RP: ISC Phoenix [Epilogue 2] - Isolation Fleeting

[Luca]

Calling to the night, to dream
Forgain in the light
Waiting for a storm to rise
Feel the isolation fleeting
- Natasha Farrow

What Happened to the Phoenix Crew?
Let's answer those questions...

JOHN MORRIS - PILOT

John Morris was able to guide the crew back to the Crimson Kestrel and to Nepleslia. Once there, he tried contacting Luca multiple times, but failed each time. There was no carrier on all counts. He couldn't contact anyone on Delsauria either, as the Glass Rain had all but immobilised the planet's infrastructre, playing havoc and interfering with signals.

Once the Glass Rain cleared a few days later, he tried calling again without the interference, but no contacts he had there were able to find Luca. He had disappeared, and no body was found. He remains cautiously optimistic for Luca's return, and the Crimson Kestrel is docked somewhere in secret, awaiting its rightful Captain's return.

MELISSA JONES - SNIPER

Once the Glass Rain had cleared, Melissa took it upon herself to start hunting the Cruiser's crash site for any trace of Luca Pavone, ahead of the army. She has been keeping in contact with the rest of the crew, and Enzo especially, assuring him that she will find the person responsible for all of this, and that she'll save some for him.

Her searching, even with the aid of the IPG and SAINT, turned up nothing, and she started to broaden her search.

SEBASTIAN PAVONE - QUARTERMASTER, FATHER and ANNA PAVONE - DOCTOR, MOTHER

Sebastian woke up mid-flight to Nepleslia, and demanded to know where his sons were. He did not take the news well, and spiralled into depression with Anna over his misgivings. He blamed himself for the loss of his sons, and Anna could only comfort him.

Anna and Sebastian retired back to Ralt, trying to take their mind off of the whole affair and to try and live their life as civilians again, sick of the fighting since it'd claimed what they loved most.

ALLISON KELLY - MECHANIC and 'ECHELON' - A.I

Allison took Echelon's side after getting the bad news, and they stayed around for a little to provide comfort to Zeta and Sebastian. They then moved on and moved into a rich apartment in Nepleslia with their wages. Together, they currently work as commissioned repair mechanics for the Star Military of the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia.

Allison met with her mother, Miranda Kelly, AKA: Anomaly Detective of Kirin Games Manufacture and told her all about her adventures with Luca Pavone.

Echelon, meanwhile got hooked up with the local polysentience and wove the tale of the Man who was Lightning, an allegorical piece for the idea of fearlessness being a double edged sword, but a necessary good in this darkening world.

JIMOTHI TRAKK - MEDIC and PETER - PLATYPUS

Jimothi Trakk was also stunned by the news of Luca's disappearance, having been with him from the beginning and stayed by his side and treated his and the crew's injuries for so long. Peter, meanwhile, was saddened that the pointy-haired-man was no longer around.

Having nowhere else to go, but a hefty amount of money and so much practical knowledge under his belt, Jimothi went ahead and pursued a higher education on Yamatai, becoming a fully qualified doctor. He opened a clinic in Kyoto, and collects the Phoenix Man! action figures, displaying them in the front window.

 

[Moogle]

SEIREN ISBALA - (CRACKPOT) INVENTOR CANDYMAN

Seiren heard the news down the grapevine from Robert, having kept in touch with his fellow craftsman, but refused to believe it on account of the lack of body found. Which, one would suppose, would be a par for the course in terms of reactions. His volunteer work on Yamatai after the Battle of Yamatai continues, though he is also trying to start up a candy company in his spare time. His flagship product, the Phoenix is finished, and he hopes to launch a company with some of his remaining finances. He left his LEAF on the Crimson Kestrel in hopes that he will someday be called to go back and use it.

 

[ShotJon]

Zeta Five - The Bodyguard

Zeta Five spent weeks scouring the deserts of Delsauria, looking for any clues to Luca Pavone's fate, believing he must have survived. Her search dug up nothing though. Apparently she then disappeared in similiar way to John Morris. From the stories told she went with him, watching over the Crimson Kestrel and waiting for The Phoenix-man to come back and do good. Rumours said that she showed up in Ralt every now and then, but there was no valid evidence, depicting her fate after the disband of the Phoenix crew.

 

[Lamb]

Vincenzo Bortelli -- Some Kind of Jerk

Enzo didn't stick around for long, as expected. With all the money accrued from his wealth of ethically dubious Phoenix-related business deals and various bounties collected, Vincenzo cruised for a few months on the highest-dollar drugs and whores the galaxy could offer before going broke again. Over this period, he'd managed to eliminate all of the enemies he was aware of and make a few new ones in the process. There were several rumors that he'd died in one bar-fight or another; although the flowers and silk dresses showing up on Melissa's doorstep with the regular inquiries into the status of her investigation seemed to suggest otherwise.

Those who visited the Crimson Kestrel in the coming weeks would notice the Lady of The Night moored in her hangar. Those who ventured into the ship would always find Enzo sleeping amidst beer bottles and check stubs, regardless of the time of day.

At some point, Vincenzo had seen fit to have a picture of Naoko painted on the front of his ship, smirking mischievously and pointing a pair of Lorath Handcannon's at the viewer.

 

[CadetNewb]

Matthew Smith - The Black Suit

For Matt, the funerals he held there on Delsauria were the end of one thing, but the beginning of something else entirely.

As odd as it was, the man in the black business suit found himself hoping this isolated little Oasis was...satisfactory to the two. To Matt, one was a complete stranger he only heard snippets and bits about. Meanwhile, the other had been his tormenter at times. She teased the man and feasted on the weaknesses of his past similar to a cat playing with one of her favorite balls of yarn. But she made him realize something. He was perhaps loath to admit it, but though she was made for war and tormented him to no end, Matt had to admit something very important.

She was her own quirky, curious, dangerous person. A person.

Joe Pavone and Naoko Aihara were both complete strangers to each other of course, but they were both linked to each other by one common thread as well. It's why he hoped this burial, side by side in this hidden, peaceful little slice of paradise in a scorched, wind blasted hell would be completely fine with them both. That thread that tied them all together?

It was Luca Pavone.

He felt it was also odd of course, and perhaps even wrong, that one man was capable of what he believed was best described as 'all this' or 'all that', but it was there to be seen as fact. In the end, Matt was tied to those two and several other people by this one single thread. A single unlikely thread known as Luca Pavone, as absurd, unlikely and impossible as this thread had sounded. But, again, the fact was there for all to see.

After 'all this' of course, Matt made up his mind.

Methodical planning and resource planning tossed aside, Matt gave all his resources to his younger siblings as he originally planned and went ahead with it. It was far too early by the standards he had set before, but he felt that at this point, if he didn't do so now, he never really would. All that scheming, planning and amassing of money was, in the end, an excuse. He had been scared to death at this prospect of going out to finish it all at last, wanted to hold back on it until everything was absolutely perfect.

After all, in this universe, there was no such thing as perfect at all. It was a concept, an abstract idea and nothing more. Therefore, he never would have gone, since perfect preparation never would have been reached. Perfection, utopia - it was all just a fantasy and impossible by definition. There was always something wrong, something off, and so, it was in the Nepleslian Spirit that people simply lived with the shit they had and dealt with it all best they could.

Perfect was impossible.

Almost just like what he was a part of as a crew member of the Phoenix. It was all almost like an impossible fantasy, and yet, it all did happen, as absurd as it all was. So, he reasoned with himself, if Luca could do what was seemingly fantastically impossible, if he and all the others of the Phoenix Crew had participated in this very impossible event...well? Why couldn't he give it a shot?

Even if all Matthew Smith would ever end up doing was just brushing that perfection with the tips of his fingers, that was enough he felt. Despite the years that had come and gone, Matt found that the clues he needed to get started - he just needed to begin right with the people he cared about the most. His family, Scott, Missie, Jamie - they were unwittingly the very first clue he needed to begin his own fantastically impossible journey.

Following the breadcrumbs, he set off and searched for Ai.

 

[Blackbird Lore]

Uriel - Angel Avenger

As his final tribute to Luca and the Phoenix crew, the Elysian Uriel Hisshana performed the final rites for Joseph Pavone and Naoko Aihara in both their respective native traditions; he also added some silently muttered prayers of his own. Then, like all the others, he left.

What had begun as a temporary stint, a means for Uriel to see the galaxy, had become something more permanent and homely over time. The crew he considered friends, and the Crimson Kestrel a home. With their kingpin plucked from their midst the people dispersed; they had pledged no allegiance to each other.

These people had affected Uriel, however. They had revealed to him a side of himself not previously known. Some would probably call it his violent side. The Patrician labeled it a little differently: Passionate Ministry. It was provoked by unrepentant evil, which he had discovered to exist in quantities hitherto unimaginable. The Elysians were not without crime and evil, but it was certainly not present on such a scale as he had seen since volunteering his services to the Phoenix Captain. This combination of revelations instigated Mr. Hisshana's evolution from a very serious God-loving man into a a very serious God-loving man with a mission.

Naturally, this is meant in the most literal sense. After the events of Delsauria, the Avenging Angel made his way to Funky City, Nepleslia the heart of crime and corruption. With the funds that he had not dispensed to his more avaricious teammate Uriel founded an orphanage and an adjoining dry home. Uriel runs a tight ship, harboring no freeloaders; similarly, he takes no donations but works with his residents to fund the endeavors. He also took it upon himself to teach the abandoned children and preach to those unfortunate souls who are also willing to listen.

After establishing himself, Uriel attempted to reach out to the Phoenix's ex-members in hopes of obtaining their assistance and/or support in his various ventures. Results varied, but on average were quite miserable. The few he was unable to track down- Zeta, Luca, and Panther- he vowed to continue pursuing. With a few leads on the former and latter, he has shelved his quest to find Luca for another day. The children need him, and the homeless rely on him.

Rumors abounded shortly after his arrival in Nepleslia's capitol that an Elysian had been running amok in the city on a vigilante spree. He has yet to be tried or accused of any such crimes.