- RP Date
- YE 45,9
- RP Location
- YSS Resurgence
YE 45.9
YSS Resurgence
Kyoto, Planet Yamatai
Evening
It was a crisp and cold night on the 35th of Kugatsu, the last day of the year. The YSS Resurgence was now fully repaired, crewed, loaded with fresh provisions, and ready for immediate action, and a new mission, in YE 46. But first it was time to take a last moment to reflect on the events of YE 45.
It was a special occassion, and for this Taisa Aoba promised to give his crew a great view of the fireworks. He had the ship positioned hovering a kilometer off the ground in the skies over the megacity of Kyoto, so that the city lights were visible through the wardroom's floor windows, and the new years fireworks could be seen from the ship without obstruction from the thick, armored dorsal hatches in the ship's hull. Aoba had also minimized the number of crew officially "on duty," to himself and Gabriela, who didn't drink anyway, so that it was within regulations to have a bit of champagne.
Wardroom
Cassie sat near the edge of the window looking at the crowds in the streets below. "I've never seen the city like this before," she told everyone. "Look at all the glowing communicators." Next to her, Bidole the beetle buddy was looking out the window as well.
Rossa passed out teriyaki chicken on a stick to everyone. "I made some street food," she grinned. Julix followed with some nachos and hot wings. "I made some party food!" he added.
Poppy curled up in a booth seat with her legs sideways across Pidole's lap, as Pidole closed her eyes and watched the view from the insect's perspective.
Euikoshi and Norita were notably absent, as they had concocted a variety of homemade high-powered fireworks and were basically confined to the safety of the armory until it was time to shoot them off.
Kalena, dressed in a comfy sweater, sat in a chair by the big evergreen yule tree in the corner of the room, which was decorated with festive lights and even a few ornaments (the Resurgence only had a handful so far). Beneath it was a pile of wrapped presents. She sipped a hot cocoa and gave a contented smile.
With a great deal of excitement, Yuri entered and found her seat so that she could watch the show. "wowee!' she couldnt help but say as she watched the show and the environment around her. She remembered seeing views like this before but not like this so it felt amazing and new.
Yayoi entered soon after her daughter. Before she joined her, she glanced at the environment around her.
Sakuko and Beryl passed out a holiday kit to anyone who didn't already get one. The kits were full of supplies like hot cocoa mix, chocolates, and a random ornament to add to the tree. Even though they weren't home, the Star Army had hoped to give all its soldiers a good time.
Yuri smiled as she was passed a holiday kit by Sakuko and Beryl. "thanks!" she said happily to the kind beautiful women, and glanced towards the kits for a moment.
Erika had laid out on the booth accros from Poppy and Pidole. Her head was sticking out over the side so she could watch the people below milling about as they waited for the show to start. She looked at the others who had opted for a more festive thick jumper, thinking it wasn't any where near cold enough on board to warrant one.
"Now this, Rossa," Mineko said to the chef as she pointed to the chicken on a stick she had just taken a bite out of. "All I want for the holidays is more of this."
"Nothing like the end of a year to make you feel nostalgic and sentimental," Poppy observed.
Yayoi nodded her head to Poppy's statements. Silently she glanced towards Yuri noting how happy she seemed to be, which inwardly pleased her.
"We did a ton this year," Poppy grinned. "We responded to the terrorist attack on Gashmere, I went to the Love Day in Kaiko park, we found the YSS Wakaba, hoverboarded on the beach in Yumiuki, went through a new wormhole and explored that huge, creepy station, rescued a frozen alien civilization...visited the Kakushi Nekoba. I got my degree, won a starship, gave it to the Star Army and got a soda named after me in return, raided a secret NMX base, and went to the Yule festival on Pisces. That's a lot of running around the galaxy!"
"Does seem like its been once crisis after another since I joined." Erika commented. "Missed out on a few of those though. Still discovering an ancient wormhole network was kind of wild. And 'civilian' Misshu."
"Ya! We did a lot of amazing things, and made new friends!" Yuri said happily. Her smile widened as she heard Kakushi Nekoba mentioned. She could tell how happy it made her mother to have people go to her bar. "Mom was happy when everyone went to the Kakushi Nekoba!" she said happily, then turned. "Right mom!?" she asked.
Yayoi blinked and nodded her head as she was suddenly asked a question. "It was...nice" she couldnt help but say.
Yoshiro was watching the festivities around the wardroom and smiled. This whole thing reminded him of holidays with his family. He had helped save fellow soldiers and help save a group of people that were frozen in time.
"Rescuing the Seelies really stands out to me as another mission this year I couldn't have done without. It felt good to get my feet wet, but also help some people that couldn't help themselves." Mineko said, adding on to Poppy's list. "Anyone else have any memories from this year to reminisce on?"
"Well I got to transfer to the greatest ship in the fleet. I am learning how to command a group of soliders and I am inspired to be a pilot which I started to train in when I was on the first Aeon." Yoshiro said in response to Mineko and smiled "I am glad that I transferred here. I believe that this is the greatest ship in all of the galaxy. Got promoted to Joto Heisho and am going to learn how to command better." Yoshiro smiled at the memories of his adventures in the Star Army.
A new face in the wardroom simply stuck to her own devices in a corner of the room, calmly looking down into the window at the celebrations taking place below them. Chiheisen had taken to poaching a chair and pulling it to a little corner she could sit at undisturbed to watch the fireworks- the only reason the birb had come to the wardroom in the first place. The Elysian wasn't a big fan of parties or... Social interaction in general, but at the very least she enjoyed shiny colorful explosions to some degree. She simply sipped on a glass of hot cocoa as she stared outside.
Erika lingered in the booth, her eyes drifting across the wardroom. She noticed the new face, Chiheisen, comfortably ensconced in her own little corner. The operative slid off the front of the booth like a snake and preformed a fluid tuck and roll to get to her feet. She walked over to Chiheisen. "I think I've seen your plumage wandering around the ship but not had the chance to say hey. I'm Erika. One of the two Spooks on the ship." She said, offering a hand.
Chiheisen double-taked as her attention was suddenly snapped away from the fireworks, and to the Nekovalkyria in front of her! The elysian squinted as her eyes trailed from Erika’s snow white hair all the way down to her extended hand, reaching out towards the birb, inviting her into a handshake. She let out a tiny sigh as she extended her hand and took the handshake, knowing it was futile to simply attempt to ignore a neko. “Takahashi, Chiheisen. Santo Hei” Came her rather dry introduction…
Erika leant forward with a knowing smile. Even if it wasn't part of her occupation to read tells and body language, the operative would have known she'd just invaded Chiheisen's personal space. "I'll be honest, I'm a bit of the same way." She said with a conspiritorial whisper "Right now I'd rather be reading a book or doing some studies. But we're a team, its important to get along. So try not to sound too dissapointed when someone tries to be friendly with you. Still, want me to go? We can complete introductions some other time, or I can just access your file." There was no malice in Eirka's words, her offer to respect Chiheisen's space was genuine.
Chiheisen blinked as she looked up at the Nekovalkyria once more, slightly surprised at what she had to say. The Elysian took a moment to respond… Yes, she was hesitant to socialize, but she also didn't want to be an ass to a crewmember she had just met. Although she didnt say it, she recognized the importance of having good relations with teammates. “Understood… you can stay if you wish.”
"Not what I meant." Erika said, giving the Elysian's hand a gentle tug. "Come on, mingle. Fireworks aren't long, you can duck out if you feel overwhelmed."
Chiheisen gave up as she realized resistance was probably futile. The Elysian got up from the chair as she was encouragingly tugged, her wings shifting a bit behind her.
"I got married." Sanda said as she entered the wardroom with Trowa. The two had just returned from their leave with their Clan. She was absolutly glowing still from the whirlwind wedding that had taken place. First Caffran had suprised her by coming to Yamatai and asking her to marry her that holiday. Then the Empress of Yamatai no less had bought her a wedding dress. Finally, she had gone to Caffran's Clan and was married by the old man himself, the Dragon of Nepleslia. The old ID-sol had to be almost 100 years old!
Trowa, Sanda's brother in law had been just tickled to see his wife's sister married. And to his cosin no less! His little girl had been the flower girl in the wedding and it had really warmed his heart to see his whole clan there. Even Thomas, who had been missing aboard the Wakaba had been found and with some more attetions to the Clan.
"There she is!" Cassie grinned, pointing at Sanda. "You know there's not many of us on the ship who aren't single," she observed. "Hey, show us the ring!"
"Hey I am single!" Yoshiro said with a laugh. "and congratulations to you Sanda-heisho." He said as he sat down with his hot cocoa.
"Congrats Sanda!" Erika called out over the crew "Where was my invite! How come I wasn't the Maid of Honor?" She continued her inflection still playful.
"I think it was one of those small, private type things," Cassie said, spinning her tree ornament around her finger. "Right?"
"Small? The whole Canterbury Clan was there! Just 40 some people. Plus several crew from the various ships my new family command. There had to have been over 100." Sanda looked at Erika and laughed. She had been laughing a lot lately and couldn't stop. "I invited the whole Resurgence crew. But Maid of Honor had to go to my sister Estrella for not killing me all those years ago." She held up her hand to reviele a ring that literally shown with light. It was a dark band with what looked like streak of endless lightning going around it, not a suprise to anyone.
Yuri looked over and spotted Sanda there, and hurried over to her side. "congrats! Aunt Sanda!' she said before Yayoi could offer her own congratulatory words
"One minute!" Colby Wando announced. "Get ready for the fireworks!" One of the cooks set up a volumetric countdown over each of the wardroom tables.
Yoshiro sat and sipped his cocoa and looked out the window. Feeling a bit out of the conversation he just sat quietly and decided to watch the fireworks. He was finding this to be his family away from his family.
"Everyone find someone to kiss," Poppy joked. But Pidole puckered her lips, which made Poppy blush a little. "Oh!"
"Thirty seconds!"
Yuri frowned that she had no one to kiss, not realizing that Poppy was joking. She knew her mother wouldnt like the display of affection out in public.
"Were not all as loose with our affections Poppy!" Erika said, attempting to give everyone an out.
"I've done enough kissing to last me awhile." Sanda said quietly, blushing as she did so.
"Ew, Sanda, we don't need to hear how babies are made," Mineko followed by saying. She was finding anywhere for her eyes to look besides the seat Pidole and Poppy were on, though.
Cassie cackled at Mineko's remarks, having a lot of fun. She grabbed a glass of champagne as Julia Meadow, one of the ship's caretakers, went around handing them out.
Yoshiro just sighed, having no relationship as of yet. He hoped that it would be soon but for now he was content to be who and where he was.
"wait, babies are made just by kissing!?" Yuri asked with a shocked expression on her face. Behind her, was a hard slap sound as Yayoi slapped her own face in exasperation at her daughters words. She'd made sure Yuri had all of the information so she knew that Yuri was being goofy.
Yoshiro laughed at Yuri's statment. "I don't think that is how it works." He said to Yuri.
Looking to Yuri, Mineko nodded, "If you get married before, they do."
Chiheisen’s expression as she listened to this chaos could only truly be described as ‘What the [beep] is going on here…”
"Ten...nine...eight...seven..." the crew began to count as the timers neared zero. At the stroke of midnight, Yamatai time, the skies of Kyoto came alive with thousands of fireworks, lightshow drones, and all manner of volumetric projections, completely blanketing the sky in colorful displays one after another.
YE 46.1
The Elysian’s eyes trailed to the window as she waited for the explosion of color that was presumably about to take place directly below them. As unsocial and generally unfun as she was, the countdown was too difficult for her to simply elude, the birb beginning to countdown in unison with the crew. She sounded a little monotone… but at least she’s trying okay??? She let a tiny smirk as the city below them was engulfed in a lightshow. To them it was the conclusion of what had been a pretty packed year. To her, it was a start.
Yoshiro looked to the fireworks display that was about to start and smiled. All that he had done, what he had sacrificed and what he had gotten in return made him tear up and sob a bit in happiness..
As the timer reached zero, Yuri turned and gave Poppy a hug unexpectedly. "thanks for everything you've taught me, and will teach thus far, Poppy-sempai!" she said with a smile before releasing her.
Poppy returned the hug with warm affection, glad her medical assistant was happy. She then toasted her drink and downed it and smooched her old roomate Pidole.
Trowa moved over to Yoshiro with two glasses of champain. He handed one to the younger man then held his up in a toast. "To family." He said simply.
"To family." Yoshiro said in return and toasted as well. Trowa had been a good commander and an even better friend. Yoshiro had been rough around the edges when he first started as a santo hei and he had helped a lot.
Yayoi watched the display outside the ship as the fire works and light show was shown to them.
Sanda laughed at Yuri as she moved over to Yayoi, her fellow Ranger. She put her arm around her Hermana and whispered. "I'm not ready to be a mother just yet. I haven't made Joto Heisho yet and I'm not a Neko so it'd be a long pregnacy and there is no way I could leave my kid to grow up without her mom around. Besides." She glanced around the room conspiritorialy. "We both know this ship would be doomed without us here."
Cassie had never seen such a beautiful fireworks display. She was in awe. There were even volumetric "THANK YOU STAR ARMY" displays and animations of a Mishhu getting drop-kicked by a giant Mindy armor. Incredibly, someone down below had found the Resurgence and aimed a huge spotlight at her flag-colored hull, making the ship part of the festivities.
Yayoi turned her head as Sanda had arrived at her side, momentarily distracting her from the light show. As she listened to her whispering into her ear, Yayoi did something unexpected that could potentially spell doom. She actually smiled yes out right smiled as Sanda spoke to her. "you'd make a good mother to any kid, whether son or daughter, they'd be one that is disciplined and polite. Plus if you had, knowing Yuri she'd want to baby sit. But you are correct, even with Thad no longer being on board, the ship is doomed without us." Yayoi told Sanda.
Yoshiro laughed at the volumetric Mindy armor drop kicking the Mishhu. He was happy that he had survived his first tour and was ready to start again. He had joined to protect his fellow crewmates and those that he loved. He reaffirmed the fact that he wanted and needed to do this and swore to do his best, this time around.
Up on the top of the ship, Euikoshi and Norita loaded their makeshift firework torpedoes into the ship's rollbar launchers and fired them. The sky around the Resurgence began bursting with dozens of super bright purple Kikyo flower shaped fireworks, creating an impressive display that was very close to the ship's armored hull.
"Are you kidding? Any kid I had would probably wind up like me. Wild and reckless early in life. And worse of all, their stealth potential is through the roof. I'm good, but Caff is even better. My kid would get in trouble all the time and we'd never be able find them for any punishment." Sanda laughed as she watched the fireworks with her friend.
Yayoi grinned once more as Sanda spoke, and turned her head to the fireworks. "Remind me to show you some memories in the VR about a certain little neko's antics." she said to Sanda as she watched.
Erika simply looked done, the exploding colours reflected in her eyes. Upon her face was a soft, contented smile. She didn't say anything, content to simply watch for a moment.
Rossa, standing by the window, watched the fireworks with a sense of accomplishment. She turned to Julix, who was beside her, and remarked, "This view, these people, it's all worth the effort we put into our work, isn't it?"
Julix nodded, his eyes also fixed on the sky. "Absolutely. It's moments like these that remind us why we do what we do."
Taisa Aoba came down from the ship's bridge to celebrate with the crew for a moment. He looked over his crew with a proud smile. He raised his glass for a toast, "To the brave souls of the Resurgence, may YE 46 bring us more adventures and closer bonds."
Euikoshi and Norita, having successfully launched their homemade fireworks, joined the others in the wardroom. "What did you think?" Euikoshi asked with a huge grin.
Yayoi and Yuri lifted their glasses as their captain made a toast. Yuri turns to Euikoshi and grinned "it was amazing!:
"To YE 46!" Doctor Poppy raised her glass. "May your mental backups go unneeded," she laughed.
"Here's to that!" Cassie nodded.
The Elysian eyed the rest of the crew as they did the toast, looking down at her own drink… Chiheisen hesitantly followed along with them, although instead of alcohol, she raised her hot cocoa instead.
"And our rectums unprobed!" Erika said, giving Poppy a sly look.
"Speak for yourself," Cassie told Erika. "I'm into that," she added quite quietly.
"No, no," Mineko said, bumping shoulders with the other SAINT agent as she came over to her and the new santo hei. "Erika's on to something there."
Chiheisen's purple eyes simply darted between Erika and Mineko as she approached... "....whh...." She just simply couldnt manage to form words after hearing that exchange.
Erika leant over to Chiheisen's ear, "If Doctor Poppy asks you to do anything weird when she does your medical, you can say no." she whispered.
Yayoi's eye twitched at Erika and Cassie's conversation dangerously.
As the night progressed, the crew members shared stories, reminisced about their adventures, and made plans for the future. The atmosphere was warm and jovial, a fitting end to a year filled with challenges and triumphs.
The fireworks outside continued to blaze in the sky, a dazzling array of colors and shapes that reflected the spirit of the Resurgence and its crew. It was a night of celebration, a night of reflection, and above all, a night of togetherness.
As the last of the fireworks faded into the night, the crew of the YSS Resurgence stood together, a united front ready to face whatever challenges YE 46 might bring. With a sense of renewed purpose and camaraderie, they looked forward to the adventures that lay ahead, knowing that together, they could overcome anything.
= = =
JP END
Charaa, Wes, Ame, Cowboy, Soban, Zanven, Yoshiro, Sunny D, Nakshatra
YSS Resurgence
Kyoto, Planet Yamatai
Evening
It was a crisp and cold night on the 35th of Kugatsu, the last day of the year. The YSS Resurgence was now fully repaired, crewed, loaded with fresh provisions, and ready for immediate action, and a new mission, in YE 46. But first it was time to take a last moment to reflect on the events of YE 45.
It was a special occassion, and for this Taisa Aoba promised to give his crew a great view of the fireworks. He had the ship positioned hovering a kilometer off the ground in the skies over the megacity of Kyoto, so that the city lights were visible through the wardroom's floor windows, and the new years fireworks could be seen from the ship without obstruction from the thick, armored dorsal hatches in the ship's hull. Aoba had also minimized the number of crew officially "on duty," to himself and Gabriela, who didn't drink anyway, so that it was within regulations to have a bit of champagne.
Wardroom
Cassie sat near the edge of the window looking at the crowds in the streets below. "I've never seen the city like this before," she told everyone. "Look at all the glowing communicators." Next to her, Bidole the beetle buddy was looking out the window as well.
Rossa passed out teriyaki chicken on a stick to everyone. "I made some street food," she grinned. Julix followed with some nachos and hot wings. "I made some party food!" he added.
Poppy curled up in a booth seat with her legs sideways across Pidole's lap, as Pidole closed her eyes and watched the view from the insect's perspective.
Euikoshi and Norita were notably absent, as they had concocted a variety of homemade high-powered fireworks and were basically confined to the safety of the armory until it was time to shoot them off.
Kalena, dressed in a comfy sweater, sat in a chair by the big evergreen yule tree in the corner of the room, which was decorated with festive lights and even a few ornaments (the Resurgence only had a handful so far). Beneath it was a pile of wrapped presents. She sipped a hot cocoa and gave a contented smile.
With a great deal of excitement, Yuri entered and found her seat so that she could watch the show. "wowee!' she couldnt help but say as she watched the show and the environment around her. She remembered seeing views like this before but not like this so it felt amazing and new.
Yayoi entered soon after her daughter. Before she joined her, she glanced at the environment around her.
Sakuko and Beryl passed out a holiday kit to anyone who didn't already get one. The kits were full of supplies like hot cocoa mix, chocolates, and a random ornament to add to the tree. Even though they weren't home, the Star Army had hoped to give all its soldiers a good time.
Yuri smiled as she was passed a holiday kit by Sakuko and Beryl. "thanks!" she said happily to the kind beautiful women, and glanced towards the kits for a moment.
Erika had laid out on the booth accros from Poppy and Pidole. Her head was sticking out over the side so she could watch the people below milling about as they waited for the show to start. She looked at the others who had opted for a more festive thick jumper, thinking it wasn't any where near cold enough on board to warrant one.
"Now this, Rossa," Mineko said to the chef as she pointed to the chicken on a stick she had just taken a bite out of. "All I want for the holidays is more of this."
"Nothing like the end of a year to make you feel nostalgic and sentimental," Poppy observed.
Yayoi nodded her head to Poppy's statements. Silently she glanced towards Yuri noting how happy she seemed to be, which inwardly pleased her.
"We did a ton this year," Poppy grinned. "We responded to the terrorist attack on Gashmere, I went to the Love Day in Kaiko park, we found the YSS Wakaba, hoverboarded on the beach in Yumiuki, went through a new wormhole and explored that huge, creepy station, rescued a frozen alien civilization...visited the Kakushi Nekoba. I got my degree, won a starship, gave it to the Star Army and got a soda named after me in return, raided a secret NMX base, and went to the Yule festival on Pisces. That's a lot of running around the galaxy!"
"Does seem like its been once crisis after another since I joined." Erika commented. "Missed out on a few of those though. Still discovering an ancient wormhole network was kind of wild. And 'civilian' Misshu."
"Ya! We did a lot of amazing things, and made new friends!" Yuri said happily. Her smile widened as she heard Kakushi Nekoba mentioned. She could tell how happy it made her mother to have people go to her bar. "Mom was happy when everyone went to the Kakushi Nekoba!" she said happily, then turned. "Right mom!?" she asked.
Yayoi blinked and nodded her head as she was suddenly asked a question. "It was...nice" she couldnt help but say.
Yoshiro was watching the festivities around the wardroom and smiled. This whole thing reminded him of holidays with his family. He had helped save fellow soldiers and help save a group of people that were frozen in time.
"Rescuing the Seelies really stands out to me as another mission this year I couldn't have done without. It felt good to get my feet wet, but also help some people that couldn't help themselves." Mineko said, adding on to Poppy's list. "Anyone else have any memories from this year to reminisce on?"
"Well I got to transfer to the greatest ship in the fleet. I am learning how to command a group of soliders and I am inspired to be a pilot which I started to train in when I was on the first Aeon." Yoshiro said in response to Mineko and smiled "I am glad that I transferred here. I believe that this is the greatest ship in all of the galaxy. Got promoted to Joto Heisho and am going to learn how to command better." Yoshiro smiled at the memories of his adventures in the Star Army.
A new face in the wardroom simply stuck to her own devices in a corner of the room, calmly looking down into the window at the celebrations taking place below them. Chiheisen had taken to poaching a chair and pulling it to a little corner she could sit at undisturbed to watch the fireworks- the only reason the birb had come to the wardroom in the first place. The Elysian wasn't a big fan of parties or... Social interaction in general, but at the very least she enjoyed shiny colorful explosions to some degree. She simply sipped on a glass of hot cocoa as she stared outside.
Erika lingered in the booth, her eyes drifting across the wardroom. She noticed the new face, Chiheisen, comfortably ensconced in her own little corner. The operative slid off the front of the booth like a snake and preformed a fluid tuck and roll to get to her feet. She walked over to Chiheisen. "I think I've seen your plumage wandering around the ship but not had the chance to say hey. I'm Erika. One of the two Spooks on the ship." She said, offering a hand.
Chiheisen double-taked as her attention was suddenly snapped away from the fireworks, and to the Nekovalkyria in front of her! The elysian squinted as her eyes trailed from Erika’s snow white hair all the way down to her extended hand, reaching out towards the birb, inviting her into a handshake. She let out a tiny sigh as she extended her hand and took the handshake, knowing it was futile to simply attempt to ignore a neko. “Takahashi, Chiheisen. Santo Hei” Came her rather dry introduction…
Erika leant forward with a knowing smile. Even if it wasn't part of her occupation to read tells and body language, the operative would have known she'd just invaded Chiheisen's personal space. "I'll be honest, I'm a bit of the same way." She said with a conspiritorial whisper "Right now I'd rather be reading a book or doing some studies. But we're a team, its important to get along. So try not to sound too dissapointed when someone tries to be friendly with you. Still, want me to go? We can complete introductions some other time, or I can just access your file." There was no malice in Eirka's words, her offer to respect Chiheisen's space was genuine.
Chiheisen blinked as she looked up at the Nekovalkyria once more, slightly surprised at what she had to say. The Elysian took a moment to respond… Yes, she was hesitant to socialize, but she also didn't want to be an ass to a crewmember she had just met. Although she didnt say it, she recognized the importance of having good relations with teammates. “Understood… you can stay if you wish.”
"Not what I meant." Erika said, giving the Elysian's hand a gentle tug. "Come on, mingle. Fireworks aren't long, you can duck out if you feel overwhelmed."
Chiheisen gave up as she realized resistance was probably futile. The Elysian got up from the chair as she was encouragingly tugged, her wings shifting a bit behind her.
"I got married." Sanda said as she entered the wardroom with Trowa. The two had just returned from their leave with their Clan. She was absolutly glowing still from the whirlwind wedding that had taken place. First Caffran had suprised her by coming to Yamatai and asking her to marry her that holiday. Then the Empress of Yamatai no less had bought her a wedding dress. Finally, she had gone to Caffran's Clan and was married by the old man himself, the Dragon of Nepleslia. The old ID-sol had to be almost 100 years old!
Trowa, Sanda's brother in law had been just tickled to see his wife's sister married. And to his cosin no less! His little girl had been the flower girl in the wedding and it had really warmed his heart to see his whole clan there. Even Thomas, who had been missing aboard the Wakaba had been found and with some more attetions to the Clan.
"There she is!" Cassie grinned, pointing at Sanda. "You know there's not many of us on the ship who aren't single," she observed. "Hey, show us the ring!"
"Hey I am single!" Yoshiro said with a laugh. "and congratulations to you Sanda-heisho." He said as he sat down with his hot cocoa.
"Congrats Sanda!" Erika called out over the crew "Where was my invite! How come I wasn't the Maid of Honor?" She continued her inflection still playful.
"I think it was one of those small, private type things," Cassie said, spinning her tree ornament around her finger. "Right?"
"Small? The whole Canterbury Clan was there! Just 40 some people. Plus several crew from the various ships my new family command. There had to have been over 100." Sanda looked at Erika and laughed. She had been laughing a lot lately and couldn't stop. "I invited the whole Resurgence crew. But Maid of Honor had to go to my sister Estrella for not killing me all those years ago." She held up her hand to reviele a ring that literally shown with light. It was a dark band with what looked like streak of endless lightning going around it, not a suprise to anyone.
Yuri looked over and spotted Sanda there, and hurried over to her side. "congrats! Aunt Sanda!' she said before Yayoi could offer her own congratulatory words
"One minute!" Colby Wando announced. "Get ready for the fireworks!" One of the cooks set up a volumetric countdown over each of the wardroom tables.
Yoshiro sat and sipped his cocoa and looked out the window. Feeling a bit out of the conversation he just sat quietly and decided to watch the fireworks. He was finding this to be his family away from his family.
"Everyone find someone to kiss," Poppy joked. But Pidole puckered her lips, which made Poppy blush a little. "Oh!"
"Thirty seconds!"
Yuri frowned that she had no one to kiss, not realizing that Poppy was joking. She knew her mother wouldnt like the display of affection out in public.
"Were not all as loose with our affections Poppy!" Erika said, attempting to give everyone an out.
"I've done enough kissing to last me awhile." Sanda said quietly, blushing as she did so.
"Ew, Sanda, we don't need to hear how babies are made," Mineko followed by saying. She was finding anywhere for her eyes to look besides the seat Pidole and Poppy were on, though.
Cassie cackled at Mineko's remarks, having a lot of fun. She grabbed a glass of champagne as Julia Meadow, one of the ship's caretakers, went around handing them out.
Yoshiro just sighed, having no relationship as of yet. He hoped that it would be soon but for now he was content to be who and where he was.
"wait, babies are made just by kissing!?" Yuri asked with a shocked expression on her face. Behind her, was a hard slap sound as Yayoi slapped her own face in exasperation at her daughters words. She'd made sure Yuri had all of the information so she knew that Yuri was being goofy.
Yoshiro laughed at Yuri's statment. "I don't think that is how it works." He said to Yuri.
Looking to Yuri, Mineko nodded, "If you get married before, they do."
Chiheisen’s expression as she listened to this chaos could only truly be described as ‘What the [beep] is going on here…”
"Ten...nine...eight...seven..." the crew began to count as the timers neared zero. At the stroke of midnight, Yamatai time, the skies of Kyoto came alive with thousands of fireworks, lightshow drones, and all manner of volumetric projections, completely blanketing the sky in colorful displays one after another.
YE 46.1
The Elysian’s eyes trailed to the window as she waited for the explosion of color that was presumably about to take place directly below them. As unsocial and generally unfun as she was, the countdown was too difficult for her to simply elude, the birb beginning to countdown in unison with the crew. She sounded a little monotone… but at least she’s trying okay??? She let a tiny smirk as the city below them was engulfed in a lightshow. To them it was the conclusion of what had been a pretty packed year. To her, it was a start.
Yoshiro looked to the fireworks display that was about to start and smiled. All that he had done, what he had sacrificed and what he had gotten in return made him tear up and sob a bit in happiness..
As the timer reached zero, Yuri turned and gave Poppy a hug unexpectedly. "thanks for everything you've taught me, and will teach thus far, Poppy-sempai!" she said with a smile before releasing her.
Poppy returned the hug with warm affection, glad her medical assistant was happy. She then toasted her drink and downed it and smooched her old roomate Pidole.
Trowa moved over to Yoshiro with two glasses of champain. He handed one to the younger man then held his up in a toast. "To family." He said simply.
"To family." Yoshiro said in return and toasted as well. Trowa had been a good commander and an even better friend. Yoshiro had been rough around the edges when he first started as a santo hei and he had helped a lot.
Yayoi watched the display outside the ship as the fire works and light show was shown to them.
Sanda laughed at Yuri as she moved over to Yayoi, her fellow Ranger. She put her arm around her Hermana and whispered. "I'm not ready to be a mother just yet. I haven't made Joto Heisho yet and I'm not a Neko so it'd be a long pregnacy and there is no way I could leave my kid to grow up without her mom around. Besides." She glanced around the room conspiritorialy. "We both know this ship would be doomed without us here."
Cassie had never seen such a beautiful fireworks display. She was in awe. There were even volumetric "THANK YOU STAR ARMY" displays and animations of a Mishhu getting drop-kicked by a giant Mindy armor. Incredibly, someone down below had found the Resurgence and aimed a huge spotlight at her flag-colored hull, making the ship part of the festivities.
Yayoi turned her head as Sanda had arrived at her side, momentarily distracting her from the light show. As she listened to her whispering into her ear, Yayoi did something unexpected that could potentially spell doom. She actually smiled yes out right smiled as Sanda spoke to her. "you'd make a good mother to any kid, whether son or daughter, they'd be one that is disciplined and polite. Plus if you had, knowing Yuri she'd want to baby sit. But you are correct, even with Thad no longer being on board, the ship is doomed without us." Yayoi told Sanda.
Yoshiro laughed at the volumetric Mindy armor drop kicking the Mishhu. He was happy that he had survived his first tour and was ready to start again. He had joined to protect his fellow crewmates and those that he loved. He reaffirmed the fact that he wanted and needed to do this and swore to do his best, this time around.
Up on the top of the ship, Euikoshi and Norita loaded their makeshift firework torpedoes into the ship's rollbar launchers and fired them. The sky around the Resurgence began bursting with dozens of super bright purple Kikyo flower shaped fireworks, creating an impressive display that was very close to the ship's armored hull.
"Are you kidding? Any kid I had would probably wind up like me. Wild and reckless early in life. And worse of all, their stealth potential is through the roof. I'm good, but Caff is even better. My kid would get in trouble all the time and we'd never be able find them for any punishment." Sanda laughed as she watched the fireworks with her friend.
Yayoi grinned once more as Sanda spoke, and turned her head to the fireworks. "Remind me to show you some memories in the VR about a certain little neko's antics." she said to Sanda as she watched.
Erika simply looked done, the exploding colours reflected in her eyes. Upon her face was a soft, contented smile. She didn't say anything, content to simply watch for a moment.
Rossa, standing by the window, watched the fireworks with a sense of accomplishment. She turned to Julix, who was beside her, and remarked, "This view, these people, it's all worth the effort we put into our work, isn't it?"
Julix nodded, his eyes also fixed on the sky. "Absolutely. It's moments like these that remind us why we do what we do."
Taisa Aoba came down from the ship's bridge to celebrate with the crew for a moment. He looked over his crew with a proud smile. He raised his glass for a toast, "To the brave souls of the Resurgence, may YE 46 bring us more adventures and closer bonds."
Euikoshi and Norita, having successfully launched their homemade fireworks, joined the others in the wardroom. "What did you think?" Euikoshi asked with a huge grin.
Yayoi and Yuri lifted their glasses as their captain made a toast. Yuri turns to Euikoshi and grinned "it was amazing!:
"To YE 46!" Doctor Poppy raised her glass. "May your mental backups go unneeded," she laughed.
"Here's to that!" Cassie nodded.
The Elysian eyed the rest of the crew as they did the toast, looking down at her own drink… Chiheisen hesitantly followed along with them, although instead of alcohol, she raised her hot cocoa instead.
"And our rectums unprobed!" Erika said, giving Poppy a sly look.
"Speak for yourself," Cassie told Erika. "I'm into that," she added quite quietly.
"No, no," Mineko said, bumping shoulders with the other SAINT agent as she came over to her and the new santo hei. "Erika's on to something there."
Chiheisen's purple eyes simply darted between Erika and Mineko as she approached... "....whh...." She just simply couldnt manage to form words after hearing that exchange.
Erika leant over to Chiheisen's ear, "If Doctor Poppy asks you to do anything weird when she does your medical, you can say no." she whispered.
Yayoi's eye twitched at Erika and Cassie's conversation dangerously.
As the night progressed, the crew members shared stories, reminisced about their adventures, and made plans for the future. The atmosphere was warm and jovial, a fitting end to a year filled with challenges and triumphs.
The fireworks outside continued to blaze in the sky, a dazzling array of colors and shapes that reflected the spirit of the Resurgence and its crew. It was a night of celebration, a night of reflection, and above all, a night of togetherness.
As the last of the fireworks faded into the night, the crew of the YSS Resurgence stood together, a united front ready to face whatever challenges YE 46 might bring. With a sense of renewed purpose and camaraderie, they looked forward to the adventures that lay ahead, knowing that together, they could overcome anything.
= = =
JP END
Charaa, Wes, Ame, Cowboy, Soban, Zanven, Yoshiro, Sunny D, Nakshatra
