Description: Judas Priest (1976). Elle catches up with Aislinn after her moment of hesitation during the mission to retrieve Elfa. In order to see if the girl's skills are still sharp, Elle challenges her to a match, then discusses her change in behavior with her in no uncertain terms. Aislinn responds with a promise which Elle intents to hold her to.
In a sense, Elle is very predictable. Her motions are clockwork, measured step by step in a logical fashion that applies pertinent data to a particular instance for the most simple solution available. Granted, sometimes that 'simple solution' is a lot more complex than she likes, but she's not adverse to getting her hands dirty. It keeps her grounded, and Elle is satisfied in knowing, whether her subordinates know or not, that she wouldn't send anyone on a mission she wasn't capable of doing herself.
That predictability works for her and against her. In some cases, variable arise that she doesn't plan for. Thankfully, her long term and short term planning abilities are both fairly respectable; thus far, even when things go wrong, she can usually mitigate the damages and decrease the impact of failure if she must, or in some cases wrangle out a win from the situation anyhow. It's a testament to the skill and expertise of the people she hires that most if not all things that Blackjack engages in has them coming out on top in the long run. The organization has taken it's fair share of beatings, however.
Aislinn knows that best of all, perhaps. She's been at the wrong end of the spectrum in at least two big situations. One couldn't be helped. They were outmatched, outgunned, and there wasn't any way Elle could have done anything until the trump card was played. However, the other more recent situation has Elle more concerned.
Elle has worked with the NESTS operative for a while now. Aislinn has worked swimmingly since her hiring. She's quiet, doesn't ask questions. As a soldier in general, she's infalliable. Aislinn very much performs to expectations for the most part. There are some issues that need work, but Elle isn't an impatient type when it comes to personal development. Things take time, and anything Aislinn lacks as an operative will slowly develop. Or Aislinn will get killed. Either way, Elle's willing to let most things go on their own pace, and Elle will do what she can to keep option two from occurring. That's sort of the kind of boss she is.
But there are some things, unplanned variables and personal growth that Elle hasn't really prepared for. The recent mission to the Shadaloo base is testimony to that. Aislinn had to knew that Elle would ask for her eventually. It's only a matter of time. When Aislinn nearly choked during the operation, warning lights went off in Elle's head, if not displayed on her face. And so that's why Aislinn has been called. Not to the office, but to the Arena.
The Seventh Circle is empty today. Elle's had is specially cleared out for this. She sits on a stool at one end of the pit, having arrived there by the lift in the scaffolding above, awaiting Aislinn to follow suit and descend. It's pretty simple: Elle means to see what Aislinn's issue is, and test her mettle. While Elle doesn't suspect any major failings on Aislinn's part yet, it would seem that she's not going to let a potential problem go unaddressed. These are the thoughts that occupy her mind as she sits quietly, legs crossed and reading a magazine.
Personal issues? They're personal, as far as Aislinn is concerned. But Elle summoned her, and so here she is... descending by lift. If she has any clue as to what Elle wants to see her about, she doesn't show it; and in truth, she doesn't really, though she suspects. After all, there was that incident in the Shadaloo base. It didn't affect the job, persay. The team got out with what they came for and without loss of life. In Aislinn's estimation, a job well done.
But she can understand that Elle might be concerned. Changes in personnel--especially sudden changes--need to be explored. And being summoned to the pit... well, Aislinn thinks she knows what Elle has in mind for this 'meeting'.
With a metallic whine, the lift comes to a stop and Aislinn hops off, vaulting the railing and landing in the pit itself. Looks okay, considering Sergio's spent more than one night literally cracking the floor open... the faintest grimace coming to the Silent Assassin's visage as she contemplates her fight with the waterboy.
"You wanted to see me?" she asks, without preamble, standing just about where the designated start point is for a fighter, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, arms folded behind her back. The very picture of a career soldier.
Elle looks up from her reading material. Just another fighter magazine. Elle skips the articles and editorials to read the statistics. Wins and losses, odds, point spreads. All of it just gets memorized for future use. The main reason Elle's shirked the organized fighting world is for that very reason. People see you, read you, understand you. Advertising herself is a fast way to get understood. And if people know what she can do, then she's very much in trouble.
But with her people? She needs to know exactly what's going on. Even if that issue is something personal. Elle rarely pries into the lives of her personnel. Her policy is that a person can do whatever they want outside of her missions. But there's a caveat.
The second Elle suspects they'll endager the organization or another person in it, she's going to start interfering. She's good at it, too.
"Yeah," is the reply as she stands up, tossing the magazine aside. "I wanted to talk to you about your issues with the Shadaloo mission. But that can wait. Right now, I've called you here to see if your skills have been staying sharp. Between that and the mess with Sergio, I need to know where we're all at. Mistakes happen, and I'm well aware of that. That being said, we can't be having special treatment. I haven't gone one on one with you since you joined."
The stool is shoved backward and she rolls her shoulders. "You know the drill. If I wanted you to hold back, I wouldn't be asking you to hit me." She gestures for Aislinn to attack as she settles into a relaxed stance, which is probably the misleading thing Elle ever does.
COMBATSYS: Elle has started a fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aislinn has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
Ah. Yes... performance questions. Aislinn absorbs the speechifying as quietly as ever... then takes the time to pop her neck, and her knuckles, by the simple expedients of a quick twist of her head and clenching her hands into tight fists. That done, Aislinn smiles very, very faintly. One fight doesn't mean she's lost her status, or her skills... and as for the Shadaloo thing... well, Elle wants to talk about that later.
Suddenly, she's moving--taking two big strides then winding up for a heavy front kick, snapping her right leg forward, the steel toe of her boot aimed for Elle's stomach. Talk? Sure, they'll talk later. But they'll start conversing right now. She doesn't even say it--then again, she doesn't have to.
Hold back? Aislinn doesn't hold back, ever. It isn't something she was designed for or something she was taught to do.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Aislinn's Medium Kick.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
Elle is, as ever, impassive. With her eyes hidden behind the sunglasses, it makes it even harder to read her. Nevertheless, eyes flick back and forth, absorbing the arena's layout, Aislinn's approach, the entire situation before her. Luckily for Elle, she's quite prepared to meet Aislinn's attack head on.
With a motion almost too rapid to see, Elle's already meeting the attack with her defense. A hand sweeps out, a mace clutched in her hard gauntlets. The weapon easily deflects the brunt of the impact, but doesn't prevent the blow from doing a significant amount of damage. The attack slips through, grazing the mercenary's side. it's enough to make Elle take a quick step back, reassessing the situation as things change rapidly.
But Elle continues to keep an eye on Aislinn as if assessing her. It would seem that the mercenary doesn't think it's time to attack yet. Instead, Elle's body begins to generate an energy feild. Aislinn's seen this before: the power crackles along her body, feeding into her as she draws power from the buried cables beneath the pitted concrete floor of the combat area. Heavy boots step down with the sharp crack of electricity.
The energy pulls into her as she stops cold, setting up a firm defense for Aislinn's next attack, the blue lightning twisting, turning and snarling about her like a living thing, creating a strong contrast with her otherwise emotionless face.
COMBATSYS: Elle focuses on her next action.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
Of all the many fighters that Aislinn has fought, Elle has proved to be one of the most adept at defending against her. Time and again, Aislinn has failed in her endeavors to strike the other woman--and while she can deal some damage even through blocked strikes, it's often not enough. Still... she'll try, and try again. Drawing her leg back, she briefly takes note of Elle's blue lightning. A pretty show, and, knowing Elle, far more than just a show to watch. But she isn't interested in the show, persay--she's interested in disrupting whatever lies behind it.
The best counter to a passive fighter is to be the aggressor; sitting back allows them the time to prepare their plans. So thinking, Aislinn moves again, advancing on the Blackjack leader; adopting a boxer's stance, the Silent Assassin leads with a pair of right jabs, shifting her stance to a right-forward stance.
The jabs are only setup, though; intended to confuse Elle's guard, as the fists are fired at her torso, the real attack--the one with weight and power behind it--is the stepping left hook that Aislinn unleashes just after the second jab.
COMBATSYS: Elle endures Aislinn's Medium Punch.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
The problem is that Elle's thinking, even while someone is punching her around the head and shoulders. Fighting is pain. Elle's pretty much resigned herself to the fate. That being said, since each attack that comes in is destined to do some level of damage, Elle has to respond in kind, making sure that every since time she gets hit, she'll return the favor.
Instead of retreating, Elle steps into the blow, heedless of the feinting jabs. Her deliberate action seems to be nothing less than a mistake as the powerful blow from the augmented girl crashes into her temple. The tooth-rattling strike causes her to nearly fall over, but Elle's made from sturdier stuff than that.
hen suddenly, her other hand lances out. Having produced a punching dagger, Elle's weapon is already humming with the powerful sonic chi channeled through it. The weapon catches the light only for a split second. All Aislinn gets for a moment is a rapidly blurring afterimage as Elle pounds the attack straight into the smaller girl's gut. If it succeeds, Elle will lift the younger girl off her feet with the follow through, and then ram her down into the ground in one smooth motion before hopping back.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn endures Elle's Chase the Ace.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Aislinn
A fast attack. Very fast. Aislinn can't miss Elle's intent; she recognizes a sacrifice move when she sees it. And sometimes, one sacrifice demands another in turn. There's a definite amount of pain as the dagger strikes home; Aislinn is lifted, and slammed into the ground. That's all spot on, no variation there. No variation, that is, until the last moment, when Aislinn seeks to grab Elle's shoulders before she can withdraw... her intent to roll over, to place Elle underneath her in a classic frontal mount tackle position.
And ignoring her blood flowing out from around that dagger, Aislinn will do her best to hammer Elle's head into the concrete with a single sharp blow--a blow aimed using her own head, which is always a risky proposition, even for a girl with as hard a head as Aislinn's. And she is hardheaded, in her own way--physically and mentally. Even socially. She's stubborn... tenacious, in her NESTS file. She doesn't give up easily.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Elle with Brutal Hammer.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Aislinn
A quick retaliation yeilds results. Elle's not prepared for the impact. Aislinn's attack causes Elle to go crashing to the floor with an audible bang. The girl's ever been the powerhouse. Nevertheless, Elle's never really been too concerned with the damage she takes from her. Elle knows how to manage the power a little better than most. So even as she's shaking the haze out of her head when she rolls away, she's doing her best to keep up with the game.
Elle slides to her feet from the roll, and in one smooth motion brings the mace around again in a hard swinging motion. However, she's several meters away, making the attack largely improbable if she's actually seeking purchase with it.
But that's when the head of the weapon disengages, the mace turning into a flail to close the gap. The hasty flick of the wrist sends the diamond headed weight at Aislinn, trailing a rapidly unravelling chain behind it. But that's not even the half of it. Elle follows up with the assault by blasing a jolt of electricity behind the attack. Should the head of her flail strike Aislinn, the electrical blast will hit simultaneously in a dazzling display of heat, light, and sound.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Aislinn with Wrathchilde.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Aislinn
*WHAM* The arc of the mace is deceptive, it's reach unpredictable. Aislinn chooses the wrong way to go and the metal weight slams into her side; there's the sound of snapping bones as a rib gets crushed. It's inaudible, though, over the loud zap of electrical power that also shocks her. It's enough to bring a strong man to his knees--but Aislinn simply refuses to go down. Hissing softly, she stands her ground...
... but doesn't move. Instead, chi builds around her, invisibly, power drawn in and stored. It does little to alleviate the pain--but it is excellent for reinforcing the body. Aislinn's lavender eyes narrow, staying focused in on Elle as she stands, her stance a little more squat than usual...
COMBATSYS: Aislinn gathers her will.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|=======\======-\1 Aislinn
Far less stealthy is Elle. Electricity jumps ath her command, the blue licks of lightning roaring up from under the arena floor. Elle's got Chi, and lots of it. The elements seem to bend, eagerly listening to what her mental prompts have to say. And right now? They're saying that she needs a little more power of her own.
Elle's not fancy about this sort of thing. The power roars into her, through her legs, collecting at her chest and swirling around her arms. But in no way does she need to concentrate for it to happen. It's like a switch: she flips it on, or turns it off. It just takes a second to find that trigger, and all of a sudden, Elle has more power than she really cares to talk about.
She stands, retracting the mace head which comes back home with a sharp clank of metal on metal. Her approach is slow, steady and deliberate as she focuses on Aislinn. Elle's never been one to engage in a lot of acrobatic stuntwork in fighting. She just keeps driving forward.
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
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Elle 1/=======/=======|=======\======-\1 Aislinn
Stealthy? Mm. Not really; after all, most warriors can sense chi at least in a rudimentary way, and so they know what's going on, even without the visual cue. But, with Elle gathering power of her own... well, Aislinn knows that Elle's crafty. She's got good tactical sense--straightforward or not--and she knows what she's doing, as unconventional as she is. All that, of course, simply means that Aislinn has to act first... or does she?
The minor heat-haze of chi fades from around Aislinn's body... but yet she remains stoic and silent, her stance solid, unmoving... her lavender eyes narrowed. Sure, it isn't really about winning this fight. But Aislinn can't not do what she thinks best in the situation. There's nothing at stake but pride and expression of skill...
And yet, isn't that enough?
COMBATSYS: Aislinn focuses on her next action.
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Elle 1/=======/=======|=======\======-\1 Aislinn
It takes Elle a few moments as Aislinn pauses to make a determination as to her next course of action. The woman considers several factors, and her lips turn down slightly. The look on her face? Well, it's not particularly approval.
Then Elle acts. She's deduced what she can do versus what needs to be done. It remains to be seen if Elle can manage to pull it off now that it's down to this.
She raises her hand, and the still-swirling electrical power shudders, turns, and roars forward without any hesitation. The lightning that rips from her hand lashes about like a living whip, cascading across the ground, rolling in a frenetic sinewave. The blue and white energies boil forth from Elle's arms, sparkling it's deadly trail.
The powerful jolt seeks to blast Aislinn off of her feet, send the girl to the ground, and leave her open for a secondary attack if the NESTS agent isn't entirely careful. Elle's face doesn't betray anything for a moment, strictly focused on taking the girl down with a few well placed blasts.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn endures Elle's ACDC.
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Elle 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Aislinn
Aislinn isn't surprised to see the disapproval. Perhaps Elle thinks that Aislinn should just act, constantly. Or perhaps she's reading hesitation in Aislinn's stance. If she is, she must be on a different page; there's no hesitation at all as Elle does her best imitation of Emperor Palpatine. The blue lightning sizzles and cracks and blasts forward...
...just as Aislinn surges forward. Once again, she shows little regard for an attempt to dodge, or even to soften, the blow of the lightning strikes--and they hurt. Oh, do they hurt. But pain never stopped the Silent Assassin before and it won't stop her now. It's too bad that there really isn't an audience for this; they'd get to see some neat stuff--Elle using her lightning... and Aislinn lunging through it, outstretched fingers grasping for Elle's shoulders, seeking to repay her in kind.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Elle with Momentum Overdrive.
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Elle 1/-======/=======|=====--\-------\0 Aislinn
... and repay she does, driving Elle to the wall in a single thrust--puncutating it with a shoulder planted into the woman's sternum. Her momentum is halted, booted feet digging into the concrete, and then her fists begin to -move-... blurring forth, smashing into Elle's ribs and stomach repeatedly, the strikes powerful individually and also multiplied. The beating--there's no other word for it--continues for nearly fifteen seconds, until Aislinn pushes off with the last blow, drifting backwards five yards, almost lazily, only to lunge forward once more with a doubled-up fist strike right into Elle's sternum, a blow she -does- bounce backwards from.
For a moment, Elle doesn't move. There's a threshold of pain, even for someone that's learned to handle it. Normally, Elle keeps moving, always moving. The amount of power that she's just been hit with is enough to cause her brain to go into lock. It just can't ignore such a massive amount of pummeling. Were she any less of a fighter, Elle would probably be suffering from a lot of broken things right now. As it is, ribs crack and injuries finally catch up with her.
She can't move for a good second. It takes a moment for the mind to come back on line, assess the damage, and judge whether or not she can keep moving.
Unfortunately for Aislinn, it seems that she still can.
The mace that had fallen from her hand during the massive assault is picked up again as Elle once again is on the move. She steps forward once, twice, and then hits her stride again, the electrical power still seething off of her body, apparently sustaining her ability to keep moving. It's not particularly certain what's keeping what in check. And really, all Elle cares about is continuing.
With a short jerking motion, Elle's arm swing about, the grimace of discomfort clear on Elle's face as she fights the injuries inflicted on her. The head of the mace one again disengages, swooping forward. But this time, Elle's not particlarly interested in just striking Aislinn with the head of the weapon. Instead, four barbed, clawlike prongs sprout from the head.
Should it connect, it'll embed itself into Aislinn's body before blasting a solid bolt of energy through the NESTS girl. Then, Elle will finish the job by janking her up into the air, and snapping the weapon like a whip to send Aislinn slamming into the far wall.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn counters Slayer from Elle with Lightning Reverse.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Aislinn
Aislinn remembers what Elle can do--she is most dangerous when... well, she's -always- dangerous. Without question, there is something about Elle that is ineffable. Aislinn is ruthless; she's capable, and she won't ever let up. But She doesn't wield maces, or blades, or bladed maces. Bladed, hooked, whatever it is. Aislinn has but a split-second to make her move; just a single moment that will determine whether she is still conscious after this fight.
Once again, she stands her ground... but this time her eyes aren't on Elle. They're on that macehead--crackling with power, whirling around, screaming for her body. She sets herself... positions her hands... and reaches out.
*THWAP* The Silent Assassin finds the macehead caught firmly between her hands--just out of the way of the prongs. The moment her hands make contact she's countering Elle's electricity with her own, a brief battle of red vs. blue, which ends, temporarily, in her favor, as she sends a minor shock down the length of the mace. Probably not much more than a stinger shock to Elle's hands, though.
It's a shock, but as Aislinn suspected, not enough to stop Elle, who had expected the attack to be a little too fast for Aislinn to manage to stop it. Nevertheless, Elle's still in the game, even through the strain is starting to show. She inhales deeply and yanks the weapon back. Time to sink this.
She concentrates, if just for a moment, narrowing her eyes slightly behind her glasses.
Once again, the punching dagger in he rother hand is gripped tightly, and Elle charges forward, her feet moving withthout hesitation.
Knife blade swings forward, as Elle appears to be trying to take Aislinn's head off at the shoulders...
Except not. The attack never connects as the humming sound charged blade whips through the air. The attack seems wide. And perhaps deliberately so. As she makes the motion, Elle's humming blades modulate with a sharp rinning frequency designed to cause confusion, nausea, and disorientation. The attack was never meant to connect as a solid hit. It remains to be seen if Aislinn can move back fast enough to stop the shockwave of subtle sound.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Aislinn with Metal Health.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Aislinn
No... she can't. Aislinn tenses, waiting for the right time to go under the shockwave of energy--only she slips on a patch of blood. Her own? Elle's? Doesn't matter. The shockwave of energy practically takes her head off; but that's alright, really. She'll be okay--the damage is bad, but not unsurvivable.
And she still has to 'answer back'... so even as she's flying backwards, she's concentrating, giving her final effort as much concentration as she can... but it's kind of hard to aim, when you can't really see. Still, haphazard, random blades of red-white energy start lancing up out of the flooring... if she's lucky, she'll get Elle where she stands, maybe, or force her to move the wrong way to avoid them...
COMBATSYS: Aislinn can no longer fight.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Elle dodges Aislinn's Shining Wave.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|
That's just not in the cards tonight for Aislinn. Elle's not holding still even as her nasty sonic shockwave connect. She's already moving back to get herself some distance. The mace is already turning in her hand, the flail disengaged and whirling about slowly.
Then comes the potential torrent of pain. Elle's been hit by that before. It's not pleasant. Nevertheless, the attack pattern is sloppy, random, as Aislinn falls backward. Elle's no speedster however. it's going to take some work toget through the attack.
Charging the flail, she spins it about. The chain whips the heavy flail head in a wide arc, sparking with electrical power as it snaps through the incoming projectiles, disappating them just enough so that she has time to drop to the ground in a splayed-legged crouch. The remaining energy bursts tear overhead, blasting the concrete behind her.
She holds her position for a moment or two, and considers the situation. The only sound is the tearing silk sound of the chain being retracted into the mace, the resounding clang, and the snap of the weapon being returned to it's holster. The mercenary then gets to her proper footing slowly, taking a deep breath.
COMBATSYS: Elle has ended the fight here.
"Congratulations," rasps Aislinn, already recovering from the loss, physically and mentally. It was close; a hair to one side or the other and things would have been different. She pushes herself to a sitting position, leaning back on her hands... a pose deceptively casual, but really she just needs to stop moving long enough for her body to start recovering. She stares up at Elle, impassive, the same Silent Assassin that Elle's always known--weirdness in the Shadaloo base aside.
She almost thinks about apologizing for her performance in the Circle, against Sergio, but decides against it. Let the results stand where they are; in the end, she gave as good as she got. As for the Shadaloo thing... well, she's not going to talk about that until Elle cues on it.
Well, cue the prompter. Elle immediately starts in with the Shadaloo incident. "You froze in that base. I don't know why, and you know what? I don't care. I don't know what you saw that seemed so amazing: you're part of NESTS. Nothing from that lab should have amazed you, shaken you, or scared you."
"Let's make this clear right off the cuff. You've always been a good fighter, and you've performed within my expectations thus far. i don't have any regrets or misgivings about hiring you. You're loyal, which is more than I can say for most people, and you don't ask questions if you don't have to. Another big point in my book."
She shifts her stance, the pain is set in now, but will go away soon. Elle found some meditative books on that which help her with the nearly egregious amounts of damage she takes in combat. She has to. Otehrwise she'd likely be dead. But still, she continues. "That all being said: I saw you hesitate. That may not seem like anything to you. In fact, if it was anyone else on this team? I'd say nothing. But the fact of the matter is that I don't expect that from you. All I need to know is whether this is going to be a problem for me. Not today. Not tomorrow. I don't see an immediate problem. But a year down the line, I don't want to be having more problems. You tell me you can handle it now, on your own, without my hand, and I'll beleive you. I trust you. you know this."
"But on the other hand, if you can't. If you decide that it's going to grow into something messy? I /will/ solve the problem, and you may not like how it's done. I'm not coming down on you. I'm holding you to a seperate standard, because that's what I do. Everyone is different, and I recognize this. What I expect out of you is much more stringent than say, Camille, or even Tran, and I've known Tran for years."
The mercenary leader pauses, giving time to Aislinn so she can absorb her words carefully, and allows the girl to return her peice with time to think about her response.
"What I saw in there brought memories to mind," recounts the Silent Assassin, her voice so tightly controlled it's bland. "Memories that were not entirely pleasant." And a master of understatement, too. They were pretty horrific memories, all told--but then, how many people get to 'remember' their birth...? Finding she can move reasonably well, Aislinn pulls her legs underneath her, and pushes to her feet.
"That is all. It won't happen again." Calm assurance is in her voice, and she radiates the same in her posture, in her demeanor. "I did what I could to minimize impact on the mission; I did not expect to see... that. I will not hesitate again," she concludes.
As for the standards... Aislinn never really thought about it. A soldier through and through, she leaves the higher ups to their thing--and in Blackjack, Elle is the highest up one gets. "Failure is not my occupation, Elle. I do not intend to change that now or ever." Sure, she's failed. And she will again. But she never sets out to fail or even to do 'ok'. She sets out on every mission to fulfill each objective completely. She isn't satisfied unless she can achieve every objective she has. That, perhaps more than anything else, might make her valuable to Elle, above the contacts to NESTS, above her skills and abilities. She just doesn't quit, and that's a rare trait in and of itself.
A nod. "Good. Now go get yourself cleaned up," is all Elle has to say to that matter. If she gets a promise, it's good enough for her. Granted, if the promise is broken, Elle tends to get a little upset. That tends to end in a lot of unhappiness all around.
She doesn't comment on the fight. If anything, the evaluation she's made is kept to herself. If there were flaws or breaks in the NESTS fighter's stance or tactics, Elle's got nothing to say on them. Needless to say, her primary goal was acheived. She's learned what she has to know.
Instead of leaving immediately via the lift, Elle will linger here for a little longer, if only to clean up her footstool and magazine she left behind. It'll give time for Aislinn to go without having Elle on her heels still, which is probably the last thing Aislinn needs right now.
There are very few people who maintain a continuous, flawless stance and can flow into and out of it at will. These people are legends. Aislinn knows she's good--she also knows she's no legend. Resisting the urge to stretch, she instead explores the stab wound in her stomach, courtesy Elle's punch-dagger; deep, but nothing vital hit, and the bleeding's stopped already. Technology is some useful stuff.
A nod to Elle, and Aislinn remounts her lift, pressing the button to take her up; rather than go back to NESTS for treatment, instead she'll actually give herself some luxury. After all, suites in the hotel-casino -are- provided for all Blackjack employees--and no one is going to see her relaxing in a big hot bath. It's something she probably wouldn't have considered even six months ago... but she's thinking about it now.
Whatever Elle has planned now--up next, either for her or for Blackjack--can wait. The moment is what needs to be tended to now, and Aislinn intends to turn her full attention to just that.
Log created on 00:10:50 12/07/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 03:49:17 12/07/2007.