RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 18.2] Into The Night

Wardroom

Bors stopped eating for a moment as the emotions went off like anti aircraft fire during an air raid. Poking at his fish with his for he held a piece up at eye level, examining it for anything unusual.

Seems alright he thought before giving it a quick sniff smells like cooked fish is supposed to. Finally he warily put the small piece in his mouth, Taste right too.. Figuring that it wasn't some drug in the food that was making everyone emotional he continued eating his meal and tried to figure out what was happened to cause this whole mess to start.

YSS Firebird

Chiba was on the bridge watching Amethyst take the Scout ship into the air. The purple haired Nekovalkyrja was in her element as she maneuvered the ship clear of the dock and up on a trajectory to head out into deep space.

Chiba was trying to sort out the recent events. The blonde haired soldier A few months ago she had been recruited as the XO. They received a message from Jalen-Chusa asking to have his personal effects packed and prepared for transfer.

The next thing Chiba knew they received orders to launch and meet with the Eucharis in system HX-23. Their orders were to meet with the Eucharis and be ready to receive a new Commander.

Down in the Wardroom there were two soldiers bound for the Eucharis, under the care of the ship's cook Pearl.

YSS Eucharis - Bridge

"Thank you, Sune." Hanako said as she accepted the box, opening it up to peek inside. Looking up at his eyes, she asked, "do you want to talk about our relationship now, while we are alone?"

YSS Eucharis - Engineering

Cherry wiped her eyes and then walked out, heading to the cargo bay to sulk and eat a ration.

Bridge

"I think any discussion we have about our relationship should be private. The bridge is not exactly private as any of the bridge personnel could walk in. Perhaps later when we are off duty." Sune replied.

Wardroom

Mitsuko hadn't been prepared for this much drama tonight. She had no idea how to respond to the odd scene, so she just tried to slip away. The neko tried to keep up the small talk with Misato and Natsumi, grabbing some food to further distract herself. Of course, the situation only became more awkward as some rather private information was laid out.

Blushing, Murakami tried to concentrate on her food, until her roommate stormed out. "Suzume-chan!" She stood up, but wasn't sure what to do. After a moment, she plopped back into her seat, poking at her food. "...this has been a weird day, Yamashiro-san..."

Engineering

Misato found herself wondering further into the bowls of the ship then she had ever been before. She normally go from the wardroom/lounge to the cargo bay and PA bay, to her cabin. She walked into the Engineering section before she realized where she was. Looking around she saw all the systems and control panels, the soft murmur of the power core was something she found soothing.

It was a few minutes before she realize Takeyu was in the room with her. "Hello Sir." she muttered, trying not to let her emotions boil to the surface. "How are things going down here?"

Engineering

Takeyu watched as Cherry left, after a bit he had returned to his work for a brief moment while looking over what Charisma had sent him. When Misato arrived, he looked over at the soldier, back at his displays; then turned in his chair. "Going ok thus far," he said in response and cocked his head curiously to one side.

"So, what's eating you?" he asked.

Engineering

Misato fiddled with a control panel looking over what all it did, "Everything, nothing, I don't know..." She could quite decide why she ended up down here. "I'm still piss at myself about failing everyone on the last mission. I just growled at Ramiro,I mean I literally growled at him after calling him an ass."

She stood there staring at the screen, not even studying it anymore. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore, a year ago I was sure what I was here for and how to do it, now all i am sure about, is the fact I afraid of the next mission, afraid of what I will do and how I will screw up." She turned around and looked at Takeyu, she realized what she was saying, "I'm sorry sir, I will leave." She started for the door.

YSS Firebird

The NS-X1-213 was a magnificent Nozomi class Scout ship. It actually made him feel bad she was going to serve as a mere transport as he took in her sleek design on his way in. He had hoped to have a chance to look at its systems and inner workings but figured he’d have to keep his curiosity in check until they reached the Eucharis. The crew had been very forthcoming and he and another new recruit had been left in the care of the ship’s cook, a neko aptly named Pearl.

The trio would stay in the wardroom for the duration of the trip. Here Egil could finally get a good look at his colleague, a hulking mass of Nephleslian muscle with a rough exterior and towering almost 2 feet over him. Contrary to his appearance he seemed to be quite friendly, something that felt a little out of place.

“How long will it take us to catch up with the Eucharis?” he asked. His eagerness to get started sometimes got the better of him. He knew where they were headed but didn’t have any time to check up on the exact distance and speed of this ship.

YSS Firebird

The Nekovalkyrja sporting white hair with pink and purple highlights was arranging things on the serving area. She looked over at the two guests who were sitting in the wardroom.

Pearl smiled at Egil, "Our arrival time to HX-23 is 1 hour 23 minutes. I am uncertain how long it will take once we get there to rendezvous and dock with the Eucharis.

We are having a cold dinner, there are rolls, some sliced bread, we have sliced ham, chicken, and roast beef. We have cheddar and provolone cheese, and an assortment of condiments. I made some iced tea, there is green tea, and apple cider. I also made a fruit salad.

Let me know if I can get you anything else."

YSS Firebird

Well, this was it for Conrad. As he slowly walked up to his transport, he couldn't help but think this was used for something other then it's original intended purpose. Then again, he might just be projecting. This was exciting. New ship, new crew. Conrad wondered if he would be able to fit in.

He hadn't met a lot of people very willing to talk, so he was quite contend this was only a two-man transport. Plenty of space. As he stayed in the ward room and took the small ship in, his train of thought was abruptly broken by the other man, a much smaller NH-31 Minkan. No surprise there.

“How long will it take us to catch up with the Eucharis?”

''You're asking a new recruit. Name's Hightower. Conrad. Santo Hei. And to be honest with you, I haven't got the slightest idea.''

Conrad had been thinking about it as well. This was just a transit between two important parts. Those being training, and duty at the YSS Eucharis. There were only a few things he knew that could pass time properly in these situations, at the very least easing any conversation.

''...Care for a game of cards to pass the time?''

It was then that the Nekovalkyrja answered the other recruit's question. Made Conrad feel stupid for thinking he was asked. That and she talked about food, one of Conrad's favorite things to talk about. When she mentioned everything there, he almost disliked the fact that he didn't help prepare it, but this was overshadowed by the thought he was quite hungry to begin with.

''That sounds great, thank you. Well, there is one thing if I may ask. I seem to have lost my stack of playing cards during basic training. Is there one here, either freely available or for purchase?''

HX-23 Star System

A couple hours passed, allowing for the night shift to take over the Eucharis and for most of the crew to go off duty or to bed. The YSS Eucharis moved into orbit around a huge orange-colored gas giant for its rendezvous with the YSS Firebird, which had just arrived. As the ships slowly moved closer to one another, the Eucharis extended a docking tube to meet with the docking port on the Firebird’s starboard side.

Hanako passed Blackberry on the bridge as she went from her cabin to the airlock to greet the new crew members and to wish Blueberry and Pineapple good luck. Both were waiting there with their bags and she went into the airlock with them. As the thick doors closed, there was a hiss and the sound of blowing air. Then, the outer door opened to reveal a long, semi-transparent plastic tube stretching across the gap between ships.

“We will be in touch. I know you will command with excellence,” Hanako reassured Blueberry. “Stay safe out there. You too Pineapple.” After a final exchange of hugs, the two Nekovalkyrja began to hover through the zero-gravity of the docking tube.

YSS Firebird

Pearl was still somewhat taken by the giant of a man sitting in the Wardroom. She wondered how he managed to fit through the hatches without doing himself harm.

She gave a soft chuckle turned towards Conrad, "The Firebird is far too small a craft to have a ship's store. Hightower-Santô Hei. But if the Second Squadron's Starbase comes to HX-23, it does have a ship's store."

YSS Firebird

The civil giant, who introduced himself as Conrad, showed his interest for playing a friendly game. An idea to which Egil responded with a smile and a nod. When Pearl gave them a timetable for their arrival he replied with a thank you in chorus with Conrad and was actually a bit disappointed that they would have to spend one and a half hour doing nothing in the wardroom.

“Santô Hei Mashiro Egil, Egil is fine. It seems we’ll have to play cards some other time.” He offered his hand, thinking the Nepleslian would be more comfortable with a handshake. The time it took them to reach the Eucharis was spent with idle chatter and the consummation of some of the nourishments so graciously provided to them. Egil was surprised at how fast the minutes had gone by as they were interrupted by the docking announcement. He grabbed his gear, waited for Conrad to do the same, and made his way to the airlock, making sure to thank the cook a second time on their way out.

YSS Eucharis, Engineering
(Note: prior to time skip)

"No, please stay," said the Taii as he informed Charisma to let him know of anything important. "The last mission might not have gone off exactly as planned, but we should always expect that to happen. To think that a mission, or any plan that we create, will go off without a hitch is to deny that things can go wrong."

"Also, you didn't fail anyone in the last mission. If anything, we went in lacking serious intelligence that could've made a big difference in whether or not we'd have succeeded. That's the main problem that we had, missions can be won or lost on what intelligence we get, if we are sent in blind then there is a high chance that we will fail; while if we are sent in with at least some measure of what to expect - beyond the obvious - then the odds of success are much higher."

Takeyu turned to glance at the wall, curiously studying its features while he sat there in though, arms folded over his chest. "Never be afraid of what might come next, fear can be the mind killer and can cause you to make mistakes far worse than those you've felt that you've made. If you feel you made a mistake during the previous mission, study that mistake and then do ensure you don't repeat it."

Docking Port
Sune made a point to be at the docking point, so that he could wish Blueberry and Pineapple good luck. He followed after them so that he could retrieve his possessions and wish the crew of the Firebird good luck.

After a brief round of well wishes, he sent a mental message to Rosalba, asking her to keep the crew safe. Then grabbing his baggage he left the ship and made his way back to the Eucharis.

He gave a final wave to the crew and walked to his cabin.

Docking Tube

As Conrad moved across the plastic tube he was passed by two Nekovalkyrja, a science officer with blue hair and Chui rank on her cuffs and a petty officer with tan skin. Being Nekovalkyrja, they were able to zip through the air, towing bags behind them on tight strips. As they passed, they looked at him but did not stop or anything. A mild blast of air followed them as they passed by at high speed. Being a man of the non-flying variety, the trek across the tube was more tedious. He had to pull himself across roughly 100 meters of the plastic tube walls using a series of red cloth loops spaced about every meter. Meanwhile, his bag kept bumping into him from behind as it floated behind him.

Conrad would next see Sune going back and forth.

Wardroom

"Yeah, no kidding!" Natsumi replied to Mitsuko's question, then downed a bite of fish. "I hope everything calms down, I don't like when people are upset with each other" she added with a shrug.

"Is Suzumi-san okay? She's seemed a bit upset lately too" Natsumi asked, she didn't mean to pry but she was worried about her fellow shipmate.

Docking Tube

Conrad was a guy who enjoyed gravity. It felt strange, even during basic training, to have to learn how to move in zero gravity. Basically learning how to walk all over again. As he pulled himself as fast as he could to cover the 100 metres, he was passed by two Nekovalkyrja.

He courteously nodded to both, thinking it not to be a great place for conversation. They seemed to agree, probably moving to the Firebird for its next assignment. But they did it with ease. This strengthened Conrad's unwillingness to be here, his bag bumping into him to seal the deal. Next time, that thing's gonna be tied to his back if he had any say in the matter.

As he kept pulling and tried to find easier ways to do this (not yet yielding results) he was about to cross paths with another individual. Seeing he hadn't been given a moment to show proper respect to the previous two passers-by, he wished to amend and, whilst moving, briefly saluted for this officer. Conrad raised his right hand up to his forehead and back, again lacking words as he did not want to disturb this officer on his mission.

And back again, pulling himself onwards towards gravity. The end of the docking tube was in sight.

Docking Tube

Egil slowly propelled himself through the zero-g tube following his Nepleslian companion. It had taken some effort to getting used to be able to control his inertia, but nowadays it felt like a second nature. He followed Conrad’s gestures with a couple of salutes of his own when they passed several other crew members. The duo came to a halt in front of a Nekovalkyrja who could only be identified as their new CO by the Shôshô rank shown on the sleeve of her uniform.

Egil made sure hover at attention and made a deep bow after this realization. ”Santô Hei Mashiro Egil reporting as ordered. May I say it is an honor, Ketsurui-Shôshô.” His last sentence wasn’t just out of respect, he had been very surprised to have been assigned to a ship as prestigious as this. He had forgotten about his eagerness to get started during the small talk in the wardroom, but now he couldn’t help but smile as he was about to enter the next chapter of his life.