HarperMadi
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- RP Date
- A few days after NDC news broadcasts of Sarah Pine's death
- RP Location
- Sirris V
Once alabaster skin slipped out of a small shuttle, red eyes looking for her sister in the bright sun of Sirris VI's tropical beachland. She pulled downward on the leg of the stretchy material covering her overdeveloped leg, and adjusted it across her back with a show of unusual modesty for a woman her size and physique. Still, Spark called back into the shuttle, "C'mon, Mora, the sun's great!"
"No. Not until you choose more appropriate attire.", Cam back an unusually stern reply from the snow white haired jane clone sitting in a passenger seat of the pilot's cabin. Her red eyes stared the muscular woman down outside the shuttle, Armora still dressed in normal bland clothes as usual.
"It covers my tits, my ass, and my crotch, smoothing lines, and I'm not big on my thighs. You want me to wear some itty bitty frilly number? C'mon!" Spark was visibly exasperated as she rolled her eyes and marched back into the shuttle. "Swear to Goddess if you picked me out a little micro number, I'm tossing you in the water in your civvies!"
"You make it sound as if that is some real punishment to me. It is not, for I do not care how I get wet, and in what. I am more then inclined to use stun munitions and put one on you by hand.....It's what mother would have wanted.", Came the further stern reply of the woman who was the closest to the baseline clones of fenrir. She was not amused, albeit you couldn't tell even if she was. Despite how far she had come, in these situations, she still came off as numb.
"Well played. Ow." Spark's hand pointed at Armora, perfectly flat. She wouldn't admit the feeling that she would simply cause fear wearing revealing clothes. It was an exercise in futility to wear loose clothes to attempt to hide her size compared to her sisters, but an attempt was still made to blend in at least a little. Between shopkeepers, potential dates, and her own small circle of friends, she didn't want to be intimidating by showing off her body. In stead of letting Armora know that, she offered, "But mother also told me to grow my hair out. Repeatedly. So... Yeah, no. You toss me the swimmers you figured I'd be wearing, and I'll give it an honest thought. Till then, one piece top with zip-up front, sleeves, and mid thigh. Effective, modest, and comfy."
"Mother didn't give me that option, and that means you shouldn't either. Either case, it is for today at least, but should continue after. Do not fear, it is a normal bikini, as I believe it is called. I also have a list of activities I was told to try, and I want you to participate with me.", Armora stated before finally getting up from the chair to pull two bikinis from a duffle bag she had sitting nearby. With a flick of her arm, a fairly standard full coverage halter top bikin still in it's package, was tossed to Spark. Armora pulled out her own and began to start changing.
Spark had her face in her hands before seeing the package, catching it easily before looking. The model on the front certainly did not have her physique, but the image served to make her groan in annoyance. Even in death, Spark's mother couldn't stop getting on her nerves.
She ignored Armora changing, having much of the same equipment, herself, and resolved to note that modesty is a thing in some circumstances. Still, no one was on that stretch of beach as far as she knew. No one but her and her sister, so quickly slipped into the shuttle's one-person bathroom to change, emerging a few moments later to place a hand on her hip, thumb hooked on the inch and a half wide panty style hip of her swim bottom.
Her own simple black top covered far more than Armora's, despite being the same color. In all fairness, her swim suit was still shockingly modest when compared to her sister's thin strips of cloth bound by elastic strings and called a swim suit. "Armora, were there anyone on this beach... Anyone at all, I'd be stuffing you into my swimsuit. The heavy one."
"I do not believe that would fit my physical parameters. I purchased this only recently, the one mother left for me was actually the one you are wearing now." came the nonchalant reply of the barely clad female clone before she walked off the shuttle. "Coming sister?"
"This is yours?" Spark questioned, following Armora with her own preferred clothes still in her hand. She had known that the bikini was a bit tighter than she liked, or that the size indicated. It was definitely bought for somone smaller than Spark, if not by much. "So why choose something even more revealing? I'm all gristly. You can actually look good in this thing."
"Yes, despite difference in body build, you and I are not all that different." came the reply before the question even registered. A bit of blush came to Armora's cheeks as she thought of the answer, "I asked a horse anthro for her advice on swimwear, and she suggested this, said it would attract males easier." It was true that as far as she cared at first, well she hadn't, and had almost walked away at the mere aspect. But one thought had tipped her back into considering it, ultimately going for it. "That being said, you look...I believe the term is...sexy, in that swim suit."
"Not the word I'd use." Spark said simply, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow. "You know that sweet smile is better than running about near naked as the day you were born, right? Especially for attracting the males that are worth a shit?"
Then again, and Spark would never voice this, but Armora did seem more prone to getting taken advantage of compared to most of the others. At least from what she had seen. That may have been one time, almost a year ago, but it still annoyed her that it had happened to even one. Possibly more had had similar experiences, but she'd been the only one to include it in her report so far.
"It feels like one of the few ways I can. I do not offer much in terms of character, or personality, or even emotions. My body more or less....seems to be my only voice. That said, there is only one individual I wish to hear that voice.", Armora said rather crypticly as she surveyed the beach. After a moment she turned back to her sister, her snow white locks wavering in the tropical breeze.
"You have your moments." Spark offered, choosing to not persue Armora's comment as her short hair caught and flipped about in the same breeze that gently waved Armora's hair. "You're textbook enigmatic, but let's face it, you are kind and sweet, given time to open up. Doesn't mean I like wearing your clothes, as they're a little tight on me, but... At least we managed to drag each other out. And I'm sure your sweetheart would agree with me. Less is not more."
She poked at the tan lines on her upper bicep, the muscle twitching under too tight skin. She disagreed with Armora's statement that it looked good on her, as the skin that had been protected by her overly modest swim suit was a high polish ivory that had never seen the sun, while her lower arms and legs, from mid thigh and mid bicep, were tanned with a sharp contrast to her ivory torso. Her face had also seen the light of day, and that sharp division could be found at the resting line of her uniform's tee shirt, about halfway up the neck.
"Then I am open to solutions to this equation, but I find you to be a irrational variable within it." Armora quipped back in a joke which was delivered with such a deadpan attitude that one might not realize it was a joke. Until she stuck her tongue out at the buffer clone, the blank expression still present.
"That's because I'm not technically part of the equation. Now, what 'activities' did you have in mind?"
"Swimming, build a sand castle, hunt for local seashells, sun bathe, play volley ball.....that one would require more, and therefore invalid for this trip. Finally, have a picnic at lunch......I suggest sun bathing first, you seem to require it." came the Jane's list, ending it with another attempt at a quip.
Spark chuckled a little at the joke. "Bitch, you could use my ass as a signal mirror. Now you want to give me pushups or are we gonna go lay down and get bored?"
"That would almost be appropriate, if it were not for the fact that I hold higher rank.....and that we are both currently off duty. Also I belive your ass may give our position away in the field, therefore it is your duty to ensure it does not. Get ready to tan....bitch."
Spark was silent for a moment, staring at her sister, hand on her hip. She had almost forgotten that she'd been demoted to Corporal after a few stunts she had pulled. And Armora had apparently gotten promoted recently. "Nobody told me you're a fucking savage. But I have no intentions of getting naked in the battlefield."
Spark easily picked up the beach bag Armora had prepared, complete with a set of ration bars. For being so naive and clueless, she was quite thorough.
Armora followed as they walked further along the white sands, the only sound was of the waves, Armora however the only one to bounce as she walked. She looked out over the water for a moment, "This location is rather aesthetically pleasing, I believe I like it. I may one day build a domicile out here on the waterfront. I believe it is what you individuals calll...retirement?"
"Gotta admit, it's not bad." Spark shrugged, listening to the waves while she looked for a place to set up. "I mean, retirement would be nice, here, but I'm probably not gonna get the opportunity. A nice house on the waterfront, with bay windows that open to the beach... I'll help you build it."
The dull Jane stopped mid-stride, part of what Spark said raising a concern. She turned some so that she could turn her head towards Spark. "I would apreciate such help, with positive reaction, I may have a third set of hands to assist as well. But sister,...why would you not receive a possibility equally available to the outcome of all Fenrir units?"
Spark had to scramble for a slight moment, stalling by looking up to her sister and asking "Huh?"
Her immediate thought was that the tactics that she used and the missions whe went on would get her killed first, but she waved that thought off, responding instead with "I've no plans of retiring. Love my job so much that I ain't retiring or dying without a direct order from the Goddess herself."
Armora only stood there, staring at her sister for a long moment, her eyes faintly squintly as if scrutinizing Spark for the briefest of moments. "You will rest when the rest of us do, we will not watch you fight on even when the fight is our's no longer. And when you can fight no more, we will carry you home to the peace we've all fought for. Do not disrespect the sacrifice of those now dead to simply toss that gift away. I will not allow it.", came her low responce in a tone that carried a lot of conviction and weight, despite being so monotone in delivery. Her stare actually shifted to a slight glare even after a moment longer, "I will also not let you die before then, even if I must take the final blow for you."
"Inspiring, 'Mora. Really." Spark cocked an eyebrow at the glare, keeping her thoughts on the matter to herself. "Look, I know a lot of the others look up to the power trio, and that's a good goal to strive for. I'll be happy working in the background to make sure the rest of you make it through. First in, last out."
She shrugged again, pulling a towel out of the basket and spreading it out on the sand. "I ain't tossing any gifts away. Just maintaining for everybody else."
"They look up to you.....we were meant to be slaves, yet you've always paved your own way. You're closer to the front then you think Spark. The triplets may be seen as the examples of individuality, but you're the example of freedom and choice to us," Armora continued feeling the point hadn't gotten across yet, "You deserve it just as much as we do, so don't play guardian angel for our sake, we can handle our own. We always have, and you know that."
The Jane was not going to accept her sister simply playing protector, she knew Spark well enough to know there was more then she was being told. "If you're going to be first in and last out......then you better fucking make it out.", Armora finished in an uncharacteristic display of anger and even cursing.
"I promised to help build you a house, right?" Spark looked up, giving a soft smile before she sat down on the towel. "I'll make it. Can't guarantee against sunburn, though. Besides, the only reason I got that was because of a few crossed neurons. I'd rather be like you than out in front. You're awkward and adorable, and people find you attractive, including your pony. I'm just... Big."
"And I wish I wasn't locked within my own mind, able to display flashes of emotion at best. We both wish for what the other has, but we both fail to fully value what we do have......you mean Aztec? He is not my pony....albeit I do have....feelings for him."
"He the one you want to hear that voice of yours?" Spark gave a smirk, laying back in the sun. She had to admit the star's warmth felt nice, but wouldn't voice that.
"Indeed he is. I feel so incapable in this body, with this mind chained by individuals who wanted us to be slaved weapons. If it were not for those chains, I have the assumption that I would feel anger about it. Only three times have I felt emotions unfiltered. Pain when Aztec told me all the things that proved I was incomplete, fear when you....were aggressive,....and..sorrow..w-when mother died." Armora confirmed before explaining more as she too took a laying position on the very large blanket spread on the sand. As she listed the last event, a few tears rolled from her eyes, that particular emotion returning through the cracks in her programming. Blinking to clear those still in her eyes away she added, "I can't even express, or even show those feelings I have for him. This has also stunted my understanding of such feelings. I felt so comforted and not alone, or lost when I hugged him at the hospital."
"I'd say you're fine in the emotions department, then. Because you do feel. But at the same time, you're able to push past it, or don't feel it so forcefully that you can't think logically anymore." Spark kept her eyes closed, speaking slowly. "I'm not the best person on this, considering how many times my emotional responses have clouded or completely blinded my judgement. Point being, I'm pretty sure you're not incomplete or broken."
She turned her head, looking over to Armora for a moment and noticing the wet streaks. "Awareness of your emotions is what you gotta work on. Not being able to have them in the first place. Take that with a grain of salt, though. It's coming from the family's screaming rage monster."
"Maybe I don't want to think logically, maybe I want to think like a normal woman my age, who lived a normal life. And not this one we were given........I don't want to be this way sister."
"You and me both, little sis." Spark gave a sigh. "But you're growing. Getting better all the time. Hell, you're lying to my face and making jokes. Six months ago that would have turned you into a locked up glitch and you would have had to go lay down for a bit. One of these days, you'll slap me in the face and call me a bitch every time I call you out for a slutty outfit. You trying to get some horse dick?"
"Is that another name for a penis? I understand that they are meant for reproduction, as well as for acts of pleasure. That is not my immediate attentions, however......I hope his is larger then the one I encountered with my error with McMaster. For my first time, it was....disappointing I believe is the term." Armora said with a downwards glance, reflecting on that particular fuck up. She had been so easily talked into the act, one she could never take back, and altogether ruined the significance of what should have been her first time with someone that actually mattered.
"Yup. McMaster's doesn't surprise me. He was a shitbag. Aztec's good to you. Good for you. Kinda envy you on that front. But when you two do get to that point, I hope it brings you that special joy. I expect to see you bouncy as fuck for a few days after that." Spark offered a warm smile. "I dunno. I have no experience to compare on that front, so..."
"Sounds like my next goal should be to find you a date......or just a mate. I guess question I should ask is. What do you prefer, men or women?"
Spark gave a small shrug. "Dunno yet. I was joking with Jacky a few days ago about a violet eyed redhead farm girl. But I'm really more concerned with my career and not losing my fireteam or getting dead. I just want to sit back and watch people be happy because I worked for it. So many people have worked for it, but there's so much still to do."
"You deserve some of that happiness too sister," Armora stated as pulled out a bottle of lotion, "Here I brought sun lotion so you don't burn."
"Good idea." Spark nodded. "But I don't require a date at this stage in my life. Despite you and Jacky agreeing on that."
The Jane paused for a brief moment, "It is actually not just the two of us, but others as well. I believe the only two neither I nor Jacky have asked are Hati and Jacklynn."
Continuing, she began to squeeze some of the lotion into her hands before applying it to herself. The bottle was set beside Spark for her use as Armora applied the stuff. "You gave a list of random criteria earlier for a ideal girl. So, I'd like to propose a deal, or a wager if you prefer to see it that way," Armora said giving Spark a one eyebrow raised look, "If we find a match, you have to wear the bikini for her on a beach date. But, I will place the limitation that she must fill every criteria you have provided."
"The statistics point to a 1% chance of success, so your stake is high, but risk is extremely low. If this girl does not exist as you say, then you have nothing to worry about, but if we succeed. The you must fulfill the wager."
"There's more that Jacky and I said about this girl." Spark leaned up, starting to apply the lotion to her less tanned portions. "Like how she could cook, funny, smart... I dunno. But I'll only wear the bikini if she has a penis." Spark tossed the jab in an attempt to bring the chances down even lower.
She was quiet for a moment, moving the goo towards her legs, and the richly defined, unsually large bunches of muscle underneath her alabaster skin. But when she did speak, her voice was low, rumbling from somewhere deep in her throat like a growl, but calm, thoughtful. "If you do find this girl, by whatever means, why do you think she'd be interested in me, of all people? She's probably got better options than a clone trooper who can't keep her rank. Hell, she might not even be gay. What the Hell would make me worth the effort of letting my siblings rope her into a blind date?"
"I'm not one to usually join Talos in this, but.......Spark I might have to slap you for such an ignorant question. You are blind if you cannot see what all you have to offer as a woman. Determined, brave, confident in most cases, attractive, strong, caring, and a significant sense of humor. You lose ranks because you are rash and passionate about what you do. If she can't see that, then she is as equally blind. Now are you going to get my back, or do you want me to apply to yours first?", Armora delivered in her usual deadpan way, but with a hint of annoyance. She held the bottle up to her sister as she finished, turning slightly to partially expose her back.
"Okay, I'll buy a good chunk of that." Spark grinned, taking the bottle and motioning for Armora to lay down on her stomach, before she started spreading the lotion over her hands. "But I'd have to see it to believe it. And I've looked in the mirror, lately. You have a strange definition of attractive."
"Attraction is more then looks alone, but in character. You are lacking in neither." was all she said as she laid down on her front, arms crossed with her chin resting upon them.
With a sudden movement, Spark settled her weight across Armora's hips, using the exposed expanse of her bottom as a cushion. She was careful, pressing the tanning lotion into Armora's skin with gentle motions. "While the same could be said about you... Well we both know I've enough character to get away with cracking a few mirrors. But I need to work on my smile."
Armora huffed from the sudden weight, her chest having been pushed into the towel from it, "I'll take that as a compliment. As for smiles, at least you have one, which is a fine smile by the way. It's a fight just to crack a grin for me. Also thank you for applying to my back."
Spark didn't respond to Armora's comment on smiles, giving only a small grunt as she finished with the lotion and rolled over her knee to get off Armora's back. "'Mora, I've seen you have a giggle. Seen the way you light up when you get a plushy. I was on guard duty for Sanctuary Day. Moreover, I've seen how you see someone hurting and your first instinct is to help. Yeah, you got a long way to normal. But you're gonna be alright."
As she started to lay down, herself, she cracked a grin. "Now next thing, what are you gonna do if you can't find this girl you seem to think is somewhere?"
"Then I may very well cheat and make a request for a clone modified with all criteria present to be produed. I can't allow you to stay in that shell of muscle your whole life now can I?" Armora replied before taking the bottle to start returning the favor.
"You? Cheat?" Spark let herself get a small laugh in. "You would never. Too pure for that shit. You wouldn't do something so unethical. Besides, this shell of muscle has served me perfectly well so far."
"Yet we were made to be unethical......killing, domination, victory at any cost.....was that not why we were created? To be the iron boot of warlording masters? You've seen it, you've felt it. The way everything just clicks with a rifle in our hands and suit of armor over our bodies. How nothing is felt for what enters our sights, or as we bring a brutal end to our foes which fall under our march. My dear sister, if I am pure, then why do have no empathy for those we are faced with fighting? To date, we have alsways had a policy of zero survivors when engaged with enemies."
"We were made in an unethical way, to do unethical things, yes. Pure doesn't always mean good. But I've actually been doing some thinking on that." Spark paused for a moment, relaxing under her sister's hands. "What if we don't have to be the monsters we were created to be? A knife can maim and wound as easily as it can kill. Moreover, it can be a tool more often than a weapon. We can take prisoners. We can be better than our creators or our enemies."
Armora thought on that for a moment before speaking again, "Yet, we do not. And who is it that has always given us the order to leave none standing? The first of us of course. Your thorn units are the only prisoners of war that have been spared to date, and that was because you were the one to bring them in."
"I brought four in. The rest were rescues. They chose to reintegrate and join us. A good number of them thanked us for saving them. It... Disturbed me. How they were treated better as prisoners by us than as soldiers by their own leaders." Spark turned her head, lifting it to look out to the waves. "I think a lot of our enemies might be like that. And a little bit of mercy got us civilian parolees and a batch of recruits. All because I defied orders. 'Mora... was that the right thing to do?"
"Only time will tell sister. They're a wild card given Hades past projects we've faced. They pose a risk, yet a potential opurtunity at the same time. The weight and gain, no matter what they be, will weigh on you." Armora stated cooly.
"I'll... I'll take that under advisement." Spark gave a sigh. "I had to shave them to keep them from pulling each other's hair. They're like children. But they are... I don't know. How's your fireteam, these days?"
"I.....Have not been assigned one as of yet. I was on a brief medical leave due to mental health check ups. I've been the first in a while to break free.....it hasn't exactly been pleasant and the doctors wanted to know why." Armora admitted softly, feeling a tiny spark of what almost felt like....embarrassment, worry, concern? Either way it nagged at her a bit, "They still have no answer."
"I... I'm sorry I didn't keep up on your career the way I should have." Spark rolled over, checking her sister over before she turned her eyes out to the waves. "You seem alright, now, though. Reasonably healthy, still figuring yourself out, sure, but healthier than me. I'm glad you're doing better."
"Not exactly......The locks have become unstable. Their activity becoming erratic. I will one minute be calm and collected, and sometimes the next start cry heavily for seemingly no reason. It has caused some worries to arise."
"That... Doesn't get better. Worse if that usually starts about a day or so before you start bleeding like mine does. We are adult women, after all," Spark lamented. "Despite appearances when I'm in armor."
"Spark, my mental locks are making me emotionally unstable and erratic. I know what a damn menstrual cycle is." Armora blurted uncharacteristically, "I cannot control these burst of emotion, or when they come, not to mention other side effects. I'm...i-i'm scared, because I have no control and I feel like I'm falling apart in my mind."
It was an outburst of annoyed anger, one she had never displayed before, another strange new emotion to cycle through. She had doubts since day one, but things weren't this bad before...before her mother died. It strained her growing mind as it was still shackled, now what had been unlocked was beating at a broken cage, still trying to be free. But like any desperate animal seeking freedom from a cage, her mind was hurting itself in the process. The damage was insignificant now, but how long would that remain true?
"What if who we are when on the shackles, is not the person bound by them? What am I becoming Spark?"
Spark gave a small snort, but rolled over and sat up. "I know. Fear is natural. And it's entirely possible you're becoming a completely different person. Likely, even. And that's okay. You're becoming you, and you're gonna be different from me, Mom, Talos, Jacky, and the rest. I know it's scary, but finding your way out of the shackles is going to be more than simply breaking them. C'mon, let's get in the water. I mean, look at the rest of us jailbrakees. Do we look like we know whta the fuck we're doing half the time?"
Spark would refuse to show it, but the idea that something could produce such a fear in the engine of chaos and destruction she called "little sister", that shook her. More that there was nothing she could do, save be there when she needed. But she would never tell Armora that. She would simply keep telling her that everything was going to be okay, and keep trying to poke Armora into less destructive displays of emotion.
"Maybe I don't want to become someone else. If I am becoming me, then I am not me now by that logic. Will I simply be a cleaned slate then when the changes end? What will be left of me now? Spark....I don't want to just disappear and start over, but at the same time I am so limited as a person right now," Armora continued, her concern more then clear, "What is it they say, "Damned if I do, Damned if I don't"?"
"Can't argue with that. But here's the thing. Everything has a cost. People change. Talos, Jacky, Jack, Rose... Even Mom wasn't the same person she was a few years ago. The person you are now isn't the person you're going to be. That can be a good thing or bad. It's really your call. It's still you... Sorta. I dunno, at this point I'm just rambling, and might be getting miffed because I'm pretty sure I've been the same reckless jackass since day one. Just more physically fit, now."
This actually illicited a girlish giggle from Armora despite the sad look she had, "You never change Spark. In that, I hope I can as well. I believe I will skip the modification of my musculature though."
"You keep sticking around with me, you gonna get buff as fuck." Spark grinned. "You're still gonna be different in a year or so. Maybe to the point where you might want to strangle the girl you were a year prior. Look at Rose and Thorn. Can't even have those two on the same planet, and Rose used to be Thorn."
Spark turned over, looking to the sky as a ghost of a smile passed over her features. "Then she found something to live for. Got married, had kids, completely different person. Thorn... Pretty sure she's still the scared little mercenary convinced she'll never find somewhere to call home. You won't be able to see what the person you were is still doing. All of us are growing up."
"I sincerely hope you're right. And maybe......I can reach a similar outcome. I have the reason, just need to find the way." Armora said, conceding and feeling that if she could hold onto that reason. Then maybe she could turn out better, and even if her fears were true, she'd not be around to care. But the girl who came after, the one unbroken, was something she was not something she wanted to hold back. Even if she was just the shell around her, she wanted that girl to get happiness.
"I'm sure you won't be that different. Same dumb blonde weaboo dating a guy named Bojack." Spark's head lifted as she raised her arms, pulling her shoulders back to interlace her fingers behind the shortened hair glowing in the sun. Eyes closed as she grinned widely, letting her oversized mass give a small twitch, an indicator that any attempt by Armora to make her pay for the comment would result in a literal toss into the ocean.
Armora only tilted her head with a confused look, "What's a weeaboo.......and a....bow-jack? Is that some sort of archaic weapon mixed with a psiton system?"
"Weaboo is a term for a nerd. One who's nerdy about a certain type of show. You'll figure it out. but Bojack is the name of an anthro horse character. Fortunately, Aztec's less of a shitbag." Spark was saddened that her humor went over Armora's head, but understood that the lack of emotional freedom kept her from "getting" a lot of jokes. "If I wanted to make fun of you, you'd know."
"......oh."
Armora was quiet for a moment, "Do you think such a show could be a shared activity with Aztec? I believe I will ask him to join me in watching it. I must acquire it from someone first however."
Spark gave a small chuckle, moving slightly. "You two sitting on your bed watching a cartoon anthro horse? I imagine it would be fun, for both of you."
She didn't wait, this time, grabbing onto Armora's ankle with a grip like a vice before simply walking to the water, dragging Armora through the sand behind her. With a mighty swing of her hips, rolling into her shoulders, Armora was pulled forward, off the ground, and swung out over the water before Spark let her go. "No more moping!"
A quiet "bitch" was uttered just before getting tossed into the water, Armora re-emerging once again as she expelled water. "Alright, so how about irritation. Get in here before I drag you in." she said monotone like, but with a annoyed edge to the still releasing clone's elegant voice.
"No. Not until you choose more appropriate attire.", Cam back an unusually stern reply from the snow white haired jane clone sitting in a passenger seat of the pilot's cabin. Her red eyes stared the muscular woman down outside the shuttle, Armora still dressed in normal bland clothes as usual.
"It covers my tits, my ass, and my crotch, smoothing lines, and I'm not big on my thighs. You want me to wear some itty bitty frilly number? C'mon!" Spark was visibly exasperated as she rolled her eyes and marched back into the shuttle. "Swear to Goddess if you picked me out a little micro number, I'm tossing you in the water in your civvies!"
"You make it sound as if that is some real punishment to me. It is not, for I do not care how I get wet, and in what. I am more then inclined to use stun munitions and put one on you by hand.....It's what mother would have wanted.", Came the further stern reply of the woman who was the closest to the baseline clones of fenrir. She was not amused, albeit you couldn't tell even if she was. Despite how far she had come, in these situations, she still came off as numb.
"Well played. Ow." Spark's hand pointed at Armora, perfectly flat. She wouldn't admit the feeling that she would simply cause fear wearing revealing clothes. It was an exercise in futility to wear loose clothes to attempt to hide her size compared to her sisters, but an attempt was still made to blend in at least a little. Between shopkeepers, potential dates, and her own small circle of friends, she didn't want to be intimidating by showing off her body. In stead of letting Armora know that, she offered, "But mother also told me to grow my hair out. Repeatedly. So... Yeah, no. You toss me the swimmers you figured I'd be wearing, and I'll give it an honest thought. Till then, one piece top with zip-up front, sleeves, and mid thigh. Effective, modest, and comfy."
"Mother didn't give me that option, and that means you shouldn't either. Either case, it is for today at least, but should continue after. Do not fear, it is a normal bikini, as I believe it is called. I also have a list of activities I was told to try, and I want you to participate with me.", Armora stated before finally getting up from the chair to pull two bikinis from a duffle bag she had sitting nearby. With a flick of her arm, a fairly standard full coverage halter top bikin still in it's package, was tossed to Spark. Armora pulled out her own and began to start changing.
Spark had her face in her hands before seeing the package, catching it easily before looking. The model on the front certainly did not have her physique, but the image served to make her groan in annoyance. Even in death, Spark's mother couldn't stop getting on her nerves.
She ignored Armora changing, having much of the same equipment, herself, and resolved to note that modesty is a thing in some circumstances. Still, no one was on that stretch of beach as far as she knew. No one but her and her sister, so quickly slipped into the shuttle's one-person bathroom to change, emerging a few moments later to place a hand on her hip, thumb hooked on the inch and a half wide panty style hip of her swim bottom.
Her own simple black top covered far more than Armora's, despite being the same color. In all fairness, her swim suit was still shockingly modest when compared to her sister's thin strips of cloth bound by elastic strings and called a swim suit. "Armora, were there anyone on this beach... Anyone at all, I'd be stuffing you into my swimsuit. The heavy one."
"I do not believe that would fit my physical parameters. I purchased this only recently, the one mother left for me was actually the one you are wearing now." came the nonchalant reply of the barely clad female clone before she walked off the shuttle. "Coming sister?"
"This is yours?" Spark questioned, following Armora with her own preferred clothes still in her hand. She had known that the bikini was a bit tighter than she liked, or that the size indicated. It was definitely bought for somone smaller than Spark, if not by much. "So why choose something even more revealing? I'm all gristly. You can actually look good in this thing."
"Yes, despite difference in body build, you and I are not all that different." came the reply before the question even registered. A bit of blush came to Armora's cheeks as she thought of the answer, "I asked a horse anthro for her advice on swimwear, and she suggested this, said it would attract males easier." It was true that as far as she cared at first, well she hadn't, and had almost walked away at the mere aspect. But one thought had tipped her back into considering it, ultimately going for it. "That being said, you look...I believe the term is...sexy, in that swim suit."
"Not the word I'd use." Spark said simply, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow. "You know that sweet smile is better than running about near naked as the day you were born, right? Especially for attracting the males that are worth a shit?"
Then again, and Spark would never voice this, but Armora did seem more prone to getting taken advantage of compared to most of the others. At least from what she had seen. That may have been one time, almost a year ago, but it still annoyed her that it had happened to even one. Possibly more had had similar experiences, but she'd been the only one to include it in her report so far.
"It feels like one of the few ways I can. I do not offer much in terms of character, or personality, or even emotions. My body more or less....seems to be my only voice. That said, there is only one individual I wish to hear that voice.", Armora said rather crypticly as she surveyed the beach. After a moment she turned back to her sister, her snow white locks wavering in the tropical breeze.
"You have your moments." Spark offered, choosing to not persue Armora's comment as her short hair caught and flipped about in the same breeze that gently waved Armora's hair. "You're textbook enigmatic, but let's face it, you are kind and sweet, given time to open up. Doesn't mean I like wearing your clothes, as they're a little tight on me, but... At least we managed to drag each other out. And I'm sure your sweetheart would agree with me. Less is not more."
She poked at the tan lines on her upper bicep, the muscle twitching under too tight skin. She disagreed with Armora's statement that it looked good on her, as the skin that had been protected by her overly modest swim suit was a high polish ivory that had never seen the sun, while her lower arms and legs, from mid thigh and mid bicep, were tanned with a sharp contrast to her ivory torso. Her face had also seen the light of day, and that sharp division could be found at the resting line of her uniform's tee shirt, about halfway up the neck.
"Then I am open to solutions to this equation, but I find you to be a irrational variable within it." Armora quipped back in a joke which was delivered with such a deadpan attitude that one might not realize it was a joke. Until she stuck her tongue out at the buffer clone, the blank expression still present.
"That's because I'm not technically part of the equation. Now, what 'activities' did you have in mind?"
"Swimming, build a sand castle, hunt for local seashells, sun bathe, play volley ball.....that one would require more, and therefore invalid for this trip. Finally, have a picnic at lunch......I suggest sun bathing first, you seem to require it." came the Jane's list, ending it with another attempt at a quip.
Spark chuckled a little at the joke. "Bitch, you could use my ass as a signal mirror. Now you want to give me pushups or are we gonna go lay down and get bored?"
"That would almost be appropriate, if it were not for the fact that I hold higher rank.....and that we are both currently off duty. Also I belive your ass may give our position away in the field, therefore it is your duty to ensure it does not. Get ready to tan....bitch."
Spark was silent for a moment, staring at her sister, hand on her hip. She had almost forgotten that she'd been demoted to Corporal after a few stunts she had pulled. And Armora had apparently gotten promoted recently. "Nobody told me you're a fucking savage. But I have no intentions of getting naked in the battlefield."
Spark easily picked up the beach bag Armora had prepared, complete with a set of ration bars. For being so naive and clueless, she was quite thorough.
Armora followed as they walked further along the white sands, the only sound was of the waves, Armora however the only one to bounce as she walked. She looked out over the water for a moment, "This location is rather aesthetically pleasing, I believe I like it. I may one day build a domicile out here on the waterfront. I believe it is what you individuals calll...retirement?"
"Gotta admit, it's not bad." Spark shrugged, listening to the waves while she looked for a place to set up. "I mean, retirement would be nice, here, but I'm probably not gonna get the opportunity. A nice house on the waterfront, with bay windows that open to the beach... I'll help you build it."
The dull Jane stopped mid-stride, part of what Spark said raising a concern. She turned some so that she could turn her head towards Spark. "I would apreciate such help, with positive reaction, I may have a third set of hands to assist as well. But sister,...why would you not receive a possibility equally available to the outcome of all Fenrir units?"
Spark had to scramble for a slight moment, stalling by looking up to her sister and asking "Huh?"
Her immediate thought was that the tactics that she used and the missions whe went on would get her killed first, but she waved that thought off, responding instead with "I've no plans of retiring. Love my job so much that I ain't retiring or dying without a direct order from the Goddess herself."
Armora only stood there, staring at her sister for a long moment, her eyes faintly squintly as if scrutinizing Spark for the briefest of moments. "You will rest when the rest of us do, we will not watch you fight on even when the fight is our's no longer. And when you can fight no more, we will carry you home to the peace we've all fought for. Do not disrespect the sacrifice of those now dead to simply toss that gift away. I will not allow it.", came her low responce in a tone that carried a lot of conviction and weight, despite being so monotone in delivery. Her stare actually shifted to a slight glare even after a moment longer, "I will also not let you die before then, even if I must take the final blow for you."
"Inspiring, 'Mora. Really." Spark cocked an eyebrow at the glare, keeping her thoughts on the matter to herself. "Look, I know a lot of the others look up to the power trio, and that's a good goal to strive for. I'll be happy working in the background to make sure the rest of you make it through. First in, last out."
She shrugged again, pulling a towel out of the basket and spreading it out on the sand. "I ain't tossing any gifts away. Just maintaining for everybody else."
"They look up to you.....we were meant to be slaves, yet you've always paved your own way. You're closer to the front then you think Spark. The triplets may be seen as the examples of individuality, but you're the example of freedom and choice to us," Armora continued feeling the point hadn't gotten across yet, "You deserve it just as much as we do, so don't play guardian angel for our sake, we can handle our own. We always have, and you know that."
The Jane was not going to accept her sister simply playing protector, she knew Spark well enough to know there was more then she was being told. "If you're going to be first in and last out......then you better fucking make it out.", Armora finished in an uncharacteristic display of anger and even cursing.
"I promised to help build you a house, right?" Spark looked up, giving a soft smile before she sat down on the towel. "I'll make it. Can't guarantee against sunburn, though. Besides, the only reason I got that was because of a few crossed neurons. I'd rather be like you than out in front. You're awkward and adorable, and people find you attractive, including your pony. I'm just... Big."
"And I wish I wasn't locked within my own mind, able to display flashes of emotion at best. We both wish for what the other has, but we both fail to fully value what we do have......you mean Aztec? He is not my pony....albeit I do have....feelings for him."
"He the one you want to hear that voice of yours?" Spark gave a smirk, laying back in the sun. She had to admit the star's warmth felt nice, but wouldn't voice that.
"Indeed he is. I feel so incapable in this body, with this mind chained by individuals who wanted us to be slaved weapons. If it were not for those chains, I have the assumption that I would feel anger about it. Only three times have I felt emotions unfiltered. Pain when Aztec told me all the things that proved I was incomplete, fear when you....were aggressive,....and..sorrow..w-when mother died." Armora confirmed before explaining more as she too took a laying position on the very large blanket spread on the sand. As she listed the last event, a few tears rolled from her eyes, that particular emotion returning through the cracks in her programming. Blinking to clear those still in her eyes away she added, "I can't even express, or even show those feelings I have for him. This has also stunted my understanding of such feelings. I felt so comforted and not alone, or lost when I hugged him at the hospital."
"I'd say you're fine in the emotions department, then. Because you do feel. But at the same time, you're able to push past it, or don't feel it so forcefully that you can't think logically anymore." Spark kept her eyes closed, speaking slowly. "I'm not the best person on this, considering how many times my emotional responses have clouded or completely blinded my judgement. Point being, I'm pretty sure you're not incomplete or broken."
She turned her head, looking over to Armora for a moment and noticing the wet streaks. "Awareness of your emotions is what you gotta work on. Not being able to have them in the first place. Take that with a grain of salt, though. It's coming from the family's screaming rage monster."
"Maybe I don't want to think logically, maybe I want to think like a normal woman my age, who lived a normal life. And not this one we were given........I don't want to be this way sister."
"You and me both, little sis." Spark gave a sigh. "But you're growing. Getting better all the time. Hell, you're lying to my face and making jokes. Six months ago that would have turned you into a locked up glitch and you would have had to go lay down for a bit. One of these days, you'll slap me in the face and call me a bitch every time I call you out for a slutty outfit. You trying to get some horse dick?"
"Is that another name for a penis? I understand that they are meant for reproduction, as well as for acts of pleasure. That is not my immediate attentions, however......I hope his is larger then the one I encountered with my error with McMaster. For my first time, it was....disappointing I believe is the term." Armora said with a downwards glance, reflecting on that particular fuck up. She had been so easily talked into the act, one she could never take back, and altogether ruined the significance of what should have been her first time with someone that actually mattered.
"Yup. McMaster's doesn't surprise me. He was a shitbag. Aztec's good to you. Good for you. Kinda envy you on that front. But when you two do get to that point, I hope it brings you that special joy. I expect to see you bouncy as fuck for a few days after that." Spark offered a warm smile. "I dunno. I have no experience to compare on that front, so..."
"Sounds like my next goal should be to find you a date......or just a mate. I guess question I should ask is. What do you prefer, men or women?"
Spark gave a small shrug. "Dunno yet. I was joking with Jacky a few days ago about a violet eyed redhead farm girl. But I'm really more concerned with my career and not losing my fireteam or getting dead. I just want to sit back and watch people be happy because I worked for it. So many people have worked for it, but there's so much still to do."
"You deserve some of that happiness too sister," Armora stated as pulled out a bottle of lotion, "Here I brought sun lotion so you don't burn."
"Good idea." Spark nodded. "But I don't require a date at this stage in my life. Despite you and Jacky agreeing on that."
The Jane paused for a brief moment, "It is actually not just the two of us, but others as well. I believe the only two neither I nor Jacky have asked are Hati and Jacklynn."
Continuing, she began to squeeze some of the lotion into her hands before applying it to herself. The bottle was set beside Spark for her use as Armora applied the stuff. "You gave a list of random criteria earlier for a ideal girl. So, I'd like to propose a deal, or a wager if you prefer to see it that way," Armora said giving Spark a one eyebrow raised look, "If we find a match, you have to wear the bikini for her on a beach date. But, I will place the limitation that she must fill every criteria you have provided."
"The statistics point to a 1% chance of success, so your stake is high, but risk is extremely low. If this girl does not exist as you say, then you have nothing to worry about, but if we succeed. The you must fulfill the wager."
"There's more that Jacky and I said about this girl." Spark leaned up, starting to apply the lotion to her less tanned portions. "Like how she could cook, funny, smart... I dunno. But I'll only wear the bikini if she has a penis." Spark tossed the jab in an attempt to bring the chances down even lower.
She was quiet for a moment, moving the goo towards her legs, and the richly defined, unsually large bunches of muscle underneath her alabaster skin. But when she did speak, her voice was low, rumbling from somewhere deep in her throat like a growl, but calm, thoughtful. "If you do find this girl, by whatever means, why do you think she'd be interested in me, of all people? She's probably got better options than a clone trooper who can't keep her rank. Hell, she might not even be gay. What the Hell would make me worth the effort of letting my siblings rope her into a blind date?"
"I'm not one to usually join Talos in this, but.......Spark I might have to slap you for such an ignorant question. You are blind if you cannot see what all you have to offer as a woman. Determined, brave, confident in most cases, attractive, strong, caring, and a significant sense of humor. You lose ranks because you are rash and passionate about what you do. If she can't see that, then she is as equally blind. Now are you going to get my back, or do you want me to apply to yours first?", Armora delivered in her usual deadpan way, but with a hint of annoyance. She held the bottle up to her sister as she finished, turning slightly to partially expose her back.
"Okay, I'll buy a good chunk of that." Spark grinned, taking the bottle and motioning for Armora to lay down on her stomach, before she started spreading the lotion over her hands. "But I'd have to see it to believe it. And I've looked in the mirror, lately. You have a strange definition of attractive."
"Attraction is more then looks alone, but in character. You are lacking in neither." was all she said as she laid down on her front, arms crossed with her chin resting upon them.
With a sudden movement, Spark settled her weight across Armora's hips, using the exposed expanse of her bottom as a cushion. She was careful, pressing the tanning lotion into Armora's skin with gentle motions. "While the same could be said about you... Well we both know I've enough character to get away with cracking a few mirrors. But I need to work on my smile."
Armora huffed from the sudden weight, her chest having been pushed into the towel from it, "I'll take that as a compliment. As for smiles, at least you have one, which is a fine smile by the way. It's a fight just to crack a grin for me. Also thank you for applying to my back."
Spark didn't respond to Armora's comment on smiles, giving only a small grunt as she finished with the lotion and rolled over her knee to get off Armora's back. "'Mora, I've seen you have a giggle. Seen the way you light up when you get a plushy. I was on guard duty for Sanctuary Day. Moreover, I've seen how you see someone hurting and your first instinct is to help. Yeah, you got a long way to normal. But you're gonna be alright."
As she started to lay down, herself, she cracked a grin. "Now next thing, what are you gonna do if you can't find this girl you seem to think is somewhere?"
"Then I may very well cheat and make a request for a clone modified with all criteria present to be produed. I can't allow you to stay in that shell of muscle your whole life now can I?" Armora replied before taking the bottle to start returning the favor.
"You? Cheat?" Spark let herself get a small laugh in. "You would never. Too pure for that shit. You wouldn't do something so unethical. Besides, this shell of muscle has served me perfectly well so far."
"Yet we were made to be unethical......killing, domination, victory at any cost.....was that not why we were created? To be the iron boot of warlording masters? You've seen it, you've felt it. The way everything just clicks with a rifle in our hands and suit of armor over our bodies. How nothing is felt for what enters our sights, or as we bring a brutal end to our foes which fall under our march. My dear sister, if I am pure, then why do have no empathy for those we are faced with fighting? To date, we have alsways had a policy of zero survivors when engaged with enemies."
"We were made in an unethical way, to do unethical things, yes. Pure doesn't always mean good. But I've actually been doing some thinking on that." Spark paused for a moment, relaxing under her sister's hands. "What if we don't have to be the monsters we were created to be? A knife can maim and wound as easily as it can kill. Moreover, it can be a tool more often than a weapon. We can take prisoners. We can be better than our creators or our enemies."
Armora thought on that for a moment before speaking again, "Yet, we do not. And who is it that has always given us the order to leave none standing? The first of us of course. Your thorn units are the only prisoners of war that have been spared to date, and that was because you were the one to bring them in."
"I brought four in. The rest were rescues. They chose to reintegrate and join us. A good number of them thanked us for saving them. It... Disturbed me. How they were treated better as prisoners by us than as soldiers by their own leaders." Spark turned her head, lifting it to look out to the waves. "I think a lot of our enemies might be like that. And a little bit of mercy got us civilian parolees and a batch of recruits. All because I defied orders. 'Mora... was that the right thing to do?"
"Only time will tell sister. They're a wild card given Hades past projects we've faced. They pose a risk, yet a potential opurtunity at the same time. The weight and gain, no matter what they be, will weigh on you." Armora stated cooly.
"I'll... I'll take that under advisement." Spark gave a sigh. "I had to shave them to keep them from pulling each other's hair. They're like children. But they are... I don't know. How's your fireteam, these days?"
"I.....Have not been assigned one as of yet. I was on a brief medical leave due to mental health check ups. I've been the first in a while to break free.....it hasn't exactly been pleasant and the doctors wanted to know why." Armora admitted softly, feeling a tiny spark of what almost felt like....embarrassment, worry, concern? Either way it nagged at her a bit, "They still have no answer."
"I... I'm sorry I didn't keep up on your career the way I should have." Spark rolled over, checking her sister over before she turned her eyes out to the waves. "You seem alright, now, though. Reasonably healthy, still figuring yourself out, sure, but healthier than me. I'm glad you're doing better."
"Not exactly......The locks have become unstable. Their activity becoming erratic. I will one minute be calm and collected, and sometimes the next start cry heavily for seemingly no reason. It has caused some worries to arise."
"That... Doesn't get better. Worse if that usually starts about a day or so before you start bleeding like mine does. We are adult women, after all," Spark lamented. "Despite appearances when I'm in armor."
"Spark, my mental locks are making me emotionally unstable and erratic. I know what a damn menstrual cycle is." Armora blurted uncharacteristically, "I cannot control these burst of emotion, or when they come, not to mention other side effects. I'm...i-i'm scared, because I have no control and I feel like I'm falling apart in my mind."
It was an outburst of annoyed anger, one she had never displayed before, another strange new emotion to cycle through. She had doubts since day one, but things weren't this bad before...before her mother died. It strained her growing mind as it was still shackled, now what had been unlocked was beating at a broken cage, still trying to be free. But like any desperate animal seeking freedom from a cage, her mind was hurting itself in the process. The damage was insignificant now, but how long would that remain true?
"What if who we are when on the shackles, is not the person bound by them? What am I becoming Spark?"
Spark gave a small snort, but rolled over and sat up. "I know. Fear is natural. And it's entirely possible you're becoming a completely different person. Likely, even. And that's okay. You're becoming you, and you're gonna be different from me, Mom, Talos, Jacky, and the rest. I know it's scary, but finding your way out of the shackles is going to be more than simply breaking them. C'mon, let's get in the water. I mean, look at the rest of us jailbrakees. Do we look like we know whta the fuck we're doing half the time?"
Spark would refuse to show it, but the idea that something could produce such a fear in the engine of chaos and destruction she called "little sister", that shook her. More that there was nothing she could do, save be there when she needed. But she would never tell Armora that. She would simply keep telling her that everything was going to be okay, and keep trying to poke Armora into less destructive displays of emotion.
"Maybe I don't want to become someone else. If I am becoming me, then I am not me now by that logic. Will I simply be a cleaned slate then when the changes end? What will be left of me now? Spark....I don't want to just disappear and start over, but at the same time I am so limited as a person right now," Armora continued, her concern more then clear, "What is it they say, "Damned if I do, Damned if I don't"?"
"Can't argue with that. But here's the thing. Everything has a cost. People change. Talos, Jacky, Jack, Rose... Even Mom wasn't the same person she was a few years ago. The person you are now isn't the person you're going to be. That can be a good thing or bad. It's really your call. It's still you... Sorta. I dunno, at this point I'm just rambling, and might be getting miffed because I'm pretty sure I've been the same reckless jackass since day one. Just more physically fit, now."
This actually illicited a girlish giggle from Armora despite the sad look she had, "You never change Spark. In that, I hope I can as well. I believe I will skip the modification of my musculature though."
"You keep sticking around with me, you gonna get buff as fuck." Spark grinned. "You're still gonna be different in a year or so. Maybe to the point where you might want to strangle the girl you were a year prior. Look at Rose and Thorn. Can't even have those two on the same planet, and Rose used to be Thorn."
Spark turned over, looking to the sky as a ghost of a smile passed over her features. "Then she found something to live for. Got married, had kids, completely different person. Thorn... Pretty sure she's still the scared little mercenary convinced she'll never find somewhere to call home. You won't be able to see what the person you were is still doing. All of us are growing up."
"I sincerely hope you're right. And maybe......I can reach a similar outcome. I have the reason, just need to find the way." Armora said, conceding and feeling that if she could hold onto that reason. Then maybe she could turn out better, and even if her fears were true, she'd not be around to care. But the girl who came after, the one unbroken, was something she was not something she wanted to hold back. Even if she was just the shell around her, she wanted that girl to get happiness.
"I'm sure you won't be that different. Same dumb blonde weaboo dating a guy named Bojack." Spark's head lifted as she raised her arms, pulling her shoulders back to interlace her fingers behind the shortened hair glowing in the sun. Eyes closed as she grinned widely, letting her oversized mass give a small twitch, an indicator that any attempt by Armora to make her pay for the comment would result in a literal toss into the ocean.
Armora only tilted her head with a confused look, "What's a weeaboo.......and a....bow-jack? Is that some sort of archaic weapon mixed with a psiton system?"
"Weaboo is a term for a nerd. One who's nerdy about a certain type of show. You'll figure it out. but Bojack is the name of an anthro horse character. Fortunately, Aztec's less of a shitbag." Spark was saddened that her humor went over Armora's head, but understood that the lack of emotional freedom kept her from "getting" a lot of jokes. "If I wanted to make fun of you, you'd know."
"......oh."
Armora was quiet for a moment, "Do you think such a show could be a shared activity with Aztec? I believe I will ask him to join me in watching it. I must acquire it from someone first however."
Spark gave a small chuckle, moving slightly. "You two sitting on your bed watching a cartoon anthro horse? I imagine it would be fun, for both of you."
She didn't wait, this time, grabbing onto Armora's ankle with a grip like a vice before simply walking to the water, dragging Armora through the sand behind her. With a mighty swing of her hips, rolling into her shoulders, Armora was pulled forward, off the ground, and swung out over the water before Spark let her go. "No more moping!"
A quiet "bitch" was uttered just before getting tossed into the water, Armora re-emerging once again as she expelled water. "Alright, so how about irritation. Get in here before I drag you in." she said monotone like, but with a annoyed edge to the still releasing clone's elegant voice.
