RP: YSS Eucharis [Pre Mission 26] Getting Settled In (YE 38)

Corridor to Medbay

Mehitabel didn't seem to be overly concerned by matters of protocol, at least between the three of them standing around, other then in the formal construction of her speech that indicated Yamataian wasn't her native language. She shrugged slightly, "Of the nickname's I've had over the years, it certainly is the easiest on the ears. I can see it being fairly easy to get caught up on if you were speaking in a hurry."

"Morning, Yuuki-hei!" she answered cheerfully, considering her apparent two-for-two success at not alienating her fellow crew. Belle's eyes lowered briefly to Shiho's stomach, not accusingly per-say, "The dumplings needed saving? I dare say they probably didn't get it..."

"Sounds like that old fighting spirit they always go on about in basic training!" she chirps happily, not exactly comprehending the serious nature of food-based competitive brawling. Roughhousing seemed like a good way to test each other out, in a low-key way. Her mind had drifted almost to another sector before it was dragged back into the realm of life aboard a Star Army vessel. Belle cleared her throat, fist doing a poor job of hiding her blush, "Naked? I, ah, had heard that the Army didn't do that anymore. Some kind of piloting suit?"

Giving Freyja a reassuring pat on the back, and a sympathetic smile, Belle whispered back, "I'm sure she's not completely insane. At the very least she's good enough at her job to keep it despite being crazy."

Wobbling a little from the arm around her shoulders, Mehitabel recovered with a minimum of useless flapping. Putting on the sternest possible face, she tossed her head, "I appreciate the offer, Ishii-hei, but I'll have you know I haven't cried while receiving an injection in at least the last six months."

<<Medbay>>

"Should I watch out for when she gets power tools?" Junko joked. Surely she wasn't nearly that eccentric, she thought. After all, medical duty demanded adherence to protocol and professionalism by nature. Besides, she'd met the Elysian briefly and they hadn't been that strange.

<<Corridor to Medbay>>

Junko fell in behind the other infantry without comment. Then again, didn't Tsuguka have a much better perspective of Taharial? After all, it did take a special kind of someone to get close to someone like the Joto Hei. Maybe she shouldn't be so eager to entrust a backup to the Elysian just yet?

She stopped that train of thought dead in its tracks. She hadn't even gotten to the medical bay. Surely Tsuguka was trying for humor again. Though maybe she should keep an eye out for... straps.

YSS Eucharis - Wardroom


"The pleasure is all mine" Sigurd replied while imitating a bow with his head alone. Then he added: "I'll take over the first watch on the bridge."
After that he finished his coffee and stood to clear away his dishes, then went on his way to do as he just said.

YSS Eucharis - Bridge

When Sigurd arrived at the bridge he came to attention an saluted Hanako again, a bit more laxly than before. "Reporting for duty, ma'am" he got out in a normal tone which was a bit of an accomplishment since Sigurd was a bit nervous in Hanako's presence right now. He then went to the science station to begin his watch.
Did the XO already talk her?

YSS Eucharis - Bridge

"Hello, Sigurd!" Hanako greeted the scientist with a smile. She got up from her chair. "Would you mind watching the bridge for a few minutes while I give the crew their mission briefing in the wardroom? You would still be able to watch it on camera from here. The gist of it is we're going to violently extract intelligence from the Kuvexians and follow them back into deep space."

"Of course, captain," Sigurd nodded, taking his seat.

Before she moved to the wardroom, Hanako picked up her phone and dialed the intercom. "Attention all hands: Mission briefing in the wardroom in five minutes."

Shuttle Bay

Adelpress held her belongings in her hands as she waited for the shuttle door to open. As it did, she slithered out, her long tail slowly coming out of the shuttle. She looked around the shuttle bay and went towards the door and looked out. She had no idea where they would be, she did not even fully know the layout of the ship. Adelphress made her way back to the shuttle and put her belongings in it.

As she looked around once again she spotted a console, she could most likely find out where they are by asking it. As she slithered over and reached it, she cleared her throat. "Uh, Computer. Where is the captain?" She said calmly as she looked through the map she pulled up on the console. Suddenly, another voice started. "The Captain is located at the Wardroom." The computer AI responded. "Thank you." She said under her breath as she closed the map on the console and headed out the Shuttle bay and into the corridor. As she did, she heard an announcement about a briefing in the wardroom.

Wardroom

Soon enough, Jax was back in the wardroom, sprawled lazily across his favorite sofa like a big, lumbering jungle cat. His tail hung off the side, swishing to and fro as he waited patiently for the briefing to begin. Anyone nearby could hear a deep, rumbling sound emanating from the nekojin's chest.

It was quite unprofessional, but then again, it was to be expected of a guy who had a habit of irking more... conservative Yamataians.

Sleeping Quarters > Wardroom

Astridr had taken her time heading to the Wardroom, the adrenaline of a new experience fading and replaced with apprehension and anxiety. She brushed her fingertips across the wall of the corridor as she walked, as if she could hardly believe the ship, or indeed any of the experience, was real. The neko found herself wishing for the support of Aki and Daisuke again. She stopped and breathed hard, centering herself. Gotta stand on your own two feet, Astridr reminded herself, blinking back tears before striding onward.

The neko was so lost in her own thoughts, as well as the unfamiliar new environment, that she passed by the wardroom once and had to double back, just in time for the announcement from the bridge to stir her from her introspection. Astridr followed right after Jax into the room, settling into a seat around one of the tables. She caught the scent of cooked gyoza on the air, a memory of the meal gone by, and she held her stomach as it gave a slight rumble. The pink-haired neko sighed and though, Early bird and the worm...

Wardroom

"Attention all hands: Mission briefing in the wardroom in five minutes."

Click to expand...

Natsumi's ears pirked up as the Shosho's voice boomed over the intercom. She was nearly finished with her morning paperwork and had been about to pack up and head to the bridge when Hanako had made her announcement. Well, that was a conveniant excuse for her to get another mug of hot coco instead.

The snowy haired exec climbed out of her chair and went up to the buffet, refilling her mug with the dark and sweet drink before returning to her seat. She was interested to see what the admiralty had in store for them next.

Within the Neko Corridor

"Oh! Sounds like a change of plans!" she says diligently, smoothing out an imagined crease in her skirt. Mission briefing meant she should be ready to stand by taking minutes, or anything else the Admiral or XO might need from her. Belle furrowed her brow thoughtfully, running down the mental checklist of 'things to not mess up at a formal meeting' before she gave Freyja a surprisingly catlike aside smile, "Or is that a stay of execution?"

YSS Eucharis - Wardroom

Hanako maneuvered around the others already in the wardroom and took her usual spot at the head of the main table with the hibachi grill, standing near the doorway to the galley where a volumetric display screen appeared showing the Star Army of Yamatai's hinomaru emblem, followed by a screen that said "Mission Briefing 26." The captain was still in her Class A duty uniform, looking a little overdressed compared to the rest of the crew, but that was Hanako's typical way. The wardroom looked especially well-kept today, with freshly waxed wooden floors and tables, more paintings on the ceiling that before, and thick crimson curtains on the walls that hid small gardens that gave the room a sort of earthy smell with hints of tomato plants and basil leaves. She waited a short while for most everyone to arrive and then started.

"Hello everyone. If you recall, in a previous mission when we were investigating the Rixxikor colony, we were attacked by forces of the Kuvexian Imperial Navy. During the attack, we were able to obtain some intelligence information from a shot-down fighter and its pilot about a local Kuvexian military station near our territory, which has been serving as a forward base of their operations for their scout fleet. In the previous mission, we halted or slowed the imminent advancement of the Rixxikor colonization wave by destroying the Graxlat scrapyard where the colony ships were being produced from junk, including NMX ship parts. With that out of the way, the time has come for the Star Army to make its move on the enemy base. The Eucharis and supporting elements of the First Expeditionary Fleet will stage and attack on the base, in the 'Tip of the Spear' style we used on the NMX Nest back in the Second Mishhuvurthyar War. This means that our away team will make the first assault and attempt to weaken their defenses from inside before the main fleet arrives. We also have a critical secondary objective of extracting intelligence data that will allow us to determine the location of the Kuvexian Kingdom and their allies. This is extremely important, because it means we could take the fight to the enemy. If there is to be a war between Yamatai and the Kuvexians, we want to fight it in their territory and not ours, as to minimize risks to our planets. The away team will be equipped with state of the art power armor, including the new Mindy 4 series, and I can get any other extras you will need. Are there any questions so far?" Hanako asked.

To the briefing!

Shiho gave a little amused smile at Mehitabel's admission of crying at injections. Inwardly she decided that the Elysian must be lying to be cute, since... Really who would just admit that in the army? We're all supposed to be super tough warrior goddesses here. Cute... Weirdly there was a lot of cute people here. Hrm. Shiho gave Mehitabel a push between the wings, launching her faster towards the briefing just to give her enough momentum to make it back to gravity.

Terracotta Neko followed, floating along easily and stepping in to observe... Whatever she caught of the meeting. About the only thing she got from all that was 'infantry clear the way for the ships'. Again. This was almost a repeat of her very first mission's tactics, just without anywhere near enough backup.

Oh joy. Better keep that mouth shut.

Corridor to Wardroom

The announcement was a welcome change in the schedule. Although she may not be lucky enough to have familiar faces to ease her fears next time. Still, Freyja was visibly relieved. She saw Shiho and Belle take off and hurriedly caught up to them. Her pulse quickened as she got closer to the Wardroom. Hanako would be in the same room, almost close enough to touch. The only chasm between them was rank, and it was a massive one.

The impossibility of her crush was starting to set in. But she did have other, more realistic options. The earlier conversation in the Wardroom played back in her head. Junko was attracted to her. How could she have missed it? Now that it was in the open it just seemed obvious. She was so lost in thought she almost passed the Wardroom. Luckily she stopped and spun around, backtracking a couple steps to fill into the briefing not long after Shiho.

All thoughts of Junko faded away as she took a seat and devoted her full attention to her hopeless crush. As she listened to what Hanako had to say she started to think about her own first combat mission. A look around at their numbers told her this mission would be far more dangerous. They wouldn't have as much backup this time and the capabilities of the enemy were unknown, whereas fighting the Mishuuvurthyar was drilled into them constantly during training.

Freyja wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into all for the sake of a silly crush.

Flying to the Wardroom

Belle had little time to make more comment to being firmly shoved by a burly nekovalkyrja then a surprised squeak, a sound she was getting a lot of practice making, the clerk decided. Taking control of her attitude in time to make the landing without fumbling. It had to have been by Shiho's design, she decided, stepping clear. Something to thank her shipmate for later. Facing the wardroom without even a weak grumble of the stomach she strode in, taking up an unassuming post near the dressed-to-the-nines admiral, silently bringing up a notepad on her display to take minutes for the log.

It was a very good thing that technology had evolved to the point that the Star Army didn't require hand written reports or logs. Belle was quite sure that her handwriting wouldn't have come out readable, as she made a bulleted list of Hanako's briefing. A real sense of 'this is it' was pounding in her brain as the Shosho casually mentioned past fights, past struggles, and no doubt deaths... The NMX... These Rixxikor.... Another war. Staring across space at the gathered crew, especially the infantry troopers.

It was really going to be on them, honestly. The squadron's away teams would be doing the fighting while she was safe on the bridge, with a whole vessel's worth of hull and armor wrapped around her. She swallowed hard, looking away from the group towards her doc to make sure everything was transcribing okay. It was. So she queried the MEGAMI for anything on the Rixxikor that the computer would let her access, just in case the Admiral needed to display anything for an example.

<<Corridor>>

Junko set her jaw a little at the announcement. Guess they were going to get under way quicker than she'd thought. Backup and physicals could wait at least until after the briefing. Not that she was looking forward to finding out just how eccentric the red winged Elysian was.

<<Wardroom>>

The trooper managed to squeeze in before Hanako got started. Junko remained standing, surrendering the seats to whoever chose them. She counted the rest of her squad as they arrived. Expecting it didn't make the little flutter when she saw Freyja any less real.

What Hanako outlined didn't seem anything outrageous. Even without great in depth knowledge of the Mith Wars, the tactics were familiar. Boots get on site and smash the big guns, the communications, anything that could stop anyone in the air. Fighting would be intense, and victory dependent upon not getting caught in a corner.

She felt a pang of something when she saw Freyja out of the corner of her eye. Just looking at Hanako, completely attentive. Tried telling herself everyone was, and should, be listening. Somehow, that didn't make the ache go away.

At least questions gave her an opportunity to try and switch tracks.

"Do we have any idea how the station is set up? Floor plans, recon images?"

Wardroom

Well, there it was. A new mission, and a bold move as far as Eucharis assignments went.

Tsuguka's own reactions surprised herself, heart already churning over that grizzly feeling of half-forgotten battlefields. Wide eyes and a stern, raised jawline spoke leagues about her immediate willingness to get back into the fight. She could suppress it, but the crimson neko would be lying if she said Hanako's commands failed to fill her with a sudden, vibrant sense of purpose.

Perhaps some things never change.

Still, this was the first she had heard of an actual confirmed Kuvexian base location. Junko was asking all the right questions, so they hung back for a moment, even if they disapproved over the lack of a 'Shosho' in that sentence... Still...

"Shosho Ketsurui... Do we have any concrete information over the enemies' sensor abilities?" Jumping straight into a plan of action, as always. But at least this time, it was based directly on predictions of what Suite's plan of attack would be. "Teleporting the entire team right into the heart of the facility from a range... That could elevate the threat posed by any large-scale weapons to both the Eucharis and to the approaching team."

YSS Eucharis - Wardroom

"Yes," Hanako nodded. "SAINT has been working on this for months now, gathering intelligence. We have much of the layout, which I will show you shortly, and we have a good sense of their sensor capabilities. They also attempted to get someone on the inside but it did not work out. We also tried hacking in but their computers are basically the same level as ours and trying too hard could spook them. So this mission is the hands-on, manual way of accomplishing the mission. We will be going directly into their military base, so we can expect a lot of resistance, particularly if we do not use the elements of speed and surprise wisely."

So...

"Shosho." Shiho piped up.

Her husky voice showing some obvious signs of picking her words very carefully. The more she heard of this plan, the more she was starting to feel like Hanako was using far too many words to give up too little information. There was several things very wrong with this as far as she'd heard. The largest issue so far was Hanako's wording. It wasn't Shiho's place to comment on this woman's decisions, but... No. Whatever was going on here had probably already been decided on. Didn't make Shiho feel much better, though.

"Are we the only team going in? Will we receive fire support from the fleet, or will we need to disable something first? And does expecting heavy resistance mean we're not relying on stealth?"

It took her a while to ask. Those three questions were really the tip of the iceberg in terms of what she wanted to ask, and her face showed it. For now she just wanted to get at the heart of the matter: Was this small team meant to openly and loudly take on an entire military base without backup?

Wardroom

Jax had listened attentively thus far. His ears perked especially when Shiho spoke. He raised his hand from his seat, a look of genuine concern about his features.

"I gotta second the new guy, Shosho. I don't like the idea of us charging in guns blazing. A Plumeria ain't built for planetary assaults, it's a winged artillery piece that gets shredded in close engagements."

After his first few space battles, the relatively-green engineer was finally starting to paint a picture of just how... fragile the Eucharis was in comparison to other warships. After their last escapade in that Graxlat "chop shop" in which a single love-tap from an enemy cruiser had slagged the main aether generator, Jax was now very interested in the tactical side of operations, given that proper planning meant avoiding potential damage to the ship.

Wardroom

"It sounds like we are talking about a facility not near a major stellar body. A deep-space base for ships to jump to and rearm without having to deal with a no FTL zone, something that we could reasonably surprise by coordinating an arrival in mass. Hyperspace in, then teleport armors on-board before the shields go up."

Wazu hadn't bothered to move from the seat he had taken at Candon's table earlier, and had set down his datapad to focus his attention on the briefing.

"...Is there a plan in place for the attack already?"

YSS Eucharis
Wardroom

Oshiro Masumi reviewed the crew roster. The opening for a scientist aboard the Eucharis would have supplemented Heram Wazu, the science advisor and civilian aboard and Bjarnison Sigurd, the Santo Hei that had left the wardroom minutes ago. Masumi and a Santo Hei named Adelphress Svenghouli were the new additions to the crew.

She wondered, then, what the Shosho had in mind for the science personnel aboard.

Suites-heisho certainly had plans for what she could become by working closely with him. She could ask Hanako now, which she wouldn't hesitate to do if necessary. But was it so necessary if Suites-heisho had already given her what could be construed as orders?

Masumi held her chin high as she looked at the vibrant Shosho and kept her bee-stung lips closed.