ALAMOS TOWN, SINNOH REGION. ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS IN THE PAST.

Kepler tilted his head, tendrils of hair slipping down his cheek; the blue dye was fading, bright turquoise washed out to a dull teal. The knocks hung in the air for a brief moment before he closed his eyes, and nodded.

Bursting from a corner of the lab, Mercury rushed forward, the ever well-trained footman. The rabbit pulled open the door to allow Lulu entrance as Kep untangled his limbs from where he was sitting on his stool. Mercury swept a paw wide, beckoning Lulu in.

Like the energizer bunny on crack, Merc was here, then away, then back again, dragging over a coat rack for Lulu to hang her coat or hat, should she have one. Gone again, then back, pushing a metallic cart with a portable coffee machine and a mixed collection of mugs, ranging in design from simple patterns, to WORLDS BEST CAT MOM, to ceramic pieces definitely made by someone’s children. A chipped plate bore offerings of those little tear-and-bake sugar cookies with Halloween designs (a pumpkin and a ghost, respectively).

“Ms. Flint, right?” Kepler asked standing and stretching his arms tall, long spine bending slightly backward. He was still incredibly diminutive, even when not hunched. “Kepler Brueshaber, soon to be head of Alamos University R&D. Though I have a feeling you may be here to change that?" The end of his speech lilted upwards in a question.

⚰︎ recruitment, act 1

Lulu Flint

ALAMOS TOWN, SINNOH REGION. ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS IN THE PAST.

Kepler had the distinct feeling he was talking to hear himself speak. Well, he was terribly self-important, to hear others say it. Lulu Flint didn’t look at all phased by his fancy new title. As she spoke, her eyes touched around the room, but her face was an impassive mask, and Kep couldn’t tell if she was disgusted or impressed, though he was leaning towards the former.

Her questions surprised him, though. He’d expected more along the lines of how comfortable are you making weapons of mass destruction, which had, no joke, been one of the interview queries for his position in the Sinnohan government. Like a spinning wheel, his mind backpedaled through all the bullshit answers he’d given on his applications, but none of those paper-thin fallacies seemed to fit, here.

“I guess… I want to be the best,” Kepler said, eventually, tugging on one of his braids, a nervous habit resulting in years of broken ends. “I want to be the top of my field. Whatever I put my mind to, I want to excel.” I want to be protected, was the unspoken thought; If I far surpass everyone in my field, no one needs to come close to me, and I can work alone and no one can hurt me.

It was too pathetic to voice, though.

“My end goal is whatever my employer’s end goal is, I suppose,” he added. “I kind of have to go wherever the money is, at least for a little bit.”

⚰︎ recruitment, act 1

Lulu Flint

ALAMOS TOWN, SINNOH REGION. ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS IN THE PAST.

His parents fell solidly in the middle of the wealth spectrum, not rich but certainly not feeling the burn like some other families. He’d always been special, always been different, and so scholarships more or less fell in his lap. College had been an expense but less so than for some of his peers. But Kepler didn’t have much to call his own-- all of it was currently wrapped up in lodging and student loans. He researched what the school told him to research and while it was keeping him interested for now there was no promising he’d be down to do it forever.

So he smiled when Lulu told him all he had to do to avoid the red tape was be exceptional.

“I can be exceptional,” he said, quiet but confident. It wasn’t a brag-- it was a fact. If it meant guaranteeing his safety and comfort in life, he could do it, and he could do it relatively easy.

She went on to talk about Rocket and what they could offer him. He listened, cataloging all the information, sorting through the pros and cons on the spot, even though he already knew what his answer would be, should they offer him a job.

“I do,” he said, and he meant that, too. “I understand.”

So far he’d been a leaf on the wind, an insect on the tree, gouging out a little space for his little body to root in and hide from the predators. But how long until the birds came, sharp-beaked and eagle eyed? How long until a bigger bug came along and bullied him out of his hole? It wasn’t safe here. He wasn’t safe here-- not for long. He needed something deeper. Someplace he could put his soft insides and have them be, if not protected, then at least out of the way long enough to build up a stronger exoskeleton.

He was tired of transience. He wanted permanence.

He gestured at the mess of a lab around him.

“What I’m doing now isn’t important to me,” he said. “Nothing I’ve done insofar is important to me.” He looked back at Lulu, hoping she’d see. See that he was worth the opportunities-- the chance. “My cup isn’t full. It’s still very, very empty. I have a lot to give.” And nothing worth giving to, he thought. Not yet.

⚰︎ recruitment, act 1

Lulu Flint

ALAMOS TOWN, SINNOH REGION. ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS IN THE PAST.

“It’s--,” he struggled to find the words. “I did my thesis on oceanographic physics. Wave patterns. Deep-sea travel. But it was just a research paper. A presentation. None of it was being applied.” The content mattered to him, he supposed. But the result did not. “I understand that not all science is fruitful. Not everything is implemented. Some things are just a waste of time. But do you know what I’m working on right now?” He wiped his palms on his pants, not realizing they’d gotten sweaty. “Acoustics for the auditorium.” He couldn’t suppress the roll of his eyes.

He realized he’d been raving, a bit. He bit the inside of his cheek to calm himself. She wasn’t here to listen to him blather on about his boring life.

Then she mentioned space-- and if he’d had animal ears, they’d have gone up.

“The final frontier,” he said before he could stop himself and visibly winced. “I like space. Space is fun. I did a theoretical paper on setting up a Lunar moon base my sophomore year. Reducing entropy, and the like.” It’d been part of a joint project with the Finance and Economics students and the Emergency and Military planning ones. More bullshit. But it had mattered less, then, so the sting was duller.

⚰︎ recruitment, act 1

Lulu Flint

ALAMOS TOWN, SINNOH REGION. ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS IN THE PAST.

Something was churning inside Kepler’s gut that wasn’t his sandwich or his seven energy drinks and it took him a minute to realize it was excitement. It had been so long since he’d felt it-- real, true, unbridled excitement, the kind that electrified his veins and made him want to hunch his shoulders in a little victory dance.

But he smothered it, smoothed it, coated it in sugar and set it down to cool.

“I would love to be a part of your team,” he said, smile genuine, cheeks burning with the effort of holding in his elation.

“When can I start?”

⚰︎ recruitment, act 1

Lulu Flint