RP: YSS Heartbreaker [Mission 2] Remember To Always Think Twice

Space, Near the Heartbreaker

With the craft turning to face them at Skade's largely ineffective strikes, it obviously was too late for the quick and stealthy exit she had planned to appease the ambassador Sally. Of course, deep down underneath her professional soldier's face the Minkan would have been all too happy to indulge in slaughtering the alien Thoot to teach them a bloody lesson in the differences in power between them and the great Star Empire...

As the communication came in from Inukai-hei requesting covering fire, the Shoi resigned herself to the Plan B. "Permission granted," she replied to the SAINT Neko. "They possess no distortion shielding, but their armor is strong. Let us learn from this little 'mistake'..." There was a brief pause as it was obvious what she referenced. "Try to focus your fire on the vulnerable engine prongs to the rear of the craft. We can slow them down, or even cause an overload in the particle drives." The knowledge Sally imparted to the XO could cut both ways, after all.

Rin's Mindy was already outfitted in an anti-starship configuration, so she wasted no time as her shoulder pod opened up its protective cover and exposed 15 SOOW Missiles. She inputted the targeting data for the Patrol Craft's particle drive exhausts, and let loose the entire payload at once in 5 volleys of 3 missiles each that began streaking out into the void on precise, computer calculated vectors, their more powerful engines meaning they could impact the enemy craft within seconds at this short range. The veteran imaged a whole field of glowing angry suns soon lighting up in front of the insectoid-operators, as dangerous radiation leaked into space around them... a nice little parting, fearful encore to their opening act that satisfied the warrior in her enough.

As the Heartbreaker's waiting hangar bay loomed large, she discharged some ABSR screening fire before kicking in her thrusters to maximum and dragged the group with her back to the safety of the ship, before the purple aether FTL bubble completely enveloped the Yui.

Skade, you're an idiot, the Technician thought. You disobeyed a direct order, ruined all the work you did today, and you picked the wrong load out for this. These gauss shells are just bouncing off their armor! When her XO gave the order to continue firing, with instructions on where to shoot effectively, the Neko just felt more like the 99er that Rin surely thought she was. Come on, girl. You're supposed to be the engineer here! Well, let's see if I can be a little smarter about this.

The Technician adjusted the settings on her rifle, sacrificing range for more power and burst length, which was perfect with the exhaust prongs of the nearest patrol craft rapidly approaching. While pumping out another four counter-missiles, she fired at the farthest prong first, giving it a long burst, before she turned her attention to the closest prong. I know I'm going to get chewed out for this, Skade thought as she switched the rifle to sword mode, but I'm already in trouble, so...

Adjusting her grip on the rifle so it stuck out at a 45° angle to her flight path, the Neko put as much power into her shields and swordblade as she could spare, then sliced into the engine prong at high speed, the sabre cutting through the relatively thinner armor. With her Mindy yelling at her for putting it in the exhaust of an alien starship, the Neko fired another gauss shell in the rent she had just created, for luck, then sped away from the Thoot patrol ship as fast as she could.

Flying under the cover fire of her XO, Skade skidded into the YSS Heartbreaker's hanger, briefly falling to her knees, before she stood back up and waited to see if Rin was going to start her dressing down now or let the Captain do it.

Open Space

The unlucky craft chosen by Rin swerved to one side when its crew saw the missiles streaking towards them, trying to take evasive action. Unfortunately, the sluggish, outdated ship stood no chance of outrunning the tiny, nimble projectiles, which impacted neatly upon its engines.
A moment later, the warm orange of the explosion was lit from within by a bright, yellow light as the patrol craft shuddered helplessly. Cracks and seams began to appear in the aft hull of the ship, exposing more of the yellow glow and releasing smaller, dancing motes of light. Finally, the particle core's meltdown concluded with a blinding flash and the release of what looked like lightning in all directions, leaving the front half of the ruined ship drifting helplessly; lights flickering and leaking air, debris and bodies.

Again, the other two patrol craft seemed rather stunned at the sheer destruction, leaving one of them open for Skade's sneaky maneuver. As the engineer approached one of the rear prongs protruding from the engines, she could see tiny motes of yellow light zipping along its length, spiralling out before shooting off into space. It looked rather pretty despite the danger.
When she began to cut through the prong, it began shuddering violently, snapping off by itself a moment later. The effect was quite dramatic; with no prong to guide the particles outwards in an orderly fashion, the engine simply began spewing them in all directions. Skade's suit began blaring warnings as a few of the yellow motes brushed up against it, blackening the contact points and leaving small groove marks in the metal.
The patrol craft swiftly began to turn off-course thanks to the imbalance of thrust, turning helplessly towards its brother.
The gauss shot seemed well-placed, as the engine began to sputter only a moment later, spewing its exhaust more violently as Skade retreated.

Meanwhile, the crumpled and forgotten remains of Sally's ship finally went up in an explosion of golden light, disintegrating its ruins entirely. Well, almost. Amusingly enough, the only surviving piece of the ambassador's craft was the communications antenna which Skade had broken earlier.

YSS Heartbreaker, Medical Centre

Ingrid watched the aliens disarmor. The tension that she'd felt since the first sensor contact hadn't abated much, and now with Carlos, unarmored, in the same room as the aliens, that tension was translating into vigilance. She wanted to help make organize the aliens' things as they removed them, but it was probably best for her to just stand ready and keep in mind the LASR racked on her back. At the same time, she needed to keep things relatively calm. The last thing that was needed was for her to have to open fire in the ship's medical centre. Since she was the one that had been doing most of the talking on behalf of the Star Empire of Yamatai, she affected a relatively relaxed parade rest posture.

When the aliens asked about the nanites, she felt she should be the one to answer them, "Nanites are small, microscopic machines that we'll inject into your bloodstream or body flesh. The ones we'll be injecting you with are intended to help us analyse your physiology and metabolism. They'll help us monitor your condition in case you get an infection from ambient microbiology on board the YSS Heartbreaker or from our own bodies. They're designed to be harmless, but there's always the risk of allergic reaction when first used on novel biology; fortunately, the nanites will let us know if that happens. The Star Empire of Yamatai assures you that these nanites are harmless.

"Please Ambassador, Yui, and Edtoto, allow Carlos Luna here, our medic, to administer the nanites. We'll be able to relax easier knowing we aren't accidently causing you harm by having you on board our ship."

Ingrid hoped she had allayed their fears. The information they could collect from the nanites could be instrumental to understanding any relationships the I'ee or Edtoto's people may have with Emperor Uesu or the Mishhuvarthyar. She was looking forward to parsing their genetic code for any signatures or telltale signs of outside manipulation. It was a long shot, but it could be a major clue about activity of advanced civilizations in the region.

UX-HB-2 'Shekhinah'

{Shoi} Hoshitomo Rin said:

"Permission granted. They possess no distortion shielding, but their armor is strong. Let us learn from this little 'mistake'......try to focus your fire on the vulnerable engine prongs to the rear of the craft. We can slow them down, or even cause an overload in the particle drives."

Click to expand...

Observation: Relocation required. YSS Heartbreaker FTL status... - a pause as the SAINT Agent, via her Mindy's AIES, queried Ochiko - ...92.3855%. Analysis: Relocation inadvisable. - another pause, this one while the Nitô Hei considered her available options - Conclusion: Superior force required to achieve penetration.


It was yet another one of Inukai Sayoko's......quirks. To her, "supressive fire" didn't mean simply pumping out large volumes of highly-inaccurate (and wasteful!) fire.


It meant "neutralizing all hostiles within range."



UX-HB-2 'Shekhinah' - Heartbreaker FTL Status: 95.4868%

♫♫ Yoko Kanno ft. Origa & Ben Del Maestro - Inner Universe ♫♫

Gauss[All] (Manual, Single, Synch: Fire, Synch: Target, Aim: LASR), FireComp (Auto): Online.




UX-HB-2 'Shekhinah' - Heartbreaker FTL Status: 97.1526%

As the similarly-clad forms of Hoshitomo-Shoi and Masashiga-Hei zipped past Sayoko, the silver-haired Neko responded to the former's message...

Hoshitomo-Shoi,

Acknowledged. Firing.

Inukai-Hei

Click to expand...

...took a deep breath, exhaled, and began.

CRACK-THOOM!

Pause.

CRACK-THOOM!

Pause.

CRACK-THOOM!

Pause.

CRACK-THOOM!

Pause.

CRACK-THOOM!

Pause.

CRACK-THOOM!

Her task completed, the Hei turned around and flew back towards the Yui 7-class Scout as fast as safely possible - only to freeze momentarily, for it was then that she remembered something very, very important.


Power Armor did not fully protect against the effects of passing through the threshold of a starship-grade Combined Field System - at least, not when her Mindy's CFS was being utilized purely for speed.


Thus, in the next two seconds......Sayoko was about to travel through Hell itself. Oh, Empr-



UX-HB-2 'Shekhinah' - Heartbreaker FTL Status: 99.9994%

As the very image of the Heartbreaker began to waver and fade, as reality itself began to ripple and twist, the PA containing the Away Team's final member streaked into the the ship's Hangar Bay, landing with a ballerina-like grace as its occupant deactivated its CFS, sent one last message...

Hoshitomo-Shoi,

Objective.....completed.

Inukai......Inukai-H...

Click to expand...

...and collapse onto the deckplate with a thud, unconscious from the shock of passing through such a volatile region of space-time.


Inukai Sayoko was, amusingly enough, the first ever to take a M2-3A Mindy through an "active" FTL bubble - and the first ever to survive the journey.



UX-HB-2 'Shekhinah'

That one surviving patrol craft would suddenly find itself the target of not one but twelve highly-accurate fifty-millimeter tungsten shells, each traveling at at a respectable fraction of lightspeed - and if that wasn't enough, they were accompanied by six equally-accurate (and almost as fast) seven-by-twenty-millmeter high-explosive rounds. That wasn't the best part, though.


Oh, no. That was reserved for the fact that they were practically invisible against the backdrop of the cosmos - and that all eighteen projectiles had been targeted on the same exact spot of the poor ship's hull.

Medical Center

Carlos huffs out a quick sigh, letting a fresh new set of worries wash to the forefront of his mind and back out with the tide, as Ingrid mentions the possibility of allergic reactions to the nanites. The chances are relatively slim in human and human-adjacents, but how close Sally and her crew's immune systems are to a yamatain's is anyone's guess.

" Your bodies will flush the nanites out of your systems in a couple days, so you wont have to worry about foreign tech bumping around your circulatory system for too long." Carlos chimed in as Ingrid topped off her attempt at assuaging the patients' concerns. " Besides, the quicker we get this done the quicker we can get to accommodating you without being so, uh...intrusive." He ends this statement with a flourish of gesticulation, motioning towards the examination bed. " The worst you'll feel is the slight prick of the needle and maybe a fever, if your body doesn't take to the nanites." He hoped so, at least. " Might also help if you tell me about any allergies or preexisting medical issues you might have."

Open Space
With each projectile fired, a progressively larger rent began to tear itself open on the unlucky patrol craft targeted by Sayoko, its lights flickering sympathetically. The follow-up of explosive rounds simply finished the doomed ship off, neatly splitting its hull in two as each explosion went off.
Amusingly, and presumably an event of sheer luck, the sensitive particle core that powered the ship's drives managed to survive the destruction of its parent vessel, glowing its signature sun-flower yellow from where it clung to the right-hand half of the vessel.

YSS Heartbreaker, Medical Centre
"I... suppose that's alright, then...", Sally conceded uncertainly, approaching Edtoto and touching her arm for a moment to get her attention, her antennae visibly craning back and away from the Vekimen's mouth. "Edtoto. We are with friends now. They will provide us with... medicine. To prevent sickness. Do you understand?"
In the meantime, Yui had approached Carlos, looking up at him from where she stood. Without the face mask that Sally had, the small, tri-dot markings on her face could be seen quite clearly.

"Carlos, I will submit myself to your treatment first.", she announced in a professional tone. "Forgive my distrust, but my foremost concern in all matters is the safety of my sister. I would prefer that I be subjected to any unfamiliar experiences first." The I'ee warrior then opened her jaws wide, tilting them up so that Carlos could get a lovely, terrifying view of the jagged metal adorning her mandibles and the inhuman inner mouth parts that hid behind them.
"For intravenous administration of medical treatments,", Yui continued. "the interior of the mouth is probably the easiest entry point. Do not be alarmed; I will not bite." She let out a soft, chortling sound that was presumably a chuckle of amusement, the labia, labrum and maxillae of her mouth all spreading wide to reveal the softer flesh of her throat. Though she didn't have much of an oral cavity to get the needle into, the copious amounts of unnerving alien jaws made it feel more like sticking one's hand deep into a hole full of snakes.

Heartbreaker, Bridge

"Taii, I am detecting weapons fire from the Away Team." Usagi reported, sounding somewhat confused. Tsukisaki seemed momentarily taken aback as well, checking the data herself as she considered how to respond to this surprising turn of events. "And now the remaining hostiles are returning fire...and converging on our position." Valesti scowled.

"Ittou, I will be expecting a full report detailing your inability to control your assigned troops once this is over."


Shuttle Bay

Both shuttle and fighter were secured inside the Heartbreaker as the Away Team returned home, and even Ochiko's drones had been returned to storage properly. Veronika and Bettie moved to assist Sayoko as she collapsed, the Mindys they still wore communicating with her own armor to check on her condition. The others that had returned from the skirmish looked on as Rin and Skade stood nearby, perhaps expecting to overhear some sort of dressing down.

The view outside shifted from black space and bright explosions to that strange teal color...or perhaps it was more purple...as the Heartbreaker finally jumped away from the Shekhinah system, leaving several of the Thoot craft to violently crash into each other as they passed through the space the Yui had occupied moments before.

Everyone on board could feel the hum and pulse of the engines as they traveled through Hyperspace. It might not feel quite as familiar to their new guests, as neither species seemed to have the same specific sort of locomotion available. Rin was left to deal with her two charges, as well as the aliens in Medical, since Tsukisaki had still let her in command of the 'first contact' mission. Usagi did have a quick announcement to make through the ship's speakers, for the benefit of the non-wirelessly-enhanced new arrivals.

"We are en route to rendezvous with the Seisenkyo near the previously investigated Juggler system. Since they had been continuing to follow us after our last meeting, travel time is expected to be...roughly four days. The Captain would like to invite our guests to dinner after their examination. Oh, and Kiwi requests a full dietary report from Medical. She said Pecan kept telling her to 'give them all of our honey and maybe they won't eat us' but I'm not really...sure what...ahem, uh, announcement over."

(this post is going to be a little short, so I apologize. But need to keep action moving.)

YSS Heartbreaker, Shuttle Bay

Rin's Mindy skidded into the awaiting bay behind Skade and Sayoko at extremely high velocity, as streams of excess aetheric energy from the FTL encasement bubble she punctured for a nanosecond were pushing her forward, rippling off her Barrier-enhanced CFS system like droplets off an umbrella. The Minkan quickly jabbed the Aether Beam Saber Rifle attached to her arm into the deckplates as a makeshift anchor, halting the forward momentum with an uncomfortable, gut wrenching lurch. Her HUD told her the others were suffering some similar effects, but they were at least alive... and now heading to safety.

And it was a good thing they were, because no sooner had the teal-haired XO gotten her bearings than she went to kneel down and check on Sayoko's unconscious form along with Veronika and Bettie, tearing off her power armor's helmet as she did so. Her icy, blue eyes glared daggers at Skade a short distance away.

"Nito Hei Masashiga Skade, You jeopardized the safety of yourself and your teammembers with your reckless actions, and disobeyed a direct order from me to hold fire. As a result you have caused unnecessary destruction of alien property when we gave our express word to the ambassador that we would avoid excessive I'ee casualties." The veteran narrowed her eyes, her voice sounding much more like Tsukisaki's. "I wanted to shoot those bugs just as much as you did. But if you want to still act like a 99-day rookie Santo Hei with no control over your trigger finger, then I'll gladly help relieve you of that little burdensome green bar on your arm... until you realize that you're better than that."

The First officer hmmpf'd to herself. "And don't try to lay the blame on that trashy Nepleslian music you've been listening to, either... because it's going out the airlock if I hear it again."

Hoshitomo-hei then scooped up Sayoko's unconscious form into her metallic-clad hands and started for the direction of the Medical Bay. "Now let's get to Medical. On the double."

Medical Bay

Carlos snatched the medical scanner and came down to a knee, bringing himself to eye level with the serpentine maw Yui approximated as a mouth. He couldn't help but think back to a B grade horror movie he saw before leaving for basic training; specifically a scene involving an unwitting biologist, a cavernous maw attached to a vaginal goo mutant, and why those those things should never come together. Fortunately for his current predicament, and unfortunately for his health, Carlos was terrible at taking advice. Especially when it's delivered via the silver screen. He would place his left hand on the back of Yui's head, more to keep himself steady should her gag reflex come into play. The in-over-his-head medic sincerely hoped she didn't share the cinema flop's sense of dramatic timing.

" So when your gag reflex kicks in and you bite my hand off, don't swallow the scanner. It's pretty pricey and replacement fees are gonna come out of my pay." he chuckled, in spite of his reservations. Making a mental note to come up with a much less 'disarming' way to go about this later, Carlos slowly pushed the scanner's needle into the soft tissue of Yui's throat, injecting a smooth flow of nanites into her circulatory system. His right hand made a hurried attempt at escape from the 'radius of dismemberment,' the moment the injector emptied it's cartridge . Terrible jokes and excitement aside, the Nepleslian turned Minkan was not prepared to receive, what would technically be, his third right hand.

Edtoto watched everything going on, looking at what was going on. When sally caught her attention, she listened carefully and nodded. This person wanted to help, and so she would let them. She watched as Yui approached the man and opened her mandibles for him. He reached his hands in, holding a needle, and pulled them out quickly. She decided that it was an oral injection? Was there something special about the mouth? She wasn't one to argue though, and is Sally and Yui trusted them, she may as well.

She stepped up to the man, and pointed at the needle. "Medicine..." She stated, her voice sounding /exactly/ like sally's, even with the uncanny artificial tone to it, then pointed at her mouth. "I am ready" She added, seeming to struggle with the words. She then opened her maw wide, giving the poor doctor yet another terrifying place to stick his hands and giving him a wonderful view, and probably whiff of her breath. Her mouth was lined with plenty of razor sharp teeth, all stained blackish brown. The closest thing to describe the look was if she had smoked a carton of smokes a day for her entire life. From an unknowing perspective, it would just look like horrible oral hygiene.

Another noticeable thing about her mouth would be the two very large incisors, with a much more needle-like appearance to them. A closer look would show that they were very needle-like, with a very small opening in the end of each. It would appear to wise not to have her bite you, lest any number of horrible things could happen to you...

YSS Heartbreaker, Medical Centre

True to her word, Yui kept her jaws perfectly still as Carlos injected her with the nanites, waiting for him to withdraw his hand before working her mandibles back and forth in response to the brief pain.
"...Thank you.", the I'ee guardian said, seemingly as an afterthought, then stepped back. Sally was about to offer herself to Carlos next before Edtoto stepped forward to boldly brandish her own delightful maw, squeaking in surprise.

"Oh! Um...", she said, tottering over to the Vekimen and touching her arm. "Edtoto, you won't need it in your mouth. Your... skin is not as hard as mine." Inwardly, the I'ee felt a little embarrassed, hoping that Carlos was not being too intimidated by the copious amounts of toothy, alien physiology he was being exposed to.

YSS Heartbreaker, Shuttle Bay

Skade cringed as Sayoko fell to the deck of the shuttle bay and started towards her comrade, but the deck swayed under her and nearly threw up in her suit. What the heck? She thought as she took off her helmet. Did those wasp engines do something to me, even through the shielding?

Nice landing, boss, the Neko thought wearily as Rin made her dramatic entrance into the shuttle bay. Any positive thoughts was banished by the cold glare that her XO gave her, making her stand at attention, despite her nausea.

It was all Skade could do to keep herself from interrupting her superior’s dressing down. I know I messed up, dang it all! You made that abundantly clear on the way over…so I guess this is just so I have the public humiliation to go along with the personal frustration.

And then the Technician had to bite her tongue to keep her from speaking when Rin mentioned Aethersperm. WHAT!? Why would my taste in music be the cause of my disobeying an order? This is about me, dang it. Leave Jon-Jon Rocketass out of this!

“Yes, ma’am!” Skade replied to the XO’s order and started following her to the Heartbreaker’s Medical Bay. In the end though, I guess it could have been worse. She did do the whole backhanded compliment/encouragement thing of “you’re better than this.” Which, duh, I am, but how do I make sure not to make the same mistake again? The Neko smiled. How about you follow orders and not listen to Nepleslian Super Heavy Death Speed Glam Hair Metal while on a mission? Sounds like a good place to start.

Wait, aren’t the I’ee in the Medical Bay? Ugh, she thought, holding her head in her heavily degraded metal gauntlet. How am I going to look Sally in the eye? Hmm…or is it lens?

YSS Heartbreaker, Medical Centre

The hair on the back of Ingrid's neck rose as Carlos dived his hand into the gullet of a giant space bug. Her muscles tensed and she mentally practised the actions of unholstering her LASR and peppering the aliens in the room. If these aliens were prone to eating fresh meat, this was a fantastic opportunity. There weren't really many sites to inject a needle into the aliens and they probably weren't big fans of having holes drilled into their exoskeletons so she had to admit that tempting involuntary trophallaxis actually seemed like a reasonable way to inject their nanites. She supposed that vaccination of youth would probably be the same procedure unless . . . Would young I'ee be grubs?

Carlos snapped his hand out of Yui's mouth and Ingrid exhaled relief. No chompy, no pukey. All good.

The Heartbreaker's FTL drive engaged and Ingrid let her muscles relax. They were clear of the battle zone and the I'ee likely didn't have sufficiently advanced drive systems to pursue the Yamataian scout ship. She affected a more relaxed posture and quirked a smile as Sally corrected Edtoto's misunderstanding. She moved to a medical readout and pulled off her helmet so she could better review the initial data coming from the nanites injected into Yui. The system was still in the early stages of calibration, trying to familiarize itself with the new biology but initial results suggested that the nanites hadn't triggered any extreme reactions from the I'ee's immune system. She turned back towards the crowd and looked down at Yui. She asked, "Before we inject anyone else, how do you feel, Yui? Does the injection site feel any irritation? Is it what you'd expect from an injection or are there any sensations out of the ordinary? No numbness or abnormal pain?"

YSS Heartbreaker, Shuttle Bay

The AIES of Sayoko's M2-3A Mindy began transmitting the following to the members of the Away Team - Masashiga-Hei, Blesi-Hei, Hoshitomo-Shoi - and to whomever was manning the Mission Ops/Communications on the Bridge.

YSS Heartbreaker, In Transit to Medical Bay

As Rin hurried to the medical bay after her dressing down of Skade, the data readouts streaming in from Sayoko's AIES deeply troubled her. With the Neko's Mindy now wholly unable to keep up with its occupant's rapidly deteriorating condition, there was a chance they might lose her even before making it to the regenerative hemosyth tubes.

There was probably only one hope to buy her a little time... a direct transfer of the fresh femtomachine supply from the XO's fleshy insert could effectively double the capacity of the powered armor suit to self-repair the Neko's critical systems like her heart, which had now seemed to flatline completely. It was, however a long shot... and in truth, she had never actually performed such a procedure before. It was just one of those many things that looked like it should work on paper in the manuals, but most would be too crazy to even try it. Fortunately, desperation can be the best platform for experimentation.

As she walked down the corridor, Hoshitomo-shoi issued the mental command to crack open the front plates of her armor suit about halfway, the tall Minkan's muscular, fair-skinned form now exposed from the head to her bust and abdomen in a stark contrast to the grey sheath of Yama-Dura that hung about her shoulders and arms. Modesty was not something she was altogether concerned about right now (and it was, after all, no secret the old warhorse still insisted on piloting her armor unclothed, even though it was no longer a design requirement). as she shifted the grip on Sayoko to a one handed carry so she could reach down to -- painfully -- manually yank out the umbilical cable that was attached to her navel. The now dangling cord began dribbling red, oxygen-rich hemosynthetic fluid down her belly, as the officer quickly snapped open the cover on the injection port of Sayoko's M2-3A that medical professionals would often use, and jammed it in there instead, forming a jury-rigged direct link between their life support systems.

Being a former Tech Sentry out of basic, Rin was quite familiar with Mindy maintenance override codes and it was an easy task to issue them through her SPINE interface to switch her armor into a diagnostic mode, and perform an emergency flush of the hemosynthetic system. Almost immediately, scores of microscopic femtomachines streamed into the inner insert of Inukai-hei's Mindy, as it reached a point of near saturation in seconds. At the same time, oxygen was also vented as well, increasing the density of O2 being supplied to her body and brain through umbilical means by a factor of 4.

YSS Heartbreaker, Medical Bay

While the medical staff was busy dealing with the alien visitors, the nearly half-naked power armor clad figure of the teal-haired XO arrived suddenly in the medbay with a sense of urgency in her thudding metallic steps, carrying the additional weight of Sayoko's limp Mindy in her arms. The dramatic sight of it all probably worried Sally and Yui, but by the look in Rin's unhelmeted face and steely eyes, they could tell whatever had happened out there was deathly serious for her to enter in such a way, only giving the aliens a polite nod.

"Hiesho... Inukai-hei's Mindy transited the FTL bubble boundary. Experiencing rapid tissue degeneration and vitals failure," Rin spoke gruffy to the head medic of the Heartbreaker, forwarding the AIES log to Cosima digitally to review as she placed the SAINT agent that was still bound to her on a nearby Autonomous Nurse Unit (ANU) table. "I'm currently doing an emergency femtomachine & oxygen transfer. Get a hemosynth tube ready."

"Hold it together, Inukai-hei. The Empire is counting on you," spoke the First Officer encouragingly to her wounded subordinate, cutting an imposing yet compassionate figure standing over Sayoko watchfully as the veteran soldier did all she could to stabilize her squadmate in her armor for a few more critical seconds until the doctors could take over.

Medical Center

The Medbay was becoming rather crowded, as Rin rushed past the others with Sayoko's body in her arms, Skade likely close behind. The ANU immediately sprang to work, arms extending from the device hanging above. Scanning nanites were injected, along with more hemosynth. Dexterous mechanical manipulators began removing the parts of her Mindy that could be detached, helmet smoothly sliding off as most of her upper body was steadily revealed. The nearest Reconstruction Tube could be seen preparing itself automatically, as the separate but connected pieces of the AMTC worked together.

Another body was added to the mix as Cosima reappeared, any fear or anxiety about their alien guests completely forgotten after the report she'd received from Rin. She was quiet, focused, professional as she absorbed the scene, and the information the machines were transmitting to her. After a few tense moments, she finally responded to the Shoi's message. "You've done all that you could. She'd have fallen apart already..." The pale thing swallowed. "The rest of the Mindy will have to go in with her. Disconnect that emergency transfer."

The bed of the ANU began to adjust position, lifting as the anti-gravity mechanisms kicked in. Cosima moved aside to the Reconstruction Tube, pressing the button to open the door on the clear front. The floor of the tube was already coated in hemosynth, as it prepared to fill from bottom to top. Even though Sayoko was still in one piece, she would practically be receiving a new body, as all of the damaged or decaying cells were systematically destroyed and replaced.

Medical Centre

Sally jumped with surprise as the suited Rin stormed into the room with another suited figure in hand, turning to look at the spectacle. It took a few moments for her to realise that Rin was treating a wounded soldier, upon which she let out a sympathetic whine and approached the bed that Sayoko was laid upon.

"Did she get hurt?", she whimpered with concern, being sure to keep out of Rin's way while still hovering over Sayoko's still form like an anxious bird, her concern growing as she observed the emergency procedure. "Oh, oh dear! Will she be ok? Is there anything I can do to help?"

The arrival of Cosima helped to quieten the anxious I'ee down a little, standing quietly off to one side to watch the procedure, a claw touching her mandible.

YSS Heartbreaker, Medical Centre

Ingrid turned to the commotion as Rin barged in with Sayoko's hot corpse, forgetting about the alien visitors in the room for a moment. Unable to do anything to help out, she stood back, transfixed by the battle ruins of the nekovalkyrja. She watched Rin's improvisation as she made a bid to sustain Sayoko long enough that she could be reconstructed without resorting to an ST backup. Ingrid had had a few classmates that had been rebuilt from backups. One had been a close friend that ended up drifting away and another had been a bitter enemy that soon became her fast friend. She knew that the Heartbreaker wasn't going to lose a Nito Hei Inukai Sayoko from its roster, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to lose the Sayoko that Ingrid had thrown into a pool of water.

She was pulled from her terrified trance when Sally approached the ANU bed. She glanced at the other aliens and signalled at them to stay put (a gesture likely lost on them). Sally's body language -- somehow, across species and cultural boundaries -- clearly stated her concern and compassion towards the wreckage of an alien soldier. Wincing at the pained, high pitched whining sounds coming from the spiracles throughout the I'ee's carapace, Ingrid timidly reached out and touched one of Sally's forelimbs. She gently said, "Give them room. There's nothing we can do to help right now."

Cosima arrived then and Ingrid and Sally moved away. Ingrid observed Sally's posture and hoped that she wasn't polishing her mandible just now. Taking a leap for positive interspecies relations, Ingrid pointed at the reconstruction tube, "Do you see that tube, Ambassador? It will rebuild her." Then she lied, "It's a good sign that they don't bother removing the power armor. It means her body may be broken, but her brain is still healthily sustained by the suit's life support. She'll be right as rain when she gets out."

Ingrid stood up straight and clenched her teeth. She wished she could mollify herself as well as she could a strange alien, but she'd seen the automated report from Sayoko's Mindy and knew just how tight the situation really was.

Once Sayoko's body was in the tube, she turned to Sally and gestured at Carlos, "We should finish with the administration of the nanites, Sally."

YSS Heartbreaker

Skade blinked in surprise and nearly stopped in her tracks as Sayoko’s vitals came over her SACN nodule. Wait, what? As Rin started sprinting towards the med bay, the Neko shook her head and followed at a jog. Sayoko’s heart’s dead? What the heck is all this crap? she thought, looking at all of the technical data. Ack, I knew I should have paid more attention in those med classes.

Reaching the med bay a few moments behind her XO, the Technician watched as the SAINT operative was placed on the ANU table, Cosima gave her diagnosis and Sayoko was unceremoniously shoved into the Reconstruction tube. This is my fault… Skade thought as she looked at her comrade’s decayed and deformed body. If I had followed orders, she would be fine right now, giving me that patented SAINT glare and asking why I put a firewall on my files that she didn’t have the key for.

Instead, she thought, turning away from the Medbay entrance and sinking to the deck, she’s fighting for her life because I forgot what my commanding officer said. I deserve all the punishments I’m going to receive because of this…none of it is going to make it up to nearly killing Sayoko. The Neko snorted, cradling her head in her gaunleted hands to keep her tears from showing. Not even essentially giving her the second Tomoyo's Kikyo medal of her career.