RP: YSS Miharu Prologue, Day 1

[Doshii Jun]

SCENE: Scorpio Base

The pistol felt good in Yukari's hands. The wooden grip felt just the right size in her hands. She'd never become used to the NSP, no matter the grip. Something about the weight of the GSP worked. And the spur hammer was a nice touch, fitting well with the somewhat-blocky slide that was just shallow enough. 15 rounds gave it the perfect balance, though less did not ruin the balance much.

So, when she took aim at the blue and white holographic target 20 meters down the range inside the base, she felt confident. After all, it wasn't a hard shot. She'd done this well with the NSP in basic training.

"KAMI, range clear," she said.

The computer acknowledged the range was clear.

Yukari smoothly cocked the hammer on the gun and aimed again. She applied just enough pressure on the trigger to make it break.

Ban!

Instead of waiting, Yukari aimed and took another shot. Then two more.

Ban! Ban ban!

One more shot and she put the gun down. Five rounds was enough for a group, Yukari had been told by the rangemaster. "KAMI, present target," she said, recalling the list of commands she'd been given.

The computer responded by displaying an image panel in front of Yukari, just beyond the bench where several other pistols were. It was a zoomed display of her score. The bottom of the hole was about 15 millimeters above the center of the target. It was large, spanning the width of the bullseye. Yukari frowned.

"KAMI, is this score satisfactory?"

The computer responded with text on the image panel. "The score is considered above average."

Her frown did not disapate."KAMI, target set to 40 meters."

As the image panel disappeared, the blue and white target was pushed back another 20 meters. The hole in it before was erased. Yukari picked up her GSP again and narrowed her gaze on the small dot in front of her. She slowly and meticulously aimed her pistol again. She fired two shots three times, taking about four seconds between each set.

"KAMI, present target."

Yukari put the pistol down as the computer zoomed in on the target again and brought a panel up for her to see. The grouping was roughly the same, above the center dot by about 20 millimeters this time. "KAMI, is this score satisfactory?"

"This score is considered above average," the computer replied textually.

"Thank you, KAMI." Yukari unloaded the magazine from the gun and opened the box of rounds she'd been using. There were, not coincidentally, 10 rounds left. She loaded them into the magazine and ejected the round left in the GSP. She slipped that one into the magazine too and gently pushed it back into the pistol, leaving the chamber empty with the safety off. The pistol went smoothly back into the holster on her right hip. She smiled and looked down at the other weapon at her disposal, which rested on her left hip-- a Type 29 NSP.

She'd already tried it. For a small weapon it was surprisingly accurate. And it fit perfectly at her other hip, much better than the much bigger Type 28. Such a cute little gun, she thought. And she'd paid enough for it too -- another reason to like old-fashioned weapons.

Yukari bowed to the rangemaster as she left, considering making a call to Nyton. The rangemaster, however, stopped her.

"Taii-san, your scores were very good," the Nekovalkyrja said. "Have you practiced long?"

A forehead with a bloody hole in it bubbled inside Yukari's mind. She smiled. "No. I suppose I am a natural, Mastah-san."

"Natural indeed," the Neko replied. "Please come again soon."

Yukari bowed with a smile, and walked off. She took out her datapad and tapped a command to the KAMI to open a communication window with Nyton. "Claymere-Juni? Are you there?"

 

[Brady Dust]

"This damn base...I hope that the ship I've been assigned to won't be as labyrinthine as this." Morita scratched his head and readjusted all of his worldly possessions on his back, causing a little more than a few pots and pans to shift loudly in response. "Maybe I can find somebody to help me out..."

The corridor was long and lonely, but at the end of it lay an intersection. Cold doors with dangerous markings on them reminded the new recruit that he would get a lot more than a slap on the wrist sniffing around. He set off with the mantra repeating itself in his head - "Meet somebody helpful...Somebody helpful...Somebody helpful..."

Who would have thought he almost barreled into someone a full head and shoulders shorter than him. He was about to take another step forward but, looking down just in time, Morita stopped himself and backed up a few steps to take in the person - woman, it was a woman - before him.

Someone up there likes me, Morita thought in his head. "Greetings, ma'am, I have recently just made it onto the station and I'm looking for where I can put my belongings until the Miharu is ready to be boarded. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?" He offered a friendly and honest smile to her. She seemed a nice sort, and she'd definitely be able to help Morita out - or so he hoped.

"If you'd actually just point me to the mess hall around here, I think I can get you a nice meal as a way of thanks."

Morita adjusted the pack once more, grunting a little. The pack was easily large enough to fit the Yamataian woman in front of him in with room to spare, and filled to what appeared to be near bursting (mostly from the kitchen and cutlery he has stored inside), it couldn't be all that light. Each shift showed that Morita was getting more and more fatigued by the minute. The walk to the end of the corridor had been more than enough to give him a couple of beads of sweat on his brow. Let it not be said that being a cook is not a strenuous duty...

 

[Nyton]

Nyton had become intrigued with the base they were docked in and seeing as they had some downtime before the new ship was ready he took it upon himself to begin some exploration. He had stowed his gear in a holding room of sorts and was outfitted in his uniform with his standard sidearm holstered. We're in a secure base of unknown location. You don't need to be armed. admonished one voice in his mind. Never let your guard down. You know what happens to those who do. warned another voice. With that discussion settled he proceeded to go about and see what he could within his clearance levels. I imagine I should be getting a higher clearance since this ship is going to be pursuing more sensitive issues. Perhaps I'll finally get a better rundown on these Black Spiral forces I've been so out of the loop over.

A feeling of melancholy had risen as a result of leaving the Sakura. He had returned to the ship with a little hope of seeing his former crew mates but he hadn't had a chance to even talk to Rufus who was in command of another ship and far too busy for a quick chat. Nyton found that the current crew, while certainly enjoyable, were not what he was looking for in a ship. He found himself more then a little surprised that the captain of the ship would conduct herself in such a familiar manner with the crew. The party was one thing but it would seem that such familiarity was not creating solidarity but rather quite the opposite. Then again he did find Yukari Taii to be rather interesting, did he not? Perhaps.

Then again it was also having to give up his first command of the Armor wing that also caused him to feel this mood about him. But it could not be helped. As much as he had enjoyed commanding an Armor wing, he would have to find new horizons. A new class of ship was just where his calling lead him to go. Nyton shook such thoughts of regret out of his head, finalized it, and decided to proceed in the task of learning more about the Harpy and Daisy models, as well as becoming more familiar with flying the T4. He still had the orders logged and would discuss the matter with Kotori once he had the chance.

As Nyton continued his exploration he suddenly received a call.

"Claymere-Juni? Are you there?"

He recognized the voice to be Yukari's and promptly replied. "I'm here Yukari Taii. I was just taking a stroll around the base. Can I help you with anything?"

 

[Doshii Jun]

Yukari blinked. She now had two men to deal with at once, and while some women found that situation enticing, she was slightly overwhelmed.

The one in front of her was ... interesting. His hair was at the very least; so long for a man, and yet beautiful at the same time. She caught herself before the urge to stroke it came to anything. His eyes too were strange, being such a violet color she'd never seen its equal. He was tough, holding that huge duffle like he was. Yukari made a mental note to thank the polite Nitô Hei who had taken her things for her until the new ship was ready.

Odd, that he'd mentioned it, she thought. The offer of a meal was very forward, especially for a potential crewmember. Not that he knew that. He was nice enough, but something was off about him. Yukari recalled a Neko's words after she'd turned down a proposition from a Geshrin captain -- "Not my type."

My uniform does stand out among the 'night,' she reasoned, casting an eye toward a black-suited Neko walking by.

"One moment, please," Yukari said to the man in front of her, turning to her image window. "Claymere-Juni, may I meet with you in a moment? Someone has requested my help." She smiled sweetly at the grey-haired warrant officer, wondering why he used her first name, though she understood the misstated rank -- she had just received her rank pin before going into the range and hadn't put it on.

She looked to the man in front of her, avoiding capture from those violet eyes. "I am Chui Suzuka Yukari, executive officer of the Miharu. If you would like, I am sure someone would be willing to store your personal cargo where mine was placed."

 

[Brady Dust]

Ho, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to ask one of my superior officers for directions. But, so be it. Can't back away now. Probably. Though, she does have a nice smile, even if it isn't directed at me...

Morita let his right hand go on the shoulder strap of the duffel and gave a salute, best he could given the circumstances. "That would be a capital idea, XO-san.

"Well, I'm sure if you just point me in the right direction, I can see that you have some other business to attend to in the right direction. No doubt, it's probably more important than helping me find my way around."

He paused to consider his words. "Ah, I'm Nitô Hei Kamiyama Morita. I'm going to be the ship's cook and caretaker. So, perhaps not now, but when I have the kitchen prepared on the Miharu I'd like you to stop by." Morita paused again, thinking that he may have bored her. He took a step back and saluted once again, then took off at what could only be described as a dead run back the way he came - or, as much of a run as he could manage, given his equipment.

***

Shortly after his departure and rounding several corners, he slowed down to catch his breath.

Wait. Why did I run? Inborn fear of a commanding officer? The embarassment of asking said officer out on what could be taken as a date? A man asking woman to come with him for a meal...I don't think it could really be taken another way. He set down his duffel bag and patted himself down, looking for his leatherbound book. It would probably be a good idea to write down that it isn't a good idea to accidentally ask a commanding officer out for a bite to eat.

Only...It wasn't where it was supposed to be. The place he had kept it on his vest was bereft of anything other than his undershirt. As it dawned on him what must have happened, he looked back the way he came, and a look of abject horror crossed his face. That book had psychological profiles of everybody that was to be stationed on the ship and his personal comments regarding them. If the XO had read what he wrote about her psych profile...

"Oh, no..."

 

[Nyton]

Nyton looked at Yukari's image on the new window that had popped up after his reply. She appeared to be talking to someone else at the same time.

"Claymere-Juni, may I meet with you in a moment? Someone has requested my help."

He nodded at her reply. "Certainly. I'll use a map of the station and we can rendezvous at a midway point, unless you have somewhere specific you would like to meet in mind." Nyton said. He brought up another window with a map layout and two locators showing his position and Yukari's.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Yukari scarcely had time to utter a "It's no trouble" before Morita hop-dashed away. The officer wasn't sure what to make of the man -- he didn't bow, he ended conversations with officers on his own accord, and seemed very forward.

A muffled sigh escaped Yukari's lips as Morita barely made it around a corner and out of her sight. She had wondered if there would be an eccentric or two on her new assignment; there always seemed to be one, though she had hoped against hope. Aiyaa ... it was wishful thinking after all.

Her attention quickly returned to the image panels before her, one of which was a map showing her position (a grey dot) and Nyton's (a red dot). She smiled. "Ah, gomen, Claymere-Juni. Let us meet ... here?" She poked a point on the map, about half way between them along the edge of the station, which was represented with a white dot. "I will be there as soon as I can." She smiled as Nyton gave an affirmative and the communication panel was closed.

Yukari looked up from the map for a moment. Her eye caught something not far from her -- a small book. She went to pick it up; it was a nice leather-bound journal of some sort. Kamiyama-Hei's? She flipped through the pages and noted it was all hand written ... poorly. A notebook?

It wasn't polite to read a person's notebook or journal, whichever the attractive book was. The leather actually smelled wonderful, as if it was well cared for. She smiled and slipped the book into her left thigh pocket. I will give it to him later, she thought as she began walking toward the rendevous point.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Hm...This is something of a problem. On the one hand, I ran out on a commanding officer after asking her for a date before even hearing her reply, and I dropped my book. It'd probably be awkward if I crossed paths with her again in so short a time - then I'd have to explain why I ran off so suddenly, and what if she looked through the book and found her entry ... An overactive imagination does wonders to reduce a grown man to gibberish. Morita took a bit of his hair and put it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully for about two seconds before grimacing.

The flight to Scorpio Base was long and uncomfortable, and having long hair sucking up sweat from his back amounted to an altogether bad taste in his mouth. "Oh, man, what am I going to do..." He ran his hands through his scalp, visibly scrubbing his head while he tried to figure out a way to fix the mess he just made for himself.

Yukari, on the other hand, was in no such mess. She smiled as she walked along the edge of the base, idling twirling the lanyard attached to the pistol on her hip. Nyton was not far away, or so she thought. Then, idly, she glanced down a corridor and noticed something. "Kamiyama-Hei ... ?" she said quietly.

"Ah? Yes?" He spun around and looked towards the end of the corridor, with his mouth being partially gagged by his own hair, the rest of it being rifled through by both of his hands. He opened his mouth and let the hair swing to one side. "Oh, hello again, Suzuka-Chui." He bowed once and then snapped to salute again.

"Bowing is fine, Kamiyama-Hei. I am not a Taisho, after all." Yukari smiled sweetly and approached the soldier. "You did not find someone to take your bags?"

"Ah, um. No. XO-san. Suzuka-Chui." He lowered his arm from salute and let his shoulders slack. "This base may be big, but it has empty hallways. Most people are probably attending to their duties here."

"Ah sou, sou. I will call someone in a moment." Yukari looked at Morita a little more closely. "Are you tired, Kamiyama-Hei? Perhaps you should rest."

"Hm? Tired?" Morita paused to consider the question. "It was a pretty long flight, and I have been walking around this place for some time now, but I wouldn't say that I'm tired. I'm just...Worried." He looked down at Yukari, trying to achieve eye contact with her. "The truth is...I seem to have lost something very important to me."

"Lost something?" Yukari frowned. "That is not good. What was it?"

"Promise me you won't laugh at me when I tell you," Morita said, quietly. "It may sound kind of silly, but I've had it with me ever since before my mother died."

"I will tell no one." Yukari seemed concerned.

"The truth is...I keep nutritional profiles and comments on people's eating habits in there. Regular customers I worked at, fellow squad mates, and so on. It helps me when I'm making new things for them to try, and has some personalized recipes in there with those notes." Nice, Morita! While all of that stuff is true that I'm telling her, I'll just conveniently skip over the psychological profile stuff... "It's something that I always keep with me. I had already started to consider things for the Miharu's crew, but nothing solid, yet."

"Ah, sou ... you mean, a notebook?" Yukari appeared a little confused. Morita hadn't mentioned what it was. He seems ... nervous. Hm.

So...She does have it. Probably. "You...didn't look in it...Did you?" Morita looked away, as if to make sure there were no people eavesdropping, and leaned a little closer.

Why would that matter? Yukari smiled and removed a small book from her stretchsuit thigh pocket. "So it is this notebook?"

Morita's eyes grew wide. "Yes, that's the one."

"It has been some time since I have read handwritten Japanese and English," Yukari said with a smile. "It is very hard to read."

"Ah, yes. Well, when you're in a kitchen environment, it's hard to use expensive electronic equipment because of the tempurature and humidity...I've had to work in different kitchens, so whatever language was spoken the most I tended to write in," Morita said.

"I am surprised you had time to write at all in a kitchen," Yukari said with a smile. "You are industrious, neh?"

"Well, there are a few times when I get a smoke break or after closing, I like to write down certain things. Certainly when I'm on the line I don't have time to do it, everything moves too fast." Morita seemed to breathe a little easier, with the leatherbound book in plain view.

"Smoke break?" Yukari frowned. "There is no smoking on Yamatai, I thought."

"That's what they used to call it, way back when. An old cook's tradition," Morita said. "But really, all we do when we're on break is have a glass of water or soda nowadays, since that's one of the few things we could do in such a short amount of time."

Yukari smiled. "Ahhh, sou desu neh. I did not know that." She idly ran her hands along the book's cover. "It is a very nice book."

"There's a long history behind how I got that book," Morita said. "It used to just be bits and pieces of paper before I could get the book rebound into that cover."

Morita sighed and leaned back, stretching. "It's a wonder it's lasted all these years. Quality craftsmanship."

"That is why the paper is different then? And the writing instruments used to write in it?" Yukari looked at the bind, not totally paying attention.

"Y...Yeah. Whatever was handy got used." Morita shifted his weight from foot to foot, secretly hoping that she wouldn't open the book. Though, it would probably be a bad idea for him to simply demand the book from her - after all, she did return it to him, and judging by her reaction, she probably didn't see what he wrote about her in there...

"Sou desu," Yukari said. She opened the book to a random page and smelled it deeply. She sighed and closed the book. "I love the smell of paper. Do you as well?"

"Well, a lot of places don't use paper so much anymore, many places are using digitized things. But, there is a certain thing about paper that makes you feel that what's written on it has some...weight, you know?" What am I even talking about? How did we get to the smell of paper in the first place? Did she just smell my book? Can officers read just by smelling paper? Argh, I'm getting worked up over nothing, she didn't see anything, so it's okay...

Morita's thoughts continued to race at an unbelieveable speed, destinations absurd.

Yukari smiled and returned the book to him. "I am sorry for being so scattered; it has been too long since I have held a real book."

"Well, I do have a few with me, though they're all cookbooks." Morita was quick in putting the book away to where it was supposed to be, safe and sound. "I have recipes all over the place, either in digital format or on paper." He decided to shift the topic towards something else. "That person who you were going to meet with...Is he also going to be serving on the ship?"

"Ah -- hai!" A distressed look came over Yukari's face. "I forgot about Claymere-Juni, our 'ace' armor pilot. Would you like to come with us?"

"Uh...That's okay with me, but...Where?" Morita said.

"Honestly, I do not know. I was going to meet him first. Please, come." Yukari motioned for Morita to follow her.

"Ah, yes, Suzuka-Chui." Morita grabbed his bag and hefted it up, slinging it on his back with a grunt. "Feel free to lead the way."

Yukari smiled and did just that. Hmmmm ... he is crafty for a cook. Something is not right.

END

 

[Nyton]

Nyton arrived at the white dot that marked the intended rendezvous point on the map. He then noticed that there was no one around yet. "I must be early." he said before he checked the map again. "Hm, it seems Yukari's has stopped moving. I wonder what kept her?"

 

[Doshii Jun]

"Claymere-Juni!" Yukari waved as she approached the meeting place. Morita was just behind her. "I am sorry, my help was needed again." She stepped up to the pilot with a warm smile and bowed a little.

"May I introduce Kamiyama Morita-Hei? He is our new cook and caretaker."

 

[Nyton]

Nyton gave Yukari a slight bow back and looked at Morita. "It's quite alright Suzuka Taii. And it is good to meet you too Morita-Hei. Just so you know I prefer my pancakes with lots of butter and my orange juice with lots of pulp."

 

[Brady Dust]

Morita nodded to Nyton. "Ah, I will make a note of it. Though, I shouldn't think you eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner..." Morita set about patting himself down for a pen to make an addition to his book. He quickly gave up when he remembered that he lost it before flying out.

"I had pictured you as a hashbrowns and sausage kind of guy, Claymere-Juni. Hm, no matter, though. I hear you are the best of the best when it comes to piloting armor," Morita said. May as well make a friend and not weird out yet another higher ranked crewmember...

 

[Nyton]

Nyton remained cool and dispassionate. His mask was up as he sought to size up the new member. "I am flattered by your praise but I am still by far no ace. Just really lucky so far. Anyways I believe Suzuka Taii was assisting you with something? Or have you gotten everything settled?"

 

[Doshii Jun]

ON: Scorpio Base

"Well, I never did get around to stowing my stuff," Morita said, readjusting his duffel, causing a small orchestra of pots and pans to back up the statement. "She suggested I come with her to meet up with you, and here we are."

"I did not feel right leaving you by yourself, when you could meet other crew, Kamiyama-Hei." Yukari smiled at Morita, then at Nyton. "Kamiyama-Hei suggested we find food, and I ate little because of our departure from the Sakura. Are you hungry?"

"I could go for a quick meal. I didn't get a chance to eat anything before we left the Sakura. I had tons of work to do just before our departure." Nyton replied.

The star fortress' KAMI manifested a small black holographic window to appear floating by Yukari with a warning tone accompagnying it's appearance. "You have a call, Suzuka-Chui."

"Eh?" Yukari took a more serious tone. "Hai. Please put it through, KAMI."

The holowindow's blackness was replaced with the image of Kotori from shoulder level to the tip of her head. "Yuka-san, I'm finished with Bonichi. I guess he'll be packing his bags after all."

"Sou desu ka? That is unfortunate," Yukari said. "However, I have met our new cook, Kamiyama-Hei." She stepped aside so Kotori could see the violet-eyed man from the panel.

"So Bonichi isn't staying? Shame. He had potential as our Armorer." Nyton remarked to the side of the conversation.

"Uh...Yes, I would be the new cook, Kamiyama Morita." He turned to face the panel at a more appropriate angle. "Pleased to meet you."

Kotori, Morita's commanding officer, was a pale Nekovalkyrja with strong oriental features, large golden-irised eyes and long, straight black hair. Though she was seen from shoulder and up, the Neko's shoulders were conspicuously bare. "Likewise, Kamiyama-Hei." Kotori returned.

Yukari stepped halfway into view. "Is there something we can do for you, Ketsurui-Taii?" She spoke formally only because of Morita's presence.

Kamiyama's eyes flashed to Yukari and Nyton questioningly, then back to the screen. He took a moment to readjust the weight of the duffel on his shoulders in an effort to stay standing straight-backed.

Nyton had subconciously adapted a parade-rest position during this converstaion. He felt the conversation might take a serious undertone.

"Well, yes, but I could talk about that in person." Kotori replied, smiling. "Kami, please lead them to my suite. I'll be waiting for you there." The holographic window winked out to instead reveal a small hummingbird which flew out into the airport-like star fortress and toward the subsection that led to where the former-Sakura crewmembers had been assigned quarters.

"Good timing, that. Now you can set your stuff down somewhere secure, Kamiyama-Hei," Nyton said.

Yukari snorted. Not too important then? She put her hand to her cheek, tapping it once. "Ah -- I suppose we must follow it."

Morita let out a shallow breath he had been holding in, then sighed inwardly. "I do hope that it isn't too far away," he said, and began to follow the little bird. Commanding officers sure like things poetic...

Nyton walked alongstride and held out a hand to Morita. "Do you need any assistance carrying your things?"

"The offer is appreciated, but no, this is sort of a one-man job," Morita said with an apologetic smirk. "Thank you, though."

The hummingbird flitted about, leading them through the passages in the Scorpio research base. There was a bustle of activity coming back to the place as shifts turned, allowing some black-suited Nekovalkyrja personnel to amble about off their duty shifts and take on other occupations. There were many shopping sectors that offered many amenities, from recreation rooms to quaint little restaurant stands. The holographic avian finally led them to an elevator, which opened it's doors to them.

"Technology," Morita said with a bit of a faraway look on his face. He moved into the elevator and unslung his pack, leaning it against the far corner with a grunt. Faint discoloration of his uniform where the pack had creased in sweat marks could be seen. "I may regret asking this, but...Who are we going to go see?"

The hummingbird landed weightlessly on Yukari's shoulder as the elevator closed it's doors once everyone was in and began to ascend.

"The ship's commander. Didn't you hear what she said?" Nyton answered.

Yukari smiled at the hummingbird, giggling at it a little.

"I sometimes have lapses in memory, Claymere-Juni." Morita said, taking the time to stretch his arms and shoulders.

The elevator soon hummed to a stop and the hummingbird went aloft once more, leading them into quieter corridors around the living quarters on that level.

Yukari decided to take to the air and fly with the hummingbird, examining it up close as she flew under it.

"So..." Morita began, looking between Yukari and Nyton, "what foods do you two consider to be your favorites? Maybe I can convince the base staff to let me make it for you."

Nyton watched Yukari float about and study the bird as he thought about food preference. "Hard to say. I tend to be a bit of a carnivore. But salad now and then suits me well."

"Rice is good!" Yukari said loudly from in front.

Energetic, isn't she, Morita thought to himself. "Rice is rather good. My mother once taught me how to make onigiri - a good snack when you're in the kitchen and you don't have much time to actually eat."

The hummingbird flew to the seventh door in the corridor and disappeared with a small flash. That was the room.

"Hmm...You know, I suddenly have a craving for corn," Morita said, his mind now on the topic of foods.

Yukari stopped at the door as well, parallel with the floor. She looked at it curiously. "Ara? Ketsurui-Taii, are you there?" She righted herself and returned to the ground.

"I could go for a steak about now." Nyton said as he stopped before the door.

The door hissed opened, revealing Kotori. The Neko was tall for her kind, not very busty and Morita noticed that the black hair he had seen before actually fell down to her waist. The taii wore a strapless pink dress that fell to nearly her knees and she wore a pair of coral-colored shoes. "Welcome." She nodded in greeting.

"You look lovely, Taii." Yukari said with a wink.

Nyton gave a slight bow to Kotori. "Good to see you again Ketsurui Taii." he said, half joking since it had not been that long.

Kotori smiled and moved to the side slightly, beckoning them inside her quarters. "Please come in."

Yukari bowed and stepped inside.

Nyton followed suit and entered after Yukari.

Morita bowed awkwardly with the burden on his back, preferring to go in last.

The Taii's suite was a two room arrangement, a workroom/lving room combination was where they stepped in, with a door leading to a bathroom to the side and a passage beyond surely leading to the bedroom. Once Morita got past her, she slinked behind him and latched on his bag in an effort to divest him of it.

Morita never saw it coming. Coupled with being in an officer's room for the first time as well as his lack of strength after all the hauling, he lost his balance in a very spectacular fashion. "I'll be honest with you, I've never seen anything this nice in my li-ai-ah!"

With a "Ngh!" Kotori caught on Morita. It seemed unlikely that the lithe Neko could support his falling weight with little time for her feet to find purchase on the red-carpeted floor, but the Neko's proficiency at anti-gravity control allowed her to latch against Morita and slow down her fall, which incidentally slowed his. The yamataian man landed on his side unhurt, with his commander on all four on top of him, her hair falling down her shoulders like a dark curtain. "I just wanted your bag," she chuckled.

Yukari winced at the dull thud and opened her eyes slowly. The two seemed okay.

There are only so many instances a man can be allowed to be at a loss for words - at least, that was how Morita saw it. His mind scrabbled to find at least a word of thanks, or something, anything - "You have nice hair, Taii," Morita offered, staring up at her face.

Kotori backed away so she could kneel by Morita. "Claymere-Juni, I require your expertise."

Nyton looked down at Kotori and nodded. "You have my support in whatever you require your highness." he replied.

"I need your opinion as an individual of the male persuasion. Can you tell me if 'You have nice hair' in this situation would serve as a pick up line?" Kotori asked.

Nyton went into his thinking mode. "Depends. In what context are we using this sentence?"

Yukari blanched ... but managed a nervous giggle to cover it up. Koto-san ... is not funny!

Kotori smiled and pointed down at Morita. "This one."

This probably isn't good. Probably. "Er, what I mean is, uh...Thank you for knocking me off balance and then catching...me?" Morita looked anxiously from person to person. Well, this is probably going to result in at the very least two, no, three month's worth of ridicule, partly physical ridicule at first, then reduced to verbal...

Nyton gave a slight nod. "I would say it is complimentary while not being too suggestive. Unless the recipient's mind is already highly sexually inclined. In that case, almost anything said would be taken out of context."

Kotori pushed herself up back to her feet with a giggle and extended one hand to her new cook. "Alright. Give me that bag please. It must have been tiresome, carrying that thing all around the star fortress."

Koto-san is still not funny, Yukari thought with a quiet hmph.

"Ah...Yes." Morita took the hand and set about righting himself, making sure to detach his arms and shoulders from the grip of the bag. "Well, I suppose you could say it was good exercise..."

Kotori nodded and grabbed the bag with both hands, hefting it and carrying it to her walk in closet. "You can sit down on the sofa! There are some fruits in a bowl in you want any."

"Fruits?" Yukari grinned and walked to the sofa, seeing the fruits. She picked out an apple and took a bite of it. "Mmmmm," she said part way through her bite.

"I like fruit," Morita offered. He headed over to the bowl and picked up an apple. "Been awhile since I've had any that's fresh - the training camp doesn't have much in the way of fresh produce..." Morita took a seat and set about finding where he had put one of his knives. He always had one on him, in the event of such things.

Nyton folded his arms as Kotori put away the bag. "So, Ketsurui Taii. Not to just rush into business, but I'm certain you called us for more then just advice on male interpretations of dialogue." he said as he took a bunch of grapes from the bowl and pulled several off the stem before he popped them into his mouth. "Do you have any immediate orders for us?"

"Most of the foodstocks going in the fleets actually come from Hoshi no Iori. I think Scorpio Base often has first dibs." Kotori answered Morita as she selected another couch to sit on after having disposed of the bags. She moved on to answer Nyton: "The Miharu isn't done being completed, so, I tried to see if we would be able to take advantage of some of the facilities in here to get up to speed with the latest development in technology."

Finding the knife of choice, Morita pulled it free and set about paring the apple, creating a long, attractive ribbon of appleskin on his lap. "Technology, eh," Morita said, in close to the same manner as he did when he first said the word some minutes earlier. He set about quartering the apple.

Yukari was not sure what "technology" meant. If it was anything like the strange teleporting Mindy, she wanted no part.

The grapes were quite delicious. A quality Nyton was still not used to despite having always had decent food back home. Something about the agricultural approach of Yamatai seemed to enhance the quality of such things then that which was grown on Nepleslia. He finished chewing and swallowed the grapes he had begun to eat. "I recall the new Armor types you mentioned in your orders. I had begun a little research into that but nothing in depth just yet. The Miharu is itself a new model of ship as well."

"Most of the new armors are actually made for ground combat in the fashion of the Sylph." Kotori went along with Nyton's subject. "Ground armors are apparently the main type of power armor the Miharu will support. I'm not clear what type of ship it's going to be: I've been told it'd support the role of a Scout/Escort, boast the latest weapons and defense systems... though they've apparently been having a great deal of trouble with the ship's power grid."

Morita put one of the quarters into his mouth, listening quietly. Such matters were interesting to hear about, but completely irrelevant to any of his duties on the ship.

"Ground ... armor?" Yukari swallowed the bite in her mouth. "That suggests we are an invasion ship. A drop ship."

Nyton raised an eyebrow and paused between his grape consumption. "I had noticed they were ground combat Armors. I was thinking along the same lines. It would appear we would perform operations within the atmosphere of a planet. Although, this does not necessarily mean we would be an invasion ship. We could easily be planetary defense within atmospheric conditions if say there were hostile forces on a planet we are trying to protect. We would have to operate in a means that would not destroy the infrastructure and cost the lives of the Empire's citizens."

"I was thinking in the same lines." The Taii nodded to Nyton. "It's being built for the First Expeditionary Fleet, so, aside from combat, maybe it's better outfitted to make excursions on a planet." Kotori smiled wistfully. "I always fantasized space exploration to be kinda fun, but what we seem to be getting into lately is anything but that. Maybe we could make an eventual return to finding out more about our universe instead of fighting each other."

Morita stuck his knife into one of the other quarters and brought it to his mouth, chewing softly as he listened to the discussion. "I think I'd rather much prefer scouting uncharted territory to, uh, invading. Does the Expeditionary Fleet do a lot of invading?"

" ... It is the purpose of the Expeditionary Fleets. 'To expand Yamatai territory as directed by our Emperor.'" Yukari's eyes seemed to narrow onto the apple.

"Only if we run up against hostile alien species." Kotori added.

"Hunh. They made it sound so different in the advertisements." Morita shrugged. "How many more people are going to be on board the ship?"

"I'm expecting at least one more." Kotori replied. "The ship should have room to comfortably house seventeen people, I've been told."

"Pardon my saying this, but...Isn't it sort of a bad idea to fly a ship with only a skeleton crew?" Morita said.

"The ship compliments the crew by creating 'sprite' based Neko crew members to assist in tasks that are otherwise unmanned by live crew." Nyton said. "What of the, er, well hatchlings."

The black-haired Nekovalkyrja turned to Nyton. "That's why Bonichi-san left. He volunteered to bring them to a contact I have in SARA - he'll watch over them for awhile and then probably go on extended leave back to his familly. It's been a while since he's seen them."

"I see. Hm. Technology." Morita set about finishing the last two pieces of his apple before they started to get a little too brown from the air.

"You say that as if you were thoroughly unfamilliar with them." Kotori turned on Morita. "Didn't you get to cover that in systems operation training?"

"Uh, no. Not really. Or rather, they did, and I wasn't paying attention because I was thinking up new recipes." Morita looked right back at Kotori, putting the last apple slice in his mouth.

Kotori laughed. "Ah, alright. Well, in any case, I have quarters assigned to each one of you. If there's nothing else, perhaps we should retire for the night and meet together at the mess hall on this level to plan out our next day?"

"Sounds fair enough. What about the rest of this day?" Nyton said as he finished up his bunch of grapes.

"Turn in for the night?" Kotori proposed. Scorpio Base schedules were based on Yamatai's dirunal cycles, which meant days were relatively short.

Yukari stood up, the barely half-eaten apple resting on the table. "I would like to do that," the Yamataian said. "If I may, Taii?"

"Hm..." Morita said. "Well, I should get my things, then, if there's a place for me to sleep."

Nyton paused for a second. "Didn't you have something you wanted to ask me Suzuka Taii?"

"I'd like to talk with you in private afterwards Suzuka-san." Kotori began and answered Morita. "Your room is actually right across from mine, so, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" The Taii stood up to retrieve the cook's bag.

"Ah -- well, hai, Claymere-Juni. It was to go eat, unfortunately. Another time?" Yukari smiled and looked to Kotori.

"Oh I see. Well no matter now I suppose since that can wait. Very well then." Nyton said.

"Ah...Ha. Well, that's rather convenient, then, isn't it? A mess hall not too far away from here and my room right across from the commander's."

"Sumimasen, Claymere-Juni," Yukari said as she turned and bowed.

Kotori returned and offered Morita his belongings with a jingle. "Here you go. I will see you tommorow then." The commander smiled.

"No need to apologize. We'll just reconvene for breakfast then. I shall take my leave for my quarters then." Nyton said with a wave of his hand.

Morita took the bag with a nod and a small grunt. "Tomorrow, then, perhaps sooner if I end up heading to the mess hall."

Yukari smiled and nodded at Nyton. "Good night," she said to him, then to Morita.

END

 

[Doshii Jun]

ON: Scorpio Base, Kotori's quarters

With a slight huff Kotori settled back on her couch, looking slightly glum. "That was pretty bad, wasn't it?"

Yukari smirked a little. "What was bad?"

"Well, I teased our cook a bit." Kotori shrugged. "I couldn't resist after that stumbling act of his. Yamataians can float, after all." Most nekos might have made nothing of it, but Kotori had been exposed to a healthy dose of yamataian culture and was well acquainted with videogames and cartoon animation. Having a male lead stumble once an attractive female got close was a classic.

" ... " Yukari shook her head. She can be like Hanako after all. "Are you sure that was wise? He should not have the wrong impression, neh?"

"I just wanted to help him with his bag." Kotori retorted, but she then looked sideways with an embarrased flush of her cheeks. "But no, I don't think that was especially wise."

"There is much time to reconcile first impressions." Yukari took a seat next to Kotori.

Kotori nodded once, but said nothing. She seemed thoughtful.

"Is there something the matter?" Yukari leaned in a little closer.

"There is." Kotori turned to look back at the yamataian woman. "I was looking up the supply manifest of the Miharu - the ship should have a complement of ground armor types and a handful of spacy armors. I've been pondering what to pick for whom."

"Ah." Yukari looked a bit more pensive. "What are our choices?"

"Mindy, Kylie, a Phalanx platform, Sylph, Harpy and, if I'm lucky, that new Daisy model." Kotori replied.

Yukari nodded. To be able to choose among everything ... "What are your feelings on them now?"

"We only have access to fifteen or so." Kotori folded her hands over her lap. "I don't have trouble with the selection... but I was wondering what you would want to operate."

"Eh? Me?" Yukari rubbed her head a little. "Anou ... I do not know. Would I not be watching over the ship?"

Kotori's golden eyes were piercing. "One day you might not have the luxury. I'm considering how best to equip you should you not have the choice."

"Ah, sou." Yukari's eyes darted away. She had not expected this. "I know only the first five, and I cannot pilot a Mindy or Sylph. In space, I know how to use a Kylie ... on the ground, I would use a Harpy. It is the only one available to me."

"How well can you operate a Kylie?" Kotori asked.

"Anou ... sa. Not very well." Yukari looked down.

"You pilot ships very well though." Kotori smiled and moved to press herself up against Yukari, smiling. "I'll make sure to pack a shuttle for you then."

Yukari blushed a little. "Anou ... the Harpy ... has a sniper rifle, does it not?" She could feel herself getting warmer.

"I think so," the Neko answered, brushing her fingers softly over the side of Yukari's neck.

Yukari shivered a little. "I-I see!" Her breathing quickened; a glance into Kotori's golden eyes told her she was not going to her quarters for the night.

END OF DAY 1