RP: YSS Resurgence Resurgence of Yamatai - Mission 6: Machine Moon

Market Streets -> Outside Cafe

Mochi wandered through the stalls and past the stores that flanked the streets. It seemed like there was advertisements everywhere, merchants and dealings happening all over in some form or another. It looks like you could get most anything you might need, and everything was broadly displayed so you knew exactly where to go. By coincidence, there was a shipping store only a few doors down from a pharmacy. "You two can pick up what you need in there, I'll just be down there. If I need anything I'll say over comms." Mochi instructed, wandering inside. Taking his chip in its nondescript packaging, the blonde man filled out the necessary forms, handed it in with a gold coin or two and got his receipt. It'd be sent to his residence on Elysia Novus in no time.

Whistling lightly as he walked back out, Mochi hung around until the others rejoined, and together they headed down towards somewhere called 'Market Place'. Chatting amongst themselves, the trio began to pass a coffee shop, which unbeknownst to them accomodated some of their shipmates. No doubt the windows were giving those inside a good look at the three of them, with the snippet of conversation overheard: "So, what did you two pick up? You don't need to tell me, just curious-" With Mochi smiling warmly, a curious expression on his face.

"Away team, all hands on away team, be advised hostile contact. Asakura, Hoshi, Unknifto, Wilson, please avoid local security forces and return to ship. Do you have Prisoner Under Control?" Tachiko was manning multiple channels, she switched from team-wide communications to Del and Kinie's, "Kawa, Lulie, report your status. I have you headed away from the colony at vehicle speed? Is this correct?"

She shot Koyama and Aoba a few looks that were simultaneously concerned and incredulous, as if to say, "what are these soldiers even doing?"

Vec glanced over at Hoshi, he couldn't quite keep the "I told you so" out of his tone as he addressed her and the others, "Let's get Oskar Mike, we'll need to grab Green boy along the way." As he stood, he commed Motoyoshi again, "Control, we can get him bundled up to the Res for questioning ASAP. Should we keep an eye out for Kawa and Lulie while we're at it?"
This outing was apparently even more tits up than he'd realized. At least I've got a peace offering for the XO, he thought patting the bag of lemon candies in his jacket pocket.

Market Place

Thad for the most part had been keeping to himself. This place seemed very much like his home world. Rough around the edges, might get shanked going down the wrong alley. Ahh, it was way too nostalgic. He had grabbed a meat on a stick as he made his way around. Tough, but had a nice hint of disappointment cooked into the meat. From the people he walked by, he could tell this place had seen better days.

Thad continued his walk, running into random crew as he walked along. He was then interrupted by a random feed coming from the ship. Would seem someone bonked someone and Del was going AWOL. "And Sanda yells at me for not having my shit together." He said with a chuckle as he continued onward. Since he had clearly been forgotten about, figured he'd slip into merc mode and fall into a shady place of business. He found what seemed to be a place few would return from. He walked up to the bar and asked who he could speak with if he had a job that needs done. Without saying it, Thad clearly made sure it sounded like a dirty job.

Market Place, Inside Cafe

Sanda half listened to the discussion going on. She was far more interested in what was going on outside the window. She did pay attention when she head the message from Tachiko. ¿Por qué no me sorprende que podamos meternos en tantos problemas en tan poco tiempo? Sanda thought to herself.

Just as she was about to exit the Cafe she spotted Mochi, Poppy and Euikoshi. Sanda sent a quick message to Yayoi. Although the Nepleslian born had added some implants that would allow her to communicate telepathically, she rarely ever used it. She was far more use to speaking with her hands which she did even as she sent the message. Blade, go with the Doc and Cheilith. Make sure they get back to the ship safe. I'm going to escort Iemochi-Taii and the others back. Keep in contact if any trouble.

Sanda quickly covered her head with her cloak and stepped outside the cafe. She moved over towards the Chief Science Officer while giving her surroundings a quick check. When Sanda was within a few feet of Mochi, she quickly and carefully lifted her hood just enough to reveal her lighting tattoo before covering it again. "Sir, not sure if you've heard but we are all being recalled to the ship. Part of the Away team had a brush with other parties and there were casualties for them. Please return to the ship with Poppy and Euikoshi. I'll be covering you, discreetly." With that she walked on past and blended in with the crowds. She shadowed them about 20 meters out. This allowed her a good view of the surroundings and to see if any one else was taking an interest in them.

“Complete and utter chaos,” Koyama answered Tachiko, her free hand coming up to rest against one of her temples. “Confirm to Vec on keeping an eye out for Lulie and Kawa along the way.” Looking at Aoba then, she added, “But to bring the bundle in. Discreetly. The quicker he’s off the street, the better at this point.”

Her datapad rapped against a thigh. “Hopefully no one else needs to be shot.” That very last said more for herself than anyone in particular. Cheilith’s mentions of other parties piqued her interest enough to question her further on the matter. “If we can get most of them back, we can then deal with the Kawa and Lulie situation. Try to keep track of those two for as long as you can.”

Market Place

Mochi was chatting about other markets he'd been to over the years just as Sanda revealed herself. "Sanda! Hoshi-hei.. Good to see you." He spoke with pleasant surprise, although he did so at a more hushed volume than he might have done otherwise. At the mention of recall, the Elysian frowned. "Right- I heard something about that, but I thought only your team was ordered back." Mochi hummed, rubbing his chin. "There was a mention of hostile contact, but you're telling me.. someone killed a local?"

The science officer's brow furrowed, clearly concerned at this turn of events. "Right, we'd best all get out of here before wanted posters start going up. Whoever did it might get some bold bounty hunters after them so getting them secure is a priority." Mochi slipped a bit more into Taii-mode from his usual relaxed self. "The civil service can clear it up, that's why we have ambassadors."

Glancing past Sanda, Mochi seemed to be looking for the rest of her team that were mentioned over the radio. Not spotting them, he assumed they were already en route. "Motoyoshi-chui, be advised that Hoshi-hei, Euikoshi-hei, Pink-heisho and I are requesting fallback to the ship." Tachiko was Mission Operator, so it was best to ensure she was in the loop and could redirect them if needed.

Given that Vec had been the Away Team Leader and that incident had occurred, Mochi wondered if he was feeling a little out of his depth right now. After a second he added, "If Wilson-shoi wishes or otherwise, I am standing by to assume field command until we get back to the ship. Over." With that, the emerald-eyed man nodded to Sanda and began to return to the ship, doing surprisingly well at blending in with the crowds and shadows. Perhaps not as well as Sanda, but certainly better than would be expected from a science officer.

After some time shooting the shit with the armory personel and altering his "sidearm" with a gatling drive system he got from a scrap giveaway he would rejoin the away team and regroup with Vec. unaware of the situation at hand and just heading to the last known location of Vec he would jog over. "So what I miss?" he stated casually.

"Wilson, keep an eye out, but they are moving away from your position at a speed that indicates a vehicle, and are now outside the colony. I have Sterling en route to your position. Get the bundle here as quickly and discreetly as possible." After relaying the XO's orders, Tachiko once more switch channels, "Iemochi-Taii, it appears you have rendezvous with Wilson's team? Keep a low profile and avoid crowds and areas monitored by colony security."

Scruffy Neko Hoversled Deluxe Romantic Tour

The extended guitar solos and orchestral accompaniment of the promised Nepelslian power ballads over the whine of the hoversled's gravity engine was the only sound on the frozen, dead world outside the colony besides the frigid wind that whipped the snow banks into their shape. The ride was much more smooth for Del and Kinie after they were on the open snowfields and there weren't any more vendor stalls, small vehicles, or Rixxikor to run over. After a few passes around of the bottle, that included the driver, the sled ascended a steep incline and began to turn sharply.

It looked like Nara was about to take the hoversled right off of a cliff. At the last moment, she cut the rudder hard starboard and the ponderous sledge skidded to a surprisingly agile stop, throwing gouts of snow over the cliff to impact far below. There, spread out before and below them, were the lights and domes of the colony against the snow, with an aurora playing in the sky above from the magnetic eccentricities of UX-3 III.

"EEYOW," Ruru took a swig, then offered it to Kinie, "Told you it was the romance package!"

Nara emerged from the driver's seat in the bow of the sled with a few tubes that looked suspiciously like antivehicular rockets. "Deluxe tour comes with fireworks! EEYOW!"

Euikoshi looked disgusted. "We just got here, we've barely got a chance to talk to any aliens. How are we supposed to gather intelligence and information?" Euikoshi scowled. "This is a complete failure to complete the information-gathering mission Aoba assigned us. Maybe the problem is we sent infantry grunts who think they can solve their problems with a gun instead of science."

"It's true, I haven't a chance to talk to any of the locals other than that spaceport woman trying to get a look at our ship," Poppy sighed.

Market Place -> YSS Resurgence

"Now, now." Mochi shot Euikoshi a pointed look, "I'm sure the Captain and XO can handle any discipline and retraining. It's unbecoming to disparage our crewmates behind their backs, is it not?" However when the science officer looked away, under his breath, he did mutter, "This mission was 'fire-and-forget' rather than having a proper plan and briefing, but shooting a civvie here is pretty short-sighted, sounds like a lot could have been done better.."

With Tachiko's reply, the Elysian replied via radio, "Just Hoshi-hei so far, but it sounds like we're regrouping at the Resurgence together before further action. Please advise whether we're needed ASAP or if we can interview some locals en route? Over." Mochi gave a little sigh, leading the group towards the ship as he glanced back to Poppy. "Depending on the urgency, we might be able to ask some people questions as we pass them on the way back. Hopefully we can make the best of a bad situation and still get some intel from them, depending on the trouble everyone else is in."

He rubbed his emerald eyes slightly, "I thought this was supposed to be shore leave, I guess that's being rescheduled.."

"Is the victim completely dead?" Poppy asked Iemochi. "You know, I have some experience in bringing back people from the brink of death," she pointed out. "An injury sounds a lot better than a murder," she speculated, booking it back to the ship as fast as her strappy heels and glamorous dress would let her. Maybe there was some medical magic she could work to help undo the damage.

Euikoshi looked at Poppy, looked at Iemochi, and then back to Poppy, and then took off jogging after Poppy.

Opening a direct line to the science officer, Vec said, “You’ve got the conn, Mochi. I’m headed back to the ship to throw myself on my sword in front of the Captain.”

As he walked he gestured to the enlisted in his team, “Asakura, we’re grabbing the bodies and going home, scout ahead.

Not much, Sterling,” he said, answering the big Ittô Hei, “gonna need you to grab a body though, dude’s nearly as big as you.”

He kept an eye out for security and for more friends of Greenboy or the ID-SOL. Opening the direct line to Mochi, Vec added, “Unknifto picked up some interesting salvage. It’s got some sort of energy signature matching our target. I’m gonna have her drop them in your lab when we get back aboard. Please advise on proper containment or storage.” This mission was an absolute clown show, but wasn’t going to go home empty handed. Besides, he’d seen analysts get location intel off of the shape and color of a rock. They were almost as much warlocks as bridge crew.

Market Place -> YSS Resurgence

Sanda did a double take as Poppy and Euikoshi suddenly took off and left Mochi by himself. Yeah, leave the Taii, who also happens to be a Senator alone in a hostile area. Sanda thought to herself. She hadn't seen anyone suspicious or trying to follow them so Sanda moved closer to Mochi so he would know he hadn't been abandoned.

Although from what Sanda had seen, the Senator needed little protection. She had seen him in combat and the man could hold his own in a fight. He also was a lot less conspicuous than she would have imagined. You would think someone with bright colored wings would stand out like a ID-SOL at a neko reunion. But he blended in with the crowds well.

"I worry about this crew sometimes." Sanda commented. "We're terribly disorganized and lack cohesion between the officers and enlisted and even between the various enlisted we have a wide range of professionalism." Sanda sighed and shook her head. "Were you able to accomplish anything before we got called back?"

Almost at the Resurgence

Mochi shrugged at Poppy's question. There'd been no mention of the civilian still being alive, and Sanda had quite clearly said 'casualty', which generally implied the worst. He couldn't quite tell where Poppy had got a different set of information from, or if she was running off blind hope.

The Elysian was about to say something, suggest she radio in for info, when the bubblegum-haired woman disappeared along with Euikoshi. Mochi blinked a few times, mouth still open as if to answer as they disappeared.

"Well.. So much for an escort. Although, I have to say I'm glad less of a fuss is being made on my behalf." The blonde scientist sighed in resignation, likely loud enough for Sanda to hear as she came up behind him.

Tilting his head as they walked so he could better hear the Nepleslian's thoughts, Mochi nodded in assent. "It does seem that way. I've never experienced this disjointed style of command before. It's quite jarring." At the question of his earlier activities, Mochi threw up his hands in exasperation. "Not a thing. I was hoping to enjoy myself for a bit while Wilson-shoi and you guys did the -ahem- exciting stuff." Not that asking around random locals would be incredibly stimulating if it had gone as planned. Unless this was actually shore leave, and they could have gone to karaoke or something, which wasn't clear.

The Elysian seemed deep in thought for a minute or two as they walked. Eventually, he spoke, "I think we need a Senior Enlisted Advisor at the very least. Someone to keep an eye on discipline and maintain that link between officers and enlisted. I wouldn't mind working with them to whip things a little more into line. It depends on what the Captain and XO think, although he was quite.. absent.. earlier. It makes me worry. My last Captains have been too micromanaging if anything. It would have been nice to hear general updates from him, or the XO, if nothing else. Just to keep everyone in the loop and confident they were doing the right thing. Advise and act on situations as they develop."

Mochi glanced back to meet Sanda's eyes, "I probably shouldn't mention this kind of thing outside of commissioned ranks, but I value your opinion and trust your discretion. You're more.. reliable.. than some of the others." As case and point, he gestured to where the silhouettes of the other two had disappeared to.

When the radio keyed in his ear, the Taii returned his attention back to the situation at hand. "Copy that, Vec." He responded, not minding that Vec used his nickname, and responding in kind. It was a direct line after all, although Tachiko was likely listening in.

Still using his radio, "Make sure she leaves it in an airlock, I can take it from there once we have time." After a second, he added, "Oh- Make sure you conceal the body if you're cleared to bring it back. A bag over a shoulder is less suspicious than a leaking corpse. If you're not already being tailed, leaving a blood trail from having that thing exposed over a shoulder will certainly catch one."

Marketplace
Yayoi remained silent a she heard the message and nodded, she turned to the others in the group, but Vec was quick and nodded. She could scout ahead if she needed too, she knew it wouldn’t be a problem for her. “If you can carry the big guy fine by me, ” she said and wondered if they were able to carry him without a Nekovalkyrja’s help. Her head turned as her ears picked up on running feet, and silently cursed wondering who was arriving now. She hoped they wouldn’t have to dance with security officers.

“Gone on long enough,” Koyama muttered under her breath. Going from muttering to just loud enough to hear. "For now, get me a status update on those returning to the ship." With a look at the man beside her, Koyama's free hand went to her mouth and cleared her throat. "Sir, you've heard everything. We have two M.I.A, a body on our hands, and the likelihood of some of them being made." she found herself suddenly hugging the datapad. A frown began to form, "If we can get them back whole, we can regroup, plan on finding those two lost girls. And try to get this back on track. Or, we send one group after, and one to continue with the original objective. The decision is yours, sir."

"But so far, it's been chaos."

Looking over the green on the ground and then back to Vec and back to the body. "w-what did you do man?!" Shaking his head in disappointment he grips the Green by the arm and puts him into rifleman carry. as he began to rush back to float move back to the resurgence to get this guy to poppy quickly. "superior Minkin powers activate." frank said as he began hovering past Vec and towards the resurgence.

Vec sighed as the big man grabbed the smaller body of all things. “Sterling, let’s try to be somewhat discreet. Also, it was one of those crew well being issues.”

Keep what you kill I guess, Vec thought to himself as he took off his field jacket and draped it over the big ID-SOL’s ruined head. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted the man up onto his shoulders, teetering before he could get his feet positioned correctly. Unlike Sterling, he didn’t have “superior Minkin powers.”

“Average guy powers, activate. Time to embrace the suck,” Vec said, as he peeked his head out of the alley. The coast was clear. “Asakura, went this way, let’s go,” he said before setting off.



@Soban @ShadowWalker

Cheilith came up to Vec, "That's a big rug, we should carry it together." She said as they made their way back to the ship. She grabbed one end so that carrying the heavy guy wrapped in the rug would be easier with the two of them.