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  • 📅 April 2024 is YE 46.3 in the RP.

RP [YSS Koun] Mission Two: The Machine with a Heart

Miko

Miko

🎖️ Game Master
RP Date
45.2
RP Location
Taiie Nebula
YSS Koun
Near Machine World X

Wardroom

Alastair stood at attention as he looked out over his crew. He was in full formal wear, eager to share news of the up coming mission. "Attention everyone, I hope everyone has been well. First, a thank you too all the new recruits here to join this wonderful crew. Know you are among the elite of Star Army and in safe hands. Though we do not expect heavy resistance, it is safe to say we know that we do not know what dangers are ahead." Alastair motioned his hand and the larger view screen lit up. On it was a massive world, looking like a normal sized planet but was in fact the machine world. "Take a moment to look over the details we have on this place. It is mostly surface data with some data from the Resurgence on areas they explored. From this report there is Rixxicor though are of different levels of hostile. Other than that we lack many details. I'd expect we'd run into machine bad guys as well."

From the report the crew would learn some details related to the history of these machine worlds. Mostly focused on the large scale battle of Glimmergold and the destruction of Kuvexia. It also gave details the level of power these machine worlds had. Which to put it lightly, was massive, though most of this was burned off during the war.

"Feel free to suit up as you all see fit. Though I'd suggest mix of tools, armor and weapons for this mission. May also may need use of a skilled hacker. There is not expected to be civilians on the world though I kindly ask not to blow everything up please." Alastair then finished speaking and took a step back to allow for others to speak up.
 
YE45.2: 1 DAY AGO - FORT VICTORY, YAMATAI

Excited steps pattered around the hardwood floor as the short-statured Neko rushed to pack her bags. It was happening! It was finally happening! She was assigned to an official starship within the prestigious Star Army! And not just her, but Annelise was going to be there as well. As she traversed the house and gathered her things, she packed them away as quick as she could, then onto the next! At one point she hurriedly maneuvered around her mom, who was trying to do a final load of laundry.

In a mix of surprise and frustration, Annelise reactively lifted the basket over her daughter’s head. A flighty ”sorry” sounded from the Specialist as she disappeared around the corner. Strixdottir took a moment to collect herself. She was simply excited, that’s all. It was her first big assignment since she was born. And being assigned to a ship was no small matter. A small smile appeared on the stoic Nekovalkyrja’s face. And her smile only softened as she threw the last load in and answered any questions sent her way.

An odd feeling struck her… She should’ve been excited as well, right? She should‘ve been as energized and fueled as her daughter. There was no mistaking that she was honored by the orders given to them. So why didn’t she match her daughters energy? Why didn’t she feel the same way? On a worse note, why did she feel the stark opposite?

YE45.2: 32 HOURS AGO - YSS KOUN

Dread. That was it.

Where Vera surged and bounced around with relentless excitement, Annelise stood stiff with anticipation. Her rich, green gaze glued themselves to the impressive exterior of the YSS Koun. The starship was like others she’d boarded before, especially during her time at the War College. A memory that should’ve been old and tucked away, instead fresh on her mind like it was yesterday. Arms hung limply against her sides, cold fingers rubbing against their own palms to procure some feeling. She felt her breathing constrict in every inhale, and her eyebrows slowly cinched together. But the worst part of it all was having no grounds for her dread at all! Where was it coming from, and why was it so ominous-

”Annelise?” Vera held onto the sleeve of her mother’s jacket, her upbeat energy falling. She didn’t realize her mom would have a different reaction than she. Annelise flinched and snapped her eyes downward, locking onto Vera’s crystal blue irises. All her muscles relaxed and she breathed regularly again.

”Forgive me,” she began. “It was more daunting than I realized.”

”Oh, right,” Vera pondered, bringing a hand to her lips. “Technically, this is your first big mission too.“

”Yes,” Annelise hung onto that reply longer than anticipated. Green eyes trailed up to the hull of the ship as her voice faded away. She forced herself to close her eyes and take a deep breath, looking down again as Vera hugged her arm reassuringly. “We’ll be fine. All we have to do is follow orders.”

”Right!” Vera’s cheery disposition returned in an instant, and it brought a grateful smile to her mother’s face. She was so grateful her daughter would be joining her on this new adventure.

YE45.2: PRESENT - YSS KOUN: TAIIE NEBULA

Annelise and Vera arrived and stood at attention when Chusa Belmont called the crew into the wardroom. He was dressed as any proper Chusa would be: professionally, pristinely, proficiently. His commanding presence and confident demeanor immediately garnered respect from Strixdottir, and Annesdottir locked onto him with anticipatory wonder. When everyone arrived Alastair began to speak.

He welcomed the newest members of the crew by thanking them for joining. Annelise nodded subtly while Vera beamed with a giant grin. Next, he alighted the crew to the honest reality of the situation. They were traversing into the unknown, and they didn’t know how it was going to turn out. Annelise appreciated that. He encouraged the crew to read up on the Nebula they headed towards, as well as any files provided by fellow starships. He warned that enemies likely abounded, and to stay sharply aware of the possible dangers in their midst. Another understanding nod exuded from the 33A. This was a good sign. A calm and commanding presence, but one which didn’t sugarcoat the situation either. A healthy balance. Annelise could see the two of them working well together.

Finally, he instructed his crew to suit up according to their preferences. He recommended a well-rounded kit, to be prepared for any instance. That was the same path of logic Annelise decided on. Her rigid frame relaxed, ever slightly. Yes. They were going to work well together. Unexpectedly, he opened up the floor to anyone else who wished to speak. Something Annelise was not prepared for. She remained deathly quiet, chancing brief glances at her new crew-mates. Would any of them speak up?

Intuition had her drop her gaze down, to the side. Vera stood at attention, like her mother, but she looked like she would burst at the seams. Annelise wasn’t sure if she was listening properly. She would follow up with her later, once they were dismissed. But as she formulated her monologue, Vera couldn’t help but speak up.

”Sorry!” she exclaimed. She bounced up and down a couple times, her giant space buns bouncing just as much. “I’m so excited! Thank you so much for having us!”

@Miko
 
The pulsing lights on the FARS light bar embedded just below the synthetic skin of Chūi Takeda Sayako's neck flashed out a chasing blue and white pattern as she stood beside the captain. She regarded the bouncing without emotion on her face, though the chasing lights became a slow, amber "breathing" pulse as she did. The dataslate in Sayako's hands was mostly for show, as she handled everything wirelessly.

"I've included in the reports are everything from the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet's archives on the Taiie Nebula, as it was formed from the destruction of the system they garrisoned during the Second Mishhuvurthyar War. It has always been on the Yamataian frontier, even after we've expanded past it," the android science officer spoke up. "And even to this day the area around it is less than fully explored, thirteen years later. Also note the prior logs from machine worlds where they were encountered by other Star Army units, most notably the YSS Resurgence."
 
Doctor 99 had arrived and he was one of the new recruits that had arrived and one of the last ones to enter the room as the Captain gave their speech. His three bright green eyes started to scan the room, mostly organic beings with one other android in the room. This was rather surprising but not totally out of the norm considering where they were going to, a machine world filled with evil androids. 99 would calmly shake his head, to think that there were androids out there that he could have possibly made friends with, but now he was on a mission against them. He understood his assignment and had already prepared himself.

Right across his shoulder and sitting on the lower left side of his back, was his leather satchel that had all the tools needed to hack, repair, or dismantle the security of any advance technology that the machine world had to offer. Also within his satchel was his trusted laser pistol that he always carries around with him. He wasn't afraid of the assignment he was about to go do, nor did he feel any excitement for it. It was moot and after the speech was over, he looked to the science android officer and began to speak up.

"My unit number is 99.105.88. My name is 99 for short. I am ready to proceed with the mission."

Speaking to the officer with an indifference type of tone in his voice. He truly sounded like a typical standard issue android that didn't have any feelings and only used logic to complete the mission. His eyes flash bright green as he looked over to Vera. Clearly they were more excited about this mission than he was. Flashing his eyes back at the science android officer.

"My skills are hacking, repairing, or dismantling security systems. I can also serve a combat role if needed. But you already know my credentials before I walked into the room."

Though the comment seemed to be, 'what was the point of telling someone what roles you can play. since it would already be in the system.' 99 just wanted to make sure that they understood that he was serious about this assignment unlike the Vera character.
 
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"Indeed." Sayako inclined her head at Doctor 99, with a pale green triplet-pattern flash repeating three times. "I have already assimilated the contents of your file."

She then turned back to Alastair. "Captain, given the presence of new personnel that whose specialities multiply our electronic warfare capabilities, it might be safer to take powered armor to the surface than it has been historically given the contested signals environments typical of machine worlds."
 
Wardroom

Alastair reached up and rubbed his thumb under his chin. "Aye, I would have to agree that power armor would be a wise decision for this mission." He said towards Sayako. "This is area of space is a grave yard at best, a pirate den at worst. Best to be equipped to handle whatever we face ahead." The area of space had a long history deep history linked to Yamatai. It use to be the Taiie System before being remodeled by a Shlarvasseroth-class Flagship. Alastair reached up and with a flick of his wrist a large star map lit up the room. "We are going to avoid causing as much trouble as possible. This area is considered sacred to the Motoyoshi Clan. As much as I want to rock the boat of the Motoyoshi Clan, that can wait for another day. Feel free to look over the information, as the Nebula is a beautiful place even with its grim roots."

Once more Alastair motioned with his hands and the map zoomed into an asteroid field. "We believe this is the location of the signal for the machine world. Through rumors there is discussion that this has been placed here on purpose. Though the exact end goal is not clear. Our objective will be to secure this machine world and open whatever diplomacy channels that come from that action."

Alastair placed his hands together and pulled them apart. The image zoomed into the area of space and a large world came into view. "At the height of the Kuvexian war these mighty battle stations played a key role in winning the war. It is only fitting we do our part to look into why these have shown up in our space."

He then swiped his hand to one side and the image shifted away. "Ah, I see Doctor 99 is among the group. Welcome friend, I hope you enjoy your stay on the YSS Koun." He continued forwards towards Annelise, another impressive crew who had joined for this mission. "I am glad to have yet another of your caliber among the crew. At the moment it has not been decided on who will take point on this mission. Would this be of interest to you?" He then put his attention towards Vera. He reached over and gave her a pat on the head. "This is the level of excitement we need." He said with a smile as he retracted his hand and put them behind his back. He face the group once more. "Once we are done here, feel free to chat before making your way to the armor bay. We will be dropping into the Nebula shortly."
 
Sayako gave Alastair a side-eye, face and voice emotionless but neck-light pulsing, only very quickly, once, an angry red flash. "As much as I would think that was a political statement, Captain, I have seen how you look at my former owner," she quipped, softly, at him.
 
Alastair figured his joke would not amuse Sayako in the slightest but figured why not give it a go. He knew it was only a matter of time before he'd find himself wrapped up with the Motoyoshi clan one way or another. Though he had not expected his hunt for the machine world to end up here of all places. It was almost too good to be true but he'd not miss this opportunity.

Alastair made his way to the armor bay to suit up. For this mission he'd personally be down on the planet. Though he was hoping that Annelise would take him up on his offer. He was also curious how the personality of Sayako would get along with Doctor 99. He felt that they might but heads if they got into a facts war. He smiled at the thought as it would be good for her to know she doesn't always have to win in order to win.

The ship dropped into orbit around the machine world. They were a short distance away from the remains of Taiie. A place of history of a not too distant past. Where the forces of Star Army for once decided not to blow something up. It was an odd blip in the history of Star Army. A fact Alastair was most interested in learning more about. He was curious what he might learn while also exploring the machine world.
 
In the power armor bay, he would find Aliset struggling with a suit of power armor, being assisted by a human who made her seem tiny. They had both stayed silent during the briefing and stayed just long enough to hear the important bits.

"It's okay, Navigator, you don't have to come with us. I'm familiar with Senti, you're much better on the ship giving us direction," Spark said, locking Aliset's spinal mounting into place.

"Yeah, but I still feel kinda useless."

"And? I've seen your record. You're a monster with a gun, absolute terror in close comhat, and suck with power armor."

"And yet. I'm waiting on my Taii promotion and school orders."

"Congratulations, ma'am. For what it's worth, I know how hard it can be for your species to ask for help. I was actually planning on going to Shuristan Civil Service school after my tour with the Star Army." Aliset was nearly fully suited up at this point. "I know it's not a good idea, but I've spent my entire life keeping up with other species. I think I could learn a lot."
 
Ancilla waited in Spark’s Power Armor, literally, having done some last minute checking of the systems to make sure they were up to standards for the both of them. So far, as far as she could see they seemed to be in the green. The next thing she checked was to make sure that the Revanant 3 was unhackable, she’d heard reports of the machine worlds, and of past encounters. She was certain she could handle any hacking attempts and may the universe help them should their enemies have physical bodies. She didn’t leave the bay, having remembered what happened last time, and her Kaimon colleague's body was slumped on a chair, like a hungover drunk. Its “head” as slumped, but the body was secured. Through Spark’s Geist, Spark would receive a message. “I like that Senti girl, she seems brave, a courageous self” The AI said of Aliset.
 
She's Shuristan, Spark responded, looping a ratchet strap around Aliset's chest. "Exhale, please. Gonna be just like a corset. She's certainly braver than most of them.

Aliset lifted her arms, exhaling completely as Spark ratcheted the strap closed, pressing her into the armor enough to engage the locking mechanism. "There you go, ma'am. Now we get the gorget on, and you know how to seal the helmet, right?"

"Yeah. We're gonna have to loosen it a bit for my collar." The Senti officer nodded with a soft smile, taking a breath.

"Already got you. Here, lift your chin." Spark placed the neck armor on, deft fingers latching the pins and making the connections. Handing off the helmet, Spark looked to her own armor and offered Ancilla a soft grin. "She's a little on the crazy side, but you and I are gonna make sure she can handle herself, right? Koun-Chui, we'll be on your six. Sansinnia-Taii needs to be keeping an eye on the rest of the squad. You'll be my RTO. I expect you to be bouncing comms."

"I understand, Sergeant. I'll stay right next to you."

"Don't make me and our TO put you through remedial PA training. Captain. Good to finally meet you. Ancilla's in the armor. Finally got your navigator in armor. Took a ratchet strap cause she's busty as shit."
 
Alastair watched as his almost second in command was trying her best to get into power armor. One eye brow lifted as he watch the human work hard to fit her into her armor. He flipped up his armband PDA to look at the specs of the Mindy armor. As was protocol all crew were sized to fit in Mindy armor in case anyone of them was required to fight in said armor. The armor was showing everything was within specification for the Mindy which only meant one thing. The Senti was growing faster than expected. Something he noted to ensure future fits would be more simple. In the mean time he just enjoyed watching them struggle before getting into his own armor.

"Alright team, as was covered in the brief. We have some intel of the maze below so are not going in completely blind. Place is damaged so we will need to locate power to critical systems so we can get the world back online. Expect to run into bad guys who call this place home."

The ship entered final orbit and the green light was given to exit the ship. Way point indicated to head towards a temple looking structure below the ship. So far there was no indication of foes below.
 
"Taking point." Spark signalled for Ancilla to open the armor before stepping inside and heaving the suit closed over her shoulders, rolling her head to fit her helmet. "Ancilla, you good to go? I'm reading systems green across the board. Ammo green, water green, nutrient gel green. Go ahead and confirm my load."

Aliset plopped her helmet on, snapping the neck seals closed with a casual ease that activated the armor's power cell and set the hemosynth layers into fitting mode. This caused Aliset to cry out over the comms in a squall of disgust and surprise, her armor quite literally sliding around her to reposition everything to fit properly.

As the Navigator's armor finally finished its adjustments, Spark gave a chuckle at her retching and watching the Senti squirm firmly enough to land herself on her back in the bay before offering a hand up. "Yeah, that first fitting mode can be a little sticky. You good, ma'am?"

"Fine, fine. I'm okay. That was really squicky." Ali nodded, accepting the help up as her mag boots engaged.

As Spark moved her armor to the airlock, she offered a gesture to the side before clenching her fist and testing the wrist blade. "I saw your PA qual scores. Not much better than mine when I first got into a suit. My first was a Revenant mk 1, but yeah. It took some getting used to. Grab a tool kit. Your expertise with varied tech bases will be a boon to this mission."

"On it, yeah. I can also do xenolinguistics and diplomacy with the locals... Ahh... Power's good, good on air, thrusters... Damn it, I can't see half these controls! And I got popups blocking my vision!"

As much fun as it was to watch an officer panic, Spark's job was to train the Yamataians how to work with and on her Revenant suit. They couldn't do that if they were panicking in their own Mindies. "Just try to think of the armor as a powered space suit. Don't overthink it. Let your AI do the thinking. I'm gonna link you up with Ancilla, she can disable the stuff you don't need and clean up your UI for you, okay? Your armor's as wigged as you are, considering it can't connect to you telepathically. Don't worry about it, just remember your Trials, okay? You got this. None of this is new."

"Okay... Okay. Got this. Just a powered space suit... With... Fighter-bomber features. I got this, yeah. Ancilla, can you hear me?"
 
Spark would soon receive a blushing emoticon to display how embarrassed she’d been, of course the AI knew that the true name was Shuristan rather than Senti. She watched Spark assist Aliset with a look of admiration and love for her partner in combat, but as she watched, another emotion and feeling overcame her, that of laughter and amusement at the poor dear’s struggles. Though she was able to control her movements enough that the armor wasn’t moving as much, but inside she was doing the equivalent of rolling in laughter.

She completely lost it when Spark said that Aliset was busty as shit, it amused her immaturely. Then the captain arrived, and then she spotted Spark’s approach in all of the armor’s sensors. She unlocked the armor and opened it up, potentially causing some personal to gasp as they’d seen the armor moving before, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone in it before Spark had entered.

“Aye! The load is confirmed! And I got your preferred load out as well!” She said as the suit did its thing, and as Spark and Ancilla began to mind meld slowly, Spark would find herself bombarded with Ancilla’s feelings of amusement and laughter as Aliset had caught her attention once again. Of course she tried to force herself to be kinder, and allowed Spark’s control over the armor, as she moved herself to Power Armor AI support again.

She saw Aliset’s armor connecting “yup!” she said, trying to keep the amusement in her voice. She had to be serious now, even if she had been amused before. “Let's see…” she said “ookaaay.. Why do you need that? don’t need this.. Don’t need that, Efficient Power usage could keep that, ah lets leave this..’ she said mostly for Aliset’s benefit. As she spoke some of the popups disappeared from view as she worked to set up what Aliset needed. “aaaannd.. done! how’s that?’ she asked Aliset after a while.
 
The Machine World

The decent to the world surface was uneventful. As far as the eye could see was nothing but ruins and what use to be a thriving world. As each of them landed, the dust from the place would kick into the air. Given the mass of the world it did have a certain amount of gravity. Though with enough push one could still launch themselves back out into orbit. Alastair took a few steps and took notice of foot prints around them. These he figured were from the team before though others did not match Star Army foot prints. He had a bad feeling even before they got here and this was for sure going to be a rough ride. They were going to be jumping back into a fire ant nest.

"Alright team, the entrance to the maze is a few clicks from our current location. Keep your wits about." He had no more finished talking when sensors started to pick up friends around them. Like something out of a horror movie, bodies started to rise from the ground. Heads poked out from the ruined buildings around them. "Ah bloody hell, not these things again." Alastair shouted out as he started to slowly move in the direction of the shelter.
 
Aliset did as the sergeant had said, staying close and immediately clenching her toes to activate her mag boots as she touched down. She hadn't been heavily armed, a small carbine strapped across her back and a tool kit at her waist. "I see them."

She made a few gestures in the empty space in front of her as she enabled gesture control and started scanning comm frequencies and her audio sensors, looking for snippets of language and communications. "Ground team to Koun, we have several contacts, could you mark those on our huds and scan for comms? I'd rather avoid a firefight if we can avoid it."

Spark double checked her sensors, mentally checking on Ancilla with a soft touch of her mind as the Storm Rifle slipped from its holster in her lower back, and she loaded a 40mm grenade into the underslung launcher.

You mind bringing stealth systems online real quick? Be ready to return fire.

Both of the powered armor clad soldiers followed Alastair without making sudden moves or trying to appear threatening. "Captain. Confirm ROE, return hostile action only. Equal force, correct?"
 
“Aye, stealth systems now online!" Ancilla informed Spark, and Spark noticed her hand and weapon vanishing as the stealth systems took effect. Ancilla also prepared herself to fire weapons at first sign of attack.
 
Black Wolf Squad, with Sacre in the lead, medical kit secure in her armor's tailpack, Lightbringer's armored wings providing mobile cover as the team moved, Svendsdatter with Ven and E.E. in a tight triangle, Takei with Makoto and Shoko in a looser more independent scattering, Aten already processing the data from the intelligence suite from Sacre's armor, landed on the machine moon and dived into cover.
 
The Machine World Surface

The information Alastair had before was that these machines were extremely hostile. So much so the crew who engaged them last almost glassed the side of the planet they were on. Though so far the enemy had not given any indication of being hostile. Granted this could quickly change should something alert them.

The stealth system for the armor Ali was using activated without issue. However, due to how she fit into the armor, the stealth was not as complete as it would normally be. As such the enemy started to crawl around her. They would reach out arms and poke at her legs curious what was going on. They then started to crawl up her legs and investigate this odd shaped Mindy.

Alastair was flipping through his notes and was curious why this was even happening. He was hoping for a friendly encounter but this was just weird. He then recalled the firmware upgrade he got in the prior mission from Saint. He was curious if this had masked them from the enemy. Or at least had them confused as to what to do with them. Alastair looked up to see that Ali was now completely covered with these bots. It looks like a child trying very hard to open a container to get what was inside it. Though they were not being aggressive in doing so.

From the Black Wolf team, they had been successful in hiding. Even though they were full stealth, the bots seemed to be able to find them. At least they would move around in a confused manner trying to get around the team they could not see.

"Let us carefully move towards the shelter. They seem to be friendly, confused or both so far." He then looked towards Ali once more. "Try not to step on your new friends Ali, would seem they are very fond of you." He said with a chuckle. So far this was not what he expected but none the less it is better to fall upwards than backwards.
 
Aliset, whose hands had been waving in gesture control, had felt the bots climbing her legs and took a deep breath, looking down as she slowed, making no sudden movements. "I think I'm okay. They don't seem to be able to get through the neck seal," she spoke as the bots climbed over her.

She gently twisted some control in her field of view, lowering her stealth and opening her comms, tuning them to the microbursts of static bouncing between the small creatures.

"I need to move, now. We are friend. We come to help." Unlike her usual rapid fire way of speaking, the soft Shuristan slipping from her mouth was almost a maternal tone. She gently lifted one leg, not high enough to let any bots get under before moving forward and gently setting her boot down and engaging the magnetic lock. "Pretty ones, I would like to see. What are you?"

~~~

Spark, in full stealth, had taken a slow step to the side, watching Aliset very carefully, watching for any sign of aggression. She also didn't make any sudden moves, and took care to not step on anything as she made her way to Alastair. "Sir, we just gonna let your Navigator go native?"
 
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