2023-01-22: Even in this wretched weak and restrained state, I welcome you
- Log: Even in this wretched weak and restrained state, I welcome you
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Mitsuba Greyvalley
- Where: California Justice Facility, Britannia
- Date: 2023-01-22
- Summary: After days of stonewalling, Mitsuba finally manages to convince their prisoner, Yuliana, to speak to them long enough to tell them about the medications she needs -- because Yuliana's withdrawing painfully without them. Unfortunately, that means Mitsuba gets Yuliana talking, and when Yuliana starts talking...
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Since Yuliana was retrieved and imprisoned, she has had only two things to say, by and large.
"My name is Yuliana Kafim," because identifying herself to a hostile military on capture is dug too deep into her bones, "Federation ID REA-WEI3SOIC-238D." It immediately identifies her as shang wei, the third wei class equivalent to captaincy, a special operative, and personnel of an improved class.
And, following this: "I want to speak with my lawyer."
(Her lawyer, of course, also has ties to Elisa; if she can get a message to him, she might be able to reach her wife, even though she was so deep in her trance when Yuliana left.)
She's repeated these two lines, again and again -- the only deviation was when they came to take and inspect her blood. She became quite agitated and non-compliant, then, necessitating the use of suppression gas to place her in her bindings so the phlebotomist could do her job safely.
Yuliana's blood is Natural -- unremarkable B- stock -- but even considering the delay between her arrival and the draw, there's really a remarkable amount of drugs evidenced in her bloodstream.
Even though they know that's impacting her, Yuliana hasn't deviated from her two lines of dialogue -- her identification, and her request.
Today, as ever, Yuliana lies in that pitiful excuse for a bed, clutching her hands to her arms. She's started shivering, even though it's warm, in here. She's sweating, too, and she can't entirely blame the light blankets she's buried herself beneath as much as they'll permit. Sickness has claimed her several times, already; when her wardens offer her aid, she asks, again, to speak with her lawyer. Her patience is thin, as she says it.
Eating is out of the question when she feels this miserable, of course. She's barely touched breakfast, or yesterday's dinner. Nothing to do with the distasteful cuisine.
Trembling out of her chassis, Yuliana glares at her pillow, and does not speak.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba had been quite incensed when G-Hound had taken Yuliana in and immediately begun talking about the possibility of handing her back to the REA; it gives her all the more reason to check in on her though, as she wants to make certain this problem won't immediately fall down an REA Problemlessness Pit.
When she arrives at the cell, though, she looks at her... and frowns. She'd been that upset, but... it's hard to see a person suffering and not have some kind of emotional reaction. She knocks at the cell door, then keys in.
"Captain Kafim," she says, getting herself calmed down a bit. She'd been worked up -- but she feels like she shouldn't approach Yuliana with that energy. "You look quite ill. I know the REA has a habit of testing things on its soldiers and then picking up the pieces later; do you need medication?"
From her experiences with Yuliana, Mitsuba expects that what she'll get for this is yelled at. But it's important to ask.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana hears the knock, and steadfastly ignores it. If they have demands, they can speak them. And so --
"Ma'am," the warden warns Mitsuba, as she keys into the cell. "The captive's procedures... all right, all right, but we can't guarantee your safety." He does not get paid enough to argue with people who want to climb into a barrel of fish with a gun pointed into it.
Yuliana's gaze darts to the door when Mitsuba opens it; unfortunately, the metal clasp around her ankle means it would be difficult to take advantage of the slip, even if that sniper nest weren't up there. She's been trying to assess the characteristics of the metal under the covers, but it feels... rather too strong to break, even for someone like her.
The energy around Yuliana, as always, is strange. The silence which clothes her remains. With rapid, shallow breaths, she glares up at Mitsuba, sallow-faced and shaking.
Once more, she insists, tone wound tight: "I want... to speak with my lawyer." With some effort, in the speaking.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
"It's fine," Mitsuba says, waving off protests before heading in.
Mitsuba lets Yuliana glare up at her. It's a fair initial response, really. She probably hasn't gotten great treatment in a G-Hound prison! They are not places known for depth of care.
"I will start making phone calls about your lawyer, but right now you're not in a position where you'll even convey very useful information to your lawyer," Mitsuba says, drawing a little closer.
Settling in with the door closed again, she... definitely feels some of the urgency about Yuliana fade. She's still upset, but there's different texture to it. "You're either struggling without regular experimental treatment or desperately in need of medication. I will contact your lawyer either way, but... I do want you to do something besides rot in this cell." That it's pay for her crimes... well, that can be kicked down the road. "I'll ask again. What do you need to feel well again?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Is it fine? Is it really fine??? The sniper pointing a gun at Yuliana, at least, doesn't betray much emotion about it. But then, he's a G-Hound sniper, so that doesn't really say much.
Yuliana watches, with a predatory chill, as Mitsuba closes the door and draws closer. (Come into my web, said the spider, to the fly.) Her lip curls, and one too many teeth grit, beneath it. Clamping her jaw shut like that can't entirely hide the rapid rise and fall of her chest, flared through her nostrils.
Unfortunately for Mitsuba, Yuliana is one of the REA's special operatives -- which means she's gone through rather specific resistance training in the event she's ever captured by the enemy.
Her eyes might be plagued, but her statement remains: "I want to speak with my lawyer."
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba turns away from Yuliana for just a moment -- to scowl in annoyance. She doesn't really want to have to manipulate her -- it would be so much easier if she were cooperative. This is typical of the REA, but still...
Turning back to Yuliana again, Mitsuba looks down at her hands. "Will your partner be happy if you ask for a lawyer until you die from lack of medical care?" she asks, and while it's a cynical way to get her to open up, it's... not ungenuine, the way she looks at Yuliana with legitimate, almost motherly concern despite her being the younger woman.
"I don't need you to answer anything else if you'd rather not," Mitsuba notes, "but you're getting sicker. You're also starving yourself..."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
There's one thing, really, which is more important than all Yuliana's lessons as a soldier --
Her wife.
Her green eyes widen, when Mitsuba changes track; one hand slides over the other, by her sweat-soaked pillow. Her fingers tighten, around herself; her eyes scrunch shut.
"Elya," she murmurs, isolated in herself, and she does not mean for Mitsuba to hear that painful word.
Not without effort, she draws a breath, and pushes herself up, from where she was lying on that stiff bed. (No mattress. The surface is padded, instead. Supposedly.) "No," she croaks out, as she sits. "I... just can't stomach it." She's not starving herself on purpose.
One hand lifts, to grasp her opposite arm; she looks away. "I... I'll tell you." The list of her medications includes sedatives, stimulants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, analgesia, and beta blockers -- frequently at high doses, some at regular intervals during the day, some as-needed.
It's the sort of complex regimen one might expect to see keeping a particularly unfortunate Cyber-Newtype alive.
"I'm..." Yuliana hesitates, and looks away, shame clouding the pain of her eyes. "... I rely on them," she says, a shade nicer than invoking dependency. "I've been taking them for some time... the... sudden lack of benzodiazepines could well kill me, as I understand." It's more than she's said to anyone since she's gotten here, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
"My technical chief is more of an expert on medication than I am," to say nothing of any actual medical staff on the Dreisstrager. "But I think that's correct." She takes note of the whole regimen -- it is rather a lot -- but she's always had very good retention on specifics. It's one of the things that helped her get through Military Academy 30 so well.
... it is a lot though. "I'll have a blister pack arranged by the time I leave," she says, calmly. "If you're missing anything at that point, let me know. I'll make sure you get the most urgent ones and instructions on how to get back to your appropriate doses."
She looks Yuliana in the eye, asking, "Why are you doing all this? That's a part of this I don't understand. It doesn't seem like a conventional REA operation, but you don't seem like the type to choose the pursuit of science crime on purpose." It's a hard topic pivot by design -- if Yuliana is willing to seem more vulnerable, now is a great time to ask questions.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"... all right," Yuliana mumbles, as she drags her gaze back to Mitsuba.
And -- ah. There it is.
Yuliana's familiar with the pattern, of course; offering things to a prisoner establishes a point of safety and communication which can subsequently be pressured. Standard interrogation procedure.
They do these things because they work.
Her suspicion, at least, gives her the rapid-breathing room to look back away, get herself a moment to collect herself. (It would also be a clear marker of guilt, but she's not concerned with that. No -- with her body protesting this much, she couldn't be concerned about it, even if it were in question.) "'All this'? I'm afraid you'll need to be far more specific than that."
Given she was brought in on charges of assisting Celestial Being, on top of her actions at JOSH-A and Macross Frontier, on top of anything the REA might be keeping secret...
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
"I certainly can be," Mitsuba says, and there's just a bit of edge in her voice; she's not one to hide her negative emotions when she's feeling them, and she is definitely feeling a few of them about Yuliana lately.
She pulls out -- her comms device, first, though. Tap-tap-tapping at it, she sends along a medication request for Yuliana. Before sending it, she shows her, making sure that what she's requesting is correct and complete.
... then she's back to it. "Let's start with your actions at JOSH-A," she says, fixing her with her gaze. "A lot of your other movements can be explained with standard REA operations, and I don't actually want to press those. Assuming you were at all sincere, those also represent working toward peace and freedom in our world. The rest of it doesn't match that, though."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana's eyes narrow, just so, and if anything -- it's a relief. She knew that's how Mitsuba must be feeling. That concern... was much more unnerving and strangely-placed.
She leans forward -- with a brief glance up to the sniper nest -- to examine the screen of the device. "That's correct," she confirms. (It's interesting, she thinks, in aside, that Mitsuba could remember everything so exactly.)
Her hands fold across her chest, as much to stymie her shivering as to defend her from Mitsuba's questions. "Do you want to know?" She issues her, a touch ragged, as she meets Mitsuba's fixed gaze with her own glare. "No... surely you need to know..?" Come into my web, said the spider to the fly, its whole universe kept to the walls of its terrarium.
Yuliana's chin lifts, as her lip curls, over her teeth. Her voice is low; her eyes intent. "Come closer..."
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba... is terribly credulous, when it comes down to it. She's not totally incautious, but she's got a real earnest streak to her -- which means when Yuliana asks her if she wants or needs to know, she answers, "Both."
The approach Mitsuba takes to reaching Yuliana is a cautious one -- each step deliberate, each footfall carefully and precisely placed. She knows there's a sniper here, too -- but she'd prefer, all told, if this didn't end with Yuliana's head exploding onto her? That's the sort of ending that doesn't entail actually solving any mysteries.
Yuliana presents many mysteries.
She does approach, though. "All right. I'm closer," she says, simple and direct. "What is it you want to tell me...?" Something teases at her, but...
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana, frankly, would prefer to avoid her head splattering about the room just the same. It's for this reason that she doesn't lunge for Mitsuba, even when she gets within grabbing distance. No: her arms remain tightly folded.
But here, close to her, there is nothing.
Nothing after nothing comes out.
Newtypes, it has been observed, occasionally display 'auras' -- visible manifestations, on some level, of the power they bring to bear. What, then, is the opposite of an aura, that horrific hollow space where expression could have gone?
Whatever it is, Mitsuba's in the thick of it, invisible and grasping.
"Listen," she bids her.
"Can't you hear it?"
Yuliana doesn't blink, as her voice lowers with her eyelids. "... the place where you belong."
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba steps in -- and so close to Yuliana... there is that nothing. And it... is --
To call it familiar would be obvious. Mitsuba and Yuliana have been quite close before. But... when she underlines it as the place where she belongs, that touches off...
... Mitsuba has never really had a 'place where she belongs.' As a military brat of the modern era, she's been shuffled from colony to colony to continent to continent. 'Home' has never had much salience for her.
... but there is something to being in this invisible, grasping feeling.
"What... is this?" she asks, startled by the feeling. ... she doesn't move back away from Yuliana, though. "Is this -- how are you doing this?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Mitsuba is startled, and Yuliana smiles -- a little pained, a little laboured, but still warm enough. "Doing?" She asks, emphasises the word. "I do nothing. I am."
Regret enters her tone, as her head tilts, just so. "And I am yet incomplete," she says, and it pains her. "Part of me made perfect, the rest left behind. I did not see you, until the world split, and I could see. I was so angry... I knew not." She couldn't stand the way Mitsuba took shelter, beside her.
She didn't know why.
"It is not too late for you, though indeed you have caused Her great insult." Yuliana's accent is on a walking tour of the Earth at the best of times; but when she speaks of these things, she falls into a particular grand manner. "I tell you, we do not belong, you and I. Our reality is not like this world, Mitsuba."
Her gaze is steady and unblinking, though her body shivers. On her lips, an invitation: "And you, too, are native to that land... more you, perhaps, than I."
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Something about this invitation sets Mitsuba deeply on edge -- in large part because as many questions as it raises... it does answer others. She pulls back from Yuliana, even though there is some part of her that would rather experience the world within and around her for just a little longer.
"... Speak for yourself," she forces out, though she's a little shaky. "I will continue to pursue peace and freedom in our world." She says the words like they're a mantra, as she starts to head away from Yuliana again -- with clear intent to leave. "My duty is as Captain of the Dreisstrager -- and you remain a threat to that."
If Yuliana doesn't give her anything extremely salient, she plans to leave near-immediately; staying in here feels uniquely dangerous. The fact that it feels so homey calls her to a different home.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"And yet I, too, fight for peace and for freedom," Yuliana says, and does not stop Mitsuba from leaving. (Laying a hand on her would be suicide. She doesn't have to be able to sense danger to guess there's a finger on the trigger.) "I will see absolute equality in this world..."
There's something serene, to her smile, as she echoes the words. "The world will expand. The truth will come. And it will be beautiful." Elisa's words, from her lips, and at least to Yuliana they are a comfort.
"Thank you for your kindness... sister."
She cannot pursue Mitsuba.
She will not leave Mitsuba.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuba Greyvalley has posed.
Mitsuba rounds on Yuliana for just a moment, as she's called 'sister,' as if to ask a thousand questions --
-- and decides to ask none instead. She can't trust Yuliana's answers, she reminds herself -- there's too much at stake, and Yuliana has such cause to manipulate her in this moment.
'Sister.'
It does haunt her as she leaves.