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RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 22] Echoes of the Past

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Wes

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YSS Eucharis
Splorfin System

The stillness of a field of stars was interrupted by a bright flash and the abrupted presences of a shimmering teal silhouette of a Yamataian gunship. As the sparkles faded, the YSS Eucharis came into view, facing the red star in the center of the long-neglected Splorfin system. Also ahead of them was a gas giant and a debris field weakly twinkling in the dim crimson sunlight.

Bridge

"Space fold successful," the ship's computer announced.

The ship creaked slightly, the controls sang their little tunes of soft beeping, and the air blew throughout the ship with its constant low rumble. This was the sound of home, Hanako thought. Down on Yamatai she had felt what could only be described as starship withdrawal and had wanted to get back on the ship. Now that she was back in her chair, she felt more at ease.

"Scan for other ships. Bring the aether engines online and take us in towards the planet," Hanako directed.

Next, the Shosho got on the ship's intercom. "Set readiness condition 3. All unoccupied crew should report to the power armor bay. If you have not had a recent body scan and mind backup, stop by the medical lab on the way out to get those."
 
Bridge

For most of the duration of the FTL flight that Yamashiro Natsumi had stood watch she had spent seated at the Operator's station, calibrating and adjusting her gunnery controles, factoring in all the data recorded from their recent live fire training mission.

Natsumi had not been feeling overly talkative or cheerful since the departure of her friend Sienna. While she knew the civilian woman would have to depart at some point, a warship just was not the place for a civilian from another star-nation, she was sad it had finally happened none the less. Despite all her rough edges Sienna had been a good person and Natsumi hoped they would cross paths again someday.

The announcement of the end of FTL flight brought Natsumi out of her work on the gunnery systems and her musings. "Aye, aye" she said and throttled up the warship's powerful aether drives, vectoring them in towards the planet. She plugged their path into the autopilot, then tasked the sensors to sweep out and find anything interesting or hostile and report it back to her immediately.
 
YSS Eucharis : Flight Out

Aikiko settled in with shipboard life, getting her stuff secured in Cabin 3 and sent the invite for Cadet Stark to be her Cabin-mate if she wanted to. She was glad to have met her. When ever she had free time, she spent it with her Mindy 2-2, prepping it for combat and EOD work. She liked the camouflage she gave it a digital black, grey and off white motif with all of the ship’s insignias, name, rank all in subdued colors in the appropriate locations. Even did the Star Army logo in subdued colors.

She admired her work with pride. With the shipboard Night tech, she went over her chosen weapons that she had worked with back at Fort Min. to keep up her infantry skills and to prove she could handle explosives very well in a safe manner for friendly troops and disarmed some of harder ones and use proper methods to dispose of them.

Arrival in System

Aikiko turned her attention to the Public Address system powering up and then the announcement. Condition 3. She immediately secured the loose items she was using at the moment and secured them in their proper place.

She scampered through the ship to the P. A. Bay to get her Mindy ready for possible combat. Aikiko pmcs’ed the Mindy along with the accessories, she had chosen to use during assignment aboard the Eucharis. The weapons, She followed the book’s method in doing so to refresh her memory on operating it, to do a malfunction checks to get it operating in case it malfunctioned at the wrong time.
 
Power Armor Bay

Santo-Hei Tsuguka exhaled slowly and relaxed her muscles, using the massage function of the Mindy 2's interior to put her mind in a state of slight disconnection and euphoria. Twenty minutes earlier she had fitted the power armor onto herself, and twenty minutes before that she had backed up her memory in the medical unit. Blood flow and bodily temperature were normal. She had done her homework on the timetables, and now standing in the launch bay with all of that rigor behind her, she felt completely prepared and contented. Everything was neatly folded into its own little time slot, which she could look down on from the outside objectively.

Aikiko was the first other team member to arrive, and she was met by the stern form of the Mindy already standing there with crossed arms, as if preparing to punch the enemy into submission, guns or no guns.

It reminded Toyoe that she still hadn't given the woman the clothing that she had bought for her yet. The last week had been crammed with making every surface in the crew areas of the ship clean enough to eat off of, and understudying the technical personnel to gain information on every maintenance routine she could. Truth be told, however, she just didn't know how to approach the woman with it. She hadn't thought of, at the time, how it might come across as if she was demanding a favor in return.

In fact, with everyone else so caught up in the experience of being on such a warship, nobody had really said much to her at all, aside from kicking her out of their cabins whilst she was trying to clean them. That one time she accidentally snuck up on Murakami with a hot nutritional beverage, may or may not, have counted too.

"What is your load-out, Santo-Hei Akiashiro?" The tall durandium form spoke with a characteristic hardness into the neko's ear, Toyoe's voice taking on a whole new level of cold severity when distorted by the radio squawk. "I have no preference or particular expertise, so covering your blind spots may work to our advantage."
 
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Power Armor Bay

“Ke-M2-W2705 (GM-06) Accelerated Plasma Rifle with a 50mm Grenade Launcher,” Aikiko rattled off as she began laying out the ordinance for the 50mm grenade launcher. “What do you think what order to load these grenades, Tugs?” Spoke with easy comradery of a teammate with glance her way as she laid out the variety of different types of 50mm grenades cases to load her grenade launcher.
 
Power Armor Bay

"I don't recommend using the shrapnel type in space." Tsuguka didn't know how trained Aikiko had been in such environments, or what VR simulations she had been exposed to, and thus decided just to be thorough. "Without gravity or inertia to stop the fragments, you'll just end up punching yourself full of holes. That goes doubly if you fire it inside another ship."

"I'd say... maybe one or two airburst." She picked up the shell and rotated it, her voice patient and orderly. "Incase of heavy point defense or missiles. Again, you don't want to be firing it indoors, through. High-explosive incendiary is probably better for the rest of the magazine, because of that."

"If you are taking ranged ordinance, then, I'm thinking... Maybe the aether/scalar SMG and an ellipsoid shield for myself?... Sustained fire would be useful." The helmet crooned upwards slightly, and her hands rubbed together with an expression of eagerness. It was a bit like watching a fashionista think about trying out clothing, only... Well, really, really not. "If it were a proper siege, both of us could take shoulder SLAMs, too... Yes, I think that would be interesting..."
 
Power Armor Bay

“Anything that hangs or attaches to the back of my Mindy is not going to work,” Aikiko pointed to her Mindy with theKe-M3-W3001 “Kalamari” Manipulator Arm System, already atteched to it. “But if it could hang in front…” She looked back at Tsuguka, hopefully. “But I’m used to the weapons system I’ve chosen.” She gave a slight smile at the towering Tugs before her. “I’ll use the munitions you’ve pointed out to me for the Grenade Launcher.”

Aikiko hurriedly loaded the Grenade Launcher as Instructed by Tugs advise. “Thanks, Tugs.” She simply replied as she focused on the loading process. “You might want to dispose of that grenade you’re spinning properly. You armed it by spinning it."
 
Power Armor Bay

"I see... Added close combat apparatus... So you don't really need my support, then..." It was less like Tsuguka was disheartened, and more like she was really looking forward to being useful to someone. Averting her eyes from Aikiko, she just yanked the grenade round from the shell, and let the primer spark in her armored hand harmlessly. "I haven't been trained in anything like that, anyway, it isn't exactly standard issue yet."

Despite the fact that the double team idea clearly wasn't going to work given the difference of experience, she still chose the same load out that she had suggested to Aikiko to without response. There was just one addition; A bayonet.
 
P.A. Bay

Aikiko just gave a soft smile as she finished up. "Tugs. You're alright." Moving to get into her Mindy. "Could you give me a hand? And becareful will you. I don't want to end up in the Infirmary." She began the climb into her Mindy powered armor accepting the help from Tsuguka.
 
P.A. Bay

Tsuguka took a second to pause with confusion, not really understanding Akiko's turn of phrase over being 'alright'. Still, her arms automatically started to help the woman armor-up anyway, without her brain giving them permission. Putting the suit on oneself was a weird enough experience, a bit like a lizard trying to squeeze back into a shed skin. Normal clothes didn't have restrictive joints, or weigh half as much. Helping another person put on armor was all together more fiddly, like peeling an orange in reverse.

"The working uniform suits you a lot better than the dress type, Santo-Hei Akiashiro." The fact that she was still using full ranks and last names versus a nickname was either lost on her, or she was apparently unable to let herself stop doing it. "I bought you the working uniform cap, plus some civilian cargo fatigues and a padded vest with those kinds of things in mind... But you are so independent, that I feared it could be seen as a friendship bribe."

"I'm on Santo Hei salary just the same as you." She added. The mindy helmet disguised her expression, but not the fact that she was still avoiding eye contact. "So you'd be able to see through my potential to give gifts in two seconds flat. That would be miss-selling my usefulness and operation abilities as a potential friend and comrade."

"...But, I also hate waste, so..."
 
P.A. Bay

Aikiko paused and looked at Tugs. "Tugs. No worries. When did they awaken you?" Resumed getting her Mindy settled about her as she put on. She closed her eyes as she connected to the Mindy's SPINE Interface. Then she felt a slight sting as the Ke-M3-W3001 “Kalamari” Manipulator Arm System made adjustments as it withdrew blood from her. She hated this part greatly. She winced for a brief second. "I'll accept the clothing in friendship as you intended. But remember that friendship can't be bought. It happens or it doesn't. It's something you can't force either."

She smiled as the 'mating' with the manipulator arms system finished. "Already you have my friendship as does Tony in a different way. I'm sure the rest will become friends, Even the Mi... Hisako in time." Which she doupted, but she wasn't going to complicate or confuse Tsuguka anymore than necessary. She like Tsuguka the way she was in her own unique way. "Thanks for the assist." Once the Mindy armor was settled and fully connected. "Time for systems checks."

Aikiko fell quiet as she did the checks through the SPINE Interface as it was much quicker. The Kalamari twitched, extended and retracted. She moved over picking up her choice of weapons and connecting them to her Mindy's power source.
 
YSS Eucharis : Flight Out

Tony accepted Aikiko's offer and took the bottom bunk. there was a reason for the lower, A, it allowed Aikiko the better bunk, and B, Tony had a place to keep her rifle case, tucked under the bunk. For the most part on the trip out she had kept herself busy going over all the data needed to help control and fight this ship. A lot of it wasn't available to her before, classified knowledge of a potential enemy, was the standard reason for it.... But she had kept her noes in the metaphorical book.

Now Bridge.

Sitting in one of the operations stations Tony had brought up a secondary control panel for both the piloting and gunnery stations. Though she had slowly over time working the gunnery panel a bit more clearer and closer to what she was used to. The manual joysticks were a comfort for her. though Natsumi had taken over most of the operations for the flight out to this system. Tony hoped that the white haired demon red eyed Neko would let her fly or fight at some point.
 
P.A. Bay

"Operational time, one year, two months, three days." Tsuguka's bodily posture became rigid and robotic again upon Aikiko's words, and her arms crossed once more. Her emotions had receded back into running on automatic, and yet her voice had taken on a newly harsh sheen; She was recoiling against the implied suggestion she was some kind of lonely child. "Pick it up from my cabin, or leave it. No leverage intended. I am not dumb enough to think that money is the only thing that matters... Our friendship level remains negligible, but hopefully you will find some tactical use out of the items regardless."

Transversing over to the other side of the chamber to find munitions for her shield, she remained with her back turned whilst configuring her suits' own power systems in silence.
 
Bridge

"Scan results?" Hanako prodded Natsumi. "I see what looks like a Star Army ship in a debris field ahead." Hanako moved the ship slowly closer to it. "Have the power armor team ready to go salvaging."
 
P.A. Bay

Aikiko growled loudly and moved over to Tsuguka. She let her weapon hang attached to her at her side. Coming up on Tsuguka. Using the manipulators and her arms, spun Tsuguka around and pinned her to the bulkhead. "Listen here Tugs! I like you. Just quit trying so freeken hard to win friendships. You are acting like a puppy eager to please. Be the Bitch you was trained to be. Got it?" Aikiko yelled at Tugs filled with anger. "You see me going out of my way to make friends? I just let things happen. Go with the flow and be yourself? Got it?" She growled at Tugs. Then she released her and stalked off as best she could in her Mindy. Manipulators were retracting to her Mindy's back like a NMX parasite infested Neko, waiting for the crushing blow in retailiation from Tugs.
 
P.A. Bay

Tsuguka had readied an elbow reflexively, but had chose not to use it in fear of making the situation worse. Instead, she just waited until Aikiko released her, and then turned to face her slowly. To solidify the point, she took her helmet off, and let her weapons power down.

"Akiashiro.... Where in the universe would you go, if everything just fell apart here?..." The words were calm and carefully chosen, but with a sombre edge.

"Now, were do you think I would go?" Toyoe's voice kept the characteristic coldness... But, devoid of awkward smiles or half-hearted embellishments, it would seem that she was speaking from the heart in her own way. "Maybe I am still just a puppet having it's strings pulled, but... I don't know what else you are looking for. The only time I feel at ease is when I am being helpful. There was no guilt intended. No forced friendship intended. It is simply the only way I know how to be."

If one was to take a look at the blank, doll-like expression on the red neko's face and suddenly be stuck in the mindset that they were looking at a walking, talking, piece of equipment, and not a person... Well... There would be no truer notion towards how Tsuguka saw herself.
 
Engineering

The engineering room was both an orchestra of technology and a symphony of noise pollution, a chaotic mess that was shoved together into a cramped area where it filled everything within its reach. For Sheila it was proving to be an annoyance that was in the process of being eliminated once and for all as the android finished connecting the intercom system for the room with her internal communications, allowing her to receive its transmissions without the worry of it being drowned out within the uproar that all of the machinery was causing.

While its mind was at work on setting up the communications Sheila’s hands were busy attaching small mechanical clamps to the multitude of power cables being run out of the room, each one transmitting the amount of power it detected beneath it to a program that she was running inside of it in order to track any suspicious power losses. As she crouched down with her horns already removed and hanging on her utility belt her captain’s voice came ringing clearly in her mind, overriding the noise of the machinery.

The construct paused for a brief moment as it stared down the tunnels, doing a quick search in its memory banks for when the last time its information had been backed up; discovering it was shortly after her training had been completed. Scanning the information since then to find nothing of significance to have happened Sheila ducked its head and began to climb into the maintenance conduit that lead to the power systems room. Making its way through the tunnel it continued to attach the clamps to the power lines while studying its surroundings, committing them to memory should it every need to maneuver in the dark.
 
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P.A. Bay

Aikiko looked at Tsuguka as she listened to her speak. Her anger faded as quickly as it flared up. She stood there for a long few moments studying Tugs. Aikiko knew Tugs was telling the truth and she wasn't even prepped to meet someone like Tsuguka. All she had met were people who looked after themselves and willing to use everything to get ahead. She just nodded to show Tsuguka she had heard not only her words, but the meaning behind them. She removed her helmet to have unhindered eye to eye contact. She spoke softly, "For what it's worth, Tugs. I would to be like your friend. I've never met a person with your uniqueness."

Aikiko turned and went back to prepping for what ever mission they was going on. Setting her helmet next to her on the workbench in the P.A. Bay. Securing the munitions back in their respective cases, then taking the repacked cases back to the Ammo storage locker.
 
P.A. Bay

Tsuguka just shrugged and held the eye contact, not really sure of what to say or how to feel about any of this. The standard deployment of a smile and a few positive words didn't really seem to cut it as of late. She couldn't understand what made people act the way they did, or what made them so neurotic, at all... Back in training, everyone was just fine with doing everything for the benefit of the team. Out here, it was more like sheer individual willpower reigned supreme, even where Hanako was concerned.

"If you want to take point, I will support you from the left flank, Santo Hei Akiashiro." The oni spoke ponderously, dropping all of the niceties in order to avoid being taken the wrong way again. "That should be enough for now."
 
P.A. Bay Munition Locker

"K" Aikiko responded back as she resecured the munition cases back in their slot. Backing out from the Locker and then moving to the table to get her helmet. "Wonder what's on the agenda?" Just making small talk as she moves around getting things secured and put away.
 
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