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

[Ether]

"If that's what you want, Jessica... then it's fine." Kim replied... she could only hope that Jessica's water theory, well... held water, else the bottom of their totem would topple with little effort. Well, if that happened, it happened. No huge deal, really. When Jess asked if she thought she could handle Abigail, the Lieutenant gave her opponent an exaggerated once over, placing her hand on her chin and nodding sporadically as she did so.

"Well... I suppose we'll have to see. I've handled girls like her... before though. I'm sure I can... soak your girl for you."

[Phoenix]

It looked like the music would have to wait for now. Firmia had an eavesdropper. She hoped Ms. Park wasn't expecting a warm welcome after an admission like that. Really, the only thing that stopped Firmia from getting snippy from the get go was the fact that this eavesdropper was bound to a wheelchair and looked like an actress for a war veteran's commercial. The trouble was that she didn't sound like she was a part of the ANF's armed forces, at the very least not anymore. She also knew who Firmia was, which set off alarm bells in the wary Alkaev's head.

"I would mind, actually," Firmia scowled lightly, "Some of that was confidential." Her fault for chatting in public, she supposed. "I'd consider it if I at least knew who I was dealing with. Are you with the ANF? From the sound of things you aren't in the army branch ... and also where did you get my name from?"

---

Chris' callsign? That sounded like a Firmia question. Brant's Arthurian knowledge was pretty limited. He did some searching for that creative clump of calcium in his body and came up short for the moment. "Maybe ask me later," Brant eventually gave up, "Firmia's probably going to change it from whatever I come up with, anyway, so we might as well check in with her at some point." He glanced in Firmia's direction as he said that, and paused at the sight of the woman in the wheelchair. He couldn't make out her features from this far away, not beyond her hair color. He suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of deja vu, but had no idea what to do with it, right now.

Shaking his head once, he faced Chris, again. "You might just need more time, I think. You look the same but you're not actually the same age, right?"

Edited June 1, 2018 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Wording

"... Kim, sometimes I wonder if you say what you say on purpose, or if it just sneaks out unintentionally. Anyway... let's go make sure Tristan isn't standing around all day." Jess shook her head, but smiled, turning and heading off towards the poor ensign.

Protective

"Goodness me. Well, give me a moment. I didn't expect you to be so bristly." Ms. Park chuckled, shaking her head. "My company has dealings overseas, so I've gotten all the information about the stir in Russia. Of course, the Alkaev family is on my mind because of it, we'd had dealings with them in the past... So when your android called you Firmia, I had to ask. Going by your reaction, I'd say I hit the nail on the head. Please, try not to worry so much."

Hannah picked up on one thing, sitting up just a bit. "How did you know I was an android?"

Ms. Park only had to point at her own ears for Hannah to understand what was being implied, sinking back into the chair some.

"Ahaha~ That's adorable. You're quite advanced for an android. So lifelike... Is she one of your company's own creations?"

"I was built on the colony. I am just... Unique."

"Impressive. Well, I'd love to find out what's gone into making you, but I'm currently more curious about this company I overheard, Ms. Alkaev~ I used to be an ANF soldier, discharged some time ago, and now I work business for them. Seeing all these companies start up during war is rather draining, but with a name like yours, it would be worth investing. Color me interested, nothing more. Still mind discussing things?"

Agewise

"No callsign, boo. Come on, fly boy..." Chris fake pouted, sighing as he brought up ages. "Biologically, yes, we are. For all technical purposes I'm only a few months old. Couldn't give you an exact time on that one. But I'm an exact copy of her. I guess there's a few months discrepancy between when they started cloning and her, now, but it's not enough to call us that different. Why, worried? 'Oh no, Chris is two months old, and here I am looking her over like a piece of meat. I'm such a terrible person.' Yeah, alright. I can only hope you aren't."

They seemed to be swiftly running out of things to talk about, but there was something on Chris' mind that had just popped in, seemingly out of nowhere... More like she'd been hiding it underneath everything else, and without something to think over, it wormed its way out. "If we survive this," she started, heavy already, "what do you want to do with your life? I keep thinking about it. I have a life, now. I really was ready to die, in that fight... But now I get to do whatever I want. Guess it's just... A lot, to think about. Too much to. I think I want to make a bunch of my own memories first. I'm stuck with Christina's, and some of them are nice, but they aren't really mine... What about you?"

[Dandragon]

Elaine took one last look back at Brant, who seemingly hadn’t moved from the beach chairs Chris had brought him over to. She wasn’t a TK, so the best she could do is guess that everything was alright, for now. She turned back around just as Chrissy was giving Makoto the ok for the serve.

”Come on, Makoto! Give us all you got!” Elaine called, encouragingly. It was just a game between friends and the like, no need to be a bad sport about anything. Besides, she wasn’t gonna trash talk Makoto. What kind of person would she be to do that? It was then that Elaine spotted a new spectator, and wondered if they could draw a crowd for their game. Probably not, but the thought amused her. 

[Xinnidy]

Serve Up!

So it was decided, Makoto would be the one serving up. That was fine, good even. Makoto could be sure to keep things at his own pace, now, and not be caught off-guard by a sudden set start. Hyping himself up internally, the boy took a deep breath and tried to align the ball with the center of the net. "Alright... get ready!" A bit of warning would be courteous. With that said, Makoto threw the ball up and sent it towards the opponent's court with an almost centered hit. The ball veered slightly to the left, but was going to pass the net just fine, not too high. Good. That wasn't going to be a fault. Phew...

Now to rush into position!

 

Little Vendor

"Huh--" Caroline wasn't expecting to be called for at all, she shifted quickly to look at the woman, almost startled. "Oh, no, uh, I wasn't planning on playing at all..." She really shouldn't leave her wares alone, for starters. Caroline reasoned that just watching a quick game wouldn't hurt... but they could be potentional customers all the same. "But, um, if you want to play, then sure. We could. Makes teams even." And probably more balanced... though Caroline was far from equivalent to the physique of this woman. Maybe not. "I think we're going to have to wait for one of the teams to score, though." She offered a sympathetic smile.

 

"Really... you just can't sit still, can you?" A more subdued voice came from behind the tall woman. A girl with tealish-blue hair was tailing the woman around, apparently, completely dwarfed in size by her companion, and also hardly looking the part for a beach. While wearing a swimsuit, from the waist up she was covering herself with a hoodie, and was holding some handheld gaming console which her eyes never diverted attention from, even as she walked. "With the way you play, you'll just cause a ruckus, Veronica."

Peepers

"Very well, then." Roxanna didn't have much else to say to the Alkaev heiress and the ambitious company she was planning to start up. Firmia was... leap and bounds more trustworthy than any other idea she had at the moment, even striking deals with the ANF were shaky with the current state of the war, at least Roxanna had something to look toward in the long term if this worked.

She was about to make her leave before they were interrupted by a... rather forward woman on a wheelchair. What? At the moment, Roxanna was rather weirded out by how she wanted to invest with such conversation skill --she made Roxanna look eloquent--. "You used to be an ANF soldier, hm...? Here on earth, or up in space?" Hm... No, Roxanna didn't recall any Parks in her previous crew. Where was her brain going?

[Phoenix]

For someone that was down an eye and confined to a wheelchair, Ms. Park was quite ... perky. It almost reminded her of Commander Vance during his little moments, but more creepy in this instance. Firmia hadn't been around a lot of army veterans and didn't know what they were typically like, but even Hannah and Roxanna seemed slightly put off. The former having her question knocked down so easily probably didn't help, but the young Alkaev still wanted to be cautious. They were dealing with a completely new face here, not Roxanna, whom Firmia had a comfortable assessment of.

Waiting her turn and hiding her unease behind a just passable smile, Firmia said, "I'm surprised you didn't catch more of that private discussion." Quickly shifting gears, she donned a more neutral expression and added, "Anyway, you said you're doing business for the ANF. It sounds like you're scouting around for new defense contractors. Is that accurate?" Depending on Ms. Park's answer, Firmia would filter what she divulged, a little. She couldn't trust just anyone in the ANF.

---

Well, Hannah was fairly young too, and also born different. It opened up the door for all sorts of jokes and teasing on both sides, but Brant wasn't too worried about the age thing in this situation. And even being a 'copy' of Christina, Chris didn't exactly remind him of her most of the time. "As someone who's been anticipating the rise of extremely powerful AI ... I'm okay with this. Some people are just born adults. Thanks, sketchy science ..."

When Chris asked him about his plans after the war, he got caught up on the conditional she started with. If they survived ... No, while Brant wasn't sure about his own chances in the long run, he was going to make damn certain the people he cared about got out of this war alive. Dwelling on the actual question was kind of embarrassing. "Yeah, about that ..."

You're an Alkaev pilot. That's ... pretty much it, right? "I ... wasn't sent over to the ANF to fight a war, so if things had gone like they wanted, I would have just gone back to Russia eventually, and gotten back into the old routine. The company's pilots receive special forces training so they can use us like a private MS corp. That's all anyone really had planned for me. Once I was too old or broken to pilot anymore, they'd retire me or make me an instructor or something.

"I didn't start trying to plan for myself until Jess gave me a reason to care and showed me how to fend off the Alkaevs," Brant noted, keeping his composure, but not being able to do a thing about his weary tone, "I figured once the war was over, I'd join the ANF to make things official, try and stick around aboard the Riese. I'm sure you know why ... ... but now Firmia's got a ship of her own, and I feel pretty stupid in hindsight. From here on, I'm probably only ever going to see the Riese from the outside, and after the war's over, assuming I survive, I'll ... still just be an Alkaev pilot." He shrugged helplessly, "At least Firmia listens to me sometimes. It's ... an improvement ..."

Edited June 3, 2018 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Astin grinned as the ball was launched over the net, settling into a crouched position. They'd played volleyball some in highschool, for gym really, but it had been a while since they'd actually been able to play proper beach volleyball. The main goal was to not faceplant without at least making it look like they were trying to save the ball. That would be the hardest part probably. Caught up in the game and focusing on not making a fool of themself, they were completely oblivious to the fact that they had visitors. Random spectators weren't super important right now after all.

[Dandragon]

"Shit, that wasn't half bad... I got it!" Elaine backed herself up as the ball passed over the net. She hadn't expected a first timer to hit it as well as he did. She supposed it was just a lucky shot, or a natural talent. There was little time for proper positioning, but Elaine was able to get right in the path of the ball, and gave it a good bump into the air with her forearms. Though, it wasn't straight, and curved right over to one of her teammates. "Aliza! To you!"

[TheRoon]

Aliza was pumped alright, and when the ball was shot over the net it really got her going. The fun begins! She was eager to be the first one to intercept the ball but Elaine beat her to it, and managed to do it herself. She managed to send it over to her Italian friend and while the shot wasn't straight it was well within Aliza's reach. She prepared herself for a hop to meet the ball. "Grazie!" With a swift strike from her palm she smacked the ball on it's side and sent it over the net in a spike.

[Balcerzak]

"Haha, well, I guess maybe it was my forceful personality?" Abigail laughed at Jess's surprise that she'd gotten the ensign to agree to the game. "Maybe he just wasn't sure how to say no?" She grinned and shook her shoulders.

When the captain settled on how their team was stacking up, Abby felt a slight, immediate twinge of... disappointment? There was no reason to, though, so she quickly shook it off. Face to face with the lieutenant would be a lot of fun as well. She met Kim's playful response with a wicked smile of her own.

"That's what I'm talking about! The perfect attitude for a little fun in the sun. Just don't expect to be walking away from this dry, yourself," Abby clapped a friendly hand on Seung-Min's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

Jess had seemed to think the Korean's choice of words had been a deliberate double entendre. And maybe it had? It was awfully hard to tell, with her occasionally shaky grasp of English. But so what if it was. Just another reason for a good laugh. And so that's what Abigail did as the three of them made their way back over to the water and the finally waiting member for this little game. Hopefully he'd have some fun too, rather than being all stick in the mud all the time. That can't be healthy.

 

---

"Excellent! Great work you two, good receive, good hit," Thorvald tossed out some initial praise for the first touches of the game, but it was too soon to celebrate a point just yet. He remained on guard, slowly backing toward one of the rear corners, in case the other team managed to either get a solid block in, or a wild miracle dive, or anything in between. It was always hard to predict where a ball might go, but it seemed it would be an easier time chasing forward to meet it than try to catch up to something that was landing behind you.

[Shin]

Bill had watched Makoto's serve, impressed with the young man's effort. It wasn't exactly perfect in form or excelling in power, but it contained the passion of someone willing to try their best. The other team certainly were working together well, the two girls had managed to coordinate an attack rather swimmingly. The youngest player didn't look like he had his bearings yet, it was still very early for a boy who had never played the game - Bill could tell from Tarquin's strike from earlier. Initially, he was planning to let the others get a feel for things before stepping in, but Aliza's spike was too spicy to ignore.

His knees had bent instinctively, Bill already found himself diving forward with his arms outstretched. His body had moved without him asking, but he was grateful for it. He had never been in battle, or even in a simple fight, but he imagined that the pilots faced situations like these constantly. No time to think, longterm consequences to actions that needed to be chosen within a minute - he didn't envy them in the slightest.

Plowing into the sand, Bill slammed the ball upwards with his forearms, sending it spinning as it reached its peak in the air. There was no way he'd be able to reach the ball again before it landed, but one of his allies would have their chance to step up.

"Ball's in the air, give it some welly for me!" Bill laughed, gently spitting a few grains of sand from his mouth as he readied to get himself up.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Shin

[Nanami Touko]

Tagging in

"Oh, don't be so mean, Essie. Im not that hard a player. There's even first timers playing. That'd ruin anyone's experience... But, since it is their first time, I suppose I could unbalance one of their teams. I'll just watch, then-- ohhh, nice receive!" Bill's impressive slide got a whistle, Veronica tossing a thumbs up his way.

"Wahh! I-I've got it!" Already off to a fantastic start, Bill's catch of the ball throwing Christina off, as she scrambled to keep it up in the air. She managed to get her hands on it and knock it up again, but it wasn't super pretty. "A-Astin, Avery, Makoto, someone get it!" She'd almost toppled over, managing to catch herself with her foot before her butt met sand. "Geez..."

"So, Essie, little vendor lady, who's yoir speed? Dive receiver isn't half bad looking, to me... But maybe you're more into bouncy blondes?" Veronica elbowed the hoodied girl a but, snickering. "If you ever looked up from your games, that is."

Not Too Chicken

"I... Don't know how to keep up with either of you. But, its refreshing, in a way." Kim and Abby had their own speeds when it came to jokes, and it was a speed that Jess didnt know she'd ever be able to reach. As the group approached Tristan, it became further apparent that he was just a bit uncomfortable playing a game like this with so many... Girls.

"H-Hello, captain... Uh, are you sure you, all still want me for this? I could, er, find someone else to take my place, probably easily. If, you want..."

"Pf... Pfhheh, hehe, hahaha~" Jess couldnt hide that laughter, maybe Tristan had been a great idea. "I like this side of you, ensign. This was a great idea. Lead on, Abby, until we're deep enough. Ive got the lieutenant, you've got her. Treat her right~" 

"Ah, b-but, captain?" It seemed there was no getting out of this. Tristan took a deep breath, tried to compose himself... Then glanced at Abby's thighs and lost that composure, deciding to head towards the water instead. "Let's get this going."

"Wow. I never knew the ensign had a cute side. He's so worried..." Jess bit another snicker back, following after him. 

Business Details

"Something like that, Firmia. As for me, I was army detail, an MS pilot... I worked under your uncle, Roxanna. Had a rather... Unfortunate mission, and now here I am. But, that was years ago. I'd be terribly happy to know what you could provide for the more coastal defenses. They're the last bulkhead for this side of the country... Best place for any new and more advanced systems. Is there anything you can spare for us over there, Firmia~?" Ms. Park couldn't help a small giggle... There was definitely something weird about her.

Reasons To Care

"Born adults, huh..." Chris couldn't really disagree with that in her case. Waking up one day fully functional, with memories of a life you never lived. It had been surreal for a but, but that had worn off, and nothing she'd been introduced to had been difficult. Fully functioning...

"Not sure about one part of that, but you can't test it for me without ruining your plans." She smirked and let him worry about that one, thinking on... Hmmm.

"Im sure you'll meet someone else that'll give you the same reason to try that she does, if you can't work this out. Hell, maybe I'll rub off on you. You're certainly having a good effect on me." Chris stuck her tongue out at him, wondering if anything she said was giving him any bright ideas.

She finally sat up, about to start on another topic when her eyes went wide. She'd given the woman in the wheelchair a second glance, and it was a terrified one. "B... Brant? Just... Stay calm, okay? That... That woman over there is Louise. Apotheosis lieutenant Louise. I... Why is she here?" If she was here then--

"Oh God..." Her eyes shot over to the volleyball game, and... "And Vera, too... Brant we're all dead. Oh my God..." But... Why hadn't they done anything? If they were there to kill them, then... "Okay maybe we're not dead, but... Why are they here then?" Too scary.

Edited June 3, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"Who knows?" Kim replied, her lips curling into a small grin as the Captain questioned her choice of wording, thought Abigail seemed to take it in stride, shooting back a comment of her own in a similar vein. There had been a moment of disappointment... not getting to put her hands all over Jessica in a more aggressive setting perhaps, but they quickly passed.

"Well I... should hope so. All of this hype would be for nothing... if you couldn't." The Lieutenant replied, her grin widening as they made their way back to Tristan, who immediately showed some apprehension towards remaining in their game. His feelings, as well as his gaze drifting to Abigail's thighs, made it obvious what exactly had him concerned, so much so that even the Captain had caught on and begun to tease him. The Ensign seemed quick to retreat into the water after that. 

"Be careful, Abby. It seems... Jessica might be bonding with the Ensign over being the... bottom. He might be a threat." Kim finally noted, a chuckle of her own leaving her as she followed the pair into the water.

[Phoenix]

An MS pilot? This woman was either on some strong medication, or just plain broken from the war. She probably had an amusing cackle, too. No one in her state, and in a situation like this should be so ... unsettlingly perky. Another interesting detail was the one she gave Roxanna, that she was serving under Alphonse, the woman's uncle. From the sound of things, that unfortunate mission was responsible for Park's injuries. Maybe just her being in a wheelchair ... or maybe just her eye. Firmia was thinking it could very well be both. After all, spinal injuries could be fixed, so whatever happened to her must have been incredibly bad--and possibly recent--if she was rolling around like this.

Park was still fishing for information, which was fair if she was actually picking targets for the ANF to invest in, but it was making it harder for Firmia to inquire about the woman. That and it was starting to feel pushy when she asked about countermeasures to help shore up the ANF's coastal defenses. Realistically, they probably didn't have time to develop anything groundbreaking for the coastal defenses. The most effective response would be to send the Riese out there and sweep the coastal areas, but that would preclude them from any decisive offensive operations that popped up in the meantime. Almost jokingly, and with an expression that conveyed absolutely nothing, an truly expressionless gaze, Firmia answered, "High yield thermobaric warheads. Launch them from sites on the ground when the target is too close to react, or deliver them through the shields of the heavier targets ... then detonate after getting clear."

---

If Jessica had shown Brant one thing, it was that there was always another person. Unless he took up residence in a cave somewhere, it was only a matter of time. The real question was whether he even wanted to try something like this again? What for? Even in this state, Brant knew he'd been much closer to whatever happiness is when he wasn't fretting over issues like this. Life was so much better when he could simply enjoy the company of others. Now his world was sinking deeper and deeper into the muck of 'value' and 'exclusivity' ... and it was just proving to be the stuff of nightmares. Why attempt this, yet again ...?

He forced a smile at Chris' teasing, but couldn't shake the feeling that the only chance their friendship had in the long run was him avoiding the romantic ... stuff. It was bad enough, the idea of just 'switching targets' just because Chris was more receptive than Jessica at this point, but add to that the possibility of some random person coming along and ruining this too, and Brant couldn't see the point, anymore. The method he was leaning toward had already somewhat proven itself with Tonya, and to lesser extents with Firmia and Hannah, so it was probably 'smarter.' Brant wasn't going to pretend paranoia hadn't gotten its claws on him, but that didn't mean he was wrong, either.

The situation took a turn for ... a very strange place, when Chris warned him to stay calm. He tried to get the mental image of Abigail on her knees proposing to Jessica out of his head, and thankfully it vanished on its own when the name Louise came up. Chris hadn't even finished when that sense of deja vu exploded into steaming bits of clarity that rained down all around Brant as he turned to take another look at the woman in question. It was Louise Park alright, from the profile he and Elaine had looked up. He didn't have a clear look at her, but he recognized the hair, and her rare condition that confined her to a wheelchair cleared up the rest.

Holy crap ... Brant had a potent mix of feelings on this one, curiosity chief among them. Why were they still alive, right now? How many more Apotheosis agents were he-Ah, at least two, if the other woman Chris pointed out was actually Vera. Something deep inside Brant was quietly hoping one of them would run over and kill him and leave everyone else alone, but that was neither helpful nor realistic. Frankly, at this point, even thinking about Jessica passively, Brant wasn't feeling all that down, for the moment. The adrenaline rush and the need to make sure Firmia in particular was alright eclipsed everything, now.

"Well this doesn't make sense," Brant noted, trying to feel out the situation from here. There wasn't much he or Chris could do that Hannah couldn't do more quickly and effectively, so rushing over there when she clearly wasn't readying herself for combat seemed like a good way to escalate things inadvertently. That brought the old question back to mind, though. Why were they still alive, right now? Maybe they were trying to get a feel for the group, meet in person without getting themselves shot at. If that was the case, outing them could lead straight into a fight, and they must have come prepared for that. On the other hand, if they were prepared for a fight ... "... let's just go ask them. They've already got us in our swimsuits so making the first move will just get people killed ..."

Edited June 4, 2018 by Phoenix

[Xinnidy]

Your Speed

'Essie' had managed to convince Veronica against it, at least, but it seemed like the conversation was going a path the younger girl was less comfortable with in response. Her posture stiffened for a moment, "Uhh... 3dpd." She muttered, wanting to avoid taking the question head on, but changed her mind after a sigh. Veronica was likely to keep bugging her after a non-answer, apparently. Essie paused her game, taking her eyes off of the screen for once. "Oh, come on, he's old enough to be my uncle." She scoffed, looking past the man and resting her gaze on the blonde girl for a moment. "... you know I don't like talking about this stuff, anyways. And I'm straight."

 

Caroline however wasn't expecting the question out of the blue, her face turning a light shade of red. "Uhh, I don't... I don't know about that, didn't really stop to think..." Her voice got a bit lower, unsure if going along was such a good idea. It definitely felt awkward to talk like this about people she'd just met... "I think they all look fine... no idea about their personalities, though, but they seem like good people, yeah?" She tried to warm up to the idea, hand on chin. "...Yeah, that was a mean receive."

Under Uncle's Command

"My Uncle...?" That took Roxanna's attention. Who was this woman? "An unfortunate mission... how rare." She never imagined things could go sour when her uncle was involved... but, well, this whole war was proof enough. Still, his image in the ANF made him seem dauntingly competent as a CO. "I'm sorry for your loss..." She didn't know what else to say, looking at the woman curiously. For her to be interested in helping Firmia, though... "How much hope does the coast have? Last I remember, things seemed pessimistic there. Maybe it's wiser to retreat and keep the war inland where we are stronger." Much as that left stragglers, it seemed like their best idea to keep their forces close.

That warhead thing, though... was that a joke? Firmia likely didn't have anything of the sort, but she wasn't the joking type either... weird girl.

Lord of the Ball

"Ah! I'm on it!" Makoto rushed desperately. It was going his way, this was his chance! "Heave!" That wasn't a proper height to spike at all, which made things complicated, not to mention the boy wasn't comfortable with it yet, no... bad time to be fancy. Makoto jumped, a simple hit sending the ball up and flying toward the enemy team. That went a bit high, but didn't seem like it was going to go out of the line. Whew, that works.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Xinnidy

[Balcerzak]

Abby 'pooh-poohed' Jess's comment about not being able to keep up, but didn't tease her any further... for now. She was just glad things were working out.

An opinion that might need to be revised, after meeting back up with her partner for this little affair. He seemed to have come down with a sudden case of the nerves, was it because the captain was partaking? But then of course she just had to go and exacerbate things further.

"Hey, no psychological warfare!" Trying to throw the man off his game like that, sheesh. "I'll be fine," she tried to reassure the ensign, "Unless you literally drown me, I've had far worse done to me, by other crew members no less. 'Treat her right~', please."

Abigail might've left things at that, but of course with a development this juicy, Kim also had to stick her nose in and poke around. Hah, only fair, she'd have done the same if the shoe was on the other foot, most likely. "Bonding? More like bullying," she stuck her tongue out. "But if you're trying to poke the bear, I'm surprised you went that route, rather than warning me about yourself. You had all the easy bait in the world for it too, could've said anything related to how I'd need to worry about how much fun she'd be having with her head between your thighs."

"Oh, here, this should be far enough," she broke off her complaints as they'd gotten just about deep enough.

[Ether]

"I figured... that was a given. How could she not?" Seung-Min replied, an exaggerated shrug coming off her shoulders as she replied to Abigail, before her lips curled into a smile. Soon thereafter, the blonde noted they were at about the right depth, so it seemed the badgering might be put on temporary hold until they got into proper chicken fight position. To go at it slowly, or... was that even a question? Wading over to Jessica, Kim placed hand on each shoulder, before pressing down on both, kicking her feet off the bottom of the artificial sea for lift. Using Jessica almost as if she was some sort of gymnastics equipment... she was oddly sturdy in this position, not that Kim was complaining at all about that fact... she had expected to have to stop midway and do this the old fashioned way...

But once she had gotten her legs out of the water, it was a relatively simple task to swerve her own weight around, and plop down gingerly onto the Captain's shoulders, removing her hands once her thighs were firmly in place, and instead placing her hands down on top of Jessica's head, absentmindedly drumming at her hair as she adjusted to a more comfortable position, shuffling about on Jessica's shoulders.

"I'm surprised, Captain. I didn't think... you'd be sturdy enough for me to pull that off. Maybe you're a better bottom... than I expected." The Lieutenant teased, as she finally got herself into a comfortable spot sitting on Jessica's shoulders, squeezing her head gently between her thighs for grip.

[Nanami Touko]

Psychological Warfare

"All's fair in love and war. So all's fair in warring with your love, right? It's not my fault Tristan's turning bright as a rose faced with the three of us. I thought his composure was made of steel... I guess it's more like copper." Jess let herself have a bit of a giggle as they all got into the water, and Kim performed her maneuver. Jess didn't even realize it was happening until it was over, Kim square on her shoulders.

"Oh... I guess the water's just weighing me down. I've always sank when it came to deeper volumes. Dunno why! But, better this way, isn't it? Not causing you problems by being unstable. Should be an easy win, right?" Jess snickered, while Tristan looked away from all of them.

"I, uh... Here, Abigail." He knelt down in the water to give her an easier time, waiting for her to hop on. "I wasn't expecting you to grab the captain... Though, I should have been. And with how stiff she seems in the water, this probably isn't going to be an easy fight. Should we focus our efforts on the lieutenant, then? TK or not, she can't stop everything coming at her, can she?" He seemed to be getting more into the spirit of the game as he spoke, wondering about which of the two to target to get them to topple. "Maybe the captain just has a strong face... We'll have to see."

Rebound

"Oh, yeah, straight, that's why you speed run Gal Gun back on the ship, right? And all those posters of your favorite female characters are just for show, got it." Veronica gave Essie a thumbs up and a wink, as the ball went back over the net, miss violet hair giving them an encouraging shout. "Give 'em hell! Spike that ball right back!" After a sick receive like Bill's, having such a weak return deserved to be spiked back down.

Warheads

"Oh, those won't do anything, dear. The shields on Apotheosis battleships are far too thick for such dull and basic attempts." The curtain came down fairly quickly, Louise chuckling to herself at the suggestions coming forth. "Really, warheads... You'd destroy the country you're trying to protect doing something so rash. I thought better of you, Firmia... Though I suppose you're rather desperate. Delivering them through, though, well, even if it's a suicide mission for whoever's dropping such a payload, you'd definitely do something compared to just launching--"

Louise was interrupted by a dull thud, looking to her left to see Hannah's fist stopped midair, aimed at her face. "Now, now. Play nice. You're not getting through the barrier I've set on my chair, anyway. Did you think I wouldn't come prepared? Come, now. Besides, the last thing you want is Vera seeing me die and losing her cool on your crew. I wonder how many she'd get through before she finally died? Too many to make it worthwhile, I'm sure. No, we're just here to talk. I like to get to know my food before I eat it." Louise let out that slightly disturbing and charming cackle, leaning back a bit in her chair.

"Your coastline will fall rather soon, my dearest Roxanna. Do tell your uncle I stopped by, I'm sure he'd love to hear I was around. After all, it's his fault I'm confined to this chair. Even the best leaders make horrible mistakes, don't they? Though you'd know all about making mistakes, wouldn't you, Roxanna?" Another tiny chuckle, and Louise's eyes were back on Firmia. "Maybe we can trade information still~ I'm sure there's plenty you'd like to know about our machines, and while we're leagues ahead of yours, there's still a few things that are ever so curious."

Making Sense

"No, it doesn't... And yeah, we should, but--" Chris flinched, visibly, as she watched Hannah attempt to punch Louise... To be met with some sort of forcefield? They came in such a compact size? And with enough power to hold back Hannah... "Yikes." Chris shook her head some, hopping up. "Maybe we should try to out Vera, then. I don't think they're in any danger as long as Hannah is with them, but the volleyball game..." Vera had never seemed crazy, Louise was always queen of that, and Chris could even hear her cackling now, above the din of the beach goers...

Still, while she wasn't crazy, Vera was a stickler for orders, especially from Helena. Depending on whose plan this was, outing her as the Apotheosis member she was, could backfire heavily. "Wh-What do we do, Brant? I'm at a loss here."

Edited June 6, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

Firmia already knew that conventional weapons--using the broadest possible definition of conventional--wouldn't overpower the shields of an Apotheosis battleship. Ground based launches were only meant for mobile suits and Hunters, and among the mobile suits, just the Cressidas. Ms. Park continued, pointing out that they would do more damage to 'the country she was trying to protect' than the enemy. Firmia would have shrugged at that if she wasn't so on edge; she wasn't protecting anything but her own friends and assets. Carrying the weight of anything else on her shoulders was just too much, right now.

Their so called investment scout, while getting creepier and more annoying by the second, gave some ground on the shield breaching method Firmia offered, but wrote it off as a suicide mission, and called her desperate. And that was when Hannah practically lunged, aiming to knock the woman's head off. To say Firmia was surprised wasn't quite on point. The young Alkaev had already gotten herself settled into the mindset of seeing Hannah as a bodyguard, and getting there required trust. That's why when the android sprang into action, Firmia immediately assumed she'd caught something that exposed the bogus investor.

And sure enough ...

Firmia slammed her eyes shut, trying to think through the situation while Louise rambled. Right, so she had a miniaturized barrier protecting her, Vera was here, and the ANF's security was officially no longer a factor, here. See 'Absolutely Worthless.' Seriously, how did they sneak in here? Either the security here really was worthless ... or Apotheosis' warping technology actually had the kind of scaling and transport applications Firmia feared they did. She could only imagine what kind of sabotage was taking place back on the airstrip, right now, warping tech or no.

Even if it was just the two of them here, it was a little odd that Louise seemed to think that killing them both right here wouldn't be worth the lives of some of the Riese crew. In fact, the one and only reason Firmia wasn't completely set on it was because she couldn't think of a way to protect her own people. With a couple of gray cases, everyone else was Jessica's responsibility.

While Louise came back to Roxanna next, hinting at a grudge against Alphonse and possibly even Roxanna herself, Firmia tried to wrap her head around what was happening. Yes, Ms. Cackles said they were here to talk, so assured of their victory that they could mess around here on the beach, but that really didn't make sense. Then again, the goals of Apotheosis as an organization didn't make sense either once the logistics came into focus. And aside from all the kidnappings, Louise's attitude felt far from earned. The woman even had the gall to suggest an information trade. Admittedly, a part of Firmia wanted to see what she could learn, but with so many unknown factors springing up out of the ether, everything she did and said now actually mattered, far more so than usual. There was one thing that caught the Alkaev's ear, though. There were things Apotheosis ... or at the very least Ms. Cackles, was curious about. It may have meant that the need to know basis for handling information about the AMS units was actually doing some good. Maybe ...

It took about five seconds, but Firmia finished tossing together a summary for herself. With so little information it was barely sensible, though. All she knew for sure was that she wanted her people all gathered as closely as possible ... "Trade information ... seriously? Why are you so freaking confident? Why don't you tell us that?" ... BRAAANT!!!

---

Brant flinched with the sudden flux he felt coming from Firmia. Usually the emotion that came with those sudden changes was fear or anger, since most of the time she was being shot at when she sent out 'calls' like these, but this time it was pure excitement, negative excitement, but not fear or anger. Frustration, perhaps? It was too hard to pin down, right now ...

Brant tried to come up with a plan since Chris had passed the ball to him. "I'm ... pretty sure Firmia just 'paged' me," he began, letting Chris know that he was definitely being pulled in a particular direction, right now. They could split up, with Brant seeing what he could do--if anything--to help Firmia and Hannah, while Chris warned the others. Otherwise they would have to do one at a time. "Maybe we can do both ..." Brant didn't know what Vera looked like but he did see some new bodies spectating. "... head over to make sure Firmia's alright, then warn the others after we make sure it won't start a fight." Then again, if everyone knew Apotheosis' poster girl was here, that alone might be enough to kick things off. Hannah threw the first punch, after all ... or at least that's how things looked from here.

"If Vera's just watching the game right now, we should have a little time to figure out what's going on, so we might as well check with the one who's actually talking ..." Or laughing, in this case. That really wasn't a good sign, even if it did come on the heels of a failed attempt on her person.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Phoenix

[Xinnidy]

Past Recalled

Ms. Park's words were getting weirder and weirder, getting more descriptive of Apotheosis... and then Hannah's sudden move startled Roxanna out of her focused thoughts. What is the android doing?! She though at first, but it was very shortlived as Park revealed sinister colors, bringing a chill to the XO's spine. "What? What the..." She held herself back, still bewildered, staring at Park almost blankly.

That is, until the woman decided to provoke the woman further. That seemed to remove all of her doubt, already a scowl forming in her face. "A bloody Apotheosis here... what's the big idea? Just watching things. Want me to call security so you can't leave." What a bold, bold plan, did their overconfidence know no bounds? "If I had a dime every time people mentioned that event..." She balled a fist, icy scowl aimed at Louise. "You think you can get revenge by siding with these grandeur idiots?"

Not Me!

"Wh--" Esther was not hoping to be prodded like that in front of people. Damn it, Vera. "I play Gun Gal because the gameplay is good! The speedrun doesn't take that long and is enjoyable!" She reasoned, trying to convince her senior. "And I just appreciate cute designs, you know? Nothing wrong with that. Just... just secure enough about my femininity. That's all." Come on, Vera. Don't put me on the spot like that!

 

At least the little vendor seemed to have fun, holding back a giggle as 'Essie' tried her best to prove how straight she was.

[Shin]

Makoto had launched the ball high into the air, a trajectory that theoretically lead to an easy strike - if the receiver knew how to play the game. Serving was only part of the game, Tarquin didn't have enough time to figure out how to return with so few examples to replicate. He was in position, and leaving it for his team would risk the point. Readying his hand, Tarquin jumped to strike the ball. He just needed to get enough air to return it, his height didn't exactly do him any favours. What only took a second felt like an eternity, his hand coliding with the ball didn't feel right, even to a novice like himself. Instead of firing back over the net, Tarquin's strike vered off to the side - directly at Elaine's face. Whilst there was the disappointment of botching the shot, even Tarquin could appreciate the irony in Elaine being hit by himself.

-

Talia let out a heavy sigh, her hiding place in the changing rooms had been sufficient to avoid interacting with anyone else. She was horrified, listening to Seung-min interact with the Captain had destroyed her mental image of the idol. Wasn't she meant to be a powerful pop sensation, a stylish trend-setter following the rules of the industry? Maybe this was what the real Seung-min was like? It made sense, maybe she needed to do things like that to progress in the industry? It didn't matter, it wasn't like they were ever going to interact again, Seung-min probably thought that she was as much of a loser as the rest of the crew did.

Shaking her head, she finally emerged from the changing rooms. The one-piece swimsuit was awfully conservative, perhaps even boring, but it gave her a sense of safety and security. Maybe she'd just sit in the sun for a little, maybe even get an ice cream, she didn't have any energy left to talk to people. Everyone else was having their own fun, even T-4 was mingling with a group. She couldn't help but feel jealous, she'd been spooked and left all by herself. Everyone else knew each other better, other than Makoto she could barely approach anyone.

There was one person Talia knew, although she wished she didn't. It was the crazy purple haired swordswoman. Had she come to finish the job? Talia's legs began to shake, her face growing pale. The memory of all the sliced up guards was still fresh in her mind. She wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go to... and fighting her simply wasn't an option. 

[Dandragon]

"Tarquin! It's going towards you!" Elaine called out as the ball flew through the air. Tarquin was the closest player to the ball, and it would be disastrous if someone tried to jump in the way, leading not only to two people crashing into each other, but also the ball landing on their side of the court. All anyone could do without getting in the way was let Tarquin receive. One of their spectators had called out to spike the ball, and as Tarquin jumped, it was clear he was intending to, at the very least, try. All eyes were on the young boy, including Elaine's, and his hand struck the ball, fiercely, sending in flying...right into Elaine's face.

"Pfuh!" If there was one thing Elaine could commend, it was that Tarquin had a strong arm for someone so young, or maybe it was the fact that, this time, the ball that hit her face wasn't some lightweight of beach ball, but rather an actual volleyball, something with an actual bit of density to it. So when the ball had sped towards her, Elaine had...not been brace herself for the impact. It stung, sure, and she stumbled a little, but Elaine was able to keep her balance. The ball had flown back up into the air and was still on their side of the net. Any one of them could time their jump and try for another spike. Except Elaine. Even if she had stayed upright, it left her discombobulated. So, the best she could do was regain composure and hope someone else could follow up.

[Nanami Touko]

Confidence is a Slow and Insidious Killer

"I'm sorry, Firmia. I should have realized sooner... But the wifi here is not very strong. I was borrowing a limited connection from the mall, accessing the ANF database through it was quite difficult." Hannah cursed their slightly remote location, as far as information was concerned. Park, discharged, injury, the keywords had brought her up immediately, a Louise Park... Hannah had waited for her image to load before taking action, just to make sure, but this woman... She was definitely the Apotheosis lieutenant inside that hulking monster. The ANF had her by name, and her reaction to things had confirmed it. Hannah's punch had been purposefully off the mark, if there was no barrier, her fist would've missed Louise's head by a hair...

"What would knowing sooner have afforded you, you lovely little android? You can't get through this, anyway. Gosh, you're such a treat, are you sure I can't dissect your hard drive to find out what's making you tick? I can't believe the colonies would be able to produce something so... Ohhhh, hohoho, it was her~" Louise smiled wide, narrowing her eyes at Hannah. "Tabitha Gaertner. Helena's latest accessory to the ship. Of course~ That makes perfect sense... And you were the prototype, oh ho, this is so rich."

Hannah had frozen up at the mention of this new information, and prototype? To what? "Wh-What do you know about me and my mother?" She'd stood up entirely now, eyes wide as she stared down Louise.

"Absolutely everything, now. But, that's not what I'm here for, so you'll have to learn another time~ As for confidence, my dear Firmia... I'm going to crush all of you tomorrow, why not relax and flaunt a little bit? Up for that trade, then?" Hopefully she was. In the mean time... Oohhh, Roxanna was rich. "If security didn't stop us getting in, are they going to stop us going out? No no, they won't~ And I will have revenge. You can ask your uncle if you want. You think you're the only Martinson with a spotted record? Silly girl. Your uncle knows what he did... He's the reason I'm in this chair to begin with. I'll come here, destroy all of you, and kill him in the process~ I can't wait... Oh, looks like we have more... Well. Well, well, well. You kept this, did you?"

Taking Her Alone

"No, there's... There's no way I can call out Vera by myself. If she decided to react poorly, then..." Chris didn't want to think about losing limbs, or half of her body, right now. The cybernetic woman wasn't something to be trifled with. "Let's just, go help Firmia. Even I felt that one..." Chris made her way over without waiting for Brant to start, showing up in the middle of something that seemed to be amusing the woman... Well, until she'd walked over.

"...Oh, looks like we have more... Well. Well, well, well. You kept this, did you?"

It seemed Louise had already noticed her approach, an unamused stare meeting Chris as she got closer to the wheelchair bound threat. "Yeah... They did keep me. You got a problem with that?"

"Somewhat. But, you were trash to be disposed of. Not a problem that you wound up with the rest of the garbage... I do hate it when plans go awry, but we can fix that."

"Tch..." Making a scene wouldn't amount to anything, she'd watched Hannah's fist bounce off whatever mechanism was here. Did she have the words to beat Louise with just wits? She doubted it. "You and your stupid soldiers are the only ones that are going to get thrown out. You've got some nerve showing up here like this, acting like you're so much better than all of us. Half of you doesn't even function, and you think you can walk all over us? No, wait, you can't walk at all." Chris was clenching her fists already, her anger visibly shining through. Louise chuckled.

"We've got work arounds for legs that don't work. Have they managed to fix your brain, clone? Or do you still snap at the slightest word? You can barely hold back as it is right now, you're so funny~ Ah, but the rest of you, they're much better. Quiet, no complaints, no disagreements, and they all listen. That worthless blonde you're made from was holding such a wonderful surprise for us. I suppose everything does have some use..."

"Shut up!" Dammit... I can't... I can't stay calm! Not at all! How could I!?

"There it is... Now, Firmia, since you seem to be the only reasonable individual here, shall we talk trades? I'm deathly curious about your AMS prototypes. There's only so much one can glean from the outside. We've yet to get someone into one of your machines... Such tight security you run."

Straight as a Boomerang

Vera stared at Esther. Really stared. Finally, she shrugged, before turning back to the game in time to catch-- "Oof! That's gotta hurt..." The ball had gone back up, but, still. "You alright, Elaine?" A bit too late to catch herself on that one, Vera flinched, the casual atmosphere of everything making her slip. Hope I can play that one off... Also hoping that Louise hasn't-- One glance back at the crowd surrounding her wheelchair and the looks on their faces told that story well enough.

Vera sighed. "Guess that cat's outta the bag, Esther. Well, not gonna bother with it until it catches over here. I'm having fun watching this."

Edited June 10, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Phoenix]

So Hannah had been looking into Louise, probably as soon as she heard the name. All she needed then was to match the face or some other feature that might show up in an ANF profile. Firmia wanted to look the woman up when she introduced herself, too ... but there was no way to do that stealthily, so she settled for her probing questions, instead. Unfortunately, Louise was right about one thing, if nothing else; knowing sooner wouldn't have helped, much. The cackling Apotheosis pilot was still trying to learn more about the AMS units, even though she had already revealed herself. If she was going to be that arrogant, then maybe there was a way Firmia could get something useful from it.

Speaking of useful, Louise wasn't as tight lipped as she probably should have been, revealing that Tabitha Gaertner was an 'accessory to the ship,' likely a captive aboard one of the Chaldenes. There wasn't much good news besides having a slightly narrowed down location, though. If Gaertner was on a ship, she was likely on the move all the time. Also, being on a warship made the prospect of a rescue difficult. One layer beneath the problem of retrieving Gaertner were the implications of her being an accessory in the first place. If Hannah was just a prototype, then Firmia's theory about Apotheosis androids was one step closer to being confirmed. Add to that how easily Louise and Vera had gotten into this place and the prospect of an android strike team for taking the Riese was just a few minor details removed. The Alkaev really didn't want to think about what might be happening back at the airstrip, right now.

... dammit. Her brain was insistent on thinking about it.

As Brant and Chris made their way over, Louise also confirmed that she was indeed out for revenge. Save for how creepy she was, things were making much more sense, now. For now, Firmia could only chalk the unsettling perkiness up to being broken from a hard life. When her TKs arrived, Firmia couldn't help but notice that there was no love lost between Chris and Louise. It was unsettling to hear the girl referred to like this.

Any sympathy Brant could have developed for the crippled woman was abruptly cut off when he heard what she thought of his friend in particular. Somehow she managed to insult all the other Christinas that existed right now, as well. As far as Louise was concerned, Christina was a worthless template, Chris was a worthless prototype, and all the rest were obedient slaves. She really was sick in the head. "So you're it. You're the kind of person the people in Apotheosis fight alongside. I didn't think there was anyone out there worse than that ornery old man, but here you are." Brant's tone was somber, with a hint of frustration so faint, one wouldn't even notice if they weren't listening for it. "I don't know exactly what you went through to get to this point, but do you think anyone in the ANF wanted you to wind up a cripple ... or worse? But now you're killing them in droves for it? You deserve this, to be like this. You're earning every second you spend in that wheelchair, treating people like this."

Firmia's eyes narrowed as Louise focused on her again, still fishing for information. There was something in what she said that got Firmia thinking back throughout her time on the Riese. There was a clue in there somewhere. Maybe. The circumstances surrounding the pilot arrangements aboard the Riese felt too condensed for one of the moles to have had a real opportunity to pilot the Mantle, the only AMS unit that didn't have a dedicated pilot when they first arrived. The Mantle's copilot situation had been frustrating, as well, but Galatea turned out to be loyal enough. And as careful as Firmia was trying to be, she found it hard to believe that such an arrogant woman would have any respect for the Alkaev's security measures. She'd beaten the ANF's with contemptuous ease, and Firmia's 'protocols' were always being bent somehow, and were only a couple of steps up from the ANF's. She realized she needed to think about this in more detail, when she wasn't being poked and prodded about the AMS units ...

"I'm going to find out everything I need to know about your machines once I take them apart," Firmia began, stalling for a moment while she considered her options. "There is other information you have that could be worth trading for, though."

[Nanami Touko]

Choices

"Oh, Brant, you're so feisty. Do I think they wanted me in this? Yes, yes I do. In fact, it was Alphonse's choice that put me here. All because it was... 'Too risky'. I'm sure he'll tell you all about that if you ask, he's not so tight lipped about it. Or is he? I haven't spoken to him since I was discharged, I wonder if he remembers me fondly, or he's terrified of his mistake coming back to bite him. Well, I'm back! Heheh~" Louise seemed quite delighted in explaining her motives, almost giddy, sighing as it finally came to a close.

"And what would that be, Firmia? I will say, good luck tearing them apart... The odd Hyperion or Cressida, but my wonderful machine? Or Vera's? How many of you did it take to merely put a dent in her armor...? It was all of you, wasn't it? Hmhmhm..." Firmia's threats were rather empty to Louise, now resting her hand against her chin, lazily leaning into the small fist she'd made. "Pray tell what information I might have that would be worth sharing anything of your private units. Of course, we can always send one of our associates inside, but... Knowing you, anyone that isn't a pilot or trustworthy enough isn't getting close, are they? You did let that Buck child in, though... Too bad he's too young to sell on our plans." She shrugged, and waited.

Edited June 10, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa