2010-07-14 - Enterlude

A DAY AFTER CELESTIAL BEING RUINS THE SHIROGANE'S SHIT

MEDICAL BAY, THE ARGAMA

SOMEWHERE IN SPACE

Risa Pzallon is not where she remembers being.

Now, for the young Coordinator, this is rather commonplace; however, in this case, it's a bit alarming, because the last place she remembers being was in the darkness of the Itzpapalotl's cockpit. Blinking her large green eyes several times, the young woman cautiously sits up from the crappy little cot she'd been laid out on.

"Oh good, you're awake," the doctor nearby notes.

"Uh, y-yeah," is Risa's response, offering a forced smile. "Uhh, what happened?"

"Well, I am not sure, but you were brought here after they managed to rip the cockpit to the unit you were in open--"

Risa shrieks in horror. "No! They didn't mess up Itzpapalotl, did they!?"

"Uh well, as far as I know it was a mess /already/."

Oh.

That's right. She got mangled by that A-LAWS unit.

Frowning lightly, Risa just stares in disdain at her hands. The doctor briefly approaches and claps her on the shoulder before he gives a thumbs up. "Don't worry, they'll fix it. Now if you'll excuse me, ahh, I /really/ need to take a dump."

"What--"

The doctor leaves in a hurry, leaving Risa incredibly confused and baffled.

"What..? I don't even..."

SOME TIME AGO

"Can I help you, Doctor...?"

"Rosenpenis."

"Excuse m--"

"Rosenrosen."

NOW

Sumeragi Lee Noriega takes off the white lab coat and stethoscope she was using as her cunning disguise to sneak into the Infirmary after visiting hours. This is just before she enters the room; her experience with her target has taught her that seeing Sumeragi in a doctor's coat will convince her that Sumeragi is a doctor, which may be... tricky. She waits until the hurried, nearly crab-walking doctor has passed, then doffs the coat, leaving it on a bench. She debates keeping the stethoscope, then realizes that it's wrong to fantasize about Allelujah like that when her mind should be on business.

And so Sumeragi Lee Noriega enters the room, fussing with the jacket of her Celestial Being uniform. "Hey there, kiddo," she says, sounding affable enough, as is her wont. "Heard you took a nasty spill last night. Not as nasty as the other side, but... y'know."

Sumeragi reaches into her jacket and pulls something out. It's long and dark and naughty and has no business in a hospital bed.

Naturally, it is a candy bar.

"Here, thought I'd smuggle you in something," Sumeragi says while holding it forward. "Considering what they feed the people who /aren't/ laid up on this ship..."

Blinking as the door hurriedly shuts, Risa Pzallon just stares like a doe in headlights.

She's not quite sure what just happened. Then again, this is commonplace for the Coordinator.

After a half-minute of baffled thoughts, Risa eyes drop to her hands, where she absently picks at a band-aid over a wound on her hand. "I sure hope Itzpapalotl's okay," the girl says aloud to herself, pouting. "I bet it was scary--"

The door opens, and the person there was not who she expected.

It's /better/ than she expected.

"Ah! Miss Sumeragi!" chimes the auburn-haired patient, green eyes wide as she brings her hands up and together at her chest. At the mention of her 'spill' she loses her smile, a frown crossing her tanned face before she nods slowly. "Well yeah. It was pretty embarrassing." Looking away, Risa picks at the band-aid again, a bit more aggressively.

That is until the candy bar is stuck in her peripheral.

Like a magnet, Risa's eyes are drawn to the sweets before she reaches out and accepts it with an incredibly sincere smile. "Th-thank you, I appreciate it very much!" Bowing her head politely, Risa almost immediately tears into it and starts eating. You'd think they fed her gruel--on second thought, they probably do, because, really, would she know any better?

Swallowing a bit, Risa looks up and wonders, "Why are you here? Uhm, where am I anyway?"

As Risa devours the candy, Sumeragi sits at the foot of her bed and smiles. It's the simple things in life, like seeing a lovably sweet retarded person cram their face full of chocolate, that gets Leesa Kujo through the day. Also the soda can in her other hand.

SOME TIME AGO

"What are you doing in here?"

Sumeragi Lee Noriega is in the Argama's kitchen, pouring box wine from the box's tap into a soda can. "Oh. Uh, health inspector," she says, barely looking up, because this headache is a bitch.

"But... /I'm/ the health inspector. That must mean--" The man's eyes go wide. "/I'm on the wrong ship!/"

Sumeragi glances up, barely. "Looks like," she replies.

NOW

Sumeragi has a sip of can wine and nods to Risa's questions, licking her teeth behind her lips before she answers. "Well, Risa, I'm actually here to talk to you. Right now, you're in the Argama's infirmary. Looks like you took just as bad a pounding as your Itzpapalotl." Sumeragi even manages to pronounce it right on the first try.

"But it'll be fine, they're putting it back together as we speak." Sumeragi smiles a broad, reassuring smile; her teeth are only a little bit stained by wine. "But I thought we could have a chat. You know, since we met, I've been kind of keeping tabs on your fights. You're pretty impressive. So I just was wondering -- do you know what a Meister is?"

It's somehow a miracle that Risa doesn't get the chocolate all over her face as she devours the gifted candy bar. Only when she is finished does she seem conflicted, glancing between her one, free hand and the empty wrapper. There's still some chocolate left in it.

Slowly the girl's gaze lifts to Sumeragi. She notices she's looking. That means she has to mind her manners and not eat the rest out of the wrapper with one hand. She pouts only slightly before she tosses the wrapper onto a nearby bedside tray.

"Oh, the Argama? Well, phew, that's good," she notes, in-between licking her fingers. "I was worried I was stranded somewhere in Federation territory, like...Delaware." Blinking a few times, Risa fixes her gaze on Sumeragi as she pronounces the machine's name right. Seconds after, she glows happily.

"Really? Oh, that's great news! Wonderful news! I am very happy!" Clapping her hands excitedly a few times, Risa only pauses when Sumeragi asks her what a Meister is. Looking distantly puzzled by this, her eyes turn to the ceiling, a finger thoughtfully pressed to her chin.

"Uhh, isn't that a master musician? --OH! Do you plan an instrument!? I have been trying to learn how to play a vuvuzela--you know, those ancient things from South Africa? I am not very good." Risa pouts. "Definitely nowhere near being a Maestro."

".../close/," Sumeragi says, because she doesn't have the heart to crush this young woman quiiite yet. (She must pace herself.) "But no, no, not a mae/stro/ -- a Mei/ster/. A Gundam Meister. Meisters are agents of the group Celestial Being. You might have heard of them -- or, I should say, you might have heard of us. We're part of Katharon, just like the AEUG and the Argama. I'm in charge of one of the ships."

As if to underscore the deathly importance of that fact, the tactical forecaster of the Ptolemaios, who puts people's lives into her own hands every single day, has another sip of wine concealed in a soda can. "Basically, what Celestial Being and the Meisters want is to end war. Sadly, ending war requires fighting -- destroying the engines and agencies that /create/ and /continue/ wars. Do you follow me so far?"

Sumeragi's hand moves toward her jacket again.

She /did/ think to prepare flash cards.

"Mei...ster?"

Well, Risa certainly knows what a /Gundam/ is, what with her being stationed on the Argama, which is like Grand Gundam Central Station. She nods her head slowly regardless, processing the information as best as her fragile, 'special' little mind will allow her. They're a part of Katharon. She knows Celestial Being- -she helped them yesterday.

"So, wait. Those awesome suits yesterday--were those Gundams? Your Gundams?"

However, when Sumeragi elaborates further, Risa's attention seems to double. End war, she says. Stop fighting--that's what she has sworn to do! That's exactly what Risa wants! Not so much destroying things, but..!

"Y-yeah, I follow you, Miss Sumeragi," Risa replies with a nod, saving poor Sumeragi the trouble of getting said flash cards for the time being. "But.., uhm, well...d-do you guys...go out with the intention of k-killing people?" she wonders, hesitantly with a pout.

Sumeragi's hand moves away from her jacket. Both of them will survive with a little more dignity intact this way. "No," Sumeragi is quick to reply. "No, not at all. We don't want people to die. We just want to break the things that they use to kill. But... yes, some of those Gundams yesterday were ours."

Sumeragi has one more sip of 'soda' and then sets the can down on the floor. She stands up, not really comfortable making a sales pitch while parking her ass on the foot of a bed. "Risa, what I'm driving at is that you seem like the sort of person who wants the same things that we want. And I've been watching you fight, and you give it a hundred and ten percent. It's really impressive." Even when she gets shot down.

"So what I'm putting out there is that I want you to join us." Sumeragi's hands spread, palms open. It's not slick hucksterism but she's an okay public speaker, especially when she's got a good buzz going, and years of being a de facto captain have left her with the ability to sound like she knows what she's talking about at all times. "Bring Itzpapalotl to the Ptolemaios II. Become a Meister. Fight alongside Celestial Being. Help us end war."

Sumeragi isn't smiling. This is probably important. "What do you say?"

"R...really?"

Risa's expression seems almost instantly relieved, her shoulders sagging deeply as she exhales. She would hate to think of Sumeragi as being some cold, bloodthirsty murderer of warmongers and a TOTAL HYPOCRITE, because she really thinks Sumeragi is the smartest person alive, next to Judau Ashta's brilliance.

"I'm glad. I was scared after yesterday when the Shuraguano was destroyed," Risa confesses as her eyes drop to her twitching hands. "But from what I heard, they only crash-landed." She'll continue to think that it was totally not Sumeragi's intention to completely ruin it and kill people on board. Smiling brightly, she looks back to the Ptolemaios' captain.

Upon elaborating, however, Risa's smile fades a bit, followed by a blush as she's given a compliment. Shyly looking away, the girl puts her hands to her face and shakes her head modestly. "O-oh, I am not good. B-but I do try hard," the Coordinator states. Sadly, it's the truth, because Risa gets shot down a lot.

HOPE YOU HAVE GOOD MECHANICS ON THE PTOLEMAIOS, SUMERAGI.

When she is asked to become a Meister, Risa looks at Sumeragi with a dumbstruck expression. "W-what?? You w-want me to h-help you guys??" the girl stammers, wide-eyed. "I-I, uh...I mean...what I want to say is...uhm.. ."

Attempting to coordinate (ha ha) her thoughts, Risa furrows her brows tightly and presses a finger to her forehead. Think. Think. Think!

"Ah, o-okay!" she just blurts with a nod. "I would love to help you out, Miss Sumeragi! I owe you for your help when I was lost, after all, and I really do not like war and want to stop it so..." Shrugging enthusiastically, Risa Pzallon nods her head twice before she offers a genuine smile.

"Th-thank you very much. I'll do it!"

Sumeragi's own smile is a more sly expression -- muted but nonetheless joyous, like a drunk aunt at Christmas who thinks it's wonderful that the kids love their presents but really can we get to the wine with Christmas dinner already. "Excellent," Sumeragi says, and reaches out to shake Risa's hand -- because it's not a deal unless they shake on it.

And yeah they have hella good mechanics what do you think Ian is. Also Anew when she's not, you know, being Lyle's wifey.

"You rest up. I'll take care of the rest, and when you and Itzpapalotl are a hundred percent... I'll be in touch to tell you where you need to go. I think you'll like it on the Ptolemaios, kid."

Sumeragi grins. "Lots of Haros."

Why Risa would like it because there are a lot of Haros is left unexplained. Sumeragi picks up her soda can, gives something between a wave and a mock salute, and slips out of the room before Bright Noa catches her poaching the Argama's pilots and punches her so hard her boobs pop.

Fortunately for Sumeragi, Risa just processes this as being 'genuine' and sincere, not sly or drunk aunt-like in the least. All but beaming with pride and delight, the young Coordinator nods her head and offers out her hand to shake. A deal's a deal, now! But already Risa feels a pang of excitement. The Gundams that Celestial Being have in their possession are so cool..!

And the whole 'fighting to stop war' is something she can sincerely relate to.

"Right! Understood, captain!" Risa crisply replies with a stiff salute of her arm. "I look forward to my new assignment!"

Then she mentions Haros. Risa all but squeals with delight. Fortunately it's not loud enough for Bright Noa to pick up on and track down Sumeragi in an angry huff. "I /definitely/ look forward to it, and so will my partner!" She's talking about Itzpapalotl, right?

Or...

SOMEWHERE ON THE ARGAMA

A white and tan spotted kitten is licking its ass.

DUN DUN DUN.