RP: YSS Goban Episode 01: Communiqué

[Doshii Jun]

SET: Star Army Depot at Nataria

"Huahhhh," Kyosuke sighed. "Now it's the waiting game."

He waited at the mouth of the mounting port of the Goban, the elliptical freighter seemingly hanging from it like a dumbbell from a string. He had explored enough of the ship to know it was going to be home for a while. More than the depot to be sure. The white walls of one of the Nataria depot arms were enough to drive him nuts -- everything was shiny and clean and generally unlike what he was used to. Maybe I should throw a bucket of sand on my floor, he thought with a snort.

The short corridor in front of him was supposed to produce not one, but two individuals for his vessel. His crew already had six sprite Nekos introduced to him to fill out other positions. The CIES avatar of the Goban was irritatingly on the other side of the mouth, short black hair cropped into a boyish style, a pleasant smile on her face. Kyosuke already knew she was too cheery, but as she had the same theoretical rank as he did, she inexplicably was able to resist his demands she be more ... dour. Her uniform at least had grey panels.

"They will come," she said simply. Her name was Ann, spelled with Japanese hirigana. It made Kyosuke sick; what happened to good, aggressive names, like "Yamato" and "Yoko" and "Katsu!"

"They could come early," Kyosuke replied, checking his chronograph. 17:54. I hate the Army. "I wish they would. I want to know what's in the damn hold already."

"Shimada-Chusa said she would tell you when the new crew arrives," Ann replied.

"Before or after she electrocutes me for not having the crew on time?" Kyosuke tapped his left thigh pants pocket, the datapad inside containing the rest of his manifest and the appropriate logs.

"Shimada-Chusa is not so mean," Ann said easily. Too easily.

"Sure," Kyosuke muttered. "But if she has a problem, I have a problem." The Yamataian ran a hand through his black hair and went back to leaning against the mouth of the mounting port.

Before long, a stern-looking Yamataian in uniform entered through the short corridor, carrying a suitcase at her side with her gear.

She walked up to Kyosuke, lowered her suitcase and promptly stood straight, saluting at her Commander. "Ameko Kayama, reporting for duty, sir. I was assigned as the pilot for this vessel under orders of Personnel."

"Finally," Kyosuke muttered before she walked up to him. He looked at his chronograph -- 17:59. Barely.

"Bow when you see your commander; saluting is for Nepleslians," he said to Kayama with a distinct lack of edginess, but enough irritation to sound authoritative. He took out his datapad. "Kayama-Hei ... there you are. Good to meet you." He bowed a little as well.

Ameko nodded immediately, dropping the salute and bending forward in a deep bow. "My apologies, Commander."

"Don't mention it." The Yamataian looked over the Neko and down the corridor again. "We're waiting on one more. Let's see if he shows up."

Just after Ameko arrived, a young Geshrin, dressed in the red-paneled uniform of an enlisted soldier, appeared after rounding the corner adjacent to the corridor. He carried his gear in a large, standard-issue duffel over his right shoulder. A tired look adorned his face, matching his untidy appearance.

The Gesrhin stopped beside the Yamataian girl, put down his bag, and then gave a small bow. "Heicho Nicholas Saiga, reporting, sir,â€

 

[Doshii Jun]

Scene: Nataria, YSS Goban

Kyosuke was sitting on the captain's chair, alone in the bridge. Suddenly, a blinking prompt appeared on his console and on the comm station console. It was a live video conference request from Chusa Shimada.

The Shoi looked up from his datapad and noticed the blinking. Finally. He pushed a button and opened the conference on the main viewscreen instead of his own displays -- it was easier to handle her when her head was so big it was comical.

Chisato's face blinked onto the main viewscreen. She was a young Neko with a shock of orange hair, cut into a boy's haircut. Her normally calm face looked slightly troubled today. "Shoi, status report," she ordered.

Right to business then. The Shoi tapped his console to bring up the manifest for both Shimada and himself. "All cargo is loaded into the DOCs, which have been attached. Everything's accounted for. The armors are in stasis mode at my request; I spoke to one of the Celia's crew and they're fine with it. My new pilot is a little earnest, but she'll get over that." He stopped, signaling he was done and let her review the manifest for herself.

Chisato glanced at the manifest. "Have you inspected the cargo?" she asked.

"No, Chusa. I only know what I was told by the inventory manager." Kyosuke tapped his console again and rubbed his head.

"A man who actually follows instructions? They only made you a Shoi?" Chisato smirked.

Kyosuke snorted, but left it alone. "Please notice the foodstuffs bound for Ushobrakflug are a timed delivery, Chusa."

"Actually, Shoi, as plausible as it sounds, you're NOT being sent to the front lines on that toothless tin can," said Chisato. "As far as the paperworks are concerned, yes, you're delivering foodstuffs to Ushobrakflug. However, you'll be heading to Kohana and ONLY Kohana. That message for NovaCorp is only on four particular copies of the ship manifest: yours, mine, Taisho Chen's, and on some SAINT spook's desk at who knows where. Do you understand what I'm saying, Shoi?"

" ... Ah, yes, Chusa." What in the hell is she talking about? Kyosuke looked at his manifest again. "Shock" didn't quite cover his current state of mind. "Only to Kohana then?"

"Yes," replied Chisato, rubbing her forehead. "Listen carefully, what I'm telling you is on a need-to-know basis only. You are to tell your crew that there has been a change in mission parameters. You're to deliver the foodstuffs to a NovaCorp outpost in the outer rims of the Kohana system. The foodstuffs are being guarded by two Custodian droids, although they're under your command for as long as they're onboard your ship. None of these are lies, of course. But what you will NOT tell them is that, while the Goban is docked at NovaCorp HQ, to return the Custodian droids, they will also be escorting the message off the ship to its intended recipient. In fact, do NOT tell your crew about the message at all, you understand? The fewer people know about it, the better."

"Chusa ... " Kyosuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This mission was secretive enough before, and now it was even more secretive. This wasn't what he was counting on. "Permission to speak freely?"

Chisato was still rubbing her forehead. This kind of hijinks should be left to SAINT, really. She tried telling them that, too. "Sure, why not?"

"This is bullshit." Kyosuke leaned forward in his chair, trying to ignore Shimada's strange hair color. It always threw him off. "I was a shipping clerk but two months ago. I'm now running a ship with no tested veterans and a distinct lack of training for this sort of thing. Spooks be damned; this is just dumb." Gonna need a real good drink after this.

"Your name's Kyosuke, right?" asked Chisato. "Well, Kyosuke, bullshit happens when you let the Star Army make you her bitch... Besides, you should feel lucky. I'd kill to be in that captain's chair. And I'm sure your crew will be happy to hear that they're not heading toward to front lines."

Let? Let?! I had a goddamn choice? It was this or wait for the sand to gum my brain into paste! Kyosuke moved a hand and touched his chronograph, moving the rim dial on it a little.

Someone tapped Chisato on the shoulder. She glanced around and waved them off. "Duty calls," she said. "One last thing, Kyosuke. We only have ten Odori-class supply ships in the fleet. I don't want to have to explain to Taisho Chen how we ended up with nine... So be careful out there, okay?"

Kyosuke managed not to take a deep breath, letting her go on as she had to. Apparently, the conversation was over. "Yes Chusa. I will be careful."

Chisato nodded. The main viewscreen went black.

"Fuck." It was the only word Kyosuke could think of. "Fucking perfect."

Running a hand through his hair, the Shoi got up from his chair, shoving the datapad in his pocket and walking down corridor. He lightly skipped down the central corridor and down to the second deck, where he walked back to his room. Though he briefly noticed Nicholas in his room with the door open, he didn't say anything to him. He stepped inside his sparse room, went to the small box that served as a liqueur cabinet and removed the small bottle of whiskey. He didn't bother with a shotglass. After two good swigs, he put the lid back on the bottle, tossed it on his bed, and stepped out into the hall.

"Everyone report to the wardroom in five," he said, not looking at anyone. "We've got some things to talk about."

END

 

[Doshii Jun]

Scene: YSS Goban, Nataria

Hearing Kyosuke's order, Nick began to unpack his bag faster, while still doing his best not to make a mess. There was probably no reason to rush, seeing as the young Heicho only had his one bag, but the audible stimulation of the commander's voice seemed to subconsciously motivate him. Finally, he pulled his silver flask from the corner of the bag that he'd stuffed it away in, and slid it under the pillow on the nearby bed.

No sooner had he produced his flask and hid it away, than Nick began to make his way towards the wardroom, asking Ann for directions as he exited the room he was staying in. Sliding his hand along the Goban's bulkhead as moved towards his destination, he took his time, leisurely examining the rather unimpressive surroundings with what would appear to be the utmost interest. Despite his slow pace, Nick arrived in the wardroom two minutes early, and took a seat on one of the couches that lined the chamber.

Back in Room 2, Ameko had just gotten her suitcase open when she heard the orders. "Kshksho..." she mumbled under her breath. She figured she had just enough time to get her already folded clothes into their respective closets and her little bag with personal care items into a small drawer within a small closet close to the fold-out sink.

Breathing deeply, and hoping she can make it on time, she heads for the wardroom a few minutes early. At first, she began walking at a brisk pace towards the bridge, until she realized that wasn't where she was supposed to go. It took a few moments for it to sink in that she had no idea where the wardroom was. She began hurrying through the halls, apparently taking every turn except the right one. When she found herself back in the hall with the crew quarters, she was relieved to see Ann standing there.

She stepped briskly towards her, trying to remain composed. When she opened her mouth, though, her words betrated her attempt, "Wardroom.... late... where is... I ca-..." She closed her mouth and paused for a moment, then carefully enunciated, "I can't seem to find the Wardroom, Ann, could you point me in the right direction?"

She entered the room calmly, standing upright and as proper as possible, even though she had run to it. She assumed the others heard her running over, and she simply bowed respectfully to her superiors and carefully made her way to the couch Nicholas was sitting in and sat down.

Kyosuke was there, obviously irritated. He paced back and forth over the center of the common area, cursing the very logo he was stepping on time and again. Dammit all. His pilot apparently could be come lost inside of a straight corridor, but since she would usually be stayed put in one seat, he forgave her that. "Our mission's changed some," he said to no one in particular. "The message isn't our problem anymore. However, we're still going to Kohana."

He rubbed his head. "Specialized foodstuffs are onboard our port-side DOC right now. They are our only cargo for the moment; more will come after this mission. Makes it easier for us."

Nick nodded courteously as Ameko entered the wardroom, smiling at her slightly flustered appearance. As Kyosuke spoke, Nick listened carefully, becoming confused with the information that he was receiving. He found it odd, but it wasn't his job to question his commander.

"Well, that's strange that command would change up our mission like that, Ozaki-Shoi,â€

 

[Karma Mechanic]

Scene: T2 Kitty shuttle, en route for Nataria

Tasuku sat in the back of the old Kitty shuttle as it transported him and some other soldiers to the Nataria depot.

I wonder where they'll end up, he thought as he scanned the faces in the shuttle, a few nekos, and other enlisted personel that looked like scruffy Nepleslians.

The recruits are looking better by the day... he thought sarcasticly as he rolled his eyes. If only they knew what they were in for.He added to the end of that thought, as he thought back further to the things that he had experienced while serving on the YSS Sakura.

A Lorath diplomat shot in the face.
Stressful battles, with the ship falling apart around him.
Dark and dirty secrets of the empire.
At least one fairly crazy captain, possibly two.
Inappropriate behaviour from half of the crew.
A sarcastic computer.
Getting shot through the chest.

The list kept going, and he just wanted to forget it all.
I can stay away from the hectic front lines this time... I'll leave that to the blind ambition of the Nekos he thought as the shuttle started to approach Nataria.

"ETA to Nataria Depot 1 minute", The pilot announced as the people on the shuttle prepared to depart.

END

 

[Doshii Jun]

Scene: Ozaki's room, YSS Goban, the previous night

Kyosuke sat next to the small desk and removed two shotglasses from the drawers next to his bed. He put them on the desk with the opened whiskey and waited for Nicholas to come in.

Looking up as he heard Ameko's voice, Nick was surprised to only catch her trailing, blurred form as it passed the wardroom's threshold. I guess she doesn't have the time for formalities, he thought humorously. Another time, maybe.

The Geshrin Heicho arrived at Kyosuke's quarters soon after receiving Ameko's message. As the door slid open before him, he bowed courteously, and then entered. "How may I serve...â€

 

[Mitch Vair]

First Orders [SP]

Mitch observed the ship that he was to be serving upon as he aproached the entry hatch, an immense feeling of acheivement came over him, for he had at last become a soldier, he had finally been able to serve the army to protect those he cared about.

"This is it, my first assignment, I mustn't mess this up" came a voice that echoed only in his mind.

Taking the last few steps towards the vessel Mitchell's mind drifted to what his new life might be like aboard the YSS Goban.

Entering the ship with one last look at the life he had left behind, walking down the entry corridor he felt this would be a good time to consult the CIES, for his orders instructed him to report to Ozaki-Shoi, however Mitch had never used a CIES and was a little confused as to how it worked, Pausing mid-step to see he was alone for the moment.

"Mitchell Vair Reporting, Please direct me to Ozaki-Shoi"

Unsure whether his request had been heard or not he awaited a reply.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Scene: YSS Goban

Kyosuke snorted as he heard the nervous-sounding soldier come aboard the ship. "Ann, kindly escort Vair-Hei to his room so we can get the hell out of here."

Ann merely nodded and left the bridge. Kyosuke then looked out to his crew. "We're going to slow-burn this one up to 9,000 c. Standard procedure; other vessels keep coming in and out of Nataria, so we don't want to crash into one."

Tasuku made a few quick checks of the weapons systems as they prepared to depart Everything seems in order, now let's just keep it that way,he thought to himself as he looked over the data.

Nick continued to work at his station, having arrived a few minutes earlier. He had a headache, no doubt as result of the previous night's conference with Kyosuke, but the Geshrin communications technician appeared the best that he had since arriving on the Goban. He looked up, pressing a switch to his left. "I'm patching you a direct line to traffic control, Kayama-Hei,â€

 

[Yangfan]

Scene: YSS Goban

It had been eight hours since the beginning of the mission.

The Goban was located about one light-year from the Ketsurui Nebula. Kyosuke had ordered several speed changes during the course of the mission, as well as minor course variations. As a result, their average speed had been less than a light-year an hour. Kyosuke sipped at a cup of coffee from his seat on the bridge, as the vague trail of gases in front of them cut a diagonal path across the main screen. "Yatani-Hei, your turn at relief... send up the new guy, would ya?"

Tasuku nodded, bowed, and left. He saw Mitch on the way to his room. He told him the commander wanted him, and then went to his room to rest.

Having been instructed to report to the Commander, Mitch followed the directions given to him, leading towards the bridge. It had not taken long for him to reach his destination, upon which he announced himself.

"Mitchell Vair reporting as ordered SIR!"

Nick rubbed his eyes, not feeling physically tired, but mentally weary after the long hours at his console. His primary duty on this ship was a simple one, and wouldn't require much strain, but the hours of boredom that was caused by the near-total inactivity of his station was something that he would have to endure. In the very least, the Geshrin was mildly entertained by the stellar gases that the Goban now passed through.

Kyosuke just looked at the man as if he were a Mishhu who'd offered him more coffee. "You must be fresh, kid. Where'd you learn to be a soldier, from the greens in Nep-land?" He slowly turned out of his seat and looked up at the tall soldier. "Number one: It's 'Ozaki-Shoi.' Two: You didn't even salute. Next time, bow. Three, don't forget your rank." Kyosuke rubbed his head. Had to dump all the new ones on me, didn't they.

He returned to his seat. "You're on the right there, kid."

Ameko listened as she idly sat at her station, double-, triple-, and quadruple-checking all the navigation systems to keep herself busy. The ship was on autopilot and there wasn't anything interesting up ahead except for the distant blob of color they were heading for. At least it's a safe trip, and I'm racking up free flight-time hours...

"All systems still in order, Ozaki-Shoi," she almost murmured. "Nothing out of the ordinary out there, maybe we worried for no reason. Should I speed this baby up a bit more?"

Kyosuke nodded. "Get it up to 19,000 c, bearing galactic north-northwest. After that you're off-shift for the next six hours. Enjoy'em."

"My Apologies, 'Ozaki-Shoi', I guess the excitement had just gotten to me." Bowing as he apologized to his superiors, Mitch then took his seat to the right and viewed the monitors and instruments in front of him. They were similar to the ones he had trained on, however in a different league altogether. They were indeed the weapons systems for the Goban, and Mitch had only seen data for these; he had not yet in fact been battle tested with such firepower. Mitch hoped he was up for any dogfight they may participate in.

"Yes, Captain." Ameko smiled and tapped at her controls. This was the most exciting thing that had happened in a while. "By the way... 6 hours, Ozaki-Shoi? We'll be at the Nebula much sooner than that at this speed. I could just take an hour or two to nap and come back to controls."

Kyosuke ignored Mitch. I hate stomping on the balls of the ignorant. They don't feel it very well. "Commander, not captain. If you want to come back earlier, that's up to you, But I won't force you. Take a break. Read a book. Have some ginger ale." He grinned at the last one.

"Yes, Commander, I actually brought some of my own ginger ale on board, can't live without the stuff."

The pilot then stood up and bowed. "Good evening, gentlemen," she said, and headed for her room to take a short nap.

Kyosuke frowned. His joke, it seemed, had backfired. I like this ship better without smartass women. He shook his head and looked down at Nick. "Nothing out there to hear, eh Heicho?"

Mitch kept his mouth shut but offered a nod as Ameko passed by, then Mitch returned to memorizing controls for weapons, cross referencing them in his mind, keeping quiet unless called upon. Hopefully this would allow him to avoid most confrontations with this rather cold-hearted Commander.

Giving a casual salute towards Ameko, Nick stood as the Yamataian girl exited the bridge. He quickly stretched his limbs, his neck popping as he swiveled it around. "Pretty smooth so far, I must say," he said aloud as he returned to his seat. "Still nothing on the comms, Shoi. Wish I had more to report."

"You wish nothing. If you had more to report, it'd probably be that there's a Mishhu fleet in front of us." Kyosuke sipped at his coffee again before speaking. "You ought to try some of the games. Hell, there's interactive chess on there – personal favorite of mine."

"But wouldn't that be such a fun situation, Shoi?â€

 

[Doshii Jun]

Ann quietly appeared near the room of the Heicho, Nicholas Saiga. It had been about an hour since the commander had declared a break in shift. She knocked twice on his door, then did the same for the others.

"Dinner is in five minutes," she said to everyone by projecting her voice inside the rooms. "I hope to see you there!"

She vanished and appeared in the wardroom, apron already on. Gracefully digging through the galley, she found and set out at one of the six-person tables a medium-sized pot of green tea, a little jar of honey and all the appropriate dishes. With that out of the way, she went to the kitchen and began crafting some sushi appetizers.

 

[Karma Mechanic]

Tasuku looked up from his data pad with the mention of food, "Well its probably not anything like Kimura-san's food, but... then again I am hungry...", Tasuku slipped on his jacket and then walked into the wardroom.

 

[Doshii Jun]

"Ah, Yatani-san." Ann smiled from her kitchen. "How are you? Is there something I can make for you?"

 

[Karma Mechanic]

"I'm doing ok, You wouldn't happen to have something with Miso and chicken hidden back in the kitchen would you?," Tasuku happily asked Ann.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Ann flashed a knowing smile. "Ozaki-Shoi believes it is a jinx to know too much about one's crew. I am not so superstitious." She rummaged about for a moment before appearing again, holding a red-ringed plastic bowl. She blew on the soup for a moment, and steam began to rise from it.

"Miso soup," she said, placing the bowl in front of him daintily. "I can produce some chicken salad to go with your soup, if you would like?"

 

[Karma Mechanic]

"That would be wonderful Ann, thank you," Tasuku replied happily. 'What a nice sprite,' he thought.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Ann went to the kitchen and began chopping the appropriate amount of chicken cubes for the salad. She seemed particularly adept at this.

"Yatani-Hei, where are your crewmates, by the way? I would imagine the smell of good soup would tempt them. Perhaps they are just lazy," she pouted. "Or they do not like my soup.

 

[Mitch Vair]

A Blinding light came into existance and Mitchell's eyes snapped open and his memory came flooding back, muscles aching from the electrical charge that coursed through his body not a few hours before.

"Eh that bastard, oh well, I DID talk back," Mitchell thought as his eyes adjusted to the light in his room.

He found himself staring at the ground for an extended period of time, not knowing how much time has passed, or how long he still had to endure solitude.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Ann blinked from behind the counter. Mitch had woken up, apparently; he'd stirred enough to trip the motion sensor she'd left in his room.

"Mitchel," the computer's voice said over the comm, "you are free to report to the wardroom for refreshments before returning to duty."

 

[Karma Mechanic]

"I'm not quite sure where every one is; but I think you should go with the lazy explaination first, because this soup is most definately not the problem here." Tasuku said to Ann as he happily ate some of the soup.

 

[Doshii Jun]

"I suppose I will have to ... ah. But you must report to the bridge, quickly!" Ann left in a hurry as well.

 

[Doshii Jun]

ON: YSS Goban

Kyosuke yawned a little from his perch on the bridge. He sipped at his coffee again, glad he'd kept his 100ml flask in his inside jacket pocket. Everything, it appeared, was still clear. "Heicho should be due any minute," he said to no one inparticular.

Nick strode onto the bridge, adjusting his belt as he made his way towards his console. He looked refreshed, having just taken a shower and slipped into a new uniform at the end of his break. The Geshrin Heicho stopped abruptly beside his console, bowed slightly in his captain's direction, and then took a seat. Immediately, he began working, doing what little he could actually do with a long-silent communications station.

Kyosuke nodded with a slight grin. "Gotta be happy about this -- no contacts, no nothing, eh?"

"Doesn't look like it, Shoi; still nothing to report,â€