It Starts Again

[Nodoka Hanamura]

---

OCS Utsunomiya Battlegroup
490,000,000 SAU (0.2~Ly) from Tau-23-1
July 28th, 834 AS - 22:13 Sirian Mean Time
♫

The Utsunomiya and her fleet glide seamlessly through the dense white nebulae of the Barrier, slowly getting closer to known space. The ship's crew still remains in cryostasis, and the two active AI both share the bridge of the Utsunomiya, with Bride monitoring the radar's raw synthetic aperture view, to look out for any upcoming asteroid fields hidden in the dense nebula, as Mercury retains the helm. The ships of the fleet follow their leader in a tight echelon, with the Shukensha taking the tip of the spear, as the Enterprise-class Mendicant Didact and Bustard-class Tochigi flank her rear, and the Ahoudori-class Rathgrith II and Anko.

Jae-un leans back in her chair, watching the screen lazily, as if it were the most boring show she had ever seen - which is to say, it was - since the picture was entirely clear - no asteroids, no debris, nothing but frozen water particles, though it was what was needed to be done - the dense nebula made visibility extremely poor, so much so that the IMG-built 'Gyantse' search radar couldn't pick up an Arrow or Starflier on approach until it was right on top of them due to the noise.. if such ships ever tread this far into the Nebula alone.

Mercury continues to occasionally observe for FTL communications signals, planning to connect the fleet back up to the Neural Net as soon as she can. She goes to check again, and notices something.


SIGNAL SWEEP - ARRAY /DEV/COM29 'AGEIRA AN/PRQ-202C FTL NN BROADBAND TRANSCIEVER'
STATUS: ONLINE
LINK SPEED: 31203139 BAUD
STATE: TX/RX OK
CONNECTED RELAYS: 1

RELAY 01: tau-ext-23339.tau.nnbackbone.kimidori.co.ku
PROVIDER: KIMIDORI TELECOM (KISHIRO)
NNSAPI SUPPLICANT STATE: OK, AUTHENTICATED

WARNING: LOW BAUD RATE INSUFFICIENT FOR VESSEL-WIDE UTILIZATION.


Mercury blinks, a slight visible gasp escapes her as her lips open slightly at the sight, turning to Jae-un after restoring her usual neutral demeanor. "Commander Song, we have a connection to the Neural Net." she says. In an instant, she stands up from her chair. "Shit, really!?" she shouts as she gets up, excited.

"Yes, ma'am." Mercury answers, as Jae-un departs the bridge, heading out once more, but this time, with a different intent in mind. Mercury follows behind her. She makes her way down the steps from the bridge entrance, to the command deck proper, and towards the elevator. "Commander Song, if you do not mind me asking, what is it that you are doing?"

Jae-un heads into the elevator, and turns around towards Mercury. "Now that we've got more than just the past to work from on plans, we need the big cheese here to work a plan. I'm going to wake up Hanamura and Shinta." The door closes as she closes her lips.

---

The quiet and dark space of the Utsunomiya's massive makeshift Cryo Bay is interrupted by Bride's arrival, as she makes her way back to Hanamura's pod. The woman's buxom figure rests inside in frozen slumber, in much the same state she had been a decade ago. Jae-un remotely interfaces with the ship, and starts the process to unseal the pod. Nitrogen, Helium and other gases begin to vent out as the pod starts to warm slowly, moments later pins blowing off of it as the hinge prepares to open, gradually bringing her out of cryosleep. Her body starts to come to, her skin and heart coming back to life, as her brain resumes function. Her blue eyes open, and her neural lace initializes once again.

She looks forward at Bride in front of her, watching as the hatch opens to expose her to the open air. Her body slowly moves out of the pod, stumbling out slightly before standing before Jae-un. The two, in a near instant, go for an embrace, holding each other tightly, Bride petting the cold back of her superior and best friend. "It's good to have my titsicle back." Jae-un comments, in her usual joking demeanor towards Hanamura. The woman doesn't seem to be fazed like she usually would. "It's good to be back." she says, before pulling away from Bride. She takes a brief look around, before returning her gaze to Jae-un. "Have we made contact with Mieko yet? Or anyone else? Is there anyone else?"

"We just got Neural Net datalink restored about 20 minutes ago. Wanted to wake you early so we could form a plan before we pull everyone else out of cryo." Jae-un answers. She walks down the catwalk, with Hanamura following, the woman managing to easily regain her footing in her platform boots. "The datalink signal is weak, only about 30 Megabit per second throughput with a 8 minute latency. It won't improve until we get closer to the relays."

"How far are we from Tau-44?" She asks of Jae-un, as they walk together. "About 490,000,000 SAU. We should pass the Lagrange Point between 29 and 44 by September at the earliest, and be in Sirius proper by October."

"I see. Any reason why we're not going directly to Tau-44?" Hanamura asks as they hook a left towards a set of stairs.

"The Crayterians have stepped up their presence there. I've been needing to use what connection we have solely for intel gathering. Best we keep the world thinking we're dead for now, Hanamura."

"Good thinking. Especially since we've lost our flagship --" Hanamura continues, before adding. "Where's the Natio?"

"Natio Octavarium had some sort of collapse in the late 820s. They're long gone, along with Canberra. Specifics are scarce but looks like the government had a lack of confidence in long-term stability." Jae-un answers as the duo complete a flight of stairs.

"Damn. What about Auxesia, do we have anything?"

"Their public neural net gateways responded to some preliminary pings I sent out. WHOIS records come back valid too. Beyond just snippets of news articles, not much really to go off of, but you know Auxesia."

Hanamura nods at Jae-un's reporting, turning the corner around the second flight. "Mhm - always mysterious. Anything about Mieko? Any idea if she's alive?"

Jae-un turns to her. "Yep. I was about to get to that. Few of those Articles - sending the cached page to you now."

A message via the LAN is sent to Hanamura from Bride - reading it from her neural lace, revealing a series of articles.

---

AUXESIA, HELLFIRE REMNANT SHOCK ATTACK HITS CALIFORNIA

PLANET CALIFORNIA MINOR, CALIFORNIA SYSTEM -- In the wee hours of the galactic morning on June 18th, The Liberty Navy's Public Affairs Office released a statement regarding the destruction of the LNS Yosemite, an Interdictor-class Assault Battlecruiser, after a group of ships belonging to the Auxesian Technocracy and remnants of the Hellfire Legion calling themselves 'Task Force Prometheus' assaulted the ship.

Among the combat craft engaged, were vessels going by the aliases Yukiko Hideyoshi, Yoko Mori, Locksmith, Flush, and Yoruha. The ship's wreckage has been towed to Norfolk for attempts at restoration, which the Navy is optimistic it will be able to restore - regardless, this attack shows a frightening escalation in hostilities between Liberty and her Independent Worlds neighbors.

LIBERTY NAVY FACES SETBACKS IN SECURITY GUARANTEES IN MAGELLAN

CORDOVA SHIPPING PLATFORM, MAGELLAN SYSTEM -- In a stunning show of defiance of Liberty's will, the combined forces of Auxesia and the Hellfire Legion's remnants in the "Prometheus" movement have routed Liberty Navy security forces in Magellan late last night, as a Battlecruiser and an operator of the 1st Fleet faced heavy losses at the hands of elements of the two groups, with many of the same suspects from the attack on the Yosemite two days ago - notably Yoko Mori, "Watatsumi", "Catalyst", "Locksmith" and "Yoruha".

The Liberty Navy has placed the suspects of the attack as high value targets for termination, as concerns from the BAF about joint security guarantees seem to have been raised.


LIBERTY NAVY FACES QUESTIONS AS PYRRHIC VICTORY IN PENN BATTLE OCCURS

PLANET ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA SYSTEM -- Elements of the 46th and 1st Fleets, LSF as well as the Aegis Initiative, took to a fight with the Zoner extremist PLF in Pennsylvania today as an attempted boarding action of the LNS Dayton by the PLF turned into a massive, near-hour long furball. The engagement consisted of Auxesian, Lane Hacker, PLF, Liberty Rogue and Bundschuh forces taking on the combined brunt of the Navy and her Allies - resulting in the loss of the Dayton and extensive damage to other ships in the engagement.

The Liberty Navy PAO has stated that while the battle was won in their favor, it has not come without losses. The engagement began following a distress call from the LNS Dayton after its' captain attempted to lure the PLF's boarding parties into a trap. Among the forces present at the time the engagement broke out, was the pilot known as 'Yoruha', who has earned the attention of the Liberty Navy after escaping capture following being tractored in by an allied Auxesian capital, the ACV Ixion which was on scene after being shot down. The pilot in question is among one of the many pilots who has been wanted by the Navy in recent months as tensions in Liberty heat up. Officials on Manhattan have inquired about how such brazen domestic attacks are continuing to happen so close to Liberty's core, to which the Navy has only issued reassurances that it is focusing what it can on ensuring security in the House.

Hanamura stops, a look of prideful joy on her face, albeit slightly. "Well I'll be. Our little bookworm has been doing some damage." She says, before continuing, following Bride once more, catching up. "Yeah, she's been kicking ass. More ass than I have on my own."

"What about the rest of Sirius, though? Is the war over?" Hanamura asks of Bride.

"With Gallia? Yeah. Gauls surrendered after a coup d'etat in New Paris forced the Crown to fuck off into the Hebrides. Council was knocking at New Paris' door and the King was apparently out like a light after a terrorist attack. There was some brief period where some of the systems broke apart into seperatist states, before reuniting under the new coup government. Funnily enough, after the fact, Kusari decided they wanted to pick a fight with the Gauls and started invading before being repelled. That war ended a few years ago."

Hanamura tilts her head slightly, before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Well, at least Gallia is no longer a concern for Ouroboros. Maybe we can get some support from the GNI. Bury the hatchet."

"Yeah, maybe. I assume you want to know about the Order, though."

Hanamura and Bride make a right down the catwalk approaching Shinta's pod. "Does Golanski stroke his ego?"

"Yeah, though not as much these days - in fact, Order Overwatch sightings have dropped significantly if I go by old RSS data I was able to scrounge up from news sites across the net. There are references to a cell called Division 8, though. Put out a big bounty on some guy named Lazurith. Former Auxesian. Wonder what he did to piss them off." Bride comments, as the two stop in front of the former pop idol's cryo pod.

"Good to hear. Any changes in Kusari?"

"Well, there apparently are elections now, if you can call them that. Primary party in control of the government save the Shogun is the Sunrise Party, led by none other than Sanae Miyasu, of the Miyasu Zaibatsu. She's also the current prime minister." Bride says, as she works the pod controls. "However, there is good news for us on that front. There's the SoP - Society of Progress. They're a small party compared to the Ultra-conservative Ninkyo Dantai and Militaristic Sunrise Party that Miyasu belongs to, but if we work them up with financing and influence campaigns, we could possibly try and use soft power to get rid of the Shogun and establish a representative democracy."

The pod, much like Hanamura's, begins to vent. "So.. a combination of clandestine psychological warfare and direct conflict. I like it." Hanamura answers, looking to Jae-un with approval.

"Yeah. However, we're pretty much useless as we are now. What we need to do is build our reputation again, our numbers. We lost like 42% of our personnel after Maehara went up - We are quite literally the factional equivalent to a skeleton crew. We're unable to really function like we once did. Especially since we have no force projection to speak of and we're just shy of our culmination point. That being said, there's strength in numbers, and I have something for us that might get us both numbers, experience, reputation and power. A perfect opportunity, just like at 11."

"And that would be.. what? Help the Xenos open a can? Tow cargo barges for the IMG? Whore ourselves out for the Hogosha?"

The hatch for Shinta's pod opens finally, revealing the pink haired vixen in casual attire. "Oh ye of little faith. I've matured since my time with Auxesia, don't y'know? Liberty's a goatfuck right now. Auxesia, those Hellfire remnants, and Penny Zoners are fighting off LIBNAV and pals, all the while the former two of the last group are duking it out with the Liberty Free Republic, a Xeno microstate based out of Ontario, run by some hotshot called Cobra. What I'm thinking is we could work with Auxesia and them on the two fronts - help them kick Xeener ass and show Liberty the door from Penn."

Shinta steps out of the pod, and stands before the two, waiting for them to finish.

"What's going on with Pennsylvania?" Hanamura asks, wondering what's going on to have Zoners fighting Liberty.

"Long story short, Hellfire Legion shat the bed, remnants of it fled to Erie, along with peeps they had with them from when, spoiler alert - Leeds was glassed."

Hanamura goes wide-eyed. "Glassed." She couldn't believe it. One of Bretonia's homeworlds was rendered to null.

"Yep. Thing's two steps less fucked than Toledo. Gauls did it when their plans to take New London went sideways. Refugees taken off the planet by the Hellfire Legion and her allies had them in Vespucci for a time until the Harmony turned on them, then they went to Erie - Zoners were blamed for 'harboring terrorists', and now Erie's filled with concentration camps and the planet's under the direct authority of the Liberty Navy. System at large is under martial law while the local zoner militia, the PLF is fighting them off. Auxesia's been helping get Hellfire back from the brink, even after the Harmony shitshow and Liberty's finest just turned the Commonwealth into an example of what happens when you piss off Liberty for long enough. Suffice to say, going to Kusari right now isn't exactly the wisest idea. Best that we take the approach Hunt and them did all those years ago, make Ouroboros temporarily a battlegroup and then plant feet in Kusari once we're good and ready."

Hanamura looks a bit dejected from the volley of information given to her, but nonetheless is willing to accept the fact of the matter. "So.. we go to help Auxesia, Zoners and the Legionnaires. And in return we could possibly get some sort of agreements or assistance, along with putting ourselves out there to show we're not dead."

"Yep. If we play our cards right, we can also stage the soft power operations in Kusari from Inverness too. Build trust with Auxesia, there's our key to the underworld. Get our hands one some of those sick Hel-class cruisers -- you know they're building them for pretty much anyone now--" Jae-un rambles as Shinta clears her throat to interrupt her.

"Good to see you two again!" the always 'genki-genki' Shinta utters. Hanamura pats her on the shoulder. "Good to see you too, Shinta. Sorry, Jae-un's been briefing me."

"Mhm - I know - I just wanted to feel part of the conversation!" Shinta comments, the shorter woman looking up at Hanamura and Jae-un. "Yeah, sorry pipsqueak." Jae-un comments as Shinta pouts. "Mou, why you gotta be so mean?"

"Because teasing you is fun. Anywho - Hanamura. You're the head honcho here, so what do we do? I've got updated starcharts sent to you."

Hanamura doesn't hesitate to respond. "We move through the Taus to Inverness, meet with Leviathan, discuss matters. See if this plan of yours will bear fruit. I honestly think if we're to go this route, we may want to seek endorsement from them. It'd help us with logistical matters." She says, heading towards the elevator down the catwalk, with Bride and Shinta following.

"Sounds like a plan. What about Mieko though - She's with them now, and probably one of their best assets. Don't think she's gonna be willing to just run back to us and carry the Ouroboros banner again." Jae-un opines, wondering about her sister's future in all this.

"That's fine. One foot in Ouroboros, another in Auxesia. We are allies, after all. At least, I hope we still are. Mieko I hope, has learned a lot from Hunt whilst we've been gone." Hanamura answers, as she approaches the elevator and presses the call button.

"I bet she has. Hell, ask her yourself. We've got enough throughput for text messages. Our old comm clients are probably still working, though the SSL certs are gonna need renewing first unless we want to be sending them unencrypted. Fuck knows I'm gonna be reaching out to Mark.. I hope he's okay." Jae-un comments, sighing at the end, worried about her boyfriend.

The door opens for the trio, with Nodoka taking point. She steps in, as the other follow behind, before Bride moves to take the elevator up to the command deck once more.