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

[Reynolds]

Bridge

The Captain looked up from her own console and the data she was examining, compiled from each of the other Bridge stations, nodding at Rin's suggestion. "Hai, Ittou. Lay in a course, and transfer the specifics to our escorts. I'll advise them of our new destination." First? Perhaps the entire First Officer was too much of a mouthful.

As the barren and uninteresting rocky planets were ignored, scans were able to focus on the path ahead, towards the inhospitable but theoretically livable and definitely rather metallic planet. There seemed to be signs of debris around the planet, which might need to be taken into account as they neared their destination.

Outside

"Alter course to form up on the Heartbreaker." Yumi's voice broke the silence as she began to slowly veer back towards the ship. "Ship's sensors have picked up traces of activity, helm is laying in a course as we speak. Prepare for sub-light travel." She once again indicated an arrangement with the fighter in front and the three Neko circling it. The Heisho didn't seem to be the talkative type, at least not while on the job. Although she'd spotted SeonJi's wobbles and bobs, and noticed the fighter pilot staying rigidly in formation even as he obviously yearned to fly free, she didn't comment. They were still feeling each other out and learning their places, and she was confident everyone would settle in comfortably soon enough.

 

[paladinrpg]

Bridge

Once Rin had the go ahead from the Taii, and the escort wing was informed of their destination, she adjusted the angle of the ship towards the third rocky planet and brought the CDD of the Heartbreaker fully online. The distortion coils nestled in the nacelles of the ship began generating discernible ripples in local spacetime that the vessel rode upon, though the strength of these waves was only like a small pebble in a pond to creep forward carefully at sub-light speeds, rather than the thousands of times faster than light it was capable of. This hesitation served several purposes... most notably so that she could make sure the escort group could follow without straining to keep up and perhaps use the ripples to aid their propulsion being so close by. It was also easy to make adjustments in course at this rate of speed if another bug in the propulsion systems cropped up.

The Shoi at the helm nestled the peristaltic fields conservatively using only the necessary power and no more, not wanting to complicate Nakane's troubleshooting of the power conduits going on at the same time. These contractions and expansions propelled them all forward with constant momentum on its fluid-like swell until UX-29 III was much closer on the visual scanners. At this point she also became keenly aware of the debris field that encircled the planet, though exactly what kind was still unknown and she hoped Miho would soon have the specifics available to them. The teal-haired navigator pulled back on the forward action of the vessel to halt it's deflector a short distance away from this hazard, as the final ripple dissipated into the aether and they achieved a distant orbit.

"We have arrived at the destination. Escort wing, report in, and stay alert," was transmitted to the Mindies and Skirnir's starfighter as Hoshitomo-shoi doublechecked their relative positions that they had all kept up with the Yui scout and arrived without incident.

Tsukisaki could see her tension, too, as the first officer knew Miho detected power readings before so she fully expected to encounter some type of space-based automated defenses that had to be dealt with regardless of whether the possible base was manned or not at this time. The debris field could even be the remnants of an unfortunate ship that wandered too close long ago. Using the CDD to arrive was definitely not the stealthiest option if such a trap existed, but until the auxiliary engines were more reliable she had little choice. Her experiences in the past when she flew in a Mindy battle squad told her to be prepared for action, and while they awaited more actionable information to stream in she hastily ran checks on the shields and weapon systems at her disposal for point defenses.

 

[BloodyScarlet]

Engineering

Kamatari looked over the holographic blueprints in front of him and looked to see if anything was wrong with how the people wired the ship. He sent a status report to the bridge to let them know what was happening:

Generator:  Running smoothly on optimal settings
Engines: Running smoothly on optimal settings
Power Conduits: Checking.....
Wiring; checking.......

Ochiko has given me some information just checking now, hoping nothing to serious.

Kamatari looked over the blueprints again when he sent the message and saw that some of the Wiring seemed off "Damn lazy people" he growls and sighs "at least there isn't that much, any more and the ship could of went boom instead of power oscillating" He looked around engineering to gather a solder some pliers and some extra wiring.

He looked at the blueprints one more time and sighed "this will be dangerous while in space" he contacted the Bridge "Engineering to Bridge, this is Santô Hei Nakane Kamatari, I have isolated the problem to the new wiring that the people from the Seisenkyo put in, seems like some loose wiring, it is causing the power to only oscillate at the moment which is good, I am noticing a few places with this problem, I can sort it out when we land as they are close to the engines." He sighs audibly "I want to get there and sort it out sooner rather than later as there could be more complications than just changes in power if and more wiring loosens or does worse."

 

[Moogle]

Miho kept up her battery of sensor sweeps of the area. Any little scrap was valuable when dealing with an unknown threat.

"I am compiling a list of known NMX weaponry, mostly automated, that we may face in a desolate sector of space like this. As I get more information, I'll be able to form better conclusions," She informed her officers, scrolling through the various lists with rapidity.

Miho listened to Katamari's notice, sighing internally. Shoddy workmanship on our wiring? Have they no pride in their labours? she thought, interrupting her scrollstream.

 

[Semjax]

Yumi found herself wondering for a slight second if the group she was in was ready for such a daunting task that was ahead of them, she shook such thoughts from her head after a moment and formed up on the ship, she kept herself alert, keeping her eyes on the sensors and more importantly using her eyes to watch the surrounding area as well.

 

[paladinrpg]

Bridge

Rin received the transmission coming in from Engineering, thankful that they were getting closer to the problem. "Good job, Nakane-hei. I had a feeling that was the problem, as it has happened before with the Yui-7 retrofit package where some old wiring sections were skipped over resulting in localized overloads. As soon as we are clear, focus your search for any conduits bearing the older Star Army codes or colors, especially near junctions." She said this confidently, and obviously from some degree of experience which hopefully served to steady the newbie Engineer's worries.

The teal haired helmswoman nodded to the assistant mini across the bridge, as she caught notice of the information sharing heading her way from her station. The refresher on NMX weapon systems was particularly welcome and relevant and earned Miho a quick telepathic 'Thank you' in her stream so as not to distract her overmuch. As much as she was doubtful at first, Rin was quite satisfied with the work ethic she had seen so far and the proactive posture that made Miho every bit as effective as a full size Nekovalkyrja in her book. They seemed to be becoming an unlikely but effective team, and hopefully would continue to do so.

 

[Reynolds]

Bridge

The Captain's frown stayed perfectly still as she stared at the main screen, observing their approach to the one potentially habitable planet. Apparently that was her default neutral expression. She listened to the conversation between Nakane and Rin, nodding quietly as she considered their options. She didn't have much time to think, as the Heartbreaker soon arrived at its destination.

"Full stop. Nakamura-Hei, cross reference that list with the information coming in from the sensors." There was a pause while she consulted her station. "...and compare the scans to the other information Ochiko will be providing." A moment later, the data began streaming into the Mini's station. It seemed to be a roster of ships from Uesu's Fleet that communications had logged as passing through this system, including PAs and other equipment they'd have had on board.

Meanwhile, as the First Officer ran her checks on the defensive and offensive systems of the Heartbreaker, there were again rather disappointing results. The weapons had been upgraded and fully stocked, shields and hull repaired, but the power flow was still suffering. Combined with the fact that no 'live fire' tests had been run, and definitely not in actual combat, the thought of having to use their weapons while the power supply was waxing and waning unsettled Rin just a bit.

"The trace energy signatures appear to have come from this general area." The Captain pulled up a certain sector of the planet on the main screen. "Although there are no current power sources being picked up on scans at our current range, this seems to be the only location to have had power within the last several years." From her furrowed brow, it seemed obvious Tsukisaki had come to some sort of decision.

"As soon as we can confirm the space around UX-29 III is clear of possible threats, begin descent to the indicated coordinates. Let our Engineer know he can begin his repairs after we've tested our landing gear." She grunted in annoyance. "Hopefully at least that works properly."

Space

Once the decision was made, the Heart of Glass prepared to lead the way. It would head down first, clearing the skies above their destination. Yumi received another communication from the Captain, ordering her squad to follow it to the surface of the metallic planet and clear a landing zone for the Yui-class Scout.

 

[Semjax]

Space

Yumi confirmed her orders and made a motion for everyone to gather up. "You heard her, but in case you were not paying attention I shall repeat. Our orders are to escort the Heart of Glass to planet side. We will terminate any enemies with extreme prejudice that attempt to harm this ship. Keep contact between each other, and eyes on the scanners to ensure that we don't get jumped for whatever reason. If there are no questions..." She begins heading towards the planet.

 

[paladinrpg]

Bridge

Rin was indeed not entirely comfortable with the battle-readiness of the Heartbreaker in its current state, unsure if se could even fire the main gun without causing an overload. However as a person with a reputation of being often underestimated, she was no stranger to being on the weaker side of the power curve in a fight either. Her tenacity and resourcefulness always had leveled the playing field in one way or another and she was not about to quit now -- not while being on the cusp of something so significant.

Of course things had changed since then. Jacked in to an entire ship as she was, there was a lot more responsibility on her shoulders. This was a far cry from a solitary Mindy armor, and conflict had to be approached conservatively, for the ultimate goals of this mission demanded survival and endurance. To that end, they had more than enough firepower in their battle experienced infantry escorts to lean on them more heavily for any serious engagements until repairs could be completed.

Rin meanwhile, communicated the order to Engineering to hold repairs until they had touched down, patiently holding position in orbit as ordered by the Taii. The First Officer continued monitoring the vessel's vital systems for inconsistencies that would affect their ability to land safely, as well as the scans coming in of the debris field from Ochiko's instrumentation. It was up to the armor team to give the signal to allow her to descend deeper, though, into the first of many unexplored planets they would encounter.

 

[Moogle]

With any luck, what we find will be automated. Easy access to computers. Miho thought.

"Cross referencing. Hopefully we'll find whether this is a proper NMX facility or not soon," she commented, continuing her sweeps on one set of visuals while perusing the data on another. "Also, I'm going to attempt to do a trace for bio-signatures. If we're lucky, or unlucky, we'll pick up a body in this wreckage."

Of course, her first thought was the first to be correct. NMX automated defenses started showing up on her scans. Other things - bearing Yamataian signatures - floated about, from as small as a PA to as large as. . . an entire ship?!

Miho's heart stopped in her chest. But on further examination, there seemed to be large portions missing from the ship. Perhaps salvage? judging by the way the missing portions seemed to be scored on first observation, that seemed to be correct. So were these ships just abandoned here?

Conjecture abandoned, the mini-model passed on the data immediately.

"I recommend a full dispatch immediately after disabling the automated defenses, should they still be active. We may find a body we can read."

 

[Reynolds]

The Heart of Glass dropped from space into the toxic atmosphere first, leading the way for the Mindys. Yumi had the two less experienced Infantry Neko drafting behind her, following her lead as they rapidly descended towards the planet. The fighter began its patrol, not finding any immediate threats. Information fired back to the Mindys, then to the Heartbreaker itself. Yumi was able to confirm things visually for herself moments later. It seemed deserted.

Miho's scans were painting the same picture, although she was understandably not quite ready to relax just yet. Automated defenses still in orbit, but too damaged to pose a threat. From the low number found in this state, it was likely the others had been either fully destroyed or in good enough shape to be salvaged. The same story applied to the bits and pieces of NMX and Star Army ships and equipment drifting about as well. Some pieces were even large enough to sport fully identifiable registration numbers.

As far as organic remains were concerned, the same basic idea still applied. Here a Mindy helmet with most of a Neko's head still inside, there an arm, there a stray tentacle. The Mini likely didn't want to think about what the Mishhu had done with any larger bits, not to mention anything that had been injured but alive.

Bridge

"Skirnir-Hei is confirming your findings, Miho-Hei." Ochiko must have shared Miho's data with the Captain, although not her worries and speculation. "Ittou, take us down. The armor team is reporting a suitable landing site is already cleared."

Surface

Indeed, the sector Tsukisaki had directed them to had clearly already been occupied. A huge space was cleared and paved over, with markings from other ships and equipment landing and taking off. The surrounding area was stripped clean of anything interesting or potentially useful, though. A large, ominous opening was nearby, at the bottom of a sharply slanted ramp wide enough to accommodate ships even larger than the Heartbreaker. It was too dark to see inside from their position around it, with the Heat of Glass circling overhead, but Yumi didn't have much difficulty identifying a military installation when she saw one this close.

 

[paladinrpg]

Bridge

Rin studied the data coming in about the wreckage that hung around the planet like a forgotten graveyard, where many lives and equipment had been lost in a battle here that was for one reason or another lost to the greater fog of war. She had seen this sort of vista before, though, through her many space engagements, and like many soldiers had learned to numb herself to the twinges of regret that came with it. The only thing she gave pause to scrutinize more deeply were the serial numbers on things floating by the cameras can pick up, perhaps in the vain hope that one may match those of Uesu that had been forcefully downloaded into her brain.

"It seems like the defenses are non-operational, and life signs are related to partial biomasses only," responded the blue-haired officer to the mini-Neko running scanning operations, "Most things of value here are long gone, salvaged by the NMX when they withdrew. We can always pick through the bones of this graveyard later, Nakamura-hei... the real clues we seek likely lie below."

When the order came from the Captain that a landing site planetside was found and secured, Hoshitomo-shoi began to warm up the testy auxiliary engines once again, hoping they would cooperate a bit better this time. "Hai, Senchou, beginning our descent into the atmosphere," she declared, sounding the warning for all hands to brace for any unexpected turbulence that came with any landing procedure.

She directed additional power to the ship's deflectors first, parting the ring of debris ahead of them cleanly with timed graviton energy and aether waves. After that was cleared, they entered the effective range of the planet's gravity well, and instead of ignore or fight it outright Rin wisely attempted to instead use it's force to compensate for the oscillation of the thrust coming from the buggy engines. She allowed the Heartbreaker to descend through the atmosphere gradually, using more of the natural pull when power fluctuated low, and then when power cycled high she then fought the natural G forces to stabilize the descent. Moving in this fashion took a bit longer than what was standard for a light spaceship, being a landing procedure more fitting of operating an atmospheric-only jet. But considering the situation with the faulty wiring there was a great risk of a blowout somewhere down the line if she tried a more steep, fully powered military-style drop.

 

[Semjax]

Surface

Yumi spotted the military installation and motioned to the two neko's behind her, she gave them the silent order to spread out a bit just in case there was something down there it didn't shoot them all down. She moved to land in the base using her scanners to scan the immediate area as she lands. Using her optical's to look around as well not just trusting the scanner, gun up and ready to shoot should the need come up.

 

[Moogle]

Since Rin seemed to have taken over the "explain the data" position, Miho began playing back the limited footage and data for the registration numbers they caught when they passed through and peeling them off, one-by-one into a list. Still committed to her multitasking, she allowed the scanners to continue their sweeps of the landscape.

As soon as her first task had taken all the data it could, Miho would begin searching the SAOY databases for the registrations. The ships and units that were here.

 

[Reynolds]

The Heartbreaker dropped towards the surface without much grace, sinking down and bobbing back up in time with the power cycles, somewhat resembling a flopping fish. It was unattractive but safe, easing the Yui into the atmosphere and down towards the landing site.

Surface

With the Heart of Glass still circling overhead, Yumi and her followers spread out to the far corners of the tarmac. Everything seemed quiet enough. Still and empty. But it was that unnatural stillness that made rookies anxious and veterans cautious. Something was going to pop up any minute now, they could feel it. Hopefully soon, or a Hei was likely to snap and fire at one of their shadows. Just to get it out of their system.

The landing gear thankfully deployed without any malfunctions, the ship groaning in protest for a few moments as all that weight settled. Shortly after the successful landing, Nakane contacted the Bridge, letting Rin know he would be powering down the engines to begin repairs soon. Starting at the engines themselves and making a loop through the ship to check the wiring, full repairs would take some time, but the engines could be started up again with just a bit of warning.

Separately, both Miho and Rin began to match serial numbers against the list Ochiko and the Captain had provided. A Yui had been lost here...no, two. Several fighters that had been registered to various ships. More Mindys, although those were harder to link to a specific ship. Everything definitely belonged to Uesu's Fleet. Except for the Battlepods and other SMX equipment, of course.

"That appears to be the entrance. Hoshitomo-Shoi, I'll leave the investigation up to you. It seems highly unlikely any of Uesu's forces remained behind, but we should take this opportunity to practice and prepare. I doubt things will be so quiet in the future." Tsukisaki nodded to the First Officer from her chair, returning her attention to the console Ochiko was feeding information to. "I'll remain here and supervise the repairs. Take any crew members and supplies you deem appropriate. The atmosphere might be pleasant for a Mishhuvurthyar, but I doubt a Neko would be very comfortable, much less a Nep." She grunted, glancing at Rin out of the corner of her eye, while trying to appear still engrossed in her console. This was obviously a test for the First Officer, to see how she'd handle the investigation, who she would bring and what supplies she felt were necessary.

 

[paladinrpg]

Bridge

Rin stayed focused on riding the waves through the thin atmosphere of UX-29 III, in more ways than one, and brought the Heartbreaker down safely upon its properly-deployed landing struts at the old Mishhuvurthyar base tarmac that was conveniently left out for the vessel to utilize. Of course there was going to be no glorious red carpet welcome for the would-be conquerors of this uninhabited rock, only a desolate and abandoned man-made cavern beckoning to them to explore.

Rin acknowledged the incoming transmissions from Engineering, and began to shut all power to the propulsion systems down safely along with Nakane. She hoped it really was just as simple as a faulty junction, but the time to find such a small error was significant. It would at least keep the red-skinned Santo Hei busy while the expedition got underway, and serve in an educational purpose to assist him and the other maintainers in learning the entire ship's layout for when the next time a bug would, invariably, appear again.

Though she showed promise with the SPINE interface in her first rather tense piloting run, the teal-haired woman was however relieved to disengage from the direct connection for a bit and come to a standing position from the chair, as the sensory overload she was battling soon ebbed away. Nekovalkyrja, born as sentient military hardware themselves in Rin's eyes, were hardwired to expertly use such things right out of the cloning vat whereas for her militarized Minkan synthetic body a SPINE interface was an added upgrade that had to be developed and honed with time. She covered up this momentary re-centering of awareness well by taking a moment to smooth out her white-paneled uniform and skirt, but it was likely the keen-eyed Neko Captain knew what was really going on and took some tiny pleasure in this inefficiency displayed by her XO.

Hoshitomo-shoi gave a quick salute and responded to her orders. "As you wish, Tsukisaki-taii. I agree that this will be a good time to develop our operational standards and set rules of engagement for all involved." She then picked up her trusty SAOY datapad and began to tap the surface display and feed the data to the Captain's console for her review. "Before we departed the Ikoi starbase, I took the time to develop a plan that I believe will accomplish our exploratory goals while conserving the limited resources and personnel of the Heartbreaker."

"While reading some of the operational manuals of the Scientific Studies Service, I discovered that through the use of a Leader Support Pack mounted to the dorsal hardpoint of a Mindy armor, it is possible to directly control a fleet of VCMAD drones in the field for survey purposes. This would allow us to greatly increase our efficiency and flexibility, reduce the need for manpower in other than combat roles, and also give increased survivability in the event that an emergency extraction is needed against a superior threat." Rin then moved to the next screen, displaying the proposed network linkup. "In addition, the CIES inside the module has a Quintessent Wave Differentialometer installed that can increase the team's awareness of cloaked hazards, including Ghost Mishhuvurthyar and even skin-camo using Nekovalkyrja models. The Hyperspace Communications Unit onboard could also prove useful, as it can maintain an FTL speed, undisruptable connection with the Heartbreaker at all times. Theoretically, this can handle the data density needed for Ochiko herself to be momentarily manifested on the expedition should she wish to do so... "

The First Officer then changed to a well-ordered list of all the equipment and personnel that was going to be utilized. "While we were orbiting the planet I had our compliment of several VCMAD Terrain type drones readied for deployment, fitted with the appropriate modules for survey and search and rescue ops. Since the threat profile of this location is low, I feel our infantry squad on the ground is sufficient for any combat we may encounter. However, I am requesting we have one qualified field medic to come along to be prepared for injuries, or even perhaps... a survivor." The blue eyed pilot paused for only a moment, as she followed this up with one more announcement. "I also had transmitted back to base the lack of dedicated Science personnel in general aboard the ship considering its mission profile, and as you may have just noticed, the Seisenkyo has informed us that an SSS Liaison trained in archaeological expeditions will hopefully be arriving via shuttlecraft at our location shortly to fill that gap."

"I trust that this will meet your expectations, Senchou?" Though Rin phrased it as a question for protocol's sake, it seemed as if the soldier was already committed to her plan and wasn't likely to change it overmuch. As she folded her arms behind her back and awaited any comment from Tsukisaki, she also glanced in Miho's direction at her station on the bridge, engrossed in her work. The First Officer spoke to her mini-Neko assistant quite frankly and simply with an expectant look. "...so, are you coming?" Then Rin added with a thin smile, almost in a challenging voice. "I would like to see what your Sylph can do."

 

[Revolver]

Surface
SeonJi kept her SMG up and ready, pointing towards everything she looked at as she spread away from the Heisho's position at her command. She really, really missed her Daisy now. And her AGL would feel a lot better in her grip in case there were still remnant forces here. Commanding her suit's AIES to keep connected to Yumi and Kyou's own scanning data streams she cautiously approached the side of the installation, wondering if the Heisho planned to make the initial breach herself. Keeping silent for now, following Yumi's lead, SeonJi decided that radio telepathy probably would count as breaking silence in this instance in case there were Mishhu forces out there scanning for the tell-tale signs of Nekovalkyrja communication.

 

[Reynolds]

Bridge

The Captain eyed the data flowing across her console, nodding her head as Rin spoke. Eventually she looked up, frown as firmly in place as her cap. "Hai, this is all satisfactory. Do not bring more of these drones than is necessary, Shoi." A finger flicked across the console. "Our junior medic should be gathering her equipment as we speak. Expect her to meet you on the surface.." That neutral frown deepened noticeably as Rin brought up the new arrival. "...the liaison. Yes. I tried to explain to the SSS how dangerous it would be for her to leave the Ikoi, but I suppose they consider themselves smarter than simple soldiers."

The fact that her First Officer had welcomed the outsider on board did make her eyes narrow in a bit of a glare, but she should have expected such sympathy from Rin. One of the Neko on the Bridge slid over to take Rin's spot, as another prepared to reroute Miho's station to her own, in case the Mini left as well.

Surface

Yumi and SeonJi received quick warnings, to expect the medic's arrival as well as a shuttle. On the ground, the Infantry spotted the medic first, the main launch bay they themselves had exited from opening again to let the Neko float out in her AMES, a case full of supplies in one hand. In the sky, their fighter pilot registered the shuttle first, passing along the information to the Infantry. It circled, landing nearby on the wide, cleared area to dispense a pair of AMES-suited figures. One their new scientist, and the other helpfully carrying her belongings from shuttle to ship. That one was obviously in a hurry, in no mood to stick around on this inhospitable rock.

By the time Yjara had met up with the medic and away team, the shuttle was already lifting off again, leaving the stranger to introduce herself to her new shipmates.

 

[John2y]

As Yjara walked off the shuttle to meet with the team, she looked at the surroundings on the site and the ship. She stops and bows at the teammates "Greetings, I'm Yjara Dust and I'm here to be the ship's liaison, I suppose you're..." Yjara looks closely "... the infantry? and the medic I see". She turns her attention to the suit she's wearing, little annoyed and uncomfortable "Urgh... I really can't get used to the AMES... so tight..." as she finished the complaints about the suit, she turns to the ship and waves.

 

[Moogle]

Miho acknowledged the gentle prodding from the captain and the first officer by disengaging from her console and bowing before speedily hovering down the halls to the bay. She found her sylph and entered it, slipping through the special cavity in the neck to take her seat in the control core. With her SPINE linked up, soon she experienced life at nearly 5 feet tall for the first time in a long while. She awaited her superior's disembark before following. After all, it would be rude to be the first one to leave.