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RP: 5th XF [Yugumo Mission 1] Day 1: Perdition's Flames

The cockpit to Kiyoe's fighter slid open and she peeked out. Gently gliding to the ground under the power of her gravity manipulation--and seeming to revel in the sensation--she asked, "Er. Did she change her mind, or what?"
 
Camellia repeated her action to Kiyoe. Pointing to the others, and telling her to form up in a line. Her expression was slightly more sour then when she told Kishou. These new soldiers weren't impressing her much. And for most of them being Nekovalkyrja, that was making her more upset.
 
Cowed, the blue-haired Yamataian formed up with the others, quietly brooding. Sheesh, nobody told me anything about reporting to somebody before I took off...
 
Camellia turned and then walked out infront of all three enlisted. Her hands behind her back as she took a breath and started talking.

"I am Chui Camellia Sarri."She stated simply as she looked at each of them, "untill any of you merit it, you will all refer to me as either Chui, or Sarri-san." She made quite sure to stress the point. "Also, Techard-hei." She said turning to the only male in the small unit. "Congradulations, I shall make a note of your conduct since, unlike two others, you actually waited for your commanding officer before you decided to jump into your ship." She said with a small smirk which was covered by her hair.

"Now, Kigetsuki-hei and Kanai-hei, I admire eagerness to action, but you two were not authorized to board or power your ships untill after post breifing, which would have been by me." She said quite simply, explaining how the two jumped the gun. "I'll overlook it for now, but remember in the future you are to wait for an order to launch before you launch."

"Our mission is quite simple, you heard it from the Shosa herself." She said as she turned and took a step, then turned back to them, "We are ordered to make a half lightyear jump and then inspect the entrance to the creepy pass for SMX activity." She looked at all three to make sure they got it. "Now, you may board your fighters. However, you are remanded to only warm-up and checklisting untill Yugumo gives us clearence, and I give the order to launch."
 
Dirj cursed as yet another none-too-well-secured cargo container came crashing down upon his head. Fortunately, it seemed most of the boxes contained additional uniforms, for they were light enough to leave mere bruises. As the cargo shuttle neared the docking port, Dirj suddenly leapt from his seat, only just dodging a final wave of cargo pods as shuttle met ship with a lurch.

Leaving the mess in the cargo bay for the shuttle crew, Dirj snatched up his own belongings and strode through the hatch into the docking bay. Still cursing under his breath, he headed for the corridor. The ship seemed dead- until the doors out into the corridor opened. A scene of chaos greeted Dirj. Crewman rushed this way and that. A slight shudder through the bulkheads told him the ship was getting under weigh.

Hell, that really was the last transport. What a disaster. That damned recruiting officer made sure to tell me about the extra hazard pay for volunteering to the 5th Fleet. He didn't mention I'd have half an hour to pack and get out here!

Having no quarters yet to stow his gear, Dirj headed for the Medical Bay, in hopes of stashing it temporarily in one of the lockers there.

"Damnation..." he muttered, fighting to make way against the mad crowd. Finally, he reached his destination. Upon entering, Dirj swallowed yet another curse. The room was pristine, with much of the equipment still sealed in bags. Diagnostics ought to have been run long before this point.

It'll be a real fun voyage if any of this junk turns out not to work. Looks like I'll be earning that hazard pay, at any rate. Hell and Damnation!

As the storage lockers were still wrapped up, Dirj hastily shoved his gear beneath one of the surgical tables, praying it would be safe enough there until he was issued quarters, and made his way back out into the corridors.

Dirj's orders were to report to a Creighton Marks. The roster had shown him as one of the Yugumo's pilots. Theorizing that he would find his superior on the Bridge, Dirj headed off in that direction. The chaos only grew thicker as he neared the Bridge. Not without a few more muttered oaths, did Dirj reach it. Taking a deep breath, he strode through the door.

Having taken careful note of Marks-Chui's appearance while studying the roster, Dirj was able to locate the man fairly easily. He was stooped over a younger man, who was sitting at some kind of control panel. Approaching, Dirj saluted and spoke:

"Dirj Lorne, Santô Hei. I was ordered to report to you, sir."
 
"Good work." Was all Creighton said to Xanatos, he wasn't even looking to the other crew member. He was caught up in his own work for the moment, checking the CFS field over for the launch checks. All of the items were turning up green, pleasing the Yamataian quite a bit. "Ok let's take a look here." Creighton responded as he turned and leaned over Xanatos' console station.

"See nothing big, huh? A few more of these and you'll be ready to start actually getting into the meat of the job." Creighton keyed several names on Xanatos' console. "Alright I've updated it with the current ship settings, except for one component, the navigational connections. I want you to connect to navigation and follow the instructions it'll give you about following a plotted route." Creighton then leaned back to his own spot.

A new voice caused the young man's attention to falter from his current work and copilot. Creighton cast his gaze up to the source of the older voice, quickly looking over Dirj.

"Uhm, this is new." Creighton started, unsure of what to say. He stood up from his seat, leaving Xanatos in control of the ship. "Well welcome aboard Lorne. Your arrival is pretty close, we're just about to get underway here." Creighton motioned with his hand to follow him.

"I'm not exactly sure what your station will be aboard this vessel at the moment." Creighton started as he moved away from the pilot station. "But, judging by your choice of uniforms I would guess you are part of the science teams for the colonization effort."

Yugumo, pull up Santo Hei Lorne's orders and assignment details, please. By the looks of him, command hasn't be kind if he is still a Santo hei. Creighton telepathically sent. He stopped slightly off from the central podium of the ship. "We're short handed at the moment Lorne, so I have a question for you. How well versed in the science and sensor field are you?"
 
Dirj shifted slightly and dropped his salute as the officer finally addressed him. It was plain that he had not been expected. Apparently it had been too much to hope that last-minute orders would reach the ship ahead of him. And already he was being asked to display his incompetance. Dirj took in another deep breath and drew himself up to respond.

"I was checked out on the Daisy during Basic, sir, but that's all the sensor operation experience I have. As for sciences, I have some experience in Yamataian biology. My primary field is medicine."

Dirj tried not to mutter and scowl when speaking to his superior, but it was difficult. He was rather out of practice at not doing those things. He paused a moment, hoping that what he was about to add would not prove a terrible mistake.

"However... I seem to recall the basic functions of the sensor package on the Daisy being similar in nature to the Hartman Scanner, used to detect pathogens in the body. Perhaps..." Dirj swallowed. "Perhaps I could give it a try."
 
Xanatos smirked slightly. He was getting the hang of this. As the Santo Hei distracted Creighton, Xanatos linked with the navigational system. Instructions flooded his mind, telling him about each step that he needed to take to plot the route. He managed to successfully create a course that would bring the YSS Yūgumo away from its berth. All that was left to do was initiate it.
 
Kiyoe eagerly levitated back up and flopped back into the cockpit of her fighter, shutting it over her and going through the start-up sequence again. Normally being reprimanded would dampen her spirits at least a little, but with the opportunity for her first live-fire fight ahead of her, the rebuke sailed right over her head. Enthusiastically, she proclaimed, "Kanai, ready for launch!" into the comm.
 
Roken shrugged what the Lieutenant said to him; Roken had his mind focused on prepping his fighter for launch, he was not going to have much time to learn the controls but the assignment would be a breeze.

Roken boarded his fighter and went through the preparations, the hatch slid close and consoles began to light up in front of him. "Nice setup,â€
 
Camellia boarded her own fighter, though her apprehension was quite apparent. She disliked fighters, since she was an armor pilot. Fighters were too big and had more things that ment more problems and more things could go wrong.

Sitting in her seat, she began to go over the pre-flight check list that she remembered from her breif training. After a moment or two, she replys to her wing.

"All right. I'm set too..." Switching comm channels, she feeds to Yugumo. "Yugumo, Hyuga's 1-4 are ready for launch."
 
Upon Kiyoko's orders, Nick bowed in confirmation and then strode over to the communications area. He sat down in the station beside Ichiro, marveling at where he'd be working. The scope of the Yūgumo's communications bank was unlike anything he'd seen before. As the Geshrin acclimated himself to the controls before him, almost sensually running his fingers over them, he felt impressed by Star Army communications technology for the first time since that initial enthusiasm back during training. Sitting here, Nick was the Yūgumo's voice to the fleet, at least one of them, and that gave him a brief sense of satisfaction before he resumed his professional attitude.

As he always did upon arrival to a new post, the Heisho ran a diagnostic on the ship's communications systems as he went about his other tasks. It had never been necessary, but doing it gave Nick a peace of mind that he couldn't shake otherwise; it didn't hurt anything to let the test run in the background anyway. In any case, Ichiro seemed to be handling the active needs of the bridge officers, so took the opportunity to start the diagnostic gladly.

Not forgetting the Shosa's order, Nick opened a fleet-wide channel, requesting the attention of all ships' commanders. He allowed a moment of silence on the relay, and then spoke, "Attention commanding officers: prepare your vessels for immediate course-correction. Please standby until course vectoring solutions and navigation clearances are relayed.â€
 
Akira accepted his assignments with Kiyoko-Chui with a small bow of his head; he knew that not all officers were as flippant as Kiyoko-Shosa; but his "mentorâ€
 
Hyuga Wing you are clear for launch...

***

Kiyoko sighed, commenting to Caine on her growing hunger. "I want waffles...â€
 
As the captain had passed by, Xanatos had stolen a glance at her. He wondered what was on her mind, but he pushed that out of his mind for the moment. He sat at attention to receive any more orders from Creighton. The ship would be leaving soon, so he was sure that his superior would have something for him to do.
 
(OOC: I'm guessing the scanners are part of the science station here. If I'm wrong, let me know and I'll change the post.)

Dirj directed his gaze from the apparently occupied Chui to the empty station the woman indicated. She was Motoyoshi-Shosi, of course. Though she was Nekovalkyrja, the chief subject of his dislike, declining her orders would be insane, particularly on a mission like this. In a short time, the Shosa would be complete master over all their fates. Dirj bit his tongue quickly to stop a scowl, before stepping over to the empty seat, next to a rather uncomfortable looking man.

"Yes, Shosa." was all he spoke, as he took the chair. Dirj looked up at the displays and then down at the mostly unfamiliar controls. The button to activate the scanner was obvious, as well as the controls for directing the scanner's 'eye'. Dirj was ignorant of the principles behind the technology that enabled the scanners to function. Casting his eyes back over the controls, however, Dirj located a sort of wheel that seemed to control the focus of the scanners.

Fortunately, these controls were mostly similar to the medical scanners he had used in the past, though, as they operated on a much larger scale, a delicate touch was needed to keep the eye steady. By focusing the view, Dirj found he was able to detect a wide, short range of area, and, increasing the range steadily narrowed the scanner's 'sight'.

Checking the display, Dirj noticed several... blobs near the the center, where he assumed the Yugumo was located. Bringing the scanner eye to bear on them, Dirj saw that the blurry shapes sharpened a bit. He chose one and focused a tight scanner beam on it. It began to look vaguely like the silhouette of a Sakura-class gunship, one of their escorts, he presumed.

Dirj looked down at the controls once more, and put on a sour face. There were many buttons and switches he had no idea what to do with. At least he had more or less figured out what to do with the basic controls. Still... Hoping no one was observing too closely, he decided to ask the ship for guidance.

"Yugumo..." he kept his voice low. "Is there any way to zoom in on parts of the display? Or to target a sensor blip, or something? I'm having trouble making things out on this display."
 
Tesuro felt a sensual shiver flow through his spine, caused by Kiyoko's voice once again penetrating his mind, replicating the sound of her flowing tongue and lips forming her voice. Though he wanted to respond confidently and in an equally sexual manner, he hadn't much experience in the field and found himself lost for words. Still, he had to say something or risk appearing rude or uninterested in her, neither of which he was. It could not be too long and informative, nor short and terse--this much he knew. So trying his best to muster up a competently worded response, he simply replied, With your image in my mind, how could I not? It wasn't horrible, but Tesuro felt he was capable of much more flattering words. As she reached over him and he replied, a pleasant smile formed across his semi-pouty lips. Having her so close made him feel the confident, natural feeling he had experienced, but it quickly faded as the realization immediately set in that he could not always be near her. He sighed exasperatedly at himself for being not only naive, but seemingly so needy in regards to a woman he had only slept with and did not truly know on a deep personal level.

He noticed Dirj take over the station directly next to his own. It was easy to tell that the man was considerably older than himself, but he did not judge him in the least. Tesuro knew he did not know the man's circumstances and therefore had no place in judging him for being a Santo Hei even at a relatively-advanced age.
Not being a fan of small talk, especially since he was so preoccupied with his internal dilemma, he did not say a word to his new partner--not even an introduction. For the most part he ignored Dirj's presense, taking his time looking over the updates Kiyoko had recently brought upon his screen as well as the necessary diagnostics and such. However, as all parameters were in the green and showed no signs of change, his mind remained on his personal feelings. This too, was soon broken as he heard Dirj muttering to himself. No--not to himself, he was talking to Yugumo, of course.

Tesuro leaned over to Dirj's terminal and tapped a button in the top-right corner of his display, then hit the "blob" which appeared to be one of their escorts. The screen zoomed in upon the escort ship, and various submenus and information appeared. "Right there--you hit the same button to zoom out." he said, only momentarily glancing at the man.
 
Turning his attention from Dirj to Kiyoko, Creighton nodded steadily to here request. "By your command, ma'am." He responded, half-chuckling at the 'ma'am'. As he finished he strode lazily back to the primary pilot's chair.

Eyeing the navigation information, Creighton made a wave to the two navigators without even looking to them. He instead looked to Xanatos before he sat down. "Alright, I need you to do what you just did with navigation, for real this time. No tutorial." The Yamataian slipped back into his seat with a soft sigh. "Just feed me the course plotted. Apparently Sasaki and Itkatsu over there are watching out for us."

He gave Xanatos no time to protect or reply. "Roger that, bringing sublight engines online." Creighton called out as his hand reached out and began to slide across his console. "Engines set and connected. CFS field formed. Yugumo is active."

The Takumi-class cruiser, standing out from amongst its peers, flashed to life. The CFS field engaging and slowly the command cruiser began to accelerate forward. The three Sakura escorts, already idling at the ready, moved into to flank their lead vessel. Across the fleet a clear view of the Yugumo, in all its glory, could be seen.

Creighton's hands moved quickly across his console. Despite his fast movements, the pilot looked rather bored and unamused. His facial expression resembled that of someone about to fall asleep, with his eyes half open. But this was Creighton, this was how he flew. Countless times before with the same repetitive motions.

"Yugumo continuing accelerate to .25c until we are clear of the fleet staging area." Creighton said as a status report. His right hand made a slow, clockwise swirling motion on the console. As if in time, the Yugumo began to gently bank right. "Ship is aligned for nebula exit." A few seconds went by before Creighton finally said, "Yugumo is clear of Fifth Expeditionary Fleet Staging Area."

A grand day... I wonder if anyone recorded the mission launch... It'd be a shame if they caught my less than perfect turn. Man, I feel rusty.
 
Xanatos just nodded and began to transmit the requested data to Creighton as fast as he could. It was quite exciting, being on the bridge as the Yûgumo left its berth. A beginning of a new adventure, he thought to himself. He had just remembered that this was his first time being aboard a starship of this size! He smiled to himself as he continued to feed Creighton the data.
 
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