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  • 📅 February and March 2024 are YE 46.2 in the RP.

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

Wardroom

Sanda was relieved to finally see someone who would take the discussion seriously and not stray off topic, Koyama. Sanda listened to Koyama, but was very reassured as the officer hadn't heard of these creatures before of could find any reports of contact other than the Res. The Nepleslian born ranger thought a moment and said, "Those Neps we rescued from the Spark. I don't remember now how they said the creatures first got on their ship. Did they just appear on the ship or were they accidently brought on?"

Sanda just snorted at the Doctor's comment. She wasn't particularly in the mood for small talk. Especially after what had just happened with Frank and Del. She'd try to talk to Frank later, alone. Maybe she could finally figure out why Frank was all happy and buying gifts one minuet then flipping her off the next.
 
The Resurgence shot through hyperspace like a bolt of plasma and emerged into hyperspace with a shimmer of bright teal light near the star system designated as UX-3, which was one of the systems marked by the former Empreror Uesu on his grand exit in YE 30 as he tore through the Mishhuvurthyar with his huge personal fleet. The flag-patterned gunship began to approach the edges of the system.

BRIDGE

"Hail the colony," Aoba directed, taking a look at a data pad with a SAINT intelligence report about the Kōun's visit to the strange Kuvexian outpost.

"Hai, Chūsa, bringing them up." Tachiko's fingers danced on volumetrics even as her SPINE made other commands. "On channel, Captain."

"Attention Sood Zadra, I am captain Aoba Kuranosuke of the Star Army gunship Resurgence. I am on a purely information-gathering mission to learn more about some points of interest in coreward space, and I would like to visit your colony and talk with people there who might know some things. I also can release some of crew to go shopping and support local business. I request permission to approach and dock or land," Kuranosuke opened.

"Yamataian Warship, approach approved, Landing Array Nine, Pad Four." The voice that spoke in Trade on the other end of the line lacked the moist, flappy wetness of a Kuvexian, or the velvety purr of an Elefirn, or the deep gravelly roar of an Ehlen. Just like it transpired when the Kōun visited, there was simply a cursory scan and a single sentence of directions, along with landing coordinates encoded into in the out-of-band comms. No diplomacy, no greeting. Just simple air traffic control. The gleaming gold warships, far more in number after the bold attempt at an invasion with small craft, do nothing. Not even a scan from anyone but the orbital defense platform.

In the distance, peeking over the horizon from the approach, was another platform in the late stages of construction, and the distant flashes of work crews' plasma torches clearing orbital debris.

"Captain, channel closed. They sent coordinates and hung up."

"Take us in," Aoba ordered.

"Aye, captain," Gabriela nodded. She plotted a suitable course to get the ship to the coordinates the locals gave her.

"Wow," Tachiko leaned back from the Comm console, "That is a lot of advertising spam."

WARDROOM

Sanda made her way to the Wardroom. The Res would be arriving at Sood soon but Sanda was looking for Frank. She wanted to try and clear the air between them and maybe try to get a better understanding of Frank.

Frank would look to Sanda as she walked in. "what can I do for you Sanda?"

Sanda took a breath and smiled at Frank. "Hey Frank." She paused, looking a little uncomfortable. "I wanted to talk about the indecent that happened between us recently. I'd like to clear the air and maybe get a better understanding of things so they don't happen again."

"Hey Frank." Thad said as he walked into the room. "Oh, my bad...I see you're already having a date with Sanda." He took a step back and leaned against the wall by the door. "I shall wait my turn."

"Thad the adults are talking one moment." Frank stated still a little annoyed before turning to Sanda. "Look its not your fault its mine. I'm still struggling with the fact that most of my life outside from 7 years I've been a tool a machine that can be broken down and replaced if need be. Yet ever since getting sentience I'm struggling with all the things I have done all the bad and I believe I'm just a monster. So if I die protecting you guys that's what I view as acceptable due to the crimes I've done."

Cassie wrapped her arm around Frank's shoulders and leaned into his ear to whisper, "be nice," to him. As she did, her lips brushed against him a little.

Thad perked up after being addressed. "I will have you know that I learned to wipe my own ass thank you very much. Was the best feeling I had like 15 minutes ago." He reached up and rubbed his thumb across his chin. "Frank, come on man, its tough but you have a place to call home here."

Sanda rolled her eyes at Maximus. "Would you please shut up for moment? I am trying to have a serious conversation with Frank and I really don't need you butting in right now." Turning her attention back to Frank she said. "I think I get that." She paused for a moment, processing what Frank had said. "Ok, then what did I say the other day that made you so upset?"

Frank nodded to Cassie, "sorry hun I'll try not to." He stated before answering Sanda. "Honestly its not your fault, I got angry from the comment of if i watched out I wouldn't die next time, but Del the little fuzzball helped me understand your thought process. I'm sorry that we don't see eye to eye on things."

Sanda took in what Frank said. She was glad that they seemed to finally be on the same page. "I don't want to see you die, Frank. I'd like for all of us to be able to compleate our mission and come back alive from it." She paused then added. "Just so you know, I take my job very seriously, especially when it comes to planning and executing a mission. Just know that what I say then isn't personal. I just want to make sure the mission gets completed and everyone comes home safe."

Frank smiled, "Careful Sanda you wouldn't make a good commander if you suddenly care about all your troops" frank joked.

Sanda snorted but smiled. "Commander nothing. I've got my sights on Senior NCO. They get to have the real fun of making the Hei's life miserable. I'm glad we got to have this talk, Frank. See you later." She headed out of the Wardroom. As she left she saw Mia in the hallway. ¡Gracias a Dios que me voy de ahí!

Frank nodded, looking over to Cassie, "I think I would want to spend some time with you before mission If your up to it."

Delmira came out of the kitchen a bowl of ice cream in her hand that she was eating.

Thad took notice of Del and the bowl of ice cream she was holding. He slid his way closer to her to beg for a bite.

"Go ask Nalini, i had to work for this literally." she said and took a bite.

"Such a tease" Thad said with a pouty face. "I shall once I get my turn to speak with Frank, I have manly man things to talk about." Thad then made a strong man pose.

"THADDY!" Mia grinned, coming over and giving Thad a huge and a sloppy kiss on the lips. "I'm back! Baby's with Julia so we can party!" she cooed, pulling a whiskey bottle from behind her back. "I know it's the morning but do you want a little for the road?" she asked, already popping the cap off and pouring some of the drink in a glass for him.

Delmira side stepped Mia ice cream in hand.

Thad held the pose like he was frozen in stone. His manly man things had just went up in flames. "Mia, what have I told you about drinking before noon." He said as he stood upright and put his arm around her. "Just one," he then reached for the glass. He took a quick sip and smiled at her. "You really need to not drop the little guy off on Julia, you know she has a hard time saying no."

Delmira will offer some ice cream to Mia.

MEDICAL LAB

Vec had one more appointment before the Res made port. He and Poppy had already began scrubbing down and inventorying supplies. Raucous lyrics lambasting the Empress over sloppily played guitar blasted from the the portable speaker he'd set up. The irony of his music choice wasn't lost on him.

Only Vec's status as an officer kept Poppy from giving Vec an earful for playing such garbage. Poppy was a fierce loyalist of the empire, and served it out of gratitude. She had a high opinion of Himiko, who had always been a friend to the military in Yamatai.

Yayoi had finally arrived at the Medical Lab, she knew that it was always a good idea to get backed up, and she was certain she should should get checked out, but she was sure she was in perfect health so there was no need.

"Music, pause," Vec said as his final appointment entered. "Asakura Yayoi," he read off of his data pad, "Looks, like you still need a post mission and a backup. Grab a exam table and get comfortable."

"Finally," Poppy muttered.

Yayoi nodded silently, to Vec and another to Poppy as she heard her, and noted her presence. She'd also heard the music when she arrived, but she gave no opinion, though it appeared that it was distracting for Poppy. She found a exam table and sat on it, crossing her legs.

"You know, Pinky, you can always make music requests," Vec said over his shoulder trying to suppress a smile. Turning his attention back to Yayoi, "Cool cool, Let's start, excessive drinking? Well more than a soldier normally does."

Yayoi raised a eyebrow, wondering if he was crazy or if he was unaware of who she was, then again she did now own a bar so logical to ask that. "Other than, Water, apple juice, and milk i do not drink anything with alcohol in it. Though I do have those drinks at my bar"

"How are your physical training sessions going?" Poppy asked. "Have you got to give another go at fighting Sakuko The Solid? I didn't know they made Minkans with flesh that tough.I guess all that box-moving pays off."

"I should take a lession from you, goodness," Vec said making a note.

Yayoi glanced to poppy. "I've gotten rid of my usual dummy target The Rix for training and instead focused on sparring with real people, like Sanda-nee, I don't recall fighting this Sakuko The Solid though, I ... am interested trying it out. " She told her then nodded to Vec, and Poppy again. "true" She said.

Poppy nodded. "No training muscle sprains or anything?" she asked.

Vec listed in on their side conversation, he tried to get some time in working out, but he'd been so busy he'd begun to worry he'd soon be too out of shape to qualify for SASO again. "So these next few questions are a formality, I can probably guess the answers. Smoke? Unprotected sex?"

Yayoi raised an eyebrow "smoking is illegal in Yamatai, which i am sure you know well, Sex? i hadn't had that though i hear i am an Auntie already. from news back home. "though Motoyoshi-Chui. Never mind not my place"

"I think those were supposed to be offers," Poppy wisecracked.

Used to the comedy duo routine, Vec continued. "I know, do I look like an MP? I just want to make sure my soldiers don't have popcorn lung or some crap. Also, congratulations," he said making notes. "Okay, what about your implant. Are you experiencing any pain at the site of attachment?"

Yayoi shook her head, "I did feel some latent pain the first few days after i transferred my body to this new form." She gently rubbed the flesh of her arm where after was a huge mechanical arm. "but it hasn't been hurting in a week since last week."

Vec marked down the slight pain and the date, "Let's keep an eye on that. If you start feeling pain again, let me know immediately. Okay, final question, how's your sleep?" He always asked this way, because he'd come to learn a lot of soldiers could be a bit cagey about talking about mental health.

Yayoi remained silent when the last question came, mostly she'd had nightmares, but since she'd been bunking with Sanda, those seemed to go away.

Poppy made a brief stop at her medicine cabinet and then gave Yayoi a bottle of mild muscle pain pills. "These are basically Minkan Motrin, you can take two every 4 hours if you feel the need," she offered.

Yayoi nodded accepting the bottle. "thank you" she said to Poppy. "oh, my apologies doctor, i have been sleeping well."

"Uhh huhh," Vec said making a note of pause, "Okay, so Poppy's going to get you backed up. Enjoy your shore leave and don't get into any bar fights you can't win. If you've got any questions for me, don't hesitate to ask."

Yayoi nodded her head silently to his words and waited for Poppy to do her thing.

LANDING ARRAY NINE, PAD FOUR

The Resurgence rocked and rattled as it descended through the cold, thin atmosphere and finally came to a slow hover above the landing pad, as Gabriela landed the ship with a gentle thump heard throughout the interior.

Unlike when the YSS Kōun first visited, there was no red carpet treatment with a luxury hoversled and the local Baroness's attendants. It was simply the hustle and bustle of a small-to-middling-sized spaceport that was a bit busier than it had ever been. Outside the dome of the spaceport proper, in the broad avenue leading up to it, hoversleds for hire pulled up, were boarded, and took off. The better ones were driven by Ehlen. Most were driven by Rixxikor.

They were curious vehicles, completely open-topped, despite the frigid air, with complicated, baroque deck heaters instead to render the passengers comfortable with the most deliciously wasteful inefficiency possible. There was no open flame, given the high oxygen levels (though they were less high here in the more terraformed parts of the colony), but instead volumetric projections of flames in various colors.

There were ground vehicles as well, but mostly smaller, privately-owned affairs, or in some company livery or another.

Zeck watched the ship land and looked at the toolbox in hand. There was no way she was going to be able to service that mammoth of a ship. She had her nervous grin showing off her sharp teeth. "I dont get pay enough for job." She said her accent heavy and her trade broken. She made sure her crowbar of the free-man was nestled in its usual spot in case she needed to fend off a unrurly creature.

Captain Aoba got on the ship's intercom, "Attention crew, this is your captain," he began. "We've just landed on UX-3 III, a corporate colony to the coreward of the Samurai Sector out in neutral space. "There's a good chance some of the Kuvexians and other people here might know of some machine planets like the kind we're looking for, since they come from that area of space...if you can get them to open up. I need volunteers to go out on the town and get chatty with locals," he explained. "Anyone interested please report to the cargo bay at the rear loading ramp where Beryl will meet you with any supplies you need. Try not to look hostile."

Vec had already changed out of his uniform into a t-shirt for a synthtrash band with only about five fans, layered over a thermal undershirt and his only pair of jeans. He grabbed an ancient nondescript field jacket at the Captain's announcement, he'd be able to hide a pistol and an IFAK under that. Not 100% leave then, he thought heading down to the bay to requisition a pistol. Maybe if Leyton had a moment he'd prod her about getting a Type 30 Machine gun for Norita to chop on for him.

Cheilith was wearing a sweater and thick winter pants. She had kinda planned to get chatty with the locals regardless, perhaps find a good deal. If there was something to look out for, she could do that too. She stood by the rear loading ramp and waited for Vec. She had tucked a standard NSP in a concealed carry holster on her belt. The sweater was loose enough to allow her to both clear quickly and hide the sidearm's presence.

After collecting his pistol Vec sidled up next to Unknifto, "So should I have grabbed my guitar or no? Maybe people'll talk to a busker... Or they'll just avoid eye contanct"

"Depends on how good you are. People don't notice what they expect to be there." Cheilith replied.

"I'm better when the crowd's drunk or have been in a FOB for a month," Vec said with a shrug.

"Then you should probably skip the impromptu preformance." Cheilith said.

"Hua," Vec said shoving his hands in his coat pockets, "So let's ask some questions and get a stomach bug from the street food. Should be fun no?" While he waited he dropped the mag on his pistol and performed a quick function check. Full charge, just like when Leyton had handed him the weapon a few moments ago.

"Always, I want to see if I can find if there are any salvage giveways or perhaps bidding on what's in abandoned storage." Cheilith shared.

"A mechanical moon does seem to be a scavenger's legend," Vec said, just happy to get dirt beneeth his feet again.

"Exactly, lost tech or just strange tech can go for a lot on the collector's market. Especially if it's still working." Cheilith explained.

"Then, let's kick ass and buy trash, ay kid?" Vec said offering a fist bump.

Cheilith bumped Vec's fist with a grin.

Delmira finished with her treat made her way to the hanger bay dressed for cold weather. She had on a light jacket and a scarf. She had her sidearm as well as her MPP which was hidden unlive her eneergy pistol.

Euikoshi said goodbye to Pidole, who didn't want to go because the cold might be bad for her beetle buddy Bidole, and went down to the cargo bay wearing a fur-heavy cold weather outfit that looked straight out of a Catacombs & Creatures tabletop game book. As the ship's science girl, she basically had to go out and research.

Delmira moved right up to Euikoshi. "where did you get that coat and where can i get one?"

"I have one more in my room. I got it from a salvage swap meet," Euikoshi told Delmira.

"Is there room for two in that coat?" Delmira asked her friend. "Also did Kinie say she was going to make it?"

"I think so," Euikoshi said. Sure enough, Kinie joined the group. Knie didn't have any fancy civilian clothes so she was wearing her black Star Army Service Coat and her blue wool sailor cap.

Delmira walked over and wrapped part of her scarf around Kinie. "You're going to get as cold as me, i asked Euikoshi if her coat can fit to people."

Sanda made her way to the cargo bay, looking for Beryl. After she found the supply specialist Sanda said, "How's it going Beryl? What's your recomendations for going out and gathering intel?"

"I recommend breathing masks for any extended time outdoors," Beryl said, offering some Emrys-made ones. "Don't bring anything that sparks or has open flames."

After getting backed up, Yayoi moved to her quarters to grab her warmest outfit, and moved down to the Cargo hold to join the others. She took note of Sanda there, and moved to join beside her. "Hey Hermana" She said after Beryl's response. She took a breathing mask to be on the safe side.

Sanda eyed the breathing masks. She wasn't a fan of anything being on her face, but needs must. She smiled at Yayoi. "You planning on going out as well?"

Yayoi nodded her head"yup, thought it would be interesting, Never been to a Corporate Colony before."

"Me neither." Sanda admitted. "Wonder what kind of trouble we can get into?" She smirked then asked, "How do you want to play this? Tourist looking for information? Or stealth and see if we can break into some of there data banks?" That last one she added with a devious smile.

Yayoi nodded her head" Tourists sound fun to be, but if that doesnt work we'll probably need to do the last idea" she said noting the smile on Sanda's face.

Sanda rolled her eyes at Yayoi. "Fine. We'll do it your way and play nice. For now." Sanda had changed into cold weather gear but wore her camo-cloak overtop of it. Her camo-cloak was slightly diffrent then the one she normally wore. In fact, it was a compleatly diffrent cloak. Caffran had given it to her the last time they were together.

Thad had suited up and joined the team in his warmest outfit. He also took the extra information he had gained from Alastair awhile back with details on Soon and possible areas of interest.

Everyone with a digital mind was sent a message- it went to the communicators of anyone without one, that included map information from what had been declassified from SAINT's report on the Kōun and that which had been scanned as the Resurgence descended from orbit. "Mission Ops to all away team," Tachiko broadcast, "ensure you are reporting your location and any telemetry you can. Audio, video, temperature, the works. You're our little data points! And be safe out there!"

"Everyone stick with a battle buddy," Beryl suggested. "It's a strange place, with unknown laws, and possible pirates. Don't wander off alone," she recommended.

Delmira smiled at both Kinnie and Euikoshi. "Well i guess its the three of us."

Poppy came down to the cargo bay wearing a gorgeous close-fitting sparkling black dress, looking ready to go to a big event. She cleaned up quite nicely. "I am going to shop for jewelry," she explained. "I need to look the part." She reached into a slit on her dress and made sure her service pistol was securely strapped to her thigh-high stockings, which she wore with her star army boots instead of heels.

"Looks like i shoud have worn something fanicer." Delmira said looking at Poppy.

Sanda noticed Vec getting ready to head out as well. She moved over towards him and asked, "Are you going out too Doc?"

"Yeah, Hoshi," he said noticing the Ranger, "Unknifto and I are going to find a junk swap. Maybe there are rumors there. If not at least we'll find some interesting street food. Want in?"

"Don't worry, we won't get into trouble. Probably." Cheilith nodded in agreement.

Sanda nodded. She was glad someone was going with the Doc. Cheilith would be able to handle any trouble they might get into. She shook her head. "No thanks. I just wanted to make sure someone was going with you. Yayoi and I are going to do some... Ranger stuff."

"Hey, I'm not dead yet, Hoshi," Vec said with a wry grin.

Sanda smirked. "I never said you were."

"Well have fun with your ranger stuff, want me to grab you a souvenir? Vec said fighitng the urge to give his pistol another function check.

Sanda smiled. "Thanks, but I'm good." She thought she saw Vec's hand move towards his side arm. She nodded towards it. "You know how to use that thing?" She teased.

"Yeah, I was Class Six," Vec said tapping his arm where Giretsu pins would be on a uniform. "Thanks for worrying about an old man, Hoshi."

"I worry about everyone on this ship, except for Koyama and Yayoi. I know they can take care of themselves.... And Maximus. I don't care what happens to him." Sanda confessed.

Vec's lips tighened slightly, "You don't have to like the man, but still watch his back." He hated to put on his officer pants, but there they were.

"I watch out for every member of the Res." Sanda snapped, but then softened. "But Maximus... takes a lot more effort to remember that than the others."

"I understand," Vec said, deciding not to lecture. "Well you make sure you don't end up on my operating table, ok Ranger?" he said
a fist bump

"I promise." She raised her own fist to his. "Just make sure you also stay out of trouble. But if you can't... Call Thunder and Blade first." She pointed to herself and Yayoi.

"I'm a Rescue Jumper, that's my line 'feat first into hell,' and all that," Vec said feeling a spike of inter unit rivalry.

Sanda smiled. She liked the Doc's spirit. "You're ok Doc. You are OK."

"Why do I get the feeling you don't believe me," a bemused Vec said. He didn't want to boast about his previous posting, but he felt like he was being wrapped in bubble wrap.

Once everyone looked ready, Beryl pressed the controls for the door and the large shuttle bay door began to emit a loud mechanical whine as it slowly opened up to reveal the alien world beyond, which looked kind of like a touristy cyberpunk mining town in the middle of nowhere. A layer of dirty snow blanketed the ground.

Interestingly the prices for everything, were in KS as whole numbers and DA as the half-fraction, for as soon as the Spaceport door opened, everyone would be assaulted with vendors and hawkers and every hustler and player in the sector seemed to be thronging anyone departing from the spaceport proper to show off those prices. In between the food carts and cheap knockoff Emrys Uno smart glasses kiosks were the hoversleds. They were large enough the entire away team could fit on one, if they wished, but it also seemed common for only one or two riders to hire one as well.

Zeck could be seen grumbling in her alien language as she went about getting ready to help inspect the ship for maintenance.

Cassie emerged from thin air in a MINDY suit, waving Zeck away. "Please, stay away from the ship," she told Zeck. She was providing security while the others were out exploring. "No service is required."

Zeck freaked out and shouted in her alien language and fell back on her ass not before she threw her banged-up tool box at the machine woman out of fright. Her crowbar quickly made its way to her hand as she dove into cover. The red skinned alien clearly scared out of her mind.

Cassie just kind of made a shooing hand gesture at Zeck.

Poppy and Euikoshi stepped out of the ship into the cold and went to go find the nearby vendors. "Wow," Poppy shivered. "I think I'll start by trying to buy a jacket," she said. "I didn't think it would be this bad." Poppy glanced at Zeck, "Can we help you?" she asked, unsure if the person could speak Trade.

The red skinned woman poked her head up and pulled out a data pad and held it out. "I work on ship, part of uh docking package, or what you call." Sure enough it would say in the standard docking package that a maintenance check was provided but presumably the Res didn't get the standard package.

= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Ajax, Charaa, Cowboy, Soresu, Soban, Spaceeye, Shadowwalker, and Ethereal, Yuuki, Zanven, Locke
 
Realizing he was the ranking officer on this little expedition, Vec added everybody to a shared comm channel and sent out a text message.

If you run into trouble, shoot me a message. Stick with your battle buddy, and if I catch you losing a bar fight, I’m kicking all of your asses. Beyond that, have fun!

“Okay, Unknifto,” he addressed the little Nekovalkyrja at his side, “Which way do you want to head first?
 
“Chusa,” Koyama said calmly as she entered the bridge, approaching his seat. She had a datapad in hand, one that seemed to be rather… heavily modified. Likely her personal pad, it would seem. “I have been working on the problem our team faced before. Attempting to find a solution.”

Holding it out to him, it showed what the group had gleaned. All picked apart as if she’d gone at it with a surgeon’s tools and microscope. Everything from movement patterns, behaviors, and the list went on and on in some detail. And it was clear the Taii tried to dumb it down enough with as little science jargon as possible.

“Some of the crew believe an electromagnetic pulse would work. However, unshielded, a strong EM field can… say, affect neurons in a way to be wholly unpleasant. But, going over the logs from the MEGAMI as well, I noted we jammed a signal as well.”

Being connected to the pad wirelessly, Koyama brought up the log. From where she was going, and what was being displayed, it seemed his XO was theory crafting, fighting fire with fire. Using the enemy against itself. But it was all rough, with notations that what they’d encountered before may not be the same elsewhere. If at all. From all of the notations, it seemed to be the only conclusion she'd drawn based on what little information was reliably sourced.
 
Frank would make his way to the armory seeking help outfitting a mindy with a particular loadout. “Miriam, If you don't mind I would like your assistance outfitting my mindy II to work as a heavy assault loadout.” Frank passed over the requisitions he'd need to pull it off.

“Also out of curiosity have you heard of the new holodeck game coming out John Rancy’s glimmergold 2: finest hour?”
 
Bridge

Mochi followed in only shortly after Koyama, whistling gently as he did. "Captain. XO." The Elysian threw up a casual salute, spotting a new face he didn't believe he recognised. Raising a hand in greeting, Mochi waved warmly to her, sunburst wings rustling lightly as he did. The Taii made note to introduce himself properly in a moment, if the new Neko wasn't too busy with her work.

For now, he drew up beside Koyama, resting a hand gently on her back for a moment as he made to address Aoba. "Apologies for not attending the meeting earlier. I've been neck deep in sensor data. I called up all the raw data I could from SARA's archives that SAINT marked as unclassifiable when it was received. I cross compared everything I could get my hands on against all confirmed machine planet sensor data that's been gathered since then."

The blonde haired Science Officer pointed to Koyama's pad. "I got some matches on potentially undiscovered machine worlds that sensors caught in the past but didn't have the data to flag as such at the time. I've also included systems where unmanned ships have been encountered before by our forces. I sent them to both of your consoles and PDAs."

"If there's anything else I can help with, just let me know."
 
Locke and Soban

..... Okay, Unknifto,” Vec addressed the little Nekovalkyrja at his side, “Which way do you want to head first?" He put away his comm and shoved his hands in his coat pockets against the cold

Cheilith patted the tattered old looking satchel with a worn old style Hinomaru she wore that contained some things she could barter. She had gotten the satchel in a salvage give away. She grinned, "Right here"

Vec looked around, "What? Do other junk traders just come find us?" His eyes drifted towards one of the street venders.

"Looks like they are." She said, diving into the crowd of junk vendors. She talked to some of them, her strategy emerging of finding the dealers who had tech of various sorts and gauging whawhat else they might have.

Knowing his place, Vec let Unknifto take the lead. He simply grabbed a pair of mistery kabobs from a street vender and followed. Passing one to Unknifto, he said, "I can't say what it is, but I now for a fact it isn't beef."

She took the kabob and bit into it as they looked for some scrap shop. "It's meat..." She said, uncertain what sort of meat it was. "I've had worse street food."

"I mean sure," Vec said, "Whether you know what the meat is and if it's good are too seperate issues. I'm just kind of particular about beef." He scanned the crowed and noticed an alien with goods displayed on a ratty old blanket. "What about them?" He asked gesturing with his skewer.

The smaller Neko nodded, and started to move towards the vendor. "Why beef?" She asked.

"Grew up on a farming world," Vec said following, "I was learning to be a live stock vet before I joined the Army." He tried a bite of the kabob, "But yeah, this is pretty ok, for whatever it is."

Cheilith nodded, chatting with the vendor and looking over the pieces and scanning them for the signature they were looking for. There was a partial match, so she decided to buy one of the pieces and they haggled for a few moments before she pulled a old but functional communicator that she had gotten at a salvage swap and gave it to him in exchange. She thanked the vendor and they moved on, "I don't think I've ever been to a farm. What's it like?" She asked.

"Not like the movies or in ads, with a grand dad and a few smiling animals," Vec said, eyes scanning the crowed. "We mostly had large ranches on Tallus. A few wealthy families owned most of the herds and if you weren't working as a rancher, you probably worked at a meat processing plant. Goodness, when I put it that way it sounds pretty grim. So, what did you buy from that guy?"

"The sensors said that this piece of tech might be something we are looking for. I don't think he knew what he had." She said, showing the anchient device to Vec. "Anyway, so you were going to be a vet? What made you decide to join the army?"

"Thought I could do some good," Vec said, glancing back at the Alien, he added, "Do you think we should have asked him where he got it?"

"He said he got it from a traveler, so it could come from anywhere. However, assuming it was picked up in space, there is probably some radiation or something we can track down. He mentioned that the traveler traded with some other people, so I'm hoping I can get more information from them." She said, tucking it back away in her bag.

"Yeah," Vec said in a somewhat absent voice, "Where do you want to go? Let's maybe take the scenic route." With a casual hand in his pocket, Vec tapped his communicator dropping a location pin for the others to see.

"Sure, got anything in mind that you'd like to take a look at?" She asked.

"I'm just here to watch your six, kid," he said scanning the crowed again. His eyes met those of an alien hunkered in an alley across the crowed. He tried to let the the contact pass casually. I swear he's been looking at us. This time he took his hand communicator out and used it to snap a turisty picture. Opening up the messenger, he typed:
Green boy across the yard's looking at us. Act natural
Leaning in to Unknifto as if he wanted them to take a selfie, he showed her the message.

Cheilith smiled for the selfie, then brought out her own communicator as if to get her own copy of it. "Well, he pointed me towards a shop down that way." She said, picking a more open direction. I see him, not many nekos around theese parts. Let's mosy on and hope he's not dangerous. She texted before puttting their status to yellow and then putting the communicator in her pocket. "Come on, it will be fun!" She said, moving in the direction she had pointed.

Trying not to look so dour, Vec followed along, trying to give off the air of a couple of friends out for a stroll. As they walked, he looked for Green Boy in reflective surfaces the way Ueda had taught him after they'd stopped hating each other. "I think that vendor's got sweets a.k.a a way to stay on Koyoma's good side," he said gesturing to a stand off to the left.

"Yes, the empress's sweet tooth." Cheilith said, turning to the stand.

Approaching the vendor, Vec said, "Can I get a bag of lemon candy? Anything else sour if you don't have lemon here. I want something with chocolate and berries," he nodded to Unknifto, "My treat, what're you getting?" He could see the reflection of Green boy moving a bit closer in a shop window.

"I've always enjoyed sour lemon drops, if they have any." Cheilith said, looking around to see if they had any, letting her take a quick glance at the Green boy. She grabbed a sack of them and put them with Vec's purchases.

He scanned the barcode and paid. Plopping a chocolate covered berry into his mouth he lead them off to the side. "Let's take another selfie," he said his smil almost genuine as he lifted his comm and trying to catch their pursuer in the viewfinder.

"Sure," Cheilith said, grabbing onto Vec and leaning into him in a friendly hug.

Vec pulled a face and snapped a picture the moment Green boy's face was clearly in frame. He drew a circle around the sent it in a message to Hoshi and Yayoi along with a location pin.

Eyes and ears rangers, if you've got a moment check on this guy. He's been doing a bad job tailing us.

Leaning back in for another selfie, he whispered, "We can try to confront him or slip him, but I'd like to hear back from our rangers first if we start stuff."

[/I]
 
YE 44.5.12

Bridge

Aoba read over the contents of the data pad and just kind of grunted, "Mmm," in a Yamataian accent and stroked his goatee. "Hmm," he added.

Mochi slowly slid his gaze from Aoba to Koyama and offered her a blank expression. No doubt it was meant as humor that reflected Aoba's noncommittal response. He stared blankly, like a fish might out of its tank, hoping to illicit a response.

Koyama just stared, from the Captain, to the Elysian, and back at the grunt. She raised a finger, her lips parting as if to explain, then closed her mouth. Lowering it. "...sir? Anything you would like to add?" emphasizing the last word.

"It's worth trying," Aoba simply said. He slowly moved over to a large kettle and poured a new glass of hot green tea into cup, then looked over to the main viewscreen with a quiet stare, as it displayed the sights of Sood Zadra. There was something peaceful about falling snow.

Mochi gave Koyama a slow lopsided blink, one eye then the other, as Aoba looked at the viewscreen. After a moment, he decided that the bit wasn't working on her. "Well- If there's nothing else, I'll head out after the others, sir." With that, the Elysian would throw up a salute and head out of the Bridge.

"Captain, I just got a transmission from Kawa-Shōi. It seems like there are... Nekovalkyrja here?" She paused, "I mean, not our Nekovalkyrja."

Koyama stood silent a moment longer, almost drawing the conclusion he'd have just grunted again in response. And cause her to storm off the bridge. Use words she'd only ever heard her teacher use, a large ID-SOL who had once worn an 'I <3 Catgirls' shirt on an elevator on Leo Station. And return in a calm, composed fashion. A small breath passed between slightly parted lips than before following his gaze. A visible shudder passed through her.

Snow. Snow... a love-hate relationship of her past. Nearly being crushed and frozen to death by it as a Youngling. To relish in it as an older girl in the Ice Queen Mountains. Where the Yuki-Ona myths of old resurfaced at her passing. It was enough to almost make her miss the look her Elysian peer had given.

'You looked like a Nexim City Pug doing that.' she transmitted, establishing a telepathic link with him. Mentioning the Kennewesian city and their famous four-legged companions. Who, despite appearances were quite intelligent, able to float, and lived for decades longer than a normal canine.

"Nekovalkyrja? And what do you mean by 'our' as in our ground team, or...?" leaving it open ended enough.

"I mean, Nekovalkyrja other than our team, Ketsurui-Taii. They're driving a hover-sled, trying to get Kawa-Shoi and Lulie-Hei to ride with them."

"Odd," Koyama stated from the command pulpit, looking directly down toward Tachiko, and her station. "I understand some members of the older models of our species could still floating around outside of the Empire. But, they should be far and few between. Is there any chance of a visual? Perhaps we can run their faces through image recognition via PANTHEON?"

"Hai. Running the search on Kawa-Shōi's telemetry now, Commander." It only took a few moments, and a hit came back. "Superior Elite Narapara Apparatta, Fifth Heavy Assault Century. The other didn't hit."

"What is a Rikugun soldier doing down there?" Koyama questioned aloud, folding her arms under her chest. Then looking to the Elysian, "And an unknown." looking back down to Tachiko, "Any theories?"

"Not Rikugun, Commander. NMX."

"Chusa?" Koyama said, voice firming at the mentions of the NMX. Where they were concerned, or their predecessors were, things tended to end bloodily.

"Commander," Tachiko said in a low tone, "They're getting on the sled..."

"Warn them," Koyama ordered.

"Kawa-Shōi! Kinie!" Tachiko sent over the comm, "The one with the red hair is an NMX NCO, Superior Elite Narapara Apparatta, do you copy? The other Neko is unknown to our files! Kinie, do you copy?"

Landing pad

"This is a military ship," Poppy told Zeck. "Everyone must keep their distance for your safety and our safety. Do not approach the Resurgence or you will be stopped by one of our armed security personnel," she warned.

"In a place like this...no offense...I'm surprised that the locals let anyone touch their ships either," Euikoshi observed. "I imagine some really interesting cargo probably flows through the area," she speculated.

"Mmhmm," Poppy nodded. "Anyway, there will be no further warnings. Stay away from our ship," she repeated to Zeck.

"I good at working on ship." The red skinned alien seemingly taking offense to what Euikoshi said more over than the what the others told her. "I got reputation can fix about any ship." She looked past the two and at cassie then her weaponized toolbox she launched in frieght. Maybe she would have to get a gun after all from Kotema, thought tain on it first. "I get tool box back yes?" Zeck said to the women in front of her. "It Zeck first tool box from offworld have lucky tool."

A tall, ethereally-thin, blue-skinned humanoid in lightweight gold armor floated casually over to where the encounter between the ground crew and the Resurgence's crew was occurring, accompanied by a small golden drone that seemed like a knockoff of a FARS. The long-eared, black-haired individual spoke, "I'm Bremara ef 2 Laralan Marlaran of Sood Zadra Spaceport Security. Is there some issue?"

"Hello, I'm Nitô Heisho Poppy Pink. I'm a medic from the Resurgence here. This person was seen attempting to approach our ship and I've cautioned her that we will not allow anyone to approach the Resurgence," Poppy explained. "This is an active military ship that requires a certain level of force protection. No one is to approach our ship except members of our crew or invited guests," she said. "If you have any questions please speak with my captain."

"I have orders to give ship look over as per standard landing package." Zeck said and will hand the datapad she held to Laralan. "If it an error it an error." She will look over at Cassie. "However i do want tool box back."

"That sounds like a you problem and not an us problem," Poppy said with a bit of sass. "I'm cold and I'm going to get moving," she said, heading towards the markets. Euikoshi followed her, shooting the Kuvexian a dirty look. "We used to stack you Kuvvies like fire logs." she spat. "Cassie! get the lady her toolbox!" she yelled over her shoulder.

Cassie trotted over and gave Zeck her tool kit. "Just give us our space," Cassie said apologetically.

The security officer merely smiled politely despite the display. He, or she, it was somewhat hard to tell, patted Zeck on the shoulder. "It's all right, Technician. Just go on to the next one." Looking up, they simply bowed their head to the pair as they passed. "She must have never got a good look at a Kuvexian before, right?" They gave Zeck a little nudge and a wink. "Don't worry about it. Yammies gonna Yam, right?"

Zeck will say something in her native language as Poppy and Euikoshi walked by. She will take her tool box and stow her datapad. "It mistake i go now." She gave her trademark nervous grin showing off her pointed teeth. "It seem so."

"You wanna hit the Fifth Floor of the Nonapus after my shift? Tiamalla is singing there. Nothing going on on Six or Seven, and that's as deep as I go. And I don't bother above Three."

Zeck will give a bit of a shy smile, with the rest of the crew she was more or less behind alone. "S-sure."

"Awesome," said the Aealim security officer. Their rank translated as "with two mates," but that sort of thing had relaxed a little after the collapse of the Kingdom. This was Sood Zadra, after all. And just because they were entitled to two mates, didn't mean they had them!

Ranger Duo

Yayoi glanced around the environment around her before turning her attention to Sanda. "soo...where do you want to head first?"

Sanda shrugged. She had run back to her cabin to retrieve one of the huge Aether Cleavers she had bought on Valaad. Maybe she could find someone here that could tell her something about them. She looked over at Yayoi. "Lets head to the market areas. Thats where most of the crew will probably head as well. We can at least be in the area in case any of them get into trouble."

Yayoi nodded her head in agreement with Sanda. She knew that if she wanted to look for information, the market was a good place to go look for it. Plus she liked the idea of being near by incase their crewmates get into trouble. She hoped that none of them would do anything stupid.

Sanda adjusted her ear muffs over her ears. It was pretty cold out. Luckily, she had had the sense to put on a body suit under her uniform. It wasn't a far walk to the market area. Sanda had ignored the shuttle as she didn't want to be confided inside a vehicle. Besides, it was warmer to keep moving.

Yayoi adjusted her own outfit, and began moving forward towards where she knew the Market Place was. Her hands in her pockets like they were guns that needed to be holstered. Like before she'd had her hidden blades so she wasn't unarmed.

The walk to the market was uneventful, though Sanda did see a couple of Rixx driving taxis. She glanced over at Yayoi to see if she would react to them.

Yayoi spotted the Rixx taxi drivers, her eye twitched and the urge to stab savagely grew within her, but she was a well behaved and sane Neko, instead her face twitched to almost a smirk. As if amused that Rixx were driving others and not being nuisances. "Well..that's something you don't see every day," She muttered loud enough for Sanda to hear.

Sanda smirked. "Nope. That's for sure. I.." Sanda stopped as she received a message from the Doctor. She turned to Yayoi and smiled mischievous. "Seems like the good Doctor has picked up a tale. You feel like being sneaky?"

Yayoi smiled "fun and shopping, my hermana you are a good companion to have on a excursion like this, I'm always willing to be sneaky, Doc tell you his location?" She asked her.

"Hey that's what I'm suppose to say." Sanda laughed. She checked her data. "He's been dropping pings of his location. Smart. He's not far. Lets see if we can pick them up and their tale without giving ourselves away."

Yayoi nodded her head silently not feeling like she needed to say anything more, but she kept her eyes out.

Delmira and Kinie stuff

Delmira looked over at Kinie whom she had wrapped in her scarf. "Lets go get you warmer clothing." She had suggested.

Kinie handed Delmira the scarf back. "I don't want to be out of uniform," she smiled, brushing her hands down the black coat. "I remembered to put the termal liner in so I am alright except for cold ears," she said. She looked a little pale, but then again she was always a little pale. She pulled out her black lipstick and rubbed some on her lips for a moment, checking her reflection in her communicator.

Delmira watched Kinie and smiled at her as she wrapped the scarf the around her and used her hologram to project her uniform around herself. "Good thing we can fake clothing." She looked at the other woman's lipstick.

A hoversled pulled up and from atop it, there were literal catcalls. This hoversled was not helmed by the coarse Rixxikor, nor by the stoic Ehlen, or chatty L'Kor, or even a mysterious Elefirn. No, this hoversled was manned by Nekovalkyrja. A heavily-armed duo, rather ragged looking, in scum-brown coveralls with darker, less stained spots that look as if certain telltale rectangular patches had been removed.

"HEY CUTIES! EEEEYOW," called the tawny-haired one with Neko markings on her face, "You and your girlfriend need a ride, Kitten?" The redhaired one, arms folded across her chest, snorted with laughter.

Delmira watched the sled pull up and she looked at the duo in credulous confusion before looking at Kinie. [If any thing happens i got a backup gun in my boot if you need it.} She said via telepathy to the other woman.

"I don't believe we've been introduced," Kinie replied to the hoversled's occupants.

"We got hired on for the security detail but it's BORING!" The arm-folded one replied, "So we're driving the sled for some extra SCRATCH." They both make scratchy-cat gestures in unison. "Come on. You know we know how to drive. We even take the almighty Kikyō Satsu!"

"Dont be wimps. You're NEKOS."

Delmira looked at Kinie. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm okay as long as I'm with you," Kinie said, holding Delmira closely.

"That's what I wanted to hear! I was beginning to thing they stopped making them as scary as they used to be, right Nara-kun? Step right up," the tawny Neko said, "We'll make it EXTRA romantic. Twenty for the deluxe tour!"

The other, apparently named Nara, revved the engine. "Hey, our squidman is long dead. We don't got nothing to do with you if you're not here to cause trouble in the colony, right?"

Delmira will hand over the money before getting into the sled and holding her hand out for Kinie. "Your chariot awaits." She said with a grin. "And no we are not."

Kinie took Delmira's hand and scooted her bottom into the cab. "We're looking for a general tour, but also specifically for some navigator or cartographer who knows a lot about machine planets. We're in the market for some salvaging and my boss is willing to make deals for the right information," Kinie said, grinning with her fangs showing a little.

"I'll have to think about that," said the Neko, "but I hope you two like Nepleslian power ballads!" She cranked both the deck heater and the tunes, and the one known as Nara peeled out at full throttle, knocking over a mushroom-kebab stand to the amusement of both of the scruffy Nekos operating the sled.

"I don't know all about that machine planet stuff," said Nara, "But I know if you're looking for information in Sood Zadra, then there's only one Blue Meanie you need to talk to, and that's the one that runs the place." She was mostly paying-attention as she drove, but was also drinking from a dubious bottle with a Kuvexian label in between shouting over her shoulder at the others. She passed the bottle to the other, who took a swig and offered it to Delmira.

"Just call me Ruru." she said, loudly over the strains of the first guitar solo. "There's a nice lookout on that snowbank overlooking the domes. It's colder out there but you two lovecats should be able to keep each other warm right?" Both of them snickered at her jibe, and Nara splattered at least three Rixx in a row at each intersection she ran without stopping.

Delmira will make sure her bodily systems are running in case the offered beverage would kill her. Well given the world she was on it was sure to have enough alcohol to kill a elephant. She took the offered beverage and took a swig from it not before she turned her hologram uniform off. "Whos this Blue Meanie?" She asked and shot Ruru a smirk at her comment. "oh im sure we coud melt the snow out there."

"So could we," Nara called from the front of the sled, running over a small ground transport on her way out of the colony up to the vantage point. "You know. The Kuvvie running the show."



Vec and Cheilith

Cheilith left the shop, tucking away the candy into her satchel of trade goods. She glanced around the market, and saw a stand that had two exits that couldn't both be watched at the same time. "You want to check out some rugs?" She asked.

"Always," Vec said, setting off in the direction of the stand.

They moseyed their way towards the stand, and came in to a shop with lots and lots of rugs. Cheilith examined one, "Like their pretty, but I don't know exactly what they do." She said, turning to Vec but looking out of the sides of her eyes to put an eye on their persuer.

Don't say you can hide a body in one of these, don't say it, Vec. "You just put them on the floor, to brighten up a room, and it's usually softer than sitting on the bare floor," he positioned himself so he could see the other exit, "I've been places where they barely use chairs. Just really bright rugs and pillows. It's fun to eat like that, just lounging. Hmm, I kinda like this one," he said pointing to a red rug with a pattern of intricate squares.

"I don't think I've ever just sat around lounging to eat. It feels like I'd just be laying on the floor or something. I wonder if I could get anything for it." She wondered, examining the rug before moving to a deep blue one with a intricate blocky pattern of white lines on it.

Another humanoid entered the shop, a Nepleslian, maybe. Vec tucked their pressense away. "You should try it sometimes, it's relaxing, like drinking on a board walk. Anyway, why not get something just to have it?"

"We have the same profession. I own a single truck to keep all my stuff in. I have to pare everything down to what is going to fit in my berth or in my truck. A big rug like this just doesn't fit." She said, keeping a watch for the green guy who also just happened to step in to the shop, blocking off both of their exits.

"Maybe a smaller one for your truck?" Vec asked, ignoring the fact that he owned only a small handful of personal items.

Sanda had her camo-cloak pulled over her head, as if she was trying to keep out the cold. She had quickly located the good doctor and Cheilith but had kept her distance. She did send a location ping to them, indicating that she was in their area. She had also quickly picked up their tale. It was almost embarrassing how sloppy the green skinned mutant was trying to tale the doc.

Vec felt his comm vibrate. Green is defineitly an issue, now it's time to see if the Nep is just a shopper. Vec set off towards the Nep. "Let's see if we can find you something smaller," he said.

Yayoi disappeared as she used her own stealth skills to make her way to where Vec and Cheilith were. Trusting that Sanda had alerted her comrades to their presense. Like Sanda she too spotted the one following them. Green skinned mutant, it didnt surprise her someone was green, as she had a blue skinned sister, and Tachiko had a blue skinned clanmate. She kept her eye on the mutant, and readied herself to make a move should the mutant point himself as a threat.

The nep was a tall one, almost an ID-SOL sized. "You ain't going nowhere till you answer some questions for us." He said with a threatening growl.

"Yes, I'm single, no you aren't my type, friend," Vec said with a grin, "Now if you'll excuse us--"

"Who do you work for?" He asked, cutting Vec off and stepping forward, poking Vec in the chest. A few more goons followed him in.

Cheilith's hand slipped under her loose clothes to put a subtle hand on her NSP. She looked back at the green guy as he was joined by some associates.

I really hope I don't have to shoot somebody, Vec thought.

Yayyoi allowed her breath to come out in in doing so she began to enter a trance. The green guy was huge, but she knew that as a Giretsu Trained Ranger, and a Neko she could handle him.

Sanda almost grinned when she saw that green skin had been joined by two more... associates? Goons was probably the better word. Now things were getting interesting. She moved closer to them, invisible to them as all their attention was now focused on the doctor and tall.... Was that an ID-SOL?

"I'm talking to you wimp, who are you working for? why are you intrested in a lostek?" He asked, looming over Vec.

"Hey, my man," Vec said craining his neck up and taking a step back, "I just bought the girl some candy, what're you talking about?" He held the man's gaze as he spoke.

Yayoi thought of the neko she'd seen training rigurously in the fortress back on Yamatai. her feet landed on the ground with even the briefest of sounds, as her hands moved out at blinding speed to stricking hard at the necks of the goons, at a specific pressure point at the necks to cause them to get knock down. Only them did she move forward to to deal with the next threat to her comrades life.

With Yayoi's attack on the goons behind them, Cheilith spun, using her left hand to clear away the loose clothing so it didn't get caught on anything as she cleared leather with her NSP. Vec was in the way, so she shot the two on either side she could see with two precise shots to the center of mass with her weapon set to stun. The whole thing took less than four seconds. Then she was tackled from the side, sending the pistol flying.

Grin turning almost sadistic, Vec let himself drop back, his hand knocking his jacket aside. As his bottom hit the floor, he had let off two shots into the ID-SOL's chest followed by one to his forehead. The big man stagged forward and toppled on top of the Doctor with a thump.

Sanda watched as Yayoi moved in on greeny and his comrades. She remained where she was standing and watching the suroundings to make sure no one esle was taking an interest om the fight. She did give Yayoi a pouty face and muttered, "Hermana. ¡Él era mío!"

Yayoi wasn't the only one with Giretsu training, Cheilith had been in her same class and they had graduated together. She wrestled with the shop owner for a few second, getting her into a headlock and causing her to pass out before scrabling after her gun.

Yayoi could hear how upset Sanda was. so she sent a message sorry Hermana but it wasnt my fault Vec shot him.

Vec pressed his pistol to the side of the man's head and gave it another tap for good measure before shoving the corpse aside. Pushing himself to a kneeling position, he turned to see Unknifto in hand to hand.

Sanda's teasing face turned deadly serious when she heard the shot. She was quite surprised that it was the Doctor who had shot and killed someone. She scowled. This was bad. They were on a neutral world.

Yayoi glanced to Vec with an expressionless look to her face as Vec killed him though he was a medic.

Standing, he said, "Grab Green boy, lets get Oscar Mike." He moved to cover the street outside. "Fuck it, wrap him in a rug."

Cheilith dove under a diplay of rugs to retrieve her pistol and came up, but the fight was already over. Four special forces troopers could take a lot, and these had seemed to be street thugs. She grabbed a rug that didn't look too expensive and wrapped the dead man in it.

"Wait!" Sanda moved forward and quickly did a search of the dead man's pockets. Looking for some kind of ID. Not finding any, Sanda pulled her camo-cloak around her and just dissapeared into the crowds.

"And this place has THE BEST RUGS," was the velvety purr of an Elefirn speaking Trade, audible outside of the stall, and approaching.

Yayoi cursed as she heard the speech. "Fuck, gotta scram, now!" she said very quickly moving the bodies to make them look like they were drunk and passed out.

Cheilith holstered her weapon hoisted the dead man in a rug over her shoulder and left the stall, looking for Sanda.

Holstering, his pistol, Vec backed into the shop following Yayoi.

"I've really, really been wanting a new rug to tie my place together," came the uncannily un-accented Trade of one of those weird blue not-quite-Kuvexian folk. They were almost about to enter the shop!

Yayoi soon disappeared before she could be spotted, though carrying Vec over her shoulder using both her strength and her speed to get them both out without being seen. Damn it doc

Sanda moved outside and found an alley way that was empty. She waved Yayoi and Cheilith over to it. She glared at the Doctor as Yayoi carried him.

Vec bristled at being carried, but he didn't struggle. Human legs vs Neko and all that.

"So what now?" Cheilith asked in a neutral tone. She was perfectly happy to bury the body or surrender to the police, whatever Sanda said.

Yayoi spotted Sanda and hid in the alley

"Did you grab one of the survivors? We can take him for questioning, if not, fuck it back to the ship." Vec said still hanging from Yayoi's shoulder.

"We do have the green guy, and the dead guy in a rug." Cheilith said, pulling some plastic smart cuffs out of her bag and affixing them to their live captive.

"Well everybody who matters is still alive," Vec said flatly.

Sanda shook her head in disbelief. "What the Hell was that? We're on a neutral world. Much as I like to, you can't just shoot people like that."

Yayoi sighed in esasperation. "are you, or are you not a Doctor, Vec?" She asked dropping him to the ground.

Falling with a grunt, Vec sat up and looked at them, "Yes I'm a doctor. Crew saftey's my job is it not? I made a command decision, Hoshi."

"It seems like they're closed? Hmm, Oh well..." The pair outside the shop moved on.

"They closed in on us, pushed him, Vec's not a big guy, so he was in fear of his life vs an id-sol. Self defense. Arguably." Cheilith summarized.

"On a normal world, yes. But here... If we had been seen they could have made all kinds of trouble for us. Luckly, I'm pretty sure Yayoi took out the surrounding guys before they saw you blow the brains out of their buddy." Sanda said, still not happy with the situation.

"Still can be trouble, we stunned most of them." Cheilith pointed out.

"You all did good back there," Vec said standing up to dust himself off. "Let's stop standing around and get going."

Yayoi nodded "agreed, we should keep moving, just incase we are seen, I'm sure it would catch too many attention to stay in this alley like this.

"We also have to move with two bodies." Cheilith noted.

"Leave the bodies. They'll bring us more trouble then any information we could get out of them most likely." Sanda adviced.

Cheilith nodded, reaching down and releasing the cuffs before returning them to her pocket. Then she used her volumetrics to project the image of a diffrent Neko over herself. "I'm ready to go."

Deciding not to coutnermand her, Vec simply snapped a picture of each man's face. "The ID-SOL knew about the tech," Vec said.

Sanda moved over to Yayoi and play punched her on the arm. "Next time I get to fight the bad guys." She teased. She didn't like how the situation had gone, but it was good to see that she and Yayoi were still such a lethal pair.

Yayoi glanced to Sanda and nodded trying to look solem "alright, Hermana, I'll let you fight the bad guys next time, It's what a good sister does afterall.

Mochi

Mochi made his way out of the Resurgence, kitted up with some of the gear he kept in his Science Lab locker. He was hoping to pass as a visiting Elysian. Using his wings as a snow covers, and sporting some nondescript clothes over his uniform, Mochi slipped off into the crowds.

After some time, the Science Officer came across what he was looking for. A discreet, camera-less workshop with mind-machine interfaces, SPINE interfaces, even an ST machine at the back. There were a bunch of workstations scattered around with various electronics and computer components.

With some small golden bars he had brought for the occasion, Mochi bought access to the facilities. Moving over to a vacant workstation, he plugged his Advancer interface into the SPINE port. Accessing his stored memories and skills, Mochi transferred them to a storage chip.

Having been planning this for a while, the Elysian then ran through the necessary steps to spin up an infomorph of himself inside the chip. After a few minutes, the process was done. He wiped his digital footprint and ensured nothing had been copied, logged or otherwise tampered with. Passing over a few more bars in payment for the storage chip, Mochi slipped it into his pocket and wandered out, whistling lightly.

The L'Kor in the shop counted his gold bars and clacked his beak happily to himself as he spirited them away into his safe.

Poppy and Euikoshi ran into Iemochi shortly afterwards. "Hey senator!" Poppy called out. "Battle buddies, remember, sir?" she reminded him.

Mochi smiled politely and waved to the two new arrivals. "Hi ladies. I'm just looking for a mail or shipping service but can't seem to find one! Have you seen any?" The Elysian flicked his wings to dislodge some snow that had matted onto them. "I was looking for Sanda and the others but couldn't spot them-"

"You shouldn't be alone, sir," Euikoshi pointed out. "I mean, you're a senator. Imagine if someone wanted to reprogram your brain to vote for them using a shady ST machine or something," she said, pointing to the shop he'd just been in.

"They could snatch you right up, knock you out, and drag you to that head-ware place. It looks just like the ones you find in Ternifac," Poppy nodded. "Anyway, have you seen any place selling leather coats? I'm freezing!!"

Mochi waved a hand dismissively, "It's all fine. People have tried and failed before to assassinate me. Last time it was in USO space and that didn't work." He chuckled, "I appreciate your worries though. With all this snow on my wings and this far from Yamatai, I doubt I'd be recognised by anyone."

"I wonder if they sell male contraception that works on Minkans," Poppy pondered aloud as she scanned the area and noticed a pharmacy. "I'd love to look at some of these drugs."

The Elysian nodded down towards another alleyway, "I think I saw some more shops down there. You can look for a coat while I look for a shipper." He smiled warmly.

"We're sticking to you now, sir," Euikoshi said.

"Sure, you're welcome to come along! Empress knows we've shared a lab long enough!" Mochi winked to Euikoshi. Leading the way, he wandered around with the other two in search of more shops.

Finally Poppy spotted a shop with coats. She'd know there had to be one in this snowy location. She grabbed a thick one made of leather with a fur collar and paid a decent amount for it. "Alright, maybe if we can find someone else to babysit the Taii, we can look at those pharmaceuticals," she suggsted to Euikoshi. "Call the other team members and see if they want to meet."

"Babysit." Mochi shook his head with a grin. "I didn't realise I was such a drag." The green-panel stretched his arms over his head for a moment as he wandered ahead of the two Nekos. "I think it's nice to be out of the ship for a change, without there being explosions.."


= = =
OOC: JP by Wes, Ajax, Charaa, Cowboy, Soresu, Soban, Spaceeye, Shadowwalker, Ethereal, Yuuki, Zanven, Locke
 
Before they set off, Vec typed another message to the ground team channel.
I'm moving up the threat condition by one. There are other interested parties in Sood. If possible do not engage. If you think you're being followed drop a location pin. Stay safe
He shoved his comm in his pocket and checked their six.
 
Market Place

Sanda took point and led the group away from the bodies. She didn't lead them directly back towards the ship. If someone was planning on cutting them off, that is where they would be looking for them. Instead she led them deeper into the market area. She found a more or less decent looking café and led them inside. Once inside, Sanda said. "I'm going to make sure we weren't followed. Wait here." She didn't wait for a response, she just wrapped her cloak around her head and went back outside.

She returned about 15 mins later. "I think we're in the clear. The goons came around and didn't seem very anxious to come looking for us. I followed them to some bar where it looks like there trying to get drunk about as fast as they can. No authorities that I could see." Sanda untied her pony tail and shook her hair out before retying it. She took out her flask and took a mouthful before offering it to the Doc. "You good? I must say, I was a little surprised to see you shoot. Most medics spend more time trying to save lives than take them." She looked out the window a moment, studying the street. Without looking back she added, "No judgement there. Just it's not exactly what I was expecting. Although with those Giretsu pins on your arm, I guess I should be too surprised." It almost sounded like a complement.
 
While Hoshi was off scouting, Vec assigned their impromptu fire team into watches. Nobody gave them a second look as they milled about trying not to look like a team of highly trained door kickers. While his mind was mostly focused on the mission at hand, a niggling voice in the back of his head gloated that he'd cocked everything up. The mission? No. His only mistake had been letting himself and Unknifto get cornered. That said, it was a pretty big mistake. They'd survived and he'd take note for next time. It was the interpersonal stuff that still gnawed at him. He'd thought of Hoshi as a kindred spirit. He'd apparently misread the situation. The idea of disappointing her or any of his troops sat like acid in his gut. Maybe once they were back on the Res he'd talk to her. He planned different courses of action. Rehearsing his words like training scenarios. Apologize? He wasn’t sorry for his actions. Bang! you’re dead, it was the voice of his old Training Officer long since retired. Try to justify? Wasn’t his place to tell her how to feel. Bang! Dead again. Shift blame? Never. Bang! Bang! Tell her that he’d made tougher calls in the past? Bang! Dead, just like Waleth.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Dead


Every scenario seemed to end in death.


Finally she returned. She seemed more concerned than upset. That was a start.
"Back in CSAR, we just called it 'Preventative medicine,'" he said accepting the flask, "And honestly, it's a good name. Takes a few weeks to learn to shoot somebody right, years to get really good at fixing that bullet hole. I used to think that was symbolic." Vec shruged seeming to shrink on himself, "So, Hoshi, what's in the flask?" he asked eyeing it.
 
Delmira leaned into Kinie and sent her a message via telepathy. {I got something i have been wanting to ask for a bit and since we might die riding this thing with these i figure now is the time to ask it.} She looked at Nara and gave her a shrug. "No idea who that would even be."
 
Nara laughed, and called back over her shoulder, "Didn't get a briefing before they chucked you out on a new planet? Are you sure you're Yamatai and not the NMX?" Ruru apparently thought this was hilarious and nearly dropped the liquor bottle she'd just finished a swig of before offering it back to the couple.

"Baroness Soon Bardoon, Quallox Vaibal Colonial Governor. The bluest and the meanest of the Blue Meanies!" Nara narrowly avoided a truck full of Rixxikor, then took a sudden turn off the street and over a snow bank. Of course, the hoversled didn't need a road, and managed just fine on the new surface. "So how long you two kittens been an item?"
 
Market Place
Yayoi followed, her eyes crossing and moving as she kept sight of any threat to their group. Sanda took them deeper into the Market, and she found the group going into a café. She thought it was a good idea, as she could see only one entrance and therefore one to guard and protect. Sanda told them she was going back out there to keep an eye on the area. Yayoi nodded, trusting and knowing full well, that Sanda can handle herself. While Sanda was gone, she checked on their group, and specifically to Vec. As a medical officer, she was certain he never had to shoot and kill anyone before. She checked, but as they did not train her as a psychologist, she wasn’t able to tell what he was thinking.
From his words, it seemed that he was unbothered by it, and Yayoi glanced to Sanda as she not only processed her words, and also the actions. She found herself curious about the flask.
 
Market Place, side Cafe

Sanda remained by the window, watching outside. She glanced back at Vec when he asked her what was in the flask. She smiled, the lighting tattoo over her eye seeming to flash briefly, as if it was alive. "Best medicine there is for calming nerves. Nepleslian Rum." She looked outside again. There didn't seem to anything happening out of the ordinary. No sirens and flashing lights. No people running.

"I think it's safe for us to head back out." Sanda said as she turned back to the group. "There's a good chance whoever attacked us will think twice about doing so again. They'd much more cautions. We can try heading back to the ship, or we can keep looking around." She pulled out a small data slate and took a look at the rest of the Res crew positions. Looked like most everyone else was still out and about and she hadn't heard of any other groups being harassed. Nevertheless, Sanda would probably stay in the area just in case there was any more trouble.

If Koyama and Mochi were considered the 'mom and dad' of the ship, then Sanda was the older sister. She might be bossy sometimes, but she was the only one allowed to mess with you. Anyone else who did would receive swift and terrible retribution.
 
“Maybe later,” Vec said, waving away the flask with a polite smile. “I say let’s keep looking around. I can’t help feeling like we tripped into something. Normally, I’d say, ‘not our problem,’ but that ID-SOL wanted to know why Unknifto and I were looking for lostek.” He sat forward elbows resting on the table, scratching the old scar across the bridge of his nose as he thought. Maybe I shouldn’t have turned down the rum. “It’s just, I don’t know, it feels like we’re missing something that’ll come back and bite us in the ass later,” Vec spoke slowly, thinking out his reasoning as he spoke. “If there are other hunters I’d rather know about them now. It’s like a tumor, ya’know, even if you think it’s benign you still take a biopsy from time to time. This time though, let’s try to come up with a plan, and grab some chow. It’s on me,” he added. It wasn’t like he had much else to spend his pay on.
 
"Away team, did I detect contact a minute ago? Asakura, Hoshi, Unknifto, Wilson? Report in." Tachiko shook her head, then pinched the bridge of her nose, announcing aloud, perhaps to Koyama, but more to the room in general. "My first mission and they're getting into hoversleds with NMX Nekovalkyrja and shooting without calling up to higher..."
 
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Cheilith checked to make sure the comms were secure before answering softly so only her compatriots could hear. "Yes, contact has been broken at this time. No friendly WIA. one enemy KIA, rest stunned. We are laying low until return to the ship is possible. Be aware, there are other parties here who appear to be interested in our objective." Cheilith responded trying to concisely lay out the current situation for Tachiko.
 
Vec could have kicked himself. He'd let himself get tunnel vision and forgot to report in. After Unknifto closed her comm, he patched in to add, "Hey, Control, I've got the others with me. We're five fingers and five toes." Realizing he'd used RJ slang, he added, "We're all ok. Some, maybe, locals cornered us asking about things they shouldn't know about. Things got a bit violent. I want to make a plan and look into the 'interested party.' How do you advise?"
 
Market Place, side Café
When Sanda spoke f offering an alcoholic beverage, Yayoi opened her mouth to remind her that they probably shouldn’t drink as it was against Sayoy rules and guidelines, but she thought they were technically on shoreleave, and rules there were lax somewhat there. She decided to say nothing, instead she’d keep watch to make sure he wasn’t overdoing it. But the doctor declined, which pleased her.

Her head moved to Sanda as she spoke again, saying that she thought it safe for them to head back out. She’d also glanced out there, and seeing no one that could be a threat she’d agreed. “I’m fine with going back to looking, but we should be more aware of our surroundings.” She said before Tachiko contacted them, and silently she cursed, as a Heisho she should have reported in. But Chelith and Vec seemed to be quick in reporting in, so she nodded to them. She waited to hear what Tachiko said in reply before she figured they’d make their move.
 
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