- RP Date
- 44.6
- RP Location
- YSS Koun
YSS Koun
Ready Room
YE 44.6.9
Alastair had to wave a hand to make all the babes leave his ready room, but they did at the captain's delicate motion. Though they had lived much of their lives as fettered courtesans in an alternate universe, Alastair Belmont and the crew of the YSS Kaiyō II's actions years ago had not only freed them, but filled them with a hopeful desire in their hearts to serve the Yamatai that their rescuer, Alastair Belmont, believed in. The best way to do that was in the captain's quarters and out of the ready room, much to their chagrin.
All of the "babes" with the exception of one Kanzaki Akahana left the room, giggling as they did before the door slid shut in their wake, the air suddenly falling silent much to the Snowy Neko's relief. It went without saying that Akahana considered this matter to be extremely important, not only to her career, but also to national security. While Akahana hadn't expected to find herself tangled in something of such significance as an Analyst fresh out of training, a part of her enjoyed the attention, if only for the fact that it compelled her to work harder knowing that people might be depending on her actions.
As if to prepare herself, Akahana took a short, decisive breath.
"I'm ready, Belmont-Shosa." The Snowy Neko said, before offering the captain a deep bow.
Alastair looked at those who remained in his office. Much excitement was happening on the ship as they were headed out on thier first offical mission. Though before reaching Glimmergold, Alastair had a few things to deal with first. Mainly that these new powers were something to be concerned about. They were far too powerful to just leave as is given the recent happening.
"Alright, let us see what all we can do here."
When Alastair had secured his encryption channel, the volumetric projector in his ready room thrummed with a splaying of deep ultramarine blue light. When he did, several hardlight projections appeared, routing numbers to the analytics support team before small boxes appeared over each number: the encryption sequence for their telepresence communique with the best of the best analysts SAINT had to offer.
Wearing shosa rank stripes and bopping his moppy black-haired head slightly, a black-paneled analyst appeared on Alastair's desk in all his glory. Putting up a finger, he noted the call's beginning and turned off the soft thrumming of Koga Akemi and Kyoto Sekai's latest colab down with press of that finger.
"Shosa Takahara here." The man said, his tone all mellow while he carried on, "It looks like your Firmware update 6844 has been processed. Please confirm, Kanzaki-hei."
With only a blink as she registered the update, Akahana gave a satisfied nod when her digital mind finished processing it, carrying out the assessement within a matter of milliseconds.
"Confirmed and received, Shosa!" Akahana reported, before offering a deep bow to the Shosa's volumetric figure. "Thank you, sir." She added. "I trust that my report was comprehensive?" The Snowy Neko continued, the question seemingly phrased as if she were seeking Takahara's approval, which she probably was.
"Is there anything you would need clarified, sir?"
"Yeah I mean looking over your report it's some really intense stuff." Joji said, to which Akahana immediately frowned, but remained silent. "But it was thorough. There's not a lot I can ask you that your memory files wouldn't answer under questioning. Analyst to analyst, some anecdotal evidence would serve best. I see we're alone in here right now and I assume this room is secure, captain?" Joji looked to Alastair for the go-ahead.
"It's just me and the captain, sir." Akahana stated.
Joji nodded and formulated a series of questions. Akahana could notice the deep set circles under his eyes, more reddish than most people's black circles and the way he seemed to still be nodding his head to the music he had been listening to before this.
"Do you see the K'ai species as a threat to Yamatai? From your experiences, is there a hazard to Star Army operations if they continue relations with the Ka'i species?" Joji finished, "Do you foresee any more problems aboard your ship outside of what can be rectified with your own personal psionic controller's update, such as amongst other crew?"
Akahana blinked.
Even with her digital mind and its accelerated processing capabilities, Akahana had to take a moment to think, before she answered the Shosa's questions. First, she accessed MEGAMI to ensure that the K'ai wasn't just outside the ready room, in order to avoid being overheard. Then, after taking a short breath to clear her head, she began to speak.
"I believe that when it comes to psionic research and application, we are behind where we should be, sir." Akahana began. "Our research into psionics has only been towards the end of countering it, not understanding or applying it. At some point in the near future, we need to fix that."
"I understand your point completely, Akahana-hei. That matter is up to Taisho Yui and Star Army Personnel, especially in regards to training people. They're good ideas," Joji said with a quick wink -or blink? "Probably the same ones they're having, but I'm making notes for you." In truth, he wasn't typing anything but nodding with his arms crossed in front of her, but he had already decided on a playlist to put on as he went over this communique later and wrote up his secondary report to them.
"For now I want to be sure you feel like you're doing enough to protect yourself with the tools you have. Feel free to do your own independent research but," Joji had dropped his arms and his demeanor had shifted, "do not reach out to Lundin for assistance. Gather information, report it, and utilize it as your training has you do. You're a snowy Nekovalkryja, you know. You don't want to hand over your life to the enemy."
"But if you can develop or learn protections yourself, that information would be invaluable to us and you. Records division can help you with any available information you need," Joji said, head nodding. "Just keep the lines of communication with YOMI open there."
Alastair was hanging back and allowed Saint to do what Saint does best. Some interesting questions were raised concerning the Ka'i and how they have interacted with us so far. While not hostile, it seemed off with regards to how this would be viewed as a friendship.
"Is there anything you'd seek from me or should I leave this matter up to Akahana to handle?" He asked in a calm collected voice.
"Understood, sir." Akahana answered the Shosa's directive pertaining to Lundin, though a part of her wanted to investigate them, so long as she wasn't the one in the field doing the dirty work!
"I can work to assist in developing further updates to the PSCs." Akahana added. "I fear that there's just...so much that we don't know yet, sir." The Analyst frowned. It went without saying that in her line of work, ignorance was something that could not be tolerated for long.
"I wish we could study it more."
"All I can tell you, Akahana-hei, is that the higher-ups are going to look over your report," Joji looked strained, like he was leaving things unsaid. "There's always more to know. The point is," he had hunched in as if only speaking to her, "Is to know the unknowns. We know stuff, that's all they have to know." He was referencing something older than SAINT; it was along the lines of some PNugen Corps motto.
"What I need from you, Captain, is to assist Akahana-hei as she needs it. From both of you I want you to understand the severity of a Nightmare Mishhuvurthyar asset. That is an imperative element to ascertain the whereabouts of and any information as to its location is for you to work at." Joji said.
Alastair smiled as he was asked to give an assist. "Most certain I can help however I can. This matter is of upmost importance for us to understand." His smile then turned into a grin. "Though I am curious what all we are getting involved with." He let this comment hang knowing it was something no one could answer.
"I understand, Shosa." Akahana spoke up. There were grave implications any time the Mishhuvurthyar were involved, whether as a group or as lone actors. The Snowy Neko had known that her report would attract attention from the higher-ups as soon as Aliset had mentioned the presence of a Nightmare-type in Lundin.
"I'm glad we're all on the same page. Like I said, intense stuff, so catching up like this helps," Joji said, noting a bit ago that the ship AI had alerted them that the YSS Koun's exchange officer was near. The ready room stayed silent for a moment before there was a knock at the door, or rather, more of a chime, as the MEGAMI notified the occupants that the CMO was requesting entrance.
Joji nodded when he noted Alastair made no motion to speak to his MEGAMI.
"Always treat her like that? They have my clearance to come in, MEGAMI," Joji said, typing now into some unseen display.
Alastair waiting just a moment more before having the door open. "I am always mindful of how quick I answer, never know who all might be lurking."
With a sensible chuckle, Joji let his moppy black head fall to look in his lap, hiding the smile Alastair had elicited.
The door opened, as the blue Random Alien entered the room. Tutala adjusted her uniform, before offering a short salute, and saying, "I hope I am not interrupting. I simply wished to offer my limited experience in these discussions." Taking a seat and offering a curt smile.
Akahana went quiet as Commander Tutala entered the room, but the Snowy Neko offered them a shallow bow in greeting as they stepped inside, before shifting her attention back to the Shosa.
"Of course," Joji said after his posture had changed significantly. With his back straightened and a forgiving smile, he looked less the basement dwelling analyst and more like someone you would be happy to bump into at an event. "I feel like that's something I would have requested. Asking you questions directly is all I want out of my evening," Joji added with a smile out the side of his mouth.
It was subtle, but the Random Alien K'ai picked up on it immediately. She was observant if anything. Keeping the change in demeanor in mind, their posture changed to be much less formal, matching that of Joji in front of them.
Smiling too, they said, "I thought as much, what do you want to know? I'm an open book."
"Hey, cool. The Lundin Foundation, is it?" Joji asked, touching his hand to his chin and scraping the stubble there. "Are they sanctioned by your government?"
"They aren't sanctioned by our government, they are just... sort of there, you know? They do their work, but they're not part of us, if that's what you're asking. A lot of them serve as counselors and mental health professionals on our ships,"
"Ahh," he said, nodding his head in a knowing sort of way, "They support you, then, in a foundational kind of way?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. I wouldn't say they're crucial to our operation, but they're a useful tool, even if they're... a little strange at times. Not to mention they're the only ones with technology advanced enough to awaken psionics. Our species naturally awakens, but back when we were just a young civilization, it would require overdosing on various chemicals to awaken those who didn't experience it naturally. The Lundin Foundation provides an essential service, so we don't really have much of a choice in having them around."
It seemed that Tutala's demeanor had changed significantly, from the fearful self that Akahana and Alastair heard days ago. Was this normal? Was all of this a ploy?
It went without saying that Akahana was listening very closely to what Tutala was saying, especially pertaining to the Lundin Foundation. Within only a week, the Foundation had trained Aliset to the point that she was capable of bypassing a PSC set to low power. The Analyst could only imagine what feats one might be capable of achieving with a month or worse yet, years of training in advanced psionic theory and application from Lundin.
"Has the Lundin Foundation developed psionic study towards offensive or military ends?" The Analyst asked, her cyan gaze lighting up with curiosity and calculation in equal measure
"No, actually, the use of training offered by the Lundin Foundation is protected under treatise, and, at least within the core, Lundin-Trained psions are not permitted to serve in the military as fighters. They may be present on ships in non-combative roles, but are not trained offensively."
"Along that line of questioning," Joji cut in, "is psionic training offered outside of the Random Alien species?"
"Yes, actually. Lundin is supranational, an NGO, so it doesn't really matter who you are or where you're from, they can train you if you're latent."
"Does the Lundin Foundation make a habit out of it? How often have they altered the psionics of individuals from other species?"
A smile crossed the face of Alastair. This was interesting to learn it might be possible to learn these powers. Though he was unsure what use they would be for the day to day work. The quiet conversation had spurned one of the more charismatic women in his captain's room to come out. She was wearing an oversized Type 35 jacket with white panels and the flashing golden glint of Shosa rank stripes and nothing else save for regulation socks. Alastair let out a small sigh as he made eye contact. He was getting far to use to this type of thing just randomly happening.
"Honestly, I don't know. That information is above my clearance to be frank. There's a lot about Lundin that's hidden behind red tape and clearance blocks."
"What type of extraneous psionic training would be available to someone of your clearance?" Joji asked.
"Training? None, really. No-one in command or tactical positions on military vessels are allowed to be trained by Lundin. You have to learn yourself." Tutala smiled, before saying to the Taii, "I hope you understand there's some things I just don't know."
"If you knew a group with this ability, you'd be a lot like us, to be frank. Eager to keep them from gaining too much power, What worries me is what they'll do outside treaty regulated space, like the core. You just don't mess around with people like that."
"Were you forcibly trained by the Lundin foundation?" Joji asked from his telepresence now as he looked at the exchange officer under the dark cap of bangs from which his dark eyes hung.
Tutala responded with a simple, "No," before staring into the dark eyes of the Shosa with an intensity unmatched by anything else seen before.
"And so you..." Joji said, nodding, letting her answer. "What?"
"I said I wasn't trained by them. Military non-combatants sometimes are, but it's not required. I haven't been trained by anyone other than myself. I spent decades learning to do what I can today."
"Did you say you were a..." Joji trailed off, but this time he didn't let her answer and just turned a bit, thinking out loud, "Did you say you were a military non-combatant? Would you?"
"In a manner of speaking yes. In the JFSE medical officers are considered non-combatant personnel."
"Right right, in a manner of speaking," Joji murmured. "And as a medical officer it must have been tough when your patient didn't listen to you and took the psionic juice. Does that happen often for you, Dr. Tutala?"
"It was difficult, but I had no choice in the matter. Once Aliset had placed the call, I was out of the loop."
"As I asked, does that happen often?" Joji pushed, relaxing his shoulders and looking at her with a cocked, open expression.
"No." Tutala said with a cold, uncaring tone, hinting that Joji's jig was up. "I very much do not like this line of questioning, if I must say. To me it sounds more like an interrogation, and that you're trying to incriminate me. Might I remind you this is to be a friendly chat, not a tribunal."
The sudden change in tone could be enough to catch anyone off guard, but soon enough, she changed back to her normal, cheery tone.
"So, I believe you have a few more questions for me?"
Akahana's gaze went wide at the change in Tutala's tone, compelling the Analyst to look towards Joji's volumetric figure to gauge his reaction. A part of her had begun to wonder if the exchange officer had overhead their conversation from before, but the Snowy Neko quickly shunted the thought towards the back of her mind, so that it didn't compromise her focus.
"Shosa, if I may," Akahana cut in, before shifting her attention back to Tutala. "Do you know why Aliset chose to go to the Lundin Foundation? Was it a thirst for knowledge? Power? Was she just...scared of her new powers?"
"I have no idea, I wasn't in the room where it happened. You'd have to ask our lovely captain for that information. My best guess would be that she was hoping for some form of knowledge. She told me earlier that she was searching for a danger of sorts."
Akahana blinked, then shifted her attention back towards Joji and Alastair.
Joji said, "Direct questions are the best way to get to the core of an issue. I appreciate you letting me do so with your time, Dr. Tutala. As I want to remind everyone here, the Psionic Signal Controller for the whole ship as well as the personal devices, which you are familiar with through Akahana-hei, have been patched."
Alastair finally spoke up. "Blackmail," he shouted out. He let that word hang before continuing on. "At least this is how I seen it since they said she could meet her husband that Aliset thought was long dead." Alastair reached up and ran his hand through his hair. "And things have been weird ever since. Which is saying something for this ship."
Joji titled his head at the outburst after his hand had begun typing on some unseen console. He let the scene play out.
Tutala remained silent and smiling, as if oblivious to the words spoken by Alastair. She adjusted her uniform silently, before looking around the room, observing the members in it.
"I get the impression that the Lundin Foundation doesn't just operate through psionics but also by exploiting weakness." Akahana spoke up in what could be perceived as a cold statement, as if an individual's love for their spouse was a weakness to be purged or exploited by an enemy.
Alstair spoke up. "I'd not go that far, it could just be this single person. Who if I was to rate from zero to ten on the evil scale, would put them at about a nine." He thought for a moment and thought of something else to add. "Also how C just showed up was weird. Its like how you're talking about someone and they just magically show up behind you looking over your shoulder. Yup, pretty much that." Alastair thought back to this chance encounter. From the start he could tell it was staged.
Joji looked like the thinking man's boy as he kept a hand to his lips. Finally, he too had something to add. "I don't think I really need to be here, your ship's in some capable hands, Captain." He gave a slight nod to Akahana, as well. Joji knew his comfort bed's contact number by heart for joint simulations and was ready to slip it to the analyst for further debriefing, but thought better of changing the vibe of the room Alastair had set with his dramatic vociferations. The man could speak.
"Keep in contact." Joji said with a terse bow. "If you know anything new, let us know, too."
"Thank you, Shosa." The Analyst said, a soft smile crossing her features as she offered him a bow, followed by one for the captain, then Tutala. "I'll be in touch if there are any more developments, sir." She added, her gaze shifting back towards Joji as he did.
Alastair smiled hearing the praise coming from Joji. "I shall do my best. And if that doesn't work, well I have a crew to step in and make a few misunderstandings." A smile crossed his face as he thought back to the kiss with Akahana. "Isn't that right Akahana." He said as he gave a wink.
Akahana suddenly seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but she played along.
"T-that's right...sir," She added with an awkward smile.
Tutala gave a short smile as the communication was eventually cut, before breaking out in a fit of maniacal laughter. "Would- You- HAH!"
"You should have seen the looks on your faces!" Before standing up, and quickly walking out of the room, continuing to laugh in melancholy.
((OOC: JP by Ame, @Miko, @Immortal Cyan and @Deleted User))
Ready Room
YE 44.6.9
Alastair had to wave a hand to make all the babes leave his ready room, but they did at the captain's delicate motion. Though they had lived much of their lives as fettered courtesans in an alternate universe, Alastair Belmont and the crew of the YSS Kaiyō II's actions years ago had not only freed them, but filled them with a hopeful desire in their hearts to serve the Yamatai that their rescuer, Alastair Belmont, believed in. The best way to do that was in the captain's quarters and out of the ready room, much to their chagrin.
All of the "babes" with the exception of one Kanzaki Akahana left the room, giggling as they did before the door slid shut in their wake, the air suddenly falling silent much to the Snowy Neko's relief. It went without saying that Akahana considered this matter to be extremely important, not only to her career, but also to national security. While Akahana hadn't expected to find herself tangled in something of such significance as an Analyst fresh out of training, a part of her enjoyed the attention, if only for the fact that it compelled her to work harder knowing that people might be depending on her actions.
As if to prepare herself, Akahana took a short, decisive breath.
"I'm ready, Belmont-Shosa." The Snowy Neko said, before offering the captain a deep bow.
Alastair looked at those who remained in his office. Much excitement was happening on the ship as they were headed out on thier first offical mission. Though before reaching Glimmergold, Alastair had a few things to deal with first. Mainly that these new powers were something to be concerned about. They were far too powerful to just leave as is given the recent happening.
"Alright, let us see what all we can do here."
When Alastair had secured his encryption channel, the volumetric projector in his ready room thrummed with a splaying of deep ultramarine blue light. When he did, several hardlight projections appeared, routing numbers to the analytics support team before small boxes appeared over each number: the encryption sequence for their telepresence communique with the best of the best analysts SAINT had to offer.
Wearing shosa rank stripes and bopping his moppy black-haired head slightly, a black-paneled analyst appeared on Alastair's desk in all his glory. Putting up a finger, he noted the call's beginning and turned off the soft thrumming of Koga Akemi and Kyoto Sekai's latest colab down with press of that finger.
"Shosa Takahara here." The man said, his tone all mellow while he carried on, "It looks like your Firmware update 6844 has been processed. Please confirm, Kanzaki-hei."
With only a blink as she registered the update, Akahana gave a satisfied nod when her digital mind finished processing it, carrying out the assessement within a matter of milliseconds.
"Confirmed and received, Shosa!" Akahana reported, before offering a deep bow to the Shosa's volumetric figure. "Thank you, sir." She added. "I trust that my report was comprehensive?" The Snowy Neko continued, the question seemingly phrased as if she were seeking Takahara's approval, which she probably was.
"Is there anything you would need clarified, sir?"
"Yeah I mean looking over your report it's some really intense stuff." Joji said, to which Akahana immediately frowned, but remained silent. "But it was thorough. There's not a lot I can ask you that your memory files wouldn't answer under questioning. Analyst to analyst, some anecdotal evidence would serve best. I see we're alone in here right now and I assume this room is secure, captain?" Joji looked to Alastair for the go-ahead.
"It's just me and the captain, sir." Akahana stated.
Joji nodded and formulated a series of questions. Akahana could notice the deep set circles under his eyes, more reddish than most people's black circles and the way he seemed to still be nodding his head to the music he had been listening to before this.
"Do you see the K'ai species as a threat to Yamatai? From your experiences, is there a hazard to Star Army operations if they continue relations with the Ka'i species?" Joji finished, "Do you foresee any more problems aboard your ship outside of what can be rectified with your own personal psionic controller's update, such as amongst other crew?"
Akahana blinked.
Even with her digital mind and its accelerated processing capabilities, Akahana had to take a moment to think, before she answered the Shosa's questions. First, she accessed MEGAMI to ensure that the K'ai wasn't just outside the ready room, in order to avoid being overheard. Then, after taking a short breath to clear her head, she began to speak.
"I believe that when it comes to psionic research and application, we are behind where we should be, sir." Akahana began. "Our research into psionics has only been towards the end of countering it, not understanding or applying it. At some point in the near future, we need to fix that."
"I understand your point completely, Akahana-hei. That matter is up to Taisho Yui and Star Army Personnel, especially in regards to training people. They're good ideas," Joji said with a quick wink -or blink? "Probably the same ones they're having, but I'm making notes for you." In truth, he wasn't typing anything but nodding with his arms crossed in front of her, but he had already decided on a playlist to put on as he went over this communique later and wrote up his secondary report to them.
"For now I want to be sure you feel like you're doing enough to protect yourself with the tools you have. Feel free to do your own independent research but," Joji had dropped his arms and his demeanor had shifted, "do not reach out to Lundin for assistance. Gather information, report it, and utilize it as your training has you do. You're a snowy Nekovalkryja, you know. You don't want to hand over your life to the enemy."
"But if you can develop or learn protections yourself, that information would be invaluable to us and you. Records division can help you with any available information you need," Joji said, head nodding. "Just keep the lines of communication with YOMI open there."
Alastair was hanging back and allowed Saint to do what Saint does best. Some interesting questions were raised concerning the Ka'i and how they have interacted with us so far. While not hostile, it seemed off with regards to how this would be viewed as a friendship.
"Is there anything you'd seek from me or should I leave this matter up to Akahana to handle?" He asked in a calm collected voice.
"Understood, sir." Akahana answered the Shosa's directive pertaining to Lundin, though a part of her wanted to investigate them, so long as she wasn't the one in the field doing the dirty work!
"I can work to assist in developing further updates to the PSCs." Akahana added. "I fear that there's just...so much that we don't know yet, sir." The Analyst frowned. It went without saying that in her line of work, ignorance was something that could not be tolerated for long.
"I wish we could study it more."
"All I can tell you, Akahana-hei, is that the higher-ups are going to look over your report," Joji looked strained, like he was leaving things unsaid. "There's always more to know. The point is," he had hunched in as if only speaking to her, "Is to know the unknowns. We know stuff, that's all they have to know." He was referencing something older than SAINT; it was along the lines of some PNugen Corps motto.
"What I need from you, Captain, is to assist Akahana-hei as she needs it. From both of you I want you to understand the severity of a Nightmare Mishhuvurthyar asset. That is an imperative element to ascertain the whereabouts of and any information as to its location is for you to work at." Joji said.
Alastair smiled as he was asked to give an assist. "Most certain I can help however I can. This matter is of upmost importance for us to understand." His smile then turned into a grin. "Though I am curious what all we are getting involved with." He let this comment hang knowing it was something no one could answer.
"I understand, Shosa." Akahana spoke up. There were grave implications any time the Mishhuvurthyar were involved, whether as a group or as lone actors. The Snowy Neko had known that her report would attract attention from the higher-ups as soon as Aliset had mentioned the presence of a Nightmare-type in Lundin.
"I'm glad we're all on the same page. Like I said, intense stuff, so catching up like this helps," Joji said, noting a bit ago that the ship AI had alerted them that the YSS Koun's exchange officer was near. The ready room stayed silent for a moment before there was a knock at the door, or rather, more of a chime, as the MEGAMI notified the occupants that the CMO was requesting entrance.
Joji nodded when he noted Alastair made no motion to speak to his MEGAMI.
"Always treat her like that? They have my clearance to come in, MEGAMI," Joji said, typing now into some unseen display.
Alastair waiting just a moment more before having the door open. "I am always mindful of how quick I answer, never know who all might be lurking."
With a sensible chuckle, Joji let his moppy black head fall to look in his lap, hiding the smile Alastair had elicited.
The door opened, as the blue Random Alien entered the room. Tutala adjusted her uniform, before offering a short salute, and saying, "I hope I am not interrupting. I simply wished to offer my limited experience in these discussions." Taking a seat and offering a curt smile.
Akahana went quiet as Commander Tutala entered the room, but the Snowy Neko offered them a shallow bow in greeting as they stepped inside, before shifting her attention back to the Shosa.
"Of course," Joji said after his posture had changed significantly. With his back straightened and a forgiving smile, he looked less the basement dwelling analyst and more like someone you would be happy to bump into at an event. "I feel like that's something I would have requested. Asking you questions directly is all I want out of my evening," Joji added with a smile out the side of his mouth.
It was subtle, but the Random Alien K'ai picked up on it immediately. She was observant if anything. Keeping the change in demeanor in mind, their posture changed to be much less formal, matching that of Joji in front of them.
Smiling too, they said, "I thought as much, what do you want to know? I'm an open book."
"Hey, cool. The Lundin Foundation, is it?" Joji asked, touching his hand to his chin and scraping the stubble there. "Are they sanctioned by your government?"
"They aren't sanctioned by our government, they are just... sort of there, you know? They do their work, but they're not part of us, if that's what you're asking. A lot of them serve as counselors and mental health professionals on our ships,"
"Ahh," he said, nodding his head in a knowing sort of way, "They support you, then, in a foundational kind of way?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. I wouldn't say they're crucial to our operation, but they're a useful tool, even if they're... a little strange at times. Not to mention they're the only ones with technology advanced enough to awaken psionics. Our species naturally awakens, but back when we were just a young civilization, it would require overdosing on various chemicals to awaken those who didn't experience it naturally. The Lundin Foundation provides an essential service, so we don't really have much of a choice in having them around."
It seemed that Tutala's demeanor had changed significantly, from the fearful self that Akahana and Alastair heard days ago. Was this normal? Was all of this a ploy?
It went without saying that Akahana was listening very closely to what Tutala was saying, especially pertaining to the Lundin Foundation. Within only a week, the Foundation had trained Aliset to the point that she was capable of bypassing a PSC set to low power. The Analyst could only imagine what feats one might be capable of achieving with a month or worse yet, years of training in advanced psionic theory and application from Lundin.
"Has the Lundin Foundation developed psionic study towards offensive or military ends?" The Analyst asked, her cyan gaze lighting up with curiosity and calculation in equal measure
"No, actually, the use of training offered by the Lundin Foundation is protected under treatise, and, at least within the core, Lundin-Trained psions are not permitted to serve in the military as fighters. They may be present on ships in non-combative roles, but are not trained offensively."
"Along that line of questioning," Joji cut in, "is psionic training offered outside of the Random Alien species?"
"Yes, actually. Lundin is supranational, an NGO, so it doesn't really matter who you are or where you're from, they can train you if you're latent."
"Does the Lundin Foundation make a habit out of it? How often have they altered the psionics of individuals from other species?"
A smile crossed the face of Alastair. This was interesting to learn it might be possible to learn these powers. Though he was unsure what use they would be for the day to day work. The quiet conversation had spurned one of the more charismatic women in his captain's room to come out. She was wearing an oversized Type 35 jacket with white panels and the flashing golden glint of Shosa rank stripes and nothing else save for regulation socks. Alastair let out a small sigh as he made eye contact. He was getting far to use to this type of thing just randomly happening.
"Honestly, I don't know. That information is above my clearance to be frank. There's a lot about Lundin that's hidden behind red tape and clearance blocks."
"What type of extraneous psionic training would be available to someone of your clearance?" Joji asked.
"Training? None, really. No-one in command or tactical positions on military vessels are allowed to be trained by Lundin. You have to learn yourself." Tutala smiled, before saying to the Taii, "I hope you understand there's some things I just don't know."
"If you knew a group with this ability, you'd be a lot like us, to be frank. Eager to keep them from gaining too much power, What worries me is what they'll do outside treaty regulated space, like the core. You just don't mess around with people like that."
"Were you forcibly trained by the Lundin foundation?" Joji asked from his telepresence now as he looked at the exchange officer under the dark cap of bangs from which his dark eyes hung.
Tutala responded with a simple, "No," before staring into the dark eyes of the Shosa with an intensity unmatched by anything else seen before.
"And so you..." Joji said, nodding, letting her answer. "What?"
"I said I wasn't trained by them. Military non-combatants sometimes are, but it's not required. I haven't been trained by anyone other than myself. I spent decades learning to do what I can today."
"Did you say you were a..." Joji trailed off, but this time he didn't let her answer and just turned a bit, thinking out loud, "Did you say you were a military non-combatant? Would you?"
"In a manner of speaking yes. In the JFSE medical officers are considered non-combatant personnel."
"Right right, in a manner of speaking," Joji murmured. "And as a medical officer it must have been tough when your patient didn't listen to you and took the psionic juice. Does that happen often for you, Dr. Tutala?"
"It was difficult, but I had no choice in the matter. Once Aliset had placed the call, I was out of the loop."
"As I asked, does that happen often?" Joji pushed, relaxing his shoulders and looking at her with a cocked, open expression.
"No." Tutala said with a cold, uncaring tone, hinting that Joji's jig was up. "I very much do not like this line of questioning, if I must say. To me it sounds more like an interrogation, and that you're trying to incriminate me. Might I remind you this is to be a friendly chat, not a tribunal."
The sudden change in tone could be enough to catch anyone off guard, but soon enough, she changed back to her normal, cheery tone.
"So, I believe you have a few more questions for me?"
Akahana's gaze went wide at the change in Tutala's tone, compelling the Analyst to look towards Joji's volumetric figure to gauge his reaction. A part of her had begun to wonder if the exchange officer had overhead their conversation from before, but the Snowy Neko quickly shunted the thought towards the back of her mind, so that it didn't compromise her focus.
"Shosa, if I may," Akahana cut in, before shifting her attention back to Tutala. "Do you know why Aliset chose to go to the Lundin Foundation? Was it a thirst for knowledge? Power? Was she just...scared of her new powers?"
"I have no idea, I wasn't in the room where it happened. You'd have to ask our lovely captain for that information. My best guess would be that she was hoping for some form of knowledge. She told me earlier that she was searching for a danger of sorts."
Akahana blinked, then shifted her attention back towards Joji and Alastair.
Joji said, "Direct questions are the best way to get to the core of an issue. I appreciate you letting me do so with your time, Dr. Tutala. As I want to remind everyone here, the Psionic Signal Controller for the whole ship as well as the personal devices, which you are familiar with through Akahana-hei, have been patched."
Alastair finally spoke up. "Blackmail," he shouted out. He let that word hang before continuing on. "At least this is how I seen it since they said she could meet her husband that Aliset thought was long dead." Alastair reached up and ran his hand through his hair. "And things have been weird ever since. Which is saying something for this ship."
Joji titled his head at the outburst after his hand had begun typing on some unseen console. He let the scene play out.
Tutala remained silent and smiling, as if oblivious to the words spoken by Alastair. She adjusted her uniform silently, before looking around the room, observing the members in it.
"I get the impression that the Lundin Foundation doesn't just operate through psionics but also by exploiting weakness." Akahana spoke up in what could be perceived as a cold statement, as if an individual's love for their spouse was a weakness to be purged or exploited by an enemy.
Alstair spoke up. "I'd not go that far, it could just be this single person. Who if I was to rate from zero to ten on the evil scale, would put them at about a nine." He thought for a moment and thought of something else to add. "Also how C just showed up was weird. Its like how you're talking about someone and they just magically show up behind you looking over your shoulder. Yup, pretty much that." Alastair thought back to this chance encounter. From the start he could tell it was staged.
Joji looked like the thinking man's boy as he kept a hand to his lips. Finally, he too had something to add. "I don't think I really need to be here, your ship's in some capable hands, Captain." He gave a slight nod to Akahana, as well. Joji knew his comfort bed's contact number by heart for joint simulations and was ready to slip it to the analyst for further debriefing, but thought better of changing the vibe of the room Alastair had set with his dramatic vociferations. The man could speak.
"Keep in contact." Joji said with a terse bow. "If you know anything new, let us know, too."
"Thank you, Shosa." The Analyst said, a soft smile crossing her features as she offered him a bow, followed by one for the captain, then Tutala. "I'll be in touch if there are any more developments, sir." She added, her gaze shifting back towards Joji as he did.
Alastair smiled hearing the praise coming from Joji. "I shall do my best. And if that doesn't work, well I have a crew to step in and make a few misunderstandings." A smile crossed his face as he thought back to the kiss with Akahana. "Isn't that right Akahana." He said as he gave a wink.
Akahana suddenly seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but she played along.
"T-that's right...sir," She added with an awkward smile.
Tutala gave a short smile as the communication was eventually cut, before breaking out in a fit of maniacal laughter. "Would- You- HAH!"
"You should have seen the looks on your faces!" Before standing up, and quickly walking out of the room, continuing to laugh in melancholy.
((OOC: JP by Ame, @Miko, @Immortal Cyan and @Deleted User))
