Mobile Home Vessel Yuekichi, Inverness, Auxesian Space
June 20th, 834 AS | 20:19 Sirian Coordinated Universal Time
Mieko Iekahara's Personal Mobile Home
The Spatial once known as Konpaku, flies through the home of Auxesia, gliding through the void of space easily. The ship was the very same, that Mieko had called home since her departure from the Seraphine. Whilst it has not seen as much use since her recruitment into the Technocracy's ranks, the ship itself felt homely.
Panels had been painted over in intricate fashion, dark, elegant colors covering the residence deck of the ship in a gothic coat of purple and black. The main room of the deck was spacious for a craft of its' size, featuring a small spiral staircase leading down to the main deck connecting the bridge, maintenance room and the large cargo hold. A kitchenette was to the right of the stairs, featuring a basic stove and sink. Preferential for terran-style cooking, Mieko refused to use food synthesis systems, let alone eat synth paste.
Opposite the staircase, was an open booth-style dining area, with view through windows to the right, and out the curved glass enveloping the whole space. In a pinch, the booth's table could be lowered, and a cushion slid out to form a makeshift bed. Towards the rear, a hallway connects two small bedrooms and a bathroom. The first bedroom closest on the right, is empty, devoid of any remnants of what it was once used for, save small furniture. The light is kept out.
The second bedroom, bears the properties of a young woman's, adorned in mood lighting of a purplish hue, documents and reports bearing the sigil of the twin snakes on her desk, photos, nic nacs and other belongings abound. The dresser opposite the bed is light on clothes. It is clear this is Mieko's quarters.
The bathroom is quite spartan, with a small shower, sink and toilet, in quite the cramped space for more than one person.
Down the stairs, and to the left, a door leading to the cargo hold can be seen, and beyond it, a large open industrial space. To the left as one would enter, is a large workshop that Mieko had acquired from the Seraphine for self-subsistence purposes. Various tools, a drafting table, and several electronics rest in place. In the center of the cargo hold, is an Ageira C5V-33 Scanner Drone. Taking up quite the space inside, the drone has already been partially disassembled by Mieko, stripping it of its' miniaturized nuclear reactor powerplant and thruster, leaving only the probe core assembly intact and affixed to a series of arms attached to the bay itself, and the antennae at the front covered by styrofoam balls to avoid injury. Off to the side, a series of crates are seen, with one open, bearing inside a strange ship-mounted cannon not seen before.
At the bridge, Mieko approaches Valravn Citadel, and makes contact with the ATC, approaching the 10K restricted area perimeter.
"Valravn, Yuekichi with you, type Spatial, to dock."
"Yuekichi, Valravn, acknowledged. Submit one-time authentication code on the shortwave secure net for identity verification."
Auxesians make their rounds, as Mieko penetrates the perimeter, just as the code is sent through.
"Yuekichi, Valravn, clearance to dock is granted, proceed to Moor 1, allowed docking time is 30 minutes." The station declares. Personal vessels not attached to the Technocracy were afforded very strict permissions and allowances, due to the highly cautious information security requirements in its' ranks. However, Mieko would barely need 30 minutes, let alone half that.
Struikas approaches the airlock with Roland, having been talking with him about his days in the Liberty Navy, striking up a conversation whilst they wait for Mieko to dock. Struikas was done up in his usual grey-black Prometheus flight uniform, patches and badges on him as usual.
"..So here's what happened, another good one for you - I was transferred to the Elsmere, not too long after Operation Long Branch. when I was awarded the promotion and tasked with learning from Rear Admiral Perez for six months before he transfers the ship to me - I was low-half Rear Admiral back then, one rank under. One week in - I'm busting my ass for the guy, learning the ropes of how to run this shitshow, because we don't have time to have me undergo ship operations training. I already got my degree in Military Science back at West Point, so they don't need to tell me the same shit twice when it comes to telling fuckers what to do, yeah?" Struikas regails to Locksmith.
"Comes in handy leading a bomber squadron, a bit less when you're crammed into an Interdictor-class with about 270 other people and the only other 'wingmen' that aren't on the bridge with you are your tiny-ass aviation complement. So I'm busting my balls trying to learn fleet combat maneuvers from this guy. And I'm working 16 hour days because of it, because I also have to be his errand boy when we're not getting blasted at by the Gauls." He continues, showing frustration slightly in his voice as he is put in the mindset of his past self.
"So one night, I'm in my quarters, small little cubby hole that might as well be the broom closet, but better than the ship barracks - I'm dead to the world, lights out. My door's opened by a couple of shit-chucking dipshits who quietly waltz on in, one of them drops their pants, and farts in my face and making me wake up. Just as I come to, the other one greets me with a face full of shaving cream. I'm pissed, and I mean - more pissed than I was hearing the Kentucky's captain talk up how great Liberty is - I run after them, stark naked save my boxers, and chase them down the hall - it is dead of night, night crews are on station, and here fuckers are, seeing me scrambling after these two Petty Officer dipshits down the deck. One of them bumps deadass, into Rear Admiral Perez whilst the other gets free. I shit myself the same time the other guy looks up to see who he ran into." Struikas continues, gesturing as he tells the story.
"I go immediate to attention and salute him - 'Rear Admiral Perez, sir - I was pursuing a couple of men who decided to storm in and assault me in my quarters.' Moment of silence, longest in my life up until that point - and he answers me, breaking standard and smirking. 'First time, Struikas?' I'm speechless. The man tells me it's a common thing in the 19th to prank the junior commanding officer in training in their first weeks. Hazing ritual. Keeps the men sane, y'know?"
"I haven't seen that in Prometheus, but honestly I'm not one for farting in people's faces, lest I accidentally shoot out the other one." he concludes, with a bit of a laugh.
Heavy steps, accompanied by the quiet hum of working servos, announced the approach of a massive figure of a man in armor. Dark metal plates gleamed in the artificial light, electronics in the small hole in the chest glowed faintly. And only the familiar helmet visor glowed the usual blue color, leaving no doubt about who it is. Being already tall, Roland seemed huge in this outfit.
This was his first public appearance in this form. But this was not some planned demonstration. No, everything was much simpler. Roland simply didn't have enough time to change clothes.
Unlike his brother in arms, Freud was quite silent, mostly just listening. Thoughts about the past, present and future swarmed in his head. After everything he had learned about himself, it was difficult for him to perceive himself as before. He doubted whether he was a real person. And even more he was worried about what he could become.
In truth, all that kept him from agonizing soul-searching was the abundance of work.
“Honestly, this is ridiculous, Andrew. I would argue that such "events" would be more likely to make me paranoid than to keep me sane. Not that I would know... I always made sure that no one could break into my abode on Invergordon. At least without setting off an alarm. You understand what kind of guests Junkers have; you can never be too careful with them.”
There was not a drop of condemnation in Freud's tone. It was more of a surprise and slight indignation. Perhaps the command appointed him commander, but he still remained that same young guy. Who knows... Maybe he just didn't understand the wisdom of farting in people's faces?
Once they were inside the Spatial, Freud looked around with interest. To him, accustomed to living in miners' shacks, cargo compartments of freighters, and Junker stations with a very "peculiar" architecture, this ship seemed like a luxury. When he saw Mieko, he slightly waved his massive armored hand in greeting.
"I'd shake hands with you two, but I'm afraid it might be a little traumatic right now. Nice place, by the way. You don't happen to rent out a room?"
It's a good thing he was wearing a helmet. Otherwise, it would have been obvious that his gaze lingered on Mieko a little longer than it should have. One could hardly blame the young guy, for he was not blind to not notice the obvious beauty.
Struikas was well aware of Locksmith's disposition and not being able to understand the finer nuances of military life, at least not in a navy like Liberty's. He could tell that he wasn't from a military family, not to mention it seemed he never had proper experience before the Legion's successor. This didn't faze him, however.
"Oh no. It wasn't for my sanity - it was for theirs. And you'd be right to be paranoid because it used to be that recruits at West Point would go through worse between each other. Not for the faint of heart, but it builds character.. though these days I question if it builds good character."
"And yeah, the fucking Junkers. Can't trust the bastards to run a base right, they're like Zoners but they don't give a shit if their crap's falling apart, just look at Invergordon. Place is a scrap heap."
Struikas and Freud watch as the airlock cycles open, signaling the arrival of the Yuekichi.
"Well, let's get aboard." he says, before walking in, and cycling the airlock on their end. "And look - I know you're technically my superior. I get that, and when it comes to command, I'll respect it. But I say this as someone who looks at you, in the Navy back in the day would outrank you, and sees a greenhorn who needs all the help he can get when it comes to fighting out there. Don't be afraid to come to me for advice. About fighting, about life, about anything. Brothers in arms, my man." He says, lending a hypothetical hand to the younger man.
The airlock cycles open on the other end, revealing Mieko in casual attire, a t-shirt featuring a once-popular Kusari pop idol, Shinta Nagasaki, along with dark jeans and what seems to be heavy duty shoes. She carries with her a gentle smile, one that only recently she could earnestly manifest given the struggles she has faced in recent months. The beauty is not lost on the men, her scent of a perfume with tones of bergamot and lavender, her figure attracting attention in all of the right places - it pales a bit in comparison to her former companion, but she was elegant in her own right.
"Yuekichi e yokoso~" she says with a sweet intonation as she greets the two men. "Make yourselves at home. We might be at this for a while, so please do not hesitate to use the guest bedroom upstairs. If you don't mind, feel free to bring yourselves upstairs, we can eat and socialise a bit, and discuss the project before we get to work on the physical matters." Mieko says, before heading over to the nearby staircase, leading up to the residence deck. She stops to answer Roland's inquiry. "It's quite fine. And if you insist on a private room, I can convert the table in the commons area to a bed for Struikas-kun." she says, before turning back to the stairs, and walking up the steep spiraling stairs to the deck above.
Struikas looks to Roland, as the ship unmoors on its' own. "She's quite the looker. She said that shell of hers is one and the same with the avatar they made for her. Anyone who could have a ring on her probably'd be the luckiest guy in Sirius." He says, moving up the stairs after Mieko.
It is likely that if he were one of these pranking officers, Roland would still feel paranoid. You never know when you might get revenge for such a treacherous attack in the same fashion. However, he had seen stranger things in his not so long life, so he decided not to continue this topic further.
Having spent a lot of time at Invergordon, Freud fully understood the condition of the station and how it looked from the outside. The impression this place made on those who were not Junkers and did not understand their unique way of handling things was misleading, to say the least.
“Junkers by themselves are unlikely to cause any harm. But their guests are from a completely different breed. Rogues, Outcasts and other dubious characters you don't want to turn your back on. And trust me, that pile of scrap metal hanging in space is a lot tougher than it looks.”
Despite the fact that he climbed the career ladder quite quickly, Roland was not one to pettyly revel in power over others. Frankly, he didn't even take all these titles too seriously. He came to Prometheus not for a career, titles or fame, but to contribute to a better world for his sister. Therefore, aside from field situations, he did not care too much what rank the person in front of him had. His respect could be earned by deeds and skill, not by high ranks. Both Andrew and Mieko had already proven themselves and were respected.
Thus, he was not at all against such communication. Quite the contrary.
“Appreciate it. I know how to survive and fight, but not much beyond that. Besides, considering how you handled the capture of that transport, I think that we will soon be equal in rank.”
After listening to Mieko, Roland shook his head slightly about the private room.
“Don't take it seriously. Just joking a little because I usually lived in much more modest conditions. And still am.”
Following Struikas, he nodded slightly at his remark. He himself never thought about marriage or even a relationship with someone. He was too busy with surviving, caring for his sister, and now with their common struggle. And was there even any point in this when every day your life is on the line, when every meeting could be your last?
“Mhm. I bet a lot of men dream about it.”
When they went up to the guest room, Roland, after a short pause, remembered something extremely important.
“Almost forgot. I promised you snacks.”
With a slight movement, he brought up the virtual interface on his wrist and quickly pressed a couple of bright buttons. A backpack-like compartment instantly opened on his back, and after a couple of moments, manipulators holding bags of groceries moved out, bending around his body. Сrouching on one knee and carefully placing them on the floor, Roland began to carefully lay out their various contents.
“I took the liberty of picking up grocery. Not sure what you like, so I took a little bit of everything from what we have on Valravn.”
Mieko helps Roland collect the food and drink from his backpack as they are released by the manipulator arms, placing them on the counter of the kitchenette and leaving some of them out, whilst putting the rest away. She then proceeds to head to the fridge, and pull out a bag of her own. Inside is an assortment of things - bags of kettle and white cheddar popcorn, labelled as made on Freeport 11, a local snacking staple given the two biodomes providing a surplus of food for the people aboard. She also would take out a box of Dublin Gold Bars, a product of the Molly state sold on freeports for the purposes of funding the cause - they were loaded with chocolate nougat, chunks of caramel and covered in a chocolate made with Irish cream - adding to the sweet, savory taste of it. Looking in the fridge, it seems Mieko has bought a few more than just one box. As she goes in further to her findings, she pulls out a pair of 6-packs of Akari Peach, a Kusari light alcoholic drink. A large bag of chips, Colorado Valley Onion-Cheddar-Jalapeno flavored ones, to be exact, as well as 'Stuft Hot dogs', filled with cheese, wrapped in a plastic package, ready to be cooked. Finally, at the bottom of the bag, a large pallet of Sushi, made recently by.. her.
"I took the liberty of preparing Sushi along with the array of snacks I brought with me from across Sirius. You are also free to the other food I have here, just please keep it clean and be mindful of how much you eat." Mieko comments, before taking the chips, and tossing them to Struikas. The man catches them effortlessly.
"Damn, the jumbo bag, too." Struikas responds, examining the bag before turning to Roland. "This shit's amazing, I used to chow down on it back when I was wasting my ass away on Erie." he says, before grabbing a large bowl taking the bag to the booth and sitting down. Mieko follows suit, with a six pack of the Akari Peach and the pallet of sushi.
"Thank you very much for your offer to bring snacks and the sort. I didn't want to upstage, but instead contribute, so I brought a modicum of things that I felt one couldn't easily find on Valravn." Mieko says, a bit of a blush on her face as she breaks open a pair of chopsticks. Struikas meanwhile, takes a can of the drink, places it by his side of the table and opens the bag of chips, before pouring the morsels inside into the bowl, and rolling the top down to keep the remainder fresh.
Mieko moves aside slightly, shifting her body towards the start of the turn of the booth's seating towards the other side, to afford Roland a seat.
Some part of Freud was still not used to the abundance of food. And probably never will be. Too many nights he and his sister had to sleep from hand to mouth. The occasions when they could afford clean water and some synth paste were cause for celebration. Most of what he saw in front of him now, he had never even tasted. Some habits take a long time to die.
“Sushi, hmm? Looks exotic.”
While watching and listening to his friends, Roland suddenly realized something else. He was so used to wearing a helmet that he sometimes forgot about its existence. Not many people had ever seen his face and he was generally comfortable with it. But he hasn't mastered the art of eating through a helmet yet.
So, closing the compartment on his back, he again pressed a few buttons on the virtual interface. The light emanating from the visor faded and several “clicks” were heard. After this, Freud, placing both hands on the helmet, slowly removed it. There was little unusual about his appearance, except for his long dark hair. He squinted his gray eyes slightly as they adjusted to the light. A slight stubble indicated a certain degree of carelessness about his appearance, but at least the guy took care of his hygiene.
He sat down with the others, trying not to take up too much space with his armor, and grabbed himself a can of drink.
“Now that I think about it... Maybe we went a little overboard? It's like a feast during a plague. Don't want to kill the mood, but we better start eating. With Xenos and LSF on our doorstep, we better be as productive as possible.”
He smiled slightly as he opened the can. Despite the size of his armored gloves, he still seemed to be able to handle tasks requiring fine motor skills. Of course, he would have been happy to relax spend time in a friendly atmosphere, but circumstances were against them.
Mieko is enamored by the man behind the mask as he reveals himself. Struikas is similarly impressed. "About time you showed your mug." he says, before Mieko utters a giggle. "Well, he is often busy, day in, day out - so I can understand why he would keep it on - Hygiene is important though - I do hope you get enough showers." she responds, before digging into the platter with Struikas. "Don't fret over such things. A bit of time to relax before we work is perfectly fine. We are in the Cradle of Auxesia - unless the Xenos wish to manifest with an entire battlegroup outside, we will be fine. Sirius may change plenty in 10 years, but I am certain it will be fine if we forget about it for 10 minutes." she continues, as Struikas pops open the drink and chugs down a bit of it.
"The sushi is something I've known how to cook for quite some time. Hanamura-sensei instlled a lot of values in me.. primarily that things like Synth Paste should be eaten in desperation, and the best meal is one cooked at home." she continues, before Andrew responds. "Yep. My mom used to teach me cooking when I was younger. Came in handy when I got shot down in orbit of Planet Harris - Place was a total shithole, made Pittsburgh look like Gaia... save the fucking bacteria those Gaian parasites seeded it with. Was stuck there for two weeks around one of the spots they'd finished the terraforming in. Some animal life to hunt, fauna to harvest to make due with since MREs were on the ship and.. well, that thing just up and went."
Mieko looks to him concerned. "Gaia? Seeded?"She eats another sliced roll.
"Yeah, the bastards went overboard on preserving the thing. They dumped all sorts of bacteria in the atmosphere, makes it inhospitable to humans. Took what could have been a nice scenic place to visit, into a motherfucking graveyard for anything human. Fucking eco-terrorists. I get why they exist, given Pittsburgh and before the war, Leeds, but this stuff's too far." Struikas explains, before going to down some more of his drink.
"Sadly humans are prone to such irrational thinking. I'm no stranger, of course.. but still." Mieko comments, swirling her drink around in her can as she speaks. She seems quite contented, to have people to chat with. It may not be her family, but in the end, she makes do with the friends she can consider as such.
"That kind of thinking is what makes us human. Emotions, Mieko." he comments, before leaning back to rest his head and relax.
"Hai, I'm aware. I would much rather have a feeling, caring parent species, than a cold and heartless one." Mieko answers in kind, before going for another bite.
A moment of silence rests over them before Struikas yawns a bit. "Y'know. I have to ask. Why'd you decide on a human body?" he asks to Mieko.
"I wanted to feel the full spectrum of what the human experience has to offer.. sans some negatives of course." Mieko explains, before her counterpart interjects.
"What negatives?"
"Well.. my bones are reinforced with nanotubes of boron wurzite nitride, which can withstand high amounts of force before breaking, and are resistant to ballistic weaponry." Mieko explains, before rolling up and revealing her leg. It's no different from any other woman's leg, except it being Mieko's - at least on the outside.
"What about plasma or lasers?" Struikas asks, knowing full well that these days a mix of ballistic and energy weapons are used.
"The secondary layers of my skin are covered in multiple layers of augmented skin developed with interlaced buckypaper for heat and scrape-resistance." she answers, giving off a smile as she elaborates.
"Explosions?" He asks yet again, befuddled.
"Well, My rib-cage is protected by the same BWN nanotube reinforcement, as is my skull and spinal cord. My QPU socket and CBI assembly are embedded in a hardened casing in my upper neck. Theoretically, I can withstand direct impact of a fragmentation grenade of up to 825 kilojoules. That being said, these are Ingennus original shell specifications, not the later Ouroboros-built Rachmiel shells, which are even more augmented." Mieko elaborates.
The man stares at her. "Jesus fuck, If I ever need someone to cover my ass, I know who to call - and it's not big and scary over there on the Achlys." Struikas says, alluding to Leviathan.
“To be honest, these days I’m starting to feel like the helmet represents me more than my own face. ”
He coughed into his fist, slightly embarrassed by the hygiene remark.
"Of course, I do shower. Every day if I can help it. I may have been a Junker, but not all of them neglect hygiene. It's, uh, just a stereotype.”
Well, maybe not exactly “just a stereotype,” but... At very least not all Junkers were literal space bums. That much he could tell. As for forgetting about Sirius... He had no doubt about the safety of this place. At least in the short term. His anxiety, if you could call it that, was not due to the anticipation of an attack. He sighs before answering.
"That's not exactly what I meant... It's just... With everything that's going on right now, I have a feeling that every minute I'm not sleeping I should be spending taking care of our collective survival, you know?”
He shook his shoulders slightly, and his eyes showed slight fatigue. The weight of responsibility hung heavily over the young guy, causing him to experience much more stress than necessary.
But there was hardly anything unusual about this. At least now he didn't have to worry about his sister having nothing to eat.
Locksmith listened with a small smile about sushi while slowly eating and enjoying the taste, although his gaze wavered slightly at the mention of synthetic paste. He understood what Mieko was talking about, and yet it was difficult to wrap his head around the fact that not so long ago the limit of his dreams for others was only something barely acceptable. But he did not mention this past of his, because there was simply no point in causing despondency. And, of course, he had never had any hunting experience; however, this time he was no longer sure that it was something bad. It seemed quite risky to him, at least without special equipment. Still, he began to respect Struikas a little more for having this skill.
"I've heard about Gaia. Honestly, it sounded like complete madness. Using such weapons, they practically wage war against all people. Almost like, well... Infected.”
The pawns of nomads often seemed to Freud even more aggressive and dangerous than their masters. But he could understand why they were doing what they do, given the potential depth of the influence of nomads on human consciousness, while the behavior of the Gaians baffled Roland.
He wasn't sure that this could be attributed to human irrationality and emotions. However, sometimes he actually thought that he might have been better off without them.
"Sometimes feelings are more of a curse than a blessing."
It sounded more gloomy than Locksmith wanted. He smiled slightly, trying to smooth out the edges.
"I mean... I know that some of the things I did were necessary. I would make the same decisions again. And yet sometimes their consequences haunt me."
His adoptive parents, for example. He couldn't risk them coming for him and his sister. And the Hackers could very well force them.
So he did what he had to do.
But what was most interesting to hear about were the details about how Mieko’s body was constructed. Roland listened intently, his brow quirking slightly, betraying that he was impressed.
"And some of us have to craft armor to protect ourselves from all these things. And the armor doesn't look nearly as pretty."
He lets out a short laugh. Locksmith did not regret creating the armor — on the contrary, he considered it one of his best creations. But, looking at Mieko, he understood especially well that there was always something to strive for.
"And... hm?"
A slight surprise appeared on Roland's face - a light fighter of the Skeleton model, visible in the window, stopped right next to them.
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