2011-02-19 - Ascian Trapped At GGG

3-G Orbit Base! High in Orbit over the Planet Earth, because where else would you expect to find someplace named 'Orbit Base?' Out of the windows lining the outer hallway of the planet's most famous space-based military installation, one can see the face of that glorious blue marble, Earth- and specifically, Asia, over which the Orbit Base sits in geosynchronous orbit, ever watchful for the re-emergeance of the Zonder threat, or other alien menaces that may trapse upon the cradle of humanity!

It is here where the SCIENCE! (the ! is very important) squadron has taken their newest prisoner. The Man from Mars, the Adolescent of Amenthes, Ascian Luddite! Of course, he can't really see anything outside any sort of window right now. The cell they're keeping him in is... relatively comfortable, if sparsely furnished. A futon, a toilet and sink, the very bare necessities- but all clean and well cared for.

GGG is nothing if not a humane organization, and Chief Taiga runs a very tight shift.

Though prisoner, Ascian would probably have found his captors to be rather peacable, if stern and watchful. Gutsy Galaxy Guard is definitely the place to end up holed up, if one absolutely must be held under lock and key for any reason. It's certainly more friendly than some other terrestrial facilities- but, like any military prison, it exists for a reason.

And one particular Tetsuya Tsurugi is here to enforce that very need.

The pilot of Great Mazinger walks down the clean, crisp hallways of Orbit Base, his hands carrying a small tray of food- the Prisoner's meal, composed of a small loaf of bread, some sort of soup (cream of mushroom!?) and a small bowl of gelatin. He doesn't quite understand why Gutsy Galaxy Guard is so hospitable to their captives, but Chief Taiga does have a point- the better you treat your guests, the more compliant they may be to whatever you might ask of them. Just make sure they don't get into anything important. This is probably why there are a couple of guards stationed nearby, just in case Ascian decides to leave prematurely.

Tetsuya nods at the sentinels who offer the master of Great Mazinger a cheery, if tight salute. He continues on ahead, until he reaches Ascian's cell. The pilot clears his throat and balances his tray between one arm and his chest. Tetsuya's other hand raps against the metal door, "Are you decent? I have brought your lunch, and I believe we have a few issues to discuss."

Just because Tetsuya has been assigned to question the boy doesn't mean he has to be /rude/ about it. That's reserved for Koji!

After having been taken, the young man had not struggled one bit. But this wasn't because he was being nice, or didn't care. No, there was simply... something /wrong/ with him. Like some kind of vegetable, he'd just been staring blankly into space. That was the curse of the machine he'd pilotted; it sucked on one's soul and very will to move around.

It is the smell of food that gets him to finally snap out of this will-less state. His eyes slowly seem to refocus, trembling as they try to set their sights on the source of that smell. Had he been spoken to? He seeks his memory. Something had been said by a voice he recognized. The young man moves his hands around. It still felt like he wasn't entirely 'inside' of his own body. Like he was remotely controlling his limbs. He hated that feeling, it made him sick.

His mouth opens, but no sound comes out at first. His gaze moves again, and finally finds the figure of Tetsuya. "I... I am decent. I think..." The young man looks down at himself. Yes, he still was wearing his BAHRAM military uniform. So he was decent.

The declaration of decency is permission as any to enter, Tetsuya figures. He inputs a series of numbers into a nearby keypad, unlocking the door with a sudden hiss of hyrdaulic steam and the subsequent 'click' of a circuit coming undone, releasing the secondary magnetic locks. The door slides open, and, as he steps inside, shuts once more behind him with another click and hiss.

Keen eyes look over the boy's body, taking quiet note of his... dazed condition, but otherwise, he seems undamaged. "I see Guy's extraction techniques are still top notch," he says with a slight, if guarded smile as he sets the tray down on the raised platform in the center of the cell. It isn't long before he takes a seat, himself, "So, you're Ascian Luddite, correct? We have quite a few things to talk about, I believe."

"...And before I forget," Tetsuya adds, "I am Tetsuya Tsurugi, pilot of Great Mazinger. I suppose you know of me already- you do work with Doctor Hell, yes?"

Ascian's mind registers the sounds coming from the keypad as Tetsuya punches in numbers. He barely realizes that he does so, but he does. It's a learned behavior. After all, being trained to be a saboteur and recon, he had ended up trapped in jails more often than he wanted to. Or even wanted to recall.

He blinks a few times and slowly gets himself seated up, and gives Tetsuya a confused look. "Great Mazinger?" He doesn't seem to understand? Was this one of those mindcontrol kind of things, or was he just playing? He was playing. He was lying out of his teeth... but he was /good/ at lying. Incredibly so in fact.

"Dr. Hell? Huh? Who? Where am I?" He plays stupid, looking around some more and laying his gaze onto the jail-bars behind the young man. "Why am I in prison?"

Did the boy have some kind of... Amnesia, or something? Hmm. They /did/ drop the hammer rather hard, but... Maybe. Tetsuya seems uncertain- it's just like an agent of the Nefarious Doctor Hell to be so crass as to play it dumb.

But would Ascian do that? He seemed like a nice sort of lad over the radio.

Well, there's no solution to amnesia than a quick refresher course, is there? Tetsuya clears his throat once again, "You are Ascian Luddite, as far as we can tell, an agent of BAHRAM- it seems- and pilot of a red Orbital Frame, as well as subordinate to the foul scientist, Doctor Hell." Yes, Tetsuya really does talk like this sometimes.

"You're in prison largely because that is how military procedure works, I'm afraid. You capture an enemy soldier, you keep them in the brig. Though you're lucky, this is a much nicer prison than most others."

A beat.

"Does that ring any bells? Any at all?"

"I... I work for BAHRAM." Ascian notes, agreeingly. "But... Doctor Hell?" He seems confused. "I don't work for him..." So he's not denying that he is a Divine Crusader - but that he worked for, or with, Dr. Hell. He gives Tetsuya a scared... and hesitant look. "Are you lying to me?"

No better way to hide one's lies than to blame another for their lies. He quickly gets up from the futon, and stands firmly before the man. It seems Ascian is somewhat taller, which is /odd/, for an Ender. The 'empty' scars beneath his eyes flare up for a moment, red showing; a sign of Metatron poisoning. "What do you intend to do with me?"

He pauses for a moment, then adds, "You have no right to hold me here." The framerunner leans forwards a bit, giving Tetsuya an angry look. "Now let me go! Mars needs to be protected from the A-LAWS." Like some kind of robotic soldier, he phrases this as if he'd been taught to say this.

"But you do," Tetsuya shrugs slightly, "In fact, we have proof that you do. Proof being that you were perfectly aware of what you were doing, just the other day- otherwise, you probably would not have... offered to move that girl out of the way, yes?" The Mazinger pilot offers a chuckle, "It was respectable, though untimely, what you tried to do."

Ascian rises, though Tetsuya remains seated. He looks up at the other pilot with a slight frown. Did he seem... offended? No, this is just how Tetsuya normally looks. It's probably why people think he's such a stick in the mud- oh the unfortunate facts of genetics. But that expression quickly changes to one of... slight worry- those lines, what were they? "Please, sit down. I do not intend to mistreat you- there are certain conventions we must follow, as far as prisoners go."

"At least, we do here. Again, you're lucky to be in the Orbit Base of all places."

"All I want to ask," Tetsuya continues, "Is two questions. One is relevant to my current... concerns with your master. The other has to do with my own personal curiousity. If you'd be so willing to answer them, maybe I'd be able to leave you to your thoughts, hm? Though I can't guarantee your release- this is still war, and you're still an enemy soldier, I'm afraid."

Ascian raises his right eyebrow as Tetsuya asks him to sit back down. He lets out a sigh and does as told. One is always to expect having an easier time getting out if one is not too suspect or believed to be violent after all.

The young man shakes his head for a moment... then gives Tetsuya a confused look. "Wait... I remember a girl... cotton haired?" He keeps giving that confused look, as if he doesn't know why he 'remembers' this at all. He suddenly grabs for his head and starts pretending that he is getting a painful headache; you know, one of those stereotype typical ones that anime heroes with lost memories have when something surpressed starts being remembered. He even does that dramatic groaning.

He doesn't even comment on the talk about being in prison and the conventions and whatever. He does register, however, that they did not intend to mistreat him. Well, at least that was a good thing; much different from when he'd been in the Argama and all. Although he'd not really been mistreated there, the young man just saw it like that.

Ascian falls over on the futon, sideways, and keeps grabbing for his head, continueing his little charade. Perhaps that way Tetsuya would not ask him questions about Dr. Hell?

What.

Tetsuya squints his eyes at the... Drama unfolding before him. There's something not quite right with that boy. Whether he knows anything about Hell or not, Tetsuya is beginning to doubt they'd be getting /anything/ relevant out of him. Either he's been ensorcelled, or he's just that loyal, the likelihood of unlocking any information without utilizing tactics that are... frowned upon.

Besides, where would he get a bottle of bourbon and a couple of 500 mg benadryl tablets up in space, anyway?

This just means he'll have to fall back onto plan B, to figure out where the hell Doctor Hell has taken the Photonic reactor. But he'll have to pull some strings...

"Alright," the pilot sighs, "Let's talk about something else, then. Your machine, perhaps? It certainly is an... Interesting choice. Why does it scream like a girl, now? I've never encountered a machine that ever did /that./" Not even Aphrodite A or Venus A scream like that- and they have boob missiles!

Ascian's 'headache' slowly ebs away as Tetsuya does not force the topic of Dr. Hell. The young man calms down slowly... as doing so too abruptly would give away what he was doing too easily. There's some more groaning, before he finally sits up and gives Tetsuya a dulled look. Damn he's good at acting. He thinks, to himself, that he's one heck of an awesome guy for pulling that one off.

"Amenthes?" Ascian then suddenly asks, his eyes refocussing. He tips his head over a bit, and then suddenly nods. "Ah yes. Ehhh... I'm not... sure?" He tries. The young man speaks the truth for once. He didn't really know why it had acted like that. But then, that whole battle was a bit of a blur - after Dr. Hell's command to pull all the plugs and destroy the dragon-thing.

"You're not sure?" Tetsuya frowns. "Odd, I would take notice if my giant robot started screaming at me. Though I assume it did not enjoy being... 'groped' by that monster very much, hm? That machine uses Metatron, doesn't it? It's an Orbital Frame, so I assume it would have to."

Perhaps that's why this young man is so... strange? Metatron Poisoning is a nasty little complication, after all.

"Though I am then inclined to ask why you chose such a... feminine machine," Tetsuya inclines his head slightly, glancing down at the soup, "It seems like an odd decision."

"Yes. I took notice." Oh, he took notice alright. Ascian raises his hand and puts it behind his neck, rubbing it as if it were sore. He moves his head along with this motion, giving pause to his words as he tries to think about what would be decent enough to give away. "It doesn't mean I know why she did it." It might be important to note that he refers to the Amenthes as a 'she', rather than just 'it' or 'the Amenthes'. Heck, he never calls it 'the Amenthes', just 'Amenthes'.

And yes, the young man had some Metatron poisoning. That little red glow beneath his eyes had shown after all. "And yes, it uses Metatron. As for why I chose it. I didn't really. I was chosen for it, if you get what I mean? I trained years to pilot it."

"Ah, I see," Tetsuya nods in sudden understanding, "Then we are similar, at least in that respect. I was chosen to pilot Great Mazinger, and all my life, I've been training to perform that exact task." Two young men, their childhood stolen in the name of future victories! They stand on opposite ends of the battlefield, wielding their own passion as weapons and pursuing the only purpose they truly know!

The battlefield is their home, their machines are their shelter!

Or so a playwright might one day say.

"Although, I don't have to worry about being... Afflicted by my machine as you Orbital Frame pilots seem to be." Instead, he has to worry about extraterrestrial celestial entities handing down mandates of face-smashing goodness on direct express mail straight out of Olympus. That's clearly better than space cancer, though. "... Although, this machine of yours, you give it a gender? Does that mean it actually has one, outside of its appearance? Hm. It would explain the breasts."

He wonders if Amenthes can use them as weapons, for a brief moment. Breast lasers? Breast machineguns? Hmmm.

"Ahhh..." Yes, what that playwright would have written was true in many ways. His childhood, and his sister's, had been stolen; by their father and another mad scientist of the EFA's... both of them complete /monsters/, unlike Tetsuya's more... likable 'teachers'.

"I guess so. Though the only reason I was chosen was because I was a failure of a different experiment." During which many children had died. It wasn't pretty. There's a reason Ascian hates the EFA and A-LAWS. That was one of them. It was a miracle that his father had somehow been invited to those experiments, as a BAHRAM scientist. But, that's intelligence agencies for you.

"But I don't see how I am to be afflicted by anything." The look on Ascian is one of a person who'd just been insulted. "/us/ Orbital Frame Pilots are just fine." There were just a few crazies amongst them. But then... look at Bushido. "As for her gender. It has nothing to do with it having breasts." Pervert dad. "She just... is female."

He shrugs. The young man wasn't going to come out and say that sometimes, the spirit of the machine would materialize inside of his cockpit and be all 'go forth and destroy' about things. Or that she spoke to him, or the kissing, or the hugs, or the... god, he was suddenly feeling sick. He reaches out towards the food that had been brought. Why was he suddenly feeling bad about all of that? Like... his concience was telling him that this kind of relationship was a threat to his current relationship with someone else...

"It's just fact," Tetsuya shrugs, "There are reports of Metatron poisoning having all kinds of... negative effects on the psyche. Though the power it grants in return cannot simply be ignored." It seems that, unlike the pilot of the Amenthes, Tetsuya Tsurugi is truly lacking in any real sort of mental barrier for his words- or perhaps he just doesn't care enough to filter them? "...Though, you were the product of a failed experiment? Hmm... My condolences. But it seems things have gone... relatively alright for you since then."

What Tetsuya DOESN'T know is that he, too, may be the product of a 'failed' experiment. Tetsuya Tsurugi is certainly not a Perfect Pilot, after all. But what experiment that was will have to be revealed in a future episode. It's too early in the plot to divulge everything!

"But," he blinks, "Breasts normally occur on women. So would it be really all that unreasonable to come to the conclusion that a machine is 'female' because it has breasts?" This particular topic had been brought up several times in a distant universe in reference to a particular red robot and the green ornaments that decorate his armor. The long hair didn't help much.

"I suppose that would be a bit like calling Great Mazinger male just because its figure happens to be reminiscent of a man. If that were the case, we'd be calling half of the machines in production 'male.'" Although certain units are very clearly female- look at the Valsione. It has a /face/ for Zeus' Sake.

"Although... Hm. Ascian, do you know of a man named Axel Almer, by chance?"

Ascian just stares at Tetsuya while grabbing for the Gelatin and puts the plate on his lap, before he looks down and... is distracted. That's right, the mighty soldier of BAHRAM is distracted. Why is he distracted? Well, he just poked it with the plastic spoon, and it... wiggled. 'Look, it wiggled!' his brain goes. 'Do it again!'. So, he bops the spoon against its side. And of course, it wiggles again.

This seems to fascinate the man for god knows what reason, but he's still listening. Jiggling. Boobs. Gelatin. He bops against it again. It jiggles again. "Amenthes is a female because I've heard her speak to me." He finally decides to admit. Perhaps because he's somewhat entranced by the wiggly desert. "As for me coming out just fine... not so sure about that."

He shakes his head for a moment and finally jabs the spoon into the desert and puts it in his mouth. Hrrrrmmm... cherry flavor. This was a totally new experience to himself. "As for Axel. Yeah, I know him. Seems like a nice guy." he raises his spoon and aims it at Tetsuya, as if he were threatening to kill him with it. "I saved him when he was stuck on Mars." Along with the rest of the Divine Crusaders... who held the enemies at bay.

Tetsuya can't help but stare for a little while as Ascian... plays with his bowl of jello. This captive is... confounding. There's a contrast here that is just so bizarre that even Tetsuya can't help but take notice and wonder what the hell is up with all this. Has he never had jello before?

... Moreover. Why is he looking at his food like it's something indecent? Is this the Ryusei of Food!?

"So... You know Axel, then. If you see him, tell him that I've sent word that we aught to have another drink together," a beat, "Or another fight. In either case, it would be good to see my rival again." A rival? Perhaps this is one of those one-sided-rivalry things so popular among Super Robot Pilots?

Another beat. Tetsuya's eyebrow twitches a bit, "...Is this the first time you've had gelatin?"

Ascian continues to be confused by the Jello. He bops it again. It still jiggles! This was some kind of magnificent discovery! ~tap~ ~boooiiiing~. But why did this seem so indecent? He could not put his mind on it. "Ah?" He looks up, putting another bit in his mouth with the spoon. The young man plays with it in his mouth for a bit, and then finally swallows. "So that's what this is called?" He asks.

"Sorry, you will have to excuse me. There are so many things that are still 'new' to me. My ehhh... time in experimentation was incredibly... long." It's a miracle he came out as 'normal' as he did, not to mention that he now had a girlfriend. Admittedly though, that was probably because Hera reminded him of his sister, who'd gone through the same ordeal with him. Especially with all the propaganda and mindtwisting that made him as loyal to BAHRAM as he is today.

"As for Axel. Ehhh, I guess I can. What was your name again?" Had he forgotten, or was he just pulling Tetsuya's leg? Who knows. "I don't recall him saying he had another rival, besides Kyosuke Nanbu though. Are you... Kyosuke?" He looks Tetsuya up and down.

Tetsuya coughs, "I'm not Kyosuke Nanbu, no. My name is Tetsuya Tsurugi." People forgetting his name? The name of the second of Earth's Mazinger pilots!? Preposterous! "But I have fought with Axel a number of times. Maybe 'rivals' is a poor choice of words, but... I understand a bit, why he fights. And it's a shame we happen to be on opposite ends of the battlefield." There's another young man whose father has wrapped him all up in a conflict that, as far as Tetsuya cares, appears to be unnecessary!

But then, a soldier is a soldier. And for those who have lived their entire lives as soldiers, what more to living is there, after war has come to an end? So is war necessary for all such born-soldiers? Hmm.

"...And you've been... experimented on for quite some time, as well. I doubt it was a particularly pleasant experience." It certainly is not very nice to be treated like a test subject! Tetsuya knows this quite well- all the technology they had him try, all the machines he was to fight, all the training exercises, all building him to a singular purpose- and none of it was very nice to take part in. But the love of a father is important to win, especially when you have... certain individuals to compete with.

But those are dark thoughts- and best left drowning in their own misery at the back of Tetsuya's psyche.

"And, the food you're eating is called Jello. It's a sort of dessert- but I guess you can eat it as an appetizer? It's... Both a dessert and a salad, apparantly."

"It wasn't pleasant." Ascian confirms somewhat dully, protecting himself from talking about it too emotionally; under the chance of giving too much away, or otherwise hurting himself with the memories.

"And... I see." He looks at Tetsuya, somewhat like a kid, "Where did you find this stuff? I mean... is this some kind of delicacy? Do they have this on Mars too?" The food they had on Mars wasn't the finest. Military rations and all, which were being... rationed, due to the A-LAWS' interference.

"As for Axel. I guess I'll tell him. Tetsuya Tsurugi..." He pauses for a moment. Wasn't Tsurugi a weapon of sorts? Well, that would go with that giant sword he'd seen, being raised by the Great Mazinger.

Tsurugi, Yumi, Kabuto, these are all things that are used in war! A sword, a bow, a helmet! Of course, only Tetsuya really seems to live up to his name. "I see," the Super Robot Pilot nods, frowning a bit. "Then, you have my condolences. It must be difficult for you."

"And, no," the pilot shakes his head, "Jello is actually fairly common. You can buy mixes of it in grocery stores all over Earth. I can't say anything about whether it's on Mars, but maybe some of the A-LAWS troops have got some in storage." A shrug, "It's not too hard to produce, as far as I'm aware."

"Do you... not have much food on Mars? That's terrible. Food is one of the few base pleasures I can say I truly enjoy." Except when Jun starts trying to mix American and Japanese cuisine. There is no such thing as 'Brooklyn Style Sashimi,' no matter how much she tries to grill it!

Ascian just shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. I am enjoying the life I have now. Although the A-LAWS make it right hard on me, my friends, and my entire planet." He explains why he still isn't quite happy. After all... the A-LAWS didn't exactly have a good name there.

"And I doubt they'd let BAHRAM get access to their food supplies. Especially not with as much as they steal from the martian citizens. Claiming it to be 'rightfully theirs'." Is he trying to get Tetsuya to get on his side when it came to this subject?

"It's not like Mars doesn't have delicious food. The dolphin is especially great. It is just that the current earthen presence is making it hard for all of us to get any of the good stuff, basically."

"While I may not necessarily agree with the A-LAWS' methods," Tetsuya says with a shrug, "I can understand, somewhat, why they're doing what they're doing. It's a question of fear, and a question of worry for the future." Whose future, though? Well, it can't be helped much- Tetsuya DOES work for the EFA, after all.

"The Earth looks to the skies in terror, Ascian. You must understand that, and you mustn't hate Earthlings. We fight so hard to secure the other planets because we don't know when one will turn into the next Zeon. The One Year War has sewn a seed of paranoia, and it's truly unfortunate that it's endured for so long."

"If it's any consolation," Tetsuya continues, "I don't carry any ill will toward the defenders of Mars. Would any other force attempt to take Earth, I would certainly fight tooth and nail for our security and independence. But, at the same time, I am a soldier who works in tandem with the Federation, and we are currently at odds with the Martian Resistance. It's just a matter of circumstance."

"...And I have never had dolphin, myself. Perhaps I'll have to try it someday. Have you had Chinese before?"

It looks like Ascian is about to say something... but those words just shut him down in a ways. So, instead of telling him he'd never had Chinese before, he just shakes his head and turns his gaze away from Tetsuya. He looked... disappointed. Similar backgrounds, and the man had seemed understanding. Yet now... they were at odds. Tetsuya mentioning being part of the EFA, something he already knew, still had an effect on him, due to the long term mental treatments he'd gotten within the military. The young man continues to just eat without saying something; Tetsuya was not likely to get anything more out of this soldier for a while.