RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3, Aftermath

Rin nodded, finishing up her food as well. "Hai, you too," she said as Yoroko left. Wait! Did she just wish an enlisted to be, essentially, well? She blinked. 'I did, didn't I?' With that, she knew she needed to get her mind out of her deep thinking.

Standing and shaking her head, the sprite returned her dishes. She covered her mouth as she yawned, before she turned and headed off to engineering to help with the repairs.

Do you guys like it here, on this ship?

These words echoed in Takuma's mind, sending him into a state of uncertainty. Sure, he enjoyed his time thus far on the ship. His major goal was to see the many aspects of space and all around. The missions the ship went on fueled his curiosity and wonder. Many more sights could be seen on the ship. The crew consisted of fun and lively people, but...

The problem lies with me Takuma realized, clenching his fist. He had utterly failed to prove himself useful. Not only was his past mission experience lackluster, but it was downright horrific on the latest mission. Not only did he fail at what was supposed to be his 'expertise,' he got injured and left the battle early. His inability to perform made him feel certain that his future laid elsewhere.

What especially kept nagging at him was his failure against the enemy computer. He knew he could have done better. He should have been able to get them through without fail. But... I was arrogant. I was a fool... I didn't give my job its proper attention at the most crucial of time. I thought too highly of my self and severely underestimated my opponent. There was nothing he could do to fix the failure he created, but he did not want to look like a worthless excuse for a soldier to everybody. A small idea popped into his mind.

"Ah, sorry Kai. I just remembered there was something I needed to take care of," Takuma said, getting up from the table. His face appeared distraught at first, but determination took its place.

"I'll be sure to answer your question later," he said. He sent out a quick wave of goodbye to the two at the table and walked quickly out of the room.

I may not be able to traverse time and fix my error, but I can simulate another chance, he thought, breaking his walk into a jog to his quarters. A simulated re-attempt at the computer would not take long. Upon his arrival, he lifted open his computer, woke it from its idle state, and grouped an assortment of scripts he wanted to use into the same directory. Once these files were lumped together, he gave the ship's network access to the directory, but not without adding a password. Now with that done, he stepped to leave his room, but another thought crossed his mind.

I'm not retrying this to prove to myself that I can do it. He wanted to say to himself that he knew he could do it, but that was too similar to what he thought during the actual event. After hesitating for a moment, he opened up a messaging client on his computer and composed a new message.

Takuma-Heisho said:

"Claymere-Taii,

I have both an apology to say and a request to ask.

I would like to sincerely apologize for my... immense failure on the mission. I will not waste my breath on excuses for my actions, but the harsh fact that I could have done something remains. I do not want to appear a useless and arrogant soldier, which my performance has established. I would like to try and redeem some of the honor I have lost by repeating the scene from the previous mission in the simulator.

My request is only that you take note of the outcome. I know that, despite the result, nothing in reality will change. I only want to show that I can perform and that I am not a complete failure.

- Takuma-Heisho"

Click to expand...

With that out of the way, he jogged his way to the simulator room and requested a set-up of the previous day's mission, only including the attempt to break past the door. Same equipment, same formation. Same problem.

Nyton chuckled a bit. "Since I am currently filling the role of diplomatic liason shall I locate this Chusa Sayuri and find out if she is medically fit to speak to you?" he offered. As he said this he addressed the volumetric window with Kotori's request by sending the soft copy of the report he had already saved.

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Shizuka and Akiko ate heartily at the breakfast while Masako responded. They both nodded at the news and began to deliberate on what they should do. "We seem to be in limbo then, oneesan." Akiko said.

Shizuka meanwhile was smiling while she ate although there was some deep pensive thought visible in her eyes. Finally after finishing another few bites of her meal Shizuka looked at Masako. "Kurohoshi-Juni, I was wondering if.... if perhaps I could be reassigned to join your crew." she said. Akiko looked at her sister in confusion but was too surprised to say anything just yet.

Kotori finally scooped more food from the salmon rice bowl as she considered Nyton's question. When a new message window cropped up - Takuma's message - she gestured with her chopsticks to 'take care of that first' and continued to eat her meal.

Nyton raised an eyebrow as the message window appeared addressed to him. Reading it through he nodded as Kotori's gesture indicated it to be his next task. He quickly opened up a reply and began to type.

To: Takuma_Heisho
Subject: Simulation Training Request

Very well, I will attend this at the soonest convenience. Are you running this simulation now or sometime in the near future?

Click to expand...

He then sent the reply. "The man's confidence appears to be shaken. Well, this will be my next task then." he said with a bit of an amused smile as he began to stand up. "I am assuming he is ready to begin now."

Sanjuro had slept rather peacefully through Miyoko and Yukari's exchange, not so much as stirring or batting an eyelash as they conversed normally with the Kyoto Medical Facility. Now, with Miyoko gone, things seemed to return to as they were before their arrival, the patients who had stopped to watch returning to the rest or quiet conversations. Two bedridden patients set side by side suddenly broke into a quiet laugh as they shared an amusing story between themselves...

While the room and its inhabitants were kind enough to let the doctor continue his rest, it would appear gravity and, indeed, nature itself held no favor for the tired medical officer. Slowly, with each passing breath, Sanjuro's chin had been edging its way towards the bottom of the palm it rested on...and it just so happened that, in the moments following the soft laughter floating around the medical facility, fate decided to wake Sanjuro Ashitaka from his brief rest in a most abrupt manner.

With nothing to hold his head aloft, Sanjuro's noggin plummeted straight downward, aided by the fact that was a tad too tall for the desk in the first place. The doctor's forehead landed roughly on top of one of the three datapads processing away on top of the desk, shattering the small, clear pane of glass protecting the vulnerable screen below. Startled by the sudden shock, the doctor inhaled sharply and lurched backwards in a confused attempt to correct himself...only to pull back too much. Sanjuro's rear, as a result, slid out from the seat and fell, his back pushing the wooden chair along the smooth flooring with a few scraping skitters as his lower body landed underneath the desk itself.

In the end, Sanjuro found himself on his back, upper body poking out from behind the desk, a throbbing pain on his forehead, bottom and back. Despite all this, the doctor's expression reverted back to what it always had been; solemn and emotionless as his tired eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, the only hint of his knowledge of what had just happened being a long, drawn-out sigh as he lay there...as though this was a simple, common occurrence.

Kotori gave Nyton a slight nod, swallowed and then said: "Keep a close eye on him. Kimura-Heisho has been a bit of a problem... with him drifting and never seeming to really manage to fit in the crew as well as a degree of laziness. That he's mortified about a mistake is actually a good sign - with some support maybe he'll finally find his niche here."

"If Takuma-Heisho expresses a desire to learn from his mistakes then there is hope for him. Speaking of those who seek to improve themselves, how did Saito-Heisho perform at tactical?" Nyton said as he waited for a confirmation reply from Kimura.

Kotori froze, remaining still as she thought, and answered him: "She was very accurate and worked well with Yukari. The few mistakes she's made were more out of inexperience than anything else, and it did not stop her from performing the job well."

The Taisa lowered her bowl. "In the future, you might gain from working more closely with her when on the bridge. Her bravery appears much less challenged when she works with instrumentation, and she is obviously very good at calculations."

"Eh?" was the first word from the Raven-haired Warrant Officer's lips as she blinked at Shizuka in confusion. "Reassigned to Miharu? I guess that could be possible, but we would have to go through proper channels. I would have to ask the Executive Officer, Suzuka-Shosha if we were actively seeking out new personnel, though having more caretakers could help," Masako mumbled as she sat up, crossed her legs, wrapped one of her arms underneath her bosom as her other arm rested its elbow on that arm so she could cup her chin with her forefinger and thumb.

Pondering it for a while, the Warrant Officer narrowed her eyes in confusion as looked back at Shizuka. "Though I have to ask...why? Why do you feel it is necessary to transfer? And what about Akiko-san?" the smaller Neko asked.

As Takuma was finishing preparations for the simulation, Nyton's message popped up on a window next to his head. A flutter of nervousness passed through him. He wanted to report the results to Nyton, but it did not occur to him that he may watch him try it. Not that it changes anything, Takuma thought, shaking his head, as his he could just brush off the thought.

Takuma-Heisho said:

To: Claymere_Taii
Subject: Re:Simulation Training Request

I will be running the simulation shortly. It should not take long, so I may finish before you arrive.

Click to expand...

With that, Takuma took a deep breath and began the simulation.

***

A large, steel door filled his vision as he opened his eyes. A few power armors, blank shells of his crew mates, stood around him. In his arms still laid his LASR, a useless addition to his arsenal at this point. He handed off the rifle to one of the other pilots so he would not have to hold it. He replaced the weapon with a more suitable weapon for the occasion, the laptop he carried with him. As he booted it up, he found the scripts from his real laptop placed on the fictional one.

Alright, goal one. I need to run the script that will re-write the system log, making myself invisible to the system. The only problem is that I can't even run one foreign script without arousing suspicion. To fix this program, he decided to place a script inside of a frequently run program so that when the log-clearer runs, it appears as if it was just a normal program. On the console, he found a copy of an often run program, a text editor. He downloaded a copy of this to his laptop and attached the log-blocking script to the file so that it would execute when the program was run. Takuma then re-copied the file back to the console and ran it.

Nyton took note at Kotori's report with a nod. "Good, I am glad to hear that. It would seem this mission has brought out quite a bit from everyone. Even with the mistakes that were made I feel more confident after seeing everyone's performance." he said warmly.

"Well I suppose I should be on my way. I will see you later, Kotori-sama." he then said before departing her quarters. Nyton closed the door behind him and stepped quickly to reach the simulation room where Takuma currently was.

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Shizuka bowed her head quickly but then looked back at Masako with a bit more determination on her face. "I have never felt so angry over anything before. Mama probably wouldn't approve but I need to do something. After what they did to... us. Even if all I do is support you, I want to help. I want to help you KILL them!"

Akiko looked shocked. "Oneesan...?" but was cut off by her sister. "No Akiko-chan I have to do this. You should go home to mama."

"No oneesan, I'm not letting you go alone. I'll go with you! I'll always be your shadow." Akiko replied.

Miharu quipped in on Shizuka's, Akiko's and Masako's conversation: "Well, the truth is... we don't really have any other dedicated cooks on board besides our chief engineer and he can't always bother to be around to do all the things a caretaker is needed to do. As for our on-going mission, well, we do seem on a winning streak. There are definitely riskier places to be, like warships taking front-line roles."

"Besides, these two are already involved in the whole Eve matter and we are trying to remain discreet about it," the AI added. "It'd be preferable to keep them around unless they really don't work out for the job, which I don't think would happen."

Masako was quite taken back by Shizuka's fighting spirit with her declaration or maybe she should consider it the Cook's vengeful spirit. Either way, it was the type of spirit Masako actually liked to see in armor pilots...if it was controllable. The Warrant Officer would have spoken up, but Miharu's voice startled her.

"....While that is true, Miharu-san...personnel decisions are not mine to make," Masako replied as she looked at the two enlisted women before giving them a small smile. "But I can recommend them to Suzuka-Shosa. Since they are already involved, it should be easier to get them recruited." the raven-haired Neko commented before she nodded. "All right, I'll do everything I can to get you two on board. Of course, you may need to be interviewed by either the Shosa or Taisa, but I'm sure it will be fine."

Yukari sighed as her after-action report was complete. Sent to Kotori, she was once again free.

Most of the general logistical orders had been easily made; Miharu simply reminded her what had been used, and Yukari had ordered replacements.

Her time no longer filled with necessities — at least at that moment — she decided to retire to the wardroom again.

Alright, that should cover up my actions decently, Takuma thought. Now that he could act in peace, he could focus on getting the door opened covertly. Now, the door should have some kind of flag that gets tripped whenever it is activated so the system knows it's open. I'll have to disable that to avoid detection.

Opening the blueprints found earlier, Takuma was able to find how the door was named on the network. Looking at the network's log, not only did he find the address of the door's controller, but the system also recorded the name of the variable that reported the door's status and the program that modified it. Now if I can just block that number from changing...

Maybe add a line of code that has a condition saying if door status is changed, reset to closed status? That may work, but if the AI is watching the controller directly for a change, my line of code may not be able to outrun its computing power. I need to halt that command before it has a chance to do anything. He thought for a moment, his leg bouncing in nervous anticipation. As long as the variable is still in memory, it will show up to the system as the door being closed. That means I can't destroy the section of memory, otherwise they may notice the error. But if I can erase all instances of that variable in the program, nothing will be executed.

Takuma downloaded the program referenced to changing the door status variable to the console and got to work editing it. Since it was just a door, the program was not very complicated. It did not take much time to find the lines of code that updated the variable's status at different times. With each line that wanted to change the variable, he replaced it with a simple "status = 0" message. A little redundant code-wise, but it would get the job done. At the end of the program, he found a line that would send an update notice to another computer on the network. That command probably tells another computer to update the network log to reflect the door's change. This door also probably respects that computer. I should borrow the address. The technician took a quick note of the destination address and then changed the program to send the message to the console he was on. Once the file was saved, he re-downloaded it onto the door's controller, replacing the old program.

Now we should be set on the door, he said. He prepared a command to open the door on the console, but before he sent it, he edited the address of the packet so that it would appear the command was coming from the respected computer. He briefly hesitated before hitting the key to send the packet, not wanting to face failure again. I can't think of anything I missed this time. If the door successfully opens without bells and whistles, I can remove the program that modifies the log from the console and clear my presence there. On the hand, I think they'd notice chaos and gunfire before that... Either way, he slammed the key to send the command to the door.

Takuma held his breath.

"That is fine. Arigatou gozaimasu Kurohoshi-Juni." Shizuka replied. She then looked over to Akiko and frowned. "Akiko-chan, I don't want to risk you getting hurt again. You should go home to mama. We won't just be fighting Mishhu but nekos like ourselves. I don't know why they were working together but we will be killing our own kind."

"I don't care oneesan. I know I'm always tagging along but I've never let you down before and I won't let you down in this. Besides, I love being your little shadow." Akiko replied.

"Akiko-chan, you shine too much to be mine or anyone's shadow. You'll always be my brilliant little sister." Shizuka said before hugging Akiko to her.

"Oneesan!" Akiko cried before wrapping her arms around Shizuka.

The sisters hugged each other for a few moments before breaking it up, remembering they were not alone. "Ah, gomen gomen, Kurohoshi-Juni. I guess I can't leave Akiko-chan behind after all. We'll both join."

A small volumetric window opened up next to Takuma.

Miharu said:

SUCCESS.

Be careful, though. Your method is only good for breaking and entering without being immediately noticed. Should you decide to infiltrate a place and then depart without leaving any sign of yourself... this wouldn't be sufficient. Any non-superficial system diagnostic, when actual maintenance work is in effect, could have any sprite technician we have on-board detect how the system was tampered with.

Click to expand...

"Congratulations. I see you figured out what happened." Nyton said as he entered the simulation chamber. He had been monitoring the events via external volumetric window. He closed it up and walked over to Takuma. "It is one thing to have been unable to defeat the system but what gave me concern was how you fell far short of your purported skill set." he said.

Those seven letters. SUCCESS. He nearly fell over backwards from the nervous feeling rushing out of his body. Hmm. Seven letters in 'success'. That must have been lucky. How many letters does 'failure' have in it?

Seven. Oh. Well that idea was shot down quickly... he thought, turning to finish reading the screen that popped up. "I see what you mean they'd notice me," Takuma said to the air, replying to the Miharu's report. "I left things quite a mess. Thankfully, we would have made a bigger mess right after, guns blazing and all, but we may not have that luxury in the future. I'll have to practice this a bit more when the time comes."

Takuma, still thinking he was the only one in the room, let out a relaxed sigh and turned to sit down. He nearly tripped over his foot when Nyton suddenly gave his congrats. "Ah, thank you sir," he said, recovering himself and walking towards his superior. After a second of forgetfulness, he gave a hasty bow to show at least a little respect.

Upon hearing Nyton's next words, the question Takuma wondered himself came into the air. "I guess... I believe I was either too arrogant to give my job its proper attention or the fighting stressed my mind out. When I was told to open the door, I sat down and made my goal to crack it open. I failed to look around me and stared only at the puzzle in front. Ah, I'm just babbling out excuses now..." Takuma said, turning his gaze towards the ground.

"Maybe this time I gave my task more attention, or maybe not working in a battle zone allowed me to focus. I'm not completely sure." Takuma sighed and looked back at Nyton. His face turned from slightly somber to a determined gaze. "But back there, I saw what negligence can do in a battle and I am determined not to careless error cause that again."