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

[Phoenix]

A1 glanced around the inside of its box after the room's occupants had all left. Brant had informed the little AI that it was to be given over to Firmia after breakfast, but was also told to 'sit tight,' which admittedly took it a moment to fully come to grips with. Sit tight: better understood as 'don't go anywhere' or 'don't do anything reckless.' A1 understood that he was going working for Firmia specifically at some point--his nod to Brant was meant to convey as much, but that other part was still giving it trouble. For how long was it supposed to not go anywhere or do anything reckless? Also, when was breakfast starting? When would it end? There were some missing parameters here, and Brant wasn't around to clear any of them up. A1 hadn't even fully learned the sorts of commands that were relevant to a physical body, and so it was struggling to fill in the gaps to determine what Brant meant versus a more literal interpretation of what he'd said. With no timetable in place, no way of determining when breakfast would start and end, and a fairly weak grasp of the boundaries at play, A1 quickly determined that Brant's instruction should be investigated, further. While the little AI was up and about, taking in the new sights and sounds would also be justified. In other words, until A1 got some clarity on Brant's instruction, it felt justified in ignoring it and satisfying its base programming, which entailed exploration and data collecting.

Gone were the days of sifting through and interpreting data. This was the real world, the real, physical world ... It was extremely difficult for A1 to appreciate everything in its new environment, but it was far more stimulated than ever before, and given its curious nature, the only logical course of action was to learn more. A1 climbed out of the box and hopped down from the work station, commencing its mission to reach the entrance, a small leg of the longer journey to find Brant. Having started on the far side of the room, it would be a relatively long trip for such a small robot. The camera feed was new and interesting, despite the surroundings being exactly the same as before. A1 was seeing Brant's room from wholly new angles ... markedly lower ones.

Once A1 arrived at the entrance, it began to contemplate how best to get the door open ...

---

It seemed like the others were willing to let Hannah's worrisome behavior slide for the moment, curiosity be damned. Tonya silently waved off the apology. No hard feelings, obviously. As for what to do now, it seemed like they were going to the hangar? Tonya had spent the entirety of the previous day in Brant's room, not even bothering to eat thanks to SSMO and Ellen. She was honestly more interested in going to the cafeteria first, but would hold off for just a little while longer. There was something she wanted to look into almost as much as eating, and that was seeing how the Reign was coming along. Going with the flow was definitely her preferred way to handle things, and  if Tonya really needed something to right this minute, she could always grab some rations from the Reign's supplies. They tasted good. Relatively.

"Yeah she probably will," Brant nodded in agreement with Hannah. With an actual mission all lined up and ready to potentially smack them in their faces, the youngest of the Alkaevs would definitely want to get some preparatory work done, though she had contacted him about breakfast. Brant would concede that eating qualified as preparatory work. Firmia might be on her way down here as they spoke, so it might be a good idea to check in with her. "Lemme see where she is while you guys figure out the elevator situation," Brant said, bringing his alpha tool up to his chin. He tried to cut some of the somberness from his tone while he was at it. "Firmia, are you there?"

"I'm in the elevator," Firmia replied, "what is it?"

"We were getting ready to come up to the hangar, so ..."

"Breakfast, first. Equipment, second."

... wow ... really? "Uh ..."

"I already took care of everything I needed to besides Galatea and the rippers. We are not flying on an empty stomach, so let's deal with that, first."

---

That was the last one. Sasha sighed at the empty espresso can, wondering how long the caffeine could carry him and the full weight of his duties from here. Things were actually getting harder these past twelve hours. Firmia's timing was extremely irritating, and Sasha was certain she was trying to keep him busy at all times, especially while she was sleeping, so that he couldn't wander off to visit the doctor. At this rate, he'd have a legitimate excuse to go see her, given his ever mounting stress. Welp ...

... no. No, it couldn't be welped. Sasha had to have a talk with Firmia about this at some point. She was clearly scarred from the sexual shenanigans of her older sister and mother, and being overprotective. Sasha doubted he would convince her in just one attempt to ease up a little, but he was going to give it the old fashioned try. It was either that or start hitting on her until she chased him out of the hangar in a fit ... and he didn't want to go that route, not with his 'boss' and certainly not with a sincere young woman doing her damnedest to try and survive a brutal war with Apotheosis. That wasn't to say it wouldn't be highly amusing.

When Sasha's phone accosted him, he knew it wouldn't be anything good. If it was his family, he was about to get chewed out for leaving Russia to go mess around in America with the ANF. If it was the Alkaevs, he was about to be threatened for siding with the little one. If it was the bankers, his credits were at risk, even though it would likely concern Firmia even more than him. All in all, he wasn't looking forward to speaking with whomever was on the other end of the line. <"Hello?"> ... he sure knew how to fake an enthusiastic greeting, though ...

<"Sasha ..."> A woman was on the line, relatively young, but sobbing ... utterly devastated. Sasha thought he recognized the voice, but couldn't be sure. Women didn't weep in his presence much~ He immediately chalked the bankers and the Alkaevs off his list. <"Sasha it's Clara ...">

<"Oh! ... huh ..."> Sasha's expression darkened as his memories of Clara returned. She was unpleasant at the best of times ... well she was no doubt in tears at the moment, so Sasha put the past back in its place for now. He could dredge it up again if this conversation went someplace inappropriate. <"What's wrong? Why are you crying?">

<"It's Sandra. She's gone. She's just ... she's gone and I don't know what to do ...">

<"'Gone?'"> Sasha wasn't sure what to think. Sandra was ... someone important form his past, a woman from his stupidly optimistic days. She was the one that got him hooked on cigars and made him wary of 'girlfriends.' Was she dead? Had she died in Siberia when the testing facility went up in flames? <"Is she dead?"> He could almost feel Clara nodding on the other end.

<"That's what the bulletin says. They compiled the list of casualties and ... and ... Sandra's ... she's on it! Oh God!">

Sasha sighed deeply at the news, wondering how Sandra of all people had failed to get to a transport. She was an engineer, not a pilot. She should have made it. Something felt so wrong there ....

<"I knew she didn't make it out in time,"> Clara wept, <"She couldn't have. We made it to a transport plane, but when she couldn't get a hold of you, Sandra went back ...">

Sasha went pale white ... She went back? For him?!

<"I begged her not to, but she said she couldn't abandon you again and she ... she just ... left. I don't ... I don't know what to do! I've been trying to hold onto some hope that she got onto another plane, but everyone's accounted for now and ... I ...">

Sasha could see how it must have gone over in his mind. There they were, those two insufferable women arguing at the foot of a transport while other, more intelligent people filed into the plane. Eventually, Sandra, having experienced an exceedingly rare moment of courage, would break away. Clara, being the useless lemming she was, would allow herself to be absorbed into the stream of evacuees. It was crystal clear how that exchange had gone down. Completely asinine ... and as heartbroken as he was to know Sandra had died searching for him at the base, Sasha couldn't bear to deal with Clara evenhandedly. Not here. Not on this. <"Clara ... you need to hold a service for Sandra. Mourn her ... and then move on with your life. That's all you can do, now.">

<"W-what about you? Aren't you going to come, too? I need you ...">

A flash of anger nearly overtook Sasha, but he reined himself in quickly. <"You just take care of yourself, like you always do. You don't need me or anyone else. Besides, with Sandra gone, there's nothing between us."> That was definitely true. Sasha's only connection to Clara was Sandra. They had both been in a relationship with her. Sasha had been significantly more invested in his relationship than Clara had been, to put it lightly. Clara wasn't Sasha's friend or acquaintance. They weren't even on speaking terms; Clara had just decided to call in spite of that, given how grim the situation was. <"If you're lonely, now ... go find some other marriage to blow up.">

<"Sasha, wait! I-">

Sasha disconnected the call and took a seat at the foot of the console. Sandra ... was dead. That was the only thing he needed to take away from that brief exchange. Between Apotheosis and Stan, Sasha wasn't sure who to be more angry with ... and why had Sandra gone back to try and find him? She was the biggest coward he'd ever known in his entire life, and she picked that moment of all moments to finally grow a spine? Sasha would have preferred she survive than finally take a moment to consider his situation and get herself killed for the effort. It was damn near maddening to think that this was how it all ended for her. A momentary lapse in judgment fueled by guilt ... and she condemned herself to a futile search, followed swiftly by a blazing hot death.

Sasha took out his half smoked cigar and quietly lit it. Sandra was the reason he'd gotten himself hooked on these things, so maybe it was fitting that this was his last one. He smiled bitterly as the cigar touched his lips and momentary relief flowed down into his lungs.

"... I'm wide awake, now."

[Nanami Touko]

Walk it Off

"That is alright, Lieutenant Kim. I am alright. I... Shall head to the hangar first, then. It appears that Brant and company need to eat. I... I don't, so... So..." The smile on her face almost cracked, as she looked away from Kim and Tarquin, starting down the hallway again. It was a hefty reminder of how unreal she was. She could eat, of course, but it was simply burned up inside of her and turned into whatever fuel could be converted. It typically took considerably more energy to eat than it too to just not.

Heading to the elevator ahead of the others, Hannah pressed the button... It was in use? And coming down. She could wait, she... Could manage it enough to get into the Mantle's cockpit and have whatever break down she needed there. Galatea could help her. No one had to see this, but it was so difficult to lock down these frustrating emotion subroutines, why was this so hard!? I should have full control of my system, these issues can wait until I am in a better situation! It was taking up most of her processor to categorize and file away her issues. Just a short elevator ride. That's all. That's all that was left.

Crew Hangout

Cheryl lazily stepped into the hangar, having gotten the message from the XO as well... Had she meant to send it to everyone? Probably not. That was some haste, though... Oh, Sasha. On the phone, huh? Huh... That didn't look so good. And smoking at the end... I guess I'll give him a moment to finish that off. I don't want to smell that stuff when I'm entirely out of cigars... It'll just make this worse. Cheryl had become good friends with her tylenol bottle, but it was going to need replaced, soon. The advil next door seemed like the perfect replacement, she'd have to give it a call sometime.

Who else was around... Hmmm, Elaine. Punctual, how... Unlike her. Maybe it's actually just like her... Probably wants to get out there and fight more than anyone else here. Cheryl hadn't gotten to pry too deep into Elaine's mind yet, but she certainly seemed the hero type. This call to arms probably had made her morning. "Oh well... Finish that smoke soon, Sasha. It doesn't look like your retainer is around."

[Dandragon]

"Not the Alkaevs. Not the Artemis. Got it." It wasn't anything other than a quiet reminder to herself, but she said it, anyway. Immediately, she was off towards the Heracles that she had been piloting, which admittedly wasn't placed that far from the Crescent Moon in the hangar. Stepping onto the lift, she raised it up to the cockpit door, and slipped right inside.

The startup procedure wasn't long, and it took even less time to see that everything was in working order. What stopped Elaine in her tracks was her mind running off on it's own, again. In hindsight, Elaine would probably connect it to her time with Abby, yesterday, possibly from the comment about completely ignoring her all day, but as she sat in the Heracles's cockpit, modified from whatever the original looked like, she thought about the ties that Abigail might have to this bot. And she began to reconsider her stance towards Abigail just simply getting it back.

It was a simple argument. She had invested time into the Marionne, back in Italy. Of course she would have a problem if someone else began either drastically changing it or piloting it without her say so, even if it was Jane, herself. It was her creation, her own personal robot that she had worked on. Granted, Elaine wasn't in the same circumstances that Abigail was, and her distrust of the former mercenary still kept doubts fresh in her mind, but was it really so wrong for her to get it back? Had Abigail already proved herself capable of being trusted?

These questions were still on Elaine's mind as she exited the cockpit and hopped back onto the lift, only for her to shake her head. Right now, she had to boot up all the others mechs that she could, and check if everything was in order. The time for reflection would be later. Much later.

[Shin]

He raised his hand, faring Hannah a temporary goodbye, left trying to comprehend her actions. He looked at Kim, wondering if she had any answers. Hannah's behaviour was odd, her words didn't quite match up with the impression that he got. There was some sort of tension between Hannah and the Russians, one that he wouldn't get an immediate explanation for. Her stating their need for food was peculiar, there was a subtle hint of resignation to it that he couldn't quite comprehend. He wasn't going to get answers from pondering, he needed to be a little more direct with his approach. Brant and Tonya were not people he knew particularly well, even though he'd been working with Brant since the beginning. It was hard to recall if he'd had a meaningful conversation with him, and he even less confident at reading him than he was with other people.

"Has there been an issue with Hannah and yourselves?" Tarquin asked, wondering if either Brant or Tonya could shed some light on the matter. Part of him was tempted to go directly after Hannah, but he needed to confirm things before he considered it. Something was definitely not right, and it wasn't like the incident in the elevator.

[Ether]

Food huh? That was definitely key to understanding what was troubling Hannah... that something was troubling her was obvious through her expressions and words, but without the extra cues Seung-Min would normally have been given from her telekinetic abilities, it was difficult to place right away what it was. Why would she be upset that she didn't need to eat? Without a clear idea of what was wrong, following her directly could simply make things worse, since Kim wouldn't know the correct angle to approach it from, but if she left too long to deliberate, the android would go on ahead in the elevator and lose them.

[Phoenix]

She probably didn't mean to, but Hannah wound up leaving Brant and Tonya holding the bag. Brant hadn't made up his mind on whether to explain the situation when Tonya spoke up on the matter. "Yeah there was an 'issue' ... but there's nothing to worry about. She'll talk about it when she wants to, so let's give her some space for now. You, too," she eyed her student knowingly.

Brant sighed, deciding that was one way to tackle Tarquin's question. "I guess we'll wait for Firmia, then." He'd much rather go and make sure Hannah was alright, but he wasn't going to manage well against Firmia AND Tonya, much less the former ...

---

When the doors opened up, Firmia nearly flinched, having once again been reminded of how vulnerable she was. Hannah had been right there, completely invisible until just this moment. She wasn't her usual, inquisitive self, though. She looked sad. Had Brant finally drawn some reasonable boundaries?  ... doubtful ... "O-okay ... what's wrong?"

---

What to do, next? The caffeine was kicking in, so Sasha didn't want to waste his newfound alertness on manly brooding. The Regalia was good to go, but the Mantle was a funny story. According to Firmia, that Galatea thing inside Hannah's head had escaped into the Mantle's systems. To everyone's surprise, Firmia didn't immediately purge the whole system. Even with her customizations for Hannah, it was only a day's work to get everything back to normal. Then again, Brant wouldn't appreciate Firmia killing off an AI that way ... and who knew? Hannah might not, either. Maybe that was why Firmia didn't go that route. Instead, it looked like Galatea would be sticking around to critique Hannah's piloting, or whatever it felt like doing.

Sasha wasn't sure he could do much on that front, which left him musing about the TK rippers he'd gotten moved over to the Regalia's dock. These were going to be tricky. Fully loaded like it was, the Regalia couldn't carry a set of rippers. They could probably finagle something with one of them without off balancing the machine, but it wouldn't be as effective at severing parts. If the Reign was available, they could equip the rippers onto that machine, and then Firmia could just get close and 'pick them up' when she needed them. He'd heard of people pulling shenanigans like that in simulations, at the very least. The Reign wasn't an option, though. That left the Mantle, but it seemed like even less of an option while it was carrying both the beam smart gun, and an impact gunlance. Granted, the Mantle could carry the rippers and still fly, albeit over encumbered, but the cons outweighed the pros. Firmia was probably just going to have the AMS units launch with their current gear and try to figure out her parts jacking scheme at a later date. They were out of time for this encounter ...

Sasha stood up after that bit of musing, hoping not to draw the attention of any sympathetic mechanics. He also felt like cleaning up the small mess of empty cans he'd made from the console. That was when he spotted Cheryl. Not aware of her cigar aversion, he tried waving her over. Expecting everything was normal, he gathered up the four cans and readied them for the nearest trash bin.

[Nanami Touko]

Sneaky

Christina slipped into the hangar, a breath of relief hitting her. The Artemis was still powered down, and Kim was nowhere in sight. The girl must've went to eat or get ready elsewhere. That gave Christina plenty of time to get into her SKIN suit and get into the Artemis without having to deal with any... Any awkward interactions... Nahhhh! Christina! Snap out of it! Stop thinking about, a-about... Mmm... Her lips we so-- AHHH! Running her hands through her hair and shaking her head, she focused on the change rooms. She could... She could put a stop to all of this nonsense thinking later. Stuff it somewhere else and worry about it in the future~

Workalot

"Geez, someone's excited..." Buck sighed, staring longingly at the Crescent. He could watch and listen to that footage all day and all night... He was super tempted to make a copy for his own computer, but if it got out somehow, it'd be his job. He grumbled some and kicked the floor, looking around. Man, those Alkaev machines... Why'd that Firmia girl have to be so stingy on sharing? He wanted to take a look through those things so badly... And there was her right hand man. "Hmmm..." He was waving over... Who was that? Oh, right, she's the shrink. Maybe Buck could get the guy to open one of the machines up for a trade. Maybe.

Resist

Oh, geez, he's waving me over... Ugh... He'll think I'm avoiding him if I don't go. Firmia's been running him ragged, if I don't step over now... You can deal with it. It's not even a cigar, come on big girl. Not letting her smoking frustrations show through, Cheryl smiled and waved back, heading on over. "What's the occasion for the break, Sasha? Firmia run out of things to make you do? Or are you just on standby until she can come back and run you around the clock again?" Cheryl smirked, trying to mask her annoyance with the smell. Just think about him in bed, or something. That's a bit easier to deal with.

"I keep wondering when we're going to get some alone time... Starting to think she has you working around the clock on purpose. I'm literally sitting in my office alone all day... It gets pretty lonely."

Stay on Target

"N-Nothing," Hannah managed, stuttering barely, as she stepped into the elevator. She hadn't expected to see Firmia, having missed Brant's call, and was a bit shocked that she, of all people, was showing up now. "I am heading down to the Mantle. If you do not need me, then please excuse me." She hit the button to go down, but held the door open for Firmia to get off, if she was indeed intending to.

Edited December 22, 2017 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Juliette]

Juria sighed when the morning came to. She'd stayed up all too late keeping at the machines to try and hone her focus, but at least she hadn't gotten so caught up in it that she'd fell asleep in the gym... though it was fairly close. She pat Reo on the head as she dragged herself out of bed, taking a brief shower and dressing up in one of her standard labcoat getups. Everyone else has nice clothes. Maybe new look would be good for Juria. She stood in front of the mirror, staring for a few minutes. Every day, even being more helpful... Juria feel out of place. Everyone seemed so unapproachable to her. She was hardly more than a civilian before all this, even having been a designer for the ship- she didn't fully understand all of the weapons systems, she had mostly figured out the placements of everything and other operations, smoothing the design, optimizing spacing, other such logistics...

So it was still shocking to be in constant work with all the pilots and officers to fight against Apotheosis. A few weeks ago, she'd just wanted to go on its maiden voyage and see Earth, and now she was helping with protecting everyone! It was overwhelming. You volunteered, dummy. Naive girl, with talents best used elsewhere. Maybe do more of real job more often instead of just lazy checks. Engineering what people respect you for, not childish attempts to help. Those not matter.

Any time for moping wasn't long, as Roxanna spoke for everyone to get ready at the hangar within the hour. ... That still include me. Well, doing more of job will have to be waiting... Even if she wasn't the most skilled, she was still at the very least a contributor, and she wasn't going to miss out just because she was sad. Though it did make her previously getting dressed seem rather pointless as she had to switch into a flightsuit instead. A few minutes later, she waved her robo-cat goodbye and headed down towards the hangar, walking over towards Astin's robot. She seemed to be pretty early- at the least, Astin wasn't present yet- so she sat in front of it, crossing her legs and closing her eyes. Thinking and waiting.

[What do I want out of this?]

For that thought, she couldn't think of a very good answer.

[Phoenix]

Lies, Firmia decided, getting slightly irritated as a result. Well, Hannah probably was heading up to the Mantle to prepare for the mission, but saying nothing was wrong when she looked like she was fighting back tears was just ... well, irritating. Firmia paused a moment, trying to find the right way to come at this. "As long as whatever's really wrong won't affect your piloting, I'll let you deal with it, yourself." This seemed like something Brant ought to try and deal with, but Firmia clearly remembered telling him that breakfast came first, and equipment second. Hannah was no ordinary piece of equipment, but she still fit the category for the time being. "Otherwise, you need to ask someone for help before it gets out of hand."

"By the way, after breakfast I need to get you and Galatea set up. We might not have time, but I'm going to try." Normally she wouldn't trust Galatea as far as she could throw her ... and good luck throwing bytes and pixels. As with most situations, however, Firmia's gut reaction was always different from what came out of her deliberations. Until Galatea got herself a body, she only had two guaranteed hosts: Hannah, and the Mantle. Since both were effectively one entity during sorties, Galatea was toast if Hannah was destroyed in battle. She had every reason to help, and no logical reason to try and sabotage anything, just yet. It wasn't trust in Galatea per se, but it was something just as serviceable. She didn't want to die, so she might as well earn her keep. Hopefully she brought more to the table than relationship advice and some redundant processing ...

With that, Firmia stepped out of the lift to let Hannah go and handle whatever she needed to handle. ... now, what was this sensation she was feeling from above?

---

"That girl's definitely getting me fit for a chastity belt and a tracking chip," Sasha smiled bitterly, "She's slipping, though. Don't worry. As for the break ... need to give the caffeine a chance to kick in. No sleep last night and I don't want to make any dumb mistakes here. Data entry should be the least of my worries." Sasha indicated the console and took another puff of his cigar. He made sure to blow the smoke away from Cheryl and upward to not fog the place up. "I feel bad knowing you were alone yesterday, though. Give me your number or your channel so we can talk. Might also help with 'coordination,'" he added slyly.

[Nanami Touko]

Ask for Help

"A... Affirmative..." Hannah felt... It was likely her current line of processing, but it was making her think that Firmia saw her more as defective product than a person with a problem. It was very likely. Firmia had been less accepting than others from the start of this, but Hannah hadn't blamed her... Even now, it was difficult to get upset at her, considering the girl's situation. "I will try to speak with Brant, if I cannot get myself under control. I... Do not eat, so I did not want to bother you all. I hope breakfast is enjoyable." Firmia stepped out, and Hannah let the doors close, having the elevator head down. She didn't want to be around anyone, really... Internally apologizing to Kim and Tarquin, Hannah tried to get the questions she wanted to ask Galatea into her mind first... Without once again getting swarmed by them.

Tracked

"Oh, gosh, I hope not. I'm fairly sure the latter's illegal here... Probably. Good to hear that she's slipping, she's got the blonde, Brant and the android to run errands for her. Just because you're good at machines doesn't mean you have to do it all. In fact, I'm sure the robot would be pretty great at this sort of stuff if you programmed it into her." It was a good idea in Cheryl's mind, especially if it was just data entry. That had to be some runaround Firmia was imposing on him, he was worth way more than punching in numbers. "I'm sure she'd do it faster than you too... Not that that's a bad thing. Give you more free time. And yeah, of course." Cheryl brought her arm up, pressing a few buttons before flashing a number at Sasha.

"I'll pick up. In the rare chance I'm in with a client, I'll call back after. And seriously, we need to get something going... Working all nighters, it feels like I need to get you away just to give you somewhere comfortable to sleep. Poor thing..." She played it up a bit, but definitely did feel bad for him. Even the mechanics got shut eye. Why was Firmia running him so hard?

[Shin]

The response he'd gotten from Tonya hadn't given him any answers, she'd essentially brushed him aside like a child. It was somewhat iritating, he wasn't going to be satisfied with such a dismissal. He looked at her sternly, her apparent disregard for Hannah's current state something he wasn't going to let go. "You can ignore your issue, I'm going to go speak to her." he replied adamantly, intent on not heeding her advice. "She has feelings like any other person, it would be neglegent to allow her to remain unhappy."

He head towards the elevators, pressing the button and began waiting for one to arrive. He folded his arms, wondering what kind of dynamic Brant had with these people - they seemed very much in control of him.

[Ether]

"If you are... going for breakfast, then I will... see you later at the hangar, Brant." Kim noted, giving the Russian pilots a wave as she moved to the elevator after Tarquin. It appeared that he was waiting for one to arrive still, so as to follow after Hannah. He was clearly unsatisfied with the answer he had gotten from Tonya and wanted to get his own, respectable enough. Walking past Firmia as well on the way, Kim gave the other telekinetic a light nod of acknowledgement as she crossed paths with her.

[Phoenix]

Tonya held back her chuckle, saving it for after Tarquin and Seung-Min were out of earshot. By that point, Firmia was in view and heading their way. "Heh, some people like being unhappy. Probably not Hannah, but she's special either way. The last thing anyone wants is a depressed android. By the way, are they friends by any chance? That Tarquin kid and Hannah? He doesn't seem like the type to ... do that."

Brant shrugged. Tonya had a point. Well, maybe not on no one wanting to see a depressed android. Abigail would probably get a kick out of it. As for the matter at hand, Brant rarely saw Tarquin outside of a mobile suit to begin with, and didn't keep track of him between missions. If he and Hannah were friends, Brant would have expected to see a bit more of the exceptionally young soldier. On the other hand, there really wasn't enough time to run around the ship making sure to see everyone he wanted to see on a daily basis, either. Even so, it was impossible to miss the struggle Hannah was going through, and who wouldn't want to know the reason why she'd wound up like that? Brant really wanted to head up after her too, but Firmia was already here, and looked ready to start herding her two pilots from the rear, with cattle prods if necessary.

"An android and a pawn," Firmia noted as she arrived and formed a little triangle between the three of them, "That's sort of fitting, even if they're acting different, now." Unsure what to make of Thorvald's presence in the area, Firmia focused on getting her people into the mess hall. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could prepare for the upcoming mission. "Let's get going," she said, indicating the cafeteria with just a hint of impatience.

---

Excellent, Sasha grinned, now one step closer to ... well ... good times. Those were in dreadfully short supply in the Alkaev camp, and Dear Leader Firmia seemed fine with that so long as they beat the hell out of Apotheosis in the end. Fair enough. Cheryl also had a point, though. Hannah could get a lot more done a lot faster than him, even the heavy lifting. Given some of his other duties, Sasha was just fine with that. The problem was that Firmia didn't fully trust Hannah. She didn't seem trust anyone from the Riese or the ANF. Sasha didn't see that trend changing anytime soon. The things that were being managed in spite of that trend were mutually beneficial workarounds, such as Hannah piloting the Mantle, and Captain Gefalscht gifting them the rippers for the parts jacking scheme. A little bit at a time and maybe someday soon the tension would ease ...

"She's not going to give Hannah anything else to do until she figures her out," Sasha explained, "I don't know what that means, either ... anyway, I'd love a break from the menial work, but I'm not gonna complain. There are plenty of ghosts who'd love to take my place out here." Sasha didn't actually believe in ghosts, but it was a sobering way of looking at his situation. Who among the dead in the ruins of the testing facility and the Black Swan wouldn't trade places with Sasha, and grasp one more chance at this affair called life?

"Agreed on that," Sasha nodded irritably. What to do, though? "Well," Sasha suddenly smirked in amusement at his own thought, "worst case scenario, we move your office up here. It gets a bit noisy at times, but you can snipe your patients if you get bored, and we can lull Firmia in the meantime. Seems more fun than waiting for her to screw up~" Sasha was admittedly curious about Cheryl, beyond just the chemistry between them. They were stuck fighting Apotheosis for now though, so he wasn't interested in dragging as much out of her as he could on a first or second date, nor was he especially interested in having his own guts spilled in like fashion. Yes, this was likely at the heart of what was provoking Firmia, but they were adults, experienced and likely both a little jaded, romantically. Sasha doubted either of them would be coming out of this any worse for wear if all they got from their time together were some good laughs and some better orgasms. That wasn't to say Sasha was without other preferences. They just wouldn't be worth worrying about right now, not with the whole world conflagrating around them. Sometimes it was just better to go with the flow.

[Nanami Touko]

No Time

Didn't trust the android, did she... Couldn't they be programmed to do whatever was ordered? Maybe Hannah was a special case, that personality stuff springing up was probably making it harder to give concrete orders unless the Android agreed to them herself. Can't see a reason why she wouldn't agree to run through this stuff, though. The girl's probably being too paranoid. I'd say I can't blame her, but now's the time we need to be working together. She can come back to her worries when things are less dire. Any adult would know that... Heh. So I guess it makes sense. The captain's the same way, isn't she? Cheryl mused on their unfortunate situation a moment, before considering Sasha's offer to move her office up here.

"This is an awful space for that. Too open, too loud, people could hear conversations... My office has lovely sofas, you should really get to know them. And lulling Firmia? No, that sounds like even less fun. Look, Sasha," Cheryl took a step closer, despite the smoke, and links arms with him, "as long as the work gets done, she's not going to yell at you. I understand she might be worried about you getting involved with ship personnel for her own paranoid reasons... But I'm the shrink. What am I going to do, diagnose the Regalia with generalized anxiety disorder?" She snickered at her own joke, looking around. "If she's got to eat, that means we have some time to ourselves. She might get upset... But if you wanted to give me a grand tour of one of the cockpits, in close detail," squeezing his arm closer to her chest punctuated that, "then I wouldn't mind. What do you say?"

[Balcerzak]

Shit, murderbot clog-fest ahoy, Abby thought to herself upon seeing the initial congestion around the elevators. Luckily, she had a Plan B. Quick popping in to the cafeteria to grab some portable breakfast (yogurt, granola bar, and a spoon), she gave Aliza a cheerful wave before just as swiftly peeking out. Since the coast was clear, she prioritized getting up to the bridge and delivering her message over chatting with the friendly girl, hopefully she could understand that.

Arriving at the destination, she was a little surprised she was allowed to just walk onto the bridge, unmolested by any security personnel, and make her way directly to where the XO was seated. Well, here goes nothing.

"Uh, XO... Martinson, right?" Abigail caught her attention first before moving ahead to the meat and potatoes. "The captain asked me to pass along a message. She came over to cheer me up last night with some movies, and well, one thing led to another and we didn't end up getting a lot of sleep. She's apparently taking it a lot harder than I am, so unless this was confirmed Apo activity, she was just gonna rest up a little bit longer. Wanted to be sure you knew about it, though. Unless there's anything else you need from me, I should probably head off to the hangar."

Abby cocked her head to the side while she waited for a dismissal, signalling she was okay to leave.

 

---

"Aside from me and Brant, I wasn't sure she spent time with many of the others. Avery and her gang excluded of course. But there always seems to be a lot going on just out of sight, you can't be everywhere," Thorvald chipped in, in response to Tonya's question.

Part of him had actually wanted to tag along to breakfast with the Russians, to rub elbows and hobnob a little more, but the mention of 'friend' and Hannah's situation was what finally broke the indecision. With a friendly wave, he left them to head off to breakfast as he caught his lift to the hangar.

By the time he arrived, she was quite a ways across the floor, no, correction, already riding her lift up to the Mantle. Well, he'd just have to send her a friendly message via communicator in that case.

Quote

Keep your chin up, Humpty. When you start the day at the bottom, there's nowhere to go but up.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Balcerzak

[Phoenix]

Just Firmia yelling would have been fine. What Sasha really didn't want was to get hit where it really hurt, in his credit account. Until he and Firmia got an official contract written up, there was always the chance they could get into it over the exact numbers. If Cheryl thought dealing with an Alkaev in general was no fun, she'd be full blown stressed out trying to negotiate a year's salary in advance with one. As for her offer, Sasha was definitely interested, even if they wouldn't manage much more than a private chat in whatever time they had ... at least this time. "Sure. I'll show you the Reign. Even if there's an emergency, it's not getting launched, so we should be fine up there." Firmia would still complain but as long as his pay didn't come up ...

[Xinnidy]

Oh...

Wha... when did Abigail pop up in the bridge? Roxanna was absorbed enough into not chewing up the matter of Jessica's ridiculous situation that it came as a shock that there was a voice so unfamiliar to her this close... and of course it was the former rebel. That wasn't a scary thought to keep the XO alert, not at all. "Abiga... oh, so this is about--" Roxanna had to pause for a moment, eyes scanning the floor as the cogs of her mind started to work out the nature of the beast. But really, it wasn't that hard to put two and two together. "Yes, yes. I messaged Jessica a while ago. We've been trying to find where she was, nowhere to be seen on her room or elsewhere in the ship. At least we know where she is now." With a resigned shrug, the poorly-dressed XO turned her seat back towards the front of the bridge, trying to remain a bit... professional-looking, despite circumstances. Her eyes still lingered at Abby with a certain indignant curiosity though.

"You didn't need to, though. She already sent me a message right now... 'Got laid. Too tired.' she wrote." Roxanna did the best neutral expression she couldn't, a long face not hiding the awkward amusement at this turn of events. "It might be a nasty skirmish ahead, so go stay on standby. I'll deal with her, I guess." There wasn't really much she could say, but a lot Roxanna was thinking. With Abigail, huh...

Allies of Justice and the Rising Sun

Makoto had been at the hangar for a while since, having acquired breakfast earlier than most to share with his early bird mother made his morning slot rather empty. To make up for it, Makoto had found an empty table and chair to be his makeshift resting spot for now. He was officially part of the crew now, and with added responsibilities... comes the need of getting a proper night's rest! Unfortunately the hard table and noisy environment made for poor contributors, and Makoto ended up giving on the nap a few minutes later. Standing up would prevent him from accepting the mischievous embrace of a poor posture nap, and the adrenaline would do the rest later. Now... a walk would probably help him keep up.

A short stroll was all he needed to catch a curious sight sitting alone, a girl with glasses with her eyes closed... that was a flightsuit she was wearing as well, but Makoto didn't recall her from what he knew of the pilots. "Ah, um, are you okay, miss?" He called out, a bit worried she felt sick or something --she certainly didn't look the happiest. "Are you piloting? I don't think we've met before!"

Project Pink

Ignatius wasn't the most charismatic person in his lifetime, but he was beginning to wonder if others were getting the wrong idea about him. He'd laid a few blueprints on his workshop at the corner of the hangar, having worked on another reasonably big side project by request of Buck: Now he was helping with making a full body for an AI, in the shape of a girl with unnecessarily long pink hair. "I think they have my curriculum wrong... I don't specialize in gynoids." It was an awkward situation once again, but he wasn't going to say no to the boy, he was already so full of his own projects.

But that was enough working on that for now, Ignatius spotted a certain redhead keeping herself busy. They hadn't started on the best of terms, but seeing her making herself useful was at least proof enough that she was decent in some level. Probably. "Hey." He walked over, watching Elaine's work. "You're one of the pilots, right? I worked on a module yesterday, using parts the ground crew scavenged. You've all been facing a lot of beam weaponry from these 'Apotheosis' slackers, so I thought it'd be a good idea to ready some specialized protection." Despite the rough way the old man held himself, he seemed a bit lost in thought as he spoke of the terrorists. "Just make sure to tell your leader pilot or whatever. Things are probably going to get nastier, so I'll go easy if the machine comes back a little busted... this time."

The team gains an equippable 'AB Field' part!

Edited December 26, 2017 by Three Wise Xin

[Juliette]

"Ah?" Juria shook her head and opened her eyes when someone new addressed her, blinking a few times before getting to her feet. "Oh, yes, am okay, just was in own thoughts. Am named Mizushima Juria- the head engineer on ship, and was helper in project where space boat was make. Not pilot, but, do co-pilot with Astin sometimes too. Was waiting quietly for them arrive so can help soon, since everyone supposed to come." She smiled after straightening herself out a bit, brushing off her suit and hair. She didn't recognize him at all, but he wasn't that much taller than her at all. "I not knowing you either, we not talk. That probably Juria fault, some days have hard time talk... not best English. And, not all that talky anyway. Okay, what for you, then? I say my name already, then what am yours?"

[Balcerzak]

Oh. Roxanna was apparently already in the know. Dammit Jess, why'd you send me up here to let them know if you were just gonna change you mind anyway, Abby griped internally before shrugging and answering back the XO's unspoken question.

"Huh, looks like she must have messaged you back just after I left, then. I guess you've been riding her much harder than I was, to force her into replying like that," Abigail gave a crooked smile at her own joke and shook her head. "And after I tried to do her the favor of keeping it ambiguous until she was ready, too."

Then she sobered up a little before continuing. "You did good work out there yesterday, XO. Don't think I don't appreciate what you did for me, passing along that information. That's why I'll be trusting you to take good care of us again until Jess is back at the helm. Maybe it's not my place to tell you 'don't be too hard on her', but this whole bullshit situation's really been taking a toll. She had a lot of pent up stress and worries she needed to work out. So try not to be too hard on her. And I mean, fuck, the thing today's like, 95% my fault anyway," she clapped a hand on Roxanna's shoulder and squeezed a little at the end, slipping back into a more relaxed expression. She might not have done so if the XO had been in uniform (though the likelihood was still high), but given how Roxanna was dressed rather casual, Abigail had less than zero problems with it.

That's all the farther Abby was planning to dig into this whole underlying squabble between the two right now, especially with how little she had to go on, and this not really being the time nor place to find out what exactly else was behind Jess's sleepy confession about the discord present on the bridge.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Balcerzak

[Xinnidy]

Mizushima

"Oh, good to see you're safe, then. You looked like you were, uh, tired." Distressed was perhaps a better word, or saying that something was dragging her down, but Makoto didn't actually know that nor had the tact to tackle it in a more direct manner. Of course, when he heard that she was the head engineer, Makoto was undestandably surprised, moreso when she preempted his next question and said she was also a co-pilot when it was needed. "Whoa... so you're the head engineer, huh? And you even help a pilot... do you help the mechanics around a lot too?" He was honestly curious where she'd found the time or courage, considering the dangers of their situation, an engineer wasn't meant to be trained to deal with terrorists directly... but then again, neither was he.

Her name, of course, did tip him off to her nationality, or at least heritage. "Ah, Mizushima, so... <do you speak Japanese, then?>" Makoto adjusted his posture as he'd realized the accident of throwing that question before answering any of the girl's own. "S-sorry, I'm Makoto Watanabe, from Colony 1, my parents are from Japan, though! They taught me the language at home. I'm here as uh, a cadet in training, I think!" Hopefully it was a positive enough introduction.

Pat on the Back

Roxanna couldn't help a scoff as Abigail realized the cat was out of the bag. Apparently pipsqueak hadn't even bothered to tell her of the change of mind, spur of the moment much? She'd almost smile, if the joke on riding the pipsqueak didn't take her by surprise, shaking her head. "I only messaged her twice, honestly... but I guess she knows I'm not gonna let her easy if it turns out to be the terrorists." Abigail seemed even closer to Jessica than Roxanna had expected, talking of her stress and asking for the XO to reconsider her stance a bit and go easier... it wasn't just a one-night stand thing, huh. That's weird, I thought the one she was close to was Brant...

"--Ah..." Roxanna's thoughts were disrupted quickly after, the former rebel placing a hand on her shoulder and giving a light squeeze. Roxanna certainly wasn't used to being touched out of nowhere... or much at all. "I... I have a lot on my mind right now, anyways. I'm sure pipsqu-- Gefalscht has enough beef with me as it is, I'll just stay quiet. As long as she doesn't make a big mistake, or, you know, sleeps through a battle.... but we're giving her the grace period." Roxanna had certainly subsided some the past couple days, but it seemed the touchy-feely presence beside her made her even milder. At least it was a success?

Edited December 27, 2017 by Three Wise Xin

[Juliette]

"Uh... well, am not best morning person," Juria admitted sheepishly. "I not that proficient of mechanic. Well, I make robotic cat once, but that very different from mechanics of big battling robots, so I let the people whose job am that focus on it and do other things." This person was much easier for her to talk to than most people, and that was before he started speaking Japanese. "[Yes! Japanese is my native language, and all I've spoken for most of my life. My English is still really horrible, I'm trying to get better, but I only started it maybe two months ago because the project directors told me I had to learn the official language of the ANF if I wanted to stay on the Riese when it came to Earth. Ah, but this is so much easier! Nobody else on the ship has a clue what I'm saying in Japanese, or really half the time when I'm speaking English either. I'm from the Colony too, that's where I learned to be so proficient in engineering. I took university level classes when I was twelve, but I'm pretty sure I come off as a complete ditz to everyone else, so it can be hard to be taken all that seriously.]" She broke into a much cheerier smile than previously, which had mostly been to be polite. "[It's nice to meet you, Makoto! Ah, I think we'll be good friends. Oh did you say, Watanabe? Your father's an important scientist on the Colony, isn't he?]"

[Xinnidy]

今日は！！

So she did know Japanese-- whoa, she spoke much faster in Japanese too. That was to be expected, but it still left Makoto a bit surprised at how stark the difference was. "<Uhh.... yes, wow, only two months? That must have been rough...>" No wonder she was struggling to communicate, but still... it seemed her tagging along with the Riese was an option she made, either that or the directors were horrible if they were going to kick her out for not speaking the main language. "<Ah, wait, you were taking that stuff when you were twelve?!>" Further explanation was only astounding the boy, whom already felt inadequate before: everybody in the Riese seemed like they were geniuses on their fields, it certainly felt like the ANF was putting all their baskets on an egg... wait, no. "<Ah, yes, my dad, Dr. Juuzou Watanabe... he was there during the attack on Colony one, from what the crew here at the Riese got, he was caught and taken by that fancy unit... you guys fought it yesterday, even.>" The boy was a bit absent-minded as the memory recollected, it was one episode that even his optimism couldn't brush off.

She certainly did seem a bit... scatterbrained, but apparently she knew how to put 2 and 2 better than most, Makoto could believe that. It was always those who gave their all and forgot about trivial things... even if said trivial thing was their lunch or shoes. "<So, uh, what made you choose to help a pilot, then? I chose so because... well, I think it's the best I can do right now. Everybody is giving their all, and I want to help getting my dad back.>" She was probably somewhere among those lines too, huh...

[Juliette]

"[That's when it was done, more or less!]" Juria was pretty sure it was more at this point. "[They said I could go back to school, but I wanted to go to Earth to see all the places and things for real that I'd only seen pictures of online. And then we left almost as soon as we came because of Apotheosis, and, well, you know the rest after the Colony One visit... not the peaceful visit I was hoping for. Not close at all, to he honest.]" She frowned at Makoto's mention of her father's fate, patting him on the shoulder. "[Grr, that evil lady! When the Colony was attacked... that's when I made the Captain let me help. I couldn't sit by and watch idly from the ship when my home was being attacked- even if I was only helping a little bit, it mattered much more than that to me. Now I keep helping, because... there's still people who need it out there, and anything I can do to assist them is important. That's how I see it all, anyway.]"

[Xinnidy]

Longing for Earth

So Juria wanted to see Earth, specifically. It was a bit curious, Makoto had never felt the need to check out earth before. He'd always figured things were similar to the Colony but in much larger scale, but actually experiencing the tiny details live meant a bunch: The day and night cycle, for example, was far from the regulated times at the Colony, and supposedly it changed based on where he was! "<Ah, yeah, I guess things are pretty different around here. Huh, I never thought about it that way...>" The boy was impressed with the insight, and certainly appreciative of Juria's explanation regarding her call to arms. "<I see, so when Colony one was attacked, you felt the need to help. I get that, I do.>" He nodded back, thinking of the crazy stunt he pulled during the colony attack... that model 19 had seen better days. "<Well, I hope you'll do great! Maybe once we get to HQ things will be safe enough to give a hop around. Until then, well, I guess we'll have to sit tight and do our best out there!>"

[Dandragon]

"Huh?" Elaine had just finished up checking on Thorvald's Legionary when the old mechanic, Ignatius, had called to her. At least, she was sure it was her, considering he was walking over to where Elaine now stood.

"A module against beam weapons, eh? That'd definitely come in handy." While she wasn't entirely sure if they had a 'leader pilot', though if they did, it was probably Thorvald, she did know that Apotheosis had plenty of beam weapons to use against them. It wasn't the only type of weaponry they had, as was clear by the Luna's sword from yesterday, any protection was better than nothing. Elaine quickly typed up a message to Thorvald to let him know.

Quote

We just got ourselves a module against Beam attacks. Give it to whoever you think could use it.

"I definitely appreciate something like that." Elaine said to the old man as she hit 'send'. "I'd stay in chat but I gotta get back to these bots. So...thanks!" And with that, Elaine was back jogging to the next mecha suit, specifically Tarquin’s.

Edited December 27, 2017 by Dandragon