Super Robot Wars ∀: Deep Space IC Thread - Part 2: Of Dire Tides

[Phoenix]

Good guesses, Megumi thought. Now it was time to see if she could give away the last one without having to name them on her end. "I'm sure you can guess the third. They're your biggest dissenter from the look of things. As for why I'm asking ... it's for research. I think we were both surprised by how things turned out during the meeting. I understand the basis for the backlash, but not the severity." It may very well just come down to Astin and Elaine being bad 'soldiers,' and Roxanna being dangerously jealous, but the doctor's curiosity promised her more interesting possibilities for at least the first two. "I suppose I'd also like to see any future bouts of violence coming, as well," Megumi concluded, glancing over at Nikolai and company, again.

---

Brant's face went completely blank as he looked at Abigail. "You were expecting a different result?" Granted, he had been, too. It didn't seem like Juria to be so threatening. Maybe Abigail meant Brant's problem in particular when she said that ... "Normally I can tune most things out, but it's easier if I'm farther away," he explained, rubbing at his temples. "On that note, what were you so angry about?" Abigail's anger paled in comparison to Juria's, but it had still been there at one point.

[Nanami Touko]

Dissenter

"Y-You... That's... An incredible breach, Megumi. I..." She sighed. Could she really give over permissions to the doctor about the XO? Things like that... "...Fine. I-I'm changing your authority in the s-system for those three. You should be able to a-access their files now. I... Please d-don't make me regret this, Doctor." While she fiddled with the tablet in front of her on the table, Dwight came in, giving her a start.

"D-Dwight! Hello... Oh." What had happened... Recent events. "I-I've let Abigail out as a t-temporary pilot, permanent i-if she performs well." Jess laid it out bare. She had no intention of dancing around that. Whether or not Dwight agreed was of no consequence either, he was retired... It wasn't like she couldn't handle another person looking down at her, right? R-Right... Ugh... "Before you g-get on my case, we're in an unknown scenario and we l-lack pilots and resources... She's agreed to have a r-remote bomb in her robot as a last straw, i-if it's seriously necessary. She won't cause trouble... So w-we have to use all the able bodies we have available, at l-least until we can get to Central and refresh s-stock."

Knock Knock, Who's There

"Elaine?" came Christina's voice from behind her door. "Are you there? You forgot to tell me what you wanted, so i came back..."

Straight Forward

"Blade lock, definitely. Fer clashes an' parryin', y'all should be fine. It ain't gonna melt unless yer exposin' it ta plasma fer more'n five er so seconds. Ain't gonna go over well iffin ye do, so jus' make sure ye treat the thing like what it is: a gun. Blade's only there cuz it's gon' be hard aimin' this an' havin' a beam saber out, alright? Last resort, you feel me... Or fer assaults, but I'd rather ye use the energy an' th' ammo."

It was hard for her, huh. Avery shrugged, shaking her head. "S'about what I expected. Girl ain't fit fer this sorta fightin'... but, if yer sure, I'll do just that. Won't take me long... Don't push her, y'all understand? It's real obvious she's feelin' somethin' bad. Iffin she wants t'keep tryin', sure, but, if she gets in th'way of yer pilotin'... I'm gonna have t'have her removed. Ain't safe. Y'got me?" Avery tipped the rim of her ballcap, hoping she was understood.

"Oh, last question. Color scheme an' name. This here's a prototype, still gon' be stronger'n the mass production model. Give 'er a name, would'ja? An' some colors fer me t'spend an hour slappin' on."

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Dandragon]

Elaine's thought process was interrupted by the sound of Christina, and she nearly jumped as a response. She turned, seeing the door was still closed, and took a quick moment to catch her breath and compose herself.

"Uh...Steak and a Salad!" She yelled out to Christina. Elaine should have probably specified what she wanted earlier, but it was a bit too late for regrets. The entire conversation with Louise had honestly made her forget that Christina had left to get food for her. Wait...Wasn't Christina ex-Apotheosis?

[riariadne]

Dwight raised an eyebrow at Jess's stuttering explanation. "Captain Gefalscht, it's not me who is most important to convince of the new recruit being a sound idea, it's the pilots invited here- and from my understanding through discussing the events of the meeting, they are largely opposed to the idea despite that being the purpose of it. You hardly sound convinced yourself even now, and remote detonation is an incredibly drastic measure to employ. But, that I am skeptical is not the most important issue. You have made your decision, and it is neither in my power or within my duty to ask you to reverse it. Instead, I bear advice."

He paused to carefully consider the words as to not further upset the young woman who already did not seem in the most sound mindset. "Confidence is key, Captain. If you are certain that this is the correct decision to make, but you do not present it that way... then it comes off as if you are not so certain about it at all. You may also not be certain that this is the correct path forward, and I am sure you have some reservations about it, especially after this... but making it less obvious is important. I believe that is a large part of why the crew is against you on this. I do not mean to upset you, but when a majority of the crew is against you on this matter, then you will have to be confident in yourself. If you doubt this decision, and the crew knows you have doubts, then it is no surprise that they will question what you say. And then if you decide to go through in spite of your own doubts and that of those around you, their faith in you as a leader may be shaken unless you are proved correct. That is the struggle you face right now."

"Not all decisions we make can be correct as a leader. You have been largely successful so far, for which I commend you, but this meeting- regardless of what happens on the battlefield after it- was not successful," he continued. "It's challenging. Perhaps the additional pilot will make all the difference, but if Abigail does not prove her worth, it is difficult to fault the crew of the Riese for questioning her place there. It was not long ago that she was engaged in combat with us, and her own attitude far from helps the matter. Yet, this isn't to dishearten you, Captain Gefalscht. To those who are not confident, or do not display confidence, it is not an easy process to learn. Let this be a lesson to you. Instead of springing the decision at once in this meeting, which was surely surprising to most of the attendants of it, perhaps a different course of action would be to ask others on it first. Even if you were convinced to allow Abigail a chance, you could inquire how best to present that to the crew. After all, as Captain, you have the last word- but, that needn't necessitate that you make every decision alone. The burden of leadership is best handled shared, Jessica. That is something I have learned over the years."

[Nanami Touko]

Steak???

"Wha... S-Steak? I... O-Okay... Hope they have something easy to cook..." Christina hadn't spent any time looking at the kitchen on the Riese, having whole, cut, easily prepared steaks... Was that something it was going to have? "Salad's easy enough, I guess..."

Bored Visit

While Val and Olivia dealt with Nikolai, Megumi's door opened, Cheryl yawning her way in. A curious eye caught the boys, casting a smile and offering a wave to Tarquin. But, her target wasn't the boy, today. She stepped over to Megumi's desk, sitting herself onto it, leaning over at her. "So, Megumi, since no one bothers to come and see me downstairs, tell me what's going on up here. Looks like there's a bit of a mess over there with the new boy. Did our tiger give him that, or did he manage to piss off someone calmer?" Being so close to the good doktor was probably bothering her; she knew Megumi hated that smell on her breath.

Pure Frustration

Jess sighed. This whole lecture was something she didn't need to hear. It wasn't even all right. Ugh... Ugh! "It was not the m-majority! It was Astin and E-Elaine! Tarquin, Kim, Brant, e-even Megumi were all fine with this! The only r-reason I sound like I d-d-don-don't-- UGH!" She slammed her fists into the table, getting herself riled up. "Is because of this stupid stutter! I can't c-control-- Hrrr! I can't control it! It just... It just happens! I don't know why, I don't kn-know how, it just... It's not, something I can stop... I'm entirely confident of my choice!"

She bit her lip, trying to calm down, collapsing back into her chair, panting quietly. "I am perfectly fine with my decision. I trust A-Abigail to not backstab anyone, to not cause problems with the crew... And I can only h-hope that once she proves me right people will s-stop questioning my decisions. It's everything with these people. And the burden of l-leadership is shared, hah! Roxanna is a conniving snake who's t-trying to take me out on every decision I make-- wise, well intended, good for the crew, or not! No m-matter what I do. I can't share any leadership with h-her; I can't have s-someone that I don't trust giving me any a-advice."

She sighed, dipping her hat over her head. "If that's all, then go away. I'm t-tired of listening to all of this... And I'm tired of the c-crew not trusting me on these choices. Too tired. So l-let me get my bearings back..." The less she had to deal with this ridiculous stutter, the better.

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai allowed himself to still for a moment, his skin prickling in hot sparks under his skin as the strange women approached him once more. He'd been more or less given orders to try to settle down and let them do their work, although having girls touch him and enter his personal space without his express consent was not exactly something he was particularly thrilled with. It wasn't that he didn't trust them to do their work, it was simply that his history with female doctors looking at what was physically broken and in need of improvement hadn't been particularly pleasant, although he did suppose that the general response to the artificial additions Dr.Zima had made in his regards did at least seem to suggest that he wouldn't leave the medical bay with an artificial snout of any sort.

Although maybe such a device would improve his general appearance somewhat. His own nose had always been slightly crooked and shoved-in looking from the amount of blows it had taken (plus the one more he'd just received).

"Alright, I let look..." He muttered as he tried to keep his eyes firmly glued to the ground, focusing instead on the scent of antiseptics and medicine in the air rather than the anxious twinge in his chest.

Edited July 14, 2017 by Yuuki Mishima

[Balcerzak]

"All right," Thorvald nodded to Astin, "Maybe I'll drop by your room later in the afternoon then." It was fine to give the lad some time to himself, all things considered. He'd only followed after as soon as the meeting had ended to make sure they were both all right and not going to do anything stupid, and for the most part those objectives had been accomplished. The rest of the lecture could wait.

"Juria, I'd started in on this earlier, but didn't get to finish. I think you're devaluing yourself quite a bit too much, and bear in mind the captain is far from perfect." Gesturing vaguely to the floors above them as they moved on past the middle-deck, nobody seeming to want to get out, despite Astin's having put in the call to make a stop, just in case. "It sounds like Dwight didn't get to weigh in either, and Roxanna was certainly also broadsided. I'll see if I can't talk to her again, in private, about some of these concerns, but I can't make any promises on immediate changes."

Thorvald wasn't quite sure how to allay some of the engineer's other concerns, but maybe while he was having coffee and she was digging into whatever snack she ended up fixing herself... hmmm. Gears started spinning in his mind.

~~~

Abigail flinched a little at the stressed incredulity in Brant's voice. "Look, I mean... I was just saying what everyone was thinking... and didn't expect my yelling at her would affect you one way or another... Her friend, though, like, whoa..." she began to reply indignantly, then quickly trailed off into mumbled excuses. Not liking the awkward feeling that was settling in, she went back over the other things he'd said, which didn't make complete sense. Were there really enough squabbles on board that tuning them out had to become something like second nature for him though? Well, there was Elaine, and apparently this Juria... It might not be so improbable a scenario after all?

Finally lowering her hand to her side, and resting it on her hip, Abigail tried looking Brant in the eyes as she replied, not even phased that he'd noticed she was angry. It had been obvious, after all; anybody should have. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "I wasn't planning on saying anything, was just gonna try to just push it aside, but since you're asking straight up, fine. Don't expect you to much care once you've heard, but whatever. I'd been doing my best to try not to think about Mary and Felix, and anybody else you might've killed. It wasn't going all that well, but I was trying."

 

[Dandragon]

"Just...Any sort of meat will do! Alright?" She yelled one last time from inside her room, before she heard Christina leave. So much for giving people a chance, she thought. If I knew any better, that call was just to make me doubt everyone around me. Of course, it was a possibility that Elaine kept in mind. But, the fact of the matter was that she was called, in her room no less, by a person she did not know, who knew about a meeting that they should not have, and knew what happened in said meeting. They had introduced themselves as Louise Park, no doubt an alias they used often, and as the second Lieutenant of Apotheosis, and even tried to get her to join over her anger with...well a lot of people on the ship.

Elaine walked over and sat down on her bed, once more. She was angry about the situation, yes, but now was no longer the time to be angry. Now was the time to think about it, carefully. There were several ways that Apotheosis could spy on them, even in just the meeting room. After moments of deep thought, Elaine came up with three different options. Number 1: Apotheosis members had somehow placed a bug within the meeting room, whether it was on one of the people that attended or being placed within the room itself. Number 2: Someone was a mole for Apotheosis, supplying information that they heard and witnessed directly to them. Number 3, and by far the scariest one: Somehow, Apotheosis had hacked into their surveillance system, which meant they could still be possibly watching her, right now.

Elaine didn't have any conclusive evidence for any of them, given that it had been just one conversation. And she doubted that it would happen again...

[Phoenix]

"Thank you, Captain," Megumi responded. Sure enough, a tiny notification had popped up regarding her permissions. "I'll be responsible with it." Now it was time to get back to it ... figuring out just how messed up the group dynamic was. At least that's what would have been up next, had Cheryl not emerged from hibernation down on the crew deck. Sure enough, she was out of the loop for the moment.

Trying to ignore the cigar smell long enough to explain, the doctor pointed toward the infirmary door, trying to indicate the meeting room just across the hall. "Pretty much. The captain just held a meeting a few minutes ago. She wanted to let everyone know she was adding our latest prisoner to the team. Introductions, taking questions, that sort of thing. The 'tiger' obviously wasn't happy about that, and since Nikolai can't seem to pass up a chance to get himself killed, he got on her case. Plenty more happened, but the meeting more or less ended on that note."

Megumi's nose really wasn't happy with her right now, though no more so than Nikolai's. If not for the alcohol telling her that everything was going to be all right, and her growing curiosity about the dissenters, she would have gotten on Cheryl's case about her smoking, right away. For the moment, she could only wince slightly throughout her explanation. It was just one more boon turned penalty of hers, an exceptional sense of smell. "While the minions treat Nikolai, I'm looking into some things to see if there isn't more to the individual objections." She just had to know what was up with Roxanna, too, admittedly. The more she thought about what the XO had said before storming out, the more it interested her. "Welcome back into the loop. Now, could you do something about that cigar smell?"

---

So that's what it was. Had Brant in particular taken those two down? Abigail definitely seemed to be implying as much. It made sense, too; Brant was the Riese's only Accensus pilot. The others had been in legionaries and velites, so identifying them may have been more difficult. Still, Abigail had at least managed a few; and picked the wrong tour guide, in hindsight. Then again, maybe that was intentional. Brant smiled somberly, though it was faint. Now that she'd brought them up, the TK felt more justified than ever in his approach to combat, as silly as it made him feel, and despite having not yet made a difference. Not aiming for cockpits, giving an enemy that wasn't coming down on his allies right then and there every opportunity to bail out or flee, even radioing for them to do so at times ... none of that had saved anyone, but at least the guilt he carried was light and manageable this way. Even that was beginning to evaporate in light of Apotheosis' attacks.

There was no point in getting into the details. Brant didn't have any excuses, and didn't need any, either. "Well ... you'll have to tell me all about them, sometime. That's what I deserve." He'd tried to phrase the suggestion like a punishment, despite some mild curiosity on his part. "Even if it doesn't make you feel better, it's way more productive than telling the others off like that. This isn't a typical ANF unit," not by any stretch of the imagination, "... some of us aren't ... aren't quite balanced. I guess what I'm trying to say is ... if you really want to vent, you can use me for that. There isn't much I can't handle, so if it'll help, go right ahead."

Edited July 14, 2017 by Phoenix

[scorri]

The pilot was clearly not comfortable with this whole situation, but Val had to do what she needed to do. Slipping a pair of gloves on quickly, she gently reached out and lightly pressed around Niko's nose. While it was very clearly tender, and had likely been broken at some point in the past, at first feel, the nose did not seem to be freshly broken. With a nod to herself, she backed off, stripping the gloves off as she did and dropping them straight into a nearby waste container. "You should be able to just clean his nose off and let him go assuming it's stopped bleeding. It looked like it had, but just be careful when cleaning it. Or... uhm, I suppose you could clean it yourself. I missed your name but... You're clearly not comfortable. Would it make you feel better if you were cleaning your face yourself? If so, that would work. Just... be careful the next couple of days when you blow your nose and try to keep it from getting hit again. If it's still swollen and hurting in a couple of days, come back. We can check it again and possibly set it then if it is actually broken." She was 90% sure it wasn't but it was hard to tell with the blood and the fact that his nose seemed to have been in less than stellar shape even before the punch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astin couldn't help the small sigh that escaped. "There's no need to stop by later. I'm sure you have better things to be doing." They were not at all interested in the lecture that seemed to be in their future. Yes they had overreacted but Thorvald should know why. They'd explained what had happened in the past. Why couldn't he just leave it be?

"Juria, you are important here. I'm sure the captain didn't invite you only because you're not a pilot. You've been my co-pilot, yes, but... Officially you're not a pilot. And you know that. But that doesn't mean that people don't care about your opinions. I think... Things went bad enough with the small group we had. I can't imagine adding more people would have helped things. Perhaps the captain was just nervous about reactions and so she limited the number of people that would be there for the first meeting." Thorvald seemed to have things in hand, so that was good. Maybe he would be able to get to the captain better than anyone else.

Edited July 18, 2017 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

Solution

"Wow, another one? Pretty nice girl in charge, isn't she. Seems like her choices aren't turning out that great if Nikolai's getting into fights... Then again, it's the Tiger. Probably the easiest to upset here. I shouldn't speculate too much on her with you; she did come see me for a meeting. Confidentiality, and all that, you know the drill... Still, could be good for you to go poking your nose around. You're... A bit more persuasive than I am. Also no, I won't do anything about it... Hmm. Well, actually. Set me up a shot of your pipe cleaner. That'll probably take care of it, and anything else stuck in my throat. Seriously... You get on me for smoking, but your liver's probably crying."

Cleanliness

Olivia grabbed another pair of gloves as Val took hers off, holding them and waiting. "So, what's it gonna be? Am I cleaning off your face, or are you good to do so yourself? And, try not to get punched again. Don't want it to actually break on you... Who did it, anyway?" No point in not prodding in, just a bit.

[Phoenix]

Indeed. Jessica was too nice. Elaine was too feisty. Nikolai was too broken. Megumi wasn't expecting Elaine's details from Cheryl, though if she hadn't gotten the captain's permission to look further into the pilot's data, she certainly would have been tempted to try that route, or at least get the woman's overall opinion and advice. It was difficult to ask for advice when it was her nose, not her liver, that was crying currently.

"This is nothing. My liver is cackling as we speak," Megumi jokingly waved off the remark as she poured Cheryl a shot, her expression blank as always. "I truly feel for your lungs, though. Have you talked with them about how your smoking is for the greater good, yet?" On that note, the doctor poured herself another. Two ... maybe three more more ought to do it, get her to that elusive sweet spot. She couldn't always aim for it, but when she was there, it was wonderful. The doctor was typically still functional enough to do simple tasks, but total failure, and frustrating people, didn't bother her one iota at that point. It was a good place to be in her downtime, unfettered, but not clowning around with a hangover lurking in the shadows.

[riariadne]

Jess's outburst didn't faze Dwight at all, having seen many, many worse over the years. "Is that so? Specialist Eriksson seemed to express some level of dissatisfaction with the outcome, not to say the least of Juria, whose outburst was nothing quite like anything I've ever seen before. And to say that Abigail is unlikely to cause trouble is quite optimistic, especially when she seems eager to to get reactions out of others. Regardless, there was plenty of argument present after the meeting still. As I said, it's not up to me to decide whether or not she operates as a pilot. You are the Captain- you have the last word here."

"However, I still can't help but think that your point of view on the situation is rather narrow. It's true that Executive Officer Martinson can be quite disagreeable with you, and that the two of you are unlikely to have constructive discussions with one another in the near future. However, the Heion Riese has plenty of other members on the support staff to rely upon. You may, for instance, have someone on board who has decades of experience leading a ship's crew through disagreements that was assigned to the ship specifically to give advice, and who is happy to provide it if requested." He stopped for a moment- perhaps that sounded rather egotistical, but on the other hand, it was true that under Jess's current leadership, the crew's relationships were quite fractured. "Or even Ensign Calvin is someone you could ask if you wanted someone who is closer in experience to you with a level head. Even if you're sure about a decision, then you can always ask on how best to present that to the rest of the crew. A second or third opinion can do wonders in finding ways to express yourself. I will repeat- should you try to only shoulder the burdens of leadership yourself, it is all too easy to crumble under pressure. And... Captain Gefalscht, there is plenty of help to be found with dealing with stutters, if you look for it."

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai rolled his eyes slightly as he watched the women work, his muscles rigid and tense with the hot shot of anxiety coursing through his veins. He inhaled sharply as he tried to speak, his lips pulled into a tight grimace as he felt the sting of disinfectant on tender skin.

"You can clean if like, is job da..." He muttered, it wasn't as though he intended to get his face violently abused on a daily basis, "I do not intend to get punched in face. Is fault of red hair girl... Elaine, I think is name. Is my fault, I have big stupid mouth and talk to much."

[Juliette]

"B-but I... if Captain care about Juria, why she try make me work with Abby..." Juria sniffled, starting to cry and clinging onto Astin's shoulder, Reo jumping to the ground next to her. "It not fair! She just w-want that to go away, no punishing for horrible things to Juria's home, pretend okay when she fly near. Not seem like J-Jess Captain consider feelings of me when make that decision. But m-maybe she not good at consi-sidering feeling for all of people on ship... It all not make sense! Am not only person from First Colony, other engineers and mechanics who have same home as Juria asked work with Abby not fair to them either! Juria not lose anyone, but maybe that not true of others! Why am Abby's feelings valued more than innocent people!" She didn't notice they were all on the ground floor, dragging Astin alongside her as she started walking, Reo trailing behind. "I not understand that... are not us more important?"

[Nanami Touko]

Correct

Jess sank into the seat as far as she could go as Dwight continued, presenting points she knew were true, she just hadn't thought of them. She also didn't think about the rest of those present on the ship, and their reactions towards Abigail's joining. Juria was likely devastated... And Abigail was causing trouble with them? Ugh. Jess would have to talk to her... And so many other people. "Yeah... I'll see a-about asking you, or T-Tristan, if there's ever a next time... Or for other th-things. As for the stutter... No, there r-really isn't. I've taken speaking classes, r-run by professionals. They all think I-I'm a lost cause for this. I don't think it's g-going away any time, s-soon..."

Lungs

"Yeah, cackling. I'm sure my lungs are doing just the same. Don't try to act like your poison is any better than mine, Meg. Gimme that..." She'd tried Megumi's terrible turpentine before, and it never got any easier. It was like eating a ghost pepper; even if you'd done it before, more than once, it didn't get any easier the next time. And it wasn't easy, Cheryl coughing quietly as the formula made its way down her throat. "Ugh... I don't understand how you can drink this regularl-- Ahk, ahuck... G-Geez. You could clean pipes with this. Bill could clean the ship, with this. You'll be operating on yourself in no time if this is what you put through your liver, cackling or not."

"If that's all, and I'm caught up, then there's still someone I have to check on. Did you hear? The android we brought on board had a melt down. Had a personality now. Isn't that strange? I've never tried to poke around a mechanical brain, but I figure it's worth a shot." Slipping off of Megumi's desk with another small cough, she shook her head, giving the bottle a worried glance. "Just... Don't kill yourself with that. Bye bye."

Am I

Avery brought them all into her mini hangar; with the Mark III out and about, it wasn't necessary to keep secret any longer. With Bill on standby in case something broke, and Tarquin there to ask a bunch of questions, Avery set about the first thing. Having Hannah shut down.

"Now, Hannah, I know yer... Scared," which felt incredibly odd to tell a machine, "but I need y'all to trust me. If yer still on when I start touchin' an' addin' stuff, it's gonna cause problems... You trust me, right?"

Hannah had no real reason to distrust Avery, she was not affiliated with the colonies and stood to gain nothing by tampering with things. Nodding, with apprehension, Hannah sat down on Avery's work bench and began shutting herself down. It would take a moment, which would let Avery explain to Tarquin what was going on.

"Alright... Hannah's... 'Thinking', fer lack of a better term. I dunno iffin it was you er someone else, but they put some thoughts in her processor an' it's causin' her to crash. The concept of being is... Foreign, t'robots. They don't have directives to exist. But they do exist, so when they have t' come ta grips with it all, it's like... Hmmm." This was difficult for Avery to explain. Especially to someone so young.

"Hannah is HAn4. But... She's also, 'Hannah'. Iunno if this makes sense, but, er... Now that she's startin' formulatin' on what a personality is, there ain't just the robot an' the directives in there, 'nymore. Any o' this makin' sense? An' she's freakin' out cuz her processors don't got th' power t'... T' make a brain, y'know? The human mind, it's... Too much fer a robot. Ahhh..."

Avery was a mechanic, not a scientist. All o' this was just stuff she'd heard in school, not anything she'd hard studied. She wanted to make sure this was coming across properly, but she didn't know if she was...

Bill and Tarquin had followed Avery, neither of them had been aware of her tucked away hideout. "Didn't know that this place was in use, never thought to give it a Captain Cook." Bill commented, his eyes already inspecting every surface present. It wasn't as if it were innately filthy, but he was itching to give it his personal touch. However, there were more important things to deal with - you didn't clean the floors if you had a leaky pipe. "They did a mighty fine job making her, probably put together better than this ocker standing here! Wouldn't be surprised if some of the youngsters here were machines too, folk like the Captain and this ankle-biter here are pretty impressive!"

Tarquin wasn't sure what to make of that comment, it hit a little too close to home for his tastes. "That would be... interesting, Mr Taylor." he replied, trying to get through the man's ramblings as quickly as possible. Thankfully, Avery was able to engage him in a more intelligible conversation. "So you're suggesting that she's developed a logical thought progression that exists outside of the three laws of robotics? And the amount of memory processing required in order to accommodate that isn't sufficient to provide a stable mental state? Would it be correct to assume it to be akin to an inorganic counterpart of delirium?"

Avery had impressed him, he'd originally thought she was a careless monkey with a wrench and it was perhaps reassuring to be proved wrong. It would be unreasonable to expect her to be fully versed with the academic literature. "Would providing more processing power be able to remedy her condition?" Tarquin asked, hoping that it wouldn't simply reset Hannah to being a directive driven machine, part of him actually preferred a more human touch to her. "Do all machines run the risk of becoming aware of their own existence?"

Hannah finished whirring, the light fading from her eyes, as she went entirely limp. Avery could work slow while trying to entertain Tarquin's questions. Maybe he wasn't just a squirt... He had a fantastic pilot record, sure, but anyone with proper training could shoot a gun... That he was talking about these things as if he had a deep knowledge of them really surprised her. He might've known more than her.

"I'd be surprised if there was anyone more advanced'n Hannah, Bill. She's part o' the latest run. These babies take a lot o' money to produce, just fer the parts, so they don't make 'em often. Just fer the colonies... Real expensive bodyguards. You saw the number she did t'the rebels by herself, didn' ya? That's why they make 'em."

As for Tarquin... "Big fan o' readin', huh? These androids already don' follow the three laws. They're programmed to kill. Or, I s'pose, they follow a modified version o' the first one, and then everything else. Hmm. It's like this."

Avery got to work on opening up Hannah, while thinking about how to order it. "Three laws work fer yer typical mall robots. The ones without yer thinkin' programs, y'know? Security, servers, the standard. They won't harm no one, listen, and keep 'emselves safe iffin it don't conflict with the first two. Hannah's line..." It was hard to properly form this.

"Rule one's that they listen to orders. Rule two is keepin' those they're affiliated with safe. Rule three is self preservation, as long as that don't get in the way o' keepin' someone safe. Ain't nothin' in Hannah about not killin' no one... An' maybe that's why they keep her shut down when she ain't workin'." Avery popped the back of her head open, getting a look inside, and grimacing slightly. The girl's circuits were definitely overheating, one of her coolant fans had burst. That would need serious replacing...

"S'like delirium, yeah... Er, I-I think. I ain't that great with human biology. That's like, hallucinations an' stuff? Ain't like that, more like... Her programmin' is tryin' t'reject this new aspect. Directive says she's unit HAn4, thinkin' A.I. says she's Hannah. They clash, she can't get a proper answer, she crashes, like a computer would. An' more processin'... Nope. That's just gonna make it so she ain't gonna crash. It ain't gonna give her an answer..."

Avery sighed, gently removing the broken fan, reaching just below the table for one of her omnitools. "Bein' 'round y'all will. An', you don't gotta worry 'bout that. Ain't no terminator movie come t'life. Hannah's just a unique model, from a small line. If she were back on th' Colony... They'd prolly erase her data an' setup a new Hannah. Now... How am I gonna get this t'fit... Might have t'just tear out these fans an' improve her liquid coolin' to cover her whole circuitry... Riskier, since she's in live fire, but... Better'n her fallin' apart 'cause of this."

Bill had been stunned into silence for a brief moment, the cogs in his brain grinding to a standstill as he failed to understand a single concept in Avery's explanation. "It's like I don't even know Christmas from Bourke Street. Good thing we have whizkids like you two dealing with all the hard stuff, an ocker like me wouldn't know where to start!" he laughed, not phased by being completely out of his depth with the conversation. "Right on ya both for sticking to your books."

There was still an unsettling familiarity to Avery's description of Hannah. Huge investments, cutting edge technology, limited production lines... she was practically describing him. He even had his own list of directives, although they consisting of killing the enemy, staying alive and blowing himself up if all failed. Looking back, that kind of existence was all he knew, and after what he'd experienced, he didn't want to go back having it alone. The same applied to Hannah, surely being Hannah was better than H4N4? 

"It makes sense that her directives would need to be tailored to accomodate combat within her decision making. I can certainly see the similiarity in hierachy." Tarquin replied, the praise from Bill feeling more genuine than the jibes from Thorvald. "Delirium can also create a degree of emotional lability and an impairment of cognition due to reduced cognitive reserve, although the comparision does have its limitations. I do have one question though..."

It was a little strange that he wanted it clarified, but it was something he felt he needed to ask.

"Hannah's going to be able to have those feelings still after you fix her, right? It's going to be better than just following her programming, isn't it?" he asked, wanting to allow Hannah the emotional freedom he'd been denied for so long.

"Well, we're all good fer somethin', Bill. I can keep m'space clean, but I don' think I'll ever manage t'wash up like you do. S'like you were made fer cleanin'. It's kinda scary, sometimes..." Avery gave the janitor a cocked eyebrow and a smile, storing Tarquin's added descriptors of delirium to her own 'memory banks'.

His next question was... Unexpected. The little egghead, she hadn't seen him a lot, but what she had seen of him was very cold. Stoic. Calculated. Whoever's project he was, he certainly hadn't come across as the heartfelt type. So why not play with that a bit, and see how much he was willing to let out?

"What do you think would be best?" She let Hannah sit as she moved to another storage compartment, checking specific containers for a suitable paired processor. "Would be it better fer her t'be the machine she was made t'be, followin' orders an' bringin' back results... Or should she be able t'think fer herself, make choices, an' be... Human. I could reset her, but would that sorta free thinkin' be better?"

Of course, she had no plans at all to reset Hannah. At the least, as someone interested in machinery and development, this sort of ghost in the machine-- it was unprecedented. It would mean so much for humanity's own progress if they could create artificial life like this.

"That's a bonza way of looking at it, Avery." Bill replied, rather chuffed with the compliment. "Sometimes I wonder if I was born in a bucket, would make a bunch of sense! Never could do much at school, but I always had a sorta way of figuring stuff out, never could explain it. Can't stand a grotty floor, and I like moving about, cleaning a place like this is pretty much heaven for me."

Tarquin was rather surprised that Avery had asked for his own input, surely she was just going to go through with her intended repairs? Her next comment was even more intrusive, he wasn't entirely sure whether she were talking just about Hannah or a broader concept including himself. His heart skipped a beat, an emotional response had bubbled inside of him, but he needed to keep it under control for his cover's sake. Thankfully, it seemed more like a leading question, Avery appeared to agree with him on the matter.

"If she were able to make more dynamic decisions, it would be beneficial for the entire team." Tarquin replied, suppressing the potential outburst for the time being. "Just because she isn't human doesn't mean that her feelings shouldn't be taken into account. The concept of ceasing to exist upset her before, it would be cruel to simply restore her to her factory default settings."

Deep down he knew he wasn't talking about Hannah, not entirely at least. The android's existence was far too similar to his own for him to formulate a cold logical opinion on. Whatever epxeriences he'd been through, they'd brought out an emotional reasoning from within him. There was a vulnerability that he never knew he could experience that came with it, but it also managed to alieviate many of his own woes from before.

"I'd personally prefer that she were to remain as Hannah, she makes better company that way." he added spontaneously, not realising that he'd let it slip out until afterwards. Whoever he was now, it wasn't the same boy from the training facility.

Avery smiled. "Just messin' with ya, Tarquin. Yer a real sweet kid, ain'cha? Hold onto that. Don't want you turnin' inta some cold soldier. I ain't gonna mess with Hannah at all, like I told 'er. So, you can sit here an' watch me work, or you can go hang out elsewhere. She'll be done in about an hour. Gotta make sure all the parts work with'er defaults and that they're compatible. Don' want her system tryin'a run somethin' that's just gonna cause an error."

The cooling wouldn't be that hard, really... It was just the processor. She wanted to put something in there that wasn't going to give the A.I. any trouble to integrate and run. She didn't have a copy of Hannah's on hand, either, so she'd have to make do with another brand. Bismarck gonna cut it? Er should I slap in somethin' from the TCI... I do got that EU one, maybe it'd be less hassle on th' system? Geez... This'll be more testin' than I figured.

Tarquin gave Avery a sharp look, he hadn't found her playfulness quite as amusing as she did. It did confirm his own perspective of himself though - maybe he wasn't quite the cold calculating soldier that he'd been raised as? Thinking about it was starting to give him a headache, it wasn't going to be a problem that he could solve in one sitting by himself. As much as he hated to admit it, he may have even needed a return visit to Cheryl to get to the bottom of it.

"I'd much prefer to remain here for the duration of the repairs, it would be interesting to see the practical application of what has just been described." he replied, regaining his cool demeanour. That and he wanted to make sure that Hannah would be alright after she woke up. "Do you have the components required for the repairs? If necessary, I may be able to make requests from my supervisors."

He'd been promised that he could have anything he wanted in exchange for his performance. In the past, most of his desires had been relatively small and affordable. Other than books, he'd never really had want for anything. Even if Avery were suitably stocked, part of him at least wanted to make the offer.

There was calm Tarquin, back in action. Avery had no problem with him staying there. Getting the proper parts, though... "I dunno if yer supervisors er gonna be able t'get things from th' colony. They're, uh... Bit preoccupied, up there." Tarquin knew what was going on, Avery just didn't want to say it again, and remind herself of the troubles happening.

"I'll make it work! I ain't the head mechanic fer nothin'. Gonna have Hannah up'n runnin' jus' fine in less than an hour. Gimme forty minutes. I got this~"

And true to her word, with a few sparks and the proper implements, Hannah was closed back up within the hour. A bit longer than forty minutes, but not beyond her initial promise. The moment of truth was all that mattered, though. Pressing a switch behind Hannah's ear, and holding it for a few seconds, the android began to start up again.

Her blue eyes shimmered for a moment, head slowly raising and looking around.

"...Avery? Tarquin?" The new voice remained, a hint of confusion to it. "Have I been fixed?"

"Nope," Avery said, flatly, "but y'ain't gonna crash anymore. So go ahead an' think about whatever you want."

"Think? I... I do not understand... But... That, is okay?" Almost in hesitation directed at herself, Hannah tilted her head and stared confusedly at the floor. Whatever Avery had done was causing her data to flow better, repeating itself a few times, but not causing issues in processing.

"I... I see. Thank you, Avery. Are you well, Specialist Herrington? I am sorry for causing you to go so far out of your way."

"I see, I suppose I can save my offer for a more suitable time." Tarquin replied, starting to wonder about the scale of the damage, both done by Apotheosis and their own squad. They'd probably caused a lot of repair work from simply being present, but the potential disaster they'd averted was justification enough to keep his mind at rest. Both Tarquin and Bill were rather curious to the nature of repairs, neither of them having any experience with the delicate android surgery Avery was performing.

"Reminds me of the time I had to take apart the vacuum cleaner, like trying to get a kangaroo fitted for a tuxedo." Bill remarked, peering over to look at Avery's work and then back at his watch. "I might have to leave you guys, dirt doesn't clean itself... Good thing too, otherwise this ocker would be scanning the newspapers until my eyes were coverd in ink!"

Leaving the pair, Bill shot Avery a friendly smile, mouthing the words "He's learning." as he left.

-

Tarquin had watched the repair intently, making a mental note of the parts and tools that Avery had used - mostly a result of his academic curiosity. He'd remained silent for the entire procedure, stepping back as soon as Hannah was reactived. It was the moment of truth, the outcome of the task had his opinion of Avery in the balance. With Hannah operating and fully conversational, Tarquin was almost pleased to revise his opinion on Avery - the rifle calibration was hopefully a one time event only. By technicality, a repair hadn't been made but that was an unnecessary detail when considering the full result.

"It would have been more problematic to leave you in the elevator, Hannah, it was no unwanted effort on my part. Miss Wright deserves the credit, her expertise was sufficient to aid your recovery." he replied, not entirely sure how to deal with her apology. "In the interest of saving time and considering our proximity, it would be easier to address me as Tarquin... that applies to both of you."

Of all the ways he could have asked to be called Tarquin, he hadn't exactly chosen a graceful approach. If only Avery had a way to upgrade him to make these things easier.

"Jus' doin' m'job, Tarquin. Don't go thankin' me that hard. Still ain't fergot 'bout what I did t'yer gun. It work fine t'day? Made sure I went'n fixed it before y'all took off." Avery was still embarrassed about that, but considering he hadn't complained and she hadn't heard anything from Buck, it must have been fine.

Hannah, meanwhile, smiled. Perhaps the most real smile she'd ever made. Even Avery was put off by how human it was, gaping at her for a moment.

"Thank you... Tarquin. It is a bit difficult to address you so personally, but I will adjust, if that is what you would prefer. Shall I accompany you back to the hangar? I wish to extend an apology and my thanks to Spe... Th-Thorvald." Her estimates suggested that Thorvald would feel similar to Tarquin in regards to names.

It was good to see that Avery was being humble, it made it far easier to overlook her previous mistake. He hadn't actually used his rifle since the colony mission, but he was starting to feel that a further revision to it would be unnecessary. "Its use was not deemed necessary whilst on the field. However, I shall be certain to inform you of its performance in any future missions." Tarquin replied, trying to put the miscalibrated shot at the back of his mind.

Hannah's suggestion to return to the hangar wasn't exactly high on his agenda. He was spending a lot more time around people than he was used to - and he wasn't really feeling up to seeing Thorvald just yet. "I was... intending to retire to my room for a little while to rest after the mission." he replied, making a conscious effort to be polite. "I'm sure Specialist Eriksson would appreciate a thank you, he does seem to enjoy getting involved with how other people are feeling."

Tarquin was still wary of Thorvald. It was likely that his interference was well intended, but it was something he wanted to avoid. Being treated like a child and being teased by an adult irked his sense of pride just a little too much, he may have been ready to converse with the likes of Nikolai or Hannah, but Thorvald was on a whole different level.

"Have a good one, Tarquin. Oof... Gonna need some coffee. Black. A lot of it... Figure Buck needs another hand in th'hangar." Avery yawned and, since the Mk.III was no longer a secret, left Tarquin and Hannah to leave on their own.

Hannah, struggling to deal with this new set of unlocked emotions, expressed both disappointment but acknowledgement at Tarquin's statement, finally settling on pleased. "I understand, Tarquin. I shall return to see how the repairs to the robot I used at proceeding, and to see him. Thank you for your help, once again." Taking her first new steps slowly to make sure Avery hadn't accidentally knocked over her balance sensors, Hannah proceeded to walk out after the head mechanic. This new sense of urgency was curious and terrifying.

[Balcerzak]

This wasn't going as poorly as she'd been fearing, though to be honest, Abigail hadn't entirely pinned down what she'd expected his response to be. Still, she narrowed her eyes a little while judging Brant's reaction. He seemed genuine enough, not excusing his actions, nor being proud of them. Just taking things on the level. Working forward from the present with the options available to him. A fairly admirable approach, even.

"Maybe I will then, tell you about them that is. But later. Part of me doesn't want to right now; dumb as it might sound, I want to keep feeling angry, for a while at least," she sighed and glanced to the elevator floor. "If I forgave and forgot so soon, it would be betraying them... more than I am already. So, maybe I'll cause a couple more problems here and there, but hopefully not too many, and maybe in time I'll be over it. But that's not really something that can be rushed, you know? I've just got to try not to get too angry... and avoid running into anybody else's trigger points while I am."

Abby sniffled slightly, and rubbed the knuckle of her index finger into the corner of her eye. Acceptably dry, she'd pulled herself together enough at least for that. "Anyway, if my other choices fall through, maybe I will unload on you some time. You do know that you're basically just inviting yourself some more headaches, though, right? I'm not the, uh, most maidenly of women, after all."

The elevator's doors opened shortly after she finished her sentence, they were that much closer to the destination. Hopefully whoever they ran into down here didn't also prompt sparks to fall into the powder.

Edited July 17, 2017 by Balcerzak
Thorvald will be coming in the morning

[Phoenix]

Although it didn't show on Megumi's face, Cheryl's little rant and coughing fit had certainly been amusing. "Trust me, my liver's fine," she said, "I have an extremely high tolerance for alcohol ... but awful smells are another matter," she added pointedly. And down went the next shot.

She was curious about who Cheryl was off to see next, and from the sound of things, it was the android they'd brought aboard from Colony One. Apparently it had been left on a bit too long and was starting to mature intellectually. At least that was how Megumi chose to interpret the information. "See you later, I suppose. Oh, could you talk to Elaine too when you get the chance? This may not be the most ideal roster, but she's really getting out of hand." Speaking of which, it was time to see if the doctor couldn't find out why.

---

This approach of Abigail's certainly sounded dumb, Brant agreed. He understood wanting to hold onto negative feelings for a time. Better to process them naturally than try to suppress them. Still, there had to be better ways to go about this than abusing the captain's good faith, and risking a serious backlash from the Riese crew in the process. Couldn't she just take her frustration out on Apotheosis like everyone else? Well, almost everyone else. "Look, I just don't want you to blow up anymore bridges," Brant frowned as they stepped out of the lift, "It's way too early to be giving everyone that kind of impression-" Another warning beep from his alpha tool. Rosa? Rosa. "Five minutes, already ...?"

[Nanami Touko]

Cleaning Job

"Sure thing. I'll see if I can keep her in line." Cheryl was out with a wave and nothing more.

Meanwhile, Olivia snapped a glove on, gently getting to work on cleaning the blood off of Nikolai's face. "Elaine, huh? Can't say I know which one that one is. Either way, if she's doing things like this, you'd better be saying a lot... This is a military vessel, right? Aren't you all supposed to keep the punching to the gym? Hit a bag, or something, not each other..." Maybe it was different on a space boat.

Friendly Smile

The doors to the middle floor slid open, Abigail and Brant coming face to face with the ship's latest resident. "Hello, Lieutenant Abrams, Abigail Casson. I was on my way to see the repairs done to the Velite I borrowed. May I accompany the two of you to the hangar? If that is your intended destination." Hannah was as talkative as ever, but alarmingly expressive, in tone and face. Whatever had happened to her had done a number to the cold unfeeling android shell she'd worn. "My apologies for being your adversary previously, but considering you are not walking around the ship unimpeded, I can only assume the captain has offered you similar to that of Private Troy or Nikolai Zelenko."

She extended a robotic hand to shake, her smile getting wider. "I am Hannah. It is my pleasure to meet you."

Edited July 18, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Balcerzak]

When Astin mentioned he didn't have to stop by at all, Thorvald just shrugged noncommittally. It's true, there were a lot of other things he did need to look into, but worrying about fellow pilots was pretty high priority as well. No promises either way on that one. The lad's contributions to the 'calm Juria down' endeavor were also welcomed, and indeed the two seemed to be especially close, if the clingy dependent response he got from the engineer was any indication. That boded well for future sorties, even if there were some doubts about her ability to actually contribute in the field. It was also now questionable whether Astin would be dragged to the cafeteria, or if he'd manage an escape before they passed it, and actually end up in his room after all. That little conundrum caused a slight smile to twitch across Thorvald's face. He quickly quashed it though, and tried again to address what seemed to be the fundamental misconception at hand.

"Juria, I highly doubt the captain based her decision on the feelings of anyone in particular, much less weighed the prisoner's over yours or the rest of the crew's. Sometimes a commander has to discard things like emotion in the face of the facts, and honestly speaking, we are woefully outnumbered, even if we fare better on a man to man basis than the enemy. So I can see why she might have been inclined to fall back on drastic measures, but the execution of that general plan certainly needed refinement, there's no arguing that. But she's not doing this out of spite, or ignorance," he felt confident enough to assert.

[Ether]

"Understand, Should be all question, will get feel for weapon in combat. As for Chrissy, so long T-link proper calibrate now, should be fine fly on own, but if she want help, can come with. Not need pressure her." Kim replied, squaring that information away in her head... after yesterday, it would be best if she went to check on Christina at some point soon, not having had the chance before their meeting this morning. Though, Avery's next question stumped Kim for a moment, as she hadn't been expecting it.

"Colour? Name? Not really consider... suppose same colour fly suit fine... but you make mech, better you name it?"

[Balcerzak]

Maybe Abigail's words had come out wrong, or maybe he'd misunderstood her, but it seemed like he thought she wanted to keep stirring up trouble with her anger instead of just stewing in it, unhealthily basking in its warm claws as they gently embraced themselves around her heart. "That's not..." she began to reply, before dual interruptions rendered her efforts moot. A beep--either a timer, or an expected message, or something of a similar nature--came from a tool around Brant's wrist, and she couldn't help but stop speaking and give it a curious look.

Before she could follow up with a relevant question on the new development, however, an even bigger shock awaited the unsuspecting pilot. "Jesus Christ! What. the. literal. fuck." Abigail's initially frenzied exclamation was followed up by a slower, more deliberate statement of disbelief. "Why is the murder bot here? Was she working with you all along?" Her hand instinctively reached toward where her gun would have been, had she been allowed to carry one, while she demanded answers of her guide, refusing for the moment to address the robot directly.

When it apologized and stretched out its hand, she felt obliged to at least say something, however. "I'm not falling for your Stepford Mallcop act. I'm onto you, Satan spawn."

[Phoenix]

Two shots later, Megumi had gotten through the majority of Elaine's profile. Nothing particularly incriminating there, but her history of anger issues was enough to have the doctor wondering why their resident hot head was assigned to this ship in particular. With a minimal roster of combatants, every last choice of pilots mattered. This wasn't a rehabilitation project. Well, it might have been, but if that was the case, it was the stupidest military decision Megumi had seen since her analyst days.

Another shot, and another profile. Astin's public information was unassuming, and the classified details as well, though to a lesser extent. One piece of information in particular had the doctor leaning closer to the monitor. "... killed ..." her eyes narrowed at the line detailing the death of the pilot's friend. She continued reading until she got to the end. While pouring herself another shot of her personal poison, Megumi thought back on the meeting, and Astin's flat out rejection of the captain's latest recruitment. "I should talk to them ... but that's Cheryl's job," she scowled.

Megumi was about to down the thing when she paused, looking at the small glass and wondering what number she was up to. "... I lost count, again." Focusing so heavily on display information like this had always led to little mistakes like that, particularly when she was trying to compile information for that idiot, Nicholas. She set the half full glass down and moved on to Roxanna's profile, skipping straight to the new information; the doctor had seen everything else before and remembered it easily enough. Soon, Megumi realized, Martinson's hidden information had been hidden for a very good reason.

"... are you serious?"

Megumi picked up the glass and immediately drank it, wincing at the XO's abysmal record in the field. The woman had some nerve coming down on the captain after getting her own squadron shot to pieces. It was the same kind of pointless death her old employer and savior, Nicholas, caused. The only meaningful difference seemed to be that the XO didn't have any of that relentless sigma charm to help smooth things over, after the fact. So what this means is ... if the captain ever loses her position to Martinson ... we're all going to die. Well, if that didn't plop the doctor squarely in Jessica's camp, nothing could. Roxanna had the shooting accuracy of a blindfolded chimp, and the pride of a politician. Her tactical sense didn't seem worth mentioning directly; the team she'd lost spoke for itself. The Heion Riese could only compensate for the crew's shortcomings so much, particularly the acting captain's.

Sighing and slumping down onto her desk, Megumi let the alcohol lead her by the hand away to temporary bliss ... and a tetris like melody. ... I am the clone - who arranges the shots - that descend into me from up above ... the spirits are real - and soon I will feel - that this world is a place of peace and love~

---

Brant certainly didn't have any issue with Hannah accompanying them to the hangar, but Abigail certainly did. She kept surprising him in that regard, though it was nothing that Brant found worse than anything he was already required to deal with. Although the pilot had several things to deal with at the moment, Rosa, Hannah's surprisingly human greeting, and Abigail's visceral reaction to it, he could only handle one thing at a time. Hopefully Rosa wouldn't be too upset having to not only wait an inordinate amount of time for Brant to get on the line, but also having to call back yet again, possibly in another five minutes.

"Hey, calm down--she already apologized. Besides, the situation's not quite that simple," Brant explained, grimacing up to that point, "She wasn't working with us from the start, at least. We just wound up teaming up. It worked out and there weren't any objections on either side, so she stayed with us. Speaking of which, Hannah, did you get an upgrade or something?" It was slightly amusing for Abigail to be calling Hannah a 'bot' when the android's human like behavior had never been more convincing.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Starlight Stage

"Y'all think I made it? I'm flattered, but, perty sure I told you that I was just sent t'work on it. My pa, over at Bismarck. He'za one that made it. Had it shipped onta the Riese personally. All I know how ta do is make the thing tick. Now... Iffin yer gonna make me name it, I ain't great at those, so I'm gonna give it somethin' dumb, like... The Idolblaster. Yer past ain't that secret, Miss Kim. So unless yer wanna be yellin' Idolblaster during sortie, I'd suggest figurin' something out. Don't have t'be now, just, before we take off. And iffin ye don't really care, we can just keep callin' it the Velite. I ain't a stickler. But pink and blue, huh... Alright. I can work with that."

Satan Spawn

"Er... Have I misspoke?" Hannah was confused by Abigail's angry outburst, the feeling showing on her face, her head turning mechanically between Brant and her-- some things couldn't be fixed entirely. "I... Suppose the emotion I should be expressing currently is forgiveness. I am... Not accustomed to this way of thinking. Yes, Lieutenant Abrams, I... Specialist Eriksson and Specialist Herrington activated a form of thinking A.I. within my processors. I was not suited to forming ideas or calculating answers for such complex thoughts. Miss Avery provided me with a suitable core for such ideas. I still do not have an answer, but I am no longer freezing on calculation or process. It is... A unique experience. To not be living, and yet, be. I do not fully understand, myself, so it is alright if you do not, either."

She turned to Abigail with a more fitting expression, that of sympathy. "You have my sincerest apologies for injuring your men. I was acting in defense of the colony, as I am sure your men were acting in defense of our attack. It is an... Unfortunate outcome. I will not ask for your compliance in working together, as I am sure you are feeling many conflicting things, currently. I would not understand them, but perhaps with time, I shall. If... You would prefer I not accompany you and the lieutenant to the hangars, I can engage myself elsewhere until you are finished."

[Shin]

Nikolai's nose repair appeared to have gone well, thankfully one of Megumi's underlings had some clue of how to manage it. It was reassuring to know that there hadn't been any serious damage, although Tarquin wasn't sure how well leaving Nikolai to clean himself would work out. Despite the damage control, the cause of the assault hadn't really been dealt with - Elaine was still as violent as ever. Hopefully there would be some sort of reprimand for her actions, she could get away with being disrespectful but physical force surely couldn't fly. Were things going to escalate as time went on? It had barely been a few days and Elaine had caused a lot of trouble. Her performance on the battlefield was already rather shaky, was she going to become an active detriment?

"Sergeant Elaine Hedrick. Conversation is rather low on her agenda, she's shown on several occasions that she is more than willing to use force." Tarquin added, still viewing Nikolai as the victim in the situation. "It may be preferable to be at a greater distance when conversing with her in future."