2022-02-04: Babel

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<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Amalgam has numerous safehouses across the world, burners that are unidentifiable. Jude Espella is in knowledge of one on a small offshore island, a small one-room one-bath house built on the rocks.

Currently guised as the Beast, she has evaded authorities and landed Zetton Savior next to the house, by one of the windows. It's an easy enough path for the Spinatia to teleport after, and it was invited, so.

Beast is inside the house, staring at her colorful mask in the bathroom mirror. She exits as soon as she hears (or feels) a commotion, presenting the living area - a small kitchen in the corner, a mattress with sheets and pillows on the floor, and some chairs with a short table.

It doesn't require Awakening to tell that Beast is having an adrenaline surge and panicking over what just happened. Instead of saying anything, Beast slumps into a chair, confident Zetton will protect her should this turn dangerous. 


<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

Celestial Being has a number of similar sites; Elisa is familiar enough by now with the practice, though she has no way of knowing that this one belongs to Amalgam in particular. It is safe, and it is a house, and that is sufficient. So, with a crackling field of green energy to announce her arrival, the Spinatia appears next to the house as well. Stepping out of the mecha, Elisa lets herself down and stops to take a moment and stretch. She rotates at the waist to one side, then the other, arms pumping a bit, then straightens her shoulders and walks into the house.

There could be all sorts of trouble here, but she seems about as confident, stepping over to the table and moving into the next chair.

She is dressed, for the record, in a black suit. She is wearing glasses that lighten in the relative darkness of 'inside', and a nice green tie. It goes with her eyes. Her hair is long and purple, and hanging loose for the moment. She has nice shoes.

"He worked very hard," Elisa notes, rather than commenting on how tired Beast seems to look.

"My name's Elisa," she says. "Dr. Elisa Kafim. I study the relationships between people and kaiju. Take your time; I don't have to be anywhere else for right now." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Beast's clawed gauntlet waves Elisa over to the chair as she approaches. She sits there quietly for several moments, taking Elisa seriously, before speaking through that modulator.

"Yeah, he did. I'll have to reward him. He doesn't know what to think about you, and he thinks your robot smells weird, but..." A sigh. "I could tell you weren't lying, back there. And someone who believes in kaiju - we need more people like them."

Beast places her clawed gauntlet against the chair arm, speaking cautiously. "Beast. I don't trust doctors, but I'll give you a chance."

"If you believe kaiju are the future, why did you fight us?" 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

The modulator... It's interesting. Elisa just speaks freely as 'herself', for the moment, though her eyes are sharp. She does not have the Awakened senses to detect Beast's feelings. But she's open enough with mistrusting doctors.

"My robot should smell weird," she admits. "It uses strange technology. ...But to answer your question... there are two reasons that I, as someone who believes in kaiju, would fight this one."

"The first is simple; I think you're wasting your energy attacking hardened civilian targets. It gives you a chance to fight NERV, but it doesn't really do any harm to them. They can simply resupply and rebuild, and the only ones harmed are the people who lived on the block."

"...Second, getting into my mecha was the only way to get close enough to investigate Zetton Savior. From there, I fought you because it helped me to understand both of you and your potential. Your 'instance intervention' was too fascinating to ignore." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

The non-clawed hand begins tapping Beast's closest leg, fidgeting. "What was I supposed to do? Attack Tokyo-3? It's even more hardened. No civilians were killed." But there is a sigh. For all of her mistrust of doctors and scientists, Jude Espella does not inherently mistrust reasonable adults.

Most adults aren't very 'reasonable' to her.

"But you're right. My allies in the Black Knights were right, too. Can't fight a one-woman war, no matter how monstrous they are, and half of them are too focused on Area 11." Obvious details, but details nonetheless. She's emotionally open right now.

"Our potential...what did you learn?" Beast is quiet about Instance Intervention, for now. 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

"Without the right information, it's hard to pick targets that will really feel it. Your allies are right--alone, you'll struggle to make much of a dent. And the Black Knights... it makes sense that they'd focus primarily on the territory important to them."

Elisa doesn't comment further on the civilians; that seems to be all she had to say there. Instead, she focuses on those details, and then... the question.

"Zetton Savior is very powerful. NERV's forces struggled to hold him at bay. But more interesting to me is the clear bond that the two of you share. I can't 'sense' such things, of course; my own abilities are... not of that nature. But it was obvious watching him fight, and clear from the way you spoke. ...Besides; I bet he didn't grow that scarf of his himself."

"So I learned that rather than simply using this kaiju, that you have a strong bond with him. I believe that that bond is the key. People who simply 'use' kaiju can merely destroy, but people who can understand them..."

"Well, I believe that the relationship between people and kaiju is important. More and more of them are appearing these days--I don't think it's a coincidence. And I think we can coexist with many of them." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Beast listens, and truly does understand. So this woman's a Natural, yet she understands the bond? She could see it that easily, and thinks they could co-exist...a normal terrorist would put more distance between themselves and someone that might be trying to get close to them to backstab. But, Beast feels more than she thinks, and she feels honesty.

"Were you injured at all?" Beast asks, idly. She gestures to the bathroom cabinet if Elisa indicates yes - there's first aid inside.

"I made that scarf three years ago, with the help of some friends. It was very difficult." She says proudly, before nodding. "You're right. In all ways. My ability..."

"Have you heard the story of the Tower of Babel? It's not literal or anything - but it's been a story I've been told, in relation to my power, since I first awoke to it." 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

Elisa is not a very normal terrorist herself. It is foolish on its face to come into the space of a great kaiju she was fighting with multiple others. But she does. And she is utterly confident in that decision, somehow.

"I wasn't, thank you. I simply used a lot of my energy powering the Crystal."

Three years ago... Elisa is thoughtful. But she doesn't comment on Jude's age, instead answering her question, "I've heard it."

"How do you think it relates to your power?" She has guesses; Jude might be able to feel that much. But rather than make them, she just asks. 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Perhaps entirely surprisingly, Jude has little interest in the crystal at this time. Sure, Amalgam would love to know about it, but they're not ever learning about this conversation anyways.

"If all were connected in the ability to communicate, and they were cut off - would not some still possess that power? Is it truly possible to erase such a thing? Communication that has been lost - that is what I feel I have."

"I can feel their emotions. Transmit my own. Consider me...a Newtype for Kaiju." There's likely more to it, seeing the spatial warp, but she's keeping exact details under wraps. 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

Elisa is happy to talk about her technology and her research.... but she's more focused on Jude at the moment than on herself.

"That makes sense," she answers about the story. "Poetic, even."

A Newtype for kaiju--Perhaps surprisingly in turn, Elisa doesn't seem surprised by this possibility at all. "A rare and special gift. I think that people like you are the key to moving from a hostile relationship with kaiju to being able to live with them--to make ourselves better with what could be our friends."

"...But as long as we're divided by conflict with one another, as long as we can't even get along with one another, I think that that dream may be out of reach." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Beast seems to go at ease as Elisa continues to speak - especially at her last line.

"The war system churns and churns and churns. They make excuses to kill. Even the Black Knights are part of that conflict - but at least their goal is righteous."

"A united world is my dream. One step at a time. And I don't believe that's possible with what we have now." 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

"So it does. We've made friends among the stars, now--why can't we make friends of one another, and those on our own planet?" Elisa pauses, and nods. The Black Knights... she seems to reflect on them for a moment. "I can't say that I hold any love for Britannia myself, or for its expansionistic practices. It's a perfect example of the costs of war on the people."

"But that's a good dream," she says. "I share it, in fact. ...As do some associates of mine. We think it is possible, if we work together for it." 


<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

"The Zentraedi were befriended, after all..." Beast muses. "War sickens me."

"You have associates, huh? I'm not surprised. Not the same as I do, but..." It's pretty obvious this isn't a Black Knights safehouse.

"So you fight to stop the war. I fight similarly, but at a different angle..."

Beast can't help but smile under there. "Seems something brought us together, then." 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

"Mm-hm." Elisa nods. "I'm proof of that much; my mother is Meltrandi."

War... Indeed. And Elisa has figured that it isn't a Black Knights base. Just for a few reasons.

"They're the ones who stored my mecha in the area as I came to investigate a few things. ...They are different from yours, of course."

Elisa smiles. "So it would seem. That's what I believe, at least. I don't really believe in 'coincidence.'"

"...My friends and I call ourselves Celestial Being. You may have heard of us. If so, you know that our commitment to ending war is something we're willing to fight for."

"I can leave you my contact information, when I go; if you decide you're interested in hearing more... I'd be happy to make a few introductions."

"We will end war in the Earth sphere. And then, I hope, we can work to make this planet better for all its inhabitants, human and otherwise." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

Beast goes quiet at the mention of Celestial Being, but she's too physically emotive to read it as negative. It's more 'what to think about this'.

"Celestial Being...I saw the video. A dead man's message to the world." A pause. "A message too many push aside."

"Why trust me with this? I know why I trust you - I can tell you're honest. But what if I am deceiving you?" Beast gets up, but only to grab her stuff, tucked under the mattress. A notebook is grabbed - full of doodles as it's opened casually, doodles of kaiju that exist in the world. Grabbing a pen, she sits back down, and writes on a corner of blank page.

"My own 'work' contact information. I may hit you up first - but...if I can help your research and dream, please let me know." 

<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.

"So you have seen it. Good."

If Beast didn't take at least a moment to think, Elisa might think her too impetuous to work with. As it stands, it's natural to wonder. So Elisa accepts the question. "I saw what I needed to see, in your relationship with Zetton Savior. From there, I came here, and you've had plenty of opportunities to try to harm me since then. You haven't."

"Instead, you've listened, and spoken with me. That's enough to make some introductions, I think."

If she's wrong, surely VEDA will have something to say about giving her any more access, and the only downside will be that Elisa herself will be exposed. She's willing to take that chance on someone this special.

"Thank you," she says, not commenting on the doodles because that would be rude. Instead, she says, "By all means. And I will, certainly. I'm glad we could understand one another, if only just enough." 

<Pose Tracker> Jude Espella has posed.

"Yeah..." Beast says, hopefully, as she slumps into her own chair, exhausted.

"Maybe the Tower isn't broken completely, after all."

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