*Clickclickclick* is the sound which constantly echoes througout the large control room of the Jasper as the Shevvite's hands move deftly across the many different controls and keyboards surrounding him on all sides. He made it look so easy, as if he actually knew what he was doing. Of course he knew somewhat of what he was doing, but with all the adrenaline and fear rushing through his body, most of it was guesswork, and luck... lots of luck. "Damn!" he mutters under his breath, as one of the keys he hits obviously didn't produce the expected result. His breathing was getting shorter now, as he knew he only had so much time before someone would find a way into the control room, which he'd locked himself into. And then there it was. A resounding beep of a positive tone, and a message that began to flash simultaneously across all the screens in the room, "Yes!" he practically shouted, as his one hand instantly shot up, and wiped the sweat from his brow. Immediately afterwards, the systems all throughout the Jasper began going haywire. Lights flicking on and off, control panels going dim momentarily, and then coming back on. But that was to be expected, now that he'd disabled the security systems. Now what to do? Well, he hadn't really thought about that... Ah yes! "Might as well see what else I can do with this puppy." he says in a confident tone, as his gaze begins sweeping across the control panels once more, searching for something else he might be able to enable or disable...

The Solarian Princess was terribly skittish at times. And when the alarms went off and all of the soldiers went running, it practically gave her a heart attack! So what if Khiea was expecting it, and knew the attack was coming? She didn't have a date and time! Khiea had dragged herself out from underneath her bed eventually, sniffling a little and worried as all imagination, only to find that her Shevvite Guest was nowhere to be found.
And that the lights were going out, and the Fort's systems failing one by one.
The little princess was never one for putting two and two together, especially when she didn't want to expect the absolute worst. No. /No/. Her friend would never do something so horrible. No. /No/. It's just a fluke. But running as fast as she can, Khiea tries not to trip herself up in her own over-frilled dress while she skids down the hall towards the command center. What's wrong, what's wrong? She expects to find people bustling about trying to fix whatever's wrong, not.. A locked and sealed shut door.
An irritated sigh! And Khiea jams the button to open the door repeatedly with little success. Finally, she gives in and outright pounds her fist on the door, giving a loud, shrill, and rather afraid, "What's going /on/ in there??"

The Shevvite's hands move slightly slower now, as his main goal was accomplished, and it appeared that no one seemed to be paying too much attention to the fact that someone was locked into the Control Room. Though, that would probably change now, after the obvious commotion his actions had just caused. Aaanndd... it did. His body seemed to freeze with fear as he heard someone pound on the door, "Crap." he said with a quick facepalm. But he couldn't afford to lose his cool. Then he heard the all-too-familiar voice crying out from behind the door. Not good. Should he say something? Well, probably best not to. So, he simply continues on with the button mashing and other general mayhem he'd been causing, hoping all the while that his comrades had been able to get in with his help.

Oh-me-oh-my. It's /never/ good when someone doesn't answer. Either something is horribly wrong in there, or... Well, something is horribly wrong in there. What's going on? Khiea smothers a frightened squeak as the lights flicker once more- There aren't any windows to the outside or anything! And the emergency lights are so dim, and... and what if she's left all alone in the dark? Oh, scary, scary, scary! And she pounds a little bit more frantically on the door with that, hoping for a responce.. /Any/ responce.. And getting nothing.
Oh, what to do? Khiea backs up a few steps then, staring at the door evenly. Something is wrong. Something is /very/ wrong. And Khiea.. No one else is here, with everyone else being busy with fighting and outside repairs and keepings things going inside the fort. And so, with a heavy swallow, she takes a deep breath... And begins to gather power.
Silver-blue energy gathers around her hands, as she spreads them both to her sides in a fluid gesture. Brighter they glow, before she snaps her hands forward and /BANG/! Cold ether energy hits metal with an echo that rings far down the halls, with such a force that the entire door goes literally off its hinges and falls straight down inside, a residue of ice caught about the indent where the power hit.
Khiea takes a deep breath after that, peeking warily into the control room as she edges in... And her voice becomes one of very low, very quiet.. Horror.
"Mister.... /Ryoji/? /You/ did this?"

His hands move faster, his heart pounds, and his adrenaline levels begin rushing quicker and quicker with each passing moment, as he knew he couldn't stay holed up in here forever, as much as he'd like to. At the sound of a few more poundings against the door, he practically jumps in surprise, yet continues on. But then, something unexpected happens. There seems to be a moment of relative silence, and then a sudden 'BOOM!' from behind, causing him to jump, and do a full 180 twirl to face the door... which was now on the floor. His eyes instantly begin flicking back and forth now, waiting to see who's about to enter... and at the sight of the small girl, he /freezes/. The crap had just hit the fan. It wasn't supposed to go like this. He really didn't want to have to run into her. That Dominia lady would have almost been a more welcome sight than Khiea. "U-uh...er..." he stutters, obviously at a current loss for words.

Silence. Silence is all that meets Ryoji's pale stutterings, as the girl walks slowly into the room and stops.
Disbelief. Such is all that graces her young features as she focuses that tarnished-blue gaze on Ryoji.
Slowly. Her eyes drift around the room, skimming over tampered with controls, hotwired systems, and Ryoji simply staring, looking just about as wide-eyed and guilty as could possibly be.
No. /No/. Her gaze settles and freezes firmly on Ryoji then, those eyes so wide in horror, disbelief.. So much so that she does not even sudder again at the flickering of the lights. Thoughtlessly, she brushes a tear off of her face, shed without sob or sniffle, as she struggles, flounders, wonders /desperately/ what to say.
"Mister... How could you... How..."
She swallows hard, blinking off another few tears, lowering her hands to her sleeves as she runs her fingers over and over the fabric, closing her eyes tightly. Calm. Calm. You can not stutter at him and do any good. You can not... He is Shevvite. You know he was a Shevvite. And you trusted... Trusted him in the fort, even when you knew that the Shevvites meant to attack... You...
"/How could you do this to me?!/"
Those eyes shoot open. And she is screaming shrill at the top of her lungs.

Ryoji simply continues to stand there, apparently still having nothing to say. Though that's just his exterior... on the inside, millions of thoughts, and emotions, were running through him. And the site of tears rolling down the girl's cheeks didn't help, as he now felt a sinking feeling deep within, accompanied by a sense of dread. After all, she was somehow able to break the door down singlehandedly... who knew what she could do if greatly angered? Well, one thing was for sure, he didn't want to find out! And with that decision made, he moves-- slowly, and cautiously now. First taking a step back, and then a few steps to the left, as if slowly trying to make his way to the door, but keep a safe distance from Khiea at the same time. He pauses mid-step now, as she speaks, and then replies, "I really..." didn't mean to? But of course you did! Though, he really /hadn't/ intended to hurt /her/. But it was too late for that now. As she closes her eyes, he begins walking, a bit quicker now, but jumps back at her sudden outburst, "I-I..." he begins stammering once more, not really sure what to do, or say, that might get him out of this situation in one piece.

You what? You /what/? What answer /can/ there be for something like this? I'm sorry, I didn't really mean to betray you and use you and help the conquest of your temporary home? I didn't want you to get upset that I did so? Just what does this boil down to?
It is like a surge, emotion and anger, blacking over the world and throwing everything dark, dark, /dark/. It boils within her, rises within her, raises within her, washing out and over and blocking out the world. It is like gliding beneath water, loosing onesself beneath a cold, cold wave... Sinking into nightmare if just to block out the fact that Khiea wants to curl up and cry and sob and /sob/ until the world goes numb and everything goes right.
I don't want to fight. I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to, I don't... But betrayal, pain, anger claws their way above that until she can't even /hear/ it anymore, her hands fall to her side, clenching into fists. Tight, tight, with nail digging deep into flesh... And as she does so, power crackles in the air, drawing everything around her so very, very /cold/... So much so that the hissed breath between her lips comes out in a mist, like breathing on a winter day.
"You /what/, Mister Ryoji?" Her words are comparably so -quiet-. Barely audible, quiet, even notes of sound, shaking beneath her breath as tears keep streaming down, "...You betayed me. You /used/ me. You put my friends in danger, and now so many of them will be hurt or maybe die or... Or..."
He is trying to leave. With a very visible snarl, she raises her hands in one fell gesture, eyes shining brilliant white as she hurls her ether towards him. Ice. Not her preferred form of ether, when she is so much more fond of water. But right now... Right now, nothing else is right. It falls in razor-sharp sheets towards Ryoji- Not /on/ him, but it's hardly her fault if it fragments and sends shatters flying, leaving traves of ice frozen across the walls, floors and controlls around him.
While her voice is still so very soft and even. "...You lied."

Ryoji is completely backed against the wall of the control room now. Nowhere to go. Nothing he can do. He felt even worse now, as she was obviously very angered and saddened. But then something odd happened. The whole room seemed to fill with a very cold atmosphere, though, not a natural cold. A sort of supernatural cold, that caused the sinking feeling within the Shevvite to be amplified by a hundred fold. So he did the only thing he could think to do-- lash out at the small girl, "Do you think it was /my/ decision? It wasn't in my best interest to hurt you! But I had to do this, for my country!" he half yells, in a desperate, futile attempt to explain himself. He pauses to take in a deep breath of the bitterly cold air, and looks as if he were right about to continue, but is suddenly silenced as the shards of ice fly towards him. His eyes widen with horror, and then close tightly in preparation for death... or at least, lots of pain. Surprisingly, and fortunately enough though, the shards stopped short, instead shattering on the walls and floors around him, causing him just a few minor cuts here and there.

Yet the cold does not dissapate. It does not clear, nor give leeway to even the faintest flicker of warmth. She is still gathering power. Unrelentingly.
And now he /yells/? Inwardly, she cringes. Outwardly, she can not think to do anything but tilt her head a curious bit to the side, and shake her head in a way that is almost chiding, almost hopeless, and lost somewhere in between. "No... That's not quite right, is it? It /was/ in your best interest to hurt me. Or you wouldn't have done this at all."
It is the maturity she always tried to avoid, the teenager she was made to be that she hated to admit she was. Everything, everything, she had wished to avoid, everything she promised herself she would never have to do during this event... Is gone, in a heartbeat, in a flash. Forgotten beneath the waves of pain.
Pain which draws more accute with every breath. Ether. Ether... She is not good with large amounts for long periods of time. And while that tell-tale burn begins to grow within her, the world remains still so cold, so cold on the outside, even as her tears crystalize against her cheeks.
"What you /wanted/, Mister Ryoji, was to do what you wanted to and not suffer the consiquences for them."
A raise of a hand, and the sheets of ice shatter, hurling sharp flakes of ice scattering across the room, colder than ice should ever be, as sharp as razors. Hardly lethal, but certainly.. Intimidating.
And then, a very childlike and gentler note of, "...I thought... you were my friend."

Ryoji is visibly afraid now, but stands his ground a few seconds longer, "I know you don't believe me, but one has certain obligations to their country. It really /wasn't/ in my best interest to hurt you. I really did enjoy my time here with you!" he pleads desperately, one last time. But as the ice shatters once more, he decides that it's no longer safe here, so, with as much willpower as he can summon, he turns tail, and bolts out the doorway.

But I /know/ what obligation is like. I /know/ what it is like to need to do something for your country! There was a time when Khiea had nothing and no one but that single thought and feeling- That she had a purpose and a reason and something to do, and that was why she was worth something. That was so long, so long ago.. So why.. Why is it so /vivid/? Why does it flash by her mind like something so near and close like the flicker of swordblades beneath the dull flickering lights of Jasper?
She cringes, like a recoil, in half a sob that makes no sound, in a cringe that looks too pained to have nothing psychological behind it. And her words are shaking gently, even as her pitch rises in frustration once more.
"I know, I /know/ what it's like! But this is /my/ country, Ryoji!" Not even a Mister, "This is my family, my home, my friends that you're hurting. And I will not allow that!"
Oh, he can turn and run- Khiea seems content to stand there half-screaming for the time being. Before, clenching glowing fists tighter, she spins around full as he runs through the door and /hurls/ a wave of ice after him, missing the fleeing man by a moment as the ice crashes furiously into the wall across the hallway, sending cluttering echoes of struck metal down the halls.
It hurts. It burns. How could anything be so cold when it is so /hot/? It burns, all this ether, it draws her breaths heavy and hurt. But she still hisses breath between her breath between her teeth and /runs/ after. She skids on some of the ice of her own making on the doorway out, slides a little painfully into the wall, before righting herself, grabbing her dress in her hands high enough so she wouldn't trip herself, and chasing fully after.
No. I don't want to fight. That is forgotten. I can't allow this.

The Shevvite hurries quickly down the hall, stumbling and slipping here and there, due partly to the slick metal floors, but mainly because of the sheer terror and fear that saturates his entire being and clouds his every thought. All the while, he hears the echoing crash of the sheets of ice hitting the wall, and the patter of small feet gaining on him. The only thought, in fact, that he was able to think clearly, was that of escape, and even that was more of an instinct, than a thought. After what seemed to be an eternity of running through the repetative, monotonous halls of the Fort, he bursts through one of the many sliding metallic doors, and into... the Gear Bay. What luck! His breathing calms a bit, and his mind clears somewhat now, as he searches desperately for some way out...

Run. Run, despite how your lungs burn with the effort, despite how keeping so much energy up around you is eating away at you from the inside out. Run. Because reason and thought fail to meet hand in hand in the heart of all of this. Especially as Ryoji runs.
Then it is just giving chase.
Khiea doesn't miss a step- If she stumbles or nearly trips, it's only because she is /tired/. Because it is dizzying to use so much ether. And because.. Because it has been so long indeed since she has had to do so at all, since this has been an option, much less reality.
Chase. Like a hunter after her prey. With all of the childlike, giggle-happy cuteness forgotten in lieu of a gaze that is harsh and empty, and eyes that glint while she keeps up that ether around her, like a cloud of chill and enveloping ice. Chase. And she skids to a halt in front of the Gear room, having lost track of him momentarily- She was a fair bit behind him at the end of that, after all. Where has he gotten off to? Dropping the edges of her dress, she merely takes a few slow steps into the Gear room, looking around slowly and carefully.
Seemingly ready to blow anything that moves to pieces.

Ryoji looks around frantically for a few moments longer, until he hears that dreadful *whoosh* sound, as the door behind him slides open. Without a second thought, he bolts away deeper into the gear bay; gaze still shooting from side to side, looking for a solution. One of which he finally finds, in the form of a vacant gear sitting in one of the many gear ports. Turning quickly, he heads towards it, all the while, never looking back. Upon reaching it, he hops up into the extended palm, and hits a few button on the outside of the cockpit, causing the hatch to pop open, whereupon, he climbs hastily into the seat and begins mashing the various buttons. It didn't help that he was trying to operate a totally foreign gear, but with any luck, he'd be out of there in one piece.

Where are you? Where /are/ you? He couldn't have gone somewhere else, could he? She is breathing heavily, with every breath burning in her throat. She /hurts/, from all she has done and all the ether she has done, from going from months of using none to full blown force in only a few minutes... So much so that her vision is blurring and she is nearly desperately dizzy. She half stumbles her steps one, another, as she makes her way through the Gear room, before she pauses and glances around, wondering if he got away.
Does she really want to... /kill/ him, anyway? That thought dawns on her slowly, gently, warily... For no matter how angry she is, is it worth... Killing someone?
No matter how troubling this thought is, that is when a Gear flares to life, and begins to take off. She spins around completey surprised, watching through blurry eyes and slightly off vision as the Gear takes off. It's a Solarian Gear, isn't it? But the pilot.. The pilot...
With a narrowing of those grey-blue eyes, she hurls off yet another wave of Ice... Which does not quite get as far as all the others. It strikes the feet of the rising Gear, spreading ice across the joints, but no further. And Khiea has no more strength to continue trying. In one fell gesture, all of that icy aura drops around Khiea, all of her power dispersed in one desperate gesture. She collapses to her knees then, practically panting, shaking in quiet pangs of pain...
And she only looks up at the leaving Gear then, through those pale and pained eyes, tears falling from them once again... And only watches hopelessly as he takes off, as he leaves. Weakly, she curls up into a little ball on the ground, shuddering and sniffling, and manages but a final, but a weak...
"Goodbye, Ryoji."