Blake went into the hanger bay of the ship and went into the shuttle craft that lay silently in wait. He entered it before proceeding to exit the hanger with a few fighter escorts. He landed into Geary's hanger bay and got out of the shuttle. He walked with a few of his bodyguards to the bridge. He couldn't hide it anymore, if it were to be hidden the consequences were unbearable.
Carabali looked over at Elizia and waved her hand lightly. "Go ahead, I bet he's coming down anyways to see what we were up to. Be quick, he doesn't really like to be kept waiting unless he has to. We'll see you in a bit, yeah?" She smiled lightly, watching Elizia briefly before standing to attention when Geary appeared. "Admiral on deck!" She yelled across the deck, personally proud as the people did as they needed to immediately as a salute and standing to attention like her.
She liked to show off a little now and again to him.
"At ease. A pleasure to see the crew working so well, especially after that fiasco… Almost makes me wish we were back in the older days of the Alliance."
"Don't jinx yourself, sir. We don't want what happened last time happen again."
"Point taken." He replied, the two of them engaging in conversation now of course.
~~~
Desjani turned from her work when she heard the footsteps behind her. "Admiral Geary I thought you were–" She cut herself off as she turned to the guests. Now this, she hadn't expected and wondered personally if they had an issue. She narrowed her eyes a little anyways, just barely to get her point across. "Why the guards? The meeting isn't due for another few hours." She stated, not wanting to show fear or any emotion other than annoyance to these people at the moment.
Elizia went red in the face.
Here was a human fleetmaster… admiral? And she wasn’t even in proper uniform. She was in tattered mechanist work clothes. All the engineers down here must be extremely at ease with their admiral, or as worried as she was. She would have been shunned, or perhaps even shot on a Mechanist ship. Efficiency overrides moral code when it comes to life or death, didn’t it? Where was the clockwork?!
She observed—silently, to be sure— as Carabali and Geary talked. The casual nature of it all was rather bizarre…
"I apologise for the unexpected visit," Blake said apologetically To the person in front of him.
He continued walking forward and took out a red file, a confidential seal stamped in the middle.
"May I ask who you are?" He asked stopping in front of the woman.
(Two different places there, sport. Geary is with Carabali and Elizia on the gun deck. Blake’s with Desjani)
(Sorry, kinda got confused.)
(No worries! Just making sure people don’t start phasing from one place to another. I’ve had my character be phased by someone else and it was kinda like, “Wait, huh? I was just… over there….”)
{Hence why I waited, if it confuses you again do tell me!}
~~~
Geary gave a smile to Carabali anyways before looking over to Elizia, surprised of course but not really commenting for a tiny bit of time. "This the one that helped in our defences?"
"Yes sir, the one and only. I kept an eye over her, she doesn't need to have me looking over her shoulder every twenty seconds. She's done her part and I've already said on behalf of the crew of Dauntless we are in her debt."
"Well, the Marines of this ship were, but I see where you're coming from so yeah, even I have to give her credit… Thank you for taking time out of whatever you had to come out and help us, I don't know how many I would've lost if you weren't here." He stated to Elizia.
~~
Desjani eyed Blake carefully but she made no moves yet. "I'm Captain Tanya Desjani, second in command to Admiral Geary. If you need him I can make sure he comes to the bridge… This is a first I'm seeing something confidential being passed around publicly and on paper."
(Okay, now I’m confused. Perhaps we can say Elizia bumped into Blake’s escort on the way to her ship? Cuz the reaction thingy was supposed to be Geary arriving before she had a chance to leave.)
(Tell me if it's good now.)
(All clear!)
Elizia didn’t expect his gaze to travel over her, and his thanks. His actual thanks…
Elizia stuttered our a response, “Ah! Um, it was nothing, Fleetmaste— Admiral! Sorry, I’m not used to the whole way this works…” She ground to a halt, then started excitedly, her neon wings appearing and flashing blue, “Which reminds me, the Fleetmaster on board the Monasisha will want to speak with you… I think. I’ve never met them, but I’ve heard the fleetmaster can be a bit tough. I’d like to try to talk to them, but only with your permission, and it’s up to you whether you want to be the one doing the talking.“
Geary raised a brow at her stuttering, smiling very lightly at her. He could understand her awkwardness and shyness. However at the prospect at meeting another species's commander… He thought over the option. The good and the bad before he gave a nod to Elizia. "I wouldn't mind having a chat. You have my permission to try and talk to them. No matter what happens, the Marines and crew members of Dauntless are here to protect you." He stated.
Carabali gave a small laugh. "Barely know her for a day and it sounds like you've taken her under your wing, Jack."
"Watch the name, you know I hate the whole 'Black Jack' thing the Alliance threw at me or my apparent heroism. But if I hadn't you would have."
"Very fair point, however I think we should hand her off to Smythe. She'd make more use with him for the moment. And a way to get her away from our 'wings' here."
“Thank you, Admiral,” Elizia nodded, her wings shining ever more brightly, “You’ll not be disappointed, I swear on it. I’ll just be moment, I need to run to my ship to get ready.”
Elizia keyed in a set of messages to Brella requesting a communiqué with the fleetmaster, then stopped to look up at Geary, “Got a time and place for me to be, sir?”
"Sorry, but since you are part of Geary's fleet plus, you being second in command. It isn't much I can do." Blake said.
"This file contains information on a developed weapon created by our scientists, It also might be one of the reasons why THEY attacked" He continued grasping the file firmly.
He then paused, letting the information sink in.
"These times are dangerous even when in human territory, Politicians love to get these and sell them to insurrectionists or alien races." Blake then stopped talking.
Geary gave her a small smile now. "Lets set it up for about three hours, meeting room aboard Dauntless. If they don't approve there we can meet in the middle of space in range of both of our flagships." He stated to her. "Take your time there, no need to rush through this at all, is there? Thank you for your assistance aboard Dauntless."
~~~
Desjani frowned to herself now, going into thought as she went over what to do. Call Geary up so early? Perhaps. But this was vital information… "Admiral Geary has already predicted that the scouting force following us from our jump point followed because they wanted to see if they could break our spirits. To a degree he said that at least. I shall call up Geary now for you. Anything else I could do for you in the time being however while we wait for him to come up here?"
Elizia nodded and sent the messages, then gave a polite nod and a winged mechanist salute (which is stretching her right arm out level to her shoulder to the side, coming across to her chest, then doing a fist pump kinda thing). She turned to move to her ship, smiling in satisfaction. She’d done some good in the world today.
" No thanks," Blake said before waiting for a few minutes.
After a little bit of time he asked.
"How long have you been with Geary, what about your family?" Blake asked questions curiously.
Elizia boarded the Loveless Embrace and transferred all her tools to her much nicer jacket, replacing the ones that needed fixing and setting those aside for later. She showered and dressed, then glanced at the armored arm braces that denoted military service. All Mechanists were issued a pair, but wearing them was a choice if you found yourself in combat without being a designated fighter. The simple way to put it: if you fight and you’re ready to fight again, you show it with the braces.
It might not mean anything to the human Admiral, but she might be understood more by the fleetmaster as an impromptu fighter than a simple trader and dealer. At the very least,
She slid them on and did up the clasps, feeling their weight on her forearms. They weren’t terribly heavy, but noticeable enough to make her practice salute a little more clumsy. A few more tries straightened that out.
Desjani was a little thrown off with the questions but she did not allow it to be shown outwardly. "I have been working with Admiral Geary for two years now and I trust him with my life. Everyone here does, he's got no one else after all. My family on Kosatka understand that I will be fine because I'm the best damn Battlecruiser Captain. What about you, sir? If it is not too personal of course."
~~~
Geary had hummed a little to himself as he watched over the crews for a little. Content for them and their work. "Keep an eye on her, General. She'll want an escort of sorts to know where the meeting room is on this thing and you're the best for that job."
"Understood sir, you should head up for the bridge."
"I had a feeling I should do that too. I'll see you later. I owe you a drink or two for this miracle."
"A miracle that couldn't of happened without you."
He waved a hand lightly, turning and beginning his leave for the bridge, allowing Carabali to regather her thoughts for a little. She had a feeling this would go… Decently. For a meeting, at least from what she has experienced.
~~
{Sorry this was late lmao. Tell me if you want this edited.}
After having sufficiently practiced her salute, Elizia left the Loveless and strode onto the hanger deck on her way to the bridge, passing by an Admiral and another uniform making small talk.
(She means Blake)
After hearing the same question, asked back to him. He sighed.
"After the flames of civil war appeared I…" Blake hesitated kept silent for a while. His expression became nostalgic, and the look in his eyes started to change a little. It was like he could hardly keep his calm when he thought about the past. He said slowly, “Just like every other person, I once had a complete family. My father was strict, my mother was kind and warm, and I had two younger sisters. When the war began, they attacked, I was still a kid. Even now, I can still remember the laser cannons descending from the sky, thick like waterfalls, turning the largest buildings in the city centers into ash in an instant. We joined the evacuating crowd, and the military protected us. They knew clearly that staying behind meant death, but they still prioritized guarding us and sending us away.
“Unfortunately, my parents could not board the rescue spaceship. They died halfway there; a beam of laser turned my parents into ashes. I was just a kid in despair, and the only thing that I knew was how to cry. I followed the other refugees numbly. Every day, the army gave the refugees very little food. I was starving so much that I could not control myself at all. After I took the food, I hid more than half of the portion, only giving a little bit to my sisters. I just wanted to live at that time; I did not know how to think of anything else. Then… my two younger sisters starved to death.”
Blake paused then said in a very low voice, “I can still vividly remember their expression, their bony palms grabbing my clothes as they stared right into my eyes, like they were telling me how hungry they were, but they had no energy to talk. Those two pairs of eyes filled with despair cut right into my heart. My brain was blank, and a few seconds felt like centuries. When their arms slipped down without strength, only then did I dare take deep breaths. I was completely petrified. I couldn’t believe what I had done. If I had shared the food with my sisters, even if I would be hungrier, at least we all could have lived, but I knew nothing back then—I only thought about having filling meals, I felt that if I ate less, I would be starved to death the next day…
“I followed the crowd up the rescuing ship numbly, not knowing where to go. There were many kids like me who lost their families back then; they were all given to veterans with a disability to raise. A group of kids and I were given to a veteran, too. From then on, we lived with him. He raised us and taught us how to fight. He was a rough, impatient man, but a good man and a good soldier. Many of us were orphans that were raised by the elderly of our planet back then.
“As time passed, I gradually took that veteran as my foster father, but I always had a grudge in my heart. I felt my past was too dark; I felt I was an evil man. If I told my foster father, would he chase me away? One day, on impulse, I told him about my younger sisters’ death, and he gave me a serious scolding… but not because of my selfishness. He scolded me that if I had the heart to think about the past, I should be spending that time to train. He said that the race was on the verge of being wiped out, and there was no time to be held back by the past. Even if I was a criminal of countless sins, as long as I held the gun to protect our race, then I had only one identity—a soldier. No one would care about my past, only what I can do…”
(To long?)
(Too… sad. Shit.)
Elizia listened quietly, sitting far enough back to where it didn’t look like she was eavesdropping. Not like it mattered on a ship like this. Everything had a tendency to echo…
Sisterhood was everything, she knew. It determines whether you were a fighter or a hero or a survivor, or, well… anything. It’s the reason Elizia had it in her heart to fight for the humans: Brella would’ve done the same thing.
Feeling a bit more appreciation for Brella than before, Elizia continued her jog to the bridge, taking time where needed to help in any repairs.
Blake shook his head, as if trying to get rid of the dark spot in his mind.
"That's my past, maybe in the future I'll settle down and have kids… And if I do, I'll never! Never let them go through the same thing as I once had to…" Blake said, clenching his fists; with a distant tone.
"Ahh, I have to go…" Blake spoke after clearing his throat, breaking the silence. He walked away, a slight lonely tear forming in his eyes…