Fabrication Bay
Molli leaned against the fabrication machine, arms crossed, and met Charbon's gaze with a characteristic frown. "Dunnae worry, ah remember th'mission well," she said, "Couldn't forget it if I tried." She lived in a society of logic and reason, but she couldn't explain why, of all the things she retained from that digital mind, the trauma of the war was the most vivid of her memories.
"They found ya dead," Molli replied dryly, as though she was summarizing a particularly boring bit of trivia, "Prolly ate yer gun." She put two and two together and surmised that Charbon might have killed herself to keep from compromising the crew, as she said. "Gunned down lotsa NMX, one of us mighta gotcha," Molli shrugged, seemingly not caring which of those possibilities was the truth.
Obviously having a visceral reaction to Molli's original assessment, the former NMX stayed quiet. As if a harsh wind had swept through the door and into the room, Charbon shook out her shoulders and rubbed her rising goose flesh.
"Well I would say I hope it was all worth it, but your contradictory captain is gone and my knowledge is only being used to find her and not to quell the war." Charbon had spoke earestly, then added a thin facade by adding, "Finding her is no doubt noble."
"Sa little thing called comradery," Molli said, eyes narrowing, "Summat th'Mishhu dunnae know ah thing about. Y'know, y'got some high opinion of y'self," Molli leaned off of the fabricated and stepped closer to Charbon, "Who th'hell d'ya think ya are? 'Quell th'war,' like yer th'only one what ken win it for us," she jabbed Charbon's shoulder with her finger, "Only thing we've heard from ya is cryptic shit 'n empty promises."
Quick to meet venom with venom, Charbon spat, "I'd rather save millions than one- even if she wasn't one who had killed me. That is not my shortcoming but yours. Theirs."
She spread her arms wide and looked about at the walls of the fabrication bay as if trying to see past them and into the rest of the gunship.
"I spent the last two years rallying the least conceited soldiers to think of themselves for once. To think of their futures. Perhaps I have a high opinion of myself or perhaps I know just how important it is to value myself versus the alternative." Charbon said.
"Y'tell yerself that after shootin' yer own people?" Molli replied. She looked unimpressed and unconvinced.
Charbon took a moment to fixate on Molli's face, then said, more calmly, "Do you think those NMX I killed on Rabaal wanted freedom from the Mishhu? Do you really think I counted them among my people?"
"I wasn't just killing your enemy. I wasn't just clearing the room. I was killing Neko that were yoked to your archenemy. To my abusers." She had stepped forward, still fixed on Molli's bronze face. The former NMX's eyes darted around as if trying to soak up every minute part of Molli's character from this close vantage.
"Is that an issue for you?" Charbon asked.
Molli stared right back, unwilling to blink. She didn't want to cede any ground. "Ah dunnae trust anyone what ken justify shootin' their coves in cold blood," she said, "Hard t'say what yer gonna find 'necessary' next."
Charbon yielded first, blinking atop a neutral expression before turning away.
"As far as I'm concerned, I go along with whatever trivialities you people find necessary up until the point where it becomes apparent that Yamataians don't want to quell the war. I didn't jump sides just to serve different warmongers." Dark eyes on the machine still, she keyed in commands and some internal mechanisms on the fabricator started whirring.
Charbon then looked up at Molli. "Now you know what I'll find 'necessary' next."
"We got ah bullet fer ya if it comes t'that," the Nepleslian replied, without an ounce of remorse. "Maybe if more've yer masters were like th'ones what wanted ah ceasefire, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Tsk," Charbon hissed at Molli's threat. A full uniform had beenn printed and her upset tone continued to form full words, "I wish I was sewing these myself."
"'The ones what wanted a ceasefire'?" Charbon asked casually, "So your intelligence people have informed you of Elder Prinflarvirinth?
"Dunnae remember the names," she'd already forgotten how to pronounce what Charbon just said, "But me 'n Hoshi, we saw some of 'em talkin' about wantin' peace. Brought it up wiv th'higher ups, it...didn't go well." Molli rubbed her neck, which she was freshly grateful to have attached to a head still.
"How did it not go over well?" Charbon asked as she inspected the mustard uniform.
"They didn't believe it," Molli said, "Mishhu wantin' peace. Doubt they'd care if they did, yer old masters're monsters."
"Monsters that want rest," Charbon countered. "But have to fight their own to get it. You'll see soon enough."
Molli considered prying further, but if Charbon wasn't keen to explain what she meant initially, it was doubtful that she'd do so if asked right this second. Besides, they had a mission soon.
The former NMX folded up the first uniform to has been fabricated and patted it with her hands. Again her gaze went to Molli but her eyes fell further down than the Nepleslian's face this time.
Charbon asked a non-sequitor, "Are you shy with your body?"
The Nepleslian's demeanor took a hit with a question that blunt, which unknowingly prodded at one of her insecurities. "Ah dunnae flaunt around like th'rest o'th'crew," she said, somewhat defensively.
"So you will not be against trying this on," Charbon stated as she handed the uniform to Mollli. Her hands were clasped over and under the rough yellow fabric of the NMX field uniform as if she held some pride in the creation.
"Right now?"
"Unless you want to chaperone me back here later to make alterations, yes." Charbon answered.
Molli scoffed, "Alt'rations...everyone on here's short 'n stacked." Despite her grumbling, Molli began to shed the layers of her prim and pressed uniform until she was standing next to a pile of discarded articles in her plain underwear. "Gimme that," Molli said, reaching over and snatching the uniform from Charbon's hands, before kneeling down and slipping into it with haste. As she stood and fastened it, she examined herself with a hint of reproach -- blue was more her style.
"This'll fit m'other body, too?"
"No, you're quite right. Nekovalkyrja bodies fit a much more standardized set of proportions. Hence why i don't need to have your comrades try them on. I'll remake it," Charbon said all this as if she was in error, but her correction begged the question whether she had needed Molli to change in the first place if she knew she was switching into an NMX body before donning the uniform.
"Regardless, you have reason to flaunt it, to use your words." Charbon said as she waved a hand at Molli. "You have a subtle beauty many idealize, if not envy."
"Funny. Betcha say that t'all th'girls," Molli said, rolling her eyes. She let out a sigh, "Changed outta this fer nothin'..."
"Most are charmed by my call to resistance against their abusive overlords," Charbon said flatly. "Unlike you. And, I wouldn't say nothing."
"Only works if ah answer t'abusive overlords, which ah don't." Molli leaned forward, eyebrow raising, "Ah wouldn't call gettin' me down t'm'skivvies ah good use've either've our time, neither."
The bay door hissed open followed by a soft clack against the deck plating. Erika stepped dressed in a dark indigo fitted body suit with small emitters on it that glowed a soft purple. Over her shoulder she carried a black canvas bag and a drone, a silver bodied thing with winged airfoils arranged in a halo around it hovered over her shoulder.
"Getting along are we?" She said, taking up residence at a work station adjacent to Charbon's.
"Summat like that," Molli said.
"I'll bet." The operative said with a slight chuckle as she took a stiletto knife from the bag, then a small electronics kit and dropped it down on the work bench. "Hey Bryne-hei. Can I ask you something that's probably quite personal?" She said, casting her eyes over to the Nepleslian as she began disassembling the handle of the knife.
"Go ahead."
"Most Nepleslian's I've talked to in my time are a bit wary about ST technology." Erika said, her eyes on her task as the handle began to fall apart, revealing a chamber hidden within filled with electronics. "Yet you seem more willing than most to swap consciousnesses between bodies. Do you have any specific thoughts about it? Or do you kind of see it as no more complicated than changing clothes?"
"S'like...becomin' summat better than ah am," Molli replied, "Hoshi did nae want me t'do it, 'cause she thought ah'd lose m'self, but if ah'm ah better soldier, innit that th'right thing t'do?"
"I had a Nepleslian Heisho when I served aboard the Resurgence who was one of the best soldiers I've ever fought beside, or against in sparing." She smiled nostalgically. "She dropped me on my butt more than a few times despite my superior strength and reflexes. A different body doesn't necessarily make you a better soldier." Meanwhile she had turned to the small fabricator at the work station and had it printing the thin electronics and antenna layer of a Star Army communications badge.
"Ah ent her."
"Being a better soldier is nothing if you do not have a strong sense of self," Charbon chimed. "Your captain knew that. It sounds like she would want you to be you when searching for her."
"Yeah, well," Molli held up her mechanical arm and wiggled her fingers, "S'fer th'disguise, she'll unerstan'." There was a stubborn finality in how she spoke, "Ah ent gonna be ah problem, alrigh'?"
Erika began soldering the wafer to the battery of the blade. "The disguise doesn't have to hold up as long as it did the last time. If you keep silent and stay out of sight the chances of you blowing our cover is negligible." She then sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I can't calculate if it will make you a better soldier, or help the mission. If you want to go ahead with it, its not my place to comment." She then smirked, "But thanks for answering my question."
Molli, who started gathering articles of her discarded uniform and folding them neatly, merely shrugged.
"Its put me down an interesting line of thought though." Erika continued after a moment. "From a logistical and physical standpoint, it could be argued that the Star Army's commitment to incorporating a diverse set of races into its armed forces is a waste of resources. Nekovalkyrja can be ready to deploy 30 days from creation, and have an abundance of everything you want in a soldier. But we're predictable.
"Our skillsets and education are standardized. As a homogeneous force we'd have weaknesses that can be exploited. Having other races in our force to point those out and exploit them in friendly environments is an incredibly beneficial service, and makes Nekovalkyrja more diverse as a result." The electronic device she was working on hummed and glowed before levitating off the work station.
Charbon had set her eyes on her work but at the end of Erika's thoughts, scoffed. "If you are trying to bait me, it will not work. You are so simple." Her accent had grown thick as she turned her nose up at Erika, thinking the operative had some under-handed manipulation tactic at play. "You and I both know it does not work with the Mishhuvurthyar and Nekovalkyrja . Why should it work with a Nepleslian playing managing weaknesses?"
"Dunnae think most'd care," Molli said, thinking back to incidents in basic training, "Hard t'argue y'ent good enough as is. 'Sides, if y'need diverse thoughts, just plop some brains in Neko bodies. S'like goin' full 'borg," she said. Molli referred to the Nepleslian taboo of over-augmenting one's body, "But, y'know, wivout th'downsides."
Erika looked at Charbon and pulled a face. "Bait you into what exactly? I'm simply musing" She shrugged and continued to reassemble the weapon
Charbon looked ready to say something inflammatory to Erika, but her expression mellowed and she replied, "Your Nepleslian has me on edge, perhaps. What do you believe, is it possible to end this war? To at least let those that wish freedom from hostilities a way out?"
"Her Nepleslian?" Molli said, bristling at the choice of words.
Erika vibrated softly as she chuckled at Molli's response before her expression flattened. "I believe that Yamatai and the SMN are existential antagonists." She said with a serious inflection. There was a pause as though she was considering her words. "Either we win and the Mishhuvuthar will be exterminated, or they win and we'll all be enslaved or devoured. But, I think we should liberate as many Nekovalkyrja currently enslaved by the Mishhuvuthar as possible. So, 'to at least'."
Charbon wrinkled her nose at Molli. It was a childish gesture but the dead air from her side of the conversation gave the look of a grimace rather than a playful appearance. She didn't look at Erika but mulled over her words, regardless.
"Perhaps we do need to find your captain post haste," Charbon reflected finally. "So I can determine if she really is the only Yamataian not bent on extermination of either or both sides. If I was wrong about her, more than just those Neko I killed on Rabaal are doomed." Her grey brows furrowed pointedly over her dark eyes as she said this last point to Molli. "We all are."
"You're in a position to change our minds, you know?" Eirka said to Charbon with a raised eyebrow. "Prove yourself a trust worthy asset, then show us how we can coexist. The Mishhuvuthar and Nekovalkyrja are both genetically engineered combat bioroids. Our programming is just different. I hold no malice when I say they need to be exterminated, its just the logical conclusion I've come to with the information I have at hand. I believe any armistice or peace between us will be seen as an opportunity to rearm and rebuild for another offensive against Yamatai." The stiletto knife, now reassembled, floated above the workbench. "Give us information that can illuminate a path to coexistence, and maybe we can walk it."
"With the information you have at hand," Charbon asked Molli, knowing now that the Nepleslian had listened in on Prinflarvirinth's and other Elder's argument with other, more aggressive warlords. "Do you agree?"
"Ah were th'one who pushed th'captain t'bring up what we saw," Molli said, but from her disgruntled expression, it was easy to surmise how that meeting went. "If we couldn't convince anyone, ah dunnae value yer chances." For once, Molli looked almost sympathetic to Charbon and her plight. "Aiko'd prolly cut m'head off fer even considerin' it."
The forner NNMX crinkled her nose again, this time looking playfully at Erika, "Which only underscores your suggestion. I... am not sure I am qualified for such a task, to live harmoniously. To coexist. But you do seem to be right."
Charbon lifted the newest fabricated uniform up to Erika, "This one is for you." Looking to Molli, who was still in the mustard field uniform(?), a smile splayed up to her high cheekbones as she added, "No need to try it on."
Erika shook her head. "No need." The dark purple suit she was wearing flashed and shimmered, slowly focusing into the mustard colored NMX fatigues, far more baggy than the body suit she was actually wearing. "Since I get the honor and joy of surrendering myself for torture, I may as well use the tools of my trade in the interim." The stiletto flew through the volumetric hologram into its holster. "Should fit Kitsurugi-Chusa though." She said before putting a hand on Charbon's shoulder. "I'm serious though. Paint for me a picture of how a lasting peace can exist, and I'll do what I can to help you pursue it. Its not going to happen if you don't shoot your shot."
"...Migh' as well help too. Keep ya outta trouble," Molli said.
Looking into the uniform instead of at the unlikely pair, Charbon focused on the
uniform's texture. She rubbed her thumb against it absently until she had found the words to speak.
"I will repay your trust in actions," Charbon said. "Not simply words. We will find your captain to solidify what I know: that you can trust me. Perhaps the benefit to many justifies the large task expended on one individual. I will paint for you that picture of coexistence. Lasting peace. If I can."
She had seemed so self-assured until her last sentence in which her eyes flitted down to the uniform once more.
Erika lowered her gaze, "And until then, we're still going to liberate as many of our sisters as possible."
"I would like less of my sisters to know the shackles that are their bonds to the Mishhuvurthyar. These clothes. I suppose it's your 'comradery' as you said earlier that will do so, perhaps.” Charbon mused.
Molli sighed again, "Ah'm gonna lose m'head."
