HEY GUYS! IM BACK WITH CHAPTER 5! I promised to properly introduce Casandra Fraiser, so I hope that actually happens. There's no reason for it not to really, unless something (loud crashes in the background)
James: IT'S PAYBACK TIME BITCH!
NO, NO, NO! DON'T YOU DARE HIT ME WITH THA-OUF!
James: AND STAY DOWN! Now then, let me just drag the body… oh, he was writing. Hehehe, time to set some things right.
CHAPTER 5
SETTING THINGS RIGH
NOT HAPPENING!
James: BUT I HIT YOU WITH A GOLF CLUB! HOW ARE YOU STILL UP?
BECAUSE IM THE AUTHOR BITCH! NOW YOU WILL PAY!
James: OH GOD! NO! NOT THAT! (Screams of pure terror)
THAT'S RIGHT! THE SUPER PIT!
James: (unintelligible bouts of terror)
Now then, lets get on with this so I can get some aspirin. Damn he hits hard.
CHAPTER 5
Explanations and a duel?
"What do you mean?" I asked, completely confused.
"You know damn well what I mean man. Where did you get the IS, how is your eye fixed, and no offence Yui but where the hell did you get a damn AI?" Robert demanded.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Yui yelled, popping up out of nowhere.
"I'm more concerned about how you're doing that right now…" I said, somewhat startled by her appearance.
"Not important J, and SHOULDN'T YOU BE DEFENDING ME SINCE IM A PART OF YOU?" Yui yelled, bringing me back to focus.
"Alright, alright, both of you calm down. Robert, before I answer anything I want you to apologize to Yui. I know you didn't mean to offend her, but regardless you did." I said.
"Fine. Yui, I didn't mean to offend you, but I'm sorry for doing just that." Robert apologized with a bow afterwards, which surprised me. "Now, James, will you please answer my question?" He questioned.
"Tabane." I said in a defeated sigh. "I got it all from Tabane Shinonono."
"YOU WHAT?" Robert exclaimed.
"You remember that strange stalker I told you about? The one who messaged me on Worlds? It turns out that it was Tabane." I explained.
"Why does that not even feel surprising?" Robert face palmed while Yui laughed at his reaction. "And it answers most of my questions. So why did she give it to you? And what is with Yui? I've never heard of an IS core who acts like her."
"That's because I'm special!" Yui said happily, completely forgetting Robert's insult earlier. "Most modern IS units interact through the operator's dreams after getting use to his or her thought process, decision making, and combat techniques. Tabane didn't intend for that to happen during the construction, but it was unavoidable. As of today, I am the only core to be able to actively interact with my operator outside of his dreams."
"Well I understood most of that. Still don't get why your eye is working normally though." Robert offhandedly said.
"That's because it's not an eye. It's Yui." I explained.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Wat"
"Didn't I explain most of this already at the stadium?" I muttered. "It's a prototype prosthetic eye that also happens to be an IS core. Something about actually being inside of me increases the compatibility between me and Yui."
"I told you it's because we have a higher sync rate since your part IS and I'm part human." Yui explained. "Were able to interact and strategize much faster than IS pilots who achieve third shift and become hybrids because of our direct connection to each other's cognitive processes."
"Starting to lose me there." Robert said, holding his head. "And I think I'm going to get a headache if I try to understand."
"BECAUSE WE SHARE A BODY WE CAN FIGHT BETER AND REACT FASTER." Yui yelled at Robert, causing him to fall backwards in his chair. "Oups! Sorry!" she said sheepishly.
"Ughh, its fine. Defiantly going to need an aspirin before bed though." He groaned.
"Well, any other questions?" I asked as I pulled Robert back up.
"Just one. Why the hell is Tabane helping you? Or us? Or you two?" We both looked at Yui, who shrugged. "Did you offer her anything that would peek her interest or something?" Robert continued.
"Well she's the one who contacted me at first." I mentioned. "Other than that I told her about the Starg-"
"WHY ARE YOU TELLING HIM THAT!?" Yui yelled.
"Because he already knows about it? Oh right! Yui, Robert here was the engineer who was with me when I first activated an IS at the Mt. Cheyenne military complex where the Stargate is located." I explained. "He knows about the program so its fine to tell him. Just no one else." At least for now.
"Wait, you told Tabane about the Stargate program?" Robert asked, and upon receiving nods of approval from me and Yui, he continued. "What's the cover story?"
"That I only hinted at it, but it was the program where the advanced tech in Rouge came from. In return for the VERY LITTLE information I gave her, she gave me a custom IS on the condition that she got to design it and reserved the right to revoke it should I have just wasted her time." I told him. "In reality, I told her everything and were probably going to be seeing her a lot in the coming months."
"Not sure if that's a blessing or a curse." Robert deadpanned.
"You haven't met her, so I don't want to hear it from you yet. I'd only let Ichika, Houki, or Chi-Chan complain. Yui goes without saying." I added when Yui looked upset.
"Who?" Robert asked.
"Oh, right! Tabane calls Ms. Orimura Chi-Chan as a pet name. I guess I unconsciously just pick it up." I explained.
"Alright! More to tease her with! Anyway, I can't wait to examine your IS. Something created by the great Tabane should be a marvel to look at." Robert said while he stifled a yawn. "Got any plans for tomorrow?"
"Yeah, helping some girl with her IS. Casandra Fraiser." I said offhandedly. "After that it's probably getting use to the Mark II, or is it the Mark V now that it's in first shift?"
"Eh, take your pick. It's got the armaments of the Mark II but the appearance and design of the Mark V. Both would be correct." Yui shrugged.
"Wait, Casandra Fraiser?" Robert asked. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"It's familiar to you too?" I asked, surprised that he thought the name was familiar as well. "She thought I looked familiar as well. I thought it was just me being one of the first male IS pilots but apparently not."
"You said you were going to be training with her tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yeah. What time was that at again Yui?" I asked.
"It's at 9:00. And don't think that I'm going to be your personal day planner J. I'll help you but only if you meet me half way." She answered.
"I just needed clarification!" I wined. She turned and looked at me sternly. Wait, was that demonic aura emanating off of her? How the hell is she doing that?
"We both know that's crap, and I won't tell you how I'm doing it." She read my mind. Note to self, get better mental barriers. Why do I have a feeling things are going to get weird with someone reading my mind? "I don't know." DAMN IT! KNOCK IT OFF YUI! "Awww, no fun!"
"What did I just miss?" Robert asked.
"NOTHING!" Yui and I said together.
"Alright…. I think I'll just see you tomorrow during the training session…" Robert muttered as he slowly crept out of the room. Yui and I were left standing in my room, alone. Is this awkward? Nah, this can't be awkward. It's just a High school military member, alone with a young girl who just so happened to be an AI.
"It's awkward."
"Do you really have to read my mind?"
"No, but its fun to make you squirm a bit. My tests say it keeps you on your toes more."
"Wonderful… Can you go to sleep for a bit? I gota take a shower and I'd rather not have you in my head while I wash…"
"Bathrooms are automatic off-limits for me, your fine."
"Oh, and here I was worried that you might have watched me go to the bathroom at Tabane's." I said as I walked to the bathroom. Apparently my hair had grown from when I last checked, as I looked in the mirror. Long enough for me to think about needing a haircut. All well, time for a blissful shower in absolute privacy. Around half way through, the worst thing possible could have happened to me. In more ways than one.
"Incoming call J!" Yui said as she appeared, not only in the shower with me, but also adjusting her avatar so that it looked like she was actually wet from the water.
"Wait! What are you doing in here? And who's calling?" I panicked.
"Tabane's calling silly! That means I can do what I want within reason to tell you! Now here she is!" Yui said as a screen appeared, with none other than Tabane's face pressed right up against it.
"HEY THERE J-KUN! ITS YOUR FAVORITE GENIUS, TABANE!" she greeted, rather loudly I might add.
"WHY ARE YOU CALLING WHILE IM IN THE SHOWER?! AND WHY DID YOU LET YUI HAVE BATHROOM ACCESS TO SIMPLY LET ME KNOW YOUR CALLING?!" I yelled.
"Hi Tabane-San!" Yui said, jumping onto me and showing herself on screen.
"Hi Yui-Chan! I hope you're getting along with J!" Tabane said, completely ignoring my complaints.
"HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" I yelled. Great, my neighbors are probably all going crazy with my yelling, or insanely curious as to who I'm talking to while in the shower.
"I just wanted to let you know that I signed on with that group you mentioned! I know you couldn't say much, BUT THIS PLACE IS AWSOME! THERES SO MUCH ROOM OFF WORLD FOR ME TO BLOW STUFF UP!" she yelled, clearly over excited. Suddenly I realized that if she was saying what our cover story was, someone else had to be… oh no.
"Tabane! Don't use the gate just to make a call!" someone's voice said from the screen.
"I'm not! I just used it to ESTABLISH the call! Once it was up I shut down the gate!"
"How do you even… WHO ARE YOU CALLING FROM A DIFFERENT PLANNET ANYWAY?!"
"Tabane… Please don't do what I think you're goin-" I tried to say.
"Well James, obviously! I was checking up on him and the IS I gave him!" Why did she say it like it was the most obvious thing in the world?
"Who?" the voice said before the screen shook and I saw the face of one, particularly gruff colonel. One I knew too well from MANY incidents that involved Robert and him butting heads.
"JAMES! WHY ARE YOU CALLING TABANE WHILE SHE'S WORKING! AND IN THE SHOWER NO LESS? HAVE SOME DECENCY!" Jack O'neill yelled into the microphone.
"SIR SHE CALLED ME! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! AND KEEP IT QUIET, THE WALLS ARE THINNER HERE THAN I LIKE!" I hissed at him.
"Who's that with you?" he asked, noticing Yui on screen. "You're not into little kids, are you? You better not go after Casandra. Doc would get pissed at you for that!"
"Wait, who? And this is Yui, my IS core's personality. She isn't even physically here, and even if I wanted to, WHICH I DON'T, I couldn't do anything!" I explained.
"Uh-huh. Sure. Anyway I figure I should fill you in since you stopped checking in with your CIA messenger buddy. You remember Casandra Fraiser? Doc Fraiser's adopted daughter?"
"I thought she looked familiar. WAIT, LITTLE CASSANDRA CAN PILOT AN IS?" I almost yelled.
"Yeah. Something about the Naquadah in her body lets her operate an IS better than a normal pilot. I don't know the details, but I think Carter here could fill you in if you want." Jack said.
"NO! PLEASE NO! I understand just fine, I don't want ANYONE ELSE SEEING ME IN THE SHOWER PLEASE!" I exclaimed. "Actually, CAN YOU CALL ME BACK AFTER MY SHOWER? OR WAIT A MINUTE SO I CAN GET OUT?"
"I guess. I have no clue how to operate this damn thing. Hey Tabane," Jack said, turning his head to find Tabane, and apparently didn't like what he was seeing, "HEY! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TOUCHING THINGS! Now get over her! How do I put this damn thing on hold so he can get out of the shower?" There was some mumbles from the line, probably Tabane telling Jack what to do, then the screen froze. I dismissed it and told Yui to leave so I could get dressed. I quickly put my clothes back on, walked over to my desk, and brought back up the screen with a HEAVY sigh.
"Hey James!" Another familiar face said, appearing on screen.
"Hey Sam. How's Jack dealing with Tabane?" I asked.
"I think you know that already." She answered with a laugh. Jack was well known for not enjoying the company of most scientists unless they proved themselves capable of handling themselves in a fight. Sadly, said fights were FAR too common when it came to SG-1's team. It was almost like the universe had it out to get them ALMOST EVERY TIME they stepped through the gate.
"Strange, I thought he would have gotten along with her. Then again, she does act like an energetic kid."
"You can say that again. She basically has touched EVERYTHING since we got here." Carter said with a sigh. "Anyway I heard you and Casandra met up. Treat her right James, or else!"
"Will you please not put that image in my head? I'd rather not do anything to the little girl who always popped into maintenance to hang out. She's like a little sister ok?"
"Whatever you say." Carter said with a smirk and a playful wink. "Well, Tabane wants to talk again, but keep it short. We may be at the Alpha sight, but the last thing we need is for something to happen."
"Rodger that." I said and Carter's face disappeared from the screen. Seconds later, Tabane's face was pressed up against the screen like she was trying to come through it, and I was honestly surprised when she didn't.
"YAY! I GET TO TALK TO JAMES AGAIN!" she yelled.
"Tabane what did you want? I need to finish my shower and get to bed."
"I wanted to talk to you about some new upgrades to your IS obviously!" Right… because you made it SO obvious. "So what were you thinking? A high powered rail gun? Some improved shields? The sky's the limit for upgrades from what I've seen here!"
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself at least." I muttered, before I came up with a GREAT idea to punish Tabane AND annoy Jack some more. "Hey Tabane, how about a challenge?"
"What type of challenge?" she asked, immediately perked up by the thought.
"Well, I have a training session tomorrow at 9:00 in the morning, so how about you get something to me by then, if you can manage it that is?" I said with a smirk.
"Deal, but if I do, you have to do any one thing I say!" she countered.
"Fine. I'll be waiting Tabane! Goodnight." I said and the screen went blank before disappearing.
"You know she's going to do it." Yui said, popping up on the desk in her little, what was that technically? A pixie or a fairy? Regardless she was her smaller self, sitting on the edge of the computer the school provided with her legs dangling off.
"Yeah, I know. But now she's going to be in a frenzy to get it done which will be her punishment for calling me in the shower. Plus it's fun to annoy Jack and Tabane is the perfect weapon to do that." I said with a small laugh. "Now then, miss LIED ABOUT BATHROOM PRIVACY…" Yui gulped.
"I-I didn't really lie about that! I'm just programed to be able to go in when theirs a call from Tabane coming in!" Yui explained, getting up and backing behind the computer screen slowly. I quickly reached out and grabbed her, making sure not to hurt her. And brought my face closer to hers.
"But you didn't have to answer the call for me, or get in the shower as well!" I said with an evil smile.
"NO! NOT THAT! PLEASE!" Yui yelled, reading my mind at what I was going to do.
"Next time I won't be as generous Yui." I said, letting her go. "Now then, IM GOING TO FINISH MY SHOWER IN PEACE PLEA-" A knock on the door cut me off.
"…"
"…"
"Someone's going to die." I muttered as I walked to the door and threw it open. On the other side was a shocked and startled Cecilia.
"Uh, h-hello James… I-I mean good evening." She stammered, trying to recompose herself.
"Oh. Hey Cecilia. Sorry about that, I've had a rough night." I explained.
"T-That's part of why I came over." I gave her a confused look. "You do realize I room right next to you right?"
"OHHHHH, YOU'RE IN TROUBLE NOW!" Yui yelled from inside the room.
'THAT'S IT! YOU'RE GOING IN THE JAR!' I thought/yelled at her.
'ILL BE GOOD I PROMISE!'
"Alright. Come on in and tell me what you heard." I sighed, moving out of the way so that Cecilia could enter. She blushed at the thought of going into my room, then hurried in when I gave her a look that I wasn't particularly in the mood to consider "proper edict." She took a seat at one of the desks and I flopped onto my bed, the only one that looked used at all.
"You don't have a roommate?" Cecilia asked, looking at the bed that was unused.
"Nope. Ichika was in here at first, but something happened to the rooming system and he ended up with Houki. Been on my own in here ever since."
"Robert doesn't sleep in the dorms?"
"Nope. He's technically maintenance staff, so he sleeps with the other staff members." I explained.
"Oh… OH!" she said, realizing it was just going to be the two of us in the room. Again, she suppressed her thoughts, realizing it wasn't in the mood to be thinking of pulling anything.
"So anyway," I said, sitting up and moving to the edge of my bed, "What did you hear? I need to know because some of it was classified, but mainly so that I don't have to fill you in as much."
"W-Well, I only started listening when I heard a male voice ask why there was a young girl in the shower with you…" Cecilia said nervously.
"That was Yui in there with me, WHO NEEDS TO GO INTO THE PUNISHMENT JAR FOR BARGING IN!" I said, getting up and grabbing Yui who had been hiding behind a lamp.
"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Yui yelled as I opened up a cupboard and took out a jar with a twist lid, plopped her in it, and twisted the lid back on. I then set the jar on my nightstand and turned back to Cecilia, who looked very confused and alarmed.
"She told me she wasn't allowed to go in the bathroom, then appeared saying I had a call, which she answered while I was still in the shower. Instead of leaving, however, she not only stayed, but changed her appearance so that it looked like she was showering with me." I explained to her, as calmly as I could.
"So you didn't invite her into your shower?" she asked.
"NO! Why would I do that? Not only is she an AI, but her appearance is that of a young girl!"
"Oh good. And here I was thinking I might have had to report you to the academy." Cecilia said with a sigh.
"So what else did you hear?"
"Well there was that little bit about a girl named Casandra, and then about Tabane touching something she shouldn't have. After that it got quiet until you started talking to someone named Sam for a bit and then talked to Tabane about your IS." Cecilia said, looking like she was actually trying to remember what she had heard. "Is this Tabane the same one that I'm thinking of?"
"Sadly, yes. Tabane Shinonono. What I'm about to tell you is classified by the US government, ok?" At Cecilia's nod I continued. "It turns out that my cyber stalker was actually her the whole time and that she was curious about me being able to pilot an IS. Understandable, since there's only Ichika and I who can, and she created the IS. Anyway, after my incident where I lost my eye, she contacted me and asked me to come see her. She questioned me on my IS, how I discovered I could pilot one, question after question until she asked about a program that I had been a part of before coming here."
"What program?" Cecilia asked.
"Sadly, that is even more classified." I told her. "But it's where my first IS, the Rouge, was developed."
"What did it have to do with a… what was the word." Cecilia said, trying to think again. "Ah, yes! What's a Stargate?"
"…"
"What? Was it something I said?"
"I never said that word, nor did anyone who was talking to me on the call." I said, getting very serious. "Where. Did. You. Hear. That."
"I-I-I" She stammered before there was a small crash. We both looked over and saw the jar I put Yui in on the ground, broken.
"J, that was mean!" Yui pouted. "And besides, no one on the call said that, but you and Robert did!"
"Which means…" I turned and looked at Cecilia seriously again. She looked visibly nervous and gulped. "I need to make these walls soundproof, or talk quieter in here." Cecilia let out a dramatic sigh.
"S-So what is it? The Stargate?" she asked.
"I can't tell you. Not yet anyway. No offence, but other than Tabane, I'll probably only tell Ichika. At least until I get to know people better."
"Why Ichika?" Yui and Cecilia both asked.
"Because it involves a dream of his. One that could easily be fulfilled if I told him about it." I muttered, just loud enough for the two of them to hear me. "Anyway, I believe I was telling you about Tabane before we got sidetracked."
"Oh right! Sorry." Cecilia apologized.
"It's fine. Anyway yes, I told Tabane about the Stargate Program, which is classified so you need to never mention it to anyone, ok?" she nodded. "Good. In return for some information, since I couldn't tell her everything about a classified program, she gave me a new IS, core and all. It's actually right here" I said as I pointed to my eye.
"Your eye?" she asked.
"Yup. It's a prototype eye that also doubles as an IS core. The only downside has been losing my privacy to a certain someone!"
"I told you I didn't technically lie about that!"
"Now then, it's getting late and I need to finish my shower. Remember Cecilia," I said as I led her to the door, "Tell no one."
"I won't. You can count on me James!" she said confidently.
"Alright. Well goodnight Cecilia. Sleep well."
"You too!" she said before going into her room.
Finally, I was alone (with the exception of the privacy invading Pixie/Fairy) and able to take my shower. This time, I was completely un-interrupted and, upon emerging from said shower, felt very relieved.
Yui had changed back to her larger form, and I still didn't know how she was appearing like that but ill save that for another time, and was laying on the other bed. There were a few holograms floating above her as she read them, but was otherwise quiet.
"Hey Yui, can you send a message for me?" I asked as I flopped back down on my bed.
"Sure, who to?" she said, not looking over from what she was doing.
"Tabane. Tell her that this is separate from our deal. Basically id like it if she could have someone come and DISCRETLY soundproof the room." I said as I knocked on the wall above my bed and heard a muffled yelp from the other side. "Cecilia, go to bed and stop listening in!"
"Sorry! This is where my wardrobe is!" she replied, her voice muffled through the wall.
"Fine. Just get to bed." I said as my eyes started to close.
'She said she'll have it done by next week at the latest.' Yui whispered in my head as I slowly fell asleep.
'Thank Yui. Goodnight.'
I didn't hear her reply if she did, because I passed out then and there.
THE NEXT MORNING
I awoke with a yawn as the sun's rays came through the window. Their warmth slowly warming my skin, but I could tell they were getting weaker. Fall was approaching and I couldn't help but wonder how that would look here in Japan compared to America. I rolled over to discover Yui fast asleep, only in my bed instead of the other. A soft knock came from the door and I got up, making sure not to wake Yui. I walked over to the door and opened it, only to discover Chifuyu standing in the hallway looking slightly annoyed.
"Morning Chi-Chan." I said with a smile, only to receive a much harder than normal clipboard hit to the head. Where did that come from? She didn't have a clipboard a second ago!
"How do you know that!" she hissed.
"Do you really have to ask?" I replied, moving my hands to the top of my head and simulated bunny ears.
"I should have figured. Just please don't let that friend of yours sta-"
"Too late. Sorry." Another clipboard attack. I'm seriously glad that Yui set up the shields to always be on. It's saving me an early morning headache. "Anyway, what do I owe this enjoyable visit? It's too early for a social call."
"Two things. The first being a complaint about noise from last night." She said, looking very upset at me.
"Not my fault. Tabane called while I was in the shower, and Yui answered.
"Yui?"
"Oh right, you two haven't been introduced." I said as I motioned her to come in. she let out a small gasp when she saw Yui asleep on my bed. "This is Yui. She's my IS core's personality. Don't ask why she's visible, and touchable for that matter, I still have yet to figure that out myself."
"Well, well, well. Tabane's pet project has finally seen light." She muttered. I looked at her and saw, appreciation I guess. Maybe it was satisfaction. It was hard to read her facial expression. Or lack thereof besides anger and annoyance.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I knew Tabane had something special when she created the IS." She explained quietly. "But it always felt like it was missing something. A true connection and friendship to the core's personality. We teach that the IS is a pilots partner, but I've tried to teach that in a literal sense because I knew something was missing. But I guess she's finally gotten it right."
"Actually Yui was the first." I said, receiving a confused look. "Yui's core was the first one that Tabane created."
"No, that's Ichika's core. It's registered as Core 001." She argued.
"It is. But Yui's Core number is 000." I countered. "Go ahead and call Tabane for confirmation if you have to." I walked over to Yui, who had stirred enough to wake up. "Morning sleepy head." I said as I ruffled her hair.
"Jjjjjjjjj!" she wined (Note: that sounds like someone stretching out the letter J). "Now my hair's all messed up!"
"You can just change it back." I countered, causing her to puff her cheeks and pout. "Anyway, we have a visitor."
"Who?" she asked and I leaned over so she could see. "CHI-CHAN!" Yui yelled as she jumped out of bed and tried to hug Chifuyu, only to get stopped by Chifuyu's hand.
"Well, I can tell you take after Tabane. Too much if you ask me." Chifuyu said in a sigh. "Still, it's good to finally meet Tabane's pet project. Yui was it?"
"Yup!" Yui answered happily, changing to her Pixie form and walking up Chifuyu's arm to sit on her shoulder. "IS core for the Mark II or V."
"So you're the reason I got so many noise complaints last night." Chifuyu said with a, wait, HOLY SHIT DID SHE JUST SMILE? I didn't think she was capable of any emotions besides annoyance and anger!
"Ummmmm, maybe…" Yui said, getting ready to disappear if she needed to.
"I'll let it slide this time, but be aware that if it happens again, I WILL administer a punishment, and it won't be only you." Chifuyu said, turning to look at me. "As her pilot and partner, you will have to take responsibility for her actions as well."
"Great. It like boot camp all over again." I said with a smile. "Don't worry, after a week, I don't think you'll be hearing a peep out of this room."
"Very well. Now, as to the second reason I came here, there's a package waiting for you in the maintenance bay for you. You'll know it when you see it. And next time don't have things delivered this early in the morning." She said as she turned to leave.
"Right… Anyway thanks for letting us know." I said before she shut the door, nearly getting Yui's wings stuck as she quickly flew back in.
"So, shall we go see what's in the package?" Yui asked excitedly.
"Nope. First off we eat. I'm starving." I stated.
"No surprise there, you didn't eat dinner."
"Not my fault, I wasn't hungry and then I never got the chance to grab a snack due to your antics and having to explain to damn near everyone."
"Right… Sorry?" Yui apologized as we walked out the door, heading to the cafeteria. Yui had decided to remain in her Pixie form and rode on my shoulder the whole way. Unfortunately, there were some other early risers this morning mingling in the hallway, and the chorus of "AWW's" only woke more people up to come see. Before I knew it, there was a mob of girls chasing me and Yui to the cafeteria, each one eager to either; eat with me, try to ask me out, or cuddle Yui to death. None of those were my preferable options, so as soon as I got to the cafeteria, I grabbed everything I would need to make my own meal and threw down some money before running off again, leaving the girls chasing me no time to know where I went.
"That was… too… close…" I said between pants. What, just because I can run a long time doesn't mean I don't get tired from sprinting!
"Why did… we have… to… run again?" Yui said, having fallen off early on and flew alongside me.
"Fangirls… evil…" was all I said.
"Rough morning eh?" a voice came echoing down the hall. We had made it to the maintenance bay, which was normally locked down to maintenance personal and third year pilots, but because of my background in engineering and the package that was delivered, I had been granted access whenever I needed in.
"Shut it… you're not the one getting chased are you?" I told Robert, who walked up to us.
"Yup, that's why I do the chasing instead." He said with a smirk. I gave him a one finger salute in response. "So, I take it you're here about that package that was, oh so rudely delivered?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, almost scared of the answer.
"Follow me." He said. I left the ingredients I had taken from the café in my IS holding pen, which felt ridiculously large compared to most IS pens, and followed Robert with Yui landing on my head and collapsing. We rounded a couple bends before coming upon the delivery area, where normally trucks with various parts would be parked as their cargo was offloaded by robotic forklifts. At least, that's what a normal delivery was like.
This one wasn't normal at all.
"How did she even… Never mind. I'm too scared to want to know how she did that." I said, looking at the room's current state.
"This is overkill, even for Tabane…" Yui commented "She must not have slept at all to get this to happen."
"Wait, so you two were EXPECTING this to happen?!" Robert looked at us, his expression clearly shocked.
"Well not this! I thought it would have been much smaller, and only one!" I said, looking out over the messy room.
That's being a bit generous even, this place was trashed. Tabane, in all her glory, had fulfilled her end of the challenge, and then promptly surpassed it. While I had been on her island base, I had seen several carrot like pods that looked like they were to be shot out of something as a method of delivery. What I HADENT seen, were the larger ones, and just how many she had.
Needless to say, the delivery room was all but destroyed as giant metal carrots rained down from the sky, breaking through the roof in several areas, and blocking off any access for regular trucks. The biggest one looked like it would fit three full sized tanks staked on top of each other, while the smallest one would fit a person.
"If I can say one thing, it's this…" I muttered, causing both Yui and Robert to look at me in confusion.
"I AM NOT PAYING FOR THE DAMAGES!" I yelled, completely terrified of how much rebuilding this place would cost. "MY SALLARY ISNT BIG ENOUGH FOR ME TO PAY ALL OF THIS IN MY LIFETIME!"
Suddenly, the carrots started to open, which startled Robert and Yui. I was too busy weeping on the floor to notice that, in order to open, the doors on these things shot off at high speeds, instead of just sliding open like ANYONE NORMAL WOULD DESIGN, FOR THEIR CARROT DROP POD DELIVERY SYSTEM, THAT DESTROYED A DELIVERY ROOM! But no, these doors had to SHOOT OFF AND BREAK MORE STUFF, causing whoever was expecting the delivery to almost have a HEART ATTACK!
Then, there was movement from one of the pods.
A robot, looking like Exo from the new game Destiny, stepped out and walked over to us. It stood there for a moment as other robots started to come out of the smaller, person sized pods and start to unload the cargo that had been in the larger pods.
"Which one of you are James?" the robot asked.
"WHY ME?! WHYYYYYYY" I walled.
"He is…" Yui and Robert both said, looking rather embarrassed by my display of pure sorrow and dread.
"Um… Well can you two tell him that, once were done unloading, we'll be repairing the damage befo-"
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOUUUUUU!" I shouted, hugging the leg of the robot tightly. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GRATEFUL I AM TO YOU ALL!"
"Right… I'm going to get back to work now…" the robot said, shaking me off its leg and walking off.
"Wow. You got really lucky there dude." Robert teased.
"You don't have to tell me that! I know that better than anyone!" I said as tears of joy ran down my face.
"Kill the water works man, it's almost like you're in some cheesy anime." He said.
"We are…" Yui mumbled.
"What was that Yui?" Robert and I both asked.
"NOTHING!"
"Well, I guess there's nothing else to do here until the cargo's unloaded. Shall we go cook some food while we wait?"
"Where are we cooking?" Robert asked.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
"I don't even want to know what your thought process was to manage coming up with this." Robert muttered as he sat in a chair in my IS maintenance pen.
"Don't question genus!" Yui and I said simultaneously. "Besides, it beats being chased by rabid fangirls if we head back to the cafeteria."
"…Fair enough."
"I thought so." I said as I continued cooking on the sheet of metal being held up by my IS. It really was a genus idea that me and Yui had come up with while running earlier. We were using the repulsor gauntlets to warm up the metal so it acted like a giant frying pan, though it did mean we had to lower the output of them so it didn't blast a hole through the metal. Right now, I was cooking pancakes and bacon. Yui and I didn't grab that much else, seeing as there was a large crowd behind us and there wasn't much time.
"Still, it smells great. When's it gona be ready?" Yui asked excitedly.
"Can you even eat?" Robert asked before being smacked by her. "Ok, how are you doing that?"
"Save it for another time, foods done!" I interrupted, handing a plate to Robert and Yui. "There's syrup packets in that plastic bag, as well as some butter." I said before digging in. Ahh, pancakes. The only thing that could make these better would be peanut butter and strawberries. Uncle Fisher use to enjoy gravy on his pancakes, and not once did it seem appealing to me, despite his insistent asking if I wanted to try it.
We ate in relative silence before the same robot that had talked to me earlier came in. "The cargo is unloaded and the repairs are complete. Tabane sends her regards and would like to remind you that you lost your bet." It said before walking away.
"THANK YOU!" I shouted after it before finishing up my food in record time.
"Dang you finish that quickly." Robert commented.
"I think it might be because I'm sharing my body with Yui. Higher metabolism to make up for the increased energy or something I think." I said, and with Yui not commenting, Robert and I took it that I was right. I waited for the two of them to finish eating, but Yui took her time simply because this was her first time eating food, a fact that surprised both me and Robert and prompted us to let her be while Robert and I took off.
"Seriously man," Robert said as we walked back to the delivery room, "how the hell is she doing that? Just being both real and artificial at the same time?"
"I have no clue dude, but I won't ask her." I replied.
"Why not?" Robert demanded to know.
"Because I don't want to push her. I'll just let her tell me when she feels like telling me." I said with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like it matters that much since she can always just go back to being an AI at any moment."
"How can you be so uncaring about this?" Robert questioned.
"Because I share my head with her, and don't think of her as an AI." I stated. "She's more like a friend and partner than a computer to me."
"You're crazy man."
"Dude, it's just like what they teach in class! The IS has a personality of its own, so they tell us to treat it like our partner instead of a machine!"
"Just saying, next to no one buys that crap."
"Alright, then let's ask Cecilia and Rin when we get a chance. They'll probably think like I do since they have personal IS's also." I said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's see what we got now, ok?" Robert said with a dismissive wave of his hand as we arrived in the newly rebuilt delivery room.
"Damn they sure know how fix things. It doesn't even look like the place was damaged." I commented as Robert went over to one of the crates and opened it. "Whadya got for me bro?"
"Looks like armor panels to swap out on your IS. Probably made the same way as the Rouge's armor was, and it looks like the same metals were used as well." Robert said, getting into his one track mind. "Got a couple new weapons, but nothing that looks like its stays in your suit. These are deployable like before-OH! Look at this beast!"
When I walked over to Robert, he pulled out a small section that looked like it when where my MTRS shoulder weapon went, only this thing looked a lot more complex. Robert set it down on a crate and pulled out a tablet, and after a few seconds it came to life, raising up and changing from its small shape to that of a shoulder mounted cannon.
"Damn! This looks like it could do some damage! What the hell is it?" I asked, feeling like a kid in a candy shop.
"It's a shoulder mounted grenade launcher." Robert said. "However, this function changes it to a rail-gun grenade launcher. Normally it looks like this when deployed." A few clicks on the tablet and it started to shrink down, growing bigger toward the back.
"Ok, now I can see how it would be a grenade launcher. Sorta." I commented. "Guess I was just expecting something like a 40mm MGL."
"These grenades are smaller, but pack a much bigger punch. Their filled with a water-Naquadah mixture with an alkaline igniter. These babies are as strong as a tank round at close range." Robert explained.
"WHY THE HELL WOULD SHE BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" I questioned/yelled. "And how did she even have the time?! You know what, I don't want to know anymore. I gota get ready for my training session at 9:00."
"Alright. I'll keep going through this stuff and sort it out for after. Might even be able to get some of it online for you to use during the match." Robert said, shifting through another box already.
"Alright, I'll see you later!" I said, running off to the male locker rooms to get changed. I quickly sent Yui a mental message, asking her to bring the IS over, seeing as the practice would be starting soon. She sighed and was disappointed that she couldn't keep eating, but I promised her to either make or buy something better for her later, and she quickly perked back up.
When I got to the locker rooms, I realized that they were quite new. When I had walked to the training grounds yesterday I had just worn my regular clothes instead of heading to the lockers to change, which had made the suit feel really tight. This time I'd be wearing my IS clothes, which consisted of a form fitting top that didn't reveal my midsection like Ichika's did, and form fitting pants that went down to my knees. Both were a light grey, with a black trim around the outside of it.
The only problem was, since they were form fitting, it was REALLY hard to put them on correctly without it feeling uncomfortable.
But, after several minutes of adjusting, I finally felt comfortable and ran out onto the IS launch platform, where Yui and a TV with Casandra's face were waiting.
"Took your time I see." Casandra said, teasing me slightly.
"Oh come on, these things are form fitting! Do you know how hard it is to make sure my little friend down there doesn't get squished or feel pain?" I asked before realizing just what I had steered the topic towards. "Umm, let's just forget I said that… And please don't mention it to Doc Frasier either. I don't want her coming over and killing me."
"Yeah, let's just… Wait, you know my mom?" Casandra asked, her eyes growing with surprise.
"I also know that you're not from around here, if you catch my drift. I'd rather not say this over an open channel." I said, as I invited her to a private channel that Yui had set up to be un-hackable. "There, now before we begin, let me say that yes, I know your mom, Jack, Sam, Daniel, AND Teill'k the Jaffa. I also know that you're not from this planet."
"How do you know this?" Casandra asked, her voice and look becoming much more serious.
"You really don't remember me? I know you thought I looked familiar, and I thought the same of you, but I remembered since yesterday." I said, teasing her slightly. When she looked confused still, I continued. "I'll give you a hint. We met at the Cheyanne Mountain complex where the STARGATE is being kept and used." Upon hearing that, her face visibly palled.
"I DON'T REMEMBER YOU, BUT I HAVE TO SINCE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE STARGATE!" she yelled, frustrated that she couldn't remember who I was.
"That hurts." I teased her with a chuckle. "You don't remember all the quality time we spent in the maintenance bay. You, me, and Robert all hanging out as me and him repaired and refit the various IS units that the SGC used."
"Wait… OH MY GOD I REMEMBER YOU! I CANT BELIEVE ITS YOU!" Casandra yelled happily and I started laughing.
"Yes, yes, it's good to see you again too. Let's save the reminiscing for later, since we only have limited time to use the training field, ok?" I asked, still laughing from her reaction.
"Oh, Right! Sorry!" she said sheepishly. "Let's get started then." There was a loud whooshing sound as Casandra flew out of her launch area, being aided by the launch mechanism built into the ground to provide extra momentum. It was a shame that same system couldn't be used for me as well. My IS was just too small. So instead I walked out, holding my IS in its standby mode. However, upon seeing Casandra's IS, I had a moment of surprise. Fate seemed to continue to mock me.
Because floating in front of my launch platform was the Rouge, my old IS.
"…"
"…"
"Ya know what, I'm not even surprised by all the weird shit that keeps happening to me." I muttered, trying to keep a straight face. "I thought the SGC, and America in general, didn't have enough cores to spare one for me. How did you get one? And why are you piloting the Rouge of all things?"
"Wait, YOU WERE THE PILOT WHO TRASHED THIS IS?!" Casandra yelled.
"That wasn't my fault! I was about to die, so was willing to do anything to survive!" I said before sighing. "Well at least I know the most about that IS's combat styles, though I never got much time to properly develop them."
"So you're the one who came up with this ridiculous paint job…" she muttered, but because of the channel she was still on I happened to hear her.
"HEY THAT PAINT JOB IS AWSOME!" I countered.
"DON'T READ MY MIND LIKE THAT!" she yelled. I decided not to correct her, seeing as my mind was being read lately. It was nice to be on the other side for once.
'That's evil.' Yui muttered, having disappeared as soon as Casandra had called me.
'That makes what you do evil as well Yui.' I countered.
'Touché'
"Alright, let me deploy my IS and we'll get started." I said, throwing the briefcase to the very edge of the launch area, it skidding to the very edge before going to set-up mode. I grabbed the handles and let the armor do the rest, slowly but rather epicly build itself around me.
"Whoa…" Casandra muttered, genuinely impressed by the way I was donning my IS. "That's impressive… if a bit impractical."
"It can deploy instantly, but that would be a waste unless it was an emergency." I said. "However, I do just let it return to storage instead of it slowly coming off."
"Makes sense. You always enjoyed making an entrance." Casandra laughed before a repulsor shot hit her shields. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"
"Lesson one, always keep your guard up. The Rouge has a large amount of shield points, but that doesn't mean you can be sloppy. Always keep yourself on guard." I said before using the thrusters to launch myself up like a jump before my fist collided with her shields. The force of the impact sent her to the ground, though it wasn't enough to make her crash into the ground. This was just practice after all.
"No fair! I wasn't ready!" she said as I landed in front of her.
"Combat isn't fair. Your enemy won't wait for you to be ready. They'll strike when you're vulnerable." I countered. "Now then, the Rouge-"
"Um, before you continue, can I just say that I changed its name?" She said sheepishly.
"… YOU WHAT?"
"I didn't like the name Rouge. It made it seem like the IS wasn't supposed to have a pilot."
"Well it was better than The Patriot, which is what the US was going to call it!" I complained. "Well, what did you change it to?"
"-tus…" she mumbled.
"What? I couldn't hear you."
"Invictus." She said, louder this time. "The poem. You know it, right?"
"Out of the night that covers me. Black as the Pit from pole to pole. I thank whatever gods may be. For my unconquerable soul." I said, reciting the poem. "In the fell clutch of circumstance. I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance. My head is bloody, but unbowed."
"Beyond this place of wrath and tears. Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid." Casandra continued. "It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate"
"I am the captain of my soul." We said together.
'Wow. Im surprised you knew that.' Yui commented.
'What, just because I enjoy working out and causing trouble doesn't mean I'm not intelligent. I was primarily an engineer, remember?' I said, defending myself.
'It's just surprising is all.'
"Alright, I can see how that would be a good name change." I continued, "So as I was saying, Invictus is primarily a close range IS that specialized in not just close range combat, but also at deflecting energy based projectiles off its armor. Why they thought of that, I don't know, considering once the shields are down the armor basically becomes dead weight."
"I take offence to that!" Yui said, finally making an appearance.
"WOAH! WHO ARE YOU?" Casandra yelled, very startled by Yui's sudden appearance not a foot from her.
"You explain yourself Yui. I'm going to set up the next lesion." I said, walking away from the girls and towards Robert, who had come running in.
"Alright, everything's sorted out and ready for its software to install. Any weapons that were deployable are already ready to be used, so that's a plus… Is that the Rouge?" he questioned as soon as he noticed Casandra standing in the arena talking to Yui.
"Yeah, and that's Casandra piloting it. Remember that girl who use to come into maintenance back at the SGC?" I asked.
"The one who had a crush on you, but you were too dense to realize it?" he jibed, but was silenced by a swift punch to the gut. Unfortunately, I had to REALLY hold back, seeing as I was in my IS still, but he lost his breath just the same.
"That was just some delusion of yours you bastard, but yes, her. Doc Frasier's adopted child who, just so happened, to be from a different planet." I said.
"Right…" he said when he got his breath back. "I remember her now… didn't she have a bomb in her when she first arrived?"
"Think so, but it's probably better if we don't ask her about it."
"No problems there. It's just nice to have someone else who knows about it all here." Robert commented.
"Yeah. Oh, ill probably be telling Ichika sometime soon. Remember how the President told us that we could recruit people if we thought they would be helpful?" I asked.
"That's what you might have heard, but what I heard through the political BS was; get as many people on our side as possible, while not telling them anything." He answered.
"Yeah, that! I think Ichika would be perfect because it's always been his dream to go to space. That and it's hard to keep from telling him that his chance to do so is a lot closer than he thinks."
"Irony's a bitch."
"Aint that the truth. Also…" I said before punching Robert again. "That was for you talking to loud last night, causing Cecilia to hear most of our conversation. Were probably going to have to tell her as well at some point, since she already knows the name of the program."
"My… Bad… Ill try… To be more… Quiet." He said through pained gasps of air. Shit, did I not hold back on that one? I thought I did.
"My bad dude, didn't mean to hit you that har-" I started to say as my helmet came off before he landed a punch square in my jaw. "Ohhh, you sneaky bastard. You got lucky there. If my shields were up, you would have failed… wait… WHY WERNT MY SHIELDS UP?"
'…'
'YUI!' I mentally yelled.
'Lesson one, always keep your guard up.' Yui quoted.
'You're lucky I said that you little… Gah, just keep my shields up will you?'
'Sure thing J!'
"Alright, since Yui's talking to me, I'll take it you two are acquainted now? I said, walking up to Yui and Casandra with Robert following me closely. "Now then, shall we continue? Our next lesson will be on flight, seeing as that's one of the IS's strongest defense and offensive capabilities…" I started to say. For the next two hours I drilled Casandra on the basics of piloting Invictus. I could already tell that she was going to learn this a lot better than Ichika would. He wasn't just dense when it came to girls, he was dense in just about everything besides cooking and massages (I learned that from a discussion that Robert and Chifuyu had about Ichika that Robert had shared with me, against my will.)
"Alright, I think you're getting the basics." I said after the time was up. "Keep practicing, and you'll be one of the most maneuverable IS pilots at the academy."
"But what about combat? Sure I can dodge well, but I don't know what I'm capable of still." Casandra pouted.
"Don't worry, we'll get to that next time. The tournament isn't for a week anyway." I explained. "I've been sparring with Ichika at night during the week so you can join us then. How's tomorrow night sound?"
"Sounds good, though I have to warn you, I've been training with Teill'k a lot so I won't just go down." She declared with a smirk.
"Good, ill actually have a challenge. Robert, you're getting Ichika tomorrow night!" I told him.
"Got it. You and your girl get to wrestle for the night." He said with a wink. Casandra started to blush intensely where as I turned towards him menacingly.
"Robert…" I said threating.
"OH GOD!" he said, running off like his life depended on it, which it currently did.
"Well, I'm off to hunt him down. Have a good rest of the day Casandra." I said, ruffling her hair before launching into the air and scooping up Robert, threatening to drop him.
'Well, today's been good.' I thought to myself. 'Now if only I can get it to last…'
ALRIGHT GUYS THAT'S CHAPTER… 5 right?
James: Yes you idiot.
Hey that's not fair! I've been sitting on this for around a week debating on if this was good enough for a chapter!
James: And you decided it was?
Well… No. But I figured I could always just call it a chapter and keep going anyway. It just feels like I didn't cover much with this.
James: Well, it is titled explanations…
True, very true. Anyway, I wasn't just doing nothing for the whole week, I was doing research, both on Stargate SG-1 and Infinite Stratos, so it's not like it was wasted.
James: Hmm, what's this? Your Titan on Destiny is an level 20?
THAT IT YOU LITT-unintelligible yelling and cussing-
James: SEE YOU NEXT TIME GUYS!