RP: 5th XF [Prelude] Point of Origin

(OOC: Caine is seventeen; six years younger than Ichiro. He is not an 'older man' In fact, he is younger than all of the enlisted!)

Tesuro had taken out his notepad while he was still at the height of his good mood. He did not know whether to detail the events of what had happened, or to write a poem relating to how he felt. The notepad was tossed from hand to hand before he made his decision:

Despite my instincts telling me otherwise, I decided to attend the party of my own accord so as to not risk offending the Shosa. The party was not what I expected, and I did not stay long as I was soon subject to the most grand display of sexual immorality I had ever seen or heard of.

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He wrote the former not knowing, of course, of the sexually immoral act he had just committed.

I suppose one would think me strange for running away from a group of naked Nekovalkyrja, known for being the most sexual creatures in the Yamatai Star Empire, but when you are drowning in a sea of wild and horny nekos, the arousal is completely absent. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to talk with Miss Kanai and Ichiro (whose last name I still have not learned), though the former did have the pleasure of seeing me smash my face into the table. Even with all that the night would prove to provide more dilemma for me when I met a man by the name of Akira. Like me he is new to this ship, though he arrived later than I. Naively I got to talking with him and quickly learned what a strange yet fascinating person he was. I am disappointed that our conversation lasted only so long, as he seemed like the type of person with whom I could relate to on an intellectual level. Of course I do not wish to imply that I am smarter than my fellow enlistees, not at all; however there are certain areas of study, such as philosophical and metaphysical, that I would like to discuss with someone and unfortunately my only other comrades do not appear to be the type to be interested in those things (though I loathe myself just a bit for judging them like that without them having shown me otherwise). But much to my dismay, I overreacted to the fact that Akira's sexual preference was such that it involved an eye for me and the rest of my gender, and I foolishly ran off, leaving him there without a word. That was not something I would normally have done; I have no problem with his sexual choices and view them very objectively. With whom he enjoys to have relations with is his own business and I do not look down on him for favoring male genitalia over female genitalia; I am certainly not that shallow. However with all the other stresses I had endured over the night and the overwhelming sexual energy of the entire affair I entered a sort of "fight or flight" mode which ended with me choosing the latter. I hope to find that man again soon and apologize to him, he did not deserve such a harsh reaction and it disturbs me to a very high degree that I may have offended him and that he may now think me a bigot. But in another blunder of poor choices and confusion, instead of approaching the situation in a mature and logical way as I normally would, I decided to drown myself in alcohol and and bathe myself with cold water like a common drunkard.

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Tesuro paused, knowing what he would write next but not entirely sure how to begin or how much detail to put in. He knew that the possibility of his notepad being found was very real, and did not want any concrete evidence pertaining to what he and Kiyoko had done. His fear revolved around the possibility that his equals would treat him with disdain, thinking him in high favor of the Shosa, and shunning him from typical activities. Being the loner that he was, he knew how to occupy his time alone, but he had always been solitary of his own accord, not because he had been outcasted by his peers. Shaking his head, he continued, telling himself that he must chronicle all important events, no matter how risky it was to do so, if he wanted to write a full and engaging book.

That poor choice would prove to work against me, as I had been indulging myself in drink for about 20 minutes when Kiyoko came to my room, quite mysteriously. I could not imagine why she would come to see me, alone, seemingly without warning, but I was not about to deny her entry. I let her in and tried in vain to conceal my drunken nervousness, but despite my state she treated me with respect, and we began talking. She told me of her mothers and thinks of that ilk, and I found her to be most interesting. She became very relatable to me and in my mind I took her off of this far-off, otherworldly pedastal of superior ranking. It was not long after that that things became playful...and soon very intimate. I was taken from one world of seclusion, isolation, and a certain degree of naivete into this world of raw sexuality that only the two of us shared. I don't care to go into the details of our relations here, as that would be unnecessary and distasteful, but I will say that it was incredible. I know she had other lovers before me, but I hope that my time with her will stand out, and will allow me to seek her our again. It is a strange feeling, what I have now, in the very pit of my stomach. I know Kiyoko not very well, yet I have this yearning to learn more. I want to know her in and out: her past, her future plans, her passions, desires, likes, dislikes, how she feels, how she functions...everything anyone could want to know about another person. In doing this however, I fear I may have taken her from one pedastal to another, and I wish only to treat her as my equal; worthy of my interest and curiousity, but not revered as the object of sexual and emotional NEED. Such attention may scare her off, and I do not want to do that. I plan to take my relationship with her as far as I can, and I hope that she, too, feels the same way about me...

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Quickly he flipped the notepad shut and tucked the pen back in its place. He shook his hand from writing so much, trying to get the blood flowing properly. Placing the notepad on his lap, he felt that he needed to write more--to portray his feelings in a more pure way. A poem is what he needed, but his current environment was not suitable enough for inspiration. He then resolved to sleep for a while, as his natural Yamataian body needed but a few hours for total refueling, then wake up a couple of hours before the next day's briefing at 0600, go to the Arborteum (which will have been cleaned by that time) and allow his surroundings to drive him to write.

Suddenly he heard a loud crash outside and he stood up quickly, careful not to hit his head on the top bunk. He walked to the door and into the corridor, looking out into the commons when he reached the end. Instead of walking completely out, he merely peered from the side and looked in. He saw Ichiro helping up the blonde haired man he had seen pantsless at the party and Kiyoe fixing the couch, which had apparently fallen over. What he happened, he had no idea, but just as he was about to go out and ask what the commotion was about, he noticed Akira in the room with them.

Shit! he thought. He jumped back behind the corridor, still wanting to apologize to Akira, but not in front of everyone. Does this mean he'll be sharing these quarters...?

Dwelling on this thought for just a moment, he resolved to immediately go to bed to avoid having to speak with him in front of the others. He figured it would be easier to take Akira aside when they were both up and rested in the morning than to barge into the full room and start apologizing to Akira, blurting out in front of everyone his opinions on homosexuality and how he still respected Akira. That was private and needed to be discussed privately, so he quickly escaped back into the bunks, having not made a noise or said a word, and jumped under his covers.

Ichiro walked in after Akira, and, after pulling his duster and pants off, climbed under the covers, putting his drawing and pencil away. Snuggling up to his pillow, he fell asleep. His dream stared an angel.

"I, er..." Kiyoe felt like she was under a moral obligation to offer Caine some insight about his situation, but she was fresh out of aphorisms at the moment. She settled for shrugging and lamely remarking, "She'll probably get over it." As insights went, it was pretty anemic, but she liked to think that it was better than nothing.

She hesitated for a moment. It didn't seem right to just leave him alone when he'd just upset a friend, but at the same time, she was quite ready to get some sleep. Conversationally, she said, "Well... I'm going to get some sleep. See you tomorrow, I suppose," and headed toward her room.

Caine nodded to the others as they left to turn in for the evening, it was getting pretty late after all. He was tired too but he felt a moral obligation to at least try to stay up a little while longer. "Thanks Kiyoe, I know she will but still I feel bad about upsetting her" he said as he got to his feet and dusted off. When she started to head for the door and chuckled. "good night then and I'll more than likely see you tomorrow." he said and sat down on the couch they'd righted. His mind going over all the events of the day, it still bothered him slightly that he'd left Pisces like that but that was necessary. What bothered him more was upsetting Kiyoko like that, but he really couldn't have known she'd react in such a way.

With that thought he headed out and down the corridor. Let's see here, I want to make it special for Kiyoko to make it up to her... I have an idea... He thought as he got the lift up to the next level and headed for his quarters. Caine knew he'd more than likely be sharing them with Kiyoko as traditional precedent in the Star Army, which would lead him to think his idea would work.

Once he got to his quarters he set the jacket and shirt aside and looked around. "Wow these rooms are huge, with all that's happened I haven't been in one before. I'm used to those closets they called bunks on other ships." he mused. "Oh well I'd better get down to it." he chuckled.

By the time Kiyoko would arrive in the room Caine would've had it set up with the lights dimmed to be about the light levels candles would generate, holographic candles around the room, and a small bouquet of hemosynthetically-created bellflowers laying on the bed for her. Caine would be waiting sitting in a chair in the dark for her.

While he was waiting he was softly singing an old song he'd picked up back home.

When I was alone as one,
my eyes were as blind, I know.
Sky brilliant with blue elegance,
I couldn't behold.

When I was alone as one,
My heart was as ice, so cold.
Wind whispering sweet melodies,
I could not behold.

Sight to my eyes,
and warmth to my heart,
Your love has been such to me.

Pull closer now,
And strengthen my leaning,
Toward love to heal all my wounds.

When our hearts both beat in time,
There's magic in your smile,
It seems there's nothing we can't do.

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((OOC credits: This song is actually from the game Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, I claim no rights over it as it's previously copywritten by Working Designs))

Kiyoko entered her and Caine's quarters expecting to have to throw him out for the night. She let out a soft sigh, picking up the bellflowers and taking a deep breath. This is really sweet of you Caine-I am sorry I pushed you; I just expected a little more compassion, those were my friends out there. I stood by you when you needed me, I just expected the same from you.

Kiyoko put down the flowers on her night table and said to Caine, We have to be on the bridge in a few hours, I hope I don't disappoint you but I hope you can just hold me so I can get my mind off the Yamahata and get some sleep... She sat down on the bed after getting undressed.

Caine just shook his head and walked over and sat down next to her, hearing her soft-voiced thoughts in his head. It's ok Kiyoko, I'm sorry I didn't know you had friends on that ship. he replied to her, blushing slightly as she undressed in preparation to hit the sack. He would do the same, undressing as well seeming as she didn't have a problem with it. He would walk over and sit down beside her, gently slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close gently. I'm sorry, what I did was wrong, for that I'm sorry. And you don't disappoint me he said to her, trying to offer mental and physical comfort. "I'll hold you for as long as you need." Caine blushed. "But I'd rather not let you go." he purred, nuzzling her gently.

A faint and gentle humming from the engines echoed quietly across the shuttle. Kishou stared wistfully, looking through the windowed glass beside her seat, at her own reflection in its mirrored surface. The Lion's cabin was dark, illuminated only by the incandescent gases of the nebula that hid the mighty YSS Yugumo.

She was torn. On one hand, imposed upon her eyes, were streaming images. This was a flagship. The first Takumi Command Cruiser. A massive vessel charted with searching the depths of space. It was perhaps the greatest ship she would ever get to serve on. It was an honour to be trusted with protecting a starship of this magnitude.

But on the other hand, Kishou knew far too well the Yugumo would be heading out and away from the turmoil of an Empire that needed every soldier it could get. Each passing day saw the desperate struggle over the vile Mishu eke closer and closer to the Star Army's inevitable victory. It pained her to know that she would not be one of the many charged with making this destined future come to pass.

Her HUD faded away as her new home slowly came into real view. She watched it grow larger, more solid, as the nebula slowly parted. Kishou grinned and giggled to herself. Oh the fun she would have on that lovely lady...

An almost imperceptible shift in direction signalled the shuttle's final approach. There was no feeling of momentum or inertia, not a single indication. One of the miraculous beauties of the CDD...a sooth and graceful beast of a system. Much preferred to those fossil-like ion engines. She nodded in agreement with herself. Why they still trained with those was something of a mystery.

Just in case I guess...

The Lion circled around to the rear of the Yugumo and prepared to dock. A few, scant more seconds saw it pass through the environmental shields. It landed and the exit ramp lowered. There was a stirring as the passengers either awoke or prepared to disembark. It was late. Even the busy launch preparations were being conducted in dim lighting.

Kishou disembarked and took a deep breath of the air she was going to be breathing for the next age. It was clean and processed like every other ship. Just how things should be. She blinked and linked with the WIES.

"Yugumo? Kigetsuki Kishou-Hei reporting for duty on orders from Mayumi-Taisho. I request confirmation of my arrival and an audience with Motoyoshi-Shosa as soon as possible. The location of my room would be nice too...pretty please?â€

It was late. Or rather, very early, depending upon how one looked at it. Tesuro willed himself awake and slowly stirred in his bed, careful not to make any noise. There were still a good time left before everyone would need to be up for the departure and briefing later, but he wanted to take some time to himself, knowing that when the morning came he would be shifted around the ship endlessly in order to perform various tasks.

Though it was early, and Tesuro had gotten but a few precious hours of rest, it was all that he needed to get through. If he felt tired later the next day, he would simply ask Kiyoko if he may retire early, though he sincerely doubted he would need to resort to that. Shifting up in his bed he did not make a sound; the padding of the beds were obviously very high quality. Though they were not paragons of comfort, their silence spoke volumes. Slowly he swung his legs off the bunk and stood up, looking at his roomates. Kiyoe, Ichiro, and Akira were all asleep, so he would need to be sure not to wake them.

However, he could not simply leave. The events of the night before were quick, hectic, and unpredictable. Before he had fallen asleep he had yet to brush his teeth, and his skin and hair still clung with the faint smell of sex. Obviously he could not allow things to stay as such, so he entered the shower room and after stripping his clothes he took a shower off at the far end of the area, hoping the falling of the water would not awaken them. The pipes too, must have been considerably clean and well crafted, as they too did not make any extraneous noises. After his quick shower, he vigorously dried himself off, not leaving any parts of himself wet as he did after his liason with Kiyoko, and then proceeded to brush his teeth. Though his logic could be questioned, he opted to brush them twice: once for the night before and one for the current morning.

He did not put on any leisure clothes, and instead dressed out in his uniform, figuring that he would be staying up until everyone else arose anyway. Peaking out of the shower room, he saw that everyone was still asleep. So, he crept out very sneakily, not making a sound, trying to navigate the pitch-dark room. However just as he made it to the exit, his foot smacked against the wall, making a somewhat loud noise and requiring him to cover his own mouth to stifle the yelp of pain he instinctively wanted to make. He stopped--looking at everyone, making sure they did not wake up, and luckily nobody made a move. After the pain subsided, he slowly (and much more cautiously this time) made his way out of the room and into the commons.

Shielding his eyes from the light of the commons area after he exitted, he made his way out, as he did not have any business there. Eventually he was able to remove his hand from above his eyes as he made his way to the Arboretum. But on his way there he encountered something most unexpected. He walked out of a corridor and right in the view of Kishou, who had just recently arrived on the ship. Believing himself to be the only person on the Yugumo awake, he was naturally surprised.

Stopping in his tracks, he waved to her slightly, a bit perplexed at why this stranger was up so early in the morning.

Corridor upon corridor floated past. Kishou twisted this way and that as she looked down every turnoff and examined every junction. Taken all together, there were over five kilometres of corridor to navigate. Big place. But very empty...then again, everyone was asleep. Suddenly, another person appeared. He looked about as startled as Kishou herself – neither one expecting to see another living soul for a good while yet. He stopped and waved. She landed, feet touching the deck, and bowed slightly. Smiling pleasantly.

The man before her was...well, he was a man for a start. You didn't see too many of those in the military; with sky-blue hair and deep green eyes. Handsome would be a good word to use. What's more, obviously being a Yamataian, he'd lived a loooong time. Perhaps he'd have some interesting stories to tell?

"Ohayou, senpai...â€

01:30 HRS: 4.5 HRS UNTIL ALPHA DUTY CALL

Kigetsuki-Hei, I have made a note for the Shosa to be alerted in the morning of your arrival and have scheduled for you to meet with her tentatively in her ready-room before the morning duty call. Yugumo continued, You are to be in enlisted barracks twenty-five A. The enlisted barracks listed was the one next door to twenty-four A; occupied by Kiyoe, Akira, Tesuro, and Ichiro.

Creighton rolled in his sleep uneasily. His mind could not rest, whether because of the mass quantity of alcohol he consumed or because of the anxiety of the coming mission. Either way the Yamataian could not focus his mind on the task of sleeping and rest.

Then he heard it. Light talking, almost whispering. A bleary eyed Creighton groaned as he sat up in bed. The voices were getting louder. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them several times to no avail. The voices now were barely understandable.

Creighton's eyes shifted to focus in the darkness of his room. As his vision became clearer Creighton began to realize he was alone in his room. The voices continued to hiss nothing but gibberish. His head swept left and right as he propped his body up with both his arms.

I'm to tired for this shit... Creighton commented in his mind. Almost immediately the voices stopped. The silence that followed gave the young man an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Yugumo?

Yes, Creighton-Chui? The ship responded softly.

The friendly voice put Creighton at ease, but it didn't clear his confused mind. Uh, yes, nothing... Actually yes, what time is it, Yugumo?

1:47 AM. You only have 3.8 hours until you wanted to be woken up, do you still want me to do so?

Creighton blinked a couple times at his darkened room and its walls. Yes... Yes, I think I still need some sleep. After finishing the thought Creighton laid back, pulling his arms across his chest and stomach. His face tightened in concern but slowly was relaxing.

Yes, of course. Good night Creighton-Chui.

Senpai...? he thought curiously. That was certainly not a term he was used to hearing himself referred to by. Of course, he did not take it even slightly negatively, he was simply not used to it.

Tesuro gave the curious neko a look-over; she was cute, and like many other nekos, quite pretty. She gave off an air of childishness, though not entirely a bad thing, at least not something that would annoy Tesuro. Her orange hair caught his eye, framing the features of her face. She was pretty, yes, but she lacked that womanly finesse that Tesuro found himself attracted to. So in this, he was able to approach and speak with her easily and naturally, especially given his recent boost of self-confidence.

Approaching her, he bowed lightly saying, "It's nice to meet you, Kishou. I am Urameshi Tesuro--or just Tesuro, but you may call me what you like." He ended with a small, warm smile, having introduced himself to this new recruit the same way he had with Kiyoe.

"I'm sure I can help you, I've only been on this ship for a day myself, but it isn't too difficult to navigate, really. Tell me which room you'll be located in and I'll be more than happy to lead you there."

The man introduced himself; Tesuro...a rugged name. Kishou noted his rank pin with a cursory glance. They were the same class. Good, that made talk a little easier – not that you couldn't talk casually with officers (it was just some of them would rather not). "Pleased to meet you too."

She puased for a second; standing motionless in the cushion-lined passageway while she checked the time. Yia, still plenty of time before I'm due to meet with the Shosa. Oh! I don't even know she's like. Ack...

"Urmm...looks like I'm being stuffed in...barracks 25-A. I think that's somewhere around here. Unless I'm really, really lost.â€

Tesuro was a bit taken aback by her worry over the attitude of Kiyoko. He smiled and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Kishou. Kiyoko-shosa does not hold rank above the individual, as you're probably used to. She's willing to hear the thoughts and opinions of everybody on this ship, and as long as you're willing to follow her loyally you'll get along fantastically." he said, adding: "I know I certainly did."

He took his hand from her shoulder and crossed his arms in thought, "Twenty-five A, hmm...well, my barracks are twenty-four A. So I suppose that would make your room right next to mine." Pointing down the way he just came, he continued, "If you continue down that corridor and turn at the first intersection, you'll find it down there very plainly. The accomodations are quite nice, and the Shosa even hinted at more comfortable arrangements...so I don't think you'll find sleep much of a problem here, my friend."

"Yay!â€

Drip...Drip...Drip Something stirred at the corridor's end just beyond Tesuro and Kishou. The deck seemed to moan, the lights flickered like a strobe, when they would look they would see it only for a moment.

A Phalanx armor with its head removed, and held beneath its left appendage-blood dripping from the helmet. The name Draco etched within the severed head unit.

Another moan, the lights flickered returning to normal and the armor was gone, and not a drop of blood remained. The only remains of its visit upon them, the smell of ash within the air.

***

In the room where Akira, Ichiro and Kiyoe now were all had gone fairly quiet. The disembodied voices whispered there, as they had to Creighton.

"You Heard the XO! Everyone out and in battle formation."

"Alright Delta, time to take off!"

"No! No! Noooooooooooooo!"

It wasn't the sounds that grabbed your attention. This was a huge ship. Dozens of people were working on it. It was the lights. They were the sort of thing you'd just turn and look at because it was different – flickering lights that is. You always turned to look at flickering lights.

Kishou stopped dead and, all things considered, she rather wished she hadn't looked. After all, a headless, bleeding suit dripping with gore was not the sort of thing you wanted to see at 2:00 in the morning. The young neko blinked in disbelief and drew fast but in the space of an instant it was gone...leaving behind it only the pungent scent of death and burning.

Kishou slowly, reluctantly, holstered her pistol and turned her head around to Tesuro.

"Tesuro-san...â€

Kiyoe wasn't asleep just yet, but she was still groggy enough to mistake the source of the noise, deciding that it was one of her roommates watching or listening to something in bed. Pulling a pillow over her head with a huff, she loudly whispered, "Hey, turn that off! We're on duty in like four hours..."

Sheesh, I should've known this would happen if they stuck me with a lot of guys. I can see right now that we'll need to lay down some rules tomorrow...

Kiyoko nuzzled against Caine, her eyes drifting closed as she said Goodnight... Soon enough she was out like a light, drifting off to sleep-knowing she had but a few hours before she had to be up. She knew however, that Caine would likely sleep until the last possible moment-his habits like clockwork.