2023-03-27: Come to Roost

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One of Celestial Being's newest members gets to know one of its oldest. 

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         The CBS-70 Ptolemaios is inarguably the most important ship to Celestial Being's operations, being where the Gundam Meisters are based and housing the organization's most direct access to Veda, the system that led the group and enacted Schenberg's will. And key to that access was one of the Ptolemy's Meisters himself, the enigmatic Tieria Erde.

         While most of the crew of the Ptolemy and the other Meisters had their own homes off the ship they returned to from time to time, Tieria seemed to completely live on the ship, and had never spoken about his life outside Celestial Being, if he had one.

         Indeed, most of Tieria's time outside of the battlefield seemed to be spent in the terminal used to access Veda, off-limits to anybody but him. He rarely left aside from eating, sleeping, and other typical biological functions, which he was attending to at this very moment, coming out of the terminal room and locking the door tight behind him.

         "Everybody else should be out of the mess hall by now. Good chance to grab some rations." 

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

An extra Gundam rests in the Ptolemy's hangar today, one of sparkling gold. A rare appearance of the Phenex, its only appearance since the recent battle over the machine.

Making herself as visible physically as she can, Rita floats through the halls of the ship. She's even keeping herself mostly to using halls and doors, though she doesn't want to pretend to walk. Floating is far more fun.

After checking in with Lockon (it's only polite to check in with your allies), and playing with the Haros in the hangar, Rita searches for any other Gundam Meisters in the ship. Invisibly, little birds soar through the hallways and rooms -- even into Veda's terminal, though she pays it little mind.

...there's one! Tieria. They've talked once before, but it'll be important to talk again.

Floating with purpose, Rita makes her way to the purple-haired man. Not everyone can see her, even when she's putting this much effort into manifesting. Oh well. As always, Rita is very fast, and manages to reach her target just as he's locking the door to the terminal room.

Floating before the Meister in her typical outfit of a simple white sundress, Rita Bernal is luminous in the darkness of space. Golden hair reaches down to her waist in cloud-like waves, and she wears no shoes. No need, when you can float.

"Hello, Tieria!" Rita greets him, with a sweet smile. "Do you mind if I join you?"

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria blinks at Rita. Ah yes, the ghost in the shell. It seems the Phenex had deigned to bless the Ptolemy with her presence. There was a part of him that found the phenomenon of Rita Bernal fascinating. His goal was to steward humanity towards a new state of being. Could they have already reached it? Though the fact that she was confined to a mobile suit hardly seemed efficient.

         He sighs and walks right through her. "There's no point in saying no to you, you'll just follow me anyway." 

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Walking through Rita feels like walking into a sunbeam. There's a very clear sensation of warmth as Tieria steps, literally, into Rita's personal space. Though he isn't a Newtype, Tieria will feel a burning moment of brilliant, overpowering connection, carrying with it a fragment of a memory--

---

A young boy is screaming, screaming, screaming...

"NO, PLEASE! PLEASE, TAKE ME INSTEAD! IT'S A LIE, IT WAS ALL A LIE! RITA!"

---

Rita darts out of Tieria's way, her eyes wide. The ever-present smile on her face flickers out of existence. "Please don't do that. If we make physical contact, I can't control how much you might see."

Even as Tieria continues, Rita keeps pace with him. Her smile returns, in time. "...you don't need to be so guarded around me, Tieria. We have the same goal, and we're allies, right? We're the same. Wouldn't it be better if we understood each other?" 

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria stops for a second and squints his eyes shut as the memory plays in his head. The contents of the memory were of no concern to him. What did matter was the nature by which it had happened. Was she, perhaps, a gestalt amalgamation of quantum brainwaves given shape as their deceased owner? A Newtype...an Innovator?

         "Apologies. You are correct about us having similar goals. And you are correct in my desire to understand you. But my interior self has no bearing to the mission on your end."
Sheryl Nome has connected.
Sheryl Nome teleports out. 

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

"It's alright." Rita says, softly, her eyes serious. What must Tieria be thinking, having overheard Jona's voice? It doesn't seem like he's going to ask about it.

Rita works up a brilliant smile. Best to just put this behind them. "Why don't we start with... Tell me what you like to eat, Tieria! When I was alive, I liked juice."

She doesn't specify what kind of juice, just 'juice'. It's an odd choice.

"And why do you hide away so much? I'm sure your friend would like to spend more time with you!"

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria's eye imperceptibly twitches. This was not what he meant at all. He sighs and continues walking, sure that Rita would follow behind him.

         "...I do not have a favorite food. I simply eat what I can get. I don't have time for such things."

         Tieria was sure that the faster they got through the frivolous stuff, the quicker he could get to the questions that really mattered about the phenomenon.

         "And I spend my time in the terminal because it is vital for our mission." 

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

"Aww, not even a little bit of a favorite?"

Rita knows Tieria's annoyed. Maybe it's just a liiittle fun to see the serious pilot suffer through small talk.

"You know, with your hair that color, I bet people would guess you like grapes!" Rita floats backwards, while moving the same direction as Tieria. She chats casually, bringing a hand to her face to hide a mischievous smile. "I always wanted to try a lemon because it'd match my hair, but I didn't get to."

As they approach the mess hall, Rita psychically opens the doors before him, not even turning around to check her aim. "Isn't it boring being in there all the time, Tieria? All that computer stuff... It's not even warm or alive the way the Phenex is. Are you friends with it?"

Green eyes glimmer with curiosity. This isn't just teasing. 

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria lets out another sigh. "I fail to see how my follicular chroma would correlate with my taste in fruit." She was testing him, he could tell. If he showed even the slighest weakness, the phenomenon would never let him hear the end of it.

         And the next question was familiar to him, too. Most of the crew had asked him this at one point or another, but still understood how important Veda was to the mission. This phenomenon, though...is a lot more carefree. "Whether I am bored or whether I consider Veda a friend is irrelevant to the mission. Veda guides the mission of Celestial Being, and it guides my existence."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita laughs, her voice breathy and charming. Tieria doesn't want to play along. That's alright.

"It's okay to loosen up sometimes, Tieria." Rita offers, gently. "If you don't take time to value the people around you, you'll have to carry so many regrets. Don't forget, okay?"

Rita perches in midair, placing her chin atop folded fingers. "I know you have questions for me. Since you don't want to talk about light things, why don't you go ahead?"

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria sits down, forgoing getting food for now, and glances up to Rita with his head in his hand.

         "I do admit I have a professional curiosity in...the nature of your existence. A mental remnant imprinted on a mobile suit...A principle that could change human existence as we know it."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita settles in next to Tieria, 'sitting' atop the table. Her legs swing, softly glowing in the light of the cafeteria.

"Oh? Do you want to become like me?" A soft tilt of her head, letting golden hair cascade over one shoulder. "Or perhaps make others like me? Maybe you should be talking to my friend Michele."

With a brush of one pale hand through the air, Rita brings forth a small version of the Phenex. It hangs in her hand, limp, like a child's doll. Just like Rita herself, it's intangible to everyone but her.

"Do you know the history of Axis Shock, Tieria? Or the EXAM program? Did you look over any of the records I sent you from the Institute of Continuing Study?" Those green eyes look into Tieria's soul.

Rita holds her little Gundam doll in her lap.

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria closes his eyes. "Maybe not exactly like you, but...I have a duty to help humanity reach its next form, whatever that may be."

         Does Tieria know about the Axis Shock, it would be more out of place if he didn't. He was slightly less familiar with the EXAM System, but was at least aware of the Blue Destiny series. And he had glanced through the Institute records. All three of these had one thing in common.

        "Newtypes. I figured it had something to do with that, but I've never seen something quite like you."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Tieria earns a warm smile. "That's something we can talk about. You see... All of humanity will someday be like me. We'll regain the soul's true form, and understand each other perfectly. All we have to do is protect them until they can reach it."

It's spoken with such certainty, with something like faith.

"I'm very unique. There's never been anyone like me." Rita says, softly. "Psychoframe has the ability to enhance a Newtype's capabilities. The Phenex is made with it throughout her entire body. I was already very, very powerful when I was alive."

"You see." Rita begins, holding up the Phenex doll. "Psychoframe can contain a spirit. I had a vision when I was seven of what had to happen. I knew what I had to do."

Tieria earns an appraising look. Green eyes shimmer with inner light, their irises shifting, echoing the resonance of another plane of existence.

"Would you like to see how I became what I am now?" 

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria swallows down the saliva in his mouth. He had a feeling this would be prying in too deep, but his purpose as an Innovator overrode that. He needs to know.

         "Show me." 

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

"Alright." Rita says, calmly. A hand reaches out for Tieria's, and the Newtype Spirit knits their fingers together. That sense of connection comes rushing back. Green eyes slip closed.

And Tieria has a vision.

Rita Bernal walks through a locker room, dressed in a drab uniform. She undresses slowly, each movement laced with pain. As she disrobes, more scars become visible. Neat, surgical lines cover Rita's body, layered over her spine, blanketing her chest. Some are still red and swollen -- she hasn't fully healed from whatever the last procedure that was done to her.

A normal suit is zipped up. Rita's hair is short, pulled back into a cropped ponytail, and her posture snaps to attention once she's fully prepared. Weariness pulls her down. It's so hard to move. It's so hard to keep going, but she's almost there. It's almost time.

"Whatever it takes," Rita whispers, in a wrecked voice.

She keeps walking, flanked by soldiers, as though there was anything she could do to defy them at this point. As though she hadn't been obedient and subservient to every command these long years. Ahead of her rises a machine of gold and blue. At the sight of it, the first sight with her physical eyes, Rita's heart leaps in something almost like hope.

An officer is briefing Rita and a few other pilots on the mission. Rita looks up at the golden machine, her lips tugging up briefly, before falling again, as though she can't quite manage a smile. "Hello," she whispers again, barely able to manage the words, "I've been waiting for you for so long."

"Rita Bernal. Launching."

The Phenex takes off. Within the cockpit, Rita's senses spread and stretch out through space. Power gathers, so much that even the memory of it is disrupted, sending waves of psychic energy through Tieria. Immense pressure, the force of unbroken determination concentrated for more than a decade. The memory of Rita laughs in elation, voice raspy and broken. Her eyes light up.

"Finally, finally, finally!"

Golden panels slide apart, revealing an azure glow that pierces space. The Phenex's crest spreads, snapping open in a V. Within the cockpit, Rita brings both hands over her heart and bows her head. A screen bearing three letters deploys, hanging in the pilot's gaze. NT-D.

Emerald eyes open. Prismatic light engulfs the young woman's body. It burns. Rita feels the loss of her physical form, the last desperate gasp of her nerves as they're consumed by her fiery transformation. But her smile doesn't fade, falling into the exact expression that has seen on Rita's spiritual face so many times.

The Miracle ends. Rita Bernal is gone, but the Phenex lives. She begins to move, spreading the 'wings' at her back, and turns red eyes on the ship who had caged her.

Green eyes open. She releases Tieria's hand. It felt so real -- as he isn't a Newtype, Rita had to force the connection. Perhaps he felt the same sensations as the memory-version of the woman before him did. The bone-deep weariness. The violating pain of endless surgical intervention.

The fire, consuming him, body and soul.

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         Tieria keeps his eyes closed for a while, letting out an audible exhalation of breath through his nose. It was difficult for even the stoic Innovade to sit through that. But he understands.

         "I see. Your spirit survived because the fire within burned brighter than the fire around you." It was unusually poetic for him, but even Tieria could fancy a flair for the dramatic.

         "You obviously went through a lot. I'm sorry. The goal of Celestial Being is to eradicate that sort of thing. Your nature may be the next step of humanity, but Veda willing, there won't have to be any more cases like yours."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita watches Tieria's reaction softly, waiting for him to be prepared to speak again. She plays with the Phenex doll, making it dance with her mental powers. It spins and twirls. Perhaps this is how Rita manages with the true Phenex, too?

"Hmm? Yes, I suppose so." Rita replies, as Tieria recovers. Her eyes turn down to her doll, and she scoops it into her arms, hugging it tightly. "Yes. This is what's happening to many Newtypes, then and now. It has to be stopped." Green eyes are piercing. "It's why I've allied with you, Tieria. To preserve humanity. To save people like me."

Two people in particular.

"Something very bad is coming. Celestial Being will want to be there." Rita says, softly. "In six days, at Palau. They're going to need your help."

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

         "...Palau? Veda mentioned that there was strange activity there..." Her senses were good...he almost thought he should throw her in the terminal with Veda. But it did seem that was where their next intervention was going to take place.

         "I'll tell Sumeragi to put together a battle plan. Is there anything else you can tell me about what's going to happen?"

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

If Rita was introduced to Veda in a way she could manage... Who knows what would happen? Two future telling entities united...

It'd probably be fun!

"Char Aznable has returned. He intends to drop the asteroid Palau resides on to the Earth. Many other groups are mobilizing to stop this, but Char is a very powerful man. Especially corrupted by the orange light."

A pause, as Rita's eyes turn faraway. "You can expect the Sleeves, the Shuffle Alliance, and the Three Ships Alliance, at minimum. But they will have primary goals ahead of stopping the asteroid. Saving their families."

"Someone needs to be there who focuses solely on protecting the Earth." Green eyes land on Tieria, placing the responsibility upon his shoulders.

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

"...Oho. The Red Comet. No wonder you mentioned the Axis Shock. Taking down Char Aznable would be a massive boon to public perception of Celestial Being. It's not a secret that many people think of us as mere terrorists, but something like this could broaden their minds."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita smiles, then laughs as Tieria immediately thinks of Celestial Being's reputation instead of the lives to be lost. "You really are devoted, aren't you? Be careful."

"I'll be there. If you fight by my side, I'll protect you as much as I can." Rita promises, that gentle smile ever-present. "For now, I need to return to my Nest and prepare. Thank you for talking with me, Tieria."

Rita 'stands', dropping her doll. It vanishes into a puff of sacred flame the moment it leaves her hand.

"If you need me, or want to talk, you can call. I'll hear you." She promises. "I'll see you again soon."

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

"....Wait, I'm still hungry."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

With a blink, Rita tilts her head at him. "Did you change your mind? You want to eat together?"

<Pose Tracker> Tieria Erde has posed.

"No, I was talking to myself. I got so wrapped up in the conversation, I forgot why I was even here. You can go rest. You won't be any good to us if you're not at your full ability."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

<poem> Rita leans forward and touches Tieria's nose. It's a brief enough thing that he only feels the rush of warmth, no memories being transferred. "That's not very nice, Tieria! Next time, I'm going to make sure you treat me to something really good. Like ice cream!"

Sticking out her tongue, the Newtype Spirit vanishes before Tieria's very eyes. In the hangar, the Phenex activates. Carefully, she walks to the launch bay, opens the doors herself, and rockets out into the stars.

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