RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 12.4] Warm and Wet

Reika had a little trouble stifling her giggling due to the antics of certain crew members. When Hanako mentioned giving Takeyu's sister a tour of the Ketsurui palace, the young neko operatives ears twitched with interest.

"Now that would be interesting," Reika mused aloud, "I've only seen a few recorded images of the Empress' Palace exterior. From what I could see the buildings seemed quite beautiful."

"The palace is large and functional, with labs and armories beneath it," Hanako explained. "I would mainly be showing you some of the key rooms on the main level, like the Red Room, where I have had many briefings before, and the bedroom I used to stay in. I am a bit nostalgic. I have a question for everyone. What were your early life experiences like?"

Hakujou perks up at the question. "Hmm, my early life experiences... They were mostly medical service during the SMX war, I was a triage officer and worked with an emergency response team." She paused for a second, "there... There were so many sisters I couldn't save in those days." She said with a sad smile.

"That would be great Shosho," Takeyu said in response to Hanako's answer to his question, then he relaxed a bit while listening to the others, the faint sound of rain water pattering down on the spa.

When he heard Hanako's next question, he closed his eyes in thought before saying. "Early life experiences... family worked in the mining business, my job varied actually, sometimes I helped operate the equipment, other times I made certain everyone did their job safely. Worked with explosives a lot though, always the constant threat of pirates, made the experience that much more interesting."

"I had a lot of sex," Cherry grinned, her eyes lingering on Armundo before turning and wading away to an empty bench. She was thinking of her days on the fast-paced YSS Sakura. "And we went through a lot of near-death experiences."

One question after another, Helen at that point looked up to the sky and wondered why she bothered with this trip to the Onsen. These are not questions for relaxation, these are terrible questions, meant to stir feelings deep within the heart and soul. Only the truly naive could possibly look upon these questions with any sense of fondness. Helen mused, as she really wished for something to take the edge off of the moment, a shame she could not get truly inebriated while in her current body, something was lost with the ability to instantly filter out alcohol at a moments notice.

"I don't think that I could respond to the question while keeping with the mood of the moment, though, I suppose I could be vague." Helen said cryptically and honestly as she decided to give a vague explanation as to why; "My parents were naturally born, before the establishment of the Empire, I was born around the time when synthetic bodies were becoming available, but was not upgraded immediately. I recall real flesh, real blood, the sound of a heartbeat, even the feeling of having a little bout of illness. That was before I was upgraded, that was also before 'The Plague' entered its final stages."

Helen decided to keep details vague at that point, by skipping some grizzly details and feelings involved. "After that, was the blur of growing up, I got in a bit of trouble here and there, typical of a girl born a Nepleslian, but I eventually decided I needed to do something with my life, ended up enlisting. Everything after that is a matter of record." Quirking her brow, Helen looked to Hanako before deciding to take the obvious approach of 'tit for tat'. "What about you Shosho? I know of the tales and stories, but what do you recall from your early memories?"

Armundo's bearing changed a bit when Hanako brought up the question of early life experiences, that was somewhere he truly did not want to go. His wide smile faded into a much smaller, perhaps less sincere smile. He turned around and grabbed his wet towel with his teeth, pulling it into the water and wrapping it around his waist before he rose. Unlike a few others, he could not stand up and retain any semblance of modesty.

He stood and stepped out of the Onsen before someone fired that question at him. His earlier experiences in life were written all over his back and forearms and he was not sure this was the kind of place he would like to talk about this kind of thing. He loved gatherings and being around people and he was quite open with many things, but this was something he reserved for people he knew to be good friends of his, not just anyone in particular. He made his way around the Onsen before heading into the dressing room, opening and closing the sliding door as quietly as he could.

Once inside, he slipped into his pants before sitting down on a bench and reaching up to rub the wide silver earring in his ear absently, a rather far away look on his face. He hoped that no one was bothered by his early abscence, even if he hadn't offered a explanation.

Michael's wings seemed to perk up at the mention of talking about his early life. Not really caring about the issues talking about his life could bring up, he went ahead with it, his manner still fairly friendly and non-chalant.

"My early life, Hanako? Well to start with, someone killed off a whole lot of people with a plague, and blamed it on Elysians, causing a bunch of riots that killed my birth parents, leaving me to be adopted by my adoptive father. And then some Patrician idiots decided to invade other areas of Yamatai for more land, leading to your mother-" Michael nodded at Hanako- " attacking us and dropping a bunch of our floating cities. Including one I lived on just before my father evacuated the family off of it. And then four years after that, we were forced off of our homeplanet and we ran to New Elysia. My family ended up in a small farming community, my father the lay preacher for it. That was fun." Michael shifted around on the bench, fidgeting.

"Oh, and then Yamatai annexed Elysia and occupied our planet. And their occupation forces weren't exactly handing out candy and chocolate. You see, people didn't exactly like being ruled by the people who had forced them off their homeworld, and many youths were young and reckless. So, after a bit of stupidity on the part by local youths, the occupation forces decided to try to pacify us by targeting families. Including my mother. Who was beaten and left wingless." Michael's tone was still friendly, but his glare had narrowed somewhat in anger.

"So I joined an insurgent group when I was 16, and when Yamatai gave us back our independence I joined the Elysian Celestial Navy, and when we joined Yamatai, I was shuffled here to the Eucharis. That's about my entire life story, Ma'am."

Takeyu shifted his position uneasily, with one eye opened toward the Elysian. Hanako? Surely he realizes that he should add the honorific to the end... the chief engineer shook his head in slightly disapproval before thinking up of how to contact his younger sister to let her know what was going on.

She's certainly at school right now, but depending on when Hanako-sama decides to visit the palace, I'll see about contacting the school. Kyoto is a safe place, despite us being required to walk around in pairs, thus the life of a military soldier. I doubt anyone would try and kidnap a child, not with the amount of security this planet is under, he glanced over at Hanako and thought about what he had just said. I take that back, no where is truly safe. No matter how much security you have, how many you wield, a cleaver person can out do you in a second.

I'll need to contact Yaichiro-sama as well later on, since he left without word, I wasn't able to talk to him about seeing if he knew anyone who was capable of salvage operations. Since I now know the location of my families ship, it shouldn't be to expensive for me to hire someone, and with the NMX running around - piracy shouldn't be all that of an issue.

He gave a light shake of the head at his thoughts and relaxed more, dipping the back of his head under the water to where only his mouth, nose, and eyes were above it. He felt the cool rain pelt against his face, and though his ears were under, he could still hear the conversation.

"Well, this is certainly a lovely moment." Helen mumbled as she frowned, after watching Armundo leave, and hearing Michael's life story, she hoped that Hankao realized just how messed up a question she asked, and how it left the 'relaxation' in a state of being F.U.B.A.R. With her feelings in a state of being shared by a good portion of the group, Helen decided to do something rather different as she ascended out of the pool of water, floating over the surface of it before she arrived at the edge and scooped up her towel, wrapping it around her body. She turned to Hanako and gave a shrug; "Dare hats, stick to dare hats." she advised, before she walked in Michael's direction, and gently placed a hand upon his shoulder with a touch that was soft and sincere. "For once, thanks." She whispered softly before walking away and in the direction that Armundo went.

Upon leaving the train wreck behind, Helen stepped into the changing room, glancing about and spotting the Nepleslian which did what she should have done to begin with, she thought on the moment before stepping over and speaking words quite simple; "Pretty f**ked up where she went with that, huh?" She asked, she did not want to ask anything more such as; 'You alright?' 'What is wrong?' 'Can I help you?', no, those were not questions that Nepleslians spoke at such moments, those were the questions that got people stabbed, shot, or both. There was just one question that was appropriate; "Want to go find some booze?"

Hanako gave Helen a scowl as the unpleasant neko left the relaxing pool. "It is important that we know each other and form bonds together," she explained. "But that does not mean you can be disrespectful to me or my mother," Hanako warned Michael. "You clearly know nothing about my mother. So let me tell you. I was born to two elves, Maether and Meruru. They were wise and powerful, but they were taken from me by the great plague. I was taken in by PNUgen corporation as a test subject and a servant. I eventually was placed with Taisho Yui, who kept me as a servant and brought me into the Star Army when it was formed. I have been in ever since. My young childhood was a good one, and my time at PNUgen was...alright. I obeyed well and became favored, which led me to my eventual freedom and a career."

Armundo glanced up, arching a brow as Klein walked into the room and asked him a rather pointed question before asking a less pointed question. His brow arched as he paused for a moment, guaging the officer. He remembered her from before, in the medical bay, the woman with the ominous aura. Armundo's lip curled in a smile " Hell Yes !/i] was what he felt like saying, but he settled for a more cultured response "Yes I would, Ma'am ." he said " I appreciate it." he said. He stood then and slipped his shirt over his head, wriggling to get back inside of it. It took him a while to get his arms through, but he managed himself.

He peeked over his shoulder at the officer. He remembered her from the medical bay a few days back, her and Tachihara. He remembered the ominous feeling he had from her. Of course, she was a SAINT, a trained assassin, probabley well versed in the arts of torture and breaking minds..but she was different. He knew that Tachihara was new, but he had seen her interrogate planet side. No, this one, she enjoyed her work or he was a fool..something about her bearing. " I'm guessing you have somewhere in mind ?" he asked absently, fastening his belt around his waist. He stared absently at the wall in front of him, listening to her response carefully.

Hakujou sat on a dry bench watching. "Eylsian elitism, apparently a genetic flaw since all of them have it." She muttered as she watched the back and forth. "Maybe neuro-chemical, a hormone treatment might... No, no, could unbalance his senses and might cause a berserk rage." She mused aloud, a finger being nibbled between words.

"Anywhere we can find at least two bottles. Maybe this place has some sake or something, but if we have to, I bet we could find a bar or a convenience store." Helen mused as she went to the locker she stored her clothing in, and went about opening it to get to the clothes within. A few moments was all it took for her to get dressed, though she did take some time to re-arrange her hair. "I just want to go some place where I won't have to hear any more of those questions, seriously, who asks those things while on R&R? Maybe the home thing, but the memories? Urgh... distasteful." She griped before her hair was once again set in the bun she preferred it in.

Once her hair was set up, her clothing on, and her bag in hand, Helen gave a nod to Armundo. "Let's find one of the bath house girls, and ask about where the nearest batch of booze is." There was a notable change in Helen's demeanor since she had left the rest of the crew behind, she actually seemed relaxed and comfortable. What brought this about was simple; she did not have to put on a face. Tact and trickery was for the job, for the moment, she was on her own time. Leading the way, she strode out to go to the information desk, where she would speak to the clerk there.

"Hello, excuse me, is there alcohol available for sale here, if not, where can I purchase some?" Helen asked, ever so properly in Yamataian as she smiled lightly.

Armundo's brow arched slightly at Klein's rather intense scrutiny of Hanako's choice of question, perhaps a bit too harsh in his opinion, but he said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself. He followed her out of the dressing room up to the information desk, looking around the area absently.

He stood behind Klein as she inquired about the location of booze. He had to agree that Hanako's question had produced some unfavorable answers, particularly form the Elysian who had run off half baked into the snowy planet before and the same one that he had amused apparently. He thought it rather strange that he could serve, however poorly, in the Yamatain forces with such open distain. He for one was glad for the opportunity to serve by choice. This was the best decision he had ever made, coming to Yamatai and enlisting in the armed services. He considered it his crowning achievement thus far.

Speaking of distain, he noticed that there seemed to be a unusual amount of that floating around, either from the Elysian or seething from a certain SAINT agent he was drinking or would be drinking with, quite soon..that or the Taisa seemed a bit naive about her questions..or a bit of both.

His eyes took on a distant look as his thoughts spiraled every deeper and deeper, questioning and answering his own questions until he had a near vacant stare, somewhat unaware of his surrondings.

Sune was annoyed with how several people chose to react to Hanako's topic. He had to admit he was perplexed by Amundo's walking out at that moment. But then from the look of the man's back it was apparent that he had a rough life. Although he could have simply declined to share rather than walk out.

Michael's tirade of invective however, really irritated him. This was supposed to be a relaxing time, and sharing of personal experiences. Not to launch into a political diatribe and direct it at Hanako. He was aware of the bloody past the two Empires shared. But what really surprised him was Helen's reaction to it. He had a definite sense that she approved of the Elysians rant. He was even more grateful that she was leaving the Eucharis.

Sune remained silent allowing Hanako to deal with the Elysian.

Michael shrugged, yawning.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to start an argument or anything, Ma'am. You just asked me about my past, and I answered. Despite what you may think, I hold no ill will towards you, Yui-sama, or the Ketsurui clan as a whole. If I did, I never would've requested assignment to the Eucharis."

"What about your love lives?" Hanako asked, continuing her quest to get the crew more acquainted. "Anyone have a significant other, or a relationship story to tell?" the Shosho asked, relaxing in the warm spring water.

Prior to the current occupants of the 'pool', one other had intended to show up. After a long and tedious time studying within the confines of the Kyoto War College she'd been granted a short vacation. While it was nothing so grand as a week long cruise aboard some luxury starship, an onsen would do well enough. Warm waters, calming atmospheres, peace and quiet. Yes, it would do. However it seemed the place had been reserved as the sign seemingly stated.

The woman let out a short, clipped response under her breath and a sigh afterward. Instead of turning to leave she entered the main building of the Onsen a level look on her face as she removed the set of sunglasses perched upon her nose.

"Is it true this Onsen has been reserved for private usage... all of it?" she questioned one of the receptionists on duty at the front desk.

Ramiro's head kinda jerked up as he got his head out of the clouds and back into the conversation. "Well as to my early life experiences, there isn't much to say. I was born just after the Great Plague, but my family were Geshrin and thus immune. I was expected to follow the family tradition of becoming a soldier, but to my father's disappointment I became an Operator instead. You see, my father enlisted as infantry for the UEF just a few years before the creation of the Yamataian Empire. His father was an infantry for the Uesureyans, and my grandfather's father was an infantry before him. I knew my father would never allow me to move away from tradition, so I ran away at the age of 12. At the age of 18 I returned home for a visit at which point my father threw things at me and blamed me for disgracing the ancestors and yada-yada-yada. Then I joined up, and here I am."

Ramiro leaned back as he pondered the next question. "As to my love life. There was a very fine female that caught my eye when I was 16. She lived in the town that I had set up camp near, she was one of the most gorgeous creatures that I had ever seen, and after living in the woods for years she was like an angel to me. But since I had no money, no home, and was living off of wilderness survival instincts, it was impractical for me to court her and thus I gave up the endeavor. Other than her there was only one other woman whom I yearned for, whom I spent much time getting close to, and a person I honestly thought I could have a connection with."

Ramiro glanced around at who was there before continuing. "Sune, Hanako, and possibly Takeyu are the only ones who may know of whom I speak, as well as our sprite friends. She was an engineer on the ship many years ago. For those of you who don't know how the story ends, she did night crew for a while, thus limiting the number of opportunities to win her over. After her transfer to the Victory and my transfer planet-side we stopped speaking. Sadly, I've returned to find her gone and I honestly have no idea where she is right now."