RP: YSS Goban Episode 01: Communiqué

The young man did exactly as ordered without a second thought. Quietly following the commander's orders he followed several steps behind him. While he took a rear position in the group he would put names to faces from his previous readings of the crew manifesto.

Taking his first steps, off his ship, he took notice of the empty dock that was at this time their home. Carefully examining the rooom his red eyes flared in content as the gentleman the man called Lucas talk to. "Finally, maybe I can get to repairing this ship already. Cause it needs it."

Taking some steps foward, he turned and take in all the damage the Goban had taken. Amazed that the Goban even made it here impressed him. "I'm gonna be working with some good technicians if this rust bucket made it this far," he said to himself. "Captain, permission to go back on the ship and begin repair," he said.

(OOC: Use past tense only, not present-possible. So "was" instead of "would;" "followed," not "would follow.")

"Permission denied." Kyosuke walked down from the bay again and bowed in front of the man. "Ozaki Kyosuke, commander of the starship Goban. My sergeant, Nicholas Saiga, and technical sentries Lucas Hanley, Jason Travkai and Luca Pavone."

The old man peered at Kyosuke, then the rest. Then he looked back at Lucas. "He's not exactly command material, is he." He laughed at his own little joke, a half-hacking kind of laugh that made the man bend over a little.

But the laughter didn't last. He brought himself up, and everyone could see the man a little more clearly. His eyes were perpetually narrowed, but his hair was slicked a fabulous grey. He stood as tall as he could, the top of his head barely reached Kyosuke's eyes. His white goatee went well with his white jumpsuit.

"Well then. Not into jokes. A dull boy. Always a shame. In that case, I believe you have a delivery for me."

Kyosuke ... just sighed. I'm going to kill Shimada. Then I'm going to find that bookworm Chen and knock him flat. Leaving me to deal with a goddamn fogie who thinks he's the new comic of the galaxy.

"Well?" The old man said, the cantankerous nature of an elderly man with no time making Kyosuke's urges all the more, well, urgent.

"Just a moment, sir." Kyosuke looked to Luca and Jason, then Nick. He spoke telepathically to them; only Nick could not respond. "Saiga, go grab a Type 28 SMG, would ya? Travkai and Luca, get your pistols out and keep them trained on the DOC's door. Lucas, follow my lead."

Kyosuke started walking toward the DOC.

Luca heard the telepathic orders, being his first experience with telepathy. He nodded to Kyosuke, drew his Type 28-C Neko Service Pistol with his right hand and focused on the DOC's hatch.
I hope there's nothing unnatural behind that hatch... Luca thought to himself queasily while swallowing a lump in his throat, My brother told me never to be scared. And that's what I'll do! he recalled.

The gun felt strange in his hand, having never used one before, so he kept it by his side instead of pointing at the hatch should he set it off by accident.

As he old man hackled, Lucas couln't help but grin slightly, but he wiped it off his face quickly before Kyosuke could notice. The entire situation was strange enough as it was, but to have come so far for a joke that basically hit the nail on the head, well...that was kinda funny. But those thoughts aside, Lucas had some respect for his Shoi and would not disgrace him by smiling anymore at the man's joke.

Lucas was about to say something to the other two when they started whipping out their guns, but then the Shoi's voice filled his head like cold water. Follow his lead? Lucas thought as he glanced at the Shoi, and nodded. Wait...the message. That's in the...oh shit. Lucas thought as pieces of conversation connected. He took a deep breath, and followed the Skipper to the DOC.

((OOC: Get outta my head Charles!!! >.<))

Jason Simply nodded after receiving the orders given by the commander. walked over to a pallet jack that acted as mild cover if a firefight would break out. While walking he whispered into Luca's ear "Turn your safety off." Behind the pallet jack he pulled out his own pistol, removed the safety and make a bead on the door with his angle of attack. He could shoot with no fear of hitting the commander.

Hearing what Jason said, Luca quickly looked at his pistol and blushed with the realisation.
"Whoops, thanks Jason." Luca whispered in reply as he flicked the switch to 'Single/Auto' mode.
He took a step to the right of the door and also turned laser on for a better aim, pointing at the door and away from his superior in a deep concentration.

(My mistake, sire. No crates nowhere.)

Kyosuke looked at his two newest soldiers for a moment, but shrugged. Might as well, he thought.

The DOC's snubnose doors folded out slowly, revealing the bright light-grey interior. Various straps attached to eyehooks kept everything held down well enough, as several crates were inside.

Along with a very tall, very bald Custodian droid. Kyosuke could tell because of the weapons it had pointed at him.

"Damn droid, put those stupid things away," the old man said as he shuffled past Kyosuke. "I told Ephesus, 'They don't need cannon in their arms.' But did he listen? Certainly not. Grumpy old bastard."

The Custodian did as instructed, then walked forward. He was clothed in a similar white jumpsuit and kneeled in front of the old man.

"Oh, get up, get up ... robots. Utterly useless. Now, the message?"

The Custodian nodded and produced a hand-written message from a breastpocket. The old man read it, looked up at the Custodian, then back down at the message. He crushed the message in his hands, then looked back at Kyosuke.

"Bring your men and follow me." The old man shuffled out, Custodian following him.

"What?" Kyosuke balked. "We delivered the messege. We're out of here."

"Like bloody hell you are," the old man said, not turning around. The Custodian, on the other hand, did turn. "Shimada gave you to me, and you're going to do exactly what I tell you."

Kyosuke balked again. "How do I know that?"

The Custodian's chest opened. Kyosuke took that as a bad sign. However, the old man turned and stepped in front of the android.

"You Ketsurui bastards. Not satisfied with just being human. At least this chunk of flesh and metal is controllable; you just had to give your robots free will. Lunacy. And you just let them roam after a time, and for what? Instead of destroying them as you should. Now the rest of the universe has to deal with your bloody fuck-ups."

The commander scratched his head. "Look old man, I'm not any Ketsurui -- "

"Obviously, any bloody fool could see that." The old man looked at Lucas. "He's more Ketsurui than you are. Now, are you going to listen, or waste more time being an arse?"

Kyosuke's lip curled, but he shut up.

"SAINT has determined there's a damn Twin Neko deeper in this teritary bay and it apparently belongs to one of my scientists. And, if this is to be believed, they've managed to bypass PNUgen's genetic scan self-destruct sequence. What he plans on doing with that genetic information, I do not know. But it's your bloody job to kill the bastard and get the Neko off this bay. Understood?"

Lucas watched as the jumpsuit-clad Custodian ambered out of the DOC at the command of the old man. It was unnerving how that same robot that had given them so much grief in the past 20 hours, could be so easily controlled. A shiver ran down Lucas's spine as the 'bot easily withdrew and gave the message to the old man. He could have sworn that the Custodian glared at him, but he shook it off to be paranoia.

The old man then started arguing with the Shoi as Lucas continued to watch, making a mental note to ask Kyosuke about what being 'Ketsurui' meant. He shifted his weight and motioned for the other two soldiers to lower their weapons as the commanders went on arguing. Lucas generally agreed with the Shoi as to bidding this place fucking adieu, but orders were orders, and he finally put in his two cents. Lucas brought out his data pad, scribbled some words on it and handed it to the Shoi before looking back at the man.

The pad read: "If you've got the same feeling as I do, neither of us trust this guy. However, if we can play along long enough to get something out of this, we can ditch at the right moment. Because, I never got any "be someone else's slave" orders from the Chusa. Did you?"

He didn't wait for a response from Kyosuke before he started talking.

"With all due respect, sir, if we are to take this situation on (and it certainly seems that we have no other option) could you give us some more information on this rougue Neko?" Lucas said to the old man. "Or...at least your name?"

Kyosuke wasn't exactly appreciative of Lucas' straightforwardness and lack of decorum, but at this point, it was kind of hard to argue.

He handed the pad back and looked at the old man.

"Well?" he said. "It's a good question."

The old man didn't even bat an eye. "You must be a young one. Don't remember the NH-X? The Twin Neko? A sorry lot you are then. But it does not matter i'tall, now does it? You have your orders commander, and my bald friend here will assist you."

Meanwhile, on the Goban, Galar started looking at the ship's blueprints on the ship's database. He isolated the communications system and concentrated. Hmmmm, this all seems to be quite the traditional system, I think I might be able to spruce it up a little bit!

"Ann, may have a soldering iron, some wire, a welder, and acess to the power grid?"

If Ann had been capable of crossing her eyes and looking at someone queerly, she would have done both of those things at Galar. Instead, she managed a pained smile.

"I recommend you obtain an SMG from the armory and join the rest of the crew outside of the vessel. They will need the manpower." Ann had been listening (passively, of course) to the chatter outside the vessel.

Galar, with a look of sheepish indignation on his face, got up and said, "Yeah, I guess my project can wait. By the way, can you direct me to one of those weapons?"

Ann did so and without a moment to lose, he bolted out the door, weapon in hand. Finally he reached Kyosuke and skidded to a stop. "Sorry for the wait shoi!"

" ... " Kyosuke just shook his head at Galar.

"Gimme that," he said, taking the SMG away from the communications officer. "Use your pistol instead."

Kyosuke looked up at the ship. "Let's wait for the Heicho to get back. Then we'll get this shit over with."

Lucas took the pad back, noting the Shoi's reprimanding look. Lucas nodded in acknowledgement, yet slid the pad in his belt and glanced up as the Santo-Hei came bounding up with the firearm. Lucas sniffed at the lack of punctuality in the 'Hei's arrival, but then again, the kid wasn't even ordered to be there.

Lucas's mind crept back to the old man's explaination of the rogue Neko at that moment. "Shoi," He began more formally this time, "Aren't the NH-X's supposed to work in pairs or something?" he asked, remembering that little tidbit from training. The only other thing that Lucas remembered between his in-class slumbers was that they were created for espionage and assassination. They could even change their appearance...or was he mixing that up with another...bah...Nekos...you can never tell. he thought as he awaited the Heicho's arrival.

Kyosuke shrugged. "Damned if I remember. I lived in the desert; we didn't really see Nekos."

At that moment, Nick appeared, carrying small earpieces with him as well as a Type 28 SMG and genetic scan grenades. After everyone had donned the transparent earpieces, Ann's voice came over them.

"The NH-X was an assassination unit that could shapeshift, as Hanley-Hei suggested," Ann said. "They also tend to work in pairs, usually with one male and one female. However, they can be separated without ill effects, and one body can have the Soul of the other, essentially resulting in a copy. NH-X can also absorb DNA to add other appearances to their memory. Normally, the NH-X, as with most Nekovalkyrja, disintegrate upon being scanned genetically. This was a sensory and genetic failsafe put in by PNUgen. However, it is theoretically possible to bypass the failsafe, though I am not sure how.

"If the failsafe has been disabled, you will be forced to destroy it through conventional methods. Aim for the head, and immediately upon disabling the target in some fashion, follow up with several stun shots. When the target's incapacitation is confirmed, destroy the head completely, then destroy the body. If you do not, the Nekovalkyrja will regenerate."

Lucas gulped silently as Ann gave the briefing on the NH-X. The entire time he was in basic, his instructors went on and on about how great the Nekos were in battle. He'd heard stories of their amazing feats and thanked Maker that they were on his side...that is, until now. His forehead had started to break out slightly in a cold sweat. But he quickly swallowed his nervousness and looked at the Shoi, exchanging a worried glance that reflected the severity of the situation. Taking on a grown Neko was more than a handful, but to fight an assassin Neko was like begging for personal injury...to put it lightly.

Lucas sighed and withdrew his 10mm and checked the ammo in the magazines. "Well Shoi," he said as he methodically holstered it and checked his type 28's batteries, "I call dibs on the Custodian as my meat shield." Lucas grinned wolfishly as he glanced back at the once-feared harbinger of destruction.

The Custodian didn't look back.

Kyosuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then, in a strange and public show, he slowly took out his flask, took a long pull, then put it back.

The whiskey tasted good. Real good. The old man nodded in approval.

"Haven't fucked around with one of these in a while. Makes me wish I had a hunting rifle." He looked back at his men -- Nick, Galar, Jason, Lucas and Luca. Five for a complete fireteam, plus him and the Custodian. Nick and he carried the SMGs, with the other four using NSPs. The Custodian's HEX guns were retracted, for now.

"Everyone ready for this then?"

Luca winked and nodded to Kyosuke as he wielded his Survival Knife in his left hand. He beared resemblance a commando with his Type 28 NSP in his right hand as well.
"Yes Sir!" came Luca's enthusiastic reply, "No shapeshiftin' super-assassin is gonna get us down while we're all here!"
Luca's enthusiasm seemed to outshine him at this moment, "We're not just going to destroy it, we're all gonna destroy the HELL out of it!"

Lucas stared in awe of the Shoi's liquor flask. Not by the fact that it was highly informal, as well as blatently obvious that he too was worried, but by the fact that Lucas also could have used something to take the edge off. It'd probably just piss him off...asking for his personal stash. It'd piss me off anyway. Lucas thought as he tore his eyes away from the silver container. He popped his neck and inhaled deeply.

"Yeah, I'm ready to dodge death again." He smiled, weaker than before as his voice was slightly melancholy. Then Luca piped in his two cents, and Hanley's concerns seemed to ebb away.Somehow Luca's spontaneity got him a little more motivated. "You know what?" He chuckled as he put a hand on Luca's shoulder, "Second time's a charm, yeah?"

Galar was nervous, but laughed normally when Luca said that. He remarked, "Destroy the hell out of it? Yeah, I guess we could do that!"

Still grinning, he took out his pistols, both of them, and checked their ammunition. He locked a hollow-point bullet into the chamber of the 10mm, released the safties, and said, "Lets get this party on the road!!"