RP Tuat'la-Koun First Contact

Pinging the Koun from the communications station, she quickly ordered the Koun to stand down completely, no weapons, no shields, broadcast hull number. She knew this could look like a defection if she wasn't very careful.

"I need an open comm to the Koun's bridge, audio only, unsecured. I want that gunship to know what's going on, here. Pass me a headset as soon as the channel's open so I don't step on your captain's toes. Alastair, while you're getting chewed out by Sayoko, your permission to take remote command of the Koun? I don't know what these guys are here for, and I'm not losing a first contact mission and a Plumeria to your inability to write a damn memo." She had not looked up from the comm station to realize that she was the only Yamataian officer on a bridge full of Rythenkans yet.

The channel was opened, and the Captain simply responded with a simple "Thank you," Before resuming with operations of the vessel. They were deadlocked, eye to eye, the two ships. This could end badly if they didn't prepare themselves.

"Yamataian personnel please step away from Belmont-Shōsa." She made narrowed eye contact with the intelligence officer, "I'm going to arrest the captain my damned self." She was almost seething, which, for a nearly-emotionless-expressing emergent AI, consisted of rapidly clenching and unclenching her right fist while making an uncomfortable-looking contortion of her face that conveyed no identifiable emotion. "I am angry at myself, foremost, for not noticing, because it is an external document. That does not, in any way, detract from my disappointment and frustration with him."

"YSS Koun, this is Helmsman Choi Aliset Koun, personnel ID number 8875-6482, I am assuming command as Captain Belmont and his diplomatic team are indisposed in a Rythenkan saferoom at the moment. I will relinquish command at the first opportunity. Situation report." Aliset stood at one back corner of the Tuat'la's bridge, speaking quickly and calmly into the microphone.

"Ma'am, the ship is hailing. We're responding, but no ID yet. We do know it's a Fuji class, damn near burned out their engines getting here," came the response. "That's all I'm cleared to tell you until I get confirmation from the Captain and his party."

"Make comm contact with Sayoko. She'll know what's going on. But let her know my joke about the captain not writing a memo may not be truth." She gave a smirk, now waiting for confirmation that she was in temporarily in command. Till then, all she could do was tap her foot and wait. "How's Koun chan feel about the situation?"

"Ma'am, I'm not sure the AI's feelings on the ship's situation are relevant, at the moment."

"I didn't ask that."

"She's a little on the nervous side. She doesn't like how fast this situation could turn hostile and wants to raise weapons and bring shields online."

"Ask her if she honestly thinks she can take them. I know that answer. If we aren't careful right now, we look like we're in the middle of a mutiny and defection, not a standard first contact situation. Do not engage. Keep your shields down and keep your weapons cold and stowed."

"Koun-chan is listening. She doesn't like it, but she's listening."

"Good. I need you to listen to me, too. I don't want to get shot at. I'm sure you don't, either."

Unknown Warship

It took a while to hear back from the newly arrived ship. Responding on the distress frequency, a crackle of static leapt from the speakers beside Aliset and the others. "YSSsss Koun personnel. We are the YSSsss Wyvern, NG-X1-517, police interceptor. Thisss isss Shosa Lei'Shela, Captain. Helmsssman, pleassse ssstate your current ordersss in hand."

Almost on queue, having identified themselves, the partially cloaked vessel would de-activate the masking function of its CFS. Sure enough, the rather imposing sight of a Fuji-Class gunship would come into view. Unlike many of its class, the Wyvern had been painted in a deep navy blue, the colour of the military police corps.

While it seemed that the Wyvern had de-cloaked and identified, their weapons and shields still remained in position. Clearly, they didn't have much confidence that the situation was stable aboard the Koun or this strange alien ship.

Sayako pointed an accusing finger at the Captain- "It's the police! The police! They're asking for your orders!" She leaned in to Alastair. "Belmont-Shōsa... did you steal the Kōun?" Her other hand is just as accusing on her hip, and she leaned in another few degrees, before shifting her torso to leaning back and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How could I have let this happen..."

"Officer of the Watch, get me the XO, please. And transmit the orders and crew roster. YSS Wyvern, as the Captain is currently not available and the XO is not in a position to have command of the bridge, I am assuming command purely by rank, availability, and experience in Shuristan custom. As soon as there are more qualified personnel available to take command, I will relieve myself of command. Until then, the YSS Koun is on an expeditionary patrol. I set in the course, myself. I am not aware of any indication that our orders are amiss. My bridge officer will be transmitting our orders to you presently." She spoke in quick and clear Yamataigo, if thickly accented by Shuristan. "That said, the YSS Koun is weapons cold. We will cooperate with any reasonable request. My own orders can be found by reference number 426761."

"This is Shōi Takeda Sayako, Chief Science Officer. I initiated communications for first contact myself after detecting them just outside of our space and extended the invitation myself, determined the rendezvous point and time myself, and organized the away team myself, with myself as the first member of the crew to board the ship and make contact. I acted under authority as Chief Science Officer pursuant to all relevant statutes regarding first contact with FTL-capable civilizations. My orders are 68806, transmitting." She spoke over the same connection. "If you would like me to use nonlethal compliance methods on the Shōsa please advise."

Up to this point, Osakura face had the most poker face as she watched intently the movements, body language, and even every minute noise that was being generated in the room. All while also dedicated a portion of her mind to analyzing and learning Shuristian.

But the appearance of the YSS Wyvern really visibly annoyed her since that typically meant only one thing: someone seriously screwed up. So ignoring the fact that this was a First Contact situation, Osakura linked securely to the YSS Koun and then broadcasted to the YSS Wyvern the SAINT "Standard" challenge on a frequency only known to SAINT personnel.

"I'm a lost little kitty, meow meow." the encrypted challenge said. Her orders number 68628 was hidden in a carrier wave that would be obvious to any SAINT trained personnel.

While she waited for the password and for her to send the counter-sign with her confirmation request, she just gave the most "SAINT" look to Sayako. She then got up from her seat and inched her way behind Alastair to prepare to unleash CRIED on her Captain.

Alastair tipped back in his chair enjoying his drink. This was one for the history books. Random ship shows up and his rookie crew shit themselves. It is almost like they have never seen another warship before. To add icing on the cake, Sayako was going to arrest Alastair for something. A smile crossed his face. This was completely surreal and had to be some kind of joke he wasn't a part of. He sent over secure comms to Akino. "Maintain ship position and let the crew know the situation is under control. You will have to forgive me for allowing my crew over here to jump without thinking. Under no circumstance is command to be given to anyone not on the ship, this includes even me."

Staying within character, Alastair remained calm during the chaos. Then things became crystal clear. This was the YSS Wyvern, the police of Yam which had decided to jump into the scene. Though he was a little shocked they had damaged their own ship getting there. Seemed very rookie given that they are coming into a possible battle already damaged. This would be something he'd have to fix once he was in power of that organization.

Alastair finally reached the bottom of his drink. He put it on the table and looked over towards Aliset. "Firstly, Aliset, while I am happy to see you jump and take command. It is best to make sure your not on the edge of a cliff before you leap. The Koun is perfectly under control, the ship is fully staffed and able to operate without us." He then leaned back and looked over to Sayako. "You got me...stole this ship right out from under the nose of the most powerful army in the universe." He paused then put on a serious look. "You must have blown a circuit to think something that crazy. This ship is fully registered and been deployed several times. If it is listed as stolen, that is a failure of Star Army for not processing my paperwork correctly. Which would not be shocking." He reached up and pulled at the neck of his shirt. "Now before this gets anymore out of hand, can we please act like soldiers of Star Army. We have guests to impress here and frankly, I should have you both executed for trying to take control of my ship. Though I am a kind captain so will find a far more fitting punishment once we return to the ship. Now if you will excuse me, I have a ship of our to greet."

Alastair had the Koun patch him through to the incoming YSS Wyvern. "Greetings, I am Alastair Belmont of the YSS Koun. We did not request any assistance to start another galactic war. So I am going to assume there is a very good reason you would to be coming into a diplomatic mission with weapons armed. I stand by for your response." He had this message put on loop.

"Yes, ship-father," came the response in sharp toned Shuristan. "Apologies for the inconvenience, first officer. I will remain in open, unencrypted communication for the duration of this situation. As much as I'd like to command my own starship one day, that is not today. What are your orders, Chui?"

YSS Wyvern

The transmission came in, this time from a different person, a man. "26761, acknowledged. Release YSS Koun shuttle bay and prepare to be boarded. 68806, verified, continue executing SARA directives."

Oh the secure SAINT channel the reply came in, "Sharp are my claws, meow meow." Clearly, there was someone on the Wyvern who was a member of SAINT. That was the keypair, and directly afterwards, a classified dossier was conveyed to Osakura. It was clearly marked as not to be shared.

After Alastair finished transmitting, there was an audible delay before any kind of response came in. "..is this Shosa Belmont, of PICES Station? Please confirm personnel ID."

Osakura recieved the dossier and a grin came across her face. This crew was perfect for Alastair Belmont, how did the XO not check anything at all before they left? "Shosa, you do not have the authority to execute who ever you feel like without trial." she said as she started walking towards Sayako, not looking at Alastair. "But saying that, acting without confirmation of the facts on the ground is a really dumb thing to do. People will die in such situations and massive embarassment to the Star Army of Yamatai" she said almost like a disappointed sister in Yamataigo.

She looked at Aliset, but she was still an unknown to Osakura. There was much about Senti culture she needed to understand. She just sighed a little as she had no words for her superior officer. She turned to face the diplomat and bowed deeply before going to stand next to Sayako.

Sayako bowed deeply at the waist, eyes down, once the white flashes of annoyance ceased pulsing, replaced by a solid, pale lavender-blue glow. "I must apologize to everyone for my untoward display. Now that I have become fully aware of the facts of this matter, I can only explain myself by saying that the issue at hand provoked my deepest of sensitivities. The organic idiom would be, 'it really touches a nerve,' or it is my 'pet peeve'." She maintained the low bow, "Honored Federation members, I have shown you my most particular flaw and vulnerability. Though I stand by my motives, I admit my overreaction. I can only hope you may find it perhaps better to see us at a family squabble, rather than at our best, put on performance, to judge by?"

Alastair reached up and rubbed his forehead. It would seem he was speaking with someone new on the job. "I believe there was static in my reply. This is Shosa Belmont of the YSS Koun. The mission on Pices Station was a temporary posting during the conference. Your commanding officers were there during my post. They waved goodbye to me when I left the station on the YSS Koun." He moved his hand from his forehead and to his chin. All the pieces were coming together now. His assignment which he never agreed too, had him flagged as being in command of that station. Holy crap, the things Alastair finds himself having to fix.

"I would like to be put in contact with your most commanding officer. This is unbecoming to intercept a Star Army ship during an active peace keeping mission over a bad filing. I guess I need to educate others on how the command structure works. Let us assume I am still listed as in command of PICES Station and not in command of the Koun. One would think, at least if command was doing its job, they would have changed my access codes to the ship. As soon as I walked onto the ship, it would have alerted me I no longer have access. No problem, I will just ask to be given access codes again." Alastair was doing his best to keep it together now. This level of dumb was too much even for him. "Instead, I am being accused of stealing one of the most advanced ships in our navy since I guess I missed on my resume expert hacker. Who would have known it was this easy to steal a ship of Star Army."

Alastair paused and broke the link with the YSS Wyvern and looked towards Osakura. "I am very aware of the rules thank you for the reminder." Though speaking of a trial, heads would roll over this failure. Someone was going to get court-martial.

"I should have requested a transfer to a hospital ship... I could do more being a walking medical test than as the walking political disaster I am, here..." Her insecurities started showing in her words as she spoke, too low for the diplomats to hear. The fat senti rolled her body from one hip to the other, waiting from word from her ship. She had worked with the actual XO long enough to know they would do their job well. She ignored the smell of food and the rumbling of her stomach for a moment, gently tapping her microphone to check if she was still transmitting. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she spoke loud and clear, not realizing her initial comment would have been transmitted. "YSS Wyvern, as I am currently on the Rythenkan vessel, with the Captain and his command staff, I would recommend against disengaging the docking measures and potentially cutting us off from access, as the Koun's current docking is the only thing preventing the Rythenkans from simply leaving. More, I do not believe, as this is not a hostile encounter, the continued use of your shields and weapons is beneficial to all of our situation. I am sure you already have a shuttle en route. Please allow our command team to return to our ship before boarding so we may discuss this matter in person, rather than having a shuttle full of military police potentially causing a scene on a foreign diplomatic vessel. The final decision on that matter is, of course, up to the current acting commander of the YSS Koun, Chui Kamiko Akimo. Any of us could rapidly turn this into a hostile encounter. I, for one, would rather avoid that as a possibility. Akimo-Chui, I am still standing by for your orders."

Wyvern
"Shosa Belmont, we have launched a shuttle that is now awaiting access to the YSS Koun. Please extricate yourself and Shoi Nakama from your current situation, to meet our Away Team."

Notably, it appeared that whoever was on the end of the line wasn't concerned with how irritable Alastair was, or was simply not willing to debate matters on the radio. The Away Team likely had some answers.

"We have no intention of disrupting this first contact more than has already been the case unless we have to, even with the.. inconsistencies. Our shuttle is destined for the Koun, and we will handle this internally there. On the surface, this looks like a defection to an unknown power but in good faith we will de-power our weapons as long as your ships are docked. Please ensure the Chief Science Officer and others continue negotiations if they feel they are best placed to do so. We've yet to hear from Chui Kamino but we expect the shuttle bay to be ready for our arrival."

Diplomat
Given the rathenkans have observed the crew resolving the situation themselves, and alert came over the comms indicating an all clear, and that return to normal operating procedure would be set in place. The Random Alien diplomat nodded slightly at those bowing to them, but quickly held up a hand, stating as they exited the saferoom, "There is nothing wrong with unexpected situations. I thank you for taking control of this, it is likely we would not have been able to resolve it ourselves without your assitance."

"Nonetheless, you have shown yourselves to be... quite disjointed, so I must ask, for such a new people, perhaps you are taking from the hand which does not give freely?"

Captain
The captain quickly transmitted a hail to the Wyvern as well, over rotating frequency, after lowering shields and weapons.
"This is Senior Commander Jatala of the Random Alien Joint Forces Vessel Tuat'la, my deepest apologies for not contacting you sooner, or identifying ourselves. We are primarily an exploratory vessel intended for deep space defence and survey. The crew of the Koun have been aboard our ship for a short while, initiating first contact, they have even brought foodstuffs aboard. I would like to extend an offer for you to board our ship, should you wish to inpsect it, as we appear to be in your space. We will consent to such, in accordance with the relative sovereignty of the space we are in. May the stars fair upon you well."

"It does look like that, doesn't it? I understand your apprehension. Perhaps upon review of our records, should you ask for them, we can work this out in a more diplomatic manner than finger pointing over an open radio channel. I would be happy to pull galley duty aboard your vessel to help work off some personal greivances about our actions. Unfortunately, it seems that my membership to a species and Flotilla known to the Rythenkans has put me in a bit of a position to be their point of contact, at the moment. And equally unfortunate that I am a helmsman and pilot. Not a diplomat. I'll admit, I am rather far out without a helmet, so to speak, and soon to be without my Captain's guidance." Again, that confidence and self assuredness in her talents seemed to waver in her voice and body language, though to her credit she did conveniently forget to mention that she had taken the initiative to make the handshake in Rythenkan traditional manner. "Any assistance from Koun or yourselves would be greatly appreciated."

She turned to the diplomat with an apologetic smile, clicking off her microphone as she listened. "I realize my people are disjointed and something went wrong somewhere. I wish I could say that this was the first time. But apparently someone lost my orders to transfer off the Tokyo, and I got recalled when they found out I was on the Wrath of Nepleslia with my husband. He... Disappeared not long after. Another of my husbands died in service to Yamatai, and I had to fight for him to be buried to my people's traditions. I still have a significant portion of his steel. Perhaps we are not yet ready for more than cordial talks. But from what I remember, your people are far more forgiving than even my own about first impressions."

"You are quite the wise one, Aliset. Our people have made a custom of not judging those who have slighted us, even only mildly. This is not to imply that you have done so, but rather to say we do not hold judgement against individuals simply being individuals. All people have flaws, secrets, and duties. It is not our place to decide what is right or wrong for others. From what I have seen, your kin, and comrades value you greatly, but despite that, remember this, they will not trulyunderstand you fully. Only you may find introspection for yourself. You introduced yourselves with caste title, you are familiar with our customs then. I advise you to continue down that path, wherever it may lead you."