2023-07-05: What's The 'Final Straw'?
- Log: What's The 'Final Straw'?
- Cast: Ruri Hoshino, Alexis Kerib, , Minato Haruka
- Where: Orb Union - Park
- Date: 2023-07-05
- Summary: When Ruri has some time alone in a park -- the first time she's been unobserved in months -- Alexis appears from out of nowhere to wish her a happy birthday and offer her help with her uncomfortable feelings, now she's awakened to her powers. But Ruri has a problem with his actions on the Garuda, and she tries to get her complaints through to him. When Minato comes back, she doesn't try to reason with Alexis at all, though -- she knows exactly how to deal with him, and she helps Ruri express her worries over the conversation, too. ... it seems Ruri might need some security for her birthday to go off without a hitch.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
The Nadesico has berthed at the Orb Union, today, to resupply; while the Federation's ports can be fraught for them sometimes, these days, they always have a home to come home to here. And, of course, where there is home...
... there are shareholders.
Ruri Hoshino is dressed up smartly, today, to go and meet with some Orb executives to explain what happened during the battle with the General Revil; Minato Haruka, of course, is right beside her as she does. (Yurika might have wanted to come, but, well -- she's not here, because she has Captain's duties to see to, too.) The meeting is... a little tense; Ruri has to explain that she didn't really know she could do that, that she isn't entirely sure what that even is, and that she's not planning on using whatever it was to hurt the company.
And it's all for show, but she doesn't know that.
Once they get out of the meeting, though, Ruri's frowning lightly. Minato puts a hand on her shoulder, squeezing at the dark suit she's selected to look serious, with a warm smile. "Ahh, don't worry, don't worry!" She says, bright and sunny. "Bosses always want to cover their butts, you know?" (Ruri's still thirteen for a few more days, and Minato isn't going to swear properly in front of her.) "You didn't do anything wrong, Ruri-Ruri. If it wasn't for you, we would've all been in trouble... and Leina, too. You really helped save her."
"That's right," Ruri frowns a little deeper, as they walk through a sunny, well-lit park. Entirely artificial, of course. Much of the nature in Orb is. "Even so, it bothers me."
Minato sighs, straightening up. "Ahh..." She starts, searching for her thoughts.
Before she finds them, though, Ruri speaks up. "Sorry, but can you give me a minute?" She asks, grasping her arm with her opposite hand. "I just have to think... I won't wander off." And it's that reminder that -- well, Minato can guess what being treated like an asset would do, to a girl her age.
"Sure, sure," Minato smiles, taking another step. "I'll just go grab a coffee, okay? I'll be back in a bit."
"Okay," Ruri says, as she slows, instead. She watches Minato leave the park, before she goes to sit down on one of the polished benches, here. She looks down at her hand, turning it over to see the IFS tattoo, inert against her skin. Her golden gaze lids, in something like sadness.
"..."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
For a moment -- in a way that's rarely been true in Ruri's waking life since the Nadesico went to fight alongside the Three Ships Alliance -- Ruri is truly alone and unobserved.
So naturally, someone slides into that space. He casts a shadow off to one side, just barely in Ruri's peripheral vision, where before there was no shadow -- and indeed, nothing at all. In a sense, of course, there is still nothing there -- but it's a different sort of nothing.
"Ah, Hoshino-san," Alexis starts, electing to show her the deference her very smart new look suggests he should. "It's been quite some time. It's very good to see you again. Things have been quite busy for me, but that hardly excuses my absences. I assume you've been bearing up well under the strain of recent events... you have a unique gift that brings with it many responsibilities," he leads, as he notices Ruri staring at that mark.
Alexis is well aware, of course, of the Nadesico's recent battles and hardships. He's even been directly party to some of them.
"Making an enemy of the Federation is a harrowing thing for a young lady like yourself... especially when this sort of thing seems as much like a proxy battle between Nergal and Anaheim as it does a genuine geopolitical conflict." He glances off very slightly, but that's all the movement he does before finishing, "I trust the rest of the ship has been treating you well, at least? Or plans to do something for you soon? I know I've spoken poorly of things there before, but I do believe you when you say they think well of you."
After that much, he remains silent. Past this, he'll let Ruri lead the conversation wherever she likes.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri is very rarely alone. She doesn't mind it, because it's Omoikane, with her. But it's... different, sitting out here. She's...
Belay that.
Ruri looks up, when she hears her name through that distance. Blink, blink, and she looks up to see, "Mr. Kerib?" She's a little cautious, in the greeting; she's treated him with caution since his crimes against Akane came to light. But... she can't quite bring herself to yell at him, when he's being so polite. He hasn't been terrible to her, and...
She covers one hand with the other, still, holding it lightly in her pale fingertips.
"I don't really know what those are," she says, of her responsibilities. Or her gift, perhaps.
She frowns, though. He's not -- wrong, she thinks, about the battle-lines drawn between Nergal and Anaheim. Not just them, she thinks: there are a lot of corporate interests who Nergal must be navigating around, right now. Especially with the acquisition of the Elevators...
(Do they suspect her?)
"They do," she says, instead. "They have. They are." A logical girl might leave it at that, with a dangerous person like this; but Ruri, for all her logic, still wants to explain herself to Alexis. "My birthday's in a few days, actually... I have parties, these days." These days, implying days before them. She leaves it to implication.
And keeps holding her own hand.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
It is hard for Alexis to look surprised, or concerned, or indeed any way at all. His mask remains as it ever is when Ruri greets him -- when she says she doesn't know what her responsibilities or her gifts are. He simply lets her speak, in that reserved, pleasant way he always does.
(Is it pleasant? An open question.)
"Ah -- a birthday! For a middle-school aged girl, such a thing really is important, you know," Alexis enthuses, the teal panels of his mask doing the same dance as ever -- blinking off and on -- as he translates through reality, a few inches forward, more into Ruri's direct line of sight.
"I know it'd cause problems for me to come," Alexis says. "I do hope it provides your friends and colleagues the chance to show you their true feelings for you." The flames flick as they always do. Alexis patiently cheers Ruri on, continuing, "You really are a singular, remarkable young lady."
Alexis's gaze turns down toward Ruri's hand again, before electing to ask: "Is there something on your mind? You seem preoccupied with that mark... if I'm not mistaken, it's a sort of interface device, yes?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Well, it sounds pleasant, and why would he lie about that?
Ruri doesn't have to turn her head as much to look at him, now, at least. That's nice. "I understand it's a major event," she says. "And my birthday's on Tanabata, too... it's a Japanese holiday." Lucky sevens...
"It's likely Hikaru-san would kick you if you showed up," she reports, impassively. "Or Ryoko-san would just shoot you. It would be troublesome, so I'll just accept your well-wishes now. Thank you." It... is nice to hear what people think of her, though.
"Ah..." She starts, uncovering her hand. "It's the Image Feedback System. I told you about it, before. Don't tell me there's so little in your head you already forgot it." She's even told him about how the IFS is supposed to make its pilots more aggressive -- but she only grows more dedicated to the mission, instead.
"It's just... I was able to distribute my consciousness, during the fight with the General Revil. I was handling a lot more than the Nadesico, then... I even dove into the Banshee's systems. It was reluctant to let me help, so that was a difficult process." Ruri frowns, lightly. "I feel like everyone's asking questions, since then... not that they've all been asking them to my face, but I can tell, anyway. People look at me differently. I don't know... I just acted, since Leina and the others were in danger. I can't explain what I did. But it's not an entirely dissimilar feeling, either." Ruri isn't entirely aware that her first flickerings of these powers began to show under the threat of the Dreisstrager, but she knows enough.
And it really does bother her.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Oh -- well, I can certainly weather that sort of injury," Alexis counters. "And I certainly think you would deserve it! Oh, but it would be terribly rude and bring down the mood, though." Alexis offers a very slight shrug at that, and agrees, "I hope you have a fun time. A holiday birthday is always fascinating -- Tanabata suits a young woman named Hoshino, too..."
With that pleasantry out of the way, Alexis nods. "I'd forgotten the name," he says, affably, in that way he's also acted like he's forgotten the names of Earthnoid nations, or how to get out of a Jeep, or what the proper term for a space colony is.
Ruri speaks about distributing her consciousness -- about developing the capacity to convince systems of things, of being able to change things... and not being able to explain those changes. "That seems like it would be difficult -- to have your actions raise questions that you yourself cannot answer," Alexis agrees with Ruri, rotating slightly to face her a bit more directly. "I understand this may have painted something of a target on the Nadesico's back, as well..."
That's a lot of anxiety for a teenager. Alexis, as an adult, could surely do something to assuage those anxieties, or at least point her toward someone who could.
So anyway, Alexis continues standing perfectly still and waits for Ruri to speak.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"I don't really want someone to get shot on my birthday," Ruri says, with a little shrug. It's a mild type of discontent, but it's burying something much less mild. ... guns frighten her to death.
She knows that doesn't make any sense -- since she controls the Gravity Blast Cannons, and their stopping power is leagues greater than any sidearm.
... but it's different, when she's facing it with her own eyes.
Ruri tilts her head, just so, and asks: "Did you?" She really has to double-check the things Alexis claims, these days. She's at least that suspicious, now.
She frowns, though, when Alexis points out the target on their back. Perhaps she should be more suspicious than she is, because she still replies: "... I wasn't trying to cause trouble," as Ruri's hands clasp over each other on her lap again. Under the bench, one heel hooks over the other. "The Federation were already willing to go this far... but now Nergal-san's worried about me, too. I don't really know why. I'm not going to betray them. Something like that would be pointless."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis laughs, despite the fact that Ruri is expressing a very real anxiety. It's best if he approaches it with the same sort of superficial, good-natured humor he always does. "Then I promise I won't come in for the party," he agrees.
He does get caught on something, though. "I've always been more engaged with sentiment than with technology," Alexis confirms-but-doesn't for Ruri. He does not offer her a firm yes or firm no, but simply glides along frictionlessly as he so often does.
The comment that Nergal are worried about Ruri catches Alexis's attention. "I don't think people generally try to cause trouble unless they're quite starved for attention," he agrees, before taking a little time to think about Ruri's new predicament. "I think for now you ought not to worry about it. At least take a few days to appreciate the reprieve in fighting, even if it is only to rearm and reposition... you may be the Nadesico's operator, but you are a young lady having a birthday soon, too, you know."
He's silent again, for a long time, after that. Perhaps he needs a little time to think about his next conversational move, or maybe he's just allowing Ruri the space she generally needs during his interactions with her.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Thank you," Ruri says, properly. She pauses, and adds, a moment later: "Sentiment isn't actually that different to technology, Mr. Kerib."
Well. Maybe not for her.
Her legs kick, back against the bench, a little. "I guess... you're right, Mr. Kerib," Ruri settles on, after a moment to assess the advice. She can't see any reason why he's wrong, here. "Well, everyone's always telling me I work too hard, anyway. Except for Erina-san. She's too busy telling people they don't work hard enough."
(Thirteen year olds are terrible at opsec.)
Ruri is quiet, for a moment. "Is it true that you were targeting Ms. Shinjo again?" She asks, directly, looking up to Alexis. "On the Garuda, I mean." A moment's pause, as she waits for his answer; she knows what the truth is, either way. But she presses on: "Why were you hurting her again? Didn't you learn your lesson? I'm asking you to explain it."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Oh, very true. The barrier between those two realms is quite thin, and their substance quite similar!" Alexis agrees. (Or does he?)
Nodding as Ruri mentions people tell her she works too hard, Alexis agrees, "No doubt they have your best interest in mind, if they tell you that sort of thing. It seems I've failed to give them enough credit, often..." He lets her have that, for now -- and then Ruri asks a question that makes things a bit... difficult. "Hm. I suppose any knowledge you gained of that situation would be from her or her friends, and no doubt it paints quite the monstrous picture of me!" Alexis half-agrees, or at least half-concedes, before moving on.
"The truth is that Akane-kun was never the target of such an attack. It was actually her..." He pauses, teal panels stopping as he rolls the word over, "... partner, Miss Takarada, who was the subject of the inquiry? Indeed, I did my best to remain away from her after she told me to 'get lost,' other than when others involved specifically requested my presence..."
He lets that sit for a moment, before saying, "I was only involved because a friend asked for my presence. I'm sure she'd say otherwise, but I truly did my best to give her space -- I even would have removed her from the situation, had she asked."
Graciously, he asks, "Do you have additional questions?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"That seems likely," Ruri agrees, of the Nadesico's credit. "You're very suspicious of them." Though... can she blame people for being suspicious, when Nergal's acting so suspiciously, right now...?
('Them', not 'us', by the way. After her little episode, there's no way Ruri doesn't feel a little disconnected from her peers.)
Ruri hums, thoughtfully, through her lips, as she considers what Alexis says next. "It's not that any of that information contradicts what I know," she says, and inadvertently says that she has information in the same breath. (Thirteen-year-olds. Opsec. Seriously, guys. Please stop expecting children to be good at this.) "But the people in that situation couldn't ask for someone to save them. I know that Ms. Ashta was being brainwashed, at least... it's likely the other subjects were, too. That's common, when it comes to human experimentation. I read about it." Ruri... read the encyclopedia about it...
Oh no.
Her frown remains mild, though. "You knew they needed help, but you didn't help them. Even if Ms. Shinjo was just an accessory, it doesn't answer the real question. It's cold to let a friend go through that, I think. You should apologise... well, not that I'm telling you to sneak up on any of them alone, either. But I don't like what you did, Mr. Kerib. If someone needs help, you should help them." Simple as that?
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Oh, not Akane-kun," Alexis says, now a tiny bit defensive. "Dr. Murasame and I spoke about that in a fair bit of detail at one point." He thinks back to that conversation, before explaining, "They were occupied with Miss Takarada, and subsequently Miss Pommier. Akane-kun never received that sort of attention."
He lets that roll for a few moments, and then says, "If it was truly her choice to stay, why would I stop her? She even repeatedly informed Miss Takarada that she wasn't going to leave her, no matter what."
If there's some feeling Alexis has about this topic, he doesn't express it -- even as Ruri begins to tell him off. He looks at her thoughtfully for several moments, trying to figure out what to say to her. "It seems she doesn't want to see me anymore, at any rate. Perhaps it's best if I simply move on -- as you say, I oughtn't sneak up on them. Perhaps my presence is a burden, if I'm so cold."
He collects himself for a few moments, eventually concluding, "I hope you have a very eventful birthday, Hoshino-san. I know it can be difficult when your birthday lines up with a holiday, but I'm sure something transformative will happen nevertheless."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"It's not any better because it was someone else," Ruri points out, and stoic as she is, it's clear she disapproves. She doesn't know them well, but she remembers her conversation with Alouette. She doesn't like that she was hurt that way.
"But that's what I'm saying, Mr. Kerib," Ruri goes on, giving him enough of a charitable reading to try and explain. "It wasn't really her choice, was it? Because her ability to choose was taken away. I think you should take more responsibility than that."
She frowns, though, as he points out that his presence is a burden, looking away. "Mm... I'm a harsh girl," she says, a shade muttering, "but I don't think I'm wrong. You're being a fool, Mr. Kerib... I want you to do better, since I think that you can." A breath, and she adds: "You just forgot how to... that's all."
Ruri's troubled by something Alexis says, as he moves on to his well-wishes. "Thank you," she says, politely. "But, Mr. Kerib..." She pauses, for a moment, as she tries to arrange her concerns, what she's concerned about --
and that's when a metal shoe flies in from off-camera to bean Alexis RIGHT in the side of his big stupid mask.
"OUT! OUT!!" Minato yells, less one heel but still loping along quite admirably for a few paces before she grapples her other shoe off and throws that at him too. "I TURN AROUND FOR FIVE MINUTES AND YOU SHOW UP?! LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Oh. THAT'S what it takes to get Minato to swear in front of the baby. Ruri turns away from Alexis to ask, eyes widening: "Minato-san--?"
And Alexis Kerib has roughly 4.5 seconds before Hurricane Haruka makes landfall.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
'You just forgot how to, that's all,' Ruri says.
Hm.
"I suppose I can take this under advisement," Alexis agrees, nodding to Ruri. "I apologize for making you worry about such matters, Hoshino-san. The world of adults is a terribly complicated thing, but I really ought to navigate it better!" The teal panels of his mask all light up for a moment, before --
Alexis is hit directly in the mask. It doesn't crack; he doesn't even move. But he does seem a little caught off guard to be attacked so directly. He rounds on Minato, shouting at him to get out...
... no, he reasons. It wouldn't do to make Ruri unhappy so close to her birthday, after all.
"Oh, rest assured, I'll be going," the alien says, starting to translate away just as he translated toward Ruri not long ago. He is, for his troubles, hit with another shoe, this time in the elbow.
"My apologies for the intrusion, ma'am," he adds, as he picks up the pace a little bit. He moves past a cart carrying frozen novelties (it's still hot this close to the equator year round, after all) and in the next instant, as always, he is gone.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri can feel like she's getting through to Alexis for a moment, at least.
Which might be why Minato attacks him so viciously. "OPE YOURSELF OUT THIS INSTANT, YOU DEMON!" She screams invectives, but luckily for Alexis Kerib, he doesn't really have to test his infinite vitality against the force of momma bear energy: Minato rushes to Ruri, instead, crouching in front of the bench with clear worry in her eyes.
"Ruri-Ruri, are you okay?" She asks, and she's not yelling now, at least. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that man would show up as soon as he had a chance... did he hurt you?"
Ruri -- unsettled but still a little relieved to see Minato howling like a bat out of hell over some of the other options out there -- shifts in her seat, with a light frown. "No," she says. "We were just talking. I think he was about to leave anyway... I was harsh, and I think I offended him."
Minato frowns, herself, and suppresses the urge to hug the girl. (Ruri's never been a particularly tactile person.) "I believe it feels that way," she says, "but what were you saying, Ruri-Ruri?"
"Um... I was telling him off because he kept saying he was respecting people's choices on Garuda. Except -- they were being brainwashed, so they didn't really..." Ruri's embarrassed, to say it, and she trails off.
"That's exactly the thing you should tell him off about," Minato insists, firmly -- though not unkindly. "He's a -- a big jerk," she was going to use another word, "and people like that make you wonder if you said the right thing, but you know that's the right thing to say, don't you? You're not a bad girl. Your instincts are better than he's making them out to be."
Ruri frowns, glancing down. "Then... I think we should cancel my party, Minato-san."
Minato is surprised, at that. "Wh-- why would you say something like that? Did he say something?" She wishes, briefly, that she'd had something heavier to throw at Alexis. She wonders whether she should start carrying around a brick in her purse. She won't, but it's the sort of hot-blooded flight of fancy she indulges, where Ruri can't see.
"It's just... Mr. Kerib hoped mine would be eventful. And, um, I read about that, once. How living in eventful times is a curse, actually." Ruri frowns a little deeper, and her shoulders sink a little more. "I've already caused everyone a lot of trouble. I don't want to..."
"No way," Minato says, wagging a finger. "No way! We're not going to let him get into our heads! A pushy man like that doesn't deserve the real estate!" With a beat, she pushes on: "Since you're worried about the danger, we'll let everyone know, and we'll have plenty of protections in place for you! There's not a soul on the Nadesico who won't defend your happiness, Ruri-Ruri!"
Ruri blinks her too-gold eyes, looking back up to Minato again. "Is... something like that okay?" She asks, a shade hesitant.
"Of course it is," Minato smiles, all warmth for Ruri, at least. "You're an important member of our crew. If we wouldn't go this far for you, we've failed as a ship."
Ruri looks down at her hands -- and then reaches out, to take Minato's hand.
"... okay."
She has a friend with her, on the way back to the place where she's safe.