veronica-rodgers

[veronica-rodgers]

"It's so weird - I keep talking to all these people I know, but they all look and sound like people I've never met." Veronica uttered a short snort of a laugh. "If it was somebody who did this to us...this must be their strange idea of fun."

"Ah, yeah, I am. Are you one as well?" Shaking Aishling's hand, he adds, "I have to admit, I haven't really read up on the other pilots lately."

Aishling laughed before nodding. “Yeah- it can feel pretty surreal hearing yourself talk with someone else’s voice. Sometimes I pause because I keep thinking that it’s someone else speaking for me.”

She gave Veronica a small smile before extending her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I think I’ve seen you around, too. You’re a jaeger pilot, right?”

[veronica-rodgers]

"Good idea - I should go out and buy some for others as well," Veronica remarks, fighting to not shiver at the thought of the Shatterdome being compromised. He really hoped that this was just something purely accidental - anything otherwise was not reassuring at all.

"I hope I'm not, though," he admits, frowning and running his hand back through his hair. "Hey, how's your wife and daughter doing? Are they dealing with this alright?"

"For the time being I would suggest getting your water beyond the Shatterdome, lest it comes from a bottled source. Though seeing as we are already in this predicament…" She trails off.

"You may be absolutely right. To rule out the possibility of extremism would be foolish when we are in no position to pick and choose causation."

[veronica-rodgers]

"Neither would panicking," Veronica sighs, thinking back to Dani and her reaction to this whole predicament. "We don't seem to be in any immediate danger...so I guess our best course of action would be to stay calm." With flush cheeks and a clearing of the throat, she adds, "And, um, yeah, boxers would be nice. I have clothes if you need to borrow any."

"Well, for the record, I think this is much more preferable than having our insides turn into liquid or what have you."

"Eh, you’ll get used to it sooner or later. I mean, not that we should. Getting used to it would not be great progress." Roger shrugged and smiled. He was a little uncomfortable in his new body, but he managed to be surprisingly calm, startling even himself. He wasn’t quite sure why. "I have some, uh, boxers if you need them."

"Dreaming? Drugged? Poisoned? I mean, I guess it’s not too far a stretch, but if it was anything like that, couldn’t they come up with something better than this?”

[veronica-rodgers]

"Yeah, I'm Rodgers. God, this is so bizarre - I'm saying all of this, and this totally new voice is coming out saying them, and..." Veronica pauses to glance down. "...That's a whole new ballpark of its own."

"This can't be just some science experiment. We have to be dreaming, or...something. Dr. Gottlieb thinks it might be some sort of chemical leak in the pipes, or something along those lines. So I guess being drugged or poisoned isn't out of the question, either."

"As I live and breathe. If I’m not imagining that, too."

"Yup. And yup again - I just sort of…woke up like this? I mean, I just assume it’s some of the scientists’ experiments, but who knows. And you would be…Rodgers? Oh god, please tell me I’m right."

[veronica-rodgers]

"Well, we don't know who - or what - is responsible for this, so maybe you need to calm down. Just a little, okay? We need to remain coollheaded and collected if we want to get to the bottom of this and get back to having breasts and a vagina. We're all panicking too, you're not alone in this."

"I don’t care about the danger of the situation, the fact that my boobs and vag are gone is very, very fucking concerning to me. Plus? Dicks are fucking gross, have you looked at it, it’s just- it’s there! And it’s all- Ugh, how do people even look at those things I-“ She shook her head, "I’m off topic- listen, I just need to go punch whoever’s responsible for this in the god damned throat, okay?"

[veronica-rodgers]

"It definitely is," Veronica nods in agreement. "Bizarre, outlandish...disconcerting as to how exactly we now have the bodies of men...your pick, really."

"Ah, I've seen you around before. I'm Veronica..." He paused. "Sorry, that just...I'm still trying to get over my new voice."

"Right? I feel like "weird" is a complete understatement."

  "I’m Aishling, by the way… at least I was, before this happened." she added, gesturing to her(him?)self.

[veronica-rodgers]

"Ah, yes sir -- I mean, ma'am...er, Doctor." Veronica shakes - oh, damn it all, she supposes she'll use the opposite pronoun for the time being - his head and clears his throat, embarrassed. "That'd be me."

"So this may be something we ingested, huh..." He purses his lips and crosses his arms. "You think any extremists are up to this or something? I mean, it's unlikely, but it's not exactly out of the question, considering the circumstances."

She sighs,  ”… Yes.” Nods as if nauseous, ”In the flesh if you will… Well… Not truly.”

"And you are, if I may guess… Ranger Rodgers?"

"Unfortunately… no. K-Science is torn apart as a team inspects the plumbing for cracks. We believe a biological spill may be the culprit: kaiju blood when exposed to the mixture of chemicals in our water purifiers may have resulted in a major…major chemical imbalance to those exposed. Though at this point, that is only hopeful conjecture.” 

[veronica-rodgers]

"Look, I understand your panicking - I do. I'm panicking myself, believe me. But we have to remain calm and find a way to..." Veronica gesticulates, scrunching up her brow. "To reverse all of this. And we don't seem to be in any immediate danger, so that's something good."

"Wait- Veronica- you too? God fucking- no! I will not be calm we have- and, we’re, and- no! I can not and will not calm down until I have a fucking vagina again." Dani snapped at her partner, shaking her head.

[veronica-rodgers]

Ah, she - he? Damn, this was confusing - was a cook, then. Veronica had only ever met one cook in the Shatterdome. "Wait, um...R...Roger, right?" She hazards. "I guess you're just as clueless as the rest of us, then?"

"I swear to god it wasn’t the food." Roger turned to look, sighing as he tried to puzzle out who the person was. They seemed overwhelmingly familiar, but, like all the others, he couldn’t place them. Dinner service was going to be interesting tonight.

[veronica-rodgers]

"This is...I'm not sure where my stance is on this. It just feels so...weird."

"So, I’m pretty sure that I had a vag when I went to sleep last night."

[veronica-rodgers]

Veronica's eyes widened. "...Dr. Gottlieb?"

"I heard that you guys down in K-Science are onto this...do you have any idea what's going on here?"

"I myself hypothesized a shared hallucination…"

"But I am finding denial a useless tact. For this is all, in the absolute, devastatingly real."

[veronica-rodgers]

"Dani -- Dani, it's okay. Please, just -- just calm down and take some deep breaths," Veronica pleads, waving her hands reassuringly. "Whatever's happened here, shouting won't help. Let's try and remain calm."

"No. No.” Dani shouted, “Don’t look at me, don’t touch me, just… What the fuck!”

[veronica-rodgers]

"Okay, uhm..." Veronica clears her throat, taken aback at the new sensation of an Adam's apple bobbing up and down her - his? - throat. "I'd say the most rational explanation to this is that we've all been drugged, and even then that's still probably not possible."

[veronica-rodgers]

Ah, yeah, real filling might be preferable. But would you be making the pie? If it's a hassle, I can settle for the crap-in-a-can, no problem.

Time to get orders ready for next month...

[veronica-rodgers]

Would pie be out of the question? Or is that asking for too much?

Time to get orders ready for next month...

Anyone want anything special?

[veronica-rodgers]

What do you love about being a Jaeger pilot?

Veronica instantly sits up in her seat, straightening her back and leaning forward. "Well, at first glance, it's not really that hard to think about why, isn't it? It's not everyday you get to ride around in giant robots. But I think it's more than that. I love the fact that we're piloting absolutely spectacular feats of engineering ingenuity. Giant mecha that we use to, in layman's terms, punch sea aliens with. The thrill when you're inside one of them...you can't compare it to the fastest jet in the world, if you ask me."

[veronica-rodgers]

What do you love about Dani?

"Love..." Veronica echoes thoughtfully. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but...seeing our current relationship, it's rather...hard for me to decide what I love about her."

Her eyes widen. "N-not that there's anything wrong with her! I mean, we are all flawed, and she and I have our fair share of noticeable flaws, which have sort of gotten in the way of progress, a little..."

Sighing and scrunching up her face, she decides to try again. "Well...I admire that she's not afraid to speak her mind, no matter how profane she may come across as while doing so."