2022-02-16: A Meeting Under Pressure
- Log: 2022-02-17: A Meeting Under Pressure
- Cast: Teletha Testarossa, Sayla Mass
- Where: TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan, Somewhere In The Pacific Ocean
- OOC - IC Date: 17 January 2022 (0096)
- Summary: The first person not from Mithril is permitted onto the Tuatha de Danaan, to discuss Mithril's role in the Shuffle Alliance.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Pacific Ocean. 20000 (figurative) leagues under the sea. 1330 local time. Not too late to be complaining that lunch is making one sleepy, not too early that one isn't half-knocked out due to unforseen events. Tessa herself was still in Work Mode, delegating this and that, and managing the ship right before heading over to the conference room.
A planned meeting with someone who had actually been in the frontlines of war always perturbed her a bit. She was a greenhorn; Untested, unhoned, every adjective under the sun. Granted, this was a simple coordination meeting, with various folders and binders set for reports, regiments, and information galore. From the confirmed to the speculative, the TDD-1 was not lacking in the information department in the slightest.
Waiting. Fidgeting the slightest. She was 2 minutes early, going over the final reports from Sergeant Sagara to refresh herself. Nothing to it, just learning the way of the world via the Shuffle Alliance.
It'll be okay.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
The 'docking procedure' for an underwater craft is frankly a novelty, even for Sayla. Her escorts guide her through. She'd met some of the Special Response Team already, providing security for an event. And frankly, she'd poached Sergeant Sagara a lot.
While Mithril may be military structure, Shuffle is civilian, and a bit unusual. The blonde woman looks around, taking in names and faces. If she's saluted, she doesn't salute back, she simply nods. She's pleased to see that the majority of the crew aren't Sousuke's age. Just him and the Captain, then.
Sayla waits to be allowed into the meeting room, and steps through. She's dressed in pale green suit, with trousers, a white shirt, and some white cloth that looks like a mix between between a ribbon and a cravat. It seems to have become part of her look now.
"Captain Testarossa, thank you for having me aboard. I'm Sayla Mass, pleased to meet you." She extends a hand, scanning the folders as she does so. She's certainly thorough. That's a plus.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Docking procedures notwithstanding, the submarine's at an already steady pace. Making the rounds, as some of the people onboard quipped about it. The atmosphere was slightly more lighthearted than your usual submarine; The advantages of being a PMC.
"It's a pleasure." A firm handshake with barely any hesitation in her grip, settling herself back down. "I apologize that you had to come abord. Replenishment of supplies isn't for another week, but it'd be prudent to establish stock wherever we could." The folders themselves were clearly marked; Giant blocks of text along with the usual classifications of secrecy.
"Ah, feel free to take a look at them. They've all been vetted for accuracy to the best of their ability." Tessa was aware about Sayla. Who she was. The One Year War wasn't exactly an unknown event for her, and quite obviously, she'd been researched. No one came on the ship without a prior vetting. "I'm to understand you're the general liason for everyone on the Alliance?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"Likewise." Sayla's handshake matches Tessa's, without trying to assert dominance. If anything, she's trying to present as an equal, despite her age. She sits when the Captain does. She scans the reports, grabbing one to glance at. Mithril's intelligence is *good*, and Sayla can't help but relish having access to them as a resource. But she doesn't have time to go through everything right now. She wants to get a feel for Tessa.
She can easily read the nerves, but sadly lack of experience is no longer a given at her age. She knows the young woman is intelligent, too. "It's not a problem, I was able to slot it in easily enough. I should apologize from monopolize your ARM Slave specialist. Sergeant Sagara has been a great help." She's certainly had more training then they did on the White Base.
"Correct. I co-ordinate and liaise with the various organizations making up the Shuffle Alliance, and try to make sure goals align. I have a team, but it's small and scattered to make sure we control communications adequately. It's typically the Crest Holders who decide the direction of the organization, but Captain Neate fills in that role when they're absent."
Or Sayla fills that role when most of them are absent and the other refuses to lead. But she keeps that to herself.
"We've had contact with other branches of Mithril, but I only recently received the information that your fleet would be working with us recently, so I wanted to meet personally. I imagine we both might have questions."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Granted, this wasn't all the information; just a proper showing of what was either public, easily verifiable, or not necessary for the wider world to know. There was a slight bit of pride in her rigid posture. A showing of information never failed to leave a good first impression, no matter the time or circumstances.
A small nod given to Sergeant Sagara's explementary work, filing that bit of praise. Good. He wasn't floundering on his other duties. "That's reassuring to hear. His reports have been a great boon in general." While being stuck in this ship.
Tessa's own eyes belied the curiosity she had. Nerves were a factor, but information was information. Being on good terms with the person flicking around is, indeed, an obvious thing to do. "Decentralized but with a central focal point. That does sound like the Shuffle Alliance in a nutshell." Faith in her team. Mithril wasn't dumb enough to ally with organizations that went against their own core directives, or so Tessa was trustful enough in her organization to believe.
"Indeed. We have intelligence, and we have military might. Granted, we're not going to be akin to Celestial Being, but we'll be there for the side Shuffle Alliance falls on." A slightly hardened look. Celestial Being. Such an organization...
...Ahem. "Have you taken stock of the submarine? You're the first one on-board that isn't part of Mithril, so I'd like a second perspective."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"I'm glad." There's no judgment here on Tessa, no scrutinizing. Tessa's here for a reason, and while she has misgivings about pushing people into these situation, Tessa seems at the very least supported. She'd like to know that reason, but that can wait.
"....It's bitten us in the past, though, and makes it harder for groups to work together. I'm considering at least having the leadership know each other, or a representative. Just in case I or my team are taken out of action, or..." Sayla pauses. She pushes in to the unhappy memory. "Or there's another Devil Gundam Incident. And the more the various alliance members work together, the more cohesive communication will be. It's riskier... but it stops us being caught unawares. And frankly, Domon and the rest have an unfortunate tendency to be loud already." She sighs. "It's something I'll have to put to them, and see if there's pushback." She knows there won't be pushback. She wants there to be, but there won't.
"I appreciate it, Captain. We need everything we can get frankly. It feels like things are accelerating,." She pauses at Tessa's mention of Celestial Being. "Yes. I don't know what their game is, and I don't trust their methods. Hell, I can't see any way what they're doing does end in more fighting, and I don't know what plans if any they have after that. And killing Bian Zoldark doesn't make any sense, no matter how I look at it." She sighs, frustrated. "Until we know more, we have to consider them as hostile. I'm certainly not sure we'd want to talk to them even if we could."
Sayla blinks at Tessa's question, then nods. "...I see. Well, I'm no designer, and if I knew you wanted that I would have asked Job John to join me." She takes a few seconds. "As an assault platform and stealth vessel, I would say it's unmatched. The sea remains a neglected battlefield even after Jaburo in the One Year War. Since Axis, everyone's eyes are on space, leaving you to perform that role quite efficiently." She takes another pause. She's not a tactical genius either,but she learnt some.
"I can't speak to the technology involved because, frankly, I don't think I'd understand it. Your crew on the other hand... They're proud of the ship, they're proud to serve as crew, and frankly, they're very proud to be serving you as Captain, which speaks well of you. You're certainly doing better than any of the White Base were at your age." That's a said statement from Sayla. There's somuch she hates about it. But they were a mess, and they lost people because of it. And federation command use them as decoys. "But I'm glad you have experienced officers here to support you. These sort of stations can leave their wounds." At least Tessa is old enough to enlist, unlike some...
"Frankly, in terms of coastal operations on Earth, it's likely unmatched. But that specialization leaves it limited. You can't contribute support inland, and if you had to deploy into Central Africa or Australia, you'd have a hard time. And that's not counting space operations. The Tutha De Danann is top of the line at what it does, but it's a specialist craft. Outside of that, it's options are extremely limited."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
A small, solemn nod. Tessa's quick to catch onto the pauses. The subtle inflections. An instinctual choice to not push deeper about that; Everyone had their pasts to think about, her included. She was here for a reason.
"The only disadvantage I can see is if someone's keeping out and out records of who's in the organizations. Shuffle Alliance's biggest strength is the various smaller cells within them, and knowing the netire structure could place everyone at risk." A frown. "But that doesn't preclude the obvious; The more we can bring people together as one, the better off our operations will be." Pragmatic in strategy.
Celestial Being. An organization that wants war to end...by attacking war. The tactician side of her saw the logic. The rest of her voted down that line of thought. "If I may play Devil's Advocate, I can see their logic. Just by fear of retribution, not the actual desire for peace." A sigh. "That was my conclusion as well. Hostile, but not unreachable. We have to know more about them beofre striking them outright; Their hearts are in the right place, even when the means are so detrimental." An alliance wasn't in the cards. Not when they knew so little.
Tessa's face relaxed the slightest bit, still maintaining the proper air of formailty while taking in the answer. Expected answers all around, and a name to keep track of. The engineer in her would be swelling with pride if this weren't a miitary meeting. The humanisitic side of her...
...Well. "Proud of me, huh..." A small whisper floating in the air, carrying so, so much more than a simple wisp could sustain. That could only mean she's pushing herself well enough. No time to relax on this ship. None at all. She'd cross that bridge of maintaining the self when it came time for it. For now? She's far from cracking under the stress of commanding a ship.
"That's about what I suspected. We have the capacity to launch costal attacks across any costal waters, and quite a bit in-land if the pilots don't mind a rocky journey. For those other areas, however..." She trailed off.
"...I do believe there's merit in seeing if the Tutha De Danann can fly. This submarine isn't running on Minovsky Particles, Dr. Sayla. The schematics I drew were based on Palladium reactors."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla nods. "Indeed. There's no benefit to records, but simply making people aware of each other on a need to know basis has merit, I think. Siloing has it's advantages, but we also need to share information to respond to threats, and a group might encounter something beneficial to another."
"...It's bad logic that has never paid off. Britannia is too belligerent to accept such a thing and would strike back, and the REA too desperate too accept the status quo. And even if it did work, such an arrangement would only work, for want of a better word, until something tips the scales." She sighs. "And Ultramen and places like Tsutsujidai are doing just that." Another world, another universe. She'd honestly thought she'd seen everything by this point. Audacious of her."
Sayla watches Tessa, carefully. She seems okay for now, at least. "Still, I hope your first deployment is a smooth one. That's the best you can hope for." And then Tessa agrees with her assessment. And responds.
Sayla blinks three or four times. "...I. I'd say I see, but I don't. Do you mean you could add a Minovsky generator, or...?" She shakes her head. "Never mind. You could tell me but I wouldn't understand."
A brief thought runs through her head. Is this how Chibodee feels during these briefings?
"I have someone who might, though." She pulls up her hardened phone- that still has no signal or GPS down here. Obviously. "A designer who started working with us, Job John. He was my crewmate on the White Base, and head of the F90 Project. If that doesn't give you credentials, nothing will. He's been working on using his miniaturization specialist knowledge on rescue equipment lately, but I think this might catch his interest. It would also be quicker and more coherent than trying to get me to convey it. If you have something here that will take it, I can give you a secure frequency."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa matched not for now, her brow furrowing in light concentration. Thinking. Planning. Mind skipping from thought to thought, the natural manifestations of someone who should be much, much more aged than her filtering through situations and speculation. "I do believe that the commanders at the top should meet each other once, I'm sure. We can't afford to leave anyone out that might be able to benefit the Shuffle Alliance's goals in some fashion."
A sigh. "That being said, we'll have to organize for peace by..." ...By how, exactly. The question left in the air. "...beginning by knowing what we can preserve, who we can mollify, and who we have to neutralize." Hard questions. Hard answers. Harder resolve. "The appearance of Tsutsujidai is a wild card, and so's Ultraman. The more we can learn about either of them, the kaiju, and others, the better off we'll be in the long run." Plans warping, taking shape, taking form, Tessa's hand instinctively reaching for folders.
Opening them slightly to ascertain their contents before stacking them in orders of severity. Allies. Enemies. Locations. Of course, nothing of Mithril's own plans and secrets. They were, as any other, a paramilitary organization with their own goals.
"Job John..." The name didn't ring a bell. "If you're certain enough about him, then he has to be someone trustworthy. I'll drop him a line after this meeting." Another swift nod. The next days were shaping up to be busy; busier than her usual fare.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla is assessing more than just the young captain's skills. Also her mental state, physical state, personal will... Personal beliefs. "In truth, Captain, the Shuffle Alliance have been working to mitigate war's worst excesses for 4000 years. However, we will never eliminate fighting unless we eliminate the causes of fighting. And that's..." She pauses. "It's not impossible, but the Federation needs to give the Colonies the ability to solve their own problems, and then the Colony can ease Earth's problems." Until we finally move from it so it can heal goes unsaid. Sayla is known to be a contolist.
She nods. "...Fortunately, we have some advantage there." She pauses. "People from Tsutsujidai have agreed to aid us. And so has an Ultraman." This is knowledge that will get here when Sousuke's report does, she doesn't mind preempting it. "He told us a lot, I'll make sure the information reaches you soon enough." She pauses. "It is... a lot to take in." She pauses again. "I also have... some knowledge of the Kaiju now, too. Apparently there are those that occur naturally and those that are spawned from another source. Unfortunately, unless you speak giant turtle, I haven't got much more than that." It's also frankly going to be impossible to hide Anosillus, Mithril will find out eventually. She'll still protect them.
"He's very good at what he does. In less than a month he had a working prototype AMBAC Rescue Mobile Worker, and managed to get it away from the Sleeves." She sighs. "Someone at SNRI must have leaked that he'd left. I already confirmed it wasn't our people." She's very cold and firm on that point. Sayla has gone to great lengths to ensure there aren't moles.
Not since one turned out to be the head of the organization and responsible for the Devil Gundam incident.
"You have been quite forthright so far, Captain Testarossa, but I'd like to know if there's anything your or your people need. Or want. This relationship is meant to be two way, and I fully intend to live up to our end of the bargain." Mithril hardly needs the aid Sweetwater does. Lord Mallory is an incredibly wealthy man. But that doesn't mean there aren't things the Shuffle Alliance can provide.
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
Tessa was similar thought; This was the first chance Mithril had to truly, adequately have someone from the Shuffle Alliance proper inside their submarine. The fact that Sayla had such a simple entry into the base of operations was nothing short of a miracle, considering the meticulousness of their (discreet) background check. She was there bewcause Mithril trusted her, personal vouching be damned. "It's a difficult situation all around. With the One Year War being the catalyst, I'd find it hard-pressed for the older side of the colonies to want to advocate for peace." Four thousand years... "...But that doesn't mean we can't try. So long as the Federation can bury the hatchet for how they've allowed for everything to happen." And so, so much more.
"That's good on both fronts." A shoulder-shaking sigh, picking open the Tsutsujidai folder. "I can imagine the confusion both inside and out. " There was little in the way of genuine surprise on Tessa's voice on the matter. "Nevertheless, Kaiju...Are you aware of which ones can be categorized as manmade, and which can be described as natural?" A smooth transition to one of the vaguer sides of the situation. "If they're both symptoms of a greater enemy, the better we can find a pattern, the better."
An affirmative nod. "He has quite the reputation. And if you're going to vouch for him, then I'll take your word for it." Background check pending. The tone of moles was not lost on the Whispered commander. Sayla was someone who, with her gut feeling, was extremely truthful when she wanted to be. This was one of those times.
"As for what we need, information. Movements. People. As much as Mithril is what they are, we can't afford to be everywhere at once. That, and there's a few places where I'd like to know if anyone's reported credible rumors of the incredibly gifted." Her gaze was hardening. A deep breath. In. Out. "Hot zones, battlefields, the entire gamut. Mana from the Freeden, if you need an example of whom we're looking for." Tessa can't exactly say out and out what Mithril was looking for. No, not at all, even if Mana was cleared of what Mithril was looking for.
"If you can keep your ears on the ground and give names of who's solving unsolvable equations or revolutionizing technology, that will be enough to assist Mithril in their mission." To find and protect the Whispered.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"The Zabi family broke any hope for an easy peace when they started the One Year War." She's restraining herself but there is venom there. "And the Titans ground what was left to powder. And then Axis, and now ZAFT. The food production caps were appalling, when the Federation could let them have more grow colonies and sell the remains. But attacking the orbital ring shut down hospitals and food production in poorer regions for months. It's eye for an eye." She sighs. It's not an easy solution. Eventually they're going to have to strike, but how.
She nods. "There is. Things are there. One of theirs provided some information for people entering Tsutsujidai that might be useful." She pauses on the Kaiju. "...I don't, frankly. It was a young girl who told me, and she doesn't get it herself. She called them 'Kaiju born from the human heart'. I was hoping to ask Gridman, now that he's returned, but it's not that easy, apparently." Gridman doesn't need a code name, he's a 50ft tall computer man from another world. She's not getting in to that. "But Kaiju have been part of our ecosystem for centuries. But until the Kyushu Zone incident they were much smaller. An MRC report I read indicates they grown rapidly over the past 50 years, but... any more information would require going to them. And I'm loathe to put myself in debt to NERV."
Sayla nods. "Information. We can manage that." She sighs. "...Though I'll be frank with you, our intelligence division is still recovering from the Devil Gundam incident." She pauses though. Anyone incredibly gifted. "...Only mechanically, as Mana is, or in different ways?" Ruri would be a thought but... She's not throwing that girl into this yet. "Or in other fields as well." The second statement clarifies. "...I see." She's cautious, of course she is. "And this is something that I in particular would be well established to find out, wouldn't it?"
She's cautious here. She's in a delicate position here. She doesn't mix Shuffle affairs and Foundation affairs. It's a rule. She needs to keep them independent if something happens. "If I may, Captain," she says, with a hardness of her own. Tessa said she designed this ship. That they were looking for people like Mana. It's too obvious not to notice. And too close to her heart not to press. "Would these gifted people be put into positions like yours?" Sayla stares at her. She's reading her face, her body, and whatever thoughts and emotions she gives off. "Because despite the state of the world, my work is about putting fewer vulnerable people into warzones. Not more."
<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
It's no secret what Sayla had under her belt, and Tessa was, unfortunately, on the front and center to experience that battle-hardened soul and someone significantly less 'soft' than what the reports had said. Granted, she was aware of the accolades, but personal experience trumped reading what one had done.
That much was obvious, considering the barely restrained words so sharp than even Tessa instinctively shivered up her spine. A second of pause. "It's...A difficult situation." The platitude of deference, the slight hint of surprise bleeding through. There was too much at stake to properly debate who was wrong in a war that happened and keeps happening, especially for someone who wasn't in the vicinity of that in the slightest. Trying to place blame on one side was going to lead her nowhere. Trust the gut. Do better. She's on the helm for a reason.
"Kaiju from the heart..." Even with that, she didn't sound surprised. Only taking in another bit of information to process. Back in her element. I'm just as clueless. So Tessa said in her mind. "NERV, unfortunately, is someone we're going to have to deal with. Angels are a point of interest, and so are the people involved." Unfortunately. "If Mithril and the Shuffle Alliance are to carry out their mission, we need to learn about all the world's conflicts, extraterrestrial or not." Careful. Careful. "I'm not requesting you do so." One step at a time. Walk back the accidental landmine. Just as she read. Just as she tried to put in her head. Step. By. Step. "But the more we know, the better. Kaiju is something that we need to know more about. From Gridman, from anyone in Tsutsujidai, and from the Ultraman."
A subconscious tensing of the muscles. Even before she could properly parse Sayla's words, the instinct of emotional resonance was enough to set her on edge. Of course. Two and two made four, even if two was separate from two. It did seem that way, yes? A flicker of surprise. The instinctual retaliation of something so, so, completely offbase from what the goal was.
"Absolutely not." Harsh. Quick. Almost as a passoff from Sayla's final sentence, the head of the submarine lurching forward in her seat. "As much as it may seem, Sayla, I volunteered for this. For the exact opposite reason that you're thinking right now." Every word was a controlled rebuke, her own face hardened to deflect the minute accusation. "I'm here because I want to be." To prevent others from being in this seat. "If all this puts more people in the line of fire, then Mithril will have failed." A statement of complete, untarnished fact.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"Yes." Sayla responds simply. "One that requires us to change the political landscape, as well as the battlefield. The fighting is only the quickest part." She pauses. "I'm not opposed to dealing with NERV. But with the exception of Guy Shishioh, I don't trust anyone there not to stab us in the back with whatever we give them in exchange. Unless we're negotiating with a position of strength, we're going to have difficulty." She sighs. "And frankly, anything that Charles zi Britannia is so happy to throw money towards is something I don't trust on instinct." Interesting. She's ceding ground. "But that's the advantage of an alliance. One can do what the other can't or won't." Will that make her step forward again? "And failing that, there are spenders. But you're right. It would be careless not take the Angels seriously. We should just be careful."
And then it comes. Genuine harshness, controlled anger. It's an accusation she's had to face before. Passionate. Sayla's face doesn't change, she doesn't step backwards, she weathers it.
And then Tessa sees a hard, tired smile. "Good." Sayla looks the Captain in the eye. "You can't stop someone who wishes to be in the field from doing so, much as you might try." Or should. "But the reverse is not so true. You can't speak for Mithril as whole, but you can speak for your ship. So long as everyone who serves on your vessel holds the same attitude, then we are of the same mind. Our goal is protecting people. Not putting them in danger." If she were crueler, she would say it was a test Tessa has passed. But it isn't. "...Thank you for your honesty. I'm glad to have laboured under a misapprehension, for once." She pauses. "Is there anything else you would like to discuss, Captain? I don't imagine we have much longer before we reach our destination."