2024-01-30: Pretzel Politics

• Log: Pretzel Politics
• Cast: Eight Orlodhari, Maya Jintek
• Where: Magallanica, Docks District
• OOC - IC Date: January 30, 2024 (May 0098)
• Summary: Happening upon Maya Jintek during some shore leave, Eight Orlodhari takes the opportunity to talk with her about some future hopes.

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<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

Not too far from the spacedocks is a lovely little district in Magallanica noted for its cafes and restaurants. It doesn't have as many as a more established Colony might, but one of the things people need most is food, and they need it when they come off of ships.

There's a pretzel stand here, a few food trucks there, and a cafe named the Blue Star. The buildings around the area are moderate to high; construction is something they've been working a lot on here, and this is one of the more developed areas, full of businesses and apartments close to the ships.

The artificial sky above is even convincing! There are people moving to and fro, crowds assembled and walking around, cargo being taken to and from ships in the spaceport...

It's 'daytime', for what that's worth, in Magallanica, and despite the difficulties of colony liffe there is a good air today.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         It had been some time before Maya had a chance for some shore leave, and she was definitely taking the opportunity now that she'd had it. Space colonies were not a place she'd had the chance to visit, really, let alone one as unique as Magallanica. While the amount of construction work wasn't visually or audibly appealing, there was a certain pleasure in seeing things getting built. Instead of getting destroyed... She shook her head a little to shake that image from her mind. It took time to build, but destruction could be almost instantaneous in comparison. Never again.

         The area she was in was definitely more peaceful in comparison to where the bulk of the building was going on, and she spotted a pretzel stand to the side. Feeling both peckish and in need of a bit of a distraction, she approached. "One... cookies and creme pretzel please!" Other than the standard, it looked like they had some dessert pretzels too, and Maya felt like indulging a little. She handed over the money and then wondered how she'd eat what she'd bought. The standowner, perhaps used to it, pointed to the Blue Star cafe. "They let you eat pretzels inside as long as you buy something from them, too." "Oh, thank you!" She said with a smile as she headed on over.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

Eight Orlodhari has been taking leave for a while now; it's almost time for her to officially get back to work, in relative terms. But not just yet. That doesn't stop her doing 'unofficial' work though...

And she sees an opportunity for that when Maya Jintek walks into the Blue Star cafe. Eight's just arrived herself with a double stroller, and her kids are pretty quiet for the moment--for the moment, anyway. "Oh, hey there," Eight says, turning towards her. Officially, she's still the Captain of the Ra Mari II--but the announcement's coming anyday, the rumors say, that she's taking a promotion to sign on with Magallanica's defense forces.

"Miss Jintek, right?" She makes a point of remembering people. "I'm Eight Orlodhari." She considers. "You know, we'd wait in line less if we combined our efforts. Would you like to sit with me?"

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         Maya thought that someone else had walked in behind her when a blonde woman greeted her... at least until she heard her name. She cocked her head in surprise and confusion, but thankfully she recognised the name when mentioned. Barely. "O-Oh, certainly ma'am!" She stood up straighter even though neither of them were on duty. In fact, wasn't she... Yep, there they were. She'd remembered some people on the Nadesico talking about Captain Orlodhari of the Ra Mari II going on maternity leave. "Congratulations, by the way!" She said, looking at her kids in the stroller. It wasn't like they knew each other, but it was the polite thing to say, after all.

         "And thank you, too. For protecting Orb, I mean." It had been before she'd been assigned to the Nadesico, but the Ra Mari II had been instrumental in protecting her home, and by extension herself and her friends and family, from invasion. She didn't know if she'd have still joined up if it hadn't been for that attack, actually. It had been a massive jolt, certainly.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"No need to be formal," Eight says. "I'm off duty." A smile. "Thank you," she says warmly to the congratulations, too. "This is Zaress," she gestures to the one with a skin tone like hers, "And this is Aarmi." Aarmi is green, instead. Eight has a Zentradi last name, too, though she's had that only a little longer than she's had the twins. "I'm getting them used to being around people some more--important when they're on the ship."

"And you're welcome," Eight says of Orb. "I did what I thought was right--and I wasn't willing to let my crew be tools of oppression. I'm happy to see that Orb has been doing better, since. My girlfriend actually is planning to live there..."

The host takes them to a table in the corner next, and Eight has a seat. Once drink orders are in, Maya will have the opportunity for delicious pretzel.

And Eight won't talk a bunch until she's had the chance to eat it, before it gets cold. Once she does though, "I'm actually glad I ran into you."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         "Ah, yes ma- er... Eight?" Maya tries, hoping that wasn't too informal. Sure, she was getting used to the Nadesico, but not every ship was the Nadesico, after all. And it was easier to go from polite to informal than the other way around. People, especially superiors, were less likely to get mad versus if you started with 'Sup homie, how's tricks?' "Hello Zaress and Aarmi, I'm Maya!" She said to the kids with a big smile and wave. As a half-Zentradi herself, it was nice to see others out there as the two people became closer.

         Girlfriend? Maya was definitely behind on the crew gossip, but the brief surprise was just that. Brief. "Orb's a great place. I'm... probably a little biased, but I don't think I can imagine living anywhere else. I'm sure she'll love it."

         Maya orders herself a mocha to go with her pretzel and quickly starts to dig in. The pretzel itself was delicious, if messy. She ended up with some of the creme on her face, which she wiped off with a napkin, and even some on her nose, which she missed. And this is why you never skip on street food~! You never knew what you might miss! She set down her cutlery and leaned back a little with a satisfied sigh, before Eight said something interesting. "Oh? Why's that?" Maya hardly thought she'd done anything interesting enough to be worth attention from another ship's captain or anything. Still, it probably wasn't anything bad, given the venue and circumstances, so she wasn't worried; just curious.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"Eight's just fine out of uniform," the blonde confirms for Maya. The Ra Mari II does stand on more formality than the Nadesico as a rule--but not off-duty. She keeps smiling as Maya introduces herself, though--for obvious reasons she feels a certain kinship with half-Zentradi herself.

Girlfriend! "I think it's good to be biased about your home! I was like that with Winter Wonderland, myself. I'm looking forward to visiting her again once she's settled, too. And of course my husband has made a lot of friends there, too."

Eight gets a fancy fruit drink (no alcohol) and has a sandwich on the way. She is pleased to see the pretzel going over well; she was at that same stand not long ago with a friend.

"Well," Eight says, "I was hoping to ask some of the Nadesico's crew about something. I'm familiar with the bridge team, but not as much everyone else."

"But don't worry--I'm not looking to poach anybody for my crew," she laughs. "I wouldn't go behind Misumaru's back like that."

"...No, I wanted to ask, with the Alliance going into peacetime... What do you think about your future? The Nadesico's future?"

"Obviously you have your mission ongoing, and Nergal will have more to do. But as regards things like being part of the Three Ships Alliance, doing good outside the Jovians."

Zaress and Aarmi are fascinated by all the people running around; Eight has given Aarmi her hand to hold onto for the moment, when she noticed her stirring.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         Maya nodded slightly at the confirmation she got things correct. Good! Another conversation with a superior successfully navigated! "I've never been to Winter Wonderland. I'm assuming it snows there? That'd definitely be something to see!" She'd never seen snow in person before, and had always thought it'd be fun to build a snowman or get into a snowball fight.

         As Eight got down to her own reasons for wanting to have a chat, Maya listened closely. "I don't think I'd want to serve under someone other than Captain Yurika anyway, given the choice." She said, laughing along with the other captain. "No offense meant or anything; she's just got a certain... something about her." The Nadesico's captain may look and act like a ditz - and often was - but she was like steel when the chips were down. It was nice to have someone as approachable, yet solid and reliable as Yurika Misumaru.

         "The future, huh...?" That was an interesting and open question. Not the easiest one to answer, either. Maya took a sip of her drink to give herself a little more time to think about it. "Well... I don't know for certain, I admit. But I was thinking a little bit about it earlier... about how easy it is to destroy, and how hard it is to build. The Earth wasn't exactly in a good spot when the Nadesico left, and it just feels like it's getting worse. I'd love to try and help build something massive, something strong enough that it can't get destroyed." Maya chuckled ruefully. "I'm sorry, that probably sounds dumb, doesn't it? I've got no idea where to start with such a thing. Although, at least I do think the Alliance is trying to do something like that. And you've gotta start somewhere, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"It does! It's... basically a tourist trap," Eight laughs, "But it's my tourist trap. And if you like winter holidays, it's the best place to be. Great skiing, too. And because of it I make a mean hot chocolate!"

Eight actually looks pleased at the answer on Yurika. "None taken. I respect and admire her; she really is something special. I'm glad that you have such loyalty to her."

But the future is a very open question--and Eight is willing to wait, shifting her hand as Aarmi calms down and rocking Zaress gently when he starts to stir next. She listens.

"That's true," Eight says. "And worth remembering. About it being easier to destroy than it is to build. But the building is still worth it, I think."

She nods, firmly. "I was hoping you' be interested in something like that. In point of fact... We are looking to build something. So it doesn't sound dumb to me at all."

"The Three Ships Alliance was a good answer to the Federation's excesses--but NUNE is a different beast, and we need to change to handle it."

"We--and your Captain Misumaru is part of this--have been building a network, a set of groups that can keep tabs on what's going on in the Earth Sphere--and we need to be ready to act on the knowledge we're going to get."

"I'm hoping to see that the crews of our ships are up for this changed role... because we'll be counting on the Nadesico. What I want is to build something that serves as a watchdog--that can answer when it's needed. We may not be at war anymore, but that doesn't mean our job is over."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         "Consider me a trapped tourist then, because that does sound fun! And I love hot chocolates!" Maya giggled. Mochas were nice and all, but she knew what she preferred. It's just that the pretzel and a hot chocolate might have been a little bit too much of a good thing. It was nice to hear that Eight had such a high opinion of Yurika as well. It was reassuring to know that other people felt similar, as it worked as a sort of validation. Especially considering that her captain was hardly the traditional sort.

         She couldn't help but feel a jolt of both nervousness and excitement at Eight's words as she spoke about working towards something positive, even if such a thing might be considered... mildly treasonous. The Federation had always been something that could charitably be described as the best of the worst, and NUNE looked to be similar... and why should someone have to settle for the top of the trash heap? "That definitely sounds like something that's needed." Maya said seriously. "And honestly, I'm sure most, if not all of the Nadesico agrees in some way. I'm not sure if you're aware, but we've got a bit of a reputation for being eccentric. Turns out people who aren't willing to fit the mould do a lot of thinking. I'm just an engineer and pilot, not a politician or a spy or anything, so I'm not sure what I can do exactly, but I know that things aren't right the way they are."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"Great!" Eight suddenly wonders if Ms. Howmei has a good hot chocolate recipe, too... "I do, too." And no, Yurika certainly isn't traditional--but she's inspired Eight a lot since they've known each other.

It's not treason if you're not part of the nation! Right?

"I'm glad to hear that," Eight says. "That you think most of the Nadesico agrees. I'm putting out similar feelers in my own crew; some of us I know are hoping to go to their old homes in what's now NUNE... but for those willing to stay, I think we have important work ahead of us."

She grins. "I've... seen the Nadesico in action," she decides to say, "And that makes perfect sense to me. As to what you can do--"

"You can be a pilot and an engineer. We'll need both of those. It's not enough to gather intelligence--we have to be prepared to act on that intelligence. So building the tools that let us do that and piloting the mobile suits that do the same... That's vital."

She smiles. She finally gets to take her hand back for now to take a sip of her drink. Very fruity.

"I admit, I'm hoping NUNE lives up to its promises. ...I'm just not willing to pin it all on that hope. I'd rather be prepared."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         Maya nodded. "Sounds easy enough to me!" Just keep doing what she's been doing. Although knowing that Yurika and the Nadesico were working towards something big was definitely something that'd serve as motivation. It's all well and good to like your job and the money, but to also know that you're doing something positive for others was good for the soul. "As for the NUNE... I mean, maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the news, but it sounded to me like a lot of the same people were in charge, right? If I'm wrong, please, let me know, but if that's the case, then I think it's right to be prepared. Corporations change their names to try and create new associations and bury skeletons, and promptly go about making more skeletons." It sounded like a rebranding exercise. There was some PR, like the cancellation of some people's debt, sure, but how much of that was going to be something for them to point at and say 'See? Look how great we are!'

         "You said this was about serving as a watchdog, to make sure that the NUNE live up to its promises. What does that mean if it falls short exactly?" She sounded a little quieter, a little more somber as she said this. Maya thought she might have an idea, or at least a few ideas of what that might look like, but considering Eight was more of a ringleader here, it was best to hear directly from her. She did say that they would have to act upon intelligence gained, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"...True," Eight admits. "I've seen some good things out of some of them, from the negotiating table--Cathedra seems sincere about their commitment to stop certain abuses, and similar things. But what you say is true. So let's say I'm keepping my eyes open."

If it falls short?

"Then we act. Limited action, at first; if we spot something NUNE is too slow to correct, we'll correct it ourselves. Like Cyber-Newtype operations--if it turns out NUNE is letting those progress, we'll have a problem. If NUNE oppresses people, we'll step in to relieve their burdens."

"...And if it comes down to it, if it's really necessary--we go back to a war footing. But we have room to escalate before that. In addition to watching out for NUNE's excesses, we're also going to be advancing things on the peaceful side--trying to get harmony between the various kinds of people in the Earth Sphere."

"But when it comes down to it... sometimes the only answer is to meet bad actors with force. And we're ready to do just that."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         It was good to know that some things weren't as bad as she'd feared. That there were some parts of NUNE that were working towards something better. Even if she was on the money for the rest of it. Hearing that Eight had an escalation strategy was also good to know. It wasn't Maya's forte, but she'd heard that it was a good way to negotiate if you gave both yourself and the opposition room to manouever. While it was sad that force had to be considered, that was the way of the world. "Violence... is a tool, unfortunately. It shouldn't be what you go for first, but it needs to be in your toolbox if needed. We both talked about wanting to build something great. Sometimes you need to destroy something horrible first."

         Maya took a breath before continuing. "Whether it's something historic, like the slave trade, or something current, like experimenting with Cybernewtypes, those operations were built by others. Their destruction is a positive." She'd volunteered as a pilot to protect others, and that frequently meant destroying others. She was involved in building something that destroyed. But there was no contradiction. It was sad, certainly, but where words failed, action was needed. And sometimes the best action was destruction. Maya nodded. "I think I understand."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"That's true," Eight says. "As you say, we can't afford to leave it out of our options. Especially with the way things are changing..." The media blackouts; the breakdown in communications. "Right. I hear that on Earth, 'forests' sometimes grow healthier if you burn away the rotted parts first. It might be like that."

That destruction... "I agree entirely," Eight says. "I'm glad, too. ...Well. That's the business I wanted to discuss, though I'm happy to talk more on it if you'd like. Otherwise... I think I'm going to get lunch while the twins are still quiet. Care to stick around?"

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         "Mmhmm, not even then, actually. Some trees have evolved to burn. Eucalyptus trees have oil in their leaves, their seeds only grow after fire, and the trees themselves regenerate." Maya's mother had liked to tell her about her homeland of Australia, which included the massive bushfires that often occurred there. It was interesting, impressive, and scary - a fire of the scale she'd talked about would completely engulf Orb and then some.

         "If I think of something else, I'll make sure to ask either you or Yurika. I'd love to join you for lunch, though!" She'd already had a pretzel, but maybe she could have something small as well. That'd probably tide her over until dinner. At which point she'd try and strike out and find somewhere nice on the colony! Howmei knew a LOT about different cuisines, but even a person as learned and dedicated as her wouldn't know everything.