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Starship Kaiyō

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RP: YSS Kaiyō Mission 36: Kōsaten no Hoshi

“Ladies, ladies, not all at once,” the NMX Neko laughed with a dark countenance. Chincha said earnestly to Erika, “Stay out of medical lab and the bridge. She thinks she’s slick, but Rancéde likes to show off her authority and garner favor in front of the big guys by giving them a meal and that’s where they are most hours.”

The hose connected and Chincha shot her head around to look at Sif and her partner. Her auburn hair followed in her wake as her sallow grey skin caught the hangar’s lighting and the grooves under her eyes were amplified. The whole NMX team had the same unhealthy, decaying look that Charbon and other former had before being taken in by Yamatai.

Chincha yelled out to them, “Let ‘er rip!”

Chincha looked to Asuka, “There are some of us that look out for one another. Like hell I’m going to let my sisters die. Don’t care if the new-fangled mind seeding gets them or not, just not going to die on me.”

Sif’s partner shot a thumbs up to Chincha and pointed to the controls, expecting Six to work them, “Valves ready.“ She laughed, “Wish I knew just to keep your wild guesses to a minimum. Dunno, don’t care. Never needed to even go in there, myself, until today.”

The orange-skinned Leepa moved away from Molli to help Rio, “Wazzat? Your crew broke the hose clamp, eh? Some relief your team is. Yeah yeah let me give you a hand.”
 
"Princess?" Aiko wondered aloud, devoid of any outward shock that Rancéde had called her out so accurately. The NMX Overseer didn't recognize who the Kitsurugi warrior was and had, after all, expressed quick adoration toward the incognito imperial, so she did not let it rattle her. "Yes, that is suitable. I will enjoy hearing you say it to me from your knees, Captain."

With that, Aiko turned back toward her squad working with the refueling equipment and stepped off toward them. There was precious little time to deliberate as to who should go where. One thing was for certain, though. She would not send any of her people off alone if she could help it. As much as the princess trusted each of their abilities, she knew flying solo could mean an unavoidable termination.

"Ursula: take Sahty to the bridge and supervise her at the helm," Aiko ordered, finally unfolding her right hand from its place behind her back to point matte-black-tipped index and middle fingers at Erika and Rio in succession from across the deck. "Their pilot is having difficulties, so I am confident Sahty's new qualification and your expertise are more than sufficient to fly that ship."

The princess regarded Chincha for a second, scrutinizing the refueling chief with a look of some disapproval even though the NMX Neko's view on her situation could be useful to maintaining their ploy.

"Captain Rancéde is slick, Master Fighter, more so than you are to have mocked her so plainly for me to hear," Aiko told Chincha with an effortlessly sneering grin. "Up here especially," she added from behind her fanged smile while gesturing to the top of her head, "the Superior Overseer out-slicks us all. In any case, do mind your tongue. Not for your own sake but for that of my crew's," the disguised Chusa said, looking at Molli and Sif. "You will take Myga and Cynea to assist with the aether leak once refueling is complete. If your loose lips see them punished there will be blood."

Aiko then strode over to where William, Isuke, and Charbon were themselves emerging from the hutch. She nodded to Charbon as though to take custody of the two supposed prisoners from her.

"Dusugu: take this one and inventory the ordnance after it is brought aboard," she said to Asuka, again pointing her index and middle fingers together this time at Charbon.

"Get it done," Aiko finished, checking William's arm with her left elbow full of the unearned arrogance one could expect from a Mishhuvurthyar interrogator, clearly prompting him and Isuke to follow her. She was already marching away toward the ship by the time she spoke again. "I am taking the prisoners aboard to secure them for transit."
 
The various conversations that the NMX likely regarded as banal workplace grumbling was much more valuable to the Yamataian infiltrators among them. Molli's digital brain filed the information she'd gleaned thus far in her digital mind's near-limitless memory banks: Chincha held a sense of comradery for her sisters, the Mishhu seemed to congregate around medical and the bridge, and the captain was clearly unpopular among the crew. Molli had to wonder if Rancéde's choice of title for Aiko was a mere playful affectation, or a subtle threat that implied knowledge of her true identity. It was hard to fathom how information on this mission could have leaked, but anything was possible. Suspicion and tension welled up within Molli, fraying her nerves like a raging river tested a dam- she focused on keeping herself calm.

Molli nodded to Aiko, "Yes, Overseer," she said, standing ready at the valves. Chincha's griping was starting to get on her nerves, "Don't fob the blame on us for this faulty equipment," she snapped, tapping her fingers across the valve handle impatiently, "Since you're keen to gab on duty, what's so objectionable about that 'new-fangled mind seeding'?" Molli didn't want to give away that she had no idea what Chincha was referring to, so she hoped that framing the question about the soldier's problem with it would be a better avenue of inquiry.
 
Chincha's demeanor dropped when Aiko spoke out against her. She made herself look small and avoided eye contact—namely from Rancéde who was shooting daggers at her. When Molli casually questioned her, the countenance on the grey-skinned Neko darkened like the appearance of a pregnant rain cloud in an overcast sky. The change betrayed that maybe she did care if her sisters underwent the process.

"It'd be nice if I didn't know like you." she said. "Dunno if it's their psionics or a Neko OS virus they're implanting. Say goodbye to the last bit of freewill you had, though, if they get you with it."

"Chincha, bridge—now!" Rancéde called over comms. They echoed in the hangar like a distant clap of thunder.

"Great," Chincha moaned and the stormy expression looked as if it held rainy teardrops as she stepped away from her work with Molli and Sif. "Just great."
 
A Neko OS virus that erased free will? Molli couldn't imagine how that could help an army that was already made compliant through fear of punishment. Maybe, just maybe, the Mishhu were getting tired of having their troops subverted. "Hold on," Molli left the valve to walk after Chincha, "Didn't you hear? Cynea and I need guidance to the engineering deck," she glanced to Sif, then to the rest of the crew still handling the refueling process. "We'll go with you- these girls can pick up the slack." The mission still took priority, but Molli felt a newfound sense of pity for this NMX woman; the same pity that made her sympathize with the Cauldron Lake neko. She tried to keep that from being conveyed in her expression, which was as stony as ever.
 
Erika listened passively as she readied to make her way to the bridge. What she heard didn't quite line up with her experiences though. Some of the New Type encounters she'd been in involved her psionic dampeners being overwhelmed, and Charbon's intelligence indicated psionics was the primary development pathway. A inbuilt back door to their own troops though? Ripe for exploit. The Yamatai and NMX forks had diverged enough that most exploits shouldn't be cross applicable, and even if they were, runtime encryption had matured since the NH29 facilities were captured. She rolled her eyes discretely, imagining she'd need to write a detailed paper if true.

As she continued to listen to Molli, the agent there seemed some protectiveness in the normally-Nepileslian's voice. Perhaps it was projection; privately, Erika was confliced about the friendly NMX Neko going with another group. Chincha had managed to endear herself to her in only a handful of exchanges. If Erika were the one present when the order came down, she knew she wouldn't she’d hesitate. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to test that certainty, but wasn’t sure Molli would have that same clarity.

She sent Molli a tight beam message. 'Until she's in Star Army custody she's the enemy. Don't forget. Don't hesitate.'

The words weighed bitterly on her tongue. She hoped Chincha survived.
 
"Well, sending you there would definitely get you to care now, huh?" Sif said, flashing a smirk as to her partner as she headed over to the panel the latter had indicated. While she never worked with refueling anything NMX, surely it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out. She took a moment to scan the panel before looking back to her partner, saying, "Look, I can disassemble an Impaler with my eyes closed, but this panel is not something I work with on a regular basis." She hovered her hand over one of the levers that she had a good guess of activating the refuel process, "Will this make this thing go?"

Sif had a half serious look on her face, leaning towards tired and done, with barely a care left in her soul just to cement the idea that she would rather be anywhere else but doing the refueling. Then that look turned to one of full attention when assignments were being dealt out, with one of the NMX being called out for speaking too carelessly. The look she was given from their Overseer would be enough to kill right there. With the warnings the NMX gave them sounding so close to the ones she, Rio and Molli heard from the Caldera, Sif's guard immediately raised. And judging by the shrinking reaction, Chincha would definitely have a good chance of accepting being spirited away from here, situation allowing, though that went with the expectation of not getting any of the NMX killed, which was a tough trick to pull, and one too dangerous to attempt considering the objective.

As Cynea, she stood at the panel, hand still hovering over the lever until she had confirmation from her partner that pulling it would not eject the ship back into the vacuum of space. As Sif, she was waiting to see what the outcome was with Molli's interjection. Would it allow Chincha an escape, or will the role of guide be given to Sif's refueling partner? Either way, she wouldn't be able to do anything for now.
 
A small, curt nod. Not quite Asuka's version of an apology, but as much as one as she judged she could get away with. The less said, the less they were likely to blow their cover. With the hose attached and primed to fill, her immediate job was done, so she took a half step back, waiting for her next orders. They weren't long in coming, and she nodded to Aiko before drawing nearer to Charbon than she would have liked without a lot more weaponry. If things went south, after all, she was probably going to be one of the first to either kill or be killed.

"Sounds like I'm with you," she said to her temporary mentor. The blonde allowed a scowl to cross her face. "Ordnance inventory sounds like a fantastic way to spend a day... though I guess it's better than the other stuff you've got to deal with." Nothing she was picking up about mind seeding sounded pleasant at all, though the pessimistic Rikugun in her suggested she'd find out far more about it than she'd like.
 
Well, at least she had a pretty easy job all things considered. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut, and her eyes somewhat downcast. Isuke had briefly considered if she should try to look more defiant or something, but perhaps that would stick out too much? After all, she's meant to be a prisoner basically resigned to her fate more or less.

If she wasn't here as part of an operation, she would probably try to be a lot more rebellious. Maybe even try and pick a fight or two along the way. But well, she wasn't in that situation. Attracting undo attention could just make everything more difficult, and place undo attention upon Aiko as well. Best to just play the part of a resigned prisoner.

Hah, really the worst part she felt right now was she only had her own thoughts to entertain her. There wasn't even any nice sights to really take in either! Then again, it would be hard to appreciate any actual NMX given what they represent. She might be somewhat of a shameless Lorrfolk in some regards, but she had standards. Isuke just merely let these thoughts play in her mind, as she obediently followed behind Aiko.
 
XSS Mordrakka
En Route to Bridge

Those going to the bridge had a short trip through the cargo bay and up a vertical passageway, staying at the stern of the ship. They went up two levels until a Master Elite NMX with a greyed, overly washed uniform saluted them. Her burnt orange eyes looked over Rio, then Erika.

"We only need one helmsman," she said with a leery tone. "The other one of you can bunk with Sahacre with his knife-ends in sick bay."

En Route to Engineering

"Yeah, I can take you," Chincha was quieter, but still agreeable. Sif's partner shoved Sif out of the way and pointedly looked towards the Mordrakka's entrance, bidding her to get out of her way. When they were within the wet-walled halls, Chincha slowed her gait, not in a hurry. A swarm of parasites moved along the ground and as she stooped down and put a hand out, many of them crawled up and onto her outstretched arm.

"I said we look after one another. Even though it's not standard, someone will resleeve me. I'll be fine," she said to Molli as if reassuring her was Chincha's primary goal. Regardless, she rubbed her thumb up and down be carapace one of the parasites that had nestled into her palm like it was a worry stone.


Sick Bay

The walk to sick bay was a lot less interesting than the arrival there. A shimmering pink force field stood in lieu of a door and it crackled like a bug zapper killing a fly when they arrived as something hit the force field. As it thunked on the floor inside sick bay, it was apparent it had been a severed limb. The room was eerily silent for the level of mayhem as blood splattered from one of the central operating tables where an Advanced type Mishhuvurthyar loomed. To Aiko and William who had come against this foe countless times, it struck them as odd to realize it was the first time they had seen a Mishhuvurthyar's back to them, unbothered by their presence.

"Fresh meat gets tied down," the Advanced called in a deadpan psionic as if relaying text to their minds rather than speech. Two tentacles protruded from the undercarriage of the Mishhu. A scalpel-bladed tentacle moved the ten feet to tap a keypad on the inside of the door to release the pink force field and the second was a chemical projector which tapped the unoccupied metal operating tables nearby, one after another.

Cargo Bay

"I didn't know I would end up being a cargo specialist. If I had, I think I would have done a few things differently." Charbon scoffed as if she were talking to herself but had kept her words clear enough in the vicinity of Asuka to be conversation. They hadn't needed to move far to find their posting. The cargo bay held ammunition near coffin-shaped boxes in a disorganized mish-mash.
 
En Route to Engineering

'I didn't forget how we operate,' Molli relayed to Erika, 'No howking around from me- I know she's not our marra yet.'

Even though she'd had time to mentally prepare for it, the slick and pungent halls of a Mishhu starship topped the list of destinations Molli would have given anything to avoid. She focused on her partner, Sif, whose soothing presence helped ease some of her worries as she followed Chincha to their destination. It was difficult to ignore the skittering parasites that lurked within the fleshy walls that, at the moment, felt horribly oppressive. When Chincha stopped walking, then welcomed said parasites onto herself, Molli's eye twitched- a split-second slip of her mask. "What did you do?" Molli asked, crossing her arms- an attempt to look more casual and simultaneously avoid attracting any parasites, "Hard to imagine it's anything egregious if they allow resleeving."
 
Sick Bay

"These captives are to remain unsullied," Aiko responded aloud, unwilling to reach out and return telepathic words to the Mishhuvurthyar in kind. She'd already told Captain Rancéde, but one never knew the dynamics any given NMX Neko crew had with their Advanced-Type cohort and so the lie was one that bares repeating. "The Warlord Yaggorahurl has demanded they remain fresh until his trusted attendants can process them. And I would rather cross you than both of us be forced to answer to him."

The princess crossed the deck and confidently stood next to the Mishhuvurthyar as if it were routine for her. Close enough that a drop of his viscous mucous fell onto her jacket and hung there suspended between them for a moment as it pooled on the fabric before snapping from of its origin underneath the alien beast's shell and rolled down and off her to the floor. Aiko blushed when she stopped, glancing away not out of any embarrassment but because she found it difficult to choke back her revulsion. She hadn't realized an Advanced-Type's stink was so suffocating; Aiko's mettle in battle had always made such sensations secondary to killing her Mishhuvurthyar foes. But having to stand peacefully beside one was altogether another matter.

"It seems to me at least one of your Nekovalkyrja crew will be punished on the bridge soon," Aiko continued, smartly relying on her bioengineered lungs to sustain her without needing to breathe in any more of the fetid alien's musk. "You will not want to miss your part of it. I can secure my prisoners here with the restraints you have on hand. Go, and do not allow your fellows to claim all the best parts without you."

She glanced back at William and Isuke, and motioned with a flick of her head toward the empty metal operating tables. With any luck, the medbay's Mishhuvurthyar would find himself goaded into joining Chincha's punishment. As distasteful as it was for her to pile onto a Nekovalkyrja's demise, Aiko knew whatever Rancéde had in store was a foregone conclusion. Every member of the NMX scout ship's crew was still an adversary, anyway, so she reserved little sympathy for one enemy soldier's plight.
 
'Don't take it personally. I need reminding too.' Erika sent to Molli, casting her a glance before she dissappeared into the ship.

Erika saluted the Master Elite back, making sure her back was slightly straighter. When the NMX instructed only one could enter, Erika's golden eyes flicked over to Rio for a moment, the NMX helmet she wore tilting slightly. She blinked and they were back on the Elite.

"We are under directives to also ensure the astrogation system is correctly calibrated. Its an hour job for 1 person, 15 minutes for 2." Erika said professionally, and then added with her voice tightening, "I-I won't be taking responsibility if I'm questioned about why its taking so long." She did her best to sound appropriately intimidated, assertive and respectful, even as the knife holster on her shoulder seemed to itch.
 
En Route to Engineering

"What do you mean?" Chincha looked up, stupefied. "I'm not an officer, resleeving isn't an option to my kind, us enlisted. Is it different for Elites? Maybe you forgot what the lower rungs are like, that death is death. Nope, it's something I've done and will do again. One of us, er, distracts Sahacre and the others revive the fallen sister. We have command authorization codes." Chincha's loose lips seemed to answer Molli's explicit question as to what she had done to be killed.

She stared at her Parasite friends on her wrist and hand as she stood still.

"Doesn't make being food for the big guy hurt in this lifetime any less. Well, maybe just a little." Chincha added as an afterthought, "Engineering is here." There was a sphincter door before them.

Bridge

"We don't need astrogation recalibrated," the officer said, studying Erika with her intense orange eyes. "I would know. Master Elite Raspu. I was told there was a newbie helmsman that needed looking after. Nothing about recals. I have my orders, follow yours." She crossed her arms but took a step back into the bridge as the door opened. The bridge was built around a central platform where tentacle-like piping arched upwards from floor to ceiling. A huge volumetric viewscreen operated in front of three NMX officer positions that sat directly in front of the ochre Advanced type Mishhuvurthyar on the platform.

"I'll be your third. Helm, to your bunk!" Raspu said and the officer on the port-side edge seat skittered away like a bug.

Sick Bay

"Why would I watch Lord Gorga feast?" The Mishhuvurthyar asked, disgust dripping at the thought.
 
With widened eyes and flared nostrils, Molli looked less like a neko and more like an angry animal seconds from charging. "They're going to kill you just like-" she turned away from Chincha, one hand moving to her chin as she contemplated where to pivot this outburst. Beyond simply saving a life, having an NMX with authorization codes alive and indebted to her was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. Molli spun around and pointed at Chincha, "-like we haven't requisitioned you for a task already? Tell me, what's more important: keeping this ship from breakin' down," she suddenly jabbed a finger into Chincha's chest, "Or keeping some officer's stything belly full for an hour?"

Molli slapped the sphincter that led to engineering, "You clearly know your way around, and you've memorized codes that can get us fixing your problems faster. Help us get that done first," she said, pointing to own rank pin, "And if your captain doesn't like that, I'll cover for you."
 
Having been shoved out of the way before she could make a mess of things with the refueling panel, Sif simply scoffed, following with a playful, "Next time you're shoving me, it better be against a wall or against the bunk." The suggestive comment was meant to do more than just fluster her partner. She wanted to prod her demeanor, see what tiny details she could glean off of her reaction. Chincha was comfortable enough to talk behind their Overseer's back in the presence of new faces, and it had Sif wondering if she could find any other cracks in the ship's authority.

While it wasn't likely she could get much when she had to march out to Engineering, adjusting the rifle on her back as she did so on a light jog to catch up to Molli and Chincha, at least the bait was set.

En Route to Engineering

Looking down on the parasite Chincha allowed to crawl on her, Sif took note, her brow raising. It wasn't really the best nor cuddliest of creatures, but being stuck on an NMX ship, that was likely the only pet-like thing in the sector that wouldn't be swallowed up by a Mishu. "Huh, never seen anyone willingly let those things crawl over them," she said with a shrug. "Then again... The head armorer I was with would always kick them out because they had a habit of getting into the ammo boxes."

Hearing Chincha admitting that their crew colluded to get themselves resleeved without their Overseer's permission, Sif found the next crack in their authority structure. It sure sounded like there's a chance these girls could be open to rebelling, but knowing the programming that goes into them, they'd need a real heavy shove in the right direction.

"Overseer Superior," Sif corrected with a chuckle as she lowered her voice. "I got a feeling she's the type to go ballistic if you get her rank wrong." Her gaze would then shift over to Chincha, "And if you don't tell her I said that, I'll cover for you too. Surely she's wise enough to realize that the two of us--" she pointed to herself and Molli, "--wouldn't know which sphincter to knock on without a guide."
 
Cargo Bay

Asuka managed what she hoped was a casual shrug. Sims and recordings were one thing, but the reality of a Mishhuvurthyar ship was still... something. Worse than being on the base on Rabaal; at least there she'd known there was a wider world outside. Ships were automatically more cramped, and being out of powered armor didn't help her nerves at all. Calm down, Asuka, you've got a job to do. "Easy to say after the fact. Can't say I wouldn't change a few things either." She kept to the center of the passageways, not wanting to get any closer to the fleshy walls than necessary.

Seeing the disorder of the cargo hold brought a wrinkle to her nose which didn't need to be feigned. "Well, damn, maybe I'd do a lot differently. Maybe I'd not end up with all the crap jobs all the time," she muttered, with long practiced disdain as she walked toward the ammunition, sizing up quantities and sizes and comparing them to the boxes. "Sure we've got enough to work with?"
 
William followed along behind Aiko into the medbay. At the sight of the Advanced type, the ID-SOL stiffened. His instinct to lunge and rip it to shreds was strong, ingrained through years of combat. But he managed to tamp down the urge and moved just infront of Isuke. He didn't verbally reply to the Advance's demand to for the pair to get tied down on the operating tables. He was saved a reply as Aiko interjected.

His relief was short lived as Aiko motioned for them to move to the tables. He didn't protest outwardly, merely began to move. He wanted to speak with Aiko with his mindware, but didn't want to risk a transmission between the two somehow being intercepted. Instead he began scanning the room for any way his mindware could break into the ships systems. If he could start routing around through the ship's systems, at least he could possibly vent the big ugly into space if given an opportunity. Or drop a cargo container on it. That gave his mind something else to focus on as he thought of the many ways he could use the ship itself to destroy the NMX crew.
 
Isuke couldn't help but idly wonder, if she was actually here 'properly' - that is to say unwilling - how would she actually feel? She had been onboard a Mishnu ship a handful of times, and they always did make her feel a bit uneasy. But she had never really been on one in any situation in which she wasn't fully aware she was going into one. Perhaps she'd like to think she would accept it with as much grace as she could, but honestly, looking at the Advanced type before her, and the way it acted... she had to admit that would probably be difficult.

Honestly, even knowing this was still within expectations, she couldn't help but feel some growing dread creeping up her spine. Being essentially naked, Isuke couldn't even entertain the prospect that she could do anything with her bare hands. At least she had William here, she would like to imagine that even unarmed, he was strong enough to do something in this kind of situation. The pink-haired Lorrfolk gulped slightly, but keeping within her role, reluctantly made to lay down on the tables as instructed.
 
Erika made her arms fly back to ensure she seemed appropriately cowed. "Y-Yes ma'am!" she said, hurrying to the post.

She shifted her equipment around so she could sit appropriately, placing her impaler carbine at her side. Her equipment satchel unclipped from one side of her belt and reattached down her leg as she walked to the seat.

She lent away when she felt Raspu over her shoulder. She rolled her eyes beneath her mask, but outside she maintained the image of being submissive. "U-understood ma'am! Its not a problem!"

It did take her a moment to find her bearings, she found she had to have the NMX control overlay her vision to figure where the correct controls were, but once it was there she could easily find her way around and got on with her pre-flight checks.
 
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