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

[Phoenix]

Unless Megumi got some help soon, it was just about triage time. Juria had just woken up, and she was obviously fine, though the doctor would be annoyed if the engineer tried to shrug this off and get back to work after popping some pain medication. Astin was doing alright for now so that was good, but both of them ought to be monitored. Having two concussed crewmen look after each other was touching ... maybe, but not recommended. Up from them was Tarquin, who just needed his wound closed. Megumi knew she could finish that before the scanner in Kim's immersion tank completed its run, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Thorvald would arrive with the captured rebel pilot sometime after she started on Tarquin.

"There are plenty of beds in here," Megumi called over to Juria, "and I advise you to just rest for now." She wouldn't mind Juria heading to her own room. There was nothing wrong with being comfortable, but otherwise resting in the infirmary for the time being was preferable.

Her first time in a crisis situation post-ANF assignment and she was already feeling the stress nipping at her heels with every step she took. This was completely different from just running data. Perhaps if her motives had been different, this would all feel more like a sacred duty for her, and less like a financial obligation. Arriving at Tarquin's bedside with the equipment she needed, she immediately scanned his abdomen for foreign objects. She didn't find anything. She could go ahead and close up the would for good. Nothing messy. Nothing fancy.

"It's not that large," Megumi noted, "so I'm just going to use a local anesthetic." That was Tarquin's only warning before a light spray marked the injection site, and then the injector itself bit into the spot just centimeters above the wound. ... and that was it. A feeling of nothingness slowly spread out from there and engulfed everything in its path.

The doctor eyed first the group chatting around Juria's bed, and then the infirmary door, while waiting for the anesthetic to fully numb the area. Any second now, Thorvald would arrive and she would need to be ready for that. She supposed if Thorvald had any medical training at all, she could use him as an extra set of hands until she was available again. Thinking back on it, Megumi might have had Tarquin wait until she'd addressed Abigail first, since she got the call in advance, but in her mind, there was some justifiable bias. A rebel pilot dying on her watch would unfortunate. An ANF pilot dying on her watch would be disastrous. She doubted she wouldn't be able to save Abigail if she still had a pulse at the time Thorvald radioed in, so everything should work out, regardless ....

[Shin]

Tarquin looked at Megumi stoically as she scanned him. Even the needle didn't phase him, he'd experienced more than his fair share of vaccinations and blood tests during his upbringing. The confirmation of his well being was reassurance enough for him - any shrapnel presence would have made things far more unpleasant for him. Surgery wasn't something he was familiar with outside of some light reading, and Tarquin had no intentions of learning about it firsthand.

The cold spray wasn't too dissimilar to the foam he'd used to treat himself, but the numbness that followed was more than a surprise. His pain cooled rapidly, fading away into a chilly emptiness. It wasn't just that he couldn't feel the pain, it was the absence of sensation entirely. The safety of the laboratory hadn't prepared him for sensations like this, the wide array of emotions other people had instilled in him. Sensations like friendship and discomfort were so alien to him, the narrow scope he'd experienced before felt rather limited in comparison.

"Thank you, Doctor Amparo." Tarquin replied, rather lost for words. There were several things he wished to ask the doctor, but with so many other people present there were too many ears that could listen. Especially if he were to bring up his protocol. It was probably best that he remained in the medbay for a short while, if only to give himself a short while to gather his bearings. Astin's lamentation of Juria's injuries didn't really strike too much sympathy into the boy, Juria had brought it upon herself.

"She's not dead, there were far worse things that could have occurred." Tarquin pitched in, making an attempt to avoid sounding too judgemental - so far he'd gathered people didn't react well when you talked down to them. "Injury and death are possible occurrences in battle, if you consider the risk too great it may be less troublesome to leave her on the Heion Riese instead."

[Snowy_One]

Melissa gave a firm nod as she stepped forwards. "Sir, yes, sir! My paperwork has already been filed and I'm more than ready. I have even already assisted in both some minor military and civilian rescuing so I am prepared. Sir."

[Xinnidy]

To the policemobile!

"Well that's enough agreement for me." With a brief nod to the few volunteers, Grey took the first steps. "The garage's not a long walk. Frank!!" He shouted to one of the busy policement, that one had been digging through a cabinet before raising his head at the call, looking at the officer with partial confusion.

"You called?" The man asked, and quickly got his response.

"Toss me one of the keys, will ya? For a regular, any will do." Grey quickly extended his arm in front of him as the policeman gave a weak throw and the requested key nearly missed his vicinity altogether. "Thanks." He raised a thumb as a quick gesture and continued towards the end of the hall. "The garage's not that far but I'd rather not wait terribly long, let's go." He waved for the volunteers to follow.

-------------

The station's garage was actually rather spacious, a bit of a makeshift hangar, too. Only some outdated Phalanx mechs were there, same model as the one that had escorted the scientists and personnel back after the rebels escaped, there was also one so old it wasn't even part of the Phalanx line! Anything newer had been taken as the rebel attack started, and was probably still out there, it was easy to infer.

As far as cars were concerned, there were still plenty, but the garage still had a lot of empty room to walk through. Most large, carrier vehicles were still there, but there was a smaller density of common police cars than expected.

Grey pressed a button on the key, making one of the cars flash their lights in response. Another button press and the sound of unlocking doors could be heard clear. "Alright, just get comfortable and I'm sending you out there." Grey quickly rubbed his hands against each other as some light exercising before going and opening the door to the driver's seat... pausing to realize something. "Oh, three of you are taking the hard seats on the back. Better decide the lucky one between yourselves now."

[Nanami Touko]

A Hero of Justice

"It's just interesting, y'know? Didn't expect so many girls on a warship! Or fighting against one. All them old action cartoons are just dudes dudes dudes! Y'know, dude? Heh, Dudevald... Anyway, I guess you're right." Buck let Thorvald get situated on the lift before lowering him down to the hangar floor, nice and easy. Buck wasn't an expert on anything medical, not in the slightest, but just like brittle machinery, a damaged person needed to be handled with care... Of course, Buck wasn't killing anyone when he handled busted machines roughly, so maybe he didn't quite get it.

Nevertheless! Thorvald was on the ground, and Buck was getting even more excited. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, stop! Stop stop! You're gonna get me wanting to try piloting these things! I tried the simulators once, it was a super bad move. Got shot down in my first minute! I'm great at working these things, not piloting them! Damn, though, I woulda paid to see that... That sounds like it's something straight out of a mecha anime. The lone hero faces off against his foe, ten times his size, bearing down on him with unstoppable weapons!" Buck balled his fist up and struck a victory post, hand high in the air. "But the hero always comes out on top! His bravery saves the day! With a strong heart, he shouts, 'victory goes to those with courage!'"

With a hearty laugh, Buck came back down off of his nerdy high, snickering at the probably confused pilot. "I wanna meet him. Send him my way if he shows up on the ship! Sounds like we'd have a fun time. And sure thing, dude. Let me know if you need anything awesome done to your robot!" Buck let Thorvald go on his way and started eyeing the Hheracles again. Time for some fun~

Laying Down Judgement

"I'm not judging you, Elaine. My job is to help you. You're not a threat to anyone but yourself, like this... I won't force you to talk; we've done a lot, today, and you've gotten a lot out. I hope you come back again, if you're not ready to continue. I think it'll be very helpful to you, to at least get this out of your head, and into someone else's ears." Cheryl held back another sigh, wondering how it got this bad. It must have been traumatic to be sent to jail so young, and it sounded like a fairly poorly staffed jail; quality living never made up for terrible humans. Cheryl knew that well.

Still, progress was progress, and it made sense why Elaine was so temperamental and quick to act on instinct. She wanted to be a hero-- her feelings of inferiority pushed her to make rash decisions. If she had managed to shoot down Vera, would that have solved things? Maybe. Likely not; that would have pushed them back until another situation arose... No, she needs to learn that being the hero isn't what's important. And that'll take some time.

"Elaine, let's change the subject. What do you like doing? Do you have any hobbies? The ship has a lot of facilities available for many activities. If something you really enjoy is on board, I think it would do a lot of good to blow steam off, alone or with another crew member." First thing, she needs a friend... Or at least, someone she can rely on, on board, that isn't going to spurn her and has the patience to deal with this attitude... Maybe Abrams? Eriksson? Hmmm... If Tarquin hadn't burned this bridge on meeting her, it wouldn't have been a far cry to have them grow together, but that would take a serious miracle, now...

Cheryl thought her options over, as she gently tapped a finger against her pad.

Reasons

"I wish I knew what that was. Maybe if Alphonse had explained things to me before sending us off, I would be better... But I just can't see it now. Things would have gone so much smoother if Captain Miller had manned this ship, or if Alphonse himself had taken the dire mission on... Why me? Why the rookie? Why the rookies? It doesn't make sense..." It didn't make sense to her, that much was evident.

Brant kept trying to reassure her; he really had dealt with similar, hadn't he? That, or he was a natural. But someone couldn't be this good at everything, could they? Fantastic pilot, fantastic looks, fantastic advice... There had to be some catch. Despite herself, Jess was beginning to smile. Even if she kept talking about her faults, Brant was getting through to her, and part of her hated that, and loved it at the same time. Hated that her time spent loathing felt like a waste... Loved that it had been.

"You're right..." she managed, with a sigh. "I'll... I'll take whatever's headed for me. Face it chin up, eyes forward. I've got to deal with the crew before I deal with central, anyway. And I... I think I'm ready for that. Thank you... Brant." She offered him her best smile, the best she could do, right now. "I'm glad we have you around. You'd give Cheryl a run for her money." She adjusted her hat, before fumbling mentally over whether or not to add anything further...

Daring won out over safe. "Don't... Don't be too much of a stranger, you know? You're not, already, but... We really should talk more, when I'm not crying, or frazzled... Just have a nice chat, as... As friends. I think I could use some more friends." She chuckled, sorting her papers in order, and checking over her pad quickly.

"You can stay, if you want. I'm going to make the announcement for the rest of the crew. Thank you again, Brant." With a sniffle, and a wiping of her eyes, Jess cleared her throat and let her central comms turn on. Time to address...

"This is the captain speaking. To anyone that wishes to discuss the mission, please meet in the briefing room. I will give everyone fifteen minutes to gather themselves and meet here, before we begin. Thank you." She turned her comms off and let out her biggest sigh yet.

"Let the fun begin."

Take a Ride

"Olivia," she piped up, as her name was requested. "Olivia Bennett." She'd done her paperwork arriving on the colony for her desk job, so she was certified by all bureaucratic standards. If they checked into her, they'd find out that she had nearly no training in medicine, but a certain university graduate had taught her all she needed to know to be useful in an infirmary. Since no one else had spoken up, she was better than nothing.

----------

Sharing the back seats? Olivia let a small smile creep up, glancing at Valerie again. "I don't mind riding with Valerie in the back, officer. We're... Old friends. Should be fine to take up space together. Any other takers? I don't take up a lot of space." Was this her chance, or just some cruel twist of fate? I guess we'll have to see if she's her same old self...

Edited November 23, 2016 by Narumeia

[Phoenix]

Megumi agreed wholeheartedly with keeping Juria aboard the Riese for future missions. There wasn't much point in piling on the criticism, though. Even with the colony safe, Juria always seemed a bit fragile to the doctor, both physically and mentally. She was no expert, but knew well enough how to avoid touchy subjects. That was one reason she hadn't laid into Tarquin about his near show stopper of a suicide attempt earlier. It wasn't the time or the place, and in all likelihood, he was already destined for an ear full from either Jessica or Roxanna, depending on what sort of state the command structure was in at the time.

Next came the simple but visually interesting phase, removing the first aid seal and closing things up proper. The doctor double checked everything first, making sure it was all sterile and that Tarquin wouldn't be reporting an infection to her anytime soon. Next, she applied a light spray to the site and the foam began to liquefy almost instantly. A quick suction removed it, some of the lingering blood, and exposed the wound, but it was closed again within a couple of minutes. Megumi could admit that she was turning this into a bit of a self imposed challenge for herself, seeing if she could not only finish with Tarquin's injury before Thorvald arrived, but still do it without any scarring. Some shallow SIEG injections sealed up the dermal layers and insured that she would succeed in at least her latter goal.

And there was the captain's announcement. "Are you going to be at that meeting?" the doctor asked Tarquin.

---

The more Brant thought about it, the less worried he felt, at least with regard to Jessica's career. She was probably in for more than a slap on the wrist, but again the telekinetic reminded himself that it was either this crew and all of its flaws, or an unscheduled and ridiculously controversial demolition. Potential humanitarian crisis aside, she seemed to be coming around more fully, now. Awesome, Brant thought, his smile coming more fervently and naturally than before.

"Any time," Brant replied, more than willing to rise to the occasion if the captain was feeling down in the future. It actually felt good to do something like this without having to navigate a telekinetic hurricane during the process. Who knew, though? Cheryl, whom Brant was assuming to be the ship's shrink or something, would probably have an easier time with Firmia than he did. Socially, they would be closer to equals, which was definitely important when trying to convince someone that they were 'introspecting wrong.'

As much as Brant wanted to stay, fifteen minutes was something of a godsend if a meeting was imminent, and he really wanted to make the most of it. "I'll definitely be here on time," he promised, "but if it's all the same to you, I'd like to change out of this first," he gestured at his new SKIN suit. Brant hadn't forgotten that he also needed to make sure Tarquin headed up to the infirmary, assuming he hadn't already, and check on Christina. He could accomplish all of that, and probably even get in a quick shower while he was at it, in about fifteen minutes. Admittedly ... there might be some running involved.

[Balcerzak]

Oh! So that's where Buck had been going with the whole 'your princess is in another castle' tack he'd taken earlier. Thorvald couldn't really say he disagreed with the lad as far as the number of women going to war was concerned, in fact he'd just been musing something similar himself. However without knowing what the boy'd been driving at beforehand, he'd felt compelled to offer up his previous defense of the situation: that they hadn't been saving the female pilots just because they were female. Now that he understood that that hadn't been the accusation, that he'd just been innocently chattering about a surprising betrayal of expectations, that it was mere small talk to fill in the gaps of a conversation, words carrying no deeper motive, he couldn't help but laugh a little. Yeah, of course. Buck was still just a kid after all, probably had his whole worldview set up for him by after-school programming and cineweb. It wasn't like the mechanic was gonna report anything to his superiors, have him called in sensitivity training or some other ridiculous crap.

Then there was also the amusing matter of Buck's attempt at nickname, "Seriously, Dudevald? Haha, oh that's a new one." When he felt Abigail's weight shift slightly on his back, though, he had to rein in his mirth. Gotta remember: gently, no jostles. This new restraint didn't dampened the young mechanic's spirits any, however, as the tale he'd told about the policeman at the colony had him geeking out, almost too much. Something told Thorvald Buck would be much more useful on the ground crew than in a robot, so maybe he'd have to dial back any glory stories in the future? Then again maybe not, as the mechanic seemed to come to the same conclusion himself. In that case, there wasn't any harm in letting him get pumped up by hot-blooded justice, dynamic action, and the enduring power of friendship every now and again. "Sure, if he ever sets foot aboard, I'll make sure you two at least get the chance to say 'hey'. I'm sure his schedule's gotta be packed though, what with all those refugees. If we ever swing by the colony in the future though, for refueling or whatever, remind me to see if I can't look him up." That... might be easier said than done, Thorvald realized, as he was struggling to recall if the Phalanx pilot had ever given a name, or a callsign.

And then that was that. Safely on the ground and conversation all wrapped up, he disembarked from the lifter and headed for the elevators. The sooner this rebel leader's injuries got checked out, the sooner he could stop worrying about her health and start worrying about what her motivations were and how much they could learn about Apotheosis from her. His pace wasn't exactly what you'd call brisk, but it was far from plodding, striking a firm deliberate balance between speed and care.

～～～

Abigail was floating. No, not floating, she'd been in zero gravity enough to know the difference. This was something else. What was this strange, nostalgic feeling? Suddenly she was little again, years before The Fight. She somehow remembered the day, though there'd been nothing especially remarkable about it. Her family had gone to visit Baxter State Park, and they were hiking a mountain. It was quite the change of scenery from their typical country clubs and yachting, and based on how things turned out it was more than likely that her parents had had no idea what they were getting themselves into by trying to take the sort vacation the working class do. Maybe that's why it had only happened the once, and perhaps that's exactly the reason why it was memorable.

Was that when she'd got the taste for it, the down-to-earth tomboyish approach to life she'd settled into? It felt like she'd always disdained tea parties, and dresses and such, though, so something about that conclusion felt off. Unable to really figure out the memory's place in the timeline of her life, at least with more precision than before The Fight, she decided such details didn't really matter, and simply let herself get carried along by the events as they played out. Trying to dig any deeper just made her head hurt. No, that's not right, her head hurt regardless. Curious.

What had come next? She'd scampered off ahead, and was climbing up a boulder to get a better view, ignoring the frightened shouts of her parents she'd left behind. If she didn't hear the orders to 'get down from there right now, young lady' she didn't have to follow them, after all. Everything had been going just fine, she'd reach the top of the largish rock, comparatively for a child anyway, and enjoying the vista and overly pleased with herself, she'd done a little victory dance. Which had a complete mistake, seeing as she slipped, fell down onto the main path, and had twisted her ankle rather badly. That was the end of her walking that day, as even trying to stand on it flared up the dull pain in her stomach, like she'd been punched there dozens and dozens of times. Wait, her stomach? That's not how twisted ankles work at all.

Ahh, yes, here it was. Her father had scooped her up, concern writ large upon his face, a worry and care so striking in contrast to his later stony silence, the piercing look of disapproval, and his utter refusal to defend her during The Fight. Had it actually been genuine? At the time it certainly felt so, and oh, riding on his back for the rest of the day had been so very secure and comforting. Whether it had happened because he'd actually loved and cared for her, or because it had simply been the most expedient way to carry on with the rest of the planned schedule hadn't mattered at that moment. She'd failed, yes, but Daddy was there for her. Squeezing with her legs, and pulling herself closer with her arms, she fought to keep the reassuring sensation alive, to drown out from her mind other memories of what she knew would come later. She was hurting now, and it was okay to want to feel safe sometimes. This time, the pain and the rage could wait until later. Was she crying? Her cheeks felt a little damp. "...Daddy..." she whispered longingly, indulging in him now, though sure she would return to hating him as soon as the pain went away. As soon as she were awake again, and not stumbling her way down the confusing paths of memory.

～～～

If Thorvald hadn't already come to a stop, having just entered the elevator when that whispered word met his ear, it's possible that he would have frozen up and there would have been an abrupt, potentially dangerous, jolt to his passenger. It was just his luck though, that he had been the one on transport duty, that the person that piercing accusation had been levelled at was perhaps the one most vulnerable to that icy blade. Maybe it would have found its mark on Dwight too, or some member of the crew he had yet to meet, but even so... Deep breaths, it was just some fevered rambling, there was no possible deeper meaning. Ah, good, this elevator certainly makes quick work of things, here's our floor. Get back to moving, and put it out of your head.

"This is the captain speaking..."

Oh brilliant, something else to distract himself with. Excellent. Thorvald endeavored to pretend Abigail's utterance had never happened, with... no great success. But the infirmary wasn't far now, and soon enough he could focus freely on other issues, without a weight on his back doing its best to remind him otherwise. Right, how was he going to be able to lay things out to Jess so that she would understand, really and truly...

Door. Ah, here they are, destination at last. Making the same minor adjustments he had when arriving at the elevator and pressing its buttons, shifting from one hand on each arm of his passenger to holding them both with a single, he got it open and stepped inside the med bay. Now to unload this burden onto Rapunzel and get out of here. A quick scan of the room found it to be rather busy, but not unexpectedly so. There were Astin and Juria... and Talog? Had she been injured? Oh, and look there was Kim in a tank, didn't that look pleasant... Right, there she was. Doctor seemed to either be finishing up her business with Tarquin, or just having done so. Not too bad of timing. Not bad at all.

"Should I just get her settled onto one of the free beds then?" Thorvald asked, more out of courtesy than anything as he already began moving to a nice empty one that looked good to him, being as isolated as could be managed from the other patients.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Balcerzak

[Dandragon]

"Hobbies..." Elaine looked up, then off to the side, trying to collect herself. "I...I like to tinker with things. Mess with machines, make them work better." She began to finally smile a bit, remembering how well she would do. "People...people would come to me with their tech problems and I'd usually be able to help them. Sometimes I'd get called 'Electric Elaine' cause I was so good with electronics." She chuckled a bit. There was still a sad look in her eyes, but she was smiling again. She was truly beginning to feel better.

"I'm kind of an engineer, too. I, uh...I built a robot." Elaine finally looked back at Doctor Hart. "You'd be surprised by what you can get from the junkyard. That, and a few scrapped prototypes that the mech testing facility lent me. Well, parts of them anyway. My uncle gave me the permissions I needed, a workshop and 'garage' to use, and after two years and a few tests...It was done." She chuckled again. It was quiet, but clearly visible that she did. "Sucks that I couldn't show anyone, but I guess your own robots are for people for deserve it."

[riariadne]

It made sense that others would head to eat after the mission to the Colony, but Dwight hadn't expected the first person he saw to be the young man that was captured earlier. The navigator frowned. This was the man the Captain thought helpful to our cause. He did not betray us, but... I am uneasy seeing him walk so freely still.

"You there," he spoke up, setting his mostly finished plate aside. "Are you supposed to be here? The Captain appears to be quite lax when it comes to security considering how short a time it's been since you arrived here. State your name, at least."

[scorri]

Astin couldn't find it in themself to disagree with Tarquin. On the one hand Juria had wanted to come along even with the risk, on the other hand it was too easy to put the blame on themself for her being injured. They had just finally opened their mouth to respond when the call from Jess came through. A quiet sigh was all that escaped instead and they pushed up off the bed. "I should go to that. Juria, you stay here, ok? Don't want to risk you fainting again or anything. I'll be back after the meeting to let you know what's going on, alright?"

Colt glanced at the three woman that were joining him in the car and then looked at the car. "I'll take the front seat then if you three ladies don't mind. There's just a bit more of me than you three and I don't especially relish the thought of being jammed back in those seats."

Val froze again at Olivia's comments, but had no argument to the pink haired man's case. "I... yeah, ok. I can sit in the back. Just, I'd like it if I wasn't in the middle. Having a window is all I ask." She figured it would be easier to avoid talking to Olivia if she could just stare out the window. If it came to that of course. Hopefully the other girl wouldn't bring up anything that warranted being ignored right now.

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai sniffed the air cautiously like some sort of strange dog-boy-hybrid. He followed what seemed like the scent of something edible towards the mess hall, letting his guard down for a few moments as he felt his stomach lurch to life at the smell of food.

His plan was to pack as much as he could into his gullet and maybe try to sneak some into his room in case they decided to restrict it from him again. Food had always been something he never quite had enough of, so he had grown accustomed to gorging himself silly when it was plentiful. The first time he'd had unlimited access to a kitchen he'd almost killed himself via refeeding syndrome... They'd put him on a saline drip for a few days after that, much to his chagrin, and then proceeded to 'note this in his file' whatever that meant...

His plan had most certainly NOT included this stranger addressing him. He froze in his footsteps as he turned around suddenly to face the person who called out to him. He swallowed back another barbed insult as he bowed his head, averting his gaze from the older gentleman as he pressed him sternly... Nikolai figured he probably deserved the mistrust, honestly.

"I am Nikolai Zielenko," He muttered quietly, his eyes fixed on the floor, "The captain said I could be here, sir."

It never occured to him that it was kind of odd to see a barefoot little urchin with damp, messy hair and an oversized sweater in a millitary mess hall.

[Juliette]

"Ah, am thankful, Astin friend," Juria spoke before taking one of the pain pills and putting the rest of the capsule aside. The young engineer rubbed at the back of her head a bit, soothing herself. She listened to the captain over communications, not really paying much attention to those around her other than the general advice of not to be moving too much. It was only when Astin spoke up right next to her that she was more focused. "Yes, that probably right. Be much restful to feel more okay! Juria will listen to you when back."

There seemed to be a lot of people in here. Did really so many of them get injured? Most faces were at least a little familiar, but seeing one person gave her pause. "Who... who that girl? Isn't that rebel leader? Why helping her?" The thought unnerved her. First there was Nikolai flying, but now there was this after she had been so harmful to the colony... Juria clenched her fists together.

[Snowy_One]

"Personally, I am fine wherever. Ignoring that there is no mandate for this sort of thing I, honestly, do not care so long as I do not end up in some seat with some sort of weird gunk on the floor or the like."

Edited November 26, 2016 by Snowy_One

[Shin]

Neither Astin nor Juria had replied directly to him, but Tarquin was adamant that his logic was sound - the satisfaction that he was correct was more than enough. If she did dare to go on any further missions, any consequences would be down to her and her alone. The hypocrisy of his thoughts didn't occur to him, his own wellbeing was totally separate from that of others.

The sounds of the Captain's message was a sign for Tarquin to get moving. Doctor Amparo's treatment had been swift and efficient. He'd never been terribly interested in medical science, but he had gained a greater appreciation for it. It was hard to believe that he'd been injured at all during the previous battle. Perhaps she didn't have anything else to add, Tarquin wasn't sure how to even begin trying to figure out what was on her mind. Sitting himself up on the edge of the bed slowly, Tarquin buttoned his shirt back up. Doctor Amparo most likely had a whole host of people to attend to, and loitering in the medbay wasn't exactly his idea of fun.

"It is probably best I do, there are several issues that are likely to be addressed." Tarquin replied, hopping from the side of the bed. There were matters dealing with the Captain, Nikolai... as well as himself, Elaine and Kim. "Despite my age, I hold some seniority in rank. It would be neglectful to not engage in discussions."

More importantly, he needed to ensure that neither the Captain nor Nikolai were reprimanded. It may have been a reckless decision, but it had provided them with the support they needed for the mission. Elaine could be told off to her heart's content, but his main focus wasn't on antagonising her this time.

[riariadne]

Nikolai. I'll keep it in mind. The young man's disheveled appearance did little to alleviate Dwight's concerns. "Did she now," the navigator remarked- more a statement than a question. Though it was a fairly simple conclusion to draw, he was still disappointed in Jess's cavalier attitude.

With perhaps somewhat fortuitous timing, the captain spoke up to the whole ship that she'd be hearing their thoughts. "Be that as it may, I've much to speak with her about today's mission, so the time for any sort of discussion is not the present." Giving only a curt nod, Dwight headed towards the briefing room. The events that had unfolded in the battle for the colony certainly needed discussion.

[Nanami Touko]

Places, Everyone, Places!

Jess nodded at Brant and let him go on his way, not before giving just too long a glance at his suit. She hadn't been paying all attention to it existing, and now that she had, she'd wished she hadn't. Her eyes lingering were hopefully not noticed as he made his way out of the meeting room, to get changed into something less distracting. That would be good for the meeting, really. It would give Jess one less thing to think about. She had her papers in order, she had her topics in mind. As long as the people that showed didn't flood her with questions, she'd make it through this relatively unscathed.

Hopefully. It all depended on Thorvald and Roxanna, really. They were the two she was fearing the most. If she had anyone on her side at all in this meeting, she'd be quite surprised.

Hobbies

Mechanic, tinkering, good with her hands, this is perfect. It's a tactile hobby, it'll take her mind off of things, she'll be forced to focus on what she's doing. At least until things get too bad to deal with, but in the mean time, this is a good escape. "Why don't you take a walk down to the hangar right now, then, and see if there's something you can get working on? I don't think it would be good to push you further, right now." Cheryl had asked Elaine if she'd wanted to continue previously, but with how quickly the woman had retreated to her mention of hobbies, Cheryl felt it was a good point to drop things. Elaine could get her hands dirty and make herself somewhat happy, before they went back into what was troubling her.

Either way, it was a huge step, and Cheryl was glad her paycheck on this ship wasn't just for show. "I hope you'll come back to see me, Elaine. I think it's very brave of you to confide in me everything you have. And once again, it all stays in here. I'm here to help." Just don't go spreading it around to the rest of the crew until you're brave enough to face it...

Seating Arrangements

"I'll squeeze into the middle then, I'm small enough. You said your name was Melissa, right? Hope you don't mind sitting next to me." She walked past the rest of everyone waiting and got into the car, getting herself comfortable in her soon to be small space. She looked back at Olivia, and without so much as smiling, patted the space next to her, before looking away.

[scorri]

Colt allowed a small grin to appear, pleased with himself. None of them had objected to his request, which would certainly make the ride more comfortable. "Right then. Lets get this show on the road." Sliding into the front seat, he quickly buckled up before stretching his legs out as far as they would go. It was still a bit cramped for him but it was certainly better than that back seat would have been. At least this seat payed any attention to the comfort of the rider.

Val frowned slightly before shaking her head and lowering herself into the seat Olivia had indicated she should take and closing the door behind her. Nothing had changed in the last few years, had they? She glanced over at the girl, before quickly turning and looking out the window. This wasn't how she had expected things to go when she ended up here in the Colony. She'd come up here to escape. Not just her family, but if she was honest to escape her former roommate as well. Things were simpler when Olivia wasn't around. She stole a quick glance back at the other girl, wondering what was running through her head right now...

Astin exited the infirmary in time to see Brant heading away from the meeting room. Nodding at him, they made their way inside, spying only the Captain there right now. Well that made sense. She had said fifteen minutes after all. Still, it was nice to get away from the guilt that was manifested in the form of Juria right now. They still weren't sure how to feel about what Tarquin said either. Better to just not think about it. "Captain. Sorry if you wanted to have some alone time before the meeting. I can leave if you did..." She might want time to prepare after all. Not like Astin had anything else to do though.

[MechanicalBull]

"See you around, lad."

Talog nodded to the girly lad and left, heading towards the mech bay.

As she walked, she clicked on her communicator.

She hadn't been paying too much attention, so Ceridwen knew when Elaine was. Ah, well! The ship would know.

"Oi, El! I got a project in mind. Want to meet in the mech bay, give me a hand? Ain't nothing complicated this time, though. No lasers. Probably."

[Phoenix]

"Yes set her down--carefully," Megumi said, "I'll be there in a moment." Challenge successful. Just the same, though ... "Try not to do anything strenuous in the meantime, Tarquin," she advised the young pilot as he left. She quickly went over Thorvald's initial report in her head, though as she gathered what she needed, she could tell that, despite there being no obvious breaks, the internal damage may have very well been life threatening. She quickened her pace and motioned for Thorvald to stay where he was once he'd laid Abigail down on the bed.

"Has she moved at all since you pulled her out of the cockpit?" Megumi asked, the first of several questions. "Were there any electrical fires or anything else that would interfere with her breathing?" She certainly smelled of smoke, but first thing was first, getting off this helmet ... or rather what was left of the thing.

---

Brant could feel a variety of emotions coming from the infirmary as he left the meeting room. Worry, hopefulness, frustration, inescapable boredom. It was a general enough mixture to keep his curiosity in check. He smiled faintly and briefly at Astin as they passed each other in the hallway.

Brant had kept a normal looking pace from there, his mental clock counting down the seconds until the meeting with accuracy that surprised even him as he checked his alpha tool. The elevator ride was the worst part. All Brant could do was stand there and wait. He supposed if it went any faster, it'd be downright uncomfortable. Arriving on the third deck, Brant left the elevator at a jogger's pace, trying to decide whether to talk to Christina first, or shower and change. By the time he reached Kim's room, he'd once again decided to do both at the same time, despite the potential awkwardness.

"Hey there," he greeted Christina as the door slid open. He wasn't sure why he was expecting it to be locked. "Come with me." And here was the awkward part. "I'll explain how the mission went but I've got to get changed for the meeting while I still can." Finding Tarquin suddenly felt less important, as he would have surely heard the captain's address. If he showed up early, he was likely to get pointed directly across the hall to the infirmary. Just the same he would radio Tarquin on the way to his room to be sure he headed to the infirmary if he hadn't already. If only he'd taken care of that during the boring elevator ride. Hindsight.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Phoenix

[Balcerzak]

As luck would have it, Rapunzel seemed to have just finished up what she'd been in the middle of by the time he had arrived. Thorvald wasn't sure if that meant she was a miracle worker, if things hadn't been too bad for their injured after all, or if he'd wasted far too much time in the hangar jawing with the android and the mechanics. Either way, it was clear he wasn't being let off the hook just yet. He had gingerly shifted positions, managing to move Abigail from where she'd been resting upon his back into a nice, safe intermediate one far more suitable to lowering gently her onto the waiting bed. But as soon as he'd finished with that, he was tied up answering a bevy of questions. Important ones surely, and nothing he could rightly begrudge the doctor for needing to know about, but more than likely he was growing to realize he might not make it to the official meeting the captain had arranged for. Maybe that would be for the best, he'd seen how she handled crowds and a host of questions or unexpected avenues of conversation, after all. Perhaps a private chiding would be more effective in getting her to see what she'd done wrong, why, and for at least of few of her blunders, how to fix things.

Resigning himself to his current circumstances would make dealing with them that much easier, no longer allowing himself to be pressured by other concerns. At least in theory. There were still some uncomfortable aspects that were impossible to divorce from the situation. One of which was raised almost immediately, as the focus of her first question. "Yeah, there's been some movement," Thorvald confessed. "As I was carrying her into the elevator, she suddenly pulled herself a little closer, squeezed a little with her legs, and murmured something softly." It wasn't likely to be medically relevant precisely what she'd said, so he saw no point in offering up that particular bit of awkward information at this point in time. "It wasn't very sustained, and she had slipped back into being dead weight by the time the elevator reached its destination, but still I'd think even that little bit should be a fairly positive sign, right? You think she's drifting in and out of near consciousness?"

"Ah, sorry," he apologized, having gotten a little caught up in his answer and its possible implications. Moving on to her next question, he had to address much of the circumstantial evidence that he'd seen inside the cockpit, some of it relevant some of it likely not, but he didn't want any fault hanging on his shoulders because he hadn't told Rapunzel about something that turned out to have been important. "There was definitely some smoke filling the upper portion of the cockpit, but as far as I could tell it wasn't currently being produced. I'm sure she probably sucked down a good lungful or two, but I couldn't tell you if it was electrical, chemical, or any idea of its actual origin. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the damage to the machine below the cockpit had started some sort of fire whose leavings filtered on up, but it probably burned itself out or we'd've still been seeing signs of it on the outside I suspect."

What else might have been important to relay? "Right, so back to how she was when I opened 'er up. She was leaning forward, her harness had loosened a fair bit. No way to know when that happened and if it was deliberate or not, but I think she probably trying to reach for something down low. Anyway, that ended up keeping her head down below the sort of cloud of smoke that had accumulated. Floor did look like she'd vomited on it, for some reason or another. Console showed some clear signs of impact, would wager that's what caused the state of the helmet. Hmm, what else...?"

Thorvald stopped there, giving the doctor some time to digest what she'd been given, and if that gave her hints as to any further questions, or if he remembered anything else pressing, he'd be ready to feed up some further responses to her as well.

Oh dear. Juria seems to have put two and two together as to their latest patient's identity, and seemed to be working herself up into a bit of a state. Nobody else seemed to be willing to answer her, and several had filtered out after his arrival, perhaps not wanting to have to deal with the rebel leader themselves, or perhaps simply because they'd been treated and just felt like going on their way. Rather than burden the doctor with calming down an unruly engineer, Thorvald figured nobody better to step in and try to defuse the situation than himself. After all, Kim was currently tanked up and unlikely to be saying much of anything, and the person in question clearly couldn't explain herself.

"Yes, Juria, at least according to all the information we have, this should be Abigail, the rebel leader. Obviously haven't gotten a clear answer from her directly as to that fact just yet, but that's part of why she's here. If we are to have any hope of learning more about the motivation behind this assault, what role Apotheosis has to play in this, and maybe even where that Vera person fled to with the hostage, so that we could maybe recover them, we're going to need her alive and lucid. Nikolai clearly wasn't high up enough on the food chain for any of that information, and even if he was getting him to cooperate would be like pulling teeth. There might be more luck with Christina..." he paused, a little doubtful on that, though with her Apotheosis connections it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. "But our best hope is still gonna be getting it straight from the top. Even if it weren't though, the battle is over and she's clearly injured, possibly badly. Surely you're not suggesting we just leave her to live or die on her own, are you?"

Edited November 29, 2016 by Balcerzak

[Phoenix]

No obvious damage to her motor functions. Good. Admittedly it was a bit of a gamble moving her out of the cockpit without confirming that, first. Of course, with an infirmary as gloriously over-equipped as the Heion Riese's, Megumi was willing to take a few risks getting patients where they could most easily be helped. The day she had to operate on someone inside a smoking cockpit while avoiding a puddle of vomit was the day she would invest mightily in an android assistant.

Megumi nodded at Thorvald's own question before he went back to answering hers. It was probably for the best that she remained unconscious, at least until her injuries were known and reasonably addressed. If she started struggling ... well, that was one reason why the doctor wanted Thorvald to stay right where he was. Sedation could wait until she knew the extent of Abigail's injuries. Until then, she wanted to have an extra set of hands, big strong manly hands, to keep this potential combatant from making Megumi's job any more difficult.

Unfortunately for Abigail, she'd probably be wearing a breathing mask for most of this, if she'd gotten as much smoke as Thorvald suggested. Better than being intubated, but also less interesting than getting oxygen intravenously. Another concern was the crash itself, and all the potential internal injuries she might have suffered. If there was any internal bleeding at all, the doctor would have to quicken her pace and stop the hemorrhaging before there was any lasting damage, or worse. First was the helmet, though.

"Thank you," Megumi said, "You can breathe easily; she's definitely going to survive, but I do need to treat any injuries I can find for her to make a full recovery." She couldn't rule out brain damage, but at least Abigail wasn't in a coma. "I'm going to take off the helmet before I start checking for internal damage. If she tries to move, I'll sedate her, but you'll need to hold her down in the meantime. I want to avoid sedating her if possible since I don't have her profile on hand." A severe allergic reaction was the last thing Megumi needed to deal with right now, and without the pilot's profile, she had no way of knowing what medications were off limits.

[Snowy_One]

"Of course I do not mind." said Melissa, following the newcomer. "Why would I? Back home my family often needed to all fit into a tight car at times. It is not like sitting beside someone suddenly makes you engaged to them or anything of the sort after all."

[Dandragon]

"Hmph...Cause they probably don't need me down there anyways. Besides, if they need a mechanic, they have Talog. She's...She's just a better me anyways. Probably never committed a crime, either." Elaine wasn't bitter towards the amazonian woman, but she couldn't help that she was, in her own words, a better version of her. Bigger, stronger, better at making friends, maybe even a better mechanic. Why would they need someone like Elaine on the Riese.

"...I'm sorry, I'm just whining at this point. I'll try...taking your advice to heart." She got up and reached out to shake the doctors hand. "Thank you. Thank you for listening to me. You're probably the first person to not immediately want me gone after hearing this. One of the first, anyway."

It was then her communicator rang, and, upon answering it, got a message from Talog, herself. "Right. I-I'll be there in a bit." She responded, turning it off and looking back at Cheryl. "Right, guess I'm going there after all. Again, thanks for listening. I'll uh...I'll come back another time." With that, Elaine quickly hurried her way out of the office, all the way over to the elevator, ignoring anything that might have been in the way, and clicked the button to get her to the hangar.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Dandragon

[Xinnidy]

Always fasten your seatbelts!

Some of the volunteers seemed acquainted, or were just really fast at making friends. Either didn't matter to Grey, though listening was always amusing. "Alright." He took the driver's seat, closing the door."There's no rush, I'm sure Adam's gonna want us to escort his car, but I'll check in case."

----------

With the passengers seated, the car left the garage shortly, making way to the front of the station. The passengers could see a line of nine police mechs by the front, all with their cockpits open. The pilots had already entered the station safely, presumably. It was easy to see most of their armor had black spots from the EMP damage, especially the head piece, visors and antennas heavily compromised on most units. What was also noteworthy was the gathering of civilians at the front, some of them carrying the sick, an especially bad case being carried on a stretcher, the civilian's face wrapped in bandages, thankfully, that seemed to be the only one on the visually extreme spectrum.

Officer Grey picked up the car's communicator. "Hello? Is Adam still there?"

"Hi, I copy you." A voice unlike the officer's replied. One of the younger trainees, based on their timbre. "Officer Carlson just left for the garage, he said it might take a while. Some of the patient's relatives are going with them, but depending on the ANF ship's medical bay size, we might bring them back after the patients are diagnosed... that's what he told me. Uh..." There was a pause, some uncertainty, before the trainee spoke up again. "If you're ready, you should go. I'll send the destination to the car's GPS."

"Roger that. Tell Adam to hurry up for me. Shouldn't leave the injured out waiting long." Well, that was easy. "Aaaaand that's that. Works for me." Stepping on the engine, grin in face, Grey set out to the Colony's docking bay.

----------

"Holy--" Grey placed a hand over his mouth briefly --a quick shift of gears called for his free hand's attention... wait, he was driving stick?--. Through the bay's glass windows, the Heion Riese could already be seen. "I've never seen that ship. It's massive!" The car was approaching at a decent speed, it'd be two minutes top until they've reached the right gate. Just as good a time to get a call through in Grey's mind. Picking the communicator, the ANF frequency was easy for the older officer. "This is officer Grey from station 13. I repeat, this is officer Grey from station 13. I've got the volunteers you asked, do you copy?" Hopefully things weren't too busy on the bridge... or too empty!

Never Lucky.

There it was, the one call she needed, Roxanna couldn't help a grin, but it quickly faded. To the briefing room, huh? Let's see how things go. I can't be alone in thinking she messed up hard. Uncrossing her legs, Roxanna rose from her chair, her judging expression must have become a regular, not any less disapproving than when the later half of the mission unfolded. If she gets support to stay, I'm mad.

With her high heels resounding on the solid bridge floor, she made to the door without as much as a syllable from the bridge crew. It was a bit surprising to hear nothing as if barely acknowledged, was it all her position as merely XO? Had they judged her not worth it now that she didn't have the rank to just fire them on the spot? Or maybe they were really tired from the mission. Roxanna shrugged.

"I'll be at the briefing room." She announced, even though it wasn't asked for. "Things might change in the order of commands. You'll be notified after." That would be enough to get their attention on the gravity of things, right? Well, it only mattered so much, the XO leaving the bridge after a brief pause, walking to the elevator. She had to see everybody's reaction to Jess.

Shortly after she left, a call from a certain police officer had reached the bridge radio.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

Needed

"It's not good to beat yourself up over assumptions, Elaine. I get that it's difficult at times, but explore the venue before shutting yourself off from it. If you're good with machines, it doesn't matter if the ship has enough, or someone better. You're good at what you do, and since I doubt it's hurting someone, getting your hands dirty with your hobbies is a good thing." The defeatist attitude was expected after a blowout like that. Whoever this Talog person was-- had that been the girl from Miller's ship? --they must have put Elaine in quite the tizzy over mechanic skills. Maybe if she could overcome that worry, they could become friends.

"I think most people would be shocked, but I doubt they'd want you gone. You're not actively a threat to anyone on board." Maybe not out of your robot, but in it, well... If the current report is to be believed, it wasn't a pretty show.

Speaking of Talog, how about that? "Looks like you're wanted more than you think. I'll be here. I don't leave the office very often, so just knock." Cheryl rarely left her little room, either going to eat, exercise, or sleep in a real bed. Of course, if someone else dared to enter her office, Elaine would have to wait. Cheryl wouldn't want to handle two visitors at once. "Try to have some fun, Elaine." She'd be leaving the room herself, to see about someone else. Tarquin's side of the report didn't bode very well.

Time to Prepare

"Oh, Sergeant Doyle, hi. I can't say I was expecting to see you here... Not that I mind, of course. I did say anyone, heh." But, was Astin here to berate or just to listen? She had no doubt in her mind that none of them, save for perhaps Tarquin, would be at all okay with what she'd done, so it had to be one of those two. "I did all the preparation I needed. Now I've just gotta get through with it. My heart's about as ready as it's going to be, so whenever the questions start flying my way, I'll just face them as best as I can."

She sighed, again. Maybe she should just get them done one at a time? No, if others wanted to listen in it wouldn't do to have repetition. Best to have everyone there that could make it, and hash it out once, not twice. But... Still.

"If you want, you can get your questions out of the way. I won't answer yet, since not everyone's here, but if you ask now, it'll give me more time to think, and get me less swamped in accusations and jabs. I'm expecting a lot..." She smiled, tried to stay smiling for Brant's sake, if no one else's. I'm expecting a lot, but I can do it. I can make it through... I have to. I'm... I-I'm still the captain!

Hey There

Chrissy spun on the bed straight towards the sound of a voice, seeing Brant there and not hesitating for a second to-- "Braaaaaaant!" jump up from the bed and tackle herself into him with a tight hug. Nuzzling her face against his chest without a second thought, her worried face sprung up and stared straight into his eyes, trying not to well up with tears. "I was so worried! About you and Kim! The TV isn't working and I wasn't allowed to leave the room and, a-and, uuuuu..." She sniffled hard, stopping the flood, before taking a sigh and flopping against Brant, head turned to the side.

"I'm so spent, my nerves are so on edge... Ugh, I just need this hug for a second. I'll go with you, just..." she sighed again, squeeeeezing him tight, before finally letting him go.

"Okay! Okay, I had my moment. Let's get a move on so you can get out of... W-Wow... I uh, sorry for the hug." She hadn't taken the time to notice what he was wearing, and was regretting it quite a lot. "I can... Wait here, if you want. While you go change. Or go with you. Or whatever, heh... Wh-Whatever works best!" Good going, Chrissy...

Long Car Ride

"Nervous?" was all Olivia had to ask Val as they drove on towards the Riese. She didn't feel like speaking up or starting anything else in the tight space, that could wait until later. She'd finally found her~

The ship came into view, and even Olivia couldn't stop her nearly blank face from looking just a bit interested. She'd never seen such a structure before, and it was a bit daunting to know they'd be inside of that in a few moments time. The driver called to the ship, probably for whoever was expecting the volunteer's arrival.

Short Break, Extended

It hadn't even been fifteen minutes since Tristan put down the radio, to when it sprang back to life. That had been incredibly fast... "Yes, ensign Calvin here. I read you just fine. If you've got the volunteers, proceed to the docking bay. The ship's connecting bridge has been attached already. Just take the elevator up and walk through it, we'll have someone there to meet you." For once, it wouldn't be Tristan. Dwight had practically ordered him to take a break, and they could get someone else to lead them through the Riese to the med bay. That wasn't a hard job... One of the others in the bridge, or whoever else was about.

Edited December 1, 2016 by Narumeia