2024-08-27: The Legged Ship
- Cast: Marian Cross, Murrue Ramius
- Where: Morgenroete facility - Onogoro Island, Orb
- Date: U.C. 0099 08 27
- Summary: With the date of the Princess's wedding closing in, Marian seek out 'Maria Bernes' and inquires about the legged ship in preparation for an emergency.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Today is like any other day for Marian. Meetings with officials in Yalafath, making her rounds around the base in Onogoro, looking after her subordinates and working on various projects with Morgenroete in the mobile weapon division. Her schedule is almost always full, the workaholic she is. Though her workload with Morgenroete has lightened up recently with the completion of the Inazuma Gundam, she's still making her rounds, just in case there's anything that needs tested.
There's one peculiar individual she passes by occasionally while in Morgenroete facilities. They work in different divisions, so there was never a real opportunity for the two to meet properly. But today is just a little different...
"Maria Bernes," Marian greets. A tone behind her voice that she knows there's more behind that name of hers. Her smile remains friendly as she approaches. "I've never introduced myself, huh? Marian Cross, I'm with the mobile weapon division."
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Busy, busy, busy. That's what Murrue's life seemed to be. But that's exactly how she wanted it. All the better to keep herself distracted, especially with the revised testing of the new improvements to the Izumo-Class ships. Murrue was looking out over the one of the newer ships being built, when the voice called out behind her. She had seen the woman a number of times roaming through the halls. The name however becomes more recognizable, the renown "Hero of Orb". Murrue had certainly heard the name plenty of times after the Invasion of Orb, and more recently with politics shifting in Orb.
Murrue offered a handshake. "Ah, the famed Hero of Orb. I've heard the name but hadn't had the chance to put a face to it. Pleased to meet you. I understand your department has been quite busy with the new Murasume deployment. I must say, they're very impressive machines."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian is much the same with Murrue in that regard. Constantly keeping themselves busy. Distracted.
Marian takes her hand and returned the shake. It's a light grip, but just a firm enough to acknowledge her. When she called her the 'Hero of Orb' however, her casual smile shifts into a more mournful one. "Likewise. And please, if anyone deserves to be called a 'hero', it would be Commander La Flaga. Just call me Marian." It's a rather pointed way to make it known Marian knows Maria's true identity. But she didn't bring up his name disrespectfully if one can discern that from her tone.
"And yes, they certainly are. We need everything we can develop to defend ourselves," she replies on the note of the Murasames. And then she adds, also pointedly, "speaking of which, how is the Archangel?"
If it wasn't clear that Marian knew precisely who Maria Bernes is, it certainly is clear now.
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Murrue stutters a bit when Marian mentions Mu. For but a split second the moment of his cockpit breaking up on camera before the feed cut out flashes in her mind. And when Marian brings up the Archangel...she understands that her identity isn't much of a secret at this point.
"She's...resting." Murrue says simply, keeping her cards close, like the digital tablet she hugged to her chest, but her voice betrays her hesitation. "Somewhere safe. She's had a few upgrades and amenities put in place, and she'll need some dusting and vaccuming, but other than that...she's serviceable."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
She noticed that stutter. Marian isn't aware of her romantic relationship with Mu, of course. It wasn't information available in the records, nor was it exactly public knowledge. What she could infer though, was that Mu was at least an important and well liked subordinate and crewmate. And his loss weighs heavy on Murrue. "...It's not fair, is it? He dies, and people forget about him. The men who sacrificed themselves at the invasion two years ago, they weren't called heroes either. I lived, and I'm a Hero." That mournful look remained on her face.
"...I'm not here to interrogate you. Orb is at a turning point..." she says, ruminating the upcoming wedding between Cagalli and that Seiran heir. "...I just need to know you and your crew can deploy it in the event of an emergency."
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Murrue does her best to keep her composure, but Marian's idle rumination on the nature of heroism makes it difficult. She and Mu were people with two very similar paths in life. When they met, neither of them had family anymore, all ripped away from them by the cruel machinations of fascists, clones and the unfeeling judge named fate. Murrue had desperately hoped that Mu could finally be the one, who would never leave her, who would be with her until she was old and grey and beyond even that. But tragically his path ended at the Battle for Genesis to a Federation Warship, and hers kept going.
"He was...he was a good...soldier." Murrue managed to muster out. "The Hawk of Endymion certainly saved the Archangel more than once."
She looked away for a moment, wiping her eye. "...The Archangel can be rallied if need be. It might need a day to muster her crew."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Unlike Murrue, Marian did not have anyone like that. Maybe she could've tried harder, but her career didn't allow her time to pursue a relationship with anyone. It's one of her deepest regret in life. Having had never felt the embrace of a family... Nor will she ever now...
Was Murrue about to say 'good man'? And that tear... It clicked for her then, being swept by emotions she's trying to hold down. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't know..." She says. But she didn't know how to continue afterwards. Is she supposed to offer her condolences? Ask about what kind of man he was? Neither would be right. She had that much tact, at least. And it was a subject equally sore for her.
"I see..." She continued after allowing a moment of silence. "I'm sorry for suddenly dumping this on you. Especially since the Archangel is supposed to be a secret. But please alert your crew too."
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Murrue stayed as calm as she could. But deep inside her Murrue was struggling to think she could ever step back aboard the Archangel. She could, at the very least rally her crew and get the reactor spun up...but after that she wasn't certain.
"Why...why exactly do you need the Archangel?" Murrue finally asked. "It's going to draw a lot of attention for her to be sailing again, and my crew will need very good reasons to come back, not just my word." She carefully hid that in fact, the Archangel's crew was ready to come back exactly at her word.
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian releases a deep breath and composes herself. The subject of their unceremonious love lives cut short. It's better if they don't delve into it lest it digs up even more bad memories. But it's a topic for another day, perhaps.
That cocky demeanor returns as quickly as she shed it. "Make no mistake, Murrue. It's not me who needs the Archangel. It's Orb. The Princess is going to need it soon." A beat. "I know you and your crew are no stranger to operating above the military structure. We're a lot alike, in that regard..."
"If they can't come back with just your words, then you'll have to be more convincing. The Archangel may be the only safe place the Princess can go."
"Please, Murrue." But she does say the magic word.
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Murrue pondered silently for a moment. The pundits had been debating the Attha - Seran marriage for what felt like months now. And while Murrue hadn't cared much for politics, deep down she knew that her safety in a NUNE aligned Orb was going to be far more limited. After all, many of the higher ups in the Gaia Sabers likely held a grudge against her for ringing the alarm that led to the mass defections of Londo Bell members and ships to Orb and its allies in space. Not to mention she knew that the Dominion and Natarle were still in service. And why have one Archangel-Class when you can have two?
"...Cagalli will have her when she needs her." Murrue said. However, there was another factor that Marian didn't bring up. And Murrue knew that there was an inseparable element of the Archangel Corps. One that also shared a hangar underneath Akatsuki Manor. The blade of the Three Ship Alliance's leader, Lacus Clyne, and its pilot."...But I can only speak for the Archangel and her crew."
<Pose Tracker> Marian Cross has posed.
Marian nodded. For a moment, her mask fades, and her smile is sincere. "Thank you, Murrue. That's all I'm asking for," she plainly says. That's one down, at least. Lacus Clyne, that girl, she'll have to pay a visit to soon enough. As for the Freedom and its pilot... Marian regards his abilities highly. But he's just a child, at the end of the day. And way too volatile at that. But if he's Cagalli's brother, and if he had any sense, he'll come to Cagalli's aid even without her intervention.
Problem for another day.
With what she needed out of the way, it was time to get to the rest of her day. She continued on her way, but not before offering Murrue, "let's get a drink sometime. Without all these knife in the dark stuff."
<Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.
Murrue nods, and gives a faint, but genuine smile.
"I'll warn you, I can really put them back." She says, before walking off back to her office.
Later that night, at Akatsuki Manor, Murrue closed her laptop having finished a report on a newly tested armour angle for space battleship hulls, when her mind drifted back to her conversation with Marian earlier that day. Was she ready to go back to that life? Her crew was just a message away and a few hours from setting sail and yet...something was holding her back. Murrue heard a crack of thunder, her attention drawn to her closed window, the rain pattering hard against the glass, illuminated by distant lightning as a typical storm rolled over the Orb Archipelago. But something else was prodding her in her mind. Murrue got to her feet, and went to her closet, rifling through one of the drawers for a keycard.
Slipping from her room, Murrue deliberately wandered the halls of the manor, until she reached the door to the saferoom. Entering her passcode, she ventured down the stairs, and into the bunker until she arrived at the central branching passage way. She walked up to one of the doors, and swiped the keycard, entering her passcode. The door slid open to reveal an elevator, which she rode down deep into the island's center. She emerged into a massive and dark hangar, but even without the lights on she could see and sense the vague outline of the legged Battleship residing within, just a bit of light from the hallway reflecting off of her.
Deep inside Murrue the ship called for her. Beckoned her to go aboard. But part of her also hoped that day would never come. So many had been lost when the Archangel rode into battle. So many sacrifices to keep that one ship alive. Friendships, Romance, betrayal, all had occurred aboard her. Murrue sighed, before returning to the hallway and making the journey back to the Manor proper, sealing the ship in her bed once more.
Not yet.