Do You Need Assistance? (Suji)

[Adrian]

"I look just like her," Stephanie proclaimed after pulling the morphing suit just a tad straighter to get rid of the purely imaginary wrinkle. She looked herself up and down in the mirror one more time before glancing at Quincy's reflection. He was sitting on her bed, touching her things which was absolutely unpleasant but Quincy was necessary. If Suji could deal with dying she could certainly deal with one creepy com tech.

She forced herself to ignore Quincy and the thought of him contaminating her stuff and made sure her hair was in perfect place. She worked with weapon's system and normally enjoyed being a grease monkey. But these were not normal times. A hero of the resistance was on board and Stephanie was determined to know everything about her. Which was why she had come up with an absolutely brilliant plan.

[Dustin]

Quincy snickered unapologetically as he sifted through the items on Stephanie's desk. "Yeah, you look just like her, except not as hot." It was a total lie, but he had Suji on his mind at the moment, which meant she trumped Stephanie when it came to overall hotness. Plus, anyone who could die and live to tell the tale had a leg up on any competition in Quincy's mind.

"So, are we going to do this thing or what?" Quincy stood up, still examining Stephanie's things. "I mean, do you think someone like her doesn't have anything better to do? We don't even know how long she will be here, so this might be our only chance."

Finally he tuned his gaze back toward Stephanie. She really did look almost as good as Suji, but he would never give her the satisfaction of a compliment like that. Not without some sort of... incentive. "C'mon," he said, nodding toward the door.

[Adrian]

"Alright," Stephanie said, nodding to herself. "Let's do this." That's what Suji would say. Or at least, Stephanie thought that is what Suji would say. But soon enough she wouldn't have to guess, she would know for sure.

She turned decisively and headed out the door, forcing Quincy to do the same. She breathed the smallest sighs of relief knowing he was out of her room and away from her stuff. She'd have to disinfect everything later.

They headed straight for the library. They'd seen Suji go in there half an hour ago but they hadn't had the key part of their plan yet. But they had it now and everything was going to go perfectly.

Stephanie walked into the library and walked straight back to the desk where the hero was sitting. Her stomach flipped and her heart was trying to beat itself out of her chest but she ignored it all in pursuit of her objective. Before Suji could have a chance to say anything, Stephanie took the initiative.

"Miss Clark," Stephanie said in a manner that would have done Seiya proud, "My name is Stephanie and this is Quincy. We have been assigned to you as your personal assistants." Stephanie glanced at Quincy so that he would show her their "orders."

[Dustin]

Quincy stood just behind Stephanie as she talked. He heard the words being spoken, but he wasn't really listening. He knew what was going on already, so why bother. Instead, he stood there, slightly hunched over, oogling the famous animorph.

He raised one hand in greeting and tried to flash Suji a suave smile before handing over their forged documents. If she bought their alibi, Quincy would get to spend a while following around his fantasy girl. What more could a guy ask for? Well, there was always more to ask for, but this was a good start.

He couldn't believe they were actually going through with this though. They would be in so much trouble if Seiya ever found out. Not that they wouldn't have found some other way to get into trouble if Suji wasn't here.

[Suji]

Suji didn't notice the girl charging up to her, or the guy following behind her. She'd only just been able to drag herself out of bed about an hour ago. After showering and brushing her teeth, she'd forced herself to leave the room she'd spent yesterday hiding in.

She was bent over a tablet, slowly scrolling through a book written on morphing, apparently written by one of the teachers here. Jullian. Suji had heard the name a couple times at New York -- he was related to the quiet girl that tended to Cassie -- and Aubrey had been in a faction with him before. The stuff was pretty straightforward from what she could tell, and nothing that Suji hadn't had to learn on the job. Still, it was interesting to get a handle on what was being taught here. Seiya had shared an overview with her yesterday, but another perspective was always nice.

Which wasn't to say that she was reading particularly quickly. Sitting at one of the desks in the darkest area of the library, she was leaning heavily into one hand. Her head was killing her after last night's tequila-fueled adventure with Aubrey and Drake. At least she didn't feel sick to her stomach anymore. She reached for the glass of water she was nursing, when a young woman stopped abruptly in front of her desk. Suji didn't recognize her.

The girl spoke curtly but politely, and the young man behind her gave her some sort of papers. Personal assistants? Suji blinked, unable to respond at first. Because it seemed like the only thing she could do, she looked down at the documents, only to confirm what she would have suspected: she had no idea what she was looking at. Apparently they'd been assigned to her? What did she need assistants for? Was there something Seiya wanted her to do? Suji looked over the papers again, but it didn't say that they were meant to be used as help for anything in specific.

Suji glanced up at them again. "Hm. Stephanie and Quincy." She looked between the two of them, and straightened in her seat. Figuring she might as well play nicely, despite the ache in her skull, Suji stood and came around the other side of the desk to shake their hands.

[Adrian]

Stephanie almost couldn't believe it when Suji bought their papers. On one hand it just showed that Suji's philosophy about getting things done with determination and confidence was correct. On the other hand, it showed that even Suji could be tricked, at least for a while. For a second Stephanie had a crisis, trying to decide which version of Suji to believe in. But then she figured Suji would not have been tricked by anything less than a plan inspired by her herself so it was ok.

Stephanie took Suji's hand in a firm grip and shook it a little too hard in an effort to be professional. "It is an honor." The slight note of hero worship was all she allowed herself and she let go and stepped back before she gave Suji a reason to question her over enthusiasm. She only hoped that creepy Quincy did not mess them up now. If he did Stephanie would personally throttle him later.

[Dustin]

Quincy slid in to shake Suji's hand the moment Stephanie moved out of the way. "Don't pay too much attention to her. She's only doing this because it will look good on her resume." As if resumes counted for squat anymore. "But unlike her, I'm here because I care. If you need anything, and I mean anything, just let me know. Quincy will be there to take care of you."

He quickly stepped back and clapped his hands loudly before the situation had a chance to get awkward. "So, what are we doing today? Are you planning battle strategies? Trying to figure out how to stomp some yeerks? Or are we just taking it easy?" Quincy cracked his knuckles, ready to get to work.

[Suji]

The girl gave a hell of a handshake. Not that Suji minded. She seemed really committed to her work. Which was apparently helping Suji with whatever she needed. "You too," Suji replied, though it would have been almost impossible to have sounded as sincere as Stephanie did. The girl was wearing a morphing outfit, and Suji wondered if she was normally a recruit.

Before she had time to think more about it, the guy, Quincy, was in front of her. Kind of invading her personal space even, though she'd experienced worse -- a couple months around Junayd had made certain of that. There was, however, a very Junayd-like quality about this guy that she couldn't quite place.

"Quincy will be there to take care of you." Suji blinked, but otherwise didn't let her facial expression change. Did this guy realize how he sounded? Maybe he did. Somewhere under the fog of the hangover, alarm bells rang. Well, there were creepy guys and gals everywhere in the world, right?

Ignoring the jibes at his friend -- were they friends? -- Suji spoke a little more slowly than normal. "Nice to meet you too, Quincy. Unfortunately, no battle strategies at the moment. We're waiting on orders from Cassie. So yeah, just taking it easy." Wow, that felt kind of gross to say.

Looking back and forth between them for a moment, Suji tried not to show the suspicion she was feeling. Between Quincy, who was practically Junayd 2.0, and Stephanie, who was almost a little like looking into a mirror, there was something here she was not seeing. "Where do you two work normally, when you're not stuck babysitting the first-timers?" Suji asked with a crooked smile, leaning back against the edge of her desk.

[Adrian]

"I work with the Dracon Canon ma'am," Stephanie responded immediately. She'd been prepared for this question. Always be prepared, that was another Sujism. "Seiya noted that you did not get to finish your tour yesterday," and was Stephanie dying to know what the story was there. She had tracked down the recruit in question but hadn't been able to get much out of him before he'd managed to slip away. "So he thought I could help catch you up on it if you were still interested."

Maybe Stephanie was speaking a bit faster than she normally would but she was speaking clearly. That was important. Your soldiers and superiors always needed to be able to understand you. Communication was key, Sujism #8. "Is there anything I can assist you with ma'am?"

[Suji]

Suji nodded at the girl's response. It was understandable that the girl was eager to show off what she knew about the Academy. Apparently Suji was a big deal, along with Drake and Aubrey. Of course, if the roles were reversed, Suji would never have been caught being so excited to please an authority. When she'd first been recruited, it was all she could do not to defy her first real faction leader at every turn.

Still, there was something off. Seiya didn't seem like someone who would assign assistants without asking, or at least informing them first. He seemed to value privacy, especially when the only way to get some tended to be by having a certain rank. And he had to know how the rumor-mill was working after Suji's run-in with Alain yesterday. Was this supposed to be a way of smoothing things over? If so, Stephanie she could understand. Quincy though? Suji looked over at him. He was still giving her a weird look. The kind that made her want to take another shower.

Were Drake and Aubrey given assistants too? Suji wondered what they were like. And then, slowly, from behind the veil of her pounding headache, something occurred to her. Drake and Aubrey. Both of them had complained about stalkers on the ship.

Suji looked between the two of them again. She couldn't be positive. If this was staged, it was well done. Believable. But the more the idea took hold in her brain, the more it seemed to fit. She just couldn't see Seiya surprising her with two little helpers. She couldn't see Seiya surprising anyone with anything, if it was within his power to avoid it.

"Right, my tour." Suji smiled, this time more genuinely. Well well. It was kind of flattering, in a way. And if it hadn't been a solid plan, Suji probably would have told them to bug off instantly. But they deserved something for their hardwork. "Sure, why don't we do that." Suji stood straighter. Boldness and cleverness were traits that should be rewarded anyway. Why not let them parade her around in front of their friends for a while? It beat sitting at the desk, trying not to think about her splitting headache.

[Dustin]

Quincy was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be helping Suji come up with any amazing battle plans, but taking it easy was a decent consolation prize. He wasn't particularly enthused about taking her on a tour though, but he would take what he could get.

"If we are going on a tour together," Quincy said as he sidled up next to Suji and fell in step with her, "we should probably get acquainted with one another. At least a little bit. We already know about you, of course. Everyone does. And Stephanie already told you everything interesting there is to know about her life. So I guess that just leaves me."

He tried to sneak an arm around Suji's shoulder as they walked. "I'm kind of what someone might call "a big shot" around here. Essential crew. Without me this whole place could be in jeopardy. You see, I'm an assistant communications officer. I'm fluent in Galard and hork-bajir. I can even understand some taxxon, but can't speak it, obviously. Not to mention English, Spanish, and a little Dutch. Without me they would have a heck of a time translating any alien messages that the computers can't auto translate."

"So I guess what I'm saying is, don't be surprised if I get called away on some emergency while I'm working as your assistant. I'll do what I can for you, you know that." He shot her a wink. "But when duty calls, I have to go. Who knows, I could be saving your life."

[Adrian]

Stephanie hadn't actually meant they should go on a tour. She had only hoped to tell Suji everything she knew about the Dracon Canon and the other weapon systems on the ship. As thrilled as she was to take Suji on a tour she could not help but realize their chances of getting caught increase exponentially as soon as they left this room. If other people saw them in the company of the great hero eventually it would get back to Seiya.

"Oh yes, a tour!" Stephanie said with faked enthusiasm, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a list of the most obscure places on the Bladeship, places no one was likely to be in right now. "Right this way," Stephanie said, heading back out of the library.

She glanced over her shoulder when Quincy siddled up next to Suji and nearly gave herself away with a look of shock as he put his arm around the officer. Quincy was known for being a creeper but Steph hadn't thought he would have that much audacity.

Stephanie immediately dropped back until she was walking on Suji's other side. There wasn't much she could do about his arm without outright pulling it off but her need to defend her hero was too strong to allow her to do nothing. "You're right, you have so many important things to do Quincy. I can take it from here."

[Suji]

She'd been wrong. This guy wasn't like Junayd at all. Junayd was sort of creepy and stalkerish in a way that suggested he couldn't really help it. He just hadn't been blessed with social skills, and he spent too much time romanticizing human interaction and not enough time practicing it. Quincy, on the other hand... there was nothing at all romantic about him. All the same, she arched an eyebrow when he told her how important he was, and couldn't help herself from smiling, bemused. She couldn't wait to tell Aubrey about this, and this guy was definitely someone you could make fun of in private without feeling too bad about it.

Suji's eyebrows rose when he actually put an arm around her shoulders. Part of her desperately wanted to laugh, if for no other reason than it'd alleviate some of the ridiculousness of the situation. Was this really happening? How could this be happening! But she did listen when he said he knew several languages, alien and human alike. It surprised her that she was surprised to hear it: it'd never occurred to her that someone might actually go through learning them. Now that she thought of it, of course it'd be a useful talent. Mentally, she kicked herself for never considering it before. Especially when it took this sleaze-ball to introduce it to her.

"Who knows, I could be saving your life."

Suji's mouth twitched in what was an authentically companionable smile as she held in another laugh. "I guess I'll owe you then, won't I?" Again, her molars clamped tight around a laugh, clenching so hard that a fresh spike of pain cut through her hangover.

Stephanie tried to do damage control, and Suji glanced at her with a smile that expressed nothing but assured confidence in the situation. "Why don't you two show me your favorite places? Seiya and I did cover a lot of facilities here, but I'm sure there are places he wouldn't have thought were as important." Suji nodded towards Stephanie. "It's important to knowhow different areas are used in practice, not just theory. Absolutely critical if you want to understand the people you're working alongside."

Before they could get too far, though, Suji casually tilted her shoulders, gently and smoothly ducking out from under Quincy's arm. She'd take harmless entertainment where she could get it, but there wasn't a chance she'd risk anyone seeing her walking around with this guy's arm around her. The rumors were already bad enough with Alain; she didn't need to be known as some sort of Academy-player or something... and she especially didn't need Quincy's help with it.

[Dustin]

Quincy was satisfied by Suji's reaction to his job description, but tried to shoot daggers out of his eyes at Stephanie when she hinted that he should leave. As if that would ever happen. Especially when he had managed to get his arm around such a high-profile babe without her giving him so much as a disgusted look. He would-

Wait, when did she slip away? Quincy wondered, just noticing that he no longer had his arm around Suji. Eh, whatever. It happened and nobody can prove otherwise. Taylor is going to be so jealous.

"I'm sure we can find a few interesting corners to explore," Quincy finally assured Suji. He moved to Suji's other side and tried to slip in between the two girls, just to spite Stephanie. "Steph will probably want to show off her big guns first, but this ship has all kinds of neat nooks and crannies to explore. If you know where to look."

[Adrian]

"And here is the fifteenth water filtering and collection unit," Stephanie said with a small hand flourish and a large smile on her face worthy of a 1950's stewardess. The "tour" had been going on for quite some time at this point and Stephanie had managed to drag Suji through the most mundane and boring parts of the ship. At one point they'd even visited the air filters and Stephanie had insisted they watch the process...

Stephanie knew very well that this had to be the most boring tour in the world but it had, so far, kept their exposure to a minimum. None of her superiors had seen them, let alone Seiya, and she had still gotten to spend time with Suji, every minute of which, she was committing to memory.

"So next we will see the sixteenth water filter."