RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3, Aftermath

Tom's eyes narrowed.

"Nyton, I feel you and Kotori would be a good romantic match. You two share many similarities in personality. It did not go unnoticed in my eyes, nor Yukari's. Perhaps others know as well."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Nyton, when I got to know Yukari, I knew she was the one. I pursued her without hesitation because I wanted to spend my life with her. Women enjoy that attention too, as long as it isn't needy. But you need to be certain, powerful in your pursuit, like an arctic wolf, but also compassionate and caring."

He opened the door to the stall and stepped out.

"Speaking of Yukari, I must go to see her my friend, but tell you what... I am always available to help you if you need it. It is the least I can do as gratitude for your forgiveness. I shall speak with you later?"

There was a slight bit of relief now that Tom was withdrawing to go find Yukari. At the same time though there was something in Nyton that wanted to pursue this further. Tom AND Yukari noticed something? A good romantic couple? he thought.

Nyton blinked a few times before he noticed he had frozen in place. Was this what he had felt and considered? A sudden urgency filled him, like the realization that he would be on the verge of a breakthrough. There were doubts though and these doubts seemed to permeate every bit of him. However both the doubts and the urgency made Nyton open his stall quickly.

"H-How do you know who the one is?" Nyton blurted out, asking almost haphazardly and with no plan. There was no strategy here, he just wanted to know an answer.

Tom stopped in mid-stride. Nyton got a good look of the Raltean's very well-toned backside. He was not 'built' by any means, but what was there had obviously been shaped carefully. The engineer did have a history as an acrobat and dancer, after all.

"You just know. For every man it is different. For me, it was the eyes. Look at Kotori... study her when you see her. I am sure you will find your trigger."

Nyton looked down in thought. When I look at Kotori what do I see? In his mind there were Kotori's eyes and the way they shined. Is that what drew him?

Realizing he was just standing there naked he snapped out of his train of thought. For the time being it would have to wait there were still things to do. Or was it conveniently avoiding the subject? "Yes, well, I will have to think about it some more. Thank you for the advice Tom." Nyton said quickly as he hurried on to grab a towel.

As Nyton toweled himself, he saw Nimura turn to stare at him with those grey eyes of hers. The look reflected little of the person within, but it still had a piercing, hawk-like quality to it.

The sprite was had just finished dressing back in her orange-paneled uniform. She buckled her weapon's belt and moved to make her exit.

"No problem. Remember, I'm here to help if you need it."

Tom quickly toweled off and changed into his uniform. He did not pay much attention to the others in the room. He had spent enough dawdling in the shower. Now it was time to meet Yukari.

He did not even take the time to style his hair. Instead, he simply whipped it behind his shoulders and stepped out into the Miharu.

It was time. Tom wanted to run but contained himself. The excitement, however, was there, and it ran through him, made butterflies in his stomach.

Finally, he was at the entrance to the bridge and opened a quick communication to those inside.

"Freeman-Juni, requesting permission to enter the bridge."

Kotori, whom had been silently studying the damage Miharu had taken during the fighting, turned toward the door as Tom spoke. After a mental query to Miharu's computer in order to know which door Tom was actually behind, the Taisa walked and opened the door Tom was facing.

"Welcome home, Freeman-Juni," the Taisa seemed happy to see him.

Uuk!

Yukari heard the communication over her headset, and looked over toward the door. Now? Did they have to meet now? She was not ready! If he was at the bridge, he was well, which was good. But he would be fresh from the fight. Bursting with energy. She felt closed-up, untouchable. He would not understand that, not now.

She did not want to face him. Not as she was.

A lump of something hung in her throat.

She turned to face him anyway.

"Taisa, it is a pleasure to be back," he said, looking at the neko with the jet-black hair and returning the smile. "And, it is good to be able to talk with you."

He did not want to break eye contact with his Taisa, but he knew Yukari had turned to look at him. He kept his expression for her sake, but his eyes on the Taisa became harder when he continued.

"I... have learned a lot during this mission."

Nyton finished toweling as Tom and Nimura went their separate ways. The man's words lingered in his mind and had greater affect than Nimura's rather odd stare. Nyton wanted to know just what it was ran through that sprite's mind. Then again he also needed to make up his mind regarding what he wanted to do about her. The sprite was talented for sure but too much a loose canon.

The time in the shower had been longer than originally intended. Nyton needed to hurry along. He rushed through getting dressed, feeling as though he were behind some schedule he had made for himself. After securing his boots and belt he moved quickly, catching up to Nimura.

"Nimura, would you care to visit your sister in the medical center with me? I am on my way now to see how our injured crew members are doing." Nyton offered to the silent sprite.

Kotori nodded and then gestured Tom to follow her into the bridge. She got settled on the rear bench and discreetly gestured him to her side, silently bidding him to sit.

The Taisa was well aware her XO was struggling to get over something. She figured she could impose and buy time for Yukari.

"I do hope you properly expressed your disagreement with how you were greeted on Bowhordia on your last visit..." Kotori said lightly, paused and then finished with: "because I do not plan on making a third trip there."

* * *

Nimura stopped, took a moment to consider and then shook her head 'no'.

"I have put Bowhordia behind me now," Tom said softly. "Mikomi and her crew have been avenged."

"Taisa, I do not want to hurt Yukari's feelings, but I must get something off my chest." He sent the Taisa an encrypted message via telepathy.

"I am grateful for our survival. It was very difficult down there, as the AIES reports will reveal."

Nyton had figured Nimura would conclude such. The link they shared would certainly keep her up to date on Ichigo's condition. Likely Ichigo was still unconscious given her injuries. Nimura would easily conclude that there would be no point in visiting. Besides, such sentiment was not typical for the sprite he theorized.

"I think Ichigo would appreciate it if you did, even if she wasn't awake to see you. Besides its not like you have much else to do right now. Or would you rather stare at something else like you did at me?" Nyton said, almost ready to just pull Nimura along with him.

"Presently going to the medical laboratory would only result in us being in the way in the present state of reorganization," Nimura replied in monotone, with infuriating logic. "Furthermore, the ship obviously sustained damage that needs to be attended to. I do not intend to stare at our wounded and voice things others are better trained to voice: I intend to work and better the ship's chances of survival should we be ambushed - that way, your odds of staying alive and of retaining the luxury of boosting morale for our wounded are greater."

Nimura bowed politely. "Am I dismissed, Taii?"

* * *

Kotori nodded in understanding to the Raltean. "I will review combat footage for the after-action debrief. Look forward to having it tomorrow evening."

She stood and turned to the display of the ship which occupied the wall behind Tom. "Since I have you here, perhaps we could cover the damage we sustained during this mission and see how we might attend it during the next few days?"

"I will hear you out," Kotori messaged Tom back, also encrypting her telepathy.

Nyton just grinned the kind of smile one made when things were going to be made to go your way whether someone liked it or not. "Then if you are so eager to continue working than first why don't you give me a hand first." he said, placing a hand on Nimura's back while he 'lead the way' for her to join him.

"Besides we won't be in the way for too long and there are plenty of other technician sprites currently working aboard Miharu who were not in any of the ground missions. They can continue working." he said with more than just a little 'not giving you a choice here' in his voice. "I insist."

"Yes, Taisa," Tom said, turning to the screen. "I have not had the opportunity to have a damage report sent my way. What has Miharu sustained?"

"Sending me down to Bowhordia again... knowing full well how much I suffered down there before. Why did you do it?"

"Hai, Taii." was the only thing Nimura had to offer as she obediently followed in his step. it was a somewhat underwhelming victory, if Nyton could call it that.

* * *

"Our dorsal armor took most of the beating," Kotori pointed up over the armor diagrams for Hoshi and Miharu. "The zesuaium outer cover was compromised in those places and the regenerated yamataium likely doesn't have the smooth finish adequate for replacing new armor plates."

She pointed over the ship's center and its starboard wing-like fin. "The port bay and engine took the worst damage. A torpedo impaled the ship through the bay, and the engine exhaust components took damage, limiting how much we can push them in combat conditions. Structural damage is minor and may not require a stop in a spacedock, but the damaged components in the gravimetric array will definitely require extra-vehicular work to be attended to."

"Then, there's maintenance work for our engines. We shunted all our capacitor power into our fold drive to flash activate it when the enemy squadron was on top of us." She spared him a grin. "It worked without a hitch - likely testament of all the hard work you previously devoted to both systems - but I'd like you to account for the stress they took and make adjustments if needed to insure their peak efficiency."

"Over logistics: power armors will need to be serviced," she continued. "I'll need an inventory of what supplies we are missing from mini-missiles to coolant reserves. We'll also need to reconfigure rooms to accomodate our extra passengers until Personnel Command confirms where they are to be reassigned."

During her long explanation, Kotori's telepathic reply was much simpler: "I sent you down because I needed you to, Tom."

Nyton avoided calling it an order but Nimura was treating it as such. It may as well have been considering how much he had pushed. It wasn't even a test of wills since he knew she would obey orders. However it was important to Nyton that he find some way to get through this odd silent shell of Nimura's. He couldn't just force Nimura to open up and change her personality. However perhaps some exposure to events outside of her regimented schedule may be a start.

As they walked towards the med lab Nyton engaged in some small talk. "Do you enjoy being on combat duty or do you prefer your original role of technician?"

Nyton banged on the 'shell' again. "I am proficient at both occupations," Nimura returned, not even turning to look at him as she answered.

Nyton chuckled a bit. "That is not what I asked you. Proficiency at a skill does not necessarily equal to an individual's personal preference. That preference is usually affected by how much enjoyment the individual has for the job. So tell me, which occupation do you prefer more?" he asked.