RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 8.4] Turning Point

Sune following the instructions supplied by the 2nd Dock, led Ramiro and Nika to the starbase Wardroom. He chose one of the circular tables for a more comfortable setting. He took a moment to appreciate the decor briefly, and then took a seat. "May as well relax for a bit, until we find out what the Taisa has planned. If she follows her past behavior, she will probably hold a debriefing over a meal." Sune turned to one of the attendants in the Wardroom and ordered a glass of Yamataian white wine.

Ramiro smiled at Nika and turned his head forward, but glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He continued to follow Sune and when they reached the wardroom he followed Sune to the table. He sat down and, adding to what was said said by Sune, said, "And that meal will hopefully be free again." His mind drifted back to the tacos that they had on Yamatai. It seemed so long ago.

"It should be..." Nika agreed with Ramiro as she settled down along with the duo, "For now as promised, this round's drink is on me." She waved to an attendant and ordered a simple fruit punch drink, not wanting to irritate her still healing lungs and throat.

"Speaking of which, waiter! Can you get me a glass of red wine please?" Ramiro thanked the waiter and turned back to the others. Trying to start up a little small talk Ramiro said, "So, have you guys heard about our new potential crew members?"

Sune sipped his wine, then replied "Well you know as much as I do my friend. Although given the recent losses, I can see where the Taisa needs to put in for crew replacements." He turned to Nika, "You were onboard while Valencia-Heisho and I were on the Aeon. Did the Taisa say anything to you about these new crew members?"

"Negative..." Nika replied and thanked the attendant, who brought her fruit punch, "Taisa Hanako was pretty much occupied in her own thoughts when I was at the Bridge. She must be thinking about how to write her report on this mission... I suppose." Nika took a sip of her drink, feeling the slight sting of the citrite acid over her throat, "Bleh... too juicy for my throat right now." She got the attention of the attendant, asking to dilute the drink.

Ramiro thanked one of the attendants as he was handed his glass of wine. He sipped it happily before looking up at the others. "I think one of them is engineering, which makes sense because I heard Takeda was transferred or something like that." He took another sip of his wine and continued, "I also heard that the other is an intelligence specialist."

Hanako had the Elysian girls head into the station with an escort from the station crew, and invited Takeyu Kita to follow her into the armory (on the upper level), since it was one of the last places on the ship that wasn't under repair. The armory was a little fortress, protected by armored doors, and inside they found it cool, clean, and stuffed with rows of weapons and crates of missiles.

"Thank you for reminding me about the interview process," Hanako smiled, smoothing her hands over her thighs as she took a seat on a crate of hand grenades. "The purpose of our interview is for me to see if I think you would make a good fit as part of the Eucharis crew. Do either of you mind if I interview you both at once? Or shall we do it separately?"

"Yarani-Hei, I for one believe it doesn't matter the least bit how you're put together if you can be useful. Actually, well, it's my job to keep all those bits and bobs together so your usefulness can continue....And Yarani-Hei...The helping out, all you've done.....It's more useful than I've been recently." She sighed. "Fish....you probably are dehydrated, too.....the cherry on top of a horrific little bloody sundae....Here, drink this." she said, pulling out some water. "While you're doing that, I'll figure a diagnosis.....Oh, oh, dear....That would be a blood flow problem in the arm right there. I'm pretty sure I can fix that up...." said Konoka, pulling out her kit. Hmm...it was good to be helping again. She tried a good injection of her standard kind, which would repair the arteries and get it working again, hopefully. Finishing up that quick patch-up job, Konoka said calmly,

"Now, let's look at that eye....." Making some observations, Konoka mustered up her best knowledge from her incredibly existensive medical training. Even for a neko, it had been a lot to learn. But Konoka remembered she had been eager to learn it all, thinking of a day she might need it to help save a patient. With this in mind, she figured her best medical evaluation. It didn't look good. "Oh dear....Oh, oh dear...." Konoka remembered her first action on the job, where she'd immediately arrived to find a scorched, failing body missing its legs. She'd had to make a new body, and she remembered she'd almost panicked, and she'd cried. She'd been so concerned. Konoka wasn't that naive little person anymore, but she still worried for Tasuku. Now Konoka still felt like crying. You can't get all panicky again, Miyazawa! she told herself.

Putting on her calmest face and taking a deep breath, Konoka said somberly, "Yarani-hei...Your eye is pretty banged up. It's...problematic. Let's not waste any time: Look, I know what a stubborn little Geshrin you are, and it's going to make this difficult. I've heard of Neplesians replacing eyes with freaky little machines....That creeps me out. But if you were a Nepleslian, that would make this pretty easy. If you were a Yamataian...Even easier! There is always the local eye cloning option, but that's....messy, at best. I know how you feel about upgrades. But really.....There's not a whole lot to do, besides leave you half-blind and force to spend life falling down as much I do to a lack of peripheral vision. Oh, fish....Look, it's up to you. How do you want to proceed? It's your body, it's your health. I'm just the Ms. Smack-a-Bandage-On-It who fixes you up. But....you don't exactly have a lot of time. Golly gummy bears, I've got to do something...."


She quieted down, looking at her patient.

"Yarani-Hei? I'm not trying anything without your approval....."

Takeyu smiled slightly then said. "Whether its done together or not, I have no problem with either ma'am,". He wasn't entirely sure about Oski Kita though, in the back of his mind he was somewhat nervous about the hei and was hoping to get some insight into him during this interview - provided he felt it wasn't a problem to be interviewed together.

Oski gave the next best thing he could to a smile without allowing the expression to creep out and spoil his facial features: a nuanced softening of his glance. "I have no objections to a joint interview. It would be good to get a glimpse of Takeyu-Hei in the process." Oski gave his companion a polite bow of the head. "For my own part, it would be easier knowing a bit about someone in the crew from the get-go."

Even if he had garnered himself toward emotional self-sufficiency, Oski still felt the human need of having a place. Knowing a Hei that was in relatively the same boat as him was a relief walking amongst legends and war veterans. He resumed his calm demeanor and waited for the Taisa to proceed.

The Taisa crossed her tights-clad legs and placed her hands in her lap as her big golden eyes looked into the interviewees' faces.

"First," she started, "I was interested in what made you two interest in such a unique and dangerous assignment. Serving under me has its ups and downs. I would like to know which of those factors influenced your choice. I would also like to know in detail what you plan to bring to the team. What are your unique skills, ideas, and passions?"

"If I may," said Takeyu as he glanced at the wall in thought, when his thoughts were collected he turned back to look at the Taisa. "I chose this assignment since I'm used to danger, being born in space aboard a mining ship that is taunted by pirates kind of makes you grow up real quick and has the effect of making you expect danger around every corner,"

He closed his eyes and thought on the Taisa's next part of her question. "Having said all that, I’ve been put into situations where death is so close you can literally feel it – but I’ve learned to work with it and get the job done despite how close its grip might be. That’s not to say I don’t fear it, I have a very healthy respect for it.

"Being born in space, I was taught very young how to operate, communicate and repair ship systems but also how to fly a ship, it's basically second nature to me."

"However, my passion is my work. I've been around reactors, weapon systems, life-support systems, and pretty much everything needed to make a ship run for so long I've gotten a knack for knowing when something might break down and am comfortable around them. My experience in zero-g combat is also something that I can give to the crew, and makes life easier when in a zero-g environment."

"To sum it up, what made me chose this assignment is that I know you are in combat a lot, based on what I've heard from others. I feel that I can learn a lot from you and the crew and further my own experiences, but also provide my own experiences to others. But I also feel that, being that I've learned to keep my cool while under-fire, that you'd desire a tech who can get the job done while there's weapons fire nearby.”

He took in a deep breath, then said “I’m hopeful that this has answers your first question ma’am,” he gave a curt bow and awaited on Oski Kita, curious about the man’s own background. Though he had to wonder if he should’ve expanded a bit more. I won’t mention it unless she asks, about my family and why I’m no longer with them, though it is true that I came here to learn from this crew and her captain – I am also hopeful that in my travels… I might find answers, he thought to himself.

Mikael spent his time on the Eucharis trying his best to applying his skills at repairing his suit to the ship, as well as laboring to remove what debris he could to ensure more smoother repair work. So when they finally arrived at the starbase for complete repairs, he was happy to let the repair crews of the starbase take over.

Going into his cabin to change out of the AMES into a fresh work uniform, he proceeded to exit the battered ship and decided to go to the park on top of the starbase. After what all that happened to him, re-connecting to nature might be something he needed. He normally would have gone to the gym or someplace else to work out his stress, but he was still feeling sore after the adrenaline of the battle had worn off.

Remembering he didn't really have anyone over his head in the line of chain of command, he whipped out his communicator and started typing a message.

Taisa Hanako,
This is Santo Hei Harris, what are my orders? As I am the only infantry on this vessel, I am not entirely sure who I am supposed to report to and hope that contacting you directly is not unprofessional.

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Oski’s stern face cast its gaze at a slight bit pitch, throwing his eyes into shadow even under the controlled lighting of the ship. His only focus was allowing Takeyu-Hei’s words form the mental fabric of his story. There was a sense of loss there, more so than merely the ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ nature of a spacer’s life. What could it be? Oski let the question hang amid the tendrils of information falling into place upon his consciousness, logging it away. I’ll watch this one; he already has one of the qualities I need to learn.

He bowed his head again toward his fellow Hei, meeting his eyes to exchange the silent dialogue asking for permission to proceed. His homogenized green eyes fell back into the light of the Taisa’s scrutiny. “My belief is that knowledge and tactics inevitably supplant any technological or man-power advantage in a given battle. My interest lies in the application of intelligence gathering and scouting to battle situations. All things, as small as knowing when an enemy ship has most of its crew at rest, can tip the advantage in our favor and mean one scar fewer. It is precisely because of the various and obviously harrying battle situations that I took an interest in joining the Eucharis’ crew. I can be of use in offering knowledge and advantages before we even engage, and learn from the experiences to produce techniques that enable their use within combat.”

He gave himself a brief pause, contemplating the validity of what he’d just said. It seemed to sit firmly upon his psyche, so he took a cleansing moment to continue. “My skills are oriented around people, Taisa. That would be my skill set and my passion: dissecting their actions and ideas to yield information that is both useful at a large scale in determining the psychology of fleets and captains from a distance as well as interpersonally. It is a double-edged blade, though. Obviously, just as I can read into another’s actions, it is possible for others to read us. I can offer the same impressions I glean from our own strategies in an effort to hide our motives when the need arises.”

“I am versed in stealth and communication technology, as well as a number of ciphers and codes I utilize in the course of relaying information. Even a standard power armor without any kind of stealth modification can be adjusted on the fly to make it less detectable; the only absolute in the universe is energy, but even that can be toyed with. In combat, I am most proficient with supportive attack patterns. I know how to use the chaos of a battlefield to my advantage, or at least have done so in my training and will continue to apply it as I gain experience.”

Oski reciprocated his companion's bow with a steady one of his own. He hated taking the stern tone that earned him and so many other operatives like him the air of pretentiousness that was their namesake. There was no way around it, though. It was a display of his skills to give none of the beliefs away that spurred the learning. He laughed inwardly, bitterly, as he thought of a much simpler way of abbreviating his skills: how not to appear human.

"So you feel at home in danger?" Hanako asked Takeyu, raising her eyebrows in curiousity. "I certainly think you will find opportunities to excel in danger and in repairing the ship, as this last mission has shown."

She turned to Oski. "You seem very focused on your skills," was all she commented before continuing.

"I have some additional questions," Hanako told the pair, listing off each item. "Do you see yourself as a leader? What are your career goals? Would you consider yourself a sociable person? What is the most stressful or awkward situation you've been in? If you could change anything about the Star Army, what it be?"

This is Santo Hei Harris, what are my orders?

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Hanako returned the text with a mental reply: "If you are looking for something to do, there are a number of escape pods here in the cargo bay that need opened so their frozen occupants can rejoin society."

Takeyu smiled at her comment of his ‘love of danger’. He thought hard on her next set of questions, closing his eyes and collecting his thoughts mentally.

Again, he looked at Hanako, but was actually seeing past her at the distant wall for the first few seconds that he spoke. "I feel I can lead properly if the chance presents itself; I've lead small groups before back in mining, but then again," he shrugged his shoulders. A mining crew is quite different from a military crew.

"Though my only goal right now is to learn as much about ships as possible, my long term goal is to ascend to the rank of Taisa and command my own ship though whether it'll be a combat ship or not I don't know. I know that, someday, I might obtain the rank. It might take awhile, but I'm a patient person,

"Engineering is a profession, and a skill, that requires you to be social. Not being so just affects the performance of that position. I have no problems talking to people provided what they ask me doesn't breach any set protocols. I could, if the chance presented itself, talk someone’s head off without realizing it," he said in a slightly embarrassed tone.

As he thought again, the situation that got him the most stressed came into his head. He turned slightly away from the Taisa, he had no awkward situations - only a very stressful one. "Stressful... situation... that would have to be watching my two youngest siblings die at the hands of pirates, with me being unable to do a thing to stop them," he said in a saddened tone, yet slightly angered tone.

Takeyu felt like explaining it, but doing so would take a very long time so he decided not to. In the back of his mind he knew that, if Hanako wanted to know, she’d ask him about it. Though he himself knew that at some point he would explain what transpired aboard his families’ ship.

He then gave Hanako's next question some thought. "To be honest ma'am, I haven't seen enough to really say what can be changed," he said.

Oski spoke carefully as his mind assembled itself to answer, "I would see myself as a leader of people, Taisa. I feel on edge about directing faceless figures at organization level. It removes the minute things, although I suppose that's rather blatant, that make each individual act uniquely. I think methodically, cut clear objectives to achieve, reflexively adapt to evolving situations, and I understand the difference between maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships and effective ones; each with their own time."

The answer seemed muddled, a quality that didn't sit well on his tongue. It was the only way he could seem to think of describing the kind of leadership he felt comfortable considering. There was no time to ponder it for now, though, so he pressed on.

"My career goals include achieving proficiency in both physical, social, and electronic espionage, apply the advance of stealth technology for Yamataian power armors, and captain a team of individuals specializing in facilitating intelligence gathering in both its conventional applications as well as in the vein of the philosophy I mentioned earlier."

"I would see myself as difficult to approach, although altogether as friendly and human as the next once you look past my occupation's viewpoint." Oski mused a moment on how to put this. "Moving the magnifying glass aside to see the person, if you would permit the metaphor."

Oski could not help but let out an airy laugh, a reminiscent smile gracing his face at the thought of the last question. "You'll notice in my file the note from the time of my registration that I had a childhood habit of miscreancy. It has been resolved, I assure you, but it means that stress is nothing new to me in running about military bases in ways I shouldn't. My most awkward moment, however, is another story."

"I would have to say it would be when I went to a one year school reunion. I took my surrogate sister along with me, or rather she dragged me in as I saw the whole thing as being pointless. We danced, and kissed in the moment, and immediately regretted it. Spent the rest of the night explaining that we weren't married, and a good deal of time avoiding each other. To this day, I still get asked how my wife is doing and feel my gut drop a little at the thought.”

Oski’s eyes hollowed a bit, realizing he was speaking of sisters just as Takeyu admitted a deep scar in losing his own. His brow furrowed slightly, and the light demeanor vanished from him. He’d neglected to maintain his composure and had likely brushed on sore nerves in his companion. Well done, indeed, Oski…

“I have but one thing I would change given my current knowledge. Closer observation, or the inclusion of a self-contained monitoring device in our basic gear that could be recovered in the event of death during combat. Something that could log, in detail, the nature of a person’s death should their family be unable to restore a mental backup. It would give closure.”

After taking a sip of his wine Sune said, “Actually I am more concerned with the more troubling events of our last mission than crew replacements. Crew members seem to come and go rather quickly. I mean how did they know we were there. Was there something wrong with our stealth systems? After all they took the Eucharis apart and put her back together in twenty-four hours, something may not have been hooked up properly. Or worse, it means that they were told before we got there which means that some level of the upper command has been compromised in one way or another.” Sune paused and took another sip of his wine, And what was the Taisa thinking, a lone gunship charging into a massive battle against incredible odds? Sounds like something from an entertainment video.

Placing his glass back on the table he resumed, “Either way the outcome of this mission can not be good for the Taisa. At the moment only one of our objectives was successfully accomplished, the retrieval of the starship blueprints, and the designers. You know come to think of it, perhaps the problem is some sort of serious flaw with the Plumeria-class itself. The last three missions the Eucharis has returned heavily damaged.” Sune gave a shrug, “There is definitely a lack of a definitive ability to detect intruders. I think I may have an idea to fix that at least.”

Ramiro thought carefully about what Sune said. He looked down at his glass of wine and then quickly downed the entire thing. Maybe he has a point. Then again maybe it is the leadership in general. And this ship does seem to have a tendency of crew members disappearing. Ramiro looked around at the other two and said, "It may be a problem with the design. It may be other problems. But then again, there will always be problems. Maybe we need more ships covering us. Maybe we have too many guns and there isn't enough power going to the shields. Maybe there someone in the crew feeding the enemy information." He looked at his empty glass and motioned at an attendant with a bottle to refill his glass. Once it was filled Ramiro took another sip. "I guess we may never know."