2022-09-21: Fish and Chips, Earth-Style
- Cast: Rena Lancaster, Anita Rosetta
- Where: Australia
- Date: U.C. 0096 09 21
- Summary: Rena goes to check on Anita, and together, they discover whether Earth-style fish really is more fresh than it is on the colonies.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena came down to meet up with Anita. She had some admitted curiosity about what manner of emergency would make Annie volunteer for a mission (though she knew she would). She walks with Anita, wearing her own casual outfit: blue jeans, a button-up black shirt, and a couple bracelets on her left wrist. She walks next to her, with one shopping bag in her hand.
She doesn't have a prosthetic arm, and despite her good conditioning, she can't just carry loads of bags for hours on end. The advantages of prosthetics!
She walks easily enough, even if she sometimes gawks at what they pass. Then, she shakes her head, and looks at Anita. "I'm game!"
She smiles. "I don't know if I've had really good fish... just what's up on the colonies, but I heard it's better if it's from the sea instead of--y'know... the stuff from the fish farms or that's just frozen?"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
It's a mystery - but one Anita would be glad to reveal. She actually seemed pretty pleased with herself when they met up, so it must have gone pretty well.
But right now - fish!
"Yeah, that's what I hear? Colony fish is nice, but I've had folks tellin' me I gotta try it fresh." Anita agrees. "You know I love the quick and easy stuff, but every now and then you gotta treat yourself to somethin' good..."
Anita takes a moment to roll her right arm, to give it a little stretch. Maybe she should consider transferring some of the bags over to it, give it some exercise, too, but...
Nah.
"It's another thing I never got to try out during training, so this'll be new for me, too..." Anita comments, then pauses and chuckles. "...Guess I could've had some earlier, but I kinda wanted to wait to have some with whoever came to pick me up..."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm-hm. It's almost unfair, the food on Earth. I've had stuff that puts things I thought were good in a different light," Rena says, with a sigh. Not that it diminishes those memories too much -- or make her want to pass on some of her favorite dishes from the colonies. She puts a hand on the back of her head.
She looks sideways at Anita, then, and flashes another grin at her. "You were in Australia, during training? And I mean--"
She laughs. "I'm not complaining. I get to have some! And I'm glad I volunteered to come get you, too."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Right? I get it, they gotta make sure it stands up to transport and everything that goes into that, but it'd be great if they could figure out how to make everything equal." Anita replies with a shrug. "...I guess that'd probably be pretty hard, though. I wouldn't know where to start."
She returns that grin with one of her own.
"Yeah. For part of it, anyway. This is where I first ended up when I first came to Earth. Then after a little while, those of us in the Variable Fighter division got shipped over to Japan for some more focused training." She explains.
Anita smiles, then.
"I'm glad you did, too. I might've had a good time down here, but I'll be honest, I kinda missed you guys while I was gone." She replies. "Besides, trying out stuff like this is better with friends."
This isn't the first time she's expressed that sentiment - it's something she really holds to.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah. I don't think a colony could have an ocean, unfortunately," Rena says with a sigh. Maybe a truly humongous colony -- but that would have its own sort of problems. She tilts her head to the side as she thinks through it.
Then she nods, her expression looking thoughtful for a moment. "It makes sense you'd need specialized training for that. That's pretty amazing, though... all of ours was in the colonies."
She looks sideways -- then she smiles. "I missed you, too. What was the mission, anyways? It seemed like a big deal for you."
Which is saying something!
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Yeah, probably not. Not a real, proper one, anyone." Anita agrees with a nod. "That beach we used to go to back on Winter Wonderland's probably trouble enough to maintain as it is."
Training in the colonies... Anita considers that for a moment with another nod.
"Must've been a pretty different experience..." She considers, and then grins. "...Did you guys get up to anything crazy while in training?"
She nods, then, as Rena asks about the mission.
"So there was this radio station, right? I used to listen to it all the time back in training whenever I had time to relax. Then I find out that one of Dr. Hell's old lackeys had taken it over to broadcast some kind of signal and some of his lame radio shows. You know I'm not gonna stand for anyone ruining anyone else's relaxation time, so I joined up with the crew going to check it out and we beat up the kikaiju he was using to do it." She explains. "...Then, once the boss ran away, we broke into the station on foot and clobbered his lackeys who were still holding the station crew captive. Got to give my arm a real nice workout."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"I bet. The waves didn't move right, either... they couldn't quite simulate how tides on Earth really work," Rena says. The wave machines also had to be prohibitively expensive, but she didn't know the specifics about that.
Then, she considers, and looks up. "Well... I did organize a group to practice on our off-days, and I kind of got really into it?" she says. This may not be the definition of crazy that Anita was thinking of. "I helped people get training partners and made a schedule, and..."
She trails off, with a little sigh.
Then she blinks. She turns her head and looks back at Anita, her eyes widening. Someone sent by Dr. Hell! Who took over a radio station!
"Th-that's so cool!" she says. "And... and it's so you. Someone messes with your relaxation time, and you get really serious..."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Yeah, they really need the... it's the moon, right? Doing the pushing and the pulling?" Anita replies, doing a quick pushing and pulling motion to signify it. The bags shift a little on her left arm as she moves, but she's careful not to drop anything.
Rena explains, then, the crazy things she got up to. Anita grins, listening as she recounts them. It certainly isn't the definition she was thinking of... but it's a very Rena thing to do, so in that way, it's even better.
"Sounds like you had a real blast." Anita replies with a good-natured laugh, noting that little sigh.
Anita concludes her own story, and grins as Rena enthuses. It does feel good for Rena to think it's cool.
"You think so?" She replies. "I just felt like I had to do something about it, you know? And I got to help folks out in the process, so... it felt good."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm-hm. The moon makes the tides be a thing," Rena says. She watches the bags shift -- but she isn't worried. She knows Anita has amazing balance by now. That arm can do some things that Rena could never manage.
Then, she puffs her cheeks out -- but she smiles. Maybe not what Anita meant, but she's not immune to a little teasing. "I did, actually. Though I couldn't keep them together forever. People got too busy."
She tilts her head, then. Rena grins, and she bobs her head in agreement. "You did!" she says. "I don't blame you. Relaxing is important... and stealing something people like so much, like a radio show, is terrible. Ruining it is even worse."
Then, she flushes a little. "A-And punching them is... um." She reddens. "That's awesome, Annie. I wish I could see a video."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"I knew that had to be it." Anita says, with a quick snap of her fingers. It's true, though, her balance is pretty great - that was an important part of adapting to it.
She chuckles a little at the way Rena puffs up.
"Yeah, I guess that's gonna happen..." Anita comments, when Rena mentions how people got too busy. She massages the back of her neck with her free hand. "Still... I bet they never forgot the training you helped them with. It was probably a huge benefit."
She nods, then, as Rena agrees.
"Right? That's what I thought, too." Anita agrees... and then grins, as Rena continues.
"Wellll... that could maybe be arranged. I brought Haro with me so I could keep tuned in on the station, just in case they let slip anything we could use over the broadcast... And I brought it in with me for backup and to monitor the other guys, so I bet I could pull the footage from its sensors, as long as you don't mind a Haro POV." Anita points out.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Mm-hm... I hope so, anyways!" Rena says, with a smile, and a glance up at the sky as she walks along. She wonders sometimes -- but she wouldn't be Rena if she didn't overthink things like that. She glances back at Anita, then.
She is still a little flustered.
"Really? You--you got footage of it?" she says. "I admit I'm kinda curious... I mean--I've seen you throw a punch!" she says. "But in sparring matches, not... you know... not punching a minion of Doctor Hell."
She pauses a moment.
"How'd it feel?"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita follows Rena's gaze up to the sky. She can guess she's thinking about it. She turns her attention back to Rena, then.
"Sure did." She confirms with a nod... and then, nods again. "Yeah - this was, like... the first time I'd had to properly handle myself on foot? So while I kinda knew what to do already, it was very... different."
After that, she has to think about it for a moment. How'd it feel...
"Well, I felt kinda tense at first... It's really not somethin' I'd wanna do all the time, but I can make an exception for jerks like that?" Anita replies. "And it kind of helped me highlight some of the flaws in my combat arm's build, along with giving me some ideas, so there was that, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"It seems like it'd be different than the trainings," Rena admits. She hasn't been in a real fight outside of a robot before. She scratches at the back of her head for a moment, and then she looks at Anita. It's good, she thinks, that she came out all right after all that.
She smiles, though.
"I'd rather you not do it all the time, too. That seems dangerous," she says. "But given the circumstances, I'm glad you did. And, um, that you got some ideas for fine-tuning them. I never thought of that."
She knew Anita did her maintenance and customization, but... there was nothing like testing it in the field.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"It was different. It's like... You're not really gonna be thinking straight in the heat of it, so it's all about how much you can recall in the moment? You gotta be ready to make like - snap decisions." Anita replies with a nod. "But training's gonna make it much easier to recall what you need when you need it."
She nods, then.
"Yeah, seriously - and it was so exhausting, too. It was for a good cause, but that was wayyy too much work for one day..." Anita complains. ...Though, it's easy to tell she's just trying to inject a little levity into the conversation. She nods, then. "Yeah, it's a very different sort of strain, and wear-and-tear, than you get from, like, normal everyday activities, or piloting... It's something to keep in mind."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Yeah... it's a little less removed, I think, too. Since you're not in a cockpit," Rena says. "Even if it's similar..."
She closes her eyes for a moment, thinking about it for a second -- but then her eyes open and she cracks a smile at Anita's complaint. "Fortunately, you're getting a nice break now, right?" she says. "I'm glad you got a chance to see what improvements your arm needs, though. It seems like it could be handy."
She looks down the street -- and then her eyes light up, as she spots a restaurant. It has a large sign with a fish on it. Rena points at it. "Hey! What about that place?"
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Yeah. My EX-Gear gives me a little extra protection too, at least." Anita replies with a nod... and then she grins, as Rena's comment. "I sure am. Gotta make the most of it while I can."
As for improvements, that gets a nod, too.
"Yup - and it'll be nice to have a project to work on." She agrees. But, finally, a prospective fish place appears! Anita stops in her tracks, giving the sign a whistle of appreciation.
"Oh, that looks good. Ten out of ten on the decor, too." She agrees. "Let's give it a shot."
However it turns out, it'll make for a fun dinner, at least!