RP: YSS Eucharis [Post-Mission 24] Edges (YE 38)

Wardroom

Tsuguka ate silently at an even pace, absorbing the surrounding conversation of others without getting particularly involved. Salad and the bare minimum of meat, plus a coconut water. The exchange with Hanako felt like it was over much too quickly, through in hindsight she probably could have said something less overly grandiose and impersonal... On the other hand, keeping her subordinates at arm's length was basically part of the Shosho's job description, too.

Slowly, her eyes wandered over to the newcomer Mao. Being polite to the extra-dimensional being on board may have obscured her own intense scrutiny, but the fact that the samurai was now around was the real reason why Tsuguka was happier taking a back seat. Guns were too messy in crowded spaces. Someone trained to that level with a blade was something to be truly appreciated, like fine art. It was oddly sentimental, that antiquated garb, and she couldn't help but wonder just how much her life would have been different if she had been handed a katana upon creation instead of a rifle.

"How far in advance were you told about this assignment, Nito Juni Mao?" Tsuguka made a brief glance so that the question wasn't entirely out of the blue, but very much left the woman with enough personal space to ignore her question should she deem duty more important. "To attain such an impressive post for your first assignment... Your level of skill must be quite remarkable indeed."

Wardroom

As everyone fell into various conversations and the newcomer from another dimension and Wazu started talking business, something about physical prowess or forms of martial arts, Natsumi went to the buffet and got herself a plate of food and a fizzy drink. She settled back down in her seat and started on her meal.

As was usual, Natsumi was fairly quiet at meal time. She listened in on the conversation between Wazu and the man from another dimension. She wanot sure what she thought about his product, surely the Star Army of Yamatai did not need to buy a form of martial arts training, as the Nekovalkyrja already had large sums of physical combat trainin programmed in at creation.

She could see Hanako's lack of interest in the subject and felt about the same herself, though she continued to monitor for the sake of recording it to her digital memory for later recall if needed.

Wardroom

A voice. One black and white ear twitched and swiveled in that direction. Mao didn't look directly at the other woman at first and instead "watched" her through the exposed skin of her neck. That itself was a sort of beauty about the neko body: wherever she had exposed skin the Samurai could watch her surroundings, and with a simple turn of her head she could maintain 360 degrees of security. But since talking to somebody while watching them with your neck would probably be seen as rather rude Mao turned to face her after another sweep of the room around her.

The woman was tall: a few inches over Mao at least. Hair as black as Mao's and skin the color of . . . blood. As heavy handed as the comparison was, the woman's stature and the color of her uniform showing her profession made it hard for Mao to think of anything else in that first moment. The mask of indifference and calculation pulled away to be replaced by a small, polite smile as Mao regarded the other woman for a moment. The hand gripping her primary sword relaxed a little. If only because the conversation had no need to seem threatening. In the passing time between her arrival and the current meal, Mao had been reading up on the crew.

Toyoe Tsuguka was apparently a member of the ship's organic infantry element and she could see similarities through the woman's uniform with her own. In their ways they were quite similar, Mao realized. Both warriors. Both made for a direct and single purpose with the difference only coming in the method it was done. Both of them were warriors that were created from the very beginning to fight and to kill and to some day perhaps die in battle.

The difference was just in the scope. A nation or a person. A ship crew or its commander.

"I was not told the specifics of my assignment at first. I was ordered to return from my previous assignment and given the form to report here. It was surprising to say the least." She smiled and averted her eyes for a moment, "As for skill - well - I am trained like any of my sisters. Its an honor to be given such a prestigious assignment to prove myself. What about yourself? How has your assignment been so far?"

Wardroom

A modest response... For all the traditional protocols and high-strung demeanor, it wasn't the first thing that Tsuguka expected. She wasn't exactly anticipating that a samurai must necessarily be arrogant, but with a training period longer than nearly twice her own lifetime, it would have seemed more efficient to be brutally honest about her gifted abilities. If you had the credentials, it wasn't really conceit.

"Turbulent. Certainly a learning experience." The Nito Hei took on a serious retrospective expression, angular face cut from solid ruby. Her eyes and hands were focused on spooling a portion of the meal into her chopsticks, whilst she mulled over a more complete answer. "Every crew member is highly individualistic, you see. Coming from a more regimented and tightly structured education, this rather took me by surprise at first. It is logical that highly sought after skills might not necessarily always develop in the hands of... professionally minded... individuals, but it's not what I had expected to see in one of the Yamatai's most elite crews, either..."

A moment taken to ingest the food. Basic civility. If what she said was intended to have been taken as a veiled insult, she made no attempt to flag up the innuendo.

"...The truth is that we are not robots, however." She made a point of looking Mao in the eyes for this retraction, leaning her chin on one palm. "I came to grow, and now regard it as my home. That is the most concrete answer I can give."

"How do you feel about informally demonstrating your skills at a later date, my honorable Nito Juni?" Hanako's wine bottle from earlier made it to her. Tsuguka poured herself a timid glass, and passed it on to the pale elysian next to her. "Given the frequent boarding actions we have undertaken recently, it seems like there are several squad members that could benefit in learning from someone of your particular talents."

Wardroom

Taharial smiled at Tsuguka as an agreement to the sword training then she went silent again, she really needed to rest but knew it would be rude to leave the crew at this tie that all were gathered her and new people had came on board, she wanted to know what was going on. She sighed as she looked around at the crew, she knew that this was a joyous occasion and she needed to be nice and happy like everyone else so she smiled and looked around listening to the other's convocations especially the one that her partner was having, as that seemed to be interesting.

She saw the wine and passed it on, she won't be drinking and never will again, it does no good to her memories, she needed to be away from herself a bit and knew that the drink would only bring her closer "That is not me any more" she mumbled under her breath as she gulped. She may need to talk about her past with someone to help her, she would ignore it until she had some sleep then she would decide if it was needed, she looked as the samurai and Tsuguka chatted she wanted to be prepared if Tsuguka done something to offended and it wasn't the girl's fault. She ate slowly as she looked around at the others, she was taught to be lady like from her mother and tried to keep it up in this environment, hoping she didn't look too snooty or pompous doing it, she smiled hearing that Tsuguka didn't think of herself as a robot and whispers "Seems you took what I said to heart sweetie."

Wardroom

Marcus finished eating, a task easily done considering he hadn't gotten much in the first place, then stood, again, and addressed Hanako. "I certainly have a lot to consider. I wonder if it would be possible for me to be allowed to have access to any records you might have on things like trade languages, natural resources, economic figures and potential trade sites? I'd like to start reviewing options as soon as possible."

Internally, Marcus was already doing a few calculations based on his interactions here. The military was, obviously, well supplied. There likely wouldn't be any use attempting to get into that arm of society. Plus, Equilibrium didn't manufacture weapons other than the melee ones used in their martial arts schools. Wazu had offered up some suggestions, and the conversations he caught from the others around provided some valuable information, as well. Still, he would need to be able to look into as much information as quickly as possible in order to make this most of his time here.

Wardroom

The Shosho looked back to Marcus, replying in lightly-accented Trade language: "Of course, we can supply you with a computer and access to the SYNC civilian network. You should be able to find the information you seek," Hanako assured Marcus. "The Yamatai Star Empire is still relatively young and there are a great many opportunities for those with business acumen to find niches that are minimally competitive but highly lucrative."

Meanwhile, a handsome redheaded man in a red-paneled Type 31 Working Uniform entered the wardroom and went over to introduce himself to the other technicians, starting with Jax. "Daniel Becker, Itto hei. Good to meet you," he said, sizing up his new coworker.

Wardroom

Aikiko ate leisurely as she listened and watched the other interact. She took in the easy comradely actions of the others. On her second helpings trip, she helped herself to the Shosho's wine when it made its way around the table. She then settled at her table to resume eating as she listened and observed.

She took some interest in Daniel, long enough to get a good look at him. She waited patiently savoring the wine in her wine goblet she had picked up from the buffet when she went back for seconds.

It was an interesting revelation into Wazu's past that he had formal military experience and training. He was well travelled. She wondered what surprises he still had. What was he like as a lover? Flittered through her mind, making her squirm briefly. He wasn't the most handsome male on the ship and definitely couldn't hold a candle to the newcomer in the looks department.

She made a mental note to keep him away from her Armor and specialized gear as she ate her food with fork, spoon and a knife, ignoring the chopsticks for now. Eating was serious business and using eating utensils was the safer bet, even though she did eat with manners.

When finished, she placed her silverware (eating utensils) neatly on her plate, carefully cleaned up the crumbs that managed to escape onto the table with the used napkin. Which ended up neatly folded on top of the silverware.

She sipped her wine as she returned to reading her e-book as she paid attention to the others, semi-eves dropping on their conversations so that she could respond in a timely manner if called upon to participate in any ongoing conversations.

YSS Eucharis, Wardroom

Candon would wait for others to help themselves to the buffet before serving himself. The new additions would hopefully be what they needed to get the edge over their enemy, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that they were risking too much as far as the ship's security was concerned. Honestly, what business did a businessman from Ayenee have on a warship? What business did a businessman from Ayenee have in a foreign universe?! Candon could find no good reason why the man was anywhere close to his ship and captain, his home. As much as he simply didn't like Wazu he'd finally determined through research that he just a war hero and not a serious threat. But Marcus Rodia was nothing on this side of the TTD, no relations, no reason for loyalty, nothing. It was the same thing that made Candon dangerous.

A bottle of wine roused him from his musings. Whatever the future held a little wine could only help him carry on. Flipping the inverted wine glass on the table he poured enough to fill about half his glass and passed the bottle. Before taking the first sip he gave a respectful nod toward his Shôshô. He would never be annoyed to the point of forgetting to show good manners to those he respected. The wine was pleasing to his tongue and brought some relief to his head. The taste alone was enough to help relax his mind so he could focus on the project on his datapad.

Telepathically operating the device allowed him to open the exact program he wanted, the screen came to life, filling itself with lines of code from the top to the bottom. After reading through some of the code he began sifting through the numbers, picking out the ones that were out of place and after careful consideration replacing them with what he thought may work. By the time he made it to the end the line for food had thinned. As he picked up his plate he activated his Faxtrot program to check the lines of code and run them to ensure its operation, a 5 minute process as there were over two hundred electronic pages of code.

He absent-mindedly filled his plate with edible things as he continued to ponder over the numbers. After a month of coding the program still wasn't working. Candon had finally decided to just add it to Faxtrot's files with the intention of letting the simple AI figure out the problem. Maybe that was the key, Faxtrot was specifically designed to add code to the programs Yamatai had on record to make them work differently. It was a great tool for use against a traitor but even the design team had said that it was still under development and needed field testing and fine tuning to reach its full potential.

Returning to his seat he checked on the progress, it was only halfway through the code but now there was almost three hundred pages spread across six folders. Candon just shrugged his shoulders. His code had been mostly a copy and paste of the program his FAR used to navigate, he was willing to give Faxtrot a fair chance.

As he finished the contents of his plate he checked the progress again. It it had completed the task but not exactly the way Candon had intended. It had fully integrated the navigation program into its main files and applied it to every vehicle and device that could move itself. 'Hmm, good thing I saved Faxtrot on a different device before I started. I hope this works.'

He drank the last of his wine and set the glass on the tray to return to the kitchen. He was heading to the PA bay to try it out.


YSS Eucharis, PA Bay

After a quick stop at his room to grab his FAR he arrived at the PA Bay ready to try the program. He set the FAR and the datapad side by side on his armor station's workbench and began the 10 second download. Faxtrot was still tiny in terms of artificial intelligence, technically making it just a program. The FAR beeped as the download finished. It immediately lifted off the table and began bumping into him, his first sign that this was a bad idea.

Grabbing the edge of the hovering robot he gave it a small toss. It gently returned, bumping into him slightly. Tossed it like a Frisbee, it made a gentle arc around the bay and returned. Candon caught it one handed. Now holding it like a discus he gave it a mighty hurl. It soared through the air with it's arc tightening to avoid the wall as it returned to it's owner.

"Shit!" he shouted as he ducked under the speeding FAR as it passed centimeters from his head. It made a tight turn as it moved to correct the mistake, returning on the double. He jumped to avoid it only for it to make a quick correction into his crotch as it passed under him. He dropped to his knees in pain, though it would be short lived as it made one more turn straight into his forehead, knocking him onto his back. He lay there in pain happy that the program worked but kicking himself for letting his FAR kick his ass.

Wardroom

Marcus was grateful for the use of the other language between Hanako and Junko. It gave his translation matrix a chance to work on the spoken language. ~Going to have to make sure I study up on the languages a bit, too.~ He thought to himself.

"Thank you, Admiral." Marcus was careful to use the appropriate titles, when he could. "Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a good deal of research to begin. I recall seeing the cabins on my way here. I believe I can find number five, by myself."

He bowed his head slightly to Hanako, then smiled warmly at those he noticed watching him. He made a mental note of those who seemed more amiable to his presence, such as Aikiko, and those who clearly didn't care for him being there, such as Candon. All in all, he was pleased with the initial reception. He turned to Wazu. "I'm grateful for any help you can offer with that, as well, Mr. Wazu. I have a few of my own preparations to make before I start on local research, but if you have the time, I would relish an opportunity to speak with you further."

With that, Marcus returned to the shuttle bay to retrieve his belongings. He stopped, momentarily, outside the power armor bay, wondering at the sounds inside created by Candon and his trial run of his FAR. Nevertheless, he didn't enter. Shaking his head, Marcus kept moving, headed for the cabins to begin familiarizing himself with this universe as best as he could.

Wardroom
Finally finished storing his few belongings in his bunk space Thaddeus quietly entered the wardroom to try to scrape together a bit of food. He hadn't eaten in a while and, though he was loathed to admit it, he was quite hungry. He saw the gathered people and gave them a half hearted smile. It would take a while for him to get use to this crew. He was use to research station personnel- a breed or more quiet folk who were more the sort who preferred to sip at scotch and debate the inherent morality of the spirit.

PA BAY

"Pffft!"

Turns out, Candon hadn't been alone. Jax was there too, and trying hard to contain his laughter. He'd come up from Fabrication to get a screwdriver he'd left here.

Okay, so he wasn't trying that hard. Hearty, booming laughter filled the space.

"Nice one, dumb-ass!" Jackson cackled at Candon's prone form. He stepped into the lift and headed back down to Fabrication, and his laughter could be heard as he descended.

Fabrication

After that, Jax needed a moment to catch his breath and wipe the tears from his eyes. Then, straightening himself, and occasionally letting out a small snicker, Jax began work on the blade's housing for Wazu's scanner.

Wardroom

Taharial looked around the wardroom and swallowed the last mouthful of food on her plate, she took a napkin and patted her lips clean of any grease or crumbs then smiled at the crew around as she stood up "I am deeply sorry to leave so early but I haven't had proper sleep for awhile so if you will excuse me I will take my leave and hope you all have fun even if I am not there." She was more softly spoken than normal as she talked to the crew before she left she turned to Toyoe and whispered "You know my room, if someone needs me just come and get me" she stood up and bowed to the crew before she left, it was a more formal appearance to Taharial's normal fun loving and out going nature.

Outside the Wardroom -> Taharial's Cabin

Taharial walked quickly and silently through the ship, her body was working on empty, she needed sleep but the girl didn't want the nightmares to come creeping out and terrifying her like they have done since her time back from her leave and her family. When she reached her cabin it took every little bit of her will to open the door and enter but when she was in her room she moved to her bed sluggishly and collapsed to the bed her eyes closed while she fell onto her bed.


She woke up in a sweat and screamed, her heart was racing as she sat on her bed then took the teddy beside her bed and held it "That was not me, that was not me."

Wardroom -> shipboard

Aikiko disposed of her tray in the proper place for it to go. She took her leave, pausing at the exit to give a quick bow of respect to those remain and left the Wardroom to finish up any shipboard tasks that required her attention. She moved easily through the ship's various levels and sections. She could hear the various activities going on the sections that were occupied with crew.

Wardroom

Having taken the time to change into her more appropriate attire, the purple-skinned Chui appeared towards the end of the meal and greeted everyone with a respectful bow and a well-practiced apologetic smile that certainly made her tardiness seem more excusable. "Gomennasai, Hanako-sama... I had some matters below decks I was tending to," she offered to the admiral and her compatriots who were already well into their meals by that time. The officer said her greetings to everyone and soon found an unoccupied seat to unobtrusively join the festivities.

While Umeshu did find the buffet of traditional Yamataian foods quite tempting, she however chose not to partake of anything right away as her samurai manners remained prevalent, especially with Mao looking on. The yojimbo no doubt noticed the kohai seemed quite a different person now with her grey-paneled uniform on. Less nervous and more at ease. Hashimoto-chui did however pour a generous bit of the wine into her glass, sipping it gingerly as she listened with her enhanced hearing to the conversations going on around her that she walked in at the tail end of. Wazu and the stranger named Marcus grabbed the most of her attention, especially when they mentioned another universe called Ayanee. She knew TTD's existed but were highly restricted technology, and to actually meet someone who had made the trip was wonderous and at the same time concerning to the Nekovalkyrja about why he would come here. She inwardly wondered if the fact that her skin was a wildly different coloration from the others would make him perceive her as more "alien" than the rest?

Still, whatever happened, Umeshu was content for now to remain the polite smiling face at the end of the table, her soft green eyes occasionally glancing Mao's way in between her sips of the liquor with a sort of reserved admiration.

YSS Eucharis - Bridge
The Next Morning

Shosho Hanako looked into her mirror and ran her hands through slightly-damp her teal and purple hair, fluffing it up a little before she made today's first appearance on the bridge. It smelled like plums today. She remembered a certain engineer that this shampoo would drive wild, and wondered where he was these days. Leaving her room she followed the short passageway around the bridge and then went inside.

"Promotion day has arrived! Set us down someplace nice on the surface of the planet," she ordered. She wondered what sort of things lived down there. Probably just insignificant bacteria, right?

Soon the rest the crew could feel the ship rumbling as it moved down into the atmosphere.

Cabin 5

Marcus had gone into the cabin he'd been assigned and then spent the past several hours studying, researching, questioning and learning. He organized the items he'd brought with him. He had two bags almost completely filled with items he would likely need for a business deal in a new universe. With material compression technology, and only two changes of clothes, that left him a great deal of supplies, trade-worthy resources, data chips and a few specialized pieces of equipment. He did feel a bit out of place, though. In Ayenee, any time he traveled, he brought weapons to both protect himself, and give a small exhibition of what martial arts students would be learning. But in Ayenee, the company could pull enough strings to get him access anywhere he needed to do a business transaction regardless of how he was armed. They were an unknown entity here. Considering the material compression technology, he could, possibly, have managed to get something through the security check on his belongings that was done upon his arrival. But he wasn't willing to risk it. He was not one of those types of entrepreneurs who would cut corners and work in secret. He was an honest businessman. Everything he did was out in the open. He wouldn't change that policy simply because he was in a different realm.

Once one of the crew members had brought him the necessary supplies and shown him how to access the SYNC civilian network, he'd worked as a man obsessed. He started with languages. Anything commonly written or spoken was researched, to give his translation matrix the opportunity to adapt. It was an astounding piece of technology, and he'd already gotten a chance to experience a small bit of the languages. That being the case, it didn't take long to get to the point where he could understand them with no delay.

He then moved on to his research. Great amounts of effort were put into learning about the people groups, planets, trade arrangements, current companies, currency exchange, common and uncommon materials, universal history and a dozen other factors he would need to know in order to make an informed decision. Somewhere in the middle of the night, he came to a decision as far as the best route to take. From all his research, he decided that, not only would his chosen field of business be very advantageous to himself and the Equilibrium Corporation, but it would also be immensely helpful to the citizens of this universe. A short break was taken to shower and think about what he would need to do next, then he went right back to work.

Upon his decision being made, he began preparations. He didn't have the necessary knowledge to fully implement his plan, but there were options for what to do in such a scenario. He set aside the necessary data chips from his own world, and used some of his own equipment to load up a few with the necessary information from this universe. The two would need to be combined in order to be successful. Notations were made, computer programs were written and the planning and preparation was completed as much as he was able.

Just as Marcus grabbed the pouch he'd set aside earlier, he felt the ship rumbling. It was a distinct sensation, like turbulence on steroids, when a craft entered a planet's atmosphere. Dampers could only help so much with such intense force. "That, at least, is the same in this universe." He tucked the bag away to an inside pocket of his shirt, then went to stand in the corridor outside the cabin. He'd have to get a feel for what was going on. The more he got to know these people and, consequently, they got to know him, the better off he'd be.

Bridge

Natsumi had been up early that morning. Excutement for the day to come had made sleep a fleeting thing and she had wanted to make sure the spot she had chosen for the promotion ceremony still had good weather, as the ships computer had predicted it would the night before.

She sat behind her ststion, reviewing the updated scan data as well as orbital visual obsurvation, which showed clear skies over the desired location.

UX-1 I was a primordial world, in the early stages of life. Previous reports on the planet had showed little more than microbial life and maybe, maybe basic plant life, algeas and mosses. The spot Natsumi had choosen was in the temperate zone, near the equator, a large flat basin surrounded by mountains. The location would be scenic, with a stunning view.

Sensors showed a comfortable temparature of 72°F, clear skies and a cool breeze.

Satisfied, Natsumi forwarded the landing coordinates to Umeshu's operations station and the navigational computer just a few minutes before Hanako stepped onto the bridge.

"Good morning, Shosho" Natsumi greeted her commanding officer warmly after the order to take the ship down was given.

Cabin 3

Aikiko was woken to the turbulence of the ship entering the atmosphere. She glanced at the time and yawned, feeling a bit lazy as it dawned on her she was waking a bit later than normally. She just didn't want to leave warm cocoon of blankets just yet. Her hair loose and spread out over the issue pillow.

At least as she laid there feigning sleep to allow Jax his privacy if he was still within the shared quarters. She had her back turned towards the shared common area also. Even though she had caught him a few times in his boxers. And he had also seen her just wearing issue panties when they happened to be in the room at the same time getting ready for what ever duties they had scheduled for the day.

She let her mind review the arrivals of the newcomers and how they interacted with crew and the current compliment of personnel with them. The new and interesting tidbits of information about their Civilian Specialist, Mr Wazu. A slow soft smile graced her lips at remembering the subtle reactions of Hanako. But then like anyone else would rise to the occasion to establish control and defend their Domain. Even she did a few time when back at the Mining Consortium.

She reviewed her schedule for the day, which was just routine housekeeping, checking her armor and equipment out. Help anyone that needed her assistance.

Cabin 5 (Doorway)

Tsuguka sighed lightly as she gazed over into Marcus' doorway once more. She wondered if sleep resistance was something he was engineered with, or even something every human from his universe just had as standard. It was her who gave him a hand with accessing the SYNC system in the first place. They still hadn't really talked about much, but he seemed smart enough to realize that the red nekovalkyrja was hanging around to keep an eye on him, just as much as she was legitimately trying to be helpful. This was a warship, some things were to be expected.

Checking the ship's internal shift clock again, her mind wandered to thoughts of Taharial, and what had inspired her to suddenly become so close with the woman. Why she felt such a strange urge to go into the sleeping woman's bunk, and just curl up next to her... They were so utterly different. Logically it shouldn't have worked at all. But that daydream of her feyish pale face just kept cutting in whenever the stoic crimson soldier tried to think of anything practical, like if she should be asking Jax to fabricate an axe, or a bardiche, for their training with Mao later...

Maybe it was just basic sensory infatuation, but even just the concept of not being in control of her emotions irritated Tsuguka.

Just in time to make it awkward, Marcus to exited his quarters, and the two of them to meet eyes briefly, right as she found herself with her arms crossed and a particularly displeased scowl suddenly on her face.

"Is there anything else you need assistance with?" A gruff tone, glaring up at the taller man. "I can order you some refreshments from the galley if you really desire."