RP: LSDF Val'ta [Prologue] - Sing about the Valleys

[Luca]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Three, Captain's Quarters
Porrim was washing her hands, the sound of a flushing lavatory just beside her as she dried off with a towel and gave her hands a flick for good measure. Looking at herself in the mirror, it'd been quite a day so far. The briefing was quite something, with all of the personalities aboard the Val'ta that stuck in her mind. She noticed that her fly was undone and clicked her tongue in annoyance, buttoning back up and leaving the bathroom after getting her uniform back in order.

As she was walking towards the grand chair in the back of the room, the data strip on the wall begun projecting things at her. Reports of a barney between a few of the group members down on Deck Six. Hmm, Akemi and Aran'ya. She recognised the two. "Fuuucking hell," she sighed, making a mental note to give Akemi an honest to God dicking of an interview once the ship had taken off. "Like Ey'tis fighting over the last carrot..." she groaned as she headed towards the grand chair that lead to the bridge, planting her ample bottom in it and turning a key in the armrest.

And then she ascended to the bridge...


LSDF Val'ta, Deck Three, Gymnasium
Travelling through to the third deck via stairs, then heading to the recreational area in the front of the ship and through the lounge, a patch of grass beneath their feet, Mirage, Elm and Petra went for the port side of the vessel and found the gymnasium. Informally called the Iron Church, since iron was pumped there in the pursuit and reverence of 'gains'. Particularly popular with Fyunnen, the trio could already see some members of the crew looking through the facilities.

A Yamataian woman who'd already settled into gym clothes was watching the holographic instructor, a projection of a naked, athletic woman with alabaster skin, black hair and statuesque grace helpfully providing the Yamtaian with instructions on operation. There was a problem though, the woman wasn't understanding a word of it, pleading with the machine to speak Yamatai-Go. Her wish was fulfilled ... by providing Yamataian subtitles as the projection was still speaking Ly'thir. Step in the right direction at least.

Meanwhile, a couple of the weight lifting areas were occupied, a Lmanel bench pressing about a hundred kilograms being spotted by a buff Nepleslian soldier with an NSMC tattoo on their arm and visible cybernetics in their torso, replacements for organs. It seemed like worship was already underway in the Iron Church for the pursuit of gains. Or perhaps they were all waiting for time to pass.


LSDF Val'ta, Deck Four, Armoury
Ix'ion found the armoury easily, guided by helpful signs along the deck. When he entered the room properly, he distinctly remembered the length of the room from the exterior being a bit shorter than when he entered. He would've had to step out and measure it himself a couple of times to see the exact difference. Over in the corner just near the door was the quartermaster, who was inspecting their computer already.

They spotted Ix'ion quickly and looked up. They were a Lmanel man, wearing a headset that didn't cover his long ears, and his nose was flat, skin ruddy. "Oh. Can I help you, Corporal?" they asked lazily, looking up from their computer through a pair of spectacles, and a bearded complexion.


LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six, Flight Deck
Noticing the fighting going on, other enlisted crewmembers took it upon themselves to intervene to try and establish some semblance of order. Among the belligerents was a Nepleslian, grabbing Aran'ya with a cybernetic arm and tearing her away from Akemi - either for his protection or hers. However, Akemi was not off scot free either as a fyunnen man put him in a full nelson and pulled him backwards.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The Nepleslian yelled in Trade as he pried Aran'ya. "Chill pills, people! We haven't even taken off yet!" In the back of his mind, he was wondering if this sort of thing was common on Lorath vessels, having only served on Nepleslian ships in the past. Then again, scraps between crewmates back there still - they just happened later rather than sooner.

The fyunnen meanwhile held Akemi aside ... but there was no stern talking to as he was released, then pushed away. The Nepleslian also released Aran'ya since enough of a spectacle had been made for the stragglers. "You two should probably just go to the bar," the fyunnen suggested. The Nepleslian looked to the fyunnen and nodded, thumbing towards the elevator and not seeing anything wrong with that suggestion in the slightest.

"I'll shout first round." The Nepleslian replied as he and the fyunnen walked off together. The Nepleslian stopped, turned around and asked the two "You two in? I heard the view's nice on the bar."

The intercoms made noise. "We're taking off in ten minutes. Please do what the Nepleslians do, and-" Porrim's voice spoke for a little, then she cleared her throat, speaking accent Trade, "-'howuld awntou yauwr barts'." On the other side of the line once the intercom was off with a crackle, she repeated the phrase over and over.

 

[Syaoran]

Val'ta - Deck 6 en route to Deck 3
Ny'za smiled and gave Rhiq on her shoulder a little nuzzle, it seems they both liked the compliment. "Rhiq is a darling, and his fur is so soft." It took her a moment to get back to what she was trying to say after that. "I was wondering, do you think we could tour the ship together? I wanted to get to know some new people." Her voice dropped into a low whisper just enough that only J'ann could hear "And learn your secret to get hips like that."

 

[Amaryllis]

"I don't know about her," Akemi answered as he disdainfully flicked the non-existent dust off his shoulders as if he was some snooty person who required a servant to do such things, "but I'm coming." He turned to look Aran'ya up and down as if studying her for the first time. "She definitely looks like she could use something in her." He then clasped his hands around his mouth and looked up to a camera before waving. "Thank you Porrim-sama!" Afterwards he scooted over to Aran'ya. "I was just messing with you because you're fun and I figured I'd treat what you said as a dare."

 

[Ashlinn]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3 Gym

Ash's eyes widened as they walked through the ship, subconsciously she'd kept up with Mirage while she chattered away at 'Ghost' And as they entered the Gym proper she stopped talking to glance around and whistle, "Oh..wow." Was the most she could drum up from her brain. A grin spread across her lips as she gazed upon the Iron Church. No matter where in the world she went she could always count on there being a gym nearby that she could orientate herself to in order to get around. Space stations, Ships, Planet side bases, Everyplace had a Gym somewhere. Almost always by the living quarters. that was comforting as she watched the nearby Marines workout with a grin, she'd even nudge Elm gently, "I think Mirage could take them in an arm wrestling contest." The poor Yamataian off trying to plead to the holographic instructor made Ash snicker once it began providing subtitles, Ash herself was still getting the nuances of Ly'thir down.

 

[paladinrpg]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six

The fashion in which Akemi chose not to resist or dodge her drop but rather receive it in his unique way resulted in Aran'ya landing hard on a particularly sensitive spot of his midsection, the L'manel momentarily straddling the Nekovalkyrja in a pose that conjured both pain and likely a bit of pleasure. Of course she wasn't there for the latter, as the business end of her venomous bite soon angled for his head to finish her pinned prey off slowly...

Widow was naturally a bit surprised when Akemi reached out and actually fearlessly pulled her face into his faster. Was he that sadistic that he wanted to feel the pain and the poison? No... It dawned on her too late that the spider-aspect had actually played right into his hands all along, the sly alien getting just close enough for his lips to meet hers again in another stolen kiss...

Thankfully they were both jerked back by the sudden intervention of the other crew, Akemi keeping his caramel tongue in one piece and Aran'ya saved from feeling it violating her mouth and actually carrying out her previous threat to sever it if he kissed her again. She struggled to free herself from the Nepleslian's grip a moment with a disdainful glare at her quarry and wiping off her mouth with a black glove. He made it all seem like a show in the end was what really infuriated Widow.

"You conniving cat... This was all part of your plan to get some good footage wasn't it," Aran'ya spoke between rapid breaths from the thrilling chase, as color had come into her pale cheeks. Some part deep down in her had probably enjoyed it but didn't want to openly admit it, so she instead took his perverted innuendo in stride, folding her arms and turning up the edge of her mouth as her eyes swirled with yellows and green hues now. "And the way you hit on anything that moves, you obviously need to be inside of something yourself...preferrably a containment cell." The way the Medic saw it, she'd probably be doing the rest of the female crew a favor if she could pull that one off.

As much as Aran'ya traded insults with him, the black winged woman who had been trying to kill Akemi a moment before seemed to be following begrudgingly towards the bar. The temptation of a nice view was enough to make her brave the Neko's company for a few more minutes... or perhaps plan another counter attack.

 

[Amaryllis]

"Oh come on now, you were gonna eat me or something over nothing," Akemi replied, his voice rising to emphasize how patently ridiculous she was being. It was as if he genuinely thought he was the victim. "I didn't mean any harm. I'll tell you what," the Neko said, sounding like a melodramatic used car salesman admitting defeat and just giving everything away in his eyes, "I kissed you twice without warning so you can kiss me two, no ten, heck, I'll be real generous, you can kiss me as many times as you want without my permission. How's that? You're a very beautiful woman and I'm a handsome man. Like attracts like. This was all bound to happen sooner or later."

 

[Gallant]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3 Gym

Nudged by Ash, Elm made the appropriate filler noise, which in this case amounted to, “Mhm.”

Rising in the back of her mind like a small tide, ‘Ghost’ Petra remembered the gym aboard the Akahar. The novel feeling tasted a bit like bile in the back of her throat. She had never had the opportunity to remember any other gym, and now she found herself comparing the two of them. By comparison, this one seemed much larger.

Looking up to Mirage, Elm wondered if she could take the large Fyuunen.

Elm did not wonder if Mirage could take the Neps. Elm wondered if she could.

The little helashio could feel the familiar prickling, starting in her too-still tail, traveling up to her rear. From there, it crawled up her back and then began to dig into her brain. Danger, it told her. Danger, my good girl, you are tiny and they are large. But you can take them anyway.

Almost against her will, the tip of her tail began to move. A small circle, a little curl. Yes. She had been in this place before staring down the much-larger soldiers on the Akahar, and she had floored someone twice her size. And then nobody had fucked with the little white thing. At least, nobody who'd seen it.

Yes you can.

All of this in a split second, a jolt from stem to stern, powerful as lightning.

“I think she could,” Elm said quietly, glancing up to the nekovalkyjra soldier. It was long practice that kept her excitement off her face.

 

[Semjax]

LSDF Val’ta – Engineering

Where had Jiji been this entire time? Well it wasn’t around all the commotion that’s for sure, she had decided to get as far away from the troublesome cat as possible. She chose to instead head down into the belly of the Val’ta. She found herself, and Ta’cee, on the engineering deck, she was still ontop of Ta’cee who was carrying her. “Stupid cat is stupid, seriously… How in the world could the matriarchy allow such an idiot to work with us…” She sighed dejectedly, before hopping off of Ta’cee before petting her. “Yeah, I know, he’s just a pathetic sex fiend who can’t get any because his dicks to small.” She smiled before moving around the engineering compartment looking over everything, making sure that everything was up to snuff. She reached into her bag and pulled out the new and upgraded version of her previous companion Doll-3. She placed him on her shoulder, and within moments they were chatting up engineering stuff, happily, and joyfully. Ta’cee just sitting around while watching, before laying down.

 

[Moogle]

Val'ta - Deck 6 en route to Deck 3
Ny'za smiled and gave Rhiq on her shoulder a little nuzzle, it seems they both liked the compliment. "Rhiq is a darling, and his fur is so soft." It took her a moment to get back to what she was trying to say after that. "I was wondering, do you think we could tour the ship together? I wanted to get to know some new people." Her voice dropped into a low whisper just enough that only J'ann could hear "And learn your secret to get hips like that."

"Touring the ship is fine," J'ann calmly said, rubbing one of his hands pensively. Wait, when did he remove his gloves? They looked so soft. . .

"But as for my hips?" He continued, tilting his head and smiling softly. "Dancing and a healthy diet. And that is all there is to it."

They came upon the gym, which was about as impressively large and equipped as he'd expected it to be. Maybe a bit larger. Regardless, a good chunk of the people who were in that briefing were already over here and partaking in exercises to keep the body fit. Oh, and that thing wearing a uniform was up here too. But he didn't show it on his face what he thought of them.

"So this is the gym. It seems suitable for our journey's needs, I think."

 

[Eistheid]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Chruch

Letting her gaze wander the facilities arrayed before her, as well as those who had endeavoured to use them already, Mirage felt a quiet contentedness. Here were people who had chosen to better themselves, not content to sit idle while the Val'ta prepared for its maiden flight. Her considerations were torn by the suggestion of an arm wrestling match with the Nepleslians present, while she didn't disagree with the observation of the Nekovalkyrja Mirage wasn't exactly fond of the idea of setting up rivalries before they had even made it out of port.

A distraction came in the form of the odd behaviour of Petra, the small Helashio seeming tense and perhaps anxious? Mirage was forced to admit that she'd never had enough contact with the servile species to properly learn their behaviour, though she was fairly certain that there was something going on with her small companion. Instead of voicing her concerns Mirage decided to gloss over it for the moment and with an easy smile replied to the both of them, "While a friendly competition might be enjoyable as a distraction later... I don't believe that is what we came here seeking." She paused taking a moment to gesture toward the facility arrayed before them, "Is there anything you two want to get settled in with? At the very least it might be worth helping out your Yamataian kin Ashlinn..." As she trailed off while watching the poor woman fight with the automated system Mirage hoped that a few issues with accessibility would be the only international issues with the mission.

 

[Ashlinn]

LSDF Val'ta, Gym, Deck Three

Ash watched Ghost's reaction and tilted her head slightly, more out of curiosity and was starting to open her mouth to ask about the smaller womans reaction when Mirage made her statement about a little friendly competition was a distraction for later claimed her attention. She'd discreetly ask Ghost about it at a later time. Right now however Ash's lips peeled back as she nodded, "Mhmn, I'll go help her real fast then change." She pointed towards the punching bags nearby with a wicked grin, "Those look like they need a playmate. And I want to play." Her tail flicked back and forth starting midway down it's length and swung in lazy arc's as she slipped over towards the poor floundering Neko with a perky greeting and offer of help. Which required ample references to Ash's datapad and a translation of instructioms before the Holo began chattering away in Yamatai-Go.

She'd shoot Mirage a thumbs up, as she glanced about for a place to change...

 

[Luca]

LSDF Val'ta, Gym, Deck Three
The nekovalkyrja operating the automated assistant looked over to Ashlinn and her datapad as she interfaced with the digital assistant, looking between the two. "Oh, you're fluent in Ly'thir?" She stated as she watched Ashlinn interface with the training assistant.

"Let us prepare ourselves-" the digital woman's Ly'thir voice shorted for a moment and she appeared to cough for a moment, clearing her throat after a few puffs of white noise which constituted a cough could be heard. "Sorry about that." The digital woman said, now speaking Yamatai-go. "I had a frog in my throat. What would you like to do here today, Soldier?"

As Ashlinn received a thanks from the Nekovalkyrja in the form of a hug that encompassed most of her midsection and a kiss on the shoulder, they broke off and started chattering to the digital assistant, looking for some resistance training. Ash meanwhile spotted the changing rooms off to one side and by the wall.

They were unisex changing rooms with a block of showers in the back. One set of benches near a row of lockers seemed to be for the men while the ones off to the right were for the women, with only a waist-high divider between the men's and women's shower blocks. Some men and women of various races were already getting changed - it was very easy to spot who was who, but it seemed more people were off on the right. Given the Matriarchal nature of Lor and their warrior caste, this was no surprise.

Ash spotted a mixed-breed ID-SOL with a towel over his lap sitting down on the left bench - a splinter from the embodiment of Nepleslian genetics - sizing up a Fyunnen woman sitting across from him about six metres away. They were looking at each other curiously - both expected to be the apex warriors for their respective races.


LSDF Val'ta, Deck 5, Engines
JiJi's exploration of the engine area, in addition to spotting the more technically oriented crew getting familiar with their workstations and seeing what was on offer, quite surprised by the technology, she spotted someone who stood out. They weren't there at the briefing.

A man with burnt blonde hair and an enlarged, heavy pair of cybernetic arms which reached to his knees and gave him a noticeable slouch was chatting it up with one of the engineers enthusiastically, looking similar to a gorilla or crass Yamataian propaganda. Hearing the tail end of a conversation, it was something to do with... how awesome worm gears were. The engineer on the receiving end was not sharing this enthusiasm.

"...I made an old-style adding machine by using a fuckload of worm gears and I called it the mulch machine!" He could've thrown his arms into the air if they didn't look so heavy! "It was capable of sixteen bit operations even though it wos as big as me 'ouse!" He threw his arms into the air and his wingspan was quite impressive. Though he was diminutive compared to his arms, he kept his balance. "You could even play Ruin on it!"

He was talking about a very long-lived and violent Nepleslian video game which had been ported to every device known to man. "But where's the screen output go from an analogue device into a digital display?" The engineer, a New Tur'listan woman asked, shaking her head, tapping her foot against the ground at him. "You need a screen to play Ruin."

It was like he didn't mind at all. "I'm workin' on it but I definitely have it working!"

 

[Gallant]

LSDF Val'Ta. Iron Church, Deck Three.

The cat wanted to use the boxing gear. Petra sighed gently and inaudibly to herself, then made a beeline for the lockers.

Most of the soldiers coming in had apparently quickly changed, and a few were even naked. A few were staring at each other naked. No problems there, but even she could sense the sexual tension. Elm herself de-bloused, pulling the blouse off and folding it carefully. Most people wouldn’t lock their lockers. Theft was unheard of.

Nearly unheard of.

When she crouched to take a low locker, that went into her left boot, held close to her inner calf. She rose, straightening her brown undershirt, tucking it in and adjusting her belt. The little Scout did not miss the fact that hers was the only brown shirt, and doubted anyone else had either. That had been another one of those little surprises when she had read her file. After being freed, she had assumed that she, like many helashio serving, had been a clone. It would make more sense and been more comfortable for her. No, she had been a person and someone specific had taken it away somehow.

Without answering either of them, or making a single other sound, she began to wind her wrist wraps, wondering if she even should. It had worked on the Akahar, at least. But then, it had really changed the way they looked at her, and she didn't want to stand out that much.

She would just hold the bag, Elm thought, gnawing the inside of her lip and already knowing she’d lose her shit no matter what she promised herself.

 

[Ashlinn]

LSDF Val'Ta. Iron Church, Deck Three.

Ashlinn grinned towards the other Neko, "Fluent? No no, I am learning it steadily though. I've had months of transit time to grasp their elementary concepts. And many of their military connotations." She then held up her datapad and smiled, "Here, I have some translation software? I run it on the datapad and through myself, that way I have something." It took very little time to copy over the files and after the Holo started offering up help in Yamatai-go, She'd hug the other female back and grinning headed back towards the changing area. The various states of undress didn't bother her nor did it surprise her in the least bit. The diversity was astonishing though. So many people... All working together... It made her hopeful. And was so different from everything she'd known.

The ID-SOL and Fyunnen sizing one another up made her grin, she had no doubt both were the Apex of their race and both posessed some pretty good combat skills. she'd love to see it all play out on a mat sometime. But right now, she'd flick her tail and offer both a cheery hello as she slipped over to Ghost, picked the locker next to hers and stripped down to nothing shortly before rummaging through her duffel bag for her workout clothing. She'd secured a pair of tight shorts to replace the bikini bottoms she normally would have worn and donned the simple sports bra before hunting through her bags and finding her hand and ankle wraps. Those, to her were as important as stretching. pulling the wraps tight around her ankles, she's lift a leg up and make a few slow stretching kick extensions to make sure she had them on right before nodding in satisfaction, then grinned, whispering over towards Ghost, "You know... There are perks to gig afterall. Some of the guys here aren't too bad..." She actually sounded excited about that...

 

[paladinrpg]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six, Flight Deck

Aran'ya rolled her eyes once at Akemi as he went on about kisses for payback, and seemed to be returning to her more sarcastic and sharp-witted ways from the more sadistic side. "Oh is that your game now? Well, you're not getting one of those until I've had at least a good bit of wine in me first." As the aforementioned bar with a view loomed closer, the L'manel narrowed her eyes a bit and folded her arms when he turned on the flattery and insinuated they were a match for each other. "I'll admit you may be handsome by Lorath standards with your feminine features, but I'll be damned if you think that you're my type...."

 

[Archander]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Four, Armory

Ix'ion set his over sized duffle-bag down as the Lmanel quartermaster greeted him, then moved some of the hair that hung in front of his right eye aside to better and more respectfully respond the one that was in charge of all the ship issued gear, someone that one shouldn't get on the bad side of. "Don't mind me, I thought I would have a look around, get acquainted with a few places of interest before we go underway. Such a large station to take care of, are there others with you or are you assigned to take care of the armory all by yourself?"

As he spoke to the Quartermaster, Ix'ion slowly walked about looking over the armory with a careful admiration, then returned before the Lmanel to open his bag. Right on top was his sword, and not his LSDF issued Searing Blade either. It was like meeting an old friend, one that hadn't been seen in much too long, and he carefully removed the sheathed blade from atop his other belongings. Pulling the sword from its sheath, Ix'ion inspected the blade with a quiet focus, then looked to Quartermaster and replaced the blade back within its resting place.

"If it is not too much trouble, can you show me which locker is mine?" He asked as he slung his sword on his back with the hilt extending up over his right shoulder.

 

[Amaryllis]

"Well what is your type?" Akemi asked, genuinely curious, likewise crossing his arms. "Am I too passive for you or are you saying that because it'd be a real pain to admit it?" A grin gradually spread across his face. "I'll freely admit you're very much my type. You're able to have some fun unlike your friends and your aspectation is pretty cool. You're also the right height. I might prefer your breasts being either bigger or smaller, but we can't have everything. You're a tad too hairy for me but seeing what you did to my face I suppose you can make appropriate adjustments. All in all I guess I could let you bear my children."

 

[Gallant]

LSDF Val'Ta. Iron Church, Deck Three.

Ghost stiffened, tail curling.

She hadn’t noticed. Briefly, she looked around at the mostly naked men and women milling about, either in a state of undress or near-undress. The Iron Church had a particular uniform for worship. Elm did not plan to stay here long or she would have changed into it herself. She had the boyshorts and the chest wraps for it. But she didn’t feel like going at it as hard as the others did, and felt more nervous about her sleeping arrangements than any old embarrassing or empowering thing that could possibly happen in a gym.

She did take her longboots off and carefully fold them into the locker. Rather than putting on the wrestling shoes, she bloused her uniform pants closed with a few quick twists. Being barefoot didn’t bother her. Elm was a helashio, after all, and these ships were extremely sanitary.

Elm looked back at the nekovalkyrja, and wondered if the three of them would end up living together. This too-happy cat-android, the strange Fyuunen, and the broken helashio.

Probably.

Tightening her own wrist-wraps, Elm stole a few more glances around the locker room with a new perspective. Yes, there were a lot of men here. And yes, there were a lot of women here, too. Elm hadn’t even bothered to consider any of them, male or female, even as eye candy. Was she so distracted? No – it was that the nudity didn’t hit her like that. She looked away and flushed slightly. Feeling the phantom pain twisting her gut, where a certain… thing had happened…

The little helashio reassured herself mentally that she was Okay, and that the neko had just noticed this because she was a neko and they were maddened sex-crazed constructs. That, actually, happened to be the only thing her shaky memory offered up about them.

It didn’t quiet her unease.

Turning, she looked for Mirage, wondering if she, also, would be joining in on this.

 

[Syaoran]

Valta- Gym

Ny'za smiled at J’ann’s response, she was worried that they would turn her down. Hearing the rest though had her confused, maybe it was the amount of dancing that was key, she would have to work much more dancing into her training program.

Following after J’ann she arrived at the gym with him and looked around, a smile on her lips. “I did not expect it to be so well equipped..I think I’m going to spend a lot of time here.” Despite her slender appearance, she was the kind of person who did a lot of physical exercise.

 

[Eistheid]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Chruch

For the moment largely uninterested in partaking in the rote ritual of bettering one's self physically, Mirage unlike her companions hadn't modified her appearance to prepare to partake in any form of exercise. She did however remain nearby to provide a friendly, and somewhat protective watch over her smaller charges. Curious as to how the Neko was going to approach the punching bag, and how the somewhat high strung helashio would handle the excitement kept Mirage without immediate answer and as such relatively engaged with the proceedings.

Giving Petra a warm smile as she waited for the two to begin, Mirage settled into a comfortable stance that in her opinion was just as good as sitting for long periods of time, albeit without the side effect of softening one's flesh.