[IC] Evolution of Conflict: A Sci-Fi Mecha 1x1 FaithfulMuse and Stern Algorithm

[Stern Algorithm]

"I-it's irrational for me to be scared of Lieutenant RHS," Israfil reasoned, "He's our commanding officer, so I should try to get to know him at least."

"Alright, let's get some food first, and then we'll go see if he's fine if we sat with him," Tera said.

After everyone came back with their trays of food, they approached and approached Sion. Sion looked up from his drink, "At ease, ensigns," he said, giving them permission to be casual. As they sat down, much to everyone's surprise, Sion started the conversation, "So, how are you enjoying the ship?" he asked to no one in particular.

---

"Honestly," Chief Link said, "report back in 9 hours just to check, but if nothing has changed, you can go right back to what you were doing. But if anything happens to the cog you've been assigned to, you'll be paged through your drive."

[FaithfulMuse]

"From what we've seen so far, I think the ship looks really nice." Claire answered. Alright, she was sure that there were plenty of things on the ship they hadn't seen yet, but they still had enough time left time to explore. And she did honestly think that the ship looked nice.

Mike looked at the man and nodded. "I'll make sure to report in time, sir." The boy answered, before leaving his current location and starting to explore the ship, but not before he had eaten something, meaning that the first place he would discover was going to be the mess hall.

[Stern Algorithm]

"Yes, The Incubator's a fine ship, by my observation," Sion mused. He seemed to be considering his words for a bit before saying, "Ensign Rivers, I'm sorry about what happened to your sister, but," Sion seemed to be suppressing rage, "it seems like Ensign Lear won't be facing any sort of reprimand, at least, nothing meaningful. He's too valuable to the project. Still, he seems to want to impress Lieutenant Encarnacion...I'll leave it to her to keep him reigned in."

[FaithfulMuse]

Claire listened to what Sion had to say about it and nodded. "I see." She simply answered. It was a shame that Solomon wouldn't be given a proper punishment, but on the other hand, it could've been expected. "To be honest, I'm surprised that my sister didn't punch Solomon in the face or anything for making her kneel. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time for her to do such a thing."

After a brief while Mike had reached the mess hall and noticed the group sitting there. He smiled friendly at them and grabbed a plate before walking towards them.

[Stern Algorithm]

Sion looked at Claire. Blythe's profile had indicated that she would be trouble. "Well, I'm glad she didn't. If the situation was reversed..." Sion signed, "Let's just say she wouldn't be getting as much leniency. But I really shouldn't be talking about this so let's change the subject."

To oblige, Tera asked, "Even though this is our first time even seeing our cogs, I get the feeling that you and Lieutenant Encarnacion have not only already seen your cogs, but have even piloted them."

"Yes, that's right," Sion replied, "Encarnacion and I were the first test pilots, at the beginning of the project, they only wanted two cogs made. Once we had demonstrated the feasibility of the cogs, then the project was expanded, and that's where you guys come in."

Israfil saw Mike and waved back timidly. He felt a lot better now and eagerly waited for Mike to finish getting food.

[FaithfulMuse]

Claire didn't say anything for the moment, instead hoping quietly that Blythe would manage to behave decently and not get herself into too much problems. Of course, that would be very much unlike her sister, but still, she could always hope.

Once Mike had gotten his food, he walked over to where the others were sitting and showed them a friendly smile. "Do you guys mind if I sit with you?" He asked, looking at them. He was pretty sure that Israfil wouldn't mind, but he didn't want to be a bother to the other ones.

[Stern Algorithm]

Tera recognized Mike from the shuttle and made space for him. "Not at all," she said in response.

"Mike, it's great to see you again; you didn't get scolded by the chief engineer, did you?" Israfil asked, worried.

[FaithfulMuse]

Claire recognised him as well and simply showed Mike a friendly smile.

"No, not really. He didn't make a big deal out of it, so I guess it doesn't bother him that much." Mike said in return to Israfil's question, sitting down.

[Stern Algorithm]

"Oh, well, that's good then," Israfil said. He then turned to the others at the table, "This is Mike Rogers, he's one of the cog engineers. I met him while coming up the space elevator."

Tera nodded at Mike in welcome.

Sion stood up, "Alright, I need to get back and prepare for the coming mission. You guys have a good meal, and get some rest."

[FaithfulMuse]

"It's nice to meet you, Mike, I'm Claire." Claire said in return, showing the boy a friendly smile.

Mike looked at them and gave them a friendly smile in return. "It's nice to meet you too." He said. They all seemed friendly enough, so Mike supposed that was a good thing.

[Stern Algorithm]

"So, what were you all doing before you got recruited to be a pilot?" Tera asked. Tera was raised with the idea that humans were to be respected, revered even; and to be taken care of for they were fragile in many ways. Though she may not agree with every part of that, she mainly found humans fascinating for two main reasons. The first was that they needed the first decade or so of their lives to develop their minds, while a Quantum could have a mature mind with basic functional intelligence from creation. The second was that their lives could be so short, and even if they weren't short, they were finite, so humans had to grapple with the idea of mortality. It was quite frankly amazing to Tera that humans accomplished anything at all with the short, functional period of time they've been given. Learning about human lives and dreams captivated Tera, though she tried not to think about the fact that she may soon be responsible for ending some.

[FaithfulMuse]

"I spent most of my time doing voluntary work before I got here. My parents wanted me to go study to become a doctor, which I would've done if I failed the test." Claire told, looking at the others as she was talking. She wouldn't have minded it to become a doctor instead, as she liked helping people and was intelligent enough to become one, according to what the people around her said. Still, she felt sure that she would love this job, too.

Blythe entered the mess hall, but paid no attention to the group sitting there and only put a remarkably little amount of food on her plate before taking place at an empty table. She felt no need to socialise with anyone at all, and she was only there to get herself something to eat, after all.

[Stern Algorithm]

"A doctor," Tera said, "My 'parents' were nurses. I probably would have become a nurse too, if I didn't get recruited." She looked at Israfil, prompting him to answer.

"I-I was just going through higher education," Israfil said, then added, "though I didn't really excel at anything. I-it's hard to keep up, when everyone else is so...talented. When I got recruited, I thought, 'maybe this is something that only I can do, something unique about me as a person'. Ah, what am I saying?" Israfil suddenly got embarrassed, put his hands under the table and looked down awkwardly.

Tera looked at Mike and said, "Sorry, when I said 'pilots', I didn't mean to exclude you, if you'd like, please feel free to share your background as well." Tera saw Blythe out of the corner of her eye, but decided not to bring any unwanted attention to her. If Blythe wanted to be left alone, Tera wasn't going to disturb her privacy.

[FaithfulMuse]

Mike looked at Tera and shrugged. "That's okay. Before being recruited I wasn't really doing anything exciting, to be honest. I spend most of my time studying mechanics, but until now never did anything other with it than just messing around a little on my own." Mike explained. To him it didn't seem like a very interesting thing to tell, which was why he hadn't said anything in the first place. Thinking of it, most of his hadn't been very exciting, just pretty normal.

Claire listened to the stories of the others, they all sounded pretty interesting to her. This way they got to know each other a little as well, which she could consider a good thing. She did notice Blythe, but decided not to disturb her. Her sister usually prefered being alone, and Claire had figured out long ago that her sister likely wouldn't like to sit with them, not even on invitation.

[Stern Algorithm]

"I see, so this is a pretty natural transition for you then, isn't it?" Tera asked Mike.

"Hey...Mike...after we eat, I kind of want to check out my cog," Israfil said, "S-since you probably know everything about the hangar now, i-is it ok if you come with me? S-so I don't, you know, do anything I'm not supposed to accidentally?"

[FaithfulMuse]

Mike nodded in response to Tera's question. "Yeah, kind of. I mean, of course the cogs are different from other mechanics I've worked on, but at the same time, they're still not that different." When he heard Israfil's question, he turned to looked at him and smiled. "Sure, that should be no problem."

[Stern Algorithm]

"Great, let's go when we're done eating," Israfil replied.

"Claire," Tera said, "If you don't mind my asking, can you tell me a bit more about Blythe? Like what was she doing before getting recruited?"

[FaithfulMuse]

Mike nodded in response, but kept his mouth shut for the moment.

Claire hesitated for a moment, not sure what to tell, as she was certain Blythe wouldn't appreciate it if she would just tell everyone who asked that her previous boyfriend had comitted suicide and that Blythe herself had been struggling with an eating disorder. "She has kind of been through some bad things lately, but I don't think it's up to me to tell you about that."

[Stern Algorithm]

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Tera said, afriad she may have offended Claire. "Is there anything you wanted to ask me?" She offered, hoping to even things out a bit.

Since Mike joined them later, Israfil finished eating first, and waited for Mike to finish.

[FaithfulMuse]

Claire smiled to Tera, as if to show that everything was alright. "It's alright, it's just that what Blythe has been through are quite personal things, and I don't think it's right of I tell others about such things without knowing if she's good with that." Claire answered.

Once Mike was done he got up and looked at Israfil. "Are you ready to go?"