YSS Anoiktos, Cargo Hold
Machariel's unease only increased as the
other Plebeian in the room (who, unsurprisingly, was
also one of those accursed scientists) got
intimately close to the Archangel and - in typical egghead fashion - proceeded to display a seemingly meaningless diagram of sorts while babbling on about something called "free processing."
Oh, for Heaven's sake, would thou idiotic Ple...hmm?
Upon further examination, the teenaged Semeai realized that the aforementioned diagram had numbers on it. Granted, they weren't exactly easy to read...but they were there - and Machariel Valeria, although admittedly not the greatest in terms of grasping scientific concepts, happened to be
very good with numbers. Had he been say, a Plebeian (or just in a better mood), the eldest of the Valeria children would have let out an exclamation of joy upon
finally getting told something useful; being the aristocratic (well, aristocratic-raised) individual he was, however, Machariel merely settled for allowing a faint half-smile to flicker across his features - only to reflexively tense up a moment later as
Shamshiel joined her colleague in standing uncomfortably close to the young Patrician.
Uh......
One part of Machariel's mind noted that he was surrounded by two
extraordinarily attractive females - and thus had already began conjuring some very......detailed mental imagery of the three engaging in some
extremely inappropriate acts.
Oh, God......
Another part of Machariel's mind was chastising the first.
No, damn it, they're Plebeians! One does not entertain notions of becoming intimate with an inferior Caelisolan!
A third part of Machariel's mind was freaking the Hell out, thanks in part to the Prefectii and Duplicari having since left the compartment; with them gone, the Semeai was the only rational individual left among the three remaining Elysians - and was also the lowest in rank.
A forth part of Machariel's mind pointed out that one of the "irrational" figures - the cute redhead, according to that
blasted first part - had (politely, surprisingly enough) spoken to him...
Shamshiel said:
"Thank you for volunteering, my lord. I assure you that this time should be without incident... the Mnemosyne AI shall be compensating for any irregularities in the current and will shutdown as needed. Beryl, if you would be a dear?"
...and that it would
probably reflect poorly on the soldier (along with the Valeria name by extension) if he didn't enter the MCAS sooner rather then later. After all, a gentleman
never,
ever kept a lady waiting - even if said lady was a Caelisolan - and besides: the sooner he was encased in the armor, the less chance there would be of anyone noticing how......painfully tight his trousers were becoming.
With all of
that in mind, Machariel distractedly replied "Of course..." to Shamshiel as he hurried over to one of the nearby storage lockers, stowed his gear, then jogged back to the designated Modular Combat Armor System and proceeded to enter it, sighing as he did so (owing to the process being irritatingly difficult, even more so then that of the Anthedon); a few grunts, snagged feathers, and muffled curses later, the Patrician activated the armor's systems, feeling a mild sense of relief upon discovering that it wasn't "his" armor that was being utilized (as the HUD was configured
quite differently) - along with a
major sense of trepidation as he realized just how potentially
lethal things could become.
Oh Heavenly Father, may thy grace grant thy humble servant the endurance necessary to survive this technological trial......