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RP: YSS Takamagahara YSS Takamagahara - Prologue - Hoisting the Colors

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YSS Kishi Maru, Airlock

Hearing the return of the frigid tone to Hitomi's voice, Emi fought back an audible sigh, clearly taking for granted the peace that came with the softer side of the XO. Back to business, back to wanting to take off the Taii's head and scoop out whatever brand of crazy had infested her brain, then return her head with whatever might have been left.

The fiery haired mini neko, and her icy haired twin both shivered in their liquid filled pilot pods at the sound of Hitomi's bladed being pulled from their sheathes, barely visible but noticeable if anyone was paying attention. The hesitation however was hardly present as Emi activated her night vision and moved with practiced precision out the door and down the hall to the left, wondering to herself what the hell the XO was doing moving with blatant disregard for her own safety at the speed she was traveling. It was obvious Nakadai-Taii was not well versed in securing positions and was an element that could potentially cost Alpha team their lives. Emi sighed, focusing on checking carefully rather than rusing head first into danger, leading with the LASR at the ready.
 
YSS Kishi Maru


The corridore was dark, like the rest of the ship. Nightvision showed the wrecked interior of the vessel. Artificial gravity and all climate control was offline, but sensors showed there was air, stale and fridgedly cold.

There were bits of debris floating about. Immediatlu noticable a science scanner with a broken screen, a boot and an old model NSP drifted amongst other less recogbizable items. A thick coating of ice and snow covered everything. Even if anyone had survived the attack on the Kishi Maru, there was no way anyone could have survived the bitter cold.

As the landing party moved into the ship proper, Hitomi's eyes noted something much larger than a boot drifting farther down the corridore. A body. A neko in an old type 22 jumpsuit with bright pink hair, long frozen solid.


Space

"Bravo-7 move on to the next ship for now. We can investigate them at our leasure once we have secured the area" replied Alpha Leader.


Takamagahara - Bridge

"Roger, working on the signal" replied the sensors operator as Atago's data came over.

Momoe leaned forward in her chair, eying the new data as she brought it up in a volumetric window. It was badly garbled, too badly for the captain to even try to identify it herself. The sensor operators would be scrubbing it through filters and recognition systems now.

Atago's change in focus lead her to a quick answer. The signal was coming from one of the wrecked Sakura class gunships floading in the wreckage. It could be a distress becon?
 
"Alpha Leader, Alpha Leader, this is Bravo-7 over," Hiroshi said as she began typing up a message to Alpha Leader. "I acknowledge last, I am going to move from the scout vessel located at the following coordinates." She sent an encrypted message with the specific location of the Nozomi Class Scout ship. "And I am going to move to the Sakura class gunship located at the following location, over." The location of the specific gunship was sent via encrypted message to the Alpha Leader.

Hideaki broke off from her approach vector to adjust her approach to the new vessel. She focused her active scanners on the derelict vessel while keeping an eye on all other traffic between the away team and the mothership.
 
Takamagahara - Bridge

"Captain, I triangulated the origin of the signal and used optics to identify it." Atago reported to the captain. She brought the optical scan on the corner part of the main screen and pointed her little hand at it.

"Well dang," said her little droid that hovered next to her spot as the picture of damaged Sakura gunship was visible to everyone on the bridge. Atago frowned and promptly hit it with one of her tiny fists.

"Looks like it is from one the damaged Sakura-class gunships. It's damage is extensive, but there might be survivors. They are reliable ships after all." The gun officer reported.
 
YSS Kishi Maru

"You've got to be kidding..." Thought the SAINT Officer as she checked the corridor, room by room, announcing clear with each lack of a clear threat revealed. Never before had she witnessed such destruction to a Yamataian vessel, with such a decisive rout of her sisters. If she had ever thought she, or others of her kind, were invincible... that had been cleared up quick and in a hurry. Emi had made her way to what she considered a safe distance away from the rest of the team before setting up a defensive forward position. "Amaterasu-Kohosei to Alpha Team, all clear and holding forward position. Awaiting further orders." She called over the comms.

Aki hummed to herself quietly there in the airlock, happily oblivious while focused on the task of coaxing the sleeping ship's computer back from it's deep hibernation. There was little in the way of a method to her madness, so to speak, which reflected in the song she emitted. The art of communicating with computers, and more importantly AIs, depended less on typical rational thought and more on programmed logic. For the Information Technology Specialist, there were few things she enjoyed more than her immersion into computer systems, and the quality of her work impressed this knowledge into those she had the pleasure of working with.
 
YSS Kishi Maru, Corridor

Hitomi winced as she interrupted her rapid-paced movements upon encountering the frozen, ice-cold remains of a fellow Nekovalkyrja (Bloody hell......things like this are precisely why one should always be encased within the protective shell of an AMES prior to engaging in high-risk combat scenarios, as per regulations.) then winced yet again as the Kohosei's report came in over the radio. How incredibly uninformative. Typical...but, then again, I suppose I ought to have learned to expect such substandard performance from the Amaterasus by now.


Her tone frosty as usual, the XO replied "Nakadai-Taii copies; starboard is clear as well. Encountered one Nekovalkyrja, deceased; identification unknown." - then, after a moment's pause, snarled as she glanced at the overlay illustrating her teammate's positions. Incompetent fools! How is Bravo supposed to cycle through the airlock while you idiots occupy it? "To those of you that have chosen to still remain within the airlock, vacate it. Now."


After giving the aforementioned occupants of the airlock a few seconds to exit into the corridor, the Taii gave the go-ahead for the teams of Bravo and Charlie to enter.

TO: TEAM_LEAD[B/C/D]

***BEGIN MESSAGE***

BRAVO, CHARLIE are GO FOR ENTRY.

***END MESSAGE***
Click to expand...

As she sent the message, however, the Taii trembled - for the lifeless body next to her was evoking a peculiar sense of familiarity, as if Hitomi had somehow witnessed something familiar in the past...
 
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YSS Kishi Maru, Corridor

Nudging Aki gently through the door into the main body of the Kishi Maru itself, Miiko readied the airlock for depressurization and sealed the internal door to minimize the loss of the already limited atmosphere in the ship. Sighing Miiko refrained from replaying the XO's orders back, after all the XO should have been well aware that Miiko had been told to do nothing beyond finish up with the airlock while the XO, and their operative secured the interior. Not in the mood to nitpick Miiko instead started to scan the interior of the interior of the Kishi Maru, checking ambient temperature, structural integrity, and for any potential hazards that lay within the realm of the state of the ship rather than things that might still be moving around in their floating graveyard.

Hopefully this check over would be fairly routine, just a need to check whether or not the ship could be moved under its own power, and perhaps a call to the Star Army Logistics Corps to get some salvage and recovery ships inbound with a defence compliment to secure the asteroid field. After all the activity might draw scavengers seeking to score a prize. For now though Miiko returned her attention to analyzing her immediate area still refusing to do more than obey the XO to the letter of her orders. Initiative wasn't something that was freely given to someone who would just as likely punish it anyway.
 
YSS Kishi Maru


With the landing party cycled through the airlock, they coukd begin their search in full now. Though it was plain to see that the ship was a mess. A dead and lifeless wasteland. As the team moved in they found more bodies, some intact neko popsickles, others not intact neko popsickles. It was clear the crew had not died pleasantly. There were also signs of catastrophic damage, one entire passageway was torn apart, walls ripped open, massive scorch marks and burns from an exploded power conduit.


Sensors picked up no lifesigns so far, but, Miiko did detect a slight power signature coming from a control panel in a room thirty meters down the starboard passageway, a room her link to the Takamagahara's MAGAMI told her was an auxiliary damage control station.


Takamagahara - Bridge

Momoe nodded as Atago reported and displayed the source of the signal.

"The content of the transmission is too garbled to decipher" reported the science officer. "I think that ship's comm array is too badly damaged to transmit properly"

"That's likely" Momoe replied and floated off her command chair, gliding forward to be near where Atago was working and have a better view of what was on the screen. "Fighter wing, investigate this sakura gunship and try and get a clear copy of it's transmission" she commanded over the squadron channel.

"Roger, command" replied the CAG.

As the scans continued farther into the wreckage, a new blip popped onto Atago's screen. It was another wrecked ship, but not Yamataian.


Space

"CAG to Bravo 7, board the sakura gunship and retreave the data from it's transmission" ordered thcommand pilot. "Be careful in there. I'm sending a couple fighters to back you up"
 
Takamagahara - Bridge

"I have another ping, not yamataian signature. Waiting for identication ma'am," Atago reported. She watched her screen waiting. Her finger worked to speed up the process and look at the newly found ship, intead of a broad scan. It was likely to be misshu. Who else would Kishi Maru and that Sakura fought all those years ago.
 
"CAG Leader, this is Bravo-7, over." Hiroshi responded to the CAG Leader as a smile crept across her face. She couldn't believe that the regular army was willing to allow intel to take the lead without being ordered to. "CAG Leader, this is Bravo-7, I acknowledge all, over."

The SAINT started scanning the Sakura-Class gunship for a suitable landing location while she opened up a channel with the two escort fighters she had already been provided. "Bravo-8, Bravo-9, this is Bravo-7, over." She awaited an acknowledgement from the two pilots before continuing. "Bravo-8 and Bravo-9, I want you to initiate docking procedures with the Sakura-Class gunship in close proximity to my fighter, break." Hideaki said as she initiated her own docking procedures. "Your primary objective is to secure the escape route while I retrieve the data, over."
 
YSS Kishi Maru, Corridor

The scans had proven productive, at least from Miiko's point of view. Some part of this hulk was still alive.

While Miiko wasn't keen on working productively given the XO's terrible attitude and disgusting self importance and arrogance, there was no reason to punish Aki for it. So in the spirit of giving them something to do Miiko opened the comm channel, "Nakadai-Taii, I've located what appears to be a live maintenance panel. Details have been sent with this message. Would you kindly give us the cover we need to do our job?"

She wasn't looking forward to the response. After all Miiko felt she was just as likely to get screamed at for not instantly performing her duties, attending to the Taii's every unspoken whim, while at the same time kissing her ass. To this end Miiko sighed in silence to herself and awaited the inevitably torturous response, and hopefully the all clear to do the work that would get them off of this floating graveyard.
 
YSS Kishi Maru, Corridor

It wasn't long before the Executive Officer of the YSS Takamagahara provided the torturous reply that the ship's Chief Engineer had been expecting, delivered in a voice that, while outwardly pleasant-sounding and reserved, was - if one paid close enough attention - practically dripping with disdain at the sheer audacity of asking a highly-ranked officer to perform such a lowly task. "Very well, Nitô Heisho." As she proceeded further down the corridor, Hitomi sighed, shaking her head as she did so - Apparently, peripheral awareness is yet another extraordinarily important concept that these bloody, dim-witted fools have yet to master......at this rate, it appears that I'll have to review the entire Star Army Manual with them following this mission! - then stopped a few meters short of the doorway that had been included with Uehara-Heisho's message. Thank the Empress...at least I didn't have to remind these incompetents to actually provide the most basic amounts of detail in their messages...


"Amaterasu-Kohosei, clear the room I've marked on your AIES; Amaterasu-Hei..." - a pause, then a scowl; the lower-ranked of the Amaterasus was still floating around unproductively in the corridor - "...though I'm well aware that it troubles you immensely to do any form of labor whatsoever, please assist the Heisho in performing her duties." Lest we be stranded here for hours while the Chief Engineer attempts to complete her task. "Bravo, watch the left corridor; Charlie, the airlock; Delta, with me." With yet another sigh at the antics (or lack thereof) of her underlings, the Taii readied her swords. This is going to be a long mission......
 
YSS Kishi Maru

Having been abruptly removed from the Airlock and once again admonished by the XO, Aki resigned to simply existing for fear of doing her job and getting yelled at. Unfortunately, yet again, she was the victim of Nakadai-Taii's verbal abuse. She seemed stuck, wanting to move forward with her job as she had been, wanting to help Uehara-Heisho as she was ordered to, but unable to move due to her inability to comprehend why she was constantly getting berated. All she could manage was turning to Miiko and looking at her, very much lost.

Emi cut off her comms just in time to scream in frustration, and was thankful the atmosphere that should have been in the Kishi Maru was absent and therefore couldn't carry the sound. "Hitomi can not be allowed on another away mission. This madness needs to stop..." She thought to herself before reconnecting to the other of her team, setting forth to secure the room the XO conveniently marked. This would all be over soon enough, or maybe not quite soon enough but relatively so.

With a deep breath, Aki moved to be of assistance to Miiko, though it was apparent she lacked significant confidence. "U-Uehara-Heisho... h-how can I help...?"
 
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YSS Kishi Maru, Corridor

Deciding that it would be best to simply get them moving and working rather than agonizing over the XO's endless vitriol, Miiko was quick to reply to Aki's question, "We're going to move to an emergency console, and from there you'll do what you do best. We've got to see if we can wake up this ship's slumbering MEGAMI. In the mean time I'll be working around you to keep the ship stable and improve the state of things." She wasn't sure that she was doing the best job at being supportive, but she was trying. Hopefully it would be good enough in contrast with the XO.

Signalling her confirmation to the rest of the group, Miiko hefted her LASR and lead the way for Aki, while following along in Emi's wake as they closed in on the room where the emergency console and the last ghost of the Kishi Maru resided. Hopefully they'd have some answers soon enough, whether that be information on the Kishi Maru herself, or the knowledge that they were better off calling in a recovery detail she didn't know.
 
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Takamagahara - Bridge


Atago's scan swept out, the battleships sensors searching fomore detail on the new contact, focusing in on it for a high resolution scan. As the data came back, scrolling across the operators displays, her hunch was confirmed. The wreck was from a Mishhu cruiser appropriate for that era.

From what the detailed scan told her, the ship was in ruins, just like everything else in the field of wreckage, its entire back half was gone, blown away or vaporozed.


Space

Bravos 8 and 9 acknowledged and swept in, closing to land on either side of where Bravo 7 had set down on the Sakura class gunship's hull, magnetizing to the wreck to keep from floating away as their space suited pilots disconnected from their mini-spine link to their ships and exited.

It might have been comical at any other time seeing the tiny pilots in their miniature blue star fighter pilot space suits exit from the full sized fighters.

"We have the area covered" one of the pilots said to Hideaki.

The spot the SAINT operative had choosen to enter the ship was a great gash in the hull that had opened the gunship up to space. Unlike the Kishi Maru, the smaller warship had been completely gutted and no longer had any sealed compartments left.


YSS Kishi Maru - Damage Control Center

The away team progressed, the compartment With the emergency console was one of the ships damage control centers, full of emergency repair supplies and hardware as well as a wall encompasing master systems monitor and a full control suite for the ships emergencand envyronmental systems. The station seemed intact and was in low power standbye mode, awaiting input.
 
YSS Kishi Maru - Damage Control Center

Floating into the room, Miiko was quick to scan the entirety of the locale while taking special measures to ensure that the ceiling, corners of the room, any anywhere that might conceal anything were check out. Once she was satisfied with her bit of redundant observation, Miiko directed Amaterasu-Hei's attention to the emergency systems panel, "Do you think that will help you with getting to know the ship better Aki?" Miiko wanted to see the more reserved of the Amaterasu twins at work so that the poor girl wouldn't have to suffer further indecision or abuse at the behest of the vitriolic XO.

Hopefully the systems would be cooperative, though Miiko supposed it was good that they had two engineers on hand, it would make any potential hardware troubleshooting faster when they got to it.
 
Takamagahara - Bridge

"Skipper!" Atago said out loud. "I have a half of NMX cruiser on the scope. Heavy damage, seems inactive. No activity. We should expect dormant Battlepods." Telling captain about what to expect seemed silly, but Atago wanted to show that she expects. The blonde mini-neko checked her weapons systems again, especially point defense. Even if NMX that was supposedly here got crushed, there might be dozens of battlepods left around. That said, it was long time. Would the battlepods energy reserve be enough to keep the brainslave operator alive? Hard to tell, Atago did not know that much about the enemy.

"Ma'am." Atago raised her brows and looked up again. "It was probbaly NMX who won here, unless both forces crushed each other, because we would not leave our ships behind like this. So I think it is wise to expect mines as well. Maybe even those phase mines. Nasty stuff."
 
YSS Kishi Maru - Damage Control Center

The small compartment was clear of anything out of the ordinary. It was not terribly different from the same type of space that could be found aboard the Takamagahara. Even in all the years since this ship had gone down, not much had changed in that sense. The master system control board in front of Miiko flickered to life for her. An image of the ship on the main screen, many sections blocked out in red to show decompression or massive damage. But it also showed that the main powerplant was intact and in stand by, the life support was likewise. The FTL and sublight propulsion systems were shot though, there was no getting those back.


YSS Takamagahara - Bridge

Momoe nodded as Atago gave her report. "So, that confirms it then" she said. "I think you're right" she added. "Noting the lack of NMX wrecks, I would suggest them to have won this fight, otherwise we'd have found more of their ships smashed up here and not one of our task groups." she went on. "Begin scans for mines or any other form of booby trap the Mishhu might have left behind"
 
YSS Takamagahara - Bridge

Atago nodded back to captain. "Hai," she responded and took back to her console. She worked fast, setting her scanners to look for anything dangerous. But she was not the one to do all the scanning. That was for actual scanner console to do. Still Atago could help.

The blonde mini remembered about one thing that she learned about back in the academy. About the 21st Fighter Squadron encountering the damnable phasin mines. If she remembered than someone in the squadron came up with a way of detecting them. Atago called up Takamagahara's AI and asked it to get the data and forward it to the scanning station.

"I am getting data on phase mines," Atago said out loud. "Sending it to scanner station soon."
 
YSS Kishi Maru - Damage Control Center

The Amaterasu sisters moved along with Uehara-Heisho, both moving with purpose and surprising grace. Aki nodded to Miiko, then set to work with her tools to make any necessary repairs to the panel in hopes of getting it to come to life, to coax the MEGAMI of the Kishi Maru from it's deep slumber. She hoped it would be like welcoming an old friend back, as if they were returning from a long trip away. While she worked, a nonsensical tune emitted from her, no real rhyme or reason to it, but it was there.

Emi on the other hand made sure to scope and scout out the surrounding areas around the Damage Control Center just to make sure there wasn't any hidden surprises waiting for them. With her LASR at the ready, she moved room from room, then would relay her findings, if any, back to the rest of the away team.
 
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