Shattered reflections

[ugyuuya]

[1]

[In one of the smaller lesser used workout rooms Yuuya is busy working over a heavy bag with a particular fervor.]

I try to point out the flaws in her logic to help her and she turns it back to an attack on me. Just like Yui, her little flunky Ken, and half the goddamned Japanese personnel here. Support crew talking like they think I can't understand while Yui's got me on her damned leash and not saying word one to them about it.

[He proceeds to move from the bag to free-weights.]

So what if I don't match their little happy world views and want to keep grounded in a realistic frame of mind. That's a "poisonous" attitude? I guess that's what my grandfather meant about being underhanded and untrustworthy with their attacks. So what if Volya was "saved" from his attackers and given a healthy place to finish growing up in. In the end he's going to have to stand up and fix things himself like every kid who's stuck in a poor situation. Not like he has to worry about a loveless family being the only thing outside of military service that he'd have to return to and at least he seems to remember more than one member of his family fondly. People are willing to support and help him not worry about a superior who makes inordinate demands and then quotes pretty little "proverbs" instead of actually useful advice.

[Yuuya pauses momentarily as he sets his weights down on a bench his breath ragged due to the length and intensity of his workout. He looks up into the mirror and glares as he tried ]

And worst of all is this damned appearance. I've shed tears and blood for the American forces, pushed myself to live up to their standards and expectations but to everyone else I'm Japanese. The Russians with their damned interrogators, Yui and her opinion of how disgraceful I am, Ken and his stupid "Japanese Pride" and Mizuki with her stupid maybe the Japanese person most in need of getting chewed out by you is the one waiting for you in the mirror

"I'm American god damn it! Stop holding me to the stupid standards of a country and father that I never knew you bastards!"

[With the last audible outburst Yuuya threw the weight into the mirrored wall, turned to deliver a kick to the sand bag that manages to add just enough momentum to it's swinging that knocks the stand off balance and tumbling into another rack of free weights. Turning on his heel he begins to leave, a look of frustration and anger on his face that is tinged by something else underneath.]

[2]



[Entering the workout room you see broken glass and spilled equipment. One of the Maintenance staff for the TSF teams is just beginning to clean up and you can hear him speak with a resigned sigh.]

"Damn it Yuuya, I thought you were past this type of shit. Guess someone managed to finally get to him again, haven't seen him do this since Leon started shit after his mother's death. I wish he'd at least have the decency to do these rages where it wasn't so heavy to fix things."

[3 -Locked to Mizuki]



[Mizuki is disturbed in her office by Vincent entering and closing the door behind him.]

So for someone so concerned about Volya and being a great savior you managed to turn someone who was trying to offer some reasonable advice in a rather sanctimonious way into quite the little ball of anger and self-loathing.

I know what he said wasn't the best phrased and playing devil's advocate with a human life is in poor form but really how many of his concerns were at least valid on some level. So I'm not going to be upset about you dismantling his arguments and calling him on his hypocrisy.

What I am upset about is that after our discussion where I came to you on behalf of Ken and the efforts of myself and Lt. Takamura to keep an official reprimand from falling on his record and you took that warning that his heritage is a sore point and purposely attacked it. Yes he's been an asshole and yes his fight with Ken was stupid but taking that kind of attack when you knew how it would hit him was unnecessarily cruel.

I had at some point hoped that you're history and being accepted into the Japanese culture could help him which is why I sought you out after the fight to talk. Now I'm just disappointed and more than anything would like to know why you'd have done that to him.

Meanwhile, on Star Rose...

[kill_all_vagans]

1.

[It's been a busy period of time for Flit, let me tell you that.  Getting situated, getting used to new threats -in addition to new aliens blargh-, and most importantly...]

Alright, now carefully... I'd rather we didn't have to use the AGE Builder to make a replacement for this one.  In fact, that would pretty much destroy the whole purpose of this!

[Along with some of the Diva's mechanic and engineering crews, Flit's been throwing himself into a new project: learning everything they can about the DODS Rifle so they can reverse-engineer it.  And doing that entails dismantling the entire thing to see just what goes on in it.  The outer casing of one side gradually is lifted up by a crane, exposing the inner workings of the rifle barrel and Flit can't help but snort a little bit.]

I hope this doesn't blow up in our faces.

[Especially since the hostage situation at the Sakihama base would've gone differently had those police machines been using stronger beam guns.]

2.



[As much as you'd think Flit would commit every waking hour to his work, well he's still got some of that child innocence left in him.  The kind that means that when work for the day comes to an end, he decides to pick up where he left off in exploring Star Rose.  The layout's so different from Nora... and more than anything-

[Oh hey, there's some fish outside of the window.

[Wait.  He turns, looking and... he can see the refracting of light through the water outside, the fish swimming to and fro.  It's not a hologram, that's for sure.]



This...

How long have they had this here?

To Become More

[tiger_ken]

[1]

[Its been a few days since the encounter with the Knights of the Guiding Hand, and in particular, since Ken found himself on the receiving end of the Tiankui, and its pilot. After spending some time recuperating, and checking in with the others who were there, Ken's decided that a few things need to change...

And thus, inside one of the many empty buildings used to cover the existence of the Sakihama base, Ken can be found setting up a gym for himself, out of various scrap and other bits that he could find lying around. Of course, him sneaking all this out wasn't exactly possible without gaining someone's attention, which might explain why you're here...]



Right...

[He seems... oddly relaxed, compared to his usual self. Also, he evidently has a different set of clothes.]

[2]

[Hours later, he's back at base, but one may have noticed him going over some rather ancient looking scrolls in and around the compound. The things look more like they belong in a museum than in some teenager's hands, but he's studying them quite thoroughly with interest and intrigue...]



To think they had to figure all this stuff out back when the gun was a curious idea...