RP: YSS Kaiyō Mission 36: Kōsaten no Hoshi

[Gles]

Engineering

Molli put on the veneer of a satisfied leader once she and the rest of the neko finished their repairs to the best of their abilities, but she'd have been lying if she thought the work was satisfactory. Their work would keep the ship functional, but it was a slapdash repair that wasn't guaranteed to hold up. Molli could imagine the face of her father, his walrus-like mustache bristling at the notion that his daughter approved of sub-par work by his standards. Pop-pop, she didn't realize how much she missed him until now, to the point where she had to hold in the urge to shed a tear at the thought of him all alone in his shop.

Sif's question, a welcome distraction from Molli's troubled thoughts, made the neko stare down at Sif's tiny little friend, for lack of a better term. The parasite was undoubtedly sentient and keenly aware of their words, and maybe it could even read their expressions for signs of insincerity. "I think we should do our best to exceed expectations, lest we become host to it and its kin," she said, which wasn't entirely a lie; if they were outed as spies and weren't gunned down, there was a good chance they'd feel parasites crawling beneath their skin.

'Don't tell me you think that thing's cute,' Molli projected into Sif's mind, and even her mental voice sounded exasperated, It probably thinks we're food.' Her stance, it seemed, was one of reluctance to entertain the notion that this thing was a friend. 'Even if it liked us, what's one little bug gonna do?'

 

[Gunhand4171]

After William's grizzly work, inject the coolant into the Advanced Mishu, he followed Aiko and Isuke out into the hall. As they made their way towards the captain's cabin, the ID-SOL shook his head. "Nothing that I can think of. Can always try hacking the ship, but their systems are pretty tight. But I'm always down to just punch things." He said cracking his kunckles.

 

[Ametheliana]

Engineering

With a quick little hop, it seemed the parasite's position was made clear. But after a twitch of its thorax and a clattering of its fangy teeth, it hopped again.

Hallways

Outside of the captain's quarters was an access panel and a comm system inlaid into the fleshy wall. The access panel's sole light flashed red as the door opened and the light of the hallway fell on the bright top of the captain's head. She took in Aiko, then Isuke and William as if looking over a pair of mutts escaped from the pound.

"They don't need locking up, then?" Rancéde asked, flicking a long nailed finger at Isuke, then William. She pointed to the door to her quarters and it opened again behind her. "I'll take them, but I can't lay with anyone until you're sorted, Princess. With me to the bridge, yeah? I want Gorga, my XO, to get a good look at you. He knows the intel side of missions like yours and can fulfill your needs a bit better. Not that I'm not perfectly equipped. I run a good, loyal ship." She put extra emphasis on the penultimate word, as if it were up for debate. "I'm as capable as I am confident in the Mordrakka."

 

[raz]

Corridors

Captain Rancéde's appearance in her own quarters' threshold made sense. Still, it was an interruption if not truly startling. Aiko stopped in her tracks, and her bloody red gaze snapped up toward the NMX captain's when they were intercepted. Whatever alternatives Isuke or Rio may have presented were lost to the moment, now, so the established plan would need to be enacted whether the undercover Star Army squad was prepared or not.

"They are my thralls until they are delivered to the Warlord Yaggorahurl, and are likewise loyal to their circumstancesm," Aiko said, taking a step closer to Rancéde. "The last one who attempted to utilize them without my authorization is laying dead in his own gore. They can only be loaned out after I have been satisfied."

The princess grinned at this current nemesis, pacing nearer to where Rancéde stood in front of her open quarters doorway. She brought her left hand up to the other Neko's cheek, and traced one of her black nails along the bald NMX captain's jawline. Between the amorous Advanced-Type and the captain's suggestive swagger, the way in which this ship's crew comported themselves seemed overly-sultry. And so Aiko aimed to take advantage of it.

"Have you already forgotten the conditions under which I accepted this nickname you have assigned to me?" Aiko asked in a sweet voice rarely heard in her dignified cadence. Her hand crawled down Rancéde's neck slowly until her pale palm was on the NMX captain's chest, then giving what seemed like a playful shove that staggered the NMX girl back a step into her cabin. She kept her face close to Rancéde's, nearer than it had been in the moments before.

"From. Your. Knees," she said, her near-whisper turning into a hiss by the end.

Aiko's final word was as sharp and spiteful as the wicked tip of her katana as she plunged it into Rancéde's body from below, having drawn it silently while keeping her enemy's face occupied with her own. It was a methodical, deliberate thrust, striking through the evil Neko's vitals in a way Aiko knew would stop even the most determined Valkyrja warrior. It wasn't a cut the princess used often in combat; even for Aiko it was too exacting to execute consistently in the heat of battle.

"In," Aiko ordered with her voice back to its usual commanding clip. She shoved Rancéde harder this time, with enough force to send her sliding across the room. "Search for any arms, items, or information that will assist us on the bridge."

 

[aitoseigi]

Cargo Bay

Asuka rubbed her forehead. She couldn't stop the wry, natural smile that curled her lips, though, as she took a brief break. There were quite a few promising candidates, though she was sure whatever she cobbled together would be alarming, to say the least. "Still getting to know them," she said simply and honestly. "But there's nobody I'd rather have at my back. Have to trust the people behind you know what they're doing, right? And they've pulled me out of the fire more than once...." She remembered a not so wonderful day in the ruins of a temple and smirked. Somehow I felt safer there than I do here.

Then the blonde looked at Leepa thoughtfully. "So who do you trust around here to have your back?"

 

[krisslanza]

Corridors

Seeing Aiko like this was... certainly different. She was both entranced, but also felt a shiver ran down her spine - and it turned out for good reason, when the NMX officer found a katana shoved into her torso. The Lorrfolk could privately admit, up until that point, she wouldn't have minded being in that NMX's shoes. It was certainly a good thing Aiko was on her side!

Isuke didn't spare a glance as she gave a quick nod to the commanding Nekovalkyrja, looking at the unfamiliar captain's cabin before her, trying to think of where she'd even begin to look. From how she perceived the NMX, she would think anything all that important would probably be in or on a desk somewhere...? There was always the idea of hidden safes or caches, but without really understanding how the interior of this ship was made, it would be complete luck to just stumble upon anything like that.

"Guess I'll look at the obvious places, I'm not sure I could find anything that isn't... well, just hidden in plain sight really..."

 

[Gunhand4171]

Corridors

William smirked as Aiko drove her blade into the captain. "Sure thing scary lady." He replied to the princess's command, rendering a two fingered salute. Following Isuke into the room, he moved to the NMX CO's corpse and began to search her anything useful. Weapons, data pads, personal communicators, etc.

Once he had searched the CO, he turned his focus to the room itself. "To bad there's probably no way that I'll find any clothes to fit me..." he muttered as he searched.

 

[Ametheliana]

Cargo Bay

Leepa took a long look at Asuka, then repeated Asuka's words, "I'm still tryin to get to know them." She seemed wary and less open than the boldly worded Chincha that Molli and Sif had set off with briefly. But she did look the technician up and down to say, "You got anybody on your crew that's been mind seeded?" A stony wall had risen on her features as she tried not to betray any emotions.

Corridors

In Rancéde's quarters, the captain had been all too ready to yield to Aiko's advances. Recalling Aiko's earlier words, Rancéde had buckled at her knees, hoping to tuck in where Aiko would lift her stately officer's dress. But instead, the katana plunged into her and she stayed shocked and still for one immutable moment before she fell gracelessly. The former captain's blood pooled on the bed while the trio set about inspecting her quarter's items before moving on.

There was a cylindrical tube where one might put umbrellas or canes that a couple of Impaler Rifles stood up in alongside a long lunging whip. When checking her drawers there were NMX datapads, and a small handful of papers concerning fleet movements among the Abwehr territories, of which the NMX were now pulling out of—no doubt dismayed by the Kaiyō's constant prodding into their efforts there. There was also a command transfer document from when Rancede had taken captaincy of the Mordrakka and an officer's M1 Type 45 service pistol tucked away neatly in the desk's main drawer. In the closet were uniforms that would fit Rancéde and not William, off-duty bodysuits with large mammary cutouts, and a large cape with some Mishhuvurthyar words emblazoned on the back in gold thread.

 

[Nameless]

Engineering

The pause between the first hop and the second gave Sif enough time to consider how to dispatch the thing. It likely wasn't alert enough to escape her clutches if she just suddenly crushed the worm in one swift motion, but when the second hop came a tiny smile crept onto her lips. It was a longshot to think this meant she could reason with the thing to work with Molli and herself in taking down the ship and its crew, though she'd need to convince everyone else to go non-lethal. Unless...

She looked to Molli, responding to her verbal comment with a shrug. "And getting rid of their new star mechanics? If that's how the Superior Overseer operates, then it won't take long for another warlord to take command."

After speaking, she would then beam a message to Molli, "I wouldn't say it doesn't have its charm. You know, when it's not actively trying to make you a thrall or whatever else it does. Do these things jump down throats you think? Actually, let's not entertain that thought. Besides if this thing knew the ins and outs of this ship like Chincha alluded, it could help us get to the ST backups. That's a ton of potential intel right there."

Turning to the parasite, Sif asked, her voice hushed to make sure only Molli, the parasite and herself could hear. "Since Chincha is pretty lax around you guys, I'm guessing you know how to keep secrets from the Superior Overseer. Or at least you care more for Chincha than the Superior Overseer, so we'll get along. Just don't bite, I don't have my backup stored here yet. Think you can help us with that? I think we're just about done here anyway."

 

[Gles]

Engineering

"That might happen sooner, rather than later, if you ask me," Molli said, in response to Sif's misgivings about the Superior Overseer's method of leadership. She seemed especially cruel, even by NMX standards, and Molli didn't envy the crew if high expectations and random executions were the norm on this ship. It certainly made the idea of converting some of thew crew seem more plausible-- nobody liked working for a terrible boss, after all.

Molli eyed the two engineers off in the distance while she continued her mental conversation with Sif, 'Maybe we can find out how it takes over bodies if it's keen to help us,' she hoped that Sif followed her eyes. 'If it takes control of one of them, that's an extra pair of hands.' A gruesome fate for the poor engineer, but if they were getting attached to a parasite, it was a waste of an opportunity if they ignored its biological functions.

She side-stepped closer to Sif so as to block the parasite from view of the engineers.

 

[raz]

Captain's Quarters

Aiko lingered above the Captain Rancéde's body for a couple of breaths while Rio, William, and Isuke shuffled in, regarding the NMX Neko's lifeless form as the blood drained out of her. Where just moments before the princess' ire was laid bare, what she thought of the slain enemy now didn't surface on her face or in any words. She simply examined Rancéde and watched to make sure their fallen foe didn't spring back up in the way that Mishhuvurthyar and their lackeys were wont to do.

Sure enough in her skill at killing, and having wasted enough time looking, Aiko was soon scouring the stateroom alongside her comrades. First she made sure the door was closed behind them. And then she proceeded to the desk. There, the princess found a scrap she could use to wipe the blood from her blade and finally sheathed it. Soon thereafter, she began flipping quickly through the stacked papers, reading them with a prodigious speed thanks to the capabilities of her digital brain. She paid close attention to the command transfer document and studied it more thoroughly, looking for anything she could use to make her plans to take the bridge peacefully more convincing.

"Isuke, take this," Aiko said, sliding the NMX M1 Type 45 pistol across Rancéde's desk with her eyes still glued to the records in her other hand. "You can probably fit into one of her uniforms, too," she added. "Remove the rank insignia and your place as my attendant should not be questioned. I do not believe anyone on the bridge saw us come aboard. It will be easier to conceal the pistol with more clothes on."

The chusa then peered up at William, breaking her concentration away from reading for the first time since she'd started. A little smirk grew at the corner of her mouth for a second but almost immediately faded.

"It seems you are less fortunate," Aiko said to him. "What do you think? Will the bridge crew bat an eye if you show up carrying one of those Impalers?" she asked, gesturing with her head toward the pair of guns stowed away in the umbrella stand. "Perhaps if both of you remain at attention to my flanks then they will think nothing of it."

Although it sounded a little like a joke, Aiko didn't let on that it was. William, Isuke, and Rio were meant to seriously consider it for they had few options.

"We could simply storm in," she pondered aloud. "I do not want any of you to die, though. Do you think we could take them by surprise, Yoshida-hei, or are there too many?"

 

[Gunhand4171]

Captain's Quarters

William grimaced. Of course he was stuck wearing the man thong. Looking back to Aiko he shrugged. "Probably. We can go either way though. If you want to gun down the bridge crew, I'm all for it. Or you and Isuke can go in there sneaky and I can wait in here. If shooting starts I can rush in with the rifle. Your call." He said grabbing the rifle and checking it's ammo count. He conveniently overlooked the long lunging whip. He'd rather not think about weird NMX squid hanky panky... That had to be the only thing it could be used for. It was worthless as an actual weapon.

 

[aitoseigi]

Cargo Bay

The question about mind seeding took Asuka by surprise. For a long moment she busied herself in sorting items, but the job was rather close to being done. As far as she was concerned, the ship itself would be loaded for anything, though she could wish for some grenades for personal use.

Everything was better with grenades.

"None," she answered finally, matching Leepa's tone. "At least none I know of. I think I'm just as happy to keep it that way, too." She'd received no word from the rest of the team, so she might be optimistic and assume no news was good news. "Nothing about it sounds good and I'd do a lot to avoid it, y'know?"

 

[krisslanza]

Captain's Quarters

The off duty uniforms of the former captain of this ship were certainly... more then the Lorrfolk expected. At that point, couldn't you just walk around topless? Then again, there was an allure of sorts to being clothed, yet exposed perhaps... or maybe she wore them alongside some other things? Isuke pushed the thoughts out after a few more seconds - it didn't really matter in the end.

Isuke checked over the pistol as she gave a slight nod to Aiko. "Well, I suppose even if any of them recognized me, if we take the bridge anyway, it won't matter right? As long as they don't have time to send out any messages. That's about the only thing I'd be concerned about. They don't have any regularly scheduled check-ins or anything we should worry about, right? And if they do, think we could fake it?"

As she offered the question, the pink-haired Lorrfolk took a quick look through the extra uniforms, trying to pick one out that looked the most presentable... hopefully a missing rank insignia wouldn't seem unusual either. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure how close she really was to Rodcarte's body size either. Well, she could probably fit in anyway, they didn't seem TOO wildly dissimilar, right? She considered checking over the cooling corpse, but that seemed a bit excessive. She'd find out soon enough whenever she tried on anything anyway.

"A shame that William doesn't have a convenient excuse to get dressed though, huh?" teased Isuke with a chuckle.

 

[Ametheliana]

Engineering

At Sif's quandry, the parasite squirmed away, towards the door Chincha had let them in through much earlier. With Sif and Molli following, it led them towards the back of the ship. A flock of parasites joined in, sniffing out adventure or, perhaps, their next meal on a lead. It had led them to the black box where ST data was stored. Inside of a small room near the escape pods, it was in a good spot for getting in a hurry. Perhaps when all hands were in a pickle and likely lost, someone would pull this out and take it with them to save the crew by rezzing them. The little parasitic friend didn't stop there, though, and tapped the unassuming wall behind the all-important black box. A little hole opened, a miniature sphincter, in which there was a secondary black box stowed.

Cargo Bay



"If that's the case, I can trust you." Leepa said. "More than any that is. Gorga seems to try it with mixed results. Last five that went through it with him killed themselves and we had to resleeve them from backups before the big guy had messed their brains up with it. Most of us call it a curse, not just seeding. Nasty work, what our overlords think they have to do. Mostly because Yamatai's hero ship's scooped up millions of us. Turned us against the Mishhu. Like the choice is that simple."



Bridge



Having left William in Rancéde's quarters, the trio of women stalked the halls to the bridge. Directed by Rio, their arrival was preceded by Chincha's— the NMX Nekovalkyrja that Rancéde had ordered to the bridge under the implication of execution. She stood stiff as a tree, mouth downturned in unmistakable disgust, but her lips stayed taut as if she was unwilling to speak another word that might land her next life in more trouble. Dark like the void, her eyes were lit as if with dancing stars as tears welled in them.

On the central platform, tentacle-like piping arched upwards around it. There were three NMX officer positions that sat in front of it, one of which was occupied by their veteran SAINT operative, Erika. The volumetric viewscreens showed the visage of space and their route to rendezvous with the NMX fleet.

On the platform, Leepa stood tall.

The ochre Mishhuvurthyar that had been canoodling at the back of the bridge had watched her ascent and had only just begun to lope his snaking tentacles towards her. Her jaw jutted outward despite the tears that quivered on it, having been loosed from her steely black eyes the moment Gorga approached. His tentacles wrapped about her as the visage of Aiko, Rio, and Isuke became clear. The ochre Mishhu turned his body, for his carapace head followed, and looked to them with transparent annoyance.

The Mishhuvurthyar’s umbral words entered their minds like a psychic attack.

“Dare not disturb my feast lest you become it.”

 

[Nameless]

Engineering

'I'm not sure if that's a good idea. It might be friendly with these grunts too,' she responded telepathically to Molli. If that's the case, we might get the entire horde bearing down on us. But... If we could convince it and its fellow parasites that it's the better choice considering the implied abuse the grunts are getting... before she could finish the message, the parasite jumped off her hand.

When the parasite scurried off, Sif glanced to Molli with an unsure smile before jerking her head towards the parasite. "I guess we should follow it," she said, chasing after the parasite. She wouldn't announce that they were leaving to the technicians, if anything broke, she was sure they had some way to communicate it. For now, she just wanted to see if she could secure the STs.

Though a problem immediately presented itself with the arrival of more parasites. Though they seemed docile at the moment, a shiver ran down her spine at seeing so many. A shame she didn't have any explosives on her as an insurance policy. But it would seem like the parasite did lead them to the black box that housed the STs, or at least that's what she had assumed. And then it revealed that hidden in yet another panel, there was another black box.

"There's two? A backup for the backup, or is this the secret black box the grunts use?" she'd ask the parasite. "One hop for it being a backup for the backup, two hops for secret black box." It didn't matter what the answer was. Considering how close the escape pods were, she would have have put both in a pod. Probably have the parasites guard it if they were so inclined. Her thought was that if she got the parasites into the pod with the black boxes, they won't have to worry about them enthralling any of the crew. Though it would be helpful they were able to incapacitate the NMX crew on their behalf...

But would the parasites be amenable to that plan? After all, for all she knew, the parasites had just trapped them here. How was she going to talk her way out if this situation now... She had to get these parasites to join their cause...

Then an idea popped into her mind. Looking to Molli, she spoke to her mind. 'Play along.'

A somber look fell on Sif's face as she gently placed her hand on the black box. "Chincha... Leepa... the grunts here are lucky to have you," she'd say to the parasites. "Lucky to have this. Before we were taken under the wing of our current... well... the Overseer we came aboard this ship with, we lost so many to our own leaders. So many good technicians and soldiers snuffed out, all because they were hungry. If the technicians didn't tell me their main engineer transferred, I'd have thought she fell to the same fate. Still, our Overseer is... hot-headed... Our warlord loves that. She brings results and the soldiers under her thrive because they are allowed to ST despite not being officers, but we keep that a secret from the other warlords, so no snitching. I'm sure you'd have seen the heightened competencies of the grunts who secretly do this. If the Superior Overseers ever butt heads before we rejoin the fleet, there is no doubt ours will seek to commandeer this vessel if Renacede is unfit in her eyes. What do you think about you and the other soldiers joining our warband?"

As she spoke, Sif knew how traitorous her words were, but she hoped that the Mishu culture allowed for this kind of subterfuge between warlords. After all, the most cunning and powerful would be the fittest to rule, no? It surely wouldn't hurt to sprinkle in the continued survival of the parasite's beloved Nekos into the mix.

 

[Gles]

With Sif and her new parasite friend absconding from the engine room, Molli swallowed her protests and followed them. The sight of so many similar creatures joining the one they'd 'befriended,' for lack of a better term, unnerved the Yamataian soldier, who couldn't get the image of being swarmed and controlled out of her mind. But she knew they had no reason to betray her, yet, and so she endeavored not to give them one by suppressing the instinct to reach for her weapon. Whatever this journey was, she hoped there was a point to it.

That hope, as it turned out, was rewarded by what the parasite uncovered for them-- it showed them the ship's black boxes, which all Yamataian soldiers knew as backup drives for ST data, were the most vital component for restoring someone to life after death. It was evident that these were a more potent weapon than any gun on the ship, in Molli's opinion. 'We grab these,' she spoke to Sif telepathically, 'And we have a bargaining chip to threaten them with.' She hoped it didn't bear explaining that a true, final death was likely to be a scary prospect for any army that constantly resurrected its troops.

When Sif replied to play along, however, Molli thought it best not to press the matter. She watched Sif's performance, which was seemingly an attempt to persuade the parasites that the strongest side--'Overseer' Aiko's side -- conferred more benefits than the arrangement they currently found themselves in. Molli crossed her arms, her lips thinning into a frown; persuasion was more of a gamble than outright threats by her estimation, but she couldn't contract her partner. "They'd be better utilized with us, that's for sure," Molli said, which was something adjacent to the truth after seeing their competence and guile, "It disgusts me to see a ship led by fear and not example."

They were all in on this play, now, Molli realized. 'Watch them carefully. They might turn on us,' she spoke to Sif, eyes flitting to the collection of parasites as though trying to gauge their reactions.

 

[Sunny D]

Bridge

Erika kept her eyes forward towards the control console. Even its display screens set into writhing bio-organic meat was more appealing than turning around to see what was the cause of the soft moans and squelching. The satchel hanging off her side left an insistent weight, the grenades she had inside seemed to call to her. It would only take one press of a button and a few seconds to end the scene.

She did turn when she heard a different squelch, the telltale noise of mucus lubricating an opening sphincter door. Catching sight of Aiko between a tangle of tentacles she sent a telepathic message to the princess.

"I have a bag of grenades if you want to step back and let me soften them up, if its time to go loud."

The transmission's inflection held a barely contained need to commit violence.

 

[Ametheliana]

Bridge

Fear betrayed Chincha's stoicism in the face of death as her lip trembled and she was consumed. Not whole and not in parts by the snappy inner beak of the Mishhuvurthyar as the Kaiyo crew had seen before, but with its hungry tentacles. Maws went slack on the ends of three of Gorga's appendages, opening. Without hesitation they struck forward like snakes ambushing the still, unprotected Chincha. A shrill whine escaped her mouth as her flesh was torn into, ripped at the shoulder and arms before anything. Her first vociferation was quickly followed up by unrestrained, hysterical screaming that seemed to have no end as Gorga moved from her extremities, inward.

"Now, what is it you wanted?" Raspu asked, stepping forward towards Aiko, William, and Isuke from the shadows of the bridge. "We have already sent away extraneous help from your lot once before." She spoke in a clipped tone that would seem calculated if not for the loud volume she had to speak at to be heard over Chincha's death.

ST Closet

There was no hesitation this time as the little bug hopped twice. This was indeed a secret backup for those non-officers that were to be rezzed. As they spoke, its panel glowed orange where it had been dim, unlike the less hidden away black box which had been powered on when they got there.

The stashed box went through a boot-up sequence then a name appeared followed by more black text. It read:

Kuchisake Chincha
Date of Death- 16日 8月 YE 47
Date of Last Backup- 20日 7月 YE 47
Hemosynth Chamber- 2

The parasites had watched Molli and Sif's exchange about quasi-mutiny with mild interest, but when the black box glowed they all moved in unison as on a mission and were scurrying out of the ST closet, headed for the med bay where the hemosynth chamber was forming Chincha. The officer's black box also read a name and date of death as well as listing the first hemo tube.

It was for Rancéde.

 

[raz]

Bridge

Having restrained herself mightily during Chincha's vile demise, Aiko's porcelain face now remained in a state of placid disgust as it had throughout Gorga's feast. It was never easy to watch even an enemy Nekovalkyrja die in such a disdainful fashion. But she managed to stay her hand, waiting for a more opportune moment to reveal themselves as adversaries — if such would be required at all — even as a single fleck of the dismembered NMX Neko's blood cast itself from the Mishhu's frenzy and onto the princess' cheek.

"By the personal order of the Warlord Yaggorahurl, this vessel's command has been transferred to me as of 16.8.47," Aiko said directly to Gorga, totally ignoring Raspu's question. From the right cargo pocket on her frock coat, Aiko produced the command transfer orders she'd found in the captain's quarters, and held them tightly in front of her so that her thumb obscured the date. "Rancéde has been relieved and is now confined to her quarters. You may dispose of her there, Lord Gorga. Though if you have glutted yourself so thoroughly then I will send word to the Advanced-Type in sickbay that he may enjoy her. He did not give me his name, but mentioned you plenty enough. Perhaps his larger brain requires the nutrients more than a double meal for you."

Aiko shoved the old orders back into her pocket, and then wiped Chincha's blood from her face with her left thumb. She rubbed it between her fingers, letting it disappear as a thin film that clung to her fingerprints, wondering fleetingly if it'd have been wiser to try and save the girl.

"Have your grenades ready," Aiko transmitted telepathically back to Erika — also roping in Rio to the exchange — her words all coming instantaneously via the wireless connection. With two fingers, she motioned over her shoulder for the SAINT operative to fall in beside her. "Set them to an impact fuse if possible, or cook them well to maintain surprise when the time comes. You will follow Gorga to meet William in the captain's quarters, where I am sure those will make quick work of this one. And if Gorga and his whore refuse my orders then you will feed them to him here. Rio and I will shield Isuke and pull her away from the blast if it comes to that."

A silence hung in the air for a moment longer than anyone could find comfortable. Aiko shifted on her feet in the dead air and surveyed the bridge's crew with her bright crimson eyes, lingering on Raspu for a moment, before landing on Gorga again.

"Do you not understand this voice is that of Yaggorahurl himself?" Aiko bellowed as she rapidly pounded her balled left fist against her sternum while sounding completely convinced herself. It was a simple charade for her to make believable, even if Gorga and his crew ultimately decided to reject it; all Aiko had to do was replace "Yamatai" with a Mishhvurthyar general's name and the words flowed naturally from her lips. "I am your captain now."