05: The Band Assembles, as the characters of the tale grab the reins of their Epic!

[gurrenbrigbonded]

[1]

In the period of time since the Battle of Beastman Mount, the land battleship Dai-Gunzan has been quiet, following the White Chalice around on a combination of autopilot and skeleton crew, a piece of Isorla bringing forth memories of a sad loss.

But Now!!! With a fresh coat of paint, some maintenance, and the recruitment of some more helping hands, the Gurren Brigade's mightiest (well, only) warship stands tall, read to cut through destiny, defeat evil, and claim glory!

Land Battleship: Dai-Gurren-Dan!

Matthew stands on the prow, inspecting with narrowed eyes the Gurren Brigade banner fluttering in the breeze, arms folded as the whistling wind blows down the open deck.

"...I should have brought a coat." He says finally. Anyone there to agree with him?

[2]

At long last, Matthew, head ensconced in Neurohelmet, leans back in his Battlemech's cockpit again.

He keys in the activation sequence, and his restored...nay, his upgraded Nova comes to life around him!

"PIK Authorization Code: A real man fights with his fists!."

"[Code Accepted. Reactor Online. Sensors Online. Weapons Online. All Systems Nominal.]"

A hatch on the main deck of Dai-Gurren opens up, and those who watch or are standing by in mechs see a strange version of the venerable Clan OmniMech come trotting out!

"Nova Messenger, moving out!"

Help him test it out? Comment?

[3]

Stealthy people on the White Chalice! You espy Matthew in a lounge in front of a terminal, chuckling as he talks to someone on the future equivalent of Skype!

"So you would be willing to come in and bolster the ranks of the Brigade, quiaff?"

Take a closer peek?

[4]

"Simon?" Matthew calls out cautiously as he walks down a set of halls. "Simon the Digger? We should talk, quiaff? About the legacy–"

He cracks open the door to a large supply room. He blinks as his eyes adjust. Then his eyes widen.

"The stravag has he been doing?" He blurts out. He pulls out his comm pad.

[Public Channel.]

"Fellow members of the White Chalice. I have a...question to ask. It is a normal freeborn funerary practice to make stone sculptures of the deceased in large quantities, quiaff?"

Comments

4

[orewagundamda]

... no. [How verbose, Setsuna.]

Re: 4

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Ah." Matthew replies.

Moment of uncomfortable silence over the comm channel.

"Is it a rare form of freeborn funerary rites, done in special circumstances?" He asks hopefully.

2

[hominilupusinexilio]

Seeing a Nova emerge from the Dai Gurren is strange enough. It's a bit of normalcy nested in weirdness. Then the weirdness returns as he squints at it, like it was nested fractally. What are those fins?

Re: 2

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Radiators!" Matthew booms over the Nova's comm. Did he just read your mind?

"Solid state radiator fins! Forged from infra-red transparent diamond-carbon alloy with a tungsten core, hooked up to the coolant circulation system! Facilitating heat dissipation in outer space! And like Zeonic heat hawks, forming a cutting surface at high temperature, creating close-range weapons of precision and lethality!"

He lofts one of the Nova's arms in a cutting gesture: you notice that the arm joints have been modified, swiveling at wider angles than before.

"And this is but one feature of my Nova Messenger!"

He pops open the cockpit briefly to wave at you.

"How are you doing, Star Captain Resnick?"

[Currently, I think the upgraded Nova has only one other pair of radiators besides the arm mounted ones. The extras in the image come later.]

4

[zaku_for_xmas]

"What?! I have never heard of something so insane. I can understand ONE statue."

Re: 4

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"I can understand it too, in cases of memorializing great heroes." Matthew allows.

"Yet right now I am in the middle of a storage space full of....stone sculptures of varying sizes, all of the deceased Kamina."

He pauses.

"It is strangely ominousHow did he get this much granite up here?!?!"

Re: 4

[zaku_for_xmas]

"I'm sure one large one is fine, and maybe a few pocket-sized ones. Or small ones you can put on a shelf."

Re: 4

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Ah...I do not see any pocket-sized or shell-sized ones around. Simply very large ones...surrounding me, like a thicket of trees..."

Matthew had some wonderful bro-times with Kam-kams, but this is still quite creepy!

Re: 4

[zaku_for_xmas]

"What?! Who even had the time..."

Re: 4

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"I have no idea who!" Matthew shout

"I was looking for my comrade in the Gurren Brigade, Simon the Digger. He has made himself scare ever since the death of his Trothkin, so I thought to–"

He blinks. Did that statue just move?

Wait, did it move again when he blinked?

Re: 4

[zaku_for_xmas]

"W..what's wrong?"

Re: 4

[gurrenbrigbonded]

[It's the Weeping Kaminas. Blink and you're dead.]

Matthew tenses, then relaxes.

"My apologizes. The nerves of a Trueborn Mechwarrior should not be this jittery. I am...moving to another location."

Re: 4

[zaku_for_xmas]

"Get some rest..."

[gudbye_despair]

Carving dolls are normal. I carve dolls all the time.

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Really?" Matthew asks. Maybe this isn't as bad as he thought!

"Of what size? And of what quantity and type?"

[gudbye_despair]

All size. And I make them from all kind of materials. I make lots of them. Making dolls of people that you love is a way to show your love, isn't it?

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Is that so?"

Matthew begins to relax.

"Of what materials?"

[gudbye_despair]

All kind of materials. My favourite is wood, but I also like to make them from potatoes, clay, meat...

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"Meat?"