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Teresa "This is one of the original pilots of our group. Or was. He seems to have been turned by the enemy." Teresa's tone sounds mostly amused, but there's a dangerous edge to it, and her attention is on Lisanja the whole time.
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Jun 19, 2015 04:29
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Harriman "Alexander...no!" Harriman gets out of the Asto, leaving it on autopilot to ensure the remaining floor doesn't collapse. "How - no - when did this happen?! He was fine the last we knew!"
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Jun 19, 2015 04:45
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"He wasn't," says Lisanja. "That missile... it wasn't loaded with just a nuclear warhead." She looks away, for once, appearing vaguely ashamed. "We should have expected that. But we hadn't seen them spreading their.... malaise through anything except contact with a sentient agent. Not until that day. They tried it here, they tried it in China... We recovered both, but with heavy losses. Much heavier than we hoped." She sighs. "The good news is that Lenore appears to have been shielded from the worst of it, somehow. Teams are examining her for more subtle subversion, but Alex... he did his job. Ate the brunt. And so we owe him a duty to keep him safe until we figure out a solution." She looks at Teresa. "I'm not going to lie. There is a berth down here for each of you, should the worst come to pass."
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Jun 21, 2015 16:41
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Teresa "Of course there is. I always assumed there was some sort of countermeasure to us." She looks the white mecha over one more time, then turns to examine the facility they've uncovered. "You needn't have bothered with mine, though. If they could actually suborn me, you'd never actually be able to get me into it."
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Jun 21, 2015 23:36
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Cecil Skye "Hah...ah jeez...I'm not...am I?" Cecil isn't trying to run towards Alexander anymore, and he looks a bit calmer, but he still remembers his dream from just after first contact. Imagining himself sealed in his cockpit by organic bonds...he takes a sudden deep sigh. "Uh...actually, now I'm curious. If I get, uh...subverted, say those weird dreams I've been having turn out to be the start of something really really bad and I end up turning a gun on someone what exactly do you have in store for me I mean you can't exactly tie down the Geirdriful like you have set up here and uh--" He catches himself and takes another deep breath. "...do you have Captain Monet and the preacher down here too?"
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Jun 22, 2015 03:21
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"You're having weird dreams?" says Lisanja, looking concerned. "Please talk to the base psychologist about those. So far, nobody has turned because of unusual REM activity but we're always looking for new vectors." She pauses. "Oh, right. They arrive later today, theoretically. I hope soon." She specifically fails to comment on Teresa's statement.
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Jul 4, 2015 03:32
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 "Assuming there aren't any other revelations that need to be made, perhaps we should actually meet our new squad members, and discuss what's going to happen next. Unless that's a secret too." Teresa checks the base data. "The briefing room should be free, unless the bar would be preferable."
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Jul 7, 2015 00:25
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 Harriman Harriman seems to deflate. There were times when he felt like he and the rest of the squad were all that stood between the world and disaster. But that was vain; the IG was a far larger organization than he knew, and it would likely stay that way, given the enemy's method of infiltration. "Yes...Teresa's right. Let's all stand down." He exhales heavily, realizing that he's still in his hospital gown. "I'll meet you wherever you decide. Clothes come first." Harriman scales back into the Asto, to power it down safely. After that, he trudges away to his quarters, to cover up before anything worse happens today.
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Jul 7, 2015 01:23
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 "Bar sounds good," Cecil says as he rubs his head, trying to banish the idea of being infected and isolated and vivisected from his head. "I need a drink after the fight today." He heads back towards the hangar floor muttering. "So they know where we live and they can turn our brains...do we have any advantages against these guys? Any at all?"
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Jul 7, 2015 02:48
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 Aoko stares worriedly at the captive mech, holding her hand in front of her mouth. She seems lost in thought, and possibly a bit overwhelmed. "Psychologist?" Hearing the word catches her attention, and seems to snap her out of it. "Do you mean Professor Itagaki, or someone else?" She then immediately turns and gives each of the other crew members a hasty, but formal bow. "Oh! Yes, we should introduce ourselves. I suppose we're meeting at the... bar?" A hint of doubt hangs onto the last part of that sentence, as she turns her head slightly and looks away for a second. But then she returns to her normal, stiff attentiveness immediately after. "Where is that, anyway?"
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Jul 8, 2015 01:57
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Still dealing with the mess in the hangar, the Irkalla monitors the affairs of her soon-to-be teammates through security footage. It looks like a terrible turn of events for the IG, but not much it can do from here. Not like this. The bar does sound like a good place to meet them all personally. The Irkalla kneels down to whatever is left of the hangar floor and a small hatch opens up on its torso. "Interface unit, deploying..." _____  Marika takes a seat on a barstool, elbow against the counter as she waits for the others. It feels good to get "out" of Irkalla every so often. Hard to remember the last time she's been in a place like this. It's nice and warm, very welcoming. A far cry to what transpired earlier. It tempts her to grab a bottle and pour her own drink. It probably wouldn't go well for her.
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Jul 12, 2015 18:59
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Teresa has no compunctions about pouring herself a drink, and returns to the very expensive bottle of bourbon she's been slowly working her way through. "I will pour each of you one drink, and only if your order for it takes ten seconds or less to explain," she declares. As she works the bar, she regards the newcomers skeptically. "If you don't know for some reason, I am Teresa Mai Kurita-Steiner. Pilot of the Manticore, electronic warfare and intelligence expert, and genius. Who are you people?"
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Jul 13, 2015 05:04
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"Bar's this way, right here," Cecil calls at the door to anyone following, giving a quick tap on the sign before stepping inside. He shoots Teresa a bit of a look before crossing over behind the bar. "Hell of an introduction, eh?" he half grins, half grimaces to the other women. "Welcome to the squadron...uh...dammit, I never caught your names. Anyway. What's your pleasure?" Davin Valkri fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Jul 14, 2015 |
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Jul 13, 2015 23:45
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Aoko takes off her fancy, crystal headband and shoulder pieces, places them on the bar counter, and then sits down on one of the bar stools. She sits up almost perfectly upright with her hands resting neatly in her lap. She seems locked into a stiff, attentive politeness, though a small, half-hidden smile sneaks onto her face when Teresa gets to the end of her introduction. But it is not there for very long. "Oh." The girl hesitates for a moment when she's asked to order a drink. "Um, tea, if you please." "My name is Aoko. I joined the IG not long ago with Professor Arthur Itagaki. He and I came here together from the Empire of Heaven, where he worked as one of the head researchers in their Human Enhancement Program. Things weren't so great over there, so we decided to leave and now we're here." "I was the subject of that program. Formally. I'm known as a 'Next-Gen Human', that sounds a lot fancier than it is, for the most part. They enhanced my reflexes, cognitive abilities, and so on, and trained me to be the ideal pilot candidate. I did very well on the tests and measured far above baseline performance, but I'm sure that only puts me on par compared to world-class and talented people such as yourselves." "But there is one ability I have that I'm sure will stand out and prove useful. One of the focuses of the program was to enhance my ability to perceive and interact with mental waves and energy." She picks her headband back off the table and holds it for everyone to see." Psychic abilities, essentially. ESP, telepathy, and so on. A lot of the Suisho-Kyokan's -- The Crystal Giant's -- systems depend on that, but it also works on a personal scale, from person to person." Aoko wiggles the headband back and forth a little bit and smiles. "I can give a demonstration if you want." "Either way..." She sets the item back down gives a formal bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to working with you."
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Jul 14, 2015 02:35
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Harriman Harriman walks in late; the party's already started. Well, as far as the current mood can be called a party. "I see Teresa's already staked her claim on the tone of conversation. Sorry I'm late. I'm Harriman Castle, pilot of the Asto Vidatu. You've already seen what sort of business it's made for." He grabs a glass from the sideboard, and pours himself a generous shot of whiskey. "To your health." He downs it, exhaling like a bellows, and feeling the burn in his throat. He pours a second shot. "And to the memory of our fallen comrades." The second is bitter in his mouth. Harriman sits down on a barstool, and looks over the new pilots. "Glad to have you with us, Aoko. I don't think I'd have even considered there to be real psychics before joining the IG. I suppose that shows how we've all changed. I've seen things you wouldn't believe..." He grits his teeth. "And some things that I'd rather forget."
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Jul 14, 2015 04:17
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"...not my first choice for an after-fight drink, but okay..." Cecil mutters as he reaches down to get a hot plate, tea sachet, and kettle...and a bottle of something with the label fallen off for himself. "Can't remember if I said this already, but I'm Cecil Skye, and if you think I'm special like you are--" he motions towards Aoko with the bottle's spout, before swiveling it around the bar to make it clear that he means everybody. "--you're sadly mistaken." As he continues, he starts to prep the tea kettle, almost unconsciously. "I'm just a pilot. No psychic powers, no incredible intellect like Harriman, no grand inheritance, no special training beyond the AUC's usual fare." With the water on the hot plate, he pulls out a shot glass and pours out some of the oily, green-tinted liquid. "Just the wrong man in the wrong place...anyway, how about you?" He shrugs to the blue haired girl as he picks up the shot glass. "Drink order?" Davin Valkri fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jul 14, 2015 |
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Jul 14, 2015 21:12
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A moment passes when Marika turns her gaze towards Cecil, slowly blinks, then looks him over top to down. She analyzes him, careful and measured as how a copy machine scans over a document. Then she relaxes her posture and nods. "Second Lieutenant Cecil Skype, of the AUG." Her eyes then go distant, as if she's reading an AR screen behind him. "Impressive training record, shame about that simulation." Her eyes focus again. "I'm Marika Zingel. In another life, I was Chief Security Officer of an MHC orbital station. When the aliens attacked Arali 4, I barely survived, and even then, the Ideal Guardians only managed to save my mind and upload it into... this." She loosens the synthskin of her hand to reveal what hides underneath: metal and wires. "Officially, I'm a Extraterrestrial Assessment and Combat Intelligence unit, or EACI, part of a new initiative to better understand, analyze, and eventually exterminate the alien threat. As the Jerusalem base has had multiple contacts with the alien threats and experienced... losses from them, I'm here to accompany your unit and assist in any way I can." She takes a breath. Not that she needs it. "All that, to say that I unfortunately have to pass on the drink."
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Jul 18, 2015 07:54
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Teresa downs her own drink in one gulp, no longer particularly interested in it. She leans across the bar, uncomfortably close to Aoko. "How interesting. You violate at least half a dozen treaties just standing there. Did they just splice the additional capabilities into your genome, or did they rebuild and optimize from the ground up? Or is it all just epigentic expression?" She comes around from the bar, considering Aoko with her hands on her hips. "I can't see how they'd manage psionic capability at all. I'll have to find the abstract." Then she turns to Marika, and walks over to look her over, not bothering with subtly or personal space. Teresa grabs Marika's hand, rubbing it with her thumb. "Remarkable simulation. I assume a remote, with the primary cognitive functions handled by the larger unit? Or are they both remotes? I would do it that way, with the primary cognitive unit in a secure, hardened location. The lag time could be overcome with firmware. Analogous to how the human brain interfaces with the body anyways. On the other hand, the mecha itself is almost as hard to kill as any bunker, and mobile." She leans back and looks Marika up and down again, one finger on her chin in thought. "Power reserves. An RTG would be the simplest solution. Robust, reliable, keeps the other systems warm, and would provide a heat source to simulate biologically based homeothermic organism. Or something more exotic? Harriman, do you have a geiger counter with you?"
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Jul 18, 2015 18:16
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Harriman Harriman looks on as Teresa prods at the newcomers. "I'm afraid I don't usually bring one when I go for a drink." He coughs. "And I'm sure that I'm just as intrigued as you are, but you're being incredibly rude right now." "You'll have to forgive Teresa. She's just like this."
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Jul 18, 2015 18:40
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Cecil resists the urge to facepalm. "Teresa, no, stop, these people are our wingm--wingwomen, not your interns." He pours himself another drink and facepalms anyway. "All that money and you couldn't buy some manners..." Then again, the distraction certainly helped put Marika's current state in some perspective. If nothing else, it made sure he didn't stare at the metally bits. "Hmm...okay...uh...well, if there's nothing I can get you, then, uh...oh, the tea." He finishes preparing Aoko's tea before pouring a generous amount into a cup and sliding it her way. "Careful, it's hot. Right, uh, I'm just going to write your names on the kills board over there, and when I turn around, Teresa had better stop harassing you, or I'll tell you about the time she tried to run through Jerusalem's market in high heels."
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Jul 18, 2015 18:55
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Teresa rolls her eyes at Harriman and Cecil. "I know Marika and Aoko aren't interns, I learned their names already didn't I? And I looked amazing in those heels."
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Jul 18, 2015 18:58
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Aoko tenses up noticeably when she's confronted by Teresa, almost like a deer in the headlights. "Oh, I... I don't know anything about that, I'm sorry." She looks away and scratches her cheek. "I don't know anything about the early days of the project, or the technical details or anything like that. Or anything about any treaties. I'm sorry. " She bows her head. "You'd have to ask Professor Itagaki about that. Or I could ask him. I don't actually know much about the project itself." Despite her demeanor, she waves her hand emphatically when everyone else seems to chastise Teresa. "No, no, it's okay." She puts on a bright, possibly fake smile. "Curiosity is a natural part of the human condition. Everyone's always wondering something, and it's alright to ask. It's just expressing what's already on the mind anyway." "Oh, and thank you," Aoko smiles again, much more naturally, as she takes the tea. "You know, I'm sure that there must be something special about you, Lieutenant Skye, if you're here in a group like this. Training, special ability, and the like are one way to rate a soldier's quality, but there's a lot more than that. The Professor always liked to talk about how the qualities that define a good soldier and those that define a good person are often one in the same. They're intangible qualities that are hard to measure, but they are no less important than anything else. So... don't take that for granted."
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Jul 18, 2015 19:51
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Marika doesn't even so much as flinch when Teresa gets close to her. Though if anyone pays careful attention, she does show discomfort for a split-second at the word "simulation". She waits for Aoko to say her piece, then shrugs at Cecil and Harriman. "And don't worry about me. I understand my situation might be new to all of you." She tilts her head at Teresa, wryly smiling. "Still, perhaps you should have asked me out first before we went straight to holding hands?"
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Jul 19, 2015 01:54
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Teresa misses the discomfort, but stops at Marika's words. She looks Marika up and down again and nods to herself. "Dinner's out apparently, so you can take me dancing. You should be good at it. I'll be wearing red, so keep that in mind."
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Jul 19, 2015 02:03
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"Heh, thanks for the kindness, Aoko," Cecil chuckles, "but I--" He promptly chokes when Teresa and Marika start joking about dates. "Teresa, I...gah, I think that drink went down the wrong way!...I don't think that's how we're supposed to keep up spirits..."
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Jul 19, 2015 02:18
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"Oh." Not quite what Marika expected. Wait, can they even do that? Now? Database check. The base's policies do treat fraternization rather leniently. Huh. "...I'll see what I can do." Mitama fucked around with this message at 09:05 on Jul 19, 2015 |
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Jul 19, 2015 02:20
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Bursting into a giggle, Aoko covers her mouth with the back of her hand. "Well, aren't you two getting along... Dancing sounds pretty fun." She relaxes, slouching a little bit and sitting more naturally on her stool. "...Is this how things usually are around here?""
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Jul 19, 2015 05:03
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Harriman "Constantly, Aoko. Just wait until you meet Sibaal and Amaka. They'll keep you on your toes as much as Teresa over here. It's like having three older sisters at once." Green Intern fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Jul 19, 2015 |
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Jul 19, 2015 06:09
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"And what would you know about being young, hmm?" says a teasing voice, and Lisanja sidles into the bar. Those of you with keen perception (all of you. You're pilots, after all.) can see she's a little more haggard than she was earlier- but not by much.and by god she's not going to show it. "A drink, and a toast to absent friends!" she says, sitting. "And then... I will answer some questions. Within reason. If asked nicely."
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Jul 20, 2015 01:16
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"Ah...hello there." Cecil murmurs as Lisanja comes in almost none the worse for wear. Almost. He turns to the drinks cabinet and grabs another glass. "Hmm...absent friends...like Lenore and Alex and..." he continues murmuring as he produces a drinks choice for the newcomer. "Eh, never mind me. We were just getting started. So...can we...cure them?"
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Jul 20, 2015 06:33
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Teresa leans back against the bar, on her elbows. "What sort of fire are you about to throw us into now?" She gestures to the newcomers. "You don't bring in reinforcements for rest and recovery, or even business as usual. There's something else coming."
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Jul 23, 2015 01:01
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Marika puts her mind away from what kind of dress would fit her mechanical frame for a few seconds. Well, almost. The web browser in her head still has those tabs on. "I've been reading through reports, both here and in the local news." She says, frowning. "Has the war been going this bad?"
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Jul 24, 2015 16:33
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Harriman Harriman clams up for a moment when Lisanja moves in. It's unsettling how composed she is after having the roof literally blown out over her, and after Alexander's fate was discovered. "Tell me that the IG has a plan. We've been flailing around in the dark, and all we've got to show for it is hollow victories."
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Jul 24, 2015 17:25
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Lisanja jokingly holds up her hands. "One at a time... well... I suppose those are all really the same question." She sips a bit of the amber, perhaps slightly pensively. "For one, the war has barely begun. It cannot be said to be going good or bad yet. We've barely done the opening exchange of fire. What I will say is between your actions and the actions of the other cells, we've prevented a blitzkrieg. What we need to do now is hold them to.... trench warfare, of a sort, on a few fronts, while we continue to gather data. We need to know our enemy. Right now, we don't know enough. If they wanted us just wiped out their technology could have done that by now, since it can cross the void between stars. They want something else. We need to know what." "That's why we're reinforcing you now. Hopefully, when we say 'trench warfare' we don't include the attrition rate, but that doesn't mean adding a little bit of backup can hurt anyone. And really, you're not a trenchline squad- you're a tank battalion, in this metaphor. Your job is to be ready to seize opportunities and hit them where it hurts. Any grunt can hold a trench, and you are not grunts." "So we're looking for an opportunity, I suppose, right now. Seeking a weak point in which to wedge the tanks and push, and see what cracks." She turns to Cecil. "It's possible. The issue is that the infection spreads if left unquarantined, but like any other infection it burns itself out in time if the subject is of strong enough will. The problem... well.." She takes another sip. "The only known people to fight it off took months. And... we don't have months to wait. We're looking into ways to accelerate it, but there aren't exactly a lot of safe ways to test things."
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Jul 28, 2015 02:03
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"So, we just wait for their next move?" Teresa presses. "Or is there a plan to take the offensive? Make them react to us this time?"
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Jul 28, 2015 18:31
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Harriman "If we had a line on an outpost or a suspected communication center, we could strike out and try to shake them up. What we need is information from the source!"
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Jul 28, 2015 18:41
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"That's...uh...an interesting metaphor." Cecil shakes his head. Old wars were part of the curriculum and that particular one stuck out somehow. "Anyway--Teresa, Harriman who exactly are you proposing we go after? We already blew up Masada and that was a complete mess..." He shrugs and pours another drink. How many is this, four in an hour? No flying for him tonight, hopefully. "...unless you're suggesting we go haul up Captain Monet and get him to give us a new target? Or...doing something with Alex...?" His voice fades off as he says the last bit. He's not sure about Harriman, but that would be so far up Teresa's alley she should put up a sign.
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Jul 28, 2015 19:23
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"We're looking for a target already. Rest assured, we do not intent to let them dictate the course of this war. We have received and repulsed their first wave... now, in the lull, we must retaliate." Lisanja gets up. Her glass is drained- you're not precisely sure how. "Another drink, I think."
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Aug 4, 2015 22:36
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Aoko doesn't seem to touch her tea cup, instead she just seems to intently focus on every word of the conversation. When a lull presents itself, she finally leans forward and speaks up. "Is there... anything I can do?" She motions over to Marika, "Or Lieutentant Zingel. " "I mean, when you're caught in a challenge with no obvious path forward, you often find the solution by thinking outside the box. And that's what you've done by bringing us here, right? She and I are not the most conventional of reinforcements. There must be some special purpose that we can fulfill." She then seems to realize something about what she just said, makes a tiny gasp, and looks down at the floor. "...Not that I wish to presume."
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Aug 5, 2015 03:57
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Teresa tops of Lisanja's drink, and refills her own. Her first response is to Cecil, though. "I do intend to examine Alex in detail, but this is an area I haven't studied. Yet. It will take me a few days to get up to speed on it." It's clear that by up to speed, she means mastered. "But getting more information from Monet might be a good idea." She takes a sip of her drink, eyeing Aoko over the rim. "That's a good question. What can you do?" Teresa takes another sip, then tosses her hair back out of her face. "I mean that. You're both obviously skilled. No one in the Guardians is anything short of the best. You two provide an entirely new perspective. I'm excited to see what you can do." She smiles, a feral one. Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Aug 19, 2015 |
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Aug 14, 2015 02:18
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