(Special thanks to Kokuten for Editing)
ON>
The SS Raider appeared in Yamatai space, near the planet. asking for all the necessary permissions, Roke soon got the ship to a nice waiting spot, synchronizing its orbit with the planet's own rotation, and sitting directly above Kyoto. Tentatively, two shuttles were launched from the shuttle bay. One, Piloted by the Handsome Hurgh Fuglynaim, headed straight for the Gozen Clan's compound, to pick up Knsuke. The second, piloted by Tira Gambezam, and containing Aerin Tatst, waited for a few moments, as the short CEO got into contact with this 'Irene Ceres'
"So, just send us your location and we'll pick you up" Aerin said, finishing a short conversation with the woman. she looked at Tira, waiting for the navigational coordinates to come int.
The console in front of the peglegged pilot beeped. "We've got the co-ordinates, Captain. Ready to head in at your command," the redhead reported. "Roke, let's see the traffic out there," she commanded, and the computer responded by displaying the paths of any objects that lay in orbit between the Raider's shuttle and it's destination.
That is Origin's new model of shuttle, then. Irene thought to herself for a moment, setting her leather briefcase on top of her trolleycase for an instant to unruffle her clothing, which consisted of a plain white dress shirt and an ankle length navy blue skirt. Her dark brown hair was only slightly past the mid-point of her neck, and for the most part, a little too wild or rough cut to be considered pretty, but at least elegant by virtue of being functional. "I am here to be picked up, Miss Tatst."
"Let's go down and get her, Tira" Aerin said, after recieving Irene's response. she herself moved into the back of the shuttle, so as to better be able to greet Irene, but left the door open so Tira could still communicate.
The Onset breached the planets atmosphere, threaded through the maze of sky traffic and landed smooth as a baby's skin on the landing pad. "Welcome to lovely Yamatai, Captain," the pilot said as she opened up the rear door of the shuttle. "Where the catgirls roam free and noone has to live with the body they're born with." Tira started the Onset on an automated Self-Diagonstic and rose from her seat, "Now then, she'll be ready to go again at your leisure, Captain."
"Thank you, Miss Gambezam" Aerin said, Smiling at her pilot, before brushing off her uniform (the hat left in her room on the Raider) and walking out the back of the shuttle, and towards the woman she assumed to be Irene Ceres, which she vocalized with "Irene Ceres, I presume?" holding out a hand for the woman to shake "I'm Aerin Tatst, Captain of the SS Raider. You're to be my doctor, yes?"
"Hello, Captain Tatst." Irene said, giving a small nod as the young CEO came into view. The pacing of her words was almost mechanically precise, while the voice sounded like a perfect imitation of human speech, but betrayed itself as an imitation by virtue of being too crisp and resonant. "My name is Irene Ceres, and I wish to be employed for that purpose in your organization."
Aerin slightly raised an eyebrow at the voice that was just a little off, and the fact that the woman did not return her handshake, but rather bowed. Putting her hand back at her side, Aerin returned the bow, quickly. "So, shall we go up to the ship? My cook is supposed to be whipping up a rather nice dinner for us, and I'd love it if you could join us, perhaps we can talk business there, as well?" the woman said, signalling towards the shuttle.
Tira followed the Captain out of the shuttle, her metal leg clanking at every step. She stopped at the rear entrance and kept an eye out for any trouble. Not that there'd be any trouble on Yamatai, but with Aerin, one could never be too safe.
"This body..." expends more energy processing food than it receives. Cyrene thought to herself, unconsciously continuing her line of thought without saying it. She tugged on large stack of baggage behind her and nodded, preparing to follow the woman into the shuttle. "I would... like that, Miss Tatst."
"Allright then!" Aerin said, smiling. she bounced a bit before turning around and heading towards the Shuttle, where Tira was standing on the ramp of. Speaking to the pilot, Aerin said "Get her ready, we're going back up." and sort of shooing the woman into the shuttle. once Tira had moved, the CEO then unfolded the padded benches from the walls, and offered one for Irene to sit down on.
Tira trotted back to the pilot's chair and took her seat at the helm. She looked over the results of the diagnostic and seeing no problems, began pre-flight proceedures.
Irene complied, taking a seat and setting her trolley case at the left of her feet, while clutching the small leather briefcase in her lap. "Are you interested in interviewing me, then?"
"Yes, I would Love to interview you. Our ship needs a doctor, and you were the only one who answered the advertisement I sent out." she said to Irene, Simultaneously snding a text message to the shuttle's console, telling Tira to close the door and head up for the Raider. "What about my ship caught your Eye and made you want to join, may I ask?" Aerin questioned, smiling at the woman across from her, and leaning forward, looking a little bit eager.
The back door of the shuttle closed as Tira finished up the pre-flight check. She grinned as she heard Irene's question and lifted the shuttle from the launch pad. "Roke, visibility is shit down here. Overlay the viewscreen so I can get us out of here."
Roke complied, sending a number of sensor feeds from the Raider down to the shuttle, as well as telling the shuttle to boost its sensors to counteract the conditions. A small screen popped up to overlay the viewscreen, but it wasn't anywhere near as nice as the ones inside the Raider's bridge.
Small blueish lines traced across Irene's cheeks as the other woman asked question that seemed rather forward to her, the luminescence of her artificial eyes increasingly slightly for a second. "I... I had been keeping track of Origin's progress in stocks and asset acquisition for some time, after a co-worker at the Foundation purchased some of your stocks and made a tidy profit. That you posted a network just as my division was dismantled was simply... good fortune." The young cyborg explained, her eyes not even pausing to blink as she spoke.
"Roke, you piece of shit. I can boost the sensors myself. I wanted you to send me some better data from the Raider's sensors you nitwit," Tira would've kicked the console if she tought it would have any effect.
"I'm glad you see it that way" Aerin grinned, nodding at the woman's story. "So, what sort of job did you figure you'd be doing here, If I may ask?" she continued, still looking at Irene. If she hadn't said previously that she was a full-conversion cyborg, Aerin might have been freaked out by the unblinking eyes and odd colors flashing just beneath the woman's skin, but she held her tongue, waiting for Irene's answer.
"I expect to treat injuries... and illnesses, control the distribution stimulants and painkillers and catalog new specimens... that the crew may chance upon." Irene said, explaining what she thought might be relevant to her duties. "I was a lab assistant at the Foundation, in spite of my qualifications, so this may be... more interesting."
*************************
The first shuttle that had launched above Yamatai sped on towards its destination, the handsome nepleslian at the controls crooning to no one in particular. He made his way through traffic with a bit of a flair, pushing the little shuttle to some of its limits. Once he got within range of the Gozen campus, however, he slowed down to a hover, and called out "This is Hurgh Fuglynaim of Origin Industries. I'm here to pick up a 'Kensookay Moorawkawmi?' he said, mispornouncing the name a bit, Yamataian names had never been his strong suit.
There was a moment of silence, the Gozen owned ATC tower getting confirmation that this was, in fact, a scheduled visit. "Origin shuttle, you are cleared for landing. Murakami-dono will greet you shortly."
"Awright, thanks, baby" the Nepleslian pilot returned, guiding the shuttle to the provided coordinates and dropping down gently. the rear ramp opened and out walked a tall, dark, and handsome man, wearing a crisp Origin uniform. seeing Kensuke standing there, he held out a hand "What's shakin' baby? I'm Hurgh Fuglynaim, here ta pick ya up"
The rather tall Yamataian male bowed to Hurgh. Behind him, numerous nekovalkyrja servants, wearing blue and red Kimonos, and with pale powdered faces were carrying his stuff. Well, almost all of his stuff. At his waist, Kensuke had two swords. One was a fairly average looking katana in it's sheath, and the other was it's companion wakazashi. "Greetings, Hurgh Fuglynaim."
"Greetin's" the man responded, bowing back a little awkwardly. "Juss load up all your stuff and hop on in, we're meetin' some new people fer dinner, apparently." Hurgh said, walking back towards the shuttle, muttering to himself that Kensuke didn't shake his hand.
Kensuke motioned to the neko servants, then followed Hurgh(hehe). The obediant servants immediately began to load Kensuke's items onboard the shuttle, including what looked to be a case carrying an Armor sized katana.
Once everything was loaded, Hurgh called from the cockpit "Say yer goodbyes then get up here", but before Kensuke could really comply, the Nepleslian raised the rear ramp, giving the Yamataian just enough time to wave before it was shut and sealed.
Kensuke silently sat down on one of the available chairs, hands rested in his lap contently, waiting for the trip to be over.
Satisfied that Kensuke was safe in his seat, Hurgh punched it, blasting into the sky as quickly as the shuttle could manage, much to the dismay of the Gozen's gardeners, any nearby plants were likely a bit frazzled by the wash. Quickly the little shuttle rose towards the atmosphere, headed to a currently nonexistant point that was still too far to be seen. "So, watcha do exactly, mister Kensookay?" Hurgh asked of his passenger.
"I am the head of Origin Armor Works."
"Oh, hey, cool" Hurgh said, looking at the man "Guess that makes me your personal shuttle dude, I was hired to fly shuttles and stuff for tha OAW" he continued, beaming, the smile making his handsome features just that much more stunning, not that kensuke would really notice.
Kensuke nods, staying stoic. also, Kensuke is more handsome than Hugh, his cold exterior only magnifying his features through a magnifying glass of ice.
"Oooo-kay" Hurgh mumbled, looking out the viewscreen. The Raider was fast approaching, a dark green shape barely highlighted against the black of space. Soon, Hurgh brought the shuttle into the bay, bringing it down on the floor with a flourish, and not even so much as a bump. "Here we are, Mister" he announced, looking out the window as another shuttle came into the Hangar, carrying a new crewmember to the Raider itself.
******************************
The Onset containing the Captain and the new employee touched down back in the safety of the Raider's shuttle bay. Tira began to shut down the various systems as she opened up the rear door to the shuttle. "Here we are," the redheaded Geshrin announced to her two passengers. "Welcome aboard the SS Raider"
As the Bay doors closed up behind Tira's shuttle, Hurgh opened the ramp to his shuttle. "Awright, baby, out ya go, We're officially on tha SS Raidah now" he said, unbuckling his straps and heading out the back of the shuttle, past all of Kensuke's baggage. He walked over to a small niche in the wall and grabbed a coffee, he was on his break and would get the stuff moved later. Kensuke was left to his own devices, however.
Kensuke stood up, staring at his bags. He was traveling light, well mostly. The Power Armor sized Katana may be a problem. "Well then."
Aerin popped up "Well, Miss Irene, it seems we're here now" she said, sending another text to Tira's console thanking her for the good job.
"Very well... Captain Tatst. If there is any immediate need to unload heavy cargo, you may count on me." Irene replied with a gentle nod, tugging along the baggage stacked atop her wheeled trolley case. "This body has an upper bound of five hundred kilograms."
The female pilot rose from her seat at the helm of the Onset and grabbed the small bag stashed off to the side. She made her way out of the shuttle and headed over to the man enjoying a cup of joe, glancing only momentarily at the serious looking passanger that Hurgh had picked up. "So, how was your flight?"
"Ehh, It was okay. Mister sunshine over there is very talkative" Hurgh said, sarcastically, taking a sip from his mug. "I hear you were invited to tha dinner. Put in a good word for me, eh, sugahlips?" he said, with a bit of a flirty tone to his voice.
"Eh, I'll probably just hang out in the kitchen. Listening to the Captain's bright ideas every five minutes gives me a headache half the time," the Geshrin laughed at her joke. "But hey, your name's been coming up on the duty roster a lot for the big seat, so I don't know how much more good words you really need."
"Oh, that won't be neccesary" Aerin responded to Irene, moving towards the ramp "Let's head to the wardroom, shall we? my cook has something special planned, I think."
Kensuke grabbed the large sword, and pulled it over his shoulder, momentarily losing balance and nearly falling over. "This is heavy. Too heavy. Need to make it lighter for mass production." Kensuke used his free hand to grab the rest of his bags, trudging off the shuttle's ramp.
Irene glanced over at the Yamataian man as she passed him by with her luggage, and paused a moment, looking intently at the sword. "Pardon me... would you need assistance carrying that weapon? My capacity exceeds that of even bio androids such as yourself." The cyborg asked curiously, without any kind of apparent malign intention, her intonation swinging between mechanical precision and a nearly pleasant sing-song.
Kensuke grunted under the weight of the stuff, his knees close to buckling under the pressure. "No, I'm perfectly fine, i don't want to bother a beautiful girl like you with th- oh kami I lied!" Kensuke grunted loudly in pain as he collapsed, falling over the floor to be buried by his heavy luggage.
"Oh shi-" Hurgh muttered, before Tira could answer, rushing to Kensuke "Oi, i'm s'posed ta be takin those to yer room later, Mister." he said, grabbing one of the bags "Right now you're s'posed to be gettin to the dinner, I think"
Irene picked up the weapon sitting atop Kensuke with her left hand, making a small nod as her arm calculated the weight and density of the weapon. "I see. A Yamataian-styled blade for power armored use, built using modern alloys, correct?"
Kensuke grunted from under the pile, trying to stand up. "Correct. It's a prototype for something being made by OAW."
Aerin soon caught up with the group "Ah, Kensuke, It's nice to see you again. We only met once before, I think?" she greeted, pulling the man fully upright and giving him a quick hug. "I see you've met Irene, our new doctor and- Ooh... That's pretty. A new project, Kensuke?" she said, in a flurry of words.
Kensuke blushed at the hug, then stood back, bowing deeply to Aerin. "Ah, yes. Our designers needed a melee weapon for our upcoming Ashigaru. Currently, we have two things on the drawing board." He pointed to the large Katana. "The Origin Katana, Kusanagi Pattern, and the cheaper Origin Lance, Izanagi Pattern."
"The shield projectors and power field will make them much more effective against armored subjects, but this weapon still requires that you close within two meters to make an effective attack." Irene said, letting go of her luggage trolley and placing her hand to her mouth as small glowing lines traces up and down her cheeks. She felt rather embarrassed for saying something so strange when she was just a ship's doctor, and so decided to play it off. "Forgive me for saying this strange nonsense. One of my coworkers enjoyed playing as a swordsman in sim games, and those of us who had picked rifles tended to spend the game hunting him down for easy points."
"It's only intended for close range use, of course. Well, close range use or for Glory." Kensuke smiled, picking up his bags. "Now, I need to get everything stored where it needs to be stored."
"I'll do that for ya, Sir" Hurgh said, grabbing the bags from Kensuke and hurrying off towards the elevators, to place them in the man's VIP room. He didn't mind acting as a porter, even though he felt it to be more menial compared to piloting. He just figured he better work to earn his keep, as he got payed to do mostly nothing a lot of the time.
"Irene, could you please carry that to the PA hangar?"
Similarlly, Tira was technically on the clock still. But luckily enough, her only duty right now was being Aerin's chauffeur. She stole Hurgh's coffee cup he left behind and drained it. No sense letting it cool off and go to waste.
"The PA Hangar is just one floor down, Miss Irene" Aerin said, looking at Kensuke for a moment "I doubt it would hurt to leave it next to the shuttle for someone to take down though, I'm sure Mr. Locklem is waiting for us with his dinner right about now" the CEO chimed in.
"Well, I..." haven't even set up shop, but I guess my offer from before is being called on. Irene mumbled her reply to Kensuke. Aerin's words only confirmed things. "Yes, Captain Tatst." She nodded, heading to the elevator to drop off the weapon she held in her hands.
Kensuke turned to Aerin, bowing again. "Captain, we need to talk, somewhere private, where we can't be overheard by prying eyes."
"Of course" She responded, walking after Irene towards the elevator, which would take them to their destinations once it returned from Hurgh's chore.
Kensuke followed the captain, one hand on his katana. "We have run into problems developing the Ashigaru."
The redheaded Geshrin tossed the empty cup into the trash recepticle, hefted her bag over her shoulder and fell in behind the other crew.
"Ah. Such a pity, I thought it had been going well. I heard you had gotten a frame to run with most of the components mounted, but I suppose there must be some issues with the finalization of the machine" she said, reaching the elevator, which dinged and opened, allowing the group to enter. it quickly dropped one level, to the smaller Powered Armor hangar, and opened for Irene to put the sword inside before closing and moving back up to their previous level, this time with the side opening up to let them into a hallway.
"We don't want to use a military grade Aether generator, but we can't fit anything else in such a small space."
"And then there's the problem of movement in Zero-G."
"It bounces, doesn't it?" Aerin responded, looking a little concerned. "Perhaps we will simply have to make it bulkier for the time being, and refine it with experience. Similar to a design i've made based on this very ship" Aerin said, patting a wall as they walked down the hallway."
Kensuke continued to follow. "How is the Rebel project going, miss Tatst?"
"Very well, Actually. The designs have been finalized and the first prototype is in the construction phase. Currently the manufacturing building isn't enough though. the Gravity on Tami is giving the manipulator arms trouble with such heavy pieces" the captain looked sour for a moment "If only we could get that Behemoth the MAP flying, we would have Zero-g assembly capabilities, and construction would be faster." She finished.
"We still need to develop missiles for it."
"True, but it's capable of firing just about anything, so that is a secondary concern" Aerin rebuked, as the group made it to the wardroom. She opened the door, beckoning the group in. Near the kitchen was a table obviously made for them, decked out in origin colors and with a silk tablecloth, spots set for 10 people, though there would obviously not be that many people partaking.
Tadarius walked out of the kitchen, pushing open the double doors in a rather glorious manner. "Ah! It's about time! Come in, come in. Take whichever seat you like, however, please avoid sitting in the taller chair, that one is for the Captain." said the Chef as he walked over to them and gave them a flourishing bow.
Kensuke returned the bow to Tadarius. "I thank you, for preparing this for us."
Tira's hand hit her face at Buu's overdramatic flair. That guy, she thought. Oh well, it's his feast.
"Why thank you, Buu" Aerin said, returning the man's bow in an almost comically exaggerated way. She walked to the table and stood next to her seat, waiting for everyone else to find a spot first.
Kensuke stood behind his seat, next to the captain, hand still on his katana.
>Pause
