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Carla was used to high pressure, high stress situations. Flying a massive colony ship? No problem, especially with help from Stick. Giving a mission briefing to a silent merc who might be one paycheck away from killing her? Sure, that's fine. Doesn't make any part of that conversation less awkward, though.
"How's the view at 8000 meters, tourist?" She joked. No response, as usual. A brief pause, and she continued. "Let me fill you in on the plan. While you were captured, Arquebus finished their work on the Vascular Plant. It's pulling the Coral through Rubicon's atmosphere, and it won't be long till they take it all."
"We need to burn the Coral before it's too late. Of course, we can't just walk up to the Plant and light a match. No, we're going to need something bigger. A lot bigger." She let the implication hang in the air for a moment. "Well? Figured it out? The Xylem isn't just our means of reaching the Plant. It's a giant powder keg. Plenty to set all that Coral off."
Carla paused another time. She wasn't sure how much more information Raven might need to follow along. She mentally made a note to set aside funds for them, despite everything, despite the fact she - and anyone still with her - would most likely die in this attempt. Anyone lucky enough to make it out alive would be an interstellar criminal, wanted by some of the most powerful corporations around.
Then, suddenly, the comms from Raven activated. "What a weird story. I don't know everything about what's going on, but..."
Carla gawked. Raven was supposed to be mute, a side effect of their Coral augmentation surgery. Who was this? Could they talk the whole time? "R-raven?"
"I'm Utsuho. Everyone usually calls me 'Okuu', but everyone *here* just calls me 'Raven'. And I guess that's right, I am a raven, but I'm still confused!"
"R-... Utsuho... have you been piloting the whole time?"
"Mhmm! I heard lots of people talking, but no matter what I said no one could hear me. But I was real good at invading the above ground with my power! Lots of people tried to stop me, and lots of people talked about me! It was so much fun!"
The Observer's jaw was practically hanging open at this point. She desperately wanted to make sense of this nonsense, but she couldn't wrap her head around what was happening at all. This had to be a joke, right? Some weird power play directly squarely at her laissez-faire attitude?
"Anyways, this Coral is a contaminant, right? Lord Yatagarasu's power should be more than enough to burn it away. But miss Carla, do I need to keep piloting this weird machine?"
"Uh... no?" Technically, that was correct. Raven - no, Utsuho - absolutely could just... choose not to fight, right? At least if Arquebus went along with that.
"Oh! Great! I can't wait to show you my magnificent power, miss Carla!"
Thermal sensors all across the Xylem started to blare in alarm - with the highest temperatures right around the merc's mech. Carla desperately tried to manage the various emergency systems which activated in response. She absolutely did not need the distraction - and the temperature readings had to be a joke, too. They were five... no, six digits! What was that mech, a nuclear reactor?
The mech, by this point, was nothing more than a rapidly evaporating puddle of molten metal. From its heart, a black-winged girl flew out, seemingly immune or ignorant to the heat, altitude, and fighting. She was out of sight before Carla could blink - and too small for the Xylem's sensors to track.
Minutes later, a new light bloomed on the horizon. And for a brief moment, Rubicon had a second sun.