Cool guys don't look at explosions [Open]

[zouichi]

Zouichi had been pleased to find a place like this in the City, but he'd barely gotten a chance to move a few of his things out of Crew Quarters before the notification about Starfighter Command's mission had arrived and he'd been forced to clear out. But now, things seemed to be settling down slightly. It looked like he'd be able to put his

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[nobel_berserker]

Allenby had a habit of running whenever she needed to clear her head, and the City gave her plenty of room to do it in. Today she'd gone off in a random direction, enjoying the unfamiliar sights as her feet pounded away her worries.

When she slowed to a halt, it looked like she'd run across something odder than usual. Allenby came on the inn from the side, but she didn't bother looking for the gate. She just hopped up onto the wall around the courtyard. Something about the architecture looked kinda familiar, but not quite...

She grinned when she saw a familiar figure on the ground. "Well hey there!" She sat herself down on the wall, giving him a big wave.

[nobel_berserker]

"Yeah--well, they did. And they will again, too." Allenby didn't know if they were in the pods--Hoi and Ming and their grandfather. They weren't fighters at all... but whether they were or not she'd fight with everything she had to give them their home back.

She stopped sweeping when Zouichi asked his second question. "I don't have a family." Her voice was heavy, but she wasn't going to cry or anything. It had been a long time ago. "My parents died when I was about six. I got raised by the military after that."

[zouichi]

"I'm... sorry." Zouichi paused for a long moment before adding, "My family -- or rather, the closest people I had to family -- is also gone. Unless, of course, the ship chose to extract them from their timeline before it could happen."

And he was kind of hoping that wasn't the case. Because if their world was restored, they'd have to die all over again, wouldn't they?

[nobel_berserker]

"You too, huh?" Allenby looked up when Zouichi brought up the possibility that Stacy had rescued them. Then what if her parents--? But it seemed so far-fetched. She couldn't quite make her head go around them being alive again.

"Never thought about that. I'm not even sure what I'd do if that was the case."

[zouichi]

"I think... I'd prefer if they remained gone. Losing them once is one thing -- it happens to everyone. But no one should have to go through it twice."

"Er, do you... remember your parents?"

[nobel_berserker]

Allenby nodded. "I guess that does make sense." She couldn't imagine it would be any better to lose them at seventeen than when she'd been six. Worse, because they'd have been brought back just to die again. "They oughta be able to rest in peace anyhow."

"I was old enough to remember 'em, but it's kinda fuzzy to try and think of their faces. I was only six when it happened." She had loved them, though. They'd been good parents for the time they were around.

[zouichi]

He smiled a little. "I'm glad to hear it. I didn't get to spend much time with my family, but I'm grateful for the time I did have."

Zouichi paused. "...sorry for bringing up such a depressing topic. Er, so, what have you been up to lately?"

[nobel_berserker]

"You don't gotta apologize," Allenby said. But she was rather glad that he decided to change the subject nonetheless.

She shrugged. "Well, I've been spendin' a lot of time down in the Hangar to fix up Nobel Gundam. I wanna modify her weapons so that they're stronger, since now I'm fighting enemies instead of just rivals."

[zouichi]

"Ah, how is that working out? And what types of armaments did you have in mind?"

Zouichi remembered what Nobel Gundam had looked like when he'd last seen it, but... maybe feet weren't quite so important in space battles. "I was actually pleasantly surprised with the Nightmare's performance, but I really wish they would have given me some more missiles."

[nobel_berserker]

"I'm not gonna put on a beam cannon or anything--I don't want to change Nobel Gundam too much." Allenby had the full intention of returning to the Gundam Fight once Earth was restored. "But I want to make the beam ribbon stronger. Plus I need to develop more techniques for myself than just the Nobel Hula Hoop."

She started sweeping again. "But fixing the foot is going okay. You did pretty good out there with that machine. I've never used missiles, but after that battle I guess the more ya have, the better off you'll be."

[zouichi]

Zouichi nodded. "Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. How long has it been since you developed a new technique?"

"And thanks. It's a real pleasure to fly, actually, although I guess it doesn't have as much punch as some of the Celestial Being Gundams... but I don't think I'd trade it for one even if someone asked me to."

[nobel_berserker]

"To tell the truth--I haven't come up with one on my own yet. The Nobel Hula Hoop is something that Neo-Sweden's crew made when they first built the Gundam. So I'll be makin' this one from scratch."

...Whatever it would be. She hadn't decided yet, and she figured she'd need to read up some in the Media Library.

She shook her head with a small grin at his mention of CB's Gundams. "Hah, I don't think anything has that much punch. It was useful out there, but I like Nobel Gundam's system a hell of a lot better."

[zouichi]

"They did? Well, then, I'd say they did a pretty bang-up job. Are you working out something with Engineering?"

He smiled. "You'd be surprised. But I tend to agree. Besides, some of those machines interfere with ally communications, don't they? Not the most convenient systems to work with."

[nobel_berserker]

Allenby shook her head. "I'm part of Engineering, but this is something I want to do on my own." It would be her technique, not anyone else's.

"Heh, it does make it tricky to fight alongside 'em. I dunno why they'd have that kind of system--it really isn't useful here."

[zouichi]

Zouichi raised an eyebrow. "You are? I had no idea. What division are you with?"

"I think I might know... Celestial Being operates by destroying any enemy mecha, right? I mean, I'm only guessing here, but...what better way to do that than to destroy their communications systems, make it impossible for them to form a battle strategy or sow confusion in the ranks?"

[nobel_berserker]

"Weapons and Defense--well actually, I'm the co-head of that division." But mainly Allenby was interested in tinkering around and just making things work better generally... she really didn't care who was in charge or not.

She nodded thoughtfully as she finished sweeping all the leaves she'd spotted into the pile. "Yeah, that makes sense... if they're intervening on a battlefield to stop the combatants, that'd be a real fast way to do it."