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


Nanami Touko
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Val had managed to stay mostly hidden through the exchange, more details about  Jess's situation being confirmed, an odd one indeed, and then the Admiral essentially being kicked off the Riese. And there was the request for privacy, a request Val was more than willing to fulfill. "T-take care Jess. And if you need anything more from me, just ask..."

She had just made it out the door when Kim started threatening Abigail. Not something she wanted to stay for, nope, no way. She quickly ducked around them, walking quickly, almost running in fact, towards the elevator. Suddenly that alien didn't seem like such a big deal. Anything had to be better than this right now...

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mmm they seem to have done something different with this one too. She looks much more passive from over here... Hopefully Tarquin and the others will be able to help her." They looked back at Elaine, a question escaping before they even really thought about it. "So why don't you like him? Tarquin I mean. He's been a good teammate from what I've seen. I know you don't like Nikolai, that one I get. He provoked you as much as up provoked him during that whole exchange. But why Tarquin?"

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"Hello," was the more subdued greeting as Vvi tried to focus through her headache.  If anything, she would've started with a more cheerful and pleasant response, but alas she simply offered a small smile as the mechanic (Avery was it?), offered to look at her robot.  "That would be much appreciated dear," she said lightly while keeping herself steady against Aliza.  "Also...there's no need for the nerves, I won't bite...." 

Of course, she couldn't help the subtle wink.

"To be honest, I have more reason to fear you humans than you have to be nervous of me~."  If anything, she was glad the others couldn't feel her own emotions to be honest, her usual peppy attitude becoming a chore with how much the others' emotions were wearing her down.

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Aliza kept Vvi as steady as she could and was just about to pull her alien friend off to the infirmary. But before she could do that two things had just caught her attention. The first was incoming mail from the captain, which she was about to take a peak at. But before she could that's when the second attention grabber had rolled up, and that was good ol' Avery. "Hm? Oh hi Avery!" She gave off a big smile and a slight wave. Aliza noticed she was a little skittish around the alien. Was it the horns? Probably the horns. Gotta be the horns. The bite comment didn't help either but yeah.

"Oh yeah, I was just about to do that." She answered after. She had also noticed Vvi's "more reason to fear you humans" comment too, but decided to put that away for now. She could probably guess why, but it wasn't important right now. "Don't worry, Vvi's in good hands. Just make sure her mech is too, ok? That lance she's got is like video game levels of strong." Which video game was anybody's guess, but with that the Italian lead her new alien friend down the hall toward the infirmary.

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On the one hand, being held captive on a Sacarian ship for so long that it was basically her home was just sad. But, on the other hand, it meant these stygusians were at least on par with humans in terms of adaptability. Megumi suspected Alriana would be alright in the Riese's environment more long term, without any special needs beyond hydration, nutrient intake, and whatever other activities were necessary for her overall health. This was a gift of sorts, good news taped up in lousy wrapping paper.

Olivia chimed in to try and clarify things, and she was right, Megumi was trying to learn more about Alriana's home world specifically. If she could get by just fine in a Sacarian cage though, then it wasn't as pressing a matter as the doctor feared it would be. Still every little detail helped. There might be some crucial difference that could affect this adorable iguana's long term health. Based on what they had seen of the race so far, stygusians weren't biological pushovers by any means. Perhaps socially vulnerable, but that was another matter ... another amusing matter~

Alriana went on to confirm the medical staff's worries that she was indeed a Sacarian pet, kept and raised by them, and probably meant only for combat operations like this one. "Well," Megumi nearly smiled again, "I'm glad to know our enemies are as dumb as we were when it comes to slavery. I'm sure we'll be taking advantage of that in the future. Okay, Alriana, next question. I know Cheryl left to get you something, but when was the last time you ate? What do the Sacarians usually feed you?" Megumi was expecting even more detailed downers with a question like that, but was also considering getting an actual sample. She didn't really want to go swabbing around Alriana's almost comically menacing teeth for those samples, but it would be the easiest way to figure out what was actually part of the infiltrator's diet. She could work from there, but could only hope the Sacarians liked the idea of a physically healthy combat unit, and not just a functional one.


Things were still chaotic below, and on top of that, there was now more than one source of anger emanating from the crew's quarters, now. Just one would have been fine; it could be someone throwing a temper tantrum. Two or more was a standoff, or perhaps even a heated argument, depending on whose wrath was aimed where. All Brant was completely sure of was that Jessica was one of the angry ones. Maybe the other was Abigail? A part of him was hopeful in that, and another part dreaded the thought. There was a good chance it was actually someone else; a few people had taken off for the elevators not too long ago, including Admiral Alphonse of all people, so there were quite a few possibilities if that was where he and others had been headed. The possibilities kept on growing as Jessica's anger gave way more and more to fear.

"Are you really going to wait around for things to calm down?" Firmia came back over the Regalia's comms. "What are you going to do if something does happen? Get back out of the Regalia and rush over? For what?"

She had a point, Brant admitted, but some people, himself included, just had to watch the meteor coming down. This was as clear a picture as he was going to be able to get. And if Abigail was down there, then this was probably the moment that would determine exactly which way things would go. It felt incredibly masochistic to be trying to feel the situation out, because for Brant, it was already over. This was just the context, a degrading eulogy. Abigail would likely conclude all of Brant's failures today, proving one of two things to him once and for all. She would prove that he was a worthless man for being overwhelmed by his pain, or she would prove that his choice, the most important one he'd made to that point, was completely wrong.

Brant already suspected the latter, merely because being with Jessica would have meant leaving the Regalia for someone else to pilot, remaining on the Riese more or less permanently, parting ways with the Avalon when the war ended, likely never forgiving Rosa or helping Tonya in the process, never having so much as an inclination to help Chris, and never lifting a finger to address his own weakness. It went back to his discussion with Sasha, about this agape love he was trying to incorporate into his life. Brant could only speculate, but with the way things had played out, he never could have had such a discussion, or come to do the things he was doing if he hadn't been brought so low, so quickly. The price for it all was just too high.

The Alkaev-Abrams Continuum

Spoiler

Brant knew he was basically wasting Firmia and Tonya's time, right now. This wasn't exactly agape, outgoing love, now was it? It was just like he told Sasha. Anything to do with Jessica just made him think and act selfishly. It was like clockwork at this point. How could the choice he made be the right one if this was invariably the result? There was work to do, and here he was, hurting himself while still well inside Chris' 'Brant Detection Range' ... and with intent, no less. "I know there's nothing I can do ... with most problems, if I can't solve it by shooting someone, I just can't solve it. Still ..." Still, he wanted to go back, back to a time when thinking about Jessica made him happy and grateful, not miserable.

"Do you want me to hate her even more?" Firmia asked rhetorically, her tone quite demanding, "Because that's what you're doing, right now. This is why we have to leave the second this war ends. If we don't, how are you going to heal? Or would you rather just keep going through this when she's close by?"

A strange yet amusing thought suddenly came to Brant, thanks to the Alkaev's choice of words. "Heh, you know ..." he rubbed a finger on the side of his helmet, grinning with embarrassment, "maybe some part of me does. At least then ... this would all have some meaning. If I wasn't so weak ... it really wouldn't be so bad. I had a thought once ... about how far I'd have to be willing to go to be what she wanted me to be ... about how I might actually have to outlive Abigail and track Jess down again, but I'd still make up for all the lost time in the end. That's the kind of determination I needed just to keep trying. It's funny how she is basically immortal."

Firmia didn't say anything, but Brant was certain she had plenty of thoughts about what he'd just shared with her. Maybe she couldn't just settle on one of them at this point. It was probably too frustrating for her.

"Like I said though, I can't solve things without a gun, so determination isn't really the issue. I guess I'm still making sense of what happened to us, too. I know if she'd just talked to me first I would have been fine with this. All I can feel toward this now is hatred ... just the mere thought of them ... and for how pathetic I am."

"I guess after that you're not sure what's real anymore," Firmia said. Brant almost didn't catch it, her voice came through so low. "... or how to find out. How can you be sure of anything after something like that? I don't know the answer, either. I do know that this whole situation is ruining us. That's why I want to get away from her. She may not be actively dragging us down anymore, but as long as we're stuck with her, I don't know if you can get past it ... especially if part of you doesn't want to."

"Well ... being able to just keep loving her like I was, in spite of all of this ... just always having those feelings intact no matter what happens ... it's ... definitely more my style. I'd rather handle things that way. It's working with Rosa, so I know it's possible. Being this weak is the real problem."

"She is not the kind of person you should love. Neither is my mother, but that's another issue ... and it's a much bigger one than I th-mmph ... n-never mind. With Jessica, you thought she was giving this her all but you found out she was just being a stupid teenager. It's only natural to be upset, but the best thing to do is to stay away so the situation doesn't get even worse for us. It's close to affecting our ability to fight this war."

Brant grimaced, having already reminded himself that the situation, while thoroughly messed up, wasn't that bad. It was true, his ability to fight in particular was somewhat hinging on Chris, but she was enough. Brant absolutely refused to let the Regalia be destroyed with her in it. That seemed to do it for the Avalon crew's major weaknesses ... as far as he could tell. "Firmia ... it's not like our lives are ruined. We're fighting a war right now, and the fact we're all still alive and dealing with our problems at the same time is a miracle."

"War is about strategy, tactics, information control, and logistics, not pulling miracles out of thin air," Firmia countered.

"I'm just saying, try to look on the bright side. If I couldn't at least do that myself, I'd probably be dead by now," Brant insisted. "You've got a ship to run your company from, some bleeding edge AIs helping you, just about everyone and everything you care about in one place, the protection of the Riese and the rest of the ANF, and so on. As for me, Chris is helping with all of that. Even Rosa wants in on this Brant healing crap. I don't know if it's actually going to work, but that little voice in my head that keeps telling me to lay down and die is so low I can barely hear it now ... and that's a miracle, too."

"... Я ненавижу это ... ... you should ... really start thinking about the long term, Brant," Firmia said, treading as lightly as she could for some reason, "I don't think you and Chris latching onto each other like this was a good idea ... especially since ... -no, I said I wouldn't get into that until you were off the ship."

So, whatever Firmia wanted to bring up wasn't just something Chris shouldn't be around for, but actually had something to do with her. Duly noted. Brant wound up shrugging at the audio indicator on his monitor. "She and I both know it's sudden, but we'll be fine. The last thing either of us are interested in is hurting each other. It's really no different from you and Hannah."

"No, i-it's completely different!"

"... how so?" Brant raised an eyebrow. As far as he could tell, they were fairly similar pairings. Like Brant, Firmia wasn't aiming specifically for romance, but was willing to try it if that made Hannah happier. Where Firmia was against the idea due to her age, Brant's normal sexual desires were just beaten fine and swept under the rug by Dima's 'doctors.' "I mean," Brant smiled as he brought out his arms, "you and I make pretty lousy lovers, but we're both trying, right?"

Firmia sighed into her comm and then said, "No, I guess you're right. It is similar ... it's going to be my fault when this eventually blows up in my face, and it's also going to be my fault when you and Chris ... stop being around each other."

That sounded bad. "What do you mean?" Brant asked, trying to rein in his thoughts before he started jumping to conclusions.

"I ... love Hannah. It's just ... not in the way she wants. I don't feel safe when I don't know where she is. I hate seeing her like she was ... suggesting she get rid of her memories. I hate having to put her in danger all of the time, even if she's the best suited for it. She was supposed to be with you, but once you commit to something, it's victory or death ... ... I'm just ... hoping against hope that the fact that I need her with me regardless of what we are is enough to make everything work out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wind up disappointing her just like you did ... and I'm too distracted by my duties as Captain to figure out how to stop it."

"Yeah it's possible," Brant agreed, "This could definitely blow up, but you'd probably have to kiss her first. You know, set all the dominoes up for that grand finale without thinking," he added jokingly. Jabbing himself occasionally wasn't exactly therapy, but it did help in some small way, moment to moment.

"... now as for me ruining things for you and Chris ... I guess that's less obvious ...?"

"Kind of, yeah," Brant nodded at his monitor, and letting Firmia continue.

"I'm in command of the Avalon now. I'm not just looking after a handful of my friends and my mobile suits. The lives of every last person on board are in my hands. Don't think for one second that this is easy. I have to go over a lot of things to try to figure out the best way to handle anything that comes up, and some things I have to know how to react to in advance. It's not easy, it's hardly ever fun, and one mistake could ruin everything."

"Being captain can be a major pain, yeah," Brant put in, thinking of Jessica and her herd of cats.

"So what am I supposed to do in a situation like this one? When I nearly lose control of one of my mobile suits, because someone under my command wants to waste time adjusting the ship rosters?"

Brant was starting to see hints of what Firmia was working toward. Admittedly, unless Jessica decided to let Nina switch ships, a move that didn't seem to serve a purpose at this point, this would have mostly been a waste of time. Brant wasn't sure it was as serious as Firmia was making it out to be, but he wouldn't be shocked to find that the view from the captain's chair was very different from that of a cockpit. It had to be even worse for Firmia, with the self imposed challenge of micromanaging everything.

"I'm not just the captain when it's convenient," Firmia pressed on, "or when we're all getting along ... and if that is the case, then it stops today. So far it's just Chris, but if I let her set a precedent ... then things are only going to get worse. It's hard enough getting people to listen to a minor, but when people can get away with it while operating my machines, it can and it will get dangerous. I can't have people deciding to 'do their own thing' or assuming I'll always go along with their spur of the moment ideas. It's one of the most stupid and negligent things I could do as a captain. If I can't trust Chris to follow orders, I'm sending her back to the Riese. She already proved herself today, so she shouldn't have a problem getting them to let her fight ... and that's what she said she wanted ... but either way, I won't let her change my plans on a whim, again. I don't care how minor her detours are."

So that's what Firmia meant by that, and from the sound of things, she was dead serious. On the one hand, Brant wasn't terribly worried right now; Chris wasn't unreasonable, just impulsive. She'd actually made some effort, however flimsy, to placate Firmia by limiting things to just five minutes. That five minutes had inevitably gone by, with the Regalia still loitering in the Riese's main hangar, but Brant himself was responsible for that one. Maybe if the two talked things out they could reach an understanding. It was the same thing Brant had suggested to Tarquin, only this actually looked feasible. On the other hand ... if neither of the two budged on the issue then Brant would wind up in one hell of a spot, almost the same spot he was in with Jessica. He didn't even like leaving Chris here on the Riese even briefly like this, so the thought of her being here all the time, while he was on another ship ... that wasn't pleasant to think about. Having Chris and Jessica on the Riese while he was over on the Avalon? Was that situation even remotely bearable, right now ...? The little voice telling him to just lay down and die rose a few decibels. Wonderful ...

"I'll talk to her and see if we can't think of some kind of compromise-" "Absolutely no compromises," Firmia cut Brant off, "I hate this, Brant. I really ... really hate making things harder for you, but we're not just friends playing a war game. It's my responsibility to get us all through this. Every name I have to add to the memorial wall is going to haunt me forever, but it's still my responsibility. So anyone who won't fall in has no business being here. You ... y-you can leave too ... if her leaving is too much for you to deal with. I'd ... I'd understand, but ... just know that I'm trying to make a place here for you to heal. Not to just keep suffering everyday. There's nothing like that on the Riese or anywhere else."

... Brant could feel the pain Firmia had endured just to say that all the way from here ...

"I won't force you to stay here ... especially not if I have to send her back."

"Okay. Once I pick Chris up let's all sit down and talk about this. Her last bosses didn't exactly inspire loyalty or respect, and things aren't stable here yet. Hell, the crew just formed yesterday. Let's take some time to finish ironing everything out now that we've got some breathing room. Will you give her another chance, at least?"

"I guess," Firmia sighed, "but it's going to be interesting to hear what she calls me this time ... and learning what's really important to her, you ... or something else. I'll give her until the next mission is about to start. If I'm not convinced by then, I'm going to swap in Gordon as your copilot. I ... won't send her back to the Riese unless things get worse, but she can't fly with you again until I know I can rely on her even when she wants to do something else. I'm sorry but that's the best I can do right now."

"It's enough ..." What's really important to her ... well, Chris said she would stay with him, so Brant wasn't going to worry about it. They could come to some kind of understanding as long as everyone involved was willing to talk. Brant was sure of that much, having already proved it to himself multiple times. Really, the only times things hadn't worked out for him was when they hadn't put in the time and effort to get everything out in the open, so on top of agape, that was where Brant could find some strength. Maybe he could start solving problems without his guns. "We'll work it out," he nodded to himself, "As long as we're all still talking, we'll work it out."

"... I would like that very much," Firmia said, her tone barely conveying the sentiment, "Anyway, now you know what I wanted to say. We can discuss the rest as a group. Maybe after the meeting."

There was a thought ... the debriefing. With everything that was going on, right now ... "I wonder if Jess is going to be in any condition to handle that ..."

"Alphonse or Vance can lead it if she can't," Firmia noted.

"... true, yeah. I guess we'll have to wait for word on that."

 

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It seemed as though her answer had pleased the doctor, somehow. Not enough for her own question to be answered, however. A flicker of annoyance washed over Alriana's face at Megumi's lack of response to her question; however, it was quickly replaced with her usual stoic look. "I eat, before I here." When she was deployed she was given rations that would last for the length of her trip. It was far from her favorite food, but it was better than eating her targets. "I eat... what I, want," she said with obvious pride in her voice. "Most time," she added after a slight pause. The pride in her voice had gone just as quickly as it had arrived, replaced with masked discomfort. "Other time... not get, choice. Some time, no eat. Happen if, I fail. Like now."

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Alriana's answer was somewhat helpful; Megumi was at least sure she wouldn't keel over from whatever Cheryl wound up bringing back. Still, the doctor was even more inclined to get some samples, now. "I just want to make sure that you get enough of what your body needs ... and that we don't give you anything toxic." She needed some good tissue samples for other tests, too. She hadn't worked out how to get them, yet ... this needle thing was just plain stupid ... but either way it was going to be a long day.

"You don't have to worry about not eating," Megumi offered, "There's more than enough to go around and even if there wasn't, Cheryl wouldn't let you go without." That and the Riese crew never failed. Good news for Alriana should she choose to join them. Megumi noticed it just then, that faint smile that kept sneaking up on her whenever certain things came up. She reined it in so quickly she looked like a bad memory had just hit her.

"If it's alright, I'd like to take some samples from around your teeth to see what kinds of things you normally eat." Megumi had to ask regardless, making gestures with her hands as if she was picking things out of her own teeth, but it was mainly a way of buying herself time to figure out what was going on. Sure, Alriana was amusing when she wasn't tearing up the place, but that shouldn't be enough to break down the doctor's professional mien. Maybe this was just too much fun for her now that the imminent danger was gone ...

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So the questions were so that they could feed her? Alriana didn't understand why this was worth so much attention. She'd always eaten whatever was placed in front of her and hadn't suffered for it, or at least she didn't remember doing so. Megumi told her that she would be fed without fail, but Alriana couldn't quite trust that without evidence. She only ate if she succeeded, at least partially. She hadn't failed the humans yet, would things remain the same if she did? She tucked that thought away for later; it wasn't something she could just ask about. She would have to wait and see.

Alriana didn't really understand what Megumi meant with her newest question. She understood what she'd said, mostly, but couldn't tell what the doctor wanted from her. The gestures didn't help much this time, Alriana didn't have any experience with what the doctor was trying to demonstrate. Instead, she decided to report what she'd been told she had been eating since she had arrived on the planet. "I eat, food here. Like fish, chik-can, steak." 

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"Eh? I just don't like how smug that face is. It's like he's judgin' me for everything I do." Elaine complained, slowly realising that Astin might not quite be on the same pahe as her. After all, she had basically declared a teenager her mortal enemy for looking at her funny a couple of times. Maybe it was petty, but he really got under her skin - even if he didn't mean to... but he probably did. "Kid probably has ass social skills, but something's gonna come his way if he don't work-..."

Elaine checked her communicator as it bleeped, reading the message carefully. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she began to sweat. "The Captain's a fucking toaster? She's been orderin' us all this time and she's not even alive? Holy shit, what if someone's been programming her or gettin' like video footage from her." Elaine exclaimed, her woes about Tarquin taking a backseat for the time being. "Shit... like I know that she was a bit of a freak, but this takes the cake. Clone armies, aliens... and a fucking toaster in command of the ship. This ain't good, Astin. How do we know she ain't been sabotagin' us from the start?"

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Man-Made, and More

"Not Apotheosis. This was directly... well, perhaps that organization was blossoming in the minds of its creators, but it hadn't reached the level of today. It was with the help of Doctor Tanya Goodwill, the only one in contact with the Sacarians back then... before she involved others into this. Including the one that now speaks to them, Ex-Field Major Helena Wayne." That was a bit of background story kept under the rug, and no doubt one that would get a significant rise of people, now that Alphonse made it as public as it could have been --he was indeed aware of the civilian volunteers that the Riese housed, but reasoned it was a matter of time--."Antarctica received first contact, and chose her as ambassadok. Back then, none of us knew how the Sacarians looked, nor their purposes... and merely superficial understanding of how advanced they were. Relations were controlled by that place to give them a sense of unity from us... one that Helena and eventually Goodwill herself felt best to dispell." That was a lot, and Alphonse knes it was a lot, cutting it short with a sigh. "Anyways, your databanks are at least half Sacarian. Technologically." That was what he wanted to drop, this whole time.

Seeing Abigail react that way was not too far from expected, the Admiral almost casting a dissapointed glance at her, before Jessica admitted to share a similar feeling. "Is that so..." That, had certainly punched the air out of the admiral, unable to help a wince. A shake of the head. "...very well. I'll give you your space to sort out things. Jessica Gefalscht. You have a lot to work out with your crew. Just remember, we depend on you, and you should depend on us as well." There was nothing else he could do, or so he seemed convinced. Turning as soon as the conversation had ended. He wasn't the happiest man that day, for sure... but he was perhaps hopeful they could come to terms again.

Calls

Being out of the Phalanx was good, and while Makoto took the time to stretch his limbs, he was already hit with a call --from the doctor, huh--. "Hey there." He answered. "The Phalanx got a bit dented but I'm okay... this is about my state right now, right?" He could only guess so, "I didn't get hurt when that snake monster slammed me, thankfully..." That was pretty much the most dreadful memory he'd lived in a good while.

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The official message about Jess' android nature had less impact after Chris had revealed it. The rest of the crew would definitely have something to say about it, certain individuals would probably be vocal than others. Tarquin didn't think there would be much of a problem, Jess had a way of somehow making things work out. If she could recruit enemies then being made of metal wouldn't change things. She'd made mistakes, perhaps her absence had caused Nikolai's injuries, but for the most part they'd beaten the odds. 

"Do so, that would be an appropriate course of action." Tarquin replied, deciding that he would probably need to get moving too. He'd promised Nikolai that he would come back, and he had news of Carlos' defeat to share. Nikiolai wasn't going to improve at from it, but it was some sort of closure for the pair of them. 

-

Talia let out a sigh of relief as Makoto was pried from the Phalanx. He looked unharmed and in good spirits, thankfully he had pulled through. He was even telling the doctor that he was fine. Her legs had acted by themselves, she'd run towards him and wrapped her arms around him instinctively. She was so glad he was safe, every moment watching the battle had her on edge. He'd probably be fighting in more battles but she was glad he was safe for the time being.

It took a few seconds to realise what she was doing, her facing growing red as the realisation came to her mind. Talia let out a scream, jumping back suddenly and bowing her head in embarrassment.

"I-... uh... I'm glad you're safe. That giant snake robot looked really scary..." she stammered, frantically thinking of a way to try to move the conversation along. "I think... we had an intruder but it got all sorted. It was kinda hard to keep track of everything that was happening."

That was the truth after all, Talia had spent most of her time watching Makoto in the phalanx. She hadn't even paid that much attention to the other pilots, she didn't even know if someone else had been hurt.

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As she was lead away once more Vvi gave the mechanic a little wave before focusing on what was in front of her.  Clearly she shouldn't have done that comment but oh well.  She couldn't take it back now.  

"Hm....Aliza?" she asked softly as they continued down the hallway towards the infirmary.  "Would you be a dear and stay with me once we get there?  It's....not that I am second guessing the doctors you have on board here, but....a familiar face would be nice," she informed the other while giving her a smile.  It was now becoming clear just how ....nervous Vvi actually was, but given her situation she didn't have time to be nervous.  Yes, she was in a new environment, away from the blasted Sacarians and with people that won't harm her (right....?), but still the alien couldn't help the tightening in her chest as they finally arrived at the infirmary.

And of course, the first thing she locks eyes on was the other alien being treated by the doctors and their assistants.  A familiar species, one she didn't have the opportunity to interact with before....

"Aliza, I don't want to be anywhere near that killing machine," she warns the pilot, pushing herself closer to Aliza, almost as if hiding behind her while keeping an eye at the alien. 

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Brant had to call in to check, apparently not confident enough to just take the compromise as is, which was a little odd to him. If the Regalia got the job done, with or without Chris, the job was still done, no? Whatever though, there were other more important things to worry about. Namely the steadily increasing friction between Brant and Tarquin. Thorvald had been more focused on trying to hit upon a solution, but unwittingly, leaving the boy's harsh words unchecked may have simply begun to brew up another problem. A man's work was never truly done, was it? Thankfully the lieutenant kept himself together, and actually had some good advice to be passed along. 'If that's not enough then talk to her." A suggested path of action that was a little like looking in a mirror.

It remained to be seen whether Tarquin would take him up on the suggestion, but he was cautiously hopeful. The little sprout had certainly done a lot of growing since Thorvald's first encounter with him, most of it in the right directions. Back then, he'd seemed to disdain the idea of family, friends, 'distractions'. But now there was genuine human interest in others, and if connecting with Nina helped him along that path while at the same time as helping the clone to grow and adjust herself, then Thorvald was all for that. Tackling Firmia... could wait till later though, if need be. The Russian seemed to be quite the complicated piece of work, not an ideal challenge for a novice.

Speaking of the devil, she didn't seem as thrilled by his suggested compromise as he'd anticipated, so clearly he'd missed one or another underlying cause that was bothering her about the situation. Chris however was sold, hook line and sinker, though she did have to toss back a parting shot about the aliens, really needing to get that last word in. Thorvald shrugged, not bothering to fire back, but unable to keep from critiquing it internally. 'Can they even breathe our air properly?' That's your argument? This isn't some H.G. Wells piece, any race intelligent enough to navigate the stars would also be smart enough to make sure they were well informed about where they went visiting... or conquering. Apotheosis had seemingly been in contact with no obvious ill effects, barring of course the obvious shining lance of light at the end there, so as far as he was concerned, medical examination would be purely a curiosity affair, not a necessary one.

Finally, the Avalon's captain came to her decision. She sounded a little disgusted, but grudgingly let things go, seemingly not even interested in taking the offered olive branch. Is she worried about feeling like she would owe me something if she did? Yes, it was true they could handle the salvage on their own, but... Thorvald sighed a little. "Back to doing whatever I'm supposed to be doing, huh," he gave Brant a bit of a wry look before the other pilot hurried back up to his cockpit. He stood there a few moments longer, with his hands on his hips, before turning to Tarquin.

"I won't pretend to know just what all of that was about," he began, "But I hope you feel better having gotten that off of your chest. Probably not the ideal way to have handled things, but looks like things're working out." Taking in a deep breath, Thorvald came to a decision, nodded, and finished with, "I'll leave Nina in your and Chris's hands then, I'll trust you'll get everything squared away. I've got to get back to keeping my promises and helping out friends." With a wink and a wave of his hand, the squad leader made his way back to his machine. He'd be a bit behind Brant in taking off, in all likelihood, and given their craft's relative speeds, even further behind when they got to the wreckage, but he'd be damned if he didn't chip in and do what he'd said he would.

When his communicator when off, he flinched a little, worried perhaps the incoming message would put that resolve to naught, but standing at the base of the Odin and reading through it, there was no such danger. Jessica recognized there was a lot of fallout, even after successfully repelling Apotheosis from Central, and truth be told, she must be dealing with a lot personally. So the standard debrief would be suitably delayed, and there wouldn't be any problems with his taking a little outing. Hmm, though, this actually raises a good set of questions. What exactly did he think about this latest surprising development. Something to think about while he worked.

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Tarquin looked up at Thorvald, fully expecting to be told off by the man. He'd probably stepped out of line, a younger Tarquin probably would have been horrified at his actions. Grown-ups frustrated him so much, how many years had he been told what to do? It didn't matter whether it was something he wanted to do or not, he'd blindly accepted it all. Being able to understand things a little better and having his own voice almost made things harder, being right or wrong was difficult to determine at times. If he wanted to stand up for himself, he'd inevitably be stepping on peoples' toes. 

However, Thorvald was surprisingly gentle with what should have been a scolding. At first he wasn't even sure that Thorvald was talking about the same event. There was a warmth about how he carried himself, Tarquin barely felt upset or uncomfortable at all... if anything he felt safe and a little guilty.

"Sorry." Tarquin muttered, unsure what had driven him to apologise. He didn't regret anything he'd said or feel bad for Brant or Firmia, only that he'd disappointed Thorvald. "It didn't feel fair that they wanted to take her back just like that. I wanted Nina to decide too."

Maybe there were some adults that he could trust. As nosy as Thorvald was, perhaps he was one of them.


 

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And just like that, Megumi's desire to take samples was gone. After all, if all she was going to find in Alriana's recent diet were things like chicken and fish, she might as well take samples from anyone else. That would be safer ... The doctor sighed at the latest information, almost sad to not have much left to investigate on that front. It seemed just as well, since Makoto checked in over the  comms.

The feed from the console had hinted as much, but it was good to hear Makoto had gotten away from the Regina more or less unscathed ... that attack would have killed anyone else outright. "That's good to hear, Makoto." Megumi glanced at Alriana and then Mai as she thought about what she would say next. That was when Aliza entered the infirmary with yet another alien. With that, the doctor nearly forgot that she had originally planned on using Makoto as a trial run on not spilling secrets to her civilian sisters. What she meant to say turned into, "There's two of them, now? I'm not an exobiologist ... erm, anyway, everyone on the ship is fine as far as I know, your mother included. You may want to visit each other in the cafeteria, though. We're going to be busy in the infirmary for at least a few more hours."

The new girl, Ms. Four Eyes as Megumi's mind kept begging her to make official, didn't seem to want to deal with this situation for her own reasons. Did she and Alriana know each other? Well, as long as no eye beams or plasma grenades were whipped out over it, it might actually be an interesting story ...

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Yeah, even Aliza could tell she was nervous. The shift from her forward nature from before was noteworthy. With a smile she pat the spider alien on her shoulder. "Of course. I still got questions to ask after all." Her curiosity of the alien's past aside, Aliza was starting to take a liking to Vvi. So she wanted to make sure she was at least treated alright. Not from a medical sense either.

When they got to the infirmary the Italian noticed Vvi's tension rise a little, and it only got clearer to her from her quick request. "O.oh, well...let's see if there's a bed somewhere else..." She then put her attention toward Megumi. She assumed she was the doc so... "Excuse me." She called out. "Hiya, I don't think we've met. I'm Aliza Silvavolke. Do you have an open bed for my friend Vvi?" She asked. "She's got a headache, and she almost fell." But while Aliza was giving out the situation she couldn't help but think... 'Holy crap she's hot...note to self note this later...'

Edited by TheRoon
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It seemed that Megumi had run out of questions for her. Alriana thought it might have been an opening to begin asking her own questions, but the doctor quickly began speaking to someone else; though Alriana had no idea where they were. It reminded her of what Jesicka had done on the bridge. Could humans do something similar to the Sacarians? If they could, why had they decided not to use it on her? Whatever the reason, she wasn't going to complain.

Before she could resume idly watching the women in the room two more entered; however, one of them was decidedly not human. Another alien like herself, or at least that was what Alriana assumed. She had never seen a creature like this before, though that wasn't saying much. All she'd ever interacted with were either the Sacarians, fellow Stygusians, and humans now that she had arrived on their planet. However, it seemed that the other alien was confused as to what she was. "Not, machine. Stygusian," she indignantly corrected her fellow alien. "What you?"

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She arches a brow at the sudden comment Megumi made, but didn't say anything towards it.  Instead she kept her eyes, all four of them, on the Stygusian, who had apparently corrected her from calling the other a killing machine.  If she weren't antsy about the situation she would've giggled a bit.

"S...orry?" she said a bit confused, before registering the next question and properly answering that.  "I'm a Luqari, and I definitely know what you are....just, never seen one of you so close," Vvi says while still staying close to Aliza.  She was actually surprised at how docile the other was being.  Much respect to the people that were able to subdue her. 

"I'll answer your questions, as promised Aliza, but yes a bed would be nice...?" she then looks over at Megumi, wondering if she was going to direct them towards one.  She didn't want to make things awkward, not at all, but right now all she wanted to do was rest.

 

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Nina Decides

"Well... As long as it's over with. Brant and Firmia have a lot more going on than you know, Tarquin. He's an adult, he can handle himself, but don't assume Firmia is just expecting to treat us like expendable pawns, okay?" She didn't appreciate how bossy the girl was, but it was clear to Christ hat she cared about her crew, perhaps too much. With how she'd been attacked when coming to meet up with the Riese, it made sense. Carlos' report on that incident hadn't exactly spelled out anything good for the transport or the crew in it. "That said, it's nice to know you aren't afraid to say what's on your mind. You might look young, but you can hash it out just as well as any other adult. Nice work." Much as it felt weird to be congratulating Tarquin for chewing out Brant, it was still nice to see someone else on the Riese who spoke their thoughts freely. As long as he was going to live up to being a part of this facet of adulting, of course. If he was going to shirk back to his age and appearance, then fuck that. Stay out of it. "Take it easy, Thorvald!"

"As for Nina deciding anything..."

"... Am I allowed, to make my own decisions?" Nina was mildly apprehensive in asking, looking at the three of them, and then to Thorvald as he left.

"What? Of course you are. Of course! You can choose to do whatever you want..." Was this honestly what I was supposed to be like? This is terrifying.

"Then... I want, to talk to you all more. Can we, go somewhere to do that?"

"Geez... Are you up for some more talking, Tarquin? I figure the cafeteria is probably pretty empty right about now."

"And with that, I go lay down... You're gonna be okay, Nina. Chris and Tarquin will help, I promise." Christina smiled, turning to leave on that final note. She needed some sleep, badly.

More Aliens

"Whhhhhhhhhh..." Why were there more!? Why were there aliens, and why were there two of them!? Olivia almost backed up against the wall again, at least this one could speak proper English, or at least it sounded like that... "B-Beds, plenty... Just... Take one... This is too much for one day, I signed on to help against terrorists, not play second contact..." Alriana was already bad enough, now this one had horns and four eyes, what was this?

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Take your pick, Megumi thought to herself as she shrugged at Aliza and Vvi. Her thoughts were nearly quoted by Olivia, but there were so many available due to the ship's size that it seemed like their guest wanted permission. Well, she had it, and the Hollow Man hadn't shown up yet, so any bed that looked free likely was. "I take it you'd like some space between you," Megumi guessed, eyeing Vvi and Alriana in turn. Then she indicated a bed three units over from Alriana's and in a different row across the way. That was comfortably out of range of Alriana's tail, at least.

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A pair of new distractions jockeyed for Abigail's attention, simultaneously welcome and unwelcome. The first was when Alphonse looked like he'd been about to give her a disapproving glare. She would be hard pressed to deny having earned such a thing, what with her open disdain of the man, coupled with the fact that he probably considered her to be 'sullying his goddess' just by dating her--let alone if he'd known what exactly they'd been getting up to. But as Jessica continued to express her dissatisfaction with the way he'd handled things, good intentions or not, the admiral seemed to deflate a bit and engaged a strategic withdrawal. Good, one less person judging her.

As for the other... Abby grit her teeth and shot daggers at the lieutenant. Just where did she get off, laying out a lecture like that? Bitch must still be back at the beach. Tempting though it was to repay the favor Kim had shown her then, now was not the time for sucker punches. "You don't know me," she spat out. "You've never known me, and you never cared to try. Easier for you to just snoop around people's thoughts and make assumptions, I guess. But seriously? If I needed to be threatened, to do the right thing, then you'd be a piss poor person for actually trusting those threats to work, instead of making sure to drive me away regardless. So why don't you go fuck yourself, eh?" Turning on her heel, she flipped Seung-Min the bird as she stormed into Jess's room, slamming the door behind her for emphasis.

It felt good, having something to channel righteous fury at. Helped burn away the cobwebs. But once the anger's fuel was spent, Abigail found worry and doubt creeping back in to the empty places it had left behind. Sure, she talked big. But could she deliver? Clambering onto Jess's big bed from the side, passing by its owner, who'd taken up position at its foot, Abby crawled her way to the center of it, then quickly turned around, pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. Squeezing her eyes shut and taking a few deep breaths in and out, she sought to center herself, get prepared. Opening them again, she scooted closer to Jessica, who'd turned to face her, then held out her arms in a manner that made it pretty clear she was looking for a hug.

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Kim couldn't help but stand there, stunned for a moment, at the sheer brazenness of Abigail's response. So many things she wanted to say, but the door had already been slammed in her face. Didn't know her? Didn't even try? Jessica and the doctor aside, Seung-Min had been at the forefront of trying to accept and get to know the new addition, make her comfortable in her new situation, trust that she was a good addition to their crew. All of that thrown into the trash the second the blonde rebel had found out she was telekinetic, but SHE hadn't tried? Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. And to act as though she was on some higher ground, after having thrown her prejudice around, proudly at that, not only at the group's telekinetics for being different, but at Hannah, for being basically what Jessica had just found out she was, on a lesser scale?

But no, she was the one reaching, making assumptions. Jessica's emanating fear was just in Kim's own head, clearly. She knew from experience that bigots had their heads wedged deep up their own asses on the regular, so why was this particular instance bugging her so much? Probably because it wasn't Kim itself who was in danger of being hurt by her anymore, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. 

Finally unfrozen after a few moments, Kim turned away from the living quarters. For one, sticking around and feeling in with her abilities would go against what the Captain had requested, and for two... sitting back and watching, powerless to stop Jessica's happiness from crumbling away as Abigail lost her avenues to trick herself into not believing her girlfriend. Making her way to the gym... she was still fatigued, but she needed to do... something, to ease the stirring in her chest. If she entered a sim she might miss the debrief call, so that just left the old fashioned physical way. She hadn't even changed out of the SKIN, but at this point Kim couldn't be assed to. Bypassing the simulators, the Lieutenant came in swinging at the punching bag set up off to the side, wasting no time in hammering the inanimate training opponent with blows. This one would... probably need to be replaced soon...

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Aliza's eyes looked over to the other alien in the room, this one certainly more...simple? Not quite a word Aliza would use, a bit insulting. Still she was very different from Vvi. Enough to get Aliza's curious mind once again. But another voice in the room caught her from her wanderings, it was Olivia. Another high mark in her book from the first impression Aliza was given. But instead of being perky and welcoming she was shocked and terrified. A natural reaction of course, though Aliza couldn't help but wonder if she was the weird one, not flipping out herself on the first meeting. Well part of it may be her questions, but another part is she didn't quite want to make Vvi uncomfortable considering how much she had helped.

Either way, she took a nod at both of the ladies. "Thanks, Olivia. Miss Megumi." With another smile she pulled Vvi off to the bed Megumi had suggested. "There you go. Looks nice and comfy." As soon as she got the spider settled she took a seat next to her bed, and held her notebook close. "A Luqari huh...and you said you know who the other alien is?"

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Suprise Hugs

Huh, Makoto had expected something more out of the doctor, but maybe it was just a quick checkup on him. No issues found, or something. Wasn't that good, anyways. "Alrigh-- oof!" Oh, and there was a sudden... hug?

"H-huh, Talia?" That had taken him by surprise, honestly quite shocked, just standing there taking the hug. Wait, what was he supposed to do? Return it? Pat her head? He didn't know how those things worked when it wasn't a relative hugging you! In the end, Talia stepped away, and looked rather embarrassed for her sake. He couldn't blamed her, Makoto was fairly flushed and confused himself. What was that all about? "Ah, yeah... ha, hahaha." An awkward laughter was forced before the situation got any weirder. "I thought I was a goner, that thing towered over me... but the phalanx here is made of tough stuff. Well, tougher than the asphalt, and really that's all I needed!" Bless the designers for the CT frame.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about the intruder too." Yeah, that thing was taken care of right now, and thankfully his mother was safe. "I should check out the infirmary, honestly. Want to go with me?" Talia didn't seem to be here for much but to check his status, which was flattering.

"Heheh." Old man Ignatius was fairly amused, sneaking a glance while he let the rest of the mechanics work on getting the Phalanx's skeleton repaired. "This here is going to take some time. Go enjoy yourselves."

Great. Makoto totally needed that. "I-if you're busy, I understand."

Xenobiologists Needed

After asserting that the alien wasn't harmful, Mai had pretty much let her eyes wander over Alriana's body, trying to make sense of the alien physique. "That's going to take... a lot, just to accept. So aliens like these are real." Maybe the stories Makoto liked reading weren't that far from reality... at least Mai didn't feel alone on how shocked she was. Thank goodness the doctor could handle things without needing her to do an errand, though. She was still feeling a bit out of it.

Of course, what better time to find out other aliens were a thing than now, with another lifeform showing up. This one seemed a tier more human-like than the other, though... almost too human-like. It was less off-putting, but still surreal, and then they also held a conversation... "Luqari and Stygusian. That's a mouthful." Mai mumbled, a shake of her head and she was already making way towards the 'Luqari' one. Probably that underlying feeling that she had to do something. "H-hello there, uh, she called you Vvi... is that your name?" She tried to acknowledge the alien first, but with how much more comfortable she... they? seemed with Aliza, Mai turned her sights at the pilot as well. "Um, is there anything else she needs? Since, you brought her here and everything..." One would imagine other people would care to get acquainted with the alien before the infirmary crew, like the captain.

Space Given

Alphonse had let the duo, and Lieutenant Kim, to their devices, he'd only caught a glimpse of Abigail and Kim's argument, but it was insubstantial in the grand scheme of things. It was all about how Jessica could sort out the Heion Riese, now. There was a constant frown on the Admiral's face as he took the elevator back up, a man with naught but worries in his mind at that point. It was too late to interfere in Jess' actions, however, and he had enough pressing matters to solve with Vance. Once hitting the hangar again, Alphonse was no longer in a brisk pace to get to where he wanted --his own mech, this time--, but one could easily tell he was barely paying attention to his surroundings.

You need to take control of your crew, Jessica...

Chopped Liver

"Hm." Whatever took hold of Firmia's attention must have been quite important. Carlos expected wringing out info from him was top priority to the little heiress at that point, but perhaps it was naive to think the battle was as one-sided as it felt. The Heion Riese certainly took a heavy barrage from himself and the Saturn squad. It was no matter, so long as he could get his arm checked up soon. Perhaps the infirmary was spacious enough for him to have some privacy, even if they were to do a check up on his body first. "Too bad I can't just sleep away this wound..."

It was a bit too deep for that to be a realistic option.

TKpeculating

The silence of the brig was maddening right now, especially with all those emotions flying around the ship. Esther preferred going back once her treatment was over, if only for the fact that seclusion was far more appealing than sharing her room with others. Still, if it wasn't for the filtering medicine, she'd probably have gone nuts receiving all this negativity surrounding her. One particular wave of emotions seemed to have stuck with her since halfway through the battle. "That maddening pressure was definitely Louise... and now I can't feel her anymore." God knows what went through her head, but it did make the woman an emotional beacon, easy to identify even without seeing person-to-person. What shook Esther was the overwhelming sadness she could pick up right before Louise's emotional signals vanished. "She didn't make it, right? She's dead..." Esther curled up on her bed, "Damnit... I don't even know if Vera is okay..." There was a presence akin to Vera on the battlefield, but it was... off. It lacked some confidence, resolve. Vera was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders too.

"Ugh, I can't believe it. We lost..." What was going to happen to her now? That was far from everybody she knew in Apotheosis, which was a small comfort.

Edited by Xinnidy
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Having Chris congratulate him and Thorvald be so gentle left Tarquin somewhat puzzled. Brant had made a big fuss, but everyone else seemed to be relatively OK with his sudden outburst. He'd felt a sense of release, a freedom that he had rarely experienced before. He could say what he wanted, act how he wanted... as long as he was willing to deal with the aftermath afterwards. Whatever issues Brant and Firmia had were their own problem to deal, it didn't justify the actions he judged them on. Nikolai would have said whatever he'd wanted, probably going too far, but Tarquin was glad that he could be a little more like his friend.

"I don't know if I count as a grown-up or a child, I don't think other people are sure either sometimes. Biologically and chronologically I am fourteen years old, but that's as much as I understand." Tarquin replied, giving Thorvald a wave. When it came to battle, people wanted him to be an adult, but a child when they wanted him to do things. 

He was glad that Nina had made some sort of decision for herself, or at least there was something she wanted. Nikolai wasn't going anywhere and the medbay sounded like it was rather crowded. Vowing silently to visit his friend afterwards, he decided that he'd oblige with her request.

"The canteen should be suitable. If Nina wants to go somewhere to talk, I want to do it too." Tarquin replied firmly. He wasn't sure if clones could ever be the same as regular people, but they deserved to get as close as possible.

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When the girl told them to take any bed Vvi couldn't help the sudden sigh as she noticed how the other was acting.  Honestly, she didn't blame the girl to feel like this about the sudden new life forms in their ship; it was so sudden, so unprecedented, and she would've felt the same if humans suddenly invaded a ship of her own.  "Thank you," was all she managed to say, before being pulled away and placed on a bed.  It felt nice, comfy, and as she made herself comfortable she turned to her side so she was facing Aliza as the other girl asked her questions now.  

"I know of her species, but not her personally," she started, before someone else came by and started to ask Aliza if Vvi needed anything or was feeling okay.  "My name is Vvi yes," she answered, giving the other a small smile as she made sure to be more subdued this time.  They weren't fighting anymore, the rush and adrenaline from before wearing off completely now as she closed her eyes and tried to discern and separate the emotions from this room first.  If she focused on one part of the ship, then it would be easier to get used to so many human emotions at once.

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