RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3, Aftermath

"Moderation in all things. Extremes of any good thing can lead to exageration or stagnation," Nimura immediately replied, apparently getting the point... or rather the point in relation to her earlier statement.

This time, the squeak did not come as Masako was once again struck. This time, it was a pained grunt as she held the back of her head and crouched down more for balance than pain. Staying crouched for a moment and holding her head, the young Warrant Officer was blinking back tears of pain with a small whimper. Again with the head, she mentally moaned as she looked back over her shoulder to see a distressed sprite.

Masako paused a moment longer as she tried to sort out what was happening right there. Both sprites had come from the medical lab with damaged armor. While it could be from any one of the injured, the slash through one piece of armor indicated a fatal wound. The Warrant Officer didn't know exactly what was wrong with Akiko, but she had a feeling it had something to do in the medical lab. Maybe it was the amount of injured or maybe it was the corpse. Either way, it was easy to tell that something was bothering the sprite.

Shifting her weight, the raven-haired neko spun about and gave her a small smile. With gentle movement, the smaller neko moved so that one of her knees was on the deck before placing a hand upon the sprite's shoulder. "Akiko-san..." she spoke softly before pausing. What could she say? That it would "be all right?" That she shouldn't worry? How could she console the sprite without know exactly what was the problem?

Nyton mentally sighed but at least she was able to grasp the context of what he said. Well, it's a start. he thought. Placing a hand on Nimura's shoulder he decided he had pushed enough for now. "Very well. Seeing as you understand that excess in either direction can be detrimental then you should be able to comprehend the next task I have for you. I need you to find something enjoyable to do to balance out the level of work you perform. Take the time you have off now to accomplish this but don't go cheating by saying that 'work' is what you find enjoyable. Try to diversify yourself and go outside your typical boundaries. Now, I won't hold you up any longer but if I find out you did not follow orders then I will have to punish you." he said, removing his hand from Nimura's shoulder.

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Shizuka saw Masako crouch down before Akiko and followed suit, setting down the bits of armor on the floor. "Akiko, look at me." she said, putting her hands on Akiko's shoulders. The sobbing neko dropped the pieces of armor and wrapped her arms around Shizuka. "I'm so sorry! Th-they hurt you because of me!" she cried. Shizuka looked startled for a second before her face dawned realization. "There there, I'm fine now. We should just forget about all of that." she said.

Shizuka looked over to Masako and bowed her head slightly. "Please pardon us. During out captivity we were not.... treated well." she said, straining her voice at the words. Akiko sobbed louder and pulled away. "Th-th-they tortured Shizuka...a-and they let the Mishhu use her!" Akiko said in horror. "That is hardly your fault. I couldn't let them hurt my little sister now, could I?" Shizuka said calmly. There was a slight lump in her throat though as she spoke her words.

Standing up, Shizuka helped Akiko to stand up fully. "Now now, please let us help Itto-Juni-san by doing what we can around the ship. It is the least we can do for being rescued, neh?"

Akiko nodded and wiped her eyes a bit. It was then that Shizuka seemed to realize something as she looked over to Masako. "Ah, please forgive our rudeness, Itto-Juni-san. We did not formally introduce ourselves. I am Itto-Hei Yamabuchi Shizuka." she said with a bow.

"Itto-Hei Yamabuchi Akiko." Akiko said, still teary eyed but also with a bow.

Nimura did not frown, look puzzled or look like she disagreed. Her gray eyes were just clear as she looked back to Nyton. After a second of puzzling over his words Nimura said: "Your request makes little sense to me. The ship is damaged and contributing to its good function should be a priority. How can I branch off and find something to do that is enjoyable if I do not feel like it because I have other preoccupations?"

"Because we are human, not machines. Besides, if the Taisa said for us to take time off then you shouldn't argue with her orders. I mentioned earlier we have other personnel available to work on the ship. So relax and let them work." Nyton replied calmly.

"Unless you don't trust the rest of the crew. If that is the case then maybe you should get to know them by communicating with them more."

To most sprites, a human inclusively shelving a nekovalkyrja along with he in the non-machine category could have had been touching, or indicative of some moment of epiphany resulting in a blooming sense of self-worth.

Nimura, though, simply stewed on Nyton's words a moment before making a light bow and silently leaving.

Nyton watched Nimura walk away and smiled a bit. She just needs time is all.He then turned back to face the hemosynth chambers while folding his arms. LOTS of time. he concluded. Looking at the unconscious faces of the three wounded crewmates Nyton then sighed. "Sorry guys. Looks like you'll be spending your time off recuperating in here instead." he muttered before walking away.

"Miharu, tell Yoroko she is dismissed from her duties and has time for herself to recuperate. Where ever the hell she is." Nyton said, the last bit added with a bit of frustration for not having seen her since she stopped by the bridge earlier. He had sent her to the Armor bay but ever since they warped out there was no sign of her. She probably just went to her bed and passed out. That mission was exhausting.

Not seeing much else to do there was only one place Nyton really wanted to go to spend his time off. Alright if Tom can beat his box then so can I. I mean, its no harder than defusing a bomb. A bomb with multiple cross circuits, twenty different lead wires, and over a dozen redundant systems. he thought, almost defeating himself before even undertaking the attempt.

The next thing he knew he was at the bridge. Just don't think about the impact triggered sensors.... was Nyton's last thought before he stepped in. "Excuse me Kotori-sama." he said as he entered, looking about the bridge only to find her alone at the navigational section. "Hm, I expected there to be more people here." he said out loud.

Kotori swiveled on her seat to face the Nepleslian. "It's just me now. Yukari and Tom left," she pantomimed an airplane with her hand and made a gesture to signify that they had flown off far, far away. "Maximum Distorsion speed and CFS stealth."

Nyton gave an understanding nod regarding the XO and her partner. I see why Tom seemed to be in such a hurry now. he thought, trying not to think any further. "I suppose I cannot blame them. We had quite the mission, didn't we? I don't think I have even given myself a chance to really let it catch up to me." he mused.

"How about yourself, Kotori-sama? How are you feeling now?" Nyton asked, walking up closer to the navigation section. As he did so Tom's previous words came to his mind as he tried to make sense of them and just how it was that he might know something for certain.

"I'm alright," Kotori assured him. "I would surmise the mission was likely much easier on me than many others. After the initial fight with the Obakemono and its escorts, it was mostly a long anxious wait."

The amber-eyed nekovalkyrja half-closed her eyes, the fingers of one hand coming up to toy at the end of black locks of hair pouring over her shoulder. "Well, not that this is unusual for starship operations during combat. Those are mostly hurry-up-and-wait situations."

Blood. There was blood everywhere. There were also bits of flesh, barely able to be discerned as corpses, entrails hanging out. It was horrifying and remarkable that there could just be so much red wine that could flow out and spatter and drip over what used to be such pristine and beautiful walls. Even those lights, that once shown a brilliant white, now gave off an eerie scarlet glow through the life-giving substance that stained them, that is if they weren't blackened out all together.

Then, the doors opened. Marching in, in seemingly endless numbers, were humanoid machines, built as a mock-up of familiar humans. More and more flooded the bridge. All of those vile machines were armed to the teeth, ready and willing to slay whatever got in their way and whatever was ordered of them. Each of their steps, individually, gave tiny splashes in the puddles of blood. They marched and flattened what were once corpses.

The collective step of the machina shook the room, causing a feeling as if the whole world was about to crumble and give way. Indeed, a crack formed on the floor of the bridge. It grew and grew with each rumble of footfall of the terrifying march until the floor gave way. A young girl, at the center and the target of the nekomachina advanced watched as her savior rose up, like an angel, from the hole in the floor. But, as the angel turned to face the girl, the shining armor that was expected was covered with blood and was charred. It removed it's helmet, blonde hair and a familiar face popping out along with a malicious grin.

"Help me," the little girl called pathetically as the machines closed in on the girl, hands reaching in to tear the girl apart.

In response, the angel merely raised their weapon then ended the miserable existence of the poor girl, her own blood adding to the red of the others that had fallen.


Rin woke suddenly, her eyes opening and tears flowing. She didn't want to die. Her eyes then darted around the room to see... no blood. It was 'safe,' but then again no where was truly safe. The Sekkou proved that.

She slowly sat up, shuddering as she continued to cry pitifully. A few moments passed, before she could do anything else. She checked the time, finding that she had barely been asleep any time at all. That's why she was still so tired....

The nightmare still in her mind, Rin lay down again, staring up at the ceiling, and tried to sleep again.

As Kotori spoke Nyton studied her movements carefully. They had been recorded many times before and filed away just like with every person he met. This time though he wanted to see if there was anything specific that he picked up on which drew his attention. There she goes playing with her hair again. he thought. It was something he noticed and found charming sure, but was this what Tom meant?

"I'm sure it was no less stressful though. Plus given the beating Miharu took I suppose there was still plenty to do after the shooting stopped." Nyton replied.

There was Kotori's eyes which always had quite a draw when they reflected the light. It was what had drawn him to buy that set of combs for her back on Nepleslia. Now that he thought about it, he had never delivered them to her. It was something he wanted to present to her personally but for whatever reason he never had the chance. Or was it the courage to do so? Perhaps they would just be mere trinkets to her. Then again Kotori wasn't exactly someone Nyton thought to be materialistic. He doubted she had mountains of clothes and combs sitting around in her room.

"I figure you haven't even had a chance to go over your hair with a good comb yet either. If you did not mind I would not be adverse from tending to your hair again." Nyton offered.

Nyton's last remark elicited a peal of bell-like laughter from Kotori. The black-haired nekovalkyrja smiled in good-humor and replied: "All in good time. For now, I suppose holding the fort is the least I can do to answer the efforts my crew was willing to expend on my behalf."

She eyed him and then then gestured to the seat before the tactical station. "Please sit."

She laughed at me. Did I sound that ridiculous? Nyton thought, almost worried. Wait why am I so worried? And why is her laughter making me nervous? I hear harsh criticism from Nimura and don't even twitch but laughter from Kotori unsettles me. No, laughter is a good thing. She is in a good mood. he reassured himself.

Nyton took the seat at tactical that she had offered and idly glanced at the console. Mostly out of habit he checked whatever readouts the screens gave him. "Yes, I suppose we still need to close things up. Where are we going to next, Kotori-sama?"

"Our destination is Kikyô system's Chiharu no Iori, the Star Fortress orbiting Yamatai." Kotori answered as she rose from her seat to stand next to him. "We will defold once beyond Spirit City's defensive network, change course and then make another hyperspace fold which will bring us in Central Yamatai."

Kotori bent slightly to be eye level with him and her fingers came up to his face. They delicately traced over the cut running across an eyebrow along with the sunburn-like tan the mishhumachina's ventral plasma torch had gifted him from its near miss - so carefully that they did not actually directly touch Nyton with anything other than Kotori's bodyheat.

"How did that happen? Were you not wearing an helmet?" The nekovalkyrja asked him.

"Oh this?" Nyton replied, having completely forgotten about the cut and burn. To him they were nothing compared to what the others had suffered. Plus having had felt worse in the past there was no pain to remind him.

"My helmet took damage when we encountered a nekovalkyrja misshu hybrid posing as Eve. Her blade managed to cut right through my armor and wing me there. After we killed her there was a giant robot mishhu guarding the command center. I barely got out of the way of it's plasma torch in time but the heat still managed to cook my face a little." he explained.

"Does it look bad? I had not been paying it much attention after washing it during decon."

So they weren't sprites, they were prisoners rescued from the base. Now Masako understood as she looked at the sisters with concern for them both. "Of course you can help," she said as she stood up with them. Part of her wanted to warn them to not overwork themselves, but the young Neko thought against it. If she started treating them like victims...no, she wouldn't want to be treated like a victim, so she would treat them in the same manner she wanted to be treated.

"Welcome aboard," she greeted with a soft smile. "I am Ittô Juni Kurohoshi Masako, Armor Wing Leader," she introduced with a polite bow. "Now, I will lead you to the fabrication room. Carefully this time, right Akiko-Hei," she said with a slight hint of teasing in her tone.

Waiting for the sisters to grab the armor pieces, Masako began leading them into the Miharu proper. "By the way, what are your occupations?" she asked them curiously.

Kotori's hand backed away and she gently shook her head. "Iie. The cut is very fine and goes through one eyebrow. The scarring should be minimal, and the eyebrow itself will hide much of it if there is any. The burn honestly just looks like a sunburn. I bet your skin will start peeling as the underlying dermal layer mends."

She paused a moment and then added: "The Sakura gunship Koyryu had a NH-17T lookalike of Eve also captaining it. Seeing the organization's name, would it be farfetched to think that Eve may have placed in high position youngling daughters of hers? I'll admit I was surprised to see Eve bother to be present in Bowhordia when the system was no longer pivotal to the success of her long-term agenda or without using her best ship: the Takumi."

The swiftness with which Tom walked was urgent. He held Yukari in his arms securely; she was a priceless vase that he kissed repeatedly, desperately, as if he had to make sure that she was there and not in his imagination. "I missed you too. Please don't leave me. Never leave me." The door to their quarters finally was before them, and Tom marched in, taking Yukari to the pit near the far wall and settling her inside. There was no time for modesty nor the removal of clothing. As they laid in the pit, he simply fell upon Yukari, stroked her body, kissed her, made sure it was all real.

Yukari had little to reply with. Leave him? Leave him? He left her, zipping off to a grand battle! Why should she not leave him at some point, to traverse the galaxy on her own adventure? These thoughts happened in some other part of her brain. Most of her was focused on him touching her, arousing her, blinding her senses with all of his attention. The cushions of the pit were squished beneath her as he was on top of her. "Never," she answered him breathlessly.

"Really... truly... never?" Tom said between his kisses. He explored her, felt her, tasted her, savored her. His stormy eyes pleaded with her as he lifted his head from her body. "Yukari..."

He struggled to remove his clothing, flailing at his zipper but, with an angry grunt, he gave up on it and tore at his uniform, ripping the fabric from his body and bruising his fingers. He paid no mind to the pain, but had frozen back on his knees, straddling Yukari beneath him, staring into her emerald green eyes, seemingly torn between thoughts.

Yukari shivered below her lover, more than a little surprised, but only a little afraid. Perhaps just enough. But he was still not the same man she had argued with before Bowhordia. His body seemed taunt after the destruction of his uniform, poised, ready to attack. Was he still on a battle high? Yukari was still clothed; what would happen to her?

It was too much. With a trembling hand, Tom reached down and pulled at Yukari's uniform, assisting her forcibly in the removal of it. A tumultuous sadness marked his face as he looked over her naked body and then... he took her with a ferocity of lust and desperation, holding her close, hanging to her, marking her as his. His, and his alone. The sounds of their bodies and their voices. grunting, whining, screaming, reverberated around the room until... all fell silent and their two bodies collapsed with heaving breaths in the sweat-stained pit.

"I must admit I was a little shocked myself when I initially saw the 'Eve' hybrid. Something about it did not make sense so I grew to doubt it was her. The incident also made me consider the possibility of Eve creating younglings or possibly just clones of herself to oversee operations not immediately requiring her presence." Nyton verified, curious to hear that there had been another Eve, maybe Eve herself, on one of the gunships before they departed.

"I would have to say it is quite possible that she has gone on to create younglings for herself. It would lend even more credence to her organization being named the Daughters of Eve." he concluded.

"But what a twisted family tree that would make." Nyton added with a touch of humor.

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"Thank you Kurohoshi-Juni." replied Shizuka for both of them. This time Akiko managed to keep her wits about her as they followed Masako to the fabrication rooms.

"By the way, what are your occupations?"

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"We were caretakers on board the Sekkou. We handled a lot of the cooking and cleaning. Contrary to popular belief, not all SAINT ships are filled with hard core 'spooks' you know. Someone has to make the food for the operators." chuckled Shizuka. "The captain loved my cherry parfait!" added Akiko, brightening a little.