Eternal Galaxy: Phoenix - Intermission

[Kilelicus]

(Can't think of much to say right now...)

Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Corridors/Atrium
BGM: Umineko OST - Haze
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=DGI1XWx1szM#Haze

---

"Well," Gaspard started, "What sort of things did you eat on your planet? Maybe Earth cuisine is similar?" Gaspard asked. "We have agricultural sections in the lower levels of the Station. Hydroponics and what. Even have meat perfectly frozen and preserved."

He began leading Terra through the streets of Heaven's Atrium, towards a smaller dome towards the center: The mess hall.

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

Terra racked her brain for thoughts of food. But... wait, how was she supposed to compare food if she had no idea what they might or might not have? "Um... Food from my world? Uh... You have anything like... I dunno, cheeseburgers? Chicken? Tacos? Anything like that?"

[Cucoo5]

Palace

"Simple," Achlys started, "We simply need to initiate the boot-up sequence for all systems which will let the Gaia energy still in the core to flow throughout."

One of the female members spoke up, "Actually it's not that simple. The process requires certain steps to be performed since the system is currently cold. It's kinda like reviving someone from cryo; you can't just immediately wake them." She paused a moment before continuing. "As a technician of Condor squad, I've been trained to know how to work these systems. Our main concern is to make sure that we perform the procedure as quickly as possible without frying the system."

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Atmosphere | Space Station "Heaven" - Atrium
BGM: Umineko OST - Haze
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=DGI1XWx1szM#Haze

---

Gaspard smiled warmly as Terra listed off some of the delicacies that her planet would partake in. "Seems our planets were more similar than I imagined. Of course, we have those dishes. Among many others. Being a multicultural organization, we have a plethora of dishes to suit almost any palette. But I'll let you figure that out on your own." He said, leading Terra into the dome that held the Mess Hall. The hall itself was sparsely populated, though. Quite the opposite of what someone would expect out of a city on the scale that Heaven displayed. There were only a few Angels eating their lunches currently. Among them were Keegan and Valli having some sort of discussion, Keegan looking slightly sullen. Valli caught Gaspard's entrance out of the corner of his eye and waved.

"Pierre! Come join us!" he called out.

"Dans un moment, Michael. I have to acquaint our new friend with the buffet. She hasn't eaten in awhile and must be famished." He said, leading Terra to the Buffet table.

"Take your pick, young one. If you want Cheeseburgers, there are some over here. Cuts of chicken of different preparations are over here. And Tacos are over at that end if you prefer. Look around, take whatever catches your eye. There's plenty to go around!" He said, pointing out the different dishes.

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

Terra looked over at the group of people Gaspard was addressing. He said he was going to come over to them. Did that mean he wanted Terra to sit with them!? An icy discomfort flooded into her, upsetting her stomach, drying her mouth, pounding on her heart, and coating her muscles in a hard, stiffening varnish.

Hesitantly, she looked over at the meal options and, without thinking too much, grabbed a chesseburger, the first thing she had thought of, and placed it on a plate. She also found some milk - thankfully, they carried whole fat milk - and poured herself some in a small glass. She returned to Gaspard and, wishing to move things along, continued with their conversation.

"So, now that I'm Phenom's... Charge," the word felt uncomfortable in her mouth still, "what are we going to do next?"

[S121]

Palace

As he had expected, asking questions provided insight into how the city's power core functioned. If he had to guess, perhaps they had to start some kind of initializing component to the core, almost like the spark to a flame.

"So then what's the first step to safely starting up the core?", John asked the woman as they continued to walk.





Outside Hospital - CY-001 - Nevaaras

Ethan could tell that this angel was quickly catching on to his movements. Every time he would bob and weave past the woman's attacks, her blade would inch closer and closer to him. It was at this point that Ethan knew he was eventually going to get hit. Did he care? Nope.

"Well look who you're talking to. It's not like I have to worry about taking damage either... I'd just rather not steal away one of the galaxy's finest celestial bodies.", Ethan slyly said with a smile across his face. If Astrea didn't know any better, it would have appeared that Ethan was flirting with her right in the middle of a fight.

Meanwhile, Ethan was still carefully and expertly dodging Astrea's attacks, pulling out his ceramic carbide katana to parry some of her attacks and keep pace with her, all while slowly approaching what he could only guess was an armory.





The Expense | Hallman's Office

Emil silently and patiently listened to what Hallman had said, and so far it at least made sense that they would keep Astrea as-is to develop a better variant. Of course, that still begged the question about how Hallman implied that they had spent too much money to be able to fix her.

"I understand that you would keep her as she is for development purposes, but you make it sound like you blew all of G.R.A.C.E.'s funds on this project.", Emil calmly remarked to Hallman.





Jiff-E-Mart - Electra | Geminea Alpha

*BZZZT*

"Agh!"

Thomas elicited a small grunt of pain as the sparks from the circuit he was trying to repair lit up the rather dark room he was working in, quickly striking his face. Other than the small grunt he had made from the spark hitting him, Thomas remained very silent as he continued his work, not paying any mind to his surroundings as he carefully worked on the internals of one of the store's security cameras. Maybe if some of the Aristocrat's mercs hadn't been in the area and decided to take potshots at random targets, Thomas wouldn't have to fix this almost irreparable damage, almost. At the very least, Rebecca was there to end their fun... as well as their lives.

Either way, they wouldn't be coming back anymore. After the news about one of their patrols dying reached the rest of the mercenaries, another, more powerful patrol would be sent out. Of course, hiding Rebecca and his sanctuary was as simple as redirecting the patrol by giving them a scapegoat. Of course, Thomas had already done that. He had already dragged the bodies and snuck them into the camp of a group of raiders, so the Jiff-E-Mart was safe for now. As for the camera, much of its internal circuitry was damaged by the bullet that had pierced the outer casing, but Thomas had simply gone to a nearby bank and took the camera. After that, he simply gutted the camera and took the parts he needed. After that, he would keep the scraps for any other projects he would have. It was a lengthy process, but he got resources from it, so he was perfectly fine with it.

[SUSTIC]

Palace

As the Doctor continued to follow the group through the passageways of the Palace he just continued to juggle between listening to the others with intent, and examining his surroundings with awe. At times it looked like he was... just a kid in a candy store. An ancient, high-tech candy store filled with all sorts of very bad creepy crawlies that could jump out of nowhere at any time. Either way he was still eagerly following the group when he spoke in response to talking about needing to start the system as soon as possible without frying everything.

"Starting the system quickly without frying said system should be a piece of cake." The Doctor spoke as he quickly clapped his hands once as he looked at the Female Member. "Now just show me to the systems and I'll begin working myself." He spoke before giggling like an excited little child.

"Oh this is quite exciting. Getting to work with the systems that had powered this place once in the past! You don't get a chance like this anymore... Well... Not in this time at least. I really should have paid more stops back to the time when this place was still active." Said the Doctor as he begun to pick up his pace.



Outside Hospital - CY-001 - Nevaaras

At Ethan's remark, Astraea had become quite physically angry as she picked up her speed even more. It was quite surprising how fast she could move and attack. As even though Ethan was parrying her attacks with his own blade, she was beginning to more expertly counter until she eventually had enough of this as she quickly pulled a trigger on her blade which caused a strong surge of energy to coat the blade. Upon which Astraea quickly brought the now energy-charged blade down upon Ethan's left shoulder, intending to cut right through his shoulder and through his body...




The Expense | Hallman's Office

"Hah, like I'd really blow all of our funds on this project. Instead we're SAVING money by combining and using some older projects, while also making newer... stuff to help it all meld together properly. So think of it as... recycling. We intend on this new line of Angeloid's being not entirely faster or stronger. Rather I intend for them to be more reliable in general. Taking some weaponry from one of our older projects, and using some of the old data from the first line of Angeloid's, complete with a new... brain, and other things can actually make this project turn out quite interesting in the end. Not only that but we're upgrading the older tech obviously."



((Reposting this for Wriggle ))
Hall of the Wyverns | Electra | Geminiea Alpha

After a few minutes Drake emerged from the bathroom once he finished brushing his teeth. When he entered the room he stretched and looked at Erin with a drowsy, half-alert stare as he walked over to his fellow resistance member. Though thankfully he was awake enough to hold a proper conversation now.

"So.. what was it again...?" Drake asked Erin as he began to straighten his hair with his hands. Clearly he wasn't caring about his personal appearance today.

[WriggleRid3r]

Jiff-E-Mart - Electra | Geminea Alpha

---

Rebecca hummed a tune. After a hectic slaughter earlier, Rebecca enjoyed her halcyon hours of the afternoon while laying on the ceiling of the Jiff-E-Mart she called home. The high that she got from the kills died out into a faded memory as Rebecca fiddled with the necklace she had on. It was a pretty trinket: white-gold in the shape of a double helix and completed with sterling silver chains, and it was... the only thing she had in her possession that weren't weapons.

"Hmm..." Rebecca rose to a sitting position. She had an excellent physique: a well-built body with the excessive body fat replaced with lean muscles. Whether they're because of superior genetics or because of Rebecca's continuous, on-the-move attitude giving her enough exercises is unknown, but it's no question that Rebecca looks very alluring and seductive, primarily because of her said physiques.

Rebecca's body aside, she was getting rather bored. Relaxation is nice and all, but she was craving something. Something that's not blood and slaughter. She was looking for...

"Thoooomaaaaas-" Rebecca said out loud, half to herself and half to Thomas who's down in the basement so probably can't hear her, as she walked downstairs. Hopefully her brother is not occupied with anything so that she can play with him.

[S121]

Outside Hospital - CY-001 - Nevaaras

Ethan's smile grew into a grin as the fight became more intense, but as time went on, he soon went from putting forth no effort, to trying to keep her from hitting him. Eventually, the angelic woman's blade began to pulsate with a dangerous glow as she swung once more. Ethan clenched his teeth as he saw the blade come down after him, and doing the only thing that would keep him from getting hit, Ethan activated his anti-gravity module and surged backwards as hard as he could, slamming through the wall to the weapons laboratory and sparing him from Astrea's wrath.



Weapon's Lab - CY-001 - Nevaaras

Ethan's HUD flickered as he slammed through the wall and he grunted as he felt various vertebrae in his spine crack from the impact. The scientists within the room all scattered and either hid behind desks, or ran out of the room as rubble from the wall fell heavily against the floor and as the dust poured into the open hole in the wall. Ethan was far enough away not to get hit again, but not for much longer. Reacting as quickly as he could, Ethan then flew to the back of the room and pulled out his TRX-77, aiming it as he reached the back of the room. Once there, Ethan opened fire, sending a large metal slug hurling at Astrea at hypersonic speeds.





The Expense | Hallman's Office

"I see.", Emil said to Hallman as he thought about the project.

How Emil saw it, perhaps it would be a step in the right direction if they took successful projects from the past and tried to implement them into newer ones to further improve overall efficiency. There was only one question on his mind though. He was actually rather curious about what would happen to Astrea once the project was completed.

"And their predecessor?", Emil asked Hallman with a light tilt of his head while his arms were still crossed.





Jiff-E-Mart - Electra | Geminea Alpha

Thomas continued to work on the camera, and thankfully he was almost done. Luckily for him, he had already gathered all the scrap he could from the damaged parts. This scrap would most likely be useful later when he either wanted to build something new, or even make repairs to some of his old equipment. All that remained was to install the properly working components into the camera, and then he would just have to install it outside. After securing the circuitry inside the camera's chassis, Thomas then conected all the components together and began work on closing the camera's casing.

[WriggleRid3r]

Jiff-E-Mart - Electra | Geminiea Alpha

---

"Thoooomaaaaas"

Thomas can hear the door to basement opening with a familiar calling to alert him of Rebecca's arrival. Thankfully her body was not caked in blood again like before; water supply was running low for the showers. When Rebecca called out to Thomas in the said playful manner, it most likely meant that she was just bored and needed someone to play with.

"Hey Thomaaaas" Rebecca called out to her brother as she approached him, her pink gaze uninterested in what Thomas was fixing. "I'm bored. Let's play ❤"

---

Eastern Hemisphere | Prosperity

---

After what felt like an eternity, Serena opened her eyes to find herself in an abundant green planet of sorts. Grassy plains entered Serena's vision, then the hazy silhouette of rocky mountains, vast lake, and lush forests. Opening the hatch let in fresh, breathable air into Serena's broken starfighter, filling Serena's lungs with exuberance.

Something stung.

Serena grasped the source of the pain: her left eye.... except it wasn't there. Gone; missing, and replaced with a hollow hole profusely expelling blood out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Serena screamed as the pain hit. She came to the realization that the collision into this planet must've caused her to lose her left eyeball. Clutching her head in utter agony, Serena collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily and muttering phrases chaotically. Even a calm individual like Serena would be in panic when thrown into this situation. "Gaah- it hurts- no... this can't be happening... this isn't..."

"Am... Am I going to die...?"

Serena cried tears off her in-tact eye and blood off the empty eye socket. She felt faint and dizzy, as she was losing a considerable amount of blood. She remembered countless battles where she sustained an injury or two... but none were as serious as this. The pain was unbearable as she laid on her back, breathing so heavily and so fast, to the point of hyperventilation. The feeling of death crept near, and for a second, Serena just thought of giving it all up and dying in that busted starfighter...

"No... I can't die... not here, not yet..."

Serena slowly crept up to a short-range radio-wave transmitter that thankfully was still working. With it, she sent out a short and succinct message.

"To anyone that's hearing this message... please... send help... I am pinned down near a lake of sorts in this planet... my radar is busted... I cannot provide exact coordinates..."

"Please hurry... I do not have much time..."

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

"None of us can say for certain. As it stands, we're on standby." Gaspard said, compiling his own plate of food, mainly lined with French delicacies in addition to some garlic bread sticks. He also poured himself a glass of juice and turned towards his fellow Guardian Angels, leading Terra to them, unaware of the girl's anxiety about such a sudden introduction.

"And if I were you, I'd think of it less as you being his Charge, and more about him being your Guardian Angel."

"Is this the girl, Gaspard?" Valli said from a short distance away.

"This is her."

"A real life mage... fascinating!" Valli observed with surprise.

"Terra, meet Michael Valli, Guardian Angel I, and Keegan Jeagar, Guardian Angel V." The Frenchman said, gesturing towards the experienced yet inviting Valli, and then to the young and sullen looking Jeagar.
"Mike, Keegan, this is Terra Kirisame. She aided us in subduing the Null on the surface."

Gaspard then sat down next to Valli and began working on the lunch he had prepared for himself.

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space - Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Towering Cloud in Summer
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uZd41NMBM4s

---

I see... these people must not have magic in their world, the girl mused. Wait, they already knew about that!? Has word of me spread that quickly!? Terra had been with Phenom for a bit, sure, but to be known already by total strangers? That had not been an expectation of hers.

Terra struggled to introduce herself, making it abundantly clear just how anxious the young lady was around new people. It seemed to clash slightly with the garb she had donned in the battle. She looked somewhat strong in her armor, but her face and mannerisms didn't match up. "U-uh... h-hello. I'm Terra. Oh, b-but...he just said that..." Red burned her cheeks as Terra looked down at the floor, obviously feeling awkward and humiliated.

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity Space | Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Haze
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGI1XWx1szM

---

Valli immediately noticed Terra's embarrassment over her restating her name and shrugged.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, young one. You've been through a lot today, and this whole ordeal is a lot for you to process. You should have seen Phenom when he first met me. I couldn't get him to come out from behind his father's leg. Neither could his father. Please, sit down and eat with us! We won't bite, I promise!"

"Well actually... I've gotta go. Command is sending me to the surface. Something just impacted and they want me to see what I can learn about it." Keegan said, promptly excusing himself from the table and muttering something about "fix this, Keegan, make this, Keegan, investigate the crash site, Keegan." as though he were frustrated with his work.

Valli took a bite out of the cheeseburger that he had before him before turning to Terra. "Feel free to take his seat, miss. I apologize for his sudden departure. Keegan's a little on edge because of Amanda. They're close. Don't worry about it, though. Sana's report says Amanda's going to make a fully recovery."

Gaspard began digging into his own meal. "Mike, I have to say... Terra's rather skilled in combat. She held her own against what was effectively a Phenom doppleganger for a time."

"Really!? Impressive!" Valli responded. "Terra, please... tell me. How does your magic work? It's something we've never been able to achieve in our world."

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity Space - Heaven
BGM: Umineko: When They Cry - Towering Cloud in Summer
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uZd41NMBM4s

---

Terra didn't think anyone had seen her struggle with the Null. Amanda was knocked out and Phenom had been hallucinating. It was to her surprise that she heard that Gaspard had seen. She found herself blushing helplessly by his compliment of her.

"M-my magic? Well, uh..." Terra didn't know where to begin, so she just let herself talk a bit. "Well, some people have the ability to use it. Every person is born with a specific potential for using it, or none at all. Anyway, those of us that can have magical energy inside of us, sort of. I-it's not really inside of us so much as it's inside us. L-like... I mean, like our souls or spirits. And when we have it, we can use it to perform magic." The exposition came to a halt there, as Terra had finished going through the basics and had no idea what else they might wish to learn. She imagined they must have been curious.

[Cucoo5]

Palace

The Hunteri that heard the Doctor's comment glanced at him with a wary look. The technician was especially uncertain about having him work on the systems, turning to Achlys for help on how to deal with the situation.

"Hmm, you sound as if you have been in the galaxy before? That would be quite difficult considering the state that it was in during the time that this city was active." Achlys took a harder look at the Doctor before continuing. "Your attire also seems... odd... for someone that would have been from here so you would have to be a traveler of sorts, correct? How did you get here before?"

While Achlys spoke to the man, the technician breathed a sigh of relief before addressing John's question. "Right... So we have to make sure all systems are at a compatible frequency with the core. Overtime the conduits that carry the energy will settle, thus we have to bring them back to the proper state using small pulses so that the systems resonate correctly. If they're not calibrated correctly then pushing all that energy through could damage things."