TheRoon Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 It seemed like the lady in white was indeed his ticket, he smiled wide at the prospect of good info. "Great, then what are we waiting-" He turned to Azame, only to find she was gone...and with a certain helmeted, tailed figure and a man spooked out of his mind. Just seeing Azame so close was one thing, his heart nearly dropped when she invited her onto the ship. Fucking hell, and I thought I had issues toeing the line. He was about to go and intervene, but Marianne quickly made a deal he wouldn't forget. The truth was Leon would have done this regardless, though it did make him wonder if there was more to this lady than her profession. "...consider it done." He looked Marianne in the eye (ignored the ass slap part), then turned back to the other table as he made his approach. Leon knew this was a life or death situation. While he had no idea what the girl in black was, he knew things were going to take a hell of a turn if they didn't cut things here. "Azame. Not her." He spoke in a stern tone to match his sharp gaze, something that probably caught people off guard considering how laid back he presented himself up until now. "It's one thing to bring unauthorized civs onboard, it's a whole different ball park bringing her. She works for Shezsacosh, and I promise you the captain will have both of our asses if she comes onboard with us. That's only half of the hell we'll get too." He turned toward Aly and kept his fiery leer on high. "Dunno why the man in the chair caught your attention but we're done here." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) "Huhhhhh?" Azame leaned back and stared at Leon, question marks radiating from her head. "Who's that?" She hadn't been there for the meeting, the debrief, and no one had explained it to her before she was assigned babysitting duty on Leon. "Someone important we should be worried about? Because I've never heard that name." "That's... She's, security head for, AHI." Senri wasn't sure whether that would trip sensors one way or the other, but... "Oh, AHI. Isn't that fine, then? Better than 'unauthorized civilians', pfft, you sound like some kinda movie star. Why so tense? We're all friends here, aren't we?" Azame shrugged and hopped up onto the table to get an eye on everyone not Senri. "Look, we let civvies take tours of the embassy all the time, and we're on good terms with AHI, so what's the problem, hot shot? We walk them through the halls, they get the gawk at some HEX machines, we have some fun talks; sounds like a great time to me." "Oi oi, I'm not you, actually making eyes at other women. C'mon now, Catrin." Selu pouted and smacked the cat woman's back, gently, getting dragged into the arcade section and changing her tune immediately. "Right, games...! Mmmm... Hmmmmmmmm... Bikes!" Selu broke away from her girlfriend and dashed for the motorcycle stand, leaping onto the bike and leaning forward on it... Very purposefully arcing her back a bit and smirking over at Catrin. "Well? You ready to lose, babe?" I'm already in this deep... I might as well really mess with her, right? It can't get worse than it already is... Surely? Edited May 3 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 "You make habit of watching, or something? Also, never remember seeing you there." The man's blatant fear lightened her mood, finding an unusual amusement in it his desperate body language as he ran his mouth. "If were doing business there would remember you. Suspicious." The grin hidden behind her helmet was wide, her voice almost exuberant. "Maybe should take you in, am still part of AHI Securi--" She flinched as she felt a sudden hand on her shoulder, dodging down under the arm and spinning herself towards the... first interloper. She forced her tensed muscles to relax, the punch she'd been about to throw fading as her fist unclenched and she stood back up straight. She opened her mouth to deny the claim that she and this 'SenSen' knew each other, but then something even more ridiculous rolled off the woman's tongue. They were taking these two to the Dawn? More importantly, she'd just been invited too. "Oh, yes. Good friends with this one." Her tail snaked its way to his side, half wrapping around him and tugging him a bit closer. "Just talking about last time we see each other at work." Were it not for the laws of physics, the smirk on her face would have been audible. "I can go if you're inviting me. Have free reign to do what I want right now." But of course it wouldn't be that easy. It was Leon's turn to come over, that fake civility removed from his features and tone. It would've been welcome, if he wasn't trying to ruin this for her. She let out a quiet, muffled growl as Leon did his best to dissuade the interloper from taking her along, but it seemed that whoever she was she was entirely oblivious to the meeting they'd had earlier in the day. And, once again, whoever she was, she was full of great ideas. "Yeah, what's the problem, Leon? Weren't you just talking about how badly you wanted to be my friend? This not very friendly of you." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldsbroTSG Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Markus watched as Miz took her turn on the machine. Her score wasn't half bad. Now for Markus... I talked a big game, but... The last time he played one of these was with his sister when he was still in his teens. He took a deep breath and just thought to himself, Nah, we can't talk like that. She talked herself up and you gotta play like you mean business. He assessed the lane and each point hole with laser focus, and took a shot. A clean hit in the forty point hole. Then he made his second shot. Oops. Over assessed. it bounced off the fifty and went rolling into the ten. He gave a nervous laugh. Then the third shot only made it into twenty. He waved his hand a bit like he was trying to wear off a sore, trying to play it cool. "Just gotta wear some rust off, I guess, haha..." He kept his confident smile and took another ball. Aside from one dud it was consistent forties for most of his next shots. On his last ball he needed to make forty to tie, or fifty or hundred to win. She got a hundred, I can do that. He carefully analyzed once again. Before his shot, he finally took off his glasses, and hung them off the front of his shirt. He blinked a few times just to get accustomed to a surprisingly brighter game room. He made a careful toss, it was almost like a pro had been doing it by the way he rolled that ball. It made its way down the lane, launching up and landing perfectly into the one-hundred point hole, giving Markus a three-fifty point score. He gave a sigh, and turned to Miz with a smile. "So... would you believe me if I said I didn't think that last shot was gonna make it?" He gave a small chuckle, "Good game?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Selumine received a pout back for her shot, although things seemed to return back to high energy rather quickly as Selu darted off to her selection, climbing onto one of the bikes and purposefully arcing her back and sticking out her hips, taunting Catrin with a smirk. Oh, that was how she wanted to play, was it? Following Selu over to the bike she had mounted, Catrin placed her hand on the arch of Selu's lower back, just barely hovering above her hips as she gave the Martian a smack in return. "Careful now Selu, that skirt's a good bit shorter than what y'left in. Nearly flashed me... not that Oi'd mind." Catrin teased, leaning in to steal a kiss from Selu, lingering for a few moments before pulling off and hopping on to the adjacent bike, a wide grin on her face. "Confident, are we? Sure then, Oi'm ready to lose love. Lookin' forward to it." Came her reply, sticking her tongue out at Selu playfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 "Oh don't give me that. You said you didn't need friends, and one invite to the ship gets you to change your mind?" He gave the biker a brief glance before he stepped very close to Azame and turned his head up to her heightened position on the table. He lowered his voice so most of the bar goers wouldn't hear, though he knew they most likely had a lot of attention on them already. "You didn't get briefed, that's a problem. After we finished our meeting with Avyndor the head of security wanted to see us, and she started the meeting with a gun to the captain's head. They've got plans that involve the whole damn moon, this isn't something I'd joke about Azame." He narrowed his eyes. "There's more where that came from, and I'll explain everything back at the ship. But I need you to trust me on this, please." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me... First you warn me about this... whoever the fuck this is, and now they're associated with the HEAD OF AHI SECURITY?!?! Those jitters were back in force; for a moment, she had figured out of the group, she was the most likely to just, flit away and disappear without more thought. But now that the person was AHI aligned, and with the head of security at that, her position was a lot more precarious. She'd been... involved in a lot of AHI's issues, a lot of their... equipment disappearing without a trace, and then inevitably showing up with some rebel faction. Unfortunately, Senri was the closest thing she had to contact that this moment, and he was unfortunately in the grubby paws of one of AHI's many lapdops. The feminine being dropped some droll line about Leon wanting to be friends--if a smirk was a sound, it was all over her words--and Leon wasn't having it. Good... I can work with that... maybe. Marianne threw on a surprised look, "AHI? She's with AHI?" Marianne frowned, and then shook her head, "That... changes things. Sorry, if you're taking her along them I've gotta politely decline. You're with CEN, right? You know about AHI and their issues with the rebels on the moon, right? Well, AHI's been in the business of trying to stamp out the rebellions--as they rightfully should--but a lot of their... tactics, involve terrorizing people out in the less terraformed areas of the moon." It took all of Marianne's mental focus to not gag as she lauded AHI for trying to deal with the rebels, and not rolling over and setting themselves on fire. "I'm from one of those areas, and I've seen a lot of my friends roughed up just for seeming as if they had something they wanted to know... Can't stand it. I wouldn't mind a chance to see the ship, but if we're being AHI security along, it's probably best that I'm not present. Don't wanna say something that gets me thrown in one of the many holding cells I'm sure they've got around..." Marianne walked around, and had intended to place herself right next to Senri, before noticing that the beast had wrapped her tail around him. Of course... I'm basically playing... the fuck is it called... the one with the gun, and the bullets... Ruski Roulette? Is there even a way to get him out of here without miss AHI basically letting us walk?! Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh... why can't I just pick the easy jobs?! Edited May 3 by Mercenary on the Winds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 "You must've misheard. Said 'I need friends'." She was content to play this game for as long as she could, whatever this mess could be called was far more amusing than just slinking off quietly and getting back to work. Leon stepped up to the first interloper, likely to give her some real context, as the second began to rattle off some founded grievances against AHI. Some of it might've even been her work. The fact that she knew that information was a bit suspect, but any actually concerned citizen could've stumbled across it. And even if it went deeper than that, she wasn't supposed to be snuffing the fires of rebellion, despite her title. She did her best not to bristle as her free ticket onto the Dawn was likely being taken away from her, reminding herself of 'SenSen' still half-wrapped in her tail. It was far from enough to actually hold him down if he made a legitimate attempt to escape, but that would also require him to do it. Despite his stuttering and eye-movements, his pokerface was almost flawless; only below the table could she see his fingers fidgeting in panic. Even if she didn't get to go to the Dawn, there wasn't much they could do separate themselves from her unless she let them. Leon knew she was dangerous, but he hadn't the slightest inkling to what she could actually do if she wanted to. She turned to look at the first interloper, watching as confusion and frustration played across her face. She didn't attempt to disprove Marianne's words or contest what Leon was likely saying. Without anything to parrot back, she was actually rather bad a verbal confrontation; she knew she wouldn't be able to out talk these two, even with the benefit of the doubt the interloper was likely giving her. Instead, she focused on the second interloper's concerns about being captured. "Don't have to worry about that, not my job to lock people up." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 Miz had put her winning tickets onto her card as Markus went about taking his turn... And for a time, it seemed like she had this win in the bag, but... Whether it had been luck, skill, or a keen eye mirroring her toss, Markus sunk his last ball into the hundred and took the score, a sigh leaving Miz-- but it wasn't that big of a deal, the woman elbowing Markus with a smile as he tried to play it humble. "Look at you, playing it cool... But, great work~" Miz latched back onto his arm, earnestly happy to only be here having fun, some giggles escaping her as her excitement overflowed. "What's next then, Markus? That was my pick... So let's alternate until we're all played out, yeah? I'm sure you didn't expect me to play arcade guide the whole time... I'm down for whatever game! Even if it's not something I know; I'll figure it out. My reflexes are strong... Maybe I'm a newtype, oohh~" She stuck her tongue out a bit at her little joke, squeezing his arm tighter against herself. Azame almost rolled her eyes as Leon moved in to tell her more, but the information he told her was quite alarming, leaving her growing more and more confused as it entered her head. "Wh-What are you talking about? If this was so important, the Captain would've told me! I met with her before we left, you know!?" She groaned, then gasped, then sighed, as Anne quickly removed herself from the situation... "Ah... Geez, what the heck..." Azame let out a large sigh, hopping off the table and pushing herself past Leon. "Whatever! I'll be in the car... You dweebs figure this out, Gawd. You try to be friendly to everyone and it blows up in your face, shows what I know, fuckin'... If it was that important tell my ass before I leave, fuck..." Her grumbling continued until it was out of ear shot, the woman slipping out of the bar for the car as she'd claimed. Senri, meanwhile, was in hell, that tail, so VERY clearly organic and far from an augment at this point, wrapping around him and clinging her onto him like the worst threat he'd ever received. His eyes were darting between all parties, hands nervously fidgeting as his fingers fiddled with themselves, hoping for any out, but... While Marianne had freed herself, he wasn't exactly getting anywhere. Even Azame had left, from whatever Leon had told her and Marianne removing herself from it all. "Ahahah... What a mess we've caused, ahah. My apologies for making things so, er... Complicated. Azame was, just... Trying to show us all a good time, and now the mood is quite ruined. My apologies... Sincerely." He did feel bad for her, even if he was still afraid for his life, so he tried his best to hide his fearful stutter and give Leon his most genuine words. "If she's truly grasping beyond her privileges, then don't mind us." "Exactly, like you'd care... C'mon, let's get this started." However, her excitement and enthusiasm seemed to have gotten ahead of herself, the course selected for the arcade's cabinet far more than she'd expected. If this had been a real motorcycle, she would've been fine, but the game's controls were just far enough removed from a real vehicle that she had trouble acclimating to them, leaving her score rather pathetic at the end of things. "Ahhh, geez..." She would try to keep going, not having the time to glance over at Catrin's, but she was sure that it was much better than her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 With both in position, the simulation booted up, and it was quite literally off to the races. Unfortunately, it seemed that Selu had a spot of trouble with the controls... or so Catrin assumed, with the first race concluding with the latter coming out with a rather dominant lead. Selumine's disheartened geez seemed to echo that sentiment, hopefully the rough start wouldn't put her off. "A little different from a real boike, isn't it? Care for another go?" Catrin asked, not firing back at Selu's prior confidence. Time and place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldsbroTSG Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Markus turned and took the elbow with a light laugh. "It was fun, yeah." He smiled. "I mean of course, I invited you after all I should show you something I like, after all." He gave a light punch, as he started his way back into the game room. "And yeah, I'd be a little scared if you were a newtype. I don't need you seeing how nervous I am." As if it wasn't definitely plastered all over his face. He looked out to the many games, trying to find something for them the try. "Oh hey," He took her down to what looked like a carriage-like casing. House of the Dead 2 "It's like an old horror team shooter. How about it? Shoot up some zombies, get a little spooked?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Marianne watched as Azame quick departed, it really did seem like there was something... more regarding the shipfaring CEN members, and AHI. She felt bad for Azame, but that was tempered by her disdain of AHI, and her concerns over being watched by the likes of them. AHI was not to be trusted in any capacity, they would have, and did, sold a person's future for even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction's profit. "I don't think that's Azame's fault, I'd more quickly blame her if I was to blame anyone from this engagement." Marianne tilted her head towards the helmeted being, content to let herself vent just that much before relaxing. If she was with AHI, she could probably count on her lashing out the moment her feelings--if there were any--were hurt. Marianne sighed, "Can you just let him go? He and I have some business to tend to, and I can already feel my phone going off--we're going to get torched if we're late again. You know how things are on the moon, we fuck up anymore, and we'll be on the streets. We'll both just get out of your hair, and you can go on with the CEN people to inspect the ship." A presumptuous claim, but at this point, she wasn't sure if trusting CEN affiliates was a good idea, the only one that she could be even remotely sure about was the one in the tail's clutches. Alouette was a lot of things, and stupid couldn't ever fit on that list--if Senri was affiliated with her then she could trust him. "Really, we're just going to get in the way of whatever you guys are planning, so we might as well get out of your guys way. Can you grant us that much, so you can talk with your friend, Leon?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Marianne's additional information caught Leon's ear, it wasn't much but it was something to take back to the ship at least. Still, he kept his focus on Azame and her reaction told Leon a lot, he felt bad no one briefed her on the situation. Though he maintained his serious expression even after she pushed past him, he just stepped back to allow her to leave for the car and watched her go. "..." It wasn't the most elegant solution, but it was one that got her to withdraw at least. Well, that's one down. Though the other task in mind wasn't something that was easy to do, especially given he had cut the tailed girl's chance to board the Dawn. The girl was indeed a threat, but Leon had no idea how to handle her if she decided he couldn't be saved. Marianne spoke first and beat him to it, it seemed like she tried to get a handle on the situation herself. Though it seemed like she attempted to leave Leon to handle her and save themselves, it was sly but understandable. "Sure, sounds fine to me. But I'd love to talk later though, so..." He leaned a table on the side and took out a pen from his coat pocket, he hastily wrote something on it and turned to her. "Maybe we can discuss that tour later, when the dust settles." He responded in a lowered tone and slipped it in her hand. With that done, he turned back to Aly with another serious gaze. "He's really not worth your time, so how bout you let these two go on with their business?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 She watched as Azame made a quick exit after Leon almost certainly told her about the meeting, her tail tightening just a little around 'SenSen' as one of her sources of entertainment was without a doubt no longer available to her. That left her in this three-way standoff between interloper two, herself, and Leon. Both of them wanted her to let her prize go, but neither had a particularly compelling reason; her prize himself seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, which was always fun. The remaining interloper was trying to persuade her as though she was actually a normal person, and simultaneously foist her on Leon, while the man himself seemed to be more concerned with whatever he had slipped into the interloper's hand than trying to convince her to let 'SenSen' go with how half-hearted his attempt was. This was a new situation for her to be in, holding all of the power in a conversation in a situation that didn't demand whoever she was talking with died. Her mood was significantly better than before, despite her loss of an early visit to the Dawn, so she was of mind to savor this interaction. "You both misunderstanding situation." She walked up to the pair, careful to maintain enough of a distance that her tail could still ensnare her prey, but close enough that the rest of the patrons wouldn't be able to easily hear her. "Doing this because it entertaining. If wouldn't have taken away chance to get on the Dawn, then wouldn't be doing this. So will keep your 'SenSen' until I get bored. Can leave if you want, but no promise of when or where I get bored..." They couldn't see it, but she flashed them a toothy grin, her rows of razor-sharp teeth reflecting back at her from the visor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Alrenne paused for a moment, briefly stunned by the pet name, then sighed and shrugged. "Alright, alright. Force of... habit, I suppose." He raised an eyebrow at her slip of the tongue, accidentally hinting at what she'd come across in her, ah... social engineering, putting it lightly. "It's fine to talk about it in the hangar, probably... I doubt anyone of the crew here don't know anything you do. At least as far as HEXes go. Just... don't go sending them to anyone asking for 'balance changes'. We're still getting security trainings over those incidents..." The sudden gamer winding herself around his arm was less of a surprise this time, though the consequences of being seen still mumbled incoherently, gnawing at the back of hjs mind. It didn't take long - they'd hardly crossed a quarter of the length of the hangar before catching sight of Tristan and Amy; both rather aglow, as far as he could tell - he felt a bit of a fool for having worried about having Vivien around. The nagging in the back of his mind took a different tune, though fading none. You might have been an idiot for thinking a hack job of a crew roster like this was ever going to run a tight ship. Shut up. Oh, don't mind me. I'm not the one with a socially reticent petty criminal clinging to him. I've got to have better things to worry about than this... It seemed his inner narrative was a comedian; fortunately, before he could ruminate on that much further, Cia's voice cut across the ambient mechanical noise. "Mendez! Park's machine needs a new barrel for the rifle, it's burned out! Go get a lifter exo and grab one from the machine shop!" "Aye, chief!" At least the Chief Petty Officer had her people focused. Mostly. He spoke quietly - barely over the din - to Vivien. "Have any new nicknames crossing your mind for any faces here?" Mick shook his head, wincing. "I'll... start by addressing the concerns the two of you have. Regarding the Ensign - yes. I'm well aware of the potential for destruction that the perpetrator has. But respectfully, Captain, the treatises that have been signed with Avyndor are ironclad, and very clear. Policing and enforcement on Callisto are matters for Avyndor to handle. Even if I were to request reinforcements from the Jupiter colonies - and I have - the time it would take for a decision on whether additional CEN forces' presence here would constitute an escalation in violation of the agreements would be more than long enough for whoever did it to be halfway to Earth." He grimaced. "And that's if they don't kick the decision back to the blue orb." He clicked the screen off, quiet for a moment as he tapped his comm, sending the combat recording over to Sia's. "There are two possibilities, I think. Either they saw the Ensign searching and let her go... or they just don't care at all. Both are concerning, because none of it matches up with what Avyndor wants or what the rebels want - and that's about the end of where any capability I have to investigate the matter ends, unfortunately." "I'm sorry to be the broker of bad news, as it were; I can't imagine you expected things to be quite so messy here when you set out. I'll see if there's any intelligence we can gather in the city as you investigate - it's about the most I can have our people here do for you, seeing as we're little more than an office now. If you find that machine... good luck." ...That'll do it. It's not like I'm exactly concerned about a performance review... Huh, wonder what they do to people removed from post underway. Green hair poked out from underneath the cap of a figure in the mazelike halls of the Dawn. Clad in overalls, he'd spent the past twenty minutes or so mopping the corridors on one of the ship's decks; though admittedly it was getting a bit tiresome. It was a convenient opportunity to go through the sudden bulk of data that the Dawn had accumulated in its first day on Callisto; looking down and mopping kept the overlay of documents projected into his vision by his augs out of anyone else's sight. Looks like it's a waiting game, still... Norbert turned on his heel as a cheery voice rang out across the parking lot; his face sped through a couple of different expressions - deer caught in the headlights, interest - settling on impassively innocent. Two women - not quite his usual customers, but hey, what was the worst that could happen? Short of this being some kind of AHI sting operation, probably nothing! "Ehh... hey there? Well, uh, this isn't exactly a shop, miss, but hell, a lotta shipments come through here. Lot of different kinds of things, so you might have to be a bit more specific." It probably wasn't a sting. These two were a bit, uh, standout as far as plainclothes AHI security could've gone... plus there was that whole thing where his actual business hours didn't involve the sun shining. Getting caught in the middle of unloading a shipment meant they had him dead to rights. Either the guys they had working his case were getting worse at their jobs and scarily lucky, or these two... were actually customers. "I figure you're looking for something technical, because, uh..." He gestured aimlessly at what could've been the dictionary definition of 'industrial park' surrounding them; but then he blinked, slipping into a salesman voice that was mildly greasy enough that he'd probably picked it up from commvids. "Oh, manners, manners... Y'can call me Norb--... Norm. And who might I have the pleasure of meetin'?" Thankfully - or perhaps, rather moreso unfortunately, to some of the sorry souls in the bar - the nameless, faceless patrons scattered around the other couple occupied booths were too engrossed in their cups and conversation to find their way into the mess so now very centered on the 'biker'. Reisa had left some minutes ago, slipping out the employees-only rear entrance and teasing a pack of cigarettes out of her uniform; though not before leaving a little placard behind on the bar counter. Please wait warmly. Reisa sighed a breath of synthesized air. She wasn't stupid - had clocked the biker as strange the minute she'd walked through the door, not that it took a sixth sense to read a helmet in a bar as odd. As long as there hadn't been trouble, it wasn't her problem; but tonight, trouble'd found its way in in more than spades - it was looking like a full deck. She fumbled with the lighter, glancing up to the sky. Wonder when they've got the next rain set for... 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Nanami Touko Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) Oh, dear. Looks like I'll be getting home late, and have plenty to explain to Alouette... Assuming I make it back home. Alright, Senri. Nerves of steel. The military gave you enough training for that, yes? He put his hands up and waved them a bit, trying to garner some attention and perhaps defuse things. "Let's be rational, shall we?" He directed his smile to Leon, knowing that Marianne would go along with what was best for her. "I'd rather we all not fight about this... Especially over someone you don't even know, right? I only barely know your associate, Miss Nishimiya, so let's not have you going to bat for me." He took a quite, but deep breath. "If our AHI associate here wishes to accost me for a time, let her. We're in a place of conversation, quietness, and calm... A lovely little bar made for having a drink and making some small talk, so let's leave it at that. Anne," he glanced towards her, "why don't you see Azame's friend out and we can catch up later? We've a few new places to put up for sale, so we'll have plenty to talk about... Alright?" That tail was still far too close for him to make an escape. Even if he could feel any incoming intent, his physical abilities were military mundane; he wasn't a perfect soldier even in his better years, so no matter what he felt coming, he probably wasn't getting out of the way on time. "If you'd like to chat, miss AHI security," he patted the seat next to him, "why don't you come have a chat with me? We can share names and a drink... Since you're so interested." Maybe I can get... Anything out of this, beyond being terrified of the... Whatever-test-tube-you-crawled-out-of guard here. So it wasn't negligence. They were truly that strapped for personnel... And because of the treaties between the CEN and AHI on the moon, they weren't able to readily reinforce such an establishment. We're the reinforcements... We're all they have. Goodness... So, either we solve all of this, or we go down trying, and things get worse. Great. Wonderful. And here I am on something of half-date... I need to be in the simulators. I need to sharpen my aim. I can't miss a single, damn, shot... Louise bit her lip, hard, wincing slightly from the pain. "We should be on our way, Captain. Commander, thank you. While this news is dire... It's news, information, and more importantly, things to place on our radar where nothing was, previously. Callisto is... Wrapped up tight. I'm sure you've run into your own share of dead ends trying to investigate anything on this planet." Between Miss Avyndor herself, Tokiwa, this mystery machine, the Ambassador's disappearance, rebel factions, the terrorists at Tokiwa's beck and call... There was simply too much happening all at once. New things were being added before they could even step a toe into anything else. "By your leave." She saluted Mick and turned to leave, making her way out of the office and resting against the wall just beyond the door to wait for Sia. She began to bite at her thumbnail, eyes boring a hole into the floor. "Where to start? Where to fucking start...? I can't imagine we'll run into anything in town that will tell us more than we already know... Fuck. Can't investigate AHI headquarters further, can't follow any leads because they don't exist. Are we just on standby until something happens? Ugh..." Her frustrated mumbling was interrupted by a sudden quiet crack, Louise staring down at her broken thumbnail. "Shit." She fished a bandaid out of one of her uniform's pockets. She'd give it proper treatment when they got back. "Need to stop doing that when I get stressed... I suppose it's better than clawing at my eye." She sighed and flushed the bad memories away, waiting for the Captain, who probably had way more burning into her mind. "What, you, nervous? You're putting on a good face, then... Could it be, you're..." Miz gave his arm a punch back and snickered, stepping a bit ahead of him so she could look him in the eyes, "nervous, to be out in public, with such a beautiful, well known, famous, popular, model and singer, on a date, trying to impress her? Am I hitting the nail on the head? Good." She latched onto his arm tight, squeezing. "Markus. I know I look like this, and I know the reputation I've built up working for DeVa... But today, I'm just Samantha. Okay? Try to focus on that... This is my first date. I don't need much to have a good time-- and even if it wasn't," she reached up and flicked his nose, "you're enough." A team game sounded like a good time, Miz picking up one of the guns and blowing off the muzzle like she'd just tired. "Do I strike a good picture holding a gun? They've had me model with them before, but I suppose an arcade one is a bit sillier... Anyway. Start it up, Marky Mark~ Bet we can beat it together?" "... Yeah. It's a game, but it's still a machine... I can master it." Selumine didn't let her failure at an arcade game affect her for more than a few moments, slapping her card back onto it and starting up again. She just had to key in and focus, eyes staring down the incoming obstacles and CPU racers, pushing past them with some snap fires of the controls, a now studied understanding of what the game was going to throw at them, and finally... "There! Hahh... That's not a bad high score, surely." She hadn't looked at Catrin's result yet, sitting up on the bike and rubbing her forehead off. "Got a little too focused..." "Oi, I'm not stupid... I'd run them by you first, at least." She pouted a moment before glancing out at the engineers at work, thinking about nicknames. "Well, only a few. Texas Ranger over there gives me chuckles over the camera sometimes; you can really tell where she's from and she doesn't try to hide it in the least... Then there's Mama Bear, trying to keep them all in check." She pointed at Cia, who was always running around and barking orders. "Mostly keeping Milk Machine focused." That was Amy's; that woman's chest rivaled and probably beat the Captain's... "MM gets sidetracked a lot, but the cameras aren't good enough for me to see what she's getting distracted by. Oh, well, and her boy toy, John Smith. Not his name, but he sure is... Normal. Surprised he's even on the ship with how colorful everyone seems... But, I guess everywhere needs someone average and mundane? With how much of a rainbow the crew is, I'm sure some normalcy is welcome. Like I'm one to talk, though~" She smirked and giggled, but then turned her attention back up to Alrenne, "why do you ask, anyway? You appreciate the Captain's monikers that much?" She made a mental side note half related to the HEX machine schematics; check camera footage on the ship to see if anyone was being suspicious, like that Leon fella. Edited May 19 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) Marianne's eye almost twitched, surely it wouldn't have ever been that simply, but now the bitch was basically toying with them; fully aware of her complete control over the situation, and their complete lack. Of course it had to be an AHI dog, someone more than content to just, use whatever was in front of them and discard it however they wish. "...Entertaining?" Marianne couldn't stop the incredulity in her voice, words quickly funneled their way from her mind, to her lips... but Senri was much quicker on the draw, raising his hands and then offering himself to quell any fight. "...If. You're sure." It took effort to not grind the words on her teeth, her red eyes firmly locked on the biker. There really was nothing that she could do; not without knowing whatever the hell was standing in front of her was, and certainly not with its tail around Senri. Yet another reminder of how much further they would have to go to scrub people like this from the surface of the moon... All she ever had was her words and looks, neither of which were effective here, and she was sure that the helmeted foe would have batted any attempt of physical engagement aside. Not to mention that she couldn't even be sure that she'd last before her issue flared if she even could get him out of there. The only thing she could do, as it had always been, was watch. Marianne slowly turned to look at Leon, "Let's go. Senri will be fine. We'll... talk later, Senri." Marianne started her way to the door, slowly, making sure that Leon was following along. This is what I get for getting involved with CEN and AHI business... probably just should have taken Senri, and left... What a mess. Sia let her head fall into her hand. As infuriating as it was, Mick was right; the treaties that AHI and CEN had signed were so ironclad, and favorable to AHI that it might as well have been CEN granting AHI near complete autonomy. The amount of red tape present would have been enough to circle Earth, the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter twice over. Even sending Azame alone with such a machine out there was over the limit of things that the embassy could reasonably do, and it was fortuitous that problems hadn't arisen because of it... "...My apologies for the hostility. I am well aware that your hands are rather... uncomfortably tied. Your ability to field something more substantive as a search party is wrapped up in a level of politics that would make my head explode." It was for this reason that Sia never planned on walking into a true leadership role; the field was where actions had to be taken, and the politics of it all often boiled down to favorably rather than the lives on the ground. "I unfortunately have to concur... If this was supposed to be a stealth action, surely eliminating a single woman search party would make sense. That poses... a large issue, as that means that any number of people could be involved." Louise seemed to be taking the news about as well as she was, quickly announcing her leave, and departing to wait outside. Suddenly, it was feeling more and more as if they were chosen as fodder. Either they succeeded in their stated mission, and all was well, or everyone on the Dawn died, and then CEN would take more aggressive action--it sounded like this was the first real action they had taken, as Mick had called for reinforcements. Sia let out a long defeated sigh, before standing up straight again, "Thank you for you assistance, Commander. If you come across anything, no matter how slight, please send it our way. You're not the first person to bear bad news, just the first to bear it in a more concrete light... We'll try to keep you up to date with what we find as well. Also, I'd keep those channels you've gone through about reinforcements open... I expect as we progress in our task here, the brass may be... more amiable to actually listening up." Sia gave the man a salute and a smile, "I'll be departing now, thank you for all that you've done, and will do." Sia turned, and made her way out of the room, arms crossed in front of her. Sia walked out, and wordlessly tapped Louise on the shoulder, and marched back to their vehicle. Once in the driver's seat, Sia let her head hit the steering wheel. "If it's not one thing, it's another... I don't even know where to begin." Sia looked down and saw Louise's nail, suddenly bandaged. "...Nerves? Ha... I suppose anyone would be losing their mind over what we've just seen and heard." Sia could already feel her body complaining about all of this, the stress of it building to an uncomfortably warm degree. "I'd love to say that we carry on with our day, but we need to return to the ship... too much to sift through right now... and I'm sure that we'll find more as we go." What Sia wouldn't have given for a drink at the moment... Edited May 19 by Mercenary on the Winds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) There it was. The girl asserted his dominance just like Leon knew she would, and unfortunately he didn't have much of a rebuttal. Tch, what a damn frustration I got on my hands... Leon noted that the more the tail moved the more real it felt, which was only more proof that he couldn't win a head on fight despite him thinking about it. Not without a lot of preplanning, which wasn't a luxury for him at the moment. Though before Leon could try something stupid Senri addressed the situation, and made it known that he seemed fine with it. As fine as he could be anyway, his expression was cool and settled. "Ah..." He eyed Senri briefly, even with a confident expression Leon wasn't entirely convinced he can handle her, but as long as they stayed in public there probably wasn't much the biker could do. At least he hoped. So the red haired man pocketed his hands and relaxed his guard for a moment. "...sure. Just as a piece of advice though, don't go partying too late. I've ran into stupid shit doin' that at a bar." As much as Leon hated to just leave a normal civilian in the hands of the biker, he had to admit he didn't have much else to fall back on at the moment. He turned his gaze to Aly, it was actually a pretty neutral expression for what was on his mind. There was a lot he could say, a lot he could do, and despite wanting to do everything he could he settled for a brief line to wrap up the 'civil' conversation. "See you again." Where he would see her again was anyone's guess, but Leon knew it would be the battlefield. With that done, the merc turned to Marianne with a nod and walked to the exit to rejoin Azame. First the fox, now the tailed girl. The whole damn circle is nuts...I'm sure the big guy will be just as pleasant to deal with. When they were closer to the exit, Leon just turned his eyes to the blue haired lady. "Sorry, I tried. But I think your friend will be fine..." As long as he's smart anyway. He could tell she wasn't happy with the situation, he only wished he could say something else to help. "Guess that trip will have to wait, the mood ain't right for it...but like I said, we'll keep in touch." He was a little upset he couldn't get more from the situation, but he did manage to get some small piece of information. It was really a matter of putting the rest of the picture together. Edited May 19 by TheRoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) Azame watched Leon and Anne leave without Senri or their helmeted nemesis, waving them over to the car. "Heyyyy! Is everything okay? Did things get settled? ... You can still come see the ship if you'd like..." She felt a bit guilty about tossing the buck to Leon solely, especially after she'd said she would watch him and make sure nothing happened, but with all the knowledge she was missing, she was starting to feel less like a babysitter and more like... mosquito repellent. Sprayed on and there to stop anything from getting too close, but not at all in charge of things. "Sorry for dipping like that, honest... But, plenty of space in the car. Even without your real estate bud, surely it'd be fun, right?" You're just going to sound desperate, Azame... This one's a damn wash. Ughhhh... Man... And she's so nice and pretty, too. This sucks... Louise put a hand on Sia's shoulder and gave her an affirmative little squeeze. "We start where we can. With what we know... So let's cover that. We know the Tokiwa is planning several attacks on the moon... That she has her fingers in with several mercenary or otherwise terrorist groups-- if the group that attacked us is any indication. We know there are rebel factions on the moon, but not what they're truly vying for... We know the ambassador is missing. We know there's a mysterious mobile suit on the loose... And we know that we're the only people that can do anything about it." She slowly nodded, sighing. "It sounds like a lot... It is, a lot. But, we can only work with what we know... If it were me, I would choose two of these avenues to work on. Where our errant fox will strike next, and these rebel factions... We have no clues as to where she'll go past the first one she's given us, and even for that, we don't know when. It would probably be a good idea for us to look into that location as best we can, within our jurisdiction... as for the rebels," Louise sighed and eyed her thumb, "finding out if they have a defacto leader or some sort of cohesive goal would be a strong start. The hard part will be finding any of them to get in contact with... If their goals align with ours, having help against Tokiwa will be much better than anything else." She nodded and let out another sigh. "Don't worry about my hand... Bit my nail too hard while I was thinking. It's nothing I can't fix back at the ship... We don't know which mercenaries Tokiwa has under her thumb, or where this mystery suit has flown off to-- Gods, flown, that's still... Mind-blowing... Uhm, so we should set those aside, for now. Next target of hers, and the rebels. That narrows things down, and makes it easier to focus." She looked to Sia with something of a smile, slowly blushing. "I, I-If that's, if you, agree... That is... Look at me, making choices like I'm the Captain... So... Mm. What do you think, Sia? Of my suggestions...?" Kazue was unsure of when she'd made it into town, or where she was headed. Things with the meeting had left her in an unsure daze. Tanvir had been the previous world champion. He'd been famous. Loved, respected, cherished... And that was all thrown away. Lost? She wasn't sure, and it wasn't like someone could give her the answer. Only the man himself, but they were enemies, forced to different sides of a conflict, through whatever fates had set them to this moon. She walked and stared at the ground, mind searching for... what to do. Was she just meant to kill him, then? Kill someone that had been an inspiration to so many, including herself, because of where he'd brought himself? Because the government had given her this mission... When she'd signed on, she'd thought the chance quite novel. Testing machines, making them move more like humans. It had been naive. Naive of her to think that she'd be in some cozy testing facility surrounding by gentle scientists and engineers. Naive to think that this would've done anything but advance the future of war. Naive, naive, naive. "What the fuck am I doing...?" She slammed a fist into the wall. Here she was, almost two light years from home, fighting for people she didn't know if she believed in, killing people that might've had right to their cause. "What am I doing...?" Edited May 20 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ether Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Selumine didn't linger on the feeling too long, it seemed. With a bit of focus, they were back in the game, and Selu quickly made up for her initial slump, the second round ending with a fairly close score. Catrin had done a little worse than her first go around, and Selu had managed to just overtake her, though Selu had been so in focus between the second and third round that she didn't even pull off the bike. Not that Catrin was especially bothered, that determination was part of Selu's charm, after all. Unfortunately, Catrin would fail to meet her focus this time. While Selu went on an absolute tear, not only besting her own prior score but setting a best on the cabinet, Catrin's own attempt to play risky to catch up had lead to an early spinout, and it was all over from there. When Selu finally tore her gaze away from the machine and wiped her brow, Catrin replied with a light chuckle. "Haha... well, you bloody smoked me, love. Oi tried ta cut corners t'catch up and ate dirt. Oi'm not too surproised though, you're way more familiar with the whole speed demon thing, ain'tcha?" Catrin admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head just behind her ears, the fluff flattening down against her hair somewhat. It wasn't that Catrin was upset with the outcome so much as she was disappointed in herself for not giving Selu a better competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) "It's fine." Was all Leon got out of Marianne until they got outside. She was sure if she said anything else, she'd have screwed up royally. She had a temper, and she knew that, and the most important thing was not putting Senri in more danger than he already was. That did mean that when she walked out, and Azame greeted her, she was sure that she looked like a pressure cooker about to boil over. "Settled? Yes. Okay, perhaps not. Stupid AHI bitch..." Marianne sighed, and then leaned up against the wall. Marianne looked back inside at Senri and their AHI interloper, before looking back at Leon. "He might be, he might not be... I don't think any of you get how AHI works up here. Only time will tell if she's AHI through and through, or something else. Because when AHI gets bored of people up here, they disappear." Marianne let out a heavy sigh, "Sorry. Terrible mood after all of that." There was now a bit to consider; AHI was ruthless when it came to maintaining their stranglehold over the moon. Always the possibility that even trying to parley with someone like that had put her into the crosshairs. Not to mention that there was a good part of her that wanted to find someway to pull one over on the biker. "...Well, I'm already too late for where I was supposed to be--no thanks to our friend in there--and if I show up now, I'm just going to get an earful, and I'm not in the mood for that. If you don't mind having me around while I'm simmering. I really can't stand AHI." Might as well try to get something out of tonight... What the hell sort of nonsense is AHI up to that they have... whatever the fuck that thing was? No way that it's human. That tails no augment... Louise put a hand on her shoulder, and Sia let her talk her way through things, while she deflated back into her chair. This was so much more than she bargained for, and she'd even expected some of it. But now that it was all in front of her, there was simply too much for one force to deal with, especially with AHI likely being anything but compliant. "...You're certainly right. Trying to break things down into particular avenues would make things so much easier for us to deal with... and right now the problem is that we don't have nearly enough information to even begin tackling the issues in front of us... but someone might. I doubt Tokiwa would be so kind as to explain things if we asked, but... right now, one of our problems is that we are simply stretched too thin, and we can't expect assistance--from CEN or AHI. That leave us... with the rebels. They were already going to be... one of our main targets, but they're... even more important. Which makes the fact that we have no idea where to start with them, nor who to look to is frustrating... Especially because we can be sure that there will be rebels who are against AHI for reasons that won't align with ours, but wouldn't hesitate to take our assistance as license to start razing." There really wasn't a simple way forward. They needed to find an opening, something that they could get their hands into to support then against the maelstrom that they now found themselves in. Sia sighed, and then put the key in to the ignitions, "...Your suggestions are sound, Louise. And I have to admit that they are likely what I would have fallen into had I not been so frustrated with the current situation..." Sia found a small smile, "You might make a good captain in the future. It would be... best for me to not overthink things right now..." Sia sat up, and quickly fiddled in her pocket for her inhaler, and quickly breathed the medicine in before exhaling. "Ugh... all of this concerning information is just piling on..." Edited May 20 by Mercenary on the Winds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 I thought I had a short fuse... Marianne's anger was an interesting contrast, Leon had the impression she was cool as ice. Though given that her friend was in serious danger he couldn't blame her at all. When Azame waved them both down and apologized, Leon turned his head toward her briefly. "You didn't know the situation, I'm sorry you weren't briefed you before we left. I would've disengaged too if I were in your shoes." He kicked himself a little for not letting her in on the situation, but at the very least the AHI were kept off of the Dawn for now. Though given everything he knew they probably had the opportunity to come onboard anytime they wanted, if Toki worked her magic anyway. "People disappear when the AHI want them to? Sounds like they just do whatever the hell they want, can't say I'm surprised." Leon knew they had a grip on Avyndor, but now he began to understand more of their reach. Is it even safe to gather info like this? Who knows what I'll run into next... Though Azame did bring up a good point, going back to the tour might not be a bad idea. Marianne seemed to need something to take her mind off things anyway. "It's fine, this ain't a clean situation for sure." He straightened his jacket. "Y'know what the hell. I was worried about Azame's mood after all that, but since she's still offering I'm up for taking you to the Dawn." He smiled a little. "If the captain gets upset I'll take the heat, just don't poke around anything off limits and we'll be golden." That being said I don't think I'll get much out of her, but what I got so far is alright for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldsbroTSG Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Markus was elbowed by the woman as she explained things pretty accurately to him. He was absolutely deathly nervous. But she did her best to reassure him it was just a normal date, and she was happy, and then said a different name. "Samantha?" It must've been her r-- not Miz name. He smiled, "Okay, Sammie." He said, giving her a small elbow back. If she was gonna call him Marky Mark, he'd give her a cute little name too. It was an easy way for him to try and relax around her. It was still nerve-tingling because she was a beautiful idol, but she did her best to help him calm down some. As they got closer to the machine, Miz gave a pose. Markus laughed and picked up his own gun pretty simply. "Like right out of a magazine. Or one of those things you see in the movies, where guys will paint girls on their planes?" He looked down and took a moment examining his gun. It was a toy gun for the game, but it was like instinct for him. Taking out his card, he scanned the terminal to start the game. "I can put money on us trying. I bet I'd get scared first, though." He snorted. As the music started and the game spurred to life, "Well," He got into position to start. "You ready?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Wander Callisto wasn't anything like Earth, but Dante never felt he'd directly set foot on either of them. Having spent most of his life aboard one starship or another, he was a spacer through and through. Unfortunately, that left him feeling incredibly out of place when he arrived. At least back on Earth, his ally and most trusted financial victim, Gerald, left him an aid. Once he was out of the hospital, he was shown around and got familiar with his new surroundings quickly. He even got to fool around with a fake identity. Way out here, with majestic Jupiter looming large, there wasn't much to do but wander around listening for information relating to his mission. At least he had his cover story straight until things started heating up again. Dante's mission wasn't any easier than acclimating to the Jovian moon. Before his old life went up in flames, Dante's people had picked up a rather interesting, and hilariously well encrypted data archive from a CEN transport. Without Rosenfeld Dynamic's support, it would take them forever to decrypt the thing, but right now, he had bigger problems than satisfying his curiosity. The CEN probably still wanted to reclaim that data, and they probably wanted to deal with whoever stole it just as much. The transport that had been carrying it originally was making its way out to Jupiter for whatever reason. No one in Dante's crew thought much of it at the time, but with the CEN's latest warship now planet side, Dante felt he'd made the right choice coming here first. In order to make this whole trip worthwhile, he needed to learn everything he could: Where that transport was heading, exactly where it was going to drop off its special cargo, and what the CEN knew about that cargo's disappearance. It probably wouldn't hurt to also find an unnetworked CEN computer, something portable Dante could send back to the Rusalka to deal with that decryption problem. They needed a lot more than that if they were going to protect themselves from Libra. Even though he had been lying low, Dante still managed to keep himself up to date on Libra's activities as he made his way farther and farther from Earth. Azure's little princess had been making big moves to unite the tattered remains of the organization under her banner and was doing surprisingly well for herself. Dante almost didn't mind the new leadership, but there were two problems that turned him off of ever supporting Libra again. The first, Shui Huang Liao, or just Shun for short, had a higher body count than most warships, and she was still a minor. The girl was positively crazy, and that was coming from the former 'MadDog of Libra.' The other problem was that Dante himself was at least partially responsible for her father's death, and if Luna's reaction to that sort of thing was anything to go by, Dante shouldn't approach her without a plan. Getting shot the first time was kind of funny, but now he had work to do. Speaking of work, and the CEN, Dante noticed someone unusual as he continued on his way. At first he wasn't sure if he recognized them, but as he got closer, he was sure he knew who she was. The fact she was dressed somewhat like a CEN official was something of an afterthought. After all, about the only thing that could get Dante in front of a television was a good fight, and the woman standing in front of him was the Mixed Martial Arts World Champion herself. A brief detour from wandering around aimlessly wouldn't hurt, and Dante reasoned that it probably wasn't nothing that she was wearing CEN colors. He'd ask her about that if he didn't get distracted by other things. ... and then suddenly a nearby wall, which was just minding its own business, also found out who she was. Everyone got frustrated sometimes. Maybe he could help. "I thought I recognized you," Dante said, waving casually as he approached, "Kazue Fujiwaru, right?" It really was something; what was she doing out here on this moon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) "Woo~!" Azame brightened up and shot into the driver's seat, popping open the front passenger seat for Anne. "C'mon and join me, Anne~ And excuse you, Leon, I'll be the one taking us to the Dawn. This was my idea-- don't go trying to take it!" She started up the car and turned her music on, low this time. She had someone she really wanted to talk with, after all. "Oh, and Leon, you can sit in the back. Wouldn't wanna make our guest squish in there, right?" She smirked, happy to poke back now that her spirits were much higher. "We're gonna go on a tour of the Dawn~! Woo~! The machines, the rooms, the pool, the cafeteria, the entertainment lounge; I can't wait!" "What, me, a Captain? No, no, I'm not good leader material... I'm just... I spend a lot of time in my head, so I'm good at thinking things over." That was the pleasant way to put it, giving Sia a look of concern as she took a puff of her inhaler. "I realize we're not exactly swimming in free time, but... Do you think you need to take a quick nap when we get back to the Dawn? Before we start digging into everything... It'll refresh your mind and help with your stress, if only for a bit, and I can come wake you, or we can set Galatea to do so. Just... It's something. Better than nothing..." It wasn't like she didn't get it. Sia's distress made perfect sense... If anything, I'm the weird one for feeling so level headed so quickly... I suppose I calm down as long as I've got a goal to work towards. It was the same in school... "Let's start with finding out all we can about the rebels. I'll look into locations they've attacked, personnel captured, the machines they use and the parts they've stolen-- everything freely above board, anyway... If they still have any rebels on hand, perhaps in prison or confinement, we could see about an audience under the pretext of interrogating them for any leads... And then use those leads to our ends. It's something... We can discuss the finer details-- and alert the crew, once we get back... Will you be alright to drive, Sia?" "I do love to go fast," she said with a wink, dismounting and stepping over to gently punch Catrin in the arm. "Where'd that confidence go? You had plenty at the clothes store... You lose one game and you get all shy? What, you need me to strike a pose? Reignite that fire~? I don't mind working you up, but I plan on getting my money's worth at this arcade, which means we're not leaving early... So chin up, or I'll really make you regret it." She stuck her tongue out, then put it between her fingers for a moment, before turning to walk towards more of the arcade. "What's next, hun? I chose that, so you're next... Feel free to pick something you're better at. Put me through my paces~" "H-Huh?" Kazue was forced out of her thoughts by hearing her name, leaving her twisting her head around to see who... she didn't recognize the man, squinting at him a moment. He didn't look like anyone that had been there during their AHI visit, not even those outside of Tokiwa's office-- she'd been on high alert the whole time and did her best to memorize the faces of security stationed around the place. Then... Who? He knew her, her name at least, and recognized her. That means he's from Earth? She didn't lower her guard, but he didn't feel like an immediate threat... "Yes... That is my name. May I know who you are? If you, say you recognize me... Then, perhaps from Earth? I do not think broadcasts of my fighting would reach this far out, so that must be the case..." Finding out what he wanted, that much couldn't hurt. Probably. Edited May 20 by Nanami Touko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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