Chapter 44: Regrouping
Deep under the waters of Sector D, the Aurora drifted further and further away from Arzenal once again. Within the past week this had almost become a routine. And for Arzenal's operator trio, it had been an easy enough adjustment from their posts in central command. All in all, the bridge of a submersible carrier wasn't all that different.
"We've cleared Warning Line One," said Olivier, giving a relieved sigh now that they were out of the hottest area.
"I almost didn't think they'd be alive," Hikaru mentioned. In the short time since finding Alain and the others, news had spread across the ship like wildfire.
"I know," Olivier agreed. "I didn't think even Alain's luck could hold out this time. Let alone be spread around to all four of them."
"So where were they all this time?" Hikaru wondered.
"Apparently—" said Pamela, "—they were on the other side of the Singular."
"No way?!" Both girls gasped. Pamela simply nodded as another, far more ribald, thought occurred as well.
"That means Naomi got Alain to herself that entire time," muttered Olivier.
"Luckyyyyy," all three let out similar sounds of annoyance.
"Ahh… if only we had time to take a break," Hikaru sighed. "We couldn't even go meet some of those guys from CROSS."
"It can't be helped," Pamela supposed, though the look she sported said volumes otherwise.
Meanwhile, in the conference room just behind the bridge, the air was stewing with news of the debrief the returnees had given. In addition to Jill's usual inner circle—minus Salia of course—Hilda and Rosalie had been allowed to attend along with Momoka, at Ange's insistence.
"A parallel universe. And another Earth." Jill mused. "And the DRAGONs are all genetically modified humans."
"They can be reasoned with. Unlike our humans," Ange commented. "Maybe we should ally with them. Their objective is to take back Aura and we were told that if they succeed, all of the Mana in this world will be cut off."
"Basically, a win-win for all of us," added Alain. "We cut off the main reason for all this crap and the DRAGONs get their progenitor back where she belongs."
"Wait, so you're saying…" Hilda interrupted.
"That if they save Aura, there won't be a means to open singularities," Naomi confirmed. "And that means no more need for Para-mails."
"All we Norma would be doing by continuing to hunt DRAGONs would be supplying more Mana," Ange continued. "We can stop fighting this stupid war we've been forced into. Unfortunately, Salako's invasion failed. The casualties were pretty severe."
"At this point though, that means we've got three groups against Embryo," Tusk pointed out. "Arzenal, CROSS, and the DRAGONs. If all three cooperate, it's the best way to defeat Embryo and free both the Norma and Ancient Human remnants."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, eh?" mused Jasmine, Alain shaking his head. "Oh?"
"Just friends, for once," said the young man. "As far as I'm concerned, the hatchet with the DRAGONs has been buried for a few days now. We settled that one back in their world."
"Y-You're kidding, right?!" Rosalie gasped. "They killed so many of our people! Naomi, they almost killed you! They're monsters! Are you two out of your minds?!"
"And how many of them have we killed?" Naomi countered, Rosalie flinching. "Heck, we kept count for crying out loud."
"Excuse me…" Vivian grumbled, glaring at Rosalie as she puffed out a cheek.
"Rosalie, I get it, but try to understand," Alain said. "War is war. Neither side is entirely innocent. But they really aren't that different from us once you get to know them."
"It's no use," Jill cut in as she snuffed out her cigarette. "They aren't trustworthy."
"I remember you saying the same about CROSS a few weeks ago," Alain reminded her. "And yet it was CROSS who bailed our asses out when the Kingdoms attacked."
"Oh, they didn't just bail us out," Maggie chimed in. "They're basically the entire reason we haven't spent this last week cooped up in here the whole time."
"CROSS is one thing, the DRAGONs are another," Jill stated, her tone remaining firm as she stood. "I don't care about this… Aura or whatever. Do you think Libertus will be over because we save a single DRAGON?"
"A single DRAGON that is quite literally powering this entire fucked up system?" Ange asked. "Yes. Yes we do. Jill, Aura isn't just a DRAGON, she's the first. Embryo wouldn't be using her as a living power reactor if she was just some DRAGON."
"Are you forgetting what else we need to do? We have to kill the man who's playing God, Embryo, and destroy this world. That's the only way to free the Norma. You haven't forgotten, have you, Ange? That you were betrayed by your country, your siblings, your people," Ange flinched while Alain's eyes narrowed at Jill. "That you want to destroy this world with its discrimination and prejudice? Wasn't that what you wanted?"
"That's…"
"You've gone soft," Jill sneered. "Did the DRAGONs brainwash you? Or did you become a woman?" And now both Ange and Tusk flinched. "If you want to play with your boyfriend in a pink flower garden, do it after our mission is accomplished!"
"Can we cut the shit?!" Alain yelled as he stood up, making everyone but Jill jump in alarm. "We're not even back for a day and this is your idea of welcoming us back? Not even giving our plans a second thought? And then chewing Ange out for even thinking of a different way to do this?! Or did you forget what this was about, Alektra?!"
"Watch it, Alain," Jill growled.
"No, I'm not going to watch it. Because we're not in a position where I can," Alain stepped over to Jill, not budging even as she returned his glare. "We've lost Arzenal, God knows how many supplies and people, and we've got the Mana Kingdoms gearing themselves up. Not to mention the not so small issue of the Ragna-mails! We're not in a position to be rejecting potential allies and being stubborn fuckheads about this! Libertus was about fighting for our place in this world! NOTjust killing Embryo and damning anything else!"
"Alain's right, Jill." Jasmine said. "Sure, we're getting help from CROSS, and they can shore up the fighting power we've lost. But some extra help wouldn't be missed. Besides, I think it's fair to say the DRAGONs have as much of a grudge against Embryo as we do."
"Not to mention Salia and the others betraying us," added Maggie. "One of our best captains is on the enemy side now. That puts us at a disadvantage."
"Ange, can you contact the DRAGONs?" asked Jasmine.
"The Villkiss can travel to the other side without opening a singularity. I think," Ange nodded. "Once we've gotten everything straightened out, I should be able to jump over and tell Salako what the plan is."
"Perfect," Jasmine smiled. "Isn't it worth it to at least consider an alliance with the DRAGONs Jill? Besides, we shouldn't make a decision like this until Dission and his crew know too. Their input is just as important now."
"Are you trying to stack the deck?" Jill bit, Jasmine giving a shrug. "Tch. Fine. We'll discuss this further after we've rendezvoused with CROSS at our destination. That's all." Salutes were given as Jill left, though Alain couldn't stop staring holes into Jill's back until the door closed. Once Jill was gone, Jasmine stood and put a hand to his shoulder.
"Believe it or not, she's happy you're alive," said the older Norma.
"Really? Couldn't tell with her being as stubborn as usual."
"Trust me. She's glad that you lot are back in one piece. But you know how Jill is. For now, take the chance to rest. We'll be arriving at CROSS's emergency hideout tomorrow. And, well, it may be a shocker where it is."
"That doesn't instill a good feeling," Alain groaned, but he gave Jasmine a small grin nevertheless. "Good to be back, Jasmine. Glad you all made it out of there."
"Well, you lot aren't the only stubborn ones," Maggie snickered. "But do take the advice and rest. If you'll be allowed to, anyway." As Maggy cast her eyes to Rosalie and Hilda, the former in particular looked to the side with a nervous chuckle while Hilda coughed into a fist. Ange sighed with a roll of her eyes, and Naomi gave an amused chuckle.
"Well, nice to see the mood is the same as always," Alain sighed yet again.
While the mood wasn't exactly eased by Jill's response to everything, with the meeting done for and nothing left to do but wait, most of the group convened in the galley. And of course, without losing any time at all, Vivian had gotten to stuffing her face the moment she sat down.
"Yummy!" Vivian squealed in delight as she downed some curry and rice. "Your cooking's amazing, Momoka! You make even Norma food taste good!"
"Vivi," Alain shook his head as Vivian kept shoveling away, though Momoka only looked pleased about the comments. Meanwhile, Maggie, who had been staring at Vivian for a while now, began prodding and running her hands around the girl, making her giggle and squirm from the touching.
"Amazing," Maggie noted. "You're maintaining your human form even without the suckers."
"From what they told us, it's some genetic trait the DRAGONs have to iron out as they mature," Naomi said. "Since Vivian was on our side for so long, she wasn't able to undergo that procedure until a few days ago."
"Oh, yeah!" Vivian perked up. "Hey Maggie, everyone over there had wings and tails. How come I don't?"
"Well obviously I amputated them so you wouldn't stand out."
"Aw no fair!" Vivian sulked.
"I'm just glad to see everyone's doing alright," commented Ange. "When we landed at Arzenal we didn't know what had happened to you all or how to even find you. At least here I can get a good night's sleep without having to worry about someone sneaking up on me."
"The beds are a little small, but rest assured, they're very comfortable," said Momoka.
"Ah, that's good."
"There's nothing good about it," Hilda cut in. "You all went missing in action, and then came back with overhauled Para-mails. What's with that?"
"That's not seriously the issue here, is it?" Alain drawled, flinching when Hilda leaned into his face.
"And what the heck happened with your hair, huh? Why go short all of a sudden?"
"I… just felt like a change," Alain mumbled as he fiddled with the remnants of his braid. "It's actually a lot easier to maintain like this. By the way, what about Leon and the guys from Garuda? What happened with them?"
"They were with us for a bit," Hilda said, taking a seat to plant herself next to Alain. "You wouldn't believe how tense things were the first few days after we left Arzenal. The ship was packed to the brim. And a sudden cadre of guys who were apparently some secret allies kinda surprised everyone else."
"Well some of them had fun at least," Rosalie commented. "Though there was that one guy… what was his nickname again…?"
"I'm assuming High Roller," Alain guessed, Rosalie nodding. "If he did anything, I'm sorry. He's uh… kind of a louse."
"Good enough for some of the girls apparently," Hilda said, Alain's eyes going wide. "But the main issue was the tension between that Bartlett guy and Jill. It made walking around the ship tense as hell before they off-boarded at that hideout of theirs."
"Well at least they made it out alright."
"So what exactly is our situation now?" Naomi asked.
"About what you could expect," Rosalie grimaced with a noticeable bite too her voice. "We've been salvaging what we can from Arzenal, but we lost a lot of people during the evacuation. And then… Chris and the others joined up with the enemy."
"Yeah, we ran into them when we got back," Alain sighed. "The plan Sala had was a direct invasion over Misurugi to retake Aura. But turns out Embryo saw that coming and jacked the singularity to pop them out over the open ocean. And who was waiting but a squad of Ragna-mails ready to tear the DRAGONs apart."
"What made you realize it was them?" asked Hilda.
"You know that show-off maneuver we would practice? The jousting charge into a passing bank?" Alain reminded them. "That. I realized it was Salia after I pulled that. I recognized her flight style but wanted to be sure. And boy was I surprised to find Chris and Ersha with her."
"And Tanya and Irma are in the last two," Rosalie grumbled.
"You're kidding?" Alain gaped.
"Why would they have even joined Embryo?" said Ange.
"Does it even matter?" Rosalie snapped. "And I don't care either. They aren't our friends anymore."
"Rosalie…" Alain tried to soothe her. "I'm sure there's some reason. And I'll get it out of them, one way or another."
"Provided that Embryo guy isn't better equipped than you." Hilda snarked. Alain just coughed.
"I like to think Salia and the others have higher standards than THAT," Alain glowered. "And actually, I was talking about Wyvern. Our new friends did more than just repair it. They practically upgraded it so that it's better than ever. They also fit the Halberd with some new internals while they were at it."
"Yep," Naomi beamed with no small amount of pride. "My baby runs better than ever before. So next time, you'll have us fighting alongside you."
"Hold on," Ange interrupted. "Does that mean it's just been you two all this time? I'm surprised the ship hasn't sunk yet."
"Do you want to get smacked?" Rosalie asked. "We have the rookies to thank for that. Nonna, Marika, Mary; come over and meet the slackers who finally decided to rejoin the fight!"
From an adjacent table, three girls stood up and walked over. All were in the standard Arzenal pilot uniform, but Alain recognized them from the cadet ranks. Nonna, who had low hanging dark blue hair and orange eyes. Marika, with her brown hair done in a thick, high ponytail, and softer green eyes. And lastly Mary, a cheerful looking girl with bright red hair and blue eyes.
"Since we were low on numbers, these three got pulled up from reserves to full pilot status," said Rosalie. "They've got Mistress Rose whipping them into shape, so it looks like you've got some competition now Alain."
"I'll keep that in mind," Alain mused just as the three rookies began to surround Vivian.
"Excuse us?" Marry spoke. "We just wanted to say how happy we are to meet you!"
"Huh? Me?" Vivian asked.
"You're the ace of Garm Squadron, Vivian, right?"
"You were our hero in the reserves!" Marika gushed.
"I'm a huge fan!" added Nonna.
"Wow really?" Vivian beamed. "Well pull up a chair and have a tray on me then!"
"H-Hey!" Rosalie yelped. "You girls never said that to me!"
"Let the kids have their fun," giggled Naomi. Ange meanwhile, noticed Tusk's more dour expression amid all the levity.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm just worried about Alek… I mean, Jill," said Tusk.
"You mean Alektra Maria von Loewenherz, right?" Hilda interrupted, Ange and both Tusk turning to her. "Everyone knows about her. The Commander spilled everything. About her identity and Libertus."
"Let me guess…" Alain groaned as he leaned on a hand. "She said some stuff about defeating Embryo in order to free us all, right?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Hilda nodded. "And things like holding our lives in her hands."
"Alektra said that?" Tusk murmured. "That's pretty heavy."
"Yuu bedder know id!" Alain could only let his jaw drop to the floor as an absolutely plastered Emma dragged herself up from behind the counter, pausing only to swig down more of the bottle in her hand.
"The Inspector!?" Ange gawked.
"She's here too!?" Alain added.
"Don' be so formal!" the now former Inspector slurred. "You can call me Emmma. jus—hic—Emmmmma."
"God you reek of booze!" Ange yelped as Emma leaned over the counter, raising an arm to shield herself.
"She's been like this ever since we escaped," Momoka sighed. "She was offered shelter alongside the other non-combatants but declined."
"Cun ya blame me?! I almos' god dead!" Emma's drunkenly shrieked. "I wasn' evun a Nohma!" Now she began to sniffle pathetically. "But evun dough I was bad to da Nohma… Commander Jill led me ride on da boat with you. Even dough I wuz awways bad! She's a guud gurl Imma follow hur forevah!" Staggering around the counter, Emma nearly tripped over her own feet, but Alain leapt from his chair and grabbed her in time. "Alaaaaaain!" Emma bawled. "You shaved me. Jus like you shaved us at Arzenawl!"
"It's… it's nothing." Alain grimaced, the stench of wine almost giving him a contact buzz.
"Ish not nu'tin!" Emma slurred, smearing her face across his chest. "You shaved me and I wanna rewawd you! All 'dese girls ged to have you wel now is muy tuhn. Imma show you jus whad a gwown wuman can do!"
"Agh jeez…" Alain groaned as his hand went to his temple. "A little help here!"
"Yeah yeah, I'm on it." Maggie strolled over and pulled Emma off of him. "Come on, that's enough for you."
"No way Maggie I ged ta have Alain furst" Emma argued as Maggie half dragged her out of the galley.
"Well that was… entertaining. If a bit pathetic," Naomi commented, Alain busy brushing his chest off as he grumbled to himself.
"She has a point you know," said Rosalie. "The only person we Norma can trust is the Commander. I'm still not sure about those CROSS guys yet. She's all we've got for now."
"Hopefully things'll get sorted once we get to the hideout," Alain assured her. "So for now let's just take the time to relax while we've got the chance. I doubt we'll get many chances after this."
True to needing to house and maintain a proper crew, it was only natural that the Aurora was also outfitted with a shower room. With how confined a space the halls of the ship were, one could only imagine the frustration that would bubble up from the circulated air spreading B.O. around the ship. Still, Alain certainly found it odd to be showering on his own for once. Ange and Naomi had done so already while Tusk wanted to do some more checks on his Runner first.
"I'm way too used to how things were on Arzenal," He then coughed a bit when some water hit his tongue, catching slight hints of salt in it. "Ugh…! Is seawater mixed into this or something?!"
"Not like there's a whole lot of options," Hilda's voice from behind him made Alain jump. And he didn't get even a chance to turn around before he felt a soft sensation against his back, only getting a glance of red from the corner of his eyes as Hilda leaned against him.
"You're being unusually clingy today," Alain's remark earned him a pinch on the side, Hilda giving an annoyed huff as Alain winced.
"Let me. So is Rosalie. Naomi got you to herself for a week after all."
"I mean, Vivi was there…"
"She doesn't count."
"Yeah, I guess she doesn't," Hilda let out a hum, planting her chin on Alain's shoulder.
"You couldn't even try to contact us that entire time?"
"And just how was I supposed to do that? I don't even know if Villkiss can manage cross-dimensional communication," Alain lowered the pressure on the water but didn't turn it off. As he did, Hilda only pressed herself further against his back. 'Dammit… fight the urge, now isn't the freaking time.'
"Still…" Hilda hummed. "Getting to see a whole new world. You even got to meet the princess of the DRAGONs. Must have been interesting for them all going by what you told us. Anything fun happen over there?"
"No. Not quite," Alain admitted. "Tusk did kind of get, well, assaulted for… research."
"Lucky him. From the way she is around him, I'm guessing Ange was pretty mad about that."
"Livid, in fact."
"Did she and that guy make any progress?"
"Frustratingly little."
"Hey, how hard are you trying to keep yourself calm right now, hmm?" Hilda leaned in a bit TOO close so that she was speaking right into Alain's ear and made a slight flush come to his face. Hilda showed a smug grin as Alain realized he'd been caught. "Funny, coming from the guy who's so calm about it usually."
"You know I'm too used to this. I'm just trying to keep a mood in mind."
"And what do you think the mood is right now, hm?" With a quick motion, Hilda tugged Alain's shoulder to turn him around. She didn't quite get his back to the wall, but got enough distance he didn't have any other choice but to get a sudden eyeful of her naked form. From her wet hair matting against her shoulders and just covering some more private bits as it covered her swelling chest, to the rivulets daring Alain's eyes to follow the rest of her curves downward. It perhaps wasn't that big of a shock in Alain's head, really. He was familiar with the view after all. Yet there was something a bit… different to it now. Perhaps the nature of how he and Hilda usually behaved around each other had formed a natural block in his mind that kept him from really looking at her in that way. Of course, with all that had happened between them over the last month or so that probably didn't apply anymore.
"It's funny…" Hilda's comment broke Alain's train of thought as she placed one of her slim hands to Alain's chest, tracing a few of the long-faded scars she found with soft, intimate brushes. "It's really only now that I've seen other men I realized how different you are from us girls. You're smaller than some of those CROSS guys. But you're still bigger than me."
"Not my fault I'm this thin. It's just how I'm built," Alain's grumbling earned a chuckle from Hilda. "Hilda… I was thinking about a lot of stuff when we were in the other world. And for a while I was… really goddamn frustrated not knowing what happened to everyone. And now it's even more of a mess because of what happened right as we got back."
"Worry about the little traitors another time," Hilda placed a hand to Alain's face, drawing his gaze right to her. "We've already had our welcome backs and all that. No need to tell me twice, right?"
"Hah, and here I was about to give a whole spiel about what I'd decided on and everything."
"Save it for later. For now, just…" Hilda fell silent as the mood both felt shifted a bit. A quiet urge took hold as Hilda started to lean upwards; only to stop at the crucial moment.
"Still not used to it huh?" he asked.
"Sorry," Hilda blushed. "I… I think I need a bit more time before… that."
"Haha, didn't think you'd be awkward about it," Alain chuckled as Hilda's blush just about matched her hair. "It's fine. Take the time you need, Hilda. We… I was about to say we have time but when I think about it maybe not."
"We'll have some, once we get where we're going," Rather than step away, Hilda instead hugged Alain, placing her head against his chest. "Let me stay like this for a minute. I… I missed you. I want to make sure I'm not going crazy."
"Yeah, you're not," Alain consoled her as he returned the hug. "Sorry I worried all of you. I'm not going anywhere again, I…"
"Don't promise," Hilda shushed Alain with a finger to his mouth again. "You said you were going to try and get through to the others, right? So don't promise me you'll stay around. Just tell me you'll make it back if you do have to leave again."
"I will. You can be sure of that."
"Good. And make sure to give Rosalie a good time tonight. She needs it."
"Needed to talk with her anyway. I'm sure we've got a lot to go over," After lingering for a moment in silence, Hilda stepped away with a satisfied grin.
"There, I'm satisfied for now. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Alain turned back to the shower as Hilda left so she could finish up. Once he was finished, it wasn't far down the hall that he spotted Rosalie just around the corner, leaning against the wall and muttering to herself, fiddling with a portion of her hair.
"She's a bit unfocused," He murmured to himself, only to smirk as a mischievous idea came around. Moving as quietly he could, once he was close enough, Alain leaned down a bit and softly blew into Rosalie's ear.
"Waaaaaghh!" Rosalie's shocked yell got Alain to laugh loud enough he was sure it echoed down the hall. And with her face flushing, clutching her right ear as she went back, Rosalie's embarrassment only grew as she realized what happened. "Alain! Don't go and surprise me like that, geez!"
"Haha, sorry, sorry. You just looked so deep in thought I couldn't resist. Something up?"
"N-Not really. Just thinking about all the stuff that happened recently," Rosalie leaned back against the wall as she let out a breath. "It was all so dang easy before. And now it's all weird and complicated. It's just a lot to process."
"Can't blame you. I've been dealing with a lot of the same as of late. And it's not like it'll slow down going forward."
"No kidding. Still, glad at least some of it has eased up," Rosalie flashed a much more relaxed smile as Alain moved next to her, letting her lean her head against his shoulder. "I don't wanna focus on all that stuff right now, though. You've got some making up to do y'know?"
"Hehe, figures." Alain put a hand to Rosalie's head, ruffling her hair a bit. "Quite bold what you did on Arzenal by the way."
"Well can you blame me?" Rosalie's face flushed again, though she just pressed herself further against Alain's side. "I was so happy to see you were alive I couldn't help it. I thought I'd lost both of the most important people in my life."
"Right… so, I think I can guess how you want me to make it up to you."
"No other way. That's just how we Norma are sometimes," Alain got in one more amused chuckle before Rosalie moved to his front so she could lean up and kiss him again. But unlike earlier, where she'd been almost desperate, as she let her arms fall around his shoulders, there was a slower, more measured intent this time. A mood Alain was happy to return as he set his hands to her waist.
'Going to need to make sure we actually get to a bedroom.' He thought as Rosalie grinned mischievously.
"Want to go see if the Inspector wants to join us?"
"Please don't," Alain groaned.
Tusk didn't really have the heart to say it upfront, but being back on the Aurora was making him more than a little restless. Jill's behavior earlier was certainly lending to that feeling. Enough that Tusk was sure that if it wasn't for the fact they were headed for a CROSS base to regroup and plan, he could only guess the potential for things to boil over and go wrong. He was already forming at least a few emergency escape plans in case Jill tried something. He knew this ship quite well, so at least he had THAT in his favor.
For now, though, it seemed he probably wouldn't need to do that. So instead, he figured rather than try to somehow slot himself into the mood of things, it would be best if he stuck to himself at night. Or whatever time it was outside the ship.
While Tusk was expecting the hanger to be empty of all except the Para-mails, the sounds of machinery struck his ears as he entered the massive space. Weaving through the lined-up machines until he found the Villkiss, it brought back a memory from so long ago.
"I'll set this wretched world straight and free the Norma. Watch me make a world without discrimination, where you can all live happily. Tusk…"
Words not from Jill, but Alektra. Ones that had stuck with Tusk all the years since. And were now an almost painful reminder of who the woman used to be.
"Alektra…"
"Is someone there?" Tusk looked towards Villkiss and was surprised to find Mei popping her head out from the cockpit. "Oh, you're that other guy!"
"Oh, uh, this ship's full of girls and, well, Alain's probably busy and all. I'm not really sure where to go. I figured it'd be best if I just slept in my machine tonight."
"Huuuh," Mei just gave a shrug, going back to her work. Tusk, curious, decided to clamber onto the Ragna-mail himself.
"You're up pretty late to be doing maintenance."
"Villkiss and Wyvern are finally back," said the Armorer. "I need to make sure they're both in top form so they can launch at a moment's notice. That means figuring out what the DRAGONs did to Wyvern so I know how to keep him going. So freaking jealous they got him back in top form before I did!"
"Well, he did come from their world, technically," Tusk mused, though there was a wistful look on his face all the same.
"And done!" Mei chuckled as she shut the hatch she was working in, hefting her toolbox out before lifting herself through the hatch. "Alright, I'm off to bed, night."
"Ah, yeah, good night."
As Mei hopped to the floor, she turned back around. "Oh, you were the one who fixed Villkiss when Ange went down, right?"
"Yeah. I've done some practice on maintenance here and there, so I know my way around."
"I wanted to thank you for that. So, thanks, Knight of Villkiss!" As Mei finally left, Tusk took a moment to run a hand along Villkiss before dropping back to the floor and crossing over to his Runner. He checked the hatch below the seat for his emergency supplies and something else in particular. He wouldn't need it yet, but Tusk was very much hoping it could stay that way.
"Leon, Dission… I really hope you guys can help us convince Alektra that she doesn't need to do this alone."