RP: YSS Kaiyō Mission Fourteen: Uekiya pt. I

YSS Kaiyō II
Wardroom

Hoshi said to Chlorate, "Your friends, family, and I will be there to protect you, Chloey. But your training and smarts will help you insurmountably, as well." She smiled warmly and looked down at the bowl of fluids as Eden spoke out coldly.

"These civilian weapons are for your time off-duty, to keep you safe, as you should not have SAoY issued gear out while you're on your free time. Continue to use military-issued gear while on-duty." She added, "Everyone should have gotten a backup this morning before the briefing, as well."

Walter spoke.

It was then that Hoshi replied in a calculated tone, "Mission objective is to glean information about them and find a way to cripple and outright destroy them. We have the Empress and Mistress Taisho at our backs, all they have is the tyrant Eve. Secondary objective is to seek out Eve with intent to kill or capture."

Eden told the angel, Arete, "We are hoping the All will contact us." To the entire crew, she said, "Iemochi-heisho is absolutely correct. We can use what they see as their strengths to their disadvantage. Are there any other questions or comments?"

YSS Kaiyō II
Wardroom

"Remember this saying crew, know thy self else you will be your own undoing. Expect the enemy to know you well and take advantage of this." His tone was serious and firm.

"If you will excuse me, I have things to prepare in order to overcome myself and anyone else who threatens this crew." He gave a quick solute to Hoshi and went to work getting himself ready for this battle.

YSS KAIYO II
Wardroom

The raven-winged Mochi offered his wife an arm, helping to support her weight as she waddled up to the pistols like a smol penguin. The Juni had noticed Arbles had started growing out her auburns locks recently, it was a surprisingly fitting change of style, one which he thought made her look the model mother. Plucking a pistol from the cache as Arbs did, he gave it a once over and held it loosely by his side with his free arm.

The briefing brought back memories of long nights spent in the lab, trying to figure out how the Mirrorverse was different to theirs, how they got there and how to come back. The idea of revisiting it came as quite a shock, as the original Kaiyo's crew had hardly survived the return to its original reality. He wondered what had happened to the universal models he had been trying to map during their time there, who knew if they were knocking around or had been lost.

If he recalled, his last exchange with All had been somewhat hostile, the being surpassing the word 'arrogant'. Sein wondered what the science crew could come across that would be useful to their mission, either way information about this reality would be well sought after in Yamatai. It would likely be a lot of cup noodles and scanner monitoring for the days to come.

"Kaori, looks like it's time for your initiation into Science proper. We're going to be spending a lot of time in the Dome, I hope you don't mind mess." Mochi smiled to her with a look of barely restrained excitement in his emerald eyes, then lowered them to his significant other. "I think it's best you get some proper rest, rather than trying to help me out too much like last time, 'kay? Kaori and I can handle it, mhm?"

YSS Kaiyō II
Wardroom

Wyatt gave another nod of agreeance to most of what was being said, they had been re-read a section of a a handbook, given the mission parameters and a few attempts to inspire confidence. Wyatt took Alastair's exit as an opportunity for him to do the same and head to the Power Armour bay.

On his way there though, the marksman took a brief moment to pop open the door to his lonely bunk and lifted the mattress on his bed. Wyatt reached into his jacket and withdrew the fresh civvie NSP from within before be wedged it into the slats that sat there with their spacing that was almost begging to be used to hide bubble gum or some other contraband.

But no, the cavities in his bed frame were not filled with contraband, they were empty bar the new gun. The locked and secured footlocker at the end of his bed was where he kept anything else of importance that didn't deserve a place on his shelf of momentos, he reached past the scatter gun and the recently repaired racing suit to grab the custom weapons he had recently bought from Origin.

Maybe he'd finally get a chance to use them.

Power Armour Bay

Wyatt took purposeful strides into the home of the crew's mechanised second skins, specifically he strolled over to his own and began taking off his olive jacket - retrieving the gauntlets from inside and stowing the discarded clothing in a small compartment near his frame. The gauntlets were pressed to each forearm of his mindy and automatically began tightening to accommodate the size. He huffed slightly as he saw the SiZi M38 SDR still strapped to the suit's thigh - it was a good gun and at the moment he had three readily available to him.

The minkan climbed into the suit and powered it up, green across the board so he began strapping a loadout to it. The Chusa had said they needed to use 'excessive force' so excessive force is what he'd bring. The marksman finished strapping the components to the suit and reached down to pick up the 50mm gauss bazooka he had been waiting to use again - the handle felt like a hand-shake with an old friend, it had been too long since he'd had an excuse to feel the thump of this beast.

"Alder-hei, green across the board and ready to rumble" Wyatt informed the others telepathically as he rolled his neck with a satisfying pop, he paused briefly, one more rank up from being a Joto-hei and he'd be an NCO. The minkan heavily doubted he would be ready for that kind of thing but now was certainly not the time to get caught up on it so the thought was pushed from his mind.

The 50mm gauss bazooka was lifted over his shoulder and rested there as Wyatt marched forward and waited for the others to suit up, taking in the familiar feeling of controlled chaos that seemed to wash over everything during pre-mission prep.

Able was late to the briefing. This wasn't much of a shock, considering what had happened to the android just recently before he was ordered back to Planet Yamatai to join a crew he was meant to be a part of a long time ago. Truthfully, he didn't even know the ship was back in their own universe again. When he was given word of the Kaiyo's mission, he assumed it was suicide. The idea of them returning from such a voyage was puzzling, but he had his orders. Back to the planet he went, and as soon as he had landed, he was dragged straight to the Kaiyo for urgent briefing on a new mission. A mission that thankfully had nothing to do with the Kuvexians.

Twice now, had he encountered such a powerful force... First with the Imperator, and again, escorting the scout ship, YSS Syzygy. Both had left him a changed entity, but it was a good way to prepare him for whatever was next, depending on how dangerous they were talking. The doors opened to the wardroom for Able, and as soon as he had seen Hoshi, he gave a respectful nod. She most likely didn't remember him, but he respected his superiors, nonetheless. Upon scanning the other crew members, he recognized a few more, as well. That wasn't important, however.

Catching a few questions from the other crew members helped him to catch up on what was going on, as he was urged to take a firearm from the box near the front of the room. Slowly, he waded through the mass of people around him, standing front and center to collect a firearm and inspect it thoroughly. He waited until the last voice had rang out to offer his own input.

"Assuming there are mirror versions of the Kaiyo crew, all biological organisms... What are the odds of a mirror android? I assume slim to none." He said calmly, looking towards his superiors. "My... Sentience was the outcome of an unfortunate accident, far predating my joining the Star Army... If there is another Able, it is only safe to assume that he has far less neurological freedoms than I. An automaton isn't something to fear. Simple machines are easily outsmarted." He stated confidently, moving to a far wall to lean against it as he continued examining the weapon in his hands.

YSS Kaiyo II
Wardroom

William was lost in his own world as the others spoke about the mission. Abruptly, the Nepleslian turned and strode from the room and down the hall. As he entered his room, he punched the bulkhead with enough force to leave an imprint of his fist. He then turned to his swords and drew the one, staring at his reflection in the cold steel. He could see the wraith in his eyes.

It was time for a rematch, and William was going to show his demon just how strong he had become. After composing himself, his face rest to it's neutral expression. However, there was a twinkle in his eyes. A fire.

PA Bay

He walked in and placed his swords on the Air 2, before beginning to strip. His hand found it's way to his chest, and grasped the glowing crystal that rested there. He then turned and stepped into the massive behemoth.

The armor closed around him and wires snaked their way into the ports on his neck, syncing himself with the armor. Becoming one with the machine. He dropped from the rack and began running through his preflight checklist.

YSS Kaiyō II
Wardroom

"Chloey," Hoshi whispered, "can you have a talk with Able-hei about some of your favorite nuances of being a non-organic? It would mean a lot to both of us, I'm sure." She patted Chlorate's shoulder professionally with one hand while her deep blue eyes looked towards the Douryo android. "He should be headed to the vehicle bay soon to strap in to his fighter. Help him with weapon checks before heading to the bridge."

The blue and white haired Chusa looked to the two scientists, "I'd like you to please retain the plant-life in the dome at all costs."

To Kyōi, Hoshi said, "You will be working directly under Harris-heisho from here on, get to know him better than you know yourself. You two have the capacity to work as a power armor unit outside of the main team's umbrella. That can be rescinded any time by the away team commander, Teien-shosa. Make our Empire proud through your actions in all ways."

Watching many leave, she said, "Dismissed, please find your stations," and raised the bowl of fluid up precariously and started walking towards the stern of the ship where there was an exit and a zero gravity passageway.

"Chusa...?" Eden said.

"Iie," Hoshi replied, closing her eyes and shaking her head as she did so. "I need no help, I can do this myself." She was strong, but small and her center of gravity had shifted marginally so she was a bit off balance. "I need no help," she repeated as Eden began looming closer. "Meet the power armor team in the bay. I'll be on the bridge. Boss?" Hoshi added, asking the MEGAMI, "Belmont-shoi should be on the away team as leader support."

"Hai, Chusa, he has been apprised of your orders," Boss said after she had told Alastair verbatim what Hoshi had said.

Zero Gravity Passageway

Hoshi stepped into the passageway and begun floating upwards when, suddenly, the viscous fluid began floating up with her, out of its bowl. Clear slime was lifting in large globules upwards as her hair's white ends splayed outwards and her feet began to kick gently as she ascended.

Hoshi shouted, "NO NO NO NO NOOO!!!!"

YSS Kaiyo II
Wardroom

Gravity was about to follow Hoshi to the bridge, but stopped when the little captain began to fumble with her slime. Resisting the urge to laugh and watch the fun, the pilot thought quick and darted into the galley.

Zero G Passage

Gravity silently floated up after Hoshi, carrying a large resealable plastic bag. As she passed her captain, she scooped up the slime in the back, then tossed it back down to Hoshi.

Giggling quietly, she gave her captain a quick, informal salute before heading into the bridge.

Bridge

"Hi there, sweetie! Did you miss me? Mama missed you!" Gravity cooed as she slid into her chair. There was an annoying moment in which she had to readjust her seat settings to just the right configuration. Damned techies. You never mess with a friend's seat when you borrow their car, and the same went for pilots and their ships!

And in case anyone was wondering, she wasn't really feeling apprehensive about having to kill someone's double. Not even Sacre's. If she saw one, she planned to blast them right between the eyes with no questions asked.

YSS Kaiyō II
Wardroom

Mikael simply nodded when Kyoi was made aware of her assignment. He had done a bit of a background check on the Itto Hei since his talk with Eden. Her skills as a starship operator would supplement his skills in certain situations, though he was going to have to bring her up to speed the hard way for the infantry/spotter side of things. SAINT only provides so much.

After getting his gift from Hoshi, Mikael exited the Wardroom and waited for Kyoi to do likewise. While he waited, he connected remotely to something and commenced mostly likely will be a long game of cloak and dagger passing of 850KS with Hoshi. He had a tendency of doing that, with all the wealth he possessed at the moment.

He would look distracted when approached.

YSS Kaiyo
Wardroom

A slightly distinct light blue winged Elysian stayed near the back of the personell filled wardroom, except for when he had to go collect his NSP. He kept holding it in his hands for the rest of the briefing.

When Eden mentioned their counterparts, Orion took a glance back at Anastasia, shortly reliving the moments he could remember of the time they went to another universe. Even though he didn't remember the last few days, since he was killed in the last battle they had with the alternate Kaiyo, but he did remember his counter part. It was blatantly obvious how much Orion disliked his annoying and perhaps a bit too joking twin, nevertheless the Elysian managed to stay quiet during the whole briefing.

Once said briefing was finished, he headed off to his post, mumbling under his breath:
"Here we go again..."

YSS Kaiyo II
Wardroom

"Awwwww Mochiiii.... Okay... I'll still want to come up sometimes, though!" Arbarbles pouted adorably at her sun-haired husband before giving him a squeezing hug. She continued, "I'll... Probably need to strap down somewhere for the journey over, though once we're there we might need to rethink my... Positioning? I mean, where I am on the ship." She looked around for Hoshi, only to not find head of tail of the bubblegum-skinned neko.


...Then a shout came from outside the hallway and Arbles had to giggle a bit, figuring that it was probably just Hoshi making a mess in the zero-gravity hallway; Iemochi Minor has had a lot of experience taking liquids through those things thanks to her midnight snack runs. Sealed containers only! Turning towards Eden, Arbs voiced her inquiry, "Shosa Eden, where do you think I should be during this mission?"


---------


Arete made her way into the Power Armor bay, looking over her Mindy's loadout; Boss had told her that she was to be on the away team for the next few mission, at least while she was still a general soldier, unspecialized. Her weaponry was set up to be great crowd control and also supply effective long-range bombardment, directly and indirectly as well. The explosive rounds were excellent at destorying things - but not so great if someone needed to be taken alive, or technology left intact.

Wardroom

"Orders understood." the fox-eared Neko stated, a robotic undertone to her voice. She walked off, towards the power armor bay.

"What is wrong with me?" Kyoi asked herself, too quiet for any Neko (except her) to hear.

Power Armor Bay

At least the typical loadout would be suitable for her uses. Kyoi kept the same loadout as last time, ready to deploy.

YSS Kaiyō II
Bridge

Carrying the bag of non-Newtonian fluid and a look of embarrassment coupled with dejection, Hoshi arrived on the bridge and went into her officer's quarters soon thereafter. Asuka made her way to science and sensors from the zero gravity passageway.

She looked back, at the pilot's station near the command chair. "Nice one, Gravy Train."

Hoshi had only just left her own cabin with no bag of slime, anymore, but looked as if she had heard the compliment directed towards the pilot as she held a smirk on her pink face.

"Boss, set readiness condition 3 across the ship. Gravity, gain clearance from ground control and once we're out of atmosphere, head NorthEast and exit Yamataian-controlled space. We'll do a transuniversal jump 40 LY NorthEast of the Reservoir System."

Wardroom

Eden patted Arbs reassuringly on her shoulder, "You're going to be with Sein-juni on the bridge. Please ask Hoshi for specifics." She looked to Sein, "I know you'll be taking my seat at the port-side of the bridge. Enjoy yourselves." She left them after bowing to each, heading towards the stern.

Power Armor Bay

Eden had left the wardroom and hurriedly stepped through the halls of Deck 5, alone.

Soon enough, she was at the tail of the ship and was in the power armor bay. She looked at Alastair, only, as she said aloud for all to hear.

"The Second Officer will lead the away team's warm-up within the power armor bay while we begin our journey."

She then turned her attention to the rest of the crew, looking over them loading up and going through their pre-flight checks and as she strode on her long legs to her own Mindy 4, which was racked and ready.

"We have worked together in all we do." The XO said, "We will continue to do so."

YSS Kaiyo II
Wardroom

Mochi patted Arbs lovingly on the top of her well-groomed auburn locks, a little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as she insisted on visiting. "I'd expect nothing less, I'm just waiting for you to start turning the Bridge into your own little nest."

Trusting Eden's judgement, Sein indulged himself in a short chuckle at the sounds of a flustered Hoshi coming from the zero-g hall as she addressed Arbitrated. As she mentioned to him where he'd be sitting, a slightly surprised look crossed his features for a moment. Returning her bow, marginally lower than hers had been, he responded quickly "Hai Eden-shosa."

Mochi busied himself fussing over the shortest crew member as their superior dashed clear of the Wardroom, talking as they made their way up to the Bridge. The last time he had been the Bridge's second was in the first few missions the original Kaiyo had seen, it was surprisingly eerie given the history behind their mission.

"Well honey, looks like you can't get rid of me that easily, mhm?" A cheeky wink punctuated his sentence, rubbing Arbs' likely sore back a little. "You'll be in the safest place you can be, plus you have Hoshi and I there to chat with too." Not that he expected there'd be much chance for that.

...

Drawing up to the Bridge, the double-winged duo made their way inside, a minute or two behind the now-spotless Hoshi and Asuka. Normally there'd be some permission asking but they'd already been cleared by Eden.

"Hoshi-chusa, one expectant albatross and one mad scientist reporting." Sein grinned, though internally his switches were flipping on. The time for joking around was quickly elapsing.

YSS Kaiyo II
Bridge

"Gravity, this is Uesureyan Control. You're cleared for takeoff on vector zero-three-five-november-alpha."

"Roger that, control, Kaiyo rolling out on vector zero-three-five-november-alpha."

"So what'll it be this time, Gravity, O Great Destroyer of Worlds? Another planet? A star system? A whole universe?" Chuckled the neko on the other end.

"Oh, nah, I already destroyed a universe. Probably gonna go for a star system this time." Gravity replied cheekily. There was a moment of sputtering from the other side.

"Seriously?!!"

"I'll tell you guys about it when I get back. Later, Kasumi!" said Gravity with a grin to one of her old flight school classmates. She laughed and shut off the comm to their confused and unbelieving questions, then turned on her music.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking," she said aloud. "We've just been cleared for departure and will arrive in some time. We have partly cloudy skies and a cross wind of about sixty miles per hour in the mesosphere. We have a one hundred percent chance of ass-kicking in our target universe. Now please sit back and enjoy the ride, and thank you for flying Air Yamatai. Complementary peanuts will be passed out by Sacre once we enter hyperspace."

“But what if you’re allergic?” Kyoi joked over comms.

IRRELEVANT. The SAINT pilot winced a little. Food allergies are a defect, easily edited out by soul transfer and modification. In the Star Army, this defect is a nonexistent trait. Probability of spreading: Zero point zero zero absolute percent, number untruncated.

Take a joke...the little conflict in Kyoi’s head started another small headache. Anomaly has surfaced again. Recommended action: immediate diagnosis and repair. Compose message. Subject: Anomaly discovered within system. Text: This unit (Kyoi Kiseki) has experienced multiple headaches, an unnatural phenomenon in Nekovalkyria Type 33, all subtypes.

And...delete message. Why?

Not the time. Just...do the mission first.

YSS Kaiyō II
Bridge

Before Hoshi sat at her chair next to the empty weapons seat and the manned helm, she cupped the headrest with one hand and nodded to the Elysian combo.

"Welcome back," Hoshi said. "The XO's seat is yours, Juni. Heisho, if you wouldn't mind manning weapons until our resident operator comes in to the bridge, at which point you can take control of mission ops, but please don't feel like you have to overexert yourself at any time. My cabin behind me is at your disposal if at any time you need to utilize it for your health."

She gave a quick smile to Arbitrated after explaining the accomodation she was making, then it waned as she looked up to one of the viewscreens on the port-side wall.

"Boss, call Jôtô Heisho Thesilis to the bridge to man her station. Gravity-hei, an impeccable launch as always. Keep up the great work."

She stayed standing and, in her mind, was watching the rest of the ship through Boss' eyes.

Wardroom

Anastasia walked towards the exit of the Wardroom as the briefing came to a close and the crew dispersed to their stations. She caught Orion on the way out, rubbing his right shoulder on the way past. "Go get em, sugar." With that, the technician continued her way to the Zero-G passage, following behind the group of officers.

Kaori nodded, looking at Seinosuke as he spoke. "Alright." Her grey face barely shifted as she gave a skeptical "mmm." on mention of a mess. She tried to remedy her cold shoulder to the two Iemochi with the most sincere smile she could pull off. Between the low-cut hair and the reflective yellow eyes, it wasn't an exactly clear translation. The botanist then turned, and quickly migrated towards the science lab. There was fruit to be monitored. And perhaps tested for trans-dimensional mutation.

Bridge

Anastasia followed Hoshi and Gravity into the bridge on captains orders, looking around the spacious circular room. Admittedly, she had never been to the bridge of the Fuji-Class, but she had been to the former Plumerias bridge on a few special occasions. It was just a little off-putting at first. The Elysian took her seat at the long-vacant Engineering station, resting her hands across the manual controls in front of her and taking time to studying them. It wasn't much different at all to the control tower found within the Engineering Bay itself, and the familiarity of the lingo came back to her quickly. She looked up and around as the rest of the bridge crew took their active positions- one which she never thought she'd find herself in. "Engineering, up and ready captain."

She rolled her eyes just a little at Gravity's speech smiling. Anastasia looked down at the volumetric display that had phased in front of her, relaying a quick message to the technician crew. "We're going to need all available hands on deck to their stations once we move to warp. Be prepared for anything." She fell quiet, thinking back to the last event in the IYS universe.


The Science Zone

Within a minute, Kaori slid open the door to the on-board science lab located on the highest deck of the ship. She was more than appalled by what she found inside By Yui, it was worse than she thought! Loose papers and materials, half-filled shelves, open equipment, uncleared work surfaces- she could have sworn there could be open chemicals just lying around at this rate. The short Neko gave a huff clearly larger than her lungs should be able to hold and set her navy hairband in the proper "contaminated" box mounted at the door. She let her hair fall back into a clean cut line around her head before getting right down to work. This place needed more than a little bit of order. At least the fruit specimen she had asked to be preserved were in clearly healthy condition.

YSS Kaiyo II
PA Bay

Having had no choice but to take the Chusa's word, Walter had left the room to get his PA ready.

Now, he didn't express much emotion aside from a glint in his orange eyes. But deep down, he felt justified to be so damn angry at himself, and at his people, for making this situation happen in the first place. He should have otherwise suspected that his kind would come around to universe hopping eventually; it was just bound to happen. Maybe so, or maybe not, he didn't know and he may be overthinking this too much for all he cared.

... Honestly just thinking more about it made Walter feel too much wrath to keep composure. He, above everyone else, will show them how it feels to feel true pain. He will go back on his promise, and go so overkill that they will NEVER come back here to disturb his peace again! Walter Hyde will make sure that their heads will roll before they go berserk, he will give the Imperials the monster that they have just kept pushing and pushing for him to be!

And what better way to do it, than to change his entire load to be as devastating as humanly possible? At this point, this raven-haired man doesn't give a damn, he just wants these guys dead more than anyone on this ship.

Walter Hyde didn't change out his grenade launchers, however he already installed the heavy belts into the guns this time around. He also kept his NSBs, too, as well as his Blacksmith's toolcase. However, he abandoned his Aether Blade in favor of eight floating gauntlets made of Zesuaium. They have a intricate and lovely helix design on the forearm plate with twin comets, and hummed with energy as the floated around Walter, grabbing weapons and changing his loadout.

This time, he abandoned using the Fabricator Unit, he''ll never need to fix anyone's shit this mission. Now, he is using his four extra pairs of hands to hold Aether Gatling Rifles; apparently a heavy weapons Neko was here before Walter, and had stored heavy weapons for the taking. Once he had his hooked up, Walter Hyde stood tall, the two Grenade Launchers jangling their payload down his arms, and four gatling guns floating beside him and being connected to his suit. Just to compensate for the sheer energy usage, he opted to getting a Fusion Generator instead of his fabricator unit.

Water Hyde will kill those Imperials so fast they will not even get the chance to go berserk from his high burst damage.

Able looked between the Chusa and Chlorate, raising a brow at their somewhat secretive conversation. Standing up nice and tall, he holstered the weapon in his hands before heading towards the door, waiting for the Emma-type android to join him before speaking up. "I assure you, my comments regarding automatons were in no way meant to offend. I was merely stating facts in regards to one-on-one combat. In all actuality, I find your design to be incredible. A technical marvel, if you will..."

He continued speaking long after they had exited the room and were out of earshot. He didn't exactly know if the android had the intelligence to gather everything he was saying, but he rarely got the chance to speak with a machine like himself.


As Able entered the fair-sized vehicle bay, he let his eyes scan the room a bit before catching eye of it. His Mamushi, his pride and joy had been docked here in the time he had spent making his way to the ship to catch what little of the briefing he could. This sight made him smirk a bit, the Douryo walking towards it without pause and letting his fingers brush its cold, metal shell. This was all he wanted, as soon as he had landed on the planet. The embrace of his fighter, the place he felt most comfortable, even in a deadly dogfight. It was much better company than most living beings too, funny enough...

Opening the cockpit, he got comfortable in his seat before starting up the craft's engines, running simple diagnostics tests to make sure the thing would be stable for the upcoming missions. Looking towards his android companion, he gave her a single nod. "I will take this from here. Lovely chatting with you." He spoke, listening and testing out every major component of the fighter, besides weapons. He knew everything was loaded to the brim with ammunition, but whether they worked or not would have to wait until he was in a safe place to test such things. Booting up his comms, he contacted the bridge.

"Santô Hei Able speaking... Systems seem to be fully operational. Prepped and ready for takeoff. Over." He spoke calmly,