>>2366924
>Approach Marduk
>Approach Donnel
>Approach Wray
>Approach Song
>Approach Memphis
>Exit Instructors’ Lounge
>Write-In

Just so you know, you've talked to pretty much everyone at this point.

>>2366925
>>Exit Instructors’ Lounge
If we talked to everyone then let's just go

>>2366925
>>Exit Instructors’ Lounge
let us go find our friend whose setting up a party or something if i remember right

So are we Seiging Zeon right now or are we filthy feddies?

>>2366938
We're imperial but not actually in the gundam setting, it's it's own thing. We do have a not!zaku though.

>>2366938
You're a Colony Fleet Inhabitant. Which is the setting equivalent of a Redneck.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2194156/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2237365/

You can read up if you want. You live in Empire space but your people are essentially "muh freedoms" to the max.

>>2366925
>>Exit Instructors’ Lounge

>>2366925
>>Exit Instructors’ Lounge

File: Rosaria.jpg (9 KB, 231x218)

9 KB JPG

There wasn’t really anything left to do here … and even if you did, you didn’t think that any of the Instructors would appreciate being pulled from whatever they were doing anymore than you would. You’d taken up enough of their time … and you had other things to do, anyway. You gather your things and exit the lounge, several younger students jogging past you as you step back into the light. From the corner of your eye, you could see Instructor Fisk leading several suckers of students down the plaza to Emperor-knew-where. It looked like he’d found his latest round of guinea pigs after all.

To be absolutely fair, it wasn’t as if they’d let Fisk go too far with his … eccentricities.

Or rather, that’s how you liked to think about it. This was an academy for the AEGIS, after all; they wouldn’t …

You shake your head. That was the sort of thing you worried after getting on a ship for assignment. Not before.

You also catch a glimpse of a certain Gerard Jetdom … and, of course, his usual gaggle of groupies following him as he appeared to make his way to the Gardens. While you weren’t as close with him as you were with Ryosuke, Emilio … or even Sanza, Gerard had been one of the few of your peers that was, at the very least unprejudiced towards your kind. Not that that was saying much, however. You only really came to know him because of all the units you’d been coincidentally shoved in together. He seemed decent enough as a person … and the Instructors seemed to look at him as one of the models to aspire to among your peers.

Maybe you could—

‘Oh, what do I do …’

You look to your right to see Rosaria, the woman who had just arrived and taken residence in your former dorm, fidgeting in place as she stared worriedly at the doors to the Instructors Lounge, a look of distress on her features.

>Talk to Rosaria
>Pursue Gerard
>[DO SOMETHING ELSE]

>>2367035
>>Talk to Rosaria

>>2367035
>>Talk to Rosaria

>>2367035
>Talk to Rosaria

File: Hungry.jpg (21 KB, 372x224)

21 KB JPG

Considering that she’d arrived in the wee hours of the morning, you could only presume she was here to sort out the details of her placement. She must have arrived to check out her assignment or pick up a proper schedule. Still … she did look rather lost, fidgeting in place as she seemed weigh whether to barge right into the Instructor’s lounge or dart right back to her room. Deciding that it wasn’t much to just take a few steps to your right and talk to her … you decide to do just that.

‘Miss Spirance?’

‘Oh?’

She turns to you, startled.

‘Ah, Senpai,’ she greets you, giving a small, gracious bow as she had before. ‘What’re you doing here?’

‘That’s what I should be asking, right? You look like you’re about to walk into a punishment fitting.’

Rosaria scratches the side of her cheek, which was now taking on a slightly pinkish hue. ‘I, uh … I was wondering if I could get an advance on my stipend. The Dormitory Manager said that I wasn’t on any list and said that the financial offices wouldn’t be re-opened until the day after tomorrow … but I was told that if it was really an emergency, I could go and see the Instructors; that if there was anything that could be done, they’d be able to sort it out.’

‘Do you really need money that quickly?’

She looks down in embarrassment.

‘Well, uh, I—’

A loud grumble interrupts her words. She doesn’t dare look up.

You’re thankful that you have the delicacy to at least not immediately point it out outright.

>‘Here.’ (HYLOTHIAN CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BAR)
>‘How much do you need? I think I can transfer some crowns your way.’ (Offer a monetary exchange)
>'Hungry?' (Forego delicacy)
>‘Well, uh … good luck.’ (Leave her be)
>Write-In

>>2367238
>>‘Here.’ (HYLOTHIAN CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BAR)

>>2367238
>>‘Here.’ (HYLOTHIAN CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BAR)

>>2367238
>‘Here.’ (HYLOTHIAN CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BAR)

File: Omnom.jpg (56 KB, 1024x576)

56 KB JPG

Throwing her a wry smile that she doesn’t see, you pull out something that you, frankly, didn’t have a use for. Well, perhaps you could sell it off to some confectionery elitist in the city, but if there was one thing that being a Colony Fleet Inhabitant taught you was that if something was there to fill your stomach, it better end up in yours or someone else’s before it ever saw the flat of a counter. The habitats weren’t a hundred percent reliable (ninety percent efficiency was still a risk up there) so if you were hungry and you had something on hand … it was something to tide you over, no questions asked.

So if you weren’t going to see the end to a Hylothian Chocolate Bar, there was nothing saying that you couldn’t give it to someone who wouldn’t be able to appreciate it. You present the bar to your kouhai, who looks up in embarrassment. Wrapped in brown paper with the unmistakable mark of Hylothian quality, there is no mistaking the origins of this—

‘Um, uh, what is this?’

Maybe she was up in the boondocks a little deeper than you’d thought.

‘You’re hungry, aren’t you? Never nice to let someone go around on an empty stomach … especially not a fellow Spacer.’

‘N-No, I couldn’t!’ She waves her hands, reluctant to take your offering.

‘You’re going to faint by the time night sets in if you don’t have something,’ you push, if a little more insistently than you’d intended to be. Rosaria looks up at you nervously, clearly not buying into the rhetoric of a literal free lunch. ‘Think of it as a responsibility of a senior to his junior; I’d be setting a bad example to myself letting you go unattended on your first day … especially knowing what you’ve gone through.’

Her hesitance stays.

‘It’s just a chocolate bar. If nothing else, it’ll fill you up so that I’m off world by the time you drop dead.’

She giggles … before catching herself and covering her mouth in embarrassment. You give her another nod, holding the bar a little higher for her to take … which, this time, she does. She tears the wrapping off one end … and eagerly bites down. The reaction is immediate. Rosaria lets out a squeal, hopping in place as though she had just entered a realm of majesty, tears seemingly leaking from the corner of her eyes as she stared down at the confectionery in her hands before looking right up at you.

‘This is incredible,’ she lets out thickly, small specks flying out of her mouth. ‘I didn’t know the AEGIS made such luxuries for its students!’

‘It doesn’t,’ you correct her, before pausing briefly, ‘or at least … not regularly.’

‘Oh, is it from the city?’

You consider it for a moment. There were some confectionery specialist, but none that could specialize in importing something of that magnitude. That bar alone probably cost more than a bottle of Jupiter Moon, after all.

‘I don’t think so,’ you reply, scratching the back of your head, ‘I mean … Rhysode doesn’t seem like the type to bring in stuff from the Hylothian Brand on the regular.’

She bites into the chocolate bar again, nodding in agreement.

‘Understandable, considering that—ah.’

Her eyes go wide, her irises go small … and she stares at the quarter-gone chocolate bar, her features going immediately pale as her brain finally catches just what you’d declared. She lets out a thick, wet whine, looking from the chocolate bar, to you … and back to the bar again. You move to quickly correct the situation, lest you be responsible for the meltdown of a student before she’d even attended one of Darton Wray’s drills.

You weren’t going to deny anyone that rite or passage.

>‘It’s okay, Miss Spirance.’ (Reassure her)
>‘Careful, you might choke.’ (Joke)
>‘Okay, enjoy your luxury chocolate bar.’ (Leave)
>Write-In

>>2367437
>>‘It’s okay, Miss Spirance.’ (Reassure her)
calm yourself Space Jeannu

>>2367437
>>‘Careful, you might choke.’ (Joke)

>>2367437
>It’s okay, Miss Spirance.’ (Reassure her)

>>2367437
>>‘It’s okay, Miss Spirance.’ (Reassure her)

File: SPACE GRRRRL.jpg (574 KB, 708x1000)

574 KB JPG

‘It’s okay, Miss Spirance.’

The words from your mouth are spoken with reassurance in mind. What they do, however, is anything but. Rosaria looks at the chocolate bar as though it were some precious antique. You observe her knees quaking, clattering against each other as she considered her next move; to you, it was as though she was on the teetering point to combustion. You raise both your hands in a placating gesture, hoping that she didn’t blow chunks of expensive cocoa-based confectionery all over you or the floor—the both of you were already an odd sight here, right in front of the Instructors Lounge. Your arms were raised as if warding off an invisible force … and Rosaria was practically going through the motions of a human time-bomb.

‘T-Thank you.’

You’re not sure if those words are more of a relief to you or her.

‘You’re welcome,’ you let out, nodding. ‘Any good?’

‘It’s … it’s delicious,’ she replies, swallowing another mouthful, ‘but are you sure that—’

‘I said it was okay.’

She lets out a sigh, nodding … before biting into the bar a little more before looking up at you. ‘It must have cost you quite a bit … back when we made port, the merchants would usually chase us off for staring too long.’

You wear a wry smile. That was probably how it was when you were a Colony Fleet Inhabitant that wasn’t there to make a deal, you supposed. Rosaria savors every bite of her meal; it looked as though that she hadn’t had something that good—or luxurious, perhaps—for quite a while … or ever, really. The both of you quickly get out of the way as you realize the spot that the both of you were acting like idiots in was smack dab in the traffic between the plaza and the Instructors’ Lounge. The both of you park yourself on one of the raised barriers, your bags right by your side.

‘It’s amazing that things are this busy even before classes start out …’

‘Yeah,’ you say in agreement, watching your former underclassmen all run about. Commander Wray even leaves the Instructors Lounge alongside two proctors in black hats, wearing his usual scowl; he never seemed to take a break. ‘Even for the holidays, it’s all the same. Hope you didn’t come in here expecting to take it easy, Miss—’

‘Rosaria.’

You turn to her, raising an eyebrow.

‘You can call me Rosaria,’ she says insistently.

‘Rosaria, then.’

‘And I don’t,’ she replies, ‘I came here to … do better than I had before, I guess. Things worth having never come easy … on or off a Colony Fleet.’

The both of you share a knowing look … before erupting into self-satisfied chuckles.

‘So, you’re from a Colony Fleet too, right?’

‘Yeah,’ you answer with a nod. ‘We alternate between Course Plots Iblis and Jason.’

‘High end,’ she gives a knowing nod. ‘Do you … miss the Fleet at all?’

You rub your chin, letting out a thoughtful hum.

>>2367666
>'We had three Administrators at one point. I think I'd rather not return to that chaos.' (Frustration)
>'I do miss my family, my block, but that's about it.' (Personal)
>'A little, I guess ... just nostalgia making things better I suppose ...' (Fondness)
>'What about you ... I mean, I don't think you actually gave me a full picture.' (Redirect)
>Write-In

>>2367670
>I do miss my family, my block, but that's about it.' (Personal)

>>2367670
>>'A little, I guess ... just nostalgia making things better I suppose ...' (Fondness)

>>2367670
>>'I do miss my family, my block, but that's about it.' (Personal)

>>2367670
>>'A little, I guess ... just nostalgia making things better I suppose ...' (Fondness)

>>2367670
>>'I do miss my family, my block, but that's about it.' (Personal)

break time lads
Mech's out doing shit

I'll be resuming in about 20-45 minutes.

‘I do miss my family, I guess,’ you admit, staring up at the sky. ‘My block, my unit … the Habitats, occasionally. Nothing further than that, though, I can tell you; the Administrators were almost always fighting among themselves when—’

‘Administrators? You have more than one?’

‘There’re about … twenty-odd ships in the fleet. Pretty small, but a lot of ‘em were previously owned by Trade Houses and anyone with a name worth having in this galaxy, so we’re able to fit in a lot more in terms of populace. We’re a little unconventional like that, but as my uncles and aunts used to say, it’s better they eat themselves then feast on us. They’re okay, for the most part … and they do their job well enough when they’re not trying to shack up with the corporations.’

‘People have to do what they have to do to survive, though,’ she says pointedly, taking another bite out of the chocolate bar before unwrapping it a little bit more. ‘I’m sure that your Administrators have your needs … parallel to theirs, at least.’

Her voice is a little quiet—not that she was noisy at all; she was pretty meek, even after knowing her for an hour—when delving into the topic. She shuffles slightly, staring at the concrete floor, looking a little—and you don’t have any other word to put to it—lost.

‘Well, I hope so,’ you sigh in agreement, ‘hate to think that my family’s been left up there with a bunch of madmen in charge.’

‘Senpai!’

‘What? It’s a worry!’

She giggles, her shoulders shaking as her expression takes a more peaceful quality, resuming her task of devouring the luxury chocolate bar.

>‘Is it nice?’ (Talk about the chocolate bar)
>‘So … what about you? There’s got to be more than just a little ambition on your end.’ (Inquire further)
>‘You decided whether to use this opportunity as a booster or are you planning to go full career?’ (Prospects)
>‘Well, word of advice. Try to stay away from any off-world cleaning products in your, uh … first few weeks. Buy local.’
>‘See ya.’ (Leave)
>Write-In

>>2368119
>>‘You decided whether to use this opportunity as a booster or are you planning to go full career?’ (Prospects)

‘Have you decided whether to go full career or just using this opportunity as a booster?’

She pauses for a moment, considering your question … and swallowing the latest bite of the bar. ‘I actually haven’t thought about it yet. I’m just so happy that I’m given a … chance, I guess. However it goes, I don’t think that there’s much in the way of cons either way, right?’

‘A little idealistic, but … I guess that there’s a point there,’ you concede. You had been so sure of being one of the members of the proud military history of The AEGIS and had that interest be practically chiseled away by the end of your second year; by then, all you wanted was to pick up the data and get whatever assignment would come your way. ‘No use burning yourself out and then changing your mind halfway through, right?’

Maybe you’d been the idealistic one, after all.

She touched down keeping her pathways open; you’d practically marched in with a star on your chest and The Emperor’s speech in your ear. Still … most people had an inkling of what and what wasn’t on their agenda; it was hard to believe that Rosaria didn’t have something in mind for herself, even in the most minuscule sense.

‘You seriously don’t have a clue whether you’re going to go full career or just using this as a booster, though?’

‘Either way I take it,’ she replies—a little more crisply than you’d expected—clearly, ‘it’d be something for me to build on. Right now … I don’t even know whether I’m cut out proper. Everyone’s just so much more and … more, I guess. I want to take things one step at a time and … find my feet. I can barely walk in a straight line unconsciously as I am … if I rush right to the end without focusing on the now, I’ll probably end up getting nowhere. I’m sure that either road’s going to have its own obstacles—no way getting around that—but right now? I’m just happy that there’s a place that I can actually … have a chance to make something for myself.’

You find yourself going a little wide-eyed at her words. That was surprisingly … poignant a perspective. Not that you hadn’t considered it time and time again yourself, but that a Colony Fleet Inhabitant, a Spacer, had put her own foot down on not making a decision was something that you had continually—or religiously—practiced.

It was surprising. You’d always thought it was one or the other most of the time.

When one side of the bank didn’t want you and the other despised your decision … you hadn’t really bought into it as a form of practice.

Were you the one being naive or … was she?

>‘Yeah, one step at a time …’ (Agreeable)
>‘I’d rather set my foot down. Never know when you got to hold back the rapids.’ (Disagree)
>‘People do as they do, I guess.’ (Agree to disagree)
>Write-In

>>2368155
>>‘People do as they do, I guess.’ (Agree to disagree)

‘People do as they do, I guess.’

The loud sound of falling metal catches your attention. You look behind to see that several of the students were in a heap in the middle of a plaza, with an Instructor that you were thus far unfamiliar with staring down at their fallen forms. There appeared to be a mess of metallic briefcases scattered all over the ground … which appeared to be loaded with datapads and tubes.

Whatever they were, they were worth a stern talking to, if the Instructor’s reaction was anything to go by.

‘Are things always this lively?’

‘Usually after a win for the jocks … or when Fisk gets one of his crazy schemes.’

‘Fisk?’

‘You’ll know him when you meet him.’

She doesn’t inquire further.

>‘So, how's the chocolate?’ (Talk about the chocolate bar)
>‘So … there’s got to be more than just a little ambition on your end.’ (Inquire further)
>‘Well, word of advice. Try to stay away from any off-world cleaning products in your, uh … first few weeks. Buy local.’ (Casual)
>'Made any friends yet?' (Casual)
>‘See ya.’ (Leave)
>Write-In

>>2368183
>So … there’s got to be more than just a little ambition on your end.’ (Inquire further)

>>2368183
>>‘So … there’s got to be more than just a little ambition on your end.’ (Inquire further)

File: Rosaria 2.png (603 KB, 859x709)

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‘So,’ you start again, catching a glance from your companion, ‘there’s got to be more than just ambition on your end. Hard to believe that the story ends right there with you deciding to just jump right onto Rhysode’s Academy just like that … especially for someone from a Colony Fleet. I mean … I’m not accusing you or lying or keeping anything, but all of us have stories of why we wanted to join up; it just, uh …’

You trail off, suddenly feeling very awkward. Who were you to ask about why someone left their Colony Fleet? Everyone had their stories, but they weren’t ones you’d let out at parties as anecdotes or to compare notes. As civil as your own departure was—and considering what some of the others had said, it was definitely civil—that didn’t give you the license to pry into the lives of others. What you suspected of her was immaterial; you’d be off-world by tomorrow morning … and the last thing you wanted was to leave the creepy impression of a senior who pried too hard into the lives of a junior whose acquaintance you’d made barely an hour ago.’

‘Forget it,’ you let out apologetically, throwing her a sorry glance for good measure. ‘It’s none of my business … sorry, I—’

Looking away, you pray that Sanza would come along right now and drag you away by the ear. Some Senpai you were.

‘No, I understand that my story doesn’t quite … add up, given my—no, our background.’

She throws you an apologetic glance. It only succeeds in making you feel even more guilty.

‘No, I’m the one who screwed up there … should’ve known better, right? They’re never,’ you pause, considering the last moments on the ship: no hugs, no goodbyes, everyone going about their lives as though you weren’t there in the first place even after all those words exchanged in the run-up; a return to efficiency and duty, with or without you. ‘They’re never good stories to tell, are they?’

As you stare at the ground, you feel a hand over yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. You look up to see Rosaria, wearing a reassuring smile, a little sad, timid … but wholly understanding.

‘They’re not, but that makes them all the more worthwhile to share with others, right?’

‘That’s an optimistic take on things,’ you comment, throwing her an amused smirk. She stretches her arms overhead in response, wearing a coy grin of her own, the heavy atmosphere shattered before it could even make a mark. ‘Although, I’m not so sure I’d like to share the story of how I landed on my friend’s face during our first year over and over, though …’

She giggles, but doesn’t offer a remark, instead turning her attentions back to her chocolate.

Perhaps you should get go—

‘What do you know about … the Protocol Sixty-Eight?’

Protocol what?

>>2368230
>‘That there aren’t any Colony Fleets that practice it nowadays. I think the only proper record of its use in my fleet … or any others was about eighty years ago. Good on paper, bad in practice.’ (COLONY FLEET INHABITANT - Analytical)
>‘That it’s nor a protocol at all … just an excuse for an Administrator to abuse his power. Bad as mine can be, it’s probably one of the few things none of them are willing to touch.’ (COLONY FLEET INHABITANT – Disgust)
>‘Wouldn’t mind it, personally. Caste systems are practiced, anyway …’ (COLONY FLEET INHABITANT – Agreeable)
>‘Not really, no.’ (Ignorant)
>Write-In

>>2368235
>That there aren’t any Colony Fleets that practice it nowadays. I think the only proper record of its use in my fleet … or any others was about eighty years ago. Good on paper, bad in practice.’ (COLONY FLEET INHABITANT - Analytical)

>>2368235
>>‘That there aren’t any Colony Fleets that practice it nowadays. I think the only proper record of its use in my fleet … or any others was about eighty years ago. Good on paper, bad in practice.’ (COLONY FLEET INHABITANT - Analytical)

File: Rosaria [BREED].jpg (63 KB, 364x368)

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Protocol Sixty-Eight.

From what was practically the holy scripture for Administrative action and management of the Colony Fleets that they are bestowed upon. It was something that people always feared of arriving; that one word from the Administrators that would change everything. What you could do; what you would do … and what you couldn’t.

You’d never endured it … but you sure as Hell knew what it was. Protocol Sixty-Eight was less a protocol than it was the imposition of martial law upon the Colony Fleet by the Administrator to maintain what you could only understand to be a semblance of order. Administrators ruled differently based on the culture of their fleet; some loosely, some exercised their power only sparingly … while others were pretty much warlords without an army. Protocol Sixty-Eight’s intention had never been designed to operate on a long-term basis … or short-term. Being sorted into castes, having your lot in life decided by a genetic design and cold hard math … it was too cold to ever be put into proper practice. The typical structure essentially entailed everyone to suit whatever need the Colony Fleet deemed necessity. Labor, bureaucracy … and a bunch of things that they didn’t tell you back in class.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—because of the entertaining content of such a speculation, you could recall almost every word your old teachers had on the subject.

‘That there aren’t any Colony Fleets that practice it nowadays. I think among all the Fleets we encountered, there was probably only two or three that had a history of using Protocol Sixty-Eight in any … extended capacity, I guess. No more than a generation; it was always meant to be used in the case of emergencies or in the event of any dire, but there hasn’t been an incident severe enough historically to actually … you know, implement it. I mean, it’s not as if that it’d be a protocol that switched on at the start of—’

You stop yourself. Why were you trying to regale someone with a classroom lesson that she’d probably heard of before?

‘Wait, why are we talking about Protocol Sixty-Eight?’

She doesn’t answer, wiping the stains off her lips with the back of her hand … before grabbing the collar of her tunic and—

‘Ms Spir—Rosaria?’

Rosaria scoots closer to you, wearing a reluctant expression and drawing you in, revealing the skin of her top right breast. You try to avert your eyes, wondering just why she—

A tattoo: There was a number … and some letters.

L7-0C

No, that—

‘My Colony Fleet operates under Protocol Sixty-Eight. It’s been like that under the Administrators for the last ninety years … I was assigned to a … breeding program, but when it didn’t work out, I was able to … work my way a little. Wasn’t easy, though … Admiral Purvis gave me a chance I couldn’t quite … refuse, really.’

You stare at her, dumbstruck.

>>2368332
>'How did it get put in in the first place? Aren't there ... you know? People who would be against this?' (Confused)
>'T-That's insane! Your Administrators ...' (Outrage)
>'How ... how was it on there?' (Shock/Inquire)
>'Breeding? You mean you actually have ...' (Confused)
>'Harsh.' (Blunt)
>Write-In

>>2368336
>>'How did it get put in in the first place? Aren't there ... you know? People who would be against this?' (Confused)

>>2368336
>'T-That's insane! Your Administrators ...' (Outrage

>>2368338
>>2368346
Flipping a coin. Coin flipped.

>>2368336
>>'How did it get put in in the first place? Aren't there ... you know? People who would be against this?' (Confused)

>>2368336
>(Outrage)

File: Rosaria The Runaway.jpg (261 KB, 850x1471)

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‘How did it get put in in the first place? Aren’t there … you know? People who would be against this sort of thing? Other Fleets.’

‘Colony Fleets don’t dabble in each others’ business,’ she explained coldly, playing with a torn corner from the chocolate’s wrap, ‘and I’m not sure how it came to pass, but … there was some emergency that had the Administrator activate the protocol to streamline the recovery. I’m a little fuzzy on the history, but from what I heard—bits and pieces—was that the Fleet couldn’t keep an acceptable level of sustainability; there was a lot of division, riots … lost ships, habitats. From what I know … the faction that one of the former Administrators belonged to won popular support, but had to impose guidelines, programs. Everyone went through with it, back then … a return to systematic order over a chance at chaos.’

She spits out the last sentence like a curse, letting out a breath.

‘You know, it was funny; the girls would always doll me up and compliment how pretty I was … and then I realized just what they meant by it,’ she recalls bitterly. ‘Once I got my designation, it was hard … you couldn’t run forever. Security and everyone else … they marked you down. You were reserved, and when they couldn’t have you, they just wanted you more. It was hard; keeping out of sight, keeping yourself down, telling lies and then praying that there was the off-chance they wouldn’t take the risk.’

Rosaria’s expression is hard and soft at a glance, her shoulders tense and drooping in alternation.

‘You know how hard it is to pretend you’re just a pansy and then turns out they just don’t care?’

You don’t dare answer the question.

‘I was so scared … it was hard, running and running and knowing that you’d be thrown in just because that was your … duty. Your job; that you were inciting discourse just because you didn’t want to spread your legs for a bastard that put in enough for a new ship.’

>‘Fear?’ (Inquire further)
>‘So how did you … break out of it? They couldn’t have just allowed that, right? How’d you pick up the engineering?’
>‘Breeding’s not a caste that I was aware of by the protocol guidelines … how does that work?’
>‘Must’ve been a nightmare.’ (Emphatic)
>‘That would put ambitions on a hold, I guess.’ (Dry humor)
>‘I, uh, need to go.’
>Write-In

>>2368392
>>‘So how did you … break out of it? They couldn’t have just allowed that, right? How’d you pick up the engineering?’

>>2368392
>>‘So how did you … break out of it? They couldn’t have just allowed that, right? How’d you pick up the engineering?’

>>2368392
>‘So how did you … break out of it? They couldn’t have just allowed that, right? How’d you pick up engineering and mechanics at all with that system?’

Typo correction.

>>2368392
>Must've been a nightmare

>>2368392
>So how did you … break out of it? They couldn’t have just allowed that, right? How’d you pick up the engineering?’

>>2368392
>>‘Must’ve been a nightmare.’ (Emphatic)

File: Touch.png (80 KB, 235x499)

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‘So how did you break out of it?’ you question with a frown. ‘Being part of a caste system like that you wouldn’t have been able to just pick up mechanical and engineering know-how without breaking a few barriers in itself. Which, if I recall the Protocol, wouldn’t sit well outside of Administrative observation under the Protocol. No cross of caste responsibilities and everything being compartmentalized into specialization makes for little room for any independent thought on that front, right?’

She taps her chin.

‘In practice,’ Rosaria emphasizes with a drawls ‘it does, but not everything’s going to adhere to the percentages. Even if the Administrator wanted to, there were things that he couldn’t … control. Interests, actual talent … and just because you have a hundred people in charge for a hundred assigned units or cells, you’re not going to get a hundred of those to optimal output. The protocol may have kept certain skills separate, but when you’re dealing with systems and you have to wait for the Administrator to give an okay that’ll only come after catastrophic failure you kind of, uh …’

She trails off, seemingly at a loss for words.

‘Get a little naughty?’

‘Adapt,’ she lets out with a sigh. ‘You have to adapt … because you can’t wait for the datapad to hopefully fix something that’s wrong if you can do it for yourself. It’d be … arrogant to say that I was the only one who rebelled—no, that’d be too strong a word, wouldn’t it? I disregarded the rulings and, well, you pick skills up faster if they become necessities rather than auxiliary. It wasn’t easy, of course, for none of us, but we had to. No one was going to look out for us but ourselves. We had to … I had to make that change. It wasn’t easy to keep out of the eye of the Administrator for so long … and by the time I was of age, I was decided to be too … pretty to be where I was. I was elevated, of course, my genetic information would be beneficial for the Colony Fleet. My children would be of higher standards than I’d ever reach.’

Rosaria goes silent for a moment, her expression obscured by her mess of golden locks.

‘It was Hell,’ she utters. ‘Just waiting there … and hoping that whoever would finally come to take me. They were just dolling each other up in hopes that someone else would be taken and not them. Every day someone would come to me and say let me do your hair … you’d smell so much better with this …’

A piece of chocolate snaps, falling onto the ground and breaking into smaller shards.

‘I’d just lie behind pillars, behind beds, pretending I’d been spent and taken for the night when the Officers were given free rein,’ she recalls wryly. ‘It keeps you focused, you know, on your toes?’

She stares at the scattered brown scraps.

‘I don’t want to go back; that's all I have in mind right now.’

>>2368504
>‘Breeding’s not a caste that I was aware of by the protocol guidelines … how does that work?’
>‘Yeah, that ... it must have been a nightmare.’ (Emphatic)
>'What about The Empire? You didn't think of ... saying anything to them?'
>‘That would put ambitions on a hold, I guess.’ (Dry humor)
>‘I, uh, need to go.’
>Write-In

>>2368504
‘Yeah, that ... it must have been a nightmare.’ (Emphatic)

>>2368508
>Yeah, that ... it must have been a nightmare.’ (Emphatic)

>>2368508
>>‘Yeah, that ... it must have been a nightmare.’ (Emphatic)

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You honestly don’t know what else to say to her. Your Colony Fleet might as well have been a pleasure port compared to what she’d been through. The Protocols … they’d never been made to abuse, but to “right the ship”, to use an old term. That the system had been twisted in such a way to interpret cold logic instead of adaptive and situational application … humanity for that matter. It sounded like something right out of a horror novel than it was a livable state of existence at all.

Yet, for some reason … you somehow believed if you brought any brand of reason to her world, you’d end up shot out of a fuel-less pod onto some barren planet. It sounded like a right nightmare; one that you were thankful that your own leaders hadn’t seen fit to delve into. As much as they were selfish jerks, with a penchant for off-ship pleasures just to add to that sour taste, you didn’t see your Administrators establishing the protocol to such a degree—if ever.

‘A nightmare,’ you utter quietly, ‘I’m sorry that you had to go through that … it must have been a nightmare.’

‘When Admiral Purvis arrived … I didn’t know whether to trust him or not,’ she paused, ‘I was already at the end of my rope, but I didn’t know if he’d be able to do anything. The Empire … The Empire had come to us before. We’d had delegates, dignitaries … but that was the first time that I’d even considered life outside. They always taught us it was just more of the same … and I believed it, even coming down here. No one wants to leave the Colony Fleet, even as it is. Order before chaos; the many before you … and a destiny that is for the good of all.’

The chocolate bar snaps in her hands as you finally see tears going down her face.

‘So even if people here hate me for being … for being from a Colony Fleet, a Spacer … I’m glad for it. It’s so much better than I’m hated for what I am rather than loved just for what I can give. It’s a little stupid, I guess, for you … I guess it’s a little stupid on the whole, but I’m just happy that, small as I am, even though I’m alone … I can do things that I wouldn’t be able to before. I can live my own life and it wouldn’t be decided by what level I was born into … or how perfect a brood I can give.’

She sniffles, raising her lips into a smile as she turns to you. The snot and the weeping, however, gives everything away.

‘I’m sorry, but this chocolate … it’s good. It’s really, really good!’

You find yourself speechless … and clueless, unable to decide what to do next. You hadn’t expected this.

>Leave
>Write-In

>>2368542
> See if you can offer her a napkin or something
>"....you know, I wasn't sure how I would fit in either, expecting people wouldn't want to deal with a spacer. Turns out I did pretty well for myself. I think you'll do just fine here too, you've got a good soul in you. Just put in the effort in your studies, and I promise you'll make a good life for yourself here."

>>2368542
Backing >>2368556

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You pull out a handkerchief for her to take … which she does.

‘I’m sorry … I can get a little melodramatic sometimes.’

‘No, no, it’s,’ you pause, ‘it’s best you let that kind of thing out, right? Sorry I was so … insistent. I didn’t know it was that bad.’

Rosaria blows into the handkerchief. A long, wet, loud honk that left it stained with chocolate and snot. She stares at her mess, a slight look of guilt and embarrassment coming over her as she ponders just what to do with sullied item. A small whining sound escapes her throat as she turns towards you, offering the item back … only for you to raise a palm. You didn’t have time or a place to send that to a wash … and it’d probably get torn up by the end of your first week, anyway.

‘Keep it.’

‘Ah … I’m sorry, I’ll—’

‘No, really, keep it,’ you repeat insistently. ‘Think of it as the dues of a senior to a junior.’

‘Thank you,’ she replies quietly, setting the handkerchief aside. ‘You know, I have to admit that it really was nice to have someone to talk to … I didn’t think that there’d be anyone on this planet that would, you know … be from a Colony Fleet. I mean, I knew there were, just not, well … I didn’t think that they’d care much for someone else’s problems. Especially with … everything.’

‘Yeah, I can relate to that,’ you chuckle, hoping to alleviate the mood, if only a little. ‘I found it hard touching down here myself, but nothing’s ever really cut out like you see it, you know. There are … good people, bad days, bad people, good days … and there were times where I thought that I wasn’t … that I thought I wouldn’t make the cut, I guess. People already look at you differently touching down, so you don’t really have the best thoughts in mind for the Imperials and the locals, either … but it turns out if you keep your head down, put up a handshake and keep at it, it’ll all just come together. If it did for me, it probably will for you.’

She lets out a tired sigh, a nervous but small bout of laughter rumbling in her throat. ‘I’m kind of a bad judge of character like that. Avoiding getting to the front of the line all your life … you tend to have a really bad eye for those kind of things.’

‘I don’t think that a lot of people have that gift, personally,’ you reply, ‘we’re all taking a chance on each other … all we can do at the end is hope for the best and that things turn out half as good as we hope.’

‘That’s a little … bleak, isn’t it?’

You pause, considering your words.

Emilio. You’d picked that up from Emilio.

‘That bastard’s really rubbing off on me.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Nothing, nothing …’

>‘Out of curiosity, and I mean no offense, but … breeding?’
>‘Going to finish that chocolate?’
>‘So, uh, you have a feel for the place, yet?’
>‘I should go.’
>Write-In

>>2368907
>>‘I should go.’

>>2368907
>‘I should go.’
>'I'm glad you liked the chocolate.'

>>2368907
>>‘Going to finish that chocolate?’
>tell her if she needs any help to give us a call

>>2368907
>>‘I should go.’
>>'I'm glad you liked the chocolate.'

>>2368907
>>‘Going to finish that chocolate?’

>>2368915
>>2368924
>>2368927
I'll take these as half votes.

>>2368954
I meant is more as "Well, I gotta go. Glad you like the chocolate." Just a passing comment.

I mean, we don't need to stay and talk about it, do we?

>>2368957
i do. i wanna know more about not!Jeanne

‘Going to finish that up?’

You point towards the cracked pieces on her lap, prompting her to squeak and scoop them up. Apparently in all the reminiscing, she’d forgotten about the meal in her hands—if it could even be called that, really. Rosaria picks up both shards (and they were shards) in both her hands, awkwardly holding them up as though they were ship parts under scrutiny … before holding out the slightly larger portion in your direction with an insistent, determined yet somehow innocent look in her eyes.

‘Here,’ she offers, ‘you have some too … it’s yours, after all.’

You hold up your palm, maneuvering to decline the offer. It wasn’t as if you were connoisseur of exotic candies that had a foot in the game. You’d merely chanced upon it because Savik happened to have something extra lying around to give out.

Her expression, however, made it hard to decline it outright.

>‘I’m all right, really …’ (Decline)
>Take the offered piece
>Write-In

>>2368977
>>Take the offered piece

>>2368977
>Take the offered piece

>>2368977
>>Take the offered piece

>>2368977
>Take the offered piece

You take the offered piece, staring at in inquisitively as though it hadn’t been in your pocket minutes prior … before biting into it.

It was … all right, you supposed.

‘How is it?’

‘It’s … okay, I guess,’ you comment with a shrug, ‘not something that I’d lead in with but I can see where the appeal comes from. Unique flavor; mostly bitter with a clean aftertaste. Still … unique, but something I probably won’t be seen spending money on unless I actually have good reason to. I mean … I guess I can get why people bother with ordering these, but like I said, I probably won’t unless there’s barrel to my temple. A little too rich in both senses of the word, I guess.’

She scrunches her nose. Her disagreement was apparent, but you appreciate that she’d garnered a healthy enough respect for you to not call you out on it.

‘Everyone has different strokes, I suppose,’ she comments, licking her thumb, ‘but it must have cost a fortune to bring here … never mind to actually place an order for.’

‘Instructor Savik was giving them out to the jocks … I just happened to be there; right place at the right time, I guess.’

‘Instructor Savik?’

‘You probably won’t see him a lot, though … he’s mainly a conditioning Instructor when he’s not going around recruiting people for the sports teams.’

‘Sports? Isn’t this a military institution.’

‘It is, definitely.’ You give a nod. ‘Doesn’t mean that it’s all about learning how to line up a kill or wire up a Mech. Enough distractions lying around that you don’t go crazy, so they got that end covered. Savik usually works with the … you know, horizontally-challenged. Bring them up to speed … but considering that you’re, uh, pretty much set from where I’m, uh …’

You rub the back of your neck as you realize that you’d been ogling her for your last few sentences, promptly looking away before she decided that you were exceeding your quota. She’d already given you an eyeful of breast … in spite of the context of her little show.

You feel bad just thinking about it.

‘I have good genes?’

As you turn to face her, you see that she had a sardonic smile on her face … defeated, yet somehow, accepting.

>‘Not remotely what I was getting at, it’s just … I’m just saying that you’d have to be breaking hazard warnings for Savik to get involved.’ (Continue)
>‘Genetics?’ (Confused)
>‘Right, you … sorry. Bad lead-in.’ (Apologetic)
>‘I should go, I think.’
>Write-In

>>2369096
>'No, you don't fall flat on your face trying to walk like I used to.'

>>2369096
>>‘Not remotely what I was getting at, it’s just … I’m just saying that you’d have to be breaking hazard warnings for Savik to get involved.’ (Continue)

>>2369107
Support

>>2369096
>>‘Not remotely what I was getting at, it’s just … I’m just saying that you’d have to be breaking hazard warnings for Savik to get involved.’ (Continue)

>>2369096
>>‘Not remotely what I was getting at, it’s just … I’m just saying that you’d have to be breaking hazard warnings for Savik to get involved.’ (Continue)

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‘Not remotely what I was implying,’ you clarify concisely, ‘it’s just … you’d have to actually be ticking off some health hazards for Savik to be personally involved. As someone used to a lower average of gravity and in possession of some … considerable girth, I can say that you’re, at the very least, healthy enough to not be … put into that category. Which you should really be thankful for, to be honest.’

She throws you a quizzical glance.

‘Trust me, you’d have to be pretty far over the line to qualify for Savik taking a hands-on approach to you. I think there were about seven of us in that remedial course … thankfully, I had enough help getting the ship right that I was able to leave in a year. Had to watch what I ate even after that, though.’

‘You don’t look like you’re … overweight.’

‘Of course I don’t,’ you huff, feeling a little indignant … although it’s mostly you trying to keep your ego as pressed down as you can manage; you didn’t need that stroke of validation anymore than you did a heavy steak burger (which you did, but that was neither here nor there). ‘I put a lot of personal hours into it, too.’

You consider your answer for a moment.

There was no harm in coming clean, you suppose.

‘Well, my friends kind of got their mitts into my weight loss,’ you let admit, grimacing. ‘I think some of them actually carved some off with a knife when I was asleep.’

Rosaria actually laughs.

‘I think that it’s nice that you have people that care for you that much.’

>'Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it? Too bad we're not going to be together for much longer.' (Regret)
>'They can be right bossy sometimes, especially Sanza. Emilio and Ryosuke are decent enough, but man ...' (Look back fondly)
>'I ... wouldn't put that much stock. I landed on one of them and could've broken his neck.' (Regretful)
>Don't answer her
>Write-In

>>2369235
>>'They can be right bossy sometimes, especially Sanza. Emilio and Ryosuke are decent enough, but man ...' (Look back fondly)

>>2369235
>'They can be right bossy sometimes, especially Sanza. Emilio and Ryosuke are decent enough, but man ...' (Look back fondly)

>>2369235
>>'They can be right bossy sometimes, especially Sanza. Emilio and Ryosuke are decent enough, but man ...' (Look back fondly)

>>2369235
>>'They can be right bossy sometimes, especially Sanza. Emilio and Ryosuke are decent enough, but man ...' (Look back fondly)

File: GOTCHA BACK BUD.gif (3.07 MB, 500x281)

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Oh, if only she knew …

Compared to your friends back on the Colony Fleet, Sanza, Ryosuke and Emilio were a hydra. You were convinced that Sanza had hit motherhood by the time she’d hit ten and had the three of you as her sort of temporary coping mechanism. But for a bunch of people who’d really only spent four years trying to prep yourselves up for a life entrenched in warfare, you’d somehow developed a … fondness. They could be loud sometimes; Sanza’s maternal tendencies coupled with Emilio’s attempts to balance it out while Ryosuke did something stupid that needed the three of you would inadvertently have to bail him out while you let out sarcastic commentary in the background.

It was a weird sort of chaos … one that you felt that you were dragged along the ride for rather than be in control of, sometimes.

For someone so used to procedure it was strangely … welcome.

‘They can be right bossy sometimes, I tell you,’ you reveal with a chuckle, remembering all those times you’d just given up and went along with whatever scheme or plans that they had, ‘and I’m still convinced that Sanza must have hit motherhood the day she was born … Emilio and Ryosuke are decent enough, but man, sometimes I just feel like I’m being swept by a tide around them—all of them. It’s a right mess that you don’t really expect coming from a background in Imperial military.’

‘It’s fortunate.’

‘Huh?’

‘I-I don’t mean to speak out of turn, Senpai, but I believe that makes you … fortunate.’

‘Fortunate?’

‘That people are willing to be in that tangled mess with you.’

She smiles brightly and warmly, radiant even on this dull, noisy day.

You can’t not return it. Who wouldn’t?

>‘I should get going, I think. Good luck.’
>‘So, life on the Colony Fleet … mind if we get back to that?’
>‘You’re going to be doing an Apprenticeship … is the curriculum really that much different?’
>‘You know, Sanza’s still going to be around … maybe I could introduce you to her. She could probably use someone else to practice her maternal side on when we’re off-world.’
>Write-In

>>2369342
>>‘You know, Sanza’s still going to be around … maybe I could introduce you to her. She could probably use someone else to practice her maternal side on when we’re off-world.’
>and it'd be nice for her to still have a friend on-board she can talk to
not a bad idea to introduce her to someone she'll probably meet anyway

>>2369342
>‘You know, Sanza’s still going to be around … maybe I could introduce you to her. She could probably use someone else to practice her maternal side on when we’re off-world.’

>>2369342
>>‘You know, Sanza’s still going to be around … maybe I could introduce you to her. She could probably use someone else to practice her maternal side on when we’re off-world.’

>>2369342
>>‘You know, Sanza’s still going to be around … maybe I could introduce you to her. She could probably use someone else to practice her maternal side on when we’re off-world.’

Yet another one of those "senpai to kouhai" things.

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An idea hits you.

‘You know … Sanza’s still going to be around after the rest of us get our assignments …’

‘Eh? Is she held back?’

You want to mention that she was, just for the absurdity of it.

Sanza was such a fussbudget that you wonder how Marduk put up with her at all.

‘Oh, no—not that The Aegis bothers at all with people who can’t make the cut, but … no, Sanza’s training to become a medic, so she’s not going to be shooting off with us any time soon. Since she’ll still be here, I think that it’d be nice for you to at least have a go-to in case anything happens.’

‘N-No, I couldn’t! She’s your friend … and we just met!’

‘I know,’ you let out, giving a slow, deliberate nod, ‘I’m just using you as an outlet for her maternal instincts. Heaven knows what’ll happen if she doesn’t have anyone to fuss over.’

‘I really shouldn’t … I mean, I’m sure she’s a wonderful’—you barely hold back a chortle at that—‘person, but I’ve already taken so much of your time … not to mention most of your chocolate. I really don’t wish to be anymore of an inconvenience than I already have been!’

You jab a thumb in the direction of the City-Campus Shuttles.

‘No, really … it’s just a quick shuttle ride to the city, nothing wrong with that,’

She remained unconvinced, however.

‘T-Then all the more unreasonable the request! I-I don’t have my AEGIS ID yet … neither do I have my stipend, so … I can’t possibly ask for more than you’ve already offered!’

>‘Don’t worry, I’ll foot your bill.’ (500 CROWNS)
>‘Yeah, that is a problem … oh well.’ (Agree with her)
>Write-In

>>2369712
>>‘Don’t worry, I’ll foot your bill.’ (500 CROWNS)

In for a penny, in for a pound. Or is it crown now?

>>2369712
>Don’t worry, I’ll foot your bill.’ (500 CROWNS)
Sounds large but it can't be that much for a bus ticket, we going yen system of currency? Like how 500 pennies would only be five bucks?

>>2369712
>‘Yeah, that is a problem … oh well.’ (Agree with her)
>Write-In
How about I give her your number and ask her to keep in touch?

>>2369716
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2237365/#p2255007
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2237365/#p2255693

This is what's currently in your backpack, more or less. You gave her the chocolate, so you can cross that off.

You can add the pen knife above:
>>2366924

>>2369719
Cents don't exist, so I suppose that would be the equivalent.

>>2369712
>>>‘Don’t worry, I’ll foot your bill.’ (500 CROWNS)

>>2369724
I think we were going to visit Sanza in the Hospital anyway, so might as well grab the kouhai for the ride.

So still going for >>2369716.

>>2369712
>>‘Don’t worry, I’ll foot your bill.’ (500 CROWNS)

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‘Don’t worry … I’ll foot your bill,’ you declare, ‘it’s the least I can do for, uh … digging a little too much.’

‘No, that’s a little …’

‘I insist, really.’

She considers it for a moment, crossing her arms and looking thoughtful as she digested your proposition. You don’t blame her for feeling a little … apprehensive; a new world, a man who she’d known for barely more than an hour suddenly being kind to her without so much as a lick of expectation for return. You would have been suspicious; you were apprehensive yourself when Sanza and Emilio barged into your life … or was it the opposite? You were the one who landed on Emilio after all.

Some first meetings were a great deal painful for some and more fortunate for others, you supposed.

‘All right,’ she chirps in agreement, hopping to her feet. ‘Lead the way!’

Dusting your self off, you grab your things and get to your feet, heading straight for the City-Campus shuttles. You make your way slowly, of course, pointing out some of the sights along the way. She was a great deal more curious about the collection of plants than she was anything else; probably why she’d stayed in the garden overnight. Rosaria’s low whistles and impressed hums tells you that while she may have been qualified to be Apprenticed (You’d never heard of an Apprenticeship before, at least not here), there was an uncharacteristic fascination from her in regards to the trees and the flowers that lined the pathway. She occasionally asked about the statues, of course … not that there was much to talk about: they were related to the Imperial Family in some way: princes, princesses, in-laws.

That, of course, and that they were, in a word: dead.

Although, you find it a little strange that a Duke’s statue was used as a makeshift pointer for directions to the City Campus Shuttles.

The lines were non-existent.

You arrive right on time, too.

The shuttles were archaic (A hypocritical came, even for you, you supposed). You peg their designs to be at least a hundred and fifty years old, very likely more, with some modifications to accommodate new derivatives of low-concentration Ether … but they were practical. Personally, you’d prefer that they used the term bus or transport, but those were just semantics.

You lift your credit tab to the pad … keying in your old ID just to see if it was—

[ID NOT FOUND]

You supposed it was too much to hope.

You key the credits in, hearing the automated warning and the verification beeps as you walk up the steps and past the elderly driver-conductor, Rosaria following right behind you.

The both of you take a seat by the window, the engine revving right as you park yourselves.

You lay your head back, letting out a sigh, it’d be—

‘Oh, what’s that?’

You bring your head down to come to see an operated Mech taking several heavy steps in the field, brandishing its primary … you were passing by the hangars and would be off campus grounds soon.

>‘That’s a Mech, never seen a Mech before?’ (Annoyed)
>‘Probably getting some practice drills in … didn’t know they were operating this early in the year.’ (Curious)
>‘Non-Standard Hellion Unit, refitted with a ranged combat module.’ (Analytical)
>‘Eh, probably just some drills.’ (Disinterested)
>Ignore her
>Write-In

>>2369752
>>‘Non-Standard Hellion Unit, refitted with a ranged combat module.’ (Analytical)

>>2369752
>>‘Non-Standard Hellion Unit, refitted with a ranged combat module.’ (Analytical)

I just hope we wouldn't NERD out Rosaria. Too much.

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>>2369759
nah, let's go full nerd with it. Mechs are a passion to be respected.

>>2369752
>>‘Non-Standard Hellion Unit, refitted with a ranged combat module.’ (Analytical)

>>2369764
Most people wouldn't nerd out in polite company.

Then again, most people also don't be overly kind to someone they've only met for an hour or so.

Fuck it.

>>2369759
>Implying the GM doesn't have a tangent for girls that go "sploosh" over passionate gearheads or being gearheads themselves.

Do not mock me.

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>>2369767
who wouldn't sperg out over these sexy machines?

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>>2369770
My apologies.

You can tell from a glance.

‘Non-Standard Hellion Unit, refitted with a ranged combat module,’ ‘no changes to kinetic weaponry loadout, but given a more advanced targeting upgrade to compensate for difference in bearings. They’re probably doing some stress-testing on some assault weaponry … it doesn’t look loaded.’

‘Oh, you can tell?’

‘The casing is missing at the bottom and the secondary magazine’s not there either. Chances are, they’re probably just testing just what coding needs to be done to synchronize the weapon’s systems with the Mech.’

‘I thought all Mechs came pre-built and pre-programmed.’

‘A lot of the fixed ones do, but they’re mostly Alliance-side,’ you explain further, nodding at the shrinking sight of the walking mech. ‘Imperial Mechs mostly adhere to man-walker titans with a loadout customized in the same way any human soldier could be fitted with. I think I’ve only seen two or three Mechs Alliance-side that have fixed armaments. Mostly support ones.’

Rosaria rubs her chin, looking thoughtful.

‘I didn’t think the Hellion-Class could be refitted and upgraded … the Operating System must be very versatile for it to be able to be fitted decades after initial installation.’

‘Well, to their credit, the contractors were told to make a Mech for any “situation, any variation and put on a tight budget”; that’s pretty much the end-product … though I think that they’ll be phasing themselves out, soon; I think they’re on too low of a rung to keep up even on sheer numbers. There’s a limit to cost-performance rates, even these days …’

‘That’s … surprising.’

‘What is?’

‘I mean … the both of us come from colony fleets but you lean more towards phasing than maintaining. Any reason for that?’

>‘I like the Hellion-Class and its had a good run … but considering the heavy-hitters the Alliance has put out …’ (Logical)
>‘It’s a tough old girl. I’m not going to say that I won’t miss it … warts and all.’ (Fond)
>‘Never been a fan of the Hellion-Class, actually. I’d rather have the design practicality and specialization of Alliance Mechs to be integrated.’ (Harsh)
>‘I don’t mean anything by it, really.’ (Non-answer)
>Write-In

>>2369837
>‘It’s a tough old girl. I’m not going to say that I won’t miss it … warts and all.’ (Fond)

>>2369837
>>‘I like the Hellion-Class and its had a good run … but considering the heavy-hitters the Alliance has put out …’ (Logical)

>‘It’s a tough old girl. I’m not going to say that I won’t miss it … warts and all.’ (Fond)
Then follow up with
> … but considering the heavy-hitters the Alliance has put out …’ (Logical)

>>2369864
I'm fine with a mixed vote personally

>>2369857
>>2369860
>>2369864
That's a vote and a half each. Flipping a coin.

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Despite your criticism of the Hellion-Class … there was also an underlying fondness for the model. It could be fitted for almost every task, was relatively cheap to repair and maintain, highly-customizable loadouts and was in possession of an Operating System and interface base that was highly adaptable to any successor patch. If the Colony Fleets could have a Mech of their own, the Hellion was it: practical and built for work and no show. You could even hold out for some unconventional charm from their end, the cyclopean camera; the bulky pads built like they were made to ram right through buildings … and although you complained a lot for someone do something about the Operating System, you could see why they just installed mere tweaks and patches instead of putting in wide-scaled reformatting drives for the units.

You even remember the first time you’d slid into one. Not the simulation pod, but the real, operation-ready cockpit of the Hellion-Class Mech. Lean, hard … brittle and built to take more than a shake or two; if the Empire didn’t take up some Colony Fleet spirit in building that lean machine on the day, you’d have called them liars and thieves.

‘It’s a tough old girl,’ you recall fondly, a smile making its way onto your lips, ‘I’m not going to say I won’t miss it if—when—it goes. They’re really built, you know …and call me a little silly, but there’s a little bit of love in trying to get that old bucket of bolts going … and she can go when she wants to. I can see why she’s lasted this long.’

‘The way you describe it, it’s like you’re saying goodbye to a fair lady.’

>‘You’re one to talk. Call yourself a budding engineer?’ (Tease)
>‘Yeah, a good old broad that’s done the job. Salute.’ (Fond)
>‘Come on …’ (Defensive)
>Stay silent
>Write-In

>>2369952
>You’re one to talk. Call yourself a budding engineer?’ (Tease)

>>2369952
>>‘You’re one to talk. Call yourself a budding engineer?’ (Tease)

‘You’re one to talk,’ you retort, leaning in and giving her a little glare … which she surprisingly meets; not that it deters you, however. ‘What kind of budding engineer doesn’t even have an inkling of romance or appreciation for their job?’

She wears an uncertain smile, tilting her head as she lifts a finger to put her point across. ‘Well, it kind of collides with the pragmatism and the practicality of it; I never thought of it anymore than a means to get by … not that I never had a passion for it, of course, but I suppose that I have a lot to learn there.’

You stare at her, a loss of words encompassing you right to the roots of your soul.

‘W-What?’

‘Nothing,’ you let out with a shrug, ‘I guess I just thought that you’d have a little more respect for some walking history like that … you know, fallacies and problems and progress.’

‘I do,’ she replies quickly, ‘but I disagree that Mechs are anything to gush over on that front. It’s all moving parts, systems and wires … the intricacies of the mechanics that make them what they are what’s worth wondering; not the fascination with the history that they have. History doesn’t help piece together a hackjob for a surveillance backdoor.’

You raise an eyebrow in her direction, feeling lightly … challenged.

‘You’re saying that you don’t have a care for the history of service of a machine … and you call yourself an engineer.’

‘Well, Senpai, I’d actually like to say that there is a degree of appreciation for it, but history or attachment—nostalgia—is a habit that I, uh, personally,’ she pauses, scratching her cheek, ‘find no stock in. The now, the future, the improvements and the evolution of ships, Mechs, technology … looking back isn’t my kind of thing, if you don’t mind me saying.’

The bus zooms along the road as the both of you stare into each others eyes.

The city wasn’t that far off from here.

>Write-In

>>2370006
.....psht
>Go full gear head nerd on her to explain the greatness of the hellion unit
She will learn to love mechs

>>2370016
It's not that she doesn't love Mechs.

She just doesn't invest in nostalgia. Considering her background, you should know why looking back isn't high on her priority list.

>>2370017
Make her invest, talk shop

>>2370006
>'I get that. It's just that I spent the last (2, 3?) years piloting and working on them. I respect how much engineering went into making them last as long as they have.'
I dunno if they'd let the freshmen get near the mechs. Just fill in what year you actually start working on mechs, I guess.

>>2370036
She's an apprentice; not your regular freshman.

>>2370045
I'm talking about why we like the Hellion so much. We're just a regular student, yeah?

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‘You’ll grow into ‘em,’ you declare with a finality, crossing your arms in a self-satisfied manner. ‘You’re really not impressed that a piece of tech like that can keep at it for eighty years?’

‘I am,’ she retorts, to which you ready your whoop of triumph before she continues, ‘but I don’t feel a particular compulsion for it. Getting attached to things … memories, experiences … I always find that kind of thing distracting when it comes to action. On the Colony Fleet, holding on to things … was a bad way to go for a lot of us. So you keep your eyes front, going straight on; even if the Hellion is a marvel in itself, it’s not going to do anything once it fades away; you can use it as a precedent or to give you drive, but looking back? That kind of thing is distracting; there’s nothing to learn from being clouded like that. Engineering, mechanics, maintenance in general … the task at hand and the now, the future … means more to me than memories that I can bring up from a schematic archive somewhere.’

Her eyes suddenly widen and she immediately stiffens, dropping into a quick bow in her seat.

‘I-I’m sorry, Senpai; I didn’t mean to speak out of turn! I’m sure that there are merits to such passion,’ she backtracks profusely. ‘Please … please don’t mistake my opinion for disrespect!’

‘Rosaria, uh …’

She smacks her two hands together, causing you to jump from the sudden action.

The drive-conductor turns around, getting a glimpse of the sight before shaking his head and looking away.

>‘Well, so long as you know.’ (Stoic)
>‘Hey, we’re all different … I can’t force you to just take my opinion and shape it into yours.’ (Understanding)
>‘No, uh … you might have a point.’ (Concede)
>‘Accepted.’ (Dismissive)
>Stay silent
>Write-In

Really sorry guys, I literally lost track of time trying to find "futuristic bus innards", etc

>>2370162
>Hey, we’re all different … I can’t force you to just take my opinion and shape it into yours.’ (Understanding)

>>2370162
>‘Hey, we’re all different … I can’t force you to just take my opinion and shape it into yours.’ (Understanding)
Calling it now, the next time we see her we'll have swapped opinions and she'll try to convince us to be nostalgic.

>>2370173
We all have fetishes, don't worry about it. I'm particular to steam-powered trains.

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‘We’re all different,’ you sigh, as much as you didn’t want to admit it, ‘and I can’t just force you to take my opinion and shape it into yours. I’m sorry too … passion leaks like that, right? Forget I … forget I said anything about it. Not going to change how you see things and I’m … well, I’m too deep where I am to bother reconsidering it.’

‘Senpai …’

You shift your gaze to the head of the bus.

‘Hey, look … city’s coming right up,’ you point out, ‘there we are: Rhysode Alpha.’

Rhysode Alpha was the first settlement on Rhysode, and one of the three points of population concentration in the last 200 years of colonization; the others known as Rhysode Beta and Rhysode Delta, although the latter had been renamed Ciraca about a hundred years ago as some sort of privatized deal (You only knew about it because Emilio had clued you in on Trade House matters). There were officers, hotels, science centers and apartments installed … many of them acting as branches for Trade Houses and corporations that had stock in Rhysode’s well-being. Curiously enough, despite many of the Trade House-owned units among the spires and the dishes and towers that made up the architecture, this was one of the few Paradise Colonies (albeit a low-level one) that Emilio had pointed out that his House didn’t have a stake in.

It involved Ciraca and its renaming, but you didn’t follow enough of that to actually process it.

‘I saw it on the way to The AEGIS,’ she replies—although it doesn’t deter her from standing up to get a better look at all. ‘It’s so … clean.’

‘Yeah,’ you chuckle, leaning back in your chair. ‘Just wait until tonight.’

‘Tonight? What’s tonight?’

‘Graduation party,’ you chuckle, pointing to one of the banners by the side of the road that reverberated the truth of your words. ‘It’s going to be something.’

‘Graduation?’

‘For a lot of us, it’s going to be the last that we’re going to see of each other … ever,’ you reveal. ‘It’s rare that the odds play right and you get an assignment that matches up with someone that you spent the last four years with. I’m headed off to a Logistics Unit myself … Ryosuke and Emilio have their own thing and Sanza’s going to be staying on to complete her training. Not to mention everyone else chipping in to make sure their last goodbye’s one to remember.’

‘Oh,’ she replies dully, sitting down, ‘but you’ll still be able to visit each other, wouldn’t you?’

‘Playing the odds on that one … unless we get an invite back to give a speech or something, can’t bet on that with any certainty.’

‘That’s … right,’ she concedes, drooping her shoulders. ‘It’s unfortunate, isn’t it? The four of you sound like you’re very close.’

‘Yeah.’

The bus screeches to a halt, prompting you to steady yourself before—

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Oh, they were soft.

‘A-Are you all right, Senpai?’

With great embarrassment and some unfortunate feelings of reluctance, you push yourself up from your cushions. You had to hand it to Rosaria … she kept a cool head. You half-expected her to smack you silly like one of those old comics that you’d picked up from port as a kid.

You wonder if they threw your things out for compost or something the moment you stepped off that ship to pursue your ambitions. You hope they only threw the bad series away … like that one with the weird pink-haired devil woman. There was some lingering regret you’d spent your allowance buying that collection; no regret at all if that ended up being recycled.

‘Yeah,’ you finally reply, getting to your feet. ‘Hey, what’s—’

There was an accident. Two heavy vehicles had found it in themselves to form a t-bone and they were blocked in such a way that the flow of traffic was only allowed from one direction. You glance at the on-board clock, wondering just how long it’d take for the bus to go find a detour around this mess. Outside the window, you see two men being restrained by AEGIS Commissioned Contractors—third party security by another name, who appeared to be taking statements from the both of them.

You also notice that one of the two transports were carrying an assemblage of—

‘Oh man, I know what that is,’ you smile wryly. ‘Guess there’s not gonna be a prank this year.’

Plus-sized undergarments.

‘Prank?’

You shake your head, getting to your feet.

This was good enough. Your hotel wasn’t that far of a walk—half an hour tops—and the hospital was just about the same distance from here. You gesture for Rosaria to follow you, heading down the aisles and swiping your tab, your bag firmly in your possession.

[-1000 CROWNS]

‘It looks like a nasty spi—what’s that smell?’

The mean part of you wants to comment it was just the Spacer produce on her acting up … but you find yourself covering your own nose too. Jogging to the pavement, you find your eyes on what appeared to be a large pool of sewage gushing from the manhole right in the middle of the road … which the other vehicles were lazily zooming over, splashing it all over the place. You hadn’t noticed it from the overturned vehicles, but now that you’re able to get a good look …

‘How can they stand that smell?’ Rosaria cries out, looking dreadfully ill. ‘Isn’t there a-a Unit Monitor or an Officer?’

‘They’re probably on the way,’ you glance around … before reflexively pushing her bag to keep yourselves from getting any micro-semblance of that gunk on you. ‘We should too.’

‘Hospital?’

>‘Hospital.’ (Perpendicular road)
>‘Actually, I want to check on the hotel first, you mind?’ (Main road)
>Write-In

>>2370367
>‘Hospital.’ (Perpendicular road)

>>2370367
>>‘Hospital.’ (Perpendicular road)

>>2370367
>Hospital.’ (Perpendicular road)

>>2370367
>>‘Hospital.’ (Perpendicular road)

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‘Hospital.’

You had to see Sanza first.

Well, not really, but you kind of felt the obligation to go and meet up with her before anything else. It was already approaching the late afternoon … and with the party being less than a few hours away, this was probably the last opportunity for you to talk with her before then. Plus, if Emilio’s implications were right, if you decided to go and see Fisher and bail on her without giving prior notice, the vacuum of space probably wouldn’t be enough to distance you from her wrath. She was an aspiring medic, after all … and meshed together with a maternally-fueled pettiness, escape would be an exercise in futility.

You take a slow pace towards your destination, Rosaria right beside you. The offices and facilities were already undergoing what appeared to be preliminary preparations for the party … which would inevitably spill from the central district and all over town. You’re not sure who would be more impressive in that aspect: that the budding warriors of the Empire were partying their hearts out knowing that they’d have to be up by the crack of dawn for their assignments … or the city for having endured this tradition over dozens of decades.

Rosaria lets out low, impressed sounds at the impressive buildings and amenities, all the way to the end of your short journey.

The hospital was easily the oldest building on the planet that remained from the early years of settling. Having been erected for the early settlers, its grayed, expanded structure looked like a construct being built as a shell over another construct, making it look like a crescent moon that was being eaten by the shell of a crab. An emergency shuttle—a real one—had found its place on the pad on an attached block (a further expansion, but you hadn’t bothered to ask for details), a pair of pilots or maintenance men standing by its edge, chatting to each other as they appeared to wait for duty to call upon them again.

‘It’s so … fancy.’

You turn your head to face Rosaria, eager to comment on the fact that she had called a building that looked like it was in the middle of entering its cocoon stage … when you catch a glance of a familiar face, chatting with what appeared to be an elderly doctor and a middle-aged Officer, right at the main entrance.

It was Sanza.

Being this far from them, though, you couldn’t make out what they were chatting about … but it appeared to be something that was serious enough that all parties appeared to be rather … pensive.

‘Is that your friend?’

‘Yeah,’ you reply, wondering what they were going on about.

>‘Come on.’ (Approach the trio)
>‘Must be something important.’ (Let them finish their conversation)
>Write-In

>>2371057
>>‘Must be something important.’ (Let them finish their conversation)

>>2371057
>‘Must be something important.’ (Let them finish their conversation)

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‘Must be something important,’ you state, nodding in their direction. ‘That guy’s probably a Field Officer at least … and if he’s in the fatigues, that means he’s been called here from an outpost or from duty. Means that there’s a lot of time he’s wasted in coming out here to a civilian area … and that guy looks like he’s something important, too. Senior Physician, surgeon … definitely someone who’s been here a while, at least.’

‘You can tell that just by a look?’

‘Guess work is never an exact science.’

Her eyes widen … before she turns away, giggling into her fist.

‘Still … you can tell that the Officer’s probably called in from outside; in urban areas we usually wear something a little less rugged,’ you point out further. ‘Probably docked in in port or more than likely from the OER a little further north.’

‘OER?’

‘Orbital Entry Relay,’ you explain, ‘it’s what Imperial worlds use as a check of sorts on any fold activity within orbit. It’s an involuntary checkpoint of sorts … keeping records of ships that drop out within the range of habitable worlds and all that.’

‘Oh, hop-watching.’

You conceal a small smile. You hadn’t heard that term since you were on the Colony Fleet. Hop-watching had two meanings to it: the casual slang regarding the practice of watching space-fold anomalies and aligning them with safety protocols of the Colony Fleet receiving a nearby drop out of fold … or being part of the gaggle of fanboys that watched a ship practically will itself into existence from what could only be a mini supernova to impressionable minds. You remember those days, sitting by the viewport when the klaxon sounded—in spite of the klaxon sounding, really—and rushing to see what cruiser or carrier was docking in for a trade, negotiation or repairs.

It was thing that little boys and girls didn’t grow out of, growing up up there.

>‘You hop-watched too?’ (Nostalgia)
>‘I hope it’s nothing serious, though. If an Officer came all the way here from his post …’ (Worry)
>‘I wouldn’t call it hop-watching …. but the terms are reconcilable considering the context.’ (Analytical)
>Stay Silent
>Write-In

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NOTE: What is Fold Activity? Just what it is. Folding space to make travel distance shorter.

Pioneered by a kind scientist who only wanted the best for people!

>>2371315
>>‘You hop-watched too?’ (Nostalgia)

>>2371315
>‘You hop-watched too?’ (Nostalgia)

>>2371315
>‘You hop-watched too?’ (Nostalgia)
I may or may not have gotten sidetracked by Stars in Shadow.

jaysus still talking to the nerd

>>2371315
>>‘I wouldn’t call it hop-watching …. but the terms are reconcilable considering the context.’ (Analytical)

>>2371315
>>‘You hop-watched too?’ (Nostalgia)

>>2371315
>>‘You hop-watched too?’ (Nostalgia)

You turn to her in surprise.

Well, not so much surprise, but it had been a long time since you’d heard the term being used in such an informal manner.

Maybe you were a little too nostalgic for your own good.

‘You hop-watched, too?’

Rosaria wears a fond smile, giggling lightly as she relaxes her shoulders. ‘Yeah, it was probably the one thing that wasn’t policed that much; with everything else under the Administrator’s thumb, one thing that the bunch of us liked to do was hop up to a Habitat and have a watch. I mean … it’s bad on the eyes to look at it directly yeah, I know, but, well, kids. Can’t keep something cool like that down. I think I …’

She trails off, her smile fading away as the seconds ticked by, until the only thing that you are able to see is a reluctant, troubled expression, the young woman uncomfortably rubbing her bare forearms with the raise of her chin to a higher angle, staring at the sky in melancholy.

‘We started going up there less and less when we hit … well, until we were of age. Hard to stay out of sight and out of the Officers’ hands when you risk it all just to get a look at a docking ship. Not that it happened open enough for us to care about, anyway …’

She lets out a light, humorless sound, saying nothing else.

‘I—’

‘I think they’ve finished talking.’

She gestures to Sanza and the two men. You turn to see their forms marching right back inside … while Sanza stood, staring at their retreating backs … before marching inside in a huff.

She didn’t appear to be too pleased, if her body language was any indication of her current state of mind.

>‘Come on.’ (Follow her inside)
>‘So, uh … what was that about hop-watching?’ (Pursue the conversation)
>‘I don’t think it’s a good time to see her right now.’ (Leave)
>Write-In

>>2379554
>>‘Come on.’ (Follow her inside)

>>2379554
>‘Come on.’ (Follow her inside)

>>2379554
>>‘Come on.’ (Follow her inside)

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‘Come on.’

It’s not long before you find yourself in a lobby that was scarcer than the cafeteria on lab night (The evening standard that was dedicated to a flurry of fusion dishes from many worlds over—there is yet to have been a positive review on the subject). There were two nurses in the middle of the large hallway and a family of three on some chairs by the wall. Even for a hospital, the place was much too sterile for your liking. In fact, rather than a hospital, every time you came in here, it felt as though some interior designer and contractor duo had been given an unlimited budget to splurge (Which, considering the origins of the settlement, they probably were). It was fancy and elegant, much like the interior of the bus. From what you’d heard from the older folk landing here, though, all the sleekness was a relatively-recent addition … and that the architecture was archaic compared to the metal towers of the Core System worlds.

Still, the fact that all the scent out of the outside world had practically died stepping into here made you feel a little … imbalanced. No matter how many times you did it.

Maybe it was the type of sterilization that they used, maybe.

‘You know, if you’re so desperate for lunch, I’m sure Emilio could have whipped you up something.’

You roll your eyes, but couldn’t quite keep the smile off your face as you turn to face your friend, clad in her orange uniform underneath her white lab coat, a smirk on her face.

‘So what can I do you for, Fatty?’

You throw her a withering gaze.

Sanza Urale, one of the few female friends that you made in your lifetime and your one-time personal trainer, is as affected by it as a volcano being introduced to an ice cube.

>‘It’s been more than two years. Is that really how you’re going to keep addressing me?’
>‘Saw you chatting outside … what was that about?’
>‘Sanza, this is Rosaria … she’s a Spacer. She’ll be starting an Apprenticeship, soon.’
>‘I’m just here to talk to you about the party …’
>Write-In

>>2379830
>‘Sanza, this is Rosaria … she’s a Spacer. She’ll be starting an Apprenticeship, soon.’

>>2379830
>>‘It’s been more than two years. Is that really how you’re going to keep addressing me?’

>>2379830
>>‘Sanza, this is Rosaria … she’s a Spacer. She’ll be starting an Apprenticeship, soon.’

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‘Sanza,’ you begin, stepping aside and gesturing your junior, ‘this is Rosaria; she’s going to be undergoing an Apprenticeship for the next few years.’

‘Oh?’ Sanza raises an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips as she nears the both of you.

‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Senpai,’ Rosaria greets, bowing respectfully.

‘Pleasure’s all mine,’ she returns, nodding in return, ‘an Apprenticeship, huh? Haven’t heard that being tossed around before …’

‘She’s a Spacer, like me,’ you explain, ‘not from the same Colony Fleet, though … I thought that I’d show her around for a bit, introduce her to a few folks, show her how to get the shopping done and all that. I thought that I’d at least give her a reference so she’d at least have a name in the book to refer to in case she needs any, well … in case I miss anything.’

‘You mean like the fact that I had to key in your storage for you when you forgot to register and sign your belongings over?’

‘I paid you back,’ you retort, feeling more than a little defensive. ‘Besides, you weren’t doing anything at the time.’

‘Sure I wasn’t,’ she counters sarcastically, nodding for further affect. ‘Do you have everything sorted out for your launch tomorrow?’

‘Yeah, picked up my orders and assignments and have my hotel up,’ you reply, rolling your eyes. She could honestly be such a worrywart sometimes. ‘I haven’t set up my storage delivery, though … but chances are, I probably won’t be seeing any of that stuff for two years, at least. Still … thanks for keying it in.’

Sanza sighs, shaking her head … but otherwise wearing a fond smile. That was Sanza. If she ever had children, you’d probably relate more to them as a sibling instead of an honorary uncle. An aspiring combat medic, Sanza was one of the brightest and hardest-working people you’d ever seen … and that extended to her habits outside the classroom and the medical center. She sorted everyone out. A right mother hen, you found it hard to imagine any of your own family fussing over you like Sanza did your little gang. While not white you’d call bossy or an annoyance (fort the most part), it astounded you just how she managed her studies, her progress … and the three trouble-makers that you, Emilio and Ryosuke made up.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not that you’d tell her. Ever.

‘So how’s the big lug been treating you?’ Sanza suddenly chirps, nearing the slightly taller junior. ‘Has he told you about how we met?’

The warning alarms blare in your head, even before you see that amused smirk flash across her lips.

>‘Sanza!’ (Stop her)
>‘Here we go again …’ (Resign yourself)
>‘I’m going to go and check out the commissary. You two have your girl talk.’ (Leave temporarily)
>Write-In

>>2380124
>>‘Here we go again …’ (Resign yourself)

>>2380124
>‘Here we go again …’ (Resign yourself)

>>2380124
>>‘Here we go again …’ (Resign yourself)

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‘Here we go again …’

‘Come on, it’s the stuff of legends!’

‘It’s me landing on Emilio’s head with my bare ass,’ you run counter, getting the bulk of the embarrassment out of the way, ‘that’s all there is to it.’

‘E-Excuse me?’

The both of you turn to Rosaria, who had her head tilted, confused. You don’t blame her … but at the same time, her having a full understanding wasn’t something that you were, well, comfortable with. Your sadistic excuse of a friend, however, wasn’t about to let the opportunity to tell how it was in her eyes. She wasn’t built for mercy: not when your dignity was as malleable to her as a child’s mud set.

‘Your kindly Senpai here was running some basic drills with us,’ Sanza began, smiling, ‘back then a lot of us were finding our feet … but none of us were particularly noticeable outside of him and Emilio.’

‘Emilio?’

‘Another friend of ours,’ you explain, ‘he kind of … belongs to a Trade House.’

‘A-A TRADE H—’

Rosaria’s hands fly onto her lips, catching herself before she could turn the building’s noise sensors inside out. Her eyes seemed wide, panicked … not an uncommon reaction coming from a Colony Fleet Inhabitant, especially when it came to Trade Houses. If relations between the Imperial family and its government were frosty at best … a Trade House and a Colony Fleet could only ever hope to have something that didn’t involve playing blaster roulette. Unlike the more political and ideological nature of the Colony Fleet opposition to the Imperial forces, the Trade Houses and the Colony Fleets had one very simple tiff.

It was about money.

‘W-What’s a Trade House member staying in the-the AEGIS?’

‘Emilio’s got his own reasons,’ you interject before Rosaria forgot to not make light of Emilio’s own issues—you owed him that much, at least, ‘but generally, Trade Houses put members of their family into Imperial governance to increase their prestige … or, in this case, the military. Trade Houses generally want anything that’ll get their name up there. Council members, Governors, Senators … they’ll do anything to spread their influence; and if they can’t … well, at least they’ve got some pull somewhere up there.’

‘I … understand,’ Rosaria manages, biting her bottom lip. ‘A power play, a grooming for a role …’

‘And our good friend here landed his bare ass on top of a scion with his pants caught in the rope,’ Sanza quipped. ‘I mean, that’s how it looked from where I was standing, anyway.’

You turn red.

‘I mean, from where I was lying down,’ she snipes playfully. ‘How do you lose your balance at the top of a wall?’

‘How many times do you want me to re-live this?’

‘For as long as it’ll keep you to a healthy diet.’

‘I’m a grown man, woman!’

‘I’m sure Emilio can vouch for that.’

You look away, grumbling.

‘He … was he angry? What'd you do?’

>'I kind of ... stepped over him trying to get up.'
>'He struck first. Punched me square in the jaw. I gave right back, though.'
>'I was kind of in shock and embarrassment until the Instructor dragged me off him ... and Sanza, of course. I'd just dropped my butt fifteen feet up onto his face.'
>'The only thing I could: apologize. Not that he was interested in it at all.'
>'I'd rather not talk about this.'
>Write-In

>>2380327
>>'I was kind of in shock and embarrassment until the Instructor dragged me off him ... and Sanza, of course. I'd just dropped my butt fifteen feet up onto his face.'

>>2380327
>>'I was kind of in shock and embarrassment until the Instructor dragged me off him ... and Sanza, of course. I'd just dropped my butt fifteen feet up onto his face.'

>>2380327
>'He struck first. Punched me square in the jaw. I gave right back, though

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‘I was kind of … in shock, embarrassment, the whole, uh … class was. Emilio … no one had actually tried to get to know Emilio; being part of a Trade House, you’d think that people would try to butter him up a lot more, but … well, that’s that,’ you start, a little hesitant, ‘but he was still part of a Trade House and that kind of made him some kind of mini-prince on base. I think they were all waiting for him to put his hands on my throat or something, but … the Instructor dragged me off before anything could happen. That’s how we met, in a way … but it wasn’t how we ended the day.’

‘I’ll say; we were the first team to ever not finish the course in over thirty years,’ Sanza snorts, taking a step back, ‘and all of us were assigned to a remedial unit … no thanks to this big guy.’

‘Why? Wasn’t he the only one that didn’t succeed?’

‘The AEGIS operates on everyone being on the same page, the same mentality,’ you explain, ‘or at least, that’s how it starts off: every freshman is attached to a five to eight man cell, regardless of their specialization … and you had to make sure that no one lagged behind. Because of my screw up, I was kind of …’

You sigh, remembering the elbow to the gut.

It was less painful than the slurs that came after.

‘Emilio came to my rescue, though … and he smacked me in the jaw to keep the rest from tanning my hide anymore than they already did,’ you chuckle. ‘That’s friendship for ya …but they did kind of request transfers out of the group. Considering that we were a Spacer and a Trade House scion, it was probably an understandable course for the Instructors.’

‘That’s how Ryosuke came in, wasn’t it?’

‘Oh yeah,’ you snicker, ‘I remember that day—him and …’

You pause again; who was that fifth member of your Cell?

‘She was only there for a year before she up and left,’ Sanza stroked her chin, ‘but she was a nice girl, that being said.’

‘She was a little apprehensive around me for that span,’ you wear a half grimace as the words leave your mouth, ‘but I guess that being from a Colony Fleet does that to people by default. Didn’t you say that she was admitted to the hospital for something or other?’

‘She was … and it felt pretty awkward, really, by the time we were allowed to break the cell, she’d been gone for about eight months.’

‘I think she just had some really bad constitution, to be honest.’ You shrug. ‘I thought that she was pretty quiet, though … would’ve liked to have known what happened to her.’

‘Excuse me, but … who’s she?’

‘She was our fifth transfer in, I think her name was … Meia-something,’ you scratch the back of your head. ‘Pretty quiet … and she carried these tubes or something for her health.’

‘She kept to herself most of the time, nice to talk to, but she didn’t really make an impression, I guess.’

>‘I don’t know, compared to you, she was something to look at, at least.’ (Tease)
>‘I think she only really talked to you or Ryosuke … she didn’t really feel comfortable around me, I think.’ (Social)
>‘She felt like an outsider … but it was probably by her own design. I didn’t talk to her that much, either.’ (Observant)
>‘She was absent too much for me to care. I thought it was a miracle that we passed … with me bringing up the rear.’
>Write-In

>>2380446
>>‘I think she only really talked to you or Ryosuke … she didn’t really feel comfortable around me, I think.’ (Social)

>>2380446
>>‘I don’t know, compared to you, she was something to look at, at least.’ (Tease)

>>2380446
>>‘I don’t know, compared to you, she was something to look at, at least.’ (Tease)

>>2380446
>>‘I don’t know, compared to you, she was something to look at, at least.’ (Tease)

>>2380446
>>‘I think she only really talked to you or Ryosuke … she didn’t really feel comfortable around me, I think.’ (Social)

>>2380446
>‘I think she only really talked to you or Ryosuke … she didn’t really feel comfortable around me, I think.’ (Social)

>>2380446
>>‘I don’t know, compared to you, she was something to look at, at least.’ (Tease)

>>2380446
>I think she only really talked to you or Ryosuke … she didn’t really feel comfortable around me, I think.’ (Social)

>>2380446
>‘I think she only really talked to you or Ryosuke … she didn’t really feel comfortable around me, I think.’ (Social)

I'll be running a session in about an hour.

>>2380446
>>‘I don’t know, compared to you, she was something to look at, at least.’ (Tease)

‘I think she only felt comfortable around you or Ryosuke, she didn’t really feel comfortable around me … and as far as I know, Emilio was kind of indifferent to her back in the day, too. She didn’t really … stand out, did she? I think the only time she actually tried to initiate conversation with me was to find out where the remedial classes were going to attach themselves to our schedule. She didn’t seem enthusiastic about talking with me otherwise.’

Sanza wears a small, wry smile, but doesn’t answer.

‘So this is where you’re undergoing your training, Miss Sanza?’

She shifts her attention to the blonde newcomer, shaking her head.

‘Yeah, a lot of needle work,’ Sanza chuckles, tilting her head towards the corridor, ‘but I’ll be out in another two years for a more practical course. Hopefully I’ll be able to serve on a Support Unit on a cruiser as an intern, but … well, hope’s hope. Right now, though, I’m just happy that I’ve got my schedule sorted for the next week … the party’s been a killer on my timetable.’

‘I told you not to do it if you weren’t up to it.’

If there was a failing to your friend … it was that she didn’t know when—or how—to quit. You remember having to drag her away from the desk with Emilio and Ryosuke more times than you can count.

‘Party?’

‘Our … assignment party—well, ours, not hers.’

‘Hope the pranksters aren’t going to go overboard this year …’

>>2382360
>>‘Actually, if my guess is right … I don’t think there’ll be one this year at all.’

>>2382344
>'You're not really taking prevention that seriously, are you?' (Disbelief)
>‘Actually, if my guess is right … I don’t think there’ll be one this year at all.’ (Reveal occurrence)
>‘You got eyes everywhere, right? They’re not going to get far with you on the case.’ (Praise her security efforts)
>‘Don’t worry about it. Just let it happen; it’s good fun.’ (Relaxed)
>Write-In

>>2382375
>>‘Actually, if my guess is right … I don’t think there’ll be one this year at all.’ (Reveal occurrence)

>>2382375
>‘Actually, if my guess is right … I don’t think there’ll be one this year at all.’ (Reveal occurrence)

>>2382375
>>‘Actually, if my guess is right … I don’t think there’ll be one this year at all.’ (Reveal occurrence)

‘Actually, if my guess is right … there probably won’t be one this year.’

‘Huh? Why—wait a minute, you’re not planning to—’

‘No, no, of course not!’ You hastily interject, raising your hands. You’d believed that she would have had a kinder opinion of you after all these years. ‘I mean … there was an accident on the main road heading into the city from The Academy. There was a sewer rupture of some sort, but one of the transports was carrying quite a load of … undergarments. If my guess is right, your would-be culprits aren’t going to be having a chuckle at your cost any time soon.’

Rosaria gives a slight tilt of her head, confused. ‘A chuckle at her … cost?’

‘Oh, uh … every year, there’s a committee to sort graduation week out. You know, parties, club showcases and all that. It gets really chaotic … and most of the time the Instructors don’t want to bother with a bunch of their new wave of peers causing a ruckus all along the planet, so they form a committee of sorts to make sure that we don’t, uh, get too out of hand or cause a mess. There was a debacle about a decade back that banned any on-campus shenanigans, I think.’

‘And yet, they let Instructor Fisk run wild …’

‘I don’t think anyone’s got the guts to stand up to him, to be honest.’

‘What … happened a decade ago?’ Rosaria inquires, confused. ‘I mean … what was so bad about it?’

‘Oh,’ you frown, stroking your chin. What did happen all those years ago?

‘There used to be a holographic display of The Emperor in the main plaza, I believe … one that the class of the time modified to, uh … I believe they re-coded him to be a party-raving maniac; top hat, baggy shorts … the works. Kind of crossed the line there.’

‘O-Oh, my.’

‘They even gave him a song and an interactive module so he’d do pelvic thrusts. The Instructors were in an uproar.’

>‘That’s hilarious.’ (Amused)
>‘No way. They actually installed a VI into a display? That’s … no way.’ (Disbelief)
>‘Some lines just can’t be crossed.’ (Solemn)
>‘Anyway, you got everything else sorted?’
>Write-In

>>2382479
>>‘No way. They actually installed a VI into a display? That’s … no way.’ (Disbelief)

File: EMPEROR [NOT].jpg (72 KB, 500x557)

72 KB JPG

Basically, what happened was that they turned a holo-program of something like THIS, majestic, proud and inspiring ...

File: I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT.gif (540 KB, 240x184)

540 KB GIF

>>2382486
And coded it to animate to this. Complete with ambient song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdcTmpvDO0I

>>2382479
>‘No way. They actually installed a VI into a display? That’s … no way.’ (Disbelief)
They must've planned that for a while.

>>2382479
>‘No way. They actually installed a VI into a display? That’s … no way.’ (Disbelief)

>>2382479
>‘No way. They actually installed a VI into a display? That’s … no way.’ (Disbelief)

‘No way,’ you practically gasp in disbelief. ‘They actually managed to install a VI into a display? That’s … what—no, no way. That’s incredible.. The amount of memory and rerouting that they’d have to do …’

That was your main focus, of course. The sheer impossibility of the occurrence was one that went right over your head. You wonder why you hadn’t bothered to ask about it before. You knew that there was a tradition of pranks prior to the departure for service, but the sheer magnitude—the [audacity—was one that you doubt that even the most keen and seasoned of practical jokers back on the Colony Fleet wouldn’t be able to sniff.

‘Man, that’s … that’s impressive,’ you let out breathlessly, for some reason turning to Rosaria as if you had some sort of kindred spirit despite she hadn’t even said a word on the matter beyond her declaration of shock. ‘The retooling that they would’ve had to have done … a VI module’s huge in itself; for them to be able to get that sort of thing in such a compact display without any sort of remote back-up. I mean, it’s a simple function, isn’t it? But considering what they shifted, it must’ve taken ages for them to re-do it.’

‘Reprogramming a holographic unit into an interactive module via VI isn’t an impossible task …’

‘Yeah, yeah, but can you imagine having the Emperor doing a shuffle in front of a whole gaggle of staff and freshmen? It’s craz—’

‘You better not be getting any ideas.’

>‘Hey, you know where I’m coming from. It’s amazing in the technical sense, however you cut it. (TECHNICAL HABITS)
>‘What?’ (Offended)
>‘It’s pretty audacious. You got to admit that much.’ (Impressed)
>‘Lighten up, Sanza.’ (Relaxed)
>‘Yeah, we should go … Rosaria, Sanza?’
>Write-In

>>2382612
>>‘Hey, you know where I’m coming from. It’s amazing in the technical sense, however you cut it. (TECHNICAL HABITS)

>>2382612
>‘Hey, you know where I’m coming from. It’s amazing in the technical sense, however you cut it. (TECHNICAL HABITS)
Also don't forget guys, we need to tell her we're gonna leave the party early.

>>2382612
>>‘Hey, you know where I’m coming from. It’s amazing in the technical sense, however you cut it. (TECHNICAL HABITS)

>>2382612
>>‘Hey, you know where I’m coming from. It’s amazing in the technical sense, however you cut it. (TECHNICAL HABITS)

‘You know where I’m coming from,’ you snort, crossing your arms. ‘It’s amazing that they were able to do that, however you cut it. Displays that aren’t made for interactive purposes on that scale are hard enough to be re-wired … and if they’re compartmentalized like I think they are, it’s more amazing that they were able to do it like that, aren’t they?’

‘But,’ Rosaria interjects, ‘if you’re talking hard-wiring, wouldn’t that sort of thing actually lead back to the source anyway? It’s hardly an achievement if you’re taking a whole block’s worth of processing power and language understanding, isn’t it?’

‘Independent displays are like the vase’s of intelligent design—static and standing out from the rest of the system; it’s like having a painting animate itself—it’s just not done in this sense,’ you explain, ‘so really, from a technical standpoint, they pretty much changed the whole circuitry while installing their own VI so the interactive model would work with the existing program. There’s not that clear of a picture, but … that they were able to implement it at all, even in a limited sense is incredible. It’s like loading twenty-five cells into a ten-cell unit and not having it explode … without even caring that it shouldn’t be holding ten-cells at all.’

‘A ten-cell unit can be modified to hold a fifteen-cell capacity without straining safety regulations, however.’

You pause, turning to stare at the young woman.

‘Wait, fifteen?’

‘Y-Yes?’

‘I never got higher than twelve … we’re talking cruiser-viable cell units for sectors, right?’

‘O-Of course.’

You blink, finding a newfound respect for your … most surprising junior.

‘Wow, I’m—’

‘All right, you brainiacs,’ Sanza interrupts, clapping her hands. ‘Anything else?’

>‘No, I just came to check up on you is all. Take care, Sanza.’
>‘Actually, I’d like to talk about the party.’
>‘So, since you’re going to be here for a while longer, can I count on you to show Rosaria here the ropes?’
>‘Who were those two? The Officer and the Doc?’
>Write-In

>>2382761
>>‘Actually, I’d like to talk about the party.’

>>2382761
>‘Actually, I’d like to talk about the party.’

Taking like a short, short 1 hour break. Going to have brunch.

>>2382761
>>‘Actually, I’d like to talk about the party.’

>>2382761
>>‘So, since you’re going to be here for a while longer, can I count on you to show Rosaria here the ropes?’

‘Actually, I’d like to talk to you about the party.’

‘Oh?’

>‘I’ll have to leave early … so I’ll probably have to skip out on most of whatever you planned after.’
>‘Do you need any help? I’m about free this evening, so …’
>‘Where is it going to be?’
>‘Actually, you know what? It’s all right. I’ll just see you tonight.’
>Write-In

>>2382974
>‘I’ll have to leave early … so I’ll probably have to skip out on most of whatever you planned after.’

>>2382974
>>‘Where is it going to be?’

>>2382974
>>‘I’ll have to leave early … so I’ll probably have to skip out on most of whatever you planned after.’

‘I’ll have to leave early. I’m sorry, but if you have anything that you have planned after … I’ll probably have to skip out on it.’

‘Any reason?’

You had to think fast.

Sanza … didn’t have a particularly high opinion of Instructor Fisher. While it’d be presumptuous to call it envy—and probably reciprocated, seeing as how professional she was—there was a strange twitch to her attitude whenever the topic of the Instructor came up.

Emilio had given you good advice on the topic, and it only took one word: don’t.

As far as you were concerned, it was one of the best things he’d done for you.

>‘Actually, I … I’m supposed to meet up with Instructor Fisher.’ (Tell the truth)
>‘Just hoping to get an early night … I have to report in before dawn.’ (Avoid)
>‘I’ve got a prior engagement that’s relevant to my … posting.’ (Lie)
>‘You know, you can stop acting like my mother any day now.’ (Push)
>Write-In

>>2383079
MINOR GRAMMATICAL CORRECTION
While it’d be presumptuous to call it envy—or even reciprocated at all, considering how professional Fisher was

>>2383079
>>‘Just hoping to get an early night … I have to report in before dawn.’ (Avoid)
feel like she'll know we're lying

>>2383079
>>‘Just hoping to get an early night … I have to report in before dawn.’ (Avoid)

>>2383079
>>‘Just hoping to get an early night … I have to report in before dawn.’ (Avoid)

>>2383079
>‘Just hoping to get an early night … I have to report in before dawn.’ (Avoid)
The only idea I can come up with is saying we want to run the Toph-Lathu Scenario one last time, but I doubt that'd work.

inb4 she gives us a condom.

>>2383102
What's a condom?

>>2383113
Fine, Space Condom. Or is safe sex not a big thing in the Empire?

>>2383122
You would deny the Empire dominion of your brood? Heretic!

File: The Final Frontier.png (63 KB, 300x148)

63 KB PNG

>>2383137

You look away, sighing, ‘Just hoping to get an early night … I have to get up and report in before dawn at Kerensky. Been assigned to a Logistics Unit on The Greyhound.’

‘Logistics? Ouch.’

‘It’s … what it is, I guess. Don’t have anymore control over where I go than Ryosuke does trying to pick up women.’

She wears a look of understanding … and curiosity.

‘I’ll still see you there tonight, right?’

‘Yeah, of course,’ you answer insistently, ‘not that I’ll be able to miss it. Chances are, you’ll probably be bringing the party my way, anyway.’

She frowns, puffing her cheeks and taking a step towards you. ‘Are you calling out my organizational skills?’

‘No,’ you reply evenly, ‘but you’re in charge of a bunch of boys and girls who’re probably going to take every second of the next several hours as an outlet to a prelude of service and sacrifice. You honestly think that you’re up to that?’

‘It’ll be controlled.’

‘Sure it will,’ you answer, smirking. ‘I’m sure you can keep at least one building from catching fire.’

It may just have been the mean bone in your body, but to you, watching a Medic-in-training such as Sanza huffing and glaring, but otherwise keeping her silence—and her pride—walled up as she is now … was truly a sight worth cherishing. It wasn’t often that you were able to get her to retreat into a mode of speechlessness, especially with the head-start that her brain had on yours when it came to a quick tongue … but when you did?

You could endure Darton Wray’s glares for a whole week with that to heart.

The sound of giggling catches your attention as you’re broken from your reverie brought by satisfaction, turning to its source, whose owner was regarding the both of you with a look of the utmost warmth and fascination.

‘You’re really good friends, aren’t you?’

You uncomfortably scratch the back of your head as Sanza looks away, her expression obscured from yours.

>‘We better get going now. You probably have some last minute things to set-up, too.’
>‘Is there anything that you need help with?’
>‘By the way, who were those two guys you were talking to?’
>Write-In

>>2383180
>>‘By the way, who were those two guys you were talking to?’

>>2383180
>‘By the way, who were those two guys you were talking to?’

>>2383180
>By the way, who were those two guys you were talking to?’

‘I noticed you were talking with an Officer and a Physician … what was all that about?’

‘I was trying to get my name on the shortlist for an Internship as part of a reserve unit … but they’re not about to let a third-year anywhere near that. The Officer you saw me talking to was part of a Ops Blade that’s currently in reserve. I thought that even one that small would’ve been all right, but … well, Doctor Karner could only have so much pull. I’m glad that he’d try that hard for me, anyway.’

‘Doctor Kar—’

‘Ops Blade? What’s that?’

Oh, it looked like your exposition was needed. Your own inquiry could wait.

‘Ops Blade is an archaic term. Most of the people that use it are Rim-Worlders like Sanza here. It’s a play on the word Operative Blade; which is what they called it about a hundred or so years back. Term’s origin’s a lot older, but not I’m going to go that deep; these days, they’re known as Task Forces. Only reason to use the term Ops Blade in specification at all is if the particular unit … or units attached to that Task Force is over a hundred years old. I think there are about … what? Eight left these days? Which one did that Officer belong to?’

‘The Iron Khans, I think. His son’s attending The AEGIS this year and he’s hoping to retire to an Instructor position himself, from what I heard … Doctor Karner tried talking to him to put me on board, but, well … things only got so far.’

‘I’m sorry, Senpai.’

Something catches your attention.

‘Wait, why are the Iron Khans a Reserve Unit? I mean … not that I ever heard that much from them, but if you’re calling them an Ops Blade—a Task Force—that means that they should be out there on the borders or something, right? Why would they be placed in Reserve at all?’

‘Wait, you didn’t know?’

‘Know what?’

She stares at you, bewildered.

‘The Emperor and his council are planning to decelerate militarily. Quite a few of the Battle Groups and the like are on the waiting list to be … in a word, redistributed. After what happened to Princess Urnae and the Prince Horun, the Emperor’s hoping for a gradual decrease on the front. The Iron Khans were one of the first to be given their orders … and they’ll be policing local navigation ways rather than quelling Border Worlds.’

‘Wow,’ you let out a low, impressed sound. ‘Wait, what about—’

‘Yeah, I’m worried too,’ she cuts right in. ‘Still … I guess I should be counting my blessings that we live on a Rim World instead of a Border World. I don’t know how they’re going to manage on that front … but frankly, it’s out of my territory.’

‘So, uh,’ Rosaria cuts in. ‘Why is it a bad thing? Isn’t less fighting good?’

'It's ... not that simple, actually,' you sigh.

‘Eh?’

‘Border Worlds are kind of a no-man’s space for The Republic and The Alliance Military … and The Empire. Generally, there’s a claim by both on certain worlds, but there’s also a sort of gentleman’s agreement that everyone play nice and share. Task Forces and the like are the ones sent to these worlds to … in a word, make sure everyone plays nice. It’s a lot harder said than done, because due to that gentleman’s agreement, the battle in certain systems gets … heated and rogue factions and the like—hah—try to step out of line. The Republic and The Empire generally try to keep the management of these things … discrete, which is why singular Batallions at best—and Task Forces more frequently—are sent out there.’

‘So, kind of like Security Units?’

‘Well,’ you consider it for a moment, ‘yes and no, Task Forces, Ops Blades, receive funding from the Empire for their day to day stuff, but generally they operate with The AEGIS’s own tenets in mind than that of The Grand Hall or any of the Emperors general advisers. Basically, they’re independent in practice, but accountable on paper. It’s to make sure things don’t get to messy, but they generally don’t stray any closer than Rim Worlds on their rounds … exceptions aside, of course. Sometimes they can’t help being celebrities.’

The Starjammers come to mind for you.

If only because of the merchandise.

‘Yeah, anyway,’ Sanza coughs, catching your attentions again. ‘That’s how it is.’

‘Why do you want to put yourself on a shortlist, anyway?’

She stares at you, unamused.

‘Because it’s better to learn applicability than it is trying to struggle applying theory, of course.’

You shrug. Medical expertise was never your thing … but that, you could understand.

>‘Well, we better get going, then.’
>‘Do you mind babysitting Rosaria? I need to check into my hotel and then some.’
>‘You sound like you got your hands full. Need any help?’
>Write-In

>>2383413
>>‘You sound like you got your hands full. Need any help?’

>>2383413
>>‘You sound like you got your hands full. Need any help?’

>>2383413
>>‘You sound like you got your hands full. Need any help?’

>>2383413
>Need any help?

>>2383413
>>‘You sound like you got your hands full. Need any help?’

‘Actually, now that you ask, there is something that you could do for me.’

‘What?’

She rummages through the inner pocket of her lab coat, bringing out what appeared to be a tab drive.

‘That?’

‘I need you to deliver this to Conlast’s Cakes and Bakes. They should be on the main road on the way to the entertainment plaza. Tell them that it’s for tonight’s order and tell them that the contact is 07-99-2365.’

>‘Main road? That’s a little out of my way.’ (Decline)
>‘You got it!’ (Enthusiastically accept)
>‘You’re not going to … sprinkle something on the top for me?’ (Ask for a reward)
>Write-In

>>2383945
>You’re not going to … sprinkle something on the top for me?’ (Ask for a reward)