M186
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Logically the series of events made sense. Bolt really didn't want to actually try to decipher it all. It made his head hurt. The stupidity involved was so endemic that he wanted to scream.
"So, you saved these kids on your infiltration job, attempted to run away, and ended up with the local resistance?" Bolt summarized the issue.
"Correct." Venerable Willow confirmed.
The woman had seen far better days. Truthfully Bolt wasn't even sure how she was alive at the moment. Fully half her body was gone. She had a singular functional hand, and had to be hooked up into several devices because she was missing most of what was needed to digest food. Fixing this was possible with their technology, but it'd take months. Months that she didn't seem to have.
"Several radical Hexxer groups have a tendency to kill the male side of the population in various types of purges. They're usually harshly punished for it, but it's far more consistent than the upper echelons like." The woman seemed serene despite her injuries. "Rescuing them was the correct thing to do. It was easy actually. It's one of the larger dividing points between many factions inside the nation."
"But that broke your cover and caused the officials on the Friday side to deny help." Bolt filled in.
"It helped that the result of my escape did this." Willow indicated her body with her one good hand.
He suspected that there were other factors too. Experts were valued. Willow, with her specialty in stealth related actions, was probably one of the most valuable people in their lineup. Her getting cut off like that and forced to rely on local and unreliable help smacked of politics.
"They're good children." The woman commented into the silence. "Keep them safe. Don't blame the theft on them or the others either. Some people thought a mech would make me feel better."
"You've not piloted in awhile." Bolt observed before nodding and getting to his feet as he made a decision. "All right, I'll get the mech ready for you."
Willow gave a soft smile. "Like I told them, that won't help me. I vowed to serve the Friday Coalition. With no use for me, this is not the worst fate."
The designer flicked her forehead. As she stared at him in consternation he did it again. "No. Bad cat."
"Cat?" The expert repeated with bemusement.
"Bad cat." Bolt repeated with a nod. "No curling up in the shadows to die." He pulled out his comm. "Lilly, talk some sense into the woman giving up if you would? I'm getting Cheshire ready for her."
All teasing aside, this was an issue known to the MTA that he wanted to prevent. In the more restricted briefings there was information on various afflictions experts could have. One of them fit here. When experts suffered a severe mental hit related to how they'd ascended they tended to wither and die. If Bolt was right, Willow had devoted her life to the Friday Coalition, and them cutting her off had caused a fatal and poisonous blow. The physical side could be repaired. The mental side couldn't.
Really this was a bad situation all over. Taking the local resistance force, Willow's supporting staff, and the ship crew into custody was a bit of a problem in many respects if it got out. They couldn't cut anyone loose right now either. The resistance force could probably be left once they were ready to leave, but the rest would cause trouble or be in trouble if they left them behind.
Getting Willow up and running was therefore a mix of altruistic and selfish reasons. If they could get her active then her relations with all the involved groups would smooth things over. The word if was holding a lot of weight though. The restricted information didn't really have official ways of helping someone with a broken will. It was a psychological issue that required a quick and precise evaluation and a substitute reason for the expert to pick up. The latter was highly dependent on circumstances, and also had to be done carefully, because experts were not people that responded well to manipulation.
Lilly had an advantage in this case that made him believe they could do it. She could read people and was genuine. Bolt was setting up their other advantage. Cheshire wasn't a combat mech, but she was a very special mech in a spiritual sense. She was serene in a way no other mechs were. The combination of the two should stabilize Willow and get her mending instead of fatalistically dying.
In a way the next few hours resembled someone getting physical therapy. They had to carefully get Willow into the cockpit, and then practically beg her to take control of Cheshire before taking her out. They stepped out into the open fields of one of the many empty areas on the planet and watched as she took a few steps.
"I fail to see the point here." The woman said with good humor as Cheshire moved, if no real enthusiasm.
"Really, you haven't piloted in over a year and you say that?" Lilly asked back with an audible eye roll. Morning Star picked up a rock and threw it her way.
Willow dodged reflexively. "Rocks, really?"
"You're so rusty that I could kill you with anything better." The other woman shot back and threw another rock.
A delicate sniff followed and Cheshire disappeared from sight. Bolt stifled a small chuckle from his observation position. He'd put a few monitoring tools in the mech before doing this just in case, but Lilly didn't have access to them. Not that she really needed them.
"Gentle." That's was Lilly's response as she flapped Morning Star's wings slightly. "I didn't think I'd ever see a gentle expert, but here we are. Yer really soft."
"That sort of description is a first." Willow replied placidly as Cheshire prowled around.
"Yep. Met a lotta experts by now. Naoto thinks of himself as a blade, and he's at peace with that. Pup is a guard dog. You? A quiet ghost. How'd you ascend?"
"I'd rather not speak of it."
Bolt glanced at the battlefield, if you could call it that. Cheshire had been quite before, but as time passed she was getting even quieter. The little mech wasn't an expert mech, but Willow was certainly making it seem like it. It was even making the monitoring tools slightly glitchy.
"Since the goal here is to get you moving I think I'm going to take it up a notch." Lilly had Morning Star manifest a dozen small stars. "These won't do much to anything, but let's play tag with em." She flicked one through the air.
Willow was forced to dodge. Completely invisible, obscured from all the senses, she was still forced to dodge. Bolt truthfully had no idea how Lilly was seeing her at first. After a few movements he figured out that she was watching the ground. No matter how invisible and padded the mech was, there was still going to be a bit of a shift.
That was until there wasn't. Lilly paused when it happened and made a guess. "Using the boosters? That's not gonna last forever."
"Please don't confuse me with an amateur Venerable Silica." Willow responded softly.
"Oh, is that a hint of will?" The other expert immediately said with cheer.
"Professional pride." Willow muttered with a hint of emotion.
Truthfully Bolt was quite impressed. Seeing the trick didn't make it any less impressive. Cheshire was stepping on solid ground and places she'd already flattened to keep her movements from being seen while boosting periodically to get from point to point. It was a cat playing hopscotch invisibly and silently. The little mech had managed to do all of this and approach Lilly.
"Ya don't gotta say it, but I think yer getting a bit back into it." Lilly said after a few seconds.
Willows response was simple. "Tag." Cheshire appeared with a paw on Morning Star's back leg.
"Hah!" Bolt's wife said with a laugh. "Ok, that tears it. Bolt do your magic and Cheshire. Willow's perfect for that."
Bolt exhaled loud enough that the mic probably caught it. "Ya know that'd be a bit pointless if Willow hasn't decided to live yet." He pointed out. "And magic, really?"
"Don't care." Lilly responded. "I want ta see her in something special even if she dies. Someone like this deserves to be remembered at her peak."
"I am still here and on the public channel you know." The woman they were speaking of reminded them.
"Like that matters." Lilly said flippantly.
Bolt really sympathized with Willow's long sigh there. He really did.
"So, you saved these kids on your infiltration job, attempted to run away, and ended up with the local resistance?" Bolt summarized the issue.
"Correct." Venerable Willow confirmed.
The woman had seen far better days. Truthfully Bolt wasn't even sure how she was alive at the moment. Fully half her body was gone. She had a singular functional hand, and had to be hooked up into several devices because she was missing most of what was needed to digest food. Fixing this was possible with their technology, but it'd take months. Months that she didn't seem to have.
"Several radical Hexxer groups have a tendency to kill the male side of the population in various types of purges. They're usually harshly punished for it, but it's far more consistent than the upper echelons like." The woman seemed serene despite her injuries. "Rescuing them was the correct thing to do. It was easy actually. It's one of the larger dividing points between many factions inside the nation."
"But that broke your cover and caused the officials on the Friday side to deny help." Bolt filled in.
"It helped that the result of my escape did this." Willow indicated her body with her one good hand.
He suspected that there were other factors too. Experts were valued. Willow, with her specialty in stealth related actions, was probably one of the most valuable people in their lineup. Her getting cut off like that and forced to rely on local and unreliable help smacked of politics.
"They're good children." The woman commented into the silence. "Keep them safe. Don't blame the theft on them or the others either. Some people thought a mech would make me feel better."
"You've not piloted in awhile." Bolt observed before nodding and getting to his feet as he made a decision. "All right, I'll get the mech ready for you."
Willow gave a soft smile. "Like I told them, that won't help me. I vowed to serve the Friday Coalition. With no use for me, this is not the worst fate."
The designer flicked her forehead. As she stared at him in consternation he did it again. "No. Bad cat."
"Cat?" The expert repeated with bemusement.
"Bad cat." Bolt repeated with a nod. "No curling up in the shadows to die." He pulled out his comm. "Lilly, talk some sense into the woman giving up if you would? I'm getting Cheshire ready for her."
All teasing aside, this was an issue known to the MTA that he wanted to prevent. In the more restricted briefings there was information on various afflictions experts could have. One of them fit here. When experts suffered a severe mental hit related to how they'd ascended they tended to wither and die. If Bolt was right, Willow had devoted her life to the Friday Coalition, and them cutting her off had caused a fatal and poisonous blow. The physical side could be repaired. The mental side couldn't.
Really this was a bad situation all over. Taking the local resistance force, Willow's supporting staff, and the ship crew into custody was a bit of a problem in many respects if it got out. They couldn't cut anyone loose right now either. The resistance force could probably be left once they were ready to leave, but the rest would cause trouble or be in trouble if they left them behind.
Getting Willow up and running was therefore a mix of altruistic and selfish reasons. If they could get her active then her relations with all the involved groups would smooth things over. The word if was holding a lot of weight though. The restricted information didn't really have official ways of helping someone with a broken will. It was a psychological issue that required a quick and precise evaluation and a substitute reason for the expert to pick up. The latter was highly dependent on circumstances, and also had to be done carefully, because experts were not people that responded well to manipulation.
Lilly had an advantage in this case that made him believe they could do it. She could read people and was genuine. Bolt was setting up their other advantage. Cheshire wasn't a combat mech, but she was a very special mech in a spiritual sense. She was serene in a way no other mechs were. The combination of the two should stabilize Willow and get her mending instead of fatalistically dying.
In a way the next few hours resembled someone getting physical therapy. They had to carefully get Willow into the cockpit, and then practically beg her to take control of Cheshire before taking her out. They stepped out into the open fields of one of the many empty areas on the planet and watched as she took a few steps.
"I fail to see the point here." The woman said with good humor as Cheshire moved, if no real enthusiasm.
"Really, you haven't piloted in over a year and you say that?" Lilly asked back with an audible eye roll. Morning Star picked up a rock and threw it her way.
Willow dodged reflexively. "Rocks, really?"
"You're so rusty that I could kill you with anything better." The other woman shot back and threw another rock.
A delicate sniff followed and Cheshire disappeared from sight. Bolt stifled a small chuckle from his observation position. He'd put a few monitoring tools in the mech before doing this just in case, but Lilly didn't have access to them. Not that she really needed them.
"Gentle." That's was Lilly's response as she flapped Morning Star's wings slightly. "I didn't think I'd ever see a gentle expert, but here we are. Yer really soft."
"That sort of description is a first." Willow replied placidly as Cheshire prowled around.
"Yep. Met a lotta experts by now. Naoto thinks of himself as a blade, and he's at peace with that. Pup is a guard dog. You? A quiet ghost. How'd you ascend?"
"I'd rather not speak of it."
Bolt glanced at the battlefield, if you could call it that. Cheshire had been quite before, but as time passed she was getting even quieter. The little mech wasn't an expert mech, but Willow was certainly making it seem like it. It was even making the monitoring tools slightly glitchy.
"Since the goal here is to get you moving I think I'm going to take it up a notch." Lilly had Morning Star manifest a dozen small stars. "These won't do much to anything, but let's play tag with em." She flicked one through the air.
Willow was forced to dodge. Completely invisible, obscured from all the senses, she was still forced to dodge. Bolt truthfully had no idea how Lilly was seeing her at first. After a few movements he figured out that she was watching the ground. No matter how invisible and padded the mech was, there was still going to be a bit of a shift.
That was until there wasn't. Lilly paused when it happened and made a guess. "Using the boosters? That's not gonna last forever."
"Please don't confuse me with an amateur Venerable Silica." Willow responded softly.
"Oh, is that a hint of will?" The other expert immediately said with cheer.
"Professional pride." Willow muttered with a hint of emotion.
Truthfully Bolt was quite impressed. Seeing the trick didn't make it any less impressive. Cheshire was stepping on solid ground and places she'd already flattened to keep her movements from being seen while boosting periodically to get from point to point. It was a cat playing hopscotch invisibly and silently. The little mech had managed to do all of this and approach Lilly.
"Ya don't gotta say it, but I think yer getting a bit back into it." Lilly said after a few seconds.
Willows response was simple. "Tag." Cheshire appeared with a paw on Morning Star's back leg.
"Hah!" Bolt's wife said with a laugh. "Ok, that tears it. Bolt do your magic and Cheshire. Willow's perfect for that."
Bolt exhaled loud enough that the mic probably caught it. "Ya know that'd be a bit pointless if Willow hasn't decided to live yet." He pointed out. "And magic, really?"
"Don't care." Lilly responded. "I want ta see her in something special even if she dies. Someone like this deserves to be remembered at her peak."
"I am still here and on the public channel you know." The woman they were speaking of reminded them.
"Like that matters." Lilly said flippantly.
Bolt really sympathized with Willow's long sigh there. He really did.
