RP: SSS [SSS] - Birth of the Tansaku

[Nashoba]

Our story begins in the last days of YE 30….

Saiki Kouan, Shuji of the Scientific Studies Service, walked through the hallway of the Ketsurui Fleet Yards design division. He carried a compact briefcase in his left hand, and kept tugging at his jacket with his right. Damn this new suit. Why can’t they make a new suit that fits comfortably. he thought. His personal assistant Takaramono kept pace easily as he walked briskly along with a cat-like grace. “Taka, what do you know about this Takumi we are meeting?”

Takaramono did her best to hide her amusement at Kouan’s discomfort with the new suit. Serves him right, everything else he has looks like its been lived in for years. she thought. “Takumi comes to us highly recommended Kouan. She has been with Ketsurui since YE 28. Her rise though the company has been swift. But that rise has been due to her hard work and dedication. This project will be her first starship that she is the lead designer. Now quit tugging on the jacket, you do not want to walk in with your coat lopsided.”

Takumi sat in the KFY conference room. Rather than sitting at the end of the table she opted to sit in the middle near the door. She wanted to keep this meeting as comfortable for all parties as possible. She looked at the data she had pulled on Kouan, the man was definitely a leader in his field, and now heading a newly created organization founded by the Empress herself. The fact that he was coming in person rather than sending an underling was typical from what she could see. Saiki Kouan was a person who enjoyed being involved at all levels of his projects. They should be here shortly; security said they signed in a few minutes ago. They also said that he declined having a person escort them.

Kouan walked up to the conference room door. “How do I look Taka?” Takaramono straightened his coat. “There, you look fine now Kouan. Shall I take your briefcase?” “Oh, by all means Taka, whatever would I do without you?” he said with a warm smile while handing her the briefcase. He opened the door to the conference room, and stepped in. He looked at the brown haired woman sitting at the table, and noticed her pale blue eyes. “Designer Takumi, I presume?” Kouan said with a slight bow. The woman rose and returned the bow saying, “Shuji Saiki, it is an honor to meet you. Yes, I am Takumi, please have a seat.” She gestured towards the chairs next to her. “Thank you, this is Takaramono, my personal assistant.” He said pointing towards Taka. He then crossed over and sat in the indicated chair. Taka took a seat next to Kouan and placed the briefcase on the table within easy reach of him.

“So Shuji Saiki, what can I do for you today?” “Please just Saiki. Well we at the Scientific Studies Service are currently using three fine Yui 5 Recon-Scouts. But we are finding that they are not quite up to the task. What we need is a ship that is part scout, part transport, and part mobile laboratory? Here are the specific requirements that my people came up with.” Kouan said reaching into his briefcase and pulling out a data cube. Takumi uploaded the data into the computer port on the table; she scanned the key factors while the data uploaded. “Ok Saiki, let’s start by pulling up the Yui, and then we can proceed from there.” Takumi punched a few keys on the table surface and a holographic image of the Yui-5 appeared. “Let’s see, to start with we need to expand the hull to accommodate the extra items.” Takumi deftly touched the image and pulled the engines from their current position further aft. Then she did the same with several other key areas. By the time she was done the image bore no resemblance to the Yui. “You are looking at a rather large compliment when considering crew and passengers. How about providing a place where the entire compliment can gather in a relaxing environment?” “That would be useful.” Taka responded. With a deft flick of her hands Takumi made a change to the image, “If we place it in the front of the deck, we could even include a series of windows.” “Excellent, then it could also be used as an observation area.” Saiki said his eyes sparkling as he looked at the image. Even though it was crude, he could see the potential of the design.

 

[Nashoba]

A week later Takumi was standing in one of the large simulation arenas at the facility. She uploaded the designs she had worked out for the new ship for the SSS. I hope Saiki likes her. It is definitely different from the crude idea we ended our last meeting on. At over 180 meters she is roughly twice the size of the Yui. I am still not entirely pleased with the lounge though. As large as it is, the series of windows across the front just do not have the desired effect.

She walked around the simulation making note of any portion of the hull that she was not happy with. I do home Saiki has come up with a name for her. Design Concept Ke-Y1-1 is not much of a name. She walked into the cargo bay of the simulation. It was one of two on the Ke-Y1-1, a second bay was mounted above this one. I’m not sure why they wanted two decks of cargo area. It’s not like she’s a freighter. I hate those elevators to get stuff up to the upper level.

One of Takumi’s other disaffections was with the engines. She wanted to get the Ke-Y1-1 up to speeds comparable to the Yui. But given her size that would have required new engines, and those were still currently restricted to military applications. She was able by mounting two of the CDD’s in tandem to allow the Ke-Y1-1 to get up to Yui speeds for brief periods. She also had made the nacelles oversized to facilitate maintenance, and to allow for upgrades. I should go and meet Saiki at the entrance to the facility.

 

[Nashoba]

Kouan sat with Takaramono in the waiting room at the Fleet Yards. He was reading from his pad the latest status reports from the section leaders at the SSS. He was pleased with the progress, especially on the Campus site. Using the prefabrication construction technique was definitely the best choice. he thought. He looked at Takaramono as she read her morning reports. He noticed her twirling a strand of her hair, a sign he knew that she was deep in thought. Since her forehead wasn’t scrunching obviously nothing bad was in the report. “Shuji Saiki, I am sorry for keeping you waiting.” Takumi said as she entered the room. He stood up and turned towards her, and said “Not to worry, Taka and I have been making good use of the time.” “Well, if the two of you will follow me, I will take you to the simulation arena so you can see the Ke-Y1-1.” He noticed Taka put up her datapad and come over to him. “Well then, let’s be on our way. I must say I am rather looking forward to seeing what you have done since our last meeting.”

Takumi turned and headed back down the corridor. “We’ll be viewing the Ke-Y1-1 in a full scale hologram today. That will allow you can get a sense of proportion and how it all works. By the way, have you folks come up with a name for the ship? I hate having to refer to it as Design Concept Ke-Y1-1. Whatever name you come up with for the first ship, will of course become the name of the class.” “Actually we have names for first five of the ships. For the rest of the first group we plan on allowing the staff and students of the SSS to vote on ships. The name for the first ship is the Yamataian word for search, Tansaku.” Takumi thought for a moment, “I like it, it has a good sound to it. Once we get to the simulation arena I will log that name, and we will hence forth call it the Tansaku-class.

 

[Nashoba]

Kouan walked down the hallway, the occasionally they would pass other KFY personnel. Takumi came to pair of sliding doors, and punched her access code into the keypad. When the doors slid open she gestured for the two of them to enter. “After you, Saiki” she said. Kouan stepped in with Taka at his side. The room was huge his footsteps echoed in the space, it was dark except for the space near the doorway. “Initiating Tansaku Ke-Y1-1 Simulation.” Came a female voice from far above. The room was suddenly filled with light, and the light coalesced into the appearance of a ship. The room that was before so cavernous was suddenly filled with the presence. He was standing to the side of the ship. “Is this to scale Takumi?” “Yes Saiki, this is a full scale simulation.” She answered. “Is the gray hull color intentional?” Asked Takaramono. “That is just the default mode. That is one of several decisions I will need to have made today.” She said walking towards the ship. “The Tansaku will be 184 meters from bow to stern, and 92 meters wide. She has six decks and is 25 meters high.” Kouan took a moment to look at the ship; from the side she had a sleek appearance.

Taka walked towards the stern of the simulation. “Can we enter the simulation?” she asked. Takumi walked over to her “Yes, If you will walk up the ramp we will begin.” Taka walked up, and watched as Kouan came up after her. Once they were all standing at the edge of the cargo bay, the lighting turned on. The room was very deep; she estimated that it took close to a third of the deck length. The noticed that the ceiling was at standard ship height. “Takumi, I believe there is a problem. I believe the specifications called for the cargo bay to be two decks in height. This appears to be only a single deck.” “Actually the specifications said two levels of cargo.” Takumi replied. “There is a second cargo area directly above us.” “How difficult would it be to make it one single area, the SSS has some unusual cargo requirements, and expanding the bay to a full two decks high would be most useful.” “Actually that will be fairly easy,” Takumi said tapping a series of commands into her datapad. The ceiling shimmered then vanished. “That is excellent; this will allow us to easily transport any equipment the expeditions require.” Taka said as she estimated the new volume. “Actually I am glad to make this change. The other configuration meant having cargo elevators to lift stuff from one deck to another. I’ll see about adding a manipulator arm to the ceiling to help move stuff around.”

“So what else is located on this deck?” Kouan asked. “Vehicle bay and the fabrication bay are the other two sections. If you will follow me we will move up to deck four, the only difference between deck six and five is five has the laundry room instead of the fabrication.” Takumi said walking towards the doorway. Kouan followed her and stood next to her and asked, “I presume the vertical ascent is via zero-gravity passages?” “Yes Saiki, horizontal passages are standard passageways which have gravity under normal circumstances.” When they reached the fourth deck Kouan could see the corridor running forward. He looked behind them and saw the hatches marked with standard engineering section warnings. “What else besides engineering is on this deck?” Walking forward, “Well first there is the mess and galley. The mess is large enough to house the entire compliment.” Kouan looked around as they entered the mess; it was a fairly utilitarian layout, which was fine with him. When the exited the room they were in a corridor. “This is the expedition quarters section. I felt that it would be best for the crew quarters to be located in a separate area since you won’t always be carrying the extra personnel.” Kouan looked into a few of the rooms, they were fairly standard cabins. They walked forward and entered the lounge. He walked into the room, which was dotted with an assortment of tables and chairs. Looking towards the bow he saw a series of small windows mounted. He sat in one of the chairs and looked towards the window. “The windows are rather disappointing.”

 

[Nashoba]

Takaramono walked up to one of the windows, “Do they have to be so small? When we spoke about using them for observation, I envisioned something much larger.” “Well these are standard view ports, and your requirements did say where possible to use standard equipment.” Takumi replied. “Would it be possible to make the entire wall a window?” Taka inquired. “It would be possible. But that would not be recommended for combat.” Takumi replied while mentally entering some commands into her ICP. “But the Tansaku is not a warship, and would it not also be possible to have some sort of shields that deploy to cover them?” She watched as Takumi made some entries in the datapad she was holding. “Yes, that would be feasible. Let me update the simulation.” The room around them shimmered and the wall in the front was now replaced with a series of floor to ceiling windows. Outside the ship the simulation changed as well so that they were looking at a simulation of being in orbit. Now that is quite a view. she thought. “Kouan, what do you think of this arrangement?” She watched as he looked out and smiled, and then he rose from his chair, and walked to the front. “Now this is an observation area. One could easily conduct a lecture from here using a planet below as the object.” Kouan replied. Then Takumi touched her pad, and a series of panels slid up covering the windows.

“Well shall we continue with the review?” Takumi inquired. “Yes, certainly, please lead on.” Kouan answered. Takumi lead them to the vertical ascent hallway, and they rose to the next deck. “This deck contains the science labs, medical center, among other sections. We will proceed with the science section.” They moved to the front of the ship. “Each of the labs has isolated life support, to ensure no contamination can escape into the ship. The entire lab section and each doorway to the labs have an emergency bulkhead which will deploy in the event of a mishap.” She watched as Kouan check out one of the labs, from the expression on his face she could tell he approved. “Oh, there is one other addition that I took the liberty to add. A science sensor pod will be mounted on the top of the ship, designed to allow changing based on specific mission requirements.” “What about the medical facilities?” Takaramono asked. “Large enough to accommodate the contingent and capable of dealing with any foreseeable medical situation, provided adequate trained personnel are available.” She replied. “This deck also has the recreation and fitness areas as well as the upper portion of engineering. Perhaps we should move on to deck 1, there you will be able to see the bridge. Have your people come up with a designed color for the exterior?”

 

[Nashoba]

As they made their way to deck one; “That has been a topic of much discussion. After which we came up with a compromise. We want the vessels of the SSS to be visually recognizable. So we want to avoid using colors schemes predominantly used by military vessels. So we decided that our ships would be two toned. The upper half of the ship should be white, and the lower half is to be this shade of blue.” He said handing her a piece of paper with the colors indicated.

Stepping into the bridge Kouan walked around the simulated Tansaku bridge. Much larger than the bridge on the Yui Scout, he easily recognized the standard stations. He could easily imagine himself sitting in the Captain’s chair commanding the ship. However, Kouan knew this was not where his destiny lay. It is my task to train others to serve aboard the Tansaku and her sisters. I will have to settle for occasionally traveling aboard them. he thought. He turned towards Takumi, “Where is the wardroom located?” “The wardroom is actually just forward of the bridge. We can check it out if you like? We just have to exit the bridge and moved forward.” She answered. Kouan made his way to the door, “Then let’s take a look at it.” He motioned for the ladies to precede him. Walking down the hallway, he noticed a hatch in the ceiling. “What is that for Takumi?” pointing to it. “That is the access hatch to the science sensor pod I spoke of earlier. It is used maintenance only any samples that need to brought in would be brought in thru the pod recovery bay.”

He followed her into the doorway ahead, and entered the wardroom. His eyes were drawn to the large conference table with the SSS logo prominently displayed. He then walked around the table noting the integrated displays. The floor caught his attention, instead of carpeting the floor was covered in some light colored wood. “What is the floor covering?” he asked. He watched Takumi smile, “That is a little extra that I got approved. I wanted to give the room a different feel from other areas of the ship. So the wardroom floor will be covered in bamboo flooring.”

 

[Nashoba]

It had been three weeks since Saiki had last visited with Takumi. Between her responsibilities overseeing the construction of the first Tansaku, and his duties with the SSS he had to settle for her progress reports. They had become his high point of each evening, after a day of dealing with the bureaucratic machinations of the fledgling SSS. Upon the completion of the Campus, work was now underway on the staging area for the ships. With several teams already deployed to the field, they were learning just how many logistical challenges there were. Fortunately Saiki was more than comfortable with delegating most of the day to day duties of those to qualified persons that he trusted. But that did not free him from the numerous meetings, and the time he spent visiting with the students. Each evening he would wait for Takumi’s report along with Takaramono. At first the progress seemed excruciatingly slow. If not for her accompanying information he would not have really noticed much. But as the days went by, the superstructure of the ship quickly took shape. She included images with the workers present which helped provide a sense of perspective. Once the exterior panels were installed she took to providing him with images of interior sections. On more than one occasion he inquired about the possibility of coming out to the ship yard, and Takumi repeatedly reminded him that it was against policy and a safety issue.

Finally two days ago, she informed him that the Ketsurui technicians had completed construction, and the ship had passed all diagnostics. Then this morning he received word that the Tansaku had been tested and was fully operational and that she was coming to the Campus to talk to him. Saiki stood by the window of his office while Takara had gone to escort her up. He turned when he heard the door open and watch Takara and Takumi enter. He crossed the room, “Welcome Takumi to the SSS Campus, and my office. Please have a seat.” He said motioning to the sofa. After Takumi sat he took a seat in one the chairs nearby. “How may I be of service?” “I was wondering if you were interested in taking a little trip aboard the Tansaku?” Takumi answered. “A trip to where?” Saiki replied unable to contain his excitement. I was talking with my superiors and they suggested that we should make a show of our delivering the first ship. We both belong to organizations that public image is important, and they felt that a dramatic exhibition would be in both our interests.” Saiki felt a brief moment of disappointment, but could not dispute her logic. “So what exactly do you have in mind?” he asked.

Takumi sat with her hands in her lap, and gave Saiki a moment before she started. “The KFY test crew took the Tansaku out last night under the cover of darkness. And as of last night she was not painted so her dark primer helped to conceal her as well. So right now the Tansaku has is in the process of having her official paint scheme applied. What we are proposing is in two days, that we have a ceremony, there will be some KFY personnel, and we will leave it to you to invite some people you want as well. Then with the media present we will have a brief ceremony, a few speakers, and turn over the Tansaku to the SSS. At that point, you would invite the guests and the members of the media to come aboard. A brief tour of the ship ending with everyone in the lounge, and then the Tansaku will lift off. Once in orbit, we suggest a brief period of socializing with refreshments. It will allow them to appreciate the observation windows, and give you and your people a chance to impress them. Then the ship will be flowing back down to the surface arriving at the staging area you have been working on.” She watched Saiki sit, from her various meetings and video calls, she could tell he was processing her proposal. “I think that is a most spectacular idea. I am sure it will be a boon to both our organizations.” Saiki finally answered. “Then I will notify my superiors that you have agreed and we will begin making the arrangements. Do you have a crew available for the flight? If so provide me with their ID’s and I will make arrangements for them to come aboard tomorrow to familiarize them with the ship.” She watched Saiki nod to Takaramono. “We have a crew that should be available.” Takara replied. “I will get their information and send it to you later.” Takumi stood and walked over and handed Saiki a datacube. “It is just a little gift that I’m sure you will appreciate. It’s the security footage of the launch and landing of the Tansaku last night. Now, if you do not mind, I really must be going so that we can make arrangements.” Saiki took the cube and thanked her, “Allow me to escort you to your vehicle.” He offered.

 

[Nashoba]

After two days of seemingly endless meetings, conference calls; Saiki was grateful that the ceremony was going to start soon. He was thrilled at receiving the news that the Empress was going to attend the ceremony. Saiki was riding in a Classico Hovercar Takara had insisted that he should arrive in style. He reviewed his speech on a datapad, after spending more than an hour on it, it was probably as good as he could write. He looked over at Takara, she like him was wearing the Tanken uniform. Somehow, she managed to make it look graceful. “Taka, have I told you recently how grateful I am that you are my assistant. I must admit I often wonder why you chose to stay with me when you could have many other assignments.” “Saiki, please do not worry yourself about why I stay. I am content to work with you; I enjoy your company, and right now being part of something important. How is your speech?” “I finished it a while ago, but you know me, I’m never quite satisfied with it until I actually make it.” Saiki replied. “At least they got this uniform to fit properly. I can not wait to get aboard the Tansaku, I feel almost like a young school boy waiting for a present.”

Takara laughed at Saiki’s comment. She had seen the Shuji in many emotional states, but this was one of the rare ones that she seldom saw. “Enjoy the feeling Kouan, after all, its not every day something like this happens. This is a day to commiserate the construction of a new class of starship being built for a newly formed organization. After all it isn’t every day that a person has their dream turn into reality. Quite an achievement I would say. So why don’t you relax an allow yourself to enjoy it” “Yes, Takara, you are quite right. This is a day to enjoy.” Saiki replied. Besides, I will do enough worrying for you. she thought. She considered herself Saiki’s unofficial bodyguard. Having spent time with him while in the military she knew how he could become engrossed in his work or the pursuit of information, that if not for her vigilance he would probably not be sitting here with her. When she chose to leave the service it only seemed natural to her to stay with her friend. Life with Kouan was definitely not boring. To the world at large she was just his personal assistant, but she was one of the few people who really knew Kouan the man. Looking out the window of the Classico she saw they were approaching the facility. “Well, it is nearly show time Kouan. When the car pulled up to the designated area she could see that there was already quite a gathering. The Classico came to a stop and a young man opened the door. She noticed the KFY logo clearly present on his black coat. He offered her a hand, which she accepted.

Saiki slid out of the seat and into the controlled chaos. He walked with Takara at his side along the carpeted walkway. He looked beyond the platform where the speakers were gathering, and saw the Tansaku. The KFY team had positioned the platform along the starboard side, so that the she faced towards the east. Behind her you could see two of her sister ships under construction. My goodness, she’s huge, and beautiful. Even though he had seen a full scale simulation, for some reason out here she seemed larger. Perhaps it was seeing the people along side her, or the structures, Kouan was not sure what the difference was. The sun shining down on the ship caused all of the white surfaces to gleam. He managed to keep from stopping and staring, and approached the platform. There at the top of the stairs was Takumi. He ascended the stairs and exchanged greetings with her and with the KFY personnel present with her. He took his place with Takara next to him. It appeared that all the speakers were present except for the Empress. They did not have to wait long before seeing the motorcade bringing her to the event. When she emerged from the vehicle the Yamatai Anthem began playing.

 

[Nashoba]

Once the Empress was seated, the ceremony began. The representative for Ketsurui Fleet Yards approached the podium and launched into his speech. Takara sat next to Saiki and she listened to the speech. Overall she thought it was a good speech, it spoke of the changing dynamics of the Empire and how KFY was adapting to fulfill those needs. There was polite applause from the crowd at what seemed the appropriate points of his discourse. After he spoke he turned over the podium to the Empress. Himiko gracefully approached the podium and waited for the applause to die down before starting her speech. In her speech she spoke of Saiki as a visionary, a patriot, and how she was pleased with not only the creation of the Scientific Studies Service, and their work with Ketsurui Fleet Yards to create such an impressive vessel the likes the Empire had not seen. After the Empress completed her speech, Takara watched as Saiki stood and approached the podium. He started out by thanking the various dignitaries for coming. Then Takara watched as he put down his speech. Saiki started speaking of how he came to the Empire a young man, a scientist, a dreamer. He spoke of not only his love of studying, and learning, but of his greater love; that of inspiring young minds with a love of science, and a desire to learn new things and to challenge the boundaries of what was known. Then he spoke of the Tansaku, and how they would help the SSS achieve those goals.

Once he finished his speech Kouan invited the invited members of the media to join them aboard the Tansaku. He then turned and joined the other speakers. As a group they walked down the back of the platform and made their way to the ship. Kouan walked to Himiko’s right and Takumi walked to her left. As they entered the vehicle bay, the crew of the Tansaku snapped to attention. Kouan and Takumi led the dignitaries through the tour, while Takara and another KFY representative lead the members of the press. Both groups ended up in the crew lounge entering by two separate doorways. Once all of the visitors were in the room, the stewards proceeded to make their rounds supplying all of them with a glass of champagne. Moving to the front of the room Kouan turned to face the group. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” he started, watching as the room filled with the light from the sun as the ship crossed the terminator. “I wish to ask you to join me in a toast.” He paused for a moment as the room grew still, and lifted his glass “A toast to the Empire, to our farsighted Empress, without whose support this wonder of engineering would not exist, I give you the Tansaku, the pride of the SSS.” The room was immediately filled with cheers and people calling out “To the Empire, To the Empress, to the Tansaku.” Kouan smiled and nodded to her majesty before drinking his wine.

The Tansaku completed several orbits above Yamatai while the guests talked and the media took photos. The Empress withdrew to one of the smaller rooms to enjoy some privacy. The ship then began its descent into the atmosphere, and flew on its preplanned trajectory to the Tansaku Staging area outside of the SSS Campus. Kouan escorted her majesty to her waiting vehicle, and then stood at the ramp of the Tansaku to personally thank each guest for attending the ceremony.