2024-09-13: The Beginning of 'Nadesico's War'

• Log: The Beginning of 'Nadesico's War'
• Cast: Ruri Hoshino, Eight Orlodhari, Ryoko Subaru, Hikaru Amano, Yurika Misumaru, Lucine Azul, Liam 7-020, Alto Saotome, Kaworu Nagisa, Rin Naujakaite, Rena Lancaster, Anita Rosetta, Erina Kinjo Won, Nagare Akatsuki
• Where: The Nadesico, Magallanica
• Date: 2024-09-13
• Summary: Erina lets Eight in on her villainous schemes. A hundred years ago, the First Lunar Independence War didn't go the way the history books told them... and Nergal always knew that the Jovians are fighting a war of revenge. Thanks to Mr. Prospector and Ruri, both Eight and Yurika's people know now, too -- and in the wake of such a devastating information leak, Erina is forced to release everyone from their NDA. There's no keeping this under wraps any more.

---

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        A shadowy room on the Nadesico hosts a trio of executives; an old man in an olive suit, and younger bucks, one in black and one in tan. (All wear ties, to a man.) To the other side of the table stands Goat Hoary, a head taller than anyone else in the room, and Erina Kinjo Won; in front of a broad screen, the only light flickering out of the room, stands Mr. Prospector. Unlike Goat's olive military coat and Erina's Nadesico uniform, he wears the accoutrements of the accountant: a red vest over a yellow shirt, tie as purple as his hair and wiry moustache, and a pair of square glasses which glint in that light as he reaches up to adjust them.

        "They seem to be completely focused on the destruction of Earth," Mr. Prospector says, as the recordings of Junius Seven play across the screens again. He folds his hands behind him, bowing slightly at the waist. "Well, let's see... if they were human beings, they would want revenge."

        And Erina's short, bobbed black hair catches the light, just like his glasses. "This is no time to sulk!" Erina berates him, a hand to her hip. "Our current worry is to cement our boson jumping capabilities."

        Mr. Prospector doesn't turn, though he acknowledges: "The Third Reclamation of Mars..."

        Erina slaps her hand on the table, a hand to her hip again. "Since cooperation between Magallanica and Nergal has yielded fantastic results, the chairman wishes that our original objectives be put back into focus. In any case, boson jump experimentation requires massive amounts of CCs, which can only be found on Mars!" She speaks quickly, and she speaks harshly, as if it's a great infringement that her co-workers refuse to keep up with her.

        "The company, the company, the company!" Mr. Prospector exclaims, as he unfolds his hands from behind his back, one reaching up to rub at his head; it's not an expression of frustration which lasts for long, as he folds them again and turns to finally face Erina and the others instead of that screen. "... of course, I'm not one to talk like that," he assures them, still bent slightly forward.

        "All of humanity is hoping for the successful retaking of Mars!" Erina berates him, taking a step forward and glaring daggers. "It's proof enough that even a goofy crew like them went this far for the sake of Mars!"

        Mr. Prospector straightens up, fixing her with a dismal expression; his frown is restrained, and so is his tone. "But will they follow our lead even after they've learned the truth?"

        ... this should be a private meeting -- but when Eight Orlodhari asks Omoikane where Erina is, he's feeling spiteful enough to lose the data packet specifying that she shouldn't be locatable right now.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

Eight Orlodhari is on the Nadesico today. Admiral Orlodhari, that is--because she's here on serious business, she is wearing her uniform, and strides through the corridors of the ship with a determined confidence. There's a lot going on lately; the talk of war approaching, the business in Orb... And, of course, the NDA from Nergal. The matter that she's been waiting to discuss for some time, and has gotten tired of waiting about.

'Cooperation between Magallanica and Nergal'.

The 'truth'...

Eight asks Omoikane where Erina is, when she's looking for her. "Thank you," she says to Omoikane, and then strides down to the meeting room--

The doors open. "Ms. Won," Eight says, stepping inside with a formal cast to her demeanor. That's one of the ways to tell that Eight is serious; looking at her would be sufficient, though.

"We need to talk."

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Admiral," Goat says, turning to her. "This is a private meeting --"

        "No, no," Erina says, stepping forward. "If she wants to talk, then let's talk! I'll let you in on our little scheme... woman to woman."

        Why does she look so sinister, saying that?

        Not here, though. Not with the executives. She leads Eight down to a spare set of quarters -- and Eight will note just how spartan they are. Regulation sheets, nothing on the floor; there are some prints hanging on the walls, but they're of delicate pink flowers, entirely fitting for the Nadesico's decor. It's cosy, but very 'default'.

        Erina takes a seat. There is only one chair.

        "You see, Admiral," Erina explains, folding one leg over the other, "Nergal has always known that the Jovians were human beings. Certain figures in the military knew, as well."

        There's not much time for her to react to that -- before a pilot steps inside.

        "This is no good," Nagare Akatsuki, the Nadesico's resident womaniser, smirks. He's sidled in from the doorway, and he leans on the wall, now, as he interjects himself into the conversation. "Bringing the Admiral back to private quarters, Erina? People will talk... ah, but I'm interrupting women's gossip, aren't I?"

        Why is Nagare -- a mere pilot of the Nadesico -- interrupting this private meeting?

        Erina leans forward, and cups her hand over Eight's ear, whispering something soft enough that perhaps the ship would talk.

        And that's when --

-----------------------------
|/!\ Intrusion into private |
|    circuits is forbidden. |
-----------------------------

        'FORBIDDEN' is written in a big red circle on the screen, underneath.

        "Oh, my," Mr. Prospector exclaims, sitting at his console on the bridge. He sighs, straightening up, hands lifting from the keyboard. "Modern protection systems are such a pain for this old man." He's selling his own capabilities a little short -- but Erina's security still seems to have thwarted him.

        Because, you see, there are security cameras all over the Nadesico -- and from the Nadesico's bridge, he was trying to access those cameras, specifically.

        "There is a way to access the privacy lockout," Ruri Hoshino, their teenaged Operator, says, with her usual bored expression.

        "I say, modern girls are really something!" Mr. Prospector exclaims, looking over to her. "We can't have a secret on this ship, can we..?"

        Ruri looks to him, her brow arching, still stoic but now more engaged. "Devious, aren't you?" She asks him, as she sits down at the console, placing her IFS-tattooed hands down on the screen. A data bowl erupts around her -- an entire circular vortex of screens, all reading out different information.

        "You certainly are something!" Mr. Prospector exclaims, as he watches her. (Worth every gold bar, is it...? Well, don't worry too much about that.)

        Some people, on the Nadesico's bridge, will see Ruri's efforts; others, spread throughout the ship, or on the Ra Mari II dwarfing it in Magallanica's hangars, will be occupied with their own tasks. Who could know what kind of conversation is happening in the Nadesico at this moment...?

        ... well, for some reason, Mr. Prospector seems to want them to know. Perhaps, with Ruri's help, he'll get his wish; but right now, everyone's surely wrapped up in their own lives.

        Everyone's always in the middle of something, when news like this strikes.

<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.

"I told you, don't worry about it!" Ryoko yelled at a member of the Nadesico hangar crew, "I'm picking up extra duties for overtime!" As she stacked another crate from their Magallanica resupply on a Mag Lift.

"But it's literally my job-!" He protested, as Ryoko wiped the sweat from her brow and thumbed towards the control room, "Take a break on me then!" The befuddled member of the hangar crew finally commented, "Well alright."

Uribatake, with his feet ALREADY up on the console, as he read one of his 'magazines' for the 'articles' grinned at the other member as he came in, "Just set aside your pride and let her do it. She's been a godsend around here when it comes to all the grunt work nobody wants to do." He waggles his eyebrows at him, "Rumor is, she's picking up all the overtime because she's got a man."

"Wait her? You think?"

"I don't just think. A mature guy like me knows." Uribatake replied, adjusting his glasses. "Then who is it?" The other member of the hangar crew asked, and Uribatake looks away, scratching his chin, "Wellllllll..."

He grins sheepishly, "... I asked about who's making an honest woman of her and..." The other guy leans in, "And?" He turns his head to look back at him, showing the other side of his face which is swollen from a goose egg, "She socked me right in the jaw."

"Harassment." Came a word, that caused Uribatake to almost fall out of his chair, at the grinning face of Izumi Maki, "In the workplace. An accusation. A report. A call to your wife. 'Her ass meant' nothing to me..."

Seiya stared at her in utter horror, as Izumi waited, the silence stretching onward. "I'm not calling her." He finally reported, as she replied without missing a beat, "There's mortal life than marital bliss."

Ryoko's in the middle of loading another create from the resupply when, the holo screen comes on in front of her...

"Eh?"

She stops in the middle of work for a moment, to look at the screen, as if expecting orders from the bridge, then squints, and cranes an ear.

Before she realizes JUST HOW HEAVY this crate is to just keep holding it over and straining, waddles the rest of the way to set it down, panting as she does it, "Something... screwy about the comms...?"

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

Rena Lancaster is in the Ra Mari II's hangars, at the moment. She is standing with a mechanic before the Gaia Gear Alpha, Svipul, and other machines. The datapad that she is looking at, right now, shows the various readouts for their suits.

"Seems like we'll be at full fighting strength again soon," Rena says. Her eyebrows knit. "But we're definitely going through resources. We'll need to ask Magallanica to ramp up construction of ammunition and spare parts."

She sighs. "No rest for the wicked, huh? I--"

Then, the datapad changes over; it shows the screen that Ruri directed. "What in the...?"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin Mei Naujakaite had come in order to convey... data.

Some of it was probably a request, through the established friendly relations between the VTX Union group of companies and Nergal, in order to do some kind of 'second opinion' debugging on anomalous behavior in the logic blocks of her drone buddies. Omoikane could be considered a 'trusted third party,' after all, even if initial checks found no clear explanation for the anomalous behavior. Maybe it was just a stack overflow, or some kind of processor lag because of the unusual environment, the plasma fire from the -

- the, you know, the colony -

Anyway: Rin also has left a thumb drive containing a series of completely legitimate .iso and .wad files when going up to the bridge to confirm her access credentials with the primary sysop, one R. Hoshino. But now...

She's been sitting in the canteen. Poking at a datapad. And...

Her eyebrow lifts when something else comes on. At that exact moment, she had her mouth full of tonkatsu, so she makes no remark, but she does stop chewing for a moment.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Kaworu doesn't have much business aboard the Nadesico these days--but 'much' isn't the same as 'none.' Omoikane and Ruri are still his friends, and it's only natural to come pay one's friends a visit on occasion. That there's any kind of secret discussions going on at the same time is surely a coincidence.
        
        He's waiting to be allowed to see them at present. "Them" is a loose term; after all, he doesn't expressly ask for Omoikane, with whom he can casually converse regardless of where in the Nadesico he is. But Omoikane seems busy at the moment regardless, and so is Ruri. Kaworu thus waits patiently in one of the lounges, hands tucked in his pockets.
        
        There is a change in the air. Kaworu looks up, just before the lounge screen comes to life.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        "See, the thickness of the paper is important. Too thin and it'll tear or not keep its shape. Too thick and the folds won't be precise enough to-"

        Alto pauses his explanation mid-fold of his current paper airplane when the bridge door opens and Mr. Prospector walks in. Alto is here because he once promised Ruri to teach her a bit about folding paper airplanes. And an escort mission had brought him to this general area of the Earth Sphere, giving him the opportunity to follow through.

        As a result, there are already several paper airplanes strewn about the Nadesico's large bridge where they had been demonstratively been thrown. Alto doesn't seem to care that he's been caught out by one of the more higher management types on the ship. It's not like the Nadesico is currently in the middle of a mission or anything.

        Thankfully Mr. Prospector seems distracted, heading over to a console. Glad that it's not being made into a big deal or anything, Alto continues folding, "The folds need to be precise for every one or otherwise you'll start to get misalignments."

        The demonstration continues before it is interrupted again, this time with an 'Oh, my' from the direction of the bridge's new arrival. Quickly figuring out that something is going on, Alto gives up on his lesson for now and just goes to lean against Ruri's desk, watching as events play out. He definitely doesn't seem to care that the two are currently bypassing so-called 'privacy lockouts'. He's used to a certain lack of privacy on a warship. And he's not surprised by Ruri's skill with the Nadesico's systems.

        Of course the two probably know that Alto wouldn't think much of it, which is why they continue.

        Soon enough, the lockout is bypassed and a screen pops up showing a conversation between... Well, that's an odd collection of people. What are they talking about? Alto glances between the others on the bridge, before starting to watch in interest.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Rena isn't the only one in the Ra Mari II's hangars. Anita is there, too, currently in a mechanic's jumpsuit with her goggles pulled down over her eyes with her head and left arm. She's at the top of a mechanic's wheeled ladder braced against the Svipul, buried into a panel on the Variable Fighter as she performs some tune-ups. The Svipul is lucky - since it was held back from the big battle, it only suffered minimal damage. Still, there's some things that still need to be fixed up. Her left sleeve is rolled up, revealing her prosthetic arm - the fingers of which have opened to reveal that today's arm is a full toolbox in its own right, currently being put to use to finish up the Svipul's tune-up. But just as she's about to finish up...

Haro, sitting on the ladder next to her, bobbles and his eyes light up.

"Anita! Incoming transmission! Incoming transmission!" Haro announces, eyes flashing. Anita pauses, pulling her head out of her VF - then lifts her goggles away from her eyes, moving to pick up her Haro.

"Huh? What's up, Haro?" Anita asks. His mouth opens up to reveal the screen on the inside of his body. Anita blinks - and then, leaps off the ladder, approaching Rena.

"Hey, Rena, something's -" Anita starts, then pauses, as she sees Rena with her datapad out. "Oh, you're getting it too, huh? Something must be up..."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

"Ryoko really has been working extra hard today..." Muses Hikaru, who isn't particularly working all that hard herself today. "But why would it have anything to do with a guy?" Not that Hikaru doesn't think Ryoko would be a great catch, but she also knows her self-confidence isn't even getting her past the starting base...

She kind of just visibly sighs when Uribatake starts explaining himself, as if there's some visible tension, and then she grins again. "Oooh, that must have hurt! But you kind of deserved it, too." She scratches the back of her head.

Izumi's puns get the usual reaction out of her - a groan that suggests they're so bad they're good."Uri-pea's really good at building model kits... but I guess he isn't a model husband." She blinks, then, noticing the screen change. "Oh, that's super weird. Either we're under attack... or Ruri-chan's flexing her skills again."

She adjusts her glasses. "Let's find out~!"

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine has been in a foul mood ever since she got back to work at the Nadesico. While she's recovered just fine from whatever injury left her comatose on the Ra Mari II, she still took those sick days, spending them in her and Liam's apartmentm regardless of whether or not Liam would be there as well.

        It all worked out. She got to meet Shinji. They had a little talk about secrets, and being frustrated. Lucine didn't want Shinji to feel like she did, so she let him in on something relating to him. Because, screw NERV, screw Nergal, screw all of those people who don't care about the lives they've affected.

        After all, Lucine supposes, if Nergal was that quick to lay down a NDA, it's because they likely knew ahead of time. For how long? Who knows. Probably sometime after the invasion of Mars. They let it be a secret, and they're still going to do so, as people start pointing fingers for the colony drop disaster.

        Most of the crew of the Nadesico, however, is not at fault, and Lucine knows it well. While some hearts and minds are less readible than others (Nagare seems particularly unreadable, but she's not sure she wants to show any indication that he may interpret as romantic interest), she'd trust the main crew (as well as a few former crewmates) in a heartbeat, and then some.

        Everyone's trying their best, day by day.

        So, it means Kaworu isn't the only person from NERV that's here: there's also Liam, being Lucine's assistant in the greenhouse.

        ".... Let me know if they call you in. Shuffling plants around is... not the same as protecting against Angels," she says to Liam, her face buried between some tomato stalks. "... The automatic system has some hiccups still. ... Can't see what went wrong, though..." She's been here a day already and the plants aren't responding like they usually do when she comes back.

        Something tugs at her attention, and she pulls her head out, moments before the window pops up. "... Please don't let it be an attack," she groans, low enough that only Liam can hear her. Thankfully, the microphone icon is crossed out-- the call is one way only. ".... Weird. Did someone sit on the intercom button again...?" A yellowed tomato leaf is still attached to her hair, but Lucine's not in the mood to care.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Lucine has been given a clean bill of health, but Liam came with her to the Nadesico anyway. This might be the last time they get to be together for... a while, given the current political climate, and he doesn't want to pass up this chance.

        Liam--dressed in a grey jumpsuit and space-ready utility boots--hefts a fifty-pound sack of fertilizer from a pile atop the pallet jack, and tucks it under his arm. He peers over Lucine's shoulder at the plants. His face curls into a thoughtful frown. "What's the problem?" he says. Everything looks more or less okay to him. "Did you check the log?"

        Liam sets the sack down next to one of the intakes for the hydroponics system, and pulls out a multitool from his pocket. A delicate, precise cut lays open the corner of the bag. Liam picks it up again, and pours it into the intake, shaking it a little to keep the flow even.

        '...Please don't let it be an attack...'

        "...What?" Liam blinks. He sets the bag down, and walks over, peering curiously over his beloved's shoulder. "Admiral York? And isn't that Ms. Won with her?" He doesn't recognize the man who just walked in, beyond 'a pilot he's seen around'.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Yurika's #1 solution to the difficulties of a crisis' aftermath has, become, ironically enough, getting to be a bit of a menial workaholic.

        Once upon a time, she would've -complained- about the whole 'it's your duty to conduct a hundred different funerals', but now, it's almost a relief. It's simple and fulfilling wishes where company and political politics can be a dizzying nightmare she's rarely part of.

        In this case, Yurika's busying her hands hauling in some supplies for Lucine's greenhouse! "Have you - are you feeling okay, Lucine?? I heard that you fell unconscious and I was worried sick - maybe more worried sick than about anything else, which might be a little weird...well, you're usually sort of a reliable lighthouse type to think about...!"

        The captain's voice is a little bit fast and hasty, tripping over her own words a little bit - and Yurika catches herself once she drops off a small bag of soil in the greenhouse cabinet. "Sorry, I'm...a little nervous. Maybe I've been pushing it too hard with things that don't have much to do with me ever since the Junius Seven business...is it selfish to only want to think of anything else right now?"

        ...A strange window into a call beeping on Yurika's device makes her curious - peeping in on barely-heard sentences from Erina. Whenever something odd happens in a computery way...

        On her -other- phone, in a private line to Ruri, Yurika texts, <...are we seeing something we shouldn't thanks to you? Or should I be a little more worried?>

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        No wonder Ruri looks as if Mr. Prospector interrupted her in the middle of something important -- she was clearly in the middle of something important. Her own paper airplanes... well, they're getting better.

        She even managed to hit Minato in the back of the head with one!

        She pauses her soaring to go diving instead, though, swimming in her data bowl. Here, fishy, fishy...

        "All done," Ruri reports, still quite stoic. Omoikane's warning, on screen, is replaced by the live feed again. She enters in a message to Yurika, without even really needing to type: <Mr. Prospector wanted everyone to see something, Captain. As for us, we were hard at work doing nothing much. The only trouble is my paper air plane, right now.>

        "I'll get straight to the point," Erina says, on the screen. On everyone's screen. Unbeknownst to her, she's now being broadcast live throughout the Nadesico and the Ra Mari II, the Nadesico's holographic screens popping up in every room for everyone to see. Since Eight's on the screen, it's only natural to transmit the messages next door, too, isn't it? "The Jovian Lizards are actually those who were banished from Earth, one hundred years ago. A certain incident that's been wiped clean from our history textbooks... the people of the Moon."

        "After getting burned by the independence movement that sprung up in the autonomous districts of the Moon," Nagare explains, "the nations which would become the Earth Federation infiltrated the movement. They orchestrated a breakup of the movement into two camps, the authoritarians and those seeking reconciliation, and manipulated a vicious purge between the two."

        The First Lunar Independence War...

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

Eight has been busy. And so has the MDF; there's been a lot of work happening, a lot of gathering up their forces in preparation for... something. That's part of why Eight hasn't managed to track down Erina before today.

Goat turns to Eight, but even Goat can't dissuade Eight today. She's insisting. As it turns out, though, she barely has to; Erina answers her. "...Woman to woman, is it?" she asks.

Eight follows along. She walks into the room, looking around at the very 'default' chambers Erina occupies. Spartan indeed. She's not just someone who acts focused on work.

Eight doesn't lean against the wall; she just stands, waiting.

"...You--" They knew all along. And suddenly, there is...

Eight sighs at Nagare. "Mr. Akatsuki," she says. "I'm not in the mood right now."

...But that whisper--

Eight's reaction is not seen on the screen but for a widened eye.

The feed continues. Eight is still standing, but now her arms are crossed and she's frowning.
Erina gets to the point. Eight frowns, but waits for it. "Banished?" Eight wonders. She remembers, of course, "What we learned in history class is that the people of the authoritarian camps died. What few remained ran out of supplies and perished."

"...It was the last war of the old era. I remember paying attention. War was a subject that caught my interest for obvious reasons."

"...But why keep this from everyone...?"

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

Rena looks up at the Svipul -- and the open panel, with Anita inside of it -- and blinks her eyes up at her. "Yeah, I'm getting it," Rena says. "If we both are, Annie, that makes me wonder."

She soon gets an idea of why, as Erina explains. Rena's eyes widen for a moment -- then she heads closer to Anita, so they can watch the same screen. Her eyes look up towards her, for a moment.

"I wonder if it's Ruri," she says, in a quiet voice. "Since it's Omoikane, and..."

It seems like the sort of thing Ruri might do.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Kaworu doesn't interrupt Ruri or Omoikane's work. He does send them both a ping to let them know he's aware and paying attention--perhaps not necessary, but it's always nice to let your friends know you're appreciating their efforts.
        
        His expression doesn't change as the screen displays Erina and Nagare's explanation of the true nature of the Jovians, and Eight's of what was recorded in the history books instead. His hands remain tucked in his pockets; he remains standing in his spot. He does, eventually, look over towards Rin and her to-go burger.
        
        "What do you think of this?" he wonders conversationally. They aren't acquainted, but even so.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        "Hmm... So they already knew..." Alto murmurs as the context of the conversation is quickly revealed. He goes back to folding his paper airplane quietly, but still listening in as the details are revealed.

        A hundred years ago, before the Universal Century calendar. Alto vaguely recalls the Lunar Independence War from school. History wasn't exactly his strong suit, neither is politics so he only knows the basics at most. Still, he comments to the others on the bridge, "Forced from their homes for wanting independence... Banished to Jupiter... No wonder they're pissed."

        "Though I wonder how they managed to survive out there? I doubt the Federation's predecessors would have gifted them with much in the way of colony ships." Not that they would have had much like back then anyway.

        Alto doesn't say anything to the Admiral's last question though as he folds the wings of his latest plane. Just sounds like typical cover-up history writing to Alto.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

They don't seem to be under attack, which is probably a relief, but as a pilot on the Nadesico, it's not every day you get a meeting between Nergal's top executive and the Admiral of Terminal herself, leaked right in front of your eyes. Hikaru has a feeling her hunch was right - that this really is Ruri's doing. But...

"A hundred years ago... wow, so right before the Universal Century was even a thing." Hikaru isn't exactly well read enough about history to know there was ever a Lunar Independence War in the first place. "So they didn't even come from Jupiter at all? They were... what, Lunarians?" Hikaru asks, as if it's disappointing to know they aren't ACTUAL human aliens, which they ALSO know exist now. "Well, I guess they're from Jupiter now. And they're making it everyone's problem."

She turns to her companions in the room - particularly Ryoko, even as she's working. "What do you guys think? Isn't this kinda weird? Why does Nergal care so much about making us keep our mouths shut about something from a hundred years ago?" A beat. It's kind of familiar, after all. "Geez, and that one jerk and his stupid box was bad enough..."

"And hey! What's he doing there, talking like he knows everything?" She points, meaning Nagare Akatsuki, of course, ordinary pilot by all accounts. Who does he think he is, the CEO of Nergal?

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Kaworu might notice that when Rin saw what was happening on the screen, she moved with abnormal haste and precision. After gulping down the burger, she sat upright sharply and turned to face the main screen, while also reaching over to click something on her tablet. (A screen recorder. Of course she has that stuff. She has sent Amies and Meryl multiple videos of Star Cats gameplay.)

Someone speaks. Kaworu! Rin looks at him. Her posture relaxes slightly. "... Well the implications are profound," she continues, looking back at the screen and away from the pale boy. "Insanely profound. Like I mean come the fuck on how the hell do they even do that. I guess maybe they --"

Rin frowns. Her brow knits.

"How could you have some kind of plan like that?" Rin says in mild incredulity. "Because instantly I think -- the Zeon and everything -- maybe it's just, a playbook they used again. That's what it has to be. Or it was just an or-- no," Rin continues. Her head tilts downwards.

"The orbital colonies got too powerful. That has to be it. Their technical base was cruder back then, like they were still getting fusion under control... the Lunarians couldn't have resisted - I shouldn't speculate," Rin concludes.

("Hi! I'm Rin," she adds after, with a little wave. She picks up the burger and takes a larger, more brisk bite out of it with her non-waving hand. At least she's not completely demolished at this news, though despite the moment of cheer, her face still looks grave.)

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Yeah..." Anita frowns, brow furrowing for a moment. "Someone wants us to see this."

Familiar faces appear on the screen. Erina Kinjo Won, Eight, and... Anita stares at the screen for a moment, confused.

"Who's - oh wait, I think I remember him." Anita says aloud. She knows he's one of the Nadesico's pilots, but he isn't one she's worked with a lot.

...She frowns, though, as the conversation continues - and as Rena moves to join her so they can watch from the same screen, Anita shifts Haro over so Rena can get a better look, too.

And as the news come out...

"...The hell." Anita says. Her tone is characteristically calm - but she has to try very hard to keep the anger off her face.

Infiltration and destruction of an independence movement... it hits pretty close to home for her.

"...Different name, same MO, huh? Again and again. Damn thing keeps playing on loop." Anita mutters.

Anita breathes out to calm herself down, looking over Rena's way at her question.

"...Yeah, probably. Can't think of anyone else who could pull this off." Anita says.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        "... Yeah, I did. I think I made it worse when I fiddled with things." Lucine sighs, wiping her hands on her special Nergal uniform, which is... some repurposed mechanics' clothing in the appropriate colors, with a badge slapped on. "It's not that they're *dying*, but... they're just... fine." Much like the plants in Liam and Lucine's apartment were 'just fine' when she was dealing with issues she wasn't allowing herself to speak up about. Except, in that case, the difference wasn't noticed by Lucine. Here, she notices, and it bothers her to no end.

        So, naturally, she's going to obsess over it until it gets fixed, because it's better than fuming!

        Yurika's help, as well as her usual bright busyness, keeps Lucine on track as well, much like the antics of the Nadesico's own Angels (the good kinds). "... Yeah, it was... Newtype, sort of things." Lucine's expression softens, as she turns towards Yurika. "... I'm sorry I had to leave you guys. The combination of what happened, and learning about..." Her expression tenses. Can they even talk about it among each other? "... It was tough for all of you too." She pauses, as Yurika reveals a little bit about herself. "... It's okay, I think you're not alone there. We all are. But... don't overdo it, Captain. You're a lighthouse yourself, especially now that... well, we know you always have your heart in the right place." But not Nergal.

        And they're about to know a little more about why, looks like. ".... Yeah. And that's Nagare," Lucine adds, for Liam's sake. "One of the pilots. Joined after the Nadesico got back from Mars, about..." She looks to Yurika, to see if she remembers. "... Was it... really that long ago? I... never got to know him much, to be honest. Too flirty for my tastes. Decent pilot, though... But why's he there?" She's not in the same room as them, so she can't tell if they even know there's a feed going around. It *feels* that way, though.

        ".... The... First Lunar Independence War, right...?" Lucine murmurs. Why did everything go back to something that happened on Earth, or its moon? She never paid as much attention to those history modules. Eight, thankfully, says what Lucine was *supposed* to know. "Those were the Jovian Lizards...? How long did they know this?" Lucine's gaze sharpens.

        ... And Nagare fills in more. "Okay, but what's this got to do with Mars?! And why the drones? Where they too chickenshit to come out and attack people themselves until it was Earth?!" she asks, then self-consciously coughs, looking aside to Liam and Yurika. "... sorry."

<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.

"H-Hey it's not like that." Uribatake swivels the chair around and sits up at Hikaru's statement about him being a model husband, ruffled but recovering, "Besides this isn't about my marriage anyway!"

"A story, a narrative... A plot with holes." Izumi says solemnly, of the fate of Seiya Uribatake, which Seiya barrels past to address Hikaru, "Well what else does a single young gal like her need to work so much overtime for?"

He scratches his head thoughtfully, "She's never complained about having bills, or family - or well, much of anything personal? It's gotta be a man. It's been some time, so of course she's moved on from Tenkawa by now..."

Soon enough however, all of their attentions are consumed by...

What comes over the comms on live feed, Ryoko looks at the screen, as Erina, Erina tells the story, and at first she looks at it in bovine incomprehension before...

Ryoko-chan, I don't think you have any idea of what Earth did to my people. You don't even realize who they are, after all.

She feels like she can't breathe for a few moments, Erina, Nergal - they knew all along the Jovian Lizards were people... people oppressed by Earth... people who came back to take revenge.

Abruptly, violently, Ryoko slams her knuckles hard enough into the mag lift to rattle the crates, but not much more, because she definitely just broke her hand again.

It takes her a few moments to realize Hikaru is speaking to her. "What's it matter, anyway?" She finally she replies angrily, because all this time, she thought at least fighting the Jovian Lizards - that it was just non-human, alien things.

When instead it was people like her, fighting for a cause like she used to.

"What's even really changed?" She says, eyes distant, massaging her hand, thinking of every conflict among people - Spacenoids, Earthnoids - Coordinators, Naturals.

That the world couldn't let her have this reprieve? It's just a matter of course.
That she'd been had again? Well, of course. It's like Ruri always says.

She's just a fool.

The question about Nagare though, she gives Hikaru a puzzled look, "Eh?" Her eyes go blank as she looks at the screen, at him, realizing he knew too, "I thought he just snuck in to hit on the Admiral..."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        "Captain," Liam says, offering Yurika a brisk nod as she enters the greenhouse. The half-empty bag of fertilizer rests by the intake, but Liam is no longer as interested in attending to it. "...Everyone's nervous," he adds, after a moment. "It's not just you."

        Lucine apologizes for taking leave. "Don't," says Liam, and he rests a hand on her shoulder. "You did what you needed to." The cyborg's gaze focuses on the screen again--Nagare's face, specifically. "Then why's he there?" Liam says, pointing to him. His expression grows stonier as Erina explains. She hasn't even given Eight a place to sit. She obviously thinks she's in charge, here. Liam's hands begin to tighten.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Yurika's instinct, when Liam and Lucine start talking about the streamed material, is to peek over their shoulders at -their- screens, before realizing, right, it's on her tablet too. "...Well, what we're seeing here is...something we -ought- to be seeing, whether or not we're -supposed- to." When it comes to being in the know, Yurika -does- trust Ruri's judgment...maybe slightly more than her own?

        ...The bombshell drops. Yurika's eyes narrow. So the "Jovian Lizards" were a cover-up story for yet another messy political dispute...

        "Ugh. Iii...I sometimes wondered where this 'Jovian Lizard' thing came from, after all. It's not like alien attacks are new, so I kept wondering, why would these ones be so shady about what they are, why did that story stick so much against a pretty unknown enemy...mn. Well, I thought they were just weird suspicions of mine. Like I'd be a crazy person if I was too loudly all, 'There's no way there's lizard aliens from Jupiter, right?'"

        ...Yurika makes a bit of a jokey voice about it, but afterwards, what should be a sigh turns into a much more fuming noise, one of those boiling, guttural not-quite-a-scream-but-would-be-if-you-could-get-away-with-it. After all, much as she'd like to say 'it's just another nonsense political story', it's one that razed her home planet. It's one that scarred the heart of the first boy she fell in love with. Knowing that naming the perpetrators would incriminate the world's governments, knowing it happened out of some sense of vengeance from exiles...

        Her hand falls on Lucine's shoulder in understanding. It really isn't hard to feel that there's a rare boiling -anger- in Yurika's heart, hot enough that it may even scorch the delicate leaves in the greenhouse. "...I'm really glad you're such a patient type of person, Liam. ...this is probably an unpleasant thing for the two of us to hear, after all."

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "I don't think Earth-san would have treated them that well," Ruri agrees, with Alto, as she watches the screens. Largely, she watches quietly; but she's bothered, by it all.

        "Hahahaha!" Nagare laughs on screen, merrily, leaning on Erina's chair. (Is Erina really the one in charge, here? She's certainly the one sitting comfortably.) "You paid close attention to everything they wanted you to know, Admiral. Congratulations!"

        "In fact," Erina cuts in, though her own smile could cut through steel, "those precursors to the Federation were deeply involved in the civil war. You're right about one thing," and only her lips move, "they were forcefully banished. Everyone who refused to accept the presence of the Earth nations... was no longer welcome on the Moon."

        "Those who made peace," Nagare adds, smirking, "they were allowed to stay. They rose Copernicus City, and no one asked where the other Lunarians went."

        "They told you they died," Erina says, "but don't you think that's convenient? No. They went to Mars, and then the asteroid belt, and finally to Jupiter. THE END," she enunciates, two single English words in the middle of her sharp Japanese.

        "The governments erased all record of their existence," Nagare adds, a hand on his hip. "It was one of the first projects which the progenitor nations of the Federation all cooperated on. From Shanghai to Pendragon, everyone agreed: they never even existed."

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

Eight gives Nagare an annoyed look; she's sharper than usual today. But she doesn't waste words on it, instead looking back to Erina. Everyone who refused to accept the pressence of Earth nations...

"I see," Eight answers. It does seem like the kind of business the Earth Federation would get up to, admittedly; there's sight of her brooding about it for a few moments.

"Mars, is it?" Eight asks. "Well out of our way. In theory. But why didn't they stay on Mars, then?"

"If it's just an old enemy being inconvenient, it seems like a lot of trouble, a lot of difficulty to bring everybody onto the same page."

"So why did they seal the records?"

Hardly 'the end' from Eight's perspective. But her hand twitches, for those who are perceptive.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "It's true that they could have settled on Mars," Nagare says. "But all we've found -- the Distortion Fields, the Phase Transition Cannons, the Chulip Crystals -- all these miraculous artifacts were only on Mars. Or so we thought," he adds, laughing all too good-naturedly.

        "Earth couldn't let the Lunarians take Mars," Erina explains, sharper. "Even though colonisation had already begun, it would be disasterous to let them claim it. So the governments sent nuclear warheads to chase them away... and so the story goes with the asteroids. They were simply too close for comfort -- they might have told their story. To cover it up, and keep the Earth running smoothly, the Lunarians were driven further and further away. Earth killed many of them, in the process... but not all of them."

        "We couldn't have guessed what they'd find there," Nagare chuckles, shrugging a shoulder. "We thought the only source of those artifacts was on Mars... but there were plants by Jupiter. Something of a Phase Transition Engine factory... a relic from ancient times."

        "The Phase Transition Engine," Erina lists, "unmanned weapons such as the Grasshoppers and Jiros, the Chulips..."

        "When they found those plants on Jupiter, they built their own nation-state," Nagare answers Alto's concerns about those colony ships, without even realising he has. (He doesn't know he's on air, even though he evidently knows much, more more than the airheaded pilot everyone took him for.) "That's why they are attacking us."

        He pauses, just so.

        "For revenge."

        Erina lets that sit, for a moment. But she presses: "Now you know the truth, I'm sure you see why there's no need to disclose this, Admiral." Surely Eight will be reasonable.

        Surely it's only up to Eight.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

"...So they couldn't let them have Mars because of the technology you knew was there. But even if it weren't there, it would be allowing their enemy a new stronghold. Yeah, it makes sense. Corrupt sense." He's laughing, but Eight isn't.

"Nuclear warheads, on people?" Eight asks. "...The more things change, the more they stay the same. They killed them to silence it. And you knew."

"Pity they couldn't murder all of them," Eight says darkly. "It's this, all over again. And the same kind of people are making the same kind of decisions. Again, and again."

But her anger--clear enough, especially to Rena who may even feel it--is interrupted--by... the plants by Jupiter.

"...So they 'found' this technology. And your old enemies came back to roost." Their own nation-state...

"The hell I do," Eight answers Erina, though her voice isn't raised. She sounds perhaps surprisingly calm. "People have a right to know why they're fighting. What they're dying for. It'll hurt morale on NUNE's side, but it's not as if we aren't facing an existential threat. People can be reasonable. ...More than that, it might avert internal war. You realize that everyone is currently blaming the PLANTs entirely for this?"

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        "I'm Kaworu. Kaworu Nagisa," he introduces himself, smiling at Rin. It might or might not be a familiar name to her, but they were both part of GUTS while they still attended school.
        
        But while there is joy to be found in meeting someone new... the news itself is indeed grave. Rin has interesting guesses, but that's ultimately all they are. He turns his gaze back towards the screen.
        
        Kaworu makes a point not to involve himself in Lilim-on-Lilim conflicts. It's not his place to interfere. He'd wondered if he should make an exception after the Junius 7 drop, but... it seems as though that won't be necessary. If this knowledge is being spread, the Lilim will be able to make their own judgments on what should be done.
        
        But he does see Eight's hand twitch. There's no need to guess why. It's been directly stated, after all. He thinks her opinion is sound, but will the others agree? Corporations don't tend to concern themselves with individual lives.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"It's awful," Rena says, her voice quiet. She looks at Anita, with a concerned expression on her face. Then she shakes her head. "I'm... I'm not surprised, that the Federation's predecessors did this. But..."

She exhales. She frowns as she considers it -- that the Jovians left, rather than being exterminated, to the planet that is now their namesake. Her eyes narrow.

And they found the technology used by the Nadesico; the ancient, advanced technology of a past civilization.

Her hand balls into a fist. "They really think they can just cover this up?" she says, looking at Anita. She can feel Eight's anger.

She agrees, as it happens. "Even if they do... it'll just be worse for them, later."

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto finishes making his current airplane and raises it.

        'THE END.'

        Alto throws the paper airplane, sending the point straight into Erina's forehead... And then through the holographic window.

        He states unnecessarily, "Clearly not the end."

        Alto's question is then answered. An alien factory in Jupiter's orbit. Hardly the first alien artefact they've found scattered around space. Could one therefore say the blame for all this falls on those ancient cultures? Technically yes, but lucky for them they're not around to point fingers at. Neither are the Federation's predecessors who did all this.

        Alto sighs in frustration, "So we suffer for their idiotic decisions... Typical." Alto runs a hand through his hair in thought, then says, "Doesn't change much though. They still chose to attack. To wipe out Mars. To drop a colony on Earth. Against people who had literally nothing to do with what happened. All over some stupid grudge they've been holding all this time. There's no excuse for that."

        As for whether this should all be revealed or not... Alto isn't going to go and tell the world himself. He's got enough to deal with. But his own thoughts on the matter he murmurs, "Better to know the truth of who you're fighting than not..." Because perhaps...

        If both sides know the truth... Perhaps there is a chance they can be reasoned with.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita's brow only furrows more and more as the conversation continues.

"...Yeah. Me either." Anita replies with a shake of her head, as Rena says she's not surprised.

A population banished, chased away and killed... and then intentionally forgotten, the crimes they comitted erased. Like they can escape it just by burning all records of it, putting their hands over their ears and pretending it never happened.

And now it's the future that's paying the price. A grudge like this... Yet again, the people responsible for it get to get away without punishment.

"They've got the resources for it. Bet they think they can just keep throwing money at the problem 'til it goes away - and weapons, when that don't work. ...Guess it hasn't failed them so far." Anita mutters with a sigh, then nods to Rena. "But you're right. They can try and keep a lid on it, but pressure's just going to keep building and building until it explodes now that things are starting to boil."

She shakes her head.

"...Eight's right, too. All this secrecy... I get why we can't let the Jovians do whatever, but the people fighting ought to know, at least." Anita says. "Using them, taking advantage of them like this..."

She exhales sharply, not able to form a good conclusion to the sentence.

"...How much of Nergal knew about this...?" She mutters.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin looks at Kaworu - brightens! Recognition - then back to the screen.

"Oh my God," Rin exhales.

"... You know," she continues, looking at the screen, "I want to say 'that's impossible, I can't believe it' but at this point I'm going to take anything, anything's possible. Any... horror show, or... ugh." She shakes her head, once.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? I remember you from the prom," Rin continues, "But I didn't ever really let anyone get that close when I was at Ashford. Did you graduate?" (How old is he? It's honestly hard to tell. Above the age of thirteen, Rin can guess, but he could just be lanky.)

It's easier to think about.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

"I guess it's not really..." Hikaru considers, when Uribatake tries to defend himself. "But you just make it too easy!" She's still not convinced that it's got to be a man, for Ryoko. Really, if anything, it sounds like Nergal's just giving her a hard time lately. "I wouldn't get your hopes up knowing, is all~" She concludes.

And that's that on the topic, because something so much bigger has come to their attention. It's really unpleasant knowing that the higher-ups of Nergal knew all along, and made them fight based on a total lie. There's no reasoning with automated drones, so this lie would make them fight back more aggressively... So when she sees that Ryoko is MAD mad, Hikaru can't really blame her. She should probably be angrier about this herself...

"They tried to nuke 'em..." Hikaru's eyes widen. "I'm starting to see why those two were buddy-buddy with ZAFT during the war," She frowns, when the topic of nuclear warheads is evoked. "I'm not gonna say I saw this coming, but they always say fighting isn't as simple as it is in Gekiganger. But they sure seemed to act like it, didn't they?" She understands Himeyuri and Michiru's reasons for fighting a little better now, but...

'What's even really changed?', Ryoko says. "As long as we're stuck with this stupid NDA, I guess not much. But I don't think that means we should give up either. They couldn't keep it hidden from us, so there's got to be something we can do. Right?" Hikaru doesn't know what exactly they can do, but... it just feels better to know than not to.

"I've got a feeling he's been lying to us, too," is all Hikaru adds about Nagare Akatsuki.

<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.

Would that that was the end of it, that the stream ended then, but history is a long series of atrocities not quite on repeat.

They only rhyme.

Ryoko herself hasn't heard that phrase, but she knows the concept, she knows it from her father telling her it wasn't worth it. Even in the face of the oppression...

... and she ran away from home, yelling at him that he was a coward, who didn't even care that their mother died.

They haven't spoken since. Almost certainly he thinks she's dead.

Axis Shock. Junius Seven. The cycle continues and more and more she understands how her father could say that. Could just, give up even that desire to fight.

It goes back further. Far further, long before Zeon's Great-Great-Grandfather was even a twinkle in someone's eye.

And it doesn't stop.

'They tried to nuke 'em.'

"Goddamnit." She whispers, about being chased even from Mars, for these miraculous resources. She doesn't even need to hear the word 'Revenge' because to her - that was implicit, from the moment she found out the Jovian Lizards were once people.

The idea that they'd cover it up? Well they'd already fooled them for years. That Eight protests it, she understands why - she can admire that.

"Yeah explains, everything. Always wondered how ZAFT duplicated tech even Nergal took years to get beyond this prototype. How such a fragile flower made it up the ZAFT Chain of Command." She mutters, bitter about it.

Before she looks sideways at Hikaru and after many long moments, "Well. Not everything. I still don't get the anime thing?" And she's not saying she doesn't get anime fandom just - she doesn't get how this became a thing for them at all.

"At all?"

Yeah she's still really confused on that part.

Hikaru answers, and Ryoko just grouses, "Of course we're not giving up. But what's it say that they did for almost four years? We didn't even realize we were fighting them when we were fighting them!"

Grimacing as she touches a tender spot on her knuckles again, before looking at the screen of Nagare Akatsuki.

"That guy. ... He only shows up when he wants to mess with us anyway, and always acts like he's better than any of us."

Pause.

"And I guess he kinda rode Tenkawa's ass all the time for being a guy who likes anime?" She looks at Hikaru again, "Okay I really don't get it at all!" Her other hand just rubs her hair in frustration, before tugging at it as her volume grows, "What the hell does freaking Gekiganger have to do with ANY OF THIS!?"

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Liam asks... a very good question. "I don't know... Maybe he was curious? He's, ah, a bit of a ladies' man, so to speak. But..." No, it can't be that simple. Nagare liked women, but he also wasn't a horndog that followed them around. ".... he knows a lot about the topic, though, like he knows what's going on."

        Something they're not supposed to know about, but _should_, as Yurika points out. "... Right." She looks down. "... I just... thought they were all drones. Like... there's special nanomachines in the Nemi Colony soil, right? But they have to be set to destroy themselves if they get transported outside. And even then, we had systems to made doubly sure of it. If a program has a bad code, and just kept replicating... what would tell it to stop, if there was no one there? There'd be no intelligence, or anything to hate. Even the Vajra had instincts to protect their young, or not attack unless the soldiers were there. These... just destroyed. So I just thought... that... no person would willingly..." It was a shield, to make herself not think about how someone could be so mindlessly cruel towards another. "... So what I thought... was childish, in the end. No different than thinking there were actual lizards on Jupiter."

        Lucine feels that rage from Yurika as well as she feels the captain's hand on her shoulder; it almost shocks her, but, then again, Mars is a part of Yurika too, so much that she dragged the Nadesico here, and, in the end, gained two crew members, even if it was at the expense of many, many others. Yurika's heart felt them all.

        "... Yurika is from Mars, too." It's a reminder for Liam; she's likely told him this before. "So is Akito, and Inez. Ryoko, Izumi, and Hikaru where from a colony that they went after. One of many. And now... they completed part of their objective... And Nergal was going to keep quiet about this, the entire time." She glares at the screen, as her hands grip tightly into fists. "And we're forced to be compliant with it, because of what? They thought some idiots in some high-up office would feel a little less _inspired_?! Those same types of organizations were willing to let Mars rot--"

        One statement stops Lucine cold. "They... settled on Mars? But why then did they..." Because of... "... Artifacts? They were... that technology was from Mars?! I didn't hear anything about this!" She looks back to Yurika, helplessly. "Maybe I missed it, but... if we had that technology, we would've been able to fight back! No, no only that, everyone would be using it, right? Like Fold technology..." Then why?

        Nuclear weapons. A cover up. Ancient relics. Lucine wanders to a folding chair and falls into it, holding her head with her hands. ".... Damn it... I don't want to feel sympathy for them... they could have had some sympathy for us!!" Tears begin to collect in her eyes, but with her hair hanging over her head, only some hitches of breath can be heard. ".... Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!!"

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Something sharp and ice-cold crawls down Liam's spine as he hears Nagare's laughter, and sees Erina's horrid smile. His trembling hand dips into a jumpsuit pocket, and pulls out an orange, ovoid object--one of the stress balls Kaworu got him for his birthay, years ago. He squeezes it between his fingers, and tries not to think about how good it would feel to knock out Nagare's teeth on the nearest bulkhead.

        'THE END.' says Erina.

        "Fuck you, you piece of shit," says Liam, his own temper flaring suddenly, violently. "Bootlicker. It should've been--" Lucine. No. She's doing that thing where she's trying to make sense of a horror, or sorting her thoughts out, or...

        Liam nods. He glances at Yurika. His eyes mist over with tears as he squeezes the stress ball tighter. By now, its malleable orange substance protrudes between each whitened knuckle, and squeezes out of each end of his hand. "'m from Dublin," he manages. She's not alone. Neither is Lucine. They aren't the first people to have suffered because of the callous cruelty of Earth's leadership, and the rage of those they've hurt.

        Liam gives the stress ball a few firm squeezes, and then stoops down next to where Lucine sits. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, a wordless invitation for a hug.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        ...Akatsuki Nagare is definitely way too in the know for someone who claimed he was 'just a pilot', Yurika concludes. "...Honestly, that guy had 'suspicious' written all over him, if you ask me. Maybe he's some kinda suave smooth detective type? It's probably for the best you never got involved with him, Lucine!"

        ...that flash of fury subsides from Yurika. Being lied to by people who think of her as beneath critical thought is nothing new. It's always, -always- been her job to smile for the photo ops and never think too hard, and she'd get so endlessly rewarded as long as she did.

        Part of her wishes she were at Eight's side for this, but would she even keep her wits about her in such a slow cooker of a conference room?

        "...Well. Mh. ...Whatever Erica and Akatsuki -know-, I doubt it's their fault to begin with. ...Hahah, they both talk so self-assuredly that it's like, you really wanna grab -them- by the collar and shake them for this. But they're just little liars in a much bigger lie, aren't they?"

        "Who can say why they lied to US, for so long...or why -they- know the truth when we don't..."

        Yurika does have to slump down and take a seat on the very bag of gardening soil she brought in. "...does this stop what I have to do? What I want to do, for Mars's sake? Knowing I'm fighting against the same old backstabbing instead of some special cause for the sake of all humanity? Knowing that the people that took away the place I once loved were...well, people, and not just mindless monsters?"

        The captain's head cranes upwards.

        "...I guess not really! For all I know, if they really were 'lizards', one day we were gonna find out that they were just misunderstood, weren't we? It was like that with the Zentradi, and a whole bunch of kaiju...but...yknow...since I got to be safe and sound away from it all...it's the likes of Lucine and Akito who had to actually live through it, huh...? ...It's a -lot- more people that have had to live through the consequences," she considers, at Liam reminding Yurika of just what he's been through himself.

        A less than super convincing smile is cast Liam and Lucine's way. As honest and true to herself as Yurika can be, she is someone who always was reminded to smile in a crisis. "You're totally right, Lucine. None of this makes what they did to the people of Mars any better. I'll have to get ahold of one of these Jovian not-quite-lizards and ask why THEY haven't said anything either. Cause, yknow, if we're being lied to by Nergal, we're just as much being lied to by those Jovians in their silence, right...?"

        "They're all liars! Always lying to people like us. ...We had our wish to make things right and just taken advantage of, just like anyone else, didn't we?~"

        ...with a shaky voice like Yurika carries, the distress behind that unusual smoldering cynicism can scarce be clearer. For someone who cries about easy little conflicts - maybe this is what crying about something larger than herself looks like.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Ruri's gaze grows distant, swimming in the data bowl. She hears what Alto has to say, certainly -- but she's listening to the rest of the voices in the ship, too. Small mercy the Nadesico's systems don't relay all the Ra Mari II's data, but it wouldn't surprise her to hear Rena and Anita's reaction, either. (It's Omoikane who witnesses them, as he keeps the relays open.)

        "Nuclear weapons were designed to kill people," Erina tells Eight, still quite prim. "And Nergal was built on these secrets."

        "If the PLANTs take the blame, we can't be held responsible for that," Nagare shrugs, with that same devil-may-care grin. "It's better for us if people don't feel too complicated about their enemies. Take that hot piece in the long-range suit --" the Dianthus, he means, which isn't tethered to the Nadesico like the Aestivalises are -- "she'd be torn up if she knew. Don't you think she'll fight on easier if you can keep this much from her?"

        A face cuts into the private quarters -- it's Ruri's, on a big screen. "Her name is Lucine-san," she says, with a light scowl. "She knows. I just wanted to ask you something, Mr. Akatsuki."

        She pauses, as Erina scowls, anger twisting her lips.

        "What does Gekiganger have to do with all of this?"

        The question Ruri asks -- the anger she gives voice to, in her usual stoic manner -- it's Ryoko's, in the end.

        Erina finally manages to fill her lungs enough to belt out: "You were broadcasting that?! You little brat! This is a PRIVATE CHANNEL! Who--"

        "Everyone," Ruri says, plainly. "And the Ra Mari II, too. If you're angry about it, you can ground me. That's fine." Behind her, Mr. Prospector's glasses glint. Has he really escaped the secretary's wrath today...? "But I'd like you to answer my question, please."

        "Hahahaha..." Nagare Akatsuki folds his arms, straightening up. "I'd love to tell you, little lady, but I've just never been into anime. Why don't you ask our guest?"

        "You mean our secret prisoner," Ruri says. "I tried to ask him, but no one would let me in."

        Nagare grins. "Thanks to that hot widow, we have a bargaining chip!"

        ... thanks to Izumi, he means?

        "We'll be able to gain much more information about the current state of the Jovian Forces this way," Erina says, "though he's not cooperating right now. Nergal had hoped to keep this all quiet..." She sighs, shaking her head. "... but if the Admiral herself isn't cooperating, and both ships know all about it, I guess our efforts to keep this under wraps have failed. Unfortunately, I suppose we have to lift your NDA. The costs of keeping everyone quiet about this are..."

        Mr. Prospector holds his finger to his lips, as if to say, 'don't let her know I'm here!'

        (He is tapping numbers out on his pocket-calculator one-handed even as he does this.)

        "... well," Erina scowls, "I'm sure the numbers are unreasonable."

        "So you won't punish anyone for talking any more?" Ruri asks. "I'd like to ask you to promise that."

        "Fine, fine!" Erina stands, pointing at the window. "But I'm coming up there, and you had better--!!"

        Ruri's window cuts out before she can finish her threat, leaving Erina staring right at Eight.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.

Nuclear weapons were designed to kill people. That's true.

Her hand curls into a fist. "Built on--"

It's an effort, to control herself. Not to say what she wants to say. It's a great effort. But instead of having an outburst, she listens to Nagare. He really doesn't seem to care. "You--"

The face cuts in, before Eight can say something she will definitely regret. Ruri's face. Eight blinks. "...Ruri?" she asks. She knows. How many people know? Erina scowls, and that strange question breaks through Eight's emotions for a moment, makes her pause. "The... what now?"

She's entirely gobsmacked. But she's back in the game as Ruri explains. She actually starts to smile, slightly. It doesn't last, but it helps a moment. 'Secret prisoner' gets her frowning again. "..."

Nergal hoped to keep it quiet. But she's not cooperating. Eight... didn't expect this particular way of getting this outcome, but...

But it's a good thing, right? That the crew gets to know?

"Numbers are your job to worry about," Eight points out. "But you should also consider the well-being of the crew. I'm sure you won't be too hard on Ruri."

"Since, after all." She smiles. "...I was also designed to kill people," Eight says pleasantly. "Keep it in mind."

Eight turns and walks out.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        "Yes. There are few things in a universe that are truly impossible," Kaworu muses. "Especially when it's in a state such as this."
        
        Rin mentions prom, and he considers her for a second before giving her a thoughtful nod. "Yes, I do believe I've seen you before at various GUTS events." His smile returns. Prom... "That was quite some time ago, wasn't it? I didn't expect to be voted Prom Princeps, but it was still fun."
        
        As for having graduated: "Yes." If Rin wants to know how old he is, though, she's going to have to ask.
        
        A new turn is entering Eight's conversation with Nergal's representatives: the revelation that Ruri has broadcast this would-be secret conversation across the Nadesico and the Ra Mari II. Interesting how easily they fold. Ruri's bargaining power is considerable, it seems. But even without that, Kaworu supposes that still puts them above certain other secret-keeping organizations, which would solve the problem by silencing the non-vital personnel involved.
        
        He makes a mental note about the 'secret prisoner' at that. What does Gekiganger have to do with all this? Kaworu isn't clear on that point, either.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"Probably," Rena sighs. "I don't doubt they think they've got the resources for it. But... those have their limits. We've seen it before."

She frowns, before she looks down for a moment. Anita asks a very good question, after all. How much of Nergal knew?

She frowns. "The Jovians... they still have to be stopped," she admits. "After what they did to Mars. And tried to do. But this..."

It makes it more complicated.

She does smile a bit, though, at what Ruri reveals -- that they all heard. She looks back at Anita, then she tilts her head. "Well... looks like they know we know," she says. "And there's mot much they can do about that."

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto blinks a little in surprise as Ruri reveals her eavesdropping all to ask about... Gekiganger? That stupid anime? What does that have to do with anything?

        Admittedly Alto hasn't seen more than a few clips of it. So he has no idea how it applies. Maybe he'll have to ask someone about it at some point.

        Not Tenkawa.

        Also what was that about a secret prisoner?

        There don't seem to be any more answers forthcoming. At least they're not under NDA anymore... Not that Alto's going to go around telling anyone.

        Except maybe Ranka.

        As silence reigns on the bridge, Alto starts to say, "So... Before Erina arrives to shatter our eardrums... Let me show you have to do this particular fold. It's a tricky one."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"...Yeah. They're going to dry up some time." Anita agrees with a nod toward Rena.

She turns her attention back to Haro's screen as Nagare speaks again. Nergal can't be held responsible... Anita grits her teeth.

"The hell they can't. You slimy... You don't care how many people have to die so Nergal can keep their name clean?" Anita mutters. "Who the hell even are you?"

Someone with a very punchable face, she's decided. And a very punchable mouth, with the way he's talking.

"...Yeah." Anita agrees with a nod, looking back toward Rena. "We still can't let 'em do what they please. They aren't innocent just because of what happened to them."

And then, Ruri appears on the screen, confirming their suspicions. It was her, alright - and she's broadcasted it to everyone.

But what's more... a prisoner?

"...Seriously? How far does this go?" Anita says.

...But what they conclude about the NDA...

"That... Seems way too easy." Anita mutters with a confused frown. "They're gonna give up on it? Just like that? ...What's their game?"

This doesn't feel like a victory. It just feels... She doesn't even know what it feels like. Fortunately, she's given one thing she can feel good about, at least, and she cracks a smile at Eight's parting statement.

"That's our Eight." Anita says, sending a smile Rena's way.
Rena Lancaster has disconnected.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"Congratulations," Rin tells Kaworu, about his graduation. "I didn't get a ceremony or anything... I was kind of in another star system at the time. I can tell you the story sometime." It's a friendly tone, if a little brittle. It is displacement. She understands what she's hearing.

She doesn't like the story. But then there's progress in the conversation.

Rin's attention rests on the screen -- And Ruri intervenes. Rin breathes in sharply through her nose.

The words of Erina were bad enough. This is something else. Something accusatory --

-- "What the shit?" Rin says, gobsmacked out of the tension by what Ruri asks. "That lame old anime?" She looks at Kaworu. "That's what she said, right? Sometimes I hear things weird. She said Gekigangar, right?"

Before...

"... You know," Rin tells Kaworu, after another terse pause - her hands have folded together over the now-dark tablet - "I wanna say that NUNE's gonna do things differently, but that feels... naive, honestly... if they're serious about this, they'll know everyone who was on this ship. We're all witnesses now."

She looks to Kaworu. "And even if we never really had the chance to talk, we're clubmates, after all." Her lip quirks; it's tense. She's pulled out the face of the school girl she'd been, which has gotten a little tatty, from disuse. "Wanna swap emails? I'll let you know if I'm gonna steal a ship and escape to the stars."

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine, seeing Liam's gentle invitation for a hug, couldn't hold back, even if she wanted to. She turns and grabs Liam in an embrace, pressing her face against his right shoulder. "It was just the same bullshit..." It didn't hit her, until Liam reminded her and Yurika where he was from, and how his life was also affected.
        
        Yurika voicing her opinion about Nagare surprises her enough to finally lift her face away from Liam, instead shifting to rest the side of her head there. "... That's right, he was assigned by Nergal, right? Not someone who applied in." That makes him doubly suspicious, in hindsight.

        While the idea of being lied to is infuriating, it seems to produce the opposite effect in Yurika, Lucine realizes. Is she really just that strong? ..... Or is she just that good at sweeping it under the rug? It doesn't take away that she's just as tired and overwhelmed as Lucine is.

        .... And that makes Lucine feel even more grateful to the Nadesico for being what it is, in that moment. "... Right. They're doing their job. So they could easily just be the fall guys for someone higher than them." The weight of her body settles a little further on Liam's own. "There's so much we still don't know."

        'Take that hot piece in the long-range suit --'
        'Her name is Lucine-san.'

        Liam will feel the Martian's body tense up immediately. ".... Fucking asshole," she hisses, yellow eyes glinting with rage as she rises up. "I'll fight as hard as I *damn* please. You didn't know me at all, if you thought it'd stop me..."

        But maybe, it would have, in the beginning. Lucine's not willing to concede that fact.

        "If there's a Jovian prisoner--" Lucine angrily rips the tomato leaf from her hair. "I'm going to find them, and I'm going to make them answer for _everything myself_!!"

        It's for the best Lucine doesn't find that person, whoever they are; the anger she'd unleash is caused from more than one source.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        "Thank you," Kaworu says graciously. "The Gallia IV expedition, yes? I'm aware of what happened. I'm interested in hearing your perspective, though." As for that old anime-- "Yes, she did."
        
        But Eight gives Erina and Nagare her own sort of warning and leaves, and the screens go dark. Kaworu considers Rin's tense musings about NUNE and them being witnesses. "I think you're probably right."
        
        Since Rin doesn't ask, he doesn't tell her that he's nineteen as of today. Shinji has a cake waiting for him on the Ra Mari II, but that will be a little later. He smiles at Rin anew. "That would be very useful to know," he says, and will swap emails at Rin's pace.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

It's just so much to take in, even if Hikaru's still taking it with a relative amount of stride. A lot of them - their trio, Lucine, Yurika, they all lost something or everything to the Jovian Lizards. And it just - feels so much different, when it was a human being who authorized that, one who cheerfully explained that she invented the entire process that controlled, and didn't seem to feel a shred of remorse about it. That's supposed to be their 'enemy'?

Even just having her entire reason for fighting thrown out the window, one question remains for both herself and Ryoko: why anime, and not just anime - why Gekiganger? "Honestly? I don't get it, either!" She answers, helpfully. "It's old enough that it was around even before the Universal Century, so maybe they brought it with 'em or something, but it didn't really feel like it was a normal fandom for them." She's not sure how to explain this. "It was like... their entire moral compass, wasn't it?" She looks down. "I guess that's one way of coping with making the entire Earthsphere your enemy."

Eventually, Ruri reveals herself with exactly that question and gets a non-answer, but well... they do learn something else. "A secret prisoner? Izumi, what is he talking about? Geez, when did we even get the TIME to take prisoners in that mess?" She wonders then - if their secret guest is a fan of Gekiganger, too - what kind of person that would be.

Besides that, thanks to Ruri, they're no longer officially under NDA! Yay?! "Guess we all owe Ruri some thanks," Hikaru considers. "They totally would have gotten away with this if it wasn't for her." Eight makes her stance clear, too, and Hikaru whistles with respect. "Wow... that's the Admiral for you. I'd be pretty mad if I was her, too."

It's still complicated though... the NDA might be lifted, but the Nadesico is still directly under Nergal. She looks to Ryoko with some uncharacteristic worry. "Now that their secrets are all out... I wonder what's gonna happen to us?"

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        There's a cathartic giggle from Yurika as the tables get turned - Eight really did always pick the most strategic times to get imposing with people. The captain shoots Ruri a quick text - <that has to have been a lotta fun to pull on them, serves them right!!> - then finally loosens some of the tension in her shoulders.

        "If you gotta sock that Akatsuki guy one, you MORE than have my blessing, Lucine! Ah, but be careful. ...He might be important. Maybe he's the kinda guy, also, that if you kicked him where the sun don't shine, he'd get all, 'kfah, women are spirited these days aren't they'..." - it's clear that Yurika will not be playing the role of Akatsuki Nagare in the theatrical adaptation if a voice that comically low is her impression of him.

        The talk of the 'secret prisoner' gets Yurika's attention. A bluff? No, those two aren't the type to play recklessly with cards they don't have. The captain finally stands up straight, and muses to herself, "...I'm gonna have to find out who that is too. Maybe I'll bring you along, but only once I have a better idea of who those people are and why they're keeping this up."

        "...AND ALSO DRAG OUT ANSWERS ON WHY THIS HAS TO DO WITH GEKIGANGER, YEAH"

<Pose Tracker> Ryoko Subaru has posed.

"Yeah? Kinda? They were saying all kinds of weird shit about it." Ryoko's hand is throbbing as a reminder to keep using her other hand to consider Hikaru's words on that being so much of what they do. "Sheesh. Even all that whole thing about... not even being a woman?"

Maybe that's what she needed to kill this many people? That's... Ryoko hopes that's it.

Ryoko's teeth grate together at Erina chiding Eight on Nuclear weapons being designed to kill people, and Nagare's follow up statement, take the hot piece in the long-range suit, she'd be torn up if-

"You son of a-!"

The obvious word gets cut off by Ruri's face appearing and- "Eh?" Blink, "...Shit." Ryoko has been wallowing in her own feelings about this that she didn't realize that Lucine was listening too.

And then Ruri asks about Gekiganger which... "Wait... wait..." Ryoko's eyes become dot eyes, "Ruri's listening in on us too?!"

Nagare of course disdains anime, just like usual, and Ryoko is just - sorta, weirded out by all the strange connections here, while being more and more disgusted at the same time.

However she has to hold her breath, now that both ships know, Erina could easily decide to scapegoat her. It would be trivial for her...

... and it would mean Hikaru and Izumi's lives would be over too.

But-! Ruri to the rescue, and Ryoko exhales the breath sharply, audibly. "Good going Ruri." Ryoko murmurs, because now even Erina- and Eight, well, she already respected her, but certainly she does more.

It just sucks things still standing on that past history.

What Hikaru has to say though, on what's going to happen to them? "Hey." Her hand lands on Hikaru's shoulder and squeezes, as she looks her in the eyes, "Nothing. Nothing's going to happen to us."

'Us' she says, but what she really means is 'you'. She never could be honest about that kind of thing.

"Maybe we should talk to that prisoner." Ryoko slides her hand away, considering a trip to the medbay but putting it off, before she pauses mid-step, "Though... first we need to hide all of Lucine's gardening tools."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Nagare keeps talking. Liam again considers the merits of doing something awful and violent to his jaw. He thinks back to Martha Vist-Carbine, for a moment, and he squeezes the stress ball harder.

        "Maybe," Liam says. "Still vile, both of 'em." Millions of people are dead. Millions more may die. Nagare is cracking jokes, and--

        'Take that hot piece in the long-range suit --'

        'Her name is Lucine-san.'

        Lucine tenses up against Liam. Liam goes terrifyingly still for about ten seconds, his gaze fixed on Nagare's face. He commits it to memory, just in case. Raw, cold fury tightens around his heart. Nergal knew. They valued their secret more than the lives of millions of people. More of the same. More horrid, cruel Earthnoids giving ammunition to horrid, cruel Spacenoids who turn it on people who suffered just as much.

        "Akatsuki Nagare," Liam breathes, likewise committing the name to memory. He holds Lucine tighter as she starts to shout again, letting her lean on him or take out her frustration, as she sees fit. A bitter smile dawns on his face as the two company representatives do the math, and grows wider as Eight reminds them that she is no pushover.

        "Do you want a stress ball, Lu?" Liam asks, as he rides the wave of ferocious anger. "I brought an extra one in case you needed it."

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

Lucine is quiet, as Liam keeps her from leaving. He doesn't have to use much strength, especially once that initial spike of rage leaves. ".... ... yes. I'd... really like one, about now."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

        Liam shifts against Lucine, pulling out a second stress ball from another pocket. This one's green. He passes it to Lucine with as gentle a nod as he can manage with his heart gripped by anger.