RP [Frontier Skies] Aerospace Artistry

[Immortal Cyan]

RP Date

YE 45.3

RP Location

YSS Teisenjou

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

Araya Mikasa took a deep breath.

She had just sent a transmission inviting pilots in the 52nd Squadron to the volumetrics chamber for a late night, extracurricular training simulation. Having constructed a mission scenario that she hoped would test their skills, build chemistry, and help unlock the limits of the Mozu, Mikasa was on pins and needles in anticipation of initializing the simulation. The blonde-haired Neko wanted nothing more than to shed her unsightly C rating and progress towards earning a pilot rating that would attract awe and admiration from her peers.

A C rating was nothing if not mediocre.

It almost went without saying that doing additional simulations and training activities beyond the mandatory exercises would help her improve her rank that much faster, or so Mikasa hoped. Unfortunately, the blonde-haired Neko didn’t like doing simulations alone. As such, she considered pulling her squadmates away from their dinner or personal time a small price to pay for staving off the dreary solitude that often came with training on her own. However, it wasn’t like the other pilots had to come! Mikasa was just a Hei and as such couldn’t impose any sanctions for nonattendance, nor would she have done so had she possessed the power to do so. Sleep, dinner, and recovery were still important, after all. She could only hope that her squadmates had a late night itch to fly or perhaps, were just bored.

In those cases, Mikasa hoped to give her squadmates something stimulating to commit to!

 

[Waffles]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

For Menelaos, the opportunity for team building trumped his usual night filled with sunning in his modified barracks room while studying various flight manuals. The reading of flight manuals was how he managed to stay ahead of the game as one of the few Separa'Shan SAoY pilots, it was also one of the many ways he maintained his high pilot ranking.

The simple fact that he had already met Mikasa on Yamatai while he waited for his official orders made him feel somewhat obligated to answer her request with his appearance. However, more than that though, he felt it was only proper that Mikasa see a friendly face among their squadmates. On top of all that, this was a social outing for the 52nd, likely the first of many to build comradery within the team.

He was unsure what the Pilot Rankings of the others were, but he knew that if through these simulations he could up his own rank to the next level any extra work would be worthwhile.

This was why Menelaos would enter the chamber wearing his flight suit, with his helmet tucked under his left arm.

"Greetings once again, Mikasa."

 

[Immortal Cyan]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

Mikasa’s gaze lit up with the Separa’Shan’s arrival.

“Menelaos!” The blonde-haired Neko quickly floated towards the Venis’s arms for a hug, if he so wished. “You came! Thank Chiharu, I was really hoping that I wouldn’t be alone.” Mikasa gave a relieved sigh, a soft smile forming across her features as she did. “You didn’t have to bring your flight suit though. The volumetrics will take care of that.” Mikasa added, having opted to wear her bodysuit for the event.

“I have a fun scenario planned for us that should hopefully challenge everyone, even you, I hope.” Mikasa continued with a coy giggle. “I’ll wait a few more minutes for everyone to arrive. Then, I’ll start with a briefing and from there…” Mikasa took a deep breath.

“We’ll fly.”

 

[Whisper]

Next to arrive was a tall, lean figure with metallic blue hair, glasses, and an outfit that looked like it came from the fashion-conscious streets of Yamatai, with a large, argyle-patterned cardigan, crisp white shirt, black pants, and a pair of impressively clean sneakers that pulled it all together. His overall look and dress was very "Korean male fashion model", which was more-or-less what he'd patterned himself on.

The man held up a hand in greeting as he entered. "Hello, everyone. I'm Argyle 1, on exchange from the NDC for the 52nd. Hope you don't mind me crashing in, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how the fighters we'll be piloting handle."

 

[Kai]

Coming in a little after, were a pair of Neko who looked extremely similar to one another, being the same height, build, and even sharing facial features and skin tome, as well as a rather unique diluted brown calico color, though one sported a Messy pixie cut and wore Pilot blue, while the other wore a neat bob cut and sported the dark red panels of a Communications expert. The first wore a bit of a disinterested expression, seeming to avoid eye contact with Menelaos, though the second was smiling and gave everyone a wave. "How's everyone doing today?" she asked, offhand, more to be polite than anything else. "I'm Hazelnut, and this is my sister, Coconut, by the way," She introduced herself and the other. Coconut waved a bit dismissively at the rest of those around, acting like she didn't really care to be there though in reality she was actually fairly excited to be doing a simulation with their new squadron, the first such thing she had done since the rigorous trial that had been pilot training.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

An audible gasp escaped from the tiny Nekovalkyrja’s lips as the Operator entered the volumetrics chamber, his lean, statuesque figure clad in an outfit that was dripping with street flair, the look finished off with attention-grabbing sneakers and gold-framed glasses that caused Mikasa’s alabaster features to go flush with crimson as she placed her hand over her mouth in self-conscious embarrassment.

Nevertheless, Mikasa quickly remembered that she was the one who had set this up. It probably wouldn’t do for the others to see her giggling and blushing like the vat-fresh Nekovalkyrja that she was. At least, in excess. Quickly clearing her throat, the blonde-haired pilot offered the exchange officer a wave in response to his greeting.

Next, came a pair of Nekovalkyrja who almost seemed to be twins, save for differences in their hairstyles and uniform panels. Mikasa’s digital mind quickly registered them as Coconut and Hazelnut.

“I am Araya Mikasa.” The blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja introduced herself in turn. “Thank you all for showing up. It really means a lot.” She continued, now raising her voice slightly so as to address everyone in the room, her lips turning upward in a graceful smile as she did. “I thought it would be a good exercise to run a mission scenario this evening. I apologize if I pulled anyone from their personal time, by the way! That said…” Mikasa paused and suddenly, a briefing room was willed into existence, complete with chairs and a volumetric display at the head of it.

“I’ve set up a pretty basic mission scenario that I wanted to run with everyone. We’re going to be escorting a cargo hauler—named the ISS Precious Star for this exercise—through a nebula known for pirate and raider activity. We should expect sensor disruption and unreliable communications for this one. There will also be a lot of navigational hazards, including ice masses, gas clusters, and solar wind storms. Our objective is straightforward: we need to get the Precious Star through the nebula with minimal damage and its cargo intact.” As she spoke, a volumetric projection came up displaying a map of the nebula, complete with projected ambush points, solar storm flows, and gas clouds.

However, there seemed to be a major complication: the route they were projected to take through the nebula was blocked by something massive.

“Any questions?” Mikasa finished, an excited, wide-eyed gaze splayed across her alabaster features as she did.

 

[Kai]

When the simulated briefing room appeared, the two similar Neko sat down quickly, watching and listening intently, both with the eyes of ones whom had a lot of experience in the ways of the Star Army of Yamatai, though the way they held themselves was a bit, different. Hazelnut seemed to have the upright rapt attention of one whom had manned a console for many years, while Coconut seemed to present herself with the kind of careless swagger the infantry were known for, rather than the self-centered bravado shown by a lot of pilots. A voice similar to Hazelnut's asked the first question in response to Mikasa, though it was a little gruffer and sounded more Jaded than the former's.

"Do you mind if I upload some test data on the ship type I'll be flying so that the simulation can run it properly?" Coconut asked Mikasa, waving a datapad which showed blueprints to a fighter type that none of them had likely seen before. It was a two seater heavy fighter that differed greatly from the Mozu most of the squadron used, and a logo in the corner of the screen designated the design as hailing from Origin Industries. "If not I guess we can try the simulation in a two seat Mozu," she added, not trying to be pushy.

"Ah, yeah, either or is fine, though I haven't run a simulation of our new ship yet and have only sat in the cockpit once for familiarization, so it might be nice!" Hazelnut added, seeming genuinely excited.

 

[Waffles]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

"Of course, Mikasa, I wouldn't leave someone I consider a friend to flounder alone, plus this will give us a chance to see what we can expect from the others of this squadron." He looked around, taking in the environment. "Well, we are off duty, Mikasa. However, being that we are on the ship it seemed only proper to look the part."

If Menelaos had expected anything it wouldn't be the person who walked into the chamber several minutes after he rejoined his friend and squadmate Mikasa. This Argyle person looked like he had just walked out of one of those glossy fashion magazines. He looked like a pretty boy who was planning the to walk the streets, looking for a date, not a fighter pilot.

More Nekos was to be expected as this was a Yamataian operation. Though the fact that one of the "twins" was doing her damndest to avoid eye contact with him was surprising in a way, he knew it was rare to see a Separa'Shan as a pilot. But, surely people had been briefed about his presence here. His mind stopped wandering as Mikasa hit a button and the chamber became a briefing room and she began to run through the scenario.

"Three questions, Mikasa. Though, one has already been asked. First, will we be flying with a wingman. Second, What will we be flying, and third, who will be taking lead." Depending on the answer, would tell him what to expect and theoretically, what response times would be needed. He wasn't sure about the others of this squadron, but he knew what Mikasa's ranking was.

 

[Whisper]

Argyle watched the others arrive, spinning off a few subprocesses - something like a containerized, non-sentient version of his intellect - to get a read on each of them. If he was going to work with them in the future, he'd need to know what to expect. That would come from statistical analysis.

Araya's behaviors in response to his first entry brought up a slew of information in the corner of his awareness; a thread that he could pull on later, neatly labeled but not distracting.

Entry: Araya Mikasa. Signs of stress and excitement. Potential leadership and collaboration qualities due to organization of joint exercise. Novel response to entry. Further data needed to draw conclusions.

Lacking in useful historical data for Mikasa, he simply flashed her a winning smile. Once he knew enough to know what to make of her reaction, he'd decide how to handle it. No need to cause problems with his new lance - squadron, he reminded himself.

After introductions had been given and additional profiles were constructed, he turned his attention to the display. He filed away what he could see. A mental map formed in the corner of his view; another something that he could 'look' at whenever he needed. He pinned notes to it as the neko described the simulation's parameters.

The Operator walked closer to the projection, looking at it this way and that while the others asked their questions. "Do we know if the solar storms or other hazards will disrupt our - or our charge's - CFS? Are the gas clouds the main source of sensor disruption? The more we know what to expect before the ambushes, the better off we'll be."

 

[Immortal Cyan]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

“Yes! Feel free to fly anything.” Mikasa answered Coconut as her gaze swept towards the datapad. As she did, the blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja transmitted a polite information request for the simulation data to Coconut, which she intended to upload to the simulation upon reception.

"Three questions, Mikasa. Though, one has already been asked. First, will we be flying with a wingman. Second, What will we be flying, and third, who will be taking lead."

“For wingman assignments, I’ll be with Argyle 1. You’ll be with Coconut and Hazelnut.” Mikasa decided. However, the blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja hadn’t necessarily put much thought into them, if only for the fact that she wanted to be flying as soon as possible. However, the Separa’Shan’s third question caught her off-kilter.

Who would be taking lead?

“Umm…that’s a good question.” Mikasa said. It went without saying that she took more than a few processing cycles than normal for her to come to a decision. However, the blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja decided that since she had started the simulation, she would be the one to take the lead, even if it wasn’t a position that she really wanted. Nevertheless, Mikasa took a short breath, then spoke.

“I’ll do it.” She stated, with a small measure of confidence ringing in her voice, in spite of the fact that it was slightly forced.

Finally, the lone Operator delivered his question, which once more threw Mikasa for a loop.

“I’m like…95% sure that the conditions in the nebula will impede sensor performance, but I can’t say anything about CFS disruption. I haven’t actually done a scenario like this before.” Mikasa said as a slight frown came over her features. It was certainly a possibility, but a dangerous one to entertain. However, it wasn’t like she had cranked the scenario’s difficulty all the way to the maximum!

The blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja cracked a fiendish smile at the thought.

“Annnnnnnd, here we go!” Mikasa said. Suddenly, the briefing room shifted form to become a busy hangar bay—the same as the hangar deck present on the Teisenjou. Red panels and other hangar personnel worked with the bustle of bees around the pilots, who were now clad in their aerospace flight suits. Coconut and Hazelnut would find the large frame of a Nagamaki waiting for them. Right next to it was the stretched “Mozuline” variant of the Mozu, designed for Separa’Shan and Kodian pilots who needed the extra room. It was designated for Menelaos.

Mikasa’s Mozu sat on the opposite end of the hangar bay, with Argyle’s craft situated adjacent to it.

“Okay umm…” Mikasa cleared her throat. “Pilots, to your machines!”

 

[Whisper]

“I’m like…95% sure that the conditions in the nebula will impede sensor performance, but I can’t say anything about CFS disruption. I haven’t actually done a scenario like this before.”

Argyle gave a thoughtful nod as he listened to her explanation. With a new team and new craft, it was probably for the best that the exercise was kept manageable. They could work their way up once they knew each other better. It wasn't quite like his Operator cohort, who'd all been "raised" in the same training sims. They more or less knew how to work together; this group was considerably more diverse.

That diversity and newness was part of why he'd wanted to come.

As their 'transportation' to the hangar bay completed, he took a moment to review the flight suit he found himself in. He hadn't interfaced with one before, but had been given the tools to do so. Once he was sure that the simulated reality outside of his body matched the simulated environment inside of it, he began to walk alongside Mikasa towards their Mozus.

"No worries, Actual," he said to her in a teasing way, referencing her position as the squad's leader. "I've got you covered. Let's go fly."

 

[Kai]

"Understood" Coconut responded to Mikasa, tapping on her datapad a few times to allow the data for the craft contained to be uploaded into the system. She tapped the screen a few more times and uploaded some attachments that it had been designed to use but weren't yet in Star Army inventory, so that she could try to use it in the simulation. Hazelnut watched intently over her 'Older Sister's' shoulder, remembering what the pixie-cut Neko had done during her last flight in pilot school, and figuring the plan this time would be similar. as soon as all the questions had been asked and answered, their surroundings began to swiftly change.

Using their internal gravity control to upright themselves when their seats disappeared, Coconut and Hazelnut waited through the simulation's transition to see the several Mozu fighters appear, and then their own ship appeared, as well. It was much larger, almost three times the size, in fact, but it was still small enough to fit inside a star army hangar easily enough. Aside from the size, the most striking feature of the fighter before them was its massive sensor dome suspended above the fuselage with two wing-like support struts, and way more engine than seemed necessary sticking out the back.

"I would like to introduce you all to the Nagamaki," Hazelnut began, as Coconut busied herself opening the cockpit and getting the seats ready, before hopping into the front seat and strapping in. "We'll basically be like a second set of eyes for you, since our sensors are about on par with a smaller capital ship. You guys are a bit more nimble than we'll be, so we'll keep an eye out for everyone so long as everyone has our backs! and if you get into trouble, we can drag you if need be."

 

[Waffles]

There was a slight smile to his face as it was obvious that at least one of his questions caught Mikasa unaware. If he was to help his friend increase her pilot rating, then he must challenge her thinking processes. When she stated that she would take lead, he nodded his approval. It seemed that she meant to challenge herself as well. Menelaos looked to the "twin" nekos and nodded to them, if they were to fly together they would need to trust each other even if this was just a simulation.

As the briefing room morphed into a busy flight deck, to those watching Menelaos they would watch his demeanor shift. It would be obvious to those watching him that he was at home on a flight deck as much as he was in a sunny park.

The first thing he did as the Mozu built as a training two-seater and a ship comfortable enough for a Separa'Shan, was run his lightly scaled hands along the curves of the ship. He let a light hum of excitement to escape his lips. He'd seen them close-up before, but his reaction was always the same, simulated or not.

"Well, then if you are our eyes, then I will be your shield and sword for this operation." He spoke briefly to the twins before he half slithered and half pulled himself up into the cockpit and situated himself into the extended seat crafted for the Separa'Shan pilots. It took him a few moments to connect his SPINE to the shift as he got himself comfortable inside the cockpit. "Copperhead is green across the board, lead."

 

[Immortal Cyan]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

Floating into the cockpit of her Mozu, Mikasa quickly initiated the pre-flight checks and plugged into SPINE, a deluge of information suddenly rushing into her senses as she did. Fortunately, the blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja’s trained, computerized brain quickly processed, sorted, and filtered it, her mind running multiple instances at once as she calibrated systems and checked everything that was within her responsibility as a pilot.

“Pilots, you may declare your loadouts now.” Mikasa stated. “Let’s also make sure that our sensors are properly networked, especially with Coconut and Hazelnut’s Nagamaki.” She continued. “They might help us overcome the interference inside the nebula.”

With that, Mikasa quickly set up her own loadout. Her mini-missile launchers would be loaded with anti-mecha compressed aether plasma mini-missiles. From there, the two innermost exterior hardpoints would be loaded with a pair of antimatter baby torpedoes, while the outer two would have a pair of mini-missile pods loaded with self-guided antimatter mini-missiles for point defense and anti-power armor work.

“Everyone sound off and report ready status. T-minus forty seconds to launch.”

 

[Kai]

"Oi, Stop chatting and hop in!" Coconut called to Hazelnut, as the sound of systems whirring to life from all the craft started to build. She was busy finalizing the Nagamaki's loadout while Hazelnut quickly floated up to the wing root, gently stepping off and dropping herself into the cockpit before closing the canopy over the two of them. As Coconut selected things, they appeared beneath the Nagamaki as the simulation prepared the loadouts. First was a Spade drone that appeared under the belly of the Nagamaki; itself loaded with two Baby Torpedos, two sensor probes, and four Origin armoire missiles. Then the outer hardpoints carried a mixed loadout of two whisker drones, four more Origin Armoire missiles, and one KE-Z1 Anti-starship Torpedo.

"Coconut, Locked and Loaded," The pilot called, followed by her RSO with "Hazelnut, ready to go, I've pushed out uplink invites to everyone's ship! once we're out there you'll be able to share sensors with us and we'll be able to extend your views!"

 

[Whisper]

Argyle tugged the gloves on his suit tight and checked his helmet while chuckling a little at the twin's antics. As he walked up to the Mozu he'd been planning to use, he held a hand towards it and tried to will the room to make a change. The craft shuddered and then replaced itself with the Y-variant Sparrowhawk. It was in the Star Army's livery rather than the red and black that he was used to, but he had to admit the colors matched his aesthetic.

He hopped up and into the waiting cockpit, sliding into the familiar seat. The controls, on the other hand, weren't his usual. The mental interfaces were designed for organics, but that wasn't a problem. The techs had walked him through this and worked out a sufficient bypass - a paperthin interface layer sprung into place within his digital domain, presenting himself as one of the nekos that the Y variant of the Sparrowhawk would recognize. It had the appropriate digital signatures to pass him off, so he was soon enjoying the benefits of the mental interface.

Lights and systems across the little fighter lit up, running through diagnostics and fine tuning themselves, all under his delicate care.

"Argyle 1, reporting," he declared as he formally gave over his senses to the fighter's. "Sensor and telemetry data are in order."

As for loadout... he 'turned' the sensors to consider the Mozu next to him that Mikasa would be piloting. The Sparrowhawk's standard loadout should be sufficient for keeping her safe, so he made sure that all of the missiles and ammunitions had loaded into the simulation properly. A selection of additional missiles, rated for larger craft than what they were flying, flashed into existence on the fighter's external hardpoints.

He also did a quick double check of his connection with the craft, providing whatever details the holo might need so that he didn't surprise it by switching the fighter's forms in the middle of combat. The fighter gave him all of the usual responses, so he was satisfied that it would perform as expected.

"All green here, Actual. On your orders."

 

[Waffles]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

Well, it was almost time to see what the Mozu 1C could do, if he wasn't flying a Mozu, he would have been most comfortable in a Nodachi. However, with his studying of the Mozu manual and his general experience and knowledge of piloting starfighters, he felt he was ready. He keyed through the loadout options and made his decision. First, he keyed up a pair of Yu-W6-W4308C Light Autocannons, next his exterior hardpoints were a mixture of 4 OHI Standard Missiles and 2 Mini-Missile Pods loaded with HE(Self-guided) munitions.

The autocannons where his bread and butter, the missiles where there if he needed them. He would typically have replaced the 4 OHI Standard Missiles with 4 "Whisker" Sensor Drone, however having someone flying a Nagamaki, this would give him the option to try something different and find the optimum loadout for skirmishes.

"Copperhead is green across the board, Bubbles. you have lead."

 

[Immortal Cyan]

YSS Teisenjou
Volumetrics Chamber
Evening

Bubbles?

Mikasa blinked, surprise registering across her alabaster. With that, the blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja realized that Menelaos was referring to her. She would have to ask the Separa’Shan what it meant, after the simulation. Regardless, for better or for worse, Bubbles was now her callsign. She counted herself lucky that it wasn’t as bad as some of the others she had heard.

All the while, Mikasa found her attention briefly captured by the sight of Argyle 1’s Sparrowhawk IIY—a periwinkle and royal blue machine that she thought very closely resembled a typical atmospheric fighter, albeit somewhat bottom heavy. She quickly ascertained that the craft was a NGFP entry—a formidable one, at that.

Shifting the focus of her awareness back to her own machine, Mikasa wasted no time once everyone had reported in. The deck crew in front of her craft raised their arms and gestured towards the hangar bay’s force field, an indication that she was clear to launch.

“Sensors linked. Clear for launch.” Mikasa stated. And suddenly, the blonde-haired Nekovalkyrja fired her Mozu off into the void, the dark, bluish blackness rushing to greet her as she angled her craft towards the ISS Precious Star, which was lingering just outside the threshold of the nebula.

The sensor disruption was already apparent. However, it was not so severe as to be unworkable. In fact, Hazelnut might find that some fine-tuning and calibration would work to penetrate a small distance into the nebula, enough that they wouldn’t be going in blind.

“Form up on me, Dahlia Squadron.” Mikasa said, deciding on the fly that would be the name of their small, temporary unit—taking after a flower. “Precious Star, this is Dahlia Actual. We’re ready to take you in, over.”

 

[Whisper]

Dahlia? he wondered. It was a word he wasn't familiar with - it took a moment for him to look it up. They were nice enough flowers to look at, but maybe some deeper meeting? 'Beauty, commitment, kindness, and steadfastness.'

Argyle looked over at the Mozu near him, considering the pilot and the intent behind such a name. Well, it was one more piece of data, so that was good.

He fell into position around the Precious Star not far from Mikasa's craft. The sensor disruption was like a mild headache for him, as deeply connected to the craft as he was. Something that you could ignore if you tried, but trying meant you were paying attention to it. An annoying catch-22, but manageable.

He tapped his comm.

"Looking forward to what you've got for us, Nagamaki."

 

[Damaske]

Walking in JUST before the briefing was a smaller Minkin as he was dressed in a red Nenju, Suikan, Hikigoshi, and a Nu_bakama, hair tied up in a top knot above his head. Looking around he smiles some as he moves over into the room more. "Sorry I was running late here, I almost fell asleep." Nodding his head as the briefing was explained to the group and then as the room changed he moved over to the Mozu that was going to be his, He changes to have a type 42 pilot pod, and on the four external mounts appear 4 gun pods.

Hopping up into the fighter even with his long clothing as if it was not there before it fades as he appears in a flight suit and starts to move in the cockpit of his fighter to get it up and goings activating the immersion systems, only moving out of the hanger with the others do as he asks. " um who was my wingmate again, Dahlia Actual?"

Spoiler: Yujin's current outfit

https://64.media.tumblr.com/7fb6fcfb45a4005b0e864bce53b24092/tumblr_inline_n45w07J8Gu1qg4g95.jpg