(6/27/02-7/9/02)
Goodness, goodness! This is quite possibly the most confusing thing that has happened since Marguerite has returned to the Yggdrasil, and yet she's -still- looking positively impatient about it. What on earth is going -on-? Is Gabriel truly okay? Why is one of the Shevvites with him? Whatever happened to Yui's threats, and the reason that Aniko was here and... And... Just what is going -on-?! Nonetheless, it seems to have raised a twitchy sort of hope within the young Holy Mother, as she runs through what she briefly heard before again and again--Something about Kaori helping Gabriel, and Gabriel seeming to be okay?--And that.. That just really does tempt one to have the sort of impossible hope that everything will thusly turn out to be fine, everything will be well, and Margie can explain what happened and finally set this entire mess -right-. And so, having already told Maison that there would be people coming into talk soon, she merely leans against one of the raised tables in the Gun Room, rather informally resting her hands on the table behind her while she drums her fingers rather impatiently on the edge of the table. And murmers simply, "I hope they get here soon..."
Maison himself immediately set to work preparing tea for the divinely happy occasion. Let's hope everyone's been practicing their telekinetic tea-cup levitating abilities! "It doesen't fit you to be so impatient, Miss Marguerite. You must be rather excited about sir Gabriel's return," the old butler takes off his gloves and wipes the sweat off of his forehead as the tea silently cooks away in it's teapot. He'd not had the chance to talk to Gabriel much, but from what Maison has seen Gabriel is a fine young man...and it's good to have him back. Though this situation is a tad stressing. Goodness! (And there's my first full Maison pose in years. w00t for nostalgia!) Around that time, the door slides open and in pops the Pirate King, "Alright! Everything's set! Now, we finally get some answers!" Bart seats himself across from Margie, finally in a decent mood himself. He ordered Franz to go alert Sig to Gabriel's return and to come to the Gun Room...so all is set. Now he can just relax until everyone is present. Margie seems pretty jumpy...but he's kind of jumpy himself, which is why he's twiddling his thumbs.
Gabriel's back? That information is quite enough to pry Sigurd out of his nervous vigilance in the Engine Room and prod him up to the Gun Room. Well, that and a dolphin. Sigurd's entrance is less than stately, but still graceful; the door hisses open, and the first mate sweeps in, observing the presence of Marguerite and Bart. "Young Master... Miss Marguerite. Has Gabriel arrived yet?" Sigurd asks, sweeping a slow gaze across the room, as though expecting Gabriel to be hiding in a corner somewhere.
Striding down the halls of the submarine Yggdrasil, Gabriel Taisen is happier than ever to see everything, from the over-anxious nurse to the dent in the wall and even the Master's palm tree. And-- ah, yes! The stately Gun Room! The door's ever-constant CLANK-HISS was a welcome sound to the young priest's ears as he swept in, his red/orange robes whirling about him. He sighs happily and bows, "Captain Bartholomew... Master Sigurd... Mother Margeruite..." and yes, a bow to the 'butler', "Sir Maison. It's great to be back..." He smiles roguishly at them slowly walking toward the tables, "... I suppose you want some answers..."
"Hm? Oh! I'm sorry, Maison! I'm just a little excited, I guess." Marguerite, being impatient? She really -should- mind her manners and act more befitting a Holy Mother, but... That's a lot of 'should's, and she has no particular need nor care to do so right now. Instead, she grants a short wave to Bart and Sigurd as they enter, and before she can give more than a greeting to them both, there's Gabriel. "Gabriel!" Do forgive if she is rather irrationally happy to see him, even if she is completely baffled as to what's going on right now, "Answers... Would be really nice. What is going -on-? I thought that the Shevvites had you, and that you were in danger, not..." She shakes her head a little then, catching her rant rather visibly as she stops, raises her hands and takes a small breath before glancing over to Sigurd and Bart and starting again with a lighter, "Or.. Maybe we should start from the beginning? I.. Well, I'm afraid you all don't quite know the complete story as to what happened or what's been going on. But... If Gabriel's here..." A small blink back to him, "Does this really mean that you're safe, and that it's all right to say now? I mean.. You -did- come in with that Shevvite woman."
Bart crosses his arms and leans back in the chair. Maison himself nods in greeting to the new entries, "good day, Sigurd, Sir Gabriel. I'm preparing the tea now, please do not mind me," and Maison goes back to his happy buisiness of listening in on people without being obvious about it. Bart lands a bit of a slightly annoyed look, standing up. "OK, ok, ok. Slow down a bit. Let's lay all this out in a fashion everyone can understand, ok? Gabri, Sig, let's sit down and start from the beginning, ok?" that's the only way this WONT get confusing to the Prince.
Sigurd's eye goes to Margie and Gabriel, and a faint smile appears at her gladness to see Gabriel. However, the gaze quickly departs the two, to scan over the room, wary and alert. On that point of where to start, however, Sigurd must agree with the Young Master and Marguerite; the ex-Element feels that if they started -anywhere- but the beginning, it would indeed be quite confusing. Taking a seat, Sigurd fixes Margie and Gabriel with an attentive look, that somehow still manages to remain alert to the rest of the room. "Please. Tell us what happened."
Gabriel nods, taking a deep breath to collect himself. He moves to stand at the head (or foot, depending) of the table, folding his hands in front of him. "... Back when the 'mysterious ambassador' arrived, I began a sort of rivalry with one of her bodyguards. I was constantly trying to break into the cathedral, along with the Good Captain... but she and I arrived at several stalemates. No-one could really outwit the other, and we certainly didn't want to out-fight the other. That person happens to be Lieutenant Kaori Scivenhein, the girl who accompanied me. Right before she was taken away, the Holy Mother told me that Shevat was really the ones behind all of this. I knew little of Shevat; all I knew was that they were the enemy of Solaris. This, I thought, was a good thing.... until the whole of their motives became clear."
Ryukumu was feeling rather tired... stupid mechanics insisted that he assist with Hydra's maintenance, although they know very well that Gear repair isn't Ryukumu's forte. ...or mezzo forte, or even piano... bleh. As he entered the Gun Room, he felt like he was interrupting something... ignoring his better judgement, he continued towards the refridgerator to grab a bottle of water, then advances slowly to the table where the others are seated, sipping a little bit of water from time to time. "(Shevat? Hoo boy...)" Ryukumu had heard of Shevat numerous times during his stay in Solaris. While Solaris was of course biased against Shevat, even then Ryukumu developed his own opinion that Shevat in its current state was not to be trusted.
No, her time on the ship hasn't been the greatest... while the Gear mechanics are willing to help, the things that've happened lately have made the life of a Shevvite rather awkward and uneasy upon the Yggdrasil. Though, time on the JNK Ygg has made her familiar with the layout of the ship-- thus making the Gun Room quite easy to find. While her clothes are still a bit dirt-stained, Kaori herself looks freshly-showered, hair brought out of the braid and falling free, jacket closed to the collar with her fists balled up inside the pockets. Stepping in, her thoughtful gaze lifts from the floor-- and blinks. ( ... Erk... looks like I've walked into a meeting... )
The Holy Mother nods to Gabriel's introduction of the story, moving over to find a chair quickly. She seems rather figdity--A rare level of impatience for Marguerite, as if she had quite a lot to say, and was not exactly sure of how to handle it, how to say it... And to be honest, to be able to say this at all after so long is rather nerve wracking enough. Regardless, she nods. And she takes a deep breath and begins, "Right. During the time that all of this was happening--Gabriel trying to get in and so on, I was meeting with the 'mysterious ambassador'. A Mrs. Yui Uzuki. She made no secret of being from Shevat once I was there, and claimed that she had come with a very honest request. She said that she had only feared that I wouldn't have come if she hadn't hidden her true identity." It's terribly hard to not take a side and an opinion when talking about something like this. And yet as Margie continues on, she only can remind herself not to talk too fast, not to let her voice shake too much. It's obvious that this had something of an effect on her--And she has yet to even get to the relevant part, "Or listen to her request: For Nisan to create a declaration of complete neutrality, saying that we wouldn't turn those aside wishing to see the town, as long as they came in peaceful means. It was... Baffling." Thank goodness the Holy Mother hasn't noticed the woman who just entered.
Bart tilts his head. It's obvious these revelations are making him uneasy, he stands up. "...Wait a minute...! I thought Shevat wasn't going to try anything on us, and...Yui Uzuki sounds like..." Citan. There has to be a relation somewhere...but if Citan was...wait. He looks around, a bit embarrassed. "A...ha. Sorry, carry on," he coughs and sits down. Right, he needs to let the story finish before he goes wild on it. Maison, noting the new arrivals, simply takes the kettle off of the stove and adds more water. It appears tea will be in high demand with this mess.
Yui. Sigurd freezes at the name, single blue eye jerking towards Marguerite with sudden wariness. Of course. Hyuga's... but then, she was the ambassador of Shevat, was she not? Sigurd would have been surprised if she had -not- been there. Not noticing the new occupants of the room, he listens intently to Marguerite, his empathic sense touching on her wavering emotions briefly, like fingertips brushing vibrating violin strings. But not to turn aside anyone who wishes to set foot in Nisan? Sigurd has his own theories about that, too, and this is where Sigurd's admirable tactical sense comes to the forefront. Nisan was located in a militarily strategic place... but let's not speculate about that right at the moment... "Please continue, Marguerite... Gabriel..." he remarks distractedly after Bart speaks out.
Gabriel is about to begin again when the subtle noise of the door catches his senses... he turns and smiles softly at Kaori as she enters.. "Ah! Kaori! Just in time... I was just beginning to explain.. erm, well, us." He laughs nervously and gestures to a seat near him, "Please sit... and I'll continue." Another deep breath. This was harder than it'd seemed back in the Catacombs... "In any event, once Mother Margeruite dissapeared, I knew instantly that it had to have been Shevat, simply because of how clean and efficient it had been: the Yggdrasil had departed only a day before, and she had dissapeared completely without a trace. None of the ground-based nations could have done such a thing, and for the moment, we have not irritated Solaris. Shevat was up to something... I wanted desperately to find them, but I knew such a thing would be suicide. I HAD to hide long enough to tell someone... so, I remembered the tales told to me about the citizens taking refuge underneath the city, in the Catacombs. Sister Agnes then told me how to enter.... but before I could, Miss Scivenhein here located me..."
Ryukumu nearly chokes on his water. Uzuki?! Man, talk about a small world... when he still lived in Lahan, Ryukumu seldomly conversed with Yui, but he never would have guessed that she had ties to Shevat. This is getting interesting (whatever it is). Oh, no, don't offer him a seat you schmucks... then again, he isn't making it look like he's interested in a seat, that is until he just sits down in an empty chair, giving everyone a light nod as a greeting. This is interesting indeed...
Yes, a meeting... and about the 'Shevat' situation. And they know about Yui? Dear me. A few familiar faces-- Bart from his cathedral-sneaking, and... the Holy Mother. Certainly they'll never get along again after this fiasco is over. Eyes drifting closed for a moment, she takes a careful moment to compose herself with a small sigh. Yes, Margie, remember it-- that thick accent. "All right." is the extent of her speech at this time, and Kaori walks slowly toward the crew of the ship. There was a mild fear of being drilled for information, and... this looks like it'll be it. Head canting but slightly, a little bit of the damp brown hair shifts from her eyes, gripping onto the back of one empty chair and giving it a tug back. And slowly, she settles down with a degree of caution... quite frankly, afraid not only for the aforementioned reason... but worried something contrived will happen... like her seat ejecting her out of the ship and into deep space, or something silly like that. Even still settled there, her hands remain in her jacket's pockets. Gabriel explains... she nods quietly.
"I knew I had heard that name before, too!" Margie responds, as she glances up at Bart's little outburst, "All she did when I asked was smile and say that I likely knew her husband.. And that was that." Well, right. Marguerite looks up a bit at Kaori's entrance, and frowns just a teensy bit. She is.. Awkward of her being here. That is to be expected, isn't it? Gabriel might trust her for some reason or another, but Margie is still wary. With a mild, uneasy glance, she then looks away, keeping Kaori intentionaly out of eyesight. And continuing, "My 'vanishing' was actually when I returned to sign the agreement. I had... taken every pain I could do make sure that Nisan couldn't be hurt by it, I promise. But with something so vague, that was terribly hard... I just.. I thought I was doing the right thing." She almost stutters, her gaze falling a bit to her feet. This is the first of a few things that honestly hurt to explain. And the guilt that touches her voice rings true to how much she blames herself for it, "So.. I signed it, and.. that was it. The moment I was done, Yui had that woman..." A vague gesture to Kaori, "Grab me from behind. Another one of her men pointed a gun at me, but was discouraged from it.. And then I was snuck out of Nisan onto the mock Yggdrasil."
Bart doesen't say anything for a while...he crosses his arms, muttering to himself. "Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it!" his voice raises to normal level, though he sounds like he should be, for all intents and purposes, yelling, "they pointed a -GUN- at you?! AND they're working together with the Dark Yggdrasil, huh?! I can't believe this!" Thankfully, he's keeping himself in check for once in a lifetime. He looks to Sigurd, maybe he's thinking the same thing. "Gabriel, and you...uh..Schvinheim lady," he looks to them, "...what exactly is the point of all this, anyway? What does Nisan have to do with anything?! Why would they want to do that to Margie, anyway?" it seems the recent revelations hit a rather big nerve.
Sigurd's nerves are just as hit as Bart's are; however, the talented dissembler barely shows any reaction besides a sudden redirection of his one-eyed, slightly displeased stare to Kaori. Pointing a gun at his little girl, eh? Whoever it was, the ex-Element seems bent on giving him hell if he ever met him. Raising a hand in an attempt to mollify Bart, Sigurd's eye narrows even further; if that was at all possible, speaking to Margie, but keeping his gaze on Kaori. "So, Marguerite... You were not kidnapped from the talks by the Dark Yggdrasil against the will of Shevat... they in fact were working in partnership... but to what end...?" Sigurd's features close- he does not know that the Dark Yggdrasil is employed in the service of Shevat- and it seems obvious that his mind is working. " For Shevat to gain clear license to Nisan... there is only one reason that they would want that. They consider Nisan a strategic point- whether military, economic, or something else- for some endeavor which I cannot fathom as of now." Sigurd sighs softly. /Hyuga, I think we will have many things to talk of the next time we meet./
The young priest jumps in before Kaori can be attacked any further, "Please, sir-- let me finish my end of the story! Kaori... had orders to take me back to Shevat, in order for me to remain silent. I was to be used as a counter-balance to the Holy Mother. If she were to 'talk'... I would be killed. However, I spoke with her, and she now sees the fact that Shevat is NOT above the rule of law. She has, for the time-being, agreed to help us in this matter.... just because Shevat is against Solaris does NOT mean that it cannot take the high road. She realizes that now. So, she and I hid in the catacombs under the city together for a few days, waiting out Shevat..."
Ryukumu nearly chokes on his water for a second time. O-kay, yeah, something is definately screwy with this whole idea. Having only heard half the conversation, he doesn't quite understand what the topic is actually about, though he doesn't dare ask anyone to recap (now's not the time). He shoots a slightly suspecting glance at Kaori, then just rolls his eyes. "(Never a dull moment.)"
Sure, she is afraid-- but she deserves it. She was privy to the entire plan... she was one of the conspirators. Hands lifting from her jacket finally, they settle lightly upon the table. Black leather and smaller metal plates on the backs of the fingers weave as her hands clasp together, her chin leaning into the gathered bundle a bit. ( Law is fallable words that can easily be revoked when it fits a convienence... ) "Nobody is above 'justice'..." she murmurs, almost as if to continue her thoughts into speech. Half of her wants to bear all truth-- but the other half wants her to restrain some facts. Head tilting forward, the small clasp with the insignia of Shevat is set on the table while she takes a grip of her hair, aiming to make it to a simple ponytail until braiding it again becomes convienent. Be silent for now... the glares are enough of a 'you're unwelcome' signal to her already.
Coming up from the engine room, Kyle walks in on proceedings in the Gun Room. He doesn't really know what's going on at all, so he just stands there, watching. He glances at Gabriel and Kaori, wondering what exactly happened between those two. Oh well...best just wait and see, Kyle...just wait and see.
"Exactly. And I'm so very, very sorry... The story that I told you all was basically untrue." And her poise in sitting slumps just a teensy bit at that. Frustration, disappointment.. Emotions that had plagued her nearly nonstop since she returned to the Yggdrasil. It is as hard as it is wonderful to finally be able to unburden this. And so much of it is hard to say. Oddly enough, Bart's outburst is something of a comfort, as is Sigurd's analyzing--Reminders of others concern. Even as she quietly continues, "In truth, the Dark Yggdrasil was only involved in everything briefly. But I couldn't.. I couldn't tell any of you anything, as long as I thought that Shevat had Gabriel." And thus why she's been so depressed. Why she's been so unlike her normal self. Why she never seemed to act like everything was over once she got back to the Yggdrasil. And yet, as she continues on, her words shake a little bit, guilt and disappointment and frustration all. She's a strong enough girl that that little weakening of her voice is all that shows, "...I shouldn't have done it. If I had decided at any point along the line to not continue with these talks, none of this would have happened. If I had decided not to go, not to go to the signing of the document... If I had done the more reasonable thing other than secondguessing myself so much, this wouldn't have been such a problem at all. Not the talks, not the trip on the mock Yggdrasil, not the blackmai--.." The blackmailing. And Margie catches her voice at that, raising a hand to her mouth. The blackmailing. The Dark Ygg and Shevat. The -spy-. "Aniko!" She only snaps, quite sudden and out of the blue.
Sigurd looks grave at this, and, perceiving Kaori's discomfort, removes his gaze from her, turning it instead to Margie. His gaze softens almost immediately as it crosses her, and he says, "So that is why you were so disturbed... but you could not have done anything but keep silent. And 'what ifs' are of no use now," he continues, a bit of the old sternness creeping into his voice, "what is done is done." But as she snaps out the name Aniko, Sigurd realizes that his suspicions- and Angela's- were perhaps not as unfounded as he might have thought. But no jumping to conclusions, Sigurd. "...Aniko?" He repeats, eye slitting.
Gabriel is about to launch into the whole finding of Seraphim when the Holy Mother's outburst catches him. "...? Aniko? Who's that?" A simple question, yet one that could also cause a great deal of trouble for someone, I'm sure...
Ryukumu blinks. 'Aniko?' Finally, he speaks as he says, "Wasn't she the nun we took in with you from the Dark Ygg? I've seen her walking around a few times..." She's seemed harmless enough. But what's with the surprise and alarm with the mention of that name?
Discomfort ... is putting it mildly. Kaori closes the clasp and lowers her arms again, opening her jacket a bit and unzipping the cuffs to loosen up on her wrists a bit. Sure, the glares are affecting her on a physical level! You never saw that sort of thing before? And... Aniko... ... yes, that's right. Though, she had no hand in this person, so her information would be worthless. Nonetheless, she sinks into her chair a bit, with a mild desire to just... disappear.
Kyle continues to stand there silently, absorbing the information as it's coming. It does explain some things about Margie's recient behavior. Yes, That's Kyle for you, he knows when to stay silent, and when to voice an oppinion.
"She.. Aniko..." Margie sharply shakes her head then, letting her hand drop to her lap. It clicks, then. Frustration, disappointment and all. It can -wait-. For a sharp and almost -vengeful- determination clicks into the young Holy Mother's eyes at that, "Yes, that's her, Ryu. She was sent along with me to make sure that I didn't say anything about the Shevvite involvement." All shaking in her voice is forgotten. What Sigurd said was true--Cursing again and again how things could have been avoided is useless in retrospect. And while that is still a sore subject, this is far, far more important. And best of all--It is something that she can set -right-. "She works for, and reports to, the mock Yggdrasil crew. She couldn't be a sadder mockery for a Nisan sister if she tried. And when she hears that Gabriel is here and safe, and that I was able to tell you all everything... I am not sure what she will do, but I imagine she'll try to leave while she can."
Sigurd's entire self turns frigid at this pronouncement, sapphire eye burning with a quiet anger to feel his dear one hurt like this. And the fact that Aniko- this spy- has been smuggled so easily past Sigurd, stings. It stings quite a bit. "Find her. Detain her," he starts to bite out, before he stops himself. "...No. Let her try to leave. A watch will be placed on her, without her knowing, and the moment she departs, she must be tracked to the source." Sigurd is indeed determined to get to the bottom of this, isn't he?
Bart's eyes follow Sigurd as he leaves, and he crosses his arms. "Damn...so that weird nun lady is a spy, huh?" he doesen't like these surprises. "Well...Sig knows what he's doing, so we need to keep this all a secret from her, you know? So she doesen't know anything's up when we place a watch on her." He nods at that, and looks to Gabriel. "So...uh...now we know all this, but I still don't get one thing. Why would they want Nisan? What's so important, here? I can't think of anything offhand that'd make them want to..." he pauses. Something is clicking in his head...but he needs a reminder. Think, Bart, think!
"The very Pandora's Box you opened, Young Master... the very thing that could allow for a shift of power any day on this planet." His eyes would fall to the table, and the elegent woodwork would seem to almost redouble in value in this critical moment... this moment where he reflected upon how close to anhilation his home... nay, his whole world could be. And it is because of .... "... Fort Jasper. Nisan is the only place where one can safely launch an attack on Fort Jasper."
It was the nun, eh... The last time Kyle remembers seeing her was when they had gotten Margie back. The engineer looks up at Gabriel and hrms..."You think that they're actually going to attack the Jasper?" Kyle doesn't know much about the Jasper, only that it's a really powerful battle fortress where the folks from Solaris have been staying...and that attacking it would be a bad thing. A very bad thing....
It might be overthrowing it to fear for the end of the world with the Jasper, but it's certainly not the sort of thing that you'd want in the hands of someone you can't trust. And Margie can nod as Sigurd leaves, a brief smile crossing her face as she adds a lighter, "Watching her? That might work..." And the very notion seems calming to the Holy Mother to boot. "I'm just glad that you know about her now! You have no idea how -frustrating- it was to not be able to warn you of her.." While she did -goodness- knows what on the ship. Shudder. Regardless, as the subject of conversation changes, Marguerite's eyes go simply wide, and she falls into silence. -Jasper-? That makes things make more sense, but... "...No one had told me of that..." She murmers after a long moment of silence, "...But it makes sense, doesn't it? Why else go after Nisan...? Why else assure that they had formal justification to be there?" Her voice shakes just a tiny bit, as the sheer gravity, the mass of what is going on here, or at least what has the potential to happen, to go -wrong-, begins to dawn on her. And she merely, for the moment, looks stunned. Finally, she settles on a soft, "...That could be very, very bad."
Bart frowns at this, "Jasper...damn it! Damn it!" he sighs. "We can't let them have Jasper! If they get Jasper...geez! Solaris is currently in control of Jasper...we've gotta help them defend it," he resolves. He looks to Gabriel and then to Margie, "did you get any hints of anything else...like if they're going for a surprise attack straight from Nisan or surrounding it? If it's the latter...then they could find us while our engine's out...we'd be in big trouble." He's got to check on the status of the engine later, natch.
Gabriel blinks. And then, for good measure, he blinks again. "C-captain... We're going to DEFEND Solaris?!" Slowly, he rises out of his chair, his gray eyes never leaving the exiled prince. "I realize that Shevat cannot take it... but we cannot allow Solaris to remain in control of it either! If even HALF of the things said about them are true... we..." He balls his fists, "We simply can't! And whatever happened to your abiding hatred for the Gazel? If we let Solaris hold the fortress, so do they. Sir... sir, with all due respect, I suggest a third option. In my opinion, it is the only option that allows for peace..."
The young mechanic says nothing. His eyes dart back and forth as if he's reading something, but in reality he's actually trying to devise a new device to help aid his comerads along. Lesse...if I connect that to this...no, no that won't work...perhaps if I connect this to THAT...YEA! That could work! All should fear...
"Gabriel..." Those words are almost unbelieving, so caught off guard Margie is by his sudden bitter tone. And she takes a deep breath before speaking once more, "Gabriel... When you speak of peace, for whom do you mean?" Those are heavy words for the teenager, and wrought with meaning--Is he suggesting that the suffering of the Solarians is worth keeping the Yggdrasil out of it? "To be fair, Gabriel, you do not know nearly as much of them as we do. And while many of the stories are unpleasant, and I have always been a little awkward of them being in the fort... That doesn't change that we aren't on bad terms with them. At least with -all- of them. Besides..." She sighs lightly, "Nations aside, we have friends there, too. Luka is there, is she not? And the last I heard, Khiea was there, too. I don't confess to knowing what the right thing to do is, and I know that I would rather have us there than the Solarians... But maybe this is not the time to worry about that."
Bart sighs, "Gabri, you've got the wrong idea. The Solarians in control of Jasper are from Luka's side. They're not going to misuse it as long as Luka is there to keep the Gazel from it. Shevat getting to it right now is MUCH worse, Gabri. All we can do is help them defend it...and if we drive them out...then we're gonna end up fighting with them and that's EXACTLY what the Gazel wants. See?" he looks to Margie and nods, before facing Gabriel. "I don't like the idea of Solaris in control of Jasper either...but Luka's a good friend of both me and Sig. I trust her. If that trust is misplaced, then i'll be the first one to admit that I made a mistake, ok?" he looks down.
The young priest clenches and unclenches his hands a few more times before slowly sitting down again.... He takes a few deep breaths to get his emotions and thoughts under control... 'Idiot!' he says to himself, 'Just... just a fool. You don't know a DAMN thing about local politics. Just stick to what you're good at, buffoon... shooting things that come at the Holy Mother.' .... Finally, these thoughts quiet down... "I pray you're right, Captain." He finally manages, wrapping a hand around his angelic necklace... "... For all of our sakes."
Kyle is still outlineing the plans for his new Super Ultra Shevatbuster Mk II! A slight evil grin appears on his face.
"We can -all- hope that that trust isn't misplaced.. But so far, there's no reason not to. Luka did stop the misuse of the Fort before... We can only hope that our gamble to trust her over the Shevvites is the right one. But right now, I think that's the best choice..." Local politics are a complicated thing. It's no shame to get them wrong, really--They were a complicated tangle and mess to Margie, and she had the benefit of seeing things unwind as they went along. But, nervously unclasping and then reclasping her hands on her lap, she adds after a moment, "So what should be done? The least we could do is contact the Fort and explain what's going on. Just.. How soon is this attack going to be? With how much time has been wasted already, I'd be surprised if we -weren't- pressed for time..."
Bart nods at Margie, "As long as Shevat doesen't get ahold of the Fort and nothing happens...then all went for the better." He doesen't want to think about what would happen if Luka disappeared or something. It's best to concentrate on the current situation, "So, right...did you get any time frame?"
Gabriel shakes his head. "I got the intention that it was to happen fairly soon. They wanted to be able to mount an assault, or at the very least get one ready, while the Holy Mother and I were still captive and the city was in confusion... perhaps even while you were kept busy by the Dark Yggdrasil. However, when we left there, there were no Shevvite ships in the area. Perhaps they have fallen a bit behind schedule..."
"How soon would you say is 'Soon'?" Kyle looks a little nervous...he'll probably be able to throw something together in a short amount of time...but it might not work correctly...and he sure as heck doesn't want another Mecha Chuchu incident...or another Super Ultra Shevatbuster Mk I incident, for that matter...
"With all the time that's been spent just getting Gabriel here, we might not have much time at all." And that is very, very worrisome. And Margie's fretting is rather ill contained right now, as she bites her bottom lip gently in thought, "They might be late or they might be out of sight--After all, a surprise attack doesn't give many signs beforehand--But... I don't know." She frowns a bit at that, sighing then and shaking her head, "I really don't. This is all really sudden, I know.." And moreso for Bart than her. She only hadn't heard of the Shevvites target, while he got the entire story, down-and-dirty, in only one conversation, "..But I guess we should plan to take as little time as possible, as long as we don't know how much we have."
Bart thinks about this a moment, "Well...the only thing we'll have to do is sort of go on 'red alert'. We'll have to be ready for ANYTHING. I'll send someone out to keep watch on Jasper while we speed up the engine repairs in case any surprise attacks from behind come," is Bart really thinking out a plan?! It can't be. He takes out a notepad and starts writing a couple of things down, "Alright...we wait for any signal from Franz or our spy that there's gear movement around us. Once we get the word from our scout, we get ready to go fight Shevat. Since we don't know what's going to happen...we've gotta be ready to fight anytime, right?" he looks to the others, "this work?" it might have too many holes in it.
"It appears to be sound to me, Captain... but whoever we send in advance MUST be undetectable. As for sending a signal to Jasper... I would STRONGLY advise against it. Even if they are not seen right now, Shevat may well be monitoring everything." Sigh. This IS his calling in life, isn't it? He can't even really fight for what he wants to, and his heart is always telling him that peace should be the way anyway. At war with himself once again, Gabriel Taisen chooses to refocus his mind on the task at hand... "... It may even be a good idea to send out a feint... someone to distract Shevat for a bit while the others move in."
Hmmm. The gears in Margie's head are working at full blast now, as her nervous fidgeting finally calms down to serenity while she thinks. "That's a good idea. Keep the Yggdrasil on standby and everyone ready to go at any time... But somehow we've got to warn the Fort. And that's true--Shevat will be watching the skies and likely tracking radio frequencies." So what can be done? Gabriel is onto something there. But the sudden glint in Margie's blue, blue eyes betrays a potential train of thought that's far more complicated than she might be saying, "But that's not a bad idea--If a small group of Gears obviously looked like they were mobilizing, then Shevat could watch those while someone could be sent to Jasper. It wouldn't have to be much, right? One Gear could easily drop someone off there, and leave before they notice."
Bart writes something further on the notepad, "that's a good idea...we'll have a couple of Duermods mobilize and lead them away while a fast gear docks with Jasper and drops someone off," he finishes writing and puts the notepad back. "Got it. So...let's just put this all together and we'll get this moving! First thing's first...I gotta check on the engine," he stands up. "If the engine's still out, that's gonna be a big problem if we need to pull back..."
A torrent of thoughts begin to pour through Gabriel's head... and finally, he looks up at the Captain again... "... Sir... I admit that I can barely fly at this point... but Seraphim is a very fast machine. I shall leave it up to your and the Holy Mother's discrescion... but I want to try and make up for all of the trouble I've caused. I stand ready to assist you in any way you wish... to the death, if needed." Strong words, but each one of them true. He would die in an instant for the Holy Mother... and now that he was a Pirate, he would do the same for Captain Bartholomew...
Sweatdrop. "Uh, Skipper. Leave the engines to me. I'll give the chief technition a hand." Yes, best to keep the Young Master away from the engines...the Super Ultra Shevatbuster Mk. II can wait...