RP: Hinomaru Sunrises II YSS Yukika II - Side Story, An Open Red Door

[Hollander]

RP Date

46.2

RP Location

Yukika II

OOC Note: This side-story occurs a short time after the conclusion of YSS Yukika II — Season 1, Episode 0: Pilot (Welcome Aboard), which took place in YE 46.2.

The Executive Officer's berth was located on the starboard side of the main deck of the YSS Yukika II, on the right-hand side as one approached Engineering's starboard door on that deck. Next to his office, opposite the large Engineering space, was a cargo room, and across the hallway lay the Captain's Quarters and the computer room which also served as the 'quarters' for Taii Yukika Futaba, the MEGAMI AI Avatar.

At the moment, the XO's door was open. The door led to a small office room with only one occupant; First Officer Karasu Ryuu. Though he was not on Bridge duty at this time, Ryuu spent quite a few hours at his desk where crew could come to him to deliver reports or discuss concerns. Many of these meetings were actually scheduled, but drop-ins were possible when a person needed to talk something out. In between such meetings he filled out personnel evaluations, reviewed data submitted by the Avatar, or simply sat down and read.

His office was decidedly spartan. Behind his desk, on the wall, was an Ensign of the Star Army of Yamatai; the Hinomaru within a 'sunburst' of white and red stripes. Elsewhere, and lower on the wall than the flag, hung an emblem of Clan Karasu; a stylized raven in flight, on a white field. Elsewhere, a photograph of a recently-tilled farm on an unknown planet, the rank insignia of a Nitô Hei in a glass case, a well-used whetstone and related sharpening tools, an oblong rock that appears to be an unremarkable and common stone, and... A small selection of looseleaf teas and a portable water heater.

Karasu Ryuu himself was in uniform, his Karasu clan pin joining the other various symbols allowed to him; his rank insignia, the Yukika II patch, and so on. His Type 42 uniform bore the white color of leadership, and his officer's cap lay on the desk next to the integrated computer. He was sitting at rest, one leg practically hurled over the other, his form leaned heavily into the back of the chair, almost as though he wanted to physically distance himself from whatever he was reading. Ryuu's expression wasn't troubled, however. A hand propped up his face, a finger paralleling the line formed by his 'circle beard'. Whatever he was reading, it was something he would be more than willing to set aside in case someone stopped by, or his next appointment arrived early!

@demibear

Spoiler: OOC

If someone is very familiar with Jiyuu III, there are clues in the photograph of the tilled farm that Jiyuu III is its depicted location.

 

[demibear]

It had been awhile since the Star Army of Yamatai made the memo regarding restrictions on the heights and body types of those joining and currently serving. Life seemed to have curse her as her lianjia genetics proved more dominate than the mixture of other ethnic groups that made up the other half of her genome. As a result she was exactly one centimeter under the 145cm minimum required. If she was a good Neko, she would have instantly had her body remade and "corrected" to remain in compliance. But she wasn't a Neko, she was a Nepleslian Red and a damn proud one at that.

To the Reds, genetics is as close to what others would call sacred. It is part of the reason the prevlance of external cybernetics is lesser compared to their "corrupted" cousins in the Democratic Imperium. While they advanced humanity with genetic engineering, at the core they were still human and her genetics are what make her what she is. As a result, she was currently restricted from awards, training, and promotion due to her stubborn non-compliance.

But after the conversation with Star Army Personnel, there was still hope for her to rectify the situation. First she tried contacting the leader of the 5th Expeditionary Fleet, but she got nothing in return. Which didn't surprise her, she had only met Ketsurui-Motoyoshi Katsuko a few times and it was while she was actively working with others with her just happening to be there. Why would she even remember some runt of a non-NH series species? And seeing how every commander and XO before was connected directly to Taisho Ketsurui-Motoyoshi, Yingzi didn't even bother trying to apply for a waiver for her situation.

But an opportunity presented itself when she learned of the non-Motoyoshi Clan XO: Karasu Ryuu. While he was still from a Yamataian clan (they were all the same in her eyes), it seemed he had an open door policy most others did not and she fully intended to use. She walked her way to Ryuu's door and stopped a few steps in front of it for a few moments before she got closer and ringed the door.

"Radcliffe-Shoi here to make use of your open door policy for a request, sir!" said, snapping to attention as she said it.

 

[Hollander]

Ryuu nodded quickly, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk; one slightly to his left, the other slightly to his right. They were identical, both being simple, squarebacked four-legged pieces with blue upholstering. “Please, have a seat, Lieutenant. Allow me just a moment to conclude this paragraph.”

As she presumably accepted his offer, he moved his fingers, but his mind wasn’t on what he had been writing; it was now on her. He was familiar with Radcliff Yingzi’s file, but had never met a Lily-type before. This wasn’t too surprising, given that the line had only been introduced a little under two years ago. Upon this Artificial being’s design were the fingerprints of the Ryu-Mizumitsu Clan… The Ryu’s were known to have been clever merchants in the old days of the Empire. Karasu’s Clan had once been involved in a form of trade as well, but not a form that he was proud of in the least… Where Karasu samurai had acted as bodyguards and hunters of… escapees… the Mizumitsu samurai were considered warrior-philosophers. There was a clear difference in nobility and respectability between the respective histories, at least in Ryuu’s eyes.

But this Clan history had no bearing on the being now in his office. She had been a Kikyō Scout, which was quite a respectable path to take before joining the Star Army. A medical degree had been earned from a science academy, and she’d listed some notable fields of scientific and medical knowledge. She had served well on the YSS Mazu, from as far as he had read. There were a few more records in her file from Star Army Personnel Command that were of a nature that allowed him to view them, as the First Officer of the ship on which Yingzi now served, but he hadn’t yet felt a need to ‘pry’ into those accessory records.

He turned slightly, taking a moment to actually observe her. Silver hair, light skin, an athletic build as far as he could tell, and fiery orange-red eyes. Ryuu couldn’t help but blink as the color of those orbs struck him, and he wondered why Yingzi’s designers selected such an impaction, expressive color. A pair of suns seemed to burn within there as she looked back at him. She was also rather short, he noticed, sitting a bit lower in the chair than a typical soldier or officer of Yamatai might sit. She was perhaps… a bit under five feet, he guessed?

Ryuu realized he’d spent a little too long in silence, and had stopped typing half a minute ago.

“Alright, Lieutenant… Do you prefer Lieutenant Radcliff, or Lieutenant Yingzi, or some other use of your rank and name?”

Once he had her answer, he’d follow-up with: “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

 

[demibear]

"Aye aye sir." Yingzi simply said to acknowledge that she understood what Ryuu wanted her to do. She somewhat rigidly made her way to one of the seats. She then sat down at attention with her back rigid and stiff, forming an L shape with her legs. Her feet were kept together and her hands laid flat on her thighs as she looked straight ahead. Though remaining in that position was always boring, so she moved het eyes just enough to analyze her surroundings further than she already did when she initially entered the room.

The rather spartan feel of the room compared to most other Yamataian preferences made her feel at ease. As did the photo of the tilled farmland. She always had an interest in biology, but she felt she had a better chance of improving her knowledge base within the Star Army of Yamatai than being so field biologist on Ukmirt A3. The stone felt really out of place compared to the rest of the elements on display, but it must have some form of importance of Ryuu that is unknown to her.

She looked briefly at Ryuu, but then snapped her eyes instantly snapped forward when he made his way to her.

"I honor my genemother, thus I prefer the lastname-firstname naming convention. Radcliffe is my surname and Yingzi is my given, sir." Yingzi said in regard to his question about which naming convention to make use of. She then produced a tablet with the forms required to request a waiver exemption for minimum height.

"As you know, the Star Army last year issued MEMORANDUM 2 which changed the Uniform and Appearance Policy to factor in the bodies of individuals. This part of the policy was not in effect when I commissioned in YE 44, but my natural height is 1 centimeter under this. I attempted to resign, but it was denied since I still had 4 years left on my contract at the time. But SA Personnel has advised that I can request a waiver to become compliant under the law once more." Yingzi said with a straight face. She felt is was best to skirt over some of the previous attempts to save time and not let her personal opinions potentially bleed into her words.

She then presented the tablet to Ryuu. "These are the forms required. I wish to know what I need to do to earn the captain's and yours signature to get this through."

 

[Hollander]

Fingers danced across a keyboard as Ryuu noted Yingzi's preference for his own officer's records. As she began to explain her predicament, however, he moved his hands to his lap, lacing them together thoughtfully. He did his best not to reveal that he was, in fact, entirely unaware of the contents of MEMORANDUM 2. Ryuu surely read it; he endeavored to read all major updates to Star Army policies and procedures... But he remember every one with the memory-retentive accuracy of a Nekovalkyrja or an Artificial Nepleslian? Sadly no.

Yingzi revealed the nature of her concern efficiently, stating relevant facts in a logical order. With finality, at least as far as Ryuu perceived it, she then placed a tablet on this desk. For just a moment, he found the gesture and the reasonable thought process a little amusing. ‘I encountered a problem. I arrived a solution. You are required to implement that solution. Please do the thing and solve my problem.’ Ryuu admonished himself for his thoughts, recognizing that he should return Yingzi’s demonstrated respect by addressing her concern, not by being humored by her presentation.

“In circumstances where commanding officers sign waivers, like these, they often include a justification. A reasoning for why the exception is being made.” He leaned forward; that fact was likely already known by the Lieutenant sitting across from him, but it was a necessary preface to what he said next. “For myself, I know that I would want to demonstrate that other paths of resolving the issue were researched or attempted, and were then found to be non-starters.” He blinked. “Found to be… non-viable.” he corrected himself. 'Non-starter' wasn't exactly professional language, and it was one of the many informal phrases he'd picked up from his wife. Odd little ways that her memories lived on... “In your situation, you already attempted one path; resignation. That path is unavailable to you, and you… surely have the records of the communications showing that to be the case.”

Ryuu leaned back, briefly tugging his uniform down so it lay more flatly against his chest. An eyebrow raised slightly over one of his gold-yellow eyes. “Pardon me if you already considered this, Lieutenant Yingqzi, but let me ask. If you found your body to be in non-compliance with a regulation that was modified after your commissioning… why not modify your body? One centimeter sounds… as though it might be within our Empire’s capabilities.”

 

[demibear]

"My genetics are my genetics. There is an option with the Zhenren package Advancer Enterprises offers, sir. But that is going to cause more problems for myself within the Star Army than with that powder durandium component." Yingzi replied back in tone like she had thought about the process over and over, deciding against it. "There is simply the matter of just killing me or I die doing something and the next iteration is forced to comply. Not really my problem at that point since its just the next iteration of this identity that is Radcliffe Yingzi, not the individual you see before you now. Problem solved." she continued, her tone rather nihilistic compared to the fatalism older Reds are known for. Despite that, her face remained neutral as she looked at Ryuu.

"Not that I particularly want to do the 2nd. But it is what it is." she said, clarifying herself.

 

[Hollander]

Ryuu allowed himself a quiet cough and a nod in response to her talk of dying as one of the possible solutions. She'd also spoken about the 'Zhenren' package, and while he wasn't familiar, he inferred from context that it was probably some kind of upgrade suite for Nepleslian clones.

"Perhaps something less... fatal. And less of an entire overhaul." he began, hoping he wasn't about to offend the Lieutenant by relying on a stereotype about the Nepleslian culture. "Why not enhance your feet cybernetically? If all you need is a centimeter... I'm sure our own Doctor Toson Ushiba could perform the procedure and have you walking around within a day. No need for any major upgrades if all we're doing is adding... built-in pumps to your feet, essentially. You'd then have the Doctor measure your new biometrics, we'd report that to SA Personnel, and you're within compliance. No need for a waiver."

Spoiler: OOC

@WildCard tag for mention of the good Doctor!

 

[demibear]

Yingzi listened to her XO's solution to the issue. She resisted the urge to frown at the thought of using cybernetics in this way considering it did nothing to enhance her capabilities. It was merely a cheat that might possibly work as the memo seemed to more imply genetics considering the Phods as a species got an exemption. She just accepted the fact pushing this issue was no longer worth the effort and her fate within the Star Army of Yamatai was sealed.

"Very well sir, I shall consider this option. Perhaps I can petition Advancer Enterprises to come up with something actually beneficial. They always seem eager to make something for the benefit for all." Yingzi said, facial expression only slightly lightening up listening to how corny her own joke was. But she had resigned to herself that she had 3 more years left on her commission contract before she would resign or whenever they dishonorably kick her out. Which ever occurred first, since she really couldn't think what foot sole cybernetic augmentation could be useful. She was going to make the most of her service to Yamatai and serve with honor regardless.

"I appreciate you taking the time to hear my concerns Karasu-chui."

 

[Hollander]

Ryuu, sadly, failed to catch the joke in her words, being out of the loop on the nuances of Advancer Enterprises' reputation.

He heard what sounded like the 'end of the conversation' in her last appreciative words, so he patted the air. "Well, hang on a moment, Lieutenant. We're just working through the different paths. Brainstorming, as it were. Let me explain why." Ryuu leaned forward again, planting his elbows on the table as he tried to work through this interesting puzzle. "I'm still getting to know our Captain. It's still early in our first tour, but I've been getting the impression that she's an officer who appreciates Yamataian tradition and service to the Empire. When it comes to paperwork, I suspect she approaches it in a... 'Nekovalkyrjan' fashion; one should go through the proper bureaucratic steps, and submit the paperwork in a timely fashion." He spread his hands out to his sides in an expression that seemed to say 'Who knows'. "She very well might make the same suggestion I did, regarding a foot augmentation. It may seem obvious to do so. 'Just become taller', one might say."

He leaned back, not sure whether empathy might be offensive to Yingzi's sensibilities. He chose to take the risk. "If self-modification solely for the purpose of meeting these new standards is not to your liking, that's fine, Lieutenant. Your body is your own. We'd just need to note your preferences on the issue in the waiver, I feel. What matters is that we discussed the option, and gave reasons for why we ultimately dismissed it and submitted the waiver."

Separately, Ryuu asked her. "If I may ask... What was this waiver discussion like with your superiors aboard your previous assignment, the YSS Mazu?"