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

RP The Honey Acre Woods (Honeybear Intermission)

Fort Nozomi

Zanven was in his bunk, he had cleaned the revolver and oiled it, quickly making short work of getting the gunk from the previous mission off of it. He remembered coming out of the elevator shaft and helping Sanda get medical attention before watching cuffs being placed on her as she was taken away to be healed up and placed in a detention cell. All in all the past few days since they returned have been...eventful. Of course, there was some upkeep for him and his power armor, the sensors were fucked and his comms were completely done for, a few weapons needed repair, and components needed replacing...but that was small work.

He contemplated sending a message to Sakuko but instead, he just kept a journal of his thoughts and such. He kept it in written form...a rare sight in a technological age. Once he was done cleaning the revolver he holstered it as he moved to the cells where Sanda and Sassa were being kept. He was visiting to see how they were doing. When he arrived it was chow time and he took their meals and walked inside before moving to their cells and giving them food before bringing a chair over to Sanda's cell where he would sit down, pulling her weapon from where it was in his holster before laying the weapon on his lap. "Sanda, how are doing? How has the healing been coming along?" He asked as he was making sure his shipmate was doing well before anything else. He would then look at the next cell, having to lean in his chair to see into the cell of Sassa and give a small smile. "I have not forgotten you either, how are you miss Sassa? Have the SAINT investigators at least been fair to you both?" He finished with a question to the two of them
 
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Gashmere

77

After working with SAINT and SAoY begrudgingly to slog through the many days worth of pornographic material which he had downloaded as a trap along with the coordinates, and it had taking several days to decon his armor while chilling on his ship.

The walking set of armor was back in fully functional form and semi-patiently waiting for the funds to reach his multiple accounts.
 
Fort Nozomi
Gashmere

General Ragnar Bjornisson had taken command of Task Force Piglet, both to 7th fleets officers to return to their regularly scheduled programming, as well as a show of good faith from Star Army during the increase of joint operations on Gashmere. The Fleet from YEMA under former Star Army Taisa and now Acting Director Aizawa Shusui had arrived to provide aid. After Coordinating with Star Army and planetary assets the following priorities were put into place.

1. Stabilization, recovery, and repair of orbital shipyards.
2. Decontamination of Gashmere City with follow on tasking: remains recovery and identification
3. Prevention and containment of forest fires
4. Locate, identify, and take action on any hazardous materials that may have made landfall from orbit and take appropriate measures.

TF Piglet Tactical Operations Center (TOC)

Zanven Brax was brought before General Bjornisson after the "data" recovered by 77 had been analyzed and decoded. The coordinates resulting led to a dense asteroid field in the Rosenthal Nebula roughly half way between Gashmere and Schongebiet. The general bade Zanven to enter the room and sit at a table with a few other officers from both the Star Army and Planetary guard.

"Now that everyone is here, this is the rundown. Our intel suggests significant activity at this location. Drone insertions have been attempted, but were unable to gather enough conclusive data on what is there. We think this is due both to interference from the nebula itself, as well as the density and relative motion of the asteroids in the field. What data we were able to glean suggests that at least some of the asteroids have energy signatures on them, as well as the presence of at least one cruiser sized ship. The asteroids themselves range in size from .5 meters all the way to nearly 3 kilometers. We believe that the relative motion in the field is naturally occurring, however, with recent events in orbit, we cannot rule out the possibility of any of them having been weaponized. Size, composition, and capabilities of hostile forces at this point is completely unknown. Brax, this is where you come in. We have on loan 3 prototype OI-V5-1B Kuromaki. You are to take command of this flight, infiltrate the asteroid field and ascertain the size, disposition, and capabilities of and forces there, without being detected. You are being loaned 5 pilots from Fort Nozomi as your wingmen. You have 18 hours before launch. Do you have any questions?"
 
Fort Nozomi, hospital
The days following the events of operation Honeybear were relatively uneventfully for Sanda. She wasn't even conscious for most of it. Once she had arrived at Fort Nozomi, Sanda had slipped into a commo. Her injuries had been far worse than she had believed and the only thing that had kept her upright had been her PA. Once she was out of it, the pain overwhelmed her and her body had gone into a commo to protect itself. Funny enough, she had grabbed her Straight Silver with her cybernetic arm and it had locked up as soon as she lost consciousness and no amount of prying worked to release it. In the end, they had left it with her.

Sanda's arm had been completely shattered. In the end, they had had to amputate it at the elbow because it was just too damaged to save. She also had several cracked ribs and and a concussion. When they had first removed her helmet the guards had jumped back in surprise. The whole right side of her face was smeared with blood and her hair had been caked with it. A bad cut along the right side of her head was the source and it took a dozen stitches to close.

When Sanda first woke up she couldn't figure out art first where she was. Had she been out drinking last night? That would account for the splitting headache she had. But as she gained consciousness, it all came back into place. That and all the tubes and monitors around her sterile white bed was kind of a dead giveaway as well. A neko nurse came in almost as soon as she awoke and began to check Sanda's vitals and run a scan on her head with some kind of handheld device. "Well, doesn't look like there is any permanent damage. At least none that wasn't already there." the nurse laughed attempting some humor that was lost on Sanda. The Nepleslian born Ranger was still processing where she was and what her current status was. The fact that her nurse was a neko gave her some reassurance that she was, at least for the time being, on a Star Army base.

Looking around the room Sanda saw her Straight Silver Blade on a side table. Well, that meant she wasn't a prisoner. Or at least wasn't considered a dangerous one. She reached for the blade but froze. Where her hand should be there was nothing. It took her several seconds to process that. The nurse didn't say anything but was watching her closely to see how the Ranger would react. After a moment lowered her left arm and instead reached for her blade with her right arm. She drew the blade and examined it quickly, making sure it was indeed hers and hadn't been tampered with before sheathing it again and holding it close to her. She felt much better, like she could now face whatever was coming.

The nurse didn't comment on Sanda taking the blade but Sanda did notice that the Nurse was armed with a side arm and that the holster had been unsnapped while Sanda reached for the blade. But now the nurse continued with her exam. Sanda merely closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she was in a different room. This one felt more like a barracks room than a hospital room. Most of the tubes were gone but one IV. Sanda sat up, she felt so much better than the last time she woke up. The door was closed so she got up and looked around. She found her uniform in the closet and quickly dressed. Just that little bit of extrusion proved to be more taxing than she would have though so she laid down on the bed again.

Almost at once a three people entered he room. The medic from earlier, a Kodian officer, and an MP. The medic again checked her vitals and asked a couple of questions about how Sanda was feeling before nodding to the officer and operative and leaving. The MP said, "Glad to see you are recovering Miss Hoshi. I won't keep you long." Sanda thought that the officer looked quite worn out, as if he hadn't had a good nights sleep in days. But he managed to hide most of it. "We have been very busy the last week. Aside from the riots and unrest and radiation we have also been combing through the data recovered at the facility you were at. We've also been reviewing video and testimonies from your teammates, as well as your own. We hope to be able to clear things up, one way or the other soon." Sanda looked from one to the other. "Clear what up, Sir?" The Kodian spoke up. "The incident in the control room that you and Nito Hei Hall cleared was broadcast across the planet. From that video, it appears that the two of you cut down a bunch of unarmed civilians in cold blood. There have been outcries for your arrest and execution." Sanda sat up a little straighter as she eyed the two, bracing herself for what was to come next. The MP spoke up, "At the moment, you and Nito Hei Hall are relived of duty and are confined to the barracks. This is more for your own safety than anything else, until we have gathered and reviewed all the data and have a hearing. Normally this wouldn't have taken so long, but because it was shown across the planet it is a delicate situation. Gashmere is in turmoil and there is an outcry that this incidence will be hushed over. In a gesture of cooperation, all the evidence is being collected and shared with our Kodian allies. Unfortunately, it makes the whole process take longer as more people have to review things." Sanda sighed. She did not like being left out of things but she also knew this was for the best. "I understand. I am willing to do whatever it takes to help with the investigation and clear my name, and that of the Star Army." The MP gave a small smile and stood again. "Good. We will be talking much more now that you are recovering." With that they left.

The next day Sanda waited for the MP or maybe a SAINT operative to return but her next visitor was actually Zanven. Sanda smiled when he saw the pilot. She was quite touched that he came by to see her. "I'm hanging in there. I'm trying to decide if I should get a cybernetic replacement or have them clone a new flesh arm. There is something to be said for both." She smiled. "What about you? What have you been up to?"
 
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Gashmere

77

After working with SAINT and SAoY begrudgingly to slog through the many days worth of pornographic material which he had downloaded as a trap along with the coordinates, and it had taking several days to decon his armor while chilling on his ship.

The walking set of armor was back in fully functional form and semi-patiently waiting for the funds to reach his multiple accounts.
7,000 KS was deposited to your account for services rendered during 45.1.
 
Gashmere

Itami


While Nara was recovering he helped her move into one of the dual rooms, he even set up a sheet curtain between the beds to offer a modicum of privacy. They had 14 days of R&R, which after the ordeal they had just been through, was much needed.

their first night of sharing a room together was filled with friendly chatter and reading books together as a way of relaxation. He insured that his weapons were cleaned and those connected to his PA were returned to the connex containing his PA and other high powered tools, minus the few he carried on him. He also insured that the PA which Nara had been using was in the process of being repaired.
 
YSS Koun
Sacre


While officially Blackwolf had leave to decompress, the truth was that a crewmate was missing. The fact it was Sacre's fiancée was actually irrelevant. It's the same thing they would do for any missing crewmate. The plan was simple, find and rescue Aliset. So they dug into whatever leads they could find and prepared for a rescue mission.
 
Zanven nodded as Sanda acknowledged him, her thoughts had been on her arm on whether or not to replace her arm with flesh or cybernetic and he looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Honestly I think you should stay as close to who you can be, on the other hand, if you die you get an all-new meat suit anyway so... that's just a superficial choice." He said as he held up her revolver. "I cleaned it from the last mission, but left it how it was otherwise so there is nothing new to get used to. That radioactive paint was...a pain in the ass..." He said with a chuckle before putting the empty revolver back in his lap. "They are continuing to datamine what info...and porn we received from the bitch in the control room, we will fix the issues set up I promise Sanda, as for the revolver...you want me to keep holding on to it, or put it in the lockbox from our shuttle we rode in on?" He asked as he stretched, he had been busy the past few days and he had an inkling that he would be busy once everything was ready.
 
Fort Nozomi
Barracks


It was not like a Nekovalkyrja to sit idle.

Under normal circumstances, art, physical training, meditation, and even sex were among the activities Sassa might have occupied herself with in the period after the mission. Instead, aside from more than a few interrogations, Sassa felt compelled to sleep and watch shows on SYNC.

She lacked the willpower for anything else.

It didn’t help that she had yet to make any friends with those in her unit, meaning that she received no visitors save for the interrogation officers. And so, for the most part, Sassa sat alone in her quarters.

Waiting.

Waiting.

And waiting.
 
It took a few days for Aliset to be returned, having somehow found her way into apparent Neshaten territory. Eventually, though, a very tired, very sore, and terribly bruised Aliset was dropped off to be debriefed and reveal what she had learned as a prisoner of the enemy. Prisoners rarely learn much. However, the box, the bodies, and Aliset's injuries, health, and story would provide valuable intelligence.

The only thing she knew for sure was that the Anti-Xenoist League was not involved, as they stood to gain nothing from the potential devastation caused by implicating the Star Army in warcrimes. Or by starting a war with Yamatai. It would be impossible to claim the high ground if there was no ground to stand on.

It's here we find her, on a shuttle back to the Koun, to kiss Sacre and spend some time at home.
 
YSS Koun

The news that Aliset was safe relieved everyone on the ship, now it was just Sacre who retreated to her meddbay and a bad mood. She tried to figure out what to do, Aliset would also have a while for leave after this. Sacre wanted to take it together with her. Thankfully, if you avoided the sickbay, the moodier than normal Sacre was easy to avoid. As Aliset's shuttle was finally on it's way, her mood improved and she dressed up a bit for Aliset. She waited for her in the shuttlebay as the Shuttle landed.
 
Home

For Aliset, that word meant the YSS Koun. It meant Sacre, and Sayako, exercising with Black Wolf and telecalls to Marigold. The daily minutae of tasks that she felt both calmed by and stressed over their necessity. But as she stood in the shuttle hatch, dressed in the flowing white overcoat robes and long pantsuit of Shuristan high fashion that fluttered to show the starlit blues and purples of deep space, she gave a sigh. She checked her bandaged hand for a moment, slipping it under the leather gloves she had stolen from her would be murderer, and looking straight ahead.

A slight rock of her hips kept her stable as the shuttle touched down, then the hatch opened, and her heart skipped a beat, breath hitching. Her eyes traced Sacre's scars for a moment, confirming that this was, in fact her Sacre, one who wouldn't put a naginata through her throat or spit corrosive venom at her. Hesitantly, she stepped forward, slinging her bag to the side and breaking into a run. She didn't care how well dressed Sacre was. She didn't care that she was wearing Shuristan clothes or that nearly all her back and side were bruised or that her hand hurt, or about the oily tears that would certainly ruin Sacre's uniform as soon as she reached her, grabbed hold, and pulled the beautiful Taii into a hug she threatened to never let go of.

She was home. Home was safe.
 
Sacre worldlessly wrapped Aliset into a hug. The two of them stood there for a long time. Sacre's eyes welled with her own tears as she clutched her fiancée to herself. Eventually she released Aliset, "Come on, let's go somewhere a bit more private." She said, taking Aliset's hand.
 
Sacre could feel something deep within Aliset's subconscious poking, probing, feeling out her emotions feeling all that worry and fear, and most importantly, relief as the small PSC in her breast pocket sparked and burned. A cloud of acrid black smoke stung her nose as most of the Nekovalkyrja on the ship got a psychic atctivity alert, a massive signature in the cargo bay unencrypted and untetherered, forming a feedback loop in the Koun's PSC and in the migraine forming behind Aliset's eyes. Meditation and concentration had been enough to keep it contained while with the Neshaten, with the unnamed fleet courier that had brought her home, and aboard Fletcher's ship to be debriefed. But now, as her brain had stopped producing the mood stabilizers and antidepressants holding her emotional stress and the resultant hormones at bay, the tidal wave of raw emotion threatened to drown her, sweep her away in the simultaneous impact of days? Weeks? How long had she been gone? So much of her time was a blur, and what stood out was rage fuelled fear, harsh interviews, never giving an inch, costing two more lives and having to kill someone who was as much a prisoner as herself. Perhaps moreso.

Slowly, Aliset nodded. "I... I need a new collar. And I'm about to be an emotional trainwreck. Let's go. I really don't want you getting sucked into my memories while I'm catatonic for a few days. I just need to process, then I'll be okay. Maybe a few lingering nightmares. And a lot of wigginess. And a pretty bad scar on my hand. Please, don't look in the box I was kept in. Just... Don't."
 
Sacre had already read the early reports. They pertained to both of their jobs right now, as unpleasant as it might be. So that little piece of horror had already processed her. Sacre's question was if it had been her psychopathic fork, Ven, or her still frozen in the past fork, Sanssinia. It hadn't been either of them. Ven, according to SAINT intelligence reports was still working for the NDC. Her whereabouts were extremally difficult to track down, but an unofficial backchannel between the intelligence organizations had confirmed she was still alive. Sanssinia was also still alive and working mercenary contracts in Nepleslia. The body in the container had just been a Separa'Shan surgically altered to look like her. This raised more questions than it answered.

"Allright, we'll get you a new controller and get you to bed. You can breakdown and cry and do whatever it is you need so you can process what happened. I'll be here for you, we'll all be here for you. The whole crew was trying to help find you. You are loved and safe here with friends." Sacre said gently.
 
"I know that logically," Aliset nodded, her brows furrowing as she built hasty emotional walls to try and hold back the coming wave, acknowledge and soothe the migraine of fighting Koun's PSC, try to keep the feedback loop rapidly building from causing further issues. But the harder it suppressed what it saw as a potential psychic attack, the harder her brain fought it, and she didn't have much control over that back and forth resonating at increasing pitch. She knew the physics of it, knew logically where it usually peaked, an annoying headache or twitching eye for her. It was already well beyond that, and still climbing, to where lights hurt and gravity felt like waves of nausea. The soreness from her injuries wasn't helping. But what was was the coolness of Sacre's imprint right next to her. Solid, unchanging and refreshingly hard to move through. As long as she maintained contact, the resonance didn't seem like it was growing very fast.

"Just trying to keep the lizard brain from knowing that so it keeps giving me the happy drugs till everyone's safe from me. Cause I just blew the personal PSC in my bra. And now my head feels like it's about to explode. I have a spare in our room. You know, in case I forget to charge the battery or something dumb. So. Trying to keep the stress on, what did I miss? How long was I gone?"

She hadn't noticed if they were walking, and as soon as her spare collar was on, the migraine would fade. With nothing left to fight, nothing would be keeping her aware and stable. This would be when the pressure vessel of her mind blew off its load, flooding her with flashbacks and memories, rage, fear, stress, and grief that would have accumulated over her time. Not in waves or manageable chunks like humans did. No, more like quitting high doses of hard drugs cold turkey, like a building losing its foundation finally crumbled. Or like a fusion reactor couldn't produce enough power to maintain its shielding. She would feel it all in that instant.

Knowing this, she gently pulled Sacre to her quarters, armed the spare collar, and started a nest in the bedding. One that Sacre could easily and comfortably coil herself in. Throwing most of her clothes to the floor, she picked up the armed collar, looked to Sacre, and gave a smile, closing it around her neck and flipping the switch. "I love you."

Had she managed to say that out loud before her body, mind, and soul simply shut down? Her eyes glazed over, unfocused as her psychic signature fell away, and she tipped over. Her full weight slammed into the bed in a not quite unconscious but definitely dreaming disassociative state.
 
Sacre slid over to Aliset, the rapid change surprising her even though she knew it was going to happen. She took some vitals, gently checking to make sure that Aliset was Alright physically. She repositioned Aliset to a more comfortable position.

A strand of hair dangled in front of Aliset's face. She pushed it back behind Aliset's ear and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you too." Sacre said, coiling her long tail under herself to wait until Aliset needed her again.
 
Fort Nozomi
Barracks


Sanda frowned slightly. "It's not a superficial choice to me. It's a very important choice. With a cybernetic arm I can have all kinds of options and hidden surprises. But one thing that must always be considered is that I already have one replaced arm. If I get them both replaced with gadgets, its a liability if for some reason I lose power or get hit with an EMP." She didn't comment on the die and get a new body. Sanda may be a Soldier of Yamatai, but that didn't mean she agreed with their reliance on STs and such. But that was a conversation she really wasn't in the mood to have so she was thankful when the subject was changed.

Sanda smiled when Zanven produced her revolver. She quickly took it from him and examined it. The Ranger had to admit he had done a good job cleaning it. "Thanks for taking such good care of it for me." Slowly she got her feet over the bed and stood up. "They haven't exactly told me I can't carry my weapons, but I'd rather not have it become an issue." Sanda made her way over to the closet where her portable locker was. "I'll lock it up here. I'd rather have it somewhere I can get it quickly if need too. This place has a nasty habit of springing surprises on you when you're not ready for them." Kneeling, Sanda opened the locker and fished around in it for some ammo. Slowly she reloaded it, taking a little longer than usual because of her missing arm. But once it was loaded she spun the cylinder and retuned it her locker.

"I've been bed ridden for over a week, or however long it's been. I need to get out and stretch my legs." Sanda said. She slung her duty belt around her hips but needed Zanven's help getting it buckled. This one arm thing was getting to be a real pain. Once she was ready with her bayonet safely secured on her belt she said, "I think I want to visit Sassa and see how she's holding up. She's probably been more briefed than I have since I've been unconscious for so long. She might be able to bring me up to speed on what our status is at the moment."

Zanven was welcomed to join her if he wanted to. Sanda left her room and took a quick turn outside, enjoying the fresh air again even if it was briefly. She then tracked down Sassa's room, which happened to be on the same floor as her own, and knocked on the door.
 
Fort Nozomi
Barracks


The knock at Sassa’s door didn’t surprise her. It went without saying that the Infantry Neko had heard plenty of those over the past few days, enough to make it so that decompressing was almost impossible. However, a level of shock still manifested, causing her heart to race when her digital mind suddenly registered who was waiting at the other side.

Sanda.

Sassa’s ears twitched unbidden as she closed the volumetric display on her wrist, before straightening out her bodysuit and smoothing her hair, which she had worn down instead of in her usual pigtails.

“Coming!” The Infantry Neko called out as she finished tidying her appearance, before quickly floating over to the door and commanding it to open after a moments’ pause.

It was only then that Sassa realized the extent of the injuries Sanda had sustained during the mission, a silent gasp escaping from her lips as her yellow gaze took in the Ranger’s appearance. Her missing arm and the fresh stitches on the right side of her head came as a shock, causing Sassa to suddenly remember that the Ranger wasn’t a Neko, but rather, a Nepleslian.

These were scars that she might carry forever.

“Hoshi-Hei?!” Sassa said in surprise, her features suddenly going flush. “I-I mean Sanda, sorry. We’re off duty, I guess.” The Infantry Neko frowned as she floated aside to let the Ranger enter the room. “How are you holding up? I admit, I didn’t know your injuries were…” Sassa paused.

“Like this. Or else I would have tried to visit you. I’m really sorry. I shouldn't have left you hanging like that.” The Infantry Neko finished.
 
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