Submersible Witches Quest 09

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/19715966

	You make no motions. You are an immobile statue, an expressionless wraith. Only a bead of sweat crawling down your cheek betrays your living nature. You stare deeply into the blue eyes of your opponent, her light brown hair draw into her cap. She is no such paragon of tranquility, her brow furrowed in thought. Examining her trembling cards carefully, she picks a pair, setting them down. A pair of Aces, Heart and Spade. Only three cards left in hand, she watches and waits for your reaction.

	You keep a straight face. A pair of Aces is hard to beat, especially when one is a heart. You let her stew as you glance at your cards. With a slow, deliberate motion, you reach for a pair in your hand, and gently set them on top of the pile.

	"GOD DAMMIT, THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Rae yells, echoing through the mess hall. She tosses her hand onto the pile: 2 of Hearts, 4 of Clubs, 4 of Spades. "WHY ARE YOU SO GOOD AT THIS?"

	"Calm down, Rae. You're the one that wanted to play, remember?" says Miranda, trying to calm her down.

	"Yeah, I wanted to play Poker! Not this bizarro game. Who the hell ever heard of hearts being the highest suit? Why is 2 the highest rank?" she complains, pointing to your pair of 2s, Diamond and Club.

	"...Can we finish?" asks Yetta.

	"Fine, fine, go ahead! I'm last again, anyway."

	You play your final card, starting the last round. 5 of Spades. Yetta follows, playing the 5 of Diamonds. Miranda plays the 7 of Clubs. Socks tosses in the 10 of Hearts. With that, the only person with cards in hand is Rae.

	"I hate you guys," she says, pouting. "Even the damned Martian is better than me." The three of you smirk as Socks remains motionless, not understanding Rae's outburst.

	It's been two days since the Martian attack on the flotilla. Finally getting a chance to breathe, your group has settled on the larger Jintsu, surrounded by more crew and away from Lt. Cmdr. Naomi Ito. Sticking close to Socks, your group has managed to prevent the crew from getting too rowdy, and now your far corner of the mess hall is thoroughly avoided by the regulars. That's fine, seeing as you'll only be here for a few more days.

	As Rae shuffles the deck for another game ("Let me do it, you guys keep jinxing the deck for me."), you scan the nearly-empty mess. It's the evening, and dinner has already been served for most of the crew. A few officers float through, enjoying the privileges of rank and eating at their leisure instead of the assigned times. As your group starts the first round of cards, Sarah walks in.

	"How the hell did that Two beat an Ace?" she asks. Rae goes rigid as she hears Sarah speaking from behind her back.

[x] Invite her to join the game
[ ] Buzz off
[x] Deflect. Why are you still here?
[ ] Other


	You're a bit put off by this Witch, but she has yet to really do anything detrimental. In fact, her group saved your lives. You decide she's at least earned one game of 13 Cards.

	"Want to sit in a game? You're welcome to it," you offer, gesturing to a seat.

	Sarah surveys the group, her eyes staying on Socks just a little bit longer than anyone else. After a moment of consideration, she answers. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do until there's another attack." Sarah plops into her spot, waiting.

	"Speaking of which, what are you doing here, anyway?" you ask.

	"Oh, got some orders over the radio. 'Do your best to cover Admiral Isaki's fleet until it arrives safely at Brisbane' or something. The Jintsu's got basic facilities for a striker aboard, so I invited myself aboard. The Captain didn't seem too pleased, but that Admiral was delighted." Sarah shrugs. "Plus, I haven't seen my little sister in ages." She wraps an arm around Rae, who hasn't moved since she first noticed Sarah. "Come on, Rae, don't be so stiff! You've gotta learn to be sociable sometime!"

	After several games, Sarah joins. She promptly begins to dominate, taking the next three with some incredibly lucky hands and gambits. It soon turns into a boring game of counting how many turns it takes for Sarah to win. All of you grow tired, mumbling excuses to leave.

	"Aww, come on! Just one more game, huh? This is great!" Sarah pleads.

	"Sarah, come on. We're still recovering from the rush of the past few days. Give us a break," you tell her. "Maybe tomorrow."

	"Hmph. Fine, it's cool. You're all just sore at how badly you lost. Haha, I'm the greatest!"

	She's not only irritating; she's right. All of you begin breaking off in different directions, leaving Sarah with the cheap deck. Who do you follow?

[x] Rae
[ ] Socks and Miranda
[ ] Yetta
[ ] Other

	You follow Rae out of the room, trusting Miranda to safeguard Socks and for Yetta to be alright wherever it is she's going. Rae heads back to the aft of the ship, a difficult feat, given the disappearing sunlight. She leans against the railing silently, thinking. Staring out at the ocean, she doesn't notice you.

	"Rae, what's up with you and Sarah?"

	She turns around, leaning her back against the railing so that she can face you.

	"Oh, hey Cleo." Rae looks at the deck sullenly. "It's nothing."

	"Come on, Rae. If it's nothing, you'd have been your over-the-top self during those last games."

	"I'm just disappointed at how easily we got beat, is all."

[ ] Accept it and join her at the railing.
[x] Press her.
[ ] Other.

	You take a spot at the railing next to her, facing the ship's wake. "Come on now, Rae. Don't give me that."

	Rae sighs. "You're not going to let this go?"

	"If you really don't want to talk, then that's fine." You let a minute pass as you watch the water churn behind the Jintsu. The intricate patterns of moving water are mesmerizing. "But you look like you've got some issues. You should probably work through them, Rae. Now's better than later."

	Rae leans her head back, catching glimpses of stars beginning to pop into existence. The sun is below the horizon now. "I guess you're right," she says. "I...dunno. I don't really hate my sister and brother at all, you know."

	"Seems more like you're afraid of them, or embarrassed," you note.

	"Haha," she chuckles. "I guess that's partly right. If I had to put it into words...I'm probably afraid of their expectations. I'm afraid of the Rae Caulders in their heads, of them figuring out I'm not that girl."

	You tilt your head. "What do you mean?"

	"Max and Sarah were top of their class, best in everything. Whatever they decided to do, they just did, effortlessly. They're honest-to-god geniuses, prodigies. I'm...not." Rae's voice strains as she utters that last word. "The entire time at the Academy, I had to study hard to get by. I was never that sociable, burying myself in a book. Sarah always teased me because of it."

	"Oh,  yeah? A bit of sibling rivalry there?"

	"I guess, but it wasn't anything of ill-intent. I love my siblings dearly, and they me. They just don't really understand what it's like to struggle. I mean, get this. Sarah, in her last year at the Academy, was valedictorian. There were some classes cut short as the world prepared for another big upheaval, but she was still on-par or better than past graduates. Top marks in everything and involved in a million extra-curricular volunteer jobs."

	"Sounds like she was busy."

	"That's the thing. She wasn't. I was the one with no time for friends. I was the one feeling the strain. I was the one trying to move the god damn world, and she was the one getting the awards."

	Rae pauses.

	"And Sarah thinks it was the same for me as it was for her, that I chose not to do anything more than get by." She clenches her fist. "It's just not fair."

[ ] Life's not always fair, Rae.
[x] Stay silent.
[ ] Other.

	You stay silent, letting Rae keep control of the conversation. Rae takes a few minutes to work through her anger, her fist trembling. You suspect she's having difficulty even determining who to be angry to.

	"They don't even expect much from me; they're completely OK with whatever I decide to do! I can't even be mad at them. I..." Rae trails off, trying to figure out what to say. "Max and Sarah are a hotshot pilot/witch duo, practically heroes back home. Me? I'm nobody, worthless. All I've done is get caught by a bunch of aliens in my first fight."

	Rae turns to face you. "I'm...angry at myself. And they remind me of it." She barely manages to get those words out, barely describable as a whipser.

What do you do?

-

	You look Rae in the eye. She's on the verge of tears, an emotional state you brought her to. As the night sky begins to reveal its brilliance, a familiar phrase echos through your head. It's always darkest before dawn.

	"Rae, you know what I think it is?" She shakes her head. "They don't know what to expect from you. They're waiting for you to decide what you want to do in life."

	"B-but!" Rae sputters, but she cuts herself short as she realizes your next point.

	"The reason why you're so frustrated...is because you don't know what you want."

	Both of Rae's fists clench up at that, a stinging truth flung in her face, no longer avoidable.

 	"I found out what I wanted to do early on. I wanted to work hard, show others that Witches can appreciate a hard day's work from their side of things, and do great things at the same time. Enlisting was just another way to do so. During the Depression, I learned the hard way what it's like to need, what it's like to have to work just to get by each day. I'm just lucky enough to have found my passion, working side by side with average people to move mountains. Rae, you need to find yours."

	Rae doesn't say anything for awhile, brooding. You turn your head upwards, trying to find constellations you might recognize. It's a futile effort, with most of what little you know not being visible in the southern sky.

	"...Thanks," says Rae, interrupting your stargazing. "I think I can try to do that. Find what I want to do, I mean." She wraps her arm around your shoulder and squeezes you tight. "Geez, when did you get so good at talking to people? You had me almost crying!" she says, hints of cheerfulness coming through her voice now. "But seriously, thanks."

	As the two of you head to your temporary bunks, you swear you see Socks. It was only for a moment, though.

[x] What's that Martian up to now?
[ ] Probably nothing
[ ] Other

	"Hey, Rae."

	"Yeah?"

	"Was that Socks just now?"

	Rae shrugs. "I don't know. Why? You not ready to hit the bunks just yet?"

	You shake your head. "No, it's not that; I'm tired as hell too. I'm just worried about the guy wandering about. Martians aren't exactly popular, you know."

	"Miranda was with him, right? No problems. Besides, Isaki's probably scared the fleet shitless with what he'll do to them if they kill our first Martian turncoat."

	"I'm still a little worried. I'm going to go check."

	"Suit yourself. Those thin comfort pads are calling my name."

	With a wave, Rae makes her way back inside the ship. It's dark, as lighting is minimized to avoid detection. You walk to where you spotted what might be Socks, and open the hatch you find there. Walking inside, you find a hallway with a few branches. Only the night watch are about in this area this late, and they're nowhere to be found.

	You hear some noises, a regular beat of sound that you peg as...yes. It's Martian. Peeking around the corner, you spot Socks. About 4 meters away from him is an unfamiliar Martian, wearing some sort of gear. He doesn't strike you as a regular soldier, or even a commando. Whatever he is, just looking at him gives you the creeps. It's as if your brain itself were getting goosebumps. Socks and this other are speaking. You can't understand them.

[x] Conceal yourself.
[ ] Confront the two.
[x] Communicate with Socks.
[ ] Other.

	You hide around the corner, making sure they can't spot you. Reaching out with your mind, you try to contact Socks.

	[Socks? You there?]

	[Ah, Kuykendall. Um, what can I do for you?] His mind radiates nervousness, unease, and hesitation. [I'm working on a rather difficult problem at the moment, it's a bit frustrating.]

	[Oh, just wondering why you weren't at the bunks, is all. Miranda with you?]

	[Y-yes, of course.] You get the feeling that even he knows how unconvincing he's being.

	[Alright. Let her know I said 'hi.' Is that problem anything I can help with?]

	[Of course. As for the problem, eh, no, not really. It has to do with Psionics.]

	[Ah, Psionics. You know, we really should sit down sometime and go over some basics of Psionics-]

	[I am sorry, Kuykendall. I really must get back to this problem before...my train of thought leaves me.]

	[Oh, of course. Good night, Socks.]

	He doesn't reply. You sneak a look around the corner, just in time to witness the strange Martian approach Socks. He pulls a weapon out, and suddenly beats Socks with the butt of it. Socks falls to the floor, writhing in pain.

[x] Not today, fucker
[ ] Stay hidden
[ ] Other

 	He did not just attack your favorite Martian. Oh, oh. He did. That's not OK. You pad yourself, finding your familiar M1911 at your side. You draw it, taking off the safety, and whirl around the corner. Taking but a fraction of a second to aim, you fire several shots at the strange Martian, expecting to see him drop to the floor. Instead, he merely turns to you, unperturbed. He raises a tentacle, waving it side to side. Ah-ah-ah, he seems to be saying.

	You fire at different points of his body, emptying your magazine. Not a single one hits, and if you didn't know any better you'd swear the Martian was smirking at you. He doesn't even raise his weapon to attack you, simply standing in place as if asking "Is that the best you can do?" Pissed off, you grab your knife and lunge at him. He sidesteps with impossible speed, leaving you to crash painfully into a bulkhead.

 	He's toying with me, you realize. He stands still again, that same annoying smirk on his face.

[x] Space CQC
[ ] Call for Help
[ ] Other

	You close in for a wild attempt to make contact with this stranger. You take a wide stance, determined not to let him slip by. Making a sudden forward motion, you brace for any kind of counter-attack, hoping to grapple him. He dodges, again evading your grip.

	Frustrated, you throw a punch, and another, and another, the Martian nimbly moving out of the way each time. Closing for a kick, you sweep the floor with your leg. He jumps (which impresses you), and your kick hits nothing but air. Seemingly finished with this, he again smirks at you, and makes to leave. You attempt to follow him around the corner, but you lose sight of him for a moment. Coming around the corner, you find he is no longer there. Like a ghost, he has disappeared.

	The night watch returns, rushing to discover where the gunshot came from. They find you not 5 meters away from Socks' writhing, scrunched up form. With little regard to either of your comforts, they grab Socks and you, yelling in Japanese. They drag you outside, your shins hitting a few hatchways during the trip. Finally, you come to a stop, face to face with Admiral Isaki.

	A piercing look on his face, Admiral Isaki is not happy.

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