RP: YSS Celia Mission 3A: [Yamatai] Milk Run

[Yangfan]

YANGFAN

Yamatai, heart of the Empire, shone like a blue jewel suspended in space.

An Ayame-class cruiser, with her litter of escort ships, warped into existence at a reasonably safe distance away from the planet.

To the crew, the whole trip only took a few minutes. To the outside world, however, the actual passage of time was more on the order of an hour or so. Still, it could be said that the Celia battle group covered the distance of around sixteen light-years in almost no time at all, thanks to the miracles of modern technology.

“Comm, try to cut through all the chatter in this system and get us in contact with our transport ships.”

“Aye, sir,” replied Taii Watanabe Kioko.

ITKATSU KIYOKO

Kiyoko blinked slowly as it was revealed that she was the ship’s First Officer; it was... unexpected, and behind her usual neutral expression she mental frowned at herself for having not correctly anticipated the possibility. While it would have been nice to have had some notice that this was going to be her position rather than have it dropped onto her, Kiyoko was not going to falter over it – the memory of the similar situation of her arrival onboard her first assignment burned brightly as something she did not wish to repeat.

“Hai, Taisho,” the Neko replied to Branard’s offer of a seat, and matched actions to words. Her brain whirred silently as Kiyoko pushed her mindset away from her usual pilot’s thinking and towards what she would need as a ship’s First Officer; by the time she had seated herself in the proffered chair she was beginning to hope that whatever mission it was that the Taisho had planned would allow her sufficient time to get acquainted with the Celia and her crew before anything happened that required her to be so.

Eyeing the displays in front of her that showed the Yamataian in-system traffic, Kiyoko split her attention between telepathically wading through the Celia’s information banks and observing the activity on the bridge.

KEL

"Oh, I guess it would be." Orie looked speculatively at the troll's hands, trying to picture him using the tiny datapad. She held out a hand. "May I see it? I can read the map for you. I doubt your room's very far from mine anyway, since we're both the same rank."

YANGFAN

Zug handed Orie his data pad. Its map revealed that, indeed, the two lived fairly close to each other on the same deck. Judging from the detailed map, Orie was assigned a regular room, while Zug’s quarters seemed to be modified to accommodate a Troll, with an extra large nest and plus-sized furnishings.

Skillfully, Yuri maneuvered the Celia into stable orbit around Yamatai.

Watanabe Kioko whispered something into her communicator, and was soon joined by another comm officer, who began helping her in attempting to get in touch with the fleet’s transport ships in the system.

After waiting for a few more moments, Aurore rolled her eyes. “What’s taking so long? Yuri, please go check up on Comm.”

“Aye, sir… Itkatsu-Shosa, I’m transferring the control of the helm to you,” said Yuri. “We’re pretty stable right now, but I want someone at the controls in case another ship gets accidentally directed across our lane.”

KEL

"Hm..." It took all of Orie's willpower to resist trying to convince Zug that the normal room was his, leaving the large one for her. She couldn't think of any good reason to want a room with double-size furniture, but it seemed like too neat an opportunity to pass up. On the other hand, normal-sized chairs were a bit too big for her as it was. She'd need to fly to get into troll-sized ones. Or buy mountain-climbing gear. Which, now that she thought of it, could be fun...

No. Orie smacked herself in the head, snapping herself out of the beginnings of a fantasy about rappelling down a giant chair. I've got to get finished moving in and report to my station! After giving one last longing thought to the subject of climbing giant chairs, she announced, "Okay, here, follow me," and pulled up directions to the troll's room, holding his datapad in an already-laden hand with her own clenched in her teeth again.

IMP SYNDROME

As the YSS Celia entered stable orbit around Yamatai, a small personal transport shuttle launched through the planet's atmosphere and into free space. Its single passenger, an enlisted technician named Joachim, tightly gripped the tough plastic armrests at either side of his seat; breaking through the atmosphere at such lurching speeds had proved more of a shock to him than he had expected.

"You hangin' on back there," asked the pilot apologetically.

"...Barely," the Santou Hei replied, his voice somewhat shaky, "but yeah, I'm fine."

"Heh heh, good. You'll get used to it eventually, after ya do it a few times."

The pilot, named Calen, adjusted his grip on the controls and leaned back a bit in his seat. He was, as the technician noticed, a middle-aged Yamataian with slick brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a gruff voice. He was serious about his job; he was quite experienced and handled his ship with ease. As he turned the transport slightly, and Joachim got his first personal glimpse of the YSS Celia in all her beauty.

"See that," Calen remarked. "That's the Celia...You'll soon learn to call her 'home,' though, won'tcha?"

The pilot opened up his communication line and directed his signal to the massive ship.

"YSS Celia, this is Calen Ferinju piloting the personal transport Kindling. Currently carrying one of your new recruits, calls himself Maxwell Demaro's son. Requesting permission to dock, over."

As Calen silenced his end of the line and awaited the Celia's response, Joachim looked back in his seat to make sure his belongings were all intact. In truth, he was only really worried about his glasses, which had cost him quite a bit of money, as they were created for his personal use; his tool kit and other personal effects were rather solid and would surely resist damage if they shifted during flight.

Before long, Calen brought the Kindling to a steady cruising speed, slowing down just enough to ensure that the Celia didn't assume that the transport was hostile. Joachim loosened his hand-hold on the armrests of his seat and began to relax. As he did, he wondered how he would be received by the crew of the Ayame-class cruiser. Anxiety brought his nerves to life as the small transport drifted ever closer to the cruiser.

YANGFAN

With the map, it was fairly easy to find Zug’s room. The room was minimally furnished, with a large writing desk, a tall chair, a sunken-in, extra large Yamataian nest, and some stacked plastic containers for clothes. Orie could expect her room to be similar, except with everything in a smaller size.

“Ach! Thank you, Miss Neko!” said Zug appreciatively. He pulled something off his back. It was only then that Orie noticed that Zug had been wearing a comically small backpack, in which he presumably carried his belongings. When the backpack was set on the ground with a heavy thud, Orie could see that the backpack was actually quite large, and only appeared small in comparison to Zug’s backside.

“Copy that, Kindling, one moment please…” A feminine voice replied. “You have permission to dock at the portside aft shuttle bay, Mr. Ferinju. Please inform Mr. Demaro that his CO will be waiting for him on the other side of the airlocks.”

ITKATSU KIYOKO

Hai, Taisa; I have control.” Kiyoko eased herself into the helm controls as she uttered that procedural phrase, smoothly taking over manoeuvring of the warship. Within Yamatai Space Traffic Control’s sphere of command around the Empire’s capital there shouldn’t be any mishaps, though with that said it was not unheard of and placating words about statistical insignificances had never proved to be of much use as armour against reality when things did go askew.

Like with the shuttle that was headed on an intercept course with them. Kiyoko compared vectors and distances, and then began to map out contingencies for if it continued on its heading; however before too many more seconds had passed the icon representing it shifted from that of neutral traffic to a friendly green motif signifying its intent – and approval – to dock. The Neko mentally shifted the shuttle down a priority level, but kept on eye on its approach.

Kiyoko pulled up the short data file attached to the shuttle’s icon. “A shuttle is on approach to dock, for the transfer of one crewman.” She spoke in a voice slightly softer than usual, the information being for the benefit of the Taisho who was sitting right beside her.

IMP SYNDROME

"I copy that, Celia. Kindling will now proceed to the port and aft bay to dock, over.

"You catch that last part, kiddo," Calen called back to his passenger.

"Yeah, got it."

"Alright, gather yer stuff so you're ready when we dock," the pilot said. He slightly adjusted the Kindling's flight path to match his destination, and, once the transport drew close enough, he slowed it down to a crawl to approach the shuttle bay. Finally, the ship rotated on its center point, aligned its own airlock with the Celia's, and attached itself to her.

While Calen engineered the docking sequence, Joachim gathered his things, slinging the shoulder strap of his duffel bag over his head and letting it rest firmly against his right shoulder. After making sure nothing had fallen from it by mistake, he grabbed up his tool kit and approached the airlock.

"Alright, now compressin' the airlock," Calen said, simultaneously pressing several switches to fill the space between the two ships with breathable air. As two small green lights appeared on his console, he continued, "Airlock secure; opening the hatch. Get goin', and good luck, kiddo!!"

"Thanks!!"

As the hatch opened up, Joachim stepped across a small steel platform that had extended from the Kindling and locked into place near the base of the airlock leading into the Celia. He hesitated for a moment before approaching the hatch and opening it, stepping through to greet his CO. He put his things down and snapped to a smart salute, just as his father had taught him to do.

"Santou Hei Joachim Demaro, technician, at your service, ma'am!!"

KEL

Orie couldn't help but gawk at the massive furniture in Zug's room when the door opened. She really could go mountain-climbing in there if she wanted to. She almost asked him if she could try it some time, but there'd be plenty of time for that later. After bowing a quick goodbye--which brought her around ankle height to him, it seemed--the tiny neko covered the short distance to her own room and quickly began stowing her few belongings.

 

[Yangfan]

YANGFAN

The officer standing in front of Joachim was a buxom Neko with purple, flowing hair that goes all the way down to her waist. She wore a gray-paneled bridge officer uniform, with a Shosa rank pin.

The Neko was looking at him up and down, silently appraising him as a jeweler would appraise a gemstone… or as a butcher would examine a piece of meat, depending on your views on officer-enlisted relations.

She looked at her data pad. “Welcome aboard… Joey. I will be your commanding officer aboard this ship. You may call me Sasaki-Shosa. Now, I’m sure you have many questions. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you your quarters, and explain some things along the way. Sounds good?”

IMP SYNDROME

Immediately after greeting his superior, Joachim could not help but notice certain things about her. Her physical frame was tall for being a Nekovalkyrja, and her violet eyes scanned him head to toe, missing no detail. He remained at attention while his commanding officer examined him thoroughly, as if trying to confirm that he was who he said he was. He would not have been surprised if she was, either; his reputation as a technician (or lack thereof) had raised many suspicions about whether or not he truly carried the blood of his father. The constant pressure made him rather nervous, just as he was in this moment.

Finally, however, his CO seemed satisfied; she gave him her name and rank, then offered to lead him to his personal quarters. He was somewhat surprised that she called him by his nickname, "Joey," but he quickly recovered, dismissing it as an insignificant familiarity.

"Yes ma'am, Sasaki-Shosa," the technician said, dropping his salute and picking up his duffel bag and tool kit again. Joey was somewhat familiar with the layouts of Ayame-class starships, as part of his training before being enlisted, but he did not know which room he would be stationed in. All he had wanted was a room large enough to accomodate himself and his luggage; this would be a rather simple request, as the bag over his shoulder and the tool kit in his left hand did not take up much space. He intently followed his superior, making quick mental notes of significant signs that would help him navigate the ship in the future.

YANGFAN

“First of all, I want to make one thing clear,” said Shosa Sasaki Sakai as she led Joachim down the hallway. “This isn’t your father’s ship. I don’t know how things are done on his ship, but we probably do many things differently. So if you have any preconceptions about how a Yamataian warship should be run, the rest of us don’t want to hear it.”

Sakai led Joachim into a lift. “Enlisted quarters, please, Celia,” said Sakai. The lift moved downward for a level or two before slowly coming to a stop. The Neko led Joachim back out, and continued walking.

“Any ship with a MEGAMI AI system is at least partially self-sufficient. The Celia can do maintenance and repair work on herself if needed, by spawning telepathically-controlled sprite Nekos. And she doesn’t let us anywhere near her processors, which is understandable, really. I don’t want some engineer fiddling with my brain because he thinks I need an ‘upgrade’, do you? However, with a ship of this size, there are a lot of maintenance work to be done on a regular basis. Most of them are fairly trivial and simple, and the Celia should be spending her vast computational power on more important things. This is where you tech sentries come in.”

Sakai led Joachim around a corner, into the Enlisted Quarters section. Joachim could see that two of the rooms were already open. A Troll and a small Neko seemed to have just arrived as well, and were settling into their rooms.

“Don’t get too depressed though,” said Sakai, “There’s still interesting engineering work to be done once in a while… This is your room.” The door silently slide open as the two approached. “Any questions?”

Meanwhile, on the bridge…

“We have the captain of the Ichiban standing by, Taisho,” reported Yuri.

“Put her on screen,” commanded Aurore.

A blue-haired Neko showed up on screen. She wore a white-paneled uniform with a Taii rank pin. “Orders, Branard-Taisho?”

“You are transporting some…” Aurore consulted her console. “Some medical supplies to Ohara, correct?” asked Aurore.
“Yes, ma’am. The Ichiban, Sanban, and Yonban will be delivering some experimental drugs to the YSS Freya’s Heart in the Ohara system. We are scheduled to leave soon.”

Aurore furrowed her brow. “Dock with us. We’ll carry you there with our fold drive.”

“Actually, sir,” Yuri chimed in, “Even if we had room left on the docking ring for three more transport ships, the Odori-class can’t achieve a secure docking lock with us when they are carrying cargo modules. They’d have to use umbilical tubes.”

“Well, in that case, they might as well just get in close to us. We can do a tactical unsecured group folding. It will be good practice for the pilots.”

“Uh… there might be a problem with that, ma’am,” said the increasingly nervous captain of the Ichiban.

Aurore looked annoyed. “Yes?”

“We have a Emrys Industries representative here, and he’s insisting that we don’t attempt anything ‘dangerous’ while we are carrying their cargo. He says that the drugs are highly unstable and expensive to manufacture… He’s afraid that something would go wrong, ma’am. Even a temporary loss of gravity or environmental controls could ruin the drugs.”

Aurore sighed. “How about you get a umbilical to us and move the cargo over to our ship? The Celia will transport it.”

“No, sir,” Celia objected with a hurt expression, as if she had just been insulted. “I am NOT a transport ship. There wouldn’t be enough room.”

Aurore rubbed her temples. “Don’t tell me you guys want to use conventional FTL drives…”

“It would be good practice for the crew, sir,” commented Yuri.

“Yes it would…” replied Aurore. “Watanabe-Taii, get HQ on the line. Tell them I want… six Arashi-class escorts here, on the double.”

“Aye, sir.”

KEL

Orie wasted little time in putting her things away. She was in a hurry to report to her station, but at the same time, she hadn't been told if she'd be sharing the room. It wouldn't be a very good introduction to her new roommates if they came in to find her massive pile of stuff in the middle of the room. Well, massive to her, at least. If it was another troll, they could probably move it all with one hand.

As the last of her belongings were put into place, she bowed respectfully to the air and asked, "MEGAMI, could you please tell me who I'm supposed to report to?"

IMP SYNDROME

Joey was somewhat irritated when Sasaki cautioned him about his ideas and how not to go about flaunting them just because of his lineage. He meant to say something on the contrary, about how he had not been raised upon the regulations on a single ship, but upon those of the entire Star Army, and that he, a single technician who had just been enlisted, did not believe himself fit to foist his own ideals upon anyone else. He wanted to tell her that he was not Demaro; he was Joey, and that he wanted to be someone different than just his last name and his bloodline. Still, he had to remember by whom he was being addressed; instead, he merely responded, "Understood, ma'am. I'll keep that in mind."

The Shosa and her new charge rode an elevator lift down to the cabins for the enlisted members of the crew. As they walked past several doors, most of which were closed, Joey listened to his CO explain exactly what kind of work he'd be doing on board the Celia. He promptly responded, "No, ma'am, not at all," to her comparison between herself and the cruiser's processors, but was soon distracted by the sight of two open doors, one of whose frames was almost twice as expansive as the others.

Finally, the two stepped up to the door to Joey's chambers, which slid open, and the Shosa asked him if he had any questions. He thought a minute, then decided to make a single, simple inquiry.

"I guess I just need to ask one thing, Sasaki-Shosa: Once I've arranged my things in my quarters, shall I report to you and await instructions, or should I go about my own business?"

As he asked the question, Joey suddenly felt the urge to address Sasaki about her previous remark regarding his father. This time, he didn't bother to supress this urge; he merely took the time to choose his words carefully before addressing his CO again.

"And, also...I don't mean to be rude by saying this, Sasaki-Shosa, but I hope you don't judge me by who I am or who my father is...It bothers me that people always think of me as 'Demaro' instead of 'Joachim'...I want to be acknowledged for my own abilities and my own dedication to the Star Army, that's all..."

Joey immediately felt stinging shame rise into his face; he felt supremely foolish. Here he was, not even on board for ten minutes, and he had already managed to back himself into a rather delicate corner. Depending on his commanding officer's temperament, he would end up either ashamed or dead for his arrogance. He bowed his head, waiting for her reply, expecting the worst.

ITKATSU KIYOKO

Alongside monitoring the local traffic situation Kiyoko payed close attention to the conversation going on on the bridge; when the three Odori’s where mentioned she tracked them down amongst the rest of the system’s traffic, tagging them as ‘targets of interest, friendly’ while the Taisho conversed with the Captain of one.

Listening in on that conversation however did little to disprove the rumours about Branard-Taisho; pushing that line of thought aside Kiyoko pulled up the data relevant to the proposed escort journey and worked on creating a preliminary route and some estimates to go with it.

Before long she had prepared a number of estimates based on differing scenarios; the tradeoffs between speed gained and defence options impacted by docking their escorts and / or dropping the just requested Arashis – these three ship types being the slowest in the proposed group. It was a relatively standard assessment of the situation in Kiyoko’s opinion; she only hoped that the Taisho wasn’t sufficiently irked to see it otherwise.

Kiyoko packaged the report and sent it to Branard’s desk, as well as telepathically pinging Hayasaka-Taisa with a link to it seeing as she was away from her station at the moment.

YANGFAN

Sakai stared at Joachim for a second, “Hmm… I have to report to the bridge soon, so you are free for now. There might be work for you once we reach Ohara. In the mean time, feel free to wander around the ship and familiarize yourself with her layout. You’ll need to be able to find your way around efficiently if you want to do your job well. Ask one of the other tech sentries for small tasks if you get bored. As for your request…”

Sakai sighed, and gave Joachim a wry smile. “I must admit that I’ve heard a few stories about your father through word of mouth. I don’t know how much of them are truth and how much of them are legend, however… so… request granted, Santô Hei Joachim, I’ll judge you by your own actions.”

“Santô Hei Aoki Orie,” replied the Celia, “your commanding officer is in the hallway right outside your door. You should ask her if you need orders.”

Aurore’s console flashed when Kiyoko’s report arrived. “Ah, thank you for the analysis, Itkatsu-Shosa. It’s very thoughtful of you,” replied Aurore as she skimmed the report. “Hmm… you’re right, we’d travel a lot faster if we didn’t bring the Arashi escorts along… However, I’ve always believed in bringing overwhelming firepower to a mission, even if I end up not needing it. Besides, there have been reports of Mi-”

“Err, Taisho?” Yuri interrupted Aurore with a nervous tone of voice. “Forgive me, but I don’t believe that you should share what you were about to say with the bridge crew…”

“Hmm? Ah, yes… I’ll brief you later, Shosa,” said Aurore. “Your assessment of Itkatsu-Shosa’s analysis, Yuri?”

“I agree that we should bring Arashi escorts along, sir. The speed tradeoff is worth it,” answer Yuri as she returned to her station besides Aurore. “The drugs are in no hurry to get to Ohara.”

“And…?”

“And… the ETA on the Arashi escorts is four minutes, sir.”

KEL

Ack! So her commanding officer had snuck up on her. Orie's uniform was thoroughly wrinkled from hauling all of her luggage around, and her hair was splayed in every direction. She was able to quickly smooth out her uniform, but her hair seemed more impervious than usual to her attempts at taming it. A few dozen seconds of coersion got it to the point where generally more hair was pointing down than up... which, really, was about the best that she could ever hope for. She huffed indignantly at her hair, angrily batting a few stray strands away from her eyes before giving up and opening her door. Cautiously, she took a few steps into the hall, as if she were expecting her new commanding officer to pounce on her at any second.

YANGFAN

Sakai blinked, and stared with mild surprise at Orie. “Oh, hello. You are Santô Hei Aoki Orie, right? Welcome aboard. Celia told me that I’d find you here. You are free to roam the ship as well. We might have a job for you two once we get to Ohara, though, so don’t wander over to one of the docked escort ships. You’ll get stuck there if the escort you are on undocks.”

Aurore tapped her fingers on her armrest impatiently. “Navigation, start plotting a course back to Ohara… via our CDD engine. I want us ready to leave by the time our Arashi escorts arrive.”

“Aye, sir.”

Aurore turned to look at Kiyoko. “We’ll arrive at Ohara in around 101 minutes, Shosa, barring any complications… Do you need some rest? I would like you to oversee the cargo transfer once we arrive, and I want you to be well rested for the job, if possible.”

 

[Yangfan]

ITKATSU KIYOKO

It was easy enough to figure out the gist of what Branard had been about to say, though Hayasaka’s reaction added an interesting element to the puzzle – Mishhu were appearing on Yamatai’s doorstep, but was that so much to keep from even the bridge crew, or was there something else to it that would spook a room full of officers?

Kiyoko knew better than to press the issue at all, and so let it slide aside in favour of more mundane talk; the Taisho’s inquiry into her state of rest an easy distraction. “I made sure to sleep adequately before my transfer here, Taisho. I could, however, do with a meal before we arrive.”

KEL

Orie bowed deeply as she was accosted by her commanding officer, then stood at the peak of attention after she rose from the bow. When she was informed that she was free to roam the ship, she could barely contain her excitement. As soon as she was given leave to go, she dashed back into her room and pulled out the datapad, then used it to find the shortest route to a maintenance access tunnel. Wasting no time, she climbed inside and began exploring the extensive network of walkways inside the ship.

They proved to be everything she had hoped for. The tiny neko simply felt more at home in small, enclosed areas, and there were enough doohickies down here to occupy her for years. For the time being, though, she curled up comfortably in a remote corner and daydreamed. The day had already provided her plenty of new fodder for her art, and she knew that there was something there if she'd only give it time to reveal itself to her...

IMP SYNDROME

Joey listened carefully as his superior officer outlined what he'd be able to do in his spare time. As she came to his request, he became somewhat nervous as a smile crossed her face. At her answer, however, his face lit up. He bowed to her first and then saluted her.

"Thank you, Sasaki-Shosa. I won't let you down."

As his CO turned to speak with another enlisted unit, Joachim entered his quarters. It was small, but it still gave the engineer just enough room to work with. After setting his things on his bed, he began unpacking his things, starting with his uniforms and other clothes. Once he could reach it, he gingerly picked up his work glasses and placed them gently on the desk next to his bed before continuing to sift through his gear.

Once his duffel bag was empty, Joey stowed it under his bed and placed his tool kit onto the desk. Turning on a small lamp overhead, he opened up the metal case and checked that his equipment was in order and retreived from it a small datapad, with which to access the necessary information to perform any task he needed to, and his grey Type 29 communicator, which he would need if anyone wanted to contact him or vice-versa. As he turned on the small device and set it to vibrate if he was contacted, then pocketed his communicator and stepped out of his room.

"Now let's see...I could use the datapad to find my way around if I got lost, but in a pinch, I should learn how to get around the ship without it...I bet if I just walk the routes back and forth a few times, I'll start remembering things that'll make it easier to remember. The bridge would be most important, so I'll start with that..."

Still muttering his process to himself, Joey accessed a map of the Celia from his datapad and studied the possible routes from his quarters to the bridge. After isolating a particular one, he began walking down the hallway, still talking to himself as he tried to point out key markers that would help to guide him on his way.

YANGFAN

Aurore nodded at Kiyoko. “Of course. I trust that you’ll be able to find the wardroom by yourself?”

“Sasaki-Shosa, are you aware that a soldier third class is climbing around on my insides?” asked Celia as Sakai walked toward the bridge.

“You mean Santô Hei Aoki Orie? Yes, ma’am.”

“… Um, should I be concerned?”

“Of course not, ma’am. She’s a trained professional. She knows what she’s doing.”

“Hmm. So you are defending a subordinate, whom you just met, in front of a superior officer? Is that it, Sasaki-Shosa?”

“I guess I am, ma’am.”

“Well… good. We just might make a leader out of you yet, Sasaki-Shosa.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

As Joachim walked, he noticed that there was a distinct lack of directional signs along the hallways, with the exception of a few “ESCAPE PODS THIS WAY -->” signs. Only the access hatches and the occasional computer terminal broke the surfaces of the metallic walls, sections of which were luxuriously decorated with wallpapers and wooden panels.

Luckily, he found that most of the important sections were prominently labeled once he had arrived there, so Joachim could still navigate via landmarks. He soon discovered that entrances to the lift system were especially of interest, as the lifts provided the most straightforward way to access the different decks of the cruiser.

IMP SYNDROME

Ugh...Lovely, Joey thought to himself as he meandered through the bland hallways. Looks like the signs, computer terminals, and access hatches are all I've got to navigate by. Guess I'll have to start paying attention to how many of each I pass before each turn. The lift's make it easier to find which deck level I want to access; it's just a matter of finding my destination on that deck level...I guess the wallpaper and stuff helps a bit, but still...It's going to be a pain remembering where all of it is...

After his first attempt to memorize the walkways near his quarters, Joey wound up several bulkheads away from his quarters. With another look at his datapad, he studied the route he had taken and attempted to memorize the series of turns and the 'decorations' he had passed on his way. Once he had finished repeating the directions to himself in his head, he pocketed his datapad and used his memory to retrace his steps back to his quarters.

As he passed through one of the hatches, not really paying much attention to anything other than quietly reciting his mantra of directions, Joey noticed something on the ground, shining beneath the artificial lights on the ceiling. He squatted down and picked up the small, unknown object, which turned out to be a Santou Hei rank pin, exactly like the one pinned to his own uniform. Knowing that this rank pin was important to someone's uniform, he knew he had to make an effort to find its original owner.

"Megami-Chusa," he said into the air, hoping to contact the ship's AI, "I've stumbled across a lost rank pin: Santou Hei, enlisted status, but most definitely not my own. Is there some way to make a global inquiry to the other enlisted personnel on board to see who it belongs to, or would it be easier to ask in person?"

Joey knew that he might not even need to ask; he figured that the person who had lost it would probably notice quickly and set about searching for it. Still, just in case, he figured it would be a good idea to check with Celia herself to see if anyone had made a formal 'BOLO' (Be On the Look-Out) about it.

YANGFAN

"Acknowledged, Santô Hei Demaro. I'm running a check now... There are no reports of lost Santô Hei rank pins in this fleet. I surmise that it has not been reported yet. There are three crewmen of Santô Hei rank on this ship, one of them is you. Hmm... All three of you arrived today. Perhaps one of you dropped it when you moved in? Please make contact with Santô Hei Aoki Orie and Santô Hei Zug Leonhart. One of them must have carried an extra rank pin aboard and dropped it by mistake."

Celia paused. "Oh, by the way, Santô Hei Aoki Orie is somewhere in my maintenance tunnels... She's occasionally moving about... You should probably contact Santô Hei Zug Leonhart first. He is in the mess hall right now."

ITKATSU KIYOKO

“Thank you, Taisho; I anticipate having no problems finding my way there.” With that Kiyoko alighted from her chair and – after having turned and bowed to the Taisho – left the bridge on her mission to procure herself some food.

From the bridge Kiyoko walked to the nearest lift and waited patiently for it to arrive, using that time to reflect on the events since she had stepped on board and to add items on her mental ‘to do’ list. The lift soon arrived and the Neko officer stepped into it, keying in her selection for the level below that which she was currently on.

A short elevator trip and a longer but by no means overly time-consuming walk later, Kiyoko walked through the entrance of the Celia’s wardroom. Pausing for a moment just inside the doorway she surveyed the scene to see how many people were about, while sampling the air for any dishes that she might like to have.

KEL

Orie sat quietly in the Celia's maintenance tunnels for quite a while, disturbed only by the occasional far-off echoes of ship systems and other technicians accessing the network. At the end of her reverie, a new holographic tattoo sprang up under her uniform, on her right upper arm: a cartoonish troll, with the roof of a shattered house perched like a hat on his head. She'd been torn between that and a head with tentacles, but the latter seemed too scary for a day when she was meeting new people. She'd save that for a day when she was facing combat; she was sure it would give her an edge against her enemies. A pity she had to hide it under her uniform for the time being, really. She made a mental note to make sure to wear a t-shirt when she was off-duty tonight so she could show it off, then took off down the tunnel again.

While most nekos and Yamataians would have just downloaded a map of the ship's internal passages in order to learn the layout, Orie scoffed at such things, preferring to explore the ship firsthand until she was intimately familiar with every nut and bolt. Such was it that, upon reaching a small hatch in the floor of the access tunnel, she opened it and lowered her head into the corridor below, green hair hanging below her head like a frazzled curtain. This move left her head, conveniently, about six feet in front of (and, of course, above) Joachim. Spying his Santô Hei rank pin, she addressed him in a friendly manner, as an equal. "Hello! Could you please tell me which deck this is?" Her voice and expression made it clear that she thought this was a perfectly normal thing to ask a stranger while dangling from the ceiling.

 

[Yangfan]

YANGFAN

The wardroom was brightly lit, but empty. It was set up in the arrangement of a small, old-fashioned delicatessen, with a few small wooden tables, and a serving bar along one side of the room that was lined with a few leather-seated stools. The wooden panels on the floor made pleasing clicking sounds beneath Kiyoko's boots. Various framed pictures lined the walls. All of the tables were clean and clear, save one, which appeared to have hosted a card game that was abandoned by its participants mid-game.

The air faintly smelled of lemon and antiseptics. It was a slightly acrid, but not really unpleasant smell.

A hatchway behind the bar led presumably to the wardroom's galley. Kiyoko could hear someone humming on the other side of the hatch.

IMP SYNDROME

"Understood. I appreciate the help, Chusa."

With those words, Joey began charting the quickest path to the cafeteria, which was, to his dismay, nine deck levels below his current position. Giving a sigh, he took his first step forward towards the nearby elevator lift, but he stopped when he heard something behind him. He turned fast on one heel to see who or what had snuck up on him, but no one was there. He shrugged and turned back towards his previous route, but when a voice shouted a question at him from the ceiling behind him, he nearly jumped out of his uniform. He whirled around again, facing the ceiling, to see a green-haired Neko leaning out from a maintenance hatch in the ceiling. He caught his breath, regained his composure, then addressed her question.

"This...this is Deck Ten, enlisted quarters. If I may ask...what...exactly are you doing in the ceiling...?"

In the instant that he saw her uniform, Joey remembered that Celia had mentioned a Santou Hei navigating the maintenance shafts. The lost rank pin in his hand reminded him of what he was doing.

"Say, your name wouldn't happen to be Aoki Orie, would it?"

KEL

Joachim's questions seemed momentarily lost on Orie, who nibbled her lip thoughtfully, mumbling to herself. "Hmm... I think it zagged when I expected it to zig." Her head disappeared from the ceiling. For several seconds, loud scuffling sounds emanated from the hole as she turned around to survey the path behind her, then she dropped her head back down to address the other Santô Hei. "Yeah, that must be it. I thought for sure that I'd be to deck six by now."

She hesitated, a look of dawning realization slowly making its way across her face as Joachim's questions finally registered in her brain. "Yeah, that's me! Pleased to meet you!" She thrust a hand down for him to shake, apparently not noticing that it was the hand she'd been supporting most of her weight on. Almost immediately, she tumbled headfirst through the hatch. Her gravity manipulation kicked in several feet above the ground, causing her to suddenly halt in midair, hands and feet dangling from her body as if she were impaled on an invisible spear. Acting as if nothing had happened, she extended a hand toward Joachim again, still hovering in midair. "I'm just exploring the access tunnels. This ship has some great ones. I bet I'll be able to get from bow to stern in sixty seconds without having to set foot in a corridor, once I've learned my way around up here."

YANGFAN

“The six Arashi escorts you requested have arrived, sir,” said Shina from the Sensors station. “I'm picking them up on long range scanners.”

“Comm, have them fall into skirmish formation. Hayasaka-Chusa, you may engage the engines as soon as all ships are in position.”

“Aye, sir.”

The six Arashi-class escort destroyers quickly closed in around the Celia battle group and the three Odori-class freighters in a loose skirmish formation. After a brief moment of electronic handshaking on the part of the various ship's AI systems, the convoy began accelerating away from the Yamatai system, and was quickly out of view.

IMP SYNDROME

Joey couldn't help but wonder who he was dealing with. At first, he thought the green-haired Neko a hardcore technician who was taking the phrase "getting to know the ship" a bit far, but when she fell down from the maintenance shaft and stopped her fall in midair, he could tell that she was also gifted with exceptional reflex and mobility. He shook her hand, somewhat shocked at her ability to move herself around while hanging in midair; he wasn't very familiar with Nekovalkyrja and didn't know about their ability to manipulate gravity. He listened to her for a moment, honestly interested in what she had to say about the maintenance tunnels.

"Really? You'll have to show me sometime. My name's Joachim Demaro, but everyone calls me Joey. Listen, I found this rank pin on the floor, and I'm searching for its owner. Since I have mine, I'm looking for the other two Santou Hei on board to see if they lost their pin."

Joey held the rank pin out for Aoki to examine, unable to see if she had hers or not from the way she hung in midair. He made a mental note to inquire about Nekos and their ability to float when he next spoke to his CO.

"You're not missing yours, by chance, are you?"

KEL

Orie eyed the stray rank pin curiously, slowly lowering herself to the floor as she did so. She thrust her chest out, proudly showing that her rank pin was still in its place. "Nope. I still have mine." Her tone of voice made it obvious that she saw this as quite an achievement.

"I walked to my room with another Santô Hei, but I can't remember if he had his pin on by the end or not... I know he had it on when we started. Maybe we should visit him first? He lives right near here." She had, it seemed, decided to join Joachim's quest.

IMP SYNDROME

Joey watched carefully as Aoki lowered herself down to the floor, amazed at the control she exhibited over her movements. He noted the rank pin secured on her uniform; that only left Leonhart in the mess hall, nine decks below. He flinched at the Neko's mention of the third Santou Hei; he listened intently to what she had to say, although he was unable to derive much useful information.

"(That could only have been Zug Leonhart)...Yeah, Megami-Chusa mentioned that he was in mess hall on deck nineteen; I was just on my way there to ask him about this. I doubt it'll be a very exciting errand, but you're welcome to come with me, if you like."

Joey looked back down at his datapad, which still displayed a small arrow leading to the nearest elevator lift. He put the rank pin in his pocket and, looking back to see what Aoki would do, led the way to the lift.

ITKATSU KIYOKO

Lights on, but nobody home. Kiyoko slowly wandered around the empty wardroom while soaking in its details; it had a completely different feel to it than the wardroom on the Sakura-class gunship she had served on, with its small size and wooden floors it felt less formal and more inviting in her opinion than the large, marble-floored wardroom of the Sakuras.

With nobody – and more importantly to her current objective, no food – in sight, the Neko officer followed the sounds of humming to the serving bar and weaved her way around its length to position herself next to the hatch way behind it. She took a moment to listen to the tune originating behind the metal portal, before she brought up one of her hands and knocked on it twice.

“Hello? Is there anybody there?” she inquired politely.

YANGFAN

A brown-haired Neko with tanned skin opened the hatch from the other side. She wore a red-paneled SAY uniform, a Santô Juni rank pin on her bosom, and oven mitts over her hands. “Oh, I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't hear you come in... Could I make you something?” she asked, blinking her orange eyes.

Once he reached the right deck, it did not take Joachim long to find the mess hall.

The giant Troll was fairly easy to spot in the cafeteria. Zug was apparently using on one of the long benches as a stool. He held an absolutely giant bowl of fried rice in his hands, and was eating noisily. The long bench valiantly held firm under his weight.

KEL

Orie didn't need to be invited twice. She quickly took up position beside Joachim, her expression stoic at the gravity of their errand. This lasted until the two of them got into the lift, at which point she got distracted and gave Joey a thorough description of how ingeniously designed the lifts in the Ayame-class were and how much she looked forward to working on one. This lecture lasted all the way down the hall, until the looming bulk of the troll distracted her from it.

"... but the buttons are amazing; I never would have thought to rig them that way. When you push one, it sends this signal all the way to--Oh! Hi, Zug!" She gave the troll a friendly wave. "This is Joey. He has something to talk to you about."

 

[Yangfan]

IMP SYNDROME

Joey stepped into the elevator lift and, after clearing his throat, said, "Deck nineteen, please, Chusa." As the lift dropped, the new recruit became captivated by Orie's enthusiastic rant about the elevator lift, awestruck by her knowledge about its operation. He stepped absent-mindedly out of the lift and led the way down the corridor to the mess hall.

"That's amazing...!! I never would've considered that kind of design...It seems so simple in context, but when you take the AI system's adaptation into account, it takes the entire interfacing process to the next level...!!"

As the two Santou Hei walked through the door and into the mess hall, Joey's attention was drawn from Orie to a ten-foot-tall troll eating fried rice at one of the tables. His first reaction was to immediately leave and not return until it had gone, but upon recognizing his enlisted uniform, he changed his approach. He was unsure what to do until Orie hailed the troll from the doorway, calling him out as Zug. Shocked but still calm (to an extent, anyway), he stepped forward and held out his hand in greetings.

"Hello, I'm...I'm Santou Hei Joachim Demaro...Most people call me Joey, though...Anyway, someone lost this rank pin, and I'm trying to figure out which Santou Hei it belongs to...I was wondering if you still have yours..."

Joey held forth the rank pin for Zug to observe, forgetting to check if the troll's rank pin was already displayed; he was too afraid of him to bother thinking about much else besides the danger in which he had unwittingly put his well-being.

YANGFAN

Zug looked up from his food when Orie hailed him. A few particles of rice were still stuck to his face. “Wha? Oh! Hello again!” He listened carefully to what Joachim had to say, and then took a second or two to process all the information.

Zug then put down the nearly empty bowl and the giant spoon he had been using on the bench next to him, revealing that he still had his rank pin on him. He looked down. “Let's see... Yep, Zug still have his rank pin... Although, Zug did carry an extra one in his pack. Hmm. Maybe it fell out? Could you please look on the back of that rank pin, Mister Joey?”

If Joachim were to casually examine the back of the rank pin, he would see nothing unusual. However, if held at the right angle, and observed carefully, he could make out faint scratchings that say “porperty of Zug Leonhart”.

ITKATSU KIYOKO

“That’s alright; I was not making much noise.” Kiyoko wondered if the mitten-clad Neko had been in the middle of baking a cake.

"If it’s not inconvenient I was looking for a quick, filling meal; nothing fancy, but something that will keep my energy levels up for when we arrive around Ohara.”

IMP SYNDROME

Joey was somewhat surprised when he saw Zug's rank pin securely fastened to his uniform, but that surprise was somewhat mitigated upon hearing that the troll carried a spare pin. Forgetting his fear of the ten-foot-high Santou Hei for a moment, he turned the rank pin over, as he was told, and looked carefully at it. Normally, any other person would've dismissed the scratches on the pin as just scratches, but Joey's eyes, which were accustomed to processing miniscule details from his engineering experience, showed him that the scratches formed a series of words, though somewhat hard to read. He tilted the pin slightly, and suddenly the words became plain and distinct.

"Ah, there's writing on here...! It says...'Property of Zug Leonhart.' Wow...If I'd checked the back of it when I'd first found it, the whole search could've taken much less time...Oh well...Anyway, here you go."

Joey handed the rank pin to Zug, letting out a sigh of relief. The whole ordeal had been somewhat tedious, but he was glad he could help one of his fellow shipmates.

"And," he added with a nervous smile, "you can just call me 'Joey'...All my friends do."

YANGFAN

“Thank you, Joey!” said Zug as he gratefully accepted the rank pin. “Losing this could've gotten me in a lotta trouble! Say... you guys want to grab some food too? I hear tha da offisas got a lotta work for us when we get to Ohara!”

At Zug's enthusiastic promptings, Orie and Joachim were convinced to stay for some light snacks. Conversing over their food, Orie and Joachim discovered that Zug came from a military family as well: Zug's father reached the rank of Nitô Juni before his retirement, a rare achievement for one whose species is viewed by many as one of large, disposable soldiers. And now Zug is carrying on the family tradition. While it was obvious that Zug was not the sharpest knife in the weapons locker, some of his comments and views were surprisingly insightful and wise.

Meanwhile, Kiyoko enjoyed a simple meal in the wardroom. Her meal consisted of some tuna salad, some brown rice, and a peanut butter cupcake for dessert. Exchanging small talk with the cook on duty, she discovered that the cook's name was Jasmine, who had two sisters who also served aboard the Celia, and that all three of them worked as cooks.

Around one and a half hours later, the convoy flashed back into reality near the outer rims of the Ohara system.