RP: OIF Atuan III [OIF Atuan III] (prologue) Once more, with even more feeling!

"Then you can definitely have it," a familiar voice spoke across the hangar.

Dressed in his Origin Best, the dark skinned man strode over to Taela in broad steps. By his side, another man, dressed in a pilot uniform with the helmet on and polarized, facelessly kept pace. Putting his hands to his hips, Kelly took in the sight all around him. "It feels like yesterday, doesn't it?" he asked the Neko. "Just like yesterday that we were all together, flying around the galaxy doing who-knows-what for Origin," the Nepleslian went on. Looking at Taela over from head to toe, he added, "You're looking pretty good these days. But where's everyone else?"

The faceless pilot by his side merely shrugged, palms up in the air.

The bridge.

"Oh, Kelly is here!" Viktoria exclaimed and smiled happily. She picked herself up and went straight for the doors. "I missed him a lot. Uniform can wait." She joked and rushed off.

The hangar.

Taela, Kelly and shady pilot guy were joined by a laughter and quick steps. Viki rushed in on her high heels moving straight for Kelly, embracing him in her arms. She hugged him tight. "KELLY! I missed you so much!" She said happily, before releasing him. "You never returned any of my calls!" She then said with a fake frown on her face.

Still staring up at the wall and slowly flexing her wings back and forth despite the stiff suit that she was confined in Thalath let her arms slump and rest limply against the wall behind her and the bed underneath her. Bringing her knees up in front of her the Elysian forced more of her weight to rest against the small of her back.


She was tired and shook her head and blinked as things kept wanted to blur around her. Taking the second shift despite having to report to here new duty and just ever present stress was starting to weigh up against her.


Despite all that, the Plebeian sighed heavily as she wrangled her thoughts into line, she still firmly felt the impulse to continue the slow conversation that had been drifting between her and Lucien.


“I don't think I'm afraid of piloting a frame.” Thalath finally spoke out, her voice just barely above a whisper. The Elysian frowned, a few heavy creases forming across her forehead, as she followed the trail her thoughts had chosen to go down. “It's more the idea of having to live outside of one that I have doubts about.”


Shifting her eyes and pulling her head back down the brown haired alien switched her vision to boring into the wall across from her. Thalath pressed her lips together as she fought down another sigh and resisted the urge to shake her head again. “Things could have been a lot simpler.”

Arah blinked as Victoria suddenly swept out of the bridge and down toward the hanger, but, that was all the consideration she could give the action. Satisfied that her announcement had been made, the woman took to following after the Abwehran, though at a much less eager pace. The ship's Avatar simply disappeared, not needed anymore.

************

Since Doran had motioned for her, the freespacer stood a few moments staring at him, not quite seeming to comprehend what he meant by the gesture. After a few more moments, during which Doran could have sworn he heard gears literally turning in her head, everything seemed to click, with a small "Oh!" throwing whatever was in her hands onto the bed she had chosen, Nora one-three then followed Doran out of the cabin and down toward the Hangar bay, to see what exactly was going on.

Mark finally shuffled into the hangar. All the old faces were there. Well, all the ones he'd spent time with anyhow. Well, except for Yoshi. And Shinji. And Mee- Okay, so three people he knew were there. Mark would've done the casual swish of a hand through his hair as he approached, but he had no hair-- having become way too cool for the individual hair to stay in there follicles. Or at least, that was what he said if anyone asked why he had hair tattooed onto himself. Not being able to do the thing with the hair, Mark dug into his pockets and walked ever-so-casually up to Kelly with a slight lean in his stride and a crooked smile on his mouth.

"Farms." He acknowledged Kelly softly, then beckoned to the masked man with an equally soft, "Stranger."

While Doran managed to maintain a kind smile during the silent moments before Nora processed his gesture, behind his eyes there was a cold and blank understanding that getting a wish granted can have unforeseen consequences. After a moment or two of his own spent blinking slowly as he came to terms with the truth of what he could likely expect, the man inhaled sharply and released a sigh. "Right, hangar. Let's get going," he said retaining his typical upbeat tone, and continued onward.

After arriving in at the armor bay Doran did not need to look very hard to get an idea of where to gather. Raising his arms with an audible crack coming from shoulders he turned towards Nora and clasped his hands together behind his head. "Finally, the part Ah've been waitin' on. Been itchin' to take a good look at these beauties," he chimed casually as his pace slowed while gazing upward at the machines.

A flurry of warmth collided with the man before he could even respond - a ghost of what could have been. 'Damn Squid-suke!'

"I'm sorry Vic. The mess that was left behind was big, and nobody else was going to clean it up," he replied with a sincere, yet weary smile. "Least I could do to make it up to you is make sure you got an awesome new mech for an 'I"m sorry' present," Kelly grinned. 'Even if it's actually a few years old and has been on the shelf for a bit since we honestly couldn't even scrape together the funds needed to market the damn things, let alone paint them something beyond the company parade colors...@#$& you Squid-suke!' As Victoria stood there before Kelly however, she could easily look over his shoulder and see the helmeted, stark white suited pilot - he had turned his back to them both, but folded his arms across his chest to grab himself and appear he was making out with someone. The faceless pilot was flat out mocking the two, but Kelly didn't seem to notice. Instead, he waved over the newcomers to come join him. In moments however, his face lit up when another familiar friend showed up - "Mark man!" he exclaimed, turning to the DJ. Before he could say anything else though, Kelly felt like facepalming.

"Oh yeah, he's chill - don't worry about him," Kelly explained, pointing a thumb over his shoulder - said person in question was now hip-thrusting. "I'd rather not say it more than once though, so I'd rather wait until everyone's here first. Lemmi send the message out; I should have done this, but just seeing the ship again was a blast to the past," he grinned.

In moments, a notice was sent to everyone's datapads or cerebral implants - Kelly was aboard the ship, and in the hangar, waiting for them.

"Mm," Lucien had mumbled in reply noncommittally. He'd grown tired of just talking to Thalath, and he'd know her true mettle once she sat in a seat and went screaming out of a launch tube. There'd truly be something to talk about there. Having felt that the conversation had reached a logical conclusion, he grabbed his datapad from his side and started flicking through the news feeds. It was the same old. Scandal with celebrities this, conference that, mediocrity, 'human interest' stories, and cat pictures everywhere else.

Then he got a new message, the notification bar at the top of his device flashing for a moment while the message's contents came through, read on a ticker. Thalath could visibly watch the Scotsman's normally dour expression rising slowly, revealing more of his widening blue eyes from beneath his massive brow. "Ae..." he cooed. He pulled the status bar down from the top and then pulled the message down to reveal all of its contents. He couldn't be bothered to let the ticker keep teasing him by letting it trickle the message to him.

Then the man emitted a most feminine squeal of joy. If the walls were not impervious to people walking through them, there would've been a few Scotsman-shaped holes. Instead, Lucien had to launch himself off of his bed, propelled by sheer joy and fraternity out the door. Kelly wasn't just the Origin Armour Works director - he was his friend and a trusted warrior. Someone who'd fight by the Atuan, for the Atuan, and for Origin. Kelly was greeted with the sight of a grown man wearing a black and red Pilot Suit - one of the new ones, rushing towards him with a wide smile on his face - Ged and Arah would note that it was the first genuine smile he'd made since he'd stepped aboard.

"Kelly!" This time around though, Kelly was pulling Origin's strings in the right direction, doing more help than his role as a warrior ever could. And Lucien believed that in either capacity, he was sharp enough. "Where ya been?" he asked, typically blokey. "'aven't caught up with ya in ages!"

Thalath's head slumped and her vision blurred. Not even Lucien's delighted outburst as he read from his personal datapad served to joust the Elysian from her drowsy state – she instead half watched the man as he moved with new found energy and hastily drew himself to whatever had left him so overjoyed.


The Plebeian allowed her eyes to droop and darkness swelled up around her as her eyelids touched closed.


Then they snapped open just as fast as her counterpart had leapt out of his bunk.


Something was bothering the Elysian and she slowly unfolded herself until she was sitting at the edge of the bunk she had claimed. The memory of a soft – and maybe slightly strained and wobbly – voice pricked at the back of her mind like a patch of burnt skin between her wings.


Heart beating twice as fast as the recollection came back to her the Thalath wasn't sure how but she found herself standing and a few steps away from her bunk.


That didn't really matter though. What mattered was the fact that she had already ignored a precisely worded instruction and was more than likely well beyond late to a meeting with her direct Commander and the entire Head of Operations for Origin Armour Works.


Forcing vitality back into her limbs the Elysian winced as she dashed her head against the door frame – a blow that was letting her know without a doubt that it would make a pretty bruise – as she excited much more stiffly but none-the-less hastily to make her way to the hangar.

Not long after Thalath reached the hangar, the ship's captain did as well. Nonchalantly, she observed the last of the stragglers reporting in to the hangar while she continued to stride up to Kelly Williams, who, while technically her equal, was in this rare circumstance in charge of her. She did, however, jam her elbow 'gently' into his ribs, and mutter something to the executive.

"Sir, The whole crew has arrived, it's time for your address. We are currently thirty seconds behind schedule, and if you delay much longer I shall be forced to remove you from my vessel and take off before you can say your goodbyes. So, please, proceed." The blank stare Kelly received was completely unreadable, even by someone like himself whom had worked with Arah Tenner for quite a while. Whether she was joking or dead serious was a mystery that only a select few could tell.

Mecholic One-three Seemed to be getting antsy, standing in a big chamber full of mecha and shuttles and a fighter as well as the ship's entire crew, Plus that one dude with cornrows that hired her! it was all so exciting and she bounced on the balls of her feet, swaying side to side and gently smacking into those to either side of her, without seeming to notice.

Taela waited as the rest filled in, not bothering to answer Kelly as more and more trickled in to greet their former copilot/new boss, smirking quietly to herself. She gave a simple hello to Viktoria (she'd not seen the Abwehran in quite some time), but otherwise kept to herself.

Once the lot had (for the most part) was finally around, she quipped back to her former team leader, "It may seem like yesterday for you, but for some of us it was a very long several years."

With hands on his hips and chest thrust forward, Kelly boisterously replied to the giant of a man, "I've been buried under mountains of papers, waiting for the search teams to find me!" When Taela came forward and spoke however, the matching expression of happiness and vigor melted into a sad warmth - he missed the old times, but he did feel the years, just like the rest of them. "Hey, you really think it feels like yesterday for me too? Ouch," Kelly replied, pretending to be hurt. When Arah spoke however, he jolted upright and began to jog in place in a panic.

'Oh crap, crap, crap - she's got her Pokerface on again! She's not kidding!'

"You guys? I love you guys and I really wish I could come along! You all dig giant robots! I dig giant robots! We dig giant robots! Chicks dig giant robots! Origin knows this, but hasn't been able to do anything on it for years - so show them some real giant robots worth fighting in!" the man bellowed proudly. "Now, I gotta get out of here before she tosses me out! Later guys, and good luck!" With that, Kelly scrambled out as quickly as he could, leaving behind the white suited stranger.

He waved bye to Kelly before turning to look at all of them without a single word.

As Kelly suddenly belted out the summarized version of his speech, Nora One-Three was rapt at attention with his every word. Kelly Williams was like a Hero to her! And here he was, Talking! And then he stopped talking, really quickly, and just, left. Nora's face fell for a moment, as she was disappointed with the abruptness of her Boss' speech, but, after a few moments of that, decided to begin cheering and applauding for Kelly even though he was gone.

A few of the crew looked the pilot up and down, then backed away awkardly, apparently not wanting to catch whatever it was she had.

Arah Blinked once or twice during Kelly's speech, and once again after he had left. With nothing further ado, and the schedule back on track, Arah made one last Announcement. "All hands, prepare for launch! We will be heading into Nepleslian space immediately, for, as predicted we have a distress signal coming in from one of our cargo groups, and shall test this ship in battle, coming to their aid. ETA is thirty minutes, you have until then to get ready, Pilots and crew." Her own speech finished, the Captain walked toward the elevators and headed to the bridge, followed by a few of the crew members.

Mark joined in the clatter and cheering that marked Kelly's exit. Couldn't leave a Freespacer out in the dark like that. When the briefing was over, he cracked his knuckles and smiled. Having action so soon after showing up was just the kind of thing to get the blood flowing for the reporter-turned-equipment-tester-turned-DJ-turned-equipment-tester.

"I guess it's wreckin' time. Soo-bah-rah-shee, baby." He said with a confident laugh, then turned to go change into his flight suit. Over his shoulder, he left them with a warning of, "Just keep me outta the driver's seat, alright?"

"Ae Kelly it was a long time," the Scotsman commented back before standing to attention and listening to his speech. When the Scotsman's best friend and drinking buddy (who just happened to be the Director of Origin Armour Works) had to wrap up the speech and leave, he replied back with a spirited: "Y'take care now, Kelly!"

Everyone loved giant robots, the reasons differed. Some people liked the utility, the beauty in the design, the carnage they were capable of with those giant guns, the scale of the battles they had. There were all sorts of reasons to love a giant robot - especially when you were in the pilot's seat. Lucien was looking forward to planting his backside in the cockpit once more and reminding the world why these things are awesome - in the old sense of the word. To inspire awe, perhaps even terror. "Ae Mark, Taela, dunnae about ye but I'm lookin' forward t' it." The broad grin on his face and his puffed chest.

His flight suit was already on. Now it was time to wear it with even more pride.

Having only ever heard of this Kelly through second hand talk from other employees, Doran gave the man the attention his rank deserved but for the most part his focus was still on scanning the tech the hangar had to offer. Once Kelly had finished, while he was not expecting applause for a speech from a superior, such a reaction from Nora did not seem to surprise him. Giving a quick chuckle he joined in with a few punctuated claps of his own before Arah began her own announcement. This time the Irishman was more than happy to show his excitement.

"Flyin' mechs is all fine an' dandy, but Ah'll take my Scimitar over those overgrown tuxedos any day," Doran said joyfully as he almost skipped, after all, this would be the first time he would see his baby in person. Before being assigned to the Atuan he had been privileged to have been included in the design process for enhancing the base model of the Scimitar fighter, and by the graces of the powers-that-be he was deemed worthy of piloting the prototype. So his excitement had its reasons, and upon reaching the fighter his skip turned into an enthusiastic jump as he began laughing merrily.

"Oh... oh my. She's absolutely beautiful!" Doran said, by now mostly to himself. Once at the fighter, he gently ran his gloved fingers over the smooth surfaces as he began checking it out in a quick inspection. "The Rover, heh, Ah wonder what the boys back home would say iffen they knew what wee' Doran's done with himself."

"Mark, I've got dibs on your ass, so don't get seduced by the possibility of working with somebody else!" Taela called after the DJ, still feeling a bit snickery from Kelly's abrupt and somewhat hilarious departure. Since Taela was already wearing her pilot suit, there wasn't much reason in going anywhere to change.

She eyed Doran and his excitement, but reserved comment. After all, it was just another accented individual to get used to on board. Instead she used her energy to bounce from support girder to support girder for the Frames, using that neko agility to her advantage to get up to her Gekido.

It didn't take long for Mark to slide his lanky limbs into the glove-like jumpsuit that acted as the Frame Tester's best friend. He wriggled his fingers in the glove-like gloves that accompanied the ensemble and pressed his arsenal of piercings flat against his ear and face to make way for the helmet. Then he flicked up the visor and set foot into the hangar once more. Once he stood between the legs of Taela's giant robotic monstrosity, he placed his hands on his lower back, just above the rump his former co-pilot had recently claimed dibs upon.

"Yo, Kitty!" He called up, "Make sure you got a two-seater before you go callin' dibs on folks, baby..." Then the grin, "Unless, of course, you want me to sit in your lap. I guess I could allow it, just for you-- for old time's sake."