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RP: 188604 [Psychopomp] Operation Love and Peace

Talarn

Inactive Member
On, 188604 (Shigatsu 27) Sybio Airbase

Alex was helping to give a tour to a group of young men and women, all around his age. They were currently in the hangar, and he was helping to explain what the Sky Guard did to take care of their craft.

One young woman, in particular, stood out from the rest, her hair done up in a curly-styled pony-tail, it bobbing up and down with every step she took. A red dress hugged her figure, coupled with a black leather jacket, it's cuffs folded up. The vibrant outfit was finished off with black stockings and a pair of ballerina-styled dress shoes; light glinting off it's impeccably shined surface. A pair of silver eyes wandered here and there, her mouth opening to express interest and awe during certain points in the tour. She was at the front of the line-up when Alex, the one giving the tour, stopped to explain the specifics of their craft, nodding with a smile as she appeared to pay close attention; hanging to his every word.

Alex turned around, and though he took notice of the somewhat familiar young woman, he couldn't quite place where he knew her from, so he continued to lead the tour group away from the hangar and towards a flight simulator.

"This is one of the simulators used by our pilots to practice when the weather is bad, or that practice might cause damage."

She raised a hand, smiling still, though it seemed to grow a little brighter once Alex seemed to nod at her to proceed, "What sort of simulation does it go through? I've never seen those things before, they kind of look like what Yamatai and Neplesia have, just .. bigger?" The young woman would say, pointing with a thumb over her shoulder towards the hangar.

Alex cocked his head for a moment before answering. "Well, while Yamatai and Nepalesia use power armor, which is smaller and more like a traditional suit of armor, these are large, and instead of each piece of the body fitting over a body part of the user, these have cockpits, which allow the pilot to operate the machine from safety. That was a really good question miss."

"Oh, thanks, but .. they seem kind of slow in comparison to the power armor I see on the TV. Can these zip around and take out big ships as well?" It was a rhetorical, redundant, and completely honest to god the silliest question one could ask; but it was one that had to be answered anyway. Despite it having already been given an answer by the young woman herself.

Alex thought for a moment. "Well, as they are here, no, but neither could an unarmed power armor. Both are craft, and though they perform similarly when the fighter is in humanoid mode, offensive capacity really depends on what the pilot chooses to use."

"Oh, so, it's .. like one of those things from Durandamu? That animated show where, like, the main character gets a cool prototype mecha and he uses it to save the world from aliens?" The young woman would say, the smile on her face growing with a little hint of embarassment as she looked towards Alex. "Sorry, it just reminded me of it .."

Alex laughed a little. "Not really, though it does look a lot like what you would see in shows, so I can't blame you too much." Following that, Alex began to lead the group towards the sky guard living quarters.

"Just this way is where members of the guard live, unless they have somewhere else to do so."

The young woman lingered, her steps no longer falling in line with the others being led towards the other parts of the facility. Her silver eyes, having lit up with what appeared to be genuine excitement and awe during the tour, began to glow; a very subtle change in her iris color as what appeared to be a high-powered flashlight covered by a hand took over. Blinking, the smile faded away to be replaced by an expression of utter disinterest as she slipped away from the rest of the group, the once notable click-clacking of her shoes somewhat muffled by the sounds of excited murmurings and talking.

Alex reached the door to the living area and held it open to allow the group inside. Though he couldn't place it, he felt that something was off. As questions rang out, he realised what it was. The young woman who had asked so many questions was no longer present. A sinking feeling grew in the pit of his stomach as he tried to think of a way to go investigate without alarming the guests.

Nomine decided it was time to fade away, herself cursing at the choice of clothes given to her, it all being a terrible joke on the CEO's part. It'll be a better challenge. They'll see you coming a mile away!. She decided that he could be somewhat of a liability, at least in terms of operational creativity and stealth. Closing the jacket around herself, she zipped it up in an attempt to hide the bright red dress, though now it only seemed to make the skirt more pronounced; fluffing it up further. The young Psychopomp operative decided now was a good time to start memorizing the layout of the base, making a mental note with every corridor and hallway she either passed by or decided to walk down; keeping her eyes open for obvious signs and markers pointing towards the more sensitive areas.

Meanwhile, Alex raced through the halls, his footsteps loud and echoing as they drew closer to Nomine steadily.

"Miss?" He called out, "This area is off limits. I need you to stay where you are."

Nomine spun around, her hand going up the right side of her dress, pulling it up to reveal a thigh holster strapped to a thin but lithe looking leg; the motion was trained and took less then three seconds as a rather intimidating pistol was unstrapped and pulled out. She simultaneously raised it and took a knee against the floor, firing off two shots towards Alex in quick succession. Then, without even the manners to see if the rounds had hit, turned and ran off down the corridor. She was fast and no regular Miss that much was certain to Alex now.

Alex ducked the first shot but took the second to the shoulder. He grimaced as he continued to give chase. This was a first for the sky guard never before had anyone on their own planet had cause to try and attack them. He whipped out his own pistol and fired off several stun rounds at Nomine.

"Dammit, I said stop!"

Nomine managed to duck down another corridor just as a few of those stun rounds managed to find their target, though she herself felt nothing except a light tap on her right arm and leg. Quickly examining herself, she saw no blood and little in the means of exit wounds. The fingers holding onto the pistol twitched, as if some outside force was causing havoc to her nerves and muscles.

Alex neared the corridor and prepared to take the corner in a slide. He lowered himself down while moving and his shoes made a Squeeeee sound on the floor as he slid. He quickly pulled his weapon up to see if his quarry was still there.

The pursuing Alex would have mere milliseconds to react as a black shoe, attached to a foot and a leg came flying towards his face. It would appear the quarry he had been chasing wasn't one for long, drawn-out pursuits. She intended to finish it here and now!

Alex barely was able to pull up one hand up to deflect the leg. He was able to keep it from impacting his chest, but the foot clipped his forehead and set it ringing. "Gah!" He grunted, as he unloaded his weapon, still set to stun, into Nomine's torso.

Nomine felt little of the effects, though her body seemed to disagree with the amount of firepower being pumped into her. The expression on her face remained unchanged, regardless, as she jerked her leg away and swiveled; her left knee coming around to smash into the Sky Guard's nose.

Blood began to stream from Alex's nose as the knee collided with his nose with a nasty crunch. Alright he thought, That's enough of that. He switched his weapon to semi auto, its effects now intended to do damage to Nomine. He brought the barrel up and fired a pulse into her left knee.

As the pulse hit her knee, Nomine didn't seem too phased, despite a notable twitch in the leg that had been shot. At the very least, as soon as his weapon discharged, two slender arms shot forward, Alex's current posture a liability now as she pulled him up and pressed her left shoulder into his chest, violently straightening out the arm he used to hold the gun and started pulling it away from her. With a quick twist and jerk, Nomine turned Alex's wrist in an attempt to disarm him.

Alex dropped the gun as a lance of pain shot from his elbow into his nervous system, causing his fingers to open up in an instant. This seemed... familiar... He could only ever remember one person using that technique. Could this be... His voice acted at the same moment his mind came to the tentative conclusion that this young woman might be his childhood, or what passed for one, friend.

"N-agh! Nomine?" He managed to stutter out.

His moment, trapped in the thoughts of a distant past, proved his downfall as he found himself being flipped over; back hitting the floor with a sharp 'thud'. Before the Sky Guard could react, he would hear the tell-tale sound of a pistol being pulled out again, the barrel of the .45 being placed against his skull as he lay there.

Instinctively, Alex brought his knee up into Nomine's gut, and grabbed her arm and used it to flip her onto her stomach, using his knee to hold her torso down and his hands to hold her pistol hand behind her back. bending it in order to cause pain. "Give it up!" He shouted. "I don't want to hurt you... Nomine."

If she reacted to the name, it didn't appear to be having an effect, as Alex soon felt her hand literally dis-locating itself as she viciously spun herself around; which meant her arm was now dislocated. All of this didn't seem to phase the young woman as she used this moment to push him away with her leg, standing back up and taking several steps back to put some distance between them. Her silver eyes regarded him with suspicion, hate, until all of that seemed to wash away; a light glow emanating from her irises as she blinked, her posture straightening out.

"Ahh ... how .. unexpected. Hello, Alex." She spoke, the voice was hers, but the tone and manner in which those words were delivered - they reminded you of someone. Someone deeply involved in your past.

Alex stood up quickly and leveled the pistol again.

"Who... Do I know you?" He said confused for a moment. "What the hell is going on???"

"Ah, here we are again. All those years ago. It feels just like yesterday. I had her pointing a gun at you that time, though." The voice that used Nomine's own as a medium would say, the expressionless and relaxed look on the young girl's face a contrast from the purpose-filled hate she seemed to hold for him mere seconds ago.

"Wait..." Alex muttered to himself. That last simulation. The way that he and Nomine were 'controlled' at the end. Alex pointed a finger at Nomine/the unknown figure. "You were the one manipulating us in that simulation! You sick bastard, you just have to mess with everyone's heads don't you? Why can't you can't just say what you mean straight out?!" He was nearly shouting by the time he finished talking.

"Manners, young man." With barely a blink, Nomine bent down and picked up the pistol she had dropped during the scuffle, then promptly pressed the long barrel against her head; finger on the trigger as she stared past Alex.

Alex let out a growl, but continued to let whoever was in control of Nomine speak, lest they fire the gun.

"What a surprise it is to find you here," 'He' would continue. "On some back-water, barely worth surveying, shanty-town of a planet." It was eerie seeing the words coming out of Nomine's mouth, her lips forming the words and her voice complementing it with audio; it just lacked the expression of sick glee Alex might have been picturing of his mysterious 'benefactor' at this point. "You've done well for yourself, boy. Look at how far you've gotten from the tiny little test tube that was your mother's belly. We killed her, you know, I'm sure you remember; we killed that idiot of a scientist as well. How does it feel to know that at any second, with just a push of a button, I can end the last remaining link to your past. Right here, right now." He appeared to emphasize this by making Nomine push the gun harder against her head, causing it to tilt slightly to the side with how much force was being applied to it.

"Why don't you come back? We can wipe your mind all over again and you can be sweet little Alex. You might even enjoy it, though, I'm sad to say little Nomine here won't ever be the same for you. She doesn't remember you at all."

Alex shook his head at the figure. "Memories don't change a person. Whether she remembers me or not, she's still my friend. She treated me that way and I'll not do any differently."

The gun was pulled away from Nomine's head, the arm holding it laying motionless at her side, for the moment. "What a friend. She screamed so well, Alex. I found myself enjoying it, even. I put her under the knife and I watched her froth and squirm and scream and yell. And then I watched her die. Then I brought her back. And I watched her die again as I turned her into what you could have been. A loyal, trusted, deadly weapon of Psychopomp LLC. An instrument of my will. Then again, I do prefer staring at her then I do you .. so perhaps this was the better deal in the long run."

The gun then went back to being placed against her head, "I can always make more of her, though ..."

Alex could see her finger about to pull the trigger and quickly drew his weapon to face Nomine, and fired a burst of deadly lasers that lanced through both her hand and the grip of her gun, and two of her fingers. While her fingers' wounds were cauterized immediately, the laser set off the unfired bullets in the magazine of the gun, causing a small explosion directed down through the natural port of the magazine slot, which sent what was left of the magazine flying into the ground.

Following this, Alex dashed over and flipped Nomine facedown and began to pump stun rounds into the OGU controlling her. Hopefully it would short out.

There was a bang, then a series of smaller 'snaps' as the rounds cooked off. The gun was forced out of her hand, more so due to the lack of precise control Nomine could have had had she been in control. With barely a word or a whimper, Nomine's entire body began twitching and seizing at the sudden loss of connection; Alex would hear a sharp zip followed by the smell of burning hair. The twitching stopped, finally, and the Psychopomp puppet seemed to settle down, her body relaxing as she fell unconscious; her eyes closing. She seemed almost ... peaceful.

Alex picked Nomine up and began to carry her toward the medical bay. "What did they do to you?" He wondered aloud.

====== A few hours later ======

The medics on the airbase had treated Nomine's wounds, and wrapped her gun hand in bandages and treated it with antiseptics. They had removed the now fried OGU to the best of their abilities without causing further injury. Nomine was now dressed in a paper gown, with a curtain sealing her off from the rest of the world. Alex remained in the room, hands supporting his chin in a pensive pose.

Her eyes opened, slowly at first, the silver irises turning this way and that for a few seconds; as if familiar with the surroundings. Then they shot open as they saw Alex sitting nearby, her body jerking up as she hopped off the side and picked up whatever was nearby as a weapon; which happened to be a bedpan, the objects inside it toppling out onto the floor as she raised it threateningly. "Why didn't you just kill me?" She would ask.

Alex stood up to speak. "Because you are, or were, someone who cared about me, and because I still care about you."

The bedpan went soaring towards Alex, like a lethal frisbee of steel. "No! I don't know who the fuck you are, you're holding me prisoner, and I will tear through you and everyone else here if I have to, to get out." She seemed disorientated, the loss of the OGU perhaps, her silver eyes seeming to have lost a bit of their luster.

Alex swatted the bedpan out of the air. "I know you don't remember me now, but I know you used to. As for being a prisoner, that's not true at all, but I didn't want to just throw you out into the desert with injuries." Alex sat down on a bed on the opposite side of the room from Nomine, and gestured for her to do the same.

Nomine remained motionless, the fire in her eyes dying down a bit, though she seemed adamant and stood her ground. "Liar."

Alex sighed. "How do you know that I'm lying? I mean, I suppose I could try to show you..." Alex began to think. He had generally been able to interface with many devices that the OGU was most likely not designed to work with. Maybe he could play back memories on a video screen.

He reached out mentally to a video screen mounted to the wall of the room. He conjured up the memories he wished to share and released them into the screen. It couldn't show the full extent of the memories, but it would have to do. The screen began to display his most formative memories of Nomine, of their first meeting, of her meeting him after his first memory wipe. Of the journals, of the warnings against escape. And of the training session where they had almost been made to kill each-other after working together. His voice seemed to echo a little when his memory-self resisted the OGU.

Nomine looked towards the screen, though her body was still facing the Sky Guard's, ready at a moment's notice to escape. It wouldn't be too hard to find the hangar from here, she thought to herself as the first images came up, it was one of the larger structures around after all. She didn't seem to pay any mind to the images, still associating it as a trick - until she recognized the methods used in some of the fragmented "memories". He was once a product of their company, so she did not think it was so unlikely that he would have had recollections, pasting in an image of herself to make it more believable. The raven-haired, silver-eyed girl was no idiot though. Nomine saw that it would have been impossible to fake all of this, and perhaps if she wasn't aware of who Alex was, she would have more readily believed him. "Fabrication." She would say, finally.

Alex shook his head. "How can you know that for sure?" He asked her, his conviction clear.

"You were once a part of the company. You spent enough time there to know how things work. Attaching an image of myself to your delusions and fantasies wouldn't have taken more then a few minutes. You could have created all of this whilst I was vulnerable and resting away on the enemy's bed."

"Could I have more than half of my life's worth of memories fabricated in that short of a time?"

"Who knows what is fabricated and what isn't." With this, she seemed to have had enough, having decided it was time to act upon her escape plan. Nomine bent down and grabbed the nearby bed with her hand, gripping it tightly, flipped it over and with strength that didn't seem to fit the unusually small and frail looking young woman, tossed it over towards where Alex sat. It was a distraction, nothing more, as she ran towards the open door leading out of the room. Back outside in the unfamiliar corridors, she chose a random, best-guess bearing, and ran down that direction; making great strides despite the injuries taken.

None of the base personell were expecting her to do this, and so she went unopposed until she abruptly reached the hangar, where U-1 fighters sat in rows ready to launch with their cockpits open.

Nomine chose one, at random, hopping into one of the open cockpits. For a few seconds she looked around at the controls, the panels, and the instruments. It was a good thing the tour was so in-depth, made even better by the fact Nomine had asked all the right questions, just for this moment. Leaning forward, she felt a sharp pain, as something dormant within her own cybernetically enhanced body switched on. The cockpit of the U-1 began to close, temporarily shuttering her in darkness as they encapsulated her within the cockpit. The interior lit up as the MFD's and the control panel switched on. The cockpit cover eventually phased out, turning into what appeared to be an accurate rendition of the outside world. Gripping the control stick with her one good hand, she began manuevering it out towards the runway.

The flight tower issued a warning, but the flight controller was unable to get personell out in time to stop Nomine from executing her plan.

Ignoring the transmission coming through from the base's ATC, strapping herself into the safety harnesses. She was half-naked, wearing nothing but an apron, and so had little in the way of gear to keep herself safe from the perils of space; with barely a thought she shuddered as the U-1's engine lit up and shot the craft forward. In just a few seconds she was lifting off, though with only one working arm and hand it was a little janky, but it mattered little as it didn't seem to require much manual guidance as it swiftly penetrated stratosphere. In a few more minutes she would be hitting the mesopshere, and after that?

Space.

(The final frontier)
(GOD DAMN IT ALEX)
 
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