Nyton
Inactive Member
The day was pleasant on Yamatai, as most days usually are. The day was slightly warm with a cool relaxing breeze running past one's face. As the late morning ceremony neared its conclusion the moment all the attendees had been waiting for finally arrived.
"And now to present to you the graduating class of future leaders for our empire. May their days always be blessed with good fortune and the never ending determination to boldly serve the empire to the utmost of their abilities."
Everyone's attention shifted over to the formation of Star Army members dressed in their formal attires and standing at parade rest next to the platform. The speaker then continued, "The presentation of the graduation certificates will commence." Upon the saying of the word 'commence' the entire formation went to the position of attention. One by one, each of their names were called out. As each member's name was called out they would walk up the steps of the platform, receive their certificate from the training commander, salute and walk off.
"Sergeant Major Nyton Claymere."
With a his eyes narrowed and a slight smile of satisfaction Nyton proceeded up the steps. He mentally recorded the event every step of the way.
After the ceremony was complete and everyone was engaging in the post-ceremony small talk before being dismissed. Nyton was talking to a few of his squad mates, a male Geshrin, three Yamataians, and two other Nepleslians. While they all were more or less equally ranked except for some fluctuations in time in grade, their hierarchy was one of respect and personality meshing after having been assigned together. As they talked about their next step, five Nekovalkyrja walked up to them. Everyone's conversations seemed to stop at once as they all looked at each other.
"So Izumi, come to grace my squad with your presence one last time before heading out to where ever it is the Empire deems you fit to serve?" the male Geshrin said to the Neko who appeared to be the 'leader' of the quintet. The neko named Izumi didn't bat an eyelash. "You could say that. I mainly wanted to be sure your squad remembered to take all their trash off of Yamatai before leaving, Steiner. Their filthy stains won't take long to get out." she said, eyeing the three Nepleslians. One of the Nepleslians tensed visibly but Nyton and the third one stayed calm.
"Why can't you just leave well enough alone?" said one of the Yamataians. "I don't understand why your squad has to have such a pissy attitude with us all the time. We've all proven ourselves and serve the same Empire. That kind of outlook doesn't benefit anyone, least of all the principles we've all sworn to uphold." she finished. Izumi showed a brief flash of contempt at the Yamataian. "Its only a matter of time before trash like them show their true colors. You can only hide something for so long before it becomes obvious. Someone like yourself should be able to detect that, even if you have forsaken your heritage to become more like them."
"No one is hiding anything Izumi. Least of all you, especially in regards to your own nature's flaws." Nyton chimed in. "Your outlook has always been rather limited in scope.. Otherwise you wouldn't have wasted so much time on that last exercise we completed. Tell me again how it was that you thought it was unimportant to properly secure your position before advancing?"
The neko to Izumi's right sounded off, "Didn't stop us from coming out on top!" The tenser Nepleslian laughed a bit. "That's just because I prefer to let you do all the work, baby." he said with a lewd grin. The neko grit her teeth in anger but Izumi displayed no signs of emotion. "Typical Nep. Like I said, trash like that doesn't belong in the Empire. It makes my stomach turn to think I fought in the defense of your sick planet from the Misshu a few years back." The second Nepleslian finally spoke up. "Hey I lost family in that battle! Don't think we haven't contributed to the Empire's defense in blood. And unlike you we don't come with warranties or brain copied memories."
Steiner decided to put an end to their not so friendly squadron rivalry moment. "Alright that's enough. Hall, Fuller, stand down." he told the two Nepleslians. "Izumi I suggest you find a way to deal with Nepleslians a little better before the time comes when you have to serve under one. Plenty of them in the officer ranks. You won't be assigned to all Nekovalkyrja war fleets forever."
"Plus you never know if the next emperor may be Nepleslian. It happened once it may happen again." Nyton added. "Thank you for the history lesson but that won't be happening ever again. That ridiculous little belch in time did not last very long either." Izumi said before motioning to the other nekos. "I doubt we'll see each other again. With the galaxy being what it is I doubt you'd all last very long regardless of whether the Misshu have retreated or not." With a final 'lets go' Izumi's gang of nekos left, all following her while casting a few grim looks back at them.
After they'd all gone Steiner let out a breath. "That's one group I'm glad we no longer have to see anymore. You'd think they wanted to pick a fight with the NSA or something." Nyton shook his head. "Why wouldn't they? After Nepleslia seceded from the Empire I noticed quite a bit of hostility from the older nekos. So many of them died in the battle for Nepleslia that this sort of thing strikes them as a slap in the face. Plus with the Misshu in retreat the wolves need to find some new prey. Who better then the ones in your own backyard."
"Nyton, you don't actually think the two empires will really go to war, do you?" asked one of the Yamataians. Nyton just shrugged. "Maybe. Hopefully not Miyabi. I'll probably know better how to answer that after I finish my trip back home." Miyabi grinned. "You're going home? Send us all a postcard from Funky City, okay? I've never had any correspondence from Nepleslia before." Hall, the tenser of the Nepleslians, folded his arms. "Home huh? I wouldn't mind going home but there's really no point in it. I got no one to go home to."
"Hey guys, one last picture before we all go our seperate ways, okay?" suggested Fuller.
Time seemed to move too quickly before Nyton realized it and he was already departing on a transport bound for Nepleslia. He had changed into casual travel wear at a restroom to escape the confines of his formal attire before boarding the transport. His leave had been approved and no problems had occurred travelling into Nepleslian space. Having fallen asleep on the ride over he awoke to find his homeworld floating below.
After several security checks Nyton was at his family's home in the upper scale levels of Roger Wilco City. The condominium complex required some more security flags before he reached his floor. "Big brother! You're home!" shouted Nellis upon Nyton's arrival. The young boy smiled and hugged Nyton as he tried to come in through the front door. "Yeah Nell, I'm home for a few days. And that's Sergeant Major to you now, you little punk. Drop and give me twenty." he said with a laugh. Nellis giggled and did five incorrect push ups before standing back up.
"Nyton, you're home and well! I'm so happy to see you!" said his mother Celine before hugging him. "Are you hungry? We can have some of your favorite food ready right away if you want." Nyton shook his head. "No, I'm not hungry yet mom. Are grandpa and the old man still working?" Celine nodded. "Yes, your dad and papa are still being held up or they would've been here by now. They do talk quite proudly about you, making so much rank in such a short time." Nyton grinned slightly. "I can't take all the credit for it, I had some good crewmembers, but I think the major factor was the rate of attrition the war caused. Plenty of upper tier rank slots opened up after the SMX invaded Hoshi."
"Save the war stories for papa, dear. You know he's the one who loves to listen to those. Putting yourself in danger is too much for my nerves you know." Celine replied. "As if all you do is sit around at home and play the happy homemaker, mom. What mischief have you been getting into while hacking through the system?" Celine looked away innocently. "You shouldn't be so critical over your mother's hobbies. A woman has to have some way of entertaining herself on this world besides adding another member to the male population."
A few hours later the rest of Nyton's family would arrive. Both Anthony and Thomas Claymere were dirty and tired but they both livened up upon seeing Nyton. "Hey there old man, getting dirty field testing your merchandise again?" Nyton said to his father Anthony. "Bah, you would've been amazed at the punch some of these newer models have been pushing lately. You need to come by the warehouse with me and check it out!" Anthony said as he hugged his son. After Anthony separated Thomas carefully hugged Nyton. "Gramps, your calibration is a little off again. You're hugging too tight." Nyton said. Thomas released and moved his arms around. "Yeah I guess all that hard work blowing stuff up got me a little dirty. Sensors were probably rocked a bit. Can you get me my cleaner hon?" Celine handed her father Thomas his special cleaning spray for his cybernetics. "Thanks darlin', I got some grit in my joints today. I tell you, the VA gets mighty upset whenever I try to claim my maintenance bills. Stingy bastards."
After freshening up they began to eat dinner, happily going over their lives events and such. Nyton went over his harrowing sorties engaging the SMX over Hoshi no Iori and at Tami, as well as the many people he had encountered within the Star Army.
"And you're sure you don't want to join the NSA? I mean, at least you know you won't have to put up with snotty cat sluts here." suggested Anthony. "Snotty cat sluts! Snotty cat sluts!" repeated Nellis, giggling at his mother's reaction. "Nellis, don't talk like that at the table. Dear, try not to say such things in front of Nellis." Anthony just waved her off. "Bah, you know my opinions. They're not even being led by a real person, the shots are all being called by some genetically engineered machine. How can true civilization advance when its led by a machine?"
"When it comes to war there really isn't anything as good as those neko when it comes down to fighting it. I've fought in most every war Yui ever dragged us into and she's not half bad when it comes to warfare." chuckled Anthony. "And not without a couple perks when it came to the cameraderie department among the ranks. You know what I mean, eh boy?" he added with a wink of his optic sensor to Nyton. "I've been way too busy actually fighting to know what you mean, gramps. I keep getting shifted from ship to ship before I can really have any downtime and besides I'm not quite all that eager to satisfy myself on every neko I see. I am trying to build a career here." Nyton said. "Well, I can see I was able to teach my son some sort of manners when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex." Celine remarked.
"Oh speaking vaguely of such son, your mother and I have an announcement to make. Your mother's pregnant!" Anthony said excitedly. Celine flushed a bit but smiled happily. "I was meaning to tell you in a more proper way, not over dinner like this. Your father is always in such a hurry to blurt things out when he thinks about them." Nyton smiled and laughed. "Well, congratulations you two. So how far along are you mom?" Celine pat her stomach. "I'm only four months along but what's more amazing is that its a girl. An actual girl!" Nyton's jaw dropped at the news. "You're kidding me. You mean you're actually having a girl? That's amazing!"
Thomas laughed mechanically. "Oh I believe it. That's my daughter after all. And only after three tries." Nellis shared in the excitement of the moment. "We're having a baby sister! I get to be a big brother now too!"
The Claymere family would share several more days peacefully in each other's presence. Nyton visited his father's business and played with the weapons. He finally managed to get some grenade rounds for his GP-12A which had been without any the whole time he'd been deployed. "Not that I've actually needed to use it yet, but I'd just as well have the option available to me." He made a trip to Funky City and followed through on sending those post cards to his squad mates.
It was nearing the last few days when Nyton was home and his mother stopped him. "Son, I need to discuss something with you." The look in her eyes was a familiar one to Nyton, one she reserved for 'serious' discussions. He nodded and followed her to her secure zone, the place she did all her illicit activities in. After several security sweeps they entered the small dimly lit room packed with computer systems. Celine finally sat Nyton down on a chair across from her. "Son, I wanted to talk to you sooner but to be quite honest I didn't want to jeapordize your career. These past several days I'd been scanning to ensure you weren't bugged in anyway, physical, physiological, even psionic devices. I even have my jamming suite set up just for such an occasion." Nyton let out a low whistle. "You've always been the cautious one, mom." Celine nodded. "You develop that after so many years of hacking. I notice its something you've had ingrained as well. Like I said though, I didn't want to risk your career, especially seeing as you're so happy working in the Star Army."
"Are you going to divulge something harmful regarding the Star Army? I'm not about to betray Yamatai just on your say so, mom. I know gramps has been wanting me to join the NSA for some time too although he plays it a lot cooler then the old man." Nyton said. "No son, its not that. What I wanted to show you was something else. You remember when the Empress committed suicide and how just before there was some sort of illegal transmission broadcasted out?" Nyton looked at her with a halfcocked smile. "Oh that's right you were marooned on Tami at the time. While you were there and these events happened, there were broadcasts made on every level of communication. While the Star Army jammed most of them, there were some areas that managed to obtain a copy of the transmission in it's entirety. Most of those were shady underground folks. People that I occasionally tend to communicate with." Celine said with a smile. She went serious again. "This transmission was a discussion implicating the Emperor in a conspiracy of murder."
Nyton looked as though he were about to laugh. "Mom, are you serious? You got all worried over something that's either enemy propaganda, urban legend, or a complete hoax." Celine let out a sigh. "Son, if it were just that I wouldn't have thought anything either but I did some research on the people involved and it all makes sense. Look, why don't you just watch the transmission. If you believe its a hoax that's fine." Nyton shrugged. "Very well, if only because you're taking this seriously, I will take a look."
Celine typed up a few keys and one of the computer displays began to run the program. What played was the entire confession Kai Ashigara obtained regarding his brother Kenji. After watching the discussion, the affirmation regarding Kohana's senseless murder, and the execution of Kenji, Celine presented some researched documents verifying the backgrounds of the people involved, including up to Kai's disappearance.
Nyton could barely mask his incredulity.
"It's all a hoax mother. Nothing more. Someone must have gathered the circumstances and put together this dramatic soap opera just to discredit the Empire. It wouldn't even require all that much work but its truly ridiculous. Is all this really supposed to make me question my loyalty to the Empire?"
"No son but please consider this as well." Celine said and grabbed Nyton's right arm, bringing his hand up to her stomach. "That's your sister in there. She's coming into a world that I fear may not survive the next few years. The secession from the Empire was somewhat amicable but there's no telling what may happen in the future. Even now Nepleslia is trying to find a way to be on an even level with Yamatai. If you were the emperor would you find that acceptable? To have an evenly matched neighbor right next door? Consider that and then realize who you would be fighting when that happens."
"Mom, it's not going to happen." Nyton said, only half believing it. Hadn't the nekos confirmed that? But those were only a small fraction, a minority. There were others, not to mention the large number of Nepleslians already serving, but then again what value did Nepleslians really have to the Empire unless they were serving loyally. There was no need to question the nekos, they were programmed with it. And in mass quantities. "Of course it won't happen. There's no need for it to be that way. I don't know how but-"
"Son, you're smarter then that, you know better then I do what the facts are. You've seen it on the streets. You haven't just been here on vacation, you wanted to know if Nepleslia would oblige in a war with Yamatai and I think you've reached your conclusion regarding that already." Celine said. "Its still too soon. Nepleslia doesn't want a war and neither does Yamatai. There's still plenty of other things for the Empire to deal with outside of warring with a neighbor. Its not like Yamatai wouldn't go unscathed." Nyton replied.
"Just victorious. After heaps of dead bodies fill the planet. Nepleslia wouldn't be able to recover as quickly as Yamatai." Celine concluded. Nyton couldn't help but nod. "Yes, victorious. I've concluded that many times, especially after the war with the SMX. Mom, either way I have to go back. Joining the NSA would do Nepleslia no good. I'd just be another soldier. I'm better off staying with Yamatai. I won't betray the Empire."
Celine's face grew emotionless as she nodded. "Very well son. If that is your decision. I can't say you made the wrong choice for yourself. If I had only been born a man, eh?" she said. Nyton smiled solemnly.
The next day Nyton went with his father to his warehouse. While they were checking some inventory his eyes crossed over the various supply lists. "Hey old man. Think you could do something for me?" Anthony laughed. "What, those grenade rounds weren't enough? I'm not made of money you know." Nyton chuckled. "No its not exactly weapons this time. I was wondering, you think you could maybe help me get a personal ADN device installed in my arm?" Anthony looked puzzled. "Huh? An ADN? What for?" Nyton raised his left arm. "Oh just to prevent any curious psionics from poking into the old brain now and then. You know how I like to maintain my privacy." Anthony thought for a moment. "Yeah I don't see why not. If you want it in your arm there shouldn't be a big deal- damn it lemme get my cyber guy on this. He'll tell you how it works. Think of it as an early birthday present along with those grenade rounds eh?" Nyton laughed. "Sure old man, sure."
Nyton's last day of leave arrived. With much emotion his family all bid their goodbyes before leaving to board the shuttle heading back towards Yamatai space. From there he would pick up his next assignment which should already be waiting for him.
"Let us know when you get there safely. Take care!"
"I'll be just fine. See you later!"
Nyton departed from his family's company and boarded the shuttle without any delay. He was excited to return to duty. Surely something big was waiting for him. He flexed his left fore arm, still getting used to the new sensation the personal ADN device was giving him. "Heh, I'd been planning on getting this anyways. Thanks dad." Nyton thought to himself before settling in for the trip. It wouldn't be long. He could almost envision being inside a PHALANX once again....
OOC: Well, and with that I'm back in action at least on the SP level. Its gonna be some time before I can do JPs, sorry. That always tends to bite me.
"And now to present to you the graduating class of future leaders for our empire. May their days always be blessed with good fortune and the never ending determination to boldly serve the empire to the utmost of their abilities."
Everyone's attention shifted over to the formation of Star Army members dressed in their formal attires and standing at parade rest next to the platform. The speaker then continued, "The presentation of the graduation certificates will commence." Upon the saying of the word 'commence' the entire formation went to the position of attention. One by one, each of their names were called out. As each member's name was called out they would walk up the steps of the platform, receive their certificate from the training commander, salute and walk off.
"Sergeant Major Nyton Claymere."
With a his eyes narrowed and a slight smile of satisfaction Nyton proceeded up the steps. He mentally recorded the event every step of the way.
After the ceremony was complete and everyone was engaging in the post-ceremony small talk before being dismissed. Nyton was talking to a few of his squad mates, a male Geshrin, three Yamataians, and two other Nepleslians. While they all were more or less equally ranked except for some fluctuations in time in grade, their hierarchy was one of respect and personality meshing after having been assigned together. As they talked about their next step, five Nekovalkyrja walked up to them. Everyone's conversations seemed to stop at once as they all looked at each other.
"So Izumi, come to grace my squad with your presence one last time before heading out to where ever it is the Empire deems you fit to serve?" the male Geshrin said to the Neko who appeared to be the 'leader' of the quintet. The neko named Izumi didn't bat an eyelash. "You could say that. I mainly wanted to be sure your squad remembered to take all their trash off of Yamatai before leaving, Steiner. Their filthy stains won't take long to get out." she said, eyeing the three Nepleslians. One of the Nepleslians tensed visibly but Nyton and the third one stayed calm.
"Why can't you just leave well enough alone?" said one of the Yamataians. "I don't understand why your squad has to have such a pissy attitude with us all the time. We've all proven ourselves and serve the same Empire. That kind of outlook doesn't benefit anyone, least of all the principles we've all sworn to uphold." she finished. Izumi showed a brief flash of contempt at the Yamataian. "Its only a matter of time before trash like them show their true colors. You can only hide something for so long before it becomes obvious. Someone like yourself should be able to detect that, even if you have forsaken your heritage to become more like them."
"No one is hiding anything Izumi. Least of all you, especially in regards to your own nature's flaws." Nyton chimed in. "Your outlook has always been rather limited in scope.. Otherwise you wouldn't have wasted so much time on that last exercise we completed. Tell me again how it was that you thought it was unimportant to properly secure your position before advancing?"
The neko to Izumi's right sounded off, "Didn't stop us from coming out on top!" The tenser Nepleslian laughed a bit. "That's just because I prefer to let you do all the work, baby." he said with a lewd grin. The neko grit her teeth in anger but Izumi displayed no signs of emotion. "Typical Nep. Like I said, trash like that doesn't belong in the Empire. It makes my stomach turn to think I fought in the defense of your sick planet from the Misshu a few years back." The second Nepleslian finally spoke up. "Hey I lost family in that battle! Don't think we haven't contributed to the Empire's defense in blood. And unlike you we don't come with warranties or brain copied memories."
Steiner decided to put an end to their not so friendly squadron rivalry moment. "Alright that's enough. Hall, Fuller, stand down." he told the two Nepleslians. "Izumi I suggest you find a way to deal with Nepleslians a little better before the time comes when you have to serve under one. Plenty of them in the officer ranks. You won't be assigned to all Nekovalkyrja war fleets forever."
"Plus you never know if the next emperor may be Nepleslian. It happened once it may happen again." Nyton added. "Thank you for the history lesson but that won't be happening ever again. That ridiculous little belch in time did not last very long either." Izumi said before motioning to the other nekos. "I doubt we'll see each other again. With the galaxy being what it is I doubt you'd all last very long regardless of whether the Misshu have retreated or not." With a final 'lets go' Izumi's gang of nekos left, all following her while casting a few grim looks back at them.
After they'd all gone Steiner let out a breath. "That's one group I'm glad we no longer have to see anymore. You'd think they wanted to pick a fight with the NSA or something." Nyton shook his head. "Why wouldn't they? After Nepleslia seceded from the Empire I noticed quite a bit of hostility from the older nekos. So many of them died in the battle for Nepleslia that this sort of thing strikes them as a slap in the face. Plus with the Misshu in retreat the wolves need to find some new prey. Who better then the ones in your own backyard."
"Nyton, you don't actually think the two empires will really go to war, do you?" asked one of the Yamataians. Nyton just shrugged. "Maybe. Hopefully not Miyabi. I'll probably know better how to answer that after I finish my trip back home." Miyabi grinned. "You're going home? Send us all a postcard from Funky City, okay? I've never had any correspondence from Nepleslia before." Hall, the tenser of the Nepleslians, folded his arms. "Home huh? I wouldn't mind going home but there's really no point in it. I got no one to go home to."
"Hey guys, one last picture before we all go our seperate ways, okay?" suggested Fuller.
Time seemed to move too quickly before Nyton realized it and he was already departing on a transport bound for Nepleslia. He had changed into casual travel wear at a restroom to escape the confines of his formal attire before boarding the transport. His leave had been approved and no problems had occurred travelling into Nepleslian space. Having fallen asleep on the ride over he awoke to find his homeworld floating below.
After several security checks Nyton was at his family's home in the upper scale levels of Roger Wilco City. The condominium complex required some more security flags before he reached his floor. "Big brother! You're home!" shouted Nellis upon Nyton's arrival. The young boy smiled and hugged Nyton as he tried to come in through the front door. "Yeah Nell, I'm home for a few days. And that's Sergeant Major to you now, you little punk. Drop and give me twenty." he said with a laugh. Nellis giggled and did five incorrect push ups before standing back up.
"Nyton, you're home and well! I'm so happy to see you!" said his mother Celine before hugging him. "Are you hungry? We can have some of your favorite food ready right away if you want." Nyton shook his head. "No, I'm not hungry yet mom. Are grandpa and the old man still working?" Celine nodded. "Yes, your dad and papa are still being held up or they would've been here by now. They do talk quite proudly about you, making so much rank in such a short time." Nyton grinned slightly. "I can't take all the credit for it, I had some good crewmembers, but I think the major factor was the rate of attrition the war caused. Plenty of upper tier rank slots opened up after the SMX invaded Hoshi."
"Save the war stories for papa, dear. You know he's the one who loves to listen to those. Putting yourself in danger is too much for my nerves you know." Celine replied. "As if all you do is sit around at home and play the happy homemaker, mom. What mischief have you been getting into while hacking through the system?" Celine looked away innocently. "You shouldn't be so critical over your mother's hobbies. A woman has to have some way of entertaining herself on this world besides adding another member to the male population."
A few hours later the rest of Nyton's family would arrive. Both Anthony and Thomas Claymere were dirty and tired but they both livened up upon seeing Nyton. "Hey there old man, getting dirty field testing your merchandise again?" Nyton said to his father Anthony. "Bah, you would've been amazed at the punch some of these newer models have been pushing lately. You need to come by the warehouse with me and check it out!" Anthony said as he hugged his son. After Anthony separated Thomas carefully hugged Nyton. "Gramps, your calibration is a little off again. You're hugging too tight." Nyton said. Thomas released and moved his arms around. "Yeah I guess all that hard work blowing stuff up got me a little dirty. Sensors were probably rocked a bit. Can you get me my cleaner hon?" Celine handed her father Thomas his special cleaning spray for his cybernetics. "Thanks darlin', I got some grit in my joints today. I tell you, the VA gets mighty upset whenever I try to claim my maintenance bills. Stingy bastards."
After freshening up they began to eat dinner, happily going over their lives events and such. Nyton went over his harrowing sorties engaging the SMX over Hoshi no Iori and at Tami, as well as the many people he had encountered within the Star Army.
"And you're sure you don't want to join the NSA? I mean, at least you know you won't have to put up with snotty cat sluts here." suggested Anthony. "Snotty cat sluts! Snotty cat sluts!" repeated Nellis, giggling at his mother's reaction. "Nellis, don't talk like that at the table. Dear, try not to say such things in front of Nellis." Anthony just waved her off. "Bah, you know my opinions. They're not even being led by a real person, the shots are all being called by some genetically engineered machine. How can true civilization advance when its led by a machine?"
"When it comes to war there really isn't anything as good as those neko when it comes down to fighting it. I've fought in most every war Yui ever dragged us into and she's not half bad when it comes to warfare." chuckled Anthony. "And not without a couple perks when it came to the cameraderie department among the ranks. You know what I mean, eh boy?" he added with a wink of his optic sensor to Nyton. "I've been way too busy actually fighting to know what you mean, gramps. I keep getting shifted from ship to ship before I can really have any downtime and besides I'm not quite all that eager to satisfy myself on every neko I see. I am trying to build a career here." Nyton said. "Well, I can see I was able to teach my son some sort of manners when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex." Celine remarked.
"Oh speaking vaguely of such son, your mother and I have an announcement to make. Your mother's pregnant!" Anthony said excitedly. Celine flushed a bit but smiled happily. "I was meaning to tell you in a more proper way, not over dinner like this. Your father is always in such a hurry to blurt things out when he thinks about them." Nyton smiled and laughed. "Well, congratulations you two. So how far along are you mom?" Celine pat her stomach. "I'm only four months along but what's more amazing is that its a girl. An actual girl!" Nyton's jaw dropped at the news. "You're kidding me. You mean you're actually having a girl? That's amazing!"
Thomas laughed mechanically. "Oh I believe it. That's my daughter after all. And only after three tries." Nellis shared in the excitement of the moment. "We're having a baby sister! I get to be a big brother now too!"
The Claymere family would share several more days peacefully in each other's presence. Nyton visited his father's business and played with the weapons. He finally managed to get some grenade rounds for his GP-12A which had been without any the whole time he'd been deployed. "Not that I've actually needed to use it yet, but I'd just as well have the option available to me." He made a trip to Funky City and followed through on sending those post cards to his squad mates.
It was nearing the last few days when Nyton was home and his mother stopped him. "Son, I need to discuss something with you." The look in her eyes was a familiar one to Nyton, one she reserved for 'serious' discussions. He nodded and followed her to her secure zone, the place she did all her illicit activities in. After several security sweeps they entered the small dimly lit room packed with computer systems. Celine finally sat Nyton down on a chair across from her. "Son, I wanted to talk to you sooner but to be quite honest I didn't want to jeapordize your career. These past several days I'd been scanning to ensure you weren't bugged in anyway, physical, physiological, even psionic devices. I even have my jamming suite set up just for such an occasion." Nyton let out a low whistle. "You've always been the cautious one, mom." Celine nodded. "You develop that after so many years of hacking. I notice its something you've had ingrained as well. Like I said though, I didn't want to risk your career, especially seeing as you're so happy working in the Star Army."
"Are you going to divulge something harmful regarding the Star Army? I'm not about to betray Yamatai just on your say so, mom. I know gramps has been wanting me to join the NSA for some time too although he plays it a lot cooler then the old man." Nyton said. "No son, its not that. What I wanted to show you was something else. You remember when the Empress committed suicide and how just before there was some sort of illegal transmission broadcasted out?" Nyton looked at her with a halfcocked smile. "Oh that's right you were marooned on Tami at the time. While you were there and these events happened, there were broadcasts made on every level of communication. While the Star Army jammed most of them, there were some areas that managed to obtain a copy of the transmission in it's entirety. Most of those were shady underground folks. People that I occasionally tend to communicate with." Celine said with a smile. She went serious again. "This transmission was a discussion implicating the Emperor in a conspiracy of murder."
Nyton looked as though he were about to laugh. "Mom, are you serious? You got all worried over something that's either enemy propaganda, urban legend, or a complete hoax." Celine let out a sigh. "Son, if it were just that I wouldn't have thought anything either but I did some research on the people involved and it all makes sense. Look, why don't you just watch the transmission. If you believe its a hoax that's fine." Nyton shrugged. "Very well, if only because you're taking this seriously, I will take a look."
Celine typed up a few keys and one of the computer displays began to run the program. What played was the entire confession Kai Ashigara obtained regarding his brother Kenji. After watching the discussion, the affirmation regarding Kohana's senseless murder, and the execution of Kenji, Celine presented some researched documents verifying the backgrounds of the people involved, including up to Kai's disappearance.
Nyton could barely mask his incredulity.
"It's all a hoax mother. Nothing more. Someone must have gathered the circumstances and put together this dramatic soap opera just to discredit the Empire. It wouldn't even require all that much work but its truly ridiculous. Is all this really supposed to make me question my loyalty to the Empire?"
"No son but please consider this as well." Celine said and grabbed Nyton's right arm, bringing his hand up to her stomach. "That's your sister in there. She's coming into a world that I fear may not survive the next few years. The secession from the Empire was somewhat amicable but there's no telling what may happen in the future. Even now Nepleslia is trying to find a way to be on an even level with Yamatai. If you were the emperor would you find that acceptable? To have an evenly matched neighbor right next door? Consider that and then realize who you would be fighting when that happens."
"Mom, it's not going to happen." Nyton said, only half believing it. Hadn't the nekos confirmed that? But those were only a small fraction, a minority. There were others, not to mention the large number of Nepleslians already serving, but then again what value did Nepleslians really have to the Empire unless they were serving loyally. There was no need to question the nekos, they were programmed with it. And in mass quantities. "Of course it won't happen. There's no need for it to be that way. I don't know how but-"
"Son, you're smarter then that, you know better then I do what the facts are. You've seen it on the streets. You haven't just been here on vacation, you wanted to know if Nepleslia would oblige in a war with Yamatai and I think you've reached your conclusion regarding that already." Celine said. "Its still too soon. Nepleslia doesn't want a war and neither does Yamatai. There's still plenty of other things for the Empire to deal with outside of warring with a neighbor. Its not like Yamatai wouldn't go unscathed." Nyton replied.
"Just victorious. After heaps of dead bodies fill the planet. Nepleslia wouldn't be able to recover as quickly as Yamatai." Celine concluded. Nyton couldn't help but nod. "Yes, victorious. I've concluded that many times, especially after the war with the SMX. Mom, either way I have to go back. Joining the NSA would do Nepleslia no good. I'd just be another soldier. I'm better off staying with Yamatai. I won't betray the Empire."
Celine's face grew emotionless as she nodded. "Very well son. If that is your decision. I can't say you made the wrong choice for yourself. If I had only been born a man, eh?" she said. Nyton smiled solemnly.
The next day Nyton went with his father to his warehouse. While they were checking some inventory his eyes crossed over the various supply lists. "Hey old man. Think you could do something for me?" Anthony laughed. "What, those grenade rounds weren't enough? I'm not made of money you know." Nyton chuckled. "No its not exactly weapons this time. I was wondering, you think you could maybe help me get a personal ADN device installed in my arm?" Anthony looked puzzled. "Huh? An ADN? What for?" Nyton raised his left arm. "Oh just to prevent any curious psionics from poking into the old brain now and then. You know how I like to maintain my privacy." Anthony thought for a moment. "Yeah I don't see why not. If you want it in your arm there shouldn't be a big deal- damn it lemme get my cyber guy on this. He'll tell you how it works. Think of it as an early birthday present along with those grenade rounds eh?" Nyton laughed. "Sure old man, sure."
Nyton's last day of leave arrived. With much emotion his family all bid their goodbyes before leaving to board the shuttle heading back towards Yamatai space. From there he would pick up his next assignment which should already be waiting for him.
"Let us know when you get there safely. Take care!"
"I'll be just fine. See you later!"
Nyton departed from his family's company and boarded the shuttle without any delay. He was excited to return to duty. Surely something big was waiting for him. He flexed his left fore arm, still getting used to the new sensation the personal ADN device was giving him. "Heh, I'd been planning on getting this anyways. Thanks dad." Nyton thought to himself before settling in for the trip. It wouldn't be long. He could almost envision being inside a PHALANX once again....
OOC: Well, and with that I'm back in action at least on the SP level. Its gonna be some time before I can do JPs, sorry. That always tends to bite me.