RP: 5th XF [Prelude] Point of Origin

[Andrew]

The Yugumo was birthed at Yamatai Ketsurui Fleet Yards; the massive Takumi ECC had been loading most of the afternoon following delays due to personnel shortages. The crew had begun to arrive and was being directed by the AI to their assigned quarters. The Command Deck was quiet a few sprites worked to prepare stations for use by the crew, the synthesized body of the ship's AI stood in front of the Shosa who sat within the leather chair.

"At this pace it will be a week before we get out of space dock.â€

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

Kiyoe trudged into the Yūgumo, slightly bent under the weight of her luggage. After she'd passed through the interior threshold of the docking fixture, she crossed over to a corner and set her luggage down for a quick break, glancing around the room appraisingly. She'd been denied her chance to get a good look at the ship from the outside, thanks to falling asleep on the transport shuttle. The far less breathtaking view from her current vista was a bit of a disappointment.

She didn't let that get her down, though. Things were looking up. She was finally done with basic training- more importantly, she was done with the boring parts of it about math and such. She'd gotten a position on a ship that was going to be exploring unknown systems, a prospect that promised to be interesting. And if all else failed, she knew that she was going to make a great impression on all of her new colleagues, because she'd chosen to commemorate this special occasion by wearing her pride and joy, her silver hairpin with onyx beads on the tassel, at the base of her ponytail today. Or, well, it looked silver-y and onyx-y. She occasionally suspected that it might be more of a silver plated iron pin with black plastic beads, since the friend who'd given it to her for a birthday present was well-known for being a cheapskate... but it still looked amazing.

When she thought she'd rested up enough, Kiyoe spoke up. "Hey, computer." Keeping track of all these -AMIs and -IESes was too much of a hassle. "Kanai Kiyoe here. What way to my quarters? I'd like to put my stuff away before I check in, unless it's way out of the way."

 

[Kylen Phylar]

Ichiro smiled as he walked through the entrance of the ship, almost skipping his way in. The SA had given him a second chance in giving him a PA piloting position on the ship, and he was going to take it by the horns. With him he brought spare uniforms, his file reader, his gun magazines, and some of his personal weaponry. He had already left the bulk of it in a locker for his cousin, currently on a salvage ship, a few days back, so all he had on him was a flechet (sp? Will check and edit) rifle and his standard issue sidearm. The only casual clothes in his pack were a Sapphire blue duster, a black sleeveless shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. He didn't think he'd be using them often.

He looked around, and waved to the other new arrival. " Yūgumo, could you please tell me if I am to report to the CO, or if you can show me my room?" he asked politely.

 

[Tesuro]

Tesuro sat quietly in his transport shuttle looking at the small notepad he held in his hands. Already he had filled many of the pages with his experiences throughout basic training as well as his excitement at being assigned aboard the YSS Yugumo. A starship that was designated specifically to explore space outside of the empire's immediate control was the exact opportunity he was looking for when he decided to enlist himself into the Army.

Still, he had made no attempts to share any of these thoughts with those around him. Throughout his entire training, Tesuro purposely distanced himself from the rest of the soldiers in order to practice more writing. While others were forming strong bonds and friendships that would last throughout their army career, Tesuro instead stood on the outskirts. This fact did not bother him in the least though, as he was content to experience his adventures solitarily and write about them without having to concern himself with the thoughts and experiences of those around him.

Even aboard the shuttle, which was fast approaching the dock area of the YSS Yugumo, he made no attempt to chat with those around him. He blocked out the noise from the other recruits who were comparing assignments and expressing excitement to one another. Voices soared and order papers waved and some were even left forgotten on the ground. Tesuro on the other hand, sat away from the group and held his copy of his orders folded neatly against his notepad. He had reviewed them several times to make certain that he would not forget his orders.

Finally the shuttle stopped and the doors opened. The other passengers rushed out of the door, eager to get settled into their quarters. Tesuro sat patiently until each and every passenger had exited the shuttle and picked up their luggage from the storage compartment. After the riff-raff had settled he calmly jumped out of the shuttle and turned to the storage compartment, its door beginning to close. He quickly tossed out his arm and caught the door before it closed completely, forcing it to pop open again so that he could grab his bags. Hastily he grabbed them and set out on his way to the Yugumo.

The Fleet Yard was a large and unfamiliar place to Tesuro and to any new recruit, but the YSS Yugumo was not difficult to spot. He allowed others to pass in front of him, as most were in more of a rush than he was. Eventually he did make his way into the ship, and with his luggage filling his hands and arms, he held his pen and notepad in his teeth. He swore to himself to never pack them away (save for in his pocket) lest he need to quickly jot down an important event.

As he entered the ship he arrived just after Kiyoe and promptly stood next to her as a sort of signification that he was next in line to have the AI assign him his quarters so he may put away his belongings and report to Kiyoko. He glanced over at her, notepad still tucked between his teeth.

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

As the other recruit drew up to her, Kiyoe looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "Hiya. ... did you need something from me?"

After the briefest of moments, she realized that there was no way he could currently answer- some inconsiderate person had stuck a pad of paper in his mouth. Without warning, she reached up and tried pulling the notebook out.

 

[Tesuro]

Tesuro allowed Kiyoe to remove his notepad from his mouth. As she did, he smacked his lips a few times to return moisture to them so he could speak. He then cleared his throat and nodded to her, "Heh, I'm sorry about that. No-no, I'm simply waiting here to have my quarters assigned to me--I'm a new recruit on this ship."

He ended the last comment with a light smile. She seemed nice enough, and there wasn't any need to purposefully shy away from someone who was assigned aboard the same starship as him. This new experience he knew would be a considerably different experience than basic training and severely alienating himself from someone he would likely be working directly with multiple times would just be foolish.

"Hhh~ow about you?" he semi-forced out of his mouth.

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

"Hmmm..." She leafed through the notebook as she considered her answer. After a few moments, she snapped it shut and declared, "Me too." Glancing at his uniform, she added, "Combat arms, huh? I guess we'll be working together, too. Oh, and I like the hair color!"

She inspected him for a few more seconds before nodding to herself, as if he'd just passed some sort of unspoken test in her head, then thrust a hand at him for a handshake. "I'm Kiyoe, in case you didn't hear me talking to the computer."

 

[Kylen Phylar]

Ichiro smiled, and decided to walk over. "Not to interrupt, but I'm Ichiro. I just got transfer orders here." he said, trying to be friendly.

 

[Tesuro]

Tesuro set one of his bags on the floor beside him, allowing him to free one hand. He was a bit uncomfortable as Kiyoe flipped through his notes, not being one to unveil his passion for writing to anyone, especially those he just met. But to his surprise, he felt a tinge of disappointment as she nonschalantly shut the notepad, even though he knew he would feel embarrassed had she made any comments pertaining to its contents.

With his free hand he took his notepad back from her and tucked it neatly into his pocket, being sure not to wrinkle any of the pages. He watched her as she eyed over his uniform; he hadn't even noticed they were both enlisted as Combat Arms.

She came off very friendly and because of this he was actually quite happy to be in the same unit as her, though the compliment she gave him regarding his hair caught him a bit off guard--he had never been complimented for anything before save for his work on the farm.
"Oh...well thank you! Your hair is very lovely shade of blue; it looks as though you take good care of it!", Tesuro responded, hoping he did not sound strange or as though he had a hair fetish or something of that nature.

As soon as she put her hand out he took his hand out of his pocket and gently grabbed her palm within his and shook her hand ratherly lightly (perhaps even "womanly").
"Actually no, I hadn't heard you, I make it a habit at times to block out the noise around me. But Kiyoe, it's a pleasure to meet such a warm person as yourself. I'm Tesuro. Urameshi. Urameshi Tesuro--but you may call me what you like."

Just as he said this, Ichiro walked over rather suddenly, startling Tesuro a bit (though was prone to surprise). He had enlisted in the army under the notion that he would be solitary, but it suddenly seemed as though fate was ordering him to do otherwise. Not to defy such command, he turned to Ichiro while still somewhat absent-mindedly shaking Kiyoe's hand, and responded, "Ichiro--I'm Tesuro. Where may I ask did you transfer from?"

 

[Kylen Phylar]

"Well....from the barracks, to put it bluntly. I'd rather not talk about my first ship. Trying to think of this as a clean start, ya know?" Ichiro said, nodding. He pointed at the notebook, as part of it was still peaking out. "Like writing eh? Nice hobby for being on a ship. If I end up doing any writing, it's going to end up in a gun magazine or something." he says, trying to be friendly.

 

[Andrew]

Yugumo interrupted the three new recruits, her voice was elegant and feminine "Urameshi Tesuro-Santo Hei, Kiyoe Kanai-Santo Hei, Kobayashi Ichiro Itto Heisho, you are assigned Enlisted Barracks twelve-twenty four A, deck thirty-six. Welcome to the YSS Yugumo, report to the captain's ready room in thirty minutes.â€

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

"Huh. Talk about a coincidence. Looks like we're roomies!" Kiyoe hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and set off in the direction indicated by the map. "Well, c'mon, let's not keep the boss waiting."

 

[Tesuro]

Tesuro turned to the computer as it said his name. He was a bit surprised to find that Ichiro was a higher rank then him and Kiyoe, but since he had transferred from another ship, he figured it was to be expected. Another matter that came as a shock to him was that he would be sharing quarters with a woman. While he knew that he could act gentlemanly he could not account for the actions of others.

He hurriedly walked up to Kiyoe's side, then slowed as he reached her. "We've still a short while before we need to meet with the captain. Maybe we should drop our things off at our quarters beforehand...?"

Wanting her input, he then asked, "Actually on a related note...doesn't it bother you that you're to be roomed with two men?"

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

She shrugged. "Should it? I mean, neither of you seem to be really perverted or anything, I'm sure we'll be fine, unless we have to share a bed or something. Unless you're afraid that I'll give you cooties."

 

[Tesuro]

Tesuro shook his head, then turned to her and chuckled, "No no, nothing like that. I just found it a little unorthodox...but if we're at an understanding, then I suppose there's no problem!"

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

It wasn't long after that when they finally arrived at the room that had been assigned to the three. Kiyoe opened the door with a dramatic flourish, but her enthusiasm faded briefly once she'd gotten a look at the room within. "Wow, you'd think in a ship this big, they could give us something just a bit bigger than a closet to live in." She tossed her belongings on the floor next to one of the low bunks, apparently claiming it for herself. "But I guess this'll be okay. We're probably going to be too busy checking out new planets and fighting stuff to spend much time in here, anyway. Besides, it's a huge ship... I bet there are plenty of places to spend our off-duty hours."

 

[Kylen Phylar]

Ichiro chuckles, having followed silently, memorizing where things were. "It's only a bit better then my last room." he says, grabbing a top bunk to toss his bags and rifle case on. "By the way, unless the commanding officer makes it manditory, I am not one that likes honorifics after my name. It makes me think of some of my other siblings, already out of service, mind you."

 

[Andrew]

The doors of the barracks slid opened; standing there was the white haired, purpled eyed Yugumo, the synthesized body of the ship's AI. "So how are the accommodations? The CO wanted me down here to make sure the three of you made it to her ready room on time—which is in twenty-three minutes. "She paused, watching the three of them. "Enlisted Commons for this deck is in the next section, you might find it more comfortable to spend time there or in the Galaxy Arboretum during your off-duty hours.â€

 

[Kylen Phylar]

Ichiro nodded. "Thank you. Do you wish to be called Yūgumo, or is there another name?" he asked politely. He was ready to go up, already in uniform and all.

 

[Tesuro]

Shuffling into the room, Tesuro laid his bags on an available bed a few spaces away from Ichiro and Keiyo. He didn't mind that the immediate living space was less than spaceous, all he needed was a place to sleep and put his things. Besides, he had heard many good things about the Commons areas aboard the Yamataian starships from his novels, and figured that would be where he would be spending most of his time.

He opened up his luggage and began unpacking his clothes and putting them into various closets and drawers around his sleeping area. He listened to Kiyoe and Ichiro talk, but didn't add in any of his own comments. When he heard the door slide open, he immediately turned around in preparation to salute, but stopped himself when he saw it was simply Yugumo, the ship's AI.

He listened to Yugumo speak, taking note on their time limit to meet with the Shosa. When she mentioned the Arboretum, Tesuro's face lit up. If there was one place that he would be spending most of his time, it would be there.

Tesuro, also in his uniform as per policy, was ready to meet the Shosa. He did not want to go to the Arboretum without ample time to explore it, and twenty minutes was simply not enough time.