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Post by emeralddragon on Jun 3, 2017 3:34:03 GMT 10
((OOC: Doji Kaiden and Ikoma Dorai do not have a ship, nor have given me an idea how they are getting to the system, so I assuming they have arranged to be moved by a freighter of some description. Whether this is a cargo ship first or passenger ship or whatever I will leave to those who booked the tickets.))
In what would be early morning in the Rokugani Capital the system has the appearance of peace. The small space port on the moon of Chukan's Tomb is quiet and for now at least, the mining operations in the asteroid fields are halted. Down on the world of Oyo's Final Rest, the only noise is the wind, calmly blowing across the grasslands, and those truly enlightened meditate in their immortal state, unknown to the rest of the Empire. Everything should be peaceful.
Out of the void of space two ships appear almost exactly the same time. The crew of the Warren and the passangers aboard the Second Vessel all have the same goal, the space port on Chukan's Tomb, and then after that to meet Asako Honoko in the 5th largest Library on the moon, the Shadow of Fukurokujin. However as they begin to move towards their goal, a third ship enters the system... or rather attempts too.
The large and heavily armored Tortoise Class Troop Transport is broadcasting Mayday on arrival and immediately begins to break up as soon as the Prayer that transported it here ends. Given the state of the ship it would not be surprising if all the crew were dead....and yet, the Mayday signal continues.
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Post by M'thack-kir on Jun 3, 2017 9:11:05 GMT 10
On The Warren, M'thack-kir sits comfortably in the co-pilot's seat on the bridge, as is his custom when Shiba Itsuki beseeches the kami to teleport them through space. Just in case another set of hands is needed.
He senses Rik beginning to stir in their room, as the jump always wakes up the sugar glider, often with a headache and travel sickness. He seems okay today.
"Senchou, there is a distress signal," Itsuki immediately states as their communication systems come back online seconds after the jump has ended.
"Cloak. Now!" Kiru orders as he jerks up to sit with a better grip on the co-pilot's throttle and joystick. "The Warren will move away from drop point, in case hostiles detected. Which base is the signal from?"
Itsuki rushes to activate the cloaking device aboard the ship, and the air kami are only too eager to respond. As soon as he has done that, he follows Kiru's protocol and sends a text message over the ship's internal comms to all passengers: Cloaked. Only then does he pay attention to the communications panel overlayed on the navigation system between himself and Kiru. "No planet, Senchou. A troop carrier; dropped into the system around the same time as us, if wake readings are true."
He glances at Kiru. "It is not moving, nor does it appear that the Phoenix are responding. We may be the first to detect it."
"Relay the signal to the Tomb. The Warren will intercept."
"Hai, Senchou. Systems are picking up another vessel, though it is unclear what, yet. The kami are most interested in the distress beacon."
Kiru squeaks to himself with a tone of annoyance, and then whispers, "Kakashi."
"Something interesting going on, master?" asks the well-groomed Shiba Inu that trots onto the bridge and jumps onto the dashboard beside the Fortunes via Itsuki's lap.
"Maintain extra cloaking, Kakashi. Something isn't right-right."
And so, The Warren hurtles through the void of space, with extremely potent invisibility protecting it from view, toward the mayday signal.
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Post by Shinwa on Jun 3, 2017 11:07:37 GMT 10
In the wide space that is the open cargo bay of the Warren, oblivious to the distress call and the events that are about to come, Shinwa practices his kata. His sword is drawn in his hands, naked steel glistening in the halogen lights. But his motions, the dance of the sword, are excruciatingly slow, each movement between one stance and the next stretching out for minutes. His eyes are steely with the intensity of his focus and concentration. The microfluctuations of gravity beneath him do not make the tip of the blade waver. He sheathes his blade, closes his eyes, takes a deep, centering breath. Then, he starts again, a smooth draw moving into another extremely slow kata. He sheathes the blade again, drawing the kata to an end just before the jump...and the sudden jarring of gravity that indicates the universe has changed around him again. He shifts his weight to compensate. I suppose we're there...might as well go take a look and see what the Phoenix have dreamed up here.He makes his way towards the gun turrent, and turns off the holograms, leaving the 360 degree viewscreens that project into the ship the view from outside of it. For a moment, it looks as though he stands adrift, surrounded by space. But, from the reflections off the ships hull, it looks as though Kiru has turned on the cloaking...and the ship is racing towards a sparkle in the distance. Humm.------ Daily Notes
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Post by M'thack-kir on Jun 3, 2017 11:29:18 GMT 10
"Nanashi," Kiru calls through his wrist device. "Turret, now please. Just in case. Approaching a possible trap."
The Tortoise class troop hauler comes into clearer view, as Itsuki retakes navigational control from M'thack-kir and slows the ship's velocity to match the mystery ship's inertia. "Senchou, they don't seem to have any shielding up, so I can detect life...but it is very faint. Either the hull is dampening the scan, or there is only one person aboard."
"Hai-hai. Cannot risk crew or home. Kakashi, go explore. Quietly." Kiru gives the dog a stern look, who responds by sticking his tongue out in a happy pant.
Then, defying all scientific reasoning, Kakashi starts doggy paddling through the air, straight through the hull of The Warren, and through the twenty or so metres of cold vacuum, into the mysteriously dead ship ahead. Once he enters, he quickly gets his bearings and runs swiftly, upside-down on the ceiling of the corridors, to find out what he can manage. Occasional yips can be heard through the corridors of the troop hauler, should anyone be conscious enough to notice them.
"Itsuki, be ready to activate shields, and keep scanners on The Warren's hull, just in case someone can see and sneak on. Kiru does not like this."
"Hai, Senchou."
Kiru sends a text message to Shinwa's personal commlink: Keep an eye on the airlock.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Jun 3, 2017 11:55:45 GMT 10
The Tortoise troop carrier is a mess, the hull is riddled with cracks and breaches. In some places only wiring holds it together, in others large jaggedchunks float in their own trajectories where they had broken off. But inside it was worse. Fried consoles, debris floating everywhere... And then there were the bodies, floating around and crashing into the debris and each other. Frozen in death, gashes in their atsuryoku armour and helmets. And these were the good ones. Some were mere pieces, arms legs and bits of torso floating around the ship in mists of blood akin to swarms of insects.
But it wasn't all death, it wasn't all devestation. Situated next to one of the biggest hill breaches was a Hida chuubushi, one of those famed warriors that burst out of air locks to attack ships in the vacuum of space. But her armour was intact, as was her helmet. And what was even more important, the wrist panel was lit up and showing its functionality. Oxygen levels low as it was in hyper sleep function. Her juryoku boots were also activated, the powerful electromagnets clamouring tjr soles of her feet fast to the hull.
This last part wasn't of her doing, she barely had time to get her mempo on before they did the jump. It was the shugenja lying next to her that had done this, his dead hand still grasped around her wrist. Her hand then moved, definitely of its own volition and not just a trick of vacuum. She was alive.
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Post by M'thack-kir on Jun 3, 2017 12:06:23 GMT 10
"Looks like a practical joke went a bit wrong...and boring," Kakashi observes to nobody in particular in his childlike voice. The dog closes his eyes, and when they next open, the corpses and other pieces of dismembered flesh appear to be gone, although they are very much still there, hidden by magic.
"Did you do this all by yourself, Crabby? Are you dangerous?"
The Shiba Inu licks his nose and floats down from the ceiling to examine the hypersleep controls. "Let's find out, ne?"
He presses his paw against the button that should 'defrost' the Chuubushi, and as he does so, he disappears.
There are now two people standing in front of the Crab, one in Phoenix Chuubushi armour and katana drawn (but lowered, not intending to make any sudden strikes), and the other a Nezumi drinking some tea.
Meanwhile, on The Warren, Itsuki groans. "Senchou, Kakashi is casting illusions over there. He wouldn't do that if there were nobody to...play with."
Kiru remains silent, watching the derelict ship carefully.
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Post by Shinwa on Jun 3, 2017 12:12:14 GMT 10
Shinwa sees the message, and gives one more look towards the twinkling void of space, and the rapidly growing shape of the empty ship ahead.
Just dreams.
He does not bother texting back to Kiru. He passes Nanashi on his way towards the airlock, continuing on.
His sword is settled in his obi, ready for whatever dance partner the fortunes might see fit to present him with.
I just hope I don't have to go outside to find out.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Jun 3, 2017 12:26:03 GMT 10
It took a few minutes for Tetsuko to wake up completely, for the oxygen to flow so she could open up her eyes. The first thing she saw were the two figures, unfamiliar and unusual. Her first instinct was to move, to crouch, then spring from there to land in a crouching position some distance away, he hand closing in on the tetsubo she knew was there.
There were two of them. A Phoenix by the colours of the armour and one...who wasn't wearing armour, or even a helmet. He was calmly drinking tea. A Nezumi.
Either this is some sort of trick, or....
She raised her tetsubo in an attacking position, a clear message that she meant business if they tried anything. They might be hostile, but they might be her only hope of staying alive.
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Post by M'thack-kir on Jun 3, 2017 12:32:11 GMT 10
"Name? Rank? Reason for being present in Phoenix space?"
The deep voice comes from the Phoenix Chuubushi, although his visor obscures his facial features.
"No papers-papers?" The Nezumi asks, taking another sip of tea.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Jun 3, 2017 12:38:42 GMT 10
They spoke, that was something.
"Hida Tetsuko, Gunso, Teitetsu Platoon," she answered warily, not moving. "Reason for being in Phoenix space: classified."
That should work, she wasn't about to tell people she didn't know what they had been doing.
She looked cautiously around, seeing the empty room. "Where is everyone? Are there any survivors?"
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Post by M'thack-kir on Jun 3, 2017 12:47:33 GMT 10
"Just you. And the ship's captain. Down the corridor, that way." The Nezumi points with his cup of tea to his left. "Are you sure you want to stick with classified? The Phoenix won't be happy."
The lone Phoenix Chuubushi remains still, unmoving.
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Jun 3, 2017 12:53:37 GMT 10
"They can ask me themselves then," Tetsuko said stiffly.
She rose to a standing position, lowering her tetsubo. She didn't like how a nezumi was going to be her rescue party, but didn't really have a choice.
"Identify yourselves first," she said.
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Post by M'thack-kir on Jun 3, 2017 13:04:41 GMT 10
"You're not very nice, Crabby," says the disembodied voice of a child.
There is a sudden flash of light; after, the Nezumi and Phoenix are gone. And the carnage within the ship is very clear.
A Shiba Inu, floating midair, is now where the Nezumi was. "Was it a mistake to wake you up?"
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Post by Hida Tetsuko on Jun 3, 2017 13:13:51 GMT 10
The sudden appearance of anything would cause a Crab to take pause, the sudden appearance of bodies and blood sends Tetsuko into attack mode again. She raises her tetsubo again, batting the bits of bodies where they floated to and fro.
"It was a mistake to talk to you, spirit or whatever you are," the chuubushi said testily.
Now she wasn't sure what was going on. Was this a rescue? Was there even a ship near by? Those..visions...the said the captain was alive. She didn't trust eat those spirits had said, but it was work checking out. Though how he was still alive in all this was beyond her.
She headed forward, tetsubo ready, her boots clanking as they gripped the hull. She ignored the dog.
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Post by Mirumoto Nanashi on Jun 3, 2017 13:14:33 GMT 10
Nanashi passes Shinwa on his way to the turret.
At least in hear it doesn't feel like flying.
"I'm in position." Nanashi puts over the coms.
Nanashi turns the holo targeting back on and picks up the faux pistol. It is not his normal raident pistols but it is functional enough for this.
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