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  • 📅 February and March 2024 are YE 46.2 in the RP.

RP: YSS Wakaba [YSS Wakaba] Episode 3: The Scenic Route Home.

Cowboy

🎖️ Game Master
RP Date
YE 44.2
RP Location
Uncharted, Unknown Space
A posting on a Sharie-Class Battleship was always a sure ticket to advancement. Sharie's were known to be used as flagships by the higher echelons of the Star Army of Yamatai. And, save for those true titans, the Izanagi dreadnought, nothing had as much firepower and yet so elegant and versatile. Truly to be stationed on a Sharie-Class Battleship was a great honor. Although, perhaps the crew of the YSS Wakaba might think otherwise. To them, it was begging to feel more like a tomb.

It had been almost 3 months since the Wakaba had vanished from Tange Nebula while perusing Kuvexian forces. The mighty ship had been sucked into a space anomaly and transported to another part of the galaxy. Badly battered the crew began to pick themselves up and regroup, only to be attacked by a most unexpected enemy. An NMX dreadnought. The NMX launched a surprise attack against the Wakaba but the wounded ship proved that even badly beaten, the Star Army didn't give up without a fight. The Wakaba repelled the boarders and made it's escape. For unknown reasons, the dreadnought didn't pursue.

For the following weeks, the Wakaba recovered from it's wounds. Chusa Thomas Canterbury, the ship's XO, now acting Captain with the loss of Taisa Katzue, drove the ship hard but it was necessary considering their danger. Crew and ship were healed and repaired as best they could. From a crew that would normally boast close to 3000 souls, the Wakaba was down to a little over 1200. From armaments that could decimate entire fleets singlehandedly, the Wakaba had barely half of its weapons online.

Now, nearly 3 months later, the Wakaba is running low on supplies. Still unsure where in the galaxy they are, Chusa Canterbury has plotted... his best guess in all reality, a course back towards known space.

Captain's Cabin, YSS Wakaba

Chusa Thomas Canterbury, Captain of the Wakaba, eye's popped open and for one fleeting moment he couldn't remember where he was. Then it all came flooding back to him. The responsibility for a battleship and close to 1200 souls weighed heavily on him. He reached for his pocket watch to check the time. 0400. The last time he remembered checking the time it had just gone past 2200. He had just sat down on the couch in his office. He was still on his couch, his uniform jacket unbuttoned and wrinkled and a three month beard covering his normally well trimmed chin. There was also a blanket over him. He was sure there hadn't been a blanket when he sat down. He rubbed his eyes, trying to pierce through the fog. It was at this point he became aware of music playing. Slowly his memory returned. He had turned in shortly after 2200 to his cabin. Despite his fatigue, he had been determined to play a little bit of music on his violin. Music was a favorite hobby of his and it was a good distraction from the pressures of command. Sure enough, his violin lay on his desk. That wasn't the source of the music.

Seated at a chair in front of his desk was a beautiful dark skinned woman. She was playing a cello with her eyes closed. Her long dark green hair fell to one side of the instrument, out of the way of her bow. She didn't stop playing as Thomas got up and buttoned up his uniform. There was an empty glass and a bottle of whiskey on his desk. Thomas poured himself a few fingers, then a few more before downing it in one shot. The firefly liquid woke him up completely. He took up his violin and joined in the playing with woman.

After about 10 mins of playing, both musicians stopped and put down their bows. Thomas poured another drink but this time didn't down it in one. "How long was I out?" He asked. "A little over five hours. You barley made it 30 mins into our playing before you nodded off. I saved the violin from falling on the deck then just kept playing. Most I've gotten to play since we got here. Wherever here is. I needed music far more then sleep." Setsunu Meiosei responded. Thomas nodded. That was the most consecutive sleep he'd gotten in months. He'd hardly even been in his quarters the last few months, and didn't think he'd even laid on the bed more than twice since taking command.

Thomas took another sip then offered the glass to Setsunu. She took it and sipped it. "Are you going to make your announcement this morning?" Thomas tried to look like he didn't know what she was talking about but the senior enlisted on the ship she probably already knew. She also knew him almost as well as he knew himself. He would have been surprised if she hadn't figured it out. "Yes. Starting this morning, we'll be on half rations. I'm also going to call a meeting of the officers and chiefs of the various departments plus a couple others who have shown initiative these last few months. The ship and crew are as patched up as we can without a med ship or shipyard. Our red panels have worked none stop fixing everything from the engines and weapons to shuttles and PA. We also haven't detected any hostiles in a three weeks and even though I still feel their out there, I think we can start trying to explore a little bit. Send the shuttles and small teams in different directions to get better readings and try to locate a habitual planet or something we recognize." Setsunu didn't respond other than finish the drink. She carefully and lovingly placed her cello in it's case. Thomas was once again struck by her beauty. Even though they had known each other for so many years she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Setsunu leaned her cello case against the wall and took up her spear, probably the only thing she cared for more than her cello. "Any orders Captain?" Thomas made a slight face. "Its just us here Sets, you don't have to be so formal." "I know Sir, that is why we need to keep it formal." Thomas cleared his throat as he rubbed his beard. He knew what she meant. They needed to keep their relationship formal. They had known each other for so many years and were the best of friends. But he was the Captain now. They needed to maintain chain of command. If they couldn't do it in private, how could they in public? Also, they had made the mistake of being too intimate once before and it had nearly ruined their friendship. Although Thomas often wished things could be different, he valued Setsunu far too much to risk their special friendship.

Thomas sat on the edge of his desk a moment as he gathered himself to the day ahead. He should probably grab a shower first. Rubbing his beard again he toyed with the idea of finally shaving it off but knew he wouldn't. He had secretly vowed not to shave it until he got his ship safely back to Yam space. "No that will be all. Thanks for playing music with me, for what little I was able to. See you at meeting." Setsunu smiled. "I enjoyed it. We'll have to do it again sometime soon. See you at the meeting." She saluted smartly then left without another word.
 
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Little Nest
Runa chuckled as she lounged in the nest for minineko. “If I tell him, he needs me, he can't put me in the brig. But.. The Flyng Hellions are honest, even if we are a little rowdy.” She said and grumbled “how the hell did you convince the government we are a club not a gang mother! Ok, come Exyrus!” Runa climbed up and got on the saddle and the two shot out of her cabin and made their way to the captain's cabin. The ship’s AI told her where the captain was, and she spotted Setsunu leaving. Oh does the captain have a girlfriend? heheh Runa slammed her foot on the call button to alert the captain to a visiter and waited.
She could do this, she’ll tell the captain the truth, if he puts her in the brig she’ll escape, and then she and Exyrus will leave the ship leaving the poor dears without a capable pilot. If not.. Well her respect might grow. Once the door opens or he tells her to come in she’ll speak. “hey captain, I think its time I tell you something i- wait, have you been drinking?” she asked with amusement as she noticed that he seemed to have been and found herself impressed.
 
Outside Captains Quarters

Thomas stepped out of his office and came face to face with Runa and her Drake. He smiled at the mini Neko pilot. He had been impressed with the little dragon rider and loved her drake. He chuckled when she asked him if he had been drinking. "I'm an old Nepleslian. We have to have a shot of something every day to keep going. It's completely medicinal I assure you."

Thomas glanced at his pocket watch. It was almost time for the meeting and his announcement. "Come on. It's almost time for the meeting and I'd like you to attend as well. You've shone great initiative the last few weeks and I'd like your opinion on our situation. On the way, you can tell me what's on your mind."
 
Outside Captains Quarters
Runa smirked as she was told that as an old Nepleslian, he needed to have a shot of something o keep going and he tried to assure her it was completely medicinal. Runa found herself amused by his words, though she had a feeling he might think less of her once she tells him her secret. She caught sight of his pocket watch and knew that her gang would have stolen it for money had they been back on Yamatai. The tiny Neko was shocked to find he was interested in her opinion on the situation. She had one opinion, which was bad.

“Alright, ” she said and set about following him. “It's like this… I am in a gang back home, we called ourselves the Flying Hellions. Though we have no affiliation with that place though, just picked it cause it sounded cool. The main reason we started that up is cause of our.. Dissatisfaction with our parents, mine, in particular, seems to be on something that made it seem as if they were unaware of reality, and we were kinda neglected because of it. So eventually I found other Mini Nekos who were neglected by our parents and bullied by the literally bigger kids. “ She said as she watched his reaction that his face made. “Eventually we fought back, stole things from stores, such as metals and we forged our weapons” Here she pointed to the dagger.

“Obviously swords, like you use, would be way too impossible for us to use, though might look adorable. But anyways, we later found a junkyard where tech was left and found Drakes like Exyrus here, so we fixed them, discovered they were havoc drakes, and that’s when the bullies truly became scared. Though some of us thought it was adorable for Mini Neko like us to ride on Drakes like this. “ Runa took a breath before finishing “Obviously with laws that they were gangs aren’t allowed in the army, and when we each were becoming of age, we grew worried, namely because the first authority figures, our parents… yeah... We were worried that those in the army were the same. So we ramped up our activities, but it wasn’t to be... The recruiters came, and I’m sure they heard about us, but our parents somehow in some unbelievable way told them the Flying Hellions weren’t a Gang, but a club we’d started, and no matter how we tried to convince our parents and the recruiters we weren’t believed, and our parents refused to buy out the contract thing so we were forced to join. “ Runa sighed before going on.

“We were all separated, but fortunately we were allowed to keep our Drakes and weapons.” Runa finished. “For the record, I see that we might have been wrong, I mean your cool and funny.” She said and waited for his reaction.


OOC: Runa’s parents being on some kind of medication were her impression of their behavior. Might not be true, and I apologize for the mentions.
 
Thomas smiled as he listened to Runa's story. It was very interesting, particularly as he hadn't heard of many cases of neko's being so... rambunctious. His smile grew as she continued her story. She sounded very Nepish. "Well that is certainly a very interesting tale. I'm not one to judge past actions, I'm more interested in the here and now and you have certainly proven your value here. I'm not sure if the hanger would have held without your timely intervention in the Mecha."

Thomas double checked the time again, they still had a moment. "I appreciate your sharing with me. We still have a long way to go to get back home but I believe we'll make it. Is there anything else on your mind?"

OCC: @Soban, @demibear, @BloodyScarlet, @Noodlewerfer, @SageShooter Here's the new thread for the Wakaba plot in case you missed it. Also, @Andrew you are still welcome to pick up your character here anytime you want to.
 
Will was jogging along one of the large corridors, both getting a workout and checking up on everyone around the ship. The ship's complement really felt like they were peas rattling in a tin can now. As he passed various crew members he gave them a word of encouragement or advice. Finishing a lap, he headed back to his quarters to dress in his uniform for the meeting. It was important that they saw him still working and still keeping up his spirits even in their dire straits.
 
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Somewhere in the bowels of the YSS Wakaba

Hiroshiko was glad she had taken the supplemental training to understand aether and other power systems used by . It served as her base as she was constantly tasked to main engineering. There wasn't much else for a sensor specialist to do on a ship that lost most of their sensor arrays. So in addition to maintaining the remaining sensors, she also had to help coax the heart of the battleship from dying or overloading.

With the huge workload, she opted to minimally sleep and remain on station within a maintenance corridor between the two. If she wasn't sleeping on the hard surface, she was eating a ration. And if she wasn't doing that and not on duty somewhere else in the ship, she was staring at the grey walling and machinery behind it.

"I am glad he gave me autobiography of his experiences." Hiroshiko spoke out loud, to no one in particular.

"Who?" came the response to the added presence to her mind she has decided to name "Akira".

"Father, mother was always you have to do it this way and only this way. All other ways are wrong wrong wrong." she said, continuing to seemingly talk to herself, mimicking Mizumitsu Ingrid's accent.

She didn't need to speech in an audible fashion, but it helped her mental coping. She was about to continue to explain Mikael's realization that professionalism and valor were his salvation when she got a ping and message about the meeting.

"Duty calls for both of us." She said, raising an eyebrow. She had never been called to a senior meeting before, which was making her curious as to why. As far away she was from the room, she needed to start moving now to get their early.
 
Briefing room

Thomas and Runa arrived at the briefing room. The large room was shaped like a big bowl with several levels acting as benches as it narrowed down towards the bottom. At the bottom was a large hologram projector used for displaying tactical data. Thomas went up to the projector and began entering in some data that would be shown later. He glanced up as different crew began to make their way in and take seats. Some of the crew were obvious choices. Officers and Senior NCO's of their respected departments but there were some others that under normal circumstances would be surprising to see. A Santo Hei might be more common to see on a Plumeria or a Fuji, but not on a ship the size of a Sharie. It spoke to the seriousness off the situation and how thin the crew actually was.

Setsunu entered, her white Senior Enlisted Adviser uniform perfectly immaculate and her spear slung over her shoulder. She looked more like she was going to a route meeting than what the dire situation they were in. Part of it was for moral. Most of the ship knew of Setsunu, her squad of Angles of Death and their impressive record. If she looked like everything was 'business as usual' then things must not be that bad. She went down to the lower level and took a seat near Thomas, unslinging her spear with the grace of a dancer as she did so so that it rested beside her.

Thomas saw Doctor Fletcher inter and nodded to the man. With the loss of Taisa Kuzue, Thomas had assumed command and Fletcher, as the next senior officer the roll of XO. Thomas liked Fletcher. He was a damn fine doctor who hadn't hesitated to step up when Thomas had been temporarily out of commission. "Evening Doctor." Thomas said quietly. "How is the Sick berth coming along? I haven't had much chance the last few days to check myself."
 
Briefing Room

Hiroshiko arrived and immediately took the further seat in the back she could. An Itto Hei had no business being anywhere else during such an important brief. Though she was still curious as to why she was called. She sat there quietly, waiting for things to begin.
 
"Bad news I'm afraid." Thomas said tiredly. He glanced at Setsunu and nodded. The Senior Enlisted stood and called the room to attention before resuming her seat. Thomas took a step forward and stood in front of the display table at the center of the room. He looked around at those present. Senor officers and NCOs plus a mix of enlisted soldiers. They filled less than a third of the room. Under normal circumstances this room would be cramped with just officers, now...

"Good morning, Thank you all for coming." Thomas began. It seemed a little peremptory to say because they really didn't have a choice, but he needed to build on any positive moral he could. "I know you have all been working very hard and you should all be very proud of yourselves. The obstacles you have overcome are nothing short of spectacular. You have brought much credit to yourselves and the ship. You can all look forward to promotions and citations for working above and beyond the call return to Yamatai space." There were smiles and murmurs of agreement from that thought. Good, they haven't lost all heart yet.

"And return to Yamatai space we will." Thomas promised. "But we still have a lot of work to do before that. Just more opportunities to heap awards on yourselves before we get there." A few scattered applause. Thomas took a deep breath. "As of this morning, we must begin rationing are food." There were murmurs, but not as many as he had feared. "Our Red panels have been working non stop and the ship is as repaired as it can be without a shipyard. We will be attempting a jump this morning in the hopes of getting closer to known space or a habitable world. But I won't lie to you, there is a chance we might not find a habitable world for awhile so we must be prepared, hence the rationing."

Thomas glanced at his watch. He would need to head to the bridge soon but he wanted to give the crew a chance to ask questions and/or voice any fears they might have. "Because our long-range sensors are still having trouble, we will also be launching shuttles with FTL capabilities to make short jumps in different directions to try to get the largest area scans we can. This will slow us down and presents other problems but it will increase our chances of finding a habitable world. You all have been working very hard and have asked few questions. I would like to give you an opportunity now to voice any questions or concerns you might have. Or if you have any other thoughts on our situation?"
 
Momosumi was indifferent to the rations. Being a mini neko, she couldn't eat as much food as a full-sized crew member regardless. Unfortunately, it was no less discouraging. At the rate they were going, it was only a matter of time before even the rations ran out, and then her small portion size would most likely leave her to be the last to die. Though, other crew members who didn't realize her robotic mask wasn't actually her head would seriously have to wonder how she actually ate since it had no mouth.

The little robot decided to use the opportunity to try to gauge some amount of the time limit at play. "Approximately how long will our food last?" she asked, which was probably still surprising given the small amounts of it she consumed.
 
Fletcher pulled out a small red case with a green leaf on it, he opened it to reveal small blue pills. "These are Star Army Emergency Ration Pills, everyone is issued one case, and for the vast majority of soldiers, it is something that practically stays in their bag and is never used. Each of the pills replaces one meal. Their not pleasant to swallow, but they will keep you alive. Star Army is good enough at underway replenishment that we never have more than perhaps a few months of food onboard at any one time. Sometimes for extended deployments, such as during the Kuvexian war, ships would take on more supplies to the point that one ship I was on had pallets of food in the corridors. However, most of the time the assumption is that a ship like the Sharie is going to be operating within a reasonable distance from a logistics ship. We'll probably have perhaps a couple of pallets of emergency pills in storage somewhere. Several hundred thousand pills sounds like a lot until you realize we have a crew of about three thousand and very quickly that number becomes best measured in days. We've been working to get hydroponics started, but it's slow going and we don't have the right seeds or nearly enough to feed our crew. It's a bootstrapping problem we are on the wrong end of."
 
Hiroshiko just kind of grinned at the idea of promotion being her reward for all the work she had undergone to help get the ship in somewhat working order. At this point, she should really become an officer to be an Engineer with all of the experience she has gathered at this point. But she wasn't really one for authority in her hands though. The last time that happened by proxy, she was carrying the head of the tech in hopes they would be able to revive her. But the grin quickly disappeared at the mention of rations.

"Maybe we should all be mini-nekos..." Hiroshiko mumbled under her breath.
 
Thomas nodded to the black panel's question and the doctor's answer. "At half rations we have about 4 weeks worth of food, not counting the Emergency Ration Pills. Including those... Another two weeks. Like the doctor said, we weren't stocked for a long trip away from supplies. When we last left the fleet the plan was to be gone one week, two at the most and it's already been 3 months. Finding a habitual planet is our number one priority."

Setsunu sat silently, watching those gathered and gaging how people were reacting to the news. It looked like most people were taking the news on the chin which was good. She glanced at Hiroshiko as the tech muttered about being a mini-neko. Setsunu could sympathize. The benefits, especially food wise of a mini-neko vs a full size Neko was quite the difference. But they didn't have the resources to make that kind of change, even they wanted to and Setsunu was quite happy in her extra tall body thank you.
 
At times like these, Runa really loved her minineko body. She thought that in this situation, it was probably the most efficient body to have, and she was really glad she kept it. But even so, she knew that the food situation will become serious even for her. “Well then! I gotta make sure to pilot us too said habitable planet, and I think we should calibrate sensors to find the closest systems with planets specifically.” She commented out loud, though outwardly she wasn’t showing emotion. inwardly the teensy weensy Neko was gleeful and excited, she knew she would do her part.
 
Not seeing any other questions Thomas said, "If there are no more questions we will begin. I am heading to the bridge to begin our first jump." He looked down at a data slate and read off three names, Runa was one of them. "I want you three to each man one of our working shuttles. We will jump for as far as our sensors can plot us a safe route. But we are very likely to quickly run out of safe space to travel. When that happens, we'll deploy the shuttles to do short jumps in different directions to the edge of our scan range. The shuttles will then use their own scanners to send data back to the ship. It will allow us to scan a much larger area in the hopes of finding a habital planet." Thomas turned to Setsunu. "Joto Heisho Meiosei will form a squad of Mindy pilots for each shuttle. These shuttles are too valuable to be sent out alone. I want them to be able to defend themselves if they run into any trouble."

Thomas then left for the Bridge.
 
Bridge

"Captain on Deck!" The bridge sentry called out as Thomas stepped out onto the Bridge. Taii Inaho Wakaba came to attention and saluted as her Captain joined her on the Command Level. "How did the crew handle the news?" Inaho inquired. "As they have handled everything else. They've taken it on the chin and will keep going. I just wish I could give them more encouraging news. It feels like they've been going non stop for so long. I really not sure how much longer they'll be able to carry on." Inaho was uncharacteristically silent for a moment as she processed that.

"Our annalists have finished going over the data. We think we know where we are." Thomas clasped his hands behind his back, bracing himself. "Based on star patterns, gravity signatures, a whole lot of sciency data and blab blab blab..." She pulled up a map of the Kagami Galaxy. The Kikyo sector highlighted with a pin prick for reference. Another pin prick of light appeared. Thomas hand's tightened behind his back. "This is best guess mind you." The pin prick of light was at a point relative north-west of the Kikyo sector. In a fully operational Plumber class it would take at the very least 3 months to make it through that much space. A Sharie-class battleship and a damaged one at that...

Thomas sat down in the Command Chair and rubbed his eyes with a hand. They were so far away from any known space. The dangers where overwhelming against them. The Nepleslian born took a deep breath and looked up. There was determination in his eyes. "Prepare the ship for jump. Course 160 bearing S-SE. Have all techs stand by to monitor the engines. We haven't done a jump this big since we arrived. What is our current scanning range?" A junior officer piped up a number. "We'll do only an hour jump to start off with, make sure the ol' girl can handle it. Have the shuttle teams standing by to deploy to do some scans if we get brought up short for some reason. Lets go people." A chorus of Aye, Ayes responded to him. Thomas managed a small smile. No matter how difficult the challenge, the Wakabans didn't falter.
 
Bridge
“Aye Sir!” Runa said with a salute to her superior and then turned in her specially made seat, crossed her legs and began imputing the numbers as requested at her pilots terminal. “Preparing to jump for an hour as ordered!” she called back to the others of the bridge crew. Having told the captain of her past, she no longer felt weird and thought he actually seemed decent. “5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Jumping!” She said as a warning and then they were off. Inside the ship she heard a thump as they entered warp.
 
YSS Wakaba
Power Armor Bay


No more cookies.

While Yukina had not been invited to the meeting, it didn’t take long for the news to reach the crew support department. They were the ones who had been keeping track of the stores after all, which were now running dangerously low after the Wakaba had gone for so long without resupply.

Even knowing what would be decided, Yukina was still saddened by the state of affairs on the Wakaba. Passing out cookies, desserts, and goodie bags filled with sweets to the crew was one of her favorite things about being a Caretaker. Now that the crew support department was close to running out of ready-made candy and the fact that the ingredients which otherwise might have been used to make cookies would now be saved for more nutritious foods, it might not be long before the Caretakers would have to resort to other activities to bolster morale for a crew sustained on ration pills, should the situation continue.

Nevertheless, Yukina didn’t let the shortage linger in her thoughts. A freshly-fabricated Mindy awaited her in the power armor bay, which the Sprite floated towards as soon as the notification came for her to join the power armor teams. Arriving early, Yukina quickly stripped down and stowed her bodysuit inside of her Mindy. Then, the Sprite floated into the suit feet-first through the chest area before closing it around her, encasing her curvaceous magenta form inside a Yama-Dura shell. The helmet went on last, fully linking her to the suit via SPINE and bolstering her natural senses with those of the Mindy. Nekovalkyrja instincts allowed Yukina to interface with the armor’s sensors as readily as she would her own eyes and ears, granting the Sprite a nigh-omniscient knowledge of her surroundings relative to what she could perceive when unarmored.

Within moments, the Sprite resolved the technical checks and before long, she took her first steps with the armor—movements carried out with an instinctual grace.

//Santô Hei Wakaba Yukina, ready on station!// The Maid Sprite transmitted with a peppy tone, accompanying her report with an emoji of a chibi Mindy performing a salute!
 
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