Excerpt 003: Ship’s Cradle

[rekindledtitan]

TYPE: Personal log

LOCATION: Orbit, Earth

PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [rekindledtitan], One [1] Unconfirmed, designate Hughes, Maes [bestdadinamestris]


ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Maes Hughes; Earth; Multiversal Phenomena; Blaze-37; Amestris; Dr. Hill; Deep Stone Crypt; [REDACTED]




Blaze should have figured the warning signs for what they were. When the senses slow and the body insists on sinking into the nearest furniture, it ought to be a clue. But she has no memory of fatigue, no sense of whether her body is just complaining or injured or seriously needs to rest. So it’s not until their meeting at the Harp sees her stuffed with food and forced to actually sit down for a while that the torpor kicks in.

She’d like to shake it off, but the more level (and more inorganic) heads around her are able to point out that that’s not how human biology works.

She’s yawning uncontrollably when they materialize aboard her one-room jumpship. It wakes up for them with a soft hum, lights revealing a cabin just big enough for both she and Hughes to move around. Every inch of the clean metal plating looks like it’s part of some compartment or pull-out section, and that includes the floor. To sharp Exo senses it might look a bit patchwork, too: different panels have subtly different finishes; signs of repair are everywhere. There’s little sign of home comforts: just one cushy pilot’s chair, Blaze’s helmet clipped alongside it.

“I’m… going to power up the life-support systems,” the Ghost says, swooping over to the controls.

Blaze tries to talk through her next yawn. “Oh… yyyeah. Good thinking. Uh.” She looks up at Hughes and waves a hand toward the star-speckled view up front. “Welcome to Earth orbit.”

Comments

She did not anticipate the Dad Powers!

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze can't argue with the biology. She glowers up at Hughes, who... actually makes her body look pretty damned intimidating in return.

"What the hell is going to happen while I'm asleep?" She's tensed, automatically ready to fight- but she's not, she can't. It's probably sheer adrenalin keeping her standing right now. And it's stupid to make threats you won't follow through on. But bloody Light she wants to hit something. As she's thinking that, her curled fingers brush the cloth at her side. She swallows hard and turns on her heel. "Hnnh. Fine. Guess I can't stop you wasting your time."

She goes back to the weapons, stares at them, and concludes by taking that plain and slender hand cannon she pointed out to Hughes. Her first weapon as a Guardian. Perhaps the only one she can count on right now.

Not everyone does, and that is their downfall. XD

[bestdadinamestris]

If Hughes could roll his eyes right now, he would. This has been a pretty fantastic temper tantrum, one to even rival those of his firecracker of a daughter. It's almost endearing. Almost. Blaze is still likely to get an earful about the incident after she's gotten some sleep and they've figured out how to get back into their own bodies.

But... wait a second. "Are you... sleeping with a gun?" Sure, the safety's probably on, but... what.

Careful, Hughes! Don't diss Teddy!

[rekindledtitan]

She didn't actually hit anything: that counts as self-restraint! Not enough to keep her from feeling embarrassed later, but she'll argue she had reason to be stubborn.

"Safeties're engaged, and it's unloaded." She peers up at him blankly. What, he's never done this? "Smart circuits're powered down, I checked. So yeah, I am." She sounds a little uncomfortable even beyond the grumpy exhaustion.

If Teddy weren't a gun, this conversation would not be happening. LOL

[bestdadinamestris]

She can argue all she wants - he's not going to let her off easily.

"Uh huh." It seems dangerous to try and take it from her, so he'll just watch her a little more closely while she sleeps. "You get some rest, then, and I'll do some reading for a while." He's assuming Ghost can point him in the direction of some reading material. "Good night, Blaze."

She needs it to kill the monsters! Okay, she doesn't, but her instincts don't get that. :P

[rekindledtitan]

"...Hnh. See you in a few."

It's actually going to take a while to sleep: she's been awake so long her systems won't wind down, and arguing with Hughes has her circulation flooded with yet more nerve-wracking chemicals. Hopefully the exhaustion will kick in before she gets frustrated at not being able to shut down.

Meanwhile, Ghost will helpfully and quietly show Hughes around his options. They have all kinds of public data files, a whole lot of ancient texts, and low-security mission reports. Some of them concern Blaze and her Ghost. She even has a folder for her favorites. There's also a compartment with some leather-bound books if Hughes prefers paper. Two are travel guides, written by a couple of Hunters about the places they've scouted. There's a compilation of military texts, the Pahanin Errata, plus a famous Warlock's lectures on military philosophy.

And of course there are plenty of image and video collections. The City-style internet may have an awful lot of gaps when it comes to past culture (and even some odd things missing from its own history), but there's still a vast cultural inheritance behind them

Sounds like an exo with a gun problem. ;P

[bestdadinamestris]

Although he keeps a wary ear open for signs of trouble from Blaze, Hughes is happy to read through anything and everything he can get his hands on. With the upgraded processing power, he cruises through the mission reports and ancient texts first. It seems a nice way to get to know his sleeping friend a little better. He skips the lectures on military philosophy, though, because he gets enough of that in his own world.

Those pictures, though, are going to hold his attention for a long time. He's never seen buildings like that or dreamed of such beautiful places. It's amazing to see the differences between his world and Blaze's and it helps cement what the texts were talking about. A win-win all around.

Absolutely: she needs more guns. ;)

[rekindledtitan]

Hughes can extract information aplenty here. Guardians clearly face enemies who vastly outnumber them, apparently by combining extensive intel and resource-gathering with strategically chosen strike missions to eliminate key targets: disrupting command chains, supply networks, denying attempts to seize key assets. At least, when they aren’t seeking ‘sources of increased Darkness activity’ or delving into ‘Darkness-intense zones’. Whatever the objective, on a long mission enemy casualty estimates can stack up to hundreds per Guardian.

Despite the formidable opposition, there are few mentions of Guardians gathering in groups of more than three or six. Though Fireteam leaders are named there’s little visible regard for hierarchy in the field. Even missions assigned by Vanguard Commanders back in the Tower are often phrased as requests.

It’s possible too to get a sense of the combat tactics favored. Blaze seems to favor shock and awe, aggressively testing her enemies’ defenses and charging in to hit their ranks at the densest point. Only where that proves ineffective does she resort to more tactical methods. Needless to say, her solo missions have a particular number of references to ‘Guardian impaled’ or ‘Guardian disintegrated’ or ‘Guardian incapacitated by tripmine detonation’. And immediately after: ‘Following Ghost resurrection…’



Blaze, meanwhile, is quiet for the first hour or so, once she finally gets to sleep. It’s only once she hits the dreaming phase that her pulse accelerates and her breathing quickens. And then the dream passes, and another hour goes by before it returns, and then again…

She has a vague sense of being surprised to be here. She can’t remember why. It seems inevitable now: here is where she was born; here she must return. No remaking by alien gods or meddlers can change that.

Once again it is evening as she comes down onto the field. The sun slants low over the mountains, making black silhouettes of the tower and the silent army before it. This doesn’t matter. She does not remember what is in the tower but she knows those who wait. She breaks into a run as she comes to meet them. There are others at her side, or distant, fighting their own foes for the same goal. (There are others, more distant, who walk ahead untroubled. She cannot heed them.)

They are all there, of course. Those of the Tower and those of the Nexus mixed in with the faces of long-forgotten names. She faces Hirune bare-handed; afterward, tries to take her gun before Jesse and Ulysses-10 tag-team her. Bare-handed suits her, but she takes a gun anyway and moves on. And there are Holliday and Steve, Banshee-44 and Verity and Harrowheart and ah, yes, Samus…

She’s slept four hours, or perhaps close to six. By then her heart is pounding, her breathing shallow. There are slight twitches in her fingers, the restless jerks and gasps that betray intense dreaming. The Ghost takes note: these phases seem to be getting longer. It drifts closer, fluttering anxiously, but doesn’t dare get too close. Exo psychology plus human biology is an unknown quantity.

=P

[bestdadinamestris]

That is a lot of information to parse through, and he's certainly not going to be able to make sense of all of it tonight. Still, it's amusing to know Blaze is the kind of exo who believes in the 'try, try again' method of making things work. If only Hughes could introduce her to a few friends back home with that attitude...

Dream cycles are nothing new to Hughes. He's kept watch while others sleep many times. The first one passes by with only a little attention given to it. When the second comes around, though, he becomes more interested, given the physical response to the dreams. That much is not normal. People have a tendency to wake themselves when nightmares get bad, but Blaze seems intent to push through them. She's going to feel even worse in the morning if this continues.

When Ghost drifts over, Hughes follows. Something isn't right, he can feel it. Carefully, he rests a hand on the back of Blaze's (err, his?) head, to keep her from hurting herself when he wakes her. "Blaze?" His voice is soft, warm despite the body its coming from. "Hey, can you hear me? Wake up, buddy."

[rekindledtitan]

"Careful!" the Ghost warns in a whisper... despite the fact it doesn't know what they need to be careful of exactly.

...she hits the earth, rolls to her feet painfully- what's that voice? Suddenly she's unsteady; her feet aren't on the ground any more. Someone's over her, talking in her face-

Groggy and confused, she stirs enough for her conscious mind to process 'Hughes?' and half in the dream-state, she thinks: Hughes!

Her weapon hand lashes out with a grunt, trying to backhand him with the butt and lunge past him to her feet... although neither her limbs nor her balance are exactly where her instincts say they ought to be.

[bestdadinamestris]

"Whoa! Calm down there." The extra quick reflexes are certainly a help in getting out of the way before Blaze is up and on her feet. They're also fast enough to catch her before she falls over or runs face first into something. He gently holds her in place, doing his best to keep the touch as light as possible until she's more cognizant of what's going on. "Careful - don't want to hurt yourself."

[rekindledtitan]

She tries to shake him off and keeps struggling for a minute when that fails. She's still breathing hard, cold and a little damp with sweat. "What?" She tries to swallow, but her mouth is dry; her limbs shaky with adrenalin. "Ghost!"

"I'm here. You're awake. And this is Colonel Hughes, remember?"

"...knew that." She tries to snort, as if that's some kind of joke.

[bestdadinamestris]

It's a poor joke and Hughes isn't about to laugh at it.

"You're running on adrenaline, take a seat." Whether she likes it or not, he's going to 'help' her sit down. "That must've been one hell of a dream. Your heart rate is up, you're clammy, and you're trying to laugh it off. I'm sure you don't want to talk about it," no one ever does, "but is there anything I can do to help?"

So many instincts kicking in right now. Father, friend, comrade-in-arms... he's having trouble picking one and sticking with it long enough to even form a coherent thought.

[rekindledtitan]

She's burned through the brief spurt of energy, and doesn't resist being plonked back down. She's trying to straighten out her thoughts - she's still human, Hughes is here, Hughes- Hughes saw this. This state. Light, humans just aren't built for this.

"Help?" Blaze sounds outright confused by the word. She rubs at her face, mindful of the glasses when she nudges them. Finally she pins down what's confusing her. "...Why'd you wake me?"

"You showed signs of physiological distress. We... were concerned." Blaze may not (apparently) be thinking straight, but her Ghost has Hughes' back.

[bestdadinamestris]

"It's not good to be like that for too long," Hughes adds. "I'm not that old, but I'm still human. My body's not quite as durable as I'd like it to be." He's trying to be self-deprecating here to take Blaze's mind off of the fact that they're so worried about her.

"...you wanna talk about it?" he asks after a moment of silence.

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze tightens her mouth in a grimace – she might brush this off, but she can’t overlook the fact that she’s wearing Hughes’ body. She has no idea what it can handle – or what she’s liable to do to it. She just has a hard time believing a dream could do much harm...

“It’s just a dream,” she says, which is true in its way. It’s the only kind she knows. “Exo stuff. Nothing to say about it.”

Nothing that’ll help, anyway. She can’t talk her core programming away and no good can come of explaining the dream’s contents to anyone who isn’t Exo. To her friends. Why do that to them? She likes her friends.

And she wants them to keep liking her.

[bestdadinamestris]

"Given your physical reaction, I know it was more than that. Humans sometimes do strange things while they dream, but they don't have the same kind of physical reaction as they would to getting the hell beat out of them in a fight." This would be the perfect time for a frown, but Hughes can't really manage that when he's not in his body. "What happened?"

Let's face it, Blaze, it's going to be best if you open up.

[rekindledtitan]

The only reason Blaze's reactions are ever hard to read is that metallic mask, and she's missing it now. There's no hiding the alarmed widening of her eyes, the uncertain frown, the questioning look she gives her Ghost. She has no grounds to argue from, and she's awful at lying on the fly.

She looks down at the gun still in her hands, her mouth tightening. "It was a dream about fighting, like that's a surprise. Didn't figure... I guess this body doesn't handle it so well."

Human minds aren't quite so... meticulously accurate about simulating the effects of combat and injury.

[bestdadinamestris]

"Seems like it was more intense than just a dream." Or maybe it's just a difference in how people like Blaze dream? "It's almost as if... you were experiencing the dream physically as you slept. That would explain the physical reaction, at least."

Well, maybe, but the idea makes Hughes feel a little better about it.

[rekindledtitan]

"Yeah, it's sorta like that." She shrugs. "I don't know what other dreams are like. Mine are always this way." She yawns. "Guess I'll get more of the same when I go back to sleep. How long was I out? I, uh. I can't tell."

"A little over five and a half."

[bestdadinamestris]

Again with the desire to frown. This time Hughes crosses his arms in front of his chest to emphasize his point. "If it's going to happen again, you're going to feel even more like hell tomorrow. You need some actual rest if we're going to have any chance of functioning properly tomorrow. Is there something we can do to prevent this from happening again?"

[rekindledtitan]

She looks up at him blankly. "Stop dreaming? Didn't know you could. I just sleep right through them. It's normally fine when I wake- but then no-one ever woke me early before."

"Perhaps your- um." The Ghost looks up at Hughes. "Your body will adjust in time. At least... I hope so."

[bestdadinamestris]

Hey, it was worth a shot. Sure, it was a complete shot in the dark, but you can't know if you don't ask, right?

"I guess we don't have much of a choice, do we?" He sighs heavily and nods. "You should try and get more sleep, then, but if it looks bad again for my body, I'm going to wake you up." Because he likes his body, damn it.

[rekindledtitan]

"You keep making me start again, the whole thing's just gonna take longer," she points out with something that might have been a sigh but just turns into another yawn.

It's actually kind of hard to consider sleeping now, but better get it over with. If Hughes isn't going to stop her, she'll haul herself right back over and slump down against the wall again.

[bestdadinamestris]

"You need the rest." Otherwise she's going to fall asleep on her feet tomorrow. Probably literally.

Once Blaze is settled again, Hughes will go back to reading, though he'll be keeping a much closer watch on his friend this time. If it gets bad again, he'll wake her up, but he's really hoping to avoid that. The more rest she can get naturally, the better.

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze shrugs and settles back to try and sleep again. When she does sleep… well, again, after an hour or so the dreams return. From her vital signs, they seem to come in short bursts within the dream phases, getting more prolonged as she keeps sleeping. If Hughes lets her, though, she’ll eventually push through them.

Her Ghost doesn’t leave her side this time, silently watching to make sure her vitals don’t show dangerous signs of physiological stress.