2022-07-09 - Slow Shift ~CHART~
- Cast: Guy Shishioh, Alouette Pommier
- Where: Main Order Room, Orbit Base
- Date: U.C. 0096 07 09
- Summary: During a slow shift in the Main Order Room, Guy and Alouette discuss the struggles confronting the two 3Gs.
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
There's always staff in the Order Room. Sometimes it gets down a ways, as primary Operators take breaks or go off shift, but someone's always on hand to ring the alarms, should something happen.
For the moment, that shift is mainly Guy and Alouette, with Yamaji the Intelligence operator experimenting with laying flat across the chairs a few rows back to help with his back issues.
Guy wanders down from the Chief's position toward Alouette's seat, keeping an eye on the forward screen with its constantly updating reports from various key facilities on Earth and in the Sides. He ends up leaning on the console. "Seems like things are pretty quiet, for now," he says, conversationally.
But his eyes rake with clear intent across the readouts for the Sides and beyond. Seeking some sign of his lost friends, however quietly.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
As far as Alouette is concerned, it is just another regular day at work, in front of a screen. No field missions to Tsutsujidai for now, when there is this much work to be done. She doesn't mind too much, though, as this has always been her field of expertise.
The Order Room is mostly silent, most of the other operators must be busy with something or another. Although unusually... Chief Guy Shishioh is present. Alouette never had many opportunities to speak with the chief on personal terms - she is more familiar with the younger members like Mamoru and Ikumi - but she has always admired the mighty King of Braves for his courage, and he *is* her boss after all.
Alouette responds to Guy while keeping up with the rapidly changing screens in front of her, "Yes... I haven't made as much progress on scouting as I'd like today." She allows herself a moment to turn away from the screen to make eye contact with Guy out of respect, and to briefly analyze his demeanor. "Are you okay, Chief? You don't look well today.."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Guy does usually handle shift from his office or elsewhere. Despite one of his several Gutsy Galaxy Guard titles being Only Member, he's got a lot on his plate - the woes of being a hero who got into administration, perhaps. And, indeed, the last time Guy and Alouette had much occasion to interact was the crisis - now ten years ago - during GaoFighGar's development, before her amnesiac period. Still, the King of Braves does do his best to be personable, a heroic grin on his face.
"Just a few things on my mind, I guess," he says to her prompt. Small wonder, with both Lamia and J making attempts on his life within a matter of days. "The old 3G...the Ruin Apostles, are making moves again. We should expect an attack pretty soon, I think." His lips curl into a faint grimace. "Much as I'd prefer to just find them and purify them out there somewhere. But I guess at this point we would have to assume that's a trap."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"I cannot blame you... a lot has been happening," Alouette answers, almost expressionless, but undoubtedly with a hint of exhaustion in her voice. She's been working tirelessly to find their lost comrades, analyzing mountains of data for a glimmer of hope at a rescue.
"I think you're right - and maybe that's our chance," she responds at Guy's suggestion of an attack. "Even if it is a trap, that just means we need to play even smarter, no?"
She glances back at the chief and tries to offer him some courage of her own. "I do not plan on giving up on purifying them either. I am a scientist, so unless I know the odds are 0%.. I would still like to try to bring them back. We just need to find the right opportunity."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Guy chuckles. "You're right, of course. Taiga's the sharpest man I know, but...even with all the time they've taken, they won't have that much built up. Their resource limit is the big thing we have to bank on."
Still, he favors Alouette with a smile at her courage. "Of course. We won't give up until they're all home. We know they won't make it easy, but that's the kind of problem 3G specializes in."
His eyes scan across the screen one more time. Then grunts and rolls his shoulders, stepping back from the desk a ways. "Anything new from the Tsutsujidai situation? I have a few new leads I'm following up on from a little girl Kaworu put me in touch with." That'll be Nidaime.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette is glad that she could cheer Guy up, even if they both still have their worries. "Indeed.. I'll do everything I can too."
The Tsutsujidai situation... Alouette thinks back to her.. difficult conservation with Akane Shinjo. She still has the notebook on her. She hasn't actually told anyone about it yet, she was waiting for a moment when 3G did not have its hands so full with Triple Zero, and she could schedule a proper meeting. But with the chief here and asking, now must be as good of a time as any.
"Actually... I do have something to report in regards to Tsutsujidai." She opens up a notebook she had on her person and flips to a chart detailing all the recent kaiju attacks, a "psychic rupture" in the city, a figure named Alexis Kerib, as well as the recent attempt on Kaworu's life quickly scribbled in. All of these were then connected to a bubble called the "Unknown Hand", written in lilac. "I met with that girl from Tsutsujidai the other day, Akane Shinjo. We also worked together during Renais' situation. She gave me this chart." Alouette grimaced in a way she usually does not; clearly, Akane's intentions are still bothering her. "What do you make of this, Chief?"
"I would like to hear about these leads too.. I'll note it in my investigation and maybe get in touch with Kaworu when he resumes work."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Met with Akane, huh. "Ah, right, you did end up with her in Porc-auto that day, didn't you?" He shifts his stance to look over the charts. "We've had motion on...a lot of things. Kaworu had me speak with a young girl named Anosilus the Second - the First is a kaiju, it's a wild family - and she's cleared up...a lot of what's going on." His eyes get serious looking over the structure of the chart.
Psychic rupture. "Tsutsujidai itself. A world connected to ours through unusual dimensional principles. But it's not simply 'an alternate universe' as we might expect from multiverse theory." Guy's a smarty too, after all. He taps the page for emphasis. "It's a world containing a history that's too perfect for a chance connection. Too specifically what a person from this age might want. I and a few of the others had theorized it was created...instantiated, maybe, based on someone's desires. The nature of the place means we haven't really explored just how far it goes in any axis, but I recall when the Wadatsumi got pulled in, you all weren't able to rise too high."
Nouvelle Tokyo, Junius Seven, exits. Granada... "Right, there was a Tsutsujidai Kaiju sighting there...and I guess since this was created, there also was a sighting in Fujinomiya City and Tokyo-3. Both of those incidents involved a kaiju modified from the original bases. I'm starting to think both incidents were assassination attempts on specific people, or at least to be threatening to them. I can't quite prove it yet, just a hunch Rei Ayanami from NERV had that sounds right."
Alexis. "The mastermind. The Devil of Tsutsujidai who showed a hand of mercy and villainy in the same breath. NERV has some new info on him, they've been running their own investigation."
He scratches his cheek, and looks up at Alouette. "We worked with Miss Shinjou pretty extensively on the rescue of Renais. And Sayla was pretty suspicious the whole time. It's...pretty likely she's deeply involved."
Or, if Nidaime is right, the center of the whole thing.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"We did. She was quite closed off so I was surprised too when we met and she gave me this information..." Of course, it's seemingly likely that Akane gave Alouette this information to create more distance between the two - to cast each other as enemies. Alouette notes the intel she received from Guy. "That's good to know, thank you."
Too perfect... the Chief is absolutely correct on that point. Alouette finds the town very soothing, almost dreamlike - when it wasn't a battleground that is. It's the type of place she wishes she was allowed to grow up in. "Someone's desires... I think that checks out." If Akane really is the "Unknown Hand", does everything in Tsutsujidai really lead back to her.. even Rikka?
"Miss Ayanami might be right.. these attacks were certainly calculated in some fashion. Perhaps we could learn more about these attacks by finding someone who has connections to each target," Alouette suggests.
"Alexis Kerib.. he claimed to save Renais but I can tell his motives are more sinister than he claims.. and that his involvement is greater than the chart implies."
Alouette taps the "unknown hand" symbol on the chart. "Miss Shinjo seemed to imply she was the mastermind. She never told me outright but... the colour scheme is not subtle. Even if she is involved... some things led me to believe she was not telling the full truth." Alouette glances back at the part of the chart hastily detailing the attack on Kaworu. "When I told her about Kaworu, it seemed to catch her off guard. It wasn't originally part of the chart, see? Which makes me believe the attacks that were potentially assassination attempts have nothing to do with her."
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
Guy feels much the same - the kind of place where you might just forget what you cling to, if it would let you simply rest.
As for the calculated nature of the attacks: "Koji said similar, that the Kaiju that attacked Fujinomiya seemed to be fixated on his brother Shiro. Ayanami thought the target was herself, owing to her contribution to saving a group of children in Tsutsujidai from a similar kaiju. She suspects Alexis intends to murder one of the people she saved." He hems a bit. "I'm not as sure on that last part. But...if nothing else, this, and Nidaime's testimony, does match on a tendency for Tsutsujidai Kaiju to target individual people."
Guy follows Alouette's finger to the 'Unknown Hand,' and nods, grimly. "Nidaime said the same. That that whole world and everything in it was created by her hand. My suspicion is a bit more familiar."
He draws a line with his finger between Alexis and the 'Unknown Hand.' "If Akane were using a power received from Alexis, somehow...that would match with several known mechanisms for the creation of Kaiju. The Jama Empire and the Zonders both had a similar structure. Though, of course, now we're fully in the realm of guessing." He chuckles, giving Alouette a little grin. "But then, that's where we solve most of our problems, huh?" He laughs louder, at that.
Calming down, he looks to the Kaworu end of things. "I agree," he says. "NERV Prime has her as a suspect, but I'm not convinced. Method's all wrong. If Akane wanted to kill Kaworu, she'd send a kaiju to do it in the first place, not afterward."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette thinks for a moment about Guy's explanation in regards to the calculated attacks. "A city designed to be perfect, but its kaiju attacked its own people, that's too peculiar. But if the world was molded to fit one person's desires - perhaps these people no longer fit in with the creator's desires." (Alouette unknowingly hit the nail on the head with this brief theory.)
Guy's theory that Akane is using Alexis' power to create kaiju is an interesting one. It would also line up with Alexis showing up at the final hour of Renais' rescue mission with a show of brutality... could that have been a warning? "You're not wrong about that, Chief!" Alouette giggles at Guy's joke.
Finally, Guy agreeing with her theory about Akane not being the true mastermind reassures her and worries her all the same. What reason could Akane Shinjo have to implicate herself? Could Alexis Kerib be blackmailing her in some way, she wonders.
<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.
"Creation doesn't imply ongoing control," Guy muses. "But we know some is happening. Nobody can see the large kaiju on the horizon, and their memories of attacks don't seem to last." Hmmm. "...still, it's a solid possibility. Nidaime told me the same. That she's killing the residents from time to time."
A low sigh. "Her reasons don't matter so much for that. They're people enough for me. We can't abandon them."
He paces away, looking up at the main screen again, the earth spinning quietly onscreen.
"Nothing we do to end this will make her happy, from here," he murmurs. "She'd rather all of this just go away. She's been trying to usher people out since the first time anyone saw her, myself included. We might even be able to give her that, with the Gatling Driver and the right calculations. But...that's not that different from letting her die, and letting everyone in there die with her. However they were created, they deserve better than that. Whatever happens next, eventually this is going to turn into a fight."
He gives Alouette his best hero's smile. "Another person fighting being saved. Guess we'll be getting good at that, Alouette."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette had been taking this whole situation extremely analytically, so Guy's perspective was a fresh and appreciated one. "I agree. Rikka Takarada, the girl who piloted Synchrotank... she's from Tsutsujidai. I actually became friends with her too... she's a real person, with real emotions and thoughts. I would like to protect her and everyone else too."
Alouette sighs. "Akane Shinjo is a teenage girl who has probably had a difficult life. When we had our talk, she really reminded me of myself. I wonder if you and 3G hadn't saved-" Alouette cuts that thought off there. She is here now, and *that* is what matters.
Alouette smiles back at the Hero standing next to her. "That's what we do best," she responds while staring at Akane's notebook in front of her.