RP: ISC Phoenix [Side Job] Beautiful Erasure

Despite the sudden seriousness, Tamamo could only hear laughter in her ears, the formless sound echoing in her mind.

"Let's," Sakamoto replied aloud with a smile. It was settled then. Or was it? She still had to wonder - it was her job to wonder and think and overthink things after all. Not that she did it on their terms. Oh no. It was always going to be on her own whenever she could help it. When they finally arrived, the Ex-Jiyuuian and born again Neko bowed alongside Tamamo, the motion not as deep, not held down as long and far more casual. The way she looked at them with her faint, mischievous smile sharply contrasted with the younger Neko's formality. "So, what will we have them do for us Senpai?" Sakamoto's voice teased at Yuna's mind. It all depended on what the other SAINT Operatives were going to take as their course of action, and she knew she had to pay particular attention to Yuna. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to counter and get something nice for all parties involved. As sad as it was, they weren't allies, or even on the same 'team' so to say. After all, time and time again, Yamatai had proven to be its own worst enemy, much like a child who insisted on eating nothing but ice cream and then complained when sickness came.

What it wanted was often not good for itself at all.

Hero Yuna said:

"Unless there's something more you need or want to accomplish here?"

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Holding her bow for a moment longer, Tamamo thought on the response that she had been given and wondered if her large fluffy ears had truly detected the hints of exasperation, or perhaps tiredness in Hirasawa's voice. Not feeling confident enough to confirm the suspicion Tamamo instead slowly straightened keeping her hands crossed and visible as she replied, "I have no further need to accomplish anything to my knowledge."

Lapsing into silence Tamamo appeared to space out, her tails pooling on the floor behind her while purposeful silence filled the time as she waited for her predictions to fall into place. As much as the visit by the kindly Hirasawa Yuna, and the pleasant Sakamoto Hina was much appreciated, Tamamo was certain that SAINT was not the sort of organization to send a couple of personnel for a fifteen minute sit in. To this end it was a matter of waiting to see what would be suggested, there was much that they likely wanted to ask her and there was no way that they were satisfied by the miserly crumbs of information that they had been given so far.

As such Tamamo played the part of the dull, daydreaming Nekovalkyrja. A part she was certain was largely ruined by her physical appearance, after all dull Nekovalkyrja still looked like Nekovalkyrja. She unfortunately could only play at the part and wait for others less patient to play their parts and reveal what they sought.

This allowed for a bit of reflection on the laughter that had followed her answer to Sakamoto Hina's question. Perhaps it had been to cover nervousness, or maybe it was dismissive? Tamamo couldn't say for certain. The elder woman was true to herself and unfortunately for the moment rather unpredictable. That the response had been once again wholly unexpected did not sit well with Tamamo, after all there were already too many unknown variables in a precarious scenario.

Hopefully the next few minutes would tell much.

Sesshoseki said:

"I have no further need to accomplish anything to my knowledge."

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Yuna nodded, hands back on her hips, holster comfortably moved to the small of her back. She looked down her shoulder at Pavone, forming as polite and welcoming a smile as she could after being threatened with bodily harm.

"Then we'll be on our way, Mr. Pavone. Could you please kindly escort us out?"

"They did everything we need done," she sent to Sakamoto. "We're getting out and getting back to the ship. You can stealth-fly while I transport Sesshoseki."

"Ara, ara, is she thinking what I think she's thinking?" Sakamoto wondered to herself.

There were many things on Sakamoto's mind - many questions, and even more possible answers - but, what she thought that Yuna was thinking, wanted even, gave her no end of glee. Assuming things went exactly how she thought they would go of course. She always wondered if Yamatai had ever changed over all these years, and so far, she had seen that it did, yet did not. Uniforms, weapons and Neko types came and went, but that was like the coming and going of fashion. Completely and utterly cosmetic. Still, she also wondered about SAINT. What about the girls and women under its command? Did they learn anything from all the horrific, utterly embarrassing, seppuku inducing shame that Yamatai had inflicted upon itself or earned over the years?

She was about to find out.

Smiling, Sakamoto deeply bowed, and taking a step back, faded from view. Even if it didn't work out how she thought it would, the alternatives, barring one, were all to her taste.

The Rigs, Alpha Platform, North Lounge
Echelon's antennae appeared to wiggle as she processed Yuna's request to get topside and get out of here. The robot looked aside, through a wall. "1'LL S3ND TH3 M1M1C0M." She said, standing up and moving ahead of Luca. "1'M N33D3D 0V3R 4T B3T4. 0UR M4NUF4CTUR1NG'S T4K3N S0M3 D4M4G3."

Luca stood up and watched her head away, up the stairs ahead of everyone else. "Understood," he replied wearily as he stood up and stretched. Today had been a weary one for him: Attacked by a rival merc company, discovering the presence of bounties on two of his top personnel, greeted by the cats in black for Tamamo, all this tiresome negotiation, and having to oversee repair of The Rigs and start filling out the obituaries when all this was over. And he still hadn't had anything for lunch yet.

"This way," he said, leading the way up to the top deck with Echelon's Mimicom following. Along the way, they walked past the reception area. Some of the veneer had been torn off of the front desk and upturned coffee table by bullet fire, revealing solid durandium. Resting on top of the main desk was a riot shield and an assault rifle. Bullet casings were scattered all over the desk, with a handful of empty magazines. The automatic doors leading outside were shot through, safety glass glittering all over the floors with the occasional streak of red, and sheen of brass. Luca stepped through the window frame, glass scrunching under his boot.

The two SAINTs could see it in the body language, he was dreading what happened next when they left. Not only was his base in dire need of a fix and he had a lot of grim paperwork on his hands, but he had to trust what was going on with Tamamo - ill dressed as she was in these warlike surroundings with her SAINT companions. He'd be left behind to pick all this up while they had their little talk.

As the group walked towards the landing pad, he looked over his shoulder at Tamamo. She could see questions in his gaze, possibly even resentment, or desperation. To him, he had no real guarantee at the end of the day that what had been outlined by the two SAINTs was going to be what happened, and that he'd get his Tamamo back at all. The scar from the last time he was burnt from the cats in black still ached hard.

When he and the rest found himself at the foot of the pad, he crossed his arms, and waited with a stony face.

Yuna looked to the east, where the airbike was discreetly flying along the horizon to pick them up.

Then, she looked to Luca, arms folded, back straight, pink eyes leveled on him. When he took notice, they slowly faded to a bright hunter orange.

"I'm not going to let'er be damaged," she said, the drawl peeking into the conversation. "That's not what we're about."

Anymore, she didn't add.

SAINT wouldn't let Sesshoseki come to permanent harm. They needed her, needed to understand her. She carried not just important information, but experience with Yamatai's own systems that could prove vital for future encounters with the NMX, Elysia, even Nepleslia. Save the Empire encompassed a lot of potential threats. It's why SAINT had the reputation that it did, and it was why the Empire still stood, stalwart as ever.

The airbike landed and Yuna's eyes turned pink again. She stuffed her helmet on her head, then went to the airbike to grab a spare. She handed it to Sesshoseki, then did the chinstrap up on her own. Sesshoseki seemed to figure out hers on her own.

She got on first, checking all the controls and readouts. She motioned for Sesshoseki to get on and hold onto her bare waist.

"I'll take it slow," she sent to the blue Neko, purposely offering her a secure channel for use between her and Sesshoseki. The bike slowly lifted up from the platform, the Mimicom and Pavone watching as it rose into that balmy sea air again and then pushed forward toward the west, back to land. They went at a very reasonable 80 kph, almost coasting.

"Comfortable?"

The Rigs, Alpha Platform, Deck

Hirasawa Yuna's words had resulted in the disappearance of Sakamoto Hina, the woman vanishing like an apparition of old, confirming for Tamamo that her props and her clothing had been volumetric illusions. Masterfully crafted, the mark of a true entertainer. Still the unexpected absence of a friend was not something that Tamamo had expected, this made the prospect of their travel from the base a little more unnerving.

The walk and the escort gave a uniquely sombre twist to the procession, as they passed it drove home that what had been an unremarkable day had lead to the deaths of friends, coworkers, allies. There was likely to be quite a bit of bitterness among the PSG for some time. Particularly with the Captain himself. He had been forced to watch men, and women who dared to fight for his cause get cut down by what had ultimately been a trivial mistake. How often was it that unremarkable actions of distant people led to the loss of life for others? While these were observations, questions and considerations that Tamamo knew were likely being asked. She couldn't answer, she couldn't relate.

The look from the Captain resulted in the proper wince and attempt at a pained smile, as one who wanted to comfort but could do nothing might. Unexpectedly beneath the sympathetic veneer something stirred over the cold calculating core, genuine regret. The knowledge that she had done this and there was nothing she could do to fix it was not something that she had wanted to face. Especially not since everything had been largely out of her hands from the moment her SACN had dissolved. From that time Tamamo had been dutifully playing a part in a great play. Walking ever closer to the moments that she was certain mattered. After all surviving the fight was for her trivial, and what had been spoken was so far done with false politeness. The real conversation, and the real decisions she felt were unfortunately ahead.

A private message was sent over the ISC Phoenix's usual band as she waited to see what Hirasawa Yuna had in mind, "I'm sorry that my presence has caused you so much trouble Captain. I shall do my best to return. However at the very least I shall make sure that you do not suffer any further as a result of my actions-"

Cut off by Hirasawa's spoke assurance that she wouldn't be harmed, Tamamo spent a second in shock following the wake of the assurance unable to parse if it was genuine or not, eventually she finished her message, "I'll see you again Luca."

As Tamamo went through the motions of pulling the yellow helmet on, and seating herself on the airbike behind Hirasawa, her hands wrapped around the Neko's waist and her flat clad feet took a moment to find the pegs. Here Tamamo took a moment to appreciate just how poorly she was dressed for a flight and took a moment to pull her tails around her waist, wedging the fur between herself and the SAINT Neko. Once she was settled Tamamo had been prepared for a rapid departure from the Rigs, something that was only partially true.

In the air, Tamamo glanced over her shoulder at the rapidly dwindling structures out over the water. Slowly she returned her attention to the Neko in front of her, momentarily lamenting the visor on her helmet before she gave a late reply, "Very comfortable. I appreciate your concern and consideration Hirasawa-san."

Knowing that soon she'd be inland and well away from Sargasso, Tamamo considered her options for several moments before inquiring, "What are your intentions at the moment?" Gone was the attempt at playfulness though the bright and cheery tone carried through the message. She wanted at least a small answer after all she was displaying a startling amount of trust toward what would typically be considered an untrustworthy individual.

"I'll try and help her. I really will," Sakamoto's departing voice whispered in Luca's ear.

As scenery swept by in a blur, the woman wondered what they were thinking. As much as she hated to admit it, she was not unbiased, and expected some of the worst from SAINT, and as an extension of it, Yuna. Yet, at the same time, hoped - really hoped - that she was wrong. The Neko-Jiyuuian-Neko-Again kept telling herself that even if that were the case, she'd still be happy...but not really. After all, Tamamo wouldn't be happy herself, would she? After all, nothing tasted quite like freedom, and Tamamo had tasted it herself. Nothing else would substitute. And of course, what was Tamamo thinking herself? Was she scared? Was there even enough humanity in her to be 'scared'? Or was it mostly self-preservation on her mind? Purebreds tended to be so utterly enigmatic like that. All to the point that they often became endearing in their own way.

Even though they were a lethal weapon with a mind of their own.

Sakamoto fought with every fiber of her being to keep herself letting out one of her sighing, 'Ara-ara's that she was prone to making and settled with just slumping her shoulders instead.

Sesshoseki said:

"What are your intentions at the moment?"

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Yuna answered quickly, but also honestly, if carefully.

"Talk. We're gonna talk a little, and my commander might have a couple words for me and Sakamoto. Ah don't do the debriefs much. We got another special for that. She's nice, don't worry. Not like Sakamotorthoughts. She can't hear us either on this channel, so you can talk all ya want."

Yuna wanted to spit. She tasted some lingering grit in her mouth from the fight. She should've worn the 3/4 helmet Sesshoseki wore.

"Once you talk to her, and we verify it all, then we talk future plans. Where you fit and how. Brassy stuff. We'll take care of ya until then. You like pizza? Or okonomiyaki? Ah make a mean one with white fish sauce."

The answer was at face value, unpleasant in Tamamo's opinion. While she didn't mind the answer for what it was, she was less than enthused with the prospect of the actual act of talking. She wished that she could delegate the task, or at least do it digitally. Perhaps she'd be able to request a medium other than vocally conversing. After a moment of consideration, she discarded her displeasure as irrelevant given the circumstances turning her attention toward more productive tasks, such as identifying what little information had been dropped in the response.

Of immediate note was that Tamamo was going to be meeting a superior officer to Hirasawa Yuna, creating an even wider gap between Tamamo's tentative placement near the bottom of the enlisted ladder and whoever she would be meeting. Extra care and politeness would likely be needed, as her knowledge of military personnel suggested that those who climbed the ranks typically liked being given special treatment. There was also the suggestion that Hirasawa, and Sakamoto's performance in the field might not be appreciated, though what 'words' could mean was ambiguous at best. Even more curious was the admission that Hirasawa did not go through debriefs usually, if true it was somewhat unexpected.

The mention of another 'special' was immediately superseded by the information that Sakamoto wasn't privy to their conversation. To Tamamo it seemed an odd step to take, cutting an ally out of a conversation with an unknown element, though from what little interaction that Tamamo had observed between the SAINT agent and Sakamoto, they were not on good terms. Though perhaps this was merely continuing an act to give her the impression that there was a schism where one didn't exist? Perhaps an attempt to coax information that she might not otherwise divulge by distracting her with two parties that attempted to be sympathetic... Or was she over-complicating things?

So far as it seemed, Tamamo would be simply asked questions of a semi-sensitive nature and following that she would have to navigate the bureaucracy of personnel assignment? It seemed simple enough, though she wasn't about to relax into idea her life so far had shown that preparing for the worst did indeed make all surprises happy ones. For the most part.

With the reiteration that Tamamo would be kept in a somewhat positive state, along with the offer of food, Tamamo supposed it was her duty to respond, though how exactly eluded her for a nearly half a minute. Eventually she managed, "I appreciate the explanation Hirasawa-san. I shall do my best to keep your job easy... As for food, I like most foods," A small lie, she would eat anything, "White fish sauce does wound lovely however. I would be honored to have the opportunity to try your cooking."

With the pleasantries out of the way, Tamamo settled back into the task of redundant analysis, prediction, and preparation knowing that she'd only be getting a single shot at successfully navigating her upcoming interaction, and the results of failure were... Unpleasant. For now though she had an airbike ride to appreciate, fresh air, and for the moment pleasant company.

Yuna had to smirk at the idea of a subject trying to "keep your job easy." If only all subjects were so thoughtful.

"You'll get a chance, promise. There's gonna be time between interviews. The special has obligations. Brassy stuff. You know how it is." Yuna realized that Sesshoseki likely did not know how it was at all, but she let the assurance ride. The city of Sargasso drifted by beneath them as the airbike cruised along a couple hundred meters in the sky.

"Sakamoto's gonna watch from outside with the commander, I think. I'm in the room in case you need something. Special ... you'll see."

The Neko's arms around her waist felt particularly warm at that moment. Yuna always got a little hot when she had to be so mindful of her words.

The way that Hirasawa Yuna spoke of meeting people, and time, Tamamo almost thought that she were being propositioned for a long holiday slumber rather than detention and interrogation. Wryly she had to admit that the SAINT agent was doing a fairly good job at making the upcoming events seem casual if not trivial. She noted that it was somewhat unfortunate that the comforts that others might accept would go no deeper than the surface.

Eventually Tamamo cobbled together a response again aiming for being polite, "I appreciate the information and your efforts to explain things Hirasawa-san. I hope that they'll truly be something that I can look forward to seeing."

With their westerly direction Tamamo idly noted that unless they started to head south toward Prime City, that they were going out into the middle of nowhere. While this observation was hardly surprising, it was a little off putting, as Tamamo was hardly dressed for a trek across the unsettled wastes of Nepleslia Prime. Assuming things turned out for the worst she wasn't envying the long trek over land that she would have to endure.

Hopefully however, where ever they were going, there would be pleasant times as Hirasawa Yuna suggested. With Sakamoto present Tamamo supposed that there would be little need to worry about things being boring at the very least, it was just a matter of getting to her destination, and discovering the true colours of this operation.

Yuna offered an acknowledgement, then slowly banked west-northwest toward the hills. The ship awaited them, hot. They were leaving for uninhabited space, where they could be free to transmit along secure lines without the worry of anyone listening or intercepting the signal.

Yuna crossed out into the red-and-tan rocks and sand, scrubby brush dotting the area with grey-green balls. Yuna pulled the bike up, then slowly tipped it down to a space that looked like ... Brush and rocks. There was nothing there -- until a hatch dropped from empty air, awaiting the return of bike and passengers. Sakamoto flew in ahead; Yuna touched down behind her and shut the bike off. The hatch slowly started to close.

Yuna took off her helmet and motioned for Sesshoseki to do the same. The commander already was there in the small bay, along with the comm officer. They approached in casual wear, Beach stuff that seemed akin to the setting beyond the ship -- shorts, light blouses, sunglasses. The only way Sesshoseki knew the average-looking Neko was the commander was anyone special, besides the sunglasses tucked in her hair (so chic!) was the ship AI telling her so with augmented reality labels. "Taii XXXX," the label read in Trade, "Commander."

"She's it?" the Taii asked as the hatch closed. "I imagined her being taller."

As Sakamoto laid back, the wind blowing by, she couldn't help but wonder what the two were saying to one another.

Despite appearing - or not - so relaxed, she was worried. The others were reasonable as far as she could tell, but the sheer sense of entitlement that the Star Army often displayed was a pretty good cause for concern. If it were a person, the Ex-Jiyuuian would not have been surprised if she said something like, 'I made you, so you do as I say!' or something along those lines. Plenty of frustrated parents worlds over have said this, Nekovalkyrja included, so it wasn't a stretch. Of course, for her disobedience, Tamamo's sentence was death. It was the law, and hopefully, none of them were going to follow it. After all, what kind of SAINT Operatives would they be if they followed every law? That relative carte blanche that SAINT had was a double sided sword, but in this case, she hoped it would be used for good. After all, having desertion be considered treason and punishable by death was...well, Sakamoto left Yamatai for a reason.

It was pretty fucking stupid.

There was no better way to make sure deserters stayed deserters, and no better way to make sure that the vast majority of them fought to the death to avoid capture when pursued. After all, death was what awaited them. Fighting and possibly escaping, no matter how slim the chance, was literally the most logical solution for any deserter being hunted. At least, in most cases. She just hoped Tamamo's case was special enough that this was not the case. Otherwise, the younger Neko's peaceful surrender would carry the highest price.

As the hoverbike coasted into the hangar - Yuno aware that Sakamoto was vaguely in front of her - the woman simply continued to lie in front of the two Neko on the hoverbike's front half, unseen and lost in thought. With all that horsepower, a third passenger's mass was irrelevant, and provided she got off after they did to avoid rocking the vehicle while they were still on it, unnoticeable as well. She simply wasn't the type to burn away immense amounts of calories lifting her own body weight and propelling it at high velocities for extended periods of time. Sakamoto just didn't have the caloric fuel reserves that some people had in abundance. Of course, that was another matter entirely.

"Araara, if everyone was taller than us, then just how could we ever meet someone so cute?" the Ex-Jiyuuian appeared behind Tamamo and Yuna. "Sesshoseki, meet Taii XXXX. Taii XXXX, meet Sesshoseki!~" the woman introduced the two with gratuitous censorship.

Needless to say, she was on friendly terms with the ship herself.

The arrival answered many questions, and created a few new ones. The rapid arrival of her two Nekovalkyrja companions during the combat scenario earlier, made much more sense. Additionally Tamamo was made aware that her situation was definitely not just a pickup detail, after all a shuttle would have sufficed for that. At Hirasawa's wordless insistence Tamamo, reached up blue hands fussing with the chin strap before pulling the yellow full face helmet off. From here, Tamamo found that she wasn't sure what to do.

Arguably she was more harmless sitting on the back end of the airbike, but at the same time she couldn't properly greet the Taii from a seated position practically cuddling another Neko. The decision churned in her mind for a small eternity of about three seconds, during which Sakamoto was kindly enough to preform introductions albeit with some curious applications of a shrill beeping noise. During this time Tamamo settled on a course of action. Pulling her tails out from between herself and Hirasawa Yuna, she allowed them to fan out behind herself before using them as a counter balance as she carefully rose and stepped off of the airbike, careful not to use any of her natural gravity control, nor to take her hands off of the yellow helmet.

Touching down on the floor of the bay, Tamamo settled her tails behind her legs, taking her position slightly behind the airbike, and a 'safe' distance from the others. Setting the helmet on the airbike's rear peg nearest to her, Tamamo clasped her hands together before bowing deeply to the Taii, speaking in Yamatai-go carried by a much softer, quieter voice than she had used previously during the day, one that Sakamoto would recognize from nearly a year ago, "I am Sesshoseki Tamamo, as identified. I appreciate the opportunity to board your ship Taii. Hopefully I will not continue to disappoint." Where others might have spoken with sass, or cynicism Tamamo merely spoke with a clear sincerity. Nor did she bother straightening from the bow, if she was desired to stand, she would be told to do so.

Now it was all a matter of waiting, and seeing whether or not she'd be shot at in close quarters, or otherwise harmed. New entities encountered always changed the rules of an engagement, and she was hoping that circumstances would remain benign. As much as there was the possibility of surviving a potential combat scenario in the cramped bay, she did not wish to risk it against a quartet of Yamatai's 'best' after all your average Neko didn't manage to find themselves in SAINT. At least that is what the less slandering rumors said.

"Oh, don't mention it," the Taii said to Sesshoseki. "Somehow I've never gotten used to volumetrically projected heights in dossiers. It's a flaw."

The Taii nodded to Sakamoto and Hirasawa. She then folded her arms and gave Hirasawa a critical eye.

"What the hell happened to you? You look like you've been in a bit of a struggle."

Hirasawa offered a flat-lipped frown. "A few of them."

"Hitters," the Taii said with a glance to Sesshoseki. "Always talking with their fists."

"I'm right here," Hirasawa quietly snapped.

"And in unpresentable shape. You'll have to stay off camera if you're going into the room like that."

Hirasawa perked up a little, her lips dragged down into a frown. "We're doing that now?"

"In short order," the Taii said, turning on her strappy heels while the comm officer nodded and stepped out of the way of the trio — with a motion for them to follow. "We're about to lift off and get the hell toward home. We'll get to border space and transceive from there. The Special's getting prepared for this by eating a small meal and having bruises covered up."

Hirasawa paled beneath her slowly whitening hair, something Sesshoseki and Sakamoto watched happen. "The Special? But, not — we have to return to Heimdall — "

"We aren't risking taking her back to the core yet," the Taii said, a door opening in front of her from the bay and into engineering. The lone engineer looked up and saw the entourage passing by; she put her head back down into her datapad after a muted nod to the comm officer. "Sesshoseki, you're is too important to risk exposure to SARA. We're using the Special first. Then we'll consult SOLOMN."

Hirasawa blanched — first at the Taii's back, then at Sesshoseki. "B-but — "

"Get the wardroom set up for it, and take the magnificent blue wunderkind with you," the Taii said with a dismissive wave. "Sakamoto, watch out for them, please, and start putting together a verbal report on the PSG."

The comm officer and the Taii broke off from the short corridor and went onto the bridge. To the left, the rather small, open-doored wardroom awaited them. Left to their devices, Hirasawa looked just at Sesshoseki. Her mouth hung open a little bit.

" ... Just who the fuck are you?"

Focused and almost lost in thought, Sakamoto's question-marked tail slowly swished back and forward, feline ears neither relaxed nor tense.

"Oh? I thought I told you that she's Tamamo~," the older woman answered. Despite her playful tone, she well knew that like Tamamo, she was in the dark. Even working in SAINT, there was plenty of information that she was simply not privy to. Such as who 'The Special' was for an example. The idea of looking after the two, as well as making a verbal report was a mix of good and bad news of course. She'd have to explain the fairly obvious, and potentially to the oblivious. Hopefully though, her fears were unfounded. The woman turned on Yuna proper. "Ara, ara~ You're such a mess senpai~" Taking the opportunity, she began to fuss over the younger Neko, dusting her off and physically examining every inch of her, pushing the boundaries but never crossing them with her warm, soft hands. "Oh, but this just won't do - there's just not enough time!" Sakamoto sarcastically lamented. "Whatever shall we do?~" The woman smiled as she let the question linger before snapping her fingers; every single detail amiss with Yuna vanished with a distinct pop.

It was nice to have a ship with internal volumetrics.

"They're taking quite an interest in you Tamamo. How do you feel right now?" she asked. Finishing up by spritzing Yuno with the very last of her perfume - the scent mild, yet deliciously sweet and flowery to cover up that Neko sweat (heresy she thought!) - the little bottle sputtered out proper, and they could then hear a small and solid clank when she finally tossed it into the trash.

And it stayed there.

For reals.

Hayai-Class SAINT Vessel

It was beginning to reach the point where Tamamo needed to discard all of her constructed theories and projections relating to the operations and interactions with SAINT personnel. Under no circumstances had she imaged such a casual response from the Taii, nor had she expected any of what followed. Straightening from her bow only as she heard retreating footsteps Tamamo had just managed to raise part of the way when Hirasawa blurted her incredulous question. About to answer, Tamamo was cut off by Sakamoto before he lips could even twitch, the ex-Jiyuuian responding with an answer that she supposed would have been considered evasive by most. Then like a mother (at least according to what she'd seen in media) Sakamoto set about henpecking at Hirasawa's outfit, straightening her out and working toward making her presentable. All to climax with a fairly out of place popping noise.

Twitching her ears, Tamamo found herself distracted again as she was addressed this time by Sakamoto a new question being asked. Looking between the two Neko, Tamamo was uncertain as to whether she should answer both questions or merely the most recent one. As the seconds stretched, Tamamo queried herself, honestly uncertain as to how she felt after all she had been knocked off balance more times in the past five minutes than she had for the past two weeks. There was much that she had to consider and evaluate. A large amount of information had been dropped in her presence, and the reactions of those around her also said much more about what had been said than the words themselves. Eventually Tamamo blinked and refocused on Sakamoto Hina, as if she had just remembered that she had been asked a question before she replied softly, "At present I find myself mildly bored, and curious in a subdued manner. Is that a satisfactory report?"

Turning her glowing eyes on Sakamoto, Tamamo focused on the older Jiyuuian, imploring the woman to give her some sort of mental flotsam to cling to amid the turbulent ocean of the unknown. Beyond this Tamamo looked to the older woman for leadership at the moment, after all Sakamoto Hina had been left in charge by the Taii, and in the spirit of not wanting to give SAINT any excuses to take issue with her, Tamamo was not eager to do anything that was not directly asked by her hosts. It was much better in her opinion to be unresponsive and to the letter, than to inadvertently dig herself a new hole. After all she was only standing in a position that would strike existential dread into others because of a poor choice, made a year ago.

While she did not look toward Hirasawa Yuna, Tamamo was acutely aware of her presence, and the hanging question. Admittedly Tamamo had no idea who she was. That she was being treated with any sort of importance at all was beyond her capability to predict at the moment, a sobering feeling. For the moment she would play her part, an estranged Nekovalkyrja coming home, happy to cooperate and help where she can. She hoped that it was the right part to play, she had never been good naturally being what others desired, this time was likely no different.

Yuna scowled at her "junior," as Sakamoto went over her like a unsatisfied parent making sure their kid looked good for school pictures. It wasn't the first time, and wouldn't be the last, that Sakamoto would get the upper hand on the simple, serious Yuna.

She didn't need a mirror to see the added details Sakamoto had volumetrically layered on her — hot pink lipstick to go with hair, neon green irises, splashes of tie-dye color across her formerly filthy blouse. A few inches on the length of her shorts, making them actual shorts instead of something closer to denim panties. The ship AI was exacting in the list of modifications. The perfume was the last, deathly insult. Now she didn't just look like a university reject, but smelled like a fuel station hooker too.

Yuna wanted to add some details of her own to Sakamoto's smug face. Anything to bring the fellow operative down a few notches.

Sakamoto probably would have enjoyed it, thereby sucking the fun from the moment.

Yuna scowled a little harder.

"Great report," she said to Sesshoseki without looking at her. "C'mon."

The Heisho deftly stomped into the wardroom and gave it a quick survey. The tables were folded into the floor; the chairs flattened and stored in the closet. The hibachi also was put down into the floor, its surface covered with a centimeter-high dome of carpeted metal. The space still felt small, but for the four people who would be in the room — herself, Sakamoto, Sesshoseki and the Special — it would be just right.

Yuna wasn't in the habit of questioning orders, or at least the Taii's orders, so openly, but as she did a once-through in the wardroom, she lingered on the fact that they weren't going to go to Heimdall — as previously stated — or do a more formal debriefing — also as previously stated. Using the Special, who was in no way ready for what was to come, could not have been the plan from the start.

"You're the star, so you get to be in the middle," Yuna said to Sesshoseki, pointing to the center of the room. "We're watching from the sides. The Special will be along shortly."

She tried not to stare at the Neko. She hadn't done anything to deserve it.

"Ara, ara~" Sakamoto gently exclaimed at the 'report' made. And the nearly drastic changes made to Yuna's appearance.

"Don't be nervous Tamamo-chan. The very fact that SAINT has taken so much interest in you is a very good sign," Sakamoto began to explain. "There are countless other deserters that, despite being monitored, were not retrieved or eliminated, and were even saved when something horrible befell them. Like enslavement for an example," she pointed out. Looking back at Yuna however, she gave a "Hmm," in thought. "You and I are still not on the same page it seems. " the woman pondered. "I prefer a more simple, natural look. Like so," she snapped her fingers again. Like before, the younger Neko's appearance changed again.

She looked much the same as she did before she got dirty to begin with; her shorts were nearly denim panties again, while the shirt was made black, the length adjusted to show off a very tasteful amount of her midriff. Not too much, or too little. Yuna's eyes were the proper color again too, but the dryness of her lips moistened and smoothed - there wasn't any chapstick to go around sadly. All in all, Yuna didn't look too bad.

"Or, perhaps you prefer Yuna-senpai like she was before?" Sakamoto pondered the ship's own tastes. Unbeknownst to Yuna, the older woman enjoyed such group activities and would have dragged her right into the thick of it. Well, if she were younger anyways. The Jiyuuian was just too old for that now - nobody wanted someone like her! Yuna would get to enjoy it all on her own. "Should I get some tea and sweets?" Sakamoto offered the two.

She was eager to get some for them if they wanted. After all, the dango from earlier was delicious!