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RP [YSS Kōkatsu] Part 1: Seeking Alpha

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YSS Kokatsu

Maki bowed to the chief warrant officer in respect and greeting, her acid yellow eyes sweeping over the pink haired woman.

"I am fine with whatever cabin you wish to assign me too" she said, then cocked her head. "We both served aboard the Aeon together" she said as she recognized the woman.
 
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YSS Kōkatsu

Tsubei Kyoka nodded, "Yes and I will always hold that posting close to my heart. It will be my pleasure to escort you to cabin 4 with a woman named Hasewega Sara for our voyage."

She turned and made her way up and through the cargo bay and into the passageway of the ship until she was at cabin 4.

On the way, she said to the other Neko, "What made you stray from the Aeon?"
 
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Bridge, YSS Kōkatsu
30日 4月 YE39
0900 Yamatai Standard Time

With her new operatives aboard, Shosa Okano Yoshiko closed the Kōkatsu's cargo loading ramp and started its takeoff sequence with a few quick commands input to her captain's console. The half-circle of touchscreens and volumetric interface projectors around her chair had been programmed to give her total control of the ship from that one station if need be, though two crew members would be on duty with her moving forward. Still, clandestine protocol called for minimalist self-sufficiency aboard SAINT warships, so the prospect of being alone on the bridge didn't bother her at all; she was accustomed to driving her space-boat from an understaffed bridge while more skilled hands performed whatever covert undertaking their unit was sent to complete.

At Yoshiko's command, the Escort Destroyer's Turbo Aether Plasma drives began to glow outside as their power plants in Main Engineering hummed to life and reverberated throughout the ship. Its atmospheric ascent plotted and classified destination locked in with clearance from SAINT, the Kōkatsu was now underway and on-mission. Hovering on its own power, the ship's landing struts retracted and became sealed beneath its shadowy hull. Within moments, it was up and away, the sensation of artificial gravity kicking in barely noticeable to any aboard. The idyllic little island that was home to Jiyuu Fleet Depot soon disappeared and became a sandy speck among the others that made up its archipelago, humbled beside Atarashi Tokyo's continued sprawl. That megacity and the husk of its predecessor faded, too, as the Kōkatsu soared rapidly up toward the stars.

Another quick hand-wave over the command console's surface sent a gentle whistle—a mellow tone that changed key from high to low—sounding through the ship, letting everyone on the Kōkatsu know to pay attention to a forthcoming broadcast.

"This is your captain," Yoshiko said, announcing herself to the crew. Now that they had launched it was time to become acquainted and focus on the coming task. "Welcome aboard. It is an honor to be sailing with you as my comrades today. Take a few more moments to make yourselves comfortable and stow your belongings, then report to the Wardroom for briefing. You have five minutes."
 
YSS Kōkatsu

By the time the captain's address to the crew had finished, Saeki Uehashi had mostly completed unpacking her belongings. She set her duffel bag aside and went to the mirror with her volumetric makeup kit in hand. While the device was not necessary for the display of volumetric makeup, it gave her more precise control over the application, color scheme, color intensity, and coverage. She decided to switch to a neutral looking preset for the briefing, which featured a ruby-shaded matte lip and a subtle contour. After closing the kit, she did a once-over on her hair and uniform.

"I guess this briefing is when we are meant to know...", she said to Sakaki as they prepared to leave for the wardroom.
 
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YSS Kōkatsu

Sakaki went about perfecting the arrangement of her cat plush toys along her pillow as Saeki Uehashi perfected her appearance. When Uehashi exited their cabin, Sakaki left behind the brown-skinned intelligence operative.

"I hope we will!" Sakaki chirped.

- - -

Tsubei Kyoka looked to Maki and tilted her head, hoping the SAINT Neko beside her would put away her things in time to make it to the wardroom. She waited for the answer to her question, though, with patient purple eyes.
 
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The miniature surfing atop the assistance bot gave a bow to the captian as she adressed the group. "Hai." Came the curt reply as she instructed the drone carrying her to bring her and her belonings to cabin three. Carefully. While most of her stuff was easily managed, the sword was more of an issue, much longer than the drone by far, and easily out weighing Iki herself and the majority of her issued belongings, it has been an issue merely transporting the sword here. Now, she had to disengage it, and CAREFULLY place it. Somewhere. That wouldn't look like she had merely thrown it anywhere and then promtpy given up.

She sighed as she thought of what do do for a moment, and considered just trying to have the sword fall- very gently, into a leaning position in the corner untill she could come back later, possibly suited in a sylph, and properly position it to her liking. The rest of it was easy of course, a simple matter of quickly depositing her clothes and such in her designated space. Unfortunately, with how she was being forced to do things, even just unstrapping the sword and getting it to the corner would clearly, take up a good four minutes of her alotted time. Still, she sighed and worked on, determined to finish this before something distraced her from her task.
 
Crew Cabin

Maiki stepped into the small shared cabin and slid her duffel off her shoulder, dropping it onto her bed, then deposited a few other personal items before readjusting her uniform cap atop her head and glancing at Kyoka.

"I was reassigned elsewhere by command" she replied as she walked back over to the door., There was no point in wasting time unpacking right now. "I had to do some missions for SAINT, then took up an instructing post for a while" she added as she nodded for them to continue on to the wardroom. "Then I took some time off, traveled a bit, spent a lot of time relaxing in onsens and developing a taste for unagi sushi and sake" she said with a grin.
 
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YSS Kōkatsu

Hasewega sat back and let the group chat among themselves. She could've spoke up about wanting to learn to dance or more on her experinces on the Heartbreaker but resigned to observing them silently from the sidelines. Perhaps it was curiosity or anxiety.

As the announcement finished, Hasewega withdrew to her cabin like the others to unload her belongings. Perfected folded uniforms and garments were placed and hung in one of the locker-cabinets. She took a quick glance around the cabin, debating if she should get something to take away from the blandness of the confined space next time they had the chance. Perhaps a bonasi tree to keep her mind busy...

She caught the idea in mind as she made her way down to the wardroom.
 
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Wardroom, YSS Kōkatsu

Most Chiaki-class Destroyers came furnished with same the standard wood-paneled walls and a tiled floor in their wardrooms. They tended to be warm and comfortable places where the crew could relax or dine together atop plush crimson seats and chat over the communal hibachi grill that became the centerpiece of any ship's community.

This was not so on the Kōkatsu.

As part of the ship's refit for clandestine service, its interiors were overhauled with dimmer lighting and darker bulkheads. SAINT blue carpeting replaced the standard red in the Kōkatsu's passageways, and its walls were a dark gray instead of white. The wardroom was decorated similarly; what seemed to be a single black granite slab covered its floor, and the walls were bare save for a single painting of a black Chiaki-class ship in front of a brilliant, stylized nebula. The booths and chairs here were upholstered in a cool navy blue, and the hibachi was replaced with SAINT's logo atop a circular black table polished to a mirror finish. While a kitchen was still attached, the Kōkatsu's wardroom was more a place of business than somewhere to rest and unwind.

The captain stood behind a chair opposite the wardroom's entrance as the crew trickled in, nodding as each individual or pair entered and saluted to her. She gripped the seatback gently while she examined them with a steely gaze, trying to size up the operatives she'd been assigned as best she could.

"I am Taisa Okano Yoshiko," the white-haird Neko said once they'd all settled down and taken their places around the table. "Welcome aboard the YSS Kōkatsu. I take it you've all had the chance to meet one another—and I know who every one of you are already—so we can dispense with further pleasantries and discuss our objectives straightaway.

"You may have heard the scuttlebutt regarding the Lorath Matriarchy in recent days," Yoshiko continued, steadily shifting her gaze to address all of the crew with equal attention. Her eyes may have lingered on the miniature Iki for a moment longer than the others, but only on the first pass. "Star Army Intelligence's first wave scouting operation through their territories following the outbreak of those extraordinary rumors have confirmed that the Matriarchy has indeed somehow vacated their population from previously-held systems."

Yoshiko wordlessly ordered the ship's MEGAMI to create a volumetric projection of subsector space. A bluish-purple hue extended out from Yamatai's southeastern border and quickly enveloped all systems detailed on the map—out to Miyamae in the far South and up to E12 near the Neshaten border—to show the progress that SAINT scout ships had made in the days after the Great Lorath Disappearance of YE 39.

"In their preliminary reconnoiter, our comrades laid active sensor buoys and regained control of Emrys communications satellites throughout former Lorath space," the captain continued. "Most of their core worlds seem to have been afflicted with a variety of spatial distortions and, eeto, metallurgical alterations. But those anomalies are not our concern. Our target is Tange."

A quick telepathic instruction from Yoshiko to the ship's computer prompted the volumetric map to zoom into the system they were headed to.

"Initial sweeps show Tange IV's atmospheric and geological compositions unchanged from previous data," she explained, gesturing to the fourth planet from the star floating between them. That action made the projection zero in again, displaying the tundra world's ruined cityscapes, frigid seas, and ice-swept plains in full detail. Several teal indicator markers blinked to life across the holographic globe. "Those sweeps also show what analysts believe are intact research and military installations, unsullied by the Mishhuvurthyar, forgotten during the evacuation, and unnoticed in the following years under Lorath dominion.

"Our task is to investigate and retrieve whatever data or equipment still exists on Tange IV," Yoshiko concluded, allowing the projection to fade away so that she and her crew could speak further without anything impeding them. "Many of you are fresh operatives, but I am confident you can handle whatever awaits us down there. Do you have any questions regarding the mission or assignment to my ship?"
 
YSS Kōkatsu
Wardroom

As she listened to the briefing, Uehashi downloaded the various maps on display through MEGAMI's volumetric projector. As an intelligence agent, Uehashi had access to exclusive information regarding the sudden disappearance of the Lorath. However, most reports were scant on details and presented conflicting information. All that seemed certain, was that a sizable majority of the Lorath and Helashio population had disappeared. It had seemed impossible to her that the Lorath could have possibly taken everyone. Accordingly, she had recently read reports of Lorath military volunteers within the Biesi System. Therefore, it was also likely that there were more isolated Lorath forces across the galaxy.

Uehashi made eye contact with Okano-Shosa before speaking up. "Shosa, what are the odds that we encounter remnant NMX or Lorath forces on the surface?", she asked in an inquisitive tone.
 
"Neo-Mishhuvurthyar remnants are always a possibility, Saeki-san," Yoshiko replied with a nod. While she used a familiar honorific—as was common among SAINT units where rank meant less than expertise and collaboration—the shosa's voice was still stern and conveyed her authority. "A Squid infestation is damn hard to eradicate entirely, and we know that the Lorath never really committed a major force to the system or planet, so we should be prepared to face their kind when we get planetside. Airspace is purportedly secure. One of our operatives accompanied a Ketsurui Samurai to Tange IV in YE 36 but did not directly engage either NMX or Lorath forces; their mission was unrelated to the opposition of either foe.

"I have a feeling that our superiors would welcome reports of contact with Matriarchy forces, however," the golden-eyed captain mused, looking away from Uehashi for a split second as she remembered back to her own briefing. "SAINT has picked up no signs of the Lorath species in this area of operations since our ships first came to investigate their apparent disappearance."
 
Wardroom

Inside of the wardroom, Yuu Sakaki had found her seat and sat complacently, watching and listening to all that was happening. She wanted to know more, but those things she wanted were only attainable through feet-on-the-ground work. And, so, she stayed quiet while watching both the captain and her fellow operatives as they went on with the question and answer portion of the briefing.

- - -

Tsubei looked from her captain to Uehashi to her captain again. She spoke out after she realized Uehashi had nothing else to ask or add and stated her own question in her chiming, well-spoken voice.

"Will we be suiting up for this mission?"

She crossed her legs after asking the question and pushed her hands along her thigh, forward and then backwards towards herself while she waited for the answer with a soft smile on her face.
 
The blood red mini floated on into the Wardroom atop her gravity drone. This, would very probably be a common course of action with the mini. to start, she bowed, and then listened, interested in the proceedings. And the confirmation of those rumors, she hadn't believed them at first- a whole civilization simply gone, with no signs of them having built up a fleet to move them off? Ludicrous. Or so she thought.

"No signs at all? I can't imagine they didn't miss anyone, evacuations like this couldn't have got everyone... Regardless of how exactly they performed it." She frowned a little, and thought. The idea that they missed none of the lorath- or their slave race companions, seemed too out there for her. The most likely, given the mention of spacial distortions, was they were all removed to somewhere else, with very precise methods. It was that or a horde of self destructing nano machines swept across each and every planet-having been transported there by advanced teleportation techniques- and devoured their race and only their race. That kind of power seemed like that which would have been able to simply take the whole galaxy, unless there was some sort of installation which required them to be inside of to move them. Even worse, the idea it wasn't something they did to themselves came upon her suddenly, a horrifying thought that at any moment, a whole civilization could be surgically extracted from space-time.

She quickly shook her head- back to reality. "Ah, well i beleive we should perhaps prepare to take... guests, aboard should we find any. May I ask what we expect to find as far as equipment goes, are we looking for a clue as to how they all disappeared, or technological avenues we haven't explored?"
 
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Wardroom

Hasewega took a seat in the wardroom and listened astutely to the briefing. The sudden disappearance of almost all of Lorath still a bit of a rumor to her till now. She could spend all day coming up with ideas on why or what sort of cultural blackhole this may cause, but the mission demanded her focus. She let the other ask their questions first, taking mental notes on the what the situation they might be dealing before asking a question of her.

"Seeing as how we maybe heading in military research facilities, how are we to handle any automated defenses?" She asked as the others finish. "Just making sure it won't be against the mission parameters of securing any equipment should be forced to take any defensive measure."
 
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"Yes, you are by all means permitted to defend yourselves, Sara-san," Yoshiko smiled, closing her big golden eyes as she spoke. "We are foremost in the business of gathering intelligence, so do not hesitate to destroy anything programmed to kill you.

"And considering whatever unknown dangers may await you on Tange IV, I do think you all should suit up in power armor, Kyoka-san," the captain added. "Especially since most of you specialized in infantry work before becoming operatives, there is no reason not to wear your Mindy 4s—" she peered over at the mini surfing on her drone assistant, "or your Sylph—unless someone can explain a good reason not to."

Everything within Yoshiko agreed with Iki's assessment of the Lorath departure. Surely, the Matriarchy could not have snagged everyone; such a suggestion went against the simplest form of logic. But it seemed to be the reality of the situation, and was being confirmed and re-confirmed by SAINT scout ships and operatives with every minute that passed.

"According to the intelligence collected by the Star Army so far, I would say prisoners—Lorath or otherwise—are among the least likely items you might bring back from the surface," Yoshiko said, rolling her attention to Iki's question next. "Whatever they did out here, it was amazingly exact. If I didn't know better, I might say the Lorath used some kind of space magic to abscond without a trace. But the Kōkatsu is prepared to take on captives should you encounter them. What we're really interested in is data, though.

"Tange was a hub of technological research and development before its fall to the Mishhuvurthyar," she explained. "Industrial giants like Motoyoshi Fleet Yards and Kakutama Heavy Industries, along with their ties to the Lorath through the United Manufacturing Cooperative, operated on Tange and there could be troves of research logs that have gone untouched for years down there. Acquiring a lost prototype or two would be nice, yes, but any intact computer banks or compartmentalized digital vaults we can access and strip of information could prove a boon to the Empire.

"But we might not find anything at all, either," the shosa admitted, crossing her arms as she took a moment to stop talking. "That's why you're going in to find out."
 
Wardroom


Nagato Maki sat silently in her little corner seat, listening to the mission brief, the others discussing details, recording all of it to her digital memory for later review. The purple haired operative was uisually quiet at briefings, not speaking unless she had something absolutely worthwhile to contribute to the planning, or objected strongly to the course being planned out. For right now, she was quiet, listening and making mental annotations to the memory recordings she was making. She was alarmed to say the least about what had happened in Lorath space. She wanted to know what had happened to them, why it had happened and she felt like she was going to be left with a lot of unanswered questions that would sit uncomfortably in her gut for a long time.

She was also concerned with their direct task at hand.

"I think it would be wise to concider anyone and anything we encounter in that place hostile until proven otherwise" she said, breaking her silence to offer an uncharacteristic obvious suggestion.
 
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Wardroom

"Hai." The mini nodded, soaking the information in. If her superior said as much, she would believe it, and put the thought- that they may encounter lorath, at the back of her mind. There was still the slight possibility of encountering squids, but that was nothing new. And things that were nothing new, were far less dangerous than unexpected variables, such as still active automated defenders. She wasn't entirely aware of how far the lorath explored that particular field however.

She then turned and noted Nagato's own addition to the conversation. "I agree, but at the same time, I don't think shoot on sight should be the rule when we touch down, aside from the fact we may very well not see a soul." After all, so far there was no reason to assume they would, given the extensive searching that was, presumabely done. Not relying on established intelligence, from a skilled organization, would certainly be harmful to the expedition.
 
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Wardroom

Sakaki still wanted to find out more through the mission and was hesitant to ask any questions that could only be answered on Tange IV. So, she spoke out directly to the captain during a lull in the conversation.

"Shosa, I understand as fully as we can understand at this time."

- - -

Satisfied to hear an appropriate response from the captain, Tsubei Kyoka relaxed in her seat and tilted her head just so in order to look at the rest of the room out of both eyes while still keeping the captain in the center of her focus. When Yuu Sakaki spoke out, she, too, said her status as she straightened in her chair.

"I, too, understand, Shosa Okano. We will do what we can to retrieve all of the information still present on Tange IV."
 
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Wardroom, YSS Kōkatsu
30日 4月 YE39
0942 Yamatai Standard Time


"We have approximately fifteen hours in-transit at maximum CDD speed," Yoshiko said, eruditely peering down at her secret agent watch even though, as a Neko, she was networked with constant time updates. "If there are no other questions, I suggest you take time to prepare yourselves and check over your equipment. Considering how long it'll take to reach Tange IV, you may relax at your discretion—I trust, as operatives, that you all know what's appropriate."

The Shosa looked around at each of them from where she stood heading up the round table, her gaze lingering on each crew member's eyes for a moment before moving to the next. They'd all made a good first impression on the salty old gunboat captain, and she had no doubts that they were solid agents—inquisitive, determined, and loyal. However, their real test would come if they encountered anything hostile during their mission. That prospect excited Yoshiko, though it meant hardship for her and the others.

But SAINT operatives lived for the thrill of the chase—for uncovering the unknown—so danger was always more a motivator than a deterrent to the best agents.

"I'll be on the bridge if there is anything further," Yoshiko declared. "Dismissed!"
 
Wardroom

Yuu Sakaki looked to her new roommate and the mini, saying, "Uehashi-san, Iki-chan, would you like to go to Cabin 2 to go over some of the dance routines you know? I can teach you guys a kata if you teach me a routine." She smiled pleasantly and put her hands in front of herself, looking as if she was ready to bow to the captain when she left the wardroom.

- - -

Tsubei Kyoka bowed her pink haired head and began to make her way back to her cabin. She took even steps towards the door to the wardroom, then turned and bowed at the exit before turning again and walking out of it.
 
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