RP: YSS Heartbreaker [Mission 1] Promises Better Left Unsaid

Surface

Darren on the other hand didn't seem to have any problems with the idea of a superior officer being wrong about things. It just seemed natural to him, whenever he thought about it. After all, most Officers are just humans and humans make mistakes. And they damn well can't be omnipotent. In a way it was reassuring: It made him sure that a good officer would recognize this and would lead appropriately, meaning the whole "What if an officer is wrong once" problem never came up to him.

Of course, he was a country boy who learned how to fight and shoot before he joined the military and all. And he'd learned how to navigate bush back home like this! Unlike the XO and Sayoko, Darren had a more... stealthy approach to traversing the jungle. He took it slow at first, moving slow and steady as he did his best to follow the animal trails. If the trail was too low for a standard sized person to walk through, he'd get down on his knees and crawl through, shotgun and pistol ready if he got into trouble. All the while as he followed the trails, he kept his senses sharp so that nothing bushwhacked him.

Surface of 'Owan to Tama'

Hmm...who to go with.Skade shook her head and walked to the XO.Face it, you are definitely not stealthy, so going with Hoshitomo-shoi, and helping her cut a path to the beacon or at least giving her some cover would probably be the best bet.

Once the Neko reached her commanding officer, she took one look at the improvised machete and smiled. Molecure tape fixes everything. “Hoshitomo-shoi,” she said, “Do you want me to help you clear the path or do you want me to do something else?” Here I go, asking a 99’er question again… but I don’t know what to do! Augh! To fight her trepidation, the Technician brought her Saber-Rifle to bear and gripped it tightly, after making sure the safety was on.

Surface

Leaves fluttered to the ground, while vines landed with a heavy thunk, thick sap oozing from the wound. The wall of plant life in front of Rin began to grudgingly give way and open up for the First Officer, revealing what might be called a path, if one were being generous. More of the reddish dirt from the crater was visible on the ground, at least, less roots and vines choking the way forward. To one side, Sayako began slipping ahead, sliding from tree to tree as she shimmied through the foliage. She could hear creatures skittering away from her as she moved, the trees shaking as things chose to avoid the narrow path Rin and Skade were sticking to.

And, on the other side of the trail Rin was clearing, Darren was taking his own approach. Where Sayako darted and moved lightly, true to her Neko breeding and SAINT training, he crawled and scrabbled, not afraid to get his hands or uniform dirty. This gave him a bit more hands on experience with the local conditions. The ground was fairly moist and damp, some plants spongy, vines slick, all taking their own unique paths to survive on this hot, wet planet. While he might not have found it too unusual to be sweating up a storm, some of the other crew members likely weren't as comfortable with the damp spots appearing on their uniforms.

Meanwhile, Yumi was bringing up the rear, watching their backs.

At least, that's where Skade expected to see her, when she glanced behind after a few minutes to see an empty path, a bit of the wrecked shuttle visible through the hole Rin had opened in the brush.

Surface

Rin's facial expression was nearly as unpleasant looking as the Captain's as she methodically advanced forward, clearing a path with almost mechanical movements towards her desired objective. The Minkan kept her mutterings about the humid climate to largely to herself, though, choosing to take out her feelings about the increasingly sweaty uniform she found herself inside of instead on the thick foliage in front of her. Chop, thwack, chop... the edge of her Zesuiaum blade was soon much like its wielder, slick with moisture and sap as it cleaved through the seemingly unending vines and brambles. A glance down every once inawhile at her scanner to monitor distance broke the rhythm, as well as a check to see if there was any signs of hemosynthetic biological lifeforms nearby she had the module set to filter and detect.

When Skade asked her question, Hoshitomo-shoi glanced behind her at the blue-skinned Neko and gave a hand signal to advance. "Masashiga-hei, you've got the same blade as I do with more leverage, come alongside me and hit the areas with thicker vines. Working together, we should be able to progress faster. Pulse the power only if you need to. Don't worry, Matonaka-heisho will cover us from the rear and..."

Rin blinked her ice-blue eyes once, as it seemed noone was behind Skade. The veteran Heisho wouldn't just abandon her post like that without a good reason, though she didn't declare her intent to find a hidden position to cover them from either. "Matonaka-heisho? I've lost visual on you. Location?" transmitted the XO over wireless to the sniper, not wishing to immediately give in to the temptation of panic.

Oh…she isn’t mad, sweet! Though I guess I should have been communicating telepathically. Skade nodded at Rin’s orders and was about to respond when the XO broke off after mentioning the Infantry Officer. Yea! Someone else is in trouble.

Trying to keep her smile to her self, the Neko moved closer to the line of foliage that her commanding officer had cut, and looked down the bearing of the beacon as Rin was distracted, making sure nothing surprised them from that direction. Paranoid? Who, me?

Surface

Sayako and Darren almost passed the pair in the middle as they abruptly stopped to look for their suddenly absent comrade. Rin's scans weren't picking up the sniper, and she wasn't responding to the wireless communication either. It was as if she'd just vanished. Ahead, Skade only saw more jungle, the reading Miho had sent their way promising the beacon was still somewhere in that general direction.


YSS Heartbreaker, Engineering

"So, she's been givin' you the silent treatment for weeks now, huh kid?" Sunny looked up from her work at the red-skinned Hei that was currently sulking in the corner of the room. She'd been brought in to take charge of the Engineering depart on board the Heartbreaker, something that hadn't set well with either the reclusive Nakane or the eccentric Ochiko. The no-nonsense Minkan didn't play along with the MEGAMI's antics and kept trying to get the Hei to socialize more, upsetting the balance as soon as she arrived. Linn just rolled her eyes at Kamatari's continued silence, returning back to the small piece of delicate machinery she was fiddling with.

Meanwhile, behind the Heisho, the top of Ochiko's head suddenly rose into view. Then a bit more...forehead, eyes...most of her face covered by her fan, as she held back giggles. If he ever looked up, Nakane would spot the playful MEGAMI slowly rising higher as more and more cushions steadily appeared in the stack underneath her, lifting her to loom above the oblivious Linn.

YSS Heartbreaker, Engineering

Kamatari rose from where he was sat and walked over to the Minkan and gulped "I am very sorry for the way I was acting, it has been very unprofessional" he fidgeted a bit and gave the woman an awkward "I am just not one to be normal." He looked at the small piece of machinery she was working on and chuckled "Last time I tried to work with something that small my eyes became so strained I could see that well for about a week after" he hoped that he was being more normal that he had ever been before.

Kamatari looked over at the MEGAMI while he talked to the woman and smiled at her giving her the message that he will try and be social with the crew. He looked at the woman "So.... Um what was your name Miss, I was sort of out of it when you came onto the ship."

UX-HB-1 I, 'Owan To Tama' - Surface

With a quiet, virtually inaudible sigh, Sayoko rested for a moment in the shadow of a gargantuan, vine-ensnared tree trunk, wiping her forehead in a futile attempt to clear it of perspiration - then paused as the XO abruptly ceased in her seemingly endless war with the planet's hyper-dense vegetation. Strange...perhaps the Shoi is beginning to suffer from this planet's humidity?

Hoshitomo-Shoi,

Do you require any medical assistance?

Inukai-Hei

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Surface

Her mind racing with scenarios of what just might've made the Heisho disappear so completely, the apparently concerned message sent Rin's way by the SAINT agent actually served to vex her somewhat instead. While it was true that she was undoubtedly obviously suffering from the planet's humidity trying to cut a trail through the wilderness, the prideful officer was far from relying upon a Nekovalkyrja to be eagerly running to her aid at this juncture -- maybe if she was nearly unconscious or missing an arm it would be a different story, but for right now she curtly redirected the operative's concerns to the true problem at hand:

Inukai-Hei,

I do not, thank you. However, we may have lost Matonaka-heisho.

Hoshitomo-shoi

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The XO was still keeping her cool, but worry was rising in her tone as a follow-on message was quickly composed to the other squadmates, Darren, Skade, and Miho.

To away team members,

Matonaka-heisho has just suddenly vanished. My scans show no traces of her, and attempts to communicate on wireless have failed. Have you seen anything from your vantage points?

Hoshitomo-shoi

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As she waited for their response, the teal-haired Minkan shifted her grip on the bayonet machete, and made sure her LASR was ready to fire the instant something happened. Anything that could surprise a veteran NCO like Yumi was nothing to take lightly, be it Mishhu, native predators, or even paranoid survivors setting a trap for them.

Surface

Darren stopped as the rest of the shore party did, his large form coming out of the brush near to Rin the moment she sent the wireless message. His normally lighthearted and irreverent demeanor had vanished and been replaced by stern professionalism, his shotgun 'Sandra' in his hands as he started scanning around. Familiar with traipsing through the brush like this, his mind didn't instantly jump to the worst possible outcome, but he still kept it in mind. If Matonaka had just gotten lost or separated, she'd be able to communicate on wireless; unless the thick brush and humid air was interfering. But the rest of them could still communicate wirelessly, throwing that theory out.

Well, Shit.

Darren made a head shaking motion at Rin the moment they could see each other, and immediately moved to the rear of the group; still in sight but able to cover their rears in case something was stalking them.

UX-HB-1 I, 'Owan To Tama' - Surface

Sayoko froze for a split-second as she received a response from the XO, then seemingly materialized behind the cover of a massive, violet-colored tree a few meters behind the party - her movements toward said tree a barely-discernible blur as the SAINT agent's combat instincts sprung into action. With her Type 33 Rifle at the ready, the Neko began sweeping the trail carved by the party, looking for any sign of whatever had ambushed her superior; upon finding nothing (for the moment), the agent sent the Shoi a terse report and resumed her wary, alert visual scans. Probability of ambush: High. Probability of multiple hostile units: High. Probability of hostile surveillance: High...

Hoshitomo-Shoi,

I am unable to detect any signs of Matonaka-Heisho.

Inukai-Hei

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Miho received the message and ran one straight back to her boss.

Running scans on multiple frequencies. People don't just disappear unless they're annihilated or fully jammed, I have found in my studies.

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She did exactly as she said she would. Sonar, radio, beta wave (wait, the shuttle doesn't have that!) and so on. Up until that point, Miho had been idly pinging back and forth between ship and away team, continually checking on communications.

YSS Heartbreaker, Engineering

"No problem, kid. Normal's gonna be in short supply around here, I think." She set the item down again, chuckling as he asked for her name. He'd been so distraught about all of this that he'd hardly registered her, apparently. "Linn. Sunny Linn. Heisho." The senior Engineer blinked and twisted to look behind her as Nakane's gaze drifted away, but Ochiko had already vanished. "Eh?" She turned back to face him with a shrug...as the Megami reappeared behind her, jutting upside-down from the ceiling, this time. She appeared to be nonchalantly sipping from a traditional mug of tea.


Surface

As Darren moved towards the rear of the group, something caught his eye off to one side of the trail. Glinting, out of place. Sayoko was bounding past him a moment later, getting a better look. It was a familiar rifle, with Yumi's hand still firmly attached to the grip. Unfortunately, nothing was attached to the hand.

There was another glint of something metal and alien to this world deeper in the brush, as the pair of soldiers spotted traces of hemosynth leading into the jungle. While it looked like an ambush to Sayoko, it seemed a bit more familiar to Darren. Vegetation disturbed, ground scraped away in places. If Rin moved closer, she would finally begin to detect the hemosynth trail with her scanner. On the shuttle, Miho's scans were also having trouble penetrating the dense vegetation. However, she was able to detect some sort of faint seismic activity, vibrations in the ground too soft for the others to notice.

Surface

Darren put the pieces together quickly enough to go into a panic, calm himself down, and come up with a solution within a few seconds. Unfortunately it was probably too late already to save everyone, too late to be able to make sure no-one was lost. He didn't waste his time with a telepathic or wireless message: no reason to try to be stealthy when what was in all likelihood some in Power Armor or a CrabSquid was stalking them. For a consummate hunter like Darren, he felt terrible for letting this happen- he was the hunter dammit, and this was his environment! Should've seen the thing coming, made sure no-one left his sight. Yumi was... alive?

"Hoshimoto-Shoi, make a choice. I'm now very sure that was either a Crab Mishhu or a hostile in Armor, and I'm reasonably sure that it took Yumi. I say we can either make a full speed flying sprint above the treeline for those ruins, or we go after Yumi and save her." There was a pause in his normally quick voice, his accent dropping in thickly. "I'd rather follow that there beastie over to where its nest is and give it a taste of this here shotgun and rifle, and see if it starts kidnappin' any of my shipmates again."

Surface

Hoshitomo-shoi was entirely in agreement with Miho's initial thoughts. That's what made this so sudden and worrying. There was no sound or anything to indicate a struggle -- one she was sure the Heisho would have put up even if she was surprised. Some form of jamming could theoretically be active, either due to natural surroundings or some technologies being deployed against them. However, all those concerns evaporated when Darren gave his jarring report upon finding the remnant of their sniper, and her scanner registering the fresh hemosynthetic blood trail a few seconds later. Her mini-neko assistant radioed in with the seismic activity to accompany the event. It was all too clear that they were now the prey of a large, Crab type Mishhuvurthyar.

The icy woman felt a knot in the pit of her stomach forming as she was faced with the choice she had dreaded having to make since setting foot on this planet. Choosing between pursuing her important goal of Uesu regardless of the cost, or risking it for the lives of one of her team members. Perhaps the younger daughter of Hoshitomo Yoshi would have not even hesitated to make the decision for the former... Neko lives were expendable after all, weren't they?

And yet, Yumi's previous words about sticking together and being a family that leaves noone behind played back from her memory recorder, echoing in Rin thoughts along with her own words about there being no room for fear and having to face things no matter the cost. Even though it was hard to live up to them, faced with the prospect of engaging such a creature without the benefit of power armor, the Shoi knew she couldn't leave this jungle without at least making the attempt to rescue the Heisho. There was no way that damnable Taii was going to get the satisfaction of seeing her fail to return with all crew alive...

Hoshitomo-shoi brushed a few strands of her sweaty teal hair out of her vision, as Darren made his desires known to chase down the beast. Dropping the straining telepathy, her voice wavered only once with the slightest hint of unsurity, before returning to its resigned tone as she stared at the bloody trail leading deeper into the wilderness. "We are not leaving anyone behind on this forsaken planet to be defiled by a Mishhu if I can help it. Even if our chances of defeating such an armored opponent are very slim, I doubt the hunter expects to become the prey so soon -- we can disable it with a few well-placed shots and rescue the Heisho. We are not to engage it anymore than necessary; remember why we are ultimately here."

Miho received a wireless reply, seeming grim in its undertones:

We've located Matonaka-heisho's weapon and the remains of her hand; she has likely been abducted by a Crab-type Mishhuvurthyar. We are going to pursue and attempt to recover her. I'm sending you the data of the hemosynth trail now. How does it match up with our objective?

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Not very well. It amounts to a detour, from what I can tell. Exercise extreme caution from here on out.

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Miho responded to Rin, but then turned around and sent an update to the Heartbreaker.

Matonaka-Heisho MIA, likely captured or killed by an unknown force, very good chance it is an NMX force, either a crab or PA. Seismic readings seem to suggest the former.

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Surface

"Ain't a slim thing about hunting a Crab Squid, Shoi." Darren said to her with a very predatory smile as he slung Sandra and handled Rebecca, checking the bolt to make sure an AP round was in the chamber. He'd done this before: hunting a crab squid in the brush. Just that was back home, on Tatiana's second major continent, where technically no-one legally lived. He'd been born there out in the sticks, and he'd grown up hunting and farming and exploring the land around his family's farm.

"We just need to shoot it till it dies. Worked on the ones back home and it'll work on the ones here. And I intend to hunt that son of a bitch who kidnapped Matonaka down and use Sandra here to make sure he stays down. Stick close to me and keep an eye out, all of you; no-one lets anyone out of their sight, not even for a second. Keep in constant contact with each other and Nakamura." From his words, Darren sounded suspiciously close to insubordination... and then he pulled out a pack of some kind of brown substance, what seemed to be dried laves of some kind, and popped it into his mouth.

"Err, that's my recommendation, Shoi. I can take the lead along with and follow that crabsquid bastard's trail for as long as I have to." The large and imposing dark skin manned seemed mostly deferential to Rin, but clad in his AMES and armed to the teeth, his jaw working whatever it was he popped in his mouth; he looked like noting more than a backwoods killer displaced in time and space.

Surface of 'Owan to Tama'

Skade looked at her commanding officer in concern as she juggled a multitude of communications, looking more ragged and worn by the minute. Geez. I thought XOs were supposed to be superwomen, the Neko thought as she wiped her own brow. Not that I envy her decisions. Continue the mission with a possible NMX crab running around or go off and try to go and kill the thing without dedicated armor piercing weapons…

The blue-hued Technician looked at the fully charged Saber-Rifle, cocked her head, and smiled. Oh yeah, this thing is an anti-starship weapon. I just need to make sure I make every hit count… The reminder of her mediocre shooting scores wiped the smile off of Skade’s face. Maybe I can sneak up on it and use the sword on it? How do you sneak up on a crab though?

The XO’s remark made her decision clear and the Neko wasn’t sure what to think about it. I do like the whole no person left behind thing. Has a nice ring to it. Darren’s confidence was good to see, but what did he just put in his mouth…? Shaking her head, the Technician said, “Whatever you choose, Hoshitomo-shoi, we’re with you."

"Though,” she said with a smile, “it would be fun to see what my weapon would do to a crab.”

Surface

Rin looked at the backwoods hunter's sudden take charge attitude long and hard for a moment and then cocked her LASR rifle in response, that action speaking volumes along with her drawn face. "You're not the only one here who has fought them before." There was a pause as her icy blue eyes noticed his tobacco, which was considered largely illegal within YSE territory. But she decided to play this punishment as a motivational card. "In fact, Hei... if you kill it before I do, I'll even choose to ignore your little smuggling of contraband aboard."

Hoshitomo received the update from Miho about it being a detour, but still waved them forward to follow the bloody trail alongside Darren, as she nodded firmly to Skade, "Cutting through the carapace lattice with the beam saber isn't much different than cutting through an NMX ship hull, if you can avoid being shredded by the claws before you get there. But leave that to us."