RP: Lorath [Lorath] Reaching out into the Darkness: Part 1

[Andrew]

Continued from: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=239

Saito and the Lorath

“The next generation of Lorath royalty; set to be born within the Yugumo Cluster within the first days of this New Year. Now we share more than our tragedies, new birth comes to uplift our saddened hearts. A moment of bliss to null the coming darkness.”

--Personal Log, Motoyoshi Katsuko Taisho

Destiny was swept away, and Saito followed; Katsuko acknowledged the Chujo; Go with them as our representative, be respectful of their traditions and I will communicate the details of a gift in celebration of the births to their Queen to you once it has occurred.


Grand Admiral Davis

Negotiations with Nepleslia are now foremost on my mind. Peace and trade and cooperation are likely the hopeful outcomes. However I go to the table with a simple desire in mind; a bottle of Nepleslian Whiskey, and the hopes that I might see Corro somewhere lost within the Grand Admiral’s features.”

--Personal Log, Motoyoshi Katsuko Taisho

"However brilliant or ambitious one may be, it is all too often that grand projects fall to ruin. For visionaries are too often blinded by their view of a perfect world, fatally misinterpreting their rising megalomania as justified conviction.

Only when their dreams come crashing down do these leaders realize, too late, that such catastrophe could have been prevented with what they left behind in their shortsightedness: a little tact and diplomacy.

In my dealings with Yamatai, I never forgot this."

-Robert Davis, Memoirs of a Leader, pg 56.

~~~~~

“Estimated arrival time: 3 minutes, 45 seconds, Grand Admiral.”

Grand Admiral Robert Davis nodded in response to the statement by the captain of the NSS Eclipse, a small Nepleslian who went by the name Adam Moore. Captain Moore had been in command of his Hray Stealth Gunship for little more than 3 months when he was suddenly ordered to escort the most powerful man in the Nepleslian empire. It was an immense honor for the captain and a welcome change from the generic routine his ship performed while under NAM designation.

Still, the captain couldn’t shake a sense of uneasiness from his mind. He had been ordered by High Command to escort the Grand Admiral to the Yūgumo Cluster, home of the 5th XF. Yamataian holdings. Neko holdings.

The Eclipse was over 85 light years away from home, having hopped among space debris, nebulas and planets to deliver its cargo undetected. The Mass Mesher Device proved critical in concealing the ship from long range sensors, but it would prove useless when the Eclipse revealed itself to its host.

They would be at the mercy of the nekos, and that realization made the captain uncomfortable. Sure, they all had Cerebral Chips installed, but that didn’t make death any less painful.

But the Grand Admiral: he appeared so calm, staring down at his datapad, going over details that lesser officers, like him, would never see. He envied the aging man, his nonchalant demeanor bringing a feeling of shame to the Captain, but the swelling of pride in his chest was noticeable as well.

Adam cleared his throat with a cough and continued to monitor his sensors as his ship neared its destination.

~~~~~

Three Minutes and 45 Seconds Later…

Without a sound, the Eclipse made its presence known, emitting a signal, care to Shosho Miyamae Eriko.

On the bridge, Robert Davis made sure everything was in order. He wore his officer’s cap, an undecorated military jacket that bore only his ranking patches on the shoulders and standard-issue brown pants with green boots. On his left hip rested a sheathed sword, more for decoration than anything else, and he held his walking cane in his right hand. He stood patiently, issuing orders for his gifts to be prepared for delivery as he waited for a response.

Eriko showed the mandatory concern required of her before sitting down again and finishing off her cake. “Aye, and I’ll need to meet both him and Caine-kun in short order. That said…I could manage both at the same time.” She dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin before draining the dregs of her second glass.

“So, since everyone seems to be leaving on business now as it is, I’m going to push off early and do a little thing we like to call diplomacy. With the most powerful man in Nepleslia. Urgh. Empress guide me, and you lot wish me luck and pray I don’t do anything too stupid. The fate of our little corner of the universe may very well be resting on my shoulders. And I’ll see you in a few hours then, Kat-chan.”

 

[DocTomoe]

Re: [Hotaru] Reaching out into the Darkness: Part 1

Nyli III, The New Lorath Palace

Destiny seemed to be fretting over the overly protected eggs, whimpering a little as she did her best to make sure they were covered a little more, and perfectly warm. Shuffling around her nest she adjusted a pillow here and there before she finally sighed again, laying her head on top of the two eggs. The windows of her room were wide open, the gray sheets pulled aside to let the warm sunlight wash over the twin eggs. All around her some Helashio helpers were getting a bath ready for the rather smelly queen who had yet to leave her eggs alone. It had been three days now that she was awake for, never quiet satisfied with the condition she was going to leave the eggs in. Her bedroom, a comfortable setup that mimicked her old room, the changing area, bathing and small leisure areas all scattered about in the normal places from before. Still there was the pathways in pillows, yet around the bed the pillows were absent, used in the nest to cushion her eggs. She finally shut her eyes, her body relaxing slightly as she tried to get a small nap before getting back to fluffing and protecting her eggs. She was a dedicated mother after all

Seated just inside of the doorway to Destiny's room was Tomoe, who glanced over to his sister every now and then out of sheer instinct. As he sat in the comfortable chair which would best be described as a beanbag chair with legs, he had his arms crossed in silent contemplation as he thought of the day's events. First there is ensuring that my sister is taken care of, then there is the security sweeps of the hallways, then there is dealing with the liaison dealings, and then there is the fleet construction planning...

Saito was nearby, checking in now and again on Destiny's condition...this time, she'd brought them some food, and Tomoe the mighty beverage called Coffee....the friend of worried new fathers everywhere. "You two really should eat a little..."

Tomoe sighed as Saito stepped into the room. "Saito, you try my patience when you step in here... I can't help but to feel that you're out of place in my sister's chambers, especially with my offspring present. It is not just you, but anyone outside of the regular faces who I've known for years."

Saito blinked, but nodded... "I understand, and apologize...I merely wished to bring you food and drink....I'll just sit it here and leave you be..."

"Meh... that is purely my opinion, but my sister did wish to address you about your duties. You may step closer to her, but go no closer than ten meters." Tomoe took the coffee in hand and sniffed at it. He was still not used to the cuisine served by the Yamataians, especially the bitter drinks, without a morsel of meat, or a drop of blood... or at least the sweet flavor of fruit or veggie.


Destiny didn't seem to be listening, her nervousness being pressed out around her in a overpowering emotional attack. Of course she didn't mean it, but she couldn't help it. Finally snapping out of it when she heard her brother, she peered over the edge of the nest and frowned. Her eyes seemed withdrawn and very shallow. "Brother, let her in. It is not nice..." She still seemed protective of the eggs, yet she wasn't going to bar her. "Do you wish to see the eggs?"

Saito smiled at the new mother, and bowed... "While I am honored...you are both the parents, and I won't look upon them if one of you doesn't wish it..."

Destiny's ears twitched at her brother as she narrowed her eyes. "She will be fine brother, let her see the eggs please?" She asked of her brother, her chin now on the edge of the nest.

Tomoe let out a huff. "As you wish sister, but you know I dislike it..." He crossed one leg over the other as he turned to watch the nest.

Saito stayed outside on ten meters, looking, albeit concerned of Tomoe's opinion.

In the nest sat two eggs, both warmly cushioned in a cocoon of pillows. About knee height on Destiny, the eggs looked normal of course, though it was impressive she could have even gotten them out.

"Wow...twins! Congratulations, you two!" Saito said, impressed... "About how long do they take to hatch?"

"It will take another eight months, erm...your months. Thank you as well Saito." Destiny bowed her head fluffing the pillows again around the edge of the eggs.

Tomoe let out a sigh as he thought about how things would be in eight months, hopefully him, his sister, and the people of the Lorath race would be settled in by then... as for the children, he'd be sure to give them plenty of siblings he figured, the thought brought a smile to his face.

Saito noticed the smile, and smiled a bit herself... "Do you want me to leave?"

"That is up to my sister, she is the one allowing you audience." Tomoe replied before taking a sip of the coffee, finding it highly sweetened in comparison to the last few cups... at least Saito was learning.

"You may stay if you wish, I think I will get some sleep though." Destiny said aloud, yawning a little as she curled up around her eggs with another yawn

Saito smiled, watching the mother and her eggs... "...I hope I can be a mother someday..."

"Self-replication, or merge DNA?" Tomoe asked as he swallowed down a sip of coffee. "From what I've read of your people, you don't even require mates to bear children, and they mature quite rapidly."

Saito nodded. "True....but I think merge DNA, or a more...conventional method." Saito cleared her throat. "Once things are settled down a bit, of course.

Destiny giggled a little as she dozed off.

"Hm... for the sake of my sister's wishes, if you desire to remain present, I will grant you an extended audience so we may discuss resettlement and LSDF affairs, but I would ask that you sit here with me if you are to remain present... my sister needs her space, otherwise she may easily be startled from sleep." Tomoe stated as he gestured to a chair which was placed across from him on the other side of the walkway which led to the doors which he was seated beside.

Saito nodded. She bowed and sat across from him, in hushed tones so as not to wake the Queen... "Very well...how is the settlement of your people going?"

"It goes well." Tomoe spoke in a hushed tone as well as he leaned forward in his seat, cradling the cup of coffee in his hands. "We've managed to land the Kyoto carriers as planned, and we have also managed to place an Antaeus Battleship near the settlement and get it functional, along with a pair in orbit... those units will serve as the backbone for our industrial recovery, and will provide fleet construction capabilities by constructing additional battleships... a sort of chain creation in a way. As for power, to prevent our settlement from sticking out to enemy sensors if there are any watching, we have established artificial geothermal power plants to power our settlement... things seem well enough, we can just hope that the crops take well to this soil."

Saito nodded. "If that becomes an issue, we have the technology to modify the crops or the soil....though I expect you would prefer that as a last resort. It's hard making a planet into the image of another, I know..."

Tomoe let out a huff as he shook his head. "If the crops fail to take, we'll resort to consuming the local food sources, we adapt to our environment, not the other way around."

"Respectable." Saito said...adapting the planet or adapting the people were both concepts she was acquainted with. "Have you selected a site for a capital city? Or does each House have its own capital?"

Tomoe let out a soft sigh, her question brought back a bitter feeling in the depths of his stomach as he thought back to the Occhestian Coronate Government. "In light of... events... I and my sister feel that we will operate as a solidified community working and living in a mixed situation. Each caste will retain their individual culture and practice, but professionally they will co-exist, and their housing will be mixed."

Saito nodded, thinking it was for the best... "If you are to adapt, unification is a logical first step, especially after what has happened..."

"We've always been unified... at least until the so-called 'Truth'... as he was called, turned the Occhestians against the central government with his pushing for the establishment of separate Occhestian facilities. It was also my fault... I encouraged their efforts, because of my desire to encourage their developments." Tomoe explained as he looked into his cup of coffee, as if it held a hidden solution to his woes.

"...It's impossible to see all the potential signs, even if there were any. Even the strongest leader does not have full foresight..." Saito said, with a sigh...

"Mmm, they can be apparent if you're conscious of them... the acquisition of resources, the division in opinions, the shifts in population." Tomoe frowned. "At least there were some which saw beyond the words of 'Truth' and remained with the Matriarchy."

Saito sighed... "Even now, I suspect something similar in our own forces...there is...discontentment in our ranks against Command. I am trying to think of ways to alleviate this before it's an issue.."

"Mm... tell me more." Tomoe said, his eyes shifting to Saito in a concerned expression, and he began taking silent notes.

 

[Toshiro]

Re: [Hotaru] Reaching out into the Darkness: Part 1

Saito hesitated for a moment, before a look of shock crossed her face...though only for the briefest moments, before the collected officer took over again.

"...S..Sou na...The 5th XF has just been attacked at our doorstep. They were held off, but it seems I feared correctly...there were traitors in our midst, though not the party I'd suspected..."

She continued, slightly shaken...

"I strongly suggest bolstering your defenses. We're already working on supplemental defenses for you, but you need to prepare just in case...the Mishhu have shown they are willing to attack at any time, any where, against any number of us."

 

[DocTomoe]

Re: [Hotaru] Reaching out into the Darkness: Part 1

Tomoe's brow furrowed as he was told the news. Oh what ironic timing... the Mishhu picked the exact moment while the Lorath's command structure's gaze was focused on defending its own borders instead of the bigger picture.

"I see... and why were we, including you, not alerted sooner?" Tomoe asked as he calmly began relaying silent messages to the LSDF's command structure to begin mobilization of a task force. "I would think it would have been productive for the 5th XF to alert us of the trouble at hand instead of allowing us to sit blindly to receive the news after the event has taken place."

"Sister, wake up, we have trouble."

 

[Toshiro]

Re: [Hotaru] Reaching out into the Darkness: Part 1

"I'm uncertain...it's possible there was some sort of jamming technology, or they were just too busy fighting for their lives...it's likely for the best though. Had you intervened, the Mishhu may have attacked this world directly in retaliation before you were fully prefared to defend it..."

Saito gave a deep sigh...

"Still, you must increase your defenses...the Yugumo Cluster may be our new home, but it is by no means safe, unfortunately. I will provide whatever assistance I am able to give."

 

[DocTomoe]

"Mm, we are building up as best we can... we require additional ship-yards if we are to make any sort of contribution which is worth while anytime soon... but we are in the process. As for now... we'll be on alert, and we will be dispatching a number of Harvester-Class ships to recover the wreckage from the battle, and a number of Zahl-Class to provide your forces cover while they recover from your conflict."

As Tomoe spoke, he could not help but to feel a bit weary as he thought of the matter at hand... he directed his LSDF forces to be at the ready in case of any sort of stray Mishhu ships coming their way.

 

[Toshiro]

Saito mentally noted this, though she was critical of the use of the Harvesters...

"We are already sifting through the debris, picking up survivors, but the risk is still high of enemy Pods in the area. I recommend that you allow us to assist and investigate the area and the salvaged parts. Of course, I have to ask you return all that is obtained...naturally we want our own vessels back, and the Mishhuvurthyar technology has a very high classification level."

 

[DocTomoe]

"The salvage department will do their duty, and will catalog every single scrap that their nets bring in... as for the pods, the Harvesters have defenses, and there will be Zahl-Class ships watching over the operation, there is little to worry about. Who knows, maybe my people may find a live Mishhu to dissect."

Velor smiled at the thought as he monitored the preparations of the LSDF, and he made sure that a QnS ISFB, it would be able to take the Harvester and Zahl to the Jiyuu system in little time at all... fortunate for the scrambling LSD and LSDF.

 

[DocTomoe]

Lorath Palace

Destiny stirred a little, but regardless she remained asleep. A strong iron wall was in place around her mind, apparently she was in no mood to awaken.

Tomoe looked to his sister and let out a soft sigh. "It seems that I will have to be giving orders on my own for the duration of this... laying our brood has taken a toll on my dear sister."

"Well, I've still issued 5th XF ships orders to assist...besides, if we find survivors, they'll need our medical treatment." Saito said, not willing to allow the Lorath to harvest unsupervised, especially with the dangers involved.

"And it is fully understandable...giving birth is supposed to be difficult...though I admittedly envy her."

"If you think your births are difficult, I'll show you the egg shells later after the young ones hatch." Tomoe's lips spread to reveal his teeth in a grin, but he soon set aside his humor and returned to talking over the task at hand. "As for our assistance in your salvage operations, my civilian ships will be careful in regard to survivors, escape pods, and enemy activity. The LSDF observers will be vigilant and will be sure to eliminate any threatening SMX... I do suggest you make your ships aware not to get in the way of our nets... the magnetic fields they put off do tend to interfere with equipment."

"Understood. We will still assist, though. After all...they are our personnel. We can't be expected to sit idly by." Saito said, determined not to be muscled out of this.

"That will be fine, we're just glad to assist." Tomoe smiled softly then let out a sigh. "So, what comes now after this little scuffle between your forces and the SMX?"

"Increases in security, investigations, and...sending letters of information to loved ones...the worst part of the job. Thank Chiharu that ST backups reduce them drastically...but even writing one is too much."

"That is a given... I am referring to the over all strategy of the 5th Fleet. I have to doubt that your people would simply sit back and wait after being outright attacked by such a sizable force." Tomoe's brow furrowed in thought as he thought on the matter, and was referring to sensor log data which was coming in as he spoke with Saito... the long range information was vague, but it gave an effective detailing of what took place five light years away.

"Well, that is somewhat classified at this time...but there will be retribution." Saito said, unable to reveal anything more.

There was a feeling in Tomoe's gut which told him that he'd hear such a response. "That is troublesome to hear... it is difficult to help someone who will not let you know what they may need help with."

"I understand this...and I'll ask Katsuko if there is any involvement you can be offered...but I haven't the authority to dictate such policy to you...but know this. We're planning something which will hopefully avenge BOTH our worlds."

"That is only obvious, if you were not doing such already, then you would not be doing your service to the Empire, would you?" Tomoe smiled widely then clasped Saito on the shoulder. "Do not feel cornered by our zeal... we just desire to make them bleed, many times more than what they have done to us."

"Believe me when I say that is a mutual drive between us, High Priest." Saito smiled at Tomoe, and glanced over to the resting Destiny.

"I pray to Chiharu your children never have to see what we've seen."

"I pray that they will see their own trials... no one should grow up sheltered from the truth of what is, and the truth that I've come to know, is that space is cruel... and that you must be prepared to be ruthless if you wish to survive."

"Then I at least hope for a better future for them, one of balance. I guess that's all one can truly hope for." Saito said, sighing deeply.

"That is the least to hope for... I want them to have the same glory that my mother and father had as they reclaimed the surface alongside my grandparents. I want them to know that they're part of a strong bloodline, and that they deserve to be hailed as rulers." Tomoe looked to the nest with a sad smile of sorts. "I don't want them to have to live in fear of their positions... not like my sister and I have for the last year."

Saito nodded, unsure of what else to say...

"I do think you should be making those communications to your fleet." Tomoe tilted his head to the doorway of the royal chamber. "Communication room is down the left hall, five doors down on your right."

"Thank you very much, but I am utilizing my telepathy to do so...one benefit of being a sentient walking computer." She smiled, having been in contact with the Fifth for a while...

"Mmm, just be glad I leave the Matriarchy's transmission boosting equipment open to your people." Tomoe smiled as he did much the same as Saito, directing his troops to prepare and to aid the 5th in regrouping.