RP: YSS Miharu Prologue, Day 3

"I'll be taking whatever room is closest to the kitchen, since I'll be spending a lot of time there."

Tom shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, how convienient too. A laundry room is nearby. If ya'll could be so kind, could you leave your laundry outside your rooms when I come to pick it up?"

He adjusted his grip on his dufflebag, sighing.

"Not like you all'd like me coming into your room and rifling through your dirty clothes in the dark."

Kotori conceded the point to Tom. Maybe they'd need to make compartments or something to hold their clothes outside. She wasn't very keen on just leaving piles of her rumpled clothes on the floor.

"Well, I think there are trapdoor-covered chutes near the officer quarters to give quick access to the monitor room and escape pods." Kotori told Yukari. The deal didn't look so bad to her though: the officer cabins were actually the same size as the Taisa suites on Sakura-class gunships, the crew cabins were like the staterooms on the Nozomi-class scout except they were for single crewmembers instead of two and her own suite dwarfed anything but the luxurious quarters on Yuumi and Chiharu-class vessels.

Nyton completed his walkthrough of the officer quarter he had selected and nodded in approval as he planned his lay out. "Very nice work here Mara. I like the arrangement. I am rather curious about this 'nest bed' arrangement. Would you please see about converting my bed to the nest style after I've stepped out please?" he said aloud to the MEGAMI system. He had set down his duffel bag next to and his shoulder bag on top of the bed. His first matter was unpacking the carrying case for his personalized GP-12a and set it flatly next to the desk. After that he arranged his harmonica case and accessories on top of the desk. He completed his preliminary set up by placing the pair of kodachi blades in their sheathes and the collapsible spear on the desk next to the harmonica case.

Next he took out his collection of books and arranged them with the spines vertically on the bookshelf. There was no particular order and he decided to organize them later. With his duffel bag purged of most personal items he then tossed it next to the dresser so he could put away his clothes later.

Nyton took a deep breath as he looked out the window. This would be his home for the time being. Home was basically where ever he lay down now. He still hadn't given any thought to where he would retire or settle down any kind of permanence. Just that it would be somewhere warm all year round. Maybe somewhere tropical like that beachside house Yukari had mentioned. Then again it didn't have to be beachfront property, just somewhere with the climate he preferred.

I can always hammer out the details on this another time. I guess things changed after Nepleslia seceded from the empire. Originally I figured I'd just set up something on Yamatai for a family and travel back and forth easily. Now with everything turning more complicated I guess I have to reconsider things. Nyton thought to himself. He realized this was the first time he'd given this matter much thought for some time. He pondered this a little longer before he shook his head and headed outside his room. A desire to explore what was available of the ship urged him.

Nyton stepped outside his room and saw Kotori, Yukari and Tom as they discussed laundry detail and how it would be arranged. He walked over to them as Kotori spoke.

"Well, I think there are trapdoor-covered chutes near the officer quarters to give quick access to the monitor room and escape pods." Kotori told Yukari.

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Since he'd missed out on most of the topic and he wasn't particularly concerned with laundry he just listened for the time being.

Tomi flopped down on the bed, her bags sliding to the floor with a muffled thud. After taking a couple of non-stop flights aboard well-used transports to get here, she was quite ready for a few days spent in a bed that hadn't previously seen dozens of other people. Spending them in there with somebody else, well, that'd be even better- but first things first.

Smoothly propelling herself off of the bed, she quickly unpacked the few possessions she needed to stake this land as her own. After very carefully lining up her books on the bookshelf, she slid her personal data storage unit into one of the storage compartments and neatly covered it up with clothing. And that would do it- it wouldn't pay to keep her superiors waiting while she put away the stuff that could really wait until later.

After one quick look-over to make sure that she didn't want to make any changes, she slid out of the room, stretching her arms in an attempt to encourage her body to keep going for a while longer before it gave in to the urge to relax. Seeing the ongoing conversation nearby, she quietly leaned by her door and waited for orders or permission to go off-duty.

Leutre tossed his bag onto the bed and placed his box onto a the nearby desk. Digging through the contents for a moment, Leutre withdrew several sheets of paper, a worn technical manual, and a marker. Taking the items in hand, he turned and left the room without even unpacking. There would be plenty of time for that later.

Leutre made his way back down the hall in search of the others. As he walked he began to reflect on his job ahead. He was an engineer. It was his job -- No, it was his duty to not only maintain the ship but to improve it in every way possible. The crew relied on the ship, and the ship relied on the engineers and technicians. In space, the engineer was supreme. Now that he was on the job it was time for him to start acting like it. At least for a little while.

He looked up as he the sound of voices. Leutre unconsciously slowed as he caught sight the Taii conversing with the others. Scratching his chin he mused to himself. "I think I should keep my mouth shut and stay out of her way, at least until we leave Scorpio. By that time no officer would bother turning the ship around just to kick a crew member off. Unless said person were to do something like blow out half the ship, of course."

Leutre moved closer to the others but careful to keep out of conversation. Instead, he turned his attention to the technical manual in his hand. Putting the sheets of paper and the marker in his pocket he began idly thumbing through the pages.

Mara came around moments later, tugging by the wrist with one hand what looked like a tall, statuesque clean-shaven human man with startlingly blue eyes, a massive build and close cropped black hair. "Kotori-Taii, I must ask: what did you intend to do with this thing? I expected to have a NIWS unit assigned but instead..." The sprite gave the man a glare. "I was wondering if there had been some sort of mistake..."

Kotori blinked. "No, no mistake." She shook her head and then smiled at the tall person. "It is nice to see you again, Sigurd."

The man, Sigurd, gave her a courteous bow. "I am pleased to be of service to you again, Taii."

Kotori looked to the others: she knew Yukari was familliar with him, but the others weren't. "This is Sigurd. He's a Custodian War Android that I tried out over the Sakura - some people there didn't feel safe with the Nodal Integrated Weapon System and wanted something more personable. Taisa Hanako prefered a NIWS over him, so, I decided to have him along on the Miharu."

Mara frowned a bit. "I bet she would! He's a NovaCorp product..."

The Taii returned the frown. "Are PNUgen-made nekovalkyrja bad because some higher ups in PNUgen had nefarious agendas of their own?"

The sprite blushed self-consciously as she stole a look at Yukari. "Well, n-no..."

"Then don't judge a book by it's cover - or in this case: brandname. Sigurd will do fine."

Yukari smiled at Sigured and bowed a little. She had appreciated his politeness before, and she preferred him to an uncontrollable machine any day. But she could understand Mara's unhappiness — Sigurd was less sentient than a Neko, and a bit unnerving at first.

Sigurd, in turn, returned the gesture. He said nothing, however, which suited Yukari fine.

"Taii, is there something more for us to do?" she asked Kotori.

After staring at the nebula in awe of its beauty, the young neko turned to look back at the group that had stayed in the wardroom. Only, she was the only one left. "Ano..." she mumbled as she looked around to find everyone had went in search of rooms. "Hmmmm...I guess I should as well," she thought out loud as she looked down both corridors.

"Now the question is...do Juni get enlisted or officer quarters," she pondered as she tapped a finger to her chin. She really had never had to deal with such things, considering each ship she had been on had pilot bunks somewhere. The Miharu on the other hand didn't seem to have those though.

Kotori pursed her lips in thought for a moment and then answered: "We need to ready the ship for departure. A lot of that is dependant on the nodal system though." She turned to Mara. "Do we have access to the cargo holds?"

The sprite shook her head. "I am sorry, no." The neko brushed one hand through the side of her sandy hair in embarassment. "I appologize for the bother: I'm really nearly done."

The Taii nodded. Her crew had no access to the engine room or the power armor bays - that left many with not that much to do. "Is the ship functional? Can she fly?"

"I've had some engine test done and I know I can handle the nebula just fine. I believe so." Mara nodded.

Kotori idly caressed down one shiny black lock of hair that spilled over the front of her shoulder. "Right. Here's what we'll do. Saito-san, you'll be heading down to the medical laboratory with Sigurd and have Leutre-san and Masako-san make ST backups. Once you are done, I want your group to report to the science laboratory and use it as a monitoring station for the ship's systems while we do not have access to engineering. Tom, you get James and Mara to help you manage the inventory of your kitchen and set things in order there; once done you are also to report to the science laboratory once they are done." Kotori turned to Yukari and Nyton. "Finally, us three will take command from the monitor room, run the ship through a diagnostic and launch."

"I don't have the additional cargo you asked for yet." Mara pointed out.

"We'll transfer the demand through PANTHEON to Akina no Iori. That's where we'll be headed." Kotori answered and promptly headed off on a walk to get back down the stairs. "Let's go."

Tomi nodded at the order, looking plenty eager to get her first view of the labs. "Wakarimashita." Calling up a map, she turned to Leutre and Sigurd, still almost grinning in anticipation. "Well then... shall we find Kurohoshi-Juni and get to work?" Barely even waiting for an answer, she set off down the hall, apparently dead-set on getting to the lab as soon as mortally possible.

Yukari nodded and followed Kotori. She was a little nervous; it was beginning to dawn on her that flying such an advanced new vessel meant she would have to be gentle at first.

I will also ... be using SPINE. She was not sure how to handle that; it had been years since she had even possessed a SLICS, let alone used it. There was something to be said for being disengaged with the vessel to be piloted. But the advantages were impossible to deny.

Kotori's eyes wandered to Yukari as they went down the stairs. "Do you want to pilot her out?" She asked.

Nyton had no idea Sigurd would be joining them from the Sakura so that was something of a surprise. There was no time to acknowledge the android as Kotori had already decided their course of action.

Kotori turned to Yukari and Nyton. "Finally, us three will take command from the monitor room, run the ship through a diagnostic and launch."

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With a slight grin Nyton followed Kotori as she led them to the monitor room. Well, this is one way to get a tour of the place. he thought as they walked.

Leutre looked up from his book and placed it under his arm. Noticing that Saito was already on her way down the hall, he set off at a quick jog and caught up with her. "Enthusiastic, are we?" He chuckled to himself. "I was planning to do rounds of the ship to make sure the construction crews weren't sloppy. The science lab seem like a good place to start."

As they walked he sneaked a glance over at her. 'So eager to see the lab... Is she the science officer? I expected someone more... Well, more serious,' he thought as he studied her expression. Shaking his head he turned away, lest she think he was staring.

'Then again, most people believe I'm half mad. I hardly seem the type others would trust with their ships', he thought with a smirk. 'Life is full of little surprises, I suppose.'

Miyoko slowed down a bit, turning her head to address Leutre's question- but still not stopping her journey toward the labs. "Well... As the 'local gearhead,' let me put it to you like this. Pretend that you've spent your entire career in an area that you quickly realized holds little appeal to you. When you finally realized you wanted to work on ships, all that you could manage to do is read about working on ships for months on end. And then finally, after something like a year of reading about it, convince them to put you in a duty where you can actually get your hands inside of a ship and start doing real work."

She quickly turning around, her expression making it evident that she felt she'd said too much. After a few more moments of walking in silence, she continued a bit more reservedly. "... which is another way of saying that this is my first assignment as a scientist. But don't worry," she flashed him a mischievous grin, "Since this is my first time, I'll be extra careful to not back you up to the wrong place for no additional cost."

Reaching the wardroom, she dipped a quick nod to Masako. "I've been instructed to get you a backup before we take off. Do you need more time here before we do so?"

Yukari didn't hesitate for a moment in answering Kotori's question.

"Yes." She nodded, as if to affirm the response in her own mind. "I will be the pilot some of the time I am here, so I should be aquainted with the vessel."

"Probably most of the time." Kotori corrected with a grin as they rounded the kitchen. "I'm not all that good at navigation, especially the kind that involves avoiding torpedoes and plasma bursts. I don't know about Mara, but you probably remain our most experienced starship navigator."

The thought of her being most experienced at anything made her feel good and bad at the same time. She smiled in modesty, but she wanted more to rub her stomach.

"I will be on my extra best then," Yukari said, almost missing the turn down the corridor. She corrected herself and stepped down the stairs into the corridor leading to the monitor room. "I hope Mara will not hold a wrinkled ride against me."

Following both enlisted towards the lab, Masako listened to their discuss with a small smile. "No, Saito-Hei, it's best that we get backed up as soon as possible. No telling what could happen after all," the young neko replied. "After this though, I'll need to pick out a room of my own," she spoke as she scratched her head.

"Though, this is the first ship I've been on that doesn't have a pilot's bunk."

Nyton took the stairway down two steps at a time. "You'll do just fine. I really doubt the controls are going to be anything difficult. You will be able to pilot this ship just fine." Nyton said to Yukari in encouragement as he kept up a quick pace down the hall. "After we run the diagnostics I'll continue monitoring the ship's systems for any anomalies while you guide us out."