RP: YSS Eucharis [Post Mission 20] Back on Hanako's World

"I'm sure they would catch the patriotism bug and play for us for cheap even, and Of coarse food. But I don't dare think about that I might get cut..." she gestured off to the mess. "I'm sure Every one will have a blast if we can get this set up right." 'I'm sure you all will. You guys won't know what is up until the next morning when I don't report for duty...'

Sune listened to Mitsuko. A marching band? I do not think Hanako would have arranged that. So it must be someone else's idea. he thought.

"Standard procedures. No one come on-board without permission from the Shôshô. Besides, it would be impractical for them to board us. We will be done in a moment. Out." he said in response.

He crossed back over to the table, "Shôshô, it would appear that someone has decided to welcome the Eucharis with a marching band. I guess we should go down and investigate."

Wardroom

"This is what happens when you name a planet after yourself," Hanako said. "It probably doesn't help that I got into politics either," the Shosho mused with a wry expression. "I could use some humor right now and this sort of qualifies. It does, however, mean we will have to march out of the ship instead of just walking. I will give everyone a few minutes to finish breakfast and then we will meet in the cargo bay."

Hanako then stood up, turned in her dishes, and headed down the zero-G passage to the cargo bay.

Wardroom

Sienna raised both her eyebrows at Hanako as she answered the question that was meant for Natsumi, a bit caught off guard. So, she had the skipper's favor, for some reason. If only she'd known that sooner. She nodded her thanks once more and shrugged, cramming another bite of eggs in her mouth. There were a few things she could have said in response, but she thought it best to keep her mouth shut.

Looking back up at Natsumi as the white-haired Neko added her thoughts, she furrowed her forehead and slowed her chewing. That just didn't seem to make sense to her. Yamataian military got exceptional pay, so by extension they were provided with even more luxuries? Where did all that money come from? Having no idea what the standard of living on Yamatai was, she had to assume that it was either so horrifically wretched and lorded over by the military as to make Urtullan look like a glittering paradise, or so mind-bogglingly wealthy that Yamataian natives couldn't even be bothered to wipe themselves after going to the bathroom.

Whatever the case, Natsumi's revelation and her own experience so far aboard the Eucharis told her one thing: living aboard a Yamataian warship meant she was taken care of in every regard. Of course, there was the matter of risk involved, but in truth, she was much safer here from harm than any other place she'd lived so far. At least here she knew she would get a comfortable night's sleep in most cases and would probably not go hungry for a long time. She certainly hadn't expected to be aboard for this long - any other ship she'd weaseled her way aboard would likely have dumped her off at the first chance they got in some crudhole just as bad as Urtullan, with no guarantee that Olaf wouldn't somehow find the resources to hunt her down. But for now, she was on the captain's good side, and she aimed to stay that way as long as she could.

She was nearing the end of her meal when she overheard the hubub about a marching band greeting the ship. A grin spread across her face as she listened. Damned if I didn't hit the jackpot, she thought. Hanako was not only an admiral, but some kind of political dignitary, apparently. She was starting to second-guess her notion of disappearing on this planet. The closer she stayed to Hanako, the better, it seemed.

As Deziarra quickly finished her breakfast, she noticed Kale's crimson color. It was clear Chieko and Kale were getting along and equally clear Chieko was back to her usual self. She too wondered if droids counted as pets but that question was between Hanako and Kale. Petting the droid again gently, she turned her attention back to Hanako's World. So many possible places to go and so many possible things to do. Whatever she did, she was not going to do it alone.

"What are you planning to do on Hanako's World?" she asked Kale and Chieko wondering if she should stay with them or join some other group and let them be by themselves.

Wardroom

Sune walked over to Takeyu. "Takeyu-San, once we are done with all the pomp and circumstance I would like to talk to you. "

Cargo Bay

"Aye, sir." Mitsuko nodded to herself as she hung up the phone, moving to rejoin Victory. "The captain should be here to handle this soon." She swallowed hard as the band continued to approach them, the two Neko left to defend the ramp from boarders until reinforcements arrived.

Wardroom

Takeyu smiled and took a seat at the table. When he heard Sune, he gave the officer a smile and nodded his head, before relaxing a little bit, although not much given that they were about to march out. He wasn't really hungry given how he'd had something earlier, so instead he got up and looked at Sune. "So, a marching band..." Takeyu never liked extravagance, and this was one thing he could honestly do without right now, but that was part of the uniform. "So, wonder who it was that decided to have a band meet us," he pondered toward Sune.

Wardroom

" That is what the folks in the cargo hold said. Your guess is as good as mine my friend. The Eucharis has returned from many battles and such, but this is the first time we are getting the red carpet treatment." Sune replied.

Cargo Bay

Mitsuko didn't have to worry about people boarding the ship as leaving it, as a tall, inhuman, figure cloaked in some kind of airtight suit walked past her, hissing sounds emanating from its breathing gear as it stepped out into the sunshine. Some parts of its suit appeared to be sealed with some kind of tape. Out on the tarmac it smacked a beeping device with its palm gently and then reached into its chest pocket to pull out a set of what looked like strips of cloth on a ring.

It rested the cuts of fabric in its palm and raised it into the air, pinching one in between its thumb and forefinger and looking up at it as if waiting for something. After a few seconds it tested another, and then another. No changes. The beeping device finally gave a set of shrill beeps and the suited figure turned down to examine it carefully.

Finally, as though satisfied, the figure reached for its mask and pulled it back over its head revealing Haka, the vagrant alien merchant they'd picked up from the dreamworld, his four nostrils taking in a deep breath.

Wardroom

A marching band? Natsumi found that interesting. She had never been part of any official ceremonies past her graduation from training and a promotion last year, but nothing since the graduation had been overly fancy. She shrugged and went back to her meal, finishing it up quickly as her interest to see what was going to happen on the tarmac grew.

It took just a couple minutes for the white haired operator to finish up and deposit her dishes for cleaning. She was glad she had chosen one of her Type-35 duty uniforms today rather than the more utilitarian work suit. She stopped back at the corner booth after depositing her dishes and spoke to Sienna, "I'm going to see whats up with this band" she informed her friend, "But when we have a chance, I wanted to talk to you about something in a bit more private" she added and smiled pleasantly at the Nepleslian woman.

With that Natsumi was off, quickly traversing her way across the ship from wardroom to cargo hold. As soon as she stepped into the hold she could feel the breeze from outside and smell the salty sea air. "Oh this is much better!" she grinned and took a deep breath as she joined the others at the ramp to see what there was to see.

"Hi, Mitsuko-san, Victory-san" she greeted the two logistics neko's. "So this seems all fancy" the indicated the band.

Wardroom

Chieko savoured Kale's reaction and chuckled at his reply. "Oh come on, it's not like I'll bite. Well, unless I'm invited, of course."

The news of the marching band was interesting, and Hanako's reaction telling. The scientist noted the orders given and went back to piling back the rest of her breakfast so to be ready as soon as possible.

"You might want to get eating" the academic teased her fellow enlisted Minkan, "Looks like we're needed to form up in the cargo bay for some public relations."

Cargo Bay

Mitsuko squeaked as the alien merchant walked right past her, down the ramp. Now he was standing right between her and the approaching band. She glanced at Victory, not sure how to respond as the alien busied himself with his devices. Thankfully, Natsumi showed up with a distraction soon enough. She gave her a hasty bow, glancing over her shoulder at the scene on the planet's surface. "H-hello, Natsumi-san. Y-yes, I'm not sure what's going on. Is the captain with you?" She peered past Natsumi, towards the entrance to the Cargo Bay, eager to have someone higher ranking there to take charge of the situation.

Wardroom

Hearing Hanako's instructions, Junko raised her eyebrows a touch and then expedited her completion of breakfast. Not that there was much left; she popped the last corner of toast into her mouth and stood. Munching, she walked over to return her dishes and thank the cook before heading down the stairs to the Lounge. She slipped into her new cabin and began taking off her working uniform. The choice had seemed appropriate when she had first risen, ready for maintenance work, but marching and promotion ceremonies? That certainly called for a duty uniform.

She finished pulling on the uniform and bent to square away her dirty clothes, glancing around the compartment as she did. Being on opposing shifts with her roommate did mean for plenty of peace and quiet but on the other hand meant she didn't spend much time in the cabin aside from sleeping. That suited her well enough though, and either way, she liked to keep things tidy.

With everything ship shape and casting a brief glance in a mirror as she ran a hand quickly through her hair, she exited the compartment and made her way down to the Cargo Bay. If her brows had been raised before, they had nothing on their current expression of bemused astonishment. She paused near the other crew already in the Bay and commented quietly - and dryly, "Well, this really is quite something."

Wardroom

Sienna made an inquisitively curious face at Natsumi, but shrugged and nodded as the Neko got up to clean up her dishes. "Sure," she replied around one of the last mouthfuls of her breakfast, and turned her attention back to her nearly empty plate. What in the world would she wanna talk about? she pondered. Not that she really had any other urgent matters to attend to that it might interfere with, but she couldn't imagine why she wanted to talk to her alone. Unless, of course, it had to do with their drug-induced scuffle, which Sienna still had virtually no practical memory of. She stared at her plate absently as her chewing slowed, holding her fork, tines rested against its surface. It unnerved her slightly to know that she had done the things that Ayumi had described without being aware of it, to see what she had done to Natsumi and not remember a thing. What else had she done that no one had told her about?

Blinking, her thoughts returned to the present as the wardroom started to empty until she was one of only a small handful remaining. She caught a glimpse of Kale's pet project he'd constructed out of one of the drones, and scoffed a little with a smirk as she ate the last bite of her breakfast. It was a clever little toy; she had to grant him that. But she didn't see the point, or the wisdom in doing it. Either Kale was brilliantly talented with a grand vision that she simply didn't see, or blinded by hubris.

Swallowing her last bite, she picked up her plate and dumped it in the collection tray. Going back for one more glass of water, she downed it in one gulp and made her way down to the cargo bay to see what all the fuss was about.

Cargo Bay

Sienna wantered in from the back, seeing the gathering of soldiers snazzed up in their sharp looking uniforms as her ears were met with the snappy sounds of the marching bad. She had to disdainfully grin a little again at the overt show of patriotism it all symbolized, blind devotion to an abstract concept of unity and the shirking of one's own judgment. A salty-sweet smell wafted through the huge open cargo doors, and the air had a sticky but strangely pleasant quality to it. Bright blue sky was visible outside, and warmth from the planet's sun could be felt even from the shadow of the ship. Her smirk slowly morphed into a muted, small smile of comfort as she took in the sensations; so far this world seemed as lovely and inviting as it had looked from space.

She kept her distance from the entourage, folding her arms across her chest and feeling the sea air caressing her exposed neck, shoulders, and arms. She was definitely going to like it here.

Wardroom

Kale shrugged at the other technicians question slowly coming out of his haze. "As I said earlier, all I need to do Is look up some shiny metal Got a couple of things to make between now and the winter celebration. Other then that I think I may have just been planned for." he raised an eyebrow at the scientist, "Though I'd like to see what this planet has to offer as well."

At her comment Kale stared blankly at Chieko for a second, until he noticed several other crewmembers had already finished and were heading down to the bay already. A glance round told him that most everyone had also almost finished, and thus it was with great gusto that Kale wolfed down the last of his breakfast.

"Shall we?" he asked indicating the door.

Wardroom

Sune left the wardroom and made his way down to the Cargo Hold. Even before he exited the zero-g hallway he could detect the smell of the sea. Perhaps I will see about taking a swim while waiting for Emiko to arrive with the Raia. It has been a while since I have been swimming. He thought. Moving from the passage way into the hold, he took a moment to check his appearance. Shifting his tunic and making sure that his belt was properly situated.

He walked forward enough to see what was going on out there. He saw the band, but no sign of other dignitaries or the like.

Looking around. "All hands, fall in at rest making two lines according to rank. You make speak softly until we call you to attention." he called out.

Wardroom

"Let's go," Chieko responded as she picked up her dishes headed for the dish rack. Once she had deposited it all, the scientist made sure she had Kale on his way with her before heading out into the Zero G Corridor.


Cargo Bay

The academic made it just in time to hear the fall in command and hustled into position after Mitsuko and Victory. Once where she needed to be, Chieko stood professionally with her feet shoulder width apart. Her hands were brought back behind her and did little looking around unless spoken to.

Wardroom

Takeyu followed close behind Sune, moving through the zero-g passage way and then into the cargohold where he came to a stop and looked out over the marching band. He sighed mentally at the precession and really did want to know 'who' had arranged it. "You heard the Chusa," Takeyu called back to those who were there or who were getting ready to enter. "Fall in in lines of two by rank," he took up his position and watched for the others to do the same.

Wardroom

Ayumi finished her meal quickly enough, never really having enough on her plate to take more than ten minutes to eat anyways. She looked over at the others in the wardroom, speaking to each other and enjoying each others company as they were. She didn't envy them, being able to eat her meal in silence was something she enjoyed and tended to revel in. She offered an almost bow to Hanako as she stood to clear her plate away, wanting to show her respect for the woman before she left the room.

The fact that the captain had arranged all of this for them was rather impressive. Ayumi hadn't expected anything like this in the slightest when they'd left that horrible dream world. She'd expected they'd be right off back to work, or that they'd have a bit of a break- Not that they'd end up at a resort with expenses paid. The medic also found it amusing that the planet was named after their captain, the very thought of it bringing a shy smile to her face for just a moment before she headed off to the cargo bay.

Cargo Bay

It was almost exciting, having never had to do this sort of thing before. Sure she'd been trained to, but this was the real thing and just like her first few days in the medbay, it was sure to be different. The medic fell into rank easily, her arms crossed loosely behind her back and her feet spread slightly. Her back was straight, and her gaze fell straight forward. She didn't feel the inclination to speak as she had been told she could do. She simply stood silently, listening to this marching band which had come to great them. She found it odd, they hadn't done anything worth celebrating.