Call to Action (Zeon)

[BioHazard]

On board the Tora-Ata. 3:58PM colony local time.

Around Hanmyo, the ship lay almost silent. Beyond the occasional soft murmur of activity in the distance, the only thing that broke the silence was the continuous low hum of the Eternal-class' generator and life-support systems. It was the middle of the simulated afternoon in the colony they'd come into port at, but the Tora-Ata's crew had largely elected to maintain their independent sleep schedules. It was difficult enough to maintain coherency of time in deep space without throwing your internal clock off, and now was the hour of the night watch.

The room was somewhere between a stateroom and a strongroom, a place people could gather in relative safety during times of crisis yet furnished somewhat in the fashion of an office. It was a rarely-used thing, and she could count the number of times she'd sat behind the heavy desk that served as the centerpiece on her fingers. But it had seemed an appropriate place to greet their unexpected guest, private and secure.

The woman fidgeted with a small paperweight that had somehow come to rest on the desk. It was a silly little thing, nothing more than a smooth lump of metal; it had been there long enough that she could no longer recall where it had come from. It worried her. Hanmyo felt as though she'd done a fair job evading the ravages of time, but age was finally catching up to she and Garr.

She forced herself to put down the paperweight, slipping it into a drawer. It wouldn't do to be fidgeting like a nervous child when Screamer arrived. They'd received an urgent message from the Commonwealth Commander, indicating that it was imperative that they meet at once. That there was news concerning Garr. Hanmyo knew, in both her heart and mind, that she would have felt if any truly deadly misfortune had befallen the man. She had never doubted that he was capable of taking care of himself, but the thought still gnawed at her.

Garr...

[ZeonDad]

The look on Lance Screamer's face was atypical. He had raced to find the Tora-Ata, the F-99 Record Breaker he conveniently commandeered affording him precious time. As he hurried to the repurposed stateroom, the normally reserved and controlled Lord Commander appeared a man who was not in control of the events around him. He entered the room swiftly, not bothering to sit, and unceremoniously tossed a small recording device at Hanymo's lap that would make things clear soon enough. He crossed his arms and struggled to remain still as he spoke.

"Alfimi Elwren has returned," he came to explain, trying to mince words but finding himself incapable of doing so. "Garr was inside a facility she sabotaged. I am sorry."

As the recording would show, something terrible had happened to Garr. But the truth was far worse indeed.

[BioHazard]

Had he taken a swing at her gut, Lance still could not have endeavored to knock the wind out of Hanmyo with any more surety than he had with those words. It was not age that bowed her, as though to spite her earlier concerns; a far more momentous weight seemed to bend the woman's back, and she leaned on the desk to steady herself, head lowered. The reflection she saw in the polished surface was warped by the grain of the wood, but the anguish in her features was clear.

Hanmyo inhaled deeply, held the breath. Forced back the torrent of emotion that threatened to burst forth. You'd know. Don't be stupid you crazy old bat, you'd *know*. The thought seemed to echo around her mind as she forced herself to repeat it. The Commander's statement had momentarily chipped away at whatever cracks existed in her confidence of she and Garr's mental link, but ultimately it proved stronger than those doubts. It was her solace - for now. Her face cleared slightly, enough so that Hanmyo could bring herself to lift her gaze.

The little recording device had fallen to the desktop and bounced to a stop. Righting it on the smooth surface, she steeled herself and depressed what could only be the playback button...

[ZeonDad]

The holographic images would materialize from the small playback device, it's contents playing along with a gentle stutter. First shown, the Lord Commander as a hostage to an unknown captor. The next, Garr giving chase and heading deeper into the facility, as a close up of Alfimi Elwren would show from an elevator camera. Then the facility locking itself down, for reasons Lance was not yet thrilled to share even with a widow. Finally, footage from outside, showing the ensuing battle between the Neo Gundam and the shadow of some other hardly visible thing, and impacts to the facility until the camera would evaporate into nonexistence via surrounding combat.

"He saved my life, at the expense of his own, I'm afraid."

If Hanmyo searched her feelings as Lance felt them, and her thoughts reached out to Garr, she would not find him. Something would go on to block that connection, implied to be the end of Garr's life, but perhaps something else had scrambled that connection instead, something privy only to the Lord Commander.

"The minovsky particles are still too dense. I haven't been able to contact the Chains, or anyone else." The Lord Commander offered his host a look of something in between a request for permission and his own sense of authority. He hesitated to continue, well aware of the minefield he was stepping into. He held his tongue, for now.

"I will do whatever I can for you. Tell me what you need."

[BioHazard]

He was right. Damn him, he was right.

Hanmyo had never possessed much in the way of skill as an empath, a failing which she had always been keenly aware of. And it was that fact that had made the seemingly inescapable bond that had formed between she and Garr of its own volition all the more meaningful. Stronger than any telepathic message, that connection had manifested as a subtle feeling in the back of her mind, a gentle reassurance that Garr was still there, somewhere. Not a single time could she recall its absence.

But try as she might, Hanmyo felt only a void. Cold and unrelenting, as if she'd been thrown nude from an airlock. The sensation seemed to spread to all corners of her being, and it left her hollow. She was merely the shell of a woman. To the Lord Commander, even her presence as a Newtype would seem to vanish for that long moment as it withdrew inward, desperately searching for Garr. Her extended hand passed through the holographic image as the recording repeated itself, attempting to reach out and touch him through the fuzzy image. It wavered unsteadily, and it was clear should Lance look to her face that Hanmyo's gaze was locked on some point far beyond their surroundings.

No... Her lips formed the word, but it was silent. And then, in the space of a heartbeat, the room would seem as though it had been consumed by hellfire.

Never before had Hanmyo felt such pure, such all-consuming rage. It blossomed forth from her breast, a brutal tidal wave of raw emotion that would batter the Lord Commander. Even this woman, whose fury on the field of battle had been legendary among her peers, had never been pushed to such an extent and so suddenly. Roaring flames seemed to fill the small space around Lance Screamer, and the wicked heat they projected was far too tangible to dismiss as a mere illusion.

"NO!" Her scream echoed around them both physically and mentally, deafening. Hanmyo's balled fist descended on the desk in anger; the surface split and splintered from the impact of the cybernetic limb as it was driven through the heavy wood to emerge from the underside. The shock sent a spasm rattling through her arm, but she was far beyond caring.

And as suddenly as it had come, the overwhelming fury was gone. The flames winked out of existence, and their choking presence vanished just as suddenly. The rage was still there, but it was contained, internalized; Screamer would still be able to feel that heat, but as though from a distance, no longer threatening to burn him. It was tempered by grief that had begun bubbling to the surface as Hanmyo began to truly process what had transpired. There was a long pause, the only sound being the static of the recorder still playing on the floor where it had been ejected to by her strike. When she spoke, Hanmyo's voice was a harsh whisper, and it was clear to whom she referred.

"Where is she."

[ZeonDad]

It was everything he had expected and prepared for, and yet Hanmyo's reaction still crushed down on the Lord Commander's mind in a instant. All at once she was captivating, and far more terrifying than he had ever taken her for. Her emotional fire engulfed the space around them, Lance unable to momentarily retreat into his own thoughts. This was shooting the messenger, so to speak, not that he blamed her for it. As the desk exploded from her rage, Lance took a step back and considered the choices that had led him here. They weren't friends. He had no need for friends. But comrades, perhaps? No... there were more important things at stake, now...

"She's still there," he admitted in rushed defeat. "Alongside things far worse."

It was an unavoidable topic, but he had no choice but to face the inevitable, and perhaps more importantly so did Hanmyo Starwind.

"The facility housed something from the Side 2 incident. If you go, there's no telling what you might find."

He slithered to the doorway, as if inviting her to make a hasty decision he could capitalize on.

"I can give you something to better your chances, if you wish."

[BioHazard]

Hanmyo was cognizant of everything the Lord Commander was saying, but of his statements only two truly caught footholds in her mind: the location of Alfimi, and the mention of the horrors at Side 2. She had tried to forget the monstrosity that had captured her alongside Lance and the others, how it had...consumed. She would have been able to find no other word that felt more fitting. The memories of that nightmare threatened to come flooding back, but she was able to push them aside with surprising ease by focusing on the situation at hand. In truth, the current circumstances caused her far more agony, but here she still had a chance at vengeance.

Vengeance for Garr. A great bubble of molten fury seemed to well up in her throat at the thought. Hanmyo drew in a sharp breath, held it; focused on beating back the anger. Not now. Save it. You'll get your chance, and she will pay. Patience. It won't be long. She'd never truly managed to abandon that instability that had been her hallmark, but she could control it now. Mostly. After a few moments she exhaled deeply, and it carried with it much of the risk of another emotional detonation. She was in control. Now was the time for planning, and then Elwren would find the cost of her actions to be quite dear.

Giving it a sharp tug, the woman extricated her arm from the shattered desktop with some difficulty. The artificial skin that had been adhered to the limb hung loosely like some sick caricature of a elbow-length glove, pierced through in a dozen places by large splinters. Grimacing at the damage she'd inflicted upon herself in her rage, Hanmyo grasped the fake dermis, wrapping the intact portion around her hand for grip and roughly peeling it away from the underlying mechanics. It was a grisly spectacle, but no doubt Lance Screamer had seen far worse - even discounting Side 2.

Her thoughts went to her normal machine, still in the hangar in pieces. And the...project, also incomplete. Finally, she addressed the Lord Commander. "What I need is a mobile suit. I don't care what so long as it's powerful. And--", Hanmyo abruptly cut off as something caught her attention, a sudden burst of confusion cutting through her thoughts like a knife. What Lance would no doubt have noticed immediately, it had taken her mind these few long moments to register. Raising her left arm up once more, she brought it to her face, gaze intensely focused.

Strands of metal had formed a glistening webbing that stretched from one component to another in the cybernetic limb. They crisscrossed every empty space, filling each nook and cranny with impossibly fine threads of an unknown alloy. Hanmyo flexed her wrist and the material stretched and flowed to accommodate the movement, clearly semiliquid in consistency. Yet when she prodded it - cautiously - with a finger, it was hard and unyielding as solid Gundarium. She had every reason to be terrified at this bizarre phenomena that seemed to have infested her limb, but for reason reason it only captivated her.

"What the hell...?" The question was barely a whisper.

[ZeonDad]

The Lord Commander quickly lost his train of thought as he silently observed Hanmyo’s arm with a morbid curiosity. His mind raced with possibilities. How much did she know? Was she infected? How had she been exposed? When? He disguised his worries by coolly leaned on one end of the doorway; instinctively keeping his options open if he needed to make a sudden exit from this new unfamiliarity.

“Trying something new for the arm?” Lance inquired wryly, downplaying any knowledge he might have of Hanmyo’s ‘affliction’ for now, before mentally cataloging the incident and moving to change the subject to more pressing matters. If she was infected, she didn’t show it. The ship would have already been annihilated, or worse. It was a gamble to let her go, but he couldn’t get distracted now. He was too close to his prize. The time for questions of a more personal matter would come later.

“I have a machine for you, something more than enough to end Alfimi Elwren once and for all. You would be doing all of us a favor. But there is something you must know about the facility that was sabotaged… there are things even beyond my control that may have found home in that facility. I think you know of what I speak.”

He motioned gently to her arm, before taking a firmer stance in the doorway as if physically preparing for something. In truth, he was only to give advice to the woman, who clearly was in no mood.

“It’s too dangerous to go alone, and too far by mobile suit. But if even one of you gets infected, the whole ship is finished. I have little assistance I can provide yet, however… Garr always spoke highly of your daughter. A bloodbath is no place for her. Let me take her, for now. Then, I will have a mobile suit transferred over to you. Use it, and avenge Garr. He was my friend…”

[BioHazard]

Hanmyo's gaze snapped up to the Lord Commander at his dry quip regarding the state of her limb, and she glowered at the man. Perhaps he had forgotten a mite too quickly what depth of anger simmered just beyond the veneer of calm and reason she had forcefully adopted, if Lance Screamer felt secure in making humor. It was too true that she'd gotten soft with age and motherhood, weaker in the iron resolve and self-righteous fury she once wielded like a weapon unto itself.

But in these moments, Hanmyo felt restored. Rejuvenated. She could draw strength from her emotion, as she had once done. Strength she had not felt, nor needed, for many a year. Strength enough to strike down those who had wronged her. That line between friend and foe had suddenly become far less distinct with this turn of events, and even someone as powerful as Screamer would do well to watch where he planted his footing. She was not without her own resources, if it came to that.

She remained passive throughout the man's spiel, a slight shadow crossing her face only at the mention of infection. He knew far more than he was letting that on, of that Hanmyo was certain. In truth, it served to somewhat assuage any fears that came to mind regarding the bizarre...phenomena occuring within her arm. After what they had both experienced at Side 2, that stuff of nightmares, even an individual as resolute as Lance Screamer would be incapable of keeping his composure if there was even a chance of a repeat incident. She was safe - probably, hopefully - for the time being. For long enough to complete this task.

Screamer would be able to feel her bristle at his final suggestion, a roiling spike of mental pressure accompanying her change in expression. For a moment, it looked as if Hanmyo might actually snarl at him like some feral thing protecting its young. But the ferocity in the look faded just as rapidly as it had come, replaced with resignation. As loathe as she was to admit it, he was right. The risk was too great. It the worst were to happen, be it by this infection or the enemy...

Hannyo sighed deeply before speaking, clearly unwilling but defeated all the same. "Fine. But some of my people will stay as well. I trust you'll take good care of them as well." Lance had played politics long enough to recognize the unspoken threat in the words; she needed say no more. She was willing to trust that the Lord Commander to make good on all of his assurances, in any case.

For now.

[ZeonDad]

“I wouldn’t have offered unless they were welcome here,” Lance insisted. He kept his thoughts cool, as he wondered what might have become of Hanmyo and her arm. If she was infected, how was she able to control it? Was she even aware of it? The woman seemed normal, sane, and healthy, aside from being handed the unfortunate news. But something had definitely happened to her, he had no doubt. What he had just seen was none too different from the things at Side 2, and inside the Research Facility. Hanmyo was not entirely human anymore, that much was certain to him. “If there’s anything else you need, name it. Supplies, weapons, machines, I won’t set you up to fail. I'll have the coordinates uploaded for you now.”

He turned to leave, already knowing the woman’s fury and pride would never allow her to accept such things, but lingered a slight moment longer to offer one last thing.

“If there’s anything left of her when you’re done," he pitched with a certain smugness, "try to have some of it find its way back to me.”