Masatane Saiga bowed deeply as the Shôshô who had come up from Hanako’s World to meet with him and her aides exited the briefing room. He had not expected any of this – this meeting, his promotion to taii, or being given the command of a Star Army combat vessel – when he was told to report to Gemini Star Fortress after he returned to Yamatai following the United Outer Colonies’ betrayal. Although he’d requested placement in the newly-reformed Second Standard Fleet, having served with it up until its destruction, he was not displeased at this assignment within the First Expeditionary Fleet.
For a time he remained in the conference room, seated, idly looking over the paperwork before him. He didn’t care so much about what it said; he had understood what the orders conveyed the first time and did not need to read them again, but didn’t want to appear that he was daydreaming. The YSS Adventure was a brand new ship of the Plumeria-class – it had not even been on its shakedown voyage yet – and it was his. Masatane had commanded more personnel over his career than he would be during this assignment, being that the ship could not be staffed to full compliment, but even so, the honor that the Star Army had imparted unto him weighed heavily on his mind. Although he deserved much, the Yamataian felt that he had done nothing to deserve this. Masatane had no practical experience with regards to military actions beyond that of being a power armor jockey. Despite that feeling of unworthiness, he did not protest his superiors’ decision, for their positions alone granted them judgment beyond his own.
The lengthy consideration of his new command ended up stretching for just over an hour before Masatane gathered his belongings and departed the briefing room on Gemini. He was told that the Adventure was ready for boarding at any time, and that he should report with the ship to his new squadron’s – the 4th’s – Ikoi Light Starbase to receive his new crew and first orders before 13:00 the next day. Including himself, there would be nine serving aboard the Adventure, which amounted to just under half a full crew compliment. With the threat of the Mishhu having disappeared for the time and no true enemy for the Yamataian to direct his fury towards, it wasn’t as if they needed to be at full compliment, anyway.
As the Yamataian approached his destination by way of one of the many moving walkways that expedited travel through the massive star fortress, he could see the Adventure through the concourse’s wide view-ports. She was shining and spotless, new in every sense. “417” stood sharply emblazoned on her port side just in front of where the airlock met with the ship’s hull. If not a beautiful one, with its Yamataium sides and technological splendor, it was definitely a magnificent sight to behold, standing testament to Yamatai’s justly-earned galactic superiority. Exiting the concourse and heading down the long corridor that connected to his new ship, Masatane relished the moment as he stepped up to the airlock.
“This is Saiga Masatane-Taii, commanding officer, YSS Adventure,” he stated at the ship clearly, despite the fact that he was still wearing a chui’s rank pin and gray-paneled jacket. A few moments passed before the airlock opened, sliding quietly to grant the Yamataian entrance. The crisp, recycled air from the ship’s interior rushed out as Masatane stepped in. The smell of a new ship’s air was refreshing compared to vessels that had been in use for some time, and the Adventure was no exception.
“Welcome, Saiga-Taii,” the MEGAMI said in an almost eerily pleasant female voice, greeting its new captain as the airlock closed behind him. “Is there anything that I may assist you with?”
He maneuvered himself through the zero-gravity corridor towards where the layout overview in his briefing told him the bridge would be. “Yes. Please make preparations to cast off,” he said with a relative indifference. “Once we’ve got clearance to leave, take us to our squadron’s dock, registry number NK-X1-100. That will be all.”
“As you wish, Saiga-Taii,” it responded, its electro-synapses firing in succession at unfathomable rates to put his order in action before it had finished acknowledging it.
The Adventure’s cast-off proceeded smoothly and without incident. The journey to the 4th Squadron’s Ikoi would be a short one, but it gave Masatane ample time to tour the ship. He absorbed each of the ship’s detail that he saw, from the size of the corridors and catwalks and bays, to which storage compartments held what equipment, to where the different control panels were. Overall, he liked the ship. It packed quite a punch, from what he’d seen within its impenetrable hull and read in the brief, and had an amazing interior capacity for a vessel of its size, but it was designed as such, so it was no great surprise. When investigating the power armor bay, the Yamataian was pleased to find that command had delivered his Daisy along with a compliment of the same for the armor specialists under him. In the captain’s suite, he found that his and personal belongings, complete with a new set of white-paneled uniforms and taii rank insignia, had been delivered as well. He took a moment to unpack his belongings, change into a uniform fitting his new position, and place his daisho on its stand atop the wooden dresser in his suite just as the Adventure docked with the Ikoi Light Starbase.
Masatane made his way to the bridge, taking a seat in the command chair for the first time. It was far less an amazing event than he’d expected. During his previous assignments, the officers at their own command consoles seemed so much more superior to their peers whose careers had not yet given them the opportunity, and yet, even as proud as his stature was, the Yamataian didn’t feel any different. Perhaps it was an effect conveyed onto those who did not have the privilege of starship command, or perhaps it was just him and he was simply thinking too much into it. No matter, he would be sure to live up to his own idealized visions for the benefit of the crew he would soon receive.
“MEGAMI, are those assigned to this vessel currently aboard the Ikoi?” Masatane asked.
“Yes, Saiga-taii. There are eight personnel assigned to this ship aboard the Ikoi Light Starbase,” it responded matter-of-factly. “Records show that they were delivered and briefed as to their assignments approximately three hours ago. Your orders have been placed in the station’s captain’s suite by the briefing officers. All personnel are currently in the lounge awaiting your arrival,” it paused for a moment, unnecessarily, probably as part of its personality programming, “Would you like me to usher them aboard or inform them of our arrival?”
“No, that will not be necessary. I will receive them myself. Thank you for your assistance, MEGAMI. That will be all.” Masatane returned. With that order, the artificial intelligence went silent, remaining ever-vigilant in its watch over the Adventure.
Following the path ethereal path illuminated for him by the Ikoi’s MEGAMI, Masatane first went to the little starbase’s captain’s suite. When he entered after re-verifying his identity to the MEGAMI, he was almost taken aback; it was luxurious, even more so than the Adventure’s quarters. The new trends towards comfort in Star Army vessels and installations seemed like they were almost too much, in Masatane’s opinion. He was a soldier, as were all members of the Star Army, such comforts would only serve to make them lazy, unaware, and soft towards the norms of wars – whenever it would be that war would come again. Such things were not his decision, however, and he did his best to not get too acclimated to the wonderful facilities provided for him and his peers.
Upon the suite’s mahogany dresser sat the Yamataian captain’s orders in the form of a holographic memory cube. He retrieved the cube, took a seat at one of the room’s recliners and then deactivated its encryption. He considered the contents at length, reading and re-reading the instructions for his first mission in command of the Adventure.
They were what he expected: simple. He preferred more actively using the arms provided to him by the Empire, but without a substantial foe, Masatane figured that these would be the kinds of missions that the Star Army would be undertaking for the time being. It was for the good of the Empire, after all; he was sure that command would not send warships on useless missions just to give the illusion that the military was still being used judiciously. Finally, the Yamataian stood, giving the memory cube the command to close as he did so before placing it in one of the utility pockets on his uniform’s pants.
“Direct me to the station’s lounge, MEGAMI,” Masatane ordered the artificial intelligence with the same indifference with which he addressed all of their counterparts. It did not acknowledge his command verbally, but still illuminated a path that would lead him to where he wanted to go.
Masatane stepped out of the suite and into the station’s halls once again; it was time to meet his crew for the first time. As he made his way to the station’s lounge, he was already assigning them duties that they would perform once aboard the Adventure. They would need to attach the ship’s towing tether to the geological survey platform that waited transport, as well as check over the ship’s systems and areas of their expertise. He would let them get settled into quarters only after these tasks were complete. The majority of them were created to serve, anyway.
There were eight of them that made up the Adventure’s new crew, not counting Masatane. He could remember what their specialties and species were from the information in his briefing, but not their names. Two of them were Yamataians who would fulfill duties as the ship’s computer systems officer and sci-med officer respectively. The other six were Nekovalkyrja, four of which were freshly produced. One would be his pilot, and three more would serve as the ship’s stewards in engineering. The last two were power armor specialists; he was glad that command had assigned him two soldiers, even if they were catgirls straight from Ketsurui Zaibatsu’s factories.
It wasn’t that the Yamataian held any racist feelings toward the Neko, his feelings towards them were actually quite the opposite – in his opinion at least. They were products, bio-machines built for war to serve the Empire in the Star Army so that its natural citizens would not be obliged to. To Masatane, they were no more ‘people’ than his Daisy or the Adventure or this starbase were, despite how much they had evolved psychologically to pretend that they were. Neko were tools of the Empire, nothing more. The fact that a select few had been chosen to succeed its natural rulers was unfortunate, but did not disturb him too greatly – he was loyal to the Empire above that which governed it. Thusly, he was not overly concerned with courtesy towards those Neko who were his subordinates, and only practiced proper etiquette towards those that were superior out of his duty to the Star Army.
As he came to where the corridor ended, leading into the lounge area just beyond the heavy blast doors that separated each compartment of the station, Masatane stopped. He paused for a moment, making sure that every detail about his appearance was as it should be – his sidearm properly secured in its holster, his rank pin hanging squarely off of his jacket, his uniform as close to perfect as it could be. Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward. He was confident, as always, moving through the threshold and into the lounge as the blast door slid open before him.
The crew sat at various places around the room, already having formed several cliques. Each circle’s composition wasn’t much of a surprise; the two Yamataian officers sat together near a low table in one corner of the room while three red-clad Neko technicians seemed to be enjoying themselves at the expense of a fourth, dressed in the gray of an officer. The last two catgirls whose uniforms indicated that they specialized in combat arms stood quietly by the mess nook, seemingly only interested in what the other had to say. A few seconds passed with the crew’s conversations continuing uninterrupted as Masatane continued his march towards the center of the lounge. Then, almost simultaneously, the two blue-paneled Neko broke the light-hearted and jovial mood in the room.
“Commander on deck!” they barked, only a fraction of a second separating the unison in their declaration, before they bowed deeply. The others in the chamber quickly shuffled to attention and followed suit, except for one of the technicians who slowly stood, turned, and barely tilted her body forward. Where just a few minutes before had been the low, pleasant murmur of conversation, there was now a biting silence as the crew remained bowed, waiting for instruction. To command such respect amused Masatane, but to wield it without sincere intent and courteous procedure would dishonor the power behind it, so he did not keep them standing uncomfortably for long.
“Fall in, front-and-center!” he commanded, his voice projecting clearly throughout the room. “Form a single rank of descending seniority!” he added the crew scrambling to carry out the order. Masatane smiled, breaking his ever-present façade of discipline. It was a momentary show of emotion, but the gratification he felt as the Adventure’s new crew assembled in front of him was intoxicating. “I am Taii Saiga Masatane,” he told them as they stood in their neat, just-as-ordered line, “and you will serve under me on the YSS Adventure. Consider yourselves honored.”
ooc: Well, there's the intro. I feel a bit rusty, but that'll improve over time. I hope that I caught all of the typos - editing your own stuff's a bitch. Next post will introduce more of the characters and hopefully get them on their way. Thanks for reading and feel free to PM me or catch me on IRC to give me any comments.
For a time he remained in the conference room, seated, idly looking over the paperwork before him. He didn’t care so much about what it said; he had understood what the orders conveyed the first time and did not need to read them again, but didn’t want to appear that he was daydreaming. The YSS Adventure was a brand new ship of the Plumeria-class – it had not even been on its shakedown voyage yet – and it was his. Masatane had commanded more personnel over his career than he would be during this assignment, being that the ship could not be staffed to full compliment, but even so, the honor that the Star Army had imparted unto him weighed heavily on his mind. Although he deserved much, the Yamataian felt that he had done nothing to deserve this. Masatane had no practical experience with regards to military actions beyond that of being a power armor jockey. Despite that feeling of unworthiness, he did not protest his superiors’ decision, for their positions alone granted them judgment beyond his own.
The lengthy consideration of his new command ended up stretching for just over an hour before Masatane gathered his belongings and departed the briefing room on Gemini. He was told that the Adventure was ready for boarding at any time, and that he should report with the ship to his new squadron’s – the 4th’s – Ikoi Light Starbase to receive his new crew and first orders before 13:00 the next day. Including himself, there would be nine serving aboard the Adventure, which amounted to just under half a full crew compliment. With the threat of the Mishhu having disappeared for the time and no true enemy for the Yamataian to direct his fury towards, it wasn’t as if they needed to be at full compliment, anyway.
As the Yamataian approached his destination by way of one of the many moving walkways that expedited travel through the massive star fortress, he could see the Adventure through the concourse’s wide view-ports. She was shining and spotless, new in every sense. “417” stood sharply emblazoned on her port side just in front of where the airlock met with the ship’s hull. If not a beautiful one, with its Yamataium sides and technological splendor, it was definitely a magnificent sight to behold, standing testament to Yamatai’s justly-earned galactic superiority. Exiting the concourse and heading down the long corridor that connected to his new ship, Masatane relished the moment as he stepped up to the airlock.
“This is Saiga Masatane-Taii, commanding officer, YSS Adventure,” he stated at the ship clearly, despite the fact that he was still wearing a chui’s rank pin and gray-paneled jacket. A few moments passed before the airlock opened, sliding quietly to grant the Yamataian entrance. The crisp, recycled air from the ship’s interior rushed out as Masatane stepped in. The smell of a new ship’s air was refreshing compared to vessels that had been in use for some time, and the Adventure was no exception.
“Welcome, Saiga-Taii,” the MEGAMI said in an almost eerily pleasant female voice, greeting its new captain as the airlock closed behind him. “Is there anything that I may assist you with?”
He maneuvered himself through the zero-gravity corridor towards where the layout overview in his briefing told him the bridge would be. “Yes. Please make preparations to cast off,” he said with a relative indifference. “Once we’ve got clearance to leave, take us to our squadron’s dock, registry number NK-X1-100. That will be all.”
“As you wish, Saiga-Taii,” it responded, its electro-synapses firing in succession at unfathomable rates to put his order in action before it had finished acknowledging it.
The Adventure’s cast-off proceeded smoothly and without incident. The journey to the 4th Squadron’s Ikoi would be a short one, but it gave Masatane ample time to tour the ship. He absorbed each of the ship’s detail that he saw, from the size of the corridors and catwalks and bays, to which storage compartments held what equipment, to where the different control panels were. Overall, he liked the ship. It packed quite a punch, from what he’d seen within its impenetrable hull and read in the brief, and had an amazing interior capacity for a vessel of its size, but it was designed as such, so it was no great surprise. When investigating the power armor bay, the Yamataian was pleased to find that command had delivered his Daisy along with a compliment of the same for the armor specialists under him. In the captain’s suite, he found that his and personal belongings, complete with a new set of white-paneled uniforms and taii rank insignia, had been delivered as well. He took a moment to unpack his belongings, change into a uniform fitting his new position, and place his daisho on its stand atop the wooden dresser in his suite just as the Adventure docked with the Ikoi Light Starbase.
Masatane made his way to the bridge, taking a seat in the command chair for the first time. It was far less an amazing event than he’d expected. During his previous assignments, the officers at their own command consoles seemed so much more superior to their peers whose careers had not yet given them the opportunity, and yet, even as proud as his stature was, the Yamataian didn’t feel any different. Perhaps it was an effect conveyed onto those who did not have the privilege of starship command, or perhaps it was just him and he was simply thinking too much into it. No matter, he would be sure to live up to his own idealized visions for the benefit of the crew he would soon receive.
“MEGAMI, are those assigned to this vessel currently aboard the Ikoi?” Masatane asked.
“Yes, Saiga-taii. There are eight personnel assigned to this ship aboard the Ikoi Light Starbase,” it responded matter-of-factly. “Records show that they were delivered and briefed as to their assignments approximately three hours ago. Your orders have been placed in the station’s captain’s suite by the briefing officers. All personnel are currently in the lounge awaiting your arrival,” it paused for a moment, unnecessarily, probably as part of its personality programming, “Would you like me to usher them aboard or inform them of our arrival?”
“No, that will not be necessary. I will receive them myself. Thank you for your assistance, MEGAMI. That will be all.” Masatane returned. With that order, the artificial intelligence went silent, remaining ever-vigilant in its watch over the Adventure.
Following the path ethereal path illuminated for him by the Ikoi’s MEGAMI, Masatane first went to the little starbase’s captain’s suite. When he entered after re-verifying his identity to the MEGAMI, he was almost taken aback; it was luxurious, even more so than the Adventure’s quarters. The new trends towards comfort in Star Army vessels and installations seemed like they were almost too much, in Masatane’s opinion. He was a soldier, as were all members of the Star Army, such comforts would only serve to make them lazy, unaware, and soft towards the norms of wars – whenever it would be that war would come again. Such things were not his decision, however, and he did his best to not get too acclimated to the wonderful facilities provided for him and his peers.
Upon the suite’s mahogany dresser sat the Yamataian captain’s orders in the form of a holographic memory cube. He retrieved the cube, took a seat at one of the room’s recliners and then deactivated its encryption. He considered the contents at length, reading and re-reading the instructions for his first mission in command of the Adventure.
The orders read: said:
They were what he expected: simple. He preferred more actively using the arms provided to him by the Empire, but without a substantial foe, Masatane figured that these would be the kinds of missions that the Star Army would be undertaking for the time being. It was for the good of the Empire, after all; he was sure that command would not send warships on useless missions just to give the illusion that the military was still being used judiciously. Finally, the Yamataian stood, giving the memory cube the command to close as he did so before placing it in one of the utility pockets on his uniform’s pants.
“Direct me to the station’s lounge, MEGAMI,” Masatane ordered the artificial intelligence with the same indifference with which he addressed all of their counterparts. It did not acknowledge his command verbally, but still illuminated a path that would lead him to where he wanted to go.
Masatane stepped out of the suite and into the station’s halls once again; it was time to meet his crew for the first time. As he made his way to the station’s lounge, he was already assigning them duties that they would perform once aboard the Adventure. They would need to attach the ship’s towing tether to the geological survey platform that waited transport, as well as check over the ship’s systems and areas of their expertise. He would let them get settled into quarters only after these tasks were complete. The majority of them were created to serve, anyway.
There were eight of them that made up the Adventure’s new crew, not counting Masatane. He could remember what their specialties and species were from the information in his briefing, but not their names. Two of them were Yamataians who would fulfill duties as the ship’s computer systems officer and sci-med officer respectively. The other six were Nekovalkyrja, four of which were freshly produced. One would be his pilot, and three more would serve as the ship’s stewards in engineering. The last two were power armor specialists; he was glad that command had assigned him two soldiers, even if they were catgirls straight from Ketsurui Zaibatsu’s factories.
It wasn’t that the Yamataian held any racist feelings toward the Neko, his feelings towards them were actually quite the opposite – in his opinion at least. They were products, bio-machines built for war to serve the Empire in the Star Army so that its natural citizens would not be obliged to. To Masatane, they were no more ‘people’ than his Daisy or the Adventure or this starbase were, despite how much they had evolved psychologically to pretend that they were. Neko were tools of the Empire, nothing more. The fact that a select few had been chosen to succeed its natural rulers was unfortunate, but did not disturb him too greatly – he was loyal to the Empire above that which governed it. Thusly, he was not overly concerned with courtesy towards those Neko who were his subordinates, and only practiced proper etiquette towards those that were superior out of his duty to the Star Army.
As he came to where the corridor ended, leading into the lounge area just beyond the heavy blast doors that separated each compartment of the station, Masatane stopped. He paused for a moment, making sure that every detail about his appearance was as it should be – his sidearm properly secured in its holster, his rank pin hanging squarely off of his jacket, his uniform as close to perfect as it could be. Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward. He was confident, as always, moving through the threshold and into the lounge as the blast door slid open before him.
The crew sat at various places around the room, already having formed several cliques. Each circle’s composition wasn’t much of a surprise; the two Yamataian officers sat together near a low table in one corner of the room while three red-clad Neko technicians seemed to be enjoying themselves at the expense of a fourth, dressed in the gray of an officer. The last two catgirls whose uniforms indicated that they specialized in combat arms stood quietly by the mess nook, seemingly only interested in what the other had to say. A few seconds passed with the crew’s conversations continuing uninterrupted as Masatane continued his march towards the center of the lounge. Then, almost simultaneously, the two blue-paneled Neko broke the light-hearted and jovial mood in the room.
“Commander on deck!” they barked, only a fraction of a second separating the unison in their declaration, before they bowed deeply. The others in the chamber quickly shuffled to attention and followed suit, except for one of the technicians who slowly stood, turned, and barely tilted her body forward. Where just a few minutes before had been the low, pleasant murmur of conversation, there was now a biting silence as the crew remained bowed, waiting for instruction. To command such respect amused Masatane, but to wield it without sincere intent and courteous procedure would dishonor the power behind it, so he did not keep them standing uncomfortably for long.
“Fall in, front-and-center!” he commanded, his voice projecting clearly throughout the room. “Form a single rank of descending seniority!” he added the crew scrambling to carry out the order. Masatane smiled, breaking his ever-present façade of discipline. It was a momentary show of emotion, but the gratification he felt as the Adventure’s new crew assembled in front of him was intoxicating. “I am Taii Saiga Masatane,” he told them as they stood in their neat, just-as-ordered line, “and you will serve under me on the YSS Adventure. Consider yourselves honored.”
ooc: Well, there's the intro. I feel a bit rusty, but that'll improve over time. I hope that I caught all of the typos - editing your own stuff's a bitch. Next post will introduce more of the characters and hopefully get them on their way. Thanks for reading and feel free to PM me or catch me on IRC to give me any comments.
