2022-09-03: Translation
- Log: 2022-09-03- Translation
- Cast: Jana Cektru, Akane Shinjo
- Where: Tokyo - Hotels
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-09-03
- Summary: A fact-finding mission turns into being just the very most annoying with someone else's food.
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
Tokyo is a lovely city! Jana Cektru is very fond of it, actually. The fact that there's like three of them doesn't bug her either; she can appreciate each in its own way... and the cleanliness of this Tokyo is particularly nice. The tightly packed metropolis offers many places and people to see and interact with, and Jana takes advantage of this often when she's not busy with her work!
The hotel she's in is fairly nice; STORAGE pays rather well. She's here visiting on some time off, getting to know Japan a little bit better. Just this instant she's flipping through a book--well, not literally a book. It's a tablet reader, and the book on it is digital. But it's the future, that's fine and normal.
She is dressed in her usual attire save for the fact that her boots are neatly by the door; she's on a chair, rather than the bed, seated at a small table. There is another chair across from her. It is evening!
And she is in fairly good spirits. She has a glass of... some blue liquid on the table, which she occasionally picks up and sips from.
If anyone's been watching her, she's done plenty of touristy things today... perhaps with an emphasis on libraries and museums, but not excluding other spots.
"Hm hm..."
A little time alone isn't so bad. Surely it will remain that way.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's been pressing Alexis for a little more information on the attacks her kaiju were implicated in that she, herself, had no knowledge of. Call it intellectual curiosity, maybe. Alexis has of course lavishly provided information on her potential opponents, now that she seems interested in antagonizing them on her own.
One minute, there is no one there. The next, Akane -- clad in her current usual, a purple corset dress with an off-white labcoat over it -- strides from an out-of-vision corner of Jana's room into her line of sight. "Oh, so that's how it works," Akane murmurs to herself, before meeting Jana with a broad smile. "Hi there~ You're the pilot of the Ichinana with the heavy armor, right?"
It'd be rude not to introduce herself -- so she does. "Akane Shinjo. I designed... most of the kaiju that attacked the labs. I thought we ought to get to know each other!" She raises both hands, making a 'snip snip' crab gesture with them.
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
Jana has uncovered a lot of surprising things on Earth so far, and in its surrounding space. This does not include 'people who teleport', as a rule. That is not, generally, technology that the Earh Sphere has masered. So when Akane suddenly shows up, Jana blinks once owlishly, looking up towards her from her seat where she's in her line of sight.
"You didn't use the door," she notes immediately, with some suspicion... but when Akane asks after her, and then introduces herself--
Ironically, outright identifying herself as Jana's enemy makes the woman more comfortable rather than less. She sets her tablet down on the table, face-down, and stands up for a proper greeting. "Hello, Miss Shinjo. Or should that be doctor...?" She tilts her head, noting the labcoat. The age thing doesn't particularly throw her off. "That's correct, I pilot the Ichinana with the heavy armor. I'm Dr. Cektru." Snip snop! Don't go for the tip top!
"So you're a kaiju designer, then? That's very interesting. Please, have a seat. Would you like some..." She pauses. She looks at her drink, and the pitcher. "Whatever this is?" she didn't ask.
"They tell me that a blueberry a day keeps the doctor away, but it would appear that it did not." That little joke aside, she seems to wait for Akane to make the first move here.
What she doesn't do is go for a weapon of any kind; if Akane had wanted to harm her, she certainly didn't have to warn her of her presence. To psychic senses, if Akane can note them, Jana has a very powerful presence--she is very much Here in the world. And she is very, very calm.
Her own smile is smaller, more businesslike. She is not yet convinced this is a pleasant occasion.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane considers the drink thoughtfully. "Hm," she says -- before eventually moving over and saying, "If you're offering!" She does not pour herself a cup.
Instead, she takes the whole pitcher, settling in on the bed in the hotel room. Despite her effort to look very adult, nothing makes her look more childish than what she does next: grabbing the pitcher by either side, with both hands, and taking a long drink. It goes just a little too long for comfort.
Akane herself scans... well, like a kaiju. She is powerfully present, too -- but not in a way that feels like a human. "So I guess what I have to say first," she says, calmly, "is that I'm not going to stop doing that. Actually, you guys can look forward to more kaiju attacks from me unless and until you leave me alone."
After a bit, she asks: "How's the Evoluder doing?" Not 'Guy,' not even 'Shishioh' -- just 'the Evoluder.' "If I killed him I don't think we'd be having this conversation anymore. I mean, he's not quite the same kind of thing as Gridman or Ultraman, but, you know. Pretty sure it still works that way."
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
Jana lifts an eyebrow at this display. She is indeed offering, but that is not exactly what she was expecting. She doesn't have to be an expert on Earth culture to know that's weird!! But she doesn't comment on it beyond that, because unlike Akane she is an Adult. She just picks up and sips her own drink.
The drink itself, incidentally, is a somewhat quirky combination of blue raspberry, lemonade, and lime soda. All at once.
But Jana studies Akane for a moment and she gatehrs that she is not... human. Jana is less obviously Different, though Akane may well be able to scent the trace of Other on her. It's possible.
"Noted," Dr. Cektru answers about Akane's first statement. "Yes, it would seem that you have dear reasons to do what you do. If you'd like to share any I'm listening."
A pause, after that. "I think he's all right. We don't talk much. Different departments, and all." A pause. "But that's true. Had you succeeded in killing such a man I would be much less inclined to chat with you. As it stands I'm hearing you out in part because I'm curious what you are."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane concludes that she likes the drink, even if it's a little weird. The carbonation is a touch overwhelming to her -- she's not Rikka, but she does tend to prefer something a little smoother. "I think this'd be better without the lime soda," she reflects, after a little bit.
That doesn't stop her from pounding even more of it while Dr. Cektru talks, though.
"Oh -- that one's easy," Akane answers, at the question of what she is. "I'm a god!" She says it pretty casually -- it's not megalomania talking, at least not overtly. She says it the way you'd hear someone say they were a brunette. "Anyway, it's not even a question of killing him making you less inclined or whatever. I just mean we wouldn't be talking because I'd have killed a Vessel of Light and I'd be able to put my city back where it belongs." Reasons for what she does: check.
Brow furrowing, she asks, "What do you do besides back up the Photon Power Labs? If I'm gonna have all these enemies, I want to know what their deal is."
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
"Hmmm." Jana is noncommittal on the soda, because it's ultimately fairly trivial for her. ...And getting into her tastes is revealing more than she'd like regardless.
A god! This gets a thoughtful look; for Jana, a god is just another kind of being, after all. Arguably Ultraman is something like many would consider in Earth terms to be a god or an angel. "Ahhh, I see. Yes, that does make more sense. So a 'Vessel of Light' is a being classed similarly to Ultraman?" she inquires.
"Oh, many things," Jana answers easily. "I'm a researcher with STORAGE. I primarily focus upon materials science at the moment, though it's not the only field I have interest in. I also help with a research ship sometimes. And of course, I explore when I have the chance. I find new places to be terribly interesting, and new people the same."
"Ultraman is a specific interest of mine. How Ultraman does what he does, and why--it's a fascinating subject all its own."
"My primary job isn't as pilot at all; I simply prefer to get my hands dirty doing a bit of research in the field."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yep! Or at least, Ultraman ticks all the boxes," Akane answers; this is easy data and she doesn't mind spooling it out. "Not human... cares about the pain of humans... moves to address it positively." She rattles it off like she's in math class, and in a practical sense, she is trying to reduce things to zero.
The mention of STORAGE gets a raised eyebrow. "Oh -- the anti-kaiju team, right? Yeah, okay." A wry smile crosses her face as she affirms, "Materials scientist or no, I guess that makes you and me enemies..." ... but there's something about what she says next that gets her attention.
At first, she tries to lean forward and assume gremlin posture. Yet again, her outfit gets in the way; there's a brief annoyed wince, before she tries that again but with some different muscle groups. Better.
"Ooh, interesting. Are you just curious, or do you have some goal in mind? Don't worry -- I'm not going to run and tell everyone if you're secretly planning to make an anti-Ultraman robot. I might actually be on your side for that, even." No pressure.
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
That's very interesting data... and makes Jana herself a potential target, by those specific rules. She decides not to mention this conclusion. There's no reason to get the kaiju to try to kill her today. She doesn't even have her gun handy...
"Kaiju research," Jana suggests. "We're actually less anti-kaiju than say, the NERV team directly; we're more inclined to try to allow those kaiju that can coexist to do so. Obviously those that can't we do have to fight. And I'm fond of Ultraman, so I can't allow you to kill them."
Gremlin posture... Hmmm. Jana is not particularly wowed by the incredible cleavage or the Fancy Labcoat; it's an outfit that seems to her to be somewhat childish in combination. However...
"Oh, I've already succeeded in emulating Ultraman to a degree," she shares easily, since this is something anyone who's seen her fight can conclude. "It is true I suppose that it would be wise to have a contingency plan if an Ultraman ever proves to be less than sympathetic to humans..."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I think unless your definition of kaiju is really broad -- like, so broad it's totally pointless! Elephants and chocobos broad! -- the idea of kaiju and humans coexisting is pretty laughable." For a second, this feels heavy, weighty -- too much so for Akane. She's out of her depth in so many ways.
She decides to solve it with humor, or something like it. "The Federation can't even handle humans and humans coexisting!" ... nope! That sucks worse, actually! Time for that to become a totally irrelevant topic entirely -- besides, they have better topics to discuss.
Interesting that Jana hooks on what she's saying and doesn't answer her own 'whys,' but Akane can respect not voicing something. "I wonder if you could use something like that to shut my city back up where it belongs. I don't really get how all that kind of stuff works." She kind of doubts it, but...
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
That's very heavy! That's very weighty. Dr. Cektru regards Akane as she tries to address the subject then change the subject then change the subject again. She decides not to comment on the abortive topics. Besides... If she weighs in with her opinions on humans and humans coexisting, that's a pretty big tell about what she isn't. So, instead:
"Hmmm," Jana considers. "I would have to visit your home and study it in some detail to know if it were possible. If I did find a way to let you seal off your home without harming our dimension, would that convince you not to harm others?" What Akane does with herself isn't really Jana's business. Though, "And would you allow those who didn't wish to be sealed with you to leave beforehand?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"... I mean, I'm not going to announce it to the whole world. But..." Akane thinks about Jana's question. It's a serious one -- and it deserves real thought. "I think," she eventually settles on, "in practice anyone who it matters to is already in the process of making their choice. They'd probably solve that part on their own."
The way that feels is stomach-churning, though -- or maybe that's just the fact that she's pouring blue raspberry lemonade down her gullet at speed. She sees no reason to stop pouring blue raspberry lemonade down her gullet at speed, though, and in fact now is a great time for even more blue raspberry lemonade.
"I get the feeling," she eventually settles, "that it probably doesn't work this way either way. But I don't mind if you take a peek at my city, as long as you're ready to get out. Don't fight me or we'll have a real problem, though~"
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
"I see." Dr. Cektru continues to regard Akane as she thinks abut the question and then continues to pour the blue concoction through her mouth. She does not stop doing that. She does it more! Jana is going to have to get some more blue raspberry lemonade.
"That may be good enough, then."
But then, "I imagine it doesn't, but it depends on why you need to kill one of these Vessels of Light in order to seal off your dimension. If it's something inherent to their nature, that's different from whether you simply need some important power source. Does your dimension function primarily based on electrochemical principles or on relational dynamics? That's the sort of thing I'd have to determine."
She considers. "Very well. I will add it to my research. I can say I don't plan to bring a mecha into your world, at least, though if you target STORAGE or other operations outside your world I cannot promise I won't oppose you."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"It's the second one," Akane answers, finally setting down the pitcher. It is now mostly empty. Brat.
Oh, wow. She actually feels bloated and terrible and the corset is keeping her guts from all the way settling and -- oogh. It's not like she's going to throw up, because that would be showing weakness.
(This is actually worse than throwing up, but she gives no outward signs of discomfort.)
"The first time someone described what was up there they called it a psychic rupture," she answers. "Dunno if that changes now that it's out here, but hey -- that's what you do, Ms. Researcher. That's not really my thing." ... Then why wear the labcoat?
Neither here nor there, one supposes. "And don't worry -- that's fine! Do whatever you want the rest of the time. I'm not, like... I hear this kinda thing usually levels out into a pretty friendly rivalry." She's all smiles, here, even as her guts tell her to please never do that again.
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
Big brat. On the other hand, Jana is pretty sure drinking that much of that soda all at once is uncomfortable for a human. But Akane is a kaiju, or a god. Maybe it's fine? Maybe it was just a move to impose on her generosity.
Jana moves on.
"Hmmmmm, I see. So the nature of the 'Vessel of Light' both has power and also has a particular relationship; you are looking to invert the inherent coexistence in order to achieve separation..." She considers this, and then: "True," she says. "I'll look into it! If I find anything helpful to you I will share."
Jana doesn't smile back. "I would prefer it if we were able to be on friendly terms. I am not sure how likely it will remain that way, but the possibility of averting this without further suffering is worth pursuing."
"I hope you enjoyed the soda. I combined a few different varieties to get that blend."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
The technobabble (psychobabble?) that Jana offers largely slides past Akane. It's not something she really orients on at this stage -- if she had a more concrete example of what Jana was talking about, that might be easier. As is, it's just something abstract that's less salient than... well, the mess that is her life.
"The flavor isn't bad," Akane answers, because that much is true. Drinking the better part of a gallon of it less so, but. "I think I'd go lighter on the carbonated soda part -- maybe more lemon, too?"
Standing up, she reflects, "I might have just drank the only pitcher of that that'll ever exist!" A smile crosses her face. "Neat." She starts heading toward the bathroom, saying, "This has been pretty informative... I don't know what to make of you yet, but we'll see, right? See you around... Miss Copycat~."
<Pose Tracker> Jana Cektru has posed.
Jana could stop to explain it in a way that Akane could understand... if Akane asked. And if she were inclined to help Akane. But frankly, Akane has established herself as an Enemy of humans, whom Jana came to this world to protect. She wants to achieve a peaceful resolution with her... but that's not the same as liking her.
"Hmmm. Noted," Dr. Cektru says of the flavor. "I'll experiment some more."
But Akane smiles. "Indeed you may. That's a special experience, isn't it? The beauty of passing things..."
A beat, "I do enjoy informing. Indeed, we shall see. See you around, Miss Shinjo."
She doesn't follow. Not yet, anyway; not until she ceases to feel the Presence.
"A 'monkey's paw', was it?" she murmurs thoughtfully. "Hmmm..."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
The beauty of passing things...
... that's a little too heavy for Akane right now. All the more reason to finish stepping out.
Akane steps into the bathroom. She does not come back out; she is immediately Gone.