ON
As Miyoko nearly finished the last of her pancakes, she was approached by Yukari. Clad in her stretchsuit uniform with her ribbon tying her hair back, she sat down in front of Miyoko with a weak, apologetic smile on her face. Her small tray only had a plate of four negiri and a cup of mango milk. "Saito-san," she said quietly. She was in a position that did not stop Miyoko from eavesdropping...
...on Kai.
"Mm?" Miyoko looked up only reluctantly, fork still in her mouth. It was a bit of a debate whether she wanted to talk immediately... the pancakes had moved into her mouth, put up a Do Not Disturb sign on her lips, and started doing sweet, sweet things to her tongue. But, then, it would probably be some flavor of insubordination to not respond. Miyoko hastily gulped down the last bite of pancakes. "Hello."
"I am sorry to disturb you," she said, leaning in toward Miyoko, almost bowing. "I apologize for my behavior in the bath. It was rude, to telepathically transmit with you so close."
"Oh! No, it was, it was fine. I realize that you and Freeman-Juni likely had... catching up to do, after yesterday's events."
Yukari shook her head, just a little. "It was still rude. I was not feeling well, in my mind, and I could not confront him about my worries when we were alone." She actually bowed in her seat.
Miyoko pushed her plate away from her a bit to signal that she was done eating... if she had to apologize for eating while Yukari was apologizing for the bath thing, this could go into infinite recursion and get messy. "I think those sorts of worries probably take precedent over me soaking in the tub..." She then remembered Mara walking in as she left. "Did you... complete your conversation?"
Yukari's eyes fell to her food. "I believe it is a conversation that will not end for some time. But we parted ways ... satisfied with our answers."
The sensor specialist took the hint and backed off of the topic. "Well, that's... good. I know that it's not exactly easy to get privacy on here."
"Impossible," the Shosa replied, a dash of malice spicing the word. "Such is the military. But you need not worry; I do not believe our vessel has strong feelings about your life."
Miyoko just sort of raised an eyebrow at that. "I wasn't aware that she did about anybody's."
"I was also unaware." Yukari took a polite sip of her mango milk. "She likely is listening to us at this moment, consciously or not. It is a strange realization to know your home not only hears you, but cares for you."
Miyoko eyed the ceiling suspiciously before looking back to Yukari. "Given the amount of targets she has to pick from, I'd say that she must have found the conversation particularly interesting."
"The fumblings of a Nekovalkyrja and the logic of a man are so interesting?" Yukari smiled at that, putting her hands on her upper arms, with her elbows on the table. "It is good that she cares. She protects us, values us, as we value her. But I have not experienced an IES-unit like this one. She is different."
"Well, I can't say that I've met another quite like her, myself... perhaps it's the prototype thing, or us being her first crew. Who knows."
Yukari's brow furrowed, her eyes on her negiri. "Perhaps." Computations sparked inside her head for a moment before she looked up. "What does your day hold for you?"
"Very little..." There was the pressing matter of Sanjuro's third e-mail, but she was saving that like a particularly savory last bite of pancake--okay, so Miyoko was still a little hungry. Other than that, though, she had no plans. "Though I'll admit that I'm unsure of what the schedule for the day looks like."
"I am not sure." Yukari's expression turned sheepish. "My stomach was defying me to continue without nourishment, so I came to eat something small. I must ascertain the last backup Murasaki-Shoi had to determine if a ceremony is required. I must also restock the ship and be updated on her condition."
"Ahh. Well, I don't forsee any need for my skills today..." Miyoko glanced back at the wardroom window, showing the curve of Yamatai below, "So I expect to have little to do."
"Oh. ... If you wish to assist me, to stay busy, I would be happy to have your help. Our restive periods are rare; I do not want you to waste them assisting me."
"I had more than my share of Yamatai during our leave. I think that I can pass up staring at it from space for a few hours if you could use the help."
Yukari smiled warmly for the first time in what felt like too long. "You have experience with the Soul Transfer machine, yes?"
"Rather more than I'd like..." Miyoko practically shuddered at the memories of giving the entire crew backups. "I take it you need help checking when her backup was?"
"Yes." Yukari frowned. "Murasaki-Shoi was an ad hoc addition to our crew, and originally an NH-27. I do not know what her past was like beyond her file, which suggested she went from vessel to vessel."
"Well, that at least means that if she wasn't backed up here, there was likely one on another ship, right?"
"Yes, but Miharu seems to maintain her independence from PANTHEON, which puts us at a disadvantage. If she does not have one, we will have to manually contact other sources." The Shosa's eyes almost lit up; she was working a puzzle.
"And it could prove difficult to get them if some of the other ships are on duty..."
"If they still exist." Yukari nodded and took a generous bite of a nigiri. "The Shoi was an intelligence operative for at least one period of her service. The effects of that tenure might also hinder us."
"Ah. You think there might be extra restrictions on how long her backups can be retained or where they can be stored?"
"Or just that we'll have trouble finding them due to the secrecy?"
Yukari nodded again, quickly scrapping one riceball and dabbing her mouth with a napkin before speaking. "We are not a genuine unit of SAINT, and are unfamiliar with its regulations. There is no telling what we will find, if we are forced to look. The Shoi could have been, or even still be, considered a highly valuable operative."
Miyoko nodded. "... let's hope she wasn't, or we'll get scrutinized a bit too much about just what circumstances she died under. Still, it's sounding like quite the headache either way."
"I believe it could be so. I do not look forward to it." The Shosa frowned as she sipped her mango milk. "But we have little choice. Murasaki was a comrade; we have a duty to her memory."
"Mm." Miyoko nodded a little, leaning forward and propping herself up with her elbows as she considered it. "Well, being in orbit around Yamatai at least seems like the best place to be in such a circumstance... at least we're not on assignment where we might have to go into communications blackout or something."
"That is what we must be careful about." Yukari chomped another riceball. She had not realized how hungry she was, but still finished her food and dabbed her face before speaking. "We likely will have to route our communications through a different transceiver. Miharu will help us with that, to protect her identity."
"Well then, let's hope we have a backup for her."
Yukari nodded, then looked at Miyoko's plate. "You ... are not done eating, are you." Her face broke into a little smile.
Miyoko eyed the pancake remnants. "I've had enough... Deaths take priority over pancakes, by some strange criteria that I have yet to fully figure out. Besides, the less I eat now, the more I can eat later when Tom's doing the cooking, hmm?"
Yukari stopped before taking a bite of her third nigiri. Her face flushed red as she put it down. "You are correct," she said, sipping the milk. "I should eat no more as well."
It was all Miyoko could do to restrain herself from grinning at Yukari's reaction. "Well, if we've both had all the food that we intend to, shall we head to the medlab?"
"Yes," Yukari said. "I will work on the restocking of the ship as we walk." She picked up her tray and headed for the small fridge, planning on saving her food, as she drank down the mango milk.
END