Destiny Drive Third, Anything Goes Sci-Fi

Seed Esper Suit-Up Room

Staring at her coolsuit, Kristen received the next message and listened to it. It stated that Andrew – and thus, Ars – were in Social District 8.

Suddenly a giant robot didn't exactly seem like a good idea. Sure, she was B&B now, but... was this a situation that necessitated an MFRU like Beauty & Beast?

She thought for a moment. The unit was made to combat Armor criminals. If they were being called into an assignment it seemed like it warranted use of all the gear they could get. But doubts kept creeping in – this wasn't a hunt, this was an investigation. The Atlas was anything but subtle.

She recorded another message. “Just to clarify, should I show up in person or in the Atlas? I know we're dealing with Armor criminals, but the thing is, we're investigating, and the Atlas is by no means subtle in any way. Be prepared for anything, but I don't feel like I can snoop around inside one of the biggest death machines on Elysium.”

edited 10th Jul '15 8:30:36 PM by SpartyMcFly

9:37 am July seventh 2015 Seed Esper Elysium, Esper Quarters, Isolation

Jander woke up. The room was still dark, as it always was. The morning shafts of light would have been comforting, if there were. Seed Esper had put her in a room that easily reflected her state but it was much her choosing as theirs which she refused to accept and soon after, she came to believe that all of this was appropriate for someone like herself.

She rolled onto her side and looked briefly at the clock, its red digits telling her that it was way past the soldier's supposed waking time. But she was no more a soldier than an experiment confined within a bland facility (almost literally).

Jander debated within herself whether she should get up or not. In the end, she decided to sit up on her bed since no good would come out of her just laying there all day. And I'm already a burden, as it is.

She got up and took off her clothes. Jander entered the bath, welcoming the hot shower. She loved taking baths... it made her feel cleaner and in a way it was a form of starting again. Jander stood under the shower for what seemed like half an hour. She was lost in thought and in her temporary haven only when hunger struck her was she brought back to the present.

Quickly, Jander dried herself and wriggled into her pants and long sleeved sweater - her usual attire. She pushed all the hair trapped inside her sweater when she wore it and reached for her scarf which she wound almost haphazardly around her neck. Jander then put on her boots, tying it up with utmost care.

Jander went out the door and made for the cafeteria.

edited 11th Jul '15 1:26:36 AM by DemKimochis

10:42 am July seventh 2015 Seed Esper Elysium, Cafeteria

Jander walked away from the line, triumphant in her search. There weren't many people since it was that time in the middle of breakfast and lunch and as such, many tables were unmanned. Taking one for herself, she set down her silver tray and began with her broth. She sipped a spoonful then recoiled immediately, the soup too hot for her lips. The next few spoons got a few blows from her before she ate. The hot liquid was warming, literally, especially for the cold climate of the cafeteria.

Finished with her soup, she pushed it away and looked at the survivors: buttered vegetables, mashed potato, and a small beef steak. She was in the middle of deciding which to take from first, giving each a tentative push from her knife, when she was alerted of a new message.

She reached for her ear where an earpiece rested. Jander played the recording as she took a piece of her steak.

"You have been assigned this mission to investigate the freelance Armor team Ars, supposedly the group runaway Alena Anechka is with. Her father, Alexei Anechka, is CACHE Russia's Base Commander. In addition, separate from this mission, Seed Esper would like for you to find out why Andrew Johnson hasn't brought in his five-piece VESTA for repairs to his "You have been assigned this mission to investigate the freelance Armor team Ars, supposedly the group runaway Alena Anechka is with. Her father, Alexei Anechka, is CACHE Russia's Base Commander. In addition, separate from this mission, Seed Esper would like for you to find out why Andrew Johnson hasn't brought in his five-piece VESTA for repairs to his Mentalists yet."

She breathed heavily after the message ended. ''There never is any reparation, huh?" No time to savor her food she finished it in a matter of minutes, but taking another as she drank her water, only taking a few sips at a time.

Reaching once more for her earpiece, Jander sent a brief "Copy. On my way." And with that she stood up from her seat, tray in hand, depositing it at the counter before making her way towards the hangar to make some inspections.

edited 10th Jul '15 10:21:59 PM by DemKimochis

Seed Esper Hangar Bay

Having eventually decided of her own prerogative that a mech wasn't necessary for a simple check-up operation, Kristen reached down to her side and drew her Colt sidearm from its holster. It was brand-new, plated in cerakote, used by US Marine special forces. It was a design over 100 years old that, even amidst new weapon designs, still saw use – simply because it was reliable, and it worked. If it came down to it she was a capable enough shot with it.

Holstering the firearm, she exited the suit-up room and headed out into the hangar bay, and amidst the people in the bay she spotted someone; Irelia Jander. The other member of Beauty & The Beast. Only slightly shorter than her, black hair that turned purple near the end. She immediately changed course – this mission didn't seem all that urgent, and a quick discussion with her partner might be worthwhile.

“'Ey!” shouted Kristen, trying to attract Jander's attention as she closed in. Given her rainbow-colored hair, she stood out in a room – though most of Seed Esper had, admittedly, gotten used to her presence.

Seed Esper Elysium, Hangar Bay

Jander kept on walking towards her Royal Elf, oblivious to the fact that she had been called. It was a rare occurence to see people talking to her mostly because she preferred it that way.

A flash of color - or rather many colors - caught her eye. Jander instinctively looked towards it. The array of colors belonged to no other than Kristen Johnson. Jander had never seen her but she had read about her and it was obvious Kristen was headed for her.

"What is it that you want with me?" she asked, knowing well why she decided to talk to her.

CACHE Elysium Main Facility, Control Room

Sorry, Tvtropes ate my post like three times

Galen enters the control room and looks around. He takes note of several electronic displays, control panels, and Sasha before resting his eyes on Leo Mulier.

"Uhm... Leo? Samson said he'll be back soon.. If that means anything to you."

He awkwardly shifts back and forth on his feet, before greeting Sasha.

"... Hello."

Hangar Bay

Kristen stopped in front of Irelia. She had asked what Kristen wanted, which was a pretty valid question – though it came with a hard edge that temporarily caught her by surprise.

“Easy. We've got a mission to do, and I think we should talk about how we're going to approach this before we do it.” She responded almost in a monotone - a far cry from her usually relaxed self.

edited 12th Jul '15 9:29:29 AM by SpartyMcFly

Seed Esper Elysium, Hangar Bay

Why the actual hell would Seed Esper pair me up with another pilot?

Jander looked her over from head to toe as she measured her next words. "Well, since I'm unstable, I'll let you do all the talking," she laughed almost sarcastically. "Honestly, this isn't the best mission to have me in."

And she seems somewhat naïve, as well.

Seed Esper Hangar

Unstable? That was surprising. Kristen hadn't been informed of much regarding her teammate – just the name, Irelia Jander, and her appearance. She hadn't been told much else, and she wasn't sure why. Merc or no, you'd at least try to inform people before heading out.

“Whoa, hold up a second. 'Unstable'? I haven't been informed of anything about you besides name and appearance,” responded Kristen. She didn't seem judgemental – she seemed more confused that she hadn't been informed about her teammate more.

Seed Esper Elysium, Hangar Bay

Jander was genuinely surprised. They haven't even told her? "You must be some expendable person, then," she commented, "No offense. But if they put you in the same unit as me and haven't even briefed you of what could happen..."

Jander sighed. She was probably taking it too far. She didn't want to make any enemies but she was also avoiding trying to make friends. "Let's just say, I have a tendency to lose it. Not too much, but frequent enough to be unsafe."

edited 12th Jul '15 10:15:57 AM by DemKimochis

Seed Esper Hangar

Kristen listened as Irelia explained her tendency to... go nuts. The implication of friendly fire was rather immediate. Her most immediate thought was that she could take it. She was very skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and the Atlas was one of the toughest Armors on Elysium, bar none. She decided to convey those facts.

“Inside a mech, the Atlas is rated to survive indirect hits from modern strategic nuclear weapons. Outside a mech I'm damn good at hand-to-hand fighting. They assigned us to this unit for a reason, Irelia. Thanks for informing me ahead of time.”

Seed Esper Elysium, Hangar Bay

Jander looked beyond Kristen and towards the Atlas, its body easily towering over her own mecha. She snorted. "I can still prove to be a difficult opponent. Especially when you're trying your best not to kill me," Jander smiled slightly, trying to intimidate the other pilot.

It irritated her a bit to see Kristen unaffected by anything she said to her. "I only assumed that you already knew about it."

edited 12th Jul '15 10:39:22 AM by DemKimochis

Seed Esper

“Funny,” noticed Kristen, “that sounds sort of like a challenge. Subdue your enemy while trying not to kill them.” A wicked grin spread across her face. “I'd be up for that.”

It quickly disappeared as she returned to business, however. “Nope. Like I said, now I know. Anyways. I'm guessing you already got the message about the job, and you said you'd let me handle all the talking earlier. We're headed to Social District 8. You got a ride, or are you gonna have to bunk with me?”

Seed Esper Elysium, Hangar Bay

"I have my own mech... and a much more comfortable ride." Jander said in response. She was just about to go to the modified Seelie when she noticed something was missing. Jander's hands flew behind her back, confirming her worst fears: she had left her blades behind.

Looking back one last time at Kristen, she took off, walking hastily away from her mecha, in the direction of the quarters.

Seed Esper Hangar

Kristen stared confusingly as Irela quickly left the hangar, before she decided to head to the Social District. Figuring she'd get there anyways, Kristen headed outdoors to the parking lot, where her loyal steed awaited.

Sixty thousand bucks, seven hundred horsepower, and yet it was still a sedan with utility. Kristen's blood red Charger Hellcat◊ was the fastest sedan in the world, and could outperform cars from Porsche and Ferrari for merely a quarter of the price. Getting in and starting up, she adeptly configured a route to the Social District - and Ars's location - and pulled out, moving down the street.

Even at her sedate pace the Charger strained against its limited throttle, almost like it wanted to be unleashed.

Seed Esper Elysium, Irelia's Room

Jander got to her room in just a few minutes. Her blades were scattered on the floor, probably by her unconscious release of power earlier that day. She found three of them easily and found the other one under her bed. It was quite deep in the middle, barely touching her fingers with her arm stretched all the way.

One would think that being an esper, Jander would naturally utilize her powers in the most mundane of tasks but that was not the case. If anything, she was afraid to use it in fear of trigerring a response from the fragment within her. It only had one response and Jander knew it all too well.

With great strain, she was able to retrieve the blade but suffered a small cut in the process. All of the blades complete, she stowed them all into their bag and slung it over her shoulder.

edited 12th Jul '15 12:00:10 PM by DemKimochis

Seed Esper Elysium, Hangar

Jander returned to the hangar shortly afterwards. She went towards the vehicles there, looking for her motorcycle. It was hard to miss. Her vehicle was sleek and black but most noticable was the seeming lack of wheels. Putting on her helemet, she rode the wheel-less bike. There was no ignition but as soon as she rode it, the motorcycle released two circular discs from its sides, disguised as part of its aesthetic design at first. Surely, the vehicle was modified... specifically, for espers. The discs attached themselves to the front and back of its body respectively.

Without warning the "wheels" started rotating, and the bike sped off in pursuit of Kristen's own steed.

edited 12th Jul '15 11:58:56 AM by DemKimochis

The Streets of Rage

As the Hellcat rumbled down the street Kristen noted the various vehicles. Elysium being a center of technology meant supercars were everywhere - you were just as likely to find a Grand Caravan, the ultimate symbol of "need room to haul things" - next to a Koenigsegg, the ultimate symbol of "need road to haul ass".

Noting Irelia heading up behind her Kristen resumed her focus to the road, and the two of them headed towards their area of operations.

Having smiled gently at the Fey Hearts as they entered the room, Sasha holds up her face with her right hand as she waits to see their actions. Eyes perking up slightly at hearing Galen speak, Leo looks past the Fey Hearts excitedly before stopping and turning back to their pad. Sasha herself decides to step up from her seat, right hand behind her back as her left rummaged through her coat. Pulling out a small phone, a short click goes off before she puts it away.

Left hand joining her right, Sasha's face becomes more serious before speaking up "From 8:50 AM today, we have discovered the Eldritchian Aurora Destroyer is still alive. However, it is currently trapped in the Western Elysium Field, and its body has not perfectly undone the damage done to it. Thus, it has been deemed Aurora Destroyer has been sufficiently weakened to be captured alive. Being touched by the Eldritchians, you all know how important it is trying to figure out their minds. However, if it proves too difficult to capture, there will be no penalty for eliminating it instead."

Turning her head slightly to face Leo, the child quickly nods and files suddenly find themselves on the Fey Hearts' devices. "You'll be provided spears we made to disrupt its abilities ever since it vanished. Once you get in range, pierce the Eldritchian with them. If it can't absorb electricity to power its beam, it should be helpless. Once subdued, take it over to Hatch 005 in the forested area, other CACHE personnel will finish up. By the way, Faith, you just need to tell them of its behavior."

From behind the Fey Hearts stands Faith Long, the young girl carefully looking the three over. Crossing her arms against her board of a chest, Faith speaks in a serious tone "Aurora Destroyer doesn't seem to like fighting equal opponents, and especially cowardly when Eldritchian derivations were involved. Thus, it'll likely attempt to escape throughout the encounter, leaving itself open. However, if it comes to understand the three of you as a serious unrelenting threat, it'll stop running and start fighting for its life. Depending on how the fight goes, that should give you at most twenty minutes before it fights seriously. Though from what we've come to understand, if you try 'appealing' to the Eldritchian that should distract it."

Sasha giving Faith a light nod, the commander turns her attention to the Fey Hearts "The transports are ready, just get into your units within the hour. As for why we didn't have you leave earlier, we wanted to examine the Eldritchian's action as much as possible. Though with it starting to take an interest in the Hatch 005 crew, we need to confront it now before it harms anyone."

The man scoffs, before lightly laughing to himself. Tossing the half-mask he removed to the side, black matter suddenly starts bubbling over his face. Smoothing out to match the half-mask he tossed away, the man speaks "Sure, your boyfriend might not, but I'm won't trust any organization dedicated towards eradication that uses unicorns as their motifs. Besides, more people should partake of the fruit of life, its pretty fun being Fey Touched if you do it right."

Amanda glaring at the apparently carapaced man, he just simply mutters "Like I'm gonna be shamed by a Life Doll" before walking over to take a seat away from the pair. Tilting her head apologetically, Amanda speaks up "I ensure you, he's rather one-of-a-kind here. My superior and Doctor Ingress' daughter Melinda will be out soon, as they'll know more. However I can tell you Hera is a bit of an experiment. It certainly must look strange how she isn't aging rapidly like the Mass Produced Espers, yet hasn't been mentioned in any of the supposed years she lived through. We're actually testing out an experimental gene sequence the UN hopes to release one day, thus why she seems as old as she is."

Within the private room, Ryan has his eyes closed with a hand to his chin. Melinda, staring at him with only slight curiosity, speaks up "You know, I'm rather doubting they figured out Ars isn't a bunch of criminals. Sure they're cute smart girls, but that only goes so far nowadays. Paranoia and efficiency reign, so even if they did figure it out they probably left their mechanical counterparts behind. Though I suppose as long as they avoid spooking the Mentalists, they should be fine yeah?"

Sighing and dropping his arms to his side, Ryan replies mildly down "Where would they even keep a runaway? Their home has been seen numerous times by outsiders, so... Oh. That explains quite a lot... Though how do we pressure them into telling us? I suppose Irelia could just use her powers, but that would be quite uncouth..." Melinda turning her direction to look at the boy and Amanda, she suddenly speaks up "Come on, I think Amanda wants us. The two of them are capable so they should be able to put things together relatively easy." Ryan rubbing the back of his neck, he speaks simply "Fine, fine, I suppose this gives Seed Esper a chance to better gauge their intelligence anyways."

Back with Amanda and Lucus, Ryan's voice suddenly calls out "Hey, Einmal kid, what's your name? I'm Ryan Steele, I primarily work with robotics and cybernetics for this company. Melinda is the daughter of one of our main Psychic researchers, so she's... Not really an excitable person actually." To Lucus, he would see the red haired and gold eyed young man with his hands slid into his pockets while Melinda Ingress just wore a bored expression.

Standing not far from the local DMV is a modest, though nicely large building. On its front is ARS Pilots, Freelance, yet inside is a twenty-four year old woman with orangey red hair sleeping on a couch. Dressed in little more than shorts and a tanktop, the sleeping woman is halfway off the couch with a bottle in her hand. Sneaking up on the woman is a cobalt blue haired little girl, wearing a simple dress on top of a skintight piloting suit. Blinking her eyes as she examines the woman, she turns her nose to the bottle and sneezes at the strange smell. Covering her face as she struggles from falling over, a young man's voice calls out loudly "Min, you're not suppose to leave your chamber alone! What if someone sees you!?"

Hearing this yell, a wall of fire suddenly sprouts up between the woman and the direction of the man's voice. The woman yawning and turning around to see the blue eyed girl, she simply grunts at spotting her. The woman's red eyes shifting to look at the wall of flames she established, she dismisses it with a snap of her finger to spot what appears to be the little girl's older brother. Standing at five foot eleven with brown hair ragged and hands slapped onto his knees, the little girl known as "Min" suddenly hides behind the older woman.

Blinking just a few times, she lifts Min by the collar of her outfit before dropping her into the redhead's lap. Gently wrapping her arms around the little girl, Min relaxes and almost appears to fall asleep. The woman wordlessly turning to look at the twenty-two year old man, she speaks gently yet rather roughly as well "I wouldn't worry about her too much. Trapped inside a machine from her earliest days, unused to everything... She just wants to know of the world she's been born to protect. That reminds me, where's Alan?"

The man giving a worried look at the young girl briefly, he sighs before rubbing his neck "Alan said he'll be at the bottom floor ready to greet anyone. Hey, Stella, what should we do about Min and her... sisters? I don't really like making them stay inside their chambers, but without a story for why they're here people are just going to be suspicious." Calmly stroking Min's hair, Stella proceeds to tuck the girl into her makeshift bed. Walking away from the couch and stretching, the modestly endowed woman stands still for a moment thinking.

"Well, claiming they're my children won't work given I have a clear record making that claim impossible. In fact, saying they're relatives of any kind won't work, as my mother was orphaned and CACHE wouldn't allow any of my half-breed siblings to act under Skyblazer standards. I suppose being truthful to an extent works, but personally I don't think that'll be good enough. By the way, is Solar Lupine fully repaired yet Andrew?"

Andrew having briefly blushed when Stella considered the possibility of claiming motherhood over the girls, he clears his throats before responding "Yeah, though the repairs were only completed an hour ago. Hopefully we won't have to do anything work soon, Alan didn't seem very fond of having to pilot Valiant Aerial soon anyways. Honestly I'm getting a little worried about the kid, he keeps acting like someone's coming for him. Course, that weird girl Ruin did threaten him..."

Stella scoffing a bit, she cracks her knuckles and speaks up in a hardened voice "Well, be it weird girls or assassins, I'm not going to let people hurt this little group of mine. Besides, who else am I going to have buy me soda?" That causing Andrew to groan a little, he quietly replies "Why do you even like soda so much? Be obsessed with booze like normal adults..."

Social District 8

The Charger passed through town with subtlety and grace. Onlookers who weren't smart about cars wouldn't even think too much about the power the machine held - even if it did look fairly strong. They'd assume it a performance sedan and leave it at that.

Kristen passed by the DMV, remembering the insane driver's test she had to take as part of it, and the even more insane waiting time. At least that time she'd brought her smartphone and thus was able to browse the VARnet and play games to pass the time.

Focus. This isn't why you're here. Dragging herself out of her memories the polychromatic girl found ARS HQ - it was clearly marked as such. She pulled up onto the curb and killed the ignition, before stepping out. Nobody would guess she was working for Seed Esper.

Leaning against the hood of her car she waited for Irelia, but given how fast the girl's bike was, it wouldn't be very long.

edited 12th Jul '15 1:55:47 PM by SpartyMcFly

Agaris' clearly directing her voice at the fey-touched individual. "Their is no external relationship between myself and Lucus. Other than physical issues of my intellect being stored outside a controllable or otherwise sizable vessel. He is simply my creator and I aid him in his daily life." Lucus sighing at that being said with a momentary break in his smile at being called "simply my creator" both making Lucus feel a little empty inside, but also making him think of his father. "Agaris I said no arguing." Lucus states before starting to consider to himself. Actually why is the symbol a unicorn..?

Lucus' attention then caught by the other voices as he looks towards Ryan with a cheerful smile slightly in surprise. "Its Lucus Lockheart sir!" As Lucus looks at the two of them with a curious look. "It is a pleasure to meet you both." he says with a energetic tone moving forward slightly.

"It is indeed a pleasure to meet all of you." Agaris states with a emotionless tone, her voice coming from Lucus' pocket. "This one you are hearing is the experimental AGI assistant and companion of Lucus that may be refereed to as Agaris.

Lucus giving a smile and nod at that as he draws his phone from his pocket. A few seconds after a small hologram of a eye being projected from it that looks towards Amanda and then Ryan and Melinda. "Lucus has studied in great depth the functionality of robotics, in addition to the various scientific fields but age brings a limit of experience. One we hope you will aid in expanding such limits." Agaris says with a polite tone towards Ryan.

Lucus smirks after Agaris' formal comments. "Agaris' I don't think we need to be that formal." he says with a small sigh before redirecting his attention to Ryan. "So Einmal did not give me a lot of explanation, all I really have is from Amanda. So I assume this is the part where I get given some more explanation about the situation and what I am suppose to do?" He says with a awkward and innocent smile. Still occasionally looking around the unfamiliar lobby with a nervous hand to his neck. Agaris' holographic eye fades out of view after looking around Lucus' surroundings. The phone being put back in Lucus' pocket afterwards.

Transmitted via the headphones around Lucus' neck so only he can hear it. "Lucus being polite and formal is important when we visit anyone especially the other major groups. I know you do not wish for conflict after all..." Agaris says trying to quietly lecture Lucus.

edited 12th Jul '15 3:03:09 PM by darkdestinysoul

CACHE Elysium Main Facility, Control Room

a'Lincoln only gives a tilt of its head, when Sasha pulled out her smartphone, before focusing its attention back upon the briefing. Feeling much more comfortable with receiving direct orders bionoid quietly nodded along with the information being relayed to it, only turning its head when someone else started speaking.

As the Commander finished up, a'Lincoln gave a final nod, before raising a hand to gather attention "Understood. If we have permission to pose additional queries to Pilot Faith...Do you have any favorite colors? Additionally, do you consider yourself a poor liar and/or manipulator?"

Not waiting for a response, a'Lincoln immediately started stripping off its CACHE issued clothing without much regard for the others present, before neatly folding them up to set to the side. It would need to remove these clothes if it was going to be piloting anyway.

edited 12th Jul '15 3:36:42 PM by dungeonguy88

Galen nods slowly, processing the information he'd just received. He takes out his smartphone to look at the files.

Then a'Lincoln starts stripping. His expression becomes flustered, and he says, ".. Maybe you should wait a bit before doing... that."

CACHE Elysium Main Facility, Control Room

Pausing briefly, as it set down the top part of its uniform, it looked down at its body with mild curiosity. Having spent most of its time in the presence of doctors and scientists or those that assisted it when it was piloting, it was used to people not becoming flustered over its form. A person wore clothes. a'Lincoln only wore clothes, because others sometimes mistook it for a person.

Seeing the same black and blue, organic carapace that it always did when it did so, it looked back up towards Galen "It will prove necessary to maximize contact with my unit, and failure to remove my clothes will merely result in their destruction..."

If one's eyes wandered, they might note that the parts of its flesh that were exposed didn't look or move like human flesh. Apart from their distinctly inhuman coloration, its body wasn't prone to the shifting, stretching and jiggling of a human body, the tissue being stiffer and smoother. One could see why some might not find it indecent, though it did have quite the...well-sculpted body underneath.

edited 12th Jul '15 4:03:28 PM by dungeonguy88

"Well, uh.. We haven't quite started yet, so maybe it could wait?"

Galen was considerably less flustered now, his expression had likely been a kneejerk reaction to seeing someone strip.

"I mean, I understand how it works, it's just.. Not really time yet."