2022-10-10: Simple and Clean
- Cast: Lina Lombardi, Vitaly Sokolov
- Where: Side 7
- Date: U.C. 0096 10 10
- Summary: Lina reports in to the Lieutenant Commander following the attack at Torrington.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Geez, this woman has me going everywhere, doesn't she?
Lina's mind wandered as she walked through the small G-Hound base out in Side 7. She stops at a large window and stares out into the empty void. Usually, the sight would elicit a small feeling of disgust, but right now, it felt oddly comforting. It was true that she had become more acclimated to being out in space (she didn't even feel nauseous in the shuttle out), but it still surprised her. She leaned against a guard rail on the edge of the hall, looking out at the endless sea of stars, almost feeling her physical form disappear in the moment, merely her, her consciousness, and eternity.
It was just like the dreams she had been having in the week since Torrington. It wasn't unheard of to have a few nights of rough sleep after a harrowing mission, but the feeling of dissociation was...entirely new to her. For someone who spent so much time in the sky, it was weird for her to not feel grounded.
"Hah...what the hell is this?"
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
G-Hound is not restricted to any one place. Its reach extends as far as the Federation's hand does. And as such, small bases such as these can easily be found anywhere. Even just a small asteroid base like this.
As Lina leans against the guard-rail and looks at the stars, she can start hearing it. The movement of metal over metal. Subtle, not scraping. Rather, the grasp of metal on the guard-rail as it pulls Vitaly Sokolov along. Halting a few feet away from Lina so that she can come to a slow halt in this low-gravity situation.
The old woman doesn't speak at first, staring at Lina with that usual stern face of hers. Her skin looks even more leather-worn than it usually does. Though no doubt the low gravity has something to do with that.
"What in hell is what?" Vitaly finally inquires, as she looks at her in a way that makes her demand clear. She is expecting a salute.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina jumps to a start, so lost in her own head that she hadn't heard her teacher approaching at all, losing herself in the low G for a second before stabilizing herself and snapping into a salute.
"Nothing, Lieutenant Commander! Just talking to myself!"
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"At ease, student." Vitaly Sokolov answers the young woman. Lina isn't one who enjoys this kind of saluting business, so to have her snap to salute so quickly means that something is on her mind. The old woman doesn't speak on that realization however. Instead, she lifts a hand and inquires; "Report. What did you encounter at last engagement. I see unit is wreck again."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
She pulls her hand down, lowering it back to the rail. No matter what changed, Vitaly Sokolov was as intimidating as ever. Ah yeah, the report! Did she file one? She didn't think she had between the battle, the hospital stay, and the return home.
"Right, the report. The mission was to assist Federation forces in routing Sleeves and Neo-Zeon forces away from an approach at Torrington Base. When I arrived, the situation had started to break bad, with a Sleeves mobile armor engaging an unknown white Gundam seemingly piloted by a civilian. Meanwhile, I engaged with..."
She gripped at the guard rail as she thought for a split second on how to continue. Would Vitaly even believe her? It wasn't really a matter of that though, right? There were multiple accounts to corroborate.
"There was what I can only describe as a space-time distortion and out of it came...the Nu Gundam. From the Axis Shock. Piloted by Amuro goddamn Ray himself. I engaged along with several others."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Torrington Base was attacked and destroyed. But I didn't hear anything about the presence of a Gundam." Vitaly Sokolov remarks, touching a hand to her chin. "Interference again?" She whispers to herself. Why are the reports going so quiet.
This isn't the first time that things have gone strangely around a Gundam. And piloted by a civilian - and its involvement with the Sleeves - clearly it must be that boy. "Do not file official report. Something is going on internally." She warns Lina.
But then the girl mentions that name. Amuro. Amuro Ray. And a space-time distortion? Vitaly's expression turns into this deep frown. Those wrinkles showing even more now. "Is lucky... no, perhap skill, to have survived." Vitaly Sokolov remarks in what may be the closest thing to a commendation Lina has heard in a long time.
Is that why the Federation is keeping things quiet? Because a Hero has turned their enemy?
"Tell me more about Amuro Ray during battle."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"I couldn't tell you much about the other Gundam, there was a lot of chatter and most of it flew out of my head as I was trying to survive against the Nu. They don't call him the White Comet for nothing. Those fin funnels are no joke. Just a couple shots from them had me in critical shape. Hell to dodge, too, it's like they knew where you were gonna be before you do. I was lucky to even get one good dodge in and a few shots on him. Unfortunately, my luck ran out and I had to make a crash landing."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Is one of reason, man was feared. Why federation try to house-arrest. Why NewType became such popular tale." Vitaly explains to Lina Lombardi. "You think, maybe, can see future. I think, can see future. Or at least, spacial awareness that can sense action before reaction."
The woman turns and leans to the wall a bit, then takes out a small metalic cylinder and puts it to her lips. It's not a proper cigarette. But in space, one has to make due. She ignites it with a small metalic heater touched to the tip of it.
She then breathes out pale smoke. Thinner than usual. "Tell me about other Gundam and Mobile Armor." After all, Lina had not touched on ZAFT enough yet to consider them.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"I don't even know if I should be telling you all of this. The Unicorn was almost completely white. Had some glowing red on it, too. It seemed to be fighting the mobile armor, I think it was an amphibious type, looked like a prototype."
Lina pursed her lips. There was a lot going on that evening, and much of the details of the Unicorn side of the conflict were missed. "I didn't really catch any names or anything...I'm sorry, it was just a real big furball and everything was happening at once."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Unicorn." That's the one. "So it is that boy." Vitaly Sokolov is well familiar with him. "Again." Her hand to her chin, that frown ever deeper. She isn't familiar with the armor, so there is nothing she can say on that. "Sleeves, yes?" She asks. "Or Neo-Zeon?"
The woman nods again. "A mess. Yes. Is big... 'furball'." She tries to follow along with Lina's analogy.
"And you?" She then asks. "What about you?"
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"I think it was mostly Sleeves. Might have been some ZAFT in there, too."
Lina turns around and leans her back onto the rail, looking up at the ceiling of the base and wracking her brain for more details. God, her head had been the real furball since then. Maybe Amuro's Newtype nonsense was contagious.
"I injured my arm in the crash landing, though it was pretty minor. I was taken to a medical facility for a couple days to monitor my condition. They wouldn't clearly tell me why, though. After that, I was able to go home and I've been pretty fine." Could she really call herself fine? She could lie to herself, but could she lie to her mentor? "Had a few rough nights of sleep, though. A few nightmares here and there."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
A medical facility that would not tell her why they monitored her for longer? "Then, I find out why." Vitaly Sokolov answers her. "If they monitor you for longer, is required to tell you why. I will find out." The woman says with a very firm tone that suggests that she will not take no for an answer on that.
"Nightmare?" The woman considers for a moment. "Will sleep off nightmare. Get back to battle, clear mind." Vitaly suggests. Of course, the school of hard-knocks isn't that caring about simple nightmares. "Perhaps some wilderness training. Siberia cold will help remove useless thought."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Ugh, I shouldn't have said anything. As expected of the Winter Witch.
"You really don't have to inconvenience yourself on my part, Lieutenant Commander. You're right, I'll just sleep them off, it's just...it's just stress. It's normal. No Siberia, please."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Stress enough to salute your teacher?" Vitaly Sokolov then asks, clearly pushing the topic a bit. Suggesting that she's seeing a bit more than what Lina is saying.
"No? Okay, then I will make plans for Siberia stay. Think, start with week long survival. Maybe one day ration and bandaid. For beginner." Making it clear that the other option is far more troublesome for her.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"A-A week has more than one day...Lieutenant Commander..."
Lina's soul, momentarily escaping gravity, plummets down to Earth as she dreads what Vitaly has in store for her.
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Yes, is survival training. Not Hotel Stay." Vitaly answers her. "Certain, student have nothing else to tell teacher about stress?" The woman pushes on Lina.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"I mean, the only thing I can tell you is that these nightmares are pretty atypical. They're more vivid than I usually dream, and I've been dreaming about things I was never present for, and..." She swallows. "My father is in a few of them. I haven't dreamed about him in years."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Sound like normal dream. Is usually born by stress. Bring back memory." Vitaly answers her rather unhelpfully. Though it seems she is easing off on the Siberia thing a bit now that Lina is actually talking about what is bothering her. "But Lombardi think, maybe is not just dream?" Vitaly asks. "If no, then perhaps, best speak to someone like NewType. Some of them understand dream better."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"Well, there were no shortage of Newtypes at Torrington, that's for sure. Might be a good idea, if I can get in contact with one." Lina scratches the back of her head, as if trying to get at an annoying itch in her lobes. "Hell, maybe the White Comet scrambled my brains or something."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Perhaps. Is... concerning to think about." Vitaly admits to Lina as she mentions her brain being scrambled by an Amuro Ray who passed through a gate of space and time. The whole idea that Amuro Ray would commit atrocities or attack the Federation is not entirely beyond belief though.
After all, Karaba was pointed against the Federation as well. Is there something else going on?
But it doesn't sound like he was committed to fighting...
"What was Amuro Ray doing? Why was he there?" She asks.
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
"Hell if I know. A bunch of people were freaking out, so he was probably sending out some serious Newtype vibes. The white Gundam got to it, there was a clash, and...the Nu Gundam just disappeared into the sea." Lina sighs and kicks at the ground. She wishes she could be of more help, she wishes she knew what the hell was going on at that base.
"There seems to be a lot of red tape around the specifics."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
"Red Tape is problem." Vitaly answers her, "I am seeing it as well. But, can investigate. You can also investigate. You are member of G-Hound. You have authority." The woman tries to impress upon Lina. "And, have not forgotten about father. But, student must give teacher a place to start looking." She points out.
"As for NewType problem. Perhaps, ask other NewTypes about the feelings. Military is run by its intelligence and knowledge. If there is no intelligence, military does stupid thing."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina sighs. "Yeah, I guess I can try to do a bit of digging around. See who else was there. I think there were a couple people who knew Amuro there."
She pushes herself off the rail, flailing her arms again to get herself back on her feet and turning on her heel towards Vitaly. "And I'll see if I can find a Newtype to get me some therapy. Hope my insurance covers it."
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
The woman watches as Lina turns and flails around with her arms. Vitaly seems very calm and composed, having an easy time in space. "I bid luck. Report when findings are found." Vitaly presses Lina. The woman then turns around and begins to float off. "Oh... will send Siberia itinerary to you next week."
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
<poem> "WHAT?!"