2024-08-09: We All Get There In Different Ways
- Log: We All Get There In Different Ways
- Cast: Naoko Suzuki, Rena Lancaster
- Where: Hangar Bay, Ra Mari II
- OOC - IC Date: 0099-08-09
- Summary: Naoko, eager to be of assistance in a personally satisfying way, attempts to sell pilots on her particular brand of Mad Science, when she comes across Rena in the hangar. The two discuss future operations, piloting skill and its development, as well as the growing concern of the Void... on a personal level, as well.
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Naoko Suzuki has been hanging around in the hangar bays of the Ra Mari II as of late. Which is hardly a rare occurence by itself, it does tend to be where she can be found most of the time. The difference is that she's usually working on something or other, most commonly related to her own machine. Currently, however...
"Are you sure? I know I can crank up the power of that Beam Cannon, don't worry, it'll be totally safe!"
...She's trying to convince a Murasame pilot to let her mess with the machine's weapons. It's not the first time, such 'incidents' have been happening frequently as of late. And, just as every time she asked, the response is a 'no that's fine, really'. Because they know her reputation. When Naoko modifies something, you never quite know what'll happen. Somehow, her reassurances that she can't breach safety regulations (because she doesn't know what they are) aren't very reassuring.
Rejected once more, she slinks off, idly kicking a stray bolt across the floor. "What's everyone so worried about, anyway? Nothing I made has ever exploded, except when it was meant to do that."
>"I guess not everybody likes exploding swords."<
>"Or using up half their machine's energy in a single shot."<
"Look, there was a perfectly practical purpose behind those designs. It's not my fault if people don't know how to make the most of them. Also shut up, we're not alone here."
Grumbling at the companions that adorn her hair, Naoko proceeds further down the hangar, then brightens when she sees a familiar face up ahead. There's someone who appreciates her! "Rena, heeey!" Rushing over to the flight commander with a casual wave, she gets directly to the point: "Please tell me there's some kind of operation planned soon."
That's her way of saying 'I'm bored'.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena comes in and out of the Ra Mari II, though she has lately started spending more time there. With events heating up in the Earth Sphere, it's become more necessary to be ready for a fight. She can't do all of that from their base in Orb.
Which is why she is on hand to overhear someone turn down Naoko. She cracks a smile at that; then, she looks up when Naoko calls her name, and lifts a hand. "Naoko!" she says, as she rushes over.
She hesitates a moment -- her hair is longer now, in a loose braid, and it bobs over her shoulder when she stands up straighter.
"Well... we're looking into it. But it's important we don't rush these things. Just trust Eight to know when to strike, okay?" she says. "And... who knows what might happen?"
A beat.
"No luck on people wanting modifications, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Naoko is agitated by the looming greater necessity for fighting, but not in an anxious sort of way. She's more excited than anything else. Even now, asking after planned operations, it's obvious: she's looking forward to any excuse for piloting her machine, which likely has everything to do with its massive upgrade.
"I know, I know," she responds, poorly hiding the disappointment of not getting an immediate 'yes'. "I'm no good at judging what we should do, I just, you know. I want to do something." And given how her other efforts have been going... she sighs.
"I could probably do the regular mechanic stuff for people just fine, but that just feels like... you wouldn't ask a talented artist to draw you a stick figure." She'd be done in no time and still just as bored, in other words.
Naoko glances at Rena's shoulder-braid. To most, this would just be a casual glance, with her expression not changing at all. But this may be a weird moment for a Newtype - one likely wouldn't expect someone to have particularly strong emotions about a hairstyle. Yet somehow, for an instant, Naoko feels happy, sad and angry, all at the same time.
Her voice remains calm, Naoko continuing to speak as normal. "Is it... bad, that I'm looking forward to fighting? It's just, I have all this power now, I can help so much more than before. I really want to, the wait's killing me."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I get that. Well... sort of," Rena says. She scratches at the back of her head, looking up at the white-and-teal form of the Gaia Gear Alpha Custom for a moment. "Maybe it's not wanting a fight, exactly. Even if I like flying. But I like to feel like I should do something."
She shakes her head.
"It just takes time, though. I've talked to Octo, and... we'll do it right," she says. She looks at Naoko. She smiles. "I don't want to regret it, when we fly -- or regret that we didn't soon enough."
She does blink, though, at the way she studies her longer hair. Rena blinks, her head tilted -- and then she hesitates at the question. Finally, though, she shakes her head.
"I don't think so. I guess... ask what you want to do. But you said, you want to help. I don't think it's wrong to want to help, Naoko."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Naoko follows Rena's gaze to the nearby mobile suit, then inclines her head. "Honestly, it's not specifically fighting I look forward to. It's... making a difference. Fighting's just the best way I've found for me to do that." She turns fully to Rena, meeting eyes.
"You understand, don't you? That feeling of piloting a machine that perfectly complements your abilities. That really makes you feel... powerful."
She doubts that anyone who hasn't experienced it would be able to completely understand what it's like for her inside that cockpit's environment, fully attuned to her nature and specialties. But by all accounts, she has to assume that Newtypes utilizing Psychoframe would have to experience something that's at least somewhat similar.
She scratches her cheek. "But, I get it. Of course I don't want to regret using that power at the wrong time, or for the wrong thing. I know I'm probably not the best judge of such things." Then, emboldened by being told she isn't wrong, she makes a fist, and states her intentions with determination.
"I do want to help, and I will. Especially now that I won't be a burden. It used to be hard to fight on my own, but now, I can manage just fine. I want more chances to show you that there's no more need to worry about me. I don't need to borrow anyone else's power anymore."
She pauses, before shifting to a more casual tone. "So, you know. There'll be less 'taking over your machine' and more 'blowing up like a dozen Mobile Dolls in record time'. Seriously, could you believe that? I keep rewatching the camera footage and every single time it's like, I can't believe how cool that was!"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"...Yeah. I know that feeling," Rena says with a glance at Naoko. With her uniform on, the Psychoframe crystal in her chest isn't visible. But, the way she puts her hand up just over her breastbone... it's not hard to see what's on her mind.
"Both a machine that suits me and... piloting being something that I know makes a difference," she says. She looks at Naoko -- and she blinks, once.
Then she shakes her head.
"You're not a burden, Naoko," she says. "You never were. We've all got times that we need help. I've had times I've needed it... and it's the same for everyone else in Terminal, everyone who's been with us since the first Ra Mari. But..."
She smiles a little. "I won't argue with a bit more blowing up a dozen Mobile Dolls. That was pretty amazing."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Naoko finds nothing to argue over in Rena's statements, right up until the matter of being a burden, that is. That one makes her chuckle.
"Come on now, I had no idea what I was doing at first. It's a miracle things went as well as they did." She pauses, before saying the obvious. "Yeah, I know, Miracle Worker, that's kind of what I do. But still. What I'm saying is, if I'd been by myself, no amount of miracles would've saved me. But that was then. My miracle power has greatly increased since then, so you can depend on it more than before, that's all I'm saying."
These are things that she can say with a straight face. Because they make total sense. The proof is right there in the footage she mentioned.
"Hehe, right? I can work much greater miracles than that still, you just wait and see." That moment of smug confidence passes quickly, however. She noticed that motion of Rena's earlier. That too has been a matter that's on her mind. And that warrants a more serious tone.
"...Hey, Rena? Has everything been okay, as of late? No voices, weird dreams, anything like that?" The crystal itself clearly isn't her biggest worry. A certain changed aspect of it is.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I didn't have much idea either. But... yeah, it took a bit for you to figure it out," Rena says. "It doesn't mean you weren't a help. And giving someone a chance to figure things out is just the right thing to do."
She cracks a smile at the talk of 'miracle power,' and she grins. Then she nods her head.
"I'm looking forward to it!" she says, cheerfully.
Ah, but that question. Rena's expression turns more serious. Her hand, at her chest, falls away. She looks down, to where her crystal should be. "I've had some dreams," Rena says, her voice quiet. "Only one really bad one, and I learned to avoid... um... the really bad stuff. Yuliana actually... helped. I know to be careful about trusting that."
She looks up. "We've got to keep it secret, though," she advises. "It's... not something that we want NUNE or Cathedra, especially, to learn about."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Naoko starts to argue, "You had all that training though, while I..." Just kind of jumped into a robot I made, without full knowledge of what it could even do. And somehow made it work all the same. The more she thinks about it, the less able she feels of making a good counter-argument. In the end, she scratches her head and just shrugs, grinning awkwardly. "You know what, forget it, I feel like this is turning into a humblebrag. Things're better than they used to be, let's leave it at that."
In that respect, anyway. Some things almost certainly aren't better. She had her suspicions about the Void's influence, but it took her this long to ask directly. And it had to be directly. Rena's never been anything but open and honest, it wouldn't feel right to go behind her back. Hearing about it though... she clearly has an idea about what 'the really bad stuff' is like, given that she physically cringes at the very idea.
"...I guess I should be glad about that much. The really bad stuff is... well, really bad. Yuliana is... hard to figure out, but she'd know about it better than most, so... as long as she's pushing you away from it instead of trying to draw you in, I guess?" But as long as there is a connection, it remains a concern, all the same.
She holds up her hands. "Oh of course, of course, I wouldn't tell anybody. Especially not them." It isn't hard to tell that Naoko has little faith in NUNE being in any way better than the Federation was. No more open mind there, after what she's already seen and heard about.
"Just, one thing," she adds, raising a finger. "If there's ever a situation like that again, where there's a bunch of Void energy that needs to be stopped? You've got to promise you won't expose yourself to any more of it. If that happens again..." She doesn't have a conclusion for that sentence, but it's obvious nothing good could result from it.
"Maybe there wasn't a better choice, last time. But there is now." She points her thumb at herself. "I've done the research, together with an expert on Void energy. I have complete faith that I can keep it at bay, Sukeban Kiseki was specifically made to keep me safe from it. I'm sorry I can't reverse what's already happened, but... I'll do what I can to keep it from getting worse."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"We all get there in different ways. I try to not worry about it too much," Rena says, with a bit of a smile.
But, they're on a more serious matter, and that smile is fleeting. She looks down at the ground for a moment -- then she nods. "She has. So far," Rena says. "I'm not sure what to think, with... with her deciding to fight again, like that. But..."
She sighs, and she shakes her head. "It is dangerous. I'm being as careful as I can with it. The Psychoframe balances it out, in--it's kind of weird, how they fit together..." She trails off, though. Rena falls quiet for a moment at what Naoko tells her.
She hesitates, too.
"I... I'll do my very best to avoid it," she promises. "And if you're there, I'll put my faith in you. But... if it's I help or a disaster happens..."
Rena smiles. It's a little weak. "Trust me, okay? I'm not going to let myself get pulled away from all of you. I've had enough of that for one life time."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Naoko rubs the back of her head. "I've kind of accepted that, even if Yuliana wants to help, or wants help herself, it's better if I stay out of it. Kind of an oil and water thing, you know?" Interpersonal things remain difficult in general, but this particular case may be an insurmountable challenge. "So I can't help you there, but if she wants to fight, I'll be ready for it, this time."
By comparison, the other topic is simpler. To her. "It's not weird to me," she says simply, on the matter of Psychoframe's interaction with the Void. She did say she's done research. And indeed, her Arm Slave being fitted with Psychoframe crystal is the secret ingredient, so to speak. But it is, indeed, a secret one, the only two people knowing that detail for a fact being the ones who worked on the machine.
"Kind of a mixed blessing though," she continues. "It can protect you, but also work against you. And a lot of that depends on you. That's why I can't say exactly how things'll go from here, all I know is about the technological side. When emotions are such a big factor, that complicates things."
The promise made is not quite as absolute as she would have liked, but Naoko couldn't exactly demand more. Her expression remains neutral, not quite managing to force a smile. "I trust you. It's the Void's influence that can't be trusted. If it takes control of you, I..." Again, a sentence that she doesn't know how to finish. She resolutely shakes her head.
"No, not going to think about that. We're just going to make sure it doesn't come up. Won't we?"
Now she can manage that smile.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"...Yeah, I can't blame you," Rena says with a sigh. "We can almost be civil these days, but it's still takes me having a lot of patience." She puts a hand on the back of her neck, looks up at the ceiling, and sighs.
She blinks, though; she is a bit surprised to hear Naoko say it isn't weird.
"Mm," Rena murmurs. "I know. I've been working at it. Making sure... it doesn't get out of control, that I keep in tune with it. I found Psychoframe is best handled if you go with it, not fight against it, otherwise you're likely to get swept away. And Voidframe... it's similar. Hating that it's there makes it more likely to do something I really don't want."
She looks up at Naoko, then. She hesitates, but she nods. "I understand. And... yes. We'll make sure it doesn't come to that."