RP: Blackguard [Blackguard] Two of Clubs

Haisely noticed the slight change in Quilly and Tobias' faces and groaned inwardly, she seriously hoped they didn't assume she was in on the situation with Masato, the cyber cat kept listening to the briefing and trying not to draw anymore attention to herself, the idle chat could come later. Overhearing the brief exchange with Molotra Haisely immediately started making up her own list, finally she could make herself a proper work station!

Outwardly the short Nepleslian's face broke into an almost sadistic look of glee while she went over all her favourite items as well as her old wishlist, this day just got a lot better. The nepcat also made a mental note to catch up with Tobias and Molotra afterwards now that she had finally joined the mental comms table, and those two were fairly experienced, she assumed.

Ukk System
A Large Grass-Colored Celestial Objects Platform
A Card Deck of Windowed Vistas

Though Masato was too focused on the cybercat to notice the motions of disapproval he received from Quilly and Tobias, said cybercat’s… less then welcoming response was more then enough to have a decidedly chilling effect on the Minkan, who visibly flinched when Haisely hissed at him. Only the lack of anywhere to go in the relatively crowded hallway - and the fact that, well, he liked her - kept him next to her as she continued onwards and explained why she was so irritable. Ah, so THAT’s why she bit my head off there - and here I was thinking I’d somehow, in typical me fashion, royally fucked up somewhere. Anyways, it’s probably best to ease off a little and apologize, as I don’t want to scare her off or anything or be too unprofessional…

“My apologies if I caused you any additional stress, Haisely-san,” replied the Minkan in a decidedly contrite tone, “and don’t worr-actually, nevermind…” Best not to say something as cheesy as ‘they’ll have to go through me before I let them touch you,’ as I’ll a) never hear the end of it, b) become the squad’s laughingstock, and c) cause Haisely-san WAY too much additional str-

The Corporal’s magnetically levitated train of thought came crashing back down to the ground as a scuffle erupted further down the hallway, though it didn’t exactly that stay for long, given how much in-fighting, hazing, and alcohol-induced brawling he’d witnessed at Basic during the previous month. Oh, it’s just another testosterone-overloaded ID-SOL picking a fight he can’t win. I swear, half of them have no brains and think only with their incredibly oversized dongs… although… - a smile flickered across Masato’s lips - one could also say the same about Nekovalkyrja and their… genitals. Some things are common no matter what military you’re in. I’m glad I got out of the Army, however, given what happened to Iemochi-sama, who - despite being in charge of SARA - was actually a pretty decent person. ‘No reform’ my frelling ass - rumor has it that she was banned by the powers-that-be from implementing any of her reforms, which if true goes to show just how nepotistic and corrupt the Star Army’s upper echelons have become. Hopefully the NSMC is better… but anyways… - the deep-set frown that had crept across the engineer’s features vanished - there’s a briefing going on, and it would behoove me to pay attention to it.

With that, Masato continued down the hallway, into the corridor, into the airlock, and onto the shuttle, keeping a healthy distance between himself and Haisely in order to hopefully preserve what little professionalism - in the eyes of his peers, at least - he had left.

Shuttle

Ensign Devones flying was very much in contrast to her lethargic demeanor as the shuttle kicked hard enough to jostle before the gyroscopes compensated. Through the windows in a matter of minutes the scene turned from a black void with the distant lights of starships tens of miles away to the sudden pull of artificial gravity as what could be mistaken for the wall of the station mere meters away resolved as the name of a starship scrolled too fast to read as the shuttle passed it by as the Bastard-class cruiser shranks into just one of many such incidents as the aloof pilot drove like an Elysian out of Hell until after a relatively short as a result as in a manner of minutes the shuttle began a much appreciated slow maneuver as it began to fly in shrinking circles in a corkscrew maneuver util the flank of starship showed in odd perspective as the shuttle approached both bellows and to the flank, as several smaller shuttles circled the Heavy corvette as umbilicals were established for the transference of antimatter based fuel.



One such shuttle was clipped on its top as the Zatch shuttle scraped it audibly and vibrated violently as unseen to them the shuttle they were in managed to cram into a shuttle bay already quite full by a meter at most and position itself between a similar shuttle it had just scrapped the paint off of and a Corona gunship. Touching down so gently none of the marines could even feel it touch down on the deck that it was only noticed by looking out a window and when the hatch opened up as a Navy ship crewmen jumped in so redfaced he could have been confused for someone choking even as he began shouting and screaming right up until the moment Ensign Devone left the cockpit and began nodding solemly to every word of the much lower ranked man browbeating her as Sousmith ushered the marines out even as other Navy crewmen swarmed over their shuttle and the one they had a close call with as they began declaring their woes and only let the marines off without physically assaulting them from the fact that while one marines might be worthy of their ire, a whole group of them was the equivalent of a much greater pack of predators on the food chain.

Due to the small size of the ship being only worthy for a few craft at most the group managed to get out of the shuttle bay in a manner of seconds and into a transfer hall and airlock and finally into a larger room somewhat larger than the size of the shuttle bay.

In the center was an elevator large enough to fit a Maxiumus tank on but what drew the eye was the tens of power-armor cradles as everything from M11 Raider scout armors and Slayer light powered armor were lines up alongside Hostiles, Aggressors, Cyclops, VOIDs, and even a couple custom jobs and outliers like a single suit of lone black Raider armor off its cradle and laid face down on a workmans cradle as two Naval engineers and an older marine in stained coveralls stood around the armor conversing likely around the large fist-sized hole in the lower back which was all the more noticeable with the stealth plating sheered away to a gunmetal grey as the hole was expanded to a uniform shape for later repairs even as the ones discussing it either argued or gestured with emotion about the task with enthusiasm even as the marine took the helmet of the raider and threw it at the chest of one of the engineers who caught it in his stomach and doubled over with the wind knocked out of him as the helmet clattered to the floor and rolled a couple feet away.

"This deck is the shuttle bay, Power armor storage, and general storage. There's rapid-launch tubes to the back of the bay if we ever need to deploy so keep that in mind." Sousmith informed them,

"The second deck is crew cabins, wardroom, medbay, and general living and staying deck that you'll spend most of your time on. The third deck isnt restricted but you'll get your ass chewed out if you're in somebodies way when it comes to the bridge, engineering and the like so try not to get in trouble there.

Now we're due for the second decks wardroom but we got a bit of time if any of you have anything pressing you need to ask or get off your chest like you're smuggling some narcotics or anything the wardens or IPG might get heated over when they give you the once over in checkup." Sousmith sounded not quite serious but neither did he seem to be joking at the last couple of statements even as Ensign Devone caught up to them with a jaunty stride to join the back of the group.

NSS Big Deal Hanger

After so many years one would think that a shuttle ride in space was a run of the mill thing. Not to Caffran Canterbury. He hated flying with ever fiber of his being. He was never comfortable unless his boots were on firm ground. Vana sat beside him smiling at his discomfort as she scratched Porky's ears. She had been been bothered by flying. She laughed out loud when Caffran jumped at the scrapping sound of the shuttle. "Relax Caff. You're supposed to be a veteran and used to this sort of thing." Caffran just glared at his sister.

As the shuttle finally landed in the hanger there was a noticeable change in Caffran. The fear and unease was gone now that they weren't bouncing around and that stoic yet slightly amused look returned to his face. Stepping off the shuttle, Porky's nose twitched as he took in his surroundings. Vana did the same thing but with an eye for making long shots as snipers are aped to do. Caffran by default was looking for good hiding places and points of cover but his attention was suddenly drawn to his Raider armor and the techs standing over it.

When his helmet clattered to the ground Caffran walked over and picked it up, examining it for any damage. He looked over at the fist sized hole in the back and could feel the skin graft on his back on the correlating spot start to itch. "I'd appreciate it if you treated my equipment with a little more care. That suit has kept me alive in serval fights and I'm rather fond of it." Caffran said casual like but with an underlying warning that was impossible to miss.

Ukk System
NSS Big Deal
Shuttle Roosting Location

Masato - whose slightly-green features, white-knuckled grip on his chair’s armrests, and sweat-sheened skin indicated that he’d forgotten how much he hated space travel in vessels without adequate inertial compensation - somehow managed to extricate himself from the Zachitnik-class shuttle, stagger out of it, and shamble into the hangar in a fashion akin to something between a zombie and a decidedly intoxicated sailor. “Hrk……” he groaned, turning back towards what had very nearly become his flying coffin and shaking his head in unfiltered disappointment. Good… good thing I didn’t pursue the Ensign at… ugh, at all. Someone who drives like that might be wild in bed (if the holoflicks are to be believed), but… but is probably also unhinged out of the cockpit… guh………

The Minkan barely registered Sousmith’s voice or the plethora of powered armor in front of him, as he’d already scanned the ship’s deck plan into his digital mind - instead, he was focused completely on not throwing up and embarrassing himself in front of Haisely. I will not barf I will not barf I will not barf I will not barf…

Hanger
When listening to the words of the senior soldier in front of him, Gustav could not help but feel slight interruptions like murmurs among the troops, although he tried to stay focused. He felt surprised by the relevance they gave to the Black Guard, and for the same reason, he felt curious to know the "why?" He was chosen to join that peculiar team.

There was no time for questions, when everyone took another path to reach the ship, which he made a short trip. However, he was aware of the discomfort that several had, something that infected him a little, releasing a sneeze in mid-flight.

- Achu!! Ehm ehm Sorry-
Gustav exited the shuttle, maintaining his composure despite the bumpy ride. His military training allowed him to handle the discomfort of space travel with a stoic demeanor. As he stepped onto the hangar deck, he surveyed the surroundings with a keen eye, taking note of the various shuttles, power armor cradles, and the overall layout of the ship.

The encounter with the other Navy crewmen, who were clearly displeased with the close call in the shuttle bay, didn't faze Gustav. He followed Sousmith's lead, moving quickly through the shuttle bay and into the transfer hall and airlock. Once in the larger room, he took a moment to glance at the power-armor cradles, identifying the different types of armors lined up for deployment.

Sousmith's briefing about the ship's layout and the impending visit to the wardroom caught Gustav's attention. He appreciated the efficiency and directness of the information provided. As the group made their way through the hangar, Gustav couldn't help but notice the dynamics among the crew, the engineers, and the marine with the damaged Raider armor.

As they approached the wardroom, Gustav took a moment to assess his surroundings and the people around him. The hangar had provided a glimpse into the ship's activity and the relationships among the crew.

Haisely sighed in relief to herself as Masato held back whatever he was about to say, and noticed he was keeping his distance. The cybercat wasn't a heartless monster but letting him get too close was a recipe for disaster, she'd been burned too many times by deals in the past to not read the fine print first.

Haisely didn't speak to anyone as they boarded the shuttle or during the trip, opting instead to cross her arms and have a quick nap, being tossed around was nothing new in her book. During the explanation she again stayed quiet and kept her cybernetic eyes on Sousmith, not noticing the minkan behind her attempting to avoid throwing up.

"Yeah I got a question, will I get a proper workstation that I was promised a year ago now? Got a shopping list if you need it." The short nepleslian asked, her usual sarcasm held at bay for fear of being smited.

Big Deal - Waller Redhawks Quarters

Waller had a scant few minutes to himself before his contemplation was interrupted by not the chime of the comm bell of someone requesting entry into his quarters but instead something akin to the force of a car smashing into a brick wall four times to the point that he could feel the pounding on his cabin doors in his teeth as, despite the sound-dampening he could make out the bellow of

"Somebody home? Open up a bit, won't'cha?" that sounded so deep and gravely like a Lorrfolk demon outside his door trying to gain entry to devour small children and only stopped by some arcane convention of needing permission.

"Do I have the wrong cabin?" It asked, give a much more subtle secondary set of knocks on his door as if unsure...


Waller's hand instinctively moved toward the sidearm holstered at his side, the sudden intrusion into his moment of solitude roused a sense of guarded readiness. The voice outside, however, continued undeterred. Caught between the cosmic expanse outside his viewport and the enigmatic presence at his door, Waller Redhawk hesitated for a fleeting moment. His hand lingering near the sidearm in response to the unexpected intrusion, approached the reinforced door of his quarters. The metallic surface, cold to the touch, carried a tactile reminder of the vessel's utilitarian design. The muffled hum of the starship's systems underscored the tension in the air.

As he reached for the manual release panel, Waller's eyes narrowed, a steely gaze fixing on the entrance. The door, engineered for both security and sound insulation, responded to his command with a pneumatic hiss. It slid open incrementally, revealing the source of the forceful knocks and enigmatic voice that had disrupted his solitude.

NSS Big Deal Hanger

Charmaylarg Dufrain said:

Now we're due for the second decks wardroom but we got a bit of time if any of you have anything pressing you need to ask or get off your chest like you're smuggling some narcotics or anything the wardens or IPG might get heated over when they give you the once over in checkup." Sousmith sounded not quite serious but neither did he seem to be joking at the last couple of statements even as Ensign Devone caught up to them with a jaunty stride to join the back of the group.

Click to expand...

Tobias grinned wryly at the question from Sousmith; he'd hardly expected to get the good cop bad cop treatment as soon as they'd gotten on board. It spoke to the character of the types of people who had been sent to the Blackguard before them. Not that they were too much different. Their elysian demolitions expert cum medic was regarded by many as a kleptomaniac, they had a Yamatain amongst them, and not to mention whatever new assumed background he and Carina were going by these days, courtesy of the censors in the IPG.

Perhaps his squad didn't appear, from Sousmith's point of view, too different from the Big Deal's usual fare after all. "As long as we're playing customs checkpoint, all I've got to declare is a replacement eye and some old chrome." He said, adopting the persona of the kind of bad-attitude type of marine that was likely to get assigned to a unit such as this.

En Route to the Big Deal
The undersized birdmedic spent most of her time staring out at the impressive display of the Big Deal's tenders at work, the coordinated movements around any form of starport having always been a fascination of hers. Unlike some of the others, she seemed almost entirely unbothered by the Ensign's cutthroat flying - perhaps it was the light weight of her kind, or her own tendency to fly fast and nimble, or some combination thereof. At least her question was answered by the demonstration.

NSS Big Deal
Hangar Connections

The medic's baby blues scoured every inch of the busy hangar, only pausing to acknowledge the comment about rapid launch tubes and confirm their position in the rear. She suppressed a wince at the thought of stuffing herself into a full-blown power armor - at least for the ones Nepleslia provided, the space for wings was insufficient for comfort. She tossed a message over to Masato with telepathy, "Yo catboy, seen any Elysians back at home? If they're gonna put us in armors I might need some help convincing the techs to let my wings fit."

She spoke out loud next, ribbing Tobias, "Old chrome, huh, Toby? Getting sentimental?" A pause, then, "Speaking of, on a scale of seven to ten how much flak am I gonna get for bein' fleshy and spider-free anyways?"

Power Armor Bay.

Almost three hundred pounds of old salt practically wheeled on Caffran mere inches from his face as the seinor engineer looked him up and down before pulling back slightly to appraise him more.

"This yours? Son?" He asked in a way that sounded less like a question as he squinted hard at Caffran before grabbing and planting the helmet down still none-too lightly on the cradle before picking up an unfamiliar tool and gesturing at the very obvious hole in the suit.

"Not gonna ask how you did that." He decided, still standoffish as he pressed the tool to part of the armor and a small layer of what looked like black carbon came off and stuck to the nozzle of the device.

"I aint gonna play you, marine. This aint your armor anymore; Its slag. The structure is compromised and no patch job is going to make it space-worthy again. It needs to be recycled and the only reason it's still in my bay is 'cause the skipper himself thinks it's worth trying to salvage. I'm going to have to remove the entire back quarter pannel and most of the mec-tech, and sourcing Zanarium on a station this intense means theres no chance a black-coat wont notice and show up and reclaim or see it destroyed themselves so I cant even get the shit till right before we send off.

For the price we're paying to get the stuff I could have gotten an entire Aggressor or three stock M11s. The only up side is the amount of Zan' we're getting we can modify at least a half dozen or more suits as a project or trade it later for anything we cant source normally. So don't worry i'll fix the damn thing; But if you bring it back with damage like this again i'll see to it they stick your ass in a thirty year old phalanx without SENSE installed and call it even..."

Clearly done talking to Caffran the engineer went back to habitually complaining and glaring at everything on his deck as he rejoined the deck and moved on.

Bunks

Waller opened his door and was suddenly face-to-face with someones crotch at almost six foot. Looking up after taking a step back he found quite possibly the single largest man Waller had ever seen as the nearly 11-foot tall SOL was so tall his head was pressed awkwardly down against the ceiling to look down at the smaller man.

With a slightly jutting forehead that looked like it was hiding an ERA plate, and a square jaw so sharp it could cut throug a bulkhead the SOL looked down at him with a shaved head and stubble with stems of hair follicals each looking as thick as his pinky and teeth so large that waller could practically see his own reflection in them as the man offered up a closed fist for a fist bump in greeting as he stepped back a bit to be seen better.

"Yah, I get that a lot!" He chuckled with such mirth it could be felt in Wallers chest as his oversized marine fatigues gave him away and the massive SOUSMITH.D stenciled over the breast identified him.

"Names Sousmith. Gunner for team-4s primary hand, Missed ye when you came aboard. The rest of the new crew just came aboard though and LT wants all the new marines in the wardroom so I was nearby."

He stood there... Waiting...

There wasn't a lack of intelligence in his eyes as one might suspect from a giant brute. But instead, patience and cunning that shouldn't be discounted.

Wardoom

The team was brought up a floor and guided past several cabins and a couple holographic immersion bays for simulation until on the second deck they entered the wardroom. One of the largest rooms on the ship. Arrayed like a large gym in its symmetry there was a large amount going on as nearly forty-other marines and at least half as many navy crewmen were about either socializing at a rolling bar, arrayed before a couple large viewing screens and consoles, or in other activities.

In the far corner two Sol, each almost nine-foot tall were sparring in the middle of a shadow-boxing match as even across the wardroom the sound of a body slamming into a wall at forty miles per hour sounded as one of the Sol threw a bare-knuckle punch and clocked the other in the cheek while the struck man barely even reacted to the blow as he retaliated with a surprising speed of machine-gun like blows despite his size at the other Sol who was now on the backfoot.

Several navy crewmen were nearby even that as a gym setup was arrayed and one sailor, likely almost two hundred pounds was sitting on top of a set of weights on a deadlift bar as a much smaller female sailor with a nearly see-through sweat-stained t-shirt was breathing heavily as she lifted both a hundred pounds worth of weights and her fellow sailor as her comrades cheered her on and a larger man sat ready to spot the woman but looking unconcerned.

"Hey, Quills!" A familiar voice sounded out as Francis Euphoria sat at one end of a very long half-moon couch besides another woman and a man as the misandrist combat specialist waved to a couple of the marines she knew. Sousmith guided the group that way until the group was before Euphoria who stood to greet some of them with the glassy-eyed look that told she was at least on her medication.

"Oh, these your team, Franny?" The other woman who was with her rose as well as the familiar woman saddled up next to Francis. With a very pleasing build and tight enough clothes that the woman knew what she was doing the raven-haired marine was a looker alright but something poked at the memories of some of them.

The two pink, almost red hearts that were in place of her pupils was a more giving tell and sealed it when Francis introduced her.

Belladonna Lux, retired adult film star of some notoriety who had retired a decade prior but in neps adult industry and the InterNep in general was still famous for her sweet charm, figure, and a particular court case that was famous years prior all over the net of the pornstar catching charges after violently assaulting a male member of the same industry that ended up in a broken jaw, a dislocated eye from one socket, and damage to his career both in his physical state and reputation.

"Who're the newbies?" Francis drew attention back to herself as she looked over Eric, Gustav, and Waller as the latter entered with an imposingly-sized SOL with him, clearly expecting introductions all over again.

Ukk System
NSS Big Deal
Botany Bay (of Armor)

Fortunately for the Minkan known as Matokai Masato, the high-impact nausea affecting him was seemingly ephemeral in nature and (mostly) vanished before it could get past his mental defenses.

Unfortunately for the Minkan known as Matokai Masato, he was then subjected to a Lethal Company-tier jumpscare when his telepathic receivers (which he hadn’t made use of in the past month, and had rarely used back home in Yamatai) transmitted Quilly’s voice directly into his brain, causing him to visibly flinch - and very nearly walk into the wall adjacent to the power armor bay’s open elevator door. “BWAH! I saw a few Elysians in the Army, though I don’t know how easy it’ll be to graft a pair of Durandium (or, Empress forbid, Nerimium) wings to a Hostile or an Aggressor. Let me think on it…,” replied the Corporal, all of his previous worries - including those related to Haisley and his professional image - immediately forgotten as he set about pondering the engineering problem that had been presented to him. For flexibility’s sake, they’d definitely have to be Durandium, though it’s relatively fragile, and what about the joints between articulation segments? The thing’s going to have to flex quite a bit - although, one could probably mount PLAs on the wings for extra point defense - but then what about the wiring? Internal or external. Hm. Decisions, decisions…

Room of Warding

The Minkan - still engrossed in figuring out how to best attach a pair of wings to Nepleslia’s various power armors - was peripherally aware that this particular Nepleslian wardroom was vastly less disciplined then the ones he was used to in the Star Army, but paid little attention to the various antics occurring around him, as for him thinking about a complex engineering problem was naturally much more exciting then that boring and energy-intensive thing called socialization. Then he heard a vaguely-familiar voice - and made the mistake of looking up to trace it back to its source. Now, where have I heard that lady be-oh. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…

Said voice belonged to one Belladonna Lux, whose… productions Masato had occasionally performed certain activities to back in the day, as evidenced by the faint blush of embarrassment that had begun to creep over his cream-colored features. Wellllllllll this is pretty awkward… I remember reading about her in the news, and the article said that she’d switched careers - but I never thought it’d be to the military of all things…

With her question unanswered the cybercat shrugged to herself, continuing to follow the group and idly and take mental notes of the layout. The ship was cool and all but she just wanted her own setup again, it’d been too long since the hacker had a system she could really let loose with.

With the arrival of some, apparently, famous woman Haisely noticed a distinct lack of observation on her own person, which while she was glad to have the chance to blend into the background again it did make her wonder what all the fuss was about. From a simple glance at the woman the cybercat was able to do a brief facial match scan with one of her several hidden remote servers around Nepleslian territory and get a name, which she then looked up on a different web access server, all the blink of an eye thanks to her new implants.

Oh, I see

Haisely looked around the group, some seemed to have noticed or recognised her, most without much incident, Masato was blushing like some kind of schoolboy who just saw something naughty. Well at least it was someone else for once the catgirl thought while slinking to the rear to see what would happen next.

NSS Hot Sale: Officers Room

As Sousmith led them through the room, Gustav's observant eyes noticed the two Sols engaged in a sparring match. The controlled power and speed with which they exchanged blows was impressive, a testament to the physical prowess of these imposing individuals added an unexpected layer of intrigue to the scene.

The atmosphere was full of activity, with Marines and Navy crew socializing, training, and engaging in various activities. As they headed towards Francis Euphoria and his group, Gustav noticed the imposing presence of Belladonna Lux, the retired adult film star who still maintained some notoriety......yes, he "recognized her", possibly something bad .

Francis drew attention to the group of novices, and Gustav resolutely stepped forward to introduce himself. "Marine Gustav reporting for duty," she said in a firm but respectful tone. He looked at each member of the group, noting the variety of personalities present. Still, the presence of Belladonna Lux added a touch of unexpected glamor to the place, Gustav sought to ignore her.

Although, Gustav remembered Sousmith's words about the importance of getting along with the crew and strove to display an open and respectful attitude. Although he was new to this environment, he was determined to learn and adapt quickly to be an integral part of the team at NSS Big Deal.

Wardroom

"Oh Franny you were right." The Former Adult start puffed one cheek as the hearts in her eyes pulsed flashing pink as she pulled out a wallet and handed a single crisp DA note to francis who then handed it to the man sitting beside her who paused, looked over, and then took the currency and placed it in a pocket before stating the number thirty thousand, five hundred and seventy six. And then went back to reading.

"Yeah he's gonna get bullied hard if he dont drop all the cat-talk by the Jiyuu." Francis stated in regards to Masato. "The amount of people on the ship who even speak trade it-" Francis looked thoughtful before the man with the book casually recited "Eleven." The same man, thin but wirey in the same fatigues as the rest of them looked rather ordinary with long female-regulation hair that seemed too well-groomed for a marine, and a sharp face with the ever so slightly pointed ears of far-distant elven ancestry.

"Soshite watashi mo sono ichi-ridesu", And I am also one of those people here. He recited off in a Uesureyan accent and fluent Yamataigo without even looking away from the abstemiously fancy leather-bound book he was skimming through before continuing to ignore them with disinterest.

"Pull the stick out of your ass, Mutie." Lux needled back at him in a bantering tone less offensinve than her words implied before Noting Waller and the massive Sol walk in before giving an excited noise before pointing at the man reciting "That's my boy." and then excusing herself to go jog over towards the twelve foot tall supersoldier who leaned over enough he could have covered a small car as a result and kissed the woman on the forehead with a mouth so large that he could have fit her entire head in his mouth with room to spare.

"Her actual son, by the way." Francis pointed out at the mental math and just how old he likely was to be that size and how young Lux must have been. "Don't think about it too hard." Francis followed up before looking at the man still sitting on the couch.

"That's Karabuki by the way." She introduced him nuetrally which was suprising for the famously misandrist combat specialist.

With a sigh in response the man slowly placed a satin strip between two of the pages he was reading and closed the book with finality before looking up at the group.

"Seargeant Fino Karabuki." He nodded before pointing a finger at first Caffran, and then Quilly.

"To you," He started to Caffran, "I will give fourty-thousand Davis Alliance, In credit, for your M11 tactical raider armor in the Intelligence and Pacification groups configuration that you have." And without waiting for an answer then moved to quilly, "And to yourself I will pay you in cash seven thousand of the same currency or if you prefer the Kikyo Standard, I will offer eleven thousand KS for your wings, in cash, on the condition that should you perish in combat conditions I may recover your ancillary limbs. Should your brainspider be recoverable I will offer the same deal again if you so desire and am willing to draw up a contract-"

The mans teeth as he spoke were noticeable as all being sharpened to a point and each one of his eyes as he looked at Quilly were unnatural in that there Sclera were a brown-green and his iris seemed pitch black.

A mutant, albeit a very passing one.

Finally returning to a more familiar state, Francis whirred on him and began laying in a tirade of obscenities at the man who only pulled back slightly to avoid the spittle as most of the wardroom looked over in curiosity as a familiar face walked over to the group in the form of Ensign Devone alongside several others, eliciting a "Captain on deck!" as the dwarfistic Maximus Dirk in all three foot of his much larger ego grinned up at the scene even as Francis snapped to attention along with most others.

"At ease!" The short man laughed before looking over some of the new marines who recognized him from Stenkagorad.

"Welcome back, Marines." He grinned, at least being slightly more familiar with some of them since taking them off of Stenkagorad after the almost civil war. At his side Ensign Devone looked aloof and on the other side a marine with a 1st Lieutenants rank embossed on his fatigues and the nametape of Devone, Same as the Ensigns, looked over the new marines. Seeing the captain was done speaking he took a step forward and started calling off names.

"Maverick, Holt, Macfarley. You're going to team nine on the Fist of Audacity, orders are on your jockeys you leave tomorrow. Yule you're moving to the Kings, their combat specialist is retiring next month. Fino you're cadre on team four until Canturbury doesn't need training wheels." On that the officer, a very stern looking and rare Jiyuuian man looked over the group before identifying Caffran.

"You're my second on Team Four. Differ to Karabuki for anything you need but don't ride hard on him. As for your team..." LT Devone waited until Lux came back over and started reading off from her datajockey.

"Carrick, T. Has a corrupted brainspider and an out of date IPG package. It will be hard to correct the former with the reinforcement on his skull but it's doable. As for the latter, I recommend we-"

"Leave it. See if we cant scare up someone to do an update, next?" the LT decided, not knowing about Leo Hargraves in Tobias head who, coincidentally, Tobias could just see in the background in his vision examining many of the marines present. He had been rather quiet as of late...

"Caffran, C. Has group-marks on his record but no package. Want me to see if I can get him one?" Lux asked, looking at her superior who looked Caffran up and down again.

"No, I dont want any blackcoats looking too hard at his record. We're trading for enough Zil as is for his frame and the main team that I dont want interfearence, Next."

"Mostly just needing basic nanite package updates and updates to their brain spiders. Trying to get firmware that will work on a Minkan has been fruitful, though the Spiders' the LSDF field-tested with some of the lorath arent far off from working on an Elysian. Other than that basic shots, nanites, and find me some time on the Big Green to get one of their better surgical bays to cut through Carricks reinforced skull and get to his Cerebral Chip and update any of his intel package I can have all that done in about six hours and have Carrick back in our medbay on recovery before we tough off tomorrow."And I am also one of those people.

"Do it. The rest of you are dismissed. Canterburry, walk with me." The LT ordered and excused himself from the captain half his own height and began walking. Ensign Devone following after him as he slowed down his pace to wait for the woman.

"Stern guy, But he gets the job done his record says!" Captain Maximus Dirk joked, as most of the marines present either left for their new duties or back to what they were doing as he addressed the new group. "Speaking of, the Big Deal is breaking formation tomorrow for our new mission. You'll all get briefed then. Cabins are co-ed and theres enough free cabins that you can go without hot bunking. Chow is at 0730, 1230, and 0530 every day, and theres a VR simulation room on this deck! Anything else you need ask the ships ACE, His name is Mathias, Hes a new AI so a bit rough around the edges but-"

The captain stopped, realizing he was rambling and began a hearty chuckle at himself before casually turning away and walking off in the way most officers not beholden to being dismissed by anyone did with a half-waddle towards one of the remaining Sol who had been boxing before his sparring partner had left off to get ready for new orders.

"I see you need a new sparring partner!" The captain joked to someone over three times his height.

"Yes, Well," Fino Karabuki interjected towards the group as he picked up his book and straightened out a crease in his uniform. "Aquire or requisition anything you need today with the ACE. As the captain said we are departing tomorrow..."

And with that, the group was left alone and to themselves.

Hall

It was not hard for Caffran to catch up with the Devones, the two holding hands in such a way that seemed far from implying they were siblings as Nearl broke off to go to another hall and the LT kept walking as Caffran joined him.

"Tell me about your team." He asked in a way that was just short of an order but only just. "Euphorias record I already know and can deal with the excentricities until they become a problem, and some of the others are green. But more than a few of you who have served long-term have sealed records I am not privy to and I need to know if there is going to be a problem?"

Ukk System
NSS Big Deal
Warded Room

Masato’s thoughts had just started to return to the quandary that was Quilly-fying a Hostile when his train of thought was derailed - by the twin blows of Lux’s eyes doing something straight out hentai and the fact that the elfish man spoke perfect Yamataigo - with the speed of a Mishhu let loose in a women-only onsen. I, oh my…, thought the Minkan, who could feel his upper cheeks heating up. I, ah, I never though I’d see that in real life. Perh-no. Nonononononono. I chose Haisely, so I should remain faithful to her, no matter how tempting Bell-oh hey, that was really good Yamataigo from Bookworm-san on the couch. I’ll have to talk to him later, it see-

If Lux’s and Karabuki’s actions had derailed Masato’s train of thought, Francis’ comment about the gargantuan ID-SOL being the adult star’s son obliterated the train with a blast from an Aether Shock Array. Nani the fuck!?!?!?! That’s her son?!?!?! How… where… what… when… why-wait, no, that’s obvious given her former profession, but how frakking young was she when she gave birth? I hope she was at least 18, or else that’s really really really frakked up. Anyhoo, back to birbinating the Hostile. Now, where was I before my line of thought took a Sharie to the face… ah, right! The fastening joints - ADNR or Durandium? The former… hmmm….

Part of the Minkan’s mind noted the outburst of obscenities erupting from the squad’s medic over something to do with Quilly, but paid it no attention, as it wasn’t directed at him (and besides, the Elysian female was in good hands with Francis thanks to her decidedly misandrist outlook on life); when the ship’s decidedly diminutive captain entered the room, however, the Minkan did pay attention as he reflexively saluted - feeling a tinge of pride as he performed the right one for once - and listened attentively to his vertically-challenged superior. Let’s see, group assignment that doesn’t concern me, Carrick-san has a defective brainspider (can I fix that? possibly?), Caffran-san is somehow IPG and not IPG, which is sus, oh hey they’re talking about me, aaaand medical stuff doesn’t concern me. Neato. We’re leavi-

Yet again, the engineer found himself blushing as his thoughts were interrupted - but this time around, it was due to the prospect of sharing a room with Haisely as opposed to anything related to a Miss(es) Belladonna Lux. Oh, wow… well. Here goes literally less then nothing…

Having at some point consciously (or unconciously; it was hard for the Corporal to keep track of such things when he was focused on engineering-related things) closed the distance between himself and the squad’s resident nepcat during the past few minutes, Masato turned to face Haisely and - with an abruptly-manifested swarm of butterflies in his stomach - waited until the Captain had finished speaking, then finally spoke for the first time since entering the wardroom. “Haisely-san,” he said in a low, almost inaudible voice, “would you mind sharing a room with me? I promise not to try anything funny or, well, unfunny, and I don’t snore. I think…?”

NSS Big Deal
Ward Room

Haisely's ears perked up at one of her favourite words, "requisition" and her mental shopping list was recalled in an instant for her to continue adding too, it seemed they were serious about getting her whatever she wanted, and she wanted a lot. The nepleslian wanted to go and scope out a room to see what kind of space she'd be working with to construct her next primo multi-machine workstation and it looked like they were finally free to move about themselves. Too much to choose from in such little time, need to prioritise the important bits, probably some of my personal kit too. The cyber cat caught herself staring into space when the familiar voice of their resident Minkan sounded from nearby and her head whipped around to face him, semi-startled from her brief moment lost in thought, he wanted what now??

Haisely put a pause on her shopping as her golden eyes darted around the nearest people to see if someone had put him up to this to throw her off or get in her head, ready to near their hair out with gusto, but there was no signs of anyone watching for a specific outcome it seemed. Looking back up at Masato the nepcat's eyes bore holes into his soul as she relaxed her posture a little. "'I'm still not convinced this isn't some sort of prank, but listen as I'll say it once. I'm not sure exactly, why you like hanging around me... but you haven't done anything stupid or tried to drug me, yet. So I'm willing to give you a chance rather than risking being stuck with someone I haven't had a chance to vett properly."

The cybercat paused for a moment and briefly wondered if Yamatain super-tech like a Minkan would be able to access her mental implants, or notice them if she was using them, or heaven forbid monitor her communication in and out, he'd need to be thoroughly investigated and tested, given his willingness to... appeal? Satisfy? No, more like his desire to meet acceptable criteria she may be able to bait him into some disguised tests for her own knowledge. But that was a different matter.

"Also, I will need substantial space for a multi-machine workstation, so if you planned to have a ton or furniture I think you should find someone else."

While waiting for Masato's reaction to her almost landlord level conditions of room sharing she quickly fired off a list of items to the ship's ACE, nothing too sketchy or noteworthy by itself but the sum of parts would certainly have greater weight than alone.

=====

Requisition request
ACE unit: Mathias
Recipient: Goenkof, Haisely

Please attempt to procure the following items for me at earliest convenience
100x 1TB high speed, durable RAM modules
16x 1PT storage drives, strengthened and shielded casings
8x 27" Edgeless monitors with minimum 3 inputs
5x basic terminal peripherals
2x full mesh general purpose gloves
2x fully enclosed generic combat helmets
4x graphic processors outfitted with no less than 64GB onboard memory each
Set of kevlar sheets aprox 2.5m x 2m

Please also retrieve a package from the storage lockup at the port we boarded from, a contact will be bringing some personal items from home I'd like to have onboard, it will be aprox 3m x 1m x 1m and weighing 400kg

NSS Big Deal -- Wardroom

Caffran was surprised at all the interest people had in his Raider armor. He'd need to make sure that he kept it locked up or someone was going to steal it. He made a note to talk again to that Naval Tech. If he had to guess, the old tech was cut from the same cloth as his cousin Jack. Jack was a big supporter of some of the old traditions of the Navy, one of which was the idea that greasing the wheels of supply helped get things done quicker. The 'grease' here being money. A thousand DA or so might help the tech get Caff's suit up and working again faster.

"It's not for sale." Caffran said simply to Sergeant Fino Karabuki. He didn't have time to say more as the Captain came on deck. Caffran was very glad to have a clear chain of command again. Although a competent Sergeant, he didn't like being the number one guy in charge like he had been back on the frozen hell. He didn't mind at all that they were putting training wheels on him for a bit. That would give him time to get familiar with this new setup.

Caffran salute the Captain before following Lt. Trevor Devone out into the hall. Vana watched him leave and reached down to scratch Porky's ears and looking around at the rest of her new team. She was interested in Sniper, Lupin. Be fun to swap some long shot stories. She'd have to set up a shooting match with him sometime. See just how good he really was. Carina was another one Vana was interested in. Apparently the medic was good with a knife. Maybe they could compare blades. Vana also needed to check to see if Carina was familiar with Gunhounds as she might be called to have to tend to Porky someday.

Vana glanced down at Porky and smiled. She did some quick hand signals at big green hound. The two had cybernetic implants that allowed them to communicate with each other, but Vana had grown used to talking with her hands since she had been deaf for the last almost 5 years. Porky looked around the room a moment, his nose twitching. He starting walking towards Masato and Haisely who seemed to be deep in conversation. He moved right up to them and looked from one to the other, seemingly sizing them up. He looked a long time at Masato before snorting and walking away.

Porky made his way over towards Quilly and seemed to smile up at the Elysium. He sat down next to the bird as if he was waiting for a head pat or something. Vana walked over to demolitions expert and said, "Porky says I should talk to you first. I'm Vana Canterbury. Caffy is my big brother." She added with mock sweetness.

Hallway

Lt. Trevor Devone's question wasn't really a surprise to Caffran. In fact it raised the man in Caffran's opinion. "Most of the long serving members of the group have served together long before I got mixed up with them." Caffran answered honestly. "They all look to Tobias as being the leader. It took them a little bit of time to trust me and to follow my orders without looking over at him first to see what he thought. Of them all, Tobias is also the one with the most shrouded past. He's a former IPG, even more then me. I was just chosen for a commando raid once, I was never indoctrinated like he was. But I trust them all with my life."

NSS Big Deal -- Wardroom

Tobias weighed the situation with an appraising eye. The Big Deal was obviously staffed with fewer marines than it normally might be, seeing as how they wouldn't be required to hot-bunk. He'd have to find someone from the squad to bunk with, it would be bad form to rest without someone trusted nearby, and isolated quarters made for an isolated target. Haisley and the Yamataian seemed to have gravitated towards one another, Molotra would likely need such facilities necessitating her own room, leaving Caffran, Quilly, Carina and Lupin as options. He would have to make an effort to evaluate all of them before rooms were assigned.

With the offer to requisition whatever he wanted within reason, Tobias almost immediately began to view a catalogue of new equipment that had come into use since their last mission. One thing that caught his eye was a newer Power Armor named the Slayer. He would be lying if he told himself he wasn't interested partially because it was new and interesting, but before requisitioning it he wanted to get another opinion on it. The suit boasted considerable firepower for its weight as its main draw, and who better to evaluate that than the squad's resident ordinance expert?

As he made his way over to Quilly, he saw Hargraves out of the corner of his vision. He recalled how the captain wanted his augments brought up to date, and his brainspider... corrected. <<You've been awful quiet lately, big man>> He said mentally to Hargraves, <<Looks like they're going to be fishing around in here, what do you suppose they're going to do when they find you?>>

Once he reached Quilly, he pulled out a dataslate and brought up the Slayer's specs. "This command seems to be being fairly generous with us when it comes to equipment." He said, tossing the dataslate to the Elysian, "What do you make of this? I saw a few in the armor bay. They're not the heaviest, but they seem to be versatile and heavily armed."

NSS Big Deal

Gustav watched the scene in the wardroom carefully, taking note of the group's interactions and dynamics. As Captain Dirk withdrew and the other members of the squad began to disperse, Gustav decided to approach the group he was with, he could notice that groups began to form to share bunks.

With a firm but respectful step, Gustav approached other members who were not part of those veterans, he joined Eric and Waller.

"If there are no objections, we can share a room. Maintaining a certain initial cohesion can facilitate that process."

Gustav stood in a firm but relaxed stance, demonstrating his willingness to adapt to circumstances and contribute effectively to the squad.

"I understand sharing a room isn't for everyone, but with separate bunk beds we can have privacy when needed."

He waited for Waller and Eric to express their preferences while he continued to observe the atmosphere in the room. He noticed that several squadmates were forming their spaces and adjusting to their individual needs. Meanwhile, he remembered the mention of the new AI, MATIAS, and decided to approach the nearby control panel to interact with her.

"Gustav to MATÍAS," he said out loud. "Can you provide information on the current room layout and suggest the best configuration for efficiency and teamwork?"