2024-07-20: Hands on the Trigger
- Log: 2024-07-21
- Cast: Flay Allster, Trem Firmal
- Where: Heaven's Base, Area 10
- OOC - IC Date: 0099-07-20
- Summary: A recent graduate from Asticassia meets a current student, in the heart of the Gaia Sabers' power. Just what kind of person is the Captain of the Chimera Team?
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
Heaven's Base - the largest Gaia Sabers military base in the entire Earth Sphere, built along the coast of Area 10 - or Iceland, if you'd prefer. The facilities it offers sees constant movement of people, weapons, and goods alike, but all the same, the atmosphere of the place is just as frigid as the weather implies.
As one of the Gaia Sabers' pilots, Flay is about the base, but as her 'day off', it's not as if she has anything specific to do - the Strike's repairs are all in order, at least, and she doesn't have any public appearances to make today. Which means instead, Trem could find her in one the officers' lounges she has clearance for, which is otherwise quite empty. If one were to wish to catch her alone and unguarded... there's really no better time.
Though formally, Flay is supposed to be planning her schedule for the upcoming week, various events across the Earth Sphere and Orbital Ring that need her attention as the Gaia Sabers' 'princess'- her eyes aren't really on her planner, instead blankly watching the movement of ships and weapons outside the window. She must be lost in thought about something or another, which means as ever, Flay Allster is doing great.
<Pose Tracker> Trem Firmal has posed.
Trem has spent a little time at Heaven's Base. When she meets with the rest of Chimera Team, it's often here; she has taken a shuttle directly to and from Asticassia before. She is in here Asticassia uniform, in fact, as she walks into the officer's lounge.
Slim, not all that tall, and with pale pink hair... well, she looks like a teenager, through and through. Which often gets her looks.
Which Trem deflects with a smile. She slows as she enters the room, her eyebrows raising as she spots Flay. She approaches, then, and lifts a hand. "Hello," she says. "They seem busy out there, don't they?"
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
While Flay graduated before Trem started attending Asticassia, her appearance stands out just enough to be memorable, not just from Heaven's Base - but also the mission briefing from the Gaia Sabers' last major operation against the Dawn of Fold.
So when Trem approaches in the officers' lounge, with that almost carefree demeanor of hers, Flay turns and gives her a squint of recognition, as Trem muses about all the movement outside. "It's never quiet around here," Flay replies, resting her hands on the desk in front of her. "But no matter what kind of weapons they're moving, I guess one look just goes to symbolize that the Gaia Sabers are the greatest military force in the world." Her tone is wholly neutral - as if it's just a fact that it's the message Heaven's Base is supposed to send.
Her attention rests back on Trem, and her Asticassia student uniform. "But you," She starts, her tone not raising or falling. "You're one of those student pilots, aren't you. Isn't someone like you busy with classes?" There's a slight smile, as if Flay sees Trem as just as out of her element as she herself once was, but then it fades. "Mm, I wonder what led that man to give you a weapon like that."
<Pose Tracker> Trem Firmal has posed.
"I noticed... it's a bit different from where I grew up," Trem says. Her voice is a little quiet as she looks out the window. But, then she nods. "Mm."
She doesn't argue with the Gaia Sabers being the greatest military in the world -- or quite disagree with it. Her silver eyes glance at Flay, while she considers her tone for a moment. Neutral; she can't find anything wrong with it.
"I am. I'm..." She smiles a little. "...Well, I'm told that the extra hours and work will be very useful for my future. But I'm the one putting all of that in. That's the way it always goes, isn't it?"
There's a beat, though. Then, she hesitates. "...Mm. The Captain--" The one who couldn't be bothered to show up, and left the command of the mission to Lieutenant Commander Romero. "--didn't... give me an explanation why. That's like them, though."
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
Flay initially remains guarded as she usually is, but perhaps something about Trem, really just being a student rather than a soldier leads her to drop her guard somewhat. "Oh, right... where are you from, actually?" She asks, not immediately matching her first or last name to any particular nationality - it's hard to tell.
"I grew up in Orb myself, but well... I guess it's no secret that I'm actually from Britannia. My parents were Scottish nobility, after all." She adds, as if to just reinforce her status, though the fact that she says 'were'...
Flay's stormy blue eyes meet Trem's silver for just a moment, carefully studying Trem's own reaction to her statement, but nothing ever comes of it, at least not enough to make any judgement about her character. She slips back into her carefully practiced smile as Trem talks about her experiences as a student attache.
"Ahahaa, you're not wrong about that! It was pretty surprising how 'hands-off' all the professors seemed to be," Flay agrees, when Trem point out that she's the one putting in all the extra work. "At the same time.. the duels they put on at Asticassia are one thing, but, maybe they think it's important to have a sense of how different an actual battle is." She brushes her hair back a little, meeting Trem closer in the eye. "One where you might die at any moment." And it's true, that the student pilots were nearly killed by one of Dawn of Fold's pilots in that battle.
A beat. Trem hesitates, and speaks of the Captain, who didn't even show up, and put the weight of taking all those lives on Trem. "All because they had one of those autonomous action licenses." Flay points out, harshly. "Between you and me? I can't stand those license-holders." Perhaps because they're people she knows she can't control, but she doesn't say that. "It's so high-and-mighty! Thinking they know better, just because they can do whatever they want."
She leaves it at that, and glances back towards Trem. "Were you really okay with it? I... I'm not sure it was the best use of our resources, personally." She asks, trying to keep a cool expression. "Not when the real enemy was right there in front of us."
<Pose Tracker> Trem Firmal has posed.
"Scandinavia," Trem says. She even has a light accent -- though it's the sort where it's more noticeable after she points it out. "In the northern area, a small town with a spaceport."
She tilts her head, then she nods at her statement. "I did hear about that," she says. "Your parents, I mean." There's a flicker of hesitation, then. Should she apologize about her father?
She smiles a bit more, though, at talking about the professors. There's a nod of understanding, too. "Mm. Yes, that's it. The real battles are... different," Trem agrees, after a moment. "Not like the duels."
She falls quiet, though, at the criticism of the license-holders.
"It..." Was she okay with it? It's a very... complicated question. There is a moment where she hesitates.
"...I followed my orders," she says. "I realize you may not like license-holders... and I see why you might not," Trem says. "But they answer to the people at the very top. The people working to make a better future for the Earth Sphere, who have information we don't."
Trem's eyes are unblinking, as she speaks. "I put my trust in them. And the things they understand that I can't."
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"Scandinavia, huh..." Flay nods, the accent standing out a lot more now that she hears it. The main thing she knows about Scandinavia is that they were a neutral kingdom for a long time, kind of like Orb. "So I guess you never really had to worry about wars growing up, either. But now your country plans on joining NUNE, so you're here..." She doesn't think it's a bad decision - a nation can't stay neutral forever, and Heliopolis was proof of that.
Flay slowly nods, when Trem says she heard about her parents. Whether she says condolenses or not - it doesn't really matter to Flay, at least not outwardly. She makes a vague motion of acknowledgement and pretty quickly moves from on there, keeping her smile as Trem talks about her classes.
"I thought you'd agree," Flay says, resting her hand back down, when Trem nods about how different real battles are. "But honestly, it didn't seem like most students at Asticassia took the opportunity you did, to experience a real battle. I bet there's no way their parents would sign off on that... not that I blame them." Her smile grows a touch more distant, but it's there. "To come all this way, I'm sure you must have a really strong reason to fight, don't you?" A beat. "So. What is it?"
Trem hesitates on her previous question though, and a hint of a frown reaches Flay's expression. To follow orders, and nothing else... Flay can't help but get the impression that's the mindset of the easily manipulated. "You really do put a lot of faith in that captain of yours, don't you...?" She tilts her head. "But you shouldn't forget that it's your hand that pressed that trigger for their sake. And that makes it your responsibility, too."
Her words suddenly, are.. harsh, to a degree - as she hears Trem's resolve. Because the meaning of her 'own' role in the Gaia Sabers is starting to become clearer - that there's far more hands on the scale than even she can be aware of. If one Captain alone can unilaterally authorize the deaths of so many unarmed political prisoners...
<Pose Tracker> Trem Firmal has posed.
"Mm. They are," Trem says. "It's for the best, I think... though I never really saw much besides that and the Ring."
She hesitates for a moment, though, at the summation of most students. Elan is an exception -- but, of course, no one else knows that. "They don't," Trem agrees. "Of course... it might be hard for Piloting track students, when they graduate."
She doesn't answer the question about a reason to fight, right away. But the way she looks at Flay, she heard it.
"I know that," Trem says. "I'm aware that I pulled the trigger." She thinks of her superior; considers the things he told her. "I don't know much about the world. But... I know that we're building a future where these conflicts won't happen. One where foolish people can't throw everything into chaos."
She starts to frown. "Someone has to pull those triggers. And... I believe in them," Trem says. "So I will do that. That is why I fight. So the people who have that vision can make it a reality."
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"I think so, too," Flay agrees, when Trem says she believes Scandinavia's decision is for the best. "Though, it makes me wonder what Orb's decision will be." She muses, at the same time. She doubts their princess will be all that happy to follow Scandinavia, but then again, Cagalli's not the only person with power in Orb's government.
Flay certainly isn't aware that Elan's an exception, for all she cared, he was a pretty-boy who coasted away with his good looks to do the bare minimum. It would be hypocritical to blame him for taking that approach - but it doesn't exactly mean she 'liked' him.
As for whether it would be difficult for graduating piloting students, Flay nods. "My situation isn't really the same, since I joined Londo Bell before I ever attended Asticassia." She adds, looking back to the window. "...But I'm well aware of what my role was, and it certainly wasn't to fight on the front lines." She turns back to Trem, with a smile. "I made a conscious decision to change that."
But before she can answer her own 'why', Flay waits for Trem's answer... only for it to never quite come, as the conversation shifts towards what it means to pull the trigger. She does listen carefully, as Trem talks about the world, and the future she envisions for it. "That's the kind of world I'd like to see, too. Because... the world's almost ended enough times by now, that someone needs to protect it. Right?"
She pauses. "I'd say 'no matter what it takes', but that's not really how I feel. It's more like... I'd like to make that vision come true through my own power." Flay is surprisingly ambitious, perhaps too ambitious for her position. "Is that the way you see it, too, when you pull the trigger? Or are you only letting someone else borrow your strength?"
<Pose Tracker> Trem Firmal has posed.
Trem nods. Of course, she doesn't feel that strongly about Scandinavia...
...but some things are more complicated than she lets on about.
"So... you chose to fight, when you could have not," she says. "I respect that." Trem looks at Flay, thoughtful for a moment -- and then she tilts her head to the side. They agree on the world they want -- which isn't such a surprise, when they're both in Gaia Sabers.
"Borrow my strength..." She trails off. Her eyes narrow; her expression is, for a moment, troubled. She was never very good at hiding her expression. "...I'm not letting someone else use my strength, like a puppet. But... I know what I'm good at."
She looks back at Flay. "And it isn't the details. The people that I work with... I trust them to understand what I can't and to make that world a reality," she says. "And I fight for them, because it is what I can do."
She frowns. "The Captain... they would tell you that we have to be prepared to do whatever it takes," Trem says. "But... you might have realized this by now. The Captain isn't a very kind person. But kindness isn't what builds that future, Flay Allster."
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
Flay meets Trem's silver gaze again, when she gives her respect for choosing to fight, when she didn't necessarily have to. "It's not exactly my natural talent. And there are surely far better pilots out there..." She concedes, when it comes to fighting, her gaze wavering slightly. "But I've learned that there's nothing you can protect with your feelings alone." She concludes, the mindset that keeps her in this building.
But she wants to know more about Trem, and what makes her tick, and that's why she keeps questioning and prodding her, though she notes how... troubled she looks. And suddenly, she doesn't seem like just a bright-eyed cheery student anymore. "That's... you're way stronger-willed than I first suspected." She replies, kind of taken aback.
And then Trem speaks of the Captain, and their lack of kindness. Who is this Captain, anyways - is it someone she's met? Still, she meets Trem with a sharp gaze. "I... I know that much! After all... it's not like I have the right to call myself kind either." There's something unnverving about the way Trem delivers that message, though... but she tries to maintain her composure. "And I'm fine with that."
"But even if it's not kindness that builds the future, what about the people we're supposed to protect?" She asks. "If they were to find out about the actions the Gaia Sabers are doing to build it... would they still have faith in a future like that?" She's well aware of the NUNE media blackout of course, and the way it bypassed coverage of the operation in Sveaborg. "I know it's not my role to question that, but I can't help but think about it."
<Pose Tracker> Trem Firmal has posed.
"Well... you've had to learn, then," Trem says, weighing it for a moment. It always came naturally to her -- enough so that she actually looks a little awkward.
There is a smile, though, when she's called strong-willed. For some reason, that pleases Trem, and once again, she can't quite hide her reaction. But, it's always been like that for Trem.
She keeps meeting Flay's gaze, though, and her smile fades. "There are always things people shouldn't learn," Trem says. "That's... what the Captain told me. We're doing it for those people. It doesn't mean they would like it, if they knew. But..."
She frowns. "...I would keep those doubts to yourself. If they were shared with the wrong people... remember what I said." Trem is quiet for a moment, before she exhales.
"The Captain would do anything -- and neutralize any threat -- to protect the future," Trem says. "And that includes someone who would undermine the public perception Gaia Sabers."
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
"Mmm," Flay nods, carefully when Trem points out she simply had to learn. She definitely doesn't fly the Strike as well as either of its previous pilots, but the OS has been tuned to her needs. "But it's the same for you, isn't it? I mean..." She gestures out, as if it's obvious, considering Trem is in schooling for it - but the awkwardness of it doesn't feel that way.
She notes the smile, too, when she calls Trem strong-willed. It was a sort of compliment, but there's something to be said about the kind of person who takes it that way. Flay doesn't quite smile back, but she never looks away from Trem.
Especially not when Trem's own smile fades, and she repeats her Captain's words. From the perspective of the military, they makes sense. It would be absolute chaos if the kind of secrets they hold reached every single person in the Earth Sphere. But Flay has never quite let go of the perspective of a civilian, and so... "I know! It's not that simple, I know. But if we're doing things that would make the people we're protecting hate us..."
Her sentence completely trails off, when Trem firmly suggests keeping her doubts to herself. Her hand shakes, as she can't bear herself to meet Trem's gaze anymore. "...I think I have an idea about who you might be warning me about. I know how foolish it would be to cross them." She says quietly, nodding. And for a scarce few moments, there's complete silence in the room, before Trem speaks again.
Flay weighs her options hearing Trem's... warning? Threat? As to what the Captain would do to anyone who would dare to undermine the Gaia Sabers. "...I know that. Obviously, it was never my intention to do such a thing." She maintains a shaky smile through her words. "...It would be a terrible stain on whatever's left of my family name, after all. And no one would gain a thing from it." Though more than that, it's survival instinct.
She stands up, collecting the planner she left on the table in front of her - timing too-good. "Looks like my break's over. But... you gave me a lot to think about." She informs Trem, still not making eye contact with the girl. "So the least I can do is wish you a safe trip back to space." She adds, as a formality, and she takes careful steps out of the room, hand subtly hovering over her holster, half expecting some license holder to block her with a gun.
It doesn't come, though she keeps Trem's words close in her mind, realizing just what she signed her life away to fight for. But at the end of the day, with people like Trem's Captain and the other license holders she speaks of, it means... she just has to fight even harder to make the Gaia Sabers' power her own, doesn't it?