Petals of Carbon Steel -- You're a Pilot, Not an Ace. Try your best.

"Fuck it, then," you say.

"Kana, wait—" Jay moves as if to stop you, but you've already pushed off the wall, sailing away from him. It's fine. Hopefully, you know what you're doing. There's no time to second guess now, though: If you're right, things are about to get very bad.

Arianne is saying something to Lash Twin #1, face tight, smile feigned. Twin #1 frowns, and all at once, her hand shoots forward, as if she intends to grab Arianne by the shoulder none-too-gently. Agnieszka's eyes widen dangerously.

Your hand closes around Twin #1's wrist, and your momentum drags her along with you as you sail past, carrying the two of you away from Arianne.

"Take your hands off of me!" Twin #1 snarls, shoving you away.

"Oh, sorry," you say, not sounding sorry at all. "I must have—" your bad leg makes contact with a bulkhead, and you grit your teeth against a sudden spike of pain. "... slipped."

Looking past the scowling twins, you see Jay, having caught himself short right beside Agnieszka. He seems to be guiding her hand slowly down from where it had started to come up — holstering a weapon she'd begun to draw. Fortunately, no one else has noticed this, with the commotion you just made.

"You didn't slip," Twin #2 says, eyes hard.

"Maybe," you say, shrugging. "Did she slip too, when she started to lunge for Grangier?" You nod at Twin #1.

Twin #1 starts forward, as if preparing to continue the argument, but her sister catches her. The chamber is alive with tension, the Shields' guards staring warily at the more numerous AIJ forces. "Let's go, Iris," Twin #2 says in a quiet, urgent tone. Grudgingly, Iris goes, and the pair of them huddle in conference at the far side of the chamber.

Leg still throbbing, you push yourself back to Jay, who is engaged in rapid and almost one-sided conversation with his long lost sister.

"Were you really going to shoot a woman just for touching her?" Jay hisses, gesturing at Arianne.

Agnieszka studied him for a long, quiet moment. Then she says: "Yes."

Arianne gives a self-conscious smile, as if this is a harmless eccentricity that she's long become resigned to. "Neiszka is very protective."

You manage not to give voice to the scathing you don't say that hovers on the very tip of your tongue. This restraint is your second unlauded act of heroism from the past few minutes alone.

Jay pinches the bridge of his nose. "You really don't change, do you?"

Agnieszka doesn't crack a smile, but there's something close to a softening in her voice as she answers. "I missed you too."

Jay has to hold back an amused sound at that. "I'm still trying to be mad at you. Do you realise how much of a powder keg we're all standing on, here?"

Agnieszka gives a tiny shrug, outwardly the picture of nonconcern. Given how jumpy you've seen her so far, she's probably just trying to downplay it. "You look good," she tells him.

Jay gives a start at this, the subtle emotions discernible from his eyes showing relief and gratification, distracting him entirely from his anger. "... Thank you," he says, quietly.

"I'm Ari," Arianne offers him, beaming. "Nieszka has told me a lot about you."

Jay looks between Ari and his sister. "Jay," he says. He's clearly still more than a little suspicious of Arianne's relationship with Agnieszka, but he swallows that for the time being.

Arianne looks between you and Jay. "Thank you both, though. Those two were being... very pushy."

"Anytime," you say, smirking. "I'm good at aggravating people. I try to use it for good, now and then." Jay reaches over and gives your arm a brief, fond squeeze, before letting you go. It's Agnieszka's turn to cast you and him a dubious look. Jay graciously ignores it.

"What was that even about?" he asks.

"They were trying to pressure me into helping them with some scheme of theirs that would require me to blow my cover at home," Arianne says. "When I declined, there were... threats."

"Physical?" you ask.

"Blackmail," Arianne says. "Threatening to inform the IIS of my activities."

"I should have shot them," Agnieszka says.

"No, you shouldn't have!" Jay says. "Do not shoot anyone."

Agnieszka, tragically, promises him no such thing. "As long as no one threatens Lady Arianne again." She says it as though it's a grudgingly offered concession.

Jay gives her a faintly stricken look, but seems to understand that this is the best he's likely to get. "I need to get back to patrol duty. Afterward, we should talk." He lets his tone grow more somber as he adds: "There's something you should know."

His tone must have betrayed his true meaning. Agnieszka gives him a sharp look. Then she asks, very quietly: "Who this time?"

Jay sighs, but keeps meeting her gaze. "Six."

Agnieszka gives the smallest of flinches, as though someone has just punched her hard in the gut, and she's too tough to let herself show it. "How?"

"She was at Titan. She died fighting," Jay says. The tenuous happiness from shortly before has curdled away entirely — you can tell that he's grieving all over again, watching Agnieszka's blank expression as she takes this news.

"Which side?" Agnieszka presses.

"USE Imperial Guard," Jay says.

Arianne pauses in the process of reaching for Agnieszka, cringing back a little at the news that a fleet commanded by her own father was responsible for J6's death. Agnieszka simply goes quiet, lost in her own thoughts.

"I will see you later," Jay says. "I'm sorry I need to go like this, Thir— Agnieszka." He nearly stumbles over the unfamiliar name.

Agnieszka nods. "Alright, Jay."

You admit, you feel a bit of a twinge at the sight of Jay heading back the way you'd come, despite the grateful look he exchanges with you on the way out. You wish these two had a proper chance to talk. Not least because it would keep Agnieszka occupied in a way that probably wouldn't lead to violence.

That's when a hand closes on your shoulder. "Oh, hello, sir," you say, coming face to face with High Commander Bernard.

He draws you aside and casts you a hard, searching look. "What exactly was that stunt with the Lash twins about, Himegami?"

You're not too flattered that he knows your name — it's memorable, after all. Still, you're aware that this is the man in charge of the AIJ. Your boss's boss's boss. You'll need to explain and justify your actions clearly and carefully, so that nothing is misconstrued. "I just saved this whole scheme of yours, sir." His eyes narrow, and you try not to sound too hasty as you add: "The Lashes were trying to strongarm Grangier into burning her cover over some plan of theirs. Her girlfriend was taking offence. I stepped in at about the right time."

"If you can call what you just did 'stepping in'," Bernard says. He doesn't sound mad at you, at least, despite the sarcasm.

"Well, I call it better than a full blown firefight just now," you say. "Jay's told me about Grangier's bodyguard — not a calming presence in this kind of situation."

"And Tham can't do anything about her?" Bernard is trying and mostly succeeding in not looking as stressed as he actually is.

You shrug. "He asked her not to shoot anyone."

"Did that help?" He asks this without a great deal of hope.

You wobble a hand damningly. "I wouldn't count on it too much."

Bernard takes a long, steeling breath. When he speaks again, his calm is preserved. "Thank you, Himegami, for preventing one of our representatives from being shot to death. However you went about it. Now, I'm going to try and smooth this over."

"Good luck, sir," you say, flashing him a smile.

He gives an unenthusiastic grunt of acknowledgement, and departs.

/////PoCS\\\\\

Satisfied that bullets aren't about to start flying inside a pressurised compartment, Guard-Lieutenant Lucinda Vasquez relaxes. She'd positioned herself by one of the hatches, ready to beat a swift retreat if necessary. Now that it's very obviously not, she looks from the two J-subjects at the centre of the chamber, to the jittery rebels all around, to the one other USE military uniform in the room.

SRI Lieutenant Amani North stayed a little bit closer to the action, although still half out of sight behind a stack of electronic equipment bolted to the deck. Lucinda supposes that that uniform would hardly go over well with either of the modified pilots involved in the confusion. It's interesting that she's staying this close at all.

"Well, if it isn't the elder North sister," Lucinda says, pulling herself to a stop on the electrical equipment, beside Amani.

Amani looks up at her, pensive expression clouding with slight annoyance. "Mosi is the eldest," she corrects.

Lucinda tilts her head. "Funny. She doesn't seem it. I suppose it's just this... air of professionalism you cultivate."

"Is there something you need, Guard-Lieutenant?" Amani asks, clearly not enthused with the direction of this conversation.

"Oh, well, I'm just seeing if you're alright," Lucinda says. "This does all seem like an awful lot of excitement for you. Quite a difference from that desk job on Titan."

Amani gives her a frosty look. She's far too pretty a woman to be able to pull that off as well as she does, Lucinda thinks. "I'm managing," she says. "I served during the Battles of Iapetus and Titan. This has not quite approached that level of excitement yet."

"Oh, did you?" Lucinda asks, feigning surprise.

"Yes. You'll forgive me if I didn't bring the medals. Is there something you want, Guard-Lieutenant?"

Lucinda glances at the J-subjects again, at the assembled rebels, then back to Amani. "Sometimes, I wonder about this entire enterprise."

Amani raises an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"Well, they're not precisely inspiring confidence, are they?" Lucinda shrugs. "I half expect this whole thing to end with bloodshed."

"That's certainly not what your Lady-High-Commander is hoping for from them," Amani says.

"This may surprise you," Lucinda says, "but her Highness, Princess Daystar, does not actually consult with me before she makes her decisions. Although, I'm hardly going to complain about the promotion." Lucinda had been languishing as a guardswoman first-class for, seemingly, her entire career. After the hideous losses among the Guard during the Battle of Titan, and Daystar subsequently assuming the position of Lady-High-Commander, things had changed, Opportunities had opened up for a woman whose parents had both been born around Saturn rather than the inner Planets. "Mind you, I'm a lot less taken with your prince."

"Prince Corona is hardly 'mine'," North says, shortly.

"Your higher ups certainly seem enamoured with him," Vasquez says.

"I am unable to speak to the political situation on Titan," Amani says.

"Especially not to our Jovian friends, I imagine," Lucinda says. "How much does the AIJ know about the SRI's long term plans here?"

"As much as they need to," Amani says. "But they're not stupid, Guard-Lieutenant. This is a mutually beneficial partnership, not an ideological alignment."

Lucinda hums thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose we'll see."

Amani gives her a narrow-eyed look, turns and begins to leave. "Good day, Guard-Lieutenant."

"The same to you!" Lucinda says, smiling.

Article:

You have successfully prevented this meeting from turning violent, due to your quick actions and the existing relationship you've built up with Jay.

There is still something else, though. Something that, though none of you know it yet, is going to make things much more complicated. It's...

[ ] In space
[ ] On the ship