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RP: 5th XF [Mission] 006-02: Requiem's Lullaby [Akuro Group]

Andrew

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The shuttle landed in the Akuro II's shuttle bay gently and Kazuhiko stepped off once everything was secure. The Taisa stretched her arms a little, looking at the large hummingbird engraved into the black floor of the bay. Where the action happens. She made her way to the assigned meeting room, not needing the directions the KAMI gave her. The white panels of her uniform made her stand out just a little. She wasn't wearing her dress whites -- it was supposedly a staff meeting after all, and if the news she had received about the 1st XF was any indication, Yamatai was again at war. Any chance I have to use the Munin is a good one. She took her seat at an empty chair near the forward section.

Camellia entered the briefing room and bowed to Aoiko, before taking a seat. Where she sat silently, waiting for everyone else.

Caine took a few moments longer to get there and went over to a seat and just flopped down into it and groaned, leaning back in it, massaging his forehead. "Hey Cam," he said, looking over at her. "Wouldn’t happen to have any aspirin would you?" He asked politely as possible considering the situation.

"Sorry." She said with a shrug. "You fault for tanking while we were on leave."

"Aw man, you could have at least told me you guys were leaving. But nooo, yah left me there." He grumbled and leaned forward on the table and sighed. "Maybe it'll go away on its own."

"Hey, you were the one who wasn't paying attention where we were going." She said bitterly as she crossed her arms.

Karou made her way towards the briefing room, stopping to give a nod to one of her former wing-mates. She brushed past Jaq on her way in saying "Uncomfortable in here cadet? I swear... it’s cold... they need to turn up the heat." She smiled, looking over those who had gathered for this staff meeting. A few commanders from other ships dominated the forward section of the hall but it was mostly Akuro and Namiko staff.

"Yea I know! They probably haven't turned on the heater yet. But you are looking quite pretty today ma'am!" Jaq then hopped into the meeting room and waved to the group. "Hey everyone! Cam you're looking wonderful today!" He jumped down into the seat next to Camellia and folded his hands on the table.

Jatsu waved to Aoiko as he entered then looked over to notice Roger fiddling with the equipment. "Everything work?" he asked as he sat in the seat next to him. He rested his head on his hand, which was in turn resting on the table, and gazed at Aoiko.

"Hey Jaq, keep it down would yah? My head's pounding here." Caine grumbled at the boisterous jaw.

Roger casually watched the antics going on, the turned to Jatsu. "Seems like it -aw, you sneaky bastard... you just did that to get in prime viewing position. Bloody git. Yeah, it all works; it's all brand-new, or close to it. You could probably have one hell of a movie showing in here. I should have brought popcorn." He waved to Aoiko as well and gave a thumbs up, motioning toward the remote he held, indicating its operability.

The longhaired Geshrin entered the meeting place, slightly moving his head around to spot any familiar face. And he found it. He come closer where Jatsu and Roger, and took a seat nearby. "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen." He crossed his legs, and sunk his glance to the front, raising his chin a little and taking a small sigh.

"Dear. Another headache sufferer?" Aoiko tilted her head slightly, her glazed-over eyes still staring straight ahead. "I had just advised one of my own to go down to Taiie at the first opportunity and purchase neurological augmentation to filter out pain." She blinked slowly as she realized how full the room was, and her eyes refocused. After a moment of looking around, she bowed a bit deeper to Roger and Jatsu the moment she noted them staring. "It's good to see you, Jatsu. Is everything ready, Kard-san?"

Karou grinned widely and commented to Jaq. "Not so bad yourself..." Her stance perked as she heard the voice of Caine. "Awww, you got a headache? I know something that can cure that Cadet." She leaned forwards to Caine's ear and whispered, "My tongue could make you forget you even have a head." She straightened up looking to Cam "Good to see you again, keeping the boys in line?" She inquired, watching Caine out of the corner of her eye.

... Well, at least the crew cooperates with one another. They could use some discipline. Kazuhiko waited idly for the Taisho to arrive, understanding no one would probably speak to her.

"I'm trying my best, Ma'am." Camellia responded. "What with baby-face over here making goo-goo faces, and forty-ounce," she nudged Caine with her elbow, "drinking leave away... A woman's work is never done." She said with a smirk.

Caine was quiet for the moment looking over at Karou out of the corner of his eye turning crimson red, remembering the last time she said she could do that. He indeed was starting to feel a bit better already at the words and just tried to hide his face to keep people from seeing him so red. His mind running through all sorts of good memories and was rather glad nobody could see under the table.

Jaq was looking around the room taking in everything and seeing all the faces he hadn't seen in such a long time. "Man... I haven't seen so many of the people in this room in such a long time.... wow..."

Jatsu grinned, "Well, you're probably the shortest person here, so I can see over your head easily enough." He looked up at Hikomaru for a second and waved, then went back to his Aoi-gazing and smirked. "Good to see you, too, Taisa." He said, with a subtle emphasis on 'Taisa.'

"Hiko, the only guy I know who'd bring his wakazashi along to fix his power armor. How yah doing, blade boy?" Roger looked down at where Hiko's left hand was fumbling. Holy hell... he's actually not wearing it? He then elbowed Jatsu. "Don't make me punch you in the kneecaps."

Roger observed Jatsu starry-eyed gazing. He shook his head in amusement and announced, "Yes, everything's working, captain. Presentations, graphics, the whole shebang. As I was saying to Jatsu, the only thing we're missing is popcorn."

Katsuko watched from the shadows of the unlit balcony. It had been closed for the meeting because the seating in the main room was more than enough to accommodate those ordered to attend. She silently straightened her uniform, her gaze having settled on Aoiko. Taisa Aoiko... A breath was held back a moment and then released slowly. I have to try and see you for who you are...and not who I want you to be. Her silent struggle; the loss of Akina still weighed upon her. It was back to business though, drowning herself in reports and conferences surrounding this new SMX problem. She watched as her precious elite mingled, eyes shifting from Aoiko to Kazuhiko. should have invited her up here...Oh well.

Hikomaru raised his eyebrow to Roger, then grinned. "Ah, I guess I don't get to share the joy with my sword in hand. These meetings... Kinda puts me in another kind of mood, entirely. And the only thing I do without my wakizashi…" He paused for a moment after stressing the word then said more silently, "Is to dig on chicks and attend meetings."

"Excellent. Good work." Aoiko nodded, glancing at the other occupants of the room. "Ah! But please pardon me..." She pushed away from the table and rose to her feet, sweeping quietly across the room to Kazuhiko. "Taisa," she said, bowing low. "It is good to see you. I do not believe I had the opportunity to thank you properly."

"KAMI, please create a channel for me to the Munin's KAMI unit," Kazuhiko said to the Akuro II with her mind. "Hai," the KAMI replied. " ... Channel made." "Deus," Kazuhiko called to the Munin through the channel. "I am sending you visual data of the people at this meeting. I want their orders." "Hai, Taisa." The channel closed as Kazuhiko's vision was half-flooded with the orders of each person in the room. She smiled as she went over them silently, but then was interrupted.

"Eh?" Kazuhiko said to the black-haired Neko looking at her. "You are ... Murasaki-Shoi. Taisa now." She frowned a little. "No thanks is needed, Taisa. The job is done."

Karou's eyes drifted towards the balcony, her violet pupils narrowing as if to try and breach the veil letting her grin fall to a smirk. She returned her attention to Caine. "I expect you to visit this evening...try not to be late." She then looked to Jaq. "A full room indeed, yet it is a boring as every other meeting we have attended here..." She paused "Well not here... But you get what I mean."

"So... when's this meeting starting?" Camellia asked as she leaned back some.

"Nevertheless," Aoiko said, bowing again, "it would be remiss of me to not show proper gratitude. I will not disturb you further, however, if you do not wish me to." She bowed again, slightly, and backed away.

Caine heard her and blinked, and looked up at the Shosa. "Uhn." He said with a nod and looked up and around; deciding to stop being a wuss and ignored the pulse in his head. "Just be patient Cam, it'll start when it starts." he said in a calm, cold tone.

The Taisho's blood seemed to freeze; she spotted Karou peering up in her direction. I wonder… Is she just staring up here... She stepped back ensuring she was well engulfed in the darkness. Her head lowered slightly, her watchful eyes upon the interactions of the officers and crew.

Jaq was starting to grow a little impatient as to the wait. "Damn, why can this thing start?" Jaq then leaned over to Camellia and whispered to her. "Want to catch a bite to eat after this if we don't have to go save a ship fill of missionaries?"

"Iie. I appreciate the gesture." Kazuhiko bowed her head slightly, as was custom with an officer of similar rank, then continued to seemingly stare off into space.

Camellia leaned over and whispered back, "Sure. That dinner planet side was nice, but some properly made food is always welcome." She said with a small smile.

Jatsu stretched as Aoiko got up. Well, now she's acting like an officer. He thought. He rubbed his eyes, then turned to Roger. "I'll buy you a ladder to help you out with that." He said, then yawned. "If I'd known the meeting wouldn't have been starting yet, I'd have slept in..."

Roger nearly snorted at Hiko's word choice. Whoo boy. "Well, at least there's one thing we agree on; these meetings are always a pain in the ass to me. But, it beats running maintenance; I'll eagerly point that out." Roger watched Aoiko walk toward the side of the room where she spoke with another Taisa Wait a minute, I recognize that Neko... The Munin CO... Kazo... Kazu... He leaned back and almost bonked into Jatsu's head. "Hey tall, pale and nerdy; who's the Munin CO that the captain's talking to? She seems awfully serious."

Hikomaru crossed his arms now, and started looking around to no one in special. Everything seemed to be so annoying at the moment. He stopped swinging his head, and clearly made an attempt to eavesdrop on what Kard and Jatsu were talking about

Aoiko watched Kazuhiko for a second, pondering idly if she was doing the same thing Aoiko herself was earlier. After the moment, she returned to her seat, nodding to Roger, Jatsu, and Hikomaru again as she sat down. "It should not be too much longer before we begin." She reassured them.
 
ON: YSS Akuro II

Kazuhiko tapped the butt of her black Type 27 NSP, frowning. The meeting hadn't started yet. What the hell are we waiting for ...

Camellia looked around for a second. "So, is this breifing going to get started soon?" she asked, to her wingmates mostly.

Jaq started to hum and tapping on the table. " Humm humm hummmm... bored.... very bored.... humm hummm hummm ..."

Jatsu flinched, narrowly evading Roger's head, then shrugged. "No idea," he answered. He turned to Aoiko and, with a smile, said, "Well, that's good to hear."

Izumi stood outside the side doors to the briefing hall, hugging the SMG across her chest. KAMI...tell the Taisho we are ready. A smile crossed her think pink lips, as she nodded to the two lines of eight behind her. "Ok people, listen up. This meeting is to go off without a hitch. Remember if anyone even attempts to get within a arms length of Katsuko.." she paused "Shoot them in the head..." The replies came sharply from the red paneled soldiers behind her. She tapped on the door. The officer on the other side, brought the whitle to his lips and the signal of attention went out over the breifing hall.

The Geshrin tilted his head as the female voice announced the meeting. "Goddamit, was like about time... yosh!" he mumbled. He starting tapping his boot against the floor, awaiting the rest to come

"Thank god," Roger said, scratching his scruffy chin as he stood, still holding the projection apparatus's controller. "And now, here come da judge... well, admiral... whatever." Well, hope I got all the kinks out. From where he was standing near the front of the hall, he couldn't see where she'd be entering from. "Been a while since I've seen the admiral... I only heard about some of the events on the Akuro, but yikes.[/i]

The door to the rear of the briefing room parted for Corro. He marched quickly through the doorway not giving any of the attendees a look. He found an empty seat towards the front among the other ranking officers of the 5th. He set his datapad down on table in front of him, still ignoring the others in the room. Only when the whistle sounded did he even pause to look up.

Aoiko neatly turned on a heel as she arrived at her place at the table and snapped to attention. She clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes straying just slightly towards the door.

Kazuhiko frowned at the Chusa, her high-and-mightiness fouling her mood further. Her authority has gone straight to her head. She stopped tapping on her NSP at the sound of the whistle, her sensitive Neko ears ringing sharply at the sound. By the claws of Yui, that was uncalled for! Kazuhiko thought, rubbing her head. She stood from her chair and waited for the Taisho to enter, trying to avoid snarling.

Caine just looked up at the newcomers and leaned back in his chair trying to ignore his headache and resists the impulse to put his boots on teh table, it'd be rude. "About time this shindig kicked off." he muttered. "isn't it?" the blonde looked over at Cam, Karou, and Jaq.

"Yes, about time indeed," came the reply from his wingmate. "She sure took her time getting here." Cam muttered in a low tone to the other pilots.

Caine blinked seeing everyone standing up and quickly jolted to attention. crap, must not have heard through the pounding in my head from that whistle.

Jaq stood up and got into attention with a spring to his motion. "Well now you two, It may be prudent to get off your asses and into atention...." Jaq had a smile on his face because his boredom was starting to leave him as he became excited about the meeting

Jatsu stood up and yawned, then stood at attention. About damn time, he thought.

"Taisho..." KAMI interupted her as she walked back thru the corridor, having heard the whistle and was already aware that it was time. "I know KAMI, I am on my way." seconds later she filed into the center of the two lines of eight. She nodded to Izumi Whenever your ready, lets get this done with. She took the datapad handed to her by yet another of her staff, keyed in a few commands. KAMI...lights. Start program.. The lights in the conference hall dimmed to twenty percent. The nodal system activated the holograms. The triangular insignia of the 5th Expeditionary Fleet arose from the floor and the back wall alit with a system map of Taiie. KAMI announced "Mission 006 Breifing, Order 6587" The two additional members of the specialsecurity force took up place ineach of

The side doors opened, Izumi leading the way once the signal of clear from the balconies was given. The two lines of red paneled soldiers followed. Every single one of them was known for one thing or another, every one of them former crew members from the Namiko. Armed with SMGs they flooded the forward section of the hall. The Taisho holding the center as they formed a octagonal formation around her. Izumi stood directly behind her, eyes sweeping over the rows of officers, sure most of them outranked her-but not today. Katsuko's voice enhanced by the computer resounded throughout the room "At ease and be seated."

Kazuhiko nodded and sat down.

Karou sighed and sat down, wrapping her arms around her figure to try and warm herself, she couldnt believe how cold it was.

Hikomaru touched his nose and straightened his shirt, then took a seat and crossed his legs.

Holy security detail. Roger plopped back down and pocketed the controller.

Aoiko slowly lowered herself down, resting her hands on the arms of her chair and casting her gaze towards the display of the system. Tch, she thought, that should have been expanded in much greater detail ages ago...

Corro sighed at the rows of security. He took his seat as was requested of him and picked up his datapad with his left hand, looking it over for a moment. Over the top... Was all he thought to himself as he waited.

Camellia seated herself and gave a look to her wingmates. "Doesn't this seem alittle overblown? I mean she's a neko." She whispered. Though she also picked her Datapad up too.

Caine, noticing Karou's gestures, walked over to her and stripped off the jacket and wrapped it around her, it was prewarmed and would help her out. He whispered in her ear though for the moment. what you said before, I can't wait to meet you later tonight; I could use the...treatment. He whispered to just her before returning to his seat and sitting down wearing a black sleeveless shirt under the jacket.

Jaq sat down in his chair and picked up his datapad and started to fiddle with it. Ne would every-so-often look to the security detail, and namely the neko behind the commander. wow... she seems a little overly protective... but with all those coops gives her something to worry about....

Jatsu sat down and let out a small sigh. Well, that doesn't really seem necessary, he thought.

Izumi gave a slight nod, rather than sitting, the four forward most members of her team crouched down upon their left knee. SMG's perched within their grips. The rear detail and those off to the sides turned with their backs to Katsuko. Izumi stood off to Katsuko's aft left quarter. Her brilliant blue eyes glistening in resound of the holograms. Katsuko folded her hands infront of her, the image of Taiie began to fade out...A readout from a Kante Boarder Station opened on the screen "Due to the incompetance and failure of proper intelligence protocols executed by so called trained indivuduals formerly commanding starships in this fleet. Our lives, the lives of those not only in this fleet but within the colonies it protects have been brought to risk..." she paused as the image of an SMX Ooghlrashithagg-carrier flashed onto the readout from the station. She continued " The Mishuu have ships within the region that is supposed to be under our protection. The Yukika's sightings at Murf were confirmed three days ago by one of the Kante monitoring stations positioned by the Akuro I."

Kazuhiko listened. The Taisho obviously had something in mind; she saw no reason to interrupt ... yet.

Hikomaru scratched his right cheek, deep in thought after the Murf system was mentioned. Was that SMX carrier she was talking about the same that they encounter. It couldn't be so obvious, but then again, are we at the gates of a full scale invasion?. The technology he saw was new for him, but for sure, it was needed more than a such weak report from the intel. "There has to be more, no point having pilots having a nice seat here with all that SMX out there" he mumbled

Roger watched the coordinated movements of the security guards. WHAT is THIS nonsense? What is this, the 5th XF tactical cheer squad? Then the display popped up. Oh, that doesn't sound good. "Formerly commanding?" Looks like Katsuko fired up the weedwhacker.... wait, what about the Yukika? Oh god, that.

Katsuko looked directly at Corro, "In light of rescent events affecting this fleet, failure at eliminating this threat is unacceptable. As that since the colonization of Taiie; failure seems to be the only thing I have to report back to command. The rescently outfitted Namiko Carrier Wing is to be deployed to the Murf System to search out and destroy any Mishhuvurthyar vessels in the Galetean Asteroid belt.It shall be the fromer Kasairyuu who bring victory to this fleet again." She took a breath, then stated "I will not sugar coat this soldiers...If we lose Murf to the Mishuu, our position at Taiie could be in jeapordy..Therefore we must succeed."

Aoiko idly tapped her fingers on the arms of her chair as she watched. Prudent, she thought to herself. Taiie is near to the front. If we can keep the war well away, it would reflect well on the fleet.

Corro watched the images unperturbed. He knew the SMX were advancing on all fronts, it wasn't surprising to see them this far in. He nodded at the Taisho's recognition of the Namiko Carrier Wing. Sweep patrol, as I thought. Leave it to the 1st to drag itself into the beast's maw. Setting the datapad down he placed his hand on his chin and began to drift into though again.

Kazuhiko managed not to sniff. She wanted to be on the bridge of her battleship and take the fight to the SMX. Such meetings were delaying the battle, but the war would trudge onward.

Caine just listened to what was said and grumbled a bit as he sat back down and watched and listened. "so we get to spearhead these freaks huh?"

Camellia listened and grumbled. "These things?" She frowned. "Man."

The backdrop shifted and changed, "This fleet has suffered some loses in the past months, but I ask that we not be discoraged. It just means we will have to work harder to get our objectives completed." The Katsuko's Nebula appeared upon the holoscreen "With war approaching, the demand for materials not only from rich deposits in the Murf asteriod, but for volatile gases is high. The Katsuko's Nebula is an ideal location for the gas collection colonies so needed by the empire. It is here that the Command Group will escort the YSS-Rena , one our Hummingbird CDC's adapted specially to carry eight of these colony stations. Spite its safe appearance, the nebula is a dangerous spanse of space, and could also harbor Mishuu as well as other problems."

Jaq's eyebrows raised as he heard about this. Ohhh YES, be get to kill some of thoes squid bastards! YES funn is to be had. Jaq leaned over to cam and wispered into her ear: "Hey... before we head out what to try to find some fun incase we don't come back? Maybe get we can get some wine when we go to eat then..."

Jatsu looked at the display and narrowed his eyes. Wait, those were just empty shells sent to distact us from the Iori, though...are more coming that actually have Mishhu inside? He turned his head to look at the Taisho's security detail. Or is this just more paranoia?

Kazuhiko looked at Jaq with a frown, her Taisa rank pin still visible in the dim.

"Once the Rena and her cargo reach the nebula, the escort will be taken over by our second Kyoto wing which will be returning from another mission in the nebula. The Command Group will then circle back to preform command operations for the Irim group which shall be conducting a mission to destroy the pirates currently occupying the Kilnar system." The map enlarged showing the series of away points. "At which time, we hopefully we be able to provide the Namiko wing with any backup that it needs on its mission to Murf."

"Oh, so we get to fight, dammit. About time. Yosh!. But you know, this is not like just going to scramble those tentacled bastards. We are going to face the whole mess multi point, or else we have little chance to win. Heck, i betcha we don't know their real numbers, do we..." Hikomaru kept questioning himself on a low voice, but he was pissed already. His clinched teeth and hands were good examples for that. But he let down his head for a moment, and expected to hear something with some sense.
Kazuhiko shot a glare at Hikomaru. Damn enlisted don't know when to be silent.

Roger looked over at Ice Queen herself. Ohh, she doesn't look happy. Well, she hasn't changed at all. Roger listened to what words had passed, then scratched his chin and wrote himself a note on his datapad. Note to self: Begin considering Project K-c.

Aoiko settled back a bit as she watched the briefing continue. I would wonder what sort of information work we will be doing here... But that isn't my place anymore. She sighed a little as her eyes glazed over a bit.

Katsuko put down the datapad, and stepped forward slightly in the space not occupied by her security "Mission specifics will be outlined to the commander's involved...." she paused "I am sure by now you are wondering why it is that I am surrounded by armed guards.." she looked over those gathered "It has been brought to my attention, that there are individuals who are angry about the events which have past on the Taiie no Iori fortress. These individuals have notified my offices that they intend to have the bloodshed in the incident paid for...." she paused "With my life..."

Murf... Corro thought idly as he looked at the information on the system on his datapad. He would get more information on it later and plan out the process of patrol as well as any specific routes of travel. The Taisho's last comments stunned him. He never considered people threatening the Fleet Admiral a major problem. The transfers out of the Namiko Carrier Wing seemed to fall into place now.

Kazuhiko sighed mentally. Not again. This never ends. If there were ever an argument for finding a temporary replacement for the Taisho ...

"Such threats at this time have been taken seriously...and any involved will be court martialed." She craned her chin slightly as she looked over in the direction of Aioko and the senior staff of the Akuro. "I remind you all. The tragedy on the Iori affected us all. Yet the answer to the loss of life is not to shed more blood, but to prevent the mistakes of the past from ever being repeated..." she nodded as if conviencing herself "Dismissed....Serve the Empire well." The holograms faded and the lights restored to eighty percent of normal.

Caine just watched them all, listening to what was said. "well short sweet and to the bleeding point huh?" He asked. "So basically this is supposedly revenge huh?" he asked himself and his wingmates quietly hoping not to be heard. "Well that and the defense of Taiie.."

Camellia simply shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it is." She muttered bluntly. "Well, I guess some people need their release in some fasion."

Karou was one of the first ones out of the breifing room, she darted down the corridor and out of view wanting to get to the Namiko and away from the bureaucratic nonsense.

Jaq's pupils shrank as the lights grew brighter in the room. "Well.... whatever it is... we get to kill some squid!" After the commander left he stood up and streched his arms. "Shall we go get that food now?" he said to Cameilla.

Jatsu cast his eyes downward. Well, I guess that explains that. Idiots...the Taisho's not responsible for what happened. They're just looking for a scapegoat, and chose the person in charge. He sighed. I hate stupid people...they always screw everything up. He sat up and sighed again, then looked at Aoiko.

Caine stood up and grumbled. "Hey I'm gonna go try to find some aspirin this headache's killin me." And with that he headed out of the room staggering a bit, hand on the forehead as he felt what must've been his heart pounding in his head.

Camellia turned to Jaq, "hmm? Food?" She asked, as if not knowing he asked before. "Sure, whynot."

Katsuko felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked back Mayumi... The Chujo lent forwards and whispered in Katsuko's ear. "I will come visit later, before I head back to the Iori. Keep your head up Kat." Mayumi then headed out the side enterance to take her tour of the Akuro, guided by one of Katsuko's security detail.

Kazuhiko stood and bowed to the Taisho. She then exited as well, her emotions simmering. Pointless. I could be sitting in on the wing commanders' planning meetings. Pep talks are for enlisted. Why was I even there! The Taisa tapped her Type 27 and frowned as she walked toward her shuttle.

Hikomaru raised from his chair, with his hand clenched still. An air of annoyance could be seen in his face, and of course, he didnt want to be in that room anymore. He rushed outside mumbling.

Roger gave a low whistle. Wow. Death threats against the admiral? Even I'M not that dumb. He leaned back at Jatsu. "Well Jats, that was a pretty hardcore meeting. You've been on the bridge with the admiral before; is that what its like up there?"

Aoiko raised her eyebrows slightly as the Taisho revealed the death threats. "That," she said after she rose and bowed, "is distressing." She glanced over at Jatsu and Roger. "I can only hope that such matters will not arise on the Akuro, mmm?"

Kazuhiko-Taisa... the KAMI said to Kazuhiko. There is a subspace message in holding for you...listed Priority One.

Kazuhiko stopped and frowned. Priority One messages were rare. "Feed the message to me directly, KAMI."

END
 
The doors of the Akuro's command bridge slid silently open as Murasaki Aoiko stepped into her new domain. She paused to run a hand over the arms of her chair, before opening up an audio window. "Attention all crew," she began slowly. "This is your Taisa. In five minutes we will be departing to rendezvous with the YSS Rena, a Hummingbird that we will be escorting to Kyoto Carrier Group II. After that, we shall be moving on to Kilnar, to provide command support to the Yumiki Assault Group as they eliminate the pirate stronghold there. At any point in this mission, we may be accosted by pirates or Misshuvurthyar. I want everyone on full alert starting now. If there are any concerns at all, bring them up with me or with your immediate superior officer within... Four minutes." With that, she settled back in her chair and cast her eyes around the bridge.


Four minutes? Roger thought. She's really battening down the hatches now... guess I'd better look a bit more officerly. He brought his feet down from the console on the bridge he'd commandeered and straightened his jacket, with its new white pin. Man, the fact that I'm a cadet now says a number of things about what's happened to the 5th lately. He caught sight of Aoiko as she walked in and tossed off a quick salute. "Captain," he said with a nod. "Looks like we're in good shape; the engines are brand spanking new or at least as close as you could get to that. I think we're going to get some good performance out of her."


"Finally finishing off the pirates, huh?" Jatsu mumbled to himself. He walked out of his room, then paused outside to stare at the artificial lighting and sigh before making his way to the bridge. Once he arrived, he waved to Aoiko and Roger, then sat at the communications station and put on the headset.


Ayano was in the middle of regaling anyone who made the mistake of stopping to listen to her with boasting about her recent shoreleave experience when the Taisa’s announcement interrupted her. “Finally getting into it, alright!â€
 
Aoiko annoyedly shuffled back up and settled into her chair. "Jatsu-san, keep the channels open to the other command staff. The moment anything comes up I would like to know of it. And keep performing long-range sensor sweeps. I need to be informed on the positions of every ship within the surrounding three systems or so." She closed her eyes over and crossed her legs, slumping back a little.


Jatsu nodded and sat back in his chair. "Understood," he said, then opened the channels and expanded the range of his scanner window.


Man, the admiral gives me the creeps whenever I'm that close to her. Roger strode up to the command level and kicked back in his prior station, still keyed to his needs. He pulled up the engine sensors, and was happily greeted by nominal power levels. He then snuck a look at Aoiko, and, quickly looking around, snuck over to behind her chair, hiding somewhat. "Psst, Captain," he whispered, "You all right? Did the admiral suck the life out of you too?"


Aoiko shook her head. 'No, no. I am just concerned, is all." She glanced around the bridge, then leaned her head back. "Not to alarm you, but... Are you aware of how much formal instruction I have had in the command of a capital ship?"


Jatsu stared at the sensor window while listening to the humdrum being broadcast. Nothing interesting... he thought., sighing.


"Let me guess..." Roger made a thinking motion. "Other than playing Ship Commander 29? Oh don't give me that look, I've seen you in the arcades on leave. But other than that, um... about as much as I have?"


Aoiko shook her head again as she looked back up to the screen. "No. I _am_ more qualified than you. I have played quite a bit Ship Commander 29. Kimura-san," she said quickly, glancing to Jatsu. "Anything of interest, yet?"


Jatsu sighed. "Nope...nothing." A couple seconds later, however, almost a dozen blips appeared on his sensor readout, which was confirmed by a multitude of voices on the radio. "Holy shit, they really ARE out here! About 5 light-years, directly ahead of us. One Blrakkrashiverinth, four Xianthrafruglu, and six Ghullfrashirv."


"Touche, Captain." He slid back over to his station. "All right, power ratings good, efficiency good, emissions good... large, but good. Oop, there's something. Left Number 2 engine nacelle isn't quite up to snuff. We'll have toWHAT?" He nearly fell out of his chair. "Geezus, how'd they... oh screw this. Engineering! Get ready to ramp up power!"


Aoiko perked up a little at this. "Well," she said as she pulled herself upright in her chair, "It seems things will get interesting. Contact the Rena and tell them to hold here, with an escort. Mmm..." She opened a window with a gesture, bearing a diagram of the command group, and indicated two other ships. "The rest of us will go and deal with this. Contact the other Taisa, and keep the channels open at my station." She nodded over to the pilot. "Bring us in to our extreme weapon range."


"Rena, Shikotama, and Shiniyama, hold position here. All other ships are to engage the Mishhu," Jatsu broadcast, then transferred the open channels to Aoiko's chair. He glanced at the scanners. "Son of a...they're heading this way, two Xianthrafruglu are showing high energy readings."


"YES, we're going to need full power, none of this 'as much as possible nonsense'. The engine's brand new, it's not going to mind a bit of strain. Pull some of the safety valves... the redline is just a suggestion!" He mashed a couple of panels and took a quick look. "Captain, we'll have enough juice for the biggun' in... one minute."


Aoiko quickly leaned forward and rested her head on her hands, covering her mouth. "That is what I want to hear," she said after a moment. "Let us open with a torpedo barrage. See if you can aim at their weapons. I believe that would be amusing. She tapped the inter-flotilla command window. "Acceptable?"


Jatsu nodded, then broadcast, "All ships, fire torpedoes. Aim for their weapons, prefereably the ones on those two ships that look like they're about to kill us."


Roger snickered. "You really HAVE been playing a lot of Ship Commander 29." He turned back to his station. "Weapons at 3/4 full. You might want to start picking a main target, Captain." Something started beeping on his panel. "Ugh, hang on, one of the circuits is wonky. I'll try to reroute it."


Aoiko nodded. "The first two ships will be our primary targets. We can deal with the others directly after." She shot a glare over to Roger. "Do deal with that quickly, please. Mmm..." She opened up a commlink to the fleet bridge. "I apologise for bothering, Command, but are there any objections to ending all that is directly in front of us?"


"Come on, come on, come on," Roger urged his panel as he rapidly rerouted power ALL over the place. "THERE! Circuit bypassed, main gun at 90% and rising!" More beeping on his console. "No, I really don't care that I'm going to fry the backup circuit at this rate... Captain! Main gun ready to fire! Please do it quick, I don't think I can handle these klaxons much longer!"


Aoiko scowled sharply as she watched ships break formation as they began a slow slide towards the hole. "Turn the Akuro!" she barked. "Aim our Aether Shock at the hole and end it." She glanced back to her communication screen. "The rest of Command Group should work on those other ships. Do not deploy armour yet, stay with long-range attacks. We will not play their game." Warning lights flickered on across the bridge as the cannon prepared to fire.


"We'll take care of this thing, all other ships fire at the Mishhu," Jatsu broadcast, then turned to look at the sensors. "Goddamnit, the other two Xianthrafruglu are charging up, and the Ghullfrashirv just dumped out about 3000 Whifgurflumik."


"Gun firing, captain. Discharge in 3...2...1...discharge!" The beam lanced out from the front of the Akuro II toward the gravitational abberation. The lights in the bridge briefly dimmed, then returned to normal. "Aether Shock Cannon fully discharged. Next shot will be available in... 5 minutes. I'm swapping around power conduits in the mean time; we can't do too much of this captain; not until I fix whatever the hell caused the main circuit to go bonkers. The backup circuits can't handle this duty cycle; not unless we want the lights to go out for good." He shouted over, "Any results on the hole, Jatsu?"


"That should be acceptable," Aoiko said with a scowl as she regarded the void left behind in the cannon. "Arm torpedoes. Launch them into the centre of the Whifgurflumik and detonate them. They want an armour fight and they cannot have one. Let the other ships concentrate on the remaining Mishhu and Aether Shock anything they want to do to space-time." She drew herself up a little straighter as she watched the lights on and around the Mishhu ships.


"Attention all ships, do not launch armors. Continue your assault on their ships." Jatsu sat back and looked at the scanners, watching the blips slowly disappear.


"I'm shutting down non-vital systems. Hope none of you left anything on the stove." Roger keyed a few additional buttons. "Ok, I think we've got our power drain back under control. Main gun still charging, estimated time to use... 3 minutes. All other weapons at nominal status."


Aoiko tilted her head slightly as she watched the Mishhu wink out of existance on her screens. "So many capital-class ships," she mused softly, "seem to be quite nearly invulnerable against these. I rather like that. Mmm..." She frowned as a few of the blips worked their way past the torpedo barrage. Annoyedly, she flipped open another communication screen, this one to the armour bays. "Taii, please prepare for a sortie. How many? How many pilots are on duty presently? That many, then. Prepare a fighter screen and engage at long ranges."


Jatsu batted his headphones off as a high-pitch wail resounded through them. He turned to his sensor readout, but it was blank. "Okay, that's not good...radio and sensors both seem to be down."


"Yeah, hang on, looks like I haven't hammered out all the bugs after all." Roger's panel showed a number of blinking lights and flashing panels. "I'm going to have a talk with whoever wired this thing. With my shotgun." Roger's hands were flying on the panel as he desperately tried to find working conduits. "Captain, I think we're going to have to give up on the main gun for a while. The remaining weapons should be okay, but anything that sucks and blows that much power is just too much for what we've got left."


Aoiko raised an eyebrow, not moving her head at all. "Fix that," she said, slowly. "Now. I will not be sitting here blind again. And when I can see and speak, I expect to not see any Mishhuvurthyar. I shall be quite annoyed otherwise." Her fingers dug into the arms of her chair as she stared up at the screen.


"Hey, Rog, I might need some of that power over here," Jatsu yelled across the bridge. "Freya, what the hell's wrong with them?"


"I'm working on it, captain...oh, screw this! I'm hotwiring it!" Roger popped open the panel underneath his station and delved into the tangle of cables. Good thing I got a portable one of these, he thought, whipping out a plasma torch. "All right guys, here goes!" He began to manually connect wires and the like together, quickly bypassing a number of safety fuses. Immediately stations on the bridge began to light back up. "What's it look like up there?"


"Looks like too many safeties!" Freya helpfully responded to Jatsu. Aoiko released the arms of her chair and crossed her hands as she regarded the now-functioning sensors. The armour screen had been hit hard, but the Mishhu ships were wrecks. Another forming black hole was just being Aether Shocked out of existence. "Excellent," the Taisa said. "Kimura-san, tell the Rena and her escort to come back to formation. Our armour can mop up. We will need to adjust course, but that is not too drastic." She leaned forward, stretching out her arms. "Well. That could have gone worse. Kard-san, will that be difficult to fix in its entirety?"


Jatsu rubbed his forehead. Okay...why did I insist on programming her the same way as before? He picked up his headphones and put them back on, then broacast, "Okay, all clear. Rena, Shikotama, and Shiniyama, return to formation." Finally, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. Back to the mission, I guess.


"Ohh, you have no idea..." A puff of smoke wafted from under the console, and Roger cursed. "I don't know what the hell they were doing when they built this thing... This is one of the... no, THE most screwed up wiring job I have ever seen!" He emerged from under the console, another burn mark visble across his cheek. "It's going to take a week to nail down where the original problem is, and another to fix it! But for the moment, we should be okay, just don't push any buttons too hard. Or talk to loud. Or breath too much." He kicked the panel, hard. "... okay, well, except for that."


Another raised eyebrow as Aoiko glanced at the smoke. "Do finish it as soon as you can, Kard-san," she said slowly, "and find any other troubles. That makes me rather nervous." She looked up to the screen, as the last of the armours filed inside their respective ships. "We will need to file a requisition for more torpedoes, I think," she said. "And keep up the long-range scans. I trust..." She shot a glance at Roger. "There will be no more surprises. Mmm?"
 
The rest of the journey to the Katsuko Nebula looked rather uneventful. Aoiko busied herself with the minutiae and administrivia of running a capital ship to kill the few hours they still had before them. "I suppose," she said at length to nobody in particular, not glancing up from the screen of small-font gibberish before her, "that we should order something to drink, mmm?"


"I like the sound of that," Roger's voice emanated from the bowels of the deck. A mess of wires had been hauled up by the engineer, with various modifications made as to the circuitry. "I'm just about set with the first set of fixes here." A few seconds later, he clambered back onto the deck, uniform dirty and solder burns a plenty. "All right captain, what's on the menu?"


"Huh?" Jatsu murmured, breaking out of a tedium-induced daze. "Ah, I guess I could go for some tea."


"Anything you wish, I suppose," Aoiko said. "I am informed that Chiharu-class ships have somewhat extensive kitchen facilities. I will be having a bit of tea, myself." She motioned to the operations officer, who was already taking down orders called out from around the bridge.


Roger grumbled a bit. "I'll take a cup of tea too, with just a drop of whiskey... about this big," he said, holding his arms fairly fair apart. "Actually, hmm, that might be too much tea."


Jatsu turned his head back to stare blankly at the sensor window. After a couple seconds, he rubbed his eyes and took off his headset. "Freya, monitor the sensors and comms. Let me know if anything important comes up," he said, then stood up and stretched.


"Tea, tea, and tea with some Irish," the ops officer called across the command stack. "It'll be here soon." Aoiko nodded and went back to her gibberish. Freya remained blissfully silent on the matter of interesting things. After just a few minutes, a Santo Hei arrived with a cart of drinks.


The cup with the clearly distinct color was his, Roger assumed, picking it up and taking a sip. "About right," he said, "so what's still on our plate, captain? These fixes are only about half done."


Jatsu took a sip of his tea, then slumped back in his chair. Damnit...I forgot that they always make it too bitter unless I specifically say to make it sweet, he thought. "Want me to give you a hand with that, Rog? It's pretty boring over here, I have Freya monitoring it," Jatsu said.


Aoiko leaned back with her own tea as the Santo Hei moved on to the lower deck. "After we arrive at the Katsuko nebula, we will be leaving the Rena with Kyoto Carrier Group II," she recited. "From there, the Command Group will move to a position between Kilnar and Murf, where we will provide command and support for the Namiko Carrier Wing against the Mishhuvurthyar in Murf, and the Yumiuki Assault Group against the pirates in Kilnar. Theoretically, there should be no opposition."


Roger scoffed. "You know my thoughts about the word 'theoretically', captain. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, if you don't mind." He took a slug of the tea. Ahh yeah. "Speaking of the Namiko, I wonder how those good ol' 17th bastards are doing, anyway." He set the tea down and took another look at the wiring. "Sure, Jats, get on over here. The fixes are simple; there's just a lot of them. Here, I've plotted out a diagram." He pointed out a number of different locations on the electronics schematic. "For some bloody reason, a number of these wires just aren't exactly up to snuff, so I've been replacing them piecemeal with some spare," he said, tapping a large spool of wire."


Jatsu smirked. "I'm with Rog on this. Theoretically, those Mishhu we fought a little while ago shouldn't have been there, either," he said, then took a sip of his tea and winced slightly. He walked over to Roger and looked at the wiring and the schematic. "Well damn, that is a lot."


"Precisely," Aoiko said, closing her window with a gesture and opening a new window with fresh gibberish. "So, I would like everything here working perfectly as soon as possible. That shouldn't be any trouble, mmm?"


"I said there were a lot of them. Here, take... this section," he said, circling a location on the schematic. "Those are the Comm circuits; that way, if you can't hear anything next week, we'll know why," he said with a grin. "Aaannd...." he said, rapidly unspooling the wire and then cutting it, " I think that's way more than enough wire. Happy hunting." To Aoiko, he nodded. "Any trouble? Well, how long have I got?"


"Yeah, thanks," Jatsu said unenthusiastically. He turned to Aoiko and more enthusiastically said, "Shouldn't be any trouble at all now that I'm here!"


Aoiko exhaled sharply, covering her mouth for a moment as she stared into her screen. "We still have some time until we rendezvous with the Kyoto Group," she said. "And no, there is no real trouble. Ninety-nine per cent of the Akuro is running optimally." She glanced up to shoot a look at Roger.


"Then I wouldn't worry about it. We should have this fixed in enough time for me to go back to slacking off at my station in no time, 'specially with the services of code monkey, here." He stretched, trying to relieve his stooped over posture slightly. "Just keep us from running into anything else nasty, if you would, captain. All right, I'm getting back to it; call me if you need me." And with that, he lept back into the mess of wiring.


Jatsu finished his tea and set his cup down. He cracked his knuckles and mumbled, "Guess I should get this over with," then headed toward the section Roger indicated.
 
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