2023-10-15: The Friends We Make Along The Way

• Log: The Friends We Make Along The Way
• Cast: Alto Saotome, Sheryl Nome, Rin Naujakaite, Yurika Misumaru, Ranka Lee, Franziska Edelweiss, Rita Bernal, Trevor Teach, Yurikano De Metrio Lu, Sagiri Sakurai, Maya Jintek, Laffinty Fin E Ld Si
• Where: Gallia IV
• OOC - IC Date: 15th October 0097
• Summary: The expedition encounters some aliens in the form of representatives from the Zuvorg Alliance. They invite the representatives to meet for introductions and talks.

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<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        A bead of sweat rolls down Alto's forehead as he stares at the strange
 machine in his sights. His finger is hovering over the trigger, though he
 hasn't pressed it yet. When his sensors had reported unknown signals
 approaching, he had expected them to be Vajra. Instead it seems his patrol had
 run into a different kind of alien presence in the form of what looks like a
 passenger shuttle and its robot escorts. The designs aren't familiar, though
 Alto hardly claims to be an expert on all the alien races that exist in the
 galaxy.

        A transmission from the the Quarter filters in through his radio,
 <"Skull-3, Skull-4, the alien delegation is cleared for approach and landing.
 Escort them in.">

        Alto relaxes a little, moving his finger away from the trigger and
 replying, <"On it."> He turns his Messiah around to head back towards the
 expedition camp, transforming back into fighter mode and starting to lead the
 alien craft there.

        A short time later the alien passenger craft and its escorts are led
 towards a landing site at the edge of the camp clearing. A buzz of chatter is
 already making its way around the camp at the sight of the alien craft. The
 expedition had believed this planet to be uninhabited, so where did these
 aliens come from?

        The various craft, Alto's Messiah included, land at the designated
 site. Already a crowd is forming as expedition members are gathering around
 the edges of the landing site to get a closer look. From the crowd a couple of
 more noteworthy people step forward in order to meet those disembarking. It's
 Lieutenant Catherine Glass, the expedition's designated representative; along
 with the Macross Quarter's chief operator, Monica Lang, to provide aide to the
 Lieutenant.

        The two quietly wait for the alien party to disembark before
 approaching closer.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl Nome's among those in the forming crowd at the landing site. She
 has her stylish pink-and-white flightsuit on, sleek, heeled, and decorated
 with the emblem of the Galactic Fairy on the left breast, despite not having
 been out flying with Alto. There had been an expectation that they might run
 into the Vajra, after all, and Sheryl has learned about herself that she
 doesn't really want to do combat.
        
        This is something different, though. Sapient aliens, ones with their
 own civilization and culture. Humanity is far from unfamiliar with the
 idea--there are several Zentraedi and Zentraedi descendants in the group right
 now, no doubt--but it's still been a good while since contact with an alien
 race. Sheryl doesn't step up along with Catherine and Monica for the moment,
 but she's hardly at the back of the crowd, either. For now, she watches with
 curiosity, arms folded over her chest.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin Naujakaite has been getting a lot done. Building a semi-durable
 establishment on an alien world. Attempting to mend connections to her brother
 and sister in gaming. And, on a very provisional basis, demonstrating her
 portable AI concepts and trying to link them to spare autonomous support
 frames.

She is used, at least, to being a busy litle bee. But you know what you rarely
 do in the Black Knights or in the hubbub of Ashford Academy's club scene?

                        FIRST CONTACT.

Rin is still in her work jumpsuit, although it has been freshly laundered. She
 has it unzipped in front, although she has a bandeau top on underneath it. She
 has joined the crowd, goggling; Samantha and Louis have done so as well, if
 somewhat detached from her.

"ohhh, my god," Rin comments quietly to somebody near her. It could be anyone.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        ...Unfortunately for the largely peaceful expedition to this remote
 planet - they've wandered into a deeper hotbed of dispute than they asked for.
 The formation flanking and escorting the single transport ship, while clearly
 largely composed of a few squadrons of simply armed mass produced machines,
 has two very distinct unusual mobile weapons at the forward position - the
 emergency 'in case this is a big problem' enforcers.

        "So, what do you think, Mekibos? Having us warp out here in such a
 rush, thinking it's an emergency where Chaos is sneaking in
 reinforcements...Are they really that careless, especially when they'd know
 there's an academy on this planet? Hmmm. The Electors aren't very fond of
 them, but it hardly means they're stupid~" At one side of the ship's escort
 crew - a bright purple machine with a wide, almost Mobile Armor-esque lower
 body that flits across the sky easily, blade-like arms pointing towards the
 sight of the Quarter. Within it, a well dressed, short haired woman with an
 easy going tone of voice.

        "...I thought they were exaggerating too, and assumed it must've been
 some stray merchant fleet out of Pentagona. But, well - that's pretty
 obviously a Macross, Rudi. The other ship that landed with them is unfamiliar,
 as is the one we detected in orbit, but they're designs we haven't seen in the
 slightest - it's all a little sketchy. Still, let's hear them out. From
 everything I've gathered, the situation on 'Earth' is a pretty big mess." The
 other unit, a blue and gold suit with the inescapable air of a paladin, is a
 little stiffer in the air - the pilot at its helm, Mekibos, a confident blonde
 man with twin slashes of crimson war paint across his cheek.

        "Oooh! Right, we have the obvious way to confirm they're from Earth,
 don't we?" With a little laugh to herself - all the sudden, the ship's escorts
 call out to the Quarter and its escorts an awkward but recognizable broadband
 of standard Earth frequencies - and very clearly in a less-than-fluent
 familiarity with common languages used in particular across Earth Federation
 fleets.

        "IT IS I, RUDI PIXYZALTO, here representing the UND Inspections and
 Customs Bureau for the Zuvorg Alliance of Brisingr and the Polyhedron! If
 you're hearing this, that means you share a common language with a certain
 political rival of ours, and we have quite a few questions to ask of you all!
 We've no intent to fire, though we're not above it if you start raising a
 fuss, given you're trespassing on territory awfully close to a military
 institution!~"

        ...At the sides of the fleet, a group of three less experienced
 students tagging along opens up a short channel between themselves.

        "...such a pain. Are the Alliance's enforcers all weird loudmouths like
 that?" A slightly queasy student, Array, grouses and tips unsteadily in his
 formation with the others.

        "Don't speak out of turn, Array. She's heralding herself as all proud
 warriors do. When it is my place to be at the delegation for an unknown enemy,
 I will follow in her footsteps." Kirius, a stern and diligent blue-haired one,
 keeps his eye on the prize - the unknown foreigners who washed up on the
 metaphorical shores of Gallia-IV.

        "They don't look like much. Are we really sure they're a threat? ...I
 guess the Variable Fighters those bastards use are annoyingly fast, but that's
 just two ships. The Alliance could warp in five times that many if this were
 really a problem..." A brash-looking red haired student, Izo, presses the back
 of his head against folded hands. "...Honestly, dragging students out for
 something like this...I get why, but it's kind of annoying, and I'd really
 rather not our first live combat be against total unknowns..."

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

There's something both exhilarating and terrifying all at once about making
 contact with a new alien species. Certainly the myth of the Macross Fleets
 were storied in that way.

She has Meltrandi blood in her, but she wasn't raised by them, and other than
 that... brush with those mercenary invaders during that Sheryl concert - she
 just knows them as her neighbors.

More human than 'alien' to her despite how the stories go. And while sure she
 knows of the wars, her idea of the alien was 'Vajra'.

Thus, talking? Talking was good!

Talking meant they were more on the 'human' side than the Vajra side. Talking
 meant that song remained a universal language.

So good! Talking is good! They'd talk, not fire in that alien craft. And the
 rest is-

Despite wearing a SMS uniform before, that was mostly for presentation. Today
 she's trying to make a good first impression, and in the end 'Deculture' was
 on the mind.

Thus she's wearing the dress Sheryl gave her for her birthday, which some fans
 might know she wore during one number at her debut concert.

It has a light, breezy look that screams 'Spring.' An off the shoulder-lacy
 ruff striped with spring green and sprinkled with decorative bright faux
 flowers.

The ruff drapes over the dress' body, leading to tastefully subdued openings, a
 yellow ribbon, and layered ruffled skirts.

She's nervous about it, but at the same time, it's best to be honest about her
 representation of herself.

To Rin's 'Oh my God' as the contact is made, comes a soft, "Deculture." From
 Ranka, as she looks forward and...

... leans one way, then another to eye their ships.

'IT IS I, RUDI PIXYZALTO-'

"Ehhh!?" Ranka looks up, and around as the speakers come on and...

"They wouldn't... really just blow us up, right?"

She asks, quietly, to nobody in particular, but probably someone nearby, as she
 listens to them speak of the speed and size of their threat response.

<Pose Tracker> Franziska Edelweiss has posed.

         The two young assistants from the Janus Research concern have also
 joined the crowd, peeking up over the back.

         "First contact!" Adeya Jacobs, a chemistry major from Johannesburg
 whispers loudly.

         "Quite historic!" Desmond Abernathy, a Britannian geology major,
 responds.

         "You want to do the easy history of looking at aliens and not the hard
 history of scientific progress, huh?" Their current mentor, The Good Frau
 Doktor Franziska Edelweiss, grouses behind them, not even attempting to get a
 look.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Aliens, Rita overheard. There have been aliens before, though she knows little
 of them. Really, what is an alien, when so much of humanity resides among the
 stars? She wonders if these ones will have souls, or be capable of becoming
 Newtypes.

The Phenex is still, resting in all her glory at the edge of the landing site.
 She had to choose a place that would allow her to come and go as she pleased
 without further scolding. As the alien craft approaches, the golden Gundam
 reaches a hand out in front of her. For those with open hearts, they may be
 able to see the spirit of Rita Bernal perched at the edge of the massive palm,
 legs held over the edge, watching with an eager expression.

Someone calls out -- quickly revealed as "Rudi Pixyzalto" -- and Rita tilts her
 head. They almost threaten the group, and the Phenex begins to glow blue in
 response. She takes no action, but perhaps this will serve as a sign. The
 Firebird is awake and unwilling to allow harm to come to her friends.

Rita isn't convinced these aliens are bad, though, so she continues to watch.
 Once the landing party is close enough, the Newtype spirit smiles to herself.
 Raising her spiritual "volume" just below the level of a shout, Rita calls out
 to the hearts of the newcomers, curious to see who, if any, could hear her.

Hello! I hope we can be friends!

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

Trevor has been... Honestly KIND OF UNHELPFUL since arriving. In the sense that
 he hasn't been around to do any of the necessary busywork needed to ensure
 the expedition's success in and around the base. He has been far too
 interested in going afield and roaming the vast unexplored vastness of Gallia
 IV, chasing whatever captures his attention for more than a few minutes and
 following Rita Bernal around wherever her whims demand that she goes. But in
 the course of their journey, Trevor HAS at least contributed quite a bit of
 survey data, courtesy of... going recklessly far from base, with Isadore
 dutifully transmitting reconnaissance data to Omoikane whenever it rode into
 close enough range to do so.

TODAY, THOUGH, he is... here. Of course he is here. There are ALIENS. How often
 do you get to make contact with ALIENS like this, huh? HUH?? It's wild and
 rare and super ultra undeniably awesome. Of course Trevor is here, with his
 machine zooming in from the flanks of the base at perhaps incautious speeds,
 before abruptly firing maneuvering thrusters and slowing to a sudden stop
 nearby, so that Trevor can get into range for--

Actually just for communications. "Oh man, aliens? Like alien aliens? Aliens
 even further away than the Jovians!? GREETINGS, RUDI PIXYZALTO," Trevor
 announces, instantly assuming this is just Alien Custom. "I am Trevor Teach,
 pi-- I MEAN Treasure Hunter, and part of this here expeditionary fleet! We're
 here on a mission to search out new worlds and civilizations, and all that
 stuff. How long have you guys been here? I don't think I've seen any of your
 guys out on patrol or anything? Are those machines considered 'high end?' What
 is a Zuvorg Alliance??"

Beat.

"We're new around these parts," Trevor says, finally sucking in a breath. "And
 didn't actually think this planet had anyone on it until we landed. Whoops!"

<Pose Tracker> Yurikano De Metrio Lu has posed.

"And so, just remember the three key things. One, we haven't seen much in the
 way of hostilities from them. Two, we can't let them know too much; If they
 didn't know of us, then we'll have to keep our scope narrow until we know
 more. Three, and never forget."

A finger perked up, the Princess heir, Yurikano De Meteorio Lu, beaming a
 bright, innocent smile to the three boys on call. Being on the main shuttle
 was enough of importance for technical royalty, even if she wasn't...Wearing
 anything more particularly formal than normal. "Everyone in the sky is equal.
 In this huge sky, status is irrelevant! After the proper introductions,
 anyhow. Just be polite and don't get into any fighting." There's a glance cast
 at Izo. "That does mean you~" Kirius. "And no honorable duels, either."
 Array. "Or games!" Such was the Student Teacher at play.

"Don't worry. When everything is going right, this lottery isn't something you
 have to worry about! So, good luck!" And she cuts the call off then and there,
 keeping an earbud in to listen to general comms. Aaaah, first contact, first
 contact...! What a heavy situation, though with a reassuring smile at the
 other (un)lucky princess on board. "How lucky of us, huh? At least everyone's
 not shooting each other."

Being undercut by the ever-so-present RUDI PIXYZALTO (Emphasis Hers) was just
 part and parcel of the course. The advantages(?) of being just a heir and not
 having to be the First One to Greet Them.

Still, as the technical second in line to De Metrio's throne, it pays to slip
 back into the royal training of yesteryear, the shuttle firmly seating itself
 on the ground. A pause. One second to the next to the next to the next...

And the door unseals.
And the door opens up.
A teenage girl stands there, a small smile of zero fear on her face and with a
 simple military uniform. Brown hair down to the hips. Two braids. A human that
 waits for the stair ramp to establish itself, casting a gaze along the crowd.
 Oh, wow, there's a lot of people...Lottos suck, but this sort of thing...

One step after another down, the sharp eyes of a royal gazing afar. Robots. The
 beginning mutters of RUDI PIXYZALTO'S message. A deep breath before her smile
 widens, giving a soft bow.

"Hello, everyone. On behalf of Polyhedron, I am Yurikano De Metrio Lu,
 second-in-line to De Metrio's throne. I hope you come in peace!" And that same
 bow was righting itself, that brilliant smile shining forth.

"Though, seriously! There's so many of you!" Eyes scanning across the crowd,
 picking out people here and there, sharp eyes honing in. A scan across the
 horizon, shading her eyes from the sun. A golden suit with the feeling of
 radiance. A girl in a...flightsuit? Jumpsuit, too. Another uniform, and
 someone calling himself a treasure hunter. "So, let's start once more!"
 Delicacy was crucial, important, key to a good start on relations! Sure, RUDI
 PIXYZALTO'S warning was enough of the hard side of things, and this was a
 political keg...But still!

A hand up, and a wave.

                                "Yo! Let's get along now! Where are you all
 from?"

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Rami Amasaki had been feeling uneasy about the expedition to Gallia IV for some
 time. That uneasiness didn't exactly fade when they arrived -- but overtime,
 it has quietly slipped into the background of her thoughts, as a sense of ease
 once more settled over her. The necessity of focusing on the day-to-day
 routine, creating a sense of structure out of an uninhabited land, and even
 simple socializing had all managed to calm her nerves, little by little.

She still can't directly face Sheryl Nome or Ranka Lee without feeling like her
 cheeks were about to combust from sheer embarrassment but, well -- some
 mortifying memories are still fresh, and one can only do so much. For the most
 part -- ease. Calm. She allows herself to relax more.

All of that is dashed the second she sees those alien crafts landing at the
 expedition's camp site.

She catches glimpse of it while in the middle of her daily chores, of which she
 is on step 10 of a 25-step system that is very efficient and not at all
 obsessive or fussy so shush. Steps 11-25 of her 25-step plan for efficient
 daily chore duties never see the light of day.

Grey-brown eyes widen. She recognizes the styles, the iconography, even before
 Rudi Pixyzalto makes her impossible-to-ignore broadband debut.

"Zuvorg--!" she begins, before she covers her mouth with her hands, as if to
 stop herself from going further. Surprise and uncertainty spring back to lift,
 mixing together to create a dreadful cocktail in the pit of her stomach.
 Zuvorg, out here? Just when this expedition fleet happens to be making their
 arrival?

"... What are they doing out here...?" she muses, fingers lacing together and
 squeezing nervously.

"Whatcha mumbling about, rookie dearest?"

"WAH!"

Rami instantly jumps, a good handful of inches in the air, at the unexpected
 but familiar voice. So lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice Sagiri's
 arrival, casting a curious look her way as if all the shocking goings on
 weren't nearly as important as whatever was making her subordinate fret. In
 one way, it's reassuring -- touching, even. In another -- it's incredibly
 inconvenient and immediately puts Rami on the spot and how does she have a
 gift for that--!!

"I-i-i-it's just a little surprising!" she blurts out. "I thought Gallia IV was
 uninhabited!" It's even - technically - true!

Sagiri's stare turns from Rami, back towards the landing site. Her features
 settle into that quietly thoughtful look she so often does when processing new
 information, like a calm before the storm.

"That's true. It's pretty wild running into aliens all the way out here, huh?"
 she wonders of Rami. Rami's response is just to fidget, to which Sagiri smiles.

"It's okay," she reassures. "I'm with you." Rami blinks.

"M-ma'am?"

"People who try to make flashy entrances like this always put me on edge, too."

"Oh!" Rami exhales, slowly. "Yes, it's... offputting."

Sagiri looks at her for a long time. And then she grins.

"Well, only one way to see if our guts are right, right? Let's go check it out!
 C'mon, rookie dearest. I'll make sure you're okay."

"That's not really something I-- WAH?!"

And this is the sound of Rami Amasaki squawking in surprise as Sagiri Sakurai
 grabs her hand and drags her off towards all the hubbub she was really, really
 hoping to avoid.

So it goes!

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         Maya had been scheduled for maintenence duties today, and as such was
 not part of the exploration team who were now apparently bringing back alien
 delegates. NOT the Vajra, but some other group! It was a tense, but exciting
 time right now, and she was one of the first to get to see them! With any
 luck, they'd be able to make a good first impression, and who knows, maybe
 they knew more about the Vajra and would be able to help explain what they
 were all about. 'Maybe they even have their own culture!' And if they have
 their own culture... then maybe they have their own idols!

         The introduction from... Rudi, was very bombastic, and would almost
 have been funny if not for the potential threat at the end there. "Do all
 their customs officers speak like that?" Maya asked out loud, thinking about
 how airports and spaceports would be if their staff all acted like he did.
 But, if they were indeed near a military facility of theirs, probably a good
 thing that they hadn't fired first. Although, how long had they been out here,
 anyway? How had they not noticed them until now?

         And then the next person came out, who seemed both remarkably human,
 and a lot more... well, less serious? She'd introduced herself as a royal, and
 a pretty high up one, but she wasn't haughty at all. It was more like she was
 introducing herself at a party, perhaps, or maybe even in a classroom? She
 definitely looked quite young. And then there was that casual wave and 'yo!'
 that sealed the deal. It... probably wasn't appropriate to respond as she
 wasn't the one in charge here, but what if they had different customs? And she
 was addressing everyone, right?

         "Y-Yo!" Maya called out, waving back to the princess. "I'm Maya
 Jintek, from Earth! And yep, we come in peace!" 'Oh god I hope I'm not
 screwing things up for everyone! I don't want diplomatic incident on my
 record!' It was a lot more complicated than 'coming in peace', sure, but they
 had no quarrel with the Zuvorg Alliance, and it REALLY looked like she wanted
 a response there.

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Amid the troupe arriving on that shuttle is another, a pale girl in the deep
 blue and purple fabrics of Le Garite's own royalty. She doesn't have her own
 accompaniment of Ovids, but with everyone else present...of course, she
 doesn't require such a guide.

"She's as lively as I remember," the pale girl murmurs to the also-pale man
 accompanying her, a man in a white uniform with blue piping for color. His
 eyes are hard to see; the archetypal foxfaced type of man. "Yes," he says
 back, chuckling lightly. "That's De Metrio, for you."

The girl quails a little before Rudi's boisterous proclamation, but rallies
 herself with a sharp intake of breath. "Right. This...is a mission of
 diplomacy, now," she assures herself.

Her guard says nothing, with a smile, until he says, "We should join them at
 the ramp."

        Soon, the ramp opens.

Aside from Yurikano, another emerges soon after. She looks human enough, though
 she's quite pale, with sky-blue hair. She's shorter - younger, perhaps, with
 a soft round face and curious purple eyes peeking out from under a half-bang.
 She steps down without so much commitment as Yurikano, but with poise and a
 firm step.

She's accompanied by a taller man. His hair is a sort of pastel orange. He
 tilts his head to regard the assemblage, and tips forward in a deep, humble
 bow. "My, my. There's so very many of you. It appears we picked quite an
 excellent time to be touring."

He tilts his head, friendly enough. "My name is Balance Ti Moid. I am adjutant
 to King Fin E Ld Si Dizelmine, of the Polyhedron Federation's nation of Le
 Garite."

He motions to the girl beside him, struggling to stand upright amid all these
 eyes. "I am accompanied by Her Royal Highness, Princess Fin E Ld Si Laffinty.
 You are not required to bow."

He chuckles. That was a joke. He does not clarify if you are required to laugh.

The princess beside him - Laffinty? - steps forward, a short cloak fluttering
 about her waist as she pulls back the hood.

<Pose Tracker> Franziska Edelweiss has posed.

         Edelweiss catches a glimpse of the Phenex streaking across the sky and
 slowly backs her way under the nearest roof as Adeya and Desmond get caught up
 in the excitement.

         "I'm Adeya, I'm from Jozi!"

         "I'm Desmond, I'm from Nashville!"

         Safely under aerial cover, Edelweiss growls. She supposed establishing
 diplomatic relations was all well and good, but it was getting in the way of
 important work. She bites her thumb impatiently. Sure, it wasn't as if she
 could just go out and get a Vajra genetic sample on her own, not without
 getting killed in the process, either by them or the contemptible Phenex, but
 anyone who would serve as an escort on a field survey was wrapped up in
 this...hullabaloo! Poppycock!

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        'IT IS I, RUDI PIXYZALTO...'

        The transmission plays through the bridge of the Macross Quarter. After
 it has finished, Ram Hoa turns from her terminal to look at Captain Wilder and
 ask, "Should we respond, Capt-ah!" Ram is cut off as another voice comes in
 over the speakers. Specifically that of Trevor replying.

        Captain Wilder simply listens, before adjusting his cap a little and
 saying, "Let Lieutenant Glass handle things. We're just here to provide
 protection." Ram nods, turning her head to look at the screen showing the
 landing site as the aliens begin disembarking from their transport.

        Catherine Glass had heard the transmission sent from 'Rudi Pixyzalto'
 and was considering responding. But then Trevor steps in... And Catherine
 decides that this is actually for the better. Let the outspoken ones handle
 each other. She can focus her efforts on the more important matters.

        Though she silently hopes those two don't end up starting an
 interstellar war.

        Yurikano is amongst the first to disembark and introduce herself. It's
 at this point that Catherine steps forward to greet her, "Princess Yurikano.
 Please forgive the crowd... This is a somewhat surprising event for us. We
 were not expecting to encounter anyone else out here."

        More follow behind Yurikano and Catherine greets them too, "Adjutant
 Moid, Princess Laffinty. Welcome to our camp. I am Lieutenant Catherine Glass
 of the Frontier Defense Force. I am also aide to the President of the Frontier
 Long Distance Colony Fleet, as well as designated representative of this small
 expedition fleet." Catherine can already hear some introductions from other
 people in the crowd, as well as numerous murmurs about 'space princesses' and
 the like. With a somewhat resigned smile, Catherine asks, "Before we continue
 any further... Let's move this to a more comfortable location. We have a
 conference room prepared."

        Catherine Glass turns, then proceeds to give the gathered crowd a
 fierce stare, "Don't you people have work to do!?" There are a number of
 disgruntled murmurs from the crowd, but most appear to disperse to return to
 whatever they were doing though. Catherine then turns back to the princesses
 and their escorts, smiling once more, "This way, please." She begins to lead
 them towards the camp proper.

        It doesn't take long before everyone is shuffled into a large
 conference room, where numerous tables and chairs have been set up. There's
 even some food prepared, though it's not exactly a feast or anything. But it's
 probably nice!

        While most of the crowd has returned to work, a few have followed the
 group in. Amongst them is Alto himself, having exited his Messiah after
 landing. He's still technically escorting the visitors so it's his job to keep
 an eye on them... Both for their sake and the sake of the camp. He's still in
 his flight suit, complete with helmet. Though upon arrival, he proceeds to
 take it off and put it aside.

        With most everyone gathered in the large room, Catherine Glass begins
 once more, "Firstly, on behalf of the expedition, I apologise for any
 trespassing we may have inadvertently performed. As I said, we were not
 expecting to meet anyone here and believed the planet to be uninhabited."

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Rami will have the additional problem vis-a-vis facing Sheryl due to
 the fact that, whenever their eyes happen to meet, Sheryl insists on
 winking, smirking, and/or blowing kisses at her.
        
        What can she say? Rami is awfully fun to tease.
        
        "Oho, space princesses," Sheryl comments, curiosity bright in her blue
 eyes, as Yurikano introduces herself and Moid introduces Laffinty for her. Is
 Laffinty higher up in the rankings, or is she just too young to be able to
 pull etiquette off? That Rudi Pixyzalto has a lot to say, and Sheryl might be
 more concerned if it weren't for Yurikano's more relaxed vibe. The others
 answer a lot of Yurikano's questions already, so Sheryl doesn't need to be
 concerned with that, at least.
        
        Instead, she smiles brilliantly and strides forward, tossing her long,
 golden curls with the back of her hand as she sets her other hand on her hip.
 It's at this point it becomes apparent that her flightsuit is unzipped down
 just past her navel. Because it's Sheryl. (Fortunately, it's staying in
 place--because it's anime.)
        
        "I'm Sheryl. Sheryl Nome, the Galactic Fairy, and a princess of song
 from the Macross Galaxy Fleet!" she declares, the edges of her smile tugging
 up a bit more. She doesn't specify any more than Moid does if anyone's
 supposed to laugh or not. She does shoot Ranka in her spring-green dress a
 glance, though; after all, the only other one here who can make that claim of
 being a song-princess, joking or not, is her. She soon looks back at Yurikano,
 Lan, and Moid. She, of course, doesn't bow, though she does give Laffinty with
 her beautiful sky-blue hair an especially indulgent smile. "It's
 fascinating to meet you all."
        
        But Catherine is the one in charge here, so when she bids everyone (who
 doesn't have other work to do, anyway) head inside to somewhere more
 comfortable, Sheryl follows suit. She seats herself on one of the couches,
 folding her long legs, and smiles again to Yurikano, Lan, and their
 procession--whatever parts of it have come to the conference room, anyway.
        
        "It sounds like you've all been around here for a while," she comments.
 "Does that mean you met the people from the 117th Research Fleet?"
        
        Does that mean they're familiar with the Vajra? But Sheryl will
 wait a little bit before asking that much--or let someone else handle it.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin glances at Ranka. She smiles. Then she looks back forwards as there is a
 communication from the curiously-familiar - or at least comprehensible - group
 from the aliens.

A communication comes out.

Rin slow blinks.

Rin gets out her phone, clicking it on. She answers Ranka even as she's
 bringing up some kind of remote-monitoring app of unclear purpose. "Don't make
 any assumptions," Rin tells her. "Like you know handshakes? Handshakes came
 from when knights would demonstrate they didn't have weapons and were acting
 with trust. Empty hand, and your opponent clasps it too, that's why you're
 always supposed to lead with your right if you can. Since that'd be your sword
 hand."

She stands on the balls of her feet. Her hand jerks for a moment. A photo of
 the alien princess is taken. Rin continues to Ranka, quietly, "The Second
 Princess? Either this is a big deal or she happened to be in the area..."

Another jerk of the hand and several rapid camera noises as she images the
 others! Historical photography up in this piece! Her head turns as she sees
 the somewhat familiar Sagiri and the more petite Rami taken under tow.

Catherine Glass then tells them all to get back to work. This suffices to send
 off Louis and Samantha, but Rin? Rin looks towards Ranka and leans over to
 stage-whisper to her, "Lemme act like I'm your bodyguard."

AND THAT'S WHY

Rin shows up in the conference room! The good news is that she drifts towards
 the refreshment table while doing her best to avoid being in the direct line
 of sight of brass. In this, perhaps, Rin shows an innate sympathy for the role
 of the enlisted personnel throughout history.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka's hair lifts on one side as she takes in Rin's advice, watching Sagiri
 drag Rami on over with a look of wonder, "Mmm-hmm! So - no preconceptions,
 alright." A beat, as she deflates, "Easier said than done."

Ranka's hair perks up the moment the strange shuttle's door unseals. And- "Oh!
  A Princess!?" Ranka just, looks sideways, then, begins to dip into a curtsey
 in the dress she's wearing.

She's halfway into the curtsey when.

'Yo! Let's get along now! Where are you all from?'

Ranka just stops- eyes her, eyes the rest, and then, straightens back up
 immediately like she didn't do anything.

"I'm Ranka Lee, and they call me the 'Super Dimension Cinderella'." It's a
 little embarrassing, introducing herself like that, she'd never have had the
 nerve if Sheryl didn't do it herself, "I'm from the Macross Frontier Fleet,
 your Majes- Ma'am, Miss... I-" Ranka flusters as she puts her hands to her
 face as she whispers, "She's so informal I don't know what to call her!"

Whereas the other Princess (as introduced by the Adjutant), when she's told
 she's not required to bow, she immediately finishes the curtsey she started
 with the first one.

"It's, wonderful to meet you both!"

When they're bid inside by Catherine, Ranka seems relieved as the travel time
 gives her a chance to compose in that long procession. As Rin suggests, "Eh!?
  Huh? My- Okay!"

At the door, she emphasizes, "And this is my bodyguard - Rin!" As they head
 into the conference room, Ranka briefly freezes as Sheryl says something, but
 - don't be ridiculous.

It was in the briefing. It was in the briefing.

There's nothing unusual about that number at all.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        As far as first contact between military expeditions where one is being
 suspected of having ties to an uneasy foreign occupant - things have gone
 pretty well so far! Ships are landing, people are disembarking, there's no
 guns being fired. Isn't that swell!

        "Hm. Rudi, you catch that too? From the gold one?" Mekibos squints at
 the Phenex once. "I heard it, but definitely not over the radio. ...It's more
 direct than that. ...Didn't we hear something about that 'songstress' project
 of Ragna's? Could it be that?"

        "Hm? Catch what?" Rudi calls in reply, an eyebrow raised at what is to
 her, a totally silent gaudy golden titan. "...That one certainly stands out
 from the crowd, but I'm not getting any weird readings. Sure you didn't
 disassociate too much on the warp, Mekibos?~ Well. If you have suspicions on
 that one, you stand back and appraise it. In the meantime, the hails we are
 getting are pretty interesting!" Rudi calls back to Trevor with a nearly
 audible little wink, "Well, 'Treasure Hunter', just know that if I catch you
 swiping anything you shouldn't, it is my job to take you before the
 authorities too. Sounds a little like all of you are lost, but never fear,
 we'll get it all squared away!"

        Rudi's the first to disembark among the ship's escorts, an almost
 imposingly quick stride in her step marching into the conference room - where,
 naturally, she quite nearly outright knocks Rami over in her march, pivoting
 on one heel to so diligently offer a gloved hand down to stabilize the girl.
 "Hehe, aren't you nervous? Don't worry, don't worry-! Have a little more faith
 in your confident comrades!" Flashing her gaze over to Sagiri, Rudi's smile
 widens just a little more. "Like her! I like the gutsy look in your eyes. Take
 good care of her during your stay here!" The overzealous energy like the
 galaxy's most powerful little league coach resumes as, on her way to joining
 the actual stage of the conference room, Rudi claps both princesses on the
 shoulder. Probably not impacting Yurikano much - absolutely delivering more
 force to Lan than she's prepared for.

        Between the two, however, it's actually Mekibos who takes his turn
 first to speak. He's a little uptight about it, looking over the audience a
 little suspiciously, before a slow head-shake heralds his loosening up. "Well.
 Miss Glass, I'm grateful for the surprisingly warm reception we've gotten
 here. Let's see here. My associate Rudi here more than introduced herself -
 I'm Mekibos Bulverde, also an enforcer of the UND Inspections and Customs Bureau. This
 is honestly a first for me. Well - like you said, Gallia-IV is nominally
 uninhabited, and pretty out of the way as far as Zuvorg territory in the
 Brisingr Cluster goes. But, six years ago, it became the site for the Kingdom
 of Le Garite's military academy and testing ground, so it falls under our
 purview to make sure there's no incidents. ...You all said you were the crew
 of the 'Macross Quarter', correct? I'm going to need an honest answer - are
 you all affiliated with the Macross Elysion on Ragna? The reason we showed up
 is that, as part of their treaty being allowed to station there, they promised
 they did not have other members of their 'Macross' fleets showing up to
 reinforce their military - so it's understandable we're a little on edge
 seeing aother Macross appear, especially so close to where one was shot down a
 number of years ago."

        Clearing his throat after the explanation, Mekibos does stand aside
 once Princess Laffinty gets nearer to the center of the conference room - she
 wields the highest authority here, so he's not about to overstep his bounds...

        Of course, following Princess Yurikano like ducklings - Array is
 grabbing as many snacks from the concession tables as possible, much as
 Yurikano forbade him from going overboard on the junk food. Kirius has an
 ultra-stern look on his face, preparing to reel him back from such shameless
 defiance of their teacher's guidance - but with a silent headshake, Izo's got
 to hold him back. "...It ain't your problem, man. He's not exactly about to
 listen to us, and I doubt being at a diplomatic whatsit is gonna stop
 Yurikano giving him a stern talking to down the line..."

<Pose Tracker> Yurikano De Metrio Lu has posed.

Yurikano does not laugh. Whether it's a question of being able to discern
 Moid's intentions or asserting her right as someone royal is left up to the
 crowd to endlessly speculate on. She does keep the two in her peripheral
 vision; Such was the chore of being in the Polyhedron Federation.

Maya's mention of Earth gives the princess a slight pause, eyes widening
 slightly in affirmation of just where this was before manifesting that smile
 once more. "That's good! You know what that means? That makes two of us,
 then!" The balance of Stringent Person, Relaxed Person, and The Formal Duo,
 the perfect square balance to grind down the ice of first contact in general.
 Hell, she's even flashing a peace sign. (The question of if the Zuvorg
 Alliance knows of the peace sign is also left to speculation.)

Mmh...Hmm! Hmm hmmhmmmmm. Yurikano's eyes narrow and widen as she takes in the
 full frontal sight of Sheryl Nome, cupping her chin in thought. "Princess of
 Song, and Galactic Fairy..." Actual princess? Nickname? Something else? The
 Macross Galaxy Fleet strikes the wrong sort of chord, but that's neither here
 nor there. Besides! Friendly relations will help. "Spreading your wings out? I
 can respect that. A please, Song Princess, Galactic Fairy Sheryl Nome."
 Connection: Established!

There's even a small turn of the head to wink towards Ran's camera. Peace,
 peace!

"You don't have to worry about the semantics. It's Yurikano! Yu. Ri. Ka. No.
 Good to meet you too, Super Dimension Cinderella, Ranka Lee." Wait, she can't
 possibly be thinking those two are also-

Moving on.

Adeya, Jozi. Desmond, Nashville! Two places she's never heard of committed to
 memory! If they're all from Earth, that does mean a few things...Well!

"It's a large universe. Still, to think you landed on the sheer opposite
 side...You're not getting the rundown of the situation from me, but you've
 caused a few headaches. No fault of your own." She does, however, properly bow
 towards Catherine Glass, the one person who seems to actually have a head past
 light wonderment. "It's only natural that we investigate."

She does allow Rudi to take the lead in the affairs, following in lockstep. The
 thump of the Universe's Most Hyper Planetary Border Control Agent barely
 pushes her out of her rhythm, the slow, exasperated sigh as she forges on.
 Poor Laffinty, but she couldn't exactly do anything with Moid being like a
 hawk...!

Once in the conference room proper, she does settle down as the technical
 second-highest ranked person to the right side of Laffinty. Food graciously
 taken, seated down before... "Arraaaaaay. I hope you're prepared for another
 few morning runs later!" Even before Catherine had spoken.

But, well, after. She's happy to reorient herself as well. Rudi's just
 repeating information that she already knew, and there's nothing to exactly
 elaborate on. Even with the Macross situation at play, people were people.

That being said, she is eating as a royal does. Food waits for no person.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Introductions pass back and forth. Rita brings her hands to her chin as she
 observes. For a first meeting, she was expecting something more exciting,
 really. Hopefully not a battle, but perhaps a dramatic taking of hands, or
 tears shed over shared emotions?

I was expecting something more interesting...

Rita's voice whispers to Trevor alone.

The princesses are introduced soon after, and Rita's green eyes widen with
 delight. This is more along the line of what she was expecting! Though
 Princess Mineva was a common visage in Rita's visons, she never actually met
 the young woman. To get to see two princesses in person is thrilling!

Real princesses!

Rita again speaks solely to Trevor, her voice accompanied by a bright laugh.
 Soon, it seems, the entire party is heading inside. All the better for the
 Heart of the Phenex -- as it will enable her to finally make use of the gift
 Koji Kabuto sent her off with.

As the parties filter into the meeting room, perhaps they will notice a long
 cable guiding their path. It stretches from the Phenex outside to the interior
 of this room -- leading to a large, circular machine. With a gentle hum, the
 machine begins to come to life. Light is projected above its surface, creating
 the outline of a humanoid figure. Slowly, at first, then all at once, the
 figure fills in with points of light, as pixels might form a character on the
 screen.

She has long, cloud-like golden hair, bare feet, and miraculously bright green
 eyes. Today, Rita has clad herself with a bubblegum pink dress. The sort of
 thing one might see at a gala, more than a diplomatic meeting on a faraway
 world. Petticoats fluff her skirt out, sending it bouncing with every step she
 takes.

As the projection forms in its entirety, Rita begins to move. She walks into
 the center of the room, a sunny smile on her face. Watching everything from
 the ground level is more exciting, she decides, as people enter the room. One
 man immediately goes for the snacks -- Rita giggles as he stocks up on the
 junk food.

Finding her way to Trevor's side, Rita takes his hand in her own. She isn't
 entirely sure what to do next, but... Trevor introduced himself right off, and
 nothing bad seemed to happen. Perhaps that's the way of things.

With a squeeze to Trevor's hand, Rita moves to stand before the princess'
 delegation. She smiles prettily, golden hair blowing around her shoulders in
 an otherworldly breeze.

"My name is Rita Bernal. I am the Phenex." She says, in that breathy, sweet
 voice. "I chose to come here." This is said with great weight and importance.

A glance to one princess, then the other. "I'm happy to meet you both. I never
 thought I would meet a real princess, not to mention two! Tell me, what do you
 want most, in all the world? For me..." A smile, so wide Rita's green eyes
 squish closed. "I want to live. I want to see everything there is!"

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Sheryl Nome is the worst! (but oh my gosh the best!) Her and Sagiri, cut from
 the same cloth! Incorrigible! (and wonderful!)

Except Rami's not sure if Sagiri is actually aware of it when she's teasing
 someone. She's not sure if that makes it better, or worse.

life is so hard for rami she thought earth would be sane

This has never been more clear to be the laughable lie that it is as she finds
 herself dragged towards the center of a brewing storm she'd like nothing more
 than to be a thousand feet away from. She has a litany of excuses, but they're
 all batted aside:

"I can't go, Amies asked me to help her put the final touches on some - um -
 public relations materials she's working on for the expedition!"
        "You can I both know Amies doesn't need help with her fanfiction!"

"Meryl might need me to help with maintenance on the Carriax!"
        "Meryl's busy browbeating the other mechanics on the trip! Wait -- I
 think she said 'brainstorming.'"

"But-- but-- my errands--!"
        "Pffffffffffffffffffffffffft."

She's seeing stars by the time they reach the entrance to the conference room;
 hair a mess after the whirlwind drag-and-run and lips quivering, she pauses,
 hunched over and panting, at the precipice.

"Okay-- okay--" she begins, slowly, "so how about--!"

She's just about to lock and load the next of her inexhaustible excuses when--

-THMP-

"Bwagh?!"

She has a head on collision with fate -- her, Rudi Pixyzalto.

Rami doesn't even see her coming. One second she's starting to straighten out
 -- in the next she is practically shoulder-checked by the taller woman,
 wide-eyed and flailing for a brief moment in which she nearly topples.

A hand reaches out. She grasps it.

"Th-thank you, ma'am--"

Another hand falls on her shoulder. She blinks.

And Rami is left standing, quietly stunned and staring at Rudi with wide,
 confused eyes as she finds herself between the UND officer holding her hand
 and Sagiri, holding on to her almost instantly to keep her from falling.

Well, aren't you nervous?

The bewildered wonder soon melts away into cheek-puffed annoyance that,
 blessedly, helps Rami briefly forget where she is, and who she is talking to.

"I am not nervous, I am annoyed!" she declares sharply, before realizing where
 she is, who she's talking to, and who she is. "--r-respectfully. Miss."

Being polite and unobtrusive is better. It'll draw less attention. It will --
 oh no, why is Sagiri narrowing her eyes on Rudi.

"That's my plan," Sagiri Sakurai says in firm answer to Rudi. "And maybe while
 you're here with us, you can learn some Earth manners. Like apologizing when
 you're being rude."

oh no
        says the tiny voice in the back of Rami's head.
this isn't unobtrusive at all

"Come on, Rami."

And Rami is left briefly bewildered at Sagiri calling her by her first name,
 before she's dragged off into the conference room proper.

Somehow, she manages to find a genuine smile between then and there.

At the conference room, Sagiri is currently at the refreshments by Rin,
 listening to the exchange as she piles on an ungodly, harrowing amount of
 snacks. She elbows the younger woman's side, quietly nodding her head in the
 direction of Rudi and the others, as if to wordlessly say 'keep an eye out.'

Rami is largely silent, her thoughts almost wholly on the Tyranado. Somehow,
 she has managed to find her way to the couch Sheryl is on, because
 inexplicably, it feels like the safest place in the room right now to her.

She's sitting on the very opposite edge of it from Sheryl, of course, and she
 looks stiff as a board (for so many reasons) but.

Progress! %

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

"More interesting, huh...?" Trevor asides with both his voice and his heart. It
 sounds like he's talking to himself, but that in itself is not terribly weird.
 But then he says: "I think I have an idea," and suddenly there is reason to
 worry.

But also: REAL PRINCESSES. Trevor's lips curl into a mischevious little grin as
 he reaches out, this time solely to Rita. Aww, but that's still not super
 interesting is it? you're all the princess I need~

trevor please this is not the time--

RUDI PIXYZALTO!! It's okay Miss Glass! Trevor is probably not going to start a
 diplomatic incident and incite an interstellar war! He's much too busy trying
 to figure out how much he could probably sell alien salvage for back home,
 which honestly isn't all THAT MUCH BETTER. "Oh sure, sure," Trevor nods along
 with Rudi's playful admonition, "I don't suppose you have an up-to-date copy
 of whatever your Salvagers Rights are around here, do you? Eh?"

After all, he's only disallowed from taking things that he shouldn't. If he CAN
 take those things, then he's absolutely in the clear, right? RIGHT!! EXCELLENT!

ONTO THE ON-FOOT SECTION.

"Wow, you guys look a lot like us! But I guess after our encounter with the
 Zentraedi, I shouldn't really be surprised!" Trevor laughs merrily, entering
 the conference room with--

Wait.

WHY is he here? He's not part of the diplomatic corps! He's a PIRATE!!

...

Well. He's here now anyway. It's fine. IT'S FI--

"So who wants drinks?" Trevor offers, pulling a Bottle Of High Spirits from
 behind his back. WAS HE HIDING THAT IN HIS COCKPIT?? (Yes, yes he was). "Our
 first encounter with each other, we should celebrate properly, right? I
 guarantee this is my best stuff!"

(It's. Not terrible?? It's not rotgut, and is actually from a reputable
 distillery on Earth and he might have stolen this from some ship's captain at
 some point.)

Rita materializes soon thereafter. He gives her a warm smile and laces his
 fingers between hers. "And once again, I am Trevor Teach, and Rita is my
 princess. Nice to meet you all. I really never thought we'd run into anyone
 out here. I'm practically giddy here, ahahaha~"

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Moid chuckles lightly at Catherine's outburst to the rubberneckers. "Ah, the
 work never ends, does it?" he muses.

Lan stumbles a little as Rudi claps her back, surprised. It takes her a moment
 to fuss with her cloak back into proper position over her dress. Sheryl's
 attention earns a long, quiet look, and then an attentive nod. "Earth has
 princesses too..." she murmurs, mostly to Moid.

"I believe she was being arch, milady," Moid advises her.

And, indeed, the answer to why Lan has a whole second person to do her talking
 for her becomes apparent as Mekibos yields the high seat to Lan herself, who
 barely rises above the table in it.

...Moid takes a second to adjust it. He figures out the hydraulics quite
 quickly, actually.

She is the youngest person in the delegation - 14, 15 maybe? She's pulled the
 cloak hood back so she no longer appears to be a total mystery, but her
 expression is fairly serious and stoic as she regards the room and lets the
 older delegates speak. Though...she does favor a smile to Yurikano, thin
 though it is.

The holographic pilot gets the most of her attention, head tilting and wide
 eyes blinking curiously. "So these are the people of Earth, now..." the young
 Laffinty asides toward Moid.

Moid has helpfully gotten her some food from the side table. She noms down an
 apple slice silently.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         'Wait, a second princess? Oh no, she's cute!' It was hard to describe
 them as being 'regal' or anything like that. At least it made them less scary
 - bad enough that there were Vajra out here, let alone another potentially
 hostile group. But it looked like things were going well for now, anyway.
 Although... how many factions were involved here? Maya was glad that she
 wasn't on the diplomatic team. That seems a lot harder than assembling or
 piloting mecha. Everyone else started introducing themselves, from interns to
 idols, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she was told she didn't
 have to bow or anything, she did bob her head and dip slightly, just to be
 polite.

         She entered the conference room along with everyone else, and promptly
 decided that she was not going to do anything to jeopardise negotiations or
 anything like that. Nope! She was going to be on her best behaviour and leave
 the important stuff to Catherine. Princess Yurikano had said that they were
 there in peace, and she wanted to take her on her word. Speaking of, in her
 attempt to stay away from the important negotiations going on, she'd headed to
 the food table to grab some hors d'oeuvres. And it looked like the royal
 delegation was here. Along with a pirate. And his girlfriend. Wait, she was
 visibile now? That was definitely the voice she'd heard before, although not
 angry this time! 'Was THIS going to cause a diplomatic incident?' Hopefully
 not. She shoved the food she was holding into her mouth, doing a good
 impression of a chipmunk, and proceeded to choke just a little before she got
 her jaws working. May turned to one of the blonde aliens - Array, not that she
 knew his name - who was also enjoying the food. "Don't worry, it's
 complimentary - you can have as much as you want!"

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto makes his way over to position himself near Ranka and Rin, to
 which her smirks a little and asks, "New bodyguard, huh?" Alto doesn't show
 any signs of disputing that fact, simply looking over the two. Only for a
 moment or two before his attention returns back to the events playing out. He
 glances between the two princesses, noting the differences in their behaviours.

        Mekibos gets to one of the main points rather fast, indirectly asking
 about the expedition's intentions by bringing up the Macross Elysion.
 Catherine Glass is of course familiar with it, explaining, "The Macross
 colonization fleets operate essentially as their own nations, with most of
 them allied under the common authority that is the Earth Federation. So you
 could say we are affiliated with them, yes. Though we have not had direct
 contact with them in some time. And this expedition is not a military force.
 We represent several groups and organizations working towards a common goal of
 scientific research."

        "Specifically, we are looking into the destruction of 117th Research
 Fleet. The remains of which I'm sure you've seen here." There's that name
 again. First mentioned by Sheryl. Given it's destruction was over a decade
 ago, it's entirely possible that none of the visitors here were present at the
 time. But even a cursory introduction to the Academy's history probably would
 have mentioned the name at least once.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "Just Sheryl is fine, Yurikano," Sheryl reassures the princess with the
 absolute confidence of a woman who sees herself as being on the same level as
 royalty. "Knowing the titles is fine, but actually using them is such
 a mouthful!"
        
        However much it may mostly be to Moid, Sheryl still declares to Lan,
 "Of course Earth has princesses!" She leans in to whisper conspiratorially,
 "Earth has too many princesses, if you ask me." She winks and stands up
 straight again. "I was born and raised in space, myself, though~."
        
        She does not confirm or deny if she was being arch. The mystique is
 part of the Galactic Fairy's appeal.
        
        The Macross Elysion on Ragna, though? Sheryl tilts her head over at
 Mekibos, a lack of recognition in her blue eyes. If Grace were here, she's
 sure she could look it up in an instant, even out here on the (ahem) frontier,
 but... As it stands, she's sincerely never heard of that Macross before. She
 looks over at Catherine to gauge her own reaction. Affiliated, but not in a
 military fashion... Is that going to be a satisfactory answer?
        
        She almost double-takes at the appearance and self-introduction of
 Rita, but holds herself in check in time to maintain appearances in front of
 the new people. In her head, though, she's reeling. The ghost girlfriend was
 real?!
        
        "Oh, so you're the infamous Rita. I can see why Trevor wouldn't be
 quick to let a treasure like you go!" she teases with a bright smile. And, as
 if to transfer her internal shock to someone else, she elbows the closest
 person to her--sorry not sorry, Rami. You're just close enough. "Right~?"
        
        Honestly, Rin passing herself off as Ranka's bodyguard was a good idea,
 Sheryl reflects. It really adds an air of authenticity. (...Even if what Rita
 says about 'real princesses' sort of gives up the game.) She doesn't get any
 food for herself for now, but she does listen to the rest of the conversation
 as it continues.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin smiles faintly to herself when one of the princesses - Yurikano - accepts
 Ranka's title as what it is. She glances at Ranka along the way, obscurely and
 slightly smug, but that was on the way in!

Now, she's adjacent to Sagiri, who has at least somewhat firmer ground to stand
 on with regards to not being put in the brig and/or the oxygen farms. Rin's
 eyes cut towards her and she nods slightly once, before her attention turns
 forwards.

Trevor introduces himself anew and Rita as his princess. ("He must be a
 pirate," Rin comments to Sagiri. "Look, he's definitely setting up for an
 independent foreign policy.")

"I'm just doing my job, like the captain said," Rin tells Alto with an innocent
 little shrug of the shoulders and spread of her hands, one of which still has
 her phone in it. Fortunately, it's set to camera mode. She tucks it into one
 of the chest pockets, carefully, afterwards.

Alto speaks to one of the -- aliens. Rin looks at him. For a moment she quails,
 deep in her guts, but with a tensing of the jaw, she breathes out. And then,
 with good cheer, she says, "Did you say there's an entire academy here? That's
 so far-out to consider... Is it like a part-time thing, like you're only here
 occasionally? Or is it underground or something?" Her hands come up to fold
 behind her head as she looks at Mekibos with innocent* wonder.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

When she's corrected not to worry about the semantics, "Yurikano. Got it!" And
 after a moment's thought, "You're very nice, taking the time to correct that."

Ranka thinks about it, she can't possibly be thinking...

"Just Ranka for me."

Whereas, Ranka's hair leaps at Sheryl's comment, and there's a soft titter,
 like maybe Sheryl said something SCANDALOUS about a Britannian figure just
 by that comment's very existence.

As they make it to the conference room, Ranka starts at Alto's statement, "Uh -
 yes! A temporary one! I'm giving Brera the day off!"

Ranka has definitely not given Brera the day off. Whether he'd even accept a
 day off is a matter of debate.

It's very likely he's watching Alto RIGHT NOW as one does.

And indeed, she listens to what Mekibos has to say about the Elysion, surprised
 herself - she's never heard of such a fleet, but then again, she'd never heard
 of the 117th either.
nevernevernevernevernevernevernevernevernevernever
Instead she turns to Rita, a touch alarmed at her showing herself like that,
 and Trevor, "Oh- wow! So that's what you look like Rita-" Trevor happens,
 "-wait Princess!? I didn't- know? Do you want me to address you like that?"
 She looks sideways at Sheryl, making her way towards the couch.

Seeing Rami there, she doesn't sit down immediately, staying standing, as she
 discreetly glances her way. Perhaps assessing her reaction. Because well-

-she sure knows what it's like to be a big Sheryl fan in Sheryl's presence, and
 suspects she's either having the greatest moment of her life or is THIS close
 to detonating.

For now, she's monitoring the the situation.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        "The 117th Research Fleet...I think I remember that we authorized their
 expedition many years back." Mekibos confirms this with a few taps at a
 wrist-mounted holo-terminal that 'helpfully' displays information and text in
 convenient 'nearly indecipherable globe' form. "That incident was before our
 recent tensions with the Elysion and its Ragna branch, so we can't say for
 sure if they were connected. I have my doubts that they are, personally, but
 some of the hard-liners in the Council don't see it the same way."

        Shooting a glance over at Moid and Lan, Mekibos sighs out, "Well,
 that's why you were brought along, Princess Laffinty. King Dizelmine wanting a
 more hands-on approach to any curious events on one of his research outposts is
 hardly unfounded. Ultimately, me and Rudi are here to provide you with
 intelligence and feedback, but it's your decision on if you judge that these
 people need to leave. Rudi, let me know what your fi- Rudi?"

        Rudi, of course, is terminally 'probably not paid well enough to take
 this too seriously', and has such immediately taken to laughing and clinking
 shot glasses with Trevor. "Ahahah, a military expedition fleet bringing along
 princesses and idols? Is that just standard custom everywhere in the
 universe? Honestly, bringing along Lan felt like overkill, but apparently she
 had personal reasons for wanting to come here, and it's way too common for the
 Electors to foist stuff onto their heirs." A second shot downed. This doesn't spell great news for when Rudi-

        Turns to give Sagiri a catty little smile. "Very well~ I'm sorry for
 troubling your companion there. I got a little too excited by something this
 interesting. Careless me! Care to join us for a few drinks over here? Maybe
 it'll loosen your tension a little bit, and embolden your friend there more.
 Rami, you said her name was? Hmmmm..." The look in Rudi's eyes narrows
 slightly. Seeing something a little odd afoot here...? Hmmm...

        Immediately, of course, one of the bigger Scenes in the room is made
 when Array noisily complains, "D-damn it, Yurikano, barging in our school and
 acting like you're our mom or something. Mind your own business, okay?!" A
 munch of an eclair, followed by encouragingly stepping backwards towards Maya
 and Rita (who, mysteriously, he seems to observe with extreme ease, unlike
 Rudi). "See, these two provided us with all this stuff, it's not like
 they're on this health craze you seem to be on and they're doing perfectly
 fine, so knock it off with micromanaging me!"

        It's Izo's turn to be the mortified one - looking between Yurikano, who
 he's already rather...star-struck by, and the bratty know-it-all rich boy
 behavior Array's presenting - he rolls up one of his sleeves, fully prepared
 to start a fistfight out here in a diplomatic delegation, with a noisy, "You
 absolute little-"

        Kirius restrains him with almost martial diligence, a cool look in his
 eyes and that princely sparkling practically emanating from the flutter of his
 hair, his grip iron and unyielding. "...This isn't the time or place for it.
 Not when Princess Laffinty is here on an important mission, and two inspectors
 are at her side. Disagreements between warriors are to be settled in mutually
 agreed upon duels, not in spaces where they're to be on their best behavior.
 Behave more like Mr. Bulverde or Ms. Pixyzal...to..."

        Rudi, for her part, is observing the nascent fight with a gleam in her
 eyes. She aaaaalmost wants to see it escalate - though her posture is one
 where she's totally preparing to intervene. There's a knowing look at Yurikano
 though - a kindred spirit like that one surely is the first one to jump in and
 resolve this...

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         'Oh no. I hope I didn't make Princess Yurikano upset.' She didn't know
 who this guy was, but maybe he was a servant, or a knight, or something like
 that for the Princess? Would supporting him be bad? But then, Yurikano was
 eating a lot as well. Wouldn't that be hypocritical? 'Come on, diplomatic
 chops, don't fail me now!' "Well, this is a special occasion, after all, so
 whether we're dieting or not, we should do our best to eat, drink, and be
 merry, right? It's not every day you get to make first contact." That should
 help smooth things over between them, right?

         Speaking of cultural exchanges, food wasn't the only thing that
 different people had to share. It might also distract from the princess and
 the retainer potentially getting into an argument of some kind. "So, what sort
 of things do you do for fun? Something big in our culture is music! Those two
 there, Sheryl and Ranka," Maya said, pointing them out, "are actually really
 famous idols. Musician, songstress, whatever word works best for you." Maybe
 they had idols of their own, and she'd love to get to hear what they consider
 music. Or maybe they didn't and they had something else that was different,
 but equally thrilling.

<Pose Tracker> Yurikano De Metrio Lu has posed.

"Oh, of course!" Sheryl's admission is equally reinforced, snapping a wink.
 "It's necessary, but really, there's only so many times you can actually say
 it." Aaaah, this sort of informality is much better, even if her guard was
 still up.

"Ranka, then!" And that was that.

"In all the world? Good question..." A finger tapping against her own chin,
 taking the time to ruminate for a bit (and to chomp down on more food,
 meanwhile). "Simple! To resolve everything that I can, the best I can." Chomp.
 It's just that simple. She is taking a good, hard look at Rita's technical
 marvel. "The entire unit? That's pretty nice! How'd you keep it fueled? Come
 far?" The gravitas is noted, but merely filed away.

Unfortunately, Yurikano, princess of De Metrio, has such things like Common
 Sense! No alcohol! Especially when someone (ARRAY) is being their own bratty
 gremlin outta control...! She's keeping an eye on him, all the same. Rowdy
 drinks make for rowdy boys...And Rudi.

The 117th fleet vaguely strikes as one of the many, many, many incidents that
 occured in this space. There's a mental note of appreciation with Mekibos's
 prompt answer. Two jobs to dop when having a diplomatic envoy: Information and
 appreciation. Make them remember you. Make them happy to know you. Such was
 the game of royalty.

And when in such a game...Oh, she's got her eye on Array. An outburst again.
 There's just silence from her, watching each one pop up in turn. Polishing off
 her food with a steely gaze, wiping her lips clean. "Right, then." There's
 that same knowing gleam, keeping her smile. Ah, feels good to stand up, to
 brush her hair back. If she had to, she had to! Such was the duty of a student
 teacher. "Forgive us for the interruption, Catherine Glass."

"Now then, Array." A gleam in her eyes as she strode forward to the trio, eyes
 focusing specifically on Array. "Our guests are being hospitable, but a
 pilot like yourself has to focus on being fit. We're already scheduling
 another run for 0600, and I'm already committing to more laps until 1700."
 That same gleam turning into a bright, cheery, blinding smile. "If we have a
 problem with your diet, your chips are gonna keep on being confiscated, you
 know! A diet of proper nutrients is important for someone like you."

Saying that while slowly raising her hands to crack each knuckle one by one.
 "If I have to drag you three out by force for lack of decorum, I will~! Are we
 understood? If you actually manage to fly something correctly, Array, I'll eat
 my own words~"

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

"Wait. Really?"

Wide, wondering pastel green eyes fall on Trevor as Rin indicates towards him.

"Space pirates are real?"

Sagiri knows that space piracy is a thing. It's just a fact of life. But, well.
 -Space pirate- evokes a very different feeling from just the -act- of piracy.
 She considers the man with a critical eye as he breaks out the booze and
 introduces the freshly-manifested hardlight of Rita as his very own princess.
 She tosses a chip into her mouth and chews, scratching her cheek with her
 index finger.

"Huh. Well," she decides. "He's definitely got the panache."

And here, she flashes Trevor the double fingerguns of approval. Nice style!

Space pirates! What a world.

Any further rumination on the ways of the Space Pirate Spirit will have to
 wait, though; for all Sagiri seems blithely oblivious to the talk in the face
 of all the food, she -is- listening. Keenly, in fact. This is all things that
 might potentially, directly impact their job here -- which means, at the very
 least, Hirosuke should know. And besides, there's something about them that
 just...

Sagiri lapses into thought; she's only stirred from it when she feels the full
 force of a ~n y o r o n~ affixed upon her. She blinks. Her gaze shifts back,
 slowly, towards...

Rudi.

Normally cheerful, carefree Sagiri frowns. She frowns -exactly- at the point
 where Rudi invokes Rami's name in that very deliberate, very enigmatic way.
 Pastel green eyes narrow.

Three seconds pass, before Sagiri offers up a saccharine-sweet smile.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm gonna have to pass," she offers,
 easy-come easy-go.

"Something tells me I ought to keep my wits about me with you, Ms. Rudi."

At least she winks after??

Blessedly, for the sake of her sanity, Rami doesn't hear any of this exchange.
 Couch-bound, lost in thought, her gaze falls on the hard-light form of Rita
 with a blink. She stares in wonder as introductions are made. I am the
 Phenex, Rita says, and Rami blinks. The Phenex? The gold mobile suit? Then
 that means--

"How?" she wonders, to herself. "... The Psycho-Frame?" She can only imagine
 what put Rita into a situation like this; Earth technology is so much more
 advanced than she expected, even after all this time. She's not really sure if
 that's a good thing or a bad thing, but...

... looking at how happy Rita seems, at least, Rami manages a genuine, happy
 smile of her own. It's heartening to her. And it distracts her.

Which is EXACTLY WHY she doesn't even notice Sheryl encroaching into her
 personal space until she feels someone elbow her. She associates side-elbows
 with Sagiri, at this point, and so she doesn't react right away, firing off an
 almost automatic, "You're being a scoundrel, m"

a'am, is how her sentence would finish, except then her brain finally digests
 the voice of who's speaking to her. She blinks. Her eyes go wide. She turns
 bone white. One can hear her soul cracking and her neck creaking as she slowly
 - s l o w l y - turns her head to look at Sheryl.

"iss Nome. . .?"

Two seconds pass.

"oh no"

And, like the most delayed reaction on earth, the degree of relaxed cheer that
 Rami had gained musing on Rita's happiness is lost as she suddenly bolts
 upright and then notices RANKA IS ALSO LOOKING AT HER BUT DISCRETELY LIKE SHE
 CAN'T EVEN BEAR TO LOOK AT HER

"I mean! You're not a scoundrel! That was a scoundrel thing to say in certain
 contexts but not this one! She's a -- she's very happy, and that makes me
 happy, and--" Rami no stop. "Right! That's what you asked right? Right!"

Internally, Rami is screaming, because RANKA IS YOUNGER THAN YOU RAMI PUT
 YOURSELF TOGETHER YOU'RE TECHNICALLY AN ADULT

To be fair, though, externally?

no she's not doing all that much better there either

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        "I see. With recent upheavals in the Earth Sphere, some information
 about the fleet has been lost. But I would agree that it's unlikely that any
 incidents or parties revolving around the Elysion was involved." Especially
 since they know who did it, though apparently Catherine is not intent on
 providing that information plainly. At least, not yet. "Nor do we suspect the
 Zurvorg Alliance." She makes sure it's clear that there's no finger pointing
 here.

        "To that end, we would like to request permission to remain here and
 investigate. We do not expect to be here for long, a few months at most. And
 I'm sure that we can offer something in return, including our hospitality."
 Catherine glances around at the various people in the room from both factions
 who are interacting with each other.

        Speaking of, Alto decides he should probably introduce himself. Though
 first he hahs in response to Ranka and Rin, "Well then, make sure to do a good
 job, Miss Bodyguard." Even though it's only 'temporary', he already likes this
 one better than Brera!

        Though that's not hard.

        Alto's attention is drawn over in the direction of Yurikano and Array
 as the latter is belated. Though that's not what draws his attention. Instead
 it's the way Yurikano treats him and some of the things she says which gives
 him the impression...

        "Excuse me... Does this mean you're a pilot, yourself?" Alto asks of
 Yurikano.

        But he then realizes he hasn't introduced himself, so quickly adds,
 "Ah, I'm Alto Saotome. A variable fighter pilot with Strategic Military
 Services. We're responsible for the expedition's security."

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Rita knows Trevor well enough by now to know that this specific tone of voice
 means mischief. And, as she is in no way responsible for anything that
 happens on this mission... She revels in it, encouraging him with a cheerful,
 illusory giggle.

Really? I never thought about being a princess before. I'd like that, they get
 so many wonderful dresses!

And thus, with one throwaway pick up line, Trevor sets his fate down a new path.

"Oh, Trevor, you're going to share your special bottle?" Rita clasps her hands
 together in front of her chest, leaning forward slightly. "That's so kind of
 you! I'm sure everyone will love it."

Rita, of course, has not tried the Special Bottle's drink -- being a ghost and
 all. But it always seems to put Trevor in a good mood, so it must be a smart
 idea to help people get along together. Really, is there anything Trevor
 isn't good at?

As the handsome pirate introduces Rita as his princess, startling Ranka, Rita's
 eyes go wide. There is a definitive moment of consideration, a slight tilt of
 her head to one side, looking between the pirate and the pop star.

"Yes." Rita says, simply. "I'm a princess from a lost, destroyed continent..!
 My people have suffered for many years, and even though it cost me my life,
 I'm determined to save them!"

Rita Bernal is a known terrible liar, but only when she's trying to be. In this
 moment, thinking everyone is in on the fun, she appears entirely genuine.
 They're all just playing, right? There's snacks and decorations, this meeting
 is practically a party. And really, doesn't Rita look the part in that
 beautiful dress?

"But Ranka, we're friends! You can just call me 'Rita' as always." Rita smiles.
 There's no need to take the joke too far, after all.

Official-sounding explanations are passed around... Rita had enough of
 listening to those when she was alive. She tunes them out, certain she can
 find out anything important later. For the moment, she's happy to stay in her
 pretend-princess persona, gently swinging Trevor's hand back and forth.

And then. Sheryl Nome's eyes land on Rita, truly land on Rita. And she speaks
 to the Newtype Spirit --! Green eyes widen, and the only thing keeping Rita
 from hiding behind Trevor at this surprise is Rita's dedication to her new
 role as 'princess'.

"Sheryl!" Rita's eyes sparkle. Those with sensitive spirits may be able to
 feel the echoes of joy and wonder radiating from the Heart of the Phenex. "I'm
 so happy you can see me--! I've been waiting this whole time. I've got so much
 I want to say to you."

Rita's free hand comes up to rest against her heart, the other clinging,
 tightly, to Trevor. "The first real choice I ever made was that your music was
 the music I liked. I never got to hear anything like it when I was alive. I
 didn't know music could be like that. Happy, and emotional, and..!" Rita
 bounces in place, rising to her toes from her heels. "A way to forge
 connections between souls!"

"Your songs will be an important step along the path to humanity's true
 future." Rita says, very, very seriously. "I'm certain of it."

Rudi speaks up, then remarking on the odd nature of their expedition. Rita
 blinks at him. "Aren't you doing the same thing? You have princesses as well.
 And I'm sure there's someone with you who would sing for us if we asked!" A
 laugh. "If this isn't standard, it should be. Human beings need music and hope
 in the darkness of space, as they reach for the Light."

Array steps into Rita's space and is treated to a wide blink as well. "Yes."
 She agrees. "You should always eat sweet food when you can. It's a very rare
 thing, you know. Letting it waste would be terrible!"

Again, this is said with utmost sincerity.

A flash of violent intention burns across Rita's awareness. Immediately, her
 sweet demeanor changes into something hard and calculated. Putting herself
 between Trevor and Izo, Rita stares the potentially-violent man down,
 waiting... But someone else grabs Izo, and the warning Rita felt fades away.
 Izo is treated to a squinted stare, almost a challenge. This may be somewhat
 humorous from the small blonde woman in a dress more suited to a spring ball.

Well, it seems fine. Rita reverts back to her previous state, turning back to
 the conversation. Duels, though... That sounds like something from a
 storybook. Maybe she'll ask about them later, though it's hardly urgent. The
 Phenex could handle all opponents easily.

Maya asks what the aliens do for fun, and Rita eagerly awaits the answer. She
 knows very little of what people do for fun, but what she does know, she's
 certain of. Music, flying, looking at plants and animals... All classic Earth
 activities.

Another flash of awareness. Rita glances back toward her projector, somewhat
 nervously. "Please be careful." She asks of Yurikano. "It's very important to
 me. It doesn't need any fuel! As long as it's connected to the Phenex, I can
 power it with my spirit. It can project more than three hundred dresses, now,
 too. My friend gave me a collection of so many of them, I haven't even wore
 all of them once yet!"

Rita seems far more impressed by the amount of dresses the hard-light projector
 offers than the fact that she apprently powers it... spiritually? With her
 Gundam? Which, observers may remember, is soundly still and silent. Aside from
 her blue glow, the Phenex is utterly dormant.

As soon as she's finished explaining the projector, it seems Array is in
 trouble. She winces hearing the laps he's committed to, pity in her eyes.
 That's all too familiar. "Please, don't be hard on him!" Rita pleads Yurikano,
 sweetly, her eyes so wide and hopeful. "I would never forgive myself if the
 treats we offered our treasured guests were the source of conflict. My people
 always treat meetings like this as a time of celebration and indulgence!"

...well, Rita can vaguely remember a birthday party her parents threw for her
 before they died. There was cake, and happy people, so she's certain everyone
 ate together. Besides, she's deeply in character as a princess now, and her
 kingdom would be one where everyone gets to eat sweets.

"If he needs to learn how to fly, I'd be happy to help!" Rita chirps. "My
 partner and I are the fastest, strongest team in the Earthsphere. I'm sure I
 could teach anyone how to fly!"

Sagiri seems to approve of Trevor. This earns points with Rita, for obvious
 reasons. The Newtype Spirit smiles at her, giving the other woman a little
 wave.

It seems Sagiri is very smart, along with nice, jumping right to the Phenex's
 Psychoframe. "Yes." Rita answers, smiling. "My soul is contained within her
 Psychoframe. We've been together a very long time now."

Someday, everyone will be like this, Rita thinks to herself, with a smile that
 can only be described as benevolent. Someday, all human beings will ascend,
 and exist as their souls' original forms...

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Lan looks to Sheryl's bold proclamation with a certain degree of confusion.
 "Huh...I see..."

A very serious girl, this.

Laffinty fidgets uncomfortably when the actual reason she's here is pointed out
 rather directly. She sets her food down and folds her hands. "Of course,
 Mekibos," she says, cool. Royal privelege: Nobody gets honorifics. "I do
 understand that."

The Boys popping off at each other does get a look from her, eyes curious and
 tense. But...it seems to be under control, so she holds her peace and simply
 lets it happen. Mekibos and Rudi weigh in on just what they do know, and Lan
 looks to Moid briefly, who shakes his head. "I believe there was contact of
 some kind around that time period," he muses. "But, I do not have the details.
 The records at the Militia Zodia Academy should have a full report."

He leans toward Lan, gently noting, "It would be a fine gesture of good will to
 make that available, I think, milady."

Lan nods slowly, taking it in. "I agree."

She glances to Mekibos. "Inspector, at this time I see no reason to greet them
 with anything but grace."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         Welp, it looks liked there wasn't any saving this fellow - Array, she
 now knew - from the wrath of his princess. She was DETERMINED to make sure
 that he was fighting fit. Maya got the feeling that this was a fight that had
 some history behind it. Still, she was committed, and she didn't think she was
 wrong here. Probably. Hopefully. Rita was on her side as well! And if she was
 a ghost, she probably had good reason to encourage others to enjoy life in the
 here and now.

         "Mmhmm, I can also help! I can't fly as well as Rita, but I'm still a
 pilot!" This might be a way to help organise some intercultural exchange, too.
 It would also be nice to spend some time with Rita, too, especially if she was
 able to maintain this form of hers. When she wasn't mad, she was very
 charming. And she was a fan of Sheryl, too, which automatically made her a
 good person. "Uh, Rita, are you able to eat or is that something you can't do
 anymore?" Maya asked, mostly curious, but she thought that it would also be a
 way to emphasise the point that it was fine for Array to enjoy himself now.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "You authorized it?" Sheryl wonders, eyebrows arching up. "So you
 were around for it." She frowns and waves a dismissive hand at the talk
 about the 117th Fleet's connection (or lack thereof) to the Elysion. These
 tensions they have with this other Macross isn't not of interest, but
 Sheryl has her priorities. "What happened with the Vajra? Those huge
 bug-looking aliens that tear up everything in their path, I mean," she adds,
 just in case they have a different name for them.
        
        She eyeballs the globe of incomprehensible information. Once again, she
 wishes Grace were here. Oh well, she'll just have to make do with who and what
 she's got here.
        
        So, for now, Yurikano gets a grin. "Exactly! So good to see we're on
 the same wavelength~." That near-fistfight might be fun to watch if it weren't
 for Mekibos's news. At the least, Sheryl does smirk at Rudi's absolute refusal
 to take anything too seriously, and she outright laughs at Yurikano's approach
 to discipline vis-a-vis Array. "Your friends know how to party," she jokes at
 Yurikano. "Is it a lot of trouble, keeping them in line, or is that part of
 the fun for you?"
        
        She notes Ranka approaching the couch but not quite yet sitting
 herself down. She does grin mischievously when Ranka titters at her roast on
 Earth Princesses, but aside from that... Sheryl can guess why, considering
 Rami is probably one more poke away from a dead faint. She gives her a
 nonchalant sort of half-shrug, as if to say 'what can you do?' As if she
 weren't going out of her way to tease Rami for the fun of it.
        
        And as if Rami hadn't assumed she was Sagiri at first and only realized
 who it actually when she turned to look at her. Sheryl gives her an arch look.
        
        Then she smiles and raises a single digit to press ever-so-gently on
 Rami's lips to cut off her babbling. Leaning in in such a way that places her
 cleavage in greater prominence--seriously how does that flightsuit stay in
 place, there must be tape on the inside--she whispers into her ear, "Being a
 scoundrel is so fun, though. <3"
        
        She waits a beat.
        
        Then she bursts into peals of laughter and leans back out of Rami's
 personal space. "Just kidding! <3"
        
        Though Sheryl is used to having fans pour their hearts out to her, and
 though Sheryl's been told that the ghost girlfriend is a fan of hers, she
 didn't quite expect to be told that her music will help guide humanity to
 their true future. She likes the sound of that, though, especially as Maya
 points her and Ranka out as famous idols, and her smile grows.
        
        "Of course it will. I'm Sheryl Nome, after all!" she tells Rita,
 brimming with self-assurance. "I'm pleased to hear it was exactly that for
 you, too!"
        
        Though, now that they're on the topic of her music, she considers Lan
 anew, though. Based on what she's heard so far, it sounds like there's a lot
 of pressure on her--pressure she might not actually want, judging by how she
 fidgts. She seems pretty serious, too... and while the Earth princesses joke
 might've landed with Ranka, it looks like it went over Lan's head. Still, it
 looks like she's giving them the benefit of the doubt, and Sheryl smiles as
 she renders positive judgment. ...If with Moid's support, but Sheryl has
 Grace, after all. She doesn't see anything weird or suspicious about having a
 manager around to support you, as it were.
        
        So Sheryl catches the young princess's eye. "Then we should return the
 favor!" she declares, of giving the others grace. "What sort of music do you
 like, Laffinty?" She winks. "Depending on your answer, I might just put on a
 concert for you and your companions as our way of saying thanks~."
        
        Ranka's of course free to put on her own concert--but Sheryl's taking
 the initiative on this one.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"Sure they're real," Rin chirps at Sagiri. "They just got super exaggerated.
 They're mostly in the asteroid belt, I heard, that way they can jack the
 energy fleet."

Which reminds her that Jupiter... Rin frowns slightly. The long term impact of
 a rise in energy prices... it's something to be dreaded, but this sort of
 anxiety is one that Rin has not yet reached in her mental evolution.

Rin swipes a cookie off the table and munches on it discreetly as her attention
 turns towards Mekibos again for a moment. Then towards Rita/Rami. She 'is' the
 Phenex. An AI? Rin wonders, but doesn't ask. Then there's something about
 psychoframe, which Rin is pretty sure is made-up fictional technology, but she
 doesn't want to butt in.

Not with someone from her planet, anyway.

The Zurvorg (or Zuvorg? is it just a shade of pronounciation? Rin wonders)
 Alliance, the Polyhedron Federation... (Rita affirms that her soul is
 contained with in the Phenex's psychoframe. Rin continues to believe this is
 some kind of AI trickery, in her heart. She will, in time, know the error of
 her words and deeds.)

The Militia Zodia, Rin then thinks, her eyes cutting towards some of the
 others. That's what they call the academy. (I should write this down, Rin
 decides. Probably not RIGHT now though.)

And speaking of other key matters... Her eyes widen slightly as Sheryl offers
 to expose the aliens to Universal Bunny. A high risk strategy... but one with
 high potential reward, too.

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

We'll have to get you some more when we get back to Earth... Or maybe we can
 ask Sheryl for ideas?

With a few simple words, Trevor has... doomed himself? Can one truly be
 'doomed' by such a thing? The possibility doesn't even enter into Trevor's
 mind; the delusion-- the game-- is, in the moment, more important than
 possible futures yet to come.

Besides, Rita makes for a cute princess, so it's all good.

"It's not every day we make first contact with a brand new alien civilization!"
 Trevor chirps, pouring out a couple of glasses. It's a rich, amber spirit--
 some kind of Britannian bourbon, served on the rocks, with a smoky, oaken
 palate. "I just wish you could join in. Hmm... I guess we could try later?"
 The memory of imbibing will remain for a time, long enough for it to reach
 Trevor's dreams. And from there... Perhaps Rita could taste it, too. After a
 fashion.

He'll just have to savor the drink properly. Slowly. It means he's a glass
 behind Rudi, but that in itself is not a bad thing. "Princesses, idols,
 treasure hunters, an electronic fairy, and all kinds of other interesting
 things. It takes a certain kind of person to venture out into the great
 unknown, Miss Rudi Pixyzalto. More than just guts, we also have to be just...
 a little bit nuts."

And of course there are all the sane people who exist to rein them all in, but
 that's a livin', innit?

Trevor runs a hand back through his hair, and Sagiri would be able to tell that
 he is wearing an actual goddamn eyepatch too. This man's pirate vibe goes all
 the way down!! "Of course Space Pirates are real," Trevor answers with
 fingerguns of his own. He might also be winking with that patched eye, but
 it's, you know, patched. "Oh, but for right now, I am a Treasure Hunter."
 Which is still like a pirate, but Politically Correct. Because even Trevor
 knows not to explicitly spread that around in a room full of Space Cops. As
 long as he maintains the illusion, there's plausible deniability.

Is he good at everything...? No, he's just good at the things he's good at. All
 those skill points he gets from being a Rogue-and-or-Bard have to go
 somewhere, no?

(Just don't ever ask him to solve a math problem. Or anything he didn't pick up
 from Pirate Story Time on Vesta. Dude never actually got any Book Learning.)

Speaking of, Bard Stuff though.

"Oh yes, Rita hails from a continent that was shattered by a calamitous rain of
 steel and glass. She endured much, became a being of miracles, and until
 recently, was bound to a singular fate. But now, my shining princess is
 finally free to explore the galaxy with all of us. And that's a wonderful
 thing to see, if you ask me."

Too bad the princesses aren't drinking. That could have been... fun. He raises
 a brow at the sudden burst of aggression on Izo's part, but ultimately shrugs.
 Nothing came of it. No harm, no foul.

...Honestly, this has all gone remarkably smoothly. Something at the back of
 Trevor's head holds its breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But the
 alcohol is certainly doing a good job of numbing it for now.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        At Rin and Sheryl's mild misgivings about past events and the handling
 of this planet, now slightly perturbed by the fuss the Miltia Zodia students
 are causing, Mekibos is needing to plant his hands to his rapidly creasing
 temples. He'd honestly get right in there and pull Array by the shirt himself
 - it's so obvious that he's restraining it. But - Rudi's being Like That and
 the tension's ratcheted in the room a little bit. Deep breath. Think of what
 your brother would do.

        (A momentary nightmare is recalled witnessing Wendolo and Moid airily
 discussing the crisis on Darbnes with their shared fox-like smiles of theirs,
 their shared refusal to be even slightly perturbed. Maybe don't be too much
 like him.)

        "Until recently, we were much more lax regarding stray external
 visitors to our planets," Mekibos continues. "And the UND Bureau didn't
 actually invest too much into Le Garite's operations here on Gallia-IV. The
 Miltia Zodia base isn't exactly large or well-staffed, at least, relative to
 its being one of the only spaceports and developed facilities on the whole of
 the planet. We're fairly accustomed to the occasional research ship passing by
 here in Brisingr, since many Fold paths converge here. It only becomes a
 problem with the occasional military threat from beyond...or...the 'Vajra',
 you call them."

        Immediately, that's when Rudi lights up from being a bit good for
 nothing, and her forceful stride brings her right back towards the conference
 table, hanging over the corner of Mekibos's chair, all smiles at Catherine.
 "Oh! We've really been wondering about those terrible space bugs for a while
 too. So you say you're pretty familiar with them? Whenever they show up these
 days, I really wonder just where they're coming from. I think we've got more
 than a deal about just letting these pals have 'safe passage', we might be
 able to work together with them for some shared intel! Especially on the Ragna
 issue too - you think the Elysion would be a little less guarded if a fellow
 Macross showed up at their door?"

        Mekibos swiftly moves to hand Catherine a small card, after briefly
 sending his wrist-computer to insert some data towards it. "That should
 provide you with the fold routes to a few select spaces we think we can
 authorize your traversal. I maintain the Elysion is more insightful on this
 matter than they let on, but they refuse to talk with the Alliance much.
 Besides - it's also a little more scenic and festive than this sort of
 backwater of a planet here. Me and Rudi here are going to be on standby to
 keep an eye on you through your travels - just as much for your sake as ours.
 The current state of the Alliance is a little perilous for you to get lost in,
 so we'd rather accompany you if you do leave the planet. That sound good to
 you, Rudi?"

        A merry little wink and a thumbs-up from the cheerier inspector. "I
 wanna get to know you people a little better, and it beats being stuck in an
 office or dealing with endless border skirmishes. All of you are in good hands
 with me and Meki as your guides for your stay here! Especially if we're in the
 company of princesses and idols and space pirates. Consider us your trusty
 tour guides here in Brisingr!~"

        The Array Incident has gotten a little more imposing for the poor lad,
 on the whole. It isn't just Yurikano looming over him, threatening him with
 'better health' and 'more diligent practice' - it's Rita earnestly talking
 about training him too. There's a little shakiness in Array's eyes. A little
 recoil, protectively pulling his arms over himself. "...I- even when you're
 backing me up it's somehow about trying to make me do something different. I
 can't believe I wound up in this weird nowhere of a military base instead of
 somewhere more interesting, ugh! And all of you are taking like you know
 what's best for me - !" A little grimace crosses his face - before Array takes
 that as his signal to bolt free from the gathering.

        Izo can only sputter to himself. "...Tch. What's wrong with him?
 ...Yurikano's a tough teacher, but honestly...everything's been working out
 for me and Kirius since you've come along, so I don't know why he's got such a
 big problem..."

        "...His struggle is maybe a more invisible one. The look in his eyes
 is, I believe, not that of refusal, but struggling to accept. Hm. I think if
 we're patient with him, one day, we'll break through." A nod of sagely wisdom
 from Kirius, hands folded together.

        "...Yurikano, have you been teaching him this crap? ...No, never mind
 that, he's been like this before you arrived now that I think about it..."

<Pose Tracker> Yurikano De Metrio Lu has posed.

"Heeeeh..." The basic precipts work in her head. Something stored in the
 Phenex, connected via the wire in the hall to this location. Expandable
 storage for the dresses. The Phenex. Giant golden unit outside. It's powering
 this. Possibly something fuel-related...And she's not too interested in
 pursuing that line of thought. Leave it to the engineers. She only offers a
 beaming nod to Rita. "Then, I hope you can wear them all eventually!" Perfect.

Dealing with the trio was trouble, but... "They came here to learn at the
 Academy. For all the fun we're having, if they're not going to shape up when
 the time calls for it, then the education is wasted on them." The simple
 method is stated to Sheryl: A time for fun, a time for play, but always keep
 your goals in mind. "Don't worry, I know how to prod them right~" And a wink.
 She isn't lacking in confidence...!

"Besides, this is my job while I'm here. If they fail, I've failed them, and
 I can't have that." An undercurrent of conviction.

That being said, Alto's question is answered with a swift nod. "That I am. I'm
 the Student Instructor for these three, actually." Izo, Array, and Kirius.
 "Oh, you were in one of those Variable Fighters we saw? You all did pretty
 well, honestly~"

[RITA - Array] "De-ni-ed~ I've seen his type." A flat rejection of Rita's plea
 for Array's mercy, tamping down on Maya's own reinforcement, keeping the
 looming gaze. "He's here for a reason. The leniency I can give him has a
 limit, and he's been running short lately~ I believe in him. That's why he's
 getting the reprimand." The other undercurrent runs through: It still is,
 after all, an expedition on a planet with a base meant to train pilots for the
 Zuvorg Alliance.

It is good to be nice. It is auspicious to be wary. There's no reason to worry
 that Array won't try to meet up with others with how events are transpiring,
 so being the Bad Cop in this situation works. The fact that he escaped of his
 own volition is something that she expected.

"Though. If you all manage to catch him on his free time, I can't see anything
 of what you do, training or not." A shrug. "Just make sure to return him
 without anything broken if you do~!"

Poor Array. This experience will be good for him! "He hasn't straight up quit,
 Kirius. Most people would do that in this sort of situation." Hell, she's seen
 a few herself. "So just follow my orders when he needs to actually eat
 something, aha~ Ah, dismissed and all that. Kirius. Izo. Don't go overboard,
 but 0600 is still 0600."

"I have no objection." Even if she was a princess that was not one of the
 Primary Six, a royal voice was a royal voice. It is primarily to reinforce
 Laffinty's decision, a support on the back for her own voice.

Though, a concert...She stays silent on the matter. It is Lan's own choice.
 It's also...An interesting thing. She'll be there, filing that mental
 confirmation.

<Pose Tracker> Rita Bernal has posed.

Asking Sheryl for dress ideas! Rita radiates a thrilled sort of bashfulness.
 Would Sheryl have time for something like that?

Rita watches the amber drink curiously. She certainly never drank anything of
 that color when she was alive. "I'd like that. If you can project the feelings
 it gives you, I'll be able to share them. We'll just have another party in
 your dreams, you and me."

Trevor immediately has Rita's back when it comes to her Princess Cover Story.
 She endeavors to look properly sad and noble, but can't hold it for long,
 breaking into giggles. Everything Trevor says is true, of course, but like
 this... The pain of it feels far away. Leaning in, Rita kisses the handsome
 pirate on the cheek. "And that makes you my handsome, dashing prince! Free to
 wander the cosmos for anything that makes his heart shine."

"Thank you, Yurikano." Rita smiles softly. "I try a new one every day I get to
 exist this way. I'd love to see what kind of dresses your world has!" Maya,
 sweetly, offers her services as a flying teacher along with Rita. The Newtype
 Spirit beams to her, before laughing and shaking her head. "I've never tried
 eating in this form. I'm sure I could put the food in my mouth, but then where
 would it go?"

Rita thinks on this for a moment. "I probably shouldn't. I wouldn't want to
 break the projector all the way out here where Koji can't fix it." Another one
 of those squishy-eyes smiles. "Maybe someday, though!"

After all, Rita has reason to hope.

Sheryl practically oozes confidence, and Rita can't help but laugh with joy.
 This is exactly how Rita thought their meeting would go. Maybe, now that
 they're introduced, they can talk more sometime? For now, Rita contents
 herself with being able to have greeted her idol and expressed her feelings.
 It must be overwhelming for Sheryl to have so many demands on her attention.

As she's lost in thought, Array seems to deteriorate. Rita startles back to
 reality, one hand coming up to her mouth in surprise. She didn't mean to offer
 'training', more the joy of flight... But what Array says next seems to have a
 drastic affect on the spirit of the Phenex.

Those who were bullying Array are treated to a gaze of literal fire --
 radiant, prismatic light eclipsing the green of Rita's irises. Perhaps those
 sensitive in the room will feel a sense of psychic pressure exuding from her.

"Are you," Rita asks, her voice suddenly absent of joy. "Forcing him to fight?
 Did you take him from his home and make him a soldier?"

Array doesn't seem terribly traumatized, but Rita rarely appeared to be
 suffering when she was alive, too. Memories of Jona and Michele flash through
 her mind, and Rita's projection flickers slightly. This, it seems, it
 something the Firebird will not allow.

Yuriko's further explanation seems to do nothing to reassure Rita, who
 continues staring hard at the aliens. Is it possible another world has labs
 and armies and horrors like the Earth does? Perhaps, at least regarding Rita,
 going 'Bad Cop' was the wrong tactic.

"If that's what you're doing," Rita's voice is quiet. "I won't forgive you. I
 know people use all kinds of words to excuse these horrors. School won't
 fool me."

If the universe is filled with worlds as irredeemable as the Earth -- Rita
 stops herself before her thoughts go down that path.

<Pose Tracker> Laffinty Fin E Ld Si has posed.

Lan isn't naive, per se, but her expectations of Earth, well...She doesn't have
 any. You could tell her the sky's yellow and she'd believe it.

Yurikano has her boys under control and Laffinty can't quite hide a smile about
 it. "It will be my turn to start soon," she says, quietly, aimed somewhat at
 Yurikano. "Our brothers were classmates, but you'll probably be back at De
 Metrio by the time I'm in classes. Hm."

Moid clears his throat pointedly because she's way off topic, and Laffinty
 jumps a little. "Oh! Uhm!"

She looks over to Sheryl's excited question. Big purple eyes go blink blink. "I
 don't...really know...?" she says, slowly, then nods at Yurikano's quiet vote
 of agreement. "But a concert sounds like a good idea."

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        So the Zuvorg Alliance is aware of the Vajra. Not too surprising. From
 what the Frontier fleet was able to discern during their return trip, the
 Vajra's territory is not insignificant. Turning to Rudi, Catherine replies,
 "Familiar to some degree. The fact is we still don't know why they attack as
 they do. Or some of the more specific details of their biology and existence."

        The matter of the Elysion comes up again. Although she doesn't show it,
 Catherine is curious about what their connection is to all this. As far as she
 was aware, that Macross and its fleet had simply set up on a planet somewhere.
 Was there more to it than that? It's hard to know, as as she mentioned, it had
 been some time since Frontier had had direct contact with them. Just one of
 the many results of returning to the Earth Sphere.

        "I admit it would be interesting to visit the Elysion, after so long.
 And we would be happy to act as intermediaries for any concerns you wish to
 speak with them about. As you say, they may be more responsive to us." Plus it
 might shed some light on what's going on out here.

        Catherine takes the offered card from Mekibos, "We're not really out
 here for tourism. But we'll consider the suggestions." And back to Rudi again,
 "You are all of course welcome to visit our camp. We may not have much to
 offer in comparison, but we will share what hospitality we have."

        Alto glances at the three indicated by Yurikano. He's certainly not one
 to talk about judging a pilot just by appearance, so he does wonder what their
 skills are like.

        Which gives Alto an idea, "Oh really. Maybe we should organize some
 training battles between us. I'd be interested to see what you and your
 machines can do."

        It's while waiting for an answer though that Alto doesn't so much feel
 the pressure from Rita as he does hear it, slowly looking in her direction
 with some concern.

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Rudi wanders off to do Official Business. Sagiri quietly tracks the other woman
 the entire way, casually chewing on a cookie.

By the time Rudi is situated and talking about the Vajra, Sagiri is already
 focused on Rin and Trevor, running a hand through her wild mane of chestnut
 hair with a casual grin like it was nothing.

"I just didn't think they'd go full tilt with the concept!" she says on the
 matter of space pirates. "But I respect the hell out of it!"

A corporate gal she may be, but. Everybody's got to find their own way of
 living!

Double points if they manage to do it in style!

Things are going as easy as things always seem to go for Sagiri; while things
 for Rami are, well--

"S-so everything is all ri--mmph?"

--they're going about how they tend to go for Rami, too.

Cut off from her embarrassed rambling, Rami's big, doe-eyed stare goes a bit
 cross-eyed as they stare at the finger on her lips. Sheryl Nome's finger! Her
 mind is a rush of frantic thoughts:

'Is it okay for a celebrity to be touching me?? It's Sheryl Nome!'

        'Amies would probably be taking a picture right now and selling it to
 someone unsavory.'
        'Why are you even thinking about that?!'

                        'Pull yourself together this is a very serious meeting!'

'Maybe you can ask her when her next album is coming out.'

                'Did you NOT just hear what we thought about serious meetings??'

        'Oh no why is Ms. Sakurai looking this way!'

'You should really go check and make sure the Quark Drive is secure.'

                        'Oh no. Does this qualify as sexual harassment?!'

        'There's no hope for you, Rami Amasaki. I'm going home.'

... But all that actually manages to get out is a little, slightly high-pitched,

"Ahhh-heh-eheh-hahaha-ummmmmm"

as Rami's eyes roll straight up to the right to inspect the ceiling.

"I-I mean-- I guess--"

Whereupon Sheryl bursts out laughing and Rami is left to stare, red-faced and
 bewildered, as she finds she has become subject to DELIBERATE TEASING.

Her cheeks slowly puff out to pouting proportions and her expression screws up
 in such indignance that it wrinkles its way across the bridge of her nose,
 like a particularly mad chipmunk.

"I-- knew that! Hmph!"

And the most upsetting thing is she's -still not sure which is worse-.

She's still stewing, and not even her correct assessment about the Phenex - a
 fact that'd normally fill her with intellectual pride! - can console her. She
 just shoves her hands into her lap, tilts her head away, "hmphs!" once more
 for good measure, and finally turns her attention back to the exchange between
 Catherine Glass and the envoys of Zuvorg...

... just in time to hear Rudi and Mekibos talking about the Vajra... and
 offering to help them. Be their guides. That they'll be watching regardless.

Rami's expression slowly shifts from flustered to troubled as Catherine invites
 them to visit the camp at their leisure -- as Alto even suggests training
 battles. She chews on her lower lip. Her thumbs fidget against each other.

"... Excuse me," murmurs Rami, and she stands up off the couch to make a brisk
 but unobtrusive exit from the conference room. For all the world, at least,
 it'd probably seem like the teasing was just too much for her to handle.

Sagiri watches Rami leave with a quiet, unreadable expression.

"Mm," she says, as she frowns around an entire mouthful of cookie.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         It seemed like everything was too much for Array. The poor boy ended
 up bolting. Oops. From what little she could tell of the situation, it seemed
 like he was under a lot of stress - or at least more stress than he was used
 to. It did sound like the Princess was trying to look out for him, in a more
 'tough love' kind of way, but still... she was lacking context to know if it
 was too much for the guy or not. And there was the whole 'alien culture' thing
 too. They looked human, but that just seemed to be a quirk of the universe -
 they could still be quite different in various, less obvious ways.

         Rita, however, seemed to jump to the worst possible conclusion.
 Granted, if she was right, that would be pretty inexcusable in Maya's mind,
 but that wasn't the impression she was getting here at least. "I don't think
 that's the case here - she even said that he could quit if he wanted! It just
 sounds like what I imagine a boot camp is like." While she was a mecha pilot,
 she was more engineer and technician than soldier, there because she was
 deeply involved in the design process. "He's just... under a lot of pressure
 to perform, I think? I don't know - maybe he needs a little more close
 supervision and to be taught in a way that fits him better?" She wasn't a
 teacher, but it was something that she'd heard before - that a one size fits
 all method doesn't work for everyone.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Is exposure to Universal Bunny really such a bad thing~?
        
        Rami's blushing and furious insistence that she totally knew Sheryl
 was just kidding gets a vivacious giggle out of the Galactic Fairy. At least
 she kindly and generously lets it be after this, giving Rami room to blush
 and stew.
        
        "You don't know? I'll definitely have to teach you, then!" Sheryl
 declares to Lan, smile shining bright. She nods from her to Yurikano, who gets
 an extra smirk back about her teaching methods. "Then it's decided! I'll have
 all of you listen to my song. <3"
        
        Alto of course has a different approach from her--one that's just so
 quintessentially Alto-like. But then, if there's a military school here, then
 it makes sense to offer to put on mutual training battles. Sheryl sends him a
 wry but fond smile.
        
        That smile fades as Rita takes Yurikano's words and Array's attitude in
 a very different way--one Sheryl hadn't considered. She didn't get that vibe,
 but if Rita's right... she glances back at Yurikano, to see her reaction.
        
        It sounds like the contingent doesn't know much about the Vajra either,
 though they at least know of them and have had similar problems with them.
 Sheryl will set that aside for now, in that case.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin pays attention to Mekibos. So does her phone (unless he is doing something
 that will interfere with it - it's consumer electronics from Earth - but even
 so). The UND Bureau and Le Garite aren't exactly connected. The base here is a
 relatively small and low-staff one. This area gets traffic, but it isn't
 'fortified'.

They're on the frontier, Rin thinks. Her eyes cut towards Rudi as Rudi speaks.

She hears Sagiri just as well. Her head snaps back to look at her. "Right? It's
 kind of weird," she tells Sagiri, even as her voice lowers. "I wonder just how
 big the pirate bases are, if they have that and 'the Phenex' as well..."
 (Watch the news, Rin. Oh wait, it's Britannia news.)

And then...

Rin doesn't understand what Rita 'is', but what Rin has decided in her heart
 Rita 'is', paradoxically, brings sympathy to her heart. Because Rin thinks
 that Rita is an AI, and AIs can develop idiosyncratic perceptions. Heuristics.

Feelings.

Rin knows almost nothing about Rita and they're talking with the
 representatives of large alien countries. This takes high stakes. This means
 Rin thinks furiously, and for whatever subtle advantage Rin has in temporal
 terms, Maya beats her to the punch. Rin exhales with some force. "Yeah," she
 says. "School's tough. They put you through a lot of difficult things... but
 you get something out of it. I guess that's true all over, isn't it?" Rin
 concludes, smiling towards the others.

Rin says 'to Maya but also aloud to the room', with a nod, "That's why you've
 got to stick with your fellow students, right? Even if the teachers don't get
 it, your friends can help you out."

please don't summon the gundam and start an interstellar war, Rin prays as she
 glances at Rita with a grin.