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