Roleplay Area

[Ishi123]

Ren ate his meal quietly while Dingo and Leo talked, listening to their conversation. He was having salmon; something he'd never had before. It was tough to come by fresh food out in space. Most of the time it was all preserved stuff. Something like fish wouldn't be available all the way at Mars, though Jupiter did have a slightly higher standard due to their artificial agriculture. The salmon was delicious.

"So how's Celvice?" Dingo asked Leo.

"Oh... she's doing alright." Leo responded. "She's home from work today."

"What does she do again?"

"She's a teacher. How many times to I have to remind you?"

"Oh... that's right." Dingo smiles nervously, quickly looking away and taking a sip of his drink before looking to Ren. "How about you, Ren?"

"Huh?" He says, looking up from his plate.

"You have a girlfriend?" He asks.

"Yeah, I was wondering that, too, actually." Leo said. "Is there anyone you knew back in..."

Leo stopped himself, realizing the territory he'd just accidentally stepped in.

"Oh, uh..."

"No." Ren said. "I was always too busy working to even think about finding anyone."

Leo sighed with relief, not wanting to bring up anything like a relationship Ren had to give up after leaving Neo BAHRAM.

"Well, there are plenty of girls around here." Dingo said. "Hell, I'll be your wingman if you want."

"You're like ten years older than I am, Dingo." Ren said. "I don't think that'd work out well."

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Dingo retorted.

"You're also married." Leo pointed out, taking a sip of his own drink.

"That's not the point!"

"Oh, hey, you guys." A voice said.

Ren turns and sees Cagalli standing there. She was dressed in casual clothes, consisting of a tank top with a short sleeved blue jacket and jeans with boots. She noticed what Ren was wearing and smiles.

"Oh, I see you decided to join the Space Force, Ren." She says. "And looks like you're in Commander Weinberg's Orbital Frame unit, too."

"Yeah..." Ren mumbled, going back to eating his meal.

"Okay...?" Cagalli smiled nervously.

"What're you up to, Cagalli?" Leo asked.

"Not much." She replied. "The crew and I got some free time to ourselves for a bit, so I'm just out and about."

 

[PercyJacks]

Alrize quickly tried to find a hiding spot to evade the her enemies' sightlines. She took out a notebook, a pen, and an audio recorder to try get down what they were saying.

No doubt they'll let slip some good information. Can't pass that up.

She decided that she was going to follow them after they had finished their meal before reporting her findings.

 

[Ishi123]

"You look good in that outfit, Ren." Cagalli said, looking at him.

"Yeah...?" Ren said. "I mean... I don't know if it fits me... I like the coat, but other than that..."

"Yeah, the coat is what makes it." Leo smiled. "You should've seen Rowan when he got his outfit. He has a thing for red jackets."

"An obsession with them, more like." Cagalli chuckled. "He's a bit weird."

"Not a bad runner, though." Dingo pointed out. "Heard he was in line to get his own squadron before he dropped the ball with Ren and got demoted."

"I still feel a bit guilty about that..." Ren sighed.

"Oh, don't worry so much." Leo said. "Wasn't your fault. Besides, as skilled as he is, he's also inexperienced and a bit naive. Doesn't know what real war is like."

"Neither do I." Ren said.

"You might find out sooner than you think." Dingo said. "Don't mean to put too much pressure on you, but you and that frame are going to be seeing a lot of action."

"Oh, yay." Ren said, taking a large gulp of his drink.

"Come on, we're not out having lunch to dwell on such things." Leo said, trying to change the subject. "This is supposed to be a celebration for Ren joining the Space Force."

"Right, right..." Dingo said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.

"Anyway, I should head out." Cagalli said. "As much as I'd like a free lunch, I got some things I need to do."

"Yay for me." Dingo said, still a bit disgruntled about having to pay for the three of them.

"I'll get my free lunch later." Cagalli smiled. "See ya guys."

Cagalli left the table and walked down the street in Alrize's direction.

 

[PercyJacks]

Possible hostile coming. Act natural.

Alrize was hidden in an alleyway, so she took out her phone and pretended to be talking to someone on it.

Act like what you've seen around you, use slang, pretend to be a normal teenage Earth-girl.

"Yeah, so like, I was totally, yeah, I know right?"

 

[Ishi123]

Cagalli walked by Alrize without even noticing her, heading down the sidewalk as Ren, Dingo and Leo continued their meals.

 

[PercyJacks]

Clear.

As soon as Cagalli went by, Alrize went back to observing the three pilots and recording any information.

 

[PyroHunter16]

Rowan had just about finished teaching Raven the basics, letting her maneuver the frame freely and experiment with the on-board weapons and potential combat techniques she could use. While she was firing the electrokinetic blaster, Rowan checked the time to make sure they weren't out for too long.

"Sometime in the afternoon, it seems..." Rowan mused before reopening his comm channel with Raven. "Alright, Raven. About time to wrap things up. We should probably head back for lunch."

"But I'm still testing things out!" Raven replied, using the heavy armor installed on the limbs of the frame to release a multi-hit melee combo before switching to the energy saws and using them to finish off said combo.

"Doesn't the frame have a limited amount of energy?"

"Well yeah, but the energy consumption on this thing has been significantly improved. It'll last about two or three times longer than the original!"

"I'd rather not waste a lot of energy and ammo up here. It's best to get back before something bad happens."

"Fine, fine. Buzzkill..." Raven switched to flight mode, weapons hidden away. "Wanna race?"

"No. Let's just head back normally." Rowan activated his flight mode and flew off, headed to a designated point on the HUD that indicated where the hangars were. Raven followed suit, both docking and giving the engineers all the data they acquired while they were out before heading out for lunch. Apparently, Ren, Leo, and Dingo were all out celebrating Ren's induction into the Force.

 

[Ishi123]

Ren, Dingo and Leo finished up their meals, with Dingo footing the entire bill, much to his reluctance. Afterwards, they headed out, deciding to head back to the base.

 

[PyroHunter16]

On Rowan's way out of the base, he saw the three Orbital Frame runners and decided to personally speak to Ren.

"Hey there, Silber. Congrats on joining the force. You've made the right choice," Rowan extended his hand to Ren for a handshake, a smile on his face.

 

[Ishi123]

"Oh..." Ren hesitated a bit, but thought it'd be rude to not accept the handshake.

He reached out and shook Rowan's hand.

"Yeah..."

 

[PyroHunter16]

"Hey, be proud. You're fighting for freedom. Since you're running Tsukuyomi, you'll be the one to decide how it fights. You can decide who lives and who dies with those weapons, Silber. We'll all be here to help you out," Rowan gave him an encouraging smile.

 

[Ishi123]

Ren's face darkened considerably at Rowan's words. He felt incredibly uncomfortable in having that ability... choosing whether someone lives or dies... it's something he didn't want. It's something he never wanted. It was way too much for him.

Dingo promptly stepped up and beaned Rowan upside the head for the thoughtless remark.

"In any case..." Leo stammered slightly, trying to slip out of the situation. "We gotta get going back to base, so... we'll see you later, Rowan."

 

[PyroHunter16]

"Right... See you around." Rowan walked off, rubbing the side of his head from Dingo. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but he figured he might as well get something to eat while he was out.

 

[Raptordude115]

After taking a seemingly long, cold shower, Zack was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and debating what to do now. Knowing just what Adalia, and furthermore Neo BAHRAM, was planning on doing with Project Obsolescence, it tore him up inside, realizing how he was essentially being used as a pawn for their genocidal operation. Zack breathed heavily, frustrated and anxious as to what he could do. He knew he couldn't just simply go about continuing to serve Neo BAHRAM when he knew what atrocities they were going to commit, but if he tried escaping or defecting, he would surely be caught and executed. He groans as he tosses about, debating whether to stay or leave.

"Damn it...what to do, what to do..."

As Zack continued fighting with himself, his mind began drifting to think about Ren Silber, and how he managed to escape Neo BAHRAM in one of their most powerful Orbital Frames to date, Tsukuyomi. He wasn't even a Runner, yet somehow, Ren managed to not only escape, but defeat both Amaterasu and Eclipse, and that's not even mentioning the dozens of unmanned Orbital Frames he destroyed. If someone like Ren with no experience as a Runner could escape so successfully...then maybe he could as well.

Zack sits upright, looking over at his Runner suit deeply. His eyes cast a steely look, his knuckles balling up, and his mind made up. He gets off of his bed and puts on his Runner suit. He sighs heavily as he is about to leave his room, looking back at it one last time. He didn't have much or anything important to leave behind, but he knew that with what he was going to do next, he knew he couldn't return. He looks forward once again, the door closing behind him as he casually walks to Eclipse's hangar bay, wearing a face of clear determination.

"This is it, Zack...once you enter Eclipse's cockpit, there's no going back..."

Zack exhales calmly as he enters Eclipse's hangar. He sees that Eclipse was fully repaired, but even more importantly, none of the repair crew was around. This was his chance, probably his only chance. He checks his corners and at the balconies of the hangar before sprinting over to Eclipse, knocking on the cockpit windshield. In a hushed tone, Zack speaks to TESS.

"Tess! It's me, Zack! Open up, quick!"

TESS hears Zack's hushed whispers, and speaks in a questioning tone.

"Zack? What's wrong?"

"I'll explain soon, just let me in, before someone sees me!"

TESS, now being more concerned, opens up Eclipse's cockpit, the windshield pixelating away for Zack to hop in. Zack proceeds to do so, and the windshield re-pixelates above him. He sighs a breath of relief, resting in the cockpit's seat.

"Zack, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Zack makes a grim face before looking at the control panel, replying to TESS in a hushed, worried tone.

"No, TESS...nothing happened...it's what's going to happen that has me all tensed up...TESS, do you anything about Project Obsolescence?"

"Project Obsolescence? What's that?"

Zack sighs as he leans back in his seat, rubbing his forehead as he begins recalling what he remembers. He looks back down at the control panel, his face now serious.

"Alright...well...I was in Adalia's quarters for a meeting with her, and afterwards, she went to the bathroom to take a shower. As I was waiting for her to return, I looked at her data pad and saw that it was unlocked. And, well...being curious, I decided to look at some files-"

TESS immediately speaks up, shock clearly hearable in her tone.

"You what!?"

"Shh! Let me keep explaining, TESS. Please! This is important...more important than you or I could possibly imagine..."

TESS quiets down, allowing for Zack to continue speaking.

"Anyways, as I was looking through it, I saw a file labeled 'Project Obsolescence', and as I read it..."

Zack sighs heavily, his hands gripping his kneecaps as he worked up the nerve to continue speaking.

"...the project is about how Neo BAHRAM wants to use an AI named DELPHI to kill off Earth's population, with Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu acting as the catalysts for the operation...and furthermore, Adalia is the one spearheading it..."

TESS listened on in complete silence, noting the sniffs Zack was making. His body shook and shivered as he looked down, tears dripping off his face. TESS remained silent for a few moments before speaking in an angered tone.

"...Is there anything else I should know?"

Zack looks back up at the control panel, wiping his eyes with his gloved hands. He hesitates for a bit, knowing what else happened between him and Adalia...

"...I slept with Adalia in order to not receive anymore punishment from her...it happened before I read about Project Obsolescence, and even then, I was forced to...it was either that or being punished some more for failing her...I'm sorry, TESS..."

TESS remained silent once more, Zack looking down in shame. He couldn't bring himself to lie to his most important friend, especially after telling her about what's going on. Meanwhile, TESS was once again feeling something inside her, something that told her to rebel against Adalia for not only leading such a disgusting plan like Project Obsolescence, but for using Zack as nothing but a toy for her sick pleasure. In a deathly tone, TESS spoke once again.

"...That bitch."

Zack looks up in surprise, taken back by TESS's sudden choice of word.

"TESS?"

The control panel lights up, and a screen flickers on in front of him. Several beeps and sounds can be heard inside the cockpit.

"I'm opening up an encrypted channel for us to send a distress signal to any nearby Space Forces. With the encryption I'm using, Neo BAHRAM shouldn't be able to pick up on us so easily."

"TESS, hold up!"

TESS stops before she can complete the encrypted channel.

"What?"

"We can't just contact the Space Forces just yet. It's gonna look suspicious if they're suddenly receiving some covered up message from Deimos and we start mentioning how we want to defect from Neo BAHRAM. We need something to show that we're being serious..."

"Like what?"

Zack thinks for a moment before remembering Adalia's data pad."

"Adalia's data pad! It has a ton of stuff on it that I'm sure the Space Forces would be interested in having. Blueprints, data logs, files, the works."

"But that's extremely dangerous, Zack...if they catch you..."

"I know, but it's the only way we'll be able to convince them we're being serious."

TESS lets out a worried sigh.

"Alright...please be safe, Zack..."

Zack nods sharply.

"I will."

The cockpit opens up, allowing for Zack to hop out. He looks back at Eclipse, giving another nod before walking away at a brisk pace, wanting to get Adalia's data pad as soon as possible.

"This ain't gonna be easy...not even remotely...but I gotta try..."

 

[PercyJacks]

Once the three Runners had left the restaurant, Alrize followed them through the city until they got to their headquarters. Then she decided to head back to her apartment and report her findings immediately.

Well, it's not like they talked that much. There isn't a lot to report on.

Alrize walked through the masses, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, until she reached her apartment complex.

"Good afternoon!" greeted the receptionist at the front desk.

Alrize was caught slightly off-guard by the greeting, but recovered with a "Good afternoon" back.

"Welcome back. Did you go out for brunch?"

Alrize paused.

Wait, what?

She turned and tilted her head at the receptionist.

"Brunch? Did you say 'brunch' just now?"

The receptionist looked a little unsure. "Yes, brunch. Is something the matter?"

"Um…" Alrize tried to think. "What is 'brunch'?"

"It's a combination of breakfast and lunch, you know, brunch."

Alrize felt stupid. "Oh. T-Thanks."

"No problem!"

Then it was silent. Alrize realized she'd just created an awkward aura of social tension and hurried to fix it.

"Then I'll be going upstairs now."

Alrize speedwalked up the stairs as the receptionist waved her off with a smile. She got into her room and locked the door. It was exactly the same as she had left it.

That should be expected. If a thief got in, that would really be troublesome.

She placed her laptop on her desk, opened it, and quickly entered in a connection to Adalia.

 

[Raptordude115]

Adalia was still at her quarters, smirking to herself about what had happened between her and Zack earlier before noticing her data pad lighting up. She picks it up and answers Alrize's call, the screen flickering to show Alrize's face on the screen. Adalia's stern look returns as she speaks to Alrize in a formal tone.

"Greetings, Alrize. Have you gathered any more information on Ren?"

Meanwhile, Zack was still walking to Adalia's quarters, looking around cautiously to make sure no one was following him. He needed to make this quick, and without getting caught. He was aware that once Adalia notices her data pad is missing, she was gonna be furious and would send every Neo BAHRAM soldier to hunt him down. He sighs as he continues walking, his fists balled up as he notices a few crew members walking about, thankfully minding their own business.

"Just relax, Zack...if Ren could do this, so can you..."

 

[PercyJacks]

"Overseer, yes, I have." answered Alrize, glad that Adalia was able to pick up so quickly.

"I wanted to get this to you as quickly as possible. Ren Silber has joined the Space Force."

 

[Raptordude115]

Adalia arches her eyebrows in anger, gripping the data pad tighter as she exhales sharply.

"Ugh, I should've figured...this is not good, Alrize..."

Adalia once again sighs, trying to maintain her composure, as difficult as it was.

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

 

[PercyJacks]

"Not at the moment."

 

[Raptordude115]

Adalia sighs once more, her right hand rubbing her forehead.

"Alright...report back to me once you find out more information..."

 

[PercyJacks]

"Understood. Signing off."

Alrize saluted before closing out of the connection.

Now, find out more info, or relax. They're inside their headquarters, so I won't really be able to get anything else…

I guess I'll exercise or something.

Alrize took her belongings and went outside, waving to the receptionist, then started jogging.

 

[Raptordude115]

Adalia puts down her data pad on her desk, still sighing as she takes in the fact that Ren has joined the Space Force.

"Great...not only has that Ren Silber joined the Space Force, but more than likely he still has Tsukuyomi with him..."

Adalia shakes a bit before slamming her fist down on her desk, just narrowly missing her data pad.

"Damn!"

She exhales sharply before standing up, walking over to the door. She is greeted by one of her bodyguards, clearly alerted by the sound of her fist slamming.

"Overseer Adalia, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not...I need to go for a walk...you just stay here and guard my quarters..."

"Affirmative, ma'am."

Adalia proceeds to walk past the guard, walking down the hallway at a brisk pace. Just as she turns the corner, on the other side of the hallway she exited, Zack turns the corner. His shoulders tense up a bit as he sees the guard blocking the door to Adalia's quarters. He hides behind the corner, thinking of what to do.

"Crap! A bodyguard...now what do I do..."

As he stood there thinking, he could here some faint shouting coming from the Mess Hall nearby, and he walks his way over to it. Peeking into the Mess Hall, he is greeted by a food tray hitting the wall with a loud bang. He pulls his head back in surprise.

"Woah!"

Zack looks back into the Mess Hall, seeing a group of four crew members fighting one another. Several other crew members cheered on while others tried breaking it up to no avail. Zack watches on for a bit longer before realizing that this could be his way to distract the guard. He runs back to where Adalia's quarters are, approaching the guard with a shocked face. The rather buff guard looks at him sternly.

"Sir, there's a fight going on in the Mess Hall!"

"Ya serious? Damn rookies...always getting into fights...hey, you one of them Runners, right?"

"Yes, Zack Tristano, Runner of the Eclipse."

"Alright then, you do me a favor and guard Overseer Adalia's quarters. I'll settle this BS going on in the Mess Hall."

With a pistol in hand, the guard goes off to the Mess Hall, leaving behind a relieved Zack. He proceeds to enter Adalia's quarters, spotting her data pad. He exhales sharply before quickly grabbing the data pad, tucking underneath his left arm to conceal it as well as possible.

"Yes, got it! Now to get the hell outta here!"

Zack quickly exits Adalia's quarters and jogs down the hallways, running back to Eclipse as quick as possible. He knew he didn't have much time before Adalia discovered what happened...

 

[Ishi123]

Once back on base, Ren goes to Tsukuyomi's hangar, taking the elevator up to the cockpit and activating the console, sitting down and sighing.

"Ren." ARAI says, upon seeing him. "That's a Space Force uniform."

"Yeah..." He said, slouching in the seat.

"So you joined the Space Force, then?"

"Yeah..."

"I thought you wanted to leave." She said.

"I didn't really have much of a choice..." Ren sighed. "I'm the only one who can pilot this frame..."

"I've been going through all my systems." ARAI said. "I checked them all. Every one of them, ten times over. There's no reason why I should be acting this way..."

"It's not you, ARAI." Ren said. "There's... just something with the frame."

"The frame is me, Ren." She said in a worried tone. "I don't know what's wrong with me... why would I attack anyone who tries to pilot this frame?"

"I don't know, ARAI..." Ren said, looking to the back of his hands, noticing the lines on them... Metatron lines... he didn't know how he got them. It had to have had something to do with when he apparently destroyed that Neo BAHRAM fleet. He tried to remember, but... the only thing he could recall was fighting Amaterasu, then... just everything was gone. He woke up already on Earth and... he couldn't recall anything in the meantime. Something happened that bound him to this frame. He didn't know what...

"I am an AI." ARAI said. "AIs are prone to malfunction... in the end I am just a computer, aren't I...?"

Ren sighs, sinking in the pilot seat, unable to respond with the right words. He just sat there, wondering what he was going to do about all this...

 

[Raptordude115]

Zack pants as he finally makes it back to Eclipse, the cockpit opening up for him as he approaches. He jumps inside, the cockpit closing as he sets the data pad on his lap. He takes a moment to catch his breath as TESS lets out a sigh of relief.

"Whew, you got it, Zack!"

"Yeah...yeah, I sure did! Alright, ya got that encrypted channel ready?"

"Affirmative, Zack. I still can't believe we're doing this..."

"Tell me about it...I know that what we're doing is extremely dangerous, but ain't no way in hell I'm gonna just stand by and let Adalia and Neo BAHRAM carry out Project Obsolescence."

TESS makes a hum in agreement as the control panel flickers on, an encrypted communication channel ready to be used. Zack's face shows a bit of hesitance, his eyes shaking lightly. TESS notices this and speaks to him in a calm voice.

"It's all ready and set, Zack. You can do this...we can do this."

Zack gulps and nods firmly, moving his right hand over the control panel and hits a button, launching the encrypted channel for any nearby Space Force that can pick up on it. Zack begins speaking in, careful to keep his voice hushed so that no one outside the cockpit can hear him so easily.

"If any Space Forces can hear this channel, please respond! This is Zack Tristano of the Eclipse Orbital Frame speaking! If any Space Forces can pick up on this channel, respond immediately! I ain't got a whole lot of time before Neo BAHRAM figures out what I've done!"

 

[Ishi123]

It took about 15 minutes of hard waiting, but a response finally came through.

"What's this?" A grizzled sounding voice came through, a bit of static reverberating in the comms. "What's going on? Who's this?"