2023-03-19: Photon Perk-Up
- Cast: Koji Kabuto, Lina Lombardi
- Where: Fujinomiya City
- Date: U.C. 0097 03 19
- Summary: Where do I go? What do I do? That's up to you.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
The Mazin Museum! Built in an adjacent lot to the New Photon Power Laboratory in Fujinomiya City, this massive structure features slightly-scaled-down replicas of the various giant robots deployed by the Photon Power and Science Fortress Labs to fight Doctor Hell and the Mycenaeans during the 0080s, as well as displays that recount the majority of battles those titans of Super Alloy Z fought (chiefly against Kikaiju or Warrior Beasts; the stories of their fights alongside the AEUG or Saotome Labs, or in the Primeval War alongside 3G, are for those organizations' historians to tell).
Each display features comprehensive documentation of the belligerents' capabilities at the time of the combat, the stakes of the battle, and holographic snapshots of critical moments in each fight. Unlike most such museums 'built by the winners', every display takes great pains to depict the struggles of the defenders and emphasis the dangers posed by the kikaiju or warrior beast. The focus on Truth over Propaganda is evident - particularly when certain exhibits, rather than depicting a battle, point a guest towards the special exhibit at the back of the room: A Japanese-style shrine to all the innocent lives lost during the fighting. Each victim has a special recording from one of the pilots or staff of the Labs, describing what the person was like in life, and the pilot's regret over their death.
Nevertheless: Time and again, Mazinger Z, Aphrodite A (or Diana A), Boss Borot, Great Mazinger and Venus A rise from what should be defeat and tear victory boldly from Doctor Hell or the Mycenae's megalomaniacal grasp.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina had spent the last week after the disastrous Phoenix Hunt first in a NERV medical facility where one Miss Sonia had fretted over her for a couple days, then discharged back to the Lombardi estate that she was calling home once again. Her mind was buzzing after her declaration to Ally that she intended to leave G-Hound. How was she going to tell the Colonel? Would he let her leave? What would she do after? Much as she wished it wasn't true, she was a soldier just like her Papa. She needed to fight.
The previous day, she had made a day trip to Moralia to pick up some of her last belongings, and had decided to take the opportunity to stop by Japan to clear her head a bit for some recreation. But maybe the Mazin Museum wasn't the best place to take her mind off of combat and loss. She found herself drawn to the shrine in the back, staring at the faces of those long gone. Her mind went to the images of innocent PLANT citizens in cages and camps, and back to the war stories her father had told her when she was a child.
Felix Lombardi had ever so conveniently left out these less savory details.
Would she have idolized her father so if she knew the bitter truth about what it meant to wage war? Would she have followed in his footsteps anyway? Questions asked to phantoms at this point.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
The memorial exhibit is usually the quietest part of the museum - its most regular draws are the families of people who were lost during the fighting.
Footsteps announce the approach of a second person in the secluded chamber, as none other than Koji Kabuto steps up to the memorial, pulling a long-nozzle lighter out from under the shrine and beginning the process of replacing and relighting the candles set upon it that have gone out.
There are so many.
Once he's done with that, he steps back and bows his head, silently.
After a long silence, the stillness is broken by his soft exhalation, and he steps back, offers Lina a small, wry smile, and steps out of the shrine, to wait.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
...Of course Dr. Kabuto would be here. It's right next to his whole place, after all. Still, Lina couldn't help but be just a bit star struck. Guess she probably would have become a soldier after all with all this hero worship. Amuro Ray, Koji Kabuto...with her luck, she'd probably run into Ryoma Nagare this afternoon.
She silently watches Koji go through relighting the candles. You'd think the museum would have staff to maintain the shrine. Probably feels a personal responsibility as the Mazinger pilot. She gives him a gentle nod as he leaves and takes a few more seconds to look at the newly-replenshied flames.
...Would it be disrespectful to do the signs of the cross at a Japanese shrine?
Better not risk it.
She follows Koji's lead and bows her head towards the flames, stepping out to see the doctor waiting for her.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
It's more than just responsibility. The Photon Power Lab itself lost staff and fellow fighters during the battle; people Koji counted as family.
"We don't normally see new visitors drawn to that part of the museum," Koji admits as Lina steps out. He's quiet - solemn, still, after the shrine. "I don't think I need to introduce myself, but:" He offers a hand. "Doctor Koji Kabuto, Head of Experimental Development at the Photon Power Research Institute. You seem like you've got a lot on your mind right now, huh?"
He motions with his head. "Feel like walking and talking? The caf's usually comfortable enough."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"Ens..." Ensign Lina Lombardi, G-Hound Juno Squadron, right? She hadn't technically left the unit yet, so that was still her, but...was it? "...Lina Lombardi. I, well...I've been thinking a lot about...that kinda stuff."
She blinks at Koji's invitation. "Heh, do you really have the spare time to spend on a random visitor like me? I ain't complaining, though."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"I've always got time to try and help someone," Koji answers with a smile. "Especially if I was gonna pick something up at the caf anyway."
He notes her interrupted rank as they walk. "So you haven't been flying long, then? Not that I'm an expert, I never went on any of the official tracks. The war's been pretty rough on all of us - and... now that I think about it, didn't I see you in Tsutsujidai during the information blackout? Coming out of that into all the news about the war was... A lot."
It was a lot more than an information blackout, but that is among the simpler ways to describe what went on in the PLANT during that time.
"Anyway - opportunity's pushed our paths across each other again, it would be rude of me to not reach out if I can help."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina lets out a sigh. Guess she had let too much slip. "Yeah, I'm an ensign with G-Hound. I've only been with them for a few months, but I've technically been flying for a few years now. Was PMC for a bit before being brought on." She shoves her hands in her jacket pockets to shield them from the last winds of winter.
Her eyes widen a bit as Koji mentions the PLANT. Dammit, and I just identified myself as G-Hound! "Yeah, I was at Tsutsujidai. I didn't...I didn't have anything to do with all that. Don't get the wrong idea. I actually...might not be at G-Hound for much longer because of it."
Another sigh. It felt like she had been carrying a lot of those in her lungs for a while now. "Heh, it feels like the good Lord has been pushing my path into a lot of big shots lately, between both you and Amuro Ray."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
Koji shakes his head. "Don't worry, I'm not one to hold troops who weren't involved to account for the decisions of their commanding officers. Besides, you helped save Amuro, right? That counts for a lot." He grins, making an order for some coffee at the cafe. "How do you take yours?"
Once they're seated at a booth, Koji speaks again. "So what's eating you... I mean, specifically? Sounds like stuff's piled up, if you're thinking about resigning your commission."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"Oh yeah, I did! Well, uh, just a little bit, Dr. Mass and Domon Kasshu did like moooost of the work, but I held my own, ehehehe~" If one had caught Lina at a bar for the last month and a half, they would have heard her telling a very different story about how she single-handedly took down the White Devil in a daring duel for the fate of Tsutsujidai. But Koji was not only there, he was in a position enough to call her on that, so best to be realistic. "Ah, cappuccino, per favore."
As she sits down, she blows on her drink and takes a sip, eyes cast down at her cup. "There's the whole thing with the PLANT, and...recently, on an independent assignment, I got double-crossed by a person I thought I could trust." She lets out another heavy sigh.
"Dr. Kabuto...why is it so hard to do the right thing in a world that seems hell-bent on doing wrong?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
Koji puts his coffee down, thinking over Lina's question.
"Maybe it's because so many in the world are so hell-bent on doing wrong that doing the right thing seems so hard," he answers, after some thought. "You start thinking 'maybe I'm the one who's wrong for being against all this stuff that everyone else just seems to accept and perpetuate', because nobody else seems willing to step up and do what you think is right."
He stirs the black brew, not looking at her yet. "I wonder if maybe it's because they don't believe in anything - they just act in the name of the acquisition of wealth or power for its own sake, playing god with the lives of people below them just because they can. Then again: Hell did believe in something - vengeance, at any cost. Sometimes there's something so important to someone that they'll do anything, cross any line, if it means achieving that one singular goal. The phrase 'the ends justify the means' springs to mind."
He allows himself a wry, sardonic grin. "I think that's bullshit, personally. If achieving your ideals involves betraying them, then what even is the point of having them? You're just pretending you're fighting for a better world as an excuse to keep kicking people while they're down. For me, the principles themselves are the means and the end - a world that doesn't have to fear monsters, or its children being snapped up by so-called scientists and turned into weapons, just like the Mycenaeans did to their own people."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina takes another sip as she listens to Koji. Crossing any line to achieve your goals...if that didn't describe Colonel Treize Tiranno and Miss Michele Traditrice to a T and a T. She couldn't help but wonder if...if that was true of Squadron Leader Felix Lombardi, as well. No...no, it can't be. He was a good man, she knew it.
She had to know it.
She didn't know what she would do if she didn't.
"...Well said, as expected of Dr. Koji Kabuto. I became a soldier because of my father, he was with the AEU forces. I looked up to him. More than anybody. I wanted to fight for a world where no one would have to lose an innocent life ever again, even if...I had to give up mine."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"I dunno if that's feasible. Plenty of innocents will throw themselves into the meatgrinder time and time again to protect what they care about." That sardonic smile again - that's a description that applies to him as much as it applies to Amuro Ray, or Kamille Bidan, or any number of teenagers in the history of the Universal Sphere. "Do they then stop being innocent, for doing what they had to to survive, to save lives? If you take a life protecting what matters, does that mean you deserve to die too? Seems like if that's the case then eventually there's nobody left alive at all."
"Lombardi, AEU Forces." He frowns. "I'm not familiar, but... he's really important to you, huh? Left you a legacy you're wondering if you're even qualified to fulfill?"
He sighs. "I know the feeling."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"Yeah, I guess that's why they call them ideals. But...G-Hound putting civilians in the crosshairs like that...I can't abide it. It's an insult to us soldiers. We train and put our lives out there so theirs can be safe. Civilians aren't prepared for that loss."
The smiling face of the late Isabella Lombardi flashed in her mind.
"But we are..."
And now she sees the MIA Felix.
"And hopefully our loved ones can understand why we..."
...left them.
But she still didn't.
She didn't know if she ever would.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"It's not the first time that's happened," Koji says, frankly. "The Titans back in the day tried to commandeer the Photon Power Lab and turn our work towards war when all we were concerned about fighting was Doctor Hell. G-Hound seems proud to be their successors - so it won't be the last time they do something like that. The question is..."
Now he fixes Lina with a look. "What do people like us do when our own government, through its forces who are supposed to protect us, tramples on the innocent and the defenseless? Speaking for myself... I'm not about to roll over and let them. Never have been."
Lina's loss is different from his, he can tell... but still. There is a sense of kinship.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina meets Koji's look with one of her own. Her eyes are watering, but still show her sharp resolve. "I don't want to stop fighting. It's...all I can do. It's all I know to do." She clenches her fist against the table, her nails beginning to dig into her palm.
"I just...don't know where to go after this. I don't want to go back to my company with my tail between my legs. My boss wouldn't have me back anyway. He told me I was too good for the place when I left." That last sentence is mixed with a bitter chuckle.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
Koji grunts, and nods. "Good. I don't want to turn this into a recruitment speech, so I'll just say... When you've figured out how you want to face the world? If you still believe in doing right by the innocent, in making the future a better place for everyone... Come back and look up myself or Director Yumi." He smiles. "We've got our own shit we're dealing with, and if you want to help us we'll clue you in, but... You should get a grasp of the other players, I think, instead of just jumping on the first ones to give you a pitch."
He finishes his coffee, and fishes out a wad of gilla bills to cover the drinks, and more besides. "My treat, plus a generous tip." He stands up, pulling on his jacket.
"Oh. And if you do find out what happened to your dad? Check in. I'm an expert in dealing with having family bullshit dumped in your lap." He grins.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina very nearly spits out her coffee when she realizes what Koji is offering her! "W-Wait, you mean...the PPL?! Me?!" Her mind's eye pictures herself in the cockpit of a green Ichinana. It's...it feels weird, but somehow also...kinda cool?
"Y-Yeah, I will. Thank you, Dr. Kabuto. You've given me a lot to chew on. And hey, if you ever find yourself in Italy, stop by the Lombardi Grove in Tuscany. I'll treat you back."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
<poem> Flashing a thumbs-up, Koji grins. "We're not an officially recognised force, or anything, we're handling things our own way; we're just trying to make sure it's the right way."
He claps her on the shoulder. "I have an experiment I need to get back to. See you around, hopefully, miss Lombardi!"
With that, he leaves the cafe, leaving Lina with, as she says, much to chew on.
Thankfully, her cappucino is not among those things.