5tar
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ON: Aries Star Fortress
The famous red Anri of the Star Army's First Expeditionary Fleet now found itself in the port of the Aries star base. The massive battle carrier had just finished its long list of docking procedures and now the crew was free to leave. It was a calm leave; people were moving about today a lot more slowly than normal. Maybe it was the morale hit of such an empty victory, but something about the crew's spirits was low today. Not only the crew, but the frustrated Captain as well. She had spent the trip grilling the SAINT Taii, to no avail—she was getting tired of the word “confidential.” Even as a Taisa of the 1st XF, it looked like there was still plenty she wasn't allowed to know yet. But that was over now, the man was handed over to his superiors and Shizuka was told that she would get a report once they were finished going over the information. For now, she was on her empty bridge, taking one last look over the rail of her august command. She felt like something big was about to happen, she could feel it inside her programmed soul—the last time she felt this, was the time the YSS Teppen was taken over.
The ship’s Geshrin first officer, Nicholas Saiga, looked at the chronometer that sat on his left wrist as the Senbu pulled into Aries Star Fortress. He’d returned to the bridge as the grand carrier entered the Nataria system after meticulously completing the after action reports pertaining to the YSS Watcher incident, leaving no detail available to him uncommitted. The Shosa stepped up next to Shizuka, remaining silent for a few moments thinking about what to say and respecting the Taisa’s contemplative expression. “Shizuka,” Nicholas said after a time, disregarding any formality of rank or station as he normally would and gently touching the Neko on her shoulder to ensure that he caught her attention. “I have something to sort out regarding my career record and would like to take care of it soon. May I take my leave to complete this task now?”
"When will I see you again?" her words were spoke coldly, she didn't dare look at him after that—she wondered if her gut feeling was alluding to him, if this leaving meant he was planning on moving on past her command to something higher. She couldn't blame him, he was a bright officer and someone she knew would make a good commander—maybe even better than her. She turned around and took his hand in hers, pulling him closer so she could press her head to his chest. She took his hand, and placed it over her synthetic heart, it rhythmically beat to its programmed sequences, unable to skip a beat like a human girl in love. "It may be a work of man, but if the gods did exist, then man's heart was a creation too. So I think, these feelings inside are just as real as anyone else’s. Nick, I love you. Please, wherever you go... promise you'll come back to me." Her amber orbs drifted up to his, searching deeply in his for an answer.
Nicholas felt his body constrict at the Taisa’s words, but there was no room for him to doubt now—Shizuka didn’t know what she was talking about, she couldn’t. Star Army records would show that her fears were unfounded. “What do you mean, Shizuka?” he asked quickly after her strange statement. “I am simply going to correct and update my personnel file.” The Geshrin remained completely straight-faced as he said it, giving no indication whatsoever that what he said was anything but the explicit truth. “Don’t worry, Shizuka-denka, I will be back aboard the Senbu within the hour,” he smiled warmly, pausing for a long, lingering moment as he presented his captain with a loving embrace. “I promise.” And with that, he turned and walked towards the bridge’s lift, taking it down to where he’d disembark the Senbu and take care of his business on the Star Fortress.
Kuriko had spent a lot of time in an odd state. The Heisho had spent a lot of time analyzing the battles. On more than one occasion she had demonstrated poor judgment that led to a teammate being injured due to her orders. Not only had Chikako's orders made sense but they had less lethal consequences for those that followed them. Then there was the issue between Masako and Chikako. Kuriko wasn't even sure how to address that. Masako was definitely out of line but Kuriko felt like some of it was also egged on by Chikako. In the end the Heisho settled on what she was good at: indecision.
Sakaki walked up to Kuriko in a hallway and asked, “Are you alright Shifuda-heisho? You seem to have something on your mind.” While she herself wasn't in a perfect state, she could sense something troubling her commanding officer.
"Saa... I don't know anymore," Kuriko replied. The Neko’s expression forcibly changed; her frown disappeared and a fake smile slid onto her face. "How are you doing Ushimo-hei?" Kuriko asked.
“I am fine Shifuda-heisho,” started Sakaki, who while expressionless most of the time, seemed rather damaged on the inside and was looking a little to the side. “... I lost something important... and have some feelings to sort out... thank you for your concern, Heisho.”
Kuriko and Sakaki could hear familiar voices, speaking quiet, slurred words interspersed with playful giggling and the occasional knocking sounds coming in from behind them, closing at an unsettling pace. "Mou! Boin-chan is cheating by having such large breasts to soak up the alcohol. She must still be feeling sober, even with a crimson face like that!" It was Chikako and Masako, holding onto each other as they stumbled roughly through the halls with reddened faces and bright smiles. The Heisho in particular, appeared to be rather smashed, based on the lovely red tint that covered her lender and expressive face. It didn't seem to be affecting her ability to move around using her gravity manipulation, however, nor her skill at teasing and prodding Masako's impressive bust.
"Yare yare daze! Do you use gravity manipulation to keep these upright, or did they customize your body with some kind of built-in bra?" Chikako said in a half-angry, half-laughing tone as the pair passed the other Heisho and the swordswoman. Small hands cupped over them and squeezed as an eyebrow perked. "It must be gravity! They feel too normal for it to be that your anatomy is different."
Masako blushed a bit more and shivered as Chikako cupped her boobs, the sensation sending massive jolts of pleasure into her head. It numbed her senses even more than being drunk would, and she stumbled a bit and hiccupped a bit. "S-stop that Chi-chan… they're sensitive!" she giggled drunkenly.
Kuriko wrapped her arm around Sakaki, more for herself than even the Hei. "Do you want to talk abou—" Kuriko's face reddened as Chikako and Masako passed. Kuriko wasn't quite sure how to respond to such a situation. "Anou, are you two... drunk?" Kuriko asked the pair.
Chikako gave Masako's breasts a final grope and nodded sagely to Kuriko. "Only a little, Kuriko-ch... Kuriko-sam... SHIFUDA-HEISHO! We can sober up any moment with these bodies, so it should be alright." The Neko said with a muffled giggle, as she finally stopped manipulating gravity and dropped herself back down to the ground. Her expression suddenly became very scared and apologetic, as she placed her hands on her lower lip and made wide eyes at Kuriko. "Chikako-chan thought that it would be for the best if Masako-hei and I settled our grievances in a hot bath over some sake. Is Shifuda-heisho angry at Chikako-chan for doing something this silly?"
The brown-haired Operations Technician in charge of the Pride Wing's bridge communications came walking swiftly down the hall, trying to catch up with her charges. It looks like she had changed into a clean uniform and smelled like she had showered as she hurried towards them, one hand clutching a data pad and the other trying to hold up some barrettes that were slipping down from the movement. She tried her best not to look out of breath as she approached, but her face was flushed and she was shaking from trying to breathe at a normal pace. She smiled weakly as she fell into step behind the others, not announcing her presence at all. Ageha didn't want to interrupt them after all.
Sakaki was distracted by Shifuda-heisho's last words and looked to see Masako and Chikako drunk. “You were drunk on the way back... what if we were attacked on the way back Ueda-heisho?” Sakaki asked, looking a little angry that soldier standards were neglected.
Masako spotted Sakaki and smiled at her and floated over and leaned on her side gently. "Aww Sakaki-chan... lighten up a little..." she purred and nuzzled her comrade affectionately, smiling like a kitty at the same time.
On the bridge, Shizuka stood for a while longer, the lights lowered and the screen before her displayed the view outside the station. The bright lights and nebula illuminated her round features softly as she gazed on to the void beyond her ship. She couldn't get over this feeling, the uneasiness never left. The Neko Captain lowered her eyes to the ground; her thoughts went out to her old captain. Then after a moment of silence, the Taisa moved over to her seat, connecting back to the SPINE interface. Her mind extended into the ship's edges and consciousness. Shizuka wondered silently, as she went about doing the digital paperwork and reports, if the ship envied its crew—if the Senbu also yearned for an existence beyond its creation as well. She paused what she was doing, she had finished finding all the new pilots and space-fighters she requested, and then she pulled up an interactive volumetric avatar of the Senbu. She looked like a youngling with red hair and tanned skin. Shizuka smiled at the small figure, "do you wish to live too?" The small Neko staring back at her nodded silently. "Then you will Senbu. Be born and come to me here. I'd like to meet you, face to face."
Aries itself was bustling with activity as the Senbu slid into its protective grasp, docking with the station, not triumphantly and with any fanfare but with the utmost normality one could imagine. Amidst the many, many Star Army personnel, one Jessica Smyth stood near to one of the new Hayabusa V6 fighters, reading her data pad and the new orders that it contained. She was short and beautiful with bottle-blonde hair that bounced at every turn of her head and wore a jumpsuit adorned with emergency survival systems—life support, re-breathing equipment, and more—and held a helmet under her right arm.
“Listen up everybody!” she called through the hangar, reading what the data pad said. Her voice was distinctly feminine, but had a low, smoky quality to it that carried its tones high above the hustle of the star fortress. “Just got word from Wing command that the Senbu’s here and we going to be loading up,” Jessica the squadron she commanded as they meandered closer to hear what she had to say. “Move it! Let’s go!” she ordered, causing a break in the assembled as they went to go man their starfighters and taxi them onto their new ship.
In Aries’ interior, Nicholas was just finishing up his business, emerging from the medical bay with the intention of returning to his vessel. It’d been easier than he thought to do what he’d set out to. A simple presentation of clearances was all that was needed to ensure his privacy and access commands locked to him only a few days prior. Even with his success, the Shosa couldn’t help but feel the strain of nervousness as he stepped through the star fortress’ long, pristine halls and back towards the YSS Senbu.
Back in the Senbu’s corridors, the Pride Wing continued its escapades. "Hmm. This size is best... although I get the feeling she's mean." Chikako's eyes lingered at Sakaki's bust for a few seconds too many as she said something rather crude aloud, before coughing into her palm and glancing at the Neko swordswoman with a wry glance. The innocent face reappeared as she cringed at the Hei's imposing glare. "Chikako-chan is shocked. She thought that three-year old Neko like Sakaki-chan would at least know that her body can purge out alcohol in a matter of seconds." Her face reddened some as she imitated the savage visage, and barked back. "We aren't Nepleslians or Geshrin, you know! It's shameful not to know your own body after being alive for so long."
Kuriko was genuinely taken aback by the method that Chikako spoke as opposed to the message behind it, though that was also not lost on her. "That's enough." Slight irritation could be detected in Kuriko's voice as she spoke. "We might be able to purge alcohol in a matter of seconds, but perhaps 'Chikako-chan' has forgotten about the rules concerning drinking while on duty. It's shameful for a subordinate officer to have better behavior and more self control than that of her superior. Furthermore, acting like a child and talking in the third person is hardly endearing. Perhaps you could learn something from Ushimo-hei." There was a little more of an edge to Kuriko's voice when she spoke the final sentence.
Masako glared at Chikako for a moment. "Hey lay off Sakaki..." she said, sobering up some to respond with any form of cogency. "I like her a lot as she is," she purred and nuzzled her close friend again.
“Kuriko... heisho...” Sakaki was taken aback from her superior's response, and the praise tagged with it. She then noticed her sister Neko and said, “Masako... we should spar sometime before next assignment.” This came from an inner feeling that hard training could prevent something like another fatal injury from happening.
Ageha pursed her lips as she listened to Shifuda-heisho scold Ueda-heisho. Really, to her, the whole thing was the one thing that annoyed her about Nekovalkyrja. Their personality quirks were a little hard to handle sometimes, especially when the Yamataian girl had trained hard to get where she was while they were just plopped out and made to serve with their brains already full of everything they needed to know. And still they acted like this. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. They were her friends after all, and she needed to support them no matter what. "Ara—ganbarou miina~," she said meekly, smiling her best for them and hugging the data pad close to her chest with one hand while the other pumped up in the air in a sort of cheer. The very least she could do was to try and cheer them up.
"Mou, what's with that harsh tone!?! I did the responsible thing and signed us off duty as we got out of the baths," Chikako barked back in an un-slurred stream of words, her skin regaining some normalcy in skin tone as the blush on her cheeks faded away. Rapidly sobering herself up and giving Kuriko a wry glance, she placed her hands on her hips. "Geez, by the book greenhorns. That icy attitude and self-righteous dignity is for diplomats and fleet commanders. If you can't enjoy the few minutes between battles, the hell that is our way of life will swallow you up." She yawned into her hand and glanced to the three armor pilots respectively, sighing quietly. "It's stupid to be irresponsible, but worse to deny yourself the right to having fun."
Masako sobered up a bit more and looked at Sakaki while still hugging her from the side, her ample breasts pressing against the other Neko's shoulder. "Well that would be a good idea. I'd love to do anything with you in private," Masako said in a sensual tone and ran a finger down Sakai's stomach and kissed her neck lightly. "If you… get my drift..." the blonde winked.
"The Mishhu have been gone for over a year Chikako. If you can't handle the stress now maybe you should take a break!" Kuriko snapped. "And you!" Kuriko said turning to Masako. "You don't talk to your superiors that way. I don't know what problems you have with Chikako, maybe none now, but I don't ever want to hear you talk to anyone like that again, do I make myself clear? Don't even get me started on this rumor that you sexually harassed the ship's XO." By this point Kuriko was visibly angry, and it was around then that she noticed Ageha. "Nav- Nanjo-hei," Kuriko grimaced as she stumbled on the girl's name, "thank you for today. You did a great job. Could I treat you out to dinner sometime?" Kuriko sent telepathically to the Hei.
Sakaki blinked. “What?” was her answer, not really catching on to what Masako was implying. Though she was blushing a little that Masako got really close, however didn't want to back up into Kuriko nearby. While the experience did feel good, she couldn't show it to everyone that was watching, “I do not know what you’re implying Masako, but we should spar so we can get stronger,” Sakaki said with the powers of telepathy. “Also this behavior is inappropriate, especially with everyone here!”
Chikako sighed, and shook her head. "That's not it! I..." She shut her eyes as the fingers arched over her hips tightened, pulling on the stretchy material of her uniform's bodysuit. "I don't drink because of stresses from the things I've seen, and if I did, I would definitely work twice as hard to keep you people from acting like sober miserables because we failed our comrades aboard the Watcher," she said with a groan, finally letting go of her hips as she finished speaking. She opened her eyes and stared directly at the superior that shared her rank. This sort of relationship between leaders of a wing is terrible, she thought to herself privately and scratched her head before reaching for the pin that held her tight hair bun in place, allowing it to fall down to the small of her back. "Geez... I really am doing a great job at becoming the hated XO of this wing, aren't I?"
Ageha took a step back as she was afraid that Shifuda-heisho was about to yell at her as well, but was relieved when it was the squadron leader extending and offer of dinner together. "Arigatou, Shifuda-heisho," she replied, bowing deeply.
All throughout the station, a red alert was sounded and chaos and confusion arose. "Station alert has been moved to code red, all Star Army members report to your combat stations—this is not a drill." The voice repeated itself, the volumetric displays scattered throughout the station came alive of images of a large fleet of older Star Army vessels. "I repeat: all Star Army members report to your combat stations—this is not a drill." It continued over and over as people began rushing off to their ships and stations. Outside the large windows, a growing collection of a defense fleet were gathering and launching to deal with the invasion—long range ordnances could be seen streaking off and star fighters speeding ahead of the ships. The Star Army of Yamatai was once again at war.
"You heard the voices. Battle stations—go. Now!" Kuriko had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before she had spun her body around and was dashing toward the Senbu and her armor bay. Please let Sigmund be ready, Kuriko prayed as she ran. "Nanjo-hei, will you need assistance to get to the bridge?"
“Hai, Kuriko-heisho,” quickly replied Sakaki as she followed behind her commander. Why would the pirates attack the station? Do they know we picked up a survivor? Or is it revenge? Sakaki thought, but kept to herself while saying out loud, “They must have followed us, let us meet our foe.”
"Senbu. What standard is the enemy wearing?" Chikako asked as she ran alongside Kuriko. Whatever bad relationship the two of them had would have to wait until after the mission to be fixed, and she'd be damned if she let herself be called unprofessional any time soon. "Pirates know where our strongholds are, Sakaki-hei, and they're never this stupid. This is... someone else."
The ComOps had taken off like a bolt; she was dashing back to the bridge at the call to battle stations. "I'll be fine, Shifuda-heisho. Arigatou," she sent back. Ageha grabbed at the barrettes in her bangs and pulled them out, pulling out a couple hairs with them as she tugged. As much as she didn't want her bangs getting away, she couldn't be worrying about her hair clips at this time. Instead, pocketing the majority of them, the young Yamataian pulled back her hair into a small ponytail and clipped it into place with one of her larger barrettes, securing the whole mess in one scoop.
Nicholas saw the same volumetric displays that all personnel aboard the Aries did, his eyes glued in disbelief as he watched the opening volleys stretch across the vast void that separated the two sides. “Shizuka!” he said frantically, activating his communicator as he set off towards the nearest hangar. He knew what he had to do now that this had happened and knew that he had little time to do it. “I will be aboard shortly, do not waste time waiting for me. Launch the Senbu and I will be aboard on a shuttle shortly,” he told her, hurrying towards an unmanned Fox once he’d reached the shuttle bay, stepping aboard the craft and unlocking its controls with his authority as a Shosa. Within moments, he had transmitted the shuttle’s identification to the Senbu and was darting off through space to rendezvous with the carrier in open space. Soon, he would be exactly where he needed to be.
Shizuka, who was standing in the empty bridge, continued talking with the Senbu, the little avatar apparently had plenty to say. But just as the two were getting into the deeper aspects of their conversations, the little Senbu's attention turned up at the screen. Her eyes filled with data streams and the display filled with little screens of what was happening simultaneously outside of the station. "What in Yui's name is happening here?" Shizuka exclaimed as she let her mind adsorb all the information through her SPINE up-link. "Senbu, alert the bridge crew and have all our armor squads on standby."
The youngling avatar nodded and then paused in its steps. "What do I do about the new wing?" she asked curiously, looking up at Shizuka waiting for an order.
"I'll contact them, you start getting ready—it looks like we're off to war. Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll make through this in one piece. You just look out for my crew, okay?"
The red haired Neko nodded and then disappeared out of the bridge door just as the twins entered. The two stopped to look at the little one, but didn't ask; instead they got right to work. More and more people were getting to their stations soon after, and the Obsidian squad was actually the first one reporting that they were ready—their controller was also the first one at the armor ComOps station as well.
As the new 101st Tactical Strike Wing was flying their shiny new fighters and torpedo bombers to the Senbu, the wing commander was contacted by the Taisa of their new ship. Then soon after, each squadron leader was linked in a separate communication with the commander of the vanguard repair carrier YSS Senbu, the Red Lion's face appearing on their vid-screens. "Ladies and gentleman, I would have liked to have met you and conducted a deeper interview, but this is the reality of war. We must adapt and rise to every challenge. If you’re prepared to support your allies, shipmates and me, then you’re welcome into my crew—we can meet and greet later. Right now this station is under attack and you’re under my command. I'll forward you to your new flight controllers and you'll receive my orders through them. Show me what your made of out there, it’s proving time cubs!" With a final curt nod of her messy blond head, the communications cut.
"Ma'am, all checks are clear, we can launch anytime!" one of the twins said, turning back around to await further orders. "There’s only the problem of Saiga-shosa, he’s not yet aboard," the other twin said with a twisted expression, not wanting to leave the man who saved her life behind.
That’s when his communication came in; Shizuka seemed resistant at first, lowering her head in contemplation as she fought with her previous sinking feeling—but she trusted him, he promised he’d come back. The tanned lioness looked back up at the screen ahead and put her hands on the rail, then pointed outwards at the attacking fleet. "We’re not going to stand here idly and watch as our allies fight, launch!" she shouted confidently. With swiftness, her order was carried out and the ship began to dislodge itself from the safety of the Aries’ embrace, slowly moving out to point it’s bow in challenge to the enemy fleet.
Nicholas’ shuttle made its way out of the station, circumnavigating Aries behemoth superstructure, having launched from a part of the station opposite from where the Senbu was. As he approached the vessel’s location, the enemy fleet continued to close in and the fire between the two clashing fleets intensified. The Shosa weaved the little ship in and out between streaming torpedo trails and one-thousand points of light of Star Army and enemy origin alike. There she is, Nicholas thought as the Senbu grew large in the Fox’s forward viewing shield, not much longer now. Quickly, he pulled up on the controls, narrowly avoiding an oncoming torpedo. “Chikushou!” he cursed aloud, closing his eyes momentarily as the ordnance rushed past his shuttle. “Don’t be such a coward! You can do th—”
On the YSS Senbu, the indicator marking Aries Fox Aeroshuttle 145 would disappear from sensors as a streak of aether striking metal and the resulting fire flared up and then dissipated within a matter of seconds.
END
The famous red Anri of the Star Army's First Expeditionary Fleet now found itself in the port of the Aries star base. The massive battle carrier had just finished its long list of docking procedures and now the crew was free to leave. It was a calm leave; people were moving about today a lot more slowly than normal. Maybe it was the morale hit of such an empty victory, but something about the crew's spirits was low today. Not only the crew, but the frustrated Captain as well. She had spent the trip grilling the SAINT Taii, to no avail—she was getting tired of the word “confidential.” Even as a Taisa of the 1st XF, it looked like there was still plenty she wasn't allowed to know yet. But that was over now, the man was handed over to his superiors and Shizuka was told that she would get a report once they were finished going over the information. For now, she was on her empty bridge, taking one last look over the rail of her august command. She felt like something big was about to happen, she could feel it inside her programmed soul—the last time she felt this, was the time the YSS Teppen was taken over.
The ship’s Geshrin first officer, Nicholas Saiga, looked at the chronometer that sat on his left wrist as the Senbu pulled into Aries Star Fortress. He’d returned to the bridge as the grand carrier entered the Nataria system after meticulously completing the after action reports pertaining to the YSS Watcher incident, leaving no detail available to him uncommitted. The Shosa stepped up next to Shizuka, remaining silent for a few moments thinking about what to say and respecting the Taisa’s contemplative expression. “Shizuka,” Nicholas said after a time, disregarding any formality of rank or station as he normally would and gently touching the Neko on her shoulder to ensure that he caught her attention. “I have something to sort out regarding my career record and would like to take care of it soon. May I take my leave to complete this task now?”
"When will I see you again?" her words were spoke coldly, she didn't dare look at him after that—she wondered if her gut feeling was alluding to him, if this leaving meant he was planning on moving on past her command to something higher. She couldn't blame him, he was a bright officer and someone she knew would make a good commander—maybe even better than her. She turned around and took his hand in hers, pulling him closer so she could press her head to his chest. She took his hand, and placed it over her synthetic heart, it rhythmically beat to its programmed sequences, unable to skip a beat like a human girl in love. "It may be a work of man, but if the gods did exist, then man's heart was a creation too. So I think, these feelings inside are just as real as anyone else’s. Nick, I love you. Please, wherever you go... promise you'll come back to me." Her amber orbs drifted up to his, searching deeply in his for an answer.
Nicholas felt his body constrict at the Taisa’s words, but there was no room for him to doubt now—Shizuka didn’t know what she was talking about, she couldn’t. Star Army records would show that her fears were unfounded. “What do you mean, Shizuka?” he asked quickly after her strange statement. “I am simply going to correct and update my personnel file.” The Geshrin remained completely straight-faced as he said it, giving no indication whatsoever that what he said was anything but the explicit truth. “Don’t worry, Shizuka-denka, I will be back aboard the Senbu within the hour,” he smiled warmly, pausing for a long, lingering moment as he presented his captain with a loving embrace. “I promise.” And with that, he turned and walked towards the bridge’s lift, taking it down to where he’d disembark the Senbu and take care of his business on the Star Fortress.
Kuriko had spent a lot of time in an odd state. The Heisho had spent a lot of time analyzing the battles. On more than one occasion she had demonstrated poor judgment that led to a teammate being injured due to her orders. Not only had Chikako's orders made sense but they had less lethal consequences for those that followed them. Then there was the issue between Masako and Chikako. Kuriko wasn't even sure how to address that. Masako was definitely out of line but Kuriko felt like some of it was also egged on by Chikako. In the end the Heisho settled on what she was good at: indecision.
Sakaki walked up to Kuriko in a hallway and asked, “Are you alright Shifuda-heisho? You seem to have something on your mind.” While she herself wasn't in a perfect state, she could sense something troubling her commanding officer.
"Saa... I don't know anymore," Kuriko replied. The Neko’s expression forcibly changed; her frown disappeared and a fake smile slid onto her face. "How are you doing Ushimo-hei?" Kuriko asked.
“I am fine Shifuda-heisho,” started Sakaki, who while expressionless most of the time, seemed rather damaged on the inside and was looking a little to the side. “... I lost something important... and have some feelings to sort out... thank you for your concern, Heisho.”
Kuriko and Sakaki could hear familiar voices, speaking quiet, slurred words interspersed with playful giggling and the occasional knocking sounds coming in from behind them, closing at an unsettling pace. "Mou! Boin-chan is cheating by having such large breasts to soak up the alcohol. She must still be feeling sober, even with a crimson face like that!" It was Chikako and Masako, holding onto each other as they stumbled roughly through the halls with reddened faces and bright smiles. The Heisho in particular, appeared to be rather smashed, based on the lovely red tint that covered her lender and expressive face. It didn't seem to be affecting her ability to move around using her gravity manipulation, however, nor her skill at teasing and prodding Masako's impressive bust.
"Yare yare daze! Do you use gravity manipulation to keep these upright, or did they customize your body with some kind of built-in bra?" Chikako said in a half-angry, half-laughing tone as the pair passed the other Heisho and the swordswoman. Small hands cupped over them and squeezed as an eyebrow perked. "It must be gravity! They feel too normal for it to be that your anatomy is different."
Masako blushed a bit more and shivered as Chikako cupped her boobs, the sensation sending massive jolts of pleasure into her head. It numbed her senses even more than being drunk would, and she stumbled a bit and hiccupped a bit. "S-stop that Chi-chan… they're sensitive!" she giggled drunkenly.
Kuriko wrapped her arm around Sakaki, more for herself than even the Hei. "Do you want to talk abou—" Kuriko's face reddened as Chikako and Masako passed. Kuriko wasn't quite sure how to respond to such a situation. "Anou, are you two... drunk?" Kuriko asked the pair.
Chikako gave Masako's breasts a final grope and nodded sagely to Kuriko. "Only a little, Kuriko-ch... Kuriko-sam... SHIFUDA-HEISHO! We can sober up any moment with these bodies, so it should be alright." The Neko said with a muffled giggle, as she finally stopped manipulating gravity and dropped herself back down to the ground. Her expression suddenly became very scared and apologetic, as she placed her hands on her lower lip and made wide eyes at Kuriko. "Chikako-chan thought that it would be for the best if Masako-hei and I settled our grievances in a hot bath over some sake. Is Shifuda-heisho angry at Chikako-chan for doing something this silly?"
The brown-haired Operations Technician in charge of the Pride Wing's bridge communications came walking swiftly down the hall, trying to catch up with her charges. It looks like she had changed into a clean uniform and smelled like she had showered as she hurried towards them, one hand clutching a data pad and the other trying to hold up some barrettes that were slipping down from the movement. She tried her best not to look out of breath as she approached, but her face was flushed and she was shaking from trying to breathe at a normal pace. She smiled weakly as she fell into step behind the others, not announcing her presence at all. Ageha didn't want to interrupt them after all.
Sakaki was distracted by Shifuda-heisho's last words and looked to see Masako and Chikako drunk. “You were drunk on the way back... what if we were attacked on the way back Ueda-heisho?” Sakaki asked, looking a little angry that soldier standards were neglected.
Masako spotted Sakaki and smiled at her and floated over and leaned on her side gently. "Aww Sakaki-chan... lighten up a little..." she purred and nuzzled her comrade affectionately, smiling like a kitty at the same time.
On the bridge, Shizuka stood for a while longer, the lights lowered and the screen before her displayed the view outside the station. The bright lights and nebula illuminated her round features softly as she gazed on to the void beyond her ship. She couldn't get over this feeling, the uneasiness never left. The Neko Captain lowered her eyes to the ground; her thoughts went out to her old captain. Then after a moment of silence, the Taisa moved over to her seat, connecting back to the SPINE interface. Her mind extended into the ship's edges and consciousness. Shizuka wondered silently, as she went about doing the digital paperwork and reports, if the ship envied its crew—if the Senbu also yearned for an existence beyond its creation as well. She paused what she was doing, she had finished finding all the new pilots and space-fighters she requested, and then she pulled up an interactive volumetric avatar of the Senbu. She looked like a youngling with red hair and tanned skin. Shizuka smiled at the small figure, "do you wish to live too?" The small Neko staring back at her nodded silently. "Then you will Senbu. Be born and come to me here. I'd like to meet you, face to face."
Aries itself was bustling with activity as the Senbu slid into its protective grasp, docking with the station, not triumphantly and with any fanfare but with the utmost normality one could imagine. Amidst the many, many Star Army personnel, one Jessica Smyth stood near to one of the new Hayabusa V6 fighters, reading her data pad and the new orders that it contained. She was short and beautiful with bottle-blonde hair that bounced at every turn of her head and wore a jumpsuit adorned with emergency survival systems—life support, re-breathing equipment, and more—and held a helmet under her right arm.
“Listen up everybody!” she called through the hangar, reading what the data pad said. Her voice was distinctly feminine, but had a low, smoky quality to it that carried its tones high above the hustle of the star fortress. “Just got word from Wing command that the Senbu’s here and we going to be loading up,” Jessica the squadron she commanded as they meandered closer to hear what she had to say. “Move it! Let’s go!” she ordered, causing a break in the assembled as they went to go man their starfighters and taxi them onto their new ship.
In Aries’ interior, Nicholas was just finishing up his business, emerging from the medical bay with the intention of returning to his vessel. It’d been easier than he thought to do what he’d set out to. A simple presentation of clearances was all that was needed to ensure his privacy and access commands locked to him only a few days prior. Even with his success, the Shosa couldn’t help but feel the strain of nervousness as he stepped through the star fortress’ long, pristine halls and back towards the YSS Senbu.
Back in the Senbu’s corridors, the Pride Wing continued its escapades. "Hmm. This size is best... although I get the feeling she's mean." Chikako's eyes lingered at Sakaki's bust for a few seconds too many as she said something rather crude aloud, before coughing into her palm and glancing at the Neko swordswoman with a wry glance. The innocent face reappeared as she cringed at the Hei's imposing glare. "Chikako-chan is shocked. She thought that three-year old Neko like Sakaki-chan would at least know that her body can purge out alcohol in a matter of seconds." Her face reddened some as she imitated the savage visage, and barked back. "We aren't Nepleslians or Geshrin, you know! It's shameful not to know your own body after being alive for so long."
Kuriko was genuinely taken aback by the method that Chikako spoke as opposed to the message behind it, though that was also not lost on her. "That's enough." Slight irritation could be detected in Kuriko's voice as she spoke. "We might be able to purge alcohol in a matter of seconds, but perhaps 'Chikako-chan' has forgotten about the rules concerning drinking while on duty. It's shameful for a subordinate officer to have better behavior and more self control than that of her superior. Furthermore, acting like a child and talking in the third person is hardly endearing. Perhaps you could learn something from Ushimo-hei." There was a little more of an edge to Kuriko's voice when she spoke the final sentence.
Masako glared at Chikako for a moment. "Hey lay off Sakaki..." she said, sobering up some to respond with any form of cogency. "I like her a lot as she is," she purred and nuzzled her close friend again.
“Kuriko... heisho...” Sakaki was taken aback from her superior's response, and the praise tagged with it. She then noticed her sister Neko and said, “Masako... we should spar sometime before next assignment.” This came from an inner feeling that hard training could prevent something like another fatal injury from happening.
Ageha pursed her lips as she listened to Shifuda-heisho scold Ueda-heisho. Really, to her, the whole thing was the one thing that annoyed her about Nekovalkyrja. Their personality quirks were a little hard to handle sometimes, especially when the Yamataian girl had trained hard to get where she was while they were just plopped out and made to serve with their brains already full of everything they needed to know. And still they acted like this. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. They were her friends after all, and she needed to support them no matter what. "Ara—ganbarou miina~," she said meekly, smiling her best for them and hugging the data pad close to her chest with one hand while the other pumped up in the air in a sort of cheer. The very least she could do was to try and cheer them up.
"Mou, what's with that harsh tone!?! I did the responsible thing and signed us off duty as we got out of the baths," Chikako barked back in an un-slurred stream of words, her skin regaining some normalcy in skin tone as the blush on her cheeks faded away. Rapidly sobering herself up and giving Kuriko a wry glance, she placed her hands on her hips. "Geez, by the book greenhorns. That icy attitude and self-righteous dignity is for diplomats and fleet commanders. If you can't enjoy the few minutes between battles, the hell that is our way of life will swallow you up." She yawned into her hand and glanced to the three armor pilots respectively, sighing quietly. "It's stupid to be irresponsible, but worse to deny yourself the right to having fun."
Masako sobered up a bit more and looked at Sakaki while still hugging her from the side, her ample breasts pressing against the other Neko's shoulder. "Well that would be a good idea. I'd love to do anything with you in private," Masako said in a sensual tone and ran a finger down Sakai's stomach and kissed her neck lightly. "If you… get my drift..." the blonde winked.
"The Mishhu have been gone for over a year Chikako. If you can't handle the stress now maybe you should take a break!" Kuriko snapped. "And you!" Kuriko said turning to Masako. "You don't talk to your superiors that way. I don't know what problems you have with Chikako, maybe none now, but I don't ever want to hear you talk to anyone like that again, do I make myself clear? Don't even get me started on this rumor that you sexually harassed the ship's XO." By this point Kuriko was visibly angry, and it was around then that she noticed Ageha. "Nav- Nanjo-hei," Kuriko grimaced as she stumbled on the girl's name, "thank you for today. You did a great job. Could I treat you out to dinner sometime?" Kuriko sent telepathically to the Hei.
Sakaki blinked. “What?” was her answer, not really catching on to what Masako was implying. Though she was blushing a little that Masako got really close, however didn't want to back up into Kuriko nearby. While the experience did feel good, she couldn't show it to everyone that was watching, “I do not know what you’re implying Masako, but we should spar so we can get stronger,” Sakaki said with the powers of telepathy. “Also this behavior is inappropriate, especially with everyone here!”
Chikako sighed, and shook her head. "That's not it! I..." She shut her eyes as the fingers arched over her hips tightened, pulling on the stretchy material of her uniform's bodysuit. "I don't drink because of stresses from the things I've seen, and if I did, I would definitely work twice as hard to keep you people from acting like sober miserables because we failed our comrades aboard the Watcher," she said with a groan, finally letting go of her hips as she finished speaking. She opened her eyes and stared directly at the superior that shared her rank. This sort of relationship between leaders of a wing is terrible, she thought to herself privately and scratched her head before reaching for the pin that held her tight hair bun in place, allowing it to fall down to the small of her back. "Geez... I really am doing a great job at becoming the hated XO of this wing, aren't I?"
Ageha took a step back as she was afraid that Shifuda-heisho was about to yell at her as well, but was relieved when it was the squadron leader extending and offer of dinner together. "Arigatou, Shifuda-heisho," she replied, bowing deeply.
All throughout the station, a red alert was sounded and chaos and confusion arose. "Station alert has been moved to code red, all Star Army members report to your combat stations—this is not a drill." The voice repeated itself, the volumetric displays scattered throughout the station came alive of images of a large fleet of older Star Army vessels. "I repeat: all Star Army members report to your combat stations—this is not a drill." It continued over and over as people began rushing off to their ships and stations. Outside the large windows, a growing collection of a defense fleet were gathering and launching to deal with the invasion—long range ordnances could be seen streaking off and star fighters speeding ahead of the ships. The Star Army of Yamatai was once again at war.
"You heard the voices. Battle stations—go. Now!" Kuriko had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before she had spun her body around and was dashing toward the Senbu and her armor bay. Please let Sigmund be ready, Kuriko prayed as she ran. "Nanjo-hei, will you need assistance to get to the bridge?"
“Hai, Kuriko-heisho,” quickly replied Sakaki as she followed behind her commander. Why would the pirates attack the station? Do they know we picked up a survivor? Or is it revenge? Sakaki thought, but kept to herself while saying out loud, “They must have followed us, let us meet our foe.”
"Senbu. What standard is the enemy wearing?" Chikako asked as she ran alongside Kuriko. Whatever bad relationship the two of them had would have to wait until after the mission to be fixed, and she'd be damned if she let herself be called unprofessional any time soon. "Pirates know where our strongholds are, Sakaki-hei, and they're never this stupid. This is... someone else."
The ComOps had taken off like a bolt; she was dashing back to the bridge at the call to battle stations. "I'll be fine, Shifuda-heisho. Arigatou," she sent back. Ageha grabbed at the barrettes in her bangs and pulled them out, pulling out a couple hairs with them as she tugged. As much as she didn't want her bangs getting away, she couldn't be worrying about her hair clips at this time. Instead, pocketing the majority of them, the young Yamataian pulled back her hair into a small ponytail and clipped it into place with one of her larger barrettes, securing the whole mess in one scoop.
Nicholas saw the same volumetric displays that all personnel aboard the Aries did, his eyes glued in disbelief as he watched the opening volleys stretch across the vast void that separated the two sides. “Shizuka!” he said frantically, activating his communicator as he set off towards the nearest hangar. He knew what he had to do now that this had happened and knew that he had little time to do it. “I will be aboard shortly, do not waste time waiting for me. Launch the Senbu and I will be aboard on a shuttle shortly,” he told her, hurrying towards an unmanned Fox once he’d reached the shuttle bay, stepping aboard the craft and unlocking its controls with his authority as a Shosa. Within moments, he had transmitted the shuttle’s identification to the Senbu and was darting off through space to rendezvous with the carrier in open space. Soon, he would be exactly where he needed to be.
Shizuka, who was standing in the empty bridge, continued talking with the Senbu, the little avatar apparently had plenty to say. But just as the two were getting into the deeper aspects of their conversations, the little Senbu's attention turned up at the screen. Her eyes filled with data streams and the display filled with little screens of what was happening simultaneously outside of the station. "What in Yui's name is happening here?" Shizuka exclaimed as she let her mind adsorb all the information through her SPINE up-link. "Senbu, alert the bridge crew and have all our armor squads on standby."
The youngling avatar nodded and then paused in its steps. "What do I do about the new wing?" she asked curiously, looking up at Shizuka waiting for an order.
"I'll contact them, you start getting ready—it looks like we're off to war. Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll make through this in one piece. You just look out for my crew, okay?"
The red haired Neko nodded and then disappeared out of the bridge door just as the twins entered. The two stopped to look at the little one, but didn't ask; instead they got right to work. More and more people were getting to their stations soon after, and the Obsidian squad was actually the first one reporting that they were ready—their controller was also the first one at the armor ComOps station as well.
As the new 101st Tactical Strike Wing was flying their shiny new fighters and torpedo bombers to the Senbu, the wing commander was contacted by the Taisa of their new ship. Then soon after, each squadron leader was linked in a separate communication with the commander of the vanguard repair carrier YSS Senbu, the Red Lion's face appearing on their vid-screens. "Ladies and gentleman, I would have liked to have met you and conducted a deeper interview, but this is the reality of war. We must adapt and rise to every challenge. If you’re prepared to support your allies, shipmates and me, then you’re welcome into my crew—we can meet and greet later. Right now this station is under attack and you’re under my command. I'll forward you to your new flight controllers and you'll receive my orders through them. Show me what your made of out there, it’s proving time cubs!" With a final curt nod of her messy blond head, the communications cut.
"Ma'am, all checks are clear, we can launch anytime!" one of the twins said, turning back around to await further orders. "There’s only the problem of Saiga-shosa, he’s not yet aboard," the other twin said with a twisted expression, not wanting to leave the man who saved her life behind.
That’s when his communication came in; Shizuka seemed resistant at first, lowering her head in contemplation as she fought with her previous sinking feeling—but she trusted him, he promised he’d come back. The tanned lioness looked back up at the screen ahead and put her hands on the rail, then pointed outwards at the attacking fleet. "We’re not going to stand here idly and watch as our allies fight, launch!" she shouted confidently. With swiftness, her order was carried out and the ship began to dislodge itself from the safety of the Aries’ embrace, slowly moving out to point it’s bow in challenge to the enemy fleet.
Nicholas’ shuttle made its way out of the station, circumnavigating Aries behemoth superstructure, having launched from a part of the station opposite from where the Senbu was. As he approached the vessel’s location, the enemy fleet continued to close in and the fire between the two clashing fleets intensified. The Shosa weaved the little ship in and out between streaming torpedo trails and one-thousand points of light of Star Army and enemy origin alike. There she is, Nicholas thought as the Senbu grew large in the Fox’s forward viewing shield, not much longer now. Quickly, he pulled up on the controls, narrowly avoiding an oncoming torpedo. “Chikushou!” he cursed aloud, closing his eyes momentarily as the ordnance rushed past his shuttle. “Don’t be such a coward! You can do th—”
On the YSS Senbu, the indicator marking Aries Fox Aeroshuttle 145 would disappear from sensors as a streak of aether striking metal and the resulting fire flared up and then dissipated within a matter of seconds.
END
