2023-06-14: Such Cheerful Poison
- Log: 2023-06-14: Such Cheerful Poison
- Cast: Himeyuri Oono, Shiho Hahnenfuss
- Where: Nazca-class 'Socrates', Side 2 Space
- OOC - IC Date: 14 June 0097
- Summary: Months after ZAFT's 'cessation of hostilities' with Earth, Himeyuri calls Shiho to the Socrates to catch up and see how she's doing. As the conversation goes on, Himeyuri sees Shiho grasping for a path forward- and happily provides her one.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
The Socrates had seen significantly less combat action since the 'end of hostilities' with Earth. It had undergone something of a refit into a research ship. A testbed for new technologies, military and otherwise.
The ship's young captain has been busy, pulling double duty as researcher and officer- but focused more on the research lately, leaving day to day things to Mrs Zelinn.
But all that time in her lab meant she was not making time for her favourite people. People who deserved better.
>Shiho-chan, care to join me for cocoa again? I just got a new care package from my parents, and I'd love to catch up if you have time! You know, not as captain and pilot. TTYS!
And so, here in that same rec room she had snuck into to work in the late hourthat knight, this time Himeyuri has set up in a in a corner of the room, where they won't be bothered. Not that people tend to listen on in the captain anyway.
She's got her trusty notebook and her datapad, her pencils laid out so she can work while she waits.
The design right now sure seems to be come sort of claw, but she stops mid stroke and flips to another page, rapidly jotting down formulas. She seems to write like a woman possessed, briefly oblivious to the world around her.
Shiho may have to politely cough.
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
Shiho... has had no idea how to feel lately. The gradual accession of the PLANTs back into the Federation (currently half-and-half), the end of ZAFT's hostilities with the Federation... it's a lot to think about. She doesn't actually know what to do with herself, now -- she's got a lot of feelings unresolved by what ended up happening.
Fortunately, the Captain has invited her to catch up, and maybe that'll get her a little more comfortable. The Captain may be a strange person, but she does seem so self-assured...
Shiho enters the rec room, looking at the corner where Himeyuri's set herself up. She pauses for just a moment, giving her a second to notice. When she doesn't, Shiho glances to one side, then the other -- then knocks twice at the wall, slightly stiffly.
"Captain?" she calls. "It's Hahnenfuss, ma'am." She takes a moment to peek over the captain's shoulder at her work, too... not a lot to discern yet, but interesting.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
When Himeyuri is awakened from her focus, she gives a slightly started noise that sounds like nothing so much as a 'peep', before giving a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Shiho-chan!" She's either really bad or really good at ZAFT's 'horizontal' structure. "Please, take a seat! I'm sorry, I was lost in my thoughts." She closes the notebook. The formulae are nagging at her, on the edge of thought but... she was a woman first and a scientist second, and taking time for her friends was more important than research, right?
While waiting for Shiho to take her offer, Himeyuri pours the thermos' contents into a pair of waiting mugs. "I'm sorry, it's been a while since we've had a chance to talk. You'd think things wouldn't be so busy in..." She pauses, mulling over the right word. "...I suppose it's peacetime, for now at least." The idea doesn't seem to sit right with her.
Still, she seems to move forward, not stopping to linger. "How have you been? Any fun new projects?" She looks at Shiho eagerly, earnest interest lighting up her eyes. "What about at home, have there been any changes?"
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
"It's all right, ma'am," Shiho answers her, just a little over-stiff. She fishes in her bag as she lets Himeyuri pour them both mugs of cocoa, and -- yep, still has that little novelty chunk of Japanium. When Himeyuri struggles with the idea of 'peacetime,' Shiho agrees, "... I suppose it is, ma'am," before settling in.
Clink.
Taking a long drink from her mug as Himeyuri asks how things have been going, she admits, "Not much has changed. This is the first time since I was 13 that I've had any time to self-direct..." She shifts a little uneasily, continuing, "A lot of things are on hold right now. With the PLANTs no longer moving as a political union, I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be doing with myself."
Looking off to one side, she reflects, "I could... try going back to the Photon Power Labs. Being an intern again." It doesn't sound like it sits totally right with her.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
That little piece of metal seems to represent so much. Himeyuri takes a tactful sip as Shiho describes not much changing. "That's... I'm sorry, Shiho-chan." PLANT really were earthlings deep down. "You shouldn't have to be languishing like this."
There's a real sadness there, at the thought of Shiho's best years being wasted. The PLANTS may be more like earthlings than Himeyuri would like... but there were still people who deserved more. Better. "It's such a strange place to be right now, isn't it? No more unity, no more drive. I don't think you're the only one who feels a little... lost, I suppose." The formulas continue to nag at her brain, but she tries to push them aside again with a sip of cocoa.
"...If that's what you really want, I'd be happy you write you a new recommendation." The 'but' can be heard coming very early in the sentence. "But it seems a shame for you to have to go back to being an intern after all you've achieved here." She takes her mug with both hands, and looks down at it. "And the PPL are still part of the federation, aren't they? I'd be worried that you'd have to go through all that... senseless cruelty again, the next time the Federation decides those who come from space are an inconvenience."
There's a real sadness in Himeyuri's voice, when she looks up at Shiho. "I just think... you deserve a place where you know that they won't give up on you."
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
Shiho lets Himeyuri speak; she's a little adrift -- why shouldn't she give the Captain her deference for the moment? It's certainly easier to listen than to speak -- in the maelstrom of the world as it exists right now. It sounds like the Captain has her own problems, too...
... the fact that she has options open isn't bad, either. The idea of going back to the Photon Power Labs holds some appeal. She's missed Sayaka and Koji, and having fought them hasn't felt great for her conscience, either. But... does she want that? To go to Earth again? To place herself at the mercy of a Federation that certainly seems to be changing, but in a way that affords organizations like Nergal and Anaheim more power rather than less? To return to the meat-grinder of the modern era?
Shiho frowns. "I agree with you, Captain. I don't know that 'gave up on me' is the right word, but... I don't want to go back to the way things were." Or maybe it's that she feels like she can't.
... Her eyebrow rises just slightly. "I've heard a little talk within ZAFT about what to do next. Strictly speaking, we aren't 'the military of the PLANTs'..." She lets that sit rather than press it, though. The Captain will know what she wants to say.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
Himeyuri gives a soft smile to Shiho. "I understand." She doesn't, but it's kinder to pretend. "It's unfair of me to say they didn't do everything they could." Still, that smile does get a bit happier when Shiho says she doesn't want to go back. "...I'm glad. I'd have been sad to see you go."
"There's certainly plenty of talk going around," She says, a little quietly. "But there's only so long people can talk before action happens." She takes another sip of her cocoa. "And personally, I think I'd rather be on the side of action."
One of Himeyuri's hands absently reaches down for a pencil, turning it bnetween her fingers. She's got to be on the verge of a breakthrough, soon. A breakthrough that could change things.
"...The less cohesive PLANT are, the more the Federation can send their 'negotiatiors' to weaken. But..." She shakes her head, trying to dismiss a stray thought.
"...Back home, we've been seeking freedom for a long time. The Federation may seem to change... but denying us our freedom isn't something that it will ever stop doing. I don't want to wait for them to catch us with our guard down again. I don't think you want that either."
Himeyuri sets her mug down on the table. "...Shiho-chan, do you really think that the Federation will set down Masaka's spear, after seeing that weapon Le Creuset-san unleashed?"
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
Shiho scoots forward in her seat, as Himeyuri acknowledges the talk about where things go from here. It's an unfamiliar side of the Captain, a little bit -- something a little more than just dutiful. Shiho hasn't decided how she feels about it yet; she keeps listening.
It's at the mention of 'back home' that Shiho starts to notice the oddness of all of this. She knows there are more people under ZAFT's banner than just Coordinators, and even among Coordinators, not all of them started out as residents of the PLANTs. But 'seeking freedom for a long time' isn't quite how most of those narratives go. It could be Zeon, but even that feels...
"I don't believe that," Shiho agrees, shaking her head, focusing on the part she can drill in on. "Right now, the Federation doesn't even seem like it wants to govern. Key governing responsibilities keep getting moved from group to group between public and private organizations... I don't understand what they plan to do. Councillor Durandal's efforts might not be enough, either..."
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
Himeyuri nods. "The Federation abdicate their responsibility, but not their control. How long until they use that control to sell away the rights of the PLANTs to one of these companies? Councillor Durandal will do all he can, I'm sure but..." She shakes her head, taking a sip. "...if we try to appease the Federation, how long until the people of the PLANTs are forced to becomes indentured servants or made to leave their homes because they don't suit the Earth's interests? How much longer until the food production caps decrease again?"
There's something there. A fire, burning bright blue. "The Earth will always seek to crush the will of Space for their own interests." Her eyes lock with Shiho's, and they are aflame with certainty.
"It's all throughout history. Those born of space do something Earth doesn't want, and Earth tries to destroy them or drive them away. Nothing will change until we take away Earth's power over us. We need to be free to grow our food, to live our lives, to exist. We deserve our place to be determined by us, not by Earthlings who hate us for our hopes, dreams and beliefs."
Himeyuri's voice has gottend louder throughout, and she catches herself. She coughs, and settles herself. This isn't the Cathedral. "If things keep going, they will have the spear and we will have our throats and hearts bare. If ZAFT doesn't do anything, we'll always be at Earth's mercy- and they will never show it, Shiho-chan. We deserve better. You and I deserve better."
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
It's not the first time Shiho's had cause to think about the way the Earth Federation uses the PLANTs for its own ends while refusing to actually be their custodians; she takes a sip of her own cocoa again, and nods to Himeyuri, looking into those intense blue eyes. There's something in those -- something she'd like to believe in.
"What are you proposing?" Shiho asks, tone becoming more serious -- but not particularly hesitant. "We could become the Sleeves, or something like them -- but we don't really have the backing for that. We've already lost a lot of the administrative, energy, and industrial support we'd need to make those kinds of moves. I'm not saying you're wrong, but..."
She trails off, here, letting Himeyuri again take point. The maelstrom of the era has her -- and Hime's the only one who's offered a hand up and out of it thus far. "We do deserve better," she affirms.
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
Hime knows this interest. Shiho wants there to be something. Something to latch onto. A reason, or a weapon.
"Not the Sleeves." She says, shaking her head. "There's no justice or freedom in what they do." She takes a sip of the cocoa, letting the thoughts percolate.
"Shiho-chan... There's something that ZAFT had me keep secret from you. A secret ZAFT has hidden from all it's people." She places her cup down. Whatever breakthrough she was about to have technology wise is lost for the moment. Nevermind. The wisdom of Kokubunji would come when it was needed. That was how it worked.
"I... understand why they did so. But with the PLANTS leaving us on our own... Abandoning freedom for the federation's yoke... I don't know I can keep it on my own any more."
She closes her sketchbook. "Can you keep a secret with me, Shiho-chan? I'd like for you to know. Maybe then you can see what I see."
Her eyes are alight with something. Faith, perhaps. Faith in something greater than the ideals she claims the PLANTs abandoned.
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
Nodding, Shiho affirms, "I agree with that. The Sleeves seem a little doomed, and that's generous." She'd already said as much, but they seem to be speaking much more frankly on this topic now. (She doesn't mind that. She's a direct sort of person.)
"It isn't all the PLANTs..." Shiho protests, but it's true that half of the PLANT cities have simply submitted to accession again. Sure, they'd gotten some small concessions here and there, for their trouble... but they'd been aiming to get more than that, hadn't they...?
A secret. Something important -- something that ZAFT's kept secret from its rank and file. This is the point of no return, she realizes -- once she knows this, it seems, she can't un-know it.
"Okay," she says, firm but calm. "Himeyuri," and the name is a little awkward to say, a little too personal, "tell me the truth."
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
"True," she admits, as though it doesn't harm her argument in the slightest. "But how long will the others be able to hold out? It's hard to see your fellows receiving things you aren't, after all."
Himeyuri smiles widely. It's an earnest thing, full of joy at being trusted, being able to trust. But all the same, there's a cheshire cat quality to it. For all it's joy, maybe there's something dangerous about this smile.
She leans across the table to whisper the secret in Shiho's ear. No one can risk overhearing this.
"I'm from Jupiter, Shiho. Callisto." She sounds almost giddy to share it, and ever so proud. "And the unmanned machines that the Earthlings so fear? Some of them are my creations. We're ZAFT's secret allies."
She leans back again, that smile still on her face. Her chestnut brown eyes lock on to Shiho, eager to see how she reacts. Oh how she wants the answer to be in the affirmative-
But under the table, covered by one hand, the IFS symbol glows dimly.
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
Shiho leans in to receive Himeyuri's whisper. Nothing prepares her, however, for what she hears. At first, her eyes just widen -- and she tries to navigate how she feels about it.
The Jovian Lizards have caused a lot of destruction, and they're... drones? She'd honestly bought the line that they were 'aliens' and 'an Earthnoid problem' and left it at that. To hear that they're part of ZAFT's overall force strategy -- secret allies...
"I always wondered why they didn't attack ZAFT, and avoided areas with conflict with the Sleeves," Shiho starts. She has to work through it. Certainly if ZAFT was already planning around this, then anything she's done up to this point is premised upon it... She glances up. For a moment, she wonders how ZAFT could have considered Riika a traitor in part for using kaiju, when they really weren't doing anything any better...
... but in the end, she nods. "... I don't mind helping Jupiter," she agrees, ultimately. "I don't think the war ended in a way that matters."
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
Hime's eyes don't leave Shiho as she works through it.
She so desperately wants her to come to the right and just conclusion. To understand. Shiho-chan is too clever and vibrant a girl to let languish in the PLANTs weakness.
But if she doesn't...
'I don't mind helping Jupiter.'
Hime beams and reaches the across the table to grab Shiho into a hug, her IFS returning to the dull symbol on the back of her hand. "I'm so glad you understand, Shiho-chan. The Earth hasn't changed, not in a hundred years. They've just found new targets."
After a moment, she returns to her seat, her face glowing with happiness. "I knew you would see how unjust things are!" She reaches for her cocoa again. "I'd like to have you formally moved to under my command full time- are you okay with that?" She seems to have so quickly fallen back to the bubbly, enthusiastic girl she so often is.
"Oh, now that you know, I can show you my private lab, too! It'd be so good to work with someone again! It gets kind of lonely in there when Michi's away, and you have such good ideas!"
<Pose Tracker> Shiho Hahnenfuss has posed.
The embrace cuts through the tension of the moment -- and with the question of 'what to do next' now emphatically settled, that break in the tension allows Shiho some happiness in a way she hasn't felt in a while. She reaches up and hugs Hime, laughing a little bit before returning to her seat.
Sipping at her cocoa, Shiho agrees, "I don't have any objections to that," with a firm nod. "You're an excellent commander, honestly -- and..." It's taken her a little while to reach this point, but she appends, "... a good friend, too."
Scooting in a little at the mention of a private lab, now it's Shiho's turn to get excited. "You mean you have a whole second set of projects I haven't seen? It sounds like I'll need to get up to speed," she says, and it's clear she doesn't mind that in the least. "If we're going to remain on a defensive posture for a bit, I'll probably have the time, too."
<Pose Tracker> Himeyuri Oono has posed.
That moment of lightness- that's something she wants to protect. There was still a normal girl there- a girl who could laugh and experience happiness as she should. Maybe there was hope for those who had been twisted by this war with Earth and the PLANTs cowardice.
If she could still preserve that, it would make what comes after victory so much easier.
Shiho's laugh gets a little giggle out of Hime too. "Thank you, Shiho-chan. I'm so happy to hear you say so! It'll be so good to have you around again!"
And Shiho's enthusiasm about the lab seems only to build Hime's own, a recursive loop. "Yup! And I can finally let you see inside the Otome, too!" She talks about it like she's talking about a slumber party. "I'm ready to start whenever you are! There's so, so much I want you to see, and to hear what you think."
She really does sound like a giddy teenager. After all, deep down, that's what she is. Having a friend she can share her life's work with is a blessing- and she never had another researcher close to her age back home.
It will be so much fun to have someone with her who *really* understands.