I was at the bridge carrying out a routine inspection of the rooms on the Colossus when I noticed that one room was unusually hot and that smoke was developing inside. Concerned about a fire, I ran over there, kicked the door open and thew a basin of ice water inside... Then I heard a very familiar sneeze and realized %s was in there, soaking wet.
I explained why I was there for and looked around for the source of the heat and smoke but couldn't find it. %s repeatedly rejected Azure's offers to help, saying, "No, don't, I, I can wipe it off myself." %s's face was redder than even the most expensive apples in the stores of Umbraton, and the ice water was evaporating off them quickly... Having found the heat source, I poured some more ice water on %s.
However, I never figured out what Miss Azure said to %s before my visit...
—Vice

Caelestite, perfect timing! How did you know I was thinking about you? Is that your magical psychic ability at work again?
What did you say? Move closer. Come, sit down next to me so we can talk. Oh, are you shy? Well, relax, I won't do anything improper to you... Though of course, everyone has different definitions of what's "proper."
You want to hear my story? You won't even ease in by talking about the weather? Sheesh, you really suck at small talk don't you... Yet somehow you've gathered an amazing group of people on your Colossus. Looks like you've got some other way of winning people over, %s.
My story... I get that question all the time in pubs and from information dealers. I always ignore their questions, and I usually still get my discounts. However, seeing as you're usually to shy to ask me anything at all, I'll indulge you.
If I'm drunk? Never been more sober.
A long, long time ago... I'm not the best storyteller but I think this is how stories start, right? So a long, long time ago, I a child was born in a town called Balsa in the vast Rediesel Desert.

My father was the second best hunter in Balsa. He tried over and over again but he always ended up in second place. The best? My mother, of course. I was told he proposed to her with a huge bear, claiming he had never missed a target until she poached his heart with her smile... Funny, right?
However, it wasn't they who taught me how to use a gun. After all, I was orphaned at a young age, so it was my brother who taught me how to pull the trigger... Heh. It's been a while since I thought about these things!
But these memories are always simmering in the back of my mind. When Eclipsites swept across Balsa, I only survived because I happened to be out hunting. My brother went missing. However, he wasn't among the refugees or buried under the rubble. If it turns he was just fed up with me and decided to use this as an excuse to leave me behind, I'll kick his ass!
... I really hope that's why we never found him...
I need a drink. My throat is getting dry from all this yapping.

If someone asks me what one needs to walk across the Rediesel Desert, I guess I'd say water, food, and a whole lot of luck.
I know this from personal experience. Traveling alone in the desert with a very slim hope of finding your missing relatives will drain you of resources as well as sanity. It took all of my good fortune to pass out in the Rediesel Wrench's territory.
Although my brother wasn't among them, these people felt strangely familiar. If he had been here, he'd be racing, hunting, eating roasted lizards, and shouting stupid jokes into the desert with them...
Caelestite, I think that's enough about me.
You want more? Heh, someone's a little greedy, aren't they?

After I came to the Rediesel Wrench, life was calm and peaceful for a while. Or, the R. W. version of "peaceful." My gifts as a sharpshooter helped me stand out among the new members. The leader thought highly of my performance in intelligence gathering as well. Sinsa? He's one generation behind me. I'm talking about the leader before him. By the time Sinsa blooms and becomes as much of a man as that Wrench, we'll be well into the second Darkover War... But never mind that kid. Hell, I was around before even Roy got here. Who could have foreseen that laconic, borderline suicidal madman from Illumina becoming a garrulous uncle in the Rediesel Wrench?
But my drink is going flat talking about those disappointing idiots. Come on, let's talk about you. Hmm? Why not? How is it fair that I'm the only one opening up here? What have you been through with this Colossus and that young girl, Vice?
It's a long story? Don't worry. I've got aaaall the time in the world, %s.