2024-10-10: A Stir in Her Heart
- Cast: Eight Orlodhari, Marian Cross
- Where: A public beach in Orb
- Date: U.C. 0099 10 10
- Summary: Eight invited Marian to hear her side of the story for what happened at the wedding. Marian obliged and gave her what she wanted, even if it's not exactly what she expected to hear. But as they argued, a seed of doubt is planted in Marian's heart.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
'I would like to talk. Meet me at the beach south of Yalafath at 1300 hours if you're interested. I'll approach you.'
A message from Eight Orlodhari... Admiral of Magallanica, and of course, Terminal. Marian has had a fight with them during the wedding. It was a complete shit show, to say the least. Terminal had their own plans, Murrue had her own plans, and so did Marian. And the culmination of that was Marian having to change her plans at the last second to keep up her facade to show she's on the side of the Seirans and NUNE.
With her coming to blows with Terminal and the Nadesico during the fight, it's no wonder Eight would want to meet troublemaker. Marian accepted, naturally. She was going to approach them first if they didn't. This saved her some time in the fallout of her Chief Representative's abduction.
And thus here she is at the beach early. Just standing at a quiet little corner to the side. It's hard to miss her, with her striking dyed white hair, wearing an equally white bikini. Her scars naked to the world, as she's just idly kicking some sand about while watching the horizon.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
There's security, obviously. But they're out of sight. If Marian had chosen to make this into a trap, Eight was prepared for that... But it's not what she expects to see happen.
Instead, she approaches exactly as she said she would, in a light red sundress and sandals, with a wide-brimmed hat. She isn't particularly hiding her identity, even if she's not advertising it--it's still fine for the Magallanica Defense Force to appear in Orb, after all. For now, anyway.
Her blonde hair is undyed, and she's very tall. Her own scars aren't nearly as on display.
"Hello, Marian," Eight says as she steps into conversational distance.
"I'm glad you agreed to meet with me." She doesn't voice alternatives. Instead, "I'd like to hear your side of the story. Personally."
"...Seeing as how you agreed to meet me, I assume you're willing to share it."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian is visibly unarmed. And doesn't even have her own lookout. She is that confident that Eight wouldn't do anything to harm her. There's a little bit of trust that Terminal are the 'Good Guys' and thus would not go as far as to take things that far... But to Marian, it's mostly that she's in her own country, and in such clear public view, no one in their right mind would think about doing something so bold.
"Eight," she greets back. The one who approached her isn't in uniform, so there wasn't any need for formal titles. Not that she would've used it anyway.
"I was going to approach you first, but this saved me some time." She stretches, before turning to fully face her. "My side...?"
She exhaled deeply after. Gathering her thoughts during a beat. They are supposed to be on the same side, so, no lies.
"...I had a plan with Murrue. To get the Princess out of here before the ceremony was conducted. I tried many things to stop it before the wedding could even take place. But with Junius Seven..." There's another slight pause, then... "...I delayed it for as long as I could. Sortieing the Archangel to abduct her was a last resort," she explains. But she doesn't explain why she had to attack Terminal when they carried their own plans out.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight doesn't really need to be armed to be dangerous; many people know these days what she is, what she was made to be.
It's true, though; if Eight wanted Marian harmed, she wouldn't go about it this way.
"Good," Eight says. "Saves us some work, too. I wanted to hear you out personally, because of who you are."
No lies... But a plan.
"Of course. It would've been better for everyone, had we been able to stop the wedding before it happened. We all agree with that."
A pause. "But with Junius Seven, it became immediate, yes." She pauses. "Go on. That's not the whole story."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
The corner of Marian's lips curls upwards as Eight returns. 'Who you are'. Is she referring to Marian Cross, or the so called 'Hero'? The little smirk she flashed seemed a little more bitter now. As does the scars she bears with a false pride. Ugly and twisted as they are. Like a big tree branch curling the face of her torso.
Another moment of silence as she gathers her thoughts again. 'Ah', she realized. Eight must be unhappy that Marian did what she did. She didn't mean to actually hurt anyone, but she still had to do it. She needed the Seirans and NUNE to trust her.
"Terminal and the Nadesico's presence there was unexpected. Neither did I expect the Princess to actually say she didn't want the wedding. I had to do something to show the Seirans and NUNE that I'm on their side," she continued with no hint of remorse in her voice. It was all justified to her.
Then she asked her own question, a little pointedly, "what's this about, really? Are you just mad that I didn't share my plans? That I asked for the Archangel instead of the Nadesico?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight doesn't specify. She doesn't flinch at the scars either, though; she has her own, after all.
In fact, Eight shows very little of what she's feeling in the moment, and without some Newtype insight, it's unlikely that Marian will see through her poker face at the moment.
"Am I 'just' mad over that, like it's a schoolyard snub?" Eight says, lifting an eyebrow. "You made wild claims about the existence of secret organizations, attacked Nergal's own people, and went against the Chief Representative's explicit requests."
"And you did it so that the Seirans and NUNE would trust you? ...Which they won't, regardless?"
"I wanted to see if you had a good reason for what you did. It would seem not."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
One of the issues when it comes to pure Oldtypes, is that they have just as much of a problem with conveying their own thoughts and feelings. And when one comes to blow with another on the opposite spectrum, it's no wonder they won't see eye-to-eye.
She doesn't retort to having made claims about their organization however, and instead, "no one died, I don't see the problem. And the Princess is going against the country's explicit desires. Am I supposed to abandon my duty for my nation because of a little girl?" Marian returns. She doesn't have a poker face like Eight, but her words are still carefully chosen. No anger, but visibly confused by Eight not getting her.
"The seed was planted. That's all I needed to ingratiate myself. I can keep working at it." ...But that would mean she would have to continue to go against Terminal.
"...I was once a good soldier, y'know?" She start going off on a tangent. "Loyal. Obedient to a fault. That didn't change when I brought my comrades over to Nergal when they poached me. The ever dutiful Marian Cross. Natural ace pilot," she gestures, swinging her arms wide. "My men trusted me. Trusted me with their lives. Trusted my orders."
"...Loyal. Obedient to a fault..." Her arms falls with that. "...And I sent them to their deaths because of the brass' orders. My orders..." Her expression visibly pains, and it didn't seem like she's hiding it anymore.
And after her coma... "So I won't follow someone else's orders anymore. And I won't give them anymore. You want to know why I despise authority that much? Because I don't trust organizations like yours. So far up the chain with no accountability. How are you any better than NUNE? You don't get to tell me I don't have a good reason for what I did." She snapped back. Eyes narrowed.
She flings her words at Eight. Honest as she can, for however much good the Oldtype can convey to a Newtype.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
"Is that how a soldier thinks? Nothing bad happened this time, so as a matter of policy it's fine?"
"Hmm. Is that how you see it, then?" Eight asks of a 'little girl' and what she wished. It says something to her, anyway. She doesn't yet share what it is.
Eight listens, as Marian continues. She doesn't soften her expression; she doesn't relent. Instead...
"I'm sorry about your men," she says simply. "I lost men that day, too. From my orders. The orders that I chose to execute... and the ones I didn't."
"It's fair, to distrust authority. But it's only by joining hands with others that we can change this world. No one is an island. Short of some magic power, no single person can decide the course of the world... and frankly? That's as it should be."
"So what's your plan?" she wonders. "Get close to the Seirans, wait until they trust you, and assassinate whoever gets in your way?"
"...If you think you can accomplish something like 'saving Orb' all on your own, then you're a fool. ...I don't need your trust, Miss Cross. You certainly don't have mine. You have your life."
"...I suggest you try not to waste it."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian shrugged at that. "Why not? If Junius Seven didn't blow up in atmo and killed millions of people, would they have retaliated as they did?" She says in reference of Gaia Sabers' attack on the PLANTs.
But she turned her head away afterwards and remained silent. A 'little girl'... That's all the Princess was to her. It's a projection on her part, if she even realized it. A little girl to be protected. A daughter, a family, she didn't have. But no matter how much she wished it just wasn't meant to be.
"Joining hands...?" She echoes quietly. There's another reason why she's the way she is. She had a rough upbringing. With no family or allies to watch her back or educate her growing up. Everything she's done, everything she's gained, she achieved on her own. She didn't have coordinated genes or magical Newtype powers bestowed upon her on birth. Everything is her, and her alone. "...If you want something done right, you do it yourself," she stated firmly. As if it's the law of the world.
Then Eight asked pointedly. Whether she'd assassinate whoever that gets in her way... She may have done various shady shit since her coma; bribery, blackmail, coercion, fraud, all to position herself better with the aristocracy. ...But assassination wasn't one of them. But Eight was right, if she continued on like this, even that is going to be inevitable. But she wasn't to accept it. Not yet. She could just not kill anyone. "I don't have to. There are better ways than killing," she replies, trying to convince herself more than she is Eight.
Eight once more called her out on her so called heroism and about how she doesn't trust her. The feeling was of course, mutual. Marian doesn't relent either. She stands strong. ...but... some part deep within is starting to waver.
Everything she's done, she did for Orb. All for her people and ideals. That doubt will haunt her in the coming days, but for now, this meeting seems to be coming to a close.
"...Then I suppose we're done here. Don't worry, you won't see me again," she simply says.
<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.
Eight doesn't answer the question about Junius Seven for the moment. It's a different situation to her. But...
That's the other reason. "It's good in theory," Eight says of 'doing it yourself'. "But in command, you learn you can't. There are too many things to be done. One person physically can't do it all alone. My ships don't run without their crew. Captains aren't enough."
But, she did ask... and Eight listens. She waits for it. "That's good," she says. "If it's true." Of better ways. But...
"If that's what you want," Eight says. "I respect that you care for your home. That's good. ...But it's not just your home, either."
"There are people who want to help. Who want the same things you do. If you can put aside your pride, and join with them... You'll have a better chance."
"But if you endanger my people again, I might not be able to just ask why."
"...Take care of yourself, Miss Cross. I don't object to seeing you again. But not under the same circumstances, if you would."
She turns, and unless Marian has more to say, will walk back towards the boardwalk. ...Or let Marian do the same. Either is fine.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Power, is all she needed. If she had the power, she could do anything. That's what Marian has always believed. If Orb, if Terminal, didn't stand in her way and have given everything she needed, she wouldn't have to resort to such underhanded means.
...but it's hard to tell if Marian's relented to the points Eight raised. Though something has clearly stirred within as she faces existential questions to her very being.
The warning however, was well received. She would rather avoid conflict, to begin with. She doesn't have an issue adhering to that.
She doesn't say anything herself when Eight turns. She eyes as she leaves, and decide to stay on the beach for a moment longer. Staring out into the bright and beautiful ocean as light plays across the waves.
...she'll be here pondering her life choices until the sun dusks.