RP: YSS Resurgence Resurgence of Yamatai - Mission 8: The Search for Wakaba

Wardroom
Sanda looked at Yuri as she spoke. The poor kid, for that was how Sanda saw her, a kid. Yeah, yeah, Neko rapid growth and development yada yada yada. Yuri was still less than a year old. That made her a kid in Sanda's book. However, Yuri was special to Sanda because Yuri's mother Yayoi was special to Sanda. The Nep Ranger glanced at Yayoi and winked the said to Yuri. "Kid, you can always give Aunt Sanda a hug if you want. There is no guarantee that Aunt Sanda won't wind up putting you on the floor afterwards, but that's a chance you'll just have to take." Sanda smiled mischievously at the young Neko.

Wardroom

"I've heard getting laid out flat by a Nepleslian is a once in a lifetime experience," Mineko said as she stood, having gotten an alert from MEGAMI to head to the bridge. "You should give your ol' Auntie a hug, Yuri-chan! Think of the bragging rights!"

Giggling as she left the wardroom, Mineko hustled to up from deck five.

Bridge

Mineko quietly slipped onto the bridge with a curt bow. Within her blue irises, her red pupils zeroed in on her console and she hungrily strode towards it, excited to churn through whatever the probes had uncovered and try to make sense of it. Her brows knit together in confusion, then frustration.

"I thought it was established they were within this expanse of space. Could there be another explanation for the time delay?" Mineko queried the bridge crew around her. Her eyes settled on Trowa, who she had only worked with in passing. There was a nagging concern that she felt as their eyes met. If the Wakaba was really that far away, what could they do to help?

"If the Wakaba hasn't revived Joto Heisho Setsunu Meiosei, then we could do so," Mineko offered. "Her last known ST might carry more information than half a transmission can."

Wardroom

Koyama had been sitting at one of the tables in the wardroom. While her customary connection to the Resurgences' MEGAMI informed her of current developments, the First Officer took her time to enjoy the still-hot cup of delicately spiced coffee. Rossa, bless her tried, but the princess had specific standards with the drink. Acquired over nigh-on a decade of service across the Sector and into the unknown reaches.

"The key," she began, mug coming up just enough to hide her lips, the steam wafting to her nose promising what was to come on that next sip, "Is to wrap your arms around her neck. And legs about her torso or waist. And wait until she submits. Nuzzling will seal the deal."

The barely audible sip quickly trailed by an exhalation as the little excess heat of the beverage escaped into the climate-controlled air. "But don't let your auntie Sanda fool you. She's a softie. Unless your name is Thad." It'd been the first time since the ship was as patched up as it would be and the Neko managed a small reprieve to sit and the simple pleasure of a preferred beverage. Spreading her connection around the ship, informed her of the bridge's current situation, and Pidole's handling of Engineering giving her regular updates. Koyama slipped out of the Captain's role once Aoba recovered and acclimated enough to his freshly cloned body to resume command.

Drafting the report to command with Aoba amending it here or there as he saw fit, Koyama sent it off ASAP. And the brief correspondence between the venerable Mistress of Ships, Shosa, and Captain ended on a very cryptic note. 'We were not the first.' mulling over that singular thought at the response. 'But the first that survived.' reminding herself with another rewarding sip of the delicious brew. Only dregs remained. The last correspondence sent was to capture one alive. If not, dead worked just as well. Something for SARA to poke and prod. Yui hated being taken unawares, especially against the Empire's age-old enemy. And that enemy just managed to pull a rabbit, which the eldest of the Clan wasn't expecting out of its hat.

Wardroom

As Sanda spoke to her, Yuri’s lips curled upwards into a smile which only widened with the input of both Koyama and Mineko. Sanda did technically invited her, so Yuri moved closer, her feet left the floor beneath her as she began following Koyama’s instructions. Her arms warm to the touch wrapped themselves around Sanda’s neck, as her legs moved into position around the parts she could wrap them around. Knowing that Sanda did say she might throw her down, she decided to make it a little harder for her as she held onto her. Koyama’s instructions also said to nuzzle her, and Yuri had learned how to do that so she began nuzzling her aunt’s neck. It was unfortunate that her mother wasn’t there to see this action of hers.

YSS Resurgence - Bridge

"Sir," Gabriela said, "The Second Fleet has arrived!"

Not too far away from the YSS Resurgence, thousands of battleships, cruisers and other heavy-hitters from the Star Army's strategic response fleet flashed into local space in shimmers of teal light. The attack on the Resurgence had brought a response from the Star Army of Yamatai and they were getting ready to push the hostile forces out of the system.

"Hmm. This makes a great distraction," Aoba told Gabriela with a thoughtful look. "While the fight happens we can sneak back into the system and look for the anomaly that could send us in the footsteps of the YSS Wakaba." He turned to the ship's science advisor, Kawa Euikoshi. "I want you to prepare a new set of probes to scan for wormholes or similar spacetime distortions from the tachyon emitting sites in the system."

At Aoba's words, her eyes lit up with interest. "Of course, sir," she replied promptly, fingers already flying over her console. "It may take a bit of time to fine-tune the probes to search for such specific anomalies. Especially given the ambient radiation from the star and the chaotic energy of the battle that's unfolding." As she worked, the faint hum of the Resurgence's engines changing pitch was noticeable as they prepared for the next short jump. Despite the pressure of the situation, Euikoshi felt a surge of excitement. This was the kind of challenge that she relished. "Probes are being prepped now, sir," she reported after a moment, her tone professional. "The first will be ready to launch as soon as we're in position."

The scene on the bridge was tense but focused. As the rest of the crew attended to their duties, it was clear that everyone understood the stakes. The attack on the Resurgence, the appearance of the Star Army's Second Fleet, the search for the YSS Wakaba - all of it added up to a situation where there was little room for error.

YSS Resurgence - Engineering

The engineering deck of the YSS Resurgence was a hubbub of activity. Amid the clamor of machinery and the chatter of technicians, Chief Engineer Pidole stood, eyes fixed on a volumetric screen showing the ship's current status. She listened to Aoba's orders and nodded. Probes. It was a sound plan. The chief took a moment to coordinate with her team, ensuring that the probes were properly equipped for the mission.

"Alright, team. We need those probes fitted with tachyon detectors and spatial distortion sensors. And we need them ready to launch as soon as we're in position," Pidole ordered, her voice cutting through the noise of the busy deck. "Euikoshi is sending the calibrations now."

A flurry of activity followed her words as technicians scrambled to do as she ordered. Despite the rush, there was an order to the chaos, each person knowing their role and performing it with practiced efficiency. Pidole watched with approval. The YSS Resurgence was in good hands.

Sakuko's Cabin

Sakuko quickly made her way to their shared cabin. She opened the door to find Zanven at the desk, working on something. His familiar presence, now in a new body, made her heart ache with relief and happiness. She closed the door behind her and walked over to him.

"Zan," she said, using his nickname. She reached out to touch his shoulder, half expecting him to disappear or turn into a ghost. When her hand made contact with solid, warm flesh, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"It's good to see you," she murmured, looking at him with a mixture of emotions in her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Her concern for him was evident in her voice. It was strange, seeing him in a new body, but it was still Zan. And for that, she was grateful.

Yoshiro's quarters
Yoshiro had trouble sleeping so he decided to redecorate his part of the room since he hadn't done it recently. He took the models his brother had sent, goofy as they looked and made a shrine dedicated to his family.

He wasn't particularly religious or even spiritual but he did love his family. "I will have to come home when I get shore leave next time." He said as he hung up a stick figure drawing his brother drew him as he served the Star Army. He decided to make sure his armor was repaired and headed towards the armor bay.

Armor Bay
Yoshiro arrived and worked on bringing his armor up to speed and armed it with weapons that would be great for piercing the NMX's armor. He smiled and started to calibrate his targeting systems and modified them to detect heat signatures when they decide to go invisible. "I am the hunter and you are the prey. You will fear me but I shall not fear you!" He said.

After working on his armor and arming his power armor with the weapons he thought he would need, he went to the wardroom to get some tea and think about how he would deal with the Mishhuvurthyar the next time they decided to attack his friends, wherever the mission was to lead them.

YE 45.4

YSS Resurgence - Bridge

As the second fleet materialized in the combat zone, the bridge was a hive of activity. Aoba watched over the scene with a steely determination. "We're receiving confirmation that our reinforcements have engaged the enemy, sir," Gabriela reported. "Second Fleet is pushing them back. It seems our distraction is working."

"That's excellent news, Gabriela," Aoba said. "Let's be careful not to underestimate them. He then turned his gaze towards Kawa Euikoshi. "How are those probes coming along?"

Euikoshi, focused on her console, didn't look up as she replied. "Final calibration is underway, Captain. We should be ready to launch within minutes."

As the crew worked, Aoba found his thoughts turning to the YSS Wakaba and the strange anomaly that had sent them on this mission. As much as he was relieved by the arrival of the Second Fleet, he couldn't help but worry about what they would find. The stakes were high, and time was not on their side.

"Prepare to take us back into the system as soon as those probes are ready," he ordered, his gaze fixed on the tactical display. "We're going to find that ship and get to the bottom of this. Battle stations!"

As the call to battlestations rung throughout the ship, Koyama appeared on the bridge taking her station."The Taisho quite literally pulled out all the stops..." she murmured. "Point-Defense systems are opening up on the enemy... multiple swarms of battlepods in coming."

Thoughout the Ship

"All hands, battle stations, set REDCON 1," Kalena's voice came over the intercom, sending the crew into action. "Prepare for action against the Mishhuvurthyar."

After taking a minute to return equipment to the nearest hospitality closet, Okimi proceeded to her damage control station, still feeling a little sluggish after the recent nightmare-filled nights of poor quality sleep she had been experiencing since the Mishhuvurthyar boarding incident several days earlier.

Yuri had just got over her giggling at her interaction with her aunt Sanda, when she'd gotten the alarm. "time to work!" She couldn't believe how long it took her, but now she was focused. Yuri took off running to the medical bay. "Sempai, i am here, and ready for duty, Ma'am!" Yuri hoped to find some way to help Okimi though.

Armor Bay

Yoshiro heard the alarm and started to get into his armor. "All right infantry! You heard the lady. Show up and suit up!" He shouted

Thad was ready this time to slap some Mish around like a hockey puck. He completed putting on his war paint as he walked into the armor bay. "Time to bring the purge to these egg laying little fu..." Before he could finish his armor sealed around him.

Cassie rushed into the armor bay in her exercise uniform, quickly stripping it off to reveal her gray fur. She crawled backwards into her Mindy power armor like a professional diver going into a swimming pool, having done it many times before.

Sanda had been in her quarters, hanging upside down from the top bunk. She had been cleaning her sidearms. As soon as the alarms sounded she quickly put the weapons back together and booked it to the Armory to suit up.

Mineko, too, was in the armor bay this time. She had felt like she could have done more during the boarding of the Resurgence by the Mishhuvurthyar and so she was pulling off her jacket and loading her bodysuit-clad legs into her Mindy.

Yayoi was silent as she prepared her armor for attack. Like a few, she prepared weapons that were effective against Mishuu. The Ranger found herself interested and somewhat giddy at the notion of fighting an old enemy again. This time with prepared weapons.

Space

The mighty Second Fleet pushed into the system despite the massive interference there that clouded sensors and communications. As they did, they found there were significantly more Mishhuvurthyar forces than expected, and instead of trying to get away from the Star Army fleets, they were focusing on causing taking as many ships with them as they could.

Mishhuvurthyar were not typical enemies, they had an intense hate for Yamatai to the point they would almost universally fight to the death just to do more harm. Thousands of fighter craft launched from both sides, causing the area to be swarmed with messy dogfights and blossoms of missiles moving in packs. The murky space of the system was filled with explosions, lightning flashes, and violence.

The Resurgence pushed in, using the battleships of the Second Fleet as cover, and began to systematically target all of the tachyon-emitting anomalies with specialized probes. As a wave of Mishhuvurthyar battle pods closed on the Resurgence, the anti-fighter quad turrets came to life and spewed fire out at them.

Armor Bay

"Power armor teams are cleared to deploy to provide cover against enemy small craft and power armor," the bridge called down to the bay.

"Time for some target practice, I guess," Cassie said, putting her helmet on and heading over to the bay doors. "Let's try not to let anything in here this time, okay?"

"Roger that." Yoshiro said. "Come you apes! You want to live forever!" He said as he flew out to lead the charge.

Thad tossed his weapon over his shoulder. "No better time to die than today." He said with a smile as his weapon charged.

As Cassie opened the armor bay door a NMX-style battlepod flew by, strafing the doorway and blasted a few holes in the floor, but didn't hit any of the armor team members. "I don't think they're friendly," Cassie wisecracked in a complaining voice. "Maybe they need therapy."

The verbiage from the men in her team was unsettling to Mineko, but Cassie's quip did the opposite and settled the bookish analyst. She hefted her aether beam saber rifle and looked to Sanda. "Got a battle buddy?"

Sanda had her rifle up and ready. She was debating staying behind in case the ship was boarded again when Mineko spoke. "I usually pair with Yayoi, but I'm sure she won't mind sharing today. Will you Hermana?" Sanda asked her fellow Ranger in a teasing tone.

Yayoi made her final checks before she stepped forward to either death or victory. She glanced over to Mineko as she asked a obvious question. "i wont mind at all"

A mini missile sailed past Yayoi's head and exploded on a power armor storage rack with a loud boom, sending a wave of smoke through the armor bay.

"Gotcha!" Mineko said chipperly, looking between the two rangers.To everyone else, she said over comms, "Front to rear! We need to get going and close the armor bay door!"

As the mini missile sailed over head, anyone else might have messed their pants, but she was cool as ice. note to self, send these guys the bill for that

"Target pods. Search and destroy!" Yoshiro said

"I can to remain here to prep reloads and in case of boarders," armorer Norita offered, as this was her usual role. "If anyone needs missiles, please call me."

"I got point then." Sanda said to her roommates. As she flew out the door, she called to Norita. "If we do get boarded, let us know and we can teleport back to aid. No sense making the same mistake as last time."

Thad jumped out the armor bay door. Even though he was in space this did not stop him from using a dodge roll. The most effective way to avoid any and all damage. He sent off a few round towards the closest pod that was flying by.

Yayoi charged out of the Resurgence as she readied herself for battle.

As they flew out the door they were met by the terrifying sight of a burning battleship in front of the Resurgence, completely overwhelmed by endless hordes of Mishhuvurthyar forces and completely adrift as its crew struggled to defend. The Mishhuvurthyar were really bringing their wrath onto the Star Army.

With the power armor team vacating the bay, Okimi entered shortly thereafter to begin initial assessment of the damage caused by the errant missile.

Bridge

Trowa watched as a Sharie-Class Battleship was overwhelmed by a horde of Mishhu. His face was hard set as he thought of the missing Wakaba. If they had been anywhere near here, their chances of survival were not great.

"Probe search 25% complete," Euikoshi announced. "I've had to reroute some to avoid being intercepted by the enemy. The Mishhuvurthyar are even shooting escape pods out there."

"Some of their ordinance is getting through our point defense screen," Koyama reported, her display alerting her to the detonation in the armor bay. While this went on, her jaw clenched at the sight of one of the mighty Sharie-class Battleships being overrun.

"Reminds me of Glimmergold." Trowa commented as he pulled up an overview of the battle, looking for some opening that they could exploit.

"I was the Chief Engineer aboard the YSS Tokyo during Glimmergold," Koyama's response accompanied by a little chill as she recalled the battle. Even something like a dreadnought was not impervious to nearly being bludgeoned to death. It had taken weeks just to get the mighty ship space worthy again all while trying to recover survivors and revive them via backups.

"Its the hardest and bloodiest fights that get the most recognition." Trowa agreed. "This fight is shaping up to be another such one."

The first officer watched as the Resurgences' cannons scratched another battlepod off its list of hostiles. "Comparatively... this is small from what I've been told about the first war. Billions of soldiers. Millions of ships. Per fleet." she emphasized the latter. As she spoke to Trowa, helped manage the weapons and continued to assist in delegating tasks about the ship.


Space

Yoshiro fought hard against the NMX pods and remembered their cruel actions against his family. "For the glory of the Empire and its people, but for that, I go forth to battle!" He said to himself as he fired missiles at several pods after launching

"Checking the Resurgence for any Mishhuvurthyar boarding actions!" Mineko said, scanning with her AIES as she flew around the massive gunship. Her weapon was more ready to fire at battlepods flying at her from the sky than anything attached to the hull, though.

Sanda flew cover behind Mineko once they were out in space. She had duel Gause cannons going from her back. Although the tattooed Nep had been trained for this, this type of space combat was probably her least favorite. She much preferred getting in close in a fight.

Yayoi followed along as she too covered Mineko, as she set her Aetheric pulse cannons to fire upon her opponents.

The nimble battle pods were small than traditional starfighters which made them nimble and hard to hit. This was because they were piloted only by an enslaved, disembodied brain and were otherwise all engines and guns. There were so many of them. As the armor team appeared they became targets. Survival quickly came a matter of spotting the ones swooping in for a strike and shooting before they did, and of doing the Mindy's dodge-dancing to get out of the way. They didn't give the armor aether wings for nothing!

As Mineko checked she did spot a suspicious shuttle trying to reach the Resurgence. It was a Star Army design but there was a Mishhuvurthyar riding it like a horse.

"Enemy incoming!" Mineko said to Sanda and Yayoi, pinging the ranger's visuals. She herself was trying to identify the craft and sent a communication to the shuttle itself, hoping that whoever was manning it was alive and able to reply back and help the situation.

Sanda looked around to where Mineko was indicating. "Copy!" Sanda took aim with her range weapons, but she hesitated a moment. Were there friendlies aboard? She couldn't effort to wait though as the shuttle presented too great a threat. She fired.

"copy that!" Yayoi said then took note of Sanda's taking aim, so chose to allow her to do so.

"We are evacuati..." the shuttle began but the transmission was suddenly filled with screams and the shuttle went out of control, then exploded, with its Mishhuvurthyar rider flinging itself towards Resurgence and engaging thermoptic stealth camouflage.

It was unfortunate, but Yayoi knew that it had to be done, thus she didn't admonish Sanda for her actions.

Sanda cursed, "Thunder to Res! Beware of camouflaged Mishhu!" Sanda warned.

Armor Bay

As Okimi entered the armor bay, she saw that the situation was worse than she had thought. The mini missile had torn a gash in the storage racks, sending shards of metal flying. But the most immediate problem was the fire. Flames were rapidly consuming what was left of the storage racks, fueled by the oxygen in the atmosphere. They were also producing thick black smoke that was quickly filling the bay. Norita was trying to put it out with an extinguisher but needed a hand.

Okimi knew that fire in space could be especially dangerous. In a zero-gravity environment, flames could spread in all directions, not just upwards. And smoke, without a natural updraft to carry it away, could choke out oxygen in an enclosed space very quickly.

After surveying the situation, it didn't take long for Okimi's decision making process to come to the obvious conclusion. She quickly rushed over to the armorer. "Norita-hei! Recommend we switch to internal oxygen, open the bay door and dump the atmosphere to kill the fire and evacuate the smoke."

"Sounds good! Doing that now!" Norita said, heading to the controls for the atmosphere-containment forcefield. In short order, she yelled, "Hang on to something!" and switched it off, causing the smoky air to rush out into space. The fire was out almost right away.

Okimi braced herself, using her inertial control systems to press herself against one of the walls, and started a nine minute countdown in her mind. Once the rush of air ceased and the uncomfortable sensation of a hard vacuum crept across her body, Okimi utilized that same control to push herself towards the damaged storage racks to take a closer inspection of the damage.

"Norita-hei, I would appreciate your assistance assessing the damage." Hopefully, they would be able to prevent a new fire starting once the air was pumped back in. "You're the expert with these systems, so please identify any damage that will cause the atmosphere to reignite when the Bay is pressurized."

Bridge

Aoba watched the battle unfold on the viewscreen. The scene was chaos, pure and simple. Their Second Fleet was putting up a valiant fight, but the Mishhuvurthyar were relentless. And they were shooting down escape pods. He felt a surge of anger at that. There was no honor in killing defenseless people.

As he listened to Euikoshi's update, he took a deep breath and steeled himself. This was it. They had to find the YSS Wakaba, and fast. If the missing ship had been anywhere near this system, it was looking less and less likely that they would find any survivors.

"Keep the probes moving, Euikoshi," he said. "We have to find that ship. Keep us updated on their progress."

"What is our progress with the probes, Heisho?" Trowa asked.

"50%" Euikoshi said, her fingers dancing on her science station. "We're using a process of elimination..." she explained. "Once we find the right one we should be able to put the ship through it."

"Great work. Keep working at it." Trowa encouraged. He wasn't sure how much longer the Res could go without becoming a prime target.

"Sir? I think we've garnered some attention, one of the Mishhvurthyar ships have broken off from their engagement with the Second. Escort-class." Koyama warned while swiping at the screen, "Multiple battlepod launches and their weapons are hot!"

"Kalena, get a firing solution and prep the main cannon," Aoba ordered. "We'll sink them!"

"We'll have to flip and point the bow at them to do that sir," Koyama announced, forwarding him the information. The NMX vessel was hugging their stern." The ship lurched as the Escort pummeled the aft shields with a volley of fire from its secondary batteries.

"Retasking a portion of our point defense network to try and keep them off our back."

Space

The space around the Resurgence was a deadly dance of Mishhuvurthyar battle pods and Star Army Mindy power armors. Yoshiro felt a fierce sense of satisfaction as he saw his missile hit a pod and it exploded into a ball of fire. This was for Yamatai, for his family, and for all those who had suffered at the hands of the Mishhuvurthyar.

As Yoshiro saw his missiles hit a pod, he shouted in happiness. "Take that you mutated eight legged wannabe bastard!" He said with a grin.

From the corner of his eye Yoshiro saw a huge puff of smoke come out of the Resurgence as the ship's armor bay lost containment and spewed its atmosphere into the void.

Yoshiro called the Resurgence. "Yoshiro to Resurgence, emergency Armor bay has lost containment repeat, Armor Bay has lost containment!" He shouted in to his comms.

The two rangers and analyst had scouted a shuttle before it disappeared with it, hurtling towards the Resurgence. Mineko knew that the shuttle's thermoptic camouflage would work less well under closer scrutiny, so propelled herself forward towards the trajectory she had seen the shuttle going. All the while, her eyes were scanning every inch of the Resurgence's hull and the battle in space beyond for any change or faint translucent distortion

As she searched for its silhouette, Mineko caught the Mishhuvurthyar entering the armor bay where the forcefield was offline! It was visible for a moment in outlined in the smoke cloud that had emerged.

"Teleport back to the Res!" Sanda yelled as she did just that. She was not about to let the same thing happen again as what happened before.

Yoshiro teleported back to the Resurgence and saw the damage. "Damn!" He said and started working on removing debris so he could help anyone who was hurt.

"got it!" Yayoi said as she activated her own teleports to return to the armor bay.

With Cassie and Thad still unaccounted for within the confines and relative safety of the Armor Bay, the pair were afforded a view of their pursuer. The fleshy-pink colored destroyer was of a scale similar to the Resurgence, its hangar bays open, the sickly orange lighting giving off 'floaters'. Which if they paid attention to their suits' AIES appeared to be a small swarm of battlepods. A mixture of the standard frontliners and some of their heavier, missile carrying counterparts.

But it seemed the bridge crew of the Resurgence caught wind of this as a few of their anti-mecha cannons began to spray the area in a bid to create a no fly zone. The NMX vessel's counter-fire coming in the form of a barrage from its secondaries causing the SAoY ship's CFS to flare and distort providing a spectacular light show.

Armor Bay

Inside the armor bay, sparks flew and wisps of smoke drifted from the smouldering armor storage racks as in the airless room. In flashes of light, Yoshiro and Sanda appeared, momentarily stunning Norita who covered her eyes. "What do you need?" she asked, expecting to have to fetch mini missiles or ammo from the armory.

As Sanda reappeared inside the Armor Bay she began hunting. She was in her element now, hunting. Her rifle was up and she slowly scanned the surrounding area. Her gaze was particularly for the areas where she would have hid had she been the one infiltrating.

Yayoi appeared behind Sanda, and like her, Yayoi scanned the area for the Mishuu. "a squid was spotted entering here, we need to look.

The Mishhuvurthyar boarder slipped into the shuttlebay across the hall and began to board one of the shuttles. It quickly set about its work, programming the shuttle to try to go at maximum speed directly into the Resurgence's interior compartments, hoping to hit engineering. It lifted up off the floor of the bay and pointed itself upwards, scraping the ceiling.

Yayoi got a instinctual gut feeling that she should go to the shuttle bay. "oh shit! red alert! one of them got into a shuttle!" Yayoi ran towards the shuttle as she also sent a message or something so the internal shields could activate. Like Sanda, she too attempted to carefully disable the shuttle.

Sanda followed Yayoi into the shuttle bay. The Nepleslian born Ranger began taking careful shots at the Mishhu. She didn't want to damage the interior of the ship.

Aetheric fire filled the shuttle bay as the shuttle's engines ignited, sending the shuttle careening around the bay's ceiling like a balloon that had slipped its knot, except teal plasma was streaming out the back.

Yoshiro went to the shuttle bay just in time to see the shuttle going a bit out of control. "Holy shi..." was all he had been able to get before a piece of shuttle debris knocked him out cold.

"crap" Yayoi uttered as she watched this helplessly. but made sure she didnt get hit armor or no armor.

The SAINT analyst's eyes fell on the fallen comarade knocked out by the whipping shuttle and knew they wouldn't be able . "Do either of you have a capacitor? We have to teleport aboard that shuttle before it rips the ship in two!" Mineko said.

Sanda moved out of the way of the plasma jets but kept her eyes trained on the Mishhu. She was not going to let anything destract her from her prey. She just need a way onboad. She heard the analyst suggestion. It would be a tough jump, moving around like that. But time was against them. "I do. Let's..." She started to say but then...

Suddenly Sakuko's shuttle came to life and slammed into the captured shuttle, pushing it out into space. An angry war cry came over the radio in the cargo specialist's voice.

Bridge

As the beleaguered YSS Resurgence fired, it was greeted by fiery explosion as the escort ship it hit was punched by a stream of white hot aether directly in the nose (great shot, Kalena!) and the beam penetrated through the enemy ship from front to back, crumpling its hull like a beer can before it exploded into shards of red hot debris.

"There! That one has a stable wormhole!" Euikoshi suddenly shouted.

"Recall all armors and make best speed to that wormhole, Gabriela! It's time to find the Wakaba!" Aoba ordered. The Resurgence turned and prepared to haul ass across this deathtrap of a star system.

Trowa looked over the data Euikoshi sent. "Confirmed, stable wormhole, Sir."

"Emergency recall order sent! Course set!" Gabriela said.

"Execute!" Aoba pointed at the wormhole.

= = =

OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Ame, Yoshiro Tanaka, iaincarter, Miko, Soresu

YSS Resurgence

Mineko was exhausted but didn't feel it. The analyst had what felt like hours of fight left in her. But Sakuko's shuttle had done the work for them in a stroke of brilliance. She looked to Sanda, a combatant Mineko had been trying to learn from in order to strengthen her own deficiencies.

"Glad we didn't go in," Mineko said. She wanted to wonder if pulling Sanda back with her idea to teleport in was for the best or if there was a better way to have stopped the Mishhuvurthyar, but there was no time. "We have to patch armor bay."

Cabin- Before the last JP
Hearing his name being shortened and the tone it was spoken as if trying to figure out if he was TRULY there, causing Zanven to blink as he registered that he did not even hear the door open before Sakuko called out to him. The Minkan pilot turned as a hand was placed on his shoulder, the feeling of her hand brought him completely out of his work mode. He relaxed at her touch and let out a sigh as if he had been holding his breath for quite some time, on the desk was a few of the deconstructed models, a datapad with schematics and details of the Wakaba...even his sidearm was on a belt and in its holster hanging off of the corner. All in all, it looked as if the man had already adjusted and was settling into his old ways, but his eyes softened as he heard Sakuko's inquiry...

"It is good to see you as well," He answered after she was done, pulling her into his lap there in the chair as he looked into her eyes and gave her a soft smile. "I am better now that you are here. I am sorry I was not much help in the last attack, everyone split out too quickly and I tried to just make my way to the bridge...just in case. This mission really is something else though..." He said as he sidestepped the question for a moment as they were just able to sit there and just...be. After a few moments, he opened his mouth as he was going to do as he said he was going to on the bridge when he was speaking to their sub-in captain. "After this mission and we have a moment to get to a port would you like to..." He could not finish as there was rocking of the ship as the warning sounds blared and the call to attention was sounded out. "Well...so much for that, let's try to come back so we can finish our conversation. Let's get to our battle stations..." He said with a wink before picking her up and giving her one last quick kiss before letting her down.

Resurgence (Near the end of the battle)

His M13-1A was sparking as he helped to finish off one of these squid bastards, the fight was brutal and as he looked at his power reserves and the integrity of his armor he knew he would need to do some in-depth repair work once back on the ship. When the recall order was given he looked back at the ship and then at the others he was fighting with. They all began to push off and give covering fire as they moved quickly between debris and some even having a clear line back to the bay to get in the ship. He breathed heavily as he dodged blazing hot ordinance as there was a warning that the ship was going to soon be making preparations to jump away from the battlefield. "Why can't we catch a break from these bastards...the Second Mishhuvurthyar War seems like it never fucking ended..." He said to himself as he heard the comms become a jumbled mess as they moved to escape the battle. As he was finishing his approach he saw a fireball in the shuttle bay before a collision redirected the fireball and a Resurgence shuttle was launched out into space.

After dodging some debris Zanven scanned the shuttle and got the readings from inside...it was Sakuko who just did that redirection. "Shit!" He exclaimed with rage as he pushed his thrusters to the max, flying to the shuttle in a hurry. "Hell no, we are getting out of this together..." His voice came over the comms as he slowed down just in time to land and grab the shuttle. He quickly input the access code and thankfully there was still power to the shuttle. He then slid into the loading area, breaking a few of the chairs and brackets as he pressed the eject to the piloting pod once the shuttle door was shut. He jumped out of the pod and ran to the cockpit, jumping into the co-pilot seat, he reached over with one hand and grabbed a first aid kit, and put it on the console as his other hand worked like a damn robot as he started the shuttle and comms. "Resurgence come in! Solo here! I have boarded Sakuko's shuttle, she is knocked out. I am going to pilot this big bastard in...I know we are about to jump...it is going to be close." He said before pushing the throttle up as he aligned the shuttle towards the bay. He opened the first aid kit and put a monitor on Sakuko...thankfully she was just knocked out and he could deal with that in a moment.

As he got closer he hoped the bay would be cleared out enough for him to land as he breathed calmly and focused...getting into his zone as he experienced the dogfight that he endured on that last mission with Gashmere. Entering that hyperfocus his hand went back to the yoke and the throttle as he waited for just a few more seconds before he finally engaged the reverse and landing thrusters, killing the main engine as he slowed his descent into the shuttle bay until finally, he was sliding along the bay, knocking over ruined cargo boxes and scaring the floor with the hull of the shuttle, the jarring crash caused Zanven, who was not properly secured to jump as his head hit the top of the cockpit, causing his helmet to crack as he came down. Throwing the helmet to the floor the pilot was bleeding from a wound on the top of his head as he spoke out loud, hitting the comms button. "I'M IN!" He exclaimed as he moved to brace as the shuttle skidded to a halt near the middle of the shuttle bay.

Once the shuttle was cleared he went to Sakuko and took off her harness and picked her up. He faltered for a moment, but the back of the shuttle was filled with a light haze, he moved to the door and opened it before stepping out and into the shuttle bay. He looked rather worn out as he held his left eye closed and he sat at the edge of the shuttle just holding Sakuko until a medic came to take her away. "Next time...I am driving for sure..." He said with an exasperated sigh.

YSS Resurgence
Armor Bay

Sanda looked around the now plasma scared bay. Seemed the Res just couldn't catch a break. What else might get broken, damaged or completely destroyed in their search for the Wakaba.

The battle had ended so suddenly that it took the tattooed Ranger a moment to transition out of fight mode. She was still on edge, her rifle moving from one corner to another as she scanned for a target. "All hands, Standby to enter a Wormhole." The ship then shuttered as it did just that. Sanda drew a steadying breath. It seemed like they were out of the fight for the time being.

Hearing Mineko's comment Sanda grinned a bit. "Yeah, Sakuko stole our kill. We'll have to get her back for that." She joked. The Nepleslian woman looked around again. The Techs might need help with this. She sent out a message to all the combatants. "Everyone not hurt give lets give the red panels a hand with some damage control. Then I want everyone to re-arm and get ready to be deployed. We have no idea what will be waiting for us on the other side of this wormhole and I want everyone read to go."

Bridge

Trowa ran a damage control of the ship while the ship was traveling through the wormhole. Things weren't near as bad as they had been the fight before this one. Still the techs would be busy. He hoped they could get everything repaired in time. That was the thing about Wormhole travel. It wasn't an exact science. One wormhole could be smooth flying and another could shake a ship like a kite in a hurricane. You could enter a wormhole, spend hours in it, and then when you came out it was five minuets before you even entered. Trowa hoped that this one wouldn't have any nasty surprises in it and would take them at least in the same area of the galaxy the Wakaba was.

Armor Bay
Yayoi nodded her head in agreement with Sanda and then stepped forward once she’d calmed down enough. According to the screens, she’d seen the damage so far was limited to this area, which meant her daughter and most of the crew were safe, other than those here. Her systems scanned the wreckage and damaged parts to see where she’d be needed.

Armor Bay

Okimi's internal countdown dropped below eight minutes and the caretaker shook herself from the temporary shock of seeing the soldiers teleporting back into the Bay and charging off into the ship. There would be time later to ponder her culpability in enabling a enemy combatant to board the Resurgence and attempt to destroy the ship. As her timer reminded her, in only a few minutes the need to breathe would become a pressing issue and if the emergency repairs weren't completed by then, there was every probability that Okimi would develop a sudden onset case of terminal asphyxiation.

"Okay, girl, take stock. This isn't exactly an Afternoon Tea Service, but you know enough to fix this without having to wait on Engineering to send someone with actual qualifications..." Okimi tilted her head as she thought the problem through. "Well, I'll still need help." The caretaker looked around at the approaching armoured crewmates. "Ah, volunteers!"

Okimi mentally broadcast her message to the approaching soldiers. "We had to depressurise the bay to stop a bad fire. Can't pressurise until all the active ignition sources in this mess..." she waved towards the damaged storage racks and surrounding detritus. "...are neutralised and secured or we risk setting the ship on fire again. I'm really hoping the sensors in those suits will help to get the job done - preferably within the next say...seven and a half minutes." Not having any more time to waste on communication, Okimi turned her attention back to the sparking module in front of her and began the process of disconnecting its power supply.

YSS Resurgence - Bridge

Captain Aoba had been monitoring the situation, assessing the chaos aboard the Resurgence with a calm, analytical gaze. His ship had taken a battering, he was confident in the crew's ability to navigate this crisis. They had proven themselves before. His sharp eyes swept across the crew members manning their stations. Each face reflected the tension of the situation, but also a steadfast determination.
"Status report," he commanded, his voice echoing authoritatively through the room. He took in the various readings on the monitors, piecing together an understanding of the Resurgence's current status.

Kalena turned to face him, grim. "We've sustained extensive damage, Captain, but repair efforts are underway. It looks like the ship's supply of water was lost during the shuttle incident, as well as our landing gear and some of the environmental systems, and the shuttle bay is in bad condition. Pidole and her engineering team are prioritizing repairs the atmospheric recycling systems."

Gabriela added,"Our current trajectory through the wormhole remains stable. We should reach the other side soon, Captain."

Aoba nodded, his expression unflinchingly serious as he opened a ship-wide comms channel. "Crew of the Resurgence," he began, his voice steady and strong. "Our ship has taken a hit, but we are far from beaten. I need each and every one of you to pull together now. Let's show them what we're made of. We've been through worse, and we have always come out stronger on the other side. I have faith in you. We are Resurgence, and we don't back down."

Shuttle Bay

Pidole puzzled over how to rapidly cool the shuttle bay, which had been somewhat evaporated and pockmarked with holes in the deck from the stolen shuttle's engines. Everything was incredibly hot and in many cases all they could do to get rid of the heat was to carefully pull out the superheated materials and jettison them into space. The remains of the shuttles, including Sakuko's, once Zanven safely got her out, were thrown out and blown up by the ship's guns to keep them from being salvaged. There was no way to use the area effectively. Eventually Pidole, Taro, Plum, and Caihong hauled a spare electrogravity cooling system for the ship's engines and manually set it up in the shuttle bay to start absorbing the heat.

Medical Lab

Poppy moved swiftly and methodically, her training kicking in as she worked to assess Sakuko's condition. The pilot had taken a hard hit; preliminary scans revealed multiple fractures and potential internal injuries from the force of the impact. "I need a full body scan, stat," Poppy called out, never taking her eyes off Sakuko.

As the scans were underway, Poppy moved to the head of the bed, gently assessing the contusions on Sakuko's face. Her fingers moved with practiced delicacy, feeling for any fractures that may not be immediately visible. She then moved to check the pilot's vitals, her brow furrowing in concentration. The scanner beeped, signaling the completion of its task. Poppy quickly moved to examine the results, her heart pounding in her chest. It was a detailed map of Sakuko's injuries; several broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a fractured wrist. It was severe, but not beyond the capabilities of their medical tech.

Wasting no time, Poppy quickly formulated a treatment plan. "Prepare the auto-surgeon," she ordered, turning back to Sakuko. "And get me 20cc of painkillers and anti-inflammatory meds. We need to stabilize her before we can begin surgery." Despite the severity of Sakuko's injuries, Poppy was calm and focused. She had seen worse, and she knew they had the tools and skills to save the young pilot. It was just a matter of time and careful work.

Medical Lab
Yuri watched as Poppy worked, and felt inspired by her Sempai as she immediately got to work as Poppy began issuing orders. “Hai!” She replied as she started a full body scan of Sakuko’s body. Once it was completed, she then moved so that Poppy could view the results. She was impressed with how calm Poppy was, and that calmness helped Yuri to focus on her work as she followed Poppy’s next order. Poppy ordered her to prepare the auto-surgeon. “Hai!” She replied as she got that prepared and flew to where the meds were, and grabbed 20ccs of painkillers and the inflammatory meds. “I have them here, Sempai!” Yuri said as she landed swiftly on the floor beside Poppy as she handed them over.

Medical Lab

Zanven had helped to transport Sakukp and he was sitting in the bed with a head wound, but minimal other injuries as the Minkan just stared at Sakuko...he was angry...no he was absolutely furious he had not been there to help. He knew every soldier on the ship was capable and that Sakuko could hold her own, but he continued to miss out on being where he NEEDED to be. When Poppy seemed alarmed and ordered a scan he watched as Yuri did as they were told, and once he was cleared he saw Poppy look at the results and order what she needed.

Zanven knew there was nothing he could do and he trusted Poppy with his life since, well she brought him back. He came over and clasped her shoulder once and just whispered "thank you. Please get in touch when she is stable...please." He said before taking his leave, still looking rather grungy his head throbbed as he knew that the emergency jump only meant that they needed to be ready to respond at a moment's notice. His solem look as he left the med bay said one thing though…he was going to do something big.

Power Armor Bay

Since the shuttle bay was still a no-go zone he returned to the power armor bay so he could help with repair and maintenance on his armor and a few others. He was no engineer, but he was studious and stubborn. He didn’t even see Sanda or anyone else in his line of sight as he was pulling off scorched plates and replacing them as he hooked a data pad to the suit and ran diagnostics.

Bridge

Trowa stood from his chair and stretched. The Wormhole had been pretty smooth sailing so far. Scans indicated that they were approaching the end of the line. The one eyed officer took a final drink of his coffee just as the Resurgence exited the Wormhole. The sudden exit threatened to throw Trowa to the floor, but he was an old experienced bridge hand. He grabbed hold of his chair and sat himself down. Had his cup been full, he doubted he would have spilled any.

With the ship now out of the Wormhole, Trowa checked the comms and scanners. Others had their jobs to do like status reports and piloting but he was focused on finding their quarry. Trowa didn't have to wait long. His comms quickly became alive with messages. It sounded like he had just accessed a call center. Messages were being picked up from many different sources all at once. Some of the messages were being compressed together with others. Most were in strange languages but a few stood out to him. They were in Basic and Yamatai. These he isolated and began to piece them together.

As Trowa worked he began to get a picture of what was going on. There were messages from the Wakaba, much like what they had received before, but these were much clearer, less choppy. There were also a lot of them. The time stamps ranged from a few weeks ago to a few months. There must some anomaly in this system or another one close by that reflected the communications back around. Only few had made it out to eventually reach Yam space. This was encouraging since the last message they had received had been dated several months ago and the Wakaba had been about to crash land.

"Captain. I'm getting more messages from the Wakaba." Trowa informed his Captain. He listened to several messages, making notes on what he heard. He smiled a few times as he heard what sounded like someone singing a ballet about the Wakaba and Captain Thomas, when it was suddenly cut short by someone yelling what did they think they were doing on the bridge comms. He pulled up long range scanners that had been mapping the stars as soon as they had exited and made some comparisons. Finally he stood up and faced Aoba, a look of satisfaction on his face. "It looks like, against all odds, the Wakaba's crew is still alive. I'll have to go through all these messages to be sure but the latest one is dated just two weeks ago. From data and cobordance in the messages, I believe we can track where they are. It'll take our long range scanners a little time to map the area efficiently, but I think within 12 hours we should have them." He paused to let this information sink in. "Do you want to try to establish contact now Captain? Or wait until we have a better idea of the area?"

YSS Wakaba. Planet: Ryu-tochi

The woods were both beautiful and mysterious and could be just as dangerous as they were enchanting if one wasn't careful. Some of the trees were old ancient giants that stood tall above all the other trees around it. In other times, under different circumstances, the place would be considered a paradise. Especially if you liked the mountains and the woods. The whole planet was like that really. It had several large oceans but a good half of the planet was a mixture of either rolling plains or heavily forested mountains.

The man who walked through the woods now was one such man. A man who loved the woods. He paused a moment to light a short stemmed curved pipe in his large hands. His camo-cloak was pulled over his red hair and he practically disappeared in the woods. Only the puffs of smoke revealed that there was anyone there at all. Pipe lit, the man continued along the path. The steep part was coming up and those without the ability to hover were in for a bit of a climb. He could have taken the road that had been made for the purpose of travel, but the man preferred the walk through the woods. Even with the steeper climb at the end.

30 mins later the man had reached his destination. He knew he was there because that is where the Rikugun sentry challenged him. That and the giant space ship was kind of a giveaway. The sentry came to attention as the man mosied over.
"Good afternoon Captain. Pleasant stroll?"
"Indeed Heisho. Anything to report?"
The Rikugun shook his head and smiled. "All's quite, except for the dragons."
Thomas smiled as well. "Keeping you on your toes are they?"
"That they are Sir. That they are." The Rikugun looked up at the ship loaming over them. "You think she'll ever fly again, Captain?"
Thomas looked a the ship. The YSS Wakaba, a Sharie-class Battleship. They didn't make them much tougher than this in Yam. And yet the Wakaba had been beaten and battered more than any ship Thomas had ever seen and still kept going. It was like the ship had an unbreakable spirit. She certainly had an unbreakable crew. It had been a year and a half since the Wakaba had disappeared from known space. But through all the battles with their old foe the Mishhu, Pirates, hunger, hard work, loss of ST backups and the death of almost half of the crew, the Wakabans had held fast. "She's closer to take off than you realize Heisho. I don't think those red panels have stopped working in the 6 months since she set down. There's just a few parts we're having a little trouble finding the right materials for. But once we do she'll cruise the stars again."

The Wakaba had come down over 6 months ago after a particularly heavy fight against a combined Pirate and Mishhu force. Some of the crew had even written a ballet about it: You should have turned back sooner, because the Wakaba owns this system. And you can't out run her and you can't out gun her and you know you're going to pay.

Catchy tune. But even though the Wakaba owned the system, she had still gone down. By some miracle and amazing work by techs and bridge officers, the Wakaba had settled down in a mountain valley. The crew had an abundance of resources right to hand. Lumber for housing, wide game for food, fertile ground for growing crops, a lake nearby for fish, ore deposits for making all but the most advanced tools. The crew had worked non stop since the ship had set down. A town had been built a few miles away, mostly in case the Wakaba suffered a catastrophic failure. Despite the hard work, moral was the highest it had been in months. Part of that was down to the abundance of resources but for many on the ship it had been the extra crew that had joined. Or rather born.

Even before the Wakaba had taken her plunge, the ship's crew had dropped to below half of what a Sharie-Class should have. The realization that the ship was going to be stuck away from home for a long time had finally sunk in so the crew were.... encouraged to help bring numbers up. That meant babies, in particular Neko babies. With only a 3 month pregnancy and another 3 months to reach adulthood it was the most practical way to replenish their numbers. The crew had agreed, and had increased by almost 200. Since the ship had gone down another close on to 400 more had been born with most of those in their 2nd month of life. My next month most of them would be considered adults and would then take a 3 week 'crash course boot camp' after which they would be able considered full fledged crew members.

Thomas entered the Wakaba and headed for the Bridge to check on repairs. Taii Inaho, who like several other Sprite born Nekos had never set food off the Wakaba, saluted as he entered. Thomas had made sure to put out his pipe before coming on board. He didn't want to hear for the uncounted time which regulations he was breaking by doing so. "Good Afternoon Captain." Inaho began before diving into a detailed report of everything that was wrong with the ship and this planet. Thomas sighed. The upshot of it was that even though they had all but repaired the main reactors, they didn't have the necessary materials to finish the reactor. If they tired to fire them up now, the Aether would quickly become uncontrollable and result in a wildcat destabilization. Aside from that minor problem, the ship could, in theory, launch today.

Thomas nodded and then moved on to each station on the bridge. He had each station's operator bring him up to speed on their readiness before turning back to Inaho. "Well you seem to have everything under control, as usual Inaho. I'm going to turn in and look over the rest of these reports from the town. Let me know if..."
"If there are any blips on the sensors, or if we receive any transmissions or have any major breakthroughs on the reactors." Inaho finished, knowing what Thomas said every time he left the bridge. "Aye aye Captain. Have a pleasant evening."

Thomas made his way to his quarters. It was had originally been the VIP/Admiral's suite. But the crew had made a few special modifications for him. The door opened and the sweet sound of a cello greeted him. At a table that sat a young woman with tan skin and red hair. Her hair was half shaved on one side of her head and hung over the other side. She was wearing a tank top that reviled strong arms and a tattoo of a dragon that was climbing up one arm up to her neck. Another young woman sat on the couch. She had a data slate in her hands and several volumetric displays pulled up around her. She looked much shorter and younger than the red head, although in truth only 4 inches and 5 minuets separated them. She had short black worn in a bob cut. The third woman in the room was sitting in a chair and looked young but was much older than the others. They were her daughters. She had very dark skin with long green hair that reached down almost to her knees. She was the one playing the cello.

As Thomas entered the two young girls both looked up from what they were doing and in unison smiled and said, "Hey Dad."

YSS Resurgence - Bridge

Turning to face his officer, Aoba listened intently to the report. His eyebrows shot up at the mention of the Wakaba's crew still being alive. It was a piece of good news amidst the confusion.

"Trowa, excellent work," he said, his tone expressing his appreciation. "Let's establish contact now. If they're still alive, they should know we're here. But we'll proceed with caution. We still don't know the nature of this station, and it might be the reason why the Wakaba ended up here."

Facing the front viewport again, he spoke into the comms. "This is Captain Aoba of the YSS Resurgence. We're on a rescue mission to find the YSS Wakaba. If anyone from the Wakaba is hearing this, please respond. We're here to help."

As he finished speaking, he looked back to Trowa. "Keep the scanners going, and get those 12 hours reduced if possible. The quicker we find the Wakaba, the better."

"Aye aye Captain." Trowa said as he began replaying the scanners again trying to triangulate the Wakaba's signal.

At her console nearby, Mineko diligently worked. Her dark blue and red eyes moved over the communication loga gathered from the Wakaba. Her readouts cast a faint blue glow on her pale face as the analyst sifted through the mountain of information passed onto the Resurgence.

"Do we have any more probes we can launch to help triangulate or did we use them all in the portal system?" Aoba asked. He remembered the previous ones had to be custom made by Pidole, but the engineering team was now all occupied repairing damage to the ship so they'd probably be unable to make more without stalling damage control.

"We don't have a probe supply at the moment, captain," Mineko said, glancing back momentarily to the Aoba's command chair while her SPINE interface allowed her to keep parsing through the information. "With some work, we might be able to do as Trowa suggested and get a general coordinate from the messages we received from the Wakaba."

"Perhaps we can make a series of jumps and rescan at intervals to narrow down the position. Gabriela, please plot a course for that."

Trowa looked at his scans and nodded. "That could work. Give me a moment to put together a likely course." He overlaid his map with the coordinates that the Wakaba's messages had given it wasn't much to go on at the moment. But after a few jumps they would have a much clearer picture.

"Got a course. (Random smart sounding numbers)" Trowa informed the helm.

"Execute," Aoba ordered.

"Aye aye captain," Gabriela grinned.

Shuttlebay

Yoshiro woke up from his unscheduled nap and he decided to clean up the debris. What a leader he was turning out to be.

Sanda helped the techs clear the shuttle bay as best she could. She wasn't a tech but she could help move things around that needed it. She saw Yoshiro finally woke up and radioed him. "Did you have a good rest princess?"

Yayoi glanced over as she noticed Yoshiro's now awake state, but as Sanda had already spoken to him.

"Yeah. Couldn't help that." Yoshiro said with an embarrassed grin. "That debris had a lot to say about it."

Sanda snorted. "I'm glad no other enemies got on board and killed anyone else while you were napping." Sanda was also tired and even though Yoshiro was her supplier, some things had to be said. The Ranger/Giretsu held herself to a very high standard and expected everyone else to do the same.

"You are right, Sanda. I should have been more aware of the situation." Yoshiro said to Sanda. "Thank you for making me aware."

The tattooed Nep rolled her eyes, glad her face was hidden by the mask. Yoshiro's niceness was making her nauseous.

As the last of the damaged parts were stripped, the Resurgence's engineering team started slowly fabricating and replacing the ship's guts using a crane inside the shuttle bay. It was a slow but steady process but somehow Pidole had all the parts in her mind and was choreographing her team like a conductor of a symphony.

Yoshiro was angry at himself for letting things get the way they were. He was supposed to be a leader, leading troops in to battle but he got knocked out of the fight so easily.

Yayoi turned slowly from focusing on Yoshiro, but she did speak. "Yoshiro, see Poppy for a medical exam, just incase you have some kind of medical issue." She said as her focus went to the crew once more.

Yoshiro nodded to Yayoi and headed to the medical bay.

Yayoi sensed Yoshiro left as she focused on the Crew.

Medical Bay

Okimi lay on a bed in the medical center, her eyes staring at the ceiling. There was little else to do while she allowed the nanomachine-rich hemosynth fluid within her body to rapidly accelerate the healing process. The injuries she had sustained while in the armor bay had amounted to some small electrical burns and quite significant damage to the soft tissues that had been exposed to the hard vacuum left behind after venting the atmosphere. Given how busy the medical staff were with dealing with the severely injured cases when she had arrived, the caretaker couldn't find any fault with just being left to heal on her own.

Yuri was silent as she did her rounds, allowing Poppy some space and time to focus. The Medic Trainee stepped into place beside Okimi's bed and checked on how her healing was progressing, and smiled kindly at her. In hopes that it cheers her up.

As she lay there, Okimi was remembering the state of the fire when she entered the armor bay. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't find any other approach that would have decisively dealt with the fiery threat to the ship. So while an enemy agent had successfully gained access to the ship as a result of her decision making, Okimi resolved that she had had no other choices in her actions. She sighed, deciding that the severe discomfort and pain from her injuries would have to be sufficient penance. Noticing the presence of Yuri at her bedside, Okimi tried to return the smile although all she managed was a painful grimace.

"Yuri, I am putting the lovely Okimi in your care as your first solo patient," Poppy said with a smile. "I want to see you in action some more," she grinned, giving the younger medic a chance to get more experience.

Yuri gasped as she was given her first solo patient. She knew this was a big step, but the former youngling was certain she could do the job. "hai!" She said with enthusiasm. On her return to focus on Okimi, she noted the healing injuries from exposure to hard vacuum, as she'd heard from the reports.

"I guess I'm in your capable hands then, Medic Yuri. Please take care of me!" Okimi tried her best to smile for her friend. Really, she should have bowed with a declaration like that, but the thought of moving more than she had to right now was really quite unappealing. It was almost as if her body was upset at her decision to spend time in an inhospitable environment.

She kept her face straight and calm as she examined her bruising which from her studies looked to be from burst capillaries. She knew that Neko speed healing can handle it, But what concerned her was the stress she was seeing, and how the system's scans were indicating Okimi didn't seem to be sleeping well. "Dont worry, Okimi-chan, I will, and you'll soon be resting comfortably in your quarters. Now then, i'll see about giving you pain meds, which should relieve you of the stress caused by pain. I'd also would like to proscribe you something for sleep as well." Yuri said in a friendly tone of voice.

Okimi tried very hard not to flinch. She thought she had been better at hiding her nightmare-driven insomnia, having had no desire to burden another with her silly fears and woes. Still, there was little point in trying to deny the lack of sleep now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag.

"Okay, thanks Yuri." She sighed sadly. "It's just every time I close my eyes, I see the Mishhu doing to us all what they did to the Captain. Or I see myself blasting one of them and I think I should feel remorse at taking a life and yet I feel nothing." Okimi looked at her friend and asked, very quietly. "Doesn't that make me a monster, too?"

Yoshiro arrived at the med bay after removing his Armor and put on his uniform. "Excuse me, doc, I need to get checked out. Just woke up from being knocked out for awhile." he said, and he stopped speaking and listened to Okimi.

Yuri kissed Okimi on the cheek in comfort as she activates the button to give her pain relief, as she prepared another for her sleeping pills. "mom said that like the Rixikor the Mishhu don't care and have remorse for others, but i understand. but there is a difference between self defense and straight murder, your not a monster Okimi-chan"

"Keep that anger and use it when we run into them again," Poppy suggested.

"And remember that you are a person of honor, and that I would defend you, even if it meant dying." Yoshiro said with fire and determination. "Against those NMX and our other enemies, i promise you, you are the better one. You aren't a monster, you are an honorable member of the Star Army and the Resurgence! "

Yuri nodded to what both Poppy and Yoshiro were saying, letting Okimi process the words.

The caretaker lowered her head, trying very hard not to blush at the kindness shown, already feeling better as the pain medication carried the discomfort away. Okimi hadn't realized just how large an audience she had had when voicing the thoughts that had been plaguing her over the past few days. She couldn't help but feel incredibly grateful for their care and concern though. Still, Okimi couldn't avoid the additional issues that had arisen from the copious self-reflection she had recently been undertaking.

"Thanks everyone, really. I'm going to have to do better though." She sighed. "About the only thing I could do is fire off my service pistol as fast as it would cycle. Even then I don't think many of my shots hit."

"Don't worry about it. I had guilty feelings when I heard my father died at the hands of the Mishhuvurthyar." Yoshiro said. "I felt like I wanted to destroy everything they stood for. But i realized i was better than the Mishhu. I was fighting for a cause and the Mishhu were just fighting to destroy. The Mishhuvurthyar are the monsters, not you Okimi."

Okimi nodded at Yoshiro's words and smiled gratefully, not sure that she was ready to believe them, but also unsure that she couldn't. Which was progress of a sort. Honestly, the caretaker suspected that a couple of nights of genuine, nightmare-free sleep might just help get her back on an even keel more than any more philosophising would.

YSS Resurgence Bridge

As the shimmering teal of the hyperspace jump faded, Aoba's eyes scanned the viewscreen for details. Each jump had given them a better and better picture, leading them to a star system not too far from the wormhole. They had found the origin.

"Come on... come on..." Trowa muttered out loud as he scanned the new system. Adding to his map and getting a better picture of the area.

"Scan for Mishhuvurthyar and open a channel on Star Army subspace frequencies and on the quantum pairing key we brought with us." After a pause, the captain transmitted, "This is the YSS Resurgence, NG-S1-575. We are searching for the YSS Wakaba. Please respond."

After this, he turned to Trowa and said, "Let's see if you can figure out a way to round up a decent away team and a way to get them down to the surface."

Trowa nodded. "I'm sure our two Rangers are always ready to go. I'll see who is available." Over the ship's comms Trowa said, "Attention all able bodied Infantry. Prepare an away team for possible contact with the surface."

Mineko sat quietly at her console with bated breath. Finally, she said, "I wish they would respond."

"Well, it seems the signal isn't from in space, let's look at the planet," Aoba suggested.

YSS Wakaba
Bridge

Taii Inaho had command of the bridge. It was the evening shift but she liked it. Not that there was much to do. Keep an eye on the scanners in case another Pirate or Mishhu fleet desided to show up. She was toying with the idea of stealing the Captain's pipe again.

Shoi Kohosei Shima Hoshiko sat at her duty station on the bridge, monitoring the communications bands. Technically she could have been enjoying some personal time, but had volunteered to pick up an extra half shift to cover for a crewmate. It was all valuable experience, no matter what some of her peers might say when they thought she wasn't within earshot. Having expected a quiet, boring shift, the young officer could be forgiven her start of surprise when the Wakaba begin receiving an official communication from a Star Army source. It didn't take her surprised mind long to jump back to proper procedure though and informed her superior.

"Taii Inaho, we are receiving a communication. The Wakaba recognizes the embedded coding as following Star Army communication protocols." Hoshiko was careful to speak clearly and decisively, practicing her 'Bridge Voice'.

Inaho sighed and moved over to Shima's station. It was probably their own messages bouncing back at them again. This wasn't the first time one of the new cadets had made this mistake. But it was her job to teach them. She...stopped as she looked at the screen, her eyes widing. "Run another scan. Try to track it but don't respond."

Inaho watched as Shima ran the necessary scans. Her heart was pounding. After all this time... could they really be about to be rescued?

Hoshiko's fingers danced across the controls, forcing the Wakaba's computers to rerun the checks on the incoming message. The cadet then pushed the incoming communication into temporary storage and had the system newly acquire and lock back on to the incoming signal. Once reacquired, she compared the incoming datastream to the buffered version and quickly confirmed the identical nature of the signals. Now that the necessary integrity checks had been completed, Hoshiko began issuing the commands required for the Wakaba's sensors to begin backtracing the incoming signal and was very careful to follow the Taii's instuctions and locked-out any of the automatic connection protocols.

Inaho took a deep breath. There was no mistake. She quickly returned to the command station and called the Captain. "Captain Canterbury. You are needed on the Bridge right away!" She was barley able to contain her excitement.

A few moment later Thomas appeared on the bridge. Setsunu Meiosei was with him. Their daughters, Ryoko and Hotaru had tagged along and were standing quietly in the corner so that they wouldn't be told to leave.

"What have we got Inaho?" Thomas asked.

"Captain, we have a signal from a Star Army ship. YSS Resurgence, NG-S1-575. They say the are looking for us." Inaho responded.

Thomas looked over at Setsunu. He could barely believe it either. After all this time...

"It could be another Mishhu trick." Setsunu said matter-of-factly. Always the one to remain calm and practical no matter what was going on.

Hoshiko almost had to bite her tongue from wanting to mention that the computer had authenticated the encryption on the communication. However, as the most junior presence on the Bridge, it definitely wasn't her place to speak up unless invited to do so. There was also the very real possibility that in the time since the Wakaba had disappeared from Yamataian space, that the Mishhu could have gained access to said encryption, so the voiced suspicion could very well be warranted.

"We can't afford not to respond. If it's Mishhu again we'll deal with them like we've done every time. With Blood and Aether." Thomas said as he picked up the mike.

"This is Chusa Thomas Canterbury of the YSS Wakaba. Please repeat your identification."

YSS Wakaba Shuttlebay

"How about Wings like a dragon, we could make it look like one, with a plasma-aether breath cannon?" Runa asked for the first time as the idea came to her.

Crysta giggles and then looks at the plans that they were working on and tilts her head some . "um that might strike fear into more than just our enemies mom, BUT I LOVE IT" she pauses to add in some wings to the design of the shuttlecraft and also rework the front of the shuttle to incorporate the breath weapon coming form a dragonhead prow.

Runa grins as she watched her brilliant daughter at work. "ohh its looking awesome now! shame we couldn't make it our size, but we have our Drakes" She said

Crysta nods some and then says "Yea it would be nice, but I think with how small we are we can just be in with the others and take a drake along easier than a much smaller shuttle. " Tilting her head some more and then says "Mom, I love how this look's but with our limited resources it might be better if we stick to a more simple design." With a sigh she saves the dragon design as another file for later, and reverts the changes back to a "boring" shuttle.

Runa frowned but Crysta was right. They'd have to stick to what resources they had. "true.. we need a shuttle that's efficient, in design, power usage, and weapons." Runa said as she stepped closer to her daughter and placed a hand over her shoulder. "hmm.." "here's my notes of what i had made the other day" she said and uploads for her daughter's viewing the notes she'd written.

Hearing her mom step closer to her she looked back and then to the notes that popped up on her screen. " mhmmm lets see here?"

"think we could make the shuttle sleeker, more aerodymanic then it is?" Runa asked as she pointed out the notes and the diagram she'd drawn.

Nodding Crysta looks over the notes as her fingertips fly over the keys, and her wireless connection to the pad draws out the changes in her mind to the current shuttle plan as the boxy looking shuttle rounds out more becoming a lot more aerodymanic than it was moments ago. "You know that this will be great for here, but in space there is no need for such a sleak and sexy looking shuttle." Crysta smiles as she adjust the shuttles shape more and more.

"its all about style sweetie" Runa said as she watched the shuttle change before her. "people in space gotta know we got the sexiest ships ever afterall!" she said "but for this one, i hoped that its good for space resistance as well as air resistance" Runa said unaware that they wont need it as the Resurgence had found them.

Crysta giggles some and smiles as she nods some the spot that she was adjusting going wide with and error as she blinks and points at the screen. "Mom look at what you made me do!!" There was a pause as she giggles some the shuttle redrawing itself once more as she fixes the mistake and then says "There is not much resistance in space its mostly a vacuum with random particles here and there. But it does help not as much as if on a planet though."

"opps!" Runa said as she saw the error appears and watched as Crysta fixed the error. "true" she said seeing it for the first time. then made a strike mark on her notes labeling what wont work for space.

Leaning back Crysta sighs some and then asks "Mom how much longer are we going to be here, Do you know if anyone was looking for us?" Crysta asks as she only knew of the ship, and this planet. She longed to see what memories she had of the place her birth Parents called home.

Runa looked at her daughter and felt a pang at her daughter's sad expression on her face. She felt she should tell her something but truth was she didnt know. "I.. i dont know how long we'll be here maybe even forever, enough to build a new society, but of what kind i don't know.. but I am sure someone is looking for us, if not the Star Army, then it will be some old friends of mine, the Flying Hellians coming to save us. But i am confident we will soon get to where we need to be.

Crysta nods and wishes they were able to find the exotic materials that were needed to get the Wakaba flying once more. Then says " I hope the ones we have been fighting don't find us again, I .... " stops taking as she starts to cry thinking about her birth parents.

Runa brings her daughter close as she started to cry. She held her close comforting her. "same here, but we'll fight back and distroy them, we did before"

Crysa moves into Runa's embrace as she nods tears falling but she was not in full cry mode as she says " yes yes we WILL! "

YSS Resurgence
Bridge

"This is Chusa Thomas Canterbury of the YSS Wakaba. Please repeat your identification."

Trowa nearly jumped out of his seat as the message came through. He couldn't believe his ears. Thomas. Alive. He turned the comms over to Aoba nodding to him that he was live.

"Wakaba, we are transmitting recognition codes now. I have my intelligence officer here, can you give us your situation and any needs you have or information on the enemies in this area?" Aoba asked, looking to Mikeko to see if there was anything else she needed.

There was a pause, during which time Mineko shot Aoba a thumbs up. Then over the comms they heard. "You'll forgive us Resurgence if we're a little suspisious. We've had a rough time and this isn't the first time a ship has shown up claiming to be from the Star Army."

Trowa spoke up. "If I may Captain..." Then over the comms "Thomas, at my wedding you brought a guest, a Neko. The old Dragon gave you a very hard time about it until she played the cello. He has always had a soft spot for music."

Again there was a pause, then a harty laugh came through the comms. "Trowa? That you? By the Dragon of Nepleslia I never thought I'd hear your voice again. Sending you our signal. I'd send more, but it would be best to speak in person. There's a lot of enemies out and about."

"IFF signal is being relayed," Mineko said of the Identify Friend or Foe transmission the Wakaba was now relaying.

Aoba looked to Mineko and telepathically said, "What I'd like to do is evacuate them and scuttle the ship if if cannot be repaired but there's no way to fit them all unless we store them as ST backups or something like that. The alternative is getting their ship repaired, which could be an impossible task. Thoughts?"

"They may take the choice be held aboard the Resurgence as backups," Mineko said back telepathically. "The second fleet ships could also follow us here through the wormhole." The analyst started looking into other options, though, just in case the fleet couldn't make it.

"As long as there's no Mishhu, let's get into orbit over them and get a closer look, Aoba said. "If our landing gear worked and our shuttles weren't scrapped I'd land but we'll have to settle for teleporting down a small team of representatives."

= = =

OOC: JP by Wes, Charaa, Cowboy, Ame, Yoshiro Tanaka, iaincarter, Damaske

Armor Bay

Yoshiro, after getting checked out and given a clean bill of health in the med bay, and also encouraging a crewmate, went down to the Armor Bay and started to repair his armor. He heard the call for an away team and decided to join. He hadn't felt really good about his earlier performances on the Resurgence as an infantry officer. "Yoshiro to bridge. I would like to join the away team. I would like to meet the crew of the Wakaba." He said and went back to repairing damage to his armor and arming his weapons. He radios Sanda after chucking the missile count on the computer. "Sanda, can you meet me in the Armor Bay? I have something that I need to talk to you about." He said. After he sent the message he starts to calibrate targeting systems and connecting his targeting systems to his weapons and waited for a response from Sanda.

YSS Resurgence
Bridge

Trowa pulled up the final coordinance for the Wakaba's location and sent it to Gabriela. Once that was done he turned to Aoba. "I'll get an away team ready to go. I'd like to take Pidole to get a better idea of what the damage to the Wakaba is. I'd also like Mineko if you can spare her?" Trowa saluted then left the bridge.

Power Armor Bay

Sanda had managed to grab a very quick bit to eat and was on her way back to the Power Armor Bay when she heard the announcement from Trowa to prepare an away team for possible contact. Immediately she received another message from Yoshiro which just made her cringe a bit inside. Sanda was a tough and professional soldier. She was also really nice, but it took a bit to get through her hard tough exterior. Once you did, you had a friend for life but getting through took a little bit of time. It's why a lot of people though she was so cold. It just took her a while to warm up to new people.

With a huff of annoyance Sanda responded to Yoshiro. "Unless it is intel about the current mission or orders, safe it for later."

A few minuets later Sanda was in the Armory getting her gear together. It was the same loadout she always went with. She leaned against the wall with her helmet off and her hair hanging loose. She'd tie it up in a pony tail when they were ready to go. At the moment, she just wanted it free. She had an earpiece in with rock music blaring in it.

Trowa entered the Power Armor Bay as well, nodding to Sanda and Yoshiro. As he got into his own Mindy Armor, he sent another message to the other Away team members. "Brax-Heisho, Hentiot-Heisho, Asakura-Heisho. Report to the Power Armor Bay."

YSS Wakaba
Bridge

Thomas looked around at those on the bridge. He could feel the excitement and apprehension. They were really about to be rescued. A ship from home had found them. Thomas took out his pipe and began to pack it. For once, Inaho didn't exclaim and site how many rules he was breaking by doing so. He stuck the pipe in his mouth unlit and chewed on it thoughtfully. His mind was raising at the implications booth good and bad.

Thomas looked over at Setsunu and his daughters. Ryoko and Hotaru looked excited yet confused. They had grown up hearing stories about Nepleslia and Yamatai, but it was just stories to them. The Wakaba and this planet was all they had ever know. He knew that they both loved it here. He did too if he was honest. This planet was covered with untamed lands with an abundance of resources. Indeed, it was a paradise. If you had to crash land on a strange planet and never return home again you couldn't have picked a better place.

Setsunu was silent and seemingly unreadable as always. But Thomas knew exactly what her thoughts were. They were his own. "Sound general Quarters." He ordered. "The Resurgence is here to assist us and we will roll out the red carpet for them. But we must also be prepared. We have no idea what might have followed them here or what might take notice of their presents."

As the General Quarters sounded Ryoko, the taller red haired girl moved up. "But dad, if they come here now and are able to fix the ship... well then it means we'll have to leave. Its our birthday next week. You promised to take us hunting and to complete the Canterbury rite of passage." Ryoko was trying to remain calm but everyone could see she was getting worked up about it. "You said once I completed the trials, I could get my real tattoos."

Thomas sighed and looked down at his daughter. He saw so much of himself in her. "We have a responsibility to return this ship and its crew back..."

"That's not fair!" Ryoko yelled. "I..."

"Santo Hei Ryoko!" Thomas voiced cutting off any further argument. "General Quarters has sounded. Report to your assigned area... NOW!"

Ryoko knew better that to argue further, despite how much she wanted to. When Thomas addressed her by her rank, it meant that he was her Captain, not her father at that moment. There was no arguing with the Captain. She came to attention and saluted before huffing off.

"She is so much like you." Setsunu said quietly beside him. "But she'll follow orders. And after she's had a chance to think about it she'll remember how much you love her." Setsunu slipped her hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze. Thomas smiled. A year ago, Setsunu would never have shown any affection like that in public. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Setsunu then stepped away from him and any affection she had shown a moment ago had disappeared. "I will prepare an honor guard to greet our visitors. As well as set up a perimeter."