2022-12-04: Eight Files
- Log: Eight Files
- Cast: Rena Lancaster, Anita Rosetta, Eight York
- Where: Denver Colony
- OOC - IC Date: U.C. 0096 12 17
- Summary: Eight, Rena, and Anita reunite inside Denver Colony after being separated. They explore the colony's interior and eventually come across an abandoned laboratory, which turns out to have information more relevant to them than they could have anticipated.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena Lancaster and Leina Ashta were separated after some exploration -- with an agreement to meet back up later, but they needed to cover some ground.
They found some of the personnel quarters with a laboratory nearby. The gravity here is lower than Earth standard, though not zero gravity, either. At the moment, Rena is in her normal suit, floating along with her helmet. A light on the helmet shines out down a hallway...
And she has a sidearm out, just in case.
She flies along -- slowing as she rounds a corner, to where there is a large laboratory complex. She peers it over.
She isn't too hard to spot. Fortunately, the flight suit gives her away as a Londo Bell officer (to say nothing of familiarity or psychic senses).
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
The last anyone saw of Anita she was chasing after the Phenex, to give her a hand against the Neo-Zeon unit chasing after her. With Denver Colony coming to life, however, no one's been able to get in contact with her. What happened between them? That's a story for another time!
Now, though, Anita flies through the halls of the colony. It's one advantage of the EX-Gear she wears - it's great for space and low gravity travel. Behind her helmet, her goggles have been fixed over her eyes. With them interfacing together, she's able to see even in low-visibility conditions like this.
She doesn't know where she's heading... she just know that she needs to find someone - a friendly face, just to know that her friends are alright.
She pauses, however, as she sees the beam of a flashlight. She comes to a complete stop, her body becoming loose and still. It's the free-flowing sort of stance she uses when she's expecting the possibility of a fight.
...And then, the owner of the flashlight comes into view, and Anita abandons caution altogether. She knows Londo Bell flight suit. She knows that the owner isn't tall enough to be Eight, and doesn't have Callie's general stance. So of the people who came here, there can only be one option...
"Rena!" Anita calls out, announcing herself. She waits just long enough for Rena to register that she's here before flying over, pulling her into a quick, grateful hug before releasing her and letting herself float backwards a bit. "I'm so glad to see you... Do you know where everyone else is? Where's Leina?"
Anita's worried for everyone. It's understandable - though she's usually the calm sort, of course she'd be concerned with the sudden way in which they were all separated.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
For her part, Eight York deployed in her personal unit, moving out from the ship in order to more properly investigate the abandoned colony. She wasn't alone, but she and Lavhi both agreed to take different routes and meet up again at a predetermined time. Their bomber is secured against entry, and left to give them a way back to the ship when they finish--at which point they might be able to do something about its state. Maybe.
For now though, Eight is likewise floating along in a normal suit, until she senses...
Ah. There.
Eight comes into the chamber a few moments after Rena and Anita meet up, and waves. She doesn't have a sidearm out... but she doesn't usually need one on foot, either. And she knows there's friends here.
"Hey. Am I relieved to find you guys. Where's Leina?"
Eight floats closer. "The ship's engines are disabled; we're not getting out right now. Lavhi's working on getting some more doors functioning."
She smiles. "It's... really good to see you both."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Annie!"
Rena's call back is immediate. Her eyes widen, and she flies over to meet her halfway -- ending up in a hug. She squeezes a little tightly, before she pulls back. She shakes her head. "Leina and I split up to do some reconnaissance -- I'm supposed to meet her in two hours. I haven't found anyone else..."
She trails off for a second. Her eyes widen, though, as she senses--
She turns her head, eyes widening as Eight appears. "Octo!" she calls out. "Leina's looking over another area nearby. We're supposed to meet up in two hours. Are you--are you okay, Eight? Is everyone on the ship okay?"
The ship isn't. But...
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Rena meets her half-way. Anita is both pleased and relieved. She nods, when Rena explains the situation.
"So she's still okay too... Good." Anita replies with a nod... and her relief only grows at the next familiar voice she hears. "Eight!"
She turns. She's curious why she's here, of course - but her curiosity is satisfied a moment later, when Eight explains.
"That's not great..." Anita comments as Eight mentions that the Ra Mari's engines are disabled. A hand goes up to massage the back of her neck, a common gesture... though her hand only ends up bumping against the back of her helmet. She pauses, but doesn't let this deter her.
"Yeah, it's great to see you too... It's so good to see some friendly faces again." She says. If there weren't still so many unknowns left, she would find somewhere to collapse in relief. But with things still uncertain, she elects to remain upright.
...As upright as anyone can ever be in low gravity, anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"I'm fine," Eight replies, just a little gently. She was really worried about Rena. "I haven't found Callie yet, though... and I'm worried." A pause. "But the ship--well. That pilot had some strange technology. Some kind of strange green particles that managed to go straight through the ship. But there were no deaths--just some injuries from overloaded consoles and the like. Everybody's more or less all right."
Then, to Anita, "Likewise, happy to see you. Like I said, I was worried." Pause. "But..."
"How about we keep exploring? I'd like to just stay and catch up, but we've got a while before Lavhi's slated to be back to my shuttle, and we shouldn't waste time."
Eight will gesture with her head towards the laboratory nearby. "That's where I was going to start looking, before I sensed you two."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"You're okay, Annie? I saw you fighting that person who had the Oath Over Omega..." Rena trails off, before she sighs softly, and then she shakes her head for a second. She floats backward a little more, and then her eyes turn from Anita, to Eight again.
"That's scary," she says. "I wish I could have gotten away. Zoltan, though... that would have been hard."
She looks at the laboratory -- then she nods. "Let's do it."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
No Callie yet, huh... Anita nods, a frown crossing her face.
"I'm... she's alright. She's probably in here somewhere, waiting for us to catch up." She says. ...She has to be. She frowns, too, at Eight's report. "...Geez. Glad everyone's okay, at least."
And Rena asks if she's okay. Anita pauses for a moment.
"Ah, well... Tell you the truth, I'm still a little shaken." Anita admits with a laugh. "That pilot was somethin' else. Once the fight kicked in, she was like... a wild beast. It took everything I had to fight back, and even that wasn't enough. ...I went in there to protect the Phenex, but she's the one who ended up pulling my tail outta the fire..."
She shakes her head.
"...I heard her voice, though - the Phenex's pilot. Not out loud, but... in my head, kind of." She says.
She grimaces in turn, though, as Rena brings up the fight with Zoltan.
"...Yeah, he seemed... a little obsessed. You alright? That guy seems a little, uh. Intense." Anita asks, concerned.
Eight suggests they keep exploring, then, and Anita nods.
"...Yeah, good point." She says, looking toward the laboratory Eight points out. "Sounds good to me - makes a good landmark, even if we don't find anything."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Yeah," Eight says. "I think she's still here, too. I'd... know, if she wasn't." She's sure of that much.l But at least everyone's okay enough.
Oath Over Omega...
"The Phenex seemed to want to help all of us. I wonder why? That's not exactly a 'normal' thing to have around, or happen... Especially if people who don't usually 'hear' things are hearing her."
Zoltan...
"I couldn't come to help, either. That weird pilot... We'll have to find some kind of countermeasure. But, later."
Eight's concerned, too. But she leads the way into the laboratory. As they float through, it looks like it was decommissioned before the end; the consoles are old, and the equipment dustier than other places. Regardless, soon enough Eight uncovers an office, and turns around to check on the others. In the process she bumps into an old recorder...
Static buzzes through.
"We stole these notes from Zeitun's lab."
"We didn't figure we'd get much important, but the identities of some of her test subjects are pretty interesting. She was sourcing kids from orphanages."
Eight blinks. "...Uh?"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah... we'll have to find her," Rena says, and she looks down for a second. Then, she looks up at Anita -- and blinks when she says she is shaken. She hesitates a moment, before she reaches out and gives her a quick hug about the shoulders.
"It'll be okay, Annie. She was intense, but... next time, right?" she says. Because there will be a next time -- they survived.
She nods, then, at the question. "I'm... yeah. I'll be all right. He got in my head a little, but--it'll be fine," she says.
Then she looks at Eight. "Leina told me a little about the Phenex. She was... a Cyber-Newtype experiment gone really wrong." Rena shakes her head. "I'll fill you in later."
She flies along after Eight -- and into the laboratory. She looks over the consoles for a moment, before her eyes widen as she hears the name 'Zeitun.' Her eyes widen.
She swallows.
"Th--that's... my mother," she says, her voice quiet. She looks at Eight, worry in her expression.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
They all have that confidence in Callie - someone who's been a source of strength for all of them. If that's the case, she has to be okay.
"...Yeah, next time." Anita agrees with Rena. She's a little surprise when Rena gives her that hug, but she leans into it gratefully - and when she admits that Zoltan got into her head, she returns the gesture, too.
The Phenex, though... She's definitely a strange one. A Cyber-Newtype experiment gone really wrong...
"...That's..." Anita starts, surprised. "...Kinda impressed she can still be so nice after that. Even when she was in trouble and things were looking bad for both of us, she tried to assure me I'd be alright."
They make their way into the laboratory, then.
"Place is kinda dusty... Good thing we're wearing helmets. Place'd be a sneeze hazard even for me." She comments, poking at some of the consoles to see if any of them are still running. Maybe she's finally starting to relax, or maybe she's still tense and trying to lighten the mood for herself just as much as Eight and Rena... but either way, the attempt falls a little flat when on a recording begins to play.
Zeitun.
"...Rena..." Anita says, looking toward Rena immediately. That look on her face... She moves closer to her. What are they about to learn? She tenses a little, a feeling of trepidation passing over her.
Leina Ashta teleports in.
Leina Ashta leaves for Side 6 - Neutral Territories [---].
Leina Ashta has arrived.
Leina Ashta leaves for Side 1 - Federation Colonial Space [LBL].
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"We will." Eight projects confidence, though the truth is what she said first--she's worrie. But there will be a next time. That much is true.
For better or worse.
"Yeah?" eight asks about the Phenex. "I... see." She does a little; more when Anita talks about it. "Please do." She pauses. "...There was a ... light, too. That guided me in this direction. It's strange... But you're right. I sensed kindness."
Eight might sneeze, too. But she doesn't get very relaxed as a result. She frowns, with the recording. "It's OK, Rena," Eight says. "...But... if this deals with your mother..."
"We could get the jump on knowing more."
Eight turns, and looks around at the console; there's a few things around it. Eight picks up some old fliers.
They reference donations to the 'House of St. Frances', and Eight blinks when she sees them. "This..." She looks at the photographs in the papers. "I recognize this place," she says softly, surprising herself more than anyone. "The nuns there, they...."
Click.
Bzzt. "...This one, the House of St. Frances," the voice continues, "Was one that took in orphans from the One Year War. But not exclusively; there's always unwanted kids around, war or not." Bzzt.
"So we went through a lot of them--the notes we stole included her archives of where she got some. They were going to be destroyed, but we cut a deal with this intern--" Static buzzes out again. "...So most of them are nobodies. No records back before they were brought into the orphanage to begin with, or baseless claims of war hero fathers. But we found one--just one. That could make us rich, if we could get her aw--" Bzzt.
Eight frowns, and starts tapping at the console, trying to uncover more files. "What on..."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah... she seems kind," Rena says. Her eyes are a little distant, then, as she speaks -- and as she looks ahead.
She frowns, as she enters -- and nods at Anita's judgment. It probably would be hell on their allergies, if they didn't have helmets on. There is a bit of a smile. Except, of course, it fades at a certain point.
She hesitates, her eyes down on the ground. "...Yeah," she agrees. "We should learn more."
She looks at the flyer -- and then she looks up, as she comes over to the console. She swallows, as she listens. She heard her mother found orphans. She never quite knew where.
She looks at Eight, then. Dread starts to settle in her stomach. "O-Octo, do... do you recognize that place?"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"She guided you, huh...? So that's what she was doing." Anita comments. "There was a moment where she stopped moving for a bit, so I had to cover for her."
Getting the jump on knowing more, huh... Anita wonders if that's okay - if they should maybe brace themselves for it. But Rena's okay with it, so Anita nods and listens.
...Except, maybe Rena isn't the only one she should've been worried about. Eight seems to recognize some things. A flyer, related to the House of St. Frances... which the recording immediately mentions.
...It continues and Anita frowns. She has a bad feeling, too. She's not sure what they're going to find out is very pleasant.
"...Eight. You sure you wanna keep going...? You can stop, if you want." Anita says. Knowing Eight, she probably won't. But it feels important that someone remind her that she can, if she chooses to.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"Oh, yeah?" Eight asks Anita. "That makes sense, I guess."
But they're all in agreement about learning more. At first, anyway. Eight goes over the recordings, and taps away at the console some more. Frowning. The flyer... And that place.
"I--I do," Eight says. "I was there... I remember the nuns' habits."
Eight too has a feeling, but she's not sure what kind of feeling it is. Anita asks if she wants to keep going--
"I..."
Eight taps the console some more, and finds another audio file. "This... is..."
Bzzt. "We got dossiers on the promising ones in the files. Folder and password..." He rattles off a bunch of letters and numbers. "Most of them were maybes. But the big one--the big one--is test subject number eight."
Eight hesitates, at this point. "I..."
She can stop, if she wants. Anita reminded her of that. But can she, really?
"I'm... going to check the folder he mentioned."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena looks up at Anita. She echoes her question to Eight, without saying so aloud. So she looks at Eight -- and she nods to her answer.
So she listens.
Test subject number eight; that was Eight's designation, before the Yorks adopted her. Before it became her name, for that matter.
She swallows, before she looks at Eight. "O-Okay," she manages. She still feels sick; this is what her mother did to the person she fell in love with. It takes all of her willpower to not turn and hide. "We're with you. Let's..."
She looks over the consoles and the cabinets. "...Let's find that folder."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Eight was there. Anita frowns - and another audio file comes up. Her frown only deepens as it continues. Test subject number eight, huh...
Eight wants to check the folder. At this point, she can't blame her.
"Yeah. Whatever happens we're right by you, one-hundred percent." Anita agrees with Rena. She starts checking over the consoles, looking for one that's still working before joining in on the search for the mentioned file. If Eight is sure this is something she wants to know, Anita will do what she can to help her do so.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight looks around; most of the consoles are dead, most of the folder useless administrivia. She and the others search. Eight herself says, "...Yeah. Thanks." She pauses, looking to the others, "I... appreciate it."
It takes a while. The place is disorganized, to say the least. But eventually, Anita uncovers something that Eight spots over her shoulder--the file.
"It's here," she says.
"Let's..." Eight goes through the folder, each page listing a test subjects of Rhella Kan Zeitun. It's not an exhaustive list, but from Eight's particular project there are a number. She remembers them, as she sees them. "...They..." Eight's face falls. "They didn't make it..."
It doesn't make her feel good, to relive those days. Rena can probably sense her presence simply shrink as compared to her usual. Anita might notice her slouching.
But she flips through, until she reaches '#8'.
There, on the page, is a picture of a child they would recognize as Eight. There's various pieces of data on her, but the most important is up on the top of the page. A name:
Dimara Kadun.
And a post-it note on the top. 'This one--bastard daughter of the Kadun family. They're loaded, and their only son died in the wars. If we bring them this kid, and prove she's got the same DNA...'
Eight stares.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Together, they can look for it. Rena looks up when Eight does -- and peers over her shoulder. She swallows, feeling sick to the stomach. That list of people -- the names and faces of her mother's victims -- is hard to look at. So many didn't make it.
But, really, it's not about her. It's hard for to shake that guilt.
She feels Eight shrink, too. That reminds her of the girl she first met; the one who hadn't left her shell yet, who needed so much help. Rena had been there, then. She looks down at the paper that Eight is staring at. A picture of Eight as a child; a name; a family, with a plan to get rich off them.
"O-Octo," Rena says. Her voice is strained. But she wraps her arms around her from behind.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
After some searching... Eight finds it. Anita frowns as she flips through the pages. Page after page of lost souls. It makes Anita feel ill, too. So much... and for what? What was it for?
She can see Eight slouching. She can tell how deeply this is affecting her. She feels a pang of sympathy stabbing through her. It hurts, to see Eight like this.
...And then, they reach a folder with a familiar picture, attached to an unfamiliar name. ...And a post-it note. Anita reads it. And re-reads it. And she glares at it, as if her gaze could burn a hole through time to whoever wrote it.
"...Assholes." Anita mutters darkly, a rare anger to her tone that has only been reserved for one person to this point. She doesn't like the dismissive tone, the way they seem only interested in using her...
But, Eight. She's standing there, staring. Rena moves in for a hug and Anita steps closer, too, moving to rest a hand of her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze to assure her that she's there.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight was the eighth. That's seven before her--just of her line alone. She knew that, of course. She thought, for the longest time, that keeping that name, Eight, would matter in that way. Would carry on for them. But...
Eight, back then, was so quiet. She would hasten to do anything asked of her, but would ask nothing in return, hiding when people confronted her. She was very, very different from who she is now, after coming out of that shell.
The page doesn't burn, but it hangs there for a while. Eight eventually closes the folder. "I'll... keep this, I..."
Her eyes are wet. "S-stupid," Eight mutters, as Rena hugs her, as Anita puts a hand on her shoulder. They're both there. They are.
"Rena, Annie..."
"I--I had a family," she whispers. She doesn't care about the money, if her... parent? Grandparent? Is even still alive. But the name...
"But I--But I have a family," she finds herself thinking, and the conflict in her is clear. "I never thought..."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena leans her forehead against Eight's back. She is taller than her, after all. She glances at Anita, grateful they're both here, right now. Rena's arms tighten a little more around Eight's shoulders as she stands there.
She considers, for a second.
"Y-Yeah," she says. Rena swallows. "We could go looking for them. When we get out of here." Could she ever face them? If they knew who she was, then--
She squeezes her eyes shut. "Whatever you want, Octo."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita stands there, quietly. What could she say, really? No, right now, the best thing she can do is be there for her, to lend whatever strength and comfort she can to Eight through her presence. She meets Rena's gaze, too, nodding lightly before looking back toward Eight as she speaks.
She had - has - a family... Anita manages a small smile for her, and nods.
"...Yeah. We'll be there every step of the way - we'll help you find 'em, if you want." She agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight, too, is grateful. Grateful for Rena and Anita's presence, especially. Two people she loves, though in different wys, that she trusts with anything. Something lke this...
Eight holds the folder against herself, and turns to face the other. She doesn't quite smile, though she tries, reaching around to hug Rena in turn.
"...Yeah. I... I need to think," Eight says. "But I want to grab everything we can from here."
"...I'll figure it out once we're all safe. If I get the data, I can do that."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah... yeah, Annie's right," Rena says. She blinks, as Eight turns to face her. She hugs her back, sighing softly. She leans her head against Eight's shoulder for a moment, and then she steps backward.
"We can do that," she says. "We... better start grabbing things to get back to the Ra Mari, then."
She should, besides. If there is information about her mother's work here... then she owes it to her victims to be sure it isn't destroyed or forgotten.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita steps aside with a smile, letting the two of them share that moment together. It's great to see how the two of them reinforce each other, strengthen each other, through their bond. When Eight says she needs to think, Anita nods.
"Yeah. Take all the time you need." She replies. But she wants to grab everything, so Anita nods again. "Yeah. Let's clean this place out."
There's no telling what they'll find... so that's all the more reason to take everything they can carry with them, no matter how insignificant it might seem.