A Meeting of Allies

After giving some instructions to the fighters he was currently leading, Harke watched Na'im sprint out the lounge entrance with a heavy sigh. Before that, though, he noticed the man carry out the acoustic guitar he had snagged earlier. The boy almost stood up from his seat, before realizing his position wasn't exactly conducive to that reaction. Shifting his position around a bit in the chair he was sitting in, he was about to turn his attention back to the PET when he heard Camillia's apologies.

His face turned a shade of concern, as he thought of what was going through her mind. She turned to him, although he saw blankness in her eyes. She must be feeling responsible for the loss, Harke thought. That would simply not do at all. At first, he thought of comforting her by patting the wheelchair-bound girl on the shoulder. However, a little deliberation and a few glances at Camillia's cousin Tsujsa made him change his mind. Besides, he had just met her for the first time. Still, he had to do something.

"Hey, Cam... are you all right?" said Harke as he turned to Camillia, trying to sound concerned, while at the same time avoiding a condescending tone.
Tsujsa stared at his PET. This was the first time Validus sounded like that. Granted his past the Navi had panicked himself one or two times, but he usually remained calm after that. This time though, it was a different kind of calm. Like something forbidding just rose out of his spirit.

Tsujsa customized Validus from scratch, yet it seemed as though it didn't feel like he did much in designing him. Was the navi hiding something from him? He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking of these crazy thoughts for the moment.

He turned around to look at Na'im. Djinni had just gotten forcibly EJO'd by the Neo-shogun generals. He seemed to be taking it well, so that's a good thing. Camillia on the other hand...

She was crying. God how Tsujsa hated those moments when Camillia cried. Ever since the accident she never smiled again. Now that she had the company of other operators, to be appreciated and to smile again, and then suddenly the tease of defeat attacked her, leaving her feeling those moments of uselessness, the same kind of moment when she lost her legs.

"Cam, don't cry," Tsujsa said softly, "I'm not going to let you feel those moments ever again. You're having a new life now, I'm not letting you go back into that pit of despair you fell into in the past."

His feelings and thoughts on Validus's sudden change in temperament disappeared, in fact, he was now absolutely certain he wanted Validus in his current state. Tsujsa felt his anger flare at the Neo-shogun empire navis. So, they think they're high and mighty? Let's just prove that what a hunk of metal, a wireframe for a shooter and a blob of jelly can do to ruin their day.

Because right now, Shit just got REAL.
At the sight of attention drawing to her, she abruptly stopped, reaching automatically for her sleeve and wiping the remrants of the tears off her face. It was one of her main talents; to hide and change her expression immediately on the spot. She obtained such skill from her training to survive alone back in her homeland, way back before her accident.

Just because she lost a limb didn't mean she lost her abilities.

Just that she slipped on her emotions a bit too much, after all.

The redhead hated being symphatised with-- she hated, above all, revealing herself to others. It wasn't an attitude that she can tolerate, no matter how friendly or close her peers can get to her. It wasn't a behaviour that she thought needed fixing. Not at all. It was her own form of self-defense; all that she had against exterior forces.

Perhaps the only exception was Rhea, but the Navigator did not seem interested in talking in any bit.

That only seemed to put stress on Camillia's mind.



Staring particularly at nothing (at the general direction of her PET on her lap), she waited for a while to let herself calm down fully. It was clear that Camillia saw her outburst as nothing short of embarrassing, especially amongst people that she did not know well. "... My apologies, gentlemen. I'll be fine; let us focus on the task at hand," she motioned, systematically looking through the opened stash on the coffee table, belonging to the operator of Broadside.

A chip caught her eye.

"... I might be able to use that, J.T.," the redhead said in a professional tone, pointing to the mentioned chip that labelled DBLBeam1. "If you do not mind, that is." When Camillia was pointing and talking, she held a face that was rivaling Rhea's in terms of seriousness... Or was that a dangerous-looking gaze she had there?
Jared stared after the Whazzapian. Did he really just steal t--- Yes he did. The Netopian man shook his head as the hotel employees ran after Na'im. He turned back to look at the others, and heard Camillia address him suddenly. He looked in her direction, then at the chip she was indicating. He smiled. "Sure. I'll have Nadia send it over."

Jared picked up the chip, and a few others, and proceeded to slot them in one after another. He then opened a link to Nadia... "Nadia, transfer the DBLBeam1 I just sent you to Rhea."

"Sure thing, boss." came back to him over the PET's speakers.
"Thank you sir," Camillia said sincerely, her attention shifting back to the tiny screen of her PET. The chip eventually found it's way, and proved to be relatively effective in battle. All in all, she was just slightly relieved that at least she was doing something useful with Rhea, rather than just being a useless burden to the group... But she was still oddly quiet since her outburst. Little did Rhea know, it wasn't her audio communication systems busted-- it was just that Camillia did not say a thing at all throughout the rest of the battle. The operator was seen biting her lip as she slotted in the sword chip for the swordsNavi, but said nothing more to the situation at hand...

... Until it was over.

"Uh. We won?" she notioned, almost with a dreamy quality in her speech. "No offense, but that was rather anti-climatic..." she tilted her head slightly, before noticing that Rhea had started to fall asleep from a stray effect, her falling weight threatening to crush anything in her way. "... What's happening?"
...Gentlemen? Harke thought. Wow, she must be a tough one.

He began to turn back to the battle, after slotting in a chip or more, when he realized that Eternalis was jacking out. Eyebrows were raised before he realized that the battlefield overhead display was completely devoid of any sign of the empire. They actually did it. Wow, he thought, as the battle analysis program began shutting down automatically in response to the jack-out sequence.

Harke inhaled visibly as he closed the lid on the laptop, holding the off button as he did so. The terminal cable that linked PET to computer was easily disconnected, and the laptop found its way into Harke's cramped sling bag. His hands went to his hair and grasped it for a moment, trying to expel all the built-up tension in his chest.

"Uh. We won? No offense, but that was rather anti-climactic."

Harke turned to Camillia who was looking at her PET with a dream-like face. He shrugged before replying, "Yeah... we won, apparently. Their leader didn't think it was worthwhile to face us, I guess." He looked around for a bit before eyeing the e-mail chip Na'im had given them before. Thinking for a bit, he pulled out the small keyboard on his PET and started tapping a few keys, transferring his e-mail address to Tsujsa's and Jared's PETs.

Tugging at his jacket's collar, Harke wondered how it got so humid all of a sudden. Looking around, he shrugged to himself and unbuttoned it quickly, revealing his light-blue shirt and rather skinny frame. Folding the jacket and stuffing it into the bag, Harke muttered to himself, "I really do need to eat more or something..."
Mimicking Harke's movements, she picked up the e-mail chip Na'im left behind and entered the data into her PET. As the kunai data seemed to transfer itself into her terminal, Camillia wondered if this piece of data could be used as a bargaining chip in the future; after all, this whole mission was shady and the mission takers were in the dark about it.

But she wasn't going to dwell on too long on it for now. Maybe later, when she was alone.

"W-well... I guess... We're pretty much done here?" she said, unsure how to conclude the chaotic mission with the others. "It was an eye-opening experience. I thank you." While she did notice Harke taking off his jacket, she reserved comment.
Jared began quietly packing up his computer equipment once he was sure the battle had ended. He paid no attention to what his Navigator and SPs were doing in the Network, and figured they could take care of themselves for the moment. He was exhausted from his trip to Sharo, and the sooner he packed all of his gear up, the sooner he could find out if his room was ready.... and, of course, pass out.

Jared went ahead and filed the report with the GNA while he was thinking about it. The discovery that he couldn't send the usual attached proof with his message was not unexpected, especially since the reason was the file size exceeded 9000 TB. That was asking a bit much of the networks, just as trying to understand the flood of data as it came in had been asking too much of him. His head still hurt a bit just remembering it.

Jared had just finished packing everything up in his backpack when he caught sight of an Inn employee beckoning to him from across the room. Oh good.... Sleep, I need it. He pocketed the rest of his chips, shrugged the pack on, and placed a handful of business cards on the table. "It was nice meeting you guys, but I'm gonna go ahead and call it a night.... day? Whatever. Plane ride and all that.... If you wanna get in touch with me, my contact info is on those business cards." He backed away from the group with a goodbye wave before turning to follow the Inn employee to his room.
Harke stretched a bit in his seat, before watching Jared get up. Noticing the man's haggard eyes, he smiled and gave the man a quick thumbs-up before he left. "Have a good day, mister Jared," he said, before the tech was led away by the Inn employee. Then, he thumbed his way through the GNA report Jared had made, managing a small smile when he saw the Support Program base.

And this time, I know exactly what I want to do, no fatherly assistance required, Harke thought, as the base file was downloaded securely to his PET. He thought to check on Eternalis and Aurora, and opened up their visuals on his little screen. His smile grew just that bit wider as he watched Eternalis' larger body sleeping next to Aurora's. Rough day for them, he thought, as he closed up the visual.

Looking out the door, he went into a daydream for a bit, mulling over his various operations with Eternalis and Aurora. So far, they had traversed a bit of a few networks. ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Yoka, Sharo, Beach, NetVegas. After a little while, it occurred to him that it would be a very interesting trip to traverse the many different networks in one run. Counting off the networks he knew in his head, he totaled up the number to be 12.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He thought of going by himself for a bit, but then realized that that would be no fun at all. He took up a breath before speaking, then turned to Camillia and said, "Hey, Cam. I've been thinking, tomorrow, could we bust together again?"

Hesitantly, he added, "I've, er, got something in mind. That is, if you want to... I wouldn't mind if you don't."
"Good day, Jared," Camillia said, taking up one of the business cards. Another friend made... she guessed. In a way, it was good that she was stepping into society again, but she had never imagined that it would be in this way. If anything, she actually wished that she would just shut herself in a room somewhere and live alone, or something...

"Operator?"

She turned to see the PET showing Rhea's signature poker face. "Hm?" she blinked, and her Navi pointed towards Harke, who was apparently asking her a question.

"Oh, my apologies. Uhm, Sure!" Camillia said quickly, before pausing. "...What was your question again?"
Harke felt like executing a facepalm just then, as Camillia asked her to repeat his question. Was she showing disinterest in him? Was she ignoring him? Was she- was she... oh what the heck. "Uh.. I asked you if you wanted to go busting again tomorrow. I was thinking of something like going through a few of the networks, kind of like a road trip." Then, his eyes lingered over to Tsujsa, and something clicked in his head. The guy was Camillia's cousin or some other, if he read the BBS correctly.

Analyzing the situation, trying to get closer to Camillia would do no good if he brought animosity from family, especially one that was standing right in front of him and could slug him with nothing but a little effort. He decided to rectify things before he got a headache later. "Yo, Tsujsa, was it? You wanna join in? It'll be fun."

... Rethinking it, maybe Camillia was just distracted earlier or something.
Validus had returned to the PET. Albeit in a banged condition, but he'll heal. "Well, maybe about NOW I could get some sleep." The navi murmured as the PET screen went blank, and turned into a small, 8-bit image of the navi sleeping in a bed, while popping pixel Zs from his head.

Tsujsa sighed. Well, at least he earned it. He holstered the PET back into his side pocket and focused his attention on the rest of the group. Jared had already packed his equipment and was looking for some siesta time himself. The operator of the mammoth navi was, after all, only human. Meanwhile, Harke and Cam was getting to know one another a lot better.

...Of course, one can only wonder how close the two intend to be. Tsujsa sighed and smiled. At least she was making friends again. Then he heard something about a road trip across the networks, and inviting Cam as well. Before he could begin to ask whether he could join in as well (and also to keep an eye on the two of them) he found himself being asked whether he'd love to join.

"Eh? Why, err... Sure! I mean, it's not everyday I get to visit all the different networks anyway, eheh, after all, Validus himself isn't strong enough to wander alone yet."

Then Tsujsa noticed his own stomach growling.

"...But talk of that would have to wait. Are you guys feeling hungry? My treat."
Smiling at her cousin's response, he spoke just what was in her mind-- the topic about food, of course. "That would be nice. What do you have in mind?" she asked curiously, food being one of her main passions to indulge in. One of the fun parts of travelling was to enjoy all kinds of food, and it still stuck with her even now. She still enjoyed her life alot, she guessed. Losing a leg wasn't entirely that bad, after all.

"Do you have any suggestions, Harke?" she turned, asking the other operator.
Oh, good. Both Camillia and Tsujsa seemed equally receptive of him. And... Tsujsa mentions food. He thought of his own stomach, and his pack wasn't exactly filling, just kind of an appetizer. Monstrous appetites had their way, and he felt that if he went with them, he'd probably contribute to about fifty percent of the bill. He also didn't feel like contributing to the total right about then... but he didn't have any excuse for it. Still...

"I think there were some hawkers outside. Smelled kind of like some sort of rice, I-"

Just then, a beep from his PET redirected his attention to the terminal, and he hastily took it out of his sling pack. A few fumbled button presses later, he picked up the call. The screen appeared in front of his face, showing his father's cheery visage. "Hey, dad."

"Hey, Har. Got home early, you want to grab something at the caf?" the screen replied.

"Uh..." His eyes lingered towards his two companions, and hesitated for a bit. He really didn't want to offend his friends, but on the other hand, he didn't like to disappoint his father. His face scrunched ever so slightly, and his eyes lingered to the side. Then, making a snap decision, he replied back to the screen.

"Alright, I'm coming. Be about five, I'm at Main Yoka."

"That's great. Bye."

The screen blinked out of existence, and he was facing Camillia and Tsujsa again. His hand went up to his head, rubbing the back of his neck in awkwardness. "Um, sorry, guys. I can't really stay..." said Harke, looking somewhat flustered, but actually quite thankful for his father's interruption. Then, a chance synapse passed his memory, and he suddenly brightened.

"Oh, I can make up for it! Tomorrow, there's this cafe on Beach Street- Seagull Spot, just across the street from the Metroline entrance. The owner's son is one of my old friends, he's got some awesome stuff, especially his desserts. We can meet up there, have a bite while we bust."

Then, stuffing the PET and everything else he had into the pack, he stood up, pack over shoulder. "Sorry about the interruption again, guys. Hope to see you tomorrow!" said Harke, before giving a two-fingered salute and heading out the door.
"Huh... right then. Catch you later." Tsujsa grunted as he waved at Harke. Before turning his attention to Camillia, responding to her question earlier.

"So... Sushi?" was the only thing that came out of Tsujsa's mouth.
"Take care, Harke," she said simply, watching how the operator went after receiving a message of sorts. "See you tomorrow."

Turning towards her cousin, Camillia visibly brightened at the mention of sushi. "Sure!" she said, wondering if it was really okay to dine at Tsujsa's expense. "... So where is this place?" she asked curiously.

It was pretty evident that the redhead was eager for another food expedition.
Tsujsa scratched his head, but smiled at the excited reaction that Camillia had shown. "Well, there's a nearby sushi bar in Yoka... I haven't actually tried it yet but I heard it's pretty good." He muttered as he stood up from the seat. His wallet should have plenty enough zeny to pay for the expenses, and it would serve as a great celebratory meal after that mission.

"Well, if we're ready to leave, let's go then." He uttered as he held onto Camillia's wheelchair handlebars, ready to help her to move out from their current position.

Quote (Earned FXP)

Eternalis/Rhea - 10
Eternalis/Djinni - 3
Djinni/Rhea - 4
Broadside/Eternalis - 5
Broadside/Djinni - 7
Broadside/Rhea - 5
Rhea/Validus - 2
Eternalis/Validus - 2
Djinni/Validus - 1
Broadside/Validus - 1