trans_9 | Newbie Meet N' Greet

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Newbie Meet N' Greet

Meet n' Greet, smell my feet, gimme something good to eat! Unfortunately, the newbie meet and greet takes place the same time the command staff is congregating, so they might be a little late to the party.

But the crew is there to welcome the newcomers and explain their situation. At the end of the milling and spilling about, the command staff is going to start a general meeting to apprise everyone of their situation and discuss their next course of action:

Getting off the damn ship.

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< Major? >

For a moment, the Major didn't bother to move away from the wall. No. It must be a glitch, something she'd imagined, a false memory made from wishful thinking and—

< Ishikawa? Anyone there? >

The cybercomm signal was clear and very real. From the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, Motoko could see nothing of Batou, nor hear him among the din, but automatically she shot back, < Batou, Report! >

That voice immediately got Batou to shoot his head up. But how could....just a second ago there might as well been static over the channel. Major?

Standing up, the man was easy to pick out from a crowd. His eyes scanned the room, looking for that unmistakable woman. Mind telling me what the hell's going on?

It's a long story, came the reply, But the short version's that we're on a ship, in space, on some kind of mission. Beyond that, nobody really seems to know what's going on, exactly.

...and there she was, by the door, looking right at him with one of those inimitable blank glares. A slight incline to her head, in recognition. Damn, but it was good to see him. It wasn't actually that long ago that Motoko had come back to Section Nine, she hadn't been utterly thrilled to have her mind made up for her on the matter of Batou. Small blessings.

So basically the same story I heard from the AI.

Found her. Funny, with his system down like that, Batou's entire perception of time was completely fucked up. He might as well have just saw her earlier this day back at headquarters. Approaching Motoko, even Batou couldn't find a way to crack a smile even in relief of the situation.

"How long was I out?"

"No telling. At least a month, probably a lot more," She said, flicking her eyes over the crowd, restlessly. You never knew when violence was going to explode with this bunch. Even here wasn't quite safe, "I came out the same way, Thirty-one days ago, almost to the hour."

She crossed her arms, and where her old gray flak jacket didn't cover them they were edged to the wrist in the same green-black plantsuit Batou wore. It wasn't much more modest than her usual outfit, and it suited her. Silently, via cybercomm, Motoko added, 'You alright?'

"You think anyone is asleep in one of those things?" Don't think Batou didn't catch that gaze. Motoko on the edge was never a good sign. There was more to this place than just first impressions.

For the most part, yeah. More or less feels like I just got over a bad hangover.

"Your guess is as good as mine, though we'd probably kill them if we opened one of those pods up before 'Stacy' did," She commented offhand, as if bored by the prospect. Comfortable, loyal Batou, he knew her reactions inside and out, 'My first thought was that this had to be some kind of hack, but...'

But a month had gone by without a seam or blemish. A full month of the Major's best efforts to hammer away a false input hack? If she'd failed because the illusion was too good, then whoever was behind this was ridiculously skilled, and if she'd failed because there was no hack to be dismembered?

Even worse.

"I've decided to work with the current head of security for now," She informed him, red gaze flicking upward to catch his attention, "He reminded me of someone I could trust."

"Hell..." Two members of Section 9. Only two of them were either awake and conscious or even on the ship at all. Hands found their way into the pockets of his jacket, though unsurprised to find them empty. Of course the jacket's going to be the only they give him from Japan.

Luckily switching between cybercomm and personal conversation wasn't as jarring transition as it would sound. If this was a hack, then whoever it was did a damn good job. Believe it or not, my gut tells me there's a good chance this is real.

Because he clearly wasn't paying attention already. Reminded her? "So you were able to find something to keep you busy."

"Not much else to do," Motoko replied, almost a sigh, "Unless you fancy virtual reality."

Her mental voice was a little more teasing, that half-flirty challenging tone she used when she was being smug, 'Jealous? I could introduce you. He's no Aramaki, but he's better than the rest of our options. This isn't the kind of situation where freelancing is going to get me very far.'

She watched him feel in his pockets and sighed. Hadn't they left a gun for him? She'd found one, among her effects. Then, very softly, "It's good to have you back."

"With a reality like this, don't think VR's going to make much difference."

Jealous? Who him? Cracking somewhat of a smile, it was good to know Motoko was still the same. Heh. Like I'm going to get much choice in the matter anyway. You're going to need the backup right?

Leaning his back against the wall, Batou's gaze went up to the ceiling. Since when did one of those old science fiction movies constitute as reality? The comment caught his attention; he could always just brush it off, but... "What was that Major?" Being an ass about it works too.

Annoyed, Motoko reached through the signal that hung between them and forced Batou's posture straighter, an abrupt stiffening motion meant to direct his attention. Batou's security holes hadn't changed since the last time she'd hacked him, same old bear. She wasn't at a good angle to punch him, anyway.

As for backup, she didn't bother answering it directly. Motoko didn't need anything. However, as Batou himself had pointed out, there was no point in getting so caught up in acting so tough and independent that she forgot the real purpose. What had she been so jaded about, again? Obsolescence? Pointless.

'Actually,' she conceded, 'I've got an interesting assignment coming up. I'll have to trust you to keep an eye on things around here. Whenever anything happens, fights seem to break out. I've got a few contacts, but they're useless.'

Well, anything comes back full circle. In the case of teasing an extremely skilled hacker, it came around several times over. Dammit Motoko; she still had free range in his system. Heaving a sigh, directed his gaze back at the woman next to him, lest she got annoyed again. "Right, you got my attention."

All in good familiarity, of course. I'm guessing there's more to it than just watching the kids.

'It's amateur hour in here,' She groused mildly, and threw him a video file, almost time-lapse of the debacle with the Yeerk; a fight involving superheros and flung architecture, bullets flying everywhere. The way they'd brawled and fought like children, not like the trained soldiers they claimed to be. When Sam threatened the security group, Motoko took careful time to point out how Leon very carefully neglected to shoot Sam's kneecaps. The knees would have healed, any corpses he might have made in the melee wouldn't, 'And you have to remember, for this group, it was considered decent. Pitiful.'

It took Batou a moment to examine the footage sent to him, most of it just making him cringe. What kind of places were these people from where that was the point of professionalism? How the hell did they survive as long as they did? Not everyone went through war or terrorism, but dammit.

'I have no idea. From what I can tell they've mostly had the good sense to avoid internal conflict to this degree,' Back to that half professional tone of boredom. It was almost comforting to hear the chagrin in Batou's tone, familiar distaste, 'Afterward, they even had the gall to complain about the decoy.'

That one single good decision out of the entire mess, which had been made by Leon. Wordlessly she zoomed in, zeroing on Leon's face, the one who'd made most of the mistakes, but who also stood out as the only one who showed anything worth salvaging, 'This is the "commander" I was telling you about earlier. Leon Kennedy. Not much, but better than nothing, and he's got political backing.'

Edited 2009-10-03 03:05 (UTC)

Perfect. Got my work cut out for me then. The heavy play on sarcasm mixed with exasperation wasn't hard to make out. The zoom in on Leon, though a little jarring at first, left Batou with some confusion. Looks no older than Togusa. Probably younger. To believe the Major was working under someone who looks so...inexperienced in the field. You sure this kid's the most qualified?

'Politics,' she answered sardonically, knowing Batou knew exactly what she thought about that particular brand of time-wasting, 'He's the head of security here, for whatever that's worth. Connected in all the right places. Besides, Togusa made a fine leader, when given the chance. Think you're up for it?'

And that was the rub, wasn't it? Out of boredom as much as anything else, Motoko had allied herself with Leon. It was probable that Batou would help Motoko if she needed it, but would he bother helping her when the job was ostensibly for Leon's benefit? The Major's mental signature faded from the connection as she dropped the hack, and resumed her on-edge scanning, but she wasn't yet above taunting him, 'Still pick your cases based on your gut, Batou?'

Based on the footage, I'd say security doesn't have much of a grip. He couldn't disagree that unexpected people can show enough control over a situation when it called for it. Togusa's proved his weight plenty of times before.

System read the hack's been diconnected, giving Batou the freedom to slouch once again. Man, wouldn't a smoke feel good about now. And how long have you known me for? Out of everything on the planet, people were probably the hardest to change. I'll do what I can to help out. Not like I have anything better to do in the meantime.

'That's what I'm counting on.'

Motoko pushed off the wall. Small group this time around, not much to see, aside from her would-be second-in-command. She turned back, remarking only, "I'm going to find something to eat," before leaving the room without looking back. Either he'd follow, or he wouldn't. Either way, she was done here.

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