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  • 📅 February and March 2024 are YE 46.2 in the RP.

RP: YSS Resurgence Post-Mission 2: The Fish and the Dessert

Ethereal

Banned Member
RP Date
6月 YE 43
RP Location
YSS Resurgence
Science Lab
Seinosuke spun around idly in his office chair, kicking off the floor gently, the momentum making him turn gradually in place. With his sunburst-toned wings, Mochi almost appeared like some sort of firestorm. Reds, oranges and yellows blurred together and scattered the light quite beautifully.

The scientist himself was engrossed in a glowing datapad which was settled comfortably in his lap. A pristine labcoat was draped precariously over the back of the grey seat, flapping a little with each jerk of motion. The officer's messy blonde hair danced this way and that in the breeze.

According to his notifications, the spider pad designs had been sent and well received, which was nice to know. Mochi hummed absentmindedly, wondering what his next project should be or whether he should ask SARA for an assignment. Apparently that was one of the newer drives for how to keep the brightest of the Star Army working their noggins as much as possible.

The Elysian wondered whether Koyama would make an appearance given his offer the other day - he could half-remember her mentioning something about it earlier? There were bits and pieces of prototypes here and there, as well as a biohazard cupboard full of all sorts of technical wizardly he'd cooked up. If nothing else, maybe Mochi could pick her brain about his thoughts regarding crew training. Hmm.

Engineering
Koyama had felt a pang of regret at their short return coming to an end. She'd wanted to at the very least spend a little more time with her teacher. Perhaps to even devise some method for training while between missions when her time would be less valuable and she could spend it freely. No doubt as she thought on the matter if she'd asked, it would be done. More than bruises would follow suit. Wiping at an eye and then sighing, the first officer had left her department as in order as she could. And had been monitoring from afar while making her way to the lab and sensor dome.

Their science officer had made her an offer. One that intrigued her. At the very least in between duties she could see what he had in mind. And when she saw the doors slide back and stepping over the threshhold, Koyama looked around. She'd read the specifications and design of the ship. But had yet to make the complete circuit of the place.

Science Lab
Standing there as the doors closed, her head tilted a little as she looked in front of her only to see a table. Used for medical-based experimentation from what the ship had told her and what she had read.

The Science Lab as it stood was rather chaotic at first glance. All manner of tools and half-assembled prototypes littered every surface that wasn't the floor. Around where Mochi sat in particular, several empty pots of cup noodles had been lined up in a sort of pyramid.

This was the way their native green-panelled Elysian had always operated ever since his first posting. Science, after all, required a bit of chaos now and again. Apparently, this mindset hadn't changed despite Mochi's rise from being an NCO.

His green irises lazily glanced up from the faintly shining screen after catching movement in the corner of his eye. It was probably one of the other members of the science team coming in to work on their own projects.

Instead, Mochi's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise, the officer tossing the device off his lap and onto the tabletop without looking. It landed awkwardly on a weight scale, lopsided as part of it was on and also beside the chrome square. "Koyama-hime!" The Iemochi grinned, pushing off from his sitting position with a miniscule jump. "I've been waiting for your visit. Have you been doing well since our big dinner?"

@Soresu
 
Koyama had stopped long enough, lingering on the cup ramen empties. Odd considering she seemed a little fascinated before the Elysian had offered a greeting. Looking to the side and toward him, his grin was returned in perhaps a more restrained version. "Finding my position more chaotic than previous postings. Finding solutions for a Kodian engineer to be better able to use the tools."

Her gaze shifted back toward the pyramid. She'd been looking at them in turn. "Trying not to find a reason to allow Sanda-hei from fulfilling her promise on Maximus-hei. He had a call from one of his girlfriends? Just a few seconds before a missile detonated and we both ended up being stabbed and shot." finding she'd moved on and at the random chaos on a nearby table. And took a second to consider whether the random act from 'Loxxas the Brave' had been sheer stupidity even among their kind. Or just an everyday thing. But in the end, he'd become Loxxas the Dead.

"And his pet." her interest had returned to the man with a smaller smile. "In other words having a day that is becoming closer to normal than I'd like."

@Ethereal
 
Mochi offered a sympathetic smile as Koyama got a few things off her chest, which sounded like quite a lot for just one person to be worrying about. Such was the burden of being an XO, he supposed. "It feels like you could do with some tea and a sit down." The Elysian ruffled his fiery wings gently, padding over to a battered kettle that was positioned seemingly randomly in the centre of one of the tables. Mochi took it up and poured some unnaturally emerald green tea into a disposable paper cup close to the edge of the desk. The scientist gestured at in with a grin, "Help yourself - it's homegrown right here. Excellent for headaches and unwinding."

The officer leaned against the side of the workstation, placing a balled fist under his chin in thought as to what advice to offer. "What promise did she make? I imagine it's of the spicy variety from what I've heard. That or he's also pledged his immortal soul to her, as well?" Mochi chuckled warmly, referring to the near-proposal of recent memory. After a moment, Seinosuke pushed off the desk towards a secure locker pushed up against one side of the room. With a press of his thumb to a biometric scanner, the chrome box swung open. Within was a mannequin clad in an assortment of what appeared to be combat equipment. Hanging from a hook on the inside of the door was an odd mask. The mannequin's holster was filled with some kind of revolver, but the place for a rifle was empty - no doubt to comply with armory regulations.

Crouching down for a few seconds, the green-shirt fiddled with its belt and seemed to remove a strange looking cylinder. Turning it over in his hands, Mochi made his way back over to Koyama. He tossed the device playfully in the air a few times, before glancing to the Princess. "Here - This should help with the Kodian." The Taii winked, before placing it gently with a light "thud" beside the 'teacup' that he had offered her. "Allows you to grab things without actually grabbing them. Always useful!"

"What a strange thing to happen right beforehand." The blonde pondered, tilting his head to one side as he perched up onto the desk, one foot trailing on the ground idly. "A girl called him..?" Mochi raised an eyebrow with a smirk, wondering whether the mystery woman was in the Star Army, for the call to connect. "Do things like that often happen in your experience, Koyama-hime?"

@Soresu
 
Koyama stared into the offered paper cup, head bobbing in thanks. She did however wonder what it was she was staring at. "I have heard of instances on other ships of such things happening. As if it were some weird twist on the situation from something beyond us. The first with him, however, I've been looking into it." she added while bringing the cup to sniff at warily. And with a resigned sip, found it not too bad truth be told.

"I am sure he'll be happy you found such a solution, he'd been resigned to stacking supplies and just being the one who does the heavy lifting. But the promise was more a joke than anything." waving the last of it off, Koyama nodded toward the cabinet. "Interesting choice of tech, Taii."
 
Seinosuke hummed quietly at Koyama's thoughts about Thaddeus. Mochi had yet to have a huge amount of interaction with the other man - which was admittedly strange given how few men were aboard the Resurgence. Maybe they should get together for some bonding in the Dojo sometime. From what he'd gathered and heard, Maximus-hei was a rather unique guy.

Koyama revealed what the Kodian had been up to, which made the Taii grin at the thought. "Well, if we have the tools, why not get them to the people who need 'em?" Mochi nodded, satisfied with her answer. "If you ever have other problems, feel free to mention them to me, Koyama-hime. Part of my job is to make your job easier, after all!" The Elysian's face lit up, taking genuine pleasure in doing the simple things rather than worrying about matters many light years away.

The Princess mentioned his locker and Mochi glanced back towards it. "Mhm- Sorry, I hope you don't mind I keep it here." Mochi offered an apologetic smile, "I had a bad time with a bunch of NMX once, they broke in between a lot of us and the armory." The flamebirb waved halfheartedly at the mannequin. "There were dozens of them and we held them off eventually, but that was the closest the Kaiyo ever got to a very bad scenario."

Seinosuke's expression fell at the thought, remembering @Arbitrated lying there on the ground in a pool of her own blood. The feeling of being restrained with a gun to his head. "Although my family have had their STs on Elysia, I'd be shattered if something similar happened again and they were.. taken." Mochi's jade eyes slid to Koyama's, a mix of determination and caution in those irises. "It's better to be prepared, just in case."

He sighed and stayed quiet for a moment. "Have you ever had anything like that happen to you, Koyama-hime..?" The scientist trailed off, tapping the tabletop nervously. "At least I have the training this time around-" Mochi murmured, remembering how hopeless he had been back then. No combat experience, no real training in that sort of thing. Now he had the benefit of experience and a not-insignificant amount of SOFT training. Training he hoped one day soon to pass on to some others. Just in case they needed it like he did once upon a time.
 
Koyama listened with a polite air as the man explained a harrowing experience. While she could sympathize, even empathize on some points on others she couldn't. Never having experienced war with the Mishuvurtyhar, she had heard stories of course from first-hand accounts. Had watched the footage. But as she placed the little paper cup back on the table, hands folded in her lap she blinked several times and then looked up at him.

"I have never been held hostage, but I have been in many life or death situations. Situations where ship-grade combined field systems, Zesuaium and Yamataium-clad hulls did not surround me. Only three mind you. But still, each presenting their unique danger."

Holding up a hand, she lifted her index finger, "I was four months old, a Santo Hei fresh from bootcamp. My first posting was with the Tenth, Task Force Lantern under the command of Chujo Fujiwara Miu as a part of their special tasks group. I was nearly killed in an attack on the relief shuttle we were using to send aid to Asura. Afterward one of your people's battlecruisers would have killed us all. It had been looted, holed in orbit. And would have crushed us." with a souring expression she held up her middle finger.

"I survived a shuttle crash, would have bled out had my Mindy not revived me from an induced comatose state despite severe head trauma. For almost half a day I had to survive on a station with Kuvexian forces severely depleted on bodily resources and drifting in and out of lucidity with my armor on its last legs."

Wringing her hands together just a little, once they were in her lap again, she rubbed at one of her thumbs. "For a time I had thought myself the only survivor, another lived but was unarmored. I'd thought to make my stand until he showed himself. Then it turned from trying to kill as many as I could in my final moments to keeping myself and them alive. We survived. But had they not administered immediate treatment I would have died. The Tennyo could not handle the strain any longer." a thin smile tugged at the edges of her lips. Perhaps she was pleased to have survived or helped someone, both. Or some other reason. But she sat and seemed to reminisce before the look fell again.

"It had been my first brush with active ground warfare. If being on a station would count as such." looking back to the cup, Koyama scooted it around with a finger absentmindedly. "Just because you learn of a thing, were taught a thing. To bring it to mind. Make use of it for that first time. The thought is frightening. You believe yourself prepared and find you are not. With the very real possibility of dying." she crossed one of her legs, hands now resting on her knee as she looked about the lab a little more. Her expression seemingly settled back to something cooler.

"In a way Soul Transfer technology gives us a measure, a taste of immortality. Many think so. Or are pre-conditioned or programmed to believe this. But how many think on the implication of what that truly means?" with a look toward him it was clear she'd given the subject some thought. Or had begun to if from a more philosophical standpoint,. With a small shake of her head, "Could we not speak on life or death experiences anymore? For now? Please?"
 
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Mochi nodded as he took in what Koyama was revealing. "Wow. Four months old? Sometimes I forget how different Nekos are from other species. My kids couldn't even walk at that age." It was so weird, even though he was born Minkan, the first Nekos he had really interacted with were those he was once posted alongside. It was easy to forget that Nekos had been designed as war machines - they weren't even considered a species for the longest time. That was another thing that astonished Mochi when he looked through the Senate's archives.

"My people?" Seinosuke couldn't help but repeat the Princess. Such a concept had been changing so much in recent years. Was his people his crew, his nationality, his species, or his family? It had always been an open question, one that Nekos enviably had solved for them at their creation. The father of two decided it might be interesting to see what Koyama's reaction would be. "Well- I wasn't always Elysian, you know. I needed to work at that. I think all I can really claim to be nowadays is a Virginian."

As the Ketsurui went on, Mochi realised it was best to keep silent and just listen. It was clear by the look in the blonde's eyes that his respect and view on Koyama was changing almost sentence by sentence. He wanted to say something, to sate the questions that popped into his mind. However, Seinosuke respected the change of tone she had taken with her last sentence.

A fatherly look passed over his features, softening them. "Of course- Thank you for sharing that with me, Koyama-hime." After a moment, a wry smile pulled at his lips. "Well, there's one thing I think you know I wanna ask." Mochi glanced down and then back up to his fellow officer. "What's the story behind you becoming a Ketsurui..?"
 
Koyama's look returned to the little cup. The green liquid disturbed a little from the action. "Of course," nonplussed, she went on. "Senator," the woman said a moment later. "I have been trying to learn more on the inner workings of the Empire along with keeping up with my workload. That would include planets and their senators." followed up by an apologetic look.

"Story? Unless you have eight years to sit and listen. I gave you some of the br-" looking up then, she blinked and had the urge to scratch at a cheek. "I was in a bar with our two Rangers when the summons came. Three Samurai one bearing the scroll. Both Yui-taisho and Hanako-taisho recommended me to the Empress who sent the request for me to attend the clan adoption ceremony." picking the cup up again, Koyama gave it another taste and then held on to it while it rested on the table again.

"For it to have happened, I must have drawn their interest somehow."
 
That made Mochi's expression shift into one of mild surprise. "Impressive, Koyama-hime. I suppose I shouldn't be so taken aback that you figured that one out, you seem very attentive." Indeed, the Elysian had been promiment in the Senate recently, but politics in the Empire was often an affair that not many spent the time to follow. With so many levels of administrations in so many places, it was understandable.

The Senator inhaled and sighed fractionally when Koyama gave him the apologetic look, then nodded. "I'm not supposed to mix my stations, but if you want to know more.. I don't mind answering any questions you might have, Koyama-hime." A small, nervous chuckle escaped Mochi's lips - "Of course, my opinions are to be kept in a vaccum, in case any slip out." It was a little awkward to say that, but the lines were clearly drawn when it came to military Senators. Trying to sway or punish a Senator for the way they voted while being their commander was forbidden. Mochi was confident that Koyama knew that and wouldn't be interested in trying, given she seemed aware of politics and felt able to ask him directly about it, but Mochi needed to just make sure.

"Given you're a Ketsurui now, it's natural for you to be looking into how such things work. That makes sense." The blonde officer thought out loud, right before Koyama went on regarding the Samurai and the scroll. His jade eyes settled with great interest on the princess as she mentioned Yui, Hanako and the Empress. "Definitely. You must be quite the person, Koyama-hime." Mochi nodded confidently, smiling warmly as he kicked his leg back and forth over the side of the desk. "If you don't know what it might have been, that says a lot about you. How interesting.."
 
Koyama twisted the little paper cup about on the table absently. "While I have not given politics much consideration throughout my life. I may be required to do so in the future. Or take more of active interest." with a small, wistful smile she halted her playing with the cup and instead tapped a nailless finger on the surface. "But please consider your opinions 'vacuum-sealed' as you have just mentioned." she mimicked zipping her lips closed and tossing the key. Whatever he may have said it would seem she would either keep secret or had agreed with the man in general on the subject.

"But, my prattling aside, you keep an interesting collection." once again referencing the little storage unit with the Elysian's assortment of goodies. Her eyes glittered as she looked to where they were stored.

"SpecOps?"
was all she said on the matter before casting her gaze around the lab. However, close to the mark she was, Koyama had banished the thought from her mind after saying it. While her uniform incorporated its own communicator, she did wear a bracelet similar to what she'd seen.

It remained hidden most of the time even while on her wrist. The 1B variant after all wasn't for regular Star Army personnel.

Changing the subject once more she nodded toward what could only be a mish-mash of experiments and tools. "Are you working on anything in particular?"
 
Mochi nodded gratefully at Koyama's promise of silence, offering an appreciative smile as he leaned back a little on the desktop. "Thanks. Not so many would be as considerate of others' privacy." The blonde thought of the Princess stood inside the Senate, or in a fancy royal procession. Perhaps even atop a throne. What an interesting thought.

At the mention of his supply closet, Mochi gestured to the assortment - "Feel free to have a poke around. There's some interesting bits and bobs in there." After a moment, he nodded at her curiosity towards his past work. "Something along those lines." The Elysian confirmed simply, which was about the best way to put it. He'd never been SAINT, but there were other secret groups and missions that did such things aside from them. Mochi wondered for a moment if his sister had formalised a secret wing of SARA..?

Regardless, Koyama seemed curious about the technical parts scattered across his workstation. "I'm inventing a telecommunications device. Sorta like projecting yourself volumetrically somewhere else. It should help with being everywhere I need to be more easily." Mochi reached over and plucked a round disk from the table, spinning it over in his hands. Wires were poking out here and there, but some volumetric projectors were visible on the underside of its metallic surface. "I'm also playing around with some other concepts.. A new suit of armor, a bounty system for my world, some other things too. I gather you're quite inventive yourself?"
 
Koyama leaned forward, not standing as she peered at the boxes' interior. After a moment the Chui leaned back into the chair as Virginia's senator listed off what he had been working on. She'd been on the verge of saying something before retreating to silence.

"I - Yes, you might say that,"
her response a little short as she made to change the subject, "But your communications device." the Neko looked from bits of exposed wiring and casing components to the next thing.

"Something like that should be... well, simple. I've had a similar idea, but it became expensive. It sounds like a simple process, but then when you get to the task it proves you wrong."

Shaking her head wearily, Koyama looked again to the exposed portions. "I had always come to the conclusion I would eventually need a literal server as it grew in complexity. And more if it continued to do so."
 
Mochi finished playing with his little prototype, his emerald eyes glancing up to Koyama as she spoke. She was right, of course. "Yeah-- It's always hard not to get caught up in your own ambition and ideas. Sometimes something should only go so far." The science officer tossed his silvery disk casually back to the desk with a clatter, perching on its edge. Perhaps it would be read as an angry reaction or such, but the Elysian was simply bored of it right now. "Still, I mostly made it to be as lifelike in the Senate as I could be. Expensive is fine if it helps make it more convincing, I suppose." Mochi reached up and scratched his cheek gently, "I get the feeling that you wanted to talk about something else though, or am I wrong..?"
 
Koyama had picked the device up after he had tossed it onto the table. With delicate hands she turned it over, looking at it from an engineer's perspective. Whatever exposed portions she saw made her look about the messy station every so often, "I did, however, you did invite me to come here if I ever had time, " she countered, "Perhaps family matters may be an upsetting topic, but, I know a member of your family is currently in charge of SARA."

The princess picked up a multi-tool, flicked it with practiced ease, finding what she wanted, and carefully lifted open additional portions of it. Once something had intrigued her, all sense of propriety became secondary unless stopped, or the realization of her actions were brought to the fore.

"What you are using is not suited to the task," she pointed to a small section of what passed for circuitry for the emitter. "If you tried using it as is, you would not achieve what you wish. I would suggest incorporating a quantum entanglement device. A direct link to another device where ever you desire if it is purely on a point-to-point basis."

"Or a small subspace transceiver for flexibility. Energy expenditure for long distances would be enormous. There is a miniaturized power source, a quantum nucleonic cell. Or QNC for short. There is a model about a cubic inch that would give you the necessary energy."

"About eighty billion watt-hours per kilogram, no quantum-logical operational behavior, tightly controlled, optimal for stealth. I am fond of them for their versati-" a frown creased her lips as she stopped, drawing the very conclusion she had intruded and began tinkering with another's work without permission. Let alone finishing her answer to his question.

"I have... developed a few inventions of my own. None of which have been passed on through SARA. But, have been put into use by the Star Army."

Putting the disk down delicately, with almost reverence, the tool as well, she looked at the blonde Elysian, "I am proud of two out of the three. However, I believe SARA has incentive programs for such things. And I believe it is time for their being brought to the organization's attention. However, I know little of them outside of certain circles"

With a finger, Koyama stroked her bodysuit's forearm with her free hand. Explaining how some of those had been involved in the development of this new uniform. How the SRFC coating worked. What it had been based on, and the fact she had genetically engineered not only that but also the silken-like material he was seeing. Confirming that it was indeed a silk-based material. Which she had developed through protein folding, molecular bonding, and the incorporation of nano-scale particulates of carbon for thermostability in addition to further engineering.

What resulted was a material superior to regular kevlar, SynAraS, and carbon nanotube-based systems. It had followed in the same vein as SynAraS but drastically reworked, improved, and put forward to Ketusuri Zaibatsu, and the Yugumo Corporation to produce the materials for use within the Star Army.

But she bit her tongue with a wince once the word Ransā had been mentioned, a look of guilt marring her countenance the crestfallen sad and look remaining.
 
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