Anna Aurelia asked to Tsuya if it would be a problem to have a meeting in purpose to know more each other. So, Tsuya decided to let Anna to lead the way, a place where nobody will shoot on them. In other words, a Freeport would be the best place and that's where they go. Once arrived in Sigma-15, and once near the station, they both docked and decided the rendez-vous point at the bar.
The ship arrived in the hangar without any scratch. Anna Aurelia removed her helmet and let it on the pilot seat. She sighed and left her Raven's Talon. The woman took a look at herself. '' Ah! I forgot to take off my spacesuit...'' And she entered in her ship and took it off. Now, she was wearing a black jeans and a white T-Shirt. The basic. The only thing that would differ her from will be her long white hair and red eyes. Anna left again the ship but this time, she headed staight to the bar.
Once at the bar, Anna Aurelia looked around but she didn't see Ubukata Tsuya. However, she saw a place a bit far from people who looked suspicious and sat there. The woman was in her thoughts and many possibilities were playing. One was this: Tsuya will arrive armed with a sword and ready to attack. She shook her head and she said to herself: '' How idiot I am. Never she would do that.''
Some moments pass without Tsuya in sight. If this were a date, one would begin to have concerns of being stood up. However, Tsuya was only taking her time to make her appearance more discreet. Can't take any risk of standing out any more than she already does, being a Kusarian in the middle of a freeport mostly populated by Rheinlanders. In her mind, it was the best option. A place where less people might recognize her as a Dragon, as opposed to Noshima Freeport, where Hogosha and Farmers Alliance pilots frequently visit. Or Freeport 6, which was close enough to Kusari territory to pose a threat to her safety without a crew of guards accompanying her. The only threats here are embedded Rheinland agents and potential Corsairs, if you aren't paranoid of getting strange looks everywhere you go.
After about 10 minutes, the bar doors slide open with that typical resounding kshhhhhh noise. In walks the person that Anna was waiting for, clad in some spare clothing she had aboard her Tachi. Some... less eccentric clothing, compared to her usual outfits. Toned down about 50% from her usual gothic fashion, but still just enough personality to attract attention. Not that it particularly matters as she already sticks out like a sore thumb, but she figured that she may as well go to the effort of trying to look more casual, instead of looking like a terrorist. Of course, she was still equipped with her stylishly designed katana and tanto, both strapped to her side by a metallic belt wrapped around her waist. However, she had to kiss goodbye to her ranged weaponry to appease the hangar guards. She gazes around the seats in the bar for a moment, glancing at each occupied table until she saw one with a single woman sitting there that appeared to be waving at her. Nobody else it could be other than Anna, she thought. So she walked over to her, and occupied the seat across from her, on the other side of the table. She ignored the questioning looks as she made her way.
Now that she was faced front and center with with Anna with no hunk of metal in between them, they could both get a much better look at who they are physically. Anna noticed that one of Tsuya's eyes was covered by what appeared to be an optical enhancement device in the shape of a rose. Its petals looked metallic in nature, but still colored with that shade of red typical to natural roses. It appeared inactive and as though it was purely external, capable of being taken on and off at will as she saw a stealthy strap holding it in place, covered up by her hair. If Anna were to look downwards towards Tsuya's blades, she would find that the sheath of the katana is accompanied by what looks like the trigger of a gun, but with no barrel in sight. It replaces the segment that the sageo cord used to rest upon long before the modern (and far more reliable) obi belt was designed. "Well, you have me, Anna. What do you want to know? I hope the service here is good, I don't necessarily have a taste for Rheinbier..." She sighs, hoping for something remotely Kusarian to be on the bar's menu.
Anna looked at the girl who showed up. She took a closer look toward the eye, the rose. She wondered what it could be but opening a conversation about that will be out of context. In her mind she was like this: ''Oh my god, I knew it, she is armed! Ok calm down. You met higher threat.'' She smiled to Tsuya.
'' Well, hello. I'll be honest, I am happy to see you out of a screen. *chuckles* She took a short break. ''So... I would like to thank you to come here with me. So, about the drinks here, I do not know what they offer so I guess you will need to ask the question to the bartender.'' Anna Aurelia took another break and she was a bit stressed. When was the last time she was with a human? The last person was Sonja, the doctor that Pixis called when Anna's health was in danger, when she tried to fix the engine all by herself.
''Tell me Tsuya, what pushed you to live as a dragon? Pardon me for such personal question. And... is everyone can live as a ''dragon''?'' She was curious about Tsuya's life but she didn't have high hopes to receive an answer.
"Well, I'm going to need something to drink... I have a feeling you're going to try to make me talk a lot." She motions over a nearby server, and waits for them to come to the table. Tsuya asks about the selection of drinks that Freeport 8 has. Turns out that due to the primary population of the station conisting of Rheinlanders and people from the Omicrons, they only have a selection of drinks appropriate for the region. Looking disappointed, Tsuya decides to take whatever Anna orders, knowing that she's out of her element when it comes to Rheinland alcohol. "Anna, you're the one who invited me here, so you choose what we drink. Hope you choose wisely, now..." She teases, trying to see if Anna is capable of a little banter. After the drinks have been ordered, Tsuya returns to the questions that Anna had asked her.
She looks to be in thought for a moment, as if plotting out her answer inside her mind. Perhaps in such a way that she doesn't reveal too much of her past. "Guess I should start with how I got here in the first place, eh? I used to be a civilian on New Tokyo, with a normal life. Had a nice home, went to a famous academy, was going to join the naval forces. Until I found myself in the midst of a group of Dragon sympathizers." Tsuya pauses to recollect the memories in her head. Everything since the day she left has been quite a blur to her. If she hadn't listened to them... where would she be now? On the opposite side of this war, that's for sure, she thought. "They pulled the wool away from my eyes, as Libertonians like to put it. Or was it the other way around...? Whatever, anyways... I was essentially indoctrinated, bit by bit. Educated on all the ways that Kusari had been abusing its people, Samura in particular. I don't know why they chose me to join them. Maybe they saw me as pliable. I was the youngest in my class, after all. Parents paid a lot of money to get me in early. I have been told though, that my bloodline is tied to the original guard of the emperor, before all this. Before Samura."
She takes another moment to rest her lungs before continuing. "And not just anyone from the outside can be a Dragon. It's about having what it takes. Physically, mentally, all aspects of your essence must be prepared live and die by the blade. You must accept the fact that you may need to sacrifice your life for the cause. Every single one of us is a warrior who will fight to our last breath to uphold our dreams. But I tire of speeches about higher causes by now. We came here to chat, didn't we?" She leans back into her seat, crossing her legs in the meantime as they await their liquid courage.
When Tsuya gave the choice to choose the drinks, Anna didn't go by multiple ways. She ordered Vodka. Her favourite alcohol. Anna liked to drink pure alcohol. While they were both waiting, they were sharing some words. ''Oh... I see...'' It was the only thing she could say. What Tsuya told her, some flashbacks were emerging. For a fraction of a second, her face was dark. However, the person in charge to bring the drinks arrived. It was a man who just putted a bottle of vodka and two glasses and he walked away.
''I ordered vodka... I didn't know if you like that but I chose that... Also, to come back on what you said, Samura treats people like if they were simple tools? I mean... It's not acceptable at all!'' Anna took a break and filled her glass and Tsuya too. ''I would like to share my story with you... Since you gave me some details of yours, I guess I need to do it. I was born on Planet New London. Back then, I was not the same person. I had black hair and blue eyes. My parents were in the police. We were happy... One day, I was at school on Cambridge studying science and when the day was finished and once I was at home, my parents were not there. I didn't know where they were. But... The next day, I learnt that my parents were dead in Dublin. A certain fugitive killed them and he was known to kidnape kids and teens and sell them to those who buys slaves...'' She finished straight her glass. The woman had difficulty to continue her story.
After some long seconds that for her appeared to be eternity, she managed to continue. ''The other week that followed, a man approached me. He asked personal questions and when I was about to leave, with a substance, he forced me to be unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a dark room and... I was... I was...'' Her hesitation was clear and perhaps Tsuya could receive the message that Anna tried to tell her.
"That's quite enough, Anna." Tsuya read the writing on the wall. It was clear where that topic was going to, and she didn't feel comfortable discussing something like this in the middle of an open bar. She had this to say. "You don't need to relive your nightmares for someone like me. I get the picture." The fact that Anna was born and raised Bretonian might provide some opportunities in the future, should they arise, she thought. Bretonia does turn a blind eye to us, after all, so long as we don't do anything foolish. But besides that, Tsuya could safely assume that whatever was done to Anna was far from tasteful, and the cause of her unnatural hair and eye color. She didn't need to know. Whatever was done to her inbetween then and when she got out, is Anna's business only. Yet...
"If you really want to keep going, it's your choice. Maybe you need to get it off of your chest. I guess I'm willing to be the person that listens to all that, for lack of a better term." She exhales after saying that, taking a slow and deep breath afterwards. As if on cue, Tsuya grasps the bottle of vodka and pours another drink out for Anna. "It's nowhere near the kind of drink I prefer, but it'll do for now. I just hope it isn't too zesty... you never know what kind of vodka you're going to get because every bar carries different house brands." She takes a small test sip and her eye goes wide. She quickly swallows it and sets the glass back down. "Ugh. Not bad, but a far cry from what I'm used to. I'll still drink it, but eh..."
"If you want to go on, go on. Otherwise, take some time to calm down."
Tsuya’s words touched Anna. Even if they just met for the second time, Anna felt she could be friend with the shogun. That’s what she hoped. The woman did a little smile but she prefered to not continue her story. Even if she already told it to many people, it was always hard.
When Tsuya gave her another glass, Anna Aurelia looked at it in silence. Then, she looked at Tsuya. ”You are right, I need to calm down a bit… At least, you got the picture.” Another silence. ”I will skip that part of my life. When I was free, I met Caitlyn Cross, the chairwoman of the Orbital Spa and Cruise. It was to them I told my story. With the weeks that followed, we became friends and she gave me the idea to buy a liner, but for another purpose than transporting passengers to a destination. And here I am today. Oh… I forgot to tell you this: I had a dream when I was young and it was to be the greatest scientist of Sirius.”
Her hand grabbed the glass and drank the half of it. ”In a way, it is ridiculous. There are other scientists who are much more intelligent than me and know more things than me. Anyway… I am happy where I am today. I have my own personal “artificial intelligence”, Pixis.”
Tsuya ruminates for a moment, gently swirling the vodka within her glass around. It was clear to her that Anna is a rather troubled person. But she's got the wrong idea. "Just because someone might be smarter than you, or know more than you, doesn't necessarily make them better than you. What matters is what's inside. What's in your heart. If you don't put your heart into what you do, you'll never be the best."Having said that, she takes a moment to breathe and looks out into the cold of space provided by the reinforced glass separating them and death.
"Out here, that's what counts. Motivation. The initiative to strike while the iron is hot. Progress is what your goal is. And it's never going to happen exactly the way you expect it to." She takes another sip of the vodka, shaking her head in displeasure as the liquid fire slips down her throat. "If you really want to be the best, don't let go of yours. Many people who could be smarter than you give up simply because they don't have the dedication to keep going."
Anna took some moments to absorb Tsuya's words. She looked at her like if she did something amazing. ''You are right. I must try to do things as you say, Tsuya. Then, for the android that I am trying to make, I will put my heart and see what will happen!'' The woman stood up and looked at the clock. ''Oh! It is that late?! Well... I must admit this: Talking with you, time passes really fast.''
It was late and Anna Aurelia knew it was time to say good bye to Tsuya so that's what she did. ''It was fun to talk with you, Tsuya. I hope to see you again. Well, if it is possible of course.'' She looked into her eyes and waited her answer.
Tsuya nods, promptly leaving her seat at the table. She hadn't even downed half her glass of vodka, and had no intentions to. She really isn't a fan of that kind of drink. "Well, the least I can do is see you out as we leave. Let's move together. In her thoughts though, she was a bit curious. They'd only been there for about an hour... did Anna have someplace to go that quickly? They didn't exchange words all that much, but a lot of time was spent helping to calm Anna down. She shook her head to herself, pushing the thought to the back of her head for now.
As they exited the bar and made their way to the hangar bay, the two were approached by a pair of strange men in suits sporting shiny green ties. From a distance, one would assume they were simple businessmen, but up close like this, it was easy to tell that they were armed with concealed weaponry. One of them began to speak. "Guten abend. We are representatives of the Rheinland authorities and we have a few questions concerning you in particular." He said, pointing his finger at Tsuya. She smirks. She didn't expect to have to show this side of her to Anna so soon, but they don't seem keen on letting her go. "Oh, some questions? Well, you didn't make an appointment. I don't need to answer anything." She walks as though she was going to push them aside, but...
The men swiftly reach into their coats and pull out long, electrified batons. "Oh, nein, we insist. You see, our motherland has plans in the making that the likes of you could potentially interfere with. As such, we'd like to... reeducate you on your place." The talker lightly bonks Tsuya's katana sheath with his baton as the silent agent flanks her. "Let's start with stripping you of your little knives. Hand them over."
Tsuya's index finger is on the 'trigger' of her blade as her hand rests upon the katana sheath. She's unable to contain her strange smile that was on full display for Anna to see. "Well, I can't disobey an order... here you go!" Click. It happened in an instant. She pulled the trigger on her sheath, and the cheeky agent was on the ground, knocked out cold. The mechanism in Tsuya's sheath allows the katana to be drawn at such an inhumane speed that sparks are created as the sword ejects from its home. It hit him right in the jaw with enough force to break the bone and send them slightly airborne. In the next moment, she dodged a swing from the other agent's baton and whipped her torso around to slam her sheath into him. With the blade still in the air, she uses the stunned agent's leg and shoulders as a launchpad and grabs the sword in midair. She turns around only to slam the butt of her sword into his face, turning his lights out as well. Tsuya shrugs and lets out a great sigh before returning her katana to her sheath, but not before Anna notices that the blade's metal is colored with a deep shade of red. "I think that's enough playing around for one day, don't you think, Anna? Let's get out of here before anyone else comes around." She said before heading to her ship at a brisk pace.
![[Image: wRlzTev.png]](https://imgur.com/wRlzTev.png)
![[Image: 29yFjlj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/29yFjlj.png)