[It's the first non-annual random defense force social~ On the roof of the DF's headquarters, we have strung-up lights around the ledge, decorations, and a table of food, mostly snacks, and drinks. (But not alcohol; sorry Sakamoto, let's say Gino warned you earlier in the day you'd have to get your drink on ahead of time?)

[There's some music, a dartboard set up, and a table with question cards -- mostly light, fun, get-to-know-you questions -- in case you all want to get your I've Never or some other form of question game on.

[Closed to DF members, their guests, and possibly crashers-- ask permission first! Event log, thread amongst yourselves~]

[ Action | Open ]
[In between the duties assigned to him by the robots, Guilford had been making the time to use the terminals in the computer lab in order to draft his report on the events that the Knights who were here, and Cornelia, did not bear witness to. It was a lot of work, and several stacks of papers already piled up on the desk of the terminal he was using today. Even with his restraints off, he had to finish this, so he eschewed all manner of social activity in order to accomplish his goal.

After realized he had run out of water, he stood up from the chair, taking his glasses off for a moment while he rubbed at the corners of his eyes. Perhaps he should take a break...]


[ Action | Closed ]
[While it was true that he was staying in a room direct opposite of the Britannian princesses, apprehension and his busy schedule had prevented him from visiting sooner. There had been a few times where he stood in his doorway, much like now, contemplating walking the short distance and knocking on the door. Something about seeing Euphemia in person just unnerved him, perhaps more so than discovering Cornelia here, without her memories of the time after her re-appearance back home.]

[One deep breath later, he approached and rapped on the door, calling out quietly.] Lady Euphemia, it is Guilford. May I enter? [He probably should have called first, but that felt even stranger, as he resided so close by.]

[Leaving her sister behind after she fell asleep had been no easy feat. Especially after knowing the state she must be in. Certainly Euphemia had never expected to see herself pick up a machine gun and fire it at people that she'd had nothing but kindness in her heart for. Those images had been burned in Cornelia's mind long ago, but for her sister, she can't imagine that it will be something that is easy to accept.

And what she saw, if the footage is to be believed, Lelouch had not meant to give her that order. And yet, he was the one who raised his gun and fired at Euphie and he was the one to advertise her as being a massacre princess. His power, his greed, his carelessness, he is responsible for taking the most precious person away from her.

Cornelia grips the hilt of her gun-sword, still sheathed against her side, her expression becoming stony and hard. How could he? How could he make such a mortal error and cover it up so heartlessly by blaming someone who was completely innocent? She won't let him get away with such a heinous crime any longer. Forget their agreement. He has soiled the names of too many people that are important to her. Euphie... Guilford... Cornelia's eyes narrow. It's deplorable. He is going to give her some answers... or she will talk.

At least, this is what she is thinking as she bangs on his door, pulling the gun-word from its holster and pointing it at whoever decides to answer.]

[She sits on one of the gray chairs complete with the wheels at the bottom. She's always liked chairs with wheels. She's gained some amused and unamused faces rolling down smooth hallways on them in the past.

But today she isn't playing around.

Today she has a disc in her hand from Acumen. She isn't sure exactly what's on it, but she knows people—the people she cares about most—don't want her to watch it. It's strange to be afraid of such a small, circular disk, but she is. She's afraid of what sorts of answers it holds for her about what happened at the SAZ and how she died.

Her violet eyes glance over to her sister as she lifts the disc to the loading slot and a second later the computer sucks it in and the screen in front of them changes to a menu with different scene selections. It's like watching a movie. Except this is her life. It's not fiction.

Her heart is beating a little faster already, but she wants to be brave in front of Cornelia. It would be so easy to talk her out of this right now—to just go back to living in the dark about what happened. But she needs to know. She can't really have honest relationships with the people she loves with all these secrets between them. And if there is a chance—even the slightest, smallest chance that she could someday go back home and change things in whatever time she had left then she must try to do that.]

I guess we should just start at the beginning.

Hello everyone.

I was hoping to have this together sooner, but I've posted a listing of the classes and who is teaching them for our new school in the shelter and at the educational facility. Please look it over if you signed up. I had to make a few changes after talking with Acumen because The Doctor and Willow are no longer here, but of course if anyone isn't happy with something, just let me know so it can be changed!

It would also be really helpful if you could fill out details about your class to make it easier for people to decide what they'd like to take. There are some guidelines to help and some slips of paper to fill out.

I'd also like to apologize to all our new arrivals. I'm sure not very many of the welcome baskets went out on time, but they are still coming! I'm working on a way to fix that from happening again even if something like the sleeping sickness is going on. You should have treats by tomorrow though.

[So much business to attend to! She isn't a princess here, but it almost seemed like she had more responsibilities now than she did as sub-viceroy.] On a more personal note, I'd like to thank Soubi, Gino, Cross, Kazuma, and of course, my sister, Cornelia, for helping me when I was being too stubborn to realize I was sick before. It's certainly nice to be feeling awake again. I'm very glad to be out of bed! [And at the moment she is sitting on a bench in the garden.]

[Private to Cornelia/Hackable]
I checked with Acumen [a longer pause than is strictly necessary] and the disc was still ready so I picked it up.

(OOC: Please use the OOC post for actually filling out the course info.)

Ummm...do these belong to anyone?

[And into the camera's view come several horribly cheesy-looking romance novels. They're not the trashy kind with, well, questionable content but they're still terribly written and Nunnally is quite sure that no one in the house would read them. They're certainly not hers or are they?]

They were behind the couch pillows, so I think someone must have lost them when they came over...

[A man's voice comes on over the network. It is calm, but there is a certain weight of authority behind it. He doubts none of what he was imprisoned for, and does not sound at all accusatory. Except for one small matter...] Sentenced? I do not recall - nor does this message mention - ever being put on trial.

Tell me... is there any sense in appealing my "case" to whatever Judge may have presided over my proceedings, or will those pleas fall on deaf ears? [He is not aware of whom he is speaking to, so the question is general. Is it this "Acumen, or other prisoners? After all, those crimes were all performed in the line of duty. If he is here, being punished, does that mean...?]

((ooc: He actually got plopped down outside of the ramen shop. He is wearing his dark glasses because his eyes are a little sensitive, but his vision is not impaired. For anyone who wants to come across him there.))

What-

[And then there's a significant silence while her brain tries and fails to process. She's too physically and emotionally drained to be thinking clearly right now and it's obvious in her voice.]

If this was part of the plan, then I won't complain, but...can't I see him again? One- [Wavers, there's the first audible chink in the armor.] One last t-time?

[And because it is clearly not working, she just gives up trying to hold herself together. Have a sobbing loli in a tree, Marina.]

An escalation of our efforts seems in order, if we are to avoid being reduced to a mere memory like the first and second generation of Marina's residents. We will be more efficient--and far more likely to succeed--if we coordinate our efforts fully.

As for the cause of this epidemic: Agatha has no wits left about her to accomplish such a plague, Acumen is the very portrait of apathy where our survival is concerned, and the idea of a force outside the dome at work here approaches the absurd. Which leaves us.

We will need a comprehensive list of every inmate in the dome; once that is done we can begin our search for the source of our current troubles. Until then, finding and transporting all the afflicted to the hospital in Sector One should be our primary concern. Accounting for all of them will also make that list simpler to compile, as well as help in controlling panic.

I await your responses.

[Private to Axel]
I am in Sector Four; let me know when you are ready.


(((OOC: Defense Force free for all! Hijack threads, talk amongst yourselves, etc. ♥ I'll tag once I'm back from work~))

...How many people are affected by the sleeping sickness?

[so says the lady that doesn't really give a two cents about the whole affair. But Anya would be concerned, right? Anya would. And therefore, Marianne is doing her best to put her facade. She's pretty good at it too.]

[ooc: Anya-Marianne is pretty much anywhere and everywhere besides the shelter. Walking around!]

[Euphie blinks and looks around her room. Her eyes sting as if strained and her limbs feel heavy as if weighted. She notices Cornelia is already out of bed, but it must still be late for her to be so exhausted. With no windows to judge time from light, she turns her head toward her bedside clock. She blinks again and even squints but the time doesn't change. She's been asleep a long time. If she doesn't get up now her breakfast with Lelouch will become a lunch.

It's with that thought, wanting to check on her brother and keep her promise, that she manages to push herself into a sitting position with much more effort than should be necessary. Tired as she is, her mind doesn't focus on why it is so difficult, she just encourages herself onward. First a quick shower and then she'll place a breakfast order or ask someone to do her the favor of preparing it and then she'll be on her way. She just has to concentrate on these small steps, so the task doesn't seem so big.

Little steps. Tiny steps.

Like the shuffling ones she is taking toward the door. Her room, which normally seems so small, now feels as if it has room enough for a marathon runner to practice laps.

But she promised Lelouch. Little steps. Tiny steps. And her hand at last latches onto the door knob, pulling it open. When did it get so heavy?

Now in the hall, wearing her pink satin pajamas, one hand stays firmly planted on the wall for support as she takes labored steps toward the bath. Her normally perfect posture becomes increasingly hunched and her pace slows further. Little steps. Tiny steps. No steps.

And she slides down the wall until she is slumped on the floor. ]

(OOC: Why, yes, she is affected by Tear. )

[He's speaking directly into the microphone of his communicator, so he's not yelling but it's still LOUD, possibly with a ring of audio feedback:]

OY, IDIOT APPRENTICE. Get over here, now. [Never mind that he doesn't mention where 'here' is.]

[a bit less loud, now.] Oh, and if anyone needs the Supervisor, I think he's passed out in that lab of his. Or was, a few hours ago.

[A put-upon sigh] ...This Merlot is worse than swill. Anyone got something decent to drink?

(OOC: If anyone wants to find Komui, I'll gladly thread with him on this post, too!)

[when he opens the channel, he's silent for a long beat. then, he says, perfectly calm]

Euphie-- Nunnally is gone.

[and, much quieter] I thought you'd like to know.

[he doesn't make it private because maybe others would like to know, those people she'd befriended or who'd known her. their friends. he wouldn't tell any of them if he didn't have to. wouldn't even say it aloud if he didn't have to. ...but Euphie deserves to know, so she doesn't have to find out by asking for her sister someday and not finding her.

[he can't think about this right now. he won't be able to focus -- breathe if he thinks about this. (it's not the end) (not for her) ...and there's -- something he has to do]

Real bang up job the Defense Force is doing lately. They're the only ones to get robbed, we've got some sodding sleeping plague about, and now someone went and got themselves murdered all mysterious like.

Then again, it's not like it makes any difference to me one way or the other. And don't think I didn't come bearing helpful ideas. Ever considered matching uniforms? Couldn't hurt really.

[After her morning jog, it is still very early when Cornelia returns to the shelter to get a shower and stop by the cafeteria for some tea. She gets one for herself and one for her younger sister before she heads back to the room they share, hoping the apprehension she feels isn't so obvious on her face.

The sisters had agreed yesterday that they would speak to each other in the morning. Although Euphemia doesn't know what Cornelia intends to talk to her about, the younger princess knows that it at least has to do with their brother. Even though she was up for nearly the entire night trying to figure out how she is going to ask her sister for permission to see the SAZ footage, Cornelia still isn't sure how to bring it up, and wonders whether or not she is making a mistake.

Standing outside the door, she rearranges the tea so that she can turn the knob and then peer inside to see if Euphemia is still asleep.]

[The video turns on. Gino grins quickly into the screen, and then turns it on Suzaku, who is also smiling. They're outside, and the night is dark around them as they round the corner to the defense team HQ in Sector 1.]

Okay! I know there's been some concern lately, but I think we've finally gotten the HQ decorated tastefully. So, to settle everyone's concerns...

[He takes the camera up to the front door; narrating and showing off] We left up Rise's fairy lights. I think they're cute. But see, the outside is normal now.

Suzaku and I were working on the inside today, so it looks good, but still like a workplace, and we came up with...

[Gino pauses dramatically, to Suzaku's visible bemusement, and then throws open the door, on--

[Chaos. The defense team HQ looks like it's been ransacked. The desk is upended and the drawers have been torn out and hurled into walls; the furnishings are smashed, decorations torn down and belongings scattered and papers ripped up. In the midst of the mess is Anya, staring blankly at the scene with her fingers clutched tightly around her phone.

[Suzaku and Gino's surprise is instantaneous, gasps of] Anya! [and] What happened?!

[She turns to them, still expressionless, and says] ...I don't remember.

[The video clicks off hurriedly.]


((ooc: Anya was assigned to watch the HQ tonight, as everyone on the defense team should know. All anyone knows is that while she was in charge, she suffered a memory lapse, and the place is totally trashed. Did Anya get in a fight? Did Anya leave her post? Did Anya do it?

This event is designed to cast suspicion on Anya's reliability. Even Anya will end up doubting it. Please cooperate and let us have some awesome plot. ♥ ))

[She is waiting at a table in the café, her eyes focused somewhere on the table, distant and obviously distracted by her thoughts. Cornelia said she would meet Oliver here to talk, but she's not really in the talking mood. Not that she ever is. She leans her elbows on the table, sighing as she rests her forehead on one hand. Her mind is made up. She's going to talk to Euphie about the SAZ records. It's just a matter of finding the right time and not avoiding her younger sister any longer.]


[ooc: Obviously open, but I'm still kind of in 'away limbo' since I'll be on travel pretty much until the following Sunday.]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get everything together, but I have a list possible subjects for the school as well as people who may be interested in teaching them. I made copies and put it up in the common room of the shelter. Please feel free to add to it. Some things may need to be combined into one class like the various sciences. I left extra sheets of paper if you'd like to make additional notes. Or you can just talk to me directly! I put names down to everything they said they might be interested in, but I'm sure they don't really want to have such a heavy class load, so please feel free to add your name anywhere and we can sort things out later.

We are making progress on the location and supplies. [Because Cornelia is working on that!] And I believe Kaoru and Hikaru are working on uniform designs. [She's not entirely sure she got a final answer on that.]

[After a moment] Oh, and Gino, the pictures of me have arrived if you would like to get together.

( Possible subjects and professors )

(OOC: Please be clear whether your tag is WRITTEN or VOICE. There are plenty of colored pens for your written responses and you may write notes to one another! Poke me or respond to this if your character already volunteered to possibly teach a section and I left it out. Skimming may have been involved!)

[Annoyed grunting can be heard, followed by grumbling as the video pans along a random, nondescript wall.] Worst night’s sleep I ever had.

[Some more inaudible but distinctly irritable murmuring, and then a face appears: out of focus, but viewers will see long red hair, half a white mask, and a smirk.]

...Now, it's not nice to take other people's things. Where is that idiot apprentice when he's needed?

[Lockon sounds a little hesitant as he makes the call, but he feels he has to know a few things, now that his placement here and the prison itself has been given the proper context.] Lady Cornelia, I-- [No, that wouldn't do.]

Could we meet, at some point, when you have the time? [And just so she doesn't go getting the wrong idea, his voice shifts a little to signify his seriousness.] It's regarding an important matter, and I don't feel safe saying more over the network.