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

Power Armor Bay

Oshiro Masumi said to Candon in the same way she was used to speaking to him, "I think I'll switch out my leg NSB's for offensive augmentation pods and use your dorsal NSB launcher. The rest of the changes to my power armor I can do myself or you can help me with. I am happy with either, though I do enjoy your company."

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

"Aw, thanks," Candon replied genuinely as he floated up out of the legs of his armor, "well, there's no time like the present. I'll mount the drone launcher."

Opening his locker he toweled off before dressing to clean the hemosynth fluid from the old style interior he was more familiar with. He just couldn't get used to the new 'clean' interior. Besides, he always had a towel in his locker.

Once dressed back into his work uniform he brought the impact driver and drone launcher over to Masumi's armor and began the process of installing the device.

Power Armor Bay

"Thank you for that," Masumi told Candon before he began toweling himself down, which struck her as odd until she reflected on the history of power armor. She had gotten out of her own armor before he began putting on the dorsal drone launcher on its hardpoint and brought her clothes out of her own locker piece by piece, putting them on over her dark skin.

She asked him as he worked, "Who taught you how to do what we just did?"

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

Ametheliana said:

She asked him as he worked, "Who taught you how to do what we just did?"

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A familiar lump formed in Candon's throat as she asked the question. It truly was a simple question that was theoretically easy enough to answer. He remained silent as he torqued down the last bolt.

"My mother," he said finally in a steady, "she taught me many of the techniques I use."

YSS Eucharis (various lacations)

"I think I will wander for a bit," Hanako told the others on the bridge. She stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and exited the bridge, leaving her Star Army cap in the captain's seat like a "parking chair." The captain dove out into the main passageway and glided head-first down it until reaching the third deck, where the recreation area, the medical lab, and the power armor bay were located. She visited the recreation area first, where she found Becker, completely naked and covered in glistening baby oil, getting a massage from one of the automated massage tables. She quietly nodded to herself in approval. Note to self, use the massagers, she added to her mental to-do list. She quietly watched/admired for a little bit but then went to the medical lab down the hall.

"How are things?" Hanako asked Tan, stepping into the medical lab. She definitely didn't stand in the doorway, because on spaceships blocking a door was especially rude, and if the ship had to suddenly close the blast shutters, bad things could happen.

Power Armor Bay

Candon's steady tone betrayed none of the emotion he held over the matter and, if it did, Masumi did not notice. Matters of the heart escaped her more often than not.

"I can only say thank you for teaching me, Suites-heisho. Your mother would be proud. I would thank her, too, if I possibly could. Is she still alive?" Masumi asked, naive to the feelings she may have incited within him.

Medical Bay

Tan Ann Pan saluted, narrowly avoiding bumping into her captain on her way out of the medical bay. "We just finished here, Shôshô. All the backups look good, though it wouldn't hurt to double-check the one we made during liftoff. Calidus-hei was the last patient this morning, I was about to join her for lunch." It was still about an hour early. "The Soul Savior Pod should be ready, afterward."

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

Ametheliana said:

"I can only say thank you for teaching me, Suites-heisho. Your mother would be proud. I would thank her, too, if I possibly could. Is she still alive?"

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Hiding his emotion behind the Mindy Candon bit his tongue, to keep his words in check and head steady. Yuletide was his day to mourn, not now.
Is she still alive?
Neither death nor life could properly describe the situation.

"I guess it depends on how you look at it," he answered, still steadiness wavering ever so slightly, "she hadn't had an ST backup since the Elysian War. So when she died in an accident they were able to bring her back, but not my mother..."

He set the driver down at his station as he passed it on his way to the corridor, moving with smooth, even steps as his fortitude began to collapse.
The subject would remain a war of attrition that he couldn’t support in a conversation.

Power Armor Bay

Masumi wasn't taken aback by him taking leave of her, or so it seemed, though she should have been. She let him exit the conversation gracefully and simply looked to her power armor. She wondered when his last backup was, if he would remember her, what she would do if he somehow was in that position to need a backup. Her eyes widened and she began to chew the soft flesh of her cheek in concern.

She looked to Candon's back as he began to make his way through the corridor and said telepathically, a message the entire ship could hear, "You've shared so much with me, already, I'm sorry to have asked for you to share more."

Than out loud for only him to hear, she said, "Your mother has known no better soldier and no better son than you."

YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

Ametheliana said:

Power Armor Bay


Masumi wasn't taken aback by him taking leave of her, or so it seemed, though she should have been. She let him exit the conversation gracefully and simply looked to her power armor. She wondered when his last backup was, if he would remember her, what she would do if he somehow was in that position to need a backup. Her eyes widened and she began to chew the soft flesh of her cheek in concern.


She looked to Candon's back as he began to make his way through the corridor and said telepathically, a message the entire ship could hear, "You've shared so much with me, already, I'm sorry to have asked for you to share more."


Than out loud for only him to hear, she said, "Your mother has known no better soldier and no better son than you."

Click to expand...

Candon paused for a moment, replying with a telepathic reassurance, like the kind of comforting pat on the shoulder that used to settle him when he was young. "Don't worry about me," he said like an order as he resumed his course to the showers to rid himself of hemosynth residue.

Wardroom

"You're lucky to have fought against the NMX, Yuuki-hei," Saiga replied to Freyja, remembering what he'd read about the YSS Orochi's mission that some of the Eucharis' soldiers had participated in before their assignment. "Not many Neko your age have experienced combat with them firsthand. Just imagine having to get acclimated to that on the fly, should their kind ever invade again!"

This was a morbid subject, to be sure, but still brought a smile to the Chusa's face. With Candon's departure and the informal meeting's end, he took a moment to relax. There was always more to be done, but Saiga still took the opportunity to take a breather between tasks if one presented itself.

"What turned you on to explosions, then?" he asked when the blue Neko made her admission. "I'm a fan of any good eruption, myself. Watching the green fireball spout out of a burning Mishhu installation is particularly awe-inspiring, I must say."

Hanako's Star System
2日 1月 YE 39 - 1245 hours

During lunch time, Eucharis arrived in the outskirts of the Hanako's Star System and swiftly made its way towards the blue planet.

One of the benefits of the Star Army of Yamatai's "blank check" budget was that there was always good food available on ships and starbases. In the wardroom, Jôtô Hei Lime had put out a spread of seared, seasoned filet mingon, crispy tempura coconut shrimp, purple sweet potato souffle, and asparagus spears, along with ever-present white rice and a rich chocolate cake.

Since the food would be drawing people in, Shôshô Hanako went to the wardroom to see how everyone was doing. Sadly, she was almost immediately stopped by Shiho would mentioned she had put in for a transfer and hoped to get off on the planet when the ship landed. Hanako nodded, "I understand, and good luck." She approved the transfer request. This sudden lack of infantry was throwing a wrench into the idea of having a dedicated SOFT team on the ship. She went and got a plate.

Crew Baths

"zzz..."

A screeching alarm tone blared through the quiet space, causing its sole occupant to jerk awake and slide off the bench. Jax frantically clawed his way back to the surface and quickly glanced around to make sure no one had seen that. With a sigh of longing he exited the bath and slowly plodded back to his clothes. Once dressed, he was happy to find that it was time for lunch!

Wardroom

The cat in him said "take the seafood!", yet the Nepleslian said "take the beef!". Finally, the Jax in him said "why not both?". As he piled food onto his plate, he had a weird vision of a little girl being hoisted up by a crowd, complete with a celebratory mariachi band, which he quickly shook away as he sat and ate.

Wardroom

Freyja was the next to reach the Wardroom. Shiho had given her the news earlier, so she was a little down, but at least she still had Junko and Mehitabel. Although Junko had been acting strangely last time she saw her. Stop worrying, she scolded herself. It's probably nothing. She spotted Jackson as he sat down. So far she hadn't spoken to the technician much. She had to admit, he was pretty cute. The choice of food didn't worry her. She just took a little bit of everything. Except for chocolate cake; that she took as much of as Lime would allow. Now would be a good opportunity to make friends, she thought.

Thinking it would be rude to just sit down, she paused next to Jackson. "Do you mind if I sit with you Howard-heisho? I would like to get to know the crew better."

Wardroom

Tan Ann Pan took to her table a towering bowl of rice, with bite-sized bits of beef and asparagus buried deep within it, and several shrimp on top. She plucked one from the top with her chopsticks and chewed on it on her way to sit down, and poured her favourite sauces on once she reached the table. She still wasn't familiar with most of the crew, but Jax had been entertaining to talk to, so she sat down across from him, and said to Freyja, "Same here." To Jax, she commented, "A bit of a carnivore, mm?"

ArsenicJohn said:

Wardroom

"Do you mind if I sit with you Howard-heisho? I would like to get to know the crew better."

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Wardroom

Jax looked up from his plate with a puzzled expression which quickly softened into a warm grin. It was the blue one- er, Freyja! Never truly spoken with her before, he mused. He'd always thought she'd looked kinda... exotic. Like, in a good way. Like, er, well... screw it. Point was, she rocked the blue skin and lynx-print fur, and like, it didn't clash. Like she was made by an experienced artist and not some twelve year old trying to make their first role-playing character stick out and be "unique"- it just was unique- MOVING ON!

He also noticed the small tufts of fur at the tips of her ears, and mentally kicked himself for not getting those while he'd had the chance. And, he added, it seemed the tail fad was gaining traction. Jax mentally fist-pumped at having started a trend!

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure! And you can just call me Jax." he replied. Seriously, he was never going to get the hang of outranking someone. This was the first time he'd ever outranked anyone in anything! It felt weird, being addressed so formally. He would always shuck protocol and keep the setting as casual as he could. He didn't want people tip-toeing around him because they were scared of some form of discipline.

Navian said:

Wardroom

"A bit of a carnivore, mm?"

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Jax grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, well, funny story about that! When I first immigrated to Yamatai, I couldn't speak a lick of Yamataigo, so I had to mime to the soul-transfer technicians what features I wanted in my new body. I mean, I got the ears and tail, which was the only thing I wanted, but I also got a few other... feline traits. Since then, I've had the most insatiable craving for meat- mostly fish- and every time I see a laser pointer I get this weird... urge."

He could also purr, meow, hiss, yowl, loved to sleep in sun patches, and at one point during battle he'd actually roared like an honest-to-god lion.

...But he figured sharing that would be TMI, so he didn't.

Wardroom

"You and everyone below the age of twenty-five, I think. That's why every windshield needs anti-laser protection. Helmets, too. As if it wasn't bad enough to ride a bike without wearing one, a laser penlight to the eye, on top, tends to result in injuries that even I can't treat." The urge Tan was thinking of seemed to have less to do with chasing the dot than with crashing a vehicle with it. What sort of felines was she familiar with?

The other part of what he'd mentioned caught her interest, though. "What language did you speak before, then?"

Wardroom

Jax shrugged

"Oh, Trade. I'm originally from Nepleslia. The techs who gave me my new body didn't speak Trade, though."

Wardroom

Freyja smiled and took a seat next to Jackson. "Arigatou Jax-heisho." She said cheerfully. Something about Jackson made her want to be happy. She placed her tray on the table. The medic popping up surprised her. Her tail swished slowly back and forth, but she didn't say anything. She giggled in response to his story. "I haven't had that urge before." She said. Tan's comment was met with a look of bewilderment. "What do you mean?" Freyja asked.

Wardroom

"Manual controls, high speed vehicles, and partial blindness are a bad mix," Tan explained to Feyja, though she might have been underdoing it. To Jax, she shook her head in bewilderment. "Good thing it worked out without an interpreter; that would have been very shoddy.

"I've lived on Yamatai and have been speaking Trade since before it was Yamatai. I did find it useful to know a bit of Yamataigo for some things, even before medical care became free for the public. I'm not sure which I used to tell them I'd rather just have new eyes than a new body."