RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[DarkGemini24601]

“Flow of Time II, Part 1”

High Orbit over Forseti (March 24th, 2044)
The Einherjar (0931 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 13: Room D-006 //Sasha Dragomirov//

Video Log 1: Recovery

Sasha could be seen adjusting the camera to keep her and the room in equal clarity. As she stepped back from the camera it became apparent that she was the only one currently in the three-bed bedroom, Brigid and Korra nowhere to be found. Sasha leaned against one of the dressers, and did her best to smile.

“Sasha Dragomirov, Video Log One. Title is ‘Recovery’.” The Russian-American paused for a moment, brushing aside one of her green-tipped brown locks of hair, and then continued, “It’s been a long time since I recorded my experiences. The last time was… middle school, I think.”

Sasha’s smile faded. “That was before things got too painful to talk about, and after that, I sort of forgot about the concept. But I have to rectify that.”

Sasha’s eyes widened. “I should probably introduce myself. My name is Sasha Dragomirov. I’m a Russian citizen, my father being a native-born man named Modya, and my mother an immigrant from America, Jessica. They met when my father served as an XCOM soldier and my mother worked as a scientist in the same organization. Soon after, they had me and my twin brother, Mikhail. We’re both 25 now.”

The young woman took a breath, and then went on. “I am currently employed as an XSDF soldier, support class. Right now I’m at the rank of specialist. My first mission, though...” Sasha looked down. “...didn’t go well. We lost nine soldiers; half of the squad perished in total.”

Sasha glanced up at the camera again. “I… I suffer from depression, and I wasn’t doing well after the mission. I tried to…” The support seemed to struggle to conjure up the words even in front of a private recording. “...kill myself, afterwards. But my recently-awakened Reflection and the kind words of my friends prevented me from succeeding, and discouraged me from trying... something like that again. I’m doing better now, thanks to them.”

The Dragomirov sighed. “But there’s a reason I decided to start making these recordings other than archival purposes. Have you ever heard of the latin phrase, “memento mori?” My military instructor in Russia taught me what it means. “Remember your mortality.” As a soldier in wartime, that phrase sticks in my mind more than ever.”

Sasha smiled weakly. “If I… were to die in combat, I want to leave something behind for my friends and family. To remind them of how important they were to me and that they would have no blame in my death.”

Seeming to tear up a bit, Sasha reached over to the camera. “I hate to end… o-off on that note, but that’s all I can manage for now.”

High Orbit over Forseti (March 23rd, 2044)
The Einherjar (1024 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 7: Genetic Labs //Mikhail Dragomirov//

Mikhail held his right arm with his left, an unconscious sign of apprehension that he and his fraternal twin seemed to share. His eyes darted around the Gene Labs, vats of Tz6 and modification pods feeling like menacing giants and golems to the Russian-American heavy. Steeling himself by sucking in a shuddering breath, Mikhail walked over to one of the scientists. I have to do this, he thought to himself as the staff member turned to face him.

“Something I can help you with, soldier? The middle-aged man asked, noting Mikhail’s uniform and ushanka, the navy blue and black clothing complementing the black hat, even if the worn headwear contrasted with the Dragomirov’s newer clothing.

“I’d like to increase my strength if possible,” Mikhail said uneasily.

“What class are you?”

“A heavy, sir.”

The man smiled. “Makes sense. And we aren’t going to hurt you or anything. If it makes you feel any better, if we can apply a mod in a couple of days, we can reverse the changes in a couple of days. A lot different from getting a cybernetic modification.”

Mikhail relaxed, the tension in his muscles washing away. “So what would you recommend?”

The scientist rubbed his stubble. “Well, we can give you Magnified Bicep Structure, but I’d request Muscle Fiber Density to balance it out. Is there anything else you’d like in addition to those two?”

“Maybe the regenerative bone marrow,” Mikhail suggested, considering his sister’s class, “so I can focus on protecting others while anyone with a medkit doesn’t have to worry as much about me.”

“And you’re sure about this?” Another nod. “Very well then. Step into the pod. You’ll need to remove any clothes that you don’t want ruined.”

Mikhail pulled off his hat. “You’ll guard this with your life, or I’ll put my newly enhanced muscles to swift use if I get out and find it lost or damaged,” He said as a statement rather than a question, his Russian accent slipping through.

The scientist took it gingerly, stammering, “G-got it,” as Mikhail undressed down to his boxers before stepping into the pod.

The heavy briefly glanced to the side, noticing a familiar face in the pod next to him. So you had the same idea, huh, Dolores? Or are you doing this to become stronger to redeem yourself in your own eyes, and the eyes of others? Mikhail couldn’t be sure, as the Spanish shadow operative wasn’t conscious at the moment, and he wouldn’t be either soon. Closing his eyes, Mikhail allowed himself to be immersed in the suspension fluid for a four day sleep.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

"Flow of Time II, Part 2"

High Orbit over Forseti (March 25th, 2044)
The Einherjar (2203 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 3.5: Drone Nest //Hermes Arcwright//

The door leading into the maintenance elevator slid open with a slight creak. An Irish mechanic stepped out, wearing tattered jeans, magnetic boots, a tanktop with a protective vest underneath, gloves, and welding goggles pushed onto her forehead. She walked along the horizontal structural beams, of which there were four – one for each of the four directions – and arrived at the central column covered in blinking lights, glowing computers, and flashing switches.

Sorcha threw a sidelong glance over her shoulder to both confirm she had her emergency jetpack on and to look at the person she had brought with her. That companion was a tall humanoid figure, though with a medieval German-style helmet with a more modern-looking visor, metallic feather protrusions on his arms and small wings on his boots, and metallic armor that couldn’t be removed, the pale Hermes Arcwright didn’t seem entirely human. For indeed, he wasn’t, being an android, not that Sorcha seemed to care too much about the difference. “Are you coming, Hermes?”

The forgetful android apologetically waved his hands. “Forgive me,” he said, although he continued doing what he had been doing before – that is, gazing around the room starstruck. “I was taken aback by how beautiful this room looks.” Not only did the lights adorning the central column like a Christmas tree seem striking to Hermes, but the charging ports where hundreds of the Einherjar’s repair drones came to roost intrigued him as well. To the being observing them in a creative light, the machines seemed like ornaments hung onto the walls in a symmetrical and careful layout.

Sorcha raised an eyebrow, the redhead showing amusement in her simple brown eyes. “Tell me that after you’ve been working here day in and day out, Hermes. You get used to it after awhile.” Not one to waste time, Sorcha sauntered up to the central pillar, typing in a few commands on a computer console to bring up an overview of the drones. She seemed satisfied initially, but frowned after a few seconds, discovering that a few drones were damaged and had not repaired themselves or each other.

“Do the interior of starships and the vastness of space not awe you, then?” Hermes asked curiously, joining Sorcha as four drones flew down, their outer ring spinning and causing their four manipulators to become somewhat blurred. The behavior was abnormal, further convincing Sorcha – and Hermes, the perceptive android picking up on the irregularity – that quartet of maintenance assistants were malfunctioning.

“Oh, they do. Otherwise I wouldn’t put up with this sort of job. Believe me, though, the pay’s better than any other mechanic salary. Pretty much any role in the XSDF pays well, though,” Sorcha explained, pulling out an XSDF Army Wrench. Aptly named after the swiss army knife, the object had other functions than adjusting nuts, bolts, screws, and nails. Sorcha put one of those uses to use, pushing aside a protective screen to reveal a small x-ray device. She held it over the drones, getting a scan of the interior of one. “Not a mechanic issue. Hook this one up to the console, please.”

Hermes nodded, resting a hand on the drone and guiding it over to a port on the central column itself. The drone connected from the back, four panels opening up down left and right to allow it to connect to the diagnostic protrusion. The android looked over the data received, his eyes darting back and forth between text with speed that would dizzy a human. “Let’s see… it appears that there isn’t a problem with their general repair functions, but there is a bug in their wire repair protocols.” Hermes walked over to two of the drones, leaning down under them to notice frayed and cut wires. “They didn’t want to use their miniature matter condensers to create a patch because it would cover up the damage.”

“Well done.” Sorcha pocketed her wrench, and laid on her back under the two drones, motioning for Hermes to do the same. Together, the two reconnected the wires, and then used some spare metal to patch up the cut chassis. After that, Hermes peroused their data logs to locate where the damage had taken place, and made a note for the maintenance crews to smoothen a jagged access tunnel on one of the lower floors. Sorcha, for her part, removed the bug that had inhibited the four drones, and smiled at the success of their work. “You’re going to make a good mechanic, Hermes. Welcome to the crew.”

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1057 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 6: Public Communications Room //Kallpa Vizcarra//

Kallpa sat at the comms console, contemplating a dilemma. "To gloat or not to gloat... That is the question." He tapped a finger against the table for a moment, putting more serious thought into the question than he probably should have. "Oh, screw it, I will."

Without a further thought, Vizcarra hit the enter key. The call went out to a receptacle Mediotierra that would path the signal through to his family. And waited. And waited. Why aren't they picking up? As soon as he was contemplating hanging up, the call finally went through, and Lesli's freckled face appeared on the screen with a shit-eating grin framed by her messy black hair.

"Hi, Kallpa!"

"You... intentionally kept me waiting..." Kallpa accused.

"Maaaaybe...." Lesli pulled back to let the living room with its rustic wooden furniture come back into focus.

Kallpa pointed a finger at Yulanda as she came into view. "And you let her!"

Yulanda shrugged. "I had to for this specific reaction." She brushed back some of her brown hair that matched her eyes.

Kallpa sighed. "You two are a handful even light years away. You're lucky I can't crush you with a hug, Les."

The younger sister giggled, and hopped onto one of the bar stools, the video feed being broadcasted from the kitchen bar's computer. "So... what's new?"

"Well..." Kallpa peered forward. "Is my brother there?"

"He's out. Why?" Yulanda pried.

"Well, I'm not sure if word has reached Mediotierra yet, but the XSDF is at war against an alliance of space pirates."

Lesli's smile wavered. "Are you... going to be alright?"

"Me?" Kallpa smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine. I know how to tango, we all do after that tricky journey. But that's the bad news. Do you want to hear the good news?"

"I guess..."

Kallpa rolled his eyes. "I guess I won't tell you then, if you're not interested."

"W-Wait, I am!" Lesli protested, giving him puppy eyes .

The gunner waved a hand dismissively. "Forget about it; it isn't important."

Now Yulanda spoke up. "Come on, Kallpa. Tell us!"

As if being pestered about nothing, Kallpa offhandedly said, "I just found 'the one', is all."

Lesli's green eye's lit up like emerald suns. "Really? What's she like?!"

Yulanda seemed surprised and irritated. "That was payback, wasn't it?"

"It was." Kallpa closed his eyes for a moment. "Picture a woman with red hair... she's got lush natural red hair and light red skin, makes her look soft to the touch... But she's tough in her own right, a bit sarcastic. Definitely my type. And to top it all off she has these deep violet eyes and a tail. Elflike ears."

Yulanda raised an eyebrow. "An alien? One of those... Tamearins?"

Kallpa opened his eyes with a smile. "Yep. Exotic beauty."

"The real question hasn't been answered," Lesli stipulated. "How big are her tits? Did you score with some melons or get a petite chick?"

"They're... on the larger side..." Kallpa explained vaguely.

"So an E-Cup. Got it," Yulanda decided with a grin. "You're a lucky man, Kallpa Vizcarra."

Kallpa smiled. "I can't argue with that."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

"Flow of Time II, Part 3"

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1218 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 5: Holo-Room 2 //Kelio Sparks//

Kelio stood in the blank room, thinking on what setting he wanted the computer to create. The Sectoid was familiar with several places on several different planets, but he wasn’t really fond of any of them. Certainly a dilemma… The Sectoid thought to himself. “What about…” The computer listened expectantly. “Computer, cycle through some of the areas on the planet’s surface.” It acknowledged his command, and first showed the rolling plains and flat grasslands surrounding the scattered mountain ranges of the primary continent, Keyullun, where Ailey was located.

“Simulate wildlife, please,” Kelio stipulated. The grasslands, barren of anything but plant life, suddenly were filled with a variety of animals. They were displayed to the Shogun going up the food chain. First were columns of small ten-legged creatures, having soft bodies with hard shells to protect their organs that were stored in a squishy sack. “And add descriptions.”

Kneeling down by the marching communal creatures – which were perhaps only three inches in length - Kelio observed text above them. They were marked as “Illthis”, specifically “Merriticali” and seemed to be comparable to Earth insects in function. There were numerous, and built underground networks as their homes. The only aboveground indication of these were small, tower-like structures anywhere from two to twelve inches high. “So like termite mounds… interesting.” Although he was an engineer and soldier by trade, Kelio seemed giddy to learn about the fauna of Forseti, having an interest in biology incongruous with his other interests.

Next were small animals covered in bristles, with two closed eyes on their foreheads and two open ones more towards where normal eyes on a terrestrial creature would be. They had five legs, and could stand on the back three for brief times, but typically remained on all fives. They were designated as “Porcurs”, small creatures that were cold-blooded but gave live birth, make them a cross between reptiles and mammals. They were eating the grasses, but were soon chased off by a larger plant eater, another Illthis, this one a Yotor. It had four large mandibles arranged in 45 and 135 degree angles for form an ‘x’ missing the center, and it greedily chomped up swathes of grasses and brush.

Kelio glanced over to a flash of light, initially thinking it a simulation effect. But he soon realized it wasn’t. Catching the light on armor plates that reflected it in a dazzling, blinding display, was a predator with four legs directly under its body, not having much in the way of shoulders. Being a similar type of creature to the Porcurs, which Kelio was informed was called a Rammiltan, it used the blinding flash to jump the armored Yotor and bite into its neck.

Other predators wanted this prey, though. A pack of lithe hunting animals, being closer to mammals, pounced onto the dying Yotor, scaring off the lone hunter. Taking a closer look at them, Kelio noted that they weren’t entirely mammalian, having feathers and wings that made then an avian-mammal cross. Said feathers formed colorful manes around these “Arcarias”, and the computer helpfully told him that different packs had different patterns. These ones were shades of blue and green in wavy irregular patterns along their feathers.

Kelio sat down as they dug in, the scene starting to shift to showcase some of the other plains animals. I’m going to be here for awhile… Throughout the rest of the session, Kelio came to learn of six-legged avian-mammalian grazers perhaps 30 feet long with three horns on their forehead called Terikos, Illthis omnivores with arched backs that were about twice that size, and had thick armor plating that was surprisingly light, called Mevbers, 12 foot tall tripod reptile-mammal scavengers called Lerviks, and several other species that roamed the planet known as Forseti. And that was just on the plains of Keyullun.

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1442 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 9: Soldier Patch Center //Irina Beaumont//

Irina walked down the hallway, the events of the recent mission weighing heavily on her mind. The silence and echo of her footsteps as she made her way into the soldier patch center didn't do much to lift her somber mood. No one had died, and that was a good thing, but nevertheless the operation in Holem had been a brutal one.

And that has to be a harbinger of things to come. Irina didn't think this just because it was the first mission the Einherjar had dealt with in thIs incipient war. Rather, she was aware of the biases the first operation could bring, and did her best to distance herself from them. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but realize that unless the XSDF caught up technologically, they were not going to win this war.

That part is up to the science team, Irina admonished herself. Her job wasn't to worry about technology, but to use her medical expertise and equipment to take care of the soldiers that needed her help. Coming to the door of one of the critical condition rooms, she opened the door, stepping in wuietly.

On the medical bed, a half-sphere device wrapped around his mangled left shoulder, was Thomas Wolfe. The American was currently sedated while he recovered from his grievous wound. Once he awakens, will he be willing to replace his other limb with a cybernetic equivalent? Or will he be too disillusioned to go on? Irina didn't know the answer.

Rather than ponder the question further - knowing full well her lack of experience with people would get her nowhere, healing the mind was Camellia's job - Irina sat down at the computer screens that monitored Thomas's heartbeat. Heartbeat is nearly regular again, if a bit slow. Brainwave patterns appear normal, indicating that any initial state of shock has passed for now. Irina's expression fell as the third point of information hadn't changed from last time.

[Nerve connections on the left arm severed and beyond repair.] Sometimes- very rarely - losing an arm was not permanent. Irina had hoped against hope that it would be possible to clone a new limb, and attach it with minute cybernetic connections, or even none at all. But the trauma his body had suffered was too great. Connecting an organic limb simply wouldn't be possible.

Irina made her decision. Clicking on a button on one of the screens, she brought up an engineer from the cybernetic division. The young man there cocked his head. "Dr. Beaumont? I thought you wouldn't call for another day or two."

"I believe that the patient will likely request a replacement. Could you have your counterpart in the science department come up here and analyze his existing prosthetic? They could reflect the design and make him a left arm."

"We could... But what if he decides against it?"

"Then it is a minor waste of resources and I will take responsibility. But I'm of the mind that the sooner he's on his feet again, the better."

The engineer nodded slowly. "Alright, we'll get on it." The screen went dark again.

Irina turned to monitor Wolfe again. "Maybe I'm wrong, but if I can do anything to help, I will," Dr. Beaumont whispered.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

"Flow of Time II, Part 4"

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1653 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 7: Office of Vindicta Exalt //Vindicta Exalt//

Video Log 033: Shifting Gears

Vindicta sat in front of the camera in her office, located just off to the side of the main laboratory. The room was separated by a wall from one of the light rails that traveled through Floor 7, but the electric hum of the track didn't bother her, nor did the rush of air audible from outside as trams departed for other sections of the science level. It's a rather soothing cadence, Vindicta affirmed for herself.

Still, she had adjusted the audio of her recordings the past two months to make herself easier to hear. "Camera online. Video Log Zero Thirty-Three. Title: Shifting Gears," Vindicta announced, the first phrase activating the recording software in the Exalt's computer. "As I mentioned in my last recording, the XSDF is now at war with a faction known as the TFD. While they seem to be in league with many space pirate groups, the true extent of their power beyond technological superiority to the XSDF has yet to be seen."

The second-in-command of the science department aboard the Einherjar frowned. "Unfortunately, this means my psionic research will be slowed as I am required to assist the other departments. As my brother is taking care of biology, cybernetic science, and by extension the gene labs, I will be doing my best to oversee other sections."

Suddenly seeming defensive, Vindicta quickly corrected, "Not because I wish to avoid Mark, of course!" Relaxing after acknowledging her outburst, she continued with an air of returned dignity, "Quite the contrary. I trust in his abilities, and this have no reason to interfere."

Vindicta brushed back her snow white hair from her face, making a mental note to get a haircut soon, as much as she wished to avoid that affront that dared call itself a necessity. "I will be assisting Research and Development. The illustrious Dr. Anderson needs little prodding, but I'll do my best to help without getting in her way. As for Armor R&D, my presence is more necessary there. Dr. Kelly isn't exactly quick about his research, nor is he very efficient with his time."

The head of the psionic division let out a groan. "But I shall pick up his slack. Considering the work I put into making effective telekinetic barriers on the Aurora Armor, I am confident my experience will be able to transfer over to adapting the personal shielding the enemy had to use. It is more intact than their weaponry, anyway. I pity Penny a little in that regard, but then again, she adapted pulse lasers from ab object in a cyborg's arm, so I'm sure she'll figure out the method to making infantry fusion weapons."

Dr. Exalt smiled hopefully. "And when she does, I'll be able to add upgrades to my list of projects in Equipment Research and Development. I imagine that if we learn the secrets of miniaturized fusion guns, we can make grenades like the ones those elite pirate commandos had. Hell," Vindicta muttered, temporarily dropping her professional tone, "Making those things out of hydrogen and helium sounds cheaper than plasma grenades with their Elerium cores and their plasma fillings. That's the dream, at least."

"In any case, I have my duties, and I will carry them out." Vindicta sighed. "Though being lectured by Mason certainly wasn't a pleasant experience. He told me the typical "with great power comes great responsibility" speech." She shrugged nonchalantly. "At least he told me a reason rather than yell at me senselessly like his predecessor. Apparently the maintenance crew was getting tired of fixing doors that I electrosh..."

Vindicta reddened. "Y-You know what, nevermind. It's not important, anyway. I have work to do, and a psionic machine gun to deliver to the armory." Smirking and regaining her composure, she added, "yes, my brainchild is being added to our arsenal officially. We only made one, but seeing it in action will be glorious."

A flash of concern crossed Vindicta's features. "Do... we have enough psionic machine-gunners to put it to use? I must investigate this. Camera offline."

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1717 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 13: Staff Bar //Addington Khumalo//

Anja slammed her beer down on the table, making a tired-looking Shepsut jump a bit in surprise. “And so there I was!” Anja proclaimed, the several glasses of liquor finally getting to the German’s head. “Surrounded by about six guys I’d pissed off by insulting their masculinity… and do you know how I beat them?”

“Can you even remember when you’re that intoxicated?” Shepsut complained.

“Shut it, Bast. Telling a story here. Only applause is allowed to interrupt me.” Anja grinned, and went on, “I duck under their leader, the burliest guy there, and hit him with two jabs on the back of his knee joints, hard enough that he topples over in pain. Of course, I aimed to one side, so he fell into two of his friends, allowing me to focus on one to his right with a kick. So I’ve gotten four of them down in one fell swoop, and the other two look at me and say, “Who the hell is this little upstart?” And I say, Anja Jollenbeck, at your-”

Anja was interrupted as Phoebe clapped, a bemused grin on her face. “Good story…” The Englishwoman uttered as she swiped Anja’s mug out from under her.

“I didn’t say you could prematurely clap! And give me that back!”

“I think you’d be better off without it…” Addington insisted, straightening his jacket. “Besides, it’s not fair that you’re allowed to get drunk and I’m not.”

“You couldn’t… handle it, South Aussie…”

“I’m not Australian…?” Addington asked, confused.

“South…African… righhhht…”

Shepsut sighed, getting up onto her three legs and grabbing Anja by the shoulders with her cybernetic limbs. “I’ll go take her to cool off and sober up.”

Phoebe smiled, and nodded, the two departing and leaving Phoebe and Addington alone. Phoebe swirled a finger around her cup for a moment before saying, “So… Addington… I’ve been thinking…”

“Always dangerous.”

“Oh, be quiet.” Phoebe smiled softly. “You’ve grown as a gentleman thanks to my help, and you seem to be mending relations with the other pilots. I’m… impressed. More so than I even expected.”

Addington raised an eyebrow, not getting where Phoebe was going with this. “And?”

Phoebe rested her hands on her cheeks, elbows on the table, and leaned forward a bit. “You’re the sort of person I wouldn’t mind spending more time with. Would you be okay with that?”

“We are close friends already, but that’d be acceptable,” Addington answered with a nod. Phoebe chuckled. “What?” Addington pressed.

“Oh, nothing.” You’ll understand… eventually.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

"Flow of Time II, Part 5"

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (2000 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 1: Main Bridge //Frederick Mason//

Captain’s Log: March 26th, 2044
Forseti Entry 2:

Yesterday the first mission of the war was undertaken. Commanded by Lieutenant Sarah Wong, a seasoned veteran, it went as smoothly as could be expected. There were casualties among the security forces, but none among our squad. Property damage was high, but all Elerium was recovered, and few civilians were harmed, something I am infinitely thankful for. I couldn’t have asked for more from Strike One.

However, the severe injuries SPC, or rather, LCPL Wolfe and SPC O’Brien took have shown me that we need to step up our game. I’ve instructed the Science Department to begin research into the weapon fragments and damaged armor recovered from the enemy, with the hopes of reproducing enemy equipment as XCOM did so many years ago. The Gene Labs and Psionic Division have also been instructed to work on improving available enhancements, but that is secondary to the main gear for our soldiers at the moment.

Engineering, in the meantime, will be receiving Elerium supplies from the surface, and will put them and our Zero Alloys to good use. We need to create more of our better armors, and further concepts we’ve had for improved variants. In addition, plasma weapon production has been initiated with the hopes that we can phase out our gauss and pulse weapons and give them to the security forces on the ground, equipping our own troops with plasma like that of the Arkbird’s elite troops.

Speaking of the Arkbird, I’ve made contact with Earth, and informed them of our status. With any luck, we’ll be receiving reinforcements, but for now it’s just the Einherjar and the Jupiter against whatever the TFD decides to throw at us. I hope we can handle it, but we’ll need some more troops. I’ve reached out to the soldiers on the surface for new recruits, as well as the people of Forseti themselves. We’ll screen potential candidates, but after the losses we took on Layrinxa Two we could do to bolster our numbers, both in regards to soldiers and staff. At the very least, we should bolster the efforts of the teams on the ground that send us refined Elerium and stand guard over the planet.

As for the TFD, we’ve learned a bit more about them recently. One of the special operatives, a Humiliata named Innovo’Trayate, had our captured four pirates drugged, and then read their minds for information relative to the ‘Soverigns of the Galaxy’. We’ve learned of a pirate faction we were previously unaware of called “The Shapers” that seems to be the source of the Floaters we saw in Holem, as well as reports we’ve heard of from the fringes of space, particularly Replitan ‘Free Ports’.

The other group that was revealed, though, interests me the most. They appear to account for some of the commandos we fought in the Layrinxa System. Trismegistus dubbed them the “Vanguard of Odin.” While the medic we captured couldn’t give us any information that would help in reproducing enemy technology, even that in itself is powerful knowledge. The enemy Queen doesn’t trust many people enough to give them that sort of technical know-how, so that means she must have some centralized base where she manufactures her equipment. It’s a long way off, but if we could find that, we could put an end to her.

For now, though, we’ll have to respond to threats as they come, wait for reinforcements and improve the abilities and loadouts of our troops. I’m confident we can win this war, despite the odds.

High Orbit over Forseti (March 26th, 2044)
The Einherjar (2155 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 5: Holo-Room 4: //Greyhounds//

Avril Charbonneau stepped out of the training room, sweat drenching her, and tossed her jet black hair to try and cool herself off. “Dammit, Kriemhiel, what was that supposed to prove? We can’t fight a squad of ten Balmadaar with just the four of us!”

The German woman in question stepped out behind Avril, and shook her head. “It’s possible, but you didn’t really seem that focused. Lagunov did, however.”

“Oh, kiss my ass, Adolfsson,” The French destroyer muttered. “You two are too serious.”

The redhead sniper didn’t seem to care about the comment, but Karolina did. “That isn’t very nice, you know,” The Estonian cautioned.

Avril gave her a serious look, and then laughed. “I know… I’m just messing with you girls. That wasn’t bad, and I think we did the best we could have for a training simulation. We’d do better on the field, Kriem, you know that.”

“I hope so.”

Avril wrapped an arm around Kriemhiel. “We know so. Don’t worry so much. I know I can be reckless but we’re not going to get ourselves killed or anything. I’ve got you guys to back up my antics anyway.”

Kriemhiel smiled slightly. “I would hope things would be that simple.”

“Hope smope, we make our own luck.”

Karolina smiled in agreement, while Zoya just shook her head. “We should probably head back to our room,” The latter suggested. “We need to get cleaned up.”

The other three concurred, and they headed back to their shared room. There was only one shower, and Zoya, Karolina, and Kriemhiel stepped in, shrugging off their clothes and laying them on a rack while they turned the shower heads on and retrieved some soap. Kriemhiel smiled as she lathered her hair, remembering why Avril wasn’t joining them immediately. “She acts tough, but I think it’s sweet that she’s so doting over her son.”

Karolina’s expression was equally bright. “Yeah. Though, to be fair, if she didn’t help him with his shower, he’d be in here with us. He might be a kid but that’d still be awkward.”

Kriemhiel shrugged, humming a song to herself. “Maybe, though we don’t have to worry about that since Avril would never dream of it. The real threat would be the mother comparing chest sizes when we’re just trying to wash off.”

Zoya narrowed her eyes. “Believe me, she’s made enough comments about me already.”

“You’re beautiful the way you are,” Karolina said in a sing-song voice.

“Yeah, you always say that…” Her Russian friend replied.

Somewhere in Subspace (March 26th, 2044)
Transport Ship (2300 Hours, Earth Standard Time)
Main Cockpit //Atka I. Wiewora//

Atka Wiewora sat in the pilot’s chair, reading a book quietly. The ship needed no pilot at the moment, being in FTL-drive and headed for Forseti. She was wearing her detective outfit, her blue and white uniform that still bore the badge of Toronto, even light years away from Earth. I miss home already, but I need to help Aya with that organization of hers. If they’re really who she says they are… Atka shuddered. The old soldier glanced up to see that her partner, Jackson Trommers, was taking a nap, and smiled.

“Glad to see both of you are getting some rest. Past few weeks have been rather hectic, haven’t they?” The Inuit woman whispered, mostly to herself. “And they’ll get more hectic, what, with mitochondrial experiments and flesh-eating bacteria…”

Shaking her head to dismiss the thought, Atka started leafing through her book again, but a crunching sound diverted her attention. “Was that you, dear?” She called out to the back of the ship. No response: the young girl in the back was still asleep. Looking down, though, Atka noted the source of the crunch. An orange in a basket of fruit four meters away from her had collapsed, and turned to a withered husk, then dust, in a matter of seconds.

“That… that couldn’t be!” A faster-acting version of Shambhala’s… Atka’s eyes darted down at her arm that was facing the box, and noted that the epidermis was starting to dry out. No, I can’t let it climb any further! Atka activated the device on her wrist that drew her blood to summon her Reflection, the more ‘punk’ version of Atka shimmering around her like an afterimage. “Xifeng!” She called out, pain starting to shoot up her arm. “Fr…Freeze… ”

 

[BMPixy]

MarineAvenger and BMPixy:
"Sinning With a Smile"
In Orbit of Forseti, Aboard the Einherjar
1531 Local Time; March 28th, 2044
Secondary Holo-Room

Elicia grimaced as jabs rained into her guard, the flashes of pain growing ever in strength as her arms tenderized under the assault. Her foe - expression literally blank as always - ceased the pounding for a moment, and that's when Elicia seized her opportunity.

Quickly the Anglo-German rushed in, smashing a hard fist into her foe's side before they could recover their guard. Elicia felt the flesh give slightly under her boxing glove, and followed through - driving holographic spittle from her opponent's mouth. As her opponent reeled from the intensity of the blow, Elicia cocked her other arm back, before twisting forward and driving it into the hologram's blank face.

The opposing boxer stumbled under the force of the blow, and as Elicia raised her fists for one last strike, they fell to the mat. Quickly the medic broke off her assault, and returned to the neutral corner, as a referee began the ten-count. Don't get up, Elicia thought, her breath ragged from the intensity of the last few rounds.

The door to the holo-room opened and someone walked in, a familiar looking guy smirking as he saw the inanimate man out as the 10 count came in and a bell rang. "Wow, Ensslin... didn't know you could throw fists." Ezra stated, crossing his arms.

"Freeze simulation," Elicia barked, the referee pausing in the midst of helping the other boxer to their feet. Quickly sliding under the ropes and approaching Ezra, she growled, "Yeah, you should have learned that fact sooner." With that she threw a powerful right cross at the android, aimed straight towards his nose.

Ezra bent backwards, just narrowly avoiding her first fist. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... calm down!"

"Why should I, you damn thief?" Elicia responded, drawing her extended fist back and following up with a left hook, this time aimed at Ezra's stomach.

Ezra couldn't avoid this one but as Elicia's fist connected, she found it was surprisingly solid. "What? What did I steal?" He asked, confused completely.

Elicia grimaced as pain shot down her fist, and drew the glove back. "A kiss," she replied, before launching a straight uppercut right towards Ezra's jaw.

This time he side-stepped again. "That's what this is about!? Don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit here?!"

"Not at all," the Anglo-German said in a rare display of seriousness, stepping in slightly to get a better angle as she threw another liver blow. "After all, I clearly said I wasn't interested, but there you went!"

"I was just thanking you, I didn't mean anything by it!" He pushed, this time ready for the blow and swiping her fist to the side.

"Well that's why the words 'thank you' were invented!" Elicia countered, drawing her glove back from the deflected blow. Pressing forward once more, the Anglo-German threw a rapid one-two, adding, "A kiss on the lips is not a thank you between friends!"

"Well excuse me, princess!" Ezra easily matched up to Elicia, blocking her blows now as she threw them. That training is coming in handy.

"Well, I'm sorry for being offended by what I presumed was an unwanted romantic gesture," Elicia said, her tranquil fury slowly fading along with the speed and power of her blows, though she still continued to throw half-hearted jabs at Ezra. "I seriously didn't expect you to be so incompetent as to think it was was some messed-up 'thank you'."

"I know it's not conventional, but I wanted to do something more than a simple thank you. Besides, if you were that angry why didn't you do this back in the room?" Ezra stopped his blocking, as he knew it wouldn't hurt him.

"Because I was caught off guard, I couldn't think, and this is where you decided to find me," Elicia explained, finally ceasing her blows, though she still held her guard up. "What I'm wondering is why you decided to come by, knowing what you did and how I reacted."

"Well to be honest I... just wanted to see you again. Besides, didn't know you would go all Ali on me as soon as you laid eyes on me." Ezra slipped off a backpack and held it by one of the straps.

"Oh... really?" Elicia asked dishearteningly, her guard slowly lowering as her expression shifted from one of anger to one of sadness. "I... I suppose I should apologize then..."

"Forget about it. Besides... I haven't fully thanked you yet." He held up the bag, smiling proudly.

"Oh? You're still willing to give me gifts, even after I tried to beat your bolts out?" Elicia asked, slowly undoing the bindings on her boxing gloves.

"Please, I'm made out of a reinforced alien alloy... you need something short of a plasma shotgun to take me down. Besides... I need to prove myself that I can one up you as a cook." He stated with a snicker.

"Well, considering that you can probably just download Guy Fieri into your skillset, I will say that you pro'lly have a leg up on me," Elicia replied, tying her gloves together and hanging them around her neck. Reaching out to grab the bag from Ezra, she asked, "So, what've you got for me?"

He pulled the back away from her. "Eh, eh, eh... it's for the both of us piggy." Ezra looked around the simulation room. "Change scenery, option French cafe, Spring time at 4 in the afternoon." He said specifically, the room changing and just like he described, the cafe was there, a table for two set and ready to go. "Take a seat."

"Well, you know how to make a girl feel under-dressed," Elicia jokingly snarked, motioning to her current outfit of gym shorts and slightly sweat-soaked tank-top. Despite this, she still made her way to the table, sitting down and laying her gloves to the side of her seat.

"Hey, you'll hear no complaints from me." He added with his own teasing grin, opening the bag and taking out several containers. "On today's menu, we have curry rice omelet, curry bread, some California rolls, beef tataki with steamed broccoli and soy sauce, and for desert... melon bread... cause melon bread is fucking amazing... as well as curry... man I loved Japan."

"Certainly a lot of curry on the menu," Elicia observed, mouth savoring at the sight of all that food. "Hope you made it plenty spicy," she added, rubbing her hands together in preparation.

"Is there any other way?" He asked, taking out plates and silverware, giving her a plate, some chopsticks and a fork. "Eat as much as your heart contents, I have extra." He told her, taking three slices of the tataki, two california rolls, and a curry bun. "Oh, and here." He pulled out two bottles, the two obviously cola. "I have hot green tea too if soda ain't your cup of... tea.... heh? Heh?" He pressed, snickering.

Elicia let out a pained groan at the pun, rolling her eyes slightly as she began placing food on her plate, opting for some of the curry rice omelette accompanied by a curry bun and a california roll. "I'll take the pop," she said, beginning to break apart her omelette with the side of her fork. He handed her the bottle and ate in silence, Ezra just looking around awkwardly.

With a brief nod of thanks, Elicia grabbed the bottle and set it to the side of her plate. Taking her fork, she began to dig in, bringing a piece of the omelette to her mouth. Elicia bit down on it, chewing it briefly before swallowing it. "Wow, that's pretty good," she praised, going for another bite. Downing another piece, she added, "Seriously, this is really good. I can actually taste the full flavor of this stuff."

"Well I made it without help. I didn't download the recipes, I learned them." He informed her, taking a big bite of his curry bun.

"It certainly shows," Elicia replied, quickly scarfing down more of her omelette, pausing briefly to drink some of her soda. Trying to think of something to talk about, Elicia said hestiantly, "So... uh, how 'bout that space weather?"

"Okay... let's get this out into the open and out of the way..." He poured some soy sauce over his tataki. "This is super awkward... so... what do we do about it? I kissed you... you rejected me... so a normal friendship so sort of out the airlock so... what?"

"Don't try and bother with a 'normal' friendship?" Elicia offered with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, we first met when I decided to visit you in prison. I don't think a normal friendship was ever inside the airlock. Best to just apologize for our actions, and get back to being friends, eh?"

 

[MarineAvenger]

"Sinning With a Smile" Part Two

"Aw... but I quite enjoyed our little kiss..." He said bashfully, though he was really playing it up because he wanted to be a smart ass. "It was so warm, and your expression was so cute, your lip balm tasted sweet, how could any man forget that?" He asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"With enough blows to the head," Elicia threatened, stabbing down into her omelette to emphasize the point. Despite the threat, she did add with a slight blush, "Though I will admit, you do have an interesting flavor."

"Oh really?" He said in an overly flamboyant voice. He flicked his wrist downwards and made a kissy face. "Please, tell me more darling."

"Do you really want a 3800 Newton punch straight to face?" Elicia's harsh expression was at odds with the rapidly growing redness on her face, even as she tried to hide it by taking a swallow of her drink.

Ezra just smiled at first, but couldn't contain a chuckle that soon turned into a short burst of laughter. “You really are a different kind of girl."

"Hey, it's gotten me this far," Elicia replied with a shrug, taking a bite of her california roll. "Threats of unsubtle violence tend to help you get what you want, especially from scrawny med-school students. Not that I went around doing that for fun, mind you," Elicia explained.

"I find that really hard to believe for some reason..." Ezra muttered.

"You're a special case, Ezra," Elicia replied, leaning back in her chair slightly as she finished off the last of her plate. "Takes a rare man to draw forth such a combination of irritation and fascination from one such as I."

"Hey... if I was boring or bland, what would be my purpose for being? I am the way I am because it is what I find enjoyment out of, and no one can tell me different. If I'm not out there, what value does the name Ezra Exalt hold?"

"That of a member of the founding family of a megacorp that pretty much has a license to print money in any human nation or colony," Elicia deadpanned. "Not the greatest choice of words, in regards to your situation."

"I don't use my family name for anything other than that, a name." Ezra told her simply, finishing off the curry bread he had.

"Well, then you'd certainly be in my godfather's good books," Elicia replied with a slight chuckle, adding some more food to her plate. "Dude hasn't trusted your family since they were working with XCOM. Never really gave a good reason why, either."

"Who was your godfather, Al Capone?" He asked, making a mafia joke. "Didn't see you as much of a front girl, but you certainly got the looks for it."

Elicia shook her head disdainfully, and replied, "Nah, with guns like these I'd be more of an enforcer." As if to demonstrate her point she flexed her bicep, the thick muscle bulging slightly. "And you were surprisingly close for the name. Al Foulke, actually."

"Never heard of him." Ezra said bluntly.

"Ah, that's what I figured," Elicia replied with a nonchalant shrug, taking a quick sip of her soda afterwards. "He didn't really show up in the XCOM movies all that much, so can't blame you for not being familiar with him. You wouldn't believe how livid he was after he found out they cut the Avaritia fight down to just a few sentences regarding it happening off screen. Called it a 'dishonor to those who died there'."

"I didn't watch the movies. Now those were a dishonor of themselves." Ezra stated adamently, taking a sip of his own soda. "Would have been better if they made books about what happened, would be a lot better."

"Eh, I personally think it would have been better as a TV show," Elicia replied noncommittally. "Gets the best of both movies and books, though granted it isn't without its own flaws. Probably also would have helped had they waited another twenty-five years or so, so more of the stuff surrounding XCOM could be declassified."

Ezra shook his head. "My mother and aunts tell the stories best." He explained as he closed the containers as the finished their meal, opening up the one that had the melon bread and poured them both tea, which was still hot.

Elicia gratefully took the tea, raising it to her nose and taking a long, hearty whiff of the drink's aroma. "Ah, that's certainly good," she said, lowering it to her lips and taking a light sip. "I assume it's a Japanese blend?"

"You would be correct. Sort of had that whole theme here in mind." He explained, taking a sip of his own tea. "This is quite relaxing. Just me and you... alone for a couple of hours with no one possibly able to barge in on us with no cameras and able to recreate any setting..." He listed off with a grin that seemed to hide something.

"You almost make it sounds like a date," Elicia joked, chuckling slightly as she grabbed a piece of melon bread. "What's next? Dim the lights, put on some Red Garland, bust out the candles?"

He reached into his bag and pulled out a candle, flipping it in the air and catching it again, his face serious. It wasn't long until he smiled and he sat straight. "Oh, come on, how could I not do that?" He asked with a grin, shaking his head. "This is the only one, I swear, though I will thank you for telling me what you like."

Elicia had to laugh long and hard at that, covering her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. Finally pausing to breathe, she said, "You certainly came prepared, didn't you? Should have known you'd pull something like that." Elicia paused briefly to take a quick sip of her tea, and added, "Anything else you're hiding in that magic bag of yours?"

"Um... let's see..." He bent over and opened the top of the bag, taking out the stuff as he called them out. "A music player, a rubber chicken, a copy of the communist manifesto..." He sat up and picked the bag up. "A giant, black dildo, wanna see it?" He asked, pointing the bag in her direction.

Elicia nearly choked on her spit at that last item, her eyes bulging slightly in shock as her face quickly took on a light shade of red. "N-no thank you, I'll take your word for it," she hastily replied, raising a hand defensively.

Ezra laughed even harder and turned the bag over, nothing falling out of it. "Oh my god, your reaction was absolutely priceless!" He threw his head back and dropped the bag, holding his arms over his stomach.

"You..." Elicia growled, her face flushing even harder in embarrassment. Even so, she had to restrain a smile, the contagious nature of laughter threatening to break her facade of anger.

He still had trouble stopping himself from chuckling, wiping his eye from amusement. "D'aww, you're cute when you look like you want to rearrange my circuitry."

"Yeah, maybe I'd be able to fix the problems in your personality," Elicia deadpanned, leaning towards Ezra menacingly.

He leaned back a bit, "Your problem is my favorite part of me. Though I can think of something else you could fix." He stated with nuance.

"Oh? And what might that be, exactly?" Elicia asked, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively as she resettled into her seat and took a final sip of her tea.

"Let your imagination run wild." He told Elicia cryptically, sitting back with a smirk. "Though I must say, this was a very enjoyable time. I don't see any reason to leave."

"Eh, I don't exactly have much planned for today," Elicia said, leaning back in her own chair and folding her arms behind her head. "So unless you do have something urgent to attend to, I do recall you saying we had a couple of hours to kill here. Anything spring to mind?"

"A few..." He muttered under his breath. And none that end with me walking out of here in one piece for suggesting it.

"What was that?" Elicia asked, putting a hand to her ear. "I couldn't exactly catch what you said there."

Ezra rolled his eyes. "Nothing, alright. I doubt there is anything we could do that could make us both happy and or satisfied, unless you got a bright idea or want."

"Ah, damn," Elicia muttered, rubbing her chin in thought. "Drawing a blank as well. It sucks, would definitely like to hang out more, y'know? Even if it does mean I have to deal with your shit."

"Well I'm not going anywhere, so..." Ezra scratched the back of his head. "This sucks... this would be easier if we were a couple..." He said muffled due to the fact he rubbed his face with both hands.

"What're you implying with that last bit?" Elica asked, raising an eyebrow. "C'mon, we don't gotta be dating to go have fun. We could do something like, uh..." Get drunk? No, not sure if he can even get drunk, plus it'd probably lead to an awkward conversation in the morning. Dammit, why are ideas so hard to come up with? Elicia bemoaned internally.

Ezra groaned and he stood up, throwing his arms in the air. "Fuck it, wanna go to the pool? I heard they got a hot tub!" He stated loudly. "Anything other than just sitting here with thumbs up our asses... well, black play toy for you seeing as how excited you got when you thought I had one." He teased her rather up front.

"Alright, suppose that sounds good, need to relax my muscles a bit anyways," Elicia replied, only the slight flush in her cheeks indicating she didn't completely ignore Ezra's final comment. "Meet there in say... fifteen minutes?"

"Sure, why not." He slid the containers and extra stuff into the bag though he quickly reached in and pulled out an object. "Should I bring the chicken?" He joked, holding up his rubber chicken.

 

[BMPixy]

MarineAvenger and BMPixy: "Sinning with a Smile, Pt.3"

"Only if you wanna get bludgeoned with it when I get tired of your shit," Elicia joked, standing from her seat and grabbing her boxing gloves from the ground, hanging them around her neck.

"Kinky, but I'm afraid that stuff doesn't hurt me." He shoved the chicken back in the bag. "Try not to pounce on me right away, at least let me get in the water beforehand." He teased her again, putting the bag on his shoulder. "See you there."

"Only in your dreams of electric sheep," Elicia snarked playfully, stepping out of the holo-room exit. "See ya in a bit," she added as she began making her way to her room.

30 minutes later at the pool

Ezra stood waiting, his arms crossed as he was wearing a pair of black shorts with flames on the bottom which acted as his bathing suit. "Come on... you're 15 minutes late... did I scare her off?" He closed his eyes, not sure what to think.

Finally, at long last, Elicia skidded around the corner, stopping to lean against the wall and pant heavily after she spotted Ezra. "So... Sorry for the delay," she said between breaths, her chest rising and falling under her modest blue one piece swimsuit. "Had to... help flatmate find her... tarot deck."

He opened his eyes and still couldn't help but stare. "U-Uh... Don't worry about it..."

"Alright, thanks," Elicia replied, finally catching her breath and wiping some sweat off her brow. "So, you said they have a hot tub?" she asked, doing her best to keep her eyes from lingering too long on Ezra's body.

"Yes, they do." He said, waving her over to said hot tub and entering first, sinking down into the water. "Now that's good..."

Elicia dipped a hesitant toe in the water, and upon finding the temperature satisfactory, she slowly lowered herself into the water, letting out a relaxed 'ah'. "Yeah, that definitely hits the spot," Elicia said, letting the warm water work out the kinks in her muscles.

"Does it feel good?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and laying his arms on the outside. "Unlike you... I don't have muscles that can loosen like yours do."

"Suppose that's one benefit us meatbags have, though it also means we do have to suffer through kinks in our muscles," Elicia replied, leaning back and closing her eyes. "Still, relaxing after a hard workout is perhaps one of the greatest pleasures in life. You can just feel all the tension and stress... melt away..."

Ezra stared at Elicia for a bit before he sank down in the water a bit. He was silent for once, just enjoying the warm feeling over his body, but it wasn’t too long until he had to speak. "Would you like me to give you a massage?"

"Wait, you're a cook and a masseuse?" Elicia asked incredulously. Taking a moment to think, the medic shrugged and added, "Might as well see just how lucky any girl who dates you is." With that, Elicia quickly rotated in place, exposing her back to Ezra.

Ezra scooted over to get behind Elicia, running his hands up her arms and resting them on top of her shoulders. "Okay, I will admit this is artificial knowledge but I have done this before." He slowly and with a bit of force, began to rub her in small circles, working his way very slowly down, settling between her shoulder blades, then moved lower, rubbing her lower back and reaching out, rubbing her sides.

Elicia let out a small, pleased moan as Ezra's hands worked over her body, before quickly blushing and covering her mouth. "S-sorry," she stuttered, "that felt a bit better than I expected. Couldn't, ah, couldn't help myself." With this Elicia was glad she was facing away from Ezra, so that he couldn't see just how red her face had grown.

"N-No... I don't mind. Lets me know I am doing something right." In truth, he was blushing too as he began to move his hands in reverse, moving back up her body.

"Ah, shit that's good," Elicia moaned, the combination of skilled hands and hot water working in tandem to drive away any knots in her muscles - with the side effect of causing a peculiar warmth in the depths her gut. "You - ah - ever think of making a career outta this?" she asked.

Ezra shook his head. "I don't know what I will do with my life after this..." He made his way back down, pulling away as he reached her lower back. "Want me to keep going? Just tell me where and I'll try to help."

Elicia reached back and gently guided Ezra's hands down to the sides of her stomach. "Right around here, my opponent really liked body blows," she explained. "And hey, once your tour is up, you could pro'lly do anything you wanted. Might as well try everything, you know? You got plenty of time to figure out what it is you really enjoy doing."

He began to tenderly rub her stomach, taking care to not hurt her but to not be too soft. "We will see what I do..." He told her, getting her entire upper stomach but keeping away from her lower half without her guiding him there.

"Yeah, right there," Elicia said, biting her lip to restrain another moan. "Still, it helps to have some kinda idea on what you wanna do next. Even if it's just something like taking a temp job somewhere or going back to school or whatever, it gives you something to focus on. Something to give you a reason to work for tomorrow, not just live for today, y'know?"

"I get what you mean... Maybe I will get a part time job, maybe I will just be a soldier for a living." He moved lower with his massage, waiting for her to tell him where the boundary was.

"That's always an option, I suppose," Elicia said. She opened her mouth to add something to that statement, though the slowly lowering hands of the android behind her caused her breath to hitch slightly. "A-audacious, aren't we?" Elicia stammered, the knot in her gut growing even as her muscles relaxed.

"Just tell me where to stop..." He told her as he went lower very slowly, moving around her entire lower stomach, not just one spot.

"Al-alright, that's good," Elicia said as Ezra reached her waist. "Gonna need a hell of a lot more than a cold shower after this if you keep going."

He stopped at her waistline and just traveled back up like he did last time. "Glad I can help you so much..." He said, though the genuinity of his tone was strange to Ezra, seeing as his sarcastic nature was second hand to him.

"Is that sincerity I hear in your tone?" Elicia asked, before letting out a slight sigh of pleasure as Ezra's hands continued to knead her stomach. "Who knows... maybe there is something I can salvage in that twisted mind of yours," she joked.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself there, Elicia." Ezra moved his hands to her sides one last, giving them a tender rub until he pulled away. "All right, turn around. If I'm doing this I might as well finish." He told the Anglo-German woman as he rubbed the palms of his hands.

"A-alright," Elicia replied, letting out a deep sigh in an attempt to relieve some of the heat from her face. After a long moment, the medic slowly turned in place to face Ezra, though her eyes were downcast in an attempt to disguise just how flushed she was.

Still, Ezra could tell just how red faced she was and smiled, reaching down into the water and grabbing her right leg, beginning to rub her shin. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked seriously.

"If I wasn't, would you be getting away with this much?" Elicia asked rhetorically, glancing up the lock eyes with Ezra. "I mean, I don't just let anyone touch me so freely, so count yourself lucky."

"Well... I certainly am lucky." His hands moved upwards as he massaged her right thigh.

"Yeah, but don't consider yourself that lucky," Elicia countered, gently laying her hands on Ezra's as he slowly moved upward - the Anglo-German doing her best to ignore the raw feeling in her gut.

Ezra only smirked, really digging in and giving it his best. "Come on, you think too little of me... I'm just doing you a favor because I want to." The android replied seriously, but he was finding it harder to breath with the butterflies in his chest.

"I get that, but..." Elicia trailed off nervously. After a brief swallow, she found her voice again and said, "I'm just a bit worried about what form repayment will take..." And whether or not I'll be in right state of mind to make an informed decision about it, she added internally.

Ezra stopped his hands for a few moments, shaking his head as he began to rub her right foot. "Don't worry about repaying me."

Elicia shook her head firmly. "No, it's proper etiquette. My father always taught me to repay any favors as soon as possible, so that I don't get caught with too many debts," she explained, rubbing her biceps nervously. Under her breath, she added, "And there's only a couple ways to repay this..."

 

[MarineAvenger]

MarineAvenger and BMPixy: "Sinning with a Smile, Pt.4"

"You won't have a debt to me..." He finished with her foot and moved to her other shin.

"I'll still feel like I will," Elicia replied, averting her eyes uncomfortably. "A favor is always meant to be repaid, that's how things are with me. Hell, everything is meant to be repaid, whether it be favorable or foul. So, to see you doing something like this, and knowing how you feel..." Elicia shook her head vigorously. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have implied that. Forgive me."

"I am doing this because I like you." Ezra told Elicia as he went up her left thigh. "But that's not the whole reason... I'm doing this because I am paying you back for the kiss... Along with the lunch I made. I admit, it was a scumbag move, and I'm sorry for it." His hands stayed in place and he looked down.

"Hey, it's alright," Elicia said, resting a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Already forgiven, though not exactly forgotten," she added, chewing her lip slightly. "Kinda hard to forget something that... intense."

The android glanced up as he continued his care. "What... What are you saying?" He asked curiously.

Elicia opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, trying to figure out how to word what she was trying to say - her face growing ever redder as she did so. Oh for chrissake, the back of her mind bemoaned, just do it already! And with that little bit of mental prodding, Elicia lunged forward, nearly headbutting Ezra as she planted a kiss on his lips.

Ezra's eyes widened, but he soon closed them and put his hand on the side of Elicia's head, holding her a little as he kissed the medic back, breathing through his nose and putting his right hand on the side of her leg for support.

After a long moment Elicia broke off the kiss, breathing deeply as she bowed her head in shame. "I... I'm sorry I couldn't admit that earlier," she said, her voice nearly a whisper, "but I was... I was worried you didn't have a serious side, that you couldn't show the dedication I'd ask of you, despite knowing how we both felt. Please... please forgive me, Ezra."

He lightly grabbed her chin and pulled her head up, then moved his hand onto her cheek. "There's nothing to forgive. Just... as long as you can look past what I am, and love me for who I want to be... then things are just alright." He smiled warmly and tilted his head. "So what else were you hiding from me that you wanted to say before?" He asked, running his hand down her leg and rubbing her left foot.

"That you really look good in those trunks," Elicia replied with a light smile, taking this opportunity to run her hand along his chest. "And that I really, really appreciate... everything you've done."

Ezra found himself blushing himself but his cocky smile returned. "Well it's no bikini but you do pull the one piece look off...hella well." His hand moved up her leg again. "Not to mention... you are really soft, and your moaning was driving me crazy. I think you might have broke something with how bad I just wanted to kiss you when you were doing that."

Somehow Elicia's face managed to exude even more heat in light of the android's comments. "Ah, was it really that... lewd?" she asked, clasping her hands over her face in embarrassment. "Suppose you only have yourself to thank and blame for that..."

"Alright." Ezra stopped touching Elicia's leg and he turned away from her, going back to the other side. "I guess I shouldn't touch you anymore then, if you want to save yourself the embarrassment of doing stuff like that in front of me."

"Wait!" Elicia hastily exclaimed, reaching out a too short arm to try and catch the android. Upon realizing just how desperate she sounded, the medic recoiled and then slowly sank down to her chin in the water, realizing that the flush upon her face wasn't going to be fading any time soon. "Oh what depths I've fallen to," she muttered, annoyed at herself.

Ezra turned around and sat against the wall opposite of Elicia and he closed his eyes. "I give you a choice... you can leave the hot tub and dry off... the two of us forgetting what happened here and never mentioning it again, and we can keep being friends like you originally want." He opened them again and looked down at the water. "Or you can come over here with me, and we can... we'll keep being in each other's company... so to speak."

Elicia glanced down to the bottom of the of the hot tub, examining her options. I joined the XSDF for me, to find out what I wanted, she thought, before looking up at Ezra once more. But, all I want right now is... Without a word, Elicia pushed herself to her feet, let out a long sigh, and made her way over to Ezra's side.

"You sure?" He asked her one final time, crossing his arms over his legs as he pulled them close to him. "You can still go back."

"You could probably just delete what happened here from your memory banks, but it ain't so easy for me," Elicia replied, settling in next to Ezra. "I mean, I finally worked up the nerve to show you how I feel. It isn't easy just 'forgetting' something like that. Besides, if I didn't want to at least see where this goes, I wouldn't have done any of that in the first place." As she finished her explanation, the medic leaned against the android, resting her head on his shoulder.

Ezra smiled, putting his arm around her back and turning to plant a soft kiss on her lips. "Alright... then that answer is good enough for me." He placed his right hand on her upper thigh and rubbed it a bit. "We are here in private... just... want to see what works and go with it?"

"Perhaps somewhere else," Elicia said, glancing up at Ezra flirtatiously and grabbing his roaming hand. "Water doesn't provide the best experience, from my studies."

"No cameras in the changing room... and we don't have to worry about people wandering in..." He smirked, standing up out of the hot tub. "I locked the doors with a false 'under repair' order. Doors to the pools are locked."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Elicia asked, standing from the hot tub and grabbing Ezra by the hand, tugging him along towards the changing room. "Gotta finish what you started, after all."

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Brigid opened her heavy eyes, looking at the battlefield around her. Death, destruction, chaos. Everyone was dead. She could only watch as the last of her comrades, Sarah Wong, was lifted into the air, broken and bloody, and slammed back down with a sickening crack.

If only you were a bit stronger.

The deadly pirates looked upon Brigid, taking a sick pleasure in slowly walking over to the last of their prey. As Brigid watched in horror, a large crow landed next to her head, staring into her eyes.

No... you are strong enough. But you lack control. You call upon your power... call upon me... only in desperation... if you could control your power from the start, everyone wouldn't be dead!

"No..." Tears streamed down Brigid's face, not out of fear at the Balmadaar lifting her up, but out of sadness for her failings. "I... I wanted to be stronger... but I never learned... how to use that strength to its fullest..."

Then that is what you must do! The crow landed on the Balmadaar's shoulder, cawing loudly, almost like it was laughing. Stop being afraid of your own power! OR DIE!

Brigid's eyes flew open, tears continuing to run down her cheeks as she took in where she was. A sterile environment. Monitoring equipment. A movable bed. A hospital? No, the Einherjar's infirmary. She tried to calm her breath, but simply stared up at the ceiling, her hypnopompic paralysis taking its time to wear off as the the machine beeped loudly, indicating her racing heart.

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “The Price for Heroics”

High Orbit over Forseti (February 27th, 2044)
The Einherjar (0737 Hours, Ailey Standard)
Floor 9: Medical Ward: SPC

The gaze of a petite Frenchwoman shifted over to Brigid as she came to. Briefly glancing down to confirm she was stable, a regenesis pad over the Irish soldier's stomach, and devices binding her broken arm and leg to both mend them and bind them. "Ms. O'Brien? How do you feel?" Irina asked, to confirm if the painkillers were working properly.

"I-I feel... numb." Brigid slowly turned her eyes to Irina. "My limbs are still there, right?"

Irina nodded. "You broke some of your bones, but they'll be mended in about 85 hours. I recommend you take it easy for another 85 after that."

"Yeah... okay..." Her eyes widened a bit, a she moved to spring out of bed, the pain killers and mild pain the only thing stopping her from doing so. "Th-the others! What... what happened on the mission! Is... is everyone..."

"Everyone's fine," Irina assured her, gesturing for Brigid to lay back down. "If not for you and the Lieutenant I'm not sure that'd be the case, but it is."

Brigid slowly closed her eyes, her breath shuddering. "W-what about... Thomas Wolfe?"

"Stabilized." Irina looked away sadly. "There's nothing we can do about the arm though. It's completely gone."

"Damn." Brigid finally laid back. "This is my fault. If I had used my full strength from the beginning. If... if I was able to use my power from the beginning... Damn it. I'm sorry, Thomas."

"Blaming yourself isn't healthy. You said the same to Sasha, didn't you?" The doctor inquired.

Brigid slowly nodded. "You're right. Need... to be strong. For everyone. And at least we saved those civilians. And the Elerium. R... right?"

"Right. The public mission report indicated that the only objective that wasn't completed as satisfactorily as possible was the protection of property." The Frenchwoman shook her head dismissively. "And that's hardly the most important thing."

"Yeah... you're right." Brigid sighed. "85 hours, huh? What about my stomach wound?"

"The Tz6 will have that patched up in about 60 hours, so you won't have to worry as much about that. It was mostly a wound to the flesh. If the shot had penetrated any deeper, I don't know if we'd be having this conversation." Irina sat down next to Brigid's bed. "I'm going to have to ask you to be more careful, Ms. O'Brien."

Brigid grinned, but it was obvious there wasn't much humor behind it. " Guess I was a little reckless, huh? But I made it back, right?"

"Barely." Irina's calm demeanor faltered. "Please, promise me you'll take better care of yourself. For your sake and the sake of your friends and family."

Brigid frowned. "I will, Irina. I'm sorry. Truth is... I haven't seen much true combat. I guess... instead of freezing up, I ended doing the opposite."

"It does mean you're brave, I suppose," Irina noted, "but don't make a habit of sacrificing yourself needlessly. The situation with the fusion grenade seemed avoidable if you had used telekinesis on it rather than hurling your psyche-given-form around it." The doctor sighed. "Volupta used her biokinesis to soothe your nerves, but you nearly burnt out your nervous system and synaptic connections."

Brigid sighed. "I know. I... I panicked. My... my instincts must have taken over. I... I just wanted to... protect everyone. I couldn't think clearly. I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I probably hurt my friends with my little stunts. I... I can't even imagine what Sasha is feeling right now. She's probably worse then me."

Irina's eyes widened. "Your first instinct was to die to protect your friends, not save them and yourself?" She paled, her worry not dispelled.

Brigid looked away. "My... my first instinct was to save everyone by any means necessary. I... I guess I'm not exactly what you'd call a cunning strategist. I... I'm sorry, Irina. I didn't mean to cause everyone so much grief."

"I'm not angry, just... fearful. Maybe you should speak with Ms. Cross as well. And Sadha and Mikhail wanted to visit you if you don't mind."

"Y-yeah!" Brigid sat up a bit more, giving Irina a hopeful look. "I mean... please, Irina. I'd like that very much."

The black-haired woman dipped her head, and then stepped out of the room. A moment later, Sasha rushed, kneeling at the side of the bed and hugging Brigid's uninjured arm tightly, while Mikhail sat down in the chair.

"Thank God you're alright..." Sasha mumbled. "I was so worried. We both were."

"I know." Brigid motioned her head towards Irina. "The good doctor was just letting me know what I did wrong. I'd be upset if she wasn't absolutely right."

Sasha nodded. "You told me not to be hard on myself, so I can't let you be a hypocrite, can I?" She said weakly.

Mikhail rubbed the back of his neck. "And besides, you have to take care of yourself. Between your brother, Cayden... Us, you've got too much to lose."

"I know. I'm sorry." Brigid looked into Sasha's eyes. "I swear, I'll be more careful. I... I was stupid. Reckless. You... you didn't see the mission recordings, did you?"

"I... I did. I understand why you weren't thinking clearly, woth what happened to those three guards... A-and Wolfe."

"It's no excuse," Brigid mumbled. "Especialy early on. If Osahar hadn't watched my back when I charged those Balmadaar... I was just so caught up in it all..."

Sasha shook her head. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, just be more careful in the future."

"I know." Brigid smiled, pulling Sasha closer. "And you're not. Seeing my friends does nothing but make me feel better. Knowing you're here waiting for me, it makes it that much more important to come home."

Mikhail smiled softly at the two. "When you get out of here, we should hang out more. I know that D-006 has been only half-full a lot lately... I'm hoping we could spend more time with you, Leo, Cayden, and Korra."

"Good idea!" Brigid held her stomach, flinching a bit and laying back. "Heh heh... I'd like that very much... when I can stand on my own."

Mikhail had sat up in his chair in concern, but gradually relaxed and sat back down. "Right. I wasn't saying to try for anything early. We're patient."

"O-of course." Brigid yawned lightly, laying a hand on her stomach. "You know me. Always... eager..."

 

[Alzdude28]

Alzdude28 & Mangrale

Two Wings

March 28th 2044
Orbit of Forseti
Einherjar, Flight Simulator Room.
1802

Hide pushed the stick fully away from him, flipped his Stingray into a dive and plunged towards the planet’s surface. Looking around for the pursuing craft he spotted movement on his six, and knife-edged in a tight curve. The altimeter kept ticking lower, and around him a faint glow showed that he was beginning to pick up some ram heating from the upper atmosphere. He pushed the throttle forward and pulled an Immelman turn, trying to get a bead on his opponent.

Narcisse entered the training simulations room, much later than he normally would. The automatic doors closed behind him, leaving him staring throughout the ordered and disciplined space. On either side of the centered walkway, were rows of state of the art, fighter training simulators, effectively designed to replicate the experience and, to a certain extent, the stimuli involved in actual flight and combat scenarios.

The french pilot wasn’t expecting anyone to be around at this time, so when he noticed one of the large apparatuses being used he refaced the door. But, his curiosity overpowered him and he neared it.

After a few moments the simulator came to a stop, the canopy opened and Hide climbed out, wiping his forehead. He began shutting the system down, then turned around and saw Narcisse. “Good evening. Here for a flight?”

Narcisse jumped, as if someone caught where they shouldn't be, but it was clearly too late for him to escape. “Ah, um. I’m s-sorry if I was interrupting you. I didn’t mean to. I was just passing by. Th-this isn’t usually the time for my simulation training.” He waved both of his black hands worriedly. Unfortunately for him, he was clearly wearing his pilot gear.

“Don’t worry about it. There’s plenty of room.” He waved an arm at the other sims. “I was just putting a couple of extra hours in, it’s been a while since I’ve flown atmospheric.”

“Y-Yeah, right.” The cyborg nodded in a hurry. He looked at the other simulators extensively and then turned to Hide. “Is atmospheric very different from space? I’ve only ever flown out in space,” he said, a trace of worry and embarrassment on his features.

“Never atmospheric?” Hide paused for a second. “Sorry, I’m just a little surprised that’s all. What is it you fly?”

“Currently, I fly a Seraph along with the rest of Penguin Squadron.” He scratched the side of his head, worried over where this conversation was going.

“A Seraph? You should ask to transfer to a real aircraft!” He said with a grin, then tapped the patches on his flight suit. “like the Stingray. I’m Pelican squadron, Nebula flight.”

Narcisse breathed out in relief and perked up somewhat. “Um sure. Once I crash my Seraph, I’ll be sure to consider the Stingray…” he chuckled. “... if there’re still any in one piece by that time,” he jested.

“Touché.” Hide leaned back against the sim. “Anyway, where are my manners? I didn’t introduce myself. SA Takigawa Hideyoshi. Callsign Turtle. Most people call me Hide though.”

Bellrose faltered a little. “Oh, of course! Sorry, I’m Narcisse Bellrose. Um... I guess my callsign would be… well my flightmates in Red Eye have taken to calling me Pinball.” He nervously rubbed his chin. “Good to meet you.”

“You too.” Hide extended a hand. “Mind if I ask where you were before this posting?”

There was subtle trepidation evident in Narcisse’s arm, but it too moved to shake Hide’s hand, with a fair grip. “No not at all. I was… aboard the Arkbird before coming here.” He would have left it at that, but his eyebrows raised as if remembering something. “A-and how about you? Where were you before this?...”

“I’ve been in the XSDF a couple of years now, before that...well, I did some test piloting back on Earth, although I can’t say exactly where. That’s where…” He pointed at the plasma burn scars on his face. “... You know… And before that it was JASDF. I’ve been around a fair bit.”

Narcisse let out a low volumed whistle, one he wasn’t in the habit of us using very often. “Yes I should say so.” His expression dipped and he looked away a few degrees. “I-I’m sorry, about the… what happened to you.”

“No need for you to be sorry, what’s done is done. As to what happened, the plasma burns were from a crash. I was flight testing a prototype fighter, engine caught fire and I had to ditch at the nearest air base. Still, looking on the bright side, it helps to hide the other scars.” He grinned. “Got those when I was shot down over Pyongyang back in the thirties. I’m guessing you’re almost too young to even remember the Korean war.”

The french pilot nodded. “Yeah, I was born during the Ethereal war, so I wouldn’t remember the Korean War very… personally.” He gave Hide a concerned look. “Um… What do you mean by… other scars?”

Hide’s eyes clouded momentarily. “We were flying attack runs on military installations. Unguided bombs. There was an anti-aircraft cannon set up. Flak shell exploded right ahead of me, the shrapnel blew my canopy apart. My helmet saved my life, I don’t doubt that at all, but a few glass fragments cut me quite badly. I managed to keep control until I was away from the city, then I ejected. Three days later I crossed the front line. Or they passed me. I’m not sure which.” He paused for a moment. “Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble a little…”

Narcisse gulped before speaking, waving his hand dismissively. “That’s alright. Hardly anyone rambles as much as me.” He crossed his arms and shifted around in place. “Sounds like things haven’t been very easy for you.” The cyborg pondered for a couple of seconds. “You think that any sort of regenerative treatment could, I don’t know, reduce the scars in any way?”

“It’s possible, but I chose to keep them. Both times I was one tiny detail from death. In my opinion that’s not something I think I should allow myself to forget. Besides, I’ve seen worse. At least I’m still recognisable.” He gave a grim smile, never one to dwell on the darker aspects of his life.

Narcisse smiled thinly, rubbing the side of his right arm with his left hand. “That’s true. Some things can’t be forgotten, no matter how much time passes.” After a few moments, he chuckled. “Of course, after a while, people will only recognize you in a crowd from your scars. I know I will.”

“I suppose that’s true. Briefly his expression became serious once more. “Every frontline pilot has scars. Some are just harder to see.” Then he became jovial. “Still, it could be worse. At least nobody can ever say I’ve flown a Seraph.” He laughed. “Anyway, you’re a fine one to talk about scarring. Is that a cybernetic hand?” He said, noticing the black synthetic material covering the other pilot’s hands.

Narcisse lifted his hands, at first with great trepidation but, after an uncomfortable sigh, wagged them playfully. “Oh these old things? Nah, they’re just synthetics. I thought about upgrading to cybernetic ones, but… “ he wore a gleeful grin. “you could say I’ve grown rather attached to them.”

Hide groaned theatrically. “You just had to make that joke, didn’t you?”

Narcisse tried to cover his hearty laughter with his hand, but was doing a terrible job at it. “Sorry, I’ve been waiting to use that one for a while now.”

“I suppose I can’t complain. It was a perfect opportunity.” Said Hide with a smile. He checked his watch. “I was planning another sortie before dinner. Care to join me?”

Narcisse was moderately confused. “Hmm? Do you mean for a sortie… or for dinner?”

“Well, I meant the sortie, but you’re welcome to eat with me if you like.” He climbed back into the seat of the sim. “How about it?”

The pilot wasn’t sure of what to say next, but as he thought of something, he climbed into an apparatus next to Hide’s. I don’t think I could get out of this one… he thought contentedly. He looked towards Hide in the adjoining cockpit and smiled. “Sure, why not?” Maybe I don’t want to anymore…

Hide closed the canopy and started the simulation. “Gambatte, Gaijin.” He called across to Narcisse, while arming his weapons. “Let’s make this fun.”

Narcisse had a frown on his face, the kind that mixed both happiness and embarrassment and joy together. “Alright then.” He activated the machine, which lit up, and closed his own canopy before taking a deep breath. “Mission acknowledged,” he muttered, grinning.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Marineavenger & Dhalexpert Just like old times

In Orbit of Forseti, Aboard the Einherjar
1531 Local Time; March 29th, 2044
Barricks

Cassia sat at her and Noire’s personal computer, looking up the local animals on the planet and trying to figure out which one to hunt. “Hum, the animals here are very interesting, there smaller than some I met on Progressus.” Cassia continued to look at the animals but spilled her drink next to it.

“Ah... dammit, Noire I spilled-!” A look of recollection dawned on her face. “Ah right, she’s training right now, damn.” Cassia closed the computer and went towards engineering to find someone that can fix her computer.

As Cassia neared engineering, she bumped into a guy wearing just normal civilian clothes, though upon closer inspection the I.D. tag on his shirt confirmed him as a member of engineering. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He stated, turning to walk away.

Cassia rubbed her head “Ugh, don’t worry about that it’s fine hm?” Cassia looked at the man and sees an engineering ID on him. “Oh, perfect you're an engineer. Say, I need your help.”

The man ran a hand through his half blonde, half dark brown hair. “What with?”

Cassia smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Well, I was researching the wildlife on the planet and I dropped my drink onto the computer. Think you can fix it?”

The man rubbed his chin for a moment, and nodded his head. “Yeah, I could do it. Just give me a bit and I will head to your room.” Once the soldier gave the engineer the room number, he smiled. “Alright, once I get my tools I will head over as soon as I can.” He turned and began to walk away. “Name is Leo, so when I knock let me in!” Leo called out to Cassia.

Cassia went back to her room and saw that Noire was back. “Oh, Noire, your back.”

“Yeah, I swear Cassia, the training that you give me is tough. I mean training in zero degree weather! Come on… yes, the armor helps but not much.”

“Quiet winning, also I kinda broke the computer and an engineer is coming to fix it.”

Noire rubbed her head “Ugh you know what I’m tired, you do whatever Cass, I’m taking a shower I’m a wreck.”

“I wouldn't he should be coming very soon.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and a voice said, “Alright, it’s Leo, let me in!” He called out.

“Well isn't that convenient, you better hurry up and get changed Noire.”

“Sigh, I’m going to the bathroom, just do what you got to do, alright?” Noire headed to the bathroom

“Very well mate.” Cassia opened the door “Sorry to keep you waiting, come on in.”

Leo nodded, carrying a brown paper bag in his hand with a tool belt around his hip. “Show me the laptop.”

“That’s the one right there.” Cassia pointed towards the computer “As you can see it’s kinda broken. Ugh I really wish I wasn't drinking near that damn thing.”

“Well… that’s sort of common sense.” Leo sat down in the chair, turning over the sticky laptop and taking out a screwdriver to begin taking off the bottom. Leo set the plastic bottom aside and looked at the components inside with a winced. “Damn… what did you do, spill a full cup?”

“No the stuff was half full, anyway you seem to have this. I'm going to the planet to get my hunting license and to also help rebuild some of the buildings.” Cassia left the room without another word.

Leo shook his head, now thinking he was alone and not realizing Noire was in the bathroom. “Alright…” The engineer slowly took out components of the laptop, spraying them down with a water based chemical that would act as a cleaner without actually damaging the components. One by one, he sprayed them and placed them in the bag, the old rice trick always being a favorite of his. “Now just let those sit and in a little while it shall be done.” He thought out loud to himself. Leo sat for a few moments, standing up as he felt like he had to use the bathroom and he walked over to the door, opening it.

Noire turned as the door opened and looked at the strange man standing right infront of her, Noire looked down and saw that she’s in her underwear. “Yeaaaaaaaaaah.” Noire punched the man into the far side of the room. “Who are you, and did anyone ever tell you to knock you jackass!?” Noire eyes started to glow red as her anger start to build.

Leo grabbed his stomach, gasping for air from the impact and closed his eyes in pain. “I… didn’t know… that woman… had a roommate…” He managed to get out, coughing heavily.

“Bull! Didn't you hear Cassia talking to someone when she was in here?” Noire looks around “Where's Cassia?”

Leo coughed again, holding his chest. “She left and asked me to get her laptop running again… I only wanted to use the bathroom.”

Noire looked around and realized that she was still in her underwear. “Ugh, go and stay in there until I tell you to come out, understand.”

Leo groaned. “You didn’t have to… punch me so hard…” His coughing didn’t stop.

“I didn't, that was a small punch now.” Noire picked up the man. “Now get in the bathroom.” Noire tossed the man into the bathroom and shut the door.

Leo rubbed his face, his chest area still extremely sore but his coughing having ceased. The IT guy just laid on the floor, looking up at the light. “Why couldn’t… I have been in Customer Service… Logan is probably laughing his ass off right now.”

Noire started to pace around, calming herself down, she constantly told herself to calm down. After a while Noire eyes started to go back to normal, Noire looked in the mirror and saw that her eyes were back to normal. “Sigh, damn that’s starting to happen more often, crap that training Cassia is making me do is getting me more berzerk then I realized sigh.” Noire grabbed some pants and a shirt and started to change. I should probably apologize to that man, he didn't do anything wrong.

Leo didn’t move from his spot in the bathroom, not being able to. “I’m going to have to go get myself checked out after this…” He mumbled to himself.

Noire opened the door and saw Leo still on the ground Yep I hit him a little to hard, remember Noire treat everything like an egg, the slightest bit of force can break it. If it’s a person treat them like glass, mom would kill me right now and dad will give me an ear full. Noire picks the man up and puts him on her bed, Noire looks at the dent she left punching the man. “Ou boy hey you alive? Please don’t die.”

“I’m… not a boy, first of all… and second, yes, I am still alive, but this hurts like hell! Who the hell are you anyways?”

“The Name is Noire, and I’m sorry for probably giving you internal bleeding.”

“Please tell me you’re joking?” Leo asked.

“Yes, i’m aware that my name is the definition of old cop shows but no my name is Noire.”

“No…” The man shook his head. “Noire, don’t you recognize me you dense bimbo?”

Noire punches the man's ribs, she made sure to hold back her punch to make it feel like a normal punch. “Who are you calling a bimbo, you shit.”

He still grunted in pain. With an ‘Ow’ he answered. “Your fucking cousin, that’s who”

Noire looks at the man “I don't have many male cousins, do you mind telling me your name?”

“It’s me! Leo… you stupid, dense nut of a woman!” He yelled.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Part 2

“Leo, no no you can’t be. Leo… he’s on Earth and Cayden would have mentioned that his brother is on board.”

“You remember the time we were younger and we smeared peanut butter in your mother’s panties and blamed my Dad for it!?” He yelled again, groaning as he moved to quick.

Noire looked in confusion “Wait, I never told anyone about that, oh shit, Leo!” Noire started to hug Leo “ I’m sorry i’m sorry, I didn't know that was you I haven't seen you in years I didn't recognize you.”

“Ow, ow, ow…” He said, gritted his teeth but bearing it as he hugged Noire back. “Yeah… maybe you should do that more before breaking their ribs!”

“I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to harm you but you still should have knocked you dumbass.” Noire said.

“Your roommate never mentioned another, and I had to take a piss!” He yelled back. “Honestly… your thick head amazes me sometimes.”

“Well this thick headed person possibly broke your ribs,and probably made you piss yourself.”

“You wish you were that lucky.” He chuckled, sitting up and kissing Noire on the cheek and giving her another hug.

“Aww that’s nice, now hurry up and go to the bathroom. You're sitting in my bed, and I don’t want the smell of piss on my sheets.”

“Screw your bed, I wouldn’t go and ruin my pants like that.” Leo turned on the bed and stood up slowly with a bit of work, hobbling back into the bathroom, only being in there for two minutes and stepping out after the sound of the sink being turned off. “Now… that’s better.”

“Again i’m sorry for well the possible broken ribs, anyway you said you were going to fix our computer.”

“I am, just letting the soaked parts sit in rice a while to remove the moisture from them. Can’t do anything until then.” He sat back down on the bed, being very close to Noire. “So… let’s catch up.”

“I have nothing to mention, not much has changed for me since we were kids. I went to school got picked on sent my bulles to some hospitals, went to college helped the XSDF when criminals were going nuts and now i’m here.”

Leo shook his head. “Well I went to school and college, getting good grades and landing a job I loved and a girl I loved, broke up with the girl and quit the job because it wasn’t appealing anymore, and now I am here.”

“Sounds like you gotten into some trouble with woman, well that’s kinda expected you're not the gentlemen your brother is.” Noire says jokingly.

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Oh really… Noire did you already forget what you did when we were five?”

Noire starts to role her eyes back and forth. “Pth I don’t know what your talking about, I was a perfect lady.” Noire says trying not laugh and trying to keep a serious face.

“Oh really? Is that why every time you came over you just happened to sleep in my bed every night, and all the times you wanted to play house, that totally wasn’t anything. Do I need to mention the time you once drew a chart trying to explain how we weren’t cousins as well?” He teased, a smile not leaving his face. When he looked back, they were fond memories.

“Huph I have no Idea what you mean.” Noire says while her face start to turn “Now shut it before I break one of your other ribs, or were ever I punched first.”

His grin turned mischievous and his arm slowly snaked behind her, the IT guy wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. “D’aw… is someone embarrassed?”

“Shut up you, i’m not getting embarrassed.” Noire face starts to gets even more red.

“Just admit it and I will stop. Admit how much you love your cousin.” He commanded, poking her in the ribs.

“Never, now get off before I tear off your arm.” Noires eyes start to lightly glow.

He squeezed her tighter. “Do it… I dare you to tell me how much you love me! Lat I knew little miss Noire never backed down from a dare.”

Noire starts to think “Ugh fine, I Love my cousin now get off me.” Noire says in defeat

Leo thought for a few moments. “Not good enough. I want you to be descriptive.” His smile only seemed to grow. Man, we haven’t done stuff like this since we were kids… it feels good to be with the old gang again. I really am glad I kept with these guys, rather than Cayden who gave up.

“Sigh I love my cousin Leo, who if he doesn't let go of me will have more in common with his dad. And will be getting a metal arm.”

Leo shook his head. “Alright…” He kissed Noire on the cheek one more time and let her go. Me and Vindicta had our smarts, me and Cam had our close, long distance relationship, Me and the Dragis had something similar, but… He shook his head, not developing the line of thought anymore. And me and Noire had a really close friendship… it’s like being seven all over again… so little has changed and yet everything has as well. Finishing his thoughts, Leo chuckled.

“Sign” Noire rubs her cheek “Egh. Leo you're annoying you know that, but then again Cayden is very distant and barely talks. And with me being across the world from you, you must have been really deprived of fun.”

“Come on, N… you always seem so aggressive and pent up. We are family, and I want to bring out the same love you showed when you were younger.” He told his cousin sincerely.

“Leo you didn't go through what I've been through, when you're treated less than human you kinda become an ass. I learned not to trust people and become more hesitant, I wish you were there at least I would have had a friend to mess with.”

She is like Sasha… I should have tried more for my friends. “Well I’m here now, and we will work on your personality problems and trust issues.” Leo’s smile faded a bit. “But… I want something in return. Whenever we are together… you have to show the same level of affection you did to me all those years ago, no matter where we are, public or otherwise.”

“Go fuck yourself in public i’m not doing that, privet sure i’ll be as nice to you as much as when we were kids but public no.”

“Well… baby steps.” Leo scratched his head and got up. “Wanna grab some lunch? Moisture takes hours to get out.”

“Sure I can grab a bite, that reminds me why do you keep kissing my cheek?”

“Isn’t that what you Frenchies do?” Leo teased her, standing up. “Because you are my family, and I can. I’d do it to Vindicta too but believe it or not, she would throw a bigger tantrum.” He walked to the door and opened it. “Now… I think it’s long past do we have some fun.”

 

[Black0ut]

"Awakened Fears"
XSDF Battleship Einherjar
2209 hours
March 28th ,2044
Medical Ward

The hospital room was dark, as if to hide the macabre nature of the body laying on the medical bed. Thomas mind was replaying the mission repeatedly, with random memories interjecting the horrid mission.

Wolfe was standing away from the barge, with a single thought, I think we got all of them. I wond-- Wolfe had thought, the mental question he had evaporating along with his arm.

Thomas' face paled, a second before he felt the pain. When the pain hit him, Wolfe began to falter, nearly falling to the ground. An inhuman scream erupted from the medic's mouth, alerting the other soldiers of Thomas' plight.

The scream died a moment later as he began to crumple to the ground, only to be grabbed by a small figure, who flew him to safety. His memory faded, the medic starting to blackout from the excruciating pain he felt.

Another memory interjected, replacing the battlefield with a grassy hill with blurry stones all around it, as far as the eye could see. A small congregation of people stood around one of the stones. Thomas moved towards them, with a sad shuffle.

As the big man moved towards the group, the stones shifted into focus. But they weren't stones. They were graves. The area Thomas was in was a cemetery.

As Thomas arrived, an elderly man with white hair and black robes spoke, "We gather here today to honor the life of Albert Arkwright, a man who was a great father, friend, and grandfather. Would anyone like to say a few words about the deceased?"

Thomas raised his hand and stepped forward. As he did so, the memory began to fade as Thomas awoke on the medical bed.Damn...feels like I got hit by a train... The big man thought. Noticing a something Thomas lifted his left arm.

It didn't move. The big man noticeably paled. With a terrified expression, Wolfe grabbed at his left arm with his remaining arm. The robo-arm grasped at the empty socket with panic.

Thomas began to shake with a mixture of anger and sorrow. The sound of frantic beeping signaled the medic's increased heart rate and blood pressure. Thomas began to try and remove the strange machine from his left side, with his T1 arm forcefully.

A couple of doctors rushed in, wondering what had happened to the medic. One of them had gotten too close, as Thomas yanked one of the doctors over to him and said, nearly growling, "Get this fucking thing off me. Now!"

Thomas softened, the terrified look the doctors had causing Thomas to feel guilty. Thomas immediately released the captured doctor and said, in a very quiet voice, "Please forgive me. I hate being near-helpless. I...I get really aggressive whenever I'm like that."

The doctors, however, did not trust Thomas after his outburst, as several security guards stood watch as the doctors worked to remove the foreign machine from Thomas's body.

After the process was over, one of the doctors immediately called someone and left the room. After a few moments, the doctor returned, walking up to Thomas, who was now sitting on the bed.

"While you were unconscious, Dr.Beaumont ordered you a new arm, based on the one you currently have." The doctor told Thomas. The big man's mind raced. ... No, No, No, No! This can't be happening! Wolfe thought desperately, the finality of his situation sinking in.

He recollected his thoughts, and calmed himself down. I just lost my arm. My fucking arm. What a hell of a way to wake up... Thomas stood up, nearly falling on the doctor in front of him, his legs unused to standing.

After regaining his balance, although the medic was shaking slightly, Thomas said "Whenever you guys can attach the arm, please do it. But, please put synthetic skin over it. I want to have some semblance of a real arm." The medic had a dark realization: If he were to die, no one would notice. Or care.

Maybe a couple of people would care. After a few months, I'd be forgotten. I... I'm weak. I'm only brave when other people are with me. Only kind when others show me that same kindness. I'm a chameleon; never defining myself, but defining others. Even with their support, the one thing I truly cherish, I don't deserve my comrades. But I can earn it. I just got to be better, be someone that people can look up to on this ship. Wolfe thought, a grim look of determination stuck on his face.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Shinso/Quin Space
Sector C-2, Near Shinso Planet Leono
Shinso Galactic Freighter Korana
March 28th, 2044

Small, modified Shinso fighters zipped through space, firing at other very similar Shinso fighters. The former ships had the look of scraps pieced together to form a whole, but one would be hard pressed to notice this in the heat of battle, and only each side's individual spacial and communication signatures stopped an onslaught of friendly fire.

Dabura Legunas, Captain of the Shinso Galactic Freighter Korana, yawned deeply as he watched the fight unfold, mostly one sided for his side. Naturally, one would usually not expect a freighter to be so well defended, but this was Shinso space. Besides, if the enemy was who Dabura thought they were, they should have known better.

And so, Dabura sat back, relaxing as the enemy fighters fell, one after another, only scoring the occasional kill on an unmanned craft. "Why we use such crafts with our A.I. technology is beyond me."

"I-I'm sorry... master?" A Cartus asked, carefully handing Dabura a large glass of bamba milk.

"I was not speaking to you!" Dabura snatched the glass. "Ignorant hudra. Speak when spoken to." He chugged the glass, and shoved it back into the Mayane's arms.

"I... I thought you were..." she started, but quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry, master!"

Dabura snarled, and watched as the debris of a fighter slammed into the Korana's shields. "Blast it. Order a ceasefire before they scratch my ship!"

"Yes, Captain." The helmsman sent out an automated order to cease fire. After a few minutes, the fighting in both sides ceased, and the main enemy gunship moved in front of the Korana. "Enemy ship is hailing us."

"On screen," Dabura grumbled. As he had suspected, the image of several Cartus appeared on the main viewer. Dabura laughed quietly to himself, a ship commanded by such lowly beings humorous to him. Leaning forward, he said, "I can use a bit of entertainment. So please amuse me by telling me your demands.

His enslaved attendant glanced at the screen, then quickly looked away, afraid her eyes might betray. The Cartus captain sat up straight in his chair, his expression solid and unwavering. "I am Kasuna Kasami. I am the head of the Galactic Cartus Liberation Front. And the GCLF will no longer stand by and let your oppression continue."

"Here we go," Dabura mumbled, rolling his eyes and snapping his fingers for another glass of milk.

"Too long have our people been unjustly enslaved by the Shinso. While your brutish strength has allowed you to push us down in the past, technology now favors the more cunning."

"Are they implying their... 'technologically advanced' junker will beat our top of the line ship?" The first officer laughed, and was joined by half the bridge crew.

Dabura sat back again, and shook his head. "I know who you are. And the Shinso Alliance knows all about your movements. I'd say you were little more than a pest, but you've actually managed to beat us once or twice." He narrowed his eyes. "Of course, you had twice as many ships against vessels half our strength at those times. You can't honestly think you pose a threat to us. So tell me... why are you really here?"

Kasami faltered for a moment before regaining his composure, his eyes momentarily darting towards the Cartus by Dabura's side. "We... want what we have always wanted. For our people to be free of your tyranny! Now... power down your weapons, lower your shields, and prepared to be boarded. If you cooperate with the release of all Cartus hudra, no one will get hurt."

"Well... how boring. What is the point if nobody has to suffer for your gain?!" Mayane offered Dabura another glass of milk, which flew to the floor as Dabura grabbed her. He lifted her up by her hair with one hand, his razor sharp teeth showing through his wide grin. "How about this? You promise not harm us, my oh so scary opponent, and we'll let you have all our Cartus... except this one."

Kasami tried to retain his composure, but the beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face gave him away. "Every... every Cartus' life is precious. We will not..."

"Oh? Every life?" Dabura laughed. "Tell that to the men you sacrificed in a vain attempt to regain your precious Mayane Kasami!" He dropped Mayane, the young girl falling face first into the spilled milk. "And you will fail to get anyone! How does your crew feel, knowing their noble leader led them to their deaths for his own personal pursuits?"

Several crewmen on the Cartus ship looked like they took those words to heart, and the woman siting next to Kasami whispered something to him. Looking none to happy, Kasami slowly nodded. "We will withdraw... for now. But mark my word..."

"I think not," Dabura said with a yawn. "Prepare to fire on my mark. Blow them to space debris."

"Master, no!" Mayane yelled. "Please, master! Spare them!"

"No," Dabura answered flatly. "Kill them. Open..."

The glass cup Mayane had been carrying shattered against his forehead, and he howled in rage. The Cartus leapt threw the air, tackling the helmsman to the ground before he could fire. "Run, brother!" She yelled. "Forget about me!"

"Mayane, no!" Kasami jumped from his chair. "I can't..."

"You have to!" His first officer snapped. She ran to their own controls, pushing the helmsman aside and typing on the computer. A few moments later, the transmission cut out, and the Cartus ship turned around.

"No! Don't let them escape!" Dabura jumped out of his seat. "Computer, fire at the..." Before he could finish, the Cartus ship and all of its accompanying fighters jumped into hyperspace.

A long silence lingered on the bridge. The helmsman returned to his station, and cautiously said, "We can pursue them, Captain. I doubt their top speed is anything that could..."

"Let them go," Dabura muttered, wiping some blood from his eyes and picking a small shard of glass out of his forehead. He slowly walked over to Mayane, staring down at the whimpering girl. To everyone's shock, especially Mayane's, he did not reach down to strangle her. Instead, he simply grabbed her arm and lifted her into a standing position. Crouching a bit to be at eye level, he slowly, calmly, and quietly told her, "You know... for a cheri, you're a handful. Too much so, I'd say, to be worth the trouble. So just know that the only reason I'm not selling you the first chance I get... is because I am confident that, as long as you are in my hands, your brother will never get you."

He walked off, heading for the infirmary to have his wounds tended to. Mayane simply stood in the middle of the bridge, watching as two other hudra tended to the mess. "Go back to your room," the helmsman said in a surprisingly nurturing tone. Mayane slowly nodded, and walked past him. As she did, he whispered, "Don't lose hope," causing her to slow her stride for a moment before continuing on.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Patchwork Memories, Part 1”

High Orbit over Forseti (March 30th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1509 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 8: Main Engineering

Hermes Arcwright walked along the edge of main engineering, glancing across the coffin rail running between him and the primary part of the room. From even a distance he could see that production had been ramped up, plasma weapons being manufactured and powered armor being put together with the influx of Elerium and the Einherjar’s stores of Zero Alloys being tapped into. I guess it won’t be long until the Special Operatives aren’t the only ones using plasma weapons. That’s good to see, Hermes thought to himself, wondering if Samantha would feel at all jealous about that.

Coming to one of the personal workshops, the android walked up to the door, and rapped on its frame. “Nick?” He called into the room.

There was a clatter from inside and seconds later the door opened, the engineer pushing up his glasses with a smile and looking back inside quick. “H-Hey, thanks for coming so soon! I got exciting….” He looked back again. “Sorry, come in, I got news… just need…” He walked back inside and set about picking up a stack of files he had knocked down.

Hermes cautiously entered, though gave Nick a smile. “I’m in no rush. You know I have plenty of free time, even considering that I part-time as a mechanic during the night.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” He stood up and placed the stack he picked up on the middle of the table. “Seems you're good at more than blowing stuff up and going out there to be all cool.” The engineer told the android with a rather chipper tone.

Hermes shrugged. “I would chalk my technical talents up to perhaps previous experience, but I can’t be sure… unless you’ve reached some sort of breakthrough.”

Nick’s smile widened and he nodded his head, walking over to his computer and moving the mouse so the screen to it woke up from hibernation and he clicked open a folder on the screen, bringing up a set of images and waving Hermes over. “So… I discovered something interesting about A.I. while I was doing an upgrade to Glitch. When I was doing sequential coding to his main CPU software, I discovered that after I applied his upgrade, it had built itself off the old framework. However… the old data that was still there… it didn’t get automatically deleted. So I did some thinking and… I may have found a way to try and sift through your system to find specks of this old, leftover memory from past upgrades. Who knows… one of them might hold a memory file.”

“It’s something, at least.” Hermes glanced around the room. “I’m ready to try this out whenever you are.”

Nick nodded and grabbed a stool of Hermes, setting it down next to his chair and looking around, scratching his head. “Dang… where did I put it…” Nick ran over to one of the leftover crates that was still in his office (not bothering to have it removed as it was great for storage) and looking inside. “Hey, Glitch… do you uh… know where the adaptor cord to my PC is?”

From inside, the A.I. floated up, still having the old shell he had used before but with a few distinguishable differences. First was the ‘eye’ that was located in the middle of his body was a different color, no longer white but a light blue, the image of a single dot with two curved lines above it simulating where he was looking. There was also some color outlines to his body, something Nick had added one night to give his friend some flare, though per usual, it was blue outlines along his grey exterior.

“I believe Alice put it in the top drawer last time she had worked on Hestia, Mr. Cauthon. I can only hazard to guess that is where it is now… I didn’t touch it.” The A.I. explained, having emotion to his voice rather than his rather stoic one before. The A.I. looked at the visitor and floated over to the android. “Hello again, Hermes.”

Hermes bowed slightly. “Hello, Glitch. Nice to see you again.”

“It is quite good to be seen… I was rather unpleased with the extended absence I was placed under.”

Nick rushed over to the computer desk and opened the drawer, taking out the cord and going behind Hermes, hooking the android up. “Yeah… my bad.” He ran over and jumped into his seat, pulling his way up to the keyboard. “Ready to see if my idea works?” He asked Hermes one last time.

“I am. Let’s give it a shot.” With a nod of his head, Nick began typing rapidly into the keyboard, bringing up a command window where he inputted the paths he had memorized in his head, biting his lip as he tried his best to try and picked up something located deep within the android. He imputed location after location, looking for some sort of anomaly. Gradually, text formed on the screen, simply words and phrases at first. Many of them were vague such as “the family”, or simply common words that didn’t mean anything, but eventually a few coherent things popped up. A few names. “Chun”, “Jishin”, and “Maria”, showed up, though no context followed them.

A brief memory or two surfaced. The first one detailed Hermes walking down the hallway of a ship, perhaps the one from which he had escaped from onto Sihan 2. The second was no more significant, being just the android repairing a piece of weaponry, some sort of laser rifle. As Nick’s options narrowed, a few more meaningless phrases were added to the list, followed by the names “Rick” and “Grazia”. That marked the end of salvageable information.

Before Nick could turn the scan off and just after the last piece of information had been recovered, Hermes’s eyes widened in horror. “T-That’s…” His voice wavered into anguish. “Grazia!” The screen shimmered, showing a third memory, this one shockingly coherent, and seemingly coming out of nowhere.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Recollection I - Shredded Metal

High Orbit over Sihan 2 (December 30th, 2043)
The Megalodon (4:17 A.M., Earth Standard Time)
Command Bridge

The door before Hermes and his companion opened up, the panels sliding to other side to reveal the command bridge of the Megaladon. This ship in particular had been a size 1 battleship that the Slipstream Hijackers had "liberated" from the deserter group led by a not-so-humbled Humiliata named Iucidium. Thus, the room was made out of black zero alloys and boasted a mystical atmosphere, although the Slipstream crew had made modifications to make it their own. Among these were personal effects hung around computers and red & white paint to add to the black - the three colors of Slipstream. (Their leader was rumored to be an American.)

In addition, as Hermes had seen several times before, the captain's chair was excessively ornate. Buttons on the side were made of gold, as was an outer frame, while the chair itself was silver... at least outwardly. Many a time had the crew whispered that Captain Root's chair was mere common metal beneath a silver lining, or worse, a coat of paint. None ever asked the grumpy man hailing from Megha, though.

"So, Cap'n," Hermes's companion, a young woman with golden hair - quite literally due to a dye making her blond hair more lavish - asked. She wasn't one to brush it aside idly though, as it was arranged in three tubular curls on the back of her head that ended off on the top of her head as triangular spikes. "What are we doing in the Sikanah System, exactly?"

Having grown used to his subordinate's odd fashion sense, Captain Root merely lifted up his old style navy hat he had possessed ever since his days in the Dutch navy to respond eye-to-eye. "Looking for the distress signal we picked up. I assume there isn't one if you're coming up here?"

Hermes answered before his Italian friend could respond. "Correct. The signal stopped transmitting five minutes ago."

"Then to hell with this! Activate the FTL drive and let's hightail it out of here!" The chocolate brown-haired seaman ordered. An explosion that rocked the back of the ship, partially felt at the bridge positioned close to it, and seen on the monitors with red and yellow warnings, made that an impossibility.

The blond woman's green eyes widened. "We were set up!"

"No shit, but by who?" Captain Root barked. "There weren't any nearby energy signals! Damn benefactor promised the upgrades to our detection systems would help with ambushes!"

"I-It came out of cloak!" An African woman at the signal bay explained. "And it's an Ethereal design!"

"That means... bring that sneaky bastard onscreen!" Root commanded. On the main monitor, slightly cracked from a past incident, was an Ethereal Overseer craft. "Damn you, Iucidium! Still holding a grudge, huh? All hands prepare for battle! His fleet will be warping in anytime now!"

The people aboard the bridge scrambled into action, the engine crew reporting from below, "FTL room was hit! We're not going to be able to get away!" Their tones were more frantic than even that news would call for, as the plasma bombardment had nearly torn a hole in the main engine room and yanked them into the void of space.

"Then we'll fight that fucker! Fighter squadrons, deploy! Boarders, head for the hangar. I want you ready to go!" With a nod at that order from their captain, Hermes and his friend rushed out of the bridge. They hopped down the antigravity vertical elevator built into the ship, one of the only ones on the ship that had been properly maintained since the prior crew was "relieved of duty". And for a good reason, as a few other Slipstream Troopers followed with them towards the makeshift armory.

The armory was filled with a mixture of customized beam weapons, gauss guns, and even a few pulse rifles. Each had identifying features and marking to signify who they belonged to, and the same went for armor. A familiar Japanese man suiting up in red and white Seraph Armor greeted the two as they rushed in, the woman winded and the android not. "Just in time!" He called out, his smile belaying fear. "Ship seems to be falling apart around us! We might need to jump ship!"

"If we can beat the troops aboard one of those battleships," His partner, an Armenian woman in her late forties, cautioned. She gleamed the presence of reinforcements from the three large red icons on a crooked monitor denoting two enemy capital ships and one carrier. "Plasma weapons aren't to be taken lightly, Jishin."

"I know, Manishak. But if XCOM could do it we can too," Jishin replied as Manishak donned her violet Carapace Armor. "Iucidium-chan may want his ship back, but... he didn't send all of his forces."

"He came himself, though," Hermes observed. "He may have sent his best."

"Then we'll kick their asses too," Hermes's Italian companion insisted as she donned Cleric Armor armor painted gold but missing spots here and there. "We've got you, after all."

Hermes smiled, grabbing a laser rifle. "True." The four, gathering their equipment, rushed down the hallway towards the hangar. Hermes and his partner lead the pack while the other two lagged behind in heavier armor.

"Hey, wait up, Hermes! Manishak's slow!" Jishin noted. She turned to glare at him, and her expression suddenly became horror as she looked through a viewscreen. The next instant a fusion blast tore through the hull, blowing apart the armory and the hallways on either side for twelve meters.

His expression one of abject terror, being only four meters from the explosion, Hermes grabbed onto a handle on the wall, his companion clinging to him as the vacuum howled into the ship. His other hand, raised and having expended a great deal of psionic power, was the only thing that kept them from being cooked in their armor.

Blast shielding panels sealed the gap a few seconds later, but the time inbetween felt like an eternity. After they had stopped the rush of exiting air, Hermes yanked his hand away and activated his jets. His hand was slightly blackened from the heat he had barely conducted away from himself, the synthetic skin damaged. He held a trembling companion.

"Th-They're just... d...dead.." She breathed in terror. "Just like that... Just like that!"

"Calm down! We need to focus on survival!" Hermes yelled, gripping her shoulders. "P-Please, Grazia. We have to go, now,"

Grazia shakily nodded. "Should... Should we head for the escape pods?"

Captain Root's scrambled voice came in over comms. "Go down fighting! We'll show them hell if nothing else!"

"I... I think that's our answer," Grazia decided. The two found escape pods lining a wall around the corner, adjacent to the now-devastated hangar, cut apart by plasma fire from enemy fighters. The wrecks of Slipstream and Ethereal craft alike floated just outside, and below was Sihan 2's barren surface.

Grazia looked over the pods outside through the viewscreen in dismay. "The... stabilizing boosters on the intact pods are ruined. Even with the cushioning in their frames I don't think any person could survive the..." The Italian trailed off.

"We can find another way, right? There has to be some way!" Hermes insisted.

"Two of them might still work,” Grazia said suddenly. She brought Hermes over to one, and did two things in rapid succession. She put an arm around Hermes, surprising him with a brief but passionate kiss, and then shoved him into the one-person pod, closing it and locking the mechanism.

"Grazia! What are you doing?!" Hermes pleaded. "I thought-"

"I lied." Grazia smiled sadly. "You'd survive the impact in that pod, but I wouldn't. I'd rather give you a chance at living. I'll find some way to survive if I can, but at the very least one of us should make it out of here."

"Grazia, don't!" She didn't heed Hermes's final plea, launching the pod. It jettisoned into space, passing by a battle that Hermes's fellow pirates were badly losing. He fell to his knees, having lost everything in the span of a few minutes. Iucidium didn't want his ship back, he realized. He wanted revenge.

As the escape pod entered the atmosphere, Hermes watched with a hole in his artificial heart as the Megalodon exploded in a brilliant orange thunderclap, and then faded out of view as friction headed up his escape pod. Another minute later, it collided with the surface, and everything went black.

 

[MarineAvenger]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger: “Patchwork Memories, Part 2”

High Orbit over Forseti (March 30th, 2044)
The Einherjar (1526 Hours, Ailey Standard Time)
Floor 8: Workshop of Nicholas Cauthon

Hermes held his head for a moment before practically yanking the connecting cord out of it’s socket, the android having relieved the memory as clearly as if it had just happened. W-Who was she to me? What led up to all of that? Why do I feel as if I knew them well… W-Why do I feel this hole in my heart, knowing that they’re… Thoughts became jumbled in his head as he tried to process it all.

Nick looked at the screen with his own confusion, though his was less frantic and more for all the names meaning nothing to him, but he could clearly pick up that the memory was nowhere near a good one. “I-I… I’m so sorry, Hermes…” He covered his mouth, both trying to process the magnitude of what he had found, and the guilt he felt for subjecting Hermes to the memory.

“I-I…” Hermes braced a trembling hand against the chair, trying to come up with a single question to start with. “How did that memory surface? Was that your doing?”

Nick shook his head frantically. “N-No, that wasn’t me at all!” He turned around, looking back at the log and shaking his head. “Nothing was input… the only thing there was that ‘Grazia’ was the last keyword to come up… the scan ended after that!”

“T-Then… there must be some other explanation for how that memory was stored. Maybe it has something to with my psionics, or some other data storage unit besides my primary processor… but the engineering team aboard the Xenmas stated that my brain was the only place where my data would be kept,” Hermes contested, not knowing what had transpired any better than Nick seemed to.

The younger engineer wrapped his arms around himself, trying to calm himself so he could think. “I-I-I… don’t know what to say!” Scratching his head, Nick turned again back to Hermes. “M-Maybe they missed something! Something that they wouldn’t think would be significant…” He opened his mouth to try and come up with some sort of theory but just came out with single words or just noises. “I just don’t know Hermes, I’m sorry!”

Hermes shakily nodded. “T-Then I’ll… give you time. I think I need time as well, to… take in all of this. And try to understand just what it was I lost.”

Nick nodded frantically and he jumped up out of his chair, pacing around the room until he opened the door for Hermes. “I-I’ll keep at it… I will found something!” He pressed, trying to sound both confident and determined to Hermes, though a lot of it was for himself as well. “I have to…” He stated in a lower tone of voice.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Dahlexpert & ZombieSplitter53
Long Term Effects

The Einherjar
In orbit around Forseti
The Infirmary
March 30th, 1600 Hours

Tee stood outside of the room where Volupta was working, and handed a folder to a slightly smaller Sectoid. Please bring these to the front desk, Ell. Then head to hydroponics and make sure everything is alright. And please... just check everything. Don't mess with anything.

Yes, Tee. Ell bowed his head and walked off.

Tee gave the Replitian with him a worried look. "I know it isn't your job, Dr. Algear. But when you get off today, can you stop by Hydroponics to make sure he didn't... burn it down?"

The doctor laughed. "You really think he'd make that big of a mistake?" Tee gave him a serious stare, and he only laughed louder, patting the Sectoid on the shoulder and walking off. Alone, Tee rubbed his head in frustration.

Cassia entered the infirmary, and seemed to be holding a pot of flowers with a home made "Get well soon" card on it.

"Um, excuse me," she said to the first white coat she found. "If you're a doctor of this infirmary,can you tell me were Brigid O'Brien is?"

The doctor pointed down the hall at Tee. "She's in the room that Sectoid is standing in front of, Miss."

"Thank you doctor." There are more Sectoids on this ship. Well, they're no longer the enemy, so I guess it's fine. Never worked with a Sectoid before. Should be interesting.

Cassia entered the room past a confused looking Tee. "Hey, Brigid! How's my favorite training partner/ best friend?"

Brigid sat in her bed, eyes closed. A Humiliata stood over her, all four arms raised, energy flowing from the two right arms into Brigid, energy flowing out of Brigid to the two left arms.

Tee stepped up behind Cassia, poking her in the arm. "Excuse me. Who are you?"

"The name's Cassia, friend to the knock out human you're working on. Didn't realize there was an Ethereal on this ship eather. My, the amount of aliens on board is quiet surprising, especially for a human military."

"Yes. As I understand it, the Humiliata are few and far between in this ship." Tee swept a hand forward. "This is Dr... um, Sumama. Would you like me to let them know you are here?"

"If you would, though I would like to know what you're doing to my friend."

"Best I let the doctor explain." Tee raised his hand to Volupta, a nearly invisible strand of violet energy flowing to her.

A minute later, the Humiliata opened her eyes, and cut her contact from Brigid. As the petite soldier sleepily came to, Volupta smiled at Cassia. "And her is this delightful looking friend?"

"Yeah, hey doc. Look, I'm just here to visit my friend. After that mission, I can tell she's gotten rusty." Cassia signed. "The down fall of training for too long. You get used to fake combat, than when you get the real thing, you become a lot more tense and reckless." She rubbed Brigid's head. "You bloody moron."

Brigid smiled at Cassia drowzily. "Hey, I'm trying my best. Better to die a reckless fool then die a hopeless coward."

"I hope that does not mean you ignore your friends' advice about recklessness." Volupta placed a hand on Brigid's shoulder and addressed Cassia. "Your friend broke an arm and a leg falling quite some distance, and suffered plasma burns to her abdomin. This is not what brought me here today, though."

Brigid grinned. "Everyone is mad at me for almost frying my brain."

"Wow, first mission and you broke your arm and leg, and got plasma burns. And on top of that, you displayed quiet the show with you psionic." Cassia started to laugh. "Reminds me when you and I were training in my colony back on earth. I remember you complaining about the cold and nearly freezing. I had to keep you warm and make shelter for the both of us."

Brigid poured a bit. "Hey, it was cold. But I'm better at that now."

"This is no laughing manner, Miss... whoever you are," Volupta insisted. "Ms. O'Brien nearly fried her synaptic and psionic pathways. She practically took a grenade to the mind! Please do not make light of it. She could have returned to us a fruit."

"Um... I believe you mean a vegetable," Tee corrected.

"Oh, I'm fully aware of the situation doc, and even though I'm not showing it, I'm pissed at Brigid right now."

Cassia held Brigid's hand tightly. "I mean, come on Brigid. I get it. You want to protect people, and your psi powers are quite powerful. But learn your limit. I know that the amount of power you have makes you scared, but I'm right here for you. And like I said when we were kids, I will protect you. So even if you feel like your powers are taking over, I will bring you back. No matter what." She hugged Brigid.

"I know. I'm sorry." Brigid hugged her back.

Volupta smiled, blushing a bit and clasping her hands together. "Oh... young friendship. Isn't it lovely, Tee?"

Tee rubbed his head. "I... I suppose, mistress."

Cassia squeezed Brigid a little tighter, the let her go. "Geez, I don't see you for years and you nearly give me a heart attack. What am I going to do with you? Anyway Brigid, I'm glad you're alive, and welcome back to the field partner."

"Good to be there." Brigid's eyes dropped a bit. "I... I just wish one of my teammates had been as lucky as me."

Cassia signed. "Oh, Brigid... I heard what happened to Thomas. You can't blame yourself. Look at it this way; if you weren't there, he may be dead. So yes, he suffered a terrible injury, but if you weren't there, he might not be here, so don't put that on yourself."

Brigid nodded. "I know. Korra is more broken up then I am. She been spending time over there."

Volupta leaned down close to the pair. "Ms... Cassia, was it. Do you mind if I ask you something... in the hall?"

Cassia looked at Volupta. "Hmm... fine, but make it quick." Cassia looked at Brigid. "I'll be back in a few minutes Brigid. Don't go losing constitutions, alright?"

Brigid gave a quick salute. "Not like I'm going anywhere."

Cassia smiled at Brigid and left the room. "Alright, Ethereal, what do you want? I would really like to look after my friend."

Volupta frowned. "Um... it's Dr. Sumama... but you can call me Volupta... if you'd like. I wanted to ask you about Brigid's psionics. I did not want to bother her about it, but I can not find the XSDF files on them. Her... her psionic pathways have damage to them that are quite old. Decades old... I believe is the human word, old enough to be when she was a child. When did she unlock her abilities? Do you know what caused the damage?"

"Yeah, I do." Cassia rubbed her head, trying to not to remember what happen. "It was in the middle of the Ethereal war. An Incubator got into the base. It saw Brigid and thought to itself 'I can get this kid to do what I want'. So Brigid did everything this alien did, and then one day it gave her a reward." Cassia shook her head and sighed. "The bastard took Brigid into the science wing of the base, teld her to touch a psionic pod core, and that's how Brigid got her powers." Cassia's hands started to tremble out of anger.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

"Oh dear." Volupta held a hand to her mouth. "That would explain it. Such direct exposure, and at such a young age. It would explain why there is so much damage."

"Yeah, she doesn't like to talk about it. Even when she told me about it, she was shaking her head about how stupid she was. Is there a reason why you're asking me about this?"

"Well. I'm a doctor. And I..." Volupta signed. "You don't like me very much, so you?"

"I don't like anyone, doc, accept for the very few people I talk to, Brigid being one of them. Anyway, as a doctor, is Brigid going to be OK?"

"Your friend will be just fine, dear," Volupta assured her. "Or at least, she will be back to how she was before. I would like to assist her in repairing the deeper damage, but I fear I might not be able to convince her to let me do so."

"Let me guess. You need me to convenience her to let you help, right?" Cassia asked in an annoyed voice.

"Y... yes." Volupta rubbed her hands nervously. "I... I only wish to help. But I find it hard... gaining the trust of others."

"Gee, I wonder why. I'm sure it has nothing to do with your entire race attacking mine, or your race enslaving the majority of the Galaxy."

Volputa flinched slightly, despite how used to such words she was becoming. "I... I make no excuses for the pain my people have caused. But I was not involved, and did what I could to oppose them. And I now support their efforts to make penance."

Cassia held out her hand. "Look, I get it, it's not fair, nor is it right, but you can't change history. Or peoples minds. Your race changed a lot of species, and you can't expect people to think differently over what your race did for gods know how long. But don't worry. Over time people will move on and forgive your race. Though it doesn't help that you have rouge Ethereals still out there. But you're here and on our side helping, so there's hope. Now what do you want me to do for Brigid?"

Volupta sighed, unsatisfied with the response but tired of pleading her case. "The damaged psionic pathways are buried fairly deep. I have confidence that I can help her, but it will take quite some time, and it is quite intrusive. And, as you have so colorfully expressed, humans do not generally trust me."

"Fine, I'll try to convince Brigid to allow you to help her." Cassia sighed. "This should be interesting."

"Please... don't put yourself out there for my sake." Volupta opened the door. "Come, Tee. Let's give them some privacy."

Tee stepped out into the hallway. "Yes, mistress. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Cassia."

"Same." Cassia rubbed her head and walked back into the room. "Hey Brigid, I need to tell you something, and it's kinda important."

Brigid yawned a bit, the pain killers and psionic therapy taking their toll. "Sure, Cassia. What is it?"

"Brigid... Okay, I'm not going to lie. Volupta found something in your brain. She discovered that the psionics that you got when you were a kid kinda damaged your brain."

"Really." Brigid frowned, shaking her head. "Doesn't surprise me. If anything... it explains things. I trained so long with Atka on controlling my powers, but came away feeling like I let her down. Maybe that's the reason. This... damage."

"Yeah, it happened when 'Mr. Kitty' came to the base and gave you your powers."

"Figured as much." Brigid raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to die soon, am I? I'm assuming you'd be a bit more upset if I was."

"Oh, trust me. If you were dying because of this, I would be beating the hell out of that Ethereal, leave the ship, and find someone to help you. But Volupta says that she can heal you, and since you're in no condition to move any time soon, once you're healed your powers should be good as well."

"That's what she was working on when you came in." Brigid rubbed her temples. "I know I need it to get my abilities back on track, but I hate having someone poking around with my very lifeforce. I just happy we'll be done in the next day or so. Too bad about that deeper damage, though."

"Hey, come on now. This is good for you if this gives you more control over your powers. Which is a good thing, right? To be able to take control of your powers, and not loose it."

"What do you mean, more control?" Brigid sat up a bit. "She's... only doing this until she fixes the damage from the last fight... right?"

"Well apparently, Mr kitty did a lot of damage to you, and that damage didn't heal over time. So we're talking decades of damage, so it could take a while. But hopefully she will have you right as rain in no time."

Brigid shook her head. "No... no, I'll just let her do what she said she was going to do from the last fight, and figure out the rest of it myself." She smiled at Cassia. "You and mean can figure it out. I don't need anyone poking around upstairs, messing around with my head."

Cassia shook her head. "Your being very stubborn, Brigid. I get you don't want to have some one poking in there. But this is something out of our expertise. If this Ethereal can fix the damage in your brain, then just get it over with. And if she does any thing to you, she will answer to me."

"It isn't as simple as that!" Brigid leaned forward suddenly, then laid back again, holding her stomach in pain. After taking a bit to catch her breath, she said, "You... you've made it no secret how you feel about the Humiliata. Now imagine one of them is inside you. Rearranging the flow of energy in your body. Had access to your mind. Can read you most secret of dirty secrets. Would you honestly let one do that to you?"

"No, and you're right. I don't like the 'Humiliata', truth be told. I despise them. However, do you remember the final fission of XCOM? When our parents saw thousands of Humiliata all in their ship, scared? My mom told me what she saw, she said she saw a race that could be good and had the potential to change. So I know trying to convince you to do this probably won't happen, but if this helps you... I mean, yes, having someone up there is scary, but think of it this way. That Ethereal might try to do this whether your consent or not. You are technically sick. Wouldn't you rather make guidelines for her, like what not to do, when she heals you?"

Brigid closed her eyes, sighing. "I... I'll think about it. I'm not making any promises... but I'll think about it."

"Yeah ,that's about as good as it's going to get from a stubborn woman like you."

"Dat about as boo a boo boo stubborn boo boo," Brigid mocked childishly, but smiled at Cassia. "Thanks for being here for me. It feels good to know I... have some many people who care about me."

"Hey, we've been through how many things together and we're still here? Like I said, I'm always going to be here for you Brigid... no matter what," Cassia said hesitantly.

Brigid's smile widened as her eyes got heavy. "I'll always be... there for you... too, Cassia. You just... need to ask..."

Cassia gave her a genuine smile. "I know you will. Now get some sleep.You earned it."

Brigid nodded, closing her eyes. "Love you, Cassia. You're... best... friend..."

"I love you too,. More then you can ever imagine." Cassia sat in a chair, looking over Brigid and keeping her promise to look after her.