RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 5] The Secret Battlefront

[Wes]

( Continued from [Mission 5 Prologue] A breath of fresh vacuum )

Already outside of explored space, the gunships Eucharis, Starling, Aurora, and Nadeshiko raced at top speed across unexplored space following the secret hyperspace fold route Hanako had been given only hours before.

Hanako opened the last of the sealed files detailing her mission, and got ready to give the briefing to the crew.

 

[Eric]

Karei didn’t respond verbally, but made his way over to where she had directed him. It was then that he decided he would go with his prior assumptions rather than ask questions, unless it was something that he absolutely did not know. Shoving it to the back of his mind, he took a seat. The chair was comfortable enough, he subconsciously observed, as his pretty eyes looked to the monitor before him. Within seconds he had brought up the intelligence reports that he had decided to come take a look before going on to do the other things he needed to do before the mission actually started.

He frowned slightly as he read the small amount of information that was there. All that it said, in layman’s terms, was that the planet was covered in lush forests, and was very much inhabitable. It also said that there was a possibility of an enemy ship being nearby. He sat back for a moment to process the information and deduce all that he could deduce from it. It wasn’t much, but it could come in handy. The forest meant that there would be wildlife, and that in their power armor they would stick out, but then again that was to be expected.

He had hoped there would be more information, since he was going out on the ground mission. He wasn’t scared; he had known that the intelligence part of his job would demand it. Though it was apparent that wasn’t exactly why he was going. Another part of him was excited, now he knew that his life wouldn’t just be on the ship running sensors.

He rose, not wanting to waste time now that they were headed out. He would need to go finish getting his things ready and get down to the bay for the briefing.

 

[Krieg]

Nana had found she'd done enough brooding -- at least for one day. She brushed herself off and straightened up before wiping at her eye and taking off down the hallway. After all, there was work to be done. She crept along, rubbing at her upper arms with either hand, staring down at the ground as a chill ran down her spine.

"I didn't ask for this." What exactly the statement was referring to, she was not even certain of. Still, she was feeling uneasy, detached, with her head swimming, like she was caught in an endless spin cycle, simultaneously watching it from afar, unable to stop it.

"I could just.. float away.. but there is work to be done.."

 

[Toshiro]

Finishing his and the twins' work, Yaichiro remained on standby in Engineering, monitoring the systems...

All technicians, report your status and level of completion.

Also, Sasorix-Hei and the Twins have both been transferred off the ship. Our staff has been nearly halved, so we'll need to pull together from now on. I'm counting on those of you still around.

 

[Wes]

While the ship was still in transit, Hanako took a few minutes to update her mental backup and to pack the bag on her power armor. Upon returning to the bridge, she offered Misaki a chance to do the same.

 

[Miyako]

"I'll meet you for the briefing, all right? There is an end or two to tie." The XO smiled, lightly touching Hanako's arm on the way off the bridge with the tips of her fingers. It was a natural affection she didn't realise until she was well floating down the passageway. The NH-27 paused, blinked, then went on with her thoughts both mission oriented and personal.

Misaki made a quick backup with the help of the new medic, offering to talk with her after the mission then made sure her kit was in order with her MINDY 1-H and the equipment they had secured last minute. Her last task before going to the briefing room was to prepare a delayed packet of data for Blackberry in the event Hanako had to go on Bravo, so she would not be going to the bridge without a clue. It was left with Charisma.

Rather than returning to the bridge the officer went to the wardroom and stood next to the door from the main passageway, sitting before the commanding officer arrived for a formal briefing didn't carry the same decorum in Misaki's opinion, and it was easier if everyone was standing that they could sit right away as things began, rather than rising and fumbling with chairs to bow. I'm ready here, if you wish for me to remind the crew about the briefing. She sent the short distance across the ship to the CO.

 

[Wolf Ward]

After outfitting a Daisy with her choices, Hotaru proceeded towards the wardroom to await the mission briefing. She began doing a mental checklist to see if she forgot anything, Survival Kit, check. Rations, check. NSP, check. Then her checklist moved to the Daisy, LASR-SLAG, three expanded mags with HEI and S rounds. Type 29 ASP. Buttpack. Thinking that she had everything she hurried a little towards the briefing not wanting to be late.

 

[Toshiro]

As the briefing neared, Yaichiro proceeded to the Wardroom, taking a brief moment to straighten his uniform before entering. He gave a moderate bow to the Chusa(there was only one rank between them), and seated himself.

"Kurusu-Chusa, will this briefing be transmitted to the wardrooms of the other ships in the squadron? Are they conducting parallel briefings?"

He asked, curious about how the 1st XF handled their intra-squadron communications. Though he once held a position like Misaki's, it was in a different fleet, with different ways of doing things.

 

[Konoka Miyazawa]

Konoka had heard Sasorix-Hei had left. It made her a little sad. One less friend to talk to. However, she was glad she had seen Misaki-Chusa for her backup. She would talk to her later, and now she had met one more potential friend...and one more person to worry about.

She was very, very worried. People could get hurt! However, she refused to think negatively. She smiled, and said, "We WILL succeed." This reassured her, but nevertheless, she doubted she'd have no work to do in the end. She pushed aside her fears, making a mental double-check. Or was it a triple-check now? Medical kit, oh yes, CHECK. Survival kit..."Humm..." check. Sounded tough...and possibly dangerous....if they needed THAT. Rations (thankfully, she had checked, six times, nutritious...) , check. NSP, check, double-check, triple-check. OK then. Moving on...Normal power armor stuff..right. She always felt a bit light-headed on that subject. (Someone could get HURT!)

Luckily, her backups were done. She skipped along to briefing, tripped, rose, and pranced all the way there. However, she was a little less full of happy skip-energy then when she'd arrived. She was extremely worried. Though her feet were skipping (less happily) and her mouth was smiling (less hugely, more of a hopeful half-smile than a normal yay-world smile) , her eyes were full of worry and concern. Whatever was going to happen, despite her optimism, someone might get hurt...and badly....

 

[Wes]

The wardroom was a little humid from the dishwashing going on in the back and smelled faintly of cleaning fluid. By now Mango had finished and gone to bed to be replaced by the day cook, Lime, who was in the kitchen peeling potatoes. Occasionally there was the hiss of a sprayer or the bang of a metal pan as Lime multi-tasked with other foods.

Taisa Hanako arrived shortly, her pleated skirt bouncing with each step across the wood-paneled wardroom. Taking her seat at the end of the table, she got ready, making sure the video feed would be sent to the various parts of the ship. The other captains of the squadron had already been briefed electronically.

 

[Miyako]

Noting that Hanako wanted to get right on with it, the XO bit her tongue on a command she was about to bark and took the seat left for her on the proper side of the other blue-haired officer. She was pleased things were beginning, and that she did not need to be caught into explaining something else that was nothing Kage needed to be worried about.

Placing both hands in her lap, Misaki glanced around the table at all the faces then nodded once at the CO, a faint smile pulling at her lips. That was despite knowing what the crew was about to hear they probably were not going to feel very good about it at all. She was glad that she had been dragged to breakfast after all. Rations might be the only thing that the SMX war veteran had to eat for a while.

 

[Aendri]

Kumiko stood up straight, wiped her face, and sent a quick message.

I'm just finishing up with the wiring, so if you need more help somewhere else, I'm available.

Endoh-Hei

With that out of the way, she started making her way back to the common areas of the ship, unsure of whether she would be working on something else, or if she should get her equipment together for the mission.

 

[Kimberly M]

Bowing respectfully at Hanako and Misaki, Kim was sitting at the end of the table, to Misaki's left. The soldier had just returned from having her backup done, and was by now completely ready for deployment. The infantrywoman couldn't resist smiling briefly up at Misaki before returning to wait for the official briefing.

I hope this turns out different from that mess in Nepleslia... Kim sent to the XO, appearing calm and relaxed on the outside. Inside however, she was both looking forward to, and dreading, the mission.

 

[Eric]

Karei had gotten his back up after leaving the bridge; he had also prepared everything else he knew he would need on the mission. He was slightly apprehensive; he had never actually been in the field before. A lot of his intelligence training had to do with pre-conceived circumstances in controlled environments. All of his other training had been the run-of-the-mill military training. He figured he was like every other novice soldier. He might not have been so nervous if it had in fact been an intelligence mission he was being sent out on, and even though he didn’t know the specifics of the mission, by the number of people going, he could deduce that intelligence work wasn’t a big part of the operation.

As these thoughts ran through his head, he entered the wardroom. The new recruit was glad he wasn’t late, considering his other follies of the day. This time, he made his respectful bows to Misaki and Hanako, before taking a seat at the table. Once seated he subconsciously crossed his legs, and waited quietly for the briefing to begin.

 

[Wes]

"Second Squadron," Hanako began, "Will engage any ships present if feasible. Once space is clear, we will perform scans of the habitable planet to look for the scout ship, shuttles, or escape pods. The planet is a jungle, so searching for the survivors may take a while. That is why I wanted all of you to put 3 days of supplies in your Daisy armor bags. Team one will be piloting Daisy armors, save the Chusa, who will be in her Mindy 1H. You will be in Telemachus, the T7 shuttle. You can bring the Light Utility Truck if you like. I will land Eucharis and drop off the STV later. The other ships in the squadrons may also send teams down if needed."

The Taisa then gestured for Misaki to take over and outline her search plan.

 

[Miyako]

Misaki bowed lightly, then went into her plan. "The search team will utilize a grid search pattern once the most probable area the ship and any survivors are is ascertained from orbit, we will make another pass with the shuttle then proceed. The Telemachus will fly the grid pattern also, searching from above after landing the light truck in the most passable terrain possible. If at all possible we will keep from splitting too much until we know more about what brought our scout down. If needed I will add teams from the rest of the squadron to help search. Should we find navigating above the canopy unfruitful, a slower search below will commence." A volumetric example of what they could expect to see of a grid search rotated into existence in the middle of the table. "Grids that have been thoroughly searched will fade to light blue. The remaining grids will stay open. Those with a unit inside will appear like this." A dot with a unit reading labeled "Alpha" slowly blipped onto the projection, crawling through a piece of the grid.

"We have to remain flexible to changing variables in the mission. Even with our resources, this is shaping up to be a prolonged mission. If you get a hit on your search, report it immediately. If we cannot locate you, fire three times into the air unless in a hostile situation for others to converge. Primary extraction of survivors and wounded will go on from there. Taisa?" Misaki turned her eyes back to the CO from gazing around at the gathered soldiers.

 

[Wes]

Hanako stood up. "That is it for now. I wish we had more information. We will be arriving soon, so make any last minute preparations if needed. I will be on the bridge. Dismissed!"

As the Taisa left for the bridge, she touched Misaki's hand reassuringly.

 

[Wes]

The ship rocked as it exited hyperspace into a combat zone.

"Enemy contact!" Azalea transmitted.

Instinctively, the squadron broke into two pairs, each consisting of a lead ship and a wingwan. The Starling protected the Eucharis.

"Fore shields," Hanako ordered. "Scan and report!" Meanwhile the Taisa grabbed her phone and dialed for the ship's intercom. "All hands to battlestations!"

Charisma began to report. "Five Mishhuvurthyar starships and drone fields of possible Jaaq'tah..."

"Jaaq'tah?" Hanako repeated incredulously, launching the aether pods for point defense. An alliance between the two biggest enemies of the Empire was a bad situation.

"Communications and FTL are being jammed," Charisma advised.

Hanako pointed the main cannon at the lead Mishhu ship and fired continuous main cannon shots, every two seconds. The Starling doubled the power. The somewhat surprised SMX ship's nose was smashed to flaming bits.

"Stutter strafe!" Hanako shouted outloud as a Xianthrafruglu Gunship's main cannon shot was detected early by the WARMS system. Eucharis and Starling flickered in space as the FTL system was used in tiny bursts to confuse enemy sensors trying to home in on its position.

It was four versus four now and Hanako was feeling confident, yet irritated at the lack of bridge staff. Her next thought was that enemy reinforcements could be imminent. They would need to act quickly to carry out the rescue mission...

 

[Miyako]

"Pardon me, they caught me with my skirt down." Misaki said in a flat tone, gliding into the bridge with her MINDY on save the helmet, tucked under her arm. The XO went straight for the operations station, and bent over to use the console. Linking up to the ship mentally to help increase her efficiency, she took over a large share of movements and firing solutions, and brought remaining defenses online or standby. She was leaving less for Hanako to do, and giving her more to command with. All the defaults were set to let the Taisa's commands press over as needed in an instant.

"I think this explains what happened to them-I suggest targetting-this one next!" One of the enemy ships blipped up, then a suggested squadron movement to catch at least one more if not another in a bid to maneuver and take optimal weapons shots without exposing them to as much danger. The NH-27's mind bolted through calculations as gloved hands picked up where the tracks of her mind and the Eucharis did not.

Why won't they just go?

 

[Toshiro]

Yaichiro was back in Engineering, with tool kit and patch cabling ready. He had streaming information heading directly to his mind from MEGAMI; indicating shield strength, hull integrity, CFS power distribution, and power distribution paths.