Dandragon
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Elaine stared at Jess, her arm still behind her and held by Kim. It was definitely a familiar scenario. Restrained, being talked down to, good possibility of being thrown in a prison. All for her hasty actions and desires. But she didn't regret what she did. Not this time. "I could ask the same thing to you, Captain. Why are you like this? Willing to trust people who shot at us just because they're willing to fight?" She paused, still feeling the pain on her face from being slammed onto the table. "That guy isn't any crew mate. He's some guy we picked up after getting one of their planes in our hangar. And he doesn't give a shit about any of us, no matter what he says. So why the hell should I respect some punk who wants to call me a whore or a cunt just because he doesn't agree with me? Why should I treat him like a comrade when he's gonna step on my ideals like their trash!?"
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Hans and Lars move to (6,7), wait
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good ones likable ones ones that have character -
Why? Why the hell was she here? Did they not even bother placing her in prison for Octon and Abdul? Serge was already having trouble standing, feeling himself having taken far too many blows. He was in no condition to fight her, especially not without a proper weapon. She'd just laugh at the boot he held and stab him. Still...there was something he could. "Hang on, Claire!" Serge moves to (9,9), attacks Peasant Child #G, and wonders how G can be a number
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He was asking for it. He was waiting for it. He deserved every single physical blow she could inflict on him as she looked at him in sheer anger. Everything about him, from the way he held himself to how he taunted her for having any sort of dream, made Elaine hate him. But before she could make another move, she felt her arm grabbed and forced behind her back, as she was pinned to the table by Kim. She could feel Kim holding her head in place and kept her arm behind her in the most painful of positions. If she had known how to escape such a grip from the small amount of training she had gotten for this, it wasn't coming to her, as she grit her teeth through the pain that she was feeling, struggling to move Kim off of her. Even with her pinned head, Elaine could easily see Nikolai, his arms still outstretched waiting for the next blow. And she so desperately wanted to give it to him. To her, he was no better than a terrorist. She had heard of his type before. People who don't care about anyone, not even themselves. People who would rather see everything burn. People who just wanted to see reactions out of everyone they met. How was anyone supposed to trust him? Because of some sob story Jess heard, most likely. Either way, at the moment, she wanted him on the floor with a bloodied face, but she knew that it wasn't ever going to happen. She felt tears coming from the back of her eyes, but held them in. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Nikolai. It's just like Italy, she thought. Everywhere I go, it's just like Italy. I'm the criminal. I'm the one at fault. I'm the one who's worthless. The only people who ever saw me as human were on Colony 2. And now... And now... Her breathing had sped up again, still holding back everything. She refused to show anything he could consider weakness, even if it was well past that point. She squirmed, still trying to get free from the iron grip that Kim held her in through sheer force of will. She felt herself lift her torso off the table, if only a few centimeters, but then felt herself get slammed right back down on the table. And, after a few more seconds, she stopped. Even in her state of rage, she knew that there were endeavors that were pointless, this, as well as anyone ever seeing her in a positive light ever again, being one of them.
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Touch. She felt him touching her. She felt her body tense up, and the feeling in her chest got worse. Her breathing quickened. Her pupils seemed to shrink. And her heartbeat was going into overdrive. "Get your hands OFF OF ME!" She grabbed the arm with her left hand, forcing it off her shoulder. Then, after letting go, with her right hand now balled into a fist, she punched Nikolai dead in the face. Whatever good feeling she might have gotten from hitting someone that unlikable wasn't there. She just wanted his dirty, slimy hands no where near her, ever again. "What do you know!? Have you ever fought for anything other than yourself?! Or are you just looking for someone as pathetic as you?!" She was still breathing heavier than usual, eyes still widened as she looked at the 'goblin' with utter disdain. "I'm not like you. No one here is like you! We're fighting for something more than just ourselves! That's why we signed up! That's why I signed up! And no one is going to tell me otherwise!"
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Rage was building inside of her. Fury. Everything about the situation made her completely angry. Every single rational response she could have come up with was leaving her head the instant they entered, all because of this one boy and his words. They hurt, and they tore at her. And she was losing control as he stepped closer and closer to her, her eyes widened in sheer anger. She shot daggers at him through her eyes, staring directly into his own to try and intimidate him. To force him to back down. But nothing changed. Nikolai still looked at her with that same shit-eating grin, having pulled apart everything she stood for. And she couldn't respond. Everyone was shouting at each other, but in her ears it was muffled, barely coherent. Her hand was still near her firearm, and she had half a mind to use it against Nikolai, damning whatever consequences that came with it. But, this wasn't prison. This wasn't a place where she could assert her dominance by fighting her way through anyone that wronged her. This wasn't a place where she had Jane to back her up. Or anyone. She was paralyzed. She couldn't move. She could hardly breath properly as she looked on at Nikolai, still standing there with his finger near his temple. No. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't let herself be broken down by this kid. She couldn't. And yet, here she was, speechless for several minutes from him telling her that she was nothing, and would never be anything close to her dream. That she was just a soldier. ...Just a criminal...
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"ExCUSE me?!" Of course, someone disagreed with her. There was always someone who did, no matter what. And this time, it was possibly the rudest asshole out of all the pilots gathered here; Nikolai. With his own 'intelligent' way of speaking, he, like many others, told her to shut her mouth and blindly follow the captain. And at this point, she had had enough. "And who the hell put YOU in charge of telling people when they can speak? And WHAT did you call me?! Short pier?!" Her temper was flaring up, yet again, but every time these meetings came about she felt disrespected each and every damn time. Her own self-loathing was one thing, but she wasn't going to let this kid tell her what she could do. "I'll speak when I want unless someone with actual authority tells me not to, asshole! Not some...not some goblin who only knows how to say 'fuck' all the time!" Of course, he wasn't the only one that told her to basically 'shut up'. She had already heard Kim, and, out of the corner of her eye, Elaine spotted her placing her hand very much near her firearm. And so, Elaine, in her anger, had her hand near her own. Even if it was only a taser to stun, she did not want to get shot by her own teammates. "Kim...Even you have to realize that this is a terrible idea. Nikolai may have been able to prove himself, but that doesn't mean that she will. For all we know, this is a ploy to just get us to trust her so she stabs us in the back! And I do not wanna take that chance!"
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Disbelief. Disbelief was all Elaine had at the moment when the captain told everyone what she had done. She was completely speechless, and thus waited for someone else to make the first comment. That person was Roxanna, the XO, and while it was pretty obvious about her general distaste for Jess, Elaine found that she couldn't disagree with what Roxy was saying. "Captain, I'm gonna level with you, here... Roxanna is right. You are completely insane. The boy, Nikolai, is already pushing some boundaries, but you really think that getting the leader of the rebels under Apotheosis, the same guys who attacked Colony One, is a trustworthy enough person to place in one of our bots?!" It took a good moment for Elaine to find the words she needed in order to speak, because right now she was completely baffled with the captain's complete stupidity. There was being a bleeding heart, and then there was being completely naive. "Jess, what you're doing...this is what people do mutinies over! I just...I can't support this. At all!"
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"Makoto, I'm not debating whether or not the weight makes up for the number of ways this gun can function." Elaine shook her head and turned back to the schematics themselves. "I'm saying that the ratio of mass to volume for this thing is not physically possible. From what the schematics show so far, than this thing is gonna need to be much larger. Something like a two handed cannon, not a one-handed rifle, not matter how long the barrel is." The grumpy mechanic spoke back, saying that he barely knew anything about the weapon, which troubled Elaine. Even more so when she heard Avery was working on this thing, solo. "She's doing this alone? Oh, for... Doesn't she know that projects like this aren't meant to be done with one brain!?" Elaine, with a very annoyed look, slapped the top of her face with her palm. Even she knew that two heads were better than one in this line of work. Of course, she had learned out the hard way. But, thanks to help of Jane, she had been able to finish the Marionne and make it realistically proportioned. Avery, however, didn't seem to have learned this fact, and it was showing. With a sigh, Elaine kept on studying the plans for the gun. "Don't even know what kind of bot this is being made for... Uggggh." She scratched her head through her fiery red hair, getting more and more annoyed the more she looked at the schematics. "I'm gonna have to talk to her about this. Or something." She mumbled. "See if I can't convince her to not fuckin' throw a bunch of ideas onto a single weapon without a single god damn care for how the god damn thing is gonna work. UGH!"
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Hans and Lars move to (1,7), attack Peasant Man #6 with TIES The fight against the overly religious and pretty intolerant peasants had began. And Serge didn't even realize he knew the word 'intolerant'! With the commotion already under way, a man stepped into the pew that Serge sat in. Hans and Lars had gotten up to take care of the nearest person they could get to, so he was alone with a man holding a rather sharp stick in his hand. However, Serge wasn't exactly unarmed, as he picked up his boot that he had taken off earlier, and quickly attacked before the peasant could make another move. "Don't hate me for this!" He said. Serge attacks Peasant Man #8 with his boot.
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Elaine stepped inside and Makoto followed in. She was thankful that they were allowed in, and was even more thankful that it seemed to distract Makoto from his earlier questions. Rather than focus on him, however, Elaine began to take in the sights. Computers lined the multiple tables in the lab, each with their own set of schematics displayed on the screen. Nearby were parts of mechs with varying degrees of completion, though none of them looked legitimately finished. One in particular that stood out to her was the beginning of a beam sword, though it looked too unfinished for Elaine to get a good read on it. Out of the corner of her eye, however, Elaine spotted a schematic of what looked to be a unique sort of rifle. She walked over and sat down on a nearby chair to take a closer look. "Now, what do we have here?" She said. On inspection, the rifle seemed to have the design for somewhat of a hybrid rifle, which, in theory, would switch between two types of ammunition; beam and ballistics. There was some sort of contraption that made it switch between the two, but no real way to activate it at the current stage of planning. As for the design of the rifle itself, the separated sections showed an elongated barrel, most likely for increased accuracy, as well as a blade meant to protrude from the bottom of the gun, much like a relatively ancient gun called a Musket. The idea get her curious, but, at least in her opinion, it wasn't without it's quite blatant issues. "Well, this is a neat toy you got here." She said, looking back at the mechanic that had let her and Makoto in. "The idea of switching between ammo sources is pretty interesting, I'll give you that. But, it looks like you're putting way too much into a single weapon. For one, how is it supposed to store and use both a beam power source and a selection of balistic ammuntion? Either you're gonna have to cut down on how much it can carry, or increase the size of it, because as it stands, the scale you're using is not gonna be enough. And what's the deal with this huge blade on the bottom of the gun? You're just asking for balance issues there, if not just holding the damn thing awkwardly. You could use that space for storing the ammo, but instead you put this thing in?" She turned in the chair to face the mechanic. "Honestly, you're probably gonna have to cut some features outta this baby if you want to make it as compact as it is, otherwise you gotta increase the size and change up the design."
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As usual, Serge's expectations of something going wrong was correct. The same types of people, if not the exact same ones, that had yelled for the arrest of Cassandra and Adele a week prior were now attacking, trying to interrupt the wedding and possibly kill somebody. But, rather than Serge panicking, as he would do, he was just very...annoyed. "This is why I don't get caught up in all that religious crap." He muttered, before speaking aloud to the axe brothers that sat next to him. "Hans! Lars! Find something that isn't deadly and drive back these people! Larissa, keep your head down!" Serge deploys at 5,9 Hans and Lars deploy together at 4,9
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"ID...Right ID, uhhh-" Elaine started fumbling with the pockets of her outfit looking for her ID card. Thankfully, she found it, and took it out for the man to see. On it was a profile view of Elaine with a rather blank face on view. The number shown as HR-8998, the specific number given to her once she joined upon the Riese. "Sergeant Hedrick. First name, Elaine. And I was just showing our newest passenger, here, around the ship, and was maybe sort of hoping he could take a look in the mech labs? He's really interested in this sort of thing. Come on, it wouldn't hurt to let him have a look, right?"
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"Alright! Good! Come on!" Elaine clapped her hands together once, then grabbed Makoto's hand and brought him with her towards the labs. There were probably several protocols she was breaking at the moment, but Elaine wasn't exactly thinking straight, far more concerned about not letting the 18 year old civilian she was watching over learn about the recent declaration of war from a group of really powerful terrorists. She didn't think about any restrictions that might be in place for both pilots and anyone that wasn't part of the crew of mechanics on the Heion Riese going into those labs, nor did she think of any trouble she might get into for breaking said restrictions. If she had known about them, then she had forgotten them in this moment of discomfort she was having. The walk wasn't long, partly because she had been walking at a more quickened pace than usual, practically 'power walking' while dragging Makoto behind her, but when they arrived at the set of doors Elaine released him from her grip and pointed to the door on the left. "In there is the Engineering lab." Then, she pointed to the right. "And in there is the Mechanics lab." She exhaled a large breath she had been keeping in, and looked quickly back and forth, frantically thinking about which one to go in. "You-you know what, let's go into the Mechanics lab first. Tha-that sounds like a great idea!" She stammered. She turned to the right door and knocked on it a couple times. "Hey! Is anyone in there?" She asked, impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for a response before knocking again after a few seconds. "I said 'hey!' Is anyone in there?"
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Serge dropped the pay into the hand of the barkeep, and picked up the two glasses before slowly walking over Vesta's table. But however silent he was, he did think about what was said to him by that same barkeep. He had called him 'Steve', which was the name of one of the people he had fought in the Coliseum last night. He did remember how he looked awfully similar to him. But that wasn't what unnerved Serge. 'Lunatic'. That's what he was called. And it wasn't hard to see why. When he won against Arteria, he had pulled on her arms until they were dislocated. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't kill her, they already tried that? And he definitely wasn't going to just let her go free. Not after what she did. But, he started to doubt himself, again, going in the same old circle of thought that kept him awake at night. 'Let it hurt. Cry, if you must. Remember what it feels like. So that if you are faced with it in the future, you can do whatever you must to stop it.' Serge seemed to catch the end of a conversation between Cassandra and Vesta, and the words he heard resonated with him on an emotional level that he didn't expect from the Princess. Especially after their conversation about 'lackeys'. He stopped in his tracks for moment, unsure how to feel about what he heard. Cry? There wasn't time for him to be crying. Only time to lead. To watch over. Besides, he had already cried to a stranger, today, even if it was for less than a minute. Even if he wanted to cry more- Serge shook his head, and continued his walk to the table. He sat the glasses down, and pulled up a chair to sit with his new hire. Then, he pushed a glass towards her. "Here. Just drink and let it out." He wished he himself could follow that advice. But instead, he held his tears back. Until it bursts, like a balloon filled up with far too much water. It wasn't healthy, much like his addiction, but he still kept going on the same way. Serge lifted the glass, and took a small sip, savoring the taste the 'finest Ale in Tytila'. "I don't want to say I know how you feel." He lowered the alcoholic beverage back down on the wooden surface. "Hell, I don't know what else to say, other than 'I'm sorry'. But I've said that enough, already, and I know apologizing won't bring either of them back." He paused, and watched the cold drink reflect the poor state that was his face.. "So instead, I'll make the promise I made to everyone else in the Hearthfire Crew. I promise you that I will do everything I can to stop it from happening to you." He took another sip of the drink. He was quiet as the glass hit the table again, the silence of the conversation only interrupted by the conversations of the many hardy adventures, drunk or otherwise, in the background of the Guild. "We'll cross dangerous roads from here on out, I can't lie to you about that. We're facing off against people that want to kill us. Sometimes for no good reason. But, that's the life of a mercenary." He turned his head to face Vesta, pausing again to let everything sink in. He breathed deep before speaking, once more. "I want you to promise me something Vesta. Whether or not you decide to join the Crew, whether or not you tell me to stuff it or whatever. I want you to promise me that you'll live for them. Live the life they couldn't." Through this motivational speech he gave to Vesta, through the words of encouragement he did his best to give to her, deep down Serge knew one thing. That he was a massive hypocrite.
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It seemed like every single time Makoto asked something, it was something that Elaine wasn't sure she should answer, whether for personal reasons or otherwise. And this time, he had been asking why they were fighting, this time, along with wondering about the newer robots within the hangar. Elaine bit her lip and did not speak for a moment. She didn't know protocol, or whatever to call it, about civilians asking about the current terrorist attacks that are and would be happening. Did that protocol even apply to Makoto, considering he and his mother were going to be on the Riese for an undisclosed amount of time? Then there was asking about the new mech suits, which Elaine herself just didn't want to talk about. She was still a little upset about the fact that she had taken something so old and out of date in comparison to, say, Kim's newest version of Velite designed for Telekinetic's like her. The Heracles had looked so new and fresh on the outside, but once she slipped inside, the work it desperately needed to catch up with standard ANF mechs was apparent. "Uhhhh You know what? Why don't we go look ssssssomewhere else? The Riese has plenty of other things than the hangar that makes it interesting! Liiiiiike..." She paused, then snapped her fingers. "I know! Why don't I start by showing you the engineers and mechanics labs? That sounds fun, right? And it's on the same floor so we don't have to take the elevator."
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"I understand...and again, I'm so sorry for everything." On top of his own feelings, it felt like an aura of sadness came from Vesta as she listened to the confirmation that her friends were dead. And it touched him, making him feel even worse. He had long since thought of all the things he could have done that night. How he could have prevented at least Octon's demise. And each time, he questioned if he would have done it. If he would have risked all the money he would have gotten to pay his mercenaries, just to save him. And he hated that he couldn't find a satisfactory answer for himself. At times, he also hated how emotional he could get. It meant he still had a heart, yeah, but it kept hurting him more than help. And the emotional scars he carried kept growing by the number. And it was clear from the moment he woke up that day that it was affecting him. And finding his people, like Marrok had told him to, was not taking off any of the edge. ...But he did know what would. Serge stepped away from the table that Vesta sat at, and walked over to the bar located inside the Guild Hall, before knocking on the wood of the bench. "Hey. I'd like some drink. Two glasses. One for me and my friend."
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"I wouldn't say I was assign-Hey!" Not too long after Thorvald had stepped away from the two did Makoto go following after him like a child who saw a toy he likes in a store. And, really, that wasn't too far off, because he seemed far more interested in the android Hannah. However, Hannah seemed more interested in...something that she couldn't quite figure out. Whatever she and Thorvald were talking about between each other, Elaine didn't care at the moment, and walked up right beside Makoto. "*ahem* As I was saying... No, I haven't been assigned as any babysitter, but I'm watching you, anyway. At least until someone else is told to do it. So, same rules as before. Don't walk off, don't touch anything, stick with me. Alright?"
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Serge bit the inside of his lip as Cassandra brought up Abdul. He was regretting bringing her here, but now that she brought it up, there wasn't much he could do to avoid it. At least, not that he could think of at the moment. The tightness in his chest seemed to be more powerful, like a gaping void in his body slowly eating him up. He had no idea how Vesta would react, and truly expected the worst possible outcome. But, he couldn't lie. Not about this. "Yes...Yes, I did know Abdul." He nodded, slowly, and looked back at Vesta. "And I knew Octon. I spoke to both of them in the Arena. Not for long, though, but...they seemed nice. Really nice. And I heard about Abdul getting money to go back to his home." He stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I wanted to hire them and help them, believe me, I did. But...In that Arena, there was a woman, her skin incredibly pale, her hair pitch black. And she...And she..." He gulped, holding back the anger and tears he held at not being able to stop the deaths of Vesta's friends. "She murdered them. In front of everyone in those stands. She murdered them both in cold blood!" He was shaking his head, his eyes closed tight to hold back everything that was threatening to come bursting out like a waterfall. "I'm sorry." He said, quietly. "I'm so, so sorry." He had long since stopped caring about his image, at this point he felt like he didn't deserve any kindness that Vesta would have given him before.
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"I-J-Pu-Gaaaah..." Serge was stuttering, entirely speechless at how freely Cassandra spoke about the possibility that he wasn't telling the truth, and he felt insulted, if not flustered. And became even more flustered when Vesta had called the people that went to the Arena 'losers'. He certainly felt the irony of the situation, too. "*sigh* It's not like I enjoyed my time there. And I'm definitely not going back any time soon. But yeah, I did go there. And, believe it or not, I won the whole thing." Despite any regrets he held, there was a small bit of pride in that statement. Her next question was a bit more pleasant, and it was one he was willing to answer. "My men, huh? ...Well, there are two brothers, Hans and Lars, who are incredibly supportive. Truth be told, they look a bit similar, so it might be hard to tell them apart, at first, but I think you'll get the hang of it. Regardless, they've had my back at nearly every decision I've made. And they have the muscle to get plenty of jobs done. Then, there's Larissa. She's...a bit mischievous, for a lack of a better term, but I think she's got her heart in the right place. She's been with me from the very beginning, and I couldn't of gotten here without her and her healing abilities." "And then..." Serge felt his chest tighten, and was hesitant to bring up the last member of the Crew. But, if he didn't, then he ran the risk of her finding out later and him looking terribly suspicious. "Then, there's Emily. And she's...well she's...scattered brained, I guess. She, uh-" He paused. It was hard for him to talk about her, after everything that happened. "She's...not doing so well. At all. She took a nasty blow for me and h-hasn't been the same since. She doesn't remember a whole lot..." He was silent for a moment, trying desperately to regain his composure in front of Vesta, Cassandra, and Thwomp. He took a deep breath, and he was able to continue. "Her magic helped in a number of battles, and is probably one of the most powerful mages I've seen. And she was dedicated, too. Really, all of them are invaluable members of the Crew and I couldn't of asked for a better group of mercenaries."
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Elaine hadn't been expecting Thorvald to join in on the conversation, and she was even more surprised when she was given praise on her teamwork. He had even suggested to her going through drills with him. "R-right. I'll be sure to check in about...drills." Could she even call what it was out there teamwork? Everyone that helped her seemed to just be there to pick up the slack when the time was right. No, to her, it felt like she had relied on them, more so than her own abilities as a pilot. As if she couldn't of taken care of herself without them. And that ate at her. Tarquin was already off, however, to find the captain. But not before he had said her own name to her...and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the way he said it. No matter which way she thought about it, she could easily feel his disdain for her emanating from his entire being. But, she didn't feel it in her to make any witty retort, and let him go. "Well, while he's away looking for Jess." She said, turning back to him. "I feel like this is the umpteenth time I've said this...Whaddya wanna do, kid?"
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"The...fire emblem? I remember reading stories about it but-" And suddenly, everyone was talking about...something else that was flying over Mavis's head. Completely and utterly. And it didn't make her feel better. One thing was for certain, though, and that was that much larger things seemed to be happening than just her own quest for revenge. But she was probably going to have to get a summary later, so instead, she shifted towards Greta and whispered to her. "Psst. Hey. Can I talk to you outside for a second? Privately?"
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Serge shook his head. "Honestly, I was just checking up on you. And if you still need a few days, then I'm pretty sure we have the time. Though, I'd have to check with my employer about that one." He then turned to the Princess. "This is Vesta, the woman with the Ballistae I told you and Owen about. I think she's going to be a great ally to us all. And, she could be pretty handy with some gadgets like...uh..." He turned his head back. "...What are you messing with, Vesta?" In truth, all he really knew about her was that she had a ballistae, so he was pretty much lying through his teeth. But the better he could convince people that she was a valuable asset to the group, the easier she would be accepted in. At least, that's what he believed.
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"Right...Your mother. I almost forgot about her." She let out a sigh, and her head sank. This day seemed to be going from bad to worse at every step. First the terrorists, then her battle performance, and now Makoto was stuck with them. "A-anyways, so, what's your name?" "What do you mean my name?" She said, lifting her head back up. "You already know who I-" And then she finally saw who he was talking to. Tarquin. Of all the people that she had to run into, it was him. She opened her mouth for a moment, ready to question why the hell he was bothering Makoto, but stayed silent. Again. Whatever fire within her that would normally cause her to lash out at him just wasn't there. Instead, Elaine felt...inferior to him. Hell, she probably had felt that way ever since the first mission, and she just didn't want to admit it. Hundred percent accuracy? More than I can say for myself, she thought. "...Well, now you've met two pilots." She said back to Makoto, standing up from her postion. "Tarquin, why don't you go and tell the captain about this? See if we can't...I dunno, get him a room or something?" Elaine was far more concerned about him than arguing about anything with Tarquin, so she hoped the silver-haired kid felt the same way and complied. "I'll chaperone him in the meantime."
