RP: YSS Yui [YSS Yui] Pre-Mission 1: Meeting Ketsurui Chiharu

[Kim]

The New Admiral
2/20/03 12:25 : Joint Post with Wes Davis
GSS Now and Forever & GSS Philosophy


Chiharu sat in the Captian's chair watching the display beyond the helm of the GSS Now and Forever, just watching the endless sea of stars.

On the GSS Philosophy, Yui ran her hands down the sides of her soft, snug GSA uniform, the pin on it glistening slightly. Her red-irised eyes told of troubles beyond what anyone should have to bear, and love that not everyone deserved. She leaned over Hinosami's small shoulders, nibbling on the girl's ear, and then whispered a few commands. The screen switched to the logo of the GSA 2nd Fleet, and then to a view of Chiharu. "Hello, Chujo Ketsurui" the Taisho greeted her fellow catgirl with a warm smile.

Chiharu smiled brightly as the face of her old friend flashed onto the display. "Taisho Kitsurugi! It's been a long time. I hope you are doing well. So what grants me the honor of your transmission?" She straightens up in her chair, quickly pushing a strand of long dark green hair behind her right ear.

"Chiharu, you are as lovely as ever." Yui began. Nekos were eternally beautiful, but what Yui was referring to was the warmth and intelligence her old comrade showed. It never ceased to impress Yui. "I know ever since your ship was moved off of the 2nd fleet's roster, you've been looking for an assignment. I think I have something you will enjoy greatly. Would you like to discuss it in person?"

"Really, that'd be great! Where would you like to meet? I can transmit my coordinates or you could send me yours." Chi suddenly realised how desperate she sounded and tried to recompose herself a bit. "I mean, I would love to discuss with you in person and thank you for giving me a call about it." She blushed softly, sounding a bit sheepish now.

"Oh," Yui grinned, looking a bit excited herself, and blushing ever-so-slightly at the reaction Chi had made. The response wasn't as funny as the way the admiral had tried to smooth and correct herself. "I'll pick you up. Please pack your belongings, Chi." Yui bowed. Behind her, a low humming noise rose somewhat in pitch as the CDD engines whirred to life, shooting the ship across space at many times light speed.

Chi nodded. "Will do, see you soon." She ended the transmission and quickly stood up from her chair and happily ran to her quarters. "I wonder where my next assignment will be. Aya and Kuru will be happy to have something to do!" She started looking around for her duffel bag.

"Chiharu-chan, my ship is docking with yours." Yui informed the GSS Now and Forever a few minutes later, slowing to match speeds with the somewhat larger destroyer. The teardrop-shaped craft moved over top of the N&F until the ships' lift hatches were lined up. Then each extended the shafts so the lift cars could move from one to the other.

A young woman's voice replied to the transmission, it carried a cheerful bubbly pitch. "Chujo Ketsurui will be meeting you there in a moment Taisho Kitsurugi." Aya turned from her station and looked towards the other crew member now on the bridge. "Kuru the Taisho's here, let the Chujo know." The older girl nodded and straightened her uniform as she jogged off the bridge to the captain's quarters. "Ketsurui-sempai, your guest has arrived." With a brief nod, Chi bolted out of the room and towards the boarding hatch to meet Yui, leaving Kuru standing by herself, surprised in the hatchway. "Sempai?

Rather than board the Now and Forever, Yui was going to call the Chujo up into her new ship. But she reconsidered and decided it might be rather rude to just take her away so quickly. And so it was that the Lift came down from the GSS Philosophy, carrying Yui...

The lift doors opened, and there stood Yui, smiling.

In a matter of moments, Chi came to a rather swift halt at the docking bay of the USS Now and Forever. She adjusted her command uniform, hoping it looked ok and in order, knowing that it wasn't a formal meeting but she wanted to look good for her first meeting with her old friend.

Yui silently skulked out of the lift car and down the hallways, until she found Chiharu hanging out near the rear of the ship in the docking bay. Quietly sneaking over, she raised her hand and made a quick hard swipe to smack poor unsuspecting Chi on the buttcheek.

Chi jumped and let out a surprised squeak as her butt got smacked. Turning around, she blushed a bright red as she saw Yui. "You never change Yui." She still smiled brightly if not sheepishly...so much for being dignified.

Yui pointed at Chi, the fleshy underside of her finger softly pressing on Chi's nose. "I'm missed you more than you know, Chiharu-chan."

"I missed you too, Yui-san. I wasn't sure if you had forgotten about me after all of these years." Chi still smiled as the blush faded from her cheeks. "So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She nodded back towards the corridor that lead into the ship. "Are you hungry? We could get a snack in the galley or a drink?"

Yui's finger traced around Chi's nose, then down her cheek and behind her head. Tugging Chi toward her, Yui nodded, then planted a series of small kisses on the Chujo's cheek, finishing with one on the lips. They weren't passionate, but the kisses did have a deep friendly intimacy. "I have come to give you ask you" Yui then said, quietly getting down to business. "would you be willing to command my ship, the GSS Yui?" The famed Taisho didn't give it as an order, but as an offer. She gave Chiharu time to consider as they walked together toward the ship's galley for something to drink.

Chi quietly walked to the galley with Yui and when they finally reached the surprisingly empty galley she thought it over. "Where are you going to be if you're leaving your ship?" She opened up a cabinet and looked over the bottles of alcohol. "What would you like to drink?"

Yui entered the freezer for a brief moment and emerged with a box of baked-apple-flavored ice cream, and began dipping it out, a cup for herself, one for Anri (who had wandered aboard with Yui), a cup for Chiharu-chan and cups for Aya and Kuru. "Apple juice, milk, and sake, please." Yui politely asked, having an odd urge for all of the flavors.

"I am going to be exploring. There's a new system we've discovered that we fear the angels may be trying to colonize. There's strange sensor readings...something dangerous could be happening." the older catgirl answered.

"Alrighty." Chi nodded and pulled out bottles of all three drinks, as Aya and Kuru wandered into the galley looking at Yui and Anri curiously. Chi set the bottles down on a table and offered Yui and Anri a seat. "Aya, Kuru, please join us." The girls remained standing waiting for the senior officers to sit first. "You're crew is going to miss you Yui-san."

Yui and sat down first, but not Anri. Anri instead made a deep bow to Chi. "Chi-san" the quiet first officer whispered.

Chi smiled softly to Anri. "Please take a seat Anri-chan." She waits for Anri to take a seat before sitting down herself.

Anri looked at Yui nervously, and then turned back to Chiharu. "Yes, Chi-san." she submitted softly and sat in a seat.

Aya and Kuru sat down after the senior officers and quietly listened to the conversation. "I would like to take command of your ship, does your crew know about this yet?" Chi hoped that the crew would accept her as their captain. She opened the bottles.

"I'm not sure. I haven't told them directly, but they know I am not on their ship anymore." Yui poured herself apple juice first, smiling to Aya and Kuru. The pair was unfamiliar, but they were friends to Chiharu, and that said a lot already.

Chi poured herself some sake. "It'll be hard to replace you Yui. I can imagine just how much your crew loves you."

Anri poured some of her milk into her cup of ice cream and stirred, making a milkshake out of it. Yui did the same. "I really wish I could stay."

"It kinda makes me sad that after seeing you for the first time in years it's only for you to say good-bye again." Chi stirred her sake with her ice cream while Aya mixed milk with her ice cream and Kuru.. simply just ate her ice cream.

Anri slipped her hand around Aya's waist and leaned against her, whispering into Aya's ear; "What do you feel about Chiharu-san?" Yui had quickly polished off her milkshake and apple juice, and now poured herself sake. "It makes me feel saddened as well. This time, I promise to keep in touch better, though."'

Aya whispered quietly back, "She's like a big sister to me and I love her for it. One day I want to be a great woman like her... how do you feel about Yui-san?" Chi drank her sake-shake. "Thank you. Kick some Angel ass for me." She smiled softly, wondering what'll happen to the Now and Forever.

"I think" Anri quietly pondered, "Yui is like a mother and mentor to me."

"how long have you been with Yui-san?" Aya quietly asked again, happy to have company and a conversation with someone other than the Chujo and Kuru.

Yui smiled to Anri and kissed the 1st officer on her forehead. "I suppose." she smiled and then answered for Anri before Anri could. It was clear who was dominant between the two. "She's been with me for a year now."

Chi smiled at Aya and Anri. "We don't get many visitors out here.." Aya spoke again, not entirely surprised that they were heard. "Only a year? It seems like you've been together longer."

"We've grown very close, being together constantly. A year can be a long time." Yui hugged Anri gently.

The girls smiled at Yui and Anri. While Kuru quietly pondered her own relationship with Chi. "Very true Yui-san." said Chi. "Could you tell me what your crew is like? Any other NH-7s?"

"Oh." Yui chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm taking many of them with me. The neko technicians are staying, though. Their names are Suishun'ei, Yawajinki, and Genshiro. They're hard workers, but tend to get distracted easily. Other than them, there's Elly, a neko, and there's a lot of alien males. Wazu is an eccentric scientist, Ritsurin is a confused security officer, and Sgzyr is a mysterious lizard like man. There are a few others too. All in all, they're a good crew that will serve you well. If you meant my crew for the Philosophy, it is mostly nekos." Yui added.

"So the GSS Yui is a ship of mostly males.. that should be interesting." Chi fiddled with her hair a bit.

"Tomorrow," Yui smiled, "You will come aboard the GSS Yui and meet them. I know males are strange, but these one don't seem to be too bad. I will give you a mission, too. In the mean time, get some rest. I will retire to my ship. You can either come with us or have your ship meet with the Yui." She stood up after drinking the last of her sake.

"I'll have my ship meet with the Yui tomorrow.. I still have to say goodbye to it." Chi stood up and the other 2 girls stood up as well. "We'll walk you to the docking bay."

"No, thank you." Yui politely declined, giving a respectful bow. "I will meet you at the Yui if possible." After a kiss goodbye, Yui and Anri stepped into the lift and went back to their ship to go to bed. The GSS Philosophy detached from the older ship and headed off into the night to stop at Geshrintall to pick up supplies.

"See you then" Chi watched Yui and Anri go.

 

[Kim]

Re: [Yss Yui] Chiharu Log 1

Infornography
JP by Nick, Zack, Wes
Originally Posted: 2/22/03 3:10
Setting: Bridge of the GSS Yui
Time: a few hours previous to Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu's arrival
ON>

Wazu is observing the movement of the GSA ships from his science station on the bridge.

Araiah arrived on the bridge and silently walked over to the empty Ops station. He looked at the screen for a while, then tapped a control.

There are dozens of GSA ships here, with the entire first fleet assembled over the planet Geshrintall. The second fleet's ships are nearby, too, making well over a hundred visible to the Yui's crew.

The shifter looked back at the view screen, surprised at the number of ships. "Wow...looks like a family reunion." He turned back to the console and stared at the screen. Finally he turned to the doc. "Hey, Wazu, how do you talk to the A.I.?"

"Well you can just plug in or you can go to the computer room"He said

All in all, it was very much a family reunion. Many nekos were related, if not only by DNA. There suddenly appeared a white-haired neko behind Wazu.

Araiah glanced at the neko and raised a brow. "Or she could just appear right behind you...Lemme guess, you must be Megami?" The shifter left the station and took a couple steps toward the frosty-haired apparition.

Wazu, just now realizing the appearance of the computer's holographic form behind him, takes a step back

"I am." the avatar answered with a chilling grin. "State your desire."

Abruptly realizing that he didn't really know what he wanted, Araiah frowned. Then he brightened a little. "I'm Chusa Jal Araiah," he said, trying to remember how Yui had introduced herself to him. "I wanted to apologize for my intrusion a couple days ago."

"..." the ghostly woman stared.

"I guess you don't care...okay...I need information on the Nekos, then. Who makes them, what they can do. Stuff like that." The shifter looked a bit odd. This was his first time interacting with an A.I., what was one supposed to do? Act like it was a person, or order it around like a computer?

"You must specify if you wish to receive specifics." the computer-woman commented with detachment before answering what she could. "The nekos are made by the PNUgen Corporation and Kitsurugi Heavy Industries-WickedArms Corporation. They can do tasks which are important to the needs of the GSA."

"What is their physical composition?"

"Why?" Megami eyed Araiah suspiciously.

Her suspicion was expected. "If I'm going to be second in command of this ship, I'm going to need to know how to care for the race that composes the majority of the crew." He motioned to the console behind him. "If it's sensitive information, I could read it, or you could refuse to give it to me. It's alright."

"Chusa Jal," the avatar said, "Nekos care for themselves."

"Okay. Didn't know that." This was perfect...he'd apologized only to offend her again. "What information am I cleared to access?" he asked on a whim.

"..." stared the avatar. Not very talkative. Either she didn't want to say anything or it was too much to list in a reasonable amount of time.

This was getting nowhere. "This is why I didn't have an a.i. on the Cat's Paw," Araiah muttered to himself. Aloud he said, "Do I have clearance to connect directly to you? It'll enable a quicker exchange of information than this slow verbal method. And don't worry about compatibility, I'm sure I can adjust."

The avatar looked at this person in curiosity. "What information do you wish to exchange?"

"Nothing you would object to, I hope. Megami, how am I supposed to work here if I don't know anything?" The shifter's voice held a barely noticeable note of frustration. Patience was something he had, but going in circles was not the best use of time.

"Direct interfaces are the equivalent of what you mortals know as sexual intercourse." Megami looked somewhat uncomfortable with the idea. "Do you love me?" the computer asked.

Araiah stared at the hologram with wide eyes, mind blank. Expected, this was not. Finally, he shook his head and blinked a couple times. "Sex? You thought I was trying to have sex with you?" Araiah leaned back on the console behind him and frowned. "Wow...I never thought of it that way. Talk about a culture shock."

Megami nodded. "Direct data exchange is something that requires trust."

"Sorry Megami" Wazu said obviously embarrassed "I had no idea. Where I come from it isn't seen that way."

"And all this time I thought it was a clearance problem..." Araiah pushed himself back into a standing position and approached the hologram. "In my culture, computers are merely the mechanical portion of the system. The actual information is held in us, we link together to share it using the machines. But it isn't regarded as a procreative act. Information is information. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding," Araiah said apologetically.

"It is fine. My distrust is spawned from the fact that you have not been aboard the ship for very long, and that I do not know much regarding you or your species." Megami semi-accepted the apology.

"I understand your reasoning. I'd be the same way in your position." Araiah paused, then added, "Well, sort of...Anyway, eh...what would be an acceptable way to gain access?"

"You can...access me directly," Megami nervously volunteered. Of course, that didn't mean he could access it all, but it was a huge step. "I will try to be gentle with your mind."

"Let's just stick with textual at first, get the feel for each other's preferences...then ease into direct data? Would that work?" The shifter looked at the data port with a new realization of what she was offering, then took a breath. "Don't even think, Wazu..." Araiah muttered at the Doc.

"What?" Wazu replied then decided that it would be best to go back to work.

"Yes, that would be acceptable." Megami quietly agreed.

Returning to the Ops station, Araiah sat down in front of it and formed a jack in his hand, the chord coming from the middle of his palm. "Wazu, if anything goes wrong, just chop my arm off. I'll deal with the mess." With that, he inserts it into the port.

"Can I have that in writing?" Wazu asked.

Araiah got off a nod before his eyes became glazed over, the half-closed orbs glowed with a dim yellow light. A piece of paper fell from his left hand, the right one being the one with the plug-in.

Megami pointed to her crotch. "The jack."

"Eck...I'm not going there. Is there another way?" The shifter looked a bit green...

"The station will do, then." the avatar nodded, rerouting the connection.

Blackness is all he saw for a couple moments...his thought processes have accelerated to try to match the processing of the computer, or at least his best guess. -Megami?- he thought out; the words appeared out of nowhere in particular written in a glowing green text.

Megami, who apparently operated at a speed beyond comprehension, had allocated a portion of herself to interacting with him. Her response was [Command?]

His body smiled. A computer that operated a speed beyond that of thought itself...extraordinary. -Query: Determine optimum method of operation.-

[Specify:] Parameters/ "Operation of what?"

A quick analysis of her responses didn't turn up any pattern he recognized. He decided to take a shot in the dark and sent a simple file to her. -Request permission to initiate file transfer. Contents: General information->species profile->Melumsi.- The file was small, almost insignificant compared to the capacity available in both 'minds'. But it held basic information on his race, an offer to ease her distrust of him. -Dismiss operation parameter request-

[Copying:] R/Bridge/Ops/Port1/General information/species profile/Melumsi to MEGAMI_GD30/Subava99/temp

-Request: Basic information-> system_description->Megami. Yes/No?-

[Translate:] Script
[Response:] Y

-This is sounding like a first date...- Araiah thought absently, the words flickering in and out in a nanosecond.

He initiated the download, letting her send what she wanted instead of gathering the information himself. -Query: analysis results->Araiah. Trustworthy: Y/N?-

[Response:] Null

-Format request: Optimum system-to-system communication- thought the shifter. His format was clearly not hers.

[Response:] Null

-Define term: "Null".- In the real world, Araiah shook his head. "Megami, I need to know how you operate or we won't work this way," he said aloud as he retracted the jack back into his palm, the hole sealing itself without a trace. He rubbed the spot absently and looked around for the hologram. "If it's going to be this way, I'll stick to screens and keyboards. But I'll need to know what I can look at to avoid going somewhere I'm not wanted."

"Null means nothing. It is the lack of a response due to insufficiency." Apparently she was more than a hologram, but an actually flesh and blood creature created to represent the Megami system. She pressed her warm body against his for a moment, pulling his arm to her chest briefly to get his attention when he looked around.

"In other words, I'm not being as specific as you want me to be. And you can't decide about me because you don't know enough about me." Araiah said absently. He missed his ship. When it had blown up, he hadn't felt much, but now he noticed the void. He also noticed he was touching her. A small smirk formed on his lips as he looked back at her face. "I take it "gentleman" has a different meaning around here." He snorted in amusement when he noted that there weren't normally men at all. Around here the doc, Daijin, and possibly Sgzyr were males. As for him, he was only male in mentality.

"Gentleman?" Megami was unsure why he'd say such a thing. She didn't really have any statistics to show off to him, though.

He removed his hand and shrugged. "The culture I come from is...a bit reserved. It doesn't matter, really." He let her remain where she was and tilted his head. "Hmm...when I asked for a format, you replied with "Null"....I ment, how do I form commands when interfaced. Input format, in otherwords."

Megami gave him a quizzical look, and then smiled. "You can speak to me as you normally would to any other person. So long as your commands and questions are clear..."

"Okay. I'll remember that." He looked at her face and smiled. "So are we on good terms? Again, I'm sorry for intruding. I'm glad we got this chance to talk it over before I did something else wrong."

"Oh, it is fine." Megami grinned, but without a great deal of emotion. It was hard to tell where the computer ended and the person began.

Araiah nodded and his smile grew a bit. After a moment, he turned to look at the viewscreen. "Where are we?" A translucent holographic map appeared, showing a systems of planets. It the center, marked in bright white, was the ship, orbiting a planet which had two moons, and labeled "Geshrintall". The map zoomed in until the entire bridge was filled with lights and lines, as the GSS Yui was shown in the middle of a cloud of ships.

Megami noted from her position slightly behind him, "We are in geosynchronous orbit over a position close to the former location of Geshrinopolis."

"Geshrinopolis? I haven't heard of it before...what system is it in?" He realized that he was somewhere he was unfamiliar with. Getting up, he walks into the hologram, looking around the planet and ships as if the markers were going to help him understand anything.

"Geshrinopolis, a megacity, was the capital of the Grand Star Empire." Megami pointed to the huge crater in the holographic planet. "We are in the Geshrin System."

Araiah nodded as if that explained everything. The best thing to do, he figured, was to pick up more information about his new employer as he came across it.
Maybe Wazu or Daijin knew something. "Okay...thanks, Meg." He smiled slightly. "Is it alright if I call you Meg?"

"You may call me Meg." the avatar nodded. "I also respond to Dee Thirty, and Yui, provided the Taisho is not aboard."

"I'll stick with Meg, it's more personable," replied the shifter. "Anyway, thanks for your help." He paused, then remembered something. "Hey, do you know everything that goes on in the ship?"

"Yes, I do." Meg admitted.

Araiah shrugged. "Oh. Okay. What do you know about um...I think his name was Sgzyr...yeah. Is he a very nice guy? He didn't seem to happy when he met me."

"That, Araiah, is a question which I am unable to answer at this time. Sgzyr, I do know, has done nothing that would warrent removal from his position in security."

That seemed to ease the teen a bit. He smiled a bit and leaned against a wall. "I know this is turning into Twenty Questions but this'll be the last one, and I'll leave you to whatever you do. Who's going to take over while the Taisho's gone?"

"Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu has been selected as captain." Megami told him. She popped up a holographic window showing the catgirl's bio.

Araiah skimmed the info, then looked at the avatar. "Mind if I download it?"

"No, this one does not contain anything of a sensitive personal nature. Therefore you may." Megami briefly glanced at his new shiny rank pin.

Nodding, the shifter re-linked with the console. The transfer taking only a few moments, flash-burning the file into his mind. He disconnected and rubbed his hand again. Connecting like that gave him a tingle in his hand, from keeping his energy from leaking into the system. No telling what that would do...

Military Data
Rank: Chujo (Vice Admiral)
Current Assignment: Captain of GSS Yui (GD-30), commanding officer, GSA 1st Fleet
Affiliations: Grand Star Empire, GSA 1st Fleet, GSA 2nd Fleet, Clan Ketsurui
Brief Service History: Found with Yui during the Heavenly Wars, Stationed on the GSS Now and Forever (GC-04) Defending Geshrintall until it was removed from the 2nd Fleet's Roster.
History: After her tour of duty during the Heavenly Wars, Chiharu disappeared when her transport ship crashed and was supposedly destroyed. A few years later she found to be in status and was taken back to the PNUgen Corporation/WickedArms Industries to receive an upgrade.

Most of the information had little or no meaning to Araiah, except that it seems the new commander has a bit of history with Yui. And what were the Heavenly Wars? More stuff to find...

 

[Kim]

Re: [Yss Yui] Chiharu Log 1

Convergence
2/22/03 0:54 : JP with Wes, Tyler, Nick, Zack & John
GSS Yui (GD-30)


The GSS Philosophy (GD-117) pulled alongside and then over the GSS Yui (GD-30), lining up its lift hatches to the elevator systems of each could connect. The two nearly identical blue-hulled starships sort of looked like mating fish.

Aboard the GSS Now and Forever (GC-04) the sparse crew was bustling with renewed life as they started their course to meet the GSS Yui (GD-30). Chiharu sat on the bridge and looked over the space on last time, the ship had served her well and now it was time to say goodbye so the last time to go report to her new duty station, the GSS Yui.

The GSS Yui was going to be sandwiched, with the somewhat larger cruiser on the bottom...In the meantime, the Taisho stepped into the lift car from her new ship, and rode down into the GSS Yui. Above the GSS Yui, a fifth fleet Yui-class ship appeared also, the GSS Shindo (GD-121). It was expected already, and moved in position to dock on the topside of the Philosophy.

The recently-promoted and somewhat downhearted Chusa Hoshi Koigokoro, returning from serving on an alien ship under an officer exchange program, also moved into the lift once the ships had docked. She expected to run into Yui, but didn't realize she was right above the Taisho.

Time found Araiah sitting on the floor of the bridge, reviewing the information on the new CO that the avatar had provided. Megami had left long ago to tend to other functions of the ship. After finishing the dossier, the shifter decided to try on a neko form...they seemed to function tactically at a level he admired...small, agile, strong, and light. Perfect weapons.

A few moments later, the GSS Now and Forever blinked into existence near by the GSS Yui. Chiharu blinked in amazement at the 5th fleet ship already docked atop the Philosophy. "My my, busy day.." The Now and Forever moved into position to dock along the bottom side of the GSS Yui, glad that the smaller ship won't get squished like a bug under the weight of all the other ships, but hey, it's outer space.

But his knowledge was limited to their appearance only, since he hadn't been allowed access to their technological data. "Well, here goes..." His form wavered, the molecules rearranging according to his thoughts. He maintained his internal structures, changing only his appearance. Ears lengthened, his silhouette slimmed in some areas and expanded in others. Only his eyes remained the same, retaining the trademark metallic orange irises.

The familiar yet infamous old neko stepped out into the main deck of the ship that shared her name. She let out a smile, somewhat pleased to be back on the ship. The philosophy was very much the same, yet it would take a bit before it had that 'home' feel to it. The MEGAMI on the Philosophy was a copy of the one on the Yui, and the two were probably talking their odd computer-speak and whatnot, catching up on things.

Wazu was waiting by the lift system for the new arrivals when Yui entered the ship. "Hello!" He said enthusiastically.

And Koi made her way onto the Philosophy, carrying her belongings in a single black bag which bore the logo of the GSA 1st Fleet. Settling into her quarters, the as-of-yet untouched science and medical nest, she began to put up her uniforms in the locker-chests.

"Hello again, my friend." Yui grinned at Wazu, wondering what weird invention he was working on this time.

The shifter blinked, tilting his...her head as she examined her reflection on a console surface. "A fairly accurate representation, if I do say so myself," she said with a pleased tone, brushing a bit of maroon hair out of the range of vision. Her inspection was interrupted by a mental alarm. "Right! The CO is coming aboard soon!" Araiah exited the bridge and headed to the lift, spotting Yui and Wazu upon arrival. "Mistress Yui, welcome back!"

Yui bowed lightly to Araiah Jal , taking a moment to deduce who she actually was.

"Who are you?" Wazu said obviously confused not knowing that the new neko was Araiah.

Agent Zero "I came back to introduce your new captain. I'm sure you'll be pleased with her." Yui stated with a confident smile.

The new neko blinked, then smirked at the Doc. "I'm Araiah Jal . Sorry, I was just trying something new."

When the Now and Forever docked with the GSS Yui, Chi boarded the lift that would take her up onto the Yui. And she glanced about at what was to be her new ship.

Yui bowed lightly to Araiah, taking a moment to deduce who she actually was. "Araiah?" the Taisho finally asked, not ever having seen a neko with maroon hair before. It was as unnatural to her as pink hair was to humans.

"Who are you?" Wazu said obviously confused not knowing that the new neko was Araiah.

"I came back to introduce your new captain. I'm sure you'll be pleased with her," Yui stated with a confident smile.

The strange neko smirked at Wazu. "Recognize me now?" she asked with amusement, her eyes glowing slightly with an orange light. "I decided to try out a new form, that's all."

Chi exited the lifted and glanced about at the hulls and hatchways that connected the lift to the rest of the ship, not quite sure where exactly she was at the moment. "I wonder if I'll get lost again.."

"Araiah?!" Wazu was obviously surprised "It is you!"

Luckily for Chi, the Yui was not a big class of ship, and the conversation of Yui, Araiah, and Wazu could be easily heard down on the other end of a hall filled with a single layer of boxes.

After smirking at Wazu again, Araiah acknowledged Yui with a bow, then stepped back and stood at attention. Whether it was required or not didn't cross her mind, but she nodded curtly at Yui. "Yes, Taisho, I'm sure anyone you chose will be a good commander."

Chi smiled hearing voices and jogged towards them, resisting the urge to prance on all fours towards it like an actual cat.

Yui couldn't help but look around her feet making sure there wasn't more skittering experimental creations running around down there. "She should be here anytime," Yui observed, and laughed in amusement as just then the one they spoke of arrived. "Hail to you, Chujo Ketsurui!" Yui smiled.

Chi skittered to a stop, as she found her old friend and the bridge. "Hello again Taisho Kitsurugi." She smiled brightly to her friend and then to the other, if odd, Neko and the man. She smoothed back her dark brown hair, almost as if to pull it into a ponytail and let it drop again, looking over the trio with curiosity shining in dark red eyes. "Are these some of the crew? And a new type of NH-7?" She looked over the Neko like a new child would over a brand new toy.

Araiah pointed to herself tentatively, raising a brow as if to say "Who, me?"

The Taisho looked at Wazu, then to Araiah, then back to Chi. "These two are part of your new crew. This..." she pointed to Araiah, "...is Araiah Jal. And this..." a finger indicated Wazu, "Is the famous Heram J. Wazu, designer of the Wazu and Wakizashi class starships."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Wazu said giving a slight bow to Ketsurui Chiharu.

Chi smiled brightly again, tilting her head to one side as she looked Araiah over again. "Nice to meet you Ms. Araiah, Mr. Wazu. So you're not taking this Neko with you Yui-san?"

Smiling, Araiah followed Wazu's lead and bowed as well. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance, Chujo Chiharu...Wait, miss?" The neko looked a bit confused, then shook her head and shrugged. She'd let it go, for now. The Chujo would find out soon enough.

Yui stepped up next to Chi and then moved behind the new admiral, rubbing her hands on Chi's back, feeling her up for VDF flaps and CPPO outlets, finding none. She then ran her hands through Chi's hair, admiring its odd color, which seemed nearly as out of place as Araiah's hair. "Ooh." Yui raised her eyebrows. "You're an X, aren't you?" Taisho Yui, also a test weapon who would might be receiving an X body, asked. "Araiah will be staying aboard the Yui."

Chi nodded again at Araiah. "You look squishy enough unless you're married." She pondered the idea, it kinda makes you wonder if she's just playing, as Yui examined her. "Mew?" She blinked a bit and then nodded to Yui. "Yes Yui-san, I'm now an X."

Having not seen an NH-7 in great detail, all Araiah has is the basic shape and face, but none of the ports or flaps...

Again, Araiah frowned. "'Squishy'?"

Yui smiled at Araiah's frown, holding back a chuckle.

Once again Chi looked at Araiah. "Unless you have a hard body." She smiled again.

"I'm not married or otherwise engaged...sorry, what did you mean by 'squishy', ma'am?" A look of thinly veiled confusion accompanies the shifter's question. "My skin is molecularly identical to a standard neko, at least, as far as I have been able to replicate it. I haven't exactly been able to do any in-depth study to its make up yet."

"Bony hips." Yui joked on Chiharu. Chi had always preferred the firmer settings of the NH-7, and a quick feel on the admiral's hips confirmed that Chi had set the body up as she always had.

Wazu looked confused but simply shrugged it off.

Chi blushed a bit at the Taisho's comment. "She's no fun." she said in reference to Araiah. "You can shape shift according to DNA then?"

"Don't try to decode the NH-7 or NH-X DNA," Yui warned. That sort of thing would always end up in injury or death to someone.

"I go deeper than genetic coding," Araiah said, her unease evaporating as the subject became less mysterious. "I start with the basic molecular construction, if that includes DNA, then I do my best to copy it. But first I have to obtain a sample, this is only a copy of your shape and mass."

Chi looked towards Yui, "Araiah is my..." There was a question in her voice and her posturing.

Yui gave Araiah a stern look of warning that said "don't try it." To Chiharu, Yui answered, "Araiah is your first officer, and the pilot of this ship."

"Visual data is limiting, and Megami wouldn't allow access to anything more..." The orange-eyed neko's outline shimmered as a glow emanated from her irises. "Eh, all I have to do is have a blood sample or touch you...but I'm not going to try, so don't worry. I don't copy people without permission or unless it's an emergency." Her form remained at the 5'4 hight, but lost the shapely hips and breasts of a neko, becoming the form of a fairly lanky and thin 15 yr old human. His eyes lost their glow as the transformation completed. "I'll stick with this form, though. I have more experience in working it."

Chi nodded again. "Ah ok. He? is a transsexual shape shifter too?" The tone in her voice left no question that she was joking.

Wazu gave out a small laugh but quickly stopped knowing it isn't smart to laugh at a superior officer.

Chi shot a friendly smile to Wazu and hoped that her new first officer had a sense of humor.

Sensing the need for clarification, Araiah decided to interject. "I am a shape shifter, of a sort. I don't have a sex, though, so 'transgender' doesn't exactly apply in a technical sense."

If he had a sense of humor, it was buried or not evident at the moment.

"The NH-7 and NH-X have intense built-in measures which will destroy the cells before it can be analyzed. Thus our extreme aversion to sensors, transporters, and analysis..." Yui explained to Araiah. "Trying to analyze a blood sample would turn it into ash. You get the idea?"

Chi sighed a bit at Araiah's response. Maybe there was hope for this boy, thing, yet. "Okay, Araiah, better question what would you like to be referred to as, he, she, it, kitty, what?"

"Oh." Araiah's face paled a bit, then he frowned. "Now, if Megami would just let me look at the file on you guys, I'd know that...Whatever you want, he is fine since I'm going to retain this form unless I don't think it's appropriate."

Chi's ears perked up at the sound of a female name, "Megami?" She looked towards Yui again and then nodded to Araiah. "Okies, he. Can I call you Fluffy?" She grinned a bit.

Araiah rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "If you must, you're the commander," he replied.

Chi smiled brightly again and struck the cliche anime victory pose. "Yay, I have a Fluffy now."

Sgzyr walked around the cargo hold once more, the baton weighing nothing in his heavy hands. He stared cautiously at the test dummy that he had systematically beaten to shreds with this small bit of metal. He smirked as he wondered what was going on, but was too lazy to go check it out. He continued to pace around the dummy, a plan was beginning to present itself in his mind.

"MEGAMI is the Mentafexic Electro Gravitionally Accelerated Memory Intelligence," Yui pointed out. "It's a new system, similar to the Now and Forever's OS Ava computer system. An artificial sentient intelligence."

"We've met. Interesting personality..." Araiah mused.

As the encirclement continued around the practice dummy, Sgzyr flipped the weapon around from hand to hand. It appeared to him that the head was about to fall off, so he decided to finish the job himself. Sgzyr slowly dropped to his knees, landing in a crouching position behind the dummy, as he began to pace backwards, sweat began to develop on his brow. Almost exhausted beyond belief, he began to make a call inwards, to get those tiny whatcha-ma-callits to work inside of him. Only a few more seconds before he could make the blow.

Chi nodded again, "I keep forgetting that other ships have spiffy new shiny things. So how is the Megami different from the OS Ava, better behaved I hope?"

Yui made a gesture signaling everyone to follow her, and led them to the bridge, where they could all take seats. On the way, she explained Megami. "Megami is recently-created system which doesn't have the independence of the old OS Ava. Her powers are limited to the ship itself, and she functions as an extension of the ship, not the other way around like the old avatars. Megami is a bit more friendly, too, I believe."

"Unless you're trying to gain access without her approval," the shifter muttered, looking over at Wazu.

Chi followed and soon took a seat, glancing about the room again and pondering what to call Wazu now that she had established Araiah as Fluffy.

Hinosami's young voice came over the GSS Yui's intercom, "The Shindo is detaching and returning to Tabisdatsu."

Wazu walked over to his normal station and sat down.

"The Now and Forever is now departing." Hinosami added. The ship rocked and lurched slightly as the larger ship flew free of the Yui and the Philosophy. Meanwhile, Yui was walking around the bridge since her normal seat was taken by the new captain. She instead took a seat in the defensive systems station's chair, placing her arm on the green backlit panel's sleek black surface. "How do you like it?" she asked Chi.

Araiah looked at the pilot's pit....if he sat there he would be away from everything else, so where should he sit?

Chi's ears perked up again at the sound of the Now and Forever's departure, her eyes seemed to fill with sorrow for a moment before she blinked and looked at Yui again. "It's all shiny and new. I like it a lot." She smiled brightly, although she actually felt a bit awkward about the whole situation.

Spotting the Nav station, he shrugged and walked over to it. Next best thing...The Chusa sat down and swiveled to survey the station...hmm. Looked fine as far as he could tell, so he turned back to watch the nekos.

"Do I need to hurt you?" Yui frowned, sending a short telepathic warning at Chiharu. She was annoyed that the new admiral was acting so...childish, talking about shiny, and giving the crew weird human names like "Fluffy".

Chi blinked a bit at the warning, shaking her head a bit. "Gomen." She looked for a moment and closed her eyes taking a deep breathe. She tried to calm down, she had gotten excited and her disorder had surfaced, the only way to might it go away was to calm down. She sat there quietly, her eyes closed as she tried to get her head back on straight.

Yui took a deep breath, too, and then saw Chi taking a breath too and tried to stifle her own, which resulted in a small fit of coughing. "Ack."

Chi opened her eyes again and looked over to Yui, "Yui-san are you okay?" She straightened her posture a bit, seeming to have regained herself again.

"I have a combat mission for you," Yui said, avoiding the question with the sudden information.

"What's the mission, Taisho Kitsurugi?" Chi replied, seeming more dignified now than she did only a few moments ago.

"SAINT spotted a bunch of Angel ships, heading out into space. We believe they are colony warships which will turn worlds into factories that will be making starships and weapons which will be used against the GSA. And worse, that the ships may be after some discovery which would break down our way of life...your mission is to intercept, board, and capture the angel ships."

Chi said quietly under her breathe. "The Angels are causing trouble again." She spoke louder this time to be more easily heard, "Do we know what their first target might be?

Araiah raised his hand. "Uh...what're Angels? And why are they attacking you- I mean, us?"

"Actually, one group has already gone before we knew about it. I myself will go on a long mission to find, recon, and take action against them," Yui replied.

Too late, the shifter thought better of the action. He should have waited until after the briefing to ask questions.

"Angels," Yui explained, "Are a winged human like species...they live in small transitory realms called 'Heavens'. We've fought wars with them before," Yui looked to Chiharu, remembering the seemingly endless marches through snow and clouds and the bloody melee combat that characterized the battles.

"They're competent genetic engineers who create weapons called 'seraphim' to fight for them. The majority of angels live in poverty, while the archangels rule over them with golden chains, driving their quest to eliminate the Geshrin."

Chi solemnly nodded towards Yui, remembering the sight of the countless battles through the supposed heavens. She shuddered a bit at the memory and then smiles slightly remembering that the wars was also were she first met Yui..

Yui looked at Chi and sent an encrypted telepathic message that was only for the Chujo. "They want to raise God."

Chi replied telepathically with the same encryption, "Why do they want to bring him back?" She frowned a bit, this was just getting worse.

"Are you going to be able to hunt these ships down?" Yui asked seriously. A lot was at stake here.

Getting the distinct idea fighting these beings was not going to be the proverbial walk in the park, Araiah just nodded and fell silent.

"Well," Yui looked Chi in the eyes, "They've always been after that, ever since the great collapse and the creation of Geshrintall by the godkiller avatars. The point is even if it isn't possible, we can't take the chance that these fanatics are correct. Besides, they'll be building up forces that would eventually outnumber and attack the GSA and our homeworld," Yui still waited a response from her verbal question.

"We will hunt their ships down or we will die trying. I have confidence in this ship and her crew," Chi nodded to Yui meeting her gaze. "Promise you'll be careful out there." Chi asked softly in the mind link.

Yui walked over to Chi and planted a kiss on Chi's forehead. "I will return." she comforted in Japanese.

"I hope so," Chi offered a soft smile softly speaking in Japanese, as she hugged Yui to her. She blushed a bit as she realised the crew probably had no idea what their Taisho and their Chujo were doing while discussing the latest combat mission.

"Your expeditionary group will be taking the 2nd Assault Group, under Taisa Elena Kelahame and 2nd Carrier Group, while I and the 1st Expeditionary will take the 1st Assault and 1st Carrier group." Yui explained, dividing the fleet's firepower roughly in half. "The other groups will stay with your division, to the rear. We will attempt capture of the angel ships when possible, since most of their population is civilian."

Based on the looks on their faces, the shifter turned in his chair and pretended to work his station. The two were obviously close at one time, this was not the time to play intruder. Besides, he had to figure out where everything was on this system. Basic functions he had down; at the moment he decided to work them into memory. If they were going into battle, he would need to know these like the back of his hand....or at least have it be second nature to him.

Chi nodded, dedicating the mission knowledge to memory.

Yui let out a tired yawn and rubbed her eyes. "I'll return to my ship now. I haven't had much sleep lately over this, and time is a deciding factor in this assignment. My love to you all, and may victory light your hearts and souls like wonder lighting the face of a child."

Chi stood up and looked at Yui with a soft smile. "Good night Taisho Kitsurugi, I hope you can get some sleep." "Sweet Dreams Yui-san."

Araiah stood and faced Yui, a slight smile on his mouth. "G'night, Taisho. Rest well."

"Good night, Araiah," Yui bowed to her former crew and to Aya, Kuru, and Chiharu, then went back to the lift and returned to her own ship. In a minute or so, the destroyers were again separate in space. The 1st Fleet's Yui division then shot off into the stars using their CDD engines.

Chi stretched a bit. "Well, this is going to be an interesting mission."

 

[Kim]

Re: [Yss Yui] Chiharu Log 1

After the GSS-Shindo (GD-121), GSS-Philosophy (GD-117), GSS-Now and Forever (GC-04), and the GSS-Yui (GD-30) docked together, Acara moved at his usual slow pace from the GSS-Shindo toward his soon to be new residence on the GSS-Yui. He hated never being stationary. But when a superior calls you jump. Such is the life of a technician.

As he slid through the GSS-Philosophy he heard some of its inhabitant’s talking. ~What a life they have, friends and all~ he thought. He had been shifted from ship and went through this every time. As he got on the GSS-Yui he headed for the bridge. Knowing he had to present himself to the Chujo. This he hoped would be his last move.

As Acara entered the bridge he noticed that the Chujo was not there. ~Oh well~ he thought ~I heard she was new as well. Maybe she is out familiarizing herself with her new ship. But that is none of my concern. Well what to do now. I guess I’ll go look at how well my new ship mates take care of there weapons.~ How people toke care of there machines was always important to him.

As he left the bridge he wondered about the ships computer ~Megami was it~ it would be nice to be on good terms with the mind of the ship he maintained. He shuddered, remembering the time he got off on the wrong foot with the onboard computer of one of his stations. “What a two weeks that was”. When he got to the armory he looked over the weapons all but two were in perfect working order, and those two were so minor he almost missed them. As he looked around he noticed a supped up rifle. He went over and looked closely at it. ~Someone likes big guns? And he takes good care of it to~ He thought. ~If I stay here long, I think I will like it.~

He decided to go to the technician’s quarters. On the way there he noticed a strange sight a human with dog-ears and claws holding a Neko. They both were asleep. ~U procreators~ he thought then laughed to himself remembering when Keenara had explained why people did that sort of thing. ~I guess every race needs its vices~

He smiled to himself thinking of his sis. At that he slid to the nearest holo screen and sent a call to the GSS-Ayame. On the screen a green haired Neko greeted him. With one look at him she shook her head “I know what you want and I swear you call once a week. I’ll see if Keenara is available.” A few minuets later a blue haired Nekowalkyrie came on the screen.

“How are you there Acara.” Keenara said to him in a calm voice. “ I heard you got transferred again. Is it permanent this time?”
“I’m doing fine.” Acara said. Visibly relaxing at the sound of her voice. “Though around here nothing is permanent, but I can hope can’t I.
“Yes you can at that. Did you see the Chujo yet?” She asked.
“No she was not in the bridge. Though I do plane to see her as soon as possible.” He said quickly.
“That is nice to hear. When you first entered GSA you were hopelessly impolite. I am glade to see that has changed.”
He blushed slightly “would you stop that!” he retorted .
“Maybe I’ll tell Chiharu about that.” she mussed
“Oh no please don’t Keenara.” He begged.
“Oh all right.” She teased. “but be polite to her ok.”
“Alright”
“I have to go now. A patient just came in. see you later.” She said.

As the screen went blank he thought about what she had said. ~so Chiharu is the Chujo’s name.~ Then he went off in search of Chiharu.

 

[Kim]

Re: [Yss Yui] Chiharu Log 1

Embarrassed by his outburst to Yui, Ritsurin went into an empty room aboard the GSS-Yui, and decided to do some exercise to get his mind off of it. He pulled off his uniform shirt, so that it wouldn’t start smelling, and began his exercises. The first exercises Ritsu did were his favorites, push-ups and pull-ups, while he was doing them (around 250 push-ups) when he heard the new crew members looking around and familiarizing themselves with the ship; much like he did on his first couple of days. He thought nothing of it and continued his workout.

He was in the final stages of it when he hears someone or two talking outside, Ritsurin thought that it had nothing to do with him and continued. An hour later, he decided to practice some of his form of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu, and walked over to the armory to pick up a katana, as it was the art of using a katana in conjunction with martial arts, fully intent on returning it when he finished. After about another hour of practice, he heard a familiar voice in the hall.

Ritsurin cocked his ears to listen to the speaker, as he listened he ran down the list of crewmembers to identify the person: ~ No, it’s not Wazu…or Araiah…definitely not Yui….not Sgzyr…~ he thought, yet it was a voice he remembered from a long time ago, then he heard his name. “Is Ritsurin really on this ship?” a female voice asked. With an eyebrow raised, he moved up to the door and listened more intently. “Yeah, he’s on this ship.” He heard someone answer. ~Who is this? Who is asking for me?~ he wondered. ~I know this voice…but who is it?~ He pondered. At that very moment, the door he was leaning against slid open, causing Ritsurin to stumble forward and go sprawling onto the floor. “Is that you Ritsu?” the female voice asked.

“Yeah, It’s me..oww..” he said rubbing his nose. “Who are…you?” he asked
“Wait a minute, Lavinia is that you?” he asked in amazement

“Yes, it’s me.” The green haired, blue-eyed neko said.

Ritsurin’s eyes widened slightly “Lavinia, it is you, I’ve missed you.” He smiled at her.

“Oh Ritsu…I’ve missed you too.” She said hugging him.

Ritsu smiled down at her and hugged her back “What have you been doing since I last saw you on graduation?”

“I wanted to follow you, so I became a security officer, because I knew that’s where you’d end up. But, I got stationed on the GSS- Now and Forever” she said looking up at him, as he was taller than she.

“I remember now…You were always watching me, and I caught you a couple of times doing it.” He said to her

The Blue-eyed neko blushed slightly. “I know you did, but I couldn’t help myself.” She said looking down to conceal her blush from his gaze.

“We need to catch up on the past.” Ritsurin said to Lavinia

“That we do.” She said smiling brightly.

Ritsurin and Lavinia walked back to the security quarters (after he put the sword away and his uniform back on), and sat up talking about the past, what they had done up to that point, and eventually fell asleep leaning against each other.

As Ritsurin slept leaning against his old friend, Lavinia, he experienced a terrible nightmare.

Nightmare

"Heh, Heh- the last of the demon spawn in corner of the planet." a fierce voice said.

"Maybe we should kill him, he is the son of that retched dog-demon Kainazya." another musically fierce voice replied.

The two angel warriors glared down at the young Ritsurin, who was looking up that them with a look of pure venom and hatred. The young man took up a fighting stance upon hearing what they were planning to do with him.

"Hey!" the older angel said to his younger counterpart, looking down at the young half-breed: "Looks like he wants to fight!" the angel laughed cruelly.

"He should know that he alone can't beat our holy might, let's teach him to respect those above him." the younger angel said.

"I'm more of a challenge than you bastards think I am. I'll avenge my parents WHOM YOU KILLED!" The 12-year-old Ritsurin growled at the angels.

A vicious fight erupted in the middle of the rubble that was the young man's home. The little half-breed put up a vicious fight, even going as far as to kill one of the arrogant angels.
They glared at each other, baring their weapons- the angel: a greatsword-Ritsurin-his sharp claws. The younger angel made a broad stroke, attempting to cleave the young man apart. Seeing the seeing the swing coming, Ritsurin ducked under the stroke and kicked the angel hard in the shin, causing the angel to stumble somewhat. The angel tried to kill him with a vertical slash, but missed when the deft young man rolled out of the way, kicked up to his feet and punched the angel in the gut. The angel grunted at both missing his strike and getting punched. The arrogant celestial swung again sweeping at Ritsu's legs, which caused him to jump to avoid it but left him open for kick to chest, which the angel gladly planted, making the half-breed go crashing to the ground a few feet away.

Ritsurin got to his feet and ran toward his right toward a wall with the pissed off angel in hot pursuit. The demi-demon ran up the wall a couple steps and corkscrew-backflipped over the angel's head and took off in the opposite direction (away from the sword-wielding maniac). The angel realized it and spun about and took to the air and flew at the fleeing child attempting to crash into him. Ritsurin looking back, saw the angel coming at him, crouched, and lauched himself at the swoopin angel, as his claws plowed trhrough the angel's chest, Ritsurin felt the bloodlust that accompanies killing.

"You little bastard!" the older angel screamed at the bloody-clawed boy, as the younger angel landed with a loud "thud!"

"Your little friend there started it!" the young half-breed yelled at the angel as he (the angel) leaned over the dead body of the younger one. The angel's golden eyes burned with angelic fury "I'll kill you!" he bellowed at the bloody child.

"Bring it, you frickin' feathered freak!" Ritsurin yelled at him.

As he said that, the angel tried to slice him in two, but missed when the agile young man torso-axial cartwheeled out of the way, leaving him open to the roundhouse kick the angel had coming following his sword stroke. Knocking down an already weak wall with the boy's body.

"You got spunk boy, perhaps I'll spare you so that our archangels and diety can change you into one of us." he said to the unconscious boy which he held up by the legs.

Flash to a couple years later:

A now 14-year-old Ritsurin was being transported through a wormhole to the planet of Geshrintall, bound in chains and unconscious, aboard a private starship piloted by two humans.

"The angels told us to take him to this planet and abandon him here." a female human said pointing at a map.

"That's what they said, now here we are." a male voice said.

"Isn't this the planet whose population was wiped out by that virus?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, that's why they told us to leave him here." the man said.

"He's just a boy, he doesn't deserve to die abandoned and alone." the woman said sounding concerned.

"He openly disobeyed the archangels, and they exiled him die" the man explained.

"Uhh...Where am I" Ritsurin asked as he woke up from the sedatives that the archangels had given him.

"We're not allowed to tell you that" the pilots replied in unison.

The ships landed at one of the star ports. The pilots unchained Ritsurin, and threw him out of the ship onto the platform. He looked up at it as it lifted off to return to thier homeworld.

~oww, dammit!~ the young man thought.
"Where am I?" he asked the first passer-by, "the planet Geshrintall" the person replied. Ritsurin, now alone, starving and tired, wandered around the streets when he realized that he wasn't on earth anymore. As it grew darker, Ritsurin decided to sleep on the stairs of what would turn out to be the Grand Star Imperial Academy.

(Back on the ship)

"Ahh!" Ritsurin said softly to himself, waking with a start. "What was that? Was that my past?" he wondered.

"Well at least I have Lavinia back now." He mused as he ran his hand through the beautiful sleeping neko's hair as she lay against his shoulder. ~she's so beautiful, if it wasn't for her...I don't know what I'd have done during those years~ he thought as he looked at her.
~maybe I'll sleep better now~ he thought as he fell asleep leaning back against Lavinia, holding her protectively.
~I've wanted him to do that for years~ Lavinia thought...

 

[Kim]

Tap, ta-tap, tap tap...

Araiah sat in his corner of the crew quarters staring off into the distance. His fingers moved on their own, rapping out sequences on the floor as his subconscious repeated vital commands that he would need should they require his services as a navigator or pilot...

"...Or anything for that matter. Best to be prepared for anything should anything happen," he murmured to himself, then shook his head to try to get his thoughts back on track. "Hmm. Yui said the ship was flown by a mind link. If it means hooking up with Megami, it might work." A slight worried frown flickered across his face. "I hope she trusts me enough to not interfere; I wonder if she's a "backseat driver"-kinda person...and this ship is much bigger than mine was. I wonder if they have a simulation I could try. I guess this will have to wait for later." Araiah made a note to ask around for a sim and another series of thoughts began their trek.

The crew was an hodgepodge of different races now. It would be interesting to observe how they dealt with this conflict the ship was heading into. As far as the shifter could tell, this crew was unique in that a large part of it was male. But he had also heard there were some nekos coming aboard to replace those taken with Yui when the Taisho had left, maybe things would be evened out a bit.

His fingers stopped moving and Araiah glanced around the room to see if anyone else was around. This would be a good time. Since he didn't require physical rest, Araiah didn't sleep. But he always set aside time to just enjoy silence when it could be had. He had learned to appreciate time alone... it was a good way to get things in perspective. Especially important events, and this upcoming engagement certainly qualified.

He closed his eyes and laid on the floor with his head in the corner and parallel with a wall. The ambient lighting shone off the dedication plaque he had placed on the wall with a temporary adhesive, sort of marking the spot as his part of the room. For some reason, he liked corners. Maybe it was a survival thing; a corner gave aggressors only one way at you, the front. Or something else that he couldn't exactly place...

The only other thing that he owned was the satchel and the few items he had stashed inside it. There was a special-made pocket where the shifter's companion and closest friend, Timdri, lay snoozing. Still. The critter never liked space travel, staying in a self-induced hibernation whenever possible. Araiah sat up and carefully detached the pocket and set it in the corner next to his head. Then he placed the satchel within easy reach at his hip. Araiah made sure the little animal was comfortable before laying back down and staring at the ceiling through a half-lidded gaze. As he let his mind drift, a question floated to the top; and, not for the first time, he wondered...

"What have I gotten myself into?"

 

[Kim]

Chiharu sat, wide awake on her bed in the Captain's Quarters of the GSS Yui. It had only been a few hours earlier that Taisho Yui had given Chi the new mission and then retired to her own ship. Even now, Chi could feel the warmth of Yui's body in her arms from that short embrace a few hours ago. The Taisho's promise to return gave Chi little comfort, but it was the issue of the Angels that truly weighed heavily in the Chujo's mind. But, it wouldn't be the first time that they went against Angels and Heaven... the old fear stirred in her heart once more, a fear that had been forgotten many years ago, that burned passionately now with the memory of the Heavenly Wars, things that would not allow themselves to be forgotten.

It was only six years ago when Chi became assigned to Clan Kitsurugi's Second Army of the Precious Sword led by the already infamous and deadly 17 year old NH-2 Bioweapon, Kitsurugi Yui, who had kicked the Angels out of Hell and conquered it only a year earlier. Chi herself was only 15 years old but she had always looked for stories about Kitsurugi Yui and wanted to be a fierce warrior like her.

The 2nd Army itself was a small fighting force of about 200 Nekos and Elves (it was one of the private armies of the Emperor/Clan Kitsurugi), while the enemy, the Angels of Heaven seemed to be endless. There was even a rumor going around that the Angels had weapon that was equivalent of a NH-2 bioweapon. Chi had heard the stories and was both excited and terrified of what might happen, but still, she joined the Emperor's Army and prepared for the worst.

She could remember marching through the blistering cold snow, dressed in silver armour, gold breastplate and heavy red cloak, with a spear strapped to her back and a long sword strapped to her side. The tireless marches were led by the "General" of the army herself, barking out orders with her white cloak billowing in the wind behind her as marched onwards or when she stopped every so often to appraise her troops with relentless blood red eyes from beneath a mask of grime and red war paint.

And the combat, oh the combat, what stuck out most in her memory was a battle that caused the General to be severely wounded...

The 2nd Army had engaged the Angels in a fierce melee, many soldiers on both sides had already fallen in the first few minutes of the combat, but the Angels were overwhelming the small army when Yui stopped and gave a line of lance wielding archangels a crazed smile. Chi was neck deep in combat when she heard a cry ring out from both sides. As Chi looked up, pulling her sword from the corpse of an angel, she saw the General take a flying leap onto a group of angels. Chi's heart sank when she saw four lances pierce Yui's torso, and yet, Yui was still fighting as she disappeared among the horde of angels.

Chi felt something deep inside of her change and all of her fear and doubts vanished as she let out a powerful, yet sorrowful war cry for Yui. She heard others in group cry out as well as they surged forward with renewed strength and ferociousity as they tried to cut a path to their General. After several hours of bloody close quarters fighting, Chi found herself almost next to Yui, by now everything was just a shade of red on the trampled snow around them and Yui was beneath an angel, missing an eye and a hand, drenched in her own blood and the angel's still fighting ferociously for her life. Chi tried to fight her way to Yui but only arrived to find Yui's own sword shoved up to the hilt in the General's abdomen!

Another cry erupted from Chi as she ran forward as fast as she could to get there before the Angel could finish Yui off. She swung her sword at the Angel attacking Yui, yelling taunts as she tried to lore it away from Yui to give her General time to recover enough to counterattack....

"Red, everything was painted red. Their cries and ours shattered the very fabric of the Heavens. We were outnumbered and yet, we still managed to beat them back. Humans were fools to ever believe that Angels and their God were the saviors of mankind, immortal, all powerful and kind. In the end they were only cruel, manipulative and bled and died the same as anyone else. Humans believed Heaven to be eternal paradise.. what a joke. Heaven was just endless death frost bitten with blistering winds of hatred and war. I hope that this crew won't have to see the 'Hell' that were the Heavenly Wars, and I pray Yui and the crew of the Philosophy won't either." Chujo Ketsurui Chiharu hugged her over sized teddy bear to her chest and sighed, closing her eyes again.

Could she even remember what happened next?
It just happened so fast, everything was a blur of blood, feathers and a whole new world of pain. She thought there might have been the appearance of more soldiers to help but she couldn't be sure. All that she was certain of was that Yui was alive, and so was she. After that the Heavenly Wars didn't seem to be that long, she had befriended Yui and learned that almost all of the stories about Yui were mostly true. It was after the Wars had ended that Chi had lost touch with Yui through an incident that left Chi's memory damaged and left Chi's body in stasis. When her body was found she received an upgrade from the old NH-2 to the new NH-7 body and was bounced around from duty roster to duty roster until she found herself in command of the GSS Now and Forever and upgraded to the NH-X body.

"It's been so crazy these past few years.. and here I am in command of a new ship, with a new crew and about to go off to hunt down Angels again." Chiharu sighed and fell back onto the bed, holding the teddybear up and touching its nose as a soft smile played across her face. "But you aren't worried, are you Mr. Bear?" She hugged the bear again. "We'll be alright, I know we will and so will Yui-san."

After the fateful battle, the medics tried to treat all of the wounded with General Yui's injuries as their priority.

"Chiharu, why do you look so happy? You almost died." A medic asked as she tried to stop Chi from bleeding. Chiharu smiled despite the fact that her left arm lay severed 10 feet away from her.
"Because, I finally got to know what it's like to be a hero."

"Oh, what is it like?"

"It hurts a lot, but you don't regret your actions at all."

 

[Kim]

Sgzyr walked around the shuttle bay as usual, clad in a pair of black exercise pants and a white wife-beater. He hustled around the repaired mannequin as he began to test different angles for attack; he darted in for a second then straight out. He has tried to hone his reflexes to their peak level, but since he entered the GSA, he seemed to lose some of his muscle mass. He had worked out every single day for the last three weeks or so, only trying to prepare himself for vigorous combat, if any was to come. With a sigh, he leapt, with his left leg extended outwards he planted a jump-kick straight on the mid-section of the mannequin, the poorly made scrap of materials was not suiting his needs to fight with. He hoped to actually be able to spar with someone soon, no weapons, no powers, just a plain ‘ole brawl.

As he placed the mannequin back into the upright position, he sighed once more as he thought about what to do. With a sudden flash of inspiration, he grabbed the mannequin and sprinted off to Wazu’s lab, idea in mind.

Heram J. Wazu was off in his corner of the ship, The Science Lab, the room was filled with tons of different experiments on the main table a rather large gun was partially assembled and still had wires attached and casing parts here and there. Chikara was off in the corner sleeping so it could defrag it’s systems. Wazu was zoneing out with his head on one of the cabinets while he was sitting in a chair.

Sgzyr ran to the door of the science lab very franticly with the dummy in hand. He knocked on the door very loudly and said, “Yo Doc! I got a idea for ya!”

Wazu opens up the door with a groggy look on his face slightly annoyed that he was woken up and said ”huh?”

Sgzyr “Doc I need you to build me a sparring partner with all of the best forms of melee and hand to hand combat available!”

Wazu stared back at Sgzyr “A sparing robot? How powerful would it need to be?”

“It needs to be as good as a NH-7” Sgzyr replied with a sadistic grin.

“And I’m sure your gonna want it to use guns missile launchers ect right?” Wazu said almost half asleep.

“And” Sgzyr said “I will need it as soon as possible. . . .”

Wazu was once again in the science lab. The many shelves were filled with nanite synth units growing various nanite organs resembling the ones on chikara. In the center of the bay behind the main table two bars with various completed parts hanging from the sides and top. Various alloys are being tested on the other side of the bay. They were being subjected to massive pressure some were showing signs of cracking and others had given out entirely but a few were still holding up well to their tests. The center table still had the new gun on it but it was now covered in data pads with data on quantum physics and trans-dimensional theory as well as several hand drawn plans lying here and there. ~Where is that Sgzyr I have a job for him. . . . .~ Wazu let his thoughts trail off again as he retuned to his work.