2022-01-27: Sweet Charity

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<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

On this balmy summer evening, there is a party to behold.

The Earl McCoy Unification Museum is a splendid venue, and after a *very* thorough search, guests were encouraged to look around the exhibits before proceeding to the lavish main hall. Like most of Johannesburg, the museum is defensible, but there is plenty of beauty to be found. Especially in the hall. Round tables are dotted around the hall, but there is room for mingling after the dinner.

The seating charts have been painstakingly arranged to, primarily, challenge without causing too much conflict. A little, but only so much that if anyone presses things, they would lose face.

Someone in the Yumi Foundation is a manipulative bastard.

There should be enough for polite conversation between attendees, beneficiaries and donors, but still put face to face with people that would benefit from their care- or have suffered from their countries actions.

On every table are menus, wine lists, decanters of fresh, clean water and fliers on the Yumi Foundation- their history, their achievements, notable members, how money is used and then a tasteful scannable code for those who want to donate- there is no minimum donation, but there is a maximum. Extravagant donations are redirected to arrange an appointment with a member of the foundation.

The food, frankly, was delectable. It may not match up to the finest restaurants in the Neo-Colonies or the Imperial Palace, but for many here it could be the finest meal you have ever had. Everything is expertly cooked, but of course, some dishes may be a step too far for those who ordered him. One OCU Officer nearly gags on the ravioli, but his dish is taken and replaced with samosas and gravlax left over from the entrees. Not everyone can handle insect protein, even 230 years after it became commonplace.

Closest to the stage is the VIP table, where the founder of the foundation sits, with a varied set of guests. While some of the most powerful people in the Earth Sphere sit here, so do some of those who have suffered most. Those who can make change, put face to face with those who can benefit from it. Truly, a bold play. The chat has been peaceful, and the host has answered questions, but the deep conversations come after the speech. An aide comes to the table, and whispers in her ear. She quietly excuses herself, and moves towards the stage and microphone.

The ensemble that has been playing on and off all evening between local acts comes to a slow halt. With the sun setting, the lights start to come on and the curtains start to draw over the large windows. The night's Master of Ceremonies, a South African man with prosthetic leg just visible under his tuxedo, comes to the microphone.

"I should like everyone's attention," he says to the crowd, his accent strong. "We have come to the part of the evening where you pay for the meal you just ate." He has a broad smile, and the joke elicits the quiet chuckles such jokes are meant to. "I jest, of course, this evening is all provided by the Yumi Foundation. And so, I welcome to the stage, founder and head of the Yumi Foundation, Dr Sayla Mass!"

There is the polite applause as Sayla takes to the stage. She wears a floor length dark blue sleeveless, backless dress, with a deep v-cut and a black lace fill in across the bust. It has a shimmer to it, and clings close- but not so much to be indecent. She calms her nerves, she's done this hundreds of times. But the Earth Sphere has never felt so tense. She taps on the lectern, and it brings up her speech. Here goes.

"Good evening. I'd like to say thank you to you all for coming to this event. I see faces old and new here tonight, and I'm glad for you all." Sayla takes a moment, before speaking next. "As many of you know, It's been fourteen years since the Yumi Foundation was created, and we have spent those fourteen years trying to improve the lives of those in the Earthsphere affected by war and violence. And we have done much, with your donations and assistance. But I'm not here to talk about the Yumi Foundation."

She takes a breath, as the prompter scrolls up. "I'm here to talk about something that happened sixty nine years ago." She continues, not waiting for the chuckles to form. "There weren't even Wanzers then- there were Wanderwagens. And there were people who saw the potential of wanderwagen warfare- and sought to force others to as well. These were AEU weapons manufacturers-" There are some grumbles, but again, Sayla doesn't pause, "-who planned to turn Africa into their own warfare testing ground by driving the African countries to war with themselves." The grumbles continue, but Sayla is not going to spare them the history. Not in this place.

"An infantryman from Australia discovered this conspiracy. He and his allies in the Independent Mobile Assault Company thwarted this conspiracy, and then over the next nine years, he brokered peace across Africa. The Organization of African Consolidation came to be formed, and joined the Federation. And we are standing, this day, in a museum dedicated to his memory. I am of course talking about the late Earl McCoy." There is a smattering of applause, loudest from the OAC membership.

Sayla lets it happen, before raising her hand. "This is the story people mention, when they talk about what good the Federation can do. But that's not where it ends. Earl McCoy spent decades in the OAC, working tirelessly for peace. To improve the lives of the people here. He never ran for office, he never sought power, and yet he was vital to unification efforts. He worked with so many others across the OAC, to do what good he could. He inspired others, and won over detractors. And nearly twenty years later, in the Sanc Kingdom, he was part of the efforts that brought the OAC and the AEU to put aside their grievances, and move forward to a better future."

Sayla takes another deep breath, monitoring the crowd for reactions. This is out of living memory for most in the room, so many people only remember strife. Violence. Disunity. But that's not what this is about either. She presses on.

"But I'm not talking about 'what the Federation can do' or 'what the blocs can do'. I'd like to speak a little more about Earl McCoy. Earl McCoy was Australian. He had never been to Africa before he was deployed there. He could have just left, gone home and retired a hero. That isn't what he did. What Earl McCoy chose to do was care. To care about a land that wasn't his, people that weren't his own. He chose to care about those who were wronged by private interests. He chose to care."

Sayla's blue eyes bore into the audience, even as she makes sparing, momentary contact. For those who can feel it, her passion, her desire to care seeps out. It's not active, it's not an attack. It's just who she is. Someone who, despite it all, cares and wants to see it made better.

"Too many people think it's all over when the enemy general is defeated, when the kaiju is killed, when the tyrant is brought to justice. That's not the case. The battle is not the easy part, but it is the shortest part. Tending to those who have suffered, rebuilding and repairing the damage, improving things for those who remain, all of those matter as much- if not more- than how many aces you've shot down. If you don't do those, then you're just delaying things and allowing new problems to grow. It's not enough to win- you need to help."

Sayla's intensity grows as she speaks, and underneath the passion is anger, despair and frustration, but also hope. That fire fuels her. "Earl McCoy didn't care about leaving his mark on the world. He cared about people. He cared about making things better. He was a soldier, a pilot, a peacemaker and a hero. He was a hero *because* he cared. An because of that he left a bigger mark on this world than any r-"

Sayla stumbles on her words. Why is this line here? She rehearsed this, didn't she? She wouldn't forget.

A few slow seconds pass, before she recovers. "Than any war could hope to." It's not as punchy, certainly. But the other one she simply couldn't say.

"Everyone, I would like to make a toast." She raises her glass- full of Neo-French Neo-Champagne. "A toast to the people who care. To the people who keep at the work, even when they don't have to. To the Real McCoy." She charges her glass to the crowd, eliciting a loud response of 'To the Real McCoy!' from the OAC and Australian contingents.

And then she downs the glass and walks off stage, as the aide quickly taps the MC on the shoulder to send him back to the stage. He looks out. "Thank you, everyone. Please feel free to move to the floor, mingle and enjoy the music. The waiters will be walking throughout with Charcuterie, Cheese and Fruit platters."

-------

Backstage, someone runs up to Sayla with a glass of water which she, likewise, downs in one. She's clearly a little shaken. "When did those speech revisions go through?" Sayla asks, as her EA, Roger, meets her.

"3:30, Sayla. Colley's number two, but it had the all clear."

Sayla grimaces. She would have already been in hair and makeup by that point. No chance to veto it. Gh. "...Schedule a meeting with them both tomorrow afternoon. There was a problem."

Roger nods. "I'll make it happen."

Suddenly a hand claps on her shoulder, a meltrandi woman in her 40s, the source. "Sayla. You've got to be back out in thirty seconds." She hands her another glass of water. "Drink. I saw that on stage."

Sayla sighs, but accepts it. "Thanks, Vel."------

Thirty eight seconds later, Sayla is back out on the floor, giving short greetings and maneuvering around the crowd. People have started grouping up and talking, but she's going to put in face time with a lot of donors and attendees.

She taps a waiter on the shoulder, and whispers for a drink. She's probably going to need it. 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

"...and so it's so remarkably impressive that you're an active servicewoman in these trying conditions and I have such great respect for the armed services, and..."

It's the twenty-fifth time Ana Kambinda has heard this line of canned praise from some fancy dignitary today. She maintains a straight face in front of this faceless palm-greaser only because she's done enough to bring the OAC Forces into disrepute in the past year and she's not about to make things worse. She just nods along and mouths the expected thank-yous and tries not to second-guess buying her way into the event.

At least she got the paella. It reminds her a little of home. It offset the awkwardness of spending dinner seated between a needlingly snide Britannian Earl and a conversation-dominating industrial heiress in a ludicrously potent perfume.

As she parries this particular post-speech social encounter, the cynicism shunts itself aside with a more wholesome thought: The Yumi Foundation is doing the kind of work she wants to be done, whether by governments or the not-for-profit sector. Half these stuffed suits may be here to handshake and posture. She's here to give.

In an occasion set aside for formal wear, Ana broke out what she usually does in these situations: Her dress uniform. It's an olive-drab suit with red and gold epaulets and a matching cap with a black brim, over a taupe shirt and pine-green tie tucked beneath. Her sleeve cuffs denote her as an army captain and various medals and service ribbons festoon the jacket breasts. For those who can read the elaborate code language of military decorations, virtually every Federation conflict of the past five years is represented.

She'd thought about makeup. Dismissed it beyond a bit of light lipgloss. Too much of that stuff is so far from her jam as to be ridiculous. The paparazzi had still taken her picture. It'll run tomorrow on a back page somewhere, except in certain Britannian fringe tabloids that'll breathlessly accuse the OAC of insulting the glorious Union by sending the Butcher of Ouagadougou to a diplomatic occasion and yadda yadda yadda.

Extricating herself from the engagement with Palm-Greaser Number Ninety Zillion, Ana finds herself maneuvering to a conversation she's more comfortable with. A young woman with long braids, no more than sixteen.

The conversations with dignitaries from the blocs have been the last thing on Ana's mind. With a smile and a pat on the shoulder, she sinks into a quiet conversation with another war orphan. They're the reason she's here - a reason entirely closer to her heart than anything else. Sayla's remarks only put it closer to top of mind.

That's the situation around 3:30. Not far from where Sayla emerges, she'll find Ana once again clapping the orphan in front of her on the arm and offering up: "I've been there too. If it means anything, I think folks here really care. And if you ever need anything, give me a call, okay? I'll do what I can."

As the conversation breaks up, Ana adjusts her cap with one hand and lets out a soft breath. For a moment, her eyes drift through the crowd. Catching sight of the returning Sayla, she tips the brim of her cap in acknowledgment and flashes a broad smile.

She's one of the more visible members of the OAC delegation on scene. She as well as anyone knows the legacy of Earl McCoy. The remarks hit fantastically well with Ana. 

<Pose Tracker> Dr. Hell has posed.

PANDEMONIUM ISLAND

Z-SPACE

The glass cylinder churns amid the web of eerie red and black clockwork cogs. Inside, the spider controlling a baroque web, is Doctor Hell, attended by a tall woman wearing a full skull mask and an old fashioned black and red nurse's uniform.

She is the Skull Nurse, but was not always so.

"I want to tell you a story about my mother." Doctor Hell rasps. "When I was a young man of fourteen, about to attain my first doctorate, Mother came to me with a pressed velvet suit and said it was time I made a man of myself amid my peers. She spent time with me, two weeks, instructing me in the manners expected of a youth of my social class and rank. I learned to waltz. It was the closest I ever was to the woman, I think. I went to the party, my heart full of hope."

"I was, of course, nearly two decades out of date. My clothes, my actions, they all seemed terribly awkward at best, and more likely a bad joke. I was already too young, and the cadets, eager to fight the Zentraedi menace, made sport of me. The girl my mother arranged me to dance with pretended not to know me. I thought, however, that mother had simply been guilty of being old. She was trying to help me in her way, and when I went home I resolved to put on my best face."

"I thanked her, I said I had a wonderful time, and made many new friends." Skull Nurse cannot emote with her mask on, but somehow processes an emotion. "She laughed, and blew her cigarette smoke in my face, wondering how I managed that when she taught me the steps all wrong."

"So you're directly controlling the Endeavor droid."

"I am going to a party, Skull Nurse, yes."

Dr. Henry Justified Endeavor is a world famous crypto-archeologist, though he hasn't been seen in public in a few years. About five foot eight, with a shiny bald head, thin build, and a whispy red beard, it's hard to imagine this slight figure having the white knuckled adventures most of his papers are about. He is accompanied by his two 'sons'; Dirk, six foot four, brunette and built like a riot cop got interested in sweater vests, and Link, six foot eight, blonde, and build like he was the last of the trollkin to survive the great, final sunrise that trapped their people in stone.

Henry dotes on these two like they were ten year olds, but otherwise presents himself as a charming, intelligent, slightly exhausting man of the world with a story about everything and just enough bad behavior to be worth remembering. The only time the man is quiet is during the pudding.

"Have we switched to the post-impact wine yet?" Henry asks a fellow guest, lounging in his chair as though he had nowhere particular to be, "I feel like I need to be about half again as drunk before I can get serious about this place, and the pre-2I prices per glass are enough to make me want to go back to teaching."

"You teach us something every day, dad." Dirk says, having eaten his meal like an unpleasant obligation.

"Yes, but being an amazing father doesn't get daddy soused enough to talk about how much it's going to cost to have someone properly excavate the Chinese dig site, Dirk."

"Dad I think the drinks are free." Link says, a minute too late.

Henry rubs his face a little, smiling. "You've never been to one of these before, son, so I'll give you this one: the better the free booze, the more expensive it is in the end." Henry takes a sip, as Sayla Mass talks. It's a pretty speech, and if you didn't know her, it almost comes off as perfectly poised. If you don't have the right eyes. "Real McCoy, hah." 

<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.

Seated at the VIP table and flanked by an OAC linear train company CEO and the Japanese Defense Force chief of staff, Euphemia is having... a time of it. She's comfortable making conversation with both parties, of course, but she can tell that the former is trying to orient her on sabotaging a side project of the Eighth Princess's and the latter is, with mixed success, hiding both his *generalized* disgust and his *personal* loathing for the entire Britannian contingent present, but maybe especially for her. Euphy drew the conclusion, almost immediately, that he was hoping her reputation for unilateral action would lead to her causing an incident; she has not risen to any of the third- or fourth-order implications at her, and the emotional effect is -- while tremendously negative -- not the one he had, perhaps, hoped for.

Business as usual. The steak is good, at least.

She appreciates it rather than immediately answer a fishing question about whether Isurugi Industries will honor its 20-year contract with the OCU and the JDF -- something that is outside her scope as sub-viceroy, and framed with unkind implications behind it. The question actually angers her for a second; there's a deep breath, and those paying attention within about a twenty foot radius of the Princess feel it immediately. A moment where her shoulders square and her hand draws together, flat. She thinks about slapping him with enough force that his entire franchise stops progressing chronologically.

It passes. Euphemia's international-incident impulsive, but not international-incident stupid.

She smiles pleasantly, and says, "I only expect to see Ms. Isurugi twice a year, but I can certainly pass that along next time!" It terminates the conversation on the spot -- and in time for Sayla's speech, too.

Sayla's speech is nuanced and thoughtful -- and inspiring, in a genuine way. It gives Euphy a lot to think about, including some things that challenge her baseline assumptions. The finer points of OAC history aren't something she's well-educated on; they're not exactly a priority in a Britannian royal's education.

Needless to say, she also notices the stumble -- and the feelings behind the stumble.

She glances off to one side. She can handle herself -- but she could use an out here, or at least something that gives her an excuse to reorient herself before she ends up spending the entire post-speech side of the event having to humor either of the people immediately near her. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Suzaku Kururugi is a presence that both fits and doesn't. Clad in his dress uniform for ASEEC, he visually fits in as much as any of the other military personnel so dressed do. He broadly understands the etiquette of high society, having been a part of it long enough to know the rules-- and technically, still being a part of it, even if he has essentially severed himself from his local community by his own actions. But he's a puzzle piece that doesn't... quite... belong. He arrived with the Britannian contingent, on its very peripheries. As it happens, he's simply not the important one in this bunch-- at least, he wasn't among those who received a direct invitation. It's easy to tell, because he's wearing an earpiece. Instead, he's here to make certain that nothing goes too wrong for the primary members of his party-- and because it's known he's familiar enough with these events not to cause an international incident himself. This isn't particularly tricky, as there are only a few people present with whom he has a major enmity-- and it's entirely one-way, directed at him.

It also makes him a convenient deflector shield for those people whenever he happens to be around. At the time that Euphemia is being harassed by an official from Free Japan and some sort of capitalist, though, he's engaged in a conversation with one of the fortunate locals who happened to snag an invite. They're both as about as out-of-place, and both equally oriented against acting too terribly high society themselves. Which is to say that Suzaku is unapologetically sharing his Paneer Tikka, and in turn being offered an oyster. Meals are an activity over which humans bond with one another, basically unconditionally. Swapping food casually might be impolite at an event like this, but Suzaku is more in-tune with the underlying feelings of sharing a meal than he is with what rich people think about that sort of behavior. It is fortunately AFTER he has swallows the oyster that a wave -- no, a jolt -- of discontent pours across him from nearby. A voice hums in his earpiece.

He raises his head and looks towards the VIP table that Euphemia is seated at, and he can see what she WANTS to do-- and doesn't. It would've been the second time he saw Euphy do something like that. Another buzz in his ear urges Suzaku to do something about it, but... he doesn't. Euphy, he knows, can take care of herself. What she needs isn't to be steered, no matter what the observational handlers want.

The speech begins. Suzaku could text her, but she probably wouldn't check it until after the event. Wouldn't do any immediate good. So he waits, politely. It's only once he intuits that Sayla's speech is winding down that he actually starts to do anything. Just as soon as it finishes he excuses himself from the guest he was just engaged with and crosses the room. An instant later he leans forward over Euphemia's shoulder and places a folded note in front of her.

"Princess," he murmurs into her ear, in imitation of a bodyguard or adjutant relaying some it-can't-wait urgent information. There is none of that in his tone, though. It's just a greeting.

When he straightens back up, Suzaku fixes the Japanese Defense Force chief of staff with a small don't-I-know-you look (and he does, there is practically no one in Japanese politics that he doesn't know at least in passing), inclines his head in a polite but silent greeting, and departs back towards the VIP section's more distant satellite tables. A few instants later -- Suzaku had to have prepped the text message -- Euphy's phone buzzes.

The dreadfully important folded note reads: DID YOU KNOW... Area 11 has cat cafes?

The text message is: A picture of several cats draped across a small couch in a cat cafe. 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

On the off chance that anyone here already knows Mayvy Hawkins, they know her as someone who works in her pajamas and a lab coat, with permanent bed-head and a seeming aversion to makeup.

Not so here. Not today.

https://i.imgur.com/8fknLyu.png (A bit risque)

Tonight, Mayvy is dressed to stun--in a slim, backless black dress, sheer above her bustline. The hem is close to her knees, and she's wearing a pair of low heels. Her handbag is a simple, matching black number, slung over her shoulder at the moment. Glasses, too, are a bit less utilitarian than normal, with thin half-oval frames perched upon her nose. Her hair is actually tamed for once, with a crown braid behind her head and a cascade of curls down past her shoulders. There are notably fewer photos taken as she passes the flashbulb mob; being Known in the scientific community doesn't really translate to being Known in popular culture. When prompted, she donates well for her means--not impressive, nor notable, by any particular means.

She listens in silence as Sayla speaks. She knows the broad strokes of the history being discussed, and she's paying intent and solemn attention. She lifts her glass to the toast.

And then, it's time to mingle. Quick self check, and: Social batteries are about as full as they're gonna get. She downs most of a glass of Neo-Champagne, then stands, filtering into the crowd--seeking to natter with someone important, military, or important military. 

<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.

Speaking of the Sanc Kingdom...

ELSEWHERE... Relena is speaking to a lady named Lucrezia Noin about it! She isn't even pointing a gun in Noin's face right now! But more on that later.

BUT HERE...

Nidaime can make war orphans look like high class types. She has not dressed up for evening. She's young woman--probably the lower edge of teen, officially Smells Like A Monster (particularly her breath), and is wearing a brown and green hoodie (hood UP?!?!?!), shorts, Crocs(????), and a shirt with a pink treble clef on it. She has some kind of AUDIO DEVICE in her hoodie pocket and its earbuds are wedged firmly in her ears.

She was most likely assumed to be one of the 'war orphans' around but she hasn't taken a seat and she is unattended (at least at first). She has a large backpack and sleeping roll on her back as if she intends to set up camp inside this place.

Nidaime looks up at Sayla Mass as she gives a speech. She only removes ONE earbud as she listens to it and then quickly, when she's done, places it back into her ear. There doesn't seem to be a particular reaction from Nidaime. No cheers or jeers from her. Is she even listening?

Nevertheless, she sees Sayla head backstage and sort of hefts up her backpack and starts to follow--

--She pauses. She sniffs the air a few times. She waddles over to a table and sees a plate of chocobo steak in herb and garlic marinade. She picks up the plate, picks up the steak with a hand and shoves it into her mouth without even using a fork. She then returns on her approach towards the stage.

She licks sauce off of her fingers. 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Paparazzi isn't a very familiar thing for the Espellas. They're not famous outside their field - but they are wealthy, and successful. Felicia Espella, famed biologist and professor at Ashford Academy, and her daughter, Jude Espella, high school student, quietly walk forward to get to their seating. The two are dressed in formal dresses - Felicia's modestly dark, and Jude's colorful and bright.

Dinner is delicious. Felicia ordered the chocobo - which is quite good - while Jude ate the ravioli without even flinching. She adored it. Compliments to the chef, in fact.

Jude was seated next to her mother, who had a discussion with a rival biologist seated next to her about her paper on xenobiological markers. The discussion is boring but animate, so Jude tuned it out and focused on her ravioli and chatting with a war orphan, who she showed great sympathy to. A teenager isn't the type of person to really be bothered by them, right?

During Sayla's speech she applauded at everything about care with the others, especially about Earl McCoy. Felicia was more restrained.

After the speech, the two split up. Jude goes looking for people her age, or younger, but her mind is alert also for those with Interesting Emotional Texture, something she can't really control. Strong Newtypes might feel a twinge, but not be sure of exactly the source with all these people.

Felicia, meanwhile, goes off to donate when prompted, and then gravitates back towards her daughter briefly. Jude asks her something that's hard to make out, and then Felicia gets a glass of wine from a waiter and hands it to her, before they split back off. Sip.

Jude sees that Euphemia li Britannia, Third Princess, is currently in a bind. As fun as it'd be to leave her IN a bind, Jude is curious about the person in charge of her home.

Heading over, the very obviously Spanish girl, who is too cute for old men with political aspirations to interrupt, speaks to her, politely, with a little bit of AEU formality. "Princess Euphemia li Britannia? Jude Espella, a resident of Area 11, daughter of Dr. Felicia Espella. I apologize if I am intruding, but I just wanted to have a chance to meet the royal in charge of my new home. What did you have for dinner? The ravioli was very good." It's an innocent question, and possibly naive. She is also eying Nidaime past Euphemia's shoulder as she does that, with curiosity. But she needs an answer to her question first, damn it!

Felicia is looking at phone messages and sighing. Someone may want to pull her out of that - or may not. She's known in the field of biology very, very well. Veronique du Britannia has connected. 

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

On a balmy summer evening, Captain York is one of those present, a young officer still in the famous Londo Bell, a Captain of her own ship. She doesn't get the big press that the true elites of the Federation do, but there's a little notice, a couple of photographs snapped of her and those she came with. In dress uniform, Eight has a higher number of medals and rank decorations than one might imagine for her apparent age, and the dress uniform itself is in whites and golds, much like her usual except far fancier. She has a cool hat. Even her shoes are shiny. She came with a few others from Londo Bell as well, all in a group. And she smiled and waved at people, and looked around at the exhibits, walking with Arriety in particular at the museum and then taking a seat. There is not much of the right 'challenge' that could be directed at her, in theory, but in practice...

War orphans. Eight can't be sure where they come from, but it certainly brings back memories of a kind. She doesn't talk about her own background with them; she is polite, even kind, but volunteers little about anything less than recent. She is, if someone happens to know her well enough to pick out her feelings in the crowd, admittedly kind of uncomfortable: this is a big Earthnoid event, it would seem, and...

Eight very much isn't. Besides--did she cause any of these particular war orphans? She can't be sure.

But the speech! The speech. Eight York listens carefully to it, looking up at Dr. Sayla Mass. She can feel what the older woman braodcasts, can feel that passion in her voice. And it's a good speech. But what was that stumble moment...?

Eight senses the hope underneath the anger, and she thinks she likes Dr. Mass after all. When the toast comes, Eight lifts her water--she does not drink alcohol--and drinks.

...Dinner was great, though. All through dinner Eight was happier, chatting with war orphans and her friends and generally opening up a great deal more, though she didn't talk at all about her past, even then. She just found other things to talk about, interest from others, and listened intently to the stories of the orphans. She is something of a hit among a few of the people here, and now, out on the floor...

"Ah, is that so?" Eight asks a man who was talking to her just then. "Well, I'm sure they do their best. Excuse me a moment..."

She turns to Arriety. "How're you feeling?" And to Anita, next. "You? It's definitely been... interesting." 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

Ruri makes polite conversations with the other orphans, but... somehow, despite being seated right next to one, she never manages to actually make a connection. She's feeling rather distant, today. She does acknowledge the unfortunate situation, though, in a way which cuts a little differently -- because Ruri is an orphaned child, too, and it's entirely likely the cause was war.

That's what her personnel file says, anyway.

But she was adopted -- given a purpose. And...

It feels like a lecture, to Ruri, but be fair: she is quite young. It hits harder, perhaps, given the recent dissection of her failures. That extra ten percent of fatalities on Mars...

The other orphan beside Ruri tells her the secret of entomilk ice cream, and Ruri thinks it's very interesting, actually. She likes ice cream.

(She does not make a donation, but it's not because she doesn't care.)

When they're free of dinner and speeches, it's time to stand around haplessly -- or at least, that's how Ruri would describe it.

"Why do we have to be here..?"

"Ruri-chan, it's fine, it's fine! I understand the Yumi Foundation have spent quite a lot of money on security for this event, so it's bound to be a more productive experience."

That's Mr. Prospector -- a tall, squirrelly man with neatly-combed short purple hair, a pencil moustache, and a prominent red vest which is even fancier than normal -- reassuring Ruri Hoshino, after Sayla's grand speech. He has to look down to do it, because Ruri, at twelve years of age, hasn't yet grown past four feet. Her white-blue hair is mostly tied up in twintails, aside from the bangs framing her face. She's all dressed up in a dark pinstripe dress shirt, black dress slacks, and a red tie to match the red hairties keeping her hair in check.

One of the two are frowning. Ruri's expressions tend to all be a few degrees away from neutrality, but even stoic as she is, it doesn't take a Newtype to tell she's not comfortable in this party. Or, perhaps...

"If security is that good," Ruri says, even-toned, "there's no need for you to act as my handler in this event, Mr. Prospector."

"Ahh, don't frown like that!" Prospector waves a hand, placating, but Ruri's already turned away.

"I can mingle on my own," she insists, and if there's a hint of petulance in her young voice, well...

She'll leave him to pull out his calculator and mutter something about the costs of maintaining something-or-another, because Ruri doesn't need an adult to help her with things like this. She's been a little grumpy, ever since a NERV pilot came to interview her on the Nadesico's experiences on Mars. Well, foolish as Asuka is...

Of course, for all Ruri claimed she could mingle on her own, her main thought was just getting away from the adults of the Nadesico trying to fuss over her. They thought bringing her to a safer party would be important, because the last time ended in a gunshot. But she's not a child, and she doesn't need to be coddled with positive experiences.

Another orphan -- not the one she was talking to before -- comes up to Ruri. He's perhaps only a year or so younger than her, in that general space of youthful-but-tragically-independent. "Can you make any sense of these people?" He asks, with all the scepticism of someone who thinks she's standing on a different side than she is.

"Not really," Ruri sighs, "but that's the sense I have, I suppose."

And she turns, and keeps walking.

Captain York...

Ruri looks to her, but she doesn't go and meet her, right now. It might just be a flint-spark, in the midst of all the fires burning in this room. 

<Pose Tracker> Lloyd Asplund has posed.

Lloyd: "What a lovely evening, isn't it? Fantastic company, wonderful music, money as far as the eye can see." Cecile: "Fine food and drinks, too, and all for a good cause." Lloyd: "That part worries me the most." Cecile: "The... Cause?" Lloyd: "No. The food." Cecile: "Really? I thought it was great. I might even have to try my hand at some of these."

That last part has Lloyd suppressing a noise as he and Cecile make small talk with those seated with them, conveniently avoiding talking about what sorts of inventions they've made. It's easier to do that with the food around, at least, with the various cheese and fish dishes giving Cecile all sorts of foods to try that would be harder to get from Brittanian chefs while Lloyd mostly just devours that custard.

Indeed, the night is a little busier than Lloyd expected and Cecile would like, considering that the former has to maintain appearances and socialize while the latter has to make sure the former doesn't cause any incidents. Cecile probably has to kick him a few times under the table to make sure he doesn't say anything untoward, either, especially around so many war orphans that he probably (indirectly) created. They're dressed to the nines, of course, with Lloyd donning a fancy brown coat with gold trim, and Cecile wearing a dark blue dress with a matching set of long gloves.

They quiet down as the speeches begin, and they stand to clap when the speech ends. Tastefully, steadily enough to match the tempo with the rest of the crowd without drawing attention their way for going too slow or too fast, and certainly rehearsed on Lloyd's part while being more natural for Cecile.

Cecile: "There was a hitch in that speech." Lloyd: "You heard it, too? I wonder what that was all about. Maybe someone's plo-" Cecile: "Don't finish that sentence." Lloyd: "Fine, fine." 

<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.

Arriety feels entirely out of place here -- at a party that's far, far higher class than she is, on her first few handful of days on Earth, with someone she senses to be very important speaking about a conflict that she... hardly knows anything about. Of course, she's gotten the broad strokes of Earth continents from high school, but... memorising the names of places isn't one of her strong suits, and that tends to sink her social studies grades.

The woman speaking... Sayla Mass. She senses something out of her... not necessarily a kind of pressure, but...

In a way, Arriety misses the 'challenge' directed her way, because she doesn't quite have the same context of war orphans being seated next to their oppressors -- no, she thinks... what she senses here beyond her are... ulterior motives. Not necessarily for malicious reasons, but she senses the way people are seated for a purpose. There's so many sensations here... it's overwhelming. The unrest and uneasiness coming out of those military-looking people...

Is this the world's idea of a 'good time'? Always so barbed, never meaning what they mean...

She wonders for a moment... how she'd feel if she came to one of these parties, for the purpose of being displayed to those who hurt her. ... except the only one who really hurt her iiiiis...

... currently half-hidden underneath the table nearest to her as she leans against an open windowsill, looking a little pale and nursing a glass of water. Myrme is currently stuffing her face FULL of ravioli and Arriety wonders for a moment:

Is that cannibalism?

... best not to think about it. She looks happy.

"I'm kinda... it's overwhelming," Arriety admits to Eight. "The room is full of... intentions..." 

<Pose Tracker> Veronique du Britannia has posed.

If Veronique were here by herself, she actually would not care about losing face. Having not one but two half-sisters her changes things. She doesn't really care if Britannia loses face with the world. She already knows what the world thinks of her family, what it thinks of her, but embarrassing herself in front of some of her... 'favorite', for lack of a better word, people would be problematic.

Not that she'd cause violence here anyways. Well, not physical violence. Emotional violence is a thing she does merely by existing. By being richer than others. By being more lucky, via the accident of her birth. But physical violence? Nah. That's what robots are for.

She spent most of the dinner somewhat pouty and quiet. Some orphans of various Britannian Numbered Areas tried to speak with her, and she smiled and made nice with them and gave the usual spiel about the greatness of Britannia and how grateful they should be. It was empty propaganda, and she knew it didn't help them, but it doesn't make a difference. Whoever's big plan it was to stab Veronique in the heart failed to realize that she actually, legitimately doesn't have one. She's not a person who can be reached via empathy. Not without some cleverness.

Which is what makes people like Sayla so... interesting to Veronique. People with conviction. People who actually care about the state of the world. It's a fascinating thing to care so deeply, and what the Cyber Newtype's senses picks up in a room like this intrigues her. This is, in fact, why the Britannian princess even bothered showing up.

She thinks about this, even gets lost in her thoughts, as the victims of her tyranny share their experiences. Suddenly she's drawn out of her reverie by a familiar story.

"Oh the food bank! Yeah, I remember that. It was completely leveled. I..."

"My family was there, Your Highness."

Suddenly feeling awkward, Veronique's tone suddenly changes. "Yeah but like nobody died, right?"

"No, but we all went hungry after that. We didn't get the medicine we needed. It was actually a big problem for all of us."

Veronique is suddenly very quiet and somewhat nervous. "O-oh. I see."

"Where did you hear about it from, if you don't mind me asking?"

I ordered its destruction, is a true thing that Veronique doesn't say. I did that because I needed to send a message and killing people is just too pedestrian. Attacking the economy of the conquered populace was better.

"O-oh... I heard about it in a report," is the lie she actually says, smiling brightly and making direct eye contact.

After dinner, Veronique makes sure to stay away from her table mates for the rest of the day. 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

Chibodee Crocket is an imposter. The tuxedo he finally assented to have tailored for himself rather than constantly relying on rentals fits perfectly, showing off his physique in an understated way. He is clean-shaven, hair freshly done by Shirley, and is wearing the same cheap cologne he's been wearing since he was 14 years old (purchased first in a dive bar bathroom -- he put a dispenser in his own, retaining the coin requirement to remind himself not to use too much).

Chibodee's net worth gets him in here -- as he never talks about it, it's really more than most people think. He donates quietly, behind the scenes, via appointment. It's a lot. And yet Chibodee will always still think he's an imposter. He misses his Gals but this is the sort of situation that's a little too risky for them.

Chibodee loves the camera. He's good at being a distraction and knows how to work shooters to get their affection. Quieter people might be able to use him as cover.

Dinner comes. Chibodee more or less tries to pack his table with war orphans because he is one himself, and that way he can let them in on the best ways of sneaking out extra dinner rolls. Chibodee grew up eating humanitarian aid rations when he was lucky. Chibodee has never been very lucky. Insect protein reminds him of his mother. He had a double serving of ravioli because it makes him feel warm.

Chibodee is attentive and polite at the table. He has overly conservative table manners that inadvertently make him appear old-fashioned. Chibodee's working knowledge of world history is, to be polite, porous, so he listens attentively to Sayla to learn some things for the first time. He's good at anticipating where the clap lines are and does his best to blend in.

Toast. Chibodee lifts his glass and drinks on cue. He got the emotional content of that speech if not all the details.

From there, Chibodee works the floor. He normally plays the role of the celebrity gladiator, so knows how to answer the same sets of questions that most ordinary people he encounters ask. Chibodee signs the occasional autograph for someone's child or cousin, laughs at what are clearly 2.5 our of 5 star jokes, and otherwise works to ingraciate himself.

This is a tense room, Chibodee feels. Better just keep quiet for a while. Comically, he does not notice Nidaime getting up to antics behind him. 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Londo Bell is among the groups invited to the Yumi Foundation's fundraiser. Normally, Anita would try to excuse her way out of something like this... but, Eight and Arriety are going, so she might as well go too. While Anita is normally inclined to slack, she and the others are acting as Londo Bell representatives here so she has no choice but to dress the part. Today's outfit is a formal Londo Bell dress uniform - ceremonial more than practical. ...She isn't used to dressing like this. It feels restrictive.

She has done something for herself, though. One might occasionally catch flashes of red and gold on the left side of her body. These are her prosthetics for today - a matching arm and leg with a design of upwardly-rising, intertwining leafy vines in red and gold. It's nice. She's not inclined to show them off with so many strangers around, but that she knows they're there and her friends do is enough for her.

She's seated along with Eight, Arriety, and a group of orphans. Fortunately, Anita's good with kids - like Eight, she does her best to listen to their stories and keep them entertained.

Her attention turns to the front, though, as Sayla steps forward. She goes quiet, listening to her speech and nodding along to it. Her passion really gets to her.

Choosing to care, huh...? Caring means a lot. More people ought to care these days - she almost wishes she could've met this McCoy. And so, she toasts along with the others, kicking back her glass.

...It's decidedly non-alcoholic too, though.

And now, mingling. Anita isn't inclined to stray too far from Eight and Arriety - the latter in particular.

"Gotta admit, the food's been great... Their meat dishes have been on point." Anita admits with a shrug. Her attention turns to Arriety, then, who she offers a small smile. "...Yeah, I bet. Hang in there, okay? We're right here with you."

With that said, Anita scans the crowd, taking note of who all is here. 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

The AEU was not above or beyond sending someone to such an event to make sure it is understood that those times of exploiting the OAC are in the past. One such member of the AEU that has been invited to attend is Lieutenant Gary Biaggi. Unlike others a mere Lieutenant doesn't garner the same level of paparazzi that others do, however a few cameras go off and snap his picture as he enters the festivities. Upon his entrance he does make sure to grab one of the fliers and says to the press, "For all the hard work this foundation has done. They deserve my support." A few button presses from his phone and a donation was made in his name. Then he takes the time to find his way to his seat in the back, where the guests with little political clout or those that the party wishes to ignore are placed.

Dinner was good, the chocobo steak upon Gary's plate was good but he did not appear to finish it nor his ice cream. In fact he spent a lot of the meal talking with those at his table and right before he finishes he slides a business card across the table and looks the man he was talking to in the eye, "For the orphans." Then a silence set on the crowd as the speech begin, Gary simple sits there sipping his wine with a smile on his face. As the speech ends , the lieutenant joins in on the applause. Taking a moment as people begin to hustle and bustle about Gary simply sits and peoples watches for a moment. In his head he tries to match names to faces from the media or from other places he has ran into before he smiles finds who he plans to bother. Rising from his table he makes his way towards the young Ruri, planning to casually intercept her and her entourage's path by absolute accident should nothing stop either of them. 

<Pose Tracker> Sumire Kanzaki has posed.

ENTRANCE

Sumire Kanzaki, who has the honor of being both a leading light of modern stage theater in Neo-Japan *and* being the probable inheritor of an enormous industrial combine, has to think about how she presents herself in occasions like this. Her outfit is an ankle-length dress of faintly shimmery purple fabric with a high slit for leg motion and a golden yellow hem: over this, a mantle that covers the upper arms while leaving shoulders bare, decorated with a red flower pattern and a long ribbon before her. Around her neck, another ribbon, tied in a neat bow behind the neck and trailing behind her.

Sumire came in a tasteful black car, and there is probably a driver in there waiting for things to finish - In Case - but she is, otherwise, alone. She has a discreet paper envelope with a less discreet corporate donation (and a smaller, personal one) with her, but it is not on display. What is on display is that after a few camera-flashes which she treats with a mild, serene, almost mysterious smile, she snaps open a brocade fan to veil most of her face throughout the rest of the walk.

AT THE TABLE

Sumire Kanzaki, who is rich as heck, is confronted with several dinner guests who she does not know and does not closely recognize. Externally, she blinks once and is otherwise polite, even if she has, thanks to seating chart organization at the VIP table, the orphaned guests across from her and to either side.

Internally, she seethes for a moment. What a socially awkward situation!! Was it father who knew this was going to happen and wanted a goat to deal with it? Did Mass organize this to make her look the fool? And so Sumire doesn't exchange more than pleasantries ("Oh, you're an actress?" "Ah, I see, what grade are you in?") with the people a few years her junior. Not many years.

During the second course, service takes a moment to reach her. In mild agitation, Sumire unfolds her fan and fans herself.

"Oh," says the girl next to her. "That's pretty."

"Hm?"

"Your fan," the girl says. "It's like it's shining! It's from Neo-Japan, isn't it?"

"Ah - this one's..." Sumire says, looking at the fan. She folds it up afterwards, smiling a little awkwardly. The girl, more weakly, smiles back.

After the second course's plates arrive, Sumire takes a deep breath - and turns it round, to offer it to the girl. "... Here. Try it. You hold it here, and if you twist your hand like you're about to snap your fingers -- see!"

The girl tries; she sees; she smiles; she offers the fan back. Sumire raises a hand, looking away but not quite breaking eye contact. "No, no; you're carrying it better than I."

It takes several seconds for that to be fully parsed.

After that, the rest of the dinner goes well enough that there are a few attempted demonstrations of a particular enka-style trill from Sumire's sector of the table around the last course, and a significant improvement in general bonhomie.

AFTER THAT, AND DESSERT

Sumire acquires a tall glass of a blended juice in lieu of champagne (for now) and, standing off by herself for a minute, raises it to her lips and bolts half of it. After this, she exhales, and raises her hand to veil her face with her fan which

is now the property of a local child!!

For a moment Sumire regrets her decision, glancing round briefly to see if she's accidentally made direct eye contact with someone she doesn't want to hang out with. 

<Pose Tracker> Hathaway Noa has posed.

So far - there's not been anything useful .. Hathaway thinks to himself. The refreshments are incredible, though he keeps to water rather than any of the expensive alchohols. He was here unsupervised, after all, and it wouldn't make a good image for the young man to partake in such drinks without a guardian. And more seriously, he wasn't confident he could hold his drink well enough to not become tipsy on the job.

The food was all excellently prepared and crafted with such finesse that it had to be a team of top tier cooking staff who'd prepared everyone's three course meals. His own food was delicious, the Paneer Tikka had been a great palette setter for the soup he'd had, which was complimented rather well by his actual main dish; the Barramundi with a side of mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. The garlic in the potatoes paired really well with the lemon butter, he thought.

" - yes, sir. Thank you, I'm sure if my father were here, he'd have been very happy to hear that .. " he says, to an older man situated in the seat across from his. He was clearly from one of the military oriented delegations, having been speaking to Hathaway about matters concerning his father, as well as praising the man for raising Hathaway to be keen on keeping his ties in mind - a kind of doublespeak, for insisting that Hathaway should rub his elbows with the right folk.

In a way, the youth was awkward, and clearly out of place - with a face that hardly belayed his thoughts, most would consider it a well-kept poker expression. And while true, it was more to do with the fact that his ability to express himself in conventional ways had faltered over the years.

That was fine, he understood that it was the case and benefitted for what it was worth. It's not as if this man would ever be privy to his thoughts.

Whoever it was that assigned the seating for the event was more clever than most in the Yumi Foundation let on about themselves. Problematic guests are kept segregated from eachother and those they'd be most likely to start fires with .. but at the same time, it's pretty obvious that most of the guests have been placed to encourage discourse and confrontations. Such as the Britannian Delegation being right next to Free Japan's Delegation .. and my current seating of course was arranged by 'Quack Silver', somehow.

But not a single person he'd spoken to tonight he much of interest to him. He was happy to have at least gotten one nugget of good information, when asking about how supply lines had been maintained during the One Year War - "What with the Supply Corps, they couldn't be carting everywhere all the time, right?" he recalled phrasing.

Getting liqoured up old officers talking in that case, had indeed told him something quite useful. So they used to hide depots all over their fronts, huh. That makes sense. He mentioned a Federal Depot in Indonesia, I'll have to make sure and have someone look into that for me.

He'd seen Suzaku out and about, and Hahaway had felt both an air of sympathy and caution for his classmate - he hadn't realized that he'd be here, also, but it made sense. Had Suzaku mentioned it? Hathaway mentally lashed himself for not paying enough attention to his peers, lately - he'd spaced out frequently during council meetings, having had his mind occupied by a litney of ongoing issues.

Namely, MAFTY's recent partnership with the up and coming Black Knights. 

   It went without saying that Zero put him on edge.

By the time he's finishing up his dinner, Sayla Mass is welcomed onto the stage to begin her speech. Hathaway listens raptly to the entire thing with a simmering bitterness that he shoves to the bottom of his chest.

It's not enough to win .. maybe. But even you have to realize that there's no helping anything as long as this world is shackled by the gears making it turn .. Sayla Mass.

It was hard to admit, but he supposed that his frustration was personal rather than one with her philosophy in this case. And that wasn't fair, in fact, it was petty and childish. And so accepting this, Hathaway washes the last of his fish down with a drink of water, and dabs his mouth - just in time for desserts roll out.

"Hm...?" That white haired girl - there's something about her .. but, what's she doing here? She's speaking to that officer over there. Hathaway thinks, before considering how - and if - he should approach to try and eavesdrop. But he had the impression that they were a little sharper than the doddering men he'd spent the evening with so far.

And the AEU's delegation felt threatening to him. He was unsure why, but his gut instincts told him to keep his distance on that front, if he could help it.

In order to keep himself looking natural, he picks out one of the normal seeming rich-types to speak to, and at that, someone who didn't seem entirely unpleasant - he would have gone for Suzaku, but he didn't want to keep him from doing his job. Instead, he approaches Sumire Kanzaki. "That was very kind of you - what happened with your fan, I mean." he says, after a moment where it may not have been clear what he was referring to.

It doesn't occur to him that it may be seen as strange that he noticed that. 

<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.

'Delegation' might be too formal a name for it, but Minae is at least one of the members of the Ra Mari squad that accompanies Captain York through the doors and into the prestigious location, keeping pace with and flanking the younger girl that trails behind her.

The robot's entrance in particular is not... terribly grandiose, esoecially by the standards of most Super AIs. Minae is not five or six metres tall, let alone twenty. She does not have a giant golden lion on her chest. She doesn't have a bank of monitors that suddenly flicker to life, nor does she take over the party with mindcontrolling sound waves.

She doesn't even have a dress uniform, nor does she present as anything other than human at first glance outside of her rather vivid green hair; it takes a good glance at her clearly mechanical eyes, or sufficiently attuned senses to pick up the lack of presence. There's something there, perhaps, but faint enough to be swallowed under the weight of the rest of the party.

She's a little muted compared to how she normally acts on the Ra Mari. It doesn't seem to be anxiety or a lack of friendliness - she nods warmly to people as they pass and animatedly talks with some of the serving staff whenever collecting food for the people at her table. Rather, she's spending a lot of time people-watching, her gaze following the ebb and flow of discussion across the room as she takes in the huge display of human nature laid out in front of her.

The stories of the war orphans, in particular, is something she focuses heavily upon - and at times she excuses herself from the rest of the table's discussion with a sympathetic smile to quietly chat to some of them one on one. It's not like she expects to be able to help any of them all that much in a place this charged, but... she can at least reassure them that there's people who'll listen more closely. The rest of the tmie she's animated and upbeat, chattering with them rapidly and shifting from topic to topic with the sudden swing of a multitasker.

Minae also does not eat at dinner, but that's okay. The Super AI knows well enough what Arriety and Anita particularly like, and takes a moment to partial out her serving to them and then the rest of the kids around her. Anything left over, well... Mryme is right there.

Her hand is on Arriety's back in support, patting her charge. Minae's not super sure how Arriety's senses work even now, but she's vaguely aware that her presence might be able to act as a lead weight on the trampoline of sensation. ... and she promises to herself that she meant that to sound better than it turned out. "You did really good," she promises genuinely with a grin to Anita for good measure. "It's nearly over. Nothing even exploded. I count that as a good day." 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

Ruri looks at Eight and her crew, and... walks in the other direction. There's something sad, there, but maybe it's easy to miss, with all the other feelings in this room. Even if it would be nice to see Minae again...

... maybe trying to connect to other humans really is just causing her trouble, after all.

After all, all these normal people... have expectations, too.

And, the next time, she might not be on Mars.

And, the next time, there might be orphans.

They're not very pleasant feelings. Even trapped between the definition of the lost and the ones who cause loss, Ruri finds it an unpleasant situation.

She also finds Gary Biaggi.

Someone walking towards her is surprising; Ruri pauses, turning towards him. "Mr. Biaggi..?" She ventures, remembers his name from the last party; she's not holding a glass of anything, but her arm crosses her chest anyway, hand curling by her shoulder. "Hello," she starts, politely, a thread of uncertainty beneath it. 

<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.

The mingling period of the night starts, and -- Euphy receives a folded note, and a few moments later, her phone beeps. She checks the note first, and smiles; then she opens her phone and genuinely giggles. It's a small moment -- and she's fairly reserved about it. "If you'll excuse me," she says, getting up and getting ready to go mingle, in somewhat better spirits.

She has someone in mind to approach, and someone who approaches *her*. She addresses the latter first, of course. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Espella," Euphemia says, with a smile. She seems glad to be out of the 'dealing with subtle attacks' stage of the conversation. "I had the steak, myself. I see these events as opportunities to try new things, so I picked dishes I hadn't had yet... this is my first time having chocobo! It's a little dry, but the flavor is very rich and everything else really helps it along; I understand the appeal now!" She considers for a moment, then asks, "You live in Area 11? How has it been for you?" This is something that *always* has Euphy's interest -- she wants to hear real, lived experience of the area she now sub-administrates.

Concurrently, she's half-walking herself -- and Jude, if Jude follows -- over toward Chibodee Crocket. The sly flavor of care Chibodee takes with others is something she appreciates. "Mr. Crocket," she says, with a genuine warmth. "I'm glad you're here. The younger orphans seem to be taking a shine to you."

Euphemia is privy to a lot of strategic data. She knows how many of those orphans are the fault of Britannia, or the Titans they sponsored. ... She doesn't know how to approach that, if she's being honest. Getting into the conversation will probably help -- she's more of a spontaneous person anyway. POT: BC-001 Minae is no longer set observer. 

<Pose Tracker> Bridget we Britannia has posed.

One of the next people to arrive at first might look like they're here with their escort rather than the other way around. Several inches under five feet tall means she's realtively easy to miss in the crowd, and is positively dwarfed by the large, suited bodyguard that stands with her. Those that keep a relatively close eye on Britannian imperial politics though would recognize her easily enough as one of the Emperor's more outspoken and direct children, as much by the bright smile on her face and the energetic way she carries herself as her outfit, a fancy, frilly white dress with thin shoulder straps and a knee length skirt made with several consessions towards mobility.

Those that know her might wonder what the heck she's doing here, as her only forrays into events outside the Britannian capital city so far have involved blunt, harsh criticisms against any and all who oppose Federation and Britannian policy and having personally waded into the suppression of dissidents in her Knightmare Frame in recent weeks. Beside her at a tasteful distance is her bodyguard for the night, a large man in an impeccible and fashionable suit as well as a dark pair of sunglasses that hides the fact he's constantly scanning for threats, a briefcase held in one of his hands.

Despite the fact her name appearing on the RSVP might have made someone at the Yumi Foundation sweat she's mostly acquitted herself well and with dignity. At dinner she's chosen the Oysters, which she eagerly slurps out of their shells, the vegetable soup, where she takes a notable interest in the yam paste and, to the surprise of at least one at her table, the ravioli. This she eats in a rather peculiar manner, leaning in with wide, curious eyes and carefully cutting open each ravioli before eating it, checking to see if the mealworms are ground up or large.

"My mother would never let me try something like this at home," she explains, looking as much like she's performing a school disection as she is eating a meal. To her credit though, whether or not her hopes for stringy worms in her pasta are dashed, she finishes her meal. When it's time for desert she eagerly digs into the ice cream served to her, taking and savoring small bites until it's all gone.

When it's time for the speech she's among those who cheer at the talk of Earl McCoy. Not that she knows who he is-- her cheer and light applause comes perhaps jarringly a couple of sentances before his name is mentioned, when it's mentioned that the OAC joined the Federation. Throughout the rest of the speech she keeps her eyes on Sayla, humming softly and nodding to herself, joining in with the chours at the end and lifting her drink, "To the Real McCoy!" As far as she's concerned, he sounds like a stand up guy!

As people are starting to mingle she looks around, a slightly confused expression on her face. The fact that most people here are taller than her makes this difficult, so she pulls out her chair and hops up onto it. Now it's her head that's on a swivel, and her confusion only grows. "I don't get it... Weren't we supposed to be here to donate to war orphans?" Her eyes cast across the groups of people, "Everyone here looks really nice. I don't see any orphans at all?"

Because, of course, when she thinks of war orphans she's thinking of masses of huddled children with dirty clothes and bare feet crying or frowning or standing tall trying to be strong while worrying about where their next meal will come from.

At this point though, a young man overhears her, "Not everybody is as you would expect them to appear. My parents were killed when I was only ten years old and I'm only here today, in a place like this, because of the Yumi Foundation.

"Oh, really?" Bridget's eyes sparkle with interest and she turns to him, questioning until he gives his story to her. Parents killed in an unlucky skirmish between Neo Zeon and the Federation, many years spent struggling just to get by and nearly resorting to crime to do it, only to be found and helped by the Yumi Foundation and now going to school to be an engineer and try and find better ways to grow food in Earth's ravaged biosphere. Clearly here as an example of one of the nicer success stories.

To all of this Bridget listens intently, piping up at the end, "Wow! You've definitely been through a lot. I can't imagine losing my parents at that age, you did a great job making it through all that." Then with a snap and a handmotion, still standing on her chair, she summons her bodyguard, to a bit of discomfort to the promising young man.

As he approaches the bodyguard lifts his briefcase, unclips it and opens it up in a single slow motion-- revealing stack after stack of crisp Gilla. Looking into it Bridget pulls out a bound stack with the number '1,000,000' written on it and stuffs it into the man's hand, "Here you go! This should be enough to help. Best of luck with the agriculture!"

Promply she hops down from her perch and starts walking through the crowd, her bodyguard closing the briefcase back up and following behind. "Wow! Charity really does make you feel good, huh? It's great knowing you can make a real difference!" Practically grinning from ear to ear she looks around some more, trying to listen in on conversations as she goes. 

<Pose Tracker> Dr. Hell has posed.

Oh right, the children. Endeavor plays the good host when a few come to his table, telling a story about a thrilling retrieval of an alien relic on Mars that's always good with a crowd (he leaves out the part about KOJI KABUTO destroying it before he, Dr. Hell, could use its fell radiance to seize control of the Orbital Ring and every scrap of power on the planet but it's still a good story, there's a talking orangutan.) and being cordial, if distant.

Hell inwardly thinks the ploy is a bit insulting, but it does seem to be making some of the young officers uncomfortable. He's about to go over to get the measure of Chibodee Crockett when the young Princess makes her way there. That may be too many irons in the fire at once. Later. Sayla? She might?

"Captain York!" Dr. Endeavor says, as he finds himself in the orbit of the gallant captain. "I saw your latest exploits on the television. You could almost see your crew between the edited Brittanian glamour shots, eh?"

Endeavor holds a hand out to shake for the gallant crew. "Doctor Henry Justified Endeavor, archaeologist, physicist, man of the world. It really is a pleasure. I think my sons are."

Dirk is looking at Minae as if she were the first beautiful thing to ever exist after a long lifetime admit the shades of gray.

"Growing." Endeavor says, his jaw setting. "Well, the follies of youth. If the boy gets the courage to say a word I'll make sure it's nothing too terrible. -but don't mind my family drama, please, introduce me! I contributed a few of the gadgets on your ship, you know." 

<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.

Nidaime is, indeed, looking right at Jude when she turns her focus on them. Like, she glances over and Nidaime is already looking at Jude. She doesn't say anything, though. She just sort of looks into Jude's eyes...

...Takes out a slab of choco steak, shoves the whole thing into her mouth, chews noisily, and then swallows before licking at her fingers again.

She wipes her hand on her shorts after. At least it's not her shirt?

She hums a soft obscure lullaby-like melody as she scootches closer towards Chibodee Crockett.

"Don't worry," She tells him. "The food is funny looking but it is actually food." Nidaime assures Chibodee.

She holds his hand with her own for a moment. It's probably not a pleasant sensation because she has been shoving it in her mouth so CHibodee can still feel saliva residue.

"I met the boy again," She tells him softly. "He was really shy but I told him how to get free food." She frowns thoughtfully. "I'm not sure the lesson stuck since he didn't take the coins you get the free food with but that's ok. He was lost so I took him back home." %She thinks for a moment and then adds, "These plates are pretty nifty. If you accidentally drop some food it lands on the plate so it's easy to pick back up again."

She shoves the rest of what's on her plate in her mouth and then literally licks the plate clean. 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

The phrase 'Real McCoy' has been uttered enough tonight that Ana's going to hear it on repeat in her dreams, she's pretty sure. It's an old meme to someone who grew up reading about the man in school.

The pronounced Britannian presence in the audience isn't lost on her - she'd spotted princesses and other nobility, some of whom she could even name. She's done her best to keep out of the way of Euphemia in particular. As much as she's not going to duck a charitable cause she cares about on her own turf just because Britannians showed up, she's at least trying not to cause an incident.

God knows how long THAT will last, she reflects grimly. Another reason to feel a little uncomfortable here. The receptive can probably pick up on the unease that vibrates beneath her conviction to support an important cause. The little thoughts feed into a single collection point in her consciousness. 

       This isn't really my crowd, is it? Merda....

As she navigates the room, she does, at least, get the grim distinction of catching sight of one of the war orphans letting Veronique du Britannia know about what they experienced. Off to one side a little ways, she listens with pursed lips. There's no satisfaction to it, only the bleak thought that, for once, one of these stuffed suits gets to hear from their victims.

Part of her wants to join in the pile-on. The rest of her restrains the impulse. She navigates past Veronique, moving through the Britannian's field of view but making the best possible effort not to engage. She's simply scanning the room, pausing just long enough to catch sight of another Britannian just... cutting a cheque.

Ana's lips come together in a firm line. She looks away from Bridget. They eventually lock onto something that feels a little safer.

A hat.

The sense that navigates towards Eight York is less one of dissemblance and pretense, and more one of a ship of discomfort looking for anything that seems to be a safe harbour. Maybe someone with a clear military bearing (and a clear military hat) will catch her wavelength. Ana maneuvers around a fance-pantsily dressed OCU delegatino with a quick handshake and an "excuse me" before steering into range enough that she can flash Eight, Arriety, Minae and Anita a relaxed smile.

"You're with the Londo Bell delegation, aren't..."

She's cut off by Dr. Endeavor barreling into things before she can get the rest of her greeting out. Her jaw tightens ever so slightly, but she exhales through her nose and lets it go for now.

Eventually she tries to maneuver close enough to offer Eight a handshake. "Sorry about that. Captain Anastasia Kambinda Simao of the OAC Forces. I'm glad people from the task forces made it." She speaks with a noticeable accent that could be mistaken for Portuguese.

She looks back out over the crowd, her smile fading just a little before her eyes dart back to the three, focusing mainly on Eight. "Actually I saw you talking with some of the children," she says, a little more quietly. "I'm not with the Foundation or anything, but. Uh.

"Thanks for, you know. Caring about what they're going through." 

<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.

"Y-yeah," Arriety quietly nods. "I don't... think I've eaten as fancy as I have tonight. I wonder if rich people eat like this all the time...?" she wonders half-aloud to Anita and Eight. All kinds of fresh meats and fish and insect, and varying different kinds of flavours all on display...

Anita encourages her to hang on, and she nods in turn as Arriety shuffles a little closer to her.

A number of these orphans are older than her, even, she thinks to herself. They're now in their twenties and thirties... will she be like that as well when she grows up? Showing... being shown? to events to make other people feel bad... even if they've done wrong...

Her eyes catch Ruri for a moment, but she's walking the opposite direction. She didn't offend her last time, did she? What if she hates her now? No, can't think like that... she's just busy. Who's that officer talking to her?

Myrme, at the least, seems popular with the younger war orphans on account of being a Squishable 30 centimetre-tall Bean-shaped Bug with a penchant for eating. One of them keeps cheekily stuffing food into her throat, even, even as she starts to gurgle.

Minae, meanwhile, has her hand on her back for support, breathing rather shallowly as she says, "Not much longer--"

But then Dr. Endeavour and his entourage arrive! He addresses Captain York, and one of the sons is staring at Minae and she feels awkward being in close proximity in turn, like she weren't there...

Ana arrives! She introduces herself as a Captain of the OAC Forces; she grapples to remember what that acronym means for a moment. Then she focuses on Eight. Eight is popular, isn't she? Facing the world at large... no matter how hard she tries to run after...

No, no, can't think that way...

Then, Endeavour holds his hand to shake and Arriety feels doubly awkward.

"A-Arriety Hearn, um, crew... person," she introduces for both Ana and Endeavour's entourage's sake. It's a little bit better than 'high school student', perhaps. Dr. Endeavour himself feels... a bit weird, but perhaps it's just his boisterousness.

She quietly turns to face the outside window to try to reduce her profile as panic starts to ratchet inside of her.

BURRRRRRRRP

Myrme lets rip a big one as she has one too much to eat. "ooogh, that's so rich... i want a bit more..."

Arriety shrinks a little bit into herself and wishes she were a corn cob. 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Jude does indeed follow over to Chibodee Crocket with Euphemia, talking as she does. "Ah, the chocobo steak. My mother got that. I am not a fan of red meat, unfortunately." She then chews over the question, a hand moving through her dark shoulder length hair.

"It is quite a fascinating place! Not like Spain, which is colorful yet sometimes poor. It is a place of two shades - the light and the dark. My academy, Ashford, is part of the light - fancy and clean. But some of the areas, homes of the 'Elevens', are dark and sad. I would like them to all reach the light. But that brings fears of...ah, gentrification? Yes? The destruction of their culture."

Nidaime shuffles over towards Chibodee. Jude smiles at her after the locking of eyes. Nidaime feels an aura of Warmth emotionally, an empathic 'hello there'.

"Ah, you may not want to lick those plates - you'll get cooties." Jude says, helpfully. "Are you one of the orphans? It is very nice to meet you, I am Jude."

Chibodee gets a nod of the head as well. "Neo-America's famed Gundamfighter, yes?" 

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"...For me too," Eight admits back to Arriety with a small smile. "Thanks for coming. I have to do things like this now, but I'm glad I'm not alone with it." A beat, "Minae's right!"

But she feels a glimmer of intention, a spark, and she turns towards Ruri as she's being watched. "Oh!" Eight says, but... Ruri walks away, in the other direction. She detects something there, but by the time she thinks what to do about it, Ruri is gone in the crowd. So she doesn't spot Gary either, though she would want to talk to him again sometime after what happened at that party. ...The missed opportunity makes her a little sad, but Eight tries to shake it off, turning back to her friends--only to see Dr. Endeavor after all!

"Hm?" she starts as she turns hearing her name, and then she smiles--though it turns into something more of a grin at his comment on the glamour shots. "Hmmm, sharp eyes then." She hadn't actually realized it had gone on TV, but she's not surprised that it went that way, with that Britannian battleship there at the time. "Doctor Endeavor!" she recognizes the name from a number of reports on exactly those gadgets--but also for his work on medical prosthetics. She laughs again a bit. "Well, she is pretty great," Eight says of Minae. "Sure. This is Arriety Hearn, Anita Rosetta, and Minae. They all work on the Ra Mari, in their various jobs." She doesn't go into detail; she's accustomed not to saying too much about Arriety. "And..."

After extending her hand to the Doctor and his sons, she will also accept Ana's. "Hm?" she asks, as if unsure what she's apologizing for. She senses... something, anyway. A little tension, that she tries to dispel. "Captain Eight York," she confirms, "Of Londo Bell. But it sounds like you knew that!"

A beat, and that quiet statement gets as answer, "Anybody would." That's not entirely true, but Eight would like to put that kind of world forth right now. "I don't actually get to see much of the OAC out in my stomping grounds in space. But it's good to be here!"

She doesn't point out Anita's prosthetic but she says, "I've seen some of your work before, Doctor. It's an honor to meet you properly." 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

Orphans happen because the universe is chaotic. Everything past that in Chibodee's mind is trying to make an inkblot mean something.

Chibodee is palming several pieces of cheese into a napkin as Euphemia approaches. He quickly stuffs the napkin into his pocket and tells himself that he looks presentable and that everything is okay, no one has noticed. "Oh, thank you," he says. "Yeah. Ah, I can give them, you know, a positive role model. Came out of a tough circumstance and made something of myself with hard work. I think sometimes people -- they don't think that's true so I try to advocate."

Chibodee's hand -- basically like rough hide, cracked and calloused and savaged by years of bare-knuckle training -- gets kaiju slobber on it. But hell, it's a kid, you just roll with that. "Yeah?" he says to Nidaime. "Well that's progress and all."

Chibodee watches Nidaime go at the plate. He nods approvingly even as other onlookers might be mortified.

"Hey, pro tip --" he says to Nidaime, as he appropriates a napkin from a waiter to wipe his hand off. Jude, then: "That's me, Chibodee Crockett," he says with a big smile. After wiping off the kaijugoo he puts out his mostly clean hand to shake Jude's. "Damn fine to meet you, Jude. Nidaime's a friend of mine."

Back to Nidaime. Now Chibodee's in coaching mode. "If you really wanna do that efficiently you need to pull a roll in half and use it like a sponge. Really get in there with it. Way more control than using your tongue and you can get some butter on the bread too. Value add." 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

Mayvy makes her way across the floor of the room, wishing silently that she could just yell out and have someone come out to say hello. Ideally, someone she won't be overcome with the urge to punch. She isn't built for this, in a lot of ways, and she'd hoped to have the captain a wingwoman... but, of course, a party like this is less important than a meeting with the Commodore. She understands! But it still sucks.

But soon enough, after dodging past a few more Britannian Uniforms than she'd like, Captain Eight York catches her eye. A woman. Londo Bell. Looking too young for those stripes and medals... exactly what she's looking for. Important. Military. And more than that, *interesting*.

She lifts a flute of champagne from a passing server's tray, takes a sip, and approaches. "Hello! I hope I'm not interrupting, but, ah... that's quite a collection of medals you have," she says--perhaps a bit awkwardly, but warmly enough.

Great. Fantastic start, Mayvy thinks to herself. She starts to wonder if it's too late for her to just sucker-punch a BU officer, defenestrate herself, and catch a shuttle back to Korea without making a scene.

She's saved a bit of awkward silence as a man approaches--a name she recognizes. Respects, at that. "Oh! D-Doctor Endeavor! I was just reading one of your papers--that Talos you uncovered in Cambodia still holds the record for oldest-known mobile weapon, doesn't it?" She switches the hand her drink is in, and extends a hand in his direction. "Mayvy Hawkins, Nergal." 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

Perhaps it was Gary's way of helping himself not just sit in the corner, or talk to stuffy old men about their problems. There was such energy and tension in the room who knows what Gary would do if he had to listen to some govenor complain about tarriffs and fines or demanding reparations from the AEU. No instead here he was wine in head starting conversation with a recently made acquaintence, "Hello to you as well. I will certainly say out of everyone attending the last party you are the last person I expected to see here today...." Gary trails off a moment to look around again before adding, "Well not the last, I would say seeing the party crasher here would certainly surprise me. "

His eyes falling back on the white haired girl he makes sure to remember how to properly address her, "Cadet Hoshino right? I just wanted to stop by and give a little advice. Be careful at places like these. You never know what type of big wig military person will try to make use of someone like you. Would hate for you to fall in with the wrong crowd." Looking past Ruri at her entourage he does add, " Though I am sure your friends wouldn't let something like that happen to you."

Another look around the party again before noting the body language and simply states what he is seeing, "Truthfully though you don't seem to be enjoying yourself." 

<Pose Tracker> Sumire Kanzaki has posed.

Sumire does her level best to look mysterious and beautiful while trying to figure out an exit strategy. Does she want to circulate here? Well, she reasons, I do need to drop off the checks, and it would look bad if I simply went to the hotel. And--

This is ample time for Hathaway to approach her. "Oh?" Sumire says, eyes lidding slightly. Her lip quirks. "I'm a little embarrassed. I didn't mean it as something ostentatious; I really do think it suited her."

She proffers one hand. "I am Sumire Kanzaki, with the Neo-Japan Revue; unfortunately, I am the only one who was able to attend tonight. I don't believe we've met...?" While doing this, Sumire looks past Hathaway's shoulder in time to see Nidaime licking a plate. As a professional, her face does not twitch, but it comes damn close.

"I feel terribly for the younger children here," Sumire tells Hathaway. "I suppose I can never truly know what they've lost..." 

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Suzaku stops by Lloyd and Cecile's table just to check in. It's a fairly quick exchange in which he offers both of them some of the cheese being passed around. "Seems like everything's going alright so far. There was a bit of a bump in the road up there, but she recovered pretty quickly. I wonder what happened..."

His attention doesn't linger on the matter, though. He simply doesn't want to stew on speculative bad things, especially when the event otherwise seems to be going swimmingly. If it were a security issue he needed to worry about, the handlers buzzing in his ear would be letting him know. They're already expressing mild disapproval at how hands-off he was with keeping Euphy in the green.

Fortunately, he does not care on that front.

Scanning the room, he notes Veronique. Not a Princess that he's too personally familiar with, though he knows OF her broadly. She seems to be handling herself alright, and he's not about to be more hands-on there, either.

Chibodee catches his attention, briefly. He recognizes the man, but seems to understand that being recognizable really isn't a plus. If Chibodee should meet his gaze, he receives a smile and a nod-- and perhaps a general sense of understanding that, no, he won't have to commit effort to +1 person nattering at him if he doesn't want to be bothered.

> Had Suzaku mentioned it?

It's around this time that Hathaway catches Suzaku's attention in turn-- or perhaps more accurately, a spark of recognition notices a spark of recognition. His head turns, meeting his fellows student's gaze. Smiling, he waves in Hathaway's direction.

The answer is that he didn't-- Suzaku is circuitously deceptive about what he's up to. His role isn't supposed to be a dangerous one, after all. Just with the engineering corps. Thankfully, Lloyd and Cecile are right there. But that interaction with the Princess was definitely odd in that context.

His current circumstances are sufficiently casual that he's able to snap off a text at Hathaway without it being overly strange. It reads: Didn't know you'd be here. What did you think of the speech?

It's fine if Hathaway gets to it much later. He's a lot like Lelouch when it comes to things like this-- always has something interesting in mind. 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

It is becoming more and more clear to Ana that this was probably a mistake. She's not a high-roller. She's more at home harvesting corn than she is mouthing it at people in fancy getups.

When Arriety speaks up, though, Ana greets her with a light tilt of her hat. "Hey, that's a good position to be. Nice to meet you, Miss Hearn-" 

       BURRRRRRRRP

Ana comes up short with a startled blink and a look at Myrme - and in spite of herself, she flashes a grin. It is not an unkind one. The psychically aware can feel the bubble of tension deflate somewhat after that.

The handshake she offers Eight is more vigorous than it otherwise would've been. She smiles a little more easily, with a flash of teeth. "The hat's pretty hard to miss. Maybe it's just me, though. But I'd seen that there was a delegation from your ship in the area and I did a little math."

She cants her head and looks back out over the crowd, then back to Eight, Arietty and Anita. "I like to think this is a pretty decent place to live. Though folks have suffered, of course. I think most of us know someone who has."

It is not lost on Ana that the northern OAC is currently being occupied by ZAFT. More war orphans being made. More conflict Africa didn't ask for.

"How're things up in space these days?" she pivots, pushing her fingers through her hair. "In some ways I miss being stationed up there. I was flying out of Artemis a few years ago, back during the Axis situation. Danger aside, I always thought it was cool to be out with the stars." 

       Maybe someday we'll manage it without killing a bunch of people! a corner of her mind reflects. The hostility isn't aimed at Londo Bell or even a person. It's a generalized cynicism.

<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.

Despite normally wearing her heart on her sleeve, Minae can often be quite good at marshalling her own emotions. Even if she still has moments where she hasn't quite figured out what those emotions actually are, she can always recognize the importance of ensuring her patients feel comfortable enough to share, and sometimes that means keeping her reactions muted until they're done.

No such luck this time. The hand patting Arriety's back drifts to a stop as she lapses into silence, lips pressed together. She has no need for breath, but some deep-rooted instinct honed from years of living around teenagers and children makes her suck air through her teeth anyway as she watches an Imperial Princess rule her roost, shove a bundle of money into someone's hand, and call it all charity. "Probably shouldn't cause a diplomatic incident just yet, huh?" she mutters quietly towards Eight.

It's not like the sci-fi books. She doesn't have three Laws to hold her back. Does a little humble pie count as 'harm'?

Thankfully, the robot shakes the thought away as Endeavour joins their group, and stands up to something like surprised attention at the sudden attention placed upon her. For just a moment she's absolutely stock still as something flashes across her eyes, and then she breaks into a polite smile and bows her head in a nod to the boy staring at her. "Good evening, sir," she greets the doctor first, figuring it's more formal. "I'm afraid I haven't read most of your body of work, but I understand the reception to it is very good."

(The pause is nothing nefarious. Diplomatic relations just go much smoother if you internet search someone's name first.)

Given Endeavour's tone and what signs she can pick up from Arriety, Minae decides a polite rebuttal might be the way to go, and she instead turns smoothly to offer Ana a smile before nodding in general to both of them. "Minae, civilian consultant and counsellor for the Ra Mari, and a pilot along with Arriety," she introduces herself in hopes of bolstering the latter's answer. "Captain York was kind enough to let me attach myself to the Ra Mari."

'Civilian' is a hell of a word for what is at this distance obviously a Super AI to just casually come out and say, but there's an assured confidence behind her smile - at least until another woman joins their group, and Minae's eyebrows slowly raise in surprise as she registers the size of the gathering they're collecting. For a moment, she glances in Arriety's direction out of concern. 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

Ruri... is deliberately turning away from Eight. Which is probably fine! Look, she has someone to talk to anyway!

"My fellow crewmembers thought it would be productive for me to attend another party with better security." Which implies -- though she doesn't quite get to outright stating -- that attending parties is unusual, for Ruri. If they have to prove to her that not all big social events end in gunshots...

She seems a little unsettled by the idea of the party-crasher -- Relena -- showing up again, though. It's a little twitch of her brow, a brief glance aside. Subtle. Most twelve-year-olds are much more emotive than Ruri is. Just look at that young Britannian over there!

Ruri shakes her head, briefly, when she looks back up to Gary, but she listens regardless. Be careful...? She blinks, in light confusion.

"I'm not a cadet," she corrects him, finally. "I'm the Nadesico's systems operator. We're a civilian ship, but my position would place me as an officer. For this reason, it would cause an incident if the military tried to recruit me." Her pride might be a little ruffled, but aside from a little edge in her stoic tone, she doesn't show it much. She's a little grouchier, with a light frown, as she admits: "I should be running the ship... I don't see what the point is of coming out here."

Ruri pauses, and glances away, her fingers tightening into her palm. "I know people die, so..." ... it doesn't take a flash of insight to see she's sad about it. 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"You think so? I never know how to compose myself at a fancy place like this." Anita remarks with a chuckle and a glance toward Minae. Nothing exploded, though - that's good! Anita massages the back of her neck. "Hopefully it stays that way. I don't think I can outrun any explosions in this get-up.'

She looks toward Arriety, then.

"Probably. Though I bet after a certain point they don't really appreciate it." She comments. Arriety shuffles closer so Anita responsively gives her a quick hug around the shoulders and an encouraging pat.

It's at this point that their little group draws attention. Three men - a Doctor Endeavor and his sons - approach, followed shortly by a woman introducing herself as Captain Anastasia of the OAC forces. Anita nods as Eight introduces her to the former.

"Eight's great like that. I've got a lot of respect for her." Anita says, beaming. ...It's a pretty familiar way for her to refer to her captain. She nods, though, as Ana continues. "Yeah... hard to avoid that wherever you go, huh? Place does seem nice, though."

Space...

"I'll, uh... defer on that one." She says apologetically.

Anita briefly glances toward Myrme, then. ...Anita sends Arriety a sympathetic look.

"At least the kids probably find it funny..." She offers. 

<Pose Tracker> Veronique du Britannia has posed.

Veronique walks among the crowd, mingling here and there and making small talk. She treats these conversations as a formula, moving on too quickly for people to catch on individually.

"Oh you're from the JDF? Well it's an honor to meet you. Oh! I think I see a friend over there. Bye!"

"Oh you're from Area 11? My, such a troubled area. I do hope you're faring well. Oh! I think I see my brother over there. Bye!"

"Oh, you're from--- Oh, hello Bridget. How's this night treating you?"

Veronique suddenly feels just a little less... alone. She should have dragged a bodyguard along, or at least an intern. She didn't really feel the need, with so much of her family here.

From the corner of her eye, she spots Euphemia. Her eyes then travel towards Suzaku, her knight. She she finds it interesting that her half-sister is being guarded by someone suspected of murdering her half-brother, even if charges were later cleared. How much can they truly trust this Honorary? Well... Veronique decides not to judge. If something bad happens to Euphemia because of her poor judgment, Veronique still have plenty of other half-sisters.

Her eyes turn back to Bridget. "So... you're just giving them money directly? Hm. Why didn't we think of that?" she asks, half amused. A kinder sister would probably explain to Bridget that this isn't going to change anything in the long run. Veronique, instead, decides to follow her younger half-sister around to experience the surprise and possibly that Bridget's actions will cause. 

<Pose Tracker> Hathaway Noa has posed.

With a small twinge that brings his lips into something resembling a subdued smile that almost reaches his eyes, Hathaway gives her a firm but polite handshake. "My name is Hathaway Noa; it's nice to meet you, Kanzaki." he says, before releasing his grip and letting his hand lower down to one of his pockets, more casually.

He's garbed in a pair of khaki slacks paired with brown loaders and suspenders, along with a white dress shirt and black tie topped with a reddish, burgundy dress coat. All in all, it was adequete enough for high-society while still being respectably modest. The kind of thing someone who knows they have to show up would wear to fit the minimum billing of fashion.

"Most people would have shooed her off," he says, "but you really do feel for these children, don't you? It's sad .. not just everything they've lost, even if that too." Hathaway says. It's practically an incomplete thought that he only realizes he needed to put to words seconds later.

With a mildly uncharitable take, "They're just being used for ammunition on a political board."

Regardless of any intentions for the party, that was the reality he knew. Tonight's content topics wouldn't change anyone's mind, but it would add fuel for them to take potshots at one another over what they would or wouldn't support.

Maybe it would lead to a change for the better, maybe it won't. It didn't make the situation of these orphans any better, and it wouldn't give them back what they've lost.

Hathaway's cellphone buzzes in his pocket - his mind darts back to the small greetings he and Suzaku had exchanged a while earlier and wonders if it was him.

The truth of the matter was that at this time of night and in these circumstances, it was most likely going to be from him, or about his double life. I'll make sure to check it when I get a chance. he thinks to himself.

"Maybe that's a harsh assessment," he admits, "but Miss Mass's speech was passionate, wasn't it? Also, if you don't mind me asking about your seating .. you mentioned you were with the Neo Japanese Revue - it was an interesting choice to seat you where you were." 

<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.

Euphemia noticed, but she doesn't seem bothered in the least. She orients on desperation, a little bit. "You're a little contentious as role models go," Euphemia says, though she sounds more pleased by that than bothered. "I think the world could use more of that. To come from a complex situation and meet the world head-on anyway is the mark of a strong, kind person! Those children will benefit a lot from your example."

It's an imperfect landing, and she knows it, but she doesn't let herself overthink it. She makes all her best decisions on the fly. Back to Jude, who presents... a heck of a challenge. "I actually feel the same way! Preserving the essential Japanese-ness of the Area is important... it's something I'd like to prioritize as Sub-Viceroy."

She glances over toward her half-siblings, on that note. She gives a small wave, but doesn't reach out; relationships between Britannian royals are always a little tense, even for someone like Euphy. She pauses to check her phone again.

She's delighted to see: cats, again. The same cats, but still cats.

'Nidaime,' 'Nidaime'... The Second? Euphemia makes some (decidedly wrong) connections in her head. "I'm *definitely* glad she's here with you," she says, back to Chibodee. "Are you her permanent caregiver?" 

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed

Initially, Sayla is watching. Listening. So are others: She wants to know who is here for brownie points, and who actually cares. She makes nice with nobles, and makes a masterfully subtle jab for donations. She watches one of her beneficiaries in deep conversation with a guest, and gives a smile to Ana, before she takes her drink from the water. A scotch, neat.

And then she starts looking around the crowd. Plenty of young soldiers, businesspeople, scientists. Lots are going to use this as a business opportunity. Some are going to use it to flex. Lots are using it for a good meal. An aide walks up to her, and Sayla gives the nod to get everything ready for the food rescue service. Okay, time to do her job.

And her job starts by walking up to Chibodee and reach up to tap him on the shoulder. "I swear, I thought you'd be used to it by now." She says, teasing the younger man. Still, she the smile on her face shows she appreciates what he's doing. When Euphemia and perhaps Jude arrive, she smiles again. "Princess Euphemia, thank you again for coming. Hopefully we'll be able to continue our conversation later." The table talk confirmed something to Sayla, Euphemia cares. Are rare trait in nobility. She extends a hand to Jude- a soldier's handshake, rather than a dainty society ladies. "And I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure. Sayla Mass." She still introduces herself.

She looks back up to Chibodee. This seems a group that will be stable and productive. She's content to leave them to it. Team pink hair will be fine. "Try and relax," she says to the gundam fighter, "and keep doing what you're doing." Survival skills are important, especially here.

She starts to flick to the next group before a smell permeates and she turns to see... "...Nidaime? Is that you?" She kneels down to be on the kaiju girls level, a cautious smile- what happened to her, in these last few years? "It's good to see you again. You've... changed." She gently pats her on the head. Or hoodie. She'll have to grab a wipe after that. She also watches the way she eats and... that hasn't changed. "I need to keep saying hello to people, but I'll be back." There's... definitely a tinge of worry in her voice for the littlest kaiju. But there'll be time after.

She does grab a wipe, and moves to the next group, Londo Bell, Ana and Dr Endeavour. She looks over the soldiers. These are the ones under Bright's command now... They're so distressingly young. Captain York can't be older than Bright was. And then there's the creatures. And also Dr Endeavour's large adult sons. "Good evening, thank you again for joining us." Arriety draws her attention. Her concern. "...Only the extremely rich," Sayla says, bluntly. "But everyone deserves something nice every so often, even if we can't give it to them. You need things to enjoy. Not just to survive." It's a remarkably tacit admission, from the doctor, but... Sometimes you need to be frank. "Captain Kambinda, your attendance has been appreciated too. No one has tried to start anything, have they?" She knew having the OAC Captain here was a risk, but she was assured of her professionalism- and reading the incident, it was hard to make a call either way.

"And Dr Endeavour, thank you for joining us. I'm sorry to say I've only been able to read some of my work, but my chief of communications is enamoured of your work. She's gunning for you to find the next great subterranean civilization." Sayla is upfront about her lack of knowledge. She leans a little closer to speak quietly. "And Count Harrick from table three is notoriously poor at charity, but also prone to supporting anything that gives him status and something to show off. I understand academia is rough, I thought I'd save you some time."

Mayvy makes her way across, and Sayla gives her a glance and smiles warmly. "Ah the inexplicable Miss Hawkins." When Mayvy's name came across her desk, Sayla had read the report. The woman should have three doctorates by now. "Please, relax. It would be bad form for anyone to try for 'gotcha moments' on anyone but me and the highest ranking people here." Finaly, she address Eight and Anita, her eyes drawn to Anita's prosthetics. That amount of replacement would have been invasive. "Captain York, Lieutenant Rosetta." She smiles again. "I was wondering who Londo Bell would send. I hardly expected to see Bright today, though it would have been nice." It would have been nicer had Mirai and Hathaway and Cheimin had been here too. She could have made sure they'd had something good. "Do give my regards to the Captain." There's.... some very intense sadness from Sayla looking at Eight's crew. The Federation doesn't learn. "Oh yes, the paintwork on your prosthetics is lovely, Lieutenant."

Sayla sees an AEU Lieutenant talking to a young woman, and Sayla... Is a little cautious. Still she approaches. "Thank you for you enthusiastic support out front, Lieutenant," she interrupts. Handsome, but a pilot and a redhead. Absolutely not an option. "If nothing else it might inspire your men." She looks to Ruri and- Oh. Oh what a moment to walk in the. Nadesico. That means...

While concern rolls off Sayla, she doesn't crouch down to meet Ruri's gaze. She looks down to her, but doesn't look down on her. Like talking to Hayato, back in the day. "I can't speak for why you're here, Miss Hoshino, but I appreciate your coming." She doesn't like talking about the war, especialy at these events. "But... sometimes it's desperately important to step away from duties, to give yourself a moment of reprieve. It doesn't always work, but it is better than stewing on something you're still processing. If you truly wish to leave, I can have someone get your handler and we can quietly get you out back. Or provide you somewhere quiet. I don't want you to stay here against your will." She pauses. She shouldn't do this. She knows she shouldn't, but she produces a business card from underneath the wristband she's carrying. "I'll be around the rest of the evening, but if you wish to talk later, that's my personal email. There's no obligation of course but... I know a little of what that burden can be like." She doesn't want to overwhelm Ruri. She just wants to give her the option. "I'll give you two some space."

Her scotch is empty by now, and she tags a waiter to order another, as she flits through the assorted groups, working out who she needs to focus on.

And then she remembers Sumire. The woman was already looking frustrated. She should probably... check on her. She's talking with a young man. She grabs an extra champagne, to be on the safe side. She walks towards the pair. "Miss Kanzaki, I had planned to get to you sooner." Not true. "But I appreciate what you did at the VIP table." She offers her the champagne (but will drink it if rejected). "I'm sure that girl will treasure that moment." And then she turns, and as she does so something flashes in her head. Something she should have caught already. "And who is your conversation... partner..."

Sayla stares briefly, and the competent hostess falters for a few moments.

"Hathaway?" 

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"Probably not," Eight murmurs back to Minae. "But I was almost tempted, too." She does not focus on the Princess much after that.

When Mayvy approaches too, Eight turns to her. She seems to light up a bit under the attention of all these epople at once--or maybe it's because talking to them gives her something to do that isn't brooding, and all these brighter feelings are a lot easier to deal with. She doesn't notice a 'lack' of anything around her, not in a room this crowded.

And she answers, "Life in Londo Bell is pretty fast-paced. We have enough to do that you pick up decorations fast--it's really more that than anything about me." It's a little modesty, maybe, but she says it gracefully enough.

Old mobile weapons! That's interesting. She is happy to let Minae explain abotu the civilian parts--it sounds better coming from her. She also displays no problems with Anita addressing her so casually; she actually smiles at her pilot over it!! The matter of suffering, though--yes. "Yes, I welcome the chance to learn a little more about Earth," to Ana. "You used to be stationed up there?" she asks with some interest. She sidesteps the cynicism neatly, "It's just normal for me. But I know there's a lot of important work that happens on Earth, too."

Sayla comes over, and Eight says, "Dr. Mass!" A beat, "Yes, it was me this time. I will when I see him next." She notices that sadness...

"...It's nice to see you," she says instead. "You're doing a good thing here, I think." She can't cheer her up--but Eight tries, a little bit. 

<Pose Tracker> Lloyd Asplund has posed.

Cecile: "Thank you, Suzaku. Yes, I noticed that, too..." Lloyd: "I'm sure it'll be fine. She recovered, and all is well with the evening! Besides, what's the worst-" Cecile: "Nothing's going to happen. Anyway!"

Cecile gives Lloyd a brief elbow in the side for getting a little too excited about the prospect of things going south suddenly, and Lloyd finally quiets down on that front. Instead, he clears his throat before looking over towards where Euphemia is seated at the VIP table with many other (personally) unfamiliar faces. He doesn't make a show of trying to grab her attention, though, but he does smile and wave in her direction politely should she look in their direction before turning his attention back to Suzaku.

Lloyd: "Yes, anyway. How ARE things going with you and... Certain other parties here, anyway?" Cecile: "You could at least pretend to be a little more subtle about it." Lloyd: "I could." Cecile: "... But you won't." Lloyd: "Of course not." Cecile: "... Of course not. Sorry, Suzaku. Lloyd's had a bit to drink earlier. Are you enjoying yourself, at least? Oh! Did you get to try the fish or the paneer?"

Lloyd most certainly did not have a thing to drink. He does, however, finally remember to put in a donation for appearance's sake, if not necessarily out of any actual obligation or care. 

<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.

Eight admitting that it's overwhelming and difficult for her does give Arriety a platform to stand on; like she doesn't feel like the odd one out in the room. "Y-yeah... if it helps you, then I'm glad I'm here."

A pretty lady in a very nice dress also comes to speak with Eight -- Mayvy, she introduces herself, part of Nergal. Wasn't that also the group Ruri was with? She's honestly not sure she has all these names on right...

Ana greets her in turn and says it's nice to meet her-- "A-ah, Arriety's fine... it's a bit weird to be called Miss." She quietly listens to her story of flying out of Artemis... is that a colony somewhere? She's not familiar...

"Being with the stars... I don't know..." Arriety pauses. "I've only been in Earth for a week, in exchange... I still don't know... how to feel about it. I thought it looked really pretty from afar." There's an unspoken 'but' there, as if her short time on Earth has been anything but peaceful.

Arriety looks towards Minae again in turn when she introduces herself, and peers in turn to Anita. "Hmm, that's true. If you eat fancy stuff all day, it becomes very ordinary, doesn't it...?"

She does look surprised when Sayla arrives, which she isn't expecting. She shuffles her feet gently, but the way she says that everyone deserves something nice every now and then...

"... yeah," she quietly answers, softly. And she's complimenting Anita on her prosthetics, which always is worth points to her. She's very busy, though, as the star of the party, and has already gone off...

She pauses, then, as her red eyes follow where she's gone -- eventually, to a man she calls 'Hathaway' -- something sounds vaguely familiar about that, given the Londo Bell charters, but from where? The 'Captain'... the other Captains?

Myrme, at this point, is lying flat on her back and wiggling her arms as some of the kids poke at her belly and are astonished to find that it virtually goes 'boinggg' like she were made out of sourdough. "Uwaaa! That tickles!!"

The kids undoubtedly find her amusing. 

<Pose Tracker> Dr. Hell has posed.

Dirk has a feeling. He isn't built to have feelings, and finds this suspicious. Or he would if he wasn't busy feeling. It's kind of a loop; he is subtly rejected by this strange goddess in green.

"Haw!" Link says, shoving Dirk a little. "Serves you right for being a looky-loo, Dunk!"

"S-shut up, Link!" Dirk says, shoving back, "I aught to make you look even more like an old ham sandwich-!"

"Boys." Dr. Endeavor says in a tone of voice entirely different from anything he's used tonight. His 'sons' snap to attention, immediately stopping. "Why don't you go cool off with some soda pops? It's been a big night for all of us."

"Sure pop." "O-kay!"

"I'm sorry, they get a little excited." Dr. Endeavor says, "Not as socialized as they should be at this age" Whatever that is. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you." He includes Ana in this smoothly, with a smile and nod, moving a bit away as if he could tell Arritey was a little on edge and giving the bridge crew time to regroup from all of this socializing. "I was just hoping to test the waters about a little project..."

Ah. Endeavor's demeanor becomes a little more natural as Eight finds just the right way to flatter him. "Oh, well, I do what I can. We can learn so much from the Subterranian Civilizations. I know Science Criminals and nogoodniks have given the practice a bad name, but there's so much science and knowledge we're missing."

"I was hoping to speak to Doctor Mass about a collaboration, actually, if I can get her ear tonight. She really has come into her own." What a weird thing to say. "There's some new potential in clustered nanoscopic robots as a sort of bridge for damaged nerve endings to allow a broader range of feeling in prosthetic limbs and digits. It requires a dummy AI to really function, so you get the usual fearmongering, sadly..."

"And speak of the devil." As Sayla comes over, Endeavor tips his (newly full, the man's required his own waiter with the amount he's drinking.), "Unfortunately, your chief of communications is going to have to wait. The REA don't seem terribly interested in sharing their findings right now. Can't imagine why, outside of that Undefeated of the East nonsense."

The call of family keeps things from going smoothly, though. Hell privately tries to remember who's kid that is. Kai Shinden? No, no, he knows that jawline. 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

"Officer Hoshino, my apologies. I simply remember you being introduced as a cadet. " Gary adds as he is corrected but then makes sure to not interrupt again until all is said and done. Recognizing that Ruri is showing her age here his tone changes to something a little softer as he even adjusts and squats a little to meet Ruri at eye level. " A commanding officer of mine once told me, that while it is a pity people die, one should not pity them. Instead save the pity for those who still live, as it is them that can still suffer. " It is all said rather gentle and at the same time with belief behind it.

Making a motion to the party around them he adds, "This party is truly not about those that died, it is those that suffer and yet live on. In some ways it only shows how strong those people are."

At that moment the hostess herself shows up and he stands up and smiles, "We at the AEU appreciate you allowing us to attend, I do hope you are right. I strive to do everything for all those under me and anyone above who has lost their way." With a smile he himselfs stays quiet as Sayla says what she has to say to Ruri while he enjoy his room temperature wine" 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

She may not be under Bright's command, but even at 20 or 21ish, Ana's still relatively young for an officer. When Sayla comes migrating over, she offers up a handshake. The gratitude radiating off of her is impossible to miss. "I'm glad you're hosting it, Dr. Mass. And it was a great speech. And, you know... I wanted to be here. This is near and dear for me, if I can be a bit circumspect about it...."

A beat - her smile falters for just a second, and she exhales slightly before inclining her head. "No, things have been fine. These things happen sometimes. But thanks for checking." Ana's gaze darts back across the party; she watches Euphemia's back from a distance before her focus regroups onto those around her.

Like Minae! Ana's definitely beginning to realize that there's something about Minae. The look she gives her is decidedly curious, but she nods and offers up that same easy smile. Super AI or not, she seems to take her status for what it is - namely, 'cool by everyone' - and gives the brim of her cap a slight tip. "No kidding? Nice to meet you, Minae. Lot of pilots here today."

She brings her hand back down, arms folding loosely across her midsection as her gaze moves to Anita. "You all seem to know each other pretty well. Have you been serving together awhile?"

She shifts her weight to turn back to Eight and Arriety, and she nods once. "Yeah, I got moved up there during the big kerfuffle. There was a lot happening at the time, of course. Now there's a lot happening down here, too, to be fair. I'm just glad some of it's good." She nods towards the presumably-retreating Sayla - "A lot of kids are gonna appreciate the help the Doctor's bringing."

Back to Arriety - "Artemis is an asteroid base," she explains, smile easy. "I hope you're finding Earth decent, at least. Is the gravity giving you trouble? I've heard it can be hard if it's not what you're used to."

With Dr. Endeavor sweeping her into the conversation, Ana cants her head towards him and listens. Her eyebrows come up shallowly, and she fusses with the brim of her hat again. "...Oh, that's kind of interesting," she compliments with a blink. "Better limb replacements? That'd help a lot of kids." 

<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.

Nidaime says, "I even got his name. Heehee..." She stands on her tippy toes and tilts her head back to murmur something to Chibodee. "His name is ~\o Anti o/~" It's a singsongy tone. It's true, it seems, Chibodee really has a way with orphans. Or maybe just children in general since Nidaime isn't ACTUALLY an orphan. She doesn't see herself that way at least even if she doesn't seem to have any parents lingering around her.

But Chibodee has wisdom to share! "Oh wow Chibi... I thought I knew all the tricks already but you know even more...~ Maybe you should teach Anti that one. He's kind of a boy about how he eats stuff." He's the only kaiju boy like her that she knows so she asusmes that's just how boys eat when they are kaiju.

Jude uses the power of monster empathy on Nidaime. Nidaime, being a kaiju aside, has the awareness of a human being so she recognizes what's going on here. A Kaiju User, she thinks.

She has heard the term 'gentrification' before but isn't sure she really knows what it means. "Wow..." She says. "Elevens... I'm only The Second."

She marvels at the idea of there being Elevens. Wow. That's... Nine more...

Jude asks Nidaime if she's an orphan.

"Nahhh I'm not an orphan." She tells Jude. "But my mother became music and my dad can't go to a lot of places."

"Roll in half, sponge, value." She murmurs to herself. "Roll in half, sponge, value." She repeats this a few more times. "Okay I got it...! Be right back! I'm going to put this technique into practice...!"

She returns with some other rich guy's plate with one hand. There's an ice cream sundae in a waffle cone in a fancy glass. She dumps the whole thing out on her plate. She pulls a dinner roll out of her pocket, rips it in half and starts smushing around the ice cream messily with the bread and then bites into it. "Oh!! It's very sweet!" She says. "Yeah I like this!"

She saves the other half a roll right now and starts shoving ice cream into her mouth with her hand. Occassionally she uses the waffle cone. Occassioanlly. Then she licks her fingers and grabs for some more. She hasn't noticed the napkin wipe at all.

"Chibi and I handed out water bottles together. It was pretty fun." Nidaime tells Jude. "Sometimes when we gave out a water bottle, they'd smile big like--"

She gives the biggest smile Jude has probably ever seen, showing off teeth. It seems to be as much Nidaime's own as it is whomever she's imitating.

She quirks her head at Euphemia. She's about to answer her but Sayla interrupts, forcing Chibodee to answer the harrowing questions?!

Nidaime looks up to Sayla. She doesn't say anything.

Then Sayla crouches down a bit to get on her level and pats her on the head. She sets the plate down. "Uhhuh." She answers her first, then gives Sayla an easy big smile herself. "You still recognize me...! I'm a big girl now, Auntie Sayla, and I even met... a boy... His name is Anti and he's very shy and--" She's about to give the whole Anti spiel to her too when Sayla says she needs to keep saying hello to people. Nidaime's eyes widen slightly and she gives Sayla a big hug right there, no doubt getting ice cream goop on her clothes sorry Sayla.

She makes some kind of "mMMmMmmmph...!" noise when Sayla says she has to go.

But she does let go. "I'll be good." She tells Sayla, trying to sound only a little sullen so Sayla knows she MISSES HER but not so sullent that Sayla can't do what she needs to do. That's the plan anyway.

She says to Chibodee. "That's Auntie Sayla. We haven't seen each other in yeeeears." 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

If it hadn't been for the attacks that levelled most of the area around the academy, Mayvy would've had at least two of those by now.

She grins a bit at Sayla, and nods. "Thanks, Dr. Mass--I think, maybe, I'm a bit out-of-my-element here," she admits, taking a sip of her champagne. "But, uh... I did want to say thank you. Personally, if I could. The work you're doing here is important." She looks like there's more she wants to say. It's probably best that she doesn't.

She nods to Eight, eyes wandering over them with a bit of genuine admiration. "I can imagine. I'm aboard the Dreisstrager--things are looking like they'll get... fast."

May's ears perk as a voice drifts toward her over the din.

'I'm the systems operator on the Nadesico,' she hears, spoken by a very young voice. She doesn't think about it at first, but as Sayla moves over toward her and says hello, her attention is tugged--then *pulled* rather abruptly away from the conversation she's just begun, turning her head over toward the source of the voice. She cranes her neck a bit to get a better view--and sees the girl Sayla was just talking to. She's tiny. Can't older than her early teens... but... that can't be right. They've been talking regularly for months now. There's no way Ruriruri could be that young--May would know, she's sure of it.

"Um. 'scuse me," she says absent-mindedly to her current companions, wandering off and nudging through the crowd toward the girl.

"Did... you say you were the Nadesico's systems operator?" Mayvy asks, looking just a *little* skeptical. 

<Pose Tracker> Sumire Kanzaki has posed.

Noa? Sumire thinks, but the name doesn't do more than tickle her brain. She considers Hathaway and makes a sort of half-veiling gesture, murmuring "You're too kind" while then pausing as her fingers twitch slightly, because she expected to have a fan in them!!

(Is this what it's like to become that acclimated...? Is that fan my teddy bear??) Sumire thinks to herself, but she is able to pass it off by reaching up to, very gently, adjust her hairband a smidge or two, returning attention to Hathaway just in time to hear his opinion.

"Oh? I thought it was rather touching, really. It's an opportunity for them, I suppose, and they will need to intermingle throughout society... even if you don't come to occasions such as this, there will always be times when you must have decorum," Sumire continues. She almost fans herself as she says it, before realizing again (yes! argh!) and sipping her beverage in lieu of hand business.

Hathaway poses a question. "Mm," she replies. "The invitation was Grandfather's, but unfortunately he's been advised not to undertake any trips away from Neo-Japan just this moment, unless the need was great. I imagine he would have been sitting in just that place! I would think he would have charmed them, even more than I," Sumire continues, loyally.

SOMEWHERE IN NEO-JAPAN

The elder Kanzaki casts a line into a saltwater fishing habitat. He leans back in his deck chair and checks his stocks briefly. He is wearing a floppy hat.

HERE, HOWEVER

At this point, Sayla approaches her. "Dr. Mass!" Sumire says, clasping her hands together. "Please, think nothing of it, I've been having a wonderful time. And you're - hm, well, that is to say," Sumire begins, while reaching for the pocket in her wrap with the envelope with the cheques, when -

Sayla looks at Hathaway, then back at Sayla.

Sumire looks over, as if held in place. "Oh! Do you know Mr. Noa already?" she asks, sounding surprised. She veils her mouth with her non-drink-having hand for a moment. "He's been quite the flatterer!" 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

EARLIER

Chibodee looked over at Sayla as she tapped him on the shoulder, giving one of his signature aw-shucks Yankee grins. "Never gonna fit quite right, ma'am," he said. She's really carrying this thing on her shoulders -- better not get in her way. "I'll do my best to relax, promise."

I definitely need to be sure Nidaime gets through the night without incident, Chibodee thinks, noticing that lingering look from Sayla.

Suzaku gets a nod. He could talk to Chibodee if he wanted -- the man is now in his element entertaining children.

PRESENTLY

"I really try hard to do things that I think young people ought to do," Chibodee says to Euphemia. He's got a strong belief in that at minimum. If Chibodee noticed that shaky landing, there's no sign of it in his demeanor. Chibodee doesn't think in social situations, running on instinct unless somebody stops him.

Sub-Viceroy, Chibodee thinks. What's a sub-viceroy do? If I go for my phone and look it up it's going to look bad. Wing it.

"I'm doing, ah, the Big Brother Big Sisters thing with her," Chibodee says of Nidaime, which is emotionally true if not factually so. Shuffles together strong.

Chibodee learns things from Nidaime. Eventually all these facts *will* make sense, he resolves, if he just keeps trucking. (Is 'become music' a metaphor? he thinks. Maybe I should just imagine my mother became music.)

Nidaime demonstrates technique with ice cream. Chibodee actually cannot fault this because the logic is still sound. A nearby noblewoman will be in therapy for years, but this is not even top 1000 of weird shit Chibodee's seen people do. Chibodee nods approvingly. "See, now you're getting it. The soft stuff absorbs the juice. You can do this with mashed potatoes, with... ah, like crackers..."

Nidaime gives Chibodee some more insight. "I'm sure you'll be able to catch up when this wraps up," he says to her. "Running this party is a big ole job." 

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"It does," Eight assures Arriety. And then...

The good doctor and his sons are... certainly interesting. Whatever their age are--Eight is not actually sure she's much older--Eight nods along smoothly anyway. "It's fine." Excitement! Eight just rolls right on past away from it, and instead she listens to Endeavor as he mentions Subterranean Civilizations and nanoscopic robots. And... Dr. Mass coming into her own? Maybe he's known her a long time. "I deal with engineers more than scientists, but in both cases I'm glad for what they can teach us." A beat, "Yeah, it's unfortunate how some people look at AI..."

She doesn't look at Minae. But she thinks about Minae. It's fine. "I hope you can get a moment with her!"

Then to Mayvy, "Oh, the Dressitrager's very intersting, isn't it?"

She also considers the matter between Sayla and Ana; they definitely know each other. "We were all friends growing up," Eight explains to Ana as she asks about their knowing each other. "It's sort of a strange coincidence that we're serving on the same ship now." A beat, "The gravity's a little weird," she admits with a laugh. "But I think I'm getting used to it." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Jude keeps sipping at her red wine, as she listens to Chibodee and Nidaime talk. She uses her free hand to shake Chibodee's somewhat-dirty hand, firmly, without any worries. "Ah, if we're giving full names, Jude Espella, though you may have overheard. Thank you for your heroism."

Sayla also gets a shake of the hand, an acceptance of the soldier's handshake (though Jude clearly isn't a soldier, and never has been). As she kneels to Nidaime, Jude watches, sipping peacefully, and then nods her head at Sayla as she leaves. "Nidaime is such a cute name. Like Junior, yes?" 5rEuphemia's reaction, genuine in its care, gets a likewise smile from Jude. "I see, I see! I am glad. I saw you with Suzaku Kururugi. It is so sad, what he had to go through, with the whole Orange thing. But as his classmate, I hope we get along.

"Nidaime explains her parental situation. Jude has no idea what she means but can understand it's not nonsense just by context of the two's immediate connection. "Ah, and I was gonna assume you were HIS parental guardian, haha! How is waffle cone roll? Delicious, yes? I must try it sometime." Bread and ice cream is basically good, right? 

<Pose Tracker> Hathaway Noa has posed.

"That's true, having .. 'decorum' like you put it, is important in life. Though I'm pretty inexperienced in carrying myself that way, personally." he says with a chuckle, before they move on to the topic of her grandfather. "I see. I can tell you admire him greatly .. I can relate to that." he says, musing idly to himself in wondering how his father would have interacted with those men he'd eaten dinner with earlier. Suddenly, an interloper appears. 

- I got careless, Hathaway admonishes himself, I should have kept track of her while she made her rounds so I could switch off and avoid her direct attention..

It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it could complicate things for him. If Sayla was actively aware of his prescence, she'd be inclined to keep an eye on him - which meant that any kind of deep digging he could have done was no longer possible without looking suspicious.

Or maybe he'll luck out, and she'll leave him to his devices she had done for many people in her life for the past few years.

There's a long stretch of awkward silence as Hathaway's mind buzzes in apprehension, his thoughts wrapping in on eachother like a thick bundle of fibers, before - "It's been a while - but you've been pretty busy, right? Hello, Miss Mass." he says, politely.

Feeling someone's eyes on him, the hairs at the back of his neck stand up as his eyes narrow and shift slightly to the side in wariness, his expression tightening.

Who is it . .? There's too many people here for me to pick out. Hathaway thinks. But if the intent directed at him wasn't strong enough to pick out of the crowd then it was probably just someone curious about why Sayla would take the time to speak to himself and Sumire.

It would have been deeply unsettling had he realized he'd caught the eye of 'Endeavor' even in idle curiosity.

Using one hand to massage the opposing wrist to calm his nerves, he turns his attention back to Sayla and Sumire, " - I'm sorry, I just had a strange feeling just now is all, don't pay it any mind."

"I'm happy to know you think I've been adequete company," he gives that same kind of small smile from earlier, before explaining, "The doctor here is a friend of my father, so that's how I knew her." 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

Ruri wonders -- privately -- if Gary is giving her advice like that because it's how he was recruited to the military. Adults have been making a mess of things for ages, after all. That woman even pointed it out, in her speech... sixty nine years ago...

She looks over to him, as he lowers closer to her level. Her gold eyes meet his, bright and fae, as she considers his words. "... I don't think suffering makes people strong, Mr. Biaggi," she says, quietly. "Suffering makes people act very foolish... feelings like those just make things much more difficult."

The girl who watched the Nadesico bury its feelings and keep marching on decides, like an anchor dropped to ocean: "It's inconvenient."

What a thing to walk in on..!

Ruri has a strange feeling, looking up to Sayla... but at least she's not crouching down like she's some child, too. Stepping away..? How foolish, she thinks, looking up to her with light scepticism. "I don't need anyone to hold my hand," she dismisses the idea, scowling. "And I can handle a party on my own. I don't need special treatment." Oh no! Ruri is too cool and composed for this..!

There's a twitch of hesitation in her fingers, but she reaches out, after a moment, to take the business card Sayla offers. "Thank you for the offer," she says, politely, slipping it into her dress-shirt pocket.

And that's precisely the Mood Ruri is in when Mayvy nudges in on her and Gary.

"Yes, I'm the Nadesico's systems operator. Is that a problem?" Ruri asks, with a sharp edge, as she looks up to Mayvy. She doesn't recognise her; they've only spoken via text, after all. 

<Pose Tracker> Bridget we Britannia has posed.

The fact that the money wasn't thrown in Bridget's face or an explanation of how you're actually supposed to go about donating to the cause is likely due to shock. The young man barely even responds as the young princess strides away. Now that her eyes and ears have been opened it's clear there are more orphans here than she'd expected. Which to her means it's time to go looking for them.

Soon enough she's found another, this time a girl in her mid-teens who has a somewhat less promising story, having been raised by her mother alone before a kaiju incident left her an orphan with no family to rely on. Despite being taken under the Yumi Foundation's wings she clearly seems to be foundering somewhat, not yet having pulled herself from a downward spiral loss and grief to find purpose and meaning. It's all very tragic.

"Mmm. So it's harder to get over that kind of loss when you're struggling to get by, day to day? I think I get it." She definitely doesn't get it. She is, however, actually trying to understand the plight of these people. It's difficult for her, their circumstances so very different, but she's trying. Her solutions to these problems, however, will likely come off as callous in a way she doesn't intend. Out comes the briefcase again, and this girl gets two stacks of crisp 10,000 Gilla bills.

"Here you go! This should make it so you don't have to struggle as much, right? Good meals every day from now on!" Bridget gives another stunned orphan a winning smile, not noticing as some onlookers start start trying to say something to her, only to stop when her bodyguard turns his head their direction.

Blissfully ignorant the young princess continues onward, only to bump into one of her siblings she knows to a decent degree. "Oh, hi, Veronique! It's going pretty good so far. The speech was great, the food was really good, and I think they're onto something with this 'Charity' stuff!" She tilts her head and looks her sister in the eyes, "It turns out there's a whole bunch of kids who aren't getting enough help after losing their parents." To the question she nods, "Yeah! Why not, right? I have plenty of money and these people need it. It actually feels pretty nice helping them!"

She gets on her toptoes afterwards and looks about the area again, "And, honestly? There's not all that many. If this is all the orphans in Africa I can cover them with my allowance alone. I expected there to be enough to fill up this whole room, but most of the people here aren't actually orphans at all." There's some mild surprise in her voice when she says this.

At that point she notices Euphemia's wave, looking over and giving the sub-Viceroy of Area 11 a very bright smile and a much more exagerated wave. It might be enough to make her worry the young cyan-haired troublemaker would head her direction-- but no, not this time. As much as she admires her siblings she's here with a purpose! That Veronique might want to tag along is just fine with her.

So she continues, eventually finding a small group of orphans chatting with each other and talking to them in turn. Whether they think she's naive, insulting, or a sucker they each tell her their stories one by one and eagerly accept the hard cash stuffed into their waiting hands. Or at least, that's how things go until she meets the last one.

Another girl, but doing relatively well. For a while her aunt had taken her in, but as times kept getting harder she started having to fend for herself. She'd lost her parents at a very young age, having died along with many others resisting Federation forces. For the first time money is not stuffed into an Orphan's hand, and Bridget straightens herself up. Veronique and others with the ability to sense emotions would feel the indignance rising within the young Britannian.

"It sounds like you've had an awfully hard time of it. But you know, if your parents hadn't been there resisting they never would have died in the first place. It's kind of their own fault at that point." That quiets some of the polite conversation around her, but Bridget doesn't seem to notice. "It sucks that they died but if they were resisting a legitimate police action, I'm not sure what else they were expecting." Nodding to the girl, Bridget fixes her purple eyes on her, "I think you should take this as a learning opportunity. People like me are more than happy to help people that need it, but there's not really a point if they beg for our help with one hand and try to shoot us with the other."

With that Bridget turns on her short heel and walks away, the briefcase of her bodyguard snapping shut as he follows behind without a word as the Britannian princess starts looking around to find other, more worthy orphans to give money to. 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita hadn't expected Sayla to come out and address everyone individually. The fact that she even tries is worth points in her book - much less addresses her directly.

"Doctor Mass." Anita greets with a nod. She feels like she's being assessed for a moment... but, she supposes it'd make sense - a doctor would be able to recognize her situation. Anita looks pleased at the compliment, though. "You think so? I'm glad you like it! I liked your speech, by the way - yeah, what she said."

Anita says, with a nod toward Eight at her comment.

Eight explains to Ana, then, how they were all friends, now serving on the same ship.

"It's funny how it works that way sometime... but, it's been a big help to be surrounded by friends." Anita comments.

She looks briefly, then, toward Arriety as she discusses her time spent on Earth.

"Yeah... Hopefully things will be better, though." She comments.

That's when Doctor Endeavor says something interesting - about advancements in prosthetics.

"Yeah... there's definitely a lot of people who could benefit from that." Anita agrees with a nod toward Ana. Her own prosthetics are pretty advanced compared to most... but, that doesn't mean there isn't any room for improvement. Especially for kids. "I would've liked to have something like that back when I was a kid..." 

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

No response from Hathaway, which is about what Suzaku expected. That's alright, he probably has some specific business being here. Being the son of somebody extremely important carries a lot of baggage, after all.

When Veronique looks his way, he looks right back. He wasn't paying particular attention to her before, but he seems to be fairly sharp about taking notice of what's going on around him when he's prepared for it. He smiles at her, inclines his head a little, and then resumes scoping out the... well, everything.

Euphy checks her phone. Suzaku notices that, too-- he snaps off a message, though almost definitely not before she puts it away again. -> Hathaway's here. I wasn't expecting him. Holding up ok?

It is accompanied by an image of a bear cub playing with a tire.

Simultaneous with Cecile elbowing Lloyd, Suzaku casts him a flat look. It levels back out to something normal when Lloyd asks about certain things, but Cecile deflects for him.

"I had the paneer," he answers. "It was something I could share more easily."

Of course, he doesn't actually 'take' the deflection.

"And things are fine. I checked in earlier. Somebody seated Princess Euphemia next to one of the junior officials from father's time. Looks like he's moved up since then," Suzaku says. Clearing his throat, he adds, "Excuse me a moment..."

It might look like he's going over to see Euphemia, but it's really just a coincidence that she happened to engage Chibodee at the same time that it looked clear-ish for him to go over. Suzaku catches sight of what Nidaime is up to on his approach, smiling over at her before coming to a halt and turning his attention back to Chibodee.

"What you're doing is a pretty big job, too," he points out, without elaboration. Then, he introduces himself, "Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi, of Britannia's Special Engineering Corps." 

<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.

It's a mark of Minae that she can switch instantly from concern over her charges to a rather lopsided grin in Anita's direction. "I don't know, you might still get a social explosion," she notes with sympathy for Arriety in her voice. "I don't have to be all that prescient to tell there's definitely a whole lot of personalities rubbing up against each other in here."

She straightens when their host swings by. While she doesn't address the counsellor directly, Sayla takes the time to talk with Arriety - and that counts for a great deal in the Super AI's book. Even if she's busy, the attempt to reach a hand out is something that Minae can appreciate, and when it truly comes down to it... she's aware she's a little biased when it comes to her friends from Winter Wonderland.

Following the doctor's departure with her gaze, Minae blinks as she finally spots a familiar and diminuitive figure amongst the crowd. A frown flickers across her face, but she's lacking the full context of what's going on. It's easy to chalk things up to Ruri doing her best to be an independent soul, even if some little measure of uncertainty remains and makes her hesitate.

Arriety's comment makes her wonder. It feels like a lifetime ago that she was last on Earth, and for her that's almost a literal statement - eight or nine years, the vast majority of her own short life. The gap brings other thoughts into focus; she can't look at it with an objective eye, but something tells her she was much less of a 'person' back then, lacking in a lot of understanding about the world. "I think it's fine to still be unsure," she encourages gently. "It's only been a week. It's a lot better than leaping to conclusions too quickly,I think."

Minae is pretty much purely built to have feelings - the advantages of being a GGG special built in the years before Sharon Apple's ascent - and is also very used to having people stare at her, so at least she breaks into a laugh as the pair start horsing around. "It's alright," she says to both the Doctor himself and his two sons - though the pair have already started to scarper at the former's tone. "I know I can be something of a strange sight. Rather obviously, I'm hoping your research goes well."

Her expression becomes a little muted at the thought of fearmongering. Isolated and disguised on Winter Wonderland, she didn't experience that much herself - but there was a lot of second-hand reports to take in. Still, she picks herself up to nod towards Ana as Eight explains their situation. "And while I didn't exactly grow up, I've been around them for years now." 

<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.

Doctor Endeavour apologises for his boys, and shifts away; Arriety listens a little bit more when he starts talking about Subterranean Civilisations, however. "Sub... terra... what does that word mean again? Underground? So there's people living underneath the Earth too?" Arriety supposes it's not unlike that of an asteroid, in the end...

"... You're popular today too," Arriety admits to Minae. Sometimes, she feels worried about whether or not people are interested in Minae for bad reasons; she's heard about what happened with Sharon Apple, and in turn, if her friend were to be taken away because people are suspicious... still, she doesn't want to actually have a social explosion. It's already enough right now...

Ana asks her if the gravity is giving her trouble. It actually makes her think for a moment. The gravity, the unpredictable weather, the unusual strength in the scents and sensations...

"... um... sort of, but... this sounds weird, but all I can think of is how even out in space... all people seem to be able to do is imitate the Earth, like we all really... badly miss it."

She knows about the forced deportation out to space. It wasn't her family's journey, but it was for a lot of people. Do people yearn for the Earth, no matter how proudly they declare themselves as spacenoids? She's not sure... and that's too deep a topic for now...

Eight and Anita speak about how they're all friends, now serving on the same ship. "If it weren't for them... I'm not sure where I would be. They're... everything to me."

Dreisstrager? She doesn't know what that is... a kind of ship, maybe? But Mayvy's gone before she can speak to her, and listens instead to Eight. A strange coincidence... it's one way to put it.

Hathaway, meanwhile, starts looking around as the sensation she feels shifts about him -- somehow, he feels 'alert', like she shouldn't keep staring. But there's something...

There's a lot of people in this party with... 'eyes' that can look back at her, is the best way she can put it.

She focuses back on Minae, sighing once more in turn. "It feels like... there's a lot of people here on the verge of jumping at each other." 

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Doing his level best not to stand out too much is...one of the waiters. It's a proper uniform for this, A tuxedo shirt and black vest, black pants, white gloves, bow tie. The sort of thing that people who come to events like these learn to ignore.

But Sousuke Sagara has the customer service presence of a rock that shoots laser beams.

The stone-eyed young man with the shaggy hair and the scar on his cheek hangs toward the side of the gathering, eyes slowly scanning the crowd. He has been...about, lurking at the edges of the party. Occasionally he speaks to himself, low, in the manner of someone connected to a radio.

'No issues, out here, man. Only thing I see standing out is you, you gloomy Gus,' comes the voice of a certain 'backup plan' who is 'hiding' in a concealed 'ARM Slave' on a rooftop.

"You know better than anyone that that's not my name," Sousuke says, as his eyes sweep past a table with a girl with blue hair in a fine white dress with a big blue bow. He visibly tenses.

'Sousuke,' he hears on his ear piece. A woman's voice. Mao, over at the bar. 'If you stiffen up any more looking in that direction I'm gonna have to "accidentally" RKO you out a window. Ease up, soldier.'

"Not a problem," he mutters, which is false, but not a lie. 

<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.

Sayla coming over gets a smile. "I'd be delighted," she says, and means it.

Euphemia, despite overthinking her responses *afterward* sometimes, also ultimately orients on the seat of her pants approach. "There are a lot of people who need that type of guidance," Euphemia says, "and I think someone who approaches the world with so much care is suited to giving it. You'll be able to help her a lot, I think!"

She sees Nidaime just go for it. It prompts a light, pleasant laugh. "She's a quick learner, and she's got an eye for making full use of everything she's given... I think she'll be very successful one day." She briefly imagines -- is it imagining? -- a far more together Nidaime.

Then she moves right along. Back to Jude, again. "Oh! You're in the same class and year... I think he'll recover well. Please help him get acclimated at Ashford, though." She doesn't think he needs the help, necessarily, but... Suzaku could use a friend. That much was obvious to Euphemia nearly instantly.

Euphemia snaps off a counter-message to Suzaku while she talks.

To him: > 'I'm holding up well. There's a lot I'd like to say to Mr. Crocket, but this isn't the setting for it... Is Hathaway doing well?' Then a picture of a cat hopping onto a dog's back, then both of them flopping into comfy naptime posture together.

Euphemia is about to ask something else of Jude, regarding Suzaku -- then Suzaku approaches and she turns to face him. "Chibodee and I were just talking about his mentorship work," she says, brightly. 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

Ana's eyebrows come up shallowly. "Oh wow, that's a coincidence for sure," she agrees with a nod back at Eight and her... entourage? friend group? crew?

...Friendcrewrage?

Friendcrewrage, she decides before smiling lopsidedly and scratching at one cheekbone. "Yeah, hopefully it won't give you too much of a problem - the gravity, I mean. I remember how weird it was going the other way, coming from here to operating in space. Just takes some time and practice. There are some stretches and such you can do that'll help."

The talk of prosthetic parts clicks together in Ana's mind as she brings her attention back to Anita. A small, rueful smile tugs at her face. "...I knew a few kids who had limb replacements when I was growing up," she says, voice a little quieter. "I know they all would've liked to have something like what the Doctor's talking about, too. Honestly I'm just glad there are people in this world who're helping. There's a lot of people in this world who've lost things to the conflicts...."

Ana trails off; out of the corner of her eye, she can see the commotion around Bridget. The change in Ana's expression is not subtle - she presses her lips together to try (unsuccessfully) to conceal that she's grinding her teeth with indignation that the psychic couldn't miss if they tried.

No, self. Be nice. Do not clock a princess in the middle of a fancy dinner. Behave for the orphans.

Exhaling, Ana forces herself to push past the moment of indignation. Her attention swings to the Ra Mari crew once more, though her smile will take some time to come back even as she brings her focus to Minae. "I don't think you're that strange? Or I guess maybe it's that a lot of people are strange. You're doing your best to support your friends, right? So long as that's true, you're definitely good."

There's a beat as Arriety brings a point up. Ana purses her lips before fussing momentarily with one of her cuffs.

"There's a lot of tension," she concedes in a quieter voice. "A lot of high rollers here. That always brings out the politics."

She grimaces. "Take my advice and don't do politics if you can avoid it." 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

Gary looks at Ruri and for a moment he is reminded of another young lady who he had once met, a certain red headed captain, who had a similar attitude. His first thought is that perhaps this is just a phase young ladies go through, however he isn't quite ready to accept that and sell the officer short. "I wouldn't argue that it can lead to trouble, so many things have been done in the name of vengeance for suffrage. However I was just trying to say that those who suffer and don't let it break them, they have a certain strength."

Staying quiet for the moment , he will let the newcomer speak her mind and throw herself on the razor sharpness that Ruri's tongue seems to be wielding.

Gary's eyes wander a little as he listens in and notices one of the waiters, for a brief moment the calm smile that Gary tends to keep breaks as his eyes land on a waiter, he was pretty sure Soran was dead though. 

<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.

Nidaime also doesn't know what a sub viceroy is. Like Chibodee, she pretends that she does. Believe it.

Wow, a BIG brother? Well, he's actually smaller than her but Nidaime, for all her poor understanding of social graces at this point in time, does know that she isn't supposed to share that she can become HUGE. And she also understands that size aside, Chibodee is older than her both literally and figuratively.

"Okaaay." She tells Chibodee. "Yeah it's really big. There's so many people here and they're all dressed fancy." She looks to Euphemia again just to sort of admire her hair.

"I Am The Second," Nidaime tells Jude, more slowly this time and with careful enunciation. Jude accuses her of being CHIBODEE'S guardian and she shakes her head at that. "Noooo... Chibodee is an older boy, I am a big girl but not an older girl." She explains carefully. "He taught me about boys. Maybe he can teach you about boys too? It's not too complicated though. I'm pretty young but I got it pretty easy."

IS ice cream waffle cone roll good? "Oh yeah it's really good. All the food here is strange but it tastes good and settles well in the stomach." She blinks once, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully and then adds, "You guys should take this food to the warming centers and feed them because they get really hungry here but there's a lot of food here that isn't getting eaten. I'm doing my part, but even I can't eat all this food."

Her expression, full of grim determination, turns to Chibodee. "But I'll try." She offers her ice cream waffle cone roll plate towards Jude. "Here here. Give it a try!"

Are you going to dissapoint your new monster friend Jude?!?!?

She sniffs at Euphie. "You smell nice." She says.

She looks up and towards Suzaku.

A more put together Nidaime? Haha, like that'll ever happen! But then, you never really know how people will grow up... 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

Mayvy looks a little stunned, briefly. She blinks a couple of times, and stares in awkward silence through those slim glasses.

How is she supposed to handle this? None of her knowledge applies right now; granted, she's not particularly socially aware, even at the best of times. But how does one handle learning a good friend and confidante is--well, however young Ruri seems to be?

Ultimately, Mayvy decides: 'don't.' No handling to be done. Instead, she holds out a hand. "Mayvy Hawkins. Head of tech, software, and R&D on board the Dreisstrager." After a brief moment's pause, she smiles slightly. "Call me Mayvy." 

<Pose Tracker> Veronique du Britannia has posed.

Veronique waves back at Euphemia. It's only polite, after all. She could possibly get away with ignoring just about anyone else here, but relatives get at least some consideration.

She does, indeed, tag along with Bridget. If some of the orphans are ungrateful or looking down on her, Veronique stays silent about it. She does nothing to ruin the mood. Such things are just easier for the newtype princess to parse when she has a familiar person nearby.

She will, eventually, point things out to Bridget that she doesn't quite understand, but she's not really here to tell her sister that she's wrong. Especially not with so many eyes watching. It isn't until Bridget starts tearing into one of the orphans that Veronique has a strong reaction. She has to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

Oh, oh no. Not here. No. Don't just go announcing to the world that you're a monster. Let people figure that out on their own. Don't laugh, Veronique. Don't...

When Bridget walks away, Veronique actually stays behind to soak in the unlucky orphan's feelings. Too much misery is unsightly, but in small amounts...

Veronique actually does pass the child a bit of money once Bridget is out of earshot, pulled from a pocket in her jacket, and whispers, "Hold onto your sorrow for me."

Then she turns and walks away, to see what other adventures that Bridget will get up to, but something tugs at her. Just... something feels a bit off. If she was alone, she might feel it more keenly, but in this crowd it's lost in the noise.

The Britannian Princess's eyes slowly scan the room carefully, pause briefly as they find Ana, and then move on. She frowns. What was it she felt? There are a lot of people who don't like Brtiannia in the room, and some of them even have a good reason despite what Bridget may think, but one in particular just seemed odd.

A while later, she catches up with Bridget, and begins to speak to her with honeyed words. "Ah, my dear sister, I'm sure many will remember your generosity. It's certainly..." what's a good word? "... notable. However, I hope you realize that there are many, many more war orphans than these? It's not as if they brought every orphan in the world here." 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

"Thank you, uh, Sub-Viceroy ma'am," Chibodee says, trying to act like he had been addressing her properly the whole time. He means well! Honest! Chibodee can't remember all these extra titles without a lot of practice.

"The bread here is pretty sweet so it oughta work," Chibodee says to Jude. "Oh, yeah, marshmellow can sometimes pick up some stuff. Tricky to get, marshmellows. I suppose I oughta think about getting some ice cream because it might be a minute before I see it again."

Princess Bridget is walking around like a mobile lottery. Chibodee can pick up on her energy and the energy of people reacting to her. There are people in the world who might these kinds of gestures demeaning or insulting. Chibodee is not one of those people and to psychics inside this wave it might seem strange that he's not having that strong reaction.

Now, would he do this himself? No -- the ROI is too inconsistent and you can't just pour money on the floor forever. Chibodee made his money by being soaked with blood and developing brain damage. HIS money will eventually run out, he assumes, unless he stays thrifty and smart. Chibodee has at least four other mouths to feed and maybe more later.

Bridget is different. She's a princess doing stuff that might be life-changing for the people who had the luck to be in the right place and right time. Brittania is truly great. Chibodee's mother's love for Brittania is one of her enduring legacies in her son. It will be very, very hard to finally extract that from him.

That last person in Bridget's way -- well, Chibodee thinks, the enemy of survival is pride. He was lucky and learned that lesson very young.

Suzuku appears. Chibodee tips his head forward in a nod. "Chibodee Crocket, Gundam Fighter for Neo-America," he says. "Pleasure to meet you, officer. This is Nidaime," probably gesturing at her the moment she's putting an entire plate in her mouth or something, "and Miss Jude," who will probably not try to eat a whole plate at once.

Probably. Reasonably safe bet.

"I do a lot of work with children," Chibodee says, riding on Euphemia's statement to keep the conversation going. "Boxing clinics, community service work, cleanup. A lot of cleanup. You know you learn how things get put together after you have to pick up enough busted stuff." 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

Ruri watches Mayvy, still quite stoic, as she quietly processes whatever she's processing.

(She'll be fair: Ruri is processing something, herself, after all, turning over Gary's statements in her mind.)

When she finally holds out her hand, Ruri's eyes widen, a light blush of embarrassment on her cheeks to be caught out by someone she's spoken to so often like this. "Ah--" she starts, before she looks down at her hand, and remembers the proper protocol.

She shakes Mayvy's hand! Obviously, Ruri doesn't have much of a grip. She's a technician, not a fighter. (She is also a child, as much as she's fighting against the classification, right now.)

"Ruri Hoshino," she introduces herself, in turn, before she pulls her hand back away from Mayvy, into her space. She's not really used to...

"This is Lieutenant Gary Biaggi," she introduces the man beside her, too; still neutral, but she's not frowning about it, either. He doesn't seem to be a bad man, to her. "With the AEU. We were just talking about..." She hesitates, for a moment, before she settles on: "... survivors." The orphans, surely.

"But, I wonder... why some people are strong like that. I don't really understand why people react to unfortunate things so loudly..." There's a lonely tint to those words, even delivered without much emotion; a little shrug of her shoulders, a glance over to some of the orphans, far too close to her age. "... well, if I knew that, it would be inconvenient as well, I suppose." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Suzaku appears to talk to Chibodee! Speak of the devil, right as Jude's about to reply to Euphemia. She gives the princess a nod. "Of course, Your Highness." A small wave to Suzaku. She doesn't know him, but he might have spotted her in class? Who knows.

Nidaime corrects. "Ah, The Second! Yes, I see. Japanese, not my strong suit." Jude glances to Chibodee. "Ah, will you, then? What are the best tips to know about boys?~" She's being playful. Her mother's already educated her in the basics of CQC and that's all she needs to know. As Jude introduces her to Suzaku, she nods. "We attend school together, but I do not believe we have talked."

Nidaime then presents Jude the WAFFLE CONE ROLL PLATE. Jude is slightly hesitant - but mostly because it was someone other than Nidaime's plate. In the end, she takes a decent size portion with her fingers, takes a bite, and mulls over the flavor. In the end...

She likes it! It's interesting - the bread accentuates the ice cream for her. She'll have to try this again.

She cannot brush her hand off on her dress like she instinctively moves to, so she sets down her now empty wine glass and grabs a napkin to clean her fingers. "Most excellent, Nidaime! Thank you for sharing."

A pause. There's a small psychic lash of something negative, for those who can pick up on it. "I wonder where my mother went..."

MEANWHILE:

Felicia Espella is still dealing with an Amalgam operator who is bugging her for updates while she has had zero time to get updates. She finally decides to just silence her phone and put it in her pocket. She's a complete natural, so she doesn't have Jude's ability to track down people to talk to, unfortunately, but she does spot Mayvy, and moves in, unaware of the Conversation with Ruri. "Dr. Mayvy Hawkins? Dr. Felicia Espella." She offers a hand to shake if it's not too intrusive. "I read your report, "Does God Hate Dinosaurs?". Very fascinating work. What led to your interest in it?"

Gary and Ruri both get handshakes as well, if they want them, but are otherwise not the topic of interest. Felicia is VERY work-focused. 

<Pose Tracker> Lloyd Asplund has posed.

"How considerate! I was hoping to try the ravioli, too, but it was... Easier to just get the same meals. Less work for the wait staff." Cecile replies, still wearing a practiced smile that one would have while lying through their teeth and trying not to sound annoyed about something that remains unsaid.

"I just didn't want to eat bugs." Lloyd says without a hint of shame whatsoever as he munches on some of that cheese Suzaku brought over, then raises an eyebrow when he mentions Euphemia's seating arrangements. "Ohoh? That is a rather bold move of our hosts tonight. I wonder if-"

"Don't." Cecile cuts Lloyd off again, then glances around when she realizes that Lloyd's already started wandering off roughly when Suzaku steps away. She catches up with him just in time to see him approaching Sayla with a well-practiced bow.

"Good evening, Doctor Mass! Splendid speech earlier, I must say. Lloyd Asplund, director of ASEEC and an Earl of Brittania. I do sincerely hope we get a chance to work together someday for the good of humanity and such." He introduces himself with a smile that's definitely more on the polite side rather than the sincere side. He does, at least, give her plenty of space to keep moving about the crowd instead of trying to hold her attention longer than necessary.

If anything, it's more than likely he'll just watch her coming and going to see if anything is made of that strange slip from earlier. 

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Minae is popular today. Eight's noticed that. She only has a little concern about it--but thus far Minae can take good care of herself, so she doesn't voice it. She focuses for a moment on the matter of Earth, and... of Arriety's words on it. She can't actually particularly argue the point.

She's never really missed Earth, but she supposes some people really do, don't they...?

But when Arriety says they're everything to her, Eight smiles. "You're important to us too, you know."

Hopefully things will be better...

"Yeah!" Eight agrees with Anita when she mentions her own prosthetics--what she would've liked to have had. And then she looks back to Ana again. "...Yeah. We can only do what we can," she says, "But we can do that much." She looks at Ana and notices the tension there... but she's so busy trying to keep her emotions in check that she hasn't noticed Bridget's... approach, to the poor. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

It is moderately awkward that the person he was just talking to Euphemia about is right there with Sayla Mass. Suzaku decides that right now probably isn't the time to address that matter-- but he does catch sight of something going on along the peripheries that is very very unsubtle. Without explanation, he moves such that he is positioned between Sousuke and Euphemia-- which really just re-orients him to the opposite side of her, for the most part. Evidently he doesn't think of it as a serious enough problem that he brings attention to it.

"There aren't a lot of people like him here," he agrees with Euphemia. It isn't a shot at anybody, exactly, though it could be taken as one. There's nothing in his tone or, to the surrounding psychics, underlying intent suggestive of hostility towards others, though.

"'Nidaime'. Nice to meet you, I'm Suzaku," he introduces himself to Nidaime, whose introduction he overheard before she turned to him-- though Chibodee thankfully makes it less awkward. "You're right about the leftover food. I'm sure the Foundation will make sure it doesn't go to waste."

"Just Suzaku is okay," he asides to Chibodee. "How would you like to be addressed?"

He juggles that in two languages, and has simply gotten used to asking.

"I'm planning a military career," he adds, "but if I ever decide to get out of it, something along those lines sounds up my alley. Though, I've never done boxing... mostly, a lot of kendo. What sort of clean-up are you talking about?"

His interest is earnest. The state of Area 11 definitely has something to do with it.

His attention turns towards Jude. "Didn't expect to see you here, either, Espella. Have you run into Hathaway yet?"

They haven't interacted, but apparently Suzaku was quick on the uptake.

"Or... have you met him at all yet?" He wonders, uncertainly. 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Chief Hoshino," Mayvy replies. "And you too, Lt. Biaggi." She flashes him a rather smaller smile, offering him her hand.

"That strength is..." She looks thoughtful, and her expression turns a little grim. She has a few ideas as to the answer, but they're not for here or now. "Anyway. You'll be happy to know your present is nearly re--"

She's interrupted by Felicia's arrival. "--Ah, uh, hello." She glances to Felicia, then Ruri, then back. "Um, Just Mayvy Hawkins. Surprising, I know--but soon enough I'll be *two* doctors." A larger smile comes to her face, though she's a bit self-conscious of the title at the moment.

"Um, well, it was actually simple curiosity that led me there, really. I'd had a lot of interest in Getter science when I was a child, but most of the research was classified at the time. So... when I finally had the ability to answer some of my questions, analyze the data for myself as a student at the Academy, well... I did."

Mayvy handily leaves out the part where she tried and failed to hack Earth Federation research servers as a young teen. 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Yeah, seriously... Surprised it hasn't happened already, to be honest." Anita remarks with a laugh to Minae, massaging the back of her neck. Her expression softens a little at Arriety's observation to Ana about the space - how all they seem to be able to do is imitate the Earth...

...She'd never thought about it like that. She smiles a little, though, as Arriety remarks on how they're everything to her.

"Yeah, and we feel the same way about you." Anita comments with a nod to agree with Eight's comment before looking back to Ana.

"People in this world who are helping, huh... Yeah, we always need more of those." She agrees. "I'd like to think we're doing some good, too..."

It would make her feel better about some things. 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

The lieutenant is snapped out of his own thoughts at the mention of his name and being introduced. Gary takes Mayvy's hand and gives the back of her hand a kiss before looking her in the eye , " A pleasure to meet you." Standing back up and trying to continue to do his best to include the new addition in the conversation , "The Dreisstrager? How do you like it there?"

A moment later a wild scientist by the name of Felicia Espella appears and Gary eventually gets a moment to shake the new doctor's hand as well. As the two doctors begin to talk, Gary mouths the name of the paper to Ruri with a look of confusion.

It is quite obvious that Gary is not up on his latest reading of scientist weekly so he simply continues his conversation with the Nadesico Officer, "Understanding the reason behind people's actions is one of the hardest puzzles to solve I fear. Mainly because it requires solving the puzzle of understanding that person and there are billions of different combinations of that puzzle." At the mention of the combinations of puzzles he gestures at the party hall as if to emphasize the point. 

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

Sayla gives lots of polite, generally earnest responses. Also her dress is partially ruined, but more painful is the sound Nidaime makes when she has to leave. Hoo boy. "A boy, huh." She does not fucking know how that works for Kaiju, but it. Hm. "You can tell me all about it later. Visit the house again? I think Leina would like to see you too." Okay it's a lot of wipes, and an aide comes out with a light shawl that covers the worst of it. Vel is on her game.

She gives a nod to Ruri. "My apologies." Sayla is genuine, and quick to admit her fault. "I hope you have a good evening, Miss Hoshino." She's genune but... God. Lots hurts, looking at Ruri. A 12 year old should not be in this situation. This is what Nergal thinks is okay.

Sayla shakes her head. "Hathaway, you of all people don't have to be formal with me." She smiles, sorrowful but very real. "You've grown so much."

Sumire asks, and Sayla prepares to answer. "I'm ve-" Hathaway answers first. It's a cold, hard response.

It feels unpleasantly familiar to what she felt 20 years ago. But it's not unexpected. Nearly three years ago, she closed herself off from everyone. Maybe she deserves that coldness.

"Yes. Hathaway's parents were the Captain and XO of the White Base. We went through a lot together." For once, though, Sayla is retreating not because she has somewhere else to be. She looks down at her watch. "Excuse me, I have to a check in with venue management. But I'd... like to catch up. My number hasn't changed, if you need to call." Sayla seems... fragile in this second. Unless stopped, she ducks back stage for a few moments, and breathes out tiredly.

In time to see what happens with Bridget.

Sayla, for a moment, glows white hot. And she strides across the hall in a way that draws attention. Sousuke may here sudden chatter on his ear piece. The callousness, the cruelty, all so casual. Her heels click on the floor.

Some breaches are too outrageous to let slide. Even from Children.

Sayla comes to a halt a short distance from Bridget- but her bodyguard might pick up threat. So might anyone with awareness. That's because Sayla is RADIATING IT. Physically, she is keeping her composure.

But the too harsh comms officer from the one year war has come out of dormancy.

"Stop." It's an order, in a voice that will not be disobeyed, with authority of years and righteous anger. "I think you need to understand something, 94th Princess Bridget we Britannia. I will not tolerate this behaviour. At your age, you're old enough to understand empathy. To understand how your actions affect others. To understand what cruelty it is. But I also understand they skip those lessons that you'd be taught through hardship. So allow me to explain this to you." Sayla's voice is cold, and hard and vicious. It carries, even as she tempers it. "You have thrown money around casually, without the slightest thought, based on your whims. And then you tormented a poor girl, who had no control over her situation, for what reason? To feel superior? So you could lord your money over people who deserved better, that you don't understand the value of?"

She looks to Veronique. "And you encouraged this. 'Teaching a lesson'? A lesson on what? That they should 'blame the misfortune of their birth'? That's callous and cruel. But to do it here? Here, showing what happens if people care, to people who deserve to be cared about? That shows a level of callousness that I can barely comprehend."

She speaks more quietly now, just loud enough for Veronica and Bridget to hear, giving a handsignal to Sousuke just in case. "Now, you have two options. You can turn around, and leave under your own power." There's a pause. "Or you can be escorted by the security here, in front of the paparazzi, flanked by OAC and Venue security, and watch as details of this incident get spread to every society paper, entertainment blog this side of Mars. I'm sure your mother would love that."

There are advantages to having an ace reporter on your side. And you never take chances with Britannian Royalty.

Her ultimate delivered, Sayla stands up and walks away, a clear show that Veronique and Bridget are no longer worthy of her time.

It is then that Lloyd comes into view at the worst possible time. She puts her host face back on, just in time, but there's ice in her voice. "Oh? I don't know paediatrics would be that helpful to you, Mr...?"

She's already kicked out two princesses. What's upsetting another noble? 

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Sousuke's dark gray eyes catch Gary's for just a moment. There's an intensity to the 'waiter', a gravity of focus. It looks wildly out of place here. It would look EXACTLY correct on someone who were guarding a guerilla hideout in an environment where every crumbling stone might suddenly turn into a wanzer with a missile pack and a quota.

His eyes move away from Gary, apparently not catching quite as many signals in the other direction. His eyes fall on the princess causing...something of a commotion. "Mao," he mutters.

'Let's let Doc decide if that's one for us or her folks.'

"Roger," he confirms.

And then that decision is made. Sousuke straightens his vest in preparation for a signal of whether he has to go fireman carry a princess out the front door. 

<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.

"Apparently," Minae responds back to Arriety with a faintly amused smile and - since she's thinking about it - a scratch of her cheek. The robot has picked up a few different 'idle motions' over the years spent with people, but in a situation like this with a half-dozen things to capture her attention at any one time it's easy for her to forget them. It's entirely possible she hasn't actually remembered to breathe in some time. "But don't worry," she adds with a smile. "I've got your back, and Anita and Eight's too."

She'd never once stopped to consider whether she missed Earth, if she had that capacity. Specific people, sure, but the Earth itself? It's one of those aspects of human culture that she can't fully address without learning more about it, and with there always being more to learn. "People like habits. They like the familiar, I suppose... for some of them, maybe it gives them comfort."

Her smile towards Ana is kind, and a little patient. "Ah... thanks for saying that, but I understand where they're coming from. Everything that's happened has cooled people on the idea of Super AIs, but also cooled people on researching how to handle Super AIs. It's understandable, but I think it's best to be a realist about it too. Ah, not that that will stop me being here, or anything," she adds on a more upbeat tone.

There's a commotion over her shoulder, and she turns in time to let her eyebrows rocket up towards the roof, watching their host dress down the Britannian nobles. "Ahaha," she simply says, in that tone of voice where someone is not completely sure if that social explosion is actually about to happen or not; there's a definite way in which she moves just a little in front of the Ra Mari group as if she could shield them from the sudden amount of Words around them.

Minae is still Minae, though. "I'm saving that recording for later," she quips. 

<Pose Tracker> Sumire Kanzaki has posed.

"Ah! Then it's as I suspected," Sumire says to Hathaway: "Are you here on his behalf as well?" She sounds amused at the topic, and her eyes half-lid as she smiles a bit more widely. At this point something occurs to Sumire. "While I have you here," she tells Sayla.

A hand reaches into her dress's little pocket, and out comes the envelope. Clasping it in both hands, she tells Sayla, "Dr. Mass, please accept this on behalf of Kanzaki Heavy Industries, as well as myself. If the innocents here, or anywhere else, should need aid, please do not hesitate to reach out."

The envelope is passed over. (Contents: 1 check, "Kanzaki Heavy Industries", 800,000.08G; 1 check, "SUMIRE Kanzaki & colleagues", 8,452.52G)

At which point a momentary quiet patch means that certain words drift towards her from the direction of Bridget we Britannia--

Sumire's bonhomie evaporates and her jaw tightens for a moment. Hathaway can probably pick that up. Sumire makes herself breathe out afterwards, straightening and rubbing at her neck with a stray side of a thumb as she exhales more deeply. The bonhomie comes back on, with a certain grim determination to re-achieve merriment.

At which point Sayla vectors in on her target.

Sumire looks briefly, profoundly shocked when Sayla begins, but rapidly seems to sense the score and actually covers her mouth. There is a muffled little 'oh-ho-ho-ho' that doesn't exactly speak of the most august and civil character deep down, before telling Hathaway, "Do excuse me. I think it's time to get some champagne, if I were you." And indeed she sets out to do so from a passing and briefly stunned server. She moves perhaps two yards from Sayla, as if trying to drift in the background.

Lloyd is interjecting! Sumire's teeth set for a moment as if to say 'awkward', and she glances back towards Hathaway with an enigmatic expression. ('Come along, if you wish,' it might suggest.) With this, and with a glass in her hand, Sumire sweeps forwards.

"Chibodee Crockett," she states. "We've been missing you at the theater! It's so lucky to see you!" (Sumire glances towards Euphemia, Suzaku, and then moves a step to the left to present mild social obstacles to looking on Sayla.) "You simply must introduce me to your friends." 

<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.

Euphemia wants to offer Chibodee 'Euphemia,' or even 'Euphy,' but it'd be sabotage for her siblings. Who are very much here. That'd put them in a much worse position, so she decides to say, simply, "You're welcome," without making a big deal of it. She orients on the bread a lot more readily, noting, "It's not *quite* as cakelike as Britannian bread is, but I kind of like that better... it's nice for it to be a little sweet, but it can get cloying, right?"

Euphy gets sniffed. She takes it in utter stride -- and with a little mischief. "I think the biggest smell you're getting is from my shampoo," she says, after taking stock of today's care routine. Sometimes she'll wear perfume; today, she isn't, and she has a lot of hair. Shampoo smell beats everything else by sheer volume as a result. "I'll send Chibodee a bottle for you, okay?"

She struggles to find a followup connection to Jude, a bit, and doesn't have a lot of experience with cleanup --

-- which is fine, because she's presented with something much more urgent for her personally to pay attention to. "If you'll excuse me," she says, as she starts to feel that threat radiating off of Sayla -- and then catches who it's aimed at.

She does her best to piece together the situation. It's not hard for her to make a guess. She knows the personalities at issue. She can fill in the gaps, even if she was talking to someone else. She considers, for a moment, intervening on behalf of her family -- they are, after all, family, even if the Britannian royals are sprawling and distant and varied and the behavior was almost certainly pretty bad.

She makes an impulse decision: nah. They can deal with causing the problem themselves. Euphemia can't stand the way Britannia swings around on the world stage, anyway; that type of callousness can't be defended or mitigated, even from family.

She flips open her phone again and sends Suzaku another message:

'If the orders get scrambled and we get kicked out with Veronique and Bridget, do you want to get ice cream?' Then a cat sticker.

She approaches Sayla, with an understated -- but warm -- expression. "It can be difficult to keep events like these flowing with all the personalities in the room... are you doing okay?" 

<Pose Tracker> Lloyd Asplund has posed.

Fireworks start going off (figuratively), and Lloyd is all too eager to see where that's all going. Even Cecile gently nudging him in the ribs isn't enough to get him to stop staring at what happens when Sayla addresses Bridget and Veronica, although he does at least have the cover of anyone else that's also staring to work with.

Even Cecile's looking after a bit, but she does at least keep herself from looking directly at anyone as it happens.

"Paediatrics... Not my area of expertise, but I'm sure we could come up with something if it ever came down to it." Lloyd finally answers with only a hint of disappointment in his voice. After all, who's ever heard of putting kids in robots to help them with their problems? "Lloyd Asplund, of Brittania."

Cecile closes her eyes, visibly yet internally cringing at his ease of just namedropping that considering what had happened literally seconds ago. What if it's considered a challenge?! She grabs Lloyd's arm and not-so-gently tugs on it, gesturing at the other end of the room. "Oh, Lloyd. I think I heard Doctor-" mutterintofist "-looking for you. Why don't you go over there, hm?"

As Cecile starts trying to shove Lloyd out of the line of fire (figuratively), she looks over at Sayla with a quietly murmured "I'm so sorry about him." even while trying to keep moving him along. 

<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.

Arriety quietly nods at Ana when she explains there's a high rollers here, a lot of tension... and she's directly gazing at it, in the form that it usually does: that black, inky morass of... feeling...

"Um... yeah..." Arriety admits in turn to Ana, though she doesn't really think of herself as someone who's remotely close to politics. She's just out of high school, after all... "That all sounds really tiring, to be honest..."

In truth, Arriety doesn't really miss Earth either -- because she can't miss what she's never experienced -- but she's starting to notice it. The fascination bordering on obsession. The light of humanity on that day... and the darkness she was confronted with, also on that same day.

"Y-yeah... thank you, Anita, Eight-- Captain," Arriety flushes a little as Eight and Anita both tell her that she's important. Someone's terribly fond of her friends.

There's a quiet bite of her lip to Minae, though. "'Habits'... mm..." she pauses for a moment, she does frown very gently as she looks to Ana again after Minae speaks about Super AIs. "Minae's a really important friend and if anyone's going to take her away I'll..."

She feels her own tension bubbling over, and her eyes widen when everything comes to a boil with Sayla and Bridget not terribly far away. She pauses, just a little more ruefully. The energy of the conflict is washing over her in waves. It's hitting her like a psychic hammer.

She scoops Myrme up, who at this point looks about as drunk and fed as a bean-shaped Bug can, and looks to Eight.

Internally her thoughts are roiling, thinking about how money's at the root of all this; how it really twists people, how it creates these imbalances in the first place, how it shapes people's personalities... she doesn't really know where she's going, her thoughts are going a thousand miles a minute.

"Um, I wouldn't mind getting some fresh air if you don't, Eight--Captain... I might... go do that. Our role here's over, right...?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

"It's fine," Ruri replies, to Sayla, still quite composed. "Good luck with your dinner, Ms. Mass."

This is what Nergal thinks is okay. They went out of their way to give Ruri the life she has. In their eyes, she is an asset; a part of the Nadesico.

How the crew of the Nadesico feel about Ruri, all ramshackle-gathered together... might be more of an open question.

Ruri doesn't know to give Sayla that reassurance, though. She doesn't even realise it's something which requires reassuring -- which isn't to say she hasn't noticed everyone being concerned, meeting her. But... it's a little threatening, isn't it? After all, her best friend is in the Nadesico. And... she doesn't want to leave him alone.

She watches Gary met Mayvy, and wonders whether that's just a habit of pilot hot-shots, given Akatsuki's behaviour. She does look interested in what Mayvy was saying about a present for her, except --

SUDDENLY, A DOCTOR!

She's a shade disappointed, but it's all carried in a little sideways cant of her head as she looks to Dr. Espella. She... does not shake Felicia's hand, because unlike Mayvy, she doesn't know her in the slightest, and physical contact isn't something she was ever socialised for.

And Ruri doesn't mind being a little rude. Perhaps that's the privilege of the young.

She shrugs, to Gary, when he mouths the name of the paper, but it soundly establishes the both of them as outsiders to the current nonsense. If he was recruited like that... well, Ruri must be able to understand that, judging by her history files. So maybe it's only natural they'd come to talk like this.

"I'm good at puzzles," Ruri says, "but reactions like these don't follow much logic at all. People just act foolishly." She looks over to Sayla, chastising another girl -- a princess, she supposes, like those animations Omoikane likes to watch -- and the one who attended the doomed party prior. She leaves the fact that she's calling Veronique and Bridget fools to implication. (It's not a very subtle implication.)

"Humans are much more complicated than technology is," Ruri adds, with a little grumble. "Most computers are very honest beings... even if they're lying, it's just because they have to. So long as I can figure out what system they like to use, it's easy to get along with electrical beings, but..."

Ruri shakes her head, hand clasping at her upper arm. "Humans stay in their room and mope, or cry about what they have to do, or get distracted with their relationships, or hesitate. It's frustrating. I guess we're just not very strong, in the Nadesico... even though I don't do anything as embarrassing as that." 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

It is fair to say that Ana's taken a certain degree of offense to some of the things she's seeing in her peripheral vision. A corner of her mind rolls it into a broader pool of frustration with the Union. Some of it is more personal than others, and as her thoughts wander in that direction, she forces herself to re-center with a curt mental order: Do not stew. There are good people here too. Captain York and her crew deserve better than an Ana who thinks bitter thoughts.

She brushes a lock of hair back behind her ear and gives her hat another adjustment. As the Ra Mari crew talk, though, she allows herself a muted smile. "...It's pretty amazing, how you all managed to stay together. That's rare...."

Letting her hand fall to her side once more, she smiles mutedly at Anita. "I think Dr. Mass is coming from a good place, anyway. I hope things'll get better."

Her look back to Minae comes with a slight cant of her head and a wry smile. "That's fair. If it means anything, I'm not painting with broad brushes. You've been nothing but friendly here." A smile for Arriety. "I'm sure it'll be fine...."

Again she trails off. This is largely because Sayla Mass is verbally throwing down. Turning slightly, Ana cants her head to listen in on the righteous tirade. Her eyebrows come up and her lips draw into a little 'o' of silent amazement. The look passes, and she cants her head back over to Eight. "...Would you excuse me? It was nice meeting all of you."

After a few friendly farewells, Ana begins to migrate through the crowd again, orienting herself towards the retreating Sayla. Sliding her hat off, she maneuvers herself into range of the other woman and leans in slightly. "Everything alright, Dr. Mass?" she questions mildly. "Sounded like a bit of a fuss...."

She trails off when someone distinctively more pink and regal enters the conversation. Ana's attention fixes on Euphemia for a moment. She is, in that second, intensely aware of the fact that she's been scrupulously avoiding conversations with the Britannian nobility here. She is not necessarily the best representative of the OAC when it comes to dealings with the Union.

In the next nanosecond, she is reminded that after Bridget's display, she's not sure she gives a hoot.

"Princess," she acknowledges with a stiffly formal sort of nod. 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

May's cheeks tinge with red as Gary kisses her hand. She's *really* not sure how to handle this one; it's lucky he asks a question. "Fascinating, honestly. She's probably the biggest we've built since the Colonial Fleet era, and having her systems at my fingertips... it's almost overwhelming, really!"

Her head snaps toward Sayla as she tears into Bridget, her hands balling into fists. No, she reminds herself. Decking a Britannian Princess won't change the world, and decking a second one only helps a *little*.

"... good riddance," is all she says, glaring daggers over in Bridget and Veronique's direction as she knocks back another long gulp of champagne, gritting her teeth afterward. Her brain is yelling--wanting to lay into them both, with words and fists. She may even be fantasizing about how nice it'd be to put them in exactly the positions they're so quick to berate.

"I don't understand them either," she replies to Ruri at last. "But it's a software issue. The logic just runs on a deeper level. I just... can't see it. Maybe if someone showed them the damage they do, made them *feel* it..." There's that anger again, though she hides it well enough in her voice. She continues staring daggers at Bridget and Veronique. 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Suzaku gets a shy smile. "Ah, Suzaku, hello. I am here with my mother. I do not have her as a teacher so I cannot say if you know her well." An aside to the others. "She teaches biology at the academy."

A pause. She turns towards where Hathaway is with uncanny precision, glancing. "Ah, no, no. He seems busy - I wouldn't want to intrude." Like her mother presumably is on someone else. "I haven't met him yet, either - it may be awkward! Especially tonight."

She seems very lonely, in a way. No friends at school, type of kid.

Sayla's approach on the two princesses gets Jude swivelling her head. That's...interesting. She covers her mouth - ostensibly a shock, but really covering a smile. Euphemia gets a nod as she leaves.

When Sumire intercedes, though, Jude nods again. "Ah, an artist? I am an artist! Of the painting variety, but still, expression and communication are the lifebloods of people, yes."

MEANWHILE:

Mayvy has Felicia's rapt attention, the biologist ignoring Ruri's rudeness. "Ah, yes. It's a shame that Getter Ray science is illegal, but understandable, seeing what happened in New Yark." She pushes her glasses up, taking in whatever opinion Mayvy gives. "I hope you write many more papers of that quality, but with you becoming a second doctor, it's inevitable." A pause. The good riddance gets a neutral glance, but inwardly, she's smiling.

And then, her phone has somehow turned back on and is texting her again. With the ease of a liar, "Ah, the academy dean. One second."

And then she steps back to yell at her boss some more. 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

"Thank you, Dr. Espella. Keep an eye out, I've put out a few more papers here and there, and I'm working on--" She pauses. "Oop. It might be a bit, come to think of it." That one's classified. 

<Pose Tracker> Bridget we Britannia has posed.

Bridget had never been to a charity event before. Of course she hadn't; this is exactly the sort of thing her father vehemently preaches against, even if she doesn't realize it. Fully accepting and supporting fanatical political statements doesn't mean having to understand it on an adult level. This is the sort of thing is unlike anything she'd ever been to, so the details and intricasies of it are unlike anything she'd been used to. All she knew is that this was a gala for orphans in need of help, organized by a foundation dedicated to such causes. Galas she'd been to plenty of times, of course, it was hardly the opulance or elegance that she was ill-equipped for.

This was her first forray to such things alone outside of events held by Britannia's elites, however, so she was having some teething issues, most of which she was entirely unaware of. So when Veronique catches up to her and starts illuminating one of them for her, she looks over at her older half-sister with genuine confusion. "That's what I thought, too! But then I thought, 'Wait! Maybe these are only the OAC orphans.' That's probably it, right? There are way more in the world! The OAC is just one part of Earth." Then she lowers her voice to a level she thinks only Veronique can hear and whispers, "Besides, I doubt they'd bring any Zeek orphans down here!" She gives her big sister a wide grin before continuing on.

She's all ready to continue being a walking lottery and doling out cash to those whose situations haven't somehow offended her, when Sayla approaches. Unlike her sister beside her Bridget is no psychic, but she's socially aware enough to hear and feel the fury in the footsteps that approach her. That they're approaching her gives her reason to look, and she blinks in surprise when she realizes they're directed not just towards her, but to her.

She stops walking when the order is given, not yet realizing the further implications behind it, turning and facing Sayla, looking briefly from side to side as if to see if there's someone or something else that this ire would be directed towards. When the rest of the words start there's an even greater confusion printed on her face than any expressed previously. In stark contrast to Ruri it's all too easy to read her face. She flinches visibly at the first accusations, shock showing in her widened eyes.

Then, at the mention of throwing money around one eyebrow raises above the other as she gives the organizer of the event she's attending a supremely skeptical look. "Huuuh? Isn't... isn't that the entire point of all this, to give some of our money to people who need it?" She's flabbergasted, and though it could easily be read as further lording those with the ability to read her feelings might realize her confusion is genuine and her surprise honest-- whether or not that makes this better or worse. "I wasn't trying to insult her, I just wanted her to know why she wasn't getting anything."

Now her hands go on her hips and she turns slightly to the side of Sayla, feet planting in a slightly wider posture, not directly threatening but confrontational.

It's at this point that her bodyguard steps closer, tensing. From beneath his glasses he's assessing threats. Souske can probably feel eyes on him in particular.

"You know, I really liked your speech, too. You said that individuals should help and contribute as much as organizations and political blocs. Isn't that what I'm trying to do? I'm not trying to lord anything over anyone! But if I'm contributing personally, don't I have a right to choose who I contribute to?" Her right arm drops from her hip and she makes an annoyed expression, "I'll go if you really want me to, but at least tell me why doing what everyone is here to do is actually wrong." Again she looks around, searching faces, as if to see if anyone else sees what she's seeing, that the sudden, angry offense with which her actions were taken border on the absurd with how inconsistent they are with her expectations. 

<Pose Tracker> Hathaway Noa has posed.

There's a stiff awkwardness as Hathaway nods, "I see." to Sayla, "Don't let me keep you - managing something like this is a lot of work."

Idly, he recalls that the number should be in his old cellphone - the one he'd had before ...

There's a fuzzy stop to his thought process. The number should be in his old cellphone, which is back at his apartment. He might look at it later.

The sensation of being watched abates over time as the eyes on his person drift away. Perhaps some of them had felt his apprehension, he supposes to himself.

- but he's still in a conversation, Hathaway reminds himself, " .. ha ha, you could say that . . I was just thinking to myself earlier, 'how would Father get along at something like this? What kinds of things would he talk about?' . . well, I couldn't really comprehend what he would do or say, though." he muses in response to Sumire.

Hathaway's shoulders tense as he feels Sayla's anger radiate outwards. From his perspective, its like feeling a powerful gust shaking the windows of a house. Cold, or maybe hot air fuming and battering everything around it.

What? - oh .. I see now. Those women are from the Brtiannian delegation, aren't they? They've made trouble.

Sumire's irritation is just as palpable, even if he didn't have the ability to sense it - her face told the tale well enough.

"Oh? I'm sure it'll be to your tastes," he indicates to the Champagne before he's left to his own thoughts for a moment.

Reminding himself to check his phone from the message earlier, he's unsurprised to see it was Suzaku. To which he replies:

>Sorry for ignoring this< >I came here in fathers place<

Hathaway felt bad for lying to Suzaku - at least with Kanzaki, she'd mostly just assumed incorrectly and he hadn't bothered to correct her. It was a white lie, though, thinking about it, was there a difference?

>It was a passionate speech.< he concludes, quickly, before that feeling of intent in his direction returns in full force. This time he was able to pinpoint it - in this case, it was Kanzaki giving him a look - one that he considered whether or not to follow up on.

It looks like she's speaking to - Chibodee Crocket, if I'm not mistaken. Suzaku, and Princess Euphemia Britannia as well, and .. hm. That's someone who goes to our school, isn't it? I can't remember her name.

Putting his phone away, he trails after Sumire and makes his way, drinkless, to the group and takes notice of Suzaku's wariness. If he thought there was danger, he'd be saying or doing something about it. Someone here just put him on edge .. the waiter? Hathaway wonders and tightens the scope of his mind. Sousuke Sagara's vibe was - very similar to Suzaku's. And with that, he understood Suzaku's wariness even if he did not understand quite the entire situation.

Assuming that he was a bodyguard in disguise, Hathaway eases up.

Euphemia steps away towards Sayla and he can presume Suzaku and his bunch will follow soon after. Hathaway greets them all with a small and polite motion with his hand, "I hope you don't mind my intrusion - my name is Hathaway Noa. You two are from the engineering corps, I take it?" he asks Cecile and Lloyd.

"And, of course, anyone would recognize a gundamfighter of your renown .." he says to Chibodee. "But I'm not sure I know the rest of you, so I apologize. It's nice to meet all of you, however." 

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

"I appreciate it!" Eight says to Minae when she says she has her back. And she thinks about that--habits. "...I guess that's true," she admits. "The familiar... Even I like the familiar."

Eight smiles at Arriety, even when she flushes and corrects herself to 'Captain'. "I mean it."

A lot happens; Eight blinks over at Sayla and Bridget, and some of the feelings she was getting make a lot more sense in this moment. Eight looks to Ana. "...It's okay to be angry," she says, and then, "...It is amazing, how we stayed together. Believe me, I know." But...

'Besides, I doubt they'd bring any Zeek orphans down here!' Eight's mouth twitches. And that girl is still going...

"...That's a good idea," Eight answers Arriety. "I'll go with you." She turns to those she's talking to and smiles. "It's been good to meet all of you. But I need some air myself. Excuse me." 

<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.

Nidaime says, "Oh it's alright." to Jude. She's not sure what she makes of Jude yet, but she isn't going to be a jerk to her. She clearly knows her secret... But if Jude isn't going to make a big deal out of it she won't have to, she supposes, shove her in her mouth to convince her to be subtle? Hmm.

"You should keep track of your mom." Nidaime tells Jude seriously. "Otherwise you might have a hard time her later."

Nidaime doesn't have a strong reaction to Princess Bridget handing out wads of cash either. She might not actually understand that she's handing out cash. She doesn't seem to consider 'coins' to be 'money'. She considers herself to be exceptionally wealthy and, as such, does not need a handout. This isn't pride. She isn't too proud so much as too ignorant of what counts as a lot of money.

"Hello! I'm The Second!" She tells Suzuku.

It's sort of a name. She doesn't understand why Sayla is telling Britannia to 'stop'. Maybe, Nidaime thinks, she's not quite a big girl as she thinks.

But she does tell Sayla, "Okay! I'll come by again and say hi to Leina. I haven't seen her in aaaages."

She's not sure she understands. Maybe Chibodee does. He seems to know a lot of things. Or she can ask Sayla?

"Shampoo... Okay, I'll save it for a special occassion. I smell pretty good heh heh." 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

Sayla also reassures Nidiame. Chibodee feels better for it. If Nidaime's mother is 'music' (that's so nice, Chibodee thinks, to think of my mother as music now), Nidaime definitely needs an older lady in her life to do all the girl-type things that Chibodee does not understand how to teach.

"Chibodee is fine, Suzuku," Chibodee says. His Japanese is not great and his accent is all over the place, but he puts in an effort. "Like literal clean-up. Busting up broken buildings and hauling stuff off to the recycler, clearing land, trying to get community gardens up and going, fixing the water situation..."

Chibodee realizes he might need to explain that one. "New Yark's got real flood problems and, you know, pollution and all that, so working on trying to get water treatment more reliable. One day you won't have to boil all the water out of the tap." He won't go into 'when the tap works' or 'when the gangsters aren't holding the water hostage again'.

Chibodee Crocket is one of the most brazen men ever to live. He is not shy.

"Oh, well," Chibodee says to Jude of boys. "The big secret? The most important thing you'll ever know?" He tilts over and stage-whispers. "They're scared of girls. Scared of getting their heart busted. Getting rejected, y'see." Straightening up, speaking more normally. "When you get that all the dumb shit guys do makes sense, dunnit?"

"That'd be great," Chibodee says to Euphy of the shampoo. "I have my brand but my Gals don't like it so much."

Sayla is burning. Chibodee feels it in his teeth and it makes him nervous. The emotional notes being played are comprehensible to him but he doesn't understand the context. On some level Chibodee cannot understand it, but Chibodee has done things for money that no one should ever do. The only adults in his life that cared about him after his mother died were fight promoters -- by the time he was a man he had internalized certain beliefs about human beings.

Chibodee casually puts another pinch of charcuterie plate into his pocket while people are distracted with the psychic showdown. Just in case. Sumire might even see Chibodee do it, but he doesn't acknowledge that at all.

Chibodee smiles broadly at Surmire. "You know I'm coming back with a bus," he says. And then Hathaway Noa is here so he's got to just do the thing:

"Glad to meet you," he says. "Okay this is, ah, the Sub-Viceroy, and Suzaku, and Miss Jude, and Nidaime here." Back to Sumire. "And I bet that Nidaime hasn't ever caught one of your shows, if I were a betting man. I'm not to be clear. But if I was." 

<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.

"It's okay," Minae promises with another of her warm smiles, tilting her head a little. She doesn't have to be attuned to anything to pick up the younger girl's worries or the way her voice hitches. "No-one's going to take me away. I'm my own person, remember?" she adds with a touch of pride, referring back to the certificate of citizenship she keeps pinned on her office wall. "I'll be right here, no matter what happens."

"Well, not right _here_ here," she adds with a bit of a wan smile as Sayla's lecture and the aftereffects of it ripple outwards through the crowd. She turns towards Arriety - but the girl has already preempted her by scooping Mryme up into her arms and making inroads towards leaving, and the robot's expression looks sympathetic as she nods. "I think it would be best," she adds, a hair off of saying 'doctor's orders'. "I can go with her if you'd like to make sure."

"Well, that's the idea. I'd be a pretty bad counsellor otherwise," Minae smiles towards Ana, tilting her head in a nod as the other woman makes an indication that she's going to go pitch in to the sudden fracas. "At least I can try to do my part in it all on board the Ra Mari."

Eight nods her assent to them both, and even says she'll accompany them; it's a visible relief as far as Minae is concerned, and she returns the nod of agreement. "Let's, uh-- I'm just saying, it seems like a great time to get out of here in general. I'm on board with that." 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Yeah, just as Minae predicted, it looks like a social explosion is about to happen. Anita can't help but look over, noting the way Minae moves in front of them defensively.

"Doctor Mass... is really pretty cool, huh?" Anita comments, and then nods to Ana. "Yeah, I think so too."

...But, all this commotion isn't without consequence, and her attention soon turns to Arriety. ...Yeah, this probably is a little much, huh...?

"You know, I think I could use a little fresh air myself." She says, placing a gentle on each of Arriety and Eight's shoulders. She's not sticking around if they aren't - and it looks like Minae is in agreement. "Yeah... I don't think they'd mind if we excused ourselves."

And if anybody does mind... well, that's just not their problem, isn't it? 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

Gary seems about to say something but stops mid sentence as he turns his head towards the hostess and stares at something that feels truly beautiful for the moment as Sayla explodes on the two. It is like watching a piece of art form right in front of him.

It seems to capture the attentions of the other two as well and Gary looks about noticing the other doctor had disappeared. Mayvy is also trying to give Ruri a decent answer to a question he may have missed half of.

When the crew of the Nadisco is mentioned though Gary speaks up, " I have heard the history of your ship. I wouldn't call anyone on that ship weak. It takes a lot to do what they did." 

<Pose Tracker> Veronique du Britannia has posed.

Veronique doesn't have to see Sayla to know she's coming. She's sensitive among Newtypes even with her complete insensitivity, and when she turns around it's with a wide, cheshire smile. She is almost hauntingly gleeful as Sayla chews her out, both her and Bridget.

Most in her position would be ashamed, even indignant, but to Veronique this is just another day. Sometimes she pisses off someone who deserves it. Sometimes she pisses off someone who doesn't. Sometimes she gives someone a really good reason to be angry. It doesn't matter. To an emotional vampire like her, anger is like tasty junk food, and Sayla's feelings are delicious.

The whole thing... the anger, the rage, it's great. Veronique doesn't care about the words said. Words are hollow and meaningless, especially when spoken in anger. Veronique could answer her questions as if they were not rhetorical. She could pick apart this or that... but she doesn't actually care. No one really does.

What matters most is the emotion. The wrongdoers, and those angry at them. Veronique loves the feeling. She loves the scene. Those who can feel will notice the sheer joy of the moment. This is the high she always chases. The reward for going through all the crappy process for becoming a Cyber Newtype. It's exhilarating.

But then Sayla turns around and leaves. Veronique barely hears the implied threat. It registers, but it doesn't matter to her. Sayla just threatened her with a good time. But to be suddenly ignored. To have those feelings pulled away from her when Veronique was enjoying them...

"My dear... you were doing so well. So much fire and passion, but you've left me wanting."

Her smile becomes gritted teeth. Her evil is, for a moment, naked for the world to see. She reaches into the pocket of her jacket, thinking, 'If only I could escalate this further..'

An idea flashes across her mind. The idea, if forced into words, would be as follows: There are people in this room who would kill you outright if you dared to attack Sayla Mass right now.

Vero frowns. She drops her hand. Her facial expression returns to the 'normal human being' spectrum. She reaches out for Bridget. "Come on. Let's go. She's not going to explain anything to you."

Not once does she glance at Euphemia during this. She's not expecting help from a person she sees as being something of a tree hugger among Britannian Royalty. 

<Pose Tracker> Lloyd Asplund has posed.

Cecile wasn't expecting someone to actually seek Lloyd's attention, but this works just as well. She suppresses a relieved sigh to just turn around when she hears Hathaway introducing himself, and Lloyd follow suit shortly afterwards.

Lloyd: "That's right. Lloyd Asplund, director of Brittania's Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps, or ASEEC if you'd rather not remember all of that." Cecile: "Cecile Croomy. officer of the same. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Noa. You're related to the renowned captain, right?" Lloyd: "Ah, yes, the famous Captain Bright! What a storied history your family has. Enough about your father, though. How do YOU feel about... Say, piloting? Just as a thought experiment." Cecile: "He's just joking around, Mister Noa. I'm afraid Lloyd's had a bit to drink earlier, so-" Lloyd: "Not yet, I haven't."

Cecile looks ready to throttle him. Again. 

<Pose Tracker> Sumire Kanzaki has posed.

Sumire looks like she smelled a fart at 'sub-Viceroy' but has, perhaps, a protective aura of schadenfreude over what's going on with Bridget, as well as a glass of liquor. Of course, at that point, Euphemia is moving past her to step towards Sayla, so Sumire follows in the path of many Kanzaki women before her, and drinks her wine.

"This is Hathaway Noa; he was complementing me ruthlessly," she answers Chibodee, "and so I thought I would bring him over," especially since Sayla Mass went to go murder someone, which Sumire side-glances towards in case there's something juicy happening, but it doesn't seem to be the case...

"Mr. Crockett is one of the supporters of our productions," Sumire explains to Hathaway. "Do you know that old pre-Britannian play, 'The Tempest'? He adored our production of it. This was... oh, it was last year, wasn't it? It was the winter play. Time does fly, doesn't it."

Sumire's eyes turn downwards towards Nidaime, who has now been introduced and given a name to go with the plate-licking. "Nidaime... or is it 'The Second'? That's quite a dramatic title," Sumire says, eventually, before attempting a smile.

Lloyd and Cecile get a flicking of the eyes for a moment. "Oh, goodness. This must be awfully difficult for you both," she says, mostly to Cecile by random chance. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

It's only when Bridget and Veronique get kicked out that Suzaku is completely certain what the purpose of Sousuke is. He hadn't been paying enough attention to what was going on over there to catch what had prompted it, but he's more than a little grateful for the presence of Sayla's security force. This isn't something that he would want to have to deal with himself. The intricacies of causing problems for individual members of the Royal Family are... complicated. There are people who can get away with that. Right now, there's a limit. Deliberately crossing belligerents within the military isn't a good line to cross.

It does however let him relax with regards to keeping himself between that person moving at the peripheries and Euphemia.

Sumire Kanzaki steps into his line of sight, rather unsubtly buying Sayla some space. He stares at her for a long, long moment.

"Haven't we--" Buzz buzz.

Suzaku turns away to his phone. He replies to Euphemia with an emoji of a dog chasing a ball, which between them is certainly understood to be an affirmative.

"I'm... not that familiar with the instructors," he admits to Jude. "But I can get you introduced to Hathaway when we're not all working. Excuse me..."

He follows Euphemia closely. Firstly, because they just make hypothetical plans. Secondly, because a good chunk of the delegation just got kicked out and Cecile is too busy wrangling Lloyd to step in and be meaningfully supportive. His phone buzzes a few more times as Hathaway answers, finally-- and moves to engage Lloyd and Cecile.

Suzaku shoots Hathaway an appreciative look. It's easy to miss, but he's certain that Hathaway will catch it.

Simultaneous with everything, Chibodee is still miraculously engaged with it all. It's obvious that Suzaku is deeply distracted by the... Problems that unfolded, but he tries not to completely disengage Chibodee. There's differently a flicker of forlorn reaction to New Yark's situation-- partially because it's so similar to Area 11's.

He digs in a pocket and produces a business card, presenting it to Chibodee in a distinctly un-Japanese and very Britannian sort of casual way. "We've got a lot of the same problems back home. I'd be really interested in hearing more in detail-- and maybe seeing what you get up to in those Boxing Clinics, if we ever both have time for not-business. Not... that that isn't business. You know what I mean." 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

"But I don't know how to debug humans," Ruri says, a little despondent, to Mayvy's point about it being like software.

"But when Mr. Tenkawa tried to show Admiral Fukube how he'd hurt him... I wonder if that's why he sacrificed himself. I don't know." It might be classified, but Ruri doesn't have documentation to refer to right now, so she's speaking fairly freely.

She sighs, glancing aside, still with that subtle shade of melancholy. "I appreciate you saying so, Mr. Biaggi," Ruri says, with a hint of shame. "But a lot of people died because of us, even though we meant to save them. In many ways, our mission was a failure." She might have felt differently about it, before, but...

Well, Asuka was at least willing to tell it to her straight. Even if she resents her, Ruri has to give her that much.

"I have to improve myself further to avoid more unfortunate situations, I suppose. I thought I was prepared, because I spent so much time preparing, but... when people die..." She gestures, vaguely, at the dinner table. "... it's quite a lot of responsibility, isn't it?" 

<Pose Tracker> Zechs Merquise has posed.

Away from all of the drama and fury, Zechs Merquise, the Lightning Count, is holding court. On a wide balcony that overlooks the sights of Johannesburg, Zechs stands with a small gaggle of children ranging from the ages of ten to about fifteen. His black, single shoulder mantle flutters in the warm summer breeze, while a girl of about ten hefts his rapier in her hands.

"It's ... It's heavy!"

"As it should be," Zechs answers softly. "It is a tool of violence, a weapon of war." He reaches down and adjusts the girl's elbow slightly, helping her take a more proper stance. He straightens and looks to each of the young people, his face unreadable behind his mask. His tone is soft. Almost sad.

"When you choose to lift a weapon, its weight should remind you that its only purpose is to harm another person. Every time you take it in your hand, it should make you truly consider its use." He pauses, glancing away.

"If more soldiers thought these things, there would be fewer of us who have lost everything from war."

The children go quiet. The girl looks at the weapon in her hand with an expression of revulsion before she shoves it back into Zechs's hands.

He just smiles at her sadly. 

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Security in disguise, perhaps. Sousuke straightens his vest, and when Bridget argues back, he says, "Going," and hears a grunt of approval from the comm.

He steps forward from the side of the room, long, firm strides, eyes focused directly on the fussing tiny Princess. His eyes catch the bodyguard and intense gray eyes stare at him. He's oriented on the princess, but enters orbit in a way that accounts for the guard as well. He stands, hands at his sides.

He doesn't even speak. He merely...becomes a presence, piercing gray eyes and that scar on his cheek.

He doesn't even look angry, despite the childish cruelty involved. He's just...a person with a task, and the absolute confidence that he can fulfill it, even if he has to escort the bodyguard into a garbage can first.

Veronique's motion toward her pocket has his eyes cut to her and it's less 'I am patiently exerting my presence that you should leave' and more, 'in less than one second I am going to full-body tackle.'

It doesn't come to that, and he relaxes from 'about to tackle a Britannian royal in public' down to a more passive Enforcing Presence state. 

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

'Why what she did was wrong?'

"What did she do, exactly? Have parents?" Sayla's word are as cold as ice. "Then do you think your ancestors should have lined up so Napoleon's men could shoot you more easily? They lost, didn't they?" Sayla knows her history. She has to. It's harsh, and brutal but might break through. Sometimes you don't need a scalpel. You need a hammer.

'But if I'm contributing personally, don't I have a right to choose who I contribute to?'

"No. That's not how it works. You help everyone you can. You don't get to choose." That one, still hard, feels... sad. Tired. It's the last words Sayla has for Bridget, as she walks away. Leaving the rest to her people. But she feels it. She feels Veronique's desire to kill. Sousuke had shown her a much better way to conceal her handgun, but just for a second she considers giving the okay to the sniper out there.

But taking out a princess with an ARM Slave scale sniper rifle would cause an incident.

When Euphemia comes up to her, she expects the worst, but is instead met with sympathy. "Thank you, your highness. I am used to things getting heated but... Usually it's not so blatant. An attempted punch up, a slap, etc. It feels too much to hope she'll learn, but..."

Ana, too makes herself known. "It's fine, Captain. It's not the first time I've had to deal with people who don't understand how it works." She pauses, the feelings radiating off of Ana. Not surprising. "But right now, I have had enough incidents. I'm going to get a seat at the bar and relax for a while. If either of you wish to join me, it'll be my treat."

The presence of others makes it harder for her to overindulge. Maybe.

She pulls out her older style phone, and makes a call. "Vel, run the show for the rest of the night. Your call when we shut down. Thanks. Oh, and uh, check if the Kitchens can..."

Chibodee gets a message a few minutes later. 'I might have startled the kids. Kitchen staff are still here. Want to see if they want milkshakes? There's icecream to use up.'

Chibodee might not be on staff, but Sayla knows who she trusts. 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

Chibodee can keep his focus even in the middle of such a chaotic scene. Suzaku has to do something, so Chibodee tries to give him a subtle 'go on' nod so he doesn't feel entangled. He knows maybe 10% of the intrigue in this room and is not about to put his foot in it unless he thinks there's some profit to chase.

"I do," Chibodee says, accepting the business card and sliding it into his breast pocket. "My secretary will set something up for a tour. Thanks for coming by, I figure you've got ... stuff."

Chibodee's phone finally vibrates -- some numbers can do that even when it's on do-not-disturb. He pulls it out from his back pocket, looks at the notification, and responds with a sticker of an elephant putting a watermelon into its mouth with its trunk. The meaning is perfectly clear to Chibodee.

"OK we're starting the Neo-America Presents Milkshakes Hour," he announces. "Nidaime, we're gonna wrangle all the kids so we can efficiently use all this ice cream. And anybody else who looks like they need it but the kids go through first." 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

Mayvy nods to Ruri. "Yeah, it's a hell of a black box." She pauses and taps her chin, "Shame you can't just look at the machine code like you can with a Super-AI. Not that most people can make any sense of *that*, either," she murmurs. "And... yeah. It is," she responds solemnly to the last point, watching as another princess approaches Sayla... for conciliation? She makes a mental note. "Who is that? The third princess, talking to Dr. Mass?" she asks, looking at Gary in particular. 

<Pose Tracker> Euphemia li Britannia has posed.

Euphemia does not spare a word, for now, for her family. That will require more private, thorough care -- this is not the place for that. These things are always... not insincere, but incomplete, in these settings. She lets Sayla handle it.

"I'll do my best to help smooth things out. Maybe she'll understand if it comes from me," she says, sounding sincerely hopeful. She opens her mouth to speak again -- and then Ana approaches. She turns to look at her, shifting posture back just slightly; she cedes the space to the OAC representative without a hint of complaint. "Ma'am," she says, doing her best to be warm. "I hope you've had a good time. I'm sorry for any difficulties the Britannian delegation has caused." 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

Gary is about to debate with Ruri on the mission of the Nadisco but decides it is for the best for now to not enter that debate. No, not yet.

He does follow up though at the end, "It is natural to want to improve yourself and even natural in this day and age to say I want to improve to make sure death does not happen." Gary then adds, " However remember you are not alone. You don't have to carry that weight of responsibility alone. "

At the question on who the third Britannian is he looks up over towards Dr. Mass and squints a little, "I think that is the new Subviceroy of what they call Area 11. Without some introductions though I couldn't be sure. I only saw a picture of her in the media. I think her name was Cornelia." 

<Pose Tracker> Ana Kambinda has posed.

'It's okay to be angry.'

Ana actually blushes, in the moment before she parts ways with Eight. "I appreciate the permission, Captain," she murmurs with a slight dip of her chin. "But in this case I've got to behave."

That's before she migrates into range of Sayla and Euphemia, positioned in just such a way that the movement of crowds and bodyguards momentarily keeps her out of Bridget's line of sight, apparently. While she's tangentially aware of Veronique seething, she can't focus too hard on it with Euphemia right in front of her presenting the prospect of an incredibly tricky discussion to navigate. Her knowledge of the Union emperor's bevy of children is vague enough that she's fully expecting a verbal collision.

One that never comes. Ana blinks once, and the surprise that bubbles up behind her face is hard to miss.

It is not an indignant surprise. Actually it's more of a relief. "It seems like it's been handled," she assures Euphemia with a tilt of her head, the surprise giving way to an internal easing of defenses as she realizes she's not going to have to fight off an international incident. "I've enjoyed it, thank you, Princess. I hope East Africa's been welcoming to you and your family."

To Sayla, she gives a dip of her head. "At least it seems like everything's moving on now."

Sayla hangs an offer out to her. Ana's eyes flick up to Euphemia, measuring her body language for a second, before she nods back to the blonde woman. "...Yeah," she agrees. "Yeah, I'd love a drink, thanks."

If Euphemia's not going to raise the Ouagadougou Incident, Ana isn't either. It's okay to be angry - but it's not a requirement. 

<Pose Tracker> Hathaway Noa has posed.

More about his father - but he's used to it. Bright Noa is a great man.

Lloyd unsettles him; its his .. enthusiasm, Hathaway supposes. But he also finds the man just a little bit endearing, usually people have some degree of 'difference' between what they say and what they feel. But while Lloyd may not necessarily say everything he's feeling, what he does say lines up completely with how he feels - at least as far as Hathaway can determine.

In other words, he was so sincere that even when he's being creepy, Hathaway feels he can at least trust Lloyd to be who he is on the tin.

"Piloting, huh .. I can't say I like or dislike it. There was a time I would have been excited to answer, but at the end of the day, it's the same as picking up a gun."

There's an almost wryness to him beyond his years, "It's only 'cool' until you shoot someone, or get shot. My passion is botany," he supplies. " .. for example, did you know that certain hibiscus oils can substitute industrial lubricant? Not completely, otherwise it'd see more use, but it's close enough. I thought that was interesting."

Hathaway shoots Cecile an appreciative look, as if to tell her that it's alright, she doesn't have to choke Lloyd out. This time.

He'd caught Suzaku's look, too. So he's sticking by the princess .. with the delegation in hot water, it's probably a good idea not to leave her be, even if she seems much more palatable to her contemporaries.

Waiting for Suzaku to finish speaking to Chibodee before he replies, Hathaway folds both of his hands in front of his waist in a polite manner. The revulsive vibes on the periphery of his mind, he paid no heed to - he could already guess where they came from.

They'd be leaving the premises soon enough.

"I don't know; I feel like I could have been a little more ruthless.." Hathaway says to Sumire, " 'The Tempest' .. I'm not really familiar. But I think it's supposed to be famous, isn't it? From even before the middle ages."

"I didn't take you for a theater enthusiast, Mr. Crockett. But looks can be deceiving."

This little girl, though - there's a kind of .. gravity, to her. Like a shallow whirlpool.

If he wasn't careful, he'd get sucked to the bottom of the sea - which wasn't nearly as romantic and nice a place as some imagined it to be.

"You really like the food here, I take it?"

Idly, he realizes this is the girl who was licking her plate clean earlier. 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

"Most people can't make sense of human DNA, either," Ruri points out, on the subject of Super AI code. "So it's fine."

Ruri, evidently, is entirely in the AI Are People club.

She frowns, in consideration, as she turns to Gary. He hasn't really given her any reason to doubt him, but it's conflicting information. "... is that really all right?" She asks, unsure. "Shouldn't I be able to do it on my own..?" It's thoughts like that which might explain her actions, tonight, but...

Faced with the gravity of the situation like this, Ruri is definitely feeling a little lost. Every person who dies is so many other people left behind, after all.

"... she's a Britannian princess, or something like that," Ruri supposes, looking over to the peacemaker, not entirely sure. "Mr. Prospector was talking about it, earlier... but I wasn't really paying attention. It was just some foolish chatter about financial implications." Nergal's diplomacy and international negotations aren't something she has to trouble herself with, after all. 

<Pose Tracker> Bridget we Britannia has posed.

Bridget is so focused on her own little world that she doesn't recognize the hate and the danger around her, how Veronique's joy at the situation dies and turns into something terrible. She's too busy roiling in her own indignant confusion and failure to understand the social situation to really notice very many people beyond herself and Sayla. Normally she's extremely aware, but this first time out of her comfort zone is proving she has a lot to learn-- and awareness is surely one of them, even if she doesn't realize it just yet.

So while still unaware of just how tense everyone has gotten, and just how much of a scene her actions have made, she feels her older sister's hand on her shoulder and, for once, simply shrugs it off, actually stepping slightly closer to do so, not yet ready to leave, her intense and confused gaze set upon Doctor Sayla Mass.

"What did she do, exactly? Have parents?" Sayla's word are as cold as ice. "Then do you think your ancestors should have lined up so Napoleon's men could shoot you more easily? They lost, didn't they?" Sayla knows her history. She has to. It's harsh, and brutal but might break through. Sometimes you don't need a scalpel. You need a hammer.

"My ancestors left a bad situation and found a better one for -themselves- somewhere else," Bridget responds, rising to the provocation, eyebrows dropping and a furrow showing between them. "I know everyone can't do that. That's what makes up exceptional. My family -does- consistently rise above it's circumstances, again and again. Maybe not all of us, but in case you're forgetting we have our struggles to. Some people do think we should just be lined up against walls, just look at what happened to Clovis!" For a moment it looks like things are starting to be very, very bad. Veronique would be able to feel that, for once, Bridget is actually starting to get legitimately angry. There are few things that can actually set her off- attacking and belittling her family, her people, is one of them. But then.

"No. That's not how it works. You help everyone you can. You don't get to choose."

Bridget's eyelashes flutter and she flinches again, jerking back from Sayla as if she'd been struck in the face, even retreating the previous step she'd taken forward. "...you don't?" she asks, all that anger in her voice suddenly evaporating to be very much more like the confused twelve year old she is. Now, again, she looks around herself, but not really seeing. "Oh." She's thinking, puzzling over how different that makes things. Her mouth opens to say something but then shuts, and before she can gather her wits back about herself Sayla is gone.

Bridget's bodyguard is extremely tense still, and on alert, almost all his attention focused on Souske. When Veronique almost does something very stupid he looks ready to intervene, staying vigilent even when the site security seems to relax once more. He's almost taken aback when Bridget whips around and grabs the briefcase with both hands, pulling it from his own.

With a briefly intense expression again she steps right up to Souske, potentially causing another near physical altercation, and nearly slams him in the chest with the hefty container full of cash, stopping just short. "Fine. Then just take this and use it right."

Again she turns, her face once more showing confusion, now shot through with frustration, as she walks past Veronique. "Now I'm leaving." Her steps are firm and annoyed as she goes, short heels clacking on the floor in a minor impersonation of when Sayla marched up to her.

"This kind of charity doesn't feel nearly as good though," she mutters under her breath as she finally exits the place where she isn't wanted. 

<Pose Tracker> Nidaime has posed.

"Really like it?" Nidaime says, thinking about it. "OH I don't know. It tasted about as good as all other food, except for the ice cream bread. That was VERY delicious. But the meats were just like, you know, meats you know?" She focuses on Hathaway for a moment, quirking her head--

But then she is given a JOB. And Nidaime is determined to do her best at ANY JOB so she can one day be a cool fashionable lady like Chibodee's girl friends.

"Alright!" Nidaime says, hopping up onto a table. She drops down into a crouch and tells the orphans at this table. Chibodee has brought a lot of urchins to his table as it is so this is the best place to start. "That's table one, Chibi! Onto the rest!"

She squats down a bit more wiggling a bit because she doesn't usually have to do this kind of thing--

--and then she FROGGY LEAPS towards the nearest table that has children at it. "Milkshakes! Head over to Chibi's table to get ice cream and milkshakes! He's the big guy with the blue and pink hair who is also the Gundam Fighter for Neo America!"

She jumps to another table, her feet squishing down onto plates full of leftovers. She slips a bit, arms waggling before she just sort of pushes the plates away since they're in the way. Not to the floor, of course, it's still EDIBLE. "Milkshakes! I've had them before! They're really good but if you drink too much you throw up so don't drink TOO MUCH milkshake!"

And so it goes until the bulk of children have gotten the message and the rest know to follow because she starts running back to Chibodee, trailing pasta from her shoes and her feet making sqooshy noises from all the food stuff she got stuck on them.

"Eheheheheh... How'd I do, chibi??" She beams. 

<Pose Tracker> Lloyd Asplund has posed.

Sumire gets a confused look from Lloyd as she mentions the difficulty of the situation. "Hm? Oh, not at all. It's just another day in the Brittanian nobility, but with far better food than the usual." He replies with an amused chuckle, hobbling along as he keeps getting not-so-gently nudged onwards by Cecile.

Cecile, meanwhile, doesn't look amused in the slightest as she's still trying to get him out of the line of fire and also outside entirely. Hopefully, it's more figurative than literal, but she can't be too careful. "It certainly is difficult, but this has been an... Exciting evening?" She's still trying to sound optimistic, at least, even if the strained smile makes her fatigue apparent. "I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances. Cecile Croomy, a pleasure. Take care, alright?"

Hathaway, meanwhile, gets a surprisingly studious look from Lloyd that actually catches Cecile off guard briefly when he just stands stock still for a few moments. "Ah, you understand, then. Humans aren't as invincible as they like to believe even inside such machines, and yet they keep climbing back in day after day, year after year... It's not all bad, though. It keeps me in business, and it lets me think about things like your oils."

Cecile really looks like she might want to throttle him anyway.

"Hibiscus oils? Interesting... That could be useful information to have if any of us happens to get stuck on a deserted island with only our machines and some plants in tow. Ah, but what are the odds of that ever happening to us?" Lloyd chuckles, and then he grunts as Cecile finally gets him to start moving again.

Before she gets all the way up to speed, however, she does give him a grateful smile before continuing her painful task of ushering Lloyd out before he actually just gets shot. 

<Pose Tracker> Chibodee Crocket has posed.

Chibodee unleashes bedlam in the form of Nidaime. He COULD try to stop her. But then the milkshakes will be slower. No, better to stand here and look like a Responsible Adult.

Chibodee nods to himself as Nidaime leaps from table to table. This was an excellent idea, he thinks. I am very smart.

"It's a great play," he says to Hathaway. "It's hard to explain. It has a great message though."

Chibodee, leading children like the pied piper, heads toward the ice cream. "C'mon, I'll get you a milkshake. We can talk about Shakespeare and stuff." 

<Pose Tracker> Sumire Kanzaki has posed.

It is when Suzaku has already answered his phone that Sumire realizes, belatedly, who he is. She is suddenly dubious about the champagne, although perhaps it is simply accumulated stress, or a bad slice of fish, or both. She takes another sip anyway.

"Mm," she answers Kururugi eventually. This probably tells Hathaway a lot about her opinion of the man. (In summary, 'bad, but complex bad, and she isn't doing the laugh about it, and probably wouldn't if he in turn got yelled at in public.' Maybe she respects his dignity on some level.)

Theater is a more comfortable topic. "Oh, yes," Sumire tells Hathaway: "I played Caliban. It really was something! The real challenge was getting the songs to work well, given that there's already the meter; so it didn't break any new ground in the libretto."

Sumire is about to take another sip of her drink when SUDDENLY NIDAIME LEAPS PAST HER.

Sumire leaps back about a step in pure reaction, and the half-uplifted glass tilts all the way upwards, dumping about three deciliters of cold fizzy wine down the front of the dress.

This leads to her maintaining a stress pose for several seconds before looking at Hathaway and saying, "Excuse me. I hope we'll meet again."

Sumire then marches off stage, in the opposite direction of the Milkshake Distribution Festival. 

<Pose Tracker> Mayvy Hawkins has posed.

May nods to Gary. "If that's not her name, I can find out. Sub-Viceroy of Area 11..." Her nose wrinkles. "Thank you, Lieutenant Biaggi."

"Mmm, that's a good point." May nods to Ruri, and lifts an eyebrow at her question. "No. That's not how we work. It's--" She pauses and sighs quietly, second-guesing what she was about to say. "Well, none of us can do everything on our own." 

<Pose Tracker> Veronique du Britannia has posed.

Veronique would not have tried to kill Sayla, per say. Harmed or wounded maybe, but not killed. She's not about that. Killing makes the emotions go away, and comes with all these yucky death feels that Veronique would then have to pick up on, and... look, Veronique's reasons for avoiding murder aren't good people reasons but they are compelling to kind of person that she is. Not that it would make a difference once bullets start flying.

Sadly for her, it seems like her fun for tonight is done. Sayla is a woman of her word. The sociopathic princess gives Sousuke a strange look. Usually the whole bodyguard thing goes the other way around. It's novel, almost interesting in a way, to be the one on the other side of the coterie. It's so bizarre and out of place to her that it takes a moment to process the irony.

Still, it doesn't take a Newtype to pick up on Sousuke's vibes.

She watches her little sister respond to Sayla. She kinda frowns at it. She waits for Bridget to leave. She speaks lowly, so only probably Sousuke, and Sayla if she's still around, can hear. "I make no apologies for what I am, but her? She's sincere."

Then, she turns and follows. There's no point in staying around. Whatever further conflict she has with these people can wait for another day. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"It's a story about graceful endings," Suzaku interjects towards Chibodee and Hathway, regarding The Tempest. Through the haze of the situation it seems particularly meaningful to him, though he would have required a little while to explain why. He doesn't explain how or why he would know this in particular. The answer, though, is almost certainly Lelouch. 

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

Sayla gives a tired smile. "Appreciated, but not necessary." Sayla sighs. "This may sound cold, but you're better off not weakening your position by smoothing things over with a low ranking princess." Sayla... seems to know a bit about how it works. "I did my research, her mother has plenty of enemies and they'll enjoy the chance to snipe." It's not the same handle Euphemia has on things, but... "Sometimes it's better to let the wound to their pride sting."

It's a good thing Sayla left to the bar. She has bad experiences with briefcases full of money.

The bar is well stocked, and Sayla's paying. Her own is a double of what she's been drinking since things kicked off- A 15 year old 'scotch' whiskey, made in Side 6. She doesn't rush into it, but she's had a bit tonight, and the bartender is watching her. "Anything you want, Captain." She may have briefly forgotten that Euphemia is underage, however, and if she joins them, she is referred to the mocktails. Sayla still has some self control. 

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Sousuke is just...there, present. Whether something Happens is up to the princesses and their guard.

Fortunately, what happens is that Bridget swings her suitcase at him. He actually does yield a step, expecting...something, but she doesn't actually hit him with the thing. He knows its contents so he doesn't need to fear something crazy like a bomb. He just...accepts it. She gives him orders, haughtily.

He looks at her, meeting gazes. His dark gray eyes have a strange, untroubled clarity to them. He says, "Not a problem. That is the objective."

He's not really supposed to touch the money, but Vel will have someone to him shortly to handle that, he's sure.

As for Veronique's parting barb...it's hard to say it registers. He looks at her, then looks back to Bridget, then to their guard. He watches the princesses depart.

He turns crisply on his heels.

Directly into the face of a blue-haired demon. She smiles, all perfect teeth, and Sousuke suddenly looks like he's seen the face of death. Sweat pours down his scalp.

"I really can't go anywhere without you, can I!?" Kaname Chidori hisses at him, and grabs him by the collar. "You and I are going to have a talk about boundaries!"

"I thought we'd had that discussion alr-ah please no I'm actually on duty and--"

They disappear into the back. 

<Pose Tracker> Hathaway Noa has posed.

"I see," he says, in regards to The Tempest. If there's a reason Suzaku would know about it - Hathaway would guess it probably would have been Lelouch. Something like that, Lelouch probably would have liked it. Graceful endings, huh .. but the world we live in is rarely that kind. Perhaps it was the same two thousand years ago. If that's the case .. then it really must be the world that's wrong.

"As far as meat and vegetables go, I thought it was pretty good," he says to Nidaime, " ... but you liked the dessert best, of course." he says with a wider smile than usual. Something about Nidaime's childish innocence inspired that.

And then she wildly gets going, for the sake of getting a milshake jamboree started - and in doing so, Sumire has wine spilled all over the front of her nice dress. Hathaway blinks, watching as the liquid thoroughly soaks into the material and begins to spread out - a stain that reaches and reaches, pressing down the now shriveling cloth - until his manners catch up with him and he turns his head.

" - ..er .. yes, of course. I also hope we meet again, Kanzaki. Have a nice night."

Maybe situations like this were why his Mother would tell him to carry a handkerchief? Of course, he didn't have one on him now, as fate would have it.

Tonight didn't wind up being too productive, but I did get good information. Indonesia .. there's not too many places you could hide a depot meaningfully, there. And . . if nothing else, I'll remember most of these faces.

Turning his thoughts away from 'work', Hathaway nods to Chibodee. "Well, I might as well have a milkshake while we talk," he chuckles.

And onto the night the group goes, filled with tasty treats and soliloquy concerning William Shakespere. 

<Pose Tracker> Gary Biaggi has posed.

Gary sees the one he was concerned about moving towards one of the noble ladies and Mr. Biaggi knows already how the rest will play out. Especially if that is really who he thinks it is. So instead his attention goes back to the conversation.

"You are most welcome Doctor Hawkins. " The man waits patiently for the doctor to finish her insight before agreeing, " Yes none of us can do it all. There was a saying where I grew up. It takes a village."

Pausing for a moment he lets that hang in the air before he explains, " I am a Lieutenant with the AEU. I fly with my mobile suit squadron. One of us alone could not do what we need to do. You are an Officer of the Nadesico, Ruri Hoshino, and one person could not manage the entire ship by themselves. Everyone has responsibilities and trying to take on to much responsibility will only lead to failure and in our line of work, failure is never a good thing."

Finally he walks to an empty table and puts his empty wine glass down that he has been holding for a while before turning back, "Office Hoshino, Doctor Hawkins, I fear it is time for me to depart. I also think I have given more then enough to think on and come to your own conclusions. Until we meet again." Unless some outside force stops him he would take this time to head out. 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

Ruri watches Nidaime jumping around like some sort of monkey, and mutters: "Fool." She does not get called away by the siren-song of milkshakes, because she's busy having very responsible thoughts about death and orphans and competence and comradery.

Kids grow up so fast.

"It isn't?" She wonders, to Mayvy; given she's also part of Nergal, she would know company policy, she supposes. "But..." The word lingers, fog on the ground, as she tries to square the concepts together. She has no reason to doubt Mayvy; she's familiar with her technological prowess. Even so, she still remembers the acid in those words she heard.

Ruri hasn't encountered the saying Gary invokes, which just means she doesn't have to tell him she's already been raised, thank-you-very-much. (She has a complete education! She's had a complete education ever since she could remember, even.) Instead, she's just a little confused, for a moment, as she listens to his own experiences.

Considering the human element like that is...

Her eyes widen, as Gary warns her that too much responsibility only leads to failure. "Ah," she says, and maybe putting it like that makes a little more sense, with the prior information she has.

"... I see," she says, looking back over to Mayvy, too. "I'll have to think about that." She looks back, to Gary, as he heads out. "Goodbye, Mr. Biaggi."

Ruri sighs, a little shrug of her shoulders, as she looks back up to her fellow Nergal scientists.

"Parties really are a pain, aren't they..?"

Well, maybe she can stick with her for a while, anyway. The Nadesico contingent will surely exit, sooner or later.

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