2023-09-10: Aftermath

From Super Robot Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search 


<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


It has been a day since the battle at Denver Colony. The Ra Mari II set a course to Magallanica afterward, as the colony was half-destroyed and the dangers were gone. Though, this only came after rescue efforts for the survivors of the General Revil (which had a few, in compartments that weren't depressurized).

Besides, there was a little uncertainty, after all that: with the incident that occurred, being in friendly territory seemed to be for the best.

After the Gaia Gear Alpha landed, Rena Lancaster was hurriedly taken to the medbay, and a battery of exams began. She slept for hours after that.

Now, in the waiting room of the medbay, people have gathered -- because Rena is waking up. Fa Yuiry, the head nurse, is standing near the front. She has a datapad clutched in both hands.

"Hello, everyone," she says. "Miss Lancaster is waking up now. I thought I'd give you an update on her status, before you talk to her. Dr. Bidan's had a good look, along with our other staff."

She smiles. "Please don't worry too much, though."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


Eight York, too, has been in the medbay, at the absolute insistence of her doctors. She hurt herself in her fall, and the exhaustion of her venture out-of-body was enough that she slept for some time. She still woke up ahead of Rena, though, and in turn insisted on being there when Rena woke up.

She's smiling anyway, though she looks more tired than usual--she didn't get a chance to do her makeup in the medbay room she was in. Nevertheless she is stable and alert, and...

"I'll try," Eight says. She maintains the strange half-position of Captain and not-Captain, even out of uniform. There's not really any getting around that.

"I trust you and Dr. Bidan, after all." ...Which is true! But she's still perhaps understandably eager for both the report and to see Rena...

From her chair, she waits. It's a wheelchair, of course; they don't want her falling again, after how dizzy she was when she tried to stand last... 

[OOC] Eight York says, "bluray* use #2"

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


Roux Louka did NOT die or get shot down, despite the best efforts of Yuliana Kafim and the cruelty of the universe. Just as well: she has weddings to plan. A wedding, anyway.

She had loitered around the medbay, perhaps out of a sense of guilty. (And perhaps also wondering if the stress on Eight is going to lead to -- what, Roux, what are you worrying about, this isn't an anime or a soap opera Roux).

"Don't soft-ball it," Roux tells Fa, with a certain brisk familiarity. (After all, they've met, if not recently.) "How is she, Fa?"

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        In the repair bay of the Ra Mari, an unsettling sight unfolds. The uncannily human faced Codarl that Asciel's brought along is...repairing...itself - and in doing this, it is actively extending out lots of tendril-like wires, plugging it into various repair modules, hoisting them around itself, moving about gantries and crawling up onto them to better access welding arms and just generally looking a lot more like some sort of creepy insect clambering over a hive, all while, as expected, utterly refusing help from the somewhat unnerved engineers. In her own way, she's also refusing resources, even though she's clearly using plenty of them...

        Because for every action she takes and material she consumes - the Ra Mari budgetary accounts clearly are recompensed over thrice over! Never let anyone say Asciel allows herself to be indebted for very long at all! (Do streamers really make this much money?! no it's Chrome business expenses but she'll never let that slip)

        The medbay, then, features...Asciel hijacking one of the waiting room TVs to put her model on! She has actually not brought her Alastor body up here to space, because it'd get in her way trying to carry and juggle it around.

        "It's kind of my purpose to worry a little bit," Asciel humphs, arms crossed over her front, flicking between backgrounds until she settles on one that looks like a mountaintop at dusk. "It's not like she just passed out or had heat stroke. Something unreasonable happened to her. Honestly - are there even doctors for this kind of condition? If I brought this situation to my own medical acquaintances..."

        ...Immediately, Asciel conjures a mental image of the half-stumbling CPO Amali Vulavit looming over the passed out Rena with five shady syringes in hand, and shakes that thought free really fast. "You know what, never mind that! I'm just gonna assume the Three Ships Alliance deals with metaphysical phenomena way more than is healthy, and they've found the doctors to enable that all the same. ...mm. ...C-Captain York, aren't you...why are you on this ship when you're clearly quite pregnant!?" Asciel's face is pressed so tight to the screen in Eight's direction, her one open eye's star-like sigil spinning faster and faster... 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

It's been a day. Anita's had time to rest and replace her broken left arm... but with Rena in medbay, she hasn't really been able to relax the whole time. So naturally, the moment she receives news, she heads straight for the medbay.

She sits quietly - until Fa addresses everyone, at which point Anita looks up.

Rena's waking up... that's good. She feels some small relief at that, especially when Fa says not to worry too much.

"Yeah, me too. We know we can count on you." Anita says, nodding to agree with Eight when she mentions her trust in Fa and Kamille.

"So... what's up?" Anita asks. ...Despite being told not to worry, there's still just a bit of nervous energy to her. She nods, though, at Roux's comment. "...Yeah, give it to us straight."

She's briefly distracted by the appearance of Asciel on the medbay waiting room TV. ...Honestly, the fact that she's checking up on Rena earns her a few points in her favor from Anita. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"I won't, Roux," Fa says, with a smile, which... turns worried after a moment.

She looks across them, though she jerks a little bit when she spots Asciel appear on a television. (Fa isn't much into virtual idols or idols, at all, really.) She hesitates, a moment more. "Thank you, Miss... Colette?" Is that the proper address. "As you say, we do deal with this sort of thing more than we'd like."

Fa is quiet for a moment. She looks at Eight, with a worried expression; then, she looks to Anita. "The way they were able to control her -- at least, cement their control -- was to impale her with Psychoframe crystal. It struck her shortly below her collarbone. And... please don't panic, until I finish explaining."

She glances at the datapad. "It pierced her heart. The crystal then broke off -- we found its material covering the interior of the cockpit -- save for a small portion, still visible below the collarbone. But there is a fragment of approximately ten centimeters in length, which remains in her. Ordinarily, she would be dead."

Fa shakes her head. "She isn't. In fact, for someone who had a foreign object impaled through her heart, she is doing remarkably well."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


Thanks to Anita wheeling Eight in she didn't have to really exert herself about it. ...She was content not to say anything more about that, actually, until--

"Do you know of a safer place for a wanted rebel against the Federation, Miss Colette?" Eight smiles at her. "Don't worry. I'm just along for the ride; I'm on maternity leave from the Captain's chair."

"More to the point.."

She regards Fa. She spots that worry, and smiles in a way that she hopes is reassuring--before listening. And indeed she does look very dismayed...

But not surprised. No, she saw that wound.

"That's..." Eight closes her hands on the armrests of her wheelchair. "Well, I'm glad she's doing well. Her condition is stable, then. And you say she's waking up normally?" 

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


"Kamille has first hand experience with this," Roux tells Asciel. Then she gives the digital representation a brow-furrowed look. "... she lives here?"

And then Fa begins to speak. Ably warned, Roux does not exclaim but she does take a sharp intake of breath at what Fa says, her eyes going wide. "Alright," Roux says. "I promise I won't panic."

A beat or two passes.

"Oh my god she has a crystal shard in her heart?!"

Roux leans forwards. "That's horrible!! Are you going to remove it?! That's the worst thing! It might come loose the next time she goes through microgravity! She could erupt in bloody chaos at any time! You can't leave unanchored shrapnel in anyone who lives in space! Didn't you see the video in health class?!"

"I'm glad you're taking this well," Roux tells Eight with a sweep of the hand, "Because I'm not!" Back to Fa: "Tell me it's anchored at least!"

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        A knowing little smile crosses Asciel's lips, one finger at her mouth. "...I mean, Captain York - you're talking to one who's got pleeeeeenty of enemies by this point, so of course I have safe places! Buuuuuuut they're all pretty inhospitable and barren hidey holes. Nowhere for anyone with maternity to deal with, obviously, considering-"

        The flicker of a thought enters Asciel. The briefest attempt to actually imagine that for herself. There is immediate SAN damage and she shoves anything like that away. The world keeps trying to humanize her. It's not going to get THAT far ever.

        r-right?!

        "...Oh. I had no idea it was THAT physically grave for Rena. Ugh. ...geh. That sounds awful." Clutching her arms together, Asciel squirms in revulsion to the idea of such maladies afflicting someone, a wide grimace crossing her lips. "...nothing like that should ever happen to a human. Ever. Ever ever ever. ...despite everything...ne. It's totally fair if you all mistrust my motives, but one thing I will be clear about is that I hate the sight of blood. It's revolting. The pain must be unimaginable. There's an awful lot of sick freaks out there who like seeing it - please be rest assured that if I ever find myself working with one, I'm definitely figuring out ways to get them taken out of the picture!~"

        "And no, I don't live here now, Roux!~ This is just a temporary measure. Ehehe. But! Good work out there. The same goes for you-" There's a pause, as Asciel has to run a database and intel matching scan on Anita. Individual human names are so hard. "-Anita! Yes. You're the one whose hand reached the closest to Rena. Heh. ...that was about as inspiring as it gets. Honestly. Honestly inspiring! The unimaginable miracles that none could ever replicate? Absurd and flighty. What you did out there...is what's keeping me in higher spirits right about now.~" 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita was glad to help Eight, of course. She knows how worried she must be, from knowing how worried she is. Just like before, it's easier if they worry together.

And so, Anita listens. Impaled with a Psychoframe crystal... She grimaces. Rena... The experience must have been awful enough emotionally without the physical pain to go along with it.

"Pierced her-" Anita starts - and shuts herself up, because Fa had said not to panic, and she's the expert here.

"That's..." Anita starts. Roux has some choice words, and Anita sees fit not to interrupt her. She's glad someone's doing it that isn't her.

"I'm glad she's doin' well, at least... What are the dangers? What's the next step? Is there anything we should, uh... watch out for?" Anita asks.

She looks toward Asciel, who addresses her directly - and then chuckles a bit sheepishly, massaging the back of her neck.

"Inspiring, huh...? Well, honestly, it's not like I did it alone. I was only able to get that close 'cause everyone opened the way for me. ...And, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one reaching out to her. Still... thanks. Glad I could improve your mood" Anita replies. She looks toward Eight knowingly. She doesn't have proof... but, she has an idea. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"She's as alert as I'd expect with her pain medication and an IV for fluid," Fa says to Eight.

Fa, as it happens, has a practiced bedside manner. She also has a practiced manner of talking to Roux Louka, because she has known her for almost ten years, now. She hesitates for just a moment, before she nods. "We can't remove it," she says. "It is anchored -- actually, that's the disturbing thing. The, ah, more disturbing thing."

She corrects herself after a moment. "The shard altered itself. It has what I could best describe as spindles, which grew out from it and have secured themselves to her rib cage and other tissue. It's highly unlikely to come loose, the way we would normally be concerned about."

She briefly gives Roux a look that says 'yes, I know, I'm a nurse, Roux.' Then, she frowns. "But... that makes removing it an option of last resort. It... has made some alteration to her heart, as well, so that it continue functioning." Then, she looks at Asciel -- and Fa frowns, before she nods. "We also did some tests to confirm it's not causing her any pain. We're still working out how, but we've confirmed changes to her nerve endings and soft tissues there."

Then, she looks at Anita, and she tilts her head the side. "For now, we need to monitor her. We don't know what the long-term effects of sustained exposure to Psychoframe material are," she says. "We're sending off as much information as we can to labs that Dr. Bidan knows and trusts. I expect we'll want medications to ensure that her body doesn't attempt to reject the crystal, and she'll need to have regular check-ins and examinations."

She smiles. "And you should keep an eye on her. See if she acts differently, if she seems confused or sluggish. Or... the other mental effects that might happen from Psychoframe," Fa finishes.

"So... would you like to go in and see her?"

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


"So, not so safe for me," Eight seems pleased to note to Asciel. Then she notices her seem to pause, and leaves it at that.

Instead, she says to Roux, "I... 'saw' the wound, when I was near her," she explains. "So I actually expected it to be worse. If it seems like I'm taking it well, that's why."

She then glances to Asciel. "..." She decides not to tell her much about pain, for now. Instead, she shakes her head. And looks to Annie, instead. "It's true that you were amazing out there, Annie. We couldn't have gotten her back without you."

She smiles. Annie seems to 'know', somehow... and that makes Eight feel good. "I did what I could," she says.

She reconsiders Asciel for a moment. "...Miracles are good," Eight says. "But old fashioned hard work and and daring goes a long way, too."

But Anita has the right questions; Eight looks back to Fa. And Roux's concerns... "I see. So it's probably both what injured her and responsible for keeping her alive..." She sets her jaw, thoughtfully.

"I'll keep a close eye on her," Eight promises. "That's what I wonder about. She went through a terrible experience, even before we account for lingering injuries. ...Annie and I will take good care of her."

"I'd really like to go in and see her." 

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


Roux frowns faintly at the terminal. "I meant -- this is Eight's, she lives -- oh, forget it," she huffs, turning her attention forward again and back towards Fa. "She could get an artificial heart," Roux muses. "I think you can't do professional sports then, but it's better than..."

Fa brings up the 'more disturbing part.'

"... It ADAPTED itself? Just... bone anchors?" Roux continues, seeming aghast, but tapering off from that abreaction. Fa, of course, has seen Roux's reaction to stressful situations' aftermath --

A LONG TIME AGO

Roux throws Judau Ashta's last memento of his sister into a burning house.

Sometimes you don't have to imagine what your lowest possible moment would be together!

NOW

-- and it is, at least, tapering off after a couple of deep breaths.

"Of course," Roux says, even if she's folded her arms. "We're not going to crowd her, right?" She glances around at Anita, Eight, and (somewhat more dubiously) Asciel's-representation.

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        There's a degree to which Asciel puts pride in 'reading past others' words to answer someone's intent' - and while she misses a bit of what Eight and Anita might be trying to say beneath, Roux's assessment doesn't slip by her. "Dear me, dear me. I contain myself behind the bounds of a screen that you're fully able to turn off at your leisure, an iron-clad boundary between myself and you that neither of us can truly breach, and you worry if it's my presence that'll overwhelm Rena..." Cupping her cheek and tapping the screen with her finger, like it truly is a portal between uncrossable realms (poke poke poke)

        "I mean, for starters, I don't actually know what room she's in unless you tell me, and if you're seriously bothered, you can just like turn off the TV I'd use. That's assuming there's one even in there! I'm really just riding the monitors that are the easiest to display on, it's not like I can force my way into anything I please!"

        That said, about the actual subject of going in to see Rena...there's an almost evasive furtiveness in Asciel's glance. Is it really as bad as it sounds? Could she actually stand to look? But, she reasons - it's unlikely she's a blood-soaked mess or anything if they're letting visitors in, so - "...mm. I'll be careful. I hadn't even assumed she was in such a bad state so I didn't think about what I'd say to her. Khhh. M-maybe visiting a medical bay's discussions to begin with were a bad idea. ...ugh, what am I saying. Why am I bothered hearing about her condition..."

>...why can I even understand it? ugh. your empathy really is viral.

        "Well, I'm pretty close to saying it'd be impossible for me to understand so it means I'm ending up tagging along with you anyway, huh? There's one thing I would like to clear up that I said to Rena, and I'd like a better understanding of your shared bonds too. Lead the way~"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Thanks..." Anita says with a small laugh, as Eight assures her. She smiles back at her as she says she did what she could.

Fa continues with the explanation. It's... fairly grotesque, actually, what happened. Anita grimaces, just a bit, as she hears about the way the shard has grown itself into Rena and altered her.

"Rena..." Anita murmurs, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. She shakes her head. "I didn't know that it could... do that, to a person."

It seems there's a lot about Psychoframe they don't know. She massages the back of her neck.

"...I'm really glad he's with us." Anita comments of Dr. Bidan. There's probably all kinds of people who'd have untoward interests in Rena's current situation. She's glad they have him around so they know who they can trust. Eight makes a promise, though, and Anita smiles.

"Yeah. We'll look after her." She agrees - and when asked if she wants to go see her, Anita stands up immediately. "You know it."

With that said, she moves over to Eight's wheelchair. Roux's question about crowding her is a good one... but hopefully since it's just them, it won't be too much company at once.

She looks toward Asciel then and chuckles, just slightly.

"Well... I'm sure she'd be glad to see you, too." She comments. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Yes, that's it precisely, Captain York. Frankly, removing it could very well kill her. The surgery would be enormously complex." Then, she looks at Roux, and she nods. "It did. Which... makes even an artificial heart very dangerous."

She looks at Asciel, then her expression softens. "I... hated blood, at first," Fa says. "But I realized something, as I studied. Blood, the unpleasant parts of medicine... they're still a part of the people we love. When we learn to treat them, we have to accept the parts we don't want to see."

She nods at Anita, then, and smiles. "I know. We'll get you a list of her medications before she leaves. And a detailed list of what to look out for," she adds. "And... it's all right. Just, be calm, while you're in there."

Fa nods, then opens the door to the room. Though, she does give Asciel an uncertain look -- how does one bring a television in? (The answer is that another television is inside Rena's room.)

It is a fairly typical hospital room for the Ra Mari II; a larger room than most ships manage, with a bed filling it. There is a table nearby, on an arm that can swivel out, and then a whole host of monitoring equipment. There is, as promised, a television set into one wall.

Rena is wearing a hospital gown, and her left arm is extended out along her side. An IV is taped down to her arm. She looks at the door, her eyes looking sleepy -- a little unfocused -- but she smiles.

"Hey," Rena says, a smile across her face. She blinks her eyes; there's already tears in them. "It's... it's really good to see all of you again."

Just below the center of her collarbone is a small, square-shaped dark blue crystal. It has a slight rise compared to her skin, which is still a little red around it. It gleams, in a way that doesn't quite have to do with the room's lighting.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


"I understood you at least," Eight says to Roux about how she lives here. Then she looks back to Fa. "I know you and Dr. Bidan would do what you thought was best for her. And will."

But the matter of blood? EIght is thoughtful, there. "I haven't been squeamish about blood for as long as I can remember," she admits. "But for diferent reasons. I think... I like that perspective. It's... well, it's helpful to me." She rests her hand along her belly for a moment, thoughtful.

Then--As to crowding her, "Since Miss Colette has made clear we can get rid of her anytime we feel like, I think it's fine to allow her."

"Thanks," she says to Anita who gets her chair, and listens, before they head inside. Eight has gotten familiar with these rooms by now, but seeing Rena in a hospital bed like that can't help but give her a pang of worry. She tries to put it aside, to make of herself a calm, steady presence, red and like the sea.

She smiles back. "Hi," Eight says to Rena. She sees the tears...

"Welcome home." Her eyes track down to the blue crystal, but then up to Rena's face, again, and her smile widens. "It's really good to see you, too. And to be seen." 

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


Roux's flat-eyed look towards Asciel includes some eyebrow twitching when she taps the glass, as if she's going to escape. Roux doesn't reach for her gun, not least because she isn't actually equiped with it right now.

But she totally thought about it. She seems neutral, or at least not commenting, on the matter of blood; perhaps she is neither for it nor against it.

Either way, she exhales. Her eyes close for a moment as she centers herself, and then she all but beams as she steps forwards. "Hey there," she says to Rena, quietly, looking forwards. "You look," her eyes flick momentarily to the crystal point but only for a moment, "like you had a rough time, huh? You feeling okay?"

After a beat or two, Roux walks over to the in-room monitor to ensure it is...

ON.

Whatever misgivings she might have, Asciel did fight with them, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        "Mou, Captain York..." Asciel's a little pouty at Eight just - reciprocating the truth that they can cut her off whenever they feel, but she sets that aside as much as possible as the group departs her line of sight for Rena's room. A withdrawal from the waiting bay, as the idol flicks between the thumbnails on all the public-access cameras, to make sure-!

        *Blip*, and the TV in Rena's room switches right back to Asciel's display. The sight of that strange embedded crystal makes Asciel squirm internally for a while...and she waits to let everyone else, all of Rena's actual friends, before speaking out of turn. There's something burning in her that she wants to make clear, that she wants to ensure, but for right now-

        "...I'm grateful you made it. ...We'll all be careful not to...overwhelm you, yes." There's a softer and more whispery tone in Asciel's voice, a more soothing affect than the boldness she usually puts on. She has had reasonable ASMR experience, after all. "...make sure not to push yourself, as well. Everything's safe and sound now, there's no crisis you need to get up in a rush for...and even if one did happen, we'd keep you away from it for a while yet. Just breathe easy, okay?~"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita frowns just a little at the explanation of how difficult removing it would be. ...Yeah. If it's like that, then... touching it would be more risk than it's worth.

As for blood, well... Anita's used to it, too. More than she'd like to be, but that's the life she has.

"Thanks." Anita replies with a nod and a smile at Fa. "Be calm... alright."

Fa leads them in and Anita follows, wheeling Eight in and over by a place close to Rena's bed.

And... there she is. It's a little hard seeing her like this. Her eyes stray down to the crystal, before moving back up to Rena's face. Seeing the tears in her eyes... Anita starts to tear up a little, too. But Anita smiles at her, even if it is's somewhat strained, and pulls up a chair by her bedside, next to Eight. She's back here, and alive, and with them... that's all that matters, now.

That's all that matters.

"Hey, Rena... Yeah, it's good to see you, too. I'm really glad." She says. She nods, as Roux asks if she's feeling okay. "Yeah, how're you doing? Do you need anything?"

Her eyes stray, briefly, towards Asciel's monitor, before back to Rena. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"I'm glad that I could be some help," Fa says with a smile to Eight.

After they step in, Fa takes a couple of steps back. "I'll leave all of you alone," she says. "Please, come find me if you have any questions.

Rena lifts her free hand, then wipes at her eyes -- it's not the most effectively -- but she manages to keep from devolving into blubbering. "Th-thanks, Octo," she says. "I... I'm really glad to be back.

She smiles at Roux, and she catches the glances to the little piece of (visible) Psychoframe crystal. She looked hersef more than once.

"I'm okay," she says. "I feel like a truck hit me. And the medications are probably making me loopy," she says. "It, um... it was a pretty rough time."

She looks at Anita and smiles, as she sits down -- and she thought she was done crying, but then she ends up half-laughing, half-sobbing. Having both Eight and Anita sitting next to her feels too wonderful and too impossible.

"I'm okay," she repeats. "I don't think I need anything just yet. Are--are you okay? Your arm..." She looks them all over. "And Octo, you're in a wheelchair, and--"

Then she laughs again. "Oh, my God, here I go already."

The television in her screen turns on. Rena didn't press the remote -- it's within reach, on the table on an arm, because she learned to make sure of that. Rena's eyes widen, with surprise, and then she ducks her head down for a moment. "M-Miss Colette," she says. "I'll... I'll try to rest. And not go rushing back out there just yet."

She hesitates for a moment, more. "I heard your song. It was beautiful," Rena says. "And... I heard you. I'm sorry I couldn't say more."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


"A great help. We'll be sure to be quick to get you if we need you."

Eight grins at Asciel. She might like to needle a little, but if she really had an issue with her presence, she'd have done more than that. It's a little strange, but... She didn't get interrupted at a meeting by her like Enba Rezza did.

Blip! Eight is surprised at how soft and kind-seeming that tone is. The reassurance....

At least being calm isn't a problem for Anita, as a rule.

Roux's questions, Anita's questions, they all occur to Eight too, but admittedly there's not a lot she can do for Rena right now, other than being here. That's a frustration she's shared before.

But here, "I'm glad too," Eight says, and she manages not to cry this time, mostly out of practice and habit. But it's a near thing.

Eight reaches up to put a hand on the bed, near Rena's hand. Then she laughs, and, "You're doing it already," Eight says. "I am, but it's just because the docs insist that I get some rest. They don't want me walking around right now." She wiggles her toes, lifting a foot. "But I'm fine, see?"

And Asciel...

"You were the music...?" 

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


"Don't push yourself," Roux offers to Rena, and while it has some urgency to it, that same gentle tone remains in her voice. "You're going to be alright. Your job now is to get better, alright?" Asciel backs her up on this. I knew I put her TV on for a reason, Roux thinks to herself.

"... I remember that," Roux says, about the music. She glances at Anita - "Did you?" - before finishing her earlier thought: "I almost wondered if it was... them, but I suppose it wasn't, huh."

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        A slow and steady nod of assurance from Asciel, followed by the sunniest smile she can muster. "...Indeed. A voice that resonates even across the void of the cosmos...I've found that inspiring, and always dreamed of...reaching someone that way. Hehe. It's a little hard to describe, but hearing you say that, Rena...it's the dearest assurance I could have. It's not my own song, of course - it's someone else's from long ago, but I felt it was right from the moment I first saw you, and this colony, so I'm glad I got the opportunity to let it resonate when you needed it most.~"

        The slow, easy whispering in Asciel's voice has, however, faltered a bit, as she painfully admits, "E-eh...I didn't make it obvious it was me singing...? ...G-gyah. ...if you ask me, song has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to save people. Why, the GGG were onto something exceptional...!" An almost dreamy tone enters Asciel's voice - and her own icon slides out of frame slightly, to bring up a glowing picture of...!

        Well, Mic Sounders the 13th, of course! "How could anyone not desire to match that passion and valor all conveyed through a cavalier determination to perform for everyone? If there's a pure and perfect way to save the world, it's through such daring power and dazzling talent, and it helps that every song of his bursts through the seams with the fire of the stars...!"

        ---Asciel's hands are both clasped at her face, eyes closed with the fondest of smiles. Of everything in the world for this self-centered idol to be a dizzying fan of...

        "A-hem! ...a diversion like that aside~ ...Rena, I just wanted to tell you- ah. ...not to think too hard when I said something like how you 'belonged' to me." -she has no idea that her admitting she told Rena that is a bit of a firebomb in present company! "...it was a high tension moment, and in all such moments, I have a certain firmness I hold onto. Please think more about how I wanted you to stand up for yourself! And not anything else I may have implied. Not even trying to connect that to how I went out and prepared a whole song just for you. I promise it's pure utility combined with auspicious circumstances. I have a lot of songs. I could probably find one for everyone in this room. Just clearing that air. Okay?~"

        It probably would've been less awkward if she'd never brought that up to begin with! 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita nods as Fa says she'll leave them alone, and offers her a smile.

"Don't worry, I will. Thanks for everything." Anita replies.

Rena says she's okay - but she feels like a truck hit her.

"...Yeah, that sounds about right." Anita comments with a small smile, and then a nod. "...Yeah."

Rena half-sobs and half-laughs and Anita laughs along with her too - though she ends up having to wipe some tears out of her eyes.

And then, Rena starts to worry over them. Anita can't help but smile. It's so like her to worry about them when she's the one who's bedridden.

"Alright. If you do think of somethin' you need, let me know right away. And... don't worry. I did bust up my arm pretty good with that little stunt, but not so bad I couldn't still swap it out." Anita explains, then flexes her left arm demonstrably. "See? Good as new... 'cause it is, but, well..."

She looks toward Roux, and nods.

"Yeah, I heard it too... but I was a little, uh, preoccupied at the time." She says, before looking toward Asciel. The power of song, huh...

"...I'm not much of a singer, myself... but it's pretty incredible." Anita comments.

And then, Asciel explains one of her earlier statements to Rena... and Anita smirks, just a little.

"That's good. 'Cause I think Eight and I'd have something to say about that." She comments. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


Rena's fingers reach out -- it's a little slow, a little tentative, with how sore she is -- but she squeezes Eight's fingers, for just a moment. She watches her, carefully, when she explains. She even looks down at thoe way she lifts her foot.

"Okay," she says. "I just wanted to be sure. B-But..." She smiles. "I'm glad you came for me. I'm glad you reached out, so... so I could see you then. And see you now, Octo."

Her eyes turn towards Roux, and she smiles at her -- still exhausted, but sincere -- and then she nods. "I'll... I'll do my best," she says. "Are--are you okay, Miss Louka? I saw you were out there, too. I... I'm very grateful that you tried to stop Yuliana. I know it wasn't easy. Especially..."

Especially because of the things she did. She looks to the side, her expression regretful.

So it's a little effort to make herself look back to Asciel's screen. "Someone else's song...?" she repeats, her voice quiet. "Well... I'm glad you helped that song find me."

She smiles, even if she blinks at the sheer fannish devotion for Mic Sounders the 13th. Not, of course, that she disagrees. Then, she blinks -- and she flushes -- and then coughs, looking to the side. "I--ah--I understand. High tension moment, and... I'm glad that you--um--you encouraged me. And that--um."

She coughs, once. Then, she winces; the Psychoframe crystal doesn't hurt, but her chest is still sore despite the pain medication. "...It's okay, Asciel." She smiles, then. "I'm glad that I have a friend like you."

Rena's fingers squeeze Eight's again. She looks to Anita, and she smiles -- laughing, softly, again when she flexes her arm. "I'm... I'm glad, Annie. I... thank you. For saving me. For me giving me that nudge."

Rena bites her lip. "You really were amazing. And I... I'm sorry that I made you think you might lose me. I don't ever want that to happen. You won't be alone again, for the rest of my life."

Then, her cheeks redden, because she did just say that in front of other people.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


"It's okay," Eight reiterates--about herself. "...I wouldn't do anything less," Eight says softly, and squeezes back.

Roux says her job is to get better, and Eight nods along. That's definitely the case. "...Wondered if it was who?" Eight wonders of Roux.

But Anita seems to have matters handled pretty well. She can even show off the new arm! "New is nice sometimes," Eight offers. For Roux and Yuliana, "I didn't... see most of that side of the battle. I'm not fully caught up on it. But with her involved, it can't have been for the better. It never is with her." Then, the music...

"I was also preoccupied. I didn't exactly have an ideal look at the battlefield as a whole..." And, as far as most people know, Eight didn't have any view on the battlefield; she was collapsed on the ship! But she has already implied differently than that anyway.

"...Mic Sounders the 13th is pretty great," Eight decides of Asciel's fondness. "He's..."

Pause. Anita answers first. "Yes," Eight says. "We would have a lot to say about that. ...But a 'friend' is OK."

But Eight smiles, at the way Rena talks to Anita. That soft laugh, that talk of how she won't be alone...

"She's a charmer, isn't she?" Eight says to Annie. "When she wants to be." 

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


"A song for *everyone?*" Roux asks Asciel, momentarily piqued at the prospect. A repetory hit? Or something deeper? Rena taking Eight's hand, however slowly, brings her away from this greedy feeling, and she smiles at Rena.

"I'm fine," she says. "A little bruised, but I came through it alright. It was pretty hairy, huh? I'm glad that -- I mean, that that machine won't be able to hurt anyone else." She means the Neo-Zeong.

Probably.

Sweeping a hand back through her hair, Roux lets out a huge breath. "Hopefully after this the place is going to be less-- like that, and we're all going to be able to move forwards. I guess that's a little empty, isn't it? But hey," she says after a moment, "it's a real hope."

"Rough way to end the summer, huh?" Roux concludes.

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


"... Yuliana's in the same kind of net as all of them, I think," Roux *actually* concludes, after a second or two of silence. "It's from a different direction, and maybe it's different, but she's as much a victim as -- ah, I won't tell the story right now."

She looks at Eight, and Rena. "Both of you get better so I can tell you this one, alright??"

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        ...She can't be quite sure, but Asciel suddenly feels a bizarre...pressure from Eight and Anita. A little drop in her determined smile as it's not Rena who seems to act the most towards her little slip of a statement, but those two...

        ...Strange. It's a sensation that tickles something familiar in Asciel's appraisal. And it's a familiarness she doesn't like. But where would that be coming from?

        (it's that she would lose it herself if someone came up and said Ai belonged to them! that's all it is!)

        "Ahahahah, friends, you say. Hm. Heh." Asciel lets that sink in slightly. Is that sort of connection affordable? ...Is pointing out that it might not be really what Rena needs? "...I sure find myself with strange bonds at times. After all, I've come to blows with Roux here on quite a few occasions, including when we first crossed paths. But~ For now at least, we have enough we can be in harmony over. Especially..."

        Ah. A most difficult Subject comes up. The minute Yuliana's name is mentioned, the glow fades right from Asciel's eyes, and a stern judgmental look comes up. "Hmph. That squirming abyss is best off left unmentioned. She's a particularly harshly thrashing of this world's death throes. It's simple. Her want is for a world where more understand her. Everything I do is for a world where absolutely nothing would need to try understanding me. Considering we're both unenviably violent and difficult, isn't the latter so much better?~ That should just about say everything that need be said~"

        Somehow, Asciel's almost a lot more decidedly cheerful talking about something she is very sure she cannot stand. 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"It is. You know me, I like to keep things fresh." Anita agrees with a nod and a smile as Eight comments on her arm. Yuliana... Anita frowns just a bit. She only spoke with her briefly during the encounter. She's a victim too, huh...

...Well, Anita's interested in hearing Roux's story about her, too.

As for Eight's comment for Asciel, Anita laughs.

"Yeah, 'friend' is good. 'Friend' works." She says with a decisive nod.

Anita can't help but smile again when her gesture makes Rena laugh.

"Not a problem. I'd do it again, as many times as it takes." Anita assures her. ...And Rena continues. For a moment Anita is struck silent, so touched she is by what Rena has to say. She goes a little red herself, and it takes her a moment to find her words.

"I... Geez. Well... I'm really happy to hear that." Anita says with a smile. "...I'm glad. Glad you're still with us... and glad to have you with me."

She chuckles, then.

"And, uh. Thanks for saving me, too. I didn't really have much of an exit strategy besides hopin' the Svipul could still fly after that..." She adds.

Eight's comment gets a laugh out of Anita, too, and an awkward massage of the back of her neck.

"Yeah, she really is..." Anita admits. "She's incredible." 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"I-I know," Rena answers Eight, looking at her thoughtfully for a moment more. She smiles at her. "But... it doesn't make me less grateful. I always owed my life to you. But... but it's even more true, now."

She looks at Roux, then she nods after a moment's thought. "I am, too... it was terrifying to fight one. Being... sort of in control of one--" She hesitates, clearly, to say she was in control. It wasn't really her.

And it was well and wrecked, by then. "...It was terrible." She looks back at Roux, then she smiles. "It's not empty, Miss Louka. We... we all have a lot to look forward to. A wedding, for one thing."

She hesitates for a moment, then she nods. "I... I heard a little," she admits. "But... still, I'm glad we stopped her from hurting the spirits of Denver Colony."

Rena looks to Asciel -- wincing for a moment -- before she looks down at the ground for a moment. "W-Well... even if we don't see eye to eye on all things, and even if we may not in the future, I'll always be grateful to you. And I'll always remember."

She smiles. Even if she winces a little. Is that what Yuliana truly wants? To be understood? She wonders, for a moment -- though her thoughts are slower than she would like, with the medication.

"A-Annie," she says, with a smile. "Of course I was going to make sure you were okay. But... I'm glad you're with me, too. I, ah--"

She starts to redden when Eight and Anita compliment her. While she is in front of them.

She glances to the side. "H-Honestly," she says, but it's with a laugh. Then, she smiles, looking down. "I'm glad I'm back here. So I'm not missing this."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.


Eight smiles to hear that Roux considers herself 'okay', too. And, "I don't think that hope is empty at all. I like it. I'd like the same."

But, "It is a pretty memorable summer..."

But Yuliana--Eight remembers learning that Yuliana was like that. Even so, "It's hard to think that with her," she admits. "Even though I know it's true. ...So OK. Tell me about it when I'm feeling better."

She smiles. "That's right, a wedding! Though... at this rate, I'll have to push mine back," she admits. "Yesterday was Lavhi's and my anniversary..."

Well, a date is just a date.

She squeezes Rena's hand again. Gently. "I'll always take care of you. Like you have me. ...But I'll accept a little gratitude sure," she says with a smile.

Then, "Having no exit strategy is just our Annie," she decides. And then, "I'm glad, too. Really glad."

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


Roux turns her head for a moment to look at Asciel's monitor. Her expression could be classified as a tired smile, although there is probably a little more to it. "Don't get me wrong," she says. "I'm not a fan of hers. Maybe she's not going to get back, you know, in tune with reality as we know it. But I finally understood why I got so mad at her when she did the -- thing."

"You guys know what I mean, with the thing?" says Roux. Contextually, it is that unusual silence/detachment so often around Yuliana.

And then Rena brings up the wedding. Roux's face flushes a little. Her arms fold. "Heeh - yeah, everyone's getting on me for that... I hope Leina sits down for five minutes to talk about it if she's so eager to do planning. I figure it'd just be a nice little thing, you know, I mean we'd have invitations and everything--"

Roux underestimates Leina, most likely.

<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.

        There's a warmth that enters Asciel's expression at such a pure-hearted understanding from Rena. That no matter what happens - this moment of connection, this one moment of care and hope - will stay in her memories.

        "...hah. ...I always thought it wouldn't feel particularly warm. ...After all, I was sure of it. I had to save everyone myself. And there was only so much time to do it. A planet tearing itself apart like this won't last so much longer, and day by day...humanity feels like it's saying it should just leave entirely. That it's doomed, and we should act like it is, and move on, like many already have. ...with odds like that, how could I spend so much energy just helping to save a single person...?"

        "...but...hearing you say that...it isn't...it isn't that bad. ...If I hadn't, maybe you wouldn't be able to speak to us. Maybe I'd see grief on the faces of everyone here instead of cheerily talking about the wistfulness of summer's end. And maybe, since you all do so much to keep the warmth of peace...maybe it'd be too much for you to bear. ...s...so..."

        "I promise I won't forget it either. No matter what measures I must take to-"

        ---Before Asciel can even finish vocalizing that sentiment, it's already tested.

        Window after window floods the screen in front of Asciel. All depicting different angles of the same event.

        Two of the Brave Robos, burning the tell-tale orange of Oath Over Omega. Goldymarg, the hammer of light - TenRyuJin, the dancer of light and shadow. Both of them...so close. So very close to Mount Fuji.

        "...no. Nononono they can't - I cannot allow this to happe-" Asciel pauses mid-sentence, as an overwhelming influx of one-sided communication comes her way. "...It's beginning, huh? ...It is. There's no time. Very well. Yes. I'll rendezvous with all of you there. Yep, I'm already initiating launch procedure. I told you it was an asset exactly for times like these. It's a little too soon, but we can't fight miracles with every light we'd like. ...De-orbiting in a rush is never great but I'll handle it. Uh huh. Let's end this."

        Hanging up on screen, Asciel's avatar seems to just...linger there, disconnected from her thoughts. Indeed, reports quickly chime in that the Codarl in the hangar has suddenly started a launch procedure with a waverider attachment in tow, and before anyone could ask any questions - she's already surging away from the Ra Mari with the utmost emergency force, hurtling far away from this tender conversation at lightning speed.

        ...for just a moment, the connection holds, and Asciel still realizes it. Popping back in with an almost gasp-like motion, the idol quickly states, "Sorry to end it like this. Turns out the card I needed to play to save the world is up. There's no telling what I'll have become next time we meet. ...stay safe up here. ...pleas-"

        <no connection. please insert media.> 

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita can only imagine how it must felt, to be in control of something like that. 'Terrible'... It wasn't Rena's choice, and Anita hopes she doesn't have to end up in one of those things, either.

"I'm glad too." Anita says with a nod, about the spirits. "Seems like... they'll finally be at peace, now."

Eight's wedding, though...

"...That's a shame. But, we'll be lookin' forward to it all the same." Anita says, though Roux gets a grin, too. "And good luck with yours, too."

...That grin falters a little bit at Eight's comment, though, and Anita laughs a bit sheepishly.

"I just tend to... go with the flow, you know?" She replies - then, sends Rena a smile.

"I'm glad, too. I wouldn't want you to miss any of this." She replies.

She looks briefly toward Asciel as... something seems to happen. ...Looks like things are going on out in the world - but right now, her world is all right here.

"...She's a busy one." Anita comments.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"I do," Rena says to Roux. She nods, her expression thoughtful for a moment. The silence is a hard to escape fact.

She looks at Roux, then at Eight. "Two weddings," she corrects. "It's been a busy summer, but I'm sure we'll have more time soon. We--" She opens her mouth, as she considers it for a moment. "Well... I'm sure Leina will have you well taken care of."

She wrinkles her nose. "Wow, two weddings..."

Maybe the gears are turning in her brain.

She looks back at Asciel's television screen. Rena smiles at her, and then she nods once at her. "You... you definitely made a difference, Asciel. For me, at least, but I doubt for just me and the people here, either."

But... what are these other measures she might need to do?

Her eyes widen, a little, as she sees her disconnect so suddenly -- part of the conversation she had, with someone else, so opaque to her. Rena falls quiet for a moment. "Asciel..."

What was that about?

Part of her wants to get up and find out. But, she winces when she moves a little. She sighs leaning backward. She looks at Anita, then she smiles.

"Me either," she says. She leans backward into her pillow, and sighs. Her eyes close.

"Me either..."

And, as it happens, she does tire quickly. Because she starts to nod off, then.

Retrieved from "https://srtmoo.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=2023-09-10:_Aftermath&oldid=8113"