Yoshi
Inactive Member
Captain's conference room
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stepping into her conference room, Seako looked over the side bar. The pitchers of water and juice, along with the thermos of coffee, sat next to the tray of sticky buns and danishes. Grabbing a bun and a cup of coffee she moved to her chair waiting for the other two captains to arrive. Her aide had gotten all of the files she would need pre-programmed for her to bring up. With a smile she was excited to take her ship on it's first real mission under her command. The waiting didn't drag on too long for her. The others, it seemed, were excited as well. Either that, or they were in a hurry to get the briefing over with for their own reasons. Lulu Sharidon was the first to show up, sporting an easy smile and actually managing to keep her uniform top zipped all the way up for the time being. Her retainer-like XO, Honda Kozu, was nowhere in sight and that might have had something to do with her apparent good mood. She'd no more that waltzed in and belted out a cheerful, "Taii Sharidon, reporting as ordered." When the more meek captain of the Casper appeared behind her. Yamatago Mite was a slight Neko, with silver and black hair that ran wild no matter how well she kept it. The tips of her ears were silver as well, and everything about her demeanor rang with the implication given by her silver hair: She was not gold.
Mite bowed deeply at Seako when she entered, choosing not to verbally report her presence but instead to simply show respect before seating herself at one corner of the table to prod meekly at a pitcher of plum juice. Lulu, on the other hand poured herself a generous portion of coffee, filling to the brim the double-sized Bravemart mug she'd brought for this instance before plopping into a chair across from Mite and asking cordially, "So, what's the news, Sea-chan?"
"Good morning captains. Welcome back to the Soyo. I have the Admral's brief here and our mission." Pausing she took a sip of her coffee as she looked over her escort captains. A bold one and a meek one, and yet they took her and her ship out. Pressing a button in the table she brought up a large volumetric screen in the middle of the table. System maps with their trade route linking them showed bright in the air. " As you can see here there are a few of the civy routes blinking red. We have lost, as in they never showed up at their registered destinations, quite a bit of shipping. The task force has been assigned to take a look along the different paths to find the wayward sheep."
She paused long enough to take a little nibble of the sticky bun and a sip of her coffee. "The three of us will be taking this route" She pointed to the line between Tatiana and Min. "We'll start here at Tatiana and start down the lane, dropping out of FTL to make long range scans of the area. Then move on again." She marked a few spots along the way of where they would be dropping out. "Any ideas on how to make this long process move more efficient?"
"I got a few." Replied Lulu. She uncrossed her arms and started to speak, then quickly stopped herself and manipulated the projected map. Skilled fingers darted along the planned scanning areas, marking areas in the vast distance between them and in some cases moving some areas into one another. Her expression was muted, one eye half shut and the tip of her tongue just barely peeking from between pursed lips as she poked and prodded at the volumetric display. While she worked, Mite spoke up.
"If I may, Captain," She said softly, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture, "Do we have any intelligence about what kind of criminals operate in this area? That is to say, we're looking for wayward sheep-- but it would help to know the wolf who hunts them, right?"
"We have a few reports of standard rouge and a couple of pirate ships out in the area, but the big concern is how large the area the ships were disappearing in..." She fell quite not wanting to say it, "But it has to be something a lot more then some podunk pirates." She motioned at the map of the routes that formed a triangle of disappearances pointing with Tatiana and Mur with it's peak up near Essia. "We have no intelligence on a force this far east. If this was out west I would say it might have to do with the Rixxors or what ever they are called." She looked over the new markers Lulu had placed. "Looks like it might help."
"Yeah, whatever they're fucking called..." Lulu echoed the commander while she finished up her adjustments and then leaned back with a look of pride. "Here, check it out. So we move the Soyokaze two steps ahead between every jump and the smaller ships scan quickly while they catch up. Every third scan we're all together, and between those the Soyokaze is no more than two minutes out from the smaller vessels-- that way the two of us can use our speed to get it done quicker while the slower battleship stays nearby, guarding the major jumping-off points. I set it up so that the battleship is usually parked at or near an intersection so they can provide overwatch if there's actual traffic in the area. Should save us a few hours in the long run, and assuming we find nothing we can beat the other task groups back to Fireside for a nice pat on the head and a ten-hour maintenance cycle."
Looking over the plan Seako looked over at Mite. "What do you think of this? You think the Casper could handled being out alone?" Seako knew how capable that ship was, it was her old command.
"I, well, that is, I can't say-- I mean," Mite was absolutely flustered. Her inner-coward battled with her natural desire to impress her superior, "It depends, doesn't it? I mean, well, that is to say-- I should say, rather, that-- Oh, my, it's just so much to consider, though, isn't it? Of course, if you say so I'd do it but-- Without knowing what's out there-- we-- I-- Well--"
"Spit is out dear." Seako calmly prodded her.
"Ah," Mite shriveled in her chair and folded both hands over the top of her head with flattened ears, looking cornered, "It's just that if it's only pirates and the Soyokaze is nearby, I'm sure it would be fine, but the Casper is not built to handle fleet engagements. It's an escort vessel.
"It's a ship-killer if KFY ever made one," Corrected Lulu with a tight-lipped frown of disappointment. "You're just thinking of it wrong. The Chiaki-class is made to get around the enemy and hammer their asses with those canons. Nobody could hit ye', y'practically invincible with speed if you use it right."
Mite just squeezed her head a bit tighter and lowered herself closer to the table.
Seako fought to hide her smirked at the two. "Well keep in mind she is a capable ship. And I'll lone a pair of fighters to each of you to give you a small CAP." She brought up her list of crew. "I have a few pilots and fighters I can send with you. I'll have them use their mag locks controls to mount on the exterior of your ships when you jump between points."
"We actually have our shuttle-bay open," Lulu explained, turning her attention away from the cowering Chui across from her, "We carried fighters back when we were part of Fifth Fleet, but those fighters were sent back to our old flagship, the Doroshi, when we were assigned to Task Force 77. Our mechanics already know how to care for them and everything, so I think it'd be better if we could launch them directly-- save fuel and keep those poor pilots from having to sit in a cockpit doing nothing all day."
"The Casper could maybe also hold some fighters, if we left our shuttles at Fireside." Suggested Mite. Though, she didn't move from her cowed position or the shelter of her intertwined fingers.
"Then That is what we'll do. I'll have the four Hayabusa transferred over with their pilots." She looked at the time and thought, "In about two hours, I want to be able to make our jump in three." Standing up she looked at the pair. "Lets do this, we need to figure this mystery out before we can get back to hunting those squids." She smiled even as she worried if Mite was the right captain for the Casper.
"We oughta be pussy-deep in bad guys or at home before dinner." Lulu sprang out of her chair and practically sang it out, shoving a few pastries into the mag pouch on her utility belt. Then she dropped some cookies into the place where her science scanner was supposed to be. Then she downed way too much coffee for how hot it had to be and filled up her mug one more time before practically skipping out of the room. Three hours was plenty of time for a nap to be fit in somewhere, especially if she made Honda handle the fighter transfer.
Mite was not as happy about it. She just rose, bowed as deeply as she could, and almost whispered her acknowledgement. "I will do as you say, Taisa."
"It isn't so much I want you doing what I say, but I want you to have faith in your ship. She was great when I fought here. Yeah she is small and all but she has teeth almost as big as the Soyo's." Seako stood up and moved over to the tray to see what was left. "I wouldn't have kept you and the Casper as excorts if I didn't think you couldn't handle the job." picking up pile of cookies that were left she wrapped them in a cloth napkin before turning back to Mite. "Take these and go back to your ship. While you are getting her ready for the mission, take a moment and look at the kill tally under her dedication plaque." With a smile she patted the silver neko on her shoulder. "Go to it."
Mite took the cookies in both hands and looked up at Saeko with every ounce of strength she could muster. Five years in the military had supposedly prepared her for the command of her own vessel, and a year as the XO of a larger vessel should have made her confident in her command. However; she was past her contract date, she had a wife to think about, and there was any number of reasons why nothing ever seemed to go right ever since she'd taken charge of the Casper. "Taisa, I will give everything my best effort." She bowed again. "After all, what is life without duty?"
"Junk food and Vid shows...." Seako responded before starting out of the conference room. "Plus most likely we're find nothing and it'll be a long boring set of exercises."
"Let's just hope it is." Said Mite to herself, spreading the napkin in her hands just a little to peer curiously at the cookies within, "Let's just hope it is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stepping into her conference room, Seako looked over the side bar. The pitchers of water and juice, along with the thermos of coffee, sat next to the tray of sticky buns and danishes. Grabbing a bun and a cup of coffee she moved to her chair waiting for the other two captains to arrive. Her aide had gotten all of the files she would need pre-programmed for her to bring up. With a smile she was excited to take her ship on it's first real mission under her command. The waiting didn't drag on too long for her. The others, it seemed, were excited as well. Either that, or they were in a hurry to get the briefing over with for their own reasons. Lulu Sharidon was the first to show up, sporting an easy smile and actually managing to keep her uniform top zipped all the way up for the time being. Her retainer-like XO, Honda Kozu, was nowhere in sight and that might have had something to do with her apparent good mood. She'd no more that waltzed in and belted out a cheerful, "Taii Sharidon, reporting as ordered." When the more meek captain of the Casper appeared behind her. Yamatago Mite was a slight Neko, with silver and black hair that ran wild no matter how well she kept it. The tips of her ears were silver as well, and everything about her demeanor rang with the implication given by her silver hair: She was not gold.
Mite bowed deeply at Seako when she entered, choosing not to verbally report her presence but instead to simply show respect before seating herself at one corner of the table to prod meekly at a pitcher of plum juice. Lulu, on the other hand poured herself a generous portion of coffee, filling to the brim the double-sized Bravemart mug she'd brought for this instance before plopping into a chair across from Mite and asking cordially, "So, what's the news, Sea-chan?"
"Good morning captains. Welcome back to the Soyo. I have the Admral's brief here and our mission." Pausing she took a sip of her coffee as she looked over her escort captains. A bold one and a meek one, and yet they took her and her ship out. Pressing a button in the table she brought up a large volumetric screen in the middle of the table. System maps with their trade route linking them showed bright in the air. " As you can see here there are a few of the civy routes blinking red. We have lost, as in they never showed up at their registered destinations, quite a bit of shipping. The task force has been assigned to take a look along the different paths to find the wayward sheep."
She paused long enough to take a little nibble of the sticky bun and a sip of her coffee. "The three of us will be taking this route" She pointed to the line between Tatiana and Min. "We'll start here at Tatiana and start down the lane, dropping out of FTL to make long range scans of the area. Then move on again." She marked a few spots along the way of where they would be dropping out. "Any ideas on how to make this long process move more efficient?"
"I got a few." Replied Lulu. She uncrossed her arms and started to speak, then quickly stopped herself and manipulated the projected map. Skilled fingers darted along the planned scanning areas, marking areas in the vast distance between them and in some cases moving some areas into one another. Her expression was muted, one eye half shut and the tip of her tongue just barely peeking from between pursed lips as she poked and prodded at the volumetric display. While she worked, Mite spoke up.
"If I may, Captain," She said softly, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture, "Do we have any intelligence about what kind of criminals operate in this area? That is to say, we're looking for wayward sheep-- but it would help to know the wolf who hunts them, right?"
"We have a few reports of standard rouge and a couple of pirate ships out in the area, but the big concern is how large the area the ships were disappearing in..." She fell quite not wanting to say it, "But it has to be something a lot more then some podunk pirates." She motioned at the map of the routes that formed a triangle of disappearances pointing with Tatiana and Mur with it's peak up near Essia. "We have no intelligence on a force this far east. If this was out west I would say it might have to do with the Rixxors or what ever they are called." She looked over the new markers Lulu had placed. "Looks like it might help."
"Yeah, whatever they're fucking called..." Lulu echoed the commander while she finished up her adjustments and then leaned back with a look of pride. "Here, check it out. So we move the Soyokaze two steps ahead between every jump and the smaller ships scan quickly while they catch up. Every third scan we're all together, and between those the Soyokaze is no more than two minutes out from the smaller vessels-- that way the two of us can use our speed to get it done quicker while the slower battleship stays nearby, guarding the major jumping-off points. I set it up so that the battleship is usually parked at or near an intersection so they can provide overwatch if there's actual traffic in the area. Should save us a few hours in the long run, and assuming we find nothing we can beat the other task groups back to Fireside for a nice pat on the head and a ten-hour maintenance cycle."
Looking over the plan Seako looked over at Mite. "What do you think of this? You think the Casper could handled being out alone?" Seako knew how capable that ship was, it was her old command.
"I, well, that is, I can't say-- I mean," Mite was absolutely flustered. Her inner-coward battled with her natural desire to impress her superior, "It depends, doesn't it? I mean, well, that is to say-- I should say, rather, that-- Oh, my, it's just so much to consider, though, isn't it? Of course, if you say so I'd do it but-- Without knowing what's out there-- we-- I-- Well--"
"Spit is out dear." Seako calmly prodded her.
"Ah," Mite shriveled in her chair and folded both hands over the top of her head with flattened ears, looking cornered, "It's just that if it's only pirates and the Soyokaze is nearby, I'm sure it would be fine, but the Casper is not built to handle fleet engagements. It's an escort vessel.
"It's a ship-killer if KFY ever made one," Corrected Lulu with a tight-lipped frown of disappointment. "You're just thinking of it wrong. The Chiaki-class is made to get around the enemy and hammer their asses with those canons. Nobody could hit ye', y'practically invincible with speed if you use it right."
Mite just squeezed her head a bit tighter and lowered herself closer to the table.
Seako fought to hide her smirked at the two. "Well keep in mind she is a capable ship. And I'll lone a pair of fighters to each of you to give you a small CAP." She brought up her list of crew. "I have a few pilots and fighters I can send with you. I'll have them use their mag locks controls to mount on the exterior of your ships when you jump between points."
"We actually have our shuttle-bay open," Lulu explained, turning her attention away from the cowering Chui across from her, "We carried fighters back when we were part of Fifth Fleet, but those fighters were sent back to our old flagship, the Doroshi, when we were assigned to Task Force 77. Our mechanics already know how to care for them and everything, so I think it'd be better if we could launch them directly-- save fuel and keep those poor pilots from having to sit in a cockpit doing nothing all day."
"The Casper could maybe also hold some fighters, if we left our shuttles at Fireside." Suggested Mite. Though, she didn't move from her cowed position or the shelter of her intertwined fingers.
"Then That is what we'll do. I'll have the four Hayabusa transferred over with their pilots." She looked at the time and thought, "In about two hours, I want to be able to make our jump in three." Standing up she looked at the pair. "Lets do this, we need to figure this mystery out before we can get back to hunting those squids." She smiled even as she worried if Mite was the right captain for the Casper.
"We oughta be pussy-deep in bad guys or at home before dinner." Lulu sprang out of her chair and practically sang it out, shoving a few pastries into the mag pouch on her utility belt. Then she dropped some cookies into the place where her science scanner was supposed to be. Then she downed way too much coffee for how hot it had to be and filled up her mug one more time before practically skipping out of the room. Three hours was plenty of time for a nap to be fit in somewhere, especially if she made Honda handle the fighter transfer.
Mite was not as happy about it. She just rose, bowed as deeply as she could, and almost whispered her acknowledgement. "I will do as you say, Taisa."
"It isn't so much I want you doing what I say, but I want you to have faith in your ship. She was great when I fought here. Yeah she is small and all but she has teeth almost as big as the Soyo's." Seako stood up and moved over to the tray to see what was left. "I wouldn't have kept you and the Casper as excorts if I didn't think you couldn't handle the job." picking up pile of cookies that were left she wrapped them in a cloth napkin before turning back to Mite. "Take these and go back to your ship. While you are getting her ready for the mission, take a moment and look at the kill tally under her dedication plaque." With a smile she patted the silver neko on her shoulder. "Go to it."
Mite took the cookies in both hands and looked up at Saeko with every ounce of strength she could muster. Five years in the military had supposedly prepared her for the command of her own vessel, and a year as the XO of a larger vessel should have made her confident in her command. However; she was past her contract date, she had a wife to think about, and there was any number of reasons why nothing ever seemed to go right ever since she'd taken charge of the Casper. "Taisa, I will give everything my best effort." She bowed again. "After all, what is life without duty?"
"Junk food and Vid shows...." Seako responded before starting out of the conference room. "Plus most likely we're find nothing and it'll be a long boring set of exercises."
"Let's just hope it is." Said Mite to herself, spreading the napkin in her hands just a little to peer curiously at the cookies within, "Let's just hope it is."
