[Task Force Phantom Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

[SSharp]

The YSS Phantom held a skeleton crew, with most of its manpower still stuck on Daichi or on its way toward the planet to continue to wait. But with so few people (and the vast majority of them Technicians to boot) there was little to do. There was no one to clean up after. There were no alarm drills to run. So the people aboard the Heavy Cruiser found themselves in the rare condition of boredom in a military at war.

Arkase Oshiro planned to change that. The newly-made Nitô Heisho secured the PA bay for use, and then sent a mental request to Wild, the ship's AI.

The AI's image of a large cat appeared in the quarters of Tachibana Hayate's chosen soldiers, and let out a loud wail. Juno Santô-Hei, and the select few others would all be forced awake by the noise, and subsequently told to report to the Power Armour Bay to meet their Senior NCO.

While Arkase waited for them to report, he readied up several of the Mindy Power Armour for his chosen ice-breaker.

(Any Player-Characters post here. This is going to be where you can have some fun until the plot gets off the ground in about a week or so.)

 

[Bullet Pink]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Juno's crew cabin was a spartan place. The crimson sheets and blanket on her bunk bed were folded neatly and the pillow had no creases. There were no pictures pasted on the walls and all her belongings, if she even had any, seemed to be tucked away, hidden within the storage compartments. The only signs that someone actually lived in the tiny two-person cabin was Juno herself, completely nude and seated at the desk with a small cosmetics mirror in hand.

For the past hour, she had been practicing how to smile correctly; unfortunately she was having little success. The best she could come up with was a sleepy grimace. The others attempts either looked insincere or like some kind of deranged clown rictus. It was gruelling training, but if it could improve her effectiveness in team-based operations, then it would be worth it. Juno was still at it when the ship AI's holographic cat appeared on the desk, and let out a loud, high-pitched wail not two feet from her face. She winced internally at the unacceptably loud noise, but deciding to be pleasant about it, Juno gave the AI a polite smile.

"Greetings, Wild." called the tall cat-girl, her soft voice not quite matching the demented hyena-rut smile on her face.

The AI didn't seem bothered, "Juno santô-hei, you are required by Oshiro nitô-heisho to report to the power armour bay."

"Orders acknowledged, Wild. Proceeding to power armour bay."

Even as Wild's holographic construct winked out, Juno's infantry uniform flickered into being around her. The next instant, she was up and walking out the door. Making her way to the PA bay at a brisk pace, Juno didn't know what Oshiro Arkase had planned, but then she didn't care either. If she was meant to know ahead of time, she would have been informed.

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Konpeki stepped onto the YSS Phantom without any ceremony. Her clearance had been arranged by her superiors. She was to conduct an impromptu evaluation of the ship and its crew. She adjusted the image of her SAINT Operative Field Suit to that of the duty uniform for the ship including its patch. MEGAMI Wild, this is Eika-Ittô Heisho commencing evaluation of crew and ship per Hokamo-Chusa's orders. Please advise Tachibana-Taii that I am onboard and doing my inspection. she sent telepathically. Eika-Heisho, several of the crew members are enroute to the power armor bay. Perhaps you should start your evaluation there. Wild replied.

Konpeki considered it and made her way to the power armor bay. Once in the bay she took a moment to around it. She spotted a lone crew member, Oshiro-Heisho she recognized from the crew manifest. She closed and locked the door to the bay and crossed over to him, as she crossed she had her SOFS allow her SAINT patch to appear. "Oshiro-Heisho, I am Eika Ittô Heisho. I need your indulgence for a few moments. I am conducting an evaluation, and wish to test some of your new people. Wild has informed me that a Juno-Hei is enroute. I want to see how she responds. I wish you to be a victim for a few moments. If you would please assume the position of an unconscious person." she said with a smile pointing to the floor.

 

[SSharp]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

"I'm afraid," Arkase Oshiro said dryly, "that she'd take your head off... Ma'am."

But Arkase submitted, and lay on the floor. Whatever the SAINT person wanted, it'd be made clearer soon enough.

"Mind if I use this as the catalyst for... my little drill?" Arkase asked from a prone position.

----

Tachibana Hayate-Taii looked up from his data pad as Wild appeared in all her volumetric scruffiness.

"Tachibana-Taii, Eika Ittô Heisho has arrived to inspect the ship. She currently is in the Power Armour Bay, attempting to alarm personnel and better ascertain our status." Wild said, scratching with a hind leg at non-existent fleas.

If ever he got an Operator for the Phantom, he wished him or her luck in dealing with the odd AI.

"Very well. Let her carry on. I assume you have the rest of my Special Tactics detachment on the way to back their comrade up?"

The Cat flicked an ear. "Meg-Hei and Yamura-Hei were woken as per Oshiro-Heisho's orders. He wishes to drill them today."

"Ah. Good. Let me know when the Bay is cleared. I want to give them a surprise."

"Very well, Tachibana-Taii."

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

"Of course, you may use this as a catalyst. And she is certainly willing to try, I am armed and wearing armor. Sufficient to protect me from an NSP and this is more of a test of character than a test of her fighting prowess. In your assignment, the crew members will need to react to unexpected situations. I want to see what she does in a supposedly safe environment and finds the person she's supposed to report to has been attacked. After all, we have seen that the NMX can infiltrate our ranks far to easily. So this is a valid training exercise." She replied with a smile that carried much warmth and a twinkle in her eye that belied mischief.

Konpeki took a position where she would not be in sight of a person walking into the room. Once in place she said, "Wild, please release the locks from the Power Armor door."

 

[Bullet Pink]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Once the MEGAMI unlocked the door, the two inside the PA bay did not have long to wait before a tall, ivory-skinned nekovalkyrja strode into the room. Juno's sleepy-looking eyes spotted Arkase's prone body almost immediately. The lanky Yamataian was lying on the black bay floor and did not appear to be moving. Like the good little first aider that she was, Juno stopped approaching the body and quickly performed a visual search of the area for possible causes of Arkase's apparent incapacitation. It would not be tactically sound to approach Arkase to offer first aid, only to be incapacitated herself in the process. There was also the chance that he wasn't actually unconscious and was lying on the floor for a, as of yet unknown, reason.

From her position by the bay door, Juno called out cautiously, "JUN-0-81bX922g7 reporting for duty as ordered, sir."

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Konpeki noted Juno's first response, Not entirely bad, at least she did not go running up to him. she thought. Konpeki then winced when she heard the young Neko report to the 'unconscious' person. With the SOFS in cloak mode she made her way slowly along the wall. She was careful to avoid moving when Jun was looking in her direction. Once along side the blonde Neko, she gave her a controlled kick to the back of the knee timed with a shove to push her into the room. It would not injure the Neko and she should easily roll back up to her feet.

But would Konpeki a moment to decloak and instruct Wild to close the door again. As the cloack dropped the SOFS went back to a traditional uniform, Konpeki stood holding her NSP.

 

[Bullet Pink]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

The kick to the back of her knee caused Juno to stumble just enough so that the following shove sent the taller nekovalkyrja tumbling towards the centre of the bay. As expected, her tumble changed mid-fall into a nimble roll that ended with a low crouching position in front of Arkase's prone body. A quick spin and a quicker draw of her type 28 mass production pistol later, Juno was facing her attacker, safety off and ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

Though many of her peers perceived her as a violent person, if one were to ask her, Juno would confidently disagree. She wasn't prone to violence, nor did she even particularly enjoy it. Was she prepared for violence though? Yes, always. Battle was what she was created for after all. "YSS Phantom AI Wild, identify all current occupants of the power bay and alert medical personnel to Oshiro itto hei's possible incapacitation. Cause unknown, possibly assault." Juno telepathically sent to the ship AI as she assessed the situation.

She was is a good position to protect the "unconscious" Arkase, but in-between them and blocking the only viable exit stood Konpeki with her own pistol drawn. Juno's unarmoured body, while robust in typical nekovalkyrja fashion, would not last long against a firearms assault. Her eyes flicked briefly to the rows of power armour lining the sides of the room. Cover was minimal at best. The enemy was likely shielded and had stealth capability. All together, it presented a pretty bleak situation. The attacker was, however, wearing a black coloured working uniform and a patch designating her as an itto heisho. What reason would an intelligence operative have for attacking, especially with Arkase unmoving on the floor? Was it a surprise training exercise or something more sinister? Juno didn't know. She also didn't lower her pistol.

Juno hoped that Wild had some good news. She really did not want to do this.

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Wild did not respond.

"Okay Juno Santo-Hei, you gotten yourself a weapon commendable. But what are you going to do with it." Konpeki said, "You have no defensive position, you are currently standing in front of a crew member that you do not know the status of with your back to that person. And you have no idea if there are any more hostiles."

Konpeki shook her head and holstered her weapon. "Put the weapon down Santo-Hei, my evaluation of you is complete. You may get up now Oshiro-Heisho and resume your duties." she then pulled out a datapad and entered a few lines of data.

 

[Bullet Pink]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Juno glanced from Eika to Arkase's still prone body and back. She did not lower her weapon. Instead, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion and called behind her, "Oshiro-heisho, please confirm orders."

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Eika smiled, She has potential, I will give her that much. She still needs a lot of training, but then no more than any soldier coming out of basic. she thought.

Eika put her padd away and smiled at Juno. "Difficult isn't it Santô Hei. To know what is going on, who to trust. That was part of the purpose of this exercise. But let me ask you a question, how do you know that is Oshiro-Heisho? Have you ever met him? All you know is someone called you down here claiming to be Oshiro-san, and you heard me refer to them as such. So why are you putting your trust in him? Can you answer that?"

 

[SSharp]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Suddenly, Klaxons began to wail all across the Phantom.

"Combat Stations. Combat Stations. This is a drill. Enemy boarders have breached the Deck 1 Docking Port. This is a drill. Combat stations..." The message repeated twice, and then ended with the wail of the klaxons.

"Juno! Get into a Power Armour and fight off the boarders -- the weapons are already set for the drill. Find and engage the enemy." Arkase said, jumping up to get into a PA.

-------------

Miyoshi Yoritaka - Santô Hei had been waiting in Tachibana's office for several minutes now inside of a Daisy M6 Power Armor. All the weapons were disabled, and set instead to send signals to Wild, the MEGAMI of the ship that was running the volumetric intruders on Deck 1. The AI could interpret hits, wounds, and firing and could alter the environment around the crew to show the damage as if it were real.

"Alright, Miyoshi-Hei. I know you're an Operator -- but the Ship needs you in a different role for the moment. Go and find Oshiro Arkase - Nitô Heisho. He's in command of the Special Combat Detachment. You should find him heading toward the Docking Port now -- if you can't find your way, Wild is highlighting the quickest path." He said. "Once this is done, you can get to know the Phantom in the Bridge, where you'll spend most of your time during operations and when on duty."

"Good hunting. Consider this your interview. Welcome to Task Force Phantom."

 

[Scot]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

A black haired Neko woke up from emptiness void to hearing faint sounds outside of the shuttle. Apparently no one woke her up from her dreams of fighting waves of Mishu only to fight the Queen when she fell down waking herself up.

Ushimo Sakaki collected her sword and found her bag before leaving the shuttle, only to find it locked. The Neko stared ahead of her stumped on what to do next before turning around and headed to the cockpit to attempt at opening the door. "Lockdown, is there something going on right now?" she asked to herself as she dipped into her cyberbrain to pull the file that would figure out how to open the door.

 

[monsterfurby]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Inside the armor, Miyoshi was sweating and somewhat uncomfortable, but he did his best to conceal that. Instead, he just gave a precise "Yes, Sir! Thank you Sir!" He implied a salute and hurried off, following the holographic signs. This is easy enough, he thought, but it sure ain't gonna stay that way..
As he made his way towards the Docking Port, Miyoshi kept an eye on his surroundings, sometimes spinning around a corner so suddenly that he lost sight of the holographic signs for a second.

 

[Nashoba]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Konpeki smiled at Arkase, "Oshiro-Heisho, I'll let Juno and your other recruits in your capable hands. I have seen enough to know what areas to recommend you focus on. I'll send your commander a report and copy you as well." With that she turned and headed for the exit.

 

[SSharp]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

"Thank you." Arkase said, nodding toward Konpeki. "Wild will give you clearance to leave. It'll be as if you don't exist during the Drill."

With that, Arkase began clambering into his Daisy PA, with Juno on his heels to get into a Mindy nearby.

--------

The noises outside of the shuttle were getting louder -- gunshots and yells made their way through the thick metal and into Sakaki's ears.

Her memories coughed up a possible solution: somewhere in the cockpit was a panel that would allow her to mess with the systems of the shuttle. Possibly, she could turn it on or release the locks holding the ramp in place. Of course, there was also the possibility of her switching on the engines, and flash-frying anyone unlucky enough to be in the way.

Another solution would be to try and blast her way through the Ramp's locks with her NSP on full power. But it would take a while, and probably run her dry on the two batteries she still had for the handgun.

-----------

It took Miyoshi several turns and even a trip down an elevator to finally make it to the bottom deck.

As soon as the doors of the shaft opened to allow him entrance, noise overran his senses. The Docking Port was a blaze with the flashes of Aether, NSP, and LASR fire. It looked incredibly real, and except for the knowledge that none of it was -- of course -- real it could have been a real boarding action. Wild and Tachibana-Taii had seemingly pulled out all the stops.

Two Mindy Power Armours waited at the end of the corridor leading into the Bay. One turned from peeking around the corner, dropping to a crouch and aiming an Aether Beam-Saber Rifle at Miyoshi.

"Id-Identify yourself!" An excited, squeaky voice commanded.

 

[monsterfurby]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Miyoshi was impressed by the holographic carnage before his eyes. This ship's AI certainly did not mess around. He remained in half-cover, trying not to get involved just yet, and yelled back, trying to beat the mess of background noises. "I'm Miyoshi, Santô-Hei. I'm looking for Oshiro Nitô Heisho. Can you tell me where to find him?" A volley of incoming fire left a holographic mark on the docking port wall. "I'm not a hostile," he added, as an afterthought.

 

[Scot]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

Considering her options, Sakaki removed the idea of accidental frying everyone in the area. After tapping on some buttons and finding no way though this, she returned to her seat and picked up her pack and placed it on the seat. She moved her various articles and stuffed toys to find her NSP and holster which she placed on herself, and then strapped her katana to her left side.

She contemplated using her katana instead, before clasping her hand on her head for forgetting something, "MEGAMI, let me out of the shuttle, there is apparently a lockdown and I am late for an interview."

 

[SSharp]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

I apologize for the inconvenience. I am removing the locks aboard the Shuttle. There is currently a drill in progress, and once you exit the Shuttle all personnel and the 'enemy' will consider you part of the fighting. Good luck, Ushimo-Hei. Tachibana-Taii will be watching your performance with interest.

With that, the Shuttle whirred into new life, and Sakaki would find that she could order the ramp open.

----------

"That's just what we were wondering." The other PA said. "I am Nashiro Misaka-Hei, and my excitable friend here is Sakamura Makoto-Hei. We're both part of the Special Combat Team."

"Good." Came a growl from behind Miyoshi. "That means I can order you and... you, what's your name? Well, nevermind. Just get ready -- we have to move in and drag some wounded out. Contest the Docking Port so they can't possibly get more reinforcements in safely."

 

[Kaelaz]

Re: [Prologue II] Phantom's Warriors

The young man had fallen asleep during the journey towards the Second Expeditionary Fleet's headquarters at Daichi. As the shuttle docked with YSS Phantom the small but sudden movements woke him up along with the sounds from the outside. Quickly he rose to leave the shuttle but the doors did not open as he approached. He adjusted the position of the NSP and it's holster so that he was comfortable. Then he made sure the rest of the equipment that could be placed on the belt was secured. With a nod he was satisfied with the gears position and looked towards the shuttles control panel.

"MEGAMI, this is Kurotsuki Takeshi, rank Santô-Hei and my orders are to report to Taii Tachibana Hayate for an interview. Give me a status report and explain why the doors are still closed."