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

[scorri]

Astin nodded sympathetically to Chrissy, and then got pulled over to the doctor's question. "Ah, yes, the debrief has ended. It... was interesting. I suppose you two deserve to know... Apparently Tarquin and the girl we rescued were both originally from the lab that was attacked. They... Well, they were genetically engineered to be pilots. Grown, I suppose. It's why Tarquin left early. The professor who raised him ordered him back but then left with Apotheosis... We're not sure if he was trying to take Tarquin with him or get him killed, but that's what happened. I think the captain is still in there, talking to the Russians though?"

Astin wasn't exactly sure what was going on when the janitor was revealed as apparently another TK, but that wasn't overly relevant to them anyways. It's not like he was going to be shoved into a plane. If he'd been that strong of a TK, he would have been found already, right? Either way, it wasn't important enough to focus on. That was something for the medical team to handle.

~~~~~~~~

"Wait, what? Olivia, you're joking, right?" Val turned back to Bill after staring in shock at Olivia for a few seconds and quietly asking, "Err, well, were you ever tested for telekinetic abilities? It doesn't seem like you have very strong powers if you do have them but... It could explain some things. Like your head hurting. And why you've been sensing some of the stronger emotional things that have been happening. If that is the case... I could get you some asprin maybe?"

[Xinnidy]

Listening In

Makoto seemed to have a job set out for him nearly instantly, receiving headphones to do a job of transcribing, easy enough. "Ah, sure, I can do that." He put them on, hastily grabbing and started listening to the... dismissal from the Captain, and then the feed cut off. Oh, well, timing... Should he mention that straight away, or try to jot down... what would he even jot down? Could he rewind? There was always a way to rewind. Otherwise all he could make note of was that one of the pilots hadn't had the ability to access their pilot profile in the ship's registry. That didn't sound very helpful!

Other pilots were coming into the infirmary by now, so it seemed that his job was indeed over. Uh, unlucky... Not that it was that important, he took the headphones off and took a few steps towards Megumi, listening in to the conversation between her and Astin.

Needless to say, it was a bit of a hit to learn of Tarquin's origins that way.

"Ah..." Makoto's eyes were wide in shock, blinking rapidly as he tried to parse a response that wasn't just white noise. "So they made Tarquin..." That was a bizarre concept, one Makoto only expected out of science fiction these days. The technology was definitely there, but the legal and ethic implications around it were muck and grime. Tarquin... it sounded like he always knew it, then, and that this professor had a few screws loose. Furthermore, this pilot implied Tarquin had been abandoned by the man who raised him, for Apotheosis of all things. "I-I gotta talk to him later. This professor sounds like a real bad influence. At least he chose to stick with us in the end, right?" He smile, trying to cheer up the mood. Tarquin had fought tooth and nail with them in the last skirmish, and stuck to the team. That was good enough for Makoto. Now he had to remember to be sensible when addressing it, though... that was the hard part.

Busy Neighbors

There were a lot of people coming in the infirmary now. Silent as she was, Mai couldn't help but analyze and try to guess what kind of life these people had. There was only so much you could do in a hospital until you were bored out of your mind. The way they held themselves as they walked were the easiest part to pick up and start guessing from. Maybe it wasn't entirely accurate, but it was curious to see how many pilots --or at least she thought they were pilots--, could hold themselves with so little self-confidence. The purple-haired lad talking to Megumi seemed especially troubled. It seemed the discomforts of social life wasn't something the pilots needed training in.

Another curious note was how many of these pilots were women. Sure, having more women in the army was always a good thing, but Mai had to wonder how so many of them seemed so eager to the front lines. Especially that poor Korean Girl. They're all about his age, too... Mai couldn't help but keep observing whille holding back a frown. I hope I recover soon so I can keep an eye on him.

Meeting Woes

Tarquin and this Talia's nature led to quite a bit of reflecting, the XO had to wonder why such a professor was funded by the ANF to begin with. We need genetically engineered pilots? That almost sounded like something the EU would do, not them... and yet here they were. Corona Ten's classified procedures were finally revealed to her, and if it got to the public, it would be a right mess. That's dangerous... I need to keep an eye on this boy more than ever. She'd lost access to so many files with her demotion, too. It wasn't going to be a walk in the park to find more information about this doctor and his projects.

While the engineered kids were the highlight of the main meeting, as soon as the pilots were dismissed, their Russian Hitchhiker was back on action, having a few choice comments withheld until now. While it was cathartic to see Jess put on the spot on a normal day, it just didn't do it for Roxanna with all that weighed on her mind, so she remained expressionless. It was almost annoying to see Firmia trying (or skirting, what have you) to chew Jessica out, even, probably because she was also a pipsqueak. Just more full of herself. "The extra checking idea is simple enough. I usually get on the bridge earlier. It will be no problem to delegate it to me." She... actually did tend to get there before Jessica, on a good day. A surprising reflection. "On the other hand, I wasn't informed of this peculiarity of the Artemis either. We'll have to talk with the head mechanic about that." It was kind of scary, if they intended the effect and never put it on the report. At the same time... could it have been unintended? "Maybe it's a side effect of having more than one pilot in a T-Link unit?" Roxanna had no idea how T-Links worked, so that was her best guess. Christina was there to give Kim support, but maybe that was affecting the unit in some way.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Xinnidy

[Shin]

The cafeteria was the most logical place to source coffee, although its production was something he only had a theoretical understanding of. Tarquin could never quite figure out Nikolai's expressions, the sheet of skin acted as a mask to his feelings. It became easier once he started speaking, but the intricacies of his thought pattern were hidden until that point. Nikolai probably still had his own whole host of secrets, but unlike his own, Tarquin would allow their owner to reveal them at their own leisure. He'd pieced together parts of it, none of the tale was likely to be pleasant. However, it was Nikolai's own to tell - Tarquin more was more than happy to continue with their current dynamic.

"It's an intricacy that English language has, many words in either direction can be false friends. A word can phonetically or even written in a similar manner, but hold an entirely different meaning." Tarquin replied, following along with Nikolai. Now that he thought about it, nothing had really changed. Most people didn't mind, he could only think of one who would majorly object.

And there she was, Elaine, the uncivilised brute that continued to disappoint him, sat squarely in the cafeteria. It wasn't as if he felt the need to be hostile or inconvenience her in anyway, her presence was just unpleasant. No matter how many times he'd attempted to try and ignore her shortcomings or flaws, she just found further ways to solidify his opinion. After the day's events, he didn't even have the energy to acknowledge her, it was easier just to let her sit there.

"After coffee I would like to discuss a matter with T-2 and yourself." Tarquin added, leading Nikolai towards the store room. "Her suitability as a pilot is somewhat questionable. Considering the potential use of the Umbra, it may be beneficial for you to pilot it instead. The two units appear designed for cooperation, I feel that you would be the most suitable candidate."

-

"I'm not beautiful... the only person who said I was... it was T-1. He was always so kind, even though he was always sick." Talia replied, hiding herself away. She didn't have anything left, how could she go forwards when there was nothing that she'd achieved in her entire life? "I can't do anything else... I'm not even good at the thing I was made to do. I'm a disaster."

Talia looked up, wiping her eyes. Someone her age to talk to? She hadn't had anyone like that since she was young, it almost brought back happy memories of meeting the other researchers' children. She hadn't known how different she was from them back then, and as the years progressed she'd become more isolated. Was this finally her chance to try and make friends again? She smiled, it was funny, this Seung-Min had the same name as her favourite idol. It was probably a coincidence, fate had never been that kind to her. Friendship was a welcome distraction from the horrors she'd experienced, it could be the first step towards figuring life out.

"Is she... friendly?" Talia asked timidly, rising to her feet. Surely there had to be someone relatively normal on the ship?

-

Bill looked back at Val blankly, he really wasn't up to speed with what was happening. The confusion around his unknown abilities puzzled Bill, he hadn't been aware there was something wrong with him... or at least severe enough to cause alarm. "Tested? Was I meant to provide a sample?" Bill asked, he'd never heard of this telekisomething or another, but it seemed to be spreading through the crew. He made a mental note to wash his hands an extra two times after mingling with the staff - he didn't want anybody else to fall ill.

"If that's all it takes to get a drongo like me fit as a fiddle, I wouldn't say no to an aspirin." Bill replied, deciding that Kim was probably a case of mistaken identity. "Anything I should look out for? Should I watch out for the bities or is it a liquid laugh sort of deal?"

[Phoenix]

"Huh," Megumi lowered her head, trying to picture the revelation for herself, "Glad that cat's out of the bag." She hated keeping other people's secrets. Most of the time. Whatever was going on in the meeting room now didn't much concern the doctor, so she focused all of her attention back on the infirmary. "He wasn't in a good position to leave anyway," Megumi noted, "but it's good that he didn't. I'll go ahead and chalk that up to the connections he made here ..." that and a natural and inescapable longing for freedom, the doctor wagered. She had that too, but what held her was something far more subtle. Ellen was probably right, friendship is overpowered.

From the sound of things, Bill was wondering if his condition was contagious or something. That was one way to combat Apotheosis; increase the number of TK 'sufferers' among the pilots. That would show them. In all seriousness, it would probably be a good idea to document some--all of this for the ANF's records, particularly Christina's situation.

---

"Christina told me she was the one causing it," Firmia explained. "Besides, Brant and I have both been hooked up to the same T-Link before and nothing like that ever happened." She got an affirming nod from her fellow TK.

"I was there when it happened the first time," Brant noted, "Christina went in and got set up, then everything went 'silent.'"

Hannah did come to mind when Firmia was putting together the short list of Riese personnel that would listen to her, but the android had some quirks. Firmia supposed Brant had some quirks, too. He would 'listen' under normal circumstances, but she couldn't get the man to do just anything. Looking at it that way, she supposed the two were roughly on par. She didn't mention it again, though; the point was that taking over for Jessica was impossible.

The captain's first pick for launch authorizations was a little surprising. Not to Brant; he was used to getting saddled with somewhat vague extra duties by now. Firmia was curious about the pick, though. "You're picking him?" There was very little surprise in her tone, and it came across like she was trying to get confirmation so she could make a note of it. Firmia honestly expected it to come down to the XO, Thorvald, and Avery, though. "Hmm ..."

"Well, I am a lieutenant," Brant shrugged at his fellow TK, moving the side Hannah was equipped to only slightly, "... and sure, I can handle that, Captain."

"... there's no need to thank me," Firmia looked away from Jessica, "I just don't want us to get killed for forgetting the basics. I'd never forgive myself if they beat us with anything less than a masterstroke. Some 4D chess shenanigans," she murmured to herself.

As annoying as Hannah's quip was, she was technically correct. Firmia still had other suggestions, though she wanted more time to get to know the ship and crew, so she could better formulate and articulate them. That aside, she had two more issues to bring up, and both of them involved Brant. "We'll adjourn after these next two, I think," Firmia said, grinning awkwardly for Jessica, while also glaring at Hannah. "You said we should be trying to capture Apotheosis' technology, right? Well, the best I could think of on such short notice for getting their parts is ... well it's a bit too complicated to explain here, but there's a T-Link involved. The problem is that the most we could do with it is rip off an arm, a leg, some other 'limb,' the head, or whatever weapon it's carrying. I can't think of a way to get to the pilot, especially not without destroying the cockpit, too ..." Acceptable loss, or something that would ensure the destruction of the entire unit? Either way, these floating green bubble bots were a pain ...

[Nanami Touko]

Brain Powered

"No jokes. Don't worry about it, Bill. Just take some aspirin and you'll be fine." If he was the janitor, there was no way he was ever going to be useful in combat. Testing him further would just be a waste of resources, there was no way they had better facilities here for that than they would've had before the ship launched. It must've been some mildly latent thing. Weird that he found a use for it with cleaning, though... She shrugged, leaning back against the far wall. The world took all sorts, she supposed. From crazy terrorists to weak TK janitors.

Incredibly

"Of course she is. She used to be an idol, you know? She's good at making people happy. I'm sure you'll get along just fine with her." There wasn't much of a way to address everything else that was spilling out of Talia. Hopefully Kim was in alright shape... Cheryl knew they'd been hurt, but it was only that Christina girl who'd gotten really hurt, right? In any case, it was one of the only ways she could get Talia to try and get away from her worries, slowly leading her into the infirmary... Wow, what a party. A bit of a crowd, but they weren't at capacity, or close to it, so it wasn't cramped. Just a lot of people strewn about the length of the room.

"Lieutenant, I've got someone who wants to meet you." Getting a good look at her, Kim didn't seem that bad off. She could use some more sleep, and probably some freshening up, but she didn't look near as bad as Christina did. Did she have a headache? She was clutching her head pretty hard with her hand... Maybe something went wrong with their Twhatever equipment. Cheryl wasn't ever much for learning about those contraptions... In any case, she brought Talia over to her bedside and looked over at Megumi, motioning for the woman to take some steps away. She had to talk to the doctor sooner rather than later.

Almost Adjourned

Hannah stuck her tongue out at Firmia when the glare met her, while Jess tried to ignore the XO's wants to be delegated to. Even if she'd been useful during the fight today, it was only one example of some mild level of competence from her. Jess would need a lot more before she was going to start trusting her with more tasks... Being pleasant with her was the most Jess wanted right now.

"So she's causing it, is she... Weird. I haven't ever heard of anything like that. Then again, she's the TCI's kid, maybe something happened there." A full explanation would be pretty good right about now, but with Christina and Kim both hurt, it'd have to wait until Jess had a moment to head over to the infirmary. "If Brant's up for handling that, then sure, we can discuss whatever's left." Jess didn't have anywhere to be, this was just... A bit exhausting. She'd meant her thanks, but there being more after that was...

"I do have to thank you. So... Tell me more about whatever this idea is. I'm not sure how you'd go about tearing limbs off with the T-Link, I don't really know much about the technology past the basics. It lets you give orders to bits and funnels or whatever, and move and fire them. It can't be that complicated to explain, can it?" Probably, considering who she was speaking to. But, she'd said next two? Was there something else past the TK explanation? Jess took a deep breath, trying to settle herself for a bit longer of a meeting.

[Xinnidy]

IGNORED

"Ah, Christina..." TCI's captured Troy... Roxanna had only summary knowledge of what was going on with her, but that one had a complicated record to explain now. Involved with terrorists, able to create jamming fields, joining missions with one of their best TK pilots... She's lucky she has a powerful family. Then again, so did Roxanna... and quickly that train of thought stopped being interesting, drawing connections probably wasn't going to lead to a productive result. Anyways, that was enough pondering about that, at least now they knew what was going on with the Artemis.

However Jess seemed to entirely ignore Roxanna's suggestion to be in charge of the final check. What? She was totally able to do it! And there was no way Jessica missed her saying it, that was totally malicious! Suddenly, Roxanna didn't mind if Firmia was interested in putting Jessica on the spot for a while longer. "Hmm..." She rolled her eyes while Jessica wasn't looking, and her eyes inevitable stopped at Brant after. Not only due to the captain's choice, but thanks to Hannah's affection to the pilot. It was a bit... out there. She was still an android, yet her decisions were weirdly human... if Hannah was taking 'how to human' classes, she was passing with flying colors by now... except the ears, but you couldn't have everything.

"So we'd be relying on our two TK pilots to do this work in the future?" Roxanna had to add to the discussion, as it shifted to the T-Link unknown weird use Firmia was cooking. "Considering Brant already has a lot on his plate, and Kim has taken some damage in this mission, I think it would'd be better if we found a more flexible way." 

Super Worries

"So, um, I guess I wasn't needed." Makoto spoke up, holding the headphones in front of him. "Sure still seems busy, though. I'm worried about Tarquin... I should check on him later." Despite all the rush into the infirmary, none of those people seemed  hurt... except for the girl that looked like she could be Tarquin's older sis-- right, he talked about this. "Anything else you need, Doctor?"

 

[Ether]

Ah, so that's what had happened that she had vaguely heard in one ear. So Tarquin was some sort of test tube kid, huh? Well that would explain a few things about his odd circumstance, at the very least. The method of his birth didn't really matter so long as he kept up what he was doing at any rate... aside from today's blunder. The infirmary was getting a decent chunk of visitors by this point, people separating out into their own groups... that wasn't likely to be good for Christina's focus, but she couldn't just tell them to leave, even if they didn't seem to be injured. After a few moments came another addition, seemingly for her, as Dr.Hart called out for a Lieutenant, of which she was the only one present, bringing an unfamiliar girl with her. She looked rather familiar at a second glance, like... Tarquin. That made sense enough, Astin had mentioned this girl as well.

"Hello, can help something?"

[Dandragon]

Elaine was no telekinetic, that much was certain, but from the way Tarquin had glanced at her... She could feel his disdain for her, the same way he had looked at her on the very first day they had worked together. No...This time it was worse. And rather than return such a glance, Elaine...actually looked away from Tarquin. She could easily guess that he hated her, and she certainly held similar feelings for Tarquin, but after what she had found out about him and Talia, Elaine just didn't have it in her to act antagonizing towards him. In reality, she probably never should have if she ever wanted to have any sort of credibility over a 14 year old boy, grown like a plant or no, but she had always held the feeling that she shouldn't treat someone who had taken a life as a child. Especially someone who did it willingly. But...had it been of his own will? Was anything of Tarquin's own will?

Elaine took one last gulp of her beverage of choice, before collecting all the scraps leftover to toss into their respective bins. Whatever she personally thought of Tarquin, the cafeteria was no longer so comfortable with him around. It felt tense. As much as she could have deprecated herself over the fact that a boy was causing her to leave a room, she just focused on what she could be doing. Elaine recalled some sort of warning along the lines of '30 minutes before swimming' or something like that, but was sitting in a hot tub really swimming? She didn't think so. Placing the dirtied tray where it belonged, Elaine 'power-walked' her way out of the cafeteria, not once looking back at Tarquin or his goblin companion.

She passed by the many rooms of the residents that stayed on the bottom floor of the Riese, quietly wondering why in the hell her room was sandwiched between Nikolai and Abigail. It didn't matter, her room wasn't her destination. The changing room door opened and Elaine stepped inside.

Edited November 27, 2017 by Dandragon

[Phoenix]

"If there's nothing else from the meeting," Megumi sighed, "then no. Thanks for offering, though." An amusing thought immediately crossed the doctor's mind. She saw herself taking off her coat and draping it over Makoto, before producing a long light purple wig straight out of the ether and placing it on his head. Imaginary Megumi then waved to the rest of the infirmary and saw herself out for the remainder of the day. If only ... "Stick around, though. Something else might come up." Not likely, but she could see it happening. Anything to keep her busy, today.

There was the matter of Christina. This whole focusing on Kim thing was fine in theory, but Cheryl had brought someone new, specifically to see her. Probably a fan. They were bound to pick up someone who both knew about the former idol and also cared. Christina, though ... well, forget all the other people in here, right now. Her 'thought anchor' was being borrowed.

... at least she had her Advil.

"How goes?" Megumi asked, stepping over to Cheryl.

---

"The reason I don't think I can properly explain it," Firmia grimaced, her eyes wandering again, "is because I haven't settled on which method I want to use. There are five designs so far, and that's just off the top of my head ..." She might throw all of the initial designs out after another hour or two of consideration. "I guess I'll try anyway ..."

Brant didn't know what setup on the Regalia could have as many as five different designs involved, but if the T-Link was needed, then he was willing to wager that the funnels were also needed. The first thing that came to mind was simply upgrading the funnels' weapons and armor so that they could first sever a limb, and then carry it back, together. It looked fairly ridiculous, but not outright impossible.

"Okay," Firmia held up a finger, "so, the only things on the Regalia that aren't at least partly experimental are the cockpit and the paint job, and I'm not sure about the former. The left arm is equipped with a special grapple and cable. That system is meant to support the other weapons. It can easily retrieve damaged funnels, the shield, and the hyper beam rifle, but it can also secure the Regalia to other mobile suits or stable surfaces. That cable is strong enough and flexible enough to support the whole suit, so there are a lot of things we can do with it. It just comes down to what method we use to secure the grapple to the part we want, and how we cleanly sever it."

"So you've got five methods for doing that, so far?" Brant cocked an eyebrow. "It might be a bit technical, but it shouldn't be too hard to yank off a piece of the enemy, right? Also what's the T-Link for if we're not using funnels?"

"Six, now, and it's for making this remotely feasible from 'Brant' range. We're trying to not get caught up in those barriers if they decide to kill themselves, remember? I'm sure your mechanics can come up with a non-TK version of a system like this," Firmia eyed Jessica and Roxanna, curiously, "If so, then by all means, make it and use it. I gave up my dream of being the number one parts thief when the Luna's hilt hit the ground. Anyway, the Regalia's got redundant TK transceivers we can use, so it's a more efficient method for the Regalia to use."

The Ceres' wired fist came to mind. Assuming there was a quick and clean severing, Astin could easily help steal more samples. They hadn't needed that the first time anyway, so Brant knew he wouldn't be the only one out there trying things like this. He'd just be doing it from, as Firmia put it, Brant range.

"Any method you use," Firmia looked at Brant, again, "requires converting the grapple--and any spares we can fit in there--into ... erm, claw bits? I don't have a name for them yet ..." She shook her head at that, eager to get on with things, "There are also methods with multiple bits working together, one for grabbing the target, the others for severing. I was even thinking of integrating one of the spare beam sabers into it, so it could sever and retrieve all on its own. A 'saber bit' would be one of the more cost effective methods, but takes a lot more skill. The point is, the level of flexibility and adaptability needed for this means it CAN'T be automated. We NEED the T-Link ... and honestly, I don't think you can handle this kind of thing by yourself, so I'm going to be flying with you from now on. ... that was the last thing I wanted to go over, by the way."

"Ugh ..." The look on Brant's face was not to be compared with someone who was only mildly inconvenienced. He looked like a five year old silently praying beneath an oncoming dentist's drill.

"Stop that. It's your own fault for not giving me reason to be confident. If you had been just a little more careless, we would have lost the shield and the left arm and wouldn't even be having this conversation."

[Sandalphon]

Nikolai nodded at the impromptu language lesson, not particularly understanding much of it but appreciating it nonetheless. The conversation seemed almost like something normal, something pleasantly banal. In a sense, banal was something strangely comforting, despite everything. He did notice the younger pilot's eyes flitter towards the red-headed girl, the one who had socked him in the face for a moment. He narrowed his eyes at her in passing but decided that, for the moment, she was probably not a threat.

And honestly, even if she did anything he didn't particularly care, her fists weren't particularly threatening in the grand scheme of things. A punch was just a punch, no matter how many times his nose would be broken. 

He picked up a bright red plastic can from one of the shelves as they entered the storeroom, stocked with all sorts of supplies. He sniffed the contents curiously, it smelled familiar, strong and faintly acrid. This must be it, he thought as he sifted the dark, dirt-like instant coffee mixture around in the container. He searched the room for a kettle, or any other similar implement he could use to boil some water... last time he'd just used an empty tin can but he figured that there was probably something use that would be more effective...

"A conversation?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't feel particularly excited about the concept of discussing anything with anyone as pathetic and soggy-eyed as her but he figured he might as well give it a try, "I mean, I suppose. She seem unstable, bad for pilot... I mean I am not one to talk, but I will try my best." 

[Shin]

Tarquin wasn't entirely sure if Nikolai was capable of preparing coffee fit for human consumption - the finer nuances of civilised life eluded his friend at times. People seemed to like coffee, but he was having trouble figuring out why. Perhaps its taste was more impressive than its appearance or smell? He'd been unable to cook the day he joined the Riese, but slowly he was starting to familiarise himself with the concept of cooking. It was almost an enjoyable experience and journey, working up from making toast had been somewhat satisfying. Whether or not coffee would be join his hall of memories was another story.

"Did you drink a lot of coffee before you came here? I've always seen people drink it, but I've never tried it." Tarquin asked, aiding Nikolai in search of the kettle. It was common place for the researchers to be seen drinking it, apparently it was beneficial to work. He was certain the kettle was near the sink, or at least that was where he recalled it being last. He scanned the surfaces carefully before spotting the vessel in question.

"T-2 doesn't seem like she would want to continue piloting it... it might be kinder for her if someone else took over." Tarquin replied, trying to suppress any sympathy he held for her. It made him uneasy, someone so similar to him in so many ways... yet very different in others. "You would be far better suited to it, it would be beneficial for our entire crew."

-

Talia nervously approached Kim, her heart racing as it started to click in her mind. It wasn't just a funny coincidence, it was her Seung-Min. She'd spent hours watching her music videos, learning the choregraphy off by heart - there was no mistaking it. A different sense of dread and anxiety began to engulf her, she wasn't ready to meet her idol, not so suddenly like this. She hadn't prepared a way to greet her without looking like a fool, she looked a complete mess, why did it have to happen right now?

She opened her mouth, raising her hand to try and produce a meaningful response. The only thing she could emit was an awkward nervous squeak, the room around her began to spread away from her, the situation couldn't be made any more awkward. As overjoyed as she was to meet her idol, it was simply too much for her. Now she'd botched it, Seung-Min was going to think she was an idiot, it was the worst possible first impression she could have made. She stood there, silent aside from her rapid breathing, and wished the ground could swallow her whole.

[Ether]

Ah, there it came. Elation, a sense of being over the moon... panic, worry, a loss of coherence. The downward spiral was not unfamiliar to Seung-Min, having seen it occur on the blanched faces of many a nervous fan at signings or the like. As the girl Cheryl had brought over stood there in silence, existential dread rising and emanating from her head. Thinking back to the battle, Kim compiled what she could remember about the girl and what had happened so far, recalling something from the battle that would hopefully jog a little bit of positivity into her blank expression.

"You... Talia, yes? Nice meet you. Really help out field... people quick lock down Luna after incident, but that other machine left overlook in that. You charged it, yes? Thank you,  had not done that, might have finish us off in commotion. Very brave."

 

[scorri]

The medbay was getting far too crowded for Astin's liking at this point, and with the lack of someone to respond to, they muttered a quick, "Hope you feel better soon," to Christina and Kim and made their escape. Once outside the crowded room, they hesitated. They still had no real plans for anything, but this was fixed by a quiet grumble. "Right, suppose it is around lunch time..." Making their way over to the elevator, they pressed the down button and waited patiently, their mind wandering as they did. Hopefully all the mechanic work is going smoothly... Maybe I should bring Avery some food too...

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

"Err, well..." Bill wasn't exactly the easiest person to understand. As far as Val could tell though, he seemed to think he had a disease. "Well it's not exactly... It's an ability, not a virus or anything. It's something you're born with. Sort of. Anyways, the point is, the rest of us are safe, you don't need to worry about that. And the aspirin should help with the head pain. If it doesn't, you're always free to come back up here though." She smiled at the strange man, hoping that she'd managed to reassure him.

[Juliette]

Juria still didn't like meetings very much, she decided. Not that they didn't have anything interesting, or surprising happen... but she still felt awkward with such a large group of people, especially as more and more joined in. Saying much of substance during them at all was challenging.

Instead she found the artificial fur of her robocat more appealing as soon as she exited the room, cuddling Reo as he jumped into her arms. "Juria not get it. People hard to understand, Reo," she commented as she walked through the halls of the Riese. "Machines always much more simple to understand... only numbers, very honest. That's why you such perfect kitty cat! Ah, but even when you were only stuffed toy, you were the cutest kitty." She opened her room door to sit on her bed and picking up her tablet. It was a few moments before she had more pictures of cats up, pointing at them to a mewling Reo. "Heehee! This is lots more fun... being adult, that too hard sometimes. Life much easier if everyone more like Reo..."

[Nanami Touko]

Can't Control

Kim was talking to whoever this fan was that Cheryl had brought in, making it harder to get a read on her, with her emotions changing over the little conversation. What a mess... Who else was here. M-Makoto? He wasn't doing anything... Popping open the Advil and downing two, she took a deep breath and tried to focus on him instead. Surprisingly, it was easier to single someone out when there were more people. Maybe her receptors weren't as strong with less targets trying to get in. That might make sense? None of this made enough sense to her right now. She was awake, the doctor should've just excused her, so she could go lay in her room. This was so hard...

Getting a Grip

Talia had frozen in the face of Kim, but the former idol seemed to know what she was doing... Mostly. Mentioning the battle was likely a bad idea, but Cheryl needed to do things while she had Megumi's attention. Taking the woman out of earshot of the problem child, she huddled up next to her and sighed. "Look, this girl might drive me to start smoking again. I'm not about to give up, but she's got more problems than the crew combined. Crushing self esteem issues, a lack of self worth, no goals, spiraling depression, no social skills; she's locking up just trying to talk to Kim, and how harmless is she?" For the most part, as far as talking as concerned.

"I don't want to look to medication right away, her episode with this doctor's making me think that if we tried that, she'd just close up even more... But I just want you to keep it in mind for now, alright? I dunno how long she's staying on the ship, or what's the deal between her and Tarquin. For now, I'll try to keep an eye on her, just... Keep an eye on me. I'm already starting to get a headache... Fucking withdrawal."

Dismemberment

With how Firmia was going on about this whole thing, the solution seemed incredibly simple to Jess. "That sounds great and all, but why don't we just use the T-Link Rippers we have stored?" They were literally flying, cutting discs. "They seem like they'd be able to serve the dismembering purpose better than fussing about creating anything new. We'd just have to weaken whatever part we were trying to take off, and get a clean hit in with them. Sounds simple enough..." The other solutions of creating different and new TK weaponry sounded like a waste of resources, compared to that. And, the XO had made a good point about Brant having too much to do, especially on the battlefield.

Firmia solved that issue... Much to Jess' chagrin. "Whoa... You, co-piloting? I..." Jess sighed, even Hannah glanced over at Firmia, inquisitively. "If Brant says okay, then I suppose there isn't an issue. It's not like you both aren't qualified to be in the machine... So it's his call. If he says no, I'm going to have to enforce it, however. That response of his didn't seem very happy..."

"If Brant wishes to have a copilot that he does not have to worry about, I can volunteer. I would be able to take over any controls that he needed monitored while he utilized his TK abilities."

"I... I suppose." Hannah was an android, it would be a lot harder for her to get hurt in an emergency situation... At least to the point of complete destruction. "But, then we're down a deployment, with you out of Firmia's Mantle. I'm not sure that's the most wise... I'm just going to leave it up to Brant, and if you can't settle things here, then report them to me at a later point. Now, is that all, or...?"

"There is always more..." Hannah scoffed, and Jess groaned.

Bored

With Bill dealt with, and Christina as good as she was going to get, this place was turning into a social little situation, wasn't it? Hmmm. Olivia was getting pretty bored with the current chapter of her book... And there was a cute girl just standing there, all by herself. Ripe for the talking to? Man, what a loss for everyone else. Strolling on over to this unknown pilot, or she assumed she was a pilot, Olivia looked her over, smiled, and offered a hand. "Hey. Olivia Bennet. Anything I can help you with? I'm one of the doctor's gofers." Not the worst job, but there was probably a better way to introduce herself... Eh, not worth the effort to revise.

Edited November 28, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[TheRoon]

Aliza just stood there wondering what to do at this point. Hicks was leaving the ship as soon as he could, but she was staying. This infirmary was getting kind of crowded too, so perhaps she should just bail. Well before she could she was suddenly approached...by a cutie. "!" Her alarms went off in her head as she turned. Oh my, she was quite a looker. Such adorable curls, freckles, glasses. She has a look on her face that screams "dork", but it's such a nice look to pull off right. And she pulled it off right. With a wide smile on Aliza's face she spoke aloud: "7.5...!" Then gagged a bit. That was out loud. "Oh uh ignore that! Just doing some quick math for fun in my head eheh..."

She cleared her voice and composed herself. "Name's Aliza Silvavolke, miss. Nice to meet you." She turned to Hicks' curtained area a bit before turning back. "I was just visiting a friend of mine, just trying to wrap up some loose ends before I stay on the ship for a while. This place got real crowded real fast though, not gonna lie."

Edited November 28, 2017 by TheRoon

[Phoenix]

This Talia sounded like a real mess, essentially the opposite of Tarquin. The boy's social awareness was limited, but he was highly skilled, especially for his age. Talia on the other hand, was too socially acclimated from the look and sound of things, and didn't have enough going for her to be altogether functional. She wasn't the only one suffering, though; day one, and Cheryl was already being challenged on her decision to quit smoking, and Megumi couldn't help but find it humorous that the one that motivated her to quit smoking in the first place, Tarquin, was now being offset by an older, female version. Very humorous, indeed.

Megumi put her hand on Cheryl's shoulder. "I do not envy you, right now ... but alright, I'll keep that in mind." To think Nikolai was the biggest handful ... . Megumi's biggest concern right now was Cheryl herself. She didn't have any first hand experience, but from what the doctor knew, withdrawal symptoms were real day wreckers. Keeping an eye on her was all well and good, but not especially useful. There might not be any other cigars on the ship at this point. Megumi considered continuing their discussion from earlier, as something of a distraction, but that discussion was better held in private, and until things settled down, Megumi couldn't take a break from the infirmary in good conscience. She could definitely take a break ... just not in good conscience.

"You could probably use a drink, right now ...--water, I mean." Maybe it would help with the headache, maybe it wouldn't. They still had enough Advil to go around, though drugs weren't Megumi's go-to option for noncombatants.

---

"I guess they'll work if we can't figure something out by the next battle," Firmia ceded, "but I still want to look at my in-house options, first." She doubted the Captain would understand that line of reasoning. Sharing supplies and equipment was quite useful, to the point where one ought to question Firmia's reluctance. Despite how useful it was, the situation was inherently unstable, and the Alkaev wanted to keep that kind of activity to a bare minimum for the time being. She still had her exit strategy should the situation become untenable, and the closer they got to Central, the higher the chances that the power dynamic aboard the Riese would shift dramatically, away from both her and Jessica. If only a few threads tied Firmia and her assets to the Riese, she could sever them quickly and easily--and preferably without loaned rippers--and not get caught up in the great war machine. At least in this situation, Firmia had some influence over what happened, as opposed to potentially none with a bunch of generals and admirals. Whatever they had planned, it wasn't working against Apotheosis anyway, so it felt like Jessica was at risk of being put in an unwinnable situation if the team's strength was offset by whatever conventional tactics were still in use.

Rather than telling the Captain and XO just how little faith she had in the ANF's upper echelon, Firmia decided to point out a completely different issue she had with borrowing the TK rippers. "I know this is a war, but once it's over, assuming we win, I have to keep my company going. This is a good opportunity to upgrade my machines for whatever this post world war economy will look like, so I don't want to take anything from the ANF that won't be mine to keep, afterward. If we wind up using the rippers, I'd prefer to purchase them."

Brant couldn't help but quietly chuckle at Firmia's stance when he heard it. That was some pride.

Firmia glanced at Brant and then shrugged. "Or you can just give them to us as a gift if you've got that many to spare. It's up to you."

They still hadn't figured out how to capture an entire unit in tact, but that could potentially be remedied in the next engagement. The most pressing issue now was the unit assignments. It seemed only natural for Hannah to volunteer to copilot for Brant. Even if Firmia hadn't been annoyed by the android's clingy behavior, she still needed piloting data. Forcing Sasha back into the line of fire didn't seem like a good idea, either. If Brant was a little bogged down right now, Sasha was just shy of being crushed. Firmia needed him focused on the numerous duties he already had, so he definitely wasn't a piloting option, right now. Really, the best way to handle this, would be to copilot herself, and keep everything else the same, like she'd initially planned.

"It's not all ... right," Firmia glared at Hannah again, "but I think it's time to adjourn, at least until the situation changes." Firmia held back on the argument since Brant hadn't said anything, yet. If Jessica was going to fully endorse his inevitable refusal, then Firmia had only two options: make a big scene and lock down the Regalia until she could get her fellow TK to see reason--and destroy any progress she'd made with the Captain, or let the Captain remove herself from the dispute long enough for Firmia to wear Brant down in an actual debate. Really, she only had one option in terms of what she could readily stomach, and that was the latter. "We'll figure out the best way to go about the Regalia situation and get back to you," Firmia promised, silently sticking Brant with an emotional prod that nearly made him flinch.

Brant heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine, we'll ... do that."

Firmia stood up, closing her bulky tablet's cover. "The Reign's upgrades are going to be finished soon. Maybe before we run into Apotheosis, again. Once they're done, there's an errand I need to send Tonya on. I'll need to speak with you again when that comes up ..."

Edited November 28, 2017 by Phoenix

[Dandragon]

The doors to the changing room opened, with Elaine now wearing her swimsuit instead of her pilot suit. It felt odd wearing it for a third time since on the Riese, specifically because of getting spied on at the pool party, yesterday, but she didn't feel like asking for something else to wear. Not when it could reveal the fact that she'd been speaking to Apotheosis. No, she would bare the uncomfortable feeling.

The pool area was nice and quiet, and the Jacuzzi looked as inviting as ever. Without anyone else to take up space, or anyone to distract her by pelting her with a beach ball, Elaine had it all to herself. Everything was set up, and as Elaine flipped on the jets, she climbed up the steps and dipped her foot in. The temperature feeling just right, the rest of her body slipped right inside as she felt warmth and comfort overtake her.

"Aaaaah~" How long had it been since she could just sit in hot water like this? Her apartment at Colony 2 certainly didn't have one, neither did her Uncle's home in Italy. The last time had been in the public one that she and her friends used to go to at the local pool, backing during her school days. It was a pleasurable feeling to dip into one, again, after all those years. Even if she couldn't submerge herself underwater without burning up her face, it still felt as good as swimming in a pool. Water wasn't as fun when you're stuck in a giant mech, it didn't give her the same sense of calm that this did. She could never figure out where these feelings came from, but to her, it didn't matter. She knew what she liked, and today, Elaine wanted to treat herself. "Oooooh~ I could just fall asleep like this."

[Shin]

The room had turned into a blur around Talia, the walls swirling into a distant void. There wasn't anything she could do to escape the situation, it was a lose-lose scenario whether she stayed or went. She turned to Cheryl, her face more than telling of the sheer terror she was experiencing. Her mouth began to move awkwardly, unable to produce any sound. "Kill me now." she mouthed, nervously turning back to Seung-Min. She could barely hear the words that she was saying, her legs were turning to jelly beneath her and it was taking most of her concentration to remain standing. Why did this have to happen? She was meeting the person she most admired in her pathetic little life, she couldn't even do that right. Why did being around other people have to be so difficult.

She smiled nervously, looking at Cheryl again. She needed to find a way out of this, if it were to continue she'd be the one ending up in a hospital bed. She almost wanted to be sick, both from the anxiety and her own self-disappointment.

[Balcerzak]

"Your call cannot be completed as dialed," intoned the metallic female voice entirely devoid of sympathy. Thorvald frowned, shrugged, and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He'd made his way back to his room after the meeting, and talking Cheryl's advice from earlier he'd once again tried making contact through an unsecured line, but as had happened the last time, no success. It had to be that the jamming was just widespread and pervasive. That simply had to be all there was to it. Everything would be just fine in a day or two, surely. Maybe he could even convince the captain to let them travel along aboard the ship. After all, it's not like it was an unprecedented bend to protocol, and surely his daughter's cuteness would lift morale, right?

Failing that though... Hmm. He ought to be able to at least finagle some leave time for a visit. In which case, eyeing the album he'd snagged from home, gosh how many days away was that now, he realized that he'd never made the time to go about getting that autograph he'd intended. It would make a splendid welcome back present, he should see about getting that done. Not now though, after filing out of the meeting, many of the pilots had headed to the infirmary, she was probably still swamped. Later though, this time her injuries didn't seem as severe, the doctor didn't need to almost reconstruct her arm from scratch, after all. Slipping the case into one of his larger jacket pockets, he made sure it'd be on his person and he wouldn't have to make a trip back here to get it.

What else to do now, though? Slowly sweeping his eyes across the room, only half taking things in as he was lost in thought, Thorvald noticed the missing space where the bottle of whiskey he'd lent to Avery had been. She never had called him in the morning like the note had instructed had she? A bit of a smirk slipping across his face, he decided he'd have to go check up on her, chastize her, and make sure she was doing alright. That would be a fine use of time, at present.

Taking the lift to the hangar deck, then it was just a matter of tracking down the mechanic with the bubblegum hair.

 

---

 

Spoiler

Astin once again found themself outside a door, building up the nerve to knock. The comments they'd made earlier had been easier. Masked by the comms, as far from face to face as they could reasonably get, it had been easy to treat Abigail like a companion. Now the thought of doing the same thing face to face was reducing their nerves from steel to jello. But sometimes keeping the peace was more important than feelings, and this was something they needed to do.

Reaching out and knocking, Astin called out, "Abigail? You in there? Had a few things I wanted to talk about after the battle but your comm was off so..." Ugh, that sounded like they were blaming her. Come on Astin, you can do better than that. "I mean, you told me. Us. That you were going dark. Should've known. Ugh, look, I just... I won't be long, I promise. Just wanted to say a few things. That's all."

After she'd given Reo a few pats, mostly for politeness sake, Abigail had bid farewell to Juria and departed the hangar, making a beeline for her room. The sortie had taken a lot out of her, mostly because she'd had exceptionally little to give. As much as she wanted to get her duel with Elaine out of the way, she wasn't in the best condition if she wanted to win. And with the other pilot more or less ignoring her anyway, there really was no more appealing option than a nap, exactly what she'd had in mind when asking Jess if it was alright to skip the debriefing. A shower first, though, because Abby felt disgustingly dirty, covered in exhaust and sweat, and wondering how the captain had even borne through their hug, even though most of that was probably all just in her mind. That out of the way, now fresh and clean, she hit the bed like an arrow fired from a bow, no deviation from target. She'd barely pulled the covers up before sinking into oblivion.

Some time later, not nearly long enough, a knock roused her (somewhat) from her stupor. A slurred call back to the inquiring voice said something that nearly resembled 'gimme a minute', and an outside observer would probably also hear faint sounds of rustling, and perhaps even muttered curses as Abby quick grabbed the nearest clothing to throw on, making herself vaguely presentable. Hopping over to the door as she slid her leg into the proper hole for some shorts, she pulled down a plain grey tee, accidentally stuffing her arm through the head hole along with her neck, which meant she was still readjusting as she twisted the handle and swung open the door, revealing perhaps a little more shoulder than might have otherwise been expected before everything settled properly into place. It was unpleasantly bright in the hallway, the lights in her room had been off, so Abigail raised one hand and rubbed her knuckles into her bleary eyes, before peering out once again.

"Doyle?" She had a little trouble believing it wasn't a dream, but usually dreams didn't carry this annoying level of realism and attention to detail. "I uh, I mean, sure, whatever.  You wanna come in, or you okay out there?"

"Ah, were... were you sleeping? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you..." They hesitated and then decided, "Yeah, I guess... coming in would work. It won't take long though. Promise." Making their way into her room, they glanced around, noticing how bare everything still was, a reminder of how little Abigail had. A thought that gave Astin another twinge of the guilt they'd felt earlier. Not a pleasant feeling.

Sticking their hands into their jacket's pockets, they glanced back at her, and sighed. "Sorry. This..." was easier when you weren't looking at me... "It's not easy. Which is stupid. It should be. You did a good job out there. It was stupid and dangerous, diving in there, especially without your comms up, but... I closed in right behind you so I can't talk. And I wouldn't have been able to do what I did if you hadn't..." Just stick with what you were saying, don't get distracted.

"Point is, you're a good pilot and... and I'm glad you were out there beside me. I think Kim and Christina would have been in a lot worse shape without you. So... yeah. That's all." They waited awkwardly to see her response, wishing with all their heart that she hadn't turned off her comms earlier.

Abigail waved away Astin's awkward apology as she stepped aside to let her enter the room. "It's probably for the best anyway," Abby shrugged and began combing her fingers through some of the more tangled bits of bed hair she had developed. It wasn't entirely untrue, despite desperately wanting a little more time to sleep, there were mountains of things she had to think through and answers that needed to be found. While unconsciousness would have been a welcome distraction, it probably wasn't so much a healthy one.

Ushering the other pilot in, Abigail spotted, and swiftly kicked beneath the bed, some dirty laundry that she really probably should have taken care of earlier, but again, she hadn't been expecting company of any sort. Her guest seemed like she wasn't exactly sure what to do with herself, sighing and awkwardly avoiding meeting gazes before leading into the reason behind the visit. Astin was attempting to patch things up, more or less, as best she seemed to know how. The issue of her comms came up again, Jess had been asking after that as well, hadn't she? Geez that might end up causing more problems than it solved... no, actually not. Thinking back on, if nothing else, the aftermath, Abigail remained convinced it had still been the right call, uncomfortable explanations after the fact notwithstanding.

"Damn right I'm a good pilot," Abigail answered, a bit of a dumb grin on her face as she soaked up the unexpected praise. "And sure, dangerous, I guess it was, but not suicidally so, thanks to the XO. The whole, uh, comms thing, I guess might've been more a double-edged sword than I'd thought at the moment, but I wasn't sure I trusted myself not to get drawn into that bitch's pace if we started exchanging words, and yeah..." She kind of trailed off with that half-assed explanation.

"Still, you and your friend both. Probably the last people I'd have thought would apologize 'n try and make amends, yet both of you have. Well... uh, I guess, I'm glad you two pulled it off too, and I didn't end up needing to go back in and save ya. You're not such bad pilots yourselves either." It wasn't necessarily the most charitable reply, but for Abigail, it was a pretty generous overture.

Astin struggled with a flash of anger at Abigail's seeming arrogance and initial looking down of their ability before managing to squash it and just accept the compliment. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be here if I wasn't a good pilot. I'm not exactly your standard fighter, so I need to make up for it somehow." 

They gave another glance around the room before focusing back on Abigail. "I get it with the comm thing. I'll be honest, I said some things to Vera. Maybe your way was better. But it's moot at this point. I'm just... Glad you turned out to be someone I can trust to be useful out there. And I wanted to make sure you knew that. That's all."

Abigail missed seeing Astin's face tighten up at her unintended slight, which was honestly probably best for both of them. She was scratching the back of her neck, still taken a little off-balance by the whole 'huh, the people who hated me... might not feel that way anymore...' thing, and trying to remember back to the tips she'd read in Megumi's book. One of the other pilot's phrases caught her attention though, and she swung her focus back to the here and now.

"Not exactly standard? In what way?" She frowned a bit, not sure what to make of this. Her first nervous assumption had been that she was going to confess to being a mind reader, but that would be the opposite of something she would be needing to 'make up for'. Not only that, but the skills she'd seen demonstrated on the battlefield, from both sides of it, hadn't really left her under the impression of any serious flaws.

"Nah, forget I asked. Don't matter none when you're doing just fine," Abigail dismissed her own question as unimportant. Astin seemed a bit skittish to begin with, looking around the room like there were traps about to spring on her at any second or something. Had Abby missed tucking away something else embarrassing? She didn't think so. Anyway, no point in making things more uncomfortable or anything. They should both just, accept all this for what it was and move on. No point forcing anything to go too fast.

Shrugging and rubbing a finger under her nose, Abby finished up. "Thanks, Doyle... You didn't have to go out of your way to let me know you're starting to revise your opinion of me. But I'm glad you did."

"Ah, no, I don't mind. I'm a pure melee fighter. Don't like guns, never have. Don't use them well either so I just don't. It means I've got to fight in close more than anyone really. It's why I was willing to charge in against Vera." It was nice of her to back off but there was no reason to hide it. Anyone that took a look at their loadout would pick that up. 

They blushed slightly in embarrassment and shrugged off her thanks. "Wasn't right how I reacted. You were willing to fight with us, risk your life. I should have accepted that and moved on. Shouldn't have acted like a child."

"Water under the bridge at this point," Abby accepted Astin's apology, after grunting in understanding as she'd explained her fighting preferences. "And yeah, I get what you're saying there too. Up close and personal is generally how I prefer to take things myself, so there's no need to apologize for that, at least not to me." While true, that certainly didn't stop her from using rifles and such if the need arose. Whatever tool the task calls for, really. But if it could be solved with a more preferable tool...

"Friend of mine is always telling me I ought to snipe more instead, and not just as a last resort. I never listen much..." Abigail smiled as she recalled one of Sena's stuttered scoldings, and then the smile froze as she pictured her corpse, bloody and burned in the shell of her cockpit, a similar fate to what she'd seen of Calina's on the broadcast. "Was always... told me..." she found herself choking up as she attempted to correct the record.

"I think you should go now," Abby managed with some small degree of composure, abruptly ushering Astin out the door.

Astin was almost shoved out of the room, presumably because of something to do with the old friend that Abby had mentioned. "Ah... Ok. Good... goodbye." The door shut behind them, and they were left alone in the hallway. Glancing back at the door, they sighed. Probably for the best anyways. It still wasn't clear how long the two of them could talk before they started yelling again, so keeping interactions limited for now was probably the best. Hopefully the girl had someone to talk to though... Hands in pockets, Astin slowly made their way over to the elevator, ready to head up for the debrief, but unable to stop the one last look back at the closed door.

 

Edited November 30, 2017 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

Well. that was... not good. Talia's emotional state immediately turned for the worse, the girl freezing as her mind radiated panic as though it were a nuclear warhead. Moving to sit up, eliciting a pained wince in the process, Kim pointed to a chair close to Talia, before hailing for the doctor... any of the medical personnel really.

"Talia, should sit down, for now yes? Take easy." Kim recommended... hopefully it would get through to her and she would listen, or one of the infirmary staff would assist, before the girl collapsed.

 

[Xinnidy]

Boss Baby

Roxanna had pretty much forgotten about the T-Link Rippers, they haven't seen use since Kim upgraded to her new bot... maybe almost a bit before. They just didn't compare to the funnels when how quick they could bring a unit down, but they were probably more suitable for the job of... ripping. Firmia wasn't letting up on her idea, though, which was curious, and then she seemed to have plans for her own company? But... she was already an Alkaev. She was set for life, why was she putting so much effort into this? Her family had its sins, but surely that wouldn't affect her once they passed away...

"The T-Link Rippers haven't been in use for multiple missions by now. Unless we get another TK pilot, it will be hard to find them an use, but it's still a possession of the ANF, so we'd need to talk to the head mechanic, at least." It wasn't like they needed it, but they had none to spare. Maybe Kim could use them on the Artemis if they really wanted to go through with the plans instead.

That was most of it for now, though. For now implied Firmia had a lot more to bother them about later, but it couldn't be helped. "I see... we'll speak when the time comes." Holding back a sigh, Roxanna held her head low for a moment, shooting a glance at the pipsqueak. They'd really need to reach out to HQ soon....

Panic Basket

Okay... so he was meant to stay on standby if a case needed him. That was easy enough! It sure was crowdy, though, so Makoto took a step back, sighing as he felt things slow down... a lot had happened that day, huh? It had been only three hours or so that he'd actually sortied on his own in a Phalanx. This time, not escaping from a hostile unit, but actively helping out with the fight. Beam weaponry was really dangerous, huh? If any of them had taken a direct hit on the Phalanx, he'd probably be toast --some of the beams where wider than the Phalanx was tall!

I've got to train my reflexes better, Makoto shuddered, Too bad I can't just sense hostility like a TK... I bet that helps them a lot. His idle glance stopped at the injured duo. They'd been under heavy fire, and were up against that incredibly imposing mobile suit. Even their powers didn't seem to get them out unscathed from that nasty deal... but then again, it probably saved them from death, huh?

Wait, there was the girl Tarquin spoke about just in front of Kim... and she didn't look any right. Kim even sat up despite her status to try and talk to the girl. What was going on? "Hey... are you okay?" Makoto slowly approached the girl, arm raised but cautious of being too brusque. She was in some sort of pain... at least he thought so. "Do you need a seat?"

[Nanami Touko]

Seven Point Five

What was that supposed to mean? Quick math in her head? Heh. "Eight," she replied, guessing it was some form of rating system. The looks she's gotten, quick or not, weren't incredibly hidden. Though, I'd rate myself higher... At least an eight point five. Maybe her standards are really high, but... She seems pretty interested, either way. As sad as it was that Valerie didn't seem like she was willing to try again, at least there were new faces to look. New, incredibly good looking faces. "Yeah, looks like the Lieutenant is pretty popular. Hopefully they all start clearing out soon. Not that I'll be off any time soon... Work sure is a killer." With a hefty, played up sigh, Olivia put her hands in her pockets, smiling slightly. "Good to know you'll be staying around a while."

With a small glance behind Aliza, Olivia nodded. "He'll be fine. Just exhausted. Didn't actually get himself hurt... Other than... Well." Being so blunt would ruin any small setup mood, so she didn't bother finishing it. "Anyway," she said with a tiny flick of her hair, brushing some of it out of her face, "you're a pilot, then?" Might as well get to know her some.

Water and Some Help

"Yeah... I'll drink some water, and take an advil. And..." One glance over at Talia, and Cheryl knew that today wasn't going to be an easy one. "Ugh, yeah, can you... Yeah. See if you can help her with her anxiety some, anything to calm her down." It didn't seem like the lieutenant was helping, and that Makoto kid, he'd only started to try and say stuff. She didn't think any of it would be effective. At this rate, Talia was going to pass out or simply freeze up from her anxiety. Neither were very wanted outcomes, but she didn't have it in her to deal with this right now. Yeah, unprofessional, and she was chiding herself, but... It was bad timing. That was all.

Take Them

Jess didn't have a problem with what Firmia joked, or, she thought it was a joke. "You can take them. Aside from this situation, they're not amazing weapons. We're better off in practical situations with funnels and beam weaponry. You can tell Avery about that." She'd gone over Roxanna's head, but it made sense to her. There was nothing they were using them for, and the tech wasn't exactly hard to come by on the ship.

Jess was pretty happy for the android at this point. She was getting away pretty easily on these talks, today... Probably from all the distractions. "You two do that. I'll take it in a message, or in person, either's fine." Jess needed to go about setting up some protocols, like Firmia had suggested. Then she needed a rest. A big rest... Not enough time to sleep, nap, or anything... Oh, and she had to get ready to see Abby later. At least that'll be fun... Maybe. I hope... I more so hope that I don't dump all of my worries from this onto her. It's about making her feel better, not using her as a stress wall. Jess put a hand on her head, and rubbed her face some. "So tired..."

Hannah let Brant go if they were going to be walking, it would simply make things harder for him. "Brant, would you be willing to come with me to the hangar? I have something I wish to discuss with you about the Regalia and the Mantle." Firmia could come with them if she wanted to, of course, but it only concerned Brant until Firmia was officially a copilot of the machine... Alright, it might concern her, because it did have to do with her robots, but it didn't have to do with her piloting things. "Is that okay?" Her smile was getting more and more disarming as she grew...

 

[Phoenix]

Cheryl wanted her to deal with Talia? Megumi wasn't anti-social, not even close, but ... well, it would have been nice if Talia's issues were similar to Sarah's. At least then, Megumi would have some idea of how to go about this without making it worse. There was one thing she could try, and whether it made the girl feel more or less comfortable than before, the doctor was at least partially justified in doing it. This would also put some seemingly needful distance between Talia and the lieutenant, which might help her calm down all by itself. "Fine ..." Megumi sighed, heading over toward Talia.

"Since you're here, I have some questions for you, Talia. Mostly medical stuff. You can get back to this afterward, if you want." Megumi wasn't giving Talia much room to maneuver. Now, if she could just find some excuse to get a blood sample. It wasn't likely, but it was something to keep in mind for when the girl wasn't at wit's end. Now that they had no obligations to the siblings' 'parent,' previously forbidden avenues were opening up. It might just be her imagination, but there was something quite liberating about Liebenwalde's defection, not just for Tarquin.

---

So the rippers were gifts, then? Excellent. Firmia would have to return the favor by figuring out this unit capture issue once and for all. A puzzle for after she flipped Brant like an omelet and put this copilot issue to bed. There was the question of whether Avery would believe that; it wasn't unbelievable per se, but getting it in writing or some other format would at least prevent a pointless confirmation call via radio. Communication, organization, etc, etc. "Could one of you confirm that with her? I'll explain the situation in more detail, but if she wants to double check, you're going to be getting a call, anyway ..."

"No need," Sasha assured Firmia, "I've got that part of the conversation on audio. I'm sure that'll convince her. Sorry for not mentioning it, but I had a feeling something like this might happen."

Firmia winced. That was helpful, but rude as hell. At least he was starting to anticipate her needs. That was good. "Thank you, Captain. XO. We won't take up anymore of your time."

Brant was all kinds of relieved he wouldn't be duking it out with Firmia just yet, at least if the Alkaev let Hannah have her way, here. "Sure thing." He glanced at Firmia briefly, wondering if she would weigh in. It felt inevitable.

Meanwhile, seeing a chance to save some time, Sasha started for the door ahead of them. "I'll pass the message along to Avery and get a few of those face rippers over to the Regalia's dock."

"Alright, Hannah, what's this about?" Firmia asked after nodding at Sasha, "If it's about the machines, it's not just going to be between you two."

[Balcerzak]

Oh, there she was. Thorvald finally spotted Avery, busy at work of course, and ambled over to her. "Hey, you never did 'call me in the morning'. The medicine work all right? Feeling better today? Looks like you got quite a full docket laid out for you again, huh. I guess I wasn't the worst offender though, so that's something."