RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 11.1] The Torchbearers

[Wes]

3 Days After Eucharis Returned to Port

Hanako found it difficult to stay still while the war raged on. It had to end in victory for Yamatai, and she knew Eucharis could help drive the war to that end. With the ship repaired, Hanako was ready to start the next mission. The NMX was in full war with Yamatai and Nepleslia, but the status of the UOC was largely unknown. In order to best plan the next move, the Empress had to know what was going on there...and Yui had just the ship to take on the dangerous mission: YSS Eucharis.

The signs were bad. There was a year-long communications blackout in the UOC and scattered reports of Mishhuvurthyar activity. Additionally, the possibility of encountering more of the arrogant and heavily-armed Lorath weighed heavily on Taisa Hanako's mind. They would probably want revenge...despite her saving their planet from the Moon Drop and that it was Velor, not her, that started their civil war. She was their most popular scapegoat.

The Taisa went to the wardroom and sat by the galley at the end of the big table with the hibachi grill and waited for her crew to assemble for the briefing.

 

[Kyle]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Takeyu yawned as he walked onto the Eucharis; having spent nearly a day on the Ikoi doing some research into his little side project but also into his siblings whereabouts. "Seems possible," he looked down at a pad he had in his hand. "With the right modifications, the Mindy armor can operate without needing their generators online," he stopped just beyond the main airlock and tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Though, if I was to build in a recharge unit into the battery pack then it'll allow the batteries to recharge when not in use," he said and then continued walking.

As he did, he glanced around and saw just how clean the ship now looked. "I miss the cleanliness, glad its back," he smiled approvingly before turning his attention back to the pad. He tapped it a few times to get the orientation of the module he was designing and saw it's shape, then he spun it around to view the part of it that would connect it to the Mindy. As he looked at it he realized that the feed ports for the module weren't aligned properly and thus made that quick change.

"Well, should get back to this later," with that he stuffed the pad into the pocket of his uniform. As he neared the Wardroom he double checked his uniform, before walking in. Right away he saw the Taisa, and bowed to her, "Morning Taisa."

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Sune returned to his cabin aboard the Eucharis and stowed his newest purchases in his locker. The time aboard the ship's dock had given his body the time it needed to fully recover from the injuries sustained in the last mission.

However, the most recent change in Sune's life would take a bit more time for him to fully adjust to. He checked his uniform in the mirror, the Shoi pin on his uniform marked a major change in his status within the Star Army.

After ensuring that his uniform appearance was acceptable, he put on his Uno Sunglasses, and picked up his personal ICP. He went to the Wardroom for the briefing that Hanako had called the crew to assemble for.

As he passed through the hallways he noted the repair work of the teams from the Ikoi, and he paused to look at the Wardroom. How many times has this room been repaired? Too many in my time aboard her. he thought.

He noted Hanako's position at the table, and that of Takeyu. "Good day Ketsurui-Taisa", he said as he took his seat next to her with a slight nod of his head to acknowledge her rank. He then looked at Takeyu, "Hello Nayacesen-Heisho, congratulations on your promotion." he said with a smile.

 

[Kyle]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

"Thank you sir," said Takeyu as he lifted his head and straightened up his uniform. He could never stand walking into a room with a captain in it and not showing his respects, but in this case, it also was a captain who was a princess and that added to his more cautious nature in how he addressed the Taisa.

"Congratulations to you as well for making Shoi," he turned and said to Sune before going over and taking a seat at the table.

 

[Wes]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Eucharis Wardroom

"Good morning, Takeyu," Hanako smiled, nodding to him and to Sune. "Good morning, Sune." She felt refreshed from the short stay at the starbase. "I hope to get the briefing started soon, once the other arrive. As always, this mission will be a dangerous one. We may again be entering Mishhuvurthyar-controlled space, and the locals may or may not be friendly to our presence."

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Eucharis Wardroom

Sune listened attentively to the information Hanako was sharing with Takeyu and himself. That they may be going into Mishhuvurthyar-controlled space, did not come as a surprise to him. But the comment about the locals had him puzzled. Who would be inimical to them while in NMX controlled space. Who would resent our presence beyond reason.... Lorath...

Sune reasoned thinking back to their encounter with the Lorath who were pursuing the SAINT operative. The vehemence displayed when they discovered the ship's true identity. There is only one region of space that fills that criteria. We must be going into the UOC. There is no telling what we will find, there has been no word from them in a year. To say this was dangerous was an understatement, worst case scenario they were flying into enemy occupied territory.

Keeping his face more calm than he felt, he replied "That sounds like we will be going into quite a challenging situation. But where ever the Empress and the Empire need us to go, then that is where we will go, and may fortune favor us."

 

[Aendri]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Kumiko sighed, looking at her stuff. With her current project, she was going to have to start getting some space on the the starbase for storage, because she really doubted the Taisa would let her put all of the stuff she planned on collecting soon on the ship, even if they had the space. Deciding that she could work that out when she got a chance later, she shook her head and turned, making her way to the wardroom for the briefing.

As she arrived, she straightened her uniform and new rank pin, and then stepped in, bowing to Hanako, and then Sune once she'd seen him. "Good morning, Taisa, Shoi, Nayacesen-san."

 

[Wes]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Eucharis Wardroom

"Good morning," Hanako nodded to Kumiko.

Blueberry, Blackberry, Cherry, Pineapple, Mango, and Lime joined the group.

"I missed you all," said the Taisa. "It was not easy being short on crew, but you deserved the shore leave. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves."

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Eucharis Wardroom

Sune watched the other crew members filter into the wardroom. He had to admit it was good to see a lot of famliar faces. Even if many of them were ones that he had recently restorted.

The last mission clearly showed the risks in going on a mission with a skeleton crew. Being fully manned at least improved their chances, how much he was not sure. At least they would have more people to throw at whatever challenges they faced.

 

[Toshiro]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Eucharis Wardroom

Yaichiro entered the wardroom as well, his uniform crisp and clean as he strode in. The Chusa rarely seemed groggy when he awoke, as if his mind stayed active even in his sleep. It was probably the comfort bed's simulation capability. It also seemed to be doing wonders for his neck muscles.

"Konnichiwa, minna-san." He said, not late but still arriving after the others did -- he preferred to be the first to things, which he felt was a responsibility of his as an officer.

 

[Wes]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Eucharis Wardroom

Taisa Hanako stood up. "I will begin the briefing now. As you know, the united Outer Colonies, a potential ally against the Mishhuvurthyar, has been under some form siege for over a year, as evidenced by a communications blackout present throughout their space. Because of the blackout and strain on SAINT from the war, we have gained little data about the state of things deeper into the UOC. That is where we come in. Eucharis will be leading a Task Force entering the UOC territory. The tash force will consist of at least two gunship squadrons and some larger ships if any can be spared. Our mission will be to observe the condition of UOC worlds and attempt to make contact with the UOC government and/or their military, the Peacekeeper Forces."

The golden-eyed captain pulled up a volumetric space map. "From Veronica, we will stop at HX-5 to drop off an orbital survey platform and then we will proceed to the Mitsuya system. From their we may go to other systems. Other than running into the NMX or SMX, one complication we should try to avoid the Lorath. Many of them blame me for their civil war, despite the fact that it was their moronic prince Velor that started it in his rage over not being able to have sex with his sister before I did...and in spite of the fact that I saved their planet from destruction by Melisson and the SMX. The Lorath are hateful and arrogant and may attempt to attack us. If they do, Yamatai will declare war on them, and the last thing we need is another war front. Questions?"

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Sune was glad to hear that this was to be a Task Force, and not a solo ship mission. Still this was an opportunity to gather intelligence.

"Taisa, why not use this as an opportunity to deploy some of the new FTL Sensors or some PANTHEON's Eye Covert Sensor Probes. If as we fear the worst has happened to the UOC, then establishing a network of sensors would be of great value to Yamatai, as well as helping in developing a strategy to liberate our neighbors."

 

[Toshiro]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

"...We should keep in mind that the UOC had access to PANTHEON's Eye Covert Sensor Probes as well, though modern kinds may have their own operating system variant if still in use. The technology was originally developed from within the pre-UOC 5th XF. Depending on just how much control the NMX has over the area and infrastructure in the area, we should be aware that they may well be utilized against us and hasten our detection."

Yaichiro was the inventor of the PANTHEON's Eye, and knew that the Tange clan likely would not have left the technology alone. All that would have been needed to make it compliant with the removal of SAoY tech was a software change...

 

[Kyle]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Takeyu listened and waited for a response to his fellow soldiers questions; he had a potential one himself but was holding off for now in case the Taisa answered it indirectly.

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Sune knew about Yaichiro's involvement with the probes, he had made a point to familiarize himself with the Chusa's records prior to the meeting.

"Then it is fortunate that we have the Director of design team with us. I was not proposing that we use any existing drones that the UOC may have deployed but deploy our own.

But that being said, with your first hand knowledge of the PANTHEON's Eye Probes, if anyone would know how to avoid detection, it would be the Chusa. It also could give us another opportunity we could explore. If we should happen to come across one deployed by the UOC, then perhaps Kage-Chusa might be able to gain access to one, and by extension perhaps into their network if one is in place.

I presume that with the size of the Task force you are indicating Taisa that this is not a covert mission, so we will not need worry about detection. At least not initially, of course I could be mistaken. Ostensibly, our task force could also be a relief force bringing emergency supplies to our neighbors. Humanitarian aid as it were." Sune said looking at Yaichiro and then Hanako.

 

[Wes]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

"Anything we can do to avoid unwanted challenges by local enemy forces would be good. Yaichiro, if you have any suggestions to increase our stealthiness, now is it the time to give them. Otherwise, we will rely on surprise, speed, and force. if conditions seem good, I would like to briefly deploy ground vehicles to investigate UOC colonies. To this end, our STV hsa been replaced with a battle tank and I have acquired a TASHA M9 tank robot to serve as the ground team's escort. The tank will take orders from any Eucharis crew member. If we make contact with friendly forces, we need to be careful of deceit because they could be infected."

 

[Aendri]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Kumiko looked up. "Taisa, with that in mind, we should think about requisitioning some Type 31 field uniforms, shouldn't we? We just seem to be getting in firefights without armor lately, and being able to have protection without using the PAs seems sensible."

 

[demibear]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

Standing towards the rear of everyone, Mikael listened attentively to the Taisa's briefing. Most of what she was saying didn't interested him, nor apply to him. Combat with the NMX was always to be expected. He only hoped Kiko would not be a hindrance, as he had not had the chance to train with her yet.

It was when she mentioned ground combat was possible that he actually smiled. And the mention of tanks widen it even more. He waited for her to finish before he stood up during a lapse of others asking theirs.

"Ma'am..will we be wearing powered armor or going light infantry?" Mikael asked.

 

[Toshiro]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

"Well, since we can use our own PANTHEON's Eye Probes, our ships are already configured to receive the types of signals they emit over serial tachyon, and I remember enough about the MIKO Electronics Suite from my time there to be able to configure a translation communicate with them if they've updated their Operating Systems, but it'd only be current to their time of cession. I can't guarantee the effectiveness there, but we'd at least detect them if they relayed any information of us, and disguise ourselves as something else at best. We can try to use communications frequencies outside the range of the CIES-level hardware to avoid communications interception, and we can use laser communication when possible as well.

We can hope the communications blackout messes has reduced the effectiveness of their communication systems, but we should still try to find a roundabout way in. Maybe I can reconfigure our CFS to look less like a Star Army craft like last mission too...but for the Lorath, the best recommendation I can make is borrow another ship aside from the Eucharis for the mission. Regardless of their justifications, the ship name alone multiplies their hostility and may not be as beneficial to the mission. If that's not possible, we'll make do somehow."

Yaichiro recalled just how badly they felt about Hanako...he briefly considered recommending someone else take the mission, but they were the ones assigned it by far higher ranked personnel.

 

[DocTomoe]

Re: [Mission 11] The Torchbearers

There were things Helen disliked, and one of them was being late... but for the moment, she just had to deal with it. With the Eucharis' crew preoccupied with the staff meeting, she had a moment to do something productive to her own mission. Along her way to the wardroom, Helen stopped in various locations through the ship, placing a series of rather simple 'communication coin' style devices. As she planted them under things, on odd spots of bulkheads, and near door-frames, the devices used a trick of nodal engineering to blend in with each surface, becoming merely an odd swell that was hardly a noticeable thing.

After placing her snooping devices, Helen would arrive at the wardroom, clad in her traditional SAINT black, and as soon as she entered she bowed in Hanako's direction. Though, she would wait to be acknowledged before speaking; "Gomen, I apologize for being late." Though, being late did not matter heavily, since she had been watching and listening to the staff meeting through the use of the ship's MEGAMI.