground during a meeting, it's when I punched Tarquin's filthy friend. He's the dirty Russian kid we picked up near the colonies. He was always sayin' things to make me mad... he was just spoiling for a fight."

Now came the worst pair, Tarquin and Jess. They both had it in for her, and worked together to achieve it. Whether it were scolding her directly or undermining her abilities, they both found ways to make her feel even more insecure than usual. She might not have been an upcoming young captain or a genetically engineered super soldier, but she was doing her part too. Maybe she felt out of place among the ANF's combat elite, she was just a regular young woman with an unfortunate criminal record.

"The Captain doesn't exactly like me, ever since I got mad with that little turd Tarquin. He just looked at me, I could tell he thought I was worthless... that face of his was just asking for a punching." Elaine growled, clenching her first. It made her angry even thinking about it. "No matter how hard I try or what I do, I know he's always judgin' me. I can just picture that smug face right now."

-

What she wanted to focus on was a good question, her piloting was generally sub-par - it wasn't like she had a particular weakness. It had only just occured to her that Christina was her idol's co-pilot. She must have seen firsthand how skilled Kim was, it was amazing even to  "Seung-Min's machine? I didn't see much if it, but it looked really strong... it's so cool that you help her. What's she like in battle?" Talia asked, a spark of passion igniting within her. She'd already learned most of her dance routines, trying to get a feel for her piloting style was something she could only dream of. "I need to regain my battle sense... it's been so long, it felt so stiff and awkward. I only really know the basic models and the Umbra... do you think there would be something similar in the simulator? It's kinda broken now, I'm not sure if they recorded any data."

It was sad to think, she'd flown it once and survived... but its next pilot had been taken down. Even if it was one of T-4's friends, she could help but feel bad for him - apparently he'd been badly injured. She'd been incredibly fortunate in her first mission, things could have gone far worse than her traumatic experience.

"I hope none of us get shot down... it's happened to me once. I was lucky that I didn't get hurt but-..." she began, she could feel herself welling up. It had brought back the horror of being trapped underwater, several hours with no outside contact, desperately hoping she was found before her oxygen supply ran out. She put a sleeve to her eye, wiping it and turning away quickly from the others. "I think I got something in my eye... it really stings."

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Aliza had arrived in the hanger minutes ago and could be found square in the cockpit of her own machine, the Sagittae. She had a good look at it before and was more or less astounded by the sheer height and quality of the machine. Hell before she entered she had to take a short breather to make sure it was still a reality. But it was her's to do what she willed within the rules of course, so she took her chance to get accustomed to the controls inside of the archery based super robot.

'Ok...wow this thing is advanced. Moreso than the Legionaries gotta admit. Kinda way above what I ever expected to pilot.' She took some time to type at the controls, and viewed some data popping up on screen. Most of it Aliza could indeed comprehend. ''Oh this thing can transform? Didn't think it would looking at it normally but that's pretty cool. It has daggers, a beam crossbow and...a giant bow? Well it seems to fit it's namesake.' The name was a bit modified but she could tell this thing was based off Sagittarius, which was funny because that wasn't her sign at all. Strange how things worked out. She continued to review the info from her spot, listening to some music. Until she realized that she had been staring at a screen for a good while now. It strained her eyes. With a slight groan the Italian hopped out of the cockpit to stretch a bit. "Aaah man...my brain's starting to get fried...break time." With that in mind she started to stroll forward a bit. Eyeing some other mechs as she walked along.

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Astin rolled their eyes and sighed. "Sure, get distracted by a broken nose and talking about books while there's an important prisoner slowly dying. Seems like a good plan to me. Well, I did my job. Let me know if you ever get around to fixing things so I know I don't need to worry about Vera invading our ship to get revenge or whatever." Exiting the medbay, they shook their head and headed back towards the elevators. No sense in going back and talking to Esther. She'd been too busy wanting medicine to talk and even if she wasn't, she pretty clearly didn't know anything. Waste of time... Ugh, what is Vera up to? She was getting into their head no matter what. Maybe getting some food would help distract them... If not... Well, it maybe wouldn't hurt to get some shooting practice in, as much as they hated the idea. Fencing practice would be nice for stress relief but not exactly useful for the upcoming days. Fine, I'll be responsible... Ugh.

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Held Up

"Oh... Right. I actually forgot, fuck me..." With the doctor having to head out for their new prisoners head, Olivia sighed and shrugged, keeping herself sat down. Hopefully this wouldn't be too upsetting.

["Sorry, Val. Doctor wants me stuck in the office for a bit longer. Maybe when she's less busy, she's attending to that new prisoner right now."]

"Good as I can do, for now... Sure thing doc. I'll page you if something big happens." Seemed like something was eating Abigail, too. Wasn't like her to come see Megumi out of the blue, was it?

Further Perceptions

It seemed Elaine's issues stemmed from only a few people. Tarquin, Nikolai, and Jessica. That, and her decisions on the battlefield. The rest of the crew probably didn't like the idea of capturing experimental machines, if Cheryl was understanding that situation, so they'd went ahead and disabled it before bringing it in. She still had the machine, but her frustrations came from being ignored, it seemed. Hmmm... "Is it alright if I ask you why Tarquin's judgement means so much to you? And while you're ruminating on that, think about it this way. You made it all the way here. Even if someone judges your actions, you're still a soldier, and you've still made it onto the Riese as a selected pilot. That means your achievements must be worth something in the eyes of others, even if they aren't in his." Maybe that would help her self esteem, a little bit, especially because it was rooted in fact. Not just anyone would've been put on the Riese, despite Elaine's tactical failure, she had to be useful as a pilot. Cheryl had a few more questions, but didn't want to say more until she'd answered about Tarquin. Whatever her issue was with him seemed to run very deep.

"Jessica"

"[A pleasure to meet you both, Lieutenant Brant Abrams, and Captain Firmia Alkaev. Your names have already been added to our database, but the introduction is appreciated. My sister Jessica and I are not as advanced as Hannah has become, but we will do our best to protect the ship and respond when addressed with whatever questions you may have.]" Both androids saluted in unison, before Jessica spoke up again.

"[My name appears to have caused some level of emotional distress to the both of you. Would another designation be more suitable for this assignment? If you would assign me another, I would be able to reflect it in my database immediately. At your discretion, captain.]"

Hannah wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but if that was how it was, then... "What do you think, Firmia?" It would probably be better for the both of them, and it wasn't like the name had really sunk in for Hannah. They hadn't spoken much on the colony, and just meeting now, a different name wouldn't bother her.

Auxiliary Forces

Strolling down the prison hold of the Halbathyn, Trel'vaar stopped in front of the largest cell on the line. A small monitor told him that his target was awake, and messing with one of her latest chew toys... "What simple creatures..." Shaking his head, he could at least praise their physical attributes, and the way their machines responded to their movements. When it came down to being tools of war, they were only second to the Sacarians, and only by their tech. "Quite a fright to think if these creatures had our machines on hand... Enough pondering."

Trel reached out into the cell with his mind, focusing in on the monster. "Alriana. I'm going to impart this to you, slowly. Please, follow along. We have a new mission for you. Someone else to kill. Are you willing? Please, step up to the door, and tell me." It was always frustrating, having to project himself into her mind. Such a simple creature... Had it truly not grasped English after all these years on earth? It wasn't the easiest language, but it had a certain touch to it, likely the most sophisticated creation to come out of the anglophone parts of Earth. Other languages definitely fit speech much more eloquently, but... Since their target had been north america, it had simply fallen that way.

"Should you succeed, we shall reward you greatly. More than before."

Alriana's cell was littered with a variety of objects -rewards- ranging from simple picture books to devices she didn't really understand to a queen-size bed she occasionally slept in. Nearly anything that had struck her fancy at some point over her many years of confinement was in this cell somewhere. But to her, all these things were merely a means to kill time until she was given another mission, another bout outside her glorified prison where she could rampage without angering her captors.

At the sound of a voice in her head she dropped what she was fiddling with and masked a scowl. One of the few things she could keep track of over the years was how much she hated the feeling of another's mind in her own; at least this time it was something she wanted to hear. She waited for the voice to cease before approaching the door. "Y'... I, Alriana, accept. Will kill." The words, despite their simplicity, took a great deal of effort to say. The language of her captors was so much different than her own and she knew so little of it. Aside from the most basic of sentences, there had been no attempt to teach her the language and she was in no position to teach herself. Maybe after the mission she'd ask to learn; it would certainly occupy her. And maybe, just maybe, they would stay out of her mind.

Trel'vaar simply smiled. "Good girl. Your target, this time. Her name is Jessica. Je, ssi, ca. She is the captain of the ship we are having you attack. Kill her. Understand? If you do, you can have anything you would like." Her machine would be uploaded with the targeting data for the Heion Riese either way, so she would have a target to aim for. It was so difficult dealing with assigning her a target, but her language was so... Barbaric, angry, unrefined. Trel'vaar had taken one look at is transcribed into English, and he'd nearly lost his lunch. What sort of monster spoke something so base? ... Her kind of monster, of course.

"Bloody Stygusians..." He sighed, shaking his head. "That is all, Alriana. You will be transported... Mmm, now. Please step into the pod." Inside of her room, a cylinder sprang up from the floor, Trel'vaar walking away from her room. She would be ushered inside, as per usual, if she disagreed. It took her straight to her machine, anyway. Surely she'd like to get suited up and settled into her favorite seat?

Anything she wanted as a reward? The thought was nearly enough to make Alriana forget that something unpleasant was still sharing her head. "...Yes. On ship, kill Jesicka." Between the absurd offer of a reward and having been given a target Alriana's mind was racing. What kind of target was worth such a reward? Were the defences nigh impregnable? Was the ship armed with an army of androids to smash? Would Jesicka put up a fight? Her train of thought was broken by the familiar sound of the transport pod arriving. Today there was no reason to delay. As she stepped into the pod her mind began to race again.

The ride over was the same as it had always been: boring, even with her racing mind. It's one redeeming feature was that it was what brought Alriana to her Almydis. The machine had been made for her sole use long ago, longer than she could remember, and had received upgrades over the years to keep it up to date with the newer machines. Within the past few years, it had received an upgraded camouflage system to help make her infiltrations easier; although, the one upgrade that Alriana had always wanted had never been implemented. For years she had wanted a linked tail to be installed on her mech, even attempting to use rewards for its installation, but it had yet to happen. Maybe after this mission she could finally make that happen. Part of her, however, told her that would be a waste of the reward.

The Almydis's shape resembled a Stygusian, a design decision meant to give the linked pilots as much control as possible over their machines. The legs were designed with speed in mind and equipped with powerful thrusters to support rapid movements on the battlefield, either for emergency manoeuvres or leaping. The torso was as compact as possible while still providing the space for the link system inside it and was where the majority of the armor was located, giving it a bulky sort of look even with its compact size. Besides the main camera, the head was more a vanity piece than anything else; strands of white fibers mimicked her own hair and Alriana had even requested a metal piece to represent a maw of sharp teeth. That, of all thingshad been accepted. The Almydis sported a dull white paint job that matched Alriana's own skin tone with a few linear lines of red meant to match her own. While the lines would not move like hers did, they displayed the same warning that was, unfortunately, lost on the creatures of this planet.

She suited up while she waited for the mech elevator. The suit was more armor than it was a pilot suit, a dark grey in color with dull red highlights on the edges of the armor around her torso and legs. The armor itself was made up of a combination of kevlar, mesh weave, and armored plating; enough to guard her against conventional ANF weaponry. A belt on her waist held her tools: a lunar titanium dagger, two emp grenades, and a flashbang. The extra weight provided by her suit definitely slowed her down, to her annoyance, but it was better than being dead. As she slipped her tail though it's slot the elevator arrived. No matter how many times she rode this elevator she couldn't help but feel great anticipation on the way up.

In the centre of the Almydis' cockpit was a spacious, circular, area with a singular cord hanging from the centre of the circle. This was where Alriana would pilot her machine while using the link system. Six displays on the wall showed everything from the main and sub camera feeds to the amount of ammo in her current weapon to the status of the various parts of her machine. After taking it all in all over again she initialized the start up sequence and flipped on her comms.

"Shark. Waiting orders."

The attendant in the hangar almost raised the alarm as the Almydis started to start moving, but Trel'vaar sent orders quickly enough to get him to stop. "He should really send those first... This thing moving on its own would just be trouble. Damn Stygusians..." They shook their head, pressing the hangar controls, letting the door open. The ocean outside was a dark, dark blue, night having fallen, the water gently lapping against the force shield holding it outside.

"Shark, make your way along the path indicated in your machine. Stop when you get to your first checkpoint, and await further orders. You should arrive at your target right in the midst of battle, if things line up right." One more button lifted the Almydis up a bit, ready to launch it. "Stick to your orders, Shark. Launching the Almydis." The lifted area slid across the ground, firing the Almydis off into the water. Its coordinates were locked, all Alriana had to do was follow them. First stop was in... Some place called, Canada, huh? In an area called, Alberta.

"Roger", was all the reply Alriana gave to the attendant as she plugged the hanging cord into her suit. In truth, about a fourth of what they'd said had flown right over her head and another fourth of it she wasn't one-hundred percent on. However, it didn't matter; she'd done this countless times and it was almost always the same. More often than not they would launch the Almydis and then she'd put it on autopilot or on rare occasions she'd be dropped near an ongoing battle. This appeared to be the former. 

After making landfall Alriana plugged in the coordinates provided to her and activated the autopilot. With a practised, yet still natural, movement of her tail she lifted herself about four feet into the air. Her cockpit had always lacked a seat, there wasn't any room for one, so she had learned to make her own since sitting on the floor felt beneath her. Unlike the transport pod before, Alriana enjoyed the trips in her machine; they let her see something other than the cell she was so used to. She longed to explore the planets she visited, but that had never come to pass. Perhaps after her newest target had been slain she could change that. It was anything she wanted, right?

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Thorvald laughed and shook his head. So Avery'd been kept out of the loop too, huh? Well, it was certainly a milestone breakthrough in ANF technology, it made some sense that prior to the official reveal a goodly amount of hushhush was desirable. Fair enough. Her playful dig on the other hand...

"You saying you don't think this old dog can learn some fancy new tricks? Tsk tsk, I thought I'd earned a little more faith than that," wide grin still plastered across his face, Thorvald fired back. "I'm hurt," he protested, obviously nothing of the sort. "But yeah, definitely, you wanna show off its bells and whistles, you've got an eager audience. Let's have a look!"

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"The little shit thinks he's all so high and mighty, it really pisses me off. I've worked my ass off getting here, he was basically given his skill. He wouldn't even be a pilot if he were a normal kid. The first time I met him, he looked at me funny, his face was just asking for a punchin'." Elaine grumbled, her mind trying to skirt around how petty her feelings may have been. It had always been a constant struggle for Elaine, everyone around her had an advantage. Whether it was telekinetic powers, acing tests or some science thing, Elaine was left with nothing but a criminal record. She'd always aspired to be a hero, a force of good that people could depend on... but she felt more like a sidekick to the others. Everyone else had even been made amazing robots by the ANF, she literally had to take hers back from Apotheosis. They'd all tried to trash it too, it was like fate didn't want her to have nice things. 

"It's just I feel like a spare, a B-lister... the others keep doing all these amazing things and I'm just providing back-up." Elaine admitted, biting her lip. Was she jealous of everyone else? She didn't want to admit it, but it was starting to feel that way. "It's not just him, his friend was actively insulting me. Like, why don't people just give me a chance for once? It's not like I go around giving people a hard time."

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The layout of this ship wasn't exactly complicated, but having walked back past a different row of personal rooms than the one she'd taken on the way to the shrink's office was just enough reason for Jess to pause as she reached the intersection, making sure she was where she thought she was. She was just nodding to herself, about to continue on to the cafeteria when a voice coming from her blind side, at about shoulder level or so, gave her a slight start. Halting the step she'd been about to take, she turned and looked down, to find it was a child in uniform that had called out to her.

Unsure whether to salute, or just return his lazy wave, she paused her arm midway on its journey up, before finally awkwardly settling on the wave. "Sergeant Barnes, but call me Jess. You must be one of the ones who responded to my SOS, then? Thank you, I..." probably would be dead now if you hadn't. Like the rest of my squad. It was a little too grim a thought to tell a kid. Better not. "Yes, I'd been thinking the cafeteria might be a good place to kill some time," a reasonable salvage attempt. "Shall we then?"

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It took a few moments for Tarquin to process it, but she was the one they'd recovered after Nikolai was shot down. He'd been under the impression that she was still in the medbay, but it appeared that she had recovered relatively swiftly. The loss of an eye would be troublesome for military personnel, but it was preferable to the loss of life. He recalled that Jess had been part of a squadron, and evidence suggested that they had met their end - she was the only one they had rescued. It was likely a delicate topic, one that was best avoided for an initial encounter. His expression would have to suffice for condolences.

"I see, Serge-... Jess. Likewise you may refer to me as Tarquin." he replied, returning the gesture. He was in a difficult position among the crew, he outranked many of his fellow pilots but was their junior by several years - he was never sure whether he was considered an adult or a child. "I can accompany you to the canteen, I am familiar with the locations of items you may require."

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Ah, Megumi was as playful as ever. Good, that should make things easy, and also just be a pleasant change of pace. Abigail giggled a bit at the doctor's initial reply, but then Astin swept in with a report that their latest guest needed medical attention. Sounded like they'd be taking a walk before anything else. That was fine, she'd waited this long, she could wait a little longer. Of course, Megumi noticed as soon as she approached, and had a comment or two to chip in. Whether she was trying to evoke a shame response or not, it kind of worked. Before Abby could explain, however, Astin stormed out in a huff, disparaging Megumi's priorities in a most unfair manner.

"Jesus, what stick crawled up her ass and died," Abigail scowled. Turning to leave the medbay with the doctor, she looked to the side Megumi was walking on and answered her questions, "Well, it's obvious I influenced her, but apparently one of the friends winning steps kind of... imploded." A bit of a sigh, as she had to explain herself yet again, but Abby didn't really mind that much. Her friend seemed much more concerned than judgement, which definitely helped.

"Long story short, I was surprised to learn the lieutenant was an esper, froze up a little around her, she took it bad. Her girlfriend started yelling at me in the changing room, and I pushed her away so I could leave and everyone could cool down, but maybe she slipped on the wet floor or something and she almost fell, which I guess made Kim want to punch me. She's got a good swing, and caught me not suspecting it," Abby shrugged.

 


 

"That's awful thoughtful of you, Tarquin," Jess praised him with a bit of a weak smile. If he hadn't mentioned he'd already had that destination in mind, before she'd even said anything about it herself, she might have rejected the offer, but as things stood that would be both awkward and unkind.

"I'm not sure I really need anything in there, this was just supposed to be a short trip, from one ship doctor to the other, but it seems Dr. Hart already had a visitor, so I'll just be waiting nearby till they've finished up. Your company will be nice though, and maybe I'll have something while I wait. A little snack, or a drink maybe." A flash of an idea crossed her mind. "What had you planned on? Eating... lunch?" Jess had lost track of the time, and ventured a vague guess. If he was, maybe she could help. He'd get the ingredients, she'd put them together, sort of thing?

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Onwards

Both of the girls had some rust in their own eyes. That was fine by Makoto, he could afford being a teacher, it wouldn't be that hard, would it? While he wasn't leagues ahead of them, the brief training session with Chris did make him feel smarter. He could probably apply all of the training he had done so far and explain anything else on the fly. "Right, I don't think there's data for the Umbra in there, but maybe we could tell it to modify a Velite enough to work. There's a function like that, I think." To give the players handicaps or boosts. In that case, they'd be able to find something that would match Talia's style in due time. "And Christina got the Artemis, alright." Things seemed pretty set for them. Makoto's plans to train more had turned into an interesting session with two friendly girls, but there was no time for the nerdy boy to think of that! His dad needed saving!

"I'll take a Legionary, this time. I still haven't used that machine mode, so might as well." There were some new types in the databank right now, a mark IV, the type they found at Corona Ten. "Well, let's get the system started, then. We'll get you two used to moving your bots first." That seemed like a good idea. Makoto opened the simulator's door and jumped in first, though Talia wasn't done talking, still thinking back to when she had used the Umbra, apparently... it made Makoto's memory jog a bit. Like Tarquin, she wasn't a normal person by any means. She started young, and the taste of a big failure at that point must have been traumatizing. "If anything feels bad in the simulation. Tell me and I'll pause things, alright? No need to push things if some training isn't going well." They could always adjust the pace.

Onto Assignments

Roxanna wasn't all that sure whether keeping Nikolai would be for the best, but Jessica did raise a point that it affected Tarquin a big amount. It wouldn't do to put Nikolai somewhere else if it affected Tarquin negatively. Signs of this were already apparent in the meeting, Tarquin almost seemed not all there, unusual from his usual calculative self, or so Roxanna thought. "Right..." She nodded afterwards, walking behind Jessica. In that case, we're really still using him... I wonder if he'll recover any time soon. Getting out of that SIEG tank would at least help cheer Tarquin up. Probably.

"Ah... Jezebel Barnes is a Sergeant, actually." Roxanna stepped into the elevator, "It's an HQ-based group that will be dissolved soon to funnel resources into others. It seems the Admiral wants to reassign their mech pilots shortly after. He said you could choose whether to have first dibs or not, if you feel we need the extra help." Roxanna shrugged, "It was a squad meant for support, so I don't think they're at the same level as our pilots. Your choice whether we can handle more people." It meant more resources on upkeep, as well. "But yes, we need to check up on Sergeant Barnes as well."

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Old Dog, Old Tricks

"You'll getchur funnels... Come on, you two. I'm oh so sorry, big guy. I'll watch yer fee-fees more next time, I'm sure you can pilot just as good as the youngins 'round here. 'Cept fer maybe... Oh, 'bout half of them. You seen these TKs? Fuckin' nuts how quick y'all react, makes designin' robots that can follow ya a real challenge. Ain't no regular pilot what can put yer Mk. III to proper use Kim."

Enough praising Kim, it was time to let Thorvald have some of the spotlight. Avery led them both onto a lift, that brought them closer to the ceiling than they likely were ever anticipating. The entrance to the monster was just below the neck, instead of in the chest, though it did lead into there. A small ladder went down towards a almost room-like cockpit, center chair and several command consoles at the ready. "Right... This thing's, uh. It's a mess, but in a good way. Lemme give you th'low down on what I've got figured out so far."

Avery stepped towards the console, turning the thing on, letting the insides light up. There was definitely room for a copilot to make the thing run better, though considering Thorvald's history with unorthodox machines, he would likely run it fine. The monitor showed the key features that Avery was interested in sharing, hopefully Thorvald would appreciate them. "So, it transforms. Like. I ain't gotta tell ya how rare that is in machines. Them Alkaev works were some o' the first workin' combat models t'be able ta do that. So th'fact that this 'ere can turn inta a tank, it's pretty nuts. 'Specially at this size. So that's th'first thing. Turns into a fuckin' tank, massive cannon, amazing range... But it also is a tank. This thing's got more armor'n the Riese! Find some way t'slap a shield onta this bastard without drainin' the tanks too fast, you'd be damn near invincible. Does have some good protection tho', ain't nothin' y'gotta worry 'bout 'side from beams. This baby'll deflect or absorb pretty much all physical ammo."

Avery nodded confidently, stepping over to Thorvald and patting him on the shoulder. "Make sure y'show me some new tricks, old dog. Yer gonna do so much with this."

Shot Down

"What's she like in battle? Hmm... I guess, very serious. She doesn't really play around, and she even gets angry when she gets hit. I suppose she takes the job really seriously..." It was a far cry from how she was in groups, or even in private. She really was a soldier... "I have been too, Talia. Twice, actually... I suppose it's sucked some of the fear out of it, not that I'd want to get taken out again. I have someone to try and protect, now. So I need to get better at all this. We both can!" Christina gave the girl her most winning smile, getting a bit pumped about this. Makoto had gone into the first one, so it was their turns for the others.

"Alright. Let's see if I can get this data properly loaded into the system." Christina stepped into the simulator next to Makotos and plugged in the drive... The Artemis loaded up, but there was one screen that said 'Incompatibility'. "Huh..." The simulation systems were unable to load the ARES system. It seemed they had no proper information on what it was... "I guess I can work without it." She'd have to, anyway. The system wouldn't let her try to input anything similar, it didn't seem to have anything on file. Maybe Kim really shouldn't have used it, then... Either way, the Artemis spawned in, Christina getting a good view of its cockpit... "Wow, how does she keep up with all these controls? And this thing flies, right? I can't imagine handling it is easy..." At least having it walk around was fairly normal. Christina would wait until all three of them were loaded in before trying more.

Helping Things

"Well, if I may add, I don't think punching anyone else in the face is going to help your case with the crew." Cheryl didn't want to criticize Elaine too severely, with how she was feeling, if the doctor was also suddenly against her, she'd probably close out any help for the future. "What I think you need to do Elaine is keep showing them that you're worth having around. It's only been a week on this ship, right? And I do check the battle reports. While you may not be as good a shot as Tarquin is, or perhaps not as adept as Astin with a sword, you have to understand one thing. You bring both to the table. Astin can't aim, I've looked into their pilot training. And Tarquin, skilled as he is, does not do anywhere near as well as you in close combat. Don't you see, Elaine? There's so much you can do that they can't. And that makes you a worthwhile soldier. You're good at everything." It was true, this time, there was no sugar coating. Elaine was above average in all areas, even if she didn't specialize in a single one of them. It was a rather fantastic trait to have as a soldier, the jack of all trades, master of none, style of fighting. Sure, it would make her less adept at certain things, but the coverage meant any scenario could be faced.

"What I think, is I think you need to spend more time around the people that do care. Brant, Kim, Aliza, I'm sure there are others. Spend time around the people that will treat you well, and for what you're worth. The numbers don't lie, Elaine."

HQ Add-ons

More soldiers? The Riese was large, sure, but did they need more? They'd been doing fine with what they had right now, but... Maybe it couldn't hurt. Jess was just worried that if they weren't as good as the Riese's pilots, they'd be getting themselves shot down. She didn't want anymore dead soldiers on her hands if she could help it. Maybe... "Only take a handful of them on. With those new supers, we're running low on hangar space as it is. and I don't want a bunch of fresh rookies fighting on the frontlines with us. Make sure they think this through clearly, if they sign up." That was good enough, probably. Hopefully...

Hitting the button to go down, Jess thought about this sergeant Barnes. "Wasn't she the injured one we picked up? Is she safe to pilot? I hope HQ didn't forget about her, I know she was passed out in the infirmary, but still..." Answers would come sooner or later.

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"It's nothing impressive, really. Having telekinetics in a crew has it's... own set of problems. Thorvald's leadership qualities are... far more valuable... I don't offer much... that you couldn't get swapping in a different ace in a different... prototype. It's not as though... I'm on the level of someone like Vera." Kim noted sombrely... after the incident with Abigail, it was difficult to accept praise on the chin. She knew that Avery was being genuine, but it still felt odd to hear. Someone like Thorvald, who made an effort to foster teamwork and actively increase morale, compared to her he was easily a more valuable asset than someone who could decrease morale just by existing. Maybe if she had been even comparable to someone like Vera, then she wouldn't be as... replaceable. Especially with a machine like the Odin now in Thorvald's possession, a veritable behemoth that could likely duel and defeat a battleship on it's own.

"It certainly is an impressive machine. Now you can block attacks on the rest of us like you love to do... without needing to worry about your legionary exploding."

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Megumi was too confused at first to even shrug at Astin's passive aggressive exit. How did they get this prisoner in this first place? What made them so important, and to Vera in particular? Furthermore, if the prisoner was really 'dying'--a Vera-worthy event, apparently, why leave anything to chance here? Why not treat this like an emergency if it was one and chip in? Either way Megumi needed more information. "It must be that cyborg, Vera. Still, if all I'm going to get here is, 'she's in pain,' well ... we have Advil."

That just left heading toward the brig and listening to Abigail's account. Her story wasn't far removed from Megumi's own theory, that she'd done or said something with just enough 'umf' behind it to get herself attacked. The actual attack was motivated by some physical aggression on Abigail's part, though. The situation definitely warranted a heavy sigh. There was little reason to expect a good outcome there. "I'd say be more careful going forward, but with Alkaev, Abrams, and Troy's clone all over on the Avalon, you don't have nearly as many TKs to worry about ... aside from the one we're going to see now. Lieutenant Kim and Troy will probably keep their distance for the time being. 

"... I guess we're both going to be having TK troubles, today. I don't know the first thing about this 'cyber' variety, or what kind of medicine this prisoner needs. If they can't give me a name or some key ingredients to work with, I'm going to have to find someone who knows."


First impressions hadn't been ruined, but it had been inevitable that Hannah's sisters would realize the trouble Jessica's current designation was causing. Naturally, she offered to change it. Hannah seemed to be deferring to Firmia on this, but the Alkaev clearly wasn't okay with the idea. "This is our problem; you didn't do anything wrong." She looked at Brant, almost glaring. "We're not going to be petty about this, right?"

"Right," Brant sighed.

"That settles it, then," Firmia forced a smile, "You're Jessica. The one on the Riese is Captain Betaware. You can go ahead and lock those designations in, now."

"I thought we weren't being petty ..."

"It's less confusing this way," Firmia said, literally hand waving the issue.

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Thorvald couldn't help but snicker, as Avery responded tit for tat. "Good thing too," he remarked on her comment about how well he could pilot. "'Cause if I couldn't they'd've stuck me on the mechanics team, working with you all day." A playful nudge with his elbow punctuated the jab, before the man became slightly more serious--addressing her, in his opinion, slightly misphrased praise of Seung-Min. "And pshh, don't be like that. Kim's special because she's Kim, not because she's a TK. It's not what you're born with, it's how you use it. And she's put in the time, and the training, and keeps on putting in more and more of both." Turning to address the Asian, he clapped a supportive hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't think I haven't seen you logging into those sims almost every chance you get."

As for the girl in question, whether or not she shared Thorvald's opinion on the relative worth of talent versus training, Seung-Min at least seemed eager to duck away from too much praise, preferring to pass that ball back to his side of the court. It was a little bit tickling, and he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, grinning a bit sheepishly. "Well, I try, anyway. Can't say I've done all that much in that department, still got some folk that need some boosting up of their self-esteem, or learning to play well with others. And while I've seen a lot of scenarios play out, there are still some things that can surprise me, so my plans aren't always on point. But... thanks. It does a fellow good to hear something like that."

That brought them back to the crux of the matter, getting a peek at Odin. Avery led the two of them inside, and began explaining, though prefacing it in a way that made it clear there may be a few secrets she had yet to uncover. Still, what the mechanic did have to say was nothing but heartening. The transformation from walking juggernaut to indomitable treaded terror was certainly the most eye-popping of the new mech's many features. Nodding along as she also laid out how sturdily the armor plating encasing it was, and how much punch its armaments packed, Thorvald was completely sold. Not like it had ever really been a question to begin with, but Avery certainly had a knack for laying out the most important basics in an easy to digest manner.

Both the mechanic and the lieutenant seemed to have utmost faith he'd be able to do amazing things in the new ride, with it giving him such great capabilities for protection that it put everything he'd been able to manage in prior days to shame. "Heh, right you are," chuckling softly, Thorvald answered Kim's observation about his no longer needing to worry about portioning things out, now just being able to jump in and save any comrade. "If possible, the Odin should be able to guarantee we'll never have to watch another disaster like what happened with Nikolai. If it isn't possible, well... I'll just have to make it possible."

 


 

Megumi's assessment was that it was Vera--whether the mere thought of her was enough, or maybe it was reliving one of their previous encounters--that was responsible for having riled up Astin so badly. It was probably a pretty fair reading, given she'd name dropped the bitch, but still didn't justify the scorn their local swordswoman dished out to the doctor, not in Abby's eyes anyway. There wasn't much she could do but shrug about it though, so shrug she did.

Which segued pretty well into the conversation they were having about how things had just kind of collapsed between her and Kim. That situation was also very deserving of a shrug. "I mean, yeah. I guess?" 'Be careful moving forward', not the most helpful of comments, but well-intentioned. Abigail sighed. "It's not like I wanted to fight with her. I actually had been trying to make friends with her, invited her along to play some beach games and everything. Just... fucked things up in the process and ended up only 'influencing people' without the 'winning them over' bit. Guess that bridge is good and burnt now. You're right, doubt I'll be seeing much of either of them outside of missions, going forward."

Frowning a bit at the newest wrinkle, Abby wasn't exactly comfortable hearing that Megumi didn't quite know what they were walking into either. "Damn, I was hoping to ask if the 'cyber' bit meant she was reading Hannah's mind instead of ours, but if you're as clueless about this as me..." Her comment wasn't entirely serious, mostly just to lighten the mood... or was it?

"Probably not gonna be of much help talking to her," Abigail confessed, "But, hell, at least I can stand around and look frightening or something." For what it was worth (pretty much nothing), she also knew her way around the wrong side of the Riese's brig too, and could likely sympathize somewhat with the thoughts of a prisoner.

Oh. Actually. Abigail remembered back to the bit in the changing room before Christina went and lost her shit on her. The reason she'd actually stopped to talk, instead of just getting out of her suit and getting out of there. "Wait... No, it's gotta be. There aren't two prisoners. Hey, Megumi. I don't know much about it, since I wasn't there, but before we fought, those two mentioned Vera had given us one of her subordinates as prisoner, back at the beach. No idea why, but that makes a little more sense why Astin's so jittery about the situation. Can't imagine she'd have turned her over if it was just gonna kill her, so I bet you'll ask like, two questions, and be able to wrap the whole thing up in no time."

Edited by Balcerzak
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It was difficult to say whether any bridges had been burnt. Cooked a little, definitely ... but this was just a string of misunderstandings and hurt feelings. As long as things didn't get any worse in the meantime, Megumi could see both sides eventually working their way back to being on good terms. Having to watch each other's backs on the battlefield might even speed up the whole process. Again ... as long as things didn't get any worse in the meantime ... "Just give peace a chance if it shows up," Megumi advised, "Remember, make the problems you have with people easy to correct, give them a good reputation to want to live up to, and praise every improvement you see." That may have been a tall order right now, but Megumi was just pulling directly from the book she'd loaned her friend. Real life was messy.

And so the prisoner was another female, was she? Not as relevant since she was literally handed over, but it was a little amusing to the doctor. It was also odd to be handing over a prisoner to the very people you planned to cut down in the near future; it was like Vera thought the ANF was well above using human shields or something. Maybe they were, but Megumi was doubtful. Even she'd consider it under the right circumstances, and more importantly, this wasn't just a prisoner they had gotten a hold of, she was prime research material if Apotheosis or the Sacarians had messed with her mind or body somehow. Doctor Amparo was going to be whipping out all the scanners once the patient was stable and they had all the notes they needed.

"It would be nice to not have to press her too hard for information," Megumi sighed. "What's that woman thinking, though ... giving us one of her own ...? ... well, as long as our guest doesn't turn out to be an IED or something," the doctor winced as they closed in on the brig. "I never bothered to do any research on it, but when I heard the term 'cyber TK', I immediately thought of someone that reads emotions over the internet ... but a twelve year old can do that, and they can do it without a T-Link. It's probably just a man made TK. She might have special implants similar to Nikolai." Hopefully not third rate ones if that was the case.

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