[YSS Shiroyama] Mission One: And that's how it all started...

[SirSkully]

5 Minutes Until Convergence

The drone hadn't been too rough thankfully and the quarter-sol made her way back up the driveway, granting the ugly scarecrow that sat off to one side a little smirk as the fusion-powered speeder slowly powered down. She decided to unbox the package in their garage, no need to make a bunch of noise in the house that might wake up the wife or the kids afterall - so soon enough a knife was retireved to slice through the tape, packing peanuts swept aside to reveal... it certainly wasn't the capacitor that had been ordered.

"...the fuck?" she mused, one large hand idly scratching at the back of her messy red bun as the metallic cylinder was observed, a little more digging revealed a set of rather basic instructions that just said to flick the switch~

YSS Shiroyama - Buccaneer - Cargo Bay

Kimber was quick and efficient to swap into her more combat-focused attire, dissipating her volumetric facade of a casual uniform to reveal the black bodysuit she had been wearing all along and then quickly slip her vest over that - the most time-consuming part was taming that waterfall of auburn that flowed down her shoulders enough to fit under her helmet but by the end of it all she was ready for action, crotch guard and shoulder pads firmly secured as the black-paneled Joto Heisho's mismatching gaze drifted over the ship's occupants.

Her daughter on the other hand, Valerie, was a lot more casual about getting to her posting - the technician cat huffed a little as she entered the Buccaneer's guts, offering a small smile to anyone who might be looking as she stepped into the bridge and took up position at her designated station, deciding to keep the door open so that the constant hissing sounds of people entering and leaving pre-flight didn't get too annoying.

"Quick reminder to all personnel boarding the ship, if you leave something important behind then we are not - I repeat not, turning back for you to grab it, affirmative? good," the ship's technicians informed the teams, her light-hearted voice projecting throughout the ship before she decided to settle back into the seat, kicking both feet up onto the dashboard as the Helashio's uniform creaked a bit.

"Can somebody uhm~" Juno squeaked with a small blush on her face, the ripped combat engineer was mostly kitted up but her shoulders must have gotten bigger without her realizing because there was clearly some difficulty being had with securing the plate to her upper back - the Minkan was certainly trying but no ground was being made in the process.

YSS Shiroyama - Command Center

A green haired neko lifted up her head from the sensor station she was assigned to, being born to become a specialist in such a field it wasn't really a bad job so to speak but god did it get boring - so even something as simple as reaching past her glasses, which were only for aesthetic reasons given that she was engineered to have perfect eyesight, to rub at her bone-white face which was moreso just to do something other than stare at the bland outputs from this screen.

A small ping made the girl's ears twitch and immediately those same eyes that had been so tired before were now glued to the console, a few more taps of her keyboard and she deemed it enough to call the Shosa over.

"What is it?" Ryder queried in that same gruff voice that held so much power on the station.

"Small sub-space transmission, Sir, though heavily encrypted - which is odd because usually our Megami would be able to crack that right? but~" she was cut off by a stern glare from the Shosa's cybernetic eyes, which made the Neko gulp and rethink her words before continuing.

"...it's nothing our systems are familiar with, sir, which is somewhat concerning... and kinda disproves any chances it is a rogue signal from some civillian ship's antennae, right?" she chirped up as Ryder's eyes narrowed again though this time on the screen, clearly thinking it over before Ryder gave his orders on the matter.

"Keep an eye on it, and let us hope it's just some 'spacer nonsense..."

 

[Trainscanflytoo]

Y.S.S. Shiroyama - Armory

Darwin never got used to the act of stripping down in front of his teammates. Even if he had gotten to know them awhile, his larger build compared to the rest made him stand out. It didn't help that out of all of his Star Army Uniforms, it was his Type-35 that he found to be the most comfortable. He pulled away his belt and his coat, taking most of his time to fold each garment neatly before stripping off the next so as to draw out the process - yet when this proved fruitless as everyone had already begun to file out, he found himself scrambling to slap on each piece of gear he could. It began with his Rikupat pants and jacket covering a white tee and grey boxers, followed by the black belt that locked into place. He noticed it was a little looser than before forcing him to tighten it so as to keep the pants upright. He never fully untied his boots, so it made it easy to just slip them back on.

Access to a gun wasn't hard. He kept his Service Pistol practically glued to his side, and a quick reach over to one of the racks on the walls netted Darwin a simple Type-33 A-Module Rifle. It wasn't much to write home about, nor was it anything to scoff at. As the others poured out the door, he took a second to look the gun over, then sling it over his shoulder. Guess it was a weapon for the better, though. Without much to it, the weapon wasn't one to stand out.

In a way, Darwin appreciated that about it.

Y.S.S. Shiroyama - Buccaneer

Darwin didn't even have to walk into the hangar to know it was alive with the Demons and Ravens filing into the ship sitting in the middle. He could hear the humdrum from outside. Every clap of boots against the metal floor, every conversation between each soldier. Part of it reminded him more of a school field trip than a serious military arrangement - if it weren't for the firepower everybody was bolstering.

He hadn't said much of a word since he arrived. Though, one couldn't blame him. The ship was a new environment to him, and it'd take more than just a rushed breakfast and a few names he'd have troubles remembering for him to acclimate.

For Darwin, though, a chance to explore the new planet was enough for him. It was enough to spread a smile across his face that he didn't even know was there til he felt the warmth in his cheeks. Next thing he knew, he'd be settled in a seat aboard the Escort Destroyer with his rifle at his side and his head in his palm, a distant, ditzy smile being shot off into the distance as he began to imagine what the forest below would be like.

 

[club24]

Miles shook his head. "Always pulling out that fancy talk when you want to impress the girls Miko, you never change." The minkan pushed his fringe to the side of his head and looked over to see his over-eager blue friend watching them from the ship. "And yes, we sort of shared parents so nothing will stop us from being brothers, though I don't think I needed it, it's nice to know you're not going to try talking me out of it now. But I've kept Shasse waiting long enough the poor girl will be scrambling all over everyone if I'm not careful." Miles said with a sigh, a small wave over his shoulder as he turned away and headed for the ship and seated himself beside his longtime friend.

While Miles himself hadn't really noticed the change, his overall personality had been changed substantially since he first served with Miko on the Kaiyo, gone was the shyness of new people and authority, replaced with weariness gained through a year of treating the wounded and being moved from ship to ship. The most recent incident with his clone was also still on his mind though with both sets of memories he was still trying to figure out if he was truly the same person.

"Hey! Did you say hi to Miko for me Miles? You know I haven't seen him in ages." Shasse said, pouncing on Miles as he sat beside her, her face questioning and full of hope.
"Sorry Shas, slipped my mind, had some important stuff to discuss with him but I'm sure you two will get a chance to catch up later, then you can say hi for yourself ok?" The minkan said while he picked up the short girl and placed her back in her spot beside him, he was a little jealous that it seemed like the merging of her memories seemed to have gone much smoother than his, she didn't seem like a different person at all.

 

[Arbitrated]

"Sora is correct about not being formal and being yourself." Miko said to Midori as he moved his hand down and grabbed a big handful of Sora booty to get the point across. He looked up at Sora with his signature shit eating grin as he gave another squeeze.
"Talking about last names, so Sora..." A grin formed as he looked over to his soul mate-in-arms to see if she got the hint.

The towering woman's face took a shade of red as Mikodimus decided to grope her. Rather than feeding the distractions, Sora decided to take the conversation into the armory proper, breaking away to slip into her vest, making sure she wasn't pinching her wings with the armor. Her vest was rather lightly equipped, with a dump pouch and a holster for her NSP; strapped on the frot, arguably slightly awkwardly but still quite accessible, was Sora's non-armored weapon of choice: The Aether shotgun. Or whatever the official name for it was... At Miko's open-ended comment, however, the purple-winged angel snorted and started to laugh. "If you'd like to ask something important, let's wait until we're celebrating our victory, hey? Now, get suited up before you're late."

 

[Jack Pine]

Lucas was last to file out of the briefing room, wanting to make sure everyone of his personnel did and could find their way okay. Once inside the armory, he was quick to change, dropping down to his briefs, his body far more toned and muscled then before thanks to ranger training and months of service. His pale skin was adorned in conflicting sets of fluorescent tattoos, with neon green being of some sort of older storied origin, while the crimson were clearly of a religious nature. The horned man was used to doing this now, no longer bashful outside of anyone figuring out the origin of the first set of tattoos. The colorful display almost hid the numerous scars that were scattered across his skin, gotten through various means, and fewer being newer then older.

This display was however brief, his type-31 uniform quickly being slipped on, followed by the type-40 vest, gloves, boots, and modified helmet. Dressed he punched the code into the pad for his arms locker, removing his NSP-33, GP-12 with medium scope and underslung, knife, nades, and his personal Talon LSP he stowed in a back holster for good luck. "Please, quickly to the shuttle everyone, we'll be underway shortly." he said before filing out and moving at a fast jog to the ship.

Once aboard the Buccanear, a rather uncomfortably familiar name given his past, the Iroma took a seat next to his second in command. "So, what's your impressions of the squad so far? Most seems eager, the one Itatski girl is rather quiet though." he said to Hinata quietly after taking his seat.

 

[SageShooter]

Heterochromatic eyes scanned over the group in the Buccaneer as Lucas sat next to her. Arms crossed and a thoughtful look plastered on her face, Hinata tilted her head and let out a small murr as she formulated her response.

"Headstrong, cocky, eager for a fight, eager to prove themselves. I say about half have a good chance of not eating a bullet in the first assignment, but overall?"

She took another moment to think it over as she took in each of the squad members.

"I think it'll be a good squad. Each has their strengths, each can help cope for another's weakness." Hinata looked to her commanding officer with a fairly business-like look and gave him a nod. She loved to tease and play and prank and just be a general ass at times, but she knew when to shape up too.

"At least, that's my assessment on the Rangers, no clue about the spooky squad over there." She said with a flick of her chin toward the Demon squad.

 

[Lizalopod]

"Ah, Well- I was just trying to maybe start a- nnnnevermind"

Gemma said, pretty much to herself. She had hesitated a little to respond to Shasse, and when she came around to actually speaking she was already long gone. The Minkan shrugged to herself, before remembering that she had places to be. Gemini hurried out straight towards the Buccaneer, full speed ahead.

Soon, the blue haired ranger was inside the ship, and she took a seat wherever she could. Even after sitting though, Gemma seemed visibly impatient, tapping her foot, and twidling her fingers. Who could blame her though, It was her first mission after all.

 

[Charaa]

Buccaneer

Sachiko found a comfortable seat for herself and her aunt to sit in as she waited for things to happen, her mind went back to her project and fine tuning things within her head, but she knew once she gets back to her tinker space, she will be able to fine tune things further, she will also need to make sure she had a member of the medical staff to help her, fortunately, she knew one. Sachiko was momentarily distracted as she saw her leader pass. Since she had nothing she wanted to ask him, that she could ask later, she said nothing.

 

[Jack Pine]

One more figure walked aboard the chiaki class destroyer, his suit already donned, "Alright ladies and gents. Welcome to air Sagara, and enjoy your flight with us. Refreshments are sadly not provided on this flight, also please keep all hands, feet, guns, and tails inside the ride all times."

The voice belonged to a rather good looking Minkan man, the Bucanneer's last minute addition as pilot. Silver eyes, and well kept brunette hair, with a height of 6'2, he was hard to miss. He passed by the troops on his way to the bridge, a grin and swagger as he went.

As he passed Mikodimus, Kai gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Hello there cousin, didn't know I'd see another Belmont on this trip. We'll catch up later." It was truly nice to see family, and that didn't change as he saw Suzume, "Hey Su honey, doing me proud, and that must be Sachi."

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Buccaneer

She had, Or course, scanned everyone a second time when she entered the ship. Loadouts and gear where essential and even her with lackadaisical demeanor she could surmise what was in each pouch, holster and pocket. The newcomer had come after the fact and hence went unoticed as she meticulously checked Sachikos gear, tugging at straps and making minor adjustments. She was no more experience than her niece but knew there where some things on ones kit that could only be propperly set with help.

And then, Mere moments away from strapping herself in the comment registered to the imposing neko.

The speed in which she shot up from her seat almost ripped her rifle from its sling as she took a first step, Her boot thumping oddly quiet on the hard deck. Her hearth throbbed in her head as she quietly started towards the newcomer. If her superiors or anyone else in the ship noticed as she passed, Fist clenched with an expression that looked like she was outright hostile towards this new potential rival or enemy she wouldn't have heard and comment.

Her expression softened once she was past them however as she crossed towards the bulkhead and had time to resisted. Before the few final steps she paused and silently muttered "Otosan?" as if unsure, And practically lunged into Kai without waiting for an answer as she knew it just had to be, Wrapping both her arms around him in an embrace and pushing him off balance into the wall as she buried her head into his chest. She might have crushed him had she not stopped the action just as quickly as performed in her usual way of randomly showing emotion before turning back into the glowering faux veteran she appeared.

Composing herself she looked away trying to hide her flushed face, Hands twiddling as if she didn't know what to do with them she looked back at what was clearly the spitting image of every video call and picture she had saved of the man and asked aloud "How?"

 

[Charaa]

Buccaneer

Sachiko was all smiles and happy as Su fussed over her. She made no complaints because she appreciated her help and what she was doing, she knew that she needed help with certain things so to have her aunt there, was a blessing.

She sat there comfortable when she heard a voice, someone saying Segara, she knew someone with that last name, her grandfather. She watched with amusement her aunt’s reaction, and she moved off the seat to join them, her grandfather recognized he which pleased her. “Konichiwa, Oji-chan Kai!” she said, smiling as she lifted her hands and arms to hug if he wanted to.

 

[IQ]

Buccaneer

Kensei had been keeping silent for most of the time. He was told to gear up, so he had. Now, however, they were waiting. The droid had taken up one of the corners of the room, far off from the rest as he seemed to just stand on attention, taking in the entire room as he did just that. Waiting, for anyone to approach him or the actual mission to begin.

 

[club24]

Buccaneer

Shasse pouted at Miles for a moment, but soon perked up again at the thought of going and finding him later on, she had really missed his cooking in the time he'd been gone too since she'd only gotten to see him a couple of times onboard their last posting. Soon enough people started filling into the ship and the blue-skinned girl sat by and watched each and every one of them intently with wide eyes. Committing all of their faces to memory in case she needed to know them for later in the mission or afterward.

"Oh hey! Gemma, you finally caught up. You went all stuttery and silent before and I had to keep moving, so what were you saying before?" Shasse said as the minkan woman climbed aboard, beaming at her from her lower angle thanks to her short stature.

 

[Lizalopod]

Buccaneer

The Blue Haired Minkan looked around, after hearing her name in a sentence, before finally focusing on Shasse, who she recognized as the girl who she failed to talk to. She turned to face Shasse, with her smile and her usual chirpy voice.
"Y-yeah sorry about that! I guess I didn't expect to be able to talk to someone, heh, i was kinda late and everyone was heading off to their posts and all!"
She told the small, blue skinned girl, as she swapped seats to one nearer to Shasse. It didn't hurt to keep a conversation going while they headed over to the planet, they just had to sit inside that ship the whole way after all.
"I was just trying to start a conversation i guess- but by then everyone was already doing their thing and i didn't wanna intrude"
Gemma response to Shasse's question came after a moment, after she sat down

 

[club24]

"Oh well you just gotta speak up a bit more then! I'm always around to talk and play with people, intruding is the least important thing really. You gotta speak up and, yeah, speak up more!" Shasse said enthusiastically, repeating herself in her excitement.

The blue neko leapt over and nearly landed in Gemmas lap, taking the seat next to her and swinging her little legs back and forth. "So what do you do in this place? And I love your hair, it looks like my skin nyeheh."

 

[Lizalopod]

"Oh- well- I-ill make sure of it-!"
Gemini said, with a smile, before internally yelping in suprise as Shasse pounced on the poor seat aside her. She recovered after a moment, yet for that split second looked a bit suprised. The smile returned to her lips as the neko swung her legs enthusiastically, her cheeks going pink after Shasse's compliment.
"Ahm- im a ranger- well obviously... a scout i think, and ahm- thank you..!"

 

[SirSkully]

YSS Shiroyama - Buccaneer - Cargo Bay

"Sagara-Hei, Sachiko-Hei, Suzume-Hei, I do not wish to sound cruel but maybe we can save the family reunion for afterwards?" Kimber's voice boomed through the ship's cargo bay as it sealed up ready for departure, briefly moving over to help an appreciative Juno finish readying up her plate carrier with a small pat on the back afterwards before the black-panel moved over to their pilot.

"If you would kindly take the helm, Nito-Hei Kai, then we can proceed down to the planet's surface and get all this started - ready when you are," the auburn operative nodded before moving back to the bulk of the troops, who it seemed had made themselves all comfortable on the various crates that lined the area, Juno now sitting her beefy ass down on a pallet of tarp-covered rations near Shasse before Kimber began speaking again, her mere presence demanded silence.

"This is a training exercise, yes, though as enlisted soldiers in the Star Army of Yamatai and furthermore as professionals on the front line of the ongoing conflict that is the Kuvvexian war I will expect each and every one of you to treat this as though it were any other mission - we do not mess around, we do not blindly charge in, we are the Ravens and the Demons assigned to defend Terra Multa and as such you are expected to carry yourselves all a certain way, is this understood?" she ended, arms held firmly behind the SOFT leader's back as her gaze dragged over the people before her, a light tapping of her wrist-mounted communicator telling Kai the ship was ready to take off.

 

[Jack Pine]

Kai had to use his gravitic module to prevent crashing as the beefy neko tackled him, knocking the wind from his lungs a tad, which would have been worse if not for his pilot's suit. He however returned the hug, before drawing Sachiko in as well with the other arm. A warm moment that was all too brief as Kimber spoke up. The minkan gave one last hugs, saying with a happy air as he let go before heading to the bridge, "Just a transfer of posting my dears, I love you both, so let's catch up later. For now, your old man has work to do."

Giving them both a wave, he slipped out of the cargo hold and into the lift, his face turning a cocky form of seriousness in expression. "This job just gets better and better, time to roll." he muttered to himself before the lift reached it's destination. Arriving close to the bridge, the walk was a short one with the quick pace his long legs gave, passing through the hatch in stride. "Morning captain, Sagara Kai reporting for helm duty, apologies for my tardiness. I look forward to serving under you." He said politely as he took his station, hands immediately fly across the controls with studied and practiced ease. In a minute he had all his consoles, displays, and his seat adjusted. All before placing his pilot's cap atop his head, which still displayed the Eucharis, as he had not received the new one yet.

"YSS-Bucaneer to control, all lights are green and ready to make way. Permission to releasing moorings?"

"Control to YSS-Bucaneer, you are go for release, Goddess speed with you Bucaneer."

Kai gave a grin, "Understood control, preparing for egress." The clamps released, allowing the Chiaki gunship to float briefly as the RTS thrusters kicked on to eliminate drift. The hangar doors opened up to the black before them, the void beckoning the ship into the vastness of space. Terra Multa peeked over the lower edge of the hangar's edge, the brilliant blues, greens, and other natural hues to create a beautiful sight. Easing the throttle, the rear engines ignited with a soft aetheric burn as purple exhaust plumes grew. The Bucaneer seemed to glide forward, the interior of the station sliding away as they left the enclosed space. "Dock cleared, inputting approach vector for re-entry. ETA 4 minutes until atmospheric break. Coordinates for AO captain?" the Minkan announced as he quickly set and adjusted outputs, gently turning the craft to the correct angle for a path down to the world before them.

 

[SageShooter]

Midori and Hinata both listened to the captain and oddly gave a nod at the same time. They both understood, though Midori more than Hinata. Midori had been so long a face of the Ketsurui during her time recovering within the Samurai House. She had been an Eihei at the various museums within the capital and had made sure she held herself to the highest regard as she worked her way back up. As an Eihei-no-Insen, a position she had requested to feel a familiar sense of ease in her old position, she had a bit of an easier time. She had been able to hide and keep herself secluded within her bubble of invisibility, but now she was away from that. She itched idly at her uniform, not quite comfortable in it and wishing she had her yukata and hakama, but knew while she was with the military as she was now, she had to be in uniform. To them, she was no samurai, she was a Santo Juni now, busted down from warrant officer as she had been years ago. So much she had lost in her time away...

The Samurai let out a small sigh as she sat back into her seat and tucked her chin down, arm wrapped around her rifle and thought back on the issues and problems her clone had caused her. So much time lost, but now was not the time to dwell on it. They had a training mission to perform and she would put her best foot forward for this.

Hinata for her part just hummed a small off-key tune under her breath and kicked her foot up and down as she waited for them to head down to the training area.

 

[club24]

Shasse was looking serious for once and nodded at Kimber's speech along with Miles beside her. The unlikely pair were all prepared to go for this exercise, having spent every moment since basic training in the same posting. Kaiyo II and then the TaskForce and now Shiroyama, Miles was hoping they would finally be able to settle down and just have a peaceful placement out in the middle of nowhere.

Shasse however was always itching for adventure, and while her body had been fixed up since the alternate dimension weirdness from Kaiyo she still had to have regular checkups to make sure there was nothing lingering. Handy that her bestest friend in the whole world was a medic and his brother was a cook. "I'm a marksman, cause apparently there was already someone who was assigned as a sniper, but that works better for me cause I like being in the action and stuff." The blue neko replied to the minkan woman, her tail floating around behind her idley.