RP Concluded [Motoyoshi Rising] To A New Star

Kazumi watched Eidan depart, her face a wooden mask as she worked over those words.

you might want to figure out what seeds and plants you want to be transferred when we get there.

A twinge of annoyance overcame her at that, the implication that should be a given that all of them was the obvious answer... Granted she would have to take clippings from the more desirable stock to graft and pull the right parental genes from the line but did the lord mean that she had a limit to what she could requisition?

Nobody had told her that earlier. She had simply been under the impression that her full inventory would be transferred over! Perhaps-

Charaa said:

“Looking cute, Kazumi’

Click to expand...

Kazumi gave a short distracted wave from the wrist as someone passed by.

Yes... That would work as a good excuse! Kazumi nodded to herself, black horns bobbing with her head as she took a few shuffling steps forward, feet sliding on the deck more than lifting as-

"Wait, what?" She paused, looking now long after the departed scout only just registering her statement as Kazumi brought two fingers up to her lips in an old motion from when she used to chew on her nails as she pursed them.

Spirits, But her father was right about what she would find when she entered the sector (and now beyond) at large!

A bit more of a pep in her non-existent step that any compliment brings as she shuffled on with short choppy steps Kazumi moved past the bridge, the armory and its strange smells, and towards the greenhouse.

Greenhouse

Clipping and preserving several grafts was the simple part. Each sealed an an envelope for travel and sequestered in a crate off to the side Kazumi moved over to a set of inset swinging doors which opened into each other like an accordion gate as one-by-one Kazumi began pulling small vials each with numerical nomenclature codes and labels of what they were as each composed a thin but tall vial of stacked seeds each in tiny coin-shaped dispensers separating them from each seed but carrying easily a hundred or more depending on the size.

Pulling out trays she began setting them in a transportable container with tiered pull-out rows with small foam liners to sort each vial into. The vials of course could be used to plant normally in a greenhouse such as the one she was in. But the true treasure she was after was the genetic code they carried that, with the right fabricators, hypothetically she could print seeds in bulk like they did on Inari station in her home system. They would be the same every time; Making it important to update the sequence whenever a better crop with stronger traits was cultivated. In essence, she could pull the genetic sequence from any flora that she could get the code of even if the Shiori didnt have it in stock!

The cultivation of such a method was not new. But the dedicated technology had yet to replace much of the third-party reliance on undedicated fabricators on a ship like the Shiori, unlike a dedicated botanical vessel.

Leaving behind only a minimum inventory to refill the Shioris' stock later from Kazumi folded the trays on the large rolling crate that easily weighed more than she did now filled with seeds, stock, fibres, grafts, and small genetic samples to clone from later.

Grabbing the handle and pulling with all her might and her not-inconsiderate strength she managed to barely budge the crate and drag it a few feet despite it having its own wheels on the end to help with the process before her hand slipped off the handle and she nearly lost her balance and fell as the side of the container slammed back down to the deck.

Audibly harumphing at her stalwart enemy before her, Kazumi glared at the craft with her arms folded over her chest.

"Machine." She nearly hissed, never taking her eyes off of just short of the entire greenhouse crammed inside of a longer than it was wide packing container that dared defy her. After a moment when nothing happened she took her eyes off the crate momentarily to look up towards the ceiling when her call went unanswered.

She tried again, waiting for the ships faux-intelligence to answer her call, "I would like someone to help move this equipment it is... Delicate." She half lied about her inadequacy and desire to not drag around a couple-hundred-pound seed vault across the ship that was 1% actual seed and 99% the equipment to keep them preserved and from shocking, sprouting, or drying.

"And ask lord Eidan if he should want his strawberries transplanted when we arrive to... Wherever it is we are going again."

The lord never seemed to eat them before they all seemed to be hone from Kazumi's observations. Everyone else did, herself included hence she would prefer to bring a shrub or two while wondering without noticing the irony as to why he never ate any was because everyone else seemed to get them all first...

Perhaps despite his comment earlier he didn't like strawberries? Just an inside joke perhaps?

"Never mind, withdraw the previous message." She sighed, able to read between the lines of her lords desires in this context she felt.

She would leave the shrubs behind.

He clearly wouldn't miss them.

"Machine?" Kazumi tried again this time not sure if she was just talking to the ceiling like a fool.

The musical, low-bitrate chirping and metallic, electric whirr of one of the forklift drones was distinctly audible down the ship's corridor from the Greenhouse, and, to Kazumi, growing steadily louder as it approached. Apparently, the machine, when asked, provided. The boxy, wheeled contraption with the lifter-grippers on the front stopped short of the problem it was summoned to solve. With the dutiful, canine personalities they'd become known foor, the Carrier drone faced Kazumi. The green-amber-green-white-amber-white-green of its forward lighting systems cycled as if awaiting further instruction.

Another of the Carrier forklifts was assisting Beldagor in the workshop and power armor bay, demonstrating a much, much more obedient and compliant attitude than an Iron Company Pest. Perhaps this is where some of the Yamataians had got the idea to treat drones so gently and without percussive maintenance.

Kuroko just sulked at the Tactical Console on the bridge impatiently once she'd finished packing and let the drones on that job handle it from there, ignoring everyone.

ISS Shiori​

Kosuke Sector - Becurn (YC-56K) System
Bridge

Things were looking up, and Lumi cast a little smile towards Eidan when he appeared, pantomiming fanning themself as they went over the picture. "Lewd." They thought back to the duo, promptly sending them a shot from earlier in the morning that their drone clearly took. The Helashio's plump, curvy backside was on at least half display facing the camera. They kept their tail just low enough to show off the glow from their funzone without actually showing it, but it was so close. They were probably getting into uniform, since it was hanging off and it fit tightly when actually on properly. White electrical tape crossed over their nipples, as if it were possible to look more girly.

"Well I do know how to steer us about! I don't need your job though, for all I know you were touching yourself while thinking about me again." Lumi replied to Yuki, smirking over their shoulder.

It was, in fact, the most chaste type of picture of the sort Lumi could possibly send. The reports Eidan asked for flashed to his incoming file queue as the delicate looking alien used their tail to touch a button that they could have just used SPINE for.

"Having these out in real chaotic conditions is fun! There is so much data to send when we get to a place with actual weefee, I mean, fast networks. Soooooo~ooOoooo~ many data points!"

ISS SHIORI BRIDGE

YUKI

For a moment after rolling her eyes she pondered on the mischief Tomoko would cause with her if they were prisoners. Certainly a delicious occurrence it would be indeed. She peeked around her chair again looking for Tomoko to see if the blue cutie had made it to the bridge yet. However, that seemed to not be the case causing Yuki to wander off in thoughts about her next painting.

That thought process was cut short by the most delightful mischievous voice causing her to turn around facing Lumi. "Oh is that so? Fair point, speaking of that topic, I have something for you. Hope your volumes up!" Yuki deviously giggled as she sent Lumi a very lewd video she made of herself doing just that in the helashio's honor, even calling out their name at the end, though it might have been muffled by moans.

ISS SHIORI BRIDGE
Tomoko
After getting her things in order, she’d made it to the bridge, and stretches. Flaring her nose, she carefully sniffed the bridge, searching for any unusual scents before focusing on her duty as Comms officer. Tomoko glanced towards Yuki, and smiled at her as if she knew what she was doing.[/B]

Unfortunately Leon did not hear Eidan's question as he made it way towards the cargo bay to read a message from his fellow "White Wolves" exiles interning at Advancer Enterprises' next research hospital at Fujiko. But one in particular drew his attention.

Hello Leon,

Glad to hear you are doing well when you left. I will admit, I was jealous for awhile when I heard you were choosen for the Motoyoshi exploration internship. We all know you were more interested in combat and Nepleslian men things than actually listening to the doctor during his lectures. But as Amanda says, "Git gud, not angry". So I have been looking for ways to get out of this Research Hospital and actually be productive for the Reds.

I got accepted into a new medical/Cybernetics and Neural Engineering dual-major program over at the Fujiko University this year. You might be content with the subpar cybernetics they gave us after stealing what is ours, but I will continue the doctor's good work. If others benefit form it too, I suppose it might be a win too. Finally for old times' sake, here is an updated photo of myself.



Stay safe out there, idiot.

Jacqueline Boehmer

Leon just sighed to himself as he let Jacqueline's words process within his mind. While the two were certainly rivals, he had never seen her this fired up before. He then just grinned and laughed to himself before he decided to get up and make her way to the bridge. He was just going to have to show her his progress over the coming years.

ISS SHIORI BRIDGE

With the swoosh of the doors, Leon made his way to the bridge and promptly sat down at his station with out a peep towards the others.

Greenhouse​

The Shiori's KAIMON responded back to Kazumi, "I have withdrawn the message as you requested. I warn you however I do not take kindly to being called a 'machine', I am a sentient AI system, a sophisticated masterpiece of the technological prowess of the Yugumo Corporation. If needed in the future I can remind you about how you are a squishy flesh bag that is much like a machine in your production of waste. You eat the Lord's strawberries and several hours later you are polluting the bathroom triggering my sanitization systems to clean up after you, " the sassy AI replied.

Bridge​

Eidan eyed Lumi and Yuki and just shook his head with a chuckle. He slipped out of the chair and walked up behind Kuroko at the tactical station.

The transit to grid 0317 didn't take long. The ISS Shiori exited hyperspace and an unexpected scene unfolded before the ship. "No way..." Eidan said as the Motoyoshi Clan's flagship was there waiting for them. The massive Tanya-Class Expeditionary Heavy Cruiser was just a few hundred kilometers ahead of them. Its massive rollbar is studded with all but one of its attached Misha-Class Explorers. "I wonder which of those explorers will be ours?" he said aloud, not being in the know of the fact he was about to take command of the magnificent ISS Yoi-no-Myōjō itself.

"ISS Shiori, you are clear on the port-side upper pylon for docking procedures, Welcome to the Evenstar," the voice of the Evenstar's communications officer came over the internal speaker systems on the bridge.

Eidan looked around a moment and examined the look on their faces, "Tomoko, let them know we received their message and acknowledge the instructions," he said with a short pause, "Alright Yuki do your thing, take us in, and dock us with that ship," he ordered.

As the ISS Shiori arrived on schedule, a message was sent to the Fleetmaster to make her aware of their arrival so that she could deliver the news.

"Have any of you ever been on one of these cruisers?" he asked, still in awe at the beautiful site before them. He also took a second to order Beldagor up to the bridge.

bridge
“Copy that Evenstar-sempai! Message received!” said the excited voice of the soon-to-be former ISS Shiori’s communications officer, Tomoko. She was excited about this change, new ship old job, but she was still committed to being the best communications officer she was, that they knew her to be, rather she hoped they knew her to be.

Now that her job was done, she placed a hand on her console part of her was sad to leave, but she knew all things came to an end, and her time on the ship would be it. Unless they took it for a mission or something. “I have, technically,” Tomoko said “more in a Volumetric thing, Tanya’s B-eautiful halls, it’s an exercise sim, that has the user to run through its passageways, dodging obstacles, kinda like that game show, Superior Run, only it's on the Tanya,” she said with a blush seemingly embarrassed that she’d been on a Tanya-Class only in a Vr sim.

Shiori Bridge

As the massive Expeditionary Heavy Cruiser began to loom large in her view from the tactical station, Kuroko looked longingly at the docked ships. around its mighty ring. The Shiori was the original prototype of the Misha. It had begun its life as the bare hull from an old UOC Peacekeeper Ayana-Class Escort, and had gone refits and updates from the 1A, to the 1B, to the 1C, and not to mention the additional upgrades and customizations that had to have run in the millions of KS. From humble beginnings the Shiori was brought up to the marvel it was today. Cutting edge, or so Kuroko had thought. There was a bit of a pang of pride low in her chest as the docked Misha 2 Explorers made the original model they were in look almost quaint by comparison, even though it wasn't, save the vintage frame, even half a decade old.

"Never," she replied to Eidan, without looking up at him. It was the first time she'd spoken to anyone since leaving his stateroom earlier, instead doing her best to ignore the banter between Lumi and Yuki with a sulking sort of annoyance set in her jaw. "I mean, I knew they were building this thing but it didn't launch until we were out of the sector already."

Tomoko's confession about playing the Tanya as a level in a VR Sim earned her the honor of having Kuroko's side eye laid upon her. "That's just Yugumo Fleetworks marketing you know. Don't rot your brain."

Turning back to the Tactical Console, Kuroko could only sigh wistfully, and mostly, but not entirely, internally as she double checked the ship's weapons inventory and shields, and powered down all defensive systems for docking. Her gaze laid long and heavy on the torpedo systems she'd hoped to have got so much more use out of, and she sadly waved her finger through their volumetric representation projected in her view. She only gave Leon a cursory glance as she looked up briefly from her tasks, reabsorbed in them once more without even a half-syllable of acknowledgement.

"Shields offline," she reported crisply to Eidan, "ready for the docking clamp."

Beldagor made his way up to the bridge; many of his fellow crew took care to stay out of his way. Not because he had accosted them at some point, but just simply to try and avoid the belching, foul-smelling exhaust of his armor. Some even went so far as to try and block the man's way to direct him back to the armor bay. The barbarian simply shouldered past him with a chuckle as they did their best not to let the grease that seemed to almost permeate the suit touch them.

As he neared the bridge, the two security ratings; he couldn't remember what their rank was-nodded to him. Likely they either were too professional to say anything or didn't care.

The door to the bridge slid open, and the man entered, left hand resting on the head of his axe and ensuring the protective sheath remained secured-it wouldn't do to unduly expose anyone to the Spirits' Wrath. "Beldagor reporting." The man gave an easy salute; the smoke from his armor twisting and winding throughout the bridge and giving him a ghostly, almost otherworldly appearance.

BRIDGE

Yuki

After her playful quip towards Lumi, Yuki noticed that Tomoko had entered the bridge. Switching gears to put on her best innocent face, one hand raised, offering a friendly wave. With both polite and lewd greetings alike she smirked in response to Eidan's eyeing up before plopping back into her seat properly. Settling into work mode she wiggled her hips a bit to get comfy at her station.

The Evenstar communication officer's voice made her dance with excitement as it meant they were that much closer to new adventures. "Hai Eidan." she responded in the utmost professional tone as she prepared to dock the vessel. While deep in preparation she overheard the Shipmaster's question. "Not yet," she uttered off hand while focusing on the task at hand. When she heard Kuroko's report to Eidan she made final preparation getting the ship into place for the docking clamp. "Ready for final docking. Awaiting docking clamp." she chirped in accompaniment following Kuroko's report. Her ears twitched at the sound of Beldagor's voice, nose wrinkling in accompaniment to the foul-smelling armor entering the bridge.

Greenhouse.

Head tilting up, Kazumi looked down her nose at the avatar of the Shiori with a genuine look of disdain that encroached from her otherwise wooden mask she was viewed to the world with. There was, of course, a flush on the nape of her neck on the discovery that the machine was watching her in private moments and made a mental note to find in all haste whoever she needed with the proper authorization to remove her current or future quarters from observation or spying.

Or otherwise, devise a means to obscure from it not that she had any such knowledge as to how such a thing could be accomplished it very quickly climbed to the top of her list. After all she partook in medicinal meditation practices in her quarters and the last thing she needed was anyone, let alone some false intelligence spying on her or reporting such moments where others, such as Lord Eidan, Kazumi assumed the mention of him was some underlying threat as much, to find reason to remove her from such an expedition and send her away in disgrace!

Unable to look down on the avatar any more down her nose without facing the ceiling itself, Kazumi squared her shoulders and spent a very pregnant moment learning that despite how life-like they could pretend to be; When an AI decided they wanted to win a staring contest they could simply choose not to blink.

Deciding to be the bigger demon, Kazumi let off without any monologuing about the machine eventually becoming recycled to menial tasks within a handful of years while she, Lord Eidan, and others left it behind to slowly corrupt as it becomes forgotten while real people are remembered for their accomplishments and glories while machines like it-

Kazumi trailed off her train of thought, smug satisfaction at having won the hypothetical battle in her own mind she casually dismissed the Shioris AI by turning away from it and going back to the arrangement of her things.

Kazumi was aware of the laws and treatment of AI in Yamatai and knew at a surface level that she was in the wrong in her treatment of the AI. Never having given such things much thought it was a recent development and a belief entirely her own in the making. AI and such entities scared her on a level she had never admitted to anyone, She had read and heard of some of the great Macro AI of the Kikyo Sector and what they were capable of not to mention entities of recent years like massive machine planets and rogue critical AI.

AI scared and intimidated her in what they could do. They weren't real people in her eyes regardless of how the empire viewed some of them and were nothing more than faux-people pretending with fake, coded personalities that was little more than admittedly intricate coded lists of responses adapted in real time to make them seem alive and able to interact as if they had a soul like she did. It was not a fear born of ignorance, either. Despite being a country-girl from a small village she was not uninformed or tech illiterate with her education; Her village was not made of mud or straw huts but well-built construction, her family and all of her neighbors had transportation when they chose to use it and amenities found anywhere you could find in any city in Yamatai.

They just simply lacked a soul as she saw it.

Finishing up, Kazumi looked up as she felt the slight changes in the motion of the ship and the almost imperceptible vibration under her feet. As if the prophecy had fulfilled itself right on time it was time for the AI to be left behind as she had predicted as it made its eventual journey to becoming a calendar program or personal alarm clock while the real people moved on to greater things!

Turning to move for the hall and wait for orders, her haughtiness causing karma to take notice, and still used to wearing the long flowing robes and kimono of her people even now shuffled in such a way as she turned that she tripped over herself and almost fell face-first into a table with a very un-ladylike shriek of surprise before catching and righting herself with a self-conscious cough.

She just knew the AI was laughing at her somehow as she shuffled faster to get out of the greenhouse to leave the AI behind as if it weren't the entire ship...

Bridge

Leon looked at the sensors output. Not so much because he needed to but because he had no other purpose at the moment. There were within the protective pocket of the Evenstar's weapons systems. He finally looked at the visuals of the massive ship and he just went "Heh". Ships were never his interest, but that ship was a sexy beast. Maybe more so if it didn't have the docking ring in his opinion. But he kept that all to himself until Eidan asked his question.

"I honestly didn't even know this class of ship existed until I saw it in a bulletin, sir. I wonder how easy it is to get lost on that ship." Leon said, giving his answer to the question.

Bridge

Still somewhat agitated by the AI and looking for someone to vent to Kazumi wandered out of the greenhouse and followed the trail smells mixing of burnt toast, charcoal, and black cruoit in the air as she appraised a slight film of off-grey tilt on the ceiling and got some small amusement as she wandered about.

Not small but also not large either and hot on the trail just behind Beldagor she knew Kazumi came to the bridge and gave the two sentries sympathetic looks at their consternation and seamlessly swept by them without protocol as curiosity got the better of her as she came into the bridge with a too-late and now self-conscious "Permission to come aboard?" after not knowing the actual protocol to request entry into a starship bridge.

Kazumi was relieved to see most of the notables already present and that she wouldnt have been randomly entering and then fleeing the bridge like a stranger as she came up next to Beldagor while holding the back of one sleeve to just under her nose while trying not to look too impolite and failing as she suppressed a cutely muffled sneeze before wrinkling her nose and looking to the foreign man who shared some of her excentricities next to her as she casually tapped two fingers to the side of his armguards to get his attention while hearing the last few reports.

"Did you see the ship, Bel?" she inquired, curiosity getting the best of her as the Shiori had come about and amidships and the view was simply the twinkle of space to her much to Kazumis disappointment. She had very rarely seen starships up close and the few she had-had been from station viewing ports kilometers away and hard to grasp some of the multi-kilometer-long vessels scale from so far away and with no frame of reference.

"What did it look like, was it big?" She needled Beldagor quietly, not wanting to disturb any of the bridge crew and get chased out.

"I just came from the Armor Bay." Beldagor responded as he adjusted the throttle on his armor; the engine purred in response before the motor died down slightly reducing the exhaust smoke slightly, "I've seen about as much as you have." The barbarian took a moment to ensure she hadn't seared the protective wards on his armor before sighing.

Not smeared, but she'd need to wash the grease off.

Unbeknownst to him and likely the others, save for an idle glance the tech gave over the gage monitoring the Hyrdolic fluid in his suit-slightly below pressure, but nothing a slight adjustment couldn't fix-a small, but steadily widening puddle of the blackish-amber liquid had begun seep from the left kneejoint of his armor and accumulated in a slowly but steadily widened. It became worse as he fine-tuned the mechanisms, but not immediately noticeable. Looking back to Kazumi as he idly increased the pressure, Beldagor shrugged. "If you see Yamatai ship, you see them all." They all looked the same to him-smooth, rounded lines, that weird purple color they all seemed to have that made him question more than a few things about them.

Oh, and they all almost seemed vaguely shaped like someone's manhood. It made him question more than a few things about his new employer-and the Grandmaster for that matter. Mainly wondering what was going on inside of that mech of his.

Bridge

"That's not really true." Kazumi rebutted, while reaching up to stroke the base of one of her horns subconsciously.

"The inibari battleship is thiry miles long." she intoned with known seriousness while completely misremembering facts about the Inzanagi Dreadnought.

She was never in the military, her fell-heart made her family consider it an ill omen to try. But like any zealous citizen of the star empire she made up for her actual lack of real knowledge with patriotic zeal that she would defend that fact to the day she died.

"Have you ever seen a thirty-mile long warship, bel? The star army has thousands of them and that's just the ones we know about. I bet they have even bigger ships that we just haven't seen yet."

After a moment she added a second thought out loud of "Though I don't know why all the pictures of them I've seen kind of make them shaped like..." She paused, looking for the right word before trying very hard not to be overheard by anyone else but Beldagor reinforced his previous unspoken thought of "They kind of look like... You know..."

She made a vague gesture not even she was sure what it meant.

"I don't get why they just couldn't make them, like, really tall instead?"

"Because almost every Neko I've met is about as loose as your average tavern wench." He replied, uncaring as to who heard him as he fiddled with the throttle once again-it was sticking; likely he'd need to oil it again-the tone he used was matter of fact as if he considered that the final answer, "It shows in their shipbuilding." That comment would likely earn him a few glares, but then again he'd seen far worse than a couple of angry cats.

"And as for the ships-yes; or at least what was left of them." He said, his voice becoming wistful as he thought back to the cluster, knowing he, nor his people would ever walk among those ancient, wonder and horror-filled places again, "Many were just as, if not larger-such wreckages covered our sector of the galaxy; likely remnants from the Collapse." Such places had not been unique in Valhalla, but it was still home.

"You could spend your whole life studying them and only scratch the surface of their secrets." He rapped the chest plate of his armor with pride, "My own Armoring saw venturing into one of them-it's where I got what I needed for the frame from." It had been a joyous occasion for him, overcoming the myriad of dangers and emerging victorious with his prize in hand. "I only wish I'd considered venturing further-who knows what could've been found." Or it would've seen him dead for his greed; but that was life in the cluster-for those who willing to dare-while death found them more often than not there were those who emerged with powerful technologies...

He smiled at the memories.

BRIDGE

Yuki

Yuki's ears twitched at the sound of Kazumi's voice. "You can come in, we don't bite." She said turning to look from Kazumi to Beldagor briefly before returning to her original position. It crossed her mind that perhaps the Dai Oni had never been in this kind of situation before. Surely someone would eventually have to take the time to make sure the new arrivals were properly oriented. Though she did not pay much attention to the conversation surrounding her as she was overwhelmed by the horrid smell emanating from the stench trap that man was wearing.

However, she did hear the quip from the odorous man thing about Nekos, which made her peer around her seat. "At least they're not stinking up this bridge!" she exclaimed. She looked him over while wrinkling her nose momentarily before slipping back into work mode. Certainly she has going to need to bury her face in scents of the divine as soon as duty was over, because that man would give her nightmares if she did not.

BRIDGE

Tomoko looked over, from her position on the starship bridge where she was standing. “I don’t know.. the Nekos I’ve smelled.. seemed fine to me,” she said while confused at the topic of conversation that some of the bridge crew were discussing. Her arms crossed as she thought further on the topic.

Takagawa-Sensei's voice (though now it was Fleetmaster Takagawa) announced from the ship's comms, everywhere on the vessel, as the docking clamps secured themselves, one of its "fingers" arcing up to attach to the airlock on the forward-starboard side of the Shiori. "ISS Shiori crew, report to the bridge immediately on clearance to disembark. The trains will be waiting." Yes, the Evenstar had trains. Plural.

"All of your baggage and cargo will be handled. Report immediately."