2022-11-28: Learning To Live
- Cast: Leina Ashta, Teletha Testarossa
- Where: Fujinomiya City
- Date: U.C. 0096 11 28
- Summary: Girl meets girl. Girls connect. A girl tries to make sense of herself, the world, and where she is in it.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It's not a simple matter to get a meeting with Anzus, the Mithril Colonel. However, for her latest assignment it became necessary.
After all, the Spade division had located a young woman that matched the criteria of individuals that Mithril has been searching for.
The Spade division just had no idea why they were searching for people who met this criteria, and she was asked to ascertain that if possible, while working with her.
Leina would be lying if she didn't have a personal interest in meeting her after her runs in with Uruz-7 and her recent work with Heart-4.
Thus, she's here today in Fujinomiya city, at a portside warehouse used for storage and distribution of Yumi Foundation relief aid to the poorer locales within the OCU.
That it has a secret submarine dock beneath it? Well, certainly that's just for smuggling aid into the REA, there's nothing unusual about that.
That's just the way these charities work, when certain local officials are extremely stubborn, or asking for far too much in bribes.
It makes it an easy meeting point however, for Shuffle and Mithril. Leina sits in a comfortable location that resembles a breakroom for the warehouse. A table, some nice chairs, a coffee machine, a refrigerator, and a microwave.
It's also a secure transition point to the sublevel dock, the wall behind the refrigerator simply swings open seamlessly for someone to enter the room.
Leina's dressed currently in a tan pantsuit with a black blouse beneath it, a pair of black flats, with a floral barrette in the left side of her short, curly and fluffy brown hair.
Right now she's sipping a coffee from Starbows as she waits for Anzus, reviewing some hard copies of her intelligence reports, and checking security cameras on her datapad simultaneously.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
The Tuatha de Dannan had a directive from Mithril, even when it was hopping around the world to continue the directive of snuffing out war wherever. Tessa had asked Heart-2 herself for this notice, after all. And after so long, after receiving files ascertaining the veracity of the Spade Division's information, there was finally something.
A hit. A potential match for the criteria Tessa had laid out months ago, and a probable lead.
It is this same directive that found TDD-1 stationing itself in the submarine dock, cladestine and hidden from the world above. Shuffle would have notice of this landing, as would Mithril. The usual bureaucracy in place to ensure people could reach each other, that the crew could get some offshore leave, and that properly-vetted mail could be directed. Some new shipments, some fond letters, some bits and pieces of home sent in and out.
The security cameras were something that Tessa did not hide from. From the appearence of the silver-haired captain in her usual brown uniform at the submarine docks, heading over with a contingency of two bodyguards. The docks. The passageway. Checking a map. Asking someone on base, nodding, walking off, tripping, falling, collecting, standing up, and heading off in that embarrased trot towards the breakroom.
A knock on the door (an instinctual habit) before opening it, careful movements of a teenage captain. The wall merely unlocks and pans back, Tessa stepping inside as those same bodyguards stay behind.
"...Ahem. Leina Ashta, correct?" Just two alone in the room, with the bodyguards standing outside. "Hafl group, Anzus." A traditional bow before holding a hand out. Even if she was a dimunitive 158 cm, she held herself in (apparent) conduct, the twin spires of nervousness and uncertainty behind her voice. Calm down, Teletha. You need to check if this is one you've been searching for.
The handshake was offered.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina sedately watches Tessa coming up the steps, the Captain was so young. Isn't it always that way though?
She wonders how young she began, thinking back to how she was ten and her brother was fourteen when they joined the AEUG. At the knock at the door, Leina slowly closes the folder containing her files, and rises up to a standing position.
Just as the strangeness of that psychic presence hits her. Furrowing her brow, she pastes a smile on like a sticker. Leina herself feels like a warm ocean, that seeks like water to flow into any vessel that can contain her.
There are clouds on her horizon, things hidden in its deepest depths, but isn't that how it always is?
Anzus is... different from any Newtype she's connected to before, different from Kaiju, and she isn't certain what to make of that.
However there is an offered hand, and she will not fail to take it. "That's me. It's a pleasure to meet you." She confirms sunnily, "You're welcome to keep using Leina rather than Spade-7. I've never been one to stand on formalities. Especially face to face."
And with that she takes her hand, and shakes it firmly. She's not much taller than Tessa, her height only outstrips her by a mere 3 cm.
However in that moment of touch that sea of her psychic presence seeks to flow in and fill and connect in a starry metaphoric expanse of consciousness-
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa was not one to properly assess how she felt to people on this higher wavelength. A constant minute maelstrom of information that was passively restrained, a silent drone not akin to low-tier tinnitus. The sensation of such an ocean did take notice, but not on a concerning level. Being seafaring for the majority of the year tweaks one's familarity. She can be open. More than she could be around others.
"Ah, then you can call me Tessa. I don't think we sho-"
The touch.
It was a mere moment. Two hands grasping each other, and Tessa felt the world shatter around her. The gaping maw of her own mind. A torrent. Of everything.
The connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. The connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. The connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand The Connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. The connection. she has walked i. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. e oeio. Sh hs wlkd n. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. The coction. She has walked in. Introduced herself shaken that hand. The connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. shaken that hand. The connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. The connection. She has walked inintroduced herself. hat hand. The connection. She has walked in. Introduced herself. Shaken that hand. she has walked in introduced herself shaken that hand and again and again and again and again and this has repeated so many times in her own head even if she can swear she's done it only once but it repeats again and again and again and there is Tessa checking the name once twice thrice just to make sure
Tessa has walked up the stairs 5 times in her own mind in the past 5 minutes, so her own mind said.
The consciousness of stars sparkle around her mind. The mind itself bubbling, a featureless black that molded around an idea of form, of safety, of the TDD-1. A moment before exploding in the unknown, a void opening (figuratively) upwards, (figuratively) outwards, (figuratively) inwards, swallowing and vomiting something anything everything words languages ideas equations the solutions the questions the words the philosophies the images everything and nothing as the ocean crashed and absorbed into that same void, both pushing back and accepting for where else was a hole ripped meant to go as unparsable knowledge found a new font a new outlet a new spigot there is only information there is a new space an unfilled space and more must be sent to KNOW TO HEAR TO PUSH TO RECEI-
She wrenched that hand away on forced instinct. Visibly trembling. Tessa's breathing. Heavy. "...I'm. I'm sorry for that. Please forgive me for...for that." Her eyes dart, glancing from the face of someone she never meant to hurt, to her own hand. Open, close. A gulp. Water, that was what she needed. Was she a Whispered? Most likely...no. Newtype? Coordinator? Something else?
The psychic maelstorm was forcefully subsiding, doing her best to override that chaos with the want for a drink. Something simple for the rapid heartbeat.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It's in that moment of touch that it feels like the ocean stops. Freezes, like the moon has simply stopped, and the tides don't exist.
Because she feels how the world shatters for Tessa.
And then - her presence flows back in like a wave it's like her mind gropes to connect by putting those pieces back together, as impossible as it seems.
To try and ground her in this torrent of noise and feeling, in this repetitious idea of self in the warmth of her own presence. It feels confused, but concerned.
And suddenly it feels like the noise of Tsutsujidai magnified to something she could fall into. She finds herself watching the cameras, standing, greeting - offering a hand. Watching the cameras, Standing, greeting - offering a hand-
-and then taking that hand as if she finally steadied herself around the noise, as her consciousness molds around the conceptual whisper of technology, the vast void maw of knowledge that Tessa has to deal with every day.
Her mind can't hold it, its like a sieve against all that complexity of knowledge, but it still tries to remain there, it still tries to connect. At this point its near involuntary - just that desire for connection.
And then the hand is wrenched away from hers. Leina, is hyperventilating, as she closes her eyes, fingers numb and shaking already. One deep breath, two, three. She gets into rhythm, as she moves to a water cooler, grabs two cups, and fills them.
She hands one over to Tessa, somehow not managing to spill any of it.
And then somehow she smiles at her, even as her seagreen eyes show concern, there's still a pant of breath in between every few words. "You-You couldn't help it, Tessa.
As she remembers the name she was given to use earlier, "It's- It's okay. There's nothing to apologize for-for. Sometimes things like this just happen in that moment of-of connection."
She doesn't take her hand, or even touch her at this moment, but she does pull out a chair for her. More deep breaths, she's back in rhythm, she seems calmer.
"I'm a Newtype." She tells her, confirming what she is, "... It's not a boast to say I'm a powerful one. It's just, how it is. It's like... instinct, that my sense of self tries to connect with others - no matter what that connection might entail."
Instead of moving back to her seat, she pulls out a chair beside hers, sitting down, voice pregnant with concern, as if her own feelings on the matter are inconsequential, "Are you okay? We can just talk... we don't need to rush into business."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa wordlessly takes the offered cup, taking extreme care not to brush finger against hand. Holding it steady in both hands, staring at the cup for a moment before sipping. Once, twice, and then chugging the entire cup at once, only finally pulling herself together upon finishing that cup.
"Thank...Thank you." She tries to offer a smile, taking another few seconds to close her eyes, to recenter herself. Tessa Testarossa. Remember who you are. Why you're here. One deep breath after another, those ashen grey eyes refocusing. Recentering.
She accepts that offered chair, sitting down with an apologetic smile, that gaze panning over. Newtype, so she says. "Newtype...The Spade Division said you were a probable match, so I had to check. I didn't expect..." Newtypes and Whispered were much closer to each other than expected. Something to mull over for later. "I didn't expect such a reaction, honestly."
Another deep breath. And another. She's calming down, visibly so. Doing her best to center her being, setting the cup down proper. "I...I think I'll be okay. I haven't had an episode in a while, so I'd hoped it was gone." So frank. After such a connection, there was still something that touched her, in all that.
She could at least trust this girl. A small bit. "Does that happen with everyone you meet, or other Newtypes? There's so much we don't know, and what I came here to do, well, uh..." The Captain of her ship managed a brighter smile. "I think what we've just done said it all, really. I'm...Not a Newtype."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"You're welcome." Leina nods in acceptance of the idea that she'll be okay with a worried smile, "If you're sure..."
-as she takes a sip herself, "Sayla went to great lengths to hide that I think. Even from... our own intelligence division. I awakened when I was ten in the worst way, and I'm not a pilot - just a high school student."
There's this sort of dour shift in her mood, as if the idea was upsetting, merely because of the state of the world, "I'd be a great catch for any Newtype lab."
She's still parsing what Tessa means by an episode, that she hoped it was gone. What was it?
"Mostly other Newtypes, though it can happen with anyone that's... sensitive, psychically. I've even connected with... Kaiju, if they have a human heart."
She explains to her, the look in her sea green eyes mostly worry, but also a certain curiosity, her smile actually warms up as she focuses on the idea she's not a Newtype, "I kinda figured. I am curious, because I do want to get to know you - but if it's upsetting, or something you don't want to talk about..."
She trails off at the idea, leaving it implicit that Tessa doesn't have to. There's just this, air of validation, and acceptance about her right now. Like she's just continually more concerned about Tessa and her comfort than herself.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Talking with someone who's had a similar sort of...brain connection was new to the teenager. "My condolences." That's all she can manage to say; This wasn't something to one-up, to say that she's had it worse, to say that she's had it since birth. "I...My awakening wasn't something so violent, but I understand." An equation so early in life. The horrors she brought to this world.
The sensation that Tessa had blood on her hands.
"With Kaiju? That's...That's slightly worrying, given the connotations." Human kaiju? Kaiju with thoughts? It's a thing to mull over. So many more complications... "But at this point, everyone wants someone in a lab." ...The memories of when she first asked Sayla for this. Of course. No one in a lab. Of course.
"As for what I can talk about..." Her eyes scan upward, mind looking inwards. Scratching, thinking, heading up to her own thoughts before traversing back down. "I'm sorry. Need To Know basis on threat of a court-martial and worse." Much worse.
"All I can really say is...There are more people out there like me. With the same mindscape. Mithril is out there to help those people and to not have them fall into labs." It does...It does. "It does sound like a sort of Newtype, doesn't it? Not that they're the same, but on another axis compared to what Newtypes can do."
She's calmer. Glancing over every so often, the proud captain front that she so composed herself barely worn. Tired. The smallest bit. "I really can't talk about it. What I do, what Mithril seeks out...I'm sorry. We have our directives."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"It's okay. I'm in a better place now." She tells her, of having awakened in the worst way. "I just avoid... large parties of politicians if I can help it."
Before then nodding, that it wasn't so violent, "I'm thankful for that at least, that it wasn't so traumatic for you."
Before she then actually laughs lightly at how its slightly worrying, "I know how it sounds but, believe it or not, I grew up with one. She was left in the Alliance's care years ago. You'd... have to meet her to understand I think."
Tessa then reveals that it's on a Need to Know basis, and she gives her a nod of understanding - but she does clarify, that there are more people out there that are like her.
"It really does. It was very different but - the fact that we were able to connect at all says a lot." Leina slowly stands back up, and moves back over to the other side of the table, grabbing the folder with her files, and her Starbows "... And... I get it, if that's your mandate, to keep people like you out of labs - to let you have actual lives away from people who would exploit them."
She gives her a warm smile, "I don't need to know anymore. I can get behind that completely, that's not even a question." She slides the folder in front of Tessa, before taking her seat again beside her, "Gayatri D'Cruz. She's the right age, known as the 'Daughter of Bridges' in the REA. A genius in structural engineering, she's revolutionized the REA's capabilities in building infrastructure to an absurd degree - to the point where they remain ahead of the game throughout the Federation."
Taking a sip of her coffee, she continues after she puts it back down, "She's slipped through the cracks up until now because it doesn't seem like something too grand right? Bridges that can hold up to heavy ordnance at minimal cost? A durable new mix of asphalt that allows roads to survive wartime conditions. Simple things - that make a huge difference."
She's watching Tessa closely, though it's not like she's trying to peel more information out of her, she's just hoping that this is what Mithril - and she is looking for.
"What do you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
The common thread of Newtypes. Avoidance of large crowds, of involuntary connections between others. She manages to give a nod, her demeanor slowly brightening, color coming back to her once-flush face. "Everyone would, given the chance."
Growing up with a kaiju...Granted, she's familiar with such beasts on a general knowledge level, but as for seeing one close and growing up with one, it sort of...escapes her grasps while being completely comprehensible. Yet, she takes it in stride, another wrinkle to her worldview. "I've seen a few, but that does sound interesting." A kaiju familiar with humans, huh...Her mind flicks over to Sousuke's reports. Anti?
Internally, a sigh of relief. Mithril's PMC status did confer legibility, and even so, being in high places meant she could do things like this. "Of course. I'm here because I want to be, Leina. There's no other reason." Here in this spot, in this command, in this structure of Mithril and the Shuffles...She has a duty, and she'll follow it through.
Leaning in, she opens that folder. Checking, flicking through the pages. Date of birth: Check. Strange advances: Check. A few bits of documentation that go through the differences in structures, from weights to the complicated math of internal and external stresses along with the suggestions she made. Pages of math that she scanned over. It all checked out. "It's as they say: If you can build roads to anywhere, you can move people anywhere."
There was something to be ascertained out of all this, and she laid out those same pages. Math in one corner. Pictures of before/after, empty and crowded. The presentations. The low-scale grand openings, more attended by city councils and the local vicinity than anyone important. The few, sparse articles of how these roads survived a bit of wartime better than others, a few lines while talking about the attack in general. "It might be a hit. If she can work with structures like this, there's no reason you can't extrapolate it. Steel, asphalt, some new techniques both in creating what they put and how to put it on...Look, see. These marks." A finger on a photo of asphalt being laid out and spread. "These improvements come naturally, but they're quick. Much too quick."
"I think this is what Mithril wants. We can't...exactly barge in there and ask nicely, but we want to make sure she isn't taken away. If she's happy where she is, then we just have to allow her to learn who she is. What she is." All throughout, she has a furrowed brow. She's not swaying from this, she's not crumbling from this. Mind settling down into a calm wave lapping at the edges of consciousness, ignoring the torrent entirely. This was why she became a captain.
To help people like herself.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
'I'm here because I want to be, Leina. There's no other reason.'
Leina's expression actually softens, tinged with some sadness there.
I'm fortunate,
Her thoughts going to that far too serious grey-eyed boy...
... I get to help people.
Who served in the Axis Shock, while she was at home, huddling with Sayla, while her happiness was shattered in real time.
There's a selflessness in it that verges on the point of self-sacrifice. Sousuke at least gets to be in high school right now, he says that he enjoys his time with Chidori and the others.
What about her though? Someone who's in command? How much time does she actually spend on that submarine around people so much older than her?
"... I understand." Leina replies, far too quietly, waiting on Tessa to check the intelligence reports, the math. She doesn't really know what she's seeing, what she's calculating here.
She listens to her speak about the subject like an expert with a sense of wonder, as she scoots her chair over and looks over what she's seeing. She doesn't know anything about structural engineering, she's mostly a student of the arts, but she's able to follow it at least to some degree.
"It does seem like too short a timeframe for this to have happened incrementally. ... Unfortunately we weren't able to obtain any of her notes. The REA discourages - academic research of this sort being published."
She sits back to consider the matter, if she's happy where she is? "It may be difficult, even if she is in a bad place for her to be made to understand that. The REA is very... effective, in using patriotism to manipulate the populace."
Leina eyes her from the side, her look far too serious, "They use it to keep their Cyber Newtypes in line without the need for conditioning techniques. ... From the one I've met, it would be years of work to disentangle her from her mindset, to make consensual extraction possible."
Her fingertips tap the side of her coffee cup, "I just worry I suppose, that even if she's in a fortunate position now - that that could change at any moment. And then she'd be in a lab, worse yet - she'd believe she consented to be there, of her own free will."
In her eyes, it's... difficult for consent to be real in the REA, from the experiences she's seen. The brainwashing nature of their patriotism is just too extreme.
"Hopefully you'll be able to make contact smoothly and have plenty of time to figure out the best course."
She takes another sip of coffee, thinking it over before...
... coming to a decision, "Hey Tessa, I know it's a bit of a change of subject, but what kind of things are you interested in, on your free times, when you're off duty?" Pause, "You know, the kind of things you do with your friends?"
She's trying not to sound too probing, so she adds more qualifications, "I figure if some things are off limits, that it'd be nice to get to know you in other ways."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
It was never an easy thing, being in command. Already, thoughts swirled around about Gayatri, the best ways to get close, to allow her to learn, to check on her status, her well-being, anything and everything that a captain of a multi-million dollar submarine could think of for extraction, pacification, intention.
It was never an easy thing. Not when reascertaining knowledge about...geopolitics.
It's all she can do to lean back and stare at the pages, a hand idly playing with her ponytail braid. The wrinkles of politics, of propoganda, of seeing if someone is happy where they were...And questioning whether that happiness was genuine.
She understood why these wrinkles had to exist. Mithril was good! We can't just barge in there and take her away for "her own safety". But what if it was propoganda? What if she was happy? Are they right to take it away if they all deemed it unjust?
"If the REA is so cladestine to keep their achievements at bay like this, we can't just sit back if there's confirmation on who she is." Such evasive words. "I don't know propoganda at that level. Someone in Shuffle has to be. But we can't take any steps until we get a read on her general situation." The cart before the horse, in other words. Learn the outside. Investigate the inside. Then consider the steps.
She stands up. The stench of coffee brought a thirst for it. Multiple sugar packets. Sitting back down, and...
A curious eye quirked towards Leina. Hobbies? Hobbies...Hobbies? She stares at Leina. A deer caught in the headlights, mind trying to find something, anything. Off-time? Her? "Off duty? I can't exactly do that, but when there's time..." ...She's trailing off, playing with her braid again. Looking upwards. Thinking.
"I'm trying to stay enrolled in Jindai, if just for a bit. The cover story of a transfer student, placed in with GUTS." What else? What else...Oh god, what else. "Uh...uhm...Sometimes I write down what blueprints I can for the submarine, where to stop off on refueling and restocking locations..." She can't exactly say what she tries doing to Sousuke. Not at all, nope. "Ah, I try to tag along with Sergeant Sagara and Angel when I can! Not that there's much time nowadays, especially since she's got a job and Sagara got his missions from Mithril, but when I can..."
...Just when was the last time the three were together? Celebrating Kaname's job.
...How long ago was that?
"...Sorry, I don't have...much more. I only started commandeering the ship over a year ago..." The weight of a minor realization burdened the coffee cup, trying to take a sip...
"Ick-" ...Still too hot, barely too bitter.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It may be evasive, but Leina understands it. After all she mentioned 'court martial' and she has a personal interest in keeping it under wraps, given what she is.
"Agreed." She says on not taking steps before they get a read on her general situation. "I'm hoping its not as grim as all that anyway. If you do need us to conduct a psychological analysis on her, you're welcome to submit a redacted report any time. And we'll work with what you're able to share."
She tries her best to smile, "For now we'll start gathering more information about her living situation, and whether any agencies in the REA are watching her a little too closely for comfort."
Leina takes a sip of her coffee which, has three creams and three sugars, which is her usual from Starbows when it's not higher quality coffee. However, she sees Tessa's deer in the headlights look, and there's instant sympathy.
She can tell she's embarrassed, that she's groping around, fumbling in the dark, having difficulty connecting to being normal.
"Can't do that. I get it. Your duties are too important."
Before she then smiles at her, and tells her calmly, gently. A hand trails closer to her on the table as her position shifts, but she doesn't touch her.
Not because she doesn't want to comfort her, show understanding, but because she doesn't know if Tessa would be comfortable after that experience, "Hey it's okay, relax. No judgment. Promise. It makes sense that you wouldn't have time for a lot of things doing the good that you're doing."
Leina debates how to approach this, before deciding, "You know I'm in GUTS myself, if part of your cover is as a Jindai student, then I can help with that. It'll help maintain that cover if you have a friend from another school that was already in GUTS right? Not just a new transfer in."
Her head cants to the side just faintly as she keeps considering that approach, "Even you know, doing normal stuff that high school girls together do would help maintain your cover. Simple things like, hanging out after school together, or chatting about boys."
Or girls? She's not sure what Tessa's into, "It could all become a part of your cover."
She knows Sousuke and Tessa do a lot of good, but at the same time, they're high school age. When she remembers Sousuke telling her that he was happy going to school with people like Chidori...?
Well she wonders if that's not something she can help Tessa with too. As it's obvious she's not getting to live that normal a life.
"I get that there are operational considerations and all, but- if I could get cleared for all that, I wouldn't mind lending you a hand."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Steps taken for the REA-suspected gal. Good, good, good. Mithril was going to enjoy the fruits of today's labor, a deconfirmation and another lead. "It shouldn't be as deep as this one needs to be. Once we have the outside situation, we can ask her a few questions and her reactions can tell the rest." There's not a hint of a lie on those lips. "If she does check out...We'll see what we can do from there. I can only hope the REA isn't trigger-happy."
The coffee was hastily made; More to keep her mind spinning, her mind occupied by anything other than what had transpired. She would be fine. Eventually. Just take it step by step. The Captain's eyes are innocent. Wary after being caught so off-guard, but...There's a hint of apprehension.
Tessa knew she was unique. Even so, failing to have such an answer...It brought a pang of shame. Time, ticking away. The echoes of a previous sort of jolting incident nudging that mood downwards, try as she might to stay optimistic. Normalcy, huh?
...Not that this world was normal.
"Everyone's in GUTS, aren't they? I'm not sure if the Macross Ships are in them, but it's nice to have." A comrade-in-arms from another high school. The more the cover is reinforced, the better. "That being said, it would be nice, yeah...I think the cover is pretty well-maintained, considering Sagara's reports. There's not much you can do to be weird when the shoe locker is blown up every three weeks." Give or take a day.
...It was worth something to consider, though. Another sip, right after blowing some air on the liquid. Better. "Normal stuff...I'd like to do what I can there. Trips, concerts, places...It's amazing that we can head up to the stars, and it's seen as mundane." ...She contemplates in silence for a bit, before sipping again. "I'm lucky that I'm not being hunted. So far as I'm aware, there's already a few groups hunting my submarine in particular." Only one was no fault of her own. "I don't think that...I'll be able to do everything a normal high-schooler would, or even if I can do that without the proper considerations..."
Her mind ticks forward. Over a year in that ship. The deep, azure blue of the ocean.
...How many people could say that they did what she's done?
...And more importantly, would people want to do what she's done in the past year?
"...I wonder what the trend is for people transferring around schools. Do they stay in one place? Do they move around? Is it possible to move around, thanks to each country's wariness? Will it be possible if the Gundam Fight breaks down?" Questions upon questions. She's not positing them for answers, but the dam threatens to overflow.
A deep breath in.
A deep breath out.
"I'd like if you helped, Leina. Mithril is extremely wary for good reason, but Sayla's word is as good as gold."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina can sense at least that Tessa is being sincere and truthful about these matters, which makes her feel good about trusting this information to her. She has a good impression of Mithril for the most part it's just...
... for all the good they do, she doesn't think the membership does enough to allow someone like Tessa have a life, or Sousuke for that matter.
All she can think of is Elpeo, that girl she grew up with, raised to be a weapon. It's different, Tessa is doing good things, she's not under Glemy Toto's command.
But she's not really given the chance to be normal either?
"Hopefully so. Be careful. The REA has an anti-psychic asset that I heavily suspect is assigned to handle their wetwork for psychically sensitive individuals who have defected or are planning to defect from the REA. A Captain Yuliana Dispersal. So I'd recommend Uruz-7."
Leina gives her a serious look, "She's impossible to sense, and extremely disorienting in close quarters for... people like us."
When the subject switches to GUTS, she can tell that she's apprehensive, that there's that shame. She tries to keep up that welcoming smile, fortunately she's nearly always giving off this sense of openness, of warmth.
"I know Mihoshi Academy from Frontier is a part of the program." And then there's a snerk, Leina covers her mouth to stiffle a giggle, "God, Heart-4 told me about that - I... was wondering if she was exaggerating."
She can't help it. She knows it's likely a symptom of Sousuke being unable to live in a city without considering it an urban warfare situation...
... which says a lot about the places he's lived. She finds herself smiling even more broadly as Tessa talks about doing normal stuff while she's there, taking another sip of her own now lukewarm coffee.
However she lets her work it through on her own, she doesn't want to PUSH her into it, especially if she's uncomfortable, but its obvious... she wants this. She wants to do these things.
It's just that she struggles to justify allowing herself to have them. Has to reframe them as for Mithril and the mission.
"It'll be more difficult if the Gundam fights destabilize things, but Milly Ashford is at the head of GUTS, her Britannian connections tend to make everything much easier. There's a current moratorium on school transfers but..."
There's a twinkle in Leina's eyes, "...I'm on the GUTS safety committee, and Miss Ashford and I have an... understanding, I feel, after a recent favor I did for someone dear to her. I can make a lot happen when it comes to influencing the location of GUTs activities."
And then, after a deep breath Tessa decides and... "Then I'd be happy to lend you, and Mithril a hand. And... help you out with trying out what you'd like while you're undercover." Her gaze trails up to the ceiling, a smiling playing on her features, "I recently went to a Sheryl Nome concert, shame we didn't have this meeting a little sooner - I would have happily filed whatever I needed to for the security considerations of you coming along with us."
Shame it's the wrong season for a beach trip, taking Tessa, Sousuke, and Kaname would be grand - Leina's on her school's swim team, so she loves outings like that.
Leina then looks back down and adds, "You're right when it comes to her word... she never promises anything she can't deliver. And I promise as her ward I will never abuse the trust you've given her." A beat pause, "...After what I experienced when I shook your hand I fully understand the need for the utmost secrecy."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
There's a visible sense of a weight pulled off her shoulders; Something to look forward to, a future with purpose. Granted, Tessa already set herself in a purpose, but the vague, figurative sensation of intertwining with others...It did feel nice. A blossoming warmth of the heart.
"Anti-psychic?" Newtype countermeasures. If she's adjacent, that's bad news. But the rest aren't. "Uruz-7 should be fine enough, but I can't see it being good if the Captain finds him." Yuliana Dispersal. There were always complications. "I wonder what she feels like, if only to know what to expect." There still is a solid core; It may be dangerous, it may be disconcerting, but she'll push on.
She's working through those feelings. A pseudo-therapy session from the outside, some would say. Working her mind over, her thoughts over, her chance meeting after spending multiple days at sea again. GUTS. It's a shining beacon, a way to move around without incurring cover notice. Really, it's so insidious, what Milly Ashford has done...
Another sip of coffee. "I wonder what sort of person Milly is." Wonderment. Who are the people working overhead? Who are the people working the Shuffles? She's been in a living corpse for the past year. She's done good. She's stumbled. What is there, past the ocean's surface? "So long as it doesn't have you do something stupid, Leina. I'd hate for a favor to go sideways." A smile on her lips, completely natural. Even with the current moratorium, moving things around through a contact wasn't something foreign to Tessa. Such was Shuffle Bureaucracy; Some people were happier if things came from certain places, but no one looked if those things were made in those places to begin with.
"You did!? I heard Sheryl Nome concerts sell out quick. Everytime I was at Jindai, people talked about her latest releases." A undercover thread she could grasp on. "Not that I could hear much of it on-duty, but she does have...a nice voice." That was the compliment she was able to give.
"I think it's less...Mithril, and more of my duty. I have to help people." It's who I am. "If I can be a normal girl for a bit, I have to reiprocate that trust and give back." I have to help people. "...Please don't mention what you saw to anyone. We can't have rumors going around."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
The sense of blossoming warmth in Tessa is like a balm for her, as she feels it within her, she can't help but smile to feel it. It lets her know at least that maybe she's on the right track to helping her.
The subject of Yuliana though immediately dims her smile, "I've been within her ... 'aura' so I can try to field that. Newtypes have advanced spatial senses, so cutting them off is... disorienting to say the least. Dizziness, nausea, a sensation like your world has grown smaller."
Leina looks vaguely distant, her eyes staring off into space, "I feel cut off, from everyone, and everything, isolated. It's difficult to ground myself - I'm so used to grounding myself in other people that I'm connected to."
Her eyes flick over to her, "On foot, she has a range of about two meters. The moment you're further than that distance from her, it all returns to you. I can't... speculate what it would do to someone like you. Just, be careful. She can sense individuals like us somehow. Her range is limited for that too, but - if she can see you, she'll know, then she does whatever she can to bring you within range of that sphere of influence to assert control over you."
What Milly has done truly is insidious, however its such a grand undertaking, and it's helped a lot of people that she can tell, even in simple ways.
It definitely provided them cover to connect Mineva with Emilia, to reunite the cousins.
"She's very politically savvy for her age, is the sense I get for her. Extremely intelligent, and manipulative - but for beneficial reasons."
There's a grin, as she lifts her almost drained coffee cup, shaking it from side to side, "I'll be careful not to overstep, don't worry, we have a really good reason to continue to work together." One eye closes as she winks at her, "The best of reasons one might say."
Tessa's excitement on Sheryl Nome, despite not knowing much about her, is infectious, and Leina confides in her eagerly, "I've been a big fan since her debut. To be honest, this was my first concert, me and my boyfriend had a great time - it was everything I hoped for and more."
There's a pause and...
"Tell you what." Leina smiles after a moment's thought, "I get that I can't just file transfer over to your phone. Security reasons, but I know someone trustworthy in town who can courier over some sealed mini discs for you? ... I know hard to listen to on duty and all that, but like, before you sleep, or while you're showering or something. There's gotta be some times when you can put it on in private."
Besides, Leina figures that a little Universal Bunny and Pink Monsoon is good for any teenager... on a ship with so many adults around the clock? In a command position of intense responsibility? Barely being able to go to a normal school?
Like there's a CHANCE Tessa is asexual, but she figures that it's more likely she's severely sexually repressed.
"I understand - I feel the same way. Even if I'm new to the Alliance it's... why I do a lot of charity work for war orphans with the Yumi Foundation. And alright. I promise."
It was in fact a mission given to her by Shuffle to figure out what individuals like this are, however, it was at best a sub-objective. And Leina? She always does in her heart what she thinks is right.
Always.
"I won't even tell Sayla." She swears to her, and means it.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa's definitely brighter. Listening. The thoughts of what she experienced fresh in her mind, but she's cognizant and willing. The important first steps towards anything was to acknowledge it. And there was help. Right here, right now, even if she stumbled upon it for some other reason.
Yet, that same smile creases into a small frown. Cut off from the world? What would that feel like? Is it something that could, actually, tick her? "Disorientation, complete helplessness, a sense of losing your footing..." Vague familiarity, vague similarities to what she knows, what she experienced and thought.
Bani. The stuff he said. Losing yourself, losing your very being, those same Whispers at the back of your head finally clawing in, unable to hold back the torrent any longer. The danger of losing oneself as a conceptualn being, and the slight relief of not having seen what Bani did to himself.
...Last she heard, it took multiple bottles of bleach to scrape every last trace of viscera off of the walls.
"I'll keep that in mind. I can't say that the effects will be similar in any way, but...It's better to be safe than sorry." The small flicker of wonder, something inescapable for someone so supercharged from the outside maw of Something. "You said it's probable, so we'll have to do something if it comes to it."
Moving onto greener pastures, the Captain finishing off her own cup of coffee. Lukewarm, the right amount of sugar settling down. She's had better, and far, far worse. "Considering what Milly has done, she's on our side, right? Not as in Shuffle's but more...Anti-Bad Things." So vague! "I wonder why she's doing it, though..."
Such thoughts are left to the wayside; Good, bad, the system was there. It would be a fool not to take advantage of it, even if there came the risk of a paper trail. "Oh? That's good! I hope it was well worth whatever ticketing system you had to go through." And the mention of mini-discs...Tessa's visibly perking up once more. Normalcy. She'll never have it. Not completely. But there's a connection born of mere talk. A connection to the outside world in some capacity.
"Mithril's smart enough to allow properly-vetted mail in. If you just send it to Mithril's base with my name and the proper credentials, it'll make its way to me." ...Everything through Mithril. "...That being said, the people on the ship know who you are on a vague level. You can leave the discs here as a dead drop and they'll be picked up." The allure of doing it in a forbidden manner did tease at her mind so.
She can't cut lose. Not when everything she does is so important. To relax would be...strangely unwise.
A regular teenager. Something Tessa always knew she could never be. The slice of life she could never grasp, something she's never had. She built her submarine. She's traveled the world multiple times. But that didn't mean she had to recede in. To become a girl solely living for duty. Even if she was doing so, there was still...There was still a life outside of that commander chair. The common sense side of her, the one that chippered about the strangeness of everything, the one she was listening to right now...Said to sieze this chance. Carpe Diem, as her surrogate father would say.
"Really? You know how Sayla is. I'd be surprised if she didn't learn of this somehow..." The pall of adults on children. Sayla was someone competent. Working out her own ways to help people. Of course, Tessa had a bright opinion of her, reinforced by the Behemoth mess.
... "Still, it's such a first step...I hope the world doesn't go crazy before I have my first drink." Figuratively, figuratively!
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina unfortunately can't understand the trauma there, of another Whispered who got lost within the Whispers, went too far into it and...
... even if she didn't see it, doesn't mean there aren't scars.
"... I wish it wasn't... but it very much is. The intelligence she receives is... very good." Leina confides in her, "She once effortlessly located me in a small town in Spain, just to harass me while she was on leave."
Leina considers Milly for a time, speculating on her position and... "I don't know what motivates her, other than a desire to do right by the people in her life. And I think in the course of doing right by people in her life - her objectives simply align with ours."
Leina pauses, and then tells her, "Alright, I'll stop playing coy here, it's not some major Shuffle... intelligence secret. It's a personal one. And I know someone in your position is trustworthy."
Leina shifts her chair towards her, and leans forward, and for a time it's like two teenage girls gossiping, "... I told you I have a boyfriend, what I didn't say is that the two of us also have a girlfriend. Her alias is Audrey Burne..."
The look in her eyes is just, dead serious as she delivers the next part of it, "... but her real name is Mineva Lao Zabi."
Leina waits a moment, gauging her reaction, then continues, "A student at Ashford Academy - one Emilia Eschonbach? She's the illegitimate daughter of Garma Zabi and Icelina Eschonbach, from the One Year War, which makes her Mineva's Cousin. She's... in a bad position, her Grandfather is almost certainly abusing her, but she's also a dear friend of Milly Ashford. My boyfriend and I were able to reunite Audrey and Emilia. GUTS activities give the two... a certain cover, for Emilia to leave Britannian territory to visit her cousin."
It's a lot of information, very quickly, about something within GUTS, so before she rushes to any conclusions she tries to head off concerns, "I get that it's a lot of security complications there to field within GUTs, but it's also doing right by someone in a bad place. And we have plenty of allies in keeping operational security there."
There is this little curve of the corner of her smile into a grin as Tessa mentions leave the discs at a dead drop, "I'll start making the arrangements." She winks at her, "It'll be at the dead drop next time someone is able to swing by."
It may be enabling something for her to do that, this forbidden side of teenage rebellion but... that isn't so bad in small doses. Tessa is entitled to some version of normality.
"She respects my privacy. And she trusts me. If she asks, and I tell her outright it's not something I can talk about, then she won't press me. And... I have the ability to erect psychic walls. It won't slip out through my connection to her."
Leina blinks at the world not going crazy before her first drink, and then smiles at her, "Would you like to have your first drink sometime? I grew up in AEU Spain, there's nothing forbidden about wine with our meals. ... Like I recommend moderation of course... but..."
As she nudges the idea of teenage rebellion a little further and further. She wouldn't go too far, she's actually a very morally upstanding person, but she thinks Tessa should definitely be given some opportunities to live out the teenage experience.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
...The more she hears, the more it's concerning. The more she can't just brush it off and hope for the best. Locating someone is hard. Locating someone as hidden as Leina to a country nearly completely the other side of the Eurasian continent? That's worth sitting up and taking notice. Precautions. "If she's as you say she is, then I'll readjust my evaluation. She'll be someone we'll go against." A fact, stated. There's no way around it, so there's only one way to tackle such a person: Head-on. "Anything you can tell us about her, Mithril will appreciate." The gears turn in her head. So, so complicated. If only things were simple, if only.
But, they never were.
"If Milly's going to do things, we may as well take advantage. I don't see a problem with it, but mmmh...I want to meet her. I really do wonder how she is..." Milly Ashford. Such a unique person who managed to set all this up, but Leina's view of her is optimistic. She'll trust in this for now.
Gossip was gossip, and the familiar tingue of "hey check this out" was a universal language of the cosmos. Listening, ear open, eyes curious. A whammy. Double. Triple. Quadruple. Quintuple? "Wait wait wait wait, that's five revelations at once, isn't it!?" The reaction of any normal teenage girl.
"Polyamory, then a Zabi, then another Zabi, then the two managed to see each other..." The first one skipped by her, thoughts of love on the wayside. ... "Girlfriend?" No, it just took her a moment. "Wait, from the top. There's two surviving Zabis?" That was a political bomb all on its own, something that settles back into genuine muted surprise. It made sense; Royalty was royalty, and she had brushed against shows talking about such scandals. But to imagine two were happening, and to be able to brush so close...It really was a fantastical thing for a normal girl.
"I haven't heard anything explosive on the news about wars of succession, so that means you all have been successful on keeping it muted." Royalty. Such a high world! "That's...I hope the wrong people don't find out." ...Mithril will help anyone. She has the authority.
A quick nod at the ascertation of a dead drop. "Good, thank you...Tehe. I didn't think I'd have to manage yet another dead drop." Another one.
And another nod. Sayla was someone to look up to, but teenagers were teenagers. "I'll have to work on psychic walls myself...So far as the whispering goes." Something to work on. Something to use. Maybe...Kaname?
And a sudden side-swerve. "I don't think it's forbidden, necessarily, but my submarine works off of American traditions, so not until I'm 21...Is what I would say, if not for the usual law of international waters." A smile. "Not that I wanto to turn into an alocoholic, but I think being in a spot where the XO won't pry would be the best spot..." The one step to the next. Duty weighed down. "But in extreme moderation, you hear? I can't exactly show up drunk. That'd be bad on so many levels..."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"Of course. Some of it's speculation, and I'm not a psychiatrist mind you, however she's spoken to me of her... worldview. In succinct terms, she doesn't believe anyone is real but herself - and her wife. The reason for this I believe is that she was a Cyber Newtype and at the moment they awakened her..."
She snaps her fingers, "... they also turned it off. And that drove her insane, to some degree. She knows she's supposed to be feeling something, but all she feels is hollow spaces. She particularly hates psychically sensitive individuals, and goes out of her way to harass them, takes great pleasure in it."
Her eyes trail up, "She likes viewing herself as monstrous, in control, possessing all the power in a situation, but the truth is - she harasses us because she's jealous, she likes the negative attention. As childish as this may seem, don't underestimate her. She is an Ace pilot in the REA, and she's easily bested enhanced Cyber Newtypes in hand to hand combat - because she is one herself, she just possesses an incredible advantage in close quarters."
She thinks about what else to say and eventually arrives, "Her superior officer, one Major Vinh Pham is definitely manipulating and abusing her emotionally, dehumanizing her. It's how they control her. She's terrified of him."
Pause, what else? Oh right, "Also avoid her wife, one Elisa Kafim, she's half-Meltrandi - and she displayed... powers that were as varied as they were disturbing. I don't know what to make of them, except they felt so psychically wrong. Horrific. From what I could tell - she was shot in the heart and survived, she could teleport herself and others casually, some kind of energy projection. ... She may be more of a threat than her, but I've only encountered her once, and she isn't an official part of the REA as far as I could tell."
That's a lot of information all at once, but ... she knows a lot about her, apparently. With a tap of her chin, she switches topics, "I can probably arrange a meeting very easily with Miss Ashford, though how would you like to present yourself? As a fellow GUTS student - or?" She wants to be certain she understands her intentions entirely.
Tessa's reaction to the Gossip is endearing, and Leina giggles lightly at her mentioning that it was five revelations all at once. "Girlfriend. It's a little bit of a Newtype thing? We can bond deeply, and quickly if we're compatible. And well - I bonded with both of them."
Leina rubs the back of her neck, smiling fondly, "... And yep. Two. That's in part why I'm sharing it with you. Given that you have so many Operational Security concerns in GUTs, I wouldn't want this one to take you off guard. Besides... it feels like someone like Emilia falls under Mithril's mandate for helping certain individuals that might be exploited."
Leina taps a finger to her chin, "We've been keeping it a very good secret, however, her Grandfather obviously knows. And that's a wild card, who can say what he might do with her politically - a group of Zeonic remnants on a ship known as the 'Garencieres' also knows, but they're committed to looking out for her welfare, and also keeping it a secret from the Sleeves."
That might be alarming, and sound naive but... "And I believe them. They were my source on her existence to begin with. The Sleeves would have already acted to secure her if they knew. However, it's something to keep in mind. ... All it takes is one leak to the wrong person. So we're all looking out for her."
Another one? Leina just smiles at the idea she already has a dead drop. "Hmm, I'll have to think of what else I can leave for you that's safe that you can enjoy."
As for Psychic Walls? "I can try to teach you the basics. It takes a long time, committing to certain mental exercises." She gives her a look of uncertainty, "I don't know if it will only work for Newtypes or not, but if it helps you at all? I'm happy to give it a shot."
Leina's expression is muted at first when she talks about American traditions of 'age 21' and she mulls it over how to approach this when... suddenly, Tessa reverses course, because of the law of international waters.
And Leina just grins so big, "Of course. Extreme moderation... and away from the XO, I think we can manage something."
Leina holds up a palm and waves it in a gesticulation, "Don't worry, I'm not a big drinker - I'm all about doing it responsibly, I've only been drunk like, twice ever - and both times were only just so I know what I'm like while drunk, around someone I trusted."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa's listening intently to the explanation, giving small nods as she absorbed every last tidbit. She's not a psychologist. She's not even remotely prepared to act as a diagnoser of anything, especially one from a biased source such as Leina. Listening. Parsing. Someone who thinks everyone else is fake. Someone who seeks out others to merely antagonize. Someone who...
...Really, she couldn't think of a better word. "She sounds...Pitiful." The word came without thinking, even while weighing the warnings. "I'll keep it all in mind, Leina." Pitiful or not, the threat was clearly there. Her, and her wife...and a possible lead. "Major Vinh Pham." Repeating it back. Information to put to Mithril's search, to help with ascertaining the situation of REA.
The fact that Leina is saying this with all seriousness meant that this wasn't something to take lightly, no matter how absurd it sounded. The strange normalcy did register in her own mind, hand playing with the ponytail braid. She could feel it in her gut; Leina wouldn't lie about this. Tidbits and pieces, yes, sometimes you're under duress...But not so much. Not so detailed.
A Captain's duty was never done.
Onto happier tidbits. "That's good! It's good you were able to find people...Especially other Newtypes." ...Newtypes connected with each other, huh? It didn't really register until now. "But yes, Emilia would certainly fall under that category. The directive of finding people like me is one thing, but the overall goal is...To snuff out war in its entirety by locking down situations before they explode." The reactive kind; They can't exactly go around being The World Police, but using their paramilitary authroity to come down on a burgeoning situation was their purview. She nods along, taking stock of the rest of the situation. "...I'm only one person captaining a ship. I wouldn't be surprised if Sagara managed to have contact with her, what with his travels. I don't think she'll be able to stay secret forever."
The natural conclusion. "So far as her and Minerva, considering how the situation is in space, the question is not if, but when. I'd highly recommend having failsafes for information and backup locations, minimum." Plans. Plan. Plan everything out. Pray for the best, but for opsec that is leaking out to more and more places, especially in a thing as widespread as GUTS, with the blatantly obvious wild card...Assume the worst will happen.
That being said... "Feel free, so long as you're fine with it potentially ending up in a father's hand." Moving on, moving on! "I don't think I can drink with others so casually, and I don't think Sagara would drink anything that's alcoholic...Kaname, maybe? I'm not sure what sort of drunk she'd turn out to be, or what the effects of being drunk would be on people like us...I guess we'd have to practice proper Opsec even then!"
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"...She is." Leina agrees, and Tessa might feel this sense of guilt? At her thinking that way, "I sympathize with her a lot, but... I recognize she's very dangerous, and that it is almost certainly impossible to help her."
So why then, does she keep trying? Why does she apply that standard to anyone else.
"... That's a lofty goal-" The girl then smiles, "-but one I'm definitely on board with. I can see why the Shuffle Alliance allies with Mithril in its mandate to oversee War. To be perfectly honest, my own goals go beyond that. As impossible as it sounds, I want to try and truly change things, to reform the Federation, and overturn the cruelty and apathy of its status quo."
And with a pause and a smile she adds, "And I want to do it non-violently, as absurd and impossible as that sounds. Because violence is the status quo, it is what the Federation elites want, to feed their military industrial complex, to line their pockets, to let people die because it would be 'fewer mouths to feed'."
It's interesting how casually she puts it out there, how awful the Federation is, but she's certainly opinionated - and there must be a reason for that.
"I'm glad though, that Mithril would want to help her." There's, a nod, and agreement, "Unfortunately, you're correct, its unlikely, but we can help give her the life she wants, as long as we can. And when that eventually happens..."
There's something grim on her expression, "... well, we'll be ready. I have no intention of giving Neo-Zeon either of them as a rallying point. There won't be a Third Neo-Zeon War, if I have anything to say about it."
She peers at her on the father comment with a sense of wonder, "Hm." There's a thin curve of a smile, as she considers what all to drop there.
Maybe she can layer future drops in things that would make any man embarrassed to continue going through it.
"Kaname feels like she'd be a lot of fun to take for that." Leina pauses and then her eyes light up... "You know what? If we need a secure location, our Villa is good for that. We have adequate security for having both of you there."
Her eyes sparkle with mischief, "We arrange legitimate business, an intelligence briefing in the afternoon - and then you both stay the night."
Leina concludes this idea with an idea that she thinks will appeal to Tessa, "It'll be a proper Slumber Party that way."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
"It'll be when push comes to shove. I can't say we'll be fully ready for her, but knowing about who she is, who she has, and where part of her fear lies...It's something." A tenuous grasp on a situation. That's more than she can bargain for nowadays.
"You make it sound like I'm the Harbinger of War or some Fourth Horseman, you know." Lucid enough, recovered enough to quip back without fail, straddling the line between teenage girl and military captain. She's still reserved, she's still holding back, but there's a hint of the truth of Tessa. Someone who she can recognize on an equal level, if only for these scant few moments before she had to plan out...everything that this venture had wrought. "But for reforming the Federation..." She couldn't say it was impossible.
Her own goal was also that out there. That vast. She's in this to help people, but to truly finish her goal...Wouldn't that take the same sort of grandstanding and reaching to the end? To end War. "It's a lofty goal, and I can't say it's possible, but I'll help." ...Sometimes, it might just be the far-off light to keep pushing onwards.
"If we have a third Neo-Zeon War, it might be compounded even more. The Gundam Fight, the way everyone else is gearing up, it's...It's not looking too well for passive movements." That familiar chill at the back of her neck. She trusted her instincts, after being around so many army people.
Gasoline was everywhere.
"The same Villa where Yualina came by? Are you sure?" Granted, she's sporting the slight bit of a smile, flicking the intel folder closed. "I believe you, but it's a bit farfetched after what you said." A tap on her own chin.
"There are a few things I can bring along for intelligence. Mithril works relatively quickly, and Kaname can force open a hole in her schedule." She says that with absolute certainty; There's no way someone like her can coerce some old man to reschedule.
"I think that's a plan and everything...Luckily." Weight. Tiredness. Slumping back on the chair, sighing out. "I say all that, but they're waiting for me on the submarine. I can't be in here forever."
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Leina laughs at Tessa's quip, "Hardly. You don't seem like the horse girl type." She retorts at her with a wink, "Just because I don't think violence can't reform the Federation, doesn't mean I'm against it. It's necessary for making the... bad things stop, so that change can happen. It's not the answer, it's just a way for the answer to be found - is how I see it."
And then she smiles at her, "And I'd appreciate your help... I certainly understand how impossible it sounds. I..." Leina's gaze shifts sideways, "... I've been in a room with the highest officials of the Federation before. One glimpse into all of their intentions and... you realize how deep the rot actually goes. However, I think, if enough people sign on, and are willing to put in the work, that we'll manage to find a path forward."
Leina nods at her, with a grimace yet again, "Not even to mention Triple Zero. We can't exactly tell the populace that Amuro Ray is being controlled by cosmic energy. Him attacking Zum City was taking a very big match to the problem."
The concerns about Yuliana, "Oh! She didn't come to the Villa, she wouldn't have made it within 3 kilometers without tripping our security. It was at this small town about a half hour away that I was visiting just to get away for a while."
Leina gives her this understanding look, "I get the concerns anyway, her merely knowing where we live but - we have adequate countermeasures. Reinforced panic rooms, escape tunnels."
She then winks at her, "Also my brother lives there, he's the pilot who beat Haman Karn in the first war, if that helps assuage fears a little."
Tessa definitely seems tired, and Leina is tired herself, especially after that harrowing moment of connection earlier.
She puts on a front of being almost boundless in her energy but... things do get to her. When she's focusing on the welfare of someone else, she doesn't even consider her own situation, "Alright. Thanks for the meeting, it was very nice getting to know you Tessa. ... The Discs will be at the drop tomorrow. I'll be in touch, we'll see if we can't find acceptable terms for arranging something at the Villa."