2022-06-30: How Everyone Has Changed
- Log: How Everyone Has Changed
- Cast: Lin Xiahe, Koji Kabuto
- Where: Photon Power Labs
- Date: 30th June 2022
- Summary: Xiahe visits an old friend and comrade in the Photon Power Labs.
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
Nine years ago, Lin Xiahe was a steadfast defender of the Earth, fighting against various terrestrial threats such as the Dinosaur Empire, Dr. Hell's Mechabeasts, the Mycenae Empire, and the Primevals. Based out of the REA, she piloted a mysterious bipedal Qilin-inspired Super Robot, and worked alongside many comrades before disappearing after New Yark City...
... comrades, such as the one she's visiting today!
She's here as a visitor to the New Photon Power Labs. She has long black hair and fair skin, and is wearing a ruqun -- a traditional Chinese dress -- as she often does back in the day, white with translucent layers of pastel red and blue silks... with a visitor's lanyard ontop, and a Pilder hat freshly bought from the gift shop with the price tag still on it.
"Ara ara, how different everything looks now," she hums to herself as she softly plants an aralia-shaped fan to her lips.
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
The lobby of the New Photon Power Lab is a bright, airy space with glass walls and superb air conditioning. It is a spatial embodiment of the energy the institution brings to the Earth Sphere, filled with the hustle and bustle of scientists coming and going and the various types of tourist, from the school field trip to people here to see the modern work of the heroes who triumphed over Doctor Hell, though such people tend to spend more time at the Mazin Museum next door.
A pair of labcoats walk into the lobby, each flanking a young man in a blue suit with the organization's pin worn on his lapel and an instantly-iconic mop of brown hair with spiked sideburns jutting forward, as well as sharp grey eyes. One of the other scientists is studying a tablet PC with a dubious expression. "Are you sure about this, Doctor Kabuto? This hypothesis of yours - "
" - Might be a lead on wireless energy transmission that works through Minovsky saturation. Given the reliance on it for battleships, I can think of several groups who would deeply appreciate the ability to beam power to them through a battle site. I want tests run on these frequency and intensity patterns, touch base with the Fuji Research Site and see what their readings can tell us." Koji looks out over the lobby at this point and blinks as he spots a familiar face. "... I'll check in with you guys after lunch, okay? Not sure we can expect results that soon but maybe we'll have learned something to give us a direction on this." He nods to the two of them and heads over to the newcomer.
"Lin Xiahe? Is that you?" He beams. "It must have been almost a decade."
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
Xiahe seems delighted enough to people-watch as she waits; it's certainly new to have kids coming by to witness the Mazin Museum -- though her eyes glance towards the Old Lab behind demolition fencing. Of all the structures here, that's the one that particularly holds memory to her...
But! Everything has to go someday.
Her red eyes scan over as she hears a pair of labcoats walk in, flanking a young man in a blue suit whose hair she'd recognise any day. She rises from her seat and spreads her arms and says, "It is me! In the flesh. Goodness me, just look at you, Koji... or should I call you Doctor Kabuto now? You look well!"
Lin Xiahe herself has... not aged a single day, it seems. She must have an amazing skincare routine!
She glances around with a fond, if somewhat melancholic smile. "Fujinomiya certainly has changed a lot in the years, hasn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"I'm not gonna stand on ceremony with old friends, Lin." Koji smiles, though there is a little squint of his eyes as he looks at her more closely. "You look g - " He pauses, thinks, then says "There's no way to rephrase this that wouldn't have Sayaka kick my ass if she heard, is there?"
He clears his throat and moves on. "Professor Yumi, Sayaka and I and the rest of the staff... We worked really hard, once the Myceneans had been defeated, on extending Photon Power to the rest of the OCU. Fujinomiya is kind of our... Thesis statement to the rest of the world, of how beautiful life can be when the power we need isn't choking the planet with smog and Minovsky scatter." He smiles. "I kinda owe it to grandpa, I guess."
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
Of all their enemies, the Mycenae are the ones that provoked the most reaction from Xiahe, as if she'd known them from someone... or some /time/ ago. Something personal, something forlorn, lost into the mists of time... though it doesn't really change that in the end, they had to resist them with all their might.
There's a snicker from Xiahe as Koji catches himself and holds her hand up, where there's a ring on her ring finger. "It's fine, I'm a married woman, Koji. Sayaka knows, from back then." ... really? She's never mentioned her partner, at all.
Xiahe stops to listen Koji speak of how Fujinomiya is a statement to the rest of the world... how beautiful life can be, when they aren't strangling it with Minovsky particles and smog.
"If only people would be more onboard that," she ruefully says. "The Earth hasn't grown more beautiful since our fight. Even after we came so close to Axis finishing it off, three years ago..."
The lonely, rueful lamentations aren't exactly new -- Lin Xiahe is prone to that at times, in a way that feels almost unusual for someone of her apparent age. "I can only hope more people become inspired by your example. How are the rest of the crew doing?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"We're all doing solid. Boss and his crew run a ramen shop in town, Sayaka is the new Research Institute Director since her father went into politics, Shiro joined the OCU military in the Ichinana Corps - kaiju specialist, of course - Tetsuya is... still Tetsuya, but he and Jun are having a baby, which is... kind of wow, honestly."
He chuckles softly. "How have you been? I could swear you haven't aged a day - and I don't think I remember you mentioning a partner back in the day." They were incredibly busy, of course, but to the Mazinger pilots, those core relationships were part and parcel of the driving force keeping them all going when things got bad, it's almost odd to imagine someone close to them not joining in on the relationship talk.
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
"Oh, that is right -- I did see Sayaka on a public address on television a few days ago," Xiahe recalls with a smile. "She's quite got her hands full, but I have no doubt she's up to the challenge. A ramen store, hmm...?" She taps her chin. "I suppose I have no choice but to stop by sometime."
She bobs her head one way. A kaiju specialist... she hasn't quite revealed that her Super Robot is a core with a kaiju dressed around it, but she wouldn't be surprised if the Photon Power Labs figured that one out years ago.
"I suppose I should not be surprised Shiro joined the military. He's always been pretty spirited, back when he rode Robot Junior," Xiahe remarks. "But, goodness... to be honest, I would not have guessed Tetsuya would be the first to start a family."
Koji asks how she is, and that he doesn't remember her mentioning a partner.
"I admit, the explosion in New Yark took the winds out of me. To see one of our close friends go like that..." She pauses. "Try as we might to keep the fight going, repeated sacrifices weigh heavy on the heart, does it not?" She looks down at her ring for a moment. Then the smile is back on as she seems to force some cheer back on her face.
"Which makes it all the more heartening to see all of you doing well!"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
Damn it, Kabuto, you're such a deft wordsmith. He closes his eyes for a moment, making the inference Lin probably wants him to make. "I'm sorry. Yeah. New Yark was... rough for a lot of us. Kind of felt like a kick in the teeth, especially it happening after the invasion." Britannian territorialism had kept the Photon Power Lab from deploying to support Musashi, despite the obvious need, and without support Getter Robo had been overwhelmed, forcing Musashi to make his fatal, final choice.
He sighs. "I still miss the big guy. I can't imagine how Hayato deals with it. Have you seen any sign of Ryoma on your own travels?"
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
"We had /just/ gained some breathing room from the Mycenae, only for Britannia to invade," Xiahe shakes her head. "It was so disheartening, to fight with your life on the line, only to see so much in-fighting. You are correct, of course. They should not have had to fight that battle alone. No one should have had to make that choice alone, yet..."
Xiahe finds the bitterness in her heart rising, so she takes a deep breath for a moment. Steer towards more pleasant topics. "I heard Hayato is within the NERV apparatus, but I do not know much more than that. Ryoma... no, I did try to look for him, but I've heard nothing. I hope he's still alive, somewhere, out there."
A longer pause. "Where does your research take you now, Koji?"
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"Morale definitely took a huge hit when the Emperor made his play, yeah." Koji shakes his head. "I hope Ryoma's okay, too."
The topic moves to work, and Koji at least can navigate this topic with a little more ease. "The mysteries of Photon Power, of course. Now that we're officially a demilitarised, civilian apparatus, we have a little more time and manpower to devote to really diving into what properties of Japanium allow it to behave as it does. Learning more about its thermodynamic miracle gives us more of a leg to stand on - part of the leverage Britannia had for getting Getter Ray application banned is that it was both obviously dangerous and too-little understood, and we cannot allow that justification to fly for Photon Power. As it stands... we're discovering more and more every day, including that grandpa had barely scratched the surface of its potential before he made his retirement announcement. New alloying techniques for Super Alloy Z to get an even better balance of weight and durability, for instance."
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
"Honestly..." Xiahe bobs her head. "Nine years ago, I remember we wondered if we could bring Photon Power to the common household, if we could make that a reality. To see it power Free Japan in just that short a time is quite incredible, all on its own. I assume the new alloying techniques was responsible for the Ichinana, I imagine? I've seen it in construction too."
There's a bit of a furrow on her brow, as she takes her Pilder hat off and starts playing with it on her hands instead. "People have a habit of fearing what they do not understand, like we saw with Britannia and Getter Rays. That you can make the research of Photon Power and Japanium something anyone can aspire to..."
She smiles, though her words feel... weighty, with that melancholy. "I have come to the realisation that everyone must do their part to become heroes. It isn't enough for the Earth to be held on the shoulders of a few dozen, until they break."
Xiahe glances aside, clarifying: "Not just fighting, of course. Research, rescue... it's my hope that this new Lab inspires more people to participate and study."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"Not just the Ichinana, it's also revolutionised architecture! New materials to work with becoming more available to the public sector means more resilient structures all across the city. Japanium's still quite rare, of course, so we had to make some careful decisions about what to build with it first, but even the slightest improvement makes a huge difference long-term."
"Which is... really where all our focus is cast - long-term improvement and rebuilding. Free Japan has /power/ in spades, but there are still problems we have to deal with - poverty, hunger... The big, troublesome domestic ones."
He smiles a little. "You're right, though - heroes are more than just the robot pilots, they're everyone who steps up and gives of themselves to make the world a better place. It's my hope that the Photon Power Research Institute remain the ones leading the charge and inspiring others to take up that cause, until it's time to hand the reins over to the next brilliant minds."
<Pose Tracker> Lin Xiahe has posed.
Xiahe has a wistful sigh as she listens to Koji speak about architecture -- about infrastructure. "If only more people shared a passion for improving living quality... on ensuring people can thrive with their lives. So many in charge now are so focused on devoting everything to horrific outcomes." She's quiet about it, but she reflects on where the REA is heading -- or not even just the REA, but her once-home country in China.
She rises quietly from her seat and smiles. "I won't keep you much longer, Koji. I know you're a busy man nowadays! But it's been lovely to catch up. I need to understand how to next make my mark on the world too... and this conversation's been invigorating."
She puts the hat back on, and has a quiet wave as she turns around. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."
<Pose Tracker> Koji Kabuto has posed.
"... I would like to think we're not the only ones who can see the way the wind is blowing in the Federation," Koji says quietly. "I know Shiro's training his squad on KMF and Wanzer field tactics, for instance. Despite the work we're doing... honestly, we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop."
He sighs and shakes his head. "Well, regardless, it's been a delight to see you again, Lin. I'll let Sayaka know you stopped by, she'll be eager to see you again, too." He smiles, but there is something... oddly ominous about the way Lin phrases her farewell, and his brow furrows ever-so-slightly in... concern? From Koji Kabuto, renowned Idiot Hothead?
The Universal Century has changed everyone, it seems.