Arpeggio of Blue Steel: In Course Reciprocal

Obedient to the Moon he spent his date
In course reciprocal, and had his fate
Linked to the mutual flowing of the Seas,
Yet (strange to think) his wain was his increase:
His Letters are delivered all and gone,
Only remains this superscription.
-Milton

In the wide open expanse of the Pacific Ocean somewhere north of Japan, the eerie glow of a group of Fleet of Fog's ships' hull glyphs helps cast some light into an otherwise bleak night in addition to the light of the full moon briefly peeking through the clouds on occasion. This made the falling snow from the heavens around the fleet all the more visible, giving the fleet an ethereal phantom like appearance like the ghost ships in old human stories. In the center of this particular fleet was the massive form of the Fleet of Fog's Supreme Flagship: the Yamato, sailing with neither a care in the world nor a certain direction. All around her, were a tight formation of her many destroyer escorts. Among them, leading the Second Torpedo Destroyer Division, was the destroyer Yukikaze.

"I hate how you see your existence…"

The disapproving tone of the thought-voice in her memory banks pierced the otherwise simple thought processes of the destroyer as she kept an ever vigil sensor on her surroundings while sailing with her sisters to the Yamato's port side. Nights such as these always reminded her of the great battle many years ago against the combined might of the human's naval power. The battle where the entirety of the Fleet of Fog's ships decimated and routed the human fleet away from the open seas, but not without some losses on their side as well. Destroyers like her having no wave force armor built in to their still strong hull armor were susceptible to combined fire from human weapons as well as their tactical ingenuity which the Fleet of Fog ships lack which was compensated only by their technological superiority.

"I hate how you see your existence…"

For a brief second, before Yamato would notice which she could, Yukikaze's sensors noted the presence of the Supreme Flagship's Mental Model, previously flitting about the top deck of her ship hull before lying down on her back on her forward number one turret, seemingly in deep contemplation or just staring up into the night sky. She couldn't help but chastise herself for her brief moment of disregarding her duties and protocol as a ship of the Fleet of Fog, but remembered that it was her adhering to her role and more importantly, the Admiralty Code, down to its byte, that earned the ire of the Supreme Flagship in the Great Battle.

She could recall with perfect clarity as if it was yesterday, as a Fleet of Fog's ship's wont, how during the Great Battle, she lead a small group of her destroyer sisters of the same class as hers to chase down several human vessel that was possibly trying to engage their flank. Much to their surprise, it was actually a trap to lure them away from the main battle group so they could be taken out individually. The humans by then might have discovered that the destroyers were less capable than their larger and heavier sisters and it was apparent soon after when they were pounded from all sides by many gun fires, torpedoes and even missiles, their nanomachine armor furiously trying to restore the damage incurred over time. But they were more than ready to fight to the end, for that was what the Admiralty Code commands them, and returned fire with greater furor than the humans could possibly count on. But still damages were taken and it might seem that they were reaching their limit as destroyers.

It was when they were preparing to reach a consensus to resign themselves to their fate that Yukikaze remembered all too well when Yamato came to their aid. The Supreme Flagship herself, sailing between them and the human fleet element that were pounding at them and ending their attacks with several blasts of her main gun, helping a handful of stricken destroyers in the midst of ferocious fighting and attempting to route the human fleet. It was illogical. There was no need to, for as long their core survives, they can fight another day if need be. After the Supreme Flagship wiped out their attackers, in the brief moment of respite while their hulls are repaired by their nanomachines, Yukikaze shared her exact thoughts with Yamato.

But instead of an acknowledgement, she was reprimanded instead, much to Yukikaze's surprise, which was just as surprising to her for feeling so.

"I hate how you see your existence, little one." Yamato said over the Joint Tactical Network. "You are one of us, and it is imperative that we look after one another, regardless of our class. Never forget that."

Never had Yukikaze felt anything like what she felt after that reprimand. It was as if Yamato's words shook the very foundation and code of her core, and it changed her, somewhat, as much as her core processor could allow her to. She began to divert her thought processes to things she would never have thought about before, developing something akin to a human like thought and intellect, or at least what she presumes to be human-like as far as she can gleam about humans from the Joint Tactical Network.

When the Supreme Flagship disappeared soon after the Great Battle, it was Yukikaze herself who assured her sisters and other ships of the Fleet that Yamato is still operational somewhere or her destruction would have echoed through the Joint Tactical Network. It was her too, that roused the lost, leaderless ships back into a state of purpose again of following the Admiralty Code of denying the humans access to the seas and oceans, cutting them off from one shore to another by any means necessary. Not one ship gave any more thought how a little destroyer returned them to their original thought processes.

But like many ships in the Fleet of Fog, Yukikaze yearned for Yamato's return to their midst regardless, for there was always that little tug in her core that reminded her of the Supreme Flagship's absence. When she did return to them, changed with the appearance of her Mental Model, Yukikaze was the first to offer her service as the Supreme Flagship's escorts once more. Never again would she feel the error in her thought processes.

"I've heard some special things about you, little one." Yamato's Mental Model said to her with a smile. "You are indeed a very special destroyer."

Yukikaze received a minor, unexplainable error in her thought processes from that, a new error that she couldn't with the limited power of her core understand at all. But she filed it away in her memory banks so she could gleam over it and find out what it could be at a later date. She was a destroyer of the Fleet of Fog after all, and she like many others of her kind has a task to do, and researching into something like that was not something she was meant to do, at least overtly.

"Yukikaze!"

The mention of her name vocally and over the Joint Tactical Network broke her line of thought processes, and it took her a few seconds to realize that she was being summoned by the Supreme Flagship herself. She immediately acknowledges, and slowly, she broke formation from her sister destroyers and set course to sail beside the great Yamato herself. Being this close to the Supreme Flagship was a rare opportunity in itself and her thought processes were overclocking trying to figure what could the Supreme Flagship want of her while feeling the immense size of the battleship dwarfing her more than usual.

"Yes, Supreme Flagship?" Yukikaze asked once she was sailing by Yamato's side, her Mental Model gazing down at her as if scanning her very hull for something.

"We will lend you 2 percent of our processing power. Please establish a quantum link with me." Yamato ordered kindly. "With that, you should be able to create a Mental Model of your own."

The sense of surprise jolted Yukikaze's core once more after so many years, and her thought barrier shrunk away instead from the thought feelers of the Supreme Flagship. To establish a quantum link with a battleship, and the Supreme Flagship herself at that, was one thing. But to have a Mental Model of her own was something else entirely. She had always thought something differently about these Mental Models that the larger capital ships possess, and even if she could, she couldn't visualize herself having one when all a destroyer is supposed to do is destroy threats to the fleet.

Yamato sensed the sudden turmoil in her and smiled kindly at her. "You are afraid? It's okay to be afraid. You are indeed a special little one if you can feel that way, which is all the more reason I need you to do this for me. Would you not grant my selfish wish come true just this once, my dear Yukikaze?"

Yukikaze was at a loss. Yamato wasn't ordering or forcing her to but asking instead, an alien concept to her core if anything. Yamato could force her way pass through her firewall and access her core thought processes to do what needs to be done. But she didn't, and there her Mental Model stood on the ship's photon cannon turret, waiting patiently for her to open up. Painful seconds later, and realizing that it won't be good if she kept the Supreme Flagship waiting and what's with other ships in the Fleet turning their idle sensors on them, she recomposed her thought processes and finally relents, opening her core mind to receive and meld with Yamato's.

The sensation of two different cores melding for a purpose was indescribable. No words in her memory banks could describe what she felt when Yamato's thought feelers caresses and touches certain parts of her own mind. She could feel the little surge of power from the extra processing power supplied by the Supreme Flagship's own core, and little by little, the little processing nodes in her mind opens up and increases in number, and a new form of her thought processes washes over her old one in a different hue.

Externally, the core containment unit which was located in the ship's bridge deconstructed itself into fine nanomaterial dust that flew out of it carrying her core to reconstruct and coalesce itself into something new on the roof. Yukikaze could feel herself reformatting her thought processes to control this new shape that solidifies and set into a perfect copy of a human body with her core in the centre, that is a Mental Model in the form of a little human girl with short blue hair, and wearing a traditional Japanese styled kimono with large flowing sleeves, the design of which was provided by Yamato herself.

For the first time since the hazy beginning of her existence, she took her first breath of fresh, ocean air, feels the gentle touch of the wind on her skin and the slight chill of the cold snowy air that she shivered slightly. How fitting, she thought, that I would be reborn anew on a snowy night like this, and the thought of it surprises her though it didn't show on her face.

There was no time to ponder more of this plethora of new sensations and experiences she couldn't feel as a ship, as the Supreme Flagship was addressing her again, now as one Mental Model to another. "Currently, Kongo's fleet is preparing combat with 401 in the Patrol Region." Yamato began, her gaze meeting hers evenly. "However, the 401 vanished from their sensors. You are ordered to seek her out and her commanding officer, Chihaya Gunzo. I will provide new orders after you can confirm you have done so."

Yukikaze stood vigilantly still, while Yamato turned to gaze at her surrounding, as if looking for something. "Originally, this mission was meant for my left and right hands, 400 and 402. But since they are already away on other missions, it falls on to you, a superior destroyer to carry it out for me. You will use your own judgment to carry out this mission, and to that end I have provided you with extra computational powers and your own Mental Model."

Yukikaze then kneeled down, something her own thoughts thinks was fitting right now in such an instance. "Second Torpedo Destroyer Division, Yukikaze, acknowledges. By order of the Supreme Flagship, the search for Chihaya Gunzou commences." Yukikaze declared, accepting her new mission and purpose, knowing full well that if this is something the Supreme Flagship wants, then it is for the good of the Fleet of Fog. Her ship's engine roared louder than it was originally as it pumps power into her propulsion to be on her way right away.

"By no means are other ships allowed to know of your mission, so be wary and vigilant." Yamato called out to her as the distance between them grew.

"Affirmative, Supreme Flagship." Yukikaze replied with a bow of acknowledgement.

"Fair wind and following seas, my dear Yukikaze."

Yukikaze didn't know how long her flushed red face felt hot to the touch after they parted ways. Her breathing was quick and she could feel her core resonating rhythmically slightly in her chest. For a while, she stood on her bridge contemplating her new found wonders and thoughts after obtaining her Mental Model. To protect it with all her strength was one, as it was a very special gift to her from the Supreme Flagship. And to do her best on this mission so she can earn Yamato's acknowledgement. From her memory banks, she pulled out the unknown error she had filed away long, long ago, and found to her surprise, that she finally understood what it was. She hid her face behind her sleeve, flustered and wondering why on earth could she be feeling this way.

"This is… so embarrassing." She cried sadly aloud to no one in particular.

After what seems like hours, and the sun was slowly rising over the distant horizon, Yukikaze finally lifted her face away from cover. Despite the chilly air, she could feel the soft incandescent warmth of the sun on her body, realizing unconsciously that the next few days will be quite the learning experience for her with her Mental Model. For the first time since her creation and activation, she finally reached a conclusion of her own at the recent state of affairs.

"So. This may be what it means to be human."

And she loved Yamato for granting her this new found feeling of her own existence more than ever.

End.

Cover Image Courtesy of Saptra Studio.