2022-11-06: Old Habits
- Log: 2022-11-06 Old Habits
- Cast: Sayaka Yumi, Koji Kabuto, Sayla Mass
- Where: Abandoned Photon Power Lab
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-11-06
- Summary: Three old friends snag drinks together, and talk about the world around them as it reaches a fever pitch.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
The battle of JOSH-A, which is more apt to be referred to plainly as a tragedy, was a lot. The news is currently erupting over whose fault the annihilation of the base and the uncountable loss of lives is.
Director Sayaka Yumi, despite being one of the survivors of the battle, and a rather major authority figure, hasn't taken part in any of it. She simply announced one: she is alive and two: the Photon Power Labs will not be definitively blaming anyone at this point (Sayaka has a couple theories, but not substantial enough to put out into the press).
After that, she.. closed herself off for a while, not taking any visitors except Koji. Currently, the two are situated in the old abandoned Lab. They're waiting on a third visitor: an old friend who she's wanted to see for a while, and someone whose outsider perspective may be more than helpful.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
It's rare for Sayaka to be so shaken up, even after a bad battle.
Koji's solution is an old standby for when someone he's close to is going through a rough time: 'good food and company'. With Sayaka back, the first thing he did (after wrapping her in a really big hug) was pull the Old Lab's staff kitchen out of mothballs when they were spending time over there, in order to have something to eat while needing to talk.
With the meeting with Sayla coming up, he's set aside one of the old conference rooms rather than the hangar. It's a more comfortable vibe, that all three of them probably need right now.
He's sitting next to Sayaka, maybe a little closer than usual so she can lean in if she needs to.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
It took Sayla a little while to make it down- she's back to travelling a lot lately. But for something like this, she makes time. She walks into the lab- she still remembers pretty well- where Koji said to meet. She's carrying a convenience store bag with clinking glass bottles.
"I'm sorry I took so long." She says, putting the bag on the table. It is not, as one might imagine, alcohol. It's a number of sodas- ones that went out of production after the Britannian invasion. "I... couldn't remember which ones you liked, and it's getting harder to get this stuff in Tsutsujidai." As the world gets more real.
And then, she leans over to hug Sayaka with her good arm, and gently pat her on the back. She doesn't say anything, she just... holds her for a while. She breaks the hug after a little while, and sits down near the duo. "Are you up to talking?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Sayaka really appreciates what Koji set up for her, and it's definitely a lot better than handling the situation completely alone, like she might've forced if it was a few months ago. But here, she's a lot more comfortable than she would be with constant interviewers up in her face over at the much more public new Lab.
She takes Koji's offer to lean on his shoulder.. there's a lot of thoughts going through her head, but she's not unresponsive.
Sayla arrives next, and Sayaka is very grateful she found the time to visit. She hugs her just as tightly back.. the two of them both probably really needed this. After Sayla sits down, Sayaka grabs one of the vintage sodas Sayla picked up from Tsutsujidai and takes a sip. She hasn't had one of these in a long time; the one up-side of the dimensional nightmare Tsutsujidai sounds to be.
"Yeah. Let's talk," she replies. "First thing is, Shiho was there on the ZAFT side." She further clarifies for Sayla. "Absolutely brilliant girl. She worked with Koji and I for a while on an energy project.. until G-Hound took her away." A deep frown emerges on her face. "She didn't hesitate to retreat, but I hope she made it out in time, too.." Narrowly escaping a weapon of mass destruction is one thing, but not being able to do anything but cross your fingers for others is another.
"What else bothers me is all the propaganda. The news is blaming it all on ZAFT, but what they won't tell you is that ZAFT were the ones who warned us of the weapon in the first place. It was the base command that stubbornly insisted on waiting for a main force that never came." She crosses her arms. "What do you guys think?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
Koji smiles warmly at Sayla as she joins them, picking out a soda for himself as well. "Harder to find this stuff? Hmm. That's curious." Are Akane's rules being overwritten by reality?
Sayaka starts talking, though, and Koji pushes the questions about the strange PLANT to one side to dwell on later, listening carefully.
"Damn..." he sighs when Shiho is mentioned - he'd liked that kid. "I knew ZAFT had headhunted her for R&D, but pushing her out on the front line like that... I hope she got out okay." The sense that 'We didn't do enough right by her' is writ plain on his face.
"They warned you about the weapon?" He frowns. "So it wasn't their plan to use it? That's... concerning." It makes him uneasy, but not in a way he can put into words just yet.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla listens, initially. "Manhunters, huh? Poor girl." What an exercise in pointless cruelty. "...It may have been her decision to fight, rather than forced. Until the attack on the orbital ring, the Federation were the aggressors. Not to mention the comparitive lack of people. It may have been the situation that put her there, rather than ZAFT itself." She has to raise that possibility, it can't be discounted. She doesn't comment on the sense of failing her coming off both of them.
"...It depends on whether you're attributing this to stupidity or malice. There were plenty of commanders in the OYW or in the Titans who put the need to appear strong or achieve glory over people's lives, or were too dumb to know better." Sayla pulls out... one of her work phones, checking something. "...But I'm inclined to think malice. Koji, do you still have enough pull to get troop movements from Londo Bell at all?"
It's easier if he does, but if not, well... she can attribute her coming conclusion to Kai. He's a useful scapegoat for information she shouldn't have.
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"I think you're right," Sayaka responds at the possibility of Shiho taking up arms with ZAFT of her own volition. "She said she was fighting to put an end to the war." Honestly, more noble than those Federation officers who called Coordinators monsters.
"That being the case, I wasn't going to try and stop her." Sayaka continues, resolutely. "If I shot down her unit, I would've made sure she made it back to her ship safely before anything else." Whether Sayaka and Koji failed her, that doesn't matter anymore; the best Sayaka can do is treat the girl with her deserving dignity.
"Stupidity was my first thought," Sayaka replies. "And then, after the weapon was set off, my gut feeling became malice."
And to Koji's question, she nods. "ZAFT was winning the battle by a good margin. They didn't need a weapon like that at all. But after it came into play, their high command was in utter disarray. There would be no tactical advantage for ZAFT to use it."
"...Which leaves the Federation or a third party, who likely viewed the defenders as pawns.. or worse than pawns." Unwilling martyrs? She holds that thought for a bit, as she waits for Koji and Sayla to confirm more of the details about troop movement.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"Honestly, if she felt she had to step up..." Koji can't help but smile despite the grim subject matter. "At least she's standing up for her principles." The fact that technically he's on the other side from his former intern doesn't bother him - Koji's friends and family know well his distaste for the Federation's eagerness to prosecute their 'Bloody Valentine' conflict. "But when atrocity gets met with atrocity..." He shuts up. Sayla, of all people, doesn't need to have that explained to her.
He exhales and moves on. "... I'm already trying to get the RX-93 specs from LB Intelligence, what's another couple of requests above my official clearance?" He grins. "I'm sure Bright will be glad to have someone else looking at the data besides him."
His expression sours. "A lot of good people, just... gone." Torrington was bad enough. "What even... Sayaka, what do you make of that weapon?" If there is camera footage of it, he hasn't had a chance to review it.
He shakes his head. "Sayla, can we get you anything to eat?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla nods. She can't blame her for thinking that, but whether it's true. "...I don't know how many of the Foundation's contacts in the PLANTs are still willing to talk but, I can try and find out anything on her. I can't make any guarantees."
Sayaka walks the same mental path Sayla took. Her face does darken, and she grabs a cola out of the bag and removes the cap- with a little difficulty, to take a sip. "Yeah. But that's the way the Earth Sphere does it, lately. Zeon and the Titans set the playbook.
"...Yeah, he probably will." She can't keep postponing that trip to Londenion. "Oh, thank you, but no." She's pulled out of her thoughts, waiting to see what Sayaka thinks about the bomb.
She picks up her phone. "There's been news on the grapevine of Britannia reinforcing Panama for a ZAFT attack. Mostly from JOSH-A. It's not certain but... it certainly paints an unpleasant picture."
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
"I think I'll take up that offer," Sayaka agrees, even if the chances of making any contact with the PLANTs is slim at best. At the very least, she would like to know if Shiho is okay.
Koji asks about the weapon, and Sayaka has quite a bit to say about it. "You know how Britannia switched to their own energy sources after we refused to supply them with Photon Power?" She leads. "It was uncanny. My first thought was that it looked like millions of Photon Beams overlaying each other. Devouring everything in its path and returning it to light." If that really was anything like Photon Power, then whoever detonated that weapon certainly 'became a devil', so to speak.
And finally, she intently listens to Sayla's information.. it's from who knows what source but Sayaka chooses to trust in it. Sayla has her ways. "Lots of good people gone, and from what I'm gathering... it feels like there's a pattern." Sayaka looks as if she achieved a breakthrough, but it's been her hypothesis in her mind since the battle; the information is just more neatly organized now.
"They thought every single unit left in charge of defending the base would make a good martyr." Sayaka proposes. Londo Bell, a Britannian princess, all sacrifices that would stir people's hearts. "They wanted to send Mazinger Z, you know," Sayaka asides to Koji. But the PPL's director and Japanese prime minister's beloved daughter would do just as well in galvanizing the OCU into war.
Finally, Sayaka feels ready to ask Sayla a question she had on her mind for a while. "You don't have to answer this one, but I have to wonder where you get all these information sources..." Not to mention hidden battle escape plans. "Almost like you're part of some secret organization." That's a joke to lighten the mood - although it might hit a little too close to the truth.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"... Of course they'd try and do their own take on it." Koji sighs. "And much more dangerously, too, the emission instability required to get a Photon Beam to do that..." Mazinger Z's Koushiryoku Beam is nowadays carefully calibrated for precision damage, and this sounds... not at all like that.
"... Losing any of us would have been a massive blow to Japan's morale," he says, grimacing. "I'm glad you were able to get out in time, Sayaka."
"It's just like Britannia to escalate things like this, too. This gives a lot of blocs and militaries plenty of cause to push the war harder, and I bet happens to silence a bunch of dissenting voices to boot. I mean - we can't prove any of it, but the troop movements to defend against an attack that never happened, the reinforcements just happening to be a bunch of factions that can contend with Britannia... This doesn't bode well. I'll have to let Shiro know to keep a closer eye on the border."
Sayaka asks Sayla where she gets her intelligence from and - is it a gentle nudge at their friend? Koji glances at Sayaka, arching a brow but following her lead.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"No problem. I'll let you know if anything comes through." That's an easy promise to make. The description of the weapon, though... Sayla frowns. Koji and Sayaka don't have a clue... "That's.." She starts tapping on her cast. "...You survived. That's what's important here. You survived and now you can find out what happened and stop it happening again. And if anyone can work out how to counter that thing, it's you two."
Having said that, she pauses. "And a lot of Britannians who might have been lost in a stand up fight alive, right? There's one group who benefits from that." And they're sponsored by the majority party in Federation parliament.
Sayla laughs, but there's something false to it. "...I can see why you'd think that, huh. Let's just say I have some friends who want to solve the world's problems with their fists. Some kids I met in the '80s would really have gotten on with them." She sighs. "And if you run a charity looking out for war orphans, it helps to know where someone's going to cause there to be new ones."
She nods to Koji. "You're not wrong. Someone's making a play here..." There's a pause. "You should probably ask your father *who* requested Mazinger Z, Sayaka. Call me paranoid but... The OCU isn't without it's warmongers, is it?"
She shakes her head. "Anyway, may I turn things to something different?" An A4 envelope, with a specification in it. "I'd like to commission something from the Photon Power Labs. Preferably with oversight from you, Director Yumi.
Inside describes not an engine, or an MS, or portable generators for the Yumi Foundation but, seemingly... an item of clothing with the means to absorb heat AND provide cooling over a 24-32 hour period. It's full cover- except for one arm, which would require a separate garment. Fully submersible for a 3-4 hour period, and capable of having normal clothing worn over it. The proposed funding is... honestly kind of ridiculous, too.
"It's a personal request, but an important one. Do you think you can do it?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
It's almost insane that she managed to survive a battle like that, and she has Riika and Shiho's warnings to think. "...Yeah, I promised a lot of people I would make it out alive," she says, quietly. "And you're right, best we can do is tune out all the noise outside and get to work on understanding that weapon."
The group that benefits from it... Sayaka remembers the chilling chants of "for the preservation of our blue and pure world" over the radio just before the bomb went off. There's no question that people like that, Blue Cosmos, have their hand in it.
"Letting Shiro know sounds like a good idea," Sayaka agrees. "If worst comes to worst, he knows a thing or two about anti-Britannian tactics, doesn't he?" Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Similarly, Sayla suggests asking who made the contact for the Photon Power Labs and for Mazinger Z. "Yeah. A lot of people high-up would benefit if our resources went to war, even if a lot more people suffer."
And to her question about Sayla's resources, Sayaka gets more of an answer than she was expecting, and she makes a mental note of what she says; ultimately she wants to know so she can better help Sayla. But she doesn't push any further than that.
The final order of business is a commission for the Photon Power Labs, a rather overly specific heated garment.. she has a strong idea of who this is for. "It's for Renais, isn't it? ...Guy told us about her and Alouette's situations." Renais... it felt like not that long ago they were talking together at Sayla's birthday party.
She places the envelope in her coat pocket. "In that case, I would be happy to do everything in our power for her." And indeed, Sayaka will ensure this commission is carried out to perfection.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
When Sayla plays off Sayaka's gentle probe, Koji opens his mouth to interject - then pauses, and closes his mouth. Then he shrugs and says "You know you can count on us, Sayla. I understand the importance of opsec, but if you need to talk about it..." Letting go of secrets is sometimes harder than keeping them, he supposes. "We probably would get along with them great."
Something Nidaime said a long time ago nudges his brain, but... No. He lets it rest for now.
"... Yeah, Blue Cosmos are probably making a push." He grimaces. "Things are gonna get a lot worse, huh?"
Then he looks down at the documents Sayla's given them. Thermal absorption and transmission, compatible with normal clothes... one sleeve shorter than the other? "This is for Renais, isn't it?" He says it at the exact same moment as Sayaka, grinning as he glances at her.
He thinks. "... It's doable. The new Guard Suits we've been working on are huge refinements over the original ones, there's an internal layer armoured with a wire-mesh of Super Alloy Z. Using some of the same principles and inlaying small pipes to run coolant through should get us a solid foundation to build some prototypes. We'd need ballpark operating temperatures, though, so... Do you want this to be a surprise?"
He pulls a piece of paper and a pencil out from a drawer in the table and starts sketching something - it looks like a block with a fan built into it? "The heat's got to go somewhere, might as well make it a power pack for the coolant pump. Making it small enough to be unobtrusive is gonna be tricky, not to mention where it would even sit comfortably. I am certainly not an expert on that." He chuckles, a faint blush tinging his cheeks.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
She shouldn't guide Sayaka and Koji too much. And they seem to have their own plans and conclusions now- they might find something not obvious to her. That's enough for now.
"...Yeah. I want to find a permanent solution to her problem but... that's not happening unless she's willing to leave Tsutsujidai." She sighs, deeply. God how she wishes that was real for her. But she's hollow.
"Yeah. If you need anything I can provide, let me know. I know some designers, but I think simple is the go here." She sips the cola. "I mean, I think by now she should get to pick her own outfits." She lets out a slightly held breath. "Thank you, both of you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this." Hopefully, Renais will be able to enjoy it to.