RP XSDF Roleplay Thread: Vanguard of Forseti

[BMPixy]

BMPixy, DarkGemini24601, and Mangrale: “Addressing the Plebeians, Part 2”

A silence suddenly fell over the room as the Fleet Coordinator finally made himself known. Khumalo walked in with his officer’s uniform on, consisting of gray pants, a belt with the XSDF symbol, a collared navy blue shirt, and a black jacket. Stepping to the forefront of the gathering, he tapped a microphone attached to a thin headset. Satisfied that it was working, he cleared his throat, and began. “Thank you all for coming this fine afternoon,” Addington stated, though his tone sounded a bit sarcastic and it increased in noticeability rather than go away. “My sincerest apologies if I inconvenienced you by having to make you stand up for a few extra minutes.”

“A charmer, huh…” Anja muttered under her breath.

“I must admit, I was a little disappointed when I heard that most of our crew, both soldier and pilot, was going to be new recruits. Not everyone can be as talented as myself, I reasoned, so I knew that any deployments we have will likely require a special touch,” Addington continued, pacing to and from in a range of a few meters left and right.

“I landed a plane blind,” Lawrence deadpanned at a barely audible tone. “What’re you, the returned King of Portugal?”

Narcisse refolded his arms and straightened his legs. “Do I really need to be hearing all this?” he muttered with a sigh.

“However!” Addington turned to face his audience again, crossing his arms proudly. “I have no real worries about this. I’m sure with the… acceptable prior experience some of you have had, combined with my skilled leadership, will be more than enough for bands of lowly pirates and other such scum.” The South African smiled, though his was not as menacing as the Commanders, more comically arrogant and less frightening. “All I ask is that you do not let me down. Don’t need to be having to reshuffle to roster, after all.”

Resting his hands in his jacket, he moved to the right a bit, looking over the gathered airmen and airwomen. “Besides, I believe if there is one advantage this group has, it is a theme of augmentation. Advancement. I’ve heard the crews aboard the Arkbird are a little too… hesitant to improve upon their genetics, to recieve implants or utilize ESP to their advantage. Or to include extraterrestrials among their ranks.”

At least he’s not a raging racist like another officer here… Anja thought to herself.

“Before I conclude, are there any questions or concerns anyone would like to address?” he asked in that infuriating manner as if it was a rhetorical question that he was too important to answer. Vincent moved to raise his hand, but a quick iron grip from Hayden prevented the former from ending his career on the spot.

Narcisse relaxed his stance, he being no stranger to the chain of command and what questioning it could mean.

Addington’s smile widened for a moment in satisfaction. “Very well then. I expect great things from you,” the nineteen year old affirmed, “Great things.” Folding his hands together, he concluded, “You are dismissed.”

Well, I believe the British have the right term for that man, Jefferson said, shaking his head in disbelief. I think it went, ‘well, he’s a roight prick’.

“Hit the nail on the head, Edge,” Vincent confirmed. “Feel like I need to shower just after listening to him talk.”

“You have no respect for authority, do you guys?” Hayden asked, cocking her eyebrow. “He’s our CO, who cares if he’s a bit arrogant.”

“Just so long as that arrogance doesn’t get anyone killed,” Laforge replied with a shrug. “Until then, I’ll just be keeping watch on him.”

“Besides, it’s a time honored tradition for fighter pilots to complain about their COs,” Vincent added. “Not doing so is like tying a vegan to a chair and force-feeding them meatloaf; cruel and unethical, even if they deserve it.”

Red Eye seemed equally disdainful. Anja shook her head, sighing. “That guy is going to drive me nuts, and not in a good way.”

“I don’t like him either, but it’s not like we have much choice in our command staff. Not as fond of them as I could be,” Phoebe agreed.

“As long as he is effective, I can tolerate the attitude,” cin Ankhor added more neutrally. “What do you think of him, Bellrose?”

“I’m not sure what to make of him?” Narcisse answered flatly, readjusting his glasses. “Despite whatever we may think of him, he was assigned to this ship for a reason... I just wonder what it is.”

 

[Mangrale]

Takes place before "Addressing the Plebeians"

Brittany, France
RoseCorp Headquarters
January 13, 2044

The sun hung brightly over the massive complex, casting an equally massive shadow on the picturesque streets it resided on. Ivonne Bellrose, a highly disciplined woman wore her best mahogany suit and matching skirt as she headed for the skyscraper’s communications room at the near the first floor. She did not use it herself very often, a rarity that her nearby employees took advantage of by following alongside her, hoping to hear her say on various projects. The scientists spoke in french and she in turn.

“Miss Bellrose, what do you think about these reactor output levels?” one asked, showing her his datapad, his hand shaking as he held it.

She sighed, wrapping her long brunette hair into a ponytail so it won’t get in her way. “I want an explanation for these drop-offs by tomorrow.” she said, pointing at two areas on the graph.

“Yes... ma’am…”

It went on like this for about a minute: as one scientist broke away from the group, another two would take their place. Naturally, she became frustrated at the growing mob and ceased walking.

“Really now. This is too much. We cannot be this disorganized. If something from your departments really needs my input, then please go to Matthieu and he’ll see that it comes to my attention.”

The group slowly dispersed, all the while giving way to inharmonious, frantic apologies. The businesswoman shook her head, then continued her walk through the clean, sterile yet plant riddled hallway to the beauteous main lobby by the communications room.

RoseCorp Headquarters
Communications Room

“Miss Bellrose? Ah yes, he’s still on the line! Please go right ahead. Will you be needing any assistance?” the attendant said in her usual cheerful manner.

Ivonne frowned slightly and looked at her.

“Sorry Miss Bellrose” she replied, still cheerful, “I’m obligated to to say that to everyone.”

“I know” the CEO said amusedly.

Ivonne walked on and was directed to a booth containing a simply furnished chair and sizable, high quality screen atop a user friendly interface on a desk. Ivonne tried her best to relax in front of the screen. She activated the touchscreen icon reading “receive call” and looked at her designer wristwatch, partly out of sheer force of habit.

After precisely fourteen seconds, the screen displayed her son, whose eyes lit up when he saw her.

“Ah, mother it is good to see you again!” he said tilting his head downward bashfully.

Her posture remained distinguished but was noticeably happy to see him.“Oh Narcisse. I’ve missed you. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been very well mother. Nothing serious. I’m calling from the Einherjar now.” He lifted his head.

“Yes dear, I’ve seen where the call is coming from” she replied, smug.

“Oh right...” His embarrassment continued.

As mother and son chatted pleasantly amongst themselves, she could sense his discomfort. She knew what was behind it. Yet, she could not stop herself from addressing it, as she did many times before.

“Have others been treating you well. No one has mistreated you in any way?”

“No - I mean yes! - I mean... yes, I’m fine. No. no one has mistreated me.” He tried his best to look as convincing as possible.

Her eyes narrowed. “Hmmm… Narcisse, dear, if anyone is-”

“(Not this again…!)Mother, please!” he interrupted, rapidly losing his composure. “I can handle it. Don’t worry I’ll be fi-”

“So someone has mistreated yo-!”

“Enough! This is my problem, not yours! Stop acting like it is!” Narcisse erupted but immediately recoiled, regret strewn across my face.

(Sigh) “Mother I know you want to look out for me, but my place is with the XSDF. It has been for a while. That means that I may sometimes meet people who hate me… hate what I am.”

“I know dear…” she admitted somberly. “It’s just going to be hard not knowing if you’re going to be safe or not. I can’t understand why you chose to alter your frame’s design so... drastically!”

His expression turned stern. “I’m sorry mother. But I’m done hiding, pretending to be normal when I’m not. That is not who I am. Not anymore. Please understand.”

The two paused for a moment before talking again.

“The XSDF is my way of giving back for a change” he broke the silence. “I have to do this. I think father would have wanted it this way” he said hazarding a thin smile.

Ivonne shook her head, struggling to keep her cool as well. “No… he wouldn’t have wanted this for you… He would’ve wanted you to live your life in peace. To be happy. Like I do.”

Narcisse grimaced and rose from his seat so his face was not visible from the camera. “Well, if I ever happen to see him, I’ll be certain to ask him personally.”

“Wait!” she pleaded with her son. “Little one, please! Just...”

Narcisse talked over his mother in the calmest voice he could. “I just love our talks mother, we should have another once I return… goodbye…”

She saw his arm reach for the interface and the screen turned black. She sat quietly in the booth for a minute. She would leave the office earlier than usual that day.

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
January 13, 2044

Narcisse hunched over, hands against the desk, teeth clenched, trying to fight against his pain which made him let out a quiet, tortured moan. He ran his hands over his face, but the sight of them only made him angrier. He continued the argument in his head for a while and came to the following conclusion:

But mother… I am happy… and for the first time in my life, it’s for the right reasons. I protect people now… and no one is going to take that away from me!

I am happy… right?
Narcisse’s left hand strikes the punching bag with amazing force.

Of course I am!
A right hook to its side releasing air from a nearby tear.

Look at me!
A left hook rattles the entire bag.

I’m the happiest!…
A right jab directed at the center causing an indentation.

Man!…
A left jab to the exact spot making the indentation larger.

Alive!
A debilitating right swing that knocks the bag from its foundation.

 

[BMPixy]

(A/N: Backlog from the 29th.)
BMPixy and ZombieSplitter53:
“Invisible Ties, Part One”
XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Primary Laboratory, Office of Rei Tanaka
Jan. 16th, 1300 Hours

Rei looked over the reports she had been given by her reluctant assistant, the large Centaur-like alien not a fan of paperwork, but surprisingly skilled in writing English. One of the other techs stuck their head in the door. “Dr. Tanaka,” he said, and waited for her to finish what she was reading before continuing. “That field medic you asked to see is here.”

“Thank you. Please send her in.” Rei carefully placed the papers in her drawer, making slight, pedantic adjustments to the items on her desk while she waited.

After seeing the lab tech motion for her to enter, Elicia nodded, took a quick steadying breath, and stepped forward into Rei’s office. “Doctor Tanaka, I presume?” Elicia asked, her hands carefully folded behind her back. “I believe you asked to see me?”

“I did, Ms. Ensslin. Nothing major. I just like to get a gage of the soldiers here, especially those that have genetic modifications and psionics prior to coming aboard.” Rei motioned to the seat before her desk. “Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”

“Ah, no thank you, I just had lunch,” Elicia replied, taking the proffered seat. “I assume you already know the extent of my mods, so if you don’t mind me being rude, might I ask what would you be gauging me on? Is it some personality thing, or should I start rolling up my sleeve?”

Rei chuckled lightly. “I simply wish to be sure the modifications are holding well. We had an up rising of negative effects to Tz6 a few years ago. Nothing fatal, of course, simply unforeseen effects caused by unknown genetic factors.” She pulled out a file, thumbing through it. “You haven’t experienced anything like that have you? And… you modification was legally sanctioned, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Elicia said before catching herself and shaking her head. “I mean, uh, no unusual side effects that I can recall, and yes, my modification was legally sanctioned. Got them a couple months into my service.”

Rei nodded as she looked through the file. “I do apologize if the question came off as being… paranoid. Please understand, it is part of the XSDF’s duties to regulate this kind of thing.” She placed the file down, and folded her hands. “May I ask what made you decide to get modified?”

“I wanted to be a more effective medic,” Elicia replied with a simple shrug. “Don’t need to use as many medkits on myself, have more stamina, and be able to reach my patients wherever they may be. After all, one kit, a few seconds, or a single floor can spell the difference between life and death. I don’t want to fail somebody just because I was afraid of a bit of foreign DNA poking around.”

Rei cracked a small smile. “I see. Those are excellent reasons. You might be surprised how many soldiers wish only to get stronger for their own sake. There are even those that join specifically for the chance to receive modification. Though… we have gotten pretty good at figuring out who those people are.”

“I can imagine. Not only would they be leaving with military training, but also mods?” Elicia leaned back in her chair slightly, taking the chance to relax. “I can’t imagine that they’d be too averse to ruining our reputation by jumping on with the nearest pirate crew.”

Rei sighed. “You’ve hit the nail on the head, I’m afraid.” She looked down at the file once more. “I see that you have been with us for a few years now, but you’ve never had psionic testing. Uninterested?”

“Eh, to be honest, it’s moreso out of a bit of reflexive fear of psi,” Elicia explained, scratching her chin nervously. “A buddy of mine’s father was part of XCOM, and he kinda ended up on the wrong side of psi on numerous occasions… and then he passed those war stories on down to us. You can kinda see where I’d pick that up.”

Rei thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes… I see what you mean. I have a friend or two that feels the same way due to these war stories.” She leaned back herself. “It is one of the reasons why I don’t tell my children more than they need to know. I was there myself, albeit a teenager cowering in fear… so to speak. We had a close call once when the aliens breached the base. I faced my mortality than. Had it not been for Mr. Foulke… well, as I said, there is one story I avoid sharing with the children.”

“Alright, wait wait wait a second,” Elicia said, sitting up and waving her hand out of slight disbelief. “Ignoring the fact that you faced your impending violent demise at an age where nobody should - you have my sympathies for that, by the way - did you say Mr. Foulke? Like, Albert Foulke? Metal arm, black hair, has a faster left jab than any man has the right to?”

 

[BMPixy]

"Invisible Ties, Part Two"

Rei raised an eyebrow. “That’s right. Though he didn’t have a metal arm when he saved me and my friends. That came later at the hands of a… particularly nasty opponent. I take it you know Mr. Foulke.”

“Yeah, he’s my godfather, adopted uncle, and, uh…” Elicia nervously rubbed the back of her neck, taking a particular interest in the ceiling. “Replacement father. It’s complicated.”

“I see.” Rei gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She shook her head. “About your father, I mean. I’m sure Mr. Foulke did his job quite well. He seems to have a tendency of coming to other’s aid. Though I hope he has improved on his self-sacrificing nature over the years.”

“Well, I’m not sure how he was back in the XCOM days, but I’m going to assume from how he worked himself to the bone maintaining his gym, helping his wife with her career, booking fights for the lads he trains, and running a household, that’s a big fat no,” Elicia replied sheepishly. “Oft was the week where he’d be up for four or five days straight.”

“That’s troubling to hear… though I’d like to think it is rewarding.” Rei eyes darted around for a second. “I’m… I’m actually glad to hear he is still around. My job resulted in me losing contact with a lot of people, and I was afraid while I was away, something… might…”

“Happen?” Elicia finished. “Yeah, I know, starting to feel that same kinda thing myself. Haven’t even left orbit yet, already worried that people are gonna bite it while I’m gone. But, uh… what’s the phrase… shitaga ka nia? I’unno, probably mispronouncing it.”

Rei smiled. “Close enough.” She shook her head, still looking a bit worried. “Can I ask you… and if this is too personal… is Mr. Foulke still… with his wife? Are they still a happy couple? Without… ahem, incident?”

“Yeah, they’re doing quite alright. They have their squabbles, but that’s normal.” Elicia tilted her head, and, with a great deal of suspicion in her voice, asked, “If I might ask, what’s with the interest?”

Rei tapped her fingers against the desk nervously. “I’m not sure how much detail I should go into, for Mr. Foulke’s sake… privacy and all, but… you said you were close, right? Practically a second father?”

“Before I answer that, I need to ask you something. Is this information you don’t want getting to him? Because if it is, don’t tell me; I’m a terrible liar and cannot keep a secret for the life of me.” Elicia leaned forward slightly, tenting her fingers under her chin.

“No, it… it is something he already knows.” Rei leaned forward herself. “It is regards to his wife. My mother… my adopted mother… found out that she had been abducted by some alien spies. She had a few… subliminal messages implanted in her head. I just wanted to be sure she never, you know… tried to stab him for no apparent reason.”

“T-that’s horrifying…” Elicia stuttered, a look of shock evident on her face. “Sheiße, I-I… have they figured out a way to, y-y’know…?” She gently motioned to her own head, unable to find the right words.

Rei leaned back again. “My mother was able to stop her from being triggered, and there is no reason to believe anyone would ever say the trigger phrase, or order her to do anything violent. But I’m not sure if they were ever able to remove it. I’d imagine it would take quite the extensive mental reprogramming, and an exact knowledge of what was done to her. Though… I’d like to think, after twenty-five years, we have little to worry about. I do wonder if he ever told her, though.”

Elicia was silent for a long moment, staring into the back her hand as she rested it on her mouth. “Still, it wrongs me that something like this still holds sway. Even the slightest chance…” she muttered, more to herself than Rei. Suddenly perking up, the Anglo-German asked, “Is there any way to quickly tell what color of psion a person is?”

Rei tapped her finger against her chin. “Well… certain colors have certain abilities, so using them is a dead giveaway. Though we’ve been working on a device to read someone’s psionic energy from a distance. It was decided we needed it as the number of malcontents with psionics has increased over the years. Why… do you ask?”

“Well, I meant moreso in the sense of testing someone without psi powers, but if that works…” Elicia trailed off, lost in thought.

Rei nodded. “I see. We’ve reduced the length of time it takes to find someone’s psionic potential to about a day, even if safely unlocking it still takes a few days. But without our equipment, nothing in the field can tell.” She sighed. “I heard the aliens… and one of their leaders, referred to as the ‘Honored Overseer of Earth’, had a device that worked a lot faster, but it was… quite painful for the one it was used on.”

“Right then,” Elicia said, suddenly standing from her seat. “I need to go find out if I’m a green- and not just in the military sense. There’s somebody out there with a malady, and I need to heal it.”

Rei smiled slightly. “Well, I know someone in the psionics division that would love to get the data from you being tested, successful or not.” She folded her hands. “And it was a pleasure to meet you. I’m glad to meet someone so close to an old friend of mine.”

“Right, thank you as well. We’ll have to meet over drinks sometime, though I’m sure Al will probably wish he didn’t, with what I have to tell,” Elicia said, before turning around and making her way out of the door. A moment passed, before Elicia stepped back in and sheepishly asked, “Uh, mind pointing me in the direction of that someone in the psi division?”

Rei chuckled. “It is down to the left. Just find the tech who brought you in here, and he’ll show you the way. The head of the psionics division is Vindicta Exalt.”

A brief look of confused recognition flashed across Elicia’s face, before she shook her head dismissively. “Thank you for your assistance, Dr. Tanaka, I won’t forget it,” she said, leaving the room once more.

Rei grabbed the file one last time, smiling as she put it away and returned to her previous work.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and BMPixy: “An Unlikely Chance/Determination and Responsibility”

Earth, Sol System (January 16th, 2044)
The Einherjar (7:18 P.M., GMT)
Psionic Laboratory

“Scanners are on, correct?” Vindicta asked of the automated voice in the testing room, which was like that in the weapons laboratory… albeit with the glass perhaps even a bit more strengthened.

“Correct, Ms. Exalt.”

“Then begin tracking Black Bishop’s speed and strength.” Vindicta’s eyes were rimmed by a gold energy, and as she crossed her arms a flurry of red telekinetic shards ghosted out of her open palms. They meshed together and were given form and appearance, becoming the armored Reflection, Black Bishop. With a smirk shared by both reflection and psion, the two turned to face a hardened steel crate before them.

Black Bishop cracked her knuckles for a moment, and then set to work, a flurry of punches being thrown at the metal. The first few created noticeable dents, but Vindicta frowned, not quite satisfied. Putting more force behind the blows without taxing herself dangerously, the Exalt had her reflection pummel the target until it finally caved in and collapsed in a pile of wreckage.

“Timer stop. How long was that?” Don't disappoint me.

“Eighteen seconds,” the voice informed her. “The speed of Black Bishop’s punches was registered at one hundred and forty five kilometers per hour, and the strength appears to be enough to break steel.”

Vindicta straightened her labcoat. “That’s good for now, but we can certainly do better. I don’t have statistics, but I’m fairly certain Xifeng is both faster and stronger than that. Black Bishop, you are dismissed.” The Reflection nodded, and became meshed red shards, then broke apart and those shards faded into faint points of energy. As Vindicta stepped out of the testing room, they vanished from sight. The head of the psionic division glanced over at the scientist waiting for her outside. “What do you need?”

“There’s someone here to see you. An Elicia Ensslin,” the scientist informed her, a bit nervous after watching that display.

“Oh? I wasn’t made aware, so this was not a preplanned visit. Send her in,” Vindicta told him, and the scientist quickly walked off to retrieve the person in question.

After a brief moment, Elicia entered the room, a look of grim determination on her face. Quickly she scanned the room, her eyes catching upon the shattered remnants of the steel block first - briefly wiping away the prior expression for barely suppressed shock - then onto the lead scientist.

“I’m looking for one Doctor Exalt,” Elicia asked. “I presume that’s you?”

Vindicta’s blue eyes seemed to size up Elicia for a moment before she answered. “You are correct. What brings you here, Miss Ensslin?”

“I need to be tested for psi potential, as soon as possible,” the Anglo-German replied. “I figured that fell under your purview, so here I am.”

“It does, though I am curious about what drives your sense of urgency,” Vindicta intoned, continuing, “Interest in the powers themselves, or something of more personal significance to you? That is, if you’re willing to tell.”

“A close friend has an issue that only a green psion can cure, and I want to get this done before I start getting second thoughts,” Elicia answered. “I hope that satisfies your curiosity.”

The yellow psion raised an eyebrow a bit incredulously. “I should warn you there is a one in six chance you are going to be the color that you require. If luck is not on your side, another solution will have to be pursued.” Vindicta glanced around the lab for a moment. “I believe we have a person or two on the base with biokinetic abilities if that is what you require. If your friend isn’t on the Einherjar, perhaps it would be better to contact someone like the renowned psionic doctor Chandra.”

Elicia gritted her teeth, and shook her head. “No, I’m the one who has to do this. I can’t risk word of their condition spreading. It would be… disastrous to her career.”

Vindicta crossed her arms. “If it is life threatening then we would have no choice should you turn out to be anything but a green. Otherwise I’m afraid I don’t quite understand the situation, and I’m a little hesitant to go through with something like this simply based on what you have told me thus far.” Vindicta gazed around the currently empty room. “I need something more solid than what you have given me. Otherwise I risk malpractice.”

“Right, right, of course,” Elicia replied, rubbing her forehead. “Long story short, mental tampering from twenty-five years back, patient is currently a member of the British parliament, and as far as I know only a handful of people know this. You can imagine the fallout if that kinda thing went public, correct?”

Vindicta nodded. “Understandable.” The Exalt rubbed her chin in thought. “In the interest of perhaps bringing another intriguing psion into the world, I shall allow you to undergo testing. I cannot guarantee that you will be the correct color, or even that you will be a psion, but from what I can gather about your willpower that doesn’t seem so far fetched. However,” Vindicta stipulated, “I have a condition and a suggestion that may well become a second condition.”

The scientist held up one finger. “First of all, if you do test positive for psionic potential, I’d like you to try and develop it, regardless of what color you turn out to be. It would be a waste otherwise.” Two fingers. “And second, if you are not a green psionic, one of my aunt’s assistants has biokinetics that can rewrite neural patterns. If you cannot help you friend, I trust you will trust me to resolve this before it could become an issue.”

Elicia opened her mouth to protest, but quickly shut it and shook her head to dismiss the thought. Sure, Uncle Foulke said never to trust an Exalt, but dammit, sometimes you have to pull a Faust, she thought. “Alright, just as long as I’m warned ahead of time who this person is, and they’re… discreet.”

“Her name is Nouja, the sister of Atka Wiewora, who you may or may not know of to some degree,” Vindicta replied cooly. “That family is possessed of honesty and loyalty to a fault. You have little to worry about there.”

“Loyalty I’m fine with, but the honesty is the hard part…” Elicia said, rubbing her neck slightly. “Right, where do we get started on this whole shebang?”

“The initial testing to determine if you have potential, and what color if you do, should take 24 hours.” Vindicta walked over to a door with Elicia, pressing the button to open it and reveal a line of casket-like psi testing chambers. “If you are a psion, the process to awaken you will take another 72 hours. Keep in mind, even if you are a green psion, your first ability could be one of four. The chances of you getting biokinesis is not promising.” Vindicta turned to look at Elicia. “To be frank, if you are a green you’d only have a few hours to use your powers before the Einherjar sets sail on the 22nd. I’m not sure you could make it unless you intend on waiting until you come back to Earth.”

“It’s a complicated procedure, and considering that I did drop out of med school, I need time to both master the powers and get my knowledge of neurology up to snuff,” Elicia replied with a shrug. “Hopefully we can get this business on Forseti done and over with as soon as possible.”

“Very well then. I just want you to know what you are getting into.” Vindicta motioned towards the capsules. “You may step inside one of those, and I will begin testing immediately. For all intents and purposes you’re going to be asleep for five days, but it probably won’t feel like much more than a good night’s rest with your psyche being evaluated.”

“Huh, that asshole lied to me, we don’t have to strip for this,” Elicia muttered under her breath, stepping into the first pod she saw, and turning around to face Vindicta. “Well, I guess here goes everything.”

Vindicta had an eyebrow raised again. “Well, you don’t have to, as long as you don’t mind your clothing being ruined by suspension fluid.” She stepped back. “I leave that choice to you, I’ll be monitoring the controls.” With that, the Exalt closed the door, and walked over to the command console to prep the pod.

 

[Frostlich1228]

Dahlexpert & Frostlich1228: “Bragging Rights.”

Earth, Sol System (January 20th, 2044)
The Einherjar (3:32 P.M., GMT)
Holographic Training Area

A large projection of a muton searched through the simulated battlefield with his weapon raised, ready to fire at the first sign of movement. As it walked, the muton caught the glimpse of something moving around one of the pieces of melted steel jutting out of the ground, firsting at it with his plasma rifle and melting it into a viscous slime. It quickly walked up to check out the area it had seen the figure in, before a soft wind on the back of it’s neck and a sound caused it to turn around rapidly, “Hey guy, how’s your health care?”

The muton turned around it see a small robot hovering just inches in front of it’s face, surprised, the muton roared loudly before a small compartment on the bottom of the drone revealed a compact machine gun. The weapon fired rapidly into the hulking aliens face, dropping him to the floor in a pool of blood. “Apparently it’s great.” James spoke through the machine walking out from behind a piece of rubble and stepping up to observe the corpse. “I think the weapons systems are a-okay, heh heh…”

“That one liner was shitty. A woman says entering the Holographic training Area “I mean come on, must you mock the aliens healthcare. It’s not like it’s there fault there healthcare is shit, the can’t help it.

“I dunno, I think they can. They just keep trying to fuck with us and they keep getting the shit kicked out of them. No wonder Mutons have terrible health care, who’d want to invest in that?” James turned to see the woman walking towards him, “So, my holo-room time up already? Time flies when you’re kicking ass I guess.”

“Hum I guess so, though I guess i’m not going to be in here long. I’m just going to test these weapons that my class get’s, which apparently is a lot hell with this many guns I might as well open a gun shop. Though I think i’m good on money to last a life time. Ou i’m being rude I say you have shitty one liners without introducing myself, hi my name is Noire.”

“Noire? Well, you do seem like dame. Now all you need to do is paint yourself black and white and you’ll be perfect for a classic detective movie.” He brushed some dirt off his pants before walking up to her, “I’m James, but my friends call me Fancypants.”

“Yea, my mom has a cruel sense of humor. I think she secretly wanted me to become a detective with the whole black & white back round to boot. Ignoring that nice to meet you james I think I rather call you James then Fancypants, manley because I don’t know you well enough to call you that.”

“So, I heard you say you’re a soldier huh? What class they hire you as?” James asked, whistling and calling his drone back to his side.

“I’m a paratrooper, and that’s an interesting drone you have there. Is it a combat drone or a personal assistant?”

“No, I use the machine gun on the bottom to swiss my cheese for me.” He chuckled, patted the top of the drone, “Made him from nothing but scrap metal when I moved to Luna and I’ve been upgrading him slowly ever since. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince the engineers to let me use some of their weapons and supplies, but if not, I’ll just figure it out myself. If they can do it, then so can I.”

“Yea I highly doubt engineering will allow you to take any of there parts, Also. Noire cocks her shot gun “I do have a shot gun I don’t like being insulted, ou who am I kidding I know the drone is used for combat. Though I do wish I brought mine though, but I have to leave him at home. Wait you're from Luna? Never met someone that was from the moon, what’s it like up there?”

“Well, it’s got… dust… some craters here and there… One of the only reasons I moved there though, was because it got me access to some high tech and ways to gain experience in my field.” He shrugged, “And I wouldn’t advise threatening the best god-damn engineer in the Sol system.”

“I’m not threatening you, that’s what the aliens are for. So the moon has some high tech stuff up there, hum I might have to go there sometime. I mean I have an engineering degree I can make any weapon that we know of and I can make androids fix the ships and pretty much fix anything really.”

“But yet, you weren’t confident enough to actually use those skills where it counts and enlist yourself as an engineer?” James replied, crossing his arms.

“There is a time and a place for everything, this place needs a solder more than an engineer and besides. Since you the best damn engineer in the system why aren’t you an engineer?”

James smiled, “I am, but I’m not about to waste my skill taking a desk job. My ability deserves to be right in the spotlight where everyone can see it, where it’s more useful. Besides, hell if I’m going to be sitting in the engineering bay while the soldiers fight off hoards of space pirates without me.”

“You know in every space move I have ever seen, the cocky ones die first. Though I doubt you're going to die first since that crap happens in the moves. But I can’t wait to get to this planet were going to, what’s it called again?”

“The cocky ones only die first because they don’t have the skills to actually back it up. I, on the other hand, do. I’ve seen first hand how much better I am than everyone else, I know it, but I joined XSDF because everyone else doesn’t yet... I plan to change that.” James leaned on the nearest piece of metal.

“Well that’s one reason to join, my reason I joined is well the only people that need to know why I joined is the commanding officers and my friends if I tell them. “But my reason to join is also to change people's minds.”

“About what, exactly?” James asked, smirking a little.

“To change people's mind on augmented people, that’s my reason for joining. Also for other reasons.”

“I don’t need augments. Augments are just an easy way to try and get the leg up on people that’re better than you… You can get as many as you want though, I just find it all the more satisfying to take down someone that thinks they’re unbeatable all because of a few gene mods.” James responded.

“I never said I was unbeatable, but I do agree that those people give people like me a bad name. Though unlike any one that got augmentations through a lab and bought them, I am probably the only person on Earth scratch that the galaxy that is born with Augmentations. I’m kinda tired of people thinking I beat them because i’m augmented.”

Fancypants’ eyes squinted, “How the hell do you get born with augments?”

“My mom had some work done on her before Meld became a thing, and when she joined X-COM and got augmented. The augmentations kinda bonded with her and became apart of her, which some of them were passed down to me.”

“X-Com… Wait… Is your mom Eva Aeterger? That braggy, badass clone girl from the X-com movie?” James asked, standing up straight again.

“The movie does not do her justice, she’s cocky yes but it’s well earned. And my father is Jean and my aunt is the famous Elen Exalt. And she’s not a clone she’s one hundred percent human.”

“Right… Her… Daughter was the clone…” James said slowly, waving his hand back and forth, “Probably the most confusing part of that movie, too many goddamn clones to keep track of.”

“Yea it’s pretty confusing, if you want to get technical about it the clones are technically my sisters. But it makes it easier for everyone if I call the aunts, you keeping up with this or did you brain exploded?”

“Brains, fine, but thanks for caring.” He replied sarcastically, “I’ll give you this though, if that movie had anything to do with real life, she really reminded me of myself… After all this is over, I’d be happy to show her which one of us is the better fighter, you know what they say about brains versus brawn.”

“Yea the person with the brain will be twelve mile bloodstain, and his brain will be in orbit. Look my mom will take any excuse to fight anyone, anyone hell you want to know how strong she is. Ask the second in command Aya she fought her, and even she admits that my mom is the only person that could fight her and live. So for your own sake don’t go to my mom and challenge her.”

“Fine, I’ll just have to hone my skills first. By the time I get out of here, I’ll be ever better than I am right now and I’ll probably be swimming in more tech than I could ever know what to do with.” James said confidently, “Until then, I guess I can just prove I’m better than you… Be good practice.”

“Ou good another rival, first Korra now you. With all these rivals that just makes me want to get even stronger than I already am, I look forward to crushing your dreams of beating me but I can’t wait to prove that you ain't shit when it comes to engineering, though I think you can agree that the ship can only benefit from our rivalry or be completely destroyed.”

“Fine, I’ll promise not to lay motion sensitive mines under your bed while you are sleeping, might cause unnecessary damage to the ship’s integrity, you know?” James smiled, moving towards the door, “Until I successfully shove a grenade up your ass, want to get some coffee after you’re done here? I don’t have anything better to do and a good frienemy makes for great conversation.”

“I would like that, and we can discuss me shoving my shotgun up your ass.” Noire pet’s the drone “I might have to make my own drone since i’m here could us a combat partner and a assistent. Any way i’ll met you for coffee once i’m done.”

“See you there!” Fancypants said and he walked out of the room, a smug grin on his face as thoughts of his future victory swam through his mind.

 

[BMPixy]

BMPixy and DarkGemini24601: “Stand Proud”

Earth, Sol System (January 20th, 2044)
The Einherjar (8:03 P.M., GMT)
Psionic Laboratory

Vindicta sighed in disbelief for a moment, her secondary scans showing the same thing the first had. “Unbelievable.” Ignoring the curious glance of her assistant, the Exalt stepped away from the console, walking over to the door on the left side of the room and opening it. As she entered the chamber containing the psionic testing apparatus, she clicked a button on her wrist to begin the process of draining the suspension fluid from Pod One, and waited for the person within to come out of their trance.

With a slow and uneasy groan, Elicia slowly came to, holding a hand to her head as she blinked herself awake. As the suspension fluid finished draining, she unconsciously shivered, the her soaking wet clothes sending a chill through her body. Ugh, modesty my ass, should have just stripped… she thought, clutching her arms over her chest as the pod slowly opened.

The head of the psionic division pressed another button on her control pad, opening up two panels on the walls to start blowing warm air onto the soldier to begin defrosting her. “Well, congratulations, Ms. Ensslin. You appear to have inherited the inconceivable luck of your surrogate father. I verified the results twice just to be sure, but the findings cannot be denied. You are a green psion, and it appears your first ability is none other than biokinesis.”

“...what?” Elicia muttered a she stumbled out of the pod, still groggy from her extended rest. “I… actually have it? You… you’re kidding me, right?”

“I’m not in the habit of lying about findings in my field,” Vindicta responded, shaking her head with a slight smile. “You’re a rather impressive test subject. It could be chance, or it could be that the dormant power within you was in fact molded by your desire to help that friend of yours. It is not out of the realm of possibility.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Elicia replied, before finally perking up, a grin plastering itself on her face. “So, that’s the first step of my master plan complete. The Ensslin luck hasn’t failed me before, why should it now?”

Vindicta raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking more of the Foulke luck, but fair enough. Now, the specifics of biokinesis entails four separate schools of usage at the moment. There is healing biokinesis which can be swapped for harmful biokinesis, and biokinetic reprogramming versus biokinesis that stimulates the pleasure centers. Naturally, you’ll be going for the third, but likely you’ll be able to perform healing or damage initially. The choice, however, is entirely up to you.”

“I’m a medic, did you even need to ask that question?” Elicia shrugged pointedly, and added, “Besides, once I’m finished with my tour I’ll be able to show all those assholes back at med school how a real doctor does her work, so of course I’m gonna go for healing.”

“Well, you certainly seem to have the right mindset for using that variant. Perhaps a test is in order then. Let’s see just what you can do.” Vindicta smirked, and the black armored hand of Black Bishop ghosted out from her shoulder, retrieving a knife from the scientist’s belt. Carefully, it cut a shallow incision on her arm, and then returned the small dagger to its place, Vindicta not even flinching.

Elicia instinctively sprung back at the sudden appearance of the Reflection, before catching herself and moving to Vindicta’s side. “Right, so I was gonna ask you what that thing was, but first thing’s first: how do I do the healing thingy?” Elicia asked, her hands held over the wound nervously.

“Concentrate on your desire to repair the damage. Psionics are a matter of mind over matter, you must exert your will over my cells to speed up my healing factor,” Vindicta explained calmly, knowing she could always just get the cut healed by a Tz6 device if Elicia failed to perform.

“Right, got it,” Elicia muttered. Quickly taking a hand to wipe away the blood, she examined the wound, and began to focus. Shallow incision, doesn’t look like it hit muscle, so should just be dermal damage, she thought. Now for the hard part… Gently exhaling and closing her eyes, Elicia drew up mental images of the tissues stitching themselves back together with no scarring, trying to will that image upon reality. Slowly a green glow crept over her hands, and the cut began to steadily heal.

Vindicta smiled in satisfaction as the damage knit itself together. “Not bad for your first try. My faith in your potential was not misplaced after all.”

“Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Elicia said as the glow faded, and she put a hand to her forehead as a brief wave of nausea hit her from the exertion. “Ugh, is it always so draining to use these kinds of powers?”

The Exalt shrugged. “It gets easier with practice. You have a high aptitude for psionics but a very shallow pool of energy at the moment. If you want to work on expanding those energy reserves I suggest working alongside the medical staff for awhile. It’d give you some chances to utilize your abilities.”

“Yeah, figured that might be the case,” Elicia replied, rubbing the back of her neck uneasily. “Probably should ask them about picking up some neurology books while I’m there. Just hope they don’t look down on me too hard for, y’know…”

“I think the medical community is more fond of psionics than most,” Vindicta replied confidently. “And you’d be hard-pressed to find those that don’t appreciate these powers on the Einherjar…” The young woman frowned. Except our wonderful Commander, of course.

“Oh no, it’s not that,” Elicia hastily said, waving her hands in front of her. “More so the fact that I kinda dropped out of med school halfway through my education, for reasons I don’t particularly want to go into.”

Vindicta chuckled for a few seconds. “Ah, so you’re like my brother, then. He went to Harvard and dropped out, though I’m quite sure his reasons were much more shaky than whatever yours were. As in, no good reason at all for him.”

“Wait, your brother wasted a Harvard education?” Elicia asked, stepping back slightly in shock. “Geez, I realized you Exalts were real conspicuous consumers, but that’s… that’s just excessive.”

“Yes, because apparently if father didn’t need to finish college to get into the position he’s in, that means Mark doesn’t need to either.” Vindicta shook her head. “But it’s only natural that the older sister would have to deal with the shortcomings of her younger sibling, after all,” she mused with a sigh.

“Eh, in my experience with sibling-like relationships, it’s generally been the opposite,” the Anglo-German said. “Can’t count how many times Riri’s pulled my overenthusiastic ass outta trouble.”

Vindicta shrugged, and seeing that the fans had more or less done their job, turned them off. “Now, you were curious about what you saw me do just a minute ago, correct?”

“Yeah, that thing that suddenly was standing by you,” Elicia affirmed with a nod.

“That is one of my two Reflections,” Vindicta noted, leaning against the wall for a moment. “They are psionic constructs, sometimes intangible but more often than not physical manifestations of a psion’s psyche. Not everyone with the power of psionics can summon one forth, but they act as guardians for us. I can control it myself, directly, or it will simply obey my will subconsciously.”

Pushing herself off the metal again, a corona of gold energy rimmed Vindicta’s eyes. First just a ghostly black mist of energy and red shards of telekinetic force, the being Elicia saw before formed in its full glory. The Reflection floated at attention to Vindicta’s right, fitting for a being wearing a strange composite of black military fatigues and medieval-style armor, complete with a helmet bearing golden goggles to match Vindicta’s color. “This is Black Bishop, my more defined and corporal Reflection.”

“Cool,” Elicia said, obviously impressed as she walked around to get a full view of the psionic projection. “I assume from your choice of words you have another, less defined Reflection?”

“That would be White Bishop. While this one is composed from telekinetic energy and much more…” Vindicta cleared her throat. “...inspired, White Bishop is merely and quite nearly amorphous electricity at the moment.”

“So, do you know of any upper limit on how many of these ‘Reflections’ a person can have?” Elicia asked. “I mean, is there anything stopping me from making an army of these things and keeping them in my brain until I need to go Rambo?”

“They require a lot of energy to maintain, and usually most people are limited to one. Furthermore, they have limits on strength and speed, among other qualities like durability.” Vindicta smiled. “I’m fairly proud of my Black Bishop, but I’m not so sure she could hold up against a certain Detective Wiewora’s ‘Xifeng’.”

“Gotcha.” Elicia scratched her chin, and glanced up at the clock out of the corner of her eye. “Ah, probably should get going soon. Need to get something else to wear, and I don’t want to take up all your time for today. Certainly has been an illuminating day, I’d say.”

Black Bishop faded back into obscurity. “Very well then. And if you need help in expanding your capabilities, you know where I’ll be. I look forward to seeing you develop, Ms. Ensslin.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, and thanks for the all the help. Couldn’t have done it without you.” Elicia gave a short wave as she turned and made her way out of the psi labs, smirk plastered on face as customary.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Black0ut and DarkGemini24601: “Unexpected Repairs”

As Thomas swung at the punching bag, something felt wrong. His "Robo-hand" went slack and wouldn't move. Probably snapped the connection between the metal and nerves. Thomas thought, better get to their cybernetics lab. Thomas walked briskly towards the lab, cradling his disabled arm. Upon entering, the lab appeared to be full of engineers, a few being busy and the rest apparently socializing. Thomas approached them and asked "Could one of you fix the problem with my T1 arm?"

"Sure."

As the engineer began to analyze Thomas' arm, Thomas closed his eyes and pondered an event that wasn't recorded in the Ethereal Subjugation War. West Point. And as he focused on it more, he started to remember the pale grey creatures who has shot him, the moment replaying like a broken record. Their big, bulbous eyes, their small, weak frames, and their cold, brutal, efficient manner in which they dispatched humans, like they were trash or filth. As Thomas opened his eyes, he noticed a sectoid with a cybernetic eye and cybernetic limbs.

Kelio took note of him as he walked in with a humanoid cybernetic limb in his hands. “I retrieved the Tier Two right arm you asked for,” he called out with his speech device to one of the engineers. “Where uh… do you want me to put it?”

“Just on the table over there,” a man with black hair replied, looking over a couple of tools. “Doubt we’re going to be authorized to give it to anyone since we don’t have enough T2 for all our augmented staff, but hey, could be worse.”

The Sectoid nodded his large head and went over to a table near Thomas, laying down the limb there. He offered a brief “Hello,” to the other soldier as he made sure the arm wasn’t going to fall off to the side.

Thomas gritted his teeth and asked, in a strained voice, "Could you move that to a different table? I would prefer it, if I didn't have to see you."

Kelio blinked for a moment with his normal eye. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked curiously.

Thomas's natural hand curled up into a fist, as Thomas debated whether to punch the sectoid with as much force as possible. Thomas calmed down and said "The fact your race didn't go extinct on the war."

Kelio tilted his head to the right, studying Thomas’s expression for a moment. “That’s rather blunt.” Rather than seem immediately upset, though the Type Two did seem a bit deflated by Tom’s words, he asked, “So why do you hate Sectoids?”

Thomas glared at the sectoid for several moments. He then said " See this metal hand? Your race caused my real one to be forcibly removed. But you shouldn't be worried about that. You should be worried when I have a gun in my hand, and whether I'll shoot the guy behind you or... " Thomas paused, smiling a little bit " accidentally 'miss'."

Kelio took a step back, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m pretty...s-sure that would be a court-martial offense. And…” Kelio tapped just above his mechanical eye. “A human tore out my eye with a knife. I don’t h-hate your race for that.”

Thomas chuckled a humorless laugh, delighted by what had happened to the sectoid "Your race tried to aid your former leaders' plan in enslaving all of humanity, for their own twisted goals. Your race were the grunts that first appeared, and were the first to kill. I was a soldier before the war, yet I switched to a medical profession to take care of wounded, people shot with plasma bolts. Countless people died on my table asking me to avenge them. And do you know which alien was the one they requested be killed? Sectoids. " Thomas snarled "I carry the names and faces of 391 different people. 161 died to Sectoids. So if I come off cruel and bitter, good. Because nothing you say, and nothing you do will ever atone for the people your race killed." Thomas said, his eyes resembling two black fires.

An audible sigh came from the engineer Kelio had been talking to earlier. Putting down his tools for a moment, he looked over at Thomas. “Oh, lord. Did we pick up a Humanity Defensive reject by mistake, or do you just share sentiments with a faction the XSDF wiped out?” The man smiled coldly. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure that’s the sort of shit you don’t want to say around the Commander unless you like the cold void of space. Even if she doesn’t like xenos that much.”

Thomas turned his glare on the engineer for a moment and his rage faded. "Alright, I'll keep my opinions to myself" Thomas returned the smile, perhaps a bit colder, turning to Kelio, he said "Don't talk to me unless we're on a mission together. You leave me the hell alone and in return, I won't bother you."

Kelio seemed hesitant to speak, and the engineer just waved his hand. “Thanks for carrying that thing over to me. See you around, Kelio.” Without standing around any longer, the Sectoid departed.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Got to Stick Together Part One (MarineAvenger and Alzdude28)

Earth, Sol System (January 21th, 2044)
The Einherjar (10:53 P.M., GMT)
Engineering Bay

As Nick stepped out of his workshop and stretched his arms out, his A.I. assistant Glitch floated up to the teen and looked around cautiously. “Sir, should you really take a break? If the Commander thought you were slacking off, the consequences would...not be preferable.”

Nick waved a hand as he dropped them to his side. “Look, I am not going to get in trouble for taking a well deserved and needed break. If I get in trouble I will do what I do best and think of an excuse.”

“Yes, because deceiving your higher ups have never gotten you in trouble Mr.Cauthon.” Glitch retorted with a defeated tone.

‘Look, everything will be fine. No worries.” Nick proceeded to walk away from his off to the side workshop and began just strolling around looking at the bustle of the already active engineering bay, not talking to any of the engineers but merely observing their work, some catching his eye more than others.

As he passed by, one engineer looked up and proceeded to stand up quickly, fumbling the piece of machinery she was tinkering with. “Sorry!” she exclaimed, desperately clutching at the falling hardware.

Nick glance at her direction with a curious look and he held up his hands with a nervous grin. “Oh no, it is no problem. Uh...just as long as you didn’t break what you were working on.”

Brienne placed it on a table and began examining it closely. “Well, it’s noting that a bit of soldering won’t fix. There are designed to be rugged, anyway.”

“What...is it?” He asked, trying to get a better look at what it was.

“It’s a sensor module for the armour, monitors everything from vital signs to how much of their ammunition’s been spent. These thing have GPS, basic comms and even a Geiger counter, just in case…”

“Cool.” Standing back he put his hands behind his back. “So who are you?”

“Martinsson, Brienne Martinsson. What was your name?”

“I’m Nick Cauthon. I work sort of...privately here so I don’t get to walk the main floor so much. Usually just in my little workshop/office doing whatever is handed off to me. Though since that isn’t a lot, mostly just do my own work to pass the time.”

“Private work? I thought everyone here was connected to the military. How did you manage to get the job?”

“Favors...and begging. A lot of people are shocked that I am here...not really a lot of...or well any teens here other than me, but my...mind sort of makes up for it…” Nick stated, not wanting to sound like he was gloating.

“Must have been some pretty big favours. I was surprised when they actually sought me out, I’d still be on Earth otherwise.”

“They...sought you out? You didn’t just go to a recruiter?” Nick asked, having to move out of the way as a big engineer walked past the teen.

“Yeah… I’m still not sure why. One day I got a call at work saying that there was someone wanting to recruit me for a programme with the XSDF, next thing I know I’m on the freaking Einherjar!”

“Huh...and you have...no clue? You from an important family or something? Connected to anyone famous?” The teen asked, now engrossed with the story.

“No, besides, I’d like to think that nepotism had nothing to do with it, even if I were.”

“That’s really...strange. You should look into that.” Nick stated. Looking around he said, “Well...sorry to have spooked you before. I will...be going.”

“Do you really think it could be that significant? I just assumed that they approached lots of high achieving academics…” She hesitated briefly, realizing how pompous that made her sound.

Stopping from leaving, Nick turned back to her and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well...I wouldn’t really know about what the officers were thinking. Even though I may be a special case, I am still just an engineer like you. Not like I am anymore special...not like I am the head or anything.”

“Yeah… it was nice to meet you Nick.” Brienne said. “Now, I really must get back to work, although I think that you might be right about looking into my recruitment…” With that she turned back to the sensor module on her desk and pulled a pair of safety goggles over her eyes, while reaching for her soldering iron.

As Nick turned around again he had an idea and looked back at Brienne. “Uh...if you want to talk again my workshop is down that way if you would like to talk again after work...or whenever your shift ends. I don’t really know if mine actually ends, usually I stay in there all the time.” He quickly scurried off, Glitch following closely as he left.

“Thanks, I’ll drop in some time.” She muttered, still intent on her work.

 

[Alzdude28]

Got to Stick Together (Part 2) (MarineAvenger and Alzdude28)

(January 22nd 2044, 00:30 GMT)

Brienne packed her equipment away at the end of her shift, stood up and walked out into the hallway. On her way towards her quarters, she passed a workshop with the lights still on. Curious, she looked through the window and saw Nick inside. She knocked quietly on the door.

There was no movement from the boy inside, just working on a big machine in the middle of the workshop with his back to the door and the panel next to the door showed it was unlocked. Brienne considered for a moment, and then opened the door and walked in. “Nick?”

Nick still was bent over the machine, and as Brienne got closer it was apparent Nick was wearing a pair of headphones on his head, the music relatively loud and able to be heard. After a second, she walked up and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

Nick jumped and sparks flew from the panel he was working in, the young engineer falling backwards and gripping his right hand, as small burn marks covered them. He groaned a bit in pain, wanting to hold his hand but the burns preventing it. Pulling off his headphones, Nick looked up at Brienne surprised. “Ow...could you grab a clean rag from over there?” He asked, pointing to a small box over on one of the tables.

“Sorry!” Brienne rushed over to the box and retrieved a rag. “Are your hands ok?”

Nick looked over his right one and winced at the tiny burn marks all over it. “I will need to stop by the infirmary later but nothing that looks to damaging…” He took the rag and tied it around his hand carefully, pulling it tight and grunting. “Sorry...I completely forgot I invited you...I sort of forgot…”

“Sorry about startling you like that… I think there’s a burns dressing in the first aid kit in my lab… do you need me to go and get it?”

“I’ll live...not the first time I have been burned while working.” Kicking the machine he had been working on with a sigh, Nick grabbed a couple of stools from one of his workbenches and brought them up so they could sit. “So...now that work is over, I guess tell me about yourself...don’t really have a lot of friends here as you can imagine…”

Brienne sat down and looked across to Nick. “There isn’t really much to tell. I’m a Londoner, I grew up in the city then went to Uni in Novum, for my BEng. I moved back to Earth after and worked in Berlin for a year, then I was recruited for this, which you already know about.”

Nick’s face brightened up. “You’re from London too?” He asked. “I know I don’t have the accent but I used to live there too before my parents and I relocated to Megha.”

“Really? It’s always nice to meet a fellow Londoner!” She said, smiling.

“I was actually...originally born in the Netherlands but I grew up in an orphanage. I was adopted and brought to London when I was young so I consider that my home.” He said with his own smile.

“You said that you lived in Megha… what was it like over there?”

“Hot...really hot. In fact I became so used to it I have to wear this all the time.” He told her, noting his blue winter coat. “Also it is really green and orange…”

“I’ve always wanted to visit… That’s one of the reasons I accepted this job, I want to see as much of the universe as possible. How much do you know about Forseti?”

“Not a lot other than the fact the XSDF are trying to set up elerium mining operations there. Other than that zilch. I’m just the 16-year old robotics genius so not a lot of that stuff gets to me. Wasn’t lying when I said I was basically the same as you in terms of the hierarchy here…”

“Sorry, did you say you were 16? Is it even legal for you to be working for XSDF?”

“I told you I was young and needed favors to get in. Besides...XCOM had an eleven year old working for them during the war. She was part of my inspiration for coming here. I want to be like her.” He said in a tone as if daydreaming.

“Even so, they were desperate to survive back then, I’m surprised that the bureaucrats let you in in the current situation.”

“Yeah, well...this kid is probably going to be one of the biggest assets here so…!” Nick growled a bit and he crossed his arms, obviously pissed off. “I am sick of people underestimating me because I am younger…”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just… surprised.”

Nick still looked a little mad but he just shook his head. “Well there are stranger things that can happen. We can work with aliens with no problem but a slightly underage engineer gets on board and everyone turns head over heels.”

Brienne smiled a little sheepishly. “When you put it like that…”

Nick looked at Brienne and giggled, smiling and holding up a hand. “I’m sorry, I am not mad at you just a little tired of being the odd one out. I just hope it isn’t like this the whole time...”

“I’m sure that once the others find out what you can do, you’ll just be another engineer on the team. Just like that girl from the war. What was her name again? Sammy Randolph?”

“Sunny. And I really hope so...I...sorta have bad experiences with bullying and I can’t handle it well.” Nick looked down and pressed his thumbs together.

“Well, if by any chance people give you grief over your age, then I’ve got your back.”

‘Really?” He asked, generally surprised.

“I was bullied when I was around your age. I know what it’s like.”

“Wow...you are really the only one to have really offered...thanks.” The younger engineer said, blushing a bit.

Brienne grinned. “We engineers must stick together.”

“Wow...just...wow…” Nick looked up at the clock and said, “Oh shoot...I uh...probably kept you here longer than I should have…” He stated a little guilty.

Brienne checked her watch. “Oh shit. Well, it’s been a fun evening. Are you sure your hands are fine?”

Nick held up his right hand and said, “Yeah, I should be fine. I know someone I can visit who is hopefully still in. If not...well there are other doctors.” Nick got up from his stool and opened the door for Brienne. “See you around, when I get the chance.”

Brienne walked out into the corridor. “Yeah, see you around Nick.” She then walked off in the direction of her quarters, yawning.

 

[Dahlexpert]

Old family reunions

Earth, Sol System (January 22 2044)

The Einherjar 12:23 PM

Noire is in the Main Gymnasium training. “Sigh, times up well that was a good workout, i’m glad I don’t have to hold back here. Hell I can’t imagine training without giving it my all sigh.”

Cayden entered the gym wearing his usual gray shirt and green cargo shorts, which have become his usual workout clothes, and he grabbed a towel off the rack, walking over to one of the treadmills and climbing up. If he was going to get through all the training regiments the soldiers were going through, he would need to keep up his routine. “Just like old times…” He muttered, turning on the treadmill and beginning his run.
Noire rubs her head with a towel wiping off the sweat that was on her head. Noire looks at the treadmill and sees a familiar face. “Wait there’s no way that could be. Noire walks to the treadmill cautiously hoping not to catch the man by surprise. “Cayden is that you?”

Cayden glanced over at the woman with a raised eyebrow and he asked, “Yeah...do I...know you?”

“Well we only see each other probably once a year, so it’s natural that you don’t recognize me. It’s me Noire, Eva and Jean’s kid.”

“Oh, Noire. Now I remember you. Seems there are more people here I am familiar with than not. How have you been holding up since we last saw each other?” Cayden had to slow his pace on the treadmill so he could both concentrate on his workout and talk at the same time.

“Ive been good, I joined the U.S army rangers for a while then I left. Ever since then I rejoined my country's navy and been on several assignments not to this scale or off world,but I been good how about you? Are you still holding up?

Cayden looked genuinely surprised and he asked, “You were with the Rangers? What regiment were you assigned to?”

“The third and fourth battalion, but again I quit not because it was easy. But I joined when the you know the transhuman protection act wasn’t global yet so I got some hate from my superiors and other solders.”

Cayden stopped his run, turning off the treadmill and looking at Noire with a small smirk. “Well...seems we have something in common.” Cayden pulled up his left sleeve and turned to show Noire the Ranger tattoo he got for his unit, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the special forces of the Rangers.

“Oh, so you joined the Rangers too? Well that’s not surprising knowing your father and the way my mom talked about him. Hell I’m surprised you didn't join sooner.”

“Look, just because my Dad was a soldier doesn’t mean he pushed me to do it. In fact my parents tried to do the opposite but I had my mind made up after high school. I am surprised you are not in some prison for some of the things I heard about your mother.”

“Yeah, well my Mom and Dad were the same as your parents, only I think they knew I would become a solder one day. My mom was shocked when I decided to go to college, but she knew I would be a solder eventually.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter in the end, we are both here now. We are not our parents after all so I guess it don’t matter much whether they approved of this or not.” Cayden said, turning the speed of his run back up and continuing his workout.

“True, but getting their approval does make joining a lot easier. Well for me does anyway. Ou Cayden what have you been doing since I last saw you?”

“Well...like I said before I was with the Rangers up until a year ago when I asked to be honorably discharged. After that...I got an apartment and worked part time with my father for a while.” the Walker said.

“Honorably discharged, what the hell happen for you to get a honorable discharge? Noire asks curiously.

Cayden winced and he nearly tripped on the treadmill, having to yank the emergency stop key to not fall off. He looked down for a few moments and he turned the treadmill off, walking off of it and turning away from Noire. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He said in a cold tone. “And don’t bring it up again…”

Noire grabbed Cayden. “Hey you alright, Cayden? You looked like you spaced out there, and nearly fell of the treadmill. Did what happen to you really that bad.” Noire says with concern

Cayden breathed as if he was out of breath and his hand drifted up to the necklace hidden under his shirt. “It’s...none of your business.” Jerking away from Noire, Cayden quickly walked out of the gym and waited till he was out of sight to start running.

“That was…. weird, hum what ever happen to him must have been really bad. Sigh crap, hopefully he can get over what happened to him. Should I chase him down, na the next time I talk to him i’ll be sure not to bring up the military.” Noir shrugs and get’s on the treadmill and continues her work out.

 

[Adrammalech]

| EMPATHIC ABILITIES
| Tabitha Le'talla / Sasha Dragomirov (DarkGemini24601)
| The Einherjar
| Earth, Sol
| January 21, 2044 - 15:54

Tabitha wandered around the ship, unsure what to do or where to go as she reached her sixth day on the ship, which was still sitting idle in the dock. She had met some other soldiers and listened to the Commander’s speech, but nothing really felt personal or enlightening yet. As she walked down the hallways, she noticed a sign pointing out of the wall, signifying something to do with psionics. She peeked through the door, and not being immediately reprised, walked through it carefully.

She scanned the room before her for anyone or anything that would interest her. The entire room had an intangible feel of medicine and science, but it was arranged to seem a little more welcoming with a set of chairs and a desk by the door. Beyond it was an arrangement of pods and consoles that looked vaguely familiar from the labs she visited on Luna, but she couldn’t figure out what their exact purpose of it was. By the door was another girl around her age, with brown and green hair and markedly human in appearance. As they both noticed each other, Tabitha gave a pat on her bright red hair and a nervous wave.

“Um, hello. Do you work here?” she asked.

The young human woman shook her head. “No, I was just taking a look around. I know that the psi labs can’t do much for me since I’m already awakened, but I was curious as to what they were like.”

“So this is where new psions go?” Tabitha wondered out loud, taking a second look around. “I was trained at home, so I don’t really know how you do things.”

The other woman pulled lightly at one of the green tips to her hair absently. “Well, this is where our psions are awakened. I’m not sure if most Tamearins are natural psions or not, I know that most humans aren’t.”

“Most Tamearins are, or at least a lot more than humans.” Tabitha pointed towards the silver pods curiously. “And we didn’t integrate as much of the tech from the…forebears of that power.”

“You mean the Humiliata?” The human shook her head. “We figured out some of their techniques, but we accelerated the process on our own, as far as I understand. Nothing like the immediate but painful version that was used by the enemy during the Ethereal Subjugation War.”

“Yeah, I heard the same stuff as everyone else, about them changing and such,” she said before turning back towards the human. “I was cynical as anyone else, but didn’t really care to raise a crater over it. Politics falls by the wayside when you’re getting tormented every day. My dad would talk your ear off about it, though.”

Sasha looked at her a little curiously before remembering something her roommate had explained to her about Tamearins. “Right… I wouldn’t say humans are a lot better at treating people kindly, but there are a lot less people here that would fault you for showing your emotions. That’s something we do all the time, for better or worse.”

Tabitha’s eyes narrowed. “There are kind Tamearins. They just prefer a more...ordered mood. And kids are dicks no matter what species you’re from, judging from what I’ve read.”

“A-And I wasn’t saying that’s a bad thing,” Sasha replied, waving her hands defensively. “Just that while people are expected to show restraint on Earth, they aren’t required to do so at all times. I’m sure you’ve met some of the more ‘wild’ people off-duty by now.” The Russian-American shook her head. “But you are right about that last bit. Trust me, I speak from experience when I say that kids can be crueler than adults sometimes.”

“I know what you mean,” Tabitha nodded, “on both fronts. Why’d they pick on you? Was it the hair?”

“No, I…” Sasha looked down for a moment, the memories clearly not pleasant ones for her. “A lot of the time it was because they were jealous. I’m not the smartest person out there, but I used to get better grades than a lot of them, and they were jealous of…” Sasha reddened a little. “You know.”

Tabitha’s eyebrow crooked a bit. “I’m not sure I do…”

Sasha rubbed her forehead, trying to conjure up the courage to specify. “How...how... big my chest is,” she said quickly, shaking her head in embarrassment. “Stuff like that.”

“I see… it must be a human thing, but I understand the idea. Being different, yeah?”

“Pretty much.” Sasha sighed. “Didn’t help that I’m only half Russian anyway. My ‘Americaness’ didn’t sit too well with some of my former friends.”

“I don’t know much about Earth nations, but that sounds difficult,” Tabitha nodded. “Anything you can’t control is.”

“Yeah…” Sasha leaned against the wall, any trace of a smile fading from her face. “I guess it’s funny in a sad way… it’s been six years since I’ve gotten away from school, but I don’t feel like things have gotten that much better. The military was a good distraction, but aside from my brother I haven’t had many friends. I had one in high school and she’s part of the Einherjar’s crew now, which is great, but I still can’t help but feel like I’m going to end up becoming an outcast here too if I’m not careful.”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because home wasn’t much better, but people have been very friendly to me. The people here are...rougher than Luna, but well-meaning all the same.”

“I’d like to think we’re all here for a good purpose,” Sasha responded. “Fighting off space pirates and all sounds fairly noble, though…” People like the Commander make me wonder if there are other reasons than just doing the right thing at work here, Sasha silently conveyed, not daring to say it out loud.

Really? Why is that? I would assume most of your leaders are...hard. Though I haven’t met her in person.

She’s stringent, but at the same time I just feel like she does it to be cruel instead of build us up. The way she goes about treating people… it’s not like a drill sergeant, more like an overseer.

I see now, I did find her cadence to be...insulting. But I figured it was just different expectations between your people and myself. To know different is relieving and worrying...

Sasha shrugged. Not much we can do about it. But I trust Lieutenant Commander Brea to keep her in line. If my parents trusted Aya then so can I.

Your parents were a part of this before you? I’m sure you have nothing to worry about then, surely there is some kind of respect there.

The accomplishments they made in project XCOM may have slight bearing, but I don’t think Astasha really cares all that much.

Hm. Well, if you find yourself in need of a friend, I wouldn’t mind spending time with another psion.

Sasha smiled slightly. I’ll make sure to take you up on that offer plenty. It’s nice to find someone who understands what I’ve been through, what I worry about.

Agreed. Tabitha smiled earnestly. I like to help when I can, though I can be closed off at times. Try not to hold it against me if I act...differently.

If… you don’t mind me asking, why’s that?

I can have a short temper at times...and my psionics change at times, and then I don’t feel like talking to people anymore. My hair color changes to blue when my psionics do, like most Tamearins.

Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. I won’t bother you when you’re blue. You know… we can probably talk normally again, though we just have to do it in a way that seems natural.

“I don’t mind either way, whatever is most comfortable for you,” Tabitha shrugged.

Not sure that was natural, but… Sasha thought to herself, before answering, “I’m just more used to talking out loud. Telepathy is quicker but it’d be weird if we never talked. We’d get sore throats like the Humiliata.”

“It’s probably better off this way, using our bodies. Don’t want anything to wind up like what they had.”

“I think it was something to do with nuclear warfare too, but don’t quote me on that. I only know what I’ve read,” Sasha responded.

“Maybe they just like being creepy,” Tabitha smirked.

Sasha laughed quietly. “Maybe. Oh! Before I go, I should get your name. I’m Sasha Dragomirov.”

“Tabitha Le’talla,” she said with a small bow.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Back in White

11: 28 AM, January 20th, 2044
Weapons Division, Science Labs, Einherjar Battleship


“For the last time, time travel is an absurd impossibility,” Penny said, rounding the corner and continuing her striding forward.

“Clearly not,” Charles countered, “after what happened before you all shifted onto Acedia’s battleship.”

“I still doubt the authenticity of that story. Besides which, didn’t the sheer energy involved toast the subject after only half a minute?”

“Yes, but you’re missing the point. It’s possible.”

Penny shook her head. “Possible, maybe, but worthwhile? Safe enough? No. Too much could go wrong. Paradoxes and the like.”

“But that assumes you’re traveling backward. What if you went forward?”

“Then it’d have to take into account the fact that you went forward, so that’d be history, and…” She stopped outside their door, frowning heavily. “This is more confusing than I thought,” she said, opening the door and stepping through.

They both stopped almost immediately, staring at the room which would be their workspace for the journey. “Mind you,” Charles said, “I feel like I’ve just stepped back twenty five years.”

The room was a spitting image of the one they’d had way back in the X-COM base in Siberia. Two desks for them to work at, a whiteboard with associated writing materials, various shelves and cupboards holding many different pieces of equipment. A few working models of Pulse and Gauss weapons sat on the desks alongside a single Plasma pistol, though naturally their ammo had been removed.

“Déjà vu?” Penny asked.

“I feel like I’ve just backtracked the entirety of the map and ended up in the starting room.” Her husband walked up to his desk, running a hand along its edge. “This can’t be just because it’s us here.”

“Maybe the XSDF considered this the most efficient and effective layout. This is the room where most of the basic concepts of all our weaponry today were discovered, after all.”

Charles returned to her, and poked her in the ribs. “All except the basic laser.”

She glared at him. “I was well on my way to inventing that myself when X-COM recruited me, thank you very much. Me, and the other scientists at Lucas Heights, anyway.”

“And then you found out you were late to the party and X-COM already had laser capabilities.”

“Shut up.”

The two simply stood in the entrance for a moment, looking at their new (and at the same time old) workspace. After the moment had passed, Penny sighed and walked up to the whiteboard, grabbing a marker. “So then,” she said. “What’s our target?”

Charles frowned, seating himself at his desk. “Target?”

“Yes, target. We need something to work towards, otherwise we’re just going to sit in here twiddling our thumbs.” She frowned and tapped the marker against her chin in thought. “How about fusion weaponry? We don’t have that infantry scale yet.”

“As I recall, you were the one who objected to strapping fusion reactors onto people.”

Penny paused. “Well yeah, that’s probably a bad idea. But still.”

“Any other brilliant ideas?”

“Well, while we’re speaking about downsizing weapons, why not make smaller versions of our MEC weapon systems? We’ve got a particle cannon, why not a particle assault rifle?”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Because the tech required to make those not overheat is ridiculous, costly, and very big?”

She grinned. “Unlike some other pieces of equipment I could mention.”

Her husband visibly winced. “Ouch,” he said, placing a hand above his heart. “I think that comment may have physically cut me.”

“Well, you always did say I was a sharp one.”

“The crowd is going wild right now,” he deadpanned. Rolling his eyes, he sat up again. “Are we being paid yet?”

Penny frowned. “No, our contract doesn’t actually start until the 22nd, when we leave orbit. Why?”

“Then why are we working?” Charles shook his head and got up. “We’ve got a few days left before we need to get stuck into it, but you’re running headlong into ideas like an excitable child.”

“Well… I’m just throwing ideas around.”

“Yes, and I’m saying that’s enough for one day, Einstein.” He beckoned to her, smiling. “C’mon. Let’s see if they serve coffee in the cafeteria.”

Sighing, Penny placed the marker back in its spot and followed. “You can have your coffee,” she said, walking out the door and turning off the lights. “I’m craving a hot chocolate right now.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Arrival

10:04 PM (geosynchronous time) January 21st, 2044
Einherjar Hangar


The vessel puttered around the side of the massive military ship, looking like a small pebble compared to it. The more organic formation of the smaller spaceship only served to enhance that comparison – brown, seeming more like a rock with engines than a full-fledged FTL-capable spaceship. A talented observer would be able to make out that the basic frame was that of a Humilitia Scout ship, with extras imbedded over the top to make the craft their own. It was clear, though, that these extras were not of the same quality as the rest of it, lacking the finesse and efficiency of most other ships its size.

The landing gear, too, seemed a little worse for wear. When the ship made to land, several of the legs refused to come out for some time. Finally though, it touched down, the engines powering off and lapsing into silence.

The main door opened, revealing several large insects, each chittering to the others with rapidly moving mandibles. The one in front, particularly battered looking and wearing several pieces of ornate-looking armor, scanned the hangar bay. Not finding what he was searching for, he pointed to one of the engineers performing the standard post-landing procedure. “You,” it rasped, “where is your superior?”

The engineer wiped his brow and stood up. “My superior?”

“Yes, human. The one in charge of this ship.”

“You mean Commander Streczyk?”

“Yes, her. Where is she?”

The engineer shrugged. “I dunno. Probably doing administrative stuff.” With that, he went back to tinkering with the faulty landing gear, oblivious to the glare the alien was giving him.

“She is… not coming to meet us?” it said, an angry tone rising to the surface. The engineer shrugged, and the Volomi hissed. “Rudeness,” it said in it’s own language to the ones behind it. “They did not even send a delegate to treat with us.”

One of the insects, one with a deep iridescent red carapace, shook it’s head. “We are arriving at a busy time, Kearichi. They are about to get underway.”

Kearichi huffed, and began walking down the ramp to the floor. “It is inexcusable, your highness.” he muttered. “This is the first time our people have mixed, and we are not even granted common courtesy. This does not bode well for future relations.”

The Volomi moved off the ship towards the end of the hangar, with Kearichi leading and the rest folding around the red one, maintaining the formation for the rest of their journey. A single Volomi walked in the back, glancing around nervously and flinching at every loud noise. Upon reaching the door, a security guard stopped them.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you in.”

Kearichi glared at the guard. “And why not?” he demanded.

“I don’t have official clearance for you people. You’re not under XSDF employ, so you need to be cleared to enter XSDF vessels.”

“Do you understand who you are denying?” the alien spat. “Princess Slora, heir to the throne of the entire Volomi civilization, that’s who!”

The guard sighed. “I’m sorry, but XSDF regulations state I can’t-“

The door whirred open, revealing a man in a wheelchair and an extremely bored look on his face. “Alright, show’s over. Let ‘em in,” he grumbled.

The guard frowned. “I must protest, sir. I cannot allow alien nationals to wander around sensitive military property, certainly not without an armed escort-“

The cripple frowned back. “Just because I’m a cripple doesn’t mean I’m ‘armless.” He beckoned to the troupe of insects. “This way.” He rotated, and started wheeling himself forward, expecting the aliens to follow him. And they did, Kearichi resisting the urge to floor the guard as he walked past. “He assumed I wasn’t armed,” Isaac mumbled. “Cute.”

“A cripple,” the Captain of the Volomi guard grumbled. “There are few ways this could be any more insulting.”

Isaac turned his head. “Just because I can’t understand you doesn’t mean I don’t know what you’re saying.” He faced forward again. “And you’re right. You’ve been treated terribly for an envoy. I’m going to give the Commander the benefit of the doubt and suggest that she’s either exceedingly busy or is simply not aware you have arrived. Unfortunate, but not much can be done about it.”

“And who are you?” Kearichi snapped. “The cleaner?”

“Kearichi!” Slora said, a shocked expression on her face. “This is no way to treat the only one who has shown us courtesy!”

Isaac, however, merely inclined his head. “Fair call,” he muttered as they boarded an elevator. “I’m the intelligence correspondent, which is a fancy way of saying I know who you are, where you are and what you’re doing at all times. No diplomat, by any means, but this trip wasn’t exactly expected to need one.”

“Your people were given plenty of warning regarding our arrival,” Kearichi sneered. “So far I have not been impressed.”

“Stop haranguing the poor human,” Slora pleaded. “He is only attempting to help.”

“Would you have preferred I not show up at all?” Isaac asked, his patience beginning to wear thin. “Let you stew in the hangar for a bit?”

“No,” the princess said, her voice softer than Kearichi’s. “Your assistance is appreciated.” She cowered slightly under her Captain’s glare, and silenced herself.

The cripple glanced between the two, noting the relationship they had. Guard is dominant over the one they’re supposed to protect. Interesting. And he’s clearly spoiling for a fight… Diplomacy’s hard. “Of course, this is not the full welcome. That’ll come when we can devote the resources to such an event.”

“Of course, we understand,” Slora blurted before Kearichi could make a snarky comment. “There is much to prepare, I assume.”

“Yes there is,” Isaac affirmed, glad the alien was catching on. The elevator stopped, and he led the way out, followed by the squad of bugs. “In the meantime, you’ve all got two rooms to distribute yourselves amongst. No special provisions as requested-“

“I beg your pardon?” Kearichi asked, surprised. “We asked for no special provisions?”

“You didn’t,” the one at the back said, speaking up for the first time. “I did.”

“Urilio, what authority did you-“ Turning to face the Vessel, Kearichi was surprised to notice his eyes were glowing. “Your majesty, my apologies. I was not aware you were listening. I beg your forgiveness.”

“It is of no consequence,” Urilio said, dismissively waving a hand. “I requested you experience that which human soldiers experience themselves, so that you might better understand them. If that is problematic to you, Captain, you are free to question my reasoning.”

The possessed Vessel waited, and Kearichi merely bowed his head. “Of course not,” the Captain responded sheepishly.

“Good.” Turning to Isaac, Urilio gestured forward. “Continue, please.”

Somewhat confused, the human grunted, and resumed wheeling himself forward, and his speech. “Like I was saying, you have the same bunks as everyone else. Nothing more, nothing less. We have stores of food agreeable to your digestive systems, and the people dispensing it have been notified to give it to you instead of our human crap.”

“You would feed us your own feces otherwise?!” the Captain asked, alarmed.

Isaac blinked. “No, sorry. It’s a figure of speech.” He stopped outside two doors, indicating them with his hands. “This is your accommodation for the duration of your stay. The tidiness or lack thereof is your prerogative, as these rooms will not be cleaned on a regular basis. No, you are not allowed to keep the towels when you leave.” He wheeled himself around to face the delegation. “Any questions?”

Kearichi began to open his mouth, but Urilio cut him off. “No, thank you.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow, but continued regardless. “Any issues, try to contact the Commander. If she’s still… busy… I’m around. I don’t have much authority though, so don’t come to me asking for anything drastic. Alright?” When the aliens had affirmed that all was well, he smiled. “Perfect. I hope you enjoy the trip, and that we prove capable enough hosts for you all.” With that, he left, pushing himself forward and disappearing into the elevator.

Turning around, Slora saw the glow had faded from Urilio’s eyes. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Somewhat fearfully, the Vessel turned to face her. “I lost track of… did I…?”

“No,” the princess assured him. “My mother simply wished to speak to the human.” Relieved, the Vessel thanked her, and she turned to the others. “Now we must assign rooms. Kearichi, how should we allocate this?”

Kearichi huffed. “Three to each. Myself, Slora, and Urilio in this one, the rest of you in the other.”

One of the ‘others’ raised a hand. “What should we do in there? Sit and wait?”

“Yes, Trivors. We wait, for now.” Kearichi shook his head. “Hopefully we’ll be noticed by Command before we get to Forseti.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

Earth, Sol System (January 22nd, 2044)
The Einherjar (7:55 A.M., GMT)
The Bridge

On this morning aboard the large battleship, the bridge was abuzz with activity, staff members rushing to their seats to prepare for the Einherjar’s departure from orbit around the blue planet. Astasha Streczyk stood at the helm with her first officer at her side, while Frederick and Addington made sure everything was going smoothly in regards to the bridge crew.

“All systems check out?” Astasha inquired, folding her hands behind her back.

The engineers quickly snapped to attention, giving their report. “All defensive and environmental shielding is fully operational.”

“Weaponry is a-go, sir!” Another affirmed enthusiastically.

“All power is above standard efficiency still,” a third confirmed more calmly.

“All life support systems and other utilities check out,” a fourth answered rather tiredly, though a glare over Astasha’s shoulder did much to wake him up and prevent a yawn from escaping his mouth.

“Very well then.” Astasha lifted her arm, speaking into a microphone. “All XSDF staff aboard the Einherjar, prepare for faster than light jump. Helmsman, is it ready?”

The primary pilot of the ship nodded. “Yep. Ready to start the countdown.”

“Do it.”

“Alright… ten.” The crew all sat down in their seats, even if inertial dampeners would prevent them from being slammed against the wall into putty.

“Nine.” Across the ship, everyone exchanged glances.

“Eight.” Some had never experienced a gravimetric field displacement jump before, and were both apprehensive and excited.

“Seven.” The crew glanced over their monitors one last time to make sure everything was going smoothly, if out of habit or the need for confirmation.”

“Six. warp fields being generated now.”

“Five.” Around the ship, a shimmer began to glow around the frame in a ovular sphere, generated by small eddies of energy.

“Four. Subspace bubble complete. Prepping all systems.”

“Three.” A series of small mechanical whines and whirrs attested to the ship making sure it was ready to jump.

“Two.” Addington and Frederick nodded, and walked up to join their two superiors at the helm.

“One.”

Astasha nodded, crossing her arms. “Engage FTL drive now.”

“Zero.” With a ripple in the space-time continium and the Einherjar appearing to stretch out for a moment, the drive activated. Within less than a second more, the battleship blinked out of sight, being launched through space at speeds exceeding that of light itself.

OOC: The Einherjar’s voyage has begun! From here on one day in reality counts for two in the story, so keep that in mind if you attach dates to your posts. The current dates in Vanguard of Forseti are January 22nd and January 23rd, 2044.

 

[Euan]

Settling in was nothing like what James thought it’d be.

Things had been going surprisingly well. Room on his own, no one pushing him to do anything. He was even given free roam of the ship, to some degree. No science or engineering day trips, but the range was available and between that, the mess hall and his room James was pretty much sorted.

Admittedly, he wasn’t a fan of the uniform. James had never been a gloves person, and the jacket was just… no. He didn’t mind showing a couple of scars if it meant he didn’t have to wear that thing.

Leaving for the gym, James paused for a second - and lucky he did. He got a call on his computer. James frowned. “Who the fuck are you?” He slid across the room and onto the desk chair in one swift motion, and hit the answer button before checking who it was.

“HEY JAMES!” The caller yelled.
“Oh. My. God.”
“Hey, can you hear me? James? Baby?”
“Yeah, Skye, I can hear you.” James sighed. “I didn’t tell you I’d be here. When did you find out? And since when did you call me ‘baby’?”
Skye ignored the last question. “Uh, kinda when I came round to see you and EVERYTHING WAS GONE? I asked around and found out from Matt.”
“Uh, sorry for not telling you, I guess?” James rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. “It all happened so fast, I forgot to say goodbye properly.”
“Are you really up there, though? Like for reals?”
“Yes, Skye. For reals.”
“Damn, guess you beat me to it huh. Well, I’m joining you up there next week.”
“You WHAT?” James looked terrified.“Oh no no no! Not on the Einszwei-jar, no!” Skye laughed, “In space! I’m moving to Luna!”
“I guess we both got where we wanted, huh. I’m proud of us."
James smiled. “I’m proud of us too.” James heard the FTL start to boot up. "I guess we're leaving earth orbit. I'm not sure if I can keep the call going. Talk later?"
"KAY BYE" Skye hung up almost instantly.
"She's impossible."

Kind of happy but kind of annoyed, James head out to the gym. Punch bags don’t hang up on people mid-sentence. At least, not in James' experience.

 

[MarineAvenger]

"Shadowboxing" Part One (MarineAvenger and Adrammalech)

Sol System (January 22nd, 2044)
The Einherjar ( 11:07 P.M., GMT)
Gym

Connor walked with his head down and light step, his late trek to the gym something of a habit to him, usually going either late at night or early in the morning. As he walked into the facility, the lights automatically came on and as usual for the time, no one was there. “Perfect…” He noted, walking over to the end of the gym where the punching bags were set up.

Connor set the bag he had been carrying down on a bench and he sat down, talking a roll of tape out from it and beginning to wrap it around his knuckles like he usually did. When all was said and done, he walked up to the bag and laid his knuckle against it for a moment before he sent a straight shot into the bag and sending it rocking, more and more jabs hitting their mark as Connor got into it. It was not long before Connor heard the doors to the gym opening up and he sighed in annoyance, just trying to ignore whoever it was.

Tess walked in with a towel slung over her shoulder, walking towards a treadmill close to the punching bags. She tossed the towel over the railing and plugged in the hook that was meant to go on her waist, turning the dial to a medium setting. A few moments of quiet footfalls later, she looked over to the man near her, still hitting the bag.

“Venting or practicing?” she asked.

Connor took a deep breath, knowing as soon as someone showed up he would need to talk to them. “Both I guess.” He went on, not saying anything else in regards, taking a step back and hitting the bag with a strong right kick.

“I know the feeling, the running’s fun but not so much when you’ve got stuff on your mind.”

“So then why are you here so late?” Connor asked, hitting the bag again with a kick. I hate to admit but that doctor really did help my leg...

“I just like nighttime,” Tess shrugged. “Quieter, lonelier, makes you feel sneaky when you’re walking through the halls. Just a different feeling than day.”

Connor grunted in response, going all out with the punching bag, getting into his fight with the inanimate object. A brief memory flashed into his head of a fight he had and he went harder on the bag. Soon, he was going as far as he could go until he was left breathless and tired, looking at the swinging red bag go back and forth, having no sense for the passage of time.

Seeing him start to pound on the bag, Tess let herself get wrapped up in the rhythm of her run, only looking back once he stopped.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked.

Connor didn’t hear her at first, finally snapping out of it and shaking his head. “Just...reminded of an old fight.”

“Old fight? A spar or something more?”

“No...I used to be a professional fighter.” Connor looked at his red hands for a few moments before he scoffed and hit the bag one last time before going to sit back on the bench and began unwrapping his hands.

“Really? What kind of fighting, if you don’t mind me prying?”

“I was apart of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the US for a while.” He told her, his tone saying as if he was talking about a vivid dream.

“No shit,” Tess smiled, “I used to watch UFC all the time, whenever I wasn’t getting thrown around schools that is. How high up did you get?”

“I was set for a Middleweight Championship match. It...I didn’t get to fight it.” Connor put his face in his hands, not wanting to remember.

“Middleweight....wait,” Tess pulled the clip and rushed in front of him, trying to get a look in underneath his hands. “Are you...Connor Karo?”

“Yeah...I am.” He said, not looking up and regretting it even more someone knew who he was.

“Man, that’s awesome, I loved you until...well, you know,” Tess said, “how’d you wind up here?”

Connor looked up at her, clearly not happy. “I joined up. I had...nothing left. Nothing left to lose.” He stated solemnly.

Tess finally caught up to his feelings, visibly calming down from her excitement. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any...negative stuff. I guess you don’t have good memories about it, because of the press…”

“Yeah...very little good memories.” Connor got up and he quickly zipped his bag up, throwing it over his shoulder and going for the exit.

“Hey, wait,” Tess called out. “You know, I wouldn’t mind helping, if you wanted to talk things out or spar or something.”

Connor stopped and he sighed, looking at Tess with a weird look. “W-What? I don’t want to talk about anything! I don’t...get...why that is so hard to understand by some people!”

“Shit, I don’t know, I guess people just like talking and it sounds more considerate than ‘would you like to listen to me talk today?’”

Connor scoffed and shook his head, dropping his bag on the ground and holding out his arms. “Alright….you want to talk to me? Then let’s fight then! Just the two of us, no one else around. You want to spar, then by all fucking means, let’s do just that!”

“Alright, I can try,” Tess offered her own hands, “not sure I can ‘fight’ exactly, though.”

“We can do this here or in the ring, your choice.” Connor told her, noting the actual boxing ring that was off in the side of the rather large gym.

“Here’s fine, if you’re fine. This is all casual anyway, right?”

Connor nodded, letting his guard down and allowing her the first move. “I...don’t go easy.”

I have the feeling I’m going to regret this… With a small windup, Tess got up onto the tops of her feet and threw a right hook towards Connor.

Connor easily side stepped Tess and got himself behind her, just kicking out her leg at the back of the knee.

Tess leaned into her stumble and quickly stabilized herself, sending another swing as she recovered.

He just grabbed it and let go, backing away. “This isn’t even worth it. You’re not telling me anything with this. I know I certainly am not saying anything back.” Connor just let his arms stay at his side and he took a step forward, leaning into Tess. “Now...hit me.”

“I didn’t know you were waiting on me. What do you want to hear about?” Tess asked, staying in the ready position but not attacking again.

 

[Adrammalech]

Shadowboxing: Part Two

“I don’t want to hear anything from you. I want you to fight me. Not a hard concept to understand.” He offered himself as a wide open target. “Now...hit me.”

“I know I’m not a professional fighter, but even I don’t want a gimme hit,” she replied.

“Fine, you don’t want a free hit?” Connor reached out and grabbed Tess’s shirt, shoving her to the ground. “Now get up.”

Tess scowled and got back up quickly, trying to compose her stance again.

“What?” Connor asked, sounding a little insulted. “This is not some I hit you, you hit me. This is a fight. Start,” Connor ran at Tess and pushed her to the ground once more. “treating it as such.”

Tess got up again and faked the same hook as before, instead going for his stomach with a low punch.

Connor took the shot to his stomach with a small grunt and told her, “My daughter hits harder. Come on, I thought you were a soldier!”

Right as he punctuated his statement, she swung as his head again with her off-hand, considerably harder than her first attempt.

Connor took the hit, cursing to himself and touching the spot where she landed the hit. “I’m still not convinced you are even taking this seriously. Now one more time...come on...and hit...me!” He yelled at her, walking towards her.

“Fine!” Tess shouted, the continued taunting getting increasingly grating. She rushed forward and punched his stomach hard with her right arm, spinning on her heel and kicking him across the shoulder and head with her left foot as he recoiled.

Knocked to the ground, Connor laid there for a brief few moments, taking a few deep breaths and finally chuckling, sitting up and rubbing his head. “You see...now, you finally said something.” Connor looked up with her, squinting as the light was directly in his eyes and he said, “I used to have a personal trainer who said you only know a person if you truly fight them in the heat of the moment. You said to me...that you are passionate, and strong but you have a side of modesty about you...that, is what I wanted to hear from you.” Getting up, Connor rubbed his face and said, “Besides...I needed a kick in the ass for once.”

“I just haven’t done much fighting in my life, at least like that,” she scratched her head, “more like shouting at people or backstabbing them. Also, it was a kick in the head, technically.”

Connor tilted his head briefly and said, “Yeah, and a hard one at that.” He got up from his sitting position and he asked, “So what’s your name? Only proper I learn it now.”

“Tess Ryan, or Tessa, whichever you like more,” she replied.

“Alright, Tessa it is. So were you...really a fan?” He asked, a little surprised he actually had any anymore.

“Yeah, I was, you were one of my favorite fighters while you were rising. Threw out some good bets while you were climbing to that championship too,” she chuckled.

“You know, it’s weird. I never really...did any fan meet ups, I just wasn’t...that kind of person to go out there and stuff like that, you know? Just wasn’t like me. I mean, I knew I had some back then I just felt kind of bad I never showed any of that love back I...I don’t know. In my eyes I was just some guy coming out of Detroit just trying to make a name for himself.”

“Well, I wasn’t really the sort to go to those anyway, though I know some diehard fans that would hate you for it. I stopped watching for...the other reason,” she said, looking a little guilty.

“A...lot of people stopped caring. Was made a laughing stock and some martyr. ‘Connor Karo, Wife Slayer.’ ‘Connor Karo, the Violent Drug Fiend.’” Connor shook his head with a grim look. “I...that shit gets to you. It is always you laughing until you are the people are laughing at. Even though...even though I’m not even sure I am completely innocent I...know...deep down, I didn’t do it. I may...have been angry at some points but who isn’t once and a while? If people had just...given me a chance…” He shook his head once more. “Maybe things would have been different.”

“Well, once the case drifted over from sports to tabloids, I didn’t really pay it any attention. Even if there was some truth in there, it was probably mixed with a ton of bullshit,” Tess replied. “On the other hand, I never really saw anything about being innocent, so I never really thought about that either.”

“Yeah, well the case was a sham to begin with. They had no DNA, their motive had holes in it, some statements contradicted one another, and I never even got the chance to have my say.” Connor rubbed the palm of his hand and he said, “It wasn’t a trial of me being innocent until I was proven guilty...no, it was in the public's eye I was guilty until proven innocent. Those...tabloids and people on the news can all go fuck themselves. They tore me down and gave me no sympathy...I mean hell...I had lost one of the most important...people in my life and I didn’t even get to grieve her. I didn’t…” Connor’s face scrunched up as if he was going to cry and he said, “I didn’t even get to attend her funeral...because I was remanded pending my court case. I couldn’t even get to say goodbye…”

“I’m sorry,” she frowned, “I can’t imagine how that feels, much less with everyone shouting at you all the time. It just...sucks.”

“Yeah, well...they had to put me in suicide watch in prison cause the shrinks worried about the stress on my body. I...there were times where I was weak but I could never...do that to my daughter. She had already lost her mother, she didn’t need to lose a father too. Though her grandparents made sure that happened anyways.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here, not doing any of that. You know, even with all the bad press, I never really hated you, just kind of forgot about it. And maybe goodbyes aren’t all they’re cracked up to be anyway,” she shrugged. “I didn’t go to my dad’s funeral, myself.”

“Yeah, well as you so eloquently stated before...it sucks.” Connor glanced up at the clock and he sighed, reaching down and picking up his bag once more. “It was...nice meeting you.”

“You too, we should do it again sometime,” Tess smiled, walking back to grab her towel.

“You know you said before you weren’t that good with hand to hand. It might not be ideal, but I would be at least willing to try and teach you a little what I know if that would help any.” He said to her as she walked away.

Tess nodded and got back to her treadmill, collecting her things as Connor left. Sweet, training with a UFC fighter...and hopefully not-a-murderer…

 

[Mangrale]

“Stranger”

XSDF Battleship Einherjar
Community Communications Room
January 21, 2044

Narcisse fidgeted in his seat while he stared intently at the monitor, as if it had vital information on it instead of the standby message it was really displaying. Eventually, his patience was rewarded when an older english gentleman took his place on the other end of the line. He had his fair share of wrinkles and white hair, a few more of each since the last time Narcisse saw him in person. Yet his expression was a type of warm concern that the pilot had known for many years.

“Hi Timothy...,” Narcisse greeted, still a little nervous.

“Hello master Narcisse,” the old butler responded. “I do hope your mood has improved since a few days ago.”

Narcisse flinched, breaking eye contact and lowering it to the console. “Oh, you heard…” He then raised his head in a hurry. “I-I didn’t mean what I said before…! she…! I was just…! “ He let out a frustrated sigh as he laid his elbows on the desk, his head between his forearms, his face down.

“You gave her quite the scare.”

“I’m sorry…” Bellrose said frailly. “She’ll probably never want to see me again, but I guess that’s alright. That way she’ll be less sad if…”

Before he could go any further, Timothy unsubtly cleared his throat, unable to hide his mirth afterward. “Honestly master Narcisse, you always assume the worst. She’s fine, believe me. A little worried of course, but that’s only for your safety. You know that right?”

Narcisse lifted his eyes with little change in his expression.

“She may not always say so, but she thinks the world of you. She does,” Timothy consoled through a simple smile.

His tone seemed to calm the young man down, and Narcisse lifted his head once more.

“And for what it’s worth, sir, if your father were here, then he’d be proud of you.” Timothy chuckled for a moment, “Maybe almost as much as I am.”

Narcisse smiled, though internally fighting against the urge to cry. He succeeded, but Timothy could tell how close he came.

The frenchman took a deep breath and sighed, Timothy waiting a minute for him to recover.

“So how has your time been on your new assignment?” the older man asked to hopefully cheer Narcisse up. “Surely something interesting must have happened on the new battleship of the XSDF.”

“Well… there is this one thing,” Narcisse started, his smile turning a little mischievous. “You know about fighter squadrons and things?”

“Yes, I have a… passing familiarity.”

“Well I found out that, here on the Einherjar…” Narcisse gave forth a light hearted passing of air through his nose, “... I’ve been assigned to the…” he once again almost lost himself in laughter. “... to the Penguin Squadron!”

Narcisse gave way to laughter followed by Timothy to a lesser extent.

“Oh really!?” the butler chuckled.

“Yeah really! A flightless bird! Still can’t be any worse than being in the Dodo Squadron!” Narcisse put his right palm to his forehead, just above his right eye, his merriment finally starting to die down a bit. “(amused sigh) A flightless bird… honestly…”

“A black bird…” Greenfield blurted out innocently.

“Huh?”

“The ‘Black Bird’. That was the nickname they called you when you were stationed on the Arkbird. You always told me you hated that name. If I may say so sir, it seems you traded in one black bird for another.”

Timothy was obviously having fun, but Narcisse’s smile vanished for a minute. By minute’s end he unaffectedly uttered, “I hate this place.”

Greenfield started to laugh, not buying it in the slightest. Bellrose tried to resist but failed and soon joined in, not buying it himself.

“So how are the people up there?” the butler inquired. “You’ve made any new friends that aren’t full of sand? Oh wait. I’m not supposed to know about that.”

Flummoxed, Narcisse scrambled to think of an answer. “Well… they all seem to be very nice and… um, stable individuals. I’m sure in time, we’ll get to know each…”

“You haven’t really tried to get to know anybody, have you sir?”

“That’s not true. I know a few of my wingmates.”

“You mean you know the names of a few of your wingmates.”

“Your point being, Timothy?”

“Sir, I know you accepted the hardships that may come with the uniform. But that uniform also comes with the responsibility of working alongside others as a team.”

“I can do that,” Narcisse said leaning back in his chair looking away distractedly.

“That means building a relationship of trust with others.”

“Uh huh.”

“That means getting to know them.”

“That’s okay for some people,” the frenchman replied focusing back on the old man. “But for me, as long as they have their heads on straight and do what they’re here for, that’s all I need. I’m fine with that. (sigh) But I take it you won’t be.”

“Master Narcisse, if you spend all your life pretending to be alone, then before you know it you won’t need to.”

“Timothy, I appreciate your concern,” Narcisse said, getting a tad impatient. “But I already have friends: you and Louis remember. Think of it as quality over quantity”

Greenfield again brandished his familiar look of warm concern, “That’s true. But even our fondest wishes may not reach as far as the places you’ll go.”

Narcisse sat up and smirked. “You’re talking as if this mission is more serious than it really is.”

Timothy nodded. “The XSDF has indeed done great things in the name of peace. But it has done so by dismantling every criminal element they’ve come in contact with. Now you can’t expect things to go on this way without the wrong type of people taking notice.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, sir, that you should keep your guard up,” Timothy said sternly. “And if at all possible, try not to be a stranger,” he said in a softer voice.

“That shouldn’t be too difficult,” Narcisse jested. “I’m sure there’re people on this ship far stranger than I am.”

Both men shared in groan induced laughter and, after a few more minutes of small talk, bid each other a fond farewell.

What doesn’t kill you...

 

[DarkGemini24601]

-OOC: And on the next page is the first mission! Enjoy!-