Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - Chapter 2 Session 2: The Debriefing

[Justin OOC]

Captain Nagare arrived with little fanfare, just as he preferred. He wore one of the most unconventional outfits seen at the SHI headquarters. He wore blue jeans and a white shirt tied with a blue knotcord with a grey trenchcoat over it. Tied around his neck was an enormous red scarf with ragged and tattered ends. He stormed through the bay, only stopping to acknowledge Captain Shibakuska. "Have it ready to mobilize as soon as you can, Something's going down today, I just have that feeling."

Captain Shibaksuka nodded. "Alright Ryoma, I'll top you off and make sure the shadow system is working as it should, just try to take it easy on her if you do go out today, parts for this monstrous machine aren't easy to come by and even harder to fabricate."

"No promises Old Man, but I'll try, I just hope Amane didn't call me here for something minor. By the way do you know where I can find my young Lietenant?"

"She's still in the Dojo with Soichiro and Toshiro, Evidently one of the guests pushed all her buttons and she need someone challenging to spar with."

"Wonderful, so she's in one of "those" moods." Without another word Ryoma left and made his way through the complex and to the Dojo within the athletic complex. He stood in the door and watched as she sparred with the Lieutenant of CRT 12, Souichiro Nagi. strike and feint, counterstrike and block, the rhythm of the battle was well established. They were for the most part even. He could however feel the air currents altering and knew what was about to happen. Souichiro's fist seemed to glow as he reached back and pivoted, the only word spoken, "tanshinkou"

Amane was sent flying as the blast of spiritual force blasted into her and sent her into the wall. She came out mad as a hornet and vanished. Souichiro doubled over as Amane appeared in front of him, her fist literally lifting Souichiro from the mat. He seemed to float further into the air as She pivoted and snarled "Tanshinkou indeed.." He leg glowed a brilliant red, and only at this point did Toshiro intervene, just as Ryoma started to move. He had partially extended his sword and blocked the full force of her strike from impacting his unconscious Lieutenant. "That's enough!" both Captains shouted at once.

Amane immediately stood down and snapped to attention at her Captain's voice and Souichiro fell uncerimoniously to the floor. "Honestly Souichiro, She's a pilot and she forced you into Tanshinkou. You need alot more training. He hefted the body of his Lieutenant onto his shoulders and walked past Ryoma "Careful Ryoma, She's still pissed six hours later and she's taken on at least four combatants and now she's warmed up. Honestly why she isn't one of mine I'll never know."

"Captain Hayami knows best Toshiro, as always."

He turns to his Lieutenant. "Now Amanae, explain to me why i traveled across the globe to come here to Shamballa base. Our CRT is rebuilding after the last defensive action against both the Federation and the Empire, and it's very slow rebuilding, especially when they split us up at two different bases."

"I think sir it's best if I let you talk to her yourself, Let me just say that i believe everything will change."

"You brought me here to talk someone? Come on Amane, tell me it's more than that."

"Sir do you trust me?"

"You know I do, Amane, with my life."

"Then trust me on this and let's do this my way."

"Alright, lead the way." The two officers moved briskly through base and as they went Amane's workout outfit morphed into a more sophisticated version of the standard Flightsuit, though hers had the same style red scarf that her Captain sported. Both her pistols were in holsters on her hips and She smiled as she got to Lily's room.

"This girl better be something like an intergalactic or transdimensional princess or something Amane, or you and I are both going to be in a heap of trouble as big as Shin-Getter.

Amane chuckled and knocked politely at the door. "Lily, it's Amane. I know it's early, but my Captain is here and would like a word with you. If you would please come out and follow us, we'll go somewhere discreet where we can talk."

The two officers waited patiently for the young woman, who Amane knew could drastically change the face of this war.

[ooc at this point I just need to do a little interaction with Lily. For the rest of you, At six am sharp an alarm clock will go off waking each of you. Please post any preparations you make before the debriefing. This may include seeking out the other party members to collaborate on the story, for anyone to go to the Mecha hangar, where they will notice the new arrival, the gigantic Shin-Getter. It's Red, White and Gold with Green accents on the torso, arm, and leg generator pannels. It's overall Height is 44m and it masses almost three hundred tons. It is by Far the largest humanoid Mecha seen thus far. Any who go to find Lily will find that both she and her caretaker are nowhere to be found.]

[SalmonMax]

There's a pause, then someone inside yelps, "I'm up! I'm...okay...just a sec..." The door opens, and Lily's there, her scarlet hair even more in disarray than usual and dressed in an oversized T-shirt that doesn't quite reach her knees.

"Hi. I'm up. Just...just let me get dressed." She bobs her head at Captain Nagare, then closes the door again.

The sound of rustling clothes and drawers opening and closing ensue.

She comes back out in blue jeans and a grey shirt with blue short sleeves, looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry if I seem informal...I only have regular clothes here." She beams at the two. "Hi Captain, I'm Lily. Well..." she glances at Amane. "...you can call me that anyway. Pleased to meet you."

[Justin OOC]

"Good morning Lily, now if you please follow me, I'll lead you to the most secure place on base."

Captain Nagare turns and leads the two of them back to the Hangar. Even though it had been at most fifteen minutes, The Shin Getter was re-armed and ready to go, docked in it's gantry next to the Meteor. "That was fast Shibaksuka."

"Just two armor plates and two Tomahawks this time, let's keep it like that."

"I'll try. Now.." He looked up at his machine. "Getter Cockpits open!"

The mouthplates vanished into the machine and a plate fell in the upper and lower torso. "Amane you're in the upper, Lily you take the lower. Once inside hit the green button next to the left control stud. That will enable secure communications between the three cockpits. Here we're completely isolated from everyone else and nothing can match the might of my Shin Getter. Besides, Shibaksuka and Ruri will be keping others away."

He leaps into the air and lands on the top of the Getter's foot, then the knee then the hip and then the two torso plates and finally climbs into the head cockpit and the hatch closes behind him. Amane nods to Lily. "It's perfectly safe. Trust me." She vanishes and reappears on the upper torso banel and climbs in. The panel folds up behind her and the opening is completly sealed, leaving no evidence it was even there.

The third door gaped welcomingly, waiting for it's occupant.

[SalmonMax]

Still a little bleary from just having woken up, Lily almost forgets herself and just flies up to the hatch. As it is, she catches herself just an instant after her toes clear the floor, and tries to pass it off as a quick hop...quickly following it up with a couple more hops, and stretching her arms and yawning as if just limbering up before a climb.

She then scurries up the ladder to the lower torso hatch and climbs in.

"This is kind of...extreme, don't you think?" she asks Amane. "I mean, exactly how much danger is all this going to put me in around here?"

[Justin OOC]

"More than you can imagine Lily. We have an entire CRT who wish to exterminate all non-humans, Including myself and my Captain Lily."

"The Circinus claim to this world is an ancient one, but as I have discovered so is the Dalaraan claim. Yet no one is willing to talk anymore, it's all just a matter of conquest. All for the Keys, for their power, for their unlimited potential. So perhaps now is the time to introduce yourself and tell my Captain what you wish to do."

Ryoma listens intently as Amane speaks, knowing that whatever happens next, he's glad to have come.

[SalmonMax]

Lily squirmed a little in her seat on hearing that.

How much of that is our fault? she wondered bleakly. Am I already too late?

"Captain Nagare, I'm not from Earth."

Just saying it made her homesick. It erased the tenuous connection she'd forged with this new planet, and reminded her of her own painfully distant world. In a way what came next was even harder...playing at being an ordinary Earth girl had been unexpectedly cathartic. Refreshing to escape from the strange combination of pampering and rigidly high expectations that were part and parcel of her life on Dalaraan. To be considered by most, ordinary.

"My name is Akosaniolilly...I'm the second daughter of his Grace, Emperor of the all the stars of Dalaraan and its allies and satrapies. I'm here, I mean, on Earth, because things haven't been going the way he wanted. I'm here to try to set things right."

She twists around in the seat, trying to see into the other cockpits directly, rather than with monitors...then gives up and looks back at the screens.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this... We originally came with offers of peaceful alliance and trade. From what Amane's said, I think there must have been a misunderstanding, or maybe Circinus sabotaged things...I don't know the specifics. I'm just here to put an end to it, if I can."

[Justin OOC]

"Jesus wept." Ryoma's response was one of shock. "Why should I trust you? What proof do you offer of your claim?"

Amane interjects. "View this sir" With that she calls up theimages of Lily recorded by Captain Ishiyama. It showas her blue blood, her energy barrier and her energy sword.

"I see, you are Dalaraan, but what proof of your Royal claims? How can you prove that?"

[SalmonMax]

Lily nodded. She'd anticipated that, but didn't have any easy answers. Even so, the question was a bit affronting. She really wasn't accustomed to being questioned like that.

"My ship was shot down as it tried to get through the contested zone around Earth," she says with somewhat forced neutrality. "I don't have any of the things I was supposed to have to prove that. I could put you in touch with some of the other survivors here on the ground...or you could let me contact the Dalaraan fleet."

"The only other option I could see would be if you have access to some kind of faster than light communication system. We could use it to contact Dalaraan directly."

Abruptly something else occurs to her.

"Or...did you manage to salvage anything from the Regulator? The...the cruiser, the Dalaraan cruiser that was destroyed as it tried to get to Earth. Somehow Circinus found out I was on it, and they overwhelmed the escort...it might have caught your attention. If you managed to salvage anything, the ship's records and log in the protected core would show that I was on it. They'd have my image and nucleic acid pattern too, in case I had to be...you know...identified in the wreckage."

[Justin OOC]

"I see." Ryoma opened a private communication to Shibaksuka. "I need to know if you've managed to get the recovered computer core for the Regulator online."

"Yeah Ryoma we have the core online, what of it?"

"Access the personnel files for s a crew manifest."

"Checking." He comes back. "This is odd, there is a file that's totally locked out behind codeblocks Ruri and I have never encountered. What is going on?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, just give access to the core to cockpit 3."

Back on the private com he tells Lily. "The core is online and linked to the panel in your cockpit. There is however a security lockout we cannot break through on a particular file." If you would please, unlock it."

"You have my word that whatever is contained will stay between the three of us."

[SalmonMax]

Lily hesitates for a moment, but then nods. It had been her idea after all. And there shouldn't be anything TOO sensitive in the Regulator's core. Besides, what choice did she have?

She quickly tapped out a string of numbers; the numeric string that would translate to her security authentication code. After a moment to process, the core signaled recognition.

"All right...it should work now. Do you know how to operate Dalaraan computers?"

[Justin OOC]

"Yes I can." It takes only a few moments for Ryoma to compare the DNA patterns found in the records in the computer core to match the bloodstains on Lily's shredded clothing. Satisfied, Ryoma's face came back up on the screen.

with a moment's preamble he starts chuckling then burst into all out laughter. "This is so impossible it has to be true. My Team was originally sent here to Find and capture any high ranking Dalarran officals and ransom them back.. And now Here I sit, having been defeated and joined Satoshi, and I find myself sitting in My Shin-Getter, With the Crown Princess of the Dalaraan Empire." his laughter was mildly infctuous as lily could here Amane chuckle too."

After a moment he regains his composure. "Im sorry, the irony of it all just struck me like a thorhammer missile. Of course I will take your case to the other Captains. With any luck we can work out some sort of agreement and come to terms."

His mood darkens abit. "OF course there will be those who do not wish to see the conflict stop, but their teams have never fought Dalaraan warships, they've never faced a Hiroga guardian one on one."

"His mood Darkens further. "Except for Satoshi, He'll try to kill you. You can bring peace, something that psychopath does not want."

"Amane, Until I order you otherwise, you will stay with Lily 24/7. You are responsible for her safety. To that end I authorize full use of all your combat prowess and ability. Do not Fail me. "

Amane nodded. "Yes Captain Nagare."

"Lily, no matter what, do as Amane tells you. She will keep you safe, even against another Captain. I am going to go speak with Hizashi Hayami, CRT-1's Captain. I'll try to bring him to our side on this. If by chance his Son wakes up I'm sure we can count on him. I'll talk with Jean Marie and Toshiro and Shibaksuka as well. Hopefully we'll be enough to get this resolved easily. Now, I believe it's almost time for the Debriefing. Amane, conduct her and the others there safely."

Amane acknowledged her order and in a blink of light the three of them were all standing on the hangar floor outside the Shin Getter. Ryoma finds shibaksuka and Ruri waiting there. "Come with me old man, I got something important to talk to you about."

"quit calling me old man Ryoma." Without another word the two Captains and ruri vanished into the bay, Leaving Amane standing there with Lily.

"Well Lily, I'd say that's a start."

[SalmonMax]

Lily stands, still a bit dazed by the flood of information and the sequence of events...

"It's so confusing," she admits to Amane. "It's not at all what I expected."

Then she pauses and adds, "You know...now that the core's unlocked, my identity probably won't be secret here much longer. Are we going to join the others? You and I would probably be safer around them...but that would mean we'd be putting them in danger too."

Lily scowls.

"Nothing's easy. So...debriefing?"

[Justin OOC]

"The core isn't unlocked. If I know Lieutenant Hoshino, she added her own locks and security to the system. She's loyal to Captain Shibaksuka and he and Captain Nagare are good friends. Your secret is safe."

She shrugs. "As for your friends, Valerie knows doesn't she? She's already in danger if anyone finds out.It's best if you're all togethere anyways, you're all stronger that way. I'll just be there in case Takashi or Ayato come decide to get rough. None of you can fight them. So who do you want to go get first?"

[SalmonMax]

Lily considers, then says, "Let's start with Amaya. She seems like she's taking all this the hardest. Maybe if we show her some special attention, she'll feel better."

[Justin OOC]

Amane tenses a moment remembering the harsh words from the young blue-haired girl. "Alright Lily, We'll start with her."

They make their way through the corridors to Amaya's room and Amane looks to Lily. "You call to her, I got the distinct feeling she doesn't like me last night."

[SalmonMax]

"She's Kai's girlfriend," Lily tells Amane. "And I think she's had some kind of bad experience with Satoshi before. I don't think she has anything against you personally."

She then knocks on Amaya's door. "Amaya? It's Lily. They want to debrief everyone...are you up?"

[Karrie Sherman]

In truth, Amaya had been up for a while, depending on if you counted deep mediatation as being awake or not. And when the alarm at gone off at six, she'd immediately arisen and prepared herself. When the knock came at the door, she was dressed in the cleaned clothes from yesterday, the beige sweater and jeans.

Her hands ached with the desire to hold her ninja-to, but that would be tantamount to flashing it in front of her enemies. And they were all around, here.

"Just a minute," she called, picking up her hair tie and removing the towel from her hair. She opened the door and started to snap her hair up. Inside, she was disappointed that Lily was with one of Satoishi's minions. "Yeah, I'm ready." She smiled at Lily, ignoring Amane completely. "Where are we going?"

[Saito]

Saito had always been a light sleeper, indeed it was a quality that is greatly desired in a soldier and his father had done his best to instill that ability into Saito.

Saito awakened and begain showering about ten minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off and found that his clothes from the night before had been laundered and clean.

"I always feel better in this jacket."

Saito finished getting dressed and downed a quick K-Ration that he had brought to his room the night before.

"I had better check on Meteor, I have this sinking feeling that something is going to happen today so I need to make sure that he is in working order."

Saito then made his way to the mech hanger. Meteor looked incredibly pristine and almost better than it was when he first got it.

"Meteor: Lower pilot's hook and open cockpit"

The cockpit of the Meteor slowly opens and a small hoop decended to Saito who then grabbed onto it and rode it all the way up to the cockpit.

"Meteor: Run Diagnostic program. Code: Alpha"

Saito then spent the next few minutes over looking screens that detailed the current status of his machine until minutes later he began to hear voices from down in the mech hanger. Saito looked out from the cockpit and noticed Lily and her caretaker. Saito then took the pilot's hook back down and looked back up at the Meteor.

"Meteor: Engage Lockdown procedure Code: Omega"

With that Saito ran down the hall to catch up with his class mates. Saito has arrived at Amaya's door just after she opened it.

"Good Morning Miss Lily and Miss Amaya. I trust that this Lieutenant will be escorting us to the debriefing?"

Saito stands at parade rest in front of the two ladies and salutes Amane.

[SalmonMax]

Caught off guard just before she answered Amaya, Lily turns to stare, dumbfounded, at Saito.

"Uh...hi" she says brightly, giving him a little wave. "...at ease? "

"Anyway, yes...it's debriefing time. Hopefully we'll find out what all this is all about, with the disappearances at school and the...well, the demons and so on. I'm not sure WHERE, exactly...that's Amane's job. We're just going and getting everyone together right now. You guys are welcome to come with us!"

[Justin OOC]

Amane pulls her hand from her pistol as she hears Saito's voice. She's on total alert due to her ordres from Ryoma and concerned with everyone's safety. At Lily's comment she nods.

"Yes i will conduct you to your debriefing." She nods to Estelle and Kaname. "Both of you, see to the other Caretakers. I will take responsibility for all of them now."

They both snapped to attention. "Yes ma'am!" Amane nodded and they both vanished from sight. She turned to Lily. "Now, Who's next?"

[SalmonMax]

Lily shrugs noncommittally.

"Lets just go in order down the hall?" she suggests. "Then we can all head over to the briefing...or, debriefing room."

[Justin OOC]

Amane nodded. "I believe Valerie is next then." She lead them down to Valerie's room and knocked. "Valerie it's time for the debriefing. are you ready?"

[Georgi]

It was always 0430 when he awoke. It didn't matter where he was, but his body did it anyways. He thought it might have been due to years of being in the mlitary, except he couldn't have spent his whole life in it. That was part of his problem; he remembered nothing of his life earlier than a few years ago, yet he felt as if he had been in the military for a hundred years.

Following a routine that he always did in an almost robotic manner, Georgi excercised in his small room. He shrugged it off as part of his programming, because he did it every morning. He didn't dislike it, however, because all good soldiers had to keep themselves in peak physical condition. Georgi liked being a soldier.

After physical training, Georgi did a function check of his submachine gun, hid it away, and hit the shower. Being a military base, he requested a set of black fatigues, black t-shirt, black combat boots, and a brown leather jacket. After putting them on, he stashed his weapons on him. 45 minutes before the briefing, he asked where the D-Fac (Dining Facility)was located, so he could eat.

Returning to his room, he noticed the others talking with Amane in the hallway.

"Good morning Lt. Amane, Saito, Lily, Valerie. I hope everyone slept well." He gave a warning look to Amane as if to tell her that his bad dreams are noone elses concern.

[Justin OOC]

For the first time in awhile Amane smiled. "Good morning Georgi, are you ready for the debriefing?" her whole mood seemed to change. It was easy to see that out of the guests, she respected him more than the others, with the exception of Lily.

"I see you found the clothes you requested. I'm glad they fit you well, though I will say the weapons aren't necessary. I will be all the security you all need."

[Saito]

Saito looked around at his companions.

"May I ask if anyone around here has heard from Kai or the President? They are the only members of our group that I have not heard the status of."

[SalmonMax]

"Kai was recovering from his little escapade last I heard," Lily answers, studiously avoiding Amaya's eyes. "The President...wasn't he one of yours, Amane?"

[Justin OOC]

"Captain Hayami and Mr. Morisato are in the isolation ward of the hospital, where both of them can recover from their fatigue and injuries."

She smiles. "I was told by Ruri earlier that Kai and Atsushi awoke briefly,and inquired of you all, but quickly drifted back to sleep. I was told that if they are doing better, they may be moved to the normal officers wing of the hospital. If that happens I'll take you all to them after the debriefing."

[Saito]

Saito turns his head toward Amane.

"Can I assume that my brother Ryo is also in the ICU Ward with the other two?"

Saito turns his head away from the rest of the group.

"It is my fault that he is hurt. I was not able to protect him like he needed to be."

[Georgi]

"These weapons are part of my uniform. As a soldier, I'm sure you understand" He gave Amane a knowing look before turning to Saito.

"We should just be glad that noone was killed." Geori said as he put his hand on Saito's shoulder. "The fact that they live, shows that we did out job. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

Turning to the students, he gives them a stern fatherly look. "The sooner we get this de-briefing out of the way, the better."

He smiles at Amane, and gestures in the assumed direction of travel. "Please, lead the way"

[Justin OOC]

Amane looks at Saito and her jovial mood immediately fades. "You mean no one has told you?" Those words never proceeded anything good, and unfortunately they wouldn't this time as well.

She snaps her fingers and Kiriko and Rin appear. "Get Valerie and Kongou and conduct them to the briefing room. Full use of your abilities is authorized in order to conduct them their safely. Alot rests on these people, I'll be along shortly. There's something Important I have do first." She gave Georgi a look and hoped he'd do the right thing and let her and Saito have a bit of privacy. The sympathy in her eyes was evident.

As the two caretakers lead the others away Amane turned to Saito.

"Saito Murazaki, brother of the Hiroga/Circinus young man Ryo Murazaki? I do not have good news for you. Your brother as you know was injured in the incident at your school. When he arrived here at this facillity he was rushed to the hospital. Despite all our best efforts, he died within an hour of his arrival. We tried six times to resuscitate him using every means at our disposal, but the poison he was injected with was to effective. I had thought Kaname had told you since she did access the file, but i can see she didn't know how to tell you this."

Her gaze softens. "I am truly sorry for your loss Saito, family is irreplacable.I know you don''t know me, and likely don't trust us, but I am here for you. All of your friends and comrades, The Captain and Kai. We're here for you."

[Saito]

"D-d-d-d-dead? My brother is dead?"

Saito began to hold his hands to his head.

"This has got to be a dream, or some kind of sick joke. I can't believe this....I WONT BELIEVE THIS!!!!"

Saito then brings his hands away from his head and brings his left hand to punch the wall with all of his might. Saito's hand is now bleeding but he did not care, his anger was the only thing driving him forward until he relized a critical factor of the situation. Saito turns to face Amane.

"It's my fault....I knew that when I called the Meteor I should have told Ryo to join me in the cockpit. If I had told him that then he would still be alive right now."

[Justin OOC]

"Your machine wasn't safe either Saito, or have you forgotten the loss of the Meteor's arm? Had you not scored several very lucky shots, you'd have been every bit as damaged as the Null Viper. Added to that with your brother there you wouldn't have taken those risky shots, you'd have been worrying about his safety. Thousands are alive because you led two of the demons out over the bay."

You did what you know is right, you did what you knew your commander would have wanted you to do. Ryo's death is not your fault."

She lays a hand on his shoulder. If you hadn't summoned the Meteor, Kongou would likely be dead along with countless other civilians. I believe in his prowess and in his machine, but against four of the demons mentioned in Captain Bordeaux's report, I don't think he would have been victorious. You did what had to be done to save the lives of those who were powerless to protect themselves."

[Saito]

Saito looks at Amane.

"There is no doubt in my mind that I did the right thing in calling in my machine. Those demons could have caused some major damage to both the school and the city and defending the city and school are part of my ongoing mission. However, protection of my brother was also part of that mission."

[Valerie]

It was 6am when the sound of an alarm clock was quietted down by the sound of a small energy blast, and Valerie ducked under the covers again, unwilling to wake up that early, acting mostly in reflex.

She knew that somebody would come to either wake her up, or alarmed becuase of the blast...but she just wanted to sleep sooo much...to not be in Shamballa.

[Justin OOC]

"We can discuss it later, if anything i can have my Captain speak with you on it, He has had to make similar calls, but for now we need to rejoin the group and go to the debriefing." She leads him back to the others and catches up with them as they reach Valerie's room. "Valerie, it's Lieutenant Amane. It's time for the debriefing are you ready to go?"

[Valerie]

Valerie opens one of her eyes, to the sound of Amane, the caretaker. "Uwaaa....I'm..*Yaaaaawn* Awake....I think." Val ends up crashing into the floor as she becomes tangled in her bedsheet and falls face first onto it. "...This might take a while...."

[Justin OOC]

"Please hurry, you're the last one to arise."

[Valerie]

It took about 15 minutes, but Valerie was out, wearing her crisp school uniform and with still soaking wet hair. "I'm out, I'm out sorry for being late"

Valerie looked around, a lot of people had gathered already, they were all going to the debrifing, Val hoped they would hear some good news on it...

[Justin OOC]

Amane nodded andd scanned the group. "Damn I knew I'd forgotten someone." She called up the map and found Kongou's quarters, which were thankfully on the way to the debriefing room. She lead them to the room and found Excellen outside. "Go to your machine Excellen, get it prepared." Excellen excused herself and left to the bay.

"Kongou, It's Lieutenant Amane. It's time for the Debriefing, are you ready?"

[SalmonMax]

Lily grinned as Georgi joined the group.

"Nice outfit, coach. Is that the new official PE uniform now?"