First Post

[gundamofthedesert]

Who: Quatre and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Huntress, planetside
When: Quatre's arrival and later

Broadcast
Hello, everyone. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. It is nice to meet you all.

I am sure that this has happened often, but I have some questions about this place if anyone would be so kind as to answer them.

Action - Huntress
[After a short time on the ship called the Marsiva, Quatre found himself here... on the ship called the Huntress with some surprising random fanfare.

So he sets out to explore the ship, see who else is there and what the ship is like. It was weird, he thought, that he had been assigned as a cook when he had so many other useful skills... Well, maybe he can put them to use anyway]

Action - Planetside
[This planet... this planet was beautiful. It was everything he had ever pictured planets to be. He takes to wandering the settlement enjoying the scenery.

But he can hear it, practically feel it in his space heart. The planet is trying to say something to him. To all of them. He's sure of it. As much as he loves the scenery, this part bothers him greatly. In the early morning, he stands, trying to figure out the planet is trying to say]

Comments

[tempredmental]

That's still pretty big. The Lions are bigger, but 16.5 meters isn't something to shake a stick at.

[gundamofthedesert]

The lions are still bigger? Impressive. The Gundams are some of the biggest in our world. There are few mobile suits that are bigger, but not many.

[tempredmental]

Yeah. I mean, when just the claw is higher than I am tall, I'd say they're pretty big.

[Keith nodded.]

It's still really impressive with yours, though. Who built them? The Lions were made by an Altean alchemist ten thousand years ago.

[gundamofthedesert]

Oh... yeah, they are big if the claw is bigger than you. [He studied the tiny lion as though looking for a comparison]

Originally, the scientists built them. There was one working on each Gundam individually. Of course they had help and tools so it wasn't just one man alone. Wing Zero, though, I built that one.

[tempredmental]

You built one? [Okay, that got Keith's attention.] And Atroma made you the chef... go figure. We could have really used an Engineer. [He took a breath, settling his reaction a bit more.] That's really cool, though. I can't imagine even trying to figure out where to start.

[Black shifted his head and looked directly back at Quatre. There was definitely some kind of sentience there... like one would expect to see from a cat or a dog.]

Even at this size, the Lions are pretty complicated. Princess Allura's dad built them. But he was like... a genius. [Alchemy and quintessence helped, too, but Keith wasn't exactly sure how to go about explaining those, yet.]

[gundamofthedesert]

That's why I'm surprised too. I'm much better qualified to be an engineer. [He smiled though] Not much that can be done about it.

I had plans to go off at least. I didn't design it from the ground up, but all of the programming and everything had to be done.

[See why he was saying he could do it anyway? He sees the lion turn to look at him and smiled]

Hello.

[tempredmental]

[Keith nodded at the comment, and then glanced down at the Lion when Quatre spoke to him. There was a beat, and then Keith looked a little surprised.]

You're more than just an engineer, aren't you?

[gundamofthedesert]

In terms of what I do? It's only a small part. I'm also the leader of the team, I pilot one of the Gundams...

[He looked back at the Lion]

And my space heart allows me to sense things others don't.

[tempredmental]

[Keith quirked an eyebrow at the space heart comment.]

That kind of explains what I just felt there. The Black Lion only responds to people who have the potential to be great leaders.

[It still baffled him sometimes that the Lion saw that in him, but... here he was.]

What's... what's a 'space heart'?

[gundamofthedesert]

[Quatre smiled]

Then that is something we both have in common according to the Black Lion.

It's something that I was born with. I am able to sense emotions from a great distance. It's always there, but only strong or intense emotions especially from people I am close to really get to me.

[tempredmental]

Eh-heh... [Keith rubbed the back of his neck.] I just did what had to be done. It was all the Lion's idea. [And Atroma's, too, apparently, since he was now captain of the Huntress.]

So, like... an empath?

[gundamofthedesert]

Sometimes that's all it takes. It wasn't my idea either, but we needed a leader and it was what I had to do.

Hmm... I suppose so, yes.

[tempredmental]

[That got a short chuckle.]

Yeah... that seems to be the case... for me and for Shiro.

[He considered the empath thing for a moment.]

So, what's that like? Can you tell what someone's thinking?

[gundamofthedesert]

Doing what you had to do?

In a way I can tell that. I don't get actual words or in depth thoughts, but feelings. Like I can tell if someone is happy or sad or angry, but I don't know why except from what I see or am told.

[tempredmental]

[Keith nodded at the first question.]

Yeah. Allura suggested Shiro pilot the Black Lion when we first met her because she felt he had the qualities needed to make it respond. And he did. In fact, she figured us all out pretty well when it came to figuring out the Lions and who should try them.

I got the Lion to respond once before I had to really step up. Shiro was in danger, and Red was down. Usually, the Lions can react to their Paladins being in danger, but I don't think the Black Lion had enough energy to respond on his own. But, I asked him to help me save Shiro, and he let me in.

I wasn't even thinking at the time that I might actually need to take on being the Black Paladin full time or trying to take the Lion from Shiro. He was the closest thing I had to being able to really help. I think he responds to that, too... the desire to help others and protect them. To be there for them.

[He listened for a moment, and then nodded again.]

That sounds pretty useful, actually. [He chuckled a little wryly.]

[gundamofthedesert]

It sounds like the Lions are a pretty good judge of character too. And the fact that they can be picky about their pilots but not unreasonable as well... it's amazing to think that a machine can do that. That they are able to think like that. I've always thought my Sandrock could, but if it was, it was the only one.

It is. It can also be inconvenient. Strong negative emotions? They physically hurt.

[tempredmental]

Yeah. They're really something. [Keith was also just a tad protective of the two on the Huntress, seeing as how Red was his first Lion, and now the Black Lion was here. With them being small, it was easier to steal them, and that had been something of an issue when they first started piloting them.]

Maybe Sandrock could, in its own way.

[He nodded at the explanation.]

That makes sense, I guess. It's like everything is good, and bad, at the same time.

[gundamofthedesert]

Maybe. It's hard to tell. They certainly didn't react the same way your lions do.

[Don't worry; they are safe from Quatre stealing them. In fact, he'd probably try to protect them if he had to]

Agreed. It was both good and bad. I wouldn't try to get rid of it if I had the option.

[tempredmental]

[Keith nodded a bit. So, the Lions were still the only robots he knew of that could choose their pilots.]

No, huh? Well, I guess that's because it's a part of you.

[As odd as it had been to find out, and as much as he struggled a bit to come to terms with it, Keith wouldn't give up being part Galra... it was part of him. Same could be said for him being able to sense quintessence. Even though Lance had thought it was weird, Keith wasn't ashamed of it, per se, and he certainly wasn't annoyed by it.]

[gundamofthedesert]

[He nodded]

I can't remember a day in my life where I haven't had it. To suddenly not be able feel these thoughts... it would be odd for me. It's one of those things where you can't tell how it would be for others because you've never been without.

[tempredmental]

Yeah. I can understand that.

[Keith smiled a bit weakly.]

I um... I have this sensitivity to quintessence where I can pick up on it and locate it. It's like feeling an energy that doesn't match anything else around you. But, it's not really something I talk about a lot.

Still, I don't know what I'd do without it. It would probably feel like losing one of my senses.

[gundamofthedesert]

[Quatre didn't even seem the least bit confused by what he was telling him, it all made perfect sense to him]

Yes, it would probably be the same. Neither of us have lived a life without that so its normal.

That's interesting though. What is quintessence exactly?

[tempredmental]

[It was actually kind of nice to have someone who understood...]

Allura called it a "life force". All living beings in the universe have it in some way. Some are more in tune with it than others, and can actually use it for things that are almost like magic. Allura is really good at it, too. She can actually heal people.

[gundamofthedesert]

[If he knew what Keith was thinking, Quatre'd agree]

Oh I see. That sounds really fascinating. I've never heard of something like that. I wonder if there is something similar in our world. I don't know of anyone who can heal using energy or if they do, it's usually a random claim.

[tempredmental]

Well, Allura isn't human, so that's probably part of it.

[Keith shrugged.]

Alteans are more naturally in tune with quintessence than humans, and Allura just happens to be even more so than most Alteans, apparently.