RP: YSS Miharu Mission 4: The Fame and the Fury

Nyton's instincts were already guiding him and they alerted him without thinking. His eyes are tracking my shoulders! Feint!

Ignoring Heram's statement Nyton pressed his attack and shifted his left shoulder as though he were about to lead his attack with another left jab. While his body shifted into the feint his fist barely went out when his hips twisted to snap out his right leg into a side kick to the right of Heram's mid-section. The feinting left fist went along with the kick to maintain stability while the right arm remained on guard.

"Yes, ma'am. Would I have enough time to potentially meet with someone else before speaking with you again? I had some questions, which I would like to have answered as soon as possible..." Kyou tilted her head, waiting for a response before deciding on what she would do from here.

Masako glanced over at Kyou and nodded. "Yes, I'll give you time to ask your questions before I talk with you again," the Warrant Officer stated as she looked at her wrist computer. "I'll find something to take my time," the smaller Neko joked slightly.

Dismissed, Yukari left.

Miharu had alerted her to what Takuma-Hei and the Heisho were up to. She reported to the MEGAMI room, having reviewed via image panel how far the pair had come.

"Hei, Heisho," Yukari said after she walked in, looking a bit stiff. "What stage are we at now in the decryption?"

Miyoko rather quickly pushed herself back up to sitting at least somewhat upright as Yukari entered the room, though she still wasn't exactly the picture of formality. "Miharu is preparing to make the first runs at breaking the encryption, using some information that we expect to be on there so that we have a known base to start from. Capacity is limited, so we're going to be restricted to performing searches for specific keywords and then decoding the files around them until we have several days to decrypt the entire thing. I'd planned to make our first pass looking for references to Amaya's Gate, since that's the one big mystery facing us that might have some answers on here. If that fails, I was considering just running down a list of important targets and tactically significant keywords. I thought I'd start on the gate since it sounds fairly unique... starting with, say, 'Eve' could pose some problems if we get back ten thousand hits on 'Daughters of Eve.'"

Wazu’s body would absorb the hits again, ducking down to avoid the fake punch only to receive the kick to the side of his body. Wazu knew he couldn’t go hit for hit with Nyton, his body simply wasn’t set up for it, and at this point he could taste a little bit of blood.

Though now he was finally lined up for what he wanted to do. Wazu would reach out, his arms extending in either direction to help grab Nyton as his legs pushed off against the wall, his head tilting downward so he wouldn’t be putting the force of the impact on his neck as he did his best to shove Nyton backwards, right into the table he had passed on his way over to him.

Kyou nodded, and stepped out of the room to give Masako and Tsuya privacy before composing a quick message.

To: Tom Freeman-Juni
Would you happen to have a moment to speak? I'm one of the new members of the crew, and had a few questions I was told to ask you.

Gunshin Kyoufuu-Hei

Click to expand...

Done with the message, she made her way towards the wardroom, pending an answer from him or Masako's request for further discussion.

As he awaited Ichigo's reply, another message came to Tom's display.

To: Tom Freeman-Juni
Would you happen to have a moment to speak? I'm one of the new members of the crew, and had a few questions I was told to ask you.

Gunshin Kyoufuu-Hei

Click to expand...

He was running his hand across the side of one of the capacitors as he dictated his reply through the armor.

"Gunshin Kyoufuu-Hei,

Welcome to Miharu. I am happy to answer your questions. You can ask me through this channel or you can come to the subdeck. Are you free to work? I could use more hands down here.

-Freeman-Juni"

Click to expand...

Yukari nodded at Miyoko's reply ... then sat down next to her, on the floor, with her legs folded beneath her. Her body bled stress all over the light grey-bluish decking until, perhaps 15 seconds later, she was hardly breathing, watching the armature-held core be scanned by MEGAMI. She wasn't relaxed, though; her eyes looked tired.

"I hope we do not have to wait long for the initial search," she said. "Good news would be welcome."

Kyou turned herself around, and headed towards the subdeck.

To: Kurohoshi-Juni
If it's alright with you, I will help Freeman-Juni with his work while I ask my questions. This might make it take longer then expected. Would you prefer I wait until after talking to you to assist him?

Gunshin-Hei

Click to expand...

Upon reaching the sub-deck, she glanced around, debating whether to go looking for him before receiving an answer from Masako or not.

Nyton felt his leg connect and immediately began to bring it back down to continue his attack. Heram's counter caught him just as his base reformed but not before it could be reinforced. The impact of Heram's body forced Nyton to back up towards the table behind him.

With Heram's head tilted down the neck was protected from any attempt to choke him. Nyton then wrapped the right arm around Heram's torso, grabbing the shirt with his hand to help him hold tightly. At the same time he grabbed his opponent's upper right arm and locked his cybernetic fingers around it, squeezing tightly like a vice. With the safety calibrations on the fingers disabled Nyton's hand would begin to crush that part of Heram's arm as the metal fingers dug into the flesh, muscle, and bone.

Nyton's intent was to use the pain inflicted to force Heram to loosen his grip around his body. With the grip loosened Nyton would then lift with his right arm to bring Heram's feet off the floor. Nyton would use the impact of the table to give a little momentum and brace him while lifting Heram off the floor. With Heram off the floor Nyton would then swivel himself and slam his opponent onto the table.

[ON]

As soon as Yukari and Kyou had left the VR Room, the small Warrant Officer turned to Tsuya with a small frown on her face. "Listen Yamada-hei," Masako began before pausing a second to observe the young Neko's reaction. "I apologize if my rebuke was too much for you," she said in a more motherly tone. "But I had to get the point across that you were getting a little out of line with your remarks to the Shosa."

“I am sorry, Kurohoshi-juni." Tsuya didn't risk saying anything more, or even looking at the wing commander. She just bored a hole into the deck with her eyes.

Masako's frown grew as Tsuya didn't make eye contact. "Yamada-san," the raven-haired Neko spoke to the gray Neko gently, even dropping her rank at the end. "Please look at me," she requested.

Tsuya's head snapped up obediently, and she met Masako's eyes with her own. "Hai, Kurohoshi-juni."

Masako's expression was a warm and gentled one as she looked at the younger Neko. "I think you are taking most of this criticism a bit too personally," she began before giving Tsuya a small smile. "You are young and it is easy to let our emotions get the better of our judgment." the Warrant Officer explained as she took a couple of steps closer to the taller Tsuya to look directly into the enlisted woman's eyes. Space-black voids met with iridescent green as Masako smiled a bit wider to try and comfort her subordinate. "You just need to think before you speak sometimes, okay?"

"...yes. I... I just thought... the sim was supposed to be for us, and Shosa..." She hurriedly put a hand over her mouth before she said something that would get her chided again.

Masako smiled even more before sighing and placing a hand upon her hip and the wrist of the hand holding her datapad on the other. "Suzuka-shosa requested to join the simulation," Masako explained with a chuckle. "A simulation originally designed for new recruits and while the Shosa hasn't been in armor combat much, she is still much more experienced compared to Nagamira-hei, Gunshin-hei, and you. So in essence, I had to raise the difficulty level as soon as I allowed her to join us," the Warrant Officer admitted.

Tsuya let her hand drop. "Why did she want to join?"

"She had some free time and wanted to be of some assistance. Suzuka-shosa asked me if we were going to do simulations today. I said that we were and I was probably going to do it sooner than I expected because a few of you looked a bit 'bored'," Masako explained.

At that moment, Masako received a message from Kyou.

To: Kurohoshi-Juni
If it's alright with you, I will help Freeman-Juni with his work while I ask my questions. This might make it take longer then expected. Would you prefer I wait until after talking to you to assist him?

Gunshin-Hei

Click to expand...

It wouldn’t take long for Masako to think up of a response for the Enlisted woman. ”Don’t worry too much about it, I will be available when you are finished,” she sent to the younger Neko before returning her attention to Tsuya.

The young neko nodded - she still wasn't entirely pleased with the situation, but at least now she had a reason for it. "I am sorry for acting out of line," she mumbled, her eyes briefly darting away from Masako's face. "I was... frustrated."

"How did you think I feel?" Masako asked with a grin. "I was taking the role of the enemy commander near the end and victory was in my sight before Suzuka-shosa order the Miharu's self-destruction," Masako explained in a teasing tone.

Tsuya gave a very small smile, putting her hands on her slim hips. "That is what you think, Kurohoshi-juni!" Staring at Tsuya for a moment, the young Warrant Officer let out a small giggle before strangling it. She hated it when she giggled. It always sounded like she was a schoolgirl. Clearing her throat, the small-stature Neko tried to regain some composure (and dignity). "Well, we won't find out until the next simulation, now will we?" she asked the enlisted woman before pausing for a moment. "Feeling better now?"

The young pilot's smile threatened to widen for a moment at her superior's giggle before she managed to force the expression off her face. "I... a little," Her ears drooped. "I was... hoping I would impress you, and I did not get the chance. Now you only think I am insubordinate."

"Not true at all," Masako said before pausing for a second. "I believe you're crazy for using a flamethrower against grenade-armed forces," the Warrant Officer stated in a teasing tone.

Tsuya hmphed! "I did not know they had grenades, Kurohoshi-juni! I wanted to eliminate any combatants before they had a chance to attack!" A rather smug little grin crept over her face for a moment. "...and they did not hurt me that badly anyway."

"Only because you got lucky, Yamada-hei," Masako explained a bit more seriously now. "Each of those Nekomachina carried 6 High Explosive Grenades and you were lucky that most of them didn't go off on you. And the eighteen that did were blocked by the ship's corridors when the shockwave propelled you back."

Tsuya winced. "...I... made a mistake, yes... I am sorry…but, Kurohoshi-juni, I am expendable. The officers and the ship are not."

Masako's jaw clinched for a moment before she took a deep breath. "No one is expendable, Yamada-hei," she stated in a distant tone, as if she were thinking about something else for a moment. Taking another deep breath, the Warrant Officer raised the hand without the datapad and waved a scolding finger at the taller neko. "And don't you dare ever think like that again. You should risk your life for a better reason than 'I am more expendable'." the small Neko seemed close to ranting.

The finger-waggle made Tsuya retreat only the slightest bit. "I respect you very much, but... I must disagree. I am only a few months old. There are millions of neko exactly like myself, and more are being grown every day. If I am killed in combat you will have another as soon as you like." Masako seemed to pause again as she took another deep breath. "Yamada-hei, I'm also one of those Nekovalkyrja," the small Warrant Officer stated with a frown. "Have you ever heard of the Xyainbor Campaign?" she suddenly asked the enlisted woman.

"You are -," As the wing commander spoke again, Tsuya stopped. "No, I have not."

"It was during the first war against the Mishhuvurthyar," Masako began without any ceremony. "Over the planet of Xyainbor, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Nekovalkyrja War Fleets were destroyed. At the same time, the 11th, 13th, 16th, and 17th War Fleets were annihilated over Draconis." the Warrant Office explained from memory with a grimace. "In essence, over seven hundred billion Nekovalkyrja died in two battles alone." Masako paused to let the fact weigh on Tsuya mind for a moment. “Two months after that, my sisters and I were created to reinforce key positions."

Tsuya's face contorted just a bit. Her eyes moistened slightly, and her ears flagged further. "...I am sorry, Kurohoshi-juni... such loss of life is... is a tragedy..."

Sighing quietly, the Warrant Officer patted Tsuya on the arm. "What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't take your life for granted," Masako explained quietly. "I've survived since that time. It's been tough though. In a society with Soul Transfer, death is mainly considered a nuisance rather than a fate. Yet I've seen plenty die. Some are killed and resurrected with no memories before their ST. They lose those memories, whether good or bad, and lose something they had gained out of the trade. Then, there are those who never get resurrected." Pausing for a moment, Masako shook her head. "Even if we can be resurrected, our lives are still precious. We must always attempt to stay alive. But if we are to die, we must at least make sure we make a difference with our deaths."

"I would sacrifice myself even if there was no possibility of resurrection. My purpose is to protect others."

"Noble of you," Masako said quietly. "But sometimes, those noble ideas tend to be forgotten on the battlefield. Even for us who are trained only for war, we grow to develop likes, dislikes, and loved ones." Masako explained before pausing. "It used to be that I fought for the Empire, but that changed after my first couple of times in actual combat. Now, I only fight to protect my comrades around me." Masako stated with a determined expression. "I will protect my subordinates, my superiors, my ship, and my crew mates. That is why I fight." she stated before clearing her throat. The young Warrant Officer's cheeks flushed a bit pink in the realization that she went off on a tangent. "Anyway, all I'm say is value your life a bit more, okay?" she stated with her eyes averted off to the side.

"I... will try, if you want me to, Kurohoshi-juni. But it will be hard. I want to do my job as best I can." Tsuya frowned a bit.

"It's always difficult, Yamada-hei," Masako stated before sighing loudly. "Anyway, that’s enough with this." the small Warrant Officer stated as she waved for Tsuya to follow. "Let's just get a drink from the kitchen." older Neko replied to her charge. "And talk about things that are less depressing."

Tsuya nodded, trying to keep the frown off her face as she toddled after her superior officer. "That is a good idea."

After a short jaunt through the Recreation Room and to the Wardroom, Masako led Tsuya to the kitchen for a quick drink. Not wanting to disturb anyone there, she took a peek through the entryway. Apparently, their new Caretaker siblings were elsewhere for the moment. "Let's see if they have anything to drink in Storage," the young Warrant Officer mumbled as she walked into the kitchen. The kitchen itself seemed to be divided up into areas. The area they entered from seemed to be a serving area that led into the galley and scullery. A couple of large, walk-in refrigerators and freezers populated the back area with a few smaller refrigerators to store smaller items.

The young neko just stepped along quietly behind Masako, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. "Kurohoshi-juni, what are we going to drink?"

"Whatever they have available," the smaller Neko replied as she reached for one of the smaller refrigerators. Pulling it open, she revealed mostly a bunch of sauces and condiments. "Hmmm, that's not it," she mumbled before closing that and opening another to find juices. "Ah, here we go," she said with a hint of triumph before glancing over the selection. "Orange, Grapefruit, and Apple," she listed off for the enlisted woman.

"Oh!" Tsuya made a happy little noise. "May I please have some apple juice?"

"Okay then," the Warrant Officer replied as she went seeking for an already opened container. "Try finding some cups for us, Yamada-san," she asked a bit more informally.

"Hai, Kurohoshi-juni." She turned to some cabinets along the sides of the room, opening and rifling through them. Eventually, she produced a couple of delicate china cups. "...are these okay?"

Pulling her head out from the refrigerator, Masako grimaced at the taller Neko's choice. "Could you try to find something more durable than that? I wouldn't want to damage those."

"Oh... okay." She returned them to the cabinet with great care before retrieving two more, just made of ceramic. "Are these better?"

Masako nodded her affirmation as she pulled out the apple juice container and poured some for Tsuya first. She then took the other cup gently from the taller woman's hand and poured herself some juice. Afterwards, it was just closing the container and carrying it with her. "Let's go out to the wardroom now." the raven-haired neko suggested as she took a sip from her cup.

Tsuya wrapped both hands around the cup and sipped from it, surprisingly daintily for a near-berserker power armor pilot. "Hai, Kurohoshi-juni."

Smiling gently, the Warrant Officer led Tsuya out into the wardroom. Taking a seat in a nearby chair, Masako set the juice container upon an end table and motioned for the taller Neko to sit nearby. "I have to say though, even with your bout of pyromania," she began in a teasing tone. "I was very impressed with you in the simulation."

The young neko sat near her superior, but not too close. Masako's words brought a small blush to her cheeks. "...r-really?"

"Of course," Masako replied before taking a sip. "You handled yourself very well in combat versus multiple opponents and executed your orders very well." she explained her logic before leaning back in her chair with a sigh. "All you need is a bit more experience."

Tsuya tried to stop her rather large smile, staring down into her cup of juice. "Thank you, Kurohoshi-juni. It is an honor."

Chuckling lightly, Masako took another sip from her cup. "I can see you paid attention to what they taught you at Ichiban," she replied before pausing for a moment. "I'm still amazed it's been four years since I was there," she mumbled quietly to herself.

"You have become a very good combatant in only four years, Kurohoshi-juni..."

The small Neko grimaced slightly, but tried hiding it behind her cup as she tried to sip some more juice. "I've had to in order to survive," the young Warrant Officer replied mildly.

"...I am sorry. I did not mean it to sound... that way... I was trying to compliment you." Her ears drooped low.

"Don't worry about it, Yamada-san," the smaller Neko replied with a small smile. "Honestly, I sometimes envy people like Saito-hei or Ashitaka-hei. People who can aid rather than harm," Masako admitted to the enlisted woman. "But I don't regret ever being created the way I am. After all, I can protect people with those skills because of it."

Tsuya frowned and reached over to rest a hand on Masako's shoulder, before she paled and quickly withdrew the appendage. "...without us they would have no work."

Masako blinked at Tsuya a moment before shaking her head. "True," she replied with a sigh. "But I was thinking more along the lines of what they can do after their service to the Empire."

"We could always become farmers," Tsuya teased lightly.

Masako nearly giggled again before covering her mouth a bit to stifle it. "I wouldn't have the patience for it," she replied lightly. "I can never imagine myself not being in the Star Army. I know I want to be able to retire a eventually, but I can't think of anything I could do," she explained with a helpless shrug.

"If you do not know what you would do, then why do you want to retire?" She brought the cup to her lips and took another small sip, raising an eyebrow.

Masako paused for a moment as she took a sip from her cup once more. "Killing Mishhu, I can handle," she began before her expression became dark. "Killing other Nekovalkyrja...is another thing entirely."

"...you could request a transfer, Kurohoshi-juni." A cloud of worry passed over Tsuya's face.

"I could never forgive myself if I abandoned the Taisa and my crewmates like that," Masako replied before pausing once more to drain the last of her cup. "I told you before, I fight for them."

Tsuya's cup was still nearly half full. She seemed too troubled to drink much of it. "I worry for you now."

Masako blinked a bit in surprise at Tsuya's comment before chuckling weakly. "Yeah...it's probably why I don't talk about it much," she muttered as she pour herself some more juice. "Honestly, I have no idea why I said those things to you just now. I dislike showing weakness to my subordinates."

"Having feelings is not weak, Kurohoshi-juni... I would be more upset if you had no emotions at all." She gave the older neko a small smile. "I have even more respect for you now."

The young Warrant Officer couldn't help but blush at Tsuya's words before setting down the juice container and waving in a dismissive manner. "I guess," was all she could say before pausing a moment. "Thanks."

Tsuya bobbed her head happily. "You are welcome. ...maybe you could be a mechanic."

Pondering a bit, Masako looked up at the ceiling for a moment before chuckling. "That's a possibility," she replied with a smile. "I do have a bit of experience in repairs and maintenance."

"I am sure you would be a very good mechanic! You would be the... pride of... mechanics everywhere?" She paused, then took a drink of juice to hide her embarrassment.

Another giggle had to be stifled in order for Masako to maintain her dignity. Tsuya seemed to be a very amusing youngster. "I hardly believe I'm that good," she stated with a sniff before sipping from her cup once more.

"You are already the best armor pilot in Yamatai! I am sure it would not be that difficult to become a skilled mechanic."

"Flattery won't get you any where with me, Yamada-san," Masako replied with a chuckle.

"It is the truth, not flattery!"

"I think there are plenty of skilled mechanics better than I am," Masako replied before sipping. "And all I am is the luckiest pilot in Yamatai, not the best. There are probably other pilots who have yet to die in a single engagement."

"True, but I do not know them." She nodded sagely, trying again to keep the smile off her face... and failing worse than ever.

The small Warrant Officer snorted in amusement as she took another sip from her cup. "Funny, neither do I," she replied before pausing once more. "Yamada-san, do you have any hobbies?" she asked suddenly. "Ichiban should have encouraged you to develop some."

"I love to cook, especially baking... and I, um, like to drive." She coughed slightly into her hand, red-cheeked.

"Driving? That's an unusual hobby," the Warrant Officer replied. "And while I've always wanted to try and learn cooking, I've always been caught up in other things," she stated before taking a sip of juice. "Currently, I'm studying Navigation and Weapons Development to help the Miharu out a bit." she explained before pursing her lips. "The only hobby I actually have is playing my viola," she mumbled quietly.

"You play the viola?" Tsuya looked somewhat delighted. "I would love to listen!"

"I'm still an amateur at my best," the Warrant Officer was quick to say. "I can't play often, so I normally do it as a stress reliever."

"If you would like an audience..."

Masako chuckled weakly. "I don't have any confidence to play for an audience, but eventually I may." she stated before taking a sip. "What do you do for stress relief, Yamada-san?"

"Cook, drive... combat is also a stress reliever, for me, but that is because I am strange." She blushed.

"You are more like other Nekovalkyrja than I am," Masako replied with a chuckle. "Unlike most Nekovalkyrja, I don't find stress relieve from combat or from the bodies of others. I guess the Nepleslian word for me would be 'virgin' in the latter." she mumbled absent-mindedly.

"I am a virgin as well," Tsuya admitted, her cheeks getting redder. "I have never... kissed anyone, either."

Masako blinked incredulously for a moment before chuckling weakly. "Oh my, look how this conversation turned out. A bit awkward for both of us, isn't it?"

"...y-yes, I think so." The young pilot was suddenly very interested in her feet.

After a moment of silence, Masako drained the last from her second cup and placed it on the end table. "Don't worry about it too much, that little glitch was my fault. Talk about opening my mouth and inserting my foot." she chuckled as she scratched the tip of her left ear.

"Well... it was a natural part of the conversation. I... took it a bit too far, I think."

"How about we just change the subject then," Masako replied as she pursed her lips in thought for a few moments. "Ahhhhh, how do you like the Miharu so far," she asked with a chuckle.

"I have not been here very long, but I like it very much. Everyone is kind, so far." She smiled. "I am very glad I was assigned here."

"Good," Masako replied with a smile. "I'm glad you can at least enjoy your time here when you can," the Warrant Officer said as she looked around the wardroom. "Speaking of which, I should probably talk to Gunshin-hei soon," she stated before looking back at Tsuya with a smile. "It was great chatting with you like this."

The young neko nodded in agreement, returning the smile. "It was. I hope we can do it again sometime, Kurohoshi-juni."

[END]

Upon receiving a very prompt response from Masako, the need to decide became unnecessary. "Yes, ma'am." Cocking her head, and thinking for a second, she decided that simply asking would probably be much faster then looking around, and opted to check in with Tom again. Freeman-Juni? Where on the sub-level are you? I have permission to help you as long as you need me, though I'm not sure how much help I'll be...

It was hard to miss the stressed look on Yukari's face, but Miyoko elected to not mention it... for the moment, at least. "One of us could stand if you would like a seat, Suzuka-Shosa. We're not exactly heavily using the terminals at the moment."

A volumetric window opened up for Tom, showing Ichigo's face. "Ah, we're reloading torpedoes in the rollbar launcher, Juni, remember? We have a lot of back and forth to do, so we're only a quarter done."

* * *

Over the terminals, a new volumetric window opened up, with Miharu quipping "Search complete."

Volumetric window said:

Amaya's Gate [8 entries]

• Personnel File: Ashigari, Amaya
• Gate Project, Concept Notes
• Gate Project, Logistics
• Akuma Project, Concept Notes
• SS Dominion, Manifest
• Shlarvasseroth-class Flagship, Study
• Infection Queen, Study
• NH-29 Signaler Nekovalkyrja, Log Entry: Kotori

Click to expand...

Yukari wasn't sure the log was good news or bad, until she reached the bottom. She pushed up with her hands and knees until she was nearly on her bottom, then pushed her back up with her antigravity until she was standing. She hardly moved to uncross her legs, and she bent her upper body down some from her hips to get closer to the list. Her eyes were wide. Disbelief, then disgust, at the last line.

"Shimatta," she spat. "That they even have a log entry on the 'Signaler' is a defeat." She lifted her top half up, but her face remained contort in a deep frown. As if she had expected it. "Miharu, please decode the files' contents and save them with the highest level encryption you have available."

Yukari thrust into examining one of the files instead of seeking input or questions from Miyoko or Takuma. "Let us examine the 'Infection Queen' first," she said, folding her arms below her breasts and frowning at the panel.

"Files saved," the ship's AI supplied before opening a new display.

Infection Queen said:

A Study of the Infection Queen
Written by Ashigari Amaya, YE 30

There is only one recorded specimen of the Umbral Infection Queen type, the entity known as Melisson. I write this file as a quick reference for most of the commanding officers whom may come into contact with her, or worse, another of her kind.

Bear in mind that as little conjecture as possible was used for this document, though some leaps of logic have been done in the interest of completion. Should details in this file prove inaccurate, please contact administration with your finding so that it may be put up to date.

The infection queen is known to take two guises. This text will refer to those separate entities as the interpreter (the humanoid guise we know as Melisson) and the broodmother (the source of those select interpreters).

Before proceeding, I need to most importantly point out that there is very little to be gained in engaging hostilities with the humanoid interpreter unless there is importance in putting a stop to actions on her part. Though far from indestructible, she is dangerous, cannot be captured and will remember 'realtime' any harm dealt to her - knowledge that the broodmother and any subsequently created avatar will be aware of. Yui has done so and wasted time and effort she could have better spent in parlay - best not to repeat her mistake.

The form through which we know Melisson best is that of a Yamataian-like humanoid, pink-skinned, with slightly elongated ears, and a fearsome shark-like dentition. The specimen she represent is aethestically fine, with wavy red hair that she somehow keeps presentable even though we've observed nothing so far of the Mishhuvurthyar that indicate emplacements where a woman could attend to her toileteries. She is not prude and sees little point in wearing clothes, but generally does so when she expects she might be seen.

The interpreter body poses as a Geshrin woman to sensors, but that is a form of advanced mimicry: Melisson's body is in fact a hive of special bug-like mishhuvurthyar-style lifeforms whom effect a complex form of metamorphism and merging to become a 'greater' entity. Each creature provides the energy, corporeal mobility and a contribution to Melisson's hive mind, which is in turn telepathically linked to the broodmother body.

Due to these qualities, localized damage on the interpreter has very little effect - she does not have a real brain, for example. Damaged parts are usually pulled deeper in the body for regeneration and replaced by unscathed material, the inner parts of her body are no doubt compressed to store the matter she needs to repair her outer surface, or to spawn new appendages. Her morphic nature likely hints that while she takes human guise, nothing stops her from having a face on her belly, or eyeballs looking out from her shoulders.

There was one episode where a Nepleslian slave and would-be meal lunged for her and punched her in her midriff. His fist punched a hole through her nearly effortlessly before the wound itself became a maw serrated with venomous fangs. The man quickly lost his hand, shortly afterwards died from nervous shock by what I surmised was a very potent aphrodisiac and the flesh Melisson 'ate' was quickly assimilated into the avatar's body.

Though the interpreter body is frail and delicate, it hides hidden physical prowess. Melisson can adopt a more bestial and monstrous guise, turning in an eyeblink into a creature capable of similar prowess to a NH-18, though the general base template seems to remain humanoid from prior observation.

The interpreter boasts powerful psionic capabilities that range in the double-S rating, only exceeded by the triple-S broodmother. To an A-rated psyker like myself, her mind is present, but impossible to read - so the only way to really ascertain her power is via observation of her recorded psionic wavelengths.

Melisson's speciality appear to be mental compulsions, though she is capable of charms, dominations and glamers. She has in addition several years of study in the human psyche and psychology which helps her powers of persuasion both for mundane interaction and in order to subvert another person's mind. One particular object of note is how Melisson's power seem to carry on to much greater ranges than many psionic, and can affect a vast quantities of minds - custom tailoring her impact on every individual. It's my hypothesis that her nature as a hive mind creature greatly assists her in doing so.

It is my personal belief that the interpreter serves as more than a figurehead, but also a regulator and caretaker of the minds of her Mishhuvurthyar followers. Fear is a potent motivator in the SMX command hierarchy, but Melisson's powers of compulsion appear to alter her followers in respecting her and being faithful servants just as much as we could terraform a planet to be an ideal place for us to live upon.

A target's Id and Ego do reassert themselves overtime, though, to a certain degree. It's my supposition that the interpreter's prolonged presence in a location helps maintain this form of psychoforming until the targeted subjects can no longer revert to their former selves.

This power of compulsion is why we call her an infection queen. she infects minds, diseases them with a cancer that eventually takes them over and remakes them to her liking. This was very likely the source of how the Mishhuvurthyar initially revolted - her hold on them was that much more powerful because they had incentive to rebel... she likely just stoked their young emotions into them not tolerating to be servile any longer.

Melisson herself is smart, cunning and devious. She has shreds of integrity, enough to understand the value of honesty. She is ruthless, enjoys tricking the dim... but also is vain enough to enjoy novelty and entertainment. I have seen her enjoy mindgames, toying with a person's instinctive nature, preconception and pride... all while affecting a reasonable demeanor and reasoning as to the flaws of the subjects reactions. Seeing very little can actually harm her, she does most of what she does for the sake of entertainment - even to the point of grooming her adversaries to better face her... such as she has tried to do before with Hanako before the servant-princess proved herself uncooperative and thus an unworthy playmate.

Melisson appears to ascribe to an Umbral version of the Nietzchean 'Mind to Power' philosophy. She encourages cooperation, holds bargains as much as her own power allows and will reward favors she recognize go beyond the call of duty. If there is one thing Melisson seems to greatly care about for herself, it is her own credibility; and she will respect in turn those whom show credibility without being close-minded by the flaws the interpreter enjoys toying with.

Only one Melisson was seen in existence at one time. We currently ignore how she manages to spatially transfer the her swarm of special bug organism to the locations she wishes to appear at, though it hints that her psionic capabilities don't require the bugs to touch each other, that they involve spatial and dimensional manipulation (phasing?) and that she boasts a certain degree of clairvoyance/clairaudience to target the area where she wishes to be transferred.

One other hypothesis I find slightly more plausible is that Melisson is capable of leaving psionic 'seeds' of her own mind in other individuals, and then use them as sensory nodes to know what is going on with them. Not only would it be a potent capability to spy on others, but it would also explain how Melisson was aware that the Lorath royalty was conspiring to have the negociation stall until the Imperial warfleet made it to their system before they were forced into any deals.

Much less is known of the broodmother body. We know that the broodmother body was involved in psionic manipulation of a whole Yamataian warfleet in YE 27, likely compulsion to have them turn on each other. We know that the building blocks of the interpreter bodies are formed of hemosynthetic appendages discarded and given form - very similarly to a nekovalkyrja's tentacles and just as easily discardable.

The psionic link between interpreter and broodmother goes to great range and appears to be real time communication. If there are more than one interpreter from a select broodmother (we believe only one is in our local region of space, fortunately), it likely is an excellent way to coordinate different warship battlegroups in comparison to hyperspace communication.

No means or countermeasures were so far found to isolate an interpreter from her broodmother - the measures back at the Motoyoshi's sham conference we're clearly insufficient to do so and blatantly demonstrated how unconcerned an interpreter was in self-terminating herself to avoid harm or capture.

The location of the broodmother body is unknown, but we've had hints seeing the vessel's organic nature and intuitive responses that she might actually double as the ship's computer - what better way to monitor your own race than to cybernetically plug yourself into the most powerful instrumentation, sensors and communication system in your fleet. That hypothesis is much reinforced by the large psionic amplifiers we've observed at the base of each of the flagship's three claw-like structures.

There is nothing very optimistic I can provide for a conclusion. The Infection Queen is not an opponent that exposes itself much to force of arms, her figurehead puppet is nothing she minds losing and should she really be of the mind to do so, she can quite litterally subvert an individual into coming to her side. The Signaler countermeasure was tried in the past, but unfortunately failed to apply properly due to unfortunate mishaps, so, we are still stuck dealing with her. Best be as a willow and bend under the wind in her regard, and simply let her occupy herself with enemies we fortunately share.

Click to expand...

Wazu would have the sudden realization that everything was upside down as he was picked up by Nyton, followed by an audible,

“Damnit…”

Moments later his body would crash down onto the table, the edge cutting into his back as his legs and lower body flopped down over the far side. He would try to pull himself off the opposite side of the table, only to fail as Nyton still had a solid grip around his wrist. The best plan he could come up with at the moment was to try and roll off the table, his body falling to the floor, helping yank his arms away from Nyton.

Nyton felt Heram try to escape the vice grip of his hand to try and roll off of the table away from him. In one swift movement Nyton released his hold on Heram's arm, allowing the escape, and quickly ducked under the table. He immediately began to upend it even as Heram was rolling off of it. Nyton would flip the table so that it would land on top of his opponent. If the table managed to land onto Heram, Nyton would then put his weight on it and use it to pin him down.

Tom's response to Ichigo was via volumetric window.

"Heisho, I'd like to remind you of your responsibilities towards the other sprites. Unfortunately, I had the luxury of hearing about our Taisa's distaste for voyeurism from space. Now, I'm certain that, as a Heisho and my hand-chosen second in command, that you would never encourage, much less partake in such activities."