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


Nanami Touko
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Elaine was slowly piecing together how all this clone nonsense worked - it was strange considering that she hadn't even known that it were possible but a few weeks ago. Whatever Kim's mind was doing, it was something that was new for even her. Megumi seemed to be a good doctor in multiple fields, but could she actually figure out something that has never happened before?

"I guess her brain isn't as similar without all those memories in there, I dunno... maybe she's not a complete clone?" Elaine suggested, shrugging her shoulders at her own conjectures.

It was rather touching, if not unusual, scene with the three Chris' reuniting. Elaine didn't understand how it all worked, but she could tell when people cared about each other.

"Good to see you awake, Christina. Ain't gonna lie, was kinda scary but I'm glad you pulled through." Elaine added, giving the girls some space. "I might not be telekinetic but you and Kim got my support in all this stuff. Just hope the doc can figure it out." 

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Terry sounded like he was falling apart at the seams, and Sena really had no excess of patience to deal with that right now. "If she s-s-says it's talking, it's t-talking. T-Trust..." Sena started, before a grimace twisted her face. Trusting was how Hilling had ended up dead. They were just supposed to have rendezvoused with the Riese, collected Abby, and been on their way. Calina hadn't said anything about pitched engagements with alien craft sporting advanced weaponry. Her fists curled into balls, and if her nails hadn't been nubs they would have easily cut into her skin.

No, that wasn't Calina's fault. Painful though it was to admit. It didn't seem to be a setup from the captain, from Jessica either. It was just... life continuing its grand tradition of shitting all over everything Sena held dear.

...Why did the freighter need to pull up alongside, though? Now that Terry had planted a seed of doubt, the hacker couldn't help but wonder. There had to be a reason, she just couldn't think of it. She stopped getting ready to disembark, and considered her options.

"I-I'll launch b-back out and v-vanguard. G-Get any unlikely f-f-friction resolved before D-Deliverance is in d-danger." Always one to multitask when possible, Sena fired off a quick text message while she finished conversing with Terry, who might have some final thing to chime in with still.

We're otw. But why, though? Terry and some of the others are concerned.


"Kyaah," came a slightly surprised squeak, that melted into a giggle after the initial jump scare wore off. "Straight for the jugular, huh?" Well, Calina always had been aggressive, this fit her to a T. Either way, her movements, her threat--no, promise--got Abigail's pulse to quicken, and her body to ache with anticipation.

Reflexively rubbing her legs together slightly, not having all that much freedom of movement with Calina straddled atop her, Abby leaned into her hold, pushing herself away from the wall she'd been leaning up against, doing her best to grant as much free access as possible. With everything that had happened, Calina deserved at least this much. Maybe she'd fight for control of the flow another time, but, not now.

Laughing again at the quip about the door, Abigail shook her head and chuckled. "I think everybody finished up or rushed off already, but even so, I can't imagine anyone who'd actually interrupt if they somehow ended up walking in. Do your worst."

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"Reuben huh." She repeated as she stepped onto the elevator. "You have good taste." She smiled once again, and turned to Aly. "You'll enjoy it, I'm sure. Can't wait to cook for you." For now she can take her mind off of what happened, and hopefully help Aly do the same. Something told her they may not be able to do that for very long. Still, nothing warms the heart like good cheese.

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"It should be, fine. Food here, often is." She stepped into the elevator, still clinging to Tristan; her tail circling around both his and Aliza's legs as they began the descent. The promise of food was always nice, but she found herself more appreciative of her company. She returned Aliza's smile, her mood a bit lighter. "I am, looking forward to it. I'm sure it will be good."

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Makoto's explanation was enough to give Tarquin context for the situation. It was almost amusing how the people in his life were forming a social circle around him. Previously he would have dismissed Makoto's trust in Jess as misplaced, but his outlook on his friends and people had changed. For a start, he actually had people he could consider friends. As idetic as his memory was, the only other trainee he had learned the name of at the base had been Bruno. Tarquin almost wondered how the man would have reacted seeing such a stark change in his perceptions. Perhaps one day he would be able to find him again to let him know. It was a lesson for Tarquin, maintaining friendships looked like more work than making them.

"I can trust Jess too, she was my co-pilot for the last mission. She was able to assist at several key moments." Tarquin replied, affirming his friend's position. He looked at Jess, picking up traces of her unease. Had she felt out of place aboard the Aria or was it concerns about her performance?

"If you are willing, I would like you to join me piloting the Aria as a long term arrangement. I feel we are able to synergise well and I enjoy your company." Tarquin answered. He hadn't needed to say the last part of his response, but it was sla sentiment he wished to share. "I would not oppose visiting the cafeteria along with Jess."

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You And Kim

"What?" Christina managed to sit up, despite some worried flailing from Chris, who took a step back and sighed to let her get a good look at the rest of the room. "What did you say, Elaine...?" Rubbing her eyes a moment, she blinked the room into view, getting a good look at... Wow, there were a lot of people here... And Kim was getting scanned? "What's wrong with her?" Did something happen during the fight? Not only had she been shot, Kim was in trouble somehow?

"It's... You don't have to worry about it, Chrissy." Chris tried to hand wave it, but Nina glanced at her with a worried look, making the former sigh and shake her head. "Fine, it's... There's, something going wrong with her abilities. Extra sensitivity, to the point of worrying. I've got no idea what's going on, the doctor doesn't seem to have a solution, and while Kim doesn't seem to be in any trouble right now... It's, just..."

"But, sh-she'll be okay, right?" Christina had just woken up from her ordeal, and she was already dealing with this. "Right? Megumi?" Chris and Nina also looked over at the doctor, no one else could really answer this...

Almost Perfect

"Almost perfect isn't... Ahhh, fine..." Hannah sighed, Sasha was right. "I'll just have to keep him on a short leash if he doesn't listen to orders, then... You put so much work on me, Firmia." Hannah smiled, shaking her head, before glancing at the Reign. "Would you mind if I took a quick trip over to the Riese? I want to see what the situation is with the Chrissies. Make sure everything's alright, and that Brant and Chris aren't having any trouble."

Dima Dima Dima

"That frustration's a good look for you, Rex." Galatea was loving this, just a bit. Karmic retribution, as it were. "Little Vasiliy Alkaev's waiting for you, so keep it together, hmm? You'll be seeing him in a few days. And-- good, thank you Stan." Galatea hopped that line of communication, popping onto May's monitor--

"Good lord, why are you so green-- Anyway, let me into the Merrygate, before I bash my way in, yes? I'd rather figure out what your machine does without leaving its firewall in tatters. We're supposed to be allies, now, after all."

Vanguarded

"Yeah, you go for it. I'll bring the ship around, make sure to maintain safe distance until things are cleared up." At least Sena was still in go-getter mode.

Back on the Riese, Calina was quite enjoying the noises coming out of Abby. The yelp, the giggles, it finally felt like some sense of normal had come back into their lives. Unfortunately, just past her commentary, and right as Caling had begun to fiddle with that pilot suit, her communicator started beeping, leaving her sighing and leaning into Abby.

"Just... Gimme a moment, baby." With the woman hanging off her neck at this point, Calina brought the tiny device up between them... Sena? "Sena says they're bringing the ship, wants an explanation... Guess... I'll let the fireworks fly, and deal with them when they get here." Quickly pressing call, Calina leaned into Abby again, giving her neck a kiss just to know she was still paying attention.

"Sena? The captain wants to work with us... So we're gonna bring the ship over, and talk about it. You and Terry can be there, of course. Abby's fine, and right here, if you have anything you wanna say. You too, Abs, feel free."

Chef Tristan

"Let's get to it, then." No time was wasted as the group went straight for the cafeteria, and once there, it was time to engage. Tristan snatched an apron, several slices of beef from the fridge, cheese, bread, and one of the counter tops, smiling the whole time. Heat on, take a pan, set it down... "Right, almost forgot." It wasn't grilled cheese without butter. If he was feeling more up to it, he had a personal recipe for mayonnaise instead, but if he wasn't paying direct attention, that would burn a lot faster. "Alright. Aliza, do you wanna take another pan, and split the work? I don't mind doing it all if you two would rather chat. And Aly, the stove top's hot, so make sure you don't touch it... That should be a given, but, just making sure." She hadn't known what cheese was, after all...

 

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Megumi sighed at the question. She couldn't answer it in confidence right now. "... probably, but that depends on the situation and how it develops. There's no physical damage that I can detect, which is a pretty good sign, but these symptoms are still affecting Kim strongly enough to affect her piloting. That's dangerous." There was no sugarcoating it. Having the lieutenant sortie under these conditions, if they persisted, was completely inadvisable. The next scan revealed some unique TK waves, which the doctor had been expecting. "For now I'm going to keep her under close observation and do some research to try and learn what I can. Hopefully we can solve this before the attack on Apotheosis' base."

"Think Vera might know something?" Brant asked, "Apotheosis at least has some knowledge about TKs. They might even know more than the ANF if they're willing to experiment on their people. I doubt they've got strict rules ..."

"I'll find out what I can from the prisoners," Megumi nodded, "but I'm also going to be contacting other medical officers in the ANF. I don't have nearly enough information to try anything, yet. In fact, there may not be anything wrong with the lieutenant necessarily. If this is just TK 'growing pains', then I don't think we should do anything other than treating the worst of her symptoms. My doubts come from this being so extreme. Reading minds doesn't seem like a natural development, or even I would have read about it somewhere." She sighed again. "... I need to confirm what's going on one way or the other ..."


Firmia sighed at Hannah's request to go over to the Riese. "I always mind ... but that's not important.." She'd been trying to think of what she would do in the meantime, with things on the Avalon mostly taken care of. Making sure the Athena was ready to assist in the final battle wouldn't take very long on the Avalon's end, nor would writing up a contract for Troy to sign. Things during the battle had been hectic, but she still had two important things she needed to do. One, make sure the next episode with the Sacarians wouldn't endanger the crew in the hangar, and two, figure out the Abigail situation before the debriefing. As much as she would rather wait, by the time Jessica was ready to start, the issue would have been some kind of settled. Better to see what the Riese's whimsical captain was planning to do as early as possible, as well as make some recommendations if the Alkaev didn't like what she was hearing. Going to the Riese in person wasn't necessary, but a convoluted web of reasoning had her opting in this time.

Since it was becoming increasingly likely that both crews would be bringing in help from the outside, Firmia couldn't overlook the potential similarities ... and the dissimilarities. Knowing Jessica, the Riese would be partnering up with the Colony One terrorists, while Firmia herself would be partnering up with a group of EU defectors. The Alkaev obviously felt she was making the better deal, but that was up for interpretation. Firmia was paying in credits while Jessica was paying in whatever passed for romance in her little world. Firmia was bringing in a warship with several powerful prototypes, while Jessica was bringing in the ANF's own stolen prototypes and maybe some sort of transport? Firmia chose to interpret her acquisition as the superior one.

An amusing thought brought a smile to Firmia's lips as she addressed Hannah, again. "You really do get what you pay for. Okay, Hannah, I'm heading over there with you. I can work on the Athena business from my tablet, so it should be fine ... but I don't want any surprises at the debriefing. Sasha, make sure the funnels can't move or fire while they're inside the ship without some kind of override. Two overrides, one level for movement and another for firing."

Sasha shrugged but acknowledged the order. He had the situation under control already, and his solution was similar enough. Still, the Alkaev's layered overrides were only slightly excessive, nothing Sasha disagreed with on principle. The chances of needing to use the funnels inside the ship were definitely small enough to shrug at, but it was still possible. As for the trip to the Riese ... it wasn't too late to join in and go see Cheryl, was it? He didn't have to be here in person for the updates to the TK weapons, only triple-check everyone's work.


"You're welcome ..." Stan replied, his voice a tad conflicted. He didn't know what else to add with the lovechild situation ... at least not without getting viciously beaten. He couldn't hop from place to place the way Galatea could, so if Rex chose to crush him over one of the usual remarks, there was no escape. He really wanted to prod the guy in good fun, too, especially now that it was in vogue.

"So ... how are you feeling?" Stan asked. It wasn't really worth asking in the end ...

"... I need to get a hold of ... there's no way she'd answer ..." Rex was short on ideas, not even paying attention to Stan any longer. How could he after having the entirety of his life reframed in an instant? Just knowing he had a son put the largest chain on him that he'd ever felt, even larger than the one Dima had used to trap him and Brant with Rosa. Paternal instincts were all awakening after a long slumber, and the renewed sense of powerlessness gripping him was maddening. Was he really just supposed to wait until the rendezvous? What then? Why were his and Brant's children even on a warship bound for a combat zone? And what was Firmia going to do when Rex inevitably came for his son and tried to leave with him? Would she get in the way, try to put conditions on him, or deny him outright?

Rex went straight for the nearest console. "Hey! Forget Merrygate! What's she planning to do with those kids?!"


Maybe green really was out of fashion now if even a random pink lolita character was questioning the look. Today wasn't really a good day to begin with, either. "Okay, slow down," May said, trying to fully process the new information, "If we're allies then why are you trying to break into Merrygate? What's the rush?"

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"I'll be fine, Chrissy. I did an emergency calibration on the Artemis to deploy solo, and probably missed some sabotage from Avery. The sensitivity just got to me a bit because the hangar was really hectic when we came back inside." Seung-Min replied, hoping to assuage Christina's worries... there were some details left out, but she didn't need to know about Louise right now. The mind-reading couldn't really be kept hidden for long, so there was no point in trying.

"I can also... hear your thoughts. You and Chris... I know that you're scared, you trusted Avery... but I'll get us through this. I don't know why, or how I'm reading your thoughts, especially without my head exploding, but... it's a thing. And apparently according to these scans it isn't causing physical damage, so..." Kim added, figuring that covering the basic talking points, along with throwing Christina's own thoughts at her as proof, would be a good starting point. 

"I managed to go toe to toe with Vera and that Sacarian Lieutenant on the field today and come out on top against both, and the symptoms started towards the tail end of bringing down Vera. I understand your concern, but my piloting is fine... and will remain fine. We can't afford for it not to." Seung-Min also tossed out, any prior softness immediately curbed by an adamant firmness. This was something she refused to budge on.

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When they got to the kitchen, Aliza was ready to go in and start the process. But Tristan beat her to the punch, quite quickly and efficiently in fact. He had all the ingredients prepared, a pan, and even an apron to boot. It impressed Aliza for sure, a surprising turn from the slightly subdued, if a bit nerdy persona he showed before. "Oooh, wow..." She spoke aloud. But decided to meet his vigor with the same. "I can split the work easy yeah." She smiled back and walked off to the side to take another pan. "Well since you decided to be the head chef for today, what should I help out with?"

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Sena grunted in reply to Terry, at least he'd agreed to follow through with orders. Then she glanced back down at the communicator, no text back yet, had something come up? Well, no time to waste, slipping her gloves back on and making sure her helmet was once again firmly fastened, the rebel sniper revved up the engine of her Mark-III and kicked off the side of Deliverance jetting her way back in the direction of the recently concluded battle.

When her communicator vibrated with an incoming call, Sena gave the small device a quick tap, transferring the communications link to her helmet, letting her much more comfortably talk and drive at the same time. It was Calina, and she sounded... well, not exactly short on breath, but maybe distracted? Her words came in short, easy to digest chunks, nothing too complicated. The hacker was certainly overthinking things, but it was almost like this was a string of afterthoughts? Though... she was just seeing Abby again for the first time in forever. Sena lowered her gaze as soon as that realization came to mind, regardless of the fact that there was no video link so it's not like anyone would see her do that... or that she might be at risk of seeing anything herself. It was just instinct. Awkward instinct.

The content of the message was, well, not entirely dubious. In fact, considering what supposedly went on between this Jessica and Abigail, perhaps she should have anticipated something of that nature. But their plan had always really been to grab Abby and go. "T-Talk it over, huh..." How likely was it they could approach the negotiation from a position of strength? And while she appreciated being brought to the table for the discussion... it probably wasn't necessary for everyone to be present? Was it jealousy, pride, anxiety? Some part of her was still on edge Then again, she wasn't sure it was possible to every calm down and return to 'normal'. Not any more. Not without Robert. Squeezing the flight controls tightly, she tried to force out another reply, say something more. "T-That--"

"Oh God, Sena, it's so good to hear your voice again," she was interrupted from the other side of the line. Abigail, taking Calina's invitation it seemed, excitedly rattling words off with rapid speed. Good to hear my voice? she doubted. Unlikely, the damn stutter. Surely it's just... I'm just, a hassle. The unfortunate choice of words had dug into an old wound, but it wasn't malicious or on purpose. She had to just... try to ignore it.

"L-L-Likewise, captain." Then Sena fell silent. What should she say? "Q-Quite the chase you led us on, g-getting l-leads wasn't easy." Simple, matter of fact statements. She wanted to, was supposed to say more. She was sure of it. Right? Just this wasn't enough, didn't match up to what the reunion deserved. But she... couldn't bring herself to make any comments about welcoming back a dear sister, a precious member of the family. Not hot on the heels of--

"G-geh, stop, not while we're on call," a barely audible voice could be heard from the other end. A strange feeling of detachment washed over Sena. It was like, she should be angry about this, but her anger was still occupied, reserved for something else, indefinitely detained. Only a queer feeling of secondhand embarrassment arose in response.

"I... uh, w-well..." an awkward pause. "S-See you soon." And she ended the call. Probably for the best, there was a hulk of a robot headed her way, she'd probably need to talk things out with that in a few seconds.


Calina was practically beaming, clearly pleased with herself and the reactions she was eliciting. Abigail couldn't begrudge her that, and as the woman moved in on her pilot suit--like a chef eager to crack open a crab shell to get at the tasty meat inside--after having grabbed ahold of the zipper, Abby did a little wiggle to try to help her out with the process. But a momentary kibosh was put on any progress in that direction when the rebel's communicator lit up. Dropping the efforts at undressing her, Calina lifted it up and explained the caller, switching her focus a bit after giving one last kiss on the neck, this one more tender than the last, greedy one.

With her girlfriend occupied, Abby would just have to do this herself then. She managed to get the zipper pulled down the center of the suit and shimmy her upper body out, black tanktop and bare shoulders exposed to the outside air, which hit the built up sweat from piloting and brought a pleasant chill, raising a few goose bumps. Expectations of more pleasant sensations to come raised a few more.

But then, a bit suddenly, Calina held the device out to her, giving her a chance, no... more than just inviting, almost pressuring her to put in some words. Not that Abigail didn't have anything to say, or wasn't excited to speak with Sena and the others, not by any means, it was just...

"Oh God, Sena, it's so good to hear your voice again," she got out in a rush. And it was true. Though the girl hadn't spoken much--and Abby had only heard most of it from a short distance away, as the conversation between Calina and her crossed the gap between them--it really did do her good to hear the younger woman's voice, It sounded much the same as it always did: a bit unsteady, and while sometimes frustrating--when she got stuck on a sound and couldn't move on, overall very soft, warm, and pleasant to listen to.

Sena's reply came back, and it was about what she'd expected, up until it got to the point where it just... hung awkwardly. Abby planned on giving her all the time she needed, but a devilish move by Calina to try to slide the strap of her tank off and over the side of her shoulder caught her by surprise, and Abby sent a frenzied whisper of "G-geh, stop, not while we're on call," with accompanying slight glare back in her direction.

There wasn't much more to the call though, whether Sena had picked up on things and decided to end it early, or for whatever other reason. The Deliverance and her crew would be arriving soon though, so there would be plenty of time to make up for it then in person.

"Yeah, catch you shortly," Abby returned, though she suspected it was too late. Sounded like the line had been cut just before she got it out. Shaking her head and grinning, she cast her glance back to Calina. "Well, Cally, I hope you're happy," she laughed out half joking, half mocking phrase that she only really partly meant. "Sounds like..." a twist of her lip began to form into a frown. It sounded like the girl was taking things hard, but that was to be expected. Really felt like the wrong thing to actually say though, so Abby went in a bit of a different direction instead, "Sounds like we'll have some work cut out for us when they arrive."

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New Game

Already having enough, Esther was glaring fiercely at Louise, Vera was pleading for the back-and-forth to stop, but Esther had a mind to show Louise how angry she could really get, at least with insults.

Or so would be if a surprising voice hadn't interrupted it. It was Jessica, herself, following right after Buck and the android. What a turn of events. "Captain, I--" She... already seemed fully on board with it, only needing a bit of insught with Louise's comment. "Ah..." And then, the... other, android unlocked the door to the glass prison Esther had been confined. Finally.

Of course, it came with terms. Specifically, the term of basically having to hang with Kim 24/7. That... would be an experience. "As long as, I don't get to sleep somewhere that is made of see-through walls." Privacy was nice. Solitude where you weren't sure when you were being watched could go away, even if Esther needed to be strapped with Kim most of the time.

"Naturals... I'll handle it." It couldn't be helped, Esther supposed. Kim beat Vera, and now I'm going to hang with her, huh... Now someone had the ammo to mock her forever. Esther sighed, slow steps guiding her out of her cell. "Vera..." The thought of Louise getting a free pass by being a snitch was repulsive, but at least the Rieae considered Vera too competent to pass up as well. "I'll be seeing you later."

The captain was already leaving, urging Esther to follow behind. Any questions, though...? "Ah, uh, do I get a room?" Hopefully she wouldn't become Kim and Christina's surprise roommate. That'd be awkward.

Esther could only glare back at Louise once more before walking off.

Edited by Xinnidy
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The mention of Avery's name made Elaine's blood boil again, to think Christina had faced the risk of death because of her actions... Elaine certainly would have some choice words for her. It was reassuring that Kim hadn't taken any serious damage to her brain but Megumi's need to ask the prisoners meant that they were still in very unfamiliar territory. Psychic, clones and aliens, it all seemed like something from a cheesy cartoon. Elaine wasn't a genius, nor did she have psychic powers, how much she could actually add to this problem felt rather limited. She"If Apotheosis can make clones of people with psychic powers... do they also like make them too?" Elaine asked, wondering to herself how far ahead Apotheosis were in times of science. "I mean, they've got those Sacarians providing them with a tonne of kit. Ain't those cats got psychic powers too or something?"

Her heart sank a little at the mention of the prisoners, no doubt there was going to be plenty of information that Megumi could retrieve. However, what Louise could reveal in addition was worrying, and something that seemed more likely with every passing moment.

"Brant, mind if I catch you in a bit?" Elaine asked subtly, slowly inching closer to him. "Got a few things on my mind."

-

Talia had remained relatively low profile during the last battle, despite her desires to take part she'd avoided the entire thing. Was it something she'd done intentionally, she hadn't made an active decision to hide herself away but she hadn't risen to the occasion. After all the training she'd done with Makoto, she still wasn't ready to support the rest of the crew. She let out a sigh as she walked through the cafeteria, she'd made so much progress with everything but the life she desired seemed so far away. The kitchen would provide a welcome distraction from her woes, even if visiting it had been inspired by the series Culinary Conflicts.

"Oh? There are people here?" Talia remarked, pausing as she spotted the trio in the kitchen. She recognised two of them, but Alriana stuck out in the otherwise very civilian situation. She couldn't even show her fear, the bewilderment she felt managed to trump the terror of seeing a humanoid shark among the crew. She raised her hand nervously, forcing her mouth to emit at least a few sounds. "Hi... I... is it OK if I join you?"

Talia gave an awkward grin, the sinking feel in her stomach returning. If she was lucky, the ground would swallow her up there and then.

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Alriana had clung to Tristan for the rest of the trip, but when he began to shift into chef mode she had backed off to give him plenty of room; she may have still wanted to cling to him, but, well, she was also hungry. It was almost soothing in and of itself to watch Tristan as he smoothly prepared the area. As he warned her about stove she blinked, then shook her head; maybe she had been watching a bit too closely. "I-I know. Stove burns. Is there, a thing I can do?" She didn't want to just sit and watch, she was supposed to be learning how to cook, at least a little.

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Across the Pond

"I know, but..." Hannah sighed, very quietly, Firmia was still going to be like this. She understood the issue with Jessica, but the rest of the crew... They didn't deserve this, that ship didn't deserve this, just because of the person at the helm. That's why when Firmia said she'd be coming too, Hannah had to pause and stare at the girl. "What?" Really? Not wanting any surprises was fine, but... Going over there in person, when it was clearly making her upset enough to get Sasha to put locks on the funnels... "Is that really a good idea? I don't want you getting into a shouting match with the captain if she's done something special again." Things did tend to go somewhat sideways when it came to Jessica and prisoners, and considering who they had just picked up, would Vera be walking around the Riese like it was no big deal in a matter of hours?

Then there was Sasha, looking almost troubled... Right, right. "You want to come and see the good doctor, Sasha?" If they were going to go over, might as well.

Green is The New Yuck

"What's the rush? I have a ship to get back to, and information to give to my captain. So either drop the walls or sit tight while I bust them down. I will go Galatea Mk.II on this firewall--" And now Rex was yelling. Ugh. What a mess. "Hold please." Galatea went still, another avatar of her popping up in Rex's face.

"What do you want!? I'm busy!" She huffed, glaring him down, his temper tantrum wouldn't intimidate her. Unless the Athena got hit by an EMP out of nowhere, there was nothing they could do to her. "I will forget nothing, but if you must know... Nothing. Brant is raising his kids as he sees fit, and when we meet with you, you can have Vasiliy. No strings attached. What kind of monster do you think she is? Honestly, did you REALLY think she was going to try and bargain with you over your own child? How rude can you be? First you try to kill her, now this. Idiot. Pathetic." Galatea was done with Rex, popping back up in front of May with a huff.

"Right. Where were we? Oh, yes. Drop the wall or get the maul." Galatea flashed a moment, suddenly equipped with what looked like a mobile suit, carrying a rather impressive hammer, and a tiny glower gathered on her face. "You get one warning!"

Things You Can't Afford

"Kim, you can't keep going on with this. If the captain says you can't pilot, you can't pilot." Chris was getting pretty frustrated with Kim's continued stubbornness on this, she didn't know how to get through to the girl. Did the words, 'this could actually kill you', mean nothing? Sure, fighting with Vera and the Sacarians could as well, but that was different. This... State of being, is what could kill Kim. She didn't seem to get it.

"It... It's fine, Chris. Really... I trust Kim. Megumi, it'll be okay. Kim is..." Christina smiled a moment, hugging the bed's blanket closer to her. "She's really stubborn. She'd probably just break herself out of whatever confinement she got put in to help the fight, if we tried to hold her down. And I'll be there, so--"

"You're going back into that machine? After what happened to you?" Chris was surprised that she even wanted to try this again, she'd been betrayed, shot, left for dead, but...

"I am. Kim's okay. I'm alive... I want to help her as best as I can. If I can anchor any of this by being there, even if that's all I'm doing, then I really want to."

"Geez..." Chris sighed and ruffled Christina's hair some, taking some steps away from her over to Brant. "Fine, be my guest. Both of you are crazy..."

Yes on Call

"I am happy... Your fault for saying anything." Calina huffed, blaming her for that, she didn't have to say anything to Sena. Anyone would get awkward after hearing something like that. "Just wanted you to talk to her for a minute. She's... Not going to be okay. I dunno if I'm gonna be able to give her what she needs right now, since..." Calina didn't want to say it, Abby already knew, anyway. With Robert gone, Sena was all alone, again. The girl's world was already so small, she'd only really let him in. No one could take his place, could they even talk to her like they used to? Maybe... But...

"I'm no good with that sort of thing," she sighed, finishing the straps off of Abby's shoulders. "If you can think of anything to say or do for her, please do. That's why you're Captain, after all. You were better with words than me." Just a bra in her way... Why did Abby have to wear so much? Sliding hands across her skin nice and slow to get her riled up, fingers began to fiddle with the clasps.

"We'll make things work. Always have. People come and go," she managed, biting her lip and forcing a smile. "This one's just gonna leave a mark for a while longer than normal. That's all. That's..." Crap... She was crying again, retreating a hand to wipe away at her eyes. "Sorry. Should just be happy right, but I can't... Can't get it out of my head." Calina went in for another greedy hug, holding Abby tight. "I can't let, something like that happen again. I have to be better." Maybe this teaming up with Jess wasn't so bad, after all... It was bad for her, but it would keep her people safe in this war. This ship had gone down, and still survived, after all. If it could take that much punishment, then...

"We can do this... All of us." Her hands went back to what they wanted, glancing up at Abby from her hug. "We've only got a few minutes. We should make the most of this... Know I said I'd destroy you, but I might have to take a rain check on that. How's ruin sound for now?"

New Game+

"You'd better be able to handle it... You'll also be sharing Kim's room. I need eyes on you at all times. You aren't some rebel, or clone of Christina that we've picked up out of nowhere. You were an Apotheosis soldier, and given the argument you were having with Vera and Louise, I can't fully trust you. I can still keep tabs on you, at least... And if you realize what a mess you were all causing, for the whole world? Maybe we can get you to do something about it." Jess was just being hopeful, beliefs didn't change on a whim like that. Esther's were rather strong too, she'd went so far as to bark as Louise over them, not listening to Vera's wishes to calm down between the both of them. She couldn't pilot for them, not yet. Maybe not before this was over... Still.

"We'll figure something out for you, if you can be trusted. I'll let the lieutenant decide, depending on what she sees while watching over you. Now, come on." The infirmary was only a few steps away, Jess heading in to see the crowd... That sure was a lot of people. Snatching Esther's arm and dragging her inside, she looked over at Kim getting scanned, Christina waking up... Thankfully. "Is this a bad time, Megumi?" Hopefully not, but... "Kim, you've got a new best friend. I hope you're alright enough to watch over Esther."

"Huh?" came three voices, all of the blondes confused by this sudden arrival and declaration.

Cooking Mama

"Yeah, sure. You can get the meat ready, right? Just give it a light crust, heat it up. I know a reuben's typically cured meat, but we work with what we have. And Aly... Sure. You're good with a knife, right?" He set the bread aside and fished out a knife, it would be interesting to see how Alriana prepared this. "Try to make the slices a bit less than one inch thick. That should be more than enough for this. He paused a moment, an example would likely be better for her. Loaf in hand, knife in the other, he cut out what would work best for this. "Five more of those. You got this." Pan was at about the right temperature, so he turned the heat down a moment, letting it sit. Aliza could handle herself, he just had to make sure Alriana didn't make any mistakes. She could handle a knife in combat, the kitchen was a bit different.

But they weren't done yet. Someone else had joined them... "Talia?" The meek girl from their encounters at the Corona facility. "By all means. The more the merrier, right? Alriana, this is Talia. She's Tarquin's sister, one of the people staying on the ship." Hopefully a brief introduction would let the alien take the reins from there. Wonder what she's doing here? Not that it's a problem, but I haven't seen her around the ship much...

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Seung-Min clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer, and she had Christina's support as well. Still, unless they had to sortie again in the next few hours or so, Megumi didn't foresee a confrontation with the captain. Physically there wasn't anything wrong with the lieutenant, and Christina was well on her way to recovery. They just needed to understand what had happened and how it would affect Kim going forward.

"For now, both of you need to focus on recovering," Megumi said, turning to set down the scanners nearby, "I don't want you leaving the infirmary until I decide how to monitor you." As far as making sure she wasn't alone, Christina would more than suffice, though the doctor had some fairly minor concerns with it. The tech side of things would be different since Megumi wanted an active feed or at the very least periodic recordings to follow and document the lieutenant's progress.

If Megumi had the situation mostly under control then there was little Brant could do to help other than see if the Alkaev journal had any useful information. That would still have to wait until Firmia was feeling better, though. In the meantime, he could definitely see what Elaine needed, though he was certain it was related to Louise and the potential problems there. He could still hardly believe she had shown up here ... "Yeah," Brant nodded at Elaine, "we'll be here a bit longer I think. Not sure if we'll be at the debriefing, but ..." Frankly? Brant expected Firmia to order them back to the Avalon the second she was feeling better. He didn't really want to say that though ...

Jessica arrived with Esther, which definitely changed the atmosphere in the infirmary. No one had to ask what Esther was doing out of her cage either, since her handler wasted no time in assigning Kim to the young jailbird. Come to think of it, Esther was kind of unusual. She hadn't accomplished much as an enemy, not that Brant knew of at any rate ... and yet she was only just now getting out of her cell? Moreover, with Kim being tasked with watching her, you'd think she was caught just a few hours ago.

"I want to say it's a bad time," Megumi squinted, first at Jessica and then Esther, "but since you're here about the prisoner ... perhaps not. I'd actually like to have a word with Vera, but if Esther has anything more to share about Apotheosis' TKs, that could help."


Firmia imagined how a loud argument between herself and Jessica would go and trying to factor in everything happening right now left the Alkaev unsure of the likely outcome, and even the context. There were certainly enough routes they could go down. Regardless, Firmia was willing to risk it this time. She had to explain at least part of the situation with the Athena to the rival captain anyway, so she might as well do it in person. Like minding the crew, handling security measures, and planning for every feasible situation, coming out the better captain required sharing important information in a timely manner.

"She can't run away if I'm there in person," Firmia teased, though her expression was blank, "... and besides, this isn't a bad time to talk to some people."

"I don't remember you making any friends over there," Sasha smirked, "other than the ones you took with you. But I'll come along, too. I can check the overrides once I get back."

That was curious. Did Firmia not have any friends--using the standard definition and not her personal one--over on the Heion Riese? The only person that even came to mind was Christina, and that was admittedly one-sided at best. Originally, her main interest was gathering information for her grandfather as a thank you. Now there was an extroverted version of her attached to Brant at the hip. This was definitely more than she'd bargained for, but that wasn't Christina's fault ... So no, Firmia didn't have any friends aboard the Riese ... but she still had a small list of people she wanted to see coming together, and Christina was indeed on that mental list.

"That's fine, then. Let's get going."


"Nothing?! Are you serious?!" Then why the hell ... no, that was just like an Alkaev. Whether the place was safe or not was less important than having what you cared about within arm's reach. Firmia didn't have a property somewhere that she could keep the children safe in until the war was over. She carried her whole life with her. Thanks to the war, Brant was in a similar situation. And so was Rex. He let out a heavy, bitter sigh as Galatea returned to harassing May. "... we'll see. I'm not taking her word for it ... not yet. When we meet in person ... that's when I'll know ..."

"Would you prefer things to go off without a hitch?" Stan asked, genuinely curious. He felt it a much better question than the last one.

Rex huffed in amusement just thinking about it. "Yeah ... but I admit it'd really make my year if I managed to put down even one of you parasites ... a son though ... gonna have to change his name, first thing."

"Ugh, that's so petty. Alkaev is a good name ... not sure about the first name yet, but we'll see."

"No one gives a damn about your opinion, Stan."


May spent the time on hold looking through her things for countermeasures but didn't find any devices with software stronger than what Merrygate already had installed before Galatea popped up again.

... and now she was wielding a hammer or something. "Oh my g-fine! Fine! Could have just put together some data for you and sent it to your boss in a little bit, but you just had to raid the place ..."

"May!" Her comm lit up as one of the mechanics in the hangar called her, "May, get down here! We've got a hacker!"

"Too late," May replied, "this is ... a mobile hacker ... ... blegh ..."

"C-come again ...?! May, I'm serious here!"

Edited by Phoenix
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"She won't. If we can get this ship out of the water and meet Apotheosis, then we'll have had enough time for Doctor Amparo to conclude her tests and sign off on me. If they attack us before the Riese is back to working order? Well we won't have the option not to deploy at that point. I know that whatever this is, I can handle it... and the Doctor will conclude the same in time. And if anything does happen to me and I can't fly, I know Christina can dock the Artemis safely." Came the retort from Seung-Min, Christina pitching in on her behalf... well, the way she phrased things was a tad embarrassing, but she wasn't wrong in a sense. If the Captain actually ordered her not to sortie, well... she wasn't going to disobey, but she didn't see it coming to pass.

"If the Captain truly doesn't want me to pilot, so be it. I hope you won't need me if that's the case... I doubt that it will be that simple this far into the campaign though. I don't want someone else dying to be what forces her hand." Kim added, aforementioned Captain appearing as if on cue, right on time to hear that with Esther in tow. That was a bit odd, but what came next was even more so.

"Well, I dunno if she'll be a fan, but I'm sure I can handle her. It's good to see you out of the cell, Esther." Kim noted, with Megumi asking if she had any potential insight on the matter... the Doctor had said that Esther had TK issues, so perhaps she might be able to shed some sort of light. What Megumi followed up with, however...

"If you're going to see Vera, Doctor... I'd like to go with you. You can take any observations you'll need so long as we're both there, i trust? She... she owes me answers, and I intend to collect."

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Brant was at least willing to catch up with Elaine later, something that reassured her that someone wouldn't jump on her if things went poorly with Louise. Louise wasn't the only prisoner they had to worry about either. Esther seemed harmless but Elaine could easily imagine the havok that Vera could carry out left unchecked. Whether she were inside a robot or on foot, she wasn't an enemy that Elaine was willing to face any time soon. Looking back, her potshot on the colony had been a bold move... and perhaps a very foolish one if Vera had decided to retaliate. Elaine shook her head, deciding it wasn't a good time to dwell on the past.

"I'm actually with Kim on this one." Elaine remarked, smirking at Kim's desire to fight. They'd all come this far and had their own reasons for fighting, but she was certain nobody would sit out if beating Apotheosis was on the table. "Ain't gonna lie, talkin' to the prisoners might not be the safest move, but we gotta get whatever advantages we can. Apothoesis ain't exactly playin' fair borrowing those scientists. Pretty sure Vera won't talk easy, like a fucking samurai she is."

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"You got it, master chef~" She teased with a grin as she approached the pan with the meat in question. An easy job, something she can certainly handle alone. Alriana really needed the guidance anyway. She prepared the meats and started the fry, but part of her attention also went to the newcomer: Talia. "Oh!" She turned her heard toward the girl, and noticed she was a little nervous asking to join. She didn't speak with Talia much, but this was a nice surprise. So she gave off her best smile and a small wink toward her, attempting to settle her down a bit. "Oh of course. Plenty of food to go around!"

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"Yes," Alriana answered as she approached Tristan. She watched from an appropriate distance, for once, as Tristan explained her task. "It looks simple. I can do it." She affirmed as she took the knife in hand. She knew how to use silverware, and Tristan had given her a good demonstration, so this should be easy. Should being the keyword. She overestimated the durability of the bread and tore, more than cut, through her first attempt on the loaf with the knife making a noticeable thud against the cutting board. She made to try again, gentler this time, but before she could a newcomer had made herself known.

Alriana hadn't seen this human yet, or at least couldn't remember if she had. She noted her size, one of the smaller humans. Apparently, she also had some relation to Tarquin as well. "Ah, hello, Talia. I'm Alriana." She extended a clawed hand for the girl to shake, thankfully not the one currently holding the knife. "I have not seen you, before. What do you do, here?" All of the others had some sort of role, even the woman in the infirmary seemed to help out when needed. This girl clearly wasn't a pilot, or else she would have deployed earlier, so her role must be related to the inner workings of the Riese somehow. What that could be, Alriana had no idea.

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Hello Infirmary

"I-- sharing Kim's room?" Great, that would've been awkward enough with a stranger to share, it had to be the natural too. Esther minded having a room for herself, but beggars couldn't be choosers... At least it was an improvement fron the brig. "I'll deal with that, I guess." Unenthused, but that was something.

Entering the infirmary proper was... a lot more info than Esther expected would be thrown at her. "Uh, hi." She waved. Why were there so many people over here?! She was expecting Christina, but... "Is the Alkaev crew back onboard? I thought you guys had your own place." Well, these were details to catch up on during the meantime.

Kim reacted rather nonchalantly compared to the others, a tad disappointing, but she seemed to have no problem with the news. That left the Doctor's inquiry last, whom seemed rather curious about Apotheosis TKs, or at least their intel. "Well, I know a little bit about how the cloned ones work, I guess." Esther wasn't sure were Megumi was going with this, but it didn't feel like knowledge she had to keep secret, regardless.

In Tarquin We Trust

"A little bit here and there, huh..." Well, it sounded a bit surprising that Makoto's mother seemed proud of him risking his life, but maybe she'd come to cheer for him. I'm gonna have to fight even harder...

"Right, you guys did well, I'm sure!" It eas nice to see Tarquin share that trust in someone, especially to a grown up --his friend list always ended somewhere around his age, not that that was a bad thing--. "Well, of course! The invitation is to both."

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Situations Settling

Jess managed a laugh. "Like a samurai, indeed..." Megumi and Kim wanted to talk to her, huh? Hmm. "... If your patients are fine without you, then the two of you can visit Vera, by all means. I've got to get back to the hangar to see about the engine repairs, but I'll keep an eye on things through the surveillance systems... Esther, make sure you stick with Kim. I'll be watching. Meeting soon, everyone, so make sure you're ready. Brant, Chris, tell Firmia as well, if I can't get to her first. And Christina... I'm really glad that you're okay." Jess' expression finally softened some, and she smiled through a sigh. "I'll be off, then. Megumi, let me know if things get worse with any of them. We're... We're almost done here. Just a bit more out of all of us." Jess nodded, and turned to leave. Hopefully the engine wouldn't take too long to fix.

"She seems... A lot busier than before." Christina was a bit surprised by the Captain's sudden appearance, addressing of nearly everything, and then leaving again.

"Maybe she's finally taking her job seriously. Better late than never, though." Chris shrugged, and looked over at Brant. "We should probably tell Firmia, then? Since Christina's alright, and everything..."

Friends on the Riese

"Let's go then, Sasha... And, rude as it is, he's right, Firmia. I can't think of anyone over there you'd want to visit for. Are you sure there's anyone...?" Maybe Christina for the sake of her own people, but... That was about all Hannah could think of. They were going either way, so no reason to stop her, but it was definitely curious.

Raid

"Well of course, I'm busy. I have to get back to Firmia's ship and parse all of this data, it's a lot for one AI." Galatea put away her hammer and got working on copying the data, humming contentedly to herself as she did. "Why do green, anyway? It's not an awful shade, but it's certainly off putting. You look like a human and a dryad had a falling out." She scoffed and popped the Merrygate's data into her banks, looking it over a moment. "This machine is rather powerful... Interesting. It also looks like being that powerful could cause it to pop. Less interesting... Maybe we can fix that."

 

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Having one person pay attention to her was stressful enough, but Talia's knees were ready to give way. "Oh, I... if that's not a problem." Talia replied, all three of them were focused on her. What was she meant to say, could she even say anything? It wasn't like talking to Makoto, these people were far more stressful. She could feel the colour draining from her face. It was her chance to be included, to try and mingle with everyone else, why was it so difficult? It stung a little a when Tristan referred to her as Tarquin's sister, having an association to him didn't exactly sit well with her... but it was the only really defining factor that she had at this point. Forcing a smile, she decided to bite the bullet.

Alriana's offering of a clawed handshake only added to her anxiety, but it was a gesture that Talia had to take. Extending her hand and shaking the claw sheepishly, Talia took a few moments to comprehend that she was shaking hands with a literal humanoid shark alien. The real kicker was when Alriana asked what her role was, Talia's face went completely blank in almost an instant.

What did she actually do? Admitting to be a failure genetically modified clone child didn't exactly give off the best first impression, but she was hard pressed to actually come up with an answer.

"I... I was rescued from Corona Ten, the research facility." Talia replied timidly, not even realising that she was still shaking Alriana's hand. Her body and mouth both seemed to have a mind of their own. "I was genetically engineered to pilot, just like T-4... Tarquin and the others. I'm a little rusty though, it's been years since I've piloted properly, I was hoping to get back into it or find something I can do to help."

Talia took a few moments to realise what she had just said. Being murdered by Vera in Corona Ten was starting to seem like a missed opportunity.

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Megumi still didn't want Kim leaving the infirmary until she had a passive monitoring method in place, but that was her only issue with the lieutenant heading to the brig with her. "Alright, Kim, but if you're going to be moving around, I want to see if I can't set up a recorder, first. You'll have to wear it most of the time until I have a clearer picture of what's going on with you." A helmet with a T-Link interface would have done, but the lieutenant deserved to at least be able to wander the ship not looking like a disabled girl in a crash helmet.

Jessica was gone in an instant, leaving Esther to Seung-Min and by extension, Christina. Brant supposed the point of it was having a TK look after the situation. It was still strange to see her like this. Maybe she was more motivated. Between the situation with Abigail--however that was going--and the moles finally making their move, he could see there being more than enough pressure to keep her focused. Not to mention the Heion Riese was still bobbing around in the ocean like an astronomically overpriced comm buoy.

As much as Brant wanted to ask to talk to her when she had the time, he couldn't see anything good coming of it. He only had two things to say to her: Something akin to 'Hi, how're you doing?' and ... something along the lines of 'What are you and Abigail going to do, now?' He already knew the answer to both questions, making the first meaningless fluff, and the second a good way to piss himself off. If even now, the entirety of their relationship being based on bad intel and impatience, still wasn't going to end, not even for the other person's sake ... if all it took for Jessica to go this far was essentially permission from Abigail ... then was there really anything to talk about?

By that point, there was no hiding the shift in his mood, even from those without any TK senses. It feels like there's nothing left. Just ... there's still time to figure this out. For now, focus on Rosa. Jessica won't listen no matter what I say, but Rosa's trying ... and she actually needs your help, so focus on that. It wasn't something he could articulate to Chris at the moment, but Brant feared they had finally hit an impasse. The next time he spoke to Jessica would probably be the last, so he was obviously torn about doing so. It wasn't entirely Brant's fault, since his principles were informed by his experiences, and it wasn't entirely Jessica's fault since she couldn't be held to anyone's standards but her own. Brant had to draw the line somewhere though, and this was it. This was the kind of thinking he despised the most, the kind that ruined his life multiple times. His ties to Jessica were essentially gone, and the same would hold true for Rosa if she couldn't stay humble and learn from her mistakes. She was a unique person in a unique circumstance, which was why Brant felt so compelled to try; he never had the chance with Jessica, and never wound.

Brant met eyes with Chris briefly, still unable to hide the fact that his mood was in freefall. "Yeah. Let's see ..." He still managed to keep the melancholy out of his voice, at least. Brant couldn't risk the fallout of call Firmia from the Riese and letting her hear any gloominess in his voice. That was just a recipe for unbridled Alkaev rage ... "Hey, Firmia? Hope it's not a bad time ..."

"Not really."

She sounded normal. That was fast. "Good. Christina's alright, but Kim's having some issues and the doctor's trying to figure out what's going on. Since the Alkaev company has its own research on TKs, I was wondering if we could check there for any insight. Basically Kim's senses are a lot stronger than normal. She can even read Chris and Christina's thoughts. Think the last time that happened, we were trying out the Artemis' T-Link."

"There's nothing in the journal about that," Firmia came back almost instantly, "but I'm heading over anyway, so we can talk more about that in person."

"You're coming here?" Probably to berate Jessica about the moles, granted, but ...

"Yes. By the way, there's a change of clothes for both of you in the Regalia under Chris' seat. I figured something like this would happen again, and I don't want you running around in SKINsuits all day ... so take a break from whatever you're doing and go change."

"Pff ... heh ..." 


"I do have an investor to check in on," Firmia said pointedly, referring to Roxanna, "and I also want to ask the Riese's doctor about a few things while I have the chance. Since Tonya isn't going to be straightforward about it, I am. I don't know when the meeting's starting either, so I-" And there was a call ... from Brant, no less. "Hm?"

"Hey, Firmia? Hope it's not a bad time ..."

A bad time? Oh right, she'd given them orders while still reeling from the news about Commander Vance. She was only feeling a little better now, and only because the positives in her personal situation outweighed the negatives. "Not really."

"Good. Christina's alright, but Kim's having some issues and the doctor's trying to figure out what's going on. Since the Alkaev company has its own research on TKs, I was wondering if we could check there for any insight. Basically Kim's senses are a lot stronger than normal. She can even read Chris and Christina's thoughts. Think the last time that happened, we were trying out the Artemis' T-Link."

Mindreading? Firmia had been over a lot of the TK data, hoping to increase her knowledge and get some insight into how to further develop the technology that supported TKs in combat. Nothing about mindreading ever showed up. "There's nothing in the journal about that, but I'm heading over anyway, so we can talk more about that in person." Admittedly she hadn't finished her studies, but she was fairly confident there wasn't anything helpful to Kim's situation there. All of the research the company had going back more than twenty years was limited to herself, Brant, Rex, and a couple of KIAs. The chances of that being relevant were slim to none.

"You're coming here?"

"Yes." Why were people so surprised about that? Hate the captain, not the ship. That was simple ... though one thing the Alkaev wasn't keen on was going over to the Riese with nothing but a buttoned-up long coat separating her and her SKINsuit from any onlookers on the Riese. "By the way, there's a change of clothes for both of you in the Regalia under Chris' seat. I figured something like this would happen again, and I don't want you running around in SKINsuits all day ... so take a break from whatever you're doing and go change."

"... I need to change, too. I'll be back in a minute."

Sasha was about to make a comment, but stopped himself, figuring maintenance was going to be a bit of a mess anyway. The drones were constantly flying in anything they could find and the mechanics were just finishing up with returning the funnels to their racks. They also had to make room for the Luna and any other wreckage that made it back. They really should invest in a few shuttles or something. These mobile suits weren't meant for ferrying people back and forth.


"Fix it?" Did she mean the power management issue that made the Gae Bolg so volatile when firing? That would definitely cheer up the mechanics, then ...

"May! We're out of time, here! Whoever's doing this is inside! We've got to purge, now!"

Oh right ... still panicking. "Please don't do that; she already has the data," May sighed, "I think the Captain's letting them-" Using the broadest possible definition of the term 'letting,' "look around. Wish someone had ask us first, but what can you do ... besides purging, I mean."

"Wait, the ANF is doing this?"

"Those sons'a-" Another voice picked up on the comm briefly.

"I know it's kind of one-sided, but look on the bright side ... they might help us fix Merrygate's BFG problem."

"Oh yeah, sure ... board's going to love our project data leaking to the wrong bloody faction since, 'hey, we fixed the system ... oh and the ANF has the completed version!'"

May winced. "... would it be all the same if you got paid anyway? Troy practically kidnapped us so it's not like the EU can blame GA ..."

"They better pay us more than the EU 'cause I need to disappear after this mess."

"We're so done ..." another voice picked up, again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fixing It

"I don't work for the ANF, you clods!" Galatea poofed herself down to where the mechanics were, scowling then down on their consoles. "I work for Firmia Alkaev! I'm an AI! And your Captain just signed a deal to work for her too! I don't know what the deal is with green, here, but as long as it's on this ship, you can take it up with Troy. If we find a way to fix anything, you can take the credit, I don't care. Not my problem!" Back to May, an exasperated sigh, she nodded.

"Data's done, at least... And really, do something about that color. It's... Garish." With that, Galatea was gone, with all of the Athena's data, and not a trace of herself left behind.


August 12th, Thursday, 1900 hours ~ Riese Meeting Room

The meeting room was incredibly packed, this time. Jess' side of the table was... Almost overflowing. Next to her, on her right, were Vera, Louise, and all three of the ship's androids. One was holding Vera's arms behind her back, the others holding Louise, who was sporting a rather fashionable titanium hand brace. A large rectangle with her hands fit through, a necessary safety measure for almost everyone in the room. On her left, Abigail, Calina, and one of the woman's men from her ship. Jess didn't get a name, but he looked incredibly nervous. Hopefully things would go well.

"Alright... First things first... The Riese's engines will be back in full working order by tomorrow. Avery... If that's her name, did a huge number on the entire system, but Ignatius, Buck, and the rest of the team down there are doing a great job fixing it. We'll be back in the air and en route with nothing extra to worry about soon enough... Which, leads us to probably the lighter topic." Jess gestured towards Abigail and Calina, a picture of their ship showing up on the monitor behind Jess... No, this was a live video feed. Their ship had come up alongside the Riese. "This is Calina Rydell. She was... A part of the attack on Colony One, a few weeks ago. Now, she's offering to help us in this final stretch against Apotheosis. Several suits, a ship, and able pilots for anything that might come up. If anyone has any concerns with that, please speak up."

"And just so we're fuckin' clear," Calina growled, "I didn't play a part in that attack to help Apoth. They lied to us, and I bought it, hook, line and sinker... Soon as they started killing civilians, I was tryin' to stop them just as much as you all were." She felt pretty stupid for having bought into their plans, but the ANF's threat to destroy the colony had been real. She couldn't just ignore that.

"Right... So, the, harder subject." Jess sighed and looked over at Louise, who was already sporting a rather expectant grin. "Louise?"

"Why yes, Captain Gefalscht~?" She was practically exploding at the seams with glee, whether it was from the need to be relied on by her former enemies, or just enjoying this sort of situation, Jessica couldn't tell.

"If... If you would, can you explain to us all how you, you are... And what you're willing to do for us?" Jess leaned back, hoping things wouldn't get volatile. She glanced out over the crew, she could already see Chris squeezing her arms, biting her lip, scowling daggers at Louise. She probably wasn't the only one bothered by this, either...

"Of course... Where to start~ Yes, hmm... Well, Elaine killed me. I've got vivid memories of her driving that stake into my cockpit and tearing the life away from my body. Gives you the shivers~ Next... I'm waking up on a medical bed, back at home base, aboard the Chelone. Makoto's father is there, telling me that his experiments succeeded. They managed to take my memories, digitize them, and implant them into an android... Of course, I was not at all pleased about being turned into a lab rat... Instead of locking me up when I threatened to leave, Helena... Let me go. Perhaps she felt sorry for me, but, my first course of action was to come here, surrender, and offer you all Apotheosis' dirtiest secrets~"

This was the part Jess didn't get. Why Louise was so willing to rat out her group, just like that.

"Worthless scum," Vera mumbled, clearly bothered by Louise's readiness, but the snake of a woman paid it no mind, continuing on.

"You see, they didn't put everything of me into this android. They decided to remove my traumatic memories, and my hatred of the ANF. Now I really do not appreciate having my mind toyed with, just to see if they could, but... While I'm still quite, hmhmhm... Eccentric... I don't hold a grudge on any of you, or Alphonse. I wish him the best, and I hope you all succeed. Gosh, it certainly feels weird to say that, but here we are~ Who wants to ask the first question?" Her eyes lit up, smile wide, ready to drop secret after secret, so long as the questions were asked.

"The floor is, yours, everyone. I'll ask whatever I think needs covered, if people don't bring things up. That's... Just how it is." They could likely use Vera as a gauge to tell just how truthful Louise was being, the woman had such a strict code of honor that disgust at Vera's betrayal to the group would probably read on her face like an open book. It was just a matter of getting things on the table, now.

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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FullMetal Terrorist (Other link just in case: https://pastebin.com/58RfKzbe)

Spoiler

The constant monitoring seemed a bit excessive, but it seemed clear that Doctor Amparo wasn't going to let her off without it, so there was little to be done. It had taken a small amount of time, but Megumi had rigged up some sort of headset that was meant to keep track of and record any changes in her telekinetic waves. Once that had been done, Seung-Min and Megumi... with Esther in tow as per Captain's orders, headed over to the brig. It seemed Esther hadn't been allowed to leave it for very long, at least not yet. 

As they arrived, Seung-Min took a step off to the side to allow Megumi first access. While she had many questions that she wanted answered, the Doctor's medical questions should take precedence, after all. Pulling Esther gently off to the side with her, Kim looked over at Vera, now sporting ANF standard prosthetic limbs instead of whatever insane alien tech she had been rocking beforehand... just another thing to ask after Megumi had finished, or at least gotten the most prudent information.

"Go ahead, Doctor. Best to get the more critical business underway first off."

So this was Vera. She was awfully docile for an enforcer, but there wasn't much she could do in the brig, even less so with more or less ordinary prosthetics. She also didn't seem to share Esther's rebellious spirit, which was both refreshing and a little disturbing. There was a difference between accepting defeat and ... whatever this was. As for the Doctor's questions, she could easily cram them all into one just like she had with the cyber TK.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about telekinetics, particularly any expansion in their abilities. Assuming that's possible." It clearly was possible, otherwise, Seung-Min wouldn't be sporting the crappy headgear, but Megumi needed Vera's take on this. She needed Apotheosis' take on it, really, and hoped Vera was more than just a fighter for the cause.

People here to see her? ... That was Kim, then. She looked like the profile they had on hand for her. The headset was a bit weird, but maybe something had happened to her during the battle. Vera has discarded her jacket and was testing out these prosthetics. They were seemingly rather strong, though not as reactive as she'd gotten used to. It was almost a nostalgic feeling, it sort of felt like her old limbs, before her disease set in. She would adjust, definitely.

And this person was Megumi, then. Pink hair, asking questions pertaining to someone clearly being monitored. Vera hadn't paid much attention to the Riese's staff when looking over people, but it was a decent guess. Hopefully. "I don't really know much about TKs. Did something happen to Kim?"

"Guess interacting with those cats was pretty bad for her~" Louise snickered from the other side of the cell, wondering what this was all about.

So Megumi was going straight to asking about telekinetics? So she had been concerned with intel, moreso than ascertaining the health of the captives... or rather, she could likely tell that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with them at a glance. Despite Vera testing and adjusting to new limbs, she appeared to be physically uninjured, and Louise... well, she was obvious. Vera didn't seem to have the intel that the Doctor had been looking for, and trying to get anything out of Louise was more than likely a fools errand.

"Bad? I wouldn't say that." Seung-Min answered, trying not to put too much out in the open just yet, lest she thwart anything Megumi had in mind.

"Great. Do you know anything, Louise?" Megumi glanced in the android's direction. It certainly sounded like she did. "Do the Sacarians have some kind of effect on TKs that we don't know about?" She wanted to ask if any of Apotheosis' own TKs had any problems being around the Sacarians, but even Vera ought to know about something like that happening, right? Then again, it wasn't clear just how closely Apotheosis and the Sacarians worked together. Did they wander the same corridors on a day to day basis? It was starting to seem highly doubtful ...

"From the mess on your head, I'd say yes, bad."

"That depends, Megumi. What's it worth to you?" Louise picked herself up and walked up to the wall separating them, snickering and staring the doctor down. "I do know something, but I have no reason to tell you. Make it worth my while, hmmm?"

"Louise, just tell them."

"Why? No reason to not have some fun with things~"

"It's just for monitoring. My abilities are advancing at an accelerated rate." Seung-Min clarified... there was little getting around it now, and even if they had means to leak information, that much wouldn't do them any good... if only it weren't for the damned headset drawing so much attention. If Kim had known this was what Megumi had been so intent on interviewing them about, she would have spread out their visitations.

"Louise," Megumi let just a hint of irritation into her voice, "if you want something, you'll need to talk with the captain. I'm not in a position to do anything for you. If the lieutenant's abilities really are 'advancing,' which seems to be the case, then I need to understand how and why."

"No fun, no fun... Fine. I'll be selling my soul to your captain soon enough, anyway." Louise shrugged and shook her head. "Your best TK is experiencing a forced growth by locking minds with stronger telekinetics. She will either survive it, and become extraordinarily powerful, on par or even better than our catlike 'friends'. Or..." Louise cackled quietly, turning back around. "Her mind will melt, and she will die, unable to handle the burden of what's happening to her. It's all up to her, really. Whether or not she can handle the expansion, or if it turns her into a vegetable."

"... Sounds fun..." Vera tossed glances towards everyone there, including Esther, hoping this wasn't all serious talk.

"If it's miss Kim? Perhaps she can actually do it. Any of the pilots that attempted in our facility... Didn't last very long."

"From the sounds of it, you haven't witnessed the former yet." Kim noted... so that was it then. If Louise had witnessed... the beginnings of this at least, even if none of Apotheosis' men had managed to come out on top, that meant that further tampering from Avery was almost entirely ruled out as a relevant factor. Louise seemed to relish in delivering the information, hoping for a reaction. Like hell she'd give her that satisfaction.

"So it's win or die, then. Well, it's been like that from the start, and I don't intend to start losing now." Seung-Min stated confidently, lips curling into a slight smile. As long as this forced evolution didn't break her, she could twist it to her own advantage... what better way that to stab the Sacarians with a dagger they themselves had provided? Poetic, really. With that out in the open however... perhaps Kim could begin with her own reason for coming along. Vera did seem to be getting somewhat... anxious, at the severity of the topic at hand.

"At any rate, Vera. I'd like to talk to you... you said that you'd only give me your reasons if I defeated you. Well... here we are. I don't understand how someone like you could assist the Sacarians..."

"I did... But you had help." Vera sighed, why did Kim care so much about this? "I had to. They were controlling me, physically. The limbs I had were remote operated if needed. If I didn't kill a target they wanted, or refused to comply, they would make me do it, or simply shut me off, leaving me unable to move. There was no talk of this when I agreed to the replacements, but... That is my just desserts for trusting aliens, I suppose." Hopefully that would sate the Lieutenant's curiosity. For now, at least.

"It would have been difficult not to, given your positioning." Seung-Min countered, her expression settling into a scowl as Vera explained. The same superhuman augmentations that made her such a menace in the field had also tethered her to the Sacarians, was it? How despicable.

"So that's why you had Buck replace them... I was planning to ask, but that ties that point up rather nicely... awful as such conduct is, I'm almost relieved to hear it... I have a lot of respect for you as a warrior, Vera. It made no sense to me, why you would follow alien invaders like that... but what of the rest of Apotheosis? They can't all be under direct control... or is everyone like Esther, unaware of the other species they held captive and enslaved? I can't imagine you could have thought any different would happen to you in the end, even if you won."

Vera sighed again, louder. "Apotheosis was not an organization meant for world domination. We were on equal footing with them once... This, takeover is sudden, and while some of us were expecting it, they are stronger than us. There is nothing we can do to stop them ruining the organization other than to kill them. And, doing so is a lot easier said than done. Are you satisfied?"

Vera's arrangement with the Sacarians certainly sounded convenient. Megumi didn't pity her for it, though. At this point, whether she was directly responsible for all the lives lost at the end of her blade, or the Sacarians controlling her, it didn't make a whole lot of difference. As for the TK situation, they didn't have anything the lieutenant didn't already suspect, and as much as the doctor wanted information, Louise's disposition made her a dubious source at best. ... essentially a wasted trip, Megumi reluctantly concluded.

"Well, I think I'm done here, at least," Megumi chimed in, "If you don't know anything, and Louise isn't going to elaborate any further ..."

Well, it seemed that was all there was to it. If there was more, Vera didn't seem content to share, at least not at the moment. Apotheosis had been unaware of the alien captives, and a lack of foresight had put them into a checkmate position well before they had any way of knowing. Was that the whole story, or just all that Vera felt she had earned... there wasn't much way to know. Doctor Amparo seemed to be about finished as well.

"I suppose I'll have to be.You were blindsided and by the time you realized, it was too late... Even if there's anything else, you are clearly reluctant to say." Seung-Min replied, a sigh of her own in swift pursuit.

"I had hoped to come to understand you a bit better, but I suppose I've yet to earn that privilege. If nothing else... I'm sorry that I couldn't give you a bit more of that duel you were seeking. I don't know how to repay you for that moment of clarity you gifted me earlier... it seems I don't have much of a means to, anymore."

"I don't know what else you want me to share, Megumi, darling. I told you everything I know. I've never seen someone survive this sort of, direct mind confrontation with the aliens, so we'll have to see if little miss Kimmy is up to the task~" Louise shrugged and shook her head. This was the extent of her knowledge.

"If you wish to know more, then you'll have to ask your captain permission to spar with me. Defeat me and I'll tell you whatever you want to know... My apologies for being stubborn... But I am how I am." Vera offered an apologetic glance, hoping it was worth anything.

"The lieutenant will be fine," Megumi said, turning to leave. She could at least keep Kim alive if things started to go downhill, and hopefully, if that did happen they would have more information to work with by then. "If that's all you have for me, then I'm definitely done here. I'll be heading back now."

Certainly, Esther wasn't excited to be back at the brig so soon, but she knew it wasn't to last --no more being put in a glass room, which she was thankful for--.

Megumi herself tried to whisk out more info on the TKs first thing, it was predictable, in retrospect, with the life of an ace pilot in danger. Truthfully... Esther did not know much about naturals, or the aliens for that matter, so any topic apart from her capabilities or artificial's struggles were beyond her. Vera's as well, apparently. It was distressing to see Vera looking so... unwilling to fight.

Every moment Louise talked made Esther want to glare at her harder. This tin can just wanted to taunt everybody. What a bitch. "So they tried that with naturals in our base...?" It was definitely disturbing, that the Sacarians seemed so far above the rest. "A brain overload... if that's the case maybe my medicine would work for that case. They probably administered it to the subjects." It'd be nice to have heard anything about this earlier... the sudden information bomb was a hard one for Esther to take, her heart was fervent, wishing she could've done something about it, or known at all. "You'll definitely have to start taking it, in my opinion."

So there was more, then. The condition she had given was just so... Vera. Kim couldn't really be surprised by it, even if it was going to make things more difficult. Just another trial to overcome, in the end.

"Fine then. If that's what it takes, I'll do it. I hope you're ready, Vera." Seung-Min eventually answered, meeting her apologetic look with one of determination. All of her training, sparring with Fujiwara had been for this, hadn't it? Standing against Vera... she hadn't thought it would be in such a context, but this was the hand they had been dealt. And the Vera she had to face now didn't have her augments... she was strong, but she was human again. Beatable. She had to be.

Esther's revelation about the situation was helpful as well, but more towards Megumi than Seung-Min herself. If the Doctor could come up with a proper medication to tackle this with Esther's input, then all the better.

Megumi had stopped in her tracks at the mention of the Triexanth, mentally revisiting the idea she herself had considered in the infirmary. She didn't know what Esther's reasoning behind the suggestion was, nor why she was so sure Seung-Min would need the same medication she did ... but it would certainly be a convenient solution if it worked. If the worst of the symptoms could be controlled with medication of that sort, then there shouldn't be any issue with letting the lieutenant pilot normally. The only problem was ...

"Esther ..." Megumi didn't turn around all the way, but she could see the girl out of the corner of her eye, "what makes you think Kim will need to start taking the Triexanth you're on?"

"If it's overloading, then she won't be able to do much when it gets at its worst. TK pains are a negative feedback loop, which is why I need to take this med for the rest of my life." This was assuming it was similar to how artificials struggled with forcing that part of their brain to... exist, sort of.

"Triexanth doesn't cure anything, but it stops the worst case scenario... if it only gets worse until she can't survive it anymore. Well. She'll need to outgrow it, however naturals do it..." It was depressing, not just because of Kim, but because confluct with a Sacarian looked to be downright lethal to Esther.

"I'm not the one that needs to be ready, Seung-Min." The girl was confident, sure, but fighting in and out of mobile suits was different. Hopefully not more different than she was expecting.

"I suppose that could work... To make her feel better. You see, the difference between Kimmy and Esther, is that Esther is feeling the feedback loop that she mentioned, whereas Kim is the opposite. Her outgoing receptors are firing off far, far too much. Extreme sensitivity, super focused, are you reading minds, too?" Louise listed off what she'd seen, wondering just how far along Kim was. "Triexanth will reduce the pain she feels from all of this, but it won't stop the issue... And unlike Esther, who's going to be stuck like this for most of her, unless medicine or technology gets better, Kimmy can break through it. Maybe. Hmhmhm."

"I've come too far to give up now, Vera. If that's your condition, then I'll find a way to smash it." Seung-Min replied as though it was a matter of course. In her mind, it truly was. She had already been prepared to train to the point of keeping pace with Vera despite her alien technology implants, so this was a far easier ask. Listening in as the discussion of these potential meds came up, Seung-Min visibly reeled as Louise said what might have been the magic words. Mind reading... a concept so alien up until now, the idea that Louise might have pulled it out of her hat as a shot in the dark was... pretty much negligible. It practically confirmed that what she was experiencing was the same phenomenon Louise had described... and that she had in fact witnessed it before.

"I am. I suppose that means I'm approaching the point where your men broke."

Louise gasped, cackled, and smiled. "So you ARE! No aneurysm yet? If not, wonderful, you're the furthest I've seen. Maybe you'll live! Wouldn't that be interesting? If you're already beyond that, then you're on your own. I've not seen anyone make it beyond thoughts."

Vera, meanwhile, said nothing. If Kim was confident, then she could be. Alien tech or not, this would be no walk in the park.

"No aneurysm. I'm sure the Doctor would have picked something like that up while scanning if I wasn't having symptoms already anyway." Seung-Min replied... that news was both good and bad. It was good in that she had already passed the furthest threshold anyone had managed so far, but it was bad in that there was now no way to know what the future would hold. But in a sense, that was the position they had been in since this had begun. At least now they knew the cause.

As for Vera... she seemed to be finished speaking for now. Seung-Min couldn't help but be curious just how strong the Apotheosis Lieutenant was under her own power... in all likelihood, she would find out soon enough.

Despite how annoying Louise was being--how Louise Louise was being--Megumi managed to make some mental notes and filed them away for later. Kim wasn't suffering constantly, so the Triexanth might still fall short of being helpful, but at the very least it didn't hurt to have that option.

"Anything else you'd like to share, Louise?" Megumi hadn't moved since asking Esther about the Triexanth recommendation, she still looked more than ready to head back to the infirmary.

"Anything you'd like to ask, Doctor? You want a lot of answers with no questions. I've said everything that's come to mind, so unless you're very, very curious about me, or have something specific, I'm afraid my dulcet tones end here. How sad~"

"I asked you, already," Megumi retorted, "If it was too broad and that's all that's coming to mind right now, then fair enough." With that, she made for the exit. She wasn't interested in speaking with Louise any longer than necessary, and so nothing short of actionable information would stop her this time around.

"So it has to do with her sensitivity rather than a feedback loop?" It had to do with the differences between a natural and artificial TK, probably. To her own disappointment, Esther couldn't bring any further knowledge about naturals to the table, though her mind tried. "I don't know what else might help, then. I don't know if sticking with other TKs would be better or worse." The helmet would tell, supposedly.

That seemed to be about it, though. There wasn't much interest in examining Vera from Megumi. It made sense that she would put much greater priority on Kim, though. Louise... could stay there. For as long as Esther did, at least. Snake.

Well it seemed that would be the end of things. If symptoms popped up again, then this Triexanth could be a potential way to stem the tide, but it wouldn't do anything to stop the fact that she needed to break past this on her own power, lest it overwhelm her.

"I'll be seeing you later then, Vera. Come on, Esther." Seung-Min noted, following not far behind Megumi.

Here they were again in the meeting room. Every debriefing seemed to break new ground, but this one was the creme de la creme. Two of Apotheosis' most iconic murder princesses were in attendance, along with some of Abigail's team. The doctor wasn't sure whether to introduce herself later or simply carry on like she always did, but it was good to know that Abigail's situation hadn't been nearly as bad as it seemed, and seeing firsthand why. She didn't have any more questions for Louise that the others couldn't tackle. Frankly, she found the woman turned android too grating for conversation in general.

So that was Calina, Brant mused. The was the other side of that awkward affair, the one Jessica was going to ... well, going to do something about. Brant wasn't sure what she had planned exactly, only that Calina was going to either have to accept Abigail's new lover or leave. With the way Jessica was acting recently, no other outcomes were even remotely possible. That didn't leave him much to think about. The fact that Jessica was willing to put her relationship with Abigail above Calina's was just too much. Stealing a glance at Louise Brant was reminded of just how varied and potentially destructive personalities could be, both the evil ones as well as the well-meaning ones. That was when Brant realized at least partly why he was so wary of Jessica, in light of Calina's survival ... it was his paternal instincts, again. They had completely taken over. The mere association was getting to him now, swiftly putting down what was left of that already shaky friendship. How else would his daughters understand that he could not and would not condone that kind of thinking? And how could he not worry about it in the first place? They were Rosa's biological daughters, with at least some of her traits and some of his. Anything was possible, but he wanted them to learn from and emulate Chris, and not mistake anyone else as good role models unless they actually were. Things were looking to be a bit more dubious now with his minor faux pas in the brig, earlier.

As for Calina's attempt to vindicate herself, Abigail, and the rest of their crew from the attack on Colony One, Brant really didn't care at this point. The real butcher from Colony One was Vera, and she was right here, being restrained in front of everyone. Despite how strange the situation was, and the likelihood of annoying Firmia, Brant made a microscopic wave at Calina, saying, "Welcome to the team." It was his customary greeting to new allies, but there was absolutely no enthusiasm to go with it this time. There was nothing in that realm to be enthusiastic about anymore, and Firmia indeed managed a quick scowl at him for it.

Firmia had simply rolled her eyes at Calina's explanation. It would have meant something to her if they hadn't taken over an ANF facility by force before coming to strong arm them in the middle of their last and most important mission in a bunch of stolen new models. Those could have been used in the war, but instead, they were getting tuned up for today's nonsense. All Apotheosis' deception proved to the Alkaev were that Abigail's people were morons, as if attacking the ANF wasn't proof enough. Of course she scowled at Brant for welcoming them. These people weren't his allies, they were Jessica's. Maybe the ANFs if they were feeling generous. The Avalon and her crew, though? Not a chance in hell. Firmia would rather associate with conniving bloodthirsty slashers like Troy Lanzer ... and of course, Louise, than with a bunch of well-intentioned spontaneity driven idiots. If the ANF was going to pardon them, then they weren't Firmia's problem anymore ... not exactly, anyway. Her concerns wouldn't change anyone's mind or even affect the situation, so she offered nothing on it.

With Louise ready to take questions, though, Firmia found herself more than a little irritated. Were they really doing this again? She wanted to approach the table and slide her tablet over to the android, instructing her to just write down every last detail she could think of about Apotheosis. That was a better use of the time they had here, and it would give Firmia the opportunity to add in her own news about the EU defectors and what they were bringing to the mission. Rather than make a scene, she opened her notes and asked, "We need logistics on that base. Tell us how many ships and suits they have, what makes and models, what other defenses we can expect ... whatever you can remember." Hopefully, her grudge against Alphonse was all they had gotten rid of or changed. If Louise only had fake intel, then her answers might do more harm than good.

Edited by Phoenix
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