Len is in deep concentration as she mentally prays the holy rosary. On her right hand is pearl rosary, a forbidden heirloom of the Trillanes family, forbidden in the Red-Star at least. But Haven is a different place, she can basically flaunt the rosary in public, and show won't be arrested.

On her left hand is an old newspaper cutaway, the the cutaway is a picture of a woman maniacally shooting devotees and civilians during a major Easter Mass led by Cardinal Cardo Martin. This event, the Manila Cathedral Massacre, the trigger to the Blue Semaphore Uprising (So called due to the Christian Anarchist flag resembling a blue and white semaphore flag), the same rebellion her father led.

The woman in the cutaway is Gongdi Jiangshi, born from one of the elite families in the Red-Star. Prior to the incident, she is considered to be the most pragmatic, tolerant, and compassionate of the Gongdi family, she even sponsored Cardinal Martin's rise to the top, both to gain the support of the Catholic Church, and the Catholic populace in the Red-Star, as well as gain Red-Star's influence in the Vatican. But alas, she had proven to be a Gongdi through and through, an Elizabeth Bathory in saint's clothing. And while her life was eventually ended by a Swiss Guard, her ghost still haunts to this day, as she is immortalized by the Red-Star.

She vowed to herself that this tragedy would never happen again. She vowed that God's children would never be martyred again. She vowed to destroy the Red-Star.

Personal thoughts aside, Len would need to know the new recruits, an effective fighting force needs to establish an espirit-de-corps, as well as knowing one's allies' strenghts and weakness.

She approaches Chelsea, Alexei, and company, although her shyness kept her mute.

Fortunately for him, the Commander General accepted his request and gave the plans to him. He thanked Narra, but decided to wait until they reached the coffeehouse before reading the plans. Suddenly, one of the other pilots, a large man with gray hair and a scar running across his cheek, nudged him and asked to see the plans later as well. He stared at him through his visored helmet and replied with a small nod, before keeping the tablet and joining the rest of the group in going to the coffeehouse.

As he walked inside, he recognized the barista. He had first met Joey Glory when he was still part of Red-star, he and his comrades actually went to him regularly during their off hours. He waited until the rest of the pilots were done before approaching him and casually remarking:

Cody: So when did you switch to Haven? Last time I checked, you were still satisfied working for Red-star.

He paused for a moment, for Joey to respond before speaking again:

Cody: Also, you have any Chinese tea? Haven't had any in a while

Haven Shield Airbase - Darwin

"Apperances deceive," Joey Glory said curtly as a a flying drone brought him a cup of Chinese Tea, which he handed over to Cody. "I was more 'resigned' than satisfied. Either way, do me a favor and vote 'Remember Australia' in the next elections if you get citizenship after this."

"By the way, do you know that there's another Cody in the base, a doctor this time?" He turned to Alexei, whom he or a waiter had handed over his coffee with honey earlier, and said, "By the way, the honey comes from your home. Brings back memories, doesn't it? So, vote Remember Australia over the Democratic Union Party of Haven should we survive this?"

One of the civilian personnel, a female quartermaster, turned to Joey and said, "You do realize that premature electioneering is crass, don't you? And plenty of people here are DUPH."

@Andre Valias@AzenExile@FalloutJack@Landaus Five-One@Metatrooper@Scribe of Thoth@Stern Algorithm@Sgt Vandingo@Arkitekt@Selvariabell:

Terra listened to Joey as he explained his position within Red-Star. He was providing a service then, as he was now, but as he said...it was basically a hollow and depressing thing to be a part of. He was no different from a slave to them, probably, kept youthful for appearances sake only and not because they appreciated him. Though she kept herself from displaying any overt reaction, the look in her violet eyes said she was a bit down about things involving Red-Star. She was keeping herself in control, but something was biting at her.

"I understand how they can use and abuse you. Red-Star was having me raised to perfection in order to be aimed at all of you here. I felt that it was a fool's errand, even if they succeeded."

She sipped at her tea as Joey started serving other people. Terra did not know or, to be honest, really care about the political edge of things, so the conversation about it didn't really raise her interest. Instead, she attacked her pancakes until the masked pilot with the battle plans came by, which rather simplified things, at the moment. Once he was was done addressing Joey, Terra spoke up again.

"I want to ask you about the battle plans, but first...how are you planning to eat or drink anything with your helmet on?"

The only methods she could think of was either via a series of tubes or that he was actually a ninja and ate really fast.

He had introduced himself as Isaac LaBelle, and then asked Alexei if he was from France. Alexei chuckled.
"Fortunately not, my family emigrated to Australia long ago, since before the Great War. Lucky for them too, we're not sure if we would have had the same fortune resisting Paragon there as we have with Red Star here." Alexei answered.
___________________________________________

Alexei smiled happily when he heard Chelsea affirm his assumption. As Alexei took a seat at the table with her, plonking his helmet down finally, Chelsea thanked him for his aid during the battle, and how hectic it had gotten.
"I agree, it certainly was chaotic. But I am quite pleased you remember me, and more importantly that you've taken care of yourself since then. If that battle told me anything, your NC will be a very welcome support in this next fight." He replied, complimenting her role. Chelsea in turn complimented Vectis, and Alexei's skill piloting it.

As they conversed, the token drunk from earlier had entered, and made an executive decision to make a group table that started at the table he and Chelsea sat at. Regarding the noise of furniture being moved, Alexei shrugged at Chelsea's compliment, but with a humble smile. "I would be foolish not to credit my reputation at least in some part to my father. He made very well sure I was ready to fight at least as well as he did when he piloted Vectis before me."

Alexei quickly thought about Vectis for a moment, and then his earlier concern-- To avoid thinking of his father at a time like this. "Which reminds me, Miss Steiner, do you happen to know if any of our comrades here specialised in long-range engagement? A sniper, perhaps?" He asked. At this moment, one of the waiters brought over Alexei's order, to which he gave pleasant thanks. He gave it a sip as he listened to Miss Steiner, then took pause after her answer to try the mocha again. He was... Pleasantly surprised. The taste of real honey was absolutely welcome. On the other hand, the accompanying memories were... Mixed. A place of peace, of persistence, like the aviary on Wattle Road. But also, a place of loss, of struggle, like the day his father disappeared. A place Alexei in some part wanted to leave behind.

Of course, Joey knew no better when he mentioned the honey being sourced from Alexei's hometown. Alexei smiled out of habit when Joey guessed correctly that it brought back memories. Fortunately, Joey subsequently lobbied for a party called Remember Australia in the upcoming election. Alexei just nodded politely.
"I'll be sure to consider it, many thanks." Alexei replied. He then continued sipping his mocha as he chatted with Chelsea, every now and again paying attention to one of the rag-tag band of misfits that had been assembled here.

The Coffee House - Darwin

---

Chelsea saw what the guy who’s older than her, much taller, which was pick up a table and put it in front of her table. However, her shock went away and looked Alexei when he asked about long-range engagements. ”I-I think Isaac’s NC is a long-ranged sniper. Unless I am mistaken, Isaac?” Chelsea questioned Isaac about his NC’s capabilities. The only reason why she’s a bit confused at what it is since she didn’t really get a good look at his NC because that maintenance check on her NC took forever. She yawned a bit, noticed her order has been delivered to her.

What made her a bit annoyed was more or less what Joey said, mostly the remember australia party. However, she did hear some bad things about the party her family supports, which is DUPH. ”U-Uh... I suppose I could consider it. E-Even though my family supports DUPH fully with their soul and being.” Chelsea responded to Joey’s lobbying for Remember Australia party. Her nose could smell the honey in the coffee and she sipped it. She loved the taste of honey from the Southshell Alliance’s lands. The only thing, which makes her enjoy being apart of Haven as a whole. She had a smile on her face because of it. She started to eat her food but being a bit more considerate of everyone’s feelings since she was told to have proper table manners.

Chelsea looked directly at the tall guy, which was laughing mostly at the fact he almost broke a chair when sitting on it. She didn’t really know his name so she’s going to more or less, but he’s definitely strange. ”You are a strange fellow, Sir. W-What’s your name?” Chelsea asked the old and very tall man. She was continuing eating and drinking the coffee, which she ordered. Her eyes were a bit brighter when she ate the pancakes, mostly because of the fact it was reminding her of home. However, her eyes looked at directly at the girl who approached them and smiled gently at her. ”Ah, hi, what’s your name? My name is Chelsea Rain Steiner. Y-Your rosary is beautiful by the way.” Chelsea spoke towards Len. Her eyes saw her beautiful rosary on the right hand and was awed at the beauty of the jewelry.

@Andre Valias@Scribe of Thoth@Letter Bee@Sgt Vandingo@Selvariabell

Len feels timid, but she tried her best to gather strenght. She breaths in, raising her chin high, and putting a smile on her face as she gathers her composure.

"Hi Chelsea, I am Maria Leonora Trillanes, you can call me Len for convenience...", Len introduced herself, still with a bit of shyness in her tone.

"...And thank you for the compliment, it is my father's memento.", she continued with a blush, she isn't used to being complimented, aside from her boyfriend.

"I look forward working together with you.", she said as she reached out her hand.

@Andre Valias@Scribe of Thoth@Letter Bee@Sgt Vandingo@Landaus Five-One

---

Kxeyun minds her own business, having black coffee, smiling and closing her eyes. "Coffee truly is the best thing in the universe." She then gets up and walks over to Terra. "So, what's your name? You seem the most interesting out of everyone else here. My name is Kxeyun Amarati, my NC is Sahaquiel, Ingenuity of God. I'm not religious, though, Denver-Vegas named that glorious machine that." she's extremely energetic, and a fast talker. Her hands are clenched into fists, though. Perhaps she's slightly angry at something despite her smile? She's also leaning a bit, perhaps to make herself cuter than normal.

The Coffee House - Darwin

---

Chelsea smiled at Len and definitely agreed with her shorter name since trying to say the full name would be difficult. ”I agree with what you said. I’ll definitely call you Len. That’s nice to know too.” Chelsea said, with a gentle smile. She giggled at when Len blushed from her compliment. Her hand reached out and shook Len’s hand, which she had a gentle smile on her face. ”Same, I look forward working together with you, Len. O-Oh yeah, what’s your NC called? Mine is the Fixer.” Chelsea said with a smile. Her look on her face was a bit wanting to know the NC of Len. She enjoyed talking about anything really, however. Her mind was on her music player and moved her hand back to the plate again.

She put back on her music player on her jacket and put her headphones around her neck. The food and coffee, which she was drinking and eating was very much enjoyable. ”Meeting new people is always nice.” Chelsea thought to herself, with a smile on her face. The thoughts in her head were a bit distracting her, however, she snapped out of her thoughts. ”I-I’m definitely enjoying this food. It reminds me of when my parents cooked breakfast.” Chelsea said with a bit of nostalgia in her tone of voice.

@Selvariabell

Len smiles at Chelsea's hospitable nature. She likes her confidence, all this time she wished she is just as confident as hers. She replies with a smile, trying to emulate her confidence.

"My NC is called Charlemagne, my boyriend named it, it is a very simplistic utility NC, lacking the aesthetic curves of more sophisticated NCs, but so long as it is functional and does the job efficiently, it's fine for me.", she replied.

Len is planning to upgrade the Charlemagne in the future, hopefully replacing the gun-arms with actual hands. Her boyfriend insists she gets a newer, more streamlined NC, but she thinks of it as unnecessary for a utility NC.

@Andre Valias@Scribe of Thoth@Letter Bee@Sgt Vandingo@Landaus Five-One

Cody received the cup of tea and glanced at it, inspecting it while remarking:

Cody: Is that so... Well maybe I'll want to pay him a visit sometime.

He started walking towards a nearby empty table to enjoy his drink and study the plans when the female pilot earlier spoke to him as he reached her table. He decided to take a seat at her table, before replying:

Cody: I have a straw for drinks, but for meals I usually eat in private.

Just as he finished speaking, the aforementioned straw appeared from under his helmet. He guided it to his drink, placing it in before sipping the piping hot tea. He paused for a moment before opening the plans on the datapad and moving it to her side of the table for her to see.

Cody: What's your name by the way? I apologize but I didn't happen to catch it a while ago.

A short time later, Another female pilot approached their table and started speaking to his tablemate. He left them both alone, simply observing their conversation while sipping on his tea.

@FalloutJack @Senhara

She wasn't going to have a long conversation with Joey because, well, Joey was busy serving people. Still, this was like the equivalent of knowing your bartender at a particular establishment...and this tea WAS rather decent...so all in all, a good place to be. Now, Terra had managed to gain the attention of the helmeted man, and it seemed that she was at least partially right about how it was going to take any sustenance. He had a straw built into his helmet, and his food was going to be eaten privately. Now...of course, the REAL question was 'Why are you always wearing this helmet of yours?', but she couldn't just ask that. She didn't know these people. Her perception of normal was broken hours ago, just by how different this base was from any Red-Star facility.

Terra was then asked for her name - because, if anything, she was only known as 'The Red-Star Defector', so far - and she was about to answer when both she and the helmeted man were confronted with that woman from before, the one who seemed distraught, but trying very hard to keep it together. In fact, she looked to be really working at it, taking an interest in Terra specifically. Her name was Kxeyun, and she seemed very eager to get acquainted. Was she in a similar position as her? Denver-Vegas was a long way away, so she wouldn't know anyone else here. Unlike Terra's own control of herself, Kxeyun may've been putting herself out there as a pleasant sort of person in order to make her transition into the group move faster. It wasn't her own way of doing things, but...honestly, Terra found herself taking an interest, as the other pilot had in her. That clenching of the fists, though...

"Have a seat, if you like. Either of you."

She was gonna do a bit of explanation for the both of them.

"My name is Terra Laedo. I'm the pilot of Id, a Red-Star NC designed to rapidly strike opponents and tear through defenses. That's how I escaped. They designed a person who could coordinate every human ability we take for granted, flooded her brain with information while still a child, then trained her for years as a very dangerous, very intelligent combatant. It was only a matter of time before I discovered how self-destructive their methods were. I wasn't helping that, so I left with Id."

Then, she looked Kxeyun in the eyes and said...

"You had to leave people behind, as well, didn't you?"

That was what she deduced by her observations. Kxeyun's voice was light and sunny, but her more subtle reactions - like her breathing pattern - were darker, ranging from unhappy to very angry, and possibly with herself. Terra didn't want to feel that way herself, but she suspected that if she let the emotion rise, it might look something like that.

Kxeyun gladly accepts the offer to sit down, slightly shocked by how quick she figured that out. "Indeed, I had to leave many behind." A long sigh escapes her lips. "I'm like you, it looks. I escaped Denver with Sahaquiel. She's designed to cut and claw at enemies, she's well armored and fast. I originally was part of Denver's Reality Games, where people were put in NCs to hunt down criminals and volunteers in an arena for sport. I was noted to be one of the best and was recruited into the military, they gave me an all-melee NC. I haven't really found my home, yet. When I left..." Her composure is breaking. "My friend... Jack, came for me... He tried to capture me, I killed him... I didn't want to, I liked him... Why did I kill him? I could've captured him..." She's on the verge of crying now, hands shaking a bit, eyes darting back and forth all over the place. "My family too... Why did they abandon me?" She thrusts her hands up and covers her eyes. It appears she can't control her memories and train of thought well, which is a glaring problem if these thoughts occur in a fight.

_@FalloutJack

Zahra entered the cafe, taking in the nostalgic aroma. She smiled a smile visible through her eyes at the young barista for his mention of religious dietary restriction accommodations. Though camel sounded like quite the treat, it was a rich, heavy meat that Zahra felt was not ideal before a battle. She instead ordered some chai and an omelette. She sat down at a table that soon became a large table as the big man who had suggested the bar started sliding them together. She drank slowly and methodically, using her left hand to prop up her face veil while she sipped her tea, holding the cup with her right hand. When eating, she used her left hand to unclasp one corner of her face veil, and using her fork with her right, lifted cut pieces of omelette to her mouth, turning the opened side of the veil away from any of the men, before re-clasping the veil to chew.

She smiled as Joey talked about the local politics, and was glad to see how instead of seeing everyone as foreigners, he saw them as 'potential future citizens'. Sadly, Zahra would not be staying after the battle, since she was only a representative from Al-Amir.

She heard someone ask about ranged combat and responded, "I specialize in drones. While the drones may themselves be short-to-medium range, they can operate at long-range from my NC. I can also carry out emergency repairs through my drones, but they won't be as good as a specialized repair unit. Otherwise, coordinating hit-and-run defenses is my specialty, since I have eyes in the sky. The name's Hafidh Zahra Mazghuuri. Hafidh is just a title, though. If you want to be formal, you can call me Hafidh, if you want to be casual, you can call me Zahra. I was sent by Al-Amir to aid Haven in its independence. If we win, remember that Al-Amir helped, though this is really a point I should emphasize to the General Commander." She was glad to see the team getting to know one another, with a bit of socializing mixed in with a bit of getting to know one anothers' combat capabilities.

Zahra chuckled at Terra's curiosity of Cody's mask, but decided not to join in the teasing. Besides, everyone had their reasons for wearing masks. "I also usually eat in private, for me, it's out of a sense of modesty."

However, as Terra and Kxeyun continued to converse, Zahra noticed Kxeyun losing composure. It was sad to see that Haven's defense relied on such desperate, broken individuals, but such was the nature of NC combat. Interfacing with a machine was not something 'natural' for the human mind. And then there was Terra, who had clearly explained the monstrosity of her own existence. Though Terra seemed able to keep her composure, Zahra was as worried for Terra as she was for Kxeyun. For now, Zahra reached over and put a hand on Kxeyun's. "Do not push yourself out there, child. Yes, Haven is depending on you to defend her, but out there, we are all depending on each other to survive. So as much as we depend on you, you must depend on us. You don't need to prove yourself, you have already been chosen. If you feel yourself coming apart, retreat and rely on someone else to fill in the gap. This burden is to be shared."

@Sgt Vandingo @Andre Valias @Metatrooper @FalloutJack @Senhara

When Chelsea mentioned Isaac, even turning toward him where he sat to clarify. Alexei beamed pleasantly. As he was about to comment, a veiled pilot, a Muslim woman Alexei remembered seeing at the briefing, spoke. She mentioned her autonomous drones, and introduced herself as Hafidh Zahra Mazghuuri, Hafidh formally and Zahra casually, sent as a representative of Al-Amir. Alexei nodded toward her with a polite smile.
"Pleased to meet you, madame. I'm Alexei d'Vexille. I'll be sure to remember your drones for the coming battle." He introduced himself with a slight courteous bow toward Zahra.

Alexei then returned his attention to Chelsea, or more so Isaac.
"And I met monsieur LaBelle earlier. How fortunate." He remarked as he looked to Isaac. "I asked only because I thought about when we were briefed about Osamu-- I got concerned about Vectis being taken control of." He explained. "So my only question is, are you good enough of a shot to disable instead of kill?" Alexei knew he was asking a lot, but he sure hoped Isaac would be capable of stopping Vectis from inflicting friendly fire.

Of course, if it is unavoidable, I understand.

After that, he noticed a newcomer whom Chelsea had complimented on the rosary on her hand. She introduced herself to Chelsea as Maria Leonora Trillanes; Len for short. Alexei smiled as the two conversed, happily listening and sipping his mocha as they did so.

@Scribe of Thoth @Landaus Five-One @Stern Algorithm

---

---

Cassius sniffed as he listened to everyone, though he was trying to hide a grin from all the shenanigans. He had been there, once upon a time. Now, he just couldn’t care. Eventually, after being served his coffee, just as he asked, mind you, he grinned, and pulled out the same canteen he had used earlier to drink from, then poured the virulent substance into the coffee. He stared at his canteen for a moment, as if attempting to decide what to do with the remnants in the canteen, then shrugged, and threw his head back as he drank the rest. He sniffed again, then slid the now-empty canteen back into his vest, and took a swig of the coffee-alcohol mix.

Oh yeah, he regretted that. He hid it as best he could, but the straight-out-of-the-pot temperature of the coffee scalded his tongue, the alcohol just furthering the pain he felt. He shouldered it like a champ, and other than his eyes watering very slightly, he didn’t react whatsoever. He managed a smile towards Chelsea, who had asked his name, and he quickly swallowed both the substance and the pain, and continued smiling.

”Name’s Cassius Chaplain, youse can call me Caz fer short. Mr. Chaplain as well, I guess if ya wanna be formal. An’ aye, I’m pretty strange. But I’ma happy strange, ain’t I? Oh, an’ I specialise in close ranged fuckery. Oh-Cee’s got a massive shotgun she likes shovin’ up arses. Pleasure t’meet yaz all.” He continued smiling, even though his throat felt like it was set ablaze by the ridiculously hot coffee. He heard Oh-Cee laugh in his earpiece, which further embarrassed him for falling victim to such an innocent looking cup of flavoured water.

He smiled at Chelsea, and let her return to her conversation, then just leaned back and refused to touch the rest of the coffee, not trusting it anymore. He listened intently, then frowned as he heard the telltale sign of pausing before someone devolved into a crying fit, then managed to put the face behind the sound, and he looked across part of the table to Kxeyun, and frowned more, something that was rare to stay on his face for so long. He listened to Zahra, the veiled woman, attempt to calm her, then he sighed, and leaned back to get a good look at the poor girl.

”There’s skeletons in everyone’s closet, miss. Everyone makes mistakes, you need to learn when to take them out for a dusting so they don’t creep into your nightmares. It’s alright, time is the healer of all wounds.” He dropped his accent and tried smiling to comfort her, though he doubted she’d even look his way. He nodded, then turned back to the rest of the group, sighed, and went to take a puff of his cigar, before thinking about the rest of the group for once, and sighing once more as he snuffed out the cigar on his dogtags, which had long been scratched away so that they were no more than just tiny pieces of silver with no inscriptions.

”Are you alright, Pilot Cassius? I am detectin-”

”I’m fine, Oh-Cee.” He responded, for once without a smile on his face as he stared into the abyss that was his contaminated coffee.

Oh-Cee remained silent, though if she could frown in worry over her pilot, she would be doing just that.

The Coffee House - Darwin

---

Chelsea’s face looked towards Cassius’ since he introduced himself to her. She kinda wished did pay attention to everyone else within that meeting room, which told them of what’s about to happen to Darwin. Her smile went away a bit and looked directly at Cassius. ”I-I’m sorry for not paying attention during the meeting, Cassius. But what the Commander said shocked me a bit too much. I’ll definitely call you Caz from now on since it’s easier to say.” Chelsea responded to Cassius with some regret in her tone of voice. Her eyes moved over and saw the woman who comforted her during the meeting. The name which she gave was beautiful, Zahra Mazghuuri definitely screamed from the Al-Amir. ”T-Thank you Zahra for calming me down during the meeting. If it wasn’t for you I would be a bit more worried about the battle’s outcome and probably wouldn’t be focused on supporting everyone with Field Repairs.” Chelsea said kindly towards Zahra with her tone in her voice a bit mixed feelings about the whole ordeal during the meeting.

She looked at Len again after responding to those two people and smiled kindly towards her. ”Ah, that’s a wonderful name, Len. Your boyfriend has a good taste in names. I hope it’ll do the best in its field then.” Chelsea responded to Len with amazement. However, the name did sound french sounding even though she had never seen anywhere in France because it’s controlled by Paragon. The mention of Osamu’s ability to take over control of NCs worried her a bit. She hoped her will could overpower the take over ability of his. ”I-It seems like I should be a bit more responsible in listening to everything around me than my music. But kinda hard only listening to everything with one ear.” Chelsea responded to Alexei with a regretful tone in her voice. The music she listens to is the only thing that can keep her focused but it’s a bit of an overabundance of using it to calm her down, which is a problem. She sighs at least she did finish her plate of food and was sipping her coffee slowly to make sure she’s wide awake.

@Sgt Vandingo@Stern Algorithm@Selvariabell@Andre Valias

---

Isaac shifted a bit, looking a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. He supposed it was to be expected that people would take notice of the NCs they would be fighting alongside, and it was an innocent, tactical question. His normal approach would be to respond to Alexei's inquiry with humility and self-deprecation, but given his current priorities, it wouldn't hurt to be honest.

"My Algernon is outfitted for long range engagements, yes. Osamu will likely be my primary target, given his threat level, but I'll be providing fire support where I can." he started, focusing mainly on Chelsea before diverting his attention more toward Alexei, "As for disabling, it depends on the structure of your NC and how fast it's moving. Generally you can determine critical locations by heat signature, but if that fails, I'd have to try to disable locomotion - or Osamu himself." Isaac shrugged and sipped his coffee. It was a nonanswer and he knew it, but it was the best he could do. In theory, he absolutely could disable an NC. But if he couldn't get a clear shot, it wouldn't matter how skillfully he was shooting.

Finally, he quirked his head toward Zahra, although he didn't say anything quite yet. She seemed a bit preoccupied with tending to another woman's... loss of composure. Her drones sounded ideal for tracking targets for his railgun, although he supposed a quick pre-battle comm exchange would convey his idea just as easily as discussing it now. He had no rush. It was curious that Al-Amir had their fingers in this mess too. Looking to secure an alliance? Or was something darker at play here? He'd have to watch her, if only to report on it later.

---

@Andre Valias@Landaus Five-One

Those who have been there before can guess at the signs. Things were pretty dark in Red-Star-controlled Japan, so naturally Terra's education on it went two-fold, the things they wanted to teach her and the things they didn't want her to know. The reason she defected was that Red-Star was made up of horrible short-sighted people who created more horrors up around them. And then, one day, they got exactly what they wanted...but in the wrong direction. It went to the other side. But now, Terra was confronted by the other side and what it had for her was completely unexpected. What she found was a young lady from a different place with a different background and a different life, maybe totally different from her...and yet there were certain similarities to their current situation, as well. For Terra, these things bothered her, but she had a hold of it. For Kxeyun, though...

She wasn't able to keep her cool, like Terra did, and it showed. What she displayed externally was the frustration of things having not gone well. It had to have been something like leaving people behind, because that is what Terra did, and it still gnawed at her in the deep recesses of her mind. It would probably do so for a while. The memory and the irritation and the feeling of less was there, but the impulse to express it wasn't allowed to form. Kxeyun described her escape from Denver-Vegas after her time in the Reality Games, an NC combat sport that Terra had read about at some point. She had left people she cared about, had to kill someone she cared about... Terra watched her as she seemed to be disintegrating before her very eyes.

No... Stop it. You can't let it control you like that. It never stops hurting, that way...

For the moment, Terra was silent because this was dredging up things in herself...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When Terra was a child, she cried only once, and then never wanted to do it again because of how much it seemed to hurt. She didn't know why, at the time, but because of her accelerated learning, she understood the whole thing beyond emotional response and emotional pain. She didn't become some sort of lunatic who simply did not feel. She just didn't want to be hurt by the emotions, to be overwhelmed and lose herself in them. She once had an argument with her parents about it when she had fallen and scraped her knee hard enough to draw blood.

"Why don't you cry? Doesn't it hurt?"

"Yes, it hurts."

"Then, why don't you cry?"

"I don't want to cry because I don't want to hurt even more."

Imagine a ten-year-old talking down to you. That's what this was like for her folks.

"But it's a stress-reliever."

"I don't make stress. I can shut it down."

"How will we know what you're feeling, though? If you never show anything...who will ever know?"

And at that, their child scowled at them.

"I can show any emotion I want. I don't want THAT ONE. It only makes things harder for me."

Sadness and depression, fear and anxiety - these things kept her from reaching decisions she needed to make in the blink of an eye. Keeping them down to a dull roar allowed her to get on with things. Eventually, the reason for the pain fades away, and there's nothing left to keep down anymore...usually.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Others in the room saw and heard her tearing herself apart and came over to try and calm her down. She had nothing. She might've had more than her at the start, but they both had nothing now. Whoever built Sahaquiel must've meant alot to her, and they were on another continent now, perhaps lost. Jack, whoever he was, must've been important to her, and she killed him and didn't know why. Terra had not cared who it was she had killed on the way out of her facility. She had, in fact, aimed to destroy the entire hangar she'd been in before leaving, and probably did quite alot of damage. She felt that was good.

What she did not like was that she had left behind what apparently Kxeyun never really had: Parents.

Red-Star had allowed her to remain with her parents, presumably as a means to keep her in check, but they didn't count on her abandoning them as she had. Them...and the several individuals she'd found likeable during her rise through puberty. That was an interesting time... The point of all this was that Terra was not uncaring or unable to feel emotions. She hated being put through the more harmful points of one, the very racking of the soul that Kxeyun was going through. Rather abruptly, Terra stood up to bring herself closer to the other pilot and place a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"Kxeyun, I can help you cope and understand, help you deal with this. For now, we don't have much time until we prepare for combat. Stay alive and find me afterwards."

---

The physical contact from Zahra and Terra snaps her out of the memories, her mouth forms the words "You care for me? You care for me?" without ever saying them. One hand turns and grips onto Zahra's, the other reaches up and gently grabs Terra's hand, taking in the feeling. She still looks very much broken, but something about Terra's firm grip caused something to click in her, something that would serve to keep her sanity in check. The shattered girl stands up, letting go of their hands. Then, she hugs Terra, whispering "I hope you can, I can't carry this burden... It pulls me close, like a devil within. It doesn't want me to break free, it's part of me, wrenching me apart, makes me cry every night... I move on, I move on because I need to. It hurts me, I don't care. We won't be normal, I know this. Ever since I piloted an NC, I've felt different... I won't die on you, my blood won't fall into your hands. We'll survive this, I'll make sure of it. My claws will tear." The girl doesn't let go of Terra, letting out tears of relief. She felt understood, even accepted by this ex-Red Star pilot. "Thank you for listening to me, Terra... I'll keep you safe too, you won't die on my watch." Then, she stops talking, though it's clear there's more on her chest than this. But that can't hurt her now, there's a mission to do, and people to protect.