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Ad Stella, Year 115.
PebiColombo 23, Mercury.
It's a boring day on Mercury, time has stalled to a crawl and the heat in the orbital base is just so slightly more infernal today.
The lights are flickering on and off in such an annoying pattern, the droning that emanates from them is thought-killing, and the old pair of headphones given to Suletta by her mother finally ran their course.
Even worse for the young pilot, today is inventory day in the frugal PebiColombo 23, meaning it's unlikely she will be called in to a rescue mission today.
Despite of, or perhaps ouf of necessity to deal with the various life-or-death situations she was usually called in, Suletta Mercury had found a sense of thrill and adventure in them.
Dubious tasks to be given to a child aside, that also meant boring days were such a death knell to the young pilot's mind.
"Aeriaaaaaaaaaaaaal! I'm boreeeeeeed!" Suletta calls out to her sister, sitting so lazily inside Aerial, one would think she had fused with her sister's chair.
The Mobile Suit takes a moment to process and reply, as if the slow passage of time had rusted the boards containing the Gundam's AI, yet, the machine replies.
The cockpit's lights pulsate lazily in a pale blue, and the download page for a videogame gets put in front of Suletta's eyes.
A video of various Mobile Suits engaging in combat starts playing, presumably footage of the videogame, Suletta gets enthralled by it, and the frenetic, almost rythmical nature of it, so unlike Aerial's simulations, which wasn't a bad thing at all, her reflexes too slow today to even attempt to beat her own high score in the combat simulations.
"Are you sure? It's nothing like your combat program at all." Suletta ponders, seeing the Mobile Suits making such drastic maneuvers that would have liquified the virtual pilots in a blink of an eye, yet she keeps staring at the gameplay, her hands awkwardly floating between her seat and her sister's controls.
Suletta stretches and yawns, she has made up her mind, and proceeds with the game download.
And Mercurian_Comet joins the Sector 4 server.
Family & Housing Sector, Benerit Group's Base of Operations.
Once Delling Rembran took hold of the Benerit Group, he had the responsability of finding ways to maximize profits and secure the future of all members of the group.
His cut and dry approach to cuttig off precarious companies in the group was one of the ways he did that.
Dominicus Counterattack, was another.
Taking advantage of the image of fearsome and elite pilots that Dominicus had, various members of the Benerit Group had given the rights to the image of their Mobile Suits to a prestigious game studio, that, after an arduous and fast-tracked development cycle, had managed to release a good-enough game, with various ways of monetizing through the sale of various Mobile Suit parts as cosmetics and pay-to-win addons, it had been one of the Benerit Group's biggest earners.
It had also been one of Delling's biggest shames, the ever self-serious ex-military making various attempts to pull down the game.
This time, giving the excuse of a shrinking userbase, he had threatened to pull down the plug on the project unless they gained more strength in user numbers, in an attempt to seem fair, he had allowed the studio to announce the conditions they needed to meet.
And Miorine, despite having not interest in games, had heard the news.
And the heiress' face brights up at the chance of sticking it up to her father, Miorine so aware of how much Delling hated Dominicus Counterattack, the rare time that old fart dediced to spend some time with her, he had spent half of that time cursing that game under his breath.
She runs to her laptop, so light and so comfortable, Miorine at that time having no interest in more powerful computing, and starts downloading Dominicus Counterattack.
"That'll show him." she snickers to herself.
And so Miorine think she is standing up to her stupid dad by playing this game.
Nothing more, no, otherwise she wouldn't be playing it.
3 weeks later, Miorine manages to spend 0.8% of the Rembran's networth on top-of-the-line computer parts.
StellaSonata becomes one of the most active pilots in the Sector 4 server.
Ad Stella, Year 116.
Sector 4.
A bulky, bright red Mobile Suit lands on a desolate, solemn area of the map, it quickly scans the area, awaiting for something, someone.
Not much time has to pass for a slim, white Mobile Suit to appear, once they share glares, both of them approach at a fast pace.
Mercurian_Comet and StellaSonata had met months ago, both being one of the aces of their respective guilds, they had a sort of uneasy alliance, sometimes enemies, sometimes shaky allies, nevertheless, they always found a way to end up in each other's path.
Having fiiended each other in-game for reasons Stella doesn't even comprehend herself, they are alerted of when each other goes online.
Comet likes to think of themselves as eternal rivals, Stella just considers her an annoying girl.
The voice chat begins, a treaty between Comet's faction, the Salem and Sonata's faction, Flashing Stars had been put in place, they had conviced their guilds to let them be the representatives for this treaty.
One of the conditions of this treaty? The exchange of 20% Salem's Unom mines for 15% of Flashing Stars' Minov laboratories, the trade of both materials being heavily controlled by their respective factions, the introduction of another trader would heavily change Sector 4's macroeconomy, but they would make it up by not longer spending massive amount of credits funding the battle agaisnt each other.
"You have the contract?" StellaSonata asks, piloting the white Mobile Suit, Orbiter, an agility focused Mobile Suit, with a specialization in quick strikes and one-hit kills, the average encounter with the White Death would be over in less than a minte..
"O-Of course, let's start the trade j-just as the conditions set, give me your guild's contract n-now!" Mercurian_Comet calls out, piloting the Mariner, a red Mobile Suit with massive bulky armor, and an arragement of weapons on all sorts of secret compartments, slow but deadly, everywhere Comet went, destruction followed.
Stella moves on with the plan, uses the gifting function of the game to Comet the papers, Comet proceeds to skim the contents of it, making sure to have one finger hovering above the key what would activate all of Mariner's fighting capabilities..
"Everything's in order, just as discussed, now th-" Stella continues, the formality of the encounter breaks once Comet interrupts Sonata.
"I'm a b-bit sorry, there's a small problem."
"And what would that be?" Sonata's frown manages to be audible even in voice only, what now?, she thinks.
"You see, you're not getting the 20% b-because..." Sonata's sensors blare out, Comet's heat hawk is heating up, she's going cross on the treaty. "Y-You're going down!"
..and the battle rages on.
Few minutes pass before Sonata's Orbiter takes a critical hit on the reactor, the battle is over and both know it. Sonata prepares her last words before going out in a blazing glory.
"Sonata, blame this on the misforchute of your birth!" Comet mockingly calls out, it's seems to be something she recalls from memory, maybe a tv show, as she doesn't even know how to spell misfortune.
"...what the hell does that even mean!?" Sonata snides, it takes her out of her situation for a second.
"I-It means you suck!" Comet fumbles over her words, attempting to fix her attempt at taunt only makes her more flustered.
"Comet! Hear me now! One day I'll find you! Snd I will grab you with my bare hands! and i'll-"
Pink flames engulf the space fomerly taken by Sonata.
Mercurian_Comet [MSN-10 Mariner] has destroyed StellaSonata [RX-15 Orbiter]
Later that night, at age 9, Miorine Rembran has to sign the first contract of her life, given to her by her father, who had been told by Miorine's caretaker that she had managed to break the 3-million-credit monitor into 3-million-pieces.
The conditions are simple, to take a anger mangement class in exchange for a new monitor. Miorine begrudgingly signs.
The class doesn't help much.
Due to the growing number of missions and responsabilities Suletta had to take in the ever busy station, she stops playing, Mercurian_Comet suddenly vanishing from Sector 4, never seen again and never meeting StellaSonata to settle their score after that ambush, but StellaSonata does not forgive, nor does she forget.
Through the years, long after Miorine has stopped playing Dominicus Counterattack regurlarly, every few months she dutifuly logs back in and searchers all of Sector 4, if only for the remote chance of dueling Mercurian_Comet again, but the annoying girl is gone, and her revenge would never be consumated, wouldn't it?
...Would it?
Ad Stella, Year 122.
Asticassia School of Technology
It's a sunday night on Asticassia and Miorine Rembran, the heiress of the Benerit Group, the top student of the management department, and the Bride of Asticassia has decided to spend the youthful night playing videogames until passing out.
That is how she had decided to spend her weekend nights at Asticassia ever since she was enrolled against her will, it was no use to attempt to go out and have fun, she was never much of a people's person, and the Bride's cage felt ever so opressive and depriveful at all times, so Miorine decides to at least be comfortable in her captivity.
She lazes around in the "main room" of her former-office now-room, a computer in front of her, equipped with the best computing power money can bring, which is currently only being used as a glorified noise machine, destined to play random videos and Miorine's extensive playlist of electronic music and classical pieces.
After arriving in Asticassia she had taken a liking to using portable consoles, the use of Permet had managed to eliminate a lot of bottlenecks that had resigned them as companion machines, and are usually identical in power to the big rigs. She had brought them to class in more than one occasion, not even the most stern teacher of Asticassia having the courage to reprimate the king's daughter.
The princess lies under a bunch of pillows, and perhaps a trashbag or two, cola and chips and various other food containers, both opened and unused all surrounding her.
Her body squirms and sores a little over the perhaps too uncomfortable comfort, but is also too engaged in her current match to attempt to find a better position.
And it's that today she couldn't spread herself as much as she would like, for today someone else will lay besides her in the makeshift pillow-trash bed, Miprine Rembran makes room for two.
Her previous Holders, while feigning interest, had attempted to join her for a night or two, usually ending up bored out of their minds and leaving sooner than later, but this time around, the Holder wasn't an interlooper, but a guest of honor.
It sometimes pains Miorine how clueless her groom can be at times, she had attempted to subtly invite Suletta back to her room to spend the night ever since Suletta had joined Earth House, but it seemed the mercurian was just at good at evanding subtletly as she was at evading enemy MS strikes.
So the princess' patience runs out, and in the middle of her usual greenhouse maintenance with Suletta, Miorine yells Suletta's name out.
"W-What's wrong? Ms. M-Mio-Miorine?" Suletta startled, eyes darting everywhere, her hands barely contained, her mind races to think if she had made any mistake while taking care of the tomates.
"Come to my room later tonight, this is an order."
"Your room? B-But wh-" Suletta's heart skips a beat when Miorine does once of he usual death glares at her, alongside the usual anger and the lack of patiente, there is a hint of sadness. "I-I-I would love to! I really really do!" Suletta drops her tools and runs to Miorine's side. "But I just... want to know if I did something wrong."
"Yes you did. You didn't pick up any of other the times I asked you for this!"
"I-I'm sorry! But I seriously would love to! to have a girl's night sleepover with y-you and watch a scary movie to-together and eat s-snacks with y-you and a-and maybe s-sleep t-toge-together on the sa-same bed aga-" Suletta quickly exhales out and puts her hands over her mouth in shame, she locks eyes with Miorine for a second, who seems to be experiencing the same amount of embarrasement and dumbfoundedness.
Suletta's earnestness can be such a double edged sword sometimes.
The faces of both groom and bride had glowed so red they perfectly blended with the tomatoes of the greenhouse.
"Ms. Miorine! I-I didn't mean to! well I did mean to b-b-but only if you w-want! I-" Suletta starts another run on sentence, eyes closed in a panic, her hands move in such erratic fashion, as if she was casting an spell that could undo her embarrasing confession, only to get interrupted by Miorine's heels stopming out of the room.
"We're done for today! Don't even think of being late tonight!"
Even rewinding to that memory makes Miorine blush just as hard she had at that moment. "That idiot." she mumbles under her breath.
Why does Suletta make her feel that way?
She had done just fine living only for herself so far, so why does she desire the company of the scarlet witch so much?
Does she feel the same wa-
Knock, knock.
"Suletta? You can come in, the door isn't locked." Miorine barely musters a loud enough voice, a yawn escapes her.
"T-Thank you s-so much-" Suletta opens the door, and her busybody instincts trigger the moment she sees the state of Miorine's room, but for tonight she'll let it go to not anger Miorine, but she keeps note to offer Miorine to clean her room for an extra tomato or two from next week's crops.
"So then, you do remember the reason I invited you tonight, right?" Miorine asks, moving to the left area of her makeshift bed in order to make sure her larger groom has enough space to fit in.
"You said we were going to play videogames, but I didn't bring... I d-don't any controller." Suletta awkwardly shifts her weight from side to side while in front of Miorine, too anxious to join her in, she internally keeps repeatint her mantra at high speed.
"Of course, I had an extra spare prepared for this situation." Miorine extends her hand. "It's a portable, you can keep it." And notices her groom looking even more like a deer in headlights than usual. "You don't plan to stand up all night, do you? Just take it already."
"T-Thanks again." Suletta snaps out of it, she takes the spare portable and finally lies down. In truth she would have standed up all night indeed, had she not just finished her pilot exercise drills before coming to Miorine's, the mercurian's muscles sore and tired, she whimpers a bit when her thigh hits an oddly bent can, hiding on what she thought was just a black, trash-pattern pillow.
"I'm surprised you have any idea of what I was talking about, for a moment I thought I would need to explain to you we weren't gonna play a board game." Miorine streches one more time, she grabs a half-drank bottle of cola and takes a sip, she offers it to Suletta, but she refuses.
"Of course I do!" The mercurian frowns for a second, maybe the country bumpkin stereotype can get to her sometimes, Miorine takes mental note. "Aerial has a library of videogames, alongside her collection of tv series and books." Suletta lists them one by one with her hands, hands that are constantly searching for a task.
Miorine frowns and points at the spare portable, the implied question present on her face. Suletta eyes dart around until she can muster an explanation.
"Aerial and I found a way... I guess."
Miorine nods, perhaps too tired to press on further, perhaps too distracted by Suletta's smile. Her head skips a beat and she mindlessly starts up a game without reason.
"A-Ah! Dominicus Counterattack!" Suletta's eyes lit up, despite her very brief stint in the game, it does bring back nice memories.
"I take that you have played before then?" Miorine's eyes widen for a second, but it is nice to know she won't have to spend the night explaining how the game works to Suletta.
"I-I used to play it as a kid, only for a year or so, rescue duty messes up your schedule a little biiiiiit. You see, there was one time where the oxygen generator broke and I had t-" A tactical flickering finger impacts on Suletta's head, snapping the rescue pilot out of it.
"Dummy. I can catch up with your near-death experiences in the greenhouse, let's just play for now." Miorine calls out, the mix of her sleepiness, the inebriating presence of Suletta, and her shoddy sleeping schedule finally catching up to the princess.
"Right-right, let me log in, Hopefully I still remember my password." Suletta smiles, she was still in process of figuring out Miorine, but at least she had realized Miorine had a quite... violent love language. She hums a tune as she fiddles with her hand over console.
Miorine relaxes, she quite likes the midanity of it all, frankly, even if she didn't manage to escape to Earth anymore, living with Suletta doesn't seem like the worst thing ever, and-
MercurianComet is now online! [Last time online: 12-05-116]
"Ah! I got it! We can play now Ms. Miorine!"
What?
"What is the party code?" Suletta inquires, the prospect of playing with Miorine ironically makes her not notice Miorine's sudden change in mood.
"Eh?" Her sworn enemy... could it be? No, it's just not possible, Miorine snaps out of it for a second. "Ah... it's 0079G"
"J-Joining in!" Suletta's excitement grows by the second, soon enough, another thing she could scratch off her list.
"Suletta. you..." It couldn't be. Suletta was too sweet, too honest, perhaps too much for her own good. Comer was brash and cunning, the worst type of brat once could find, but Miorine's attempt at denial don't last long once she received Suletta's request to join her party, a gutural sound screeching out.
Mercurian_Comet has requested to join your party. [Accept] [Deny]
"Ms. Miorine, what's wrong? Do you feel alri-" Suletta stares at her screen and sees Miorine's nickname, memories long forgotten, and a promise made years ago flood through Suletta's psyche.
Requesting to join StellaSonata's party.
The ambiance grows heavier and heavier by the second, Miorine is the first one to break the silence.
"Of course... that annoying voice and the stutters." She whispers, barely reaching Suletta's ears, who shrieks ni fear.
"M-Mi-M-Mio-Miooooo-" Suletta's cheeks burn from shame, panic settles at the realization she had first met Miorine way before her first day in Asticassia, way, way before that.
"IT WAS YOU!" Miorine roars in anger, Comet was here, she had dared to enter her living quarters like it was nothing, invading her sanctity and mocking her by putting that saccharine sweet act.
"Ms. Mi-Miorine! I-I-I-I'm s-so s-so so-sorry! I-I was so ru-rude to you! and I-I-" Suletta's shaky apology gets interrupted by her own yelping, once Miori- no. StellaSonata grabs her arms and pins her to the floor.
"I got you now! Comeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!" StellaSonata never forgets, nor does she forgive.
"Ste-StellaSonata..." Comet takes a deep breath, if she's gonna die here and now, she's going to die with dignity. "Do your worst."
"I've been waiting so long for this, and yet..." Sonata's eyes widen in the ecstasy of revenge. "and yet!" Sonata's stare intensifies, murder in her gaze. "...it's not as fun as I imagined it would be." Miorine yawns and rolls to her side of the bed, hitting that same odd can on her way. Sometimes what matters is the road, and the destination sucks ass.
"It's isn't?" Suletta whispers out, completely out of breath, still astonished of her survival.
"No, it's not." "Anyways, get back in here already, you can be so dramatic sometimes." Miorine, without the slightest hint of self-awareness, scolds Suletta over their skirmish.
"S-s-so y-you aren't gonna k-kill me?" Suletta peeks out from the floor, still analizying Miorine's movements, trying to avoid another ambush from Sonata.
"Huh!? I- Did you- Did you think-" A headache forms on Miorine's head, she touches her temple with her hand, groaining a bit. "Forget it, we were both just annoying brats back then." It's the explanation she finally settles in.
Suletta sighs in agreement, she jumps back on the makeshift bed and starts catching her breath.
Once Suletta is back on bed, Miorine blurts out one final attack. "You're still annoying, but I would be hard pressed to call you a brat now."
"Thank you?" Suletta says back, still thankful that she had managed to survive the whole ordeal.
They play for a while, but Miorine quickly notices a shift in Suletta's behaviour, she's a bit more... wimpish tonight, it wouldn't be a mystery to everyone but Miorine but it's a mystery nevertheless, and so she will get down to it.
"Say it."
"I'm f-fine!" Suletta jumps out, it scares her sometimes how easily Miorine can read her emotions.
"You're sulking and whimpering. Say it." Miorine, relentless, won't let it go.
"The way I treated you... that wasn't right."
Miorine squawks, she can feel another headache forming already. God, is this over that game?
"I was rude. And a liar. And I was disrespectful to you... I am not sure if I deserve all of this. I acted as someone not deserving of being your groo-" Suletta can't continue her diatribe as she starts feeling some light bumping on her side, Miorine's attempt at a punch, likely.
"Idiot." She smiles as Suletta squirms over the bed. "Only you would stress over something like that!"
The mercurian protests, but that is cut short again.
"Do you think I am running back to Guel's arms just because you were a little shit to me in game, years ago?" A terrifying even if impossible hypothetical, Miorine's face contorts into a grimace just from the mental image of this scenario, but that will hopefully drive the point to Suletta's thick head.
It is necessary for her groom to internalize this, she grabs Suletta's hands to make sure the mercurian's arms don't go flying around, secured not by Miorine's nonexistent strengh, but Suletta's fear of hurting Miorine by attempting to free herself, they slowly learned about each other's physicality, and even with their condition as stiff princess and klutzy pilot, they had managed to act in a rather synced, rhythmical way. "You want to make it up for me? Play with me then."
"O-Okay, I'll do my best!"
Hours pass, even just flying around the now semi-abandoned Sector 4 server had been enough to serve hours of fun for the groom and bride, a helping factor being they cound reminisce about their old battles both as enemies and allies, with Miorine often teasing Suletta about her younger, much bolder and evil attitude, much to the mercurian's embarrasement, but there was still a lingering question in Suletta's mind, and so she inquired about it, much to Miorine's embarrasement.
"Your voice cut off tight after the 'with my hands' bit... I-I'm just curious!" One of Suletta's multiples pleas, combined with her doe eyes, it had serve to melt the ice in Miorine's heart.
"Why do you care so much!? Drop it!" Miorine attempts to cut it short, knowing what would happen if she revealed the promise she made that fateful day, the last time she saw Comet.
"Just tell me! W-What were you going to do if y-you found m-me?" Suletta, in her ever habit of catastrophizing, had initially assumed Sonata would have killed her, but in retrospect, but now that she had factored in the Miorine she now knew, her mind wandered to varied, but if less murdery options
"I was going to- fuck! I was going to headbutt you, are you happy!?" Suletta's puppy eyes had been extra pityful that attempt, and that finally breaks Miorine's shield.
"T-that's way too convenient!" Suletta insists.
"Call it fate, personally I believe I was cursed to attract annoying, fearsome pilots." Miorine's tongue slips, and she swear she could die at that moment.
"Do- Do you really think im fearsome?" Suletta's eyes bright up in a way Miorine had seen before. Suletta had been complimented for her piloting skills many times (once ending in a marriage proposal) but this is the first time she seen her truly happy over it.
"Shut up! I'm going to sleep!" Miorine Rembran, cold princess of mangement, Suletta Mercury's groom, flustered, burning red as hell, can't take anymore of it, and calls it a night.
"S-So sorry!" Suletta mutters, she can hear Miorine's steps, even with the bride not wearing any heels right now, she ponders for a moment if she's meant to go back to Earth House's dorm in the middle of the night, until a hand pulls her up.
"And you're coming with me, Idiot!"