(6/17/02-6/19/02)
The engine is still acting up, and the crew almost -insists- that Bart stay the hell away from it. Sounds fair enough, but Bart is really bored in the meantime. You can't fish in shallow sea water unless you want the really stupid fish...like Jellyfish! Wait..that might actually be kind of amusing too. Keeping a walkie-talkie with him for any updates on the engine, all Bart is essentially doing is leaning against the deck side and sighing.
That would likely be because whenever Bart tries to putz with something mechanical, it tends to catch on fire, make scary noises, glow strangely and explode.. Or any content mix of those and more. So, right, it's no wonder that Bart was told to wait while the engine was under repair. It's better for the general health of all involved. Nonetheless... there's not terribly much to do while the ship is being repaired spare wandering, brooding and wondering. And while Margie has done enough brooding for the next few years of her life in the span of just the last few weeks, and she has yet to come up with a way to singlehandedly spite the Shevvites without breaking what she was blackmailed into doing.. Well. She might as well just find something to do, right? And so, the Holy Mother goes ahead and exits the ship onto the deck by the hatch, intending merely to come out here and watch the day in some vain attempt to keep her thoughts from the tempermental frustrated wonders that seem to be so drawn to it as of late. Which is when she catches sight of her apparently desperately bored cousin. Oh, well, that works too. "Good afternoon, Bart! How're you?" Rather cheerful sounding. Well.. She's at least not mopey anymore.
There is a voice on the young Fatima's radio, "Skipper! We've got some gears approaching at 12 O'Clock! I'm getting Nomad ready as we speak." There are a few clunks and a loud CRASH heard in the background...Kyle seems to ignore the sounds, "I'll be ready to launch immedieately." The young Engineer's voice sounds pretty urgent. I wonder what kind of gears they could be...
It's been awkward-- and a rather anxious time as of late. The sneaking around, the catacombs-- and coming out right -underneath- Fort Jasper. But they're both in the air, the Shevvite's own Gear sporting the large assault rifle and riot shield, a familiar machine to the Holy Mother, one would suppose... and the other... well, there's another one! Kaori bites her lip a bit, hoping... more of a silent prayer, actually... that this will go well. And that the crew of the submarine won't beat her up and tie her to the flanks of the sub to drag for too long, God knows she deserves it. But there's two major things in mind right now... she's low on fuel and covered in muddy clay.
Seraphim (Gear) flies the ancient Nisan Self Defense Gear Seraphim towards the southern tip of Aveh's desert, racing against time with Kaori in tow. He was on the run not only from Shevat, but it's a safe bet that Solaris saw him escape from Fort Jasper as well... and being a Yggdrasil Pirate meant that Aveh wasn't too pleased with him... Oh, for the love of Sophia, can't he catch a break? The Gear's single wing is spread wide open as he gets used to the old and awkward controls, speeding toward, with any luck, freedom. "... I have to contact the others... If I don't...." He shudders with the thought of failure...
Bart turns his head to Margie a bit, "Oh, hey. I'm kinda bored actually. You know, it's weird. Every time it's too quiet or something, we always get attacked by gears or something...but it didn't happen this time. Huh," the radio starts spouting Brighton noise out at this point and Bart blinks, "Eh?" he picks up the radio. "Gears?!" he blinks, and slowly reaches to find something wooden to knock on. Failing that, he turns to Margie completely. "You want to come with me in Andvari and see what's up? I think we've got some unknown visitors."
...You just -had- to say that, didn't you, Bart? Here it was a perfectly peaceful day, and it might have stayed that way had Bart not said that line right out of the blue. Well, you never know! "Well, there's not too much to do while the engine is being repaired... And there's no need to complain about things being too quiet!-- Er, what?" What was that? Margie doesn't have a radio of her own, so she's going on what she can hear secondhand here. "...There are Gears? Is someone approaching?" Well, she shakes her head at that. No need to distract with questions when something potentially important is going on. "That's really strange... Certainly, I'd be glad to come along to see."
The great gear hatch of the Yggdrasil sandcruser opens, and out comes one of the most conviluted piles of gear parts ever in existance. That's right, Nomad the Fixbot has arrived. The gear itself is very similar to it's owner's personality, a wee bit messed up. But the gear quickly moves itself to a position where it's limited scanners will be better able to detect the oncoming gears...not that Nomad could do much to them if they came...it was just a nice thought.
Well! Keep your eyes peeled. It'd probably be a sore sight for Margie-- to see Daphens bearing down on them. The Gear seems to be running at decent speeds, rifle held in it's usual two-hand grip and barrelling straight for the Yggdrasil. And the pilot inside...? She's getting more nervous, to be honest. Training dictates to be calm, and cool... but that'll be quite an accomplishment in itself as they draw closer and closer to the Sandcruiser. Clicking a button on the console, her head cants with a puffing sigh to get her bangs from her eyes. "Gabriel, you hear me? Think you can try to raise them on the radio? They'd love to hear from you a lot more than me..." she comments, the leather-like grip of her gloves grinding against the black control sticks.
Seraphim (Gear) 's face and audio appears on Kaori's HUD in turn, "I can certainly try..." The ancient Nisanite gear lifts its head, looking at the approaching submarine... Gabriel takes a deep breath, then engages the Ygg's frequency. "... Sandcruiser Yggdrasil, this is Father Gabriel Taisen of the Nisan Sect! Anyone there, please respond!" The message is simple, but more vital than one could possibly imagine...
Inside, Bart is blinking as Gabriel's voice comes onto the radio. "Eh?!" He looks up and sees the strange gear. Hrm. This is suspicious. He sends a transmission to the Nomad stating, "Hey, Bright. Does this sound weird to you? I don't remember Gabri having a gear." He sighs, wondering what to make of this. Sig and Maison always say to think before he acts, and this is one time he's gonna actually do so. Maybe he needs some help from Margie. He looks back to Margie, wherever she may be in the gear ATM. "I dunno about this...what do you think?"
What does Margie think? Well... Bart's question is met with with nothing but silence from the Holy Mother who is along for the ride. But her expressions are enough. There is nothing in those blue, blue eyes but -shock-, nothing on her face but surprise. And she looks like she has seen.. Or at least heard.. The dead. And when she does finally react, it is nothing like would be expected--A quiet line or a comment either way? Goodness no. Margie darts then towards the radio--Nevermind that it's rather close quarters in a Gear Cockpit, Bart will just have to get out of the way. Because the radio is -hers- for the moment as she snaps, her voice an odd mix of surprise, confusion and a sort of peculiar edge of hope, "-Gabriel-! Is that really you? I thought the Shevvite--..." Oh, take a gander at the viewscreen, Margie. For her little tirade is cut very short as she spots Kaori's Gear. And her voice gets a lot duller at that, "...What's going on? Why is she... Why are both of you here?"
"Skipper," says Kyle on Nomad's Radio, "Last I heard, Gabe was still looking for one. I don't know, I didn't follow up on whether or not he actually got one, but I assumed he hadn't yet." This was odd...that does SOUND like Gabriel...but he would have TOLD me that he got a gear...well, I'd imagine that he would...it has been rather hectic as of late. The huge, lumbering hulk of a machine turns to eye the other approaching gear, "I don't know what type that gear is, skipper, but I'd imagine that it isn't here for a tea party." Where that last statement came from, no one will ever know. I don't even think Kyle is completely sure why he said it...but that's not really important at this point.
You mean that pretty, cute, sweet, and horribly-designed Gear that Kaori's flying? No, she's -not- there for a tea party! Kaori's looking serious. And hopefully, the radio doesn't allow the transmission to reach the Shevvite's ears... and slowly, the controls slope-- time to set down for a moment. Daphens descends slowly, the boosters providing enough thrust to reasonably slow the machine's landing. And with a heavy dual-thump of feet striking the grass with little ceremony aside. And there it stands, releasing the weapon from the two-handed cradle to stand there-- head tilting back at an awkward angle to view the two incoming... and inside, Kaori blows a rather heavy sigh, head shaking somewhat. "Here we go..."
Seraphim (Gear) perks up considerably. "Yes! Bart! Kyle! Mother Margeruite! It's me, Gabriel!" The young priest's voice never seemed so alight and happy, especially at seeing hte Yggdrasil! But boy oh boy, was Margie's voice a great thing to hear... the fears of the last few days had just seemed to ease away.... "I found this Gear in the catacombs-- well, it more or less found ME! And this is Kaori... she's on our side!" Not a total lie... he just prayed that he didn't put her too much on the spot. "... and BOY, do I have a story to tell you!"
"Oh, yeah?" Bart crosses his arms, then it must be here to fight and use Gabri's voice to catch them off guard! Yeah! This using your head thing works. "Well, we're here for a tea party. A tea party...," if there was a camera, it'd zoom right in on his eye, "...of dea-Waa?!" It's too bad Margie nearly knocked Bart out of his chair as she jumped to grab the radio. Waving his arms, he tries to keep himself (and thus the gear) from falling over. "Waaaaaah!" the gear itself, from reading Bart's mind, starts to lose it's balance and wave it's arms in an amusingly similar fashion. "Margie! It's gonna fall! Pull me up, quick!" at least before the missles start coming.
"-Our- side? What are you talking about? I mean.. Are you sure that you can trust..." She shakes her head lightly. So many questions, and she wants to say them all at the same time! Stop to -breathe-, Margie! "Nevermind that! Whatever happened, I'm sure that it's a long story. I have quite a one myself, but I'm -so- glad you're okay! I was scared to death that you were--AAHH!" Whoops. Oh, right, Bart was piloting the Gear before she claimed the radio, wasn't he? Ahhhh ha ha.. ha. Whoopsies! With a surprised yelp, she abandons the radio for the moment to turn towards the misbalanced and flailing pirate in surprise. Did, uhm, she do that? With not another pause, she attempts to take his hands then to steady him, so he can actually control the Gear. Which is minorly important. She didn't mean to nearly kill us both! Really, really! And as much as she'd like to talk to Gabriel, that doesn't come above keeping the Andvari in one piece. Yes, uhm. Whoops!
Ya know, in really tense events, strange things can happen. And speaking of strange events, have you ever seen a gear sweatdrop? Well, Nomad doesn't actually sweatdrop, but inside it's driver does. Oy vey... "Hang on, Skipper. I'll catch you." The oddly shaped machine slowly turns around and puts it's arms out to steady the sleek, but stumbling, Omnigear. "Now, Gabe, who is that?" Kyle's being fairly calm, for once. Well, it's not like he can do much else in Nomad...anyone need a refueling?
It's... Kaori! Daphens walks a bit closer toward the falling Gear, though stopping but briefly with a look of mild distress on her features-- not that he, Bart or she, Kaori may be in any sort of trouble, he by his own machine or her by the fate she's submitting herself to, but that... ... the Captain of the submarine is... having his own machine bounce through the air like a bloody frog. But Daphens halts, the massive mismatch of a machine's parts settling still while the tip of the rifle's muzzle touches the ground, the Gear watching on in a rather awkward display. And taking a moment, the woman inside starts dusting her clothes off a bit-- try to make herself look presentable again. Though when it comes to face-to-face dealings in this matter, perhaps no degree of preparation will ease her mind from things to come...
Gabriel sweatdrops, watching the display on his HUD as the Holy Mother and Captain Fatima whirl about in the cockpit, and finally, Bart struggling to control the craft. "... C-captain? Mother Margeruite?" They were undeniably his friends. While at times on the Yggdrasil, he had wanted nothing more than to escape them, he was now happier than ever to see Bart's life-threatening insanity, as well as Mother Margeruite-- well, in a rather refreshing display of concern and youth. He flies Seraphim closer to them, ready to catch Andvari if it were to come his way...
And after ruining the noble image of the Omni-Gear Andvari, Bart is pulled back into his chair and the gear returns to normal. "Geez, Margie! Warn me before you jump up in front of me like that. You nearly knocked me out of the chair." Now that we've all caught our breath, let's open fire at the Gabriel imp- wait a minute. Bart tilts his head, "Er...wait, what was that you said on the radio?"
Er, that'd be the Holy Mother's cue to back up at that, blush ever so lightly in embaressment and give an awkward smile, "Er, I'm sorry!" So she got a little enthusiastic there. But look, look! Gabriel's fine and not hostage and he thinks that this woman is on his side! It's certainly weird, but it's still worth being happy over. So she can go on and further confuse -everyone-, "I just was surprised... I thought Gabriel was being held hostage by the Shevvites." And even being able to say that aloud somehow seems to keep her in a pretty good mood, whether or not she just nearly killed everyone. "I just wanted to make sure it was him. I don't know about the Gear at all, but like I said, I thought he was.. Well, like I said, so I was surprised to see him here and safe and... It's a really, really long story! But this is wonderful, unless something really weird is going on!" Yes, yes, remember to pause between words! Having too much to say at once really does lead to really fast, inexplicable sentences.
Since when is something really weird NOT going on? But that's neither here nor there. As Kyle sees Andvari right itself again, he changes the position of Nomad so that he can look at Seraphim and Daphens. He doesn't really know what's going on, but this is normal for Kyle. What can he do except for stand back for a moment and watch as things play out. Oh well...at least there doesn't seem to be any immedieate chance of me getting hurt...
Kaori lets out a sigh as Andvari corrects it's flight-- and a familiar hiss of pressurization comes out from the hatch of the machine, the scant step or so of the unfolding torso to act like a stepping stone. The hand isn't out yet to catch her, no, but she stands in the proverbial door of her machine, peering out from under the shade provided by the other half of Gear-torso toward Seraphim, Andvari, and casting wary glances toward Nomad. This is... going to be one odd experience... and hopefully it'll turn out okay.
Seraphim (Gear) blinks. "C-captain?" He brightens most notibly at Margie's outburst, "Yes! Shevat's planning a move on Fort Jasper!" ...Well, there it was, wasn't it? An outburst of his own that summerizes the last four days of nervousness and hell. "But they're going to try a sneak attack... either way, it'll be an armed conflict near Nisan, and that's something NOBODY wants! Kaori has come with me because she dis-approves of Shevat's handling of the whole thing..." He nods and adopts a stalwart attitude, looking right into the Captain's eyes through the pop-up display, "Bart, we need to get there, first... if we don't stop this battle, all of Nisan will be in jeopardy."
Bart stares at the radio for a minute at a time, then at Margie. Then at the radio. "Wait! Just wait a minute here!" he's got such little idea what's going on, and all this semi-vague information delivered to him all at once in little strip-shaped snacks isn't helping him understand it at all. He reaches forward to the radio, delivering a transmission to nomad, "Hey, Bright. You can scan them for weapons with that gear, can't you? See if they're armed," if they're armed, then this has GOT to be a trick. All this stuff about Shevites and Gabriel has got to be some kind of ploy to get them to hesitate or something. "Margie, what the hell is going on here anyway?"
Oh, but come now! Margie's mentioned the Shevvite and Gabriel thing already too, and -she's- certainly not faking it. Although.. Although, one supposes she can see how it could concieveably be a trap, with Gabriel having a Gear when he had none beforehand, and trusting a Shevvite that Margie seriously disliked... But if it's a trap, Margie's falling for it hook, line and sinker. Forgive her for very desperately wanting to believe that Gabriel is all right. Even if she finally pauses then, and remembers to take a break and actually stop chiming little bits of this and that. "I'm sorry... It's really a very long story." It is. And it's more than she can say in a sentence, which means that she shouldn't be trying to explain the whole story at this point. Instead, she just shakes her head and says, "I guess.. The quickest way to say it is that a lot of things happened that I couldn't tell you about. But if this is real, and Gabriel's okay, then that makes everything better." A small pause, and a blink, "..Although that doesn't help much either, does it? It's a very long story. I guess.. well, let's figure out what's going on first, then." If this is a trick, Margie better hold her tounge now, after all.
Nomad just wearily watches the two other gears. Kyle doesn't say anything, he just takes up a position near Andvari. It looks like he's just going to take his cues from Bart. "Just tell me what to do, Skipper, I'm completely confused." the engineer says over the Radio. Well...at least it's better then Mecha Chuchu...hopefully.
Standing there, Kaori's heel kicks back and nails the console just inside the machine. And with that thick accent that must grate on Margie's ears, the woman speaks with a dull tone-- serious, but not as excited as the priest. "There's still time, do not worry. I know that the takeover wouldn't start if I was missing. My Gear is low on fuel, and I'm sure that Mr. Taisen's could use a rather good look-over and tune-up from being where it has for so long. And if you wouldn't mind-- I'd rather speak to Miss Margurite in person than over a radio." The dirt-caked black gloves raise a bit to tuck her bangs back behind her ear, and the pilot drops into silence... and then, settles back into the machine. The cockpit open yet still, Daphens' grip on the Assault Rifle releases, almost giving the weapon a callous toss to the side despite whatever damage a fall like that could instill. "If it's a gesture of honesty you want, then there it is. If you think it's a trick, come down here and deal with me in person."
Seraphim (Gear) nods to Kaori's gesture. "Bart, it's me. Gabriel. I used to play my flute on the deck all the time and shoot Bartwiser cans with you and Bastion, remember?" When in doubt, refer to the memories... the things that cannot easily be taken away. "... how about this: I've never seen it myself, but you told me your old gear was called Brigendier. It has a missing ocular sensor to match your own.... the eye you lost while trying to fix the engine. You and Master Sigurd have opposing eyes..." The gear would turn a bit, then, while Gabriel's image would appear on Kyle's pop-up display as well. "Kyle... you had a fear of baking for a long time because of an accident that Mother Margeruite and the Captain perpetuated... it took them forever to clean the kitchen, remember?" He smiled softly... best not mention Mecha Chu-chu. EVERYONE knew about that monstrocity... sadly. He simply HAD to convince them, one way or another... he was their friend... their family...
Andvari (Gear) is silent for a while, as Bart thinks of what to do. After a while, he just shakes his head. "Alright, that's enough of this stuff! We're all gonna get out of our gears...and we're starting from square one. I need to figure out just what's going on...and that means your report's due, Gabri," that said, a seperate transmission is made to the Gear Hangar, "Hey! Open the gear hatches, we've got some traffic coming in!" He looks to Margie, a frank expression on his face as he turns off the radio for the moment. "Well, either I made the biggest mistake in my life and let a couple of enemies into our hangar or we're going to get to the bottom of all this. Would you do me a favor and go tell Maison about this? I think i'm gonna take this to the gun room."
Andvari (Gear) is silent for a while, as Bart thinks of what to do. After a while, he just shakes his head. "Alright, that's enough of this stuff! We're all gonna get out of our gears...and we're starting from square one. I need to figure out just what's going on...and that means your report's due, Gabri," that said, a seperate transmission is made to the Gear Hangar, "Hey! Open the gear hatches, we've got some traffic coming in!" He looks to Margie, a frank expression on his face as he turns off the radio for the moment. "Well, either I made the biggest mistake in my life and let a couple of enemies into our hangar or we're going to get to the bottom of all this. Would you do me a favor and go tell Maison about this? I think i'm gonna take this to the gun room."
And to that, Marguerite nods, "And I whether that will turn out to be a good idea or not... I guess we'll just have to wait and see and hope then, right?" It's a difficult situation, really. And Margie really can't sort it out either way. Finally, she gives a shrug and a lighter, "It's obviously Gabriel. No one could fake that much. But either something is really wrong, or something is really weird." Goodness knows that the Shevvites seemed fond of underhanded manipulation--If they just were using Gabriel, then.. Well, that wouldn't be out of the question, right? But Margie really, really wants to believe that something is going -right- for a change. And yet.. Well, with hope restored, at least for the moment, she nods, "Sure. The moment we get down, I'll go and tell Maison and wait in the Gun room then."
Kyle sighs...Did he HAVE to mention the Baked goods incident? Kyle was still getting over that a little...damned Bastion and his Damned muffins...But that's besides the point. To the Andvari, Kyle says, "Skipper, I can do some field repairs on Gabe's gear and the other gear, if you want me to." Yea, Kyle believes that it's Gabriel, how could he not?
Releasing a sigh, Daphens' hatch closes as the machine slowly reaches down to pluck the rifle from the ground-- but by the barrel, rather than the grip. Almost like a soldier would tuck it into the crook of his arm, the rifle is placed in a rather neatly-flush way, stock down against the palm of the bot with the barrel leaned against the shoulder. Odd to view, the almost humanlike mannerism in which it moves, but... humanoid machines themselves tend to be odd. Kaori releases a sigh from within the cockpit, turning her machine to follow Andvari and Seraphim to the hold... and preparing to get everything straight in her head. She has a story to tell, and the truth has to come out the first time.
Seraphim (Gear) sighs, closing his eyes in relief. "... Thank you, God..." He mutters a prayer of thanksgiving, then looks back up at the Captain, "I promice to you, sir... this will all be explained." He takes control of Seraphim once more, the ancient Gear shaking a bit as he re-adjusts... "... And forgive me if this takes a time... today is my first day IN a Gear, really... aside from Etone training..." He laughs nervously, sweatdropping a bit...
Andvari (Gear) turns to the Ygg as the Gear Hatch opens and starts to head towards it. As this goes on, Bart replies on the radio, "Hey, if word of that mess got out I don't think i'd even be able to -face- the Dark Ygg," he nods to Margie as he enters the Gear Hatch. "Right. I know. I'm as cautious as you are...but if it ends up being a trap I wont hold back on the people who'd use Gabri like that," he smirks.
And to that, Marguerite gives nothing but a little smile, "That's good to hear. And I wouldn't rule it out of the question, too... I can't say that I'd be able to say the nicest things about these people at this point." But well, no worries now. It's best to figure out what's going on before you start to worry about how to deal with it, right? So she waits for the Andvari to land at that, and quiets for the moment otherwise. Just have enough patience to get to the Gun Room, Margie, and you can tell your entire story, with all hope. And while it might not be the single-handed redeption of all she did wrong that she was hoping for, it certainly will do leagues to make everything better. With hope, at least.