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RP: YSS Eucharis [Pre Mission 26] Infantry Orientation (YE 38)

Rizzo

Rizzo

Well-Known Member
Briefing Room 4, shipyard, Central Uesureya, Planet Yamatai

Tsuguka and Candon stood on a slightly elevated stage with a podium off to the presenter's left. Before them lay a small crowd of empty seats. In a few minutes the small room would be much less spacious as the new recruits for Eucharis' infantry team were expected to arrive shortly wearing their duty uniforms in the everyday style.
There was a great deal to cover and they would only have a short amount of time before reporting to a hanger to be sized up for M2-4's.

"Tsu, let's recap" Candon called as he approached a distance suitable for general conversation, "I'm going to be delegating a portion of this briefing to you. After my introduction I am going to give you the floor. I would like you to ask for volunteers for specialized combat roles. I would like one demo specialist and a marksman- oh, and just in case see if we have someone skilled with mounted guns. It would be nice to have. Once we have that done we'll hike over to Hangar 10 for the Mindy fitting. Am I missing anything?"

"Mounted guns, Suites-Heisho?" The dark eyes of the ruby-coloured woman shirked a little, trying to figure out what plan he was up to this time. The same expression Tsuguka had been giving Candon with great regularity since the day they met, really. "I did miss the Type 30 Tankettes after they were shipped out, but I'm not sure defense is ever something we are really going to perform well, with these kind of numbers... Alrough ordering some more 35mm machineguns on their own would give us more spray gun style supressing fire, that said..."

A bit of an elongated pause, whilst she bit the tip of her thumb and scrolled her communicator's screen again. The new recruits were certainly diverse. Having a brand new version of the Mindy to read up on also made things rather difficult, considering they had no real-world experience with it. The damn thing looked like a walking lightbulb compared to their old warhorse.

"Based on past experience... Having someone with medical knowledge on-site would be helpful." Hands on hips again, as she looked back up at him. "Maybe someone with electronic warfare skills. Not everyone is going to be as inept at covering their tracks as the Rixxikor."

"I like it, test the new meat and see what we've got to work with," Suites replied, "I can take up electronic warfare if needed and maybe if we as nicely command will issue us an Aether Gatling Rifle, that'll give us more than enough suppressive fire support. If not we'll make do."
As if on cue the first candidates arrived, "come in and take a seat, we've got ourselves a full day."
 
Junko pulled a little at the sleeve of her uniform. She was more used to her work suit, the type 31. At least she wasn't required to choose the optional skirt. She forced her hands to her sides to keep a her nerves in check.

Speaking of.

Now she was on the YSS Eucharis, a more distinguished ship than she'd imagine her first "real" posting being. She'd studied the layout, thrice, and gotten a head start heading to the briefing. But it was a new vessel, and a little voice in her head was second guessing every turn she took. Sticking her into combat would probably be calming.

Junko entered and bowed her head in greeting. Since nobody was really filling seats, that gave her freedom of choice. The infantrywoman took a seat toward the front, where she could see and hear better. Discretely looked over the speakers, and newcomers, for reference.

Maybe she'd see some familiar faces?
 
Freyja walked in wearing her uniform with the optional skirt. She looked around for any familiar faces and noticed Junko Hasegawa. Her cheeks darkened as she remembered the last time she saw Junko. When she ran up to Junko and nuzzled her at the Hanami Festival. Sure, the alcohol was partially to blame, but it can't make you do something you don't want to like an NMX parasite. Some part of her must have wanted to do that, and she was ashamed because it wasn't proper to act like that in public.

Finally, she decided to sit beside Junko anyway. She was much more comfortable sitting next to someone she knew. Hopefully Shiho would show up next. She wondered what Seo Mayu, Eisei Eguchi and Sigrid Fukuzawa were doing. Maybe she would see them again someday. Leaving Orochi was sad, but what Nekovalkyrja would give up a chance to serve on the Eucharis?

Slowly she made her way over to Junko and bowed politely. "Junko-hei, may I sit with you?" Freyja asked, careful to maintain formality considering their last meeting. She was overcompensating, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She intended to prove that she wasn't normally like she had been at the festival.
 
"If you'd like, Yuuki-Hei." Junko answered courteously. She kept her hands folded neatly to herself. Their was no widening of the eyes or a tightening of the shoulders. So that was probably a heartening sign for the two infantry.

Internally, Junko was pleased and introspective. Pleased because the sisters she'd met on Orochi were good soldiers, and fighting alongside them had been successful. She knew they had her back. On the other, the festival was still fresh in her memory.

Now, Freyja's affectionate display hadn't been unwanted, mind you. It was more she was still figuring out how exactly she enjoyed it and what to make of it. On the one hand, it felt... nice, warm and calming. On the other, she wasn't exactly sure she was attracted to her fellow Neko yet.

It wasn't something she tried to think too hard about on duty. Her batch had been taught to regard their other Neko as sisters, regardless where or how they were manufactured. Viewing them like that felt more than a little taboo. On the other, they made some of the more form fitting uniforms very interesting.

Junko adjusted the collar of her uniform slightly. Tried to ignore the fractional jump in warmth. It was something to be discussed later, if possible. The only outward indication of further train of thought was a very mild blush.

"What do you know about the Eucharis operational history? I've read reports, but they're a little... too factual." Junko asked. It was a perfectly valid question, considering so much context could be lost in a report format. Also it gave her an excuse just to make acceptable conversation.
 
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New day, new unit, yet a lot of the same old stuff to contend with. As Junko and Freyja took their seats; they could hear the scraping of chair legs behind them, as the huge red Shiho took up a place directly behind them and looked around at the various other newly transferred infantry skeptically.

She wore her everyday uniform with the older style cargo trousers, and tall boots. She wore the jacket slightly open at the neck revealing a little of her blue undershirt. Shiho had double-checked the appearance policy to make sure there was nothing about an unfastened jacket. She did have to quickly re-press it after reading between the lines to work out you could possibly get in trouble for rolling up your sleeves. Her curly mane of hair was swept back in the image of controlled chaos, tamed by someone who didn't know what hair style meant.

"Its history is... Storied." Shiho said quietly to answer Junko, which was just her way of saying I can't be bothered summing it up.

After a request for transfer at a whim, Shiho felt like the odd one out. She had to look up exactly why a good number of new recruits were positively beaming with pride about something she'd just asked for off-handedly at a picnic. And oh boy was this the most ambivalent day of her short life. It was a toss up that the reputation of this new commanding officer was possibly better than the last one whom she regarded as psychotic...

Shiho herself didn't care either way, but some practically had stars in their eyes. What she was really concerned with was... Why was there an intelligence operative here?
 
Briefing Room 4, shipyard, Central Uesureya, Planet Yamatai

The small room remained comfortable as it was only occupied by five people. The cool air was a nice to feature to focus on as that unavoidable tension built inside him. Giving speeches wasn't his strongest suit, with no podium to hide behind he felt exposed on the foot high stage but that wouldn't stop him from giving it his best shot.

"Good evening. Thank you all for joining us, it's nice to see everyone here has arrived on time and in good uniform," Candon commended them as he built up his nerve "now we have a good bit to cover and a short amount of time to use this room, the chief engineer is having a meeting here in 20 minutes and we need to be cleared out by then so let's begin."

"My name is Candon Suites Nitô Heisho. I am the intelligence specialist for the YSS Eucharis, however I am also directing the Infantry team until further notice. I will be issuing orders through Toyoe Tsuguka Jôtô hei, the ranking enlisted infantry present. As of late the Eucharis has seen a distinct lack of coordination from its armor team, I intend to change that however new soldiers aren't the only change we are experiencing right now. After this meeting we will all be fitted for the brand new Mindy 4.

"New soldiers in new armor is a less-than-ideal circumstance but there is no room for error. Starting right now the people sitting next to you are your closest friends, they will be the ones keeping you alive in a fight. You will train together, eat together, and while it's not mandatory I'm sure some of you will even sleep together. Us Nekos form a sisterhood but the bond you girls will form will become stronger than any relationship you'll know.. or you'll inevitibly die alone. It's your choice, but we definitely want to keep fatalities down to an absolute minimum.

"I have high hopes for everyone here but hoping never helped anyone without action. I have some requirements for all of you that are non negotiable and I'll have some simple requests. We'll start with the requirements.

"First, both you and your armor will always be combat ready. Everything you do, whatever you eat or drink, wherever you go, however you clothe yourselves is completely up to you. Whatever you decide, within regulation, I want you all to always be ready to drop everything your doing and be suited up in under a minute. Any longer and we're all dead.

"Second, I know this is basic but it's important, readiness conditions will be treated as such:
At condition 4 you're on duty, your post is the PA bay where we will be maintaining or training.
At condition 3 were preparing for combat. That means triple checking magazines and batteries, reinspecting weapons, last minute weapon swaps, strategizing, it all happens on three 'cause two and one come way to fast for it.

"Third, look out for each other and the empire.. this is more than just any other gunship, it's a symbol. Hanako is an icon that our citizens treat almost like a celebrity. That means our conduct will reflect her reputation, and that's a two-way street. We can hurt it or help it, I suggest sticking to the latter if value your career.

"Now a few things I simply ask. Take this assignment seriously, respect the ship, respect Tsuguka and myself, and if you need help, ask. I look out for my people. If you do these things I promise that I'll do everything in my power to fast track your career. Letters of Recommendation are a powerful tool for promotions, I want to write them but I need good reasons first.

"Tsuguka-Hei is now going to ask you about combat specialties," he introduced his coworker as he stepped off the foot high stage and took the nearest available seat along with a deep breath.
 
Freyja was glad to see that Junko didn't seem to react negatively to her. She smiled and bowed slightly again before taking a seat. She thought of the others as her younger sisters despite the fact that they were about the same age.

After losing her last squad she had determined to look after the other Infantry girls, not just on the battlefield but socially and mentally. Her reaction to meeting Hanako had been a surprise. She had never really had thoughts like that about another Nekovalkyrja.

Now that she was actually here in front of the crew, she was beginning to feel a little nervous. For her, that meant she was being extra formal and paying close attention to the people on stage and little attention to anyone else. That was why she hadn't heard Shiho behind her.

Freyja nearly jumped out of her chair upon hearing Shiho's seat dragging. She turned around and even made a slight hissing noise, ears flattened against her head. "Shiho-chan, don't sneak up on me like that!" She admonished her. Her face betrayed her with another smile upon seeing Shiho here.

She turned back around, prepared to tell Junko what she knew when the man started speaking. Her full attention quickly shifted to the intelligence specialist.
 
Briefing Room 4, shipyard, Central Uesureya, Planet Yamatai

“Thank you, Heisho.”

Toyoe Tsuguka pumped a fist into and opposite palm, simply regarding the new infantry crewman in silence for a moment whilst she scanned over their features with stark green eyes. Red skin, toned muscles and a vulpine face pretty much made her the exact opposite of Candon, as did her stern and uncompromising demeanor.

“I’ve studied the details of your past operations in detail.” A formal nod of respect. “Seems like those of you who served within the Orochi squadron really were not credited enough for their actions…”

“However, what you will find serving on the Eucharis is an entirely different kind of combat.”

It wasn’t the arrogance of command. Tsuguka had been obsessive in training, perfectly happy to serve her nation as one of the rank and file, but almost nothing had been as she expected out on the frontier.

“Fighting as a small independent unit means less room for redundancy. Covert and concise operations are absolutely paramount, and that is not to say our objectives will always be as simple as finding an enemy and shooting them. Keeping the peace is often the hardest part, in actuality.”

“Mistakes made by your friends will directly affect you, and vice versa. Even as Yamataians that can be backed up and brought back to life, don’t lull yourself into a false sense of security by thinking that death is no big deal. Unlike Nepleslians, who can choose between death and dishonor, we cannot. Even if you can keep your sanity, I’ve seen it destroy the future of some of the best people I ever knew.”

Her thoughts strayed back to images of that burnt Zesuaium sword sticking out of a crashed Rixxikor shuttle a few months prior. It really did happen to the best of them. But it didn’t really seem right to dwell on such a grim tone here and now.

“Just think of it this way. Your lives are more valuable here than ever. Your decisions more important than ever. Never forget that.”

“Now, as I was saying, less room for redundancy. Do any of you have any experience with demolitions or mounted guns? Do any of you have a particularly high accuracy rating? Anyone with medical knowledge or any hacking abilities would also be quite helpful. Please raise your hands so I can sort through you...”
 
Junko was actually pleasantly surprised when she turned her head. Another face from Orochi joining her here. Sure, given the casual recruitment at the festival, this wasn't at all unlikely. But it was heartening not to be among strangers, even if they were still her people.

She sat perfectly straight as Candon began speaking, giving him full attention. A jolt of excitement threatened to break her discipline. A new Mindy suit, just for her, was like a cross between christmas and a birthday all in one. The idea of breaking it in, getting its handling perfect, made her want to just run right for the armor bay.

Rest of it, intimidating as it might have seemed, was fairly up to expectation. Be professional, be ready and don't mess around. Behave to the highest standard of a soldier of the Star Army. It had been hammered into her since she'd first stepped off that slab. Not that it wasn't worth repeating.

She held up a hand for Toyoe.

"I scored top percentile for marksmanship in my batch." She volunteered. That and close combat, but it wasn't what she was asking.
 
Shiho grinned a little at the reaction to her chair moving. Looking slightly shocked at the -chan she'd earned at some point, before just giving a silent pat or two to the head of Freyja in front of her, before indicating forward as Intel Guy and Other Red gave their speeches. Oh, they were Candon Suites and Tsuguka... She took a few moments to remember their names and faces, thinking a couple of times to look at their rank markings but forgetting those a few times before it stuck.

A lot of things in their speeches seemed a little bit off to her. Her eyebrows raised a little when Suites referred to those present as 'Us Nekos': He looked Nepleslian if anything. Her eyebrows came right back down when he mentioned something about reflecting well on celebrity status and two way streets... Surely that one felt wrong to her somehow. Shiho didn't really get it, but something about it felt off. Readiness conditions, armor, yes yes. That was information she'd known from the metaphorical cradle. She didn't have a real cradle because she'd had a Mindy: Did she really need to be reminded of this?

Tsuguka on the other hand made more sense to her. For certain those of Orochi didn't get much credit where it was certainly due, or at least Shiho thought so. It was a rare moment where she felt proud about her service so far to hear it from Other Red. Weird. Of course she had limited reflection on that because after it came a lot of stuff about covert operations and small team tactics, along with requests for medics and cyberwarfare.

Shiho knew that Orochi's infantry was more or less trained with the only expectation that they be shot from a cannon into enemy fire, and subsequently reduced to Neko brand Ground Taco Filling. Did they need those skills but just get three riflecats? More importantly: Was that Elysian who recruited them going to get in trouble for picking way wrong?

Shiho liked... Whatsherface... Feathers.

"I've got experience with explosives and demolitions." Shiho volunteered without raising a hand. Shiho was hoping to have flown under some radars where possible. Avoid too much responsibility, keep that rank down and the service term buyout low.

But this was something that had Feathers' butt on the line, she'd convinced herself.

Ugh.
 
Briefing Room 4, shipyard, Central Uesureya, Planet Yamatai

Tsuguka observed the two hands going up, then simply correlated the data on her communication tab. Their names were Junko and Shiho. The skills were noted, and specialist wargear bookmarked for their future use. She was glad that there was someone with demolitions experience to replace Akiashiro-Hei's rare skills. The ability to snipe, on the other hand, was something that they never really had in the past, but was bound to give them more tactical flexibility.

"Okay, that's fine for now." A hand motioned to both of them, then balled up again as a thumb met her chin. "If anyone feels they need some specialist equipment that is currently not in the itinerary, please send the request to me first. Not Victory-Heisho. The dynamics of the overall team should come first and foremost, you understand."

Another pause, in which she again looked at them in turn. They were attentive alright. The whole situation continued to remind her of the old days. But instead of her spinning a patriotic yarn for Shosho Hanako, Tsuguka suddenly felt like she was doling one out on a captive audience instead. Surely there was something more original she could say. What were they thinking about?...

"'Why us?' Is that what you are thinking?" A deep breath, followed by a change in stance that ended with crossing her arms behind her back. "Well, let me ask you this. Why does any nekovalkyrja even need a personality? Why are any of us different at all? Logically, fearless robots are more efficient, right?"

"Well, overspecialization and stagnation is the death of any organisation." It still sounded hammy, but it would have been nice to hear those words before feeling like such a failure herself. It was a cold hard fact that the only real stand-out skill the oni-neko even had, was that of taking hits and getting back up again. "A willingness to communicate and thrive, that unpredictable human soul element... It is the one thing that has always made the Eucharis unique in my experience. And why I will do my best to help you reach the peak of those abilities..."

"Enough navel gazing." A sharp, angular grin. Her protruding fangs and narrow eyes only succeeded in making the woman look more fearsome. "If there are no questions, I would like to begin getting you measured for your Mindy fours."
 
The new speaker was as different from the first as day was from night. Freyja listened carefully although she had heard similar speeches. She didn't want to screw this opportunity up by missing important instructions in orientation. The Santo-Hei was fine until Toyoe mentioned redundancy and asking about special skills.

Outwardly calm, when she heard everyone say their specialties she instantly became terrified. Her eyes went wide. "Shiho-chan, I don't have a specialty! The rest of you have a role. I love to tinker with robots, is that a specialty..?" She said in despair. Her hand started to raise slowly and then fell. After a moment she gathered the nerve to raise her hand. "I do have one question Tsuguka-hei. I don't really have a specialty.. But I am pretty good at tinkering with robotics. So maybe I could learn hacking." Freyja said timidly. The red neko intimidated her, she couldn't figure out exactly why.
 
Rizzo said:
"...soldiers in new armor is a less-than-ideal circumstance but there is no room for error.
Click to expand...

Astridr slipped into the small auditorium, a frown curling the edges of her lips as she slides into a chair near the door quickly and quietly. Can't believe I got lost on the way here, she cursed herself silently as she smoothed out the skirt of her dress uniform and sat up at attention. She hoped that her presence hadn't been noticed and dreaded any sort of attention that her tardiness might bring, but she pushed her worries aside for the moment and concentrated on Suites-Heisho's speech.

To the pink-haired Neko, a fresh boot, Suites-Heisho's lecture was similar to the ones she had heard during training, putting her at ease with the familiar words and protocols. Astridr found herself nodding along with the Heisho's affirmations on their conduct and expectations, even though her position at the back of the room, not to mention her tardiness, made it unlikely that she would be noticed. But that was fine by her, too.

Astridr took careful note of the Heisho, though surely it would be easy to distinguish the male Minkan from the Nekos that made up the rest of their infantry squad, and the next to take the stage, the red-skinned Neko Tsuguka-Hei. Having no specialization of her own, the pink-haired Neko simply waited for the others to speak their part, her hands curled in her lap as she listened to the other Nekos as they spoke up. An explosives expert and a marksman made themselves known, which the pink-haired Neko tried to match with their faces. Demo-gal is the black-haired, burly one, and Hotshot is the red-eyed one, she thought, nicknaming Shiho and Junko in her head, respectively. She hoped to learn their names soon, as well as the others, feeling awkward enough in a new environment on top of not knowing the rest of the crew. She found herself thinking about Aki and Saisuke, and wished they were here to back her up.

Astridr snapped her attention back to the stage as Tsuguka-hei began to speak again, waxing poetic about the differences between Nekos, and indeed about what it means to be a Neko, and artificial being. It amused Astridr that she often found herself feeling more in tune with the training Power Armor that she had used in boot camp than with other people, the irony of being a sentient being but still an artificial construct, and one built for war. It had taken her much time jsut to open up to Aki and Daisuke, but she worried that it would not come as easily with the crew here. She hoped she was wrong.
 
As Tsuguka gave her speech... Well, Shiho didn't want to interrupt. It was a good speech in theory, but around the moment Tsuguka started to try and work her way into Shiho's head and wonder about why her, the new red Nekovalkyrja slowly started to shake her head. Left to right, in tiny almost imperceptible disagreement by millimeters. Just... Quietly shaking her head as if to speak without speaking: No, actually. That's not what I'm thinking at all.

In truth, Shiho had thought about those sorts of things a lot. And already come about to her own answers a long time ago, well, at least what counted as a long time for someone at most a year old. While she could appreciate the attempt to cover concerns that... Well, Shiho wasn't sure that anyone else even felt, the newer Red Neko of Eucharis simply didn't agree with the assessment. Then Freyja had a question.

"Hacking's a lot different from robotics." Shiho leaned forward to quietly whisper into her comrade's ear, "Might want to look at doing the TASHA handling training, or drone control for recon... Act as spotter for our sniper."
 
"The enemies we will probably be encountering won't be armed very well but there will literally be hordes of them," Candon chimed in, " if you like robots and your inventive the nodal support bits just might be your calling. They swat missiles too."
 
Tsuguka just observed the completely impartial reaction and just shrugged, conceding that she still wasn't the best at sympathizing with others. Oh well. It was chaos when she had joined the crew, a complete culture shock of varied individuals. But Candon's subtle hand was here now, and that meant this situation was just plain different. Perhaps that was for the best.

It wasn't intentional, but the stern lynx's suddenly sour turn made her just glare back at Freyja, as if the question was somehow impetuous. Candon's points were valid, however, allowing her to just relax and gather her thoughts again for a minute.

"Nodal support bits disguised as additional Mindys, using volumetric projections, make for very effective force multipliers as well." A glance towards the ground, remembering a recent action. "But that does also make it problematic in terms of evading the enemy completely. If you are really interested in tele-operation, however, I could more see that kind of support being useful in terms of on-site recovery..."

"The Mindy itself is driven by robotic systems, and is capable of being operated by remote, remember." A slightly more calm and collected glance back. "Would you be comfortable experimenting with becoming the team's armored engineering vehicle?"
 
Freyja was taken aback by what she thought was a harsh response. She dropped her hand instantly, embarrassed and a little angry. Her eyes returned Tsuguka's glare but she kept her cool. "No, thank you. I believe I will be more useful in a scouting role. I will take Suites-heisho's suggestion and go with the Nodal Support Bits." She replied with no emotion. In some ways, Freyja was Tsuguka's polar opposite. She could easily empathize with others since the day she first awoke. It would probably take some work for these two to find common ground. "Thank you Shiho-chan. What did I do wrong, though? I can't understand this woman.." She said telepathically.
 
Junko watched from the corner of her eye as Freyja and Shiho consulted over her lack of specialty. She wasn't sure what to recommend to her without coming across as bossy. Plus, she didn't have as tight a grasp on her fellow soldiers fighting style as she'd like. She let them talk without interruption.

Then something passed between their red-skinned veteran and her squadmate. Despite the fact she'd been watching every moment of the exchange, she had no idea what just happened. Only the glare passed, which made her think it wasn't anything serious on that end. And how Freyja appeared to have liquid nitrogen doused on her mood.

Her stomach sank sympathetically as she knew what was probably going on inside their. She didn't want to interrupt the briefing with a word, or seem unprofessional. But she had to do something for her squadmate. At least because they were supposed to be their for one another, even in the small ways, right?

She reached out mentally, quickly. Not even a word, or a full sentence. She just sent a pulse of emotive energy at her, the mental equivalent of squeezing her hand. A small reassuring gesture.

"You said we were going to get fitted today?" Junko asked. Didn't need to make herself sound a little excited. The prospect of new armor, new toys to play with? Still the best thing she'd heard all day.

Better to change the topic, see if that did any good for either of them.
 
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