YSS Kaiyō, Wardroom
21日 3月 YE 39
1207 Hours
Chui Norogumi Misaki said:
Misaki turned almost ever shade of red at once, she didn't really know what to say in the slightest. She would have to invent something to be truth and something that wasn't true. Her mind racked through and through, weighing the obvious and the not at all obvious. Her voice quivered a fair bit when she spoke but finally decided on that it needed to be
"Uh... hi all, m-my name is Norogumi Misaki. I-I used to be m-much more shy than I am now and I am... I am a compulsive liar." Her voice broke off a little at the end, one hand gripping at her skirt a little before letting loose again. Her violet eyes went over to Eden somewhat pleadingly, as if asking 'why me' before neutrally looking around to the crew in an attempt to cover it up.
Based upon analysis of Norogumi-Chui's personnel file, there exists a high probability (94.12%, plus or minus 00.10%) that the first statement is true; regarding the second statement, no analysis whatsoever is needed - body language, facial expression, eye movements, and speech patterns all indicate that said statement is blatantly false.
Santô Hei Kawazoe Riku said:
Riku smiled as he once again had a chance to witness the awkward, if strangely compatible, chemistry between the Captain and the Executive Officer. He'd never witnessed a marriage proposal done on a warship before, on his first day no less, but then again there was such a thing as 'Love Day' so perhaps it wasn't so strange after all. To help break the awkwardness and spare his new XO, he stood up and bowed to the entire room.
"Hello, my name is Kawazoe Riku. You may be familiar with my voice after having heard it so many times today," He smiled and raised himself from his small bow. "I currently serve as the ship's communications operator, and in the future, I also hope to one day return home to my family on Yamatai with a harem of wives in my arms."
Briefly glancing over towards the XO, he gave a small bow of the head, hoping that saying such an embarrassing thing would help ease whatever awkward tension she now felt at being the first choice.
Perusal of the YSS Kaiyō's
current crew roster implies the former to be true, ergo suggesting that the latter is false; even without external assistance, however, body and eye movements indicate a probability of 65.09% (plus or minus 1.19%) that the statement is untrue. Also of note is Kawazoe-Hei's passing respect to the customs of my nation, a trait not typically found in non-Nekovalkyrja.
Santô Hei Madsen Hanna said:
Hanna glanced around the room as she began to formulate her reply to Kawazoe Hei. To her, it was quite obvious which one of his statements was the truth. A quick glance at her Type 36 Communicator would tell her that. However, since the game the captain had initiated seemed to have a light-hearted mood to it, Hanna decided that she would offer her thoughts on Kawazoe Hei's dreams. Her response decided, Hanna took a deep breath, stood from her chair, and bowed to the room.
"Before I begin, my name is Hanna Madsen and I am one of the new transfers to the Kaiyō." Suddenly conscious of her piping voice and the eyes upon her, Hanna slightly stammered over her next lines. "Kawazoe Hei, I think...it's slightly obvious that you don't plan to carry a harem of wives in your arms to your family on Yamatai. I'm not so sure if you could carry that many women to begin with. However, I think it's cute that you fantasize about such romantic aspirations."
After commenting on Kawazoe Hei's assertions, Hanna turned and gave a small bow to the captain. She took another breath and said, "In the future, I hope to undergo advanced training as Space infantry. I also hope to bear direct witness to a dying star, while inside a Mindy."
Considering the youthfulness of the speaker, the likelihood of the first statement being truthful is 51.09% (plus or minus 9.11%; the Hei's tendency to act withdrawn following repeated incidents during Socialization grants her a noticeable amount of control over her body language and expression); for similar reasons, the chances of the second statement being untrue are 57.11% (plus or minus 8.68%). Further observation in a discreet manner is obviously required, given the unacceptability of an Operative such as myself having such uncertainty regarding the behavior of a fellow crewmate and Nekovalkyrja.
Ittô Hei Shan Arbitrated said:
"It's technically possible if the nekos decide to reduce their weight. Then you'd altogether weigh about as much as I do!" A cheery voice reverberated from the back of the room, its source an overwhelmingly smol Elysian girl standing next to a much more normal-sized Minkan. Arbles smirked a little at the thought, a bunch of nekos piled on top of each other like in some of those cheesy animated shows the Yamatai civilians liked to watch. She took a step forward, letting herself have some room since she had been leaning against Mochi so long her right side had become too warm.
"Arbitrated Shan, at your service." There was a slightly exaggerated curtsey, as the pint-sized birb decided to simultaneously unfold her wings just enough to block Mochi's view and bring attention to them, before returning to her normal vertical and minimal profile. "Well, considering you can't get to see a dying star without being trained in infantry, and you already have infantry training... So you want to see a dying star, huh? I've got to admint, pretty cool... As long as, y'know, you're at a safe distance. Since, well, there's the whole star part."
After clearing her throat, Arblebarble continued-or, she tried to, "I...." Wait, no... Should I.... They're too new. "I once saved an entire ship of people on a training flight. On top of that, I plan to in the future help develop new weapons for our alliance." Okay, one truth and one mostly-untruth. Labs are too boring, I'd rather take part in the field tests part of those weapons... Drifting away into thoughts again, the Itto Hei slid backwards against the wall, eventually settling into a position that was comfortable enough but without Seinosuke to lean on in case he wanted to go next or... Something.
Typically inefficient Elysian theatrics aside, this particular set of statements would admittedly pose some degree of difficulty to one without access to the crew's personnel records. The former statement has a probability of 64.03% (plus or minus 9.20%) of being correct, given the lack of indicative body language; fortunately, however, the Hei's personnel file verifies this claim as accurate, therefore suggesting that the latter claim is false - which is more likely then not, given that said assumption has an accuracy of 81.63% (plus or minus 2.35%) due to the delay that occurred before the statements having no other statistically significant cause...and - as Arbitrated settled against the wall -
yet another example of Elysian inferiority, albeit one with more worrying implications seeing as how it reflects upon the standards (or lack thereof) enforced by Teien-Taii and Norogumi-Chui.
Ittô Hei Nashira Meissa said:
"Hanna, you'd probably get cooked inside out in a Mindy through the gamma radiation of a dying star." Meissa snorted from behind Mat. She took every last bit of Mat's shorter stature to her advantage, placing her elbows on his shoulders. "Hello, anyways. I'm Meissa Nashira. I secretly hate my roommate and I can't live without my frozen treats."
It was probably a pretty easy one to figure out. At least three others knew which one was the truth and lie. Plus, if they were attentive enough in the wardroom, they would know as well. Her daily fudge pop runs were heavenly bliss after a day's worth of stagnant ship chores. She really just wanted to see the three others freak out for a second or two. If they gave her the satisfaction.
Insufficent data for analysis, unfortunately; although the Hei provides a textbook example of their kind's imperfect nature, my arrival onboard the ship thirty minutes prior has not permitted me enough time to review the crew's logs or examine their dietary habits. Perha-
Santô Hei Madsen Hanna said:
Hanna was taken aback at the ignorance of Nashira Hei and Shan Hei regarding the training procedures of the Star Army. The Elysians seemed to exhibit an ignorance of standard training and assignment procedure for Nekovalkryja. While Hanna had underwent basic training and knew how to use DAISY and MINDY power armor, she had not yet underwent specialization training as Planetary or Space Infantry. Hanna realized that both of the Elysians thought that she had underwent specialization training along with basic training. She thought to correct them, but decided that she would do so later on, in private. For now, she decided to observe the rest of the activity and to take digital notes on the rest of her crew members.
Fascinating. Further observation is definitely required.
Santô Hei Medikku Sutahira said:
Sutahira Medikku stood near the back of the room, listening to the others list their truths and lies. Being one of the few, if not the only, human on the ship was intimidating. Rather than stay in Nepleslia, his family had fought against the Nepleslians who sought independence, and that was when he had lost his father. The Elysians, Nekos, and Minkans all intimidated him, but they were his team. He would undoubtedly have to choose between his life and his team's one day. He hoped he could choose to save everyone if the situation allowed it.
Sutahira noticed the Neko seem surprised by the Elysian's response, and noted that. He decided that he would respond next and try to form as many connections between his comrades as he possibly could.
"Hey," He said, standing straight as he pushed himself off of the wall. "I'm Sutahira Medikku, one of the ship's new medics." He nodded to various crew members, making sure to linger his nod at his Captain and Executive Officer. "Let's see. My first potential lie is that I have three siblings, and my other potential lie is that I skipped a portion of medical training." He said, scanning the room to observe the reactions. A simple personnel file check would confirm that he was an only child, and that he had in fact been able to skip a year in his medical training. He stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for someone to to guess his lie. He would definitely note who said what.
As before, the Hei's statements would prove challenging were it not for my security clearances; interestingly, he is the first to break from the "established" precedent of honesty followed by dishonesty, providing my assumptions have been correct thus far. Personnel records show the Hei to be an only child and to have indeed graduated a year before his classmates were able to do so, posing the question of why such an obvious...ah. Fascinating, except for the self-evidently unprofessional observation techniques being utilized. Regardless, however, it appears to at last be my turn.
Silently, the sole occupant of one of the Wardroom's booths - who'd positioned herself so that she could watch the doorway and the rest of the room with relative ease - stood up, revealing herself to be a Type 33 Nekovalkyrja clad in an immaculately-maintained
Type 35 Class B Duty Uniform, which more specifically consisted of a
black-paneled
jacket (sporting the insignia of a
Santô Juni), a
regal blue skirt,
cadet blue tights, a jet-black
belt (with a holster containing a dark-hued
pistol), and a pair of
black heels. She was of average height (for a Nekovalkyrja) and in possession of an ample and curvaceous (though not overly so) figure that was lean but unmistakably muscled. Her hair (and the fur adorning her Neko-style ears) was a rich, deep shade of
navy blue that contrasted smoothly with her
cream-colored complexion - but it was her
viridescent eye, the piercing gaze that accompanied them, and her expression (the definition of "expressionless neutrality," which it had been ever since this newcomer stepped onboard the
Kaiyō) that
truly defined her.
Then she bowed several times, providing the male (and female, were they interested) occupants of the room with a
lovely view as the aforementioned uniform hugged her every curve she did so. The first two were towards Taii Teien Eden and Chui Norogumi Misaki (Captain and the First Officer, respectively) and were deep - a sign of the respect the pair of Nekovalkyrja officers were due - but not
too deep, signifying this newcomer's disapproval of the degree of intimacy the newlyweds had chosen to embrace. The next one was the deepest of them all and, unsurprisingly enough, intended for Shoi Kohosei Ketsurui Aiko, sixth daughter of Ketsurui Yui and a Princess of the Yamatai Star Empire; following that was one for the aforementioned royalty's retainer, Rei - who, in the newcomer's opinion, deserved respect regardless of rank because of the former's status as a Samurai of the Ketsurui Clan. Last but certainly not least was the bow meant for Santô Juni Murakami Mitsuko, who at five years old was senior to the newcomer in terms of age - and while this final bow was the shallowest, it was also deeper than any of the ones that had been conducted previously, simply because of the fact that it would have been inappropriate (to say the least!) for a Nekovalkyrja to display less respect than one of the other imperfect races.
Then, at long last, she finally spoke, her tone quiet, controlled, and emotionless, almost to the point of being artificial - yet in spite of all this, there was also an undefinable (yet unmistakable) sense of firmness, like a solid layer of rock hidden beneath a veil of autumn leaves.
"Santô Juni Hayashi Akiko. Unlike Norogumi-Chui, I am perfectly honest. All Nekovalkyrja are also chronic liars."
There was something else, too, hidden away in the depths of Akiko's voice, far out of reach of any prying ears or eyes.
Hayashi Akiko was
furious. Furious that the Star Army of Yamatai had permitted a starship as iconic as a
Plumeria-class to be manned by brazenly imperfect Elysians, Minkans, and humans (
humans), furious at the Captain and Executive Officer for allowing the discipline and standards of the crew to become so imperfect, furious that something as sacred as the chain of command could become so perverted by things like "love" and "marriage," and - most of all - furious that there was a NMX agent
sitting mere meters away from her.
As she sat back down, the Intelligence Operative allowed the faintest ghost of a smile to flicker across her features, despite the bitterness of her thoughts. Nagase, as always, was right - there was indeed plenty of work to be done if they wanted to make the Star Army of Yamatai perfect again.