RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 28.1] Kuvexian Invasion - Preparations (YE 40)

The angular red soldier made a hearty head nod towards the Shosho, complete with an arm braced across the chest. As far as they were concerned, marching into the breach was the reason for half of their existences. If Nekovalkyrja were not seen to serve the general public safety of Yamatai, considering things like self-preservation as a priority, then they really had no purpose at all. She didn't need to know all the exact reasoning of the big picture, so long as that continued to be the apparent motivation of the high command.

After this consideration, Tsuguka put a hand to her chin, gave a look towards Hanako, and then back to Wazu.

"...An alpha strike would be advantageous, but that's still talking about battling the entire enemy force at once." A cold, logical tone. They weren't sure how willing their leader would be to discuss tactics even on this level, but if they weren't, then what was the purpose of meeting in person? It was best just to speculate now in an official capacity, than wait until it was too late to prepare anything. "The best solution I can think of is to stagger the enemy forces by forcing them to keep some of the fleet in reserve somehow. Even if it is by feint or misinformation... We won't get them all, but they won't risk a further attack with half the amount of original ships..."

"If we were facing the NMX, then yes, they'd probably throw their toys out of the pram, launch a suicide attack and destroy the planet... But for the Kuvexians, I don't think that would be very profitable."

Ikigai Majime's crystal blue eyes strayed from those in front of her and went to the Hinomaru on the wall as the Shôshô made mention of an expedition after the chaos of battle in the Ketsurui Military Sector. The plan of attack was concise and would be devastating to their enemies. Himiko, Cosmos, Hanako's World, and UX-14 were all under threat, but protected strongly to the extent that they would not be a place the Kuvexians could crush. This was not only something Majime believed and felt, but something commanders of the army she served believed, as well.

It wasn't only pride she felt for her nation, but also something more similar to trust in it as she thought of the plans for the future and how dedicated command was to thoroughly decimating their enemies. Her eyes moved from the Hinomaru after two second's pause and were back to the crew as more plans and questions of tactic were laid out.

Briefing Room

"I will see if I can put that tactic to use," Hanako told Wazu. That is all I have for now. Everyone please report to your ships and get settled in. Dismissed!"

Hanako then approached Majime. "If you could get a list of personnel who were here on the last mission and have not been promoted recently, I would like to sign off on some promotions for my veteran crewmembers. Our new clerk, Stella can assist you."

Majime's brilliant sapphire eyes looked up the profile on the pale gold haired Minkan, Stella Glass, while she spoke out steadily.

"Hai, Ketsurui-Shôshô. Glass-hei and I are already in communication." It was true, the two has begun speaking wirelessly and within a breath's exhale, the pair had compiled a short list.

Stella Glass, herself, was dressed in her closet's second most worn uniform, the Type 21 bodysuit. Her rotund chest jiggled perceptibly as she trotted to a place near the vibrant and preeminent Shôshô. With a brisk salute, Stella approached them and stood close to Ikigai. Placing the datapad she held in one hand into the palm of the other, she held the pad out with both of them and bowed her head slightly. She didn't hand it off to the Ketsurui clan member, but Majime, instead. The chain of command was no strange concept to Stella and she knew that she had been asked by the XO and should present it to her, despite the inclinations one might feel to approach Hanako herself.

Majime looked over the datapad and then up to Hanako. "I can give you the information verbally as well as wirelessly, but you will find I am sending you a write-up at this moment."

Hanako would receive the following:

To: Shôshô Ketsurui Hanako
From: Taii Ikigai Majime

The list of those that have not received a promotion in ~1.5 YE can be found below:
Jôtô Hei Lime
Jôtô Hei Mango
Ittô Hei Daniel Becker
Nitô Heisho Tsuguka Toyoe

Miscellaneous:
Civilian medals applicable for Heram J. Wazu's time while on the YSS Eucharis are the Distinguished Civilian Service, Civilian Service, and Civilian Combat Award.

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Yaichiro had not been able to participate in the briefing, his ship being scheduled to launch from Yamatai that day, but he had been watching via a heavily encrypted link provided by Ketsurui Fleet Yards in Kyoto...and sent a message to Hanako.

To: Shosho Ketsurui Hanako, YSS Eucharis
From: Taisa Kage Yaichiro, YSS Sakura II

My apologies for not attending in person, as the Sakura II is launching from Kyoto today. I am afraid I have a question that is relevant to the topic of discussion, at least indirectly. Nishitama. It is mobile and in orbit around Himiko.

Do you have a plan for it?

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Without context, it revealed little...but with context it was clear enough. The Horizon-class city-ship Nishitama was in the line of fire, and a city-ship was more vulnerable than a planet. There were upwards of 20,000 people living there. Would Hanako take measures to move or evacuate it pre-emptively, potentially revealing what she knew of the coming invasion...or leave it in harm's way?

Setsuya stood after everyone was dismissed, giving respectful nods to those she passed as she moved towards the exit. Most notably to Matsuvo, Wazu, and Kasumi. She entered the hall a few minutes later and breathed a sigh of relief. Despite it unlike her, she had felt inwardly terrified being around such high ranking officers. Every word feared to bring a reprimand.

She had brought her long hair over her shoulder earlier to sit, but now ran a hand through it to bring it back to hanging past the waist. She lingered only for a little bit as everyone finished exiting, to see if anyone wished to speak with her.

YSS Eucharis
Fort Hanako, Hanako's World

The large cargo door under the Eucharis's stern let out a long hydraulic roar as it lowered down to scrape the reinforced concrete tarmac, and Victory was waiting for Shosho Hanako on the other side. The green-haired supply Nekovalkyrja pulled a boatswain's whistle from her jacket and surprised the admiral with a shrill whistle, then announced "Admiral on deck!" as Hanako stepped onto the door ramp.

"An ancient tradition," Hanako observed. "Are you feeling particularly ceremonial?" she asked Victory.

"Just sentimental," Victory replied. "This is it. The big one."

"I know how you feel," Hanako said. "Last night I went around the ship memorizing everything."

"Just in case?" Victory asked.

"Right," Hanako nodded. She gave Victory a hug and then proceeded deeper into the ship, noting the message from Taisa Yaichiro, and typed out a response in her brain while she floated up the zero-G passageway to the bridge.

To: Taisa Kage Yaichiro, YSS Sakura II
From: Shosho Hanako, YSS Eucharis

I don't have authority over the Nishitama but I recommend they stay around as long as possible in case we need to evacuate people from the surface. Also, if they move it could show the Kuvexians we know they are coming and they could change their destination to something we are less prepared to counter."

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Hanako's World / YSS Eucharis

Ms. Smith's mouth curled upward at the edges, allowing the formal ceremony for the Shosho to take place without her interrupting it. Even if it wasn't necessary for someone as influential as Hanako to have someone announce her presence on board like that, the formality was always a little bit pleasing to observe...

She shook herself a bit. A bead of sweat was dribbling down the woman's temple, tracing a line of moisture down her face. Beautiful as it was, Hanako's World was rather warm for the Elysian - her wings, swathed in layers of thick plumage, were perfect for cooler weather, trapping the undersized elysian's body heat at every opportunity. A feature like this is perfect in cold weather or at higher altitudes, where warmth is a commodity; on this beautiful planet of pleasure, it was quite the hindrance. At least the ships had a somewhat cooler operating temperature.

"Hello, MEGAMI!" The weapons operator spoke softly to the Eucharis as she stepped on board. She was a touch peckish, but not really hungry enough to bother heading to the wardroom; the smol woman instead meandered into her cabin, to make sure all of her belongings that she had brought were in order.

YSS Eucharis

Will headed to the sickbay to make last minute preparations. He would be leaving the sickbay in the care of his enlisted nurses. Where he felt he was needed most was on the front lines of the battle. Quickly reacting to the medical emergencies of the crew rather than waiting for them in sickbay. It was perhaps an unusual position to take for a Doctor, but he had been rather effective with it.

However, for him to be confident doing that, he needed to be confident in his medbay crews. He had been working them up to this since he had been assigned to the Eucharis. He weighed his options and decided that if they couldn't handle it on the ship, he would just use the new teleportation unit to teleport back to the ship and set things straight for them. He didn't like the idea, but it would be possible.

He had a few routine checkups to do before they would be deployed, Nekos were generally good about showing up to their check-ups on time. However, sometimes others delayed them and got lost in the shuffle. This made it frustrating to have to track them down. However, William had been slowly rooting them out and examining them as he went along. When the call came, he would be suiting up with the rest of the infantry.

YSS Eucharis, just outside.

Wazu was by the ramp.

He could not force Hanako to adopt his plans. Similarly, he could not really force anyone to do much of anything. No power armor made him quite vulnerable during operations. No rank meant he wasn't exactly allowed on the bridge.

That meant his own protection was on him, and him alone.

There was something simple and comforting in that thought.

The first capability gap to fill would be armor. Now that they were back closer to home, there had been time to design and deploy something he could use. He could have just purchased an older Origin armor, but something felt off about that. He imagined it would make him feel the same way a fashion icon would feel when wearing last season's whatever.

He realized he should also spend some time on making better analogies

His new armor had arrived in a box, delivered to the foot of the Eucharis. He just had to get it to the armor bay. He would grab either side of the box and....

...

...stood back up, leaving the box where it was. The whole thing easily weighed 200-ish pounds. Perhaps not so difficult for a Neko, but no way he was lifting it by himself.

Setsuya had just begun ascending the ramp when she noticed the man called Wazu having difficulty with a mere box. By the goddess, how did such beings as humans doing anything without enhancements. She stepped off the ramp and approached the man, "You are the man known as "Wazu", correct? You seem to be having some trouble, may I carry this container for you?"

Yaichiro sent one more communication, after a bit of thought...

To: Shosho Ketsurui Hanako, YSS Eucharis
From: Taisa Kage Yaichiro, YSS Sakura II

In spite of my personal feelings and patronage toward Nishitama, and the need to protect the Himiko System, UX-12 is a potential problem that the Third Squadron will need to support unless you disagree or want to allocate something else to its defense. A 'cost-effective war' for the enemy means securing our assets, and obtaining functional vessels for combat or suicide attacks such as the functioning Odori-class located there or even the thousands of other craft. Planting Rixxikor eggs on those or non-functional ships could also cause a longer term struggle and risk of repaired and stolen craft. Losing UX-12 also risks losing control of the KMS' North Gate and all the logistics that flow through it.

I have been asked to upgrade other craft in the Army's arsenal, and can reasonably and non-suspiciously request that the OSes of the vessels there be updated in a specific manner a prelude to possible refit operations. This would install compliance with SACN and restrict operation to those with an SACN Access Nodule, to avoid theft and hacking efforts on the obsolesced vessels. It could also be used to install support for rendering Rixxikor eggs infertile. I would avoid adding more recent sensitive software, however. I can only hope that Logistics and UX-12 are willing to comply without too many questions. Do I have your approval to do so?

The Sakura II is also capable of transporting a Star Army Century into a combat zone as well if required in some other location for this operation.

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Noticing Tsuguka within walking distance, Ikigai Majime handed the datapad to Stella Glass and closed the gap between her and the hemosynth-red Neko.

With a bow, Majime said, "I am Ikigai Majime-taii. I look forward to working with you closely, Nitô Heisho."

Stella took a few steps up the ramp with her eyes focused on the datapad all the while.

Wazu would look directly at Setsuya. There was that annoyance from having to have help to do something. It took a few moments to pass, to remind himself that is just some fleshy bit, some instinctive thing left over from long ago. It made no sense to listen to that any longer. However, there was one thing he needed to establish.

"I do not know who you are."

He would pause a moment, realizing identities still needed to be established.

"And yes, I am Wazu."

There was no shame in asking for help. That was certainly true. There was a bit of shame in not ordering one of those wheely suitcases when he had the opportunity. Certainly something he would need to fix next time.

"I would appreciate it if you assisted in moving the box to the armor bay."

YSS Eucharis, Fort Hanako, Hanako's World,
10 Meters Away From The Loading Ramp , Northern Side, Southward Facing,
Probably Just Before Noon, Like 29°C Or Something

Tsuguka was uncharacteristically distracted, mentally engrossed in the preparations for war, enjoying the last few seconds of basking in the free air. Enjoying the spectacle and ceremony of a time-honoured warship about to take flight once more, with all the bells and whistles chiming under a rather nostalgic sun.

Of course, this was totally unknowable to anyone observing the rather prickly-expressioned, crimson-skinned doll staring blankly near the bottom of the ramp. When Ikigai Majime regarded them by name, it took rather a moment for the soldier to place down the oddly wrapped canvas bundle under their arm, and give the new lieutenant an extremely prim and proper salute.

"Ma'am! I will do my best to perform your orders to an exemplary standard!" Green eyes darted at the new woman, regarding her youthful frame and reddish-pink pigtails. "As a team, I am sure there is nothing we cannot repulse!"

Enthusiasm, but a little too calculated. Tsuguka also seemed to have noticed Wazu struggling, but was now frozen by protocol and prevented from walking over to help...

Still, they wanted the new Taii to know that she was ready and willing for the aether-beam involving 'social situations' which actually mattered.

Setsuya picked up the crate with ease as the 6'2 Neko leaned down and lifted it. "I'm Setsuya Itatski, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm a Santo Hei with the onboard infantry."

She began to carry the crate up the ramp as she headed to the armor bay, "I was headed there as well."

There was a noticeable emptiness there. Not like Tugs who had latched onto her duty as her identity, or Hanako who seem to have withdrawn from people.

“A first year?” Wazu asked, fairly certain in his assessment that she had just finished her first 100 days recently.

"beginning of my third actually. Why do you ask?", Setsuya asked curiously. She realized she wasn't giving her usual mask of energetic cheerfulness, but what could have given the impression of being a first year?

"It's usually considered rude to ask a lady her age is not?", She joked with a soft chuckle.

YSS Eucharis, Fort Hanako, Hanako's World,
9.2 Meters Away From The Loading Ramp , Northern Side, Southward Facing,
Probably Nearing Noon, Like 29°C Or Something

With a terse nod, Majime agreed, "Most certainly." She looked deeply at the striking doll in front of her, "There is nothing this army cannot handle with swift and certain justice. I believe in it, as I believe in you, to help our enemies meet their end." Her eyes lingered on the innards of the ship she had yet to acclimate herself with as she took long steps towards it, though Plumeria-class gunships were certainly in her wheelhouse. This one, whose wings matched the skin of the Nekovalkyrja she spoke to, was not yet well known to her. Pale eyes looked from the ship's interior to the people in it.

"I may require a shepherd in the coming hours," she said, looking back to Tsuguka with a furrowed brow and piercing blue eyes. "Would you oblige me by going over the crew manifest and recounting the expertise and weaknesses of those that have worked under you?"

His assessment was off, by about two years. Could be that those two years were spent away from direct action assignments... 2 years, what was even happening back then? He remembered being cold, withdrawing to that frigid ice world Ether.

Conservation work no less,

Trying to save a race of giant, wooly, creature-things with a primitive culture and an understandably harsh outlook towards outsiders after the NErnians had swooped in and killed most of them off... then the NMX, then the Nepleslians.

It seemed like forever ago now.

These robotic responses were poor form. He knew he needed to respond with a bit more humanity. Time to dig deep and come up with something pleasant.

“Just getting a feel for the new faces.”

Accurate statement. Still needed to address her age though.

“A lot of people have been interested in this ship. I was wondering what brought you to it?”

Successful deflection. At the moment he couldn’t come up with a better response, and something was better than walking along quietly. He’d Have a bit more time to come up with what to say next. She would undoubtably provide some history, to which he could further dig in. Successful small talk was assured.

Though if she asked about his history, he would need to provide a response that was sanitary.

He could feel the inertia of loss from the previous Eucharis crew members dragging upon this interaction. The lack of intrest, that feeling that she’d probably be dead within a month or two anyways. Withdraw. Put up walls. Find distractions. The seductive pull of sleep, surrender, relaxation.

He reached into his pockets, pulling out a small pill case.

The chemical solution to tired was well known.