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RP: YSS Eucharis [Post Mission 26] Videogames and Dancing

Zack

Inactive Member
ON> YSS Eucharis, Medbay

Wazu had pulled up a chair in front of one of the beds in the center of the room, using it as a makeshift desk as he went through medical textbooks, occasionally waving his hand over the data pad in front of him to shift to the next set of pages, various diagrams and reference materials being projected in the air nearby.

He certainly wasn't quick about it, his arms and eyes moving with a tired lag. The empty cup of coffee nearby having gotten empty and cold quite a while ago.

Masumi had a way about her since the mission, a way of hesitating before she took a step and was less likely to throw herself into a situation, especially with an unknown factor. She was made aware of Wazu immediately upon her entrance into the Medbay and wondered immediately if she should leave or stay. Doubt could be read on her entire person as she came in, touching the doorway, ready to back out at a moment's notice.

Wazu would continue on, unaware for much longer than a neko would have been. It wasn't clear exactly when he noticed Masumi, but eventually, mid turn of the page, he would speak up,

"I do not bite... though if you are looking for the medic she is not here right now."

It was apparent Masumi was waiting to hear just such a thing, as she came in soon thereafter.

"I'm not looking for the medic, not at all. Not today." Masumi had spent a good number of days in the Medbay already and was grateful on this one she was not in for injuries.

"Animal, Mineral or Vegetable?" Wazu asked, setting down the datapad on the bed and turning his attention toward the new comer.

"I have only a slight idea of what you may be asking," Masumi replied. "If my guess is right, then I'll humor you by saying, 'mineral.'"

"Is it in this room?" He asked.

Masumi closed her eyes slightly while she shook her head, "No, it is not in this room."

"Hmm, Is it something that belongs to the military?" He asked, "Or do you just want to tell me why you are here?"

"I'd rather you tell me," Masumi said. "So that I myself can know why I'm here." It was true that Masumi had wandered back to the Medbay not of her own volition, but for a purpose she herself was quite unaware of. She had come back a few times, to look at the beakers, scanners, and bed that she had once laid on. This was the first time she had run into someone, though.

"... are you lost?" He asked, "I thought I saw you on the armor team earlier..."

"I should have answered your question earlier," Masumi said, deferring current question for later. "They do not belong to the military."

"Are you looking for robots?" He asked.

"Robots that don't belong to the military?" Masumi asked. "No. I'm Oshiro Masumi, Nito Hei, Science Officer, for your knowledge. I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm not looking for anything. Is that what you're trying to find out with your twenty questions?"

"Heram Wazu," He would respond with his own name, "Though I do not hold rank here... I was expecting you to push back a little, and I was going to ask if we were going to play 20 questions, or if you wanted to tell me why you are here..."

Masumi had yet to hear much about Wazu, and so she was immediately inquisitive and instead of continuing the game, asked, "Are you with the SSS? What is it you are here for?" Her tone was explicitly curious and yet held some undertones of discomfort through her guarded questions.

"I am on my own," He replied, not sounding exactly pleased with himself, "Hanako asked me to help with the Rixxikor situation, so I am here becoming an expert in biology.... how about you pull up a chair? You are clearly on edge... trust me if it came down to it you would be able to punch me out.... I am only human."

She hadn't the slightest clue what he was talking about, unaware of her own feelings as Masumi was, so clenched her fist in order to unclench it and make herself look less hostile. She almost asked if that was better, but was unable to find the right way of asking and, instead, looked to him with smile more akin to a grimace than anything else while she sat down next to him.

"And what is it you are studying about the Rixxikor, in specificity?" A true expert in astrobiology, herself, she was inherently interested in the challenges Hanako had posed to Wazu.

Wazu turned his attention back to his datapad for a moment. This run in with this science officer felt like a series of failures on his part.

*Deep breath*

Wazu put the datapad back down and pressed on, not intent on letting disappointment stop him.

"Right now I am somewhere in basic biology. I have an intro level understanding, but I need to know more about how things work before I can know what I am looking at with the Rixx. We have two half-bodies in the fridge here for study, and they have mostly been cut up for scanning... I ... " Wazu paused for a moment, trying to find the words, "Well... I am here to be an expert in Rixxikor, and right now I probably know more about them than anyone else working for the SAoY.

And I do not know that much about the Rixxikor."

"From the half bodies, have you figures out their diet, perhaps?" she asked, wondering if the stomachs had been preserved in the specimens. More than wanting to know what he knew, she also wanted to further both of their knowledge, so asked, "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Go ahead," He replied, pointing over to where the mostly dissected bodies were... though it was certainly hard to tell which parts had been removed by surgical tools, and which had been removed by weapons fire.

"We have seen the Rixxikor eat just about everything we do and then some. The Rixx that we came across for this particular operation had been eating a waxy cheese like substance. I think some combination of whatever is in the stuff, and their own acid, makes it digestible for them. It is not something that humans can reasonably eat, and I do not think it would provide much if any nutritional value to nekos. They have an entire ecosystem of bacteria, fungus, and ... uh, such.... that easily crowds out the type or organisms our kind is used to."

"Thank you," Masumi said as she addressed the holding containers for the Rixxikor bodies by turning towards them. When she had gotten to them and was able to look at them fully, she noticed the viscous orange liquid spread over the wounds from weapons fire and noted that it must have been the blood of the enemy species. The cuts from surgical tools lacked that blood and the innards were apparently a mix of several different organs, though the outer exoskeleton enticed Masumi. She wanted to know its durability and aptitude against Neko strength. A part of her just wanted to squeeze it and see if it would break, but another part of her wanted desperately to retain the specimen in its entirety without such a test of force.

There were other questions it needed answering, though, and Masumi chose to address those that had been posed by Wazu's statements about their, for lack of a better word, germs.

Masumi wanted to know, "What kind of decontaminates are useful against them?"

"Decontaminates?" He asked, "Well... the usual seems to work. Extreme heat or extremely toxic/caustic chemicals, but their innards will resist most anti-biotics. They have so many different bacteria on the inside that even if you wipe out most of the different types, something will end up having been resistant to what you try."

"Well it's a good thing we're not planning on having a meal with our conversation, Wazu," Masumi said, looking away from the compelling Rixxikor to look at Heram Wazu.

"Maybe we should a bit later? Maybe we could talk about something that is not Rixxikor related. I have not been here very long and already I feel... ragged." He replied.

Masumi had been studying Wazu with her sapphire blue eyes and took herself away from the Rixxikor specimens to really look at him. His light green, almost grey eyes were shadowed by heavy lids, tired from perhaps the Rixxikor problem but, -and this was more likely, though Masumi thought them both tantamount- by his own.

She sat again and nodded obligingly, her pastel pink hair moving with her as she did, "We can stop talking about it. Any subject is fine by me." And, as she said it, she realized what a lie it was. There were things she couldn't begin to try to explain or talk about without getting personally overwhelmed. Those things, she realized, were aspects of her own life she needed to look into further. But with Wazu, she wasn't ready to talk about those things. For a moment, she tried to decide if she should redact her statement, but realized doing so would only draw more attention to the issues she wished to avoid.

"Any subject," she repeated, burying herself in her lie further.

"How do you feel about your career here?" He asked, "Science officer tends to be the fastest way to Taisho... or are you aiming to do something else with your life?"

"If moving up ranks comes as an extension of doing what I can to understand the universe around me and better it, then I'll accept those laurels. What I want to do with my life is just that, understand what it is around me in the best ways possible. I want to know everything there is to know and then more. I want to see what there is to see with my mind before my eyes can. I want to look into the future just by experience, by knowing," Masumi said as her eyes grew dusky with the concepts she put forth for Wazu to decipher.

"That is certainly very... open ended." He replied, "Is that why you Joined the SAoY? Or were you produced for this?" He would pause for a bit, struggling with his next few words before finally adding, "Not that I mean to keep playing 20 questions. You just seem... unanchored. Like science is just something you are doing while you are alive, not necessarily something you are passionate about."

"I think you'd be..." Masumi couldn't find a delicate way to put it and simply said, "wrong to think that. I've lost a lot to science, such as friends, and spent a long time studying it. I've worked hard to understand the sciences and it's not just what I know but it's what I know to love."

"Sorry, I am being abrasive right?" Wazu said, "If you would like to keep things professional we can resume talking about the Rixxikor. Or I could just leave you here and work elsewhere."

"Abrasive?" Masumi asked as her head went back a bit in perplexation. "I think you're not abrasive. Just looking to understand, as we all are. What it is that you strive for in life, Heram Wazu?"

Wazu exhaled, "Save the universe I suppose... or at least that is how it started off. If I stopped long enough to think about it... I... Maybe I should just go back to Ether and do conservation work... or just... stop."

"What better way to save the universe than aboard a Star Army of Yamatai ship?" Masumi said, nearly asking a question while moreso making a statement. "I think there are a lot better options for you here than there are on Ether."

"I do not have the best history with Star Army of Yamatai ships." Wazu admitted, "I mean... I am good at this kind of thing... really good... I can say that there are maybe 5 or 6 people who can do what I can do here. None, maybe, quite like me... and what has it gotten me? I have no family left. No friends still alive. I've got an entire planet of Nepleslians that hate me, and the universe is... well... not better off for having me around."

Something about the statements made Masumi want to befriend him, not hesitant at all that his friends had a bad track record of expiring. She said what she felt and felt what she said when she uttered the simple phrase, "You can be my friend." She knew it required much more than just that, it required them to have history and experiences together, or for them to have laughed at least once at the same thing.

But that didn't matter to Masumi. What mattered to her was sharing the same feelings of comfort at having another's company that she wished for Wazu.

Wazu bit his lower lip for a moment, "Sorry. I do not mean to vent." He would return a bit of a smile, not turning down the offer of friendship but, at least acknowledging it. "No point in giving up or slowing down I suppose... We could tweak the Rixxikor to be sterile easily enough, but the SAoY may end up not going with the biological weapon option. Which means we will need to come up with some more options for Hanako."

"There's a lot we need to decipher when it comes to the Rixxikor, but even more to decipher about ourselves when deciding how to deal with others," Masumi said to him, not knowing what the SAoY should do, use biological weapons or fight in some other, more traditional way. "What we can give Hanako is only so much as we ourselves can give."

"I mean... sterility plague was my go to. Non-lethal, low impact... it would probably work... Rixx are uniquely vulnerable to biological and chemical attacks in a way other species are not." Wazu said, pressing ahead with a stream of thought, "If that is not going to be an allowed vector of attack we will need to find some other way of disrupting them. You know, Rixx are usually only a few weeks old and they already know trade, understand space flight, weapons... there might be something unique in how their brains work that can be exploited. Maybe a blitz-style memetic attack, or ... something... to get into how they think and influence them ideologically."

"How would that be so much different in the eyes of Yamatai than a biological attack?" Masumi asked, all for both styles of attack, but aware of the reasons why Yui or Hanako wouldn't be. It just wasn't as fun as hitting them where it hurt with guns and ships, but one of Wazu's plans could potentially do just as much damage, if not more.

"I... suppose it would not be very different. We are just trading a biological attack vector for something else. Their ability to learn quickly is unique, and I think there is a payoff to understanding how it works." He replied. "I just do not know what that payoff would be yet."

"If the Rixxikor are to be taken care of with either biological or traditional warfare, what will be done about the Kuvexians, in your mind?" Masumi asked of Wazu.

"One problem at a time," Wazu said, stopping for a moment, "... Like any big problem, we would need to cut it up into smaller, solvable, problems. If Yui has her way, I am certain the plan will be to wipe them out. Reduce them to a client-species of Yamatai at best.

... Hanako? She... I mean, she has considerable pull because of her unique situation. Though I feel she will respond similarly. Wipe them out, move on to the next problem.

Me? I do not think I have gotten that far yet. Assuming they are rational, the option of talking them down from war is certainly there. If not, well, regime change would be the lowest footprint method of bringing the situation under control."

Masumi thought on what Wazu had put forth and questioned if they would make those decisions. She didn't know either as well as Wazu did and she guessed that his estimates were likely.

Having thought on it, Masumi asked, "What problems in your past did you have with Star Army of Yamatai ships?"

"Quickly reached the rank of Taisho. Got my own fleet. Wanted to use my own computer systems in locally produced ships since we were producing everything without KFY's help anyways... The Kessaku's sent Eve to kill my mom, and, well... Yui picked her side I guess." Wazu said, turning back to the examination bed where his datapad was set out.

"Oh, Wazu..." Masumi said, putting a hand on his shoulder as she did. "I didn't know... if I did I wouldn't have asked. I wish all of that didn't have to be true. As it is, I'm very regretful that ever happened to you." Her hand gave his shoulder a squeeze and slid down to hold his hand, instead. "What was it that helped you through that time of turmoil? Anything?"

"It was a long time ago,... enough time goes by and, well... it hurts less." He replied, "I do not think anyone really cares about the specifics of it. As much as I had wanted to lash out... well, I can not prove anyone did anything. I would be lashing out blindly."

Masumi wanted him to know she cared if no one else did, in his mind, and said so, "I care, Wazu. What happened to you is terrible, but people don't always pay for doing terrible things. Sometimes terrible things done by terrible people get them the results they were looking for. That doesn't make you the terrible person, though. It never does. That makes you the resilient person that they could never be."

"They are not envious of me. They won, I lost. I lost again on Nepleslia, again with the Garts..." Wazu stopped himself abruptly, not letting his words drift too far from the even handed tone he had been trying to maintain. "...I do not need a shoulder to cry on. Really. This stuff is hard sometimes, and no one wants to hear people complain about it.

Besides, we have Rixx to unravel." He replied.

"Whether or not you are envied is not the end all be all. Whether or not you are in the right is. Do you think-- no, do you know you were doing the right thing those times?" Masumi asked, disregarding the Rixxikor and their set of problems right now.

"I felt pretty fucking sure I was right when we were killing Elysians," He said harshly. "At the end of the day we have military Juntas controlling most everything in this sector. Being right hardly seems to matter."

"Then not right, but at least like you were..." Failing to finish the sentence, she trailed off. "I can't foresee ever being wrong. Mindless killing is not something I see myself falling victim to, but at the same time, you felt that same way once, too. I just hope that in some way that knowledge will be imparted to me by you and I won't make the same mistakes you did. Is that horrible to say?" She wondered aloud, "It is pretty horrible to say."

"It is not just mindless killing. How do you know what you work on is being used for the right reasons? Or that the systems you help put in place are used to help people? Or maybe that you just are not good enough to make what you want to happen, happen." Wazu replied, "... sorry, I did not want to get into this. Lots of speculation, little results. In the end I still just feel isolated because our experiences are not very similar."

"I can't relate to what you've done with what I've done, but with what I could do. And you can relate to me what is to be done from your experience, rather than let me go blindly into the night without such guidance. There are plenty of reasons to feel isolated, Wazu, but even more reasons to feel like you have at least somebody. I'm not trying to convince you to change your whole outlook, that can't be changed in such a short amount of time, but to take it, me, into consideration the next time you start to feel like you are all alone," Masumi told him.

"It is not easy to pass on my experiences in a few words. How do you know what is important and what is not? Even then, I can not know what experiences might be useful for you. Then I have to wonder if they would be useful to anyone? Or would me trying to teach you deprive you of your own learning experiences? You might have a better way of doing things, and if you try it my way we would never know.

And it is not like I feel that I have a great record with helping people. I dragged Nepleslian out of its self-murdering gang war and turned it into an actual civilization. They liked that so much that they tried to toss me in a hole and throw away the hole.

Even the Garts... I am... was... causing more problems for them than I solved.

... and who are you?" He said, pausing for a moment and refocusing his attention on her, "We barely know each other. We are not friends, lovers.... we are barely even technically co-workers. We do not even have that bond that the soldiers who serve together here have."

Wazu paused for a moment, and then took a deep breath,

"And I should apologize. I am being abrasive again, and you are just trying to help."

"Well if it serves you best, we can be friends, as I've said," Masumi said delicately. "And if that doesn't benefit you, you can forego that and we can be co-commiserates. I have problems of my own that, though they don't overshadow yours, I can certainly hoist onto you as you have hoisted yours upon me. Don't think I don't know I asked for it, I do and I did explicitly ask what it is that weighs on your shoulders, but to think that the weight on your shoulders is enough to drive others away is naive of you, something I wouldn't expect out of a scientist such as yourself."

"I know... no time to feel sorry for oneself. Press on, slam your face against the wall until the wall yields. Maybe we can do what you do for fun sometime?

Or would you now like a change to talk about what is bothering you? I really do not need to be taking up your time with my personal problems." Wazu stated.

Though she had brought the subject up, it was more of a way to defer away from his misgivings instead of a cry for help. She didn't want to talk about what was bothering her, simply put, and instead of getting into it, she smiled brightly and spoke out.

"We can do what I do for fun any time! I go play VCE games at the cafe quite a bit. I also, well... for fun that's about all that I do as I get the most out of that. You wouldn't want to do that, would you?"

"I will give it a try. Is that cafe nearby?" Wazu asked.

"It is a short distance, yes. We should be able to get there in just a few. Do you mind going out this late?" she asked. It was past dinner time, already.

"I lose track of time easily." He admitted, "Lack of a set work schedule will do that. I could use some coffee though."

"Then let's go check it out," Masumi said, perking at the decision to go to her favorite place in Central Uesureya. The two of them made their way out of the Eucharis and towards the cafe a distance away from the starport, nestled in the city.

While they walked, Masumi asked, "What is it that caused your leg such detriment?"

"Is it still that noticeable?" He asked, stopping for a moment to rub his leg, "I was under-cover for about a year on Nepleslia... back before Nepleslia was the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia I agreed to help then General Davis of the Greens take out his rivals and turn Nepleslia into a proper government.

Long story short. I found out where the leader of the Black Syndicate was holed up, and Davis dropped a bunker-buster on it while I was still inside... Nepleslia didn't have the best doctors or cybernetics back then. The replacement parts never quite worked right... and I guess I just never really stopped long enough to get it properly fixed."

"I can see why that would lend itself to something akin to a limp. Don't worry, it's not really that noticeable. Not really," Masumi reiterated. "It looks like we're here. Do you want to get that coffee?" Masumi asked, itching to play.

"I'll get us something, do you have a drink preference?" He asked, "Or should I just surprise you?"

Masumi nodded her head, saying, "I could take anything you think I'd like. Thanks for offering."

"Go get us a... spot then? I admit I have not actually played these games before.... I will rejoin you in a moment." Wazu would head to the Cafe's bar to place their drink orders while letting Masumi get situated.

Masumi went to a mostly empty row and chose two chairs with their own consoles in the back of it and sat down before setting up his and her HALO and consoles.

In a hot minute Wazu would be back with similarly hot drinks, "I was going to order you coffee... but you're a Yamatain girl so I decided to get hot-chocolate, with a shot of espresso and whipped cream on top. Sweetened with a bit of cream, sugar, and sprinkles on top," He said, holding out the hot cup for Masumi to take. "So... How do we play this game?"

"You don the headset, calibrate with it to your neural interface. Don't worry, they work for humans. Then you choose if you're Environment. You need to decide if you're going to play a Landscape or a Realm. Let's make a Landscape." For a moment, she thought to show him the one she had created, but that moment didn't last very long as she quickly decided against doing such a thing.

"I'll make one up." After she had calibrated, she made a public Landscape centering around the Eucharis. Nightmare Mishhu were attacking and plaguing the halls, bridge, and bays. There was only one thing to be done: defeat the Mishhu. There were only two that could do it: Wazu and Masumi. And do it they must.

"How do you feel about it?" Masumi asked.

"Last action heroes?" Wazu asked, picking up the headset, taking a drink from his coffee, and then getting connected. "I am a bit surprised. I figured you would be avoiding this kind of thing since you do it at work."

Wazu would sync up, albeit a bit slowly. Not only was it his first time, but also like many in this sector he had a few custom parts inside that made applying the standard templates more difficult.

"... So is there a time limit? Score attack? Or are we just trying to survive?"

"Work is a lot more fun than most give it credit for. I like to pretend I can do this what most consider work as many times as I want, which I can, it just requires a little imagination." Masumi then answered, "We're both trying to not let your heart containers get knocked down to below one and get ourselves to the bridge, where Hanako is. Right now we each have three heart containers. The more hits you take, obviously, the more those go down. A Nightmare Mishhu takes three direct shots to kill in this game. There are ten between us and them on this level. Ready?"

Wazu quickly flipped through the menu options, selecting his weapons and kit. "Ready, lead on, I will stay behind you."

Masumi pushed forward and shot out with her in-game designed gun at the first Mishhu to attack them, scoring a kill only after being hit with a scalar strike. It made her gasp and, for a second, her mind went elsewhere, before it kicked into overdrive and the quasi-adrenaline rush caused her to be more adept than she would have been otherwise.

"You've got the one on the right?" Masumi asked as she noticed a pair of Mishhu running towards them.

He tapped her shoulder and then squeezed, his following right behind her by less than a foot, his right hand cradling the basic-starter-rifle that he loaded in with against his shoulder. He then moved his left hand to the rifle to steady it as he opened fire, leading with bursts of 7-8 rounds... and then quickly running out of ammo.

"Shit... how do you spawn in more bullets?" He asked.

"You have to make a kill before you can do that!" she said sharply as she tried and failed to down the one she was after. "Use your utility knife or bare hands! I don't know about the latter, I've never actually tried that!"

Wazu would take out the knife clipped to his belt, and quickly snap it onto the front of his rifle, The Nightmare ahead of them looked as unarmed as a nightmare could be... so he moved up towards it, giving Masumi a quick squeeze on the shoulder as he passed by her right side, getting out infront of her and then lunging with the rifle, his attack striking its shoulder... which really only seemed to make it mad!

It sent out a scalar pulse with each hand and Wazu's heart containers went down to two and a half. Masumi acted fast for him and struck the Mishhu with a blast, then two more, downing it. There was still the one she had originally been after, which had only been hit twice.

Ammo had finally spawned in! Wazu grabbed a new magazine and loaded it into his rifle. He had already been knocked onto his back from the first Nightmare who had just been killed, so he quickly took aim at the second one that was fast approaching. This time he waited until it was about to strike in close combat before unloading his weapon into the creature, a spattering of bullets tearing into its chest.

"We're good to go!" Masumi called out to him and she ran forward, Masumi called out to him and she ran forward, fighting her way down another corridor. After she had turned the corner to another hallway, she was arrested from moving forward, and backtracked when she saw a nest of nightmares, to where they couldn't stun or pulse her or him.

"We need a plan," Masumi said to him.

"How fine grain is this sim?" Wazu asked, ending up right behind Masumi, "Use explosives? turn the oxygen up in the room and explode them? Crush them with gravity controls? Void them into space?... this is survival right? Maybe we could just irradiate all but one room of the ship and turn them into soup?"

"Let's go with the latter option! We need to keep Hanako alive in the bridge. So maybe make it two rooms?" Masumi said, gun to her chest.

"I just need to get to some type of control-station. I did not spawn in with a datapad." Wazu said, "And ... I assume you're allowed to tell the ship what to do here?"

"It is our ship, so yes, we can. Let's see, we should be able to in here, we should be able to in here, the fabrication area!" Masumi said, cocking her head towards the doorway.

Wazu would nod, and stack up on the left side of the door way, hand on the door, ready to open it on Masumi's signal. He certainly lacked the practice ease that a professional operator would have, or the strength and efficiency of a neko, but he was not entirely lost on what to do when it came to clearing a room.

When Masumi had surmised the room was empty, she nodded to him and ducked in further and said, "Want to get the data pad and crunch in the commands to squelch them?"

Wazu would close the door behind them, "Yes, I have what I need here. Start blocking off the doors using whatever you can find... The machinery maybe... Once we get started it'll be pretty obvious which room we are in."

He would holster his weapon, and pick up one of the datapads off the engineering station, The fabricators in the room would start producing some simple radiation shielding, spraying heavy metals and plastics on the wall facing the ship's reactor. The doors to this room and the bridge were locked, and shields on those rooms were maxed out as much as they could.

It would take a few minutes to do things 'by hand', giving Masumi some time to make her own preparations, which she had done by moving the enormous machinery into place against the doors.

"Stand here," Wazu said, pointing beside himself as he hunkered down near one of the fabricators, placing as much mass between himself and the ship's reactor as possible before firing up the Aether Tap, and turning off as much of the ship's internal shielding as possible, bathing the interior of the ship in lethal radiation... frying people and electronics alike.

"That should have done it!" Masumi said ecstatically. She moved all of the equipment aside and away from the door and, knowing the electronics for it wouldn't work after that bout of irradiation, busted down the door, instead with sheer Neko force.

Wazu pocketed the datapad and followed Masumi out. Anything near the ship that wasn't in the shadow created by either the fabrication room or the cockpit should be dead... but that didn't mean Wazu was going to take it easy. He decided not to get in her way as she broke down the door... his own strength would have contributed little. Instead he switched back to his rifle and kept watch. "Alright, lets make it to the bridge and wrap this up!"

"You got it!" Masumi chirped, gun propped up. She stealthily went about getting through the zero gravity passageway and to the exterior of the bridge. "Let's see how she's doing," Masumi said before opening the bridge doors, which had been shielded during the irradiation.

The bridge was intact, and Hanako was sitting on her throne right in the center. the game started to show their scores for the match, remaining health, and overall spot on the leaderboard for this particular game.

"Alright..." Wazu admitted, "... that was fun. I am glad I decided to come out with you."

"Me too," Masumi said, overjoyed to have shared her recent passion with someone else.

"... We are no where near the top of the leaderboards..." Wazu said, checking the scores. "... we could shave some time off our run if we just went right to fabrication. Or maybe I could spawn in with a datapad this time and start burning them out right away... we would need a safe room first...."

"Let's find ourselves something else to do," Masumi offered. "I actually wanted to go somewhere else, but I was afraid to ask before."

It took Wazu a moment to tear himself away from what he was looking at, a display of the ship being shown along with some hand-scribbled drawings. "...What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Masumi said, cheeks flushing as she realized how silly it sounded to want to go to a dance club. "I wanted to go to Pulse, actually. I've never been to something like it."

"I am not familiar with that place." He replied.

"Neither am I," Masumi replied.

Wazu smiled, "I mean, what is it?"

"It is a.." trying hard to put words to it that weren't juvenile, she went on. "A place to dance, mostly. A place for people to enjoy themselves in a way similar to here, only with their bodies and not minds."

"OH." It was like a light ticked on in his head, "I think I know the place... it was the first place I ever visited on Yamatai."

"Was it, Wazu?" Masumi asked incredulously. "Well, is it a nice place to go?"

"There are some good memories there... it was a long time ago though. The place has probably changed a lot. I just sorta remember flashes of light, dancing, some people I used to know... Just what you would expect from a rave club..." He looked at her for a moment, "Lets go. You do not need to take my word for it."

"I guess I won't," Masumi said as she prepped to go. They walked out of the VCE cafe and towards where Masumi knew the night club was before she spoke. "I know there are some tough things about making new friends, but i's wholly possible for you to do so, Wazu."

"... I do find it easier the more I talk with you people..." He replied, a bit worried with how that rolled off his tongue, "...But you people make friends so easily. I feel like just another face in your crowd and the people I do want to have a connection with are distant at best... I do not even really want to talk about it... just, I can not seem to get away from it. That feeling is just everywhere... like stubbing your toe on every piece of furniture in the dark."

"I-I do not have a crowd for you to be a part of. I lost all of my friends to scientific studies when basic training was over and done with. Beyond that, I have no friends on the ship. I'm not at all sad about it, not as sad as it makes me that you don't have what seem to be any," Masumi replied.

"The last round of crew transfers hit everyone pretty hard I think. Maybe... I did get close to someone and she transferred away almost immediately. Before that... I mean... I thought I was close to this other woman, and when I left Ether she said she only was with me because I was the only man on the planet..."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Masumi told Wazu as they queued into the line for the club. "It's quite different than what most people go through, isn't it? Being in the military, that is. You're in a unique position of living outside of the military life and within it. Which would you say is better?"

Wazu took out his datapad, and started keying in commands, "I miss being a part of something. Everyone onboard a Star Army of Yamatai ship loves their captains. Even if they are being distant, or cruel... it... it feels like you are together. All of you against the universe. On my own, maybe I can do more, I can accomplish things that you people can not. I have done great things, saved more people than I can count... but it is me against everyone. When everyone has picked sides it is dangerous to not stand with the larger groups."

*ding*

He looked up from his pad, "Lets not wait... come on." He would reach out for her hand, and start heading towards the VIP line...

She let out a little gasp as he grabbed her hand and followed in his steps as he made his way to the front of the line and then past it to the VIP line. An empty red velvet carpet marked the entrance.

They two of them would get some dirty looks as they skipped the line, and with a quick flash of the Datapad, they were let in. "Right this way!" A rather bouncy neko said, dressed in bright pink leg warmers that matched her hair, glowing rings around her wrists matching the ambient glow from her short, frilly black skirt and tube top... the neko happily led them towards the back of the Pulse club to one of the private booths, a chilled bottle in a bucket of ice waited for them in the center of what looked like a combination bed/sofa that overlooked the dance floor.

"If there is anything I can get you two just let me know!"

"We will be sure to," Masumi said to her before she left. Then to Wazu, she said, "You know which strings to pull, don't you?"

"All clubs are the same... if you are willing to spend 100 times what the bottle is worth, they will be happy to give you a nice spot." He would move to the railing that let him overlook the dance floor, the place was seemingly crowded with people dancing the night away. "This is shore leave... let's not spend our time waiting in line."

"I could only agree," Masumi chimed. "Want to go to the dance floor or stay overlooking it?"

"I really do not know how to dance here... I usually just get a drink and pretend to talk to people," He admitted, "But you should go have fun... you came here to dance!"

"I-I..." Masumi said, torn between going without him and grabbing him without consent and bringing him down, herself. She chose neither of those options and said, "I'll stay up here and have a drink or two with you..."

"You most certainly will not! You wanted to dance!" Wazu protested, "Go find some cute Yamatain to grind against down there!"

Masumi giggled at the thought and shook her head, bubblegum pink hair moving to either side of her waist as she did, then said, "I would much rather sit up here with you, for at least one drink, then I may make my way down there..."

"Alright, but if you miss out on my account I will be very unhappy with you." He said, turning away from the railing to head over to the cabinet in the side of the room to get a pair of glasses. A quick scoop from the bucket, and then a splash from the bottle and two neat vodkas were ready!

While the Vodka was high quality, smooth, lacking the bitter tails of poorly distilled brands... knowing the price would likely ruin the fun!

She took a sip of the vodka. Having never tasted it before, she found she had to turn her pain receptors off due to the burning sensation on her throat. She again sipped it, then took a gulp now that the feeling was neutralized.

"Not your drink?" Wazu asked, nursing his own cup, "Have you tried hard liquor before? I suppose I should have asked, your kind tend to prefer fruity drinks that hide the taste."

"No, no," Masumi said demurely. "It's fine for me." She took another large gulp and laughed out after she had, "A fruity drink may have been worse than this. This isn't bad at all."

"You do not have to pretend. I am not going to judge you... you know we could get some midori and some orange juice... it makes a pretty good mixer." He offered, working on finishing his own glass.

"Midori and orange juice sounds even better than this, though I'm being honest when I say that I enjoy it. I will probably like that even more. Here, let me finish this one..." and so she did, finishing the glass just after Wazu had finished his.

Wazu would tap a few buttons on his datapad, signaling to their hostess, "How about you show me how you dance?" He asked.

Masumi giggled again and then eyed him, "I'll do it down there with the masses. But alone, for you? I don't think so."

"I mean... I was going to watch from over here..." He said, feeling like he had just put his foot into his mouth, "... go have fun."

"I will," Masumi said before she was given a drink. She brought it down to the dance floor and put the straw in her mouth while coyly moving her hips one way to the other. Moving like that for a few moments and sipping her drink as fast as she could, she eventually finished it and was able to put it on a buss tray and move towards where the movement of the club really was.

Wazu mostly just watched the crowd from their area, nursing a drink as the bottle slowly emptied. He would end up wandering about just a bit, and before long it was nearly time for the sun to come up, the crowd starting to dwindle in size.

Masumi had certainly had her share of fun, dancing with the crowd and, as its numbers were halved and then quartered, she started to realize she had left Wazu out of her fun for too long. Bubbly and effervescent with excitement, she bounded up to where he was and grabbed his hand as he had grabbed hers much earlier in the night and moved it into the air, trying to get him to dance with her just a bit.

Wazu got up, spilling his drink as he tried setting the cup down on the center table, lifting up her hand and letting her dace as he awkwardly tried to humor her with what passed as him dancing.

She enjoyed every second of it, which was obvious by way of the smile that was plastered on her face. She looked to him and copied his dance style, an erratic and stiff one, and kept up with the pace he set.

"Ok, watch for the change... going to show you some advanced moves..." He teased, putting one hand on her hips, and pulling her close while slowly turning them both clockwise...

"Ok," Masumi replied hesitantly, letting Wazu guide them and move their bodies as one. She found herself excited slightly by the contact and wanted to know what about the close proximity to him delighted her.

"Alright, now face the crowd," He said, reaching out to hold both her hands in his, lifting them up and spinning her around, crossing her arms infront of her, helping her hold her own hips as they swayed their hips in time with the music.

It certainly wasn't the raver-style dancing the club was used to.

She moved with him, feeling the way he pushed her hands and brought her twirling around with a sense of joy. There was nothing left to be desired in a slow dance like this one. She closed her eyes and swayed with Wazu, engulfed by the dance fully.

"You know, this night started with us talking about Rixxikor."

"I don't know which I'd rather be doing, to be honest with you," Masumi mused.

"The Rixx will still be there in the morning... " Wazu replied, resting his head on Masumi's shoulder from behind, "Which... is happening soon..."

"Should we make our way back to the Eucharis?" she asked him, leaning her head against his lightly.

"Maybe after a few more minutes..."

"Maybe..." she echoed him in response, swaying with his arms around her and with his head on her shoulder.

Those precious few minutes would seem to fly by, the club emptying out except for a handful of others still winding down the night.

"... We should be going... I take it you are hungry? There's a great Interstellar Pancake House not too far from here that overlooks the whole landing fields. We could probably make it there in time for sunrise...." Wazu offered.

"I can eat, yes," Masumi said, not hungry but willing to build up an appetite in order to have something more to do with Wazu. "Let's go there."

The Pancake house was only a short cab ride away, situated ontop of some other warehouse... which meant the whole place was a good 20 meters up above ground level, the main windows looking out onto the landing fields of Yamatai which seemed to stretch to the horizon, filled with ships and the dull amber glow of the sun beginning to rise.

Of course, they weren't the only ones there. The entire place seemed filled with nekos and other party-goers who were bringing their night to an end.

"... Maybe there is a specific radiation they are vulnerable to?" Wazu thought outloud.

"And if they were..." Masumi said, finishing his thought. "We could incapacitate them, if not exterminate!"

There was a heavy pause before someone asked, "Can I get you to a cuppa coffee to start off?"

Wazu would look over and not see a waitress until she hovered up to the edge of the table... the mini-neko setting herself down right on the edge, small pad of paper and pencil in hand to complete her teal shirted, apron wearing, diner-girl look.

"A stack of pancakes, ham, and a a cup of coffee would be great," He responded, before turning his attention back to Masumi, "... I would rather not exterminate them, but between their choice of actions and Yamatai being... Yamatai. There may not be a great option available."

Masumi turned to the menu and said, "I'd like your blueberry pancake stack with bacon and and egg. Oh, and a coffee, like Wazu is having." Upon giving it thought, she said, "Why would you not exterminate them, it is getting to me to try to understand that. They are the enemy, are they not?"

"Right Away!" The mini neko shouted, giving a quick bow and hopping back off the table.

"What if you were in their position? You would rather not be killed correct?" Wazu asked, "If we reduce things down to just who is able to kill who, then the last thing that will be left is whoever had the biggest stick."

"I would like to think we have a pretty big stick. Do you?" Masumi asked, naively unaware of the phrasing. "Regardless, the Rixxikor are a problem that has to be dealt with and that will presumably help us take care of the Kuvexian threat to us. They're barking up the wrong tree if they think they can overtake Yamatai!"

Wazu covered his mouth for a moment to keep from laughing, "... There is always someone with a bigger stick... Yamatai could engage the Rixx with starships and win. Yes. But... I am here to think about things, like how to do the job of resolving the Rixxikor problem with less effort. I would assume Yamatai wants to save her ships for dealing with the Kuvexians, as the Rixx seem to be a planned distraction. Every ship you send to wipe out a Rixxikor colony is one more ship you can not send to fight the Kuvexians."

"Well that's the problem right there. Or at least a problem, if not the major one. What do you send and where? I wonder where the Eucharis will go. We've already attacked the Kuvexians, will we keep going down that road? Fight the boss instead of going on side quests to wipe out the Rixx?" Masumi asked.

"There are layers of nuance there. I suppose whichever gives the best results. Maybe defeating the Rixx is not necessary? We could just delay them, remove them from the equation for a while as we deal with the Kuvexians." Wazu mused.

The coffee arrived in the little Neko's hands. The deep brown of it was the same color as Masumi's skin, though not for long as she slipped some cream into it and it turned a creamy beige.

"Your food'll be out in just a moment," the waitress told them before nodding with a bright smile and floating away.

"I see, I see." Masumi said, "We should go that route, it is a good one to take."

"Maybe a roach motel style setup then? It may not be too hard to adapt a planet enough for the Rixx to live on it? Use those to draw colonization away from Yamatai." He suggested. "We could even setup scalar-field emitters to clean off life on the planet every so often."

"'A roach motel style setup'? I've never heard that one. It may not be too hard, you're right, but should we do anything but inhibit them? I understand having empathy for another species but when they've attacked you, why give them a place to live and thrive?" Masumi asked.

"I appreciate that there are nuances here, so a blanket statement like 'we should not kill them ever' is a bit overreaching. Sometimes people need to be killed... but, in this case, giving them a place to thrive will lead them away from trying to take Yamatai's place to thrive." He responded. "Or at least let us manage their growth,"

Coming to them with arms and hands full, the mini Neko waitress greeted them again, "Here we go, folks! The blubbery pancakes?" Masumi raised a delicate finger and the mini Neko dropped it off in front of her, then she said, "And the stack with ham to you. Anything else I can get ya?"

"I think we're fine, thank you," Masumi said, looking to Wazu.

"Thank you," Wazu responded, turning his attention back to Masumi, "We could also try turning their species into better neighbors... though I have worries about how an uplifting operation would go. It seems like the Rixxikor learn incredibly fast... and this is what they choose to be."

"I don't like how fast they learn, it's unsettling." She then commenced her eating of the pancakes, cutting little triangles with the edge of her fork. The blueberries burst open and drizzled onto her teeth and tongue as she chewed them, coating her mouth with the sweet taste.

Once she had chewed a few full bites, she asked, "Are you enjoying your food, Wazu?"

"I am sloshed, and these are pancakes," He replied with a smile, using his fork to cut himself a wedge of the golden cakes before taking a bit, "Sorry... should I not be talking about work? I find my thoughts drift back to those kinds of mechanical questions quite easily."

"You can talk about whatever you want to talk about, Wazu," Masumi said with a cheery smile. "I enjoy it. Probably not nearly as much as you, but I do enjoy talking about work. It is what I was built for: work."

"Does that ever bother you? Being made for something?" Wazu asked, stopping eating for the moment, "I mean... I think that kind of thing is different for someone like you. I have never heard any of your kind complain about it before but I always assumed that is because they were not made to even if they dislike it."

"It's sort of like asking if you're mad your life goal as a human is to reproduce. There's nothing to be done about it but do what you are expected to do. Have you reproduced?" Masumi asked without tact.

"Well... it IS a bother." He said, "Around my people it is... expected. They do not accept that I might be uninterested, or have some other goals. Even internally that drive is there all the time, it is not something you can just turn off or exert much control over.

Then, there are the other expectations. Family, professional, it is all murky. When we were fighting the Elysians years ago things were a lot more clear. It was easier to focus, easier to do a thing because the end goal was so clear.

You have no choice in your end goal it would seem. But in exchange you have a great clarity of purpose." He responded, trying to tactfully avoid the rest of the question.

Masumi wondered about the part of the question he had not answered and went on to say, "There is that persistence in humans to procreate. I'm surprised you've slipped past it for so long. Have you?" Now she was the one being persistent.

"Yes," He replied, his response short and with a bit of an edge to it. "Do your kind even have that urge?"

"When we do, we are able to have them. Not until then. I thought you would know that as a scientist," Masumi said after finishing her meal. She took a sip of coffee and another, finishing the cup. "Are you almost ready to go?"

Wazu exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Sorry, I did not mean to sour this conversation... I suppose I am ready to leave." He responded.

They went back to the ship, having mild conversation and departed from one another after that, going their separate ways once aboard the Eucharis.
 
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