- RP Date
- 46.2
- RP Location
- YSS Nozomi II
YE 46.2
YSS Nozomi II
Irim's City
Yamatai System
Familiar, yet entirely new, the sleek, low slung raindrop, with its distinctive, forked bow, it was the latest and greatest from Ketsurui Fleet Yards. And, it was packed with a curation of the newest and most advanced systems from KFY and other major manufacturers who worked tirelessly on behalf of the Empire and its Star Army.
The two soldiers on guard came to attention as the VIP party approached the gangway, followed by deep, respectul bows as they parted to admit the group.
Taisho Yui, commander of the Star Army arrived, accompanying the Empress of Yamatai, her Imperial Majesty Himiko I, along with a reasonable sized group of yeomen and retainers and some SANDRA reporters. Yui was a green-haired Nekovalkyrja with cat-like years and red eyes, dressed in her Class A Type 35 duty uniform, while Himiko was wearing a regal blue kimono with a hime-cut hairstyle with a hairpiece that was full of little Star Army starships and bellflowers.
The docking port door opened, revealing a similar, but longer hallway through the open end of the airlock than in the preceding class of ship. The enlarged nacelle areas added about 10 meters onto each side, making the transverse passageway that much longer. The new ship retained the Palace-Style hallways of the Nozomi, their rich blue carpeting and warm, deep wooden trim looking just like the palace that Empress Himiko had left behind to come here.
The test crew for the space trial was lined up in the hallway, all at attention, with the Captain and First Officer at the end of the receiving line. They were all primed and ready for inspection, and, despite inherent Nekovalkyrja cool, it was apparent there was a lot of pressure, worn with little to hide it on their faces as they waited for the Empress and her entourage to pass.
Yui led the way, boarding the YSS Nozomi II and looking around as she went. She immediately recognized some changes to the layout compared to the YSS Nozomi, which had been her command back when she was a ship captain, but there were a lot of familiar elements as well. She stopped in front of the ship's commanders to offer a handshake. "At ease," she said, extending her hand. "I've invited her Imperial Majesty to join us for a tour," she said. The Empress gave a smile.
The crew relaxed in unison, just as they had come to attention that way, doubtlessly drilled over and over before the visitation. Indeed, the layout of this main deck was mostly the same, with the most salient difference being the stairs and lift off to the forward side promising access to a second deck the original lacked: it only took a small tweak to the design to fit it in. The angled hallway led to the bridge, just as it had in the original.
The captain who brought the ship to port, a blue-skinned-and-haired Nekovalkyrja that almost disappeared against the carpeting stepped forward out of the line and bowed to Yui. "Chūsa Arisaka Jun, Mistress Taishō. The YSS Nozomi II is at your command, Mistress Taishō." She avoided looking directly at Himiko, clearly an object of reverence among the all-Nekovalkyrja crew assembled, as did the rest.
"Very well, can you give us a tour of the ship?" Yui asked Chusa Arisaka. "I'd like to see all the changes in the new version of my old scout."
"Hai, Mistre.ss Taishō!" Arisaka's heels clicked, so fast she came to attention. After a brief hold, she gestured towards the lift and stairs, conveniently designed to allow Nekos to float up instead of walking. "Let's start with the biggest change, then, shall we? New engines are a bit more subtle."
Yui nodded, following along with the Empress in tow, and reporters trying to get some good footage of them looking at the ship, which wasn't easy considering the ship's corridors and especially the stair-ladders just weren't extremely wide since this was a small scount vessel.
"Efficient" is a charitable way to describe the Nozomi II. It made very good use of what little space it had, but many compromises had to be made. At the top of the stair-ladder, there was a small observation area that overlooked the power armor bay facing aft. The telltale rib of the Type 27 torpedo tube, that ran along the ceiling of the bridge and shuttle bay of the Nozomi was, likely as expected, visible on this deck instead.
"The upper section was raised by about two and a half meters, allowing this second deck to be built. The infantry squads' barracks are now located adjacent to the power armor bays, allowing them to scramble instantly, even from rest," the temporary-Captain Chusa explained. Leading everyone down the corridor, Arisaka pointedly ignored a reporter's question about what was behind the central door leading forward on the half-length upper deck.
"I like the idea of shortened response times," Yui nodded. "The addition of a new level makes a big difference in the amount of rooms on the ship," she observed.
"The power armor bays are in the same place, just raised one level, and slightly larger to accomodate a better work area for repairs and maintenance." Arisaka indicated the hallway running aft, across from the unspoken door, "Each barracks houses two power armor squads." The route took the group athwartships, to the lift at the other side. "There's less to see here than on other decks, even if it is the most obvious change." The Chusa's last comment was less than satisfying to the reporters whose inquiries about the other door were ignored, as apparent on their faces.
"The magazine is sealed and fully automated, except for the small area for excess personal and power armor ordnance, and generally only entered by maintenance technicians, and not safe to take this tour group into. The updated machinery is capable of launching the new Shipboard Blazing Comets as well as the both light and heavy variants of the Chōryu subsurface munition, and an array of probes, drones, and satellites such as the new Type 43 Science Drone. Back down, and we can begin to go over the updated facilities."
Yui took a moment to look into one of the cabins to see how tightly the bed was made. "And it's got a blow-out panel like the Sakura?" Yui asked on the way back down.
"The magazine features all of the most current safety and contingency systems, based on the standard Star Army magazine," replied Arisaka Jun.
Peeking into the barracks revealed the new Type 45 bunks, an OHI-contracted system that featured a lot of development by Yugumo Fleetworks. The three-by-three stack of durandium pods with their privacy canopies opened recalled a Kyoto capsule hotel. The beds weren't just tightly made– they were still in the wrappers they shipped with. The infantry barracks had its own shower and head in the rear, its entrance just visible from the doorway.
Once everyone was back on the main deck, Yui gestured for the tour to continue.
Coming down the other side of the ship, the tour passed the recreation facility. "As an improvement over the prior class, the recreation room features the same Universal Hemosynthetic Fabrication System and solid volumetrics projectors as the rest of the ship, with a bit more capability, in order to rapidly reconfigure it for various purposes such as workouts or social events." To demonstrate, Chusa Arisaka held out her hand, and, at her wieless signature a small dumbbell appeared almost instantly in her hand. "The Nodal Liquid Conduit System and UHFS, working in concert with the volumetrics systems, helps this ship make the most of limited space through versaility." The dumbbell de-rezzed itself, vanishing into barely-visible utlity fog. "It is a significant improvement over prior nodal and hemosynthetic systems."
The tour came to the fork, aft heading to Engineering, forward to the small craft bay, or bypassing it through the subdeck passage, and straight ahead was the bridge.
"We will route through engineering, loop around, and then forward on the other side through the crew areas," Arisaka announced once the juncture had been reached. To the right, aft, was the hallway that passed by the First Officer's cabin and then into the sternmost section of the ship housing the engineering bay and the ship's power and propulsion systems.
With a satisfying, electronic blorp to herald her arrival, the ship's MEGAMI avatar appeared, courtesy of the ubiquitously ship-wide solid volumetrics system. Nozomi Futaba, with pale, almost grey skin, and pale green hair looked very much as if she were perhaps a sister of the current Nozomi's commander, Kessaku Eris. She projected, as an outfit, an elegant regal blue kimono that was a much less ornate, more humble version of the Empress's, one that tastefully complemented it thoroughly while demurely not competing with it at all, and the same for the hairpiece that kept hers in an elegant, formal bun. Over the heart was a full-dress Taii rank pin. She fell into step with the group after a deep and formal bow to Her Imperial Highness.
The Empress bowed in return. "We are grateful for your service to the Empire," she told Nozomi , as she and Taisho Yui continued looking around at the brand new ship and its features. "Emission-shields heavy duty aether generators," Yui observed. She liked ships with plenty of power.
The trip through Engineering was brief, as there was precious little in it deemed safe enough to bring the Empress into close proximity. The avatar was beaming happily at Her gracious praise, and, replied, very proudly, at Yui's remarks. "Yes, I have a heavy duty Aether generator by Geshrinari, usually for a size class up, and not only the usual accompanying fusion plant, but also an auxiliary Quantum Foam. My engines," she gestured to port and starboard, "are the latest multi-stage turbo Aether plasma models, an iteration above the current multi-stage aether plasma drives in use." She seemed to be very, very proud indeed, and it is possible she scaled the size of her projected avatar by about five percent larger.
Exiting Engineering on the other side took the tour group past life support's upper level as they exited, then forward down the main corridor, rounding the bridge area, and to the entrance to the shuttle bay.
"The small craft bay is ever so slightly larger, but the real feature is that the ship was made deeper in the belly to accommodate a full half-height subdeck rather than a crawlspace. We will walk through the shuttle bay, and return through the subdeck." The demonstration crew's captain led them onward, and into the small craft bay, which was, despite the fact it was stocked with brand-new Ke-T10 shuttles, much the same, despite Arisaka's insistence it was a bit longer front to rear.
Nozomi Futaba did not look pleased at being called "deeper in the belly," but withheld comment.
On the other side of the shuttle bay, the crew area was, by contrast, observably longer.
"The redundant crew complement areas were unified and made just a bit larger. The Nozomi-II features a somewhat larger crew with the addition of a team of technicians and support personnel as standard, in addition to more or less the same officer complement of the predecessor." Arisaka Jun explained as they came to the turn in the passageway by the larger bath and shower area, with its onsen theme fitting in perfectly with the Palace-style passageway. "And the laundry is much the same, there's only one, but it's larger. Same with the head here at the end of the central part, directly across from the crew bunks, and, as you can see, the medical bay and science laboratory are enlarged, with the pilot's room moved to the other end of the crew compartment. Again, like the power army pilot barracks, this gives them immediate access to the small craft bay for reduced deployment times, and there is still room for one additional officer quarters, for special personnel such as a counselor, or a VIP passenger."
Down into the subdeck, which was, despite MEGAMI's objections, quite deep, as advertised.
"In the room behind us is the Ke-D2-W4000 Shock Cannon, also used on the Yui-7 and Chiaki 1B, a scaled down version of the Ke-S3-W3900 used on the Fuji, and a relative of the Ke-S3-W4000 used on the Plumeria-E." Jun continued, "Here, also on the starboard side as well, are expansion areas used to customize the ship for mission specializations. Watch your step, Your Majesty, as we come back up the stairs and here we are, just a bit farther down, the heart of the ship, the bridge."
"ADMIRAL ON DECK!" Arisaka announced loudly. The crew who had been in the reception line but not on the tour were here standing, at their stations, and, once again, all came to attention together.
"Carry on," Yui grinned, making a circle around the edges of the bridge. She remembered when she was just a Taisa and starship captain back in the days where the Star Army was just getting formed to replace the remnants of the Uesureyan Empire's Spacy.
Entering the bridge, it was the Type 40, but rearranged, and Chusa Arisaka explained, "Liaison and Systems were moved to the rear, doctrine for the ship having an Analyst in the former and the engineering officer in the latter, and there being two piloting stations up front, with one focusing on navigation, and the other, tactical."
Tellingly, the first officer sat down at the Liaison Station, and captain went to the Mission Operations and Communications Station. Neither went to the Command Station. The implication was clear.
Yui took a seat in the captain's chair while the Empress and her small entourage found a spot at the side of the bridge where they could see all the action.
"Helm, request undocking clearance. Close and seal all exterior hatches and retract all docking cables and umbilicals. Set course for the exit doors and, when able, take us out into open space," Taisho Yui ordered. "Configure the ship's transponder to show this is now an active duty Star Army commissioned ship in service. Bring all power systems to cruising levels and set readiness condition 3 throughout the ship."
"Hai Taishō!" The crew acted in unison, after responding the same way. Arisaka, at the comms station, flipped the active status, relaying the information aand request to the control tower. Both helm operators, navigation and tactical, began undocking checks, and began the sequence proper once cleared.
"Condition Three," announced Arisaka, as the undocked ship began to maneuver, with the inertial dampers engaging so it felt like less than a car pulling away from a curb.
"Under Taishō's command. Transferred." MEGAMI stated, through her avatar, seated at the Systems station, a position ironic in its redundancy, "Cruising power."
The ship passed the doors of Irim's City, and out into the black beyond.
YSS Nozomi II
Irim's City
Yamatai System
Familiar, yet entirely new, the sleek, low slung raindrop, with its distinctive, forked bow, it was the latest and greatest from Ketsurui Fleet Yards. And, it was packed with a curation of the newest and most advanced systems from KFY and other major manufacturers who worked tirelessly on behalf of the Empire and its Star Army.
The two soldiers on guard came to attention as the VIP party approached the gangway, followed by deep, respectul bows as they parted to admit the group.
Taisho Yui, commander of the Star Army arrived, accompanying the Empress of Yamatai, her Imperial Majesty Himiko I, along with a reasonable sized group of yeomen and retainers and some SANDRA reporters. Yui was a green-haired Nekovalkyrja with cat-like years and red eyes, dressed in her Class A Type 35 duty uniform, while Himiko was wearing a regal blue kimono with a hime-cut hairstyle with a hairpiece that was full of little Star Army starships and bellflowers.
The docking port door opened, revealing a similar, but longer hallway through the open end of the airlock than in the preceding class of ship. The enlarged nacelle areas added about 10 meters onto each side, making the transverse passageway that much longer. The new ship retained the Palace-Style hallways of the Nozomi, their rich blue carpeting and warm, deep wooden trim looking just like the palace that Empress Himiko had left behind to come here.
The test crew for the space trial was lined up in the hallway, all at attention, with the Captain and First Officer at the end of the receiving line. They were all primed and ready for inspection, and, despite inherent Nekovalkyrja cool, it was apparent there was a lot of pressure, worn with little to hide it on their faces as they waited for the Empress and her entourage to pass.
Yui led the way, boarding the YSS Nozomi II and looking around as she went. She immediately recognized some changes to the layout compared to the YSS Nozomi, which had been her command back when she was a ship captain, but there were a lot of familiar elements as well. She stopped in front of the ship's commanders to offer a handshake. "At ease," she said, extending her hand. "I've invited her Imperial Majesty to join us for a tour," she said. The Empress gave a smile.
The crew relaxed in unison, just as they had come to attention that way, doubtlessly drilled over and over before the visitation. Indeed, the layout of this main deck was mostly the same, with the most salient difference being the stairs and lift off to the forward side promising access to a second deck the original lacked: it only took a small tweak to the design to fit it in. The angled hallway led to the bridge, just as it had in the original.
The captain who brought the ship to port, a blue-skinned-and-haired Nekovalkyrja that almost disappeared against the carpeting stepped forward out of the line and bowed to Yui. "Chūsa Arisaka Jun, Mistress Taishō. The YSS Nozomi II is at your command, Mistress Taishō." She avoided looking directly at Himiko, clearly an object of reverence among the all-Nekovalkyrja crew assembled, as did the rest.
"Very well, can you give us a tour of the ship?" Yui asked Chusa Arisaka. "I'd like to see all the changes in the new version of my old scout."
"Hai, Mistre.ss Taishō!" Arisaka's heels clicked, so fast she came to attention. After a brief hold, she gestured towards the lift and stairs, conveniently designed to allow Nekos to float up instead of walking. "Let's start with the biggest change, then, shall we? New engines are a bit more subtle."
Yui nodded, following along with the Empress in tow, and reporters trying to get some good footage of them looking at the ship, which wasn't easy considering the ship's corridors and especially the stair-ladders just weren't extremely wide since this was a small scount vessel.
"Efficient" is a charitable way to describe the Nozomi II. It made very good use of what little space it had, but many compromises had to be made. At the top of the stair-ladder, there was a small observation area that overlooked the power armor bay facing aft. The telltale rib of the Type 27 torpedo tube, that ran along the ceiling of the bridge and shuttle bay of the Nozomi was, likely as expected, visible on this deck instead.
"The upper section was raised by about two and a half meters, allowing this second deck to be built. The infantry squads' barracks are now located adjacent to the power armor bays, allowing them to scramble instantly, even from rest," the temporary-Captain Chusa explained. Leading everyone down the corridor, Arisaka pointedly ignored a reporter's question about what was behind the central door leading forward on the half-length upper deck.
"I like the idea of shortened response times," Yui nodded. "The addition of a new level makes a big difference in the amount of rooms on the ship," she observed.
"The power armor bays are in the same place, just raised one level, and slightly larger to accomodate a better work area for repairs and maintenance." Arisaka indicated the hallway running aft, across from the unspoken door, "Each barracks houses two power armor squads." The route took the group athwartships, to the lift at the other side. "There's less to see here than on other decks, even if it is the most obvious change." The Chusa's last comment was less than satisfying to the reporters whose inquiries about the other door were ignored, as apparent on their faces.
"The magazine is sealed and fully automated, except for the small area for excess personal and power armor ordnance, and generally only entered by maintenance technicians, and not safe to take this tour group into. The updated machinery is capable of launching the new Shipboard Blazing Comets as well as the both light and heavy variants of the Chōryu subsurface munition, and an array of probes, drones, and satellites such as the new Type 43 Science Drone. Back down, and we can begin to go over the updated facilities."
Yui took a moment to look into one of the cabins to see how tightly the bed was made. "And it's got a blow-out panel like the Sakura?" Yui asked on the way back down.
"The magazine features all of the most current safety and contingency systems, based on the standard Star Army magazine," replied Arisaka Jun.
Peeking into the barracks revealed the new Type 45 bunks, an OHI-contracted system that featured a lot of development by Yugumo Fleetworks. The three-by-three stack of durandium pods with their privacy canopies opened recalled a Kyoto capsule hotel. The beds weren't just tightly made– they were still in the wrappers they shipped with. The infantry barracks had its own shower and head in the rear, its entrance just visible from the doorway.
Once everyone was back on the main deck, Yui gestured for the tour to continue.
Coming down the other side of the ship, the tour passed the recreation facility. "As an improvement over the prior class, the recreation room features the same Universal Hemosynthetic Fabrication System and solid volumetrics projectors as the rest of the ship, with a bit more capability, in order to rapidly reconfigure it for various purposes such as workouts or social events." To demonstrate, Chusa Arisaka held out her hand, and, at her wieless signature a small dumbbell appeared almost instantly in her hand. "The Nodal Liquid Conduit System and UHFS, working in concert with the volumetrics systems, helps this ship make the most of limited space through versaility." The dumbbell de-rezzed itself, vanishing into barely-visible utlity fog. "It is a significant improvement over prior nodal and hemosynthetic systems."
The tour came to the fork, aft heading to Engineering, forward to the small craft bay, or bypassing it through the subdeck passage, and straight ahead was the bridge.
"We will route through engineering, loop around, and then forward on the other side through the crew areas," Arisaka announced once the juncture had been reached. To the right, aft, was the hallway that passed by the First Officer's cabin and then into the sternmost section of the ship housing the engineering bay and the ship's power and propulsion systems.
With a satisfying, electronic blorp to herald her arrival, the ship's MEGAMI avatar appeared, courtesy of the ubiquitously ship-wide solid volumetrics system. Nozomi Futaba, with pale, almost grey skin, and pale green hair looked very much as if she were perhaps a sister of the current Nozomi's commander, Kessaku Eris. She projected, as an outfit, an elegant regal blue kimono that was a much less ornate, more humble version of the Empress's, one that tastefully complemented it thoroughly while demurely not competing with it at all, and the same for the hairpiece that kept hers in an elegant, formal bun. Over the heart was a full-dress Taii rank pin. She fell into step with the group after a deep and formal bow to Her Imperial Highness.
The Empress bowed in return. "We are grateful for your service to the Empire," she told Nozomi , as she and Taisho Yui continued looking around at the brand new ship and its features. "Emission-shields heavy duty aether generators," Yui observed. She liked ships with plenty of power.
The trip through Engineering was brief, as there was precious little in it deemed safe enough to bring the Empress into close proximity. The avatar was beaming happily at Her gracious praise, and, replied, very proudly, at Yui's remarks. "Yes, I have a heavy duty Aether generator by Geshrinari, usually for a size class up, and not only the usual accompanying fusion plant, but also an auxiliary Quantum Foam. My engines," she gestured to port and starboard, "are the latest multi-stage turbo Aether plasma models, an iteration above the current multi-stage aether plasma drives in use." She seemed to be very, very proud indeed, and it is possible she scaled the size of her projected avatar by about five percent larger.
Exiting Engineering on the other side took the tour group past life support's upper level as they exited, then forward down the main corridor, rounding the bridge area, and to the entrance to the shuttle bay.
"The small craft bay is ever so slightly larger, but the real feature is that the ship was made deeper in the belly to accommodate a full half-height subdeck rather than a crawlspace. We will walk through the shuttle bay, and return through the subdeck." The demonstration crew's captain led them onward, and into the small craft bay, which was, despite the fact it was stocked with brand-new Ke-T10 shuttles, much the same, despite Arisaka's insistence it was a bit longer front to rear.
Nozomi Futaba did not look pleased at being called "deeper in the belly," but withheld comment.
On the other side of the shuttle bay, the crew area was, by contrast, observably longer.
"The redundant crew complement areas were unified and made just a bit larger. The Nozomi-II features a somewhat larger crew with the addition of a team of technicians and support personnel as standard, in addition to more or less the same officer complement of the predecessor." Arisaka Jun explained as they came to the turn in the passageway by the larger bath and shower area, with its onsen theme fitting in perfectly with the Palace-style passageway. "And the laundry is much the same, there's only one, but it's larger. Same with the head here at the end of the central part, directly across from the crew bunks, and, as you can see, the medical bay and science laboratory are enlarged, with the pilot's room moved to the other end of the crew compartment. Again, like the power army pilot barracks, this gives them immediate access to the small craft bay for reduced deployment times, and there is still room for one additional officer quarters, for special personnel such as a counselor, or a VIP passenger."
Down into the subdeck, which was, despite MEGAMI's objections, quite deep, as advertised.
"In the room behind us is the Ke-D2-W4000 Shock Cannon, also used on the Yui-7 and Chiaki 1B, a scaled down version of the Ke-S3-W3900 used on the Fuji, and a relative of the Ke-S3-W4000 used on the Plumeria-E." Jun continued, "Here, also on the starboard side as well, are expansion areas used to customize the ship for mission specializations. Watch your step, Your Majesty, as we come back up the stairs and here we are, just a bit farther down, the heart of the ship, the bridge."
"ADMIRAL ON DECK!" Arisaka announced loudly. The crew who had been in the reception line but not on the tour were here standing, at their stations, and, once again, all came to attention together.
"Carry on," Yui grinned, making a circle around the edges of the bridge. She remembered when she was just a Taisa and starship captain back in the days where the Star Army was just getting formed to replace the remnants of the Uesureyan Empire's Spacy.
Entering the bridge, it was the Type 40, but rearranged, and Chusa Arisaka explained, "Liaison and Systems were moved to the rear, doctrine for the ship having an Analyst in the former and the engineering officer in the latter, and there being two piloting stations up front, with one focusing on navigation, and the other, tactical."
Tellingly, the first officer sat down at the Liaison Station, and captain went to the Mission Operations and Communications Station. Neither went to the Command Station. The implication was clear.
Yui took a seat in the captain's chair while the Empress and her small entourage found a spot at the side of the bridge where they could see all the action.
"Helm, request undocking clearance. Close and seal all exterior hatches and retract all docking cables and umbilicals. Set course for the exit doors and, when able, take us out into open space," Taisho Yui ordered. "Configure the ship's transponder to show this is now an active duty Star Army commissioned ship in service. Bring all power systems to cruising levels and set readiness condition 3 throughout the ship."
"Hai Taishō!" The crew acted in unison, after responding the same way. Arisaka, at the comms station, flipped the active status, relaying the information aand request to the control tower. Both helm operators, navigation and tactical, began undocking checks, and began the sequence proper once cleared.
"Condition Three," announced Arisaka, as the undocked ship began to maneuver, with the inertial dampers engaging so it felt like less than a car pulling away from a curb.
"Under Taishō's command. Transferred." MEGAMI stated, through her avatar, seated at the Systems station, a position ironic in its redundancy, "Cruising power."
The ship passed the doors of Irim's City, and out into the black beyond.
- OOC Notes
- JP by Yuuki and Wes
