2022-02-17: A Dianthus for the 'Nadesico'?
- Log: A Dianthus for the 'Nadesico'?
- Cast: Ruri Hoshino, Lucine Azul
- Where: The Nadesico (Orb Union)
- Date: 2022-02-17
- Summary: Lucine returns to the Nadesico, and she and Ruri talk about Mars. And flowers, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Recently, the ND-001 Nadesico:
- Engaged in a successful, off-screen engagement against the Jovians, which went according to plan precisely because it was not observed.
- Parked in the AEU for a bit to get repairs.
- Went to Tokyo-3 to share some information with NERV, all neighbourly-like.
- Got stuck in the middle of a horrific fight against the Seventh Angel while being neighbourly.
- Went up to space to visit the ND-002 Cosmos and get their landing gear repaired, because of course that's what the Seventh Angel damaged.
- Came back from space to visit the Orb Union for some home-base coordination.
- Parked inside(!!!) the combination G-HoundNergal project, Dreisstrager, to facilitate some data transfer.
- Left the Dreisstrager quite soon afterwards.
- And now ...
The Nadesico is preparing to leave the United Emirates of Orb on its next mission, but it seems Mr. Prospector, the Nadesico's chief accountant (they have one of those), has a few more details to hammer out before they can leave. And so, still parked, the Nadesico's systems operator (that's something totally normal for a ship to have) has gone for a walk away from her station, off to...
The garden room! Maintained by the Nadesico's chief gardener (yes, again, they have one of those). It's on the outskirts of the housing block, because it used to be a set of quarters, but now it's a garden. This technically means the Nadesico's top capacity has gone down to 213 persons, but it also means they have a delightful room dedicated to greenery.
Or... which will be dedicated to greenery.
Ruri doesn't really have an intuitive sense for how long plants take to grow, which is why she's coming down to visit now.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
---MARS, SOME TIME AGO--
The Dianthus had come in like the proverbial bat out of hell, dodging gunfire from Jovians as it made an emergency comlink to the Nadesico. Turning and skipping from blast to blast, the tired look in the young pilot's face in the display shows the suit was playing a losing battle.
When it squeezed into the opened cargp bay like a sparrow seeking shelter from a hurricane, all sense of it being a competent, standing, solid unit just laid there inside, sprawled and and smoking, the frame at the mercy of gravity.
And its pilot, not much better, as she crawled out, dark teal hair soaked with sweat as it spilled from her helmet.
There wasn't much space between her trying to stammer out some words of who she was and where she was from before that terrible choice had to be made.
And in the instant the Nadesico made its escape, the young pilot's eyes widened, then rolled back as she collapsed to the floor.
--NOW--
It's a delightful room, with some plants having already been moved in- mostly the ornamental sort, hanging from baskets. The lab proper is stored inside a floor to ceiling 'tent' inside the room, with a zippable door to keep moisture from coming out and affecting equipment. The space that's left is used as a room-that is, with a hammock and screened off area for privacy's sake. Though, who knows how long this arrangement may last for this mysterious new resident, who possibly may be a ghost with how little the gardener had been seen.
Though, in reality, there is a reason for this, that does not deal with fantastical ghosts and goblins lurking about a roomlab with some personal effects.
Lucine Azul was on Mars, visiting her mother.
And now, she's back, holding a box stuffed with supplies as Ruri walks up to the room.
Her face may be familiar to Ruri, if she handled the comlink between the Dianthus and the Nadesico, or saw its pilot in the time afterwards. More peaceful, more settled, nothing like the scared, then angry, then quiet young woman who wasn't in much shape to do anything on their trip back.
Lucine Azul and the pilot of the Dianthus are one and the same. "... Oh, ah, sorry. Were you trying to find me?" Her voice is soft, her eyes gentle, despite being that hawk gold. "I just got back."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri is, indeed, familiar with their new Long-Distance Specialist. Part of this is just the fact that Omoikane has been keeping track of her even if she hasn't been seen when she's on the ship much -- and part of it is because Ruri is part of the bridge crew of the Nadesico, so she heard the communication exchanges between the Dianthus and its new mothership.
After the requisite rubber-stamping, Lucine's trip to Mars would have at least been kinder than the Nadesico's, as Ruri understands it -- after all, Nergal has an understanding with the Federation, now. Not that it feels that way, coming back, but it's been several months since they forced their way through the Big Barrier. It's the sort of thing which has occupied Ruri's mind, after Lucine came back with them and subsequently left.
Would things have been different -- kinder -- if Nergal had waited a few months to check on their projects, she wonders? They would have had far fewer funerals, if they had managed to leave with permission. Many people died, just so the Nadesico could escape. But now... they don't need to escape.
Was it the Nadesico's actions which led to that freedom?
Or were the Nadesico's actions fruitless and cruel, against a backdrop which would have accommodated them eventually?
Well, those are normal thoughts for a twelve-year-old to occupy herself with, probably.
White-blue hair all up in twintails, skin almost as pale, her golden eyes are the one spot of definite colour on her face. It's a face which looks up, as Lucine approaches -- Ruri, who hasn't yet hit her next stage of growth, is hovering right about four-feet-even, so just about everyone is taller than her.
"Ms. Azul," Ruri greets her, stoic -- which isn't unusual, because Ruri hasn't broken into much of an expression the entire time Lucine has been here. Even as the light came down --
"Welcome back," she says, voice even, as she steps back from the door of the gardens. (To let Lucine in, probably.) She pauses, looking to the room. "... I wanted to see how the plants were growing," she answers her question, after that moment. She looks back, and asks, undisturbed water: "Am I disturbing you?"
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
It's easier to loose a pilot than a ship. Pilots are expendable, ultimately, in the scheme of things. She'd have to be back anyway, as the Dianthus was there in the cargo hold. And if she didn't....
Well, there's laws that could be used to determine what fate of the Dianthus would be.
"..... er...."
Lucine tilts her head.
".... ... am I.... er." She looks confused, blinking her eyes once, twice, as she shifts the weight of the cargo in her hands to one side, nodding as Ruri opens the door for her. Her hands are bare, which display, against light tan skin, the lack of any 'tattoo' that many members have. "Thank you. For opening the door, and, for... welcoming me back."
At Ruri's question, Lucine is quick to shake her head. ".... No. The air feels so glum here. I... didn't expect people to still be affected by what happened. Not that I have moved on either, far from it, but..."
She hesitates. "Mars, I mean."
A Newtype she might be, but a mind reader she isn't.
Or maybe, she is, seeing as how Ruri is pondering such things right now. Lucine places a hand on her chest. "I'm... sorry, for how I acted, last time. That isn't like me."
----THEN----
The pilot, who had to keep herself from screaming when she woke up, when she found out what happened. The same pilot who tried to confront Yurika, but didn't even get within viewing distance of the captain before she collapsed, spewing bile and collapsing.
No one had to restrain her, and Yurika was none the wiser.
".... to have to deal with that..." was the pilot's reply, as she finally collapsed on a cot, giving her body the sleep it desperately needed.
----NOW----
Lucine walks in and steps aside, motioning Ruri to come in.
"... Maybe it would be a good way to know each other. I have never seen someone so young in your position, but... there's a lot of Earth things I'm learning. You're clearly capable, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri listens, to what she has to say. She follows Lucine inside. She is quiet, for a moment.
"If you expect anyone here to acknowledge the unfortunate incidents we've stumbled into," Ruri informs Lucine, cooled, unmoved, "you're a fool."
It's not that Ruri is trying to be cruel, really. She's just being honest, in the particular way a child has, without regard for the feelings about the edges.
Everyone copes in their own way. As for Ruri, she doesn't see anyone talking about it. Maybe the Nadesico are really just a ship of fools, if so many other people think that sort of communication is important... oh, well.
"It's unusual," she goes on, standing straight in a uniform which must have been specially-tailored for someone as small as she is. "On Earth, fifteen is considered the minimum acceptable age for volunteering in war. Anything younger is some exception or another."
She relates all of this without much personal inflection to speak of, unshaken, unbothered. She seeks no pity and emphasises no injury.
"You don't need to apologise to me, Ms. Azul," Ruri concludes, after a moment's pause. "I'm sure it was a complicated situation for you. Just the same, it would be meaningless for me to apologise for following orders, when that situation progressed regardless of my capabilities." The person responsible for the Distortion Field, under Yurika's orders...
"But you seem to have a different perspective to Ms. Fressange," Ruri concludes, after a moment, those neutral gold eyes on Lucine. "Say," she asks, and it's a question, a request, "why did you come back, anyway?"
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
The room is remarkably clean, still. The bright pink and red blooms of a hoya plant hang next to the entrance, along with a few orchids and other hanging plants in a cart that hasn't been wheeled into the sactioned off plant room. "I bought some plants here this morning. With how everyone was, I wanted to at least have something while we waited for the vegetables to grow."
'If you expect anyone here to acknowledge the unfortunate incidents we've stumbled into, you're a fool.'
"I didn't need to," Lucine says simply, cupping her hand over one bud on a moth orchid. ".... that is..." Her face, turned away from Ruri, is unreadable, but the way she searches for words may speak even more. "I just wanted to acknowledge it. Especially since I had left the way I did."
It's unusual. "It's unusual? I see. Then I must be in the right place." Wheeling the cart over to the tarp, Lucine unzips it. "The setup is still being thought over. I had my mother give me some blueprints, but she's never handled much in the way of growing plants in space. But, when you think about it... it wasn't that difficult, I just..."
Somewhere, Ms. Fressange looks up.
"Sorry, I... get excited about these things."
White pipes are cut open with brown matte covering each, simulating the look of dirt while keeping the actual nutrients in place. "Do you have anything you like, Ms. Hoshino?"
The name of the fellow Martian causes Lucine to tilt her head with an apologetic smile. "Ms. Fressange.... she's a little overwhelming, to be honest... I feel like I can't get a read on her..." She pauses. "That is, I can't... well, what would be a word for it?"
A word that isn't 'there is no level of Newtype business that can pierce that level of exposition'.
The next question Lucine can answer freely.
Lucine's eyes gain a bittersweet glint.
"Because you were the first indication that someone noticed us."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Okay," Ruri accepts Lucine's wish to acknowledge the situation. It's acknowledged.
She listens, eyes on Lucine, as she speaks on the flowers. There is a thread of engagement to her, though it's difficult to point to anything on her face which betrays it.
"I like pink carnations," Ruri says, predictably. (In Japan, they're called nadeshiko...)
She nods, to Lucine's assessment of Inez. Ruri doesn't have the same difficulties she has with her, of course -- Ruri's capacity to reach other humans is markedly diminished, compared to her capacity to reach machines. Even without that context, though, it's easy to believe it's difficult to understand the Nadesico's Chief Explainer.
Yes, they really do need all these roles filled. It's tactically vital.
Ruri's gaze slips of of Lucine, after she replies, to look at one of those orchids instead. "Nergal must have had a lot of reasons for wanting to send us to Mars before anything else... but I've seen that the Nadesico's reason was to help the people who were stranded." Her hand lifts, to clasp by her shoulder, crossed over herself in some vain physical barrier. "Unfortunately, we made quite a mess... but it's not like we could have given our lives for that, after all."
She looks a little sad, to speak of it -- it's in the little arc of her brow, the way she doesn't meet Lucine's eyes. Her mild regret is entirely incongruous with the enormity of the actions carried in her heart.
"Oh, well."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"Pink carnations?" Lucine smiles gently. "They're very pretty, I agree. I should be able to find some seeds, I think..."
Digging out a paper bag, she takes out some packets, many with old-fashioned illustrations on them, calling to a time in the distant past. She offers then to Ruri to look through. "I have a few flowers in here. Nasturtiums, for one. Strawberries, ah... well, some of the kale are almost like flowers in themselves, with the leaves being so colorful. Sweet potatoes.... potatoes. I can't promise they'll all do well, but I have some ideas." She waves a hand towards the ceiling. "I'll get some more of these pipes installed if they work well and there's no leaks. Or, ah, no smell. Well, bad smells, anyway. I'll be living in here, so..."
It comes to her, her eyes widening slightly as she looks towards the ceiling.
"Nadeshiko." Pulling up a stool to the cart, Lucine continues, taking items out of the bag. "... I just remembered my mom mentioning that. That was... the other reason I came back. A small one. My mobile suit, it's named after my mom, but... my dad didn't want to have a suit named Diana." Metal utensils are taking out- small scissors for pruning, their outer edges rounded. Rolls of dark mesh. "So, came the name of 'Dianthus'- my suit. A Dianthus, on the Nadesico."
The bulbous bud of the moth orchid is pale green, the same tone as its air roots, thought it's just beginning to gain its pinkish color. As Lucine sees Ruri look at it, her gaze saddens, reflecting on the meaning behind her words, coupled with the mood that she feels subtle wisps of.
A 12 year old who operates a ship. At twelve, sure, Lucine herself was piloting, but only because her father was her father. Her father, a brash man who wanted to see a bit of himself in the shy little girl that cried too much and talked to plants.
"Mars didn't need any more martyrs."
Lucine quietly reaches out a hand, tentatively aiming to touch the hand Ruri grasps her shoulder with, just so.
But not enough to feel like she's being insistent, and pulling away if Ruri seems alarmed. "Besides..."
".... I would have died too. And my mom, when she woke up, she would have been alone. Instead, she saw my face, albiet.... a little later. Mars is a distance away from Earth, after all. And I doubt I've be able to make a trip there like that for a while."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri dutifully looks through the packets. They don't make much sense to her, but, then -- she's the sort of child who is confused about mud.
"Ah," she blinks, connecting things as Lucine spells them out. "I see... then, I suppose you belong here. Well, that or it's a very strange coincidence. Who knows?" She asks, lightly.
She's got a light touch on everything, it seems. But when Lucine offers a more literal light touch, Ruri startles, stepping back, both hands lifted up to clasp around each other. There's a sharp sense of aversion to the movement, as if human contact is something Ruri can't understand at all.
(A child, never hugged, will never hug another.)
She doesn't press the matter, at least, so Ruri just listens to what she has to say about it. "So it's not as simple as sacrificing yourself, I suppose... well, that's the reality of it," she sighs, a little puff of air that raises and lowers her shoulders.
She doesn't want to die. But it takes a lot to live over the backs of other people, doesn't it?
Those are the sorts of very serious thoughts Ruri doesn't externalise, very easily.
With a little shrug of her shoulders, her fae-gold gaze returns to Lucine. "I'm happy you didn't die, Ms. Azul," Ruri says, looking just as neutral as she did a moment prior, save that subtle edge of relief.
(But she is happy.)