Taking a nice, hot drink right after a long night's rest never once failed to lift Maria's exhausted spirits. As the boots of her Adaptor uniform thumped against the corridor's metal flooring, six steaming mugs of cocoa sat on top of a tray that Maria held in her hands. She hummed a nostalgic tune to herself on the way to the Adaptors' personal cabin, all while exchanging pleasant greetings with the S.O.N.G. personnel she regularly passed by in the submarine's accommodation module. A few of the personnel even went out of their way to congratulate Maria on her recent marriage. Since no operations were currently being conducted, the crew of the underwater vessel were clearly savouring the pleasure of inactivity.
Maria soon arrived at the doorstep of the Adaptors' quarters and steadied her face in front of the retinal scanner which was built into its entrance. Once the security lock emitted with a confirming ring, the sliding door opened up, letting Maria leave the corridor to head inside the Wielders' designated quarters. "If anyone needs something to warm yourself up with, Tomosato's made some hot cocoa for us," Maria said, announcing her arrival along with the tray of drinks she had brought.
As part of the privilege that came with being S.O.N.G.'s six Symphogear-Wielders, the group's personal cabin was remarkably larger than the ones that were provided to the rest of the crew. There was a large table near the door for Maria to place her tray of drinks on, along with a monitor screen which hung on one side of the cabin, giving the Adaptors a way to tune into any broadcasting station from all around the world. Built into the wall opposite of the entrance were three comfortable bunk beds that the Wielders had grown quite familiar with by now. Each bunk provided a ladder for someone to climb onto the top. Still, Hibiki and Kirika more often than not ignored it in favour of simply jumping onto their beds.
Kirika's bed was completely empty. But the closed curtains on Shirabe's bunk below it gave Maria a good indicator on where the mischievous blonde was right now. Tsubasa had climbed down from her own bed to sit down on Maria's bunk, a data-pad held in her hands as she was clearly occupied with signing digital documents from the Kazanari household. Meanwhile, Hibiki was happily texting away on her own bunk to a certain woman back in Japan while Chris busied herself underneath her with a movie on her smartphone, and an opened bag of potato chips on one side. Downtime for the Adaptors appeared to be mundane as it usually was, Maria mused to herself, taking off her boots so she could leave them on a nearby shoe rack.
Maria promptly made herself comfortable next to Tsubasa, handing the busy chairwoman a mug of cocoa before she sipped her own warm drink. Eyes still focusing on Tsubasa's paperwork-covered device, Maria relished the taste of hot cocoa on her tongue, and directed a question at the snow-white woman on her right. "Has anything interesting come up yet, Chris?"
"Huh?" Chris mumbled through a mouthful of chips. "Oh, right." Tossing aside her smartphone for now, the short woman got off her bunk bed and eagerly fetched herself a mug of cocoa. With the steaming drink in her grasp, Chris washed down her snack through a single, hearty swig before she turned back to the women with a satisfied sigh. "The Old Man actually sent out an announcement just now," she said, not even caring to wipe her now-dirtied mouth clean, "turns out that Cassandra woman is officially now an Adaptor."
"Really?" Hibiki exclaimed, rolling over her bed to lean on its edges' metal railing. "That's amazing!"
With the last of her current paperwork now accomplished, Tsubasa placed her data-pad within the drawers of Maria's bunk bed, and graciously warmed herself with the drink her wife had provided. "It should not be too surprising considering the influence that the council has on our affairs," Tsubasa commented, dabbing her mouth using a napkin she promptly pulled out from a breast-pocket. "Our new recruit aside, I'm most curious about this 'SG-r04'. The world council was quite adamant in its creation, which makes me wonder what lies within that so-called 'next-generation' Symphogear."
"Does the Kazanari household have any information on it?" Maria asked, resting her head on Tsubasa's shoulder. She felt her cheeks turn a bit warm when the chairwoman's other hand smoothly placed itself on Maria's waist.
"Nay, unfortunately," Tsubasa responded, clearly trying to relax her own tense body. "It seems that Uncle and the Professor are the only ones who are well-aware of the circumstances behind that Symphogear." She took another sip of her hot drink and tapped one foot on the cabin floor in thought. "I would order Ogawa to investigate it, but I fear it would only incur the wrath of the council."
Chris' mug of cocoa was already half-empty by the time she dropped back onto her bunk bed. "Sounds about right, to be honest. Politicians and their hush-hush crap. Still, it's been a hot minute since we've gotten a new Wielder to rub shoulders with, huh?" Chris dryly remarked, stuffing another handful of chips into her mouth. It was almost impossible for Maria to comprehend her next words when Chris decided to speak before swallowing. "Guess it's just how it is when Symphogears don't exactly just rain from the sky."
Her head still comfortably placed on Tsubasa's shoulder, Maria watched on while Hibiki hopped off her bunk bed, earning herself a complaint from the crimson Adaptor in the lower bunk when she landed on the floor with the grace of a crashing meteorite. "A new teammate means we've got a new opportunity to meet someone!" Hibiki exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest the same way the Commander often did. "Which is why we should-!" Hibiki's words soon came to a halt at the sight of the death glare which Chris was suddenly shooting right at her. Unlike Maria and Tsubasa, it took a couple seconds for Hibiki to notice how her sudden landing had caused what was left of Chris' cocoa to spill right onto the woman's uniform.
Maria would have attempted to halt the upcoming chaos if Tsubasa hadn't dissuaded her through a shake of her head.
Hibiki released a nervous laugh. "Chris? Do you need a tissue-?"
"Why, you-!"
"I'm so sorry!"
As Maria and Tsubasa enjoyed each other's company with hot mugs of cocoa in their hands, Chris sprung forth from her bed to imprison Hibiki within a tight headlock. Despite the height advantage that the golden god-slayer possessed, Hibiki could not break herself free from the crimson gunslinger's hold, leading her to let out a few helpless pleas for release. Unsurprisingly, the sudden commotion within their cabin seized the attention of the sleeping duo on Shirabe's bunk bed. Its curtains were subsequently pulled aside and the group immediately spotted Shirabe and Kirika all cuddled up within their private space. The fact that they were sleeping up until now made Maria wonder what they were even doing last night.
Rubbing one eye with an exhausted groan slipping between her lips, Kirika's blonde hair was the epitome of the word 'bed-head'. "I was only half-listening to everything... But did someone say something about getting a new... v-velociraptor?" she mumbled with half-open eyes, wiping a bit of drool off the corner of her mouth.
"'Adaptor', Kirika," Maria corrected her with an amused smile, taking her attention away from the ongoing close-quarter-combat exercise in front of them. "It's about Cassandra. Commander Kazanari's just announced that she will be joining us as a new teammate soon."
Shirabe refused to leave the comforts of her slumber as she continued lying down on top of Kirika. With her arms still wrapped around the blonde's body, Shirabe buried her face into her partner's chest, both of their bodies visibly kept warm by the jackets they were using as makeshift blankets. "It's so noisy in here..."
Maria couldn't disagree with the twin-tailed woman's muffled remark. So, after Maria settled her drink down on a small table near her bunk bed, she stood back up and calmly tried to end the ongoing commotion in their cabin. "Come on now, you two. That's enough," she said, practically acting like the group's mother while Chris released the chestnut-haired woman from her iron grip. Appearing well-satisfied after all their tussling, Chris dusted her hands with a cocky smirk as Maria handed her a small napkin to clean herself up with. "You might want to get yourself changed. That is, unless you intend on meeting the new recruit with a stain on your uniform."
Chris gave a casual shrug. "Yeah. But it's not like anyone in this room has actually had a 'normal meeting' with each other anyway," Chris dryly remarked while she started wiping away at the brown spill on her jacket. As the freed Hibiki went over to the room table to grab her own mug of cocoa, the gunslinger glanced right at Maria, apparently noticing something which was on the older woman's face. Her next words were just low enough for only the two of them to hear. "Startin to remember old things, I'm guessing?"
Maria had forgotten how sharp Chris could be sometimes. Through a smile and wave of her hand, Maria partially brushed off Chris' subtle concerns. "Maybe. It's been a long time now since I've looked back in the past, honestly," Maria quietly insisted, glancing over to Tsubasa who was still relaxing on her bunk bed, eyes now closed shut. The chairwoman was nothing if not steadfast considering the amount of paperwork Tsubasa was expected to handle over the past few days. "I do wonder if we should prepare something for Cassandra, though," Maria soon added. "She wasn't exactly brought here gently, so maybe we could arrange a sort of event for her now that she's joined us?"
After downing an entire mug of hot cocoa in one go, Hibiki spun around on her heel to face the gathered woman with a fist held high in the air, and a 'mustache' made out of foam on her lips. "That's a great idea, Maria! We should definitely do some kind of celebration." Her fiery spirit raged on like an unstoppable inferno, even when a still-annoyed Chris decided to toss a potato chip right at Hibiki's forehead. The small snack simply bounced off her without Hibiki even commenting on the act. "I remember being brought in with handcuffs, too. But right after that, it turns out that Master had actually prepared a welcoming party when I first arrived with Gungnir!"
The proposal of a party was the equivalent of a match being held right next to a stack of stationary fireworks. While Hibiki's words practically roused both Kirika and Shirabe out from their comfortable slumber, the latter eagerly poked her head out of their bunk bed, pink eyes practically glowing with the light of an aspiring chef. "This sounds like a good opportunity to show off what we've learned in university."
"Agreed-death!" Kirika added with the same growing level of enthusiasm as her partner.
While Maria simply smiled at the excitement that the trio were now emanating, Chris exited the room to get herself changed, and Tsubasa took out her data-pad again to continue carrying out her daily paperwork. The Adaptor team - as chaotic as they often were - now had seven members to its name. A number they had not reached ever since the battle against Shem-Ha all those years ago. Even so, a part of Maria couldn't help but feel something subtly tug at her chest whenever the woman placed the thought of their newest Adaptor on the forefront of her mind. Knowing full-well on how Maria herself had acted after the loss of Serena, she could only wonder for now on how Cassandra was dealing with the recent passing of her own little sister.
'Symphogear-Wielder'. The very weight of that name had only just started to settle within Lanfen's mind. This was not a dream. This was not a nightmare either. It was merely the path which Lanfen now treaded on. Over half a decade ago, Lanfen had experienced events such as the Frontier incident, the Magical Girl incident, and the Shem-Ha incident, all through the eyes of a helpless civilian. And now, here she was, operating in the same organization that her parents had once served in. It was Lanfen's hand which had been chosen to wield the Sword of Damocles, all because a mysterious stranger had gifted her the SG-r04 on the very night the Distortions chose to descend upon their world.
While Lanfen finished tidying up her unkempt hair into a neat braid on her left shoulder, her wrist device rang with a message from Commander Genjuuro. A quick tap on its holographic interface projected the incoming text: "You can take a look around the place while we set things up for you, Lanfen. Once you're needed on the bridge, we'll send for someone to escort you here."
Withdrawing the small hologram into her wrist device, Lanfen exited her detainment room, and walked out into the brightly-lit corridors with two smartphones kept within her uniform. The keychain that hung from Lanfen's own device stuck out from her pocket, swinging back-and-forth with a faint jingle as she wordlessly questioned if it was a good idea for her to be all by herself. Considering how she had been stuck in the same room for almost two days now, a part of Lanfen almost could not complain about the leniency they were suddenly providing her. Tapping into her wrist device again, she opened up a holographic map, and started navigating her way throughout the place once she found her bearings.
"To think I was their prisoner just a moment ago," Lanfen whispered to herself, taking in her surroundings to memorize its spacious, metal corridors.
The sheer size of the map initially gave Lanfen the impression that she was inside some sort of underground base. But she couldn't have been more incorrect. It was - in fact - an underwater vessel. Judging by the hologram on her wrist, the submarine was designed with its own gym, some sort of 'simulation room', a commons lounge, a movie theatre, and every other basic commodity which a person would require to survive beneath the oceans. Its crew members would also give Lanfen a friendly greeting or two whenever she occasionally passed by them, and although the Symphogear-Wielder had little issue with being treated like one of their own so soon, Lanfen's gut feeling constantly warned her of one simple thing.
She was being monitored.
It wasn't surprising when Lanfen remembered how she was dragged all the way here in the first place. Still, while her lone exploration of the submarine went on completely uninterrupted the entire time, she could never shake off the feeling that there was someone, somewhere, lurking within her shadows with each and every purposeful step that Lanfen took across the vessel's long corridors. She was almost starting to prefer the intrusive glare of a ceiling camera, if she was being honest with herself. There was no point in pretending to be lenient with her after Lanfen had gone out of her way to join this organization.
The sudden rise of a warm sensation prompted Lanfen to abruptly halt in the middle of an empty corridor. As she felt something trailing down her cheeks, Lanfen brought a gloved hand to her face, and brushed its fingertips against her brown skin, slowly wiping away what felt to be a few lingering teardrops. Lanfen did not even realize she was crying. Perhaps she was just getting used to it, she mused within her thoughts. Drawing the recycled air into her lungs, Lanfen leaned her body against the corridor's hand-railing before taking out her smartphone to stare at the keychain which hung from it by a silver chain. The longer Lanfen's purple eyes lingered on the small toy, the tighter her grip on the device became.
Her sword-hand twitched at her side. It was aching for a fight.
But Lanfen knew that all she could do for now was wait. Wait until the Distortions showed themselves again. Until then, the officiation of her duty as a Symphogear-Wielder - as well as her introduction to S.O.N.G.'s six other Wielders - were the main matters she expected to deal with first. "Mei," she whispered, switching on her smartphone to wistfully stare at the device's wallpaper. It was a picture of Kai's 17th birthday celebration. It had only been half a week ago when Lanfen took this image. And yet, it felt like an eternity had already passed since then.
Gripping the railing she leaned against with one aching hand, the minutes passed on while Lanfen paused her exploration of the vessel to recollect herself. No one was walking through this part of the submarine's module, so Lanfen received the silence she needed to calm her mind, all while Lanfen's wistful gaze continued to remain on a memoir of moments long-past. Her ears then picked up the sound of approaching footsteps to her right, followed up by a woman's voice which sounded both curious and concerned at the same time.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Slipping her smartphone back into her uniform, Lanfen slowly looked aside to notice that she had been approached by a woman with short, chestnut-coloured hair. The stranger appeared to be around Lanfen's own age, judging by their equal height and similarly-youthful looks. As Lanfen pushed herself off the corridor's hand-railing, the sight of the specialized uniform which the woman was wearing quickly made Lanfen draw in a sharp breath. "You..." She stared at the tie that the stranger wore around her neck. Its colours were two shades of distinct yellow compared to Lanfen's own black-and-white.
Lanfen couldn't find any words to greet the person with. Not even when the stranger suddenly extended an open hand for a friendly handshake.
"... I'm fine." Slowly lifting one arm from her side, the stranger's grip felt hard, but welcoming when Lanfen grabbed on to her hand. The gentle smile which the chestnut-haired woman gave her was probably the brightest one that Lanfen had seen in this vessel thus far. After she retracted her gloved hand, Lanfen felt a bunch of words slowly placing themselves on her tongue. "Sorry about that. It's nothing you really have to worry about," she claimed, placing a hand on her hip. "The name's 'Cassandra Jiang Lanfen'. I take it that you're also an... Adaptor?"
All the unique terminology which was being thrown around in her new line of work still hadn't quite registered themselves in Lanfen's mind just yet.
"You bet," the chestnut-haired woman chirped, stepping a bit closer to Lanfen. Almost too close in her opinion. "I don't really have a rank like some people here do, so you can just call me 'Tachibana Hibiki'! And if my guess is correct..." Right after Tachibana had introduced herself, the chestnut-haired woman brought a hand to her chin, and essentially observed Lanfen's entire body like a curious dog. "You're the new Adaptor that everyone's been talking about, right?" she loudly exclaimed with an eager snap of her fingers.
Lanfen cleared her throat in the confirmed presence of another Wielder before answering Tachibana with a polite nod. "I am. The uniform probably gave it away, though," Lanfen dryly remarked, now narrowing a sharp gaze on the smiling Tachibana. "Wait..." After taking a second to register the chestnut-haired woman's cordial demeanor and the entirety of her name, lingering memories from half a decade ago suddenly began slipping back into Lanfen's mind. "Tachibana...?" The surname grew more familiar whenever it rolled off her tongue. "Tachibana Hibiki? Weren't we in the same year in Lydian?"
"We were? That's so cool," Tachibana exclaimed again with a genuine tone of awe. Clapping her hands together, Tachibana then gestured over to the corridor behind her and said, "Hey, since you're new here, let's go grab a bite at the mess hall! The food here is great and you'll get to meet some of my friends, too! I even know the quickest way to get there from here!" Her words were positively brimming with excitement, but still seemed to be held back by a hint of restraint. It made Lanfen wonder if Tachibana had actually seen her crying just now.
Regardless, Lanfen couldn't turn down her kindness, no matter how hard she tried. "... Sure. I've got time." It felt like a blessing that Lanfen's body had yet to start rioting against her up until now. If her stomach decided to haunt her with severe cramps, then she would have no one but herself to blame for ignoring most of the meals which S.O.N.G. had been providing. With her hands now stuffed within the pockets of her Adaptor uniform, Lanfen quietly followed Tachibana from behind while the chestnut-haired woman led them through the corridors.
"Like Miku always tells me, there's nothing better than catching up with a delicious meal!" Tachibana exclaimed, swinging her arms in a confident stride. Neither of the two had ever once talked to each other back in their days at Lydian. But Tachibana's fiery attitude was a common subject amongst its whispering students. It was almost impossible even to believe that this particular woman was someone who had actually participated in several successful attempts to save the world. Tachibana just never seemed like the kind of person one would expect to meet on a battlefield at all. "And we're here!"
After about a minute or two of trying to match Tachibana's brisk walk, the two women walked through the sliding double-doors of the submarine's mess hall. Its numerous chairs and tables were noticeably absent of any actual personnel, but when Lanfen directed her gaze to the mess hall's counter, the new Wielder spotted two more women who appeared to have been waiting for them. And just like with Tachibana, Lanfen recognized the pair to be her old schoolmates from back in Lydian Academy. They were her seniors, to be precise, and that wasn't all which caught her off-guard. Because one of the two waiting seniors was none other than Kazanari Tsubasa, the world-renowned songstress herself.
Upon noticing their respective Adaptor uniforms with a restrained sense of surprise, Lanfen found it almost unbelievable to discover how Kazanari Tsubasa of all people was a Symphogear-Wielder this entire time. Kazanari's enrollment in Lydian alone brought countless students to its classes, and following her inevitable graduation, the concerts she proceeded to hold over the past half-decade transformed the blue songstress into a remarkable legend all over the world. And this was before one even considered Kazanari's newly-officiated marriage.
"At first, I was gettin' worried that the Dummy got lost on her way here," a short woman with a red tie sarcastically remarked, "turns out she just ended up running into the Rookie, huh?"
"Come now, Yukine," Kazanari chided the white-haired woman beside her in a friendly-manner. "Tachibana of all people would never lose her way to the mess hall. I'm certain that she simply went out of her way to fetch our latest recruit here."
Tachibana excitedly ran up towards the two Adaptors before skidding to a halt with Lanfen at her side. Unlike the chestnut-haired woman, the senior pair in front of Lanfen evidently noticed the awkward stiffness within their newcomer's shoulders. "Since Master and Professor Elfnein are a bit busy with some kind of meeting right now, I thought I'd go and find her so we can all get to know each other," Tachibana happily explained, glancing over to Lanfen with a cheerful smile and a tightly-clenched fist. "Say hello to two of our teammates: Yukine Chris and Kazanari Tsubasa!"
Even though Lanfen was not the physically-shortest woman in the mess hall, she certainly felt like the smallest person among the four Wielders. After straightening her arms at her sides, Lanfen greeted her two former school seniors with a deep and formal bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kazanari, Yukine," Lanfen said, lifting her head back up. "I'm honestly still... trying to make sense of everything. But I hope that I can be of assistance to you all regardless." She laced her words with formality as best as she could. But her nerves were unsurprisingly getting the best of her. "If there's anything required of me, I shall carry it out to the best of my abilities."
"You can ease off with the manners first, Rookie," Yukine casually remarked, letting out an unshielded yawn with her hands placed behind her head. "We're not at Lydian anymore, so there's no need to be so polite and all that crap. We're all Adaptors, which means we're pretty much all in the same boat. Even if you're a bit green compared to the rest of us."
"S.O.N.G. is a super-welcoming place!" Tachibana suddenly beamed, causing Lanfen to take a subconscious step backwards from the excited woman. "There's still three other people you have to meet, but they're really busy right now. Even so, it's been so long since-"
"Tachibana," Kazanari formally called her, gently placing a hand on the woman's shoulder to try and tone down her energy. "While it's certainly nice to have another person join our ranks, I'd advise you to try and not overwhelm her," Kazanari suggested with a gesture over to Lanfen. It was now clear to even Tachibana that their new recruit was quietly withdrawing herself in the presence of those who vastly exceeded her. "Jiang, correct? Apologies for my lack of familiarity, but it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
Appreciating the space which Kazanari was now providing her, Lanfen rested a hand on her hip, and tried her best to converse with her newfound colleagues. "The pleasure is mine, really," she said, partially remembering how she used to be a fan of Kazanari Tsubasa during the olden days of Zwei Wing. A miraculous meeting like this should have lit some sort of excitement within her. But Lanfen found it impossible to even give a friendly smile. "Sorry if I'm lagging behind a little. It's just... surprising how many faces from Lydian also happen to be Symphogear-Wielders. Especially when one of them is none other than... well... Kazanari Tsubasa."
"Life's funny that way sometimes," Yukine commented with a shrug of her shoulders. Despite being the shortest amongst the four, the woman with snow-white hair somehow felt like the biggest person within the room in a figurative sense. Lanfen's instincts practically warned her that upsetting Yukine of all people would be something which she'd most likely regret till the end of her dull life. "Now, are we just going to just continue standing here, or are we actually going to grab somethin' to eat? I'm goddamn starving here."
Tachibana led the way to the mess hall's counter with a skip in her step at the mere mention of a meal. Following the actions of her two exasperated seniors, Lanfen grabbed one of the stacked food trays and waited in line while the mess hall's chef came out of the kitchen to take their orders. Everything was done in a fast and precise manner, just as Lanfen expected from a submarine vessel that was essentially military in everything but name. The size offerings of their meals were also generous. But Lanfen could only bring herself to order the smallest available portion. Meanwhile, Tachibana and Yukine had ordered enough food on their platters for each of them to feed a whole group of people.
Settling down at one of the mess hall's empty tables, a quick whiff of the curry rice on Lanfen's plate provoked a rumbling from her stomach. Kazanari sat across the table from Lanfen with a modest bowl of udon in her hands as Yukine and Tachibana sat at the songstress' sides, utensils already in hand while the two blitzed through their curry with reckless abandon. Kazanari herself ate with an air of dignity, and yet, Lanfen could still detect a hint of annoyance within the blue-haired woman at the table manners which her two teammates were unashamedly showcasing in front of a newcomer. Kazanari was certainly as elegant as Lanfen expected her to be off-stage.
"Get used to eatin' a lot if you're gonna be working here, Rookie," Yukine advised Lanfen with a casual wag of her spoon and a mouth stained with curry. "Fighting ain't something you're gonna do well if you're low on energy."
"Whether it's before or after a mission, a good meal always lifts the spirits," Tachibana happily added, holding on to a bowl that contained a small, towering mountain of white rice.
Chatter inevitably died down while the Adaptors focused on finishing their meals. But as Kazanari, Yukine, and Tachibana undeniably enjoyed the opportunity of an early lunch, Lanfen herself ate away at an almost autonomous pace. She wasn't throwing up and she wasn't struggling to put anything in her stomach either. Her body clearly needed the energy. What she found strange instead was how Lanfen could not taste anything at all. Yukine and Tachibana had ordered the same exact food which was on Lanfen's half-finished plate and they were loudly vocal about the curry's fiery taste. Even so, it tasted like nothing to Lanfen's own tongue. Chalking it up to her own tolerance for spicy dishes, Lanfen finished the last of her meal without a second thought before putting her utensils aside.
Now that she thought about it, this was probably the first time in a while that Lanfen had shared a meal with someone other than her sister.
Lanfen remembered offering one of her seniors - Ayano Komichi - to a meal with her and Kai-Ming when they came across each other a few days ago. She also remembered Kai later teasing her about asking Ayano out on a date next time, a proposition which Lanfen promptly shrugged off as nothing more than her sister's usual verbal jabbing. A playful act that Lanfen would no longer be experiencing ever again, of course.
A sudden vibration within Lanfen's jacket broke her train of thought. Reaching into her pockets of her uniform, Lanfen pulled out her ringing smartphone to notice that her weekday alarm clock was simply operating on schedule. Because Lanfen had been preoccupied with everything else over the past few days, she had essentially forgotten to switch off the alarm right after Tsuchiya decided to return the device to her. If Lanfen was still back at home, then it would be time for her to start carrying out her daily chores.
Pursing her lips tightly together, Lanfen silenced her smartphone before gazing emptily at the reflection she casted on the device's black screen.
"Sorry about that," she muttered, sensing the curious gazes which the trio were obviously sending her way.
Tachibana was the first to speak up after she wiped her mouth clean with a piece of tissue. "So..." She placed down one of her utensils and tentatively pointed at the keychain that dangled from Lanfen's smartphone. "That thing looks really cool! Where'd you get it?"
Subconsciously, Lanfen narrowed her purple eyes while her other hand began grasping on to her jittering leg beneath the table. Were it not for Lanfen's gloves, her fingernails would be sharply digging right into her tactical pants. After placing her smartphone back into the pockets of her uniform, Lanfen took a second or two to calm herself before she answered Tachibana's completely-innocent question. "It was a unique order. Limited edition and all that," she said, now grasping a teacup between two twitching fingers. "It used to belong to my sister."
Lanfen's words were serene. Matter-of-fact. But the moment Lanfen indirectly mentioned Kai-Ming, she felt as though the atmosphere of the table had suddenly plummeted. Tachibana noticeably held back whatever she was going to say next, while Kazanari and Yukine remained silent where they sat. It would not surprise Lanfen if the trio actually knew exactly why and how she was dragged all the way into this submarine. Tsuchiya would have likely needed to report on how he managed to retrieve the SG-r04 to begin with. Either way, Lanfen had no intention of burdening her new colleagues with her own personal issues right now. The world had just survived a global attack. And they were its survivors.
Bringing a cup of tea to her lips, the warmth of Lanfen's drink was enough to help ground herself in reality even if she couldn't really find any taste in it. She then turned her attention to the metal walls of the mess hall and began tapping a gloved finger onto the metal table. The small breath which slipped between her cracked lips was the loudest noise her ears could pick up right now.
"If you're feeling troubled, we don't mind letting you talk to us about it," Tachibana suddenly stated with a genuine tone of sympathy. "We're teammates now, aren't we?"
Hesitantly glancing back over to the chestnut-haired woman, Lanfen saw Tachibana wearing a small, but noticeable smile of reassurance. It felt almost similar to the way that Kai would often smile at Lanfen whenever the eldest of the two was feeling unwell. Almost too similar for her liking. "Thanks," Lanfen whispered back at her, tightening the grip of her twitching fingers around the teacup handle in her hand. As Lanfen sat beneath the gazes of three experienced Wielders, she could feel trepidation ringing lightly within her aching chest. "I'll try my best to not fall behind."
The group's hush conversation came to its end and progressed no further than that. Because it was soon interrupted by the howling of alarm klaxons from all across the underwater vessel. It was a deafening wailing which Lanfen had not heard since she was first brought here. Following the swift actions of her seniors, Lanfen and the trio reached for their wrist devices, and tapped onto the holographic interfaces of their communicators. In an instant, they brought up an audio transmission that was coming directly from Commander Genjuuro himself.
"Tsubasa, Chris, Hibiki, Lanfen. The Distortions have returned-"
It was finally time, Lanfen thought to herself, sensing a proverbial fire immediately ignite within her eyes at the simple mention of the Distortions. Her sword-hand was practically begging by now to be sated.
"-we've already prepared the launch bay for deployment. Tsubasa, Chris, Hibiki. I want you three to head there with the others as soon as you can. As for you, Lanfen, I'm going to need you to remain on standby for now." Lanfen needed to hold back her tongue from immediately speaking out of turn right after she had heard the Commander's strict orders. "I know you're eager to get to work, but you'll have to meet with Professor Elfnein in the labs for the time being. We can only send you out once she's sure that your equipment is cleared for combat. The rest of you, prepare for launch immediately."
While the audio transmission shut off from the Commander's end of the line, Tachibana, Kazanari, and Yukine could all clearly see the frustration which was accumulating on Lanfen's expression. The scowl that she wore was simply impossible to suppress after being told to essentially stay on the bench. Despite this, Yukine soon stood up from her seat to quickly address the greenhorn Adaptor. "Better safe than sorry, Rookie," she remarked, lightly clapping Lanfen on the back with one hand. "Trust me, you wouldn't wanna head out there unless your 'Gear is in top shape."
"We'll take care of this quickly, so don't worry about it!" Tachibana soon shouted with a punch aimed at the air for good measure.
Restraining her complaints at the honest advice from her far more experienced seniors, Lanfen clicked her tongue before fixating a longing gaze on the trio as they rushed out of the mess hall. Their footsteps were soon drowned out by the wailing of the ship's alarm klaxons, leaving the greenhorn Adaptor all by herself for now. Squeezing her eyes shut would not quell the proverbial fires which were brewing within her eyes. But Lanfen knew that she could not act out of line. Not on her first day as an Adaptor. Drawing in a practiced breath, Lanfen got off her seat and dug her fingertips into her palms while she headed off in the direction of the laboratories. Her oath to her sister and herself would have to wait, even if the Distortions were now on their doorstep again.