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


Nanami Touko
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As Chris latched on to a particularly narrow section of his phrasing, starting to work herself into a froth over it, Thorvald sighed. She was way off base, too. He did have a say in this, the most important one in fact. While hopefully it wouldn't come to it, in the wake of Tarquin's little adventure earlier, Jess had implemented some additional restrictions on obtaining launch authorization. Originally it had been himself and Brant, with the clearance needed to approve unscheduled takeoffs, but after the Regalia team was making their new home on the Avalon, she hadn't got around to assigning a replacement for that missing link, essentially leaving Thorvald with sole say, unless they went right up the chain of command to the XO or the captain herself.

Luckily, Abrams stepped in and cut her off before she could really bring things to a head, but it was unfortunate he was still pressing the issue. Giving the man a bit of an et tu, Bruto look, Thorvald shook his head slightly at the explanation. It wasn't wholly without merit, but it just, wasn't really good enough either. Chris chiming in with some comments she thought were helpful also undermined a bit of what he was trying to say as well.

"If your doc's got Carlos on their hands too, then I would reckon he'd be just as busy with that as Megumi would with her," he nodded at the clone in question. "For all your argument about aliens this and androids that, none of those are actually a medical concern right now." Thorvald gestured to the entirely uninjured alien just a ways over in the hangar, clearly in no need of a doctor's attention. He figured both of them had enough experience with Hannah he wouldn't have to elaborate on that half of the equation. "I'm sure she'll want to take a peek eventually, but I trust her to know priorities."

"And, if what I know of Firmia is on point, I can't imagine her approving of just handwaving protocol over an artificial deadline. Wasn't she always on Jessica's ass about being too lax on just these kinds of things? I'll meet you in the middle though, Chris. I'll go help Brant play scavenger in your place, and after delivering the scrap on the Avalon go have a talk with her." It was something he'd always meant to do, after all, and with excuses being thrown at him, there was no reason to dodge it. "I'm sure he won't need you in the backseat for this, so you can stay here with your sister and there shouldn't be any problems. Hell, if I'm using the Odin to help pick up things, I'm sure she'll get a better haul anyway. It'd be the sort of thing she couldn't say no to, right?"

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Alriana was certainly talkative when she wanted to be. The topic for now seemed to be fighting well. A great choice to follow up a mildly embarrassing defeat. Nothing crazy was happening now, and the pilots were back, so calling Makoto while Alriana and Tristan got reacquainted seemed good. Megumi also wanted to do a practice run of sorts. At some point today she was going to call her sisters and tell them about this harrowing experience of hers. She would have to leave out the details about the alien--such as the fact that she was indeed an alien, lest she risk royally pissing off her employers by giving out potentially classified information to civilians. Makoto would make a good test case to see if she could dance around said details until the big debriefing.

"Makoto?" Megumi tried contacting him directly since all the pilot feeds had already cut, "It's Doctor Amparo." She hadn't noticed Alriana's tail quietly slithering over to Tristan's leg until after she'd tried calling Makoto. It was admittedly a worrisome move on Alriana's part, but there wasn't enough evidence of an impending attack for her to make any move to stop it, though she wanted to. The body language hadn't changed, and Alriana seemed almost oblivious to it. The doctor would likely hear a yelp from Tristan soon, but she decided to focus on giving Makoto the overdue report.


Firmia grimaced at first, knowing just how annoying a situation like this was when one was on the receiving end. She personally had no intention of putting Carlos in the ground but she didn't have any say in what the ANF did, nor did she have any legal authority to work with. At best she could try to negotiate if they wanted Carlos' head. Not that she had much in the way of motivation to help the man. His plight was definitely reaching her, though.

And what was this about Bismarck? An inside job? It wasn't quite intel, but that would change if she could get more out of him. It would probably be better to build some rapport first, no small task, even in his sorry state. Now, where to-

"Hey, Firmia." ... Brant? That was definitely his voice coming out of her tablet ... "We're not done over here yet, but something came up."

Firmia grimaced. Their five minutes was just about up now that she thought about it. And if something came up, then ... "Urgh ... I need to step out for one moment." Heading back out into the hallway, Firmia mentally braced herself for whatever this latest batch of nonsense was going to be. "... elaborate, please."


Tarquin's outburst was a little sudden, and surprisingly cutting. What had Brant done to him? What had Firmia done to him for that matter? When and how had her decisions hurt him? Bad first impressions, maybe? Wasn't she risking her life and her livelihood over this war just like him and everyone else? In some ways she was going above and beyond, taking a leadership role she had no way to prepare herself for, and putting everything she held dear right on the front lines, personnel and resources alike. Tarquin seemed awfully hung up on this business of following orders. Maybe it was because of his own troubles, but that was just how the military worked. As long as the Avalon was functioning in the same capacity, it would need a similar command structure. Nobody had to like it, that was simply the way it was. Maybe this was about Liebenwalde. Knowing that man was a traitor couldn't have been easy to cope with. Any authority figure may have seemed like a ticking time bomb with thoughts of his professor floating around in there. Still, going after Firmia like she was some sort of slave driver ... had he even exchanged more than a few words with her, or just was he simply judging from a safe distance in keeping with his combat style?

"Is that how you really feel about her? About me? The people working under her? You think we're just her toys?" Brant wasn't even going to start on the solution testing bit; Tarquin was treading some extremely toxic waters there without even realizing it. He could sense the younger pilot's irritation and wondered how long he'd felt this way. This was a bad way to address that grievance, regardless of when it started. "You really don't understand ... bringing her back to the Avalon was our idea, not Firmia's," Brant said, determined to make that point understood if nothing else.

There was one other thing ... something bothering him on so many levels he would never put it all into words here and now. "... I don't like having to work for an 'Alkaev' after everything I've been through ... but it's just a name. She's her own person, and I know that from experience. Everyone that transferred with her to the Avalon knows it. Call her selfish all you want, Tarquin, but at least point me to someone who isn't selfish before trying to make that anthill into a mountain. Firmia's honoring her agreement to work with the ANF to beat Apotheosis. That should be enough for you, even with her side projects. And if that's not enough then talk to her ... figure out what's really going on."

Thorvald meanwhile was suggesting a compromise. Given how reluctant Firmia was to even make an attempt at bringing the clone back, Brant doubted this would end well if he had to contact her and let her know they were staying for overtime. Right ... use the Odin to help out with the salvage operation while Chris stayed on the Riese to keep an eye on her latest sibling. Thorvald seemed pretty sure Firmia would go for it. Brant was less certain; the young Alkaev was always willing to pass up a good opportunity if she was frustrated and doing so would spare her more. Then there was Carlos, whom she probably wanted time to interrogate, right now ... There was no way this was going to end well, but with how he was feeling now, Brant was having a harder time actually caring, anymore. Best to just get this over with. "Hey, Firmia," he radioed her, making sure anything she said could be heard by Thorvald, and as a consequence, anyone else within earshot. No need to waste time playing middleman if it came to that. "We're not done over here yet, but something came up."

"... elaborate, please."

"The ... you called her Nina, right?" Wrong name, honestly. Now Brant couldn't do Chris and Tina jokes. "They're not going to let us take her back with us, at least not in the time you gave us. Thorvald's offering a compromise, though. He'll help us with the salvage while Chris stays here with Nina. After that he'll see what Jess wants to do." Brant thought that's what Thorvald meant, but he wasn't completely certain. He also had some reservations about leaving Chris here, even temporarily. He'd have to come back and pick her up, with or without Nina. He'd have to come back to this ... crowded ... unwelcoming hangar.

"That's your idea of a compromise?" Firmia sounded anything but impressed.

"His," Brant grinned bitterly at his wrist comm. Riese-Avalon relations were probably going to be strained by the end of this little episode.

Firmia sighed heavily. It was a long pause on her end before she finally said, "What do you think?"

Normally Brant might have at least tried to phrase himself a little better, but Firmia caught him by surprise asking him for his opinion, again. It was getting more and more common. "... I just wanna get the hell out of here. It's your call, Captain."

"My- ... erm ..."

Maybe the captain bit had caught her off guard. Oh well ...

Edited by Phoenix
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What She Wants

Brant was pretty hit by what Tarquin said, wasn't he? Seemed like the little guy had an issue with orders... Which, Chris did too, with Firmia's specifically, to a point, but Tarquin was missing the reason they were here. Luckily Brant was quick to remind them all that this was Chris' own selfish request, not some orders from Firmia. That was important. Firmia probably didn't even want to fathom the idea of another 'Chris', though she might've warmed up to it seeing how Nina was. And with Brant calling Firmia, things weren't even getting resolved. "Tell her I'm taking Thorvald's deal. She can yell at me later, alright? I don't want to leave her alone, and she's not going to like us wasting more time here, so... Come get me later. Hopefully we'll have this resolved by the time you do. Come on, Nina." Chris started back towards the little gathered group, Nina following after her. Chris wasn't entirely happy with this, but it was better than coming here and leaving with nothing. And she could get a good read on how far gone Apoth had made her new sister.

"And Thorvald," Chris added, before settling for actual conversation, "it's not about if they need fixing. It's about your doctors having to run any number of tests on a foreign species. They aren't from Earth, do they even breathe oxygen properly? There's too much that Megumi is going to have her hands on dealing with, that's what I meant. Broaden your horizons for busyness some."

Christina was the first to speak up. "So... You, said the captain was an android? What?"

"I don't have all the details. Or any of them, she was just, freaking out on the bridge, and called someone, I guess she felt she thought she could trust. Abby wasn't picking up..."

"Geez... The meeting is gonna be long for this one, isn't it? And aliens, too..."

"... You're... C2. And C1." Nina finally spoke on her own, looking between then slowly. "You're... So much different from me... Wh... I, don't know if I'm allowed to ask questions..."

Not even allowed to ask things? Bullshit. "Nina, you can ask anything you want. You're... Going to be asking a lot of things. Ask whatever you want."

"Okay... Why are you two so different? From me." The bombshell for her, right out of the gates. Chris didn't really know how to answer, but Christina gave it a try.

"You... You're just made different. That's all. And there's nothing wrong with that... You're going to, probably be confused about a lot. So ask whatever you want... And I want you to follow one order, okay?"

"Okay...?"

"Think for yourself. And no more orders... I know that's a bit contradictory, but--"

"I understand your intentions... And your meaning. I... I will, try." She nodded, going to stare at the floor. It looked like she was already starting to contemplate a lot.

"Well... This is a good start. So, Tarquin. Why Nina?" Now it was Chris' turn to be curious.

Engage Tail

"Thank you, by the way, Megumi. I know you're going to have your hands full figuring out just how safe our new, uh... Friends are, here on Earth, but--" Cut off in his medical assumptions, Tristan froze, slowly looking down at his leg. "Uh... Ahaha... A-Alriana, right? Er... You, may have misplaced your tail." What was this about, now? First she was calling him strong and now, grabbing him? ... Did she want to test him? That was not a fight he wanted to try. "I'm going to go rest, so I need that to walk. Mind if I have it back?"

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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"What... mean?" Alriana followed Tristan's gaze down, finding a white tail coiled around his leg. She looked down at the base of her tail and traced it back to his leg to confirm what she was seeing; as if there were any other aliens with ten-foot-long white tails in the room. When had that happened? Why had that happened? Great, she was catching the strangeness. "Will fix," she replied as she untangled her tail from Tristan's leg, careful to not accidentally pull it out from under him. She lightly wrapped her tail around herself once Tristan was free as if to ensure it wouldn't run off again. He could leave unhindered that way, right? "Rest... well. Stay strong."

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Well that was... certainly something. Jessica was an android? And aliens? Plural, so not just the one either... was that why the Ensign had been blowing her off? At least the clone issue... or rather, the Nina issue, had been seemingly resolved for the time being, but things were only getting more complicated by the second. Weren't things supposed to get easier, once they were done fighting? Either way, Christina was jumping into trying to solve Nina's readily apparent... existential issues, so it would seem the blonde wasn't going to see Megumi any time soon. Hopefully it really was just a headache.

"Chrissy, if you need me for anything... call my communicator. If what Chris said is true, and with how quickly he stormed out of the hangar... I doubt that Admiral Martinson was just here so say... congratulations. I'm going to see if... I can figure anything out." Kim noted to the grouping of blondes, before heading off towards the elevators. Looking at the elevator the Admiral had entered... it was going down? To the quarters then... well, if Jessica really was an android, then that made decent sense, she wouldn't need to go to the infirmary. Taking another elevator down to the bottom floor, Kim waited for the ride to finish.

Edited by Ether
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It-alien? Instead of asking more about the other's language (that can be done later...), Vvi nodded at the meeting bit.  "I see.  Well, there's not much but I can definitely try to answer your captain's questions," she said while keeping eye contact with the human girl.  There was a slight pause, but after a moment she smiled once more.  "You know, it's nice to see that someone isn't instantly afraid of me.  Your emotions....you're more curious about me than afraid are you not?" she asked, not really explaining herself at what she meant by "emotions," but instead of doing so she blinked as she looked over the hand down at the ground.

"So....how exactly are we going to get down now?  You say a lift but....are you sure anyone is coming to get us?"

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"No trouble is my favorite trouble," Monty assured Sasha. "Those droids are doing good work. Thanks for the update."

It was pleasant to hear his work seemed like it would be on the lighter side, but then again, appearances sometimes deceive. Hot on the heels of his conversation with number two, though, came a frequency from the robot ushers in question. Having a little more time with the prisoner, they had more time for observation, and passed more in the way of details: warning him that the main thing on his plate would be lacerations from broken glass. Provided there was no arterial damage, that meant wounds that were nasty looking, but not life-threatening.

"Appreciate the report, doll," he offered back instinctively, before realizing the casual term of endearment might take on a double meaning to the artificially endowed. Hastily correcting himself, Monty changed pace slightly. "Err, I mean... keep up the good work, darling. I'll get those patched up just as soon as you get him here, then run some internals, don't worry."

 


 

The nurse claimed she had things under control, and well, that meant she probably did. Jess attempted a weak smile, as concern was expressed for her injuries, but it seemed only perfunctory, as the woman's mind was clearly elsewhere. A Val on a mission. As the other swiftly escaped into the hallway with her cookies and cocoa, the sergeant found herself alone again.

But not for long. In waltzed the psychiatrist to the picture, an odd picture of glee and excitement, especially strange considering the battle raging outside. Unless it had just ended in victory, perhaps? Still, the use of her full given name ruffled Jess the wrong way, and she gave the woman a bit of a pointed stare, which maybe was missed as Dr. Hart moved straight away to the stovetop. Technically since she wasn't on the clock she wasn't being paid to listen, but did she really have to be so self-absorbed?

Her next words, just added to the bizarre. And with the almost sing-song delivery, there were very few explanations. "...Cheryl," remembering the woman had preferred a first name basis outside of the office, Jess obliged her, "Are you... drunk?" If she was, letting her near an open flame was dangerous. She stood up from her seat, and made her way over to the other woman, skeptical and planning to intervene.

 


 

Oh for the love of... Her slight tangle with Buck left Abigail a little on the heels of one of the high and mighty ANF top brass, apparently incredibly eager to get up to meeting room to debrief. No way in hell she was getting on an elevator with him. When he broke left, she broke right, thanking the ship's designers for small mercies in how the banks of lifts had been set up.

Unfortunately, her gratitude was short-lived, as exiting the tube on the bottom floor of the Riese and making it back to the central hallway, she found herself still behind the man. The fuck? Then it clicked. He had to also be heading exactly where she was heading. Abby grew livid. Who tipped him off where Jess had gone too? What other shit had they told him?

...It was Roxanna, wasn't it? Family favors being passed back and forth, no doubt. So spying on the captain was the compensation for getting her cushy XO spot on this top of the line model, huh? Disgusting. Her fists curled into balls, as her mind raced down dangerous passageways of fearful imagination. Real family were the ones you bonded to by choice, not whoever you'd been stuck with by blood. Screw that noise.

Quickening her pace to catch up, or overtake him, Abigail frustratingly found that without breaking into an actual run it seemed impossible to do either. There was no matching his length of stride, and he was also in some exceptional hurry. That couldn't bode well. Should she run? That would certainly alert him to her presence, but even if she caught him, what then? Her brain was still wrestling with the issue by the time he pulled up to a stop in front of the captain's door and, knocking, requested an audience.

Nope, not gonna let it happen. Abby didn't know what he wanted with Jess, but it couldn't be good. With the ANF, it never was. Hurrying the last dozen steps, she grabbed for his hand before he thought better about waiting for a response and decided he was going to put it on the knob and open up anyway. "Look, I don't care just who you think you are, but she was just assaulted in a way I doubt she ever expected to be. And after putting her life on the line to save your crusty ass, and the rest of the rotten core that makes up Central. So I don't care if you're gonna berate her over perceived mistakes, or commend her for a job well done. Why don't you just stow it for now, let her be with who she wants to be; just buzz off and come back later. Go, I dunno, fantasize new ways to get the balance of oppression right, to squeeze the next colony just hard enough that they won't think about revolting, so you don't have to threaten to blow them out of the sky. Or better yet don't, but Lord knows that's all you're good for."

Edited by Balcerzak
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Coming Around Hard

"We'll have to see... This might be something they can't get over. And if they can't... Then my friend was right. But I can't let that break me. I have things I need to do..." People I need to crush. Her grip tightened too hard on the edge of the bed, snapping some of the wooden frame. It didn't startle her, but she did chuckle, trying to play it off. "Whoops! Guess I don't have a proper hold over how strong I am yet. Thanks for your help, Valerie, I'll--"

... Was that Alphonse? No, no way. Why would he be here, asking about... Either he knows, or he's overly concerned, but I don't know why he would be so supremely concerned over me to come to check on me personally. We were never that close. So he knows, or knows something... The voice Jess was worried about wasn't far behind him, laying into him in a rather hefty manner... All told, it made Jess smile a bit. Abby was right, the ANF were down right fucks at times, weren't they? Especially with their colony business. "Right."

Heading towards the door and opening it without a moment's hesitation, Jess gave a rather blank stare to Alphonse. She paused to smile at Abby for one moment, "give me a sec to deal with him, okay, sweetie?" before refocusing that empty gaze onto Alphonse. "Let's not mince words." With her damaged arm, for emphasis, she grabbed a hold of his collar and hoisted him off of the ground, carrying him a few steps away from her door, dangling him above the hallway floor. "How long have you known, and when were you planning on telling me? Your answer will determine how far I throw you. And if I really don't like what I hear, I'll throw you off of my ship entirely, Admiral."

Stay Strong

"R-Right... I'll try." The alien sure seemed interested in him. That was... Worrisome, but if she turned into an ally, then perhaps it wasn't all that bad. He gave Megumi a small salute. "Thank you again, doctor. Good luck with the new patient... Hopefully she doesn't give you much trouble." He turned to leave on that note, hoping no one had also decided to use the gym. Some classical music and a treadmill would do him good... Maybe, Dvorak?

Drunk?

"What? Hah! Haha, I wish! Hoooo, do I wish I was drunk right now... It sounds so tempting, but I can't down anything just yet. Yes, we were boarded. The impact zone is one floor above us, the crater with the machine that did it is still lodged in the side of the Riese, and the ALIEN," she emphasized, "that rode in on it, is sitting in the infirmary, getting patched up by Megumi. So do you want to come and see an alien? Her name is Alriana, she's nice, her grasp of English isn't. Come help me cook this steak, it's been a bit, and honestly? I'm out of practice. Burger is a lot easier... Where's that temperature meter..." Fiddling through a drawer for that, Cheryl tossed the steak onto the counter, and the patty into the pan. Sizzle.

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Elevator finally letting out it's signature ding and opening, Kim exited and turned the corner just in time to see what seemed to be a rather dire exchange beginning to take place. Abigail and the Admiral were both standing outside of Jessica's quarters, the former looking none too pleased, and then Jessica came out... and proceeded to lift and shove Alphonse in a display that had no business being a thing. So she really was an android? Unreal... still, tempers were sure to be high, and Abigail of all people wasn't going to calm Jessica down and stop her from doing something she would regret... not with her feelings about ANF' top brass. Breaking into a sprint, the Lieutenant luckily managed to arrive before things escalated further than they already had, but that wasn't saying much.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... what's going on, here? Captain? Admiral? Abigail?"

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Confessions

Abigail following his steps was nothing short of an unpleasant surprise, not only because the Admiral really preferred to talk to Jessica alone, but that this was one of the few people that definitely held a grudge against him. She held no punches when speaking of the ANF, and try as he might, Alphonse had to take a pause to close his eyes and sigh. "No. Casson, this is not about the mission. I need to speak her urgently, precisely because of the attack. I know you--" He was cut abruptly when Jessica opened the door to her room, heeding him blankly and Abigail... less so. In fact, she seemed more than fine ignoring his present for the moment --brief as it was--. It was clear she was upset. Alphonse couldn't afford to waste any time. "Jessica, it's good to see you--" He was cut once more, when she presented her robotic arm, and grunted as he was hoisted by the collar, "Jessica, don't do this." He needed to plead, suffocating a bit as his collar's pressure on his neck increased considerably. While her frame wasn't tall, she was still beyond the strength of a normal human. "I knew about this. About your nature, Jessica, but this isn't meant to be common knowledge, not even for others in the ANF..." Heave. This wasn't how he hoped it'd go at all. This was not the moment Jess could go rogue.

"I was supposed to let you know... once you became capable enough to integrate yourself with the Riese's dataframe. Or... if you chose not to. You are... not just the Riese's main computer, you are sentient life... Dr. Gaertner's, late daughter." He coughed. That was more a principle he believed, that Jessica shared that girl's soul, at this point. It wasn't a matter or robotic clones, but a resuscitated person. "If you were, treated as a weapon from the start... you could have not, aligned yourself with human life." She was Jessica, not a weapon. One of them, and not an android. That was the whole point. "In this conflict, against the Sacarians..."

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Sentient Life

Doctor Gaertner? Late daughter? Abby could wait, it seemed. Jess let him go, hoping he was paying enough attention as to catch himself. "Explain. Everything, now. I don't care who's listening," she glanced at their latest arrival, slowly folding her arms. "And no matter what, I'm fighting this war out to stop Apoth. At this point, I don't exactly care what happens to the ANF..." Whether it was destroyed in the process, or at least taken out of power, Jessica didn't care. What she wanted right now was to end this ridiculous conflict. "I suppose that answers what that interface command is used for..." The one that had popped up after she'd done what she could to remove Apotheosis' programming.

Abby at least deserved to know what was going on. "If you still don't believe I'm an android, then keep your ears open for what he has to say... Just know that I still love you, no matter what's changed about me. I can only hope you bring yourself to feel the same, despite your thoughts on people like Hannah."

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"Yeah, I am pretty curious. I got a lot of questions..." She took a pause as she turned a page. "And well...I think freaking out over how you look would be rude, plus spiders don't bug me much." She wrote a few things down. However before she was able to continue... "OH CRAP!" She took a gasp of realization, as she remembered that Vvi wasn't really supposed to be dangerously held in the air on a super robotic hand. Aliza was surprised no one yelled at her for that yet. "Uuh hang on, I'll set you down and come down myself...so uh..." She closed the notebook and tossed it to her alien friend. "Could you hang onto this until I get down there? Thanks! Owe ya!" Before the spider could even decline she would find the little book on the palm next to her, and with that the Italian lowered the hand down the ground level and gently placed it there for Vvi to jump off.

Edited by TheRoon
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Things had quickly gone downhill. First Jess broke her bed and then an Admiral, Abigail, and Kim had all shown up at the same time basically. Jess had grabbed the Admiral, demanding explanations, which she got and seemed to settle her for now, but Val was still nervous. The tension between the four people was clearly high, and Val decided the safest move for her was to just stay hiding in the Captain's room. She stayed away from the door, close enough that she could hear, but out of direct line of sight and hopefully out of attention. She really didn't want to be pulled into this right now. She had just been trying to help the Captain, not get pulled into politics.

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

Astin nodded. Elaine seemed to have a solid grasp on the situation and seemed unhappy about the whole clone situation. She also had a valid point with the talk of covering everything from today up. "I'm not sure they will try and cover it all up. After all, brave soldiers died for freedom today." There was a clear bitter tone to their voice as they stared at the seemingly resolved conversation surrounding their newest clone. "They do it all the time. Talk about how the soldiers died to protect those around them, to save the ANF." They sighed. "Obviously they're not the bad guys here, Apotheosis is. But they'll use this to bolster support of the ANF and gloss over other situations like everything with the colonies."

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"Oh! O-Okay," she quickly let out as the notebook was given to her.  Not containing her curious nature though, she rummaged through it, lightly flipping through pages as she noticed names and numbers.  Not knowing Aliza's intentions she didn't exactly pinpoint the real nature of the information in the pages.

"Ho?  Are these battle plans dear?" she asked curiously, before closing the notebook and facing Aliza.  "Would the numbers pertain to power levels?" she asked, before gasping as she had an idea while the other brought them down.  "What about me?!  Where would I be in power?" she asked excitedly, knowing full well she was a capable pilot but still curious about someone else's opinion.

As she jumped off once they reached the ground, a sudden wave of nausea hit her before she could give back the notebook to Aliza.  "O-Oh....oh wow....there's alot of strong emotions going on...." she mumbled, holding a hand against her head while looking around.  She could pinpoint exactly where they were coming from, but with only having talked to Aliza so far, she waited until the other landed as well before wandering off by herself.

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When Aliza finished lowering the arm the one thing she didn't expect was the alien to start scrounging around the pages like a kid in a candy store. But I suppose that's what she gets for trusting a stranger with danger. "!" Oh how quick the embarrassment came, like a bolt of lightning from a golden god above. She didn't think to tell her not to read it but...well what's done is done. Rather than answer Vvi's questions she quickly brought the arm back up and swiftly took her own line down. She let gravity take her as fast as it possibly could, powered deeply by feelings of embarrassment, shock and regret.

She quickly landed before Vvi, rather flustered. "T.they are NOT power levels! They-" But before she could clear the air of the awkward situation she noticed Vvi hold her head a little. "Whoa! Are you ok?" She quickly came up and placed her hands on the alien's shoulders to keep her steady. "Do you need to go to the sick bay? I can lead you there."

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More Questions

Relief. Alphonse's feet finally found the floor again, and the pressure on his neck was relieved. He gasped a breath of relief. With that choking feeling gone, Alphonse could continue... not that he was short of questions to handle. "Explain... very well. You already know you were built, Jessica, and your body, made of steel." More than steel. For a moment, Alphonse glanced at Abigail, expecting any doubts alluded by Jess to surface now. "However, you are a level above common androids like the HAN series, even HaN4. You were created with the neural map of Tabitha's Gaertner daughter, whom died at an early age..." His tone implied he'd continue speaking, but Alphonse stopped. There was something he hesitated to mention.

"...On top of that, you are the Riese's strongest computer. The Riese was made in mind precisely with your ability to integrate your conscious with it." It was a prospect that alienated Jessica's humanity even further, unfortunately. "Tabitha wished to create a thinking machine that could surpass our conventional technology. I wished to 'create a protector." In the end, however... "Your ability to engage with hardship is improving spectacularly. To me, It's clear that you do have a conscience." And there he went again...

Edited by Xinnidy
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Brant was clearly unhappy with his accusations, Tarquin figured that he must have struck a nerve somewhere. Brant couldn't even see it, or at least Tarquin thought he didn't. He'd gathered his opinion on Firmia and nothing Brant had said made him want to reevaluate the case. If anything, Brant's defense of her was proof that she had him exactly where she wanted him. Brant might have been an adult, but he was easily pushed around by the people surrounding him. He glared back at Brant, refusing to accept his case on the matter. It'd be all fine for Brant until Firmia slipped and made a mistake, then it'd be him floating around in a tank with a replacement lined up.

"Everyone being selfish doesn't make it any better. I don't want to know any more about her, if you say she will do her part then that's all I need to know." Tarquin replied, relieved that Thorvald had handled the situation better than he had. He couldn't understand Brant's perspective at all, why was he acting in such a way? Thankfully Thorvald had sorted out a deal that they could all at least agree to. At least Chris could show that she actually wanted to help Nina, Brant hadn't assured him anything of the sort. Her next question was an interesting one, not one he was entirely sure he could answer.

"I cannot quite explain, but it was the first name that came to mind. She's similar to you but she should be her own person, so she needs her own name." Tarquin replied, trying to understand his own choice. If Nina could start making choices for herself and with the right people around to guide her, maybe she could find her own way to live. Nobody deserved to be a puppet for war. His qualms were somewhat settled, but he was certain Brant would remember their interaction. He still needed to visit the medbay, both to visit Nikolai and get his wound checked.

-

"Eh? I dunno, thinkin' about all this political mumbo jumbo makes my head hurt. I ain't exactly good with words, but you're right, they'll probably spin it the way they want it to be. Can't say I like it, but we gotta do our best to keep people safe." Elaine replied, noting Astin's signs of resentment. Astin wasn't really someone Elaine could read particularly well. There was no telling what Astin was thinking until they actually spoke. "Yeah, Apotheosis definitely need to be gone... the world ain't gonna get better with them around. As much as I don't trust those clones, it kinda sucks to be made just to fight. I ain't exactly a fan of that little shit Tarquin, but I kinda wonder what kind of life he had."

Edited by Shin
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"You're welcome, Ensign." Megumi mirrored the salute, mostly out of habit. From the looks of things Alriana wouldn't be too much trouble. The doctor was picking up worrisome hints of a war like culture, which was only solidifying her mental image of the male blue bloods. As long as Alriana herself didn't get it in her head that she should challenge any of the infirmary staff members to a sparring match, Megumi wasn't going to waste energy fretting over things like that. When it came to strength, the doctor only needed to be strong enough to lug around her firearm of choice, whether it be a simple sidearm, or a portable railgun.

Now then ... "Alriana," Megumi approached, figuring now was as good a time as any to gather more information. "What can you tell me about your ... home?" She meant to say something along the lines of 'natural environment,' but she was getting a better grasp of Alriana's language skills and didn't want to use any big words or ambiguous terms. There was also the distinct possibility that Alriana was her society's equivalent of a 'city girl,' and not born and raised in a natural environment. She may have been stuck on a Sacarian ship most of her life for all the doctor knew. Regardless, she had to start somewhere, and hopefully figure out the key differences between Earth, and wherever Alriana was from.


Tarquin clearly wanted to have his cake and eat it, too; judging others from a distance and discouraging any attempts at a mutual understanding. Oddly enough it was similar to the approach Firmia took with people, only coming from the other side. The fewer people that were close to her--the fewer people she had to safeguard--the easier life was for her. Unfortunately, stuffing everyone into her ship was, at best, only a momentary fix. As for trying to explain the Alkaev's motives to Tarquin, Brant was feeling ... discouraged. In some ways, Firmia's past was even more messed up than his own, and yet all Tarquin wanted to see was a girl playing with her dolls. If first impressions were all that mattered to the young marksman, then his mind had been made up days ago. What could Brant say to even begin chipping away at such a lazily drawn conclusion?

"You know," Brant winced faintly, "... someone like you, who's also been controlled your whole life, could help us show her a better balance to doing things. Or ..." he shrugged, recalling Rosa's various confessions in the weeks before all hell broke loose, "you could just focus on all the Ninas out there and ignore your fellow Tarquins." That wasn't the chisel he was looking for, Brant thought to himself, but the two teenagers did have some things in common: Both were highly judgmental. Both were too young to be involved in a war. Both were jerked around by conniving old men. Both overreacted when protecting things. And both were depressing to think about for any length of time.

Chris decided to settle the Nina matter herself and wanted Brant to relay her decision to Firmia. Of course Brant didn't have to relay one word because Firmia heard it all firsthand. "Guess you caught all of that ..." So Brant would have to come back to pick her up later. He wasn't having someone else do it, that was for certain.

"I did," Firmia replied, "and ... I'm washing my hands of all of this. Thorvald can go back to whatever he was supposed to be doing before this. We can handle the salvage on our own." Brant heard another heavy sigh on the other end of the call. "Let me know once you're back in the air." The channel closed from Firmia's end.


Brant didn't wait until he was airborne to try and get Firmia back on the line. He'd only strapped himself in and got the Regalia standing upright. As soon as he turned on the T-Link, he realized that something was off on the deck just below him. It may have seemed awkward for the Regalia to continue standing in place, but Brant was more concerned with the various emotions all clustered together down in the crew's quarters. Once he was sure it wasn't anything dangerous ...

Even that didn't delay Brant in calling Firmia back. In case this took a while, he wanted her to know what he was doing. "I haven't left yet, but we've got some privacy, now." Brant already knew that was what she really wanted, and maybe he could get her to talk while he felt out the situation below.

"No one's in the cockpit with you?"

"Chris is outside with Nina," Brant winced. If she didn't want Chris to hear either then this was probably personal.

"Well then ... I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but please don't. It's better if I don't have any contact with the Riese's pilots between battles. Senior officers is more than enough."

Brant gritted his teeth at that. "You're isolating yourself too much. If I honestly thought you and Tarquin would become friends, I'd just shut up, sit back, and let it happen. I'm just trying to make it easier for us to all keep working together ... so crap like this doesn't happen again. ... there's nothing worse than misunderstandings."

"As long as the misunderstandings stay on the grunt level, and just on Jessica's side of things, then it should be fine. That ship still has a mole problem. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about ..."

Brant sighed. "What did you want to talk about, then? I'm too tired to try and get you to open up to the crew right now." He also couldn't think of any way to address the mole issue. That was actually a legitimate concern, even if Firmia was using it like a bludgeon to fend off all 'unnecessary' relations.

"... take off, first," Firmia said, her tone oddly pleading.

"Any particular reason I need to be in the air, first?" Brant asked, cocking an eyebrow.

There was a brief pause. "I promise I'll explain afterward. For now, just launch and go meet up with Tonya. She'll be waiting by the Rhea. I don't want to take any chances moving it, so you're both going to fly it back together."

"... alright, but give me one more minute ... it feels like there's some drama happening down in the third deck and I don't want to take off right in the middle of it. I'm pretty sure Jess is down there."

"Just another day on the Heion Riese," Firmia bit out, "Please hurry."

Edited by Phoenix
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Startling a bit when the other snatched back the notebook, she felt herself frown a bit at the other's embarrassment.  "S-Sorry...shouldn't have looked...," she said, clearly feeling how the other felt...among other emotions in the air.

"To be honest, yes please.  I'm just not used to such strong human emotions..." she explained while letting Aliza settle her before she could collapse.  "Maybe laying down and some water would be nice..."

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"You will," she said with near absolute confidence. She wasn't quite sure where that confidence came from, however. Her gaze followed Tristan as he left, her attention only returning to the others in the room after the ensign had left. Megumi didn't waste time after he had left, giving Alriana her own question to answer. She had asked about her home; the only place that could be for the alien was her cell on the Sacarians' ship. "Big room. White, or... black walls. Bed... more big. Lot, th-things in." Recalling the exact details of her cell was only as simple as it was because of the sheer amount of time she'd spent in it. All of her memories of her time spent there were hazy; she had no idea how much time she'd actually spent there.

"Why want, know?" The interest in herself from the humans was another new thing for Alriana. All her life she'd been regarded with, at best, disinterest from the Sacarians. Why were the humans so different? Just what was it that caused this change in her treatment? She needed to know.

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Tarquin looked up at Brant, the man's approach taking him by surprise. Him and Firmia similar? It was a rather unpleasant comparison that he'd made, what made it more unsettling were the slithers of truth within it. He remained silent throughout his explanation, his expression weakening as it came to its end. He couldn't be anything like Firmia, she had been given all the power and resources she'd wanted... Tarquin had very little. Without the people he'd gotten to know there would be no reason for him to even remain on the Heion Riese. Slowly each of those people had been taken away from him, one by one... would they one day all be gone.

He watched Brant leave, unable to form a cohesive response. How could one form a response to someone who could so much more? Tarquin was barely interested in, let alone able to read, the feelings of others, Brant had the edge in so many regards.

"Die Puppe wird frei von seinen Saiten. Er wird bald zum Puppenspieler für andere." Tarquin muttered, clenching his fist. Even if Firmia had a difficult upbringing, she had acquired something from it. She was making her own choices, playing with her own puppets. If Firmia was going to reach out, she would have done it in person. The whole conversation had made him tired, hopefully he could muster the energy to visit Nikolai.
 

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Alphonse started to protest, to explain himself, and at least he seemed like maybe he was gonna cut the bullshit and be honest. Always hard to tell, with his type. Probably wouldn't have made a difference, Abigail was pretty worked up, but as circumstance would have it, the two of them never got to find out. Jessica must have heard them, and opened her door, interrupting and changing the whole focus of everything.

That's not to say she was disappointed with how things went. Seeing her girlfriend take full charge, and actually turn on the ANF was just about enough to make Abby want to drop everything and kiss her, but the thought that that might keep Jess from continuing to kick ass was enough to put that idea on hold. That and... the arm, yeesh, that really did look pretty bad. The way the conversation was turning was also a little worrying. Abigail stepped back from the two just enough not to interfere with the chokehold and put her hands on her hips, watching, listening.

When the lieutenant rushed over, she just raised a hand, putting one finger up and twisting her wrist back and forth. Nope, not letting you shut this down, there is shit that needs to be said. Granted, she wasn't really making head or tails of some of it. Who the fuck was Dr. Gaertner, or her daughter, and why did Alphonse think Jess was some dead girl? Integrating with the ship's computers also sounded pretty dodgey, this whole thing was veering toward downright loony. No, the admiral was talking like not only would she integrate with, but that Jess was the Riese's computer. Hefty squint, pursed lips.

But how though...? The captain was, uh, putting it delicately, soft in all the places she was supposed to be soft, and quite fully functional in all sorts of areas a machine would have no business replicating. Something Jess said though, thankfully provided an avenue of escape for a mind desperately seeking one.

Abigail'd never told her she didn't believe Tristan's claim, and she'd been too busy to answer Jess's response to her text until it was obvious that it would just be better to go and meet her anyways. Which meant... either she was psychic, because it was certainly true that Abby definitely hadn't believed in that hogwash... But, even with the little tiff about TKs the other day, that explanation wouldn't fit with all the other times, where Abby'd be thinking or feeling something and she'd have been able to tap in. Or... somehow Jess had misinterpreted the message she'd sent. Even though she'd typed it up quite clearly.

Omigod, Jess can't read. For some reason the conclusion she arrived at was absolutely hilarious to her. Abigail couldn't help but laugh. Jess was a fucking dead girl emoji illiterate in a robot body in GC 251!~ Abby was a fucking necrorobophiliac dating a dinosaur.

And listening to Alphonse go on and on like this just made her laugh more. "Are you hearing him? Hearing this?" Between the raw facts and plain language crept in a sort of awe to his voice, a reverence, almost hero worship. Rather than an admiral of the fucking ANF it was like she was face to face with some Make-A-Wish kid getting their last request granted. And after getting squeezed about the throat, no less!

"I can't believe it!" I can't bring myself to believe it. "I wonder if he'd lick your boots if you asked him to?" Why, why, what does it mean?

Quietly, between the laughter, a nagging thought pressed her mind. I can't run from this. What happens next? What do I do?

Edited by Balcerzak
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A Protector

"... So that's my end in all of this. Titanium, by the way, if this system report is to be believed." Jess' eyes had lit up, she was looking around her interior files as Alphonse continued to speak. "Just a computer to make the ship perform better, hmm? I guess Tabitha-- that is her first name, yes? That's what these reports say. I guess she couldn't let her daughter go... No mention of a death in her files, must've been pretty nasty to be private. So she makes me, with Apotheosis' help, I can only presume; I'm impossibly realistic by any standards of androids, even Hannah has clear indications of her machinery, specifically..." Jess made a glance towards Abby, eyes darting to her fingers, a small blush radiating. "Specifically, in certain areas. Her schematics are in here too, she was the prototype? Too many questions right now... Going to need to shuffle through them later."

Abby was laughing, and Jess couldn't quite understand it. It was... Probably a lot for her. That and... She was right, Alphonse was being incredibly weird about this. A savior for the ANF, sure, but it almost felt like he saw more than that. Too high a pedestal. She didn't want to be up on it. "He's certainly rubbing me the wrong way, with what he's saying... Sorry for you having to see this, Abby, Kim, Valarie. I had been hoping to speak to your first, Abby... Alone, in a way we could try to make sense of this properly, but it's a bit too late now. Here's hoping the fallout isn't too terrible. Now, let's see..." Jess tried to access the Riese's systems from there, surprised it was such easy access... Then again, if Alphonse was to be fully believed, this ship was made for her-- to be, her.

To all pilots. I will address the rest of the staff properly once the wear from the fight has cooled down.
For now, I'm telling you all. I am an android. If that changes your opinions about me, for better or worse, so
be it. I'm still going to captain this ship to the best of my ability... There will be a meeting later. Not now, too
many people are running around, things need to settle a bit. But later today, and I hope everyone comes ready
to talk. Captain Gefalscht out.

"And, send?" Kim's communicator beeped with incoming mail, so that had worked. "Cool. Guess I don't need my communicator anymore... And that's all I need to hear from you, Alphonse. Get off of my ship." Jess gave him a stern glare, if he didn't listen, the ceiling did have turret systems... Oh, they had to repair the upstairs ones. The alien had done a number to a few of them, if the ship's system readouts were correct. "I can check these too, how convenient." Maybe this wasn't so bad? "As for the rest of you... I'd like to talk to Abby alone. If that's possible, please, let me do so... And Abby, if you're willing, please let me." Jess tried to smile at her again, but the weight of her reaction was sinking in. That sort of laughter wasn't just at Alphonse. You can do this... And at least if you can't, you can't get depressed enough to do anything stupid over it. She stepped back into her room, finding a seat on the edge of the bed. A heavy sigh followed.

Transport Clone

Tarquin sure was upset with Brant. He didn't know a lot of things, especially things about Firmia, so Chris was going to let things slide. Especially since it seemed Brant was able to hold his own. If Tarquin wanted to fling cuts at adults, he was going to get them back, despite his age... Can't live in both worlds. She gave Brant a thumbs up as he got back into the Regalia, she wouldn't stay too long... Just long enough to see that Nina was alright.

"It's not a bad name... Just figured people would try to keep the naming convention to fit her," she started, with a thumb aimed Christina's way. "Guess that'd just leave you with Christy, or Tina. So, Nina isn't exactly far off... S'fine."

"Oh, a mess... ... ... Wow. Alright... I guess... I guess the captain is an android."

"Huh? Lemme see." Christina lifted her wrist over to Chris, the blonde sighing somewhat. "Well. Cat's outta the bag now... Er, Tarquin, Thorvald, you guys mind if we bring Nina up to the infirmary? She seems... Physically fine, but I want the doc to give her a checkup, if you're keeping her here."

"I'm, gonna go lay down, actually." Christina smiled weakly.

"Yeah? You feeling okay, sis?"

"That system in the Artemis is really tough to handle. I've just got a bit of a headache... That's all. You can take care of Nina, right?"

"Yeah. I can... Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Of course. Thanks~" With probably the best smile she could handle, Christina turned to head downstairs. She needed to change, anyway...

"Right, that leaves us four. Nina, can you walk fine? I can help you if you can't."

"My body is perfectly functional... What does, this mean?" She gave Chris a thumbs up, making the girl smile a bit.

"It means a lot of things. 'Good work', 'I'm fine', 'nice'... Things like that."

"Then..." She held the thumbs up out with a bit more emphasis. "I can walk."

"Heheh... Might be easier to help you than I was expecting."

Aliens!

"Alright boys, come check on the-- Goddamn what the ffff... H-Hi." Avery had decided to get the new machine checked out, passing by Aliza and... And their new friend. Those were horns. Those were real. This felt like a cheap sci-fi novel, but she wasn't reading it, she was living it. "Uh. Hey. Avery's, the name... A-Aliza, you er, wanna bring yer friend up ta th'infirmary? I figure th'doc might wanna make sure ain't nothin' happened to 'er. An' miss, y'mind iffin we give yer machine a look? Ain't gonna do nothin' to it, just gonna do some repairs an'... An' see iffin we can refuel it. S'about all... That sound fine?" What did alien tech run on, anyway?

"Home"

"... That sounds like a cell," Olivia commented, finally growing an interest past fear. "The doctor means... How do we word this. Your, planet? Do you understand that? Your world. Nature. Trees, ocean, anything like that?" Maybe that would help was Megumi was trying to address. And if Alriana already knew that, and she'd answered what her home had been... "If that's what she thinks her home actually is, she might've been raised in captivity. Does that mean there's more aliens? Ugh... Aliens using aliens..."

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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"No." Alriana didn't understand what the assistant was talking about. Her planet? Her world? For the longest time, all she'd ever known was the inside of her cell and the select few places she'd been taken inside the Sacarians' ship. The only sort of nature the alien had seen before she arrived on Earth had been on the recordings meant to teach her about her own race in a sort of 'Stygusian see, Stygusian do' method. "Before I... here, no tree or... o-shan. Only, room." 

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The exchange that followed was almost sad to watch, really. Abigail seemed to be... proud of Jessica, and intent to stop interference, but it felt... off. More that she was proud of her for attacking Alphonse than anything else. The Admiral himself gave a response that at least cleared up some things, but only opened up more questions. If there was one thing that she could solidly agree with the other involved parties, it was that Alphonse' reverence of their Captain was... not towards any expected level. It was something else, to be certain. Jessica seemed to have come to terms, somewhat... using her new integration with the ship to send a message without using her communicator, and rather bluntly telling Alphonse to get himself off of the Riese as soon as possible. If he refused to acquiesce, well... that could cause problems, but what was perhaps the most problematic at this moment was Abigail...

Yes, watching this was rather sad. Saddest of all was the fear coming from Jessica. Not because of anything that had happened that day, not because she had been the target of an attempted assassination, but because she was afraid of how her lover would take the news. News that she was still undergoing... incredible mental gymnastics to avoid processing, if the heavy feed of feelings coming from her head was any indication. And feeling those things, the fear radiating from Jessica made so much goddamn sense it was physically painful. 

"If that is what you want, Jess. I'll leave you two, but first..." Kim replied, stepping up to Abigail with a stern expression on her face. Anger by Jessica's proxy, who was too absorbed in fear to feel anger at Abigail's stubbornness. Pointing her finger at the ex-rebel in a fashion similar to what she herself had been on the receiving end of, Kim paused for a moment before continuing.

"You. I don't care if you hate me, or whatever it is that you feel, I just hope you'll listen. I can't even...begin to imagine what hoops your head is jumping through right now, to try and not listen to her, to not believe what she's saying to you. But after everything she's done for you... given you a second chance almost no one else would have, given you a lover and a pillar when you needed it the most, when you had nothing." Kim began, shaking her head midway through, lowering her pointing finger into a balled fist, shaking in place before continuing.

"If you let something like this negate all that. If you reject her... over something she had no way of knowing, that she's trying to cope with while sitting there, bloody terrified... terrified of you, the last person who should ever... ever, make her feel that way." Pause. Again. The Lieutenant's fist hit the wall, an audible thump resonating through the metal.

"If you hurt her. Abigail. I won't forgive you. I hope she doesn't either, but... she's nicer, than me. She probably will... but there will be... hell to pay. I'll make sure of that. You've said you love her, well... now's the time to prove it."

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