Scene #8508: Investigating the Ekanamasha S1

Owner	Pose
Ishirou	HEAVY COMBAT HOLDING FACILITY - AEGIS ASTRAY In this part of the Paladin's base is a very heavily secured area where more heavy military and heavy combat-designed items are held. Either from retired members of the group or from captured weapons of war from those who have abused them. When Tamamo asked to meet Ishirou, he told her he was working on examining the Kana, and of course, he'd be busy or he could come to meet her later on. Obviously, she is coming to meet him! Ishirou is one of these hanger-like facilities, the Ekanamasha S1 was held here and for a while left to simply rot. Ishirou tried to come back a few times... but every time he stopped upon staring at it and then slowly backed out where he usually found his way into the medical bay due to having a panic attack. Even if he was robotic. Speaking of Ishirou, he is... Well. Covered up. He's wearing a hoodie that covers his arms and chest, the hood drawn over his head as much as he can get it. He wears long jeans and boots. He long socks to hide as much of his leg as he can, and black gloves to hide his hands. If he could cover more of his face, he would, but it's far too warm here and he doesn't need to be in RESCUE. POD hovers around, examining various parts of the Kana as he's similarly looking at other angles. He's also got a data cable connected to the Kana, while he tries to figure out how to properly hack into its systems without a terrible amount of force that could damage systems and data. While he does seem to be doing better, every once in a while... He stares off in the distance past the Kana. He stops, shudders, and shakes off the feeling before trying to get back to work... but it's obvious that it's bothering him. Perhaps with good reason too; this is the machine that killed him! He's trying to be brave, pushing through the fear of this. Trying to relearn what being brave versus being reckless is.
Tamamo	Tamamo hasn't been here at all and so, of course, she hasn't seen the war machine since then, either. It doesn't hold quite the same feeling for her, when she walks in, fully dressed in her heavy robes and gold as her own match to the professional attire of Paladins staff, so much as it feels a heavy and, perhaps, inelegant weapon. It wasn't exactly graceful the way Petra used it. But maybe, she thinks, that has something to do with Petra's own lack of grace. "Really, what a hopeless girl. And Lilian spoke of making her 'presentable.'" She says this to no one at all, while still off at some distance, looking up and around the secure hangar. And then she gets closer, and her attention focuses on Ishirou. It's been a little while here, too, even if hearing his voice makes it seem less so. When did they last talk, like this? Blaming things being 'busy' is hardly sufficient. "Ishirou, are you... ah, does 'healthy' have another meaning, at the moment? I would ask if you are feeling full of energy, but it rather seems not." It's hard not to look at the Kana, too, with them connected. "Do you expect to find some secrets, here?"
Ishirou	Ishirou looks towards Tamamo the moment she speaks up. Despite himself, he does smile. He /is/ happy to see her returned, despite what he might be feeling in the presence of something that killed him. He unplugs the 'tail' that comes out of somewhere under the baggy clothes and instead attaches a data pad to it. He can do what comes next remotely now. "...Maybe. Who made her, and the like. This weapon is a very high-spec machine... it isn't something like Phony's machine, it's... a weapon made to kill. I want to know more about it..." He says uneasy. "I'm..." he says, he almost said 'he's fine' but that's not true. "I'm trying to do better," he says with a weak smile. "A lot has happened. Between Petra, Lilian, and myself. I... am really glad you're around again!" Ishirou takes a steadying breath. "Sorry, this thing unnerves me... being something that killed me." "...The hopeless girl, you mean Petra? I.." he pauses, "I have complicated feelings on her."
Tamamo	'...a weapon made to kill. "It is not a toy, that much is clear. A soldier's weapon is always made for such a purpose, even if a soldier claims their goals to be for the defense of humanity." Though Tamamo says that levelly, the look in her betrays at least a little pessimism regarding the motivations of war fighters, generally. 'A lot has happened.' "This is certainly true. Even a small period of inattentiveness may cause one to regret a great many missed opportunities, as others have discovered." There's a slight frown, but she distracts herself by studying over the mecha. Not that she has much of any means of understanding this sort of thing. The frown smooths away, in a few moments. 'Sorry, this thing unnerves me... "Of course. You need not apologize for that." With the smallest smile, "It is well to see that death did not keep you, though it has left many marks. And so, I did expect that you might wish not to be left alone with them." '...The hopeless girl, you mean Petra?' "Oh, my, did you hear that? I should say to pay it no mind, and yet... I suppose that to be rather difficult. As you say. As it would be inconvenient were she to be chased from the field, at this juncture, and so, one is left with the onerous task of dealing with her continued presence, knowing that she has learned scarcely a single thing since she last set her course of ruin." Just getting straight into it. It was a topic to be eased into with Angela, but by the time she'd talked with Hibiki -- and then, again, with Petra, herself -- Tamamo had found that her patience was not quite endless. It's almost enough to make her forget what she really has to ask Ishirou. But she doesn't ask quite yet.
Ishirou	Ishirou nods at the Kana being a weapon of war. A weapon made to kill... "One might argue that was what S6 and I were made for..." Ishirou says, somewhat despondently at that. "...You know Lilian and Dimo were right. I should have listened to them about Indus." He sighs and sits down. "It was my fault Lilian had to help clean up that mess... and then I used it to throw all of my frustrations with it at Petra. I certainly didn't help the situation. In fact... I really did make it worse with her... With Lilian," he says looking at Tamamo. "I'm... sorry." "I can't take responsibility for every single thing, but it certainly did not help at a time when things were strained.." he frowns, looking down. He takes a breath, "...I want to say she is trying, in some ways, but... I am not sure how to approach her now. It's..." He obviously means Petra in this. "She does nothing but come after me, but... at the same time, it is something I did right to her to start." Ishirou rubs his forehead, and his connection with the Pad, which is plugged into the Kana starts its process. "It is well to see that death did not keep you, though it has left many marks. And so, I did expect that you might wish not to be left alone with them." "I... thank you. It has. I don't think my soul came back right for a little. I did a lot to hurt those around me, trying to... come to terms with it. I.." he says trying to fight off tears welling, "I didn't think how you all felt when you saw my status go offline when it happened... and then I came back and just... tried to pretend it didn't happen. Tried to pretend you all had to see what she did to me.." He rubs his nose, and then his eyes. "Then I abandoned my body... I... let that woman get into my head, convince me I didn't deserve it... and I fooled myself into thinking I didn't either... because of Indus... that I deserved to suffer like they were.." He swallows. "I hate it, being like this. I tried to ignore it, tried to pretend but... it feels awful being this way."
Petra Soroka	The parallel between the Ekanamsha S1 being chained beneath the earth and forgotten by the Paladins, and the Paladins attempts to drag its pilot from her own isolated cell and parade her in front of the multiverse, is perhaps somewhat poetic. Or at least interesting-- very little is poetic about the Kana. Of the vast array of multiversal weaponry consigned to imprisonment beneath Aegis Astray, much of it is imbued with some level of animism, human or inhuman care reflected in the curvature of metal, the little inefficiencies in function that act like fingerprints of the people who made them. No such expression exists in the Kana, with its brutalist angles and heavy quadrupedal stature. For many of the other machines, this containment room is a cell. For the Kana, it is unequivocally a warehouse. Getting into the Kana is seriously, unbelievably in the literal sense, difficult. The machine oozes paranoia and hostility, choked off from entry at all but a few pinpoint vulnerabilities, ones that Ishirou might've even overlooked if not for being present when they were actively relaying battlefield data to the main computer systems during the fight where he was killed. It's not that it's a primitive system, or that it's particularly well-guarded through sophisticated firewalls and contingencies for cyber attacks-- instead, it comes across as hermetically sealed, as airtight electronically as it is physically. From a cursory glance, after Ishirou's catboy USB tail disengages from the machine, there are a handful of notable features, though he may look into other things if he wants: » Environmental Scanning » Weapons Systems » Baryon Inversion Cannon » Schematics » Æ%Â¥\4 0 The Schematics details appear to have been opened once ever, back in August AU 29, for about five minutes, and then never again.
Tamamo	'I'm... sorry.' "I know that you are," Tamamo says, her expression sympathetic, though she follows with, "and that it is not enough, to merely be sorry, and to try to be better than you were. One may do so only as many times as another's patience holds, and Lilian's has not. She is more than slightly cross, as you may know, both for things that were done, and for things that should have been done, and yet, were not. I know you seek a path of forgiveness and restoration, and I know the character of that path. I would not force you down it. There is always a choice." '...it is something I did right to her to start.' Tamamo shakes her head, her tone firming. "There are those to whom you owe debts, but not to her. She has taken hers in full. Do not mistake one as worthy of trust merely for that they have spoken words you could not deny." She softens again when he gets to Indus. "Oh, no, Ishirou... no, you need not have done so. You have made mistakes, and you have betrayed trust that was placed in you, and for that, you must reflect upon yourself. Even so, this is a penance for which none could ask. To take suffering upon yourself alone, for another's satisfaction, will not earn you what was lost. Nor will it provide any to those who truly wish to see you improve." A touch toward 'fretful.'
Ishirou	Ishirou listens, he really does even as he gains access to the Kana. He waits, that can wait despite his strongest curiosity. Right now what is more important to him is Tamamo and talking with someone who is family to him. He's been indulging in the worst parts of himself lately. 'I would not force you down it. There is always a choice.' "...I would do anything to make her life better. Even if she never forgives me. I can't pretend I can earn that back, I wronged her, severely. It's worse coming from me, I think because we were so close..." He wipes more tears away. "I don't know if I deserve to be forgiven but... if Lilian's life is made better then I'll do anything to do so." 'To take suffering upon yourself alone, for another's satisfaction, will not earn you what was lost. Nor will it provide any to those who truly wish to see you improve.' "You're... right. I know you are. I should have known better at the start of all of this. I should have asked for help or... get it. I shouldn't have ignored my own feelings or thought that I 'deserved' things. I shouldn't have tried to suffer in silence, or thrown myself at things to 'die'. I..." he takes a breath. "I think I really just wanted to go back to how things were, you know? But... you can't turn back tales." He sniffs, rubbing his face. "I want to improve... I want to be better. Not just for her, but for the people around me who love me. I need to do better, and... I will try everything I can to be," he says, smiling at her. "So... please don't look so worried. I just had a lot to get through." He pauses, then. "It seems I got something," he says, pulling his hand up and letting POD project the image of what he see's. "If you have no suggestions on what I should look through, I will choose the last two. I think that's all I can get without tripping it going back into its safety mode. It can be a lot longer for me to get more out of it."
Tamamo	'Even if she never forgives me.' 'It's worse coming from me, I think because we were so close...' "You have the right of it. Perhaps I need not say anything for you to understand, though I will say this, so you can be sure that what you see is true. The path of which I speak is one of constant effort that may never see any reward. To prove oneself again worthy of trust that was once given, then betrayed, there can be no path but discounting your own feelings, in favor of those belonging to the one you wronged. One can expect neither kindness, nor a fair and just distribution of suffering. If you would truly do anything, you must do more than is asked of you, again, and again, and again." It's a dire and all but hopeless outlook. The fact that there's any hope at all is the reason she can still say it. For her part, of course, Tamamo believes that Lilian is worth that effort. Maybe no one else is but Lilian. The bunrei of the Sun goddess may be a bit biased, but she doesn't think so, herself. No, her judgment is clearly perfect. 'So... please don't look so worried.' Tamamo covers her reaction with a laugh, even if it isn't the funny kind. "Ahaha... do I look so?" It makes it easier to smile. "I suppose I have been just a bit stressed, as well, in seeking to handle many matters. No, of course, I know that you will work through this, and that if you cannot do so alone, you will do so with help. There is no need for concern as, even with that girl chasing after her, solutions will present themselves to us, when sought." The words are more frivolous than her true thoughts. She won't be waiting before seeking. "I fear I can suggest little, as these characters... seem to be such that I cannot make sense of them." Tamamo gestures to the last line, when Ishirou displays it.
Ishirou	If you would truly do anything, you must do more than is asked of you, again, and again, and again. "Yeah. I know... but at least it'll improve her life, and I can only hope it erases a little of what I did.." he says with a sigh. He closes his eyes for a moment. How much he wishes to gain back what he lost, what he'd do to undo what he did but... well... you can't undo a tale. "So I just have to keep shoveling coal." Ishirou smiles at Tamamo when she starts laughing. It's... nice to hear, after everything that's happened. "Right... yeah it will. I'm surprised you've been as stressed out over this... it seems like Lilian is more interested in making you happier than ever.." he sort of asks. "I guess that's not my business... I just hope everything remains happy between you and Lilian." He /genuinely/ means that. "Hmm. The words here I think are part of a corruption of the data. I am not sure what caused this, so data recovery might be slow. Well, let's start with the Schematics and then move on to the corrupted data," he says, thoughtfully. He starts with the Schematics, hopefully, that can help him work out what the corrupted data is, as he goes into the fifth selection once he's done with the Schematics.
Tamamo	'I'm surprised you've been as stressed out over this... it seems like Lilian is more interested in making you happier than ever.' "Why, of course. If she is unhappy, herself, how could I relax?" Tamamo says this without really thinking about it. 'I just hope everything remains happy between you and Lilian.' Tamamo nods, making a low 'mn' of agreement. 'The words here I think are part of a corruption of the data.' "As of a wound, perhaps, or as of sabotage? Is it not some secret word? Ah, but, a secret word should at least be something that can be read. How peculiar."
Petra Soroka	» Schematics It's easy enough to pull up the transparent lined 3D model of the Kana, and upon doing so, easy enough to see why Petra-- it had to have been Petra, that opened the file once, a year ago, the first and only person to do so-- gave up on understanding it so quickly. The information density is blinding; layers upon layers upon layers of intricate machinery, details of a thousand functions of varying note crowd the diagram, with extremely little accessibility designed into its UI. The tone, just from the structure of the schematics, is that this is meant to be quickly referenced by an expert who needs a refresher on which air intake shaft will need to be disconnected from the life support in case of exhaust leakage through a shot pipe-- not for a girl who once forgot to enable the life support and hotboxed herself accidentally while smoking cigarettes. On the topic of life support, it and the extensive armor are provided the most detailed redundancies in the schematics. Self-sustaining in ways that a typical space ship could only dream of, the Kana contains dozens of filtration and recycling systems, enabling a sealed ecosystem of water, heat, air, power, all without losing any to the outside world. It's as if it's meant to exist in space unsupported, for years on end. An idea that becomes odd, when also looking at the heavy weaponry and armor. The cockpit itself is packed with the necessities for human life too, layered on top of and within each other in an impeccably precise use of space, that is absolutely not mirrored in the state of the cockpit as it is now. The microwave, storage space, food preservation redundancies, along with other spartan devices imply that the Kana is, actually, meant to be livable for its pilot. There's also a depressable opening in one of the cabinets, with a space big enough for someone's head and shoulders to fit inside, equipped with plumbing that cycles back into the life support. Is that a shower? Did Petra just never find it?
Ishirou	Ishirou pauses, shaking his head at himself when he realizes what he said. "That was rather dumb of me to say, sorry. Of course, you can't relax... but..." he sighs, "Is there anything I can do to make her life happier? I have... something of an idea already in the works, but it's only one thing." He does smile at her, "Well, whatever I can do to make sure that continues to be the case.." "Yeah. I am not sure if she did it, where she got it from did it... or if it could be an old error. It's hard to say without more examination. Well, it /COULD/ be some sort of cipher but the only people who could even start to figure that out is someone like myself..." He brings up the Schematics. "Wow... this thing was built almost like a starship. Its ability to keep its pilot alive in any environment is... curious? Was this made for invasion? Huh..." he isn't sure, this thing is too well-engineered. He expands and contracts different parts of it, trying to look at various systems. He also makes sure to send the schematics to POD for later review. Though something catches his eye. "...Wow even a shower. It's not grand, but it's enough for a sponge bath and to wash your hair... This was definitely made for long-term engagements or hostile environmental protection where perhaps one would not have access to normal supplies for long portions of time.." Ishirou starts trying to access the corrupted data next.
Petra Soroka	» Æ%Â¥\0 0 There is, while Ishirou worms his way through the innards of a computer system that was never meant to allow outside contact at all, much less of the exploratory kind, a blatant rough patch in all the code and files he pores through. It's as if someone took digital scissors and shredded wires at random, like a toddler grabbed hold of raw data in their little fist and shoved it in their mouth. Huge swathes of information and interconnections and even basic functions are ruined, denied access, scrambled so brutally that it feels like gore. Tracing around the 'outside' of the ruined area lets Ishirou map out guesses of what it could have been. Information relays should exist between nearly every part of the mech. Rather than simply connecting to the console itself, every device-- from the innocuous life support to the main turret on top to the thrusters underneath-- seems to have had a complex web of digital communication that bypassed the pilot entirely. All of it is gutted now, with a purposeful but deeply clumsy, or uncaring, hand. The more that Ishirou feels his way along the ragged scars in the computer system, the more ingrained the damage seems to be. The corruption extends into every weapon, particularly the Baryonic Inversion Cannon he'd seen on the Schematics. The mech feels practically lobotomized and quadriplegic in its current state; even without being able to tell exactly what functions were damaged, the sheer extent of it is alarming. Ishirou has a very good idea of what this machine did when piloted by Petra. Lilian was right when she marveled at what it might be capable of in the right hands. So far, all Ishirou has done is feel out the shape of the damage, without actually trying to delve into it or repair it. It's brutalized, absolutely, but if anyone could try to at least restore some of it, it'd be him. But should he? » {Y E S} {N O}
Tamamo	Tamamo cannot, of course, read mecha schematics like an expert. Her analytical abilities are totally unsuited to the task, beyond being exceptionally gifted with spatial geometry. That doesn't quite add up to applied fluid dynamics. "Though I must admit to not being terribly well versed in the ways of war, it has been said to me, by others, that an invasion is an undertaking that requires such things as lines of supply. To go entirely on its own, might this be used by a scout, instead? And yet, it does not seem especially stealthy. Perhaps its maker's enemies were not the sort to notice... this?" Tamamo takes a few steps closer, and reaches out a hand for the machine. "Strange... perhaps. There is so little of a 'past,' here. Any blade used for long enough carries some of the feeling of its wielder, as well as its craftsman, and any who have long carried it. How could there be none, for a weapon of this size and careful make?" She could give that a closer examination, to find the less obvious signs, the ones left by those who would never think they had, but decides against that, for now. She doesn't much like the thought of digging her fingers into it, to say nothing of the distaste of going through Petra's... what was the term? She searches her memory, and comes up with, "Gamer den." She can't see anything to do with the damage Ishirou is mapping out next. Instead, she asks, "Do we know what army built this?"
Ishirou	Ishirou shakes his head, "I don't know what army built this. Though from the schematics and materials assessment, I can probably narrow down the region of the Multiverse it came from, and then look at militaries who could make this from there," Ishirou looks... contemplative. "...You'd think it is a scout, but I don't think so. It's too heavily armed and armored, and as you said has no stealth system. It /could/ be a commando force? A force made to go behind enemy lines and live off the land... a small squadron of these would be devastating." "They could even do sieges without needing to be supplied..." "The other alternative is that these were machines created for destruction. To go to places where it's uninhabited, and take control by any means necessary... something you'd use against a native population that isn't technologically advanced or perhaps biologically based? The napalm thrower indicates that... but this cannon that was unplugged completely..." "I could start restoring the systems here, try to piece together what was lost. It'd take time and effort... it might let me figure out more about what this machine's intended purpose is, and maybe even figure out who made it..." He pauses, "But it would also make this thing more functional... and that might present its own problems," he takes a breath. "Though I suppose if it's worse than we thought we could disable it and deconstruct it..."
Tamamo	Tamamo makes several expressions of pondering and consideration that come to nothing. She's unable to break through that lack of military knowledge. Perhaps... yes, she'll have to ask someone more likely to know. At the very least, Petra can tell her where she stole this thing from. She'll look elsewhere for military expertise, of course. "It is beyond my own knowledge. I should expect, at least, there are many more like this, for it to show so little care in some ways, yet so much in others." Mass production would explain the lack of individualization. "'Restoring,' is it? If you believe it safe to do so, and so long as we do not allow this to be taken away, there should be no harm in repairing it, rather than dismantling it, I suppose. Take care, at least, that you do not confuse mystery for import. Though it presents unanswered questions, some are but distractions, when one's goals lie elsewhere." She doesn't really look convinced either way, but neither does she know anyone who would have reason to try and use the machine, apart from Petra -- and she's already arranged her safety plan for that eventuality. There's no problem, then. Probably. "Being, as I suspect, no help in this endeavour, I must take my leave. Ah, but do hear this, as well, Ishirou. You may remember, that among that which hurt Lilian, were the tactics of one who sought to find and press any weakness that could be uncovered, for little cause but spite. You may find yourself again beset by the same, and should not think to yourself, for the sake of another's spite, 'I deserve to suffer.' Do you see?" A little while later, and Tamamo heads out, thinking of whom to ask her next questions.