Kiyohime

[Levenna]

6:31 P.M, July 15th, 829 A.S.
Kure Shipyard

Ichika sat at the bar in Kure, finding herself lost in the window with a distant view of New Tokyo. No alcohol was served of course, this was a Naval installation, but she instead took solace in the relative quietness at this hour. Many patrols had yet to report back, and those who would patrol through the night were catching their last few precious hours of sleep. She took a sip of the glass of water in front of her and let off a light sigh. She would be staying on Kure for the next day or so. As a brand new warship, Kiyohime had some teething troubles to go through and was still under maintenance ensuring her power failure the previous day would not replicate again.

The sound of well-polished shoes striking the grated metal floor permeated throughout the bar as the footsteps grew louder, approaching Ichika before her Executive Officer, Nakamura Hina, took a seat next to her at her table. She took a moment to get herself comfortable, or at least as comfortable as she could be in full uniform, before glancing at Matsuda. "Caught any sleep yet?" she asked passingly as she took in the view of the bar, a habit of hers to always ensure she knew what was around her.

A smile tugged at Matsuda's lips briefly as she let out a single chuckle. "Not exactly. You know I don't do well after close calls." She responded, taking another sip of her cool water as she did so. She was under no illusion that barely fifteen hours ago, she and the entire crew had expected to lose the ship with all hands. It stuck with her, it was too close for comfort after the Kagoshima's destruction. Prior to that incident, she had always felt a streak of luck, that her crew would see any situation through, but that had been shattered for these last few months. It felt different, somehow, and Matsuda was never truly sure how to process it.

Hina's brow furrowed as she looked quizzically at Matsuda. "On the contrary Ichika, I've known you to be level headed in such times. Out of nine years of service, over six directly under you..." She shifted uneasily to face the Captain, before continuing. "...I've yet to see you like this, what's chang-" Her face dropped suddenly as she realised the logical root of Matsuda's sudden fear, a thousand memories striking her in the timespan of an instant. She shivered slightly despite the relative warmth, and slumped backwards in to her chair, seemingly becoming lost in the past.

It took two or three seconds for Ichika to notice her Lieutenant Commander's reaction, her brow gently furrowed as she tapped Nakamura on the shoulder, bringing her back to the real world. "Hai." Ichika stated simply. Nothing more needed to be said, they both knew the situation and what played on each other's minds in that moment. They instead sat there in silence for a few minutes, gazing out in to the stars. A few tired pilots began to trickle in, the earliest patrols to return, but neither of the two women paid them much mind, and even the perkier or cheerier pilots knew better than to interrupt them once they glanced at the two's epaulettes, displaying their ranks.

A third figure approached, taking a seat across from Ichika and Hina. As the other two glanced up, it turned out to be Lt. Kato Chiyoko, the Kiyohime's helmswoman and the youngest crewemember who had originated from the Kagoshima. She sat and settled upright, a twinge of upset appearing on her face as she saw the sombre expression on the other two's faces, it was not after all hard to guess the source. She put it aside with a gentle sigh as she spoke. "The chief engineer is working around the clock to get Kiyo fixed. He thinks it should be ready by tomorrow morning but he wants until tomorrow afternoon to thoroughly test the ship's electrics, just to be sure."

Nakamura nodded in response. "Good. It was too close for comfort. The fact we barely had any point defence was the worst part, all because we used a simple trade lane? It doesn't make sense, surely that was something that should've been tested, no?" A look of disgust came across the XO's face. She despised the idea that she was put in danger simply because of some oversight by an inexperienced construction crew working on a station ranging anywhere from dozens of kilometers to full lightyears away.

"Hai. But, it will not happen again." the helmswoman responded quickly. The three sat in silence for another thirty seconds or so, Matsuda seemingly noticeably absent-minded as the other two spoke. Chiyoko glanced over at Ichika now, her eyes searching the Captain's face for any sign of a response or much emotion whatsoever. "Matsuda-sama, you're quiet." she stated simply, hoping to prompt the Captain in to showing any sign of life in the conversation.

Ichika didn't move an inch, her eyes didn't blink, she simply sat slightly slouched in her chair staring out of the window to space. After a few seconds her mouth opened slightly as she seemed to be formulating her thoughts in to words, but seemed to struggle to say what she wanted to. "Why didn't the Chrysanthemum fire?" she eventually got out, addressing the elephant in the room. It had puzzled her ever since their narrow escape. It made no sense, a naval destroyer, completely dead in the water. A fine prize for any Chrysanthemum, or indeed any unlawful at all. A significant threat neutralised for the foreseeable future, as after all Kiyohime's entire assignment was to curtail unlawful operations in the Kusari home systems, and the Naval forces can scarcely afford to replace any Destroyer. especially a brand new one. on such short notice.

Both of the other two shifted uneasily, but it was Nakamura who responded first. "I've been trying not to think about it." she admitted. "In all our experience, time and again the scourges of Kusari have proven to be opportunists, preaching honour and yet seizing every underhanded opportunity handed to them. For this to come from a Chrysanthemum above all else, especially Gen'an, was a shock to me." she continued, simply prompting a nod of agreement from Chiyoko.

"She claimed to wanted to ensure nobody engaged us.." Matsuda continued speaking her thoughts, speaking in a far slower cadence than she was used to. It was plain that her thought process caused her discomfort and that she had yet to figure out her own emotions to the logic-defying stance of the Chrysanthemum. "..Do you think she meant it?"

By now, all three had lowered their voices to a near whisper, keen not to be overheard by the other Naval forces personnel in the bar, more than aware how bad it would sound without context. Chiyoko looked Matsuda directly in the eyes, something she did when she was completely serious with whatever she was about to say. "In any other situation, I would call her a snake spouting a parable of lies but.. She had us dead to rights. I see no other conclusion. Ichika, she claimed to have taken 'interest' in you..." she did not finish her sentence. She didn't have to, the other two understood her meaning well enough. After almost three years of the three of them serving together as a bridge crew, Nakamura and Matsuda working together longer than that, they knew how each other thought implicitly by this point.

The three sat in silence now. It was plain that none of them were comfortable at being spared by a Chrysanthemum simply because of her 'interest' in the commanding officer. It was a first for any of them. "Let us hope we do not encounter that gunboat again." Ichika stated firmly. It was plain that worrying further about the subject would only be a distraction to be overthought. They had a job, a duty, one that they were all dedicated to. It had no place for wondering about the 'what ifs' of the universe. They were safe home, that was what mattered. Matsuda glanced around at the other two, dipping her head in respect as she spoke. "I'd better get some rest. You two, too. We have had a long day, and I don't think any of us have gotten rest since.. the incident." She stood up as she spoke, giving a last headbow as she walked towards the exit of the bar.

As she exited, Matsuda caught a glance of Lt. Suzuki, her former Executive Officer, who was giving her a smile and small wave from the corner of the bar. Matsuda stayed paused mid step for a moment giving him a glare, before shaking her head and continuing to her quarters. She put her inability to get over the Chrysanthemum's words down to her tiredness. She needed rest, sleep, and that's exactly what she would get as she entered her officer's quarters assigned to her aboard Kure, pausing only to get out of uniform and in to a simple tank top, and collapsing on to her bed.