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RP: YSS Heartbreaker [Mission 3 Aside 1] Maybe You'll Find Me In The Dark

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Reynolds

Well-Known Member
YSS Heartbreaker, Bridge
One Week After Mission 3


Captain Tuskisaki Valesti was reading over reports from the latest incident, cold eyes flickering between the console and the stack of datapads in front of her. This was at least the third or fourth time she'd been through the crew's reports, and the information they'd gathered from the (mostly) abandoned ship. It was still hard to believe, or accept. Bringing the container of tea to her lips for a sip, a sudden alert pulled her out of her thoughts.

"What is causing that disturbance, Funabashi-Hei?"
"Sir, there's been an unauthorized access of the Communications Cluster." The Neko tapped at her console, before a small frown appeared. "...it's the alien."
Tsukisaki's frown was much more impressive. "Did we not confine her to the Medbay?" Standing, her drink forgotten, the tall Neko waved away her subordinate as she strapped on the ceremonial sword that was almost always at her side. "I will deal with this in person. Maintain course to the Kerata Anathema system."


YSS Heartbreaker, Communications Cluster

Edtoto squirmed through the maintenance hatch of the Heartbreaker, unaware of the fact that her plan was bust. She was sleep deprived, and admittedly terrified of the situation she was in. She had been maimed in the line of duty, and while she was sure her actions were appreciated, she was not only liability, but a strain on the ship's resources.

Station protocol buzzed through her head at a maddening speed. Maimed members of the VDTF and other branches were to be replaced immediately given they were incapable of doing their jobs. The strain on the station indicated that the only reasonable course of action was to recycle the citizen and carry on. At such a young age, she wasn't ready to be recycled. She was still useful!

She gazed around the communications cluster, examining it. Her eyes having adjusted to the much darker atmosphere holding the room. She was looking for something...anything that was broken in the room. She could fix things, even if she was reduced to a single limb. She had forgone her respirator for this, trying to keep people away. Eventually, she realized she didn't know what something being broken would look like, and curled up next to one of the heat sinks....


The Captain had located the hatch their resident alien had used to wriggle her way into the bowels of the ship, somewhere even the technicians only rarely ventured on their tours of inspection. Ochiko drew a line in her vision, extending into the maintenance conduit and around a bend. Valesti adjusted her uniform, grunting in annoyance at this distraction from her true duty. Of course, anyone and anything on board her ship was her responsibility, especially a refugee her commanders and the Ketsurui royal family had designated a VIP.

So, a few moments later, that heavy sword was tilted against the wall of the corridor as the Taii bent and contorted her body to insert herself into the cramped tunnel. Thankfully Neko were built to be agile and flexible. She had to remind herself that no duty that had been assigned to her was beneath her, no task too small, no matter how embarrassing.

She was silent, although her struggles to continue down the corridor were easy to hear as she grew closer to the Vekimen. Eventually she couldn't bring herself to squirm any closer...as Edtoto was treated to the Captain's head poking down into her cramped little hiding spot from a hatch in the ceiling. Hard, cold eyes first, followed by that equally frigid scowl.

"...Officer Sivaro."


The alien flinched at the voice, having prayed the sound of people approaching was in her mind. She didn't want to be found! Being found meant being taken back to Medical. It might mean she would be forced to sleep, and if she slept she may not be able to get away when the decided to recycle her. She knew she had been found though, slowly looking up to see the Captain.

Her eyes were wild, the intelligence fading slightly as it was replaced by paranoia and fear. "Please don't recycle me..." She muttered, slowly shifting herself behind some equipment, however maintaining eye contact. "I am still useful...I am smart, a Sivaro! I can fix things, build things! You don't need to see me, I won't leave here if you don't want me to, just please don't recycle me. One arm doesn't break an asset" She continued, trying her best to maintain herself. She wasn't told much when she was put into the Medbay, and they were doing more and more experiments on her. Obviously terrified, the Vekimen tried to make it as hard as she could to reach out and grab her, even to the point whee her teeth could be seen glinting in the dim glow of the server lights.


Tsukisaki's eyes narrowed further, as she heard the creature muttering. And, possibly due to the noxious aroma quickly filling the small space. Her body ramped up its protection against airborne hazards as she concentrated on appearing unaffected. And unconcerned with her current, upside-down alignment. "Only deceased crew members have their bodies recycled, when a new one is created. Yours would be saved for transport to your people." She blinked. "...if you were deceased." Very diplomatic.

"Regardless of the regenerative abilities of the Vekimen, you should have remained in Medical for observation." Her nose twitched a bit, lip curling, but she forced herself to continue speaking calmly. "Your body is currently obstructing proper operation of Communications. You are of no service to this ship or yourself, in your current condition. And location." Her cold eyes flickered over the alien, as she noticed how she was curled up around the warmest location in the room. "...perhaps we can continue this conversation in your new quarters? I was waiting for your condition to improve before transferring you, but in light of the...current situation..."

She was considering how best to proceed when Ochiko introduced herself into the conversation. One of her scrolls appearing and unfolding between Edtoto and the Neko, projecting a stream of information. "Toto-tan, several of your talons are currently lodged in some very important equipment, yes? You see what it's doing to our communications, yes?" The audio data the Heartbreaker was constantly gathering passively was bouncing and shifting around seemingly at random, as far as Tsukisaki would see. Although the curving, curling lines immediately stood out to the Vekimen.


Edtoto glared at the captain as she spoke, not quite capable of truly believing what she was saying right now. She had heard everything in service whenever someone was maimed. Given the rough shape of the station it was a fairly common occurrence. Part of her tried to argue that they didn't live in the same squalor she was used to, but rationale was a little low. The scabbing web growing on her arm itching a little, but she didn't dare move to scratch it. New quarters? Continued conversation? Not dead? Things were not building on the side of her being recycled, but she didn't have much time to come to a conclusion on her own before the ship's AI appeared.

At the comment regarding her talons being lodged into important equipment, she looked down. She didn't think her talons were in anything they shouldn't be. When she looked back up at the data stream, she realized a bit of familiarity. She scanned the waves, her head moving slowly towards the image. When she finally realized what it was she nearly screamed out, looking at the AI. "Could you replicate whatever interference I am causing and isolate the current frequency and signal being received by the array? It's a station broadcast." She stated, her voice slipping into a substantially more officer-like tone.


"Interference?" The Captain raised an eyebrow at the conversation the two were having, although she could see her chance as it appeared. "Ochiko, I'm sure we could take a closer look at his broadcast from the console outside, y...correct?" The scroll drifted away from Edtoto's face before rolling closed again, curling up tighter and tighter. "Of course, Captain. This way, yes?"

The scroll rolled itself perfectly flat, before turning into a line that extended out through the nearest exit, back the way the alien had crawled to lodge herself in here. Tsukisaki nodded, hair bouncing, before her head popped back up into the alternate path she had taken. To further entice the creature, the MEGAMI continued broadcasting the staticy bits of conversation down the corridor, to draw her out...


Given the small space, Edtoto was able to easily, and deftly slip out of the communications room, dropping into the hallway and following the vibrations of the captain and the bits of scattered audio. Once she found them at the terminal, she immediately took over again. "AI, I need a blank, cube starmap with no coordinates on it, as large as you can make it. Replicate it with an unmarked military map of equivalent size, with coordinates." She muttered, more out of thought. "I'll need to replicate our starmaps from memory, so there may be a margin of error," she continued.


Tsukisaki had already returned her sword to her hip by the time Edtoto squirmed her way out of her hideyhole. The Neko was standing stiff and tall near the console, having thankfully recovered from the close quarters encounter with that smell before the alien reappeared. Not wishing to risk another battle, the Taii did not remain for long. She turned to leave once she confirmed their VIP hadn't injured herself any further, and was currently too distracted to be any trouble.

"Oohhh, Toto-tan, you're so demanding, yes? You know my name is Ochiko, yes? O-chi-ko~" The characters for her name helpfully appeared floating in the hallway, each prompting a bit of the maps the Vekimen had requested to pop into existence nearby. The corridor was filled with the projections soon enough, as Edtoto began her work. The console was a bit difficult to work with one hand, but the MEGAMI seemed to be one step ahead of her, always providing just what she needed before she got frustrated with the computer or her currently handicapped speed.


Edtoto huffed a little. "On my station, AI do not have names. It is something I will have to get used to," she explained, starting to edit the blank map. The process was going much too easily for her to be working on her own, though, causing her to look at the terminal with a look of blatant annoyance. "Something is telling me you already know more than you are letting me on to AI...Ochiko. Do you already have all this figured out?" She asked, finishing her process of replicating a Vekimen star map on the blank map. "Have you already located the station?" She added, looking at the maps.


"Hmm, me? I'm here to assist you and the crew members, yes?" She was dutifully updating the map as Edtoto worked, the alien filling in the blanks left by the limited data they'd initially started this journey with. As she worked, the audio they'd been picking up grew clearer, more static removed and the quality enhanced. Ochiko seemed to recognize what bits of data were Vekimen communication, enough to separate them from background noise and clean them up, but it was still meaningless noise even to the advanced computer.

One thing was becoming clear, though. The source of the transmission was being narrowed down as more data was received, and filtered through the known coordinates Ochiko and Edtoto were compiling and comparing. Surprisingly (or not) the transmissions were definitely coming from the same direction the Heartbreaker was currently heading. Although narrowing it down further than one star system was still impossible at this distance.

As the work slowed towards a stopping point, Edtoto noticed she felt warm. Far warmer than she expected to be, standing in the middle of the normally frigid Star Army corridor. "I also located your respirator, which I must insist you wear outside of your quarters, even if it is not as comfortable." Also? What was comfortable? When had the Captain returned? She'd been so engrossed in her work, she hadn't noticed the Neko reappearing. Or the odd garment draped over her shoulders. It felt heavy...and soft...and very, very warm. The inside was practically radiating heat at a level she'd never encountered. Truly the most important technical advancement Star Army had presented her with yet, this 'heated blanket'.


Edtoto watched as the information was put in place, but things were still missing. She added the "Landmarks" she could remember in their approximate locations. Not an in depth map but she could only remember so much. "Ochiko...if you could please scan the spacescapes for starclusters in this fashion? The given coordinates are currently out of the latest starmaps the Station had, however, given my best guess from the trajectory we were moving in, we left this map once we got here," she explained, pointing at a point on the edge of her map. "We shouldn't be far...in respect to space from the edge of the current maps the Star Army has, but we are far enough away that we are outside the current borders. We are close, so that should zero your search correct? Possibly triangulate with another ship nearby?" She asked.

The response she was waiting for was quickly sidetracked in her mind by how warm she had gotten. She almost didn't hear the Captain speaking, only being drawn from the sudden heat by the startling presence. She looked to the Captain, then down at the respirator. She frowned a little at seeing it, slowly starting to resent the device, but at the same time she understood it. Grabbing the device, she placed it over her head and closed the seal.

She thought about what the Captain said after mentioning the respirator. Not as comfortable? She looked down at the blanket draped over her shoulders. She was confused for a moment. "You have me a blanket...I thought blankets worked on holding in heat, not generating it. How is this possible?" She asked, looking back at the captain.


"Oh, I'll begin scanning within those guidelines immediately, yes? It will take some time to compile this data...and the closer we are, the better, yes?" The Heartbreaker was steadily moving towards the transmission on their current course. "The only other ship assigned anywhere near this sector of space is the Seisenkyo, which is still several days behind." The Captain chimed in, once she had the alien's attention.

"It's a heated blanket...or electric blanket, some say. A simple portable heating device..." She didn't seem surprised the Vekimen didn't know such a thing existed. This time, her frown was for her own failure in ignoring a problem so easily solved. "I had Pecan retrieve it from storage and place it in your new quarters, along with the other items the crew suggested be requisitioned for you. And your other belongings, of course. Follow me." That was no suggestion, of course. The maps faded away, as the Neko Captain led Edtoto around the ship, towards one of the crew cabins.


YSS Heartbreaker, Cabin 4

The Vekimen knew this one should have been empty. Until now. The door slid open as she approached, a wave of heat billowing out. The small cargo container she'd packed with her stuff took up most of the room, although many smaller, unfamiliar items were laid out on the desk. Both bunks were heaped high with blankets and pillows as well. Once she stepped inside, Ochiko appeared, wearing a white and red colored kimono with a nurse's cap and surgical mask. "Now, once you've had a little checkup, you're free to nap, yes?"

At that moment, the constantly playing transmission finally began to clear up enough for Edtoto to fully make it out. Or at least what had survived the long trip across the stars. "Don't even know...transmission being received? Taken total...taken totally unaware! Security teams...and...decimated! Station security was deactivated...activated...activated...deactivated from within! ...one of our own! ...Nar...was the first to die. Only one left...power's out. Our own fault, really -- should have never trusted...we knew so little about-" More interference, sounds that were definitely not any form of communication. "...you?! ...may have killed the others...but the clans will never...!"

"...die?" A second voice. A very different voice.


Edtoto listened to the transmission, and Ochiko could probably notice the way her vitals skyrocketed in panic. "We need to find them. We need to find the station!" She snapped, her voice going into an ear splitting register as she tried to convey her emotions physically. "Something is attacking them, and by the sounds of it, they have overrun the entire station...we are not fighters, but the fact a race was capable of overrunning the inside of the station is a shock. We built that to be near impossible to traverse for anything, even our size, that wasn't accustomed to traversing small spaces!" She said, looking at the captain. "We have to be faster...we have to find out where they are. We need to triangulate their point. Do you have a drone you can send out? Anything?" She asked.


Tsukisaki tilted her head at the meaningless, strangely pitched sounds, her frown disappearing for a moment as she had no idea what was being communicated. The serious expression returned as the creature began wailing, before making demands of her. She stepped back to the entrance of the room. "The Heartbreaker moves as swiftly and efficiently as possible. We shall arrive when we arrive." Hand resting on her sword, she hesitated for a moment. "...I will authorize Ochiko's full cooperation with you in matters pertaining to locating the source of this communication. I believe Blesi-Hei will be more than willing to assist you as well."

That seemed to be as far as she was willing to bend at the moment. "I will have her sent to your quarters tomorrow at the beginning of her shift. You will remain here until Medici-Heisho is satisfied that you are recovering properly. You may join us for meals in the Wardroom, if you feel comfortable enough." Confined to quarters it was. At least they were more pleasant than the Medbay. Edtoto could see several datapads and other devices on the desk, and Ochiko was still hovering nearby, as helpful as always. Although she was likely hiding a smile behind that mask.

"Let me reassure you, Officer Sivaro: my orders to locate the rest of your species and see them transported safely to Star Army-controlled space have come from very high above. I take them very, very seriously." The Vekimen could hear her hand clenching at the hilt of her sword. "If your station is under attack, we will be more than prepared. The I'ee know this quite well."


Edtoto remained silent as the captain spoke, her remaining fist clenched tight enough to drive her talons into her hand and draw blood. "I only hope we can do so fast enough," she almost growled, looking at the contents of her newfound room. All she saw were tools to prepare. She needed to be prepared to uphold her duty, the one she was still alive and bound to, as well as prepare to integrate her entire race into a society that found her kind disgusting.

The Captain's reassurance caused her some pause, though. "I would like to say that I am completely comforted, but I have learned very quickly in these past few months that no matter how strong or well adapted you are to something, there is always the chance someone could be stronger...I would like to hope there really is nothing in this universe that can defeat the Star Army of Yamatai. For my own sanity I won't rely on that sentiment though," she stated coolly, sitting down on the bed.

She had personally fought the I'ee. From her short fight with them she knew they were, for lack of better terms, insane. They tried to overpower their foes with sheer numbers, taking on their enemies with brash violence and lack of thought. At least the Thoot did. "I will remain here...get as much rest as I can in the next few days. I will continue listening to the transmissions to see if there is a change in them. Hopefully they will get clearer," she finished, walking to her storage crate. "I'm sure you will be kept up to date on my actions, Captain. I will keep Ochiko and Blesi-Hei well informed on my going ons however to make sure there is no miscommunication," she finished, wanting nothing but to go to sleep. She was finally sure she wasn't going to die, and was ready to catch up on the near week of sleep she had missed in her paranoia.


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