RP: YSS Resurgence Resurgence of Yamatai - Mission 4: The Hand That Feeds

Deck 4

Sanda looked a Del a moment then just sighed. With a slight look of annoyance Sanda reached down and pulled a Type 33 Dark from her boot. She checked the weapon's charge even though she knew it was full then flipped the pistol around and offered it butt first to the small Neko. "I'm going to want that back." She stated before addressing both Del and Frank together. "Alright, we're heading up to transport our prisoners off the ship. Captain doesn't want them here for the final leg of our mission. Keep conversation to a minimal. You are representing the Star Army. Make a good impression." Her gaze lingered on Frank a moment then she led the way to Deck 2 where the Kuvexians were being kept.

As she led the way to Deck 2 Sanda pulled out her coms and hailed the bridge. "Captain, this is Nito Hei Hoshi. Sir I am preparing to transfer our prisoners off the ship. Sterling-Hei and Lulie-Hei are assisting me."

When they reached the former crew quarters now turned brig, Sanda stopped again and made sure her companions understood what they were to do. She really wasn't in any mode for jokes or mistakes at this point. Satisfied that they understood, Sanda keyed in the passcode and opened all the doors of the cabins at once.

There were 10 cabins on Deck 2. Four along one wall with their doors facing another set of four on the opposite wall. At the end of the hall were two more cabins plus the showers. Pale blue faces poked out from the open doors. From one of the cabins at the end of the hall came the Countess. Sanda bowed slightly to the woman. Ever since surrendering the Countess had maintained a polite, yet royal attitude. She had an air of command about her that you treated with respect. "Countess," Sanda said, "I have orders to escort you and your people off the ship. The Resurgence is preparing for combat and we don't want you or your people hurt. If you will please follow us, we'll take you to the hanger where there is a shuttle waiting to take you."

as Sanda held her gaze on frank before turning around frank sighed. "This is why I didn't work with teams back in my merc days." frank said under his breath as he fallowed the two Frank kept his eyes straight ahead. *Finally, something I'm more framilure with. * Frank thought to himself as Sanda handled the talking with the prisoner. Frank thought back to his glory days of his early 20s as a merc pulling asset protection with Ty and others from psychomomp. Keeping his attention forward the lumbering giant of a android would observe the surroundings and stand off to Sandras 10'oclock keeping a more professional and somewhat drilled air about him as he assisted. "Taking point." Frank said keeping it short and sweet no need for long winded sentences as he worked.

Medical Lab

Thad walked over and slumped down onto the floor next to the vat Mia was in. He slowly learned back and rested against the tank. Despite the heated discussion with Koyama he had calmed and was more within his right mind. "You never did get the chance to share your favorite color or food with me did you." His words were calm and soft though the expression on his face told a different story. One of a person who had seen one too many battles. Seen too many friends and foes that littered the battlefield. One too many broken homes and ravaged villages. " He reached up and over his shoulder and placed a hand on the vat. "Would seem despite all the technology of Star Army, they still have not found a way to conquer despair. An abyss few escape from." His open palm closed slightly and his chest tightened. While he could not bring himself to say he loved her, this still did little to lessen his heartache.

"I'm coming for you Mia." He declared as he rose to his feet. He reached up and rubbed his arm across his face. The droplets left on his arm reflected brightly in the light of the medical bay. "What do you need Poppy? Death gunna have to find another poor soul to reap, this one is already spoken for." He said looking towards Poppy, his signature smile back on his face. He looked over his shoulder and back at Mia. His handprint was still outlines on the tank, placed exactly in front of her hand as if it knew he was there.

Outside Shuttle Bay

Akira looked over at the brightly colored winged individual. She ran into plenty of Elysians mostly hostile in the distant past, she couldn't help by feel a bit odd to see one with brightly colored wings until she realized he was a Neo-Caelisolan. And just any of them either, its THE Neo-Caelisolan once her personnel query got back when she fed his the image of his face to her the image recognition VR she bought and installed.

When he reached out to shake his hand, she reached her hand and gave a very firm handshake. "Greetings Senator and thank you for your warm greeting. Though normally I am greeted by the ship's Chief or XO. This is the first time the department head of science has been tasked to do it." she said, no real sarcasm to her voice. Just an observation to what she is used to being normal. Her professionalism demanded that she state him by his title since while he was he senior Taii by a few months, he was also superior to her in the matters of civil matters.

"I do not want to keep you from your work, could you point me to the officer quarters please?"

Outside Shuttle Bay

Mochi glanced up and down at the newcomer, taking her in. Cream skin and dark hair. It was a nice combo and reminded him a little of the 'goth' aesthetic, wondering if this new Neko enjoyed that kind of fashion in her downtime. She certainly looked like she might suit it.

Fashion thoughts aside, Mochi was just a biological creature, unable to instantly gauge more than what he'd glanced on his PDA. His initial impressions of her were good. Akira's handshake was very promising and genuine, which he returned in kind. Not limp-wristed like some. It's funny how small things changed a perception.

"Please-" The Elysian smiled, giving a small dismissive gesture with his free hand at the word 'Senator'. "-you can just call me 'Mochi' when we're not in front of the enlisted.. We're the same rank, after all." He added, "I try to keep the politics on the down low, the fewer know, the fewer people get confused." Seinosuke winked, knowing she was smart enough to understand that logic.

Mochi nodded at Akira's mention of the lack of Aoba and Koyama. "Hai-- I'll have to apologise on their behalf. A few minutes ago we had an.. incident. Both of them are a little wrapped up, so I thought it best to greet you rather than nobody." The blonde chuckled warmly, "We'll roll out the welcome wagon next mealtime." Mochi promised, making a note to bring it up to the necessary crewmembers.

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, the labcoated individual waved a hand to indicate the corridor ahead. "I'll walk you over. We've got POWs coming this way and all sorts. It's not problem- Have you ever been on a Fuji-class before?"

Zanven’s bunk.

Hearing the knock he looked at the door suspiciously before he stood up and with his bare chest still out he walked to the door. Once he opened it he expected there to be someone one the opposite end, yet all there was…were a few boxes of models he had been unable to find before and a note from Frank telling him what the contents were and that he is not great with social situations. “Well…I will make sure to thank him next time I see him.” He said as he came back and placed the boxes on his desk before sitting next to Sakuko. “Have you had difficulties settling in here?” He asked earnestly.

Zanven's Cabin

Sakuko gently but firmly pushed Zanven down. She then climbed into Zanven's bed and onto him, straddling him and sitting on the back of his thighs and leaned forward to reach his shoulders and began rubbing his bare skin. She had noticeably strong hands and was obviously at least somewhat experienced at giving massages. "Oh, I don't think I have having a difficult time settling in," she answered him. "I'm not the center of attention but I don't aspire to be the center of attention either. I work best when I'm quiet and waiting in the wings until I'm there when people need me. As logistics support I am here to make sure others shine more than to shine myself, if that makes sense. Socially, in terms of crew cohesion, Resurgence still feels like we are coming together. In other words, it's not just you or me, it's that nobody else is completely settled either. But we are working towards it. YE 44 will see a lot of the more experienced soldiers on the ship becoming enlisted leadership and NCO, for example Pidole will probably get her first red chevron in YE 44, and that's just around the corner. Speaking of which, when the ship gets repaired after this mission, she' told me that's she's arranged for a special docking system for a Nodachi to be installed on the ship's underside, which will let you dock that thing in space and it'll let you board your ship like a sentai by jumping down into the cockpit." Sakuko continued seeking out tense muscles in his back and rolling them around with her palms and thumbs. "The reason I am here is because I want to help you feel better and less isolated. I know there's been parts of the mission where you were stuck alone in the fighter. You're also the sole dedicated pilot on the ship so you don't have a built-in group like a squadron to socialize with. As one of the few licensed pilots on the ship, I figured we at least have that in common," she explained. "So what do you want to see more of?" she asked. "I know that was a lot of talk but I'm also a good listener..."

Koyama watched Thad's theatrics with impassivity and tracked him as he left. Continuing in silence and allowing a moment to pass her eyes closed halfway and sighed looking at the tube. "Do what you can to save them both, While I try to deal with him." her tone betraying only very little of the woman's feeling of anger at that bit of drama from the man.

Giving Poppy a look then she added, "I also heard nothing about not being respawned, or if she would somehow have just survived this instead. Just permission to do so immediately if the backup is needed, if that helps." having not heard of the decision the nurse and Thad had come to before but was now seemingly also wanting to go along with of her own volition or felt pressured into out of her own guilt and shame. Bit of both really.

All the XO had really wanted was something to help ensure Mia wouldn't try the same again if her backup was used. If needed that would have been some form of treatment or conflict resolution between the two would-be parents to try and manage things amicably if they ended whatever it was between them. Just, not trying to kill themselves this go around.

With one last look at the tube then at Poppy, Koyama left the medical bay to chase after the Nepleslian to try and stop whatever foolishness he may intend now. "Maximus-hei! Wait!" she shouted trying to wave him down. "Stop! Please!"

Leaving the Outside of the Shuttle Bay

"Very well Iemochi-taii." Akira responded with a nod of her head. She wasn't into politics, but as she got higher and higher in rank she was being forced to learn the science of politics. So she understood what he was getting at.

Hefting the duffel bags up again, it can be noted that compared to old photos of her, she was lacking the classical Neko ears. Instead, human ears could be seen instead. Perhaps she was getting back to her Nepleslian roots. Maybe it is a form of rebellion. Who knows.

"I would imagine they are Kuvexian pirates if they are being treated like PoWs." she remarked after nodding for him to kindly guide her. "This is indeed the first Fuji-class I have ever been on. A lot more spacious than the Plumeria. Hopefully it is also more capable of recovering after a catastrophic event like what happened with the YSS Kanagawa." she said before sighing.

"That experience would have been smoother if we didn't have an overeager Nepleslian trying to do good in his eyes. But less about the past..." she said as she followed Mochi. She connected to the ship's personnel roster and started to look at the list of infantry soldiers assigned to the ship on her augmented vision.

When she came down to Thad's name, she had to stop herself from screaming in annoyance. "What have I done to piss off the Kami this much to have Maximus-hei again?!"

Hallway

Thad in the moment was starting to become overwhelmed with everything going on. He was not a trained doctor and he sure as heck wasn't about to start trying to learn on Mia. He felt helpless and this was a very unsettling feeling for him. Without saying a word he walked out of the medical bay. He figured if anyone would be able to make sense of this it would be his friend Mochi. If anyone would be able to bring back the dead it would be that guy. And more important, once brought back to help change the hands of fate. He checked and seen he was near the shuttle bay and was set to receive new guests on the ship.

He was partway down the hall when he over heard his name being called. He paused and looked over his should to see that Koyama had chased after him. Of all people why did it have to be her, the only one he would give pause and hear out. He stopped and turned to face her. "I know I was out of line in there. I am sorry Koyama-Chui, my feelings got the better of me." He spoke out as she closed in on him.

Koyama appeared thankful that he stopped, over her shoulder and toward the medbay looking thereafter having come closer to him. "She'll live," was her vague response. Looking to him, voice low the Chui hastened to add, "But I cannot stop her being tested if it is asked to be done. What happened was a tragedy in and of itself. So it may happen whether you like it or not.

My power only goes so far. I'm doing this for that child, you were right." one of her fingers tapped at her side absently. Chewing on the inside of her cheek before continuing.

"A baby should not grow up without a mother." then looking him squarely in the face, "Or a father. They deserve both, but only in so much they will do right by themselves and the life they've made."

"But, if you cannot maintain a relationship with her, you both need to find a way to break this amicably. Each is there for the baby so they know both of their parents as they grow. Or if you choose otherwise and commit, the three of you are happy. That is how it should be. A healthy, happy child with parents that care despite whatever path they choose."

Arriving towards the Officers' Quarters

"Well deduced, Akira-taii! Kuvexian pirates indeed. Hopefully they'll be off our hands in the next few minutes, along with their leader." Mochi explained, leading the pair of them by a pace or two. The Elysian was aware he hadn't offered to help carry Akira's bags, but it was a little too late now and it wasn't far to their destination.

"Plumerias.. My first posting was a Plumeria and that went up in a huge fireball too." Mochi shook his head and gave a little, nervous chuckle. It seemed like it was a little bit of a trend, but then again, there weren't too many Plumerias still in active service since the Fuji and others. "Well, I think you'll love it here. We have all the modern creature comforts. Bigger and better. This is my second and I served on the first ever Fuji-class for a long time, so feel free to ask if you need any information not on the datasheet."

Mochi rounded a corner or two as he spoke, chatting with Akira. When she brought up Maximus-hei, the science officer couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Oh, gods. He's terrorised half the fleet at this rate!" Mochi guffawed, glancing back to Akira. "He's already got himself in legal trouble since coming aboard and I believe he may be involved in whatever our Ketsurui-chusa is investigating." His emerald eyes had a glint of humour, "Any stories we should know about?"

They turned the last corner, coming up with a row of doors that clearly resembled a set of bedrooms or barracks.

Thad looked on towards Koyama with much intent. He let her finish her thought before giving a reply back. "I am glad to hear, though I too wonder if we should tempt fate." He paused as he looked towards the floor. "Should the worst be unavoidable, I'd do my part to find the baby another mother figure to look after it." His eyes lifted and looked to Koyama. "I am sure this is bold of me to ask, but I wouldn't mind if that person was you. Someone I have no doubt I can trust."

Deck 2

With Frank taking point and Del bringing up the rear, Sanda walked in the middle and slightly to the side. As they moved the two dozen odd prisoners from Deck 2 down to Deck 5 where the shuttle bay was Sanda spoke with the Countess. The Nepleslian had bought some Kuvexian Aether cleavers on the planet Valaad and was very curious about their origin. As well as the coat of arms engraved into the handle. Regrettably, Sanda had not had time to show them to the Countess to learn about them but there was a chance that they would be picking up the Countess again after their current mission and the Countess said she would be happy to take a look at them.

The rest of the trip to the shuttle bay was uneventful. The shuttle and armed guards were waiting to take possession of the Resurgence's prisoners. Sanda signed the necessary documents transferring responsibility over to the shuttle and it's guards. Having completed her task, Sanda hailed the bridge. "Hoshi-hei to Bridge. Prisoners have been transferred over to the shuttle. Hoshi out."

Relived that that had gone without any trouble Sanda turned to Del and said, "Thanks for your help Del. Now go take some time to colect yourself. I don't know how long until we're up again but you should have some time. Oh!" Sanda added before the short neko could leave. "My backup, if you please." Referring to the pistol she had lent Del while they were transferring the prisoners. Sanda took the weapon back and automatically checked the charge on it before tucking it away back inside her boot.

"Thanks for your help as well." She said to Frank. "I think I'm going to grab a cup of coffee. You can join me if you don't have anything else to do."

Delmira followed the prisoners bringing the rear. She didn't notice them boarding the ship or Sanda asking for her weapon back until handed it over. "Uh yes I will." She said and turned on her heel to head to the barracks.

Delmira will send a telepathic message to Kinie as she walks to her room, she was glad she moved all her stuff from her shared room with Thad right now. {Sorry to intrude but are you free to hang out?} She sent the message and entered her room and removed the sword from her belt and put it on the before she changed into relaxed wear. She would take the punishment for going off her duty shift early but given what happened she figured at least Koyama would understand. Plus its not like she cant just holo her uniform on and deal with some situation.

Putting his sidearm into his shoulder holster He Nods. "yeah, something other that nutrient jelly would be good for a change." Frank says before fallowing Sanda "Mabie after the coffee you can join me for Meditation." Frank added as he fallowed her. Its been a rough start, Theres a time to unwind and a time to goof around and with Frank getting used to the difference between the two hes begining to understand and get back into the mentality.

"Hey Sanda if you dont mind when the ship stops at port I wanna ask you if youll acompany me to get repaires from the guy who created this body for me."

Outside Officer Quarters

"Akira is my given name. Suzuki is my family name." Akira said while briefly lowering her voice so that only Mochi can hear her. There were not enlisted in sight, but the buggers have a way of sneaking around where they are not supposed to be. Softening the correction was one part out of professionalism and 2 parts out of habit of knowing enlisted are always around.

She then returned to a normal volume "I do have a few questions. But I would like to get settled in first and report to the Captain once he is ready to see me. As for Maximus-hei, I am sure he may. I'll save story time when there is little chance for the enlisted to eavesdrop.

"Perhaps our off time will align, we can have a working dinner then." she said with a slight smile on her face. She then queried which rooms or bunks were free and claimed the totally open room for herself. If there was an intel officer on board, the situation would remind her of when she temporarily lead a Giretsu Century on a Plumeria with the Rikugun Package. Far more maneuverability and firepower than the Kagai Assault Ships. Though way more crowded, normal infantry likely would go nuts being on top of each other like that.

Waving good bye to Mochi once she placed her duffel bags down, she pinged each of the the ship's infantry (Rangers included) and soldiers to see if they were digital mind capable. For the ones that were, she then sent them a text message and an attachment with the Giretsu Handbook. For those that did not, she placed an order with the ship's caretaker and supply specialist to download the handbook to tablets and deliver them to Thad, Sanda, Frank, and Cassie. The message for all read as the following:

"
Greetings,
I am Taii Suzuki Akira, newly assigned infantry officer of the YSS Resurgence. Attached to this message is a Giretsu Handbook I would like each and every one of you to read it and make your own. Even if you have no intention of joining the professional order of Giretsu, the unclassified information in it will still be of benefit. We will be getting hands on it.

Have a good day.

Suzuki Akira
Taii, Star Army of Yamatai
"

Wardroom

Sanda eyed Frank a moment to see if he was serious about the meditation. That was not something she would have expected from the big android. "What do you mean by meditation?" She asked as she entered the galley. Rossa made a good pot of coffee. Super strong. Sanda poured herself a cup then added a finger or two of rum from her hip flask. After a moments hesitation, she offered Frank a hit before putting it away and adding some sugar. "For me, meditation is listening to rock and roll music as loud as I can stand it. I like to drown out all other sounds and just let the music take me." She said as she sat down at one of the tables.

Sanda tried to sip her coffee but it was still to hot. "I also like to go to the VR room when no one else is around. I set the realism to max and then insert myself into the greatest losses of the Star Army. The first and third Battle of Nataria, the fall of Hanako's World." She tired her coffee again, just managing to sip it without burning herself. The heat of the warm beverage plus the warmth of the rum made her body loosen up some. "With the realism of the VR room, in about 20 minuets you forget that it's not real and you feel like you're fighting for your life. Sometime you only survive the waves upon waves of enemies for about 30 mins. Sometimes you can last as long as an hour." Her personal best was 1:51.

"I find it sharpens your mind terribly. After a time, you're not thinking about anything but how to land your next blow and how to dodge the one coming in at you. The is such a clarity and a peace about it." Sanda suddenly felt like she had opened a little too much and cleared her throat. She remembered that Frank had just asked her if she would accompany him to get some repairs done when they stopped next. "Sure, no problem." She answered quickly. Sanda wasn't really a super secretive person, she just had a habit of playing her cards closer to her chest. It took her a bit to really open up with people.

She was somewhat relived to see Beryl inter the Wardroom with 2 tablets which she placed on the table stating that it was from the new infantry officer. Sanda looked at the tablet with interest. ¿Una nueva oficial de infantería? Eso suena interesante. She read the message then scanned the material. The Giretsu hu? Sanda had been looking into them more and more in the recent weeks. She had liked what she had read. They were elite infantry, much like her beloved Rangers. She had been toying with the idea of applying to the Giretsu. They were some of the best trained in the use of power armor and that was one area Sanda was lacking. She also liked how serious the Giretsu's took their jobs. That was definitely something they had in common. "Taii Suzuki Akira." Sanda mused. "Oh this is going to be very interesting indeed."

Frank turned his head to Sanda. "meditation for me is heading to a quite place with ambient calming music to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mental clarity and emotionally calm and stable state." Frank did accept a shot before handing it back to her. "Honestly not a bad way to keep yourself on your toes, You remind me a lot of the various team members in the scarecrows....that being said I got a lot of repect for you regarding that, dispite the rocky start im getting into the swing of things."

Frank would sip on his coffee as he mules over the days events and everything thats happened thus far. "Well Sanda I'm probably gonna check in on Cassie here in a bit But thanks for the coffee."

Seinosuke nodded to Akira, having been corrected. "Sorry- It's hard to tell surnames from first names sometimes. Nepleslians do it the other way round and things." After a moment, he added, "A dinner sounds lovely! I'm sure we'll be working together closely." It was inevitable, really, given their similarity in rank. They also had some infantry and combat experience in common, too. "Well, I hope you find the quarters to your liking! See you soon!" Mochi waved in return, disappearing down the corridor in his labcoat.

Everything in the ship began to shimmer in bright teal and a loud "BOOJ" sound fill the air as the ship space-folded out of the Nataria star system. After a brief journey the ship was in the outskirts of the Halna star system, a somewhat disreputable independent system located within Yamataian space.

Bridge

Aoba took in the sights of the Halna system from his captain's chair. He placed a call to Koyama, simply asking her to "See what kind of away team you can gather up."

As the ship got closer to the infamous "Black Moon" Kalena continuously searched for threats, paying particular attention to the other starships in the system. So far things seemed alright. The cargo ship they were escorting followed along behind the gunship.

Random Corridor

Koyama bore a flat look at whatever she was attending to on her datapad. She'd told Thad in as gentle a way as possible there was no romance between them, nor chance of it if that had been his intentions. Frankly she had little thought for such things with her goals finally coming together.

But did offer to help in some way shape or form should that poor kid's biological parents decide to keep it.

"Yes sir," her voice sounded worn as she responded and then went over the roster.

Lifting an eyebrow at one of the newest additions to the crew, the XO put out the call to this high ranker, Suzuki Akira. Asking the woman if she would like to be part of an away team.

Thad had expected such a reply though was worth asking. Granted he did not expect it to go this way knowing how good the science of Yam was. None the less still nice to know on some levels she'd help. "So I was on my way to see Mochi, plan to tag along? I believe there is a new person who joined the ship as well. Be nice to be introduced to them and welcome them aboard."

"Roger, I will assemble the away team. Any special requirements or mission profile they should be equipped with? What is their mission objective?" Akira replied back to the XO's message. While she had command experience, she was not used to coming up with compositions out of the blue without some kind of understanding of the mission she was going to lead troops into.

Koyama lifted an eyebrow from the pad at his question. Sighing, she nodded, "Briefly, the Shosa is wanting me to put together an away team. And I'm contacting them as we speak." she tapped the side of her head, wireless communication.

~'For the moment we've entered the Halna system. And are near the Black Moon.'~ she warned Akira, ~'If we land, survey and scouting. For now you will be on hold until I know for certain.'~ she sent back,

To Thad Koyama continued, "Lead on,"

~'Shosa? What specification do you wish for the away team? I've enlisted the new arrival to help.'~ firing off another message, this time to the Shosa.

Thad continued on his way, keeping pace with Koyama while they made their way to the cargo bay. "You seem to be getting very comfortable in your role as XO. Nice to know I have someone I can count on not to lead us into a pointless fight."

"Maybe a mix of uniform and power armor," Shosa Aoba replied. "I don't want it to look like an invasion," he told Koyama.

Koyama, "I cannot understand what is going through your head right now," conceding the point that she didn't know what he was thinking. Usually didn't, to begin with. "As for this role," all that came after was a shake of the head.

"We Nekovalkyrja are born quickly, and we age quickly. A childhood for us is a mere three months if you are truly born. During that time we have to acclimate to the world around us. The people. We move so much faster than humans and Nepleslians in that regard."

"I am nine now. And I could tell you right down to the day that I only spent a little over a year and a half with my mother. My only parent. So, if you both keep it, be there for them as much as you can. Because you never know what the future may hold," Thad was slugged in the arm then, Koyama's eyes dead ahead. It hadn't been too hard, more a companionable bump.

~'Understood,'~ Koyama replied to Aoba, then relayed his suggestion to Akira asking if she had any suggestions on the matter. ~'With your level of experience, your input would be most welcome.'~

"Surveying, understood. The Rangers are perfect for fulfilling the light infantry role. I will assign a few of the Heavy er Power Armor Infantry and keep the remainder here on reserve. After all, not an invasion." Akira replied back.

Akira's Newly Acquired Officer Cabin

Leaning on her chair, Suzuki Akira sighed for a moment as she gazed at the ship's crew roster and the infantry section's roster. Not the most well rounded crew, but that was not exactly an uncommon thing in the Star Army. Especially after a major war.

She was going to need an enlisted advisor and again the roster issue could be felt. She was going to have to elevate one of the Hei to the position. Out of the bunch, only a few seemed up to the task.

"All infantry and soldiers, report to the power armor bay immediately." Akira sent off as system wide message to the speakers on the ship. She got off of her chair and slipped into her Type 42 Bodysuit before making her way to the power armor bay.

Thad rolled with the hit. It was nice talking like two normal people, even if both were far from normal. Well, he'd have to admit to himself Koyama maybe a little ahead on that front.

"Aye, it always amazed me at how quickly time flies for a Neko." They rounded the corner and the birb they were looking for came into view. "And here is the big man himself." Thad called out as they walked up to Mochi.

Akira, exiting her cabin, speed walked past Mochi and looked at Thad. "Armor Bay, now."

Koyama blinked, wondering if this was some kind of providence dropped on her lap. With a regretful look to Thad, and a glance to the Elysian, "That would be the woman I asked to help with the away team it seems."

Thad looked on and blinked a few times. He then reached up and pointed at her. "I know you. Yeah, last ship I was on I believe you was on that ship too. Another lives, hot dang it is great to see you!" He stepped forward and went to hug Akira.

Akira put a hand up in a futile effort to stop the hug.

"She said to go to the armor bay," Koyama reminded Thad as he tried for the bear hug with the Taii.

At best Thad got in a half hug which looked awkward. "Yes, to the armor bay to suit up. We will have to sit down for a drink and get caught up on things. Do I have stories to share." A smile was beaming across his face.

Wardroom

Sanda finished her coffee and put the mug in the dirty dishes tub. She had felt the ship make the jump out of the system. She decided she'd head to the PA bay, just in case they were called into action.

Armory

Norita, the armorer, was already at the armory door, seated behind a counter with a rack of power armor rifles behind her. "Hi, what can I get you?" the red-haired young soldier asked.

Sanda smiled, "Nothing at the moment. I just wanted to be in the area in case we were called to action again." She leaned her elbows on the counter and looked around the armory at all the lovely weapons. "Been very busy today?" She asked.

Armor Bay

Yayoi had spent what felt to her to be hours hugging Cassie close to her form giving the other woman comfort that she needed before duty pulled them apart. Time found the Ranger going from the Wardroom to get an apple juice, to the PA Bay. Like Sanda, she wanted to check and make sure her armor was ready. She spotted Sanda there and smiled” hey Sanda, I see we are of the same mind, ” she said to the other Ranger then turns to the woman sitting at the desk, ”I wanted to see if the maintenance and check on my armor since the last mission we used it on was completed.” She didn’t smile, and she gave off the body language that she wasn’t in a good mood.

Yayoi had been bothered by how things affected Cassie, and she wanted to distract herself as she tried to think of a way to cheer Cassie up and make her feel better.

Sanda turned to see Yayoi coming towards her and smiled. "We're both Rangers so I hope we think similarly." Although Yayoi normally very composed and a bit hard to read, Sanda could tell that she wasn't her usual self. "Everything alright?" She asked casually, knowing that Yayoi was like her and didn't like super personal questions all the time.

Cassie smiled softly as she made her way down through the ship to the armor bay and looked over her suit, which Norita had fixed up. She was about to start getting it on her when she stopped and asked out loud, "Anyone know what the loadout for this mission is? PA, AMES, duty uniforms, or low profile civvies?"

Frank after finishing his coffee ended up putting his mug in the dirty dishes tub before making his way to the PA bay to work on or assist in repairing and or gauging weapons if need be. "Howdy got any weapons or armor you need help gauging or repairing?"

"It looks like I'm all set, Frank," Cassie replied, She was curious about the new cyborg guy and what his history was. "You know anything about Halna?" she asked him. I mean, he looked like someone that might.

Frank shrugged, "Sorry, can't say that I do I'm not sure if you've heard but I've been dead for about 5 years so there's a lot I don't know while I'm trying to catch up."
Frank thought about it for sometime. "Care to fill me in on what Halna is?"

"Okay, so it's basically a system full of indies and spacers like Nepleslian Reds and the Black Syndicate. The Freespacers tried a hostile takeover once and the Star Army kicked them out with force...and aether. The Freespacers nuked stuff and it got nasty. Over time things have been rebuilt and it's a port of call for people who want to be in Yamataian space but not on a Yamatai-controlled planet, I guess," Cassie explained. "Think of the last place we went, but inside tunnels in a moon. I assume this mission is basically trying to stay on the good side of the locals by giving them stuff they need."

Nodding his head at the explanation Frank would ask. "So this is a foreign aid mission? I mean I guess it should be a good thing to see new places." Shrugging his shoulders at the notion he then asked. "So whats your story, 5 years ago I never seen Nekos before but also why did you decide to join the Star Army?"

"To kill shit," Cassie laughed, making arm flexes and finger-guns. "I needed something to do with my life other than being someone's pet."

Frank chuckled at the jester. "Fair enough, besides you wouldn't make a great pet...your too free spirited and awesome to be someones pet."

Yayoi glanced to Sanda as she was spoken to, and nodded it was true they were both Rangers, Sanda was correct in her assessment of them thinking alike because of that. Then the personal question, which she didn’t like talking about. She’d still felt embarrassed when she complained about her younger sister Kiyo outranking her greatly. “Fine, ” she said simply before Frank’s and Cassie’s arrival caught her attention.

Yayoi noticed Cassie’s arrival and took note of how she appeared to be smiling, which pleased the ranger. It meant that the incident was passed, her and she was feeling better, at least she hoped so. She remained silent as the conversation happened and she learned of Halna.

Sanda nodded and didn't push the issue. Yayoi was one of Sanda's favorite people on the ship and she had no desire to push any issue she might have. Besides she was also listening in to Cassie give an account of Halna.

Sanda went into the Bay and checked her Daisy armor. She hadn't used it on to board the Kuvexian ship so it was still in good shape. She ran her hand lovingly over the shield. She always wanted to give it a paint job. Cover it in lighting bolts like she had tattooed over her body but that was against regs and all. But she still could imagine how awesome that would look.

Akira entered the Power Armor Bay and looked around.

Sanda snapped to attention and called out "Officer on deck!"

"At ease, Infantry form up in a half circle in front of me. I have our mission briefing. I will wait for any stragglers to get down here since not everyone is here right now." Akira said, looking at the crew currently there. She nodded to Sanda, Frank, Cassie, Yayoi and the armorer.

Delmira groaned and made her way to the power armor bay after she crawled out of the neko nest. She holographed her uniform on over her clothes, she made no effort to hide how bad she was feeling. ~Rain check, though I left something on the desk for you to look at.~ she sent to Kinie telepathically. The short Neko entered the bay and saluted Akira before walking over to her Mindy.

Yayoi silently went to her power armor bay and observed her Daisy. She noticed that her Daisy appeared clean causing her to smile a little at the fact her power armor got a pamper treatment. She did check of her power armor systems and found everything at green. At Sanda’s words she turned into the attention stance before Akira ordered at ease.

Akira smiled the most professional smile you would see on the official photos of Yui and other high ranking members of the Star Army of Yamatai. "I am Taii Suzuki Akira and I will be leading and training all of you starting now. We can get to know each other as soldiers later as we now have work to do. Luckily, some of you get hang back in reserve as all of you are not needed for what is basically a survey mission. We do not want to look like the Star Army is bullying their way here after all."

Akira looked over towards the Rangers, seeing their regimental patches. "I will require both of your expertise. Rangers are the best trained for this sort of assignment." She then looked at the rest of the combat trained members. "Now, I could order two of you to round out this fire team. But I will let the rest of you decide who will come."

She then stood there and watched them hopefully debate. It might seem like she was just being lazy on not giving out a direct order, but Akira was curious to see the level of chemistry existed between the infantrymen and women. Were they going to hash this out in a professional manner or were they going to squabble like a bunch of fresh Hei out of Basic Training?

Sanda smiled to herself. She liked the look of this new Taii already. No beating around the bush. This was the kind of leadership the infantry needed.

Cassie felt nervous about having to be under someone new, especially someone with grand plans to try to make the soldiers here more 'elite' but she also knew this could take a lot of pressure off her as she was no longer the top-ranking infantry. Still, putting the rangers in charge of the away team rubbed Cassie's fur the wrong way a bit.

Delmira deactivated her hologram clothing as she started to suit up. The short neko was in what could equate to pajamas as she suited up. Though in her armor she was much more lively. "I will go."

Yayoi listened and observed the new woman silently as she spoke to them all. Akira definitely seemed like the normal officers she worked under. She knew that Time will tell all, but she liked her, and in response to the officers acknowledgement of her presence and skills, she nodded.

Frank would pat Cassie on the head before getting ready for the mission.

Cassie batted at Frank's hand reflexively with some pretty sharp claws out.

Not seeing much discussion, she frowned ever so slightly. "Very well. Cassie, Hoshi, Yayoi, Frank, and Delmira. You will make up the fire team with Cassie as lead." Akira said, picking Cassie largely because they were first when sorted by name. She was going to have to see how each of the Joto Hei perform before figuring who will be the enlisted advisor.

Mochi, a little late to the party as always, wandered into the room and leaned against the wall. For once, he was absent of his lab coat. Using telepathy, he beamed over to Koyama, "Do you want me around for this one? Might be useful."

"Zanven for shuttle pilot?" Cassie suggested. "Or are we borrowing one of the cargo bay beauties?"

"Weapons or are we going in free?" Delmira asked looking at Akira.

"Standard combat load out. We may not want to look like an invasion force. But I will be damned if we are under equipped for the task if someone wants a fight. Only the Rangers and myself will be without power armor. The rest..." she said before smiling again. "Will be the hammer if we need it."

"As for the shuttle pilot, that is up to the Captain and the XO. I am tasked with the away team and not the support."

Sanda smiled again. It was going to be a pleasure working under Akira.

- - - -

OOC: JP by Wes, Demibear, Ajax, Charaa,Soresu, Cowboy, Miko, Ethereal, ShadowWalker