MAX FIRE Vaucanson General Meeting

"-and thus, the Engineering Department kindly wishes for the intrusions into their duties to cease," finished Mr. Ikkyou of the Management Office, adjusting his monocle slightly as he glanced down at the agenda for the weekly Vaucanson meeting. "Any objections should be forwarded to the good Doctor. Are there any further questions?"

There was little rumbling of noise from the assembled group of Vaucanson employees and operatives, quiet discussions between one another as they tried to think of what had already not been covered. It was seeming as if there were few issues amongst them this week; and Mr. Ikkyou appeared quite ready to bring everything to a close.

"If that is all," he continued, noting the quieting of the room, "then we shall move on to the final item: security will be increasing dramatically over the next few days, so please do not fret. Our Trans-Pacific cousins are sending over a sample of Etherion, and we must work towards ensuring that it arrives safely."

He snapped the clipboard in his hands shut.

"Are there any closing remarks you wish to make, sir?" the man asked, turning his gaze towards the front of the room, where Doctor Ryouma Kougami was standing.

It was this that Sadb Piloqutinnguaq, liaison from the Head Branch, took as a cue to approach the five pilots sitting closeby.

"Ah, um, Commander Shourichi," she started, tripping slightly over her words as she spoke to the Squadron's leader. "Do you and your team have uhm, plans to deal with an attack during the delivery?"

---

@Plank Sinatra@Duoya@Krayzikk@Stern Algorithm@Fourze@GarlandDaHero

A plan.

A plan!?

Who the hell do you think you are, Sadbear Guacamole, if that is your real name? Who the hell do you think I am?

You think humanity has dusted off half a dozen of these things in the past eighteen months with a plan!?

The plan happens when you're flat on your feet! The best laid plans of mice and men will always falter, so when push comes to shove and those evil kaiju are at our shores, why don't you let me command Promethion and worry about coming up with a plan!?

I knew coming to this thing was a mistake. I could taste the mistake on my tongue, like good bourbon or an Etherion slushie. But Stoll talked me out of skiving off; apparently too many of the higher-ups would be here. Not that I saw any higher ups at all.

FOR STARTERS: there is never anyone higher than me, from a chemical or self-regard standpoint!

SECOND OFF: these were all middlemen at best, people from the Americas or the Head Branch back in Paris, and I hated having to waste my time on these pissant company men.

THIRD OFF: this broad hadn't been specific enough, and thus, to hide any insubordination and keep my cushy seat at the head of the table, I would settle for also not being specific enough!

"You bet your nice little ass that we have a plan." Confidence is key when shooting your shot - kids on the team take notes! The worst you can get is a no!

Or, in my case, fired and brought to court for harassment, but that was also just a no depending on how you looked at it!

"I don't know the whole plan myself," I said, which was technically the truth as I had not paid attention to a single briefing from local governors for weeks. Maybe it'd be different if there were other Titans we could be coordinating beside, but as far as I knew, Promethion was the first - disregarding, of course, that shitty little half-baked chassis that the goon squad liked to test improvements on. We were in uncharted technological waters; we were writing the textbook as we went along, so give me some space to do it! "But we shouldn't have any problems on an escort mission, even if we run into something. All components that can be waterproofed are waterproofed, and there's no reason to doubt Promethion can function in an aquatic environment. Noooo sweat."

Hazel Ada Stoll

If they want interruptions to stop, they should answer official requests. Mused the instigator of many such requests, her sentiments conveyed only by a faint roll of her eyes. Most of her opinions were conveyed that way. Even though she was far from a new face at the fortress by now, few people got any real commentary from her. Even fewer understood it, given that the 'words' were just a series of brief, precise gestures. Not all of her teammates always understood her, let alone the general staff.

Hazel might have looked a little bored, but that was her expression most of the time. Though attendance was important (something she tried to impress upon her own CO), that did not mean the subjects were always particularly important. The weekly meeting, for example, tended to be nothing but bureaucracy. Increased security, however, did get her attention for a moment; it was the function that she had initially been hired for, after all, so she was curious to see what of her recommendations they had put into place. Not to mention analyzing whether or not she thought she could break in again.

She wouldn't. She already had access.

But it would be interesting to see whether or not it was still possible.

She scrawled a few quick notes in the notebook from her pocket and promptly tuned the lecture back out. It would have been nice to set up her computer on the surface in front of her, but her superiors said that was unacceptable. It wasn't as though she was paying more attention without it, but they were technically the ones who controlled her access to the mecha so she would abide by their rules.

The approaching liason, though, and Corinne's prompt reaction did get her attention. Watching the commander attempt to deal with bureaucrats was worth having popcorn, if there were any at hand. Shourichi didn't really do plans. She was happier if you dropped her off at a fight, let her do her thing, and come home to plenty of intoxicants.

Escort missions never go well.

Promethion has not yet functioned in water.

Shrike is not amphibious.

Hazel cast a glance around to see if there was an interpreter handy, but as usual, not when she wanted one. The idea of refusing an interpreter had been that there would be one when she did want one, not one always around when she didn't. Apparently she had overestimated their timeliness. It was a meeting, why would they not have interpreters on hand for different languages?

She sighed. Maybe one of the others would interpret. If any of them understood.

<The glorious Commander prefers improvisation, since we do not know what each Kaiju will be like anyway. A basic plan usually suffices.> It did when she got dragged out of Shrike by the scruff of her neck. Not bitter, just remembering. Shourichi was why she had a job, letting her get herself court-martialed wouldn't go well. <What security precuations are being taken?>

Michel Montmartre

Michel looked around the room with a pouty, slightly-bored face, his arms crossed behind the back of his head while he reclined, leaning back precariously in his cushy conference room chair. He smiled as Commander Shourichi began to speak; she was everything he wanted to be, cool, confident, and sexy. Some of his caretakers said she was a bad influence on him, but they didn't say more than that since he needed to obey her as his commanding officer out of necessity, and they didn't want to be implicated for promoting insubordination. But the more he admired her, the more rebellious he was becoming. In fact, there was hardly anyone on the team who was a good influence on Michel, and it had been the administrations vain hope that at the very least, he would be one component they could control, but that hope was very quickly slipping out of their fingers the more time Michel spent with his fellow pilots.

He did notice however, Hazel signing and decided to bring attention to it. "Ms. Stoll seems to have some concerns!" he said, as if he was a student raising his hand to give the teacher an answer. He smiled at Hazel, as if expecting some sort of thanks, but then extending this smile to the other pilots seated around.

Victor Lewis

Victor was, in a word, bored. The monthly meetings, which they all were forced to attend, dragged on with the pace of a snail on horse tranquilizers, and the monotony of Mr. Ikkyou's voice was not helping Victor remain conscious in the slightest. Victor was barely registering his teammates beside him, focusing entirely on keeping his heavy eye lids from snapping closed. It wasn't until the soft, slightly nervous voice of the woman hit his ears that Victor's eyes shot open. Ms. P! She was one of the few ladies present, outside of his team, and her presence was always appreciated. Adjusting his beret and wiping the drool from his mouth, Victor rested his elbow on the table in front of the team, and then place his fist against his chin. Ms. P didn't even notice, and was already addressing the team leader, Ms. Shourichi.

"Ah, um, Commander Shourichi, do you and your team have uhm, plans to deal with an attack during the delivery?"

Ms. Shourchi didn't speak for a few seconds, but immediately, her bombastic and cool voice broke the silence of the room.

"You bet your nice little ass that we have a plan."

Victor immediately broke into applause, nodding in agreement with the statement. He sure as hell didn't know what their plan was, but Ms. P did have a nice, if petite, derriere. He slowly stopped the enthused applause, just as Ms. Shourichi continued with her statement.

"I don't know the whole plan myself, but we shouldn't have any problems on an escort mission, even if we run into something. All components that can be waterproofed are waterproofed, and there's no reason to doubt Promethion can function in an aquatic environment. Noooo sweat."

Victor continued to nod, agreeing with the sentiments. He also had no clue what the hell their plan would be, but the Sharur was built to withstand intense pressure and was airtight to allow underground travel. It should be able to function in underwater conditions... Only problem was, Sharur could only use it's legs for propulsion, and was far too heavy to float. If Victor fell into a deep body of water, he would have to abandon ship and pray he could swim for it. Of course, these concerns didn't manifest themselves on Victor's face, which remained as cocky and brash as usual.

"C'mon Ms. P, you know we can handle it, even if we ran in guns blazing. We're just that awesome!"

Victor was about to lean back in his chair and place his legs on top of the desk, before realizing that the last time he did that, he fell and got a concussion. Instead, he chose to to place his hands behind his head and lean back as much as possible without pushing the chair legs off the ground. That was when a higher pitched, slightly effeminate voice spoke up near Victor.

"Ms. Stoll seems to have some concerns!"

Ah, there he was. Turning his head, Victor saw the beaming face of Michel. Kid was pretty girly, but Victor planned on molding the youngster after his own image. After all, he was the only other male pilot, and Victor always wanted to be looked up to as a role model. Victor liked the kid though - He was nice, respectful, and the kid always did his best to help out the team. Victor honestly wished he was more like Michel in that regard - hell, he kind of thought of himself as a scumbag! But Michel was a good kid, and was even helping out Ms. Stoll. Speaking of...

Victor turned his attention towards her, just as the woman started signing. Victor had joined the sign language class in high school for his foreign language credits since the teacher was quite attractive and the Spanish teacher hated his guts. Even being raised in a Cuban family, Victor knew that Mr.Ramirez would have found a way to make him fail that class. He certainly didn't remember half the stuff he learned, but this would be a good chance to check out Ms. Stoll. Victor leaned closer, doing his best to look like he was watching all of her motions carefully.

<The glorious Commander prefers improvisation, since we do not know what each Kaiju will be like anyway. A basic plan usually suffices. What security precautions are being taken?>

Obviously, Victor was barely able to pick up any words at all, most of Ms. Stoll's motions being incredibly fast paced and fluid. However, Victor managed to understand several words while looking at her rack, which surprised even him.

"Something something Improvise-something. Then she said some more stuff, I heard a 'plan', and 'usually'. Finally, she asked something about security, and I know it was a question cause she also said 'what'."

Victor mimicked Hazel, holding his arms at about shoulder width apart with palms faced up, the sign for 'What'. After doing so, he took off his beret and ruffled his hair, before groaning in frustration.

"UGGHH, Whatever, I suck at sign language - Anybody got a pen and paper?" Victor called out, completely oblivious to the notebook in Hazel's pocket.

Ryoma Kougami

Another day another meeting at Vaucanson, while he still remembers how he was trying to contain his excitement and nervousness at his first meeting now it had become a boring routine. Thankfully he already knew most of the important information that was being said at the meeting and was in his own little world thinking about possible upgrades to the Promethion while apparently paying attention to the meeting. The sound of a clipboard shutting brought him back to his senses just in time for a question.

"Are there any closing remarks you wish to make, sir?"

"Eem... Not really, apart from a few more test of the Promethion to check if everything in order we should be ready for the Etherion delivery" Ryoma gave a quick and vague response to end the meeting, not that he really had anything more to say even if he had listened to the whole meeting, apart from the delivery of the Etherion sample there was nothing really important in schedule and all security matters had been already been taken care of. Only things that could go wrong would be something unexpected like a monster attack and even then the pilots would be more suited to respond to that question than him.

Hearing Commander Shourichi answer almost took him off guard and a small laugh escaped from him, he still wasn't used to Shourichi direct, confident and bombastic attitude. Still, the fact that they had no exact plan worried him, even if Shourichi and the rest of the team had proven themselves to be good pilots and fighters this was a completely different environment than the Promethion usually fought in.

"Ms. Stoll seems to have some concerns!"

Looking at Hazel to see whats where her concerns, Ryoma just managed to see her last question <What security precautions are being taken?> He adjusted his glasses before responding "Obviously there has been a general increase of security personnel in the fortress and its surrounding area, patrols have increased, some areas have been closed to non-essential personnel, camera footage is checked more rigorously and other miscellaneous stuff, other questions?"

---

Autumn wasn't horribly fond of meetings.

...okay, that was a partial truth. Depending on the meeting, the teenage genius would be either one of the first to be addressed, or one of the last. She was never 100% sure which it would be, which made her panic a little inside due to the anxiety it caused, especially if she wasn't called on immediately. This meeting wasn't one were Autumn was called on immediately, much to her relief/dismay.

Instead, the squadron leader, Corrine, was the first to be called upon. She made a bit of a vulgar comment by saying "You bet your nice little ass that we have a plan", the language of which was to be expected from her at this point. Miss Shourichi was pretty. Miss Shourichi's tongue was ugly.

After Corrine spoke, Hazel Ada Stoll was next, followed by Michel Montmartre, who made an obvious remark and smiled at Miss Stoll and everyone else in the meeting. A little annoying, but at least the kid looked cute. Wasn't exactly Autumn's type, however. Not in terms of personality, at least.

And then Victor spoke. The less said about whatever nonsense he said, the better. Next.

Ryoma answered Hazel's inquiry as to what was being done in the way of security, saying that more guards were added, some areas have been closed off, et al. Sure, that was all fine and dandy, but...

...Autumn hadn't said anything yet.

"Excuse me," the young genius began meekly, "but I have a question." It was very rare for Autumn to speak up without first being asked to do so. As such, she admittedly felt a little awkward, saying something on her own like this. Ryoma asked for questions, however, and this was Autumn's chance to speak, whether it was comfortable for her or not. "We don't know everything about these kaiju yet. How do we know these security measures won't just fail miserably? There must be something more surefire we can do, right?"

MAX FIRE Vaucanson General Meeting

"If you say so ..."

Despite her doubtful-seeming words, it was clear from the quiet relief present on Sadb Piloqutinnguaq's face that the confident reassurances from Corrine and Victor had done their job; she had faith in their ability to keep their promises, especially when they had been chosen to control the mighty Promethion. Even if she didn't have any idea about their plan, she would just have to believe them when they said they had a good idea of what to do.

"The Doctor's right," she added, trying to quickly flip through her own clipboard to find the necessary documents. "It's um, we've gotten a lot of personnel and help from the JSDF too. So we'll be fine!"

At Autumn's question, she seemed to think of something.

"I think we could turn on more of the fortress defenses ..."

Your words, Stoll! Use your words!

At least she was starting to do a better job at letting people know that she was deaf. For the first chunk of her tenure at Max Fire, no one had bothered to even tell me the bitch had busted ears! Can you imagine? I thought she was epileptic! Every time I showed up for drills her hands started doing that Helen Keller no Jutsu shit, and what do I do? Try to be a good Samaritan and clear her mouth of any obstructions so she doesn't choke in the midst of her seizure? Oho, you thought, Shourichi! Earmuffs here just starts waving her hands harder, dares to strike the blood royal in the face while I'm just trying to make sure there's nothing wrong with her tongue, and then even bites my finger! I hate being bitten when I'm good!



I was glad to learn she was deaf, though. Not because I'm an asshole, which I'm not! And not because I don't want anyone having a seizure in midair in sheer awe of my fighting prowess and unchecked human spirit, mind you! I definitely do!

As long as they're kaiju and not humans.

And it's not like I was too thrilled that somehow they'd left that little fucking nugget of info out of her folder, either! Not like it was important or anything, HR!

No, I was happy that Stoll was only deaf because it meant that I got away free and clear with calling her a fucking spaz every chance I got to bitch to Ryoma about my new bite marks. The best thing about deaf chicks is that they can't hear you talk...any...of your shit...

...

wait

So how was she able to hear me talking to Sadbear just now if she--

--was--

--wasn't deaf!?

...

HAHAHAHAHA FUC--

MOVING ON: Luckily Autumn was on hand to phrase any questions in a decidedly non-deceitful manner, questions which Guac and Ryoma clearly considered well answered. I was more skeptical, though. I put a lot of rounds into one of those fuckers from the front seat of good old Speed Racer last year, sure, but I'd been poring through studies for months since I'd joined Max Fire, and apparently not one serviceman currently enlisted in the JSDF was Corinne Shourichi! And only one Corinne Shourichi currently served in Max Fire! What the fuck were we gonna do with the one we had? Maybe if you gave me a speedboat and an RPG-7 I could make the kaiju rue the day it crawled out of its uterine hell beneath the Earth...but how was I gonna pilot Lifthrasir, babysit the kids, and sing a kaiju motherfucker a Getter Robo firepower lullaby on its way down to its resting place in Atlantis!?

We needed at least another 1/4th of a Corinne Shourichi for that level of multitasking! And I had only ever been imitated, never duplicated!

"--must be something more surefire we can do, right?"

Surefire? Sure! Fire!

"They're support, Hanneman. Support is all they do, besides milking us for Kodak moments and pointing in awe at how good we look in the sunshine. We're the beasts of burden here. We're the ones with the stones. We're fucking surefire. And as soon as we come back with a big load of Etherion, you get to tell everyone fucking-told-ya-so. That's how you set the perfect ideal for other humans - you know your damn role and you come home a high roller! That's what it's all about!"

Coincidentally, I had taped over small portions of my How To Be A Fucking Pillar of Humanity tapes with my How to Run a Fucking Girl's Night manual. They were, however different the occasions, the exact same message, though, so hopefully there wouldn't be any confusion as to what I expected from my little pint-sized posse!

Hazel Ada Stoll

<The security measures are for humans, not the kaiju.> Hazel clicked her tongue twice in Ryoma's direction, as the scientist had proven to be the only person capable of understanding her consistently. It was enough to make her want to scream. It was beyond inconvenient that the rest couldn't follow her signs, even if she went slowly. Still, she could count on someone at least to interpret for Autumn. <We are the security measure against kaiju. The fortress' defenses can help, but we are the first line of defense. Most security measures are to make sure no one breaks in.>

She neglected to add the "like I did", but to at least a few of them it would be implied.

Michel she favored with a small smile and a nod, which was high praise from the notoriously disinterested Shrike pilot. He may not have been able to understand her, but the kid at least payed attention. That deserved recognition. It would be worth trying to teach him at least the basics of ASL, help someone else understand at least as well as Victor.

Speaking of.

The beret-wearing pilot was fixed with a level, exasperated stare, and the mute woman pulled the notebook out of her pocket with exaggerated slowness and bringing it up to eye level. She waved it once with a flick of her wrist, then pointed at her eyes with the corner. Then his eyes with her finger.

Eyes. Here. You're fooling no one.

And their glorious Commander. She could see the gears turning in the woman's head, the sow realization. Finally. It had taken long enough to explain that she wasn't epileptic, once she let go of her tongue. And once she stopped having her head smacked off of the floor. It had barely been a bite before, but that had warranted a bite. Crazy woman. And she wasn't a 'fucking spaz', that was the pot calling the kettle black.

Still, the realization was delicious.

Hazel coughed innocently, angling her ear forward as if trying to hear better. She fixed Corinne with an amused grin, one that only widened when she made eye contact.

Victor paused his posture and expression fairly over exaggerated considering the minor request. After several seconds had passed and no one had responded to his request of paper and pens, he sighed and gently placed his beret onto his head, gently covering the black hair. He slumped in his chair, and Dr.Kougami decided this was the perfect opportunity to show off his knkowledge of ASL.

"Obviously there has been a general increase of security personnel in the fortress and its surrounding area, patrols have increased, some areas have been closed to non-essential personnel, camera footage is checked more rigorously and other miscellaneous stuff, other questions?"

Victor didn't react, but internally he grew slightly agitated. Why did Mr.Smartypants have to show off how much smarter he was? ...Whatever, it's childish to get angry over something that insignificant. Instead, Victor paid attention to the rarely heard voice of the youngest team member.

"We don't know everything about these kaiju yet. How do we know these security measures won't just fail miserably? There must be something more surefire we can do, right?"

Victor was fond of her just like he was of Michel. She was the youngest on the team, and honestly should be as far from the fighting as possible. A battlefield is barely suitable for a lady, let alone a little girl. But hey, if she was able to pilot the robot better than anyone else, Victor really couldn't complain. Victor was just about to open his mouth when the bombastic Ms. Shourichi beat him to it. They would be able to handle it, they had to be. Why the hell would a deadbeat loser janitor be here if he wasn't able to handle giant murder monsters, after all? Victor nodded slightly as Corinne talked, attempting to convey his own feelings without interrupting Corinne. He sure as hell didn't want to cut her off or anything. Considering her personality, Victor just didn't know what the hell to expect if he somehow managed to piss her off. He continued to stare at Ms. P, occasionally throwing a winning smile or a wink, which were obviously ignored. To be honest, Victor wasn't some thirsty guy that lusted after every girl he saw... He just acted that way. It makes people feel better about themselves to know they're attractive, and Victor also knew the importance of a good laugh. He liked to think, despite the several close sexual harassment claims, he was making people feel less on edge about the whole "Murderous monsters" thing. Plus, staring at cute girls was always fun, so why stop now.

Turning slightly, he found himself staring at Ms.Stoll's rack. Now she was something - Black hair, nice bod, and she liked sweaters - the most comfortable of clothes. Not to mention, glasses were kind of a turn on. A slight scratching was heard, and Victor quickly turned his attention to the notepad and pen...

Well, to be honest, he kind of deserved it. He was acting like a lecher, and got caught... Well, he always gets caught, and usually gets punished for it, but he still deserved it! He shrugged at her remark, before resigning himself.

"Yes ma'am! Won't happen again."

Victor made a mock salute, and laughed to himself slightly, hoping that she didn't think he was being a douche or anything. This kind of stuff happened every single meeting, because it was always so boring. He was a 22 year old kid, he couldn't care less about the funding the organization had or the mission plans. They were always debriefed before a mission, so he really didn't see a point in contributing towards the plan - he wasn't a genius or anything. This probably made him far less mature than the others, but he didn't really care. Instead, he focused on the slowly escalating tension between Corinne and Hazel - the two had made eye contact, and while neither seemed like the type to start trouble and fight... Well, Victor had seen women fight before. He was prepared to calm things down with a joke or two worst case scenario.

Ms.P was honestly the only person that Victor ever listened to during the meetings, and her last question seemed somewhat strange - were they not going to turn on the fortress' defenses beforehand? Seemed like that was the sort of thing that was kept on, like, constantly. Victor didn't make much of a fuss though. Instead, he remained calm, and occasionally glanced to Corinne and Hazel to make sure things were safe. Then again... Who would be stupid enough to fight in the board room of your boss? Victor sighed and leaned in his chair, while still keeping it grounded. He was probably an even bigger idiot for thinking they would start a fight in the first place...

Ryoma Kougami

"We don't know everything about these kaiju yet. How do we know these security measures won't just fail miserably? There must be something more surefire we can do, right?"

Ryoma's eye twitched a little at that question, while it was obvious the team was the first, most important and likely the only effective defense against the Kaijus, he wouldn't want to put pressure on them just before an important assignment where the smallest mistake could cause thousands or millions in damages. Ryoma would have to word very carefully his response.

"They're support, Hanneman.
Or not.

While a little harsh and severely underselling the value of the support team, Commander Shourichi managed in her own bombastic way to explain the importance of the team and their mission without making the situation while making the situation seem less dire than it is. A clicking sound made Ryoma look in Hazel direction, who had probably noticed that he was one of the few who could understand her signs. She seemed to have the same opinion as him in that they are the first line of defense, though she emphasized the security measures were more about keeping the people in the fortress and the surrounding areas safe and prevent any unwanted presences entering the base and causing chaos, and unlike a similar incident in the past an incident like that may not end up with a pilot for the Promethion. That day was definitely one of the most stressful ones in his life, and it could be definitely called a miracle that his decision of giving the offer to pilot the Promethion to Hazel paid off, since he was quite berated for it at first by the high ranking scientists of the fortress that knew and had many sleepless nights thinking he was going to lose his position.

"Ahem, just like the Commander and Hazel over here said, the Promethion is the first line of defense against the Kaiju with all the increased security features being in place to provide security to the pilots, scientists, mechanics, miscellaneous staff, critical equipment like spare parts, and to make sure the Base is in top condition to provide support to you in case the need arises. So while you are technically our beast of burden, my job and the rest of the staff is to ensure you can give your all" Ryoma said to Autumn as he pushed his glasses again.

Michel Montmartre

Michel stopped reclining and sat forward, listening intently to the banter, smiling, seemingly unaware of the tension that had been building. To be honest, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could add, but then he remembered another untested defense system that was still in the works, and piped up, "Oh! Oh! I don't think its complete yet, but there's a squadron of Etherion-linked UAVs being developed." He smiled from ear-to-ear, feeling proud, as it was a system that also relied on his unusual power. Of course, the UAV system was highly underdeveloped. It was difficult enough for Michel to control the ten Beamstar Blades of the Promethion, he was nowhere near capable enough to handle the complex swarm mechanics of the UAV squadron. The engineers ideally would like Michel to be able to remotely control the squadron while he was piloting the Promethion, which also required a strong uninterrupted Etherion link from the Promethion to the Vaucanson Base. But if they could get it up and running, it would provide an added layer of defense for the fortress.

There reached a point in every meeting, no matter how classified or secret, when you just had to admit you were sticking around because you were privileged to be there.

That's okay! Secret missions and briefings are badass! Were you to pickle the brain of Corinne Shourichi, hell, you would be so bamboozled by the power of my forbidden knowledge that you'd forget to be pissed that someone cut into my beautiful head and stole my brain in the first place.

But sometimes, even the most professional or protocol-fetishizing spook had to admit that there was no real point to letting a bunch of ne'er-do-wells, lazy bums and miscreants sit around and pretend we really gave a shit about much but dealing with a kaiju in the heat of the moment. We weren't here to discuss protocol, or even really debate what to do about the fortress; they were a fortress, they could handle themselves, we would be the ones in the thick of every fight. Most of us couldn't even bother to remember the name of the manager of the fortress' galley because all anyone really recognized her by were her tits.

Her name's...

Kayla? Kaori?

...

...

She has gigantic tits.

And if we can't remember the name of a girl like that, how the shit are we gonna keep an eye out for the fortress or the support staff if they ever found themselves seriously engaged? Michel using all his brainpower on the Beamstars? That little airhead needs to use all his energy on growing big and strong and avoiding these bitches out here! We need him with us, not keeping an eye on volunteers who knew their day job might be a suicide mission. The truth chafes - wear a fucking jockstrap.

...

"Well, this was a great talk!" I rose suddenly and stretched out, arms rolling backwards languidly and fingers clasping and cracking as I stretched. "Dr. Kougami, Ikkyou-san, Pil..."

Pillpushringding?

Pillowfightgod?

"Sadb--" I broke off, hastily keeping the rest of the nickname from slipping out with a mental quickness that only came from girls who lived in constant fear of brain theft could truly understand, "--I thank you all for your input, but my team needs to keep its strength up if we're looking an an escort mission on the horizon. I've got kids, metaphorically and spiritually speaking. Their bones need toughening."

For emphasis, I playfully flexed one arm in Sandbag's direction. Good thing that none of the people assembled here were medical doctors. If they were real doctors they might've known that my perfectly carved, divinely proportioned arm muscles actually did not require any work at all from my tough bones in order to flex!

Instead all they did was learn about equations and focus on math problems.

Can you imagine the type of person it takes to build a robot but not follow through by piloting it?

Jee-sus, it's like not asserting yourself when your daughter's boyfriend comes home. You keep it up with that spineless crap, that inviting him to dinner without waving a gun at him kind of crap, and the next thing you know you'll find that same sitting at the table at breakfast the next morning.

Wearing your grandmother's Old Country tablecloth like a toga.

Eating sashimi from her stomach.

Using her cleavage as a fucking soy sauce fountain.

...

It all kept coming back to food. Fuck, we really needed a meal.

"Kougami knows how to find me if there's anything else you want to make sure we already know," I said cheerfully, putting hands on my hips and grinning at poor old Sandbag.

Hazel Ada Stoll

@Plank Sinatra @Duoya @Stern Algorithm @Fourze @GarlandDaHero @Crimmy

As eccentric as she was being about it, the Commander had a point. The meeting had reached its end, both in the official sense and in its usefulness, and there had not been time for breakfast before attending it. Breakfast seemed very appealing at this point in time. Her ears did perk up a little at Michel's mention of remote-controlled UAVs, resolving to investigate further at a later date, but that was for another time.

Victor did get more of a response, namely when Hazel flicked her pen at him several times in a manner reminiscent of a wagging finger. Nevertheless she pocketed both the pen and the notebook without further commentary, instead gesturing in Shourichi's direction and nodding her agreement.

After a moment, she added in a few signs to help aid the point.

<Mess hall now. Further discussion of security measures later. I require coffee and pancakes.