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  • 📅 February and March 2024 are YE 46.2 in the RP.

Companion Story: The struggle of connection

RaWolfe

Retired Staff
RP Date
YE 43
RP Location
YSS Wakaba - Holo communication
The room was quiet and dark as the light reflection from the Tange system comes through the windows. Kazue was sitting on her desk with her arms crossed and thinking as she tapped her arm with her right hand. She had to find out, she had some things that bother her for a while and wanted some clear answers. It is something that definitely was eating her up. She hops off the desk and took a deep breath "Inaho....set secure communication to Ketsurui-Motoyoshi Katsuko. The private conversation so..."

"No eavesdropping, don't worry Taisa. The connection will be made soon, but feel free to enter the holo connection" Inaho replied seriously.

She might be a loose cannon at times, but Inaho was one of the most valuable assets Kazue had. Taking a deep sigh as Kazue established the connection as her room changes to a beach as she stared at the beautiful ocean. Now she waiting on Katsuko to answer her call, the beach was one of the fine memories for Kazue and homes under the rule of Motoyoshi.
 
Ketsurui-Motoyoshi Katsuko appeared in the virtual environment prepared; the former Taisho of the First Expeditionary Fleet had on her favorite bikini which was little more than carefully arranged strings and ribbons of black fabric with blue and gold orchid patterns on it. "Nice choice, Kazue-chan. I figured I would at least blend in, I could go for a real trip to the beach soon but with current plans that seem a little uncertain, " she said as she joined her sister where the water swathed up against the undisturbed white sand beach. "You said you wanted to talk?" she questioned as they walked together along the simulated shore. It was not hard but to have a sense of nostalgia and a little sorrow as they walked along the perfect beach with the Taiie Capital, Seijin no Umi caught in the backdrop.
 
She actually straights her uniform a bit upon the arrival of her elder sister and walked with her "Good to see you to Katsuko-Tai...." She smiled a bit reminding herself that she had tender her resignation "I mean chan, need to get used to not calling you by rank" Kazue admitted while looking at the wave waters and took a deep breath "Things are changing, you could feel the wind change direction the moment you announced your step down. Frankly, while others expected it, most didn't see it coming that their fearless leader would step down" Kazue was one of those people that didn't expect it to happen and yet didn't show it in her facial expression.

The question echoes in the back of her mind when her sister asked the obvious question as to the hail of Kazue "I thought it would be wise to speak now before I am unable to do so in the near future due to both our ...busy schedules" Kazue didn't look at her just kept a slow pace of enjoying the weather. The wind went through her hair as she took a deep breath "As you know I have served the Motoyoshi as best to my ability, I have never defied your orders or your will. You send me to the depths of hell to hunt down the remnants of the Mishhuvurthyar with Wakaba. I stayed on the front line when the Kuvexians were invading our space and taking planet by planet. I did my best to hold my ground...as you ordered me to do so"

Reflection of sadness could be seen in the eyes of Kazue as she looked back at the ocean to avoid eye contact and taking a breather "Yet the Motoyoshi clan have suffered greatly over the years. The Tange...the NMX...I ..." She struggled with her own emotions "I struggle with the idea that I could have prevented so much suffering. But it is eating me up that the thoughts that my own sister didn't trust me to be around her and send me to the edge of space" She now revealed her emotional state to Katsuko "Did I not serve Motoyoshi enough....did I not prove my loyalty to you...did I do something wrong?" Turning her head again away as she felt the tear roll over her cheek and after a while, she lets out the softness of her voice "Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of something"
 
Katsuko listened as her sister spoke, and they walked along the shore. It didn't come to her as a surprise that the perception of Kazue's deployments and assignments came from that point of view. For so long Katsuko had kept that staunch emotionless distance between herself and so many of the clan's members. "In a way, you just answered your own question Imouto..." She stopped walking and looked at the skyline of the lost city in the distance, "The Motoyoshi have suffered, and I sent you to the fringes to fight those who made us suffer. My dear Kazue, it is not that I did not want you near me. It is that I needed you to go out there and fight against the enemies who brought shame to us." Katsuko brushed the side of her hand, or well at least the virtual representation of it own the side of her little sister's cheek.

"Kazue, you're an example of exactly the type of woman and warrior that Taro and I want for the Motoyoshi. Even now, you're about to embark on a system where most of us wouldn't dare be seen. It is awful, horrific that none of us have even had the mind to have the Tange System renamed. Yet, you're fearless and packing your ships for the next chapter of our futures," Katsuko explained, then started to walk again but with her arm over her sister's shoulder.
 
She could feel the warmth of her sister's arm and tried to hold her emotions together. The years have been though and the idea that her family had suffered so badly at the other side of the Yamatai space was something that broke her apart. The Wakaba crew had endured so much in the darkness of space, trying to fend off the enemy's cat and mouse game "It has been difficult, yet I feel I have not done enough for my family in what you all have withness" Kazue spoke with sadness "Many times I wanted to order my ship around to jump to you...but I didn't want you to be angry with me" She felt helpless at the time when Kazue was so far away.

"Taro and you are both examples of excellence for both the family and the Star Army. You both have achieved much and here I am...even unable to protect those that I love and care for" Kazue took a deep breath and bit her lower lip while closing her eyes to hold her own emotions in check. When opening again she looked at Katsuko "What if I was there to prevent these backstabbing Tange tactics...you know that I would sacrifice my life for you" She said with legit caring emotions.
 
Katsuko listened to what Kazue had to say, she somehow imagined that with the recent changes she would be faced with more conversations like this one. One does not just emerge from the darkness unchanged by it. "There have been situations throughout my career where I have felt the same way; it took every bit of me not to take whatever Star Army ship I could find to Jiyuu and glass it when Tio, Kiyoko, and their Tange supporters took it on themselves to make the United Outer Colonies. I still find myself tempted to torture Koyanagi Mayumi and force her to live in the darkness to which she set me," Katsuko explained those similar feelings in detail, "In YE 34, I approached the Senate of Yamatai as the leader of our clan and Taisho of the Seventh Fleet. I wanted to push for an embargo on the Lorath because High Priest Tomoe was out of control and dealing with our enemies. I was dismissed and labeled a traitor for my words. Told to take my concerns somewhere else. Thankfully Yui had the best of me and was able to calm what was a brewing tempest of revenge inside me, my desire thought was to make them all pay...In the end, it appears that the scoundrel of a High Priest worked himself out. I should have merely gone to Yui in the first place. What I mean is that sometimes, the things we want to do aren't the best course." Katsuko attempted to offer wisdom through her own experience with emotion and helplessness. "I've lost count of the times I've wanted to strangle the false opinions of people who somehow think the Motoyoshi are all traitors because of two brats and a group of entitled Tange Terrorists. We all get our due in time though..." she said.

"A life, although not the end for our kind; is something worth preserving Kazue. While any Motoyoshi today would throw down their life for the Empress of the Empire without hesitation, our best is given when we are alive. You have an entire career ahead of you, and Ayano is a Taisho worth serving under - she will guide you and teach you and help push you towards victories which will help you bring honor to yourself and the Motoyoshi. My darling Imouto, you are loved and cherished. You will go far and you need to believe in yourself because I believe in you. My place in things may change, but I will be there every step of the way cheering you forwards." Katsuko stated.
 
The conversation took a 180-degree turn around when Kazue heard the side of struggle that her elder sister had endured during the entire time of seeing the Motoyoshi darkness hour. She was surprised, to say the least, maybe it was because they were alone after such a long time. They were talking like sisters and not as Motoyoshi members or Star Army, but as sisters. Kazue felt for the first time in a long time connected on how Katsuko opened up to her about everything that held her back from acting on her own emotions, the very thing that held her back as well. Kazue kept quiet to let her sister talk and explain the many things that were unclear for her for so long.

After silence was brought to the conversation, Kazue nods to herself to acknowledge the explanation "So in a way you endured the same thing I did, just different place. But how did you feel about being asked to step down from Empress, you are a guiding beacon to most of us?" Kazue knew it was a sensitive topic, to begin with, but it was among the questions that poured through her before and during this conversation "Is it just me...to think that we lose more people during peace than during war?" She waved her hand a bit to enforce her point "What we do now will change the face of our clan...and while I understand why I am sent out there...I can't ignore the feeling that I am disconnected or feel disconnected from the clan. Hearing this all is an eye-opener, but I feel like there is more going on"
 
Many in the Motoyoshi Clan were outspoken about the sufferings and trials that had faced Katsuko, yet no one had ever asked her how she felt or for her view on the things that happened in those days. Katsuko was a little surprised, maybe even caught a little off guard by the question that her sister asked, "There is a difference between being asked to do something and being expected to do something. No one asked me to step down, rather the situation was nothing like what you will find written in some history book..." she said, as she searched her own mind and emotions. "When I confronted Uesu, I had suggested to him that Himiko was better suited for the job, after all, he had invested his life in preparing her for it. When I took the throne I felt alone, while Empress might be the greatest seat in the entire Empire it is a position of responsibility that hinges on a level of almost divinity. The harder I worked, the greater the push back was. Smug faces like Ketsurui Kotori lined up ready to watch me fail and every action I took had those who supported it and those who hated it and as a result, hated me for it," Katsuko said as she thought back to those days upon the highest seat in the Empire.

"I had yet to come to terms with the fact of who I was, what I had become. I knew the military and that's what I knew. What some call the Freespacer Genocide was really a coordinated response to what was a real threat, we had solid evidence they planned to compromise PANTHEON. Yet when the fire and smoke cleared we took responsibility for what was what any sovereign nation should and would do - defend itself," she realized her answer was a lot more than just how she felt when she stepped down, it was everything that went with it. "I felt alone, when Tio, Kiyoko, and their Tange associates broke off and took the goddamn colonies that I and the rest of the elders in the Motoyoshi broke our goddamn backs to claim they took with them everything I had; every KS, every friend, comrade, and the person I believed in. The Empire thinks I stepped down for shame, but I really stepped down for was my own restraint. Had I remained on that throne I would have killed every living thing in that sector in the name of revenge. They took my dignity, and I wanted to bathe the entire Kikyo Sector in their blood for it," she had never spoken the truth of her feelings to anyone, it had always been the rest of the clan who spoke for her. She had tears that worked down her cheeks as she remembered the trapped, unfair fire of it all.

Katsuko looked at Kazue and said in a quiet voice, "It has taken everything I have in me, every bit of strength in this Nekovalkyrja heart to rebuild this family. When I vacated the throne, I thought of myself as dead. I almost made that the truth too. I had people like Yaichiro, Yui, Ayano, Sui, and Taro though, who were there." On the other end of the communication it was more than disarray, thankfully it didn't show. Her makeup dripped with her tears and stained her cheeks. "It is our job, our place, as the elders of this clan to preserve and make sure that the new generations of Motoyoshi understand not only our history, our struggle but the future we seek for them. A better world, a better Yamatai that is not plagued by the pain of war. In peace or War Kazue, we lose people and sometimes ourselves. Our clan has something to bring this Empire, we have something to offer and I plan to show that. I've retired from the Star Army, but I have not retired from Yamatai," she declared in answer to Kazue's statement.
 
They had stopped walking as Kazue saw her elder sister, her pride, her everything breaks into honest tears of grief, pain, and the lust for revenge of all the injustice that she had to endure. Kazue looked surprised and felt tears rolling down her cheeks with all the information of what her sister had to endure and seen. The Tange clan had done horrible things, and while she was struggling to feel the distance from her clan seeing it all happen from afar. It made her realize that her problems were a mere fraction of what Katsuko had carry all by herself.

When she was about to finish, she pulled her sister to her and put her arms around her "I ...I am so sorry you had to suffer under the weight of this all by yourself. I wish I could have done more for you" Kazue could feel the warmth of her sister and closed her eyes as she leaned in forward with her head onto Katsuko shoulder "I am sorry that I was not there for you, but trust me that you were never alone as I was always there for you" She apologized yet again, the guilt didn't go any softer from this conversation. Here she was being selfish talking about her problems while her sister is standing brave and as a Yamatain role model but with all ropes around her that held her back.

Kazue finally lets go of her and looked with the red eyes of tears that she had at her sister "Here I am being selfish talking about my problems, but I know only so little about what has happened to the clan to my family or to you. Thank you for telling me this" She spoke as Kazue took a deep breath and tried to wipe away some of the tears. There was another topic to talk about, but Kazue wanted to cherish this moment a bit longer.
 
Katsuko smiled slightly through her tears and shook her head, "No, Kazue. As I said, I had people there for me. My point was, so do you. Don't apologize for bringing out the things that are weighing on you. We're a clan, a family; we have to look out for one another, support each other. We are who we need to be able to rely on. I rely on you, and you rely on me. We all walk together, we are stronger now for that lesson I learned. The Motoyoshi will be stronger when all of its members learn to lean on each other and support what we stand for." Katsuko pointed at the skyline of the lost Capital of Taiie, "We must never forget, and never let any of it happen again. Together!" she said loudly.
 
She smiled at her sister bright and inspiring words and nods as Kazue looked at the lost Capital of Taiie "Times have changed and it let us grow into who we are today" Kazue said with a sudden grim facial expression on her face looking back down to Katsuko "That reminds me, my assignment in the Tange system... latest SAINT reports are worrying" Kazue spoke out her concern "The reports state the following that the Tange terrorist is operational more than ever and waiting for that golden opportunity to strike us...additionally" She sighs a bit looking to her side "I am uncertain on how accurate the report is on this detail, but it seems that the Tange terrorist might be working with the Kuvexians. Their withdrawal from the Tange system seems to have a bitter taste of being made up to bait us" Kazue was looking at the latest operational reports and findings of her 48th ships on the surface and system scans "It seems that things are not as they seem to be, I seek your advice on this matter Katsuko-chan as I have never dealt with these people yet" Kazue looked with concerned eyes at Katsuko "I fear that the Motoyoshi are being targeted and they are waiting for the right moment to exploit our weaknesses"
 
Katsuko nodded, she took a deep breath and swallowed her emotions the best she could after such an exchange. "They will be out there, they always have been. It is unlikely their whispers and the horror they have committed against us and Yamatai will cease, but we've begun to make headway both officially and not." She dug her toes into the sand a bit as they walked down the beach, the virtual stimulation couldn't quite get the sensation right and it annoyed her slightly. "My warnings about the Tange have gone unheard, it's something we have to take care of ourselves. They are capable of the cruelest acts, and we can only hope Kiyoko has not produced offspring or this may last centuries. Either way, it is on us to be strong and to defend Yamatai. Don't worry though, Taro and I have a plan which will blow the lid off the Tange and who they are." Katsuko forced a confident grin.
 
Hearing the words from Katsuko came to soften the worries, but in the back of Kazue mind, it was still a thing that worried her sincerely and out of the blue she said something without a moment of thinking "Maybe you should run for prime minister" It only took her a second to realize what she just said and blinked a few times "I mean...you have the experience as empress of Yamatai, why not use your experience from your past and that of your military viewpoint to use in the field of politics. This might beat down the idea that things are getting delayed because you get it done" Kazue placed her hands on her sister's shoulders and smiled softly "I will support you all the way, I will deal with the Tange and Kuvexians there and restore honor to our clan...to you" She was proud of her elder sister and did try to show that Kazue was always there for her.
 
Katsuko smirked at Kazue's suggestion, she was right a little too right. "I'm sure there is a future for me, be it in that office or another. Either way, I am far from finished," she said with amusement. Katsuko stopped walking again, she placed both hands on her sister's shoulders, the same as she had done with her, and leveled her head with hers, and said passionately, "I will support you Kazue, and every other great member of the Motoyoshi. I will also continue to give all that I am to Yamatai and to the Ketsurui. Unified and together, the Motoyoshi is an unstoppable force and our enemies, and the enemies of our nation will tremble in their boots." Katsuko leaned forward slightly and her projection hugged Kazue's, "See you soon, Imouto..." her words ended the conference and her virtual representation disappeared from the simulated environment.
 
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