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  • 📅 February and March 2024 are YE 46.2 in the RP.

RP: YSS Miharu Mission 1 "REAR GUARD", Day 5

Fred

Retired Staff
Tsuyosa System, Asteroid belt - 12.3 AU away from the sun (null-sensor zone)
YSS Miharu NJ-X1-00


The last afternoon and evening had been spent by the crews feverishly working to restore their ships into fighting trim - though most of them only had for ambition to restore their fold drive systems; depleted as it was, it was unlikely that the Kinkou Carrier Group had the numbers to oppose another Mishhuvurthyar battlegroup.

Asher, Chigusa and Ryszard had spent quality time in their Daisy power armors doing extra-vehicular activities... more precisely manually feeding AS-5 torpedoes retrieved from the Shikaku into the bottom access to the Miharu's rollbar's torpedo launcher. Then they had spent most of their time properly sealing the hull breaches outside the ship, though the latter part was more letting Chigusa work and trying to get used to the Daisy 1B's handling as they tried to shoo away the occasional curious 5th XF Lamia.

When they came back in, more work awaited them. While the Taii was busy tinkering on a power armor, the sprites enlisted their help. Seeing that the weapon pod launchers damaged in the last battle were beyond repair until they got to a spacedock and that the same applied to the Material Collection System in the starboard wing, they instead got to building an Uriko torpedo bomber craft in the port multi-function bay.

It was particularly back breaking work for the most part... and by the time the day was through, the craft was done and armed.

After Kotori had learned that Mizuho had come to, she wasted no time in having the NH-17 dressed and putting her to work... though it was a different kind of work. After Mizuho had been given the mandatory task of watering the plants in the observation deck, the Taii had given her manuals (real books) which pretty much stood as user manuals to the operation of the Miharu.

Kotori had Mizuho read the manuals chapter to chapter sitting close by as she and Masako were taking the pains to take a serious look at how they could work with their new power armors, with special focus on the plethora of new configurations the Mindy II could accommodate. When Mizuho was done with a chapter of the manuals, Kotori stopped her tinkering to quiz her on the content she had read - making sure that her hired consultant was up to speed on the operational capabilities of the ship.

Miyoko and Leutre spent most of their time in the port cargo bay studying over the debris from the new Mishhuvurthyar phasing scoutships. Their best bet lied in the torn remnant of one of the wings which housed the gravimetric drives of the late scout. Thanks to Leutre's knack at tinkering with very little, they managed to restore the engine drive to a semblance of functionality which allowed Miyoko to glean much more detailed readings on it, now that there was no stealth material to get in the way.

It wasn't enough to determine how the ship's phase system really functioned, but from the adjustments Leutre made on the engine, Miyoko managed to piece out a way to alter the Miharu's transphasic torpedoes so that they might be able to deal the scoutships significant harm even when cloaked. Though the modifications would seriously impair the AS-5's shield-piercing capabilities if done... the lack of any potent protective shielding on the SMX scouts made this a minor concern.

The day was probably harshest on Tom Freeman. The blond yamataian technician ended up being in the subdeck for most of the rest of the day working on the ship's inner workings. There was the fold drive that was needed to escape the system, but there was also the matter of the malfunctioning CFS units which still worked below specifications. The cloud's silver lining was that not only did he had the quiet support and competent assistance of both Ichigo and Nimura, but whenever Tom had to make adjustments to the CFS units, he often got to hear Yukari's voice as he needed to coordinate his work with her for getting the best results out of the recalibrations.

Though the day had started with a mountainload of work for Tom, continually picking at it eventually made it look like a challenge that could be conquered as long as he focused on the essentials instead of being overwhelmed by it all. Again, just getting to hear Yukari's voice from time to time and exchange some witty banter with her likely helped not only pass the time, but also helped cope with the pressure too.

On the bridge, Nyton and Yukari probably had the easiest time. Kotori had pointedly declared she wanted them to remain sharp since both would be pivotal into dealing with a major crisis. Yukari had the task of looking over the crew rosters of the assembled vessels in order to find likely candidates that could help with the takeover of the expected Black Spiral vessel; as well as assisting Tom with the optimization of the Miharu's combined field system.

Nyton, on the other hand, was given the choice of either continuing his investigation concerning the Black Spiral (namely the topic of Amaya's Gate) or getting used to the tacticalconsole so he could perform better in the coming battle. Seeing he had seen a lot of action already, the Nepleslian had returned to his notes and began cross-referencing what he knew about Naraku and how this tied up with Amaya, the blond woman with strong ESP capabilities whom had been rescued by Taisho Ashigari.

However, the arrival of Hinoto - the Hoshi's first sprite - got him sidetracked as she offered to help him with combat simulations. The newly born white-haired sprite exhibited a gentle, soft demeanor with contrasted somewhat with Mara's more upbeat attitude. However, with a font of seemingly endless patience, she helped him improve his performance at the tactical station considerably by doing several simulations with him (her often controlling the 'bad mishhus').

Hinoto's gentle insights and stingless rebukes when he stumbled helped him considerably in getting the hang of the tactical station, but more importantly, the power he wielded with it. How to accurately aim area effect weapons, how to track a swiftly moving target with the main gun and how to quickly assign targets to the ship's many weapon pods and turreted cannons was starting to be like second nature to him.

<center>* * *</center>

The next morning, the Miharu and the small ragtag flotilla from the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet still floated amongst the asteroids generating the null-sensor area. The morning was peaceful enough, though the tension crackling in the air hinted at hidden danger.

After breakfast, Kotori had quickly assigned tasks to her crew:

Tom was to enlist the people under his supervision to help him with the dishes, then help him with the laundry and then get to engineering and try to get that fold drive system back into working order.

Nyton and Masako were to prepare to make a sortie in power armor. Both had been on a Nozomi-class vessel once, so, Kotori wanted them to try get the ship's combat arms personnel (which this time around included Miyoko, Mara and Mizuho) ready for such an assault.

In the meantime, Yukari, Hinoto and she would remain on the bridge and monitor the situation, with Yukari continuing to dig around for the personnel Kotori had asked for as well as to find a way to transfer them over.

<center>* * *</center>

"Chui?"

The soft voice interrupted Yukari's monitoring of the probe network. Sitting in the station to her right, Hinoto - the newborn sprite with silver eyes and a snow-like countenance - was lightly pushing a volumetric window her way.

"I narrowed down our choices to only a few candidates within the Fifth Expeditionary, as you requested." The sprite smiled, "Two candidates seem ideal; as they are not of high rank, are non-nekovalkyrja and are only recently assigned onboard a freighter; I do not believe anyone will adamantly argue against their reassignment or that they will be missed."

On the holographic display were the files for "Takuma, Jôtô Hei" and "Ito Rei-Santô Hei".
 
Yukari nodded and examined the files. The two candidates seemed personable enough ... both were onboard the YSS Odori no Umi, one of the original production ships from the Odori-class medium freighter. Each had the technical expertise Kotori wanted, but more importantly, as Hinoto had said, they were of low rank.

The Umi had suffered a fair amount of damage, however, so the technicians would be "missed." Yukari would have to talk to the commander of the vessel, a Chui named Lockwood, about the two potential crewmembers. Takuma was Rei's superior, so they likely worked together in some capacity. That would help; a packaged deal was always better than picking from different teams, as it would interrupt the flow of work. The Umi was carrying nearly 200 refugees on board and in its one remaining DOC, according to reports scattered across space before the null-sensor zone was in place.

Yukari nodded to Hinoto. "Thank you, Hinoto-san," she said a little coldly; her mind was locked into "business mode," and pleasantries were harder to conjure. She also did not enjoy taking on yet another two crewmembers. However, some things could not be helped, and she had faith in Kotori.

"Taii-san, Hinoto-san has found two technicians aboard the Odori no Umi that would suit our purposes. Shall I contact the commander of the vessel?"
 
"Yes," Kotori answered, busy with her own work. "Would you please handle their transfer orders as well?"

It was obvious that Kotori would not take "No" for an answer from Lockwood.
 
Yukari only nodded, then returned to the comm. She contacted the Odori no Umi and asked for Lockwood.

The man who greeted her was young -- very young. She smiled. He smiled back. It was not what she expected.

However, when posed with the question of crew, he was utterly happy to oblige. He had enough crew, he said, and the Odori line was wonderfully simpler to repair than a Nozomi. He also knew the mystery ship had helped save them, and unlike his superiors, he was willing to be grateful about it.

Ito Rei and Takuma were on the way via shuttle. Yukari was amazed, but there was no purpose in gawking. She went about doing up their orders.
 
Mizuho sniffed the pages of the volume in her hands, sparing a moment to feel blank and empty. There were joys to emptiness. When you were empty, alone in yourself, there was nothing left to touch you. Nothing left to hurt. It was a sort of solitude Mizuho was almost addicted to, her mental blockading of reality. The universe was too painful. Her brain was closed today, please call again.

A sigh, and she refocused her vision, returning to the ink beneath her gaze. Thoughts raced through her mind, colliding and making little sense as she simply tried to absorb what information was presented to her. Guilt, however, had other ideas.

Failure. When your best just isnt good enough.
 
Takuma yawned and stretched as the shuttle informed him of their near arrival. He was glad to get a little time to nap on the shuttle, even though it was only for a short while. He and the other technicians had been working nonstop to try and get the repairs done. Takuma was also rather excited from getting off of the civilian-filled ship and onto a place with more action, not having to play a tour guide.

He was glad that he had the sense to change out of his uniform before the repairs started, otherwise his uniform would have looked very unkempt with stains and rips. He downed his uniform and tried to not look like a wreck. Dang it, calm down, its not like your going to get yelled or shot at right when you get out. He sighed and waited to land.

The shuttle landed and the door opened up. He climbed down and took a look around. No matter how many ships he had seen, they always seemed to impress him every time. "Hey Ito Rei, lets go!"
 
"Coming along, sir." The Yamataian woman replied smartly enough as she threw the bag containing her things over her shoulder and followed her superior off the shuttle.

She'd just come off a double-shift, fixing the container docking arrays when the call came through for her to grab her things and move. Rei sighed inwardly as she recalled the memory, having to drop everything just when she was almost done with it too. Oh well, she thought happily to herself, new places new people.

She followed along a respectable distance behind her superior, checking herself to make sure she was in some semblance of presentable for her new CO.
 
Miyoko received a notice from the MEGAMI that two new crewmembers had just arrived on the ship and that she was to have them go through a physical and have their ST backups done in the process.

"The Taii mentions that information on the mission is divulged only on a need-to-know basis," Miharu added.
 
Miyoko wasted no time in proceeding to the main deck, where she intercepted the two newcomers near the entrance to the main passageway. She bowed shallowly and gave them a wan smile, quickly sizing them up as she did so. "Welcome to the Miharu; I'm Saito Miyoko, and I'm the closest thing to a passable medic that we have. As such, the Taii has asked that I give you quick physicals and ST backups before you report for duty..." She hesitated, taking note of the luggage. "But I can show you to the quarters if you'd like to drop your things off first."
 
Takuma returned the bow to Miyoko. "I'm Takuma Kimura, Jôtô Hei", he said. "I look forward to working with all of you. I would prefer to just go and do the physical now. If I see a bed, I'll probably just fall over onto it", he added sarcastically.
 
Rei forced a tired smile and returned the bow, dipping lower than normal - rank aside, she was new onboard and it always helped to be polite. "And I'm Ito Rei, Santô Hei. As Kimura-sama said, we'd be glad to just go ahead with the physical; speaking for myself, my things can wait."

She adds as an afterthought. "Besides, there's likely something that needs fixing after this in-processing. That's why we got transfered here, right?"
 
"From what I understand, plenty. I've personally been too busy patching up crew members to worry much about the ship. We're close enough to the medlab, so if you'll just step this way..."

True to her word, the medlab door was only a dozen or so feet down the corridor. Miyoko entered and took up position by the curtained examination room as she turned to face the two newcomers. "So, who's first?"
 
On: YSS Miharu medical lab
"I guess I'll go first," Rei volunteered.

The violet-haired Yamataian nodded and gestured for her to enter the examination room. "Please strip down to your undergarments. I can give you a gown if you'd feel more comfortable in that."

Throwing her items into an out of the way corner, Rei follows into the examination room. "A gown? Oh, uhm, no, not really. I don't think that'll be necessary - I mean, not that I'm an exhibitionist or anything, but it is just the two of us in here, right?"

"Very well. We'll begin whenever you're stripped down, then. But while you're doing that... have you had any injuries or illnesses lately? Been directly involved in combat?" Miyoko turned away politely while the other changed.

"No, no combat recently." Rei recalled, while tugging off her clothes and throwing them in a semi-neat pile near her other items. "Illnesses...none that I can remember. I cut myself working on some machinery on the Odori no Umi, but nothing to write home about really."

Miyoko turned around, leaning casually on the side of the examination table. "And how long has it been since your last exam?"

Rei sighed in thought, her arms crossed over her chest. "That would be...when I arrived on the Odori no Umi. And before that, as part of out-processing during training. So, pretty recently, actually."

"Mm. And your body- Yamataian or Geshrin?"

"Yamataian. I kept the Geshrin look because I didn't find the idea of looking in a mirror and seeing someone 'different' very appealing." Rei mused to herself.

"Good, good- nice and low-maintenance. Well then, since you were recently examined on top of that, I'll try to make this quick and painless. I'm sure we both have better things to do today. I can pull your vitals from the MEGAMI's surveillance, so I'll dive right in to the eyes... " Miyoko leaned forward and gently pulled the other woman's left eyelids apart. As she began inspecting the eye, she asked conversationally, "A former Geshrin, then... what planet are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Rei tried not to blink out of reflex as her eyelids are pulled. "Ah? Me? No, I don't mind. My family settled out at Valaad - I grew up with nothing but the sand and sky." Rei tried to chuckle, describing the most well known aspects of her otherwise barren homeworld.

"All desert? I'm sure that gets... monotonous." Miyoko finished up with right eye and withdrew. "Well, those are fine. Have you had any hearing problems or any pain in your head lately?"

"Oh, it isn't actually that bad." Rei smiled wistfully. "I even miss it sometimes. Oh, and my hearing? Just fine as far as I can tell - I always use the protection gear when I need to. Those training videos were persuasive in their graphicness."

"Hm, well then, I think your head's in good enough condition. Care to lie down on the table and pull the gown above your stomach?"

"Uh, alright." Rei complied. "So, what's next?"

"Just relax and try to breathe evenly. I'm going to inspect your abdomen- tell me if any of this hurts, alright?"

"Relax and breathe evenly. Right. Okay, go ahead and inspect." Rei says.

Miyoko leaned over and began firmly pressing at spots on the other's stomach. "And how long have you been in the army? A relatively new recruit, I assume?"

"Yeah." Rei winced, being poked and prodded was what she did to machines - it being done to her was something she just got used to happening. "Just came onboard within the year."

The medic noted the wince and glanced over at her. "Did that hurt?"

"No. Don't worry about it; well, it wasn't a -physical- pain anyway...I'm just a little embarassed, I don't like being touched." Rei admits.

"Ah, good." She withdrew her hands and put an ear to Rei's stomach. "Just keep breathing steadily..." Several minutes later, she straightened up and gestured for her patient to get off of the table. "Well, you seem in good enough health."

"Good to hear. Anything else?" Rei asked.

"Well, if you have any problems, you know who to come to. Other than that, we just need to get your ST backup done. Would you like to be doing that while I give Kimura-san his exam?"

"Certainly."

Miyoko drew the curtain aside and walked over to the backup center. "And do have any problem with going unconscious to help with the pain?"

"Oh? Uh. No, please, go ahead with the anesthesia."

"Well then, just lie down and we'll begin. If I'm still doing his exam when you come to, you're free to go." When Rei had complied, Miyoko pulled the head piece of the ST device onto her forehead and set it to begin its duties, then ducked out of the alcove and nodded to Takuma. "All set- I apologize for the wait, but I can't exactly inspect two people at once. Shall we begin, or would you like some more time to stare at the walls?" She grinned at her joke, crossing over to stand in front of him.
 
Tom initially took the opportunity to work on anything else but the fold drive as a blessing. However, while he cleaned dishes and collected laundry, the thought of returning to the subdeck, to conquer the mountain of work he had set forth climbing yesterday, nagged him constantly.

It was backbreaking work that may have given a more inexperienced Tom Freeman fits, but, for now, it was simply an insufferable itch.

That wasn't to say, however, that the poor overworked engineer could take much more than what he was already dealt. Last night was supposed to be the most wonderful, passionate night of his life, but that was all dashed when he limped away from the fold drive at all hours of the night, exhausted.

What an unfortunate turn of events!

And now the poor Yamataian made his way back to the subdeck to toil once more in the greasy metallic corridors of the Miharu's depths...
 
"The way I see it, we need to move quickly to neutralize two key positions: engineeing and the command bridge. If we can paralyze their chain of command they won't be able to react as quickly and if we can shut down their access to engineering they won't be capable of fighting back or escaping." Nyton said as he ran his hands over the bridge and engine decks of a Nozomi schematic on a holo-window. The window was set up wide to give everyone a good view of it in the Armor bay where they were holding the planning session.

"Care must be exercised when assaulting the bridge though. We don't want to kill our most valuable intel assets like the CO. A navigator would also be invaluable as they may have knowledge to key Black Spiral positions." Nyton continued. "Kurohoshi-Juni, our payload would have to include non-lethal anti-personnel ammunition if we are to take prisoners. If push comes to shove though we may be able to just hack into their MEGAMI but I'm sure they may have some sort of lock out or kill function that renders it useless."

Nyton looked over the schematic and crossed his arms. "We need to plan out an insertion point that will give us maximum effect."
 
Mara, whom sat on one of the empty racks which had stored the AS-5 torpedoes held in the multi-function bay the day before, raised one hand a bit to politely draw Nyton's attention. "Sir, if the Nozomi is going to creep in silently through the asteroid field, wouldn't odds be that they would already be ready for trouble and have their people suited inside Mindy power armors from the beginning. Even if we surprise them, they still are going to put up a stiff resistance - not to mention here could be the possible presence of a NH-28 NIWS aboard too."

The sandy-haired sprite lowered her hand to have it join the other on her lap. "You say to take nonlethal measures... but can we actually afford to put in that sort of care when we perhaps should be striking as hard and fast as we can?"
 
Nyton looked over at Mara. "I did not say we would not use lethal force. I only mentioned that we would want to take some prisoners. The priority would focus on those who had any tactical value." His face hardened slightly. "The rest of the crew we would have to subdue as quickly and lethally as possible to prevent such a resistance. We will kill on sight."

Nyton then assumed his thinkers pose and appeared to be tuned out as he brought all his mental resources to bear. "A NIWS would definately be a problem. From what I have heard and the data I have glimpsed they are very bad news if we should encounter it. We should try and avoid engaging it at all costs unless the odds are in our favor and even then still be careful." Nyton looked to the side of the schematic holo-window and opened up another window. "Miharu, please display a NIWS tactical capabilities."
 
A volumetric window appeared besides Nyton, showing a rotating model of the NIWS in her default configuration. A nekovalkyrja only 5'5" tall, but with inbuilt yamataium armor, morphic and self repair capabilities equal to the NH-18 if not better, STL/FTL propulsion for space navigation and combat, physical strength exceeding the Mindy power armor and an aetheric generator allowing access to self-generated nodal weapons from the common aether gattling cannons, to forearm aether blade projectors and nodal attack drones.

NIWS units were pretty much made to be one-neko armies.

"What are we going to do with the prisoners we take, Sir?" Mara asked after sparring the window a look. "Are we going to follow the usual POW rules with them or are we going to have to torture whatever information we can get out of them?" The sprite frowned as she mentioned the latter possibility. "Are we really going to capture them knowing we'll have to torture them to get what we want?"
 
Nyton frowned after he finished reading the NIWS capabilities. He remembered them to be strong but this thing was made to fight small starships in close quarters. They would have to find someway to counter it if there was one. "Hmph, they can't be invincible. Miharu, please bring up all recorded instances of a NIWS being destroyed in combat."

Before he could ponder any further that however Mara posed the issue regarding prisoners. "Outside of personnel with valuable intel, only those who surrender will be given POW status. But in all honesty I doubt there will be anyone who surrenders. As far as we are concerned they are traitors to the empire. They know what happens to traitors. Dying in battle will likely be preferable to waiting for their execution. As for those that we do capture for intelligence purposes, we will do all we can with what we have before resorting to such practices." Nyton said flatly.
 
A second holowindow took shape in front of the first, showing a brief interpretation of the battle between Pumpkin's Mindy power armor and the YSS Sakura's NIWS in the incident back when the Sakura had been in the Great Southern Nebula negociating with the Lorath.

Pumpkin, the hybrid neko/mishhu, had escaped her confinement in the Sakura's medbay to steal a Mindy power armors and then had gone on a rampage inside the vessel. The NIWS went to intercept Pumpkin, but since the Sakura's MEGAMI had been damaged in the battle, there was little actual footage to be had.

It was surmised that Pumpkin and the NIWS had struggled their way down the floor of the computer room to the engine room and then had torn through the hull to continue their battle outside. The NIWS had later been found by one of the Sakura's Mindy floating broken in space and Pumpkin's own power armor had been rendered weaponless with its armor savaged and helmet torn off for its troubles.
 
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