RP: YSS Resurgence Mission 15: The Pathfinders (YE 46.5)

[Wes]

RP Date

YE 46.5

RP Location

Concordia Sector

YE 46.5

RECREATION ROOM

After their summer shore leave, the crew of the Resurgence was back in action and the ship was lifting off once more from her hangar in the Central Fleet Depot in Central Uesureya on Planet Yamatai. As typical, Aoba called a meeting of the crew to discuss the next objective, which was held before breakfast in the recreation room where everyone was doing their morning workouts. Hachirobei Sakuko, now noticably pregnant, stood near the end of the track that ran around the room, taking and recording runners' times as they completed the last part of their Physical Fitness Test. As they completed the run, they headed over to Aoba's presentation where Julia Meadows was handing out water bottles.

Doctor Poppy crossed the finish line and slowed to a walk, breathing heavily and glistening.

"As you know, Acuna was a major NMX stronghold in the Concordia Sector," Aoba told the crew."After we helped spearpoint the invasion, the Rikugun Legions have moved in and are trying to clear out the resistance, which is likely to take a long time because the planet is covered in dozens, maybe hundreds, of small bases. You did a good job and we made good use of the new teleporter technology, although we can't forget the loss of our comrade. I also want to thank everyone who came to the service at on Nataria. It meant a lot to his family to have such a strong showing of support there. The next step in establishing and securing our foothold in the area, in the eyes of Taisho Irim, is to find out what's out there that can reach us. When we discovered Concordia Station, and the Concordia Sector, we found that the station was a hub of a network of wormholes that the NMX were using to spread throughout the larger Kagami Galaxy. As of yet, most of these are completely unexplored. The Taisho has requested that we become part of the team that will help look into them. Questions?"

"So are we just going to be going through a bunch of wormholes and seeing where they lead to?" Sanda asked. She was doing better since the last mission. The time off at the beach and getting to spend some time with her husband had helped. As had the councling sessons. But she still wasn't quite back to her old self and she might not ever be. The horrors of that last mission had scarred Sanda deeply, deeper than she had ever been scarred before.

"We're going to be part of a team of explorers investigating the wormholes, and new systems and planets and and space ruins we come across," Aoba said. "We'll be working with SAINT crews and Concordia Sector Operations, a special task force set up to support operations in the Concordia Sector," Aoba told Sanda.

Yoshiro was fascinated by all of this but he was going to do his job no matter where they went. He was angry about the loss of a comrade in the last mission and wanted his chance at revenge. He started polishing his salvage sword and smiled. "As long as I get a chance to kill my enemies, then I am all good." Yoshiro said. "Those Mishhu are going to pay for messing with us."

Yayoi stood stoicly beside Sanda, she could tell her battle sister was doing better, and she knew begrudingly that was the power of psychologists, and the beach. She listened as Sanda asked her question, and then heard their captains reply to that question. Yayoi nodded her head silently to acknowledge his words.

Chiheisen Takahashi finished up a water bottle to the side. The Elysian put the cap back on the bottle as she listened to the briefing. She still seemed a little distant, well, moreso than usual, after the events of the previous mission.

Cassie huffed across the finish line. "You know...maybe...I should get...one of them Minkan bodies..."

"Come on, Cassie," Hayden laughed, still running in place after he'd crossed it long ago. "I don't got nothing like that! I don't even have cardio augs!"

Kokoro faceplanted onto the ground after she crossed, the neko evidently didnt like running for an extended period of time. "Ahhhh! Why cant we just float everywhere!"

"You've got even less of an excuse," Hayden looked down at Kokoro. "Are you a Neko or a Ne-can't?"

"My legs are short! My hips are wide! My ass is fat!" Cassie objected.

"Is that really a downside though?" Kokoro floated upside down slowly, looking at Cassie while rossing her arms.

Euikoshi laughed in amusement. "Short stacks for the win," she said, striking a pose.

Hayden, tellingly, didn't respond to any of that, and went off to stretch.

Pidole stared at Cassie for a moment. Not an angry stare, just that thinking stare she was always doing. Her beetle made a "thinking" pose with one of its legs rubbing its chin area.

Yoshiro was doing pratice kata with his sword as he listened to the conversations going on. He was smiling at Cassie's statment.

"So why don't we just send a bunch of robot probes out first?" Wong Caihong suggested. "We have some we could use, and Euikoshi can science them up and Pidole and I can modify them as needed."

"Yeah, that way we don't jump right into the middle of another enemy base and we all get killed this time." Sanda said. A little harder than she had intended. Despite the hilarity of Cassie's complaint, it hadn't even registered with the tattooed woman.

"Go ahead and send the first probes out with sensors to locate the wormhole openings so we know where the network starts," Aoba nodded. "Then we'll start sending them in to see what's on the other side. In the meantime, perhaps some of you can meet our helpers on Concordia Station."

Yuri nodded as she huffed and puffed but had no pigs houses to blow down as she sprinted with the others. "probes would be perfect, to gather intel." She said.

The intercom came on and a volumetric image of Gabriela Lively appeared near Aoba. "Sir, course charted for the Concordia Wormhole. Shall I proceed?"

"Yes, full speed ahead," Aoba said.

"Aye aye, captain! Prepare for space fold," Gabriela replied, disappearing.

"If there's nothing else, I will return to the bridge," Aoba told the crew. "Enjoy your breakfast."

"I consider that last one a standing order," Hayden quipped, once the Captain was heading out.

As the exercise hour ended, the crew began to shuffle over to the showers.

"Spoiler alert," Cassie said, stripping off her Star Army T-shirt, "Pretty sure we find more Mishhu bases. I wouldn't be surprised if they got star fortresses waiting on the other ends of the wormholes. They've have had one in Concordia if we hadn't kicked their ass out and said that weird AI that kept making Pidole's eyes glow. Heh."

Yuri's clothes started flickering, before they disappeared entirely as she joined Cassie to the

"Yeah! SO WE JUST SICC EM!" Kokoro shouted as she grinned, floating along with the rest to the showers. She seemed tired of all that running. "They wont know what hit em! Hyehyehyeee!"

SHOWERS

"First!" Hayden yelled, his long, quarter-ID-SOL legs almost eerie in the speed of their stride versus length. It was almost like he could run another test and max it, and the artillery pieces on display as he yanked his wet shirt over his head while still sprinting full tilt towards the showers backed that up.

"Sí, probablemente nos encontraremos con una maldita armada completa y volaremos en pedazos antes de que sepamos qué nos golpeó." Sanda complained as she undressed and washed. Even the refreshingness of the water after a workout did little to bring the ranger out of her doom and gloom mood.

Poppy shared a shower head with Euikoshi and the two shampoo'd each others' hair. She was a little worried about some of what they'd seen in the previous missions. "I'll do everything I can to keep us from ending up like the YSS Dragon Sword. When we go out there they're going to try to turn us against each other."

Yuri stepped into place beside Poppy and Eukoshi but on a separate shower head. As the water cascaded against her body, she listened to Poppy speaking, "Hai, i'll do my best to assist you. Poppy-Sempai!" She said to poppy, then began thinking.

Julia, the ship's caretaker (space maid!) collected all the exercise uniforms in a basket and hauled them off to the laundry room near the crew cabins.

Chiheisen silently stood under a shower head, the Elysian simply listening to the others converse, effectively covering herself with her now drenched wings. She glanced towards Sanda with a rather sombered expression, before continuing to bathe.

After getting cleaned up, it was time to get dressed for the day. The uniform of the day was the usual Type 42 duty uniform or Type 42 bodysuit, which were the Star Army Regal blue with the occupational panel color on the front and shoulders. After toweling off and air-drying for a few moments, Poppy and others started suiting up.

Yayoi was silent as she suited up, but she wouldnt be silent for long. "hmm.. I wonder if our Empress does another request thing.. hey mom, what would you ask for?' Yuri asked her mother.

Yayoi glanced towards her daughter, for a moment. "probably.. permission to use a Eihei body.. I've heard a lot about their capability, and would be very useful as a ranger. What about you?" Yayoi asked and very much regretted it, because she had a feeling she knew exactly what Yuri might ask.

Yuri grinned widely, with as much Yuri level excitement as she could. "I'd ask if i could hug her! I mean I managed to hug our Imperial Premier! so she's next!" Yuri said innocently.

Yayoi facepalms.

WARDROOM

The air was thick with the breakfasty aromas of fresh-brewed coffee and sizzling bacon. Vanilla-scented crispy waffles and piles of fresh strawberries and lovefruits sat next to Rossa's fresh-basked croissants and Julix's fiesta egg breakfast medley. It was feeding time on the Resurgence!

It went without saying that a certain Nepleslian infantryman attempted, to the best of his ability, to be first in line at breakfast as he had to the showers. Hayden heaped his plate with everything, and plopped down at a table. His shoulders took up the space of a pair of Nekovalkyrja, giving him the entire side to himself.

Bidole the beetle came buzzing past in the air, helping itself to a strawberry and carting off.

"Sup, little dude," Hayden greeted Bidole as it flew by.

Stuffing her face accross from Hayden, Kokoro was chowing down on two separate plates of food, the Navy haired neko not even speaking from how much she was eating. Running made her hungry...

"So..." Cassie said, her hair still looking damp, "Who wants to go meet these dudes on the station? I'm down."

"Mmhm, you sure are." Eyebrows wiggled as Hayden chuckled between bites and shielding his own tray from Kokoro's maniacal shoveling.

Sanda had a full plate of food, mostly eggs and bacon but she wasn't eating with anywhere near her normal gusto. She took a flask from her pocket and poored a generous amount into her coffee cup. She held her cup up towards a window and very quietly said, "May the stars guide you my battle brother, Lyons."

"I know my boy would have wanted you to bring enough to share with the class, Heishō," Hayden punctuated his words with a big, full forkfull of everything on his place. "I already had to set the other Heishō straight."

Sanda managed a smirk and poured some of her rum into Hayden's coffee cup.

Hayden held it up and knocked it back far too quickly for how hot the coffee was, and sputtered a bit before getting himself under control and swallowing. "Smilin' down."

With one hand holding a tray full of food the other face palming, she took her seat beside Sanda. "I've created a nut" she mutters as she does so, her senses of smell began acting up picking up on Sanda's drink. And Hayden's words. "as long as you two get sober enough before you get on duty.." Yayoi finished her words. Mostly because she got distracted by Hayden.

"I've never been drunk on duty in my life." Sanda snapped at Yayoi. She took a big gulp of her drink, barely even noticing the hot tempurature. She grabbed a piece of bacon and raised it to her mouth to eat it but suddenly lost her appittie and just tossed the food back on the plate.

"May i try some?' Yuri asked remembering how Yayoi never allowed her to drink but now that she was a adult, and was free, she thought she could try it.

"Don't get between a soldier and her rum like that, sugar." Hayden admonished Yuri in his smooth drawl, although his eyes on Yayoi implied Yuri was just a proxy.

Yuri frowned, but understood.

"My man also frowned on wasting bacon." While it was another of Hayden's jokes, it sort of trailed off and didn't land the way they usually did, and he ended up just looking back down at his plate and hesitated a moment before shoveling the food in at near-Kokoro speed.

Pidole and Euikoshi took up a corner booth, already hard at work looking at a modified probe design, which was projected out of Pidole's triangular teal communicator on her jacket. It looked like a little torpedo full of sensors and its parts expanded out from each other to show the interior. They got deep into what Cassie described as "nerd shit."

Chiheisen sat at the end of the table Sanda and Yayoi were sitting at, with a gap in between chairs to provide suitable space for her wings. She still didnt seem very sociable.

Kokoro's ear twitched a little as she looked towards Yayoi, raising an eyebrow. She didnt say anything, her mouth was full of food which she was still chewing on.

Cheilith sat with the other team members, eating her eggs and bacon and watching the normal life of the ship unfold around her.

"Hey," Yoshiro said to Kokoro. "Last mission...did I see you speaking Mishhuvurthyar?"

Cassie stopped in mid-bite. "Hrm? Wait, what?"

It would take a boarding party to get Hayden to stop mid-bite now. But he did look up.

Kokoro made a little choking noise as she spat out what she was biting into. She hit herself in the chest reflexively, before responding. "NANDAYO?! What are you talking about?" She raised an eyebrow angrily, a sweat drop sliding down her cheek.

Yayoi choked on her food the moment Yoshiro spoke to Kokoro.

"Errrhh..." She blinked repeatedly as she stared at her food, before responding. "Ohhh! T-that.. yeah- i was just trying to repeat something I heard from a Misshu before! It kinda scared em off!" She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Was it that convicing?"

"Very." Cheilith commented.

"Yeah it totally was." Yoshiro said smiling encouragingly. "Do you know any other Mishhu words? I could use some new matieral to insult them with the next time I see them."

"It's true it was the same Mishhu that Rossa gunked up with corn starch?" Cassie asked Yoshiro and Kokoro.

"That's what the bastard told us when he had us chained to a wall." Sanda said she drained the rest of her coffee. Taking out her flask again she filled the cup with just straight rum this time and drank downed it as well before standing up. It was beginning to feel crowded in the Wardroom.

Kokoro laughed with a nervous grin, before nodding towards Yoshiro. "Well i can try findin out more to hurl at them! Hyehyehye..."

Yuri widened her innocent eyes "oh my Mishhu insults..hmm.. too bad i dont get chances. Plus not sure its a good idea." Though hopes Poppy hadnt mentioned to her mother she'd been crying while they were missing in action.

"It must've been horrifying," Poppy sympathized. "You hear these horror stories about the Mishhuvurthyar practices on prisoners and how they literally treat captives as cattle. And it was a race against time for me to get those parasites out."

"I got one of them," Hayden chimed in before Poppy even got the "t" in "out" out of her mouth, nudging Yayoi.

"it was.." Yayoi started, but stopped. as she took note of Yuri's presence and Chiheisen's leaving. Though she reached out to touch where the parasite was extracted. Yayoi glanced to Hayden as he nudged her, and her eyes narrowed not liking the contact. "Hayden-hei, mind explaining why you think we are close enough to nudge?' she asked annoyedly. as the Stick lifted up her butt once again.

"I mean, my hand was all up inside your body cavity and all, Heishō, so I figured, you know. This wasn't near that close!" Hayden made a little wiggling gesture with his fingers, meant to evoke Parasite tentacles.

Cassie's eyes bulged at the mental image. "Gross!"

Yayoi's eye twitched, dangerously "we are at breakfast, Hayden-hei!" She said grossed out by his words. She didnt think about how the parasite didnt try to control her.

Chiheisen got up from her seat abruptly as Poppy was speaking, the Elysian leaving her food half eaten on the table as she made her way outside of the Wardroom quickly. Kokoro watched with a new spoonfull of food in her mouth, furrowing her brow.

Yuri got up "i'll meet you back in the medical bay, sempai!" Yuri said, and hurried out. giving Chiheisen a float by shoulder pat before she went to the lift.

"We might be able to find a Concordian guide who knews the region better than we do," Poppy speculated. "We should check the station," she suggested. "Maybe I can charm one," she giggled, thinking back to the governor of Koenic who continued to send her flowers.

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Liza, Yuuki, and Yoshiro

 

[Lizalopod]

YSS Resurgence
Hallway outside of the Wardroom

Sanda had gone out into the hallway where it was quieter. Her right hand had started to shake again. It had started doing that ever since she'd gotten back from that mission. The wierd part was that it was her cybernitic arm. It wasn't suppose to do that. Her theripist said it was subcouncious triggers on her implants.

Chiheisen gribbed a disposals bin tightly a bit aways from the entrance to the wardroom. The Elysian let out a shudder as she made an attempt to hold back, but couldnt. She gagged and threw up into the bin, her wings visibly ruffling quite significantly as her body shook.

Sanda couldn't miss the Elysian doubled over throwing up into a trash bin. She knew how she felt. Sanda walked over and grabbed Chichi's hair and pulled it away from her face so that she wouldn't acedently throw up on her own hair. "It's ok. You're ok. Just let it out."

Chiheisen jumped visibly as Sanda pulled her platinum hair out of the way, letting out a slight shudder as she tried to speak. "Heisho.. your assistance isnt-" She recoiled and threw up once more, cutting herself off of what she was gonna say. A small whimper escaped her, gripping the bin so tightly her knuckles went white.

"I know." Sanda said very softly. She had been in the same situation a few weeks ago. A particually bad night had left her throwing her guts up and screaming loud enough to wake the dead.

"Arigato.." She groaned out as she glanced towards Sanda wearily... "I cant stop.. thinking about.. it" She said in between heavy breaths.

"I know..." Sanda's voice breaking slightly. "I use to never have trouble sleeping, now it seems almost every time I close my eyes I can see... that room."

She glanced towards Sanda, the Elysian's wings quivering softly as she finally stopped hurling. "Is it.. ever going to get better.." She said softly, her eyes welling up with probably the most emotion anyone on the resurgence had seen from Chiheisen. She had clearly been holding it in all this time.

Sanda was the poster girl for being a bad ass. Lighting tattoos over her body and even on her face. A tough fighter who never let things get to her. She wasn't one to show emotions either. But now... Sanda reached over and tenitivly and placed an arm around Chiheisen's shoulders, being very careful not to put any presure on her wings. "Yeah. It'll get better. Not right away. Demonio, maybe not for a long time. But it will get better."

Chiheisen slowly shyed into Sanda and ended up leaning on her. She remained rather silent, appart from the occasional whine, which indicated the Elysian was likely crying. As resilient and serious as she always was, the birb was still rather green. She remained like that for awhile, her shaking legs slowly lowering down to the ground.

Sanda wrapped her other arm around the birb and just held her. It gave her more strenght, being able to help out the younger soldier. Her husband, Caffran, had been there for Sanda and had helped the Ranger get through the worst of it. Now Sanda was able to be there for Chiheisen to help her through it. They would get through it as soldiers of the Star Army did, together.

(JP with @Cowboy !)

 

[Yoshiro Tanaka]

Dojo
YSS Resurgence

Yoshiro was in the dojo training in hand to hand combat with a dummy shaped vaguely like a humanoid. He was sweaty and bloody, his hands used to hit the dummies. He wasn't going to let the Mishhu take another body part so he practiced hard.

Wardroom

Yoshiro was hungry so after showering, he went to get some breakfast at the wardroom. He saw Sanda there and was glad that she was okay. He ate his food in silence and went over plans for the mission.

 

[Wes]

YE 46.5

After breakfast the crew had got to work on the mission to map out the wormhole network from Concordia Station. Those who were involved with the probes worked on those, while the others had a chance to form small teams to visit the station or prepare for exploring the unknown.

Approaching the location of the Concordia Wormhole, still a secret to the public, the ship disappeared into the anomaly and was flung to a faraway part of the Kagami Galaxy where that was mostly unexplored.

Rollbar

Up in the rollbar, Euikoshi, Pidole, and Caihong loaded the worm-seeking probes into the launch tubes. In a minute, they had fired them all off into the unfamiliar space of the Concordia Sector to go see just how many wormholes were in the are and where they were located. The probes began to spread out in a search pattern, looking for spatial anomalies.

Yoshiro's quarters

Yoshiro was in his room sharpening his blades that he uses in combat and smiles, knowing that he has scored attacks on his enemies with the blades. He was thinking of revenge on the Mishhu that he had fought. "Blood for the blood god!" Yoshiro said as he sheathed his blades and headed to the shuttle bay to prepare his armor for the mission ahead.

Medical Bay

Yuri finished filling the away teams bag with medical supplies as well as that of the away teams medic which would likely be Poppy. "Sempai, i finished getting the away teams medical stuff prepared. anything else i should add?' she asked to be helpful.

"No, I've got what I need?" Poppy smiled. She was dressed in a form-fitting bodysuit Explorer Uniform that looked like a Type 42 Bodysuit, and she had her trusty sidearm on her belt. Grabbing her medical bag, she waved and headed down to the shuttle bay.

Yuri saluted "take care Sempai, i'll look after the Medical bay, and keep the captain and medical bay company!" Yuri called out to her.departing mentor.

Shuttle Bay

Beryl Leyton's cargo shuttle was ready to go for the team to visit the Star Army's new hub on Concordia Station. She waited to see who the team leader was for the away mission.

Yayoi made sure that her hidden blades were sharpened, to monomolecular levels so that they would be useful, and made sure her Mindy's weapons were ready too, though she trusted the armorer. Before she like Yoshiro got her armor on.

Yoshiro took his armor and put it on. "I shall feed my blades the blood of my enemies and they shall tremble before me and beg my mercy." Yoshiro said as he climbed in to the armor. He prepped his armor weapons. "They will pray to whatever gods they believe in for mercy for I shall have no mercy to give them!"

"The Mishhu have never begged for mercy in all their miserable existence." Sanda said tesitly. "How the hell are you going to make them? Talk them to death?" Sanda was dressed in her Explorer uniform with her everyday kit plus a rifle.

"That's good because I have none to give anyways, Sanda." Yoshiro said. "I wouldn't show any even if they could."

Sanda just snorted and shook her head. She was still feeling off from the last mission and was really irritable, which she supposed was a step up from felling nothing at all.

Poppy arrived and took her seat in on the shuttle's bench seats along the wall, raising an eyebrow at the others. "You expecting combat?" she asked the infantry soldiers, seeing they were all suited up in armor.

"Expect, hope, seek. Thin lines," Hayden quipped.

"Yoshiro, i do not think its possible for the Mishhu to beg for Mercy, they do not have the feeling of fear" Yayoi said as she snapped the Mindy Power armor into place. then glanced to Poppy "i always expect trouble, ever since Hanako's world, and the mission with the Delsaurians the one Yuri went on." Yayoi said with a tone of voice of displeasure.

"Expect anything, be prepared for everything." Yoshiro said with a smile

Kokoro rushed into the shuttle, gasping for breath as she rushed to take a seat. Late as hell, but at least she had made it! "SORRY! I took too long suiting up!"

After everyone was loaded up, it was a short trip to one of the many shuttle bays on the station. A security soldier and a large robot working for the station's central artificial intelligence escorted the team to the Star Army's makeshit sector headquarters.

As the team approached the entrance of the Concordia Sector Operations Center on Concordia Station, they were greeted by a pair of regal blue banners flanking the doorway. Each banner bore the Hinomaru insignia of the Star Army, a symbol of pride and honor. The doorway itself was made of reinforced metal, with sleek, modern lines that hinted at the advanced technology within.

Upon entering, they stepped onto plush regal blue carpets that muffled their footsteps, creating a sense of calm and quiet. The reception area was spacious, with a large Star Army symbol inlaid into the floor, surrounded by intricate patterns that radiated outward like the rays of a star.

Operations Center: The main operations center was a hive of activity. The walls were adorned with more regal blue banners, each one meticulously maintained and hanging proudly. Control panels and electronic equipment lined the walls and filled the room, creating a symphony of blinking lights and soft hums.

Large holographic displays dominated the center of the room, projecting real-time data from various sectors of space, including the wormhole network. Operators in Star Army uniforms moved with purpose between consoles, their faces illuminated by the glow of the screens. The air was filled with the soft buzz of communication, as team members relayed information and coordinated missions.

Workstations: Individual workstations were neatly arranged in clusters, each equipped with the latest in Star Army technology. The desks were sleek and minimalist, with integrated touchscreens and holographic interfaces. Personal terminals displayed mission briefings, star maps, and tactical readouts. Ergonomic chairs provided comfort for long hours of operation, with the Star Army logo embroidered on the headrests.

Command Area: At the far end of the operations center was the command area, elevated slightly above the rest of the room. Here, high-ranking officers oversaw the entire operation. A large, semi-circular control console dominated the space, with multiple screens displaying critical mission data. Behind the console, a massive holographic projection of the Concordia Sector provided a strategic overview of the region.

Conference Room: Adjacent to the command area was a secure conference room. The room featured a large oval table, surrounded by comfortable chairs upholstered in regal blue. The walls were lined with soundproofing panels, ensuring privacy for sensitive discussions. A holographic projector in the center of the table allowed for detailed mission briefings and strategic planning sessions. The Star Army symbol was prominently displayed on one wall, serving as a constant reminder of their mission and duty.

Break Area: Even the most dedicated officers needed a break, and the operations center included a small, well-appointed break area. Plush couches and chairs provided a comfortable place to relax, while vending machines offered a selection of snacks and beverages. A large window provided a stunning view of the stars, allowing personnel to momentarily escape the confines of the station and gaze out into the vastness of space.

Security Measures: Security was paramount in the operations center. Access was controlled by advanced biometric scanners and reinforced doors. Security personnel in Star Army uniforms were stationed at key points, ready to respond to any threat. Surveillance cameras monitored every corner of the room, ensuring that nothing went unnoticed.

In the headquarters they could see:

• A robot soldier in Star Army colors
• A green alien dude in an orange logistics uniform
• A tan-skinned female engineer
• A Delsaurian security officer
• A purple-skinned clerk
• A shady looking Rixxikor in a trenchcoat

"Welcome back to the Concordia Sector," a blonde elf with slender features greeted the Resurgence team. She was wearing a SAINT uniform with the SAINT Patch on the shoulder. "My name is Taii Lemeli Sylvan, I am the SAINT coordinator for the sector. This is the Star Army's improvised headquarters. The Resurgence will be assisting us, so welcome to the team and feel free to look around and talk to people," Lemeli said.

Chui Poppy Pink, the ship's doctor introduced herself with a respecful bow, looking around at the pretty nice setup the Star Army had established. "The last time I was on this station, it was covered in ice and we had to fight off a bunch of Mishhu trying to replace the central AI."

"The Empire thanks your crew, for the AI you saved has been a valuable ally since then," Lemeli told the Resurgence away team. "We are still trying to figure it out but it has been very agreeable and its security robots have been helping us out."

"I have not been on the station at all. This is a new thing for me." Yoshiro said. He bowed with respect and looked around in awe.

Yayoi bowed with respect but said nothing, as she knew the Resurgence Crew is here to serve. Though subtly she glanced to the Delsaurian Security Guard, remembering the Species, and the and the mission her daughter was on.

Sanda just stood in the back with her arms crossed in front of her. She remembered the mission. It had been a tough fight and she had lost part of her leg during it.

"Some of the Concordians your ship revived have returned to the station to assist the Star Army as well," Lemeli added. "They have their own headquarters area on the station, while this one is ours."

"So what can you tell us about this place?" Sanda asked. "We didn't exactly get to stick around and find out once we secured the place."

"Great question, the Concordia Space Station was built over a thousand years ago to serve as a hub for the central AI, whose purpose is still a mystery to us. But we know that when the machine war happened and species were being wiped out, this station chose to hide millions of Concordians in stasis, against their will, in order to save them. The station sits in the space where multiple wormholes emerge, essentially serving as the grand central station of an ancient wormhole network spreading out through the Kagami Galaxy. The NMX discovered the network before we did, and they're using it to spread into new places and recruit more forces to use against us. That means we're playing catch-up and trying to stop them.

Despite her annoyance, Sanda's intrest was starting to pip. "So does this station have maps or charts to all these Wormhole routes? That would save us a bunch of time."

"We don't have anything of major use but we're continuing to try to get information out the AI. Because it's a sapient being, we're prohibited from just borrowing all its memory banks for deep scans," the intelligence officer chuckled. "There is a bit of a language barrier. It can speak Trade but it doesn't speak...human scale intelligences...well. It's used to talking to other mega-minds, if that makes sense. It's like finding a gnat trying to talk to you, and we're the gnat."

Yayoi listened as the conversation happened around her. Since they secured the station, she hoped it meant they can use the network instead of the NMX, or the tecntacled monsters. "have you tried saying please?' she asked feeling a little annoyed before it was explained to them. But it felt like something Sanda wanted to say.

"We're as nice as we can be so it doesn't kill everyone," Lemeli replied. "Remember..." she said, making the gesture of waving away a flying bug. "With something this powerful we must stay on its good side."

Just then the away team got a message from Euikoshi. "Here's your update. There's eight of them, including the one home. Eight wormholes. We're going to start on the probes for the next phase."

Yayoi nods her head silently.

Poppy looked to Sanda, "That's a lot of exploration missions," she commented.

Yayoi continued nodding her head. "agreed" She said

Sanda let out a big sigh. "Yeahhhh. That's what I'm afraid of. Every one of those wormholes probably has a big Mishhu base set up already just waiting to..." Sanda cut herself off, squeezing her fists. This was really not like her to be this flustered and anxious about the potential of a fight. Usally she was the first one in line for a fight. Her confidence in herself had really been shaken.

"We haven't started on the wormholes yet," Lemeli told the team. "The Concordia Sector itself is largely unexplored and vast and our efforts have been focused here. One thing is clear: This sector was once a major war zone."

Just waiting for us to say hello too Yayoi thought silently remembering something a old squadmate would say.She nodded to Lemeli, as she was correct, Concordia Sector was huge, Yayoi was sure of it. Yayoi glanced towards Sanda, for a moment having sensed something was wrong.

"That's where we come in?" Poppy asked. "Wormhole scouting? Let me get my latex gloves," she joked.

"Wait, what about these robot killers that were trying to exterminate all life a long time ago... Have you learned anything about them from the AI?" Sanda asked wondering if there were any other threats they should be worried about.

"I'm sorry, I'm not authorized to speak further on them at this time," Lemeli said. "Rest assured SAINT is conducting an investigation on the subjects and will pass along any need-to-know intelligence once we're able to substantiate and verify it."

Sanda snorted and rolled her eyes. Typical spook answer.

Yayoi grunted in annoyance, as Sanda had snorted. But her annoyance was directed at Lemeli, because of course the typical spook answer.

Hayden cut in, "'S'aight, just let us know when you need the triggers pulled. We got you."

"Thank you and good luck," the elf SAINT agent said, nodding and then returning to the command area.

"Hey, I think that clerk over there is a Concordian," Poppy quietly told Sanda, nodding her head at the purple-skinned woman with the cybernetics on her head.

Sanda looked over where Poppy indicated, taking in the woman and her cybernetics. The Ranger shrugged. "Well I guess we've gotten all we're going to get from the Spook." Sanda looked again at the Concordian woman. "She does have some interesting looking cybernetics." Sanda admitted.

"yeah i recognize them from their pod" Yayoi replied to Poppy.

"Let's continue to meet the people here and then we'll head back to the ship," Poppy suggested. "Maybe some will have some quests for us," she grinned. The Resurgence was starting a new chapter of exploring and Mishhuvurthyar-hunting, and once again they were called upon to the the Star Army's Pathfinders...

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Liza, Yuuki, and Yoshiro

 

[Wes]

YE 46.5

The crew returned to the YSS Resurgence after their visit to Concordia Sector Operations and got ready to start exploring. They had an informal meeting in the dojo.

YSS Resurgence - Dojo

"Eight wormholes seems like a lot," Cassie commented as Poppy brushed her hair from behind. "Do you think we should, like, given them temporary names?"

Yuri looked over to the senior ranked women as Cassie began speaking. "yeah, something to make it easier for navigation?" she asked after a grunt as she performed a sit up, then allowed herself to fall back, ignoring the sweat on her body as she fell back on the towel.

Sakuko raised her hand, "Since the captain is keen on letting us figure out how to do the missions he gives us, I was wondering if we should ask him to bring the ship through the wormholes or if we want to just send shuttles through so Resurgence can be free to do other stuff."

Sanda was running through knife drills. Stabbing, slashing then switching hands and repeating the drill. Sweat was beginning to form along her forehead but she didn't slow down till she had finished her routine. She paused just long enough to comment. "I would send probes through all of them then prioritize which ones to explore first based on what they find." She changed her stance and grip on her blade then launched into another set of drills.

"Maybe we can name em depending on what the scans from the probes say!" Kokoro let out a huff after finishing a set of push ups, floating upwards to allow her body a moment to recuperate. She grinned, looking at Poppy. "What if we name em after some of the crew? that'd be funny!"

"yeah, we can name it using bad places in Mythology, for bad places" Yuri said as she sat up again.

"The first wormhole looks extremely hostile," science officer Kawa Euikoshi said, looking over the results from the first probe. "It sent back images of vast installations made by presumably ancient civilizations and then was attacked and destroyed. I'll need some more time to review what little data we got but it's certainly of interest."

Yayoi glanced over to the others, as like Sanda she too went through knife drills mimicking her, but making sure that she was used to knives before she used her hidden blade on a dummy. But frowned muttering 'need a update" she said to herself

"Sooooo... Yoshiro! Or maybe Yayoi?" Kokoro joked as she looked towards Euikoshi, returning to her pushups on a mat laid out on the dojo's floor.

Yayoi eyes Kokoro "excuse me?" she asked with somewhat narrowed eyes.

Still slashing Sanda muttered, "So you think Yayoi is the scariest one here? Debo estar perdiendo mi toque."

"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhh!" Kokoro chuckled nervously as she did pushups. "I mean shes uh.. definitely up there!"

"Yayoi did survive behind enemy lines on Hanako's World," Cassie pointed out. Then Poppy scratched behind Cassie's ears and Cassie closed her eyes and reflexively stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah! mama's really scary, especially when she is in lecture mom mode, and especially in telling bad boys to buzz off mode too!" Yuri said as Yayoi blinked her eyes as they spoke of her. Though she didn't like that Yuri thought she was scary now, rather she hoped that Yuri understood she had to be stern, but still. It kinda embarrassed her when Cassie spoke of her surviving behind enemy lines.

For a moment the memory brought back flashes of memory that caused her to narrowed her eyes, but also almost smile, as she remembered Kuvexians are defeated.

Sanda took a quick pause from her workout to wipe the sweat off her face and to retie her pony tail. She didn't argue the crews collective thoughts about Yayoi. Sanda had the same thoughts herself about her 'Hermana'.

"I think we're going to need the ship to shoot our way in, penetrating their defenses," Euikoshi told Sakuko and the others. "Then we can bypass remaining defenses using the big teleporter pad and scout the surface of the planet."

Poppy raised a finger, "We know they destroyed our probe but does this necessarily mean they're hostile...I mean we haven't got a chance to try talking to them yet, maybe they're just really paranoid about stuff coming through the wormhole, especially machines. After all, there was some war with the machines mentioned by the Concordians."

"Blowing up a probe seems pretty hostile to me." Cheilith commented.

Yuri looked at Euikoshi as she listened to her words 'yeah I'm with Cheilith, to be honest, then again.. the probes are machines.." Yuri said as she slammed against the towel covered mat.

"Do we know if they tried to contact the probe before they blew it up?" Kokoro asked, her head bonking against the mat as she finished her last pushup, letting herself fall on the mat to rest.

"They didn't," Euikoshi said. "As soon as they saw it, a ship fired on it. The starship was a warship of unknown configuration and type. Not likely to be NMX."

"Interesante." Sanda set her blade down and again whipped her head with a towel. She was beginning to breath heavily from the workout.

"So maybe they could be a species that are currently at war with machines, or are fearful of machines, since Probes are mechanical?" Yuri asked as she looked up at them from where she lay prone.

"Possibly, or the probes could be giving off something hostile, but your idea might have marrit Yuri." Yayoi said as she glanced to her daughter, though concerned why she's just lying there. She glanced towards Sanda, "Hermana, am i holding the knife properly? and do you have some Nepleslian tips?" she asked her.

"What kind of equipment do you want to bring to a surface expedition?" Beryl asked. "Do you want a camp site setup?"

"It would all depended on what kind of mission it is? Are we talking PA suits or a stealthier approach?" Sanda turned to Yayoi and raised an eyebrow. There were few people who were as skilled and enjoyed knives as much as the tattooed Nepleslian girl and Yayoi was one of them.

"Euikoshi said they have ships, as in multiple ships, right?" Cassie shrugged. "Sooo...there's a chance the Resurgence will have to deal with them instead of being able to pick us up. Shields up and all. So I think we should have enough supplies to hold out on our own for a while, in case we're temporarily stuck there," the gray-furred catgirl soldier suggested.

"Yayoi and I have been trained in holding out as long as possible, even longer sometimes. We could keep the team alive down there as long as we needed to with as much or as little equipment as we needed." For the first time since her ordeal in the last mission, Sanda was being to feel like her old self and was becoming excited for the prospect of the upcoming mission.

Yayoi nodded her head "she's right" she said while taking note of Sanda's behavior which pleased her, and actually almost caused her to smile. "We are indeed trained, and this time.. even if Yuri's on the mission, I'll be a part of the mission. I don't want what happened on the Delsaurian home world to happen, to happen again.' Yayoi comment.

"The Sanda must be protected," Cassie grinned.

"Do you want me down there?" Poppy asked the away team. "Or do officers need not apply?" she smiled, pointing at the gold stripes on her sleeve.

"Usually I say officers need not apply but I could make an exception for you Pops." Sanda teased.

Yayoi nods "yeah you'd be welcome, and.. preferred to come on the mission, Poppy' she said to the Chief Engineer.

"Need someone to patch us up when we get broken." Cheilith said.

"A-ffirm," Poppy nodded. "I'll grab my gear and I'll be ready to teleport when you are."

"I love camping out on unexplored hostile-as-hell planets!" Cassie grinned. "This will be awesome and or suck!"

"With our track record... Which is it more likely to be?" Sanda asked jokingly.

"I'm thinking...be prepared for a fight," Euikoshi answered Sanda.

"Siempre." Sanda grinned in a predatory manner.

"If we bring the teleporter receivers we can use them as portals to get ammo and medical boosts," Poppy pointed out. "I will be carrying the medical supplies so maybe designate someone to carry one or two? Last time trying to have the pad and the medical kits was a bit much."

"Are we thinking going with or without PA?" Sanda asked.

"With," Cassie said. "At least for combat arms soldiers," Cassie said, making exaggerated wine slurping sound effects.

Yayoi nodded her head "understood" she said, as Yuri still laying there blinked "huh.. not sure if i have a Mindy yet.."

"I'm sure Norita can set you up before we go." Sanda told Yuri then asked the group. "How large a team do you think we should send?"

"I'd say what we send standard..but perhaps more considering where we might be going?' Yayoi asked as she stretched her arms.

"Team Alpha to explore, Team Bravo to guard the camp," Cassie suggested. "Colby and Hayden their buds can secure the camp site while we check out the alien ruins and stuff. That way we don't come back tired to find alien face cuddlers in our beds."

"yeah sounds like a good idea!" Yuri said to Cassie, then glanced to Sanda 'yeah i can ask.. wait, Poppy-sempai do you use Mindies?" she asked her mentor.

"Yes," Poppy answered still lingering by the door on her way out. She had worn hers on the last mission.

Sanda nodded. "It's always good to have some backup."

Yayoi nodded her head in agreement.

"Sounds like we have a plan. Lets get our gear and meet up in the Hanger Bay." Sanda said.

"I'll also provide backups to anyone who wants to make one before we go," Poppy offered. "See you all soon."

Yayoi nodded "I'll take you up on that offer." She said and moved towards Yuri "come on up, you'll need to drink water, and.. a back up too I'd say." she said extremely hesitantly.

Poppy Pink nodded, her pink hair dancing in the air behind her as she left the dojo on her way to the medical lab to help with the mind scanner machine and to grab her medical kits.

Poppy's comment about back ups sobered Sanda like a bucket of cold ice water. She took a couple of deep breaths then headed for the medical lab. There was something she needed to ask Poppy.

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Liza, Yuuki, and Soban

 

[Cowboy]

Resurgence Med Bay

Sanda hesitated outside the Med Bay doors. Twice she had turned away to but had come back both times. She clearly had something on her mind. Finally the lighting tattooed Ranger took a deep breath and walked in. She looked around the room. It looked like Poppy was getting ready for the upcoming mission. "Pops..." Sanda stopped and cleared her throat. "Dr. Pink..." That just didn't sound right, not after all the missions they had been through together. "Poppy, could I get your medical option?" Sanda hesitated then added, "Privately?"

Once they were alone, Sanda still seemed ill at ease. As if what she had on her mind weighed heavily on her. Maybe a part of her was embarrassed to ask her question, or to hear it's answer. But Poppy was comforting and made Sanda feel at ease. It was probably what made Poppy such a great doctor. Taking a deep breath, Sanda began. "So... the thing is...I'm... late." She finally managed, looking a little embarrassed. "Its that time of the month and I'm... late." It felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders just being able to get that out. "I need... I would like... you to run a test to confirm."

That was the easy part, now for the hard part. "I also have a... question? Moral dilemma? Not sure what to call it." Sanda closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. "That last mission was... hard. It hit hard and not just physically. You know I'm not a fan of mind backups. I don't think a person's soul goes back into a new body some lab creates, even if it's got all the old memoires. The only reason I'd ever consider a back up is that I would hate for my family, like my husband and sister to not have me around. Infierno, you guys would completely fall apart with out me." Sanda joked but it lacked conviction. "So I've been considering getting a back up... but my question is... If I am... You know... and something were to happen to me. No lo permita Dios, and I was brought back... would I still be.... You know?"

 

[Wes]

Medlab

Poppy gave Sanda a warm and reassuring hug.

"Oh Sanda...it's completely understandable to feel anxious about these kinds of decisions. It's great that you're thinking through all the possible outcomes and being mentally prepared. I will run the test for you and we'll see. Mind backups are a complex and personal decision, and while I'm here to help you, ultimately it's your choice. Just know that your essence, your core, isn't necessarily tied to one physical body or another. Your memories, experiences, and essence are a part of you, and even if you were to be brought back through a backup, those facets would remain. There's a lot of parts that go into making you who you are, from memories to hormones, your body, even your gut bacteria. And it's true that I can't necessarily 100% replicate those, but I can come close enough that I don't have a problem saying it's still you. It's not some questionable AI copy. That said, if you were carrying a child and died...when you awake in a replacement body it wouldn't be with you, so keep it in mind. There's no shame in asking for some personal leave if you need time."

 

[Wes]

YE 46.5

The YSS Resurgence, flanked by her sister ship, the YSS Renaissance, shimmered in the light of the wormhole's interior for a few moments before emerging into the unfamiliar star cluster on the other side. Immediately, hostile ships began to close in and open fire.

YSS Resurgence Bridge

"Evasive pattern Gabby Two," Aoba ordered, "Return fire with turrets and keep us moving towards the habitable planet."

YSS Resurgence - Teleporter Operations

The team was set up on the large Apollo teleporter, making last minute prep to go down and see what was happening on the planet. Cassie had her guns and two teleporter pads and Poppy had her medical gear. Pidole was ready for any damage the ship took so she'd sent Wong Caihong as the impromptu combat engineer. The B team was there to set up a base camp. Even in the teleporter room they could feel the dulled shifts as the ship manuevered and the thumps of weapons fire.

Cheilith was there dressed in her armor and waiting for the rest of the team. She knew that when they activated the teleporter, they would have to drop the shields. Which was a dicey proposision in combat.

"So what are we going to do on the op?" Yoshiro asked as he checked his weapons. He wanted to be sure that he was as prepared as her could be for the mission ahead.

Sanda was geared up and loaded for Mishhu. Besides her standard PA loadout she had two duffle bags of extra gear. The Ranger was prepared for any thing. She was also looking a lot more like herself after her conversation with Poppy. The ships doctor had given Sanda some comforting words. She had also gotten her test results back on the thing that had had her so stressed out... Negetive. Although there was a little disapointment wrapped up in her relief.

"I believe the plan is to get in past their defense, using the large teleporter. We then assess the situation. After we have some intelligence on the planet, we can use the teleporters to get out. We can take a few days if we need to."

"Oh, I'm-a assess something, all right," Hayden laughed and gave a snort. "Assess what a LASR round does through the dome." He checked his weapon and sauntered confidently over to Cassie.

"Let me carry those, pads Heisho."

Yayoi stretched her Mindy covered arms, after preparing herself for the mission. Her eyes though were on Sanda as she took note of her behavior, and almost smiled, as she felt pleased that Sanda seemed normal again. Her attention went to Hayden, who she didnt get a good feeling from, and hoped that he doesnt turn out like Yoshiro, or how Yoshiro usually is rather.

Kokoro put on her MINDY's helmet, covering the dumb grin on her face. She removed the shotgun from her back, making sure it was ready to put a hole through something if the situation require it. "When we droppin!- er- teleporting!"

Yoshiro nodded as he made sure that his sword was as sharp as he could make it.

"In ten, nine, eight..." Pidole's voice counted down as she watched the team from the controls of the teleportation chamber. The ship meanuevered into position and when the time came, it dropped a window in the shields and the team vanished in a large flash, appearing on the surface of the planet with a large bang.

It was night and the around them was a vast, grassy plain dotted with strange, luminescent flora. The air was filled with the sounds of alien wildlife.

As soon as the team appeared on the planet, Sanda raised her rifle and did a visual scan of her surroundings while moving a few steps away from the team. Her suit's scanners were doing reading of the surrounding as well.

Yayoi mimiced Sanda, immediately holding her rifle up and scanned of their surroundings, a Ranger behavior, as she folllowed Sanda's movements, keeping her hetero chromia eyes on her surroundings and any danger.

Poppy looked around, trudging through the waist-high grass a little to take a look and get her bearings. There were ridges and gullies of varying terrain, flower-like plants, and little streams, as well as a few rock outcrops. In the distance there was a very dark looking forest treeline and jagged mountains.

The larger of the two moons was in a waxing gibbous phase, with more than half of its surface illuminated but not yet full. Its pale blue hue cast a gentle light across the landscape, providing enough illumination to navigate but also creating deep shadows that could hide potential dangers. The smaller moon was in a crescent phase, showing only a thin sliver of light. This moon has a distinct reddish tint, adding an eerie glow to the environment. The crescent moon hung lower in the sky, partially obscured by the horizon.

Hayden pulled rear security, pointing back away from the main direction of the group, weapon up and eyes open. "This grass like this is where in the sims the gribblies pop up out of it and snatch ya up. I shoulda brought a flamethrower."

Yoshiro was watching the area ahead, scanning with his eyes and his weapon. He was also trying to keep his wits about him but he was jumping at shadows occasionally. "I hate this job sometimes" Yoshiro said. "I don't like jumping at shadows like this all the time."

"Esto es para lo que vivo." Sanda whispered to herself. Part of her really wished she could change out of this Daisy and into some fatigues. She would much rather feel the night on her skin and trust her instincs than have to rely on her suits scanners, no matter how hi-tech the stuff was.

As she approached a small stream, the gentle trickling of water provided a brief moment of calm amidst the tension. Poppy knelt down and gave it a scan for any signs of contamination or harmful bacteria. "Fresh water," she noted. "Looks like something we could use if we need to refill our supplies."

Yayoi glanced to Sanda before she took note of the small stream, a protective instinct and perhaps a effect of being stuck on Hanako's world or some other reason caused her to point Mindy's weapons at it, namely her Aetheric Pulse Cannons, and her Rifle to make sure nothing jumps out.

"If you've ever lived in Funky City, pretty much all other water than that is fresh, Doc," Hayden laughed but didn't take his eyes off the front sight of his weapon.

A sudden rustling in the grass nearby caught Poppy's attention. She stood up slowly, her eyes narrowing as she tried to pinpoint the source of the noise. The grass parted slightly, and she caught a glimpse of something moving—a quick, darting shadow that disappeared almost as soon as she saw it.

Poppy activated her Mindy armor’s enhanced vision, scanning the area more thoroughly. The grass rustled again, and this time she saw it clearly: a small, insect-like creature with bioluminescent stripes along its body. It skittered through the grass on multiple legs, its mandibles clicking as it moved. "Seeing some local life-forms," she told Yayoi. "Some sort of...bobcat-beetle?"

"See what I told y'all. Hell with this grass. We all finna get snatched." Hayden narrowed his eyes and kept glancing at the armor's sensors on his helmet's HUD.

"Calm down Hayden. As long as you keep your eyes open you'll be fine." Yoshiro said. He was jumping at every little bit of noise and really didn't need to speak about it.

Hayden's boot caught on something hard. He looked down to see a strange, spiky plant that seemed to react to his touch. The plant’s spikes began to glow a bright orange, and before he could react, it released a cloud of spores into the air. His Mindy's filters activated immediately, but the spores clung to his visor, obscuring his vision.

"WE GOT FLORA TOO! Rear security down!" Hayden pushed a panel to activate the faceplate cleaner and shook his head as if that would help speed up the process. "Can't see nuthin'. Damned Mother Nature's landmine up in this here."

"Hawk tuah, spit on it," Cassie joked, suggesting using saliva to clear off the questionable spores.

Yoshiro went over to help Hayden get the spores off. "Hayden, you okay?" He asked.

Yayoi facepalmed at Hayden's antics worse than Yoshiro, she thought as she kept her focus on their surroundings,

"Oh you would think of that, Heisho," Hayden quipped back at Cassie as the cleaning system started to finally work its magic. "Thanks, Yosh. All good here."

The rustling in the grass grew louder, and they realized the insect-like creature Poppy had spotted wasn’t alone. More of them appeared, their glowing stripes forming a disturbing pattern in the darkness. They moved closer, attracted by the disturbance. This had an unfortunate effect of basically making a large glowing arrow pointing at their position which was visible from above.

"for fucks sakes, calm down" Yayoi said annoyedly as she took note of the bugs and their bioluminescence, the bugs and the pattern.

"We need to move." Sanda said quietly but with emphasis. She had noticed the pattern on the bugs and was not likeling what she was seeing. "Keep the chatter down to a minimum." She added with a glare at Hayden.

"Let's get moving people." Yoshiro and got up quickly and quietly.

Just as Sanda finished speaking, a faint hum filled the air, growing steadily louder. Cassie glanced up and saw the silhouette of a scout drone hovering above them, its sensors likely drawn by the disturbance. The drone emitted a series of rapid beeps, scanning the area with an eerie, blue light, "Contact, one drone," Cassie said.

"Do we shoot it?" Kokoro half whispered over comms, glancing over towards Sanda and then Yoshiro.

The drone’s scanner light focused on the glowing insects, and then swung towards the team.

As soon as the drone appeared, Sanda activated her Daisy's stealth and moved away from the rest of the group, her rifle raised to target the drone. Her mind raced. If it had just been herself and Yayoi, she would have relyed on stealth to leave the area. But most of her team wern't Rangers, more's the pitty, and were very un-stealthy.

Yoshiro was about to say something about the drone but saw Sanda doing something. He activated his stealth system and dropped to the ground.

Yayoi activated her stealth tech and moved away with her own Neko flying as to not disturb the grass.

Within moments, beams of energy fired from the drone’s underbelly, targeting the glowing insects and the grass around them, setting small fires and causing the insects to scatter. Cassie and Poppy hit the deck, using the tall grass and their Mindy stealth systems as concealment. Eventually, after a minute of searching, it left on its own.

From night the sky, they could see the fire-covered shooting stars of drop pods coming down from orbit, heading straight for their area. There were 7-8 of them.

"Unidentified contacts. Possibly hostile." Yoshiro said as he scanned the area. "Seven, possibly eight contacts."

"See! Flamethrowers. Brother drone knows what's up!" Hayden stealthed and went airborne, just high enough to be above the flaming grass and bugs within. "What I told y'all?" He rotated slowly, providing overwatch from above with his signature obscured.

"So, uh, we still want to set up a base of operations?" Wando asked. "Where do we want to put it?"

"someplace hidden, like a cave system" Yayoi muttered to Wando, as she watched the drone leave, and then the drop pods that were approaching.

"Okay, looks like there's plenty here. This planet looks like a world from one of those block building games," Wando said, carefully moving around in search of a cave entrance, careful to avoid the orange spike plants that didn't like being touched.

Sanda had been searching for just such a location to set up a base camp as soon as she had teleported onto the planet. Finally, she saw something that looked promising. She did a quick tap on the teams coms and marked a location about half a klick to the South. "This way, quickly and quietly."

"If we set up a base here do we have to pay these exterminators for their services?" Hayden wasn't about to touch the ground again, and rotated in the air to face the map ping. "I got point, Heisho."

Yoshiro followed the team, still stealthed and moving as quietly as he could.

There was a series of thumps as the drop pods landed. Minutes later, alien scouts began to emerge from the treeline in the distance, their dark metallic green armor blending with the shadows but their luminescent blue markings giving them away. The hostile soldiers moved swiftly, their advanced energy weapons at the ready. They spread out in a tactical formation, clearly experienced in dealing with intruders. Yayoi could see their insect-like eyes glowing blue, scanning the area for targets.

Yayoi stared at the creatures, and hoped in Yui's name these werent Rixikor or a evolved species of them. She quickly signalled her team to remain quiet as much as she could, as she edged away to join her team, and away from the aliens.

Covering the distance quickly through the air, Hayden finally settled down in front of the entrance. "Advance party at the cave. Scanning." He focused the armor's sensors and his weapon's optics into the dark entrance, viewing it in illumination other than visible light. "Empty so far, team. Entrance secure."

"Engage or lay low?" Cassie whispered, training her weapon on the lead scout.

"Do not engage. We are here on a recon mission. Only engage if we are compromised." Yoshiro said.

The alien scouts began to blind-fire into the grass, with most of thise shots just hitting plants. Then they threw grenades for a while. After about ten minutes of chaos, they performed a tactical withdrawal, leaving the team a little crispy but mostly intact. The drop pods began shooting back up into space.

"Impacientes somos nosotras? Interesante." Sanda said as she watched the alien scouts and their tactics. She had taken some video of the aliens to review later and to review to see what sort of weapons, armor and tech they were packing.

"Sounds way more fun back there than staring into this cave," Hayden remarked on the comms during the aliens' loud sweep. "Still nothin' here. Y'all comin?" Though his armor remained in stealth camo mode, the map showed him as hovering near the entrance, backed into an alcove where he was covered on most sides and could fire either into the cave or at the approach to it.

"I wouldn't call those guys friendly," Poppy said, finally rising out of the grass. "Is anyone hurt?" She checked the map and headed in Hayden's direction.

"I am ok." Yoshiro said, his armor a bit singed but none the worst for wear.

"Beryl to team, vehicles are available if you want us to teleport them down," their supply specialist advised via subspace radio.

"Stand by Resuregence." Sanda responded. "We're still scouting out a place to set up. Once we do that you can send down the TVs."

"Got one of them mole-people drill-tank things like in the old movies?" Hayden asked. "Looks like we're going underground for this episode."

"LSTVs and STVs, and a tank," Beryl replied. "Also we can deploy aerial drones."

"Oh, nah, we good, there's plenty of aerial drones down here already. They had them laid out nice for us like a goodie bag waitin' to welcome us," Hayden continued his routine.

"I'm not a SAINT spook but I'm pretty sure we can tell that was some sort of previously unencountered organized military," Cassie speculated. She moved some piles of rocks around near the cave entrance to set up a rudimentary bunker and fighting position.

"Lets check this cave out. Poet. Back me up." Sanda said she entered the cave with her rifle up. She stayed close to the wall, scanning the area from floor to ceiling.

"On it, Heisho." Hayden steadily moved forward as the others came in, making room for them behind him and going in deeper. His sensors and the muzzle of his weapon swept the nooks and crannies as he followed the other wall from Sanda's.

Yayoi checked her armors status before she began moving towards the caves silently, though pleased that the aliens didnt manage to destroy their armor. She had her Mindy's AI review the aliens weapons tech based on what they'd seen.

"Roger that. Covering." Yoshiro said and covered Sanda's back. He was watching a bit more intently this time, still stealthed.

As the team cautiously moved into the cave, the ambient light from the moons outside gradually diminished, replaced by the dim glow of red bioluminescent fungi clinging to the walls and ceiling. The interior of the cave was expansive, its ceiling towering high above, creating an echo with every step they took. The air was cool and slightly damp, carrying the earthy scent of mineral-rich soil and stone.

The initial chamber was wide, with smooth, worn rock walls indicating that water had once flowed through here. They could still hear it somewhere around. Stalactites and stalagmites dotted the space, some joining to form impressive columns. The ground was uneven, with small pools of water reflecting the bioluminescence from above. The fungi provided enough light to see but cast eerie shadows that danced with the movement of the team.

As they ventured deeper, the cave revealed more of its natural beauty. Intricate rock formations created by centuries of mineral deposits added to the surreal atmosphere. Narrow passageways branched off in several directions, hinting at a vast network of tunnels and caverns yet to be explored. Some of these passages were partially blocked by rockfalls, while others opened up into larger chambers.

"Places like this make me wish I was in my explorer suit instead of the Mindy," Poppy said, "I just want to take my helmet off and be here as a person instead of an armored knight. It's beautiful in a way."

"I always prefer my explorer suit to a PA. Unless going into known combat." Sanda said. "I did pack two explorer suits just in case though." She added pointing two one of the two dufflebags she carried on her back.

"Thems the words people say before they get snatched up. You take off your helmet like 'oh it's so pretty, I wanna see how it feels here' and BLAP, you got a sucker worm on your face. Game over, man, Game. Over." Hayden chatted as he continued sweeping his side of the cave, then halted once he realized he was following a path that took him away from the group. "All right, it's getting wider here following this wall, I'm getting farther away from y'all. What should I do, Heisho?"

Watching Sanda's back as the team still moved along, he marveled silently and was in awe at what he was looking at.

"There's enough room in here to set up a little firebase," Colby said. He and his team plus Caihong dragged some tents and generators across the cave floor on anti-grav hoversleds and looked around for a relatively flat spot.

"Lets make sure the area is secure before we start setting up." Sanda cautioned Colby.

Yoshiro scanned the immediate area and walked out from the center of the camp continuing to scan for enemies or hostile organisms. "Nothing so far." Yoshiro said.

Yayoi began moving again, this time to make sure that the area was secure, from both aliens/locals and insects. She kept her eyes and her ears peeled for any sign of danger, including from the environment.

While the cave provided excellent cover and numerous natural features for setting up a base, it was not without its hazards. Loose rocks and narrow ledges posed risks, and the team had to navigate carefully to avoid triggering rockfalls. The bioluminescent fungi, while beautiful, were slippery and could make footing treacherous.

The cave also showed signs of current inhabitants. Nests made from soft moss and lichen were tucked into alcoves, indicating the presence of small, nocturnal creatures. Occasionally, the team caught glimpses of these creatures—small, bat-like animals with translucent wings that fluttered silently overhead.

After Yayoi and Yoshiro's scan came back clear, the team was able to finally relax a little and get set up for exploring the planet.

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Liza, Yuuki, Yoshiro, and Soban

 

[Wes]

YE 46.5

Unknown Planet - Cave

After the area had been thoroughly scanned and declared secure, the team began setting up their small base camp within the expansive cave. The chosen spot was a relatively flat area near the back of the cave, away from the entrance but close enough to still keep an eye on any potential threats from outside.

The camp consisted of several small tents arranged in a semi-circle around a central space, each tent equipped with advanced environmental controls to ensure the team could rest comfortably despite the cave’s cool, damp atmosphere. Anti-grav hoversleds, now emptied of their contents, were parked along one side, ready to be used for quick transportation of gear if needed.

Portable aether generators hummed softly, providing power to a series of workstations set up within the tents. These workstations were equipped with computers, communication devices, and sensor arrays to monitor the surrounding area for any signs of movement or danger. The glow of the red bioluminescent fungi provided just enough light to see by, casting eerie shadows on the cave walls, but the team had supplemented this with portable LED lanterns, which bathed the camp in a warm, steady light.

Cassie and Colby, with the help of Wong Caihong, had taken the time to construct a rudimentary bunker near the entrance to the cave using the natural rock formations and some of the supplies they had brought. This position would serve as a first line of defense should any hostile forces attempt to breach the cave.

In the center of the camp, a small area had been cleared for the team to rest and eat. A few folding chairs had been set up around a portable heat lamp, which emitted a gentle warmth and light, simulating a campfire in the otherwise cold cave environment. The team members gathered here could recharge mentally and physically before their next task.

Poppy placed her Mindy armor's helmet beside her on the sandy floor of the cave and pulled out a ration pack, pouring a little water into the main meal's flameless ration heater and placed it at an angle against a rock or something and the funny smelling steam filled the water to be followed by the rich aroma of Yamataian orange chicken and rice. "I'm just your doctor, but..." she said, speaking softly to minimize the echoes from the cave's walls, "I'm thinking we send out a small recon team, maybe just a couple of us, really low key, to scout out the area. We don't want to draw attention to our presence or the camp because, from what we've seen so far, these aliens don't react nicely to surprises. Thoughts?"

Yayoi observed her surroundings silently taking note of possible vulnerabilities, and possible escape areas followed by definsible spots, that the others might have missed. But became distracted when Poppy began speaking. "Agreed, Thunder and I can go, maybe one more, but since we are keeping it low key.." Yayoi said, before glancing over.

"Sanda and Yayoi seem like a good idea but Yayoi already said that so I think that we send them out."Yoshiro said as he ate a hot dog. "I hope I didn't overstep my bounds in saying that, Yayoi." He had made an MRE 8 as he spoke.

Kokoro swallowed a chunk of a beef hotdog from her piece of the rations, the neko seating next to Yoshiro. She nodded along, grinning widely. "I'm down to go too if you guys need backup! Beats sitting here!"

Yayoi glanced towards Yoshiro as she grabbed field ration number 6: pork curry, and wild rice with apple juice. "you were correct, we are a good idea, as we are Rangers, and are trainned for that.still back up would be recommended" She said glancing to both Poppy, and Kokoro.

"I know I just set up my medical tent but I'm happy to go as well, if you don't mind having an officer along," Poppy offered. Being prior enlisted, she often joked a little about her newfound status as an actual officer.

"I'm ready to rock and roll, too," Cassie chimed in, sinking her teeth into a salty country ham slice she'd produced from her Type 38 ration. "Not bad."

"Cassie and Kokoro can go if that is good for back up. I want to stay and help out at the FOB here so I can keep things as organized possible." Yoshiro said as he munched on his seasoned fries.

"Roger that," Cassie said, rapidly stuffing her face with food like some shounen anime character and then grabbed her plasma rifle and headed up towards the cave's exit.

"Kokoro, you sure you're up for this? " Yoshiro asked Kokoro. He was concerned for her and wanted her to be careful.

"Dayo! Of course!!" She grinned at Yoshiro, the nekovalkrja nodding enthusiastically as she munched on food.

Yayoi and Sanda both finished their meals, in a skill that Rangers have, and headed
to the cave's entrance. Yayoi wielding a NSP in her hand, and a Aetheric Pulse Cannon in her Mindy..

"Okay then. You guys are go for the mission." Yoshiro said. "You guys be careful out there and come back safe and sound."

As the team stepped out of the cave’s cool, dark interior, they were immediately struck by the contrast of the alien night outside. The two moons still hung in the sky, their light casting a strange, ethereal glow over the landscape.

The vast plain before them was dotted with the strange, luminescent flora they had encountered earlier, their soft glow providing a natural, albeit unusual, source of light. The grass here was waist-high and swayed gently in the cool night breeze, creating a constant rustling sound that mingled with the distant calls of alien wildlife.

In the distance, the jagged outline of a mountain range was silhouetted against the starry sky, with patches of dark forest at its base. The terrain was uneven, with small ridges and gullies breaking up the otherwise flat landscape, making it a challenge to maintain a clear line of sight.

Kokoro had just managed to get her helmet on as they were heading out, having finished her meal. Her eyes scanned the nights sky from behind her Mindy's visor and the landscape curiously. It looked quite different to what she was used to, but it was quite the sight.

Yayoi took a moment to observe the alien night life, but while she preferred Yamatai, she had to admit this world had its beauty.

As the team moved out, Sanda took point, leading them southward toward the area she had marked earlier. Cassie and Kokoro brought up the rear, their weapons at the ready, eyes peeled for any threats.

"Do not engage hostiles unless you are shot at. We are on a stealth mission. We are here to gather intelligence, not to start a war." Yoshiro said to the team over comms. "Watch out for drones and use your cloaking devices on your armors."

"Watch out for those angry orange crystals that don't like being stepped on," Cassie reminded the others, trying her best not to kick one as they moved through the tall grass.

"that goes without saying, Poet, as its obvious, I remember the drones, but that is wise." Yayoi said as she once more toggled her Mindy's stealth on, and disappeared into air once more.

The path ahead was marked by a slight incline, leading toward a series of low hills that bordered the plains. The ground here was more rugged, with rocky outcrops and patches of dense vegetation that could provide both cover and potential hazards. As they approached the hills, the team could make out the faint outline of what appeared to be unnatural structures—ancient, weathered stones that jutted out from the earth, partially obscured by overgrown vegetation.

Cassie looked at the path towards the ruins. There were tire tracks in some of the muddy spots. It looked like they weren't the only ones headed this direction. She pointed them out silently to the other members of the Resurgence's away team.

Yayoi was the first to spot the telltale signs of ancient ruins. Her keen eyes picked out a partially collapsed archway, almost entirely consumed by the surrounding plant life. The stone was worn smooth by time and weather, but the faint traces of intricate carvings could still be seen, she thought it hinted at the advanced civilization that once thrived here.

As they drew closer, more of the ruins became visible—a series of stone pillars, some broken and toppled, others standing defiantly against the passage of time. The ground beneath their feet began to change as well, transitioning from the soft grass of the plains to a harder, more compact surface, likely the remnants of an ancient road or plaza.

The sounds of the night seemed to quiet as the team entered the ruins, the rustling of the grass and the distant calls of wildlife fading into the background. It was as if the ruins themselves commanded a reverent silence, demanding respect from those who dared to walk among them.

As they ventured further into the ruins, the team found themselves surrounded by the remnants of what must have once been an impressive complex. The layout suggested a central courtyard, with smaller structures surrounding it, though most of the details had been lost to the ages.

That's when they saw a parked pair of military-looking vehicles in front of a large temple-like building. A pair of scouts were pulling security on them, while everyone else was apparently inside.

Yayoi lifted her hand, as she spotted the vehicles. She took note of the beings that appeared to be scouts which seemed like they were doing security. She thought based on the limited number the rest appeared inside the vehicles.

Cassie couldn't see Yayoi's hand because it was invisible due to Yayoi's optic camouflage. "Want to sneak inside and see what they're digging around for?" she transmitted securely.

"yeah, i'm interested in finding out" Yayoi responded via transmission.

Together the team quietly approached the temple entrance, bypassing the parked vehicles idling near it and the two guards looking after them. As they stealthily made their way inside, they could see that this was no primitive set of ruins. Despite their outward appearance, the insides of the ruins looked like some sort of structure or bunker built by an advance ancient civilization. There was evidence of technology everywhere from volumetric projectors to floating platforms. And in the center there was a vast elevator shaft going down into the ground to some sort of facility...

= = =
OOC: JP by @Wes @Charaa @Lizalopod and @Yoshiro Tanaka

 

[Wes]

YE 46.5

Unknown Planet - Ancient Ruins

The team from the YSS Resurgence, their forms concealed by the stealth systems of their Mindy power armor, moved silently through the ancient temple's entrance. The scouts outside remained oblivious to their presence as the away team bypassed the military vehicles idling near the entrance and slipped inside the ruins.

Sanda took in the ruins with her lips pressed together underneath her lightning marked helmet. This place was way bigger a find then she had originally thought. She sent a message to Yoshirio back at their makeshift base. "Thunder to Poet, this place is a lot bigger than we thought. Try to get in touch with the Res and report." Sanda then sent a short video feed of the ruins and giant elevator that led lower into the facility.

"I bet the cave moss listenin' to us. Bugs watching us, reporting back to home base." Hayden glanced around, still stealthed and floating as point. "And if they not watching, they scared to be down here, well that's even worse. Probably watched us run in here on their BugVision screens laughing their thoraxes off in bug-ese clacking their chelicerae together."

"Remind me to look that word up," Poppy said.

Yayoi narrowed her eyes as she heard Hayden's paranoid ramblings. "enough Hayden-hei" she said in an annoyed tone. as she followed her team and looked down at the giant elevator. She attempted to think of a way to use it without alerting their possible enemies.

"This kinda sucks." Kokoro silently pouted inside her MINDY, glancing back towards the guards momentarily as the group moved in. She double checked that her helmet was keeping her voice mute to the outside world.

"What? Waiting to shoot these guys?" Cassie chuckled at Kokoro's comment. "I mean..."

"I brought a frigging shotgun for a reason dayo!" Kokoro grumbled.

"Kokoro, it's not always wise to shoot at people who can call in an army's worth of reinforcements." Yoshiro said. "We are on a recon mission besides and we need to be stealthy." He kept scanning the area for enemies.

"I'm kind of worried you didn't know a biology word, Doc. Hayden ain't gonna lie." Despite Hayden's constant comedy routine, he was doing his job as point security. Although, essentially invisible, it's probably not obvious.

"It's not that...it's that I don't think it means what you think it means," Poppy explained.

Ancient Ruins - Interior

As the team ventured deeper into the temple, the environment shifted dramatically. What had appeared from the outside to be ancient, weathered stone walls gave way to a sophisticated, hidden world beneath the surface. The temple's interior was a striking contrast to its exterior—a complex, advanced structure that had clearly been built by a highly advanced civilization long since vanished.

The air inside was cool and still, untouched by time. Dim, blue-tinted lights flickered to life as the team moved deeper into the temple, revealing walls lined with intricate carvings and symbols that glowed faintly in the darkness. The architecture was a blend of the ancient and the futuristic, with large stone pillars standing alongside sleek metal surfaces and advanced technology embedded into the very fabric of the building.

Floating platforms hovered silently above the ground, waiting to transport anyone who dared to step onto them. Volumetric projectors displayed holographic images of unknown symbols and maps, cycling through information that the team could only begin to decipher. The air buzzed faintly with the energy of dormant systems, hinting at the possibility that much of this technology could still be functional.

In the center of the main chamber, the team’s eyes were drawn to a vast elevator shaft. It descended deep into the ground, its sides lined with complex machinery and cables. The shaft seemed to beckon the team to explore further, to uncover whatever secrets lay hidden in the depths below.

"Are we taking this down?" Poppy asked.

"Not yet." Sanda whispered. Even though their suits were state of the art and had secure comms, Sanda liked quiet when she was being all stealthy. And the darn active camo meant her team couldn't see her hand signals.

"We should secure the upper chamber first and see if we can get an idea of what the hell this place is before we go exploring further into it." The Nepleslian Ranger said as she moved around the room examining things.

Yayoi nodded despite it not being visible, as she looked at the information, and silently she used her Mindy's systems, Sensors anything she could use to take down the data, and everything she could for Eukoshi later.

"Every time we leave the ship we end up confronting some Ancient Progenitor Civilization. There's going to be another Incomprehensible Machine God down here, taking over our brains, turning us into cyborgs." Hayden started the routine up again.

The aliens had some sort of heavily armed scout units that were patrolling the area they were in, through it looked like the bulk of their group had already gone down deeper into the ruins. Of those left, the Resurgence team could see their science personnel (?) messing with the ruins systems that had maps, trying to compare them with known star charts.

"If we could get their maps for SAINT..." Poppy suggested.

Cassie’s voice came over the secure comms, her tone steady but tinged with curiosity. “This is no ordinary ruin. We need to find out what’s down there—and what these guys are after. But we need to stay quiet. No unnecessary engagements unless we have no other choice.”

"Lets contact the Resurgence first and see if they'll send us Euikoshi." Sanda suggested. "Also, we should report in so that the Captain knows what's going on down here."

"Okay, but she'll have to start at the base since that's where the teleporter pad is," Poppy reminded Sanda.

Sanda was able to reach the ship without too much issue. "Resurgence here, this is Euikoshi, how is the scout mission going?"

"We've found some kind of massive, ancient.... Temple. Lots of high tech stuff. The aliens on this place are exploring further but I recommend bringing a science officer who knows what we're looking at." Sanda explained. "We also wanted to update the Captain as to our status."

"You need me to go play 'Escort the Science NPC Quest,' Heishō? I can make it back." Hayden volunteered.

Yayoi narrowed her eyes in annoyance "NPC?" she asked in an annoyed tone, once more bothered by Hayden's behavior. "yes, go escort them safely" She said finally.

"And SILENTLY..." Sanda added.

"Okay, I'll be down there in a few minutes," Euikoshi promised Sanda, and got up to get suited up. "Out," she said ending the transmission.

Cassie eyed the large shaft. “Whatever’s down there, it’s big. I can feel it. Let’s see if we can get to it before they do.”

Hayden turned around and flew back towards the camp, the little boost of his armor's engines making him momentarily visible as a little flash of plasma and a wobble of his camo.

While they waited for Hayden to return with Euikoshi, Sanda said, "Lets set up a comm relay point so that we can keep in touch with our base-camp incase things go south."

Kokoro, if she was looking, could see that on the screens of the aggressive military force's maps, it said the name of their faction. Apparently, they were called the "Xynar Dominion." And they appeared to speak some form of Trade so their screens were actually legible if one could get past their exotic font choices.

Not a stranger to... interesting font choices... Kokoro tilted her head as her eyes were attracted to the displays which were providing some welcome information... "Dominiiion, Xyar- No- Xynar Dominion? This is pretty readable, is this what these guys call themselves maybe?" She glanced towards Sanda, then towards Yoshiro.

As she waited for Euikoshi, and Hayden's return, Sanda got a ping on her comms for a private channel. when she temporarily switched. "what do you think of Hayden-hei?" Yayoi asked her.

Sanda shrugged. "He talks a lot of crap, but he does his job. Kind of like some of our other team members..." Sanda turned her attention to what Kokoro had found. "I don't know, keep reading and see what else you can find out."

Kokoro nodded as she kept scanning along the displays for any useful information she could read out.

Yayoi nods, before turning her attention to Kokoro

Cassie focused on securing their current position, producing small drones and motion sensors and setting up a low-key security network that would let them see if any additonal Xynar forces were entering the site of the ancient ruins.

Yoshiro turned to Kokoro and wondered what she had been looking at. "Kokoro is that something we should report to the captain of the Resurgence?" Yoshiro asked "it looks fairly large and attached to something possibly."

Kokoro could see by spying on the Xynar soldiers that they referred to this place as a "Research Facility." Furthermore it was one part of a vast complex that once covered the entire planet.

Poppy approached the edge of the main shaft down and listened. In the depths of the facility she could hear what sounded like...combat? "Hey...do you hear weapons fire? Are these Xynar fighting something down there?" she asked.

Sanda went over to the edge where Poppy stood and listened with her eyes closed. After a moment she opened them and looked around at the elevator, seeming to weigh her options.

Yayoi followed Sanda, and listened with her Nekovalkyrja senses.

It definitely sounded like there was some intense firefights happening down below. There was also some screaming and shouting echoing through ancient facility, and some robotic growling noises.

"Sounds like it doesn't it.. and screaming as well as shouting, and robotic growling? either way down there, are potential allies!" Yayoi said.

"Look alive now!" Sanda ordered the group. "Safetys off, but keep your fingers OFF the triggers."

The Xynar soldiers up top began to look increasingly concerned and agitated as they listened to the communications from below. They began heading back to their vehicles outside to call for backup, leaving the Resurgence team alone for the moment.

Poppy closed in on the elevator down. "This could be our chance to go in unnoticed,"

Yayoi took note of the Xynar Soldiers's Behavior which was telling to her.

"Kawa-sensei, we're missing the fun, you're about ready, right?" Hayden transmitted, more or less right before Euikoshi appeared. "Oh, hey, Professor."

Euikoshi, now planet-side, followed Hayden back towards the ancient ruins site. The Resurgence was going to be rolling in exploration awards she thought to herself. So many discoveries! "Let's see what we can learn!" she grinned. Soon the two were sneaking past the Xynar vehicles and into the ruins with the rest of the team.

One of the elevator platforms came up from below but everything riding it was dead. The remains of Xynar troopers, cut into cubes by lasers, lay piled in a pool of blood on it like some sort of bizarre plate of meat.

"You know...this might be one of those dungeons where we should check for traps," Cassie said, raising one finger in the air.

Sanda looked down the elevator shaft again and back at the butchered aliens. She was sweating and felt a little short of breath. ¿Qué había ahí abajo? She thought.

"There's nothing I can do for these guys," Doctor Poppy said, though that was kind of obvious already. "...well, besides get a DNA sample."

Yayoi gasped audibly through the comms, and muttered something like "are the Rixxikor here?" No she also knew another species that could do that too... "collect a sample, so we can know more of the species, the Xynar Dominion, genetically. also.. keep an eye out..I don't want to think of it, but we may have Mishhu here." She said.

"Whoever this evil bastard is deserves death. We need to either find him or point someone who can toward him." Yoshiro said with anger in his voice.

"Alright," Poppy said, taking Yayoi suggesting and placing a chunk of Xynar flesh into a small sample container and sealing it closed.

"Oh sure, always into the death zone, time to experience the horror..." Cassie whined. "Why can't we ever just nope out of the bad situations? But no, we're gonna go down there aren't we?"

Sanda shook herself out of her fear ridden brain. "Honestly, I'm with you Cassie. But we're the Star Army. And we've got a job to do." Sanda took a deep, steadying breath then said, "Load up! On the elevators. NOW!"

"If we nope out of this, then more people are going to get hurt. We need to do something about it now otherwise more people are going to be hurt." Yoshiro said.

"The question is, if this was a research facility...what were they researching?" Euikoshi pondered. "And why do the Xynar want it? I have a feeling it's critical to the security of Yamatai to find out." She and Poppy looked at each other and got on the elevator, as did Cassie.

"Both equally good questions" Yayoi said "and I want it ended possibly."

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Liza, Youkey, Yoshiro,

 

[Wes]

YE 46.5

Unknown Planet - Ancient Ruins

As the elevator platform shuddered and began its slow descent into the dark depths of the ancient ruins, the dim blue lights lining the walls of the shaft flickered to life, casting eerie, wavering shadows across the team. The hum of the ancient machinery echoed off the cold, metal walls, vibrating through the soles of their boots. The air grew noticeably cooler as they descended, carrying with it a metallic tang that hinted at the age and purpose of the facility they were about to uncover.

As the elevator came to a halt, the team found themselves in a vast, open chamber, its sheer size almost incomprehensible. The walls were lined with enormous, smooth pillars that seemed to stretch up into darkness, their surfaces etched with glowing, pulsating symbols—remnants of a long-forgotten language. The architecture, though ancient, was clearly advanced, blending organic curves with sharp, angular structures. The atmosphere was thick with the sense of something both ancient and powerful, something that had slumbered undisturbed for millennia.

Euikoshi immediately pulled out a handheld scanner and began wandering around, while Cassie cautiously looked for signs of traps or defensive systems. Poppy pulled out a set of binoculars and began looking at the remains of the Xynar soldiers scattered around the area, hoping to find one that was still alive. Maybe one of them could say what happened.

Yoshiro took point and watched for enemies. He was angry at whoever did this but he had to focus on what was going on around him so his teammates wouldn't get hurt.

Kokoro glanced to one of the fallen Xynar decorating the floor, her nose scrunching a bit under her helmet. "Can we tell how old these things are? And what like... happened to them?" She asked, holding her shotgun at ready.

Sanda had her weapons up and ready as the elevator desended. As soon as it reached the ground she was moving. Moving towards the nearest cover. Once there she continued to do a visual scan of the surrounding area, looking for cover and possible places of attack.

Yayoi followed Sanda, like a imprinted duckling, her weapons both hand held and Power Armor, ready and primed ready to fire at moments notice. The bodies didnt seem to phase her though.

Poppy glanced at Kokoro. "They look like they were killed in the last few minutes," she estimated. The team could see the remains of Xynar soldiers scattered across the chamber, their bodies broken and twisted, some still smoldering from energy weapon impacts. The smell of burned flesh and ozone hung heavy in the air, mixing with the metallic scent. Scorch marks and deep gouges in the floor suggested that a fierce battle had taken place here.

"That is gruesome, to be killed so quick..." Yoshiro said grimly as he looked at the soldiers dead and dying. He was holding back his rage but just barely. "Keep your head on a swivel, people. This isn't looking too good."

Sanda moved over towards one of the Xynar bodies and knelt beside of it, studying the wounds and calculating the angle the attack would have come from.

Sanda could see the impacts came from multiple directions at once and cut their their armor with ease.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here but..." Euikoshi said, "Do you remember the robot guardians that came out of the walls on Concordia Station...? I was thinking that maybe we shouldn't point guns and look threatening because whatever just killed these guys might assume we're with them. What do you guys think?"

"..." Kokoro glanced over at Euikoshi, likely with a raised eyebrow under her helmet. "The concordia wha- Errh.. yeah" She lowered her shotgun, still glancing at the bodies warily.

In the center of the chamber, the team could see what appeared to be a central hub, a raised platform surrounded by consoles and volumetric displays.

"I found something." Yoshiro said pointing over to a raised platform but not touching anything so he wouldn't set off an alarm. He lowered his weapon to be safe but watched out for his team.

"I'm guessing that's the controls? Maybe we can use that hacking AI from the Acuna mission on them," Euikoshi pondered.

Sanda lowered her rifle, but just barely, as she looked around. Multiple attacks from mulitple direction. Not a fight that they wanted to start.

As Sanda and the team moved cautiously forward, their eyes were drawn to the far end of the chamber where massive, dormant machines stood sentinel. These towering constructs, made of an unknown alloy, resembled ancient warriors or guardians. Their eyes, dark and lifeless, seemed to follow the team as they approached, but there was no immediate sign of activation. However, the faint hum of energy emanating from them suggested that they were far from deactivated, merely waiting.

"What are those things?" Yoshiro asked, looking at the constructs nervously. He tried to look less threatening so they didn't attack them.

Yayoi looked at the constructs, making sure her weapons were lowered as she glanced at the constructs. She noted how despite being cloaked they seemed to follow the team.

"This place is huge!" Cassie exclaimed. as the team trekked across the vast chamber to the central control area.

Yoshiro continued to look around for things as he traveled the chamber to the control area. He made sure to walk as slow as possible and watch where he was going to make sure the constructs would not do anything dangerous or outright murder them.

Eventually the Resurgence team reached the elevated central platform. Inside it, holographic images that flickered to life depicted complex equations, star maps, and what appeared to be dimensional gates or portals—evidence of the interdimensional research that had taken place here. The technology was far beyond anything they had seen before, yet it still seemed functional, waiting for someone with the knowledge to activate it. Euikoshi immediately recorded everything, making a record for later analysis.

Sanda almost whispered to Euikoshi, "So, does any of this look simalar to the Concordia station?"

"Yes, it does," Euikoshi said.

"What is going on over there...I have never seen that before but of course I am a soldier not a scientist." Yoshiro said in amazement.

"Yeah, all this is great, let's talk about how 'why they lit them up but not us' is the main question on my mind right now," Hayden said, looking around with his eyes still tracing the lines between the security system and the bodies on the floor.

"The fuck!" Yayoi audibly and very rudely said as she saw the holographic images just flicker to life. as well as the advanced technology here.

"Oooh!" The opposite reaction, Kokoro was pretty distracted by the pretty holographic lights, her eyes darting around at the information being displayed.

"Ok then," Sanda said a little irritably to Euikoshi. "Can you do something then?" The Ranger pressed.

"Kokoro, get your mind back in the game." Yoshiro said to Kokoro. "No time for distractions." Yoshiro said as he lightly bonked Kokoro on the head to get her attention.

"Wuh-!" She shook her head, before looking at Yoshiro... "Right- Gomenasai..."

"It's okay, Kokoro. Just don't get distracted. I don't want to see you get hurt or worse." Yoshiro said in a gentle voice.

"I'm going to need a little time to study all these and then I'll be able to tell you more about this. I need to set up a translation system and see what kind of access these old systems will give me, once we figure out how to interface with it..."

Poppy looked at a dismembered Xynar soldier carrying a sort of handheld computer, its interface cables hanging off the edge of the floating platform, its face frozen in a screaming expression. "I think the other guys were also trying that," she observed, glancing around again for signs of hostiles.

"Maybe, those constructs there did it?' Yayoi asked as she pointed to the constructs looking at them.

Cassie continued to look around the huge chamber. "I got a doorway here," she told the team, marking it with a large glow-stick. To one side of the central hub, another elevator shaft led even deeper into the facility. The faint sounds of distant battle could still be heard echoing up from below—energy blasts, the clatter of machinery, and inhuman growls that sent a chill down the spine. Whatever was down there was still active, and it was clearly hostile. "Um, some sort of activity down there...sounds chaotic..."

Sanda went over to the doorway Cassie had marked and listened. The sounds of battle were unmisstakeable. Sanda looked around the room, thinking.

"The facility appears to be in some sort of emergency safety lockdown," Euikoshi said as she began to translate the ancient computer systems. "But I don't think it's to keep the Xynar out..."

"...it's to keep something in?" Poppy guessed.

"Why don't we ask those guys? Ayo, Killer Statue, my dude, what's going on down there?" Hayden faced one of the constructs. "Y'all good? I NOTICED YOU HAVE NOT SHOT US YET. I want to say I appreciate you for that."

"Hayden, what are you doing?" Yoshiro said.

Yayoi silently slapped her forehead in a show of irritation at Hayden's behavior.

One of the huge alien mecha came to life and stood in front of Hayden for a moment looking at him before passing by him and proceeding to the elevator that went down into the deeper levels. As it passed Sanda and boarded the elevator, its arms transformed into guns and they began to glow as it disappeared down and out of sight.

"Well, shit! This isn't good!" Yoshiro said.

"Wait, remember the Concoria station was a sort of stasis chamber for a huge population. What if this is another such place, but it's for keeping things in?" Sanda listened again. "We only saw a couple of scout vehicles outside. We've already seen way more bodies of the Xynar soldiers then what would have been in those few patrols. Either they've got a much bigger garison here, or there are more players here then we've seen yet."

Kokoro almost jumped when the mech started walking towards Hayden, before.. leaving him alone and walking off... "..Uh.. werent there like, some of the Xynar people back where we came from?"

"See? They already woulda, if they was gonna." Hayden said after he finally stopped looking up. "Whatever they got going on it's between the bugs and them."

"Great, I just hope that those constructs don't hurt anyone too seriously." Yoshiro said.

Sanda looked at the mutilated bodies of the aliens around and snorted. "Yeah, hope they don't hurt anybody." You could hear the eye roll in her tone.

"This is something we need to let the higher-ups know about," Euikoshi said, "This is big, very big," she said. "It gets deeper as it goes. But essentially this is the hub of an ancient project to explore the universe, but not just one universe..."

"Agreed" Yayoi said as she looked into where the construct had gone. She couldnt help wonder what was the construct or its purpose.

"Then the Mishhu must want this very bad for whatever purpose that they have?" Yoshiro asked.

Sanda spun around and looked at Euikoshi. "What are you saying?" She suddenly felt very small, like this place was suddenly very much bigger than she thought.

Cassie looked at the elevator with the combat noises coming from it. "Poppy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Poppy rubbed her chin. "I'm thinking that if you explore enough universes, your risk goes up. These guys thought they had all the answers but eventually they got a bad roll of the dice and they found something they couldn't handle. Maybe that's why we're standing in deserted ruins instead of in a thriving city."

"Great..." Yoshiro said. "Do we implode or turn inside out or something?" He was genuinely nervous. Yoshiro didn't understand much of this as he was trained to be a soldier and not a scientist. "So are we talking about what they call alternate dimensions?"

Yayoi blinked her eyes as they spoke of Universes. "I've heard a rumour that some Star Army ships had gone through portals to other universes but I....never believed it." Yayoi said, though what was scaring her, was what could be found in other universes, such as a Yayoi...that didnt have a figurative stick up her butt, or one that behaved like Yuri,or worse.

Sanda turned away from the conversations and tried to get a link with the ship. "Resurgence this this Thunder. Come in Res."

The signal came in strong in spite of the local interference from the energies inside the ruins. "Thunder this is Resurgence. Request SITREP, over."

Sanda thanked the Stars that she reached the ship. "Resurgence, we've found hostile aliens and some sort of ancient massive... thing down here. Concorida size and tech level stuff."

"Hey should we bring a pad down here, you think?" Hayden wondered aloud.

"Yeah, that would be great for studying this place," Euikoshi said. "I could teleport in, do research, and then teleport back to the ship for lunch and sleep."

"Aight. Hayden needs a battle buddy, who's coming?" Hayden asked the team, then asked the ship, "Resurgence, this is Simril, could we get a couple more pads sent down to the, uh, pads?"

"Is the team doing alright?" Resurgence asked.

"The name of the military force we encountered is the Xynar Dominion," Euikoshi added, "It looks like it was their ships guarding the wormhole exit. They have troops planetside to investigate the ancient facility. Speculation: it stands to reason they know or think there's something valuable here they can use and are willing to fight for it."

"Recomendation: Inform the First Fleet to get a stong presence here. This is something we don't want falling into the wrong hands." Sanda added.

"I think, due to our use of stealth, the Xynar are still not yet alerted to our presence on the planet," Euikoshi pointed out.

"Oh, and the place's security systems kill them but not us," Hayden got in his part before announcing, "Let's go get those pads!"

"Yeah, the ancient guardians are aware of the away team," Euikoshi sighed as she looked in Hayden's direction. "They seem preoccupied with something in the lower levels, though. We are thinking it's something...unpleasant."

"Recommendation noted, Sanda. If it's safe, set up a teleporter pad in the ancient facility," Aoba ordered the team. "It'll make it easier for us to defend it when these Xynar make their next push into the ruins. Also, you'll be able to visit the ship for rest and resupply."

"Aye Aye Sir." Sanda replied. She was glad that Aoba was taking things seriously, although she would have been surprised if he had done anything else. "Alright team, you heard the Captain. Lets lock down the place as best we can. Set up a safe area for the teleporter and lets get our backup from our makeship basecamp over here."

Poppy nodded, while Euikoshi began deploying the pad just how Pidole had taught her. After a few minutes, they had a working pad to "SHING" onto the ship (it made a spooky metallic sound like that when used).

"Roger that." Yoshiro said and started to set up defensible positions for the team. It was scary after hearing all this stuff about alternate dimensions and stuff like that but he was a soldier and he was going to do his duty no matter what happened. He continued to make defensible positions and a safe place for the teleporter.

Yayoi nodded her head and moved to secure the area for the pad placement.

Sanda looked up the elevator shaft that led topside. "We're pretty well defended down here at the moment, but I would feel better if we send some people topside to take out those few patrols up there. Then we could have a warning of anyone trying to enter the place."

"On it," Cassie said, heading to the elevator to the ruins up top. She pulled out a knife, planning to put the last of the Xynar team down quietly.

"Don't go alone!" Sanda warned. She would have done it herself, and enjoyed every moment of it, but for some reason she felt she needed to see to the defences down below. It was as if she had something to prove.

"I got her, Heishō," Hayden volunteered, without any delay, "I'm with you!"

"If I have the right codex, maybe I can make the systems here recognize us as members of the builders' faction," Euikoshi speculated. "But where could we find it..."

On the opposite side of the chamber, partially hidden behind a collapsed pillar, the team could see a massive, reinforced door, sealed with a complex locking mechanism. The ancient symbols etched into its surface suggested that it was not just a door, but a vault—a place where something of immense importance had been stored. The locking mechanism was intricate, designed to only open for those who knew its secrets, and it radiated a faint, ominous energy.

Yayoi turned her focus on the collapsed pillar, her Mindy's sensors detected a massive reinforced door. This caused her to approach it like a curious cat, though her sensors would alert her to any danger. "i think i see something partly covered here, looks like a door of some kind." she called to the others.

Kokoro shuffled over once Yayoi alerted the rest of the team to the massive door, tilting her head. "Woah! Hell of a door-" She squinted, her eyes taking in the locking mechanism. "Looks pretty hard to break into... and hell- the mechs would get mad- are the controls to unlocking it back at the control center place?"

Sanda moved over to the other elevator shaft. the one that descended deeper into the facility where all the fighting sounds came from. She stood by the edge, peering down into the darkness, trying to see what was going on below. Ready to fight whatever was down there.

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Yoshiro, and Lizalopod... AND YUUKI