backdated to 12-28 | text | locked to friends and castmates

[givesherflower]

I've been very busy with work... and some other things. I don't want anything for my birthday or Christmas. I really don't.

...I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with many of you.

((If anyone on board the Ptolemaios wants an rl, go for it!))

Comments

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[a_new_innovator]

It's okay. Things do tend to get busy around here.

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[givesherflower]

It won't stop being busy for a while.

...And I know I haven't had a chance to say it before, but I'm glad you were able to join us.

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[a_new_innovator]

I know. That is the nature of what we do.

Thank you. I'm glad to be here. I feel like I'm doing something important being here.

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[givesherflower]

You are. You've been a great help to us all. So... thank you. Thank you for everything.

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[a_new_innovator]

You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. It's different, being here and working compared to being on the base. I actually get to see how what I'm doing works.

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[givesherflower]

It really is. Which do you prefer?

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[a_new_innovator]

I like it here. On the base I didn't get to know people so well. The base did have the advantage of more space.

Action

[jesus_is_gundam]

[This was the time of year when a cloud generally hung over the group. It was hard to forget what happened during Operation: Fallen Angels, how all of them were scattered to the winds. They were mostly able to find their way back to each other, but a few were lost to the winds forever.

Its something that makes you realize what's important, and that there are some things that you may need to let go of. But, for Setsuna, there are some thing he can never let go of... at least not until he gets some answers.

So, right now, he walks through Ptolemy, looking for a certain pink-haired mechanic who might be able to finally give him answers.]

Action

[givesherflower]

[It was for that very reason as to why she hadn't been seen much for the past few weeks. She couldn't just put Chris, Lichty, and Dr. Moreno's deaths behind her, even four years later. Her time on the bridge was mostly silent, only talking when necessary, casual questions answered with the bare minimum. When Feldt wasn't there or helping with standard Gundam maintenance (pointedly avoiding the hangar holding Arios and the 00), she was in her room. Even when she remembered her meals, she'd pick up her food from the mess hall and bring it back to her room. It at least kept on the days when she wasn't hungry.

But today she had stopped to stand alone on the observation deck, staring out the window at nothing at all. Too absorbed in her memories. Replaying moments of her friends-- no, her family. Replaying moments shared with her family in her mind. Better days when Chris had taken her shopping against her will. Better days when Lichty had been cracking awful jokes to try and make Chris laugh, but always failed. Better days when Dr. Moreno had told her stories of her parents whenever they spent that other awful day together just to comfort her.

This is where he would find her. Staring out at nothing, saying nothing, standing perfectly still. Silent save for quiet breathing.]

[jesus_is_gundam]

You're here.

[That's how he greets her when he enters. Its an obvious thing to say, but it took him a while to find her, once he made up his mind to go look for her. Since he did try the bridge, the other hanger, the mess hall, the engines, and even her quarters before finally locating her.

He doesn't say anything beyond that, lack of a conversationalist that he is, but he does step further into the room, the door closing behind him.]

[givesherflower]

[Oh. It's Setsuna. She's... really not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand he's talking to her. On the other, he hasn't actually sought her out for anything besides work-related stuff for a few months. So, maybe something work-related that isn't a total emergency came up? She turns to face him after she manages to push all her other thoughts to the back of her mind.]

Yes. Has something happened?

[jesus_is_gundam]

No.

[Though this is sort of work related, its not related to anything immediate, or any mission plans that are in development. But what it is related to, its something he's not quite sure how to approach her about it. His life didn't exactly prepare him to have these kinds of talks with anyone. Its awkward for him, something that shows in tiny ways, if she notices. Like the way he shifts his weight a bit more onto his left foot, or the fact that he was the first to break eye contact to glance off to the side.

Eventually, after an odd moment of this heavy silence between them, he decided to just spit it out.]

Why did you choose my Gundam?

[givesherflower]

[The million dollar question. One she had thought about in moments of clarity and even after the virus had worn off. Why the 00 Gundam? Had he asked her not long after the incident, whatever mentality had superimposed itself over hers would probably have made things worse. Or she wouldn't have had time to research (research meaning "pressing Ian for details") into the history of the 00's predecessor unit. Not Exia, but...]

GNY-001 Gundam Astraea. It was my father's unit. The predecessor to Exia and the 00. I have vague memories of him taking me into the cockpit while he had no missions. And before you came back, I helped a lot with checking the synchronization rates between all the GN Drives in our possession at the time. I guess when that virus hit... it made sense to go for the Gundam I was most familiar with.

[She looks back out the window, avoiding any chance of making eye contact, except through the reflection in the glass.]

It doesn't excuse what I did, even if I was under the influence of a virus, and I am still sorry. I sent Haro back the next day with a program to reinstall the settings to your specifications and to lock me out for a few weeks. But I haven't been near the 00 since that day.

[not_that_lockon]

[ Lyle's noticed the dark clouds that have been starting to hang around the Ptolemy since the start of December; you'd have to be thoroughly dense not to, and Lyle isn't. he thinks he knows why, too. December 2308 had been Operation Fallen Angels. no wonder everyone was so down. as for Lyle... well, he knows what happened. but he wasn't a part of it. it's not personal for him in the same way it is for the others, relieved as he is that he didn't lose his brother and that the people he now thinks of as friends and comrades survived. so he's just kind of floated around the edges, on the outside of things. an unwanted stranger in a church full of mourners.

even so. he still feels like he has to ask. ]

You sure?

[givesherflower]

Yes.

[Then again, just talking at random has been helping a little. Just talking about things not related to that day has helped keep her mind off how miserable she'd be otherwise. Taking a bit of time off (given no emergencies or surprise attacks) was proving to have been a mistaken in her mind. After all, work had been keeping her from wallowing....

So a second message comes in shortly after.]

Unless you want to talk.

[not_that_lockon]

You know me, I'm always up for a conversation if it's an excuse to procrastinate. [ he's mostly joking. mostly. ] Where can I find you these days?

[givesherflower]

Observation deck. Starboard side.

[Not much left to do but stare out the giant, reinforced window and wait to see if he turns up.]

[ action~ ]

[not_that_lockon]

[ and turn up he does, floating through the doorway and standing next to her. he leans on the rail ever so slightly, staring out the window himself. ]

You know, it's been months now and I still can't believe this thing does both space and water.

[ action~ wheeeee]

[givesherflower]

We learned a lot from the first Ptolemaios and its limitations. Any time we wanted to go to Earth, the Gundams...

[She hesitates for a moment, until she mentally chides herself for being silly. Lyle wasn't a civilian, he was a member of Celestial Being now. And the information may as well be declassified a little since the method's a moot point. Besides, talking tech is a comfort for her. Just like retail therapy was Chris'. --Whoops. There go some feelings. Gotta watch out for that. She kinda needs those to stay composed.]

The Gundams would have to be transported back to space with colony construction materials in order to return to space. In addition, the first Ptolemaios couldn't leave space or it would have been stuck in the Earth's gravity. And on Earth's surface, there aren't many places to stay out of sight besides under the sea.

[timey_wimey]

I was planning on coming back to the Ptolemy for a visit, actually. Unless that counts as a present.

[ better not mention the fact that he'd already got the ptolemy crew at large little somethings he's late on delivering, then, whoops... ]

[givesherflower]

No it doesn't count. I miss you being here. Even though staying in one place isn't something you like to do for long.

Please come back.

[If it's from not!dad, she'll probably let it slide. Especially since she hasn't seen him since... jeez. Probably the grab-bag virus where she learned never to make a contract with a small white alien cat with bunny ears and red eyes.]

[timey_wimey]

[ oh Feldt, no, don't break his hearts like that. ]

Actually, it's weird to say it, but I miss being around there too. Not. Not on a permanent basis or anything, but just. Generally speaking. [ he doesn't do well with being in one place for long, but at the same time, that ship was almost home, for a bit. and if a home is the people in it, it was home. ]

... How soon d'you reckon you could have a docking bay ready?

[givesherflower]

[If that means what she thinks it means... time to hop in a spacesuit. After a few minutes, Feldt switches from text to voice as she runs down to the docking bay that will soon hold the 0 Raiser, still waiting at Lagrange 3 for final testing with a functional 00 Gundam.]

Twenty minutes at most!

[She actually sounds excited. For the first time in a few years, she felt she could actually be properly happy on her birthday. She could be surrounded by some more of her family. The sudden upswing of her mood lent her speed while she worked on preparing the docking bay. So determined is she to have her not!dad back, even for a short visit.]

[timey_wimey]

[ he switches to voice as well, seeing as how it sounds like Feldt's got her hands full in the background. at hearing her perk up a little, he can't help smiling as well, fondness and relief entering his own voice along with a touch of excitement. ]

Oh, brilliant! Then I'll get this old thing space-worthy and world-hop right over. Shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes on my end either if we're lucky. Which I usually am.

[givesherflower]

That's great! Send me a message when you arrive and I'll open the docking bay for you.

[She sends him their current coordinates, so he can make a landing as close as possible, as well as avoid any potential run-ins with A-LAWS. As she continues working to get the docking bay ready, she replays his message. It had been far too long for her liking since she had heard his voice. And to hear him sound as happy as she was feeling right then and there warmed her heart.

Approximately twenty minutes later, she was ready and waiting. Each second took forever to pass. She was unusually fidgety as she tapped her communicator in her hand, eyes shifting constantly to the little clock in the corner as they had done since she sent off the coordinates.]