2023-01-25: Reuniting CLOSED TIMELIKE CURVE

• Log: 2023-01-25- Reuniting CLOSED TIMELIKE CURVE
• Cast: Sousuke Sagara, Teletha Testarossa, Kaname Chidori
• Where: TDD-1
• OOC - IC Date: 0097-01-25
• Summary: After the return of the Tsutsujidai PLANT to consensus reality, Sousuke Sagara reunites with those closest to him.

---

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

In the evening of January 21st, a dimensional wave shook out from the former orbit of the anomalous PLANT that hosted Tsutsujidai.

Shortly thereafter, gravitational radar detected a massive object in that space, and also, for that matter, for the first time in a little over a month, detected that space at all.

Early-warning and first-response systems went berserk, of course. It was minutes before the first calls went from those networks to the general intelligence systems with the news.

Tsutsujidai was back.

Communications with the PLANT proper would take hours to come back online: After all, such systems had to be manned and administrated by humans, working together to commune across the black.

Things like that are too much for one person to handle, you know.

It's difficult to get communications through in the initial flurry. Naturally, first response organizations get priority in cases like this.

Still, somewhere in the flurry, slipping out along encrypted high-priority bands, a single message flies to the Tuatha de Danaan's bridge, while the captain and her guest enjoy each others' company.

U7+AL OK

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

It takes only a few moments for the message to be relayed. Double checked. Triple checked. Uruz 7, okay. Al, okay. A sense of palpable relief as the message made its way down, from bridge, to crewmate, to the fateful person knocking on the Captain's door, handing the printed document so laced with multiple confirmations of identity, of confirmed authenticity, of no message tampering, layers and layers of confirmation to ensure that the person who sent it was the person they said they were, that the message itself wasn't fabricated. All of it checked out.

A nod. A salute to the crew member who came in, keeping herself stoic in front of Kaname. A closed door.

...She read the message. Again. Again. Muttering out loud, the numbers, the hashes, the mental process reconfirming the obvious, setting the paper itself down on the desk. Just numbers, more numbers, and that 8 character line.

"Sousuke's...alive..." She barely noted how tight her throat was, how tears were clouding in her eyes. "Thank...hic...god..." A gentle squeeze of Kaname's hand. He's back.

-======-

4 DAYS LATER

No one said that sorting everything out would be easy; Moreso when it was the logistics of an entire city and dealing with the fallout of that stunt with Blue Cosmos, even moreso when it was clear that time had progressed 1:1. The TDD-1 was waiting in the dock, waiting for one of their own to come home.

Tessa herself was lightly fidgeting, waiting for that Mithril aircraft to come in. Of course, both soldier and weapon had to come. Expedited. A cargo ship got people places, and the sooner everyone was reunited...the better for everyone.

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

It'd been an emotional conversation to begin with. The frustration, being asked to trust Tessa on something like this... and that moment of intimacy, bringing her conflicting feelings back to the fore.

She looks at the page.

'Sousuke's alive.'

All at once, a month of tension finally snaps. Her eyes blur with tears, overflowing as she starts to bawl, holding the captain's hand tight. She can't speak right now, even if she could find the words... but it's the best news she could have possibly received.

---

Kaname stands near Tessa, looking more energetic than she has in over a month. The PLANT's disappearance had put a lot of weight on her shoulders... and while there's still a fair bit, she no longer feels like Atlas...

Still, that doesn't keep her from worrying about her returning companion. "Hope it's not late or anything," she murmurs, looking at her phone's clock.

It's still a little early, yet... every minute feels like an hour, right now.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

The logistics of Tsutsujidai's new situation have been complicated on a scale even an Earth SPhere that's built scores of colonies and hollowed out something like five asteroids might stagger at. GGG is apparently going to physically tow An Entire Colony to an entirely different LaGrange point, which will keep them very busy and also get the colony far away from the conflict ongoing at PLANT. That *also* means that *all* the logistics to leave have become Complicated. Especially given the complication of someone they're going to have to smuggle out amid the students.

But it all happened. Merida Island's long concealed airstrip had yawned open, kilometers of jungle sliding away on plates to reveal it, the plane slated to arrive any minute. The radar confirms it, one approaching cargo craft.

It appears on the horizon in due course. Right on schedule, more's the pity. Touchdown, brake, and taxi up to the main hangar.

The cargo door opens on a pristine white machine - armor chipped and scorched from repeated battles, paint neglected in some places. It's in idle position on a motorized cargo sled. As soon as the all clear is given, Ed Sacks and the rest of the maintenance crew rush up to greet their occasionally temperamental most talented child.

The other one has to walk down, though. Sousuke Sagara in his Mithril olives, the SRT pin on his chest, a military-styled bag luggage thrown over his shoulder as he steps down the ramp. He looks very, very tired.

But when he steps off the ramp an on to tarmac, his eyes travel up to the two women waiting for him, and his lips pull up into a small smile. But first things first, always, for him:

"Sergeant Sousuke Sagara, returning from unscheduled operations, ma'am!" he says, eyes flicking to both of them.
BBSYS: Post 686, 'Institute Raid: Brief Update on Status of Extracted Personnel and Victims' has been published to Shuffle Alliance by Leina Ashta.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Every second does feel like an hour. The sight of the plane brings forth a light gasp of muted surprise. She did check over the schedule. The weather, the times, even the pilots. Down to the last facet, all to wait for one of Mithril's most prized assets to return back.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. She slept well. Mostly. Those bags of hers will probably never fade, but they're dull. The Captain stands up from the chair outside of the reception hangar, the shining sun of the tropics beating down onto the tarmac. Watching. Waiting.

He's here.

A salute right back. "Welcome back, Sergeant Sagara. Its been a long and winding road, but it's good to see you again."

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

Even as the plane comes in to land, she's willing it to move faster. Every moment is a moment too long...

Kaname's hand snaps up in a salute alongside Tessa as Sousuke reports in. She looks every part the professional in a slate-grey suit jacket, matching pencil skirt, and modest block heels, roughly mirroring Captain Testarossa's.

She holds the pose for a few seconds, silent...

And then she breaks into a run, charging at Sousuke with a grin on her face, tears streaming down her cheeks as she grabs him about the middle and *HUGS*. "Sousuke, I missed you so much...!" she says, muffled against his chest. There's no vitriol. No snide remarks. Just... gratefulness and relief.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

As ever, Sousuke Sagara's wellness is an enigma that only unravels when he abruptly collapses because he hasn't slept in a week. That doesn't happen this time.

He can't quite hide the surprise to his look at Kaname in full - that's not quite a uniform, but it's a business look, at least. He begins to move toward a neutral posture once he's acknowledged, but Kaname cracks first. He looks, briefly, concerned, because Kaname running at him crying is usually a thing that gets him body slammed, but...

She wraps herself around him, and he doesn't even attempt to hide a shuddering breath that leaves him, his eyes misting. His bag drops from his hand and he finds his arms winding around her shoulders, holding her closer. "Chidori, I," he begins, weakly. A smile pulls up the edges of his lips, and he closes his eyes for several moments.

"I feel the same," is what he finally works out. "I am sorry. I was worried, but I've come back as soon as I could."

And then his eyes travel back up to the Colonel, and he just. can't. quite make himself let go. He manages to force himself to release an arm, at least. "Ah. Colonel. I'm glad to see you safe."

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

There's no reason to interrupt this reunion. She can't. Not with the barrier of duty, not with anything but a smile and watching her friend charge forward into the man she had declared a gentile war over.

It's all she can manage without properly collapsing in tears. To smile and to have the self-control not to attach to Sousuke with so many people around, with others inspecting Al and checking on the damages. Ed Sacks is going to have some choice words with him later.

The sight of Sousuke's eyes misting did bring an even brighter smile. He's changed. Bit by bit. The entire reason she put him in charge of being a bodyguard was working. Bit by bit. "So am I." A deep breath in. A deep breath out. "As much as I'd love to keep you two in a scene out of a movie, a plane has a schedule to keep. We need reports, documentation, and everything that happened up in Tsutsujidai, Sagara." Work was work.

"...That, and I think I need a drink of water."

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

Kaname's fully expecting Tessa to join the hug... and when she interrupts instead, Kaname's brought back to reality, remembering the position they're all in. This isn't just a reunion, after all; there's debriefing to be done.

Professionalism really sucks.

Reluctantly, Kaname lets go. "... I'm just glad you're back safe." She smiles at Sousuke, then looks back to Tessa. "Right... let's go, then."

As they start moving, Ms. Chidori takes Tessa aside, still dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "I'm not saying you need to run at him like I did, but is 'it's good to see you again' *really* all you've got for him?"

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

She's glad to see Sousuke safe. He'd dismissed the Captain somewhat, before. With enough frustration in him, it was possible to make light of her dedication to their safety as simply lack of commitment to any one. But no, that's not how she is, is it? He's seen more now, up close in Tsutsujidai. People who will give up so much for others. Can still care at the lowest levels. He finds himself thinking of Seolla, the discomfort he felt every time she looked more wrung out than the last. That wasn't usual for him.

Kaname separates. He's visibly reluctant. But, she's here with him now, uninjured and hole, and...the rest of his thoughts, he can assemble later.

The Captain calls his attention to the maintenance team preparing to walk AL off to the hangars. "Yes, there's quite a lot to go over. I've written some preliminary reports, but a verbal debrief will surely help."

He reaches down to grab his bag and hoist it back over his shoulder. "Not a problem. Will we be going to the mess, or your office?" He does have something of his own, percolating in his head, but...for now, just hearing their voices and seeing them near is soothing the coil in his stomach.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Teletha is doing her best to keep steady, finally managing to take a breath as the trio walks off the runway. "My office. I'm not aware of what's transpired, but considering Al's current broadcasts, I believe I know what happened." Faintly aware of Bani's last intent, for sure. Heat and office clothes usually don't mix well, but she's trying to keep a smile on.

Granted, that same smile turns forlorn at Kaname's question. "I can't exactly tackle him like a little girl, Kaname. He's on-duty and I'm his commanding officer." She is looking at that back with a brighter countenance than before. He's back. He's really back. How she wishes she could jump on his and say how much she missed him, but...She can't do that. Not when she's commanding so many. "I manage a crew in the hundreds. If I show favoritism to anyone, that could spell disaster in the long run."

Her office doesn't take long to get to. A few people do greet Sousuke on the way; Exclamations of how he's alive, how some people lost a bet, and how others won a larger bet. There were good odds. In the office itself was tea and heavyset snacks; Bars obviously loaded with calories and a few sweets for energy.

Someone at the Mess Hall had a small idea of what Uruz 7 was like, at least. Tessa closed the door behind, sitting down...And completely sighing. The slightest slouch of the shoulders, as if the weight of the world could be shown off.

"Haa...I'm sorry, Sagara. I don't know what happened over in Tsutsujidai, but please have the debrief reports by the end of the week. If you need off-time, consider it approved. For now..." A small shift, taking a tea can and popping it open, taking a drink. "...What happened? Are you okay?"

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

"Well, there has to be something in between..." starts Kaname, before a brief pause. "Right... favoritism." She lets out a sigh. But... "Well, be sure and let him know later, okay?" An earnest, wholehearted statement--no barbs in her tone. Where before, this was a rivalry... now, there's perhaps a bit more room for them both to move.

Kaname takes her seat as well, next to Sousuke on the other side of the desk. She takes a can of tea for herself, wetting her dry throat with a long gulp. "Ugh. Knew I should've brought a water bottle out with me..." she murmurs.

Otherwise, though, she listens quietly as Tessa asks her question. She's got the same questions.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Sousuke's not the warmest guy on earth, but as people welcome him back, he's got a pleasant enough smile. Kaname's seen it often enough, the look he gets around school. As both know by now, he's not an actual rock, he's just very serious.

He pays no heed to the discussion behind him...although he does have pretty good hearing, so maybe he catches some of it. Maybe he finds his smile just a bit wider for no reason he can explain.

Allowed into the office, Sousuke sets his bag down next to his seat, and indeed, immediately goes for a simple apple. He holds himself reasonably straight, though with Kaname and Tessa both easing up, he finds his shoulders achieving a less forced square. "It went quite well, all things considered. As I understand it, and...I must stress that this is metaphysics I do not understand...the metaphysical connection between Akane Shinjo's heart and the world...broke." He grimaces. 'Metaphysical' is a word he hates having to use to describe things that happened to his body. "We were essentially reduced to a refugee situation. Fortunately, the citizens identified this quickly and were able to quickly prepare shelters for those whose homes were damaged, and began rationing programs." Nom. Nomf. Apple. Swallows. "I haven't had proper fresh produce in some weeks. It's good."

He looks up to the Colonel. "I managed to maintain my health, although I was occasionally forced to resort to stimulants. There was much that needed doing. I believe you'll also have received notification regarding Seolla Schweizer. I recommended you as the Shuffle Alliance touchpoint, considering Mithril's expertise." He considers it for a long few moments. "I did..."

His eyes flick to Kaname, and then to where his fingers are slowly rotating that apple, and then back up to Colonel Testarossa. He doesn't quite know how to describe the feeling in his chest. The longing he doesn't know is called loneliness. "I am truly grateful to be back here," he says, finally.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

Tessa listens on, nursing that can of tea all the while. All of this because of one person...She's heard rumblings, but it was outside of Mithril's purview; Merely something that happened that shouldn't have, on circumstances that were outside of her own control. ...Vexing, slightly. Mithril can't be everywhere.

"I have." Seolla Schweizer...She'll have to make proper preparations later. Curriculum, situation, identity, on and on...But that could wait. For now, what's important was that the person in front of her is okay. "We'll have you take the usual all-inclusive checkup. Check with the doctors tomorrow." Monitoring someone after nearly two months of being in a refugee situation...What a strange thing, to be suddenly thrusted back into that.

But what's more concerning is...mental. "...Just here, Sagara?" An eyebrow raise. It wasn't being back with people. It was being back in a place. How to ask this? How to word this? How to properly state it? "Do you mean here with us, or here on the base?" She places emphasis. Probing. Asking.

Out of worry.

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

Kaname taps her fingernail idly against her can as she listens to Sousuke, and nods. "It was a space created from her heart," she explains. "I read the Alliance's files on it--Tsutsujidai's got... or at least *had*... a strong connection to the Omnisphere."

She takes another drink, giving a small smile as Sousuke comments on his apple. She makes a note to cook him something later.

Tessa interrogates his gratefulness, but... Kaname just smiles a little more. She knows the answer to this question. "I'm pretty sure he means... with us," she nods.

One doesn't spend most of a year at school with Sousuke Sagara without learning to read between the lines, at least a bit.

She looks to Tessa, expectantly.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

He's confident in the Colonel's ability to take care of Seolla. He's not entirely sure why her situation stirred him up so much, removed from it, but...he does want her to be taken care of well.

"Of course, Ma'am," Sousuke replies, to the directive. "I'm unaccustomed to long-term time offworld to begin with, to say nothing of the other possibilities brought about by the unusual situation. I'll do so."

And then she asks him a question that makes him stop for a moment. "Uhm," he stammers, a little thrown by Tessa pushing him on it.

And then...Kaname calls it, and all Sousuke can do is minutely blush and cough into his fist. "It is good to be back in more familiar surroundings. I find so-called 'miracles' frustrating, ignoring the ways of the world I count on to survive. So it is good to be back at base, yes."

"But..." he breaks eye contact with the Colonel, fully embarrassed. "Forgive me, Colonel. I feel it is unprofessional to express such a thing to my commander. But yes, I am happy to be back with you." His gaze drifts to Kaname, with a nod. "Both of you."

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

...She knows about the Omnisphere. It's something that's imprinted into her brain, especially with the Whispers talking everyday, day in, day out, the small scratches that never cease to be the tinnitus in even the calmest of moments. To think something so small had created something so major...Lightly inconveniencing, that. "So long as...we don't have enough data about it to know what really happened." Some things can't be known. Che.

But yes; The question's answer was obvious enough, enough to draw a smile from the Captain. No, from Tessa, the gal waiting for Sousuke to come back. She watches Sousuke closely. The cough. The blush. She's keeping track. So-called miracles...It's hard not to read in-between those lines, considering that the Lambda Driver is a "miracle". And yet.

And yet, she can't help but puff her chest out at the sudden break. "It's good to have you back, Sagara. I'm glad you can say you're happy to be with me~ ...With us."

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

Kaname doesn't know much, mind; most of her familiarity is through material related to Tsutsujidai, and what she's gleaned from her understanding of the Lambda Driver. Not her connection to it, nor its significance. But she knows.

"Well... it sounds like you did an excellent job, especially given the circumstances, Sergeant Sagara," she says with a grin... one which widens as he makes it clear what he means.

She really wants to reach over and hold his hand right now.

And she's practically beaming when Tessa tells him the same. "And I'm glad you're here with us, too," she echoes. "Happy you feel the way you do." She gives the Colonel a nod. There are things they need to talk about, things to work out still... but those can wait for another day. Today is a day to celebrate, not to argue.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Sousuke nods. "It seems both GGG organizations are handling much of the primary response. I was able to focus much of my time on simply supporting Doctor Mass' efforts to maintain citizen morale. In my own experience, a collapse of that would have been more catastrophic than anything else."

Still, he's eating quietly and trying hard to stay composed, which as always Tessa proceeds to blow a giant hole in. He can only blush and shift his gaze when she teases him that way. "I...of course, would not wish to hide anything from you, Colonel."

And he does find his gaze going to Kaname, and nodding to her praise. "It was difficult. But I worked hard to ensure I could return, though it was difficult."

He hasn't brought up Arbalest yet. He might, quite simply, be letting himself dwell on the happy feeling of being here with these two. "Which reminds me, actually," he says, suddenly. "Dr. Mass did leave me one more mission to complete."

He stands, steps back a ways so he can see them both, and...bows at the waist!! A sign of total apology!!

"I am sorry to you both for missing the Christmas holiday! If I could have reached you in any way, I would have!"

...he's not kidding, of course. Sousuke doesn't have much sense of humor at all, let alone this kind.

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

She's relaxing, bit by bit. There's stuff to do, stuff to think about, stuff to categorize, stuff to check, delibilitate, manage, worry about opsec...But she can relax. For a brief moment after nearly two months, her face settles into a more relaxed state than she's been for a while. "It's a relief." A genuine relief.

Of course. Don't hide anything from her. An~y~thing~

The mention of a mission did bring a curious glint to her eyes. Something? From Sayla? What could she-

Oh. Oh. Christmas. Christmas holiday. Their birthdays. Right. SO much stress, so much worry, it barely passed by...

"...I know. I know, Sagara." No. Come on. She has to be strong. Two months of worry were relieved, so what's one hour more before she could be by herself, to finally feel true, genuine relief as a teenager should? A deep breath in. A deep breath out. Come on. Just a bit longer. Please.

"The Christmas presents I got for you both...I left them in the cupboard of your apartment, Sagara." An RX-78 Savage Keychain. A set of skincare supplies. "Your magazines were all stored away as they arrived. They're still in the packaging." All two grand monthly volumes of public Arm Slave technology newsletters.

"...I'm hasppy you're back, Sagara."

<Pose Tracker> Kaname Chidori has posed.

Kaname thinks back to the nonsense she yelled out when she discovered that Sousuke was gone, those two months ago. Of course Sousuke was strong enough to make it; even the walls of reality wouldn't be enough to keep someone like him from completing his mission.

From coming back home to her.

She looks a little surprised--then shocked, at the intensity of Sousuke's apology.

She lets out a sigh. "Sousuke... you dumbass, of course you couldn't have." Looking a little bashful, she adds, "... I almost forgot, too. I've got gifts for you two at my place." She pauses. "--Oh! We can get together at my place soon... have a late Christmas and birthday dinner together."