RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 27, Part 1] Expanding Horizons (YE 39)

Bridge

Natsumi nodded. "I can understand that people might become detached from the home world like that, if they never spend any time there" she replied. Though she could never imagine herself deserting from the military, abandoning her people, her reason in life. It was an alien concept to Natsumi to even think of something like that. Despite not spending much time on Yamatai, she did enjoy the times she had visited and she had been created there, it was the world of her birth.

"Maybe someday soon I'll find a place on the home world as a permanent home away from home, for when I'm not here?" she suggested, thinking about where on the vast world she might want to live when not in space. There was so much room on a planet.... she shrugged and glanced at the image in the viewscreen.

"Do you have a home there, Shosho?" she asked, glancing back at Hanako.

Bridge

"I did not mean now," Hanako answered Takao, her face turning pink. She let out a giggle that turned into a laugh. "Perhaps this evening if people are interested."

To Natsumi, she replied, "I have a home on the beach planet that shares my name. In truth, I rarely get to visit it. I spend almost all of my time on the Eucharis or on planet Yamatai. I have been thinking about getting a place on Yamatai. Something simple like a private apartment would be fine for me since I am single. If I need to entertain guests for politics, I can always rent spaces."

Medical Bay

"Huh?" Mehitabel responded without her usual poise, in Seraphim instead of Yamataigo, and looked in general rather blank-faced at the question. It took her a further moment to realize what was being put to her before she nodded.

Fluffing her wings slightly, she verbalized her response in Yamtai's official language, "Yes, Pan-hei. I'm sorry, I must have spaced out there for a minute."

Medical Bay

Tan looked sideways at Mehitabel with concern for a moment, but eventually nodded and straightened the sheet for her, placing a pillow and adjusting the scanner so she wouldn't have to lie down on her back. "Very good. Let's get you backed up, so you'll be prepared if you really do find yourself spaced out an airlock." Jax may have been right about the humour, after all.

Medical Bay

"Funny story, that already happened once!" she said cheerfully, hopping up onto the scanner couch after Tan finished her adjustments, "Thankfully it didn't kill me."

The medic's suggestions of a soothing or relaxing memory to return to, should the backup be needed, was essentially the same every other member of her profession had given her. Not that she had had that many backups made. Three, came to mind, maybe a fourth. Nevertheless, when she got comfortable beneath the SIU Mehitabel always felt a sort of blankness. It wasn't that there was nothing to think about, far from it. Nothing ever seemed to fill the space however. She stared blankly at the wall for a minute, waiting for the backup process to start.

Yet this time there were ghosts of images. Faces of nekos, and her dark, junked up apartment, the sound of Shiho peacefully asleep...

Wardroom

Candon made a slight bow to Saiga. "I'll brief Oshiro," he stated. Waving Masumi to follow him , " I need to talk to you about the leader support pack and I'd like to see how you view the world. Armor bay."

Candon began talking as they proceeded into the 0-G passageway to deck 3 heading toward the PA Bay, "Alright, first off, I will be needing the LSP back for use on my armor. The Chusa is conditioning me to be a commander so I'm going to fall back to being a sniper again which means you're going to have to be my spotter on occasion, so I'd encourage drones but I'll let you make that choice. That being said, you're just as good, and probably better at using the LSP than I am. Being my spotter means you need to be close to me which puts you in a good position to remotely access the LSP. I know a trick that will give you unlimited access to both the device and myself. We're going to practice it now while we're both relaxed so it will be easier later."

The door slid open to the PA bay as they came close. "First thing we'll need to do is get that pack mounted to my Mindy."
Candon would go to his armor rack and begin unmounting the Drone launcher.

Power Armor Bay

Oshiro Masumi stayed close to Candon's heels, head ducked low as she thought and pondered on all that he said.

"I witnessed you do this on the last mission, if I am correct," she said as she went to her own armor and began to take off the leader support pack. "You engaged the LSP while I wore it to give direction to the rest of the away team. I would benefit from having the potential to utilize it in such a way, with your guidance, as well. I would be more than happy to practice this with you. I'll suit up," she said as she handed him the LSP. She stripped efficiently, stowing her clothes in a more fitting way than she had when she had first done so many months ago. That had been when she had only just met Candon and only just arrived on the Eucharis. Recognizing the order of operations as something that kept her sane rather than something that had to be done, she neatly folded and put away her uniform before getting into her Mindy. Her left hand lingered on the breast plate before she pushed her arms in.

Helmet on, she was ready to prepare with Candon Suites, letting him know with a terse nod.

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

With a 'taps' of his impact driver the bolts securing the drone launcher were removed and the module came free.

Ametheliana said:

Power Armor Bay

"I witnessed you do this on the last mission, if I am correct," she said as she went to her own armor and began to take off the leader support pack. "You engaged the LSP while I wore it to give direction to the rest of the away team. I would benefit from having the potential to utilize it in such a way, with your guidance, as well. I would be more than happy to practice this with you. I'll suit up," she said as she handed him the LSP.

Click to expand...

Having their armor racks side by side made it convenient for Candon to take the offered module and with a few more 'taps' of the impact driver the LSP was installed. It struck him as odd that such a small device had such a powerful utility for communication. With the Module in place it was time for him to change into the appropriate attire.

Ametheliana said:

Power Armor Bay

She stripped efficiently, stowing her clothes in a more fitting way than she had when she had first done so many months ago. That had been when she had only just met Candon and only just arrived on the Eucharis. Recognizing the order of operations as something that kept her sane rather than something that had to be done, she neatly folded and put away her uniform before getting into her Mindy. Her left hand lingered on the breast plate before she pushed her arms in.

Click to expand...

The spy initiated his armor donning ritual by removing his belt, which was easier since he'd decided to only wear his service pistol, and placed them in the locker. Next he pulled his shirt over his head then meticulously folded it, and placed it in the locker. He did the same until running out of fabric and proceeded to take his place in his Mindy. As he did he couldn't help but notice that Masumi to his right had folded her uniform bringing a smile to his face as his pet peeve applauded her.

With his armor closed and helmet sealed it was time to train the next generation. They would leave aether reactors off since they weren't going anywhere and just run their electronics off the armor racks' power supply. "Okay, Masumi. What we're going to do is take a field trip inside my mind. I'll warn you it's pretty confusing, but... yeah, you'll see. Just take a deep breath, I'm going to create a telepathic link between us."

Closing his eyes Candon 'stepped back' into his own mind and telepathically connected to Masumi, sending the idea to reciprocate the connection. He was careful to keep himself calm so as not to startle panic Masumi when she found herself seeing from both his and her own perspective simultaneously. The first time was overwhelming for himself and the calmness of his instructor was supportive to him.

Medical Bay

Tan hesitated just before starting, her curiosity competing with her sense of professionalism. In Funky City, there hadn't been many Elysians, far fewer of which ever needed a street doctor, for mind backups in particular. She always wondered, did it go better for them, who made the technology for themselves, or for Nekos, who themselves were made for the technology? All indications suggested the latter, but in Tan's experience, Elysians tended to have a different idea of what 'better' meant than anyone else.

She began the process, which gave Bel the option to sleep through the rest of it, just as with the others.

Power Armor Bay

Masumi breathed out, centering herself before she entered what would be Candon's mind. She wasn't prepared for whatever was about to happen, and she knew that. Though she had recently experienced trauma, it was minor to the trauma that affected a fully fledged and battle hardened soldier. She knew Candon's life, his experiences, amounted to so much more than she had witnessed in her year and some months of life. That was so little compared to his 16 years of life. And, yet, it gave her enough insight to know that there could and likely was trauma there and that it was likely held at bay by a finesse and with nuances she couldn't begin to understand.

She thought to treat it much differently than how she treated her own mind. This was not something akin to a videogame to level up in and work her way through to the end goal. No, this would be an exercise that would ask for a more demanding and rigorous regiment to get through. This would be an exercise in giving someone her hand and letting them bring her where they chose to go.

She began to experience what it was that was inside of Candon's mind as she opened herself to doing so.

"I'm here," she thought, knowing she didn't need to bother sending him messages or speaking out. Instead, everything she thought, he could hear. She was always open and receptive to his thoughts and what he wanted to tell and show her, but this time, it was on another level completely.

Wardroom

The blue Nito Hei bowed her head slightly to the Chusa and squeezed Junko's hand comfortingly. "I did not want to interrupt your conversation, Saiga-chusa. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Nito Hei Freyja Yuuki." She said politely.

Freyja used the contact with Junko to send her a private message. "It's okay, maybe I can take some of the heat off of you." Outwardly she smiled at Saiga. "You were discussing the armor team, yes? Hasegawa-san and I, along with Nito Hei Shiho Ishii, transferred here from the YSS Orochi. It's been an interesting challenge acclimating to the Eucharis after the time we spent on Orochi. We can't always just call for backup if we get in a bind, so we have to think about things differently."

She paused for a few seconds as if trying to decide whether or not she should continue. "I was thinking I might want to get some explosives training in. Cutting through a door with my ABSR works, but it takes too long." Another pause. "Plus I.. I think I kind of like explosions." Freyja admitted sheepishly.

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

Masumi would find her consciousness in total darkness with only three virtual grids extending from her 'location' if it could be called that. "Good," he commended her, "now this is easier to do in your own mind. I do this before every mission. I'm going to begin rendering our environment one layer at a time beginning with RADAR."

In an instant detailed silhouettes became visible and the walls of the room appeared in the form of a digital grid. After another second the entire room was rendered in three dimensions without color until the EM data was applied to show heat and electricity.

"You may wonder how I always seem to know where my opponent is and what they're doing. This is how I do it." His point of view zoomed forward and rotated to see his and Masumi's armor in a third person view.
"I'm just rendering to the concept, normally I see all of this at once in greater detail, that I'd because I'm not rendering the environment for myself. It's hard to explain. I have the data and just… I just know."

The scene faded to black again and Candon directed Masumi's attention back to her own mind through the telepathic link. This time he would be the passenger.
"Now I want you to turn off your helmet display and using only your armor systems view the room. Start in first person, then in third. You're still in your armor rack so don't worry if you lose orientation, it'll feel like an out of control free fall but you're safe. And also don't try to render it like I did, that's only for a demonstration, I've already formatted myself so I'll be able to see on my own. Remember that you're trying to see what your armor sees, just close your eyes and immerse yourself in the data stream."

Medical Bay

Mehitabel opted to remain awake through the procedure. She wasn't old enough, or scarred enough, for the painful sensations of the Soul Transfer backup to cause serious discomfort. Even if she was technically one of the oldest members of the crew, barring Wazu and the Captain, most of that was just views of the forge and tool shops back home. Or years old production figures. No epic space battles there. Besides. It was all part of the process.

The memory that stuck throughout the backup, even as her wings quivered slightly, closed eyes twitching from time to time, was that of being dazed inside Chasan-hei's MCAS held safely in Suites-heisho's arms. For whatever reason, her mind stuck to the recent experience as a comfort... Strange. During prior backups it had been holiday dinner at home with her parents.

When it was finished, her eyes opened and she stared out at the ship's medic, "I didn't get the chance to ask, Pan-hei, how are you settling into Eucharis?"

Medical Bay

"Perhaps it's a bit early to tell, but I've been very busy today. I've learned a few things, but I still haven't met half the crew or explored half the ship." Pan turned away to take down the machine and store everything in its proper place. "My morning's work is done, would you like to join me for lunch?"

Power Armor Bay

It didn't feel like a free fall when she looked around the room through her armor's visuals. It was something she was more than capable of doing in first person viewing. That changed when she switched to viewing it in third person. The change was something similar to how she felt playing VCE games. The only difference was, it was her real body that she was looking out from, not a simulated one. Her legs almost twitched, as if trying to ground themselves while she looked from a position high up in the room, as if she were watching herself from a camera installed on the wall.

Within a fraction of a second, she had regained control of her experience and was no longer unsteady. Instead, she had the wherewithal to switch her viewing position, going to an opposing wall and looking down on herself and Candon.

More comfortable, now, she moved in closer before backing away and switching to a different point of view. Satiated by the last change of perspective, she settled back into looking out of her armor's visuals in first person, again. She changed for a final time, exiting any visuals at all and allowed her mind to go blank, then formed a question in her head for Candon to think, as well.

"How was that, Candon?" Then, the latter part of that statement was expunged from her mind and she replaced it with, "Suites-heisho."

Bridge

Natsumi smiled as she listened to Hanako talk about her place on Hanako's World and what she might get on Yamatai.

"That does sound nice" she said, thinking again of what she might like. She was single too, so lots of room was not needed. She had enjoyed the times she'd spent on the resort world quite a lot. "Maybe something by the sea" she said, out loud, thinking about it and smiling again, broader. "Yeah, I think I would like a place by the sea, when I do get myself a proper home" she said, glancing at Hanako and beaming as she made up her mind on that.

Medical Bay

"Lunch? Certainly!" Mehitabel smiles warmly, "Hard to believe that it's time for another meal already. It seems like breakfast just finished."

She slipped off the bed, wing tips flicking as her feet hit the ground. The clerk brushed some invisible wrinkles out of her white panel tunic and gestured to the door. "Don't expect to see the whole ship right away! The Plumeria's are small, but sometimes it feels like there's a vortex that hides all these little nooks and crannies," Mehitabel said conspiratorially, "There's a traditional Yamataian bath, holo chambers, weights, a whole recreation room actually."

"No clerk's office though," she remarked offhandedly, with a sigh.

Medical Bay

"Which room do you claim for that, then?" It was half a question, half a suggestion. Tan lowered her voice into a similar conspiratorial tone. "It sounds like you'd best lead the way. I don't want to find myself lost in a vortex on my first time out." She pulled the curtain shut behind them, leaving the computers to do their quiet work.

Medical Bay

"Mm, I don't. I use one of the spare bridge consoles so I can be close Ketsurui-shosho and the communications suite," Bel answers honestly enough. Leading the way into zero-g, the slender Elysian launched herself gracefully upward at an angle to make the next floor up.

"There may be some truth to that vortex comment, Pan-hei," she said with a chuckle, "Howard-heisho and Oshiro-hei both seemed to disappear into the hull over the winter holidays."

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

Candon chuckled a bit. Telepathy was always an intimate experience, even if it was just illustrating a concept. "You did better than I did my first time. It took me a week to do what you just learned to do. It shouldn't take long to become second nature for you." Candon ended the telepathic link and removed his helmet leaning forward out of the opening chest plates to sit in the armor with his arms free.

"Did you need any help with your suit to get it ready?" he asked with real, vocally produced words.