RP: YSS Soyokaze Let the Pieces Fall (5.0)

[Yoshi]

SEASON 2: The Remnantors[]/i]

Episode 5: Let the Pieces Fall

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
High Orbit, Mevar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

High above the new planet base of operations of Task Force 77, three ships sat in a stepped formation. The trio floated like a sea predator and it's two younger siblings. Shuttles were running back and forth from both the planet, ships and the egg shaped Ikoi light starbase. The ships where taking on supplies and new crew for their fist mission attached to the task force. The larger ship was also taking in a full load of fighters, bringing her complement up to full strength for the first time ever.

Even as the Soyokaze and her two excorts took on supplies, the rest of the task force were jumping away off to their separate operation areas. Each of the task group's leas ships being escorted by their own Plumerias and Chiakis. Off to find the lost civilian traffic in the sector.

~~~~~
Bridge
~~~~~

The Obsidian eyed captain walked onto the bridge and dropped into her chair. Seako had gone over the briefs with the captains of her escorts a few hours before, all that was left was to tell her bridge crew where they were going, and the fun they will be having dropping out of ftl to look about. There had been a lot of civilian traffic disappearing along the trade routes. It wasn't the Task Force's main mission,but it was important to take a look and try to find out why the freighters were going missing. Even if they continued wiping out the last of the mishu hold outs, and allow colonies to starve, they would let the mishu hold outs win moral victories.

 

[LittleWasp]

~~~~~~~~
Cabin Four
~~~~~~~~

It seemed too soon after the Soyo's AI had helped them settle into a room that Yui was dragging Sally away from the soft bunks, even as she mewled in protest. "You cannot nap now, Sally.", Yui chided in a level tone, acting like any responsible older sister should. "We must acquaint ourselves with the rest of the crew, particularly the ones we're flying with."

The I'ee ambassador let out a mournful sigh, watching the door to their room disappear around the corner before begrudgingly following her sister out of her own free will. "I know, sister, but I'm so tired. Today has been exciting.", she protested, almost complaining, though she had genuinely enjoyed her brief time upon the vessel so far. Working with a ship full of aliens who all stayed awake longer than she and Yui did was going to be difficult, though, and the realisation was making her feel even sleepier.

~~~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~~~

A half hour or so had passed, during which the two had consulted with Jayne for directions here and there, before the two ambassadors stepped out into the shuttle bay. Both the I'ee briefly forgot what fatigue they felt at the sight of the expansive chamber, at the various vehicles within; their generations of technical experimentation gave almost every I'ee a love for machinery and vehicles.

Recognising the Hayabusa starfighters that Saeko had recommended for them, Yui toddled over to examine them more closely, while Sally began to search around the chamber to see if any of the crew were present to speak with.

 

[HAMnJAM]

~~~~~~
Bridge
~~~~~~

Jei had his coffee and had read the switchboard for duty station, which his just said Bridge. He had finished his coffee on the voyage up but was still the slightest bit tired. When the doors opened he saw the captain in her chair and made no attempt to hide his 'waking up' mood. He turned his head and spoke with a slight rumble in his voice, "Chusa..." before turning to her and bowing. His mind wandered for a second to the interview but had begun to get over it, which was to him a part of continuing on.

He thought to himself for the remainder of the time he spent bowing about if there was still anything of their...he again let it leave his mind.

 

[SirSPT]

~~~~~~
Cabin Seven
~~~~~~

Shanota, already in her flight suit, banged on her Cabinmate's bunk. "Wake up, the day's starting and I want make sure all the fighters are in top condition before breakfest." Downer, her cabinmate, only let out a tired groan, eliciting another bang from Shanota. "We've got some 'honorary pilots' that are going to flying us and I'm not going to risk a crisis over a mechanical failu-. " Downer started snoring before she could finish. "Fine then..." Shanota reached over and pinched the other neko's ear.

~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~

After spending a bit of time getting the rest of her squadron suited up and assembled, Shanota headed them out to do a quick inspection of their fighters before breakfast and possibly met with the new honorary pilots. Upon entering the shuttle bay, She could easily scope out them out from across the bay. Shanota waved the others towards their Hayabusas. "Get started without me, I'll be with you guys in a moment."

Shanota approached the I'ee pilots as they looked over the Hayabusa. "Quite the beauty, isn't it?"

 

[LittleWasp]

~~~~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~~~~

The two I'ee were busy crawling over on of the unattended Hayabusas, with Yui curiously inspecting the rear turreted weapons while Sally, having found her way into the cockpit, was feeling around the controls. They looked like bees finding their way around a flower. The sound of Shanota's voice made the two perk their antennae upward and peer down at the pilot. Sally didn't have her mask on, so she had no clear way of expressing her emotion, but her voice sounded pleased enough.

"Oh! Hello!", she greeted, climbing out from the cockpit and sliding it shut again before hopping down to the floor on her rear legs. "It certainly is! I've never seen ships so small before!" Yui, her sister, made no greeting, and simply continued crawling around the craft using all six of her limbs; now clinging to the underside to examine the main guns.

Both of the insectoid aliens were far smaller than Shanota, with Sally standing a full foot shorter than her. Yui seemed a little taller when standing up on her rear legs, but their squat posture would probably make them look short to anyone.

"Is this your flight suit?", the curious ambassador asked, stepping closer and peering at Shanota's outfit with a claw tapping against her mandible before straightening up again. "I'm sorry, I assume you are a pilot. Is that correct?" The I'ee's voice was distinctly artificial, sounding like a young woman speaking over a phone, emitted from a tiny speaker that was strapped to the insectoid's right mandible.

 

[BionicSamurai]

Science Lab - Containment Area

A fermenting tank happily bubbled away as Chieko checked the temperature and make up with a science scanner. Happy where things were at, she then opened a valve into an anaerobic tube and chamber to remove some of the liquid. Once the tank was sealed up again, the sample was retrieved and applied to a glass slide. A coverslip was then added as a final touch.

A look under the microscope offered the sight of a living, yet stressed colony of fungoid. The scientist noted what she saw, then added a stain - watching to see what it would reveal. As the chemical washed over the view, small movements began to slow down, grow fewer, then cease. An increase in magnification confirmed a few fading cellular corpses; however two others had been caught in the act of dividing. Exactly what was hoped for, but always nice to see.

The young woman checked more areas of the slide, catching more evidence of the currently desired equilibrium. A promising result so far; however there was still a couple weeks to go before one could be sure. So much can change when just the right bases of genetic code get changed, and even then epigenetics can only complicate things more.

 

[HAMnJAM]

~~~~~
Bridge
~~~~~
He rose from his bow and turned back towards the weapons, shields, and sensors section to idly check each of the main systems. He remembered the last big training thing in which he went out with a blaze of glory which he believed was his best show of power he had done on an actual vessel. He checked core temperatures, weapon lockers, turret locks, AI status, all of which were green. The fighter bay actually showed green for once, which made him happy. He felt like he was at home again in the bridge, and his slightly audible sigh spoke that.

He spun back around and looked back around to see that the bridge was mostly empty to people he knew, which was a reminder that he needed to still speak to more people and introduce himself. He looked to the captain and smiled before turning back around to the consoles to attempt to look busy enough.

 

[Yoshi]

Being so deep in thought over the up coming mission, Seako hadn't really noticed Jei come in and bow. She felt like an ass when he finished and went down to his station. Shaking her head clear she bought up a little volumetric screen so that she could send him a message.

 Sorry about that... guess my morning coffee hasn't kicked in yet

She smiled down to him from her station high in the bridge. Turning back to her own duties she brought up the readiness screens for the ship. Most sections had already light up green. With a smile she sent a message down to the Science department requesting Chieko to report up to the bridge along with a quick message to the resident musician/spy. She had work for both of them.

 

[SmokeEmpress]

==================
Officer Cabins 13 and 15
==================

The two Eyverska twins, Aldis and Herdis, were getting ready for their day. They were both rather excited about having new crew members to meet as well as getting into an actual mission! Not that they didn't have fun with their first mission! Now, though, this time it wouldn't be a simulated one. They both exited their cabins at the exact same time and Herdis flitted to land on her sister's shoulder, both chattering away in excitement as they made their way to the bridge.

==================
Bridge
==================

As the two entered, they first paid their respects to the bridge itself, for one must always honor where the battle was to begin (even though they were not necessarily battling on the bridge itself, it is where they would be located during any battles). Once that was done, they both looked up to where the Chusa would sit. Even if she were not there, they would have bowed for the Chusa is the Leader and it was always polite to bow wherever the leader was or should be. Since she was there, it made it easier to not have to bow to her once more too soon. They then smiled up at her and waved before heading to their consoles.

Seeing Jei already there at his, they moved the mini console for Herdis to the station for shields. The twins knew that they did very well last time, but they also knew that they needed to shift around a bit. So Aldis took the helm and did her pre-flight checks while Herdis did the same for the sensors and shield units. As they worked, they both addressed Jei, "Morning, Jei!"

"Did you sleep well?" Herdis asked.

"Did you have breakfast?" Aldis asked.

 

[HAMnJAM]

~~~~~
Bridge
~~~~~
Jei turned around and smiled to the twins, "Good morning you two.," He looked at Herdis and nodded, "I did sleep well," then he looked to Aldis,"I had a small but tasty breakfast." He then turned for a brief second back to the console to see that Captain's message, which he chuckled quietly to and looked back towards the bridge in general. Now it felt at home, the 'family' of the bridge crew that worked together in every second of action. It warmed his heart which was something that was rare to him.

He took his chair at the weapons station and spoke calmly, "All Weapons and Hanger stations report green, Chusa."

 

[Samanthia]

Elina sat at her place of duty, piping through the ship soft rousing music to those that were tuned in on her channel of the internal ship p.a. system. Later in the day she would switch over to the more robust rock music of Neppies, Yammies.

 

[SirSPT]

~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~

Shanota cocked her a little, somewhat perplexed by the strange voice before noticing the speaker. "Er yes! I am a pilot and this is the Type 32 Aerospace Flight Suit. I'm Nitô Hei Shanota Omoorai, call me Kasai though when we're in flight." She turned and pointed over to the trio of nekos looking over a pair of Hayabusas with flames painted under the cockpits. "And over there's Sigridr 'Downer' Tamemoto, Yamazaki 'Kōmon' Asaka, and Koga 'Hot-cha' Aoi. All Santo Heis and my wingmates with odd choices in callsigns."

Shanota turned back and noticed the other I'ee crawling under the fighter. She strained to remain calm. Don't dirty it up, she thought to herself in a screechy internal voice. Clearing her throat, Shanota composed herself a little. "So uh... who exactly do I have the pleasure of sortieing with?"

 

[LittleWasp]

~~~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~~~

The little I'ee ambassador wondered internally if she and Yui ought to fetch their vacuum suits when the time came to fly, if only to fit in a little more with the Yamataian pilots. Sally had lost her helmet some time before she first met up with the YSS Heartbreaker, so only Yui would truly benefit from it.

"It's lovely to meet you, Nitô Hei!", Sally squeaked with a gracious, little bow. "My name is Sally, and I am from the Ee'ith family. My sister, Yui, is my guardian." The I'ee glanced back at her sister before speaking in a softer, conspiratorial tone. "Do not mind her if she seems unfriendly. She places my safety above all else. It is her purpose, where mine is to be friendly."

She cast a nervous, little glance at the other pilots standing near their vessels, tilting her head to one side. "If it's not too much to ask, Nitô Hei, may you assist me in introducing myself to your wingmen?", she asked shyly, clasping her forelimbs placatingly beneath her mandibles. "I admit, even as an ambassador, I am a little out of my element here, so to speak."

 

[BionicSamurai]

Science Lab

Chieko was bent over some grass-like shoots taking leaf samples when the message came through. She sighed, but sent up an acknowledgement before taking a tip sample from the final plant. She then laid the sample containers out on the bench next to the preparation area and labeled them.

The biologist then made her way out of containment into the decontamination chamber. The cycle was short since due to there being fewer nasties in the containment area than the outer crewed parts of the ship; but it did take a little time. Upon exiting decontamination, the young woman turned to her pink-haired assistant and gave instructions on preparing her leaf samples.


Bridge

Finally, the enlisted scientist managed to make it to the bridge; later than she wanted, but as quick as could have been managed. She then made her way to the Captain and paid her respects. "Koizumi-Hei reporting, what can I do for you ma'am?"

 

[SirSPT]

~~~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~~~

Looking back towards the other nekos, Shanota considered her options. Then the image of Yui crawling over the Hayabusa popped in her head. "I'd love to but I need make sure they get fed otherwise I'll never hear the end of it." She turned back to Sally. "I should probably go help finish with the inspections." She gave a quick bow before turning and making her way back towards the others. "I hope to take flight with you soon, ambassador."

"And please, don't break anything on the Hayabusa..."

 

[LittleWasp]

~~~~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, ok.", Sally nodded her head, antennae drooping forlornly as she watched Shanota leave and letting out a soft whine. Yui was now inside of the cockpit, fiddling with the various controls and trying to make the seating a little more comfortable for them both. After a moment of quietly observing the other pilots with longing, she turned and tottered back to the Hayabusa to help her sister.

 

[SirSPT]

~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~

Shanota hopped her way up to the cockpit of her Hayabusa where Downer was waiting in the backseat. "Everything checks out, Kasai." The co-pilot reported to her.

"I'm going to cause a diplomatic crisis." Shanota responded flatly. Her co-pilot shot her a confused look from rear of cockpit. Shanota could feel reaction and waved a hand over at the Hayabusa the I'ee were inspecting. "Look at them! They're crawling all over an expensive piece of hardware, they'll be pulling seats out before breakfast. And the worst part is that they're not even pilots, they're ambassadors!"

Downer stared then shrugged before returning to inspection.

 

[LittleWasp]

~~~~~~~~~
Shuttle Bay
~~~~~~~~~

As if to confirm Shanota's apprehension, Yui crawled back out of the Hayabusa's cockpit; the backrest from one of the pilot seats held in her grasp. Sally crawled out after her, and the two chattered at each other in their strange, insectoid language as Yui laid the backrest off to one side before crawling back into the cockpit again.

Fortunately, that one piece seemed to be the only part of the cockpit the I'ee didn't want, getting themselves comfortable inside and sliding the hatch shut to see how they would fit when flying. Satisfied, they opened the hatch again and Sally scurried out, hopping down onto the ground and running across the hangar to the entrance, which she disappeared into. The I'ee soon returned with a pair of small, metal canisters, each looking to have a volume of about one litre, and dashed back to the Hayabusa, where she gave one to her sister.

 

[Yoshi]

~~~~~
Bridge
~~~~~
Looking up from her displays, Seako smiled at the ship's biologist. "Good morning, I have something you might find interesting." She grinned and took a sip from her coffee mug. "We have a new pair of honorary crew members. They are down in the hanger bay, I recruited them as pilots, and I figured you would like to go down and get to know the new lifeforms aboard the ship." looked down to a screen and pushed a few prompts on it. "I just sent you their non-classified files." She rasied a finger. "Just remember though, they are ambassadors... so just don't poke and prod to deeply."

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to make a ship wide announcement about our new mission. And then kick this pig off." The Captain smiled before hitting a few things on her control panels.

"Good Morning crew, we have a new mission on our plates today. We are going to me leaving Mevar to hunt down some missing shipping. Apparently civilian freighters have been disappearing off of major shipping lanes. The Soyokaze will be jumping along the route doing long range scans, Each jump we will be launching our fighters to extend our sensor net." She paused for a moment to give a light cough. "Once we have made the scan we will jump to the next point and keep looking. Let's hope we find them just out of gas, and then we can get back to hunting down the remnants of Mishu out there."

"I expect you all to preform as if this was a real combat mission."

She closed the channel and opened an open personal channel up to Elina. "Again please come up to the Bridge to speak to me in person. I have a job fo you."

 

[SmokeEmpress]

=====
Bridge
=====

The twins nodded and finished getting themselves settled in their respective seats. They did have a small bite to eat, but knew that they'd have a chance to eat more during one of the jumps. The announcement made them both blink and look to each other with an arched brow.

"Don't we - " Aldis started off asking.
" - usually perform - " Herdis continued.
" - like it's real?" They both finished.

Of course, they were not really asking that of anyone on the bridge. They were just being silly, for soon after the question was asked as if they were serious, they then smiled and chuckled before Aldis turned to look back at Saeko. "All systems go, Chusa. On your mark!"