RP: YSS Kaiyō [YSS Kaiyō] Pre-Mission One: Hajime!

[Ametheliana]

YSS Kaiyō
Ramp Entrance
9月, Sanjūichi-nichi, YE 38
17:30

Taii Teien Eden, captain of the YSS Kaiyō, stood at the base of the ramp to the Plumeria gunship in her crisp type 35 duty uniform with officer's cap sitting atop her black hair. She was ready and waiting for her crew to arrive and greeted some as they got there with mirrored salutes, including Reina Madoka and Lilta Hazel.

She was waiting in anticipation for the first mission, which wouldn't be happening for a little while as they had to traverse many lightyears to get to where they had to go for it to take place. What she expected out of it was decisive victory, but what she was excited to find out was how that victory came about.

 

[CadetNewb]

"Ara, ara~" a womanly dulcet voice spoke up behind Eden. "You must be so excited Teien-Taii," the airy notes drifted across her ears.

Close behind her stood a gracefully demure looking woman with long black hair like her own and a mild, pleasant smile on her face. With how close the two were standing together, the younger Neko could smell the faintest hint of fresh spring wafting across her nose. Though they both had similar cuts of hair, the two couldn't be more different. Where Eden's hourglass figure was girlishly attractive with the way she wore her more professional Type 35, the other Nekovalkyrja's figure could only be described with one word; mature. Womanly, almost matronly in nature despite wearing the more flirtatious Type 30C. A black paneled one. Thinking about it though, moments before, this woman was nowhere near Eden.

On the other hand, this was expected of Sakamoto; she was a SAINT Agent after all. Their own black cat.

 

[Ametheliana]

Teien Eden tilted her head at the voice and looked behind her, smiling as she recognized the speaker and said, "Jôtô Heisho Sakamoto Hina, thank you for coming aboard with us! There is so much we have to do, I don't know how I could be anything but excited to depart. Tell me, do you look forward to the future with the same excitement?"

She wanted to know about Sakamoto, know her intricacies and her strongpoints. Her abilities and weaknesses. Her attitude and aptitude, alike. And the only way to find those things out was to ask. She bit her lip when she almost asked a second and third question, though, letting the first one sit.

 

[CadetNewb]

The woman's ever pleasant smile never left her face as she brought a finger up to her lips in thought. She only looked up to the heavens for only a moment.

"Tabuuuun~" Sakamoto playfully replied. Maybe. "This isn't my first ride after all," the woman explained, and it was true. Very true. Even a glance into her files, the parts that weren't neatly edited away, told that much. Even as she said this, telling the Taii just a bit of herself in the process, the close, almost intimate proximity with which she stood by Eden hinted at another story of its own as well. But would Eden be able to follow the breadcrumbs that Sakamoto left behind for her to follow? Let alone read the letters that they formed before they were lost, eaten up by time? That remained to be seen.

 

[lawrence_thegamer]

Ito Arnbjorg had woken later than normal. Even worse, it was the day she was scheduled to depart on the YSS Kaiyo as its pilot. Ito had to rush to put on her type 35 uniform, throw her belongings in her duffle bag, and holster her pistol to get there on time. When she came up to the ramp of the Plumeriagunship she stopped in front of the twoblack haired women and saluted.

Ito then said, "Are ether of you Taii TeienEden?"

 

[Ametheliana]

"That would be me," Teien Eden said after returning the salute. She was happy to see another crew member coming aboard and, more than that, was happy to learn more about the Neko pilot before working alongside her.

Eden turned to Sakamoto, saying telepathically as she looked at the SAINT Agent, "We'll pick this up later. We have quite the journey ahead of us and will have time to talk of your riding prowess at some point soon."

"Reporting for duty?" she asked questioningly of Ito Arnbjorg, hoping for a rank and name to come forth, though PANTHEON told her those things, she wanted to hear it from the new pilot herself.

 

[lawrence_thegamer]

" Santo Hei Ito Arnbjorg reporting for duty captain!" Said Ito in a polite manner.

Now that she was closer she could destinctly tell that the captain was a fellow neko but the other had more human atmosphere about her.

She glanced at the Kaiyo and knew what was expected of her and she was excited that she had something that would provide a challenge.

 

[Ametheliana]

Eden speculated what it was that Ito Arnbjorg wanted to do with her time on the ship, just as she speculated what it was Sakamoto Hina wanted to do there, as well.

"Now, what do you look to do aboard this ship, santo hei?" Eden asked. "To serve Yamatai comes first and foremost, but what is secondary to that? Is it to find out the perils of the universe and overcome them? To learn about new cultures? Maybe you're even setting out to learn about yourself more in relation to the complexities that life brings upon all of us. Which is it, if any of those?"

She laced her fingers together and they rested where her legs met her torso, holding back anticipation at the forthcoming answer.

 

[lawrence_thegamer]

" I truely don't know who I am but that's why I'm here" Ito pauses for a moment before continuing." to find myself."

Ito wondered what Eden would say hopeing she wouldn't think less of her now that she knew why she was here. Or worse if she kicked her from the crew for being a hazard to the mission.

All she could think about was her friend. And how much she regrets that she couldn't do anything.

 

[Ametheliana]

Eden nodded as the pilot spoke and said in an amused voice, "Not knowing always precludes finding out. I'm sure you'll piece together the answer before you even finish the question. For now, welcome aboard!" Her smile widened and she put a hand on the young Neko's shoulder. "We're going to have a lot of fun and do what Yamatai expects of us all in the same breath! We'll bring devastation to all those that try to vanquish us and wreak havoc on systems that oppose the Empress all with laughter in our hearts and an iron fist!"

She then let go of the Neko and her hands, again, clasped together in front of her pelvis. Her smile didn't fade, but instead, brightened as she gave Ito Arnbjorg a wink.

"I promise it!" she reaffirmed.

 

[CadetNewb]

As the relatively young Taii greeted the newcomer, Sakamoto stood close by a knowing, almost smug smile.

Though she stood behind Eden, by nature of the ramp itself, the Jiyuuian stood ever so slightly taller and looked down on them all. Not too many of the crew had come yet, and she had already greeted some of the others. For now, it was simply nothing more than waiting, greeting and the like. Simple pleasantries before they got underway. As politeness demanded, she bowed to Ito with a quiet, sweet grace. This latest assignment, she had her own suspicions of it, but it sounded like it was going to be both easier and harder than what she had before.

Such was the way of things.

 

[Navian]

Soaring down out of the sun in the west, the crew's Elysian soldier swooped into the dust near the ramp with a solid four-point landing, standing up straight a moment later to give Eden an Elysian salute, which she quickly turned into a Star Army one. "Santô Hei Navian, Empyrean, reporting for duty, Taii." At 196 cm, never mind her wingspan, Navian left a long shadow over the gunship as she arrived, and in a less tangible sense, a bit of a black cloud hung over her career so far.

In the two months since she'd joined the Star Army, she'd been present for two battles and two defeats, each where the cargo she guarded was lost, a Star Army shuttle was captured, the enemy escaped with light casualties, and Navian herself had been left unconscious. Worst of all, both battles had been deep within Yamataian territory, where no enemy should have been found. Rumour had it she was cursed... Her luck had not been much better before she joined, she'd been rejected year after year until recently.

Despite all that, she had the look of a very serious career soldier about her. The repairs to her duty uniform where it had been shot through were barely perceptible, though her NSP and its holster still bore the marks of rough use. It could be said she brought experience to the crew, though one might take care when describing what kind.

 

[Ametheliana]

Eden returned the salute, Star Army style, and smiled enthusiastically, saying, "Happy to have you here, santo hei Navian! This is going to be quite the grand beginning to the 39th year of the empire, isn't it? We're lucky that we'll have the Ke-M2-4E for you, as well! Very lucky, indeed!" A funny choice of word, lucky, when Navian had been anything but. Luck didn't get her into the Star Army, perseverance did. Luck hadn't befallen her afterwards, either, when in reality what had befallen her was more akin to a curse. Whether or not Taii Eden's words would ring true and she would be more lucky than ever before would only be tested by time.

 

[Navian]

"I will strive to make good use of the equipment I have been assigned, Taii." She'd done that, so far, at least. Not many light infantry had a space fighter kill on their records, or were noted to have slain a stealth infiltrator with the lid of a crate. The rumours weren't all bad.

"The timing is good," she admitted reluctantly, inclining her head.

 

[CadetNewb]

"Ara-ara," Sakamoto began. Like a presence that emerged from Eden's shadow, the black clad Nekovalkyrja mischievously narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "We have ourselves an Elysian?" she asked, her eyes moving to examine the other woman's wings. Like a person appraising a gem, it felt like nothing went untouched by Sakamoto's gaze. "I wonder, why are you here in the Star Army of all places?" she pondered aloud. The way she said it almost implied that there really was something off about that. Almost. "Ah, forgive me. My name is Sakamoto. Sakamoto Hina," she began.

"Ah. And this is Ito Ambjorg - she will be helmswoman I believe," the woman gestured to the other Neko. It was so simple what she had just done with the sudden introduction, yet it yet made it just that much harder to answer the very question she had asked moments ago.

 

[Navian]

"I was of Jskita, before Empyrean. I have not forgotten. I am here to defend the home world, and the empire; there is only one." Sakamoto was not the first member of SAINT to give Navian the query in the same manner, and having tread lightly before, her answer carried the extra weight, this time. She bowed to Arnbjorg afterward, saying no more by way of greeting.

 

[CadetNewb]

The SAINT Agent's catlike ears drooped with disappointment as she sighed.

"Hora, that which troubles me most declares itself proudly," she replied to the Elysian, though not unkindly. Her words soft and gentle, she explained, "If you truly feel that way, then all of Elysia is truly conquered in the name of Yamatai. It's sad - your people once had the spirit to wage not one or two, but four wars against us." The idea itself, fighting against the greatest empire to have ever existed not once, but for times was practically blasphemous already, yet, the words that came out of her mouth were in complete and utter defiance of the norm. Completely against what was expected of someone who was given SAINThood. Moving slowly to hold both her hands up to either side of herself, Sakamoto deliberately shrugged with a few extra bits of drama. "Shikata ga nai. Times change." She turned, making her way up the ramp. The woman looked back over her shoulder though.

"I would have preferred several rowdy Elysian men over a gaggle of Mishhuvurthyar any day," Sakamoto mischievously smiled. Entering the ship, her feline tail was held high like a question mark.

 

[Ametheliana]

Sensing the distrust, Eden's smile dampened before raising a hand to scratch the back of her neck. Her eyes closed momentarily and she tilted her head with a new, fresh smile.

"You two are likely going to be working very closely together," she pointed out. "Striving towards the same predetermined goal together, in unison." The SAINT Neko was already up the ramp by the time her words were out, but they were still audible to her sensitive ears. "Let's not forget that."

"Navian," Taii Eden addressed the Elysian. "Thank you for joining the Star Army 'of all places'," she said, quoting the SAINT agent in a lilting tone. "I welcome you aboard."

 

[Navian]

"Thank you Taii. To the honourable Sakamoto Heisho: I have never fought any wars against Yamatai. It is a matter of record that I have been a Yamataian citizen since YE 13, and Kakaku Kyōsō, my forebear, since YE 09." It was as far as she wished to push the issue, though Navian wondered at how quick both agents had been to presume. She lowered her voice, again. "I shall be glad to serve aboard the YSS Kaiyō."

Just inside the ship--that is, immediately to the right inside the door--was the ship's sensors operator, hands held tightly together as she held her breath and hoped for the Heisho to pass without noticing she'd stationed herself there to snoop on the other crew members. Her long red hair was not exactly conducive to stealth, however, and her anxiety of being caught had a way of grabbing the eye.

 

[Ametheliana]

"Mhmmm!" Eden replied gruffly. "I hope you enjoy fighting for Yamatai aboard our ship! Something tells me that I know you will!"

A few more officers and enlisted came through to salute to Taii Eden and she briefly spoke to each of them before turning on her heel and heading up the ramp.

"Boss," she said to the MEGAMI. "Alert the crew that cabin placements and mission briefing will be held tonight in the wardroom. Until then, they should become acquainted with their Mindy, the ship, and each other."

Chiming through the halls in a friendly effeminate tone, the MEGAMI relayed this information to its passengers before adding, "Anything else you may need, please do not hesitate to ask me -- your Boss-- or the captain."

Eden glanced at the place where Asuka, the sensors operator, was positioned in the shadows. She jumped back a little, manipulating gravity to fling herself far away from the perceived threat, as she made contact with the blue eyes of the red-head.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked quizzically, hand on her chest.