[YSS Shiroyama] Mission 2, Side A(Rangers): Rumblings From The Deep

[SirSkully]

RP Date

Ye 42

RP Location

YSS Shiroyama

The rangers would be greeted in one of the station’s armoury by that same saint-suited woman who’d been shrouded in shadows speaking to Kimber during their pre-briefing briefing, now sitting atop a small pallet of crates loading rounds into a magazine one by one with not even a glance up towards the approaching rangers, next to her lay a somewhat stubby-looking though clearly master-crafted Nodachi sheathed in some strange clamp-like scabbard attached to a mechanical armature and a belt of sorts – its surface gleaming with the shine of some exotic alloy that had been folded too many times to count.

She seemed very no-nonsense, filling the magazine and tapping it against the crate she was sat on before stowing it in her vest and moving on to the next magazine, pale white eyes only now rising to meet the team.

“Itto Juni Akuma Reisu,” the woman introduced herself rather flatly, wasting little time on mannerisms and pretending like she was here to be nice, topping off the magazine in record time and tap-checking it like its predecessor before slotting it into the magwell of her nearby type 41 rifle that had been kitted out to act as a DMR.

“I am here to oversee your operation today, you have half an hour to prepare whatever you need for a planetside investigation but pack light because if you fall behind you will be left behind to be collected when we extract – intelligence is of the upmost importance for this mission and we cannot waste time dragging those unfit for their assigned purpose,” she continued, not coming off as bitchy so much as just to the point, they were rangers afterall so some hard truths weren’t anything new.

Reisu stood with a small huff and moved her saint suit-clad hands to affix the belt to her waist, armature shifting itself to hold the sword up over her back in a practical manner that kept it out of the way, her cold demeanour matched by the room’s climate-controlled chill as those dead eyes glanced over the team with a judging glare.

“Reports indicate a ship marked as a cargo shuttle has been making flyovers between Besukyanpu and the settlement due east of its position though has been seen briefly landing in a remote part of Tett-Tre the past 3 weeks, landing at its destination a few hundred kilograms lighter than it left and alongside this strange seismic activity has been picked up by our sensors though they have been erratic at best and may well be an unrelated natural phenomenon – given recent… incidents however it is our job to investigate and keep a low profile while doing so – any questions yet?” Reisu informed them, she had a very stoic and no-nonsense aura even when compared to the other brooding black-panels of the SAOY, indicating maybe some deeper form of discipline than what might be expected of even someone in her position.

 

[Charaa]

[ooc: I’m so sorry for not posting here sooner!!!]

YSS Shiroyama

Sachiko was quiet when she made her way to the location for the next mission. She had gotten over saying goodbye to her best friend Shasse who she was missing. The former youngling continued to be silent as she suited up, only then did she look to her companion, her faithful friend and creation Whisper, who she decided would be useful for the mission due to the tech she installed within her. Much like Sachiko, Whiskers was also dressed properly in a more dog type outfit that signifies her rank which was Santo Hei and who she belonged to.

Her attention was on the woman speaking, and Sachiko remained silent like a good soldier. Neither Combat Engineer nor Combat Dog made a sound as they stood at attention. From what she gathered a ship was detected flying into the area marked, also odd were the seismic activity, she had a feeling maybe tech could have done that, maybe the ship was picking up something or offloading it? She didn’t know the purpose. Mining at work? She began wondering, thinking that would be odd, though she was aware of the history. Terra Multa had with mining, but to have that happen again was odd.

“Could the Seismic activity be related to mining, possibly?’ she asked at the time. Though the activity could be because the ground was caving in on those Mines finally, the world taking back what was its.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Armory.

Her gear was more comforting than the last mission. The familiar Type-40 vest over her usual type-37 uniform with combat webbing and her rikkupat uniform fit snug on her taunt frame with her holster carrying once again the reliable Type-33 pistol on her hip and the carbine configuration GP-12 hung on a sling at her side concealed under an all-weather camouflaged rikkupat cloak.

It felt... Right... Under the large cloak that fell just below her waist. It hid the anxious balling of her fists and gave a sense of embrace that childish as it was reassured her.


Geared up she silently took position behind her Sachiko and listened to their superior brief them. Sachiko looked tense, or perhaps focussed was the better word Suzume thought. Regardless when the briefing was over she placed a hand on her nieces shoulder in a simple gesture and looked down at Hei Whiskers with her usual nonplussed glare that no amount of practicing in front of the mirror seemed to fix.

The dog was cute. Suzume wanted to casually pick her up and just walk around with her like she did most of her plushies or even her mother once when she went to visit. She had carried her like a doll she was so small compared to before she was given her military body.

Realizing she was letting her thoughts drift like usual she disseminated the information to the best of her ability.

"What are... Our intentions?" She attempted to not add a drawn-out pause between each word but still failed as she wondered allowed their overall objective on the mission.

Speaking classes weren't going well.

 

[SirSkully]

"Both you girls are straight to the point... there may be hope for you yet," Reisu offered the Itatski brood what could have maybe been a shadow of an impressed smile before turning around to reach for a Kabuto helmet, unpigmented irises reflected back at herself by the thing's blank visor, the spook thumbing away a speck of muck on the thing that was otherwise as featureless as her own expression seemed for the most part.

Still looking away from the assembled rangers as the helmet was checked over, the sword-wielding spook continued to brief them, "There are indeed old mining tunnels in the area, mostly left over from geological surveys deep into the planet's crust when the colonizers were attempting to discern why the area was suddenly so fertile. Reportedly it's mostly nutrient-enriched soil and sandstone down below held up by scaffolds older than the lot of you ten-fold." Reisu continued to explain as the helmet was lifted onto her head and the, flat-voiced operative turned to meet them once more, lack of change in her voice suggesting maybe the mocha-skinned cat was speaking with more than her lips.

"We'll be dropped off five miles out by the low-flying Buccaneer to not draw the attention of anyone who may or may not be posted up in the area and make our way to the east-most tunnel entrance in a Type 30 STV. I'll drive and Oaklen-Heisho will sit on the gun unless anyone wants to convince him otherwise," she knife-handed the human with a slight squint before taking a breath to continue.

"We descend and try to keep a low-profile, if it turns out the planet is simply collapsing on itself then SSS can take care of the repercussions and we should be back well before midday, though if we find anything out of the ordinary we make sure to record it, standard rules of engagement will apply should we run into unknown elements though at least attempt to not blow out your ear-drums or collapse the tunnels on our heads."

"Now then, Suzume-Hei, tighten your hip holster and if there are no further questions we can board," the spooky white-tiger-tailed operative finished, tucking both hands behind her back to lock at the elbow, voice finally distorted by the faceplate of her helmet as a crew of muddied cats could be seen taking off their own suits of armour, a squad of bruised yet joyous Rikugun milling about some 30-odd meters away like the Rangers weren't even there.

Sachiko would receive a little mental message containing a very-official looking page of legal text stating her creation would be tagging along as a trial-run, anything it did would be on her head though some very iron-clad text at the bottom stated any data recordings it took would be turned over to the Empire;s glorious Army blah blah jargon.

 

[IQ]

There wasn't much for Kensei to do but listen, which in and of itself was something that happened far too often to be coincidence. And the droid was known to question himself with each step he took. Though what he hadn't missed was that this Nekovalkyrja that was currently briefing out the details and purpose of their mission, was wielding a weapon similair to one of his own. The softest chitter came from him as his faceplates trembled - before locking down again as he saw the craftmanship it was forged from. That reminded him - weaponry.

The droid whirred to life once more. Trading his corner of the room from whence he silently listened, for clunking across to one of the lockers, pulling it open before drawing out a large Nodachi of his own. Followed by various Wakizashi he hung of his belt. And finally, a Kusarigama, strapped to his lower back. Two thick leather soles were withdrawn - so was a rolled up rag of fabric. The soft humming of various servo-engines resounded as one lef was lifted - the soles wrapped tightly against each foot subsequently. Which was amazing in terms of sound-proofing. The earlier clunking was now a soft, almost inaudible thumping as he fell in to stand behind the gathered rangers. Looking around at the cue whether or not there were further questions, he meekly raised his hand; "Apologies - not directly concerning the mission," he would state when given permission to speak, "forgive me for such selfish and forward request, but would you do us-..." A slight glitch forced him to correct himself, visible by the soft twitching one of the faceplates gave off "me the honour of a duel sometimes?" Very forward, even for the droid's improper social skills.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

The praise was well met with Suzume's fist striking her palm and a satisfied grunt. She was very smart and asked very good questions, she agreed.

With all due praise out of the way she started off towards the buccaneers berthing knowing full well Sachiko would be not far behind. On her departure however the clunking artificial construct in the team caught her gaze. Her nonplussed expression appraised him before passing along.

Kensei's single-minded combat profile had been the partial blame for her wounding on the first mission and her embarrassment a small voice inside her head insinuated with an emotion she was not familiar with. The rangers, it said, had no place for antiquated fighting styles such as swords when their responsibility often required an exemption from close combat.

It pushed her towards confronting the machine-man. But then a different voice not her own spoke.

It was much quieter, almost a whisper to be drowned out by the other voice but with a single utterance the second voice silenced all others. It was a voice she knew well, One she listened to often in the holovid speeches and in her dreams.

Who are you to decide what the rangers should be, little sparrow? Irim-sama's voice demanded of her, Causing the young neko to straighten her shoulders and go rigid as she strode.

Irim-sama was right. Never would Suzume have been bold enough to tell Irim-sama to put her cleavers down, she had no right to do the same for Kensei and his swords. Quietly the young medic mouthed a litany of apologies and double-checked the days' charm tucked away in her bosom. The charm read diligence.

 

[SirSkully]

Beneath her helmet Reisu's ghostly white eyes and contrastingly mocha-toned features tightened into a sidelong glance between the robo ranger and the team's medic. She had, of course like any good SAINT Operative, read up on the previous incident involving both teams and committed the entire thing to memory.

"Mayhaps if you prove to me during this operation that you can be more than a spike-laden wall then I shall consider sparring, but for now, keep those processors focused on the mission at hand," the ex-samurai hissed, anyone else and it may have come as an insult but she trusted Kensei's calculating nature would be able to decypher the cold tone as more of a challenge than an insult.

The rangers would pass by their Type 30 STV being loaded up into the guts of their vessel, the mighty Buccaneer, as they boarded. The vehicle was held firmly to a platform bolted into the floor by clamps gripping the new-looking tires, in fact the entire vehicle seemed fresh off the production line bar a few small scratches and dings on the turret suggesting it'd been repurposed for one reason or another. Before too long the ship sealed its occupants inside and made its final checks, accelerating out into the cold embrace of space shortly afterwards, the ship set its course a little behind the planet's cresting sunrise and steadily gained speed.

It would be a short and uneventful journey thankfully, during which Reisu breifed the team a little further on the surrounding area and any fauna they might run into, letting them know that the planet's horse-adacent species known as the Hedru usually migrated through this part of the planet at this time of year, and that they should keep their heads on a swivel for predators seeking to ambush herds.

Terra Multa
Not too far from the abandoned mine in Tett Tre
40 minutes to Sunrise

The Buccaneer would descend, slicing through the atmosphere to fly low and slow over the dense treeline that surrounded the area, her pilot swinging the marvel of Yamataian engineering around to put her down in a small clearing and open up the belly once more. Technicians and engineers scrambled to unlock the STV's tires as Reisu floated up into the driver's seat with all the grace you'd expect from one of Yamatai's big cats, sweet sap-scented air wafting into the ship's interior as Reisu powered up her chariot's electric motors.

"Mount up, I know what I said earlier but I don't care who sits where~" was all the black-panel offered, adjusting her mirrors and pumping the pedal a few times as the vehicle sat in neutral, making its quiet engines give out the faintest of whines.

 

[Jack Pine]

Jotto Heisho Mark Oaklen had been stoically quiet for most of the interactions, giving affirming nods as he had suited up in the new issued hardsuit kit. The type 41 well made for their needs on this op, along with the type 41 rifle which he had rigged for sustained fire, and with an attached underslung. Locking on the Kabuto onto the suit, having geared in a timely mannered, waved on his team as they had all left the armory.

The air drop itself wasn't anything new to him, the raven haired human used to such maneuvers as he mounted on the gun as stated before. "Itatskis, double time it, window of insertion is closing! Kensei, you too!", he declared as he did so and fastened himself to the gun mount with a tension cord from his belt, his boots locking to the gunner's plate. He couldn't actually feel the air rushing past him, or on his skin, but somehow he still could. A slight chill ran up his spine at the eerie sensation from his mind, his body bracing for the impact they'd feel soon.

 

[Charaa]

Sachiko glanced over and noticed her aunt looking at Whiskers but she made no comment about it as she paid attention to their leader who told them that they were straight to the point, and that she thought there was hope for them yet. She continued to listen, and she heard some information about the colonists investigating why the soil was fertile. She wondered about that since the Heap was full of radiation, she thought that would affect things. She quickly calculated the distance between the Heap and the location they would be heading to, but since she didn’t know much about geology, she couldn’t understand, so she chose not to.

She almost smiled when the Type 30 STV was mentioned, having remembered taking that apart for her Heap Runner, she knew exactly what the STV was capable of. She shook her head to signify that she had no problems with Oaklen-Heisho manning the guns or with her driving. She was about to move when she got the message, and quickly took the time to read over it, and nodded her head, sending her acknowledgment with a mental message of her own.

Kensei’s voice was soon heard asking for a duel of their leader, and she admittedly would like to see that, and she hoped to help with the repairs should it need it, what better way to learn how he was made than by doing so, and besides if she could learn something to improve Whiskers than all the better. Reisu’s response was soon heard, but her mind focused on the mission and thus any interest had to be put on the back burner so to speak.

Sachiko followed her aunt, and Whiskers padded beside her, her little nails clicking on the metal flooring beneath them as she moved across them. When They had been briefed on the Fauna, Sachiko added her knowledge to the info to when she thought it would be helpful. Sachiko was such a people pleasure it wasn’t even funny. Sachiko got into her seat beside the driver while Whiskers expertly climbed onto the back, behind Mark, guarding him while she got secure.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Terra Multa

Suzume had ignored the briefing portion about plants and had sat rather in her usual absent minded scowling gaze the entire ride down while she prepared herself mentally. The lightest of jolts and the orders of her superior however sprang her into action as she first bolted out of the buccy and took up a defensive position with her carbine raised while the others dismounted, the photosynthetic eyes making the almost fluid change into a night vision spectrum with only the slightest of tints of the approaching dawn.

True Dark was what she had heard it called. Those couple hours where the night was darkest right before the dawn where it slowly began to wither into the coming day. The ship had slipped in at the ideal moment to insert its charges and disperse before the coming day would reveal it.

With the orders of the heisho however she moved into action and hovered more than lept into the back of the STV along the base of the gunnal mount, leaning over the side ever so slightly to cover ahead and flank of the vehicle. It would be easiest that way to fire or dismount if she was needed and left the passengers seat for someone who would need the fast dismount like Kenshi or someone more important (to suzume) like Sachiko.

Lacking the means to communicate telepathically with every member of the squad, Suzume instead casually clicked her tongue twice into the shared comms to declare her ready status.

 

[SirSkully]

Terra Multa

With a near-silent huff of approval at how quickly the rangers had piled into the family sedan Reisu's foot pressed down ever so steadily, trundling the rest of the way off the ramp before really gunning it. Not fast enough for the tires to spin against this un-marred ground but enough that the passenger would have needed to brace a little.

Hints of light flickering through the canopy spooky some of the less experienced members aside their trip was thankfully rather unsuccessful, the spooky saint kitty sometimes following hints of long-forgotten paths and othertimes opting to go through heavily-rooted areas, causing the rangers to bounce around inside their uniforms a bit.

There was... doubt in her mind, just the smallest hint, somewhat second-guessing her own choice to bring Sachiko's... experimental thing along for a ride. But no, she was an ex samurai, her judgement was always right~

Right?

None of this inner turmoil bled through the black uniform nor the faceless helmet, she simply drove as far as the others were concerned.

Some time later, really not that long, the car was zoomin'~

They'd found the tail-end of the old path leading into the mouth of the mine, a mostly overgrown strip of dirt that'd been compacted under the weight of heavy machinery quite some time ago, the cracks and various crunches of detritus deafening compared to their near-silent chariot's humble whirring.

A whirring which suddenly cut as Akuma Reisu pumped the breaks and halted the buggy's progression, the hairs on her snowy tail standing on end as the spook's back straightened. Considering her pose had been nothing but stuck-up since the woman's introduction, that was quite a feat.

Reisu's head tilted thoughtfully from one shoulder to the other before that helmeted noggin pointed out into the dense treeline that framed the dirt path.

"Something big.... gamey I think... some twenty feet off to the side," she whispered, voice blank and devoid of any distractions, each word concise and clear despite it coming out as her heightened Eihei senses were still processing it all.

Without missing a beat the spooky cat turned in her seat to face the muscly medic, her fellow Neko and the uniformed being known as whiskers, who seemed to be curled up in a rather comfortable little nook. "Itasakis, go check that out, Heisho Oaklen and I will stow the vehicle across the way and catch up with you," Reisu's helmet head nodded, already turning the wheel to line up their STV with a nice little shady spot.

"Just under the turret there should be some netting bundled up, you can make yourself useful and start unravelling it," the cold kitty ordered her human underling.

The scent would definitely start picking up the futher off the road one went, the metallic scent of blood matched only by the acrid stench of something potent, sensitive feline ears would hear the buzz of insects busying themselves with something.

 

[Charaa]

Terra Multa

Unlike her leader, Sachiko had no doubts in her mind that she made the right choice. The choice was a good one, Whiskers could do well here, and she felt excited that if this was so, maybe the Star army would want more Whiskers, something they could build for the army. Oh, Sachiko was giddy at the thought of a whole army of Whiskers ready to serve their empire with bravery and courage, and ready to bring death upon the empire’s enemies. There’ll be a position in the army of dog master that too would be awesome and it was all because of her.

Sachiko looked at Whiskers curled up and making sure that she wasn’t in the way, and smiled. Both of their bodies felt the vehicle stopping, and Whispers got up on all fours. Sachiko let her out, and Sachiko nodded in acknowledgment for both of them. “Hai, Ma’am,” She said as the two of them make their way to the mine. Both of them could smell the scent, Whiskers, being a dog even if mechanical, could feel it more than Sachiko, but she made no sound of a complaint as they proceeded forward.

Whiskers went forward, that way she can warn if there’s a trap or some danger to her mistress, and Sachiko had her hand on her guns.

 

[Jack Pine]

Oh great, another bossy spook, no love for humans., Mark thought to himself with a bit of bitterness, even though he showed only neutral obedience as he slung his rifle and gathered the netting as ordered. Once the vehicle was parked, he'd begin getting to work to spread it over the vehicle for concealing, experience shown in how quickly he conducted this task, even though it had not been ordered to be done yet. "Yes ma'am, will make sure it blends in as best with the foliage as possible.", he said as he did this.

Once it was done, Mark looked to the grumpy kitty, "Ready to move out when you are ma'am."

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Suzume's feet never so much as touched the ground with the slightens whisper of a sound when she dismounted. Not so much as she simply decelerated her dismount with her own gravity field to hover millimeters off the ground before lowering herself down in the same instance in a well-practiced maneuver that despite her size was rather fluid and looked completely natural as she started off towards her destination.

She chose one side opposite of sachi-cat and went even further off the trail, but not too far off that her niece and teammate was out of site or off-link of their mental connection in the slightest as she advanced in concert with her; carbine pressed to her cheek, and posture as low and broken of a silhouette or skylining as she could manage.

Someone she had an inkling of what she would find but still chose not to rush and took slow but consistent pacing until she approached the source at the same time; opposite of sachiko.

With single-minded driven nature and without so much as a sound, Suzume coalesced from the twilight like a spectre, still remaining as motionless and unseen as she could manage towards the source.