"FRAME aside, Veronica... I'm still scared to tell him. What if... he doesn't love me back? I've... never even felt this way before. I never felt anything for anyone until I saw Loren. And then... he was all I could think about. The only thing I could think about. And then you became my sister. And... he's been changing... for the better...I've never been so happy... but I could ruin all that with a mere three words." Veronica laughed as she grabbed a piece of digital pizza from out of nowhere and began eating it, slurping the melting cheeses happily. When she finished she produced a cup of cola in her hands and began drinking it. "Sis, this is no different from any combat situations that you've been in, either as a FRAME rider or as gunnery officer. True this is more of your personal life than physical one, but the concept is essentially the same. You have a call to make, and either way things will carry risks. I can't tell you what Mr. Kelley feels or if he reciprocates your feelings, but I guess the question now is: Do you think the potential reward of telling him how you feel out weights the inherent risk of the action? If you think it does, then do it." She grabbed another piece and began to chew on it happily.
< @WanderingJester > OOC: I am NOT starting the mission. This is still downtime. Morain smiled happily at her sister. She was right, of course. With that, Morain grabbed her own piece of pizza and began to eat. The rest of the night was just as fun as what had already happened. They had a full makeover session, played some video games (at which Veronica was more of a challenge for Morain then Kelley was) and finally fell asleep during a scary movie that, honestly, was not that scary. The girls were still fast asleep when Kelley awoke. Sometime during his morning routine, he would get a message that they had arrived at the Rendezvous point, and there was a lone FRAME in the vicinity. Commander Yilli wanted Kelley on the bridge to try to communicate, in case it was Ioren. [In case it is not obvious, emote your morning routine and at some point respond to the above situation]
Kelley finished his shower when he got the message from Commander Yilli to head to the bridge. The rider had woken up at his usual early hours and done his workout. He had to completely discard the weight sets in the holding bay now, having the servant robot remove them. Kelley benched and lifted exclusively the equipment around the holding bay, everything from FRAME weaponry to actual FRAME parts themselves and cranes and lifts and such. He tapped on his digi-pad and read the request. The rider got dressed and made his way to the bridge. As he arrived, he saw the Commander and saluted. "Commander Yilli, you required my presence?"
< @WanderingJester > "Rider Kelley. Yes, I did. I assumed that you should be here to speak to Ioren... also, I thought you might be interested to see his FRAME" She gestured at a view-screen Indeed, it was a FRAME different from any Kelley had seen before. It was white with gold trim. It looked like a very ornately decorated Medieval Knight, Complete with a Large Tower shield and Sword that looked a mix between a longsword and broadsword. It was long, but also had a wider blade than most. It floated motionlessly directly in front of the StarRunner. "This is Ioren Kilat, rider of the Knight-Errant, requesting permission to come aboard." Ioren's voice came on over comms. (Body Looks like this, sans cape. Sword looks like that, and shield looks similar, but is a tower shield)
"Rider Kelley. Yes, I did. I assumed that you should be here to speak to Ioren... also, I thought you might be interested to see his FRAME" Kelley did a scan of the FRAME, and the statistics were impressive. Strong materials for the armor, next gen targeting and compatibility systems, and brand new vibro-edged surfacing on the sword and shield. It was no Fate's Edge, but it was quite an engineering achievement. He confirmed that the remote detonation device was on board, then the message from Ioren came through. "This is Ioren Kilat, rider of the Knight-Errant, requesting permission to come aboard." Kelley looked at the Commander, who nodded, then replied. "This is Loren Kelley, bring your FRAME to hanger 06, the technicians there will be ready to accommodate your arrival." Kelley tapped a few buttons, notifying the crew of Hanger 06 to ready up for an arriving FRAME.
< @WanderingJester > "Orders acknowledged. May I request a welcome party, Loren?" Said the new Rider. "Oh... transmitting detonation codes to Command... please don't use them." Ioren would be found in the hangar, standing just outside his FRAME. He wore basic civilian clothing, and had two custom pistols in holsters at his side. He was removing the pistols and handing them to some security guards. "I have no problems with letting you hold these, but I will need them when we go on-mission." When Ioren spotted Kelley, he would smile and wave him over. "I have the information I promised, and was here just as I said. Now, I'd like to ask you one more favor... could you introduce to me who will be watching my sister?"
"Orders acknowledged. May I request a welcome party, Loren? Oh... transmitting detonation codes to Command... please don't use them." Not unless you make me Ioren Kilat. Not unless you make me. Kelley walked down to the hanger and met with the new FRAME's rider. They shook hands as security removed his weapons. Then Kilat spoke again. "I have the information I promised, and was here just as I said. Now, I'd like to ask you one more favor... could you introduce to me who will be watching my sister?" Kelley nodded. "Follow me." Together they headed off to Morain's quarters. ________________________ Veronica woke up to the buzzing of the door at the quarters. She looked around and saw Morain still asleep on the couch-bed. The SOUL checked the time and nearly jumped out of her holographic skin. She shook her sister, trying to wake her up. "Sis! It's late! I think Mr. Kelley's at the door with the new FRAME rider!"
< @WanderingJester > Morain was having a wonderful dream. She was sitting by a river with Loren, gazing through the water while they cuddled. Nearby, Veronica was playing with her first-born son, her second child already growing inside of her. She took her eyes off the water to gaze into her husband's eyes. "Loren... I-" "Sis! It's late! I think Mr. Kelley's at the door with the new FRAME rider!" Morain's eyes shot open. "What!? Uh...Uh..." She was still only wearing Loren's shirt! "Just a minute!" She yelled out the door, hurrying to get ready, brushing her hair and getting into uniform. ---------------------------------------- "She sounds nice." Ioren said as he waited outside the door. ----------------------------------------- Morain composed herself before opening the door, and coming face to face with Kelley. She blushed a little, and backed up. Next to him was a man younger than Kelley, maybe 17? He had neck-length Deep green hair. The Black must have been forced upon him by the Splinter. His Blue-and-Gold eye pair shone with innocence, tainted by war. "Kelley? Is this...?"
"What!? Uh...Uh... Just a minute!" Veronica giggled, then ran the program to change back into her usual uniform. She still had a bit of the makeup on from last night as she started cleaning the place up a little, but noticed that Kelley's shirt was still on the table where Morain had thrown it off in her haste to get to the bathroom to change and freshen up. _________________ "She sounds nice." Kelley gave Kilat a look, not getting the phrase. "How can you tell? She's only said about four words to us so far." Then the door opened and something caught Kelley's eye. Well several things. Morain stared at the young man next to him. "Kelley? Is this...?" Kelley cleared his throat then made the introductions. "Hello Morain, Veronica." The SOUL in the background waved. "This is Ioren Kilat, I believed that we've discussed his family situation before. May we come in?" He then looked over Morain's shoulder. "Morain... is that my shirt?"
< @WanderingJester > Morain's eyes widened. She looked behind her at the shirt, then back at Kelley. This was repeated a few times before she tried to speak. "Uh... well, um... that is..." Morain gestured to bring everyone inside, looking at Veronica for help. {Please... I don't know what to do!} *I see* thought Ioren. This girl seemed to have fallen for Kelley. He shook his head and patted Kelley on the back. "Is it really that important? Perhaps you left it here?" Ioren asked with a sincere smile as he walked in and leaned up against the wall. "I'm more concerned about what you told this Woman about my... Family situation. What I told you in that cell... was in confidence. I don't want her... abilities to become common knowledge, Kelley."
