Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 1: The Culmination

[Nanami Touko]

Take a Breather

"Yes... Sir. I'll try, sir." Tristain saluted and uncomfortably went back to his station, trying to stop worrying about everything. Being in space with such a lax crew was putting him on edge, but things were fine, and there were no warning signals. Maybe he was too high strung...

Helping Out

"Help, huh..." Avery stopped her machine handling for a second and thought it over, turning around and leaning on one of the guard rails. "Well! Brant's plane stills needs them thruster adjustments fer space flyin'. We got the set next to his plane, we just ain't got it installed yet. Needs the extra directionality an' everythin'. Plane ain't gonna be winning no fights in zero G iffin it's flyin' like it's in a real dog fight! Gotta be able to turn on a dime an' all that. You wanna strap that all onto it?" Avery motioned to her left, with her thumb, Brant's plane as pristine as ever. Near it sat a rather intricate set of thrusters that looked like they were going to add advanced turning to the plane. Without air currents and gravity to restrain it or the pilot's actions, if they could handle the Gs of such sharp turns, it would increase space maneuverability by quite a large amount.

"Otherwise, ye can fiddle with yer own bot-- though, not too much, ANF regulations an' all that. Iffin yer gonna do some choppin', hit me or Buck up first; he's over there," she said, pointing to the entirely opposite end of the hangar, "working on... Something. We know what the ANF doesn't care 'bout you touchin' and what you're gonna get in trouble for, so just save face, ask us first. Iffin ye need some other weapons er parts slapped on, bug one of us too! I know we ain't departin' fer a while, but we got that new gun and thruster set from that there unknown. Seems worth usin'." With that, Avery turned back around to face her work station, doing the more intricate cutting on the rifle to shape it so that it wasn't an ugly rectangle with sawed off bits. Even mechanics are artists!

Edited July 14, 2016 by Melissa

[Shin]

No cooks? Cook for themselves? Tarquin froze in horror at the prospect. At the training base, they'd always been provided food. All the meals he'd ever eaten had been provided by a military facility. Of all the subjects he knew in great detail, cooking wasn't remotely close to being one of them. He would either have to learn how to prepare his own food, or be forced to consume what raw ingredients were suitable.

"I see... that wasn't something I was aware of." he replied, it would be too late to request reading material to aid him now they'd launched. Her questioning changed the agenda of the conversation entirely, Tarquin needed to tread carefully. "You would have to ask the captain, I'm not quite sure why I was chosen either. My test results have always been relatively good." he added, technically departing the truth, or at least some of it. He'd been given strict instructions to avoid talking about his background. He'd fall back on his cover story as a child soldier if he had to.

[Dandragon]

Elaine once again nodded. Thankfully there was a tool box next to the large set of thrusters that she could use. She was gonna need it.

Making sure everything was already set up correctly was the first step. She went around tightening all the parts the best she could, finding a small number of screws and bolts that were a bit loose. She never found this as a sign of ineptitude among mechanics and engineers, rather it was carelessness. She remembered her test flights where she had always left something untouched. Next was connecting the wires. Rather than having the outlets spread out all over the place, they were centralized in one location. This might be a bit of trouble, as they could easily tangle with one another if not careful. As she connected each wire, she made sure to smooth them out so that they wouldn't interfere. Wires were an annoyance, how they could easily snap and break, or how they would tangle themselves with the upmost intricacy without any involvement whatsoever.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she connected the last wire and tightened it, double checking they were all connected to the right spot. It was hot inside that thing. "Right...Yo! Are the fuel cels already set up in this thing? I can't see them anywhere!" She asked, yelling from inside. Gods, why did it have to be so hot, and why did she put on her pilot suit before all of this?

[scorri]

Astin had been standing in silence while the two girls chatted about mechanical stuff before letting out a quiet sigh and commented, "Well, this is all pretty much over my head. I uh... I guess I'll just had out. Good luck with stuff though? It was nice meeting you Avery."

[Ether]

"I don't... know name. Friend taught, to me..." Kim replied, as she was asked of the name of what she was playing by Jessica. She had been curious herself for a good while, but having learned it on a whim from a fellow student in primary school, she had never bothered to ask the name of it, and her searches for it were rather unfruitful... while finding the bars of a song were easy with the name, the reverse was far more difficult. Of course, she had more inquiries about the various instruments within the room.

"Yes, play all. Most... piano and violin... learn others for band... not practice as much." Seung-Min continued, thinking them over in her head. The guitar, the drums, the bass guitar... she'd touched on them all for a time, and her fundamentals had gotten her to an adequate level, but she couldn't play anything more than the particular songs they had been required for. There was the... unpleasant, but ultimately... somewhat successful venture with the tuba, but Seung-Min hadn't taken well to wind instruments, and had swiftly moved over to the piano, never looking back. There wasn't much point in bringing all of those up unless asked, Kim's playing slowing down as Jessica changed the subject, stopping entirely to return her salute, the Lieutenant turning fully around towards her Captain, giving her head a shake.

"Technically not... first test. You might... heard attack on the Decus Institute by rebels, was on news. Only twenty-five enemy... looked sloppy, probably rookie. Instructor... scrambled TK class as... surprise test. Shot down... killed five rebel pilots that day." Seung-Min replied, recounting the experience with a sigh.

"Single rebel... should have... shot down faster, proper. Apologies.

[Phoenix]

Brant nodded at the statement. He had given others advice, before, mainly Firmia. The captain gave a subtle hint to check his room at some point. It was unlikely, but always possible something had malfunctioned and some of the furnishings could have been shifted around during the launch ... if not outright thrown clear across the room. Brant supposed he'd find out one way or the other when he got back there.

"Glad I didn't bring all that much that could have gotten shaken up," he noted with some amusement just before she stepped out of the elevator. He followed, but only the number of steps it took to reach the hallway, proper, and gave a parting wave. "Enjoy your break, Captain."

Now it was time to decide where to go next. He pulled back his uniform's sleeve, exposing his alpha tool and raised it closer to his face. A blue tinged image appeared and showed a very poorly mapped Heion Riese. There wasn't much to look at. The tool could use its cameras or acoustic imaging software to render environments, but neither method could penetrate the walls of a warship; only halls and rooms Brant had physically been in could be mapped like this. "Time for a walk, he said, heading down the hall toward the elevators.

He stopped just outside the meeting room, and turned to face the opposite door. He'd ignored it earlier; the infirmary seemed irrelevant at the time. Brant hoped he'd never wind up in the place for legitimate reasons, but being a telekinetic, there was a slightly higher list of reasons he could wind up in there. He approached the infirmary door and to his surprise it didn't open. "Hm?" Brant wondered if there was a power issue, but quickly dismissed the idea. This ship was pristine, spotless, and fully functional. "It's locked," he concluded with a wince. Why was the infirmary sealed, he wondered?

There was no way to tell from outside if anyone was in there, not unless he got their attention, first. He wrapped his fist against the door a few times and waited. No response. "Hmm ... maybe it's not important." If the high ranking officers needed to get inside, they probably had the means. As a pilot, Brant felt he shouldn't worry about it unless he somehow injured himself prior to the mission. He sighed and turned away from the door, making his way down the main hall. He picked an elevator at random and headed down to the third deck, hoping to map out that area of the ship--save for the private quarters--first.

[Nanami Touko]

Performance

It was nice to see that Kim had a wide range of instruments that she could amuse herself with. When their ship wasn't on direct missions like this, drifting through space would probably become the norm. Having something to do to spend the time would mean less getting horribly bored with the situation. There were facilities on the ship, but, a personal hobby was always good to have over them. Sometimes you just needed time away from everyone else.

Still, she was going back to her performance during the test. Jess had kept it in mind due to Kim's apology to the head admiral about how she'd performed. It was surprising to hear that the institute let their students fight something so dangerous, but seeing as Kim had come through it unscathed, perhaps it was a good decision, at the time. Still... She paused a moment to scan her brain for that incident, staring off into the distance as she did, finally zoning back in and nodding.

"I do remember hearing about it, not that I knew that detail about letting the students in on the action. Not something I'd think was advisable, but it must have been good experience for you... Either way, Seung-Min," Jess decided being less formal about it would make things sink in more, "I'm not sure what standard the institute held you up to or what your own personal ones are, but..."

Jess decided to shimmy herself onto Kim's piano bench, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling. "You really did just fine out there. More than fine. I wasn't expecting the ambush to be dealt with so swiftly. Even if I don't trust myself to be a proper captain, I can understand what Admiral Martinson sees in this crew. We've got some fantastic pilots here, and you're one of them. Try to be less hard on yourself, hmm?"

She slid her hand off and then stared at the piano, smirking. "Alright! Teach me something interesting to play! I'm good with my hands; typing is one of my best skills. Playing the piano can't be that different right?"

Interesting

Cheryl hadn't expected the boy to freeze over such a low brow revelation. He looked young-- what did his file say, fourteen, fifteen? Either way, surely he knew how to make eggs or a sandwich... It would be ludicrous to think he knew how to make nothing for himself, yet the shocked look on his face told that exact story. She smirked. "I'll have to ask the captain, then. Her files are always more informed than ours. Ship personal and all that. You can't cook?" She switched subjects, figuring it wouldn't be worth prying into the other now, or any time soon.

"Want me to try and teach you something, so you aren't starving? Unless you expect to have someone around every time your stomach starts yelling at you, heh." Cheryl snickered, finally taking a bite out of her lovely apple. She swallowed before continuing to talk. "Or at the very least, tell me what you want already, and watch me so you can try and glean something from the process. I can't watch a kid starve."

Charge Before Use

"Oh, alright, Astin! Nice havin' you 'round. Thanks fer the suggestion'n all that." Avery was a bit saddened to see her talking company walk off like that, between the three of them, but at least she had her hobby to mess with. Still, it was always nice to have a worm in her ear trying to come up with solutions to mechanical problems that she was stuck on or couldn't think of at the time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hangar, Elaine had lifted the thrusters up and onto Brant's plane, finally getting them installed. She'd been making fairly good progress! Everything was clamping into place, no wires improperly crossed. All that would remain would be a system check to make sure they would rotate properly.

"Why d'you need that right now?" a tiny voice asked from outside, staring up at Elaine's legs hanging out of the engine she was working in. Buck had wandered over, like Avery had thought he would, giving Elaine's halfbody a very curious glance. "You don't need to fly the thing. You're setting it up, right? Just go into the cockpit and make sure they rotate and stuff. We'll get the fuel inside before it takes off, no worries... Who are you anyway?" It seemed that Buck had not been given the standard information on the new squad-- or he had, and he just didn't read it. "You're part of the crew, right? If you aren't, you're gonna have to get outta there, lady. Can't have anyone coming down here and fiddling with stuff." He'd chill out once Elaine explained things, but for the moment, he was a bit touchy about some stranger playing with their thrusters.

Edited July 15, 2016 by Melissa

[Ether]

"They didn't... release information. Thought... people feel same way you do about it." Seung-Min replied, as Jessica gave her opinion on the firefight at the institute. In reality, they would have written off anyone who got shot down by rookie pilots as a failure, if such a thing had occurred. But people would have been concerned if news had gotten out, so they had kept it tight-lipped, as government tends to. But as the Captain gave her speech about her performance, Seung-Min cut her off, shaking her head.

"Took too many hits. Against real... opponent... would have been killed. Not good enough." It seemed that she was unwilling to budge on this particular issue, just yet. When Jessica set herself on the bench however, there wasn't much time left to speak of it.

"Never... taught before. Can play something simple... see if you follow?" She asked, unsure how to go about teaching someone else to play.

[Xinnidy]

In Charge

To many of the recruits, the liftoff was probably an unique experience, but for Roxanna it was rather usual. The brief feeling of weightlessness after escaping the atmosphere was even a bit nostalgic. The time at which they escaped it was noticeably different, however. Just like advertised, they didn't drop the ball on this spaceship... Jessica had issued her and Dwight to stay in command, so Roxanna figured she would have to stay at the bridge. All fine by her.

Dwight was taking care of the controls very well, and anything else could be fixed by the Riese's flight control system, there was not really much for Roxanna to do. Taking a relaxed sigh, she pulled her seat closer to a panel, picking up an attached earset. "I'll try to contact Captain Miller, things should be pretty straightforward as soon as he knows the liftoff went fine."

[Dandragon]

Elaine had heard a new voice from outside. She quickly slid out from the thrusters and looked back to see some guy staring at her, with quite the peculiar look on his face. He better not of been staring at my ass... She hopped down and turned to face the guy. "Figured if the fuel cels were already in place, it would save time setting up. Two hours ain't that long in the grand scheme." She cracked her neck a bit after she spoke, feeling a bit stiff from staying so still inside that thing. "As for me, yeah, I'm one of the pilots, but don't worry about it. I got special permission from that lady over there. What did Astin call her...?" She snapped her fingers near her head, trying to recall her name. "Avery! That's it. Avery let me check up on the thrusters for good ol Brant. You can go over and ask her yourself, if ya like."

[Nanami Touko]

No Budging

Jess frowned, but didn't say anything else on the subject. The Lieutenant would just have to perform well during their next engagement to bring her spirits up. Jess was sure that she was going to, anyway. So, setting that aside for now, she nodded and got ready to watch-- "Oh, uhm... <Yes. That... Good.>" She blushed a little, and chuckled. "Was that bad? I decided to look into a bit of Korean since both you and Elaine speak it. I figured if I could piece together a simple understanding of it as we go along, it would make communication easier. Sorry if it sounded pretty bad. I didn't have a lot of time to study what I could find."

That embarrassing moment out of the way, Jess shook her head, staring at the keys. "N-Never mind that, show me what you were going to play. I'll see if I can follow along."

Received

"ANFSF Ilias, Captain Miller, responding. Heion Riese, we read you loud and clear, over." The middled aged captain sat alert in his seat, but not too alert, waiting at the destination point for the Riese's arrival. His hat was straight, his mustache trimmed, his slowly greying hair poking out of the sides. He was surprised that they were managing to make it there so soon; was the ship truly that capable of space flight? Not something to worry about, more something to marvel at. He wasn't jealous, though. He'd manned his Kraken class Ilias for the past six years, after his promotion to captain. No rebel fleet had managed to evade his grasp, and this group wasn't about to become the exception. "From our charts, you appear on schedule. Maintain your course and we will rendezvous in no time, over." Miller was also intrigued by talk of this newly graduated captain on the Riese, and wanted to meet her to judge her character for himself.

Permission

Considering how tall Elaine was, the young teen looked quite short standing near her! Buck was only a measly five foot one inch tall! But that didn't matter. He looked past Elaine to Avery, who was already flashing him the thumbs up, expecting this sort of situation. He shrugged, and turned his suspicious frown into a smile. "No worries, then! Still no on your fuel cells, though. Regulations likes to keep 'em all out of the machines until they need to launch, something about safety, yadda yadda... I don't like it much either; means I can't tinker with a live engine! But, the rules are the rules. Anyway, hop into the cockpit and see if those things turn properly. It should be in the system setting on the screen to the right-- oh, just, don't fiddle with any of Brant's settings-- that's his name, right? Anyway yeah, he probably has some custom stuff or whatever since this is his plane. Just test the thrusters, since you're on top of this." Buck gave her a weak salute, walking past to go inspect her job, just to make sure nothing was out of place...

[Balcerzak]

One of the younger pilots had come up to Thorvald while he was engaging in some introspection, and engaged in a little conversation. It was really nothing but small talk, idle chatter to keep the mind distracted and to pass the time most likely, but it also felt like it touched on something a little below the surface.

"Space, huh," Thorvald mused back. "Yeah, it definitely makes one feel a little odd, I can definitely agree with that. Never really imagined myself actually having to go more than a few hundred kilometers from home. All of a sudden, one incident later, I find myself transferred and within days, launching beyond the atmosphere... Really makes you stop and wonder."

He breathed deeply in and out in a not-quite-sigh, "Everything that felt so big and important down there, looks so small and twinkling from up here. Does that mean it was never really what you thought it was, that the meaning you attached to it was inflated out of proportion?"

A firm shake of his head, as he raised and answered his own questions in short order. "Some things stay the same no matter the reference frame. Certain principles hold unwaveringly true, and when people try to violate them, they must be stopped."

Mateus probably hadn't been wrestling with any such weighty issues, or perhaps he had. Either way, he had definitely hit upon something. Rather than being some sort of monumental change, the fact that they were now in space really didn't make a lick of difference. Was it anticlimactic, or was it reassuring? Thorvald wasn't really sure, but supposed that answer probably varied from person to person.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Balcerzak

[Shin]

There was salvation yet for Tarquin, this woman seemed to be more than keen to help him with his dilemma. A single meal would do little for him in the long run, he'd have to learn in order to keep up with the others. People like Thorvald and the Captain probably thought he was a child and treated him like one, being told to play games of all things. Football wasn't what he needed, what Tarquin needed was to show that he was independent. Once he learned to cook, he'd be just like the rest of them. Cooking was all about following instructions and observing progress, skills that he already had.

Did other people his age know how to cook? What did they like to eat? He'd never really thought about these things before. When he was given food, he'd eaten it because he knew he needed to. Was his own life really that different to normal people, as such that things they'd pick up naturally he'd have to actively learn? There were so many questions swimming around in his head, he was so superior in so many ways, but at the same time, he felt oddly lacking. Surely his own talents made up for these. In fact, he was certain of it. Anyone could learn to boil rice, very few could carry the knowledge and skills he possessed - it just showed that he was capable of greater things.

"I'd prefer to learn, if that's alright... Miss..." he began, realising he hadn't a clue who this woman was or even her name. She wasn't a cook, since there weren't any, so was she just a storage manager? There were so many people aboard the ship, when he was young he'd never seen more than about a dozen people at most.

[Xinnidy]

Confirmed

"This is Officer Martinson from the Heion Riese, no abnormalities during liftoff. We should reach the rendezvous point without any course alterations, over." Roxanna smirked. At least that went well enough, if anything had to go right that day. "Keep us updated if rebel behavior changes, that is all. Over." Roxanna reclined a bit against her seat, stretching her arms. Ah~... maybe this isn't all that bad. Well, as long as the pipsqueak doesn't show up, I'm basically in command. Now all they needed to do was travel the starry ocean she knew fairly well.

[Dandragon]

Elaine gave a little salute back as the guy walked over to the thrusters, no longer bothering her about where she should be. Well, at least he was friendly. Elaine got up to the plane and opened up the door into the cockpit. While planes were part of her simulations she did back in training, she never once went inside one. Still, the interior console was similar to that of a mech, despite some of the customizations that had been put in, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Let's see... He said that the one on the right was for movement, so... She brought up the screen and sure enough, it gave a display the thrusters and what looked to be a series of keys, most likely to set coordinates for the plane for autopilot. Switching on manual control came up with a control stick coming out of a panel from within the console. As she moved it, so did the visual of the thrusters on the screen with very little delay. Seemed like everything was in working order. She powered everything down and hopped out the cockpit. "Yo! Everything working?"

Edited July 16, 2016 by Dandragon

[Ether]

"Was... okay. Don't... worry, understand English... just bad, speaking." Seung-Min replied, giving Jessica a light grin. It was good to see her try, and if she got the hang of the language, it would be useful for more fruitful communication.

"Don't... embarrassed. Is good effort. For song, uhh... simple start is best, yes?" Kim replied, thinking over it for a minute as to what simple song she could begin with. After a few moments considering, she set her fingers down on the keys and began to play a

, doing so slowly to start with so Jessica could follow along.

[Ether]

"Was... okay. Don't... worry, understand English... just bad, speaking." Seung-Min replied, giving Jessica a light grin. It was good to see her try, and if she got the hang of the language, it would be useful for more fruitful communication.

"Don't... embarrassed. Is good effort. For song, uhh... simple start is best, yes?" Kim replied, thinking over it for a minute as to what simple song she could begin with. After a few moments considering, she set her fingers down on the keys and began to play a

, doing so slowly to start with so Jessica could follow along.

[scorri]

Astin smiled slightly and nodded to Avery. "Good luck with all of this. Maybe I'll come bother you some other time when we're not getting ready for an attack on a rebel group." They headed out of the hanger and wandered around the ship for a little. Eventually they found themselves back near the rooms the group had been assigned. They could hear the sound of someone playing piano music and hesitated, considering trying to find out who was playing the music but then just shook their head. Heading back to their room instead, they slumped down onto their beanbag. They still had some time before the meetup and so they figured maybe relaxing for a little bit before wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.

[charlie_]

Mateus had been gazing outwards until Thorvald responded, snapping back to attention to listen. What kind of incident gets a guy transfered to the middle of the desert? It was pretty weird to hear, but the guy seemed competetent and if he was willing to talk about it, Mateus supposed it couldn't be that bad?

"I never really thought about any of that stuff." he shrugged. He hadn't really expected philosophy talk to be part of his work when he enlisted. "It looks so small from here, but it still has more meaning to me than anything else out there." He continued, turning back to face Earth. If he noticed the older man dodging his question, Mateus showed no sign of it.

[Nanami Touko]

Choose

"Doctor Hart. You can call me Cheryl, if you don't care about titles, Tarquin." He'd still not answered her on what he wanted to eat, so she walked away to the fridge and pulled out some eggs and ham, walking back over to the counter and throwing some bread into the toaster as well. That wouldn't take very long, but even with all the advanced tech in the kitchen, you still had to heat up a pan to fry an egg. "You want to watch then, since you're being so indecisive?" She turned on the heat and cracked the egg cleanly, the yolk sitting perfectly in the middle of itself on the pan. She set the ham across from it. "Eggs are easy. It might take you a big to get used to cracking them without breaking the yolk," she avoided explaining what a yolk was; even Tarquin, with no knowledge of cooking, couldn't be so behind as to not know what an egg yoke was, "but once it's in the pan, it's all about the right temperature to make sure you don't burn the thing. I keep it low and let it cook slow. Tends to work out. Too high and you'll burn it before it can cook through entirely."

She tossed the other egg in, getting it nearly identical to the first, sprinkled some salt and pepper on them, and let them sit for a moment. The toast popped. "Always hate how much quicker that is... My fault for putting it in early, I guess. Tarquin, what have you normally had on toast, before? Butter, peanut butter, jam..." He could answer that much... Right?

Concern

"Martinson?" The admiral's niece was working on the ship? Miller was confused. Shouldn't the captain be the one at the commands? "XO, pardon my surprise, but where is Captain Gefalscht? ...Over." He'd nearly forgotten to signal his message finished in hid state of confusion. They'd just gotten into space, and already the captain was relieving herself of duty? Hmm... Either she greatly trusted her XO and bridge crew, or she was simply slacking off. Perhaps he'd be able to start judging her character sooner rather than later...

All Green

Buck had started poking his head into the thrusters when they turned on-- it was really his own fault for being too curious, so he quickly hopped out before any metal could slide and remove his most important organ. They seemed to be turning and rotating properly, so Buck gave Elaine the thumbs up as she popped out of the cockpit, diving back inside of the hatch to check stuff once more. Surely she wouldn't keep moving stuff. Luckily for Buck, he didn't have a lot to look over! The wires were all slotted properly, all the latches clamped down in place. His tiny legs dangled NO LONGER out of the thrusters, popping back out and laughing. "Nice! Looks like Avery and I have another surefire hand at this stuff!"

He hopped down the ladder and strolled over, a rather large oil stain on his nose-- he didn't notice. "You did a pretty great job there! What's your name? XO gave us all some files for all of you but I couldn't be bothered to check 'em all, so I've got no clue on names. Avery's too much of a people-pleaser, always tries to get to know them and be nice-- not gonna lie, I only really care about the machines, BUT, you're a pretty good mechanic, so I could stand to give you the time of day."

Twinkle Twinkle

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, still a bit red. She knew Kim could understand English just fine, but she'd keep chipping away at what Korean she could get her hands on. If it was just one pilot, maybe she wouldn't, but both Kim and Elaine made it worth getting into.

"Yes, simple would be best! I've never tried to play piano, so I doubt I'm a natural, or anything..." Jess kept her eyes trained on Kim's fingers as she started to play, recognizing the little theme immediately. She smiled a bit, closing her eyes and trying to pay attention to the keys. She did that for a moment, before opening her eyes again and watching Kim's fingers play. It was a rather simple tune, maybe simple enough to get on the first try... Jess had always been bad at first tries, but for something this simple, perhaps watching was just enough.

"You played that perfectly," she said, coming out of her half trance as Kim finished. "I don't think I'll make it sound as good as yours, but I can still give it a try. Should I slide over?"

Edited July 17, 2016 by Melissa

[Ether]

"Hope so... learned... years ago." Kim replied to Jessica's note that she had played the children's song perfectly. It wasn't much of a feat, but it felt good to be back in her element, at the very least, Piano was always a good way to unwind, she had found. Then, of course, the Captain asked how she should go about trying.

"If... want to try... multiple times... waste of time... move over every time. Just... sit here, don't need see... play this." Seung-Min replied, gently tapping her own legs with her hand, motioning for Jessica to move over and take a seat on her lap.

"That way... don't need move. Plus... can help... guide hands."

[Nanami Touko]

Uhhhh

Jessica blinked blankly. Then flushed red. "Uhhh, I-I don't-- your lap? Wouldn't it be better to just... Have you, stand behind me, if you wanted to help with my hands?" It was probably entirely innocent, but still, between Brant's natural good looks, and Kim asking to be physical, Jess was being pulled towards things she hadn't quite expected in these first two days.

[Ether]

"Not used... playing standing up. Plus... uncomfortable if go for a while." Kim replied, reading Jessica's emotions over the whole event. Embarrassment, huh.

"If that... uncomfortable for you, can figure... something else."

[Nanami Touko]

Lap

"And me sitting on your lap wouldn't be uncomfortable for you?" Maybe Jess was freaking out. Kim wasn't turning red at all, nor stuttering in the least... Maybe this was just normal for her? I... Guess. It's not like we're doing anything rude... "A-Alright..." Jess swallowed her embarrassment and shimmied over enough to plop herself down on Kim's lap, immediately blushing despite herself. "S-So, uh... Just, play what y-you played, right?" She stuttered a bit, glancing back at Kim for a moment.

[Ether]

"Not really." Kim replied, actually rather amused by Jessica's predicament, to be perfectly honest. She wouldn't press it if the Captain was uncomfortable, but it was rather cute, she had to admit. After a few moments, Jessica acquiesced, so it seemed that there would be no need to come up with a different plan, though the Captain's embarrassment seemed to spike rather suddenly as soon as she sat down, eliciting a light giggle from Seung-Min.

"Yes, try... play same as I do."