none of which so dangerous as virtue

My initial suspicions were incorrect. They are aging.

Nena came by this afternoon. She came to tell me that she had selected a birthday, and wanted me to start making preparations. And that's what got me thinking.

You can see it. You can see that she's almost a year older than when we first met her. You can see it in Michael, too.

I don't know what to think about this. For there to be such a critical difference, even just a single one, there is the high probability that there are more. That, in truth, they are something else entirely. They seem to be, for nearly all intents and purposes, normal human beings.

((OOC: if you're not sure if you're a close friend, just ask~))

...for once, I seem to have managed to make a secure connection. Excellent.

I believe it's time to "make friends and influence people". They've accepted Phase One with minimal disbelief, and apart from a couple of mishaps (thank you, Lockon Stratos), virtually nobody knows.

People will do anything for a sweet girl with a smile on her face. Ridiculous.

But so very useful.

Who knew? How many of you knew and kept it from me?

...she's right, I'm never going to blend in like this.

I need help. As of now, I am enrolled at Mikaela Banes' school as a transfer student. I will be there primarily to collect work for Mikaela, and to take notes so that I may assist her in her learning.

However, as you may have noticed, while my appearance is only mildly unusual on my world, I have been told that on many others I would seem bizarrely feminine for a man.

Including here. This, coupled with my need for a false persona means that the most obvious course of action is to become, for all intents and purposes, a woman.

The changes will only be cosmetic, of course. I simply need new clothes, make-up, and some... easily available augmentations. This is where you come in. I need some of you to help me choose items that would be appropriate for the type of "girl" I will be, and for the 21st century. In case you hadn't noticed, I am not particularly good with "fashion", even normally.

So basically, what I'm saying is...

...do any of you want to go to the mall with me?

Tieria was alone in the house. Mikaela was still at the base with Apollo, and her mother was at work. Again. She worked far too hard.

He was waiting for Motoko in the living room. She had insisted on coming to see him, and seeing as she had even offered to allow him to remove the location information himself, he had allowed it. All there was to do now was wait.

Tieria drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time he passed out, he thought it would be the last. He had done all that he could to save the others, although whether his plan would actually work or not was anyone's guess. There was something nagging at him, something about a destination, maybe? He didn't know, and it hurt too much to think anymore.

Something started beeping frantically at him. Oh, that was right. The GN Drive. Despite being in zero gravity, it felt like he was swimming up through tar to reach the eject button. There. It wasn't as noisy as he thought it would be.

So, that was that. Not able to fight anymore. Everyone else as safe as he could make them. GN Drive ejected and en route back to the Ptolemaios. Everything taken care of. Now he could afford to be selfish for once.

Now he could go and find Lockon.

Eros, Blackout, I have something I think I should say to you.

Does it even count as a birthday? How stupid.

Note to self: throttle Michael Trinity.