RP: YSS Heartbreaker [Mission 0] To Go Even Further Beyond

Main Passageway

Rin heard Kamatari's question and gave pause for a moment in her rounds, looking back over her shoulder at him. "You may call her Ochiko. She is a very old and somewhat eccentric MEGAMI, so please show the proper respect in your dealings with the system." She idly made mental a note to keep an eye on the red-skinned soldier if he turned out to be one of those creepy fellows she had encountered before, who treated the computer like some kind of dating simulation more than a valuable piece of equipment. It also brought back thoughts of Shin Nekki, which caused the Minkan's face to crinkle up a moment at the unpleasant memory of his unprofessional lusting after her. There will be none of that on this mission, she grumbled to herself quietly.


In front of Cabin #5

Even the white paneled First Officer was a bit taken aback for a fleeting moment at Tsukisaki-taii's disciplinary tone and menacing glare. It was both something to admire and fear at the same time for Rin, as the captain made the normally cold-hearted Minkan look positively warm and fuzzy in comparison. There was even a bit of contempt in the mix, as the Taii also in some ways represented the extreme nature of the Nekovalkyrja race towards other non-artificial persons that she disliked deep down. But, this was why she was chosen to lead this mission after all, since the sensitive nature of it required discipline to be maintained at all costs.

Once the new arrival had the fear of the Yamatain gods put into him and snapped to attention, she tried to follow up on the act with her best icy stare and a nod to his reporting statement. "While I understand your excitement at landing this assignment, and appreciate the effort you have put into looking the part -- a true Uchuugun soldier of any race also treats all Star Army property and personnel with the respect they deserve at all times. As a starfighter pilot assigned to the Heartbreaker, if your captain, Taii Tsukisaki Valesti and myself, first officer Shoi Hoshitomo Rin, cannot trust you with the furniture in your cabin... how can we place such greater trust in you to operate our space vehicles safely when lives aboard may be at stake?"

She then shook her blue haired head a moment and pointed at his duffel bag with a displeased frown (though not nearly like the permanent one the Taii wore). "Think about this subject as you get settled in, and be sure to leave the gung-ho nature behind with your things here... for your presence is required in the wardroom in a few moments for the intake briefing, Josva-hei. That is all." If the fighter pilot was adept at reading between the lines, he could probably see that the drubbing Rin gave was actually rather encouraging at the same time. She made a mistake once, too, so was always willing to give someone one chance to correct themselves.

Crew Cabins

As he stood there awaiting punishment the first officer entered the room. Shoi Hoshitomo Rin, that blue haired devil, immediately she began to reprimand Josva and it was all he could do not to respond, speaking of respect and whether or not he could be trusted angered him, he knew he was trustworthy, there were only a hand full of pilots better than him and none with as much to prove. He simply sucked on his teeth as Rin spoke before she and the captain left the cabin. Josva then shook his head whilst moving over to his bunk. "Trust me with the furniture" He muttered under his breath in an incredulous manner, quiet enough so that nobody could hear him. He picked up his bag and moved it over to the desk before straightening himself and his cabin up and heading out towards the wardroom; a serious nature in his step.

Hallway
Josva made his way through the hallway towards the Wardroom in silence. He was in too foul a mood to make friends today, he would listen to the briefings and then keep to himself for a little while, he needed to get a hold on his temper, so this self imposed exclusion was probably best. He passed several enlisted men and women without so much as a sideways glance before making his way into the Wardroom ready for the intake breifing.

Main Passageway, outside Cabin #4

SeonJi took her reprimandations without comment, she knew she'd screwed up. But it wasn't so bad. Starting off on a low point just meant that it would be that much easier to rise up and win them over. On such a little ship she wasn't likely to have any trouble getting around anyway. Plus, the benefit of a MEGUMI watching over her. She showed no signs of discomfort as she maintained a modest smile, her red eyes bright and full of hope for the future. "Yoroshiku. Pleased to meet you Hoshitomo-Shoi, and Captain Tsukisaki," she welcomed them with a polite bow.

After they moved on, SeonJi ducked into her cabin to stow away her belongings. Plopping the dufflebag up on the desk, it felt odd to the Nekovalkyrja as she looked about at her assigned quarters that this would be her new residence. shuttles and starbases were one thing, but the Heartbreaker gave SeonJi the same sort of feeling that she got when she was tucked snugly into her Daisy. Except there was a lot more room to move about! And it wasn't quite as physically invasive. Such a silly thought made SeonJi smile as she pulled on the zipper. Opening up the bag she considered about how there would be plenty of time later to sort it all into the storage compartments and personal cabinet, but first there was something special she wanted to take care of. A small metal box that had seen better days was waiting there atop her folded clothes and sundries.

"This is our new home for now," SeonJi told the dinged-up box, setting it down on the desk's surface. It looked to have had some painted design at one point, but the colors were all muted and the pattern was nearly indistinguishable. "No roommates this time," she commented with a little disappointment, zipping up her duffle bag and stowing it under the lower bunk for later. "Alright, time to meet the new crew!" she announced excitedly, though her countenance quickly turned serious. "End of the hall-- big room on the right. Right? Right." A curt nod of reassurance and SeonJi headed out towards the right, and after taking two steps forward and realizing that the Captain and Shoi were right in front of her standing in front of Cabin #5, spun around on her heel and headed in the correct direction of the wardroom.

Main Passageway

Kyou just nodded silently in thanks for the praise, though was surprised to hear that a ship with the planned active schedule that this one did wouldn't have a better staffed food and care department, since they were going to be out there potentially long term. She'd be happy to help, though, if it came down to it. Maybe it will help keep me settled with the familiarity? Can't hurt, at the very least.

After one last glance at her new room - was she actually getting a room all to herself on this ship? That seemed a bit excessive, but she wasn't going to complain - Kyou headed for the wardroom, ready to meet her new crewmates. She wasn't sure what to expect, since she hadn't met anyone quite like some of her original crewmates from the Miharu in her time since leaving that ship. She wasn't quite up to contacting any of them again just yet, either. Some things were best left unsaid, and she wasn't quite sure she would like what they had to say anyway.

Main Passageway

Kamatari nodded as he made his way "Thank you" he became silent after that as he walked to the Wardroom, he could that others were walking towards the same place.

Wardroom

Kamatari walked into the wardroom seeing how many people were already in there he felt uneasy 'why, why so many people here?' he sighed and went to a corner so he could hear but could stay hidden from everyone. His red skin and golden eyes betrayed him a bit, with his size as well, but he leaned against the wall and waited to be told what was going on.

Main Passageway

The Captain's hand rested on the hilt of her sword, seeming a bit threatening even if contact with the familiar item was actually rather soothing. She spoke no further, seeming fairly satisfied with her First Officer's handling of the incident. From Josva's expression as they left his cabin behind, the lecture had successfully affected him. Tsukisaki hoped they would have no further incidents involving the Nepleslian, but she highly doubted they would be so lucky. "Twenty years to create a soldier. When a Nekovalkyrja could have the same qualifications in less than one." She shook her head, taking the longer path to the Wardroom, past the Captain's Suite, giving the crew time to assemble.

"It's inefficient." That seemed to be the root of her frustration, more than any social bias. "Our dedicated fighter pilot is the only crew member unable to use such a craft to the fullest extent, lacking a SPINE connection. Even you yourself saw the wisdom in upgrading." Valesti paused outside of her Suite, her frown clearing for a moment as she blinked, realizing her tone. "No offense intended, Hoshitomo-Shoi." She gave her First Officer a deeper nod than she had the others so far. The Taii obviously respected Rin's experience, and her intelligence in choosing to upgrade to a technically superior form, but there was still clearly a strata system with Neko placed firmly at the top.

Although none of the crew members were yet at their post, everyone suddenly felt the ship begin to move. If their engines hadn't fired up yet, it only took a moment for most to realize the Ikoi they were docked inside of must have departed Gemini Star Fortress with the Yui still inside. The ship had been hidden away during its repair, and continued to be kept out of site for its departure. None of them had seen it before today, or been given any further information about their mission, making all of this secrecy very concerning.

"If you would excuse me for a few moments, Hoshitomo-Shoi, I need to prepare for the briefing. Please observe the crew's interactions until I arrive." With another respectful nod she disappeared into her Suite, leaving Rin to manage the assembled crew. The group that had arrived before the others, from the nest, were sitting clumped together on one side of the long, main table. A few looked up at the newer arrivals, smiling or offering polite greetings, but they were keeping mostly to themselves. Some cast worried glances at Kamatari, sitting at one of the small two-seater tables in the corner.

In Front of Captain's Suite

Rin nodded wordlessly as her superior spoke about the merits of the Nekovalkyrja over others, dropping into a haughty tone however briefly. This would have rankled the Shoi majorly back when she first became a soldier, but in the intervening years she came to understand that there was a place for everything and everyone in the Star Army. Sill, she could not completely accept the inequality either. "None taken, Taii. Though I cannot argue with your line of reasoning on the matters of inefficiencies that this presents to the mission..." began Hoshitomo-shoi as she stood at attention outside the door to the captain's quarters.

While composed in her mannerisms, it was obvious she was not going to completely agree with the black and white line of thinking. "...I must however point out that one should not underestimate someone based purely on their perceived inferiority. If you wished to use me as an example, then how was I able to fight alongside Nekovalkyrja throughout the last war while in a mere NH-22C body type? It was not luck, but courage and tenacity. And if I could do that, perhaps Josva-hei can as well. Only time will tell." It was likely quite obvious to Tsukisaki, if she read her file, why Rin chose to upgrade to a Minkan with decidedly Geshrin features and not a full Nekovalkyrja body when she had the chance. This itself could be viewed as inefficient, too.... but one thing she had a great deal of was her pride. Walking a narrow line between wanting the right weapons for battle and yet sacrificing a piece of her biological history and family tradition to obtain them, this was something the manufactured soldiers could never truly understand deep down.

Rin had to cut that line of thought short though and gave a crisp salute, as the Ikoi that embraced the Heartbreaker protectively now was departing from the spacedock. "Hai, Tsukisaki-taii. I will await your arrival with the others." With that she departed for where everyone was gathering.

Wardroom

The First Officer entered the Wardroom with a neutral expression, glancing around several times and unconsciously taking a head count of who was present already. The anti-social Kamatari-hei certainly didn't escape her purview either. She eventually made her way to the large table and took a seat dead center in the middle, saying a few greetings to the several enlisted members that were present there from the nest. Though she had an icy blue eyed stare one would have to get used to, Rin seemed rather approachable... at least when the captain was not staring right over her shoulder.

Main Passageway

As she approached the Wardroom door, SeonJi found herself two steps behind a mop of curly blue hair on a neko just about her own height. "Hi," she announced herself, taking a couple quick steps to put her astride the-- a quick glance at her uniform told SeonJi this was an infantry woman like herself. An Itto Hei at that, certainly someone she had a lot in common with already and by the looks of things someone she was likely to work closely with in the near future. "Baek SeonJi," the Miyamae nekovalkyrja introduced herself.

Wardroom

Kamatari watched everyone, there was an uneasiness with his look as there were a lot more people than he was used to, he put a hand on the ship and tried to feel any sort of hum to calm his nerves. He closes his eyes and tried to ignore the talking, giving up with his tactic he leaned against the wall and made a weak smile trying to seem less imposing with his red skin, golden eyes and size staying quiet as he stood there.

Hallway

Yumi after quickly looking around the ship made her way to the Wardroom, where she took a seat and waited quietly for the briefing to begin. She was seated more towards the back so that she could not only watch the briefing itself but so that she could watch everyone who came in as well, she was curious who she'd be leading 0ut in the field. Her eyes scanned the room quietly taking note of everyone there.

Miho hovered over Rin's shoulder once they were in the wardroom, holding her tongue for the encounters with the captain.

"Ah, I feel I should mention," she said to her technical roommate, "I don't have access to the mission documentation yet. Due to some security protocol, yours or the captain's permission is required before I have full access to the crew roster, relevant classified data, and so on."

She held her opinion forming of the basic crewmates off though. After one judgement gone wrong, maybe taking a lighter touch on it would be wise.

Wardroom

Rin turned to the mini-Neko and furrowed her brow a moment at the request from Miho. "Is that so?" She thought a moment about the unusual situation they were all in that required such secrecy before responding. "To tell you the truth, Miho-hei, I do not know all the specific details of the mission myself yet outside of some general information. I was placed here due to primarily my technical knowledge of the Yui7 class ship and excellent navigation skills, and to help manage our personnel." The teal-haired officer then nodded once to her hovering assistant. "To that end, I will grant you access to the crew data I have for now. Let's see what the captain has to say first in front of all assembled before we progress to more sensitive information..."

Main Passageway

Kyou barely spared a glance at the woman walking up beside her, hesitating a moment before replying rather curtly, "Gunshin Kyoufuu." Maybe later she'd be interested in talking to someone else, but as it was, she'd be polite and not much else. She just wanted to get everything figured out and settled. It had been a long time, and no matter what the captain felt like complimenting her for, she still wasn't entirely sure she was ready for this.

Wardroom
Josva sat in his seat with a stone-faced expression. Elbows on the table, hands in front of his mouth he silently looked around at his new crew mates, it looks like he was the only Nepleslian on board. "Great" he thought to himself sarcastically as fellow crew members made their way to seats. "as if it wasn't going to be tough enough already". He dropped his hands and leaned back in his seat dropping one arm over the back to feign some sort of relaxation. He wanted this briefing to hurry up so he could get back to his cabin, He had seen the crew, what else did he need to know as a fighter pilot in an introductory meeting. He took one final look around the room before turning his attention to the door and waiting for the captain.

Main Passageway

With the door to the Wardroom opening before them, SeonJi gave a polite "Pleased to meet you, Gunshin-Hei" and her winningest smile before joining the rest of the crew inside. Looking about, there were a couple of oddball looking characters in the assembled personnages. Ringing a lock of hair in her finger, the Miyamae nekovalkyrja had the presence of mind to realize that she herself probably could be described as oddball herself. Maybe it wasn't as audacious as brightly colored hair, or skin-- or the giant Nepleslian.

SeonJi averted her eyes so as not to be caught staring and double checked her uniform for straightness. A little tug on the bottom of the jacket, straightening the sleeves by the cuffs and making sure the hem of her skirt was straight. It had been a little embarrassing being caught by the Captain earlier, so the least she could do was make sure she looked presentable for the briefing.

Captain's Suite

Tsukisaki considered Rin's words as she settled at her desk. Her First Officer had been chosen to compliment the ship, its Captain and its mission, just like every other crew member and piece of equipment. The Shoi's service record was just as well known as her attitude towards Neko and other advanced Yamataian species. Her competence was just as important as her contrasting views. If her First had been a 'yes man' or some other type of unopinionated pushover, they would have been useless. It was the same reasoning that kept Neko from being mindless, identical drones. Their differences and imperfections could become their strengths and advantages.

Similarly, their Nepleslian pilot obviously had much to prove, and his training record and test scores showed he was more than qualified for the job. If he failed to perform to her high standards, he could be dealt with or replaced, but there was no reason to act before he had even had a chance to succeed. Or fail.

Retrieving a stack of encrypted data pads from her luggage, which had been delivered while she toured the ship, she recompiled the briefing she'd been mentally composing, attaching digital lists from her memory to maps and other technical information from the pads. It didn't take long for her to lay her speech out again, setting marks for when to bring up certain images or other files. She took her time, though, giving the rest of the crew several extra minutes to fraternize.

Wardroom

Entering through the door closest to her Suite, the Captain glanced at Rin expectantly, pausing to make sure she had been spotted before stepping further inside. She nodded to the crew members, walking around the side of the table to her seat at the head, back to the door that led to the Medbay. She began laying out her data pads in front of her, lights in the Wardroom dimming as a simple volumentric map that would be familiar to most as the area around Hanako's Star projected above the center of the long table. The position of Hanako's World and Gemini Star Fortress were clearly indicated, as well as a slowly moving dot that seemed to represent the Ikoi they were currently nestled inside.

Wardroom

No sooner had Rin mentioned the captain in her conversation with Miho-hei then she arrived at the door to the wardroom apparently ready for her briefing. The First officer gave her captain a silent affirming nod, before folding her hands in front of her upon the tabletop. Those blue eyes of hers shifted left and right, looking up and down the rows of chairs one final time as the lights dimmed, hoping all assembled were finishing up their private discussions as the briefing was soon about to begin.

Her irises eventually came to rest on the image forming above them of nearby space, and Rin could not help but find herself mentally calculating the vectors of the Ikoi's path to numerous familiar UX-series systems in the Ketsurui Military Sector. Of course, she also knew that this mission was heading in a much different direction... one that may require a whole new set of maps to chart it. And that prospect truly excited her, enough to cause a brief smile to cross her face.

Wardroom

After another moment, as the room quieted down, more dots began to appear. Nearby UX-13 and UX-21. Then UX-15 and UX-20. A pattern quickly emerged, as the scattered systems all labelled UX were added to the map, radiating out from their current position. "Almost seven years ago, the former Emperor, Ketsurui Uesu, registered these systems before completely disappearing from known space. Along with more than three hundred thousand ships and millions of Neko and other crew. Some of you may remember this incident, or even served during the confusion." The Taii nodded to a few of the older crew members. "While our younger crew members may only know of it as a passing mention in Yamatai's dense history."

A line began to connect the dots, from the Samurai Sector to UX-1, to their current location, to the KMS, before ending at UX-29. A dotted line continued roughly south from there, before hitting the edge of the map. "They blazed a trail through SMX resistance along this path. Their last known communications had them continuing to the galactic south, presumably continuing this mission of exploration. Star Army ships could not - and would not - follow them. We had other priorities. Uesu's Fleet was written off and considered lost, possibly even captured and converted by the NMX." Suddenly, a new dot lit up, to the east of the Samurai Sector.

"Until now." The Captain stood up straight, looking over the crew to ensure they were properly paying attention. "Some of you may have noticed the unusual IRN given to this shp. NS-U1-107427. It was originally the 107,427th ship registered as deserting along with Ketsurui Uesu. It was found, impossibly intact and far off course, in the Splorfin system." There was a bit of murmuring from the crew members that were bunking in the ship's nest, bunched together on one side of the table. "An original Yui-class, it was refitted to the more current Yui 7 at Gemini Star Fortress. While the Star Army has recovered wreckage from Uesu's Fleet before, at the sites of battles with the SMX, this ship is the first to be found in operable condition, with a fully functioning MEGAMI. The only thing missing was the crew."

She let that fact hang ominously for a moment before continuing. With a tap on a data pad, the dotted line that had abruptly stopped suddenly continued moving, heading off the edge of the map and making several turns before once again coming to a stop. Although now the line ended many thousands of light years outside of known space. "It received communications and navigational information from the main fleet for nearly two more years." With another tap, the lights in the room brightened again, the map disappearing except for the new line that started at UX-29 and the slowly moving dot that represented their current location.

"At 0900 hours, the Ikoi Light Starbase Seisenkyo will reach open space, where we will disengage and set a course for our first jump to UX-29." Now that the presentation she'd prepared was over, she seemed a bit less enthusiastic about the excited reactions she was already seeing from some of the crew members. "...I assume many of you have questions, comments or concerns." A brief glance at Rin was hopefully enough to remind her First Officer that she had already been promised a private briefing that would go into far more detail.

Wardroom

The captain spoke with a commanding voice, a strong and confident voice, a voice that was need for a mission like this. Josva watched as she explained everything, the missing ships, the unexplored space, all of it. Looking at the map he could see that the mission was going to be a long one and a dangerous one too, whatever it was. He looked around the room to gauge opinions on the matter, some seemed scared, others were harder to read. "I assume many of you have questions, comments or concerns." the captain then said pulling Josva's attention right back to her and the map. Josva thought briefly, he then realized that the crew hadn't actually been told the mission, or the objective, simply what has happened and where they are going.

He stood up at attention declared loudly "Skirnir Josva, Santo Hei, Star Army Fighter Pilot, Sir. We have no objective, is the mission to explore unexplored space or is it an attempt to rescue or find the lost crews of the other ships, sir?" Josva stood in silence feeling the eyes piercing him from all around, had he asked a stupid question? Was he supposed to have more faith in his Captain? Whatever the situation Josva was going to get an answer, whether it was the one he wanted remained to be seen.

Wardroom

Kamatari had listened to the captain's speach about what they would do, somehow the captain had calmed down his nervous mind and was thankful that he could stand up straight and look normal for a bit, well as normal as he could with his red skin and size. As he looked over the map and listened, he had heard about the missing ships in his lessons and all that what seemed to happen and smiled slightly "So this beauty was with all of them.." he spoke more to himself than others.

He looks over the crew and smiled slightly then heard the question from Skirnir Josva and grinned to his self, "That is a good question sir" he didn't normally speak out but thought this needed to answered, all he wanted to do was get used to the ship, maybe Ochiko could help him out learning the ins and out, he took his duty above all "Captain there is something I want to ask about the ship, does Ochiko remember anything about the original ships crew and mission?"