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RP: LSDF Val'ta [Expedition 1] - One from Another

Porrim's meet'n'greet.

Knight meanwhile took to work. He put the shotgun aside and grabbed the first man on the pile. He gave him a quick body-check for guns and knives, putting those away. Then he proceeded to drop him as gently as possible into the hole. Just to be sure he would not make any more trouble. Then he did the same with the other one.

"None of them seems cute," the robot reported to Akemi. At least he went so from all the data he had on cuteness. Judging from Akemi's reaction, the best reference cuteness was Aran'ya. Seeing as both prisoners were men, not to mention they did not have much chance to shave or clean themselves in these conditions the robot was pretty sure they were not cute.

Being done with that, the robot grabbed his new shotgun again and walked to the nepleslian man. Knight quickly looked over the ragged leftovers of the man's uniform.

"Howdy pardner," Knigt said and flicked the brim of his hat. "It seems we both are nepleslian estranged on this ugly planet. Let's tone the attitude down a notch. I bet you want to skedaddle off this planet as much as I do."
 
Aran'ya's Gather Phase - Derelict Dynamo
Tange, Ruins of Hizagari Spaceport

Though Widow was happy to have saved the citizens remaining in Misato City, there was however the matter of her unfinished research on the Mishhuvurthayar poisons, and the fragments of carapace she acquired from Knight's backyard scarecrows were only very shabby substitutes of DNA compared to the real deal that was still out there. So when Porrim took her group in the direction of the carpark where Er'red team was and was distracted by an art gallery she unearthed, Aran'ya used that moment to break off on her own, stalking off farther westward along the river's path...

It was obvious the route to take, following what appeared to be a path of destruction along the roadways and rubble of buildings. In several spots she found what looked like the remains of phamplets written in Yamataigo and Trade scattered about, some charred and faded. Considering her grasp of written Trade was marginal at best, she did manage to make out the words "Nepleslian" "evacuation" and the letters and symbols for "Hizagari" because it happened to also be present on a large road sign up ahead that indeed proclaimed a "spaceport" was ahead.

At one time years ago it must have been a bustling transportation hub of the colony, but now the larger of Misato's two spaceports lie in ruins, the wreckage of crashed shuttlecraft and large, jagged chunks of glass from the terminal's mirrored facade strewn around like abstract art from what appeared to be explosions. That was not the only evidence that showed a great battle that once took place here, though, for all around the landing pads and roadways were scattered the remains of the defenders of this last escape route off world.

Aran'ya slowly strode through the forgotten graveyard half-buried in the newly fallen snow, past a former garrison of Nepleslian AIR2 'Lancer' power armors that lied broken, alongside dozens of Tenshi No Yoru armors that were slightly more recognizable to her. Many still had the half-rotten remains of Marines and Peacekeepers within them, only likely intact because of the freezing temperatures that dominated the planet now. Mingled in with them was bits of equipment NMX infantry would use as well, but nothing quite compared to the still-hulking behemoth that was an NMX Ravager. It lied on its side, crushed by what appeared to be the spaceport's control tower, alongside a Jiyuuian PA that was also buried under the rubble, a faded plate indicating a 'Petty Officer 2nd class Mifune Shiro" was once its operator.

Drawing closer to inspect it, the biochemist did find that the solitary Mishhuvurthyar pilot's body inside the mangled NMX mecha was still somewhat intact, and the Lorath quickly sliced off the ends of the tentacles that dangled lifelessly out of the cockpit with her surgical knife, sealing them away in her lead-lined biohazard sample bags. The cold temperatures certainly helped, as the valuable body fluids inside were also well-preserved in the transfer. This was the research material that she so desperately sought for her work, and could one day yield many valuable uses if she could crack the DNA.

Even if dead bodies themselves did not frighten her, the thoughts of the lives that were ended violently here did. Hopefully she could put their spirits to rest, turning their oppressors vitriol into something that could help rebuild the shattered UOC world. But for now, Aran'ya soon skittered away from the silent memorial, prize in hand, and left it to be buried once more in the next sheet of white that would come down...
 
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Porrim's Group

J'ann shrugged.

"I did not 'sashay off' I got misdirected by a snowdrift that I fell into and it all snowballed from there," he replied to Aran'ya, completely ignoring the dispute between the two classic foes in the room and heading off intentionally this time.

Gathering Phase

The New Tur'listan eventually found his way into a recording studio, managing to find. . . an unreleased, perfectly sealed album of Aoi Tanaka demos and a single that never made it to publishers due to the war. He'd save the latter for the morale lounge, and suggest selling off the rest to the musician herself.
 
Porrim's Group, Office Space
Something about the Nepleslian's cursing and confrontational attitude told Porrim that they were definitely a lively sort, to say the least. Lively and sanguine was good, better than downtrodden and broken. "I said talk to him, not at him," Porrim spoke to Akemi in Trade, most likely for the marine's benefit - though she didn't really pry too hard into the geopolitics of Nepleslian/Yamataian relations. The Lorath already had a cold relation with the Yamataians.

A soft thump could be heard as the robot dropped one of the bandits into the hole, landing on top of the other, and another thump could be heard as the other was tossed in. "Knight, I figure you'll get along better. Stick with our guest." Meanwhile, she made a mental note to ask Aiesu what the crikey a 'shitlord' was after the mission was over. No doubt something the doctor was acquainted with or had some pirated and translated visual novel to explain to Porrim with.

Looking about the office, she didn't sense anything further of interest now that she had J'ann safe and well, and in some very tight pants. "The Lorath are colonise this 'trensch' after I leave. The Yamataians abandoned it. All rats will be discovered." She coiled her climbing rope around her hand as she started backtracking to the ground floor of the office, arrayed it into a loop, and clipped it to her side. "Let us continue to move."

Meanwhile, Knight's takings from the two bandits were a pair of ODM 10mm pistols, two spare 10mm pistol magazines, a shiv made from a shard of metal with a bit of cloth and leather wrapped around the handle, and an ornamental katana made of cheap metal and a chipped blade. Ran, meanwhile, still had the rifle and its ammunition in his hands from the bandit already in the hole.

Porrim was backtracking the way Knight had instructed her to come in, and grabbed Aiesu along the way, who was shivering cold and perhaps a bit disappointed that nobody was killed. At least, it didn't sound like it - someone definitely sounded like a contralto. As Aiesu reconvened, Porrim gave a quick call out to everyone, in Ly'thir: "We're going to move out a bit more. We'll take advantage of the good weather while it lasts," she looked over her shoulder at J'ann as her team continued westward, "and for Goddess' sake, don't split away."

She kicked a can of Phoenix Energy down the sidewalk. It looked like a first edition can, released at the height of the mercenary's fame before the fateful incident on Delsauria. "We're overstaying our welcome here as it is. I intend to begin calling pickup down, making our first rescues or captures - I'm looking at Er'red - and moving on from this planet. Cavalry, you on standby?"

"Yes Captain." A voice unfamiliar to the Val'ta's expedition crew could be heard, a Fyunnen woman with authority on her shoulders. "We move in when you pull out." The Matriarchy had eyes on the system since it lost contact with Nepleslia and Yamatai and was host to all sorts of weird and horrible incidents, which had now thankfully died down, with knowledge on how to deal with unexpected events in tow.


Snow White and the Mech Pilot (Elm's Little Adventure)
Trevors looked at Ny'za, raising an eyebrow. "Well, they missed about a million people, but hey," he looked over to Momoko, shrugging and making his arsenal shake and clatter, "accentuating circumstances, right?"

Having finished his share of the noodles, Akira stood up and spoke in Yamatai-go to Momoko. Trevors didn't seem to understand what they were saying and looked out the window. A little back and forth occurred, then Norio stood up and joined in, apparently interested in whatever it is they were talking about. Then she looked over to Trevors, "So, we're being rescued by Lorath, basically."

"Before we call a rescue shuttle, can you confirm Knight's status? The robot who lives in the cottage?" Akira asked, in Trade. "He's very dear to us, and if you Lorath are scouts to a previously inhabited planet, someone must be watching you."

Ny'za couldn't recall off the top of her head, but she did have an implicit clearance to start evacuating (or arresting) people she trusted from Porrim. She did note that earlier, Porrim and her larger team were heading towards the cottage Akira was describing, so perhaps the robot was with her? The veterinarian hadn't checked in, so she couldn't be certain.


Er'red's Group, Cat's in the Bag
Similarly, Er'red had carte blanche with his prisoners, and while he was raiding the merchandise, he came back to see that their guests had started carrying a decent portion of their belongings, enough to make them all float together and carry it all between a tarpaulin and ropes, in addition to individual loads carried about their body. They wondered where Er'red was going when they made a detour, but stuck with the group, looking up at the skies together.

As the second in command for the expedition, Er'red had the authority to call the shuttles in to offload his goods, the prisoners, and/or his crew. The unspoken plan being that if all groups left the planet individually and let the rest of the Lorath Matriarchy swing by, they'd all be going to the same LSDF Val'ta. Was the ship itself bait? Hardly - Lorath doctrine decreed that exploration vessels, and combat vessels were one and the same - if a bigger threat was present, the ship would've been capable of dealing with it. Perhaps 'Vanguard' was a better description.
 
Porrim's Group, Office Microspace

Knight looked at Porrim and than he shrugged. He did not see a reason, why he should listen to the woman, but he also did not see a reason why not do what he was just asked to do. Kneeling down by the pilot of things he gathered from the scavengers, he grabbed them and gave it a look. Then he slowly clanked towards Ran, holding the two pistols and putting their safety on.

In front of the nepleslian, the little robot twirled the guns few times in his hands, which would look really cool in a movie and if they were revolvers. They were just shitty 10 mm pistols though. With that done, the guns ended up handles forward in the robots hands as he offered them to Ran.

"Well pardner," The robot said and chuckled. "I reckon, you will find more use of these then I would. I prefer six-shooters anyway."
 
Snow White and the Mech Pilot (Elm's Little Adventure)

One million people there were missed. This notion was worrisome, if there were still a million people on the planet there was a lot left to do. "If you know of anyone else that lives on the planet, once you're on our ship you can inform the captain of their locations and we can pick them up. As for this Knight...the captain visited that cabin earlier. I will check to see what his situation is." She spoke somewhat slow, making sure of her choice of words, she knew it was important to convey things right.

Her attention turned to Elm however and she smiled. "They want to know the situation of the robot, so I'm going to call the captain, but I think they'll want to come along." Her native tongue was much more fluent in speech and it came out so easily both to Elm and to the captain over the radio.

"Captain, Elm and I have a group here that is willing to be evacuated, however they want to know the status of the robot in the cabin."
 
Er'reds Shelter For Lost Kittens

Er'red did a quick headcount of his squad, making sure all six extra neko were there with their gear, plus his own squad, even little Jiji. Mirage seemed content to stay in her stinking pool of shame.

"Just how much luggage do six girls need?" Er'red asked as he saw the loads they were carrying, then he turned to start radioing.

"Aye, captain. I'll summon Curator now for pick-up. See you on the Val'ta soon, out."

Then he fumbled with the radio device, trying to make it work and whacking it with a hand before he thought he was on the right channel and speaking.

"Uh, Curator? This is squad two. Requesting immediate pick-up from the carpark location near the fallen over giant robot that stinks like ass, can't miss it. We have six extra plus luggage, over."
 
Mirage's Bipedal Fortress of Solitude

With the bickering over the former NMX Neko seeming to have drawn to a close Mirage found that she still had little reason to move from her location as her squad was still in the local area and until pickup there was little to do aside from continue her vigilant watch of the surroundings. While she hadn't engaged in any action, she had preformed her duty and she was confident that there was nothing that her... "Colourful" CO would find to complain about, that is assuming he stopped obsessing over the existence of a sewer system.

Gather Phase

When the opportunity presented itself, Mirage found herself travelling from shopping centre to shopping centre gathering up all of the trappings of civilization that called her attention in Misato City. This largely consisted of YE 34 Era UOC fashion and games be they tabletop, digital console, or simulation based. At the very least Mirage hoped that she'd provide the crew a store of entertainment options for their time between missions, and for all she knew one of them would be worth something.
 
Ashlinn - Er'reds Home for Wayward Catgirls.​

The appearance of the other Neko's and their luggage was met with a smirk from Ash as she tugged her helmet off. It'd chirp if there was anything important for her to be appraised of. The satchel of goods and telescope across her back made her look like some sorta power armored tomb raider. Sadly she neither had the bust, nor the lips for such a job so she settled for grinning as she heard Er'reds complaint about their luggage, "Oh honey, You've no idea how much luggage a girl can pack. They're packing light... Sir" She gave the poor man a break by grinning innocently towards him, professionalism had gone out the window a long while ago apparently.

Carefully picking her way towards Er'red she did however slip the helmet back on when it seemed pickup was inbound, "You know, sir, I think, aside from the hiccups and err, surprises, this went well."
 
Er'red's Shelter for Lost Kittens

Jiji looked at Er'red as he questioned how much luggage girls would need and couldn't help but laugh at the notion. "Well... They are Neko's, whether they're NMX or Yamataian, they are very material creatures... plus they're females, so they must have their do-dads and baubles..." She chuckled a bit before allowing him to speak into the radio. She decided to look up at the sky herself; and stared at it for the moment before she looked at Er'red. "So, wonder what they'll do with the NMX Neko's once we get them back to the ship..." She questioned.
 
Porrim's Group, It says: 'Lorath Go Home!'
Hearing what Ny'za was transmitting to her, Porrim decided to transmit a camera feed of the robot in question to Ny'za's communicator, letting it be projected to the refugees Ny'za and Elm were talking to. "I think the robot you're referring to is in capable hands. He's quite capable himself. Any reason for asking?" The cowboy-tin can in question was walking along side a very ticked off Nepleslian marine who was smoking yet another cigarette at breakneck speed.

Meanwhile, the group with Ny'za and Elm were with became quite cooperative when they saw that Knight was alive and well, they were willing to move around wherever the Lorath and Helashio pointed them. "I'll send a shuttle down to you to get out, and I'll see you on the Val'ta." Porrim meanwhile was making a call for a Journey to come her way once she and her team had finished gathering things...


Er'red's Group, No it doesn't!
With the cats under control and the order and Er'red's order put out to Val'ta, a Journey-class shuttle came down on the top floor of the carpark a few minutes later, followed by another for Er'red and his group's ill gotten gains to be transported on, along with the POWs...

All in all, the two ground teams boarded the Wayfarer and Journey shuttles with their gains and personnel after gathering all of their equipment. The personnel in the mecha flew back up to the Val'ta. Meanwhile, a shuttle landed near Knight's property to help him gather his belongings and animals. All personnel, refugees, and prisoners of war were transported safely.


LATER...
As things were wrapping up and disengaging on the Val'ta, a flotilla of LSDF vessels came out of FTL in the Tange system, ready to provide a more thorough integration of Tange IV, with a mission to clear out anything else that could've been left behind in the system, evacuate any other refugees, and refurbish what was there or build new infrastructure and buildings.

The system belonged to the Lorath now.


LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Flight Deck
Porrim was walking across the deck and stripping some of the heavier combat and exploration gear away, draping the scarf over her shoulder as she was unzipping her outer coat and letting her skin breathe a bit. While she and the expedition team were walking around in the freezing cold, they were still capable of sweating - and even heatstroke if they overexerted themselves. She was glad to see that nobody had been seriously injured in this first expedition, but she was concerned that this was merely the beginning. If things truly went wrong, the LSDF had the Val'ta's back here. Out in space, she wouldn't have that luxury.

The diverse array of items the crew had brought back from Misato City had pleased her too. On the way out, she'd gotten herself some crystal art pieces. Er'red's team seemed to have recovered a lot of objects and culture items - and six ex(?)-NMX Nekovalkyrja. They were scanned immediately for threats, their gear was put aside, and they were placed in a brig. As per request though, they did have regular contact. Porrim, however, was unable to offer much comment. In addition, they brought the wintery strain of Duq'closs with them, to which everyone realised they were eating them before they were even ripe.

Porrim's group had recovered quite a handful, including the possessions of the robot Knight, his dog, and the sheep. In addition, they also found a Nepleslian marine. She was briefly wondering what to do with the foul mouthed soldier, but on hearing the after-action reports of Menelik's instability in Er'red's group, a different Nepleslian could've been needed on the away team, and nobody else on the ship had really gotten her attention.

She quickly made inventory of all the things everybody had gathered before leaving Tange IV:
  • Porrim: Jewellery and artwork belonging to modernist Lorath artists, formerly displayed in a Jiyuuian museum.
  • Mirage: A selection of YE34 Jiyuuian home entertainment, including video games and tabletop games.
  • J'ann: An Aoi Tanaka demo CD, and an unreleased single that never made it out of Misato City.
  • Aran'ya: Biological samples of the tentacles of Mishhuvurthyar, taken from a former battlefield.
  • Ashlinn: Recordings of astrological phenomena including video, audio, and maps and charts; found in and around the Tange system.
  • Er'red: An assortment of Aoi Tanaka memorabilia and hardcopy albums.
  • Ny'za and Elm: The four survivors of the Misato Parkview Apartments:
    • Sasaki Akira: Former agriculture technology investor.
    • Takahara Momoko: Former band member of Aoi Tanaka's Big Band who was sent out to 'look for music' before the disaster struck.
    • Nobunaga Norio: A former farmer working on Tange II who was on Tange IV for a holiday.
    • Eric Trevors: Local Nepleslian man, and a skilled gunsmith.
  • Ny'za: She found animals and plant life!
    • Misato Elk
    • Misato Sheep
    • Misato Creeping Vines
  • Er'red's Group: The Carpark Cats:
    • Tsurgurm Akihiko: Former fireteam leader and unofficial leader of the Carpark Cats.
    • Ugindo Maya: Former combat engineer and second in command.
    • Emirella Sokino: Former medic. (still is)
    • Sarun Webber: Former infantry, was in charge of the Duq'closs farm.
    • Potta Inoue: Former infantry, was a scout.
    • Hulian Vee: Former infantry, was in charge of guarding storage and larder.
  • Knight:
    • His dog.
    • His personal possessions.
"For first mission, I'd say that went quite smoothly..." Porrim mumbled, unsure of whether what she'd put her team through was good at all without a previous frame of reference. Her past experiences boiled down to being a tourguide in the wilderness, but amidst the urban jungle she wasn't so sure of herself. She was more keen to catalogue all of these discoveries after the briefing, but she was interrupted.

The doors to the walkways into the ship opened, and standing there was Porrim's equal on the ship: her executive officer. A fyunnen woman, of orthodox bearing and regal stance, dressed well in uniform, a half-cloak of red draped about her and a beret on her head, white hair cut short. The name tag read 'Bel'meir'. "Captain." She got Porrim's attention with the sound of her boots, and an authoritative voice. She saluted them back. "Congratulations on first mission achieving its targets. I see the rumours around your less desirable habits are unfounded when you're on the ground."

"Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am." Porrim replied, dropping her salute when Bel'meir dropped hers.

"I'll leave you to the debrief, but we need to touch base on refining your on-ground exploration technique." The secondary Captain of the Val'ta was just a little taller than Porrim. "You nearly lost someone there, and your cross-group communication was lacking. The mecha were not well utilised, and some discipline is needed for the Nepleslian for attempting to subordinate Cadet Er'red."

And these were all things that troubled Porrim somewhat. If her group wasn't able to manage themselves effectively, then a severe enough upset during a mission could end up routing the squad. "Yes ma'am. Do you think we can train the personnel here on the Val'ta rather than on our eggshells?"

The orthodox captain, considered the idea for a moment, eye lazily glancing about her surroundings. "I am less familiar with the cutting edge technology of the ship, but I suppose that 'data strip' I see the soldiers taking advantage of for recreation could be used to simulate obstacles, as I have seen them project solid objects." Bel'meir looked about herself, at the ground, and saw nodes for the Data Strip in the floor, spaced out every metre on the launch deck's walking space.

Porrim looked down, having not noticed the cyan-blue nodes at first when she made her briefing. She did use it to get the Tange system's information up during the briefing, but didn't consider them for training. The executive officer straightened her back and got Porrim's attention, eyes on her superior. "Consult the gorilla-armed Nepleslian engineer or the whelp from the Consortium," she continued, "it is not my domain to erect the training environment, only to design the outcomes and direct it."

Bel'meir looked at a datapad, swiping at something before putting it away. "I will be doling out the promotions, but you may make some commendations yourself. Some of your soldiers performed admirably in the face of changing circumstances." She stood back and waited for Porrim to follow protocol. "Dismissed."

"Yes ma'am." Porrim saluted Bel'meir and replied, who saluted back and left the way she came. Porrim waited for her expedition personnel to simmer down so she could start the debrief. As she was waiting, she watched a sheep and an elk pace across the flight deck, sniffing at the unfamiliar surroundings, but pacified by the presence of Knight, Ny'za, and the robot's dog.

Meanwhile, the Parkview Apartments people were undergoing medical evaluation and talking to the Lorath personnel and Aran'ya via translation programs about their experiences on Tange, and current state of health. All of them were looking forward to the possibility of a stay and a hot meal aboard the Val'ta before being transferred to Lor's embassies and getting back home.
 
Akemi said:
"I actually own a business in Nepleslian space that was too Nepleslian for Yamatai so I don't think we'll have any cultural problems. Since you're running would you like to be taken with us then? We're going to explore and survey this place for resettlement so you could at least stick with us while we're here.
Click to expand...

"Fuckin' - anything Nepleslian is 'too Nepleslian' for Yamatai. You motherfuckers must have busted a part of your brain that lets you have fun without like mewling at each other or eating your fancy food, like..." Ran attempted to think up an example of the nearly alien food Yamataians ate, but was unable to. "...Fuckin' uhupaikon, or whatever the fuck passes for 'high cuisine' there. Whatever - you're not exactly green either so I guess you're not as bad as most of them."

Akemi said:
"Also, don't make me stun you in the balls for insulting m'lady Lycosa shitlord."
Click to expand...

Before Ran was able to utilize more profanity in determining who this Lycosa person was - and at the same time attempt to make some pretty insulting conjectures towards Akemi's sexual orientation - he was approached by an individual that would round out this odd group of characters that came to help him.

Knight said:
"Howdy pardner," Knight said and flicked the brim of his hat. "It seems we both are nepleslian estranged on this ugly planet. Let's tone the attitude down a notch. I bet you want to skedaddle off this planet as much as I do."
Click to expand...

Ran lit up another cigarette, his expression softening somewhat as he inquisitively sized up the robot. "What's a savtech doing all the way out here? I wasn't aware of any recent operations in this sector." Watching the robot then take orders from who he assumed to be their leader, Ran sat back with his rifle while Knight started rooting through the possessions of one of their captors, producing two 10mm pistols and offering them to Ran.

Knight said:
"Well pardner," The robot said and chuckled. "I reckon, you will find more use of these then I would. I prefer six-shooters anyway."
Click to expand...
Ran slung his rifle and took the two pistols, performing various function checks and cursory glances at the shape each pistol was in, before settling on one of the two of them. Deciding two of the same pistol was a bit redundant, Ran took the magazine out of the other pistol and tucked it in his back pocket, tucking the single 10mm pistol he selected in his front pocket.

"I think you and I will get along fine, tin can." At that, Ran lit another cigarette and followed the robot out with the group to their shuttle.
 
Gather Phase

After showing everyone that the robot was safe and giving them instructions on boarding the shuttle when it arrived, Ny’za made her way back out into her Whirlwind, she had spotted some interesting things along the way and since she had proper environmentally sealed cages, she wanted to do some collecting.

First she sat down cages near the clearing where Knight lived and with the help of her Dennis android, she ushered a pair of the creatures into the cages. While she was doing so she noticed some other animals near the trees, they were more like elks, so she wrangled a pair of them as well. Both cages were sealed and lifted by the Whirlwind and stored securely. The last addition were some vines she had noticed encroaching on buildings. They were potted and stored in smaller containers and then put into the hip compartments, which were also environmentally controlled and sealed.

On Val’ta

Back on the deck of the Val’ta, Ny’za had some deckhands take the plant samples to the lab, while she released the animals. Of course they were eager to know what was going on and the males wanted to make sure the territory was safe. So likely with the help of Knight and his dog, Ny’za and Rhiq worked at trying to keep the animals under control and corral them to the animal shelters.
 
Ashlinn - Er'red's Group, No it doesn't! - Back on the Val'ta

After loading up on the shuttle for the ride back up Ash eventually removed her helmet and clipped it to her hip, her armored tail flexed occasionally as she stayed standing and held onto a handhold for support, more because, well, the girls had packed a lot of stuff. And because she felt as if sitting would make her pass out. She did however take the time to check her equipment and make sure she had everything she had landed with. It had felt weird being in full battle rattle and not having fired a single shot. After arriving back on the Val'ta Ash was the first one out the door and helped unship all the gear, get everything stowed and after a few minutes she was left standing off to the side without anything to do as she casually bounced her copy of the astrological data.

She was actually looking forwards to extracting the sounds from files and adding them to the collection she already had. though her eyes were on the ground as she passed the chip back and forth between her hands. She was mentally going over the whole situation and the way it had all fallen apart. That caused her tail to flick slightly in annoyance, as impartial and neutral as she was, she couldn't help the feeling the whole situation could have gotten horribly out of hand if things hadn't blown over the way they had. After a moment she stopped passing the chip back and forth and slipped it into a pouch onto her hip and looked up fro mthe deck as she overheard some of Porrims exchange with her XO. She even involuntarily winced a bit in sympathy for the Captain.
 
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Er'reds Team, On Planet

"Are you kidding, Santo Hei? My hair is a mess under this mask, and these women pack like men!" Er'ed replied to Ashlinns ribbing.

As the shuttle landed he stepped up into the hold and sat with his arms and legs crossed as everything was packed. He fastened his seatbelt as the took off, just in case. He seemed to be one of the few with wings here but none of them could fly.


Back On Val'ta

Er'red gingerly jumped and hopped around the luggage littering the floor of the shuttle and jumped off, pacing around the shuttlebay trying to warm up but not look like it. With a loud sniff he started trying to work at the mask over his face, struggling with the tight, half frosted fabric looking like he was was between trying to strangle himself, or wrenching off some kind of serpentine constrictor.

"Bloody tight clothes!" He grunted, staggering around the shuttlebay a little bit before with the rip of sticky leather being pulled from skin the last came free off his head.

After fussing with his hair and making sure all was in order he went up to the captain to make his report. Saluting crisply, he looked up at the tall captain and tried to smile comfortingly.

"Captain, ma'am. Speaking frankly, don't feel bad about losing the morale officer. Ji'xa is so short we almost lost her in the snow, too." He joked.
 
LSDF Val'ta, Deck 7, Vehicle Hangar

The return to the Val'ta had proven to be just as calm as Mirage's deployment to the surface of Tange, that is to say ideal. Upon returning to their home ship, Mirage had lagged a little, allowing the flurry of activity to largely pass before directing her Whirlwind to the maintenance bay. Here she had sat in the fluid filled enclosure of her cockpit until the need to begin the maintenance procedures to ensure that the Whirlwind was ready for its next sortie was made clear.

Flicking a switch to drain the fluid, Mirage cleared her lungs before retrieving her kit, and stepped onto the scaffolding with a lazy stretch. She honestly felt like she had enjoyed a long nap, rather than been on a mission, the interpersonal friction of her squad having been of little interest beyond her quiet observation. Thankfully her squad had held together and she hadn't had to erase the remnants of a mutiny on site.

Turning her attention to the mech she had exited, Mirage noted with some wry amusement that whatever had been claimed to be on the Whirlwind's chassis had been cleaned off during flight, if there had been anything at all... Either way she was certain that the Cadet would be crushed at the loss. It had been his favourite part of the sortie.
 
Back on the Val'ta

Aran'ya eventually rejoined her compatriots from the Val'ta after her little exploratory mission was done, catching the next shuttle ride back home with at least a better mood than she had left on. Even if she didn't manage to find a trace of the wayward science team member, the L'manel did get the Mishhu samples she came for -- a fair consolation prize that would keep the spider-aspected biochemist and poisons specialist busy for quite awhile. And who knows... more lab time meant just that many more chances to get clues about Mar'zhaz Keib's true whereabouts on the exploratory vessel... her predatory natures wouldn't just give up so easily. Tarantis spiders were known to be very, very patient after all with their prey.

She did feel bad for Akemi though... not a trace of a Nightmare to be found for the poor little Neko to get his alien slasher porn jollies on with. Maybe that was why he was so quick to scalar shot to the groin of that poor sap in the office building out of frustration. Widow guessed she should just accept the fact the wise-cracking jerk was going to be following "her majesty" around like a lost Helashio a little bit longer... but deep down she also kind of liked it.

The Trooper debarked the shuttle with minimal pleasantries in a bit of a rush to get the samples she was carrying to the primary science lab first for containment she had set aside previously (considering even having such biohazards aboard could be viewed as highly dangerous, she was lucky the Captain hadn't blocked the project straight out). Once that was done, it was back to the changing area to get out of her WIND suit proper, though she did manage to catch the tail end of Cadet Er'red shedding the skin tight armor with reckless abandon and get a good little laugh as he fussed with his hair afterwards. He talked tough down on Tange, but just like a man in the end, eh...

It was however, soon back to the grind for Aran'ya, as the medic tended to her duties for the refugees they had taken on, starting with the parkview apartment residents encountered by Elm and Ny'za. There was physicals to be done and questionnaires to be filled out, and the translation programs she was forced to use at times to compensate for her limited Trade didn't make it any easier. As the interviews progressed, though, Widow couldn't help but be reminded of several years ago of the work she did when she first joined the LSDF after the Moonfall incident, working with native Lorath refugees on the Nyli resettlement project as way to cope with her own losses... the similarities certainly were strong between her experiences and the ones of the left-behind Jiyuuians.

The short-haired Lmanel idly fingered the colorful stones of her necklace in between recordings and stifled a small tear where the residents couldn't see it. Though she never seemed it by her attitude, she still was deeply religious... and in that moment Widow prayed in her heart to the Goddess that this was the last time she had to see this tragedy play out again.
 
Then

The robot looked at the chain-smoking dirty nepleslian ex-marine, its little eyes whirred as it got everything in focus, before nodding.

"Aye, I reckon we will. Meat-can." Knigt said and let an electronic chuckle. That was all needed to be said now.

Now

Knight exited the shuttle, walking next to Ran. The robot had a large locker on his shoulder and behind himself he dragged a large coffin-like machine that was the pod he used to charge, arm or repair himself. Although both items looked fairly heavy, the little robot carried them without visible effort.

"-and so I buried the smuggler. He died just a bit after our little chat. There was I was alone on the foreign planet with a vessel in ruins. Well it was a bit of a pickle, but I found some friends and set myself up." Knight was just finishing telling the story of how he ended up on the plan, telling it to Ran.

"I guess goverment will want me back sooner or later, but I don't really worry way too much about it pardner. What about you? how did you ended up stranded on Tange?"
 
LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Flight Deck
With things having settled down a bit and the secondary operations regarding recovered people and items were going smoothly for the moment. Porrim figured now was as good a time as ever to begin the debrief. She cleared her throat and clicked her heels together against the deck. "Ladies, gentlemen, to attention!" She called out, watching the Expedition team fall into line.

"Our first expedition was a test run, in a fairly controlled environment, with support at our heels should a disaster bigger than we could handle alone have come to pass." Porrim seemed stern, her usual buoyancy from being outside having not lasted long with the tarnishes in the expedition being glaring. She was speaking Ly'thir, but the Data Strip on the ground was projecting holographic subtitles in Trade and Yamatai-Go a moment after Porrim said something. This ensured everyone could hear her get angry. "Thankfully, we did not need external support, but judging from what I've seen of you on performance, you all need some work."

She rolled her neck and exhaled, nostrils flaring. "I understand that what we are attempting to do, as three distinct nations together on one ship, will have some teething issues. Such a thing hasn't been done before on a military scale, and the idea may appear ridiculous, but I am convinced it can work." Porrim did give some slack where it was due, but there was still plenty to be disappointed in, the tips of the feathers on her wings were puffed. "All that needs to happen is an open mindset. Realise there are predisposed ideas of each other, as we need to come to grips with our limitations on the field sooner rather than later."
Captain Porrim said:
"I'm not the best at soldiering. How do you reckon we go about this...?"
Click to expand...
Captain Bel'meir said:
"You nearly lost someone there, and your cross-group communication was lacking. The mecha were not well utilised, and some discipline is needed for the Nepleslian for attempting to subordinate Cadet Er'red."
Click to expand...
"If you can't drop those ideas and work smartly with each other instead of falling back on a cartoon pantomime of dogs and cats and birds together in a flying high school with frequent field trips," Porrim looked about and walked with her hands behind her back, gaze settling intensely on Akemi and J'ann, but Menelik copped the worst of it. She was projecting a motherly scorn as though they'd been caught red handed in the cookie jar - and the Nepleslian in the Hostile was practically being bored through by her stare, large black wings threatening to slap him. "I'd recommend handing in your resignation papers. Those who want to shape up, fall in line."

Porrim slowed her pace and looked down at a patch of ground beside her, and with a couple of gestures and a whisper, she displayed a board with members of the expedition on it. Everyone's faces and names appeared. Menelik's was redded out, with the words 'UNFIT FOR DUTY - SUBORDINATION' stamped on them. J'ann and Akemi had orange on their name tags, but it seemed Porrim was angrier with J'ann, as Akemi had shown some competence during the venture while J'ann was both underprepared, and taken hostage. Even then, Porrim made a personal note never to let Akemi open their mouth.

Contrasting the angry hues were green backgrounds for Ny'za, Aran'ya, Elm, Ashlinn, and Er'red. Together, they were considered to be responsible for setting the bar for how to explore. Everyone else merely had a yellow backdrop on theirs, including Porrim's, indicating mere indifference or an average performance.

There were some odd inclusions in the roster upon further inspection, Dr. Kalopsia was in the lineup, and was pegged as a 'yellow', with the subtitle 'What was she doing here again?'. Meanwhile, Knight and Ran appeared at the bottom, their panels white with 'NEW PERSONNEL?' written over them.

"To our two new guests, Knight and Ran, I offer you service aboard the Val'ta. Your choice whether you'd like to stay or not. If not, we'll drop you off at the nearest embassy and let you go home together." Porrim extended a hand to them both. "As members and machinery of the Nepleslian Space Marine Corps, you are eligible to serve here under the DATASS treaty, with a reinstated rank once the relevant paperwork clears out."

"I recommend we all undergo movement and coordination training en route to our next destination. We did not communicate effectively within and between the groups. Mecha Team, you are invited to come along. Bel'meir felt you were not utilised well." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "In the end, I'm glad nobody got seriously hurt, but we can't afford to be reckless to each other in our next expeditions."

Porrim slammed her foot against the ground and turned to face briefing group. "You have thirty six hours to yourselves to eat, sleep, and unwind as you see fit until I begin the training program. Those with injuries, report to medbay on Deck 3 for examination." She puffed up her chest. "Dis-missed!"

No sooner had everyone dropped their salute, she was walking towards the elevators up to the upper decks, clearly ready to call it a day. "I'm going to the bar! Ursula had better not be stingy! Hey, I need someone from Science to catalogue everything we picked up too...!"

The subtitles helpfully translated her parting words too.

EXPEDITION 1 - COMPLETE!
 
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