Sorry for the lateness! Thursday classes can run late if the teacher feels like talking for awhile lol
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ANA and VERA
MESS HALL/SIMULATION LABS“Have fun, then - don't get into any trouble.”
Vera could see Ana nod, then run over to her, a much more genuine grin on her face,
“I did it!” Ana squeaked, “I did the lie. It was really hard, but I did it.” the redhead beamed - this really wasn’t something to be grinning about, but if what Ana had told her previously was true, it was an accomplishment; a really messed up one, but an accomplishment nonetheless.
In the back of her mind, Vera felt bad, guilty even, and doubly so because she’d told thereabouts the same lie to Lizzy not long before. But she repeated the same thing she’d been telling herself since they’d met with Graham, it was necessary. They had more than themselves to worry about as it stood, she didn’t want either Percy or Lizzy getting into trouble if they were afraid.
”Knew ya could,” Vera managed to smile back, but truth be told she was glad to turn her back for a few moments heading out of the Mess Hall, at least to vent a frown before smiling again. She couldn’t stay upset for long, after all she was excited, which would make comforting Ana much easier if she had to.
”So y’ready?” she asked on the way.
”Yeah, I think so.” Ana replied with a little nod as she jogged up to take Vera’s hand - a habit of hers now.
Vera led them on to the labs. She’d only been once or twice to watch Lizzy train, or at least to be around while it was going on. She knew the way still, the facility was becoming clearer and clearer by the day, and before long the two of them had arrived.
”Hello?” she called in, looking to Ana before grinning and standing up stiff and straight. ”Operatives Moore and Voloshyna reporting for testing.”
Ana mimicked her friend, standing at attention, glancing over at Vera with a grin on her face.
There was a slight chuckle from behind the monitor of the desk, as the appearance of the blue-haired scientist became apparent as the computer chair slid to the left to look over the two girls who had entered the simulation labs. “Operatives? Heh, that’s adorable. You two must be here for the examination that Graham wanted you to take… nine days ago. You’re late.”
Ana’s grin immediately faded and she looked highly embarrassed - she looked down at the floor, her cheeks flushed red. “Sorry, miss.”
”He didn’t say we had to be here sooner. Besides, you can’t rush greatness right?” she said, bumping Ana’s side to smile at her. The redhead girl smiled back, still looking rather embarrassed.
“He did not. I was told to expect you when you were “ready”. I did not realize ready meant waiting around for “greatness”. But I expected better from Jackspar’s ward.” Lofgren adjusted her glasses after moving a strand of blue hair from her face.
The labcoat-bearing woman stood up, “But yes, I suppose we should begin. Follow me.”
The two children followed Lofgren into what seemed to be a separate room from the main simulation lab’s hub of servers, desks, and pods— this one feeling barren in comparison with only one bed and computer equipment aside from the stream of wires that went into what seemed to be a metal band that rested on one of the only desks in the room. It looked less like a laboratory and more like the room a person would be taken to during a medical visit.
Vera couldn’t help but feel a bit unsettled by it. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but there’d been more to it in her imagination. Perhaps it was a good thing, but she didn’t spare it much thought. Honestly she was more focused on restraining herself from snapping at the older woman for her little remark. Making a bad impression with a facility doctor didn’t seem like a smart idea.
“This is the room we will be testing you in. Originally it was empty, but we’ve since repurposed it to be a small addition to the simulation & analysis labs. I would prefer more rooms but we don’t exactly have an influx of people to test for NC compatibility.”
”Are we going together, or one at a time?” Vera asked.
“One at a time. There is only one bed; the laboratory’s budget went mostly into the VR room.” She prepared to set up the equipment as she continued talking to Vera. “Which one of you is first?”
Vera turned to Ana, sure to squeeze the younger girl’s hand tight. She kept the warm smile on her face, and nodded to the bed. ”You wanna go, or do you want me to?”
”Rock paper scissors? Loser does it first?” Ana waved her free hand slightly, looking more nervous than she had before. Either she had caught on to Vera’s anxiousness, or the room creeped her out just as much as it did Vera.
”Rock paper scissors,” Vera agreed. She brought up her free hand, shook it three times.
Ana threw down scissors.
Vera’s hand was flat.
Ana looked like she regretted suggesting the game in that moment. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
”Psh, sorry? Don’t worry, alright? This’ll be easy as cake,” Vera said, taking the ushanka from her head and plopping it on Ana’s. ”Hold that for me will ya?”
Ana nodded, tugging on the flaps of the hat so it’s more firmly on her head, smiling at the blonde Russian girl. “Kay.”
Vera whirled back around to Lofgren, shaking her hair down and pulling herself up onto the bed. ”Alright doc, hit me with your best shot.” she said, shooting Ana a wink.
“I assure you that you girls are overdramatizing this whole examination. I do not know why you think it is as you believe.” Lofgren smirked as she shook her head, wiping her gloved hands with a light pink liquid before approaching Vera as she took seat on the retractable bed.
”Better safe than sorry?” Vera said, instinctively wincing when Lofgren spread the gel over her temples. It didn’t hurt, didn’t burn, it was a little cold and felt a bit like old shampoo, but that was about it. Still, she stuck out her tongue, giggling to Ana.
Lofgren chuckled before attaching the neural nodes and then the metal band that served as brace around Vera’s entire head— though it was too big, but with a flick of a button from Lofgren’s datatool it detracted to fit her skull’s size and shape comfortably.
“Now all you have to do is wait. It will be a few minutes.” Lofgren stated as she tossed her latex gloves in a trash dispenser before returning to the computer that monitored the equipment that was running the examination.
”That’s it?” Vera asked, though she was still looking at Ana. The redhead girl stuck her tongue out for a moment in retaliation, taking off the hat to look inside.
“No, we’re going to have to remove all of your hair.”
Vera nearly bit her tongue off. ”Huh?”
“Oh, yeah. All of it. Gone. Goodbye hair. Auf Wiedersehen.”
“My dad’s gonna kill me!” Ana squeaked, tugging the ushanka back onto her head, hard.
“If I was actually serious, maybe he would.” Lofgren ended her comment with a broken giggle as she shook her head, her smirk wide and apparent as she continued to observe the readings on the machine.
Vera blinked, and didn’t even attempt to restrain laughing. And here she’d been worried none of the people who worked at the facility would have a sense of humor.
“While that is processing we can move on to your friend now. Unless you really do want me to cut off your hair.” Lofgren teased before turning back to the bed; drawing out another pair of latex gloves and removing the metal band from Vera’s head.
Hopping down from the table, Vera nodded to Ana. ”What’d I tell ya? Easy as cake, go on.”
Ana hesitated for a moment before Vera urged her again, then she got up on to the bed. She looked at Dr. Lofgren and smiled shyly as the blue-haired doctor did the same thing she did to Vera.
In a few minutes Lofgren removed the band from Ana’s head like she had done with Vera only moments prior, and told the two to wait a few minutes for the machine to “process” the information it needed to do. Ana tossed Vera her ushanka back, making sure it was easily catchable so it didn’t land in the floor. “I thought it’d be way worse.”
”Right? Guess we were all worried for nothin’ huh?” Vera said, fixing the ushanka back on her head.
Ana nodded, smiling at her friend, and Vera was quick to come over and tussle up her hair.
”And say an extra thanks we got to keep all this. Can you imagine us bald?”
““Results seem to be in.”
Lofgren’s response seemed to catch both of the two off guard, cutting an end to their banter or at least for the time being. Vera’s eyes lit up, and she felt her stomach go light in anticipation. For a moment she forgot that she wasn’t supposed to appear excited, but couldn’t help it. She found herself reaching for Ana’s hand again. Ana squeezed it in response.
“Huh. I suppose that isn’t strange considering both of your genetic records.” Lofgren muttered, barely audible before speaking up with a more clear voice as she turned to the two girls. “Both read as positive.”
Vera bit her lip to keep her face straight, but she could feel her heart happily skip a beat. Then just as quickly she remembered she wasn’t alone, and looked down at Ana. ”Positive, huh?”
Lofgren nodded, “Indeed. Apparently, you are both compatible to pilot NC’s. Though if you decide to go through with the surgery that comes with the process of becoming a pilot is a completely different department than mine and you’d have to talk with Commander Graham and Dr. Tanaka about the details. My job is simply the process of brain functions, NC analysis, and simulation management. If either of you decide to do it I look forward to putting you in fun simulations.”
Ana didn’t look nearly as thrilled as Vera was. She looked more like someone just told her that her dog died, but she tried to smile anyway. Vera noticed the subtle way her brows furrowed - the same way they do when she’s overthinking something. A very unenthused “Yay.” was all Ana responded with.
”Well that’s that,” Vera said, her tone turning cheery. She hoped Ana would latch on to what Lofgren and Graham had said. It was her choice, she’d never have to step foot in another test like this again if she didn’t want to, whatever made her feel safe.
She started for the exit and waited for Ana,, nodding back to Lofgren. ”Thanks doc, we’ll uh...we’ll keep it in mind!”
And Vera intended to. In fact, she already had her next step planned.
“...and Voloshyna? Make sure Jackspar doesn’t push herself too hard, I’m worried that she’s going to do more damage to herself than she realizes if she keeps coming into the sims how she has. You should… talk to her. If she doesn’t slow down and look at things from a less headstrong position she’s going to hurt herself, or worse.” Lofgren’s tone was oddly sympathetic as Vera made for the door— as if behind the science-y mannerisms and deadpan humor there was something else there.
ELI and VERA
Eli's Room, New AnchorageEli was in and out of the mess hall quickly, her appetite surprisingly tame and her will to remain around company unsurprisingly dwindled, especially once she realized Vera was not present. She’d arrived from the VR training late, but not by much, which meant either the girl had missed dinner, or she’d hurried to get out. Eli angrily wondered at first if one of the new pilots had frightened her off, but in truth it was more likely that she herself was the cause.
The guilt began to set in. She’d left Vera in a shaken huff, then abandoned her to go and practice. It was justified. She hadn’t even looked back when she went to follow Graham. You needed to train, you’re behind. They expect more.
You shouldn’t have waited.
When she arrived at the barracks, Eli made absolutely sure the hall was clear, before collapsing down the wall to sit on the ground. It felt good to relax, like her skin was unwinding into millions of threads, she felt like she was floating, but she couldn’t relish in it. Her palms began to ache again, distinct from the pulsing of fear she’d felt earlier, it was the cold throb of regret. You hurt her. You scare her.
The pain returned, seeping down her back, her arms, her legs. She clamped her teeth together, shut her eyes tight. Stop. Stop. Stop. her nails dug into her palms, her toes curled in her boots, the threads of her skin became a constricting cage once again.
“With wings and skies like birds I’d wanna fly~”
Eli’s head shot up and she scrambled to her feet before even looking around. It was a good few moments before she realized no one was in the hall with her, but that the singing was coming from one of the rooms. It was an embarrassing few more before she retroactively recognized Vera’s voice. Sure enough, as she approached her door, the singing –and the music accompanying it– grew louder, and when she opened it up, Vera shrieked.
”Hey Lizzy! Sorry, you spooked me,” she giggled.
Eli stood stiff at the threshold.
”Ya gonna come in?” But Vera was already leading her by the wrist, shutting and locking the door behind before picking Eli’s datapad back up –the source of the music. ”Missed ya at dinner, but I guess I didn’t really stick around. Kinda felt like chillin’ here, y’know?”
”I…” Eli couldn’t find the words, silently watching as Vera absently tossed the device back onto the bed, the upbeat brass and drums of the song filling their room. The girl bounced on her feet from side to side, moving her arms and popping her shoulders up and down in some beginnings of a dance.
”You feelin’ this song? I’m feelin’ this song,” Vera shimmied over, twirling once on the balls of her feet before bumping her hips against Eli’s thigh. ”Ah? Ah?”
Eli had to restrain herself from snatching the girl up to hug her. She wanted to apologize, wanted to make promises that she’d kill and die to keep, she wanted to hold her hand and never let go. Instead, she shed her coat, then her scarf, and shook her head. ”It’s been a long day Vi, I…I’m tired.”
She prepared for the disappointment, but it never came. Vera just bumped against her side again, smile unyielding. Eli found her hips swaying in response.
”Hah! Now you’re feelin’ it–woo!” Vera began, but Eli took her by the hands and swung them both into the middle of the room.
Vera did most of the laughing, and Eli did most of the dancing. Their feet pattered against their makeshift dance floor, twirling, stepping, tapping. Eli hoisted her into the air, spun her under her arm like a ballerina, put the girl’s feet atop her own to waltz chaotic. What soreness remained in her bones faded, overtaken in her mind by a different, more welcome adrenaline that she eagerly lost herself to. Eventually the song ended, they didn’t care, they danced to Vera’s giggling, they danced to the ambient machinery of the facility and the icy, whistling winds outside. They danced until Vera collapsed in a happy heap on the bed, and Eli’s legs felt like rubber.
She’d never been happier to be tired.
”I forgot you could dance, how could you let me forget you can dance?” Vera asked, not even attempting to mask the joke with sarcasm.
Eli managed to flop down onto the bed beside her, breathing in sweet air, wiping sweat from her brow. She draped her arms around Vera and pulled her in close. ”Sorry.”
”Apology accepted, just don’t let it happen again.”
They shared a smile, and Vera returned the hug before they both let themselves drift off to sleep.
ELI
Simulation Room, New AnchorageIt had felt like an hour in the virtual simulation room for Eli. As requested Lofgren had set parameters that would not allocate for failure, though Eli had never before experienced pain on such an intense level in her life outside of maybe the installment of her neural implant into her spine some time ago. But still, it was a surprise; and the room was still catching her off guard despite herself having a decent amount of experience with the simulation pods she had become so used to. Here, in VR, everything was more vivid… more intense to the point where it felt like even the mildest injury would feel like a severe one. Doctor Lofgren had, of course, warned her about this fact when she inquired about her experience with VR but Eli didn’t care even with the neural pain as overpowering as it was.
And given the armed guards that Lofgren had emulated, Eli had more experience getting shot than she had ever been before. Even she could tell that the experience between the pods and VR were far apart— the VR room was in a completely different league.
And it all looked so... real.
Scrambling behind cover, Eli took what moments of peace it offered to try and steady herself. It was not an easy task. She felt like holes had been torn through her, which might not have been far from the truth, but all the same, it made keeping a steady grasp on her blade and remaining focused difficult.
It doesn't hurt.
She repeated it over and over again until the voice stopped sounding like her own. It doesn't hurt, Elizabeth, you're not in pain, you're fine. Move. Now.
Clutching the kukri close to her chest, she inched her head around the farside of her cover, trying to get a peek at what might be approaching.
Two blasts from her programmed enemy’s own weapons nearly hit her as she did so.
The enemies were soldiers, designed as some sort of default setting to prepare staff for what to do in case of an enemy siege of New Anchorage’s facilities. There was an unease in Eli and whilst Lofgren had programmed the situation as per Eli’s request that there would be no failure option— this meant that they would shoot her until she fell into unconsciousness or worse. But Eli didn’t exactly give the blue-haired woman time to explain the ramifications of “neural death” before running headfirst into VR.
The situation was difficult; her back was pressed against a flipped table in the mess hall and they were closing in from two different points. She knew charging wouldn't do her any good, even if she got to one, the other would likely blow her to pieces, so instead she reached for the firearm strapped to her waist. What was its name again? A Volkov model, she'd seen it before with Stein, though at the moment she supposed the details were irrelevant. Clamping her mouth shut, she held her breath, listening for, what she tried to parse out as, the closest approaching soldier. Thanks to a ringing in her ears, she couldn't rely much on the accuracy, but with time running out there wasn't much of a choice. Eli scooted to the opposite end of the table, got herself low, then swung out and took aim as best she could for the nearing enemy before squeezing the trigger.
The soldier took several shots from her handgun before dropping— but there was still three others left. Eli had dropped fourteen of them in the several hours of time she had been stuck in VR, and she was finally about to finish. These were the last of them; she was sure of it. The sound of assault rifle fire cut through the air but not before Eli heard a 'clank' against the wall behind her.
Her enemies were programmed with energy weapons. Energy weapons didn’t make a ‘clank’ against metal.
Grenade.
Move. I'm going to die. Stop. Move. I'm going to die.
Eli hurled herself over the table, heedless to the three remaining soldiers. She bolted for another in the hopes of finding more cover, but she had to get away from the grenade, she had to move, she had to move now or she was going to die.
With little grace, she fell behind another long table, and a cold shock ripped through her veins. She could feel the pain in her bones, like the marrow was fire.
It doesn't hurt it doesn't hurt it doesn't hurt get up Elizabeth get up now.
She pressed herself against the table, wincing as cold sweat dripped from her brow into the wound on her lip, where she'd bitten her mouth shut. Blood leaked down her chin, she ignored it, pushed stray hair from her eyes and breathed the shaking away. Three, only three. You aren't losing to this fucking doctor again she isn't killing you again. Not her, not the damn Goldenspur, not these stupid soldiers, not anyone.
A loud ‘bang’ exploded behind her— sending bits of metal and plasma sprawling a few meters from where the grenade formerly laid, the table she had threw herself over protecting her from the intensity of the blast. Sound became distorted as a loud ringing deafened Eli. Had it not been for her eyes she wouldn’t have seen one of the three remaining soldier’s peaking from another table, this one in front of her, with rifle in hand with finger on the trigger.
The position was poor to say the least, but she reacted quickly nonetheless, whipping the handgun up to spray a few shots at the soldier before her. She didn't expect them to hit, they weren't meant to, she just needed surpression enough to skirt around his table and drive the kukri home before the other two caught on. As soon as she pulled the trigger she was moving, crouched low but fast, blade brandished and ready to swing 'round the table, she'd aim for the arms first. As she dwindled her enemies down to two— she could hear the footsteps coming around. They were going to try to catch her on opposite ends.
You can't aim that fast. Eli was already dropping the pistol, kukri still clutched. You can't move that fast. She wasn't going to. She let the blade go, clanking at her feet, and scooped up the dead soldier's rifle. One to the right, one to the left. Pick one. She went left, aimed low, and opened fire, already moving to circle around the table before she could even be flanked. It would feel like the next few movements happened so quickly— the final soldier fell to the floor after a gunshot to the head, Eli dropping the assault rifle as he did so in a fit of exhaustion that was both physical, mental, and emotional.
TWOOM!
The synchronization halted as everything that the simulation had created vanished into nothing— the walls of New Anchorage’s mess hall turning into a blankness of metal and electronics. The door she had entered when she began slid open as the lights inside the room cut. Eli could hear the typing of the people outside.
She was dead. You're not dead. She looked down at her hands, felt the tension there as though she was still clutching the kukri. When she spread her fingers, the relief was pain, they felt like stone.
It was over, was that it? Eli started out, stopped herself, got her breath on leash. You're not alone, shape up.
Eli stood up straight, pushed the pain to the furthest recess of her mind, felt herself go steady, and walked out.
"What happened?" she asked, relieved to hear her voice unshaken.
The voice of Lofgren responded from behind her desk, much like when Eli had opted for the simulation. “You succeeded. Took you awhile, but you succeeded; I’m surprised that you got through it all given all of the bullets you took. You are really good at being a sponge. Color me slightly impressed. Slightly.”
Eli was good at recieving compliments modestly, even when they were hidden or backhanded. Even still, though she wished she could have taken pride in Lofgren's 'praise', she didn't have the mental, or physical capacity to do much more than stand and listen.
Before Eli could reply Lofgren spoke again, “Maybe next time you will actually learn how to avoid bullets. I’ll add a grading system when you do. You should go to the Mess Hall and get some food in you. It is about time for your dinner call. 1800 hours, right?”
Whatever relief there was from completing the simulation, whatever conflict between happiness and disappointment raged inside her, all at once it was replaced by a terrible dread, twofold. Four hours. She hadn't been in her body for four hours, and now she had to report to the Mess Hall, again. It was almost enough to push her lips into a frown, almost enough to crack her. Almost.
"Keep the time on record, I'll be back tomorrow," she said, pulling the soft jacket on, wrapping the scarf round her face, and flipping the hood over her head.
“I would recommend bringing one of your fellow pilots.” Lofgren looked up from her desk before Eli left the room. “And Jackspar? The VR room isn’t just for training— it is good for leisure as well. Remember that slowing down does help, you cannot give your best if you do not rest from your duties.”
You don't get to stop.
"Noted, ma'am," Eli said, and left for the Mess Hall.
Considering all the stuff that's happened in one IC day today, I'm cool to include the VR thing in the timeskip and summarize it later xD Also, no real preference for the length of the skip here, throwing my lot in with whatever y'all decide o/
@M127 My brain...what have you done...give it back...
Interested! Will work up a sheet soon o/
ANA MOORE and VERA VOLOSHYNA
BARRACKS, NEW ANCHORAGEWhen the door finally shut, Ana let herself scream. It wasn't a fearful one. She sounded more like an angry cat than afraid. "WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?" she didn't care who heard her in that moment. "IS HE STUPID? I TOLD HIM LIKE.. How many times?" Ana stopped screaming to think about it for a second, then went right back to it, "LIKE SIX TIMES?"Ana leapt off the bed to get the pillow laying on the bench and hurled it back to the head of the bed, sitting where Graham was with a huff. "He's a DICK, like you SAID. DICK. DICK DICK DICK" Ana wanted to kick something, or punch something, but she didn't. She just let out another wordless scream and crossed her arms, huffing. Before Vera could begin to say something in that beat, she inhaled deeply, then shouted again,"AND HIS NAME IS STUPID TOO. WHAT PARENT NAMES THEIR KID AFTER A CRACKER? LIKE AT LEAST EVERYONE ELSE HAS A NAME THAT SOUNDS LIKE A NAME!"
Vera was quiet throughout Ana's rant, watching the door after Graham had gone. She was more surprised than relieved with how...smoothly everything had gone. The man was calm from start to finish, but she figured that was to be expected. It was his house, his rules, he didn't need to scream and shout, he didn't need to be violent or angry, he'd get what he wanted anyway.
By the time Vera was done introspecting, Ana's hair was a mess and she was panting. She looked at Vera when she was done, looking like she might've gotten it all out. Maybe
"We gotta go see the doctor," Vera said.
"SCREW THE DOCTORS!" Ana shrieked. Apparently she didn't get it all out.
Vera took up Ana's hands, trying to calm the younger girl down. Ana had went to yank her hands away, but then Vera spoke,"We gotta see'er soon, and we've gotta do it when Percy and Lizzy can't stop us."
"Or I just won't do it!" Ana snapped, "I don't WANT to do some stupid test where they're gonna shove me in a stupid box and I pilot some stupid robot! I'm not gonna do it! It's not happening! Dad doesn't want me to, and I don't want to!"
"There won't...this is just the test to see if they can...if you can even go in the box. They can't make you do anything else, but if we fight this, what if your dad does something? What if he gets in more trouble?"
The redhead girl stopped, her thoughts still in a tornado of anger, but she still stopped.
Vera was quick to sieze the silent opportunity. "It'll be easy, like Graham said. It's just a test, no pain, no nothing, and then you'll never have to do it again. But Percy, Lizzy, they're old, they're dumb, they might do something stupid and get in trouble. We gotta make sure that doesn't happen, sometimes we have to make sure they're okay."
"Dad said that it wasn't my job to make sure he was alright," Ana replied, her voice considerably calmer now. She had tried to help Percy feel better when she was younger, trying to convince him to tell her what was wrong, but he gave her a little speech about how it's the adults' job to protect the kids, not the other way around. She still worried when she noticed her father come in looking frazzled, but she didn't interfere. It was adult stuff that she didn't need to worry about.
"Sometimes..." Vera paused, and for the longest moment of her life debated finishing her sentence. "Sometimes people love each other enough to lie to them...to...keep them safe. It isn't your job to make sure he's alright, but sometimes we have to do it anyway, because we love them too."
Ana didn't respond right away. She wasn't sure how to process the information Vera had given her - either cause it was just a little over her eight-year-old head, or maybe it was that she was just drained from having so many emotions in one day, or maybe it was something else entirely. She just nodded to show she heard, then layed down on the bed, holding the pillow she had launched at Graham. "Adults are weird."
Vera threw herself down onto it as well, letting out a long, exhausted breath. "Yeah, and sometimes they're real dicks."
"I hope we don't end up like that."
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