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1.[Up on Star Rose-it's school fieldtrip time! A bunch of kids and a few chaperones are wandering around the shopping and observation decks, getting their first views of SPACE! Actual, real life space! This isn't a particularly strange occurance, but one of the chaperones is familiar to the UG people-it's Sarah, that woman who's always trying to kill Volya. And right now, she's watching a bunch of kids stare out a window at the earth below.]
Still beautiful, huh...
Still beautiful, huh...
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... Hello.
[Setsuko pauses as she realizes the identity of the person she's talking to.]
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[Setsuko glances at the group to make sure no curious young ears are overhearing this.]
If you want to do something to Volya, well, there is a lot of security around.
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But nah, I'm just here to help with my son's field trip for the day.
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...
Why are you doing this? You are not a bad person. You can probably see that we're not either.
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Oh, Sarah! I didn't know you had friends here. What's her name?
Ah, she's... [Sarah trails off, realizing she doesn't actually know Setsuko's name.]
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[Forced smile.]
We've met a little while ago, Sarah and I. It was, well...
[Surely she can't just talk about the whole extent of the circumstances here.]
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Oh, one of the people who helped cure him?
Yeah. So now he doesn't have to worry about being too sick to come to school...
[Off in the distance, some of the children are busy playing superheroes.]
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Yeah...
...We should probably be going. There's still a couple more places we've gotta hit before heading home.
Eh?! But that's not for hours, Setsuko can come along!
[Sarah just pinches the bridge of her nose.]
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I'm not exactly here for sightseeing you see. But thank you for the offer, really! I appreciate it.
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"Hell yes, it's beautiful." She says in agreement. "Almost makes me wish I took that job in the colonies."
She looks up. "What'cha doing here?"
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[She gestures towards the assembled children, who are all busy staring out at the earth.]
Jacob's school needed some help, so I figured I'd volunteer.
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'course, now Percy's got me cleaning up that mess of his...
[Sarah's gaze narrows as she looks out at the earth, for just a second.]
...You have any kids of your own?
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She shakes her head. "Besides, the way things are going at the U.G., my kid would probably stumble into a super-prototype's cockpit, or develop psychic powers...or grow an extra head!"
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Right, there's a military base here, isn't there...
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She glances at Sarah sideways. "Huh. You've got a funny look on your face."
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at least it's not the unity group...
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She scratches the back of her head. "Could I buy you a smoothie to make up for it? There's this real-good bubble-tea stall down that way..."
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...Actually, if you could get me that new cheeseburger they're making, the one with like seven patties? That'd be THE BEST.
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Dido heads off to a stall...then comes back a few minutes late with two seven-patties cheeseburgers in paper wrappings.
"Here ya go." She says, handing one over. "They looked so good I thought I'd try one myself!" She frowns. "Ah, you like pickle toppings, right?"
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She walks about, peering at Sarah from all angles.
"You really like Cheeseburgers, huh? And...oh man, you're swallowing it in one go? And breathing, are you going to breath at all?"
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Ah. Yeah, uh....My body's pretty crazy, so I tend to eat a lot...and I can hold my breath for a pretty long time.
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She unwraps her own burger and takes a dainty bite.
"Ishtsprttygood..."
She swallows, then extends her off-hand. "My name's Dido Sybil. And you?"
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It has that effect when you're looking at it. Do you get this chance often?
[So says the Abyss Empress in a calm tone.]
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No, I don't.
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Well at least you found time now.
[She looks over at the children accompanying Sarah.]
I don't mean to pry but... is one of them yours?
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And yeah, my son goes to this school.
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... He's older than me, isn't he?
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And you don't look like a person who regrets it either.
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And below you, is our homeworld. Part of what actually holds the Star Rose up despite its size is its own momentum, carrying it in effectively a stable orbit above the surface. Despite everything you may have heard...
[Admittedly, it helps as therapy after Sparta.]
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[Guess whose son he pointed to. Just guess.]
Do you know why this station is called the 'Star Rose'?
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Is it because the radiation shielding makes it look like a flower bud?
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[He turns, unwittingly, to the boy's mother.]
But it is said that the station architect... used the government's funding to build it entirely for the sake of his beloved, and extending his hand like this, said 'To you, my Star Rose'.
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[VG approaches with a confident swagger in his step but a strangely calculating look in his eye.]