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

[Shin]

The response was perhaps what he had been expecting, but not quite what he had been hoping for. Apotheosis had truly created what they had intended, had the Professor played some part in this? Whilst it was the end goal for clone soldiers, it was rather depressing to see the result. This wasn't how people were meant to be, nobody should have to live like that. She couldn't be a doll, he couldn't be a doll either. His careful planning had been stripped away, there was no way he could logically manoeuvre through this one.

"You're not allowed to be called doll or C-3, you have to pick a real name. People should have real names." Tarquin protested, trying his best to be too stern. When had he decided that he wasn't T-4 any more? When he'd met Bruno, he'd nearly introduced himself as it, was that when it all changed? "Disregard previous orders, you don't have to listen to them any more. You can talk to whoever you like, whenever you like. You're not a doll, you're a person like everybody else." 

Edited September 25, 2018 by Shin

[Phoenix]

Megumi hadn't been expecting Alriana to fully comprehend what she'd said, so when the injured visitor from another solar system asked about her why she was Cheryl's favorite--something Megumi wasn't even certain of to begin with, the doctor was at a loss ... "Hmm ... I'm not sure. I completely lost it when I got to hold a ferret once. Maybe it's similar to that. It certainly beats being terrified." Another faint grin that surfaced, but it just couldn't quite reach the level of a real smile.

The doctor still wasn't a fan of simply handing out drugs on a whim, but things were different in the military. She was at least getting used to that, now. While trying to force the image of that goofy little ferret out of her mind before she started giggling uncontrollably, Megumi went to fetch Tristan's 'feel better' pills. She stole a glance at the console while she was at it, where Tiffany's disembodied head and the pilot's vitals were still up on display. Most of them had cut off, though not because of a dead signal or other malfunction. It was the standard disconnect. The pilots were filing back into the ship and disembarking from their mechs. The last few feeds cut off as Megumi retrieved the Tylenol.

---

Glass? Ow ... no! ... no pity, Firmia admonished herself. Carlos was lucky to be alive. She quickened her pace to reach the back of the MS hangar and the exit there. The infirmary wasn't far after that, a short walk, a right turn, and she was there. The Alkaev supposed she would do her soft interrogation while the doctor did his work. Well ... only if it wasn't getting in the way, that is.

She could only hope things were going well outside, too. The ANF was mobilizing more quickly than they could, having more people and a more extensive communications network. Next time would be different, she promised herself. Next time, Firmia planned to have her drone program fully operational. Then they would only need their human salvagers for sifting through whatever the drones brought them. It would be so much faster and more efficient that way. She still planned to eventually give the ANF a similar set of drones to work with, starting with the Riese, but for now, she had to get her own operations in order. Sasha better not be dawdling on his drive system. That was key to this, she noted as she reached the back end of the MS hangar, her eyes fixing on Sasha briefly.

---

Landing on the Riese was easy as ever in terms of piloting, but Brant wasn't sure what to expect once they were inside. The ship had been boarded during the battle, the signs of which were still apparent on the outer hull. They might not be venturing any deeper than the MS hangar, but if they did, in order to reach the infirmary presumably, Brant wondered what they might find along the way. There was no chance any damage the boarders inflicted had been cleaned up, yet.

The lift ride down into the hangar was brief, and the Metis was easy enough to spot ... one of those suits that didn't quite belong, yet. Brant noticed the Regalia's old dock had already been reallocated, and the hangar in general was getting more and more full by the day. It was more apparent than ever that he was no longer a part of this crew. Yes, the Avalon would be working closely with the Riese crew, at least until the end of the war, but it simply wasn't the same.

"We're not staying long anyway," Brant said somberly, "so I guess I can just kneel the Regalia down near the Odin and the Metis. I'm honestly not looking forward to this ..." He admitted with a wince as he brought the Regalia over to the gathering of pilots. There was no way to quietly set the Regalia down, so Brant didn't waste the effort. The armored knee struck the hangar floor with a resounding clank and he got himself loose from the harness. The clone hadn't been taken to the infirmary yet, so Chris' mission looked like it would be quite easy. Fortunately for Brant, he also didn't seem to be at risk of running into Jessica or any other sore spot while he was here.

[Shin]

That had been enough patting herself on the back for now, Elaine didn't want to go overboard with the self praise. She couldn't help but be curious about the alien they'd taken aboard, she was still shocked that they even existed. Clones and robots were crazy enough, part of her wondered if she was still back in prison having some sort of hallucinogen induced dream. She approached Astin, stepping alongside them to and joining their gaze at the Metis. Elaine was a little conflicted with having so many enemies on board, all it would take is recruiting the wrong one and they'd all be dead in their sleep. Plus, for some reason she just didn't like clones... she'd met three and all of them rubbed her the wrong way.

"How long do you think it'll be until the Captain gives that one her own room and keys to the ship? We're gonna have more clones than actual people at this rate." Elaine joked, admittedly she was slightly worried about letting an Apotheosis agent... well, another one, among their ranks. "That battle was pretty rough, still don't feel like it's properly finished either. Hopefully it's a step in the right direction. I ain't keen to fight in somethin' that big any time soon."

She'd managed to put her thoughts about Louise to the back of her mind for the time being. Cheryl was going to have her work cut out for her.

[Nanami Touko]

Medical Delivery

The androids had made it up the lift as Firmia turned to meet them, hauling Carlos off towards the infirmary without a pause in their step. "[Firmia, he is conscious, should you wish to speak to him while the doctor attends to him.]" It wasn't a long walk to the infirmary past that, the Avalon luckily much smaller than the Riese. Stepping in and moving Carlos towards a free bed, Jessica took a step back and stood at the ready, in case he took any unfavorable actions. Stephanie waited near the door, in case he made to run.

Snack Time

"Heyyyy, look who it is! My favorite Jezebel." She was the only Jezebel Cheryl knew, but that didn't change truths. "How's your day going? Mine's been a real blast, really. The ship getting boarded, whew, let me tell you, nothing more fun than that." Cheryl wasted no time in heading over towards the oven, getting a pan out with some oil on it, and went about fetching a burger from the freezer... "And maybe a steak?" she mumbled to herself, shrugging and grabbing both. "Speaking of, you wanna see an alien, Jess? Because we one hundred percent have an alien sitting up in the infirmary right now. Help me make this food and I'll let you come say hi~"

No Dolls

C3 tilted her head at Tarquin, was that an order? It sounded like one... But could she disregard all previous orders for this new one? Was she allowed? "I don't know..." She'd never thought about it... Been allowed to think about it. "What should I be called then?" She did do one thing, slowly sitting herself down onto the edge of the lift, letting her legs slip over the edge and gently rest her feet against the hangar floor.

Chris wasted no time in hopping out of the Regalia, rushing her way towards the small group. Thorvald, Kim, Chrissy, Avery... Even Tarquin? Christ this is gonna be a mess. "No getting around it-- Hey, everyone! Anyone care if I take her with me?"

Christina was distracted by several things, the Regalia landing, what this clone was saying, and now Chris coming over to-- "What?" Could she, take her? "Uh..." Why the urgency? She didn't really get it, turning towards the other pilots for clarity. Christina was pretty much fine with that, she trusted Chris to watch over another one of them, but...

Edited September 29, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"I... you're right. Sorry Chrissy." Kim replied, allowing the others to take the initiative on their newest Christina. She was certainly odd, devoid of emotion, she called herself a doll... and certainly acted like one. Tarquin speaking with her was... unexpected, but perhaps he shared a sense of camaraderie due to their similar origin. It didn't take long for Brant to arrive either, which was expected, Less expected was Chris immediately asking if she could take the clone with her. In a way, it made sense. Chris knew more about the clones than any of them did to be certain, being one herself. 

"You two were the ones... who pointed her out in the first place. And I suppose you are... uniquely qualified to tend to her needs and figure her out, in a sense. Still... would you care to tell us what you have in mind for her?"

[Balcerzak]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Thorvald turned to the latest, breathless arrivals. "Nobody's taking anyone anywhere, just yet. Gotta make sure she's all right physically first, I did just bang up her ride pretty good, despite my best efforts, and sometimes trauma isn't immediately apparent. First line of business ought to be getting her up to the doc. Tarquin was just having a little chat while I was going over some of the circumstances with Avery, who got up there before I managed."

There was also the fact that the captain would undoubtedly want to see her... provided she was doing well enough for that after what Tristan had reported from the bridge. Thorvald was still a little fuzzy on those details, having focused more on keeping together solid leadership on the field while the XO and ensign did their parts where they needed. Part of him wanted to add, 'Are you sure she'd even want to go with you,' but as a captive, that wasn't particularly the most relevant objection at the moment either.

 

[Phoenix]

Times like these were odd reminders that just one man could cause an immeasurable amount of damage. One press of the trigger and countless stories were ended in a brilliant flash. First her father had done it, blowing up the Alkaev company's main testing facility and killing hundreds, then Carlos had shot down one of the half dozen transport planes that made it out of that inferno in one piece. If not for the insane number of casualties adding up for Apotheosis over this last week, Firmia might not have been able to remain calm seeing Carlos in person. She did remain calm, though. He was defeated, and she could sense that clear as day. She wasn't sure if it was Apotheosis' defeat in general, the death of a specific comrade, or perhaps his own capture ... or even a combination of all three, but something had brought him low, and Firmia realized that their exchange probably wasn't going to get as heated as she had first imagined.

---

While Chris headed down to grab the latest of the clones, Brant stayed with the Regalia. He wanted to go down but didn't know what to say or how to explain what they were doing here. So he sat on the edge of the AMS unit's open hatch, resting his arms on his knees while his legs dangled over the edge. He just took in the scene from a distance, picking up what he could of the exchange down below. It was really starting to sink in, just how much his life had changed. He wasn't even all that comfortable in the Riese's hangar anymore. So much silliness and Alkaev grunt work used to go on in here, but now the atmosphere was different. It didn't feel like there was enough room for him, somehow. Brant smiled bitterly at the thought, knowing Firmia would probably be secretly pleased if she knew how he was feeling, right now. After all, the Alkaev had one hell of a rival to contend with, and one hell of a warship to keep up with.

[Shin]

It almost seemed like he'd made some sort of progress, the clone looked perplexed. Whilst she hadn't made any real responses, it seemed like she was at least starting to process things in her head. Any sort of change in mentality or thought process would be arduously long, especially for someone who was starting with nothing. It wouldn't be something he'd be able to do alone for her, but to see someone suffer a similiar existence to him because of military technology wasn't something he would allow. Tarquin could barely look after himself, let alone another person, maybe people like Thorvald and Kim would help?

Chris' sudden appearance and demand to take her away was a sudden surprise, but logical to understand. Thankfully Thorvald had put a halt to her frantic plan, whatever it was, before it could get anywhere. He was slightly annoyed, but considering that she was in the same boat he couldn't judge Chris too harshly. However, she did have the luxury of being based off someone real, Tarquin was completely ficticious, a genetic impossibility.

"Nina. I think that should be your name." Tarquin replied, having remained silent during the exchange between Thorvald and Chris. "You should do things because you want to. Only doing things because people tell you to will only make you sad."

-

At last Talia spotted the Phalanx, the robot was far smaller than all the others and was difficult to spot at first. She hurried over to the machine, wincing as the damage it had taken became more apparent. Was he really fighting all those terrifying machines in something so small? Even if he had survived, the risks he had to be taking just by being on the battlefield... did he really have something he wanted to fight for so much? She approached the Phalanx, trying to hear if anything was coming from it.

"Makoto? Are you OK? Are you hurt?" she called out, unaware of her friend's plight. "Do you want me to get you some help?"

Edited September 25, 2018 by Shin

[Nanami Touko]

Nina

"... Okay. I will respond to Nina." A name was a curious thing, she didn't quite get the importance, what made it different from C3 or Doll? "I don't know... What is it like to want to do things? I was made to follow orders... They don't make me sad. Do your orders make you sad? ... Am I allowed to ask questions?" This freedom was foreign, she didn't understand it, and the clone's plight made Chris' worries just that much more urgent.

"What am I-- W-Well, she's, my sister, technically. Just, I just want to make sure she's okay. We have a doctor too! So, just... C-Come on, please?" She hadn't actually made plans beyond this, she mostly just wanted to make sure the least developed of any of her were alright. The Riese was already overstocked as far as she was concerned. "Can I take her or not? Y'know what, why am I even asking you-- Nina! That's what he called you, right? Come with me!"

"... Alright." 'Nina' got herself up and started off towards Chris, not at the pace or urgency she wanted, but she was moving.

"I'm taking my sister with me. Jesus..."

Avery threw her hands up and started to walk off. "I'm made fer fixin' robots, I ain't gettin' involved in this mess no more. Chalk one more machine that needs fixin' onta the docket."

[Ursali]

Megumi's explanation sailed right over Alriana's head. What had Megumi lost? What was a ferret? What did being Cheryl's favorite have to do with the blonde doctor not being afraid of her? No matter how hard she tried to dissect the information given to her it didn't help her answer the original question. It didn't seem like the redhead knew either. Maybe there were just some things about humans that were beyond her understanding; it wouldn't really be that surprising if that was the case. She was an alien after all. "Understood." 

She would have started thinking of another question to ask, perhaps a less complicated one, but someone entering the infirmary got her attention. She recognized him from the bridge, amongst all the others he had stood out to her. Not because of his appearance or anything so superficial, but because of his actions. When Jesicka had crumbled, he had stood up to take charge of the situation. In her eyes, he would have made a worthier target than the fake human. She noticed his glance and called out to him. "You... strong."

[Xinnidy]

Captured Beast

"Oof, just don't... haul me too hard if you need to." Carlos warned the bots, complying as he was led towards the infirmary, hopefully. Of course, his visit to the Avalon was anything but short of onlookers, no doubt most had beef with him for his actions. For a man that preferred sticking to the sidelines, it was a pretty unfortunate situation, and reason to be uncomfortable two-fold. Hopefully he could get his arm checked.

At least being escorted did give a sense of security, that somebody wouldn't up and come punch him... not even the head herself, which was the first to come closer. Carlos wasn't exactly being a master of disguise about his situation: he was tired, beaten and downtrodden. Fatima was dead, and the one reason he wasn't dying of pain was because the adrenaline was still kicking. "I guess this is the first time seeing each other face-to-face, Firmia Alkaev." He mentioned, though almost like a whisper, tired as he was. "I'm guessing you didn't pick me up for charity?"

[Ether]

"Like I said, I don't think her going with you... is a bad idea, but you seem to be in... an awful hurry. Can you at least explain why you're in such a rush to get her..., out of here?" Kim asked, Chris's urgency sticking out like a sore thumb. She appeared physically uninjured, and while her mental state was odd, it didn't seem like something that immediately removing her would remedy.

[Balcerzak]

What the hell. "Stop right there, both of you," Thorvald called out, beginning to get a little frustrated at Chris's rather flagrant disregard of his previous statements. "Look, I get family. I know how you can get worried and concerned and want to do all kinds of crazy and stupid things because you love them. But I need you to look me in the eye and tell me you think we're going to mistreat her here, or you don't have a leg to stand on. Hell, you're more than welcome to stay by her side every step of the way, if for some reason you can't trust me or the doctor or the captain. But we have protocols in place, and they're put there for a reason. So I'm gonna need you to take a deep breath, find yourself some calm, and stop the huster and bluster."

Edited September 26, 2018 by Balcerzak

[sweet podado]

Noticing the sudden "lift", Vvi blinked before gently coming out of the cockpit and carefully landed on the palm of the other's robot.  She returned the way, before letting out a little laugh at the situation in hand.  "How charming, you didn't need to do this for me.  Are you sure you're authorized to do this?" she called out, waving back before clapping her hands excitedly.  "Ohhhhh this is so exciting!  I can't wait to meet the rest of your crew.  Well, our crew now, although I do need to meet up with the XO.  Roxanna was it? Ahhh..."

Truly this alien was the definition of excitement a the moment, but how long it was going to last no one was sure....

[Xinnidy]

Help Me Out!

"Talia?" Makoto was surprised to hear the voice. Talia wasn't one to go out to the hangar... or out of her room at all, normally. "Uh, nice timing. Can you call one of the mechanics over here? This thing took a bit of a beating." It wasn't looking too back with the frame parts atop the Phalanx's skeleton, but as the pieces were stripped away by the mechanical arms positioned around the unit's parking lot, it was quite clear to notice that the unit's front had been... flattened, that being the side that opened up for entrance and exit. "I'm going to need some brute force here. It's jammed... I'm good though, no need to panic." He was... still feeling accomplished, honestly.

Foreign Treatment

Mai honestly wasn't sure how on board or not she was... she kept mindful of the alien's tail. "So, it... it's a she?" That seemed to be how it was, from the snippets of Cheryl's excitement. Nonetheless... "J-just let me know if there's anything I can do, I guess..." And there was the disembodied android head too... Goodness, the imagery on the infirmary was grim. Hopefully that wasn't an indication of ill things on the battlefield.

The opportunity provided itself as a young man came to ask for headache medicine from Megumi. "Ah, hi, you're from the bridge, yes?" She hoped not to sound too intrusive, but needed to speak to him desperately. "What's the status on the pilots? Were there any casualties?" She needed to know.

One at a Time

Honestly, Caroline was as confused as one could be after a day like that. Her machine hit the hangar and parked at its proper spot... right next to what she was sure was the alien's machine. The one that cooperated with them, at least. "Aliens... I can't believe they're like, actually a thing..." She was half considering staying cooped up in her Legionary, just hiding herself... but that wasn't going to get her anywhere. I really hope there's a meeting soon... A debriefing would do wonders. Sighing, Caroline took the lift down, hoping things wouldn't turn out too odd now with aliens willing to help. As much as she was less trained than even the recent additions, it did mean more money to her, provided she lived.

And there was the alien, already chatting up Aliza... well, it wasn't as imposing a figure as she expected, at leas. That was nice? Talking with the alien straight up was a jump too far in caroline's confidence, however she could still muster the courage to... peep on them.

Edited September 26, 2018 by Xinnidy

[TheRoon]

"Uuuh, good question..." She spoke aloud nervously. Yeah she expected to get scolded later. But the alien's already in the palm of her hand. Might as well commit. So she pulled the hand back over to her own cockpit, stopping just before. Aliza took her helmet off, letting loose her brown locks. She gave the alien a smile. "Uh Ciao! I'm Aliza Silvavolke. Pleasure to meet you." She took a good look at the alien and...well it's a good thing Aliza wasn't afraid of spiders.

[Phoenix]

Alriana apparently got Megumi's meaning, so there wasn't any need to try for a better explanation. Instead, she got to watch while Alriana complimented Tristan. She called him strong. Not strong enough to tough out a headache, though. Megumi would have gone with quick thinking, herself. "Tristan may be strong," Megumi said, handing off the Tylenol, "but as you can see, stress is stronger," she said, her tone the only thing giving away the playful jab.

Mai meanwhile seemed surprised by Alriana's gender. "Doesn't she look like a female?" Megumi asked. She was in full agreement with Cheryl on that one, though to be completely honest, in that moment the doctor wasn't quite sure why that was the case. She squinted briefly at Alriana, looking for subtle indicators. Megumi quickly concluded that it was the lizard girl's relatively long hair, the pitch of her voice, and her slightly bottom loaded musculature that had her buying it. She could only wonder what the males looked like. The first and last mental image that came to mind was a taller, stubbier, bearded creature that would have been too strong and aggressive for just the bridge staff to hold down.

As for helping, Mai was certainly well enough to play nurse, even if she didn't have the experience. Megumi considered it while the woman pestered Tristan about the pilots. That reminded her, she'd need to report to Makoto sometime before the debriefing like she said she would. She wondered if he would be annoyed with the stupidly late news. Either way, as long as he wasn't getting distracted from his own battles by things he couldn't change, the shady doctor felt no guilt whatsoever~

---

Charity? Yeah, not likely, Firmia mused. She shook her head, keeping up with the androids and Carlos as they approached the infirmary. "Closure ... I guess." Firmia did not like how somber she sounded, but she couldn't help it. She felt ... sad. Not angry. Just plain sad. Changing the subject was about all she could do to keep up appearances. "I also want information, but I'm not going to kill you. On that note ... if the ANF asks me to hand you over to them, I'm going to have to eventually, and they may want to execute you. Anything you can tell me beforehand might keep you alive. I'm not sure, but it's something to consider."

---

Brant sighed as Thorvald stopped the two clones. So close, too ... a few meters from the Regalia's feet, even. Brant didn't like the idea of just waiting up here and not at least trying to back Chris up somehow, so that was no longer an option. Without really judging the height, he pushed off the edge of the Regalia's hatch and silently dropped the twenty feet or so to the hangar floor. It was a rough landing, but Brant absorbed it easily and slowly pulled himself backup to his full height. "It's not that we don't trust you," he said to Thorvald, "Firmia didn't give us a lot of time to get her ... in fact, I think we've only got a couple minutes left. That's why we're in a hurry. Anyway, don't you think the Riese has her hands full, right now? With everything going on here I doubt Doctor Amparo's going to have time to give her a full examination. Our doctor's a lot less busy."

A thought suddenly occurred to him, but Brant hadn't even finished processing it before his mouth started moving on its own, again. "Firmia has a way to treat her. I can't promise anything but right now that's our best option." Brant had almost no idea what he was talking about, mentioning Firmia's treatment, but there were two important realizations that caused him to bring it up before knowing for certain whether or not it was true. The first was the mental conditioning Dima had originally planned for him and his older brother. That wasn't a practice run he was subjecting them to, the technique was well developed. The second was the Alkaev journal ... the one Firmia had just stolen from Dima, yesterday. If the research he and his minions did to come up with that conditioning plan was now in Firmia's hands, then there may be enough in there to try and treat this latest clone, minus the torture. It was a long shot to be sure, but maybe the bluff would help him and Chris out of this mess. If anyone wanted to check with Firmia about the treatment, she would probably just blow them off. Brant wasn't sure if that would help or hurt matters, but it probably wouldn't give the bluff away ... and who knows? Maybe they could treat the clone with that research data, assuming it existed.

[Nanami Touko]

Strong

"Er..." Tristan hadn't expected to be addressed by the alien... And, strong? What? All he'd done was take charge of... Oh. So strength is leadership? I suppose. "Thank you... I think." Hopefully it didn't mean both, Tristan had no inklings that he could defeat the alien in any sort of combat. She'd withstood armed fire from automatic weapons and it took two androids to bring her down. That sort of strength wasn't to be trifled with. "And Megumi is right. Even the strong need breaks." If this was going to be their norm from now on, he was going to be taking actual breaks from bridge work. Fighting enemy combatants, not a problem. Fighting aliens boarding your ship with no proper means of dealing with them? Not on his agenda.

"No casualties, Mrs. Watanabe. Surprisingly. Some damaged machines, but everyone reported alright, before I'd left the bridge. Your son is fine." That was likely what she was asking for.

Rush Rush Rush

"Mistreat her? When the fuck did I say that? Don't put words in my mouth and stop acting like you have a say in this you--" Feet hitting the floor behind her shut her up, glancing back to see Brant joining in. Luckily he explained things... Much better, clearly, and with actual incentive beyond Chris' own worries. "... What he said. We're on a time limit, because Firmia wants us playing scavenger... This is just my own selfish request, so just... Nina, come on." Why had Tarquin picked Nina, anyway? It wasn't a bad name, but...

The clone nodded, starting to walk over again, waiting next to the Regalia, not really bothered by either side's arguments.

"And Brant's right. You've got how many aliens to deal with right now? And bombshell time, your captain's an android. Combine that with the rest of the pilots you've got on your hands already, let us handle her. All Firmia has on her plate right now is Carlos, the guy from the Rhea. So, just, please?" Chris knew they only had about a minute before Firmia started whining at them, hopefully Thorvald would get it... She didn't want to start any bad blood between the Riese and the Avalon, so if he continued to put his foot down, she'd relent. What's he talking about with a fix, anyway? Firmia can do that? News to me...

"Isn't it fine, Thorvald?" Christina spoke up, shrugging some, and pressing a hand against her forehead. "I know, protocol, and all that. I get it. But..." She stole a look over a the new machine-- the alien was gone, where had-- oh. "Like she said, we have, uh... Foreign matters to attend to. Matters that Aliza is already getting chummy with, oh gosh, uhh... Shouldn't we try to split some of the load between both ships?"

Wait.

"Jess is an android? What!?" That was certainly a bombshell, Christina's headache getting just a bit worse.

"Called Brant in the middle of the fight, tried to calm herself down... You can go ask the bridge, or her, if you want confirmation. My point is just, that you guys have a lot to handle right now. One more blonde taking up space in your likely other-world-species-filled infirmary is going to give Megumi more things to worry about."

"Ugh..." What a mess... When do the surprises stop? "I need a nap."

Edited September 26, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ursali]

"Ahorr'eogor ng legethog shuggoth," she huffed at Megumi's jab, the ever-present neutrality briefly replaced with annoyance. Tristan was strong and it wasn't up for debate. At Tristan's thanks, she automatically slipped back into English, giving him a neutral "You welcome," yet another thing drilled into her over the years. She found herself agreeing with what he had said; finally something one of the humans said made perfect sense to her. "Right. Useless if... not fight. Need rest so, can fight. Not fight bad." Even after she had said her piece her attention was still entirely on the ensign instead of swapping between the four people in the room. Additionally, unbeknownst to its owner, her tail had snaked its way over to Tristan and began to coil around his leg.

[sweet podado]

As she took a good look at the other once the helmet was off, Vvi couldn't help the soft purple blush on her cheeks as Aliza introduced herself.  Ah, she's definitely a cutie, she couldn't help but think, before blinking at the sudden foreign word that was used to greet her.

"Chow?  Is that a formal greeting on Earth?  I've never heard of it before," she explained, before nodding as another smile formed on her lips.  "Believe me when I say the pleasure is all mine.  It's....finally nice to meet people that might help me for once," she explained, not helping the little heartfelt tone in her voice as she continued to keep her attention on Aliza.

"....Guess there's a lot of explaining to do then?" 

[Shin]

Tarquin was irked by how obedient Brant was, he was a dog at the end of Firmia's leash. The only way he could exemplify things further would be to get on all fours and start barking. "I don't trust Alkaev to work towards anything other than her own selfish goals. You may feel the desire to play fetch at her command, but not all of us are pets to those above us." he retorted, glaring right at Brant. Stepping closer to him as he mentioned a supposed fix. Clones weren't just dolls that could be reshaped into whatever seemed appropriate, they were people. "Then I suggest she tests said solution on you and see if that helps. Chris has a case as they share the same template, but I have no interest in giving her another puppet to pull the strings of... Brant."

It felt just like when Nikolai had been shot down, anger wasn't something Tarquin was accustomed to. He'd always accepted things as they were, before the Heion Riese he never dared question anything asked of him... but this was something he couldn't let happen. Chris had dropped another bombshell on them. Along with clones and aliens, their captain was revealed as a robot. It wasn't that Tarquin would have guessed or even suspected it before, but in retrospect it made sense. Incredibly young, no prior experience and objectively adept, the thought had actually occurred that she was another member of the cloning program - he had no clue how many there were beyond his own series. If Hannah counted as a person, surely Jess did as well. He wasn't sure whether she wanted to try and divert their attention or simply inform them, either way it was a matter for later. 

"I will await a final decision from Specialist Eriksson, but I strongly oppose. Nina should be able to choose for herself, not become another toy for Alkaev." Tarquin added, his stance softer than it was against Brant. "She might be similar to you, but I know what it's like too. I didn't ask to be made to fight battles for the ANF."

-

Talia let out a sigh of relief, Makoto wasn't injured... or at least he could speak. The damage to the Phalanx was rather grim, she didn't even want to imagine how cramped it must have been inside. There was no way that she'd be strong enough to pry him free herself, she'd had years of inactivity to thank for that. "I'll see if I can find someone, just hold one a little longer." Talia replied, searching around for one of the hangar crew for help. "Can someone come and help me open this?"
 

[scorri]

"I'm glad that I could help some." She smiled, as the captain seemed to be brightening up a bit. "A-and about that person... Give them time. Sometimes it can be hard when something changes like that. But if they really care about you... That's what matters. They'll come around."

Anything further she planned to say was interrupted as the captain got up and started lifting her bed. "Ah be care- right. Android. Heh, well at least you won't need to worry too much about hand to hand combat." Apparently she had punched the XO at some point? "Apologises are good, but it's not like you knew what you could do... Still, rebuilding bridges sounds like a good idea to be." She smiled and then remembered the request from the doctor. "Oh, er, right. Are you going to be ok if I leave you alone? The doctor wanted me to come back up, but if you want me to stay I will."

~~~~~~~~~~

Astin smirked at Elaine's comment, so closely mirroring their own thoughts. "I've given up trying to predict what the captain will do if I'm being honest. But she does have a tendancy to adopt the strays. It hasn't exactly worked out poorly yet but..." They shook their head looking at the situation. They were too far away to hear things clearly but it was easy to guess what was going on. "Looks like it might not be our problem anyways. Two point oh seems to want to take the newest model with her back to the Russians. One less direct worry for us, I suppose."

They sighed, turning to face the other pilot. "Still, I bet she's out there piloting sooner rather than later. Things aren't going to stop escalating after all, and the ANF isn't going to ignore a potential source like that. Wonder how long it'll be before they start trying to copy Apotheosis in this. A lot easier to fight a war when you have an unlimited supply of soldiers." It was an obvious step. The ANF didn't have the same manpower and the Riese was only one ship. It was just the whole moral issue and it could be spun pretty easily. 'ANF sends more soldiers home to their families than any war  before' or something like that. 

"Tch. Either way, there's going to be new blood for the Riese. Looks like Aliza's already making friends." They gestured over towards the newest mech addition, where Aliza and the alien, Vvi she had said?, seemed to be getting to know each other.

[Shin]

As usual, Astin raised some good points. Elaine wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed sooner, but they were pretty smart. It was nice to have someone around with a similar opinion though, Elaine had worried that she was being too judgemental with all their new recruits. They were up three Christina's, two plant children, an alien and a goblin... it was like they had the cast for some bad action cartoon. It was working so far for them, they'd managed to win a good number of times despite their disadvantages in numbers and technology. They'd lost a lot of allies at the base though, not everybody had been so lucky.

"Yeah, I've got a feelin' she'll be back in the picture before long. All it took was the Captain's decision to get that stinky goblin out of jail. Sometimes I wonder if havin' a teenager in charge of a ship like this is a good idea. I'm starting to lose track of how many Christina clones we've got." Elaine sighed, wincing as Astin talked about a clone army. If she had to face having more copies of Tarquin about, she'd have almost considered joining Apotheosis right away. "Ain't sure how they're gonna cover this one. A lot of people died today, no propaganda can cover that up."

[TheRoon]

"Oh, it's hello in Italian." She answered as she noticed the blush. Seeing her up close was certainly a surprise for Aliza. She wanted to talk to an alien and ask what their deal was with earth, but it seems like this one was not quite with the group she had in mind. At least that's the impression she got from earlier thanks to the explanation over the comms. Still Aliza was content with this, and the fact she was friendly made things easier too. "Well you don't have to explain too hard to me, since I'm sure the captain will have you do it in the conference room during a meeting." She paused for a smile as she took her notebook and pen out. "But if you want you can go over some things on your mind and I can listen while they go find a lift. Oh and don't mind the notebook, I like taking notes a lot. Helps me...remember things." Giggle.

Given Aliza had never seen an alien figure like this one she was not sure where to scale Vvi. So she'll have to learn a bit more for that tone.

[Xinnidy]

Escape The Mech

Thankfully, it didn't take much for Talia's pleas to be noticed, an old man quickly had waved at two other mechanics as soon as he'd heard her, leading the small group over. "That one's a bit deformed, huh? We're gonna have to force that open first." Ignatius, the old engineer, had taken just a glance, but it had told enough of the story. "Crowbars are going to take a year and a half on this damage, get the jacks ready." It'd be a bit sad to compromise the skeleton, but they'd worry about repairs later.

Thankfully, the mechanics worked quickly, and with a bit of noise, managed to wrench that hatch open, letting the boy breathe fresh air for the first time in a good while. "Whew... thank you guys!" Makoto was very thankful he wasn't going to be stuck in there any longer. Only when his piloting skills were needed! Quickly, he hopped off of the unit, wasting no time stretching his legs. "Hmmm--Alright! Hah... I couldn't even stretch my legs up, it was such a bad position..." He chuckled, "Not that this guy didn't hold its own ground, I'm still glad." Limited as it was, Makoto was going to make full use of the mech yet!

"Heheh... sorry about that, Talia. I'm safe, but kinks like that can happen. How's the situation here in the Riese? I heard there was a breaching." That's right, he did remember Tristan saying something like that.

Girl Aliens

"I... guess so? I don't really know what aliens expect of mates, but I suppose it's not too far on our own?" Mai was no biologist, though she was also pretty doubtful that a biologist or even sexologist would know what to say there. "Well... she seems, not that bad, now...." Laying down obediently certainly helped with the trust points. Maybe this one was trained well? Though the way that tail moved... "I guess she is impressed with you prowess, Tristan." Oh dear.

"And thank you, for the information on my son. Really." It was disarmingly good to hear such news directly. It certainly calmed Mai's heart. "No casualties is incredible. I can rest easy he's around such competent people." But of course, as a mother, she'd continue to worry.

Going Down

The Admiral himself was in too much haste to pay attention to the other conversations going on, even the alien on the hangar. Worried as he was, he turned many eyes towards him as he hustled towards the elevator... but that was fine to him. His mind was set.

The elevator was quick, and so was his arrival to the sleeping quarters. Of course, Alphonse was familiar enough with the Riese's structure as the ship ANF had worked so proudly on... but having a bit of previous data on which quarters resided whom helped too. In a short moment, he stood in front of Jessica's room. For all the haste, Alphonse still had the subtlety to knock gently.

"Jessica? Jessica Gefalscht... are you willing to talk, right now?" He could always use the communicator... but it was too delicate a moment for that.

Information

Carlos knew where this was going. Now, he'd never been on that side of these negotiations... and that took more than a moment to consider. "So you're saying I might be spared... how convincing." Kicking himself while he was down, nothing better than to take the deal as wishful thinking. "I'm pretty sure my life hangs on how spiteful Bismarck is most of all... they've been hit by quite an inside job." The man wanted to get something out, at least. "Right now... I'll have to think on your offer. I can't really say I'm happy with the decisions my group made today." Now that was a weird feeling. He'd never think of himself that easy a defector. Did Fatima's death really hit him that hard? "Hm." A low grunt.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Xinnidy