In the sunlight's shine

[not_a_prize]

1)
[Peola's wandering around the city Sakihama base was located. No offense to her usual posting at Star Rose but right now she needed to take as much time as she needed to walk around while the sun was bright and shining. It wasn't exactly that it was a necessity though, it was just something she was always used to - like waking up early in the mornings to train with her brother and ditch some of her more irritating suitors or most useless of classes her father heaped on her. She had to admit she was feeling a bit roughed up after the Shadow Mirror attack.... the dubious perk of being a security guard.]

[As she meanders along the sidewalk she feels a familiar presence of someone in the Unity Group close by, enough to make her stop to look around.]

2)
[Sitting in the Hangars, Peola is looking up with an expression of mild annoyance at Regalis Filia. Pressing her hand to its foot, anyone with a ki sense would feel  the pulse that ran through her hand and echoed right into her machine. What was different though was the faint moment it glowed blue from its seams, with numerous patterns lighting up across its armor and scarf. Then they flickered and faded in an instant, making Peola sigh irritably.]

Damnit... if it wasn't for that Loni jerk...

Comments

1

[whats_a_good_end]

[A familiar presence and the familiar sound of a guitar, to be precise. It's a soft, light tune, one easier to make out whenever the doors for a coffee shop are opened by people either entering or leaving.

[On closer inspection, it's clear the coffee shop is a personal business rather than from an established franchise, with various pieces of donated art lining the walls and a menu advertising things like European Hot Chocolate. There's advertisements for bi-weekly poetry jams too, and off in the corner... there's Ana playing her guitar, giving the cafe its cozy atmosphere.]

[not_a_prize]

[They didn't exactly have coffee back home, franchise or no. The smells though were pleasant to the alien princess, almost relaxing in their own way as the atmosphere helped the bluenette get her mind off things. Peola moved over to sit close by Ana's little corner of the shop, giving the blonde a small wave and a smile.]

[whats_a_good_end]

[A bit preoccupied with her music, Ana can't spare a hand to wave back at Peola. But she still smiles at her friend and goes into her music with a brighter smile and enthusiasm. The tune's a much more happy one than the soft, sad one she played for Peola previously too.]

[not_a_prize]

[Which made for a pleasant change indeed. Very few times she watched someone playing for her, she picked up more than a few very irritating signals. Now it was just cheer and goodwill. So she sat back and enjoyed the music with a mug of that European Hot Chocolate she saw was up on one of those boards.]

You really are pretty damn amazing Ana...

[whats_a_good_end]

[At the end of the hour the performance finally came to an end, Ana beaming from the compliment.]

It's nothing, just putting what talents I have to good use.

[She exchanged a few quick words to the man behind the counter, who made her a coffee and a bagel. She then sat down next to the alien princess.]

The budget cuts thanks to Loni hit everywhere pretty hard, including the mess hall. Fortunately I was able to get unofficial job providing music for the clientele here.

He's got no interest in my art though... but I don't blame him.

[not_a_prize]

[Peola's expression dimmed just a little.]

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out how to help out but a lot of the things I learned back home were all... well... most of it won't get me a part time job. And I'm already working security.

[She takes a gulp of the thick, sweet drink. Savoring the full bodied chocolatey warmth before making something of a face when she realized she still had some on her upper lip and proceeded to lick it off. No need to waste a good thing on a napkin. She looked a little more curious at the mention of art.]

You're an artist too?

[whats_a_good_end]

Glad you're liking the drink. It loses something to it if it cools down too much if you ask me.

As for the "artist" thing, well... fingerpainter. Some don't consider it proper art, but I wound up getting a soft spot for it.

[She holds her hands up, wiggling all seven cybernetic fingers.]

Got into fingerpainting to get a good grasp of my new left fingers after losing the originals in one accident. I upgraded to guitar after I lost my whole right hand, but never forgot the fun of just dipping my fingers in little tubs of paint and going wild.

[not_a_prize]

Guess I better finish it soon then.

[Peola paused though. She just kept forgetting Ana had missing parts. It didn't quite click with some of the people she met back home who experienced similar injuries.]

... You mean it isn't here? I mean I know a bunch of people back home that do it. Though... they did use ki to help out a bit to help guide the paint.

[The alien princess takes another sip, feeling the rising heat from the drink brush against her face. She shrugs though.]

Like you said, there's just something fun about it and if it helped you as well, that just makes it better.

... Guess that saying about Painters being as much a canvas as their works comes to mind.

2

[cloningblues]

What was that?

[not_a_prize]

That was me trying to figure out how to get Regalis Filia back to a hundred percent.

I mean the mechanics did a good job fixing things, but there's still a few things...

[cloningblues]

You mean it's not fully repaired yet? Everything beyond that should be up to the pilot, not the machine.

[not_a_prize]

Yeah... well... there's things that are really finicky here... it'd take a little more time and effort. There's also the whole thing with that Loni jerk as well.

[cloningblues]

Don't remind me of him. My stomach is starting to ache already.

What was that glowing pattern? Did you do that, or the machine?

[not_a_prize]

A bit of both. The machina that my home uses work both off of a regular power source as well as our ki...

I can focus my ki through Regalis Filia into its sword fine but it just isn't flowing properly through the rest of its body.

[cloningblues]

Ki? You mean you have special martial arts, like Ken?

...What else can you do?

[not_a_prize]

Er... well... I only know how to do a few things with it. Its mostly focusing it into things to fight with... like my hands or a weapon...

There's also a handy soldier's technique to use it to make a light with. I think one or two people who served under my brother used it to mess around with keeping their food hot and their drinks cold...

I know a few ki healers too.

[Peola shrugs slightly.]

Its... a major thing back home. You learn how to use ki almost as soon as you learn how to walk. I was kinda surprised how rare it is on Earth.

But there's a lot you've got us beat in. We've been using ki so much, there's ideas you guys got from going at it without that we never would have thought up.

[cloningblues]

That sounds like a very strange society. A magical kingdom from some kind of fantasy.

Ideas such as what? Healing without ki? Artificial light? Vehicles for moving around without jumping at great distance?

[Okay Asagi, you're just making things up.]

[not_a_prize]

... Now you're just making fun of me.

[cloningblues]

I'm not! I'm genuinely curious!

[not_a_prize]

People can heal without ki and artificial light isn't that much of a stretch.

[She gives Asagi a flat look.]

And we have carriages and trains you know.

[cloningblues]

But no cars? What else do you lack?

I'm not trying to look down on your people. You just said they don't have many things that humans do!

[not_a_prize]

But you-

[Peola takes a deep breath to calm down.]

Sorry. I just... Sorry.

Right... we don't have a lot of appliances. Or... any really. Or those television things.

[cloningblues]

No, I should've... made sure I'm not taken the wrong way.

What about computers? I can't imagine how can you have long-distance space flight without them.

2

[star_of_sad]

Umm.

[Setsuko hesitates before approaching.]

What's wrong?

[not_a_prize]

Well my machine's...

[Peola pauses. Trying to figure a way to word things.]

Its not broken. But its not working as good as it used to. When I tried to do something I normally could back home during a mission it just shorted out a little.

[With a deep breath she tried again, making it light up a little longer now, the ends of the scarf starting to float a little before it all died out and flopped back down lazily as if taunting the princess.]

I'd ask someone to take a look at it... but with what that bonehead I heard about did, its probably better if I hold out on that.

[star_of_sad]

[That bonehead, she said.]

Are you afraid people will think you're like Gavin if you request them to look at your unit?

[not_a_prize]

... Well that's one way of looking at it...

Everybody's already having a hard time as it is. If I ask for the mechanics to look into Regalis Filia it'd eat into their time and a lot of our stuff... I wouldn't be any different from him.

[Peola looks away.]

Everybody here's fighting for their lives as it is. And unlike that selfish sun-damned fool I actually respect and appreciate that and don't want to make things even harder.

[star_of_sad]

I appreciate the sentiment.

How different is your technology from Earth's anyway? It could take our technical teams a lot of time to get used to it...

[not_a_prize]

Well, not too different but not too similar either. Movement, half of its power... the sensors armor... all of that's the same but...

There's the things that you don't have that's the problem... Everyone on Magnolys uses their ki for almost all aspects of life, especially the fighters. Our fighting machines, the machina... they've got parts specifically designed to draw off that for all sorts of things.

[star_of_sad]

Some of units developed on Earth utilise the pilot's ki as well... I never thought I'd see something like that before joining Unity Group, yet it happened.

I wonder what caused your machine's abilities to diminish. Was it because of time and disrepair... or maybe something else altogether.

[not_a_prize]

There's a lot of things I never even would have believed when I came to Earth. I mean... we've left our home planet and lived on other worlds, but we've never even built things in space itself...

[Not to mention the whole slew of other things.]

...and it might be one, the other or both... its hard to tell...

[star_of_sad]

It's very strange... no, that's the wrong word to use. Fascinating - that we come from different planets altogether, but in the end, we are very much alike.

Our peoples, I mean.

[not_a_prize]

Yeah. I know what you mean. Its hard to believe that there might be more people who look like us out there too.

2

[actuallyselfish]

"Ooooh!"

Dido stands behind you, a mug of joe in her off-hand. She pumps her fist. "Do that again!"

[not_a_prize]

I don't think it'd help that much...

[Peola gives her machine a weary look before trying again. The flare up lasted a little longer this time though.]

Come on...

[actuallyselfish]

Now Dido's waving some kind of geiger counter thingy in your face. "Nice! Keep the data coming...I should be able to apply this to SolSavior's systems–boost the Solar Ki integration circuit and stuff!"

She lowers the recorder, suddenly confused. "Uh, what were you doing, exactly?"

[not_a_prize]

I'm trying to figure out why Regalis Filia isn't working at top form.

That thing with the glow is how its usually supposed to look when I get inside it. And it can do a lot more than it usually can too.

[actuallyselfish]

"Any mechanical damage?" Dido asks. "Maybe there's a tiny break somewhere you missed?"

[not_a_prize]

I'm not too sure... I mean if there was, you and the other mechanics would have found it right?

[actuallyselfish]

"True, true." Dido says, running a hand up and down the Regalis's hull plating.

"If that's not it...well, my next best guess would be that the Regalis is reacting to your emotional funk? Cliche, I know..."