2023-11-19: More Than Just A Cyber-Newtype
- Log: More Than Just A Cyber-Newtype
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Naoko Suzuki
- Where: Within Goragon -- the streets of Beijing
- Date: During Goragon
- Summary: Punk-rock Newtype Nova Stellar is trying to reach a Cyber-Newtype soldier, Yunyukha -- because as easily as she makes friends, it's far more difficult for her to escape indoctrination. She's at least glad that they were able to save the girl in the Shamblo, during their recent battle in Torrington. The metaphor of gelato servings are soon dropped in favour of a heartfelt plea, and Yunyukha takes Nova's hand... only for Yuliana to realise that the possibility of being in the same classification as everyone else, too, is impossible.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
There is a woman, here in the field of cubes, of mixed race with brown skin and a black, cloaked dress. She is clad in a Masquerade mask all built in the Masquerion's default pale red, a silk covering about her hair, sequins stretching down her cheeks. Her lips are exposed, but her voice, when it comes, has faint electronic distortion.
"I'm so fucking sick of this place, all these signs just fucking taunting me --"
So, of course, she runs straight into '類' while she's trying to avoid '恥'.
And Yunyukha -- she's gone by her nickname for so long that it's really not clear what her real name even is by now, though she does use the short form, Yunya, when she needs to be a little less street -- also wears that mask. She always has! It's hardly a problem for her to hide her face, when her heart's calling out to everyone. Behind those sequins, her eyes are pupilless and shining with curiosity; she has always been able to get the measure of men, even if she always seems a little out of step with reality.
She underwent experiments, when she joined the military. They made her into a Cyber-Newtype, and...
... the REA created one of the most powerful Newtypes they'd ever forged.
Whether it was some natural talent and latent Newtype nature or just the methods they used -- Yunyukha is open as a wound, constantly receiving everything pouring in around her. She's always been talented at finding others; always talented at knowing them. She can almost see whether someone's a good person -- or at least she's always talking about people's auras.
She's afforded a lot of freedom, of course, so long as she reports back to the lab when she's summoned. So long as she'll command their Funnels and win their combat engagements... they're happy. It's a little transactional -- the REA protects her from less-scrupulous agents like BioNet who would love to get their hands on her, and in turn, she's one of their ace pilots -- but that doesn't mean it's bad. Well, it is bad, but it's not bad-bad.
Anyway.
She's the sort of person who makes quick friends wherever she goes, so of course she got an extra scoop in her gelato cup, today. (It's still her favourite.) Dressed in a casual t-shirt and shorts, she's weathering the hot weather quite well, all things considered.
"Haa," she exclaims, looking up at Beijing's cloudless sky. "It's sweltering..."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
A girl runs through the endless expanse of light in a blind panic. In this place where time and physical limitations have no meaning, she might just as well have been running for two minutes or two years, it makes no difference. The dreadful vision shown to her, the possibility of what ultimate pursuit of power might look like, was simply too much for her to handle. Ordinarily, she would have the support of her two closest friends, with her no matter where she goes. She has yet to consciously realize that, connected to her Arm Slave as they were, they were separated in this space, leaving her with no support in processing her mental distress.
Until, inevitably, the nature of this panic's blindness leads to the predictable result of rushing headlong into a different cube, not even seeing the kanji it bears before everything fades to white.
"...We meet again. Fancy that."
A voice familiar from many previous meetings, Yunyukha should not be surprised at all to find a certain purple-haired girl casually coming up behind her. After all, they've known each other for years. Though by all rights, they really shouldn't be meeting each other as often as they do. Not when their circumstances are so very different.
Naoko Suzuki was born a Newtype, a strong ability to read people's emotions manifesting from a young age. Gifted with high intelligence as well, she judged most everyone else, thinking and feeling far too simply for her to connect with, to be beneath her, children and adults alike. Rebelling against any attempts to call her to order, she ran away from home and became a street punk, picking fights and committing petty crimes out of sheer boredom, testing her limits on what she could get away with, eluding the police at every turn.
Until one day, her defiance towards places off limits to the public ended up with her breaking into a Newtype research facility, more closely guarded than she bargained for. She was detained, interrogated... and upon discerning her nature, made an offer. Lucky for her, the OCU facility in question was not the infamous kind, but one established by Amuro Ray himself, to help youths exactly like her to understand themselves, and find a purpose in life. Surrounded by those who knew what she was going through, Naoko began to change, never quite losing her rough edges, but driven by loftier goals.
She decided to be a Big Damn Hero.
Fast forward to today, Nova Stellar ('Stella' to her friends) appearing behind Yunyukha in full Londo Bell flight suit as she spoons up a giant helping of gelato from a way too huge bowl. She, unlike her friend, has full autonomy in where she goes when off-duty. It must have been vexing, especially at first, their initial chance meeting leading to a big fight. But Stella never gave up. She kept seeking Yunyukha out, extending a hand in friendship, and each time becoming more insistent that she should abandon this life, and come with her.
She's heard it all before, 'the REA needs me', 'it's really not that bad', 'you don't understand how the REA operates'. But what Yunyukha doesn't have is her freedom. And there's no hiding one's more deep-seated feelings from Stella. And the reverse is true as well. Stella cares, deeply, about Yunyukha finding a better life for herself, and is willing to go through any lengths to make it happen. Even go up against the REA, by herself if need be.
"How've you been, Yunyukha?" she says with that bright, knowing smile, as always pretending this is complete coincidence when they both know it's not. She nods to her friend's much smaller bowl. "That really enough to satisfy you?" Of course, she means a lot more by that than just the gelato. Even if that is a very important aspect of having your own money, being able to get as big a bowl as you dang well please.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
--!!!
Yunyukha feels Stella before she sees her, but certainly, she also turns to see her. "Stella!" She exclaims, a smile crossing over her face. Sure, she's in a Londo Bell flight suit, but that's not necessarily bad. They are technically allies, in the Federation, even if their relationship is... tense.
Starting with a fight, for instance.
Yunyukha is glad to see Nova Stellar, anyway. Even if she keeps asking weird questions... she's a good person, shining in the dark. It's fine if she's a little pushy. Maybe she should shut her down more than she does, but... well, sometimes it's nice to entertain the thought.
"No, no, I've been great!" She says, smiling brightly. "There was that big fight in Torrington -- I'm glad we managed to get through to that girl in the Shamblo. She really totalled my Gundam while I was keeping her busy, but that just meant Banagher got the opening he needed. I guess it finally got through to her that I wasn't really eager to finish the job..."
She sighs, shrugging to the younger woman. "Captain Zhu says that Command's annoyed at me for taking so much damage, but it's not like she really hurt me. She was just lashing out... ahh, you get it, right?" And it's clear to both of them that Yunyukha gets it; she feels a strong kinship, with the girl from Zeon.
Finally, she takes another bite of her gelato.
"It's not good to be too greedy," she points out, pointing her spoon to Nova's bowl. "Servings like this make sure everyone gets what they need!" It's a very communist sort of approach, really. Except -- "I don't even know where you got that much..."
(It's really a question -- how could she get so much?)
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Stella smiles, always happy to see Yunyukha so enthusiastic. She may not know for sure what goes on behind closed doors within the REA, but there's no doubt in her mind that there's little to be happy about there. The impulses of her younger self are still there - more than once, she's been this close to causing an incident in an attempt to expose the rotten core in certain parts of the Federation. Somebody has to, and it feels like no one else is willing to. Which means it feels like a personal failure that she's allowed this to go on for so long.
But she can't force Yunyukha to do anything she doesn't want to. That would defeat the entire point. If she couldn't be convinced for this long... most would have given up by now. But Nova Stellar doesn't know the meaning of giving up, not when she sees an injustice right in front of her eyes. When she could help another's light shine so much brighter still.
She focuses on listening and eating tasty gelato while the story of the most recent battle unfolds. It's nice to hear that cheerful tone, but... well, she'll withhold comment until she gets the entire story. When she gets the opportunity, she shakes her head. "Ahhh, Banagher again. He always gets the glory in the end, and all you get is 'you should have dodged better'. Isn't that frustrating?" Sure is frustrating to her. Who do these people think they are? It's a fight, things get shot up, what's the big deal? She has to deal with suits whining about the budget herself, but when the REA is involved... not hard to imagine that they're punishing Yunyukha for it in some way.
"I do get it," she continues, pointing her spoon in Yunyukha's direction. "They don't. They really have no business putting those kind of people in charge." If it was up to her, it would be all Newtypes at the top. But that's not something you can say out loud. Politics, honestly. Why can't everyone just do what obviously makes the most sense?
She rests the spoon in her bowl for the moment to run a hand through her long, flowing hair, the braided style that she favored as a young child long abandoned. "...We should've been there, too. Getting the sense that the Federation is trying to keep our nose out of things. I swear, if I find out that somebody's keeping us on stand-by to hide their dirty laundry..." She makes a fist, not feeling like she needs to say any more. She has a mean right hook and is not afraid to use it, as Yunyukha discovered back in their first meeting.
The moment passes quickly though, in favor of more gelato. "So, been mostly training exercises for me. Trying to get them to do some more modifications. I wanna see if I can break my own record, but they said they can't fit more than 50 funnels on Stellar Gundam." (That's not its real designation, she just started calling it that and yelling at anyone who tried calling it anything else.) She sighs. "So lame. If I knew anything about robotics I'd have put 66 on it by now. It'd be metal as hell, literally."
She pauses in her spooning, when called greedy. "Wha? No, this isn't greed. It's freedom." She loves using that word in Yunyukha's presence, to unsubtly hint at how much better things could be. "There's plenty to go around. If you bring your own bowl and tell them to fill it, they'll happily do it, as long as you're paying of course. Gelato salesfolk have to eat too, doing this is just helping them out with that, so we both get what we want!" Welcome to capitalism, Yunyukha.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yunyukha's feelings on the lab do leak out, sometimes.
They're unpleasant.
She's much more pleasant, though, seeing Stella. It might technically be classified, some of the things she chats about, but she doesn't say anything outrageously secret. (She doesn't say it, anyway.) "It's okay," she smiles, of the glory being distributed. "I don't mind him getting the glory... I don't need to be seen as someone who saves everyone. I know I helped. That's enough, right?" She laughs, shaking her head. "Anyway, saying it like that's a little hard on the kid... he's doing his best with a tough situation. We're lucky he was there, too."
Yunyukha sighs, looking up to the burning sun. "I guess it is kinda frustrating that Command expects so much, though," she says. "Not that I'm really in a position to question their expectations, but... feels like they have a lot riding on me. They keep pushing me to do more... this new suit they've got me in, it almost moves as soon as I intend to, totally seamless. Kind of overwhelming, really... but I'm doing quite well in it." A machine which feels like an extension of herself... it's the next level of intuitive warfare.
And it would break a lesser pilot.
She shakes her head, though, and looks back to Nova. "Could be," she says, with an uneasy little smile. "Even Londo Bell gets involved in dirty laundry, sometimes. I get it... they send me to deal with that stuff too." The REA, of course, has far more dirty laundry.
Yunyukha brightens, though, as she says: "I actually do!" Know about robotics, that is. "I was a wanzer mechanic before I enlisted. I was apprenticed under this battleaxe called Voyevoda, out by Anadyr -- you know, in Chukotka?" It's a rural okrug of Zaftra, where she grew up; she's spoken warmly of it, before. "I don't really get to do it these days, though... they say I have to focus on piloting, and wanzers aren't really suitable to what I can do, now."
She tilts her head, and her eyebrow raises, under her mask. "But if you take as much as you want, there might not be enough for the next person," she points out. "Shouldn't you be thinking about how the whole organisation will suffer if you take all that for yourself?"
Taking another bite, she goes on: "Though... I guess if it's just something like gelato..." She is quite envious of Nova's big bowl; gelato is, as she's expressed, her favourite food. "But I'd be nervous to stick out too much... you know, it's no good if you're seen to be difficult." She's being delicate.
"If I took too much here, people would definitely notice... I'm afraid they're always watching me, Stella."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
It's those feelings that make it impossible to leave this alone. The REA's secrets are only of concern in how much they hurt Yunyukha. And people like her, but Yunyukha in particular, because it's personal. Stella feels certain that she's the only one who sees the full extent of the scars beneath the surface, which makes this her responsibility. Yunyukha is strong, but that mask she's wearing - the metaphorical one, that is - will only get more painful with every passing moment. If only she could properly convey her distress at what she fears this will end up leading to, the possibility that one day the REA will decide a puppet is more useful than a person...
Well, she doesn't really need to express that for Yunyukha to know. But that's a difference between the two of them. She's been a rebel her entire life, while Yunyukha believes it's best to do as she's told. And they both feel their way is the correct way. Isn't there anything that can be done to break that stalemate?
Her words, though, stay focused on the matter at hand. "Man... you say that, but if nobody's acknowledging the difference you're making, that's sad, isn't it? I'm not saying it's not the same for Banagher, but come on, he's already getting enough credit, he's all anybody's talking about. What makes him such a Superman, huh?" She's not jealous at all, shut up.
What Yunyukha says next, though... it prompts a sharp intake of breath, followed by only silence. Only her feelings leak through, of supreme concern for her friend's well-being. That's always an undertone, but it overtakes everything else, for a short moment there. That new suit... it might be exactly what she fears. Psycommu weaponry is one thing, but nobody should be pushing the kind of technology that integrates the pilot with the machine to that degree. It's messed up.
It's hard to stay glum with that level of enthusiasm though, the infectious smile prompting one of her own. "Well, aren't you something? I'd never have that kind of patience, there's way too many moving parts. I can't be tinkering around anyway, who's got time for any of that?" She too has to focus on her job, her piloting. Always got to be ready to act at a moment's notice no matter what, failure is never an option. It's rare enough for her to stick around to talk for quite this long. The fact that she's in her flight suit does imply a few things, of course.
"See, that's what I mean," she responds, pointing to Yunyukha. "You keep talking about the organisation, as if you're not a very important part of it. You know what would make the organisation really suffer? If you weren't able to give it to all, because you're not happy about the way you're being treated."
It was inevitable that she would directly go there, in the end. She always does. She grits her teeth in frustration. "...I hate this, Yunyukha. I'm afraid to even offer sharing some of my gelato with you, because of whatever 'allotment' these jerks won't allow you to exceed. They say you're being 'difficult', when what they really mean is you have an opinion they don't like. It's not fair, you have to know that. I know that you do."
She takes a deep breath... then whirls about, pitching her bowl of gelato against a nearby tree, shattering it and spilling its contents every which way. She then extends her newly freed hand towards Yunyukha. "...I don't give a crap about gelato, if I can't share it with my best friend. Come with me, Yunyukha. I have Stellar Gundam hidden nearby, we can make it. I promise I'll protect you, I won't let any of them touch you ever again. Please. Let me help you, before it's too late."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Nova might be a little jealous, but Yunyukha doesn't begrudge her for that. She's always been... understanding of people, though. It's easy for her to see where they're coming from. And where Nova's coming from --
Yunyukha knows it's a place of frustration.
And it's coming from all her concern.
All she can do, in the face of all that, is offer her enthusiasm.
"They should give you time for it!" She insists, with a little huff, assuming immediately that someone is pressuring Nova to always be available instead of Nova pressuring herself. She can make assumptions, too, especially with her history. "Even I get time off, these days!" She's out here talking to Stella, after all, instead of being cooped up in the lab. It's a precious thing. It wasn't... always true.
Her smile grows uneasy, though, when Nova points. "I'm really not that important," she assures her. "I mean -- yeah, I'm powerful, but -- I'm still just another Cyber-Newtype. They have lots of us... anyone can be replaced, Stella. It's..." Her smile wavers. "Sometimes I wish I was unique... but I think even if I was, I wouldn't be safe. They'd probably just push me to be even more perfect... and I bet I'd end up in a way worse situation than this. There's no way they'd just let me run around forever if I was the only one."
And her head ducks down, when Stella grits out her frustration. "I know, but..." She starts, a shade haplessly, and doesn't manage to get her protests out before Nova flings her gelato into a tree. "Ah--! Come on, you can't just waste that!" She exclaims, but her shocked anger quiets when Nova extends her hand.
"I..." She starts, her own hand faltering; she doesn't quite mean to drop her own cup of gelato, but it crashes to the ground, anyway. Passionfruit flavour spills out, all decorated with seeds and pulp. "I'm scared," she says, her voice thin and tight. "They said I need to be with them... they're the only ones who can keep me safe. And -- and my medications, and... they need me. They'll come and get me, you'll be in danger..."
Still, she hasn't dropped her hand. It hovers, there, halfway between salvation and perdition.
She looks behind her, but it's just a casual Beijing street; no one's followed her. Her breath is shallow, as she looks back to Nova. "I," she starts again, and her face beneath her mask is drawn.
"I need..."
She pushes herself forward, to grasp Nova's hand, tightly, and her sentence doesn't end with words. Help me!, her heart cries, as the training exercises for her Gundam flash through their minds. A machine which follows her intentions to fractions of a second --
No wonder she's crying out for help.
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Of course it's only ever been Nova who pressured herself. Nobody could ever have higher expectations of her than she has of herself. When most take time off for themselves, Stella is always the one who stays behind for extra simulator training. As a result, she doesn't really have friends in Londo Bell, only co-workers. She has no need to get chummy with other pilots, she just needs them to do their job and not get in her way. She has more of an understanding with fellow Newtypes, but even then, she only sees it as a more efficient way of coordination.
To Yunyukha, she's never mentioned just how much of a loner she's been. How rare it was for her to develop a connection beyond a professional one. Not that she ever needed to. Even without the ability to just tell, the nature of their first meeting made it pretty clear that Stella wasn't used to, well, caring quite so much. She just wanted to be the hero, who saves people because that's what heroes do. But Yunyukha pushed back against that, reacting very poorly to her arrogant 'fuck those guys' rant regarding the REA. Unable to understand the refusal to be be 'saved', and unwilling to give up, their subsequent meetings gradually led to greater understanding of Yunyukha's feelings, how different everything can seem when you're trapped in the middle of it all. And how closed-minded she'd been, all this time, viewing her abilities as something that made her greater than 'normal people'.
She still has a long way to go, in that regard. But she's improving. And she owes it all to Yunyukha. It's a debt she could never repay. But she'll try, in every way she's able.
"You are more than just a Cyber-Newtype," is the way she verbally summarizes this. A lot more. To herself, especially.
Despite everything, it's still shocking when Yunyukha, too, drops her gelato. As much as Nova loves the stuff, it doesn't hold a candle to how it makes Yunyukha feel, every single time. Like a lifeline to hold onto. If she's prepared to abandon that, then--
"Shh, it's okay, everything's okay, Yunyukha. Don't listen, shut out their voices. Nothing of what they're saying matters. All that matters is what you say. If you need my help, you only need to say so."
There's so much more that she wants to say. Just grab hold of that hovering hand and drag her to safety. It's what she would have done, once upon a time. But she can't do that, not anymore. At some point, what she wanted stopped being what mattered the most. Instead, the most important thing became for Yunyukha to choose this for herself.
There is a moment of great catharsis, when at long last, the hand she'd been stretching out for so long is finally taken. I'm here, comes the immediate reassurance, with the implication that this is something that will always be true. She pulls Yunyukha into her arms, her only regret that there isn't more of her to hug. The horror that flashes through her mind, in that moment... she never would have thought she could hate being right this much. They won't get away with this. But that's for later worry. Regrettably, she can't afford to offer comfort for very long, right now.
"Come on," she urges, her one hand remaining entwined with Yunyukha's, the other drawing her sidearm. This could get ugly... but she'll do whatever must be done to keep her promise. Anyone who gets in the way of that is going to regret it.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
All this time, Yunyukha wanted to reach her.
She didn't quite realise that Nova was reaching her in the effort.
Nova says to shut out their voices, but she still can't quite manage to say it, to say with her words that she needs help. She screams it with her actions, instead, and something beyond words; it is written in the way she sobs, collapsing into Nova's arms. She sinks into her so thoroughly, one might wonder just how often she gets the opportunity to hug anyone.
"Mm," she hums, teary-eyed, as she hurries along beside Nova. Luckily, no one's trailing her -- but an image of a nondescript traffic light flashes between them, through their palms. "The cameras," she adds, carrying on a sentence she didn't start out loud. "They'll see..."
What happens to someone when they're always being observed?
Certainly it is more than observation; the REA's indoctrination has made Nova's efforts a slow process. But now, so far after their first altercation, she has the strength to communicate: Please, hurry! It's not something she can say with her throat -- but when her heart can cry out, she still has a way to ask.
She can still ask for...
How many times, Yuliana wonders, has she asked for help? In how many worlds? From how many people?
She becomes aware of the possibility -- and its impossibility -- and the scene fades to white.
Yuliana Kafim has disconnected.