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

Nyton checked off on his list to try and get an idea on how to configure the teams. He had to consider ability, payload, Armor, and chain of command. "With our current troop strength levels our team layout would look something like this." The holowindow expanded to show everyone their team and assignment.


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Black Knight Team

Team Leader: Kurohoshi-Juni
Armor: Mindy M2-2A "Balanced"

Takuma-Hei
Armor: Harpy M5-1A

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Black Rook Team

Team Leader: Mara
Armor: Mindy M2-2A "Death Blossom"

Westwood-Hei
Armor: Mindy M2-2A "Death Blossom"

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Black Bishop Team

Team Leader: Claymere-Juni
Armor: Daisy M6-1B

Yukisato Mizuho
Armor: Daisy M6-1B

Ito-Hei
Armor: Mindy M2-2A "Shrike"

Saito-Hei
Armor: Daisy M6-1B

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Nyton scratched at his chin a bit. "That should balance us out with what we have. I didn't include any of the bridge crew since they would be needed to handle ship and weapon systems. Our engineering crew members still need to monitor ship functions and keep it secured. We could possibly grab up another couple sprites to add numbers to our teams. Sorry about having to split you two up, Takuma and Rei, but we only have four Mindys to disseminate. Someone has to be with the other raiding team. Also for our chain of command, each team will have a leader. Kurohoshi-Juni is the Wing Leader and will coordinate each team as squad leader but the team leader will have direct command over their team. If the team leader is incapacitated then the next person down on the list will take command. If the squad leader is killed then the next highest ranking will be the new squad leader regardless of whether they are in a team leader position or not."

Nyton looked over to Masako. "It might be a good idea to have Suzuka-Chui be on stand by in a shuttle for medevac purposes. We'll have to secure one of the bays in order to allow the shuttle to board and load wounded personnel. I am not sure how feasible this will be until we have the ship more or less contained. If the bridge crew is still able to fight back they could pick off a shuttle with the ship weapons."

"It is no problem, Claymere-Juni." Rei answered deferentially. "I asked merely because Takuma-Hei was my immediate superior and wondered at the time if I would be placed under someone else's command for the operation."

The rust-haired Yamataian smiled faintly. "I will, of course, perform to my utmost no matter whom I am assigned to."

Asher scratched his ruffled hair, taking in all the information and the full briefing. He looked at the list and found himself being the first to get in the thick of it. Truthfully, the Yamataian found himself delighted that he would even be getting his first taste of action without being locked up in half-destroyed ship. He even felt important being a factor in the wounded having a safe way out. Asher looked at the name of his squad leader on the list.

Mara? Hrm...

Asher looked at her and tilted his head, one thought just seemed to go through his mind...

He was going to have to properly introduce himself before the mission launch, it just seemed, well, proper.

Yukari stifled a slight "mmmmm;" for a sprite with her personality, she was amazed Hinoto was doing so well massaging and washing her.

"Many times, they are," Yukari conceded. "However, situations change. If you were ordered to transport a person along a specific course, and were ordered not to deviate from it, that is an order that should be followed. But what if the course becomes un-navigable? What if you are ambushed? Should you continue as ordered, or is it more important to save the person's life? Those things must be -- "

Yukari stopped. A sound of feet. Feet on tatami, then on tile. Then, idle singing, strange and slightly happy.

"Do do, do do do do do, gonna take a showerrrrr," she heard. "Hoo ha! Gives me powerrrrr!"

Tom.

Within two seconds, Yukari came to the conclusion that Hinoto's orders were fulfilled. Without question or exception.

"Hinoto-san, now is the perfect time," Yukari said, quiet, rapidfire Japanese spouting from her mouth almost faster than she could conjure it in her brain. "You have done your washing; the rinsing is mine to do. As another person is entering, and that person is the man who enjoys doing all of those things you told me about on the bridge, I should be properly situated to greet him, and that means being in the bath alone, and that means perhaps you should, ah, you understand, leave, as soon as -- "

"Woah!" Tom said, only a couple of meters away. His eyes were firmly fixed on the mural, giving Yukari precious seconds. She sucked up all of her focus to broadcast to Hinoto.

"Please, Hinoto-san. Go now. I will speak with the Taii about your orders."

"Yes, Chui." Hinoto floated up and passed by Yukari, giving the brown-haired neko a wink and the floated around the shower stall to hide out of Tom's eyesight. With the blonde yamataian in the entryway, Hinoto couldn't sneak out unnoticed, so, she would have to wait until his attention was otherwise engaged.

The sprite had offered no resistance to Yukari's request. Just a knowing smile.

"Thank you so much, Hinoto-san!" Yukari managed a small smile back, then looked to Tom. Her cheeks flushed; it had already seemed like too long since he had been before her, and here he was without a shirt on again.

"We must meet more often with clothes," she said shyly.

You know, this is the kind of thing I'd like to drape on the wall of the subdeck to give it more character. Rather, a nice snowscape of Ralt would be just--

"We must meet more often with clothes," she said shyly.

Click to expand...

"HEYYYYY THERE," Tom yelled as Yukari's voice snuck into his ears and completely took him off guard. "Didn't know you'd be here too, ma'am!"

He spun in place, trying to play his surprise--and his body's instinct to jump away from the sound--off. He grinned at Yukari and nodded, his shaggy hair covering his face.

So this is what Kotori was getting at.

Tom had a pair of boxers on, but was shirtless (as Yukari had noticed). She also noticed Tom waving a fist in the air angrily for some odd reason.

You are incredibly mean, Taii! Dammit.

Nyton looked again at the layout and shook his head. "The matter of medevac will be proposed to Suzuka-Chui. If we have the capability I would like her on standby but not until we have secured one of the bays and removed the ship's weapons offline. Otherwise I don't want to risk another member on such a risky endeavor. We could probably secure the medical center on the enemy ship and use that as well."

He turned around and looked over to Miyoko. "I want to run a couple of short rehearsals first before you pull some people away. You should also be present since you may have to perform first aid on site. At least we should all have familiarization with the internal structure of the ship and how to react to enemy contact. Ideally I'd like for us to do this in the VR room but we could probably make do with some simple holographics right here."

Yukari blushed; she did not stand. "I was ordered here," she said as she covered her chest with one arm and snatched a bucket full of water with her other arm. She dumped the water onto her body, washing much of the shampoo out of her hair as her skin drained from the cold of the water.

She smiled through her little shivers, setting the bucket down.

"It is good to see you again, however. I ... missed you."

"I feel the same way," Tom said. "But whod've thought that Kotori was such the little cupid? I got the same order. She's a bit... direct isn't she?"

He walked up to Yukari slowly, taking care not to look like he was making any strange advances.

"How are you feeling? Is everything ok?"

Yukari blinked at Tom, blank from minor shock.

Kotori ... did this on purpose?

The woman frowned from her position on the stool, still covered up by her own limbs. Her frown turned into a scowl.

"Yes, she is very direct," she said very clearly in perturbed English. "And I am fine. You must be washed before you enter the bath. Take off your undergarments and sit." Yukari stood up in a bit of a huff, all modesty tossed aside as she motioned to the stool. It had not quite dawned on her that she was displaying herself entirely in front of Tom, but the color had returned to her skin after the cold water dumped on her head.

"Can't argue with that," Tom cheerfully replied, wiggling out of his boxers and throwing them aside with his toe. He noticed how annoyed Yukari looked, but he knew... he just knew that things were going to be ok when he caught a good view of Yukari's naked form.

"Might I say that you look very good this fine day, which is much more than can be said for myself!"

He then averted his eyes and walked to the stool, plopping down on it.

"Although you'd be surprised at the therapeutic effects of machinery oil on the skin!'

He looked down at his hands, which were covered in inky blackness. What he didn't notice were the streaks of oil on his back as well.

Yukari's brain was neatly divided into two parts.

The first part wanted to strangle Kotori. The Taii, it seemed, enjoyed thrusting two people together and finding out what happened. She was playing some kind of matchmaker. It was annoying, it was unnatural, and it was unwelcome. Yukari wanted to see Tom on her terms, or at least on his. Instead, Kotori had thought she was doing them a favor by putting them together in a bath. Yukari would give Kotori a piece of her mind later.

The second part wanted to strangle Tom. Between her legs. Tom, it seemed, had the power to snap her concentration and judgment with a single, clumsy compliment. It didn't matter how his hair was matted and sweaty, or how his hands were streaked with mechanic fluids that would take a bath just to clean, or how he'd cut himself probably from fumbling for this tool or that, or how he smelled horrible. All of that was not worth mention. What was is that he looked her up and down and liked what he saw. That was it.

So when his shapely body, completely nude, was down in front of her, she was of two minds. Roughly shampoo was squirted into her left hand as she stepped behind him. Working it into a furious lather, her fingers dove into the mess that was his hair. She massaged his scalp as she tried to clean his hair, but she found that Tom really did have a lot of it. Tom had to suffer a few slight tangles and pulls as Yukari worked.

"You work too much," Yukari mumbled a minute later, having soaped most of his hair. She rubbed along his temples, trying to work the sideburns he had. "And you stink." She wanted to dig her nails into his skin, to teach him a lesson, to tell him he was an idiot just like Kotori. Everyone wanted to play with her, manipulate her, ignore her desires, her wishes -- what happened to what she wanted?

She had momentarily stopped paying attention to anything he might have been saying. "You should have been allowed to sleep. You perform much more difficult duties than any of the other crew. But she does not let you rest. It is not fair." She had moved onto his neck and shoulders, putting effort into her washing and massaging, frustration tunneled into the work. It was not very focused. "Nyton is larger than you. He is stronger than you. Yet he only talks and plans and reads. It is a waste to not use him for this work. You should not be worked so hard. It is not right."

Her hands began to drag down the Yamataian's back, soap and cloth handy as she clawed and ground the copious level of grime from Tom's body. Though she was not consciously trying to work the kinks out of his back, her angry resolve began to weaken as she felt the condition it was in.

The first mind was slipping as the second climbed. She did not realize how easily it was happening.

"This is not good," Yukari said simply, pressure more precisely placed on his upper-back muscles. "Your body cannot automatically repair such muscle strains, Freeman-Heisho." The name sounded wrong on her tongue and she felt her brain wince at its mention. "You should see someone about them. They are not good for you."

Masako couldn't help but tilt her head to the side and scratch the tip of her ear some more as she read the name of her Team, Black Knight. It was pretty grandiose in a way, but it was suitable enough. Though she couldn't help but nod in approval as Nyton set up the chain of command. "Don't worry Claymere-Juni," Masako replied to his statement about the shuttle possibly getting picked off. "Though having Suzaku-Chui in her personal transport may help matters so I think that would do. But just to be safe, I'll send out a transmission after I've neutralized the bridge crew to signal the Chui that she is safe from shipboard weaponry." Masako explained.

"A VR simulation of our mission does seem appropriate, given the fact that only a couple of us have even served onboard a Nozomi-class Scout," Masako stated after Nyton suggested the course of action. She was after all, referring to Nyton's and her experiences mostly, considering she had yet to look into the personnel files of their newly acquired crewmates.

"We don't know when the enemy ship will arrive so we'll have to be fairly quick so that we can finish preparations." Nyton replied and they were all soon guided over to the VR room. A recreation of the Nozomi's interior was set up. Once inside they began to go over vantage and insertion points for the assault teams.

They went over the layout of the bridge for Masako and Takuma. A run through was made to slowly walk through so they could all be more familiar with the bridge and the advance towards the monitor room.

Afterwards they went over the starboard Mindy bay for Mara and Westwood so they could establish faster target locks and destroy the racks and Mindy storage. After the bay was secured they began to approach the hallway.

The portside Mindy bay was next and would be more involved since they would have to shoot it out more than with the teleportation surgical strikes. A slow walk was done wherein they practiced establishing a field of fire and anticipate the arrival of the NIWS. A fast shift in the fire was established so that the Mindy was allowed an opening to counter the NIWS.

After they ran over securing the bays they moved on to the hallways and clearing the connecting rooms. Another walkthrough rehearsal was made for the hallway and how they would attempt to force the NIWS to be countered by the Mindy again in the narrower corridors.

After a few practice runs they felt a little more confident in the layout of the enemy ship.

"Alright that should be enough for now. We'll let the sprites get the Armors configured while Saito-Hei does the ST backups for all personnel who require one." Nyton said. "Kurohoshi-Juni, unless you have anything else you would like to add then we can dismiss everyone to their assignments."

"I don't have anything else to add to the main plan, though I will want to talk to Kimura-Hei about a priority target list a bit later." Masako replied before looking over everyone in the room. During the rehersal, she had pondered (more like fretted) silently over the NIWS and possible threats of a Neko/Mishu hybrid or a Type 1 Mishu. She had personally never had to deal with hybrids or an NIWS, but she had dealt with Mishu before.

The thought of meeting one head to head again didn't really appease her, but at least she wasn't fighting them alone. "I think we can break up now," she said as she forced her thoughts about such things into the back of her mind. "Saito-Hei, I'll come to the medbay and get an ST back-up after you've completed back-ups for the newer members of the crew. Please contact me when you're ready," Masako asked the medical/science specialist before turning to everyone again.

"Prepare yourselves, this is going to be close-quarters combat and one of the most dangerous environments to fight in," Masako spoke calmly, even with her worrying in the back of her mind. "Until we find the Nozomi, I want every single one of you well-rested and well-fed. I'm not telling you to sit around and do nothing, but try not to stress out," the short neko allowed herself a friendly smile at everyone.

Miyoko stretched as she left the room, then took up position leaning against the wall in the hallway to gather her thoughts. An armed assault on a superior force wasn't her idea of a good time. She'd essentially been born and raised for the entire purpose of combat, and she knew that she did like fighting on some level... but at the same time, the fact that she'd almost failed her last combat certification didn't exactly fill her with hope about her prospects if things didn't go well. She almost hoped that somebody got a light wound early in the fight, just so she'd have an excuse to stay in the staging area to treat them...

Pushing those thoughts aside, she moved on to more pressing business- the ST backups. No matter how badly things went in the battle, they'd go a lot worse afterward if she didn't get those done before the fighting started. So, she relinquished her spot on the wall and addressed the air as she headed toward the front of the ship. "MEGAMI, could you begin requesting unoccupied people who still need ST backups to come to the Miharu medical lab? I'll take them one at a time in order of descending rank, if possible. Any of them that are busy when you inquire, ask them to try freeing some time for it within the next couple of hours."

"After all..." she mumbled, mostly to herself, "we've got a ship to capture."

ON: The Miharu's public bath

Tom winced as Yukari worked through the kinks in his back. "I work hard because it is required of me, is it not? It is what I am here for and what I have trained to do. Nyton, although he may be a larger person than me, does not have the technical expertise to perform the duties I can, nor do I have the abilities to do his job. Ack." Yukari had popped a rather large muscle in his back. Tom winced as his back jolted a little.

Yukari's hands were slowly trailing downward, the minor spasm from Tom a necessary evil if she was to put his muscles back in some order. "He should be cross-trained," she said quietly, finding another particularly bad knot. "And you should have been allowed to rest some. Ichigo-san and Nimura-san can do the work." Her hands were very firm with him.

"Nngh, you know that's unreasonable, ma'am," Tom said between grunts. "Let our strategist make the life-and-death decisions without having to worry about fixing an electrical board or rerouting a circuit. Ichigo and Nimura are capable sprites, but they're still young. They need someone to direct them... just as you give direction to the entire crew."

"I do not do that," Yukari said matter-of-factly, the noises coming from Tom making her lose her focus some. "I direct the Miharu; the Taii directs the crew." She took just a few seconds more to work out another knot ... then sighed a little. Tom's backside was now massaged and soapy. Yukari took her cloth and soaped it again, then filled a bucket full of cold water. She poured it slowly over Tom's back to get all of the soap off, then pressed her body into it, warmer flesh against cold, and washed his front from behind. She was blushing, but she was serious about it.

"Oh, come on, have a little more faith in yourself," Tom cheerfully replied. "Ma'am, we all know we can rely on you in a time of need. Give yourself some cre-daahhH!" (c)

The cold water made him jump a bit in his seat, his golden yellow hair slapping his back and spraying bits of cold water everywhere. But then the coldness was replaced with the warmth of Yukari's body, which made him purr a bit. "Am I wrong to think that I find this strangely arousing?" He grinned stupidly.

"Be quiet," she replied in Japanese, tone empty of any sternness. "You are too tall for me to do this very well, and I do not want you to be cold." It did not help, of course, that Yukari's fumbling with the rag from behind Tom was much less efficient than, say, being in front of him. But her skin was warm. Her mind felt betrayed by her body, which was unfortunately reacting to the treatment she was giving him. She dragged the soapy rag over his chest, scrubbing here and there.

Tom relaxed his body into Yukari, sliding down the stool until his head rested on her left shoulder and he could catch a glimpse of Yukari's cheek. "Does this help you, ma'am?"

His hair meshed into the Neko's body, the thin strands at the bottom gently tickling her.

Yukari had been doing well enough. Now she was doing much worse, Tom's long curtain of hair sending little jolts of feeling through her belly. "T-thank you," she said, trying hard not to look down into Tom's eyes, focusing on the rag as best she could. She quickly finished with his chest, then said, "I must wash your lower half."

Tom could feel her body quivering, just a little.

"Lower... half?" Tom quickly read into those words, as well as the shiver of Yukari's body. "Are you ok with this?"

"I... I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do anything that makes you... uncomfortable."

"It would be uncomfortable for me to bathe with a man as dirty as you," she said, again with no sting at all. Yukari was trying so hard to be ... something! She did not even understand. Modest? Proper? Professional? Those words meant nothing. She pushed him back more straightly onto the stool, cleaned the cloth and soaped it again ... then began to wash his legs. Slowly. The cloth dragging over every hair on them, Yukari's eyes firmly planted on it and nothing else. She had started on his right leg first.

Tom smirked at the retort. "You have a charming way with words, you know?" He tried his best to be professional as well, as he took an extra bar of soap in his right hand and began scrubbing at the oil on his arms. A small inky pool was forming on the floor. "But you are definitely right."

"I know I am." The same voice, trying so hard not to be honest. When she got to his feet, Yukari sighed at how dirty they were, and really wiped them down. The other leg was done shortly, and then ... then she was in trouble. Her face visibly did not change, but many parts of her brain were seeing the limit of their abilities as she gently took him into her cloth-protected hands and soaped that portion of him as well. It was only right, after all.

"Y-Yukari!" Tom gasped at her forwardness, wriggling backwards a bit from her touch, but not enough to actually pull away from her. The soap fell to the floor. "I-I don't know if I n-need help there, too!"

"You were washing your arms, which are soiled with oil and blood! It would ruin the cloth." She was a bit hurt, and it showed, but she did not try to start again.

Tom saw the hurt in Yukari's eyes, which tore his insides. "I-I'm sorry," Tom muttered apologetically. "I'm just a little wired right now." He stood up and offered his hand to her, smiling warmly. "Please, let's enjoy a bath... together."

Yukari looked at that hand ... then looked up at him. "Yes ... but, I must, ah ... one moment." She took his hand to stand up, but then went to the bucket again. She tried not to think about what had just happened as she filled it. But she had instead to think about what she was going to do. "This will be cold," she said soberly, as she took the bucket full again of cold water and went to face him. "I will be swift," she said calmly, floating enough off the ground to get the bucket to the top of his chest. "Be still," she said, and then the cold water came down slowly over his body, washing the soap off.

"Eeeek!" The girliest voice that would ever come out of Tom Freeman just erupted from him. The squeak soon melted away into hearty laughter. "I've been away from Ralt too long!'

Yukari's entire mood seemed to change on the squeek. Her face broke apart into a silly, amused grin, then she laughed a little, coming down to the ground. Freshly washed ... his body was ... was ... Yukari wanted to push the thought away, but couldn't. She instead took his hand. "Come. We should warm you." She dragged him toward the bath.

"Ok then!" Tom didn't offer any resistance to Yukari, quickly dipping into the bath beside her. As his hair floated on the water behind him, he looked a little more feminine. "It feels like FOREVER since I had one of these."

Yukari normally liked to keep her hair up in a bath, but this time she was in too much of a hurry to be warm, and be near Tom. Her wavy locks trailed her. "Mmm." The warmth of the water was just perfect, but she was impressed by Tom's ability to go from cold to hot so fast. Ralt has made him an impressive man. she thought cheerily. "The Taii knew what we needed."

It didn't take long for Tom to wrap his arm around Yukari's shoulder and give her a little squeeze. "She sure did... thanks for everything." He stared ahead and sighed contentedly.

Yukari blushed, but let her head nuzzle Tom's neck some as the pair sat near the edge of the bath. "I enjoyed it," she said timidly. "But your back feels better?"

"Oh yes it does, ma'am," Tom replied as he tilted his head to rest on hers. He enjoyed the feeling of her breath on his body and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "You've made me feel like a new man."

The silly, terribly pleased grin returned to Yukari's face. He was happy with her, and that was a good feeling at a time when no one seemed to have the time to be happy at all. And he was close, and warm, and strong. She could feel the muscles of his side and his legs against hers. "I did not do that," she said. "I cleaned you. It was the proper thing to do. Your back benefitted."

"Oh, I meant it in more than one way," Tom mused playfully. "I do remember confessing my love to you a few days ago as well. That's more invigorating than a thousand back rubs." He ran the fingers of his left hand gently up and down her arm.

Yukari blushed furiously, her hand rubbing his leg by instinct, not by choice. "I did not forget ... I -- love you too, Tom." The words barely came any easier than when she had first said them. But they felt just as good.

"You're cute when you're shy ... " Tom whispered back as his fingers ventured down the side of her frame. "And I like it when you blush."

There was nothing to focus her eyes on. It was not helpful as she felt his fingers tease the side of her frame under the water. "That is not a thing to say to an older woman," she giggled, a little nervous. This was not what she had expected -- it was what she'd hoped for.

"If you're old, then I must be ancient," Tom replied. "But, for an older woman, you've taken good care of yourself." He emphasized that last point with a quick squeeze of Yukari's thigh.

Yukari did not believe she actually uttered a little moan at her thigh being touched. It was quiet, nearly under her breath, but it was easy to hear in the echoing bath. "Mmph!" was the sound she made. A two-second silence followed. "You are making fun of me," she said, trying to chide him and utterly failing.

"So? It's easy!" Tom's hand wandered further until it found its way on Yukari's perfectly-smooth stomach. His fingers tapped her flesh in a circular motion, teasing and tickling at the same time. "Don't say you don't like it."

"That is not fair," she pouted, the touching of her stomach not helping her focus her indignation at all. "I am easily aroused -- " Yukari's lips clamped shut at the realization of what she said. "Ah -- I meant -- " Hopelessness ensued.

"This goes in the same vein as wanting to have my intercourse, right?" His mouth was always making jokes, but his hand spoke a much more seductive volume, as the fingers on his hand began to slide up the pathway between Yukari's breasts...

Yukari's eyes became half-lidded, her breath momentarily unsteady on Tom's partially exposed chest. "You are terrible," she pouted, hand tightening on his leg. "Always -- ah! -- terrible!" She could barely get her voice to rise above a few decibels.

"I guess I have a knack for it..." were the last words out of Tom's mouth before he took Yukari's lips to his own and pressed deeply.

Words were quickly drowned. Yukari's body was locked into the kiss and made even slower by all the warm, warm water around her. She hesitantly kissed back, but fell deeper into it within seconds, her other arm wrapping around his body. His lips were always so soft; it was deceivingly good each time, yet her body knew it was so much better than her brain immediately allowed her to think. She pressed herself more into his side, turning herself on further and continuing the cycle downward.

"Good job during the strategy session. I'm glad to see everyone received your plan. This is your show after all." Nyton said to Masako as he gave her a slight smile. "I still have some more work to do but don't forget to take your own advice and rest up for the assault. I'll be getting a fresh ST after I report to Kotori. See you later."

With that Nyton walked out and began to head towards the bridge. As soon as he arrived he bowed slightly and motioned to Kotori. "Excuse me, Kotori Taii but if you have a moment I would like to present to you our assault plan."

Nyton walked in on Kotori only to see that she was the bridge's sole occupant. Yukari and Hinoto were gone, leaving the Taii settled in her command chair, her hands flying over the controls as dozens of volumetric windows were about her, their data - from streams of code to displays of the CFS drive, of the local space and the probe beacons - up for perusal along with whatever she could access by SPINE.

One hand came up and pushed some of the windows away so she could have an unimpeded line-of-sight on Nyton. "Go ahead," She prompted, her gloved hands still tapping over a console she wasn't even looking at with her golden eyes set on Nyton.