RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[ZombieSplitter53]

Time to Mend

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Main Rec Room
March 16th, 1400 Hours

The gathering of soldiers and crewmen cheered and downed another round of beers, laughing and sharing stories, particularly about those lost. In the continued wake of the failed mission, the soldiers attempted to cheer themselves up by thinking positive of those that had fallen.

One particularly drunk lab tech, having had a bit too much in his off hours, raised his glass. "And... and to our shiny, new Commander, for not only returning our robotic colleague, but adding dis wittle bundle of joy to our ranks!"

The group cheered again, and Brigid gave him a sinister but lighthearted look. "Watch the 'wittle' crap. I don't care how drunk you are, I'll still kick your ass."

This only inspired another round of cheering, a few soldiers playfully ruffling Brigid's hair. As the group separated into smaller groups of story tellers, Brigid noted a familiar individual with a slight red tint sitting across from her, though she didn't turn her head. "Con... congratulations for getting back on the active roster. You... you think I can convince Mason to give me my swords out of storage next?"

"I don't know," Brigid mumbled, still not turning her head. "Why don't you try seducing them out of the armory. You're awfully good at that."

Korra dipped her head a bit. "Come on, O'Brien. I... I don't expect you to forgive me right away... if at all, but we could at least try to talk."

Brigid sighed, and finally turned. "What's there to talk about? I love Cayden, you knew I loved Cayden, and ya porked him anyway!"

A few heads turned their way, and Korra slammed her fist on the table. "That... that isn't fair! And you know it! I... I thought I knew, but you insisted. You flat out told me you were done with him! And I'm the one you sent to check on him..."

"Oh, so trusting him to you while I checked on my SUICIDAL FRIEND... gave you free reign to jump into bed with him. I see."

"Damn it, O'Brien!" Korra leaned forward. "He needed help to relieve stress. I don't blame Sarah for trying..."

This time, it was Brigid who slammed her fist. "Do NOT compare what Cayden did with what Sasha did! Besides, I still fail to see how that excuses you."

"I'm not trying..." Korra scoffed. "I didn't know. You know how I miss these things. It isn't like I..."

"So now it's because of how stupid you are?" Brigid laughed grimly. "How about you pick an excuse and stick with it?"

"Fuck you!" Korra jumped to her feet. "At least I'm not sorry fucking stupid that I let the man I supposedly love slip away like that! Is it because you're an idiot or because you were just jealous!"

All heads were turned now, and Brigid jumped to her feet as well. "Jealous of what? Some dimwitted ditz who's only two appealing features make her think she can fuck whoever she wants?"

"At least I took some initiative!" Korra grinned. "And at least I have something to show off. Must really suck to have not grown at all since you were twelve!"

Brigid slammed her hands against the table, looking like she was ready to pounce. "At least when a guy is out of the bed with me, he doesn't talk with me for two minutes before realizing I have zero appeal while my clothes are on and my legs are closed! It must really suck that your jugs take up all the blood your brain could be using."

Korra matched Brigid's stance. "At least I'm not so short tempered, and lack so much control of my abilities, that I don't nearly kill someone for sleeping with their NOT boyfriend!"

"You're just mad that your powers are so weak, you are completely useless compared to me! Matches every other weak part of you."

Korra laughed as obnoxiously as she could muster. "Your lover... I'm sorry, my lover, didn't find me so useless... the other... night..."

Brigid shook in anger. "You... dirty whore!"

"Stuck-up bitch!"

"Pea-brained slut."

"Temperamental twat!"

"Home-wreaking dumbass!"

"Childish brat!"

"Feckin' thick, larkarse, shtate wagon!"

Korra smiled widely. "Flat-chested, growth stunted, annoying, loud-mouthed, tiny little bekmad." Korra tapped her lip in thought, and fake-whispered, "I believe a bekmad is the equivalent to a baby hog."

Both woman shoved their chairs to the side, walking around the table and getting in each other's face. "Should we stop them?" One of the room full of jeering spectators asked the man next to him.

"Why?" the man answered.

As the group of rowdy staff and soldier seemed to pick a side by standing behind the appropriate woman, the pair stared daggers at each other. Without changing her expression, a tear rolled down Brigid's cheek, then another, mirrored by the ones rolling down Korra.

Korra reached out, grabbing Brigid and pulling her in for a hug as the two started to sob loudly, the disappointed crowd moaning and dispersing.

After the pair had been led to a corner booth by the few that stayed to see if they were okay, they waved them off, and sat in silence for several minutes, letting out the occasional sob.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Korra chocked out, "I... I ruined everything, didn't I, O'Brien?"

Brigid sniffed. "Stop... stop calling me O'Brien all the time. Just call me Brigid. And if anyone ruined everything..."

"I... I'm so stupid!" Korra laid her head on the table. "The... the one person I respect the most... and I sleep with the man she loves. That's a new low in stupidity... even for me."

"What..." Brigid wiped her eyes. "What do you mean, respect? I... I always thought you just... thought of me as some casual friend."

Korra slowly shook her head. "That's why I call you O'Brien. It is a sign of respect in my country."

Brigid slowly reached over, grasping Korra's hand. "Our... our friendship isn't ruined. It's broken. And broken things can be fixed."

Korra looked at her in surprise. "But... but after I... I can't...

"We need time to mend," Brigid said. "And... and we can't afford to be at each other's throats like that again. After that mission, Sasha and Mikhail need us to be there for us. And... and so does Cayden. They need our support."

Korra smiled faintly. "Okay." The ever observant Bartender brought the pair of worn out soldiers a glass of ice water. After a few minutes of silence, Brigid gave Korra a cautious look, but said nothing. "What is it?" Korra asked.

"I... you... you call Kallpa by his last name a lot. Does... that mean you..."

Korra's eyes widened as a dozen different thoughts and realizations hit her at once. She slowly lowered her head, resting it on the table again. "Oh, God. He... he looks up to... when he finds out... he'll never forgive me." Korra turned her head to look at Brigid. "Should... I..."

Brigid sighed. "It... isn't my place to tell you. But... if I was in your place... I would. Even if I didn't think it's the right thing to do..."

"Which you do."

"Which I do," Brigid agreed. "Things like this always get out... especially after that display. He'll find out eventually. No matter how bad your chances are now, they'll only be worse if you lie to him first."

Korra slowly looked up. "At least Cayden has the fortune of not knowing Kallpa... if I'm lucky, Kallpa doesn't actually think of me like that."

"And do you think he does?" Brigid asked. Korra placed her down on the table, lightly hitting her forehead over and over again as an answer, and let out a sad moan. At least for now, Brigid out aside her frustration at the Tamearin, and slid into the seat next to her, sympathetically rubbing her back.

 

[BMPixy]

“Rocks and Shoals”
Somewhere in Subspace; Aboard the Einherjar
1731 Hours Local; March 15th, 2044
Holo-Room Two

“Why’d you convince us to go fishing, again?”

“Because I like to mix things up. After all, only so many times you can play cards before all the games start to seem the same,” Hayden said with a shrug.

“So instead we’re playing mahjong while we wait for our lines to get a bite,” Vincent replied, laying down the green dragon.

Ron, Jefferson interrupted, tapping over his tiles to reveal his hand. Suu ankou tanki, two yakuman. Since you’re the dealer… 96 thousand points.

Silence hung over the table as Vincent visibly blanched and Jefferson’s eyes gleamed menacingly. Finally breaking the silence, the Swiss fighter pilot stood, dusted off his hands, and said, “Well, that was certainly fun. I’m gonna go check the lines.”

As Vincent walked off, Hayden leaned over to the Sectoid and said, “I thought you said this was your first time playing mahjong.”

My first time physically playing mahjong, he replied, beginning the process of tallying points. Internet mahjong is a thing, after all.

“I’m just glad I managed to win at least one hand,” Lawrence muttered, rubbing his forehead. “What the hell even was that last hand?”

“Ah, right, you probably don’t even know what a yakuman is, let alone the hands that are considering yakuman,” Hayden said with a shrug. Gesturing to the revealed Sectoid’s tiles, she explained, “Basically yakuman are rare hands. Edge’s hand happens to be composed of four concealed triplets: the four of characters, the two of circles, the nine of circles, and the four of bamboo, with a closed wait for the green dragon to make the hand legal. Since Driz threw down the green dragon, Jeff was able to declare ron, and pull a direct hit on him, for what would approximate as about twenty-six han.”

“Alright, ancient Japanese trump cards, got it,” Lawrence replied with a thumbs up. “I’ll just stick with rummy, at least that makes sense.”

“Aw, but where are we gonna find a fourth person?” Hayden bemoaned as she started to sweep the tiles off of the card table.

“Your problem, not mine,” the Luxembourger said, holding his hands out defensively as he stood. “Anyways, I’m gonna go check on Vince.”

“Alright, don’t fall off the boat,” Nelson replied as Lawrence made his way to the ladder, climbing up it to be greeted by the harsh light of the sun and a brisk sea breeze. Noticing the flight lead leaning on the guard rail at the stern of the ship, Lawrence slowly made his way over.

“Anything on the lines?” Laforge asked, taking a spot next to Vincent.

“Nah, no bites. Shame, we’re almost out of time too,” the other pilot answered, shaking his head morosely.

“But I take it that time concerns and your crushing defeat aren’t the reason behind your long face,” Lawrence analyzed, making eye contact with his buddy.

“Man, you read too much into things,” Vincent said with a slight scoff. “Freud once said ‘sometimes a cigar is just a cigar’, y’know.”

“Yeah, and from what my old roommate used to tell me, his ideas are generally treated as bunk in any psychology class,” Lawrence countered. “C’mon, I’ve seen you try to do the macarena while drunk and with Edge piggybacking you. Open up a li’l, eh?”

“Never’ll let me live that down, will ya?” Vincent replied with a chuckle. “I’ve just been thinking about recent events.”

“I thought you didn’t care much about how the ground-pounders got along with their lives?”

“Nah, they’re still well outside my monkeysphere. I’ve just been thinking on the implications of what they ran into down there,” the Swiss man said, turning around and leaning back against the rail. “I mean, those guys seemed pretty well-equipped, like they had a solid technological base behind them. The kind of technological base that produces aerospace superiority fighters.”

“Worried that us Firestormers are no longer the gods of that field?” Lawrence asked, glancing down into the simulated ocean, watching as the waves gently rocked the boat.

“More so worried that we’ll get our asses handed to us like the footsloggers did,” Vincent responded, sighing briefly. “I mean, I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna see any of you assholes die either… Hell you could probably say that for the first time since I’ve joined the XSDF… I’m genuinely scared.”

Lawrence was silent for a moment, thinking. Fox one, he thought, finally determining the right words to use. “Yeah, I see what you mean. We’re not the ones who can pull a Deus Ex Machina out of nowhere, so hell that pro’lly gives us an even worse chance against them…”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming up.”

“But hey, we’ve got each other, and I’d say we’re all damn fine pilots. Not the type to go roll over and accept death. You’d be doing us a disservice thinking that some pansy ass wannabe ace with some fancy tech is turn us angels, and I don’t want you getting scared and freezing up in the middle of a dogfight, because that’ll definitely get us killed.” Fox two.

Vincent opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of unreeling line caught him off guard. Glancing over to the side, he noticed one of the fishing poles bending furiously off to the side. “Shit! We got something!” he bellowed, dashing over to the pole, Lawrence hot on his heels. The two quickly grabbed the pole, Lawrence bracing himself against the side of the boat as Vincent began to work the reel.

“We actually got something!?” Hayden exclaimed as she climbed up the ladder, Jefferson just behind her.

“Hurry up and help us!” Lawrence exclaimed, as his muscles strained against whatever beast was pulling at the line. Quickly Nelson took a position to his side, acting as an addition brace for the pole.

I have an idea! Jefferson exclaimed, scrambling over to the side of the ship, and nearly pitching himself over the rail in his excitement. Bring it close to the surface, I can try to mind merge with it and guide it back towards us!

“Easier… said than done…” Vincent groaned, giving the fish a little slack before reeling it in a little bit more. Over and over, the he repeated the process, drawing the fisher ever closer to the surface and boat. Finally, after five painstaking minutes of straining, a fin broke the surface. Instantly Jefferson acted, extending a mental helix towards the fish. A moment later, the tension on the fishing line relaxed, and the fish slowly began to approach the boat.

Seizing the chance, Lawrence leaned to the side, and grabbed the largest net he could out of the supply box, lowering it over the side of the boat with the help of Nelson. The helix broke, the net swung around its target, and with a mighty heavy from the two pilots, the fish - now revealed to be a massive bluefin tuna - pitched over the side of the boat and onto the deck. Exhausted, the two fighter pilots fell to the floor, as Vincent leaned against the rail, all three panting heavily. Even Jefferson showed some signs of exhaustion, despite his contribution being more mental than physical.

Noticing another opportunity, Lawrence said, “See… Driz? We can do a lot together. Don’t worry ‘bout… about us biting it, alright buddy?” Upon seeing Vincent's slow, exhausted nod, Lawrence allowed himself a small, satisfied smirk. Bogey splashed.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Arrival at Forseti” – Frederick Mason

Somewhere in Subspace (March 15th, 2044)
The Einherjar (6:12 P.M., Earth Standard)
Floor 1: Main Bridge

Commander Frederick Mason scanned the room, glad to see that everyone was hard at work with preparations to drop back to sublight speeds. Forseti was just within reach. Yet, try as he might, Frederick couldn’t relax. Will our colony still be intact? Will it still be safe and under XSDF control? These worries preoccupied the Commander.

Thusly, Fleet Coordinator Addington Khumalo and Lieutenant Sarah Wong had been told to be present on the bridge. Addington was ready to call up the fighter pilots at a moment’s notice, and Sarah had the soldiers prepared as if they were minutemen.

The tense silence was broken by the words of the helmsman. “Dropping out of warp now.” The viewscreens turned on as the white light around the Einehrjar faded, revealing the vastness of space once more. However, a particular globe stood in this sea of space, with four visible continents. On approach were a combo of a larger, greener landmass and a drier, browner attachment to it. This was where the colony on the planet of Forseti was located.

Frederick dearly hoped that the scattered towns and cities on the surface, along with their total population or around 1 million, were unharmed. There was one way to find out. “Where is the Jupiter?” he asked, referring to the size 1 battleship assigned to Forseti. The Jupiter had a lengthy service history, being the battleship of Aergian’hynopheus before being captured by XCOm and used as their mobile base later on when the Siberian location was destroyed by an advance fleet.

“Looking for the Jupiter now…” Another crewmember stated. “And… found it. It’s coming into view now.” The main viewscreen brought up the old retrofitted battleship, armed with a fusion lance through the central, front section, four plasma batteries on the top, and eight pulse cannons on the bottom. Its frame was mostly unchanged from the original Humiliata design, but more importantly, the Jupiter was intact, and hailed the Einherjar.

With a sigh of relief, Frederick motioned for Sarah to follow him, and stepped into the elevator with her, leaving Addington in charge of the bridge. Hopefully, a decision Frederick wouldn’t regret. The two officers headed down to the situation room and made formal contact with the Jupiter.

Onscreen a woman in a white and gold XSDF uniform appeared, the brighter version of a typical XSDF officer’s uniform. She had blond hair and blue eyes, plus a bright smile that made the 45 year old seem like she was younger than her physical age of 36. “Hi, Sarah!” The Jupiter officer proclaimed.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “That’s Lieutenant Wong…”

“Yeah, but I outrank you. And besides, we’re friends, right?”

“No comment on either statement.”

Frederick smiled at the banter between the two former XCOM operatives. “Good to see you’re safe, First Officer Connor.”

“You can call me Megan if you want, Commander,” Megan replied, at least having the self-discipline to avoid calling her new CO ‘Freddy’. Even if she was tempted to.

Frederick nodded. “I’ll remember that.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he inquired, “Is everything alright on the surface? No incidents with space pirates like we’ve had?”

Megan shook her head. “None of that. Ailey just checked in at five with an all-clear,” she said, confirming that Forseti’s capital was safe. “Oh, and Golin’s doing fine.” Sarah shoulder’s slumped with released tension, much to the amusement of her friend.

“I’m glad to hear it. After the incident on Layrinxa 2 we’ve all been holding our breath. We have a suspicion that the attack was related to the unknown claim we received on Forseti. Anything new from that channel?”

Again megan expressed a negative. “No. It’s been 2 months since that barge gave us the ultimatum of ‘give us Forseti, it’s our!” before scampering off. If not for the transmission being repeated, and the occasional sighting of a transport ship or starfighter carrier, I wouldn’t think it was anything other than a joke. We’ll see on the 19th when we scheduled our audience, I suppose.”

Frederick shrugged. “In the meantime, we’ll allow our members of the crew to visit the surface, but they should all be able to return quickly… just in case.”

“Oh!” Megan remembered, not seeming nearly as sedate as the Commander. “Piece of advice for you:” she began, her Brooklyn accent seeping through, “set your clocks to Ailey Standard Time. It’s only 1 hour and 1 minute off Earth Standard, and it’d help with coordinating with the surface as well as setting appointments there.”

“Understood. Any news about that abductor in the Progessus system?” Sarah asked.

Megan smiled. “Local battleship tracked it down. They said they were sending some cryosleep pods they found to you guys.”

Frederick sighed. “Alright. We’ll be on the lookout for the transport ship.” That cargo had better arrive soon… before we finally meet with whoever wants Forseti, and learn just exactly who they are…

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: "Unhopeless Utopia"

High Orbit Around Forseti (March 16th, 2044)
The Einherjar (3:14 P.M., Earth Standard)
Floor 13: Wing D

Sasha sat on her bed idly, tapping her finngers against eachother idly. Although her friends had eased her pain slightly, the Dragomirov's mental scars cut deep, and she found herself unmotivated to do do anything from training to taking a walk. She felt as if the misery would never end, but no longer had any means to end it all between being taken off active duty (and stripped of any weapons) and her Reflection that stubbornly refused to let her die. For whatever reason…

Brigid lightly knocked on the door, despite it also being her room, and peeked in. "Sasha?"

Sasha looked up dimly, though made no response, merely sullenly acknowledging Brigid's presence with her gaze.

Brigid sighed, slipping in and quietly closing the door behind her. She grabbed a chair and sat across from Sasha, but didn't say anything at first. When she finally spoke, she said, "I... can't pretend to know what you're going through. I... I've seen a few nasty fights... but nothing compared to that. I... I'm sorry, Sasha. Sorry for what happened... sorry for my... futility."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," Sasha muttered. "This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me, and everyone that calls you a friend." Brigid spotted her chair a bit closer. "I... I-I heard on the grapevine what you tried to do. I tried talking to you the other day, but you were understandably out of it. I talked to Mikhail... I... I knew you were depressed, but I didn't realize how bad it was..."

Sasha hid her face from view, looking down. "I should have died instead of the others... My life isn't worth anything, and I'm clearly useless here..."

"No!" Brigid reached forward, grasping Sasha's hands. "Please, Sasha. What would your brother think of he heard you say that? You can't really believe that."

Sasha tried to make her let go but didn't have the strength. "All I did when things got bad was panic and try to save myself... At least the others fought back and tried to help everyone else escape."

"They... they fought to save you, though. You should honor their decisions. And no one is blaming you... but yourself."Brigid lowered her head, trying to look into Sasha's eyes. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't ready. How could you have been? How could any PFC be?"

Sadha was silent for awhile. "I shouldn't have come to the XSDF... all I've proven is that I in fact can't make myself stronger..."

"After one mission?" Brigid shook her head. "I don't believe that, and neither should you. I mean... Mikhail and... ahem, Cayden ran too. You were doing fine before that ambush. And you showed something out there. An untapped power that could prove to be greater then you think."

"It's not something I can control or even summon on my own... My power spiked back there, and I was wearing Aurora Armor too..." Sasha protested.

"Then we'll work on it!" Brigid insisted, her eyes watering a bit. "Vindicta Exalt, she knows more about psionics then anyone this side of the galaxy. She... She can help you unlock your potential. Just please... don't give up on me."

"I-I don't want to see people die like that again..."

"I... I know. I don't either. Unfortunately... it's something that gets easier with time." Brigid lowered her head. "I... I'd like to say that is why we get stronger; to protect people. But what would I know about that. I joined for purely selfish reasons."

"No more than me," Sasha contested. "I wanted to prove I was strong but found out the opposite instead..."

Brigid sat in silence for several seconds. Releasing Sasha's hands, she moved to her side. "Why don't you and I change that, then. Change our reasons for being here."

"To what? Protecting others?"

"Exactly!" Brigid tried her hand at a smile. "We both have people here we want to protect here, right? Each other, your brother, Irina, C... Cayden. But... but we can't protect them if we give up. We can only be there for them by... well, being there for them. It'll give us motivation to push on, even when we feel like giving up."

"I-I suppose I can... live for the sake of others..." Sasha shook her head, trying to keep tears from welling up again. "I'm sorry... I must seem so pathetic to you right now..."

"I-I didn't even realize you were dealing with other things... and they were probably more important than me... you don't all need to look out for me," Sasha insisted.

"Please stop," Brigid pleaded. "Don't you know how much it tears me up inside when you talk about yourself like that?" She stood up, walking a few paces away. "You've got all these ideas in your head about how useless you are. But I don't think you are. Mikhail and and Irina don't think you are. I know Cayden and Korra don't either. Are we all wrong? Have you fooled us all into thinking you're a fine person, despite always insisting you're not? Or are you simply blinded by your own grief that you can't help but always beat yourself up?"

"I'm not as strong as all of you are, that's why you... don't understand..." Sasha responded sullenly. "You and Cayden are far stronger than I am... Mikhail and Korra braver... hell, even Irina is when she wants to be like she was before... I can't mind control just about anyone, I can't keep myself together in the face of someone more imposing than I am... that's why I don't deserve your sympathy."

"Strength isn't everything." Brigid turned around, smiling. "When I was at my wits ends about my... current issues, I thought about how you're struggling, but still here, and that snapped me out of it. Mikhail would still be stuck on Earth if you hadn't join the XSDF. He was inspired, both by your bravery and the desire to watch your back. Irina has the comfort of knowing her best friend, the most loyal of friends, is here for her, and that gives her the strength to do her job, despite how awkward it must be with her social issues. And Korra..." Brigid chuckled. "Big, bad, attitude driven, super flirtatious Korra has not flirted with your brother once since you told her off, and that is the first step to getting you to behave herself. Don't you see how much you inspire everyone around you? Without even trying!"

Sasha blinked, seeming at a loss for words. "I..." She clasped her hands together, closing her eyes for a moment, seeming flustered. "T-T-Thank you, Brigid..."

"Anytime, Sasha." Brigid walked over to her friend again, kneeling down in front of her. "There's something I haven't told many people. I joined the XSDF to try and get a challenge for myself. But I also came because... ten years of constant traveling was just so lonely. I know... I might not act like it all the time, but you don't know how happy I was to not only learn that so many of my old friends were on this ship with me... but I'd get to bunk with one of them. And I can't imagine a better roommate." She titled her head slightly. "Am I... sounding too cheesy?"

Sasha shook her head. "N-Not at all," she responded, seeming to hesitate for a moment before hugging her friend tightly.

Brigid squeezed her back, several tears escaping from her eyes. In a shuttering breath, she said, "Please, Sasha... don't ever, ever do that again. If... if I lost you... especially that way, I..."

"I-I'll try..." Sasha whispered. "I-I just don't know how I can e-ensure that..."

"It is your job to try. It is our job to watch your back and give you a reason to want to try." Brigid ran her fingers through her friend's hair. "Understand? No matter how bleak things might be, I will always watch you back. And I know I'm not the only one."

"I think that would be a good idea." Brigid sat back. "It's her job to support you, both as a shrink, and as a friend. And then you can talk to Vindicta. I... I know it might seem not that way to you, but those powers you used... you looked like an angel. It was awesome."

Sasha sighed. "I don't even remember half of it... it's like I was a completely different person..."

"Well, whoever that person might be, I like them. For saving my friend." Brigid thought for a moment. "I... don't know a lot about reflections. I barely know anything about my own, to be honest. But I've talked about them a bit with Mrs. Wiewiora and Vindicta, and from what I know, they're an extension of our own psyche. The act on our will, even if it is subconscious will. So... the fact that yours saved you... well, that tells me you were just pushed over the edge, and deep down, you know you're with it."

That some part of me hasn't given up... Sasha nodded slowly. "A-Alright... I'll do my best."

"Good." The Irish blond climbed to her feet, wiping her eyes and smiling. "I'm going to go get something to eat. Is there anything you want me to get you? Do you want me to make the appointment with Camillia for you?"

"I-I can take care of the latter... but just bring me something back from the cafeteria... maybe a sandwich or a hamburger..." Sasha answered.

"Alright." Brigid walked out, pausing to say, "Hang in there, friend," before going.

 

[BMPixy]

“Small Blind”
Somewhere in Subspace; Aboard the Supply Ship Contents May Differ
0921 Local; March 16th, 2044
Communications Bay

“Really? You actually tried to bake bread with pyrokinesis?” Ayako asked, a hand covering her mouth to stifle the oncoming laughter. “I take it that it didn’t turn out well…”

“The bread… exploded,” Hanako replied, her eyes downcast in shame. “Guess that it wasn’t made to be brought to 400 degrees C in less than a second…”

“I tried to warn her, but she was all ‘no, it’s fine, I can control my powers!’,” Megumi added. “Seriously, we have an oven, there’s no need to throwing around your psychic powers all willy-nilly.”

“Hey, Ma said I should practice them as much as possible. ‘Never know when need arises’ and all that jazz,” Hanako countered, doing her best impression of her mother.

“Yeah, but there’s better ways to do it than blowing up half my lunch for the next week,” Megumi said.

“Well, on the bright side,” Ayako interrupted, “at least you’re learning the necessity of control over those kinds of things. After all, imagine if you could pull out those kinds of fires back when you caught whooping cough.”

“N’importe quoi…” Hanako muttered exasperatedly, shaking her head in disbelief. “Anyways, any news from the depths of the void between worlds?”

“Eh, not much to be honest,” Ayako replied, popping her knuckles absentmindedly. “Should get to Forseti in a couple days. In the meanwhile, I’ve been running through the dossiers on my subordinates in my spare time, but there’s not much I can tell you ‘bout them that wouldn’t violate confidentiality, as much as I’d like to.”

“C’mon, there’s gotta be something you can share with your dear sisters, stuck on this miserable rock so far from their beloved oneesama,” Megumi pleaded, drawing a light chuckle from Ayako and an annoyed glance from Hanako.

“Alright, alright,” Ayako said, putting her hands up in mock defeat. “Let’s see, what can I tell you without losing my job… Well, you might find this interesting: apparently the guy I’m replacing got his degree from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

“Really?” Hanako said, arching an eyebrow. “Huh, and here I thought you couldn’t get a good education out there.”

“Yeah, apparently it’s a fairly prestigious school, at least for the region,” Ayako explained. “Just hope he isn’t too peeved about me taking his job,” she added, rubbing her bicep nervously.

“Eh, if he is, he can take his indignation and shove it up his u-”

“Megumi!” Hanako snapped, cutting her sister off.

“Jeez, Ma’s at work, we can say whatever we want,” Megumi groaned. “Anyways, as I was saying, if he’s miffed for whatever reason, you don’t have to take it. I mean, you’re a double doctor, and you’re hella qualified for maintaining a starship. If he’s angry that someone better is taking his job, then he’s probably the type to get annoyed when someone takes a whiz in his coffee.”

“I’m fairly certain anybody would be more than annoyed if that were to happen to them,” Hanako analyzed, pushing up her glasses slightly.

“Whatever,” Megumi replied with a dismissive wave of the hand.

“Regardless of that, I just can’t wait to get to the Einherjar,” Ayako said, a smile slowly growing on her face. “I mean, on that ship they’ve gathered levels of genius comparable to the old XCOM… or Thomas Jefferson dining alone, I guess,” she added, scratching her chin in thought.

“Ah, really? Any names we might know?” Hanako asked, leaning back slightly and folding her arms over her chest.

“Let’s see… there’s Dr. Tanaka, Dr. Hu - both of them, Dr. Exalt and her younger brother, and…” Ayako paused, her brow scrunching up in thought. “Ugh, there was a few more, but for some reason I’m drawing a blank. Still, knowing the XSDF, there’s probably just as much genius among the smaller names as the big ones, and I intend on drawing out the best in my subordinates. Shame that most of the big minds are in the science division, but I suppose it cannot be helped.”

“Hey, science is glamorous,” Megumi defended. “Not our fault that people prefer making world-changing discoveries than building bridges or particle accelerators or whatever it is you engies do these days.”

“Bah, you’re just jealous I got into a grandes écoles and you didn’t,” Ayako shot back. “Plus you don’t get a cool hat from your university, either.”

“You do know that you can just buy a bicorn, right Ayako?” Hanako added. “I mean, they’re not exactly rare.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same as getting one from I’X,” the older sibling answered. “It’s like the difference between seeing a picture of a nice butt and actually seeing a nice butt in the flesh. Totally different feeling.”

“Of course you had to use that analogy,” Hanako muttered, cradling her forehead in her palm. “Regardless, Megumi and I gotta head out soon enough. When’s the next time you’re gonna call?”

Ayako pulled off her glasses, cleaning them on the hem of her shirt as she thought. “I’ll try to give you guys a call sometime in the next few days, but I’ll likely be swamped in paperwork for a while, so don’t expect anything until next week or so.”

“Gotcha,” Megumi said with a nod, glancing at something out of frame. “Anyways, see ya later Ayako!”

“See you two soon! Be sure to tell Ma and tousan I said hi!”

“Will do,” Hanako replied. “Until next time.” With that, the feed cut, and Ayako leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes for a moment to enjoy the brief silence presented to her, broken only by the gentle hum of the ship beneath her feet.

“Right, best get finished packing,” Ayako said to herself, standing from the chair and making her way for the door. “Soon enough it’ll all be yours, Ayako-chan. Working amongst the best and brightest, doing what you love, and probably a half a hundred other little things to pass the time. That’s your destiny,” she continued, ignoring the confused glance from the waste management technician cleaning the halls.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Fallen Hero Part One (MarineAvenger and ZombieSplitter53)

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Holo-room Two
'Siberian Tundra, Midday'

Korra sat in the icy snow, teeth chattering. She gave the woman next to her a dirty look, muttering, "I s-said you c-c-c-can punish m-me if you w-w-wanted to. B-but just do it. D-don't... p-pretend w-w-we are... t-t-training."

"This is training," Brigid repsonded, her eyes closed, breathing calm. "You need to let your energy circulate through your body. Let it keep you warm. If this was punishment, why would I be doing it with you?"

"B-b-because y-you're s-some kind of... f-freak that doesn't g-get cold!"

Brigid finally looked at her training partner. "I thought you said the city you grew up in was cold nearly all year round."

"Y-yeah... b-but th-that's w-what jackets are f-for!" Korra closed her eyes, trying Brigid's consentration technique more out of life-or-death necessity then training.

There was a 'whoosh' sound as the doors to the holo-room opened, the sound of snow being crunched down approaching the women at a slow pace. A few moments later, coming out from the trees, a figure wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans stepped out, looking around and calling out, "Hello, who's in here?"

Oh, thank the stars. A distraction. Korra jumped to her feet. "Hey! J-just two cuties... f-freezing their nips off.

The man looked at the two women and he rubbed the back of his neck, his face pretty much hidden because his hood was pulled close over his face. "Sorry, didn't know someone had reserved this Holo-Room. I'll just... go to one of the others." He looked around before turning to go, putting his hands in his front pocket.

"No!" Korra rushed after him, tripping on the snow and falling flat on her face. She quickly looked up, shouting, "P-p-please... stick around. The... th-the weather's lovely."

Brigid rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet. So much for consentration. I'd have better luck with a hyperactive puppy.

"It's like the middle of winter in here." He said, looking around at the fake snowy landscape. "Besides, I need to get my training done..." He turned around again, pushing through the trees.

"Damn it." Korra brushed herself off, shouted, "Computer.. um... uh... give me a beach! Lake Tambora, fifth day of the Septal Solstice. Um... 84 degrees semnis."

The environment changed, and Brigid grumbled, "So much for training."

"Don't be rude to our guest, O'Brien," Korra insisted.

The guest looked around, shaking his head and pulling his outwards and off, turning around and shaking his head. "Really? Are you that desperate for some sort of interaction? I already said I need to train, and I would prefer to do it... alone." Connor told Korra, rubbing the top of his short buzz.

Korra glared at him. "You... you don't have an ass about it."

"Korra." Brigid stepped forward, but it was already too late.

"No. I won't back down to this one." Korra rushed up to him. "I... I'm trying the nice thing. I'm trying to be curtious. But this jerk won't even give me the time of day? I don't think so." She stared into his eyes. "What's your name?"

"Connor Karo." He responded calmly. "And look... it is nothing against you or... your friend over there but look, I am just trying to go it solo today, so just..." Connor held up his hands and went to turn around for a third time.

Korra moved to stay in front of her, bumping her chest with her bosom. "What's wrong, Connor? Afraid of some competition? Afraid a girl can kick your ass?"

"N-No... that isn't it." Connor looked away and tried to pass her. "Just... get out of my way." Connor found his thumb running over an item in his right hand.

"And what are going to do if I don't?" Korra bumped her chest against him again.

Approaching the two, Brigid looked Connor up and down, her eyes widening a bit. "Korra... don't..."

"I'm not... look, just go away!" Connor pressed, trying to shove Korra out of his path, almost to the door now.

"Stop running, you bicco!" Korra lifted a fist.

"Korra, no!" Brigid cried out, reaching for her flask and popping off the top.

Connor's expression didn't change as Korra's fist slammed against his face, knocking the man over and the item that was in his hand accidentally falling out of his grasp, Connor landing back first in the artificial sand and the photo just gliding back and forth until it landed upright a little out of arm's reach for him.

Brigid rushed forward, grabbing the photo and bringing it to Connor. "Oh, God. Please, she... she didn't... please don't... don't hurt her..."

Korra scoffed. "You kidding? I could mop the floor with this wimp!"

Connor growled and he pushed Brigid aside, quickly rushing Korra and going after her with a punch of his own. "Fuck you!"

Korra let out a yelp, caught off guard by his speed, and fell back. Connor's fist connected with Brigid's blocking arms, the petite woman having used her light body and gene mods to get between the two. Her face flushed a bit, the affects of drinking her concoction. "Don't do this, Karo. She doesn't know who you are. You don't want more blood on your hands, do you?"

Connor's eyes widened, all sense of rage immediately dashed, as a deep expression of pain overtook his face, as if he had been stabbed. Connor let his fist fall to his side, his eyes clearly beginning to water. "Y-You... you don't... have the right..." Connor turned and he ran, as he exited the door any sand that trailed behind him and that had attached to his clothes disappearing, leaving Brigid and Korra, the picture he had dropped still in Brigid's hand.

Korra stood up with a bewildered look. "You... you know him?"

Brigid nodded. "That guy used to fight people that could destroy me and Cayden for a living. He was my favorite... caught ever fight I could, even while traveling. Until he murdered his fiancee..."

Korra looked out the door. "What? Why is he here?"

"Because the courts aren't perfect." Brigid looked down at the picture, her eyes softening.

Korra rubbed her arms. "Should... should I avoid him?"

"You should apologize so he doesn't have it out for you," Brigid answered, though her tone had slightly less of an edge in it. "Come on... we can return this when we find him."

 

[MarineAvenger]

Part Two

*Hours Later*

Holo-Room One

Connor stood in the middle of the Octagon construction, his shirt off and now wearing a pair of athletic, black shorts. His faceless opponent stood on the opposite side, and after the bell rang, the two approached with defensive stances in mind, the faceless man going for a few close punches, most of which were blocked by Karo.

He pulled back, but his opponent was there, going for a high kick towards Connor's head, but the man stopping it with one hand, pushing forward so both the faceless man and Karo were on the floor, Connor on top as he started laying on the punches, one after another as he let out a yell with each strike, just getting more intense and faster until his opponent was made sure not to get up, the faceless man just laying there as Connor stood up and immediately fell backwards, covering his face with one hand.

"And the memories come flooding back," a voice called out from the doorway. "I remember the fight with Ortega. They said that rookie Karo had a snowball's chance in hell, but you took him in, what, six minutes?"

"Five and a half." Connor corrected, company not really the most welcome thing he could have wanted. "Haven't you tortured me enough already?" He asked with a slight venom.

Brigid scoffed. "I would have thought you were hoping to see me again."

"And why in God's name is that?" Connor asked, finally standing up and turning around.

"Pft." Brigid turned around and headed for the exit, holding Connor's photo up. "Whatever. Guess I'll just throw this out."

Connor quickly looked down at his hoodie then ran for the exit of the Octagon, bursting through the metal door and holding out his hand. "Give that back!" He said with a hint of urgency.

"It was Tracy, right? Does she know what you... did..." Brigid looked into his eyes, and despite feeling defiant, she felt a pang of guilt at his expression. "She's... she's cute."

Connor's breathing quickened and he kept his hand extended. "I didn't do anything, now give me my picture."

"It was Tracy, right? Does she know what you... did..." Brigid looked into his eyes, and despite feeling defiant, she felt a pang of guilt at his expression. "She's... she's cute."

Connor's breathing quickened and he kept his hand extended. "I didn't do anything, now give me my picture."

Brigid narrowed her eyes. "There is a reason the rulings are called 'not guilty' and not innocent. If you didn't do it to this poor girl's mother, then who did!" Korra stepped behind Brigid, snatching the photo from her hand. "What are you doing, Korra?"

"Everything I did was for my family!" Connor yelled at Brigid, barely unable to stop his eyes from watering. "I fought... with... everything I had and yet in the end none of it mattered! I've lost everything... and I have suffered... and yet people still blame me for something I did not do..." This time there was no stopping the tears from falling. "So do not stand there, and accuse me, like you know who the... fuck I am, because lady... you don't!" He yelled at the time of his lungs.

Brigid stepped forward, but surprisingly, it was Korra stopping her this time, placing a head on her shoulder. "Stop, O'Brien. You... you don't know."

Brigid gave her an annoyed look. "But the evidence..."

"Wasn't enough to convict him. Not enough to consider him guilty. So why should we?" Korra walked in front of Conner, looking down at the photo. "You... you all look so happy. That someone would take that happiness away from those they love... from themselves... I'd rather give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you wouldn't do that." She slowly extended her hand, offering him his picture.

Connor took the photo slowly, looking at Korra like she had some ulterior motive, but when she let go he looked down at the photo, his expression softening a bit. "Thanks... uh?"

"Korra. Korra Devolina." She rubbed her arm nervously. "Listen... I was kinda a bitch. I'm sorry I tired to use you to get out of training... and getting in your face... and calling you a bicco... and punching you... and... and mocking..." She sighed. "Damn it, I'm bad at apologizing... and yet I'm really good at racking up things to apologize for really fast."

"Yes, it would seem that way." Connor put the photo in his short's pocket and he looked at the two women with a cross of his arms and a raised eyebrow. "So did you come here just to nearly ruin my afternoon or is there something else I could... do for you?" He asked rather awkwardly, as if he didn't want to in the first place.

"We came so she could apologize," Brigid answered. "I know how dangerous..." She trialed off, having lost her drive to be snarky by Korra's sudden contentment. "You... I still think you... I... you didn't answer my question about who else..." She huffed, turning away, mostly mad at Connor so she wouldn't have to be mad at herself.

"How old is she?" Korra quietly asked, her expression saying she was not expecting a positive response.

"Tracey..." Connor took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Tracey is 8. She is currently with her... mother's parents and they refuse to let me have her back. That is the... whole reason I am doing any of this... so I can try and keep our family together..."

"Prove yourself as a soldier, right? That's a good way to go about it." Korra looked up at Connor. "But... if you weren't convicted... how can they keep her from you?"

"Because there are plenty of other things about Karo that aren't in question," Brigid answered curtly.

Connor's face squeezed in annoyance for a brief moment before he sighed, "I... I have stayed clean. You don't... you don't know... what it's like. It isn't exactly the life I chose... or wanted."

Korra looked back at Brigid. "What is your problem?! This is the kind of crap you usually call me out on!"

Brigid squeezed her fists. "Because! You don't understand! You don't know... you don't know who Karo was..." She looked away. "...to me..."

"Let me guess... another fan who looked up to me and was disappointed when you heard about my drug abuse and that... farce of a trail." Connor shook his head, looking at Brigid with an understanding look. "Have you ever once considered things from my point of view... what was it, O'Brien?" Connor took a step forward. "Because things weren't always sunshine and rainbows for me, but I still fought for what I wanted, hell, even now I still have to fight. I'm done trying to find excuses, but there are reasons for what I've done."

Brigid stood in silence, unable to respond at first. When she did, she quietly asked, "When... when it happened... when she was... you know. Were you... clean?"

"When she was killed... I was clean. The night it happened though... I had been out drinking with some friends for the upcoming title match. I must have gotten so drunk that I didn't even remember leaving. I just woke up on the coach, went up stairs and-" The memory still made Connor shut his eyes and cover his mouth, when he finally recovered he said, "I ran downstairs as fast as I could and just went outside screaming for help. The whole night was a haze, I didn't... I couldn't remember anything. They pointed the finger at me... even though there was no DNA and I had no blood on me... especially for how..." His stomach still felt queasy. "I am just glad Tracey had been staying with my Dad and Grandmother when it happened..."

 

[MarineAvenger]

Part Three

Brigid kept her eyes on the wall, mouthing words but unable to speak. "If that's... true, I... I'm..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Damn it. I-I can't believe I... all these years... damn it..."

"I'm not a good guy." Connor stated loudly. "I'm not even a decent guy. After the trail... after I lost Tracey for the first time... I went back to drugs. The pain was just too much but it wasn't long till I was caught. I went to rehab but even now I still feel the effects. The urge is still there... and it kills me every day. Doesn't help that I have... a father, who barely wants to see me... a grandmother who hates me, a daughter who expects me to be... some sort of hero... and the fact I could die any mission on go on... I got the odds stacked against me."

"You've always had the odds stacked against you." Brigid finally looked back at him. "And you always fought those odds. You almost beat them. But someone fucked up your life!" She took a step towards him. "You say you didn't do it. You say that you love your daughter, and are doing what you can to get her back. You say you're off drugs, despite the urge eating away at you. Then keep at it! I know... if you keep trying, you'll make it! You just need someone to watch your back."

"I don't know... it isn't that easy." Connor walked away to go sit on a bench and he sighed. "It isn't even guaranteed that I will get my daughter back from this... this was a last resort gamble. I've been fighting for so long... sometimes I just want to give in. To just quit. If... If I don't get Tracey back then I have nothing to return to... nothing to live for."

"Then let Tracy be what you live for," Korra said. "And never give up hope of getting her back. It isn't until you give up that hope will be completely gone. And if you truly love her... you'll never want to disappoint her. A... a true father never would."

"If I don't get her back, it won't matter either way." Connor looked down at his hands. "At least I can take consolation in the fact that if I do die here, I will always be a hero to her..." The ex-UFC fighter chuckled grimly and shook his head. "I was never fit to be a father."

"Enough!" Brigid walked over to Connor and grabbed his collar, pulling him close to her face with her usual surprising strength. "I'm sorry, okay?" A few tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't know... even if I acted like I did! Fuck how Korra acted! I was the bitch! I'm sorry! But don't let people like me stop you! Do it for Tracy... and yourself!"

Connor looked at Brigid with a plain look, putting his hand on Brigid's arm. "You know my father used to tell me when I was using in high school that you handle your own when you become a man, and that when you become a man when you handle your own. So how can I call myself a man when I can't even handle my own daughter?" He asked Brigid seriously. "I live in some shitty apartment in Detroit... I won't even be able to make any money without aid when I leave... I can't even fall in love..." Connor was silent for a long while. "How... how can I have any pride in myself?" He asked with a laugh.

Brigid sat on the bench next to him, thinking the answer over while wiping away a few tears. "How about this? You stick to your guns here. Korra and I will watch your back out there. Give you a chance to prove yourself as a soldier. From what I saw when I walked in here, you can still fight. So when this is over, you won't leave as Connor Karo, drug addict and deadbeat father. You'll leave as Connor Karo, the man who got beat down by life, but kicked that drug problem to the curb, help keep the galaxy safe from pirates, and proved he's ready to make a triumphant come back to the Pro UFC circuit and take your daughter... YOUR daughter... back to you care, where she belongs."

Korra sat on Connor's other side. "Sounds like a good plan. Just has one problem." She poked Connor in the chest. "Won't work if you give up from the start. People won't give your another chance if you're not willing to give yourself another chance."

"Well unless either of you can get on Greyhound, I doubt you will be able to protect me at all." Connor leaned down and put his chin in his palm. "You know... for a moment there you both sounded like Louise..."

"Your fiance?" Brigid asked, looking into his eyes.

Connor took a deep breath. "Yeah... can't believe it's been more than a year already." His face just seemed to sag from grief.

Korra reached over, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "It's alright. I... I'm not good with people. But I at least know how to listen. After the way we treated you... the least we can do is be there for you if you want to vent."

Brigid nodded. "But... but we won't push ourselves on you. We already did that, and it was wrong of us. We'll leave you alone if that's what you want. But... but it's usually a mistake to take this kind of pain alone. When... when I lost my father... I don't know what I would have done without others to help me."

"I-I don't even know what to say about her. She was amazing... she was the whole reason everything changed for me. She was the first girl to actually show me love, and she pushed me to follow what I was good at. Every win she was there cheering me on, and the few losses she was there for support. We had a child together... we were happy... she was the most important person in my life... and I've never been able to love another woman since..." He told truthfully, speaking in a low tone as if talking about a lucid dream, something that seemed so far away now. "Ever time I go back to my room to go to sleep, I am reminded that she won't be there waiting... she never will again."

Korra bit her lip, unsure how to word what she wanted to say without making things worse. "Connor... don't you... don't you want to make her proud? Don't you want to get her little girl back and raise her to be just like her mother?"

"Of course I do!" Connor pushed, looking down at the floor. "That is why I haven't given up so far, but if it impossible for me to get her... I have nothing. It won't matter how much I love her, I would never be able to see her again... that is my biggest fear."

"Then. why are you here?" Brigid waved her arm around. "It... it might not seem like it, but the XSDF looks good on any resume. You must have realized that coming in."

"It was a gamble. Joining up was the only thing I could do, my last option. If this doesn't work, that's it, I'm screwed. It is just how the courts seem to want to do things... like they are doing everything in their power to deny me."

"It will work!" Korra stood up, bending over and getting in his face. "Now, no more thinking it won't. I... I know how you feel, Connor. To be honest, the XSDF is my last chance too. But I need to believe it will work, and so do you! Got it?"

 

[MarineAvenger]

Part Four

Connor was a little stunned deep down by Korra's outburst and he just smiled warmly. "Alright... let's say I do get her back... I got finances covered from Van Dam's help, but I still won't have a job. I... I can never go back to UFC unfortunately... I've been blacklisted from it... and I still can't give Trace a mother..."

"You'll love again," Brigid assured him. "It takes time to heal, and no one expects you to do so overnight. As for a job..." Brigid tapped her cheek in thought. "I have friends all over Earth. I can try and find something."

"Or... when you get Tracy back, that's what the colonies are for a lot of people," Korra offered. "A chance at a new start. Maybe... you can bring you to Forseti."

"M-Maybe... I don't know... I've lived on Earth my whole life... Maybe I could just relocate back to Latvia..."

"There you go." Brigid patted him on the shoulder. "Start planning for when you get her back... when you get her back, you here me?" She nudged Korra's arm. "And you ever need someone to talk to, remember to seek us out."

Connor sighed and nodded his heads. "Thanks. You two are the real... only friends I have made in a while. Usually people who know about me... never gives me a chance... before they jump to conclusions."

Brigid nodded, looking a bit guilty. "We... we'll leave you to your training." The two took their leave, stepping out into the hallway. Before they could move on, Korra grabbed Brigid's sleeve, and the Irish woman turned back. "What is it?"

Korra stared at the floor. "I... I'm in the same boat as him. If I loss the XSDF... I don't know what I'd do. If... i-if you went to the Commander for what I did... or worse, went to his predecessor..."

"I might have lost my temper... but I wouldn't betray you like that, Korra. Besides... I like to deal with my problems myself." Brigid smiled at the Tamearin, and got a smile back. She looked past her, and said, "I... I'll catch up with you. I... forgot something."

Korra nodded. "See you in a bit."

She walked off, and Brigid walked back into the holo-room. "Karo!"

Unfortunately for Brigid, the room was clear, Connor nowhere in sight, the simulation gone and leaving nothing but an empty room.
Brigid's shoulders slumped, and she shook her head. "Damn it... guess I'll catch him later." She stepped out of the room, moving to catch up with Korra. He says he didn't kill her... but that means whoever did is still out there somewhere. And what's the point of all the connections I made through the years if I don't use them?

"Hey, O'Brien!" A voice from Brigid called, Connor running up from the other end of the hall, Connor coming to a stop in front of Brigid. "I wanted to give you something."

"Karo!" Brigid rubbed her hands nervously. "I... I just wanted to tell you how... how sorry I am... I..."

"Look... just... let bygones be bygones and take this... as a gift." Karo reached into his shorts and pulled out a folded piece of paper, holding it out to Brigid.

As she took it and proceeded to unfold it, it said:

To O'Brien,

Thanks for believing in me, and I will always fight on for the things that matter,

Signed, CKaro

"I thought I should thank you somehow... and since you were a fan, I thought an autograph would do." He explained with a soft smile.

Brigid laughed. "Wow, that... that's really cool. I'm gonna hold on to this. One day, when it's worth millions, my friends will be pissed at me for refusing to sell it."

"Please, people have already mostly forgotten about my career. Once there is a dark spot on you, your accomplishments are pushed aside for that blemish. It is just nice to know one fan won't forget." Connor held out his hand to Brigid for her to shake it.

"I won't. I can promise you that." Brigid grasped his hand, shaking it vigorously with a big smile on her face.

"Let me know if you ever want to spar sometime." Connor told her before chuckling to himself at her excitement as he turned around and began to walk away. "And when we do..." Connor stopped and turned around with a big smirk. "Don't hold back on me like you did earlier today." Without another word, he turned and left.

Brigid watched him go, smiling, but only feeling more guilty for her earlier behavior. She carefully placed the autograph in her pocket, and headed off.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Dahlexpert and DarkGemini24601: “Loyalty is a Strange Thing”

High Orbit Around Forseti (March 16th, 2044)
The Einherjar (5:45 P.M., A.S.T.)
Floor 2: Bridge Auxiliaries

Frederick sat at the table in his new room, still getting used to the slightly larger room that had once been Astasha’s. It’s austere nature hadn’t changed much, Astasha’s style of living reflected in the walls devoid of any personal effects, and a lack of anything ‘luxurious’ even though such things had been readily available to her. Frederick was not much different, though he had been considering to repaint the walls to a more soothing blue than the current dingy red-brown that characterized its current tone. Filing that thought away for a later time, he sat down at his desk, and requested, “Send Van Dam up here.”

Cassia was in the training room with Noire, both practicing on battle tactics and what strategies will be good to take on the pirates. A group of security guards told Cassia to visit the Commander, thought after the last incident they will not escort her. Cassia reached the Commander's office, though there were two guards on either side of the door, if not within the room itself. “You would think, after the last Commander..you would learn I don’t like being surrounded with guns. Especially when I’m unarmed.”

“After the incident with Astasha I have to be cautious, Ms. Van Dam.” Frederick shook his head. “In any case, however, they’re always there, so you aren’t a special case, really.” He sighed, knowing this was going to be a long evening. “Do you mind if I call you Cassia? Being less formal would make this a lot easier on me, and perhaps you as well.”

“Fine, look if you’re worried that I’m not going to follow your orders, I talked to the only people that command me. They told me to follow your orders and that your words carry the same weight as my inner council, are we done here?”

Frederick raised an eyebrow. “You must realize that you having to go through your tribal council to get approval to act like every other soldier in this organization does… isn’t encouraging. You showed a blatant disregard for authority beforehand, regardless of Streczyk’s less… than savory temperament. The 180 you’ve taken here leaves me with questions still. Such as… if your inner council told you one day, ‘Commander Mason is the enemy. Your orders are to kill him and not listen to anything he says’, would you do it?”

“They wouldn't do that because we know facing the XSDF, no matter how talented we are is suicide besides... If your commanding officers told you to kill everyone on this ship would you do it?”

Frederick tapped a finger against the desk. “Then let me give you a less drastic example, one that honestly has been proven already. If they told you to return to your previous state, and not obey my orders, would you do so? I’m worried that you would.”

“Yea I would and be be happy to do so. However, I’m under a contract to finish this mission and I plan to do that,once my mission is over I can care less about what happens to everyone here.”

“And you see my problem, Cassia. Or, at least, I hope you would.” Frederick clasped his hands together. “The military doesn’t function this way. By signing up for XSDF membership your first loyalty should be to the commanding officer you’re assigned to. Whatever nation you belonged to in the past, whatever tribe or special interest group… shouldn’t matter. And unless you can realize that the decisions of your family aren’t more important than an injunction from the Commander of the XSDF, I’m going to have to let you go. No arrest, no trouble. Just a simple dismissal from the organization to follow your own pursuits again in a capacity that better suits you.”

“As much fun as that sounds after that last mission that was a slaughter I would say you need me. Since I’m possibly the only person here that’s been in alien controlled space for a probably fourteen years, I can say you people are unprepared for the fight you're in. Because you all seem shocked that the pirates have MEC and titan armor and plasma and the such.”

“We are well aware of their normal capabilities, though the advanced technology we saw on Layrinxa 2 is something else. However, that doesn’t mean I can overlook your conflict of loyalties.” The Commander closed his eyes for a moment. “I need soldiers that I can trust. Soldiers that know how to follow orders. Even in that disaster of a mission, Walker and the Dragomirovs pulled through, as did Capt-Colonel Kirchner. Khorochar as well. Those are people I can trust to do the job right. You have experience, I won’t lie about that…” Frederick opened his eyes again. “But if I can’t trust you, all that goes to waste.”

Frederick tapped his foot softly. “I understand that you’re loyal to your family, and I would hope that they’d never have a reason to be in conflict with the XSDF. However, if you’re going to be a soldier, I expect you to fulfill your obligation to the XSDF through and through. For instance, if the pirates were to offer you and your associates a large sum of money, far more than you’re paid here, perhaps, would you take their offer instead? Especially with how strong their allies seem to be… are you willing to fight alongside us no matter what they offer? No matter how bleak things may be? Because that would be acceptable. But if the Van Dams would switch sides because it looks like I might lose and the pay is better on the other side, then I can’t well trust their loyalty.”

Cassia starts to lightly laugh “Money? Money? I could give a shit about money, I live to fight to kill criminals wherever they are. I would never trade sides for scum no matter what, If I did I would kill myself that second because I would betray everything I believe in and my code of honor. So when comes to fighting the pirates you have my loyalty, and so does any one that believes that no criminal will run rampant!” Cassia said with passion in her voice.

Frederick let out a sigh of relief. “That’s… something at least. Though let me make something clear… you are never to behave as you did during your meeting with Astasha. If you break the rules, threaten or harm another XSDF member again… then your time here will be at an end. Am I clear?”

“Fair point, though if the robot does punch me again and cracks my helmet i will tazz him. is that good?”

“If you yourself are assaulted, then of course you can - to a reasonable extent - defend yourself.” Frederick smiled slightly. “Just don’t make a habit of antagonizing people. Show them the same respect you’d show me or your family. Streczyk had a nasty habit of getting people into trouble by pushing their… berserk buttons… and neither of us should follow in her footsteps in that regard.”

“Yea, though can make some request?”

Frederick gave a sharp intake of breath as an initial response. “What… sort of requests?”

“Well since I’m sure you don’t want your ship to turn into a petting zoo, and I don’t want to disturb the scientist. I will ask that I can purchase property on the planet to study the wildlife and food here. I’d do this to make sure of which animals can be eaten and which ones to avoid same with plants.”

Frederick looked at her oddly for a moment. “I can… allow you to study the wildlife from one of the more further-flung towns. You wouldn’t need specific property for that, just as long as you’re not hunting without a local license. And make sure it’s when you’re off-duty.”

“Of course, whelp it was nice meeting you sir. I’m not tazed and I have no desire to harm you so over all this went well, I wish you luck in your command.” Cassia left the room.

“I just hope it stays that way, Van Dam… I really do…” Frederick muttered to himself.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
The Oddest of Friends: Part One

In Orbit Around Forseti (March 16th, 2044)
The Einherjar (2225 Hours)
Near Hydroponics

Noah Antwiler grumbled as he trudged through the hallway. "For Christ's sake, can we just go back already?"

"You are free to take off if you'd like," Volupta responded without looking back at her disgruntled escort. "If you don't mind us both getting in trouble."

I fear that would go over worse for you, mistress, Tee noted privately, and looked back. "My good sir... we would like very much to... as you so colorfully put it, to 'stop wasting your time with the escort bullcrap'. I am afraid, however, with the troublesome mission and situation with you Commander, we are still bound to..."

"Shut up, fat head," Noah snapped. "I don't need you telling me how to do my job. Just hurry along to your... garden."

"With pleasure," Volupta said, privately informing Tee, And your head is perfectly proportional, Tee.

Thank you, mistress.

"Sir, I thought you said you would take things easy, and I do not think carrying such a heavy load is so good for you." Glitch noted with concern, floating in front of his engineer counterpart with a bit of worry.

"It... it isn't that heavy..." It is extremely heavy! Nick thought in his head. "B-Besides... Malcom is busy trying to fix some of the stuff from that mission. I wish people would be more forward about what happened, I barely know all the details! How am I supposed to invent something great if I don't know the problem that needs to be fixed in the first place?" The teen protested, getting slightly annoyed with Glitch floating in his face so he quickly pushed him to the side, almost loosing his grip on his box of parts.

"Because it is not your concern, Mr. Cauthon. The events were rather unsavory, something you do not need exposure to." His assistant told Nick, turning so he did not have to look at Nick and know where he is going.

"Even you know! Geez... one of these days I am gonna-na-na-aaaaaaa!" Nick fell over as he tripped over himself, landing down onto the ground and the top of the box he was carrying splitting open and a bunch of metal bits and plates falling out and sliding on the floor on front of him. "Owwww... dang my clumsiness..." Nick sighed and got to his knees, rubbing his hair with both his hands and looking forward, his eyes widening as he saw a sight coming down the hallway he had never seen before, the engineer blinking a few times, unsure of what, or who exactly, he was seeing approach.

"I mean, really. I know the number of Ether... Humilitata on the ship are few and far between, but..." Volupta slowed to a stop at the sight of the fallen teenager, smiling widely, though said expression was hidden beneath her mask. "Why... hello there. Did you fall?" She knelt down, quite the trip for such a tall being, and reached out with her four arms, grabbing a scattered piece of equipment. "Let me help you, little one."

Nick -who was caught in a slight daze looking at the alien- shook his head to clear his head of the sight and he grumbled. "I'm not little, you are just tall." Nick stood up and tilted his head a little curiously at the mask Volupta was wearing. "What... are you exactly?" He asked, quickly adding, "Not to be offensive, I have just never seen someone like you before."

Volupta looked over at Tee. Is... he being honest?

I do not sense any dishonesty from him. Perhaps he was sheltered. I am sure you can relate, considering the last four cycles.

Sheltered? Excellent. Someone without a preconception! Volupta bowed her head briefly as she placed the items back into the box. "My name is Volupta. I am a Humiliata, of the planet Aethereum, though I have not been there in quite some time. It is very nice to meet you." She gently placed her hand on his head.

"U-Uh..." Nick looked up at her hand and he said, "Nice to... meet you, Volupta. I'm Nick, and I'm... okay, why are you petting me?" He asked a bit confused, Nick's face blushing a bit from embarrassment. "I'm not a dog..."

"A dog?" Volupta glanced at Tee.

"A domesticated Earth canine often kept as a pet for the sake of loyalty, playfulness, and security," Tee explained.

Volupta quickly withdrew her hand. "Oh... oh, dear. My apologies, young one. I... I have been in seclusion for four cycles, and... I am afraid I have fallen out of touch with how to treat children."

Nick scrunched up his face and growled, glaring at Volupta with an annoyed and angered look. Glitch floated in front of Nick and shook his head. "Calm down, Mr. Cauthon, she doesn't know..."

Nick continued to growl and he crossed his arms, looking off to the side with puffed out cheeks. "I'm not a kid." The engineer insisted.

"Ha!" The guard rolled his eyes. "You serious, kid? You were hospitalized because you couldn't set your own limits, you have to be constantly monitored by that ball, and you don't even know what she is and what her people did!"

Nick felt his chest get heavy from anger, balling his fists, he just grinned, looking down with a chuckle. "Well... you're not wrong, but at least I am not paid minimum wage because I wasn't good enough to be an actual soldier."

"Uh... Mr. Cauthon..." Glitch warned.

"What?" He asked his assistant. "I bet he doesn't even have the skill to beat this..." Nick glared at the guard. "Kid." He spat at him, his words filled with venom.

"What... you... little punk!" Noah reached down, grabbing Nick's collar. "You think I can't kick your smartass... ass?!"

"What are you doing?!" Volupta rose to her feet. "Release him at once!"

"Hey... idiot..." Nick reached over and touched the pad on his wrist, a rectangular item falling away off the back of Nick's waist and spreading apart, Ratchet flying up with it's quad-rotors buzzing, a small laser coming out of it's main body and a laser pointer attached to the side of the weapon aiming directly at Noah. "Try it... trust me, a laser is going to hurt a lot more than a fist, buddy... I'm not scared of scum like you... not anymore." The engineer growled.

"Release Mr. Cauthon at once or shall have the authorities here momentarily!" Glitch announced, the ball watching the guard cautiously.

Noah laughed nervously, seeming more worried about the laser then Glitches threat. "Hey... we're cool, alright?" He released Nick and took a step back. "I... just lost my temper, alright? No... hard feelings?"

"We will see..." Nick warned vaguely, pressing the deactivation button on his wrist and catching Ratchet from his short drop as it collapsed back and the engineer putting it back on it's port attached on the back of his pants. The engineer found himself rubbing the back of his neck, mostly from the slight discomfort from the rapid activation and deactivation. Nick turned his attention to Volupta and he blushed a bit from his bout of courage. "A-As you can clearly see... I am not some normal guy."

Volupta dropped to her knees, wrapping her hands around Nick's. "That was wonderful! Quite impressive! I... I didn't know human children were so... innovative!"

Tee raised a nervous finger. "Um... mistress. I do not believe he... likes when..."

Nick smiled, grinding his teeth together. "I-I... for the hundredth time... I am not, a kid..." The engineer let out a deep breath, knowing she probably didn't know better but it still made him really annoyed.

"Um... excuse me, Mistress... Volupta, Mr. Cauthon is 16, considered a teen by human terms. Being a kid culturally ends when they are thirteen and first hitting puberty, so... in the interest of your own health, and Mr. Cauthon's sanity, could you please cease calling him a kid?" Glitch asked politely, floating up to the Humilitia's mask.

Volupta stared forward for a few moments, suddenly reaching out and grabbing Glitch. "How... fascinating! Is this an example of human artificial intelligence? How does it stay afloat? What is the extent of its memory? Is it capable of emotions? Can I have one!?"

Tee placed his palm against his face. "Mistress... please..."

"U-Uh... Mr. Cauthon!" Glitch exclaimed, with a hint of urgency in his voice, a huge difference from his normal emotionless tone.

"Hey, don't grab him like that!" Nick urged, grabbing his assistant from the alien and letting him float up slowly. "You okay, buddy?"

Glitch shook his ball and said, "Yes... I believe I am fine, sir." Glitch floated down to the Sectoid. "Is your Mistress usually so..."

Tee nodded. "I am afraid so. As she said, she was secluded on a frozen planet for four cycles, in hiding. That is... fifty Earth years. She was not very good socially before hand from what I have heard from the older Sectoids and data files."

Volupta reached out for Glitch, then immediately pulled her hand back. "I... I apologize, young... I mean, Mr. Cauthon. I didn't break your delightful little device, did I?"

"N-No... I built him sturdy enough, but it is sort of a personal thing. I am really the only one he trusts touching his frame. I guess you could say it would be comparable of just someone walking up and grabbing you at random somewhere you wouldn't want, at least to him." Nick explained.

"Yes, it is nothing against you Mistress Volupta." Glitch affirmed, the A.I. turning back to Tee. "At least my master... er, at least my friend and your mistress have something in common with their social skills, but fifty years, you say? What ever caused her to do something like that?"

Volupta rubbed her wrists nervously. "Do... do you mind if we speak in private? I... feel uncomfortable speaking about it in the open. I know somewhere pleasant you might enjoy."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
The Oddest of Friends: Part Two

Nick blinked a few times, and he nodded his head. "Yeah, sure." Nick waited as Glitch floated up to his side and smiled. "Lead the way."

Volupta and Tee walked ahead, Nick and Glitch behind them and Noah reluctantly taking the rear. Arriving at the Hydroponics Bay, the Humiliata opened the door for her guests, displaying the lush environment of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and beautiful flowers. "Welcome to my personal paradise!"

Nick smiled slightly, turning around and faking a pleasant look to Noah. "I don't think we need you in here. If anything happens, I will just point a laser at them." Nick gave the guard a spiteful look as he closed and locked the door, sighing to himself as he shivered, not from being cold but from the surprising amount of heat. "Wow... it is... really warm in here. Reminds me of the greenhouse we had back on Venus..." Nick stated, looking around in wonder. "You did all this?"

"Someone had to. The place was a mess when I first got here." Volupta stepped forward, almost appearing to prance as she ran her hands across a batch of what appeared to be orange tulips. "This bay provides the ship with fresh produce, extra oxygen to supplement what we have, herbs for the medical bay, and flowers to liven up anyone's day. I..." Volupta stopped, slowly lowering her arms. "I missed all of this. On that... miserable ice ball of a planet, I had nothing. No yellows, no reds, and certainly no greens. Just... white."

"Yeah... you mentioned that before. What happened to you exactly?" Nick asked curiously, walking a bit fast to keep up with the graceful alien.

Volupta slowly turned around, reaching up to remove her mask. "Do... do you know about the Ethereal Subjugation War?"

"Wha... well, yeah. I learned about it a little bit. I-I mean when I went to public school it wasn't really taught and my mother... tended to avoid anything related to the war... I don't know why though. Were you... apart of the war? A soldier?" Nick asked cautiously. "A-And you can trust me! I mean... I wouldn't tell anyone if this stuff is sensitive for you... or if you would rather not talk about it, you don't have to, I'm just curious."

"No, Mr. Cauthon. I was in my seclusion during that time." Volupta placed her mask to the side, her youthful features racked with guilt. "I... I am an Ethereal. It was my people... who wrought such misery to your world... to so many worlds. I... when you mentioned you didn't... I did not mean to deceive you. Humiliata is simply what my people call themselves now."

"W-Well... Ethereal, Humiliata, it doesn't really matter to me what you are called. I mean, if you weren't in the war, the mistakes of a few of your race doesn't... necessarily define you, and you seem like a nice... well, I am guessing woman." Nick said, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "You created all of this, right? I don't think you are a bad person at all for what the Ethereals did."

Volupta's eyes slowly widened, and she suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Nick. "You're my best friend!" She frowned. "Besides Tee... and that Brigid lady... and that bug guy... and the soldiers that saved me... you're one of my top ten best friends!"

Nick's eyes widened himself and he blushed a bit, taking his hands out of his pockets and cautiously putting them around the Ethereal. "Thanks... I guess..." Nick chuckled nervously. "I-I don't really know what to say... not even Hestia isn't this clingy..."

Releasing Nick, the Humiliata remained crouched. "But I am getting off topic. The reason I was on that planet, right? Well... I'm afraid I angered too many officials with protests against the actions of my government, and fearing I'd expose them, I was hunted by them for many, many cycles. Eventually... after the loss of the last of my friends, I grew tired of my struggles to fight them, and... simply decided to hide. Little did I know your wonderful people defeated them two cycles ago."

Nick's face grew worried and he took a step back. "All of your friends... And you were stuck like that for fifty years..."

Volupta lowered her eyes. "Y... yeah. I... I had my Sectoids... but other then Tee, they... weren't the same as... as my comrades."

Nick stood there, looking at the Humiliata with a sad look, walking over and reaching for two of her hands. "I know how it feels to lose people close to you... Back home most of my friends were people like me, where their lives were uncertain. I lost the closest not too long ago... So I promise... You don't have to be lonely anymore. I will always be your friend." The teen promised, looking up with a comforting smile.

Volupta nodded, smiling back. "Okay. As long as you don't mind having a friend so much older then you."

"Oh, trust me... I have weirder friends than you..." Nick told Volupta, looking to the side.

"Am I weird Mr. Cauthon?" Glitch asked to his creator.

"No, you are just my best friend, you aren't really that weird." He assured the A.I. tapping the top of his shell. "Oh... which reminds me, I need to go back to my workshop with those parts." Nick remembered, going over to said container and opening the top up, making sure everything was accounted for. "Would you like to accompany me to my workshop?" He asked.

"That would be lovely." Volupta turned to her assistant. "Please remain here. I'll return shortly."

Tee vowed his head. "Yes mistress. Do be careful."

"Always," Volupta assured him.

Nick unlocked the door, grabbing his heavy load and walking out with his companion close behind. "We are going to engineering." He announced, walking without trying to show much discomfort, even though he knew his arms would feel like noodles later. Just please, don't be doing anything weird when I get there, Hestia.

"Would you like some assistance?" Volupta offered. "I am physically stronger then most Humiliata, and I do have four arms."

"Oh no, I got it..." Nick assured, smiling nervously. "I just sort of tripped before because I wasn't looking where I am going... I'm completely fine... Yeah..." As the engineer's arms began to shake a little he finally let out a sigh. "Okay, I need help..."

Volupta quickly ducked behind Nick, lifting the box and awkwardly carrying it behind him. "There is no shame in asking for assistance when you need it." Aware of the guard trailing behind them, she added in a low voice, "Even if you proved capable of caring for yourself in other facets."

"Yeah, I know. It still stinks I have troubles with even basic things." Nick left it at that, the group traveling in silence, all up until they arrived at the door to engineering.

"Hello, Nick. I see you are busy as usual." The guard noted, looking at his companions with a raised eyebrow but not bringing it up. "Malcom wanted me to tell you something about the special request you had being done and waiting in your workshop."

"Thanks, Bruce." Nick took out his work badge from his pocket and handing it to the man, Bruce quickly scanning it and handing it back. "Has Hestia been out at all?" The engineer asked, always doing it to make sure she stayed out of trouble ever since he allowed her to roam freely the engineering bay.

"Only once, but last I heard she went back cause she spilled some oil on herself." The guard informed him.

"Thanks for letting me know, you're a lifesaver." Nick waved for Volupta to follow him, running to his workshop to see what sort of trouble Hestia had gotten herself into. "You can wait outside again, Noah. In fact do whatever, not like she can leave without being stopped." The engineer quickly turned, not leaving any chance for argument and entered.

Noah narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Volupta entered and looked around at all the trinkets and projects laying about. "I see they keep you busy." She tilted her head slightly. "Who is this?" she asked, pointing at the blond 'child' wearing simple overalls, sitting in the corner and moping.

"She's uh... My uh... Uh..." Nick thought real quick for a cover story and finally said, "My sister!" The engineer sighed and he approached Hestia cautiously. "Hey..."

Hestia gave him a pouting look. "I... ruin my clothes. Alice is gonna be mad at me. Is... is master Nick mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not mad, Hestia..." Nick held out his arms and smiled. "Come here."

Hestia quickly rushed into his arms, squeezing him tightly. A little too tightly, but nothing to cause serious damage. "That is sweet," Volupta commented. "Am... am I allowed to call this one little one? Or is she also a 'teen'?" Hestia looked up at her, her eyes briefly flashing red.

"No, she is a kid..." Nick stroked her hair and raised an eyebrow. "Anything wrong?"

Hestia quickly pushed out of Nick's arms and stood between him and Volupta, staring angrily. "Ethereal detected. Protect Nick. Entering offensive mode."

Volupta took a step back. "Is... this some kind of game?"

"U-Uh... Yeah..., it's a game. You wouldn't believe it but my sister is big on being a war nut..." Nick laughed nervously and he went up behind Hestia, grabbing the back of her overalls and dragging her to the end of the room. "Sorry, this will only be a moment..." Nick stood Hestia in the corner and his face went from playful to confused. "What was that!? Volupta isn't an enemy you dunce!" He said in a loud whisper.

Hestia blinked several times in confusion. "M... Master Nick? That... that is an Ethereal. Hestia is programmed to protect you from it if one manages to break into the base! It is a very dangerous alien! We need to get you to safety!"

"W-What?" Nick asked confused, "Hestia, we are on a ship, not a base, and the Humiliata aren't dangerous... or at least that one isn't. You are also programmed to do what I say, and I say that the Ethereals or whatever you prefer are no danger, you hear me? I don't need any protection."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
The Oddest of Friends: Part Three

Hestia frowned, and placed her hand against her head, looking like she was hit with the most terrible headache. A moment later, she smiled again. "Yes sir, Master Nick! Hestia will not attack this Ethereal. She is Master Nick's friend!"

"Again with the Master..." Nick hung his head and let out a defeated sigh. "You know, I don't really care anymore, but look, when we have company like this, people who don't know about me or Alice, you have to act like my little sister, got it? Even though... the danger of being caught has slimmed down it would still be bad, okay?"

Hestia closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them again and smiled even wider. "Yes. You are big brother Nick!" She wrapped her arms around him again. "Hestia loves her big brother!"

"And Nick loves you too." Nick rubbed Hestia on her head, putting his arms under her and picking her up. His eyes widened at her surprising weight as he struggled tp bring her back over to Volupta. "Sorry, just had to remind Hestia of a few things, she is actually a sweet girl. Sorry if she... offended you or anything with her game."

"Oh, of course not!" Volupta crouched down in front of Hestia. "I might not have been around them much, but I remember the funny little games they play. Hello, Hestia! I'm Volupta."

"Hello Volupta. Big brother says I can't beat you up because you are nice, so you are Hestia's friend!"

"Isn't that nice." Volupta ruffled her hair, seemingly oblivious. "It is very nice to meet you."

You know... I always wanted to be popular and have a lot of friends but I never knew that entailed I would get a lot of interesting ones. "Well... it is good to see you two getting along. But... a question Hestia, where did you get the overalls? I always thought you had the one dress?" Nick asked, looking around and not seeing the clothing in sight.

"Alice made a copy of her atmospheric element condenser mechanism for me! Though mine is a lot simpler." Hestia looked down at her clothing. "Will this stain come out when I use it?"

"I don't know... isn't my machine so I don't know really what it can do." Nick also looked to the singular window next to the door. "I am really happy I keep the blinds down all the time..." The young engineer muttered.

Volupta chuckled to herself. "You keep quite the colorful assortment of friends. And quite the assortment of... I believe the word is 'gizmos'. What does this one do?" She motioned towards Cluncker.

"He is still a work in progress that is almost done. In fact some of the parts you helped carry are for him. Some of it is for a more... well personal project." Nick walked over and tapped Clunker with his hand as if a dig. "Clunker here is basically a SHIV on steroids. His tracks make him all terrain, he has a driving mode and battle mode... or at least he will have that... and he is an awesome thing for me to ride when he actually wants to work."

"Fascinating." The Humiliata looked around. "I believe your associate said something was brought here for you."

"Oh yeah, I had completely forgot!" Nick ran over to a drawer and pulled it open, taking out a box and placing it on a table, opening it up and taking out a metallic cube with numbers located on the 3 by 3 squares. "It is sort of like a Rubik's Cube except it uses the numbers 1 through 6 instead of colors, making it so you have to pay closer attention to what you are doing then just being lazy and looking at which color is where."

The entire cube was a light gray and metal, though the numbers themselves slightly stood out because they were colored black. "A friend gave me the idea for the concept a while ago but I... never really learned how to be able to make one properly before... it is weird, I can do all this complex stuff and could barely manage a toy... so I had my friend make it for me."

"Interesting device. Made for both enjoyment and challenge." Volupta's eyes danced across it. "It would likely take me several minutes to solve."

"W-Well... you must be quite intelligent. Most people get frustrated and quit." Nick took the cube back and ran his hand over for it. "I didn't really have a need for it, but it helps me take my mind off other matters since I have to concentrate more on what I am doing rather than whatever is bothering me. It is more therapeutic than anything."

"That is a very mature way of thinking." Volupta lifted the cube and started turning it, though it was obvious she wasn't really bothering to solve it. "When things trouble you, it is always a good idea to find something to... distract. Many are those much older then you that forget that. I... I wish I could have had something like as recreational means. I did have puzzles like this... but they were required of me to solve. To not be able to do so would be a disgrace to my prestigious family. No granddaughter of the High Commander would be incapable of solving such a simple puzzle in less then a derent..."

"High Commander?" Nick asked, confused at first until he remembered something from one of his earlier lessons about the war, the teen taking an involuntary step back as recollection came to him.

The Humiliata gave him a curious look, stepping forward. "Nick? Are you okay?"

"Y-You mean... your granddad was the one who... led the attack on Earth?" Nick said a little bit uneasy.

Volupta quickly turned away, hiding her expression. Rubbing her hands nervously, she said, "No... no, you are mistaken. My... my grandfather... he simply... he wanted to be the High Commander... so he always made us call him... he was only a... captain. I do not even think he was on Earth."

Nick crossed his arms, looking at the alien with a sad look. "You're lying... if we are friends, then you at least have to tell me the truth... the whole truth."

"No... no really!" She quickly opened the door. "I... I thought I saw... Kay!" Volupta ducked out, returning a few moments later with a Sectoid. "This is Kay. He has know me for ten years. Kay, tell this young man who my grandfather was." Kay, I need you to tell him...

Her grandfather was Thantos'Mictlanmacaria, former High Commander of the Ethereal Celestial Armed forces!

Volupta stared at him blankly for several seconds before mumbling, "Thank you, Kay... that will be all."

You're welcome, mistress. Kay bowed his head and took his leave.

Nick blinked a few times at the weird display, scratching his head and his face dropping. "So you really are related? Does that make you... super powerful or something? I can't use psionics so... I wouldn't know..."

Volupta hung her head in defeat. "No. Worry not." She sat down on the floor. "Nearly all Ethereals are quite decrepit in appearance. I am not because I found a way to rearrange my psionic pathways so my energy keeps my young. However, it takes up so much energy, I can do little more then Biokinesis. I will not put up a fight. But please... Tee was only trying to protect me. Do not hold it against him."

Nick was silent a few moment, his facing turning to sympathy and he slowly approached the Humiliata, wrapping his arms around her slender body.

Volupta cautiously wrapped her arms around him. "I... I do not understand. Aren't you going to report me?"

"Why would I? Last time I checked, your name wasn't Thanawhateverorsomething. So why should you receive any of his blame?" Nick told her comfortingly. "Besides... your my friend, I would never betray you like that. I was only worried cause I thought you were some famously strong psion or something..."

"Oh!" Volupta smiled, standing back up. "That I am not. My mother is... and my father and grandfather were until they died... and aunt Tiala is... but all I am famous for is annoying the hell out of my own people. Made trouble for them for many a cycle, I did." Her smile faded a bit. "I... am sorry I tired to deceive you."

"N-No! It is all fine, really. I mean, at least you came clean, right?" He asked, Nick's smile wide.

"Indeed." Volupta bowed her head. "Regardless, I would like to do you some kindness."

"W-What do you mean?" Nick asked, a little confused. "What could you do?"

Volupta thought for a moment. "Well... not much, I must admit. But I am quite the skilled doctor, and have been studying human physiology quite extensively since coming here. If you are ever in need of a doctor, but do not wish, or can not, go to the infirmary, you may call on me for assistance."

"Oh... well... you see... I... already sort of have someone I have for my doctor, two actually..." Nick said, rubbing the back of his neck a little embarrassed to be admitting it, but mostly to cover the plate on the back of his neck so the Humiliata would not see it.

"I see." Volupta tapped her cheek in thought, and simply shrugged. "Well... I'll think of something. At the very least, please use the hydroponics bay if you ever need a place to escape to that is surrounded by beauty."

"Alright, you got it." Nick smiled and hugged the alien one last time. "It was nice meeting you, and I hope you make lots of friends, alright? You are a nice person, so I think it will be easy."

"I hope you are right." Volupta knelt down and patted Hestia on the head. "Have a good day, little one."

"Bye bye!" Hestia returned.

"Better go make sure Tee isn't pacing back and forth in worry. I hope to see you again soon, Nick." Volupta hurried out.

Hestia slowly turned to Nick. "So... should I beat up all the other Ethereals, Big Brother Nick?"

"No! Don't beat up anyone unless I tell you too!" He told her, probably a bit more harsh than he intended.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
The Oddest of Friends: Part Four

Hestia's eyes widened, and she crouched down, sobbing. "B... big brother is mad at Hestia!"

"What, no!" Nick crouched down right in front of Hestia and he smiled, "See, I'm not mad."

Hestia sniffed. "R-really? Because... Hestia promises to be good."

"No, you are fine just the way you are. You are just don't know any better... that's all." Nick reached out and rubbed Hestia's head. "You know I love you, Hestia..."

Hestia smiled. "I love you too, Big Brother Nick."

Nick nodded, giving Hestia a big hug and standing up with her. "Where did you put your dress anyways, Hestia? You did change in here... right?" He asked a little worried she would do it out in the open and reveal herself as a robot.

Hestia giggled. "Ms. Alice took it for safe keeping. I told you, silly. She gave me a simplified atmospheric element condenser mechanism." Hestia's clothes momentarily disintegrated, leaving her in a modest pair of underclothes for a few seconds before they reformed into a dress similar to the one she had before. She raised a finger, and in an insistent voice, said, "But Ms. Alice said I can only change in front of her or Big Brother Nick."

"Good... I do not want to explain why my little sister can just automatically disintegrate her clothes and reform another pair." Nick went over to his box, going through his stuff when a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Hestia... what will you do when we are finally done with all of this pirate stuff and my term here finally ends?"

Hestia tilted her head slightly. "I will... do what Ms. Alice programs me to do. What... does Big Brother want me to do?"

"Well... I do enjoy your company a lot Hestia, but in the end... you do belong to Alice. Not really my place to say." He told her honestly, adding in a low tone so she couldn't hear, "Even if I did say something else, she would just blindly agree to it... it really is a shame like that..."

Hestia watched Nick work for a few moments, shuffling her feet a bit. "Um..." She looked to the floor. "Hestia... know she is... only programmed to like Nick... but I would like to stay with Nick. To... to like Nick because... because Hestia wants to like Big Brother Nick..."

Nick blinked a bit in surprise, looking at Hestia with widened eyes when he finally processed what he heard. "W-What... did you say?"

Hestia didn't look up. "I... I want to like Nick on my own... not because of Hestia's programming..."

Nick began to feel his eyes water up, his mouth hanging open. "I-I... well..." Nick walked forward and got down on a knee, kissing the robot girl on the head. "W-Well Hestia... if that is truly how you feel, then... I promise, I will get you to that point. I mean it should be easy. You already have the base down perfect... a little tweaking and you could think your own thoughts... without any impediment, and you can truly decide, okay?"

Hestia slowly nodded. "But... but Hestia's A.I. is not as advanced as Alice. Or even Glitch..."

"Well... no reason I can't play with your noggin a bit and fix that." Nick smiled as he knocked on her forehead playfully. "Only if you want it though."

"That would be fine. But what would..."

The door opened, and Hesita's big sister stepped in. "Nick, someone told me you were carrying a really... heavy..." She looked between Hestia and Nick, the latter still on one knee, and grinned. "You proposing, Nick? 'Cause I have to warn you... she's only meant to be ten."

Nick blushed hard, his entire face a deep red and he shook his head furiously, standing up and pointing at Alice. "W-What are you... what are you t-talking about, Alice! You of all people should know... that..." He turned to look back at Hestia and his face felt on fire. "Y-You idiot!" He told Alice, crossing his arms.

"Idiot!" Hestia yelled as well, mimicking Nick. Alice only giggled, walking to her desk to continue her work.

Nick growled at Alice, turning around and looking through one of his drawers, taking out a pair of fuzzy pajama pants and a white shirt. "You keep getting back latter and latter Alice. I hope you are spending more time with that guy who likes you rather than throwing yourself into your work again." Nick placed the clothes on one of the metal tables and began zipping off his winter coat.

Alice shook her head. "Um... I'm afraid it's the latter. I offered to take a second shift in the flight bays."

"Will you stop with that?" Nick asked, his voice sounding a little worried. "Just because the new Commander is a bit more understanding, doesn't mean you still don't need to take your cover seriously... I mean, what normal person could work the amount you do and not look like they got hit by a semi? Sorry, but you still look pretty well to me." He took off his coat, folding it and placing it to the side, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and pulling it up.

"I... I could probably adjust my physique to reflect that. I mean... admittedly, even I succumb to overworking after a while." Alice turned her head, then immediately looked away. "U-uh..."

Nick looked down and sighed, just shaking his head and blushing a bit. "Just look, Alice. Like I said, I don't have much to hide from you... you are easier to be around, and I trust you... don't worry." Nick finished taking off his shirt and he folded it up, placing it to the side and grabbing the clean one.

Alice slowly looked back. "I... I'm sorry. Remember, my modesty isn't programmed. I developed it myself. Not... not that you have anything... to be ashamed... of..."

Even though Nick's outward appearance was usually small and unintimidating, underneath, his muscle had a little definition, but nothing at all spectacular, the teen unfolding his clean shirt and beginning to slip it on. "It's fine... and trust me... you are the only one I could do this in front of..."

Alice eyes darted back and forth, and her face dropped. "Oh... is that the case..." She turned back to her work. "I see..."

Nick paused as his shirt came on fully and he tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

Alice slowly rolled up the blueprints she had been looking over. "Y-yeah. Just... you know. I... I'm an adult woman... or at least, modeled after one. So... normally you'd feeling uncomfortable changing around one... unless she... was an..."

"Alice!" Nick exclaimed, his face scrunching up a bit but the engineer sighing and taking a deep breath. "Look... yes, I won't lie that I am not a little comfortable around you because of what you are... because I am. You know I have an easier time with synthetics... but it is more complex than that. It's because you're a friend, probably my closest now... and because I respect you, and because you have taught me so much... no one but you and Hestia have completely earned those from me, Glitch aside. Don't... don't act like I treat you different because of that..." He said in a low tone of voice. "Because that isn't the case... Alice..."

Alice looked back again, smiling. "You're right. Sorry, Nick. I guess I'm just being paranoid. I'll make sure to watch that in the future."

Nick nodded, having a strangely sad look on his face on as he quickly undid his pants, grabbing his pajama bottoms before actually pulling them down and revealing just a pairnof blue boxers before he quickly replaced them with the second pair. "There..." He whispered.

Following his lead, Hestia changed her clothing to a childish set of light blue pajamas, decorated with cartoonish chryssalids. "Well... if it's bedtime..." Alice changed into her sleeping wear as well, or lack thereof, simply removing her work clothes. Now wearing nothing but a matching red pair of bra and panties, she finished typing on her laptop before closing it.

Nick found his face in a deep shade of red, the young engineer almost unable to take his eyes away, letting out a deep breath he didn't realize he had been holding in.

"Alright. I suppose I should follow your advice and..." Alice looked back at Nick. "Is... is it too much?"

"U-Uh... W-W-Well... I-I mean... Y-You look... Really..." Nick tried to divert his eyes to the side as if he had seen nothing, holding his hands together low. "I-I mean... J-Just..."

Alice sighed, and formed a tank top and a pair of shorts. "Sorry, Nick. I... I guess that show how highly you view me. I've had other men question why I bother with clothes around them at all. You... you're really sweet, you know that?"

"I-I'm not... Well... Thanks, Alice... I guess everyone else is too blind to see... Just how... You know... Pretty you are..." Nick's face was still the color of beets, and he turned around to get the cot out, only removing his hands after he had turned around, and sliding the bed out, and quickly getting on it, being sure he kept his back towards Alice so she didn't see the other reason why he was so embarrassed.

Alice watched him for a few moments with a smile. She got up and flipped off the lights, crawling into Hestia's bed with the small android. "Goodnight, Nick."

"G-Goodnight... Alice." Nick said, staring at the wall before finally remembering. "Oh, goodnight, Hestia."

"Goodnight... Big... Brother..." Hestia said in a soft voice. Alice raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as her systems went into sleep mode.

 

[BMPixy]

“I Have Lost Control of My Life”
In Orbit of Forseti; Aboard the Einherjar
1132 Local Time; March 16, 2044 / 61.3136
Soldier Rec Room

“You, human!” It was that shout that cut through the post-new wave jazzcore that was filtering through Elicia’s headphones, prompting her to glance up from the eclectic mix of neurology books and notes spread in front of her and remove her earbuds.

“Can I help you?” Elicia asked, examining the alien before her, while silencing her music with her left hand.

“Indeed you can, human,” the alien replied, lowering their head slightly. “I am Osahar cin Ankhor, of the Badka caste. Inquiring as to your name?”

“Elicia. Elicia Ensslin,” the medic replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. “What can I help you with?”

“I have been tasked by my superior to increase relations with those of your kind, among others,” Osahar explained. “I have noted that you, Elicia Elicia, are adept at doing so, at least in all observed contexts.”

“You’ve been spying on me?” Elicia asked, her expression changing from one of curiosity to concern.

“No, not spying, I am not Hibaya,” Osahar replied defensively, tilting her head upwards. “Merely observing, determining who best to approach.”

Yeah, because that’s totally different… Elicia deadpanned internally. Shaking her head, she said, “Whatever. So, what is it that you wanna know?”

“How to, quotation, ‘Quit being such a racist, learn to respect the xenos despite their history, and maybe even try to make some friends outside of your species’,” Osahar said matter-of-factly, as if she were reading off a list of chores.

“Yeesh,” Elicia said nervously, rubbing the back of her neck slightly. “Tall order.”

“Are you claiming incapability of assisting me?” the Seikron asked, a hint of disappointment slipping into her voice.

“No no, just that…” Elicia paused for a moment, putting on a sheepish grin. “That’s not exactly the kind of knowledge that you just casually impart.”

“Are you attempting to extort payment from me?” Osahar asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“No no-”

“Very well. I shall purchase this knowledge off of you for twenty-two favors from myself or members of my social network.” Quickly pulling a handful of small disks out of her belt, the Seikron laid them down on the table. “I suppose that is sufficient payment?”

“Ah,” Elicia said, caught a bit off guard by Osahar’s actions, “no, that will not b-”

“Very well, you drive a hard bargain. Thirty.” To accentuate the offer, Osahar laid down a few more of the disks.

“You don’t need to pay me, Osahar,” Elicia finally managed to say. “What I meant was that it’s not one little tidbit of knowledge that you just drop off. It’s a whole complex system of changing your worldview and things. For instance, you wouldn’t be able to explain the inner workings of your culture right off the top of your head, right?”

“I have made it clear that I am Badka, not Hibaya.”

“If I knew what either of those were, I wouldn’t make that mistake,” Elicia replied.

“Badka are soldiers, Hibaya are diplomats. Dhulka are engineers and scientists, and Wahada are pilots and starship crew,” Osahar explained.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind, but my point still stands,” the Anglo-German said. “You’re dealing with systems of such complexity that it’s not something you can straight up study, unless you’re trying for a degree or something. It’s either something you just gotta be born into, or throw yourself into it without any hesitation and deal with your fuck-ups as you make them.”

“So how would I, quotation, ‘throw myself into it’, as you say?” Osahar asked.

“I’unno,” Elicia replied with a shrug. “You just start talking, and hope for the best. Find some topic of common interest, converse about it, and let the conversation take it where you may. Eventually you form friendships given enough time.”

“That’s it?” Osahar asked incredulously. Upon seeing the medic’s nod, the Seikron groaned annoyedly. “Any first sonada student could have told me that. I thought you humans had some specific set of subtle communications based on the twitches of that substance on your scalp, or something following those segments.”

“I think you mean ‘along those lines’,” Elicia said. “And besides, the truth is often a lot simpler than people think. After all, lies have to be elaborate messes to cover all possible bases and lines of questioning. The truth doesn’t have to worry about that.”

“So, on that note, would you say we are now ‘friends’?” Osahar queried.

“Eh, bit too soon for that, I’d say,” Elicia replied, twirling the pencil in her hand unconsciously. “More like just acquainted with each other. We’d have to get to know each other a bit more before we start calling each other buddies, y’know?”

“You humans have too many words describing relationships,” the Seikron bemoaned, letting loose a brief sigh. “All we need it just enza, yata, and rikima.”

“And those mean…?”

“They refer to the three levels of familiarity. Enza refers to one of your caste who you are not acquainted with, yata refers to one of your caste who you are acquainted with, and rikima refers to one of your caste who you are friendly with,” Osahar exclaimed.

“No word for a lover?” Elicia asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“What’s a lover?” the MEC trooper replied, her tone representing her confusion.

 

[BMPixy]

“It’s, ah…” Elicia began, her face flushing slightly. “It’s someone you care deeply for, above and beyond friendship, enough so that you would spend your life with them and perhaps even… have kids with.”

“You humans require special bonds to breed?”

“You guys don’t?”

“No,” Osahar said, flicking her whiskers in confusion. “We merely find someone who is also seeking to breed and has the desired traits, perform the act, then go our separate ways. For instance, I have not spoken to the Aliilaye who fathered my children in over two dozen sonada.”

“Really?” Elicia asked, before her eyes widened and she sat back hastily. “Wait, you’re a mother!?”

“Yes, of two daughters,” Osahar confirmed. “They should likely be entering proper service soon enough, though I have not bothered to check upon them.”

“Yeesh, hands-off parent, are you?” the Anglo-German deadpanned.

“You say that as if there were any other way to handle children,” Osahar replied.

“Yeah. You could, I’unno, keep up with them and their accomplishments? I mean, I’m sure it’d mean a lot to them if they got a message from their ma asking how they’re doing.”

“Why should I do that? My mother did not inquire upon me, and her mother did not inquire upon her, and so forth for dozens upon dozens of generations.”

“Call me a bit human-centric, but that seems a little bit fucked up to me,” Elicia said. “I mean, human parents are involved in their children’s lives for at a minimum eighteen years, unless something happens.”

Osahar was silent as she did the mental calculations, before suddenly exclaiming, “You spend that long on your children!? That’s longer than I’ve been alive!”

“You’re not even eighteen yet!?” Elicia exclaimed in response. “What the hell are you doing as part of a warrior caste?”

“Serving my race proudly on the battlefield, as I have for the past twelve of your years!” Osahar groaned angrily. “Don’t tell me, your race doesn’t allow military service before the age of eighteen.”

“Yeah, pretty much, ‘cause we’re not adults until that time,” Elicia explained.

“And you expect all races to conform to the same standards of maturation ages as yours?” Osahar asked, annoyance present in her voice.

“Well you’re a large species, just thought it’d take you a while for you to get to that size,” Elicia defended.

“We are considered adults after five of your years, and are finished growing by age eight. We are dead, on average, by fifty-one,” Osahar said, folding her arms over her chest.

“Oh…” Elicia replied, slightly crestfallen. “That’s an awfully short time...”

“It could have been worse. Only a few thousand Sonada ago, I would have been pushing the upper limits of lifespan,” Osahar said simply. “Such is the life of the Seikronyr.”

“Sounds harsh…” Elicia noted, before glancing up at the clock and suddenly perking up with an expression of panic. “Oh scheiße! Almost my holo-room time!” Quickly she began gathering all of her books and notes, and stuffing them into her bag.

“You have holo-rooms as well?” Osahar asked.

“Yeah, and if I don’t hurry, I’m gonna miss the time I scheduled! Later, Osahar!” Elicia said, standing from her chair, throwing her bag over her shoulder, and legging it out of the rec room at a near sprint.

Well… at least it didn’t end in me being thrown in the brig for striking another, Osahar mused silently. I shall call that a successful… third attempt, I suppose. And here I thought three was unlucky.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Long Time no See

Forseti, Tanaka Residence
March 16th, 2044
1600 Hours

Mimi tossed her bag on the table, mumbling to herself. "New adventure in the great unknown... same schools." She grabbed a soda from the fridge in the kitchen, snapping it open as walked into the living room. "Mom, you home? If school calls, that fathead Aribeth was making fun of me for having two moms again, so I had to..." She stopped suddenly, going wide-eyed at the sight of Rei sitting next to Hitomi. "M... mama Rei! I... when did you... get here?"

"About five minutes ago." Rei stood up and approached her daughter. "You had to do what?"

Like a young Hitomi, Mimi smiled sheepishly and placed her hands behind her head. "I had to pull her aside and calmly explain to her how she shouldn't make fun of people for having different home lives." Under her breath, she added, "Especially when your own parents are two different species."

Rei sighed, and placed her hands on Mimi's shoulders. "Dear, please. What did we say about all this fighting. You're ten years old, and you've already been in more confrontations then over-testosteroned men twice your age."

"Didn't stop mama Hitomi when she was a kid," Mimi mumbled.

"And I hope she is using that fact to teach you better," Rei responded, shooting her wife a cold look, and getting a familiar grin in response.

Mimi scoffed, pushing her mother's hands off her shoulders and turning around. "Please tell me you didn't decide to visit us over the vastness of space just so you could lecture me."

"No... I didn't." Rei hugged her daughter from behind. "I've decided to come live with you past the vastness of space so I can lecture you."

Mimi quickly turned, looking into Rei's eyes. "What are you... do you mean it this time?"

Rei nodded, running her hand across Mimi's cheek. "I do. And we'll discuss it over dinner. For now, I'd like to see your brother."

Mimi smiled brightly, rushing into the room she shared with him. "Yoshi, get up! Mama Rei's home!"

A few minutes later, Yoshi stepped into the living room, assisted by his sister. He wore his usual pajamas, and wiped the sweat from his brow and the sleep from his eyes. "H-hi... mom. It... it's been a while."

"Too long," Rei wrapped her arms tightly around him, and helped him to the couch. "How have you been, son?"

"O-okay, I guess," He answered. "Just... tired."

Hitomi scooted close to the pair. "Yoshi has only missed about three and a half weeks of school this year. He probably should have stayed home more, but there was someone he wanted to see at school."

Rei smiled broadly. "Oh? Who's that?"

"N-no one." Yoshi's cheeks reddened more then usual. "Sh-she's just... teasing."

"Oh?" Mimi leaned in close, grinning at her brother. "So I suppose the fact that Landa is over every other day means nothing, huh?"

"Stop!" Yoshi buried his face in a pillow, mumbling, "She's just a friend."

"Well, I want to hear all about her over dinner." Rei grasped Yoshi's hands. "And maybe next year, you'll get to spend every school day with her." She placed her forehead against his. "The Einherjar has some excellent facilities, and I was able to figure out a few things about your condition. I don't want to get your hopes up, but..." Rei's smile was mirrored by her son's, and she sat back. "More things to discuss over dinner. Mimi, help your brother get dressed. We'll leave when you two are ready."

Again, Mimi helped her weakened brother to their room. He turned back at the top of the stairs, and said, "I-I forgot... Landa was coming over t-today."

"Excellent." Rei folded her hands. "She can join us." Yoshi nodded, blushing again as he walked off to his room. Rei rubbed her chin in thought. "A Tamearin lab tech on the Einherjar is named Landa. Is Yoshi's friend..." She was cut off when Hitomi planted her lips on Rei's, pushing her and pinning her on the couch. "H-Hitomi, please. The kids..."

"Will be a while." Hitomi simply made out with her wife for a while, the two lost in the touch of each other, it having been too long. Moving down to Rei's neck, Hitomi said between kisses, "What are thinking, you idiot? What about your company?"

Rei sighed. "We have a Forseti branch set to have construction start before the end of the year. I'll stay with the Einherjar until their mission is done, transfer to the surface when it is time for them to head home, and stay there until it is time to move back to the company."

Hitomi sat up, resting on Rei's waist. "But you can't be the CEO all the way out here."

"I don't need to be the CEO," Rei responded, here face the picture of seriousness.

Caught a bit off guard, Hitomi leaned over until their noses were inches apart. "But Rei... your dream..."

Rei shook her head. "My dream was to start my own successful company, which I have done, use my talents to advance several fields of science, which I have done, and make enough money to give my family all they want..." Rei looked around the very spacious living room of the very spacious, three story house. "...which I have done. The only thing left is enjoying it with my family."

Hitomi smiled widely. "Can't argue with you, can I? I think I've won, what, one argument since we've been together?"

Rei nodded. "And that was the most important one; I've never regretted saying yes." The pair continued making out, not stopping until a yelp from an orange-haired Tamearin girl caught them off guard. Separating, even the usually stoic Rei couldn't help but blush when she said, "So... you must be Landa..."

--------------------

The Einherjar, Near Main Engineering
1700 Hours

Alice let out a yelp as someone dragged her into a side room. By the time she got her bearings, she was facing down the barrels of two pulse pistols, held by a pair of suits, a tall woman with short black hair, and a shorter, heavier-set man with short brown hair. Both wore matching pairs of sunglasses, and a matching pair of scowls.

"Are you sure this is the one?" The man asked.

"She matches the description," the woman answered. "Sure was heavy enough."

"I thought women found it rude to comment on their weight," the man remarked.

"Good thing it isn't a human then."

"Good point. Sure fools the eyes."

"You falling in love?"

"Nah. Tried it with an inanimate object once. Didn't work out."

"I don't even want to know."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Alice placed her hands behind her head, mainly to reach the transmitter switch on her neck. She would need a few seconds to connect with it, though, as well as to power up her weapons. "Whoever you think I am, I'm not.."

"You are the A.L.I.C.E. Artificial intelligence," the woman interrupted.

"Invented by Dr. Sonya Randolf when she was ten," continued the man.

"Upgraded during her time in XCOM, given an android body in 2018."

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Who are you? Were you sent by... are you here to take me?"

"Who we are is of little consequence."

"I thought we were going to give it fake names."

"Which would be of little consequence as well, so why bother."

"I suppose that is true. As for why we are here..."

The pair spun around at the sound of the door opening. Seeing no one enter, Alice having opened it remotely, they turned back, only to have Alice shoot their weapons out of their hands with the plasma pistols built into her index fingers. "Now talk!" the android woman yelled. "Who sent you?!"

"Are you okay?"

"Little numb. Don't think it was sprained. You?"

"Small burn. I'll live. She could have warned us."

"She probably didn't on purpose. You know how she feels about it."

"I suppose you're right."

Alice rolled her eye. "You two are really starting to annoy me. Talk!"

"Not very patient, is it?"

"We were holding guns to it."

"I suppose. Here."

The man slowly, carefully, reached into his coat and pulled out a computer pad. Alice cautiously took it, her eyes darting between it and the pair as it lit up.

On the screen was her friend and creator, Sonya Randolf, the same loving smile on her face that she had for the past twenty-five years. "Alice... I'm sorry. I've been trying to get a hold of you for years, and now that you've come to me... now I'm the one that can't be reached. But not for long. We'll see each other soon, I promise. For now, I'm kinda... working on something I can't get away from, so I sent these two jokers to bring this message. I hope they didn't embarrass themselves too much."

Alice chuckled. "You know... if you guys had just told me from the start that..." Alice looked up, surprised to find the two suits, including their weapons, were gone. She looked around in confusion for a moment before Sunny resumed.

"Of course, I'm not one to turn down a request from a friend. Along with this message is the schematics for my implants, now, when they were first put in, and every time I've had them upgraded. I hope they can help that young friend of yours. If he's anything like you described him, I look forward to meeting him myself some day soon.

"I also included the plans for those new combat droids we discussed." Sunny rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I must admit a bit of... discomfort working on them, given my fears. It is a good thing you don't share them. I hope they'll help the XSDF... though that Commander you mentioned seems... a bit high strung. Be careful with her."

Sunny closed her eyes for a moment. "I... I miss you, Alice. Do you remember... when we were young, growing up with Emily and Jack? You'd use your young body, and we'd pretend we were mother and daughter. Well... over the years..." Sunny bit her lip. "I never... had time for anyone... romantically. Never had time for a family. B-but it never m-mattered to me, because... i-in my eyes... I already had... h-had a... daugh..." She wiped her eyes, trying to keep her smile. "A-anyway, I-I should g-get back to w-work. The s-sooner I finish... the sooner I-I get to see you. Um... t-talk to you s-soon."

The screen went blank before a series of schematics came up. Wiping her own eyes, Alice noted the display saying Sunny's message was being deleted, and quickly hit cancel.

--------------------

The Einherjar, Main Rec Room
1800 Hours

Korra stopped suddenly, nearly falling over at the sight of the Tamearin sitting at the bar. She quickly turned around, hoping she was mistaken, hoping he hadn't sensed her, and quickly headed for the exit.

"Mayjehk cu cuuh? Ymfyoc dra nita uha..." (Leaving so soon? Always the rude one...)

"Damn it," Korra muttered. All this time, and he still know exactly what to say...

With a reluctant sigh, Korra made her way to the bar and sat down. The Tamearin next to her shared her shade of red hair, along with many of her other physical features, even her feminine ones. Korra asked for a ginger ale, having developed a taste for it from Brigid. The man gave her a side ways glance. "Ymm drec desa ybynd, yht oui fuh'd ajah cryna y kmycc uv Tamearin yma fedr sa?" (All this time apart, and you won't even share a glass of Tamearin ale with me?)

"Well, excuse me, Prince. But I never saw you as even wanting to share a drink with me." Korra glared at him. "And the majority of the crew here is human. Pick a human language and speak that. Anything we say, I'm not afraid of sharing."

"Always so emotional. You would think the military would have helped with that, at least a little." The man took a drink. "Well? Go ahead and ask it. I'll answer it."

Korra folded her arms. Now I need your permission to ask questions? "Why are you here, Geshtal? Why now?"

Geshtal took another slow drink, still not looking at her. "Mother and father are ambassadors... I do hope you remember that. And since you are obviously incapable of following in their... footsteps, I believe is the human expression... it falls to me. I am the representative of the Tamearin Embassy on Forseti. So expect to see more of me then either of us care for..."

Korra snared at him, her eye twitching. "You know... for someone who is so proud of their emotional control... for someone who puts me down for lacking that control, you sure have a vindictive way of talking to me."

Geshtal finally turned to look at his sister. "Please, do not take my words the wrong way. I am only being honest. I truly do wish for your continued safety. Have you been as sexually active as usual?"

"N-n... none of your business!" Korra chugged her soda, wishing she had gone with the ale after all.

"As I said, I am only worried for your safety. With your propensity for mating with every man you meet, I feared you might be pregnant, or caught some terrible disease."

Korra scoffed. "I'm fine. It was during the lowest point from my..." Korra clamed up, flabbergasted that she had actually just said that.

"I see." Geshtal turned to face forward again. "I do hope you were careful. I'm sure this man you mated with is likely not be as clean as he might have claimed. And remember that humans can be awfully jealous. When he finds out about all the other men on the side, he might..."

Korra stood up, calmly pouring the rest of her drink over his head. "Thank you for the concern, dear brother. Until next time." She took the drink out of his hand, pouring it over his head as well before walking out.

Geshtal pulled out a handkerchief, wiping himself off and waving down the bartender. "May I have a fresh drink, please."

 

[BMPixy]

“Big Blind”
In Orbit of Forseti; Aboard Einherjar Shuttle C
1004 Local Time; March 18th, 2044
En Route to the Einherjar

With a gentle sigh, Ayako placed the last few dossiers back into their respective folders, returning them into the small leather bag she had reserved for paperwork. She ran a hand through her hair briefly, closing her eyes to try and relieve some of the strain she had put upon them over the past several hours. “Not even there yet, and I’m already dealing with more paperwork than I’d ever thought,” she said aloud, to no-one in particular.

“If you think you have it rough, imagine how I must have it.” A female voice said, a bit aways from Ayako but the person the voice belonged to walking over and taking a vacant seat next to the engineer. “Last week I was on just a cozy security detail on the Moon… and now I am back in the hotseat again. Feels a little surreal.”

“Preaching to the choir, sister,” Ayako replied, cradling her forehead slightly, before extending her other hand to the other woman. “Doctor Ayako Henderson, Head of Engineering. And you might be…?”

The woman took her hand and smiled warmly. “Viviana Sousa… I guess you could say I am the new acting Lieutenant Commander.” Viviana sighed and sat back, rubbing the palm of her metallic hand.

“That arm…” Ayako trailed off, gesturing to the limb in question. “Did you get it by necessity or by choice?”

“Oh, this.” Viviana pulled down her sleeve showing the arm was still there, just the hand missing. “I lost it on a… well, let’s just say a mission sort of went unexpectedly and I got it caught in a bear trap. Took two guys to pry my hand free but by that point it was so mangled and prime for infection it couldn’t be saved… so, I had to get it replaced in order to keep leading.” Viviana reached up and touched one of the scars on her face. “I’ve taken a lot of beatings over the years… but, I keep them around… both for the memories and for the fact they come in handy scaring people of lower rank into doing what I say more often.”

“Yeah, I can see how that’d be useful in your line of work,” the Afro-Asian replied. “Unfortunately in my business all a scar does is show how many times you got a bit too close to a bandsaw for your own good. You generally don’t keep those kinds, at least as far as I’ve seen.”

“Yes, I see your point. Also tends to keep the men away as well… though I’ve come to basically accept if they can’t handle the face, then they can’t handle me.” Viviana put her hands behind her head and leaned back as if to get comfortable for the ride.

“Ah, were I so lucky to have that kind of litmus test back in the day,” Ayako said wistfully, glancing up at the ceiling lights. “Would have certainly kept a lot of creeps off my back.”

“I met a man, had a kid with said man, then lost a man. Henry is really the only one I need now… even though he is all the way back home with my sister. You’d be surprised when siblings actually come in handy. Got any of your own?” The Lieutenant Commander asked.

“Yeah, two younger sisters - fraternal twins - back home, mooching off the parents and working through college,” the engineer replied, her smile making it evident her mocking was purely in jest. “Now that I think about, I almost feel sorry for my dad. Had to spend the last twenty-five years of his life in a massive sphere of feminine energy, no wonder he spent so much time at the dojo.”

Viviana giggled and nodded, “My brother used to complain about the same thing…” The woman’s face flashed a moment with sadness but her smile soon returned. “Just goes to show how much superior we are.”

“Yeah, I mean you don’t hear me complaining about how ninety-five out of every hundred of my colleagues is a guy,” Ayako replied, not noticing the brief shift in expression. “We deal better with people, handle things more rationally, and to top it off we’re all pre- I mean, uh, you know what, never mind.” Ayako shook her head, mentally chiding herself for her near slip of the tongue.

Viviana did notice her slip up, rubbing her chin and leaning against Ayako. “What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing, just my tongue working faster than my brain,” Ayako hastily lied. Quickly seeking to change the subject, she asked, “So, you said you had a son? How old is he?”

The Portuguese woman narrowed her eyes, not seeming like it would be the last Ayako heard of her. “Yes, I do and he is 14 currently. I do hope he stays out of trouble. Lord knows I couldn’t when I was his age…”

“Ah, I never really had that kind of problem growing up,” Ayako said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “Your ma being a psychic sniper and your dad being a shinobi tends to discourage you from sneaking out late at night or ‘borrowing’ the car, you know?”

“No, I wouldn’t but your parents do sound like interesting people. I assume they fought in the war, then?” Viviana asked.

“Mhm,” Ayako confirmed. “Both of them were even involved in the storming of the Temple Ship, and my mother managed to actually deal a wound to their leader. What about you, you have any relatives involved with that?”

“My father was a security guard when the war broke out. He was killed during one of XCOM’s base assaults. After the war ended, it prompted me to join up. Just had an unusual knack for killing things, I guess.” She stated nonchalantly.

The engineer grinned nervously at that last statement. “Ah, really? Never really had much stomach for that kind of thing myself, to be honest. Couldn’t even step on a spider without a pang of guilt. Guess that’s why I build weapons, not shoot them.”

“Trust me, I didn’t have the stomach at first either, but unfortunately, it is something you get used to with time.” Viviana reached into her jacket and took out a metallic case, opening it up and taking out a cigar. “I won’t tell anyone if you won’t.” She stated as she put it in her mouth and lit it, blowing the smoke away from Ayako.

“Ah, no thanks, I don’t smoke,” Ayako replied, “especially knowing what kind of hazards that has on a starship like this one.”

“What is life without a little hazard?” Viviana simply asked as she glanced over to the engineer’s direction. “Now… what was that you were trying to spill out before?”

“Something that’d be more than a little hazard,” Ayako answered, glancing away from Viviana. “Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”

“Oh, come now… we are the only ones here… will do good to share some secrets with one another.” The Lieutenant Commander smiled mischievously. “Besides… I, if I remember correctly… outrank you, and as your commanding officer right now, I order you to spill.”

“This kind of behavior has gotta be against regulations…” Ayako muttered exasperatedly, rubbing her forehead. “Fine, fine, you win. I was just gonna say that women are, on average, more appealing to the eye than men. Happy?”

“Hm… swing both ways do we?” She asked, casually puffing out another bout of cigar smoke. “I can respect that.”

“More like neither way,” Ayako corrected, her face flushing slightly. “I just have… a bit of an eye for aesthetics, that’s all.”

“You don’t need to lie to me, I know how to keep a secret. I used to be a little loose when I was younger… more beautiful without the facial additions.” Viviana sighed. “But I have a son back home, and unfortunately my opportunities for such have declined as well.”

“While I appreciate the look into your love life,” Ayako replied, “you have to understand, I am not lying. Experimenting with sexuality was Hanako’s thing, not mine. I firmly insist - may my mother strike me down with a tungsten round travelling at six thousand meters per second were I to lie - that I do not swing for either team.”

Viviana raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press any further. The two sat in silence for a few moments until the doors to the back of the shuttle opened, noise of conversation pouring through as it was the more heavily occupied section as a guy walked in, carrying a messenger bag on his shoulder. The doors closed and he took a spot across from Ayako and Viviana, not saying anything to either of them as he proceeded to take out a laptop.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Big Blind Part Two

Ayako let out a relieved sigh at the newcomer’s presence, glad for the distraction from the Lt. Cmdr’s incessant prodding. “So, what brings you up to our lonely part of the ship?” she asked to the man, leaning back in her seat slightly.

The man looked up from his laptop screen a second and he answered with, “No real reason, it is just hard to type with recruits bumping into you.”

“Yeah, I can see how that’d be troublesome,” Ayako said. “Reminds me of my commute to the stardocks in Normandy, trying to handle ship manifests in a cramped train isn’t the best way of making sure you hold on to everything.”
“I use everything digitally. Much easier than actual paperwork.” He stated, looking down at his laptop and typing in a few things before sighing and closing it. “Done…”

“Yeah, but I’m more the type where I like to have a physical copy in my hands,” Ayako replied with a shrug. “Plus if things go pear-shaped I can ensure that paperwork is thoroughly destroyed easier than data.”

“Because you obviously don’t know how to do it right.” The man put his laptop away in his bag and stretched out his arms. “But if that is what you prefer, to each their own. You got a name?” He asked, general curiosity and need for sane human interaction sparking his interest.

“Ayako Henderson,” she replied, offering a hand to the man. “Yours?”

“Just call me Leo.” He informed her, grinning in a friendly manner. “Nice to meet you.” His eyes shifted over to Viviana.

“Viviana Sousa, pleased to make your acquaintance.” Vivana found a trash can in the corner of the room and put her cigar out in her metal hand, throwing it into the trash and sitting back down next to Ayako. “So… you a greenie?”

“Well… green in the sense to military duty but no, I am coming in to help with the Einherjar’s IT department. The company I worked for back home merged with a larger corporation and instead of slaving away in that minefield, I came here.”

“To be honest, in that case, I hope I don’t have to run into you on the job,” Ayako said, chuckling lightly. “After all, that’d mean things are breaking where they aren’t supposed to, and I don’t want that to happen in the slightest.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much if you see me. Sometimes I go out just to update software or something of the like, usually not when a computer blows up in the user’s face. Besides… if I get my initial stuff finished fast, I may not have a lot of work to do at all. Then I guess I would just need excuse to be moving around.” Leo scratched his head and chuckled. “So… if you ever want a friendly face to converse to on a slow day, I’m your guy. Though I seriously do hope he remembers I am coming… Mom said she would let him know.” He said to himself.

“What was that?” Ayako asked, leaning in slightly. “Couldn’t quite catch what you said there.”
“Nothing important, just speculating to myself.” Leo stated with a dismissive hand wave. “So how much longer until we reach the ship?” He asked to either of the women for an answer.

“Should be another hour or two depending on how long docking takes.” Viviana responded, leaning back in her seat with nothing to do.

“I’d err more towards the latter, considering the nature of orbital mechanics,” Ayako elaborated. “It’s a delicate dance that has a not insignificant chance of ending with our decompressed corpses being given an early burial, after all.”

“You really are an optimist, aren’t you?” Viviana asked a little uncomfortably.

“Hey, when you work around these things long enough you tend to learn exactly how they can kill you if things go wrong,” the engineer replied with a shrug. “Hell, in all of my courses that required us to operate heavy machinery, there was a day near to beginning of the semester dedicated just to how badly things can go wrong.”

“Well you could at least keep them to yourself… you don’t hear me telling you about the dangers of battle do yo-... Oh wait, I did do that didn’t I… with the uh… whole… bear trap thing.” Viviana strangely remained silent for a while.

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that mental image,” Ayako deadpanned. “Seriously, you never tell an engineer about hand-related injuries. Hits us right here,” she said, tapping a fist just over her heart.

“Oh yeah, well it hit me right here.” Viviana tapped her metal hand with a fist. “Which do you think hurts the other more?”

Ayako pulled off her glasses, rubbing them on the hem of her shirt as she spoke. “Well, considering that your pain is limited to just yourself, while my pain is shared by all engineers… you do know how exponential growth works, correct?”

“Of course I know how it works… are you calling me dumb? I will have you know I can have you detained and interrogated for more embarrassing secrets if you wish.” The Lt Cmdr threatened.

“No no, not implying anything like that!” the engineer hastily explained, waving her hands defensively in front of her. “Just trying to use it as an example!”

Viviana grinned and crossed her arms. “I can see our friendship is going to be a fun one, Ms. Henderson. And by the end of this… ” The Lt Cmdr wiggled her metallic fingers. “You will have spilled everything you hold dear to me.” She explained in a menacing tone, though in her mind she knew she was only being playful. But Ayako doesn’t need to know that.

Ayako quickly took a sudden interest in the floor, if only to hide her flushed face resulting the images that were racing through her head. “T-That’s Dr. Henderson to you…” she muttered weakly.

“Hm… that’s strike one. Be lucky I don’t count your withholding of information before against you.” Viviana crossed her arms, looking away as if angry but only doing it to hide her large smile, using a lot of willpower not to let out a tiny chuckle.

“Yareyare dawa,” Ayako muttered, finally mustering enough strength to drive her mental tormentors away and let the heat fade from her face. Figuring it time to turn the tables, Ayako added, “You really are quite the cruel mistress, Vivi-chan.”

Ah… she is pulling this trick is she? Too bad I’ve seen this routine, let alone had to deal with it before. Viviana turned around with her face scrunched up in anger. “You disrespectful little shrew, that is Viviana-sama to you!” Viviana reached out and grabbed Ayako’s ear. “I am going to have to discipline you later for that insult, missy!”

“Ah, not the ear! I’m sensitive there!” Ayako pleaded, her eyes clenched shut in mock pleasure. “Please let go, Viviana-sama, there’s people around!”

Viviana glanced over at Leo, who seemed to have clocked out a while ago, headphones in ear and reading an unmarked book. “And it looks like he isn’t coming to your aiiiiid.” She teased.

“Ah, dame,” Ayako groaned, trying to tug out of Viviana’s grasp. “You win, you win!”

Viviana chuckled and let go of Ayako’s ear, crossing her arms and saying, “I look forward to working with you once again, Dr. Henderson.”

Ayako gently rubbed her ear to soothe the light pain that ran through it. “Yeah, I suppose the same goes here… Vivi-chan.” Viviana’s eye opened menacingly at Ayako. “Gomen, gomen,” Ayako hastily apologized, giving a nervous grin at the other woman’s expression. Viviana closed her eyes with a satisfied smile, tapping Ayako on the head gently like a pet. The engineer’s expression of displeasure at the treatment thankfully went unnoticed.