Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - Rooftop Interlude

[Justin OOC]

Kai burst through the door to the roof with his hand firmly grasping Senbonzakura's hilt. "God Dammit!!"

The words make Masane stop as she exits the door and then go around the side. Her master is finally showing his age.

It's clear he wants to draw his sword and unleash its attack. "Goddamn why does it have to be me? I didn't ask for this." The loss of Hiroko, the loss of all the others and Kongou, all of tht was crashing down on him.

Naien and Amaya betrayed them all. He had allowed Amaya in and she had been a Kage assassin sent to keep tabs on him and if need be elimanate him. He'd born witness to the death of Clan Amaha, only he and Masane were now left of its bloodlines.

Kongou died defending the Kage fortress in the past because it was his duty to find and protect the Keys. He drops to his knees and places his hands on the ground. "I have so many people around me that need help, that need what I can do. Don't they understand, this is all my fault? All the death all the destruction it's all on account of me. I'm just not strong enough to be all they need me to be." Tears begin welling in his eyes as he lets out the doubts within himself.

It takes all her strength and reserve to not rush from her vantage point to comfort him, but Masane remains hidden. Due to the contract she feels his doubt and pain acutely, and knows there's nothing she can do for the him now. But she can hear someone coming who may be of some help.

[SalmonMax]

"I think I could use some air myself," Lily says to the assembled officers, and takes off after Kai. Though he has a head start, she manages to spot him vanishing through a service door to the stairway. She runs up to the door to make sure it leads where she thinks it does...then vanishes in a blur of energy...

...to appear hovering just in front of the door on the roof. Her feet touch down lightly as she looks around for the source of the voice, then sees Kai there by himself.

Who's he talking to? she wonders, for a moment startled into silence.

As she listens, she can't help thinking it sounds a little familiar. Very familiar, in fact. The realization evaporates her irritation. It was easy to forget sometimes how -young- Earth humans all were. And even with this unusual bloodline Kai seemed to have, he was still human, unlike so many members of Satoshi.

Unlike herself.

Lily deliberately walks up behind him, letting him hear her footsteps before she sits down next to him.

"I was a bit rough on you in there," she says, not looking at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't stop to think how you felt about all this."

[Justin OOC]

"Nobody has Lily. God knows I'm not the only one who's lost someone in this. But She killed my best friends, people I've known since I was young just to get me into the frame of mind to open the gateway the first time. Then I over-reacted and practically destroyed the only Skeleton Portal. The Shamballa was sestroyed and I watched Atsushi die, through my own eyes and his."

He shakes his head. Up till a few weeks ago I was just a normal student, I had a peaceful normal life. Atsushi, or Akina, or whatever they're coalling herself can talk all she wants of giving the other students hope, but I just don't see it. I felt His power. The Attack used on Amane was nothing to him, but would have killed any one of us outright. Even you, as powerful as you have become would succumb to him in a fight."

"We have our home nation, but it's more a cage than anything. Add to everything that Hizashi allowed Raisho to win. As powerful as Takashi is, Just the single moment where a portion of his power wasn't sealed was enough to chill my blood. They can wipe us out whenever they wish Lily."

He sighs. "Then there's the matter of this whole bloodline business. Satoshi is the remnants of the lost thirteenth Clan of the Kage, The Clan that was reaved by the other twelve due to jealousy. Masane and I are the last of the Clan. That means two whole Great Houses are still gone out of the four."

"I watched Kongou die in the past, just as did Amaya and Valerie. I promised I'd stop this. Then I came back to my homeworld, only to find almost all of Asia has been turned to dust and ash. Tokyo is in ruins and Demons are scourging my homeland. I find both Naien and Amaya have betrayed us and joined our foes. I have friends who are Aliens, from both Interstellar Empires currently trying to take control of my home planet, and several from other alternate dimensions of Earth. I think Only Georgi and I are actually from this Earth. Evidently the Contract I entered into with Masane makes me her Master and her my Servant, and we share emotions, feelings, sensations, and everything else, Short of actually sharing a single mind and body that is."

His tears give way to a near maddened chuckle. "And that Princess Lily, is all that's been laid on my shoulders to bear. Two weeks I was a high school Student, now I'm part of the last line of defense for the the remnants of a shattered world. And to be perfectly honest I really don't think I'm up to the task here."

[SalmonMax]

Lily listens to him silently, then puts an arm around his shoulder in a chummy sort of way.

"No it hasn't," she says. "It's been put on all of our shoulders. You don't have to be up to it by yourself. When I was feeling weak, not very long ago, I relied on Amane and Georgi and all the Satoshi captains...and with their help I got through it. Nobody accomplishes anything alone, Kai. There may only be one name in the history book, but that ignores all the people who helped along the way."

"So let me help you out here a little...then later, I can help more."

"Most of what you said is true. Some isn't. Like, for example, yes I'm not from Earth. But my people aren't trying to take control. I wouldn't be here if that was the case. Yes, our enemies have power, but we have some power too. The three battleships, for example. And we can -always- work and train and find ways to get more power if we need it, Kai. You're the Skeleton Key. There's nowhere we can't go, if we need to. There are many -kinds- of power. It's not just being able to blow things up in creative ways. To move is power. To inspire is power. To create is power. To hope is power."

"I'm really sorry that things came to this when you're so young. For awhile I kept asking myself if I could have done things differently to have stopped it. Maybe if I'd been more aggressive and gotten closer to you before it all went wrong, I could have tried to shield you more. I don't know." Lily shakes her head.

"We can't ever know what would have been. All we can do is decide what we want to be...and always, always, always work to make it so. I decided before I came here that I wanted my people united and at peace, and I wanted to count Earth among the friends of Dalaraan, and to help you and guide you with your powers, so that your home and mine could prosper together. And I still want that, Kai."

A little surprised at herself, Lily wipes the back of her hand across her eyes.

"And I'm never going to stop doing whatever I have to do to make it happen. So I think what you need to do is take a second to decide what's important to you...decide what you really want. And once you do, I think you'll see the next step is a lot easier to see, and things get a lot less overwhelming."

[Justin OOC]

"Spoken like someone who is well beyond the tender seventeen she looks to be." Kai's laughter doesn't sound so mad anymore.

"It's all just a bit much though Lily. All of this starts happening all at once and we're supposed to sit back and accept it?"

Out of the people I called a friend, pretty much only you guys are left. This insanity has claimed everyone else. Then Atsushi comes back as Akina. I remember Akina, she was always kinda sickly, and a bit weird. Most peole said it bwas because her family still practiced all the ancient Shinto traditions, and are the keepers of a shrine on the outskirts of town."

"I made peace with the fact Valerie isn't from this world, and seems to be close to half machine.." He's simply voicing thoughts as they come now, having to have kept it all within for a while now. "And Satoshi.. Where did they get all these Machines? And just where have they been hiding ships like the Archangel? It's like there was this vast conspiracy to keep the public in the dark about everything happening."

Suddenly he sort of loses focus, then it returns a moment later. "I'm going to have to appoint a New Vice President, a Secretary, and A Treasurer for the council if things are going to work. I guess I should probably get around to doing that."

His mind was shifting through so many gears, that amidst all the drama of everything else going on, that it was the council that served to ground him should have been no suprise.

Somewhere in his mind he realized that all the other concerns were for those who were better informed and in better positions to make good decisions. However, none were better than he to run the council. It seemed like such a small thing, but when you considered that nearly all the civilian survivors were students, it made sense in a weird sort of way.

He turned and looked into Lily's eyes, calmly slipping an arm around her shoulder, mirroring her own position with him. There was a slight spark, almost unnoticiable, but still there nonetheless. "I trust your offer to help is still good, even for something like this Right?"

[SalmonMax]

Later on, Lily would think with some chagrin about how funny it was how her mind sometimes just threw her curveballs. Here she was, giving the pep talk of her life, and it was actually working...and suddenly she realized how -cute- Kai was. Just like that, out of nowhere.

Her cheeks pinken a bit, and she nods with a smile.

"My offer's good for whatever you need help with." Oops. Did that sound like a come-on? "I mean...you know...sure. Student Council. I'll help."

Quick, change the subject!

"You know, I've been wondering about Satoshi too. For awhile, actually. Since, from what I gather, you're now in charge, I figure you can find out those answers. I don't expect you to tell me everything, but I'd be happy to answer your questions about the Dalaraan Empire if you tell me what I'm allowed to know about Satoshi."

She grins. "I'll throw in what we know of Circinus for free...it's not a lot, but every little bit helps."

[Justin OOC]

Kai smiles, even as he does blush abit. With Amaya around it was only natural his eyes gravitated to her, but without her it was easy for him to notice Lily was actually an attractive young woman in her own right. After basically bare his soul to her it was odd that he felt other feelings stir as well. He could feel the heat rising and chuckles at her slip of the tongue. "Yes it did, but from you, Ill take it as high praise. One does not often find themselves on the receiving end of such a comment from an Interstellar Princess." His mischievous smile is firmly in place, as in his mind his imagination comes up with a few other responses.

"As for the council, Good, and I'll tell you everything I know, and can find out. I still think Akina is the ranking officer, since Raisho seems to accept her as Atsushi, Who was CRT-3 Captain and thus superior to Raisho as CRT-5 Captain. Captain Ramius and Captain Gloval command the ships Archangel and Macross, though I confess I don't know who heads the Nadesico. Of the original twelve Captains, Atsushi Hayami, Hirota Shibaksuka, Jean-Marie Bordeaux, and Toshiro Hitsugaya are confirmed as Deceased. Amane Kaunac, Avery Johnson, and Ruri Hoshino were raised in their place, with by all appearances Akina Nanamura taking over for Atsushi.

Satoshi forces Loyal to these officers, and thus you, number about six thousand support personnel, With about eight hundred pilots, battle armored infantry, and various specialists. Of this at least four hundred are green recruits fresh from the Academy.

"We're facing at least one thousand veteran Soliers between Infantry and Mecha, in addition to the two most powerful officers Satoshi has ever boasted. Growler Killed their Head Assassin Yushiro, but that still leaves Hizashi's Lieutenant Ayato, Sergei Khirghiz, Kl aus Wagner, and handful of other powerful opponents we face?"

He looks at her "How's that for starters?"

[SalmonMax]

"Not bad...but I was thinking broader," Lily replies. "Like...where and how they've gotten so technologically advanced. And how one planet can produce individuals and machines with this kind of power. I've seen seasoned Dalaraan generals with hundreds of Earth years of combat experience who couldn't pull off attacks even close to what I've seen here."

"And then that bombshell about one of your battleships really being Circinus technology..."

Lily shakes her head. "I keep feeling like the Dalaraan are somehow getting left behind. Even my father's ship was threatened by a Satoshi captain. It's kept the peace in the Empire for centuries, and one woman in a robot suit might have damaged or even destroyed it."

"How is that possible?"

[Justin OOC]

Because alot of the personel aren't human. Satoshi is actually the remnants of the thirteenth clan of the Kage Ninja. Seven hundred years ago this clan was supposedly destroyed by the other twelve. This was Clan Amaha. Clan Amaha was renowned for its trafficing in goods and personel with other dimensions. What's more, It was Clan Amaha's burden to be the family from which all Earth-born keys were descended. High Preistess Yuna Misamaru was the last of her kind, a Skeleton Key of the first order. She could see the future, and planned ahead, secretly saving many of the Amaha's finest warriors, and as many children as she could."

"It was from these that The Entity known as Satoshi Heavy Industries came into being. Their names were changed, and they began new lives. They have always been favorites of the Imperial courts, due to the almost magical technology they have given the Japanese nobility. The Kage have somehow only learned of the truth in the last one hundred and fifty years, and thus truly waged a shadow war against Satoshi. A war that was lost when 99% of the Kage were destroyed when the Circinus bombarded The planet."

As to how the Satoshi gets its technology, I would imagine much has been reverse-engineered from the Macross since they found it fifty years ago. Mecha like Atsushi's Strike Freedom, Takashi's E-Shadow, and Sergei's Verde Buster, are obviously of Circinus influence. The Shin Getter Robo of Captain Nagare is obviously a Circinus Machine, but a very rare one. Zinv, the robot piloted by Amane Kaunac, well to be honest, strikes me as a Dalaraan machine."

When you think about the situation Satoshi finds itself in, it has no choice but to advance technology rapidly. Two Alien empires fighting over the world, and then Satoshi fighting both of them, We earthings only made it into space a half century ago. Those Three starships are the sum total of our space fleet. All of Humanity's technical prowess was poured into making them the epitome of technology to defend our world."

He smiles. "Raisho Ishiyama isn;t human at all, he's from a dimension called Aradia. From what I understand Atshushi's last incarnation was as well. you already know Valerie is from another dimension too. Amane has Demon blood within her veins. Ariel was from the realm Imago."

"As for how the Empire's flagaship could have been harmed, never underestimate a cornered animal. Right now, I'd wager to say that is the general description of most Satoshi personnel. Amane had just seen her best friend slain by a former comrade and was going berserk. A berserk cornered animal is even more dangerous."

[SalmonMax]

"How do you KNOW all this, Kai?" Lily asks, laughing. But behind the bemused wonder is a real question. "How long were you in the past for, anyway? And how old does that make you?"

She shakes her head.

"Okay, a deal's a deal. What do you want to know about the Dalaraan Empire?"

[Justin OOC]

"I'm only seventeen Lily, and was in the past for about two days by my count. As for how I know these things, just before Atsushi died he sent I guess a huge chunk of his memories into my mind. Granted they're all still a big jumbled mess, but there's so much information there that seems critical to our success. I've only scratched the surface as far as untangling everything he sent me."

He smiles. "Why is the Empire here? What brought you to this world, both as in the Empire and you personnally. Why is the crown princess here on some backwater world with little Imperial support?"

[SalmonMax]

Lily absorbs the information about Kai's donated memories with interest, and stays quiet for a moment as he asks his question. Then she shrugs and gives the simplest answer possible.

"You."

She glances up at him and watches his reaction before going on.

"First of all, you have to understand Earth isn't a backwater in a cosmic sense. In terms of the galaxy, it's remote and out of the way, but cosmically, it's practically the center of things. No other world in recorded space has as many gates to other worlds, nor as high an incidence of Keys being born. It's an interdimensional hub."

"Dalaraan hasn't had a key since the Empire was founded, and even then it was only to Aradia. Since then, we've had limited contact with that dimension, but even we can't just fly our ships through it to get to other worlds. We expanded into space instead. But we're reaching the limits of that expansion. The distance between galaxies is just too great to travel with our technology...even with Dalaraan lifespans. The Empire's non-violent expansion methods put us at a size disadvantage to the Federation. We need new resources, new frontiers, new people and technology, to protect our worlds from them."

"At the same time, the Empire itself is going through a difficult time internally. There's always been tension between the Emperor and the planetary lords and aristoracy. In the past, he's managed to keep them in line by making sure it's to their greater advantage to be in the Empire...and by possessing enough power to keep any one of them from breaking ranks and trying to stage a coup."

She takes a deep breath and plunges on.

"So into this comes Earth. To the Empire, Earth represents the new horizon we seek. The opportunity to explore and engage worlds; entire universes beyond our reach. Politically, if the Emperor controlled Dalaraan access to Earth, no noble would go against him for fear of losing their ability to trade in other worlds. With one stroke, we stand to gain everything we need to usher the Dalaraan Empire to a new age of prosperity."

"The problem of course, is HOW we gain it. The Emperor's stance towards Earth is the same as his policy on any other first contact. Diplomacy and mutual benefit through trade...leading to gradual voluntary incorporation. But for a prize like Earth...some of the lords took a more aggressive view, and with the Emperor so far away...things were getting out of hand. The forces we committed to Earth were supposed to be strictly for keeping the Federation at bay...but instead we wound up fighting Earth defense forces as often as Circinus."

"I came here because I thought my presence would reinforce the Imperial doctrine, and give a rallying point to those that supported the Emperor. I came here to open talks with the leaders of Earth...to announce our presence and intentions unequivocally, and negotiate for gate access in exchange for trade and defense assistance."

Lily sighs. "But my ship was attacked, even though my mission and presence were supposed to be secret even to our own forces at the time. I made it down alive, and since the original plan was scrapped, I decided to get as close to you as I could, to make sure you weren't co-opted or kidnapped by another interested party...while waiting for an opportunity to get back in touch with the fleet and get new orders."

"Hoo..." she laughs and wipes her forehead. "That was a mouthful. Still awake?"

[Justin OOC]

He listens with rapt attention, and smiles when she doesn't try to hide how iportant Kai himself is. "And Amane and Ryoma Two of our loyal Captains, shot your ship down.... And it so happens that they're the ones you revealed yourself to." Kai chuckles softly.

"Sorry, it's just that this all so surreal. Intergalactic empires fight over Earth, a crown princess living as a normal person on Earth, trying to get close to me and reestablish contact with her people. I'd say you've done both pretty well, considering where we sit, and what I've heard."

[SalmonMax]

Lily shrugs, but can't help but smile at the praise. It was small praise, but it felt good. And there was so much to fee not-good about, anything was welcome.

"Anything else you're curious about?" she asks.

[Justin OOC]

"Oh believe me, I have alot of questions, but they can wait. We'll need something to discuss at night when we go help Growler won't we?"

His smile is almost carefree now, and he genuinely seems like the Kai everyone knew before all this began. "There's still about five hundred students who are going to need some answers, and alot of reassuring before we go though. As Vice -President, Well President now I guess, it's my job to do that. I know Akina probably sent Saito to start, but he's "awkward" in social situations. So what do you say, want to go help alleviate the stress of our fellow students?"

[SalmonMax]

Seeing Kai's expression, Lily can't help but feel better. He'd been so depressed, but she'd really been able to help him....and in helping him, had helped herself.

"I wasn't actually in the Student Council," she says lightly. "Should I run for something? Oh...actually go on and join them. I want to get something first. I'll be right behind you. Might even beat you there."

[Justin OOC]

Kai nodded. "One of the benefits, As President I can name emergency representatives when needed. Besides everyone knew Atsushi called you for that last emergency meeting, thus he approved of your involvement. Most will remember and accept that."

He smiled and his eyes closed and his kimono seemed to shimmer, and quickly became the Standard school uniform for Jindai High. "Don't forget to change into a uniform. Last thing we want is to freak out our classmates any further."

He started walking to the stairwell and nodded to one of the obstructed sides. "It's okay Masane, you can come out, Though I will ask that you Don some form of attire more in keeping with our modern fashions. I plan on introducing you as the new Girl's PE coach. Georgi can fill you in on what that's going to entail, but suffice it to say it's a job I believe you can do well."

"I obey your command, Master."

He looks at her. "I am not your Master Masane, I'm Kai. or in a school setting, Morisato-san. You are my valueable friend Masane, not my property, We walk our current path together with many others who want to make the world better,at least that's how I see things."

"She nodded once. "Ok Kai, I'll do all I can to justify your faith in me. I'll go get changed and meet you where you follow." She left down intot he stairwell and Kai sighed. "She's going to do just fine, she's someone we can all trust."

[SalmonMax]

Lily nods at Kai. "Still, we might want to learn more about that link you mentioned. Lets ask her about it once the assembly's over. Anyway, I'll change and catch up with you. Go on ahead!"

With a single step, the world rushes in a blur to Lily as she shifts to her room to change into a school uniform. It's more comfortable than the military uniform Satoshi provided her, but she makes a mental note to remember the skirt before flying.

She takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror of her closet door. Keep the disguise? Lose it? Mmm...the goal was to keep the students as calm as possible. Plus, they knew her this way. And the red hair kind of suited her.

The Dalaraan princess allowed herself a moment of vanity as well as she inspected her reflection. The semi-divine energy that permeated her and fueled her powers had been unlocked during training, and its effects weren't limited to just bigger energy blasts. Though she'd been pretty before, the effects of channeling more power had refined her; idealized her. She was still recognizably herself...but in a dozen subtle ways improved.

Agh, what am I -doing-? He's like a tenth my age!

She quickly closes the closet door, self-consciously straightens her fuku, and takes another step...which lands her in the docking bay. The large quiescent sphere of her ship's seed pulses silently in its harness towards the back. There's a sound like delighted purring chirp, and her cabbit comes bounding over to leap into her arms.

"You want to come with me?" she asks it in a babytalk voice as she hugs it. "You can come with me...yes you can. You want to meet the Key?"

Another step, and she appears at the bottom of the stairwell that Kai had gone down to leave the roof. Best, she decided, not to just appear in the assembly out of nowhere.

After a moment to orient herself, Lily took off running down the hall to catch up with Kai and Masane.

(as it would be obvious, I'll inform y'all that Lily's Appearance attribute has gone from 1 level to 4 levels. Partly due to new confidence, partly an actual, though subtle, transformation associated with her epiphany and release to this power level.)