Action, post-mission

[im_not_asking]

[Action]

*Have Forte going down a hall, muttering to herself. She seems... Even more on-edge than she was a few days ago during the music incident..*

Useless... Completely useless... Should've brought a gun, one shot and maybe I could've downed some cables...

[Voice, Private to Misato]

Still got some of those beers around? I need a drink. Preferably a

Comments

[pheasantshanker]

[Yuunagi recognizes Forte from the mission earlier and notes her expression as he approaches.]

...I'm sorry.

[Wait...what's he apologizing for?]

[im_not_asking]

... Sorry for what?

[pheasantshanker]

Had I realized you were climbing that machine earlier, I wouldn't have fired upon it. It took that shockwave to make me realize you were there.

[im_not_asking]

Not your fault. You were trying to disable it. So was I. Neither of us came close.

[pheasantshanker]

Ah.

[He lowers his head, then looks back in the direction he came from, clearly upset by his own performance. This woman did everything she could on-foot to down the large enemy, but he had his machine...so why couldn't he do anything about the situation?]

Even with Straybird, I couldn't...

[im_not_asking]

... I don't think even Happy Trigger's weaponry would have been enough.

That might be what pisses me off the most.

[pheasantshanker]

And with the presence of those civilians...firepower is difficult to utilize.

[A pause.]

I have a feeling...that we shouldn't have shown up in the first place. Not when we knew that Adventus was expecting us.

[He might be stating the obvious, but deep down he's still wondering; 'what the hell was up with that?' Going to a concert to attack the enemy head on? Surely he wasn't the only one who thought it was absurd.]

[im_not_asking]

... You have a point.

Offhandedly, I wonder how they would have reacted if we'd attended, just enjoyed the show, and left.

It's funny to think about, but then again, when it comes to Adventus, the entire war's kind of strange.

[pheasantshanker]

I wouldn't trust them to conduct a regular concert with us present. As an opposing faction, it was an opportunity for them as well...

[The music irritation that only stopped a few days ago comes to mind at that point.

Afterwards, Yuunagi raises an eyebrow at Forte's remark about Adventus. He hasn't had that much experience dealing with them (beyond that little anti-mole plan with Ichitaka), so...]

...What do you mean?

[im_not_asking]

... Their ideals aren't exactly evil. Not like the one I face back home, whose actions are aimed to destroy my homeland... Seemingly for the sake of it. He's hunting what's normally the ship I am stationed on specifically to get rid of one last threat to his rule.

These guys... They plant traps for us, but don't move to hunt us otherwise. Almost as if fighting us is nothing more than a side attraction.

And that DJ in particular - he didn't want to destroy us. As soon as we stopped attacking, he just kept playing, and then more or less fled, or let us go... And I'm not sure which is the better word.

It's scary to think about. Like he toyed with us unintentionally.

1/2

[pheasantshanker]

[A slow nod as he realizes it. There was no denying the truth in that...especially after the concert and the battle at Hoover Dam. Just what was Adventus thinking?]

The Adventus foe we encountered only a while ago seemed to regard the Chalice's pilots as some form of entertainment as well, at the same time, he wasn't ruthless...he showed some sense of honor.

[He exhales.] At this point, we can only try our best to prepare for whatever they have planned...and hope that we aren't humiliated in the process.

2/2

[pheasantshanker]

[His next gesture was a bit unlike him. But he thought that it might be natural for people who worked in a team. These past two months or so were life-changing for him after all.

Even so, it's easy to tell that he's nervous about it.]

And...my name is Yuunagi Graife. If you think you could use any help with machinery, miss...I'll try my best to lend you assistance.

Re: 2/2

[im_not_asking]

... First Lieutenant Forte Stollen.

Thank you.