RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[ZombieSplitter53]

Green Thumb

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Temporary Quarters Deck
Feb. 23rd, 1245 Hours

Brigid steadied herself as she stood outside of the door, giving a quick nod to the two guards standing outside. She lightly knocked on the door, saying, "Excuse me. You were calling for someone to..."

The door opened with a swoosh, and four black arms reached out, grabbing Brigid and yanking her in. As the door closed, the guards exchanged a nervous glance, and one called out, "Everything okay in there?"

Where am I?! Why am I under guard?! Where is your Commander?! Where is Yu? And Elle? And Kay? Where... is... Tee?!

Brigid glanced back at the door. "I, uh... I'm alright." She looked up at the Humiliata, who towered over her, being nearly half a meter taller. "Alright, um... you are on the XSDF Battleship Einherjar. I... I'm not sure where in space exactly. I'm sure the told you all this in a debriefing."

Volupta scoffed, turning away. I had just been in a life or death struggle with some mad pirates. Pardon me if I had missed a few facts.

Brigid shrugged off Volupta's hands. "Well... that's hardly my fault. As for the rest, we need to be sure you can be trusted before you are free to move about. You are an unknown Humiliata who claims to have no ties to your planet or people. The Commander is a busy woman, so you'll have to wait. And I don't known about you Sectoid slaves."

Hold your tongue, child! Volupta crouched down, bringing her mask inches before Brigid's face. They are my associates. My workers. My friends. I was advocating the end of my people's subjugation of others before you father's father's father was ever even conceived. Don't you dare...

Brigid shook her head. "I... I'm sorry."

Volupta tilted her head slightly, caught off guard. You... you are?

Brigid nodded. "That was wrong of me to assume. I'll avoid that in the future."

Volupta slowly stood back up. Be... sure that you do.

The two stood in silence for a few moments before Brigid asked, "So... if you have so many questions, why call for a soldier?"

Because, my dear, as much as I want answers, that comes second to the unrelenting boredom I must endure here. I was... hoping someone could... give me a tour, as it were. And I doubted mere security guards would be allowed to do so.

Brigid nodded, and stepped out of the room. A few minutes later, she opened the door again, and motioned for Volupta to follow. The Humiliata did so, walking down the hallways with the guards close behind. "My name is Brigid, by the way."

Volupta.

Brigid glanced back, expecting a longer name. Not getting one, she asked, "So where do you want to go?"

Volupta thought for a moment. Can you show me the Infirmary? I... I don't want to take up too much of your time, but if I work here, it we likely be there, so...

Brigid waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. I'm... sorta on reserves right now. So I have plenty of time on my hands."

The group made their way to the medical bay. Volupta cautiously looked around, aware that she was being watched. She asked a doctor if she could see some of the equipment. With a brief discussion with Brigid, the doctor brought a few choice items.

Interesting. Volupta carefully examined a med-spray. And much of this came about from the war? War is a terrible thing, but the strife and desperation brings about the greatest of inventions. She turned to Brigid, and noted her staring. What?

"Can... can I see your face?" Brigid asked cautiously. "I... know it is a sensitive subject for your people..."

It is alright. I do not mind. Volupta placed the med-spray down and slowly unlatched her mask, placing it to the side. She smiled, and asked, Well? How do I look?

"Young." Brigid examined her. "I've seen only one other that looked like that, but she wasn't an adult. Why... do you look so youthful?"

Volupta wagged a finger. Trade secret. Let's just say I inherited the means of maintaining my appearance from my mother. I believe she fought, and perished, in my people's war with your people.

"Many Ethereal generals lived in the end, including two of the top ones." Brigid smiled. "What was her name?"

It was... Volupta paused, remembering Tee's warning. ...of no consequence. Putting her mask back on, she said, Before coming here, I was in exile on a terribly dreadful planet. A frozen wasteland. Is there, by chance... anywhere on this ship I can see some plant life? Tending fruits, vegetables, and flowers used to be a hobby of mine.

Brigid rubbed her chin in thought. "Well... there's always the holo room, but... oh!" She smiled brightly. "We have a hydroponics bay! And it is mostly automated, so you'd have some privacy."

Hydroponics? Excellent. Volupta followed Brigid out, the guards still in tow. As they walked, the youthful Humiliata said, You... you mentioned seeing another of my kind who was youthful. Who was that?

"She was an experiment by the former High Commander of the Ethereal Army. She later escaped, and helped us win the war. Her full name was, um... Jan'tiala... um... Jan'tialamacaria."

Really? Volupta slowed her stride for a moment, caught off guard. Then... does that mean she's my...

"What?" Brigid stepped into hydroponics and looked up at Volupta. "She'd be your what?"

Before Volupta could think of an excuse, she let out a shrill cry that echoed in her mask, and rushed inside, taking hold of a withered Ardenian turnip. What is this!? She looked around the room, all of the plants slightly yellowed, many brittle and sickly looking. Who... who is responsible for this!?

Taken aback by Volupta's outburst, Brigid stammered. "I, um... like I said, it is mostly automated. People check in every now and again, but... but we mostly use cryofrozen fruits and vegetables, so I guess they don't..."

No, no, NO! This will not do at all! Volupta coddled the plant as though it were a child, shaking her head. As she did so, a green aura slowly flowed between her hands and the radish. It suddenly flourished, its sickly yellow color turning a healthy red-orange. The nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables is essential for any ship. Cryofrozen foodstores should be used in emergencies, not as the main parts of your diets. Furthermore... She looked around the room in disgust. For the plants that sacrifice themselves to give you sustenance... that they should have to spend their short lives in such suffering is unforgivable.

Brigid rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, when you put it that way..." Volupta started to rush around the room, dipping her hands into the water for each plant. "What are you doing?"

Saving what I can. As the Humiliata dipped her hands in the water, said water briefly glowed green, and some life returned to the plants. As she did, however, her dark skin started to grey and shrivel, until it was not unlike that of any other Humiliata. Before she finished with half the room, she fell to her knees, panting heavily.

Brigid rushed to her side, and helped her remove her mask. Volupta's sweat pooled on the ground as she tried to regain her stamina, some color returning to her skin, but not much. "What were you thinking?!" Brigid exclaimed.

"I... overexerted myself," Volupta answered in a shaky voice. "I apologize if I... made you look bad."

"Forget about it." Brigid helped Volupta to her feet, and the two guards stood by her side, helping to keep her steady. "You offered to work as a doctor, right? Well... maybe you could also volunteer to work in here. It'll make the Commander that much more inclined to take you on. From what I've heard, she was distinguishing tastes when it comes to her food."

Volupta nodded slowly, too tired to answer. One of the guards placed her two left arms over his shoulder, escorting her back to her room while the second followed with her mask. Brigid walked over to a rejuvenated vine of denali grapes, popping one of the blue fruits into her mouth and smiling at the taste.

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger and ZombieSplitter53 "What Really Matters" Part 1

Somewhere in Subspace (February 22nd, 2044)
The Einherjar (4:41 P.M., Earth Standard)
Medical Ward

Nick was lying in his bed, a bored look on his face as he closed up the manual to one of the fighters he had borrowed from engineering, not in the mood to be technical. His A.I. assistant was on his side table, just merely observing the young engineer. He had been moved to room 104 since security busted up the door to his other room but he didn't care, the rooms had the same aesthetics and the same layouts. He raised the head of his bed so he could sit up more straight and put his arms behind his head, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Is he in there?!" Shouted a familiar voice with a British accent outside the door.

"Alice, please, calm down," said someone with a slight Irish accent.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Someone is going to have their ear chewed off. You want it to be you?!"

Nick jumped at the sound of Alice's voice and he looked around in a panic. "U-Uh... Glitch, could you uh... lock the door again... please?"

Glitch slowly floated upwards and flew closer to Nick. "No."

"Come on, just one last time?" The young engineer pleaded.

"No."

"Come on! This is a matter of life or death here!" He said hurriedly.

"And you will face it head on like a man." Glitch said finally, floating back down onto the table without another word.

Nick could only look at the door and whimper a bit.

The door practically flew open, a grinding sound saying something was likely broke in the process. A seething Alice stepped in, Brigid wrapped around her waist. Even with Brigid's enhanced strength, she was still like a child trying to hold back a grizzly bear as Alice stomped over to Nick’s bed, looking like she was out for blood. "What the hell were you thinking!? You have a lot of explaining to do!"

Nick's eyes widened and he put on a nervous smile, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "I-I... I have no idea what you are talking about... uh, Alice..."

Alice gritted her teeth, and Brigid pulled at her uselessly. "Come on, Alice, he's just a kid! In the infirmary! What are you going to do, beat him up?"

Alice glared at Nick. "At least he wouldn't have to go far. I want to know exactly what you did to yourself."

"U-Uh... exactly? Well I don't have the technical readouts of my implants right now so exact is going to be a bit tough..." He told her, beating around the bush.

"Talk!" Alice stepped over Nick's bed. Noting his nervous look, her expression softened a bit, but not much. "Please, Nick. Please tell me what you did. The doctors said something about changing the chips in you implants."

The young engineer stared at Alice for a few moments, his face dropping and he reached over the left side of his bed, opening a drawer in one of the tables and taking out the contents, holding out his hand and showing her the two burnt up chips and the one blown one.

"These are what allow me to connect to my drones. Each is programmed to act as a blank slot until it picks up a signal from my drones upon activation. Each time I connect, there is a surge of energy running through the implants, hence why I usually wince in pain when I activate something. Each time the surge happens, it breaks down the chips ever so slightly. Usually I always removed them once every year but I pushed it when I shouldn't have, and when I finally went to plug into Clunker, the already busted chip couldn't take it and it blew, which caused my seizure."

Nick continued to look down at the floor and he added, "The implant is designed in the same capacity as a cybernetic limb. It is connect directly to my nervous system, it might as well be an external part of my brain, so when I have to forcefully remove one... their are bad repercussions... like ripping off your own limb. Doing all three had the chance to..." Nick trailed off, not wanting to admit it to Alice.

Alice's eyes widened in surprise. She suddenly reached down, wrapping her arms around Nick and holding him tightly. "Stupid boy. Why do you have to be so much like her? Why can't you just ask for help? I... I-I would have... gladly... helped..." Nick could feel a few warm drops of water drip onto his neck.

Nick's eyes widened in surprise and he warily put a hand on her back, patting it. "I... Alice... removing all three chips has a chance to... kill me. It was a flaw in the system I knew about even before I had it put in. I didn't tell anyone because if I did... I would have never been able to progress. I couldn't let anyone help me... cause if the worst came to pass, I didn't want them to blame themselves for helping..." He said in a low voice, practically a whisper at that point as he put his head on her shoulder. "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." The teen started to cry himself, though he tried to keep his sobs under control.

"I understand," Alice said, the anger she had when first arriving having, for the most part, evaporated. "But you are amongst friends. You're a good person. A strong young man, stronger then you probably realize. But I'm your friend... and you assistant. It is my job to assist you. Please, in the future... try to trust me, at least a little bit. I... I can't go through this again. Not after the trials Dr. Randolf put me through."

Nick nodded his head, sitting back up and wiping his eyes, finally noticing Brigid standing off to the side. "W-Who's your friend?" He asked.

Brigid bowed her head. "Brigid O'Brien. I'm an old friend of Alice. When I noticed she was stomping her way here, steam practically shooting out of her ears, I felt compelled to come with her. She isn't one for violence, but from how mad she looked..."

Nick seemed to grow paler and he nodded his head, "W-Well... thanks."

Glitch floated up from the table and he observed the newcomer, going over Brigid with his one eye. "You are short for a full grown woman, are you not?" The A.I. noted. "I have never seen someone of your stature except for those who are still growing."

Brigid's eye twitched, and she suddenly reached out, grasping the robot with one hand. "That was a pretty poor choice of last words, my soon-to-be pile of scrap!"

Glitch calmly responded, "I am sorry, but any requests for termination may only be authorized by Mr. Cauthon. Though on my own behalf, I request you not man-handle my chassis as it is very fragile."

"Please let him go... he doesn't know any better. I haven't gotten far enough along with his A.I. that he doesn't accidentally do stuff like that." The engineer asked.

Brigid glared at Glitch for a few more moments before releasing him. "Sorry. I... I just tire of people pointing out... my..."

"Brigid is a bit sensitive about her height," Alice explained. "It is a button many quickly regret pressing."

Brigid folded her arms and huffed. "You don't understand. It gets frustrating, constantly having people underestimating you because of how young you look. How small you are."

"Actually I do..." Nick pointed out, raising a finger. "I was teased relentlessly because I was scrawny in school, not to mention because I was a social outcast and never fought back, so I know exactly how you feel." Nick' head dropped but Glitch floated over and he patted the A.I.

Brigid smiled, and sat in a chair next to his bed. "Well then, take my advice on something. Don't let it hold you back. Let it push you forward, so you can show them how wrong they were rub their faces in it." She nodded her head towards Alice. "If what I've heard about you is true, you've already pretty much done that."

"Well... they are stuck in high school while I am exploring the galaxy aboard a space battleship so I think I already have the upper hand, not to mention I pretty much already have a college education..." He also looked at Alice and said, "And you brag about me?"

Alice turned away. "Well, I... I only... told the truth. It is not everyday someone gets to work with a prodigy, and I have had the privilege of working with two in such a short amount of time. It... makes me happy. It is one of the few things I have to look forward when I start each day..."

Nick blushed a bit and he smiled. "I didn't know I meant that much to you... well, I guess I have something to look forward to when I get out of the infirmary. If... I get out of the infirmary. The way my doctor has been talking to me, I may never see the outside of this room." The teen laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood a bit more. "He is a great guy, I just think he is a bit too worried. Now that my chips have been replaced with fresh ones, my headaches have gone away for the most part."

Alice smiled back. "Well, don't you worry about that. I'll make sure they don't keep you longer then they need to."

Brigid laughed. "We could always ask Korra to knock a few heads."

Alice's smile faltered a bit, and she shook her head. "I... I suggest we keep the chip thing a secret from her, at least until some time had passed. No telling how she'd react." She gave Nick a sinister smile. "Of you thought I was scary, imagine an angry Korra walking through that door."

The engineer sighed. "I would rather not..." Nick laid back on his bed and he groaned, rubbing his back. "I can't stand laying in this bed all day, it just tightens up my back and makes it sore. I feel like an old man..."

"Think of it as a break." Alice looked away sadly. "There are worse things that could happen to you right now, under that... woman."

Nick raised an eyebrow, not understanding what she had said, "What do you mean? Which woman?" What have I been missing?

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger and ZombieSplitter53 "What Really Matters" Part 2

"The Commander," Alice answered.

Brigid glanced at Alice. "Should... we tell him?"

Alice nodded. "He can be trusted. He needs to know now if I am to have any hope of remaining unseen."

He looked between them with a worried look, not understanding what they meant. "What is going on? Does it have to do with the fact you're..." Nick looked around and pointed his thumb at Glitch.

Both women nodded. "I'm sure you know about the android soldier Hermes," Alice explained.

"Well... there was another A.I. soldier named Erza," Brigid continued. "At least, he was a soldier."

"Another A.I.?" He asked, "W-Well... why is it was and not is?"

"Simple," Alice practically whispered. "Because the Commander found out what he is. So he's property now, as expendable as one of our combat droids." She looked to the ground, a somewhat guilty expression on her face.

Nick's expression darkened and he leaned forward, throwing off his blankets and putting his feet on the floor. "B-But that's crazy, she can't just do that!" He yelled, standing up but immediately falling forward as he got extremely dizzy.

Alice placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, don't push yourself. I'm sorry, I should have waited until you were better to tell you."

"N-No... I'm glad you told me..." Nick clenched his fist, his body shaking. "This isn't right... no one has the right to say what is property and what isn't... this is an outrage!" Nick wanted to move, but he knew he was too weak, just sitting back down on his bed and looking down. "And I'm still too weak to get up and leave my room!" He slammed his fist onto the bed, Glitch looking at him with concern, reading his accelerated heart heart warily.

"That's why we need your help," Brigid explained, inching closer. "Even if it is just a word here or there, mentioning how you feel. Don't say anything that will get you in trouble, but be clear that you don't think it's fair if asked. And try and do what you can to keep Alice's secret." Noting Alice's pained look, she said, "It's okay, Alice."

"It's not okay," the android responded. "For him to be in so much trouble while I'm not..."

Nick's eyes fell and he reached out and grabbed Alice's hand. "Don't blame yourself. This was bound to happen eventually and it is better it was someone else other than you. If you were the one found out, and you were treated as such, I am sure the ship would already be boarded by an army of Sunny-Bots to free you. I will try my best, but I doubt many people will listen to me..."

Alice chuckled grimly. "I hope we don't get a fleet of Exalt-bots, personally." She sighed. Still..."

Brigid placed a hand on Alice's shoulder. "He's right. I don't think Ezra deserves this. But he should have been more careful." Alice reluctantly nodded.

"So what's gonna happen now, Alice? You can't very well reveal yourself, but if you are not careful, you could get discovered and get an even worse punishment..."

Alice slowly nodded. "I know. From what I heard, the Commander went of on him."

Brigid scoffed. "From what I heard, he broke a lot of rules first. You've done none of that..."

"Except falsifying my entrance form," Alice corrected her. "Maybe... maybe it's inevitable, and I should come clean now."

Nick rubbed his chin in thought and he looked up at Glitch, who was just floating off to the side listening to the group as they talked, and an idea dawned on him. "Alice... I may have a way for you not to get in trouble if you ever get caught..."

Alice smiled at him. "I'm open for any idea right now."

"Well... in the event you ever get discovered, and if the Commander thinks she will be able to tell you whatever to do because she thinks your property..." Nick grinned and said, "Why don't I make you a shell? That way, if your body is ever compromised, you can have an easily get away. And since the shells are my design and I solely own them, the XSDF don't own you... I do... in a sense... and well, she wouldn't be able to control you." The engineer scratched his head and said, "It is probably a stupid idea, and it would be a lot more complex to do since Glitch is at least only a fraction of your total data size, but it could be a possible loop hole? And I would make it so you could return to your body at any time... hypothetically..."

Alice closed her eyes, thinking. "That... might not be the worse idea. And I might... have something..." She stood up. "Be back in a couple minutes."

Alice rushed out the door, and Brigid smiled at Nick. "It's really nice of you to think of so fondly. I know it means a lot to her."

Nick smiled and blushed a bit from embarrassment, "W-What is she getting?" He asked, tilting his head.

Brigid though for a moment. "I'm not sure. I guess we'll both see."

A few minutes later, Alice returned. In her arms was what looked like a child version of herself, wearing a beautiful black and red goth lolita dress. "Say hello to... well, me."

Nick raised an eyebrow at the smaller version of her body and said, "And no one stopped you running down the hall with that?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Most people think she's just a well made doll," Alice explained. She fiddled with the back of its head, and placed it on the ground. The 'doll's' eyes opened, and she did a small curtsy. "She is equipped with a very simple CPU, enough for her to follow simple orders. In a pinch, however, I can transfer myself to this body." She nodded to Nick. "And, until our mission is done, with Brigid as our witness, she belongs to you. Which means, if I transfer into her, I belong to you."

Nick laughed, looking at the tiny Alice with an amused look. "My friend Melinda had a dress similar to that one... she would wear it whenever we did practice. She would twirl in it and strike a pose, asking me how she looked, just so she could have the satisfaction of seeing me embarrassed..." He touched the ring on his hand and his look turned sad for a few moments before he shook his head and had a smile on again. "Anyways... it sounds like a plan. I have a few places I could hide her in the workshop so no one finds her."

Alice nodded. "If you feel that would be best. Though you are free to have her help you too." She leaned next to the doll, and said, "Follow this human's commands until told otherwise. Alice code 1-4-5-alpha-6-charley-6." The doll's eyes flashed for a moment, and she nodded, smiling brightly at Nick.

"Well... now it feels like I have two assistants..." He scratched the back of his head and waved to the smaller Alice. "Uh... hello?"

She bowed her head. "Hello, Master... um..."

"Nicholas Cauthon," Brigid offered.

"Hello, Master Nicholas."

"Well... it would be a little bit weird calling her Alice since you are... well... there." He said pointing to the bigger Alice. "What would be a good name to call her while in this mode?" He asked the older one.

Alice shook her head. "That's your choice to make now."

"What is this one's designation, Master Nicholas?" the doll asked.

Nick thought for a moment, and he had a good idea. "Well... taking Sunny's name into account, and the fact I like Hermes's Greek god thing... how about Hestia?"

The doll nodded. "I am Hestia now. It is a very nice name. Thank you very much, Master."

Nick chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Glitch floated down and gave Nick a 'stink eye', Nick getting the point. "You don't have to call me Master, Hestia. Just Nick would be fine..."

Hestia's eyes flashed. "Instruction saved. As you wish, Nick."

Brigid giggled. "Like a big brother and little sister."

"I never had a little sister... my adoptive parents weren't able to have kids, and that was why they got me. It might be nice to have one now..."

Alice glanced at the clock, surprised to see how long they'd been there. "We better let you rest. Want me to take her for now?"

"You can if you want... I don't mind if she stays or goes... though I am going to have to figure out a reason why this little girl finally showed up and became my second assistant if anyone asks..." He noted with a sigh.

"If anyone asks, say she's Alice's cousin," Brigid offered as Alice power he miniature self down. "And it was really nice meeting you, Nick."

"Yeah, you too Brigid. Don't be afraid to pop in if you need something made anytime when I get back to my workshop in engineering."

"I'll hold you to that." Brigid waved goodbye, Alice doing the same as they walked out.

Nick waved back, closing his eyes and settling into his bed.

"You really have an interesting way of attracting non-biologicals Mr. Cauthon." Glitch noted.

"What can I say... I like robots better than humans... and they are easier to talk to." He informed his A.I.

"Thank you... Mr. Cauthon."

"Anytime, buddy."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dalexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Temper Sisters: Part One

Somewhere in Subspace (February 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (4:17 P.M., Earth Standard)
Gym Training area

Noire and Cassia, are using the holo room Cassia going over battle tactic with Noire. "Are right Noire that's enough training for today.

Noire falls on her back "You know even though I'm augmented, your training really hard.

Calm down that reminds me, hay Noire since your Eva kid do you have her gen mods?"

"Yes but there kinda watered down, I have all her gen mods but there not to there full potential. So I can get other gen mods."

"Hum how interesting, so if you get gen mods will they replace your current ones?"

"I guess, I'm not really sure."

"Hum any way training is over, you have the rest of the day off." Cassia leaves a gallon of water near Noire and leaves the room.

Noire slowly getting back up drinks half of the water.

"What's your problem," asked Korra, the Tamearin wearing her usual revealing training clothes. She had a light layer of sweat herself, indicating she had been training as well.

Noire noticed Korra right next to her "Oh, hay, I just got done training with Cassia. And my body hurts all over this water is my only saving grace, Noire drinks the rest of the water your name is Korra right? I think when we met I threaten to put you through a wall."

"Yeah, how could I forget." Korra grinned. "Still think you could in that condition?"

"Possibly, but I'm not going to try. My body hurts to much to even try so what brings you here?"

Korra considered a snarky comment, but instead just sat on the floor. "Same as you, I guess. Gotta play the good girl, show I'm keeping up with exercise and training. After everything I've been busted for, I'm on... light ice, I think is the saying."

"Thin ice, but close enough." Noire lays on her back " So you been good for a while huh, I remember when I first got here we nearly had a fight but you had two strikes then your not used to the military are you?"

Korra thought about it for a moment. "No, I guess not." She laid back herself, aware of how odd it would look for them to be laying in the middle of the training area, and not caring. "I mean... I was technically in training for five years at a XSDF boot camp, but... the way I was treated there didn't prepare me for this place." She shrugged. "Plus, people say I have an attitude problem. Whatever."

"Heh, well, I'm used to this kind of things My mom was a military heave person when she was my age. She was a Swiss solder then she went to America and became a solder there, hell military life is hard. And I will agree you do have a attitude problem, but you seem to have gotten better."

"Thanks," Korra said sarcastically. After a moment, she turned her head. "If, um... if you're used to this kind of thing, then if someone needed to... ask you for a tip or two, you'd have an answer, right?"

"Sure, I can try why do you have any questions?"

"Maybe." Korra looked to the ceiling and was silent for a few more moments. Looking at Noire again, she said, "And... and you were hanging out with Brea when we first met. So... if I can trust Brea, I can trust you... right?"

"Sure you can, is this some kind of dark secret or something?"

Korra flipped over, resting against her bosom like it she was on a pillow. "Well... I'm a little... anxious. And I want a... guy... to help me with that. How do I do it without getting caught?"

"That's what hotels are for darling."

Korra glared at her for a moment. "I meant here, smartass. Not many hotels on the Einherjar."

"Yea I know, hum alright, let's get this out of the way first. Is he or she a human, alien, or android, because I heard there androids on this ship?"

Korra folded her arms and swung her tail over her head. "Hey, I take some offense to that. I don't like the grouping of human or 'other'." She used her tail to scratch behind her ear. "But if it's important, he's human."

"Oh, that makes things a little hard, well I would suggest trying to o something when every one is busy. Like during training sections or dinner or were ever one is away from the barracks, second I recommend turning on the shower so the sound of your moaning won't go through the walls, and lastly lock your doors."

"I can do all that." Korra pouted, and rolled onto her back. "But this fucking cameras..." She sighed. "I heard that Erza, the android that was demoted, got in trouble for fratenizing with a biologicals... amongst other things. That, uh... biological was me. I kissed him outside of his room."

"See that was your mistake, you should have done it inside his room, there are no room cameras in are bed rooms I think."

Korra waved a dismissive hand. "That won't work, dumbass. Just because the cameras don't see us do the nasty doesn't mean they won't see me going into the room. The Commander will make assumptions, whether they're true or not." She sighed. "If only Sasha didn't make her brother unavailable, and Walker didn't insist on that stupid big brother thing."

"I don't even want to know, I would say your only hope is for the commander ether get fired or leave willingly. I never had a commander like her nor have I been on a ship, well not a space ship any way."

Korra let out another frustrated sigh. Well... he told me I should take it slow anyway. So hard, though... Sitting up, Korra asked, "So what did you do before coming here?"

"Me? Well about two years ago I finished collage, and I went to america to join there military but things became hectic and I was forced to leave after worded I came here that's the long and short of it. Noire says with some sadness in her voice.

Korra placed her chin in her palm. "What made you leave. CO getting grabby?"

"No it's more complicated then that see I was born in a country called France which on my planet is part of the European union the had this law that ported people that had Gen mods and psi powers. Unfortunately, the rest of the world did not have this law not until last year."

Noires eyes started to glow red. "Which lead to a lot of hate angry mobs and getting bulled having trash and rotten food thrown at me even when I was in my own country and people trying to kill me, because I was different and they feared me because of that!" Noire punches the floor and leaves a huge dent in it.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Temper Sisters: Part Two

Korra lowered her head a bit. "I... I'm sorry to hear that. I... know what it's like to be treated bad just for being different."

Breath Noire breath breath don't lose your temper. Noire eyes went back to normal "Sorry about that, um you said you were treated different what have you been through?"

Korra frowned, never happy to tell this story. Though there are far worse things I could be explaining about myself. "I have Pon-Taer Syndrome. Most Tamearins are able to suppress their emotions, but I can't. My people's society is built around cool heads and a lack of emotion-driven ideas, so... I'm an outcast. And that is how I was treated. By peers. By schoolmates. By... my family..."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, it's one thing to have your peers to shun you but for your own family that's that's pretty messed up. Well I hate to say this but it's probable a good thing my planet had the ethereal war, if not then we would have never discover other races. I would dare say your more human then Tamearin though that might be an insult to you."

Korra thought about it for a moment, and shook her head. "No... probably not as much as it should." She pulled her knees close to her body, looking down to the floor. "I... I love my people, despite everything that has happened. It has some good people. It's strong. Its smart. And while it can be arrogant at times, it is kind. But... I do feel a kinship with the humans, strange as I might find them at times." She pulled her legs a little closer. "Most... humans. Some are worse then the Ethereals that attacked my home..."

"That's understandable, did I ever tell you about my Aunt ." Noire pulls out a picture of Lusset standing next to Eva and a it shows a little girl in the middle of them.

Korra examined the photo carefully. "I'm guessing this woman that looks like you is your mother."

"Yea though she didn't look like that before, that black haired woman saved my moms life. Unfortunately I will never see her, see that blacked hared woman was murdered by one of her let's call him a worker. He killed her and my sister long before I was bore, and he killed her just because she couldn't save his brother."

Korra huffed. "There is a place for him in the lowest Tamearin Hell. I hope you're going to tell me someone took care of him."

"Yeah, during the ethereal war months earlier the aliens attacked X-COM, X-COM won but they were in a weekend state. He decided to take advantage months later it was a full out assault but my aunt Elene killed him. But I still wish I would have met the woman that not only saved my moms life, but changed it in so many ways that my mom til this day still goes to her grave."

Korra nodded, smiling. "Sounds like my grandmother. She was a big inspiration to me. The only one I could talk to. I... I miss her so much. I wish she was still with us. But I try to push on like she wanted me to."

"That's all you can do, um what was your grandmother like?"

Korra grinned. "But human standards? A total bitch. She yelled, she cursed, and she didn't take anyone's bullshit. She was smart enough tell you anything' and clever enough to spot a lie before you even spoke it. And she was wise enough to know what mattered. She treated me like an equal, not some unwanted person with a disease."

"Heh your grandmother sounds like my mom, see my mom can be extremely cold when she thinks I'm not doing what I'm suppose to. My mom knows I'm very smart and strong, and haters to see my hold back because people are scared of me, but she's very nice and forgiving to I miss her."

"At least you can go back to her some day." Korra frowned and glanced at Noire."I... I didn't mean for that to sound as cold as it did. I'm... just happy you two are close."

"It's alright, I'm sorry about your grandmother she sounds like a good person in her own way. But me and my parents are very close I also love my dad, even though he's very protective of me. I wish I could introduce you to them."

Korra shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe someday." She tapped her foot nervously. "Listen... um... about how I acted when we first met..."

"It's fine you were a prick when I first met you, and honestly i'm used to it by now. Your not the first person to get in my face trying to fight me."

"Anyone here?" Korra asked. "I hope none of my people have bothered. They can be... pretty vocal when it comes to people with gene mods."

"Yea I been told, though me my mom and brother have this special ability with gen mods. See my mom has Meld infused with her blood."

"Interesting." Korra smiled for a moment, then frowned again. "Not that it matters." She stood up and crossed her arms. "My people are capable of great kindness. But they can also be ridiculously stubborn. Just like they don't care that I was born the way I am, they won't care that you were born with your mods. They can be pretty stupid that way..."

"Wow you people are hard to please, I mean if I get gen mods not only do I get stronger but they become a part of me. And you people will still reject that, god your people suck No offense Korra. I mean I race are jackass to each other as well but we been that way since we were created."

"You don't understand!" Korra insisted. "A long time ago, when we were first brought to our planet, our supposed 'owners' did terrible experiments on my people. They violated their bodies, down to the genetic level. Because of that, it is considered taboo to do the same thing willingly to ourselves."

"The Ethereals did the same thing to my kind, but we still got augmented and psi powers, only we fought back. See my people tend not like being experimented on and if were going down were going down swinging, I would like to think Cassias people are a perfect example of humans were all savages that can never be tamed broken or give up willingly. Sorry of I offend you in any way I don't mean to if I am."

Korra slowly shook her head. "It's okay. I just... sometimes I'm afraid I give off the impression that I hate my own people. I love the Tamearin race. They just piss me off sometimes." She smiled softly. "Besides, humans are so weird, it is hard to keep track of sometimes."

"That's understandable, my kind has a lot of emotions and feelings. And we tend to show them rather then hid them, I think that's the part that confuses you that we show are emotions and your kind hide them."

"Yeah, sure. That's what makes your people weird." Korra leaned forward, moving close to Noire's face. "You think my people are weird for tabooing gene mods? I can think of a dozen weird humans I've met since coming here. But... that's kinda why I like your people. They can be... lots of fun."

"While I don't like your kind, because they remind me of the people that shun me and treated me like I'm not even human. I like you Korra your different then them that's why I can't wait to fight by your side, though after seeing your mission you could defiantly us some work. Noire says with a smile.

Korra folded her arms. "It's a work on progress. Maybe we can do some training together. You teach me some combat skills, and I'll teach you about the positive side of Tamearins."

"That sounds fun, I will have to worn you I never been a teacher so excuse me if I mess up or something."

"That's okay," Korra said with a dismissive hand. "Neither have the two others that are teaching me what they know, and they're doing just fine." She offered Noire her hand. "Come on. Let's hit the showers. We both stink."

"Yea um can you Carry me, training with Cassia kinda left my body sore." Noire says with her usual smile.

Korra laughed, and bent down, hefting Noire onto her shoulders. "Sure. Just don't make a habit out of it."

"Oh don't worry I won't, actually this is embarrassing to be honest."

"As long as I don't have to do it in the shower." Korra carried Noire out, chatting on the way to the showers.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

BMPixy & ZombieSplitter53
Old Grudges: Part One

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Somewhere in Hyperspace
Feb. 26th, 1200 Hours
Hydroponics Bay

Volupta slowly paced around hydroponics, slowly, carefully, calmly feeding energy into the plants, using her biokinesis to restore them. She had managed to turn the bay back into the lush, beautiful garden it had been when the ship first launched. She wasn't happy about the guards stationed right outside the door or the cameras watching her every motioned, but at least they would release her from any suspicion that she was poisoning the food.

With her was her most faithful Sectoid ally, taking measurements of the water nutrient levels. "Things are looking good, but you can not maintain this by yourself," Tee said was his new voice synthesizer. "Assuming we are even allowed to make suggestions, we should request new supplements for the water when we reach Forseti."

Agreed, Volupta simply answered as she practically danced across the room. It might have been trading one prison for another, but anything was better then that frozen desert of a planet.


Just outside, Tak-sharu patiently waited as the pair of guards scanned his authorization. Perhaps I should have brought Osahar-ba with me... Shaking his head, Tak-sharu dismissed the thought. No, she would have likely said something offensive. Here, a delicate touch is needed.

After a long moment, the guard handed Tak-sharu's pass back to him, and slid his own keycard through the scanner, opening the door. With an appreciative nod, Tak-sharu made his way into the hydroponics bay.

The distracted Humiliata didn't notice him at first, but the always alert Tee did. "Oh... hello. How can we help you?" He tilted his head, clearly unfamiliar with Tak-sharu's race.

"Ah, greetings," Tak-sharu said, lowering his head graciously. "I was inquiring as to determine if I could speak with the one known as Volupta. I had heard she was here."

"Of course." Tee looked towards the other end of the room. Mistress. You have a visitor.

A visitor? Who would be interested... Volupta walked over to the other to, and nodded her head to her guest. Hello. I do not believe we have met.

"I am Tak-sharu kan Katesch, consul of the Sovereign Seikronyr State," the Seikron said with a slight flourish of his arms. "I had heard that there was a new guest aboard this vessel, and I decided to sate my curiosity about your person, in person."

I see. Vouplta tapped her chin. Seikronyr... where have I... have you people had dealings with mine in the past.

"Calling it 'dealings' would be a disservice to all those who called Kadxa their home, and those who call it their grave," the Seikron said, with a hint of barely contained resentment. "What your empire did to our kind... It is a capital offense of the highest order."

Volupta stood in silence for several tense moments. She slowly lowered to her knees, and asked, When... when did this happen?

Tak-sharu quickly did a mental conversion, and replied, "It would have been roughly 52 of your cycles ago. Dozens of generations for us, less than a full clutch for you."

Of course it was, Vopulta projected out, but seemed to be mostly saying to herself. And yet I barely heard of you during my schooling. Why would they bother discussing their genocides. She reached up, and slowly removed her mask. Placing it to the side, she lowered her head, and in a shuddering voice, said, "Nothing I can say will ever show how much grief I have over your people's plight. I can only give her my sincerest apologies for how... monstrous my people once were."

"To us, the day your people annihilated our world was the defining moment of our history, but to yours it was another harvest day. However..." Tak-sharu said stiffly, shuffling awkwardly from the display of emotions, "there is nothing for you to apologize for. You were not involved, you did not benefit, you could not act to prevent it. Under our law, that absolves you of any need to repent, or feel guilt."

Volupta slowly nodded. "I only wish I could have stopped this from going any further. Had I tired harder... had I not so been foolishly sure my birthright would keep my safe from those I spoke out against, I could have led my people to stop themselves so many cycles ago, not continue to rampage and murder until others exposed my grandfather's... lies."

"But you did not, so nothing can be done of it," Tak-sharu answered simply. "Once the sun has arisen, all that can be done is to seek shelter from its wrath and await the coming of night. So too are the actions of your past self, for they are immutable and will pursue you throughout the day."

Volupta smiled softly. "You are a very wise individual." She reached for her helmet, and slowly traced her hands along its edges. "I wonder if your peers would be so forgiving, regardless of my position and lack of involvement. Regardless, I must thank you for your understanding." She placed the mask on her head, securing it and standing back up.

"I am Hibaya. It is our duty to be wise, so that the other castes may focus upon their duty without worrying for the stability of our government." After this, Tak-sharu lowered his head somberly. "However, there are those - even among my caste - that would seek a life-for-life repayment of our debts, even if that would mean our own demise. On that note, a piece of advice, should your age become known to my government: stay within another nation's territory at all times."

Volupta nodded. It is advise I shall follow. In the meantime, if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. Just note my ability to do... much of anything is very limited right now.

"Ah, and here I believed the guards were merely there for your safety," Tak-sharu said. "Though, if possible, there is one thing you could do to assist me. I heard you mention 'your birthright'. I assume that this implies that you hold or have held some position of power within your government?"

Volupta cringed under her mask. That is right, though I doubt it holds much sway now.

Be careful, mistress, Tee warn Volputa privately. Should it become known of your relationship to the former High Commander, I'm afraid your time here will be quite short, considering what I've heard of the XSDF Commander.

"Still, the prestige gained by even having held power is not to be underestimated, especially for a race as long-lived as yours," Tak-sharu explained, his smile looking ever more shark-like. "To put it succinctly, it'd be appreciated were you to put a good word in for me amongst your government. Of course, such a favor would not go unrepaid, though the time and the manner would be to your specification."

Volupta tapped the side of her mask in thought. Well... I have come to find out that my mother holds sway in the new Council of Elders. She acts as a consultant to assure they do not return to the ways of the old Council, and is a top scientist. I would be happy to ask her to mention you to them, as you seem a patient sort that would deal well with them. I'd... have to contact her first. It would be difficult... but I have to do it eventually, I suppose.

"Wonderful," Tak-sharu said, rubbing his arms together gladly. "With assistance such as that, I should be able to attain my goals much sooner than I anticipated. You have my sincerest gratitude, Volupta-mkuu."

And what are these goals of yours, if I might ask?

"It'd be more apt to call it a dream, I suppose," Tak-sharu mused, partially to himself, as he turned his gaze to the ceiling. "A dream that one day the Seikronyr race will no longer have to inhabit the stars; that we may one day be able to find a new world and call it our own; that if I gain enough influence, power, and prestige, I can end our exile among the heavens. That is my dream, my goal, my purpose, and I shall do whatever is necessary to see it through."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Old Grudges: Part Two

Volupta bowed her head, smiling beneath her mask. It is indeed a noble and worthy goal. One which your people deserve, and mine she feel obligated to help you achieve. I swear to you, I shall do what I can in assisting you. Anything to right one more of my people's many, many wrongs.

"Indeed, but like there are those among my people who do not, and will not forgive your kind, so too are there likely those who do not, and will not, seek to remember the crimes of your old government," Tak-sharu observed, lowering his gaze to lock eyes with Volupta. "But I suppose they are not to blame. Nine billion is simply an incomprehensible number for those who have not smelled the ashes."

Indeed. That will be a problem. But from what I know, my mother has her allies. I promise you, I will assure she does what she can. I can not promise it will end in success... but I shall try.

"And I shall ensure each favor is repaid six times over, regardless of success or failure," Tak-sharu replied, bowing his head simply. "As before, you have my sincer-" However, before Tak-sharu could finish, a voice interrupted him.

"Tak-sharu-hiba!" Osahar bellowed angrily, marching through the doorway as the other Seikron quickly turned to face his bodyguard. As Osahar approached Tak-sharu, she jammed her arm into his forehead, and said, "If you wanted to slip off to consort with a... koingozi whenever you were wishing, then why did you insist on my presence in the first place!?"

"O-osahar-ba, please, calm down," Tak-sharu replied, shrinking back defensively. "I was in the middle of some very important diplomacy, couldn't have you risking anything!"

I take it by the familiar way you speak with each other that you are associates. Volupta bowed her head. I am Volupta... Volupta'ba-sumama. And this is my most trusted colleuge, Tee.

Tee bowed his own head, privately saying, Volupta the Dismissed? Interesting choice.


Quickly regaining his composure, Tak-sharu replied, "Ah yes, allow me to make introductions fo-"

"I am Osahar cin Ankhor, of the Badka caste, commander of the Forseti consulate's garrison force," Osahar interrupted, placing an arm over her chest in salute. "And the one responsible for ensuring Tak-sharu-hiba's safety from any threats," she added, shooting meaningful glares at Volupta and Tee in turn.

"Or you could introduce yourself, I suppose," Tak-sharu dead-panned. "Regardless, I apologize for my bodyguard's interruption. She can be rather hotheaded, even for our kind."

Volupta nodded. It is understandable. Regardless, I am pleased to meet you. Your friend and I were speaking of a mutual agreement between our people.


"Oh, is that the case?" Osahar said, before turning back to face Tak-sharu. "I assume that you have authorization for such a deal, then?"

Tak-sharu nervously folded his arms together, leaning side to side slightly. "Not... exactly. It was a spur of the moment thing, and likely will not reap any benefits for some time yet," he said, slightly less confidently than normal. "But I am certain that once it comes into effect, High Command shall approve it graciously."

"Of course they will," Osahar replied with a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Might the details be known to I?"

Volupta looked between the two, cautiously saying, I am sorry, but it is a sensitive manner. It is up to your associate whether or not we share with you. Just know that it is the benefit of both our people.

"I believe we should keep this matter between ourselves, at least until we can come up with a more detailed deal than the one we currently have," Tak-sharu said, slightly interposing himself between Volupta and Osahar.

"Of course, only natural that you leave your bodyguard out of the negotiations with a kio- excuse me, Humiliatia," Osahar said, standing to her full height and flicking her whiskers menacingly. "Do not allow yourself to be manipulated, Tak-sharu-hiba," she added, in her native tongue.

Volupta folded her upper arms, placing her lower arms on her hips. What is that you keep wanting to call me? Koingozi?


"It was our, ah, term for your people, from the war," Tak-sharu explained nervously. "Do not take offense, but it's meaning is rou-"

"It means 'butcher lord', in our tongue," Osahar interrupted. "A fitting title, in those days. These days, less than precise."

Volupta was silent for a moment, wishing to choose her words carefully. I... will make no excuses for my people. I will only say that, as far as I've been told, they are atoning for their crimes. I... was exiled for speaking against the old ways. But with things different now, I would like to resume my previous attempts. But... it will only work as long as there are those open to my help.

Osahar snorted. "Spare me of the 'I was different' and 'we've changed now' lines, they'd be of better use for bio-reprocessing. There are some crimes that cannot be atoned for, regardless of how much the perpetrator wishes to."

"Osahar-ba, that is enou-!" Tak-sharu began, but the other Seikron cut him off.

"You spoke up, you say? But it does not require courage to speak. It takes courage to strike at the heart of the problem with your own harpoon, but I doubt your kin would know much of that, myanwojiroho," Osahar said, slowly stepping towards Volupta.

"Osahar! You are out of line!" Tak-sharu roared, bursting in and slamming his forehead against Osahar's. "I shall have to discipline you personally, for insulting a guest of one of our race's few friends. But for now, I recommend that you step back and cease your incessant ripple-weaving."

Volupta shuddered in anger, her fists opening and closing. "How... dare you?" She pulled off her mask and dropped it to the ground, wanting Osahar to see her angry eyes and hear the anger in her voice. "You have no idea who you are speaking to." She placed a hand against her chest. "I came from a privileged family. I could have had all I wanted in life, and I would have never had to work a day in my life to earn it!"

Tee stepped forward. Mistress, please, calm...

"But I could not do that!" Volupta took a step towards Osahar. "I saw the disgusting nature of my people. I gathered everyone who would listen to me, called for an end of our bloody path. And what did it get me!" She glared down at the floor. "My own father exiled me. Kicked me out of my race, then tried to execute me. I did what little I could to resist them. So many cycles, afraid each night would be the last, having to watch my allies, my friends, and eventually... my love... die one by one. How... dare you... speak of me like that? You have no right!"

Osahar moved to approach Volupta, but a hasty armbar from Tak-sharu prevented her from getting closer. "Perhaps we should leave," the consul said, gently pushing the other Seikron back. "I must sincerely apologize for Osahar-ba's foul temper, Volupta-mkuu, however now we shall be making our exit." Osahar opened her mouth to protest, but Tak-sharu merely whispered, "We shall discuss your... failures in private."

With a defeated, angered expression bare upon her face, Osahar shoved away Tak-sharu's arm, hastily turned around, and made her way out of the hydroponics bay. Tak-sharu followed closely behind, turning his head to briefly give a sympathetic look towards Volupta, before he himself exited the bay.

Tee looked up at his ally. Perhaps... speaking on their behalf...

No. She was wrong to say what she said to me... but she has a right to her anger. I will help them. If at all possible.Volupta retrieved her mask and resumed her work.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Frostlich1228 & ZombieSplitter53
"Butting Heads: Part One"

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Holo-Training Room
Simulation Brigid-210
'Natural History Museum, New York'

Korra's eyes dashed around the room as she stood in the center of the lobby, looking for even the slightest of movements. A distortion of light flashed to her right, but by the time she turned and fire, she hit nothing but the hardwood floor.

Damn ancient ballistic weapons. Even a laser rifle would makes this so easy. Guess that's the point, though.

A scrape on the floor behind her! She dived forward, the ground where she had been standing exploded in splinters as it's claws nearly struck home. Korra quickly turned and fired, and was rewarded with a screech. The dance of distortions said it wasn't a kill shot, but it was wounded.

But there are three more that are just fine. I could run for a corner. They wouldn't be able to sneak up on me. But they could catch me on the way... and a corner would make me... cornered...

James stepped into the Holo-room, either thinking that it would be empty or just not caring enough to check. He was greeting by a holographic representation of the Natural History Museum in New York, a place he had been with his family on an overseas trip. Now, obviously knowing that the room was occupied, James took a few steps forwards and raised his voice to try and get the attention of the occupant, "Hello?"

Running forward, Korra stopped dead in her tracks at his voice and stared at him, first in surprise, then in horror. She lifted her rifle and pointed it at him, finger itching over the trigger.

His slight grin quickly faded as he looked down the barrel of her weapon, looking down towards the control pad on his wrist, cursing slightly to himself for not putting it into it's automatic defense mode, letting it automatically scan for potential threats and deal with them. He stood there silently, slowly raising his hands up, "Listen, Lady, you're going to regret it. Put it down."

Korra fired at James, just as the air in front of him distorted. With a death howl, a creature flopped to the ground. Its camaflouge faded, revealing a dead reptilian creature with two strong legs, a pair of massive arms sporting razor sharp claws, and a human-like face with large eyes.

As its blood pooled on the ground, Korra shouted, "What are you doing in here?!" She reached to her side, pulling out a handgun.

"Well, I'm pretty sure your time's up." He looked down at the bloodied creature on the floor, "Wow that's... Disturbing..."

"You wanna see disgusting? How abouts your own guts leaking out when you're eviscerated!" Korra tossed James the pistol. "Get over here!"

"Wait, these things can actually injure me?!" He asked, his eyes widening.

"Only if you're not as hot crap as you think you are," Korra answered with a grin. "There are two more." She quickly looked at the dead one. "One of the two are injured. They invisible, but you can see them a bit when they move. And they're smart, but predictable, which is how I got the one that went after you."

"Trust me, I am hot shit, just not as much as I could be in the physical combat department." James grabbed the gun and stood back to back with Korra, activating his drone's overwatch and automatic defense mode, making sure to paint Korra as a friendly target, "But if they're easy to outsmart, should be a breeze."

For several silent minutes, there was nothing. Not even the sound of movement. Korra stepped forward and turned to James. "Hmm... maybe the program froze after you came in for safety..." She heard the sounds of claws scraping the ground behind her, too close for her to do anything about it.

After a series of beeps, James' drone unloaded it's power clip into the side of the creature, the sound triggering it's special overwatch. The beast slammed into the floor, burns all over it's body as James replied, "Anti-stealth overwatch, designed after I almost got choked out by a Seeker, it fires towards sources of sound not caused by targets painted as friendly. By the way, you should probably watch your back."

Korra nodded. "Th... thank you." She turned around. As she did, a door slammed open, another creature resembling a mutated rhino burst in. As it revved its leg, preparing to charge, Korra and James could here the cautious approach of the last invisible monster approaching James. "Is this what humans call being between a rock and a hard on?"

"Pffft." James couldn't help but let out a laugh, even as he was staring what could be his death in the face. Fancypants turned around to face the rhino creature, firing his pistol towards it. As he predicted, the invisible beast took the opportunity to attack his back, it's claws scratching against the floor as it ran towards him. James' drone easily picked up the sound and unloaded it's second clip into the creature, bringing it down and causing it to slide past them, covered in it's own blood.

The rhino's charge thrown off by Jame's attack, Korra grabbed him and they both rolled out of the way. Landing on top of James, Korra rose to a sitting position and unloaded into the creature's exposed back. It toppled to the side, and a buzzer sounded, signalling that the enemies were all dead. Korra let out a sigh of relief.

James looked up, now in an interesting position, "If I was straight, I think I'd be a lot happier right now, but as it stands, you're just making it hard to breathe..."

Straight? Korra climbed off her fighting partner, offering him a worried hand. "You... you weren't hurt, we're you?"

"No, I'm fine." James said, waving it off and getting up on his own.

Korra folded her arms and pouted. "I... I don't really... care, I... I just can't have you getting hurt and blabbing to the Commander that I... had the safety off the... program..."

"Eh, I don't hate you enough to do that... And to be honest she'd probably just give you a commendation for training way harder than everyone else." James replied.

"You obviously don't know who you're talking about," Korra muttered. "She hates me, and would use any excuse to push me out an air lock." Her head dipped a bit. "It was... stupid of me to even come here..."

"Because she's treating you bad? There's always people that won't like you, but letting it keep you down is just letting them win." Fancypants said, brushing himself off out of habit.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Korra stomped her foot. "Man, you really know how to make someone who already feels bad feel worse!" She stomped towards the exit, muttering, "and to think I was actually worried about this... prick getting hurt because of me..."

James took a double take, "Ah- What did I do?! I'm just trying to give you my thoughts!"

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Butting Heads: Part Two

Korra turned back and stomped her foot again. "Well, sometimes, your thoughts are mean! You know, I love my people. But for someone like me, the way they're blunt about everything, no matter how much they're words might hurt, no matter how offensive... it drives me crazy! I get it enough from them, I don't need this from a human too! I must be out of my mind to even talk to you. I'm just giving you more fuel to drive over me with!"

"For someone like you? What do you mean?" James asked cautiously, not wanting to say something else that would accidentally offend her.

Korra looked away. "For someone who... who is flawed. You're someone who can see the flaws in everyone else, but never your own. Someone who... who seems to delight in telling them how wrong they are. I-I know your kind. Y-you... you act like you know everything, and can lead everyone the right way. But as soon as something goes wrong, you blame the other person and let them take the fall! Or worse... you... you use their weakness... they're mistakes... to... to force them... to..."

"You're saying I can't see the flaws in myself?" James pointed towards his body, "Listen... It's... It's the reason I act like this, alright?"

"My entire family are psions, everyone except me. No one ever paid attention to me because I was always that kid without psionics. I knew I had to change the way I acted or I would just fade into the background." James explained, "But even that didn't work, I was always that sibling that everyone else just forgot about. Until I discovered my skill with robotics I wasn't good at anything, I thought I was doomed to be overlooked for my entire life, doomed to live in the shadow of my family. When I finally found my special talent, the one thing I was good at, I embraced it, and worked my ass off to be that best at it, and now, I am. I didn't get a free scholarship to a college for psionics on Luna, I didn't even have the chance to, I had to get there by my own skill and hard work alone."

"I act like I'm right because I've proven it time and time again, I can lead everyone the right way because I have the skill and the smarts to do so."

Korra turned back to James. "I... I'm sorry you were treated like that. My entire race treats me like that for my lack of emotional control, and I've strived to prove them wrong. But it's a lot harder for your when everyone on your planet looks at you like... like you're a freak!" Her lip quivered a bit. "I... I-I'm sorry you had it so hard. But you had skills, you had talents. The only thing you lacked was the psionics your family had. Last I checked, that makes you the same as about 95% of humans that haven't had their powers unlocked. Me?" She laughed grimly. "I was like about 2% of my people. I was the freak compared to the rest, and no one wanted to help me, because I was deemed a failure the day I was born."

She dropped to a crouch, suddenly too tired to stand. "You said you can see your own flaws, but all you've said is you lack psionics. That's just something someone else told you was a flaw. I'm sorry... but I'm not as perfect. I'd gladly trade my powers with your ability to... talk to your own people."

"It's not just my lack of psionics, I'm not good at anything else but Robotics and Engineering, sure I'm a pretty good shot, but that doesn't go very far." James responded, "My opinion is this, you can fling fireballs, control people with your mind, levitate objects and hurl them at bullet speed, why do you even care what your race thinks of you when there are plenty of other people in the galaxy that'll think differently? You'll hate me for saying this, but while you may have been stuck there as a kid, you're an adult, and you're free to just not give a shit what people think of you, if you believe you're a good person, and you're worth something, then that's all that matters. They can go fuck themselves."

Korra sulked on the ground. "You... you don't know what it's like to have billions of people call you a freak. You don't just get over it, especially when you still love your people. But... for everyone to look down on you. For your own brother ask why you were even born. To have an alien, a human, pretend to try and take you away from all that, be the first person you thought you could trust, thought could actually care about a freak like you, only for him... only for him... to..." Korra sat down, holding her legs close and burying her face in them, sobbing softly.

"Look... I'm... Sorry... For what I said before... About the kid... Maybe relying on myself works for me, but it might not always for someone else... and I'm... Sorry for what happened to you... I'm not sure what else to say..."

Korra slowly looked up, a bit surprised, and wiped a few tears from her eyes. "it's okay. I... was wrong too. I shouldn't compare you to the people that hurt me. It isn't fair. I just... have a temper problem."

"Maybe we should just... Start over..." He said, his smile returning as he offered her a hand up, "My name is James Delanor."

Korra smiled lightly. "Wow... I was really mad at you, and I didn't even know your name." She accepted his hand. "Korra Devolina. Um... how does one 'start over'?"

"Let's just... Forget that fight ever happened." He chuckled, "Want to get lunch?"

"Um... maybe..." Korra gave him a sheepish look. "You're not going to lecture me more, are you? Because I just fought a bunch of invisible monsters and cried in front of someone."

"Pretty eventful day already, so I think I'll let you off on the lectures this time." He answered sarcastically.

Korra nodded, and walked over to the wall. A computer appeared, and she shut down the program.

Stepping out into the hallway and heading toward the mess hall, Korra gave James a sideways glance. "So... you're... good with engineering stuff, huh?"

"Yep, mostly robotics, as you might have been able to tell from my drone." He replied, "I built it myself and I've been upgrading it ever since with anything I've been able to find."

Korra chuckled. "First time I saw it, you had it aim a weapon at the back of my head."

"I thought you were going to try and hurt me, just self defense." He said casually.

Korra nudged her arm into James. "I was thinking about it. You have quite a talent for pissing people off. Or at least pissing me off."

Jaems smirked, "That's hard? I mean thanks!"

Korra shook her head. "Maybe we're just... too alike. Makes it easy for us to butt heads."

"When you get two people that both think they're right and refuse to back down in the same room with one another, things don't usually go well." James stated.

The pair stepped into the mess hall, and Korra asked, "You heard what happened to the little engineer, right? Burning himself out."

"Yeah, I went to see him in the hospital. His therapist was even there, kid's popular with the ladies I guess." James responded.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Butting Heads: Part Three

"Good to hear he's getting some help." Korra frowned. "I hope you weren't too hard on the therapist for trying to help."

"She wasn't there to fix him herself, and even if she was why would I stop it." Jamse replied looking over to her, "I said I thought he should fight his own battles, not fix his own brain using the sheer power of his will."

Korra frowned. "Right. I'm not good at this... conversation thing. Usually end up making people pretty mad myself."

"Neither am I, apparently, or at least with aliens I'm not." James replied, "I have a question, actually, do Tamearin men lose their hair color too, or is it only for females? I used to know this Tamaerin back on Luna who was pretty nice, she's the one that told me about your Sahc-Dew-y-Dew, I think it was called? It was awhile ago."

"Interested in my people, huh?" Korra grabbed her modest lunch and took a seat. "Only the women. I no biologist, but it all has to do with reproduction and fertility. The loss of hair color and powers is just something our body does to protect us from our own lack of emotional control, even Pon-Taers like me." She giggled. "You want to know the ironic thing?"

He shrugged, grabbing some of the most expensive looking food items he could, "Shoot."

Korra gave him a wicked grin. "During that time, Tamearin women have a certain... tingling. An itch that needs to be scratched, if you catch my meaning. That, combined with increased fertility, means this is the best time to breed. The ironic thing is Tamearin men are put off by their unchecked emotions, so unless they're married..." She laughed loudly. "Truth be told, they're afraid of the women. And for good reason, as my friend O'Brien found out for herself."

"Women here on Earth go though a similar mood swing, but it happens monthly." James said, taking a piece of shrimp off his plate and taking a bite.

"Really?" Korra frowned at James not seeming affected at all by her provocative words. "Ours is monthly too, based on the Tamearin calender. Our months are just twice as long." She spooned some mashed potatoes into her mouth and grabbed a glass of soda with her tail.

"Guess that means us humans got the short end of the stick, human women don't lose their psionics during theirs though, which means they get to keep all that psionic power during their most unstable time of the month." James explained, "Although I don't hang around too many women, and even less psions, so I've never heard of that being a problem, you'd think it would be though."

"Why not?" Korra chuckled. "Can't get a girl because of your attitude?"

James gave her a confused look, "What... I already told you I'm..." Fancypants stopped, smiling as he shook his head, "Oh, you don't know what straight means, do you?"

Korra shook her head, instinctively pulling a pad and pen out of her pocket. "Straight means you... don't... like girls? Oh! But you said you... weren't... wait, I'm confused."

"No... Heheh... Straight means someone likes women... I said I'm not straight, which means..." James said, trying to let her finish the sentence herself.

"You like other men!" Korra said with a smile, jotting down some notes. "I heard about this. When the therapist mentioned her two mothers, for example. My people are so boring, only caring about procreation. The only time they do it for pleasure is... the aforementioned period of time." She looked up at James. "I'm relieved. I was afraid another man was immune to my... feminine charm. Afraid I'm losing my touch or something."

"Don't think I'm not a man just because I'm not into women." James replied, raising a finger, "I mean, If I cared to I bet I could get any girl I wanted, most women are into confidence, after all."

"I know I am," Korra agreed. "Gets me into trouble, though. The confident ones are the biggest jerks sometimes." She sighed. "Maybe I should look for someone with a mix of confidence and humility."

"So what? You're looking for a normal person?" He asked, "You're gonna have a hard time finding one on this ship."

"Hmm..." Korra fell silent for a moment, her expression saying she had somebody in mind. When she spoke again, she asked, "You mind if I ask you something... about that little engineer?"

"Go ahead."

Korra leaned back. "Why do you care about him? I mean... you seem to have something against weak people. And I like the kid, but he's pretty fragile. Why not just... worry about someone stronger?"

"Because he has a lot of potential, he may not be strong in the traditional way but you don't need to be to stand up for yourself." James explained, looking down for a second, "And... he reminds me of myself... He's a brilliant kid, I could see that instantly... He's destined for great things if he's here at that young of an age."

Korra grinned. "You think, if he worked hard, that one day he might reach your level?"

"Maybe. But by that time I'll be an even better engineer than I already am." He answered smugly.

Korra laughed herself. As she finished her meal, her smile slowly faded. "When... we first met, you... you made me so mad. The way you... talked to me. And then you... made fun of my boobs!" She folded her arms, the anatomy in question bouncing a bit. She looked away, a mixture of embarrassment and anger on her face. "But... that was no excuse for... for threatening you the way I did. I... I'm s... I-I'm... s-s..."

"Salad Dressing?" He guessed, smirking.

"I'm sorry," Korra muttered, adding, "Smartass."

"C'mon, you set yourself up for it and I didn't have the willpower or care enough to resist." James responded, chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. But if you were willing to apologize for what you said..." Korra wiped her mouth and stood up. "I need to hit the showers. But... maybe we should try training together again some time. You weren't half bad."

"Thanks, neither were you." He smiled, "But next time, I get to pick what we fight."

Korra grinned as she turned. As she walked away, she said, "Just as long as you don't make it too easy."

 

[Mangrale]

Hard to Keep, Part 1: The Worst Part

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Crew Infirmary, Room 37
February 26, 2044, 0359 Hours

The world around Narcisse was pitch black, featureless. As opposed to what would normally calm him, right now he was experiencing a kind of inexplicable panic. He stood uneasily, his body, not counting his head, somewhat indistinguishable from his surroundings. After an unsettling period of time that he couldn’t possibly remember, he turned to see a shadowy entity approach him, its appearance also blending into the dark. Only its head could be clearly seen. It had the same hair as him, wore the same glasses as him and had a similar face as his. In almost every way, this person was him.

But this other Narcisse was alarmingly different. His eyes were pure white, a fear inducing sight on its own, made more terrifying by his wide, fearsome grin, wider than humanly possible. The original was powerless to do anything but watch as his animalistic doppelganger raised its right arm to reveal a handgun directed at him. The firearm went off in a tremendous explosion, the bullet unseen but still felt.

The pilot’s body jolted in a violent spasm on his bed. The dark medical room he was in reassured him, yet he found it hard to calm his pulse for a minute. He had been awake a few times between his operations. Now, after his final one, he was set to rest and begin a physical therapy regimen in the morning. That rest, however, eluded him.

Narcisse rested his arms on top of his white sheets, something he couldn’t dream of doing days earlier. He sat up slightly, experiencing little to no physical pain as he did so. Slightly alarmed, he raised his familiar, jet black arms near his face, closer than he normally would considering his glasses were on top of a stand to his right. He scoured along his arms, especially his right, checking to see the end result of the surgery. From what he managed to see, all seemed like it should. Then he ran his hands along each other’s respective arms. He wasn’t surprised at how his right appendage lacked the response time and precision he was used to - his doctor told him to expect as much after the operations. But he was satisfied when he recognized the sensation of touch between his arms; the surgeons had not deactivated his nerves.

The tired frenchman dropped his bare arms back down on the sheets and leaned back onto his bed. He closed his heavy eyelids and attempted to let his mind go blank. Yet he couldn’t help but replay the events of ten days ago. As difficult to see though it was, at times, back then, he could remember everything that happened.

===================================================================================================================================
“Please… I… I need to know what happened to Felrave… He was alive when I… when… Please… I… I need to know…”

The officer nervously looked down at him on his temporary patient’s bed. He was clearly not accustomed to seeing someone like Narcisse in the condition he was in. “Mr. Bellrose, Viranti is… h-he’s dead. He didn’t make it.
===================================================================================================================================

Narcisse’s breathing became heavy once more, the implications of Felrave’s death not being lost on him. He soon calmed himself. For one implication, he tried to accept it and how it basically left him back on the conclusion he’d lived with throughout his entire life. The other implication greatly frightened him in a profound way that he hadn’t felt before.

Wearily, he tilted his head to his right, instantaneously remembering the item beside his folded up eyewear. It was a simple, yet radiant bracelet. It was made up of many small silver rings laid flat in an alternating three rowed arrangement. Each silver ring was linked to each individual ring next to it by a pair of smaller bronze rings.

===================================================================================================================================
It was moments before his departure back to the Einherjar, light just peeking through the windows. Narcisse smiled as he delicately held the bracelet in his left hand. In his hospital room, Silva had fallen asleep on a guest chair and Celeste sat by the pilot’s side, uneasy but smiling as well.

“It’s beautiful…” Bellrose spoke quietly enough so as not to wake Silva, but loud enough so she could hear him. “I really hope you didn’t steal this from anyone I know” he continued playfully.

“It’s not stolen!” she exclaimed aloud, shaking her head furiously for a second. When she had finished, they both glanced over at Silva to make sure he was still asleep - he was. Celeste’s expression became warm again, but now with a hint of sorrow. “I-It belonged to my mother…” she mumbled to him before her voice started to break at the recollection of her. She looked down, but Narcisse could see the tears running down her face. “...She gave it… to me… before she…” the little girl managed before crying more profusely.

Narcisse took a moment to kick himself internally. After that, he set the bracelet on his bed and extended his left hand, cradling the side of Celeste’s face. His thumb gently swept over her cheek, wiping the tears away. “You don’t have to say another word…” he said, lifting her head and looking directly into her eyes. He smiled widely until he noticed the same sentiment on her. “I understand… I’m very sorry… Please don’t cry…” Combatting the onset of his own silent tears, he picked up the bracelet and held it out to her. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Now calmed, Celeste nudged his hand back to him. “I want you to have it...”

Narcisse shook in surprise. “W-what? Why would…?” He sighed pleasantly, getting his thoughts together. “I’m honored, really. But I don’t think you’d want someone like me to hold on to this. It’s your mother’s. You keep it… so you can always remember her, alright?” He resumed handing it to her.

The girl again pushed his hand back, this time making his fingers close over the band. “I’ll always remember her. But I think you should keep it… to remember us by.”

The frenchman laughed softly. “After all that’s happened… do you really think I’d just forget you two so easily?”

Celeste shook her head, happily this time. “No, I think you should remember… you’re not alone.”

Her words startled him and he took a deep breath to prevent giving way to tears. She caught this and leaned forward to give him a hug around his neck. Now even more flummoxed, he responded by shakily placing his left arm to her back, bracelet in hand.

“That was a close one…” he sighed, still cheery. “Of course I’m not alone… I got to meet two of the bravest kids in the universe.” The man from Rennes gulped and looked aside. “You’ll go on to do great things, I know it. (chuckle) I just wish I could be around long enough to see them. Just as well. You’d be better off without me anyway, eh?”

“Don’t say that.” Celeste spoke softly but sternly, squeezing tighter around his neck. “Promise me you’ll come back.”

Unwilling to disappoint her, Narcisse lifted the bracelet so he could see it. “Celeste… Tell you what… I’ll hold on to it for the time being and bring it back to you, maybe when my tour of duty is finished. Would you like that?”

“Promise.”

He paused, knowing what to say, but still afraid to say it. “... I promise…”
===================================================================================================================================

Narcisse grinned and looked back up to the ceiling. Fantastic… just fantastic… what did I agree to?… he thought, feeling trapped, in a sense, by his own vow.

In any case… I’m definitely not pulling off the brooding loner thing very well...

 

[Mangrale]

Hard to Keep, Part 2: The First Step?

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Crew Infirmary, Room 37
February 26, 2044, 0750 Hours

Narcisse was sluggishly and awkwardly eating his breakfast with his left hand, weary from his lack of sleep, as his doctor sat facing his bed from a few feet away.

“So Mr. Bellrose, how was your night? Are you well rested?”

The pilot thought of a less than gracious response, but quickly rejected it. “It went as well as can be expected. How about you?” he said passed a thin smile.

“I am very well. Thank you for asking,” the physician responded, unsure what to make of his patient’s shift in demeanor. “How is your arm functioning? We’ve had to repair a few regions of muscle tissues as well as a microactuator near your shoulder. You’re lucky that most of the rounds were deflected by your enhanced endoskeleton, or else we might have been replacing as much as we were fixing.”

Narcisse chuckled before taking a sip of his orange juice. “Ah yes, I am indeed very lucky.” He forked a large portion of his scrambled eggs into his mouth, chewing and swallowing with renewed gusto. “But like you said, I’ll need to work to get it back to the way I want it. I’d like to get started right away.”

“Heh, well I appreciate your eagerness to redevelop your body’s performance. And indeed, it is important to reestablish your neural pathways...” The doctor scratched the side of his head, pondering the right words to use next. “But it has been discussed at length… and it is believed that it may be in your best interest to consult with the ship’s therapist.”

The cyborg was about to take a bite out of his toast but abruptly dropped it on his plate. For a few seconds, thoughts races through his mind, his manner clearly showing he wasn’t thrilled at the suggestion. “Is that an order?” he asked, although knowing the answer already.

“Not yet. Right now, it is a simple suggestion,” the doctor replied, almost successfully predicting Narcisse would ask that. “We’ve seen the report and you…”

“...Did what any other soldier would have done in those circumstances,” Narcisse interrupted as casually as he could. “Traffickers attacked me. I defended myself. Simple as that.” He resumed eating in a nonchalant way, but his breathing started to subtly speed up.

The doctor blinked three times, confused. “Yes, well… I was going to say that you have endured a fierce ordeal and suffered significant injuries. Now I don’t need to tell you about the possible inherent psychological effects of an experience like this. Case in point, I’ve noticed you’ve been having nightmares as you sleep.”

Narcisse was more than a little embarrassed. “I-I w-would believe that to be natural... I th-think. (Ahem) However, I think I could manage on my own. No need to waste a professional’s time on my account.”

The physician crossed his arms, noticing that this discussion was running longer than he’d like it to. “Mr. Bellrose, I assure you, she is a highly devoted psychiatrist and therapist, and cases like yours are exactly the kind that she is adept at handling. Please don’t let your own insecurities prevent you from seeking the help you need.”

The frenchman immediately set his breakfast aside and jumped from his bed, irritated. “I do not need…!” he exclaimed before his legs trembled under him, prompting him to support himself from the bed with his right arm while he endured the momentary disorientation. He hadn’t been on his feet since the incident.

“Careful!” the doctor cautioned, motioning to leave his chair to assist but stopping at Narcisse’s outstretched left arm, gesturing for him to halt. He sighed at the pilot’s insolence. “The neural connection to your legs will resink, just give it a second. Would you like me to get the nurses?”

Bellrose stared at Celeste’s bracelet with a nagging sense of defeat as he steadied himself. He lowered his arms and turned to the doctor, who rose from his seat. “No... thank you, I’ll be fine… I would like to get dressed by myself if it is alright with you.”

The doctor nodded slowly, assured that the pilot wouldn’t accept any kind of assistance. “Of course. Please try to be more careful in the future.” With that he left the room.

Narcisse slumped back on the side of his bed, glancing at the remainder of his breakfast but not having the appetite for it anymore. He reached for the bracelet, still favoring his left hand over his currently less trusted right hand. He held it carefully, not daring to risk any sudden movements. It might as well have been made out of delicate, thin glass. He uttered a loud groan that transitioned into a nervous but hearty laugh.

If I can promise anything… I can promise to take care of this… a lot better than I do myself…

 

[Frostlich1228]

Frostlich1228 & Dahlexpert: "Old Family Misunderstandings"

XDSF Battleship Einherjar
Office of Camellia Cross
February 27th, 7:02 AM

Camellia walked down to get office early in the morning, unlocking the door and preparing to set up for her first shift. She looked around the room, then grabbed her note pad, looking down her prescription list and making sure the locked safe under her desk was fully stocked with what she needed. Satisfied, Camellia took at seat in her chair and leaned back, wanting to take a minute to relax before work started.

Please God's don't let anyone be in here.
Cassia knocked on the door "Hello is there any one in their, I'm sort of hoping there isn't."

"Uhh... Yes... There is actually..." Camellia replied from her desk, an apprehensive look on her face.

Then Cassia opens the door "Hello, my name is Cassia, my roommate wanted me to see the ships therapist."

"Cassia... Van Dam?" She asked with a little hesitation.

"Yes, unless there's another woman with the name Cassia on this ship."

"Well, you never know. All of our mother's are kind of heroes, lots of people like giving their kids our names." Camellia smiled, hoping she'd be a little more pleasant than the stories she heard about Cassia's aunt, bounty hunter or no, "My name is Camellia Cross, but you can call me Winter."

"Winter nice nickname, I like it." Cassia took a seat "Now the reasons i'm here is because , well my roommate want's me to make an attempt to be normal at least while i'm on this ship. I personality find it to be a wast of time because i'm just going to go back to my old self once this is all over."

"Well, abnormal doesn't always mean bad, but what was your 'old self' like?" Winter asked.

"A person that enjoyed hunting man alien and beast, enjoying killing criminals and taking care of her giant pets. And by pets I mean two carnivores that can eat 3 humans at once and a alien herbivore the size of a three story building and painting."

Camellia chuckled awkwardly, "That's, pretty funny. You've got quite the sense of humor."

"Who says i'm joking, I really do have a pet that's most likley three stores tall and two pets that can probable eat three humans at once." Cassia shows Camellia a picture of Raptor and Blue and shows her a picture of Mammoth for at least 75 feet way.

"You kept these... on Earth?" Camellia asked while looking at the pictures, a little baffled.

"No of course not, I haven't been on Earth for about 10 years. Those are the native animals on Progress and I been taken care of them since they were pups."

"Hmm... But your mother lives on Earth doesn't she? Isn't your family part of some... clan?"

"Yes, we do but some of us let Earth and my mom is on the Ethereal home world learning about their people. Wait you seem to know a lot about my people, why is that."

"Well, I am a Cross. I was really curious about X-com and the people that were a part of it when I was little, so I usually asked my parents about it." Camellia replied.

"Hum well that explains how you know about my clan, even though we don't like having people know about us, mostly the government and such."

"So... I can see why people wouldn't want you to just go and try to stab people with any backround in crime. Do you, regret killing any of the people you've killed?" Winter asked.

"No, every person I have killed was a criminal, the wort of the worst. They deserve nothing but death I don't care for their miserable lives."

"Well what if they were framed? How do you know you're not killing an innocent person?" Camellia frowned a little, losing her friendly appearance.

"Not possible, if they were framed then they wouldn't have a lot of armed guards. Plus bounty hunters are meant to do a background check on our targets because of that said reason, we don't want to kill a innocent person. Well I do that any way I can't speak for other mercenaries."

Camellia's eyes widened, "You... Kill innocent people?"

"Not on purpose, if I ever killed an innocent person it would be an accident."

"Oh... Good. I thought you meant... Nevermind." She responded.

"Look I don't know what you been told about my family,but we don't kill innocent people, at least not on purpose anyway."

"Look, I've heard from my mother that your family can be a bit, ruthless, at times. I wouldn't call my mother a liar, but maybe it was just a misunderstanding, or maybe you've changed." Camellia said.

"If you're our enemy then yes we can be ruthless, we may have changed slightly over the years since the war but our ruthless nature makes us, us. If that makes since we strive to be the best to be great to seek glory and adventure that is our way of living, and we have to be ruthless to do so then so be it."

Cassia eyes widened "Wait who is your mother, and which one of my family members did she run into?"

"My mother's name is Ammelia, and I believe she ran into a woman named Scarlet?" Winter answered.

Cassia eyes widened " Oh well that would explain something, you ran into the craziest person in our family, see my aunt Scarlet is very violent and dangerous, especially back then."

"Oh, apparently she decked my mom on the her first day there!" Cammy said, chuckling a little, "I always found that part pretty funny actually."

"Yeah that sounds like something my aunt would do. I will not apologize for what my aunt did to you or your mother because i'm not her and you're not your mother."

"Seems fair enough." Camellia shrugged, "You know, I'm not sure why your roommate wants you to be 'Normal' when you're on a ship filled with soldiers."

"She's trying to civilize me, and she thinks you will give me some advice."

"Do you want to be civilized?"

"Personally no, I think civilized people are annoying tilted brats that know nothing of hard ship. I will rather take my survival skills and the cold mountain air of my tribe any day of the week. However since i'm going to be on this ship for gods know how long I might as well give it a shot."

Camellia scrunched her face a little at the hopefully unintentional insult, then responded, "Personally, I think you should just be you. Pretending to be something you're not doesn't usually work out, and it's not like there aren't plenty of people like you on the ship you can talk to, but if you're really dead set on this, I could probably give you a few tips."

"I appreciate you saying that, now what kind of tips can you give to any uncivilized savage like me?"

"Well, if you'd ask my mother, the first rule about being a civilized lady, is your attire." Cammy smiled, looking her up and down, "Jeans are not okay. Rich people like dresses, or those new dressuits, which I tend to prefer because they make me feel a lot more powerful and in control."

Cassia starts to growl so very loudly that Even winter can hear it.

"Still wanna do this? Next is make up!" She grinned devilishly.

"I...WILL ....MURDER....MY ROOMMATE, CONTINUE."

On another part of the ship Noire spine starts to tingle

"Next we'll teach you how to walk in heels, then, we'll do your nails, maybe braid your hair." Winter said, holding in a laugh. "After that we'll probably work on some vibrator etiquette..." She mumbled to herself, turning around.

Cassia is pointing her gauntlet at Winter and sets it to lethal "There is no way in hell i'm wearing heels, painting my nails or any girly girly stuff! I am a warrior, not some damned flower!" Cassia yelled.

"I guess you'll need to stay the way you are then, huh? To be honest I'm not a huge fan of it either, just sort of meh, but you insisted, sooo..."

Cassia lowered her weapon "See this is why I prefer the cold mountains of my home and the jungles of progress over civilization. To hell with this crap, I would rather be a savage then go through that."

"Look, your friend can't control your life, she can't make you do something you don't want to, and she can't change who you are." Winter said.

"I don't think that was her plan, I think she just want's me to be some what civilized not go the all the way with it. Hell she's the one that gave me these jeans and such, so I think she knows I will never be civilized but I think she wanted me to come to you so I could get some more basic tips."

"Ooohh... Do you know how to use silverware? You know, eat off a plate?" Winter asked sarcastically.

"No I prefer eating raw meat and drinking blood because why go thorough all the cooking." Cassia says jokingly

"Then what do you want to know exactly?" She said, leaning back in her chair.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Part 2

"Sigh, like some basic stuff, like eating properly and not being a total drunk constantly and keeping my anger at a minimum.

Is this what my job has become now? Giving etiquette advice to mercenaries? "Okay, so you don't want to put your elbows on the table for one, that's considered rude, you also don't want to talk while food is in your mouth, also rude, and smacking your lips or clinking your silverware against the side of the plate of bowl is annoying to some people." She listed off, using her finger as a representation.

"Hum OK I think that is some handy stuff, good to know, got any thing else so I can get out of here?"

"If you don't want to get drunk, well, don't drink as much, try to drink in moderation." She looked up for a second, then back down at Cassia, "And to control your anger, I'd recommend breathing exercises, when you're feeling stressed, slowly take a breath in through your nose, and calmly let it out through your mouth, that usually works for most people."

"Sigh I swear you civilized people are annoying, going through all this crap just to fit in." Cassia get's up, "Whelp doc thanks for the information I will take that info and at least try an use it, while i'm on this ship any way."

"Good luck with that, and try not to murder your friend, don't think the janitorial staff want to scrub all that blood off the floors." Camellia said jokingly.

"Oh don't worry,there are ways to hurt someone without killing or leaving any blood."

"Don't go too overboard, you don't want to end up like your aunt, after all." Camellia said, smirking slightly.

"Oh don't worry, I'm nowhere near the psycho my aunt is, but I can be in attitude." Cassia headed for the door, "Thanks for the talk Winter, see you later."

Camellia waved her out as she left, sighing a little. That was one of my... stranger patients... Still, wouldn't mind talking to her again, she sorta reminds me of Aunt Mary, just a little.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Falling Out of one’s Comfort Zone, Part 1"

Somewhere in Subspace (February 24th, 2044)
The Einherjar (8:10 P.M., Earth Standard)
Medical Ward

Irina Beaumont rested her gray coat on the hangar outside a door in the medical ward, wearing her casual attire of a black cloth shirt and gray pants, something that wasn’t exactly common to her while in her place of work. She wasn’t here for work specifically, though, and was off-duty at this hour on most days. She started to walk towards the door, and was surprised when someone else did the same.

“Are you visiting Nick as well?” Hermes asked curiously of the doctor.

Irina looked over the strange android for a moment, the deduction of what he was not taking long. “I am… I suppose we could go in together then.”

“If it’s no trouble.”

Irina shook her head, and Hermes opened the door for her, allowing her to walk in first, the automaton following.

When they walked in, Nick looked to the side in surprise upon seeing Irina and then Hermes enter. He looked down at his lap and closed up an elongated device and he put it to the side, smiling at the guests. “H-Hey guys.”

Hermes gave a slight bow, while Irina just returned his greeting. “I understand you’ve been doing better recently,” Irina announced. “I’m glad to hear that. I do… apologize that I didn’t anticipate what happened after I informed Mason of what had been going on.” The doctor looked down. “It was likely preventable.”

“N-No, it is fine now. The two guys who really did the worst are gone now, and me and Malcom are actually friends now. He has really been a great help, visits me almost every day and gets me what I need. I… enjoy his company.” He stated with a smile.

Hermes smiled. “That’s a relief. And since you are still recovering, I can offer my assistance for anything you need help with. Some of my stored data includes data on engineering, particularly with weapons technology and armor.” And it would give me an excuse to check on another friend, as well, he added telepathically.

Nick’s eyes widened and he nodded, understanding. “Y-Yeah, you could actually help me a lot. I have a huge project I sort of… well, let’s just say it is beyond the rest of my capacity to complete on my own and I need people. I have one other engineer helping me, but I could still use a few more hands when I get out of here finally. I made sure that my… seizures would be greatly reduced, as I am sure you heard about.” He scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed about the event now.

“I think I understand why you did it yourself, but…” Irina sighed. “That was still incredibly dangerous, and I hope you don’t plan on neglecting maintenance for that cybernetic implant of yours in the future.”

“I know…” He sighed. Nick perked up though quickly and also asked, “So is this just a regular visit or was there anything you two wanted to discuss?”

“Well, I’ll obviously wait until you’ve recovered, but I am hoping that you can continue to work on recovering what memory data I have,” Hermes mentioned, shifting a bit idly. “If I have even a hint as to my past, I might be able to figure some things out.”

“Y-Yeah, of course I can. It will take a lot of work but I am confident enough we will be able to do it. There could still be some hidden chunks in there I might have missed the first time, who knows?”

“That will be satisfactory,” Hermes decided.

“I just came to visit a friend,” Irina contested. “Something I’m unused to doing.”

“W-Well I appreciate it nonetheless, I-Irina.” Nick told her meekly, scratching the back of his head. “It seems I have more friends than I originally realized with everyone that has been visiting me.”

Hermes nodded. “Well, it seems you already have a guardian angel in my squadmate, but if you ever need help with anyone, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

He nodded with a determined look on his face. “Maybe I should start my own squad, a personal guard, just for me!” He stated with a huge grin.

“But then what would the Greyhounds do outside of missions?” Hermes countered, while Irina just observed the two’s banter, perhaps amused but bad at showing it.

“Uh… well… I could use some manservants!” He suggested, getting a mischievous look. “I can be your Zeus.”

“Jupiter,” the android insisted. “And I am your messenger, not your servant. I’m known to trick you and the other gods sometimes as well.”

“Yes, but you forget I also have the power to have you disassembled so…” Nick stuck his tongue out. “I win.” He said with a victorious, over exaggerated look. “Not that I would ever do that, just messing with you a bit.”

Hermes rubbed the back of his neck. “Perhaps not the best joke considering everything that’s happened recently, not that I fault you for it.”

“Yeah… there is a reason I don’t do comedy…” He shook his head, and looked at Hermes seriously. “You going to be okay with all of that stupid stuff going on?”

“I should be… just need to keep a low profile for now. So try not to get into any trouble I have to save you from,” Hermes explained. “I still would help, but it wouldn’t end well for me.”

“I don’t think I can do much confined to this bed 24/7.” He informed him. “So you don’t have to worry about me.”

“How long do you think it will be before they release you?” Irina asked. “It’s been about a week, I think…”

“I have no idea… I have a bad feeling if it was up to my doctor, I would be under surveillance in here the rest of my life, but I will ask him later today what a reasonable time is, but hopefully by the end of the week so I can get back to work.” He exchanged look between the two of them and he asked, “Well… enough of me, how has training and work been?” He asked them both.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Falling Out of one’s Comfort Zone, Part 2”

“Interesting, though I feel Charbonneau may resent me for not getting tired like everyone else under Adolfsson’s tutelage,” Hermes informed him with a chuckle.

“Nothing too exciting yet, but I am interested in perhaps meeting our newest addition to the medical staff,” Irina said for her part. “We were a bit lacking in the psionic side of our team with only a weak biokinetic or two before.”

“There is a new doctor? I hadn’t heard… a lot I have seem to have been missing in here. Maybe that will be your new job for me…” He told Hermes. “You are the messenger god after all…”

“I could probably do that,” Hermes responded. “There are plenty of curious people and events that go on this ship that aren’t bad news.”

“I would appreciate it…” Nick laid back down on his bed and sighed, “Thanks for your help. I will be sure to work extra hard for your memories.” He looked at Hermes and said, “Anything else you need from me Hermes?”

The android shook his head. “That’s all I had to ask.”

“Alright…” Nick turned his gaze over to Irina and he remembered something. “H-Hey… there was something I wanted to ask you, about the first time we met…”

“And what is that?”

Nick glanced at Hermes and he scratched his cheek, saying, “Well… you said you had an interest in music… and I wanted to talk to you more about it. I don’t know a lot of people who share my love for it.”

“Oh… I suppose we could…” Irina said evasively.

“W-Well… do you play at all, or do you just listen to it a lot?” He asked, noting a bit of her hesitation.

“Listen to it,” Irina lied, not doing a good job at it.

“O… Kay.” He said, noting her state and trying to help his own awkward one at the moment. “What do you like to listen to most?”

The French doctor shifted her weight between her feet. “C-Classical, usually, though not just that.”

His face brightened a bit and he reached over, grabbing the metallic object he had with him before. “Would you actually like to hear what I can do? I know a lot of songs, both old and new. Just name one and I probably know it already.”

“Adelaide by Beethoven?” Irina prompted quietly.

The engineer nodded and he rubbed his hand, pressing a button and extending the machine apart to reveal a blue, holographic set of piano keys exactly like a physical one. “Child’s play… pun intended.” Taking a deep breath as he brought the song back to memory, Nick set about playing the song she had requested, being a little unsure in the beginning, but quickly finding himself and getting into the song to the extent of his ability. He usually hit all the notes perfectly and occasionally went away from the original piece to add his own special flare as to not make it sound boring or rigid. When he was done, he smiled and looked at his two guests for their opinions.

Hermes merely shrugged. “I don’t remember hearing any music like that, so I’m in no place to judge. It sounded good, though.”

Irina nodded in agreement to the last part.

His smile widened even more and he nodded his head, looking down at the holographic instrument. “I also play a little bit of guitar but I am nowhere as near as good as I am on the piano and it was too much of a hassle to bring rather than this. I prefer my piano though, I feel more natural with it, like it almost feels right, I don’t know, kind of hard to explain if you have never felt it before.”

Nick poked a few keys randomly and he added, “This has really been nice you guys… I’ve never really played for anyone on the ship yet, so doing this was fun.”

Irina nodded slightly. “I suppose it has… though I’m unused to the idea of visiting a friend in the medical ward still. Either I’m operating on them or I’m the one being visited, not the other way around.”

“T-That’s fine… just the fact you were here this time is enough for me, Irina.” Nick also looked at the android. “You too Hermes.”

The android bowed. “It was my pleasure.”

Nick nodded and he closed up his piano, putting it off to the side. “I guess you guys could go now if you wanted, I wouldn’t want you to waste all your time here with me.” He told them with a warm smile. “I mean you could, but just trying to be considerate. Hopefully I will be out really soon so you don’t have to visit me in here again.”

“Of course,” Hermes responded. “I can’t wait forever to have you piece together my memories, after all,” he said with mock selfishness.

“Hey… piss me off and I will ruin you.” Nick warned with his own mocking tone that just made him sound stupid considering he rarely ever mocked.

Hermes shrugged. “In any case, we’ll leave you for now. I hope you get well soon so you can figure out how to give your A.I. psionics and surpass even me.” With that, he and Irina departed.

Nick and Glitch both looked at each other at the same time and the little engineer got a mischievous smile on his face. “No, Mr. Cauthon.”

“Aw… why not? I could totally see as a cool psionic android!” Nick spouted excitedly.

“Because I am more suited to menial tasks and administrative work, not combat. You of all people should know that.” The A.I. retorted.

Nick made a ‘humph’ sound as he crossed his arms. “I will just have to replace you then.”

“You know you would never do that, you would miss me too much Mr. Cauthon.” Glitch stated.

The engineer was silent for a minute before saying, “Damn it, you got me there…”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Strength Through Adversity, Part 1”

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Main Laboratory
Psionics Division

Brigid stepped into the lab with an apprehensive look, not saying anything until one of the techs noticed her. Slowly, she asked, "Um... I'd like to see the head of the division, if possible. Where is Ms. Exalt?"

The tech shook his head. "Ms. Exalt... isn't the head of the division anymore. She got demoted. She was still going to see you, but she's not here at the moment. You might have to wait a couple of minutes."

Brigid blinked several times, and slowly nodded. Finding a seat, she stared at the ground, dumbfounded. "First Erza, now this?" she whispered to herself. "Is it related? They are both Exalts. What is that woman up to?"

If she is up to something, I would be careful not to alert her to dissent. Apparently that was one of the reasons for the demotion, a voice echoed in Brigid's head.

Brigid looked up at the approaching android, her distressed expression deepening. Are... are you serious? But... that's hardly fair!

I agree, but what can we do about it? She is the Commander, nothing we could say or do at the moment would change that. Hermes sat down next to her. I'm Hermes Arcwright, by the way.

"Brigid O'Brien," the Irish woman responded out loud. "I'm guessing by your appearance that you are our other android soldier."

Hermes smiled faintly. "It's more obvious for me, but... I'm afraid my friend wasn't exactly discreet about his origins."

"No, he wasn't." Brigid folded her arms. "Damn it. I warned him this would happen. Has his father's ego, and look where it got him. Do you know if he's doing okay?"

Hermes shook his head. "They've been keeping him in engineering. I don't know what his status is, and it worries me."

"Yeah... same here." Brigid looked Hermes up and down. "What about you? They treating you alright? From what I heard from Korra, it would be a big mistake to take you off the battlefield."

"She hasn't approached me... Yet... But I do wonder if they'll decide its more prudent to try and replicate my abilities by taking me apart." Hermes answered.

Brigid gave him a horrified look. "Well... I... w-what if... what if Ms. Exalt helped figure it out. Then, you wouldn't have to worry about it. I mean... even if she doesn't care about you as an individual, surely the Commander wouldn't risk such a skilled android."

"I suppose it will depend on that and other factors, such as my performance and loyaty. Hence why I have to be cautious," Hermes responded.

"It's just... not fair." Brigid folded her arms, her pout almost childish. "We've been talking for only a few minutes, and you're already more human then most of the humans I know." Just know that I'll defend you if need be. You deserve just as many rights as I do. I... I'm just worried. What if... she drives us to the breaking point?

Surely she is not the most capable leader, but do you believe she could get to that point? Hermes asked telepathically. "I do wonder when my personality developed considering the whole..." Hermes tapped his head. "Lost memory thing."

Brigid shook her head. "Amnesia, huh? Sorry to hear that. Any hope of recovering it?" I really hope not. I... I don't want to be put in that position. My mother is a former Commander, and the thought of having to stand against my CO? Sends shivers down my spine.

Hermes shrugged. "Cauthon was working on data recovery of anything that remained within my head, but he's been understandably preoccupied. But I doubt anything substantial will be gleamed from it, based on what I can tell from my internal diagnostics." The forgetful android held a hand on his chin, angling the wings on his arms away from himself. "That is why I wanted to be part of the Einherjar's crew besides Lt. Commander's Brea's suggestion, though. Self-discovery and exploration may help me understand my past, where memory would otherwise fail me."

Silently, he added, I... have a feeling that it would be difficult for me as well. Certainly more so if it were the Lieutenant Commander, but I'm not keen on the idea of a mutiny either.

"I'll help if I can. I know a lot about discovery." Brigid closed her eyes, and silently said, Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. She's a bitch, a hardass, and a number of other insults I can think of, but I don't think she's stupid. I'm hoping she'll know not to push too hard.

"It would be appreciated." Though enough about the Commander for now. "Do you mind telling me a bit about yourself?"

Brigid nodded. Agreed. "I'm on the reserves right now. Not sure when, or if, I'll be given a field assignment. I'm human, as you can no doubt tell. Grew up in the country known as America for seven years, then Ireland until I was in my early twenties, when I travelled the world, learning what I could to be a great soldier." She rubbed her hands nervously, hopping the next part didn't mean anything to an alien android. "And... my mother is the former Commander of XCOM, Morrigan O'Brien."

"I am familiar with basic knowledge like Earth nations and colonies, at least, though not as much as I would expect, being patterned after the human form." Hermes nodded. "And that is impressive, though I'm still learning about the specific mythos behind the XSDF. I won't make a big deal out of it like many probably do, though," he concluded with a reassuring smile.

Brigid smiled back. "Thanks. It... comes with a lot of pressure." She frowned. "Normally, this is when I'd ask about you. That memory thing really sucks. Is... is it scary?"

"To not truly know myself?" Hermes was silent for a moment. "I suppose in a way it is. I am confident in my personality now for the most part, and that it means I was a good person... but I can't be sure of what I... was in the past. Especially... considering..." The android fell silent, unsure of if he could or even should confide with her and burden her with his growing concerns.

Brigid tilted her head slightly. "What is it? You can trust me, if that's what you're afraid of. I wouldn't have opened up like I did if I didn't think I could trust you."

Hermes dared not say it out loud. During the mission, I hesitated when fighting one of the Triads. I felt, briefly, like I had know my opponent before, but upon visual confirmation I was able to discern I was incorrect. Still, it was an odd feeling, and it... would not be good for my standing with the Commander if I had some connection to that organization.

Brigid thought for a moment. Well... regardless of why, I wouldn't tell the Commander any time soon. But there are any number of possibilities. Sure, you could have work with them. Or, as an android, maybe you were forced to work for them. Or maybe you worked against them. Maybe you hunted them down as a space cop or something. Or... maybe you had nothing to do with them until they wronged you. The Commander might assume the worse, but I won't.

Perhaps... Hermes sighed in frustration. "I don't mean to sound obsessive about my past, but not knowing is... difficult for me. I feel as if I'm missing half of my identity. I can't tell what is true about myself without knowing."

Brigid nodded. "I understand, as best I can. But if we can't recover the memories in your head, I'm sure we'll find someone who knows you in our travels. You surely left an impression with someone."

"I would hope so, though ideally I'm not forced to converse with them at gunpoint," Hermes said lightly, but more seriously added, "My loyaties lie with the XSDF for saving me, I doubt any past obligation would be more important to me than this interesting organization."

"Then that's something that we have in common." Brigid extended her hand. "And I hope to fight along side you some time. Talking with you just goes to show how... I don't know, alive an A.I. can be. Just as much as any human."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Strength Through Adversity, Part 2”

Hermes smiled, returning the gesture. "I haven't got to meet many others. Only my unfortunate friend at the moment. From what I can tell, I sound fairly human if a little analytical and... I was termed "Medieval" by a squadmate, in personality, not just armor," the android mentioned with a confused look.

Brigid shrugged, leaning back. "I'd say... regal. You have an old ways of speaking, like you're... courteous to everyone you speak with, and like you said, analytical. Most others would sound condescending, but you pull it off just fine.

Hermes chuckled. "I wouldn't call myself regal, but I do strive to be gracious, especially towards the female gender."

"And we thank you for that." Brigid shook her head, mumbling, "Your fellow android could learn a lesson on that from you."

"You do realize I have enhanced hearing."

Brigid slowly nodded, a smirk spreading across her face.

"So I assume you had a particulary 'interesting' meeting with Ezra, then?" Hermes inquired.

"I'll say." Brigid shook her head again. "I feel for the guy, I really do, android or not. But he needs to work on the attitude of his. I wouldn't be surprised if he would have got off lighter, but said some smartass comment to make things worse with the Commander." She folded her arms angrily. "He better not be the reason Vindicta was demoted."

"He is not Exactly the specific reason Vindicta is demoted," a voice deapanned from in front of the two. Though the demoter may not realize how little that means to the demotee.

"Then why?" Brigid jumped to her feet, not caring who heard her. "Who knows more about psionics on this ship? Who knows more anywhere within a hundred lightyears?"

"Lower your voice, O'Brien, her decision is what it is," Vindicta hissed. Anything you say affects me, and you're already on thin ice. Streczyk jumped at the opportunity to reprimand me for defending my idiot cousin and for using my powers publically. She seems to have a distaste for psionics. And... Admittely, Ezra was a fool when she confronted him.

Brigid lowered her head, embarrassed she hadn't thought of how speaking out would effect Vindicta. "I-I'm... sorry." But why target you like this? Is she so mad that she'd pass off the psionics department to someone less qualified because you simply defended Erza? Or is she so blinded by her dislike of psionics that she'd purposely sabotage the department? This isn't just an abuse of power. It's stupid!

Don't ask me to understand the mind of that bitch, Vindicta replied, doing her best to keep her expression level as the telepathic conversation happened in a short span of time. I am still relatively in control, anyway. The new 'head' answers to me covertly because they couldn't hope to do my job, but we have to ... SLOW... PROGRESS... Vindicta clenched her teeth. ...just to keep up the facade.

Brigid slowly sank into her seat, placing her palms against her face. "What is happening?" Things were so chaotic during the war, but we were unified. Now, with better tech, better resources, and less pressure of imminent death, everything feels like it's falling apart. Bad enough the pirates seem to be a bigger threat then she wants to admit, but I'm on reserves, you're kicked out of your position, sentient beings like Erza and Hermes are treated like desk lamps, and Aya is gone. I... i-it's too much...

Vindicta smiled grimly. "Some of the best work the Exalts have ever done was during times of adversity. But since you need something to take your mind off of all this, shall we test your current psionic prowess?" Trust me, seeing your power would cheer me up a little.

Brigid nodded. "Yes, Dr. Exalt. I'd like that." She turned to Hermes, and bowed her head. "I hope to speak with you again, Hermes."

"The same for-" Hermes began.

"You realize a farewell is moot since I called you both here to evaluate your psionic abilities, correct?" Vindicta cut in.

Brigid slumped her shoulders a bit. "You sure have a talent for making people feel silly, you know that?"

"Perhaps that would not occur if you learned some common sense, Vindicta offered before leading Brigid into the testing room with Hermes watching from outside. "Considering your file can be a little spotty at times, could you tell me the full range of your abilities? Specific powers, aptitude, that sort of thing."

"Guess I did make it hard for people to keep track of me for files sake." Brigid thought for a moment. "I'm primarily Violet, but the means by which I obtained my powers has made nearly as strong in red as well. I'm moderately skilled with some blue, and a fairly weak orange. I keep a lot of my power locked away, but at full power, I have my first ability, Suggestion, which can work on anyone except those with exceptional great will... or the gene mods to substitute. Mind meld and Telekinesis are fairly strong, I'm pretty good with mind fray, I can use ESP and Psi Panic with some power unlocked, though they aren't as strong as a natural blue or orange, and... I, uh... I've experimented with rifts, but I've mostly avoided them. Even after all these years, they come out very unstable, so I'd only use them if I was in trouble and alone."

Vindicta nodded, seeming to take mental note of everything that was said. "And have you ever tried to manifest a Reflection?" To demonstrate, she held up her hand, palm open, and a collection of visible telekinetic shards and invisible telekinetic fields constructed the half armored, half uniformed Black Bishop beside the golden psion.

Brigid stared at the reflection in awe for a few moments before remembering she was just asked a question. "I, um... I started to manifest one just as my time training with Atka came to an end. I haven't met anyone else with a reflection, and was so busy with other things, I didn't have a whole lot of time to develop her."

"Perhaps that is something we can work on, though I'd like to test your basic abilities first." Black Bishop faded into Vindicta. "Shall we 'spar'?"

"S... spar?" Brigid rubbed her hands nervously. "If, um... if you think that'd be best. How much of my power should I use?"

Vindicta clicked a button on her wrist, and alloy protectors went up on the walls of the 10x20 meter room. The scientist then placed her labcoat outside the room, leaving herself in her pnta and a loose t-shirt, before shuttering it completely. "As much as you'd like. I warn you, I am not in the habit of holding back."

"Alright." Brigid reached into a pack on her side, pulling out a small pill and popping it in her mouth. A few moments later, a surge of energy erupted from her. Her eye glowed violet as a red aura surrounded her, and she hovered above the ground. "I'm ready."

Vindicta nodded, and then blinked out of existence for a split second, reappearing behind Brigid and launching a bolt of electricity at her back.

Brigid launched forward, caught off guard. A telekinetic push stopped her from slamming into the wall. She wasn't kidding about not holding back. She opened up her senses, hoping her ESP will prevent Vindicta from getting such an easy attack on her again. As she shuddered a bit, hoping the feeling would return to her back soon, she extended her hand, launching a blast of telekinetic energy at her foe.

Vindicta was crowned briefly by a swirl of yellow-green energy, and then her eyes were rimmed by gold as she held up both her hands. Calculating vector dispersion really quick, and... A telekinetic field seeming to radiate in sporadic but always directions away from Vindicta formed. The opposing telekinetic attack was dispersed, leaving Vindicta momentarily drained but otherwise unharmed.

"That wouldn't have worked so well if iit were a psi lance," Vindicta noted calmly.

Brigid huffed in frustration, but quickly though of a new strategy. Holding out two hands, a stream of energy erupted from both, one with the orange glow of a psi panic, the other the blue of a mind fray.

Vindicta noted the mindfray coming. At her more quickly, and silently cursed, having to hope her psi inspire would be enough. The force of the first attack practically broke the heightened defenses Vindicta had in place, and the psi panic hit home shortly after. Vindicta held her head for a moment, only able to widen her vector shield instead of putting up a defensive barrier for any incoming physical attacks. Have to... Hope that's enough, the Exalt thought as she began to calm herself down.

Brigid faltered for a moment, seeing her opponents pain, before launching another ball of telekinetic energy, then immediately chasing after it, using it as a combination attack and shield to get close to Vindicta. She prepared another mind fray as her eyes flashed violet, figuring it wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.

As Vindicta recovered fully the corona of gold around her irises flared, and she dispered the telekineitx energy with her barrier, turning the red to yellow and attempting to shove Brugid back with her own energy.

Brigid folded her arms and stopped dead in her tracks, the blast knocking the wind out of her. As she desperately coughed to catch her breath, she launched the mind fray at Vindicta's head, yelling "Submit!" as her eyes glowed an intense violet.

Vindicta seemed to go still, golden electricity crackling around her angrily. Her defiance continues for a sheer fifteen seconds before her will gave way and she sat down like a dog eagerly awaiting a treat.

Brigid blinked several times in surprise. I... I can't believe that actually worked. She cautiously approached Vindicta. "Are you okay?"

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Strength Through Adversity, Part 3”

"I am," Vindicta said in a monotone, purple having replaced her gold but quickly fading. "What would you have me do, master? Kick your ass?" She asked, her tone becoming vicious as she stood up again and sent another blast of electricity at Brigid.

Brigid flew back, desperately trying to escape the attack but being overwhelmed all the same. The Irish woman shook in pain as her hair stood on end for a few moments. When it was over, she stared at Vindicta angrily, panting. With a snare, she slowly lifted her arms, and used them to catch herself as she fell to her knees, numb and completely out of breath. "P-please... n-n-n-no m-m-more."

Vindicta moved to straighten her labcoat, but then realized she didn't have it, and just grumbled, "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if you used the full extent of your power... You held back, didn't you?"

Brigid panted heavily, and slowly nodded. She slowly reached for her side, and pulled out it round pills, one blue like the one she had swallowed, the other blood red. "I... can't trust myself at full power. Not in a sparring match. I... I'm afraid you'll take this the wrong way, but... I was afraid of hurting you. I'm sorry."

Vindicta sighed. "Perhaps in a controlled environment simulation, though getting permission for something like that would probably be a nightmare." She clicked her wrist control pad again, and the room unlocked, Hermes coming in and kneeling next to Brigid.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, looking at Vindicta with some measure of disapproval.

Brigid nodded and slowly stood up. "I'll be okay after some rest. I just... wasn't expecting... I shouldn't have let my guard down like that. It is my fault I lost."

Vindicta retrieved her labcoat from Hermes. "Why don't we head down to the staff lounge so wr can both rest before I take stock of Hermes' abilities?" Vindicta grimaced. Can't get a executive room... To hell with you, Astasha.

"That would be nice," Brigid agreed. "I just... hope I didn't disappoint."

"Not at all. Most couldn't force me to my knees like that," Vindicta admitted as they walked. "Don't you dare tell Emily I begged like a dog though."

Brigid stifled a giggle. "Of course. I would never try and embarrass a friend of my family in such a way."

Vindicta sat down, brewing the two some oolong tea, seeing as Hermes didn't need to drink. "I'd never hear the end of it from her... even if she can't speak, I'd see it in her eyes..."

Brigid did crack a smile, and said, "I see you share your mother... disagreement with Emily. I'll be sure not to mention anything, but I haven't seen her in years."

Vindicta blinked for a moment, and then laughed. "Not that Emily, my dingo named Emily. Though, admittedly, naming my subordinate-slash-pet after her is intentional for the connotations it brings."

Brigid stared at Vindicta for several seconds before erupting into laughter. "Wow, that... that is something." She held a finger to her lips. "Don’t you worry. Mums the word."

Vindicta waited for the tea to brew, and then poured some for herself and some for Brigid, drinking slowly. "For a weak psi panic that was certainly impressive, I'll admit."

"Think you, but you flatter me." Brigid took a sip herself, smiling and wishing Hermes could share it with them. "I am sure you could do it better, considering you're closer to orange then me. That you are so strong with your abilities at your age shows the power of your dedication."

"I find it a bit sad that I probably am the leading mind in psionic research. Most buffoons in the practice don't even have abilities themselves," Vindicta lamented. "But in any case, I know enough to combat most abilities as long as I have space to think. My mental defenses apparently need work, though..."

Brigid shrugged. "There is always room for improvement for everyone." She glanced at Hermes. "What about you? What can you do, my android friend?"

"Only two abilities at the moment, though I will attempt to expand my capabilities. i have psi lance and..." Hermes lifted a hand, and the heat was completely taken out of Brigid's cup, making it feel cold to the touch. "Heat manipulation." As he returned the drink's warmth, he added, "Thermokinesis, that is."

"That's awesome!" Brigid exclaimed, genuinely excited. "I'd love to see that in action. It must have so many applications, both on and off the battlefield."

"Applications I look forward to seeing in a bit," Vindicta chimed in.

Brigid pouted a bit. "Oh... well, I'm rested up, and you look strong enough to take us both down." She flashed her oldest trick, the puppy-dog eyes she retained from her youth. "How about we go now?"

Vindicta and Hermes both nodded, and together the three returned to the psi labs. The Exalt scientist handed Brigid her coat this time before stepping inside with Hermes. "I doubt you will need to hold back considering your powers are still incipient. To test your Thermokinesis, first, let's see how you handle the heat of lightning." A ring of gold quickly spun around Vindicta's irises. "White Bishop." Lightning sparked around her left, forming a vaguely humanoid being, even if it was unusually tall, with blue lightning points for eyes.

"It suits you well," Hermes noted, glancing between Vindicta's white hair and blue eyes and the similar style of her second Reflection.

Brigid took a step back, and cautiously said, "Don't go overboard. Even he doesn't no the true extent of his power. Don't hurt my new friend too much."

Vindicta barely glanced to the side. "I wouldn't damage such a unique android, have no fear." With that, she sent a burst of lightning at Hermes.

The winged machine kicked his jets on and powered up to the ceiling, having no desire to be hit by the electricity from Vindicta and White Bishop directly. A faint red glow surrounding his hand, he siphoned some of the heat off the electricity, and sent it at his opponent, who began to visibly sweat under the localized heat wave.

Even so, she grinned slightly. "To think you could cook me where I stand... that's a difficult power to defend against... but!" White Bishop surged forward, its form destabilizing and its four limbs arching around Hermes in four strikes of lightning. The android tried to cut power and fall to the ground, but was still hit, and seized up, the electricity interfering with all his functions. Vindicta quickly withdrew the energy, allowing Hermes's self-diagnostic systems to bring him back online.

"I suppose... that i-is a weakness of mine..." Hermes noted shakily.

"The same as my cousin, it would seem. It's hard to scale down appropriate electrostatic shielding on a human-sized frame," Vindicta affirmed as White Bishop faded into her left arm and side.

Brigid walked over to the electrified android. "I guess we'll have to be wary of that in the future. Are you okay?"

Hermes nodded, though his movement was still a bit delayed, even if slowly returning to normal. "I should be alright. Dr. Exalt was wise enough to not keep up the attack for long... one could accuse her of 'going easy on me'."

Vindicta raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to electrocute you again?"

Brigid smiled. "Vindicta doesn't go easy on people. She uses exactly how much force she needs to for the situation. If she said she wouldn't hurt you, she wouldn't."

Vindicta bowed. "I'm glad you are aware of my superior intellect." She smiled slightly. "I... appreciate you coming here, not just for the testing. It has done much to lighten my mood."

"Of course." Brigid walked over to Vindicta. "My... my mother would never say this openly. She's too proud. But She has always cherished the friendship between our families. We might not be all that close, but... I cherish our friendship as much as my mother."

"Of course. If you would be so kind as to return my coat, I'd cherish it even more. I feel naked without it, not that it is much of a bother considering you're probably as straight as your mother, correct?" Vindicta queried.

"Straight or not, I think I'd prefer our relationship to be as clothed as possible." Brigid handed Vindicta her coat and sighed. "Trust me. One too many people here have seen me in my skivvies already."

Noting Hermes's silence, Vindicta returned a sigh. "Since our normally curious friend is too courteous to ask, who might that be?"

Brigid eye's widened. "Oh... um, no, I... not many people. Just Korra and Sasha... and Alice... and Erza... a-and someone got a peek in the gym..." She blushed a bit.

"Well, I'm not surprised by my cousin, but most of those people are women... are you sure you aren't hiding in a closet, perhaps?" Vindicta teased.

Brigid's cheeks reddened a bit more. "I... I stayed in Japan for a while, and... public bathhouses..." She narrowed her eyes at the Exalt heiress. "You didn't get that teasing tendencies from your mother. Do I hear a bit of Vee in there?"

"I may have spent a good deal of my childhood with her," Vindicta implied. "And how do I know you didn't enjoy being in said public bathhouses? Plenty of eye candy there..."

Brigid's face turned red as a cherry, and she stomped her foot. "You... you're incorrigible, you know that!" She walked over to the door. "I-if I... I am good, I need to... to buy some... ice cream..."

Vindicta raised an eyebrow again. "Ice... cream?" That's rather random... "You are dismissed, of course."

"it was... good seeing you, Vindicta. Call on me if you need any help with that... position thing." Brigid opened the door and bowed her head to Hermes. "Same goes to you. You have an ally in me, Hermes."

 

[Frostlich1228]

Frostlich1228 & Zombiesplitter53 : "Siren's Secret."

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Somewhere in Subspace
Holo room 3, 'Training Dojo'
Feb. 28th, 1300 Hours

Brigid stretched her arms as she smiled at her companion. "You sure about this? I'm not one to brag, but violet psionics was my starter, and I'm not that great at holding back."

"They were mine too, you know." Camellia responded, sitting on the floor next to her, "And I just want you to try to take control of me, we're not fighting, I want to see how powerful you are, maybe pick up a few things."

Winter looked up at her, "And if you do manage to get control of me, don't make me do anything weird, alright?" Without my permission... She thought without stopping herself, her cheeks flushing a slight red, hoping that Brigid wasn't able to catch what was thought.

Brigid raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. Taking a few deep breaths, she said, "I'll start at level 3. If you've been practicing as much as you've said, this shouldn't effect you as long as you resist."

"Alright..." She said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "I'm ready...

Brigid thought for a moment, then smiled. Her eyes flashed violet, and she said, "Tell me your deepest, darkest fantasy."

Her eyes widened as she registered Brigid's words, she shuttered a little bit as she attempted to resist the control, visibly sweating, but managing to fend off Brigid's first attempt. She took a few breaths, focusing entirely on using her will to resist as she closed her eyes again.

"Not bad. You have been practicing. Now your turn." Brigid steadied herself. "Hit me with your best shot. With my energy at this level, you should be able to get some control."

"Alright..." Camellia stood up slowly, and turned around to race Brigid. Camellia put hers hands on Brigid's shoulders, and smiled, beginning to sing a soft, haunting aria. As the beautiful song continued, Brigid could hear whispers in the back of her mind, almost hiding behind the music, trying to coerce her into submitting. Camellia then whispered softly with the rhythm of the song, "You love my song... You're enchanted and want to hear more... You can't ignore it... Why should you? It's wonderful... Now dance... Slowly as my music fills you..." Her words almost seemed to echo around the inside of Brigid's head, repeating the words she had whispered over and over while Winter returned to singing as normal.

After a short amount of time, a soft smile crept on Brigid's face, and her eyes glazed over. She slowly swayed back and forth, dancing to the rhythm of Camellia's song.

Camellia giggled a little, watching her friend dance for a few seconds while continuing to sing, before walking up slowly and adding the words, 'Awaken, Now.', to the end of the song.

Brigid blinked several times, looking a bit confused. "That song of yours... it is a great way to pull someone in. Like a subliminal message."

"Yep, it's my personal trick." Winter smiled, taking a step back, "It's not as effective after the first try though, so I usually have to change the song if I want to do it twice on the same person."

Brigid nodded as she reached into her sidepack. "Makes sense. Most people won't fall for the same trick twice, though I knew a few dimwits in high school..." She pulled out a round blue pill. "Ready to try something a little harder?"

"Uh..." Winter hesitated, looking at the strange pill, "What's that?"

Brigid sighed. "I've studied for years to control my powers. And if it wasn't for Atka, they'd be practically uncontrollable be every sense of the word. But even with her help, my energy simply grew faster then my body could handle it. So, I set up several mental blocks to contain it." She held up the pill. "This unlocks one level. My red pills unlock two levels."

"You're really that powerful? Wow..." Camellia looked up, "How many of these blocks do you have?"

"Three." Brigid shook her head. "I'm the perfect example of the danger of unchecked power. But my power has stopped growing on its own. It's only a matter of training and patience until I can control it myself. I... I was hoping to get some personal training for Lt. Commander Brea... but she's gone."

"I'm sorry... I wish I could help more but I just haven't been training for nearly as long as you have." Winter explained, "Psionics are more of a hobby for me, something I practice for fun and because I just really enjoy it."

"You help me more then you realize." Brigid smiled. "The support of my friends is always helpful, not to mention learning control by seeing how others use their powers." She popped the pill in her mouth, and her energy suddenly flared a few seconds later.

Camellia's eyes widened, "I think I felt that..." She took a deep breath, sitting down in front of Brigid again, "Alright, I'm ready..."

Looking a bit more serious, a faint aura surrounded Brigid as she commanded her young friend. "Camellia... I order you. Proclaim you undying loyalty and love for Commander Streczyk."

Camellia started sweating instantly this time as she scrunched her face and dug her fingers into her legs, she raised her hand to her head for a second before it dropped it her side. She opened her eyes slowly, her irises now even more purple than before, almost glowing, as she said in a cheerful tone, "I proclaim my undying loyalty and love for my Commander Streczyk!"

Brigid giggled, and snapped her fingers, the glow disappearing from both of their eyes. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"That was weird... I've never actually had that done to me before..." She rubbed the back of her head.

Brigid nodded. "I had the same feeling the first time it happened to me. Though... it was a bit different for me."

"Different how?" Winter asked.

Brigid laughed. "The first time I had tool deal with someone controlling me, it was the green Overdive ability. Nothing like some projecting their entire consciousness into your body like a puppeteer."

"It was an enemy right?" Camellia asked, getting up off the ground and brushing herself off.

Brigid shook her head. "Nope. Daughter of a friend. Good thing, too. I was completely unprepared. She might not meant to do so, but she taught me a good lesson."

"Well, I mean it didn't exactly feel bad... kinda... kinda good actually... " Camellia took a step forward before quickly looking down, covering her private area with her hands and brightly blushing, "I Uh... I need to go the ladies room!" She said as she rushed out the holo-room and quickly took a right towards the nearby restroom.

Brigid scratched her head, mumbling, "I hope I didn't do anything to upset her. She walked over to the exit and made her way to the washroom, calling out, "Everything alright?"

"Yes! Everything's fine!" She said in a panicked voice from inside the door, "Just, give me a second!"

Brigid scratched her head. "Um... anything I can do to, uh... help?"

"Oh no..." She mumbled, before trying to connect her thoughts with Brigid's. Do you... Have a spare pair of... Underwear?"

Brigid frowned. I'll be back in a minute. Brigid ran off, returning a few minutes later with the requested article of clothing. "You alright now?"

She stepped out, nodding shyly and still blushing, "Mmhm..."