Super Robot Wars Unlimited Generation @lpha

[The Chalice is going to space! Breaking atmo isn't as exciting as fighting Adventus while descending into it, but its still pretty awe-inspiring in its own way. This particular spaceflight finds Nadia on the observation deck, one hand resting lightly on the glass, doing that thoughtfully-look-out-into-space thing that Gundam characters are so fond of.]

...It's been nine months since I came down here.

So much has changed, it feels like it's been ages. A year ago I had never left my home colony. Now I'm a soldier, more or less. I've saved lives. Watched my allies get decimated by Codex Regius. Lived on the run for months. Gotten used to full Earth gravity. Saw snow in person. And now, I'm back on the Chalice, going back to space.

I know we aren't going to Rauha, but it sort of feels like I'm going home.

[action]

[As Gundam Freya Repair limps into the hangar to be taken in for repairs, Nadia Cross hops out and looks around, finding thet surroundings oddly nostalgic in the back of her mind. In a way, it's good to be back, but the circumstances...]

[With sudden intensity, Nadia turns and punches the hangar wall almost hard enough to bloody her knuckles, breathes heavily for a few seconds, then gathers her thoughts and continues on, looking much calmer.]


[video]

First off, I want to apologize to the people who were out there when I arrived. I should have explained my situation in advance, and I shouldn't have assumed the worst.

The group that's hunting me is called Codex Regius; the Asgard mobile suits are a specialist hit squad working for them. I don't know much about their motivations, but they've been hunting down and destroying the Midgard Project that Freya was created to lead since I left the Chalice. They're... terrorists, basically. They operate mostly in space, taking innocent lives without any remorse. This is the first I've heard of them having ties with Celestial Being, though...


...unfortunate circumstances aside, I'm glad to be back. I've seen a couple familiar faces already, and if nothing else, Freya's long overdue for some proper repairs.

[Being hailed from outside the Chalice! When the message comes through, the face on the screen is one that some of you might recognize.]

White Chalice, do you copy? It's me, Nadia Cross! We met a few months ago out in space, when my home colony was attacked.

I'm in Duluth right now, right off the coast of Lake Superior. I don't want to go into the details on a traceable call, but things have been pretty intense on my end, and if you're heading this direction already, I could really use your help. In exchange, I could lend a hand with Gundam Freya again. How about it?

[After the harrowing events of

Thinking out loud here.

That was my second real deployment with Freya. It... could have gone better.

The Gundam's definitely got some design flaws. Once I lost my shield, there was barely anything I could do. Maybe if I had another beam rifle I could carry around... or if the shield had some sort of barrier...

Heck, I'm an engineer, sort of. I could probably make her more dependable if I put my mind to it.

...Once the repairs are done, at least.

Okay, I should probably say something after all. Yes, I said we were with the White Chalice during that Celestial Being mission. No, I wasn't thinking about the consequences of it.

I don't necessarily think I was totally in the wrong, either. We're working for a good cause, and so is Celestial Being, so I don't really see why we should have to hide what we're doing from the world.

Sure, it might mean that more people try to pick fights with us, but aren't we already picking more than a few fights ourselves?

[action]

[It's the White Chalice! There are a bunch of new mechs in the hangar after that clusterfuck out there. Nadia emerges from one of them, but doesn't hang around. She heads out of the hanger and into the ship proper, wandering random halls for a couple minutes.]

[Then, once she's away from the biggest of the milling crowds around the new machines, she leans against a wall, sinks down to her knees, and sits there for a few minutes, head down, shaking.]

[There wasn't time to be scared or upset during the fight, but she doesn't have enough experience to just push those emotions away completely yet. Got to lose it for a bit before composing herself.]


[video]


My name's Nadia Cross, I just arrived after that last battle on Rauha. I was an engineering student, but I've also been trained to use a Mobile Suit in combat... it's a long story, and I probably shouldn't go into it right now. But the new white MS in the hangar, Gundam Freya, is mine, and I'd like to use it to help with... whatever it is you're doing here. I don't really know much about it.

For now, though, I'm going to take Freya and help with the repairs as much as I can before we leave. I just wanted to introduce myself properly.