2023-09-08: Prophecies and Their Fools
- Log: 2023-09-08: Prophecies and Their Fools
- Cast: Rena Lancaster, Zoltan Akkanen, Rita Bernal
- Where: Outside Denver Colony
- OOC - IC Date: 2023-09-08
- Summary: Rena runs into Zoltan Akkanen, inside of the Phenex Gundam, and with Rita. The three of them have a conversation about what awaits in Denver, about Jona Basta, and about the future.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Something is amiss at Denver Colony...
And multiple groups have come to check it out. The Three Ships Alliance thought some reconnaissance before going into the colony itself was wise. Thus, the Gaia Gear Alpha is participating in that. The white Mobile Suit isn't quite yet to Denver itself; it isn't even close to the helium-3 tanks.
Instead, it's stopped at a small resource satellite. A small asteroid, with a mining facility on it, and an old Salamis Kai-class cruiser that is docked to it and long abandoned. But, it's a good place to stop and take stock of the situation -- or perhaps fall back to.
The Gaia Gear Alpha's feet land on the rocky exterior of the asteroid. Its golden eyes look towards the distant closed colony cylinder.
Rena's emotions aren't hard to pick up on, for another Newtype: flashes of worry, flashes of guilt, of determination, of sadness. Anticipation.
Concern.
<Pose Tracker> Zoltan Akkanen has posed.
There's the subtle shift of bars and levers inside the Phenex; He's managing well enough on his own, consciousiness notwithstanding. Muttering to himself as the occasional memory bubbled under the surface, tugging at one to slow himself down.
Concern, huh. The waves are familiar; It's hard not to be, ever since viewing the wreckage at Torrington. "Oi, Rita. Swinging her in a bit." He's distanced spirit from body; They may be one and the same, but Phenex (the suit) is different from Rita (the actual ghost?). That, he didn't feel like screaming about Phenex and having the potential confusion in battle. See, he's learning to separate the two! Though there's still the occasional kick towards the ashes. Once every few days.
"Rena!" Comms open. He's been in Denver. He sees it in the distance, clicking his tongue. "Going to chicken out now, when we're so close to the end?"
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
While Rita usually doesn't manifest visibly within the Phenex, she's made an exception for Zoltan's sake. He seems to prefer to have someone to look at while talking to them, instead of just hearing Rita's spiritual voice.
And so, as Zoltan pilots, Rita 'sits' next to him in the Phenex's passenger chair. She's even chosen to manifest in her normal suit. It's all very considerate. Rita has been quiet as Zoltan works with the golden Gundam. It's important to let him grow to understand and bond with the Phenex before the battle to come. But as the Gaia Gear Alpha lands before them, Rita frowns.
Zoltan, please land close to Rena. Something's wrong. Can you feel it?
Rena's emotions echo loudly, even without the NT-D enhancing Rita's senses. She's certain Zoltan can 'hear' Rena's distress just as clearly. Before going into battle like this, they all need to have clarity of purpose... Distraction could be deadly, for all of them.
Zoltan does so, and is given a smile. He'll find his kicks meet mysterious, invisible resistance when he menaces Rita's ashes... But they're really making good progress in working together, all things considered.
Rena. Is something the matter? Is the Colony upsetting you? You don't have to bear these feelings alone. If you wish, Zoltan and I will listen.
Rita shoots Zoltan a look as she broadcasts this message. He doesn't need to be a Newtype to get the 'don't be a dick' vibes Rita is giving off.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena's eyes light up when she sees the Phenex. Funny, that she sees it before she senses the pilots inside of it. The glittering, golden Mobile Suit that has helped her so many times before.
It's two familiar presences. Her eyes widen -- and she knows who is inside the Phenex besides Rita.
'Zoltan,' she mouths, before he speaks.
Then her eyebrows furrow. "Chicken out? I'm not--no! I'm not going to do that," she says, a hint of obstinancy in her voice. (More than a hint.) "Zoltan, what are you doing in the Phenex?"
Then, she blinks; she hears Rita's voice, too. She must have... let him in there?
"I... sense something from it," Rena says. Her voice is quiet. "The ones I promised you that I'd help. They're... they're awake, aren't they?" Another beat. "You two are working together?"
She did not have that on her bingo card, after seeing their interactions before.
<Pose Tracker> Zoltan Akkanen has posed.
There's a sigh that's immediately apparent coming from the same comms, the sound of Zoltan just utterly knowing the sheer hypocrisy on display. Time to face the music, as the pied piper says. Something like that; He isn't too in tune with Earthbound idioms.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm piloting this damn thing because she asked me to." A beat. "She had the foresight to put her ashes in a thermos, at least." Though, that's just the shorthand explanation. Far, far too much has gone into this. "The rest you can ask later."
The Phenex moves, jerking a thumb towards Denver Colony. Easy to move when the thing responds so easily... "They're awake, they're screaming, and they already have a killcount. Killed my handler from the Sleeves, bastards." There's no empathy for them in his tone. One thing had morphed into another entirely; Even if they could be pitied, what they're doing is at complete contrast to what their fates were.
"...Like I said. It's a long story."
BBSYS: Post 1185, 'FPT Adjustments 8-27-23' has been published to Announcements by Escudo Shard.
Trevor Teach teleports in.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Rita laughs softly as Zoltan is forced to explain himself.
The path I foresaw never came to pass. Too much was changed in my efforts to create a better outcome. And so, unlike every other Zoltan in Possibility, I have come to rely on this one.
Rita pokes his shoulder. It feels like a brief, ghostly point of warmth.
It wasn't meant to be this way. But this is the hand we have been dealt. We realized we have similar goals, at least in some areas, and he is one of very few who is strong enough to pilot a Unicorn Gundam. The Phenex accepted him. In some ways...
Green eyes, luminous against the darkness of space brought into the Phenex's cockpit, take on a bit of fondness.
We are the same.
That fondness almost immediately vanishes, and Rita frowns.
It isn't a thermos! Koji Kabuto made it for me! And don't swear at the Phenex, she's sensitive!
The Phenex, whether sensitive or not, does not choose to respond to Zoltan's words.
Rita huffs, then turns her gaze toward Denver Colony. Even from this distance, she can see the promised violence churning in the depths of the abandoned spacecraft. It's enough to frighten her, even within the safety of the Phenex's heart.
Yes. Zoltan is right. The helium field near Denver Colony is what Zoltan uses to attempt to destroy the Earthsphere, in other expressions of Possibility. Now, Jona is on a collision course with it, within the monster. It seems, even though the pilot of the monster has changed, the course of action remains constant.
Lifting a hand, Rita sends a fragment of her strength toward the Gaia Gear Alpha. It takes the form of a small, canary-like bird, with two extra-long tail feathers. The little bird soars through the walls of Rena's cockpit, settling on her lap and looking up at her.
My friends and I have been attempting to thin the helium field so that it cannot be used to such destructive ends. But a conflict was already taking place when we arrived. I was prepared to kill the witnesses, but before we could, the violence awoke the amalgamation of souls within Denver. If you wish to witness what happened, simply touch the spirit I sent you.
Luminous with promise, the bird hops from one of Rena's legs to the other. Should Rena accept Rita's offer, she will be treated to the Phenex's point of view of the battlefield -- helium-3 tanks hovering dangerously as Rita's companions battled against the remnants of the Sleeves, the Federation, and Neo-Zeon.
Just as the skirmish reaches its pitch, events play out just as Zoltan described. The malevolent hand of Denver Colony reaches out and destroys Ellic Hugo, then the rest of the combatants. Rita, cold with fear, races between her comrades and the Colony, begging the spirits within to return to sleep. They do not heed her -- and it's only thanks to Yuliana's magic that The Phenex's companions escaped safely.
The vision fades, but oddly, the bird remains. Rita continues.
If Jona makes it to the helium fields, he will use the power the monster has given him to make them go critical and rain down on the Earth. It will cause as much destruction as a hundred Axises would have.
Nudging its head into Rena's palm, the bird offers a vision of this Possibility -- horrific explosions raining debris down onto the blue planet. Those who do survive will wish they had not.
Even if we stop Jona, the spirits within Denver are. Wrathful. They have suffered too long, and become something twisted. They will continue Jona's goal to enact their own revenge.
Another offered vision, this one nearly identical to the last.
We cannot let it come to pass. No matter what must be done. We have failed at removing the helium tanks, so the only options left to us...
Rita's voice trails off, and her gaze lowers. Sorrow echoes from the Heart of the Phenex.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"She asked you to?" Rena sounds relieved, at first, but then she processes one detail that Zoltan gave her. A thermos!? But, Rita explains what it isn't. She forces some calm on herself, to focus.
"I... yeah. I understand that." Rena thinks of Banagher; of Leina. Maybe there were terrible times, painful times. Maybe it was forced on Leina. But they rose above it and they shone. "Not just anyone can pilot a Unicorn. You did a good job, Zoltan."
She smiles, just a little.
Then, her eyes widen a little. Rita saw the future; she saw what would happen... and it didn't.
It's terrifying, if comforting in a way. But, it's terrifying.
She falls quiet. She nods her head, then looks down to the spirit of the bird. Rena reaches a hand down -- touching it, as she sees the events. Her eyes widen; she sees death, she sees the spirits' actions, and the tanks.
Far, far too many tanks remain.
Her hand gently pats the spirit bird -- and then she lifts it away. "I... I understand," Rena says quietly. "We have to stop Jona and them both. We can't let that happen."
Then, she follows the way the Phenex's thumb points towards Denver. She considers what Zoltan said; the context about the woman who died before the Sinanju. A tragedy, even if Zoltan isn't particularly broken up about it. She isn't sure she can blame him. "I... I want to see what we can do. I want to try to reach out to them," she says. "I promised I would help them. I won't throw my life way or risk the whole Earth Sphere..."
Those images of destruction play out in her mind.
"...But I want to keep that promise, if I can."
<Pose Tracker> Zoltan Akkanen has posed.
"...Tell me about it. I'd like to karate-chop the engineers who made this thing, but it's too late to think about things that are already done." Hell, he was standing at the window when witnessing the Miracle at Industrial 7. Things have happened. Things will continue to happen. One miracle at a time, so they say.
Idiots, the whole lot of them.
"Phenex has a lot to make up for after being sentenced as the person of Original Sin, cut me a bit of slack." A snap back at Rita, though he's not raising his voice. Improvements.
"Jona's the same sort of idiot as I, eh? From what I've overheard, he was perfectly average and with a death wish." Che. Is he describing himself? Maybe. "Just dealt..." A deep breath. "With a hand too big for his own damn mind."
Idiots, the whole damn lot of them.
"The helium tanks are slightly decommissioned thanks to Yuliana's devices, but I'd prefer to not rely on some EMP or whatever technology that witch has under her sleeves." Its the best they've got. "As for Denver, what idea do you have? They're going to set the tanks off if they aren't pacified. I don't think we can grab the people responsible and do some sorta Anno Domini occult sacrifice, right?" It worked in horror movies.
"Though, when down there...It's obvious what sort of thing happened there. You think they'll ever be appeased, knowing that there's more of them that survived?"
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Rita smiles at Rena's voice. Ever since the first journey to Denver Colony, Rita has felt close to Rena, and knowing that the Gaia Gear Alpha was there to support Rita's sisters only increases that feeling.
Despite everything, I've been impressed by Zoltan. I even trust him now. The Phenex feels the same way.
Of course, Zoltan once again ruins the moment. Rita pokes him again -- even her best efforts toward annoying him only result in producing a small wellspring of warmth and connection -- but doesn't seem too upset. This is Zoltan's way.
The Phenex isn't alive. She can't sin! Blame the people who made all of us this way, not her.
Rita has already killed a good amount of those people. Zoltan knows this, having seen her memories. But there are always more. Perhaps something to consider for the future, depending on how things unfold in the coming days.
If anyone's responsible for all of this, it's me. Please don't blame Jona. No matter what happens, I am the one who set us on this path, many years ago.
Rita 'stands', floating close to the Phenex's control panels. As Rena absorbs the memories granted to her from the little bird, the creature raises her wings and vanishes, leaving behind only glimmers of starlight.
Zoltan. I don't think there's any way for Rena to appease the amalgamation. We have to make her understand that. I can't see what's going to happen as long as Yuliana is with us, but I'm certain this can only be resolved with the destruction of those spirits. I don't think Rena will accept that. Her heart is too kind.
These words are broadcast solely to the other occupant of the Phenex, Rita looking back to Zoltan with concern on her face. She 'leans' intangibly against the wall of the cockpit.
Rena, I already tried to speak with them. They've changed since the last time. I don't think the words of the living, or even someone like me, will be enough to convince them to go back to sleep. They've suffered so much, abandoned the way they were. If you give them the chance...
Rita's eyes glimmer. Despite how she tries, Yuliana's void presence blots out the Light of Possibility. Rita cannot look forward for guidance.
This life isn't all there is. If we truly want to give them a chance, the best thing we can do is to obliterate Denver Colony entirely. Leaving nothing behind their spirits can be bound to. We must force them to move to the next world, where perhaps their individuality can be made whole once again.
Rita raises a hand. The Phenex's list of weapons and munitions appear on the cockpit screen before Zoltan -- including the recent Photon Power Labs enhancements. Her brow furrows. They don't have anything near strong enough to destroy an entire Colony, even one left in ruin such as Denver.
We will need to utilize the weapons of many ships, or perhaps the Colony Laser... That, or simply provide me as much Psychoframe as can be possibly provided. I may be able to overcome the amalgamation's strength with enough enhancement.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah," Rena says to Zoltan, her voice quiet. "But... it matters who uses it and how, I think. I think the Phenex is more than whoever made it and whatever they intended for it."
She might not just mean the Phenex. After all, her and Zoltan were both 'made.' But she doesn't point that out with words, even if the thought is there, and in this company, she cannot help but share it.
Then, she smiles when Rita says more, and she nods. "I'm glad, then," she tells Rita.
She quiets for a moment at the mention of Yuliana. The discomfort is there. But, in the moment, Rena tries: to understand, to appreciate that Yuliana is helping here.
She quiets for a moment, though. Then, Rena nods her head -- her fingers lifting away from the bird as it disperses. "I won't," she says. "I'll do whatever I can to help you help him."
What idea does she have for Denver's ghosts?
"I want to go see them. To see... how they died. Where their spirits are," Rena says, her voice quiet. "The whole colony was sealed off. They haven't even had the dignity of someone witnessing what they experienced. Everything about their lives and how they lost them was hidden by Anaheim."
Rena looks downward. "...So I can go, I can see, and I can try to understand," Rena says. "And maybe I can reach them that way. And if not..."
Rita was right. She can't quite accept that. Not, of course, that Rena heard her. "If not, we can do that," Rena says. "We'd have the Gaia Gear Alpha's psychoframe. And we have the Ra Mari II's main gun, our mobile weapon, and... we could get whatever else we have."
She hesitates for a moment. "I hope it doesn't come to that, though," Rena says, her voice wavering.
<Pose Tracker> Zoltan Akkanen has posed.
Ah? Rita trusts him? What a weird feeling, to be in the Phenex, to have Rita practically poking at him with every jab but not sensing any sort of want to leave him for dead. An unusual feeling after years of...Blatant animosity.
That being said. "Let's just blame whomever made the first mobile suit. What was it, Jeeg? Yeah, let's just blame him." Stupid Jeeg. Why couldn't you have been some sorta tank?
"...It is your fault at the end of the day, Rita. If you're gonna mope about it, at least put that effort towards helping." No matter what, huh?
Listening to Rena, he can't help but mute his own comms...And sigh out. "Appeasement is impossible. You've seen it just as much as me. Idiot's gonna get herself killed for some spirits that want nothing but blood." Decades without recompense. Even worse, without being remembered or even noted until recently.
Who the hell would wanna talk then?
Comms back on. "Are you sure about that, Rena? They quite literally unscrewed every single panel between her face and space, unit included. Do you think you'll get any mercy?"
Blow it up.
"Gyrps-2 is still there, right? It might be best to sanctify the place and obliterate any trace. Erase the location, erase the ghosts, make them pass on."
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
Who even likes the Jeeg.
Rita agrees with Zoltan, provisionally at least. But couldn't you go back even further? Whoever created the first tank, the first gun, the first spear... Humanity's history is irrevocably tied with violence.
Rita smiles at Rena's words in defense of the Phenex. At least someone appreciates the youngest Unicorn sister properly.
Thank you, Rena. Jona isn't a bad person. He's been shaped by the most terrible of circumstances, blown by the winds of fate. I at least owe him the chance to live in peace. Thank you for being willing to help him, with me.
Rita gives Zoltan a look as she says these words. There really isn't much difference between Zoltan and Jona, in the end. How fickle destiny has been to the both of them, treating them as interchangeable parts. Rita wonders how much of that is her doing, and how much was written in stone from the beginning.
What do you think I'm doing right now, Zoltan? I'm sitting beside you in the midst of my most sacred place to help!
A sigh. Rena can, at least, hear Rita and Zoltan bickering. It's embarrassing in front of such a strong and impressive friend...
You make things so difficult.
Rena's kindness brings sorrow to Rita's face. She dismisses the list of the Phenex's weapons.
Rena's going to get herself destroyed like this... The ghosts already claimed one of the pilots who was fighting against us, an unawoken Newtype. So few heroes of the living are able to hold onto their kindness. It would be a tragedy to lose someone like Rena.
Again, words meant only for Zoltan. Rita's worry is genuine, though she won't take action to prevent Rena from doing as she wishes.
I think that would've been enough, Rena, before they witnessed our battle. Even the slightest kindness toward the amalgamation would have been enough to calm them. It's amazing, what a simple act can lead to.
Rita thinks of her time in the Institute. She thinks of Yuliana's simple gesture of reaching out. Of promising a future Rita knew would never come to be. That one conversation led to the Possibility before them now -- the one and only chance they have of saving the Earthsphere, and all its Colonies.
If you go to witness what happened to them, you will carry it with you for the rest of your life. It will hurt you, Rena. You will never be able to forget their suffering. Are you sure this is what you want? Even if it doesn't cost your life, it will be a heavy burden.
The Ra Mari II, the Gaia Gear Alpha, the Phenex... Other heroes of the living. Will that be enough firepower to destroy a Colony so thoroughly?
I wish things were different. I don't want it to have come to this, either. But I agree with Zoltan. Gyps-II is our best chance. I'm not sure how we could gain access to it, especially after what happened with my sisters.
Rita's eyes land on Zoltan's face, looking at the off-colored eye hiding behind his hair.
Only the living can end something started by the living. Neither I, nor the spirits within Denver, have any say over what path you choose to take. Zoltan, Rena. The choices ahead of you will echo far into the future. Be certain of what it is you desire.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I suppose it would be his fault. But... Maybe it's a bit too big to blame one person," Rena says, with a brief smile on her face.
Then, she nods quickly. "O-Of course!" she says. "I'll do as much as I can."
She does smile a little to hear them bickering. They might not get along, but it feels so different from that hatred she remembers eeling from before. The bickering almost feels friendly, or maybe it could be, some day.
But they both ask her. Rena's fingers curl a little around the controls of the Gaia Gear Alpha before they relax.
"If I was sure, I'd be worried about myself," Rena says, with a sigh. She hesitates for a moment, as Zoltan reminds her of what happened to that woman. Her eyes close.
"I'm sure of what I feel I should do," Rena says. "I... I'm sure of the times I felt no one understood me or what it felt like. I'm sure I should try. My mother hurt people like them."
Her voice is quiet. "So I want to do better. I know... it'll hurt. But choosing to not see isn't going to be better for me."
Rena sighs, then looks up. "I know what they can do, so... I'll be as ready as I can. And..."
She pats the Gaia Gear Alpha's controls. They can sense that, for a moment; the feeling of the control stick, comfortingly pressing against their palms. It's gone a moment later; a brief sensation is all Rena can give them.
"I think the Gaia Gear Alpha will help protect me," she adds. She swallows. She looks to the Phenex, then she nods. "...I'll be careful. I understand, Rita. And... and I agree, let's... be ready to ask the Federation to use Gryps-2. If it comes to that."
<Pose Tracker> Zoltan Akkanen has posed.
The thought of eradicating the first human to commit violence comes to mind for a brief moment. Smiting Cain before he slammed the rock down on Abel. Poetic, perhaps?
Zoltan instantly grasps on the sudden comparison, meeting eyes for a moment before glancing away with a click of his tongue. Him and Jona? Don't think about it. This is the here and now. This is what's happening right now; If he drowned in every way he could've done a thing, there'd be libraries of his woes.
"Yeah, because you gave up and moped because Jona grabbed the Neo Zeong II!" A small beat. "...Though, considering you're here, that means things are changing already, aren't they?" What was free will, anyways?
There's only a muted nod at Rita's own private musings. If she goes in without any plan, she's going to die. Horribly. Spectacularly. Don't ask him about the tamped-down fantasies of what he'd do to the people who made him.
"You're going in without a plan, Rena?" So she's going in. Right then and there. "Let me be the first to call you an idiot, and the second to wish you good luck." Che. "They can get you inside, unless you're a monstrosity like Yuliana or stupidly lucky." Present case included, technically.
<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.
You do not carry the sins of your mother.
Rita's 'voice' is breathy and sweet, as it ever is, even going against Zoltan's earlier spiritual metaphor. If Rita believes the Phenex is truly innocent, she must believe Rena is innocent, too.
Will the Gaia Gear Alpha be enough to protect Rena? Rita respects the machine's power. It's helped her create Miracles on more than one occasion. But against the might of amalgamated, furious spirits, Rita wouldn't even want to wager the Phenex's strength.
If you do get to meet them, Rena. Please tell them I'm sorry. They deserved better. Perhaps their next life will give them justice.
I got stabbed through the heart, by my sister, Zoltan!
Rita looks out the panoramic cockpit to the distant Denver Colony. Even Rena's kindness won't be able to stay whole against the flood of hate and pain within that cursed place.
We will make our own way to Denver, eventually. There's still much to be prepared for, with Jona soon to arrive. If nothing else, it would be easier to try and bring them peace without turning to the Federation for assistance.
What else is there to offer Rena, if she's determined? Rita cannot risk herself, or Zoltan, or the Phenex. Jona is her first and only priority. Until he's safe, Rita will take no action that imperils the Phenex.
Don't go alone, Rena. No matter what.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I-It's... not a lack of a plan," Rena says. But it has more to do with a gut feeling than anything else. She stares, for a second, and then she looks down. "...I think if I can find where they are, I have a better chance of being able to reach them."
A beat.
"And failing that, I may be be able to deactivate the colony from the inside," she adds. "But I don't want you putting too much stock in that."
She has her doubts about whether Psychoframe has power requirements.
She swallows, then, and looks at the Phenex again -- at Rita, in this case. "I will, Rita," she says. "I understand. Be... be careful, when you do."
She smiles, a little, when Zoltan calls her an idiot -- and then wishes her good luck. "I'll be careful, too," she says. "I won't go alone. I'm going to link up with other Three Ships Alliance people."
The Gaia Gear Alpha's thrusters fire, then -- and she gently launches off the surface of the mined-out asteroid. The Gaia Gear Alpha's head turns to look at the Phenex for a moment longer. She hesitates, for a second. "Take care of yourselves, okay? Whatever happens, we'll all be in this together."