RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3, Aftermath

Yukari's eyes lit up. "The Star Army, even in times of peace, needs qualified pilots. You have always been a very competent spacy armor pilot, and it is not always so different between armors and starships. I think you could do very well.

"But my suggestion is also relevant to the Miharu. There are no pilots on this vessel who can replace me, should I fall — Saito-Heisho is not a pilot, and neither is the Taii. The Taisa has other concerns than piloting, and should be able to focus on them. So it is my belief that on this vessel, unless you wish to leave us for command of a larger armor wing, secondary training as a pilot could be very valuable."

Well, that certainly was a logical choice. It made Masako realize just how vulnerable they were in a way. Then again, sprites could take over for injury. However, the Warrant Officer had just spoken about how downloaded training paled in comparison to actual hands on training. The small Neko gained a pondering countenance as she crossed her legs and stroked her ear in thought.

"Hmmm...that makes sense," she replied finally after a few moments of silence. "It also sounds very interesting as well. Thank you, Shosa. You've given me quite a bit to think about now," Masako stated with a cute smile of gratitude.

More explosions behind Takuma held the advancing Nekomachina at bay but the regularity was beginning to decrease. "We're running out of missiles here! Whatever you're doing it needs to be fast!" reported one of the defending DAISYs. AIES then alerted Takuma to something of interest.

Sensors show that the manual door controls are linked to the sensors we have spoofed. The advance team could use the manual control to open the door without being detected.

Click to expand...

Yukari gave a polite smile in return. "Whatever I can do to help, Juni. Please let me know of your progress from time to time."

"Thank you," Masako replied once more as she began to think of all her choices again versus just choosing Navigation like Yukari suggested. Pondering on it a bit further, Masako thoughts suddenly drifted a bit as she began to realize something now that she was right in front of the Shosa. There was something nagging the raven-haired Neko and it had been bothering her for a while. What was it again? It had to deal with a special occasion that happened a while back. Something involving both Miyoko and Yukari....

Suddenly, Masako gained a distressed expression upon her face. "Kuso," she mumbled barely above a whisper as she palmed her forehead. "Aiya...Suzuka-Shosa," Masako began with her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment. "I do believe I've been forgetting something all this time. Ever since a couple of days after your birthday, I've been forgetting to give you your birthday present." the Warrant Officer admitted with embarrassment painted all over her face.

After a couple minutes, Kai finished his food, and realized that Yuzuki didn't seem like she was going to answer. Feeling the awkwardness in the air, Kai excused himself from the table and left toward the armor bay. he figured he might as well look over, and possibly even repair his Daisy armor. It was the least he could do after the thing had saved his life. So, his feet took him where his mind wanted, and soon the Power armor pilot found himself in the Power Armor bay, standing in front of the beaten up and bloodied armor which someone had had the decency to return to its rack.

He looked over the damaged shoulder, it's paint burned off by the heat, and the bloody seal on the helmet. His finger went to the dips on the armor, behind which he knew the spalling had nearly killed him. The charred and pockmarked armor bore the scars of the battle it had helped him fight just hours before. The Yamataian turned to find some tools, and noticed Yoroko working on her own Powered Armor. "Hey, Yoroko." He muttered, greeting her as he grabbed a small toolkit.

ON

Yukari blinked at Masako. "A present? For me?" The Shosa frowned a little, her lower lip almost pouting. "Juni, you did not have to do such a thing."

Masako smiled weakly and scratched the tip of her ear lightly. "I may not have had to, but I wanted to give you something," she replied. "After all, I've never purchased anything for someone's birthday until then and it was quite....an experience," she stated as she couldn't help but remember the shopping trip she had endured to get it. "Besides...I have so much money I don't know where to spend it all," the raven-haired warrant officer explained as she stood up. "I had it stored in the Port-side Armory, since I wouldn't want to store a firearm in my room," Masako explained with a chuckle.

The Shosa's eyes widened as she left the couch. Her speech became hushed, and her eyes darted to the side. "A firearm, Juni? You purchased a weapon for my birthday?" The sense of barely subdued joy permeated Yukari's tone.

"Ah...yes, I did," Masako replied as she smiled awkwardly at Yukari's enthusiasm for weaponry. While Masako may not share such enthusiasm, she was greatly pleased that she had picked out a proper gift for the older Neko. "A rare one too," she explained as if to entice Yukari further. "There were only 2000 created before the manufacturer became defunct."

The glow of Yukari's eyes became otherworldly. "Liar," she snapped under her breath. "I cannot believe such a thing. I am not deserving of such a gift, Kurohoshi-Juni!" Yukari's hands were clasped together as if praying for something in particular.

"Oh it is very much a truth," Masako replied with a Cheshire cat grin as she crossed her arms under her ample breasts. "But...I won't tell you what it is," she said confidently now that she had seen Yukari's desire for the present. "I will show you though," she stated with a small shrug. "If you are willing to go to the Armory with me."

Yukari forgot to breathe as her brain filed through the possibilities. She finally let out a long, huffing sigh, and then nodded. "Let us go then. This kindness is highly inappropriate, Juni." Yukari's words were mealy mouthed proprieties, devoid of sting.

"Highly inappropriate," Masako replied in agreement and began to walk towards the main passageway as she paused mid-sentence. "but highly deserving as well, Shosa." the smaller Neko finished with a soft smile.

"That is yet to be determined," Yukari huffed. Her cheeks remained red and her hands coiled in and out of fists at her sides. "I will not let this go without some reply, Juni."

"By all means," Masako replied with a chuckle. "Reply in whatever manner you wish." It would take the two Neko a few minutes to travel down the Main Passageway and into the Hoshi, passing three doors before cutting port to the Armory. "I had it placed in a Titanium case with padded and ordered 2 cases of 12.7mm rounds as well," the small Warrant Officer hinted as she entered the Armory and paused to look around. "Now where exactly did I put it," she said teasingly.

Yukari nearly drooled. She instead swallowed hard. 12.7 mm rounds were enormous! She had never used a rifle with such large bullets before. "I-If it was lost in the damage to the ship somehow, I will replace the cost to you."

"Respectfully Shosa....no you won't," Masako replied much like a mother would a child, which was quite ironic given the disparity of their ages. Chuckling, the Warrant Officer walked over towards a shelving unit and pulled out a rather enormous titanium case. Grunting with a bit of effort, she placed the case upon a work table before unlocking the case to Yukari's new Heavy Rifle. Stepping aside, Masako gestured to the case. "For you, Shosa."

Another huff came from Yukari, as if trying to deflect Masako's tone. But when she saw the large case, her eyes fixed on the shiny, checkered titanium case. Yukari floated to the case and lifted the lid. Inside was ... was heaven. She gently removed the surprisingly compact rifle for its caliber size, hefting its blackness up into her hands with her mouth hanging open. "Kurohoshi-Juni, what is this ... ?"

"That, Suzuka-Shosa, is an MB-901s "Silencer" by Mizuhara Ballistics," Masako explained with a smile. She liked it! Yukari really liked it! So this was why purchasing presents for someone was so popular. "It's one of their only designs before the demand for them dropped...though it was a very capable firearm from what I've researched," the young Warrant Officer stated as she pointed an index finger to the ceiling to illustrate a rarely stated point. "It has a Maximum Range of 1.2 Kilometers and an effective range of 700 meters when braced. Muzzle velocity is approximately 975 meters per second and its muzzle blast has the capability to shatter nearby glass from what I've read." she explained as if she were a spokesperson. "I also made sure the weapons store owner included the manual for it in case you had any questions I couldn't answer."

"Liar," Yukari repeated, cradling the firearm in her arms as if it were a child. She hugged it to herself, feeling its cold metal against her uniform, its rounded frame melding into her curves. The perfect balance of beauty and ugly exuding from it made her sigh happily. Then, she quickly hauled it up to her shoulder and braced it. She was surprised to say the least. The weapon was balanced well — the weight was put mostly toward the front-center, to dampen the upward recoil, with the rounded stock and adjustable cheek-piece weighted just enough to feel solid against her. It was not too heavy for this reason. "This rifle ... feels superb!"

Masako grinned as she watched Yukari hold the rifle and test its weight against her shoulder. "I'm glad you like it," the Warrant Officer surprised. "I was quite worried what you would think of it, but Mr. Smith, the owner of the store, was quite helpful. His store, Smith's Armory and Shop in Kyoto, was pretty well stocked and probably has plenty of ammunition there if you ever wish to purchase more," she explained as she held up one of the two 60-round boxes from the shelf she had pulled the case from.

Yukari brought the rifle to bear around and toward the other side of the bay. Her hand clutched the bolt's handle — it was ovoid instead of round, with checkered hemispheres — and flicked her wrist up. Smoothly, the bolt unlocked from the breech. She pulled the bolt back; it slid as if it were on oiled glass. The push forward was the same, and locking it down came with a very satisfying *chclick*. Her eyes went along the simple iron sights — she would need a scope — to the front post, then the trigger pull. A clean, perfect snap at no more than 2 kg. She felt her blood race. "S-shimatta."

Masako observed her Shosa a bit more as the taller Neko tested the weapon in a dry fire. Smiling, Masako placed the ammunition box upon the ground before grabbing the second one and setting it beside the first. "I guess that means you approve," the Warrant Officer stated with a chuckle.

The gloved hand worked the bolt again, faster this time. "It is a magnificent weapon," Yukari breathlessly said. "It is a travesty, that the company is dead."

"Yes it does," Masako replied with a frown. "I haven't even been able to find a reason for its destruction other than a lack of demand. That and only creating one weapon for customers."

Yukari went down to a prone position, shifting a bit to make sure her skirt stayed where it belonged. The folding bipod on the weapon was quite good at bracing the weapon, and was adjustable for height. "The weapon's only power source is the laser finder. If it were removed, the weapon could not be traced by opposing forces, yet would do significant damage."

Kneeling down beside the brunette, Masako sat upon her heels as she examined the weapon a bit more. "What do you mean by significant damage?" the young Neko asked curiously.

"The cartridges this weapon uses." Yukari opened the bolt again and brought it back. "The dimensions of the chamber suggest there is a large amount of gunpowder contained in the case. The bullet must be propelled at high speeds, and is likely heavy." Yukari was clearly excited. "It is my estimate that the cartridge is therefore capable of great damage to personnel targets, and even power armor-clad targets, if used within a fair range."

"Interesting," Masako replied as she pouted in thought. Now Masako felt like showing off her purchase from a while ago to get the Shosa's opinion. Maybe it wasn't proper, but sometimes advice was a good thing. "Um...Shosa....how much do you know about Magnetic-propelled Projectile weapons? Ah...I guess I mean Railguns."

Yukari did not look away from the weapon, but answered politely, "Some. The principles of how they damage a target are the same as cartridge-based weaponry." She brought her eye down so she could look into the chamber.

"Ah...well I also purchased a weapon for myself when I bought your present," Masako began calmly. "It was more of a spur of the moment thing and my first firearm purchase so I may have actually bought something that is...well, flawed." she said as she stood up and looked around the Armory a bit more until she found a much larger crate latched to the bottom of the shelving unit. Stooping down, she unlatched the crate and lowered a set of four, built-in wheels so she could roll the crate out a bit into the open before retracting the wheels back into the crate. "It's a Godwin Armories R30 Modular Weapon System...basically it's a "Puzzle for a gun" as the store owner called it." the small Neko explained.

Yukari got up from her rifle and opened up the crate. She picked up the gun, with its short visible barrel, and hefted it in her hands. "It is very light for all of its bulk. Extensive use of alloys and plastics ... this feels similar to a LASR. Good ergonomics." She yanked back the bolt catch and checked inside the weapon to see if it was loaded. When she determined it was not, she pulled the trigger; a clean enough break was the result. "It feels like a good weapon. Many rail or coil weapons fire rounds at higher speeds with less recoil than cartridge weapons." She brought the weapon down from her shoulder. "No backup sights ... " Yukari flipped the weapon and gazed down the barrel. "An 11 millimeter bore ... Have you ammunition for it?"

"Ah, yes. I have a case of 11x55mm sabot rounds," she said as she patted a case that has been beside the crate on the shelving unit. "From what I've heard, there had been a problem developing the ammunition and the current ammunition is a four-element, cylindrical sabot with an occasional problem of spot welding," Masako explained as she opened the case and pulled out one of the rounds as a sample. "There are also four forms of this weapon to set up. One, the one you are holding, is a Carbine with an effective range of 600 meters. There is also the standard service rifle version with a 900 meter effective range, a Marksman Version with a 1.4 kilometer range, and a SAW version with the same range."

Yukari frowned as she opened the case and plucked one of the rounds from it. She carefully scrutinized it. "This is the difficulty with sabots, and is likely why the LASR does not utilize them. With the sabot, the caliber of the round appears to be about eight millimeters, which is superior to that of the LASR, but the sabot must be pushed harder to achieve good speeds with the round. Coating the rounds would likely help, perhaps with non-stick plastoid material."

"That could work, I guess," Masako replied as she scratched her ear quietly for a moment. "The muzzle velocity is apparently 1300 meters per second, which is about 200 meters per second less than the LSAR," she stated as she recalled the information from memory. "Over all, its main good point is flexibility. Other than that..." Masako faded off with a shrug.
Yukari moved the gun around from her shoulder, kneeling with it, swinging it about without pointing it at Masako. "I have not read of this weapon before, so I cannot comment on it past what I see and experience. It feels like a fine weapon, but it is inferior to our LASRs based on ammunition capacity."

"Quite so," Masako said as she chuckled. "But I've been thinking for a while now," the Warrant Officer began before pausing long enough to slide the sabot round back into the case. "While it is quite a puzzle to set-up, it is also quite easy to modify compared to most weapons," she added. "With the entire weapon in parts, all I really need to do is tinker with it until I improve upon the design," she explained as her expression suddenly tightened in concentration. "Hmmm...that might not be a bad idea."

Yukari smiled at this. "That is so. Using the fabrication room and Miharu's help, the weapon would take very little work to recalibrate."

"Right...plus, have you noticed the lack of SAW-type weapons in our inventory?" Masako asked. "While our LSARs and Plasma Rifles can be fully automatic, they can't throw the ammunition that a Squad Assist Weapon could. In other words, if I can find a way to modify the R30 to be more effective, we could have a potential SAW that we could fabricate."

Yukari rested her head in her palm, cheek braced by her fingers. "That is so. If modified to accept the LASR caliber, it would potentially fill that role. But the modifications would be quite heavy to it, especially to make it accept LASR magazines."

"That is true," Masako replied with a frown. "Plus I also have to study a bit more on the technical aspects of the R30," she mumbled as she smiled at Yukari once more. "It seems like I going to be learning a lot of things in between missions," she chuckled lightly.

"Souuu," Yukari said with a smile. "I will study with you. A SAW-like weapon could be of assistance to us when we take the fight to Eve."

"Ah," the Warrant Officer began as if to protest, but then closed her mouth. After all, it wouldn't hurt to have help. "Thank you, I'd appreciate the help."

Yukari bowed her head some. "It is an honor. I shall try not to interfere too much."

END

"Megami, start track."

Piano keys played in a slow inspiring melody, the sound played out into a holographic depiction of a rooftop to a high up building in an urbanscape somewhere in the empire. The simulated warm summer's breeze caught blond locks and brushed over soft Nekovalkyrjan skin. Sumaru was washed over with nostalgia and a sense of personal peace. He was where he had spent a lot of his time as a youth, his personal training grounds high above the busy streets of Kaede; the city where he lived on his homeworld of Tatiana. The apartment building's roof was never used --- that was until Sumaru decided he wanted to join the military to repay the debt to the girl who saved his life by saving many more in return. He would go up there every day while he was in his last year of education, working his body and mind in whatever exercise he could find. He was here again to feel that same sense of drive, and in the moment of inspiration -- he did.

A purposeful layer of warm strings added themselves to the overture, and the male samurai turned away from the edge of the building, the music reminding himself of why he was here. In a place where he could forget for a moment the troubles of his life after his first battle, Sumaru drew his blade and the orange setting sun shimmered down the dazzling sword. He stood in a stance, concentrating on the forms of Nagareboshi. His movements following were fluid and graceful. The style playing out more like a choreography then a form of fighting.

A snare --- beat --- another snare, a split-second pause and then another beat. He stopped, settled into form, and looked up across the rooftop with the sun to his back. "Megami, load opponent." In the next measure, countless colored pixels formed and data loaded across the roof. There, was the eyes of the enemy once more. A image of Eve with her weapon in hand, programmed as he remembered her stood before him like a lifeless doll. "Activate," he ordered and waited for the demon to awake. The holographic bay needed to be ordered for it's limits to be removed, so this was the best way for him to learn the technique of her copy, so maybe he could see a way into her true self.

The representation of Eve's youngling, analyzed from Sumaru's memory and also information Miharu could draw from the AIES units that witnessed her in combat, went into a ready crouch, kusarigama held and ready.

"Hagesawa-Juni, my interpretation of your opponent's psionic capabilities will be greatly flawed," Miharu warned. "I would warn that what you will experience here may not be a fair show of her abilities."

"Very well, but I would like you to prepare a gradual slope of power by calculated approximation, so to add levels of additional power based on this as a starting point. So I may use this opponent as a training mechanism in the future to understand what true strength we might encounter." With that said the music came to a serene section, the strings drifted waveringly without accompaniment. It was the calm before the storm.

One resonating piano note, then two more keys. "Begin fight sequence," Sumaru ordered as he dropped into a fighting stance with his blade sheathed, the edge running along a part of his hand grasping the casing, not allowing his blade to be re-sheathed without first drawing blood. He pushed one foot back, his legs opened wide as to grip himself to the ground. His muscles in his calves and thighs tensed in energy as he stored up a future burst of speed. The music changed as the battle started, those beats from before kicked in rapidly in succession. The calm opening led to a drum and bass heavy sequence of a mixed tempo tune saturated with hopeful emotion and twists and turns.

He waited the attack, letting the music build up his psych and soul. His mind cleared, and there was only him and this depiction of a demon. He anticipated her moves, watching not only her but the weapon she was armed with and the objects around her. In his head was everything, and nothing. His breaths were calm, his hands steady --- he was prepared, he wasn't about to let her take him.

The initial battle turned out to be something of a surprise. The two opponents edged toward each other. The Eve-youngling seemed unwilling to gamble in throwing her chained weapon at him - too risky a gamble against a samurai such as he. That put her in a position where she had the disadvantage of having a shorter striking range than he and no potent psionic ability to use at this difficulty setting.

Sumaru went for his drawcut. His blow was true and forced his opponent on the defensive, forcing her to parry. He was ready for a second strike, but a volumetric window with 'PAUSE' appeared. His opponent froze.

"Hagesawa-Juni," Miharu quickly cut in. "Your opponent's weapon was made of zesuaium. Future opponents you fight, especially youngling daughters of Eve, may share the same advantage. The composition of your swords is inferior and a simple parry on her part could sever them like in this instance."

"Would you like me to simulate artificial blades I could have properly react to the simulated damage?" the AI queried him. "Or change the parameters of the simulation to have the weapon she uses be equal to yours?"

Yoroko looked over at Kai, having found a replacement screen, "Hey, how's it going?" the Hei asked before heading back to her helmet and installing the new screen. Of course the new screen didn't do anything to help the crack that had been created due to the Nekomachina trying to crush her head in combat. "What brings you down here?"

"That mess" The Yamataian answered simply, pointing at his wreck of a Daisy. "I figure I have to take it completely apart and check every part before I know what to replace." Kai paused his walk, scratching his head mildly, before continuing. "I need to get that blood off and out of it, as well, a bit unsightly, don't you think?" His eyes moved over to look at Yoroko, someone whom he'd known for quite a while, but hadn't actually spoken to much. Attempting to rectify that, he asked began talking.

"What are you up to?"

...There's a manual door control? Takuma blinked. The continued rush of gunfire slapped him back to attention.

"Well, now that they can't see the door, we just need to open it. With the switch..." I'll slap myself for that failure later...

"Advance team, manual door override switch is operational. Someone flip it!" Takuma shouting on the radio. Takuma started to forget about the bullets flying, his mind failing to connect things. "A manual lever. There was a manual lever...? Why didn't I look for that...?"

Rin's telepathy was a sudden surprise to the engineer, who was expecting a more traditional means of contact. But since it was already established, he decided to reply all the same.

"...Sure. Suit up and head down to the portside Gravimetric Array and take steps to ensure that it's disabled until we have time to repair it in drydock. I'd rather have us partially crippled than explode because the thing ruptured. Also, please be careful and make sure your suit is functional before going down there. It could be dangerously hot otherwise."

Click to expand...

"Hai. Gomenasai for disturbing you."

Rin trotted off to go suit up into an environmental suit. As she pulled on the suit, she mentally pulled up information on the gravimetric arrays, double-checking on everything she'd need to inspect.

A bit of time later, and the suit was on. She donned the helmet and started out for the gravimetric arrays.

Mission Clear! Simulation Successfully Completed!

Click to expand...

The message appeared on Takuma's screen while the images instantly stopped. It was suddenly quiet except for a light bit of applause coming from Nyton who was now stepping 'through' the simulation walls. The simulation having stopped completely now began to fade away until Takuma was alone with Nyton.

"Congratulations. I hope this did not seem too simple a test. Sometimes the easiest answer is the one we overlook the most. Aside from that you have proven yourself capable. All you have left is to refine yourself to operate more efficiently during combat." Nyton then said approvingly.

"Any concerns you wish to address?" he added.

Miyoko stopped barely twenty feet from the medbay door, patting her hip. Her communicator, normally ever-present, wasn't in its normal spot. Actually, it wasn't anywhere, that she could find. Chances were it was in her room, but there was no way in hell she was taking the chance that it was left in the medbay. The sensor specialist opened the door, trying to creep in quietly.

As Miyoko entered the medical bay, she would find it back in its usual manner. The individuals scattered around the beds had reassumed their previous conversations or naps while Sanjuro, still splayed on the floor from his untimely tumble, had worked up the strength to pick up his hand and place it palm-flat over his forehead. With a slight groan, the doctor attempted to rise, but quickly persuaded himself to wait another minute or two as a sharp pain poked at him from his lower back.

"... are you having difficulties, Ashitaka-Heisho?" Miyoko kept her voice carefully level, though she was somewhere between bewildered and amused at Sanjuro's condition. Carefully, she avoided stepping on him as she crossed over to the desk and started pushing aside items, looking for her communicator.

The doctor’s position under the desk left nearly all of the room obscured from view. At first, the rustling happening on top of Sanjuro’s desk went relatively unnoticed, save for a raised eyebrow as Sanjuro tried to identify the sound. He did, however, easily recognize Miyoko’s voice amidst the soft voices floating over the desk. “…no, Saito-Hei,” Sanjuro answered through a sigh. “I’m fine…did you need something?”

"Saito-heisho," Miyoko corrected him politely... again. There was a moment of silence as she finished her search of the desk--Miyoko was resolved to make sure that her communicator wasn't easily accessible before she said anything about it to the medical officer. Her search yielded nothing, though, and finally she admitted, "I thought I might have left my communicator in here, but it would seem not."

It was around the time Miyoko tried to correct Sanjuro’s use of her rank that it finally occurred to him that the Heisho was, in fact, scanning over his things. The medical officer immediately scrambled up, but not before wincing once more as he reached under himself to grab at an object that had been constantly jutting into the small of his back since his fall. As he rose, Sanjuro brought it to his face…a communicator. “PLEASE, Saito-Hei,” Sanjuro said in a slightly alarmed voice. “Do not rummage your way through my desk.”

Miyoko eeeeeeeyed the communicator. She had to pause for a few seconds to repress her natural instincts to see how she fared at biting his head off--literally--in return for the continuing rank confusion. That achieved, she responded. "My apologies. I was just looking for my communicator... which you seem to be holding. Could I please have it back?"

Sanjuro seemed to not hear Miyoko at first, holding the communicator as his side as he briefly surveyed his desk. His eyes fell upon his ruined datapad, broken from the collision his forehead had caused when he had fallen. The doctor sighed once again in disappointment, before continuing on through the rest of his things, apparently making certain that Miyoko didn’t, perhaps, break or misplace anything while he was on the floor. “…why was your communicator on my desk, again?” Sanjuro asked suddenly, continuing to hold the communicator close to his body.

"... I was in here for business with the Shosa and apparently misplaced it or had it come unclipped from my belt." Miyoko followed Sanjuro's eyes down to the quite clearly broken datapad, but she didn't question it just yet. In an attempt to appear halfway helpful... to get her communicator back so she could leave... she straightened a few piled books that she'd knocked crooked in her search. "I assure you that it won't happen again."

Sanjuro visibly tensed as Miyoko began to straighten out a few of the book on the end of his desk, making a motion to stop her but catching himself half-way, letting his arms settle back to his sides until she had finished. “…your communicator is a very important piece of equipment,” Sanjuro said, his gaze fastened on the books Miyoko had compiled neatly and not wavering as he spoke. “Very important. Please take better care of all of your things, Saito-Hei,” the doctor finished, pausing for a moment before quickly reaching out and ever so slightly correcting a single book Miyoko had fixed earlier.

Miyoko sort of twitched at the book-correction. If there was one thing she hated more than being corrected (and damn did she hate being corrected), it was being corrected over something inane. Her calm facade was quickly wearing thin, causing her voice to carry just a hint of tension as she said, "It was a minor mistake, Ashitaka-Heisho. It won't happen again. I trust you will apply the same lessons to your datapad." Her eyes turned to the ruined thing on the desk.

Sanjuro rose up slightly, a little offended; mostly because Miyoko actually had a point with his datapad. The doctor wasn’t usually as careless as that. “…well, that was unfortunate, yes. Normally all of my datapads would be in their protective cases, but I’ve been…waiting to receive something that’s very past its due date,” Sanjuro explained with a hint of defiance in his voice. Finally, the doctor slowly outstretched his arm to hand the communicator to Miyoko. “There are no minor mistakes in our professions, Saito-Hei. There are simply mistakes, and the problems they leave are never minor. Nor should they be treated as such, Saito-Hei.”

The 'receive something very past its due date' bit raised some alert bells in Miyoko's head. Seemed it was time to read that last e-mail. She snatched the communicator back as it was offered to her, taking a few moments to give it a perfunctory check-over to buy herself some time to think and calm down. She quickly clipped it to her belt again and looked back up. "I will keep it in mind." Her voice was quite terse at this point.

“See that you do,” Sanjuro said, placing his hands behind his back. “Was there anything else, Saito-Hei?”

"That will be all, Ashitaka-Heisho. I'll let you get back to your sleep." Miyoko spun on a heel and strolled out of the room, swinging her hips juuuust enough to jostle the books out of alignment a bit on her way past the desk.

Sanjuro stared stone-faced at Miyoko’s rear as it connected with the ends of his books, and continued to blankly stare at her retreating back until Saito-Heisho had left the room completely. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in and out deeply before reaching back over the desk and delicately repositioning the books back to their old, painfully perfect order.

Azumi and Ayumu just watched Sanjuro and Miyoko go back and forth and returned to idle tasks. Upon seeing Miyoko 'accidentally' knock his books over they both broke into a shared fit of giggles.

Despite feeling a little unsatisfactory at the ending of the simulation, Takuma couldn't help but smile as the holographic walls faded away. He managed to beat himself at the simulation, proving he was not just a worthless addition to the crew.

"It seems the simple parts of life are what bring us down in the end," Takuma remarked with a shrug.

"Anyway, thank you sir. Thanks to this exercise, I feel a lot more confident in myself and in my abilities as a soldier. I just hope you'll give me a chance to redeem myself on the battlefield in the future. I won't disappoint you." Takuma smiled widely, a huge weight taken off of him.

"I don't have other concerns to address, so I shouldn't keep you from your duties, Claymere-Taii."

Yoroko's helmet made a gentle thud as she placed it on the bench she was sitting on. "I'm trying to repair my DAISY from the mission on Bowhordia, but it might be easier to replace the helmet outright." Yoroko stared at the helmet, she could try to glue it back together, but that would be bad if it were to be used for its intended purpose. "Yourself?" Yoroko asked. "Ne," Yoroko transmitted telepathically to Kai, "Thanks for saving me back there."