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He'd done it, answered the call to that weird-a** planet with it's goopy doppelganger monsters. He'd discovered that the planet was Ida and belonged to the senshi operating under that name, but more than that was a mystery - and since his superiors were both violently volatile and had instructed to him to gather information for them...Aue felt it was important to seek out the senshi and dig a little.

Granted, that meant he'd have to engage in one of his least favorite past times: talking. Small talk was painful and even though he'd been living in America for some time, he was all Finnish in his soul and heart - so he preferred to avoid such things. Ash could be 'blamed' for waking him to this life that required so much inane conversation with people he'd rather push under a bus.

Ah well, this is life now, and this is important, I have a duty to gather information and report back. Be polite, Pasi. They don't like it when you're too Finnish. He'd put the feelers out, used the fully upgraded senshi phone Ash had kick flipped into existence for him and the senshi message boards to arrange a meeting with Ida.

Now, at a pre-determined neutral spot in the business district, he waited for her to arrive.

Poor Ida was going to be horrifically disappointed when she finally met Aue's current soldier - whomever and whatever Aue and Ida may or may not have been in years past, the current version happened to be a recalcitrant, xenophobic, bigoted Finn with a nigh-perpetual case of resting 'i hate you so much' face.

There was always a chance though, after all...Aue had contacted Ida. That was probably a good sign - of what, time would tell, but it was definitely a sign.

Being a low level senshi, he couldn't feel the eternal until she was fairly close, and even then he did little to encourage that shining aura closer save stand there. Ida was cautious and that spoke well for the intelligence of the other senshi; Aue could well appreciate being cautious - one never knew who was friend or foe, regardless of the colours of their uniforms.

When Ida called out, a bright, feminine voice, Aue turned to face her squarely. There was no smile on his face but at the very least he was trying to not have an expression as sour as his sphere. "I await Sailor Ida."

He thought this must be she, the orchids and colouring of the eternal matched what he'd seen and experienced on planet Ida. "Are you she? I am Aue." Perhaps she needed confirmation before she would relax, all very well and good. Smart, it seems. Smarter than most I have met. This could be good. If nothing else, the woman before him was attractive in the way Disney Princesses had to be, and her skin was a lovely hue. Eyecandy, if nothing else...

Ah, she is beautiful- More than just the Disney princess sort too, her smiling, confident welcome had a warmth that lit the young woman up from within and set to her a sort of beauty that brought to mind warm days laying in idle companionship, in laughing kisses, in the sort of unguarded openness that often got people stabbed in the back and used...and also inspired others to lay down and die to avenge said wrongs.

Like in so much of popular American media. Still, it wasn't expected that the 'pretty' girl should have a smile upgrade her beauty so much and it gave Aue enough pause that his brows went up briefly. I wonder, which is more the real Ida? Remembering that he was there to 'befriend' her, the senshi of lemons pushed his face into something resembling friendly configuration while accepting her hand in a firm shake.

"It is good to meet you as well. Your planet was not so welcoming, when it was sick. I hope it is better now?" News of other Kornois family asteroids was filed away, as was the implication that Ida was planning to put together some sort of team or gathering. Aue himself held no interest in such things, but that had no bearing on anything she had - or hadn't - done, he was simply not a people person.

"Are there many of us, then? It must be a great task for you to set yourself." A look over the elaborate costume, the buttwings signifying her advanced power ranking, and the softly glowing markings across her skin all said that she was quite able to handle the task - or she'd been really lucky. Aue wasn't certain that just being lucky would allow a senshi to power up, however - from his understanding they only gained power when they earned it. Ash said something to that effect...which meant that the petite woman before him had earned the right to his respect.

"I imagine it will only be a matter of time until completion."

"That is good to hear." Aue took his hand back as Ida scrutinized him, only fair as he'd done a quick once over of the eternal on his own. There was no issue with her looking him over at all; it was to be expected on their first official meeting - they could only size each other up visually, after all, to add to what they knew of one another. On her side, that would be that he had come to her aid when called. On his? That she'd made it to vaunted Eternal, that she glowed, and that she was a leader of sorts - or aspired to be.

Fifty, give or take whatever hasn't been discovered. Well then, that is quite a job to set for oneself. Aue's estimation of Ida continued towards the spectrum end of high-achiever, leaning towards perhaps one that reached for goals that were lofty but unattainable. He didn't know her well enough to say whether or not that was a correct assumption, but logistically speaking, it would be unlikely that one person could manage to unite fifty powered individuals alone as she seemed to be.

"A project for a lifetime, perhaps." Which made him wonder if he too should seek out the others, to add the information to his data book for the Pack; but with how inaccurate the information would be, was it worth it? Uncertain.

"As you say, I simply wished to get to know you better. Curiousity, you might say. Ida called, but I had only seen the planet, not the senshi. There was no more thought to it than that." Not that I can tell you, pretty one. You would not appreciate my deeper goals, I think.

"Can I ask...you glow. That is a special significance. You cannot be corrupted by force...but planet Ida was still blighted. They are two separate things then, yes?"

Ida's offered hand hung between them for a few moments before Aue understood that she meant for him to inspect the brightly shining tattoo-esque markings on her flesh up close. Awkwardly, the senshi of lemons took her hand in his and bent so that he could bring his face closer to the tanned skin and glowing markings; close enough that they cast a faint light on his skin as well.

Unsurprisingly, her skin carried the faint scent of flowers.

The hint of ozone was a bit strange, and Aue wondered if that was due to the Transcendence markings or something else. Calloused fingers skimmed lightly over skin and magical henna as the senshi took mental note that there was negligible difference between flesh and mark: neither embossed nor debossed, but more enhanced by the magic that thrummed throughout and vibrated minutely under his fingertips.

It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but one he was unfamiliar with and would have been hard-pressed to describe - which posed a bit of a problem, as he was generally expected to collate his doings into reports for the Negaverse. How could he express what the glowing markings on Eternal Sailor Ida were like when he'd be hard pressed to explain them to himself? This is a problem, but an interesting one. Is it electromagnetic? What is the reaction, is there anything chemical or is it wholly magical in nature? I would enjoy discovering this...with more time.

"So there are those among you studying such things? This is good." Aue ended his inspection of her markings with her hand held loosely in his, palm facing upward as he lightly traced part of the orchid shape in the middle before releasing the captive limb back to the Eternal of Orchids. "It would be good to know more of the kinds. A tool in the war. Perhaps the blight could even be used against the Negaverse, one day."

Unlikely. Your lot seems ineffectual and much like sheep wandering without a shepherd. But it would be strange of me to not mention at least this much. There were so many things to contemplate, even with the slim abount of information that Ida had just provided: she was protected from having Chaos pumped into her starseed by her planet, but the blight had been able to overtake her asteroid and her body. Which meant the Koronid blight was something that had been there before the Transcendence and as such had been accepted by the asteroid as belonging, had a completely different 'signature' and didn't register the same as Chaos energy - thus being allowed to flourish by the asteroid even with Ida's protective magical henna, it was innately tied into the Koronid senshi and had nothing to do with the Negaverse and other chaotic forces, or...some combination.

All fascinating concepts. Aue wanted to explore them.

"I wonder...do you think the blight is already on the Koronid asteroids? Our awakening and growth as senshi might be what causes it to go from inert matter to an active state like we saw on Ida."

Aue might have noticed her discomfiture, but he made no commentary on it afterwards; instead he chose to concentrate on things that were better understood between them. I misunderstood her offer. Was that then not her intent? Americans are ******** weird, ugh.

"Ah, in that case...it would not be possible to weaponize it as it exists currently. Better to concentrate on eradication as you have been." If there weren't even the remains of the sludge doppelganger creatures that had been battled on planet Ida...then it was unlikely the Blight and it's resultant 'army' could be used effectively. At least, not without finding some manner of communicating with the 'leader' or highest intelligence involved, neither of which worked for their his current purposes.

Elvira. Another Koronid. Blighted, but corrected. More information to file away into his report. Ida suggested a planet by planet search to systematically seek out and destroy any Blight that might be lurking and Aue found himself nodding; tactically her plan was sound. Especially if one went en masse with the group. An effective means of correcting an issue. Perhaps not just a Disney Princess...

Eternal Ida's question was one he had to contemplate - did he answer truthfully, say that he had been - or did he lie and say he hadn't, see if she would offer to accompany him. Try to set up some sort of further contact, or perhaps get the group to go?

The idea of dealing with so many was exhausting. Aue made his choice.

"I have, once. I noticed nothing more ominous than the decimated space itself."

Ida's reaction to his weaponization suggestion was immediate and telling: the very idea repulsed her.

A function of her Transcendence? Aue couldn't fathom it simply being part of kowtowing to the 'White Moon' ideals - he had a feeling that the flame-eyed senshi of the Gardens would have been interested in the idea of at least exploring weaponization. He found his mind wandering along the same vein it usually took by this point: This is war. There can be no space for such delicate sensibilities if you want to win.

Was the Order side so indifferent to lives lost, that they were willing to ignore a potential boon simply on the basis of some vaunted sense of...stark-white morality? Were they staunchly of the mind that using fire to fight fire was dishonorable or some-such nonsense when it was a legitimate - and often effective - means of doing so?

There were so many reasons Aue was not suited to wear white.

Laughter, soft and easy on the ears crested gently over his thoughts and drew attention back to the eternal senshi; she had clearly come out through the labyrinthine set of her thoughts to the other side and found the journey pleasing in some way. Good, at least. He supposed it was healthy of her to be pleased in her own choices - at the very least Ida seemed confident enough to stand by whatever she believed and Aue would not fault her for that much, even if he disagreed in very fundamental ways.

"The planets are...necessary, if strange after believing one is Earth-born. But yes, it is good to know Aue is clear for now. And to know what to look for." Thick brows drew close, a studied configuration meant to avoid 'angry' by staying just open enough. "I thank you, Sailor Ida. You have given me much to think on. I am...pleased," He paused, arms dropping at his sides at something akin to a military parade rest, "to know that you and your planet are well."

It was time to go. Past time, really; he'd managed to make her quite uncomfortable and come off as a strange, war-like creature. Which was fine, it was, but she was obviously not similar to the senshi of lemons at all beyond sharing an asteroid belt. "If you have need of me..."

"For now, I must go. And think." Brusque, Aue did not offer his hand to Ida again. Instead he offered her what he hoped was a reasonable facsimilie of a smile before turning away and heading off with a steady stride.

Aue did not look back.