2023-01-23: Coming Back to a New Home
- Log: Coming Back to a New Home
- Cast: BC-001 Minae, Eight York, Anita Rosetta, Ruri Hoshino
- Where: Ra Mari II, United Emirates of Orb
- OOC - IC Date: 0097 01 23
- Summary: Brave Counselor Minae returns from Tsutsujidai... with some questions for the crew.
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
- I'm back! Tsutsujidai sorted, but I need to follow up
- Sent 3:12am
- uh
- Sent 3:13am
- what happened to my security clearance
- Sent 3:13am
- UH
- Sent 3:13am
- uhhhhhhhh
- Sent 3:13am
- my optimism is being sorely tested
- Sent 3:37am
* * *Minae watches out of one of the shuttle windows as the small craft maneuvers down into the docking bay and settles to a halt. It's kind of a beaten-up old thing but at least it's entirely hers, bought on a whim to make sure that her travel back to the Ra Mari's successor is secure. For the sake of safety, there's no-one else aboard, just her own maintained connection to the navigation systems guiding it down to the bay, and what time she hasn't spent catching up on the news has been spent hardening its systems against intrusion.
Paranoia doesn't really sit well with her, but she hasn't yet figured out how to react to the deluge of information she collected on her return from Tsutsujidai, and suddenly the shape of the world and the groups within it is very different. She's going to have to check on GGG, and figure out her political standing at NERV-- and she doesn't relish having to do either, much more happy and content when she can just sit back and do her job.
She's self-aware enough to heave out a sigh as the engine finally shuts off, and let her shoulders relax. The ship itself might be unfamiliar, but it's everything around it that still makes it 'home' - personal devices she recognizes ping up on her list of wifi connections, the sight of the Nadesico nearby is a soothing presence, and when she hops down to the hangar floor, there are people she recognizes to wave to.
"Uh," she says again and to no-one in particular, which has become a bad habit in the last 24 hours. "I'm back?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
For her part, Eight York has been... really, really busy. She's had so many meetings to do. So many people to talk to. But there's one that finally reached her as she was looking...
"Minae!!" she'd said out loud to her phone in front of a couple of very confused technicians as she oversaw their work. But that was then. Now...
The hangar is expansive and roomy, to say the least. THe great cavernous rooms of the Zentradi warship are filled in with more artificial-feeling structures to allow Miclones (or, put another way, non-Macronized people) to work effectively. There's already a number of shuttles here, and a number of mobile suits being moved over from the original Ra Mari. And now, a shuttle with Minae in!
There is a thud.
There is a thump.
And then a woman in a red dress and white jacket rushes Minae, the tall blonde crossing the distance in an instant as she emerges from the ship.
"MINAE!" Eight enthuses, and picks up the Brave Counselor outright into a big, big hug, spinning her around for only a couple of moments and setting her down.
"I missed you! I worried about you! I--"
"...I have a lot to explain to you," she says with a happy laugh.
She might've teared up a little on finding Minae was all right... But her makeup mostly covers that over.
There are others present, as well...!
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Word travels fast, even in a ship this size. All's it takes is the knowledge that Minae is on her way for the Ra Mari II for Anita to drop everything she was doing and head on down to the hangar to meet her. She's been gone for... so long, now. Anita was worried, too. When she'd heard Tsutsujidai had vanished, and everyone in the area along with it...
...Well, she had her hopes, but she'd feared the worst, too.
She strolls in along behind Eight as she charges Minae like a missile, sweeping her in a hug. Anita can't help the wide smile that crosses her face at the sight of them.
...It really is her.
"Hey there, Minae." Anita greets with a wave. She chuckles slightly, then, massaging the back of her neck. "I, uh... I missed you too. Welcome back."
It's a fairly casual reaction on the surface... but her relief at seeing her alive and okay is clear enough to those who know her.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri Hoshino is also here! The Nadesico's alongside the Ra Mari II for safety, and so their Certified Littlest Systems Operator (don't ask) has come aboard to help sort out a little computer disagreement.
(Which is to say, some bugs not caught in testing.)
She looks up, as she types -- on a keyboard too big for her even though it's for miclones, but never mind that. "... ?" Ruri vocalises, before she goes back to typing.
Takka-takka-takka commit push log out.
Calmly, Ruri stands from where she'd sat cross-legged on the chair, and starts walking.
...
UNTIL:
The last person in the hangar for this welcome party is Ruri, in her tiny Nadesico uniform, as ever. She does not have a goatee. She is still not smiling. She's still relieved to see Minae, a feeling she offers to her through her abilities rather than her face.
"As you can see," Ruri says, face flat, "everything's exploded. Somehow, we're all alive, anyway."
[O-NRV] * Akane Shinjo has joined the channel.
[O-NRV] * Akane Shinjo :Harupeek:
[O-NRV] Kaworu Nagisa> hiii
You are now gagging O-NRV.
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
%Genuine surprise is also something that doesn't come all that easily to Minae, to her occasional chagrin. While she prefers to think and evaluate things at a slower rate so that her behaviour comes off as more naturally 'human', there are a whole range of processes that she couldn't slow down even if she wanted to, and chief amongst them is her primary awareness. It's a genuinely relieved smile she gives Eight as she turns in the Captain's direction, just not a surprised one.
At least until she's picked up. She might not be a fifteen-feet robot like the other Braves but she's not made of paper either, and the squawk that Eight gets in return for her feat is barely even a voice so much as an electronic burst of sound even before she's getting whirled around out of the blue. "Wh-- hey!" the robot finds herself laughing, a joyful noise with only the slightest edge of panic to it at the unfamiliar momentum.
She returns the hug as best she can - and once she's back on the ground, gives in to an impulse she hasn't felt in a long while, resting a hand on top of Eight's hair. The last time she could do this, Eight was shorter than her, but Minae is immune to the embarrassment of having to reach upwards. "Sorry," she says with genuine remorse. "I did everything I could to try to send a message out, but no luck." She beams as she holds out her hands for Anita as well, beaming. "I missed you all too! ... I'm kinda sad I'm not saying 'I'm back' to the ship too, but I guess I'll save that for Omoikane. I didn't bring any souvenirs, though."
She says the last part as she grins towards Ruri. Of course, she's not going to offer the muted girl a hug as well, because she's not about to just blow through her personal space like that - but she once again sags with relief at the knowledge that the Nadesico staff are also doing alive and well. There'd definitely be some regret if that crew lost their boisterousness.
"... you really do," the robot finally puts a glum expression on as she looks back to Eight, but at least the frown doesn't reach her eyes. "Though, uh, I think I can guess most of it from the news I've gathered together. I might have gone peeking through some of the Federation files I could still get to, and that filled in some of the blanks, but-- I don't know how much longer I'm gonna have those logins. ... don't worry. I appreciate the decision and the course of action, given everything else," she adds, for once looking rather wry.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight used to be a lot more effusive with her affection; she's held it in much as Captain. But a situation like this... She's too happy not to show it!
Eight sets Minae back down and laughs a little longer, noticing that hand on her golden hair. "Been a while since you've been able to do that, huh?" she wonders. Then--she shakes her head. "Don't even worry about it," Eight insists. "...But yeah. The Ra Mari was pretty damaged in the battle--she'll need repairs for a while before she's spaceworthy again. But don't think I've given up on her!"
She smiles over at Anita, and she knows that as casual as it seems, she means it.
And Ruri! Ruri is here too! "It did," Eight allows, and then looks back to Minae. That glum expression... Hmmm.
"So," Eight says, "The inciting incident was the invasion of Orb--but we've been preparing for it for a while. A while ago, Lavhi started working in secret on this ship in the Denver Colony," she explains. "...Because for everything going on, we figured our days in the Federation might be numbered one way or another. As it turns out, it was a good thing."
She smiles. "Thanks. I'm glad you can get it. I just... I can't be part of leading my friends to oppress people."
"But come on aboard! You want to sit down? We can head over out of the way, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita's grin grows wider at Minae's sound of surprise as she's lifted up. It's a rare sound, and it feels good to hear after so long.
"Yeah, it's okay. I'm sure you did everything you could." Anita replies with a nod. And when Minae holds her hands out for her next... it doesn't take her long for her to move in and give her a hug of her own.
She separates then, and nods as Ruri speaks.
"Yeah, that's about the long and short of it..." She says. Eight starts to explain, then.
"Yeah... That was a rough day. It was a good thing the Nadesico had our backs." She says. ...She's glad, though, that Minae agrees with that they did. If she's still behind them, they're on the right track.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"The situation was such that if you hadn't chosen to fight with us, a lot more people would have probably died. I don't think even the Nadesico could have held off a fleet that strong alone. The sheer amount of damage was able to get past even our Distortion Field, after all." Ruri, a tiny professor, relates the facts of the situation...
... but Minae can probably tell she has more feelings about it than that.
"Well, it's very complicated, since Orb needed us to help, but the Federation isn't happy about it. I guess we're not really welcome, any more. And I guess that means we're kidnapping an Admiral, too." Beat: "Oh, well." Munetake is... not a beloved man. Ruri can't imagine anyone missing him.
She pauses, and adds: "This ship is very stubborn. It likes to do things its way, so there were a couple of disagreements. I guess that's what happens when you get older, though. I think it would appreciate you respecting it enough to say hello, though." None of this, of course, is to say the Ra Mari II's systems are sentient.
You don't have to be sentient to have feelings. Fun Ruri fact.
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
"I've always been able to do this," Minae offers a rare huff to cover her embarrassment, though that's melting away visibly fast as she gives Eight a quieter smile. "I just choose not to so that you could be the big bad Captain."
"... I guess it's probably fair to suggest that we're going to have to be really careful where the Ra Mari gets repaired," the robot muses after a brief pause. "Or you could try to keep it to get the Federation off your back as a bargaining chip. 'Hey, here's the big thing you lent us, we're giving it back.' Alright, we're technically deserters, but actually trying to capture people is a whole lot more thorny than just giving back some hardware."
It's a more pragmatic outlook than Eight and Anita might expect, but the robot has just been through a lot in the course of the last few weeks. There's reluctance in her expression, at least, and her heart definitely isn't in the suggestion. She lets it go as she hugs Anita back; there's no need for her to ask how the rest of the Kakapo are doing if the pair of them are looking this chipper, and that's something she takes solace from.
Minae tends to try to distance herself from most aspects of politics, but is well aware that's not really a luxury she can expect to keep hold of at a time like this, and her nod to Eight's explanation is one of understanding. "Well, they're not all that welcome in my office either, if they're going to cozy up to Dr. Hell of all people. The last thing I want is a new bout of anti-AI sentiment when whatever long game is being played is up."
She pauses, and one particular topic skyrockets to the top of the queue. "I'd better still have an office," she adds, before blinking towards Ruri as she makes her way towards the accessway out of the hangar towards somewhere more comfortable. "You know, it did seem a bit older and thornier on the way in. I hope it's not bossing Omoikane around so much. If I'm the senior, I'll make sure to tell it to behave nicely."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight nods about the Nadesico, when Anita says it. "It could've gone worse for a lot of people than it did--and even as it stands, it did for many. We shouldn't forget that." The damage.. "But the point is we both helped each other," Eight says to Ruri. "And we will again."
Munetake... It's probably fine.
She laughs then, as Minae huffs. "Well, I appreciate it. I gotta keep up my reputation, and all."
Then, "We're going to do basic repairs here in Orb; they're sure not handing things over to the Federation anytime soon. ...I don't want to give it back--the weapons are more powerful than I trust them with, and even if they can just make more just like them, at least they'd have to build them this way."
And sentimental reasons, too. Eight can't deny that. And she wouldn't try!
"I'm hoping we can do something with her, maybe get more crew..."
But she has to run this part of the Alliance from the Ra Mari II. It's what they palnned it for.
"Hmmm," she says to Ruri though. "That makes sense," she says. "She's an old girl. We've given her a fresh coat of paint and a lot of updates, but the original ship is... Well. Way, way older than any of us. She predates the Zentradi meeting humans."
A look to Minae, then. "Yeah, I'm... I don't trust Dr. Hell at all. If those prosthetics turn out to be legit that's a big deal, but I can't believe he'd really be doing it out of the goodness of his heart."
Then a laugh. "You have an office! It's bigger, actually. I'll let you get settled in soon. ...But don't be too mean to our new ship! She's probably sensitive..."
Eight is fond of a stubborn ship. She likes this just fine.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Yeah, neither of us could've done it alone." Anita agrees with a nod. It's true - things would've been a lot worse if they hadn't stood together. They had each other's backs in that, and that's the important thing. Ruri comments on how they... ended up kidnapping an Admiral.
"...Oh, he got caught up in all that too, huh?" She asks. That... could be a problem, but also, he sounds like a problem, so... They'll deal with it when they get to it.
"I don't think I'd want us to give it back, anyway, even without the weapons. ...I'm kind of attached now." Anita admits of the original Ra Mari. But, she appreciates Minae hugging her back.
As for Doctor Hell, though... Anita massages the back of her neck.
"Yeah, I've been readin' up on it, and they sound like the real deal? But... it's Doctor Hell, so who knows what the angle is there." She frowns and shrugs. "I just... It's hard for me to speak out against a good thing that might be suspect when I've already got mine and others don't, you know?"
She chuckles, though, as Ruri comments on the Ra Mari II's personality - and the way Eight seems to appreciate it.
"Sounds like she fits right in. I'm sure she'll warm up to us eventually." Anita comments.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Fool," Ruri dismisses Minae, easily. "Ra Mari II is a lot older than you are." Eight, helpfully, chips in with just how old. "But it's okay. Omoikane is a good boy, so he's getting along with her, anyway."
Ruri tilts her head, as she follows Minae, amble-amble-amble, to a more comfortable place.
"I wonder if Dr. Hell is really all that bad, though... the engineering behind his prosthetics plans was all very sound." Beat, "I'm not an expert in that field, though, so maybe I missed something. But I bet even if I did, Anita-san wouldn't."
Anita... gets referred to on a first-name basis!!! Kind of... sorta... borrowing Japanese to give herself a little more distance is apparently how Ruri justifies it. She's just that kind of girl.
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
Minae slowly nods at Eight's summary of the situation around the Ra Mari - and the Ra Mari II. The robot nods in further understanding, then snorts faintly. "You'd have to rename the alliance really quickly if you did that," she notes, then softens. "... I'll have to get in contact with both GGG and Nerv. I'd like to check where we stand with them, and whether I'll still be able to continue doing work with them. I'd like to," she adds with quiet conviction. "But I'll understand if they're unsure, or if their hands are tied."
She thins her lips at Anita's light admonishment. "... you're not wrong," she replies after a moment, a little chagrined. "I don't really know what to think of it, but for me-- I think I'm probably rather biased right now, I admit. I'm happy that people are getting help, but I just really hope that someone in the Federation is being careful at the same time. Maybe with a couple of days to think on it I'll feel better, but it was a lot to come back to."
"Are you sure?" she adds to Ruri with a faint smirk. "I mean, I'm pretty old when it comes to AI ages. I haven't met many yet that beat me out. ... maybe that's why I'm concerned. There's a lot of Super AI-- manifesting, lately. I'm concerned that with so many popping up, some of them find themselves getting used."
She hesitates, realizing she's stuck on bad topics, and forcibly makes a sound of exhalation. She doesn't actually exhale, of course, but it's a way to separate everything else from what comes next, and she smiles more brightly. "But, I can be successfully bribed with a big office. And I'm back, and ready to get to work!" she pumps a fist, switching from night to day.