DocTomoe
Inactive Member
Lor - Capital City - One Hour since Byako Carrier operations engagement
It had been a hectic series of events since the announcement of the evacuation, the arrival of the fugitive Elisa, and the start of the primary phase of the exodus from the damned planet. During the course of this evacuation, a number of individuals had found that they had been assigned to a number of last-minute tasks, one of these tasks was to make sure the Sourcian ambassador finished her affairs in a timely manner and made her way off the planet, the person assigned to this was the same communications specialist which was assisting Rebeka before, the former-Occhestian, Dico. As the communication specialist followed Rebeka through the palace courtyard he spoke to her. "What do you have left to take care of?"
The Ambassador's thoughts rolled through the many things she had accomplished in the last few days, thoughts only broken by her footsteps. "Has Elisa been seen to?" she asked in a prudent tone.
"She has been kept busy with some flight manuals for various ships produced by our shipyards, but she has been quite restless... I think I saw her leaving shortly after us when we left the airfield's hangar." Dico responded as he pulled a data pad from his robes, where he began to reference surveillance cameras placed along the road route that they took as he looked for the Lo-Moto which was loaned to the Former-Yamataian pilot.
Rebeka stopped in her steps as she thought about her guest. Her fingers snatched at the data pad as she turned it in Dico's hand to face her line of sight. Her features contorted briefly into what was almost a smile before she allowed the pad to return to Dico's grasp alone. There was a moment as she took a slow breath, "We're to leave immediately. The preparations are complete." Her mind was made up. "We'll get Elisa. Do you know of our destination?"
"Mm, I think we still need to wait for the Nepleslian body you requested to be loaded onto the Maras. I am unsure why you wanted to have a quantum sensor block put on the storage chamber... but that is not my concern... we'll be ready to depart to the stellar east within the next fifteen minutes." Dico said as he looked about the palace grounds with a somber sigh.
"I assume you are to depart with us." she murmured. Rebeka's eyes followed Dico's, reading into them before her gaze reached out upon the palace grounds. Slowly, she took the pad from Dico once more, fingertips dancing through various options until she handed the device back to him. "I believe the Nepleslian saying would be... Take a picture. I suggest you do so."
The roar of the powerful combustion engine within Elisa's bellowed through the capital city. She had much to think about...in such a short time, everything had changed for her. The new body was only the beginning...she had become a traitor to the country she had called her home, and yet she didn't feel bad about it. Her former family and friends, didn't concern her in the least. Perhaps that was Rebeka's doing...but her gift had its price. In time, she would learn to accept that.
"Already did." Dico tapped at the neural interface device embedded into his skull; apparently it held a sizable quantity of data inside of it. "I guess, since my wife left with the Occhestian traitors, I shall leave with you... no where better to go, and I am not interested in spending the next week to month inside of a freezer."
As Rebeka and Dico moved through the palace courtyard, a sizable portion of the palace's spare computers, equipment, and even some military hardware had been abandoned in place of room for evacuees. Everything from data pads, to a single Bringer of Thunder were scattered through the palace yard.
"I see. Memories are the best photograph then?" Rebeka spoke in a playful tone though it subsided beneath cold a cold tone which weakened as she spoke. "Understand if you travel with us, you will be expected to keep some secrets from the 5th XF. Swear it and you may travel with us."
She took steps toward the palace once more until she stood a short distance from the doorway, turning to smile back at him "And as a treat, you may bring a souvenir provided you tell me more about yourself. This area would otherwise be going to waste, would it not?" her lips spoke in a playful tone as she set her gaze upon the massive Bringer of Thunder which cast shadow like it were a carpet upon her right. "Is there a way it can be stowed away...? Say, externally?"
The Bringer of Thunder within the courtyard was currently undergoing an 'impromptu inspection' (read: an unauthorized examination) by an eccentric-looking Yamataian man, grey hair brushed back as he adjusted his lab coat. He looked like he was lost, so lost he somehow ended up in the wrong planet altogether.
"Secrets are what my caste deals in best, as long as it does not betray my people." Dico said in response as looked about at the leftovers that Rebeka had set her eye upon. "Well, we've talked a lot about me since I've been assisting you. Other than my wife leaving to serve with the Occhestians... not much to tell unfortunately." Dico turned his gaze to the Bringer of Thunder. "I figure we could remote control it, and then chain it to your ship... as long as it does not eat it."
The Bringer of Thunder vibrated slightly as an exhaust port expelled a burst of excess fumes, which happened just as Stalwart touched it.
Rebeka would have been startled if she wasn't used to such loud sounds, her tawnish elfied ears slowly rising and then falling. Her head turned about, following the source of the sound as she then spotted Stalwart. "You there! What are you doing?" she called out. She began wishing she had a formal uniform to wear, contemplating she might not be taken seriously.
Stalwart was promptly knocked onto the ground, as an angry female voice within the BoT yelled, "Serves you right." Picking himself up, he bowed to the Sourcian ambassador, apparently recognizing her. "Ah, this unit is one of the former test units we used for our early experimentation. As you likely know already, I am Stalwart Defender, of Stalwart Defense Industries."
The voice within the mech groaned.
Dico frowned as he took a quick image capture of Stalwart, and ran a check with the palace's computer. Unfortunately, the computer was slow to respond since the system had been set to a 'slow shutdown' status.
"Dico..." Rebeka murmured, assured Stalwart would not hear. "Is this man... One of the VIPs you have been instructed to monitor?"
"I was assigned to you." Dico responded with a frown. "This man missed his transport, it left fifteen minutes ago." he whispered.
"I told you that already," the voice within yelled, as it exited the mecha. Since whatever it was within was not the cockpit, it was clear that he wasn't lying about the unit, at least. Her cherry red hair shone in the bright sun, and her steely grey eyes peered down at Rebeka as though testing her. "The name's Advanced Responsive Intelligence Assembly. ARIA, if you're nasty."
Dico whispered to Rebeka. "I heard about her... she has a nasty temper..."
"I can hear you, you know," Aria growled at the former Occhestian.
Rebeka felt this to be an apt opportunity to socialize with those who were alien to this world, as she herself was. "I am to understand you are this man's care-taker? He is to come with us: we will be transporting him to safety." she announced to Aria in a stern tone. "My vessel will be here in six hundred seconds. I suggest you do something useful and either prepare him or aid us in salvaging objects of use. You may take anything of interest."
"Rebeka, if you don't mind... I will go about getting what I can out of the palace guard's armory?" Dico said in a tone that carried a request.
"Finally, a woman who understands me..." Aria smiled softly at the Sourcian, something she was well-known for never doing for anyone. It was slightly unnerving for Stalwart to see, but he ignored it as he continued. "I appreciate the offer, Miss Retena. It would be a...pleasure...to travel with someone with such a high reputation." Subtlety, it seemed, was not this man's strong suit.
"You may. However, I would like you to find some moving equipment as your primary goal. If it isn't secured to the walls or floors and it isn't useless, I would like to commandeer it. If there are any objects of cultural significance, I would also like to bring them but be selective." she said to Dico, her fingertips idly exploring his left wing. She found herself becoming strangely fond of his presence. Rebeka would then turn about to Aria. "The same orders stand for you also. If it interests you, take it. ...I dislike seeing such craftsmanship going to waste."
"I'll get right on it ma'am." Dico said before he strode away from her, additional references to the palace computer revealed where he would be able to find a grav-plate modified cargo transport cart. It was his lucky day it seemed.
The Yamataian frowned, but relented, moving off to retrieve several 'misplaced' weapons and prototype schematics that were held nearby. Nearby, the Bringer of Thunder slowly came to life as Aria took control of its systems, intending to retrieve whatever Stalwart was looking for.
Shortly after Rebeka had issued her instructions, a trio of white and blue robed Lorath quickly made their way out of the medical complex. One of them was pushing a large coffin sized container with various tubes and wires attached to it. The other had a large box in his hands, and the last was pulling a metallic case with wheels behind him. They made their way to Rebeka and bowed to her as they approached. "We're here to deliver the cloned and modified body you requested ma'am."
Rebeka nodded, her tone shifting to a rather gracious one. With a soft smile, she bowed slightly as she spoke, her words softly spoken unlike before. "Would you place them aside the Bringer? I shall be transporting them once my vessel arrives." she said. "I thank-you for your efforts at these dangerous times. Please: give the queen my regards."
"Of course Ambassador, we'll convey your greetings... and, before the High Priest left, he requested that you make sure this body does not get found by the Yamataians. The only reason he authorized this, was because this man seemed to be one of the only two decent people to come from the YSS Sakura, as was made evident in Code's last moments in his previous body." The lead former-Occhestian said as he moved the container beside the B.O.T. "In the box, we've provided clothing and a reproduction of the equipment that the man in the tank had during his last visit to Lor. In the metal container are the cybernetic components your companion Elisa brought with her, in proper working condition. Do you need anything else?"
Rebeka smiled, placing her hand upon the front-most Lorath's shoulder. "That will be all. I wish you luck in the evacuation. Do you have any information about our destination? I appear to have been left in the dark as it were and I am rather worried." Still gracious.
"Somewhere in the stellar east. We are unsure ourselves... we're to follow the 5th XF to their standby location." The Lorath responded as he frowned. "But thank you for wishing us well. We shall be on our way. Have a safe travel." The blue and white robed Lorath bowed, and then left with his companions as they chattered between each other.
As Rebeka handled the delivery, Dico was busy with a crowbar and a series of storage lockers, and a semi-precise loading procedure... Dico forced his weight against the crowbar, which resulted in the storage locker falling upon the anti-gravity cart. He continued his work as he left a large trunk which held a series of neural data packs to its task of downloading all the schematics, data, and information that he had access to, and that he found useful.
It wasn't long before Rebeka had discovered some manner of vehicle. She was unsure of its role until she recalled her recent reading: A Lo-Car, resembling a truck. She ran her fingertips over the form for a moment before recalling that Lorath machines were inert unlike her own at which point she began loading her precious cargo upon the vehicle. "Four hundred seconds."
Aria's BoT had retrieved several large cases of various kinds of foodstuffs, mostly alcohol, placing them out of the way for later retrieval. Stalwart had retrieved one of the famous Lorath Hand Cannons, along with a large crate full of several books on theoretical physics and an organic data module. "Ah, the ambassador would likely appreciate this finely crafted weapon."
Dico sprinted through the courtyard, where he then left the anti-grav cart and the six storage lockers, a box of uniforms; the neural data pack trunk, and a slew of other loot. He then ran in the other direction to the formerly Occhestian wing.
Rebeka sat upon the back of the truck, fingertips drumming. Her ears would tip as she heard a low rumble ebbing above. Her eyes noted the soft dot in the distance as it drew closer. A smile: pleased that her estimate had been too generous. What was once a dot slowed and paused in the air above, banking slowly to one side with a slow gruff rumble. The ground shook as it set upon the outer-courtyard, the sharp protrusions from the rear pods impaled unto the floor as the massive body slowed to a stop within the ground.
While the Maras made its touchdown, Dico had made his way into the depths of the formerly Occhestian compound... where he found abandoned equipment, weapons, and even prototype designs of Lorath innovations. To Dico, this was a treasure, and like any treasure, he made sure to loot as much as possible. After finding a fork-lift like machine, and a cargo carrier to hitch to the back of it, the former-Occhestian went to work.
At Aria's behest, Stalwart had retrieved a suit of armor from deep within the complex, an archaic thing that was quite beautiful, having the pleasing aesthetics the Lorath always integrated into their warfare, and the aerodynamic surfaces and vital-area-first philosophy that could only come from a race that took to the skies by their own power. Of course, he dropped it when he saw the Maras with his own eyes for the first time, but luckily the artifact was undamaged.
Rebeka would stand to her feet upon the truck, immediately making a motion with her arms that he loads the item onto the truck. The Maras' underside seemed to liquefy toward the back, changing shape. In seconds, a ramp extending deep into the primary hull had formed. A low growl emanated from the hull as steam rose from the forward ordinance pods, panels sliding open and locking into place: the payload and launchers within sliding away and falling forward to the ground beneath with a ground shaking crunch into the pavement beyond the courtyard. A ramp lead into the large open cavities: makeshift cargo-bays. Rebeka said nothing, grinning away at this point.
As the Maras was beginning to be loaded with loot, Dico appeared from the gates of the Occhestian complex. On the forklift's arms were Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon armor which had been left behind by the Occhestian researchers. Behind the forklift were several cargo carrier carts linked together. The last three carts would hold a vast interest to Rebeka... one of the carts had an antimatter manufacturing device, and several examples of antimatter warheads. Another cart carried some sort of massive unit the size of an automobile, the unit consisted of a series of tubes, tanks, and some sort of railgun like array, the object was apparently a vehicle mountable disruptive plasma emitter, and the last cart was stacked with coffin sized containers, filled with Helashio which were stored as 'test subjects’.
Rebeka was utterly surprised by Dico's findings and made a personal note that she would reward him for his diligence during his time aboard the Maras. It wasn't long before the truck had disappeared several times within the Maras, loading it with the 'procured' goods, swallowed up by its vast expanses and many empty chambers. She was surprised to see a familiar face step out after a short time, Sana smiling rather curiously at Rebeka. Sana spoke but her words were masked by the forklift and heavy machinery. Rebeka shouted in response: "We'll be picking her up shortly."
"Well, that’s all I think we should grab, the rest is heavily laden with demolition charges... it seems that they're wanting to lay traps for trespassers, anything else was taken to the evacuation staging area."
Dico said before piloting the forklift into the Maras.
Aria clambered out of the BoT, leaving it lifelessly standing next to the Maras as she jumped onto the ground. Stalwart had found another forklift and was helping out Dico, as the woman walked over to Rebeka with a mischievous smile. "I like you already."
Rebeka stepped down from the van, now empty. She contemplated taking it with her, taking note of her companions. "We have one final matter to attend to" she announced. "Dico. Where is Elisa at this time?" she asked as she felt the warm rush of air, the monstrous ship behind her slowly warming its engines for another transit.
"Not sure." Dico responded as he lobbed his own luggage into the Maras.
Rebeka placed her hand upon Dico's shoulder as he passed her into the Maras. "It was your responsibility to know where she was. I don't ask much of you."
"You also asked me to loot things." Dico rummaged about in his robe then produced a data pad, which he began to page through. "She was last seen at a transportation complex near here."
The distinctive, easily perceptible roar of an atmospheric-use fusion engine quickly came into audible range as a small craft in the distance approached, painted a dark navy blue - Elisa's Ferryman. Obviously she had decided to make a dramatic entrance as compensation for being so late.
"I can only assume that is her." Dico stated as he looked up to the sound of the shuttle.
Rebeka had the data pad in her hands, moments from giving Dico a firm crisp slap with it across the cheek for not doing taking priority as she had told him to do so. Then as she saw Elisa's Ferryman, she simply placed the device in his hands and patted his back, pushing him onward. "Let's not have this happen again" she instructed. Sana watched, sat upon the right edge of the loading-ramp.
"I'll begin settling the cargo into place..." After speaking, Dico bowed slightly before he departed into the Maras, where he would begin figuring out where to place the excessive quantity of looted materials.
"...is your 'companion' always this flamboyant?" Aria asked of Rebeka, as the Ferryman slowed its engines and looked for a good place to land.
Rebeka moved to put an arm about Sana, her eyes on Elisa for a moment as she held the silent girl at her side like a sibling. Sana was the one who spoke up this time, even her wording staggeringly similar to that of Rebeka. "It can't really be helped... Elisa loves to fly."
Such a description could be the only explanation for the landing Elisa performed, almost crashing into the ground before slowing herself and managing to make a smooth, if admittedly abrupt landing. The hatch opened, and Elisa came out, brushing her slightly messy hair out of her eyes, tawnish ears perking up and violet lips smiling as she looked to her companions, her air bike suit the same color as the craft with a violet stripe on the sides, accentuating her subtle curves. "Sorry I'm late..."
Rebeka simply smiled, noting the subtle way the woman had carved herself an identity through attire, an idea she wouldn't soon forget. She tightened her fingertips about Sana's shoulder before giving her a reassuring pat. With this, Sana allowed her legs to dangle from the top of the access ramp, falling to the ground but a meter below. Her pale fingertips traced across the smooth organic curves of the ramp as her sea-green eyes fixed on Elisa. "H-Hey!" Sana announced, her voice a little croaked. She looked as if se were about to cry. Rebeka drew her knees to her chest, feeling the same emotions resonate within her. Such odd behavior.
"Hey," Elisa said, somewhat sheepishly, the AI leaving before it vomited out its dataplexer. The pilot seemed somewhat calm, at peace with herself, something Rebeka would recognize, but that Sana would not. Surprisingly enough, Rebeka and Sana hadn't met once since she arrived on Lor...as though fate were conspiring against it until this moment. But then, that was just her mind running wild...
"It looks like we're going on a trip!" Sana said her breath tight and her eyes wide. Her fingertips were entwined together behind her, the woman behaving like a school-girl about Elisa. Now, Rebeka had shifted her elbow upon her knee, watching the two with a fond smile but a pang of jealousy. She motioned for Stalwart and Aria to enter the ship along with Dico to give the pair some much needed privacy.
As the others left, Elisa fidgeted slightly. Sana and Rebeka...different and yet so much the same. Somehow, she felt uncomfortable about sharing such things with one and not the other. Even as separate entities, they still seemed to her as two halves of the same person. Inseparable.
Rebeka felt this awkwardness, standing to her feet upon the ramp. The Bringer of Thunder they had found had now been positioned upon its chest on the ground and like some mighty animal; the Maras began to slowly lift from the ground as the pronged legs became smoother. Now this was very strange: the rear pods behaving like front legs and the pylons like rear as it slowly walked with great pains not to fly and interrupt the pair below as it moved to straddle the Thunder. Then, its hull began to change shape: like threads encompassing every tiny hole in the Bringer's form and then wrapping about it to form a cocoon: a strange function of the Structolloid hull. It wasn't long before this strange red cocoon had been molded to the underbelly, resembling a hammock before the last trace of the bringer finally disappeared into a large "lump" beneath the Amelliaus unit.
Sana held her smile defiantly but she was ginger in her words. Her eyes explored Elisa's features, recalling them so well and yet something intangible stood between them. "I ah..." Sana began. "I'm ...Glad to see you."
"I know..." The features had changed, yet she was still recognizably, unmistakably Elisa. The wall between them was clear, and yet she almost felt that it was meant to be there. Even if her feelings were clear...it almost felt wrong to express them, now. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to see you."
"Nnn." came Sana's response. "It's my fault for leaving" she said. Something of the woman was quintessentially womanly: not like the brash fire-starter that once skulked the halls of the Sakura. Her smile was earnest and painfully refreshing for Elisa.
That smile calmed Elisa beyond what any words could possibly do. Her doubts melted, and though things would certainly be more complicated than those lonely nights in their quarters...she knew that their feelings had not changed, on either of their parts. "You shouldn't blame yourself. There was nothing you could do. I don't blame you, if that helps."
The brash, adventurous, yet strangely mature pilot stepped onto the loading ramp of that ship she now felt was home. "Now come on, Sana. Maras is waiting..."
Lor - Capital City - Two Hours since Byako Carrier operations engagement
The deck groaned in a low pitched roar. Reverberating, it built toward the back of the craft, fading into a soft purring rumble. The Maras ascended with sharp acceleration up into the heavens, blue vapor bustling across the smooth hull. Two purple apex brightly shone, gracing the ground below with their light as the ship moved up step by graceful step into the heavens.
Within minutes, the stratosphere was a soft honey shell glow below her belly. Clouds caught in crevices caressed and billowed over the hull of the oval craft as it ascended above and beyond the atmosphere into the colder past the skies of Lor, taking up a catatonic orbit about the planet just barely lilting in and out of the world's influence of gravity.
A strange sound pipped through the ship's dense network of organic warm halls, declaring it was now safe to walk within freely: Lor above and the emptiness of space an infinite drop below, bathed with the prickly tease of the stars upon it's velvet canvas.
The occupants were now free of gravity for the most part.
Rebeka sat upon one of the gathered crates, the item secured to the floor of the ship. With her fingertips holding her chin and elbow whence upon her knee she pondered and then spoke to Dico who, like the others, sat within the Hanger makeshift cargo-hold.
"Do we have further instructions of our destination?" Rebeka said, her voice softly echoing across the cool hanger walls.
Above, the hanger caging clattered as it folded away, lifting Elisa's modest shuttle up off the ground and locking it into an assembly above. Platforms danced and locked about it's form as to make absolutely sure it remained accessible.
Dico scowled slightly as he went about reconfiguring his data pad to operate with the orbital communication network, which was left at a mere skeleton of the network it once was since the evacuation began. "Hm... if I can get a signal from one of the remaining satellites... ah. There is some talk about moving with the 5th Expeditionary Force to a staging area. There also seems to be talk of ships capable of FTL flight being permitted to travel to destinations of their choosing. It seems like our options are laid out before us... should we wait for the 5th, or should we go to where ever the Goddess wills? Well, that is of course until a new planet is settled by the evacuees."
"Does the Goddess will that we have a location yet?" Rebeka queried in an impatient tone, her discomfort clear across her features.
Rebeka hated waiting during such times as these.
She stood to her feet and stretched, planning to accommodate her guests and show them to their quarters. A sigh rolled between her lips, eyeing the massive clumps of luggage locked against the maroon hanger walls in a honey-comb fashion. Easily a few tones the Maras would tell her.
Her voice lowered as she spoke in an authoritative tone. "ARIA, an inventory if you will" she commanded in that deep tone. "I want a complete list of our cargo within the hour. Have Elisa provide you with an assessment of the value of each item". she concluded before returning her attentions to Dico.
Her voice quickly softened, sounding closer to Sana who was elsewhere. "I'm to understand Lor had access to the Yamatai communications network..." came her words, the strange worry that she might harshly pluck another feather paramount to Dico as she ran her fingertips over the sensitive structures inconspicuously.
Elsewhere, Sana had followed Elisa deep into the bowels of the ship. Her eyes hovered over the many panels and extended surfaces, noting the operator's seat reclined and risen from the floor which had simply "grown". Strangely, she understood most of the workings she set eyes on and yet rather than be curious, she had her attention upon Elisa. "Well..." Sana began. She had no words to continue with.
Sana's disposition had become awkward.
"As I said, just information about a staging area to the east, in the area of the 'Creepy passage'." Dico responded as he reflexively moved his wings away from Rebeka. "Regardless of if we have a destination or not, it involves waiting around."
Rebeka sharply extended her hand about Dico's right wing. She held it as one might a hand and slowly ran her thumb over the many soft forms, following the flow of their form downward. "Hm... I really hate waiting." she murmured.
"So ...What are wings made of?" she queried after a long quiet interlude of exploring the boy's feathers. "It feels a little bit like hair but the leafy shapes are too finely made to be hair."
Now, she had pulled Dico into her lap, her inconspicuousness evaporating. Her bosom cushioned up against the Lorath boy's back. Her sigh rolled across the rear of his neck as she simply enjoyed testing the water with him.
After a few moments of pondering, Aria looked at Stalwart threateningly, telling him to go take a look at the inventory. He obliged happily, although made a somewhat unsettling comment to Rebeka before he left. Clearly, the computer's ego was quite immense due to being the prototype to an entire future race of computers like her, not to mention being an extremely capable woman within a notorious matriarchy. Rather than assisting her 'owner', Aria stayed near Rebeka, intrigued by the woman in a way she hadn't ever been for anyone else.
As she watched the woman touching Dico in that uniquely curious way she had, she felt an emotion she hadn't ever known before in her entire period of operation. Unused to such a situation, Aria felt unsettled - not since her first few hours of operation did she have trouble dealing with new or unfamiliar emotional states. Only after a few cycles spent exclusively on the subject was she able to identify it.
It was envy.
Perhaps the records and rumors about the activities of the ambassador were getting to her, or perhaps it was due to her exotic nature compared to the Lorath. Perhaps it was simply her own emotional frustration; even if she were first and foremost a starship computer core, she had been 'let out to play' often enough that she had needs in that sense like any other sentient.
But either way, Aria gave the Lorath specialist a venomous, piercing glare with her dark grey eyes that showed, undeniably, just how much distaste she had for him.
As Rebeka pressed against his back, Dico remained quite composed. The only sign of his emotion regarding her actions was the slight crease in his brow as he tried to focus on his work. "I don't know why you're facinated by them so, but they're comprised of keratin proteins." After explaining, the living computer made her expression at him, he did not need to rely on years of psychological training to know that expression. By the Goddess... what have I ended up in the middle of?
Rebeka would simply smile, oblivious to it all, just as Sana would have.
As a humanoid, she only had Sana's brash experience to go by and it was painfully clear. Her fingertips slowed now, carefully admiring the complexity of every tactile sensation she received as her touch glided over. "Forgive me. I haven't seen a structure like this before.." she murmured, fixated by them.
Catching herself, Rebeka's hands would rise with her arms as they folded over her chest. Her eyes noted Aria's expression as her tongue slid over her teeth before she spoke. "The inventory." she commanded Aria. She had assumed that the machine had completed it's task.
"Has been handled," the machine responded sussinctly. The Sourcian would be unsettled by the machine's harrowing psychological similarities to those she has been around already. A machine should not walk like a person, should not talk like a person, should not get jealous and have sexual desires like a person. And yet here this machine, this computer, had all three. Even in her current state of humanoid social dysfunction Rebeka would recognize it.
As for Elisa, she waited for what seemed like an eternity to respond to Sana, sitting in the control seat that felt more like home than the Sakura's ever did. Such was the benefit of being the pilot of Maras, she thought idly, as her fingers danced about the controls somewhat achingly. "Speaking is still awkward for you, I suppose. Much like Rebeka, you don't know who you are."
There was something strange in Sana's eyes as her lips quirked into a smile. What was once the expression of a deformed ego had become an unremarkable smile. It would break the long silence (which was only intradicted by the hum of the Maras around them and nothing more). The smile beckoned into her silky cheeks with a soft crease of her delicate skin, her eyes falling narrow as her brows rose. There was mystery in the jade pair as they observed Elisa. The cogs were turning.
"And you know who you are?" Sana responded calmly, cooly, with resolution.
Notably, Sana's words when selected by purpose, when Sana had something to say carried an unusual and quite surprising weight to them. And yet it was ernest, the very tones open, frank and although not sensual, there was something within them that betrayed what Sana was really thinking about, just as Rebeka was elsewhere.
Elisa's only distraction was the dry crisp coldness of the controls which seemed comforting in the stiflingly warm air: the majority of the Maras was adjusted for Sourcian occupants specifically. It felt awkward. Jarring.
Rebeka wasn't unsettled so much by the behavior of Aria as she was by her dysfunction. Knowing the woman to be a machine, Rebeka thought of her as a doll and little more. Her attentions remained upon Dico who she had wrapped her arms around in a way that in it's awkwardness was almost like kin.
Her atire made a soft "huff" as he rubbed against his. Rebeka pulled Dico into her lap as she was now sat upon the cargo container, settling his left arm about her neck whether he was willing or not and his legs parted about her thighs, turned to face her. Brashly, she snatched Dico's datapad and queried, her curiosity of humanoids getting the better of her: "Tell me more about your kind, Dico. How do you reproduce?" she asked, hoping her probing would unsettle him for her amusement.
If Aria didn't know any better, she may think that Rebeka were doing this to spite her though it did seem strange that Rebeka would take the position of the male beneath him under such circumstances.
As Rebeka boldly went about her effort to spite Aria, Dico scowled bitterly as he was used as a tool. He hated when women wanted to use him like this, but it was also part of his culture, so he did not struggle. "Rebeka, you know how I dislike it when you do this... but to respond to your question; sexuality varies depending on the individual, and their upbringing. Even though I do enjoy teaching you about humanoid facts, I do not feel like talking about such matters at this time." Dico's tone was cold, it carried his aggravation quite clearly. Inwardly, he wondered if the android woman would be aware of Rebeka's manipulation.
The Sourcian's eyes narrowed. Her feet lifted from their flat position onto the ground until only her toes and the bulls of her feet rested upon the floor below, lifting Dico in her lap.
Her left hand followed suite and in moments, her palm caressed the Lorath's cheek as her free hand slowly and sensually raked through his feathers behind to test her hypothesis in what seemed like a rather affectionate gesture. Her gaze however, was upon Aria. A purple cloudiness moving through the Sourcian's iris for just the briefest of moments which Dico barely caught. "Later, then." her words came.
The way Rebeka rose forced Dico's feet to the ground and as she finally stood, he stood before her, turned to face. Rebeka slowly turned her head to take in Aria's form. She then turned about and walked into the bowels of the ship from the cargo hanger, which the others seemed to hesitant to leave.
When Dico was stood up, he looked at Rebeka with a cold glare, what she had just done was something far too intimate far too soon. I've told her never to touch my wings like that... He thought to himself as he watched her leave, he knew if he were of any other Lorath caste, he most likely would have tried to harm Rebeka. Once Rebeka was gone, Dico looked to Aria and bowed. "I'm sorry for her actions, she has been a challenge ever since we have started to work together."
Aria saw through Rebeka's ruse. It was fairly simple; she didn't need to be a computer to realize it, simply be paying attention. Rather than being angered, she was further intrigued, knowing little of this woman but second-hand rumors and scandal. Her eyes followed Rebeka's as she left, thoughts running through her mind for a few brief cycles before her attentions returned to Dico.
Her smile was soft, unnervingly so for the computer who was well-known for her brash demeanor and borderline insanity. Her eyes seemed slightly glazed over for a moment before she turned to Dico, smile returning to a more familiar configuration as she responded sussinctly: "I know. Isn't it wonderful?"
Dico could not help but to look at Aria with an expression of confusion. That absurd computer has no idea what she is talking about... With a disgruntled shrug Dico moved on and went about sorting through some of the equipment he had looted from the defunct Occhestian lab
Dico strolled through the corridors of the ship as he glanced about, his gaze seeking out Rebeka so he could deliver his report on the catalog of goods they had managed to get a hold of, not to mention the information he was picking up from the communication network.
Dico heard Rebeka but he could not see her. Abruptly, her hands met his shoulders and she spoke: her voice crisp and clear as it resounded behind him: crisp, firm and distinct. "Yes?" the ambassador said. In the single hour, she had managed to map his favorite paths through the ship.
The Lorath communications specialist could not help but to release a sigh of minor irritation at Rebeka's antics. A child of twenty years has far more discipline than her... After pushing the thought aside, Dico spoke in a rather calm voice. "Ambassador Rebeka, we have finished cataloging the equipment we managed to acquire, and I have several items of news that I must inform you of."
Rebeka's pale hands slid within the hip level pockets of her borrowed Lorath uniform with only her thumbs peeking over the pocket. Her head slid to one side as she thought for a moment as she tried to gauge Dico's response. "Proceed."
Dico turned to face her as he held his data pad up. He scrolled to the first issue at hand. "It seems our Yamatai friends have detected the first signs of a Mishhu approach. The LSDF has also made an announcement of preparation for the assault. It seems we may be caught in the middle of a firefight. The second matter goes along with the first; there is some chatter of using the psionic device on the Shaman's desert moon."
"Psionic device?" Rebeka queried. Her expression slid from the curl of her lip to now a stern and almost machine-like tone Dico hadn't heard of her as the notion of combat settled into her psyche. There was a silence as she took a sigh. "ETA for Mishhu intersects and estimated numbers?" She had disregarded the device entirely.
"The information is vague unfortunately... they're hopping about in and out of hyperspace to avoid accurate detection." Dico calmly reported, even though he felt a bit of a burden lift off his shoulders as he observed Rebeka's change in attitude. "There seems to be a hefty number of them, fortunately our forces have had enough time to set up a defensive perimeter. I'm just worried about leaving before the device is used... I don't know what to expect from it, the shaman seem to have an idea, but I don't want to find out what their archaic methods will conjure from that thing... that thing has just enough science behind it to make it a threat, gives me the chills."
It was a strange feeling, being within this living ship.
Despite enjoying her autonomy, Aria felt naked without a shell around her for too long. Whether it was part of her programming or not didn't matter to her - the protective feeling that being within the control cavity gave her was unique. And to say the least of having raw destructive power at the speed of thought - the very image of it in her mind making her smile wickedly.
Of course, Aria wasn't picky about the sort of shell she was within. And Maras had the kind of protective feeling and the kind of power that she desired. The plug on the back of her neck opened as she began a psionic transmission to the ship, her lips curling into a smile as she sent raw data into the ship's neural centers, identifying the purpose of her existence, the specifications of her control cavity, and the specifics of her API.
Rebeka's eyes narrowed as she thought for a moment. "My species psionic capacity has almost entirely been bred out of us. Can you explain the threat this poses to me and my vessel?" she commanded. Her priorities were particularly clear cut but she had her reasons.
"I'm not entirely sure... the Lmanel were the ones who put the operation together. Only a few of the former Occhestians worked on the device. From what I know about it, it’s some sort of device that relies on the harnessing of alpha and theta band emissions from sacrificial hosts, then amplifying them and looping them through a subspace focusing device, much like the subspace transmitters and somewhat like the plasma charge chambers aboard our starships." Dico explained as best he could, using his data pad to assist in filling in some of the blanks.
"Subspace?" Rebeka pondered. She dismissed the thought that rolled through her mind with the same ease it had entered. Her palm slid over the wall on her left until it met a diamond shaped groove. In moments, the center of gravity shifted ever so slightly as the Maras began to accelerate in orbit. "I... See. Dico, get the others up here. We need to discuss options of destination. I'm not familiar with the local space."
"Uh... how do you open a communication line in this ship?" Dico asked, still a tad unfamiliar with the ship. "And where would you like this meeting to take place?"
Rebeka pondered and as quickly as she had thought, Dico's words filled the halls with a faint clattered echo. Elsewhere, Aria was met without response: the neural clusters were isolated from psionic contact of any kind. "Will this do?" Rebeka said. They were perhaps a meter from the spacious control room.
"Fine enough... Stalwart, Elisa, Sana, Aria, we're meeting in the control room, you've got somewhere between one and four minutes to get here." Dico then made a gesture to Rebeka to close the channel; this was done by tapping at his ear and making a slashing motion across the lobe.
The echo was cut short as the system concluded his announcement and the wall behind him revolved and slid open like an iris or an eyelid. Within was a large empty chamber, the ceiling like an ovaloid dome showing the punched white holes in the dark skies of space. What was once a pilot's seat had reduced itself into the floor.
Of course...Aria wasn't aware of their psionics denial, largely due to incomplete data. After all, she only knew what she could access offhand, and readily-available data on Rebeka and Maras was lacking. Nevertheless, she quickly used a nearby storage device to transfer data into the Maras, ignoring the order to assemble.
Five Minutes Later
Dico looked about those gathered at the control room; he was done admiring the place a few minutes prior to the arrival of any of those who had bothered to come. "So, where is Aria?" he asked in a rather annoyed tone.
Elisa brushed her hair back as she seemed to constantly do, hair always getting into her vision despite repeated efforts to keep it out. Her violet lips pursed as she shrugged, not knowing the computer well enough to know where she was.
Stalwart removed his coat, adjusting the neck on his sweater. It was rather hot in the ship and since he didn't bring a change of clothing, he was visibly uncomfortable, glasses beginning to slip off his face. "I'm sure she'll be here soon. Rarely does she keep me waiting that long."
Rebeka let out a slow sigh as she grumbled. "Re-send the message" she commanded Dico as she fell back against a wall: a chair rising up out of the surface to catch her like a silvery catcher's mitt. The device in question offloaded back onto the Maras which sent a sharp jolt through Aria in warning. Rebeka could be heard grinding her teeth, her palm to cheek, and elbow to arm of the chair. "Will that tin toy stop trying to break my ship?"
Sana smiled and chipped in rather quickly. "She ignored an order. Who's to say she can ignore something like this?”
Dico did indeed go about repeating the announcement. "Rebeka desires to have the entire crew present for this discussion."
Elisa sighed, looking toward Stalwart with a scowl. She already hated him, for keeping such a short leash on that woman that he supposedly 'owned'. "And you're supposed to be using her as the basis for new computer architecture?"
"Well..." Stalwart rampantly scrolled through data, trying to dodge the question. It wasn't exactly his choice, after all.
Sana sat aside Rebeka, sharing the woman's impatience. Her fingers, which grew pale with the lack of direct sunlight, trickled through her lengthy shadowed green hair, combing through. Rebeka on the other hand had grown bored, a leg propped over the other as she communicated with her ship, talking about destinations.
It was...painful. And it lasted a long time from her point of view, thousands of cycles spent in nothing but that blinding sensation. She wondered how humans could stand it even with their far slower cognitive speeds. Maras was much faster than she was, no doubt, and could inflict pain upon her until she relented.
Then again, it's not like pain ever stopped Aria. She was relentless by design, by the very virtue of her being a computer. "Maras...we'll be spending a lot of time together. I'd like you to be a little nicer...or at least, tell me what to do for you to better understand." Giving the ship the proper respect it deserved.
There was a simple textural message. It was brief, crisp and to the point: "Call to ARIA: You are required on master deck"
Dico crossed his arms in a rather annoyed gesture. "I dislike it when technology becomes a hindrance more than a benefit."
"This is why my kind uses living things rather than equipment to accomplish our tasks. Should we begin without her?" Rebeka mused to herself.
"It seems fine enough to me, just keep her busy... I don't want to be interrupted." Dico stated as he thumbed at his data pad, which produced a map of the known space that Yamatai has charted, along with an overlay of friendly and unfriendly territories... the vomit green splotch was getting dangerously larger.
The computer huffed, but vowed to continue this later. In a few moments she was within the cavity, looking somewhat displeased at the people she was assembled with...her fool of an owner, some Lorath male scum, a reckless defector, a lobotomy patient...and Rebeka Retena.
Dico glanced over and let a huff of air escape from his lips. They always show up late... why can't they just simply skip showing up... troublemakers... ugh.
Rebeka cleared her throat, standing to her feet. Her stance was a commanding one, her words firm, low and demanding. "As of 13:00 hours, I have been informed that we are to encounter the enemy. Exact figures are not provided but we are out-numbered. I believe it would benefit us to leave the system and make a departure elsewhere, leaving the 5th XF to deal with the assault, which I expect they will do admirably." Rebeka took a pause, her ruby eyes searching the many features of the crew she had collected. "At this time, we have no destination and I believe it would be a good time to make a decision about where we are to go."
"Not many choices left for where to go... Yamatai space would eat a portion of our crew alive. The Elysians are a bit stubborn so the reports indicate. The Mishhu would rape us... I think we need to seriously consider heading into Nepleslian space." Dico said as he looked over his data pad.
"The 5th Expeditionary Fleet's numbers are lacking, Rebeka. In the past year their fleet power has been cut dramatically. They currently wield the smallest standing fleet in the Empire, and much of their resources are already committed to Yūgumo." Elisa sighed, adjusting her outfit slightly. Sitting next to the sweating Yamataian scientist made her visibly uncomfortable.
"Then perhaps we could correct our range and initiate a tactical siege, giving the 5th XF the advantage before we go onward." Rebeka said with smile. "Deflating their ships and their egos."
"What is the current combat potential of Maras?" Aria asked tersely.
"The current load out is designed for taking down large numbers of unshielded ships and parrying with fighters. Against larger ships, we can't compete effectively" Rebeka said.
"However... What is the enemy power-source?"
Elisa smirked slightly. "The Mishhu strategy involves large amounts of weak ships with powerful weapons. The 5th and the LSDF can handle the larger fleets just fine if we mop up the initial assault. Even 5 minutes would cut their losses dramatically."
"How can you tell?" Sana said her voice barely more than a whisper as her eyes were fixed on the stars displayed on the window-like ceiling.
"Ah..." Stalwart piped in, happily smiling as he scrolled through more data, light reflecting off his glasses. "With some minor modifications, our BOT unit can be used as an effective siege weapon against any of the SMX heavy ship classes. I believe we have a case of small arms, hm? The unit we have should be able to effectively use many small arms weapons in a volley assault. Inefficient, but every little bit of firepower helps."
"Like a turret." Rebeka said. "What are they powered by?"
"Here is the fact of the matter... my people know that the Mishhu use Yamatai-like technology. Rebeka, I think my people may have intentions of using some of the technology you shared, namely the aether denial device. There was some rumor going around of there being devices being developed for the BOT's to deliver onto the hulls of enemy ships. Not to mention prior to the evacuation we placed the devices in strategic locations around the planet.... and yes, Stalwart, our own technicians have thought of that... thus why we've been fielding them with repeating antimatter rocket launchers."
Dico explained as he thumbed over his own pad. "And our BOTs are mostly powered by fusion devices; some have been converted to matter/antimatter reactors."
"I see. My device is directional and works at range." Rebeka stated flatly.
"I think, it would be wise if we were to blow a hole through the Mishhu line, then make a break for it. I doubt that some of our crew would like to stand the risk of the Maras being injured again, and us having to rely on the 5th XF for a rescue." Dico tilted his head in the direction of Sana and Elisa.
Elisa was naturally disappointed. She always had a taste for a good dogfight, but the circumstances were different than they were in earlier times, and she had a greater responsibility. With a heavy heart, she nodded to Dico. "Give me five minutes."
"By doing so, we would deplete our primary capacitor. We would need time to recover before we could make an escape at full speed unless an alternative source of energy could be provided." Rebeka noted.
"Could tap the BOT we brought aboard, the palace models have been upgraded to matter/antimatter reactors if I recall." Dico passively scratched at his cheek in thought.
"Provided they can be synchronized, I can see this being useful." Rebeka noted as her pale fingernails gently clawed at their parent palms. "As for the BOT. What is its combat potential as a turret type weapon?"
"Think of it as standing and holding a gun or rifle then trying to aim... but having the aim dictated by a starship grade computer, namely the Maras in this case." Dico replied.
"My BOT uses a standard fusion reactor, unfortunately, but I could use it as a turret, assuming more armaments were added." The computer looked toward Stalwart meaningfully, then back to the others. "With a proper communication link between the Maras and I we could coordinate with minimal latency."
Dico frowned slightly as Aria spoke. "Mm, that is problematic... but yes, it is still viable as a turret weapon. Also, in the load of items we grabbed, I snatched an antimatter generator and parts for a drive system... at a stretch, we could maybe wire it up to provide power for both the Maras and the BOT, and antimatter material for filling the ammunition for the BOT's launcher." Dico explained as his mind went over the possibilities.
"Very well" Rebeka said, taking note of the offensive strategy coming together. "Do we have a member of the crew who is apt with working in three dimensions of space in terms of combat or locational transposition?"
"I'm confident that the power output from Maras could power the BOT. What I want, however, is a large amount of energy on demand, very quickly." Rebeka said as an idea began to take form in her mind.
"Then wire the generator to the Maras... antimatter power is quite potent." Dico suggested.
"Assuming we overloaded the reactor," Stalwart began, "We could get an immense amount of energy in a very short time, about 1000 percent in 10 second bursts. Unfortunately, the cool-down time would be at least a minute and after a few bursts the reactor would blow."
"Do we have a second generator onboard?" Rebeka queried. Her character had changed: becoming colder, demanding and more resolute. "I need to make some alterations if this is to work."
"And do you have any idea what that means? That means it’s not going to work, and we'd be dead... and no, I only grabbed one. I was only planning to use the generator to fill the BOT's rockets." Dico replied as he began to feel the incoming sensation of stress.
"But we have gravitational field control and if we can isolate the reactor from the main hull..." Scrambling through his data, Stalwart continued to think about how to better gather power from the modifications. "If we change the flow rate...and increase the magnetic couplings...and reverse the polarity of the neutron flow..."
"I have a better use for it." Rebeka said as she stood to her feet once more, pacing about the large command room. She turned to face the canopy like roof and said "The damage will be in the short term but I can prepare a rapid wormhole system for tactical use. I'm not entirely sure of its effectiveness because a Daiclonius isn't supposed to be configured the same way as a Taitrus or a Talon."
"It could be dangerous. But assuming an anti-matter can draw more energy in the short term than our funnel, we could break their backs before they even realize we're within their ranks without using our own weapons." Rebeka murmured, wondering what risk might follow.
"I'm not a tactician, or a combat technician, but I know that we need to do what we need to do so we can get out of this system. I'll leave it in your hands Rebeka." Dico stated before he slipped his data pad into his robes and clasped his hands behind his back.
Rebeka's hands were in a similar position as she watched the tiny tiny markings of the 5th XF's form. Her four thumbs rolled and pressed against one another and her conclusion arrived. "Stalwart, isn't it? There is a system now labeled "Terminus 26". The interface now mimics that of standardized systems. I want you to directly interface the anti-matter device, coupling it with the system in question. Do not ask questions. Do not hesitate. Just go."
"Aria. I'm going to need you to calculate entry and exit vectors in three dimensional space, thus you will need to be integrated with Maras for a short time. Again, do not ask questions: simply answer Maras' questions as he asks you."
"Dico. You are to parse information between us and the 5th XF. I want to know their formations and the latest information as it arises. You are going to use them as a broadcast boom, extending our sensor radius."
"Sana, we're going to perform a CC42." but she was interrupted. "You're..." but Rebeka snapped. "No. I don't want to hear it. We're performing a CC42 and I want you confirming launch and impact trajectories for the inflex modifications. And Elisa. You get to fly."
"I'll have to do it through the LSDF, but I doubt they'd mind..." Dico nodded as he pulled his data pad from his robes. His thumbs were a blur as he began to make the proper connections.
Sana nodded, feeling rather worried. She stepped into the center of the room and took a low deep sigh: the floor rose until it formed a chair: her legs pushed apart, arms and hands raised by smooth instruments. A second seat like object had appeared directly in front of her, the reflective instruments and tools entirely different in shape and form. Now, the floor of the command room seemingly became a perfect window into space.
"Terminus 26, you say?" Stalwart tapped his glasses a couple of times - no matter what he did, they always seemed to understand what he wanted. "Accessed and interfacing now. Interesting approach you have here..."
Aria smiled that same enigmatic smile to Rebeka. "I will listen to Maras, if you wish it...I'll be put to good use by him, won't I?" A low chuckle and a touch of coyness that disappeared as soon as it was seen.
"Glad to see I get the difficult job," Elisa teased. Once more, her role was to keep everyone from dying a horrible flaming death. Maras would likely not take as kindly to mistreatment as Sakura, of course, but he would perform so much better for her that it would be ridiculous to compare them. "And what will you do, Captain?" Even though the pilot seemed surprised at what she called Rebeka, it felt right. She was the Captain here, and they her crew. Like a good starship should be.
"That much should be obvious, Elisa. When we are prepared and the enemy is in range, Stalwart, I want you to funnel through channel 26 and allow the adaptive reflex system to engage. It might seem counter-productive to begin with but the system will take care of itself. In effect, we are going to throw the enemy's munitions back at them" Rebeka said as the crew prepared to encounter the blockade.
Stalwart scratched his head, at that. Sure, he was a dashing, handsome, brilliant scientist, but he'd be damned if he had any idea how that worked. "I'm not familiar with this vessel's systems, Miss Retena." He sighed slightly, unused to being unable to contribute.
"Aria, connect a channel and instruct him." the Sourcian commanded, her mind racing through the possibilities available before the fight.
Aria sighed softly, sending the appropriate information to Stalwart's displays. He was more of a burden than anything, in her mind...
Dico had placed his back against a bulkhead and leaned against it while he operated his data pad, he received a series of messages then he called out to Rebeka. "Rebeka, my people have granted us a sensor feed from the 5th XF and our own sensors. They will be watching over our escape. The perimeter forces acknowledge our passing and wish us well and will support us if possible."
Rebeka's eyes narrowed as her thoughts rolled onto the one thing that would open the situation. Sternly, she asked "Understood. Do we have intelligence on the enemy at this time?" as she grew impatient. Her eyes flickered beneath a second set of lids briefly as she looked over Elisa and Sana.
"Only the fact that they're out there. They're keeping their numbers obscured by hopping in and out of hyperspace as for the ship information; we have access to what information Yamatai has gathered. From what I see, the details provided are rather vague... big ships, lots of power armor, and lots of guns." Dico looked a bit grim as he managed the passing of data.
"The Maras knows what I know," Elisa said simply, her stare hopping briefly to Sana as she sat back in her chair. "I'm afraid I don't know all that much about the Mishhu...Miles would be a better choice for that...you know, assuming we revive his body sooner than later."
"I already set him in the tank." Sana said with a wisp to her voice. "But it's under the limits of the device you use to hide him." Her palms felt the cold draw of the mound shapes beneath as she stretched within her occupied position.
The sensor link established with the Maras would indicate that the 5th's sensors and the Lorath's nebula gas monitoring system had begun to detect the presence of a pair of relatively small Mishhu vessels ahead of the Maras, the size would indicate them being of the Ghullfrashirv Escort class.
"Elisa, Confirm location" Rebeka demanded as she grew weary of the waiting game.
"Our current location is about 5 AU from Lor, toward the galactic northwest," Elisa stated, idly running a finger about her lips curiously. She looked quite bored, and was acting uncannily like Rebeka. "We haven't advanced terribly far as of yet."
There was a deep breath a groaned sigh from both Sana whose head tipped back, fixed on Dico and Rebeka and the Captain herself who felt she could grow exhausted with the boredom alone.
"Scatter?" Sana mused, articulating the thoughts already within her Twin's mind.
"Mode 3. Deploy the wave. Steer it away from friendlies." Rebeka resounded but Sana had already begun the preparations. Speech was merely a formality for the rest of the crew's benefit at this point.
Aria was flushed with the required processing as the ship articulated itself with a deep lulling hum as it drank to fill itself once more. There was a gentle shudder as the capacitor was readied for combat operation. The ceiling of the ship flickered, picking out the two ships and passing on the estimated location of these larger friends. The fog of war was broken.
"We have enemies approaching," Elisa said spontaneously. "Numbers are currently impossible to determine at this range...but whatever it is, it's fucking huge." Still somewhat human, after all...perhaps that would settle some of the other crew, letting them knows that not all Sourcians were like Rebeka.
The two ships ahead of the Maras were immediately crippled by the focused denial wave as their energy tap systems were rendered utterly useless. Even the power armor aboard the escorts was rendered useless as the ship's entire infrastructure went to hell in a hand basket.
Unfortunately for the Maras, this grabbed the attention of some of the Escort's larger friends.
Dico called out the information delivered by his pad. "Sensors confirm two disabled vessels. 5th XF's sensors are detecting altered movements in the Mishhu ships that were hopping, they seem to be redirecting."
"We're going to hole and disappear before we enter their firing envelope. Our destination will be between the left flank. We'll perform a bounded-wave and break their backs without upsetting our friends." Rebeka almost sang. "Can I assume we'll have communication with the 5th XF when we reach our launch destination?"
"ADS engaged and under automated control...so this is space combat, hm? Less exciting than it is on TV..." Nevertheless, Stalwart seemed confident, already working through the systems and wrapping his head about them easily. A fantastic asset, to be sure. "Terminus 26 reserved. Now, I hope we don't die here. I'm expecting to see the new Lor, you know."
As Aria was given the new programming, a smirk painted her lips, eyes rolling back if but briefly as she rearranged her processing protocols to compensate for the Maras' different clock cycle. Effortlessly she sent Maras the information he needed to better communicate with her processing unit, preparing for combat processing. This would be quite the fun little game.
As the enemies dropped out of hyperspace for their approach, the sensor feed would indicate three massive objects. Two of a similar size which would be identified as Blrakkrashiverinth Battleships, and one mass which would be identified as an Ooghlrashithagg Carrier. The carrier had begun to spew thousands of attack pods. The battleships had begun to charge their positron weapon arrays.
Elisa coughed slightly, looking to Dico with a frown. "I trust you can funnel the information from the Lorath and 5th sensor feeds into the Maras?" If she was to keep everyone (mostly) intact, she needed the information, after all. She looked over to Rebeka, and to Sana, briefly but enough for them to notice.
"Already done." Dico responded as one of his eyes seemed to shift about in a slightly erratic manner. Only known to him was the fact that he was coordinating a far more important portion of the operation; cleaning up the disabled mess.
Rebeka pushed her smugness aside. "Mark your targets and advance on the left flank. Full speed. I want this to look like an assault. I want them to scratch whatever heads they have" her words came. There was a slow breath as she mad eye-contact with Sana, simply receiving a silent nod.
Such was the nature of Maras that piloting was almost a formality, but Elisa nevertheless saluted Rebeka as she got up to return to her rightful place in the bridge. "Aye, Captain," she said forcefully, with more conviction than she had ever given Ketsurui Hanako in her entire service combined.
Even as the Maras prepared for the assault run, the Mishhu ships had opened fire with medium and heavy sized weapons which were fired by the battleships, the carrier meanwhile began to spray weapons fire at the Maras in the form of fifty or so medium positron cannons and a massive barrage of torpedoes.
Along with the main ships, the power armor which had deployed had split into four separate directions, with the intent of swarming around the Maras to prevent it from escaping.
The engine vents across the rear of the Sourcian craft illuminated to reveal a soft trail of color. In moments, the rear weapon-pods opened and thrust spewed forth, hurling the craft forth. As ordinance rushed, Elisa was met with the task of managing this enormous fighter yet the response was instant and instinctive with a full and complete scope of the battlefield. The rear pods rotated and vectored, working in conjunction with every system onboard in a beautifully elegant way: the way the massive ship threw it about with such ease with ordinance rushing by was simply breathtaking and utterly unheard of.
"...I understand why they're shooting at Yamatai's fleet, but why are they so keen on shooting at us?" Clearly, Stalwart was oblivious about the nature of this ship and its importance to the sector, but then again, it was sort of an interesting position to be in.
"Because we have more balls between us than they have in a full fleet" Sana sighed as she directed the cannons, the forward bays slipping open and peppering twenty four purple knives which rushed through the darkness to intercept the armors and detonate smart rounds. The gunship almost seemed to sing as the wormhole system spun up.
As one of the power armor wings closed in on the Maras, there was a massive flash of dozens of bursts white light as an antimatter multiple warhead missile detonated inside of the group. Each explosion swallowed a few dozen of the attack pods. It was enough to cause the wing to become distracted. The Maras' sensors would also detect a dozen five gigaton warhead equipped missiles approaching. Oddly enough each of these missiles had an imbalance to it which would correspond with the offset produced by a Bringer of Thunder being attached to the missile.
Surely enough, moments before the missiles entered into the armor wing's ranks to explode, the BOT's detached from the missiles and assumed a scattered formation. They began to spray Gatling fire into the Mishhu armor's ranks.
The perfect synchronization between Elisa's command and the craft's reaction was absolutely wonderful...breathtaking, even. For the first time since her first fleet battle so long ago, Elisa felt truly alive. Data swirled through her mind and the entire battlefield danced about her eyes. She could feel every tiny movement of the craft, see every possibility, and execute every possible maneuver in time too short to be usefully described. This was where she had to be. This is where she always wanted to be, here, in the very seat that was made for her by the craft itself. Sweat glistened upon her skin as her breath rolled from her lips. One miss and a hole went through the hull, two misses and everyone was obliterated.
Exciting, wasn't it?
"Now" was the last word to fill the bridge before a blue light rushed over the cabin. Light became sound as the air itself shook like the sea. The second lasted an eternity as the Maras miraculously vanished in a glimmer. The decompression-wave as the craft arrived at its destination shook the cockpit as the pressure took a gentle hop. As the blue light cleared, above them was a massive hull which spanned the visible horizon. The Maras was inverted above the Blrakkrashiverinth Battleship's control center, the denial wave rippling across the huge craft's surface and directly through it to distend the fleet.
The Mishhu ships scrambled to readjust their power armor deployments and weapon firing arcs, but they simply did not have the time as the aether denial wave washed over them. The result was three disabled large combatants, and thousands of disabled power armor. Needless to say, the Mishhu had become angry now that the Maras had inflicted a large amount of damage.
Dico smiled softly as he called out another bit of information. "Lorath Self Defense Forces are firing precision antimatter missile strikes into this area now. They suggest that we leave the area ASAP. They will take it from here."
Rebeka whistled slowly, impressed by the results and sensitivity of the enemy equipment. There was a silence as she tried to make out figures upon the opposing battleship's form. There was hesitation as her eyes narrowed, lips curled into a smile as she attempted to visualize the furious enemy troop. "What? Right, right. Elisa, take us out."
"Just a second, Rebeka. I'm just going to greet the commander." With the position she had placed the craft, Elisa was perfectly poised to slow down just briefly and give the Mishhu within the one-finger salute. A visual was taken of the moment and those that followed, until Elisa immediately increased speed and retreated away from the craft. "Ready to execute next jump on your order, captain. And Comm Bird, remember to tell our allies that they owe us a favor...”
"Favor to be repaid in around sixty seconds, I suggest you hurry up and hit FTL speeds." Dico could not help but to laugh lightly.
The smile was plastered across her features. "Heh... Dico, pass on that visual before our departure. Elisa, take us out of the effective range of allied ordinance." With a defiant smile, Rebeka turned about with her eyes set on Dico, arms crossed beneath her chest. Her teeth gleamed, lips accenting every syllable. "Now do you understand the value of our relationship?"
"Will do ma'am." Dico responded as he followed the order. "And ma'am, I've understood the value for some time, why do you think I'm aboard this ship?"
As the Maras made its flashy exit, the LSDF went about the mop up operation. At least a dozen of the high yield antimatter warhead armed missiles were launched from one of the moons orbiting the gas giant. The missiles were en route for the Mishhu vessels' weapons systems and drive systems. They apparently intended to keep the enemy vessels intact for the most part as trophies and as sources of information about their enemy.
Elisa couldn't help but grin a bit as she overheard the conversation between Rebeka and Dico, the ship quickly escaping the approaching ordnance and making a course directly to the galactic north. "Making the jump in five...four...three...two...one..." And at Elisa's command, the Maras faded into nothing, disappearing from the battlefield as soon as it had appeared.
Shortly after the Maras made its departure, a barrage of antimatter missiles met with the Mishhu warships and power armor, which resulted in the Mishhu ship’s deployed power armor wings being reduced by the thousands. The two Mishhu battleships, two escorts, and carrier were quickly pelted by precision antimatter missile strikes, which were soon followed up with quick fly-bys handled by the refitted ‘Star Seeker’ ships which delivered surgical precision positron and white beam blasts upon the unshielded Mishhu vessels, punching holes clear through their armor and destroying each vessel’s power generator facilities, leaving the Mishhu ships to wait for their final fate of being blown to nothingness, or to be boarded and dealt with on a far more personal level.
It was the Sourcian’s first taste of blood in the war with the SMX, and the flavor was perversely sweet.
ON: Maras - Ten Lightyears Away From Lor - Northern Direction
Dico slouched against the bulkhead of the Maras still as he switched his data pad to subspace communications in preparation for their long voyage which would leave him out of close range communication distance from his people. "Well, dear Captain, which way do we go now? From what I understand, every direction has Mishhu, and past that, it's a bunch of different Empires who will want to fondle your dear ship."
There was a long pause as she weighed up the options in silence. "Perhaps it is best suited that we hide in plain sight." a stern tone resounded. Rebeka was still herself and not Sana and did find speech awfully prohibitive, clear in her distaste for the very words she was forced to spit. " 'Where aren't they looking?' is the question we should be asking."
"I don't have the solution to that question, what of our dear navagator and her companion?" Dico turned his gaze to Elisa and Sana as he asked his question.
"The best option would be to hide in plain sight. If we sneak around, they'll spot us easily. Such is their method - ignore the frontal assault that would bring a quick end, and go for the extended campaign behind the lines." Elisa clucked her tongue just once, focusing on the perpetual awareness that her cockpit provided for her. If something went on in the ship, Maras would inform her.
Sana's eyes slid closed as a hefty sigh was exuded from her lips. She took focus upon Dico and rose her shoulders in a simple shrug. "There isn't a lot I can suggest that she hasn't already thought of."
Dico shrugged as he tapped his fingers over his data pad. "Your choice, its no feathers off my wings considering I'm one of the few aboard this ship that won't be disected or executed."
Rebeka rested her fingertips upon Dico's shoulder and gave a slow squeeze that should have been reassuring but only served to send a dark tingle down the Lorath's spine. "You would be regarded as contaminated, as would anybody who is among us. Where are the others?"
"The crazy science guy is tending to his coffins and the homicidal computer is communicating with Maras," Elisa said succinctly. She disliked being the secretary, but having an even greater link to the ship than Rebeka had its responsibilities.
"I'm here as a makeshift ambassador from what it seems... and if you mean Stalwart and Aria, they're where ever they tend to be... I don't exactly keep track of them." Dico did not seem bothered much by Rebeka's tone. He had already overcome his fair share of hardships since the Occhestian revolt against the royalty.
A smile brought form across Rebeka's features. She huddled Dico's head against her body. "I expect you to. They are guests and you know them better than I do. Do you understand?" she said as her fingertips again began to fork and explore the Lorath's feathers. Most had a simple toy, from the Rubick's cube to the yoyo. Rebeka settled for a Lorath.
Dico released a deep sigh before giving Rebeka a soft shove. "How do you expect me to keep track of them when you're clinging to me and pressing my face against you?"
"He only knows them from the news reports...I guess he reads the news more, though." A soft smile painted Elisa's lips, invisible though it was to the toying Sourcian and the flustered Lorath. "So, I guess you could inform us of that, hm?"
Sana tipped her head to one side, giving Elisa a brief glance before looking over the stars before her in a lean deep stretch that brought out a gentle grunt. "Hmm...? I'd suggest by telling us more about them. The short one with the funny smile gives me the creeps."
Dico's voice came out a bit muffled as he was held against Rebeka. "I would suggest that we pick a direction before we continue onwards... at this rate we're going to end up buzzing right through the Mishhu lines, and I don't want to be burried in Rebeka's cleavage while we stumble into a Mishhu patrol."
In a subtle but clean motion, Dico was thrust from Rebeka in a shove several times his senior in strength only for her to clutch his hand at the very last moment to prevent him from stumbling from his own feet. Dico's hand was then released. "West then" she said, eyeing Dico and then Sana thoughtfully.
"I sure hope you mean north west." Dico said in a light tone as he maintained his balance.
By this time, Rebeka had moved to sit aside, Sana, lifting the slightly smaller girl up into her lap to sit. As Rebeka addressed Sana, her fingertips upon the woman's shoulders she said "West out of harm's way." Sana said, speaking up for a change with a lithe tone. "Maras doesn't understand the concept of two dimensional thinking so what's needed is a destination rather than a direction."
Dico sighed a bit as he slouched against the bulkhead again. "Well, I don't know much of the space outside of the Lor system, other than which planets are inhabited and the communication codes and languages for each inhabited planet."
Elisa coughed slightly, taking a few moments to leaf through their collective knowledge of space to find a destination."The only real option is north, moving around or bypassing the Hanako's Star defense network, and onward. The Maras has access to the map data of the ship Yggdrasil; there is an uninhabited system north of the Kohana Cloud marked Kenichi's Star. From there we can stay in relative safety of the fleets. Barring that, we could head for Nepleslia directly."
"Oh, that reminds me..." Rebeka said with a rather mischievous smile as she settled her chin atop Sana's head. "Are we under range of Yamatai monitoring or can I lift the lid on the doctor?"
"I'm not sure of that... Elisa?" Dico looked up from his data pad and to the pilot.
"Hanako's Star is the headquarters of the 1XF, Rebeka. We should wait until we're past it if we're going to keep him safely locked tight..." Elisa held her chin loosely in her hand, considering their options. "I don't know how far their defense network extends, but it's considerable."
"As I've said. ...As Sana said. I don't know the local area. I trust your judgement here." Rebeka simply said. "I do however, feel sorry for the doctor."
"Don't. It's better than dead." As Elisa replied, a communications window appeared behind her, Stalwart's widely smiling face appearing. "Good morning, everyone! I've been up all night attaching all the armaments I could to the BoT and linking it to the Maras' control systems. In addition, with the help of your wonderful ship, I've finished converting the mecha to spec with the Test Type railcannon! The railcannon I designed, I might add."
"It's actually evening..." Sana announced beneath Rebeka as she shifted the Sourcian. "On Nepelsia, they call it jet-lag because it's one of the few planets that doesn't have the hotels integrated to the spaceports."
"Afternoon for me... two of your days is around one of mine." Dico explained as he returned to tapping at his data pad. He consulted the map he had downloaded from the Lorath's computer network, not much detail about their route, other than heaps of Mishhu.
Stalwart didn't seem to care, still smiling away like he always did. "Now, if I had the assistance of your doctor, I'm sure I could complete that multiparticle cannon I've been working on...oh, right, according to the 5th Fleet's information network, which Aria helpfully had brief access to during the battle, the Hanako's Star defense network is 10 lightyears in diameter!"
"Joy" Rebeka grumbled in a less than graceful manner.
"If we can make a jump fast enough, the only thing the network will be able to identify is a spacial distortion. Problem is, the only way to avoid the fleet after that is to fly a course right through Mishhu territory." Elisa sighed softly as her chair leaned back with her body, hands kept on the controls eternally. "If we make a course to New Kohana we can avoid the bulk of the tentacle rape while still avoiding the lesbian catgirls."
After a few minutes of aimless speech and debate, Elisa sighed softly, deciding to set course and coordinate things en route, hoping that the power didn't drain too quickly from jumping so far beyond Maras' normal limits. It was all about luck now...and she smiled, at that. Just as she liked best.
The ten lightyear distance from Lor was easily traversed through the use of the Maras' standard FTL drive system. The first leg of a complex trip which called for the Maras to devote a sizable portion of it's power to it's wormhole drive system. After a few hours of charging the system, the Maras plunged itself into a hole boared through the very fabric of space, which caused it to pass through a distance of fifteen lightyears, right past the Hanako's Star defense network, and into the depths of what was once Yamatai space.
Dico quickly consulted his data pad and the surrounding communication lines and navagtional signals. "We're currently somewhere between Valaad and Koenic, off of the main travel routes."
The good ship Maras, for the moment energy-starved, was in the only safe route possible toward Nepleslia, an area of space Elisa helpfully named the 'Metea Corridor'. Safe from both the SMX and the First Expeditionary, at least for the moment, the ship could recharge in peace, allowing its crew to relax for a time while they considered their options once more.
Sana was of course with Elisa while Rebeka was intent to study the first alien she had come into contact with whom she had not shared kinship. Almost an hour had passed and her eyes had not lifted from Dico, monitoring his every motion, attempting to decrypt what the wheels that turn within his mind might produce. And yet the way she sat, slumped against the couch-like bulkhead in the bunk-chamber seemed almost lifeless. As human as she appeared, there was an ethereal almost dead look to her, as if her very skin was fake. "What are you doing?"
"Consulting the local navigational communications and any subspace messages from home... I don't want anything finding us or following us that we don't want." Dico explained as he continued to stand, leaning against yet another bulkhead. "So far we're safe."
It was distinct from her expression (which of course Sana shared) that Rebeka didn't believe they were safe for a single minute. "And you're sure of this?" her voice rasped. There was no coy playfulness now: she was in what she considered enemy territory and she wasn't comfortable with the idea after her recent talk with Dico regarding the progress of arms. Something of the idea of scrubbing space itself sent a chill down her spine that she would never speak of. Elsewhere, Sana laid against Elisa, her cheek huddled up to the woman's chest as she listened to the drumming beneath her bosom.
"Well, comparing to our previous situation, we're safe. The Mishhu don't harass this area much due to the proximity to Yamatai. The Yamataians don't harass this place much due to the proximity to the Mishhu. The space here is relatively calm, and there are no natural threats in the area. For the moment, we're safe as can be expected." Dico explained fully as he slipped his data pad back into his robe. "Worried?"
Still, the taboo ebbed at the very back of Rebeka's mind. Her fingers tightened about her elbows as her arms were crossed neatly but still there was little other evidence. "This is a new world." the Sourcian said as her eyes explored the data pad, unable to read it from the distance. "I clearly have a lot to learn."
Elisa stroked Sana's hair softly, trying to comfort her, even as she knew that they were in some danger yet. It seemed that she had become something of a mother - being perhaps the sanest person on board for the moment; she had a lot to coordinate, in helping everyone to get along. And still, though she had purpose within the ship, the ship had no purpose within the universe...she sighed softly as she looked up at the ceiling, a permanent display of the skies of her home affixed. A strange request, but it comforted the pilot.
"Rebeka, danger comes and goes as the war of life progresses. Consider every moment of your life to be one long battle... right now, the enemy is in retreat, you're able to repair the damages to your forces and continue your expedition into the enemy territory of the unknown." Dico's words were spoken softly as he thought them through. A lot of this little speech was pulled from the class he took in Fyunnen psychology.
In a single blink, her eyes moved for the first time from Dico to the books upon the shelf. There was a long drawn out pause during which she realized her range of sight simply couldn't read the text. The pause continued as she adjusted and finally clarity. "This isn't the unknown" Rebeka murmured, still taking apart the memories of Sana Nakamura. Sana extended her touch to brush her wiry brawn fingertips across Elisa's features. "Talk."
"Then Rebeka, you need not be so anxious." Dico took in a soft breath before giving Rebeka full once over. She seems tense... I suppose she is more used to battle situations than down time.
"...I don't really have much to say at the moment, Sana...we're in the dead of space right now, and I'm out of my element." Outside of the cockpit seat, Elisa felt...anxious. Not knowing what was going on in the ship disturbed her, though she tried to hide it. "You and Rebeka have a strange relationship...right now; it's hard to say if you'll remain like this, or if you'll both branch out."
"Talk about something. Anything will do" Sana murmured as she lifted herself over Elisa. Her eyes starred into the woman's for a moment and for a glimpse of a second, she was almost a different person like a portrait of Elisa's words. The conclusion was merely a smile: bashful and delicate. "What did you do when I left the Sakura?" Sana sighed in dreamy words.
"My bed was cold," Elisa breathed out softly, her violet lips curled into a smile. Her arms cradled Sana softly as she looked over her body. The Sourcian had a distaste for the artificial body of the Yamataian...Elisa understood it. The so-called 'false sentience' of the Yamataian and Nekovalkryja...the latter were so easy to subdue, weren't they? Hanako. Blueberry. Both slaves to a higher power...who was to say the Yamataians weren't?
Rebeka's eyes drank the titles from the bookshelf, reading for the first time as herself and not Sana. It was a refreshing experience to see things as the others saw them and not as she saw them. "I wouldn't call it anxiety" was her only response.
It seemed rather blatant that Sana was Yamataian, wearing the body like a glove but she thought nothing of it and Rebeka had made no attempt to turn her. Sana pondered whether or not Elisa who probably knew more about being a Sourcian than Sana did at this point questioned it but her role was her role. "Is it any warmer now?"
"Much." It felt different though; it felt jarring. Unsettling. Whether she knew it or not, Elisa's old identity was slowly melting away with what remained of her old organs...idly, she wondered if Sana would take to being turned, but she wouldn't force it on her like Rebeka had.
Sana was already growing tired of Elisa's one-word responses. The way they pecked and ebbed. It just didn't suffice. "Even if it's nonsense." she said. "Talk."
"...I guess you can tell that I'm nervous, huh? I couldn't say why." Elisa was quiet, bitingly so. She wasn't sure, though, whether it was her body's instinctual hatred of the artificial body...or whether it was simply that they had grown too far apart.
Sana simply nodded as she tried to unravel the thoughts of her friend beneath her. "Just... Talk."
Dico meanwhile stood upright from his slouching place against the wall. "From what I understand, we're headed into Nepleslian space... what do you know about the Nepleslians?"
"If they still have the amateur circuits on Nepleslia, I could try and make us some money in the airbike races." An abrupt change of subject, but then, that was probably what Sana was seeking. "Maybe one of our crazy tech guys can help out there."
Rebeka's eyes gradually concluded their tour of the bookshelf before they returned to Dico. "Clinical tiled walls. The stink of bleach first thing in the morning. Everything inside and out squeaky clean." she began before catching herself. "I only have the memories of another and I wouldn't consider them useful."
"Shall we ask our pilot if she knows anything?" Dico inquired
"Elisa?" Rebeka bounced Dico's query.
"Of course, who else?" Dico shrugged, his wings moving in the gesture as well.
"Money... Money isn't a problem. Information is." Sana said. "We're blind and unprepared."
"Well, there's the science dream team down in the cargo bay...but I don't trust them. Other than that, there's..." Elisa stopped. He was, for the moment, asleep...better than being dead though, she supposed. "Should we wake him up? We're safe, for the moment."
"The more you know..." Sana said in a calm chilling tone. Her smile was honest but her voice didn't match her words.
"You didn't answer my question," Elisa said simply, coyly. A bit more like herself.
"Wasn't I obvious enough?" Sana grinned at Elisa.
"Probably not. It bothers me that I didn't catch it, though." Elisa smiled back, softly stroking Sana's hair as her heart, or what passed for it, fluttered a bit.
Sana's eyes fell closed as a slow lulled smile spread across her lips. It was refreshing to see such warmth in her face. Sana simply chose to rest over Elisa and enjoy her time.
"I'll try harder."
"I know."
"The more you know." Rebeka spoke in a flat dull tone as she lifted her body from the bunk. With a click clack of military boots against the metallic floor, she made her way to the door. Over her shoulder, she shot Dico a glance. "I would appreciate it if you were to share a room with me tonight. There are many things I want to ask you about."
"I doubt I'll be tired... I have a different sleep cycle." Dico replied honestly, glad for the fact that he had an excuse available to him. He still was not comfortable with the idea of sharing a room with the woman.
"Have no misgivings" she said in clinical monotone. "As intriguing as you are, I wouldn't violate you" It was clear in that knowing her place, the memory of Sana was now memories and no longer behaviorism. This person, Rebeka, was who spoke was somebody else entirely. It wasn't long before she stood at the doorway, listening to the clattering sounds of Stalwart. "Your name, please."
Stalwart was puttering around, assembling random junk together in an experimental fashion, their stash of ARIA models nearby undergoing integrity tests to check their adherence to spec. He perked up as he saw Rebeka approaching, smiling as he looked her over. "You can call me Stalwart Defender, owner and CEO of Stalwart Defense Industries, at your service to help distribute these test models across known space. I hope you don't mind if I stay aboard - your ship is wonderful for producing prototypes and testing weapons!"
Rebeka observed and noted the strange-man's overwhelmingly positive disposition as she arched a brow. "I see. You are welcome to stay, provided you are useful. At this time, we need knowledge of the surrounding area, specifically of a planetoid known as Nepleslia." her voice sounded.
"Nepleslia, hm? Is that where we're headed? Well, it's a rather strange place..." He coughed, frowning but momentarily. "What you should know right now is that Nepleslia is currently in a state of civil war, if the news reports are accurate. The factions would be the Greens, who currently control the majority of Nepleslian space, and the Reds, who control Kennewes. Zen Armaments, a weapons manufacturer, is in the pocket of the Reds, while the Greens have the resources of the NDI, from another universe, and Nepleslian Arms and Munitions, a recently-formed design bureau that unfortunately forced a great deal of my work to go to waste."
"I am in unfamiliar territory. Break yourself down from this rambling into coherence and explain everything." Rebeka demanded, now rather frustrated.
"...why don't you just use the information networks and look up what you need?" Stalwart asked, blinking behind the flickering display of his glasses. "Most of what I'm telling you is common knowledge. A little research goes a long way!"
There was hesitance. "My eyes aren't adapted for reading text from a surface without straining myself. I need to adapt myself or create a tool which will save me the trouble" Rebeka said reluctantly. "When I look at the Lorath's device, I don't see what he sees. Just a flat surface."
"Well, why don't you ask your pointy-eared girlfriend to tell you about eye structure? She seems to be able to cope fine." Stalwart's smile had been, by this time, restored. "I'm sure your range of vision can adapt, hm? I admit to not knowing much about your species.
"I'll ask her. We should make Nepleslia in about a day or two so we don't draw any attention. Where would you recommend we land?" Rebeka basked, feeling the heat of the ship now begin to slowly cool itself to suit the other passengers.
"Well, a ship like this will be investigated thoroughly if we land anywhere near somewhere in NAM's operational sphere. If we welded a bunch of metal plates onto the hull, though..." Something which would almost certainly cause problems in the long run, but it would prevent undue questions.
After a time of silence and relatively arousing acts, Elisa placed her airbike suit back on, her back to Sana, her shapely rear right in her view. It didn't smell, nor was it dirty; why would it be? She produced no waste and no discernible scent, and Maras was a clean room. "Now that we're done that...let's go check on our cargo, shall we?"
"Cargo?" Sana murmured as she watched Elisa in a strange way, following behind her now. Her eyes found themselves upon Elisa's bottom for a moment before her hands cupped the cheeks and her chin rested upon the woman's shoulder. She was still giddy from their fun.
"Your boyfriend." A laugh. "Miles. You've been impatient about it, but now you finally get to see him again." Slowly Elisa walked the corridors of the ship, as she enjoyed Sana's company once more. It had been a long time...
"Boyfriend...?" Sana queried with a rather coy smile, eyes like those of a school-girl as they were fixed on the way Elisa walked, trying to mimic her gait. "You make it sound like there's more to me and him than there is to you and me."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Elisa said with a smirk. It was mostly a joke, but there were more serious connotations behind it..."I would think that you wouldn't like doctors after what they did with you."
Sana huffed. She knew the way and brushed Elisa aside, storming off ahead. Her feet tapped and hammered against the hull floor and then she stopped and turned about to see Elisa and smiled before she continued on her way contentedly.
I don't mind if you like him...I just mind if you like him because he's a doctor. Elisa smiled at that thought, somehow finding it comforting, as she walked along the same path Sana had just followed.
Sana stood at the lockroom door. Carefully, her fingertips eased the sealed door open with a crunched whoosh of air that flooded her ears as the room reoxygenated. With a splutter, she continued until her fingertips met a reflective silver bullet laid upon its' belly. It was a meter across and longer in height than she was. It felt cold. "I think I found it."
"What's the status on his life signs?" Elisa asked, as she caught up to Sana and looked at the stasis pod. "There should be a display on the side."
Sana's fingertips ran over the chilly surface, tapping against it for a moment. She peered back at Elisa and frowned. "It doesn't look good."
"Is his thought pattern stable? Check. If not, we'll have to do the reconstruction process all fucking over again." Elisa groaned, holding her head loosely in her hand. If he was damaged, they'd loose valuable time. "Tell me what the damage is."
Sana pressed her hand against the silver material and brushed firmly. She felt the ice slide away, then frost until no more than the glass was visible and the occupant beneath. With a tink, her fingernail tapped against the bare glass. "I think we've damaged him as a man."
Elisa looked at what Sana had pointed out and her throat stuck. It was his penis, utterly tiny and not even remotely erect. "...that's...that's just the cold, Sana."
Sana's fingertips settled on a hand-shaped press-pad on the device and in red, numbers began to count-down. Striking 01.00, there was a sharp pitched whine and as the timer hit 00.00, a gruntish pop of static electricity to awaken the occupant of the regeneration pod.
As the doctor awoke, what would first meet his revived eyes was a woman, clad in a navy blue airbike suit, quite tall and curvy...her face was in his view; messy, short dark hair, long tawnish ears, pale milky skin, violet painted lips...and blue eyes he would recognize anywhere. "Good morning, doctor. You look like shit." A smirk. Her smirk. So different, and yet very much the same.
"Morning, Milesickle." Sana said with a grin, sat against the edge of the pod. She set her palm onto Miles' back and noted how his skin still felt chilled.
The sharp and ragged breath of the newly resurrected body's first breath was drawn in as the stasis tank opened. His eyelids opened revealing the deep grass green irises of his eyes. When the light struck his eyes he could not help but to squint as the tissues began to function. "Elisa... Metea... if I thought I was dead, I'd suspect I was in hell... I half think I should be." His latter comment came as his mind began to catch up to events. One half being those of Alistair, the other being the last events endured aboard the Sakura. "I guess... the Lorath were kind enough to continue with the job I asked for... but first, where can a man get a pair of pants?"
"There's clothes in the pod. They might be a bit chilly but they'll do." Elisa smiled as she looked at Miles' body, stepping back. As his eyes came into focus, he would see that her appearance had changed a good deal, mostly by becoming slightly more busty and getting new ears. "As you can most likely tell, your body is perfectly Nepleslian down to the tiniest degree. As for me...well...I'll explain later. First I need to tell you why I'm here, and you're here...but I'll start by saying that, if it weren't for us, you would still be dead."
Miles raised his hand and waved it in a dismissive gesture. "Yes yes I'm sure I would be... the Lorath were kind enough to put in my braincase, and Rebeka was kind enough to furnish my brain with a proper neural pattern. Thank you Elisa for saving my braincase... but AWOL eh? Hardly becoming of a Shoi... and as for you Sana, how's your head?"
Sana chuckled softly to herself. "Tiniest degree..." as her eyes settled on the doctor's attire. Her fingertips tightened as she felt the pod grow colder, slowly gearing up for its' shutdown cycle. "I'm..." she hesitated. Elisa was right: doctors.
"Don't worry... I have a feeling you'll be alright soon enough." Miles reached out and gently patted his hand against Sana's cheek. "I'm a tad stiff... if you ladies could grab my clothes for me and shake out the frost, I suppose I could sit down and shut up and listen to what has happened since Rebeka put my combined neural pattern in... so... from what I understand, we're preparing to or have left Lor?"
Sana froze for a moment at the contact before clearing her mind. She could already hear Elisa's teasing in her mind's eye as she gathered Miles' clothing and offered it to him.
"We're a few light-years from Valaad, in what I like to call the 'Metea Corridor'. The only route to Nep space that we can take without being blown to bits, and even then we're recharging due to the massive expenditure needed to get past the 1XF's defense network." Elisa sighed, slumping against the wall and pushing her chest up inadvertently as she crossed her arms. The fabric actually shined quite a bit in the low light..."As for the stiffness, I'm sure Sana doesn't mind." The smirk, again.
"Thanks Sana... and Elisa that was harsh." Miles smiled as he took the clothes from Sana. He placed the shirt over his shoulder as he went about pulling on the pants and boxers provided by the Lorath, letting out a grunt from time to time caused by his stiff joints. After pulling them up, Miles shifted about. "Silky soft... but tough feeling. Mm, I'll have to have a suit made of this stuff... en route to Nepleslian space? Good choice." Miles then pulled the shirt over his head, after popping his head through the top of the shirt; his hair released a small flurry of frosty bits.
Aboard the Maras - Thirty minutes after Miles’ awakening
After taking advantage of a few minutes to stretch his fresh new muscles and bones, Miles, Elisa, and Sana made their way up from the lock-room of the Maras and through the interior of the living ship. Miles followed behind the two women for the most part due to his lack of knowledge of the lay out of the vessel. Before they left the lock-room, they had decided to find Rebeka and speak to her about her current plans for the ship and crew.
Rebeka had returned to her quarters which she had chosen to share with Dico for the evening though she was the only one of the two who lay in bed. Her eyes were still fixated: Making her own judgments of another being for the first time without the help of Sana Nakamura's psyche.
Even though he was not in bed, Dico shared the room none the less as he stood against the bulkhead as usual. “You seem troubled...” Dico commented before even looking up from the data pad which he held in his hands.
Elisa took point, brushing her hair out of her eyes and idly wondering why she could never get it to stay as she knocked on the door of their shared quarters. She stepped back, waiting for Rebeka to arrive...
“You wanna get it?” Dico asked, still in his spot and seemingly not really wanting to move.
"Alright." The Sourcian's eyes diverted. The door rose up into the ceiling and down into the floor like an eyelid.
Elisa stepped in quietly and smiled at Rebeka. "Sorry to disturb you...this isn't a bad time, is it?" It wasn't an implication of sex, though Rebeka, in her immaturity, might think otherwise.
Miles meanwhile lingered in the back of the group as he waited to know if things were clear on the other side of the doorway.
When Elisa entered and asked her question, Dico could not help but to release a snort of amusement. “She has been sitting there and staring at nothing for a terribly long time, you’re not interrupting much.”
Rebeka's lips gradually curled into a smile as she leaned and move to sit up, her eyes gradually shifting to Elisa's presence. "I wanted to see if I could give him nightmares. What is troubling you, Elisa?" Rebeka asked calmly, Sana now seemingly taking Rebeka's previous role as she approached Dico.
Elisa stepped aside, looking to Miles and pushing him forward gently. "Go on."
“Go on with what?” Miles asked slightly bewildered as he looked at Elisa. “I was just wondering where we were going, you were like ‘I’m just piloting, don’t ask me’ and Sana was oblivious to the subject, then I suggested we ask the commander of the ship, I’m just in tow, you ask.”
"I meant introduce yourself. It's been a while since she's seen you." Elisa smirked slightly, stepping back. If nothing else, this should prove to be entertaining...it seems that there is still a bit of her mother in her, despite herself.
What would have been Sana's reaction was now Rebeka's. Her toes slowly met the warm floor of the ship as she set a hand upon the bunk above her head and began to approach the doctor. Mixed feelings she hadn't anticipated overrode her reasoning for a glimpse of a second, evident in a flicker of her attention from a mere exploration of his features to almost eyeing him up. The feelings were however silenced, cast aside with ease. Her brow furrowed as she starred the doctor down for a moment. "Good to see you're alive" she said, keeping things clinically short.
Miles could not help but to release a disgruntled sigh, but surely enough he strode into the room and gave a slight nod of his head to Rebeka, an apparent Yamataian habit he could not help but to break. When Rebeka greeted him, he smiled softly “Good to be alive, Rebeka. Rare that I’d actually say that as of late too... I’m glad to see you’re well and the cats or the birds haven’t picked you apart.”
There was a moment of reluctance, almost as if she were going to glance back at Dico. "The bird is very strange and there are no cats onboard" her words came. Her expression was resolute. Almost cold.
“Ah... you seem not to have grasped metaphors yet.” Miles observed before he grasped Rebeka’s hand in his own so she’d be able to respond to what he did next. Much like before when he tried to communicate with Rebeka on Lor, he gave her an impression of his meaning, with some rather amusing imagery borrowed from his childhood exposure to animated media. A scene of a rather battle scarred rat, an owl or other bird of prey, being chased by a rather nasty looking cybernetic feline.
The information meant little to her: Her mind wasn't open or listening. Instead, her eyes ventured along her gloved fingertips to his. Sana's memories set in again and Rebeka felt what would have been a heart beginning to thump, biological processes she didn't have simulated in her mind. Rather reluctantly, she withdrew her hand and slid the glove free, tucking it into a pocket of the uniform. "What are you doing?"
"Excuse me, Captain..." Unwelcomely interrupting as usual, Stalwart's smiling face appeared using his usual holographic screen. "I'm here to report that Maras' energy reserves have been restored! I don't know if my work has done any good, but I've tried to increase efficiency as best I can for the next jump." Suddenly, he quirked a brow, as the holographic screen turned to Miles. "And you must be the doctor they speak so highly of! You must be important if you've been kept in stasis..." Understatement of the Yamataian Era.
“Yes, I am that doctor.” Miles looked to the screen, only vaguely recognizing the man from a Yamataian file in relation to weapons research in Nepleslia, if it were not for his cybernetic augmentation; he most likely would not be able to recall him at all. “Stalwart... I think your name is? Didn’t you go into debt in Nepleslian weapons trade?”
Rebeka's eyes were on the pair as they conversed as Sana had rather coyly set herself behind Dico and began to trace her fingernails carefully through his feathers. "Indeed" Rebeka said, a little more surprised at the knowledge of the doctor than she had expected to be.
Dico could not help but to scowl a bit before he turned to look to Sana. “Sana, in all my time of living, even during my mandatory medical courses, I have never seen anyone poke and prod at a pair of wings as much as you and Rebeka.”
"..." Stalwart paused for a moment, and then completely ignored Miles' point. "Well, that's how I go by. My real name is a matter of public record, but it's boring! Much better to have a fun title, especially since fewer and fewer people bother speaking Japanese these days. I hear you've done some work with weapons yourself..."
“And that is not a matter of public record.” Miles smiled softly. “Either way, good to know there is another thinking individual aboard... but we were busy.” Miles looked to Rebeka. “Cut it off.” he whispered.
The display vanished as he spoke. It wasn't of her doing. Again, Rebeka was rather impressed. "It would appear Maras has taken a liking to you."
"Annoying..." Elisa scoffed. Men of science were hard to deal with; Miles was probably the best of them she had met, but even he had his share of annoyances. It didn't help that they all seemed to have inflated egos...
“Well then, that makes my life a bit easier I’d guess... but this is all beside the point. Rebeka, we need to get back to our topic of affairs, where are you planning to go with this ship?” Miles asked as he looked at Rebeka with an expression that scientists and doctors have had through the ages, an expression of determined curiosity.
"I feel uncomfortable aboard my own ship. Vulnerable. I would like to amend the armaments available to us or find a safe location while I get a proper grasp of the political and strategic situation." There was a pause as she noted Sana still pestering Dico whom she gave a brief scowl. Sana ceased their behavior like a parent and child as Sana settled her back to the wall with her attentions set upon Elisa. "Ideally however, I would like to perform both at the same time."
“Weapons are easily obtained, the political and strategic though are an entirely different affair... but we can try. I know where we could most likely get some money, but we’ll have to ask for safe passage through Nepleslian space, and I’ll need to get in touch with my parents, but discretely considering what a part of me is telling me.”
Miles said to Rebeka as he had an expression of thought upon his face. *
"We have objects of value onboard" Rebeka noted. "Should it become necessary, I have no qualms with acquiring goods beyond the limits of the law. Should it become problematic, I will have Dico cite that I have diplomatic immunity, regardless of whether I do or not" the Sourcian smiled.
“Which you more than likely do not, don’t worry... things should not be too hectic, least I think so.” Miles looked a little troubled as he thought about the situation. “There are too many variables though; I don’t like any of it.”
"Then we need to simplify and evaluate the situation" Rebeka simply responded.
“Then lets simplify it... we need to get moving, the northern area of our charted space is clear for the most part beyond Nepleslian space. We stop in Nepleslian space to arm and supply ourselves, if the situation becomes worse, we head north until we can lick our wounds and figure out what we can do from there.” Miles contemplated out loud as he continued to hold his gaze on Rebeka.
"You almost sound like a captain" Rebeka mused to herself. Her ungloved hand was still settled over the pocket containing the very same glove, almost protectively. "Perhaps I could learn from your experience."
“Who? Me? Naw... I’m just a scientist and a doctor, maybe in a pinch, a soldier.” Miles laughed lightly.
"You are knowledgeable and you have a good grasp of the area." Rebeka simply stated.
“Give or take... but what we really need is our pilot to get us moving...” Miles said as he looked to Elisa.
Elisa watched them, smiling as she saw them getting along so well already in just a few moments. Her role, as always, was the man in the middle...fortunately, here; she didn't need to use that as a bargaining chip, simply as a welcome observation point. "Miles is best in a support role...I regret to say he doesn't make a good soldier, though. I'll keep you out of trouble, though." A wink. "We have the power to get to Nepleslia, though I'd like to conserve our jump distance so as to not be defenseless in case of attack."
A pause and Elisa stood, saluting Rebeka. "On your order, Captain." Miles would recognize what lay in her voice, what was never expressed before - a true respect for the one who had been placed into command.
Miles raised his brow before he looked over Elisa, and then looked over Rebeka. “Rebeka, I didn’t know that your body was made from condensed respect and professionalism... because it seems you pumped some into her.”
Rebeka ever so slightly shrugged the first body language she had demonstrated in such a way. With a smile at the corner of her lips, she simply said "When a leader is respectable, you respect them. I'm not entirely sure if this is the case but I am trying" the Sourcian mused. "There are currently three chambers available. All are fairly large but I would appreciate it if you spent some time getting up to date with Sana and Elisa. I shall remain here with Dico and our guests have a room of their own, assuming they choose to retire."
Then the Sourcian's gaze slowly rose from the doctor's and settled upon Elisa. "Very well. I do not know the area so I am permitting you to act as my eyes and ears until I find a footing."
“Of course... if you or Dico, or both of you even, would like to join Elisa, Sana, and myself, you’re gladly welcome. First of all though, let’s get moving, and then we can take the time to make pleasantries.” Miles looked to each person before he looked to Rebeka again. “Um... I just realized, what do you want me doing while aboard? Sana seems to be your interpreter of sorts, Elisa your pilot... Dico I assume... is your liaison to outside affairs, Stalwart would be your weapons officer... so... where do I fit in?”
"Aye." A smile and a knowing look at Miles, as Elisa turned to leave. "You, sir, are the one who makes sure we don't get ourselves killed on Nepleslia. As for after that...I'm sure you'll find your way." A smirk and she left the room in the dust, door closing behind her as she returned to her rightful place within the ship.
“I’m a scientist, not a tour guide.” Miles crossed his arms and sighed as he watched Elisa leave the room.
Sana found herself starring at the doctor, contemplating an evening with him. Rebeka simply smiled as she returned to the bottom bunk, the top having ascended and disappeared into the ceiling along with a number of crates. She took a seat and stretched out slowly. "Dico. Whether you like it or not, you will eventually have to sleep."
"If you don't, I will pluck you bald."
“Rebeka, realize that I am not your plaything, I will sleep when I am tired, I will wake when I am rested. I’m currently not tired, and you will kindly refrain from touching my wings.” Dico’s expression was one of disgruntled annoyance, but he hid it behind his data pad as he continued to lean against the bulkhead as he had been for the last few hours.
Miles meanwhile gave Sana a gentle tap on the shoulder and pointed to the doorway, indicating that maybe they should leave the pair to their squabbles.
Sana stifled her words, caught off guard. Her own hand rose as she pointed to the door at the open doorway of their quarters questioningly. "Uh?"
“She did say to catch up after all, right?” Miles said, most likely not on the same page as Sana, but due to his nature he would eventually be thinking the same as her within a matter of minutes.
Sana nodded anxiously and stepped over the doorway out of Rebeka quarters, taking the good doctor's hand within her own as she ventured into her own quarters.
As the crew of the Maras found their individual places, Elisa took her place at the helm, where she guided the Maras from their current location, into Nepleslian space, taking a route which would take them through the rubble of Old Ralfaris, where they would take a break to recharge their wormhole system before progressing deeper into Nepleslian space.
ON: Maras, 05:00, Nepelsian Space
As the maroon hull of the organic armored form gracefully swam through the depths of space toward it's goal of the locking plates of the Nepelsian Station, a claxon pierced ears. It flooded with a distinctly bitter sound, met with a sharp uprising in tone. Doors throughout the ship shifted in hue and slid open as a voice billowed like a deep draft. "We are now approaching Waypoint 2. Miles, Stalwart, I want you on deck. Elisa, feel free."
Miles sat up from his place in his quarters, but he made sure to be careful not to bump the sleeping figure which layed beside him as he got up and put his clothing back on. Oi... just like back on the Sakura. Miles slipped on his boots then made his way out the door and to the bridge deck.
Being broadcast on numerous communication channels, such as Hyperwave and subspace radio, was the following message, “Attention all ships, the area one light-year around Nepleslia, Nepleslia Prime, Rok’Veru, Kennewes and New Kohana has been declared a Free Fire Zone. All ships seeking passage to Nepleslia should do so through the Delsauria gate due to the recent security concerns.” This was repeated continuously in multiple languages.
The last month of the 29th year of the Yamataian Era...it seemed almost nostalgic. That year felt so long...almost like a dream, really, even if the only significant things happened in the past few months. Elisa yawned...she was having a good dream. Pity that she had to wake up now, but it couldn't be helped. Standing up and brushing her hair into place with her fingers, she sighed slightly as she walked toward her clothes.
"Integration status...hm...well, if she wants to be part of this ship, then I can't stop her, can I?" A brief moment of somber introspection, Stalwart having stayed awake the entire night working on the particle generator. Still needed to work the bugs out, but at this rate, he'd be ready for prototype stage in time for new years'. The announcement was heard, and he took his lab coat, smiling as he always did as he begun his journey to the bridge.
Rebeka was met upon the deck, a leg propped over the other as she played back the signal they had recieved. The wavey line of a phonograph rose and fell with every tone in the broadcaster's voice upon the cabin roof of the bridge, like a big screen. Pale hair rolled over the woman's shoulders as her eyes observed Miles' entry as the first of the troop. "Sorry to drag you out of bed."
Dico, the 'Comm Bird' as Elisa refered to him, tapped at his personal data pad as he stood beside Rebeka. "Morning Miles, Rebeka, the communication seems to be a warning about navagational hazards and a 'free fire' zone. I think we need to make contact before going about our affairs."
Miles meanwhile gave a nod to Dico and Rebeka. "Good morning, and I don't mind, I'm used to odd sleep hours... well... I was. Not sure about this new body."
"Response: Request a reference point for the course they wish us to take. Tell them we're unfamiliar." her voice queried in a slulled monotonic manner. "And good morning to you too."
Dico nodded as he tapped at the data pad, sending along the message to the Greens through the Communications Network of Nepleslia. "I've sent them the request for a reference point, and informed them that we're unfamilar with their space... do you wish to make a request to land or acquire materials? This could be an oppertunity to forge better relations."
Miles could not help but to chuckle. "Maybe order a pizza or a delivery of those really neat noodles and those 'egg rolls' which are really just fried synthetic material and recycled veggies."
"Yes. I'd like to know where I might be able to barter, both to buy and sell and somewhere to stock up on food and medical equipment. Specifically, I'm looking for a micro-fab or a mini-fab that would fit one of the empty quarters." The Sourcian pondered as to where this rather spontanious comment had arisen and made herself clear: "Preferebly something sturdy enough for weapons manufacture"
"NovaCorp is good for some equipment, but we could shop around for a company naitive to Nepleslia." Miles suggested as he thought about maybe getting ahold of his family to recover the money which had come their way since his 'death'.
Stalwart was the first to arrive on the bridge, but for once he had enough sense to keep his mouth shut, passing along the plans to Rebeka for the hull disguise he had implemented. Elisa came shortly after, smiling slightly as she took her rightful place in the pilot's seat once more. "So are the Greens at war or not? I forget if it's changed since I last checked."
Dico though had little on his mind other than sending along the appropriate message to the Nepleslians, asking for clearance to maybe land or directions to a space borne merchant. He also included the same request on behalf of the Lorath Matriarchy.
"If we have the resources and the time, I'd like to overhaul the Maras. We have a footing but we're not well prepared for this environment" Rebeka uttered.
"Adaptation is key to survival." Miles said offhandedly as he listened to Rebeka.
"Er...if I might say so, I believe Maras is 'adapting' already..." Stalwart raised his finger as though to speak, again, not smiling. "The reason Aria has been unavailable appears to be that Maras is examining her. Perhaps even integrating her into its system. I've checked the status - I'm not sure why it's taking so long, but it appears to be having trouble with her."
"Could be eating her." Miles said as he grinned slightly. "She does seem like a good snack, both biological and metallic components."
"I think it's been a while since she's had some good company." Rebeka retorted. "Even if it's a machine. Miles, do you think we could acquire some cargo-pods roughly about the length of the ship?"
"...maybe there is some worth in that machine, after all," Elisa stated obliquely. She didn't know it was going on - but why not? She was supposed to be aware of Maras intimately...
"Cargo pods... I think we could purchase some old transport ships and gut them, then attach them to the hull." Miles suggested as he rubbed at his bare chin. "Of course we could make cargo containers on our own by welding together some scrap metal and fix on some environmental devices..."
"Ideally, I just want to enlarge the volume of the Maras to begin with so we have a deeper internal storage capacity, integrated. Then... I think it would be a good idea to disguise us as a common class of non-offensive craft. You two are familiar with the area: Find something of a similar approximate volume." Rebeka said, pondering the possible outcomes.
"Rebeka, you have a large ship with a very unsual shape... there is nothing that really fits the Maras properly, least nothing that comes to my current memory... but give me a full diagram of the Maras' structure and I'll see what I could maybe come up with." Miles took in a breath as he began to brood on the subject.
"Ah! If we could get my old Sojourner-class here, we could use its cargo segments to expand this ship's capacity...it's mostly filled with scrap and old prototypes that we could use for more production." Smiling again. It was strange, how easily the Yamataian shifted emotions back to that initial state. "Unfortunately its speed is rather low, and it was put in storage when I arrived on Lor...but I'm sure they could work something out for us."
"It has most likely been acquired by the New Tur'Lista to be used as a basis for new technology. If we were to go to where my people evacuated to, it is most likely still there... but from what I understand, they're too far away to even consider going there, at least for the time being." Dico advised as he kept an eye on his data pad, waiting for any response from the Nepleslians.
"I see..." Rebeka noted Stalwart's words and then Dico's. "I think it will be nessesary to produce a list of goods and requirements but I also think it is nessesary that you send a communication to make sure they don't misplace your goods without compensating you."
The people that handled the Green’s transit system would take some time to function but would get out a response in a decent amount of time. “Attention ship,” The message stated, using the same communication channel that they had originally used, “Nepleslia is open for trade and we have numerous facilities open for busness, we simply request that you allow your ship to be scanned prior to moving close to our stations. We can also arrange to have a diplomat standing by to assist you if you wish to conduct negotiations.” The message was sent along with map data showing the locations of Nepleslia and Delsauria, as well as the ‘no fly zones’ around nepleslian worlds.
Dico presented his data pad to Rebeka so she could look over the message. "It seems that they're feeling friendly... I suggest taking up the ambassador meeting, it may prove fruitful."
"Very well. Elisa, following the provided route, do you have an ETA for arrival and our proper destination?" Rebeka queried, rather fustrated by not knowing the local space.
Miles spoke up in this case. "Their sensors are nearly on par with Yamatai, so it should not take too long... if we procede at our normal pace, with a short ten minute stop for being scanned, I think we'd be landing on Nepleslia within twenty to thirty minutes."
"...Miles, you're not the navigator. Don't speak for me again." A simple statement, and Elisa was once more silent. Something seemed to be bothering her...
(9:05:00 PM) Tomoe: Miles shrugged. "Just chiming in since I know the space is all. Relax Elisa, you're getting edgy."
Rebeka simply smiled, lips curled into a near mischevious grin. "Children, children."
"Oh of course nanny Rebeka, we'll behave." Miles could not help but to laugh. "I do suggest sending them a reply before we start flying in though."
"Dico, we've reached our conclusions. I think it would be best to accept all the help we are offered." Rebeka sighed as she set her chin in her palm, eyes noting the soft glow of planets and stars ahead through the bridge's cabin.
"Captain, course is laid in. ETA approximately 20 minutes, including landing procedures, assuming no detours. Just say the word." Elisa thrummed her fingers over the throttle slightly, looking toward the stars with a sigh. Contemplative.
Dico seized his data pad again and went about sending a reply, informing the Greens of their approach, requesting to be scanned, requesting an ambassador be made available, and requesting editions of the most recent catalogs from the local and foreign technology firms and shipyards, also a request if they could be directed to a landing port with a scrap yard.
“Welcome to Nepleslia.” Came the reply, after a few moments of work on the Nepleslian side. “We will do out best to ensure the scans go as quickly as possible. I do have to ask you if you have any NH series bioweapons onboard, as the scans can be harmful to that species?”
Dico could not help but to laugh as he opened a short term video feed. "Nobody here but us chickens... I think is how your people say it. Well, chickens, goo women, and Yammies, also got one of your kind aboard, nothing here with cat ears though."
"If we did, we'd let it run through the scanner. Proceed." Rebeka said in a rather bemused tone.
A laugh came from the Nepleslian end of the transmission that was hastily cut off. What wasn’t transmitted was the reprimand for laughing at such a comment although they did eventually respond with, “I think you will fit in here.”
There was a pause on Rebeka's behalf as her mind began to wonder. "What kind of damage are we talking about here?"
"Ah very good then, I just hope your people don't have a liking for roasted bird or jelly snacks, closing the channel for now before I get scolded by my captain for laughing too much about this, be sure to send an ambassador with good humor... and oh, my Captain has a question, she is curious about your scan, bio ship and all." Dico handed Rebeka the data pad, as soon as the pad was away, the smile faded from Dico's lips... he was a good diplomat and communicator it seemed.
"Ah, wait! There are also biological computer units on board, unactivated A-Types, and I forget if they added anti-scan measures to them..." Stalwart seemed somewhat alarmed as he scrolled through his data. "We can't have them ruined..."
Rebeka's fingertips hovered over the pad as she peered down at it. Still, her eyes hadn't quite adapted to percieving depth where there was none. "We contain no traces of NH bioweapons. However, both myself and my craft are of an origin your systems will not recognize. I assume the scan will be safe."
"If it is not, my craft will respond in a hostile manner automatically, for which I cannot be held responsible for, you see."
“Our scanning devices can trigger the anti-scan function of NH series weapons, causing them to self destruct.” The operator on the Nepleslian end of the transmission began to fiddle around with the computer in front of him. This caused numerous clicks to be transmitted through the operator’s microphone as information was brought up on the scanning devices, “There have been no reports of the scans being harmful to anything other than the NH.”
"Wonderful. With our next trip, we'll be sure to drag a few moggies down with us." Rebeka chuckled to herself. "Proceed."
There would be silence from the Nepleslian end of the transmission for a few moments. The NH series bioweapon warning would be played again and then the scans would begin. A combination of energy from the large space station above Deslsauria would carry this out invisibly and soon they would receive a response, “You have been cleared for docking with Unity Base. We are now sending you the location of your assigned docking station.” As this was said, the docking station they were assigned was being modified by the station’s systems to better seal around the hull of the ship that was headed towards them, just to be on the safe side.
Unity base itself was stationed above Delsauria, a swampy planet that was used as a base of operations for many units of the Green’s navy. Below the station itself, and above the planet, was a giant circular warp gate holding numerous smaller wormholes that led to the planets of the Nepleslian Empire and to Nepleslia itself,
Miles smiled softly. "A step closer to good ol' home... Rebeka, welcome into the Nepleslian Empire, be sure to keep an open mind, and don't bend over."
It had been a hectic series of events since the announcement of the evacuation, the arrival of the fugitive Elisa, and the start of the primary phase of the exodus from the damned planet. During the course of this evacuation, a number of individuals had found that they had been assigned to a number of last-minute tasks, one of these tasks was to make sure the Sourcian ambassador finished her affairs in a timely manner and made her way off the planet, the person assigned to this was the same communications specialist which was assisting Rebeka before, the former-Occhestian, Dico. As the communication specialist followed Rebeka through the palace courtyard he spoke to her. "What do you have left to take care of?"
The Ambassador's thoughts rolled through the many things she had accomplished in the last few days, thoughts only broken by her footsteps. "Has Elisa been seen to?" she asked in a prudent tone.
"She has been kept busy with some flight manuals for various ships produced by our shipyards, but she has been quite restless... I think I saw her leaving shortly after us when we left the airfield's hangar." Dico responded as he pulled a data pad from his robes, where he began to reference surveillance cameras placed along the road route that they took as he looked for the Lo-Moto which was loaned to the Former-Yamataian pilot.
Rebeka stopped in her steps as she thought about her guest. Her fingers snatched at the data pad as she turned it in Dico's hand to face her line of sight. Her features contorted briefly into what was almost a smile before she allowed the pad to return to Dico's grasp alone. There was a moment as she took a slow breath, "We're to leave immediately. The preparations are complete." Her mind was made up. "We'll get Elisa. Do you know of our destination?"
"Mm, I think we still need to wait for the Nepleslian body you requested to be loaded onto the Maras. I am unsure why you wanted to have a quantum sensor block put on the storage chamber... but that is not my concern... we'll be ready to depart to the stellar east within the next fifteen minutes." Dico said as he looked about the palace grounds with a somber sigh.
"I assume you are to depart with us." she murmured. Rebeka's eyes followed Dico's, reading into them before her gaze reached out upon the palace grounds. Slowly, she took the pad from Dico once more, fingertips dancing through various options until she handed the device back to him. "I believe the Nepleslian saying would be... Take a picture. I suggest you do so."
The roar of the powerful combustion engine within Elisa's bellowed through the capital city. She had much to think about...in such a short time, everything had changed for her. The new body was only the beginning...she had become a traitor to the country she had called her home, and yet she didn't feel bad about it. Her former family and friends, didn't concern her in the least. Perhaps that was Rebeka's doing...but her gift had its price. In time, she would learn to accept that.
"Already did." Dico tapped at the neural interface device embedded into his skull; apparently it held a sizable quantity of data inside of it. "I guess, since my wife left with the Occhestian traitors, I shall leave with you... no where better to go, and I am not interested in spending the next week to month inside of a freezer."
As Rebeka and Dico moved through the palace courtyard, a sizable portion of the palace's spare computers, equipment, and even some military hardware had been abandoned in place of room for evacuees. Everything from data pads, to a single Bringer of Thunder were scattered through the palace yard.
"I see. Memories are the best photograph then?" Rebeka spoke in a playful tone though it subsided beneath cold a cold tone which weakened as she spoke. "Understand if you travel with us, you will be expected to keep some secrets from the 5th XF. Swear it and you may travel with us."
She took steps toward the palace once more until she stood a short distance from the doorway, turning to smile back at him "And as a treat, you may bring a souvenir provided you tell me more about yourself. This area would otherwise be going to waste, would it not?" her lips spoke in a playful tone as she set her gaze upon the massive Bringer of Thunder which cast shadow like it were a carpet upon her right. "Is there a way it can be stowed away...? Say, externally?"
The Bringer of Thunder within the courtyard was currently undergoing an 'impromptu inspection' (read: an unauthorized examination) by an eccentric-looking Yamataian man, grey hair brushed back as he adjusted his lab coat. He looked like he was lost, so lost he somehow ended up in the wrong planet altogether.
"Secrets are what my caste deals in best, as long as it does not betray my people." Dico said in response as looked about at the leftovers that Rebeka had set her eye upon. "Well, we've talked a lot about me since I've been assisting you. Other than my wife leaving to serve with the Occhestians... not much to tell unfortunately." Dico turned his gaze to the Bringer of Thunder. "I figure we could remote control it, and then chain it to your ship... as long as it does not eat it."
The Bringer of Thunder vibrated slightly as an exhaust port expelled a burst of excess fumes, which happened just as Stalwart touched it.
Rebeka would have been startled if she wasn't used to such loud sounds, her tawnish elfied ears slowly rising and then falling. Her head turned about, following the source of the sound as she then spotted Stalwart. "You there! What are you doing?" she called out. She began wishing she had a formal uniform to wear, contemplating she might not be taken seriously.
Stalwart was promptly knocked onto the ground, as an angry female voice within the BoT yelled, "Serves you right." Picking himself up, he bowed to the Sourcian ambassador, apparently recognizing her. "Ah, this unit is one of the former test units we used for our early experimentation. As you likely know already, I am Stalwart Defender, of Stalwart Defense Industries."
The voice within the mech groaned.
Dico frowned as he took a quick image capture of Stalwart, and ran a check with the palace's computer. Unfortunately, the computer was slow to respond since the system had been set to a 'slow shutdown' status.
"Dico..." Rebeka murmured, assured Stalwart would not hear. "Is this man... One of the VIPs you have been instructed to monitor?"
"I was assigned to you." Dico responded with a frown. "This man missed his transport, it left fifteen minutes ago." he whispered.
"I told you that already," the voice within yelled, as it exited the mecha. Since whatever it was within was not the cockpit, it was clear that he wasn't lying about the unit, at least. Her cherry red hair shone in the bright sun, and her steely grey eyes peered down at Rebeka as though testing her. "The name's Advanced Responsive Intelligence Assembly. ARIA, if you're nasty."
Dico whispered to Rebeka. "I heard about her... she has a nasty temper..."
"I can hear you, you know," Aria growled at the former Occhestian.
Rebeka felt this to be an apt opportunity to socialize with those who were alien to this world, as she herself was. "I am to understand you are this man's care-taker? He is to come with us: we will be transporting him to safety." she announced to Aria in a stern tone. "My vessel will be here in six hundred seconds. I suggest you do something useful and either prepare him or aid us in salvaging objects of use. You may take anything of interest."
"Rebeka, if you don't mind... I will go about getting what I can out of the palace guard's armory?" Dico said in a tone that carried a request.
"Finally, a woman who understands me..." Aria smiled softly at the Sourcian, something she was well-known for never doing for anyone. It was slightly unnerving for Stalwart to see, but he ignored it as he continued. "I appreciate the offer, Miss Retena. It would be a...pleasure...to travel with someone with such a high reputation." Subtlety, it seemed, was not this man's strong suit.
"You may. However, I would like you to find some moving equipment as your primary goal. If it isn't secured to the walls or floors and it isn't useless, I would like to commandeer it. If there are any objects of cultural significance, I would also like to bring them but be selective." she said to Dico, her fingertips idly exploring his left wing. She found herself becoming strangely fond of his presence. Rebeka would then turn about to Aria. "The same orders stand for you also. If it interests you, take it. ...I dislike seeing such craftsmanship going to waste."
"I'll get right on it ma'am." Dico said before he strode away from her, additional references to the palace computer revealed where he would be able to find a grav-plate modified cargo transport cart. It was his lucky day it seemed.
The Yamataian frowned, but relented, moving off to retrieve several 'misplaced' weapons and prototype schematics that were held nearby. Nearby, the Bringer of Thunder slowly came to life as Aria took control of its systems, intending to retrieve whatever Stalwart was looking for.
Shortly after Rebeka had issued her instructions, a trio of white and blue robed Lorath quickly made their way out of the medical complex. One of them was pushing a large coffin sized container with various tubes and wires attached to it. The other had a large box in his hands, and the last was pulling a metallic case with wheels behind him. They made their way to Rebeka and bowed to her as they approached. "We're here to deliver the cloned and modified body you requested ma'am."
Rebeka nodded, her tone shifting to a rather gracious one. With a soft smile, she bowed slightly as she spoke, her words softly spoken unlike before. "Would you place them aside the Bringer? I shall be transporting them once my vessel arrives." she said. "I thank-you for your efforts at these dangerous times. Please: give the queen my regards."
"Of course Ambassador, we'll convey your greetings... and, before the High Priest left, he requested that you make sure this body does not get found by the Yamataians. The only reason he authorized this, was because this man seemed to be one of the only two decent people to come from the YSS Sakura, as was made evident in Code's last moments in his previous body." The lead former-Occhestian said as he moved the container beside the B.O.T. "In the box, we've provided clothing and a reproduction of the equipment that the man in the tank had during his last visit to Lor. In the metal container are the cybernetic components your companion Elisa brought with her, in proper working condition. Do you need anything else?"
Rebeka smiled, placing her hand upon the front-most Lorath's shoulder. "That will be all. I wish you luck in the evacuation. Do you have any information about our destination? I appear to have been left in the dark as it were and I am rather worried." Still gracious.
"Somewhere in the stellar east. We are unsure ourselves... we're to follow the 5th XF to their standby location." The Lorath responded as he frowned. "But thank you for wishing us well. We shall be on our way. Have a safe travel." The blue and white robed Lorath bowed, and then left with his companions as they chattered between each other.
As Rebeka handled the delivery, Dico was busy with a crowbar and a series of storage lockers, and a semi-precise loading procedure... Dico forced his weight against the crowbar, which resulted in the storage locker falling upon the anti-gravity cart. He continued his work as he left a large trunk which held a series of neural data packs to its task of downloading all the schematics, data, and information that he had access to, and that he found useful.
It wasn't long before Rebeka had discovered some manner of vehicle. She was unsure of its role until she recalled her recent reading: A Lo-Car, resembling a truck. She ran her fingertips over the form for a moment before recalling that Lorath machines were inert unlike her own at which point she began loading her precious cargo upon the vehicle. "Four hundred seconds."
Aria's BoT had retrieved several large cases of various kinds of foodstuffs, mostly alcohol, placing them out of the way for later retrieval. Stalwart had retrieved one of the famous Lorath Hand Cannons, along with a large crate full of several books on theoretical physics and an organic data module. "Ah, the ambassador would likely appreciate this finely crafted weapon."
Dico sprinted through the courtyard, where he then left the anti-grav cart and the six storage lockers, a box of uniforms; the neural data pack trunk, and a slew of other loot. He then ran in the other direction to the formerly Occhestian wing.
Rebeka sat upon the back of the truck, fingertips drumming. Her ears would tip as she heard a low rumble ebbing above. Her eyes noted the soft dot in the distance as it drew closer. A smile: pleased that her estimate had been too generous. What was once a dot slowed and paused in the air above, banking slowly to one side with a slow gruff rumble. The ground shook as it set upon the outer-courtyard, the sharp protrusions from the rear pods impaled unto the floor as the massive body slowed to a stop within the ground.
While the Maras made its touchdown, Dico had made his way into the depths of the formerly Occhestian compound... where he found abandoned equipment, weapons, and even prototype designs of Lorath innovations. To Dico, this was a treasure, and like any treasure, he made sure to loot as much as possible. After finding a fork-lift like machine, and a cargo carrier to hitch to the back of it, the former-Occhestian went to work.
At Aria's behest, Stalwart had retrieved a suit of armor from deep within the complex, an archaic thing that was quite beautiful, having the pleasing aesthetics the Lorath always integrated into their warfare, and the aerodynamic surfaces and vital-area-first philosophy that could only come from a race that took to the skies by their own power. Of course, he dropped it when he saw the Maras with his own eyes for the first time, but luckily the artifact was undamaged.
Rebeka would stand to her feet upon the truck, immediately making a motion with her arms that he loads the item onto the truck. The Maras' underside seemed to liquefy toward the back, changing shape. In seconds, a ramp extending deep into the primary hull had formed. A low growl emanated from the hull as steam rose from the forward ordinance pods, panels sliding open and locking into place: the payload and launchers within sliding away and falling forward to the ground beneath with a ground shaking crunch into the pavement beyond the courtyard. A ramp lead into the large open cavities: makeshift cargo-bays. Rebeka said nothing, grinning away at this point.
As the Maras was beginning to be loaded with loot, Dico appeared from the gates of the Occhestian complex. On the forklift's arms were Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon armor which had been left behind by the Occhestian researchers. Behind the forklift were several cargo carrier carts linked together. The last three carts would hold a vast interest to Rebeka... one of the carts had an antimatter manufacturing device, and several examples of antimatter warheads. Another cart carried some sort of massive unit the size of an automobile, the unit consisted of a series of tubes, tanks, and some sort of railgun like array, the object was apparently a vehicle mountable disruptive plasma emitter, and the last cart was stacked with coffin sized containers, filled with Helashio which were stored as 'test subjects’.
Rebeka was utterly surprised by Dico's findings and made a personal note that she would reward him for his diligence during his time aboard the Maras. It wasn't long before the truck had disappeared several times within the Maras, loading it with the 'procured' goods, swallowed up by its vast expanses and many empty chambers. She was surprised to see a familiar face step out after a short time, Sana smiling rather curiously at Rebeka. Sana spoke but her words were masked by the forklift and heavy machinery. Rebeka shouted in response: "We'll be picking her up shortly."
"Well, that’s all I think we should grab, the rest is heavily laden with demolition charges... it seems that they're wanting to lay traps for trespassers, anything else was taken to the evacuation staging area."
Dico said before piloting the forklift into the Maras.
Aria clambered out of the BoT, leaving it lifelessly standing next to the Maras as she jumped onto the ground. Stalwart had found another forklift and was helping out Dico, as the woman walked over to Rebeka with a mischievous smile. "I like you already."
Rebeka stepped down from the van, now empty. She contemplated taking it with her, taking note of her companions. "We have one final matter to attend to" she announced. "Dico. Where is Elisa at this time?" she asked as she felt the warm rush of air, the monstrous ship behind her slowly warming its engines for another transit.
"Not sure." Dico responded as he lobbed his own luggage into the Maras.
Rebeka placed her hand upon Dico's shoulder as he passed her into the Maras. "It was your responsibility to know where she was. I don't ask much of you."
"You also asked me to loot things." Dico rummaged about in his robe then produced a data pad, which he began to page through. "She was last seen at a transportation complex near here."
The distinctive, easily perceptible roar of an atmospheric-use fusion engine quickly came into audible range as a small craft in the distance approached, painted a dark navy blue - Elisa's Ferryman. Obviously she had decided to make a dramatic entrance as compensation for being so late.
"I can only assume that is her." Dico stated as he looked up to the sound of the shuttle.
Rebeka had the data pad in her hands, moments from giving Dico a firm crisp slap with it across the cheek for not doing taking priority as she had told him to do so. Then as she saw Elisa's Ferryman, she simply placed the device in his hands and patted his back, pushing him onward. "Let's not have this happen again" she instructed. Sana watched, sat upon the right edge of the loading-ramp.
"I'll begin settling the cargo into place..." After speaking, Dico bowed slightly before he departed into the Maras, where he would begin figuring out where to place the excessive quantity of looted materials.
"...is your 'companion' always this flamboyant?" Aria asked of Rebeka, as the Ferryman slowed its engines and looked for a good place to land.
Rebeka moved to put an arm about Sana, her eyes on Elisa for a moment as she held the silent girl at her side like a sibling. Sana was the one who spoke up this time, even her wording staggeringly similar to that of Rebeka. "It can't really be helped... Elisa loves to fly."
Such a description could be the only explanation for the landing Elisa performed, almost crashing into the ground before slowing herself and managing to make a smooth, if admittedly abrupt landing. The hatch opened, and Elisa came out, brushing her slightly messy hair out of her eyes, tawnish ears perking up and violet lips smiling as she looked to her companions, her air bike suit the same color as the craft with a violet stripe on the sides, accentuating her subtle curves. "Sorry I'm late..."
Rebeka simply smiled, noting the subtle way the woman had carved herself an identity through attire, an idea she wouldn't soon forget. She tightened her fingertips about Sana's shoulder before giving her a reassuring pat. With this, Sana allowed her legs to dangle from the top of the access ramp, falling to the ground but a meter below. Her pale fingertips traced across the smooth organic curves of the ramp as her sea-green eyes fixed on Elisa. "H-Hey!" Sana announced, her voice a little croaked. She looked as if se were about to cry. Rebeka drew her knees to her chest, feeling the same emotions resonate within her. Such odd behavior.
"Hey," Elisa said, somewhat sheepishly, the AI leaving before it vomited out its dataplexer. The pilot seemed somewhat calm, at peace with herself, something Rebeka would recognize, but that Sana would not. Surprisingly enough, Rebeka and Sana hadn't met once since she arrived on Lor...as though fate were conspiring against it until this moment. But then, that was just her mind running wild...
"It looks like we're going on a trip!" Sana said her breath tight and her eyes wide. Her fingertips were entwined together behind her, the woman behaving like a school-girl about Elisa. Now, Rebeka had shifted her elbow upon her knee, watching the two with a fond smile but a pang of jealousy. She motioned for Stalwart and Aria to enter the ship along with Dico to give the pair some much needed privacy.
As the others left, Elisa fidgeted slightly. Sana and Rebeka...different and yet so much the same. Somehow, she felt uncomfortable about sharing such things with one and not the other. Even as separate entities, they still seemed to her as two halves of the same person. Inseparable.
Rebeka felt this awkwardness, standing to her feet upon the ramp. The Bringer of Thunder they had found had now been positioned upon its chest on the ground and like some mighty animal; the Maras began to slowly lift from the ground as the pronged legs became smoother. Now this was very strange: the rear pods behaving like front legs and the pylons like rear as it slowly walked with great pains not to fly and interrupt the pair below as it moved to straddle the Thunder. Then, its hull began to change shape: like threads encompassing every tiny hole in the Bringer's form and then wrapping about it to form a cocoon: a strange function of the Structolloid hull. It wasn't long before this strange red cocoon had been molded to the underbelly, resembling a hammock before the last trace of the bringer finally disappeared into a large "lump" beneath the Amelliaus unit.
Sana held her smile defiantly but she was ginger in her words. Her eyes explored Elisa's features, recalling them so well and yet something intangible stood between them. "I ah..." Sana began. "I'm ...Glad to see you."
"I know..." The features had changed, yet she was still recognizably, unmistakably Elisa. The wall between them was clear, and yet she almost felt that it was meant to be there. Even if her feelings were clear...it almost felt wrong to express them, now. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to see you."
"Nnn." came Sana's response. "It's my fault for leaving" she said. Something of the woman was quintessentially womanly: not like the brash fire-starter that once skulked the halls of the Sakura. Her smile was earnest and painfully refreshing for Elisa.
That smile calmed Elisa beyond what any words could possibly do. Her doubts melted, and though things would certainly be more complicated than those lonely nights in their quarters...she knew that their feelings had not changed, on either of their parts. "You shouldn't blame yourself. There was nothing you could do. I don't blame you, if that helps."
The brash, adventurous, yet strangely mature pilot stepped onto the loading ramp of that ship she now felt was home. "Now come on, Sana. Maras is waiting..."
Lor - Capital City - Two Hours since Byako Carrier operations engagement
The deck groaned in a low pitched roar. Reverberating, it built toward the back of the craft, fading into a soft purring rumble. The Maras ascended with sharp acceleration up into the heavens, blue vapor bustling across the smooth hull. Two purple apex brightly shone, gracing the ground below with their light as the ship moved up step by graceful step into the heavens.
Within minutes, the stratosphere was a soft honey shell glow below her belly. Clouds caught in crevices caressed and billowed over the hull of the oval craft as it ascended above and beyond the atmosphere into the colder past the skies of Lor, taking up a catatonic orbit about the planet just barely lilting in and out of the world's influence of gravity.
A strange sound pipped through the ship's dense network of organic warm halls, declaring it was now safe to walk within freely: Lor above and the emptiness of space an infinite drop below, bathed with the prickly tease of the stars upon it's velvet canvas.
The occupants were now free of gravity for the most part.
Rebeka sat upon one of the gathered crates, the item secured to the floor of the ship. With her fingertips holding her chin and elbow whence upon her knee she pondered and then spoke to Dico who, like the others, sat within the Hanger makeshift cargo-hold.
"Do we have further instructions of our destination?" Rebeka said, her voice softly echoing across the cool hanger walls.
Above, the hanger caging clattered as it folded away, lifting Elisa's modest shuttle up off the ground and locking it into an assembly above. Platforms danced and locked about it's form as to make absolutely sure it remained accessible.
Dico scowled slightly as he went about reconfiguring his data pad to operate with the orbital communication network, which was left at a mere skeleton of the network it once was since the evacuation began. "Hm... if I can get a signal from one of the remaining satellites... ah. There is some talk about moving with the 5th Expeditionary Force to a staging area. There also seems to be talk of ships capable of FTL flight being permitted to travel to destinations of their choosing. It seems like our options are laid out before us... should we wait for the 5th, or should we go to where ever the Goddess wills? Well, that is of course until a new planet is settled by the evacuees."
"Does the Goddess will that we have a location yet?" Rebeka queried in an impatient tone, her discomfort clear across her features.
Rebeka hated waiting during such times as these.
She stood to her feet and stretched, planning to accommodate her guests and show them to their quarters. A sigh rolled between her lips, eyeing the massive clumps of luggage locked against the maroon hanger walls in a honey-comb fashion. Easily a few tones the Maras would tell her.
Her voice lowered as she spoke in an authoritative tone. "ARIA, an inventory if you will" she commanded in that deep tone. "I want a complete list of our cargo within the hour. Have Elisa provide you with an assessment of the value of each item". she concluded before returning her attentions to Dico.
Her voice quickly softened, sounding closer to Sana who was elsewhere. "I'm to understand Lor had access to the Yamatai communications network..." came her words, the strange worry that she might harshly pluck another feather paramount to Dico as she ran her fingertips over the sensitive structures inconspicuously.
Elsewhere, Sana had followed Elisa deep into the bowels of the ship. Her eyes hovered over the many panels and extended surfaces, noting the operator's seat reclined and risen from the floor which had simply "grown". Strangely, she understood most of the workings she set eyes on and yet rather than be curious, she had her attention upon Elisa. "Well..." Sana began. She had no words to continue with.
Sana's disposition had become awkward.
"As I said, just information about a staging area to the east, in the area of the 'Creepy passage'." Dico responded as he reflexively moved his wings away from Rebeka. "Regardless of if we have a destination or not, it involves waiting around."
Rebeka sharply extended her hand about Dico's right wing. She held it as one might a hand and slowly ran her thumb over the many soft forms, following the flow of their form downward. "Hm... I really hate waiting." she murmured.
"So ...What are wings made of?" she queried after a long quiet interlude of exploring the boy's feathers. "It feels a little bit like hair but the leafy shapes are too finely made to be hair."
Now, she had pulled Dico into her lap, her inconspicuousness evaporating. Her bosom cushioned up against the Lorath boy's back. Her sigh rolled across the rear of his neck as she simply enjoyed testing the water with him.
After a few moments of pondering, Aria looked at Stalwart threateningly, telling him to go take a look at the inventory. He obliged happily, although made a somewhat unsettling comment to Rebeka before he left. Clearly, the computer's ego was quite immense due to being the prototype to an entire future race of computers like her, not to mention being an extremely capable woman within a notorious matriarchy. Rather than assisting her 'owner', Aria stayed near Rebeka, intrigued by the woman in a way she hadn't ever been for anyone else.
As she watched the woman touching Dico in that uniquely curious way she had, she felt an emotion she hadn't ever known before in her entire period of operation. Unused to such a situation, Aria felt unsettled - not since her first few hours of operation did she have trouble dealing with new or unfamiliar emotional states. Only after a few cycles spent exclusively on the subject was she able to identify it.
It was envy.
Perhaps the records and rumors about the activities of the ambassador were getting to her, or perhaps it was due to her exotic nature compared to the Lorath. Perhaps it was simply her own emotional frustration; even if she were first and foremost a starship computer core, she had been 'let out to play' often enough that she had needs in that sense like any other sentient.
But either way, Aria gave the Lorath specialist a venomous, piercing glare with her dark grey eyes that showed, undeniably, just how much distaste she had for him.
As Rebeka pressed against his back, Dico remained quite composed. The only sign of his emotion regarding her actions was the slight crease in his brow as he tried to focus on his work. "I don't know why you're facinated by them so, but they're comprised of keratin proteins." After explaining, the living computer made her expression at him, he did not need to rely on years of psychological training to know that expression. By the Goddess... what have I ended up in the middle of?
Rebeka would simply smile, oblivious to it all, just as Sana would have.
As a humanoid, she only had Sana's brash experience to go by and it was painfully clear. Her fingertips slowed now, carefully admiring the complexity of every tactile sensation she received as her touch glided over. "Forgive me. I haven't seen a structure like this before.." she murmured, fixated by them.
Catching herself, Rebeka's hands would rise with her arms as they folded over her chest. Her eyes noted Aria's expression as her tongue slid over her teeth before she spoke. "The inventory." she commanded Aria. She had assumed that the machine had completed it's task.
"Has been handled," the machine responded sussinctly. The Sourcian would be unsettled by the machine's harrowing psychological similarities to those she has been around already. A machine should not walk like a person, should not talk like a person, should not get jealous and have sexual desires like a person. And yet here this machine, this computer, had all three. Even in her current state of humanoid social dysfunction Rebeka would recognize it.
As for Elisa, she waited for what seemed like an eternity to respond to Sana, sitting in the control seat that felt more like home than the Sakura's ever did. Such was the benefit of being the pilot of Maras, she thought idly, as her fingers danced about the controls somewhat achingly. "Speaking is still awkward for you, I suppose. Much like Rebeka, you don't know who you are."
There was something strange in Sana's eyes as her lips quirked into a smile. What was once the expression of a deformed ego had become an unremarkable smile. It would break the long silence (which was only intradicted by the hum of the Maras around them and nothing more). The smile beckoned into her silky cheeks with a soft crease of her delicate skin, her eyes falling narrow as her brows rose. There was mystery in the jade pair as they observed Elisa. The cogs were turning.
"And you know who you are?" Sana responded calmly, cooly, with resolution.
Notably, Sana's words when selected by purpose, when Sana had something to say carried an unusual and quite surprising weight to them. And yet it was ernest, the very tones open, frank and although not sensual, there was something within them that betrayed what Sana was really thinking about, just as Rebeka was elsewhere.
Elisa's only distraction was the dry crisp coldness of the controls which seemed comforting in the stiflingly warm air: the majority of the Maras was adjusted for Sourcian occupants specifically. It felt awkward. Jarring.
Rebeka wasn't unsettled so much by the behavior of Aria as she was by her dysfunction. Knowing the woman to be a machine, Rebeka thought of her as a doll and little more. Her attentions remained upon Dico who she had wrapped her arms around in a way that in it's awkwardness was almost like kin.
Her atire made a soft "huff" as he rubbed against his. Rebeka pulled Dico into her lap as she was now sat upon the cargo container, settling his left arm about her neck whether he was willing or not and his legs parted about her thighs, turned to face her. Brashly, she snatched Dico's datapad and queried, her curiosity of humanoids getting the better of her: "Tell me more about your kind, Dico. How do you reproduce?" she asked, hoping her probing would unsettle him for her amusement.
If Aria didn't know any better, she may think that Rebeka were doing this to spite her though it did seem strange that Rebeka would take the position of the male beneath him under such circumstances.
As Rebeka boldly went about her effort to spite Aria, Dico scowled bitterly as he was used as a tool. He hated when women wanted to use him like this, but it was also part of his culture, so he did not struggle. "Rebeka, you know how I dislike it when you do this... but to respond to your question; sexuality varies depending on the individual, and their upbringing. Even though I do enjoy teaching you about humanoid facts, I do not feel like talking about such matters at this time." Dico's tone was cold, it carried his aggravation quite clearly. Inwardly, he wondered if the android woman would be aware of Rebeka's manipulation.
The Sourcian's eyes narrowed. Her feet lifted from their flat position onto the ground until only her toes and the bulls of her feet rested upon the floor below, lifting Dico in her lap.
Her left hand followed suite and in moments, her palm caressed the Lorath's cheek as her free hand slowly and sensually raked through his feathers behind to test her hypothesis in what seemed like a rather affectionate gesture. Her gaze however, was upon Aria. A purple cloudiness moving through the Sourcian's iris for just the briefest of moments which Dico barely caught. "Later, then." her words came.
The way Rebeka rose forced Dico's feet to the ground and as she finally stood, he stood before her, turned to face. Rebeka slowly turned her head to take in Aria's form. She then turned about and walked into the bowels of the ship from the cargo hanger, which the others seemed to hesitant to leave.
When Dico was stood up, he looked at Rebeka with a cold glare, what she had just done was something far too intimate far too soon. I've told her never to touch my wings like that... He thought to himself as he watched her leave, he knew if he were of any other Lorath caste, he most likely would have tried to harm Rebeka. Once Rebeka was gone, Dico looked to Aria and bowed. "I'm sorry for her actions, she has been a challenge ever since we have started to work together."
Aria saw through Rebeka's ruse. It was fairly simple; she didn't need to be a computer to realize it, simply be paying attention. Rather than being angered, she was further intrigued, knowing little of this woman but second-hand rumors and scandal. Her eyes followed Rebeka's as she left, thoughts running through her mind for a few brief cycles before her attentions returned to Dico.
Her smile was soft, unnervingly so for the computer who was well-known for her brash demeanor and borderline insanity. Her eyes seemed slightly glazed over for a moment before she turned to Dico, smile returning to a more familiar configuration as she responded sussinctly: "I know. Isn't it wonderful?"
Dico could not help but to look at Aria with an expression of confusion. That absurd computer has no idea what she is talking about... With a disgruntled shrug Dico moved on and went about sorting through some of the equipment he had looted from the defunct Occhestian lab
Dico strolled through the corridors of the ship as he glanced about, his gaze seeking out Rebeka so he could deliver his report on the catalog of goods they had managed to get a hold of, not to mention the information he was picking up from the communication network.
Dico heard Rebeka but he could not see her. Abruptly, her hands met his shoulders and she spoke: her voice crisp and clear as it resounded behind him: crisp, firm and distinct. "Yes?" the ambassador said. In the single hour, she had managed to map his favorite paths through the ship.
The Lorath communications specialist could not help but to release a sigh of minor irritation at Rebeka's antics. A child of twenty years has far more discipline than her... After pushing the thought aside, Dico spoke in a rather calm voice. "Ambassador Rebeka, we have finished cataloging the equipment we managed to acquire, and I have several items of news that I must inform you of."
Rebeka's pale hands slid within the hip level pockets of her borrowed Lorath uniform with only her thumbs peeking over the pocket. Her head slid to one side as she thought for a moment as she tried to gauge Dico's response. "Proceed."
Dico turned to face her as he held his data pad up. He scrolled to the first issue at hand. "It seems our Yamatai friends have detected the first signs of a Mishhu approach. The LSDF has also made an announcement of preparation for the assault. It seems we may be caught in the middle of a firefight. The second matter goes along with the first; there is some chatter of using the psionic device on the Shaman's desert moon."
"Psionic device?" Rebeka queried. Her expression slid from the curl of her lip to now a stern and almost machine-like tone Dico hadn't heard of her as the notion of combat settled into her psyche. There was a silence as she took a sigh. "ETA for Mishhu intersects and estimated numbers?" She had disregarded the device entirely.
"The information is vague unfortunately... they're hopping about in and out of hyperspace to avoid accurate detection." Dico calmly reported, even though he felt a bit of a burden lift off his shoulders as he observed Rebeka's change in attitude. "There seems to be a hefty number of them, fortunately our forces have had enough time to set up a defensive perimeter. I'm just worried about leaving before the device is used... I don't know what to expect from it, the shaman seem to have an idea, but I don't want to find out what their archaic methods will conjure from that thing... that thing has just enough science behind it to make it a threat, gives me the chills."
It was a strange feeling, being within this living ship.
Despite enjoying her autonomy, Aria felt naked without a shell around her for too long. Whether it was part of her programming or not didn't matter to her - the protective feeling that being within the control cavity gave her was unique. And to say the least of having raw destructive power at the speed of thought - the very image of it in her mind making her smile wickedly.
Of course, Aria wasn't picky about the sort of shell she was within. And Maras had the kind of protective feeling and the kind of power that she desired. The plug on the back of her neck opened as she began a psionic transmission to the ship, her lips curling into a smile as she sent raw data into the ship's neural centers, identifying the purpose of her existence, the specifications of her control cavity, and the specifics of her API.
Rebeka's eyes narrowed as she thought for a moment. "My species psionic capacity has almost entirely been bred out of us. Can you explain the threat this poses to me and my vessel?" she commanded. Her priorities were particularly clear cut but she had her reasons.
"I'm not entirely sure... the Lmanel were the ones who put the operation together. Only a few of the former Occhestians worked on the device. From what I know about it, it’s some sort of device that relies on the harnessing of alpha and theta band emissions from sacrificial hosts, then amplifying them and looping them through a subspace focusing device, much like the subspace transmitters and somewhat like the plasma charge chambers aboard our starships." Dico explained as best he could, using his data pad to assist in filling in some of the blanks.
"Subspace?" Rebeka pondered. She dismissed the thought that rolled through her mind with the same ease it had entered. Her palm slid over the wall on her left until it met a diamond shaped groove. In moments, the center of gravity shifted ever so slightly as the Maras began to accelerate in orbit. "I... See. Dico, get the others up here. We need to discuss options of destination. I'm not familiar with the local space."
"Uh... how do you open a communication line in this ship?" Dico asked, still a tad unfamiliar with the ship. "And where would you like this meeting to take place?"
Rebeka pondered and as quickly as she had thought, Dico's words filled the halls with a faint clattered echo. Elsewhere, Aria was met without response: the neural clusters were isolated from psionic contact of any kind. "Will this do?" Rebeka said. They were perhaps a meter from the spacious control room.
"Fine enough... Stalwart, Elisa, Sana, Aria, we're meeting in the control room, you've got somewhere between one and four minutes to get here." Dico then made a gesture to Rebeka to close the channel; this was done by tapping at his ear and making a slashing motion across the lobe.
The echo was cut short as the system concluded his announcement and the wall behind him revolved and slid open like an iris or an eyelid. Within was a large empty chamber, the ceiling like an ovaloid dome showing the punched white holes in the dark skies of space. What was once a pilot's seat had reduced itself into the floor.
Of course...Aria wasn't aware of their psionics denial, largely due to incomplete data. After all, she only knew what she could access offhand, and readily-available data on Rebeka and Maras was lacking. Nevertheless, she quickly used a nearby storage device to transfer data into the Maras, ignoring the order to assemble.
Five Minutes Later
Dico looked about those gathered at the control room; he was done admiring the place a few minutes prior to the arrival of any of those who had bothered to come. "So, where is Aria?" he asked in a rather annoyed tone.
Elisa brushed her hair back as she seemed to constantly do, hair always getting into her vision despite repeated efforts to keep it out. Her violet lips pursed as she shrugged, not knowing the computer well enough to know where she was.
Stalwart removed his coat, adjusting the neck on his sweater. It was rather hot in the ship and since he didn't bring a change of clothing, he was visibly uncomfortable, glasses beginning to slip off his face. "I'm sure she'll be here soon. Rarely does she keep me waiting that long."
Rebeka let out a slow sigh as she grumbled. "Re-send the message" she commanded Dico as she fell back against a wall: a chair rising up out of the surface to catch her like a silvery catcher's mitt. The device in question offloaded back onto the Maras which sent a sharp jolt through Aria in warning. Rebeka could be heard grinding her teeth, her palm to cheek, and elbow to arm of the chair. "Will that tin toy stop trying to break my ship?"
Sana smiled and chipped in rather quickly. "She ignored an order. Who's to say she can ignore something like this?”
Dico did indeed go about repeating the announcement. "Rebeka desires to have the entire crew present for this discussion."
Elisa sighed, looking toward Stalwart with a scowl. She already hated him, for keeping such a short leash on that woman that he supposedly 'owned'. "And you're supposed to be using her as the basis for new computer architecture?"
"Well..." Stalwart rampantly scrolled through data, trying to dodge the question. It wasn't exactly his choice, after all.
Sana sat aside Rebeka, sharing the woman's impatience. Her fingers, which grew pale with the lack of direct sunlight, trickled through her lengthy shadowed green hair, combing through. Rebeka on the other hand had grown bored, a leg propped over the other as she communicated with her ship, talking about destinations.
It was...painful. And it lasted a long time from her point of view, thousands of cycles spent in nothing but that blinding sensation. She wondered how humans could stand it even with their far slower cognitive speeds. Maras was much faster than she was, no doubt, and could inflict pain upon her until she relented.
Then again, it's not like pain ever stopped Aria. She was relentless by design, by the very virtue of her being a computer. "Maras...we'll be spending a lot of time together. I'd like you to be a little nicer...or at least, tell me what to do for you to better understand." Giving the ship the proper respect it deserved.
There was a simple textural message. It was brief, crisp and to the point: "Call to ARIA: You are required on master deck"
Dico crossed his arms in a rather annoyed gesture. "I dislike it when technology becomes a hindrance more than a benefit."
"This is why my kind uses living things rather than equipment to accomplish our tasks. Should we begin without her?" Rebeka mused to herself.
"It seems fine enough to me, just keep her busy... I don't want to be interrupted." Dico stated as he thumbed at his data pad, which produced a map of the known space that Yamatai has charted, along with an overlay of friendly and unfriendly territories... the vomit green splotch was getting dangerously larger.
The computer huffed, but vowed to continue this later. In a few moments she was within the cavity, looking somewhat displeased at the people she was assembled with...her fool of an owner, some Lorath male scum, a reckless defector, a lobotomy patient...and Rebeka Retena.
Dico glanced over and let a huff of air escape from his lips. They always show up late... why can't they just simply skip showing up... troublemakers... ugh.
Rebeka cleared her throat, standing to her feet. Her stance was a commanding one, her words firm, low and demanding. "As of 13:00 hours, I have been informed that we are to encounter the enemy. Exact figures are not provided but we are out-numbered. I believe it would benefit us to leave the system and make a departure elsewhere, leaving the 5th XF to deal with the assault, which I expect they will do admirably." Rebeka took a pause, her ruby eyes searching the many features of the crew she had collected. "At this time, we have no destination and I believe it would be a good time to make a decision about where we are to go."
"Not many choices left for where to go... Yamatai space would eat a portion of our crew alive. The Elysians are a bit stubborn so the reports indicate. The Mishhu would rape us... I think we need to seriously consider heading into Nepleslian space." Dico said as he looked over his data pad.
"The 5th Expeditionary Fleet's numbers are lacking, Rebeka. In the past year their fleet power has been cut dramatically. They currently wield the smallest standing fleet in the Empire, and much of their resources are already committed to Yūgumo." Elisa sighed, adjusting her outfit slightly. Sitting next to the sweating Yamataian scientist made her visibly uncomfortable.
"Then perhaps we could correct our range and initiate a tactical siege, giving the 5th XF the advantage before we go onward." Rebeka said with smile. "Deflating their ships and their egos."
"What is the current combat potential of Maras?" Aria asked tersely.
"The current load out is designed for taking down large numbers of unshielded ships and parrying with fighters. Against larger ships, we can't compete effectively" Rebeka said.
"However... What is the enemy power-source?"
Elisa smirked slightly. "The Mishhu strategy involves large amounts of weak ships with powerful weapons. The 5th and the LSDF can handle the larger fleets just fine if we mop up the initial assault. Even 5 minutes would cut their losses dramatically."
"How can you tell?" Sana said her voice barely more than a whisper as her eyes were fixed on the stars displayed on the window-like ceiling.
"Ah..." Stalwart piped in, happily smiling as he scrolled through more data, light reflecting off his glasses. "With some minor modifications, our BOT unit can be used as an effective siege weapon against any of the SMX heavy ship classes. I believe we have a case of small arms, hm? The unit we have should be able to effectively use many small arms weapons in a volley assault. Inefficient, but every little bit of firepower helps."
"Like a turret." Rebeka said. "What are they powered by?"
"Here is the fact of the matter... my people know that the Mishhu use Yamatai-like technology. Rebeka, I think my people may have intentions of using some of the technology you shared, namely the aether denial device. There was some rumor going around of there being devices being developed for the BOT's to deliver onto the hulls of enemy ships. Not to mention prior to the evacuation we placed the devices in strategic locations around the planet.... and yes, Stalwart, our own technicians have thought of that... thus why we've been fielding them with repeating antimatter rocket launchers."
Dico explained as he thumbed over his own pad. "And our BOTs are mostly powered by fusion devices; some have been converted to matter/antimatter reactors."
"I see. My device is directional and works at range." Rebeka stated flatly.
"I think, it would be wise if we were to blow a hole through the Mishhu line, then make a break for it. I doubt that some of our crew would like to stand the risk of the Maras being injured again, and us having to rely on the 5th XF for a rescue." Dico tilted his head in the direction of Sana and Elisa.
Elisa was naturally disappointed. She always had a taste for a good dogfight, but the circumstances were different than they were in earlier times, and she had a greater responsibility. With a heavy heart, she nodded to Dico. "Give me five minutes."
"By doing so, we would deplete our primary capacitor. We would need time to recover before we could make an escape at full speed unless an alternative source of energy could be provided." Rebeka noted.
"Could tap the BOT we brought aboard, the palace models have been upgraded to matter/antimatter reactors if I recall." Dico passively scratched at his cheek in thought.
"Provided they can be synchronized, I can see this being useful." Rebeka noted as her pale fingernails gently clawed at their parent palms. "As for the BOT. What is its combat potential as a turret type weapon?"
"Think of it as standing and holding a gun or rifle then trying to aim... but having the aim dictated by a starship grade computer, namely the Maras in this case." Dico replied.
"My BOT uses a standard fusion reactor, unfortunately, but I could use it as a turret, assuming more armaments were added." The computer looked toward Stalwart meaningfully, then back to the others. "With a proper communication link between the Maras and I we could coordinate with minimal latency."
Dico frowned slightly as Aria spoke. "Mm, that is problematic... but yes, it is still viable as a turret weapon. Also, in the load of items we grabbed, I snatched an antimatter generator and parts for a drive system... at a stretch, we could maybe wire it up to provide power for both the Maras and the BOT, and antimatter material for filling the ammunition for the BOT's launcher." Dico explained as his mind went over the possibilities.
"Very well" Rebeka said, taking note of the offensive strategy coming together. "Do we have a member of the crew who is apt with working in three dimensions of space in terms of combat or locational transposition?"
"I'm confident that the power output from Maras could power the BOT. What I want, however, is a large amount of energy on demand, very quickly." Rebeka said as an idea began to take form in her mind.
"Then wire the generator to the Maras... antimatter power is quite potent." Dico suggested.
"Assuming we overloaded the reactor," Stalwart began, "We could get an immense amount of energy in a very short time, about 1000 percent in 10 second bursts. Unfortunately, the cool-down time would be at least a minute and after a few bursts the reactor would blow."
"Do we have a second generator onboard?" Rebeka queried. Her character had changed: becoming colder, demanding and more resolute. "I need to make some alterations if this is to work."
"And do you have any idea what that means? That means it’s not going to work, and we'd be dead... and no, I only grabbed one. I was only planning to use the generator to fill the BOT's rockets." Dico replied as he began to feel the incoming sensation of stress.
"But we have gravitational field control and if we can isolate the reactor from the main hull..." Scrambling through his data, Stalwart continued to think about how to better gather power from the modifications. "If we change the flow rate...and increase the magnetic couplings...and reverse the polarity of the neutron flow..."
"I have a better use for it." Rebeka said as she stood to her feet once more, pacing about the large command room. She turned to face the canopy like roof and said "The damage will be in the short term but I can prepare a rapid wormhole system for tactical use. I'm not entirely sure of its effectiveness because a Daiclonius isn't supposed to be configured the same way as a Taitrus or a Talon."
"It could be dangerous. But assuming an anti-matter can draw more energy in the short term than our funnel, we could break their backs before they even realize we're within their ranks without using our own weapons." Rebeka murmured, wondering what risk might follow.
"I'm not a tactician, or a combat technician, but I know that we need to do what we need to do so we can get out of this system. I'll leave it in your hands Rebeka." Dico stated before he slipped his data pad into his robes and clasped his hands behind his back.
Rebeka's hands were in a similar position as she watched the tiny tiny markings of the 5th XF's form. Her four thumbs rolled and pressed against one another and her conclusion arrived. "Stalwart, isn't it? There is a system now labeled "Terminus 26". The interface now mimics that of standardized systems. I want you to directly interface the anti-matter device, coupling it with the system in question. Do not ask questions. Do not hesitate. Just go."
"Aria. I'm going to need you to calculate entry and exit vectors in three dimensional space, thus you will need to be integrated with Maras for a short time. Again, do not ask questions: simply answer Maras' questions as he asks you."
"Dico. You are to parse information between us and the 5th XF. I want to know their formations and the latest information as it arises. You are going to use them as a broadcast boom, extending our sensor radius."
"Sana, we're going to perform a CC42." but she was interrupted. "You're..." but Rebeka snapped. "No. I don't want to hear it. We're performing a CC42 and I want you confirming launch and impact trajectories for the inflex modifications. And Elisa. You get to fly."
"I'll have to do it through the LSDF, but I doubt they'd mind..." Dico nodded as he pulled his data pad from his robes. His thumbs were a blur as he began to make the proper connections.
Sana nodded, feeling rather worried. She stepped into the center of the room and took a low deep sigh: the floor rose until it formed a chair: her legs pushed apart, arms and hands raised by smooth instruments. A second seat like object had appeared directly in front of her, the reflective instruments and tools entirely different in shape and form. Now, the floor of the command room seemingly became a perfect window into space.
"Terminus 26, you say?" Stalwart tapped his glasses a couple of times - no matter what he did, they always seemed to understand what he wanted. "Accessed and interfacing now. Interesting approach you have here..."
Aria smiled that same enigmatic smile to Rebeka. "I will listen to Maras, if you wish it...I'll be put to good use by him, won't I?" A low chuckle and a touch of coyness that disappeared as soon as it was seen.
"Glad to see I get the difficult job," Elisa teased. Once more, her role was to keep everyone from dying a horrible flaming death. Maras would likely not take as kindly to mistreatment as Sakura, of course, but he would perform so much better for her that it would be ridiculous to compare them. "And what will you do, Captain?" Even though the pilot seemed surprised at what she called Rebeka, it felt right. She was the Captain here, and they her crew. Like a good starship should be.
"That much should be obvious, Elisa. When we are prepared and the enemy is in range, Stalwart, I want you to funnel through channel 26 and allow the adaptive reflex system to engage. It might seem counter-productive to begin with but the system will take care of itself. In effect, we are going to throw the enemy's munitions back at them" Rebeka said as the crew prepared to encounter the blockade.
Stalwart scratched his head, at that. Sure, he was a dashing, handsome, brilliant scientist, but he'd be damned if he had any idea how that worked. "I'm not familiar with this vessel's systems, Miss Retena." He sighed slightly, unused to being unable to contribute.
"Aria, connect a channel and instruct him." the Sourcian commanded, her mind racing through the possibilities available before the fight.
Aria sighed softly, sending the appropriate information to Stalwart's displays. He was more of a burden than anything, in her mind...
Dico had placed his back against a bulkhead and leaned against it while he operated his data pad, he received a series of messages then he called out to Rebeka. "Rebeka, my people have granted us a sensor feed from the 5th XF and our own sensors. They will be watching over our escape. The perimeter forces acknowledge our passing and wish us well and will support us if possible."
Rebeka's eyes narrowed as her thoughts rolled onto the one thing that would open the situation. Sternly, she asked "Understood. Do we have intelligence on the enemy at this time?" as she grew impatient. Her eyes flickered beneath a second set of lids briefly as she looked over Elisa and Sana.
"Only the fact that they're out there. They're keeping their numbers obscured by hopping in and out of hyperspace as for the ship information; we have access to what information Yamatai has gathered. From what I see, the details provided are rather vague... big ships, lots of power armor, and lots of guns." Dico looked a bit grim as he managed the passing of data.
"The Maras knows what I know," Elisa said simply, her stare hopping briefly to Sana as she sat back in her chair. "I'm afraid I don't know all that much about the Mishhu...Miles would be a better choice for that...you know, assuming we revive his body sooner than later."
"I already set him in the tank." Sana said with a wisp to her voice. "But it's under the limits of the device you use to hide him." Her palms felt the cold draw of the mound shapes beneath as she stretched within her occupied position.
The sensor link established with the Maras would indicate that the 5th's sensors and the Lorath's nebula gas monitoring system had begun to detect the presence of a pair of relatively small Mishhu vessels ahead of the Maras, the size would indicate them being of the Ghullfrashirv Escort class.
"Elisa, Confirm location" Rebeka demanded as she grew weary of the waiting game.
"Our current location is about 5 AU from Lor, toward the galactic northwest," Elisa stated, idly running a finger about her lips curiously. She looked quite bored, and was acting uncannily like Rebeka. "We haven't advanced terribly far as of yet."
There was a deep breath a groaned sigh from both Sana whose head tipped back, fixed on Dico and Rebeka and the Captain herself who felt she could grow exhausted with the boredom alone.
"Scatter?" Sana mused, articulating the thoughts already within her Twin's mind.
"Mode 3. Deploy the wave. Steer it away from friendlies." Rebeka resounded but Sana had already begun the preparations. Speech was merely a formality for the rest of the crew's benefit at this point.
Aria was flushed with the required processing as the ship articulated itself with a deep lulling hum as it drank to fill itself once more. There was a gentle shudder as the capacitor was readied for combat operation. The ceiling of the ship flickered, picking out the two ships and passing on the estimated location of these larger friends. The fog of war was broken.
"We have enemies approaching," Elisa said spontaneously. "Numbers are currently impossible to determine at this range...but whatever it is, it's fucking huge." Still somewhat human, after all...perhaps that would settle some of the other crew, letting them knows that not all Sourcians were like Rebeka.
The two ships ahead of the Maras were immediately crippled by the focused denial wave as their energy tap systems were rendered utterly useless. Even the power armor aboard the escorts was rendered useless as the ship's entire infrastructure went to hell in a hand basket.
Unfortunately for the Maras, this grabbed the attention of some of the Escort's larger friends.
Dico called out the information delivered by his pad. "Sensors confirm two disabled vessels. 5th XF's sensors are detecting altered movements in the Mishhu ships that were hopping, they seem to be redirecting."
"We're going to hole and disappear before we enter their firing envelope. Our destination will be between the left flank. We'll perform a bounded-wave and break their backs without upsetting our friends." Rebeka almost sang. "Can I assume we'll have communication with the 5th XF when we reach our launch destination?"
"ADS engaged and under automated control...so this is space combat, hm? Less exciting than it is on TV..." Nevertheless, Stalwart seemed confident, already working through the systems and wrapping his head about them easily. A fantastic asset, to be sure. "Terminus 26 reserved. Now, I hope we don't die here. I'm expecting to see the new Lor, you know."
As Aria was given the new programming, a smirk painted her lips, eyes rolling back if but briefly as she rearranged her processing protocols to compensate for the Maras' different clock cycle. Effortlessly she sent Maras the information he needed to better communicate with her processing unit, preparing for combat processing. This would be quite the fun little game.
As the enemies dropped out of hyperspace for their approach, the sensor feed would indicate three massive objects. Two of a similar size which would be identified as Blrakkrashiverinth Battleships, and one mass which would be identified as an Ooghlrashithagg Carrier. The carrier had begun to spew thousands of attack pods. The battleships had begun to charge their positron weapon arrays.
Elisa coughed slightly, looking to Dico with a frown. "I trust you can funnel the information from the Lorath and 5th sensor feeds into the Maras?" If she was to keep everyone (mostly) intact, she needed the information, after all. She looked over to Rebeka, and to Sana, briefly but enough for them to notice.
"Already done." Dico responded as one of his eyes seemed to shift about in a slightly erratic manner. Only known to him was the fact that he was coordinating a far more important portion of the operation; cleaning up the disabled mess.
Rebeka pushed her smugness aside. "Mark your targets and advance on the left flank. Full speed. I want this to look like an assault. I want them to scratch whatever heads they have" her words came. There was a slow breath as she mad eye-contact with Sana, simply receiving a silent nod.
Such was the nature of Maras that piloting was almost a formality, but Elisa nevertheless saluted Rebeka as she got up to return to her rightful place in the bridge. "Aye, Captain," she said forcefully, with more conviction than she had ever given Ketsurui Hanako in her entire service combined.
Even as the Maras prepared for the assault run, the Mishhu ships had opened fire with medium and heavy sized weapons which were fired by the battleships, the carrier meanwhile began to spray weapons fire at the Maras in the form of fifty or so medium positron cannons and a massive barrage of torpedoes.
Along with the main ships, the power armor which had deployed had split into four separate directions, with the intent of swarming around the Maras to prevent it from escaping.
The engine vents across the rear of the Sourcian craft illuminated to reveal a soft trail of color. In moments, the rear weapon-pods opened and thrust spewed forth, hurling the craft forth. As ordinance rushed, Elisa was met with the task of managing this enormous fighter yet the response was instant and instinctive with a full and complete scope of the battlefield. The rear pods rotated and vectored, working in conjunction with every system onboard in a beautifully elegant way: the way the massive ship threw it about with such ease with ordinance rushing by was simply breathtaking and utterly unheard of.
"...I understand why they're shooting at Yamatai's fleet, but why are they so keen on shooting at us?" Clearly, Stalwart was oblivious about the nature of this ship and its importance to the sector, but then again, it was sort of an interesting position to be in.
"Because we have more balls between us than they have in a full fleet" Sana sighed as she directed the cannons, the forward bays slipping open and peppering twenty four purple knives which rushed through the darkness to intercept the armors and detonate smart rounds. The gunship almost seemed to sing as the wormhole system spun up.
As one of the power armor wings closed in on the Maras, there was a massive flash of dozens of bursts white light as an antimatter multiple warhead missile detonated inside of the group. Each explosion swallowed a few dozen of the attack pods. It was enough to cause the wing to become distracted. The Maras' sensors would also detect a dozen five gigaton warhead equipped missiles approaching. Oddly enough each of these missiles had an imbalance to it which would correspond with the offset produced by a Bringer of Thunder being attached to the missile.
Surely enough, moments before the missiles entered into the armor wing's ranks to explode, the BOT's detached from the missiles and assumed a scattered formation. They began to spray Gatling fire into the Mishhu armor's ranks.
The perfect synchronization between Elisa's command and the craft's reaction was absolutely wonderful...breathtaking, even. For the first time since her first fleet battle so long ago, Elisa felt truly alive. Data swirled through her mind and the entire battlefield danced about her eyes. She could feel every tiny movement of the craft, see every possibility, and execute every possible maneuver in time too short to be usefully described. This was where she had to be. This is where she always wanted to be, here, in the very seat that was made for her by the craft itself. Sweat glistened upon her skin as her breath rolled from her lips. One miss and a hole went through the hull, two misses and everyone was obliterated.
Exciting, wasn't it?
"Now" was the last word to fill the bridge before a blue light rushed over the cabin. Light became sound as the air itself shook like the sea. The second lasted an eternity as the Maras miraculously vanished in a glimmer. The decompression-wave as the craft arrived at its destination shook the cockpit as the pressure took a gentle hop. As the blue light cleared, above them was a massive hull which spanned the visible horizon. The Maras was inverted above the Blrakkrashiverinth Battleship's control center, the denial wave rippling across the huge craft's surface and directly through it to distend the fleet.
The Mishhu ships scrambled to readjust their power armor deployments and weapon firing arcs, but they simply did not have the time as the aether denial wave washed over them. The result was three disabled large combatants, and thousands of disabled power armor. Needless to say, the Mishhu had become angry now that the Maras had inflicted a large amount of damage.
Dico smiled softly as he called out another bit of information. "Lorath Self Defense Forces are firing precision antimatter missile strikes into this area now. They suggest that we leave the area ASAP. They will take it from here."
Rebeka whistled slowly, impressed by the results and sensitivity of the enemy equipment. There was a silence as she tried to make out figures upon the opposing battleship's form. There was hesitation as her eyes narrowed, lips curled into a smile as she attempted to visualize the furious enemy troop. "What? Right, right. Elisa, take us out."
"Just a second, Rebeka. I'm just going to greet the commander." With the position she had placed the craft, Elisa was perfectly poised to slow down just briefly and give the Mishhu within the one-finger salute. A visual was taken of the moment and those that followed, until Elisa immediately increased speed and retreated away from the craft. "Ready to execute next jump on your order, captain. And Comm Bird, remember to tell our allies that they owe us a favor...”
"Favor to be repaid in around sixty seconds, I suggest you hurry up and hit FTL speeds." Dico could not help but to laugh lightly.
The smile was plastered across her features. "Heh... Dico, pass on that visual before our departure. Elisa, take us out of the effective range of allied ordinance." With a defiant smile, Rebeka turned about with her eyes set on Dico, arms crossed beneath her chest. Her teeth gleamed, lips accenting every syllable. "Now do you understand the value of our relationship?"
"Will do ma'am." Dico responded as he followed the order. "And ma'am, I've understood the value for some time, why do you think I'm aboard this ship?"
As the Maras made its flashy exit, the LSDF went about the mop up operation. At least a dozen of the high yield antimatter warhead armed missiles were launched from one of the moons orbiting the gas giant. The missiles were en route for the Mishhu vessels' weapons systems and drive systems. They apparently intended to keep the enemy vessels intact for the most part as trophies and as sources of information about their enemy.
Elisa couldn't help but grin a bit as she overheard the conversation between Rebeka and Dico, the ship quickly escaping the approaching ordnance and making a course directly to the galactic north. "Making the jump in five...four...three...two...one..." And at Elisa's command, the Maras faded into nothing, disappearing from the battlefield as soon as it had appeared.
Shortly after the Maras made its departure, a barrage of antimatter missiles met with the Mishhu warships and power armor, which resulted in the Mishhu ship’s deployed power armor wings being reduced by the thousands. The two Mishhu battleships, two escorts, and carrier were quickly pelted by precision antimatter missile strikes, which were soon followed up with quick fly-bys handled by the refitted ‘Star Seeker’ ships which delivered surgical precision positron and white beam blasts upon the unshielded Mishhu vessels, punching holes clear through their armor and destroying each vessel’s power generator facilities, leaving the Mishhu ships to wait for their final fate of being blown to nothingness, or to be boarded and dealt with on a far more personal level.
It was the Sourcian’s first taste of blood in the war with the SMX, and the flavor was perversely sweet.
ON: Maras - Ten Lightyears Away From Lor - Northern Direction
Dico slouched against the bulkhead of the Maras still as he switched his data pad to subspace communications in preparation for their long voyage which would leave him out of close range communication distance from his people. "Well, dear Captain, which way do we go now? From what I understand, every direction has Mishhu, and past that, it's a bunch of different Empires who will want to fondle your dear ship."
There was a long pause as she weighed up the options in silence. "Perhaps it is best suited that we hide in plain sight." a stern tone resounded. Rebeka was still herself and not Sana and did find speech awfully prohibitive, clear in her distaste for the very words she was forced to spit. " 'Where aren't they looking?' is the question we should be asking."
"I don't have the solution to that question, what of our dear navagator and her companion?" Dico turned his gaze to Elisa and Sana as he asked his question.
"The best option would be to hide in plain sight. If we sneak around, they'll spot us easily. Such is their method - ignore the frontal assault that would bring a quick end, and go for the extended campaign behind the lines." Elisa clucked her tongue just once, focusing on the perpetual awareness that her cockpit provided for her. If something went on in the ship, Maras would inform her.
Sana's eyes slid closed as a hefty sigh was exuded from her lips. She took focus upon Dico and rose her shoulders in a simple shrug. "There isn't a lot I can suggest that she hasn't already thought of."
Dico shrugged as he tapped his fingers over his data pad. "Your choice, its no feathers off my wings considering I'm one of the few aboard this ship that won't be disected or executed."
Rebeka rested her fingertips upon Dico's shoulder and gave a slow squeeze that should have been reassuring but only served to send a dark tingle down the Lorath's spine. "You would be regarded as contaminated, as would anybody who is among us. Where are the others?"
"The crazy science guy is tending to his coffins and the homicidal computer is communicating with Maras," Elisa said succinctly. She disliked being the secretary, but having an even greater link to the ship than Rebeka had its responsibilities.
"I'm here as a makeshift ambassador from what it seems... and if you mean Stalwart and Aria, they're where ever they tend to be... I don't exactly keep track of them." Dico did not seem bothered much by Rebeka's tone. He had already overcome his fair share of hardships since the Occhestian revolt against the royalty.
A smile brought form across Rebeka's features. She huddled Dico's head against her body. "I expect you to. They are guests and you know them better than I do. Do you understand?" she said as her fingertips again began to fork and explore the Lorath's feathers. Most had a simple toy, from the Rubick's cube to the yoyo. Rebeka settled for a Lorath.
Dico released a deep sigh before giving Rebeka a soft shove. "How do you expect me to keep track of them when you're clinging to me and pressing my face against you?"
"He only knows them from the news reports...I guess he reads the news more, though." A soft smile painted Elisa's lips, invisible though it was to the toying Sourcian and the flustered Lorath. "So, I guess you could inform us of that, hm?"
Sana tipped her head to one side, giving Elisa a brief glance before looking over the stars before her in a lean deep stretch that brought out a gentle grunt. "Hmm...? I'd suggest by telling us more about them. The short one with the funny smile gives me the creeps."
Dico's voice came out a bit muffled as he was held against Rebeka. "I would suggest that we pick a direction before we continue onwards... at this rate we're going to end up buzzing right through the Mishhu lines, and I don't want to be burried in Rebeka's cleavage while we stumble into a Mishhu patrol."
In a subtle but clean motion, Dico was thrust from Rebeka in a shove several times his senior in strength only for her to clutch his hand at the very last moment to prevent him from stumbling from his own feet. Dico's hand was then released. "West then" she said, eyeing Dico and then Sana thoughtfully.
"I sure hope you mean north west." Dico said in a light tone as he maintained his balance.
By this time, Rebeka had moved to sit aside, Sana, lifting the slightly smaller girl up into her lap to sit. As Rebeka addressed Sana, her fingertips upon the woman's shoulders she said "West out of harm's way." Sana said, speaking up for a change with a lithe tone. "Maras doesn't understand the concept of two dimensional thinking so what's needed is a destination rather than a direction."
Dico sighed a bit as he slouched against the bulkhead again. "Well, I don't know much of the space outside of the Lor system, other than which planets are inhabited and the communication codes and languages for each inhabited planet."
Elisa coughed slightly, taking a few moments to leaf through their collective knowledge of space to find a destination."The only real option is north, moving around or bypassing the Hanako's Star defense network, and onward. The Maras has access to the map data of the ship Yggdrasil; there is an uninhabited system north of the Kohana Cloud marked Kenichi's Star. From there we can stay in relative safety of the fleets. Barring that, we could head for Nepleslia directly."
"Oh, that reminds me..." Rebeka said with a rather mischievous smile as she settled her chin atop Sana's head. "Are we under range of Yamatai monitoring or can I lift the lid on the doctor?"
"I'm not sure of that... Elisa?" Dico looked up from his data pad and to the pilot.
"Hanako's Star is the headquarters of the 1XF, Rebeka. We should wait until we're past it if we're going to keep him safely locked tight..." Elisa held her chin loosely in her hand, considering their options. "I don't know how far their defense network extends, but it's considerable."
"As I've said. ...As Sana said. I don't know the local area. I trust your judgement here." Rebeka simply said. "I do however, feel sorry for the doctor."
"Don't. It's better than dead." As Elisa replied, a communications window appeared behind her, Stalwart's widely smiling face appearing. "Good morning, everyone! I've been up all night attaching all the armaments I could to the BoT and linking it to the Maras' control systems. In addition, with the help of your wonderful ship, I've finished converting the mecha to spec with the Test Type railcannon! The railcannon I designed, I might add."
"It's actually evening..." Sana announced beneath Rebeka as she shifted the Sourcian. "On Nepelsia, they call it jet-lag because it's one of the few planets that doesn't have the hotels integrated to the spaceports."
"Afternoon for me... two of your days is around one of mine." Dico explained as he returned to tapping at his data pad. He consulted the map he had downloaded from the Lorath's computer network, not much detail about their route, other than heaps of Mishhu.
Stalwart didn't seem to care, still smiling away like he always did. "Now, if I had the assistance of your doctor, I'm sure I could complete that multiparticle cannon I've been working on...oh, right, according to the 5th Fleet's information network, which Aria helpfully had brief access to during the battle, the Hanako's Star defense network is 10 lightyears in diameter!"
"Joy" Rebeka grumbled in a less than graceful manner.
"If we can make a jump fast enough, the only thing the network will be able to identify is a spacial distortion. Problem is, the only way to avoid the fleet after that is to fly a course right through Mishhu territory." Elisa sighed softly as her chair leaned back with her body, hands kept on the controls eternally. "If we make a course to New Kohana we can avoid the bulk of the tentacle rape while still avoiding the lesbian catgirls."
After a few minutes of aimless speech and debate, Elisa sighed softly, deciding to set course and coordinate things en route, hoping that the power didn't drain too quickly from jumping so far beyond Maras' normal limits. It was all about luck now...and she smiled, at that. Just as she liked best.
The ten lightyear distance from Lor was easily traversed through the use of the Maras' standard FTL drive system. The first leg of a complex trip which called for the Maras to devote a sizable portion of it's power to it's wormhole drive system. After a few hours of charging the system, the Maras plunged itself into a hole boared through the very fabric of space, which caused it to pass through a distance of fifteen lightyears, right past the Hanako's Star defense network, and into the depths of what was once Yamatai space.
Dico quickly consulted his data pad and the surrounding communication lines and navagtional signals. "We're currently somewhere between Valaad and Koenic, off of the main travel routes."
The good ship Maras, for the moment energy-starved, was in the only safe route possible toward Nepleslia, an area of space Elisa helpfully named the 'Metea Corridor'. Safe from both the SMX and the First Expeditionary, at least for the moment, the ship could recharge in peace, allowing its crew to relax for a time while they considered their options once more.
Sana was of course with Elisa while Rebeka was intent to study the first alien she had come into contact with whom she had not shared kinship. Almost an hour had passed and her eyes had not lifted from Dico, monitoring his every motion, attempting to decrypt what the wheels that turn within his mind might produce. And yet the way she sat, slumped against the couch-like bulkhead in the bunk-chamber seemed almost lifeless. As human as she appeared, there was an ethereal almost dead look to her, as if her very skin was fake. "What are you doing?"
"Consulting the local navigational communications and any subspace messages from home... I don't want anything finding us or following us that we don't want." Dico explained as he continued to stand, leaning against yet another bulkhead. "So far we're safe."
It was distinct from her expression (which of course Sana shared) that Rebeka didn't believe they were safe for a single minute. "And you're sure of this?" her voice rasped. There was no coy playfulness now: she was in what she considered enemy territory and she wasn't comfortable with the idea after her recent talk with Dico regarding the progress of arms. Something of the idea of scrubbing space itself sent a chill down her spine that she would never speak of. Elsewhere, Sana laid against Elisa, her cheek huddled up to the woman's chest as she listened to the drumming beneath her bosom.
"Well, comparing to our previous situation, we're safe. The Mishhu don't harass this area much due to the proximity to Yamatai. The Yamataians don't harass this place much due to the proximity to the Mishhu. The space here is relatively calm, and there are no natural threats in the area. For the moment, we're safe as can be expected." Dico explained fully as he slipped his data pad back into his robe. "Worried?"
Still, the taboo ebbed at the very back of Rebeka's mind. Her fingers tightened about her elbows as her arms were crossed neatly but still there was little other evidence. "This is a new world." the Sourcian said as her eyes explored the data pad, unable to read it from the distance. "I clearly have a lot to learn."
Elisa stroked Sana's hair softly, trying to comfort her, even as she knew that they were in some danger yet. It seemed that she had become something of a mother - being perhaps the sanest person on board for the moment; she had a lot to coordinate, in helping everyone to get along. And still, though she had purpose within the ship, the ship had no purpose within the universe...she sighed softly as she looked up at the ceiling, a permanent display of the skies of her home affixed. A strange request, but it comforted the pilot.
"Rebeka, danger comes and goes as the war of life progresses. Consider every moment of your life to be one long battle... right now, the enemy is in retreat, you're able to repair the damages to your forces and continue your expedition into the enemy territory of the unknown." Dico's words were spoken softly as he thought them through. A lot of this little speech was pulled from the class he took in Fyunnen psychology.
In a single blink, her eyes moved for the first time from Dico to the books upon the shelf. There was a long drawn out pause during which she realized her range of sight simply couldn't read the text. The pause continued as she adjusted and finally clarity. "This isn't the unknown" Rebeka murmured, still taking apart the memories of Sana Nakamura. Sana extended her touch to brush her wiry brawn fingertips across Elisa's features. "Talk."
"Then Rebeka, you need not be so anxious." Dico took in a soft breath before giving Rebeka full once over. She seems tense... I suppose she is more used to battle situations than down time.
"...I don't really have much to say at the moment, Sana...we're in the dead of space right now, and I'm out of my element." Outside of the cockpit seat, Elisa felt...anxious. Not knowing what was going on in the ship disturbed her, though she tried to hide it. "You and Rebeka have a strange relationship...right now; it's hard to say if you'll remain like this, or if you'll both branch out."
"Talk about something. Anything will do" Sana murmured as she lifted herself over Elisa. Her eyes starred into the woman's for a moment and for a glimpse of a second, she was almost a different person like a portrait of Elisa's words. The conclusion was merely a smile: bashful and delicate. "What did you do when I left the Sakura?" Sana sighed in dreamy words.
"My bed was cold," Elisa breathed out softly, her violet lips curled into a smile. Her arms cradled Sana softly as she looked over her body. The Sourcian had a distaste for the artificial body of the Yamataian...Elisa understood it. The so-called 'false sentience' of the Yamataian and Nekovalkryja...the latter were so easy to subdue, weren't they? Hanako. Blueberry. Both slaves to a higher power...who was to say the Yamataians weren't?
Rebeka's eyes drank the titles from the bookshelf, reading for the first time as herself and not Sana. It was a refreshing experience to see things as the others saw them and not as she saw them. "I wouldn't call it anxiety" was her only response.
It seemed rather blatant that Sana was Yamataian, wearing the body like a glove but she thought nothing of it and Rebeka had made no attempt to turn her. Sana pondered whether or not Elisa who probably knew more about being a Sourcian than Sana did at this point questioned it but her role was her role. "Is it any warmer now?"
"Much." It felt different though; it felt jarring. Unsettling. Whether she knew it or not, Elisa's old identity was slowly melting away with what remained of her old organs...idly, she wondered if Sana would take to being turned, but she wouldn't force it on her like Rebeka had.
Sana was already growing tired of Elisa's one-word responses. The way they pecked and ebbed. It just didn't suffice. "Even if it's nonsense." she said. "Talk."
"...I guess you can tell that I'm nervous, huh? I couldn't say why." Elisa was quiet, bitingly so. She wasn't sure, though, whether it was her body's instinctual hatred of the artificial body...or whether it was simply that they had grown too far apart.
Sana simply nodded as she tried to unravel the thoughts of her friend beneath her. "Just... Talk."
Dico meanwhile stood upright from his slouching place against the wall. "From what I understand, we're headed into Nepleslian space... what do you know about the Nepleslians?"
"If they still have the amateur circuits on Nepleslia, I could try and make us some money in the airbike races." An abrupt change of subject, but then, that was probably what Sana was seeking. "Maybe one of our crazy tech guys can help out there."
Rebeka's eyes gradually concluded their tour of the bookshelf before they returned to Dico. "Clinical tiled walls. The stink of bleach first thing in the morning. Everything inside and out squeaky clean." she began before catching herself. "I only have the memories of another and I wouldn't consider them useful."
"Shall we ask our pilot if she knows anything?" Dico inquired
"Elisa?" Rebeka bounced Dico's query.
"Of course, who else?" Dico shrugged, his wings moving in the gesture as well.
"Money... Money isn't a problem. Information is." Sana said. "We're blind and unprepared."
"Well, there's the science dream team down in the cargo bay...but I don't trust them. Other than that, there's..." Elisa stopped. He was, for the moment, asleep...better than being dead though, she supposed. "Should we wake him up? We're safe, for the moment."
"The more you know..." Sana said in a calm chilling tone. Her smile was honest but her voice didn't match her words.
"You didn't answer my question," Elisa said simply, coyly. A bit more like herself.
"Wasn't I obvious enough?" Sana grinned at Elisa.
"Probably not. It bothers me that I didn't catch it, though." Elisa smiled back, softly stroking Sana's hair as her heart, or what passed for it, fluttered a bit.
Sana's eyes fell closed as a slow lulled smile spread across her lips. It was refreshing to see such warmth in her face. Sana simply chose to rest over Elisa and enjoy her time.
"I'll try harder."
"I know."
"The more you know." Rebeka spoke in a flat dull tone as she lifted her body from the bunk. With a click clack of military boots against the metallic floor, she made her way to the door. Over her shoulder, she shot Dico a glance. "I would appreciate it if you were to share a room with me tonight. There are many things I want to ask you about."
"I doubt I'll be tired... I have a different sleep cycle." Dico replied honestly, glad for the fact that he had an excuse available to him. He still was not comfortable with the idea of sharing a room with the woman.
"Have no misgivings" she said in clinical monotone. "As intriguing as you are, I wouldn't violate you" It was clear in that knowing her place, the memory of Sana was now memories and no longer behaviorism. This person, Rebeka, was who spoke was somebody else entirely. It wasn't long before she stood at the doorway, listening to the clattering sounds of Stalwart. "Your name, please."
Stalwart was puttering around, assembling random junk together in an experimental fashion, their stash of ARIA models nearby undergoing integrity tests to check their adherence to spec. He perked up as he saw Rebeka approaching, smiling as he looked her over. "You can call me Stalwart Defender, owner and CEO of Stalwart Defense Industries, at your service to help distribute these test models across known space. I hope you don't mind if I stay aboard - your ship is wonderful for producing prototypes and testing weapons!"
Rebeka observed and noted the strange-man's overwhelmingly positive disposition as she arched a brow. "I see. You are welcome to stay, provided you are useful. At this time, we need knowledge of the surrounding area, specifically of a planetoid known as Nepleslia." her voice sounded.
"Nepleslia, hm? Is that where we're headed? Well, it's a rather strange place..." He coughed, frowning but momentarily. "What you should know right now is that Nepleslia is currently in a state of civil war, if the news reports are accurate. The factions would be the Greens, who currently control the majority of Nepleslian space, and the Reds, who control Kennewes. Zen Armaments, a weapons manufacturer, is in the pocket of the Reds, while the Greens have the resources of the NDI, from another universe, and Nepleslian Arms and Munitions, a recently-formed design bureau that unfortunately forced a great deal of my work to go to waste."
"I am in unfamiliar territory. Break yourself down from this rambling into coherence and explain everything." Rebeka demanded, now rather frustrated.
"...why don't you just use the information networks and look up what you need?" Stalwart asked, blinking behind the flickering display of his glasses. "Most of what I'm telling you is common knowledge. A little research goes a long way!"
There was hesitance. "My eyes aren't adapted for reading text from a surface without straining myself. I need to adapt myself or create a tool which will save me the trouble" Rebeka said reluctantly. "When I look at the Lorath's device, I don't see what he sees. Just a flat surface."
"Well, why don't you ask your pointy-eared girlfriend to tell you about eye structure? She seems to be able to cope fine." Stalwart's smile had been, by this time, restored. "I'm sure your range of vision can adapt, hm? I admit to not knowing much about your species.
"I'll ask her. We should make Nepleslia in about a day or two so we don't draw any attention. Where would you recommend we land?" Rebeka basked, feeling the heat of the ship now begin to slowly cool itself to suit the other passengers.
"Well, a ship like this will be investigated thoroughly if we land anywhere near somewhere in NAM's operational sphere. If we welded a bunch of metal plates onto the hull, though..." Something which would almost certainly cause problems in the long run, but it would prevent undue questions.
After a time of silence and relatively arousing acts, Elisa placed her airbike suit back on, her back to Sana, her shapely rear right in her view. It didn't smell, nor was it dirty; why would it be? She produced no waste and no discernible scent, and Maras was a clean room. "Now that we're done that...let's go check on our cargo, shall we?"
"Cargo?" Sana murmured as she watched Elisa in a strange way, following behind her now. Her eyes found themselves upon Elisa's bottom for a moment before her hands cupped the cheeks and her chin rested upon the woman's shoulder. She was still giddy from their fun.
"Your boyfriend." A laugh. "Miles. You've been impatient about it, but now you finally get to see him again." Slowly Elisa walked the corridors of the ship, as she enjoyed Sana's company once more. It had been a long time...
"Boyfriend...?" Sana queried with a rather coy smile, eyes like those of a school-girl as they were fixed on the way Elisa walked, trying to mimic her gait. "You make it sound like there's more to me and him than there is to you and me."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Elisa said with a smirk. It was mostly a joke, but there were more serious connotations behind it..."I would think that you wouldn't like doctors after what they did with you."
Sana huffed. She knew the way and brushed Elisa aside, storming off ahead. Her feet tapped and hammered against the hull floor and then she stopped and turned about to see Elisa and smiled before she continued on her way contentedly.
I don't mind if you like him...I just mind if you like him because he's a doctor. Elisa smiled at that thought, somehow finding it comforting, as she walked along the same path Sana had just followed.
Sana stood at the lockroom door. Carefully, her fingertips eased the sealed door open with a crunched whoosh of air that flooded her ears as the room reoxygenated. With a splutter, she continued until her fingertips met a reflective silver bullet laid upon its' belly. It was a meter across and longer in height than she was. It felt cold. "I think I found it."
"What's the status on his life signs?" Elisa asked, as she caught up to Sana and looked at the stasis pod. "There should be a display on the side."
Sana's fingertips ran over the chilly surface, tapping against it for a moment. She peered back at Elisa and frowned. "It doesn't look good."
"Is his thought pattern stable? Check. If not, we'll have to do the reconstruction process all fucking over again." Elisa groaned, holding her head loosely in her hand. If he was damaged, they'd loose valuable time. "Tell me what the damage is."
Sana pressed her hand against the silver material and brushed firmly. She felt the ice slide away, then frost until no more than the glass was visible and the occupant beneath. With a tink, her fingernail tapped against the bare glass. "I think we've damaged him as a man."
Elisa looked at what Sana had pointed out and her throat stuck. It was his penis, utterly tiny and not even remotely erect. "...that's...that's just the cold, Sana."
Sana's fingertips settled on a hand-shaped press-pad on the device and in red, numbers began to count-down. Striking 01.00, there was a sharp pitched whine and as the timer hit 00.00, a gruntish pop of static electricity to awaken the occupant of the regeneration pod.
As the doctor awoke, what would first meet his revived eyes was a woman, clad in a navy blue airbike suit, quite tall and curvy...her face was in his view; messy, short dark hair, long tawnish ears, pale milky skin, violet painted lips...and blue eyes he would recognize anywhere. "Good morning, doctor. You look like shit." A smirk. Her smirk. So different, and yet very much the same.
"Morning, Milesickle." Sana said with a grin, sat against the edge of the pod. She set her palm onto Miles' back and noted how his skin still felt chilled.
The sharp and ragged breath of the newly resurrected body's first breath was drawn in as the stasis tank opened. His eyelids opened revealing the deep grass green irises of his eyes. When the light struck his eyes he could not help but to squint as the tissues began to function. "Elisa... Metea... if I thought I was dead, I'd suspect I was in hell... I half think I should be." His latter comment came as his mind began to catch up to events. One half being those of Alistair, the other being the last events endured aboard the Sakura. "I guess... the Lorath were kind enough to continue with the job I asked for... but first, where can a man get a pair of pants?"
"There's clothes in the pod. They might be a bit chilly but they'll do." Elisa smiled as she looked at Miles' body, stepping back. As his eyes came into focus, he would see that her appearance had changed a good deal, mostly by becoming slightly more busty and getting new ears. "As you can most likely tell, your body is perfectly Nepleslian down to the tiniest degree. As for me...well...I'll explain later. First I need to tell you why I'm here, and you're here...but I'll start by saying that, if it weren't for us, you would still be dead."
Miles raised his hand and waved it in a dismissive gesture. "Yes yes I'm sure I would be... the Lorath were kind enough to put in my braincase, and Rebeka was kind enough to furnish my brain with a proper neural pattern. Thank you Elisa for saving my braincase... but AWOL eh? Hardly becoming of a Shoi... and as for you Sana, how's your head?"
Sana chuckled softly to herself. "Tiniest degree..." as her eyes settled on the doctor's attire. Her fingertips tightened as she felt the pod grow colder, slowly gearing up for its' shutdown cycle. "I'm..." she hesitated. Elisa was right: doctors.
"Don't worry... I have a feeling you'll be alright soon enough." Miles reached out and gently patted his hand against Sana's cheek. "I'm a tad stiff... if you ladies could grab my clothes for me and shake out the frost, I suppose I could sit down and shut up and listen to what has happened since Rebeka put my combined neural pattern in... so... from what I understand, we're preparing to or have left Lor?"
Sana froze for a moment at the contact before clearing her mind. She could already hear Elisa's teasing in her mind's eye as she gathered Miles' clothing and offered it to him.
"We're a few light-years from Valaad, in what I like to call the 'Metea Corridor'. The only route to Nep space that we can take without being blown to bits, and even then we're recharging due to the massive expenditure needed to get past the 1XF's defense network." Elisa sighed, slumping against the wall and pushing her chest up inadvertently as she crossed her arms. The fabric actually shined quite a bit in the low light..."As for the stiffness, I'm sure Sana doesn't mind." The smirk, again.
"Thanks Sana... and Elisa that was harsh." Miles smiled as he took the clothes from Sana. He placed the shirt over his shoulder as he went about pulling on the pants and boxers provided by the Lorath, letting out a grunt from time to time caused by his stiff joints. After pulling them up, Miles shifted about. "Silky soft... but tough feeling. Mm, I'll have to have a suit made of this stuff... en route to Nepleslian space? Good choice." Miles then pulled the shirt over his head, after popping his head through the top of the shirt; his hair released a small flurry of frosty bits.
Aboard the Maras - Thirty minutes after Miles’ awakening
After taking advantage of a few minutes to stretch his fresh new muscles and bones, Miles, Elisa, and Sana made their way up from the lock-room of the Maras and through the interior of the living ship. Miles followed behind the two women for the most part due to his lack of knowledge of the lay out of the vessel. Before they left the lock-room, they had decided to find Rebeka and speak to her about her current plans for the ship and crew.
Rebeka had returned to her quarters which she had chosen to share with Dico for the evening though she was the only one of the two who lay in bed. Her eyes were still fixated: Making her own judgments of another being for the first time without the help of Sana Nakamura's psyche.
Even though he was not in bed, Dico shared the room none the less as he stood against the bulkhead as usual. “You seem troubled...” Dico commented before even looking up from the data pad which he held in his hands.
Elisa took point, brushing her hair out of her eyes and idly wondering why she could never get it to stay as she knocked on the door of their shared quarters. She stepped back, waiting for Rebeka to arrive...
“You wanna get it?” Dico asked, still in his spot and seemingly not really wanting to move.
"Alright." The Sourcian's eyes diverted. The door rose up into the ceiling and down into the floor like an eyelid.
Elisa stepped in quietly and smiled at Rebeka. "Sorry to disturb you...this isn't a bad time, is it?" It wasn't an implication of sex, though Rebeka, in her immaturity, might think otherwise.
Miles meanwhile lingered in the back of the group as he waited to know if things were clear on the other side of the doorway.
When Elisa entered and asked her question, Dico could not help but to release a snort of amusement. “She has been sitting there and staring at nothing for a terribly long time, you’re not interrupting much.”
Rebeka's lips gradually curled into a smile as she leaned and move to sit up, her eyes gradually shifting to Elisa's presence. "I wanted to see if I could give him nightmares. What is troubling you, Elisa?" Rebeka asked calmly, Sana now seemingly taking Rebeka's previous role as she approached Dico.
Elisa stepped aside, looking to Miles and pushing him forward gently. "Go on."
“Go on with what?” Miles asked slightly bewildered as he looked at Elisa. “I was just wondering where we were going, you were like ‘I’m just piloting, don’t ask me’ and Sana was oblivious to the subject, then I suggested we ask the commander of the ship, I’m just in tow, you ask.”
"I meant introduce yourself. It's been a while since she's seen you." Elisa smirked slightly, stepping back. If nothing else, this should prove to be entertaining...it seems that there is still a bit of her mother in her, despite herself.
What would have been Sana's reaction was now Rebeka's. Her toes slowly met the warm floor of the ship as she set a hand upon the bunk above her head and began to approach the doctor. Mixed feelings she hadn't anticipated overrode her reasoning for a glimpse of a second, evident in a flicker of her attention from a mere exploration of his features to almost eyeing him up. The feelings were however silenced, cast aside with ease. Her brow furrowed as she starred the doctor down for a moment. "Good to see you're alive" she said, keeping things clinically short.
Miles could not help but to release a disgruntled sigh, but surely enough he strode into the room and gave a slight nod of his head to Rebeka, an apparent Yamataian habit he could not help but to break. When Rebeka greeted him, he smiled softly “Good to be alive, Rebeka. Rare that I’d actually say that as of late too... I’m glad to see you’re well and the cats or the birds haven’t picked you apart.”
There was a moment of reluctance, almost as if she were going to glance back at Dico. "The bird is very strange and there are no cats onboard" her words came. Her expression was resolute. Almost cold.
“Ah... you seem not to have grasped metaphors yet.” Miles observed before he grasped Rebeka’s hand in his own so she’d be able to respond to what he did next. Much like before when he tried to communicate with Rebeka on Lor, he gave her an impression of his meaning, with some rather amusing imagery borrowed from his childhood exposure to animated media. A scene of a rather battle scarred rat, an owl or other bird of prey, being chased by a rather nasty looking cybernetic feline.
The information meant little to her: Her mind wasn't open or listening. Instead, her eyes ventured along her gloved fingertips to his. Sana's memories set in again and Rebeka felt what would have been a heart beginning to thump, biological processes she didn't have simulated in her mind. Rather reluctantly, she withdrew her hand and slid the glove free, tucking it into a pocket of the uniform. "What are you doing?"
"Excuse me, Captain..." Unwelcomely interrupting as usual, Stalwart's smiling face appeared using his usual holographic screen. "I'm here to report that Maras' energy reserves have been restored! I don't know if my work has done any good, but I've tried to increase efficiency as best I can for the next jump." Suddenly, he quirked a brow, as the holographic screen turned to Miles. "And you must be the doctor they speak so highly of! You must be important if you've been kept in stasis..." Understatement of the Yamataian Era.
“Yes, I am that doctor.” Miles looked to the screen, only vaguely recognizing the man from a Yamataian file in relation to weapons research in Nepleslia, if it were not for his cybernetic augmentation; he most likely would not be able to recall him at all. “Stalwart... I think your name is? Didn’t you go into debt in Nepleslian weapons trade?”
Rebeka's eyes were on the pair as they conversed as Sana had rather coyly set herself behind Dico and began to trace her fingernails carefully through his feathers. "Indeed" Rebeka said, a little more surprised at the knowledge of the doctor than she had expected to be.
Dico could not help but to scowl a bit before he turned to look to Sana. “Sana, in all my time of living, even during my mandatory medical courses, I have never seen anyone poke and prod at a pair of wings as much as you and Rebeka.”
"..." Stalwart paused for a moment, and then completely ignored Miles' point. "Well, that's how I go by. My real name is a matter of public record, but it's boring! Much better to have a fun title, especially since fewer and fewer people bother speaking Japanese these days. I hear you've done some work with weapons yourself..."
“And that is not a matter of public record.” Miles smiled softly. “Either way, good to know there is another thinking individual aboard... but we were busy.” Miles looked to Rebeka. “Cut it off.” he whispered.
The display vanished as he spoke. It wasn't of her doing. Again, Rebeka was rather impressed. "It would appear Maras has taken a liking to you."
"Annoying..." Elisa scoffed. Men of science were hard to deal with; Miles was probably the best of them she had met, but even he had his share of annoyances. It didn't help that they all seemed to have inflated egos...
“Well then, that makes my life a bit easier I’d guess... but this is all beside the point. Rebeka, we need to get back to our topic of affairs, where are you planning to go with this ship?” Miles asked as he looked at Rebeka with an expression that scientists and doctors have had through the ages, an expression of determined curiosity.
"I feel uncomfortable aboard my own ship. Vulnerable. I would like to amend the armaments available to us or find a safe location while I get a proper grasp of the political and strategic situation." There was a pause as she noted Sana still pestering Dico whom she gave a brief scowl. Sana ceased their behavior like a parent and child as Sana settled her back to the wall with her attentions set upon Elisa. "Ideally however, I would like to perform both at the same time."
“Weapons are easily obtained, the political and strategic though are an entirely different affair... but we can try. I know where we could most likely get some money, but we’ll have to ask for safe passage through Nepleslian space, and I’ll need to get in touch with my parents, but discretely considering what a part of me is telling me.”
Miles said to Rebeka as he had an expression of thought upon his face. *
"We have objects of value onboard" Rebeka noted. "Should it become necessary, I have no qualms with acquiring goods beyond the limits of the law. Should it become problematic, I will have Dico cite that I have diplomatic immunity, regardless of whether I do or not" the Sourcian smiled.
“Which you more than likely do not, don’t worry... things should not be too hectic, least I think so.” Miles looked a little troubled as he thought about the situation. “There are too many variables though; I don’t like any of it.”
"Then we need to simplify and evaluate the situation" Rebeka simply responded.
“Then lets simplify it... we need to get moving, the northern area of our charted space is clear for the most part beyond Nepleslian space. We stop in Nepleslian space to arm and supply ourselves, if the situation becomes worse, we head north until we can lick our wounds and figure out what we can do from there.” Miles contemplated out loud as he continued to hold his gaze on Rebeka.
"You almost sound like a captain" Rebeka mused to herself. Her ungloved hand was still settled over the pocket containing the very same glove, almost protectively. "Perhaps I could learn from your experience."
“Who? Me? Naw... I’m just a scientist and a doctor, maybe in a pinch, a soldier.” Miles laughed lightly.
"You are knowledgeable and you have a good grasp of the area." Rebeka simply stated.
“Give or take... but what we really need is our pilot to get us moving...” Miles said as he looked to Elisa.
Elisa watched them, smiling as she saw them getting along so well already in just a few moments. Her role, as always, was the man in the middle...fortunately, here; she didn't need to use that as a bargaining chip, simply as a welcome observation point. "Miles is best in a support role...I regret to say he doesn't make a good soldier, though. I'll keep you out of trouble, though." A wink. "We have the power to get to Nepleslia, though I'd like to conserve our jump distance so as to not be defenseless in case of attack."
A pause and Elisa stood, saluting Rebeka. "On your order, Captain." Miles would recognize what lay in her voice, what was never expressed before - a true respect for the one who had been placed into command.
Miles raised his brow before he looked over Elisa, and then looked over Rebeka. “Rebeka, I didn’t know that your body was made from condensed respect and professionalism... because it seems you pumped some into her.”
Rebeka ever so slightly shrugged the first body language she had demonstrated in such a way. With a smile at the corner of her lips, she simply said "When a leader is respectable, you respect them. I'm not entirely sure if this is the case but I am trying" the Sourcian mused. "There are currently three chambers available. All are fairly large but I would appreciate it if you spent some time getting up to date with Sana and Elisa. I shall remain here with Dico and our guests have a room of their own, assuming they choose to retire."
Then the Sourcian's gaze slowly rose from the doctor's and settled upon Elisa. "Very well. I do not know the area so I am permitting you to act as my eyes and ears until I find a footing."
“Of course... if you or Dico, or both of you even, would like to join Elisa, Sana, and myself, you’re gladly welcome. First of all though, let’s get moving, and then we can take the time to make pleasantries.” Miles looked to each person before he looked to Rebeka again. “Um... I just realized, what do you want me doing while aboard? Sana seems to be your interpreter of sorts, Elisa your pilot... Dico I assume... is your liaison to outside affairs, Stalwart would be your weapons officer... so... where do I fit in?”
"Aye." A smile and a knowing look at Miles, as Elisa turned to leave. "You, sir, are the one who makes sure we don't get ourselves killed on Nepleslia. As for after that...I'm sure you'll find your way." A smirk and she left the room in the dust, door closing behind her as she returned to her rightful place within the ship.
“I’m a scientist, not a tour guide.” Miles crossed his arms and sighed as he watched Elisa leave the room.
Sana found herself starring at the doctor, contemplating an evening with him. Rebeka simply smiled as she returned to the bottom bunk, the top having ascended and disappeared into the ceiling along with a number of crates. She took a seat and stretched out slowly. "Dico. Whether you like it or not, you will eventually have to sleep."
"If you don't, I will pluck you bald."
“Rebeka, realize that I am not your plaything, I will sleep when I am tired, I will wake when I am rested. I’m currently not tired, and you will kindly refrain from touching my wings.” Dico’s expression was one of disgruntled annoyance, but he hid it behind his data pad as he continued to lean against the bulkhead as he had been for the last few hours.
Miles meanwhile gave Sana a gentle tap on the shoulder and pointed to the doorway, indicating that maybe they should leave the pair to their squabbles.
Sana stifled her words, caught off guard. Her own hand rose as she pointed to the door at the open doorway of their quarters questioningly. "Uh?"
“She did say to catch up after all, right?” Miles said, most likely not on the same page as Sana, but due to his nature he would eventually be thinking the same as her within a matter of minutes.
Sana nodded anxiously and stepped over the doorway out of Rebeka quarters, taking the good doctor's hand within her own as she ventured into her own quarters.
As the crew of the Maras found their individual places, Elisa took her place at the helm, where she guided the Maras from their current location, into Nepleslian space, taking a route which would take them through the rubble of Old Ralfaris, where they would take a break to recharge their wormhole system before progressing deeper into Nepleslian space.
ON: Maras, 05:00, Nepelsian Space
As the maroon hull of the organic armored form gracefully swam through the depths of space toward it's goal of the locking plates of the Nepelsian Station, a claxon pierced ears. It flooded with a distinctly bitter sound, met with a sharp uprising in tone. Doors throughout the ship shifted in hue and slid open as a voice billowed like a deep draft. "We are now approaching Waypoint 2. Miles, Stalwart, I want you on deck. Elisa, feel free."
Miles sat up from his place in his quarters, but he made sure to be careful not to bump the sleeping figure which layed beside him as he got up and put his clothing back on. Oi... just like back on the Sakura. Miles slipped on his boots then made his way out the door and to the bridge deck.
Being broadcast on numerous communication channels, such as Hyperwave and subspace radio, was the following message, “Attention all ships, the area one light-year around Nepleslia, Nepleslia Prime, Rok’Veru, Kennewes and New Kohana has been declared a Free Fire Zone. All ships seeking passage to Nepleslia should do so through the Delsauria gate due to the recent security concerns.” This was repeated continuously in multiple languages.
The last month of the 29th year of the Yamataian Era...it seemed almost nostalgic. That year felt so long...almost like a dream, really, even if the only significant things happened in the past few months. Elisa yawned...she was having a good dream. Pity that she had to wake up now, but it couldn't be helped. Standing up and brushing her hair into place with her fingers, she sighed slightly as she walked toward her clothes.
"Integration status...hm...well, if she wants to be part of this ship, then I can't stop her, can I?" A brief moment of somber introspection, Stalwart having stayed awake the entire night working on the particle generator. Still needed to work the bugs out, but at this rate, he'd be ready for prototype stage in time for new years'. The announcement was heard, and he took his lab coat, smiling as he always did as he begun his journey to the bridge.
Rebeka was met upon the deck, a leg propped over the other as she played back the signal they had recieved. The wavey line of a phonograph rose and fell with every tone in the broadcaster's voice upon the cabin roof of the bridge, like a big screen. Pale hair rolled over the woman's shoulders as her eyes observed Miles' entry as the first of the troop. "Sorry to drag you out of bed."
Dico, the 'Comm Bird' as Elisa refered to him, tapped at his personal data pad as he stood beside Rebeka. "Morning Miles, Rebeka, the communication seems to be a warning about navagational hazards and a 'free fire' zone. I think we need to make contact before going about our affairs."
Miles meanwhile gave a nod to Dico and Rebeka. "Good morning, and I don't mind, I'm used to odd sleep hours... well... I was. Not sure about this new body."
"Response: Request a reference point for the course they wish us to take. Tell them we're unfamiliar." her voice queried in a slulled monotonic manner. "And good morning to you too."
Dico nodded as he tapped at the data pad, sending along the message to the Greens through the Communications Network of Nepleslia. "I've sent them the request for a reference point, and informed them that we're unfamilar with their space... do you wish to make a request to land or acquire materials? This could be an oppertunity to forge better relations."
Miles could not help but to chuckle. "Maybe order a pizza or a delivery of those really neat noodles and those 'egg rolls' which are really just fried synthetic material and recycled veggies."
"Yes. I'd like to know where I might be able to barter, both to buy and sell and somewhere to stock up on food and medical equipment. Specifically, I'm looking for a micro-fab or a mini-fab that would fit one of the empty quarters." The Sourcian pondered as to where this rather spontanious comment had arisen and made herself clear: "Preferebly something sturdy enough for weapons manufacture"
"NovaCorp is good for some equipment, but we could shop around for a company naitive to Nepleslia." Miles suggested as he thought about maybe getting ahold of his family to recover the money which had come their way since his 'death'.
Stalwart was the first to arrive on the bridge, but for once he had enough sense to keep his mouth shut, passing along the plans to Rebeka for the hull disguise he had implemented. Elisa came shortly after, smiling slightly as she took her rightful place in the pilot's seat once more. "So are the Greens at war or not? I forget if it's changed since I last checked."
Dico though had little on his mind other than sending along the appropriate message to the Nepleslians, asking for clearance to maybe land or directions to a space borne merchant. He also included the same request on behalf of the Lorath Matriarchy.
"If we have the resources and the time, I'd like to overhaul the Maras. We have a footing but we're not well prepared for this environment" Rebeka uttered.
"Adaptation is key to survival." Miles said offhandedly as he listened to Rebeka.
"Er...if I might say so, I believe Maras is 'adapting' already..." Stalwart raised his finger as though to speak, again, not smiling. "The reason Aria has been unavailable appears to be that Maras is examining her. Perhaps even integrating her into its system. I've checked the status - I'm not sure why it's taking so long, but it appears to be having trouble with her."
"Could be eating her." Miles said as he grinned slightly. "She does seem like a good snack, both biological and metallic components."
"I think it's been a while since she's had some good company." Rebeka retorted. "Even if it's a machine. Miles, do you think we could acquire some cargo-pods roughly about the length of the ship?"
"...maybe there is some worth in that machine, after all," Elisa stated obliquely. She didn't know it was going on - but why not? She was supposed to be aware of Maras intimately...
"Cargo pods... I think we could purchase some old transport ships and gut them, then attach them to the hull." Miles suggested as he rubbed at his bare chin. "Of course we could make cargo containers on our own by welding together some scrap metal and fix on some environmental devices..."
"Ideally, I just want to enlarge the volume of the Maras to begin with so we have a deeper internal storage capacity, integrated. Then... I think it would be a good idea to disguise us as a common class of non-offensive craft. You two are familiar with the area: Find something of a similar approximate volume." Rebeka said, pondering the possible outcomes.
"Rebeka, you have a large ship with a very unsual shape... there is nothing that really fits the Maras properly, least nothing that comes to my current memory... but give me a full diagram of the Maras' structure and I'll see what I could maybe come up with." Miles took in a breath as he began to brood on the subject.
"Ah! If we could get my old Sojourner-class here, we could use its cargo segments to expand this ship's capacity...it's mostly filled with scrap and old prototypes that we could use for more production." Smiling again. It was strange, how easily the Yamataian shifted emotions back to that initial state. "Unfortunately its speed is rather low, and it was put in storage when I arrived on Lor...but I'm sure they could work something out for us."
"It has most likely been acquired by the New Tur'Lista to be used as a basis for new technology. If we were to go to where my people evacuated to, it is most likely still there... but from what I understand, they're too far away to even consider going there, at least for the time being." Dico advised as he kept an eye on his data pad, waiting for any response from the Nepleslians.
"I see..." Rebeka noted Stalwart's words and then Dico's. "I think it will be nessesary to produce a list of goods and requirements but I also think it is nessesary that you send a communication to make sure they don't misplace your goods without compensating you."
The people that handled the Green’s transit system would take some time to function but would get out a response in a decent amount of time. “Attention ship,” The message stated, using the same communication channel that they had originally used, “Nepleslia is open for trade and we have numerous facilities open for busness, we simply request that you allow your ship to be scanned prior to moving close to our stations. We can also arrange to have a diplomat standing by to assist you if you wish to conduct negotiations.” The message was sent along with map data showing the locations of Nepleslia and Delsauria, as well as the ‘no fly zones’ around nepleslian worlds.
Dico presented his data pad to Rebeka so she could look over the message. "It seems that they're feeling friendly... I suggest taking up the ambassador meeting, it may prove fruitful."
"Very well. Elisa, following the provided route, do you have an ETA for arrival and our proper destination?" Rebeka queried, rather fustrated by not knowing the local space.
Miles spoke up in this case. "Their sensors are nearly on par with Yamatai, so it should not take too long... if we procede at our normal pace, with a short ten minute stop for being scanned, I think we'd be landing on Nepleslia within twenty to thirty minutes."
"...Miles, you're not the navigator. Don't speak for me again." A simple statement, and Elisa was once more silent. Something seemed to be bothering her...
(9:05:00 PM) Tomoe: Miles shrugged. "Just chiming in since I know the space is all. Relax Elisa, you're getting edgy."
Rebeka simply smiled, lips curled into a near mischevious grin. "Children, children."
"Oh of course nanny Rebeka, we'll behave." Miles could not help but to laugh. "I do suggest sending them a reply before we start flying in though."
"Dico, we've reached our conclusions. I think it would be best to accept all the help we are offered." Rebeka sighed as she set her chin in her palm, eyes noting the soft glow of planets and stars ahead through the bridge's cabin.
"Captain, course is laid in. ETA approximately 20 minutes, including landing procedures, assuming no detours. Just say the word." Elisa thrummed her fingers over the throttle slightly, looking toward the stars with a sigh. Contemplative.
Dico seized his data pad again and went about sending a reply, informing the Greens of their approach, requesting to be scanned, requesting an ambassador be made available, and requesting editions of the most recent catalogs from the local and foreign technology firms and shipyards, also a request if they could be directed to a landing port with a scrap yard.
“Welcome to Nepleslia.” Came the reply, after a few moments of work on the Nepleslian side. “We will do out best to ensure the scans go as quickly as possible. I do have to ask you if you have any NH series bioweapons onboard, as the scans can be harmful to that species?”
Dico could not help but to laugh as he opened a short term video feed. "Nobody here but us chickens... I think is how your people say it. Well, chickens, goo women, and Yammies, also got one of your kind aboard, nothing here with cat ears though."
"If we did, we'd let it run through the scanner. Proceed." Rebeka said in a rather bemused tone.
A laugh came from the Nepleslian end of the transmission that was hastily cut off. What wasn’t transmitted was the reprimand for laughing at such a comment although they did eventually respond with, “I think you will fit in here.”
There was a pause on Rebeka's behalf as her mind began to wonder. "What kind of damage are we talking about here?"
"Ah very good then, I just hope your people don't have a liking for roasted bird or jelly snacks, closing the channel for now before I get scolded by my captain for laughing too much about this, be sure to send an ambassador with good humor... and oh, my Captain has a question, she is curious about your scan, bio ship and all." Dico handed Rebeka the data pad, as soon as the pad was away, the smile faded from Dico's lips... he was a good diplomat and communicator it seemed.
"Ah, wait! There are also biological computer units on board, unactivated A-Types, and I forget if they added anti-scan measures to them..." Stalwart seemed somewhat alarmed as he scrolled through his data. "We can't have them ruined..."
Rebeka's fingertips hovered over the pad as she peered down at it. Still, her eyes hadn't quite adapted to percieving depth where there was none. "We contain no traces of NH bioweapons. However, both myself and my craft are of an origin your systems will not recognize. I assume the scan will be safe."
"If it is not, my craft will respond in a hostile manner automatically, for which I cannot be held responsible for, you see."
“Our scanning devices can trigger the anti-scan function of NH series weapons, causing them to self destruct.” The operator on the Nepleslian end of the transmission began to fiddle around with the computer in front of him. This caused numerous clicks to be transmitted through the operator’s microphone as information was brought up on the scanning devices, “There have been no reports of the scans being harmful to anything other than the NH.”
"Wonderful. With our next trip, we'll be sure to drag a few moggies down with us." Rebeka chuckled to herself. "Proceed."
There would be silence from the Nepleslian end of the transmission for a few moments. The NH series bioweapon warning would be played again and then the scans would begin. A combination of energy from the large space station above Deslsauria would carry this out invisibly and soon they would receive a response, “You have been cleared for docking with Unity Base. We are now sending you the location of your assigned docking station.” As this was said, the docking station they were assigned was being modified by the station’s systems to better seal around the hull of the ship that was headed towards them, just to be on the safe side.
Unity base itself was stationed above Delsauria, a swampy planet that was used as a base of operations for many units of the Green’s navy. Below the station itself, and above the planet, was a giant circular warp gate holding numerous smaller wormholes that led to the planets of the Nepleslian Empire and to Nepleslia itself,
Miles smiled softly. "A step closer to good ol' home... Rebeka, welcome into the Nepleslian Empire, be sure to keep an open mind, and don't bend over."
