2024-05-19: A Suspicious Investigation

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

It wasn't precisely a difficult feat to be allowed into this hangar, not with her credentials. There were cameras everywhere and almost certainly it was bugged by God knows how many companies in the Group trying to get a piece of the pie.

However, she didn't do anything but look at it, the 'Aerial', with a tiny little Go stone in her hand, warm, glowing with that familiar sensation, but there was no tug of Psychoframe to Psychoframe begging to connect, no sensation of looking through an open aperture towards one closed.

Pocketing the stone, the young woman in the University Student uniform, which was just like the other students, save accented in purple, floated towards the exit to the hangar, showing her credentials to the guard, and it was once she was just outside of it that she fished out her phone from her bag, and sorted through her contacts. "Sorry but could I get some privacy?" She asked her detail, who looked at each other, "Sure, we'll be around."

They began to float away before using the rail to go further, keeping their distance but- also eyes on her. Finding the contact she was looking for, she hesitated, before tapping it and putting her phone to her ear. It was three rings before it answered, the person on the other end, anxious.

"Who is this? H-How'd you get my number? If you're selling something then take me off the list-"

"It's me," Leina answered softly, "Alberto."

The shock settled in, before he asked gently, "Leina? I ... I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again." He starts awkwardly before rushing into it, like he'd practiced just in case, "I wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry for everything - everything I did - participated in. Back... back before Gryps II... the things I saw, they showed me how very small I was. How... warm the universe could be. I was wrong. Everything I did. I'm trying to be a new man, from now on. My own man. To... change into someone you'd be proud of."

"I accept your apology." Leina tells him evenly, but not harshly, eyes closed. "You were caught up in an awful family situation, from the very start. It is so very difficult to escape from that apathy - that cruelty the life you had instilled. But you did. And even before you did you still cared for me in your own way, and tried to do right by me."

"Then-" "... But I don't forgive you." There is no cruelty in the pronouncement, it is just matter of fact, "I can't get there yet. Maybe I never will." A pause as she rubs the bridge of her nose, "I don't know. Everything that happened to me? It feels like it looms over me... and I'm still living in that shadow."

"That's... quite alright. I appreciate your candor." Alberto replied, keeping the disappointment out of his voice. "Thank you for hearing me out at all."

"Alberto," Leina paused, then sighed quietly, "That wasn't the reason I called. I need something, a favor." He perked up instantly as if seeing an opportunity to regain some measure of her favor, "Yes of course! Name it!"

"Your Great Grandfather... before he passed, he mentioned the GUND format. And from what I now understand, the Gundam predates the One Year War." Alberto starts to stammer, "I can't say I know overmuch... about the history? I was but a boy back then, in school." Rubbing her face again, Leina told him quietly, "Right no - it's not about that. It's, I need to know if Anaheim had any off the books projects relating to the GUND Format. I'm conducting an investigation into a peculiar Gundam... supposedly from Mercury."

"Mercury?" Alberto sounded flabbergasted, "I don't think we had any holdings there. We..." He hushed up some, "... look Leina, GUND Format was off limits at Anaheim. Every time someone proposed funding research into it, it was killed - and not by the board."

"Syam?" Leina asked, suspicious, but Alberto answered, "... I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if the mandate came from him. Send me what you have and I'll look into it for you, discreetly, but- I really don't think it's likely to turn up anything useful."

"Thank you." Leina said, softer, "I appreciate it." Hanging it up, she began to send a few pictures of the Aerial that weren't classified, as she looked back towards the hangar, wondering aloud albeit quietly, "Could you actually be from Mercury?"

Placing a hand upon the conveyor like rail, she made ready to leave.

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "What are you doing?!"

        A voice in the background calls out, "it's off-limits!", but the words breaking through belong to a girl who can obviously break through. Suletta Mercury -- another of those countless anonymous students in their drab cool-coloured uniforms -- charges up to Leina, and she may well find her back pressed against that rail as she gets up in her face.

        She's only five-foot-seven, but she's heavy-set enough that she can still be imposing, particularly with that wild hair only kept in check by a headband and a hair-tie.

        "W--what are you doing lurking around Aerial?!" She demands, again, her voice breaking a little now she's here. "We -- we didn't do anything wrong! W-we a-a-answered all your questions! Leave her alone!"

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

It's an easy thing, with Leina so distracted, to be caught flat-footed. There's a flash of intent just before 'It's off limits!', but she's barely whipped her head around when she's knocked out of her thoughts and pushed up against the rail.

There's a momentary impact, a squeak of discomfort from her.

Suletta is easily imposing on the five foot three girl in front of her, who's athletic, but you'd be hard-pressed to call her all that muscular.

One of Leina's hands goes up, the one still holding her phone, with a picture of Aerial still showing on it. "Easy, easy!" At least until Leina remembers, her thumb blindly catching the side of it and locking the phone.

And indeed, as her security all start to move- Leina waves her hand, as if to signal them to keep observing.

Smiling affably at her, there's an almost sheepish noise, "I was checking if they played Go." Leina quips, as if it's a light joke to defuse the tension.

Even as she reaches into a pocket, and flips the little Go stone out of it, as it hovers there in mid-air in a lazy upward trajectory past the midline of Suletta's eyes.

"Look. You got arrested - interrogated - and now you're in a bad position. I get that you're scared right now. I'd be scared too! But - I don't mean you any harm, okay?"

She tries to give her a reassuring look which is perhaps hard to do given that her back is up against a wall and things look very threatening, "You're Suletta Mercury right? I'm Leina Ashta, of Cathedra's Dominicus Corps... but I'm not an auditor. I'm a pilot like you, and a student here."

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        This Cathedra woman tells Suletta to take it easy, but she's taking photos of Aerial! And it's definitely for sinister purposes, because she hides it a second later!

        "T-that's not true!" She cries, when Leina pretends she was playing Go. "Aerial wouldn't play with you, anyway!" Wait, what --

        At least Leina stops lying a moment later. She flinches, when Leina says she's scared. (It's that obvious?) Finally, she reaches out --

        -- and grabs Leina, and spins her around so that Suletta is against the rail, and she's out there on the walkway.

        (So that she's between them.)

        "I-I-I--" She starts, putting her arms out as if to shield her giant death machine from Leina's horrible reach. "I h-heard of you! M-Mr. Elan said you wanted to help, b-but you're just sneaking around t-trying to get Aerial into trouble! I knew I couldn't t-trust you! Leave Aerial alone! She's not a Gundam!"

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

There's this weird look on Leina's face of incredulity in the vein of 'Not sure if serious' in how Suletta answers in how Suletta answers to her quip.

(Ultimately she decides she's not.)

Spun around so that she's out of the way and not in fact, facing the hangar, Leina reaches out to pluck the Go stone out of the air.

Pocketing it, she gives Suletta this stare as she makes her declaration, saying Aerial isn't a Gundam, and then puts a hand on her hip even as she floats in mid-air, actually smiling a little, "Goodness sakes. Okay one second - take some deep breaths?"

Putting away her phone she clasps her messenger bag over so it won't float out, "He told you huh? Well that's fine." Leina tells her quietly, "Look... Aerial's not my focus."

She holds out her hands, making a downward motion with her palms, "Except how she relates to you. I was in a lot of trouble just a few years ago." She tries her best to calm her down, "So much trouble that I wasn't ever going to be able to go back to my life as a normal girl, ever again. I got out of that situation - but only because I had help."

It's not like she wants to tell her her whole life story, just to try and find enough common ground where she might relax enough that they can talk.

"Elan told me you want to live as a normal girl. I'm here to try and help make sure that you can. That's what I want."

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        Suletta puffs out her cheeks, defiantly, for all of two-point-eight seconds before she relents to the instructions and takes some deep breaths. She keeps her arms spread out to either side, though.

        (Her hair is still pretty impressive, for all it's been tied back, because it's not tied down. It makes her look much fiercer than she is, in the present amount of gravity.)

        "I'm n-not in a situation," Suletta insists, earnestly, eyes still on Leina. "A-Aerial and me get people out of situations!"

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina would offer to count but she's worried that Suletta will find it condescending. It's just, even if she's not a Newtype that anxiety is just unreal.

The way she responds is- well it's not unexpected, save that it absolutely is.

Almost endearingly unexpected. She far prefers it to being stonewalled, "Oh?" Leina actually smiles at her, "Well if I get back in a spot like that again, can I count on you to help me out of it?"

There is a light tease in her tone, but only very light. "It took a lot of people last time."

And then after a moment, "Hey. Would you like to go somewhere else to talk?"

She makes a motion behind her, as if to indicate that, "Of course, if you're worried - we can stay right here and you can be Hall Monitor, but I give you my word - Cathedra's not planning on doing anything with the Aerial. We can't interfere with the Council's decree."

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "That's what we do!" Suletta huffs, the lighter tone apparently going over her head.

        She scowls, watching Leina suspiciously as she offers to take her to a secondary location... but she's Suletta, so she doesn't actually realise that being taken to a secondary location is the problem here. She's just suspicious about Leina trying to get her away from Aerial.

        "I--if you really can't interfere," she says, "then -- then delete all those pictures you were taking! Delete them right now! I-I won't trust what you say until you do!" Suletta can't really stomp her foot at the moment, but she can keep herself all stretched out in front of Aerial as if she could body-block any bad vibes coming towards her robot.

        "Then... then maybe we can talk," she adds, more anxious, caught between appeasing Leina and arguing with her. "A-after you do that."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

It at least gives her food for thought about what Suletta's relationship with piloting is...

Leina looks at Suletta as she demands she deletes those pictures, feeling a little strange in this moment.

Sure it's corporate espionage that Suletta's worried about, but the vibe is- well like she's worried some Ex is going to post pictures online.

Unlocking her phone, she turns it around so Suletta can see, pulling up a zoomed in picture of Aerial's torso and head. Tapping the bottom, she hits the delete button.

It automatically brings over another, of Aerial in profile, zoomed out, and deletes it.

Then finally one more of the back, which she also deletes-

And brings up a selfie of two girls, one of them Leina, the other a blonde haired girl about the same age. Leina winking.

"Recent date." She explains, with a fond smile, before asking her, "Well?" She asks her, "Satisfied?"

Now of course, she's already sent the pictures to Alberto but, Suletta doesn't need to know that.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

"We are." She grins wide at that one, because God if that isn't just like some Yuri media she's read, Suletta responding like that, "Only a lucky few."

Suletta doesn't ask, and Leina starts to understand at least a pattern. She's not WHOLLY gullible, after all - she still doesn't trust her, but-

Suletta however says they can go, and Leina grasps the rail, still facing her as the conveyor starts to pull her away, "Anywhere you'd prefer?" She asks her, because - with tension so high she'd prefer she feel safe for this.

Leina winks at her, as if teasing, "But nah - I'm bisexual. Usually I even prefer guys and have had several serious boyfriends in the past. But Kikka's my second girlfriend... and she's really special."

Leina smiles at her, "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" She asks casually, since Suletta's response indicates she's probably mostly thinking of boys.

It's not long before Suletta and Leina roll past some individuals in suits who are still watching Suletta REAL closely.

(Suletta probably has no idea how close she was to getting tackled by four people.)

"The dating scene on Mercury feels like it'd have limited options on a mining colony that distant."

But, Leina knows there's no chance there wasn't one. People are people, after all. 'Limited' often just means dating the options you have in your age group.

Or leaving, perhaps Suletta is the latter.

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "A--anywhere is fine," Suletta cedes, because she's already caused enough trouble. Now she's not defending her machine (sister), her bravado instantly goes down ten entire notches.

        Her cheeks colour, though, when Leina asks if she's ever had a boyfriend. "N-n-n-not me! I mean, n-not yet!" She yelps, her hands lifting from the railing so she can wave them aggressively in front of her. Leina may well go sailing merrily away as Suletta stops being carried along by the conveyor, though she remembers to grab a hold of it again quickly enough.

        She doesn't even register the scowly men in suits.

        "I-I mean... t-there weren't any other people my age on Mercury... n-n-no way I could date one of the elders! T-that's not right! E-even if I wasn't w-way too young, p-p-people didn't come there to date!" Predictably, young Suletta did not hear much about the dating scandals of PebiColombo 23. Naturally, she assumes that means there were none.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

"Alright." Leina tells her, taking her hand off the rail as it stops and drags the rubber of her shoe against the wall to give some friction to slow her forward movement more.

"No?" A sympathetic look, "God. That actually sucks. It must have been real lonely."

Leina waits for her to catch up, then once she gets to the end of the rail and a corner, she expertly kicks off of it backwards towards an opposite conveyor and waits for her.

At least Suletta can probably guess she's Spacenoid born, most Earthnoids are a lot clumsier at that unless they're up in space a lot.

"But word of advice? Maybe don't rush so fast into marriage next time." It's a tease, but mostly meant to figure out her feelings on that subject. "I've dated a lot of people! But I haven't been engaged once."

A beat.

"Though - I was asked, once. Turned him down."

Once they get further down, and outside the edge of the Front to where it's actually rotating, gravity starts to reassert in the slow list of their body downwards, until her footsteps tap down, and she does a quick turn to keep up forward motion.

Blast doors slide open, and they're out under the artificial lighting of the sky, as she stretches her arms, and keeps walking.

"So- I get transferring here, but why the piloting program? You seem like a pretty incredible pilot already." Leina looks over her shoulder towards her as she asks, "I opted out myself for a different major? Though-"

She then seems like she second guesses herself, "-I guess there isn't much choice at the High School Level if you don't want to be in Management or a Mechanic?" A pause, "That doesn't interest you?"

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "I-it wasn't lonely! There were still people! N-n-not that everyone liked us..." Suletta frowns, growing downcast for a moment, before she regains her courage. "But Aerial and me took care of each other!" And -- that's an explanation for why Suletta would anthropomorphise her machine so much, isn't it? If she saw Aerial as her only friend in a colony of adults who apparently didn't always care for her...

        Her eyes widen, again, and she lets go of the rail again to wave her hands again. "T-t-t-t-t-t-that's n-n-n-n-n-not -- that's d-d-d-different! I m-m-made a promise, b-but it's not, i-i-it's not like, I-I'm not l-l-like -- I-I want to go on a l-l-lot of dates b-before I g-get married! A-and it's j-j-just because Ms. Miorine's f-father m-m-made these awful rules a-about who s-s-she's got to marry!" So, apparently, it's a marriage of convenience, not attraction.

        Apparently, Suletta sees no problem with giving up her own hope of marriage -- just to get 'married' and save Miorine from the indignity.

        (She's stammering even more than normal, of course, because it's a lie. They're not going to get married, because Suletta is going to help Miorine escape. But even Suletta knows not to tell the cops about their plan! ... sure, she didn't directly say she was going to get married to Miorine, but it's still a lie-shaped statement. Dutiful young women oughn't lie.)

        Thankfully, she manages to get all the way down to gravity again, eventually. Feet on the ground, she carries herself with all the nervous energy of a raccoon caught in the porch floodlights, hands still clasped tightly by her chest.

        "U-um," she says, ducking her head, "I-I don't know if I'd say that... I'm really very bad at the homework. I have to stay up late just to get it into my head..." Which says she's unused to schoolwork, and apparently she's decided that means she's not actually an incredible pilot. "But I'm definitely not smart enough to be on the Management track," she sighs. "Ms. Miorine showed me what she was reading, once... I didn't understand it at all."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Certainly now Leina realizes why Suletta anthropomorphizes Aerial - the girl must have been so lonely without people in her peer group.

Besides, talking to one's mobile suit, feels... more normal to her than most people, even if it's for a different reason.

"Dates with her?" Leina asks for clarification, because of course most people would expect you to date the person you're engaged to. "Ah."

Leina's steps slow and her gaze becomes, far away for a moment, "Damn." She curses then breathes out after a long moment, "I was really hoping the rumors were exaggerating, given how gossip around here is."

...

She could tell Suletta she was once in a situation where... that was likely to end in an arranged marriage but - right now she's not feeling it.

"You're really okay with marrying someone you don't love just to spare her that? ...That's very noble of you."

A beat.

"I'd just break her out."

Leina your Cathedra security is RIGHT THERE! Well not like, right beside you but following not TOO far behind.

Suletta however indicates she's bad at homework, that she has to stay up late- that she doesn't understand and, "Hm. ... Well, you just transferred in right?" She asks, it's more rhetorical as she knows the answer, "And I imagine schooling on Mercury was - a lot different right? You said you were the only one in your age group."

She tells her, and there's this, almost supportive gentleness to it, "I'm twenty two, and a first year in college. Most people are eighteen? Nineteen? When they start... but- due to the war, and being held back for a personal life crisis, I'm a little older. When I transferred in to my school on Earth back when I was eleven, I was overwhelmed, because I was so far behind - and still learning the language."

There's a smile after a moment, "If you're a hard worker, you'll catch up. So don't be so down on yourself, okay?"

Is she REALLY a cop? (Yes.)

Eventually she brings her to a courtyard, with shaded benches and vending machines, mostly just for students to congregate in to study or the like.

As she strolls up to a vending machine, as she asks another HARD HITTING QUESTION, "So - theoretically speaking, what kind of guys are you into?" Before asiding, "(Want anything?)"

Leina herself is just grabbing some canned coffee which after she badges, makes a selection.

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "N-no!" Suletta insists, immediately. "Proper dates!" Read: dates with boys. It is entirely possible that before this conversation, Suletta didn't even know bisexuals existed, and it sure doesn't sound like Mercury was particularly open to queer experiences.

        She doesn't know Leina's own history with arranged marriages, of course. She just insists, again: "I promised! It's the right thing to do!" Because of course Suletta wants to do the righ

        -- "N-n-n-n-n-n-nnn-nn-n-nn-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-- w-why would you s-say that n-n-no w-w-way w-would we ever do that w-we'd get in t-trouble no way!"

        So, yeah, judging by how wildly she waves her arms in front of herself, she's definitely planning on breaking Miorine out.

        She sighs, though, when Leina asks her about her schoolwork. "This, um, this is the first time I've been in school... there's no schools on Mercury. Mom never gave me homework..." Sure, she had plenty of things she had to learn on her own, but they weren't homework, because her mother didn't call them homework. Ipso facto.

        "But I'm not down on myself or anything!" She insists. "So you don't have to worry about me!" Is that really true?

        The vending machines...

        Suletta barely has a chance to look at them before she jumps, scrambling to hide behind one of the big blocky machines. "No! I mean! Um! I-I don't know! I-I never, um--!!" She's not very good at hiding, though. Her hair is VERY red. "S-s-so long as he's kind, t-that would be fine..."

        (Don't think about who she's called that don't think about who she's called that don't think about who she's called that)

        "N-no, I'm okay," she insists, finally, when Leina asks if she wants a drink.

        And whether she's thirsty or not is really immaterial, because the real issue at hand is that she shouldn't place a burden on a stranger.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Certainly Leina understands what she means, but unfortunately for Suletta, Leina Ashta chooses in this moment to be a bit of a brat to the girl from a traditional side of space, "What's more proper than dating your fiance~?"

She does smile at her insistence it's the right thing to do, obviously there's hope. Because most traditionalists wouldn't be open minded enough to allow being engaged to a girl.

But she smirks as Suletta waves her arms so wildly. "Uh... huh." She winks at her, "Good for you - and I'll just pretend I didn't hear anything."

She didn't hear anything!!! Except - the opposite of what Suletta was saying, she's just so endearingly open.

Suletta describes life out on Mercury, and her eyes for a moment look at her with wonder, "No schools?" Before she looks sideways as if reflecting, "... And I thought life where I grew up was hard, but we had a School. It was just... well, it wasn't the best."

She then looks at Suletta and smiles at her as she indicates she shouldn't be worried about her, "Well you might as well ask the impossible of me. ... I'm here because I am worried, that's why I wanted to meet you. Though I admit..."

She rubs the side of her head, "... my mind is a little more at ease having now spoken to you."

But only a LITTLE, she's already ruled out a bunch of worst case scenarios, some of which she's decided are too paranoid even for her. Some of which were ruled out by simple fact of her having a Mother.

(Come on, a girl from a poor mining Colony being in Luanova's situation? Not even close.)

Popping the top of her canned coffee, she gives her a look as if to say 'You're sure?' - before taking a sip, "So personality most of all." There's a knowing look, "But come on - surely there's gotta be something you're going for in the looks department, right? Like - let's say you're back on Mercury, fantasizing."

She gestures with the coffee, "What would your Prince Charming look like?"

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "B-but she's a g-g-girl!" Suletta protests, only further illustrating the latent homophobia of the sticks. (It's a different kind to the homophobia here, where everyone presumes that the marriage between women will be one of convenience instead of love, and even this is only tolerated as a temporary setback to Miorine getting a proper husband.)

        Suletta yelps when Leina insists she didn't hear anything, because she's pretty sure she's implying something and she's pretty sure it's bad and she can't figure out what it is and it's distressing and --

        Luckily, she manages to get over it. Eventually.

        "There aren't any kids on Mercury," Suletta says, and she's at least more confident talking about that. "There haven't been young people there for a long time... since we don't mine popular things on Mercury, um, not many people want to go there any more. I..." She sighs, and shakes her head. She's not gonna tell her dream to a cop.

        "W--well, don't worry about me! Don't worry!" Suletta insists, and insists again. "Really! I-I just get nervous since there's so many people..." Which is a reasonable explanation, isn't it? If she was on such a small colony, growing up...

        But Leina asks something OUTRAGEOUS, and Suletta goes red as a tomato. She doesn't answer for many moments, still hiding behind that vending machine. Eventually, the vending machine says: "Um... m-maybe someone pale? W-w-with light hair? W-w-w-would that be o-okay?"

        Now, who does that describe?

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Now - Leina normally doesn't treat homophobia with kid gloves, but Suletta's is different than what she's used to? Like way - way different.

After all she's okay with being married to Miorine in name because it's the right thing to do when most homophobes wouldn't tolerate even the idea of it.

So when she protests about her being a girl, Leina just sighs heavily, "I suppose I'll have to call my girlfriend and let her know it isn't proper..."

(Yes she's teasing, of course she is.)

But in a sense she sees it as challenging her by forcing her to confront the fact 'Two girls can date, you know they can.'

"... she'll be heartbroken of course, but what can you do?"

When Leina thinks of mining Colonies, she thinks of them like... Palau. On Palau there were at least families but Mercury is so distant and redundant that it doesn't even have that. That's... actually heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry. It's gotta be awful growing up there seeing things... dwindle like that." She gives her a sympathetic look, "I'm glad you had family there with you at least though."

Her getting nervous around crowds? Makes the most sense, "Me too, to be honest. I just - I got a better handle on it."

Now maybe it makes sense that Leina responded well to her anxiety earlier. But then - Leina does ask something outrageous!!!

And the talking Vending machine's response has her grin at first because - well, she really really is glad to have that information - but that smooths out into a smile, as she walks around the side and says softly, "Hey." It's just a light touch to her shoulder.

"There's no right answer or wrong answer to what you like. It's just your answer."

She tells her gently, then retracts her hand. Suletta is still really wound up isn't she? It might be best to give her some time and try again some other day. "So hey - I've got an afternoon class so I've gotta start heading in that direction. I really did enjoy talking to you- I'm from a poor Colony on Side 1 - and I've never met anyone from Mercury, so it was great learning more about what life is like there."

Taking a step back, she tells her, "I realize we got off on the wrong foot though. So how about this - since I think you're a nice girl with her heart in the right place, I promise I'll stay away from the Aerial unless I have your permission, fair?"

<Pose Tracker> Suletta Mercury has posed.

        "S-s-s-sorry!" Having realised that she's offended Leina, Suletta is, of course, terribly apologetic. "I-I d-d-didn't mean y-you couldn't -- um -- I-I'm sure it's v-v-very common in the Earth Sphere, right?!" Her tone just climbs higher as she waves her arms about. "I-it's just, it's not w-what I'm used to, um... n-no one back home ever... s-sorry..."

        She's not so much bigoted as ignorant, apparently. It would be hard for a girl who grew up so rurally to adjust to the idea that she has options. She was already dropped in the deep end with her fiancee!

        (Maybe it's a kindness, then, that the atmosphere of Asticassia in no way expects Suletta to act like Miorine's groom. It's telling, really, that she's described as Miorine's groom instead of Miorine's bride, isn't it?)

        "It -- it really wasn't so awful," Suletta smiles, defending Mercury as easily as she breathes. "Even though I was young, people depended on me and Aerial! We saved a lot of miners from accidents! When they'd accidentally go off-course, or there was an explosion and they couldn't get back, or their equipment malfunctioned... we were able to save a lot of lives together. Since it's very harsh, on Mercury... we're close to the Sun, so it's dangerous for humans to live there."

        They say that Prospera herself suffered from an accident; it's why she wears that mask of hers. Maybe that's why it's so important to Suletta?

        The vending machine jumps out of its skin at that touch, only to reveal -- it was Suletta the whole time!! And she blinks, with big, BIG blue eyes. "O-oh! I-I'm sorry for keeping you!" Leina wanted to talk to Suletta. "B-but -- p-please do stay away from Aerial," she adds, looking down. "You're nicer t-than some of t-those people, I guess... b-but I don't trust you not to hurt her. Aerial's my family..."

        ... and a girl in a place so remote, depending on her machine to save people's lives, may well have ended up thinking of that machine as family. It's a little sad, but...

        "G-good luck at class, Ms. Leina!" Suletta yelps, before she runs off with an exaggerated, high-kneed jog.

        Before Leina can go back on her word.