Kiyohime

[Levenna]

Matsuda strode down the wide corridors of Kure shipyard, utilitarian in design, as she saw maintenance crews pulling large antigrav transporters of repair material back towards the Kiyohime, as well as seemingly preparing for the arrival of a Tokugawa that had spent months in the northern regions of Kusari. She saw the occasional face she recognised; she had been here hundreds of times over the last decade and a half after all, and she elicited the occasional head bow from the station crew as they rushed to do their jobs. She continued walking a familiar route, the clack of her heels pronounced on the grated metal floor. She passed one of the station's mess halls and noted at least three dozen of the Kiyohime's crew laughing together as they ate. Matsuda let herself pause for a few seconds to observe. Thoughts ran through her mind as she watched the gathering of thirty or so younger crewmen. The earlier battle had clearly not shaken them overmuch, and they clearly held their resolve. Matsuda held a great deal of respect for that. It isn't something just anyone could do. Her eye caught two.. now three of the crewmen who had caught sight of her and stopped in their tracks, instead staring, seemingly with a guilty look as they wondered if they'd done something wrong. Matsuda moved on, continuing her walk towards the Admiral's office. It was not her place to interrupt her crew's rest period.

A minute passed as Matsuda continued to mull the engagement over in her mind, still walking the route to the Admiral's office. A cruiser and a gunboat; pulse cannon fire opened up at range, Kiyohime was deshielded first, seconds before the blood dragon cruiser. Kiyohime made a hard turn to port, drifting past the cruiser and hammering it with twin shard fire. The bridge shook as the cruiser's return primary fire impacted the hull of the golden destroyer. Despite the bombardment, Kiyo's shards tore in to the side of the Dragon, disabling the cruiser with multiple hull breaches after just a single minute. Kiyohime's guns turned now to the gunboat which had been circling. A single quad pulse burst practically shattered its shields, overloading the generator before Kiyohime's Starflare PDCs gunned it down slowly but surely. At no point during the engagement did Matsuda feel the Kiyohime lacked the upper hand, nor did she feel at risk of destruction.

Matsuda snapped out of her thoughts as she rounded a corner and faced the door to the Admiral's office. She took a moment, squaring herself up, exhaling slowly and cooly before giving the great wooden door a solid, curt pair of knocks. An electronic chime sounded as the heavy locking mechanisms buried within the ornamental door unlocked, and Matsuda opened the door. She had a split second to take in the room, a pair of tall plants flanked the doors of an octagonal room, each of the walls depicting a different era of the KNF, all the way from its founding to the present day with a mural of the post-civil war fleet. A tall, jaded-looking, grey haired man sat at a desk. As Matsuda laid eyes upon him, she bowed with respect, her eyes nearly perpendicular to the floor.

The Admiral glanced up from his paperwork with a polite smile. "Matsuda-san, be at ease." He set aside his paperwork, and rested his elbows and forearms on the desk in front of him, clasping his hands together with expectation. He fixed his brown eyes upon Matsuda, keeping his smile throughout. "I understand you had an engagement today? Your XO filed a report stating as much, at least."

Matsuda once again brought herself to her full height, staring straight ahead, spreading her feet to shoulder width and resting her hands behind her back in a parade rest posture. "Hai, Admiral Sato. A single cruiser, a single gunboat. Both fell under our guns in short order."

"Are you aware of the risk that entails, Captain?" The admiral responded. His smile dropped now, leaving his face in a neutral state. His eyes conveyed almost an expectation of the answer, though his tone and face left a great deal of ambiguity as to what that expectation might be.

Matsuda blinked and her composure faltered for a split second, she noticed quickly however and returned to her rigid upright position. "With respect, Sato-sama.. we had the engagement in hand, our inner hull was not breached, the damage is superficial. I know the limits of a Takeda better than almost anyone. Had it proven too much, we would have cloaked to escape, that I can promise."

There was a pause for a moment, as the Admiral seemed to weigh Matsuda's answer. "Good. I trust your judgement over that of some rookie lieutenant, Ichika." Sato said with satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair somewhat. "I don't suppose you happen to know how he came to be the Kiyohime's 2ic, do you? I can think of at least half a dozen better candidates from the Kagoshima survivors alone. This Lieutenant's career record seems unimpressive at best."

"You would be in a better position to know, Sato-sama. I was simply given the crew manifest, I was surprised to have no say, I will say that much. He has been.. difficult, to say the least." Matsuda shifted uneasily. "I don't suppose you could do anything to help, could you? I do not ask this lightly."

The admiral sighed briefly, before reaching for a PDA near him. He stayed glued to the device for a minute or so, flicking through files before he tossed the PDA once again on his desk, leaning forward and once again clasping his hands together as he looked up at Matsuda. "The orders assigning him to the Kiyohime came all the way to the government. Probably some noble's son with their family's influence getting them a better position than they deserve. I can't do anything. I'm sorry, Ichika."

Matsuda relaxed slightly for the first time and looked down at the Admiral now, her body slightly less tense than it had been prior. "Hiroto.. assigned to the Kiyohime by the government or assigned to be 2ic by the government? When I was a Lieutenant I recall being assigned to a particular then-captain for staff duty.. Surely such an inexperienced lieutenant would benefit from a similar experience aboard Kiyohime? XO is a tough job.. perhaps paperwork is better suited for Lieutenant Suzuki." A crafty grin formed on Matsuda's lips as she spoke, almost smirking at the end of her sentences.

Matsuda's smile proved infectious as Admiral Sato's lips tugged in to a smile as he let slip a single chuckle. "It takes a bold woman to refer to a rear admiral by his first name, Ichika." He once again picked up his PDA and scrolled for a few seconds. "The order from the government merely assigned him to Kiyohime. XO was assigned later down the line by Navy administration. If he's causing you trouble, I'll have him on staff duty by your patrol tomorrow. But, Ichika? Please don't make his life too much harder than I did for you on Osaka? Besides, who would you recommend replace Lt. Suzuki?"

Matsuda didn't pause for a second. "Lieutenant Nakamura Hina. She's been a dependable bridge operation and has helped me fight the ship for almost six years now. She would be an excellent fit and.. I believe a promotion would not be inappropriate to mark the occasion. Her service record aboard the Kagoshima speaks for itself, Sato-sama. I will of course defer to your judgement if you find her lacking."

"I will take your recommendation under advisement. You'll have you answer by midday. Go get some rest, Ichika. You look like you could use it." With that, the Rear Admiral picked up the paperwork he had been working on prior to Matsuda's arrival, gave Matsuda a nod, and set back to work.

Matsuda bowed once more, and filed out of the room. After the doors shut and locked behind her, she took a moment and leant back against them, closing her eyes, leaning her head back and exhaling slowly. It had been a long day but she was glad to be rid of her Suzuki problem, even if only temporarily. Her mind wandered for some time, drifting back to the Kagoshima as it as often wont to do. She struggled to let go of the ship; it had been her home for twelve years after all. She caught herself, however, and took a moment to orient herself after returning to reality. After a brief moment remembering the path, she set towards the officers' bunks, intent on getting all the rest she could before her next patrol, and hoping to clear her mind of the past once more.