[BMC - R] A Message Passed On (Sirius x Birhan)

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Sirius had called Birhan and asked to meet her. It was a bold move for the cadet who until recently hated calling her own friends and family let alone someone who was no in charge of the BMC but yet here she was waiting where they had agreed to meet. Sirius hadn't wanted to talk on the phone, she didn't trust phones even ones that cats had made, after all surely the cats could hack them? Paranoid she was.

She was pacing a little in the park, it was a secluded area where all the bushes made it rather private. Normally there would be people here making out or something but not at this time of night, it was all pretty quiet. Sirius found herself talking to herself, apparently it made her rather nervous knowing that she would be talking to someone in the BMC that well was clearly important. Then again she wasn't sure she wanted to pass this information on. If the little senshi had been right then the mission Ares had led them on had now put everyone in danger and there were kids in this fight now whether they liked it or not.

She finally sat down and let out a sigh. She played with her senshi phone for a while wishing she could at least connect to the internet or something with it. The BMC had to be careful, it seemed they had enemies on their own side now as well. Oh how Sirius wished she wasn't the one to pass on the mini senshi's message.  

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Birhan hadn't been as surprised by the phone call as she was about the reason to meet. As she was still planning their next move against the Negaverse, she had assumed anyone calling her from the BMC wanted to discuss that issue. Apparently not, in Sirius' case. The Super Senshi hadn't mentioned what this was about, not trusting something like this over the phones. It made Birhan curious. Not just about the message, but also why Sirius was coming to Birhan. It gave the redhead hope that perhaps there were some members who appreciated Birhan sticking her neck out for them by going up against Ares - otherwise why would Sirius not have contacted their Captain?

Birhan was growing very curious, indeed. Hopefully, whatever Sirius had to say, Birhan could handle somehow. Enough people thought she was useless already, just because she was still a base level senshi. Despite her position on the ISS, they still doubted Birhan's worth. It rankled slightly, but mostly made Birhan determined to prove them wrong.

She arrived in the park and headed for the area that Sirius had named for a meeting place. A smile grew automatically as she spied the Senshi of Canines. "Hey, Sirius," Birhan greeted the other girl. She took a seat herself, putting them on the same footing and giving the meeting a more relaxed feel than a simple 'report' scenario.

Sirius' mood was catching. Birhan sobered, and waited for the other girl to talk in her own time.  

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When Birhan arrived Sirius smiled though it was an awkward one and once the other senshi sat, Sirius did as well. Awkward was one word for it. She didn't stay sat very long as she stood up and looked at Birhan.

"Okay so I wanted to talk to you as your now in charge and stuff and this I don't know if you guys know or not." She took a deep breath and continued.

"I met this mini senshi called Chibi Hugbell who had recently had a run in with Wolframite. Apparently while he tried his best to kill her he also spoke to her a lot about the BMC. The little one bless her is desperate to find us all and stop us from being 'bullies'. She wants to help the negaverse and well if she wants to get herself killed we can't watch the kids in this war but she said some things." This was the bit she didn't want to talk about.

"She said Wolframite is blaming all the senshi for what some of us did to him and the others. He told her that we are trying to train all the senshi up to be like that. He told her pretty much everything that was done to him, the torturing and starving, the whole lot. They are blaming all the senshi because of what we did, they are all close to hating us. The little one said that she has met a lot of senshi who seem to be against us because of what we did." Sirius suddenly looked at the floor.

"I came to you with this because I don't know whether Ares would listen." She sighed and looked up again. Everyone in that meeting had seen how Ares had reacted and though some seemed happy to do anything Ares wanted meeting this little one had put more doubts in Sirius's mind.

"I know you have enough pressure on you already but whatever we do we can't fail. We have sentenced every other senshi to death because of the last plan failed. I know I am just a cadet in the whole thing and don't have the right to be in on anything but... if this little one is right we can't go alienating ourselves from all the other senshi - we will just end up dead." That was what worried Sirius the most. The other senshi.

"We turned Wolframite into a killing machine of a level that should never have been reached. From what the little one said if she hadn't got out of there when she did she wouldn't have been talking to me. Apparently her teddy got ripped to shreds by him - her attack or something I guess but... I am just worried Birhan and I thought the message needed to be passed on." That and she wasn't sure how Ares would react if the little senshi found her. She didn't seem to listen to them or maybe she was having a bad day? Either way Sirius was doubtful - it was something she was good at all this doubting.

"Forgive me if I have spoken out of turn but someone had to be told."  

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Birhan listened quietly as Sirius spoke. It was chilling news. The ISS member didn't speak up, just letting Sirius tell the entire tale. Despite the many questions and concerns floating through her mind, Birhan voiced none of them.

It wasn't that surprising that Sirius might have interpreted Birhan's silence as something negative, hastening to ask for forgiveness for 'speaking out of turn'. The comment did have the effect of spurring Birhan into finding her voice.

"There's nothing to forgive," she said automatically. "It's good that you found this out, and that you're telling me." Not that it was in any way good news, but if it was happening, they needed to know. It seemed that the fallout from Operation Rota wasn't finished yet - may, in fact, be just beginning.

"We will need to discuss this," Birhan spoke her thoughts aloud. Sirius deserved to know this much, for bringing the information in. The Senshi of Canines sounded worried and Birhan couldn't blame her. "The ISS, and possibly even as a full Court. Wolframite we could handle on our own, but if the other senshi are turning against us... We will need to speak to them before they come to us." As a mob, remained unsaid.

It... might be best if it wasn't Ares to speak to the other senshi. She hadn't made the best impression on many of them. And if she spoke to them as she had spoken at the last meeting, well, the Court may as well shut itself down now.

On the other hand, to not have Ares show up to a meeting with the other senshi... It might send an unintentional message that Ares thought herself above them, and above their concerns. (That might not be an incorrect assumption, either, Birhan worried.) The other senshi might take it to mean that Ares was still going to do what she wanted, that even if other members of the BMC wanted to make peace, that Ares didn't.

Gloved hands raised to Birhan's temples and massaged. "All this political stuff... so not my forte," she grumbled. All it did was give her a headache.

She eyed Sirius. "What are your thoughts on this? You were the one to experience this chibi senshi's feelings on the BMC."

If it came to a full Court meeting, Sirius would be giving her opinion anyway, There was no harm in getting it early.  

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Sirius let out a sigh of relief as Birhan said there was nothing to forgive, in a way she had been worried to pass on the news. Part of her enjoyed being a cadet, not knowing the political stuff as it were. She listened to what Birhan said and nodded, she knew it would need to be discussed but it was nice to hear it voiced as it meant that at least she was assuming right about her superiors.

"My thoughts?" That wasn't expected, though it was nice to be asked.

"The little one wanted peace, she wants to talk to Ares though I don't know how safe that would be for her. She calls us bullys and wanted to talk to us to get us to stop. Then again she wants to talk to the negaverse and get everyone to hold hands and sing songs - she is young. The only issue I honestly had with her was how innocent and truthful she was." She bit her lip a little. "I worry she will pass on that it was us to more senshi, possibly without realising it. She wants to find us and we are all secret so bless her she may cause us more of a problem." Sirius paused again to take a breath.

"My thoughts on the what the other senshi's think differ every time I think of it. Part of me thinks the Ares... well the BMC should apologise to them. We can't put it right but I don't know. I think we have made enemies of them now and I don't think there is anything we can do but keep it to ourselves. Maybe we should be more secret then we were? We are suppose to say we belong to the BMC if asked, well maybe we shouldn't? I don't know... I just don't think there is any way of going back... they won't forgive us and the negaverse want everyone dead because of us. Maybe we should go into hiding? In the sense that we don't admit we are part of the BMC." Sirius wasn't sure how well her opinion would go down, it wasn't ideal but it was the only way round it she could think of at the moment.

"Most of all whatever we do next, we can't fail. I don't think catching them will work, we have to just kill them." Sirius didn't really like saying that bit. She hadn't killed yet and the idea of it still made her a little queasy but she knew what she had signed up to and she was willing to do just about anything.

"If you want I can try and scout out the senshi that don't like us? At least then we might get an idea of how many and why?" It was an idea and the only real one that might be any good though goodness knows how she would start doing that.  

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Birhan didn't like the idea of Ares talking to any of the chibi senshi. There was a big enough philosphical difference between Ares and most of the other teen senshi - Birhan didn't think there was any way their leader and young kids would ever see eye to eye. Plus, it could end very badly. Kids weren't known for holding their tongues, and Ares wasn't known for pulling her punches.

"If she wanted to meet someone from the ISS, that might be fine," Birhan suggested. Herself or Laocoon, perhaps, with Zirconia tagging along for extra non-threatening fluffy value. She wasn't sure how Gunn was with children, and Albali was too close to Ares to have a differing opinion right now.

It was true what Sirius said about children being too naive and idealistic. But still, it might be worth trying to explain before the kid went crying all over the place to other senshi about what the BMC had done.

"For the cadets, hiding their allegiance would be easy enough. For those of us with brands..." Well, it would depend on where the brand was located. For Birhan, it was 50/50 on whether people noticed the dark mark hiding under her semi-transparents skirt or not. "And Ares won't like anyone 'hiding' - she'll see it as weakness or a lack of committment to the BMC, or both."

Because they couldn't pretend that this wouldn't get back to Ares eventually. Sirius' last suggestion had a lot of merit, though. If there was any denying being a part of the BMC, there would at least be the excuse that it was for strategic information gathering, rather than saving one's own hide. Ares might even approve. The information would certainly help Birhan get an idea of where the BMC stood, and how damaging Operation Rota had been - and how damaging another plan that was more of the same would be.

"I like it," she said, after thinking it over. "If you don't mind, I think it would be very useful to know right now. And if anyone in the BMC gives you trouble, feel free to say I asked it of you. My status should be enough to protect you. You can say I'm mentoring you or something..."

Birhan gave a brief laugh. She'd never had much to do with that system before, it felt a bit weird being a base level senshi and offering to help others who'd already powered up. Birhan was part of the ISS, though. She could at the very least use her influence to smooth out Sirius' path for now.  

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"If I find the senshi again then, do you think it would be worth letting her know to find you? Or the other way, I believe she is chibi-hugbell or something like that. She looks rather cute in her fuku and has a teddy bear." Sirius listened to everything else Birhan said and nodded. Of course the brand! She had completely forgotten about that.

"Mentoring? You actually going to mentor me then?" She smiled, no one mentored her and she knew there was a system in place. "No one has seemed to want to mentor me." Of course this was going a tad off subject.

"Though of course I can go out and find out what I can and report back to you. I shall try and find other teams as well and see what's going on when it comes to us. I don't know how much other senshi know but I suppose that's worth knowing as well." Sirius was liking this. She wasn't the best fighter in the world but gathering information was something she could defiantly do!  

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"I don't mind meeting her, if she's interested," Birhan agreed cautiously. Maybe it would help for the little girl to meet someone higher up the BMC's food chain, to hear from their mouths that some things were changing, and some just wouldn't be repeated. Birhan was actually of a mind with some others at the meeting who had said forget the torture, just kill them. A chibi senshi wouldn't understand that much better, Birhan thought, but if they weren't 'bullying' so much anymore, then maybe she'd hold off on squealing to every other senshi she could find.

Sirius' enthusiasm at the mention of mentoring made Birhan look up in surprise. "Uh, sure, if you'd like. I'm not too sure what I've got worth passing on, but I'm game if you are."

At the very least, maybe a dedicated sparring partner. Birhan hadn't had anyone to instruct in kickboxing since Khalla had disappeared...

She smiled as Sirius outlined her plan. "Thanks. I think that will be a big help. We don't want to alienate all the other senshi out there, so knowing where they stand is the first step needed before we can fix anything with them."  

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"If I see her again I will give you a ring then." These phones could be useful it seemed after all! Though Sirius still didn't use her's all that often. Such was life really.

"Yes please! I would love to have someone mentor me!" Then she could actually start improving and show her commitment to the BMC. She did love the court more then she could really explain, it was her home to her. She wanted to prove that and though she knew most did that by killing, she wasn't sure if that would be enough for her to prove how much the court meant to her. At least having a mentor would mean they could see her dedication as well!

Sirius nodded as Birhan accepted her plan. "I shall get on it straight away, if there is anything else you ever need me to do..." She left it open knowing that Birhan would probably get the gist of what she was saying. Sirius wanted to help, she wanted to be helpful in some way or another.  

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"Alright, " Birhan agreed with a smile. It was actually very flattering to have someone want to learn from her - especially someone already a Super senshi. She worried that might only be due to her status as a member of the ISS, but then reminded herself that she'd earned that placement. If she was going to be respected for something, at least it was something that was due to her skills and efforts (no matter what Nemesis might say to the contrary).

"I'll be in touch to set up some joint patrols or training sessions. It's best we learn how to work together," she explained.

The rest she nodded at. Sirius had a good plan. Birhan was just lucky that the other senshi had come to her, rather than taking it to Ares or one of the other ISS members.

"If there is anything else you ever need me to do..." Sirius offered.

Birhan's smile was soft. With a brief chuckle, she said, "This is more support than I thought I'd be offered, after that last meeting. Thank you. I'll let you know if anything else presents itself."

She couldn't leave everything to someone else - Birhan was a big believer in taking action herself. But it was such a relief to know that she had another person she could rely on, who would have her back with the upcoming trials she faced.  

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Sirius probably looked like a kid at Christmas in front of a large pile of presents, she looked so happy and excited at the mention or patrolling and actually being mentored!

"Sounds good to me, I shall await a call from you then!" Sirius smiled happily and then continued to listen to what was being said. "You should have the backing of the whole BMC, Ares put you in charge so everyone should follow you really..." Though even Sirius knew that wasn't really the case. Everyone had issues with everyone and she was at the meeting. Though in all honesty Sirius wouldn't mind not seeing Nemesis about, she hadn't liked the senshi much the first time she had met her and it seemed things hadn't really changed much.

"Thanks though! I will be available at any time if you need me!" She wanted to make sure that Birhan really did know that she had Sirius's support completely.  

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Birhan whipped her senshi phone out and held it up to Sirius. The phone beeped as it finished the scan, ensuring that Birhan had the other senshi's details added into her phone. Now, if they were both powered up, Birhan could call and arrange to meet.

She gave Sirius a tired smile as Sirius insisted that the others should follow Birhan since Ares had put her in charge of the next operation. Unfortunately it had been clear at the meeting that Ares was expecting Birhan to fail - that this was a punishment, not a reward. A fair number of the BMC were responding to it as such, not wanting or expecting Birhan to succeed either.

"Well, no matter how things turn out, thank you for your support." Birhan rose to her feet and smiled. "I feel a lot better knowing that I have someone at my back. I look forward to hearing how your investigation goes."

And it was almost time for her next BMC patrol, so Birhan walked off, giving a wave and a grin over her shoulder. "I'll be in touch. Call if you need me!"