@Norik@Caasicam

Horizon Parade Route-Beryl Harken

A smile spread over the higher woman's face at the question. It had been a busy day.

"Little of this. little of that. Spent the morning jumping between about five different beach parties and cookouts. Don't think I ever actually got a formal invite to the last one. You'd be surprised at how easy it is join random parties during a big event like Colony Day." Beryl chuckled slightly and blew an errant strand of blue-black hair out of her face. "Anyway, I was invited to this party, and it has a perfect view of the parade route. It's pretty open so come on up and we can watch it together."

@Norik@Caasicam

Horizon Parade Route-Beryl Harken

The interior of the building was pleasantly cool, the air conditioning going full blast to keep up with the press of bodies and the many open doors and windows. It wasn't long before the two found Beryl despite the crowded interior of the building. The athletic woman held a red plastic cup above her head as she wove through the crowd, her gaze scanning the entrance for the pair. When she saw them her face lit up with a smile and she waved them over.

"Follow me." She had to speak up to be heard over the boisterous party-goers and the music pumping over the speakers. Whoever owned the house seemed to be fairly well off considering the decorations and modern systems in view. "The balcony is quiet enough that we won't have to yell to hear each other."

She perked up a bit at the suggestion, but she scowled at the mention of making a wager of it.

"I'd be more than happy to come along, but I'm not making any bets on my shooting."

She paused a beat.

"Mostly because it's pretty awful."

@Raider Dog

@Norik@Caasicam

Horizon Parade Route-Beryl Harken

"No problem." Beryl took a drink of whatever drink she had been carrying around and she leaned over the railing next to Nova. "The parade should be starting any minute now. Kind of surprised we can't hear it yet to be honest."

"Come on, now."

The sentence, half plea and half growl, wasn't directed at another person. Not that you would guess, since the man in question seemed to expect an answer. Ben had the day off, actually, but work was play in his mind. He planned to go out and catch the parade, but his morning diagnostics were throwing some wonky errors. What should have been a quick fix turned into full scans, taking off panels, getting elbow deep in wires and cursing. He wasn't going to make the parade. But that was kind of liberating. Meant he could just focus on actually fixing the issue. The festivities could wait til later, there'd be plenty of things to see in the afternoon. Vernichten needed him now.

After about an hour of digging through power couplings and software diagnostics, he finally narrowed the issue down to a fault within a single meter-long section of cabling. Could he patch it? Probably. But it'd be quicker just to replace it. He pulled his arms back out of the cramped space he's been fishing around in, and glanced at his hands. Absolutely covered in grease. Somewhere along the lines he'd gotten it in his hair, too. Probably ran a hand through it when he was thinking. Whoops. Not really any point in cleaning off, not until he was done. Ben was glad he rolled up his sleeves, though; the gunk that got worked into Walker components was a pain in the ass to get out of fabric. Didn't want to have to clean off another work shirt.

He clambered down off the catwalk two steps at a time, leaving his jacket hanging on his work station. Activity in the hangar was pretty much at a minimum, so he was honestly content. No one to bug him about keeping his workspace clean, or ask why he was talking to himself. Nothing of the sort. He'd have to make a note of the components he grabbed out of storage, but that was easy enough. Vernichten's bay was closer to the testing fields than the main complement. Made for a bit of a hike towards the parts he needed, but a little exercise did the body good so he took off at a jog towards the other end of the hangar. Something else the boss wasn't around to lecture him for.

There were a couple other officers in the hangar, though. Whoops.

"Hey, Ahmad!" He called out, slowing down to a walk on his way over. The bigger man was a familiar enough site on base, though for the life of him he didn't know why he wasn't at a barbecue or something. He was always looking for an excuse to fire up the grill. Protocol might've been a salute, but when did he ever pay much attention? The little wave'd do. He didn't have any idea who the young-looking girl with him was, but that didn't say a lot. Took him a while to learn about the new pilots. "Don't you have a grill to man somewhere? Isn't that usually your thing?"

"They got you working today?"

Horizon really was quite nice.

The climate was comfortable, the sun felt nice beating down on her head and shoulders. It was a little warm, she still had her jacket from the Far East Brigade on and her duffel tossed over her shoulder, but pleasant. A cab would probably have gotten her to the base quicker, but the traffic would have been killer. And walking through the city seemed like a nice idea. Aya could catch a cab when she got to the other edge of the hubbub. She'd be back once she dropped off her bag, anyway, she didn't want to miss the air show. If she had to guess where White was, it'd probably be in that show. Someone at the base would know.

Still, it was strange being off duty. She was a tourist for the moment, or at least close to it. No work to be done.

The parade was kicking into gear, and she found that she happened to be picking her way along its route. A little slower, slow enough that she could feel the Walkers approaching. Steps that shook the earth, heralding the parade's honor guard. They never failed to bring a smile to her face. They were marvelous, and Ayane would never get tired of seeing them. So she settled into a shady spot, for a moment, to watch them approach. Somewhere above her head someone was clambering over a railing to perch, and for a moment she idly hoped that they wouldn't drop a sandal on her head (or worse, fall) but the mood was irrepressible. Such concerns only bothered her for a moment.

The Warriors simply looked too good to care. They weren't for field-use, it was easy to tell. They were too clean. Unmarred. Their weapons were ceremonial, their paint schemes uniform. The garrison's markings were freshly painted on their shoulders, and she wondered for a second if her own machine would get the same markings. Something about removing the Brigade insignia just didn't feel right.

But those were questions for duty. She could ask them then.

@Norik@Caasicam



Rather than the extremely impressive war machine currently drawing the gaze of her companions Beryl's attention was on the woman below their balcony. Asian features, not too unusual in a mass driver city like Horizon. She carried herself with the kind of bearing that most members of the military learned to recognize. Although this person seemed to wear it like a set of armor. The jacket she wore was a bit odd though. Leaving aside the strangeness of wearing such a garment in these warm temperatures it held some interesting insignia. If Beryl had to guess she would have said it was from a Walker squadron.

The weird thing was that Beryl didn't recognize the woman. She knew all of Horizon's pilots, their names and faces at the very least. The Asian woman below them wasn't one of them. Was she on vacation? A bit young and stiff to be retired. Maybe she wasn't a pilot at all and Beryl was just overthinking things.

"Excuse me." She called down. "Where did you get that jacket?"

Holly Yuan

Colony Day. It was a time of relaxation, a celebration of human ingenuity's triumph. It was testament to the united will of all who had once looked to the skies, seeking to escape beyond Earth's gravity well. A testament to their success, to a great achievement that was unlikely to be toppled for generations. It was of no surprise, then, that their descendants were proud. Why would they not be? Humanity had claimed the stars. They had stepped out in the void to call it home. And this annual observance, this one day of commemoration, was the symbol of everyone's pride.

And for it was an honour shared by all, even she, a mere peon of Internal Affairs, could take the day off.

Well ... that was if she'd wanted to!

Holly reclined against the cockpit seat, her eyes rapidly darting around behind her glasses as she took in the readings being projected onto her monitors. The dim blue glow of the screens reflected off her lens, but she didn't pay it much heed. She had gotten used to the refraction of light due to her eyewear. It was a reminder of her imperfection, as well as the imperfection in the universe that none could truly escape. Not that she really wanted to, however. After all, was the second of the three marks not sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā? All unconditioned things were unsatisfactory. To acknowledge that was already putting her on the path of the Bodhisattva!

The woman giggled to herself as she leaned forward, fingers reaching out to flick a series of switches. She was probably interpreting the entire thing wrong anyway. But it was important to keep in mind, right? Especially on a day like Colony Day. It was a celebration of the greatest human achievement in history since the scattered essences of yang brought fire into being, a chance for everybody to bask in the glory of humanity's triumph over the void.

But that was the thing.

Dyson had not emerged from nature. It was not some creation of the gods.

It was built by human hands.

And thus, it was imperfect.

Yet no less beautiful.

Her machine hummed to life around her, the warmth of the awaking engine sending shivers up her spine. The vibrating controls, gripped tightly in her hands, were like the caress of an old friend. It too was a child of humanity. It too was like those colonies that hung in the celestial sphere above. It too was imperfect.

And on this day, it would help remind everyone that no matter how great their achievement was, there was still more they could do.

sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā

All unconditioned things are impermanent.

What Shenxiuwu would do today could be forgotten in days. What Colony Day represented could be forgotten in years. Their imperfect beauty would not last. They would be superseded by something greater, something that sought out a brighter, more perfect goal.

But it was okay.

Even if it was for one day, one moment, she would show off her child's beauty.

"You're up, Lieutenant."

Begin.

Holly eased her controls forward. Shenxiuwu rose from its kneeling position, blue and white armour gleaming in the hot sunlight as it stood tall in the centre of the field. She breathed in, allowing herself to feel the soft rumbling of the machine. To feel the weight of the two dao that hung loosely from her child's hands, the weight that sought to pull her own, en-fleshed hands forth as well.

She would become one with her Walker.

She allowed her body to relax. She allowed her breathing to calm. She allowed her mind to become aware.

She allowed for her essence to entwine with her machine.

Allow it to settle in the dantian.

Allow the transmutation of the treasures to begin.

Her purpose was clear.

Shenxiuwu was built for parades like this, after all.

發勁!

Her dance began.