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

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck
Captain Porrim was moving through the hallways towards the agreed upon location, when J'ann approached them and gave them quite a lengthy spiel about why they should go too. However, nothing in Porrim's file on J'ann suggested that they had any skill for the mission at hand, so they weren't selected initially. To say the least, she was a little sceptical, offering her a claim that he would be getting to know the soldiers on the ground.

"I've heard of embedded reporters, but embedded morale officers?" She asked the leggy dancer. "What will you do to the wilderness we'll be walking through? Dance at it? We'll be out there for about twelve hours in cold, perhaps freezing conditions."

Porrim let out a pained sigh at the Morale officer when she saw how he was dressed. Still in uniform. "The briefing's very soon and you still don't have any equipment. If you really wanted to be in, you'd have gotten dressed properly at least rather than yapping about it like spring Ey'tis." She gave him a flick on the forehead as she walked onto the launch deck, but he was still following her. Alright, I have to give him some way to get off my arse. If I stop he'll walk right up it, she conceded, perhaps condescendingly.

"If you know your way around a rifle at least and can get yourself some winter gear before my briefing ends, I'll let you stay in shuttle 1 to fill the extra spot with the other specialists. Otherwise," she seemed quite frank with the Morale Officer's behaviour, "you'll just have to sit on a stone, sunshine." She stuck her tongue out at him and left them behind, gazing across the launch deck and spotting three Whirlwinds, and three Journey shuttles, and most of the assembled group she'd called upon.

"Ah, ladies, gentlemen, welcome." She said, clapping her hands together as she now turned attention to those assembled. "Good to see you all dressed so well and equipped for the occasion." She spotted Er'red with the field service kit in his hands and several people rubbing bruised spots on their arms and necks. "I trust you're all receiving the correct immunisations from our nurse?"

Speaking of, Porrim needed a jab too. There was only a few minutes away from the briefing starting anyway, and Porrim needed a moment to review the materials. She bought up her datapad, getting an uplink ready for the science team. "Science team, how's the preliminary scan going?"

A dusky sounding voice, perhaps familiar to those who were around a long time ago replied. The line seemed distorted and unclear for some reason. There wasn't a clear image of a face either, the video line was very bad. "Gotta... couple of areas of interest 'round Misato City, could be survivors, stragglers, bandits, maybe criminals usin' the place for how wrecked it is." It couldn't have been him though, could it? "Only way t' find out is go down yourself. I ain't gettin' significant radio signals." They sounded country as could be when their accent was discernible. "Should be a nice romp. Keep on your toes though."

"Right, right." Porrim replied, clincal. "Transmit me your findings and I'll start the briefing in a bit."

"Right. Pri-Sci out." The image linked washed out and went to static. In its place, a blank screen appeared, followed by some bullet points of points of interest. Porrim examined the findings. Still a couple of minutes left, and she hoped to the Goddess J'ann had procured something other than his skivvies...

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

Elm perked up at the sound of that voice.

She had taken a spot unobtrusively behind J’ann and Porrim without being obvious or signaling that she were present. She had geared herself up as soon as she had woke in the morning and received the notification during her walk-of-shame past the officer staterooms, and had been preparing for this the rest of the time, since she didn’t have a duty station aboardship except in the broad sense of existing as a person in uniform.

It also allowed her to practice with the “Peeper” lens over her left eye, held in place by an askew headband. The dichotomy between the enhanced vision and her other eye had made her head hurt until she had gotten used to it.

As a scout, she also carried a surveyor’s stave—a long, black, metal tube almost her full height, with various survival and surveying related functions—along with a Stalewart Enforcer, her new, personal sidearm. She also carried a multitude of gear; rope, climbing gear, along with several days’ rations, water, firemaking gear, and so on. The Wind suit helped her carry it all, along with a stockless Deshe'vo. Adaptive camouflage applied to the Wind, to the guns, and to her pack made her coloration strange. Since it wasn’t immediately adaptive, but instead adapted to whatever was around it, Elm was a mottled mix of colors except where she had pulled her hood down. There, her shoulders had taken the white-silver color of her hair and pale skin, like a snow-capped mountain.

Except she was actually very, very small.

Thinking that perhaps she had heard incorrectly, she picked up her pace a bit, Stave in one hand. She entered the Launch Deck a little bit after the Captain.

Aside from the Captain, Elm didn’t have a particular squad, so she took a spot next to just about anyone – this time, Menelik. She looked up at him for a moment, to see if he'd mind, and then decided that really it didn't matter.

"Hi."

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

"Its Menelik Berhane. Or just Private, if you don't want to learn my name, sir" He said with a smile to Er'red, craning his neck to reveal some dark skin within the Hostile's collar. "This good enough, sir? I don't intend on leaving this armor, but it's always good to be safe, right?" If it hadn't been for the odd angle he had been craning his neck at, Menelik might not have seen the Helashio speaking to him. Oh by the creator she was an adorable small one, wasn't she? By his Son she barely went up to his midsection, but even with her height he knew not to let himself form... probably wrong assumptions about her. It wouldn't do, would it.

"Hello, Sir." He said to the woman, unable to salute her and replacing it with the offer of an extended hand. "Private Menelik Berhane, NSMC. Nice to meet you."

"Keep dreaming, playboy." Er'red replied.

Carefully the field service unit was maneuvered around the bulky armor and with a hiss delivered the nanomachines into the neplesians neck with the faint feeling of pressure and then it was gone. Er'red stepped back from the armor clad man and looked down at Elm who had appeared next to him.

"Hand, please." He said professionally to the helashio. Not showing any disdain, just a nurse with a lot of patients to get through today.

"Nepleslians, showing necks. So uncouth." Er'red grumbled, looking around for the next one, lips pursed. "Captain, one for you too?"

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

Instead, Elm tossed her head and offered her neck, free of hair, as the Nepleslian had done.

"The Wind is already settled on," she explained, to allay the curiousity.

Passing the stave over to her other hand, she took the man's massive paw and shook it politely, but likely nowhere near as forcefully as he might have been used to.

"I am Scout Petra. You can call me Ghost, if you like."

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

Aran'ya returned the salute to the armored Nepleslian casually, as he wasn't forgotten. "Nice to see you again, Soldier Berhane. Though I think the only show we've got going on is this cartoon character right here."

She was about to help him collar Akemi when the target scurried around to the back of her WIND suit and hid from the hulking Hostile, spitting sexual comments and shaking up against her backside like some feline in heat. "Hey! Don't get so touchy feely or I'll be the one penetrating your thick skull instead," grumbled the medic, as she reached around to grab the clingy male Neko in a playful but still quite painful headlock amplified by her suit, the tip of his forehead butting lightly up against the bottom point of her Searing Blade scabbard near her left thigh.

She was about to squeeze a little more when suddenly something froze Widow in her tracks, the audio feed from the science team emanating from Porrim's datapad naturally caught by her long, three pointed L'manel ears. Akemi could feel a quiver go up her spine he was still in contact with, and see from his vantage point that something visibly changed in her face and shifting hazel eyes washed out to a nearly purple coloration. That voice... it had a heavy accent to it but still it stood out to her... could it be...

"Keib?" Aran'ya murmured almost unconsciously in the Captain's direction, as the nondescript video feed from the science team soon blanked out and left her without an immediate answer.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

Akemi let himself be moved however Aran'ya wished and obediently endured the grapple. When he noticed the way she reacted to the stranger's voice he decided to makes his escape and squeezed out of her grasp to literally fly off back to the armory. In very little time he reappeared naked carrying a WIND and slowly began to slip into it in an attempt recapture the L'manel's attention and vex the rest of the crew. "Had to go back and get extra protection as I obviously have to watch my back from more than whatever is out there." He shot Menelik a very brief look of disapproval while deliberately giving him an extensive sideways view of his chiseled, immaculate form, wiry muscles rippling as he stood tall and donned the armor with false uncertainty. "Couldn't let myself be late for the briefing either." The Neko cast his gaze around the room in search of any appraising eyes while still trying to fake being quite involved in getting dressed.

Er'red's mouth twisted and he instead levered the field unit around to the side of Petra's neck, just under the chin.

"You should be more careful showing people your neck." He chided lightly before moving on.

"Captain, ma'am. Your turn." He said, in the right tone of voice to not be an order but with the expectation of obedience. Studiously ignoring the showboating male nekovalkrja.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck
Porrim gave no mind to the naked Nekovalkyrja, absolutely none at all. What she did do however, to satisfy Er'red's request was unwrap her scarf from her neck, grab her collar ... and pull it down! The captain's long, beautiful neck was bare under that winter gear she was wearing! Not even a skivvy or underclothing, how uncouth! She ... even had a necklace on! A stone square with something engraved onto it on a black loop!

"Mm," Porrim said, happy to feel some fresh air against her neck - she knew it was going to be covered for the entirety of the mission or risk frostbite, "make it quick Er'red."

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

My'ean watched from a short distance, still tightening up portions of her pilot suit, fastening belts and straps about the extraneous elements as she strode through the launch-deck. For her, this was business as usual. She took careful note of who was where as she approached her frame which she'd loaded hours prior with everything else.

Her own personal unit had down its right-side a pair of white speed-lines down the shoulder-blocks and a faint white decal of a wolf with a paint-scheme of something resembling carbon fiber with a clear-coat above it. Stood between its legs, rapping her knuckles on its thigh: Stepping in reverse as the machines torso slid down like an apron into two halves; front and back.

The thing narrowly missed her head as she stopped maybe inches from the slowly swinging front hatch: the concave side of which stretched and folded into ladders. She climbed up into the sarcophagus cockpit: sat over the saddle, legs in their proper cavities and got comfortable before reaching into the arm cavities: Pulling something that secured her pilot-suit's back and legs to the interior turning the suit into a harness.

My'ean briefly gave Porrim a nod, hand up in a stationary wave, whirling her index finger to the deck crew as the thing battoned up and sealed. Next, she selected her mission-loadout, equipment being lifted out from the deck on arms, fastened by pit-crew busying about her. She took a large compound rifle of some sort in each hand: Switchblade mechanism flipping it flush with the underside of the arm and sliding the second hand forth which then clutched her primaries.

Content, clamps come loose about the body from a support-arm on the deck as it strode freely from its pen like a prized horse in the knowledge that today was race-day.

With the care of a mother walking amongst small children, she floated slowly above the deck like a puppet, touching down by those she'd be working with.

"Mirage, you're on my left; you're orthodox and a Rhosvol at that so I'm expecting good things of you. Pitch, you seem more generalized in your training so I'll bring you up to speed: Until you touch down, your job is to fall back on my right. We triangulate, feed that back to the shuttles and extend their local sensor range in support of telecom from the val'ta, given that an ionosphere can lens sensor data, potentially screwing up our ground mapping and landing-site if the weather changes. We're not expecting much in the way of resistance, so chatter is fine. Keep in mind you're carrying a lower external ordanance than we are because of the collection and scanning equipment. You can get out of the cockpit if you feel the need but if things turn hot don't be surprised if we borrow your frame if you can't keep up so keep that in mind. If you think something's wrong, speak up about it. A wallflower that doesn't speak up about harm can turn a whole mission sour. Other than that, try to enjoy yourselves: Its a new boat and its a bad omen for the first mission to go badly."

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

♫ Undertale - Dr. Alphys

"Wait, hold up"

"Wait, wait!" a tall figure came trotting through the launch-bay, jogging. It was meant to be running but given the load she was carrying a jog was pretty respectable.

She was followed by a large basket-ball sized metal sphere that rolled after her: its outer case rolling but its eye always forward resemling the one that sat below a Winter's neck, resembling the large golden bell about a cat's neck.

It was Doctor Kalopsia.

She stood before Porrim in a thick coat of tanned unvarnished leathers and fur in white and thick heavy boots, an undersized survival pack behind her and some sort of altex bodysuit in gleaming gray, her body laminated beneath it all, showing off her legs. Fur framed her neck, wrists and thighs about the overcoat. Her boots were blended into the gray altex suit.

Bent forward.Hands on her thighs, panting.

Her features beamed with excitement before she remembered where she was, fingers pushing her glasses up her nose, eyeing Petra, then Porrim once more and she reigned herself in. Still panting.

"Room for one more?" she started out. She had to sweeten the deal for Porrim. "Ideally bunking with you?" she elbowed her.

Then she glanced to Petra again, then to Porrim. And again.

Hand on her hip, thumbing at Elm. Smug mode activate.

"Given our mutual friend here, I'd feel pretty safe." she paused, holding her tongue of Strong back. Hard worker: which would of course be in jest but most likely lost on Elm given her racial disability. Truly, helashio had no sense of humor. Though...

"Wait... Don't I know you?"

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

Seeing that pretty much everyone had gathered and they were also getting their inoculations, Ny'za got out of her cockpit and climbed down the Whirlwind's leg before moving closer to the rest of the group. All of that aside though, she wanted to stand by her friends for this, not just sitting up in her mech alone. Once her feet were on the deck she made her way over to Aran'ya and Ji'xa with a smile, even despite Akemi's proximity.

She had heard Aran'ya mutter a familiar name, but she wasn't too sure what she was talking about, and the look she had was complicated, so Ny'za spoke up, in a rather excited voice. "I'm really glad we all made it onto the same ship. I can't be on the same squad as you guys, but I'll be making sure there's nothing big and dangerous around." She was even able to ignore Akemi's shameless display by focusing on her friends, maybe a little too much, since she had not greeted the others around them.

There was one thing that got her attention though and that was My'ean's orders. She listened carefully and then gave a nod. "I'm aware of my lower ordinance and I don't plan to hold you guys back. I wont be collecting samples until I'm sure things are secure." Her tone had switched to a serious one and she was looking at My'ean as she spoke. She might have had a more generalized training, but she kept herself ready to perform her roles fully, not just as a substitute.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6, Launch Deck

"I'll gladly take it upon myself to guard her!" Akemi eagerly declared, reflexively raising and waving a hand as if he were a kid in a classroom desperate for attention. "Nice outfit." He gave the good doctor a friendly, toothy smile. "I swear I'd keep my eyes glued on her."

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

Instead of the social engagement that had clustered around the shuttles, Mirage instead noted the arrival of her superior First Lieutenant Blackwolf. The boarding of the unfamiliar frame was watched curiously via the Whirlwind's optics, Mirage slowly coming to the conclusion that it had to be one of the test types of the Winter's successor. Noting that their ship wasn't the only thing in the roster that was experimental Mirage was taken from her thoughtful reverie by Blackwolf's brief and to the point instructions.

Confirming that her orders were understood, Mirage offered a salute with measured caution so as not to flail the Whirlwind's arms about needlessly while keeping its potentially fatal feet in place. With the formalities completed for the moment and the wait for the briefing leaving her mind to wander Mirage wondered when the First Lieutenant had encountered her family, it had probably been here parents, but when? Or perhaps she merely had read up on her file? Useless questions she supposed but the curiosity was there.

To take her mind from the idle queries Mirage focused her attention on the latest, and least composed arrival, the ship's very own reclusive Dr. Kalopsia. The L'manel was accompanied by some sort of drone Mirage did not recognize and all in all for how quickly rumors had spread among the crew of her distant nature she seemed excitable enough for the trip. The observation was ruined however by the quip from their perpetual burden, the male cat. Hopefully he'd keep to his cheerful commentary, she didn't want their sortie to be delayed by disciplinary action.

With Akemi as the catalyst, Mirage found herself wondering where Ashlinn was. The Neko had been on the itinerary for the mission, however the green Neko wasn't among those who had gathered so far. A curious discrepancy given her earlier enthusiasm.

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

Blowing out a puff of air, Menelik swiftly donned his Hostile's helmet and went through the checklist to get it operational. With his face hidden between the armor and hardware of the helmet he was safe and didn't need to worry about Fucking Akemi and his sexual harassment of everyone; The Medic's cold stares; Dr Kalopsia, who he had resolved to avoid at all costs; or anything but the mission for that matter. With the helmet on he wasn't Menelik Berhane, naive Marine who wanted to do the right thing and protect people at all costs. At least he wasn't to the observation of anyone who wasn't in the armor. He was just another faceless and unimportant mook for all intents and purposes.

With his reputation and any dignity he might've had already thoroughly trashed by Fucking Akemi, it was nice to retreat. He took a step back, then another- not quite hiding behind Elm but he was already behind her, taking more slow steps. Maybe if he was quiet about it, Fucking Akemi or Dr. Kalopsia wouldn't notice if he just went into his assigned shuttle and sat down and waited. That would be nice. It'd be boring and lonely, and he did want to talk and spend time with people, but not with Fucking Akemi and Dr. Kalopsia around. It wasn't even that he was afraid of him, just that Menelik could feel a rising indignation and frustration towards the cat that would eventually manifest in punching Fucking Akemi in the face, and he couldn't do that. Not in front of the Captain.

Er'red dark cheeks tinged red slightly as he quickly put the field unit carefully against the Captains coffee colored sun-kissed supple skin and gave her her dose of nanomachines, the light flesh completely unmarked once it was revealed again. Er'red's skill now showing with someone who mattered.

Er'red stepped back and put the field service unit down and looked to the side. "T-there you go, Captain."

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

"Seriously, is the entire infantry team just one overt clusterfuck bound for failure?" Ix'ion tried his best to keep his visage in check while seething internally at the poor display of discipline shown by two members of the assigned infantry. Literally, they were acting like children that were in need of strict punishment and hadn't received a single lick.

"Akemi, as much as the good doctor would love your attention and perhaps even you to be her personal guard..." His voice dripped of sarcasm while he maintained a bit of an evil smile, continuing, "I have a more important job for you. It involves you keeping your hands off others of the away team, lest you want them removed."

Ix'ion then looked over to the sulking Nepleslian, honestly not having the patience to deal with an overly emotional. "Mene, have you no honor?" He walked over closer to the hulking, heavily armored PA calling out to the supposed Marine. "What do you think your drill sergeant, or better yet, anyone from your initial unit would be saying to you seeing you like this? You would be laughed out of the Marines, or beaten to a pulp without a doubt for... acting like a bitch, would you not? Grit your teeth and straighten up... otherwise I can assure you, the worst has yet to come."

The subtle transition of Ix'ion's voice shifted from sharp and nearly mocking to something more akin to that of a brother... a brother in arms. Maybe the angle would resonate with the Neppie.

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

"I am avoiding further trouble, Sir." Menelik said calmly, his voice amplified by his armor. His arms were crossed and the large, single, purplish eye of the helmet gazed directly at Ix'ion. He hadn't been sulking, so to speak, just getting away from a problem before he did something foolish. That was reasonable and smart, yeah?

"Nothing good can come of me interacting with that molester, and I would rather not be made the fool of again. So I'm just going to stand right here and avoid trouble, rather than doing what I want to do and interact with my shipmates."

The rest of the crew faded to nothing, as Ghost fought back the immediate urge to jump.

The Aiesu she recalled had been a different Aiesu. Ghost had been told this when she had expressed her reluctance last night to the Captain. This one was taller, bustier, and seemed physically incongruent with the waiflike little girl of before. But it was the same person. The voice grated Elm’s nerves, and the way the woman stood didn’t strike her as funny. She moved her tail on purpose, but found that Menelik had ducked behind her for some reason. She spared him a glance, remembering that she would be seen, whatever she did, and that she was in public.

In public with the smug, most demeaning person that Ghost could recall out of her short memory.

“We do.”

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

Unfortunately, Akemi's brazen display of his physique to divert her attention and Menelik's actions were not enough, Aran'ya still locked in her own rapid mental machinations for a few more moments. This was about a man who mattered much more to her than these two attention grabbers, after all.

Shit... was he under my nose this entire time I was fooling around with that cat after the briefing? He would have been in the science labs, though... unless its purposeful, reclusive in the bowels of the ship like Dr. Kalopsia over there. Protecting him? It's probably because of the Akahar isn't it... Goddess damnit, I have to get down to the surface and see if he's OK. And give him a piece of my mind about hiding all these years... that ridiculous country bumpkin accent ain't fooling me one bit.

It was only when Ny'za walked over to the group and spoke that the L'manel's internal debate was truly interrupted, hastily bringing herself back to the matter in front of her with a little smirk. "Oh.. er.. it is good, isn't it. You're looking a lot more confident in the pilot's seat, too, Ny'za. Am I right when I heard you're also collecting some of the local fauna? Probably going to have to expand Yabeu with a whole other biome."

LSDF Val'ta, Launch Deck

"Look, Mene... I understand. I get it, really. I just do not agree with your line of thinking. You are not always going to able to remove yourself from situations, however, it is expected of you as a soldier to maintain better control of your emotions. I am not asking you to pull yourself together and ignore the cat, I am ordering you to now." Ix'ion narrowed his eyes, looking at the Nepleslian, then turned on walked back toward the group. If Mene didn't come to his senses now, Ix'ion would council Porrim into having him replaced.