RP: YSS Miharu Prologue, Day 2

James groaned.

"Wonderful. Remind me to thank you when I get out of here. AIES, show me what this thing can do."

As he listened to the options, James padded over to a crater and hopped inside, crouching down while he brought the rifle around and checked it out.

Right, then...First objective's to find the rest of the crew. Better bring up the camouflage and the barriers.

That done, the Geshrin switched the rifle to burst-fire and creeped out of the crater, intent on survival.

"Light Armor Service Rifle, Burstfire mode. SLAG armed and ready." The AIES confirmed with its toneless, synthetic voice. "This unit suggests the use of thermoptic camouflage. Pilot bade to carefully select engagements until allied forces are found. Deployment of drones not recommended until discovered."

As James scuttled out of his crater and crept up the side of a broken down brick-and-cement building, the Daisy's AIES also supplied: "Suit running in standard mode, sensors passive. For use of high-energy functions such as the cloak shield projector, the plasma rifle or active sensors, unit must be set in combat mode."

Obviously, going into combat mode would consume more energy and possibly make James' power armor more obvious to the hostiles in the area. Power consumption seemed irelevant for a simulation, but stealth still deserved some consideration in the geshrin's current situation.

"AIES, combine sensor readings among Freeman-Hei's and Kamiyama-Hei's armors. Passive only." Yukari found her breathing quicken as she looked about. The buildings appeared empty, of course, and no information had been related as to what they would be fighting.

"YE 27 ... I cannot remember anything that happened on Nepleslia that involved damage like this." Yukari walked forward slowly, mentally signaling the other armors to notify their pilots to follow her. "The damage after the Battle of Nepleslia was cleaned up quickly within Funky City ... and this appears to be the outskirts of it."

Yukari realized her footsteps could be seen in the dusty dirt. She let the armor float just a few centimeters from the ground as she turned a corner. She wished the Harpy had Nodal Support Bits or the self-powered drones of the Daisy. But she was not in an armor designed for frontline combat. There was nothing down the long urban canyon to her left, and fires were to her right.

Her rifle was kept on her shoulder, bipod folded beneath her hand gripping the forward stock of the rifle. She was not sure what to expect. The canyons were much bigger than the narrow halls of the Iori; she did not have to vaguely aim to hit something. Some buildings had rooves a couple hundred meters high, so she could not take a position there.

And the two Daisy armors seemed to lack their thruster packs, leaving them stuck on the ground.

"Shimatta," Yukari said quietly.

"Hostiles detected." The Harpy's AIES warned Yukari, painting three targets for the yamataian woman to see on her sensor display. "Distance: 853 meters. Targets labelled Aries 1, Aries 2, Aries 3."

That placed their opponents three blocks away with a hefty amount of broken buildings between both groups with no possible line of sight for the moment. There was no way of getting an identification without either getting a visual or going for active sensors.

Meanwhile, James was making slow and steady progress through the ruins of the city. He hadn't come into contact with anything yet, but that did little to calm him. In fact, it put him more on edge.

"Come on," he muttered to no one in particular, "I know you're out here someplace..."

From behind the next ruined building came a din of clattering. James froze and hunched down, aiming down the barrel at the corner. Inching forward, he pressed his back against the wall and waited, silently.

Three ... Two ... One ...

Steeling himself, the Geshrin spun around the corner, aiming at ... nothing. Confused, he stepped forward with a crunch. Lifting his foot, he stared at the remains of part of the wall that looked freshly dislodged.

False alarm, he admonished, still peering at the shadows. No other sounds manifested, and so he decided to move on.

James' Daisy padded through a delapidated alley only to find another power armor moving accross its opposite end.

"Hostile identified: Se-M1-1C." A red targeting bracket was painted over the Epsilon power armor as it disappeared from view and followed on his HUD even after it disappeared around the corner. It was walking cautiously away at a leisurely 15 kph and apparently had not noticed him.

Yukari winced. She hadn't expected three targets so soon. She looked up; the nearest building she could be on top of was easily 500 meters away on the ground -- they could be upon her by then. And she still had her two friends to worry about.

"Kamiyama-Hei, take a position inside that building there." She set a green marker on Morita's helmet screen, showing a broken-out window about four stories up on a 40-story building on the right. The strange angle of the building afforded him a view down the corridor without peeking too far out. But it was a mostly glass structure. "Arm your plasma rifle; we do not know what is coming for us. Freeman-Hei, take a position behind the rubble 50 meters down." She set a marker pointing to a large chunk of building that had come from who knew where, but was big enough to hide him.

"Use active and thermoptic camoflauge." Yukari went prone behind another small chunk, not much taller than her knees when she was standing. Her rifle's bipod came forward immediately as she did so. "I will fire the first shot -- Kamiyama-Hei, eliminate one with your plasma rifle after I have fired. Freeman-Hei, cover us with your LASR if required."

Yukari wasn't sure where her initiative was coming from. All she could think of was, This will not be another Iori. Corro was strong, Ryuuza was strong and even Ayano was strong! I must prove I did not leave the 5th for nothing! She sighted her rifle and waited.

The dock was a bustle of activity as Star Army personnel departed from transports from a variety of ports. Probably not as busy as many of the other Star Fortresses in the Star Army's many fleets, but then again...Scorpio Base was a top secret facility. At least, that how the young raven-haired neko thought as she exited the ship that had brought her from Nataria. Gazing upon the vastness that was Scorpio, the young woman couldn't help but to find herself in awe of the facilities. "Sugoi," she mumbled to herself before shaking her head quickly. No, no, no, have to stay focused, she thought quickly as she hefted both her overstuffed duffle bags to her shoulders.

Walking further, her black suede boots barely made a sound as she headed towards one of the main corridors clad in a light-blue, skirted uniform. Mentally, she began to connect to the basic access available to her on the PANTHEON so she could inquire the network on Suzuka Yukari-Chui location as well as aquiring a new rank pin for a Santô Juni. As a secondary inquiry to the network, she began to make necessary searches on the procedures for upgrading to the new NH-29 model body.

As soon as she did, the young neko couldn't help but frown. She knew she would have had to leave her nearly obsolete NH-17R body sooner or later, but she couldn't help but feel a certain attachment to the body she was "born" with. Standing out of the way of other personnel, the 4'11" tall neko could only stand there and wait for her inquiries to be answered by the network as her mind wandered through a variety of scenarios that could happen when she finally met her new crewmates and commander face to face.

The Star Fortress' KAMI interface manifested a display of the floor Masako was on. Needless to say, the layout was extensive, but it identified for her several points of interest, namely where Project Inoue kept its latest power armor simulators, where Masako could access an elevator that would lead to her assigned quarters and a medical center with the proper facilities to soul transfer her in the newer NH-29 nekovalkyrja body.

"I recommend you drop your luggage to your quarters first, Kurohoshi-Juni." Scorpio's KAMI said. "Your commanding officer is in a room nearby."

"Domo Arigatou, KAMI," Masako replied out of habit as she began walking in the direction of her quarters. Following the helpful directions of the Scorpio's KAMI, Masako was able to make her way through the labyrinth known as a Scorpio-class Star Fortress with the only mishap being one of the taller Star Army personnel almost bumping into her. After what seemed like an eternity, the short, yet slender warrant officer made it to her quarters.

Entering without hesitation, she gazed at her temporary living quarters with only a bit of approval. The only thing that made her frown in disapproval was how plain her bed was. Fighting back the urge to set up her pillows and nice sheets, the young neko dropped her luggage by her bed and exited once again. Ears twitching slightly, the warrant officer turned towards the door KAMI had told her was her commanding officer's room and took a deep breath. "Time to report in," she mumbled to herself as she strode over calmly and rapted her knuckles upon the door.

ON: Scorpio Base, Kotori's quarters

Rapping actually didn't do much considering KFY internal comparmentalisation made most barriers soundproof, but the KAMI considerately emitted a chime inside the room.

The door hissed open shortly afterwards, with Masako's new commanding officer standing on the other side. Kotori was dressed in a white panneled Star Army uniform and a golden Taii rank pin rested over her left breast. Of above average height for a nekovalkyrja, the golden-eyed Kotori towered a bit over the new arrival.

"Ah!" Kotori reared her head back slightly at the sight of Masako, surprise registering in her golden eyes. "I remember you! You were sitting right besides me on the Mikomi. Welcome." The Taii nodded her greeting.

Masako couldn't help but also blink in surprise as her commanding officer seemed to recall her right of the bat. The young warrant officer also reckonized Kotori, though she was certainly amazed at how quickly the golden-eyed officer had gone up in rank. "H...hai," Masako stammered slightly as she shook of her surprise. "Kurohoshi Masako-Santô Juni, reporting," she replied politely formal as she bowed to her new CO.

Kotori nodded again and moved to the side to grant the Juni passage. "Please, come in and be seated." The room inside, aside from the workdesk, had some sofas and a couch to lounge on along with a short square table with a basket of fruits resting in its center.

"Arigatou," Masako replied as she stepped into the room with only a hint of hesitation. It was certainly a nice room, a lounge of sorts was the only thing the young warrant officer could guess what the room's use was. Chosing one of the sofas by the square table, the young neko moved over towards it and gently sat down.

Kotori sat at the couch opposing Masako. She giggled. "I'm actually glad you agreed to come. I was wondering if I would be the only nekovalkyrja on the Miharu. Aside from my executive officer, all we have are men."

"Really?" Masako replied in surprise before smiling at Kotori. "Believe me, ma'am, I'm no stranger to being the only female in a crew." The young neko said. "Onboard the Confidence, I was the only neko and the only woman of a crew of four people," she explained as her body relaxed more around the officer. "And I couldn't really pass up this chance either... helping to test a prototype cruiser is a nice change of pace from scout ships. Unfortunately though, that's all the information I've received so far," the young Kurohoshi admitted as she scratched the tip of her ear absent-mindedly.

"I'm afraid I can't supply much more information than you already know, namely because I don't know a lot about it myself either. the Miharu is the experimental prototype and it's still being built. All I know is that completion was delayed due to some problems regarding the ship's power grid and its shield generator system." The Taii shrugged. "They classify it as a light cruiser, so, I assume it must be bigger. It apparently also has a detachable 'auxiliary ship' that is meant for planetary landings - a dropship of sorts, you could say."

"A dropship?" Masako's ears perked up slightly as she leaned back into the sofa. "That would definitely help when it came to inserting powered armor and infantry onto a planetary battlefield. It would probably free up the Light Cruiser for Combat Air Patrol along the upper atmosphere while the dropship acted as a mobile command... unit..." Masako's trailed off before flushing in embarassment at what she thought was going off on a tangent. Coughing slightly into her hand in an effort to cover it, Masako smiled sheepishly at Kotori. "Anyway... it's probably not my place to make assumptions on its uses." she stated.

"That's okay. You happen to be echoing the thoughts we've had so far." Kotori smiled indulgently. "Was there anything you'd like to cover with me? I do not mind talking with you, but I know the rest of the crew are about to practice with a new land power armor model. I don't want to hold you off for too long when you could show the men how a real power armor pilot fights." She finished her sentence with a devious grin.

Masako couldn't help but giggle at her commander's comment. "I probably will, ma'am," she replied with her own smile. "But I'm going to have to put it off until I can get two things accomplished," she replied politely. "First thing would be for me to get a new rank pin... considering my current pin wouldn't be appropriate. That's easy to do I know, but the next order of business is for me to... well, 'upgrade' to a NH-29 body," Masako explained, though her smile faded slightly at the last bit. "To be honest, I'd miss this body... I mean... it probably sounds silly and all, but discarding the body I was 'born' with makes me feel a bit sad in a way."

Masako seemed to have Kotori's complete attention. "I understand." The Taii said. "It was pretty much the same way for me when I changed as well. I can spend some time explaining how a NH-29 is different from a NH-17 if you'd like."

"Please do," Masako replied with a smile. "It'd be nice to know exactly what I'm going to be getting into before hand," the young Juni replied.

"My previous body was a NH-22M." Kotori said. The NH-22M had been a short lived model series that had mostly only been for samurai and it had been a stepping stone from the combined design of NH-17S/NH-17T nekos to what finally became known as the NH-27. "It was crippled by a near miss from a phosphorus grenade beyond the possibility of regeneration and so my soul was transfered before my bodily functions would decay to the point of death." Kotori closed her eyes a moment. "My body was rare and very special - I was loath to change it, but I ended up not having much choice in the matter." Kotori reoppened her eyes, smiling bittersweetly. "The NH-29 body I now wear is not the body I was born with, but it did happen to save my life, so I can't begrudge it that."

The Santô Juni listened carefully to Kotori's words, she was extremely interested in first hand accounts of swapping bodies... since she had never done anything like it before. "It seems like you've seen your fair share of combat Ketsurui-Taii," Masako replied sympathetically.

"I participated to the PNUgen raid and my Mindy was damaged to the point of being non-operable. I thought fancy stealth plating would get me by, but I only ended up having to fight my way out butt naked." Kotori giggled, though her lighthearted account hardly reflected the hardships she'd had to endure then, especially the minutes she had lain on the cold floor waiting to die. "But I don't suppose that's what is on your mind right now, so I will move on."

The Taii began smoothing one hand over one long, shiny black lock of hair that swept down from over her shoulder. "The NH-29 is a refined nekovalkyrja body. It's not as physically strong as the NH-17, but it has a lot more endurance. Since we often use power armor for combat anyways, the newer bodies lean on the neko and power armor acting in concert. The NH-29 loses some its strength; it loses most of its hemosynthetic ports except the bellybutton one, so it can't generate battle tentacles anymore; the SLICS holes are removed and the self-regeneration capabilities aren't as extensive..."

"However," Kotori continued, "the NH-29 gains a lot in energy efficiency and stamina: we need less rest, less food and can function in combat conditions longer than NH-17 nekos - in fact, I can assure you of that from firsthand experience. The NH-29's telepathy has a longer range and its operational system is streamlined so that primary and secondary memory aren't separate entities anymore - this actually helps a bit in interfacing more seamlessly with a power armor AIES. Speaking of interfacing, the shoulderholes are replaced by nervous ends around our spines which interact with the backing of a Mindy. Its more direct than through the shoulders and no longer require direct connection, so for ship interfaces, just sitting on a SPINE equipped chair is enough to make a linkup."

Masako blinked as she took in all of the information Kotori had given her. Scratching her ear absent-mindedly, the Santô Juni bit her lower lip in thought before sighing. "Wow... it seems I'm going to have to get used to quite a lot of changes," the young neko replied before smiling at her commanding officer. "Domo Arigatou Ketsurui-Taii.... I'm glad you could impart your experience with the NH-29 body to me." Masako said with a nod in thanks. "I... I think I feel a bit more confident making the switch as well."

"If it makes it any easier, once you've transfered, it doesn't feel all that different, really." Kotori assured. "You just won't be able to work the exact same way as you did before, but otherwise, you'll still be yourself. Getting used to the disminished strength is still a problem I run into from time to time, but I remind myself each time I grow frustrated with it that my actual body's strength is in the upper scale of what Nepleslian and Yamataian bodies can manage. If anything, I think I gained a little more respect for them since I changed." Masako's commander grinned. "Power armors are all run with SPINE interface now, so, having a new NH-29 body would be good for you. You could stick to the one you have now, but you'd end up limiting yourself to same suits as Yamataians."

"Well... that settles it then." Masako replied calmly with a smile. "To stick with a Mindy I'm going to have to transfer to an NH-29 no matter what," the young neko stated. "Again, Arigatou Ketsurui-Taii," she said with a nod. "If I maybe excused, I'll head towards the medical bays to do a soul transfer now." she asked politely as both her ears twitched slightly.

Kotori waved back. "Be brave! It really isn't all that bad once it's done and over with."

END

"Confirmed orders, taking position."

Morita looked at the building and headed for it - or, at the very least, attempted to. The fact that the physical body is not moving, only the machine encasing it, both intrigued him and left a very cold feeling in his chest. Losing control of one's body is something he didn't want to have to do - in fact, that was one of the primary reasons he avoided power armors, simply because he couldn't physically move.

"AIES, plot any, uh, hostile signatures on screen and paint them. Turn on active and thermoptic camoflague, and alert me when hostiles are in firing range."

I know it's a strange feeling, but you have to do it or else you can't serve onboard the ship, probably. Be strong, Morita. He closed in on the building and knelt down, assuming a firing position. His eyes watched the radar carefully and he took a few deep breaths as his pulse began to rise. Combat in a metallic behemoth versus true hand-to-hand combat was very different.

"Kamiyama here, good to go. What are we fighting against, Chui?"

On his side of the field, James tightly gripped the rifle and moved over towards the Epsilon's last location. He carefully peeked around the corner, watching the hostile armor pad away.

Hmm ... Better leave it alone for now. Come on, think! There's got to be a better way to find the others than wandering randomly.

"AIES, can you recommend a way to make contact with friendly units in the area while keeping my presence masked?"

"No problem, ma'am."

Tom had already turned on his stealth capabilities, but double-checked, just in case. Done deal.

Preparing his LASR for possible use, Freeman quickly made his way to the location ordered by his superior officer. He crouched behind the rubble, scanning the area with his sensors.

Okie dokie, so I provide cover fire if necessary. Kinda strange, though, I'm not feeling much juice flowing... have I really changed that much these last few months?

Nevermind that. Freeman shook his head. This was, after all, a VR mission. Not real at all.

The Yamataian smirked, containing a chuckle that wanted to escape his lips.

James keeping his cool in the presence of the enemy paid off. Peeking around the corner revealed two other hostile power armors aside from the Epsilon he had first spotted, which his AIES identified as Se-M1-1A Delta models. If he had jumped the Epsilon, he probably would have been stuck in a firefight with the two other suits.

"Open communication or active sensors would likely reveal our position to friendlies." The Daisy's AIES replied. "However, the hostiles are likely seeking out friendly units already. Since Setsuna mechwork suits lack sensors to identify anything out of their operator's line-of-sight, shadowing them should be possible."

"I do not know what we are against, Kamiyama-Hei," Yukari answered telepathically. There was no way to know if the enemy could monitor radio transmissions; if they could, they probably knew where Tom, Morita and she were located. Why her radar could not penetrate the building she didn't know either. There was, in fact, quite a bit that she didn't know.

"I know that if those three units were not enemies, AIES would be able to tell. So we must treat them as enemies. Maintain telepathic communication as needed." Yukari had to firmly believe that. If she didn't, her shot would take the head off a citizen or soldier of the Empire. Friendly fire, perhaps, but that would not make her anymore at ease.

One of the units might have been bigger than the other. It was hard to tell and Yukari did not want to risk leaving her rifle sights to zoom in deeply onto the targets.

"If it appears they will not enter our line-of-sight, we will proceed slowly to the next block." Yukari's toes seemed to twitch in the simulator with anticipation.

"Shadowing sounds good," James replied, edging the Daisy across the street and safely behind cover. Adrenaline was pumping, and he felt super-aware. A small part of him wondered if that was an effect of the armor, or if the simulator was doing its job admirably.

He shifted into a more comfortable position, eyes never leaving the armors as he moved. I sure wish I knew where the others were. Hate for the fireworks to start without them around to enjoy it.

James' caution in addition to his Daisy's active camouflage apparently was sufficient to keep him off the sights of the three Setsuna-made armors as the skipped over the cracked pavement they soon stopped to an intersection and then turned right, increasing their speed slightly to a jog.

<center>* * *</center>

"Targets identified." Yukari's Harpy quickly supplied the information about the twin Deltas and the Epsilon as soon as they came within her sights and fed the telemetry to the two the two allied Daisies. The Deltas, rounded armored suits with carbines, were in the lead with the slightly larger Epsilon following behind with its machinegun at the ready.

Once leaving the room, Masako began to follow KAMI's directions towards the nearest soul transfer capable medical bay. With her confidence high and her mind steeled for what had to be done, the young neko didn't stop for anything as she closed on the room the computer system had directed her too.

But as she reached the doorway, Masako couldn't help but pause. It was only for a second though as she thought back to her time in the defense fleet over Yamatai before her brief service on the Nozomi. She shook her head before she could think more about her past with this body. Sure, it would be different, but maybe this change was for the better.

Finally crossing the threshold of the medical bay door frame, the short neko looked around calmly. "Ano...." she said, ponder whether she should call out to see if anyone was in or not.

Setsuna? Yukari knew little of the company, only that it operated out of the infamous Destiny colony ship. She didn't know they made armors. They are enemies ...

"Kamiyama-Hei, I cannot attack the larger one; allies are in the way. I am targeting the lead armor, Aries 2." The rifle's butt was settled in the nook of the armor's Andrium plates, just where the shoulder met the collar. She zeroed in on the lead armor, a Delta, and aimed carefully at its head. Her breathing slowed but didn't stop. It was rhythmic, up and down, up and down. She kept her eyes open as the target seemed to pause, for just a moment.

Shoot between breaths, she thought. Wait for the shot.

The armor looked this way and that, then away from her --

Yukari barely saw the flash of blue light from the tip of her rifle.