Keika, it's about time for you to get the pilots together. It's been about six hours since the briefing. Everybody has gotten a little sleep and now it's time to put the plans into motion. (Only 6 hours? @_@) (Things are gonna get busy. Especially for Araki.) (Aha.) * Keika puts in a call from the Adventure to the Slythe ship for them to send any the pilots who are over there, back for a briefing and question and anwer session. (pretend I can spell) * Hinako flies back over to the Adventure and goes to the room. * Kula wanders over to the room nervously. * Keika then gets a general announcement on the Adventure for the same and goes to the briefing room to wait for people to start arriving. * Hilde is attempting to pack all her personal belongings from the Adventure into Mjolnir's cargo compartment * Kiku floats into the meeting place. She seems... drained. Tired. Something like that. * Karasu looks at Kuku as Keika drifts around the room. (She's kuku for, uh, something.) That's one. * Nova follows Kiku around like a second shadow...or love sick puppy. * Hinako waddles in a few seconds after Nova. * Hilde then heads to the meeting place after giving Mjolnir's cargo hatch one last good stomp (SPACE STOMP.) (I'm not taking chances with having our ship blow up with my videogames on board >:O) (Ha.) (Always thinking about the important things.) And two. (THREE.) Three down. * Hilde walks in and sighs from tiredness (We have no gravity so no walking for j00) (Yeah. Float. FLOAT.) * Hilde floats in and sighs from tiredness * Kula fidgets. "I haven't done much at all..." (Do we have any NPCs in here or it it just the pilots?) (Pilots so far.) (Which is why I'm asking He-Who-Controlls-All-NPCS if any came in or were already here.) (kurata specifically asked that this be a pilots-only briefing. Not even Araki is coming.) (No Kurata here? Okay...) * Kiku smiles a little at Kula. "Me either." * Keika clears her throat. "I know most of you do not have a clue as to what is going on, so I've called you here to remedy that." * Kiku looks back over to Keika! (... Quietest pilots ever.) * Hilde nodding off Well, if we knew everything, we wouldn't have to be at briefings all the time. Right now we have two related problems: Kei and the Slythe. Yes, Kei is still alive in a sense. Before Nova killed her body, she copied her mind into a digital format and sent that copy to the Slythe. She sold out the earth to do so. * Hilde snaps awake "Wuh? What?" (Sorry, I'm arguing with my self over phrasing and loosing time) Kei. Is. Still. Alive. * Kula blinks. * Kiku manages not to act surprised. * Nova floats near Kiku and quietly observes the briefing. "That...sucks" "So when did we go from mecha pilots to Space Ghostbusters?" It gets worse. Kei is the reason the Slythe are trying to blow up the earth. We, all of us, are going to stop her, but not all the same way. First I need to explain why the Slythe attacked in the first place. (*gives Keika the Captain Exposition hat*) (Go me =_=) (It's nice for someone else to have it for once.) * Kiku continues not to react. * Hinako takes notes and such. There exists a council of species that runs the galaxy, regulates trade and other such governmental things. The Slythe are a member of this group and they have a specific role within it. When a species develops space flight, they are to find out if that species is worthy of joining. They test for... mercy. * Kula blinks. "Mercy? They went to war with us to see if we wouldn't slaughter our enemies down to the last man?" Exactly. * Kiku looks away and says quietly, with a tight voice, "The Valkyries." "You've got to be kidding me" We spaired Araki and passed the test. * Hilde nods But, this is where Kei comes in. You may or may not be aware, but she is a powerful telepath and is capable of taking control of the minds of others. She wished to rule the world and had sunk her claws into the minds of many of the rulers of the city-states. Tokyo included. That is why they attacked as we launched. With the Slythe she saw the chance to rule the galaxy if she could take the council. Do you follow me so far? ... kinda? So, the Slythe were just a test, we passed, and now Kei is trying to change our grade? "I think Kei is trying to take over the school" (... Incredibly apt.) (Everyone lives mind stat 7.) Yes. She wants to take over the council and cannot do that as long as anybody knows she exists. So she had him send back a failing grade. The punishment for being to dangerious to the rest of the galaxy is death. "But of course" .. so they just base the survival of a species on a single incident? They are basing it off of a single report of multiple incidents. According to the records Kei left behind they think I tortured all the captured pilots to death and other such atrocities. * Kula frowns. So we've wasted how many lives just for a test? How much stress have we been through, just to prove that we "aren't dangerous". Far, far too much. You can file a complaint after we prove that they were lied to. * Kiku nods. * Kula shivers. I'm really gonna... do something to 'em. Grandmother would be... displeased with this. "Hmph! Just like aliens to assume Earthlings can't find their butts with both hands without help" "They probably would think we got lucky" * Keika shrugs. "You get to change their minds." "I suppose so" The Kallika can reach the council, and if it has both Araki on board and Kei's own records of the deception, they will be forced to change their minds. By now Kei knows that I have her safe and the information she had hidden within it and will try to stop it from reaching the council. Hilde, Hinako, and Kula. Your job will to be to escort the Kallika and Araki. Your mission is to ensure that earth has a future. I assume that you are up to it. Y-yeah... * Hilde nods "Yup" * Karasu looks at Hinako. I'll guard Araki, definitely. Good. Nova, Kiku, and I will stay with the Adventure and stop Kei so there will be an earth for you to return to. Any questions? * Kiku chews her lip slightly. Well.... * Kula fidgets. Why did it take this long for us to learn all this? Because if we knew it was a test in the beginning, then we wouldn't put forth our best effort. Kei inserted herself into the information higherarchy of the Tokyo Defence Force and we didn't find out any of what she was up to untill she died. Which was last night. "So wait! She was an alien all along?" No. She was just as human as I am. "I'm confused" Too much anime does that to you. She interogated the Slythe prisoners and learned the truth from them. After that contacting the Slythe commander was simple. "Ohhhhh" So... why are they going along with this? Because they have no more wish to live in a galaxy ruled by Kei than you do. * Kiku continues looking both unsurprised and slightly away from everyone. * Keika 's look of being calm, collected, and perfectly in control is ruined by her drifting arcoss the room, but, nobodies perfect. * Kula fidgets some more. Are there any other questions? * Hilde leans against the wall with her arms crossed (... How? SPACE.) (If you leaned, you'd push off.) Um... how long do you think we'd have to get her to her destination? * Hilde promptly loses her balance and floats across the room flailing "I hate space" >.< (Waits for the GM to tell her these things) Um, how far do we have to go? * Kiku giggles faintly at Hilde. * Kiku pushes off Nova gently and goes to rescue Hilde from her wild spinning. I am told it will take a week. The actual distances involved... are fairly irrelevant. * Karasu watches Kiku go. * Kiku says quietly, "Gotta be careful, Hilde." * Nova manages herself. "I tell ya. We need velcro or magnets or something" If you have not already been to The Kallika, you will find it much easier to move around there. * Hinako sits in mid-air. "It doesn't sound like we have any time to lose. You have four hours. Until departure or boom? Departure. Alright then. * Kula fidgets. "A week seems a bit too... I dunno. might be too late..." There is no reason for them to send a replacement for the station in that time. Most of the Adventures crew will be transfering to the Kallika, and those that remain will be given a telepathic scan for traces of Kei's meddeling. So if you have any goodbyes to say, now is the time. "Good...byes?" "You make it sound like we're not coming back" * Kula fidgets. * Kiku looks at Hilde and says quietly, "No... you're coming back. Just... won't see you for a while." You will be gone for at least a week and we are going up against a spacestation of a class that has never been defeated before. It's going to come as a bit of a shock to Kei, but that's a good thing. (at least two weeks) "Heeeeeeeeeey! This isn't gonna be one of those kooky Einstein lightspeed things where a week to us will be like fifty years to the rest of the world, is it?" I hope not... I don't know if that'd bother me that much. No, it is not. Despite not having working gravity yet, they have solved that problem. "Oh good. That would've sucked" Fortunatly it is not something you have to worry about. * Kiku bounces her way back over to near Nova. If there is nothing else, I suggest that we get to work. We have a world to save. Indeed. * Kiku then spins and turns to them all, saying, "I... could all of you say goodbye now? Please? I... I have mental preparations to do, so..." she trails off and looks nervous. I... guess so.. There will not be time for you to change your minds. (+ later. 'Argh') I don't think we have a choice here. * Kiku nods, and floats over to Kula and goes for a hug! LOOK OUT SHE'S COMING RIGHT FOR YOU. "Goodbye? So long? I really am no good at this" * Kula is hugged! @_@ 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kiku (2d6-2) and gets 9. (And I still fail empathy check. ;_;) (I tell you, that dicebot despises me.) (maybe I should have the playtest dicebot named dicekirai) * Kiku says quietly to her, "I... didn't get to know you very well, so... we'll talk when you get back, okay?" (No, remember the crit message? You only hurt the ones you love) * Hinako swims over towards Kiku/Kula. "Well, I hope you're able to prepare yourself for this. Kiku, we've built a lot through this, and... anytime you feel down you can always come to me 'kay?" I'll do my best... I kinda wish I were around for longer. I haven't really done much so far... * Hilde waves while looking the other way "Yeah you guys go save Earth and we'll have a party when we get back, okay?" * Kiku smiles a little and says, pulling away from the hug. "Protect Araki and you'll have... saved everyone." * Keika grins. "It will be a party to be remembered." Indeed. * Kiku chuckles a little faintly, then turns to Hinako and hugs her too. "Take care of everyone, okay?" * Hinako hugs Kiku back. "I only wish I could take care of both groups. I'll do my best to keep Araki safe and get her back safely. And I'll definitely come back." (/empathy check) * Hilde trying to keep herself from crying and hiding it from everybody else best she can * Kula shivers. * Kiku breaks the hug, then floats over to Hilde... 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kiku (2d6) and gets 7. * Nova watches everyone quietly. (Woo! Empathy without touch.) (Me/Hilde?) (Hilde.) (I mean, technically...) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Kiku (2d6-2) and gets 6. (I got a read off of you, but unless it was wildly off of your apparent mood, I wouldn't react. ^^;) * Hilde is really stomping the tears back like she stomped her stuff into Mjolnir's compartment earlier (heh =) ) * Kiku reaches Hilde and tries to give her a hug and says quietly to her, "Hey... don't... don't cry, okay?" * Hinako then turns and hugs Kula. "Let's work on this together okay?" "Can we get going. The longer we take to say goodbye, the harder it gets for me" *wipes her eyes* Y-yeah.... I'll do my best... (How's Hilde reacting to the hug (attempt)?) * Hilde tries to back away from it * Hinako then floats over towards to Keika. "You guys do your best okay?" * Kula starts mentally calculating the effects of gravity on firing arcs, directed shell explosions, and other fun artillery stuff. * Kiku sniffles slightly and lets her arms fall away, nodding slowly, and tears forming in her eyes too. "I... I know." * Karasu stops preaning and looks at Hinako. I would not dream of giving it any less. * Hinako stops right in front of Keika. "Glad to hear it." *Hugs her too, then patpats Karasu.* "You do your best too Karasu." * Keika hugs back rather stiffly and Karasu chirps in responce to the patting. * Kula glances at Nova nervously * Kiku looks away from Hilde and floats back to Nova. * Nova floats quietly * Hinako also turns to Nova. * Nova continues to float quietly, observing everyone. N-Nova? Aren't you going to do anything before we all go? * Nova asks, "What should Nova do?" * Hinako floats over to Nova. "Well, if absolutely nothing else, at least tell us all goodbye." * Keika nods slightly. * Nova says, "Goodbye." * Kula frowns. "You can start acting like you really want to instead of retreating behind that kind of behavior..." * Nova replies to Kula, "Nova is Nova." It's alright to feel and want things! * Kiku glances at Nova then looks to Kula while putting her hand on Nova's shoulder gently. * Nova watches Kula speak to her. There is a knovk on the door. Kula? There will be pleanty of time for Kiku and I to go over this after. I mean, ... well, ... did I ever tell you about my grandmother? * Hilde sniffles and turns away 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Keika (2d6-4) and gets 2. * Nova replies, "No." ( Aw. So I can't finish the story? ) * Kiku suddenly turns AWAY from the door and says quietly, to Nova, "Nova, get the door? Please?" * Nova turns around, floats over, and gets the door for Kiku. Yes, please let them in. (Ripping it right out of the wall! She's so THOUGHTFUL.) * Hinako goes over to Hilde. "That's definitely not the Hilde I know. C'mon now, let's get ready to take off." (Well, she thought Kiku wanted a bulkhead for her birthday. You know how litteral she can be =P ) As Nova opens the door, Katsu floats into the room, with Kurata following. "keika-san, what is the meaning of this? Why are you sending me off on the kallika?" "Yes" ( Hmm, she's cute, and I just happen to have one handy... pity about her being thousands of years in the future) (Ha ha.) (Tim is just Kiku's type.) * Karasu looks at Katsu. Kurata follows. "Calm down, Lieutanant. The orders were clear as to why. Sergeant Hikata can easily handle the repair job here." * Nova shuts the bulkhead after the last incoming person has floated their way into the room and then floats back over by Kiku. Several reasons. First to protect you from Kei. Secondly somebody who has experience with human mecha needs to go along. Thirdly, there is nothing you can do to help Kiku here. Katsu is fuming. "None of those are the real reason, are they?" he then backs off a little bit. "I suppose we shoudln't talk about this in front of the others." * Kiku squeezes her eyes shut while looking away. She shudders slightly as she hangs in the air. * Keika nods slightly. "If you wish to talk to me alone, let us do so. There is no use in making people worry over things they cannot control." Kurata takes Katsu by the shoulder. "We should go, Katsu-san. You' are not going to change her mind. besdies, look at Kiku. She's more upset than you are." (Waits for somebody else to talk) * Kiku is very busy looking away. She's staarted giving herself a self-hug too. (Yeah, really. @_@) (too) (Can I get the responce from Katsu at least?) * Kula glances at Nova again. "Well, grandmother... ... well..." She pauses a bit, somewhat uncomfortable discussing the topic. "She's you. At least, a related mass-production model. She did her duty, fell in love, had a family... she's a person, and what you're doing right now... well, she wouldn't like that one bit." "Gomen nasai, keika-san.", katsu says. "I'm not going to disobey orders and stay. Just take care of Kiku, OK?" The best we can. She will be waiting for you when you get back. "If seh still wants to, but I suppose that she's around is the important thing." * Nova asks, "What is Nova doing right now?" Y-you're denying your personhood! ... that's not a very good way of phrasing it, but... well... well, you guys know what I mean, right? * Karasu looks at Kula. It has to be something she wants Kula, you can't force it on anybody. (Agh. Can't say "empathize" :P) (ha) I would want to exist and enjoy life, not just doing what other people want me to do. * Kula fidgets. "I guess so, but... it seems wrong. I mean, grandmother is as lively and independent as anyone can be, even though there are who knows how many people ou tthere with her face, and you can still see her copyright information in her retina." Then when you get back you can try to talk Nova into visiting her. * Kiku puts her hand back on Nova's shoulder, still being very careful to look nowhere near Katsu. I... I guess so. She's better at talking to people.. (I need to take abreak. Something's come up iN RL that I have to deal with right away.) ( Alright. ) (Very well then.) (But I can't play GW for 3 more hours.) (Ack!) * Hilde attempts to sneak out to the hangar if nobody is looking * Hinako is right next to you.