RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 6] A Closer Inspection

Just then, the shuttle lurched under Junko's feet as it lifted off the roof and briefly balanced in the air. The rear door folded shut with a load hydrolic whine, eliminating the view of the outside world. Then, the shuttle darted back toward Eucharis. No longer docked, the mighty gunship was in orbit with its sister ship Aurora at its side. As the shuttle approached, Pineapple turned on volumetric projectors in front of each crew member in the back, which showed them the shuttle's view of the ship.

Eucharis looked very different. There were new, large STL auxiliary engines, a non-standard coloring that left the ship's "wings" blood red, and most noticeably, the ship was absolutely bristling with new weaponry.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Ramiro looked at the Eucharis through the projectors and whistled loudly. "That is one fine piece of work you've got there Taisa. I absolutely love the custom paint job! And are those new weapons? They look really advanced, the likes of which I've only hoped to see in my lifetime." He continued to stare in awe at the ship, he mouth hanging only slightly. After all, this was the first gunship he'd ever actually seen and it was much better than he could have ever imagined.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Sune examined the image of the Eucharis. Amazing that they were able to repair her in such a short time, but then this is Hanako's vessel. I am sure that may have had something to do with it. The Eucharis looked very different indeed, there was no sign of the damage from the prior mission. Where before the weapons were concealed, now she was bristling with guns. Obviously the Taisa does not wish a repeat of whatever happened on their last mission. Ketsurui clan colors as well, definitely making a statement. But weapons or no, it is not the ship or the weapons that makes a difference. It is those who serve aboard her, I just hope that we are not found wanting. He thought.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Konoka had tripped , gotten lost in the crowd, and almost missed the shuttle, so she had thanked Nika profusely for finding her. She silently wondered at Nika's concern. Then, she smiled that she had such good friends.

Upon seeing the image of the Eucharis, she'd gone wide-eyed with awe and delight. So new! So....different! Nothing could be better! She mumbled almost inaudibly, "What an interesting color." Then she smiled again, happy at the improvements and at simply being there, and there to see them. Imagine if she had never arrived!

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

It wasn't long before the Telemachus II was carefully tucked into the Eucharis' cramped little shuttlebay. Pineapple set the shuttle down gently and waited for the bay to close and re-pressurize before opening the rear door to let the crew loose on their freshly-repaired, heavily-modified gunship.

"The crew should put away their bags and gather on the bridge in ten minutes," Hanako directed. Normally, access to the bridge was restricted, but this was a special occasion.

After everyone had taken care of business then crammed into the bridge's small, circular space, Hanako gestured to the newcomer. "First, I would like to introduce our new First Officer, Taii Hamada Shizu."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Well, here she was in front of the crew - the moment that she had been preparing for, mentally, the whole way up to Hanako's Star. The headache hadn't gone away, yet. Light was still somewhat unpleasant. Hamada braced herself anyway and conjured some of the lines she had thought of saying, on the trip here. Remarkably, she couldn't remember many.

She folded her hands behind herself, out of habit. In a situation like this, every other position felt awkward. It just so happened that it was, coincidentally, a professional looking stance.

"I have been looking forward to meeting all of you."

It was a good start. She pressed on.

"This is my first time aboard a commissioned starship. I had not been expecting to working aboard such a distinguished vessel, alongside one of Yamatai's most decorated Taisa, and I am honored."

And here she paused, because she had not actually gone much farther than this.

"You will be seeing me around a great deal," she ventured, slowing down slightly, "I hope to learn a little bit about everyone here, and I would also ask that those of you who are new to this ship would do the same. This ship is now our home, and though I have met none of you before, I intend to treat you as family. I request the same in return."

"This is a very powerful ship," she asserted, "However, I can assure you that no matter how much hardware has been added, this vessel is only as good as you are. You are the Eucharis - its blood and heart. Respect each other, respect yourselves, and you will soon discover you can accomplish many things that you never thought possible alone. However," she added somewhat darkly, "I warn you also that if you should fail, so shall the Eucharis. Though you are family now, remember that you are also a starship's crew. Balance the two well - it is my hope that when we next go ashore, we will be both."

Taii Hamada bowed slightly, an officer's respect to her new subordinates. Then she straightened up and looked to Hanako. While she had made a fairly good shot at her speech coarse, Hamada still couldn't get over the slight dizziness she always got, and found herself hoping for some sort of bailout.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

"That said, we have some Army business to take care of," Hanako said, passing out datapads with electronic copies of the Star Army Enlistment Contract, an "Authorization to Restore from Mental Backup" form, a Life Insurance form, and a copy of the Star Army Creed. "I want you all to fill these out and then we'll do the oral part of the oath."

After a few minutes, Hanako said, "Raise your right hands and repeat after me. I (state your name)...have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged...I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me...to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Sune came to attention, raised his right hand, and repeated the oath with Hanako.

"I Jalen Sune have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged...I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me...to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

He then lowered his arm, and waited for whatever else Hanako had for them to do.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

The ride was uneventful, but as soon as the shuttle docked into Eucharis, Hanako quickly made several quick orders, getting the crew to unload their stuff and gathered at the bridge. Nika literally dumped her stuff and got to the bridge on time to get acquainted with Hamada, their First Officer, who began to make her speech.

After Hamada's speech, Hanako handed out datapads with documents for them to be read through, filled and signed, which Nika did.

Standing at attention, raising her right hand, the neko repeated after Hanako, "I Irenika Himeya, have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged...I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me...to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

Finishing her oath, she let down her right hand, still standing at attention, looking at Hamada, "Please to meet you as well, Shizu-Taii."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Konoka read through, filled, and signed all the documents, thinking of how life was quite the unending ceremony.

She repeated, "I, Konoka Miyazawa...have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged...I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me...to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

She then sighed softly at the effort and the seriousness of her words, and (still standing at perfect attention) gave a welcoming smile in the new officer's direction, muttering, "Very, truly glad to meet you, Shizu-Taii...Please don't hesitate to ask of anything...."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

"Pleased to meet you Junko-san. I am Yamamoto Hotaru," replied Hotaru to Junko, as she looked up and saw Konoka being dragged onboard the shuttle. As everyone was seated and secured, the loading ramp closed and the shuttle pressurised prior to leaving the surface.

Hearing the Taisa's instructions, Hotaru began looking through the latest specs of the Eucharis, specifically at the weapons and the new and in her opinion, improved colour scheme. She liked the look a lot, especially since the modifications had turned the ship from a graceful and sleek piece of art to a graceful and 'we mean business' look. Hotaru was gratified that all the previous damage had been taken care of.

After the shuttle had landed, everyone disembarked and disappeared to drop off their gear. Hotaru quickly made her way to her quarters and dropped off her gear then made her way to the bridge along with the others. Once everyone had arrived on the bridge, the new XO began to speak. Once she had finished the Taisa took over.

After filling in the requisite items, Hotaru took her turn and repeated the Oath, "I Yamamoto Hotaru have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged. I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me, to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Ramiro exited the ship and after listening to the Taisa and since he had no bags waited around for the others. When Hanako handed out the forms Ramiro signed them all after skimming through them. Once the Taisa finished reciting the oath he raised his right hand and said, along with the others, "I Ramiro Trinidad Valencia...have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged...I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me...to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

The former sprites completed their oaths and paperwork, and then the Taisa herself recited the oath and signed her contract.

"Shizu, I am still waiting on you, as well as Endoh and Takeda. Remember this is a requirement to serve on this vessel," Hanako said, not wanting to leave business unfinished. "After you are done, I want you to start on a list of battlestations, so that every crew member will know where to be during starship combat. I will also be showing you around the ship once these last oaths are made."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Junko looked up from the documents briefly as the Taisa spoke, but then looked back down. Her mother had instilled in her the need to make sure every document she signed in the military had to be thoroughly read and understood first. However, with that finished, Junko did affix her information and signature to all of the required documents. Setting the datapad down, she discreetly straightened her uniform tunic with one hand before coming to attention and raising her right hand. “I have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged. I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me, to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Kumiko, eager to see the new, refitted bridge which she might have to fix at some point, ran, and quickly put her stuff back in her room, and hurried to the bridge. Looking around in a fascinated manner, she almost missed what the Taisa was saying. "Oh, umm... I, Kumiko Endoh... have truthfully, honorably, and voluntarily enlisted myself as a soldier in the Star Army of Yamatai until discharged... I vow to protect the peoples of Yamatai, to follow the orders of the Empress and the officers appointed over me...to obey Star Army rules and regulations, and to destroy the enemies of Yamatai." She then shuffled through the papers she had been given quickly, and signed where needed, seeing nothing amiss in the papers. "Is that everything, Taisa?", she inquired, curious as to when she could get to checking the new ship out in the detail only a good, self-written diagnostic program could give you.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Sune took advantage of opportunity to look around the bridge. It can not hurt to be familiar with this place, unless the Taisa decides to train me in other areas, medical personnel don't have much call for being on the bridge. His eyes stopped at the main screen, and he took a moment to enjoy the view. The Taisa caught his attention when she mentioned battlestations. This should be interesting, of course there is every chance that as a medic, my place would be in the medbay. I guess time will tell. he thought.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

As she was waiting for the remaining crewmembers to state their oaths and finish the paperwork, Hotaru took a look around the bridge, noting the differences between the Eucharis and other Plumeria-class ships and filing them away for later.

Her eyes were drawn to the various consoles, I wonder if I will be able to cross train as this mission, if all goes well, it should prove to be a nice long one. I might mention it to the Taisa sometime but since we have two trained Starship Operators on board, not counting the Taisa, I'm not sure what use I may be on the bridge unless it's tactical or piloting, Hotaru concluded.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

It took the Taii a moment to register that the Taisa was having everyone restate their oaths of enlistment, but when she realized it was a universal gesture, she went through the motions and repeated along. Her mind lingered briefly on the name "Shizu" - uttered so informally. But she reminded herself, calmly, that this was a different ship with different customs than she was used to, or at least it had better be.

As she spoke the oath over, she went back a little into her past, and actually gave thought to whether or not she had said this oath, four years ago when she had started her basic. She probably had - but, although the words were easy to say and flowed readily, she could not remember ever doing so. Four years. That was a little unnerving.

When they finished, she smiled to the crewmembers that had addressed her, and offered a faint "Thank you," to them.

Afterwards, she answered the Taisa; "Very well. I can have them segregated into battlestations if you wish, as per the regular fleet requirements. I just need the current roster and a list of their specialties."

Hamada took a glance over the crew again. She could pretty well tell their specialties, just by their uniforms, but that didn't mean anything in a fleet where half the bridge crew could, at a moment's notice, turn into planetary infantry.

Regulations were strange, sometimes.

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

"Let us begin with the tour," Hanako said, "This, of course, is the bridge or command center. From here the ship is piloted and its systems are controlled. In the event the bridge is destroyed, the ship can be controlled from the Crew Lounge via volumetric interfaces, or remotely though the computer. The bridge has stations for starship operations (piloting and such), sensors, systems monitoring (also used for damage control), mission operations, automated functions, and my station, which I use to oversee and support operations where needed. Thus far, I have typically been piloting, but hopefully you starship operators can take care of that for me. The port-side doors lead to my cabin and three escape pods."

Hanako then led the crew out into the main passageway. "The main passageway is kept in zero-gravity. Typically, we will float through it, but there are also cloth handhold loops for those who need to climb. Behind the white padded wall panels, there are emergency supplies. Speaking of which, every room of the ship contains firefighting equipment of some sort. Even your cabins have a Type 30 Helmet and an AMES suit in them."

Next, the captain led them to the wardroom, a fairly spacious two-level room with a buffet on one side and stairs down to the crew lounge on the other. The walls and floors were covered in polished wood, and the ceiling with paintings. Lime, the daytime cook, was setting up the lunch buffet with pulled pork, potato salad, buns, baked beans, and various barbecue sauces.

"We all eat in the wardroom," Hanako said. "Larger ships have a separate mess hall for most of the crew, but Eucharis does not have room. Rather than forgo the wardroom, the Star Army decided to invite the enlisted in to join the officers," she smiled. "We have a bookroom attached over there and these stairs go the lounge that your cabins exit into. Also, the wardroom contains the ship's only window."

Re: [Post Mission 5] A Time for Recovery

Ramiro followed the Taisa listening intently to what she was saying to the group. At the mention of the operators piloting he got a little worried as this ship was his first assignment and he therefore had little experience. Ramiro hoped that whoever the other operator was had at least some experience. He continued to follow the group, making sure to take note of any important details on his communicator.