RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 7.2] Sorting It Out

[Wes]

In a sparkle of teal hyperspace energy, Eucharis appeared in the fringes of the heavily defended Yamatai System, where she was quickly overtaken by a cruiser that took her under tow towards one of the shipyards. Hanako and her crew were removed, then they were scanned, and once cleared, were sent released to visit Yamatai. An army of 8-inch-tall Nekovalkyrja exterminators then boarded the ship, collected some samples for the Scientific Studies Service, and then began purging the ship of any surviving bugs from front to rear and in every nook and cranny. After scans to ensure the ship was 100% clear, the ship was allowed to enter the shipyard, where she would be partially disassembled, repaired, and then put back together again.

Like the other crew, Hanako had been basically ordered off the ship with nothing but the clothes on her back and the stuff in her belt. The Eucharis crew that had stayed in power armor had to leave in on the shipyard. Luckily, shipyard workers managed to produce a few standard issue sets of Star Army exercise uniforms so Hamada and Misaki didn't have to walk around wearing only volumetric holograms.

Golden Apple and Telemachus were quarantined for inspection and decontamination, too, and Hanako's yacht was off picking up cargo from the UX-1 system so Hanako ended up having to request a shuttle come up from the planet below.

On the way to the surface, the Yamataian pilot told the crew how the atmosphere had really changed on Yamatai. The Imperial Palace was now surrounded by tanks, cannons, and soldiers in power armor. Car traffic in downtown Kyoto was banned. Anti-parasite scanner portals and groups of police officers congregated at every street corner. Many shops were temporarily closed and the city was eerily quiet.

The shuttle came to rest on the wet tarmac of Uesureyan Fields spaceport. "It is 0100 hours local time. I have a hotel arranged for us," Hanako told everyone, "but if you want to go do something, that is alright, too. Do not leave just yet. I would like to hear your ideas and also do a short debriefing."

"There's a good Mexican place around here that's still open," the shuttle pilot helpfully suggested.

"Want to do the debrief there?" Hanako asked Misaki and Hamada.

 

[Gallant]

Shizu was being very careful not to shiver openly.

She had never particularly enjoyed the concept of darkness. Although they were standing together in a knot on the field of a well lit shuttleyard, the ambiance only extended so far. The lights of Kyoto were fine and dandy, but the night sky above - the little twinkling of stars overpowered by the lights on the surface - was dark and empty. That was unnerving. She had been on a planetside command before, during training, and had trained planetside so that she was familiar with the concept of not having a ceiling, but the lack of complete lighting was still uncomfortable.

It didn't exactly help she was standing around in PT gear, because the Star Army did not issue recreational gear with actual use in mind. It was like wearing a bikini, because that's what it essentially was - what Nekovalkyrja actually needed to use something like this? So, to be utterly honest, Shizu was standing around in a swimsuit. This wasn't a beach. It was the middle of the night, on the outskirts of the capital city, of the capital planet, with the wind coming in off the water.

She ended up folding her arms and hunching her shoulders, wishing silently and uselessly for her own civilian clothing. Holograms were swell, but they didn't do a damn thing about the actual planetary atmosphere. Shizu had always quite preferred a heated starship or building to standing out in the elements with nothing on at one in the morning.

Bitter? Yes.

Yes, she was bitter. How hard would it have been to have just let her have a uniform? A jacket? Maybe a skirt? It didn't even have to be a long skirt. Shoes. Actual shoes would have been good. Maybe something that didn't make her feel like a swimsuit model, or some lifeless dweeb's fantasy girl. There were enough 'catgirl' jokes floating around already.

They'd given her a shirt, too. Fat lot of good that did - a thin, white shirt with short sleeves, made of the sort of material you'd expect underarmor to be made out of. Maybe some designer, somewhere, had thought it modest.

When the Taisa spoke, Shizu gazed at her sidelong for a few moments before sullenly returning her attention to the city itself.

"I don't have a preference," she said, pulling her arms inside the shirt and folding them against her stomach, "But we should probably find some place. Maybe we can convince someone to get us a duty van."

 

[Nashoba]

Sune did his best to find a way to avoid the worst of the night breeze while the Officers debated. Standing around in his cotton briefs and a t-shirt was not his idea of appropriate night wear.

He suppressed the urge to shudder, and kept his teeth clenched to keep them from chattering. He thought fondly of the night on Hanako's world where the night air was warm in the attempt to distract himself from the chill. Would it have been to much to ask for at least some sandals to keep bare feet off the chilled concrete. he thought.

He looked out at the lights Kyoto, I always wanted to get to see the capital, but never thought it would be like this. The only thing that would make this worse would be if fog from the ocean rolled in. He thought.

 

[Miyako]

"Mexican sounds really good, I've not had any in the longest time. Let's go!" Misaki agreed loudly enough for the others to hear. They could get a lot of good alcohol, too. She had enough time to let her hair through two small claws on the back of her head, the white streaks led through them to make herself as stylish as she could wearing PT gear.

Like most Nekovalkryja, the Chusa had no problem with being nude, especially around home, so the suit and t-shirt were more than enough clothing for the NH-27 to wear. "The Ivy Lane reported they found her, Taisa. One of us should debrief the Aurora crew once they've been restored." She noted, referring to the Anri that she had requested be sent to fetch the drifting Aurora, "And the Starling, of course." They had both done their best, and trying to brief someone on how they died was never fun. They had to do it anyway.

She had the hardest part of the briefing locked away in her mind, there were countless times she'd performed it in her career, and no matter how well produced the Neko were, she couldn't always gauge what their reactions might be. Sometimes they were quiet, other times they were angry. A lot of the time, they were angry at themselves, and not their enemy. Part of the process of the debriefing was refocusing the emotions away, to help them relive it.

Flexing her hands absently, the scantily clad XO drifted towards Hanako as they walked for a bit of warmth, remembering what it felt like the first time she had lost a limb. The sick way she had adapted to it in the middle of the battle. It had been worth it, to take down the Ripper but she knew others were never so lucky, the horrors of it maintained the Ketsurui hardliner's resolve as she thought of the poor ships they had sacrificed. How many homes had they sacrificed to save their Empire?

Kurusu decided the ships would have understood what they had to do, at least as well as they did.

How are you feeling? She thought to Hanako, never one to discuss her well-being in front of the rest of the crew, as much as she cared for them. In truth, her attachment to the other officer was more than that, part of the reason she hadn't accepted her own command. She was where she belonged, and happy to meet new crew without barking at them through the com.

Oh, hell. I left their gifts on the ship...along with a real bra. She thought with amusement, snapping an adjustment into the bikini top under her shirt. "They might just raise them on the Anri." Misaki thought aloud, randomly. "Either way I'd like to make rounds with at least the other COs." And, wrinkling her nose, she asked Hanako, "Which way do we go? I think we could use a bit of a walk anyway." Even though she felt better in her armour, something was better about her suit.

It has weapons. She remembered. That was probably it, apart from the freeing feeling of taking one into space, especially the newer support models. "I feel like something with...it's called..queso right?" She asked, refreshed to be in 'normal' clothes on their homeworld, a place she spent less time on than in space. Space was home, but few places compared to Yamatai.

"Now, you'll have to promise me you won't get kidnapped this time..." Misaki playfully prompted Hanako.

 

[howlam]

Nika just nodded as Misaki somewhat made the decision for everyone. She was careful not to interrupt any of the officers in their conversations, however, the neko noticed that Shizu seemed to 'shiver' from the night air Nika was rather accustomed to.

"I'll go ahead to look for a vehicle. I suppose anyone on duty be 'ok' picking up a member of the royal family and her 'entourage'." With that she sped off towards the spaceport complex.

Within ten minutes, Nika returned with a military mini-bus able to fit the entire crew. The driver was just got on his shift when the neko approached him, and after relating to him the situation, he readily agreed to pick them up and provide the necessary transportation to the places they want.

"All aboard?" Nika questioned.

 

[Wes]

"Let us talk about it later when we get back to the hotel," Hanako said. She'd never been a fan of voice telepathy.

Turning to the crew, she did a quick head count before waving everyone towards the bus. "I heard there is a good Mexican place?" she asked the driver.

"You must mean Desperados," the driver said. "It's two minutes away."

Once everyone loaded up, the bus took them down a long row of shuttles and down a ramp into the massive underground city. Beneath the endless barren spaceport there was a real city, with roads and neon lights, convenience stores, superstores, brothels, tattoo parlors, and lots of clubs and taxi cabs.

Desperados was next to a large military-operated temporary housing complex, marked by its flickering florescent sign: "Desperados Nepleslianos." The ride was a bumpy one - this part of the city had cobblestone streets and sidewalks.

Outside the bar, the street level was topped by a lane of transparent Zesuaium panels forming part of the massive starport above. One of Yamatai's moons was intermittently visible through the rainclouds, shining on a scantily clad girl on a bench outside the restaurant who was struggling not to fall asleep.

(OOC: Once you're inside the bar/restaurant, please continue in [Mission 7.2 Side Story] Desperados)

 

[Nashoba]

Sune found the bus ride thoroughly enjoyable. Even if it was only because it afforded a warmer environment. He watched the neon lights go by as he watched out the window. It reminded him of several of the areas outside of the space ports that the Bouken had visited during his stay. A frown creased his forehead as he thought, What will become of the Bouken and the crew? How will they survive this war? Especially with this unknown biological weapon.

He was brought out of this train of thought by the bus jarring to a stop. Looking out the window, he saw the garish neon sign flashing "Desperados Nepleslianos." Looks like we have arrived, we will make quite an impression on whatever clientele frequent this place at this hour. When the doors on the bus opened he made his way out. He stubbed his big toe on his left foot as he crossed the sidewalk, and walked into the establishment. I wonder how safe their food is here? Food poisoning would really be the highlight to this foray.

 

[Konoka Miyazawa]

The bus ride had been boring, but peaceful and non-chaotic. Konoka enjoyed it. Now, skipping off the bus, with much less pep in her step than usual, the neko tripped and fell on the pavement, this time as much out of tiredness, hunger, and the exhaustion of worry than her usual klutziness. Yawning, she thought she smelled burritos. She remembered eating semi-Mexican breakfast food shortly after arriving on the Eucharis, and how she'd been all happ-go-lucky and chattering about it was wonderful, and everything was wonderful, and the whole of the world was wonderful until proven ot wonderful.

Over the space of a few weary hours, Konoka had realized some things were just NOT WONDERFUL.

Ah, but Konoka had never eaten a burrito. But it smelled good. Smiling, she thought she'd prove it wonderful, and walked into the establishment.

 

[Gabriel]

Ramiro followed the rest of the crew through all the processes. As they traveled down to the planet he pulled out his comm, which had been thankfully stored on his belt, and started logging in their journey's since they had last been at dry dock. Once they landed he saved the draft he had so far.

He listened as they prattled about food and debriefing. His stomach started growling as he realized he hadn't eaten for a while. Once Nika ran off he silently waited and the once the bus arrived he sprang up and went for one of the seats in the back. Once he sat down he pulled his comm back out and kept working.

As the bus arrived he stood up and started walking towards the front of the bus, face still buried in his comm. As he was about to step down from the bus he accidentally bumped into someone. Slipping his comm into his pocket he saw Konoka on the ground. He jumped the steps down from the bus and bent down to help Konoka up. "Sorry, I think that was my fault." Once he made sure she was okay he headed into the bar.

 

[Sean_ODuibher]

Junko lingered in her seat on the bus. She was drained, and sorely so, from the hectic pace and tension of her personal battle in Engineering. Even entering hyperspace and leaving Nataria had done little to abate the extremity of her situation. Throughout their hyperspace flight and up to the point where she had been ordered off the ship for decontamination she had fought fluctuating and occasionally unstable power flows and spikes, along with the myriad other failures inevitable aboard any ship that has seen combat. And now, on the surface of a planet with no bulkheads or conduits in sight, she was spent. It was only when she had closed her eyes that she determined to get up and off the bus. The brief moment of darkness had been terribly seductive, but falling asleep was not an option at the moment. Standing up abruptly, she slapped her face a few times in a vain attempt to be more alert before sedately following her shipmates into the restaurant.

 

[Scribbles]

Tasuku had wide eyes throughout the bus ride, it had been over two years since been home, but he'd finally made it, Kyoto, home, he nearly jumped out the door of the bus once they'd stopped. He looked around him and brushed his hand through his loose black hair. He shivered a second after he got off the bus, but the cool night air felt amazing to Tasuku, it only seemed to bring a subtle happy smile to his face, it was far better than the hot choking air of HX-12.

He felt like a million KS as he strolled towards the bar; if he looked out of place in his red, type 22 uniform, he wouldn't even notice; his train of thought quickly shifted from the amazement of being home, to anticipation of getting the first decent meal he'd had in a long time.

 

[Wes]

"I promise," the Taisa assured Misaki. "We should try to get a private back room or something if possible."

To Tasuku, Hanako grinned. "I bet you have not had a good taco in a long time," she smiled, taking great pleasure in her role in returning him to civilization.

"Come on, Hamada," Hanako waved, wanting to keep her officers at her side. "You have the most horrible look on your face right now," she said, finding some humor in the situation.

Hanako then led the two officers toward the restaurant/bar's entrance. They could smell the delicious food already.

 

[Miyako]

"I'd say after you but for all I know they're waiting with a potato sack for you." Misaki observed, a faint smile coming to her lips for Hanako. In truth, the two women were almost the same height, but it had more to do with the way she was absconded with on their last 'leave' to Yamatai, which they'd spent probing for her all the way to Nepleslia itself. In truth, it had stuck with her that she didn't stop them on Yamatai, another hemisphere away from the Taisa.

"I need some sangria...and it looks like Hamada Taii could use something too." The Chusa offered in a friendly way.

Misaki went in ahead of her, and Hanako just in case. That memory stuck in her a little harder for passing moments.

 

[Gallant]

Shizu got off the bus and stood nearby, quietly, watching everyone enter the Nepleslian bar-pub-restaurant thing. It was a club. That was fairly obvious to her. Calling it a 'restaurant' was a slight bit of a stretch. Possibly more of an exaggeration of certain facts, and a glossing of others.

When Hanako and Misaki caught her attention, she smiled a little wearily at them. Maybe she did look a little too pissed off right now. At least, she felt a little better about going inside.

"Well," she said, as if she honestly had to explain her mood, "It's been a long day."

She entered after them, freeing her arms from beneath the shirt.

 

[howlam]

Nika was the last to leave, making sure everyone had left the vehicle before thanking the driver. She also arranged with him to pick them up again after an hour or so, assuming they would finished their meal and debriefing by then.

"Mexican food..." Nika looked up at the large neon signboard, "Better get something to eat... and something warm to drink..."

 

[Scribbles]

"At least two years I think, Ketsurui Taisa... but I'm glad to have anything that doesn't taste like omelet rations, chemical-infused bread, or scaly mushrooms by this point heha!" Tasuku quickly shot back to Hanako as he walked, the excitement of the moment and the smell of decent food had definitely overridden his more reserved side, for him to be so open and 'friendly' with an officer.

 

[Gallant]

CONTINUED From Desperados
Hotel Lobby


Shizu accepted her room key. Instead of pocketing it - she had no pockets - she slipped a digit through the keychain and clasp the key and room marker firmly in her hand. After she had done this, she looked up at the Captain. The hotel lobby didn't seem like the sort of place to mention what was on her mind.

Shizu glanced to the stairs, waiting for the Captain to start up them, preferring to follow her senior rather than lead. The Taii felt a lot more at ease giving her opinions and advice, without the Chusa in the room.

When they started walking, Shizu flicked the key around her finger, idly.

"The Eucharis needs a Heisho."

 

[Wes]

"Absolutely," Hanako agreed. "I keep waiting for some of the crew to show serious leadership potential. So far I have my eye on Jalen Sune," she told Shizu.

Hanako led the way to her suite and slipped her key into the door lock, which (after scanning the magnetic stripe) flashed a green light and unlocked the door with a chime and a mechanical click. She entered, switching on the lights, and then took a seat on the couch across from a large television. She didn't turn it on, of course.

 

[Nashoba]

Sune had made his way to the hotel, picked up his key, and was going up the stairs to his room. He was halfway up when it occurred to him what the Taisa had said. Type 30B uniforms…. Those are female uniforms. Surely she would not expect the men to wear the female uniform. he thought, but looking at his current state of dress. Then again, anything is better than walking around Kyoto in my undergarments. Hopefully she was just making a general statement. Or perhaps it is some sort of a test of character. He resumed his progress to his room.

He slid the key through the lock, and when the light turned green opened the door. Sune barely took notice of the room, and made his way to the far side and pushed all the furniture there against the walls. What he had said to Misaki was true from a certain perspective. It had been a long day and he was tired. It was only by exercising self control that he had not vented his vehement towards her. He was not physically tired at the moment, but his mind was churning the events of the past two days over and over. He needed to vent his frustration and establish a level of calm, before he could even think of sleeping.

He assumed the starting position for his kata, took three deep cleansing breaths, and launched into them. Sune pushed himself harder and harder with each set. Losing himself, letting all emotion, tension be carried away. All that mattered for the moment was the movement, speed, and position. He did not bother to keep track of how many times he went through the routine. He just continued to push himself to move faster. Finally, after having spent himself he sank to the carpet, and focused on breathing. After a few minutes, he got to his feet and peeled off his garments on the way to the shower. He stepped in and ran the water at a comfortable temperature. He stood for a few minutes under the shower head, enjoying the feel of the water on his skin. Then using the hotel supplied toiletries, he cleaned himself up.

After drying himself off, he pulled on one of the hotel supplied robes, and walked out to the room balcony. The cool air felt good, and he looked out at the city in the distance. I never really did take the time to go site seeing here. Other than the occasional trip with classmates to a specific group destination, I never took the time to explore. Perhaps tomorrow will be a good day for that. He wanted to send a message to Raia and the others on the Bouken, but with out a data terminal that would have to wait for the next day. Besides he was not sure what he could tell them of the recent events. He was surprised that the Taisa had mentioned seeing her about changing occupation. It had been his intention to ask her about requesting a change of assignment, either to a new position on the Eucharis, or if no such billet existed, to transfer to another vessel. Well best to leave tomorrow to tomorrow. Time to get some rest. he thought, as he entered the room. Closed the door and climbed into the bed.

 

[Gallant]

Shizu closed the door behind them, taking a moment to acquaint herself with her new surroundings. The suite was nice. She wondered, vaguely, if she were holding the key to the same sort of suite herself - or if she could talk the desk clerk into giving an upgrade.

She didn't sit, but when Hanako spoke, she nodded.

"These past two missions, I have noticed Jalen-Hei has been offering us fairly sound advice, but it seems we have not been listening quite so closely. He was also commendably calm during the last mission, and actively assisted me in solving the troubles we found there even though I had started to become impatient with our progress there. Where-ever you decide to put him, I think he is worth listening to."

"Also, from what I've gathered about what happened back on the Eucharis, you should probably take a look at Junko-hei. I expect she has been run ragged. She and..." here the Taii paused, as if trying to recall an actual name, and then continued "...that man we picked up. He's sharp as well and should get re-acquainted fairly quickly. Not afraid to speak up about things he finds wrong. That's something useful."

The Taii paused for a moment, examining the blank screen of the TV, hesitating again. Well, they were alone now, weren't they?

"Forgive me for being so forward in the meeting, Ketsurui-Taisa. I made a mistake in asking your reasoning in front of the crew, and for that I apologize. It was something that had been brought up to me by several of them, privately, and I promised I would follow up with you. But the result leads me to a question;"

The Taii took a slow breath. But she did not leave the Taisa in suspense quite as long as she might have, if the breath were to calm herself. She plunged on, her voice low.

"Why did you promote me and request me in this command, if you already had an Executive whose advice you prefer?"