RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3 Prelude: Rise; you better shine

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

The briefing sounded fine to Yoroko until she thought about just what was being proposed, We're going in alone, against a fleet. At some point we'll have to fight them, and when we do... Yoroko didn't want to think about what that meant, but felt she needed to ask just to be sure. "Ano," Yoroko said timidly, not wanting to be disrespectful to her superior officer,

"Our objectives are to find their base of operations, find out why they stole a wormhole gate, and find the remaining crew of the Sekkou correct?" Yoroko paused briefly, "Even assuming that our objectives are in different locations, there would still be around seven ships per objective if they were evenly spread out, and that is probably best case scenario. Can the Miharu handle a seven to one engagement?" Yoroko asked this both to make a point, as well as to get a feel for just how much the Miharu really could handle.

Up to this point, all Yoroko had really experienced of the Miharu in combat was a simulation, and she had been in a MINDY at the time. As Yoroko sat there and thought about what she had just said she realized that actually best case would have been that they enemy fleet was really spread out, which was unlikely in her mind.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Miyoko cringed inwardly at the briefing--particularly the display of the enemy forces they'd be up against. Even if they managed to somehow infiltrate the fleet without being attacked, it wasn't going to be the most relaxing situation. And hell, she would probably be the one sitting on the bridge, staring into the maw of doom and looking for any signs of hostility. That, or she'd be forced into piloting an armor on guard duty, which wasn't exactly a picnic either.

Anxiously, she waited for the discussion to reveal something that made this sound like anything more than a suicide mission.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

"Miharu made simulations for me and believes she can take on three Sakura-class light gunships in a straight up battle and emerge victorious."

"If you call looking like a piece of abstract artwork victorious..." Miharu commented.

"In any case..." Kotori gave her hair a dismissive flick of her hand to whip some of it over her shoulder. "I have no intention of trying to take on such a sizeable number of ships with only this vessel - I'll leave those ambitions to gloryhounds with aether shock cannons. There are a couple of distractions planned to hopefully thin the number of vessels we will have to face in the Bowhordia system."

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Kai mulled over the information. It all seemed pretty straightforward: get in there, figure out what the Daughters of Eve were up to, screw with them, and then rescue the Sekkou's crew, if it still existed. The Yamataian remained silent in his seat, slowly being excited by the prospect of finally doing something that could make a difference in the galaxy.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

As time went on, Sanjuro grew more uncomfortable with every revelation in the Taisa's explanation. The Yamataian was never the bravest of men when it came to facing danger, evident in his past experiences in training simulators, combat procedures, and anything else that reminded him even remotely of putting himself in harms way.

Sanjuro stayed silent, however, desperately hoping for the good news to start...if there even WAS such a thing. So far, it seemed as they he would need to be making his Last Will and Testament much sooner than he had anticipated.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Nyton shifted slightly. They had discussed this earlier but he still felt slightly uneasy about having to rely on distractions. It was a calculated risk but if they were to figure out what Eve's plan was then they would need more intel. If only there was a way to eradicate the forces they pull away. Either way it was still valid.

"Can we specify just what kind of distractions will be used to pull away the enemy forces?" Nyton then asked.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Kotori was nothing if not a meticulous planner. Yukari wanted to know what she had in mind as well; she was glad Nyton had brought it up.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Sounds simple enough so far, Takuma thought, leaning back in his chair. What will be the distraction? Probably the first person to piss off the Taisa.

He formed the nice mental image of one of the sprites tripping and spilling orange juice on the Taisa early tomorrow morning. Five minutes later, she's in a Mindy alone in space, the Miharu out of sight with the fleet now distracted on the lone fighter. Back on the ship, everyone reassures themselves knowing they can make another.

"You've got to love technology," Takuma mumbled quietly with a small laugh.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

"There are two," Kotori nodded to Nyton's request.

"One of the most valuable pieces of information we obtained from the Sekkou's first communication probe was the confirmation that a Vale-class cruiser was part of Eve's assets. The Vale-class cruiser is a vessel produced uniquely by Geshrinari Yards - they sold it to the Nepleslian Red Faction while they were in a civil war with the Green faction. Once the civil war came to a close, to continued providing it to the Nepleslian underworld and privateers."

"Still, there were only a handful of them ever given away, so, SAINT investigated and found that there was an order for five of the cruisers coming from a buyer which has no verified ties to any privateer or mercenary group in the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia. That orders entails a ridiculously high amount of money for any of the known groups - so it is thought likely that Eve would be behind it; she is expected to have both the funds and the need for extra warships, especially with Black Spiral having defected."

"So, the distraction is simple enough. Eve's order is complete and she will have to go and secure it. To do so, we will need to leave with a sizeable enough number of ships to not only go fetch them, but also crew them. This should thin out the larger vessels from the Bowhordia system."

"I used the Black Spiral Plumeria gunship squadron as part of the second distraction: they will be escorting a convoy of three Odori freighters carrying M2-2B experimental power armors, matching modular attachments and other supplies to deliver to the Fourth Expeditionary Fleet's occupation zone. They are to make a pass close to Bowhordia and act as bait to draw off the faster skirmisher portion of Eve's forces... leaving reduced numbers for us to contend in our own operation."

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Yukari kept her lips sealed. She would not question her Taisa in the open, no matter how obvious the questions were.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Aoiko had fallen into an intent silence herself as she listened to Kotori. Within her own mind, she was scribbling down copious notes about the briefing and several tangential subjects as well. There would be plenty of things for her to look into once she got on duty.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

"This actually sounds survivable," thought Kai, now with the knowledge that most of their enemies would be distracted. He would have smiled, but the thought of going into a real battle for the first time was biting at the back of his mind, making him slightly nervous. He didn't dare show any of this, however.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Yoroko thought about the distractions, both of which seemed very nicely thought out, assuming that the Black Spiral ships could in fact be trusted. What would happen if they weren't on our side. Yoroko thought about what that would mean, most likely destruction. Yoroko pursed her lips and decided that she would just have to hope that they had indeed come back to the YSE.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Nyton simply remained cool in the face of Kotori's briefing. He was still not very secure in the methods of distraction used. The first one may not give them enough time and the second one was uncertain in that Eve may not find a need to attack the transport ships. Plus they were under Black Spiral escort which means they could still betray them and warn the enemy. Regardless, he chose to show solidarity with the Taisa's plan and waited for further information.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Kotori waited a moment and finally nodded. "Then that will be all for the time being. I will give each section officer a more involved document tomorrow morning regarding our coming operation with further instructions. Until then, however..."

The Taisa looked at Masako. "Kurohoshi-Juni, you will be in charge of the bridge for the evening shift; Saito-Hei and Mizuno-Hei will be coming with you. You are to disengage Miharu from the Pelican and plot a course for Bowhordia at 12 000c."

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Yoroko felt excited when she had heard that she was assigned to bridge duty for the evening. She didn't expect to be on bridge duty, but at the same time welcomed the opportunity to use the training that she had received. Thoughts rushed through Yoroko's mind as she wondered next what exactly she would need to do on the bridge. I guess I'll do whatever it is they tell me to do. Yoroko hid a small smile as she thought this.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Fortunately, Masako hadn't paid attention to Yoroko's mentioning of visiting Westwood-Hei's family. The start of the briefing had effectively drawn her attention away from the embarrassed pilot. She noted the samurai who had been placed under her command and scratched the tip of her ear in thought as she observed them for a few moments. Her gaze was then drawn to Sora's new bodyguard, the only male NH-27 Masako had ever heard of. It seemed like her Armor Wing was getting a boost in both members and experience. This was definitely a good thing.

As the briefing went on, it became very apparent to the young nekovalkryja that this was more of a surgical strike cover operation rather than a straight battle. Using the Black Spiral ships as an added distraction led to an even more successful infiltration and a better chance of surviving this.

Masako's thought processes suddenly came to a crashing halt as she blinked and looked at Kotori for a fraction of a second. "Hai, Ketsurui-Taisa," she replied to her orders. Well this is a first, the neko couldn't help but think as she sat there trying to hide her surprise. I never expected to perform bridge duties.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Kotori nodded in return to Masako. "I expect it will be an uneventful shift, but it is a good opportunity for you to earn experience. Sprites will replace you three for the night shift."

"You are all dismissed. I will be in my quarters if there is anything," The Taisa stood up and turned to head for the stairs, apparently uninterested in dessert.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

A red-haired NH in a somewhat grease-stained, orange-paneled jumpsuit almost took the small flight of stairs at a trot before she noticed two things - the first was that she was trotting directly towards a whole room full of people who had obviously been doing something important, and who were now probably staring at her. The second was that she was nearly centered in the line of sight of the most senior officer on deck. She'd been hoping to find the executive, at least with what she had in mind, but the Taisa? Well, no turning back now.

She stopped as smoothly as she could and bowed low, taking care to keep a good hold on the digital docket she had under her left arm.

"Good Evening, Ketsurui-Taisa. Forgive me for interrupting. Do you have a moment?"

She waited for the Taisa to do or say something before continuing.

Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina

Kotori halted in her tracks and turned to look at Yuzuki - Yuzuki had been around about as long as Sanri and assigned in the technical sentry role.

The image of the sprite frozen in Kotori's amber eyes a moment before the Taisa's face broke in a slight smile. "If you have any issues, you should discuss them with your superior officers first before getting to me. The officer currently in charge of ship operations is Kurohoshi-Juni, she is the person you should report to for this shift. Suzuka-Shosa is in charge of crew logistics and is the person for you to see if your request goes beyond the present function of the vessel. Should the issue deserve my attention, it will be forwarded to me by either of them in due time."

The volume of Kotori's voice, her words clearly heard by all the diners, suggested her words were not only meant only for the sprite.