RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3, Debrief

Nyton looked over to Yukari as she addressed him. "Well I know I have entered Nepleslian space by myself via commercial shuttles which run transit from Yamataian space into Nepleslian territory. At the border we simply arrived at Starbase Davis which processed travelers and immigrants. That should be the closest base to the edge of the border." he began to explain, adopting his thinking pose.

"However that was just one person. A military vessel will probably have to make contact with the the patrols at the edge of Nepleslian territory before we can even approach the processing base. We should not have too much trouble explaining to the patrol's commander our situation. From there we may be able to simply deliver Wazu via shuttle and let him return home by his own means. Given the situation with quarantine and the NMX presence though we may have to expend a bit of time with that." Nyton concluded.

Yukari frowned as she leaned her back against the wall opposite of Nyton and let out a breath through the "o" her lips formed. "Time is too precious a resource to be expending upon such a thing. But if it is what must be done, then we must. So long as we receive no trouble from the Nepleslian military."

Nyton gave a nod. "We should take a look at the latest diplomatic envoy procedures to be sure we handle the matter appropriately. There is no telling what events have happened to shape current intergalactic protocol." he said. "Added to that is the fact we are still an experiemental ship under SAINT we may have to do things a little more carefully to cover any security matters."

"That only complicates matters. SAINT is always a double blessing, is it not?" Yukari licked her upper lip as she thought. "Perhaps we could buy a slaved, civilian shuttle, put him inside with enough food to reach the edge of Nepleslian space, and be done with him. If we install a transponder that emits a Nepleslian military distress signal, he likely would be picked up without any questions."

Nyton pondered that a second. He actually entertained the thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, that would simply not do. Maybe for some average everyday citizen. Unfortunately Heram Wazu is something of a celebrity back home. His status and position with the Imperium requires us to be more delicate with his delivery. Even if he is as socially inept as he is brilliant." he said.

"Perhaps we could send a long range transmission to his associates? Maybe they could pick him up at the border so we don't have to go into Nepleslian territory." Nyton then suggested.

"Associates ... celebrity ... who is this man?" Yukari held her upper arms in her hands. "If his cohorts are trustworthy, that could work best. So long as we do not dock with their vessel, and are prepared to respond if they attack."

The Shosa appeared to want nothing left to anyone outside of Miharu's crew.

"He presently holds a position as a foremost leader in Nepleslian starship design and technological innovation. So he should have some connections that could give him a ride home. However calling ahead is not a good idea. I would rather not give him the opportunity to have some personal battle group waiting for us. It would be better if we just arrive at the border and proceed from there." Nyton said.

"If you believe we will not have to wait long ... " Yukari looked down toward the wardroom. "The Nepleslian military will likely have scouts that can detect our presence, but we could burst-transmit messages and then move to the designated location. Would you recommend we arrive there under CFS cloak, and wait for them to arrive?"

"Well, we don't want to look hostile or suspicious but lets go ahead and arrive at the border under CFS. Once we reach the border we can then drop our cloak and begin to transmit."

Letting out a breath and looking down slightly Nyton grimaced slightly. "Tch, this would be so much easier if our nations established actual embassies with each other. Then all we had to do was contact our embassy on Nepleslia, tell them the situation, and they could make arrangements through properly established channels. It would certainly help us to avoid all these nervous border approaches."

I cannot picture a Nekovalkyrja choosing to work on Nepleslia, even within an embassy's walls. Yukari's lips turned up in a little smile.

"We will proceed under your strategy, Taii-san. The details of the transmission can be parsed en route, as I must complete our resupply and address other logistical concerns while we are near a home base. I do not believe I can wait for the refit for some things.

"If there is nothing more we must concern ourselves with, shall we part?"

"I think that is everything. I will check up on any diplomatic procedures to see if there is anything we may have missed, Suzuka-Shosa. Have a good night." Nyton replied.

With this task done he considered going after Masako and finding out what she wished to discuss. There were still other matters to chase around so it felt as though his day was endless.

Yukari dipped into a short bow as Nyton left. She was alone, outside of Kotori's quarters, with little left to do other than order parts, supplies and perhaps a starship or two.

The work was quickly done. The destroyed Uriko bomber would be replaced by the new V5 Tora-class. Since Miharu had expended only a few of its torpedoes, Yukari opted not to acquire the new Z1-type ordnance. The ship's launchers were not properly calibrated for the Z1s anyway. Extra missile pods for the armors, replacement forearm shields for the Daisy, a Daisy helm to replace the one Nyton had used; all of the work was done from her and Tom's quarters, as she looked out through the large picture window that acted as the far wall. The power of a computerized brain and volumetric projection.

Typical requisition routes were avoided. Yukari culled Kyoto Base armory logs and hangar bay stockpile records, picking out pieces here and there to dodge confronting an inquisitive KAMI or higher IES unit. It was more time-consuming this way, but she tended to come across interesting discarded units or weapons, things the Star Army tossed aside for in its constant quest for the best-of-all-things thing.

One of the things she came across was a tiny collection of six Aether Beam Sabers, neatly bundled and marked for transport to a 5th XF unit destined never to receive them. Yukari smiled. Though the weapons were not useful to Miharu's Daisy contingent, they could be used by the Mindy armors in deep space, and perhaps one of the engineers could tinker with one, come up with something more utilitarian. Yuzuki seemed to thrive off such projects. A bit of work with the requisition logs, and the bundle was being scuttled to one of the shuttles assigned to bring supplies to Miharu through the starbase.

More power armor equipment was "found" in another fleet's request for the brand-new version of a Motoyoshi Fleet Yards project, the Plasma Blade. That sounded much more the speed of a Daisy-clad crewmember. The stock of Durandium cylinders was set for a ship that had already been destroyed; the cylinders were set to be bound for the Miharu.

Yukari also found, much to her distaste, yet another set of uniform types. Since YE 26 Yukari recalled going through at least three different types of uniforms, each more complex than the last, and this set appeared to further the trend. But, as Yukari examined them, they had advantages too, especially the Engineering Protective Jumpsuit. The specifications were given to Miharu for production, with instructions distributed to technicians and engineers to adopt the protective suit.

Thoughts of Tom in the suit were stored for later use.

The Working Uniform's belts were definitely more robust than what Yukari was used to; she ordered a dozen of them, in case some crew wanted to test them.

Most of the other things Miharu needed were repair parts and raw material; Tom and his cabal of sprite technicians had already submitted a list of what they required, so Yukari gave it her electronic "stamp" and let it go.

Personnel came next — specifically, which personnel to take on. Miharu used an algorithm Yukari had taken several hours to compute to filter out the unwanted. She had been confident Miyoko could have done the math faster and with greater accuracy, but she was content to examine what was left over from the filter, as it gave names and faces to the enormous ranks of the Star Army.

Two candidates stood out as ones that could potentially be molded into fine crewmembers who were not lock-step with Yamataian political norms. One was a sniper; the other a technician. The sniper's mother had been killed during battle, and since then she had become shy but cooperative, according to her file. The technician had suffered documented abuse at Educational Facility 1 at the hands of a Yamataian teacher; the chip on her shoulder might be just enough to allow her to acclimate to how and why Miharu did things.

Yukari flagged both for formal interviews. She smiled, happy that work was done, and moved on to a much more enjoyable form of labor — cleaning her various firearms.

Masako had deigned to grab a glass of water from the Kitchen and sit in the Observational Deck with Datapad in hand. She had been pondering a few ideas to modify her Modular Weapons System into a proper Squad Assist Weapon using the ideas Yukari and her had thrown at each other in the armory. While she could easily type the answers down in the form of notes, she didn't have a clue as to how to actually implement them.

Looking up from her Datapad to take a sip, the small Neko looked over towards the direction of Kotori's Suite. It seemed as if Nyton was done with his discussions with the Executive Officer. Standing from her seat, the Warrant Officer headed over towards him. "Claymere-Taii," she called out, warning him that she was coming over to him.

Nyton bowed back to Yukari as she departed. With their discussion over he figured other things were to be attended. Then he heard Masako call out to him which was a welcome voice since it meant he didn't have to search for her.

"Yes Kurohoshi-Juni?" Nyton asked in order to hear out her topic first.

Well at least he's not brooding anymore, was the first thought that came to mind as she walked over to the Nepleslian Officer with a soft smile. "I'd like to discuss a couple of issues I've been reviewing," she started as she set her water glass down on a nearby table.

"The major issue is the lack of trained Power Armor Operators we have on board," she said before shaking her head. "Now I know that everyone on board has had some training in a Power Armor during their careers, but I'm talking about combat specialists. Currently, we only have two Armor Specialists on board, three if you count me." she emphasized the numbers with a frown crossing her lips. "Now I know we can supplement those numbers with either sprites or others in the crew, but they don't have the specialized training Power Armor specialists have. In light of this, we have two options. One of them is to request more Armor Specialists from Star Army Personnel, which would mean talking to Suzuka-Shosa." she explained. "That's the easiest of the two, considering the only other alternative is to start cross-training volunteers as Combat Specialists."

Listening to the Masako's outline Nyton gave a nod at the observations being made. With the two options presented he then mulled over each of them. "Cross-training others into the specialty has it's complications along with still not having the necessary operators to run full Armor missions. No, leave the cross training only to those who would like to get more familiarized. We should see about recruiting more specialists to run the Armors along with performing security details. That way they would have some duty to perform when not in combat operation. Quarters allowing we should see about acquiring enough to man each Armor along with another half for standby. These would reinforce the primary numbers once casualties begin to mount. We're going to be getting very crowded at this rate."

Nyton went into his thinking mode while blankly staring back at Masako. His eyes appeared to be looking simultaneously at and through her although while remaining aware of everything around him. "This will need to be presented to Suzuka-Shosa for final determination. Quartering and feeding so many soldiers will be another logistics issue for her to deal with. And you also forgot one thing." A smile crept onto his face while he broke the pose and looked this time directly at Masako's eyes. "We have four Armor specialists on hand. Or have I been sitting at tactical for too long already?" he mused.

The young Neko's cheeks flushed pink as Nyton pointed out the obvious. "Ah," she paused before clearing her throat. "Yes, we have four Specialists, but as you are the Tactical Officer on board I thought your primary concern would be the tactical situation rather than being in the middle of the action," she explained with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Anyway, I would also like to get more Specialists recruited to us. But with the War and all, I don't think they would be able to spare any from the front lines or even from strategic defense points. Which is why I believe asking for volunteers, in at least a reserve fashion, would be wise for us."

"Well there's nothing wrong with getting volunteers for reserves but in the end we still will not have the adequate personnel needed for Armor strike operations. You said you want actual Specialists. The only way to get those is either through the personnel system or have Miharu generate dedicated sprites to be the Armor Specialists you need." Nyton replied as he went over the numbers in his head.

"As far as volunteers go, work out a training plan for them. Most should already have basic soldiering knowledge on running an Armor. Some fire training and simulations might help advance their knowledge a bit further." he suggested.

"Understood, sir," Masako replied as she typed up a few notes from their conversation. "We'll just have to see who Suzuka-shosa is able to recruit," the small Neko commented.

"Either way, my second worry is actually a minor concern over all. We seem to be lacking Squad Assist Weapons in our inventory and in the Star Army's standard inventory at large," she explained with a frown. "Everything on our inventory for infantry weapons are of the infantry rifle, sidearm, and heavy weapon variety. But nothing to along the lines of the failed Godwin R30 Modular Weapons System."

"Yes, the Star Army tends to stay with conventional weaponry in their inventory while leaving specialized or support weapons to the wayside. I'm not sure what we can do about that beyond attempting to customize what weapons we do have into more specialized roles. We could ask to order some of those Type 30 ACP scatter guns to give us more variety. Aside from those I would have to do more research outside of our inventory to determine what other assist weapons we could use." Nyton replied after some thought.