Disclaimer: Kantai Collection (Kancolle), all of its characters, and musics belongs to their respected owner. The only things I own here is my OCs. This fanfict may or may not be canon. Besides that, I've got nothing else to say. So with that, please take a seat, grab your drink, pick your snack, and have a pleasant cruise (or read).
Chapter 1 "Recruitment"
A knock on the door was heard accompanied by a few chattering voice from the other side. Without any answer from the inside of the room, the door opened, revealing three girls. Each of them wore outfit that differed slightly one from another. One had a white serafuku top with a pair of wide sleeve. Her tie has the same blue color with her bottom bikini part. As for her leg, she covered it with a thigh high with a darker colored blue. The one in the middle wore a bodysuit that has the color of white and a strange ornament near her neck that somehow resembled the lower part of a giant beast's jaw. Her black pants were held on place by strange fitting that locked on to her body suit. The last girl, seemingly a bit taller than the other two, has black outfit that consisted of a long black pants and also short sleeve black shirt with peculiar design. Although each has different outfit, the three of them have similar trait. They all have pale white skin and also glowing eyes, although with different color.
The one in the middle entered the room first. As she walked into the room, her walking stick made a crisp sound that filled the barren room. The room itself is very empty. There's nothing there except a single desk with a set of computer sitting on top of it, completed with a printer next to it. Usually one would see a chair behind the desk, but there was none of it there. And instead of facing the other way around, the monitor of the computer faced the door as if greeting whoever entered the room.
After the three girls entered the room, they lined up to each other in front of the computer set. The black screen flickered once and then an image appeared on it. The image showed a profile picture of a person with a short dark brown hair. A sharp look on the eyes made the person quite intimidating. On the upper part of the picture the name "Ren Kagome" was written. The three girls just looked at the screen in front of them in silence.
Seconds later, the printing device next to it started to make sound. As the printer slowly threw out papers, the girl in white serafuku top walked next to it. She took the papers after waiting for the printer to finally finished doing its work. After reading it for a while, she gave the papers to the girl in the middle who was standing while supporting herself slightly on her black walking stick. The girl immediately read the content of the paper. Finished reading it too, she gave it to the last girl in the group. Not wanting to wait for her to finish reading it, the girl with the white bodysuit walked to the door. Before leaving, she let out a simple order.
"Prepare for retrieval."
In an empty looking cabin inside a certain ferry ship, a man sat near the window with his arms crossed in front of him. His face was covered with a white navy hat and the sound of slow breathing was heard from it. Feeling the gentle ray of sun coming from the window, the man slept soundly without a care for the world. Next to him was a black colored sport bag that seemed to be about to burst any second due to being filled near the maximum limit.
Unfortunately for him, a rocking of the ship disturbed his peaceful slumber. Grumbling slightly, he opened his eyes and removed the hat that covered his face. "And just when I was having a good dream," he muttered under his breath. At first he wanted to go back to sleep again. But his instinct prevented him from doing that. To add to that, another rocking happened, and the last one was much rougher than the first. Feeling a bit worried, the dark brown haired guy stood up after putting the hat on. He exited the cabin and looked around. He noticed that even though the ferry has rocked for quite some time, there was no sound of panic nearby. Of course he wasn't expecting people running around the hallway with panic expression on their face. But there was no visible sign of panic at all. No murmuring, no footsteps, no nothing. It was too quiet.
While thinking for any possible reason for that, another rocking was felt from the ship. This time, it was much bigger than the last two. And once again, the man noticed that there was no sign of anything. He then went back inside and fetched his bag. Anxiety was filling his mind as he was trying to understand the current situation. He exited the room right away and ran to the bridge. That was the first thing that came into his mind. In an unknown situation, he needed to know the big picture first before deciding any action.
As he ran through the corridor with his bag on his hand, there was not a single person present along the way. That made his already anxious mind became much worse. Putting more power to his feet, he hastened his pace. In a matter of seconds, the sight of the door that probably led to the bridge came into his vision. He quickly reached to the door knob and opened the door.
"What the!?" The sight in front of him was not what he expected, although he already suspected a bit. There was no one there. The machinery looked functional and undamaged. But the crew that was supposed to man the bridge was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, there was no sign of struggling or attack that happened before. It was as if the whole crew left the ship all of a sudden. Either that or they vanished into thin air. "…This is bad." He muttered that with a slight frown.
If at first he was trying to get some answer of the current condition, he now has received more questions. Inside his mind, he was turning his brain to choose the most appropriate course of action he should take. If, he presumed, there was no one on board except himself, he should forget gathering information. He should instead focus on getting to safety. Because on board of a drifting ship is never a safe solution. He could take the ship and steer it back to a nearby port, but for some reason his instinct told him not to do that. But riding a life boat to a nearby port might be difficult too.
"Let's just try to steer it back to port for now." He decided to go against his instinct for once. But before he took a step toward the steering wheel, he heard a loud sound from the deck. At that, he immediately abandoned his previous intention and ran to the source of the sound. "This is one strange day I'm having." Minutes later, he reached the deck. Exiting the hallway and into the open area, he looked around the deck. "And it keeps getting stranger," muttered the man while trying to digest the whole situation.
There was no one there except a single figure in the middle of the deck. Standing proudly, on her head was a big monstrosity that has four long pale colored tendrils sprouting from the side. The eyes on the top of the monstrosity emitted a smoke-like gas while the mouth was bearing a visible line of sharp looking teeth. Near the place where the tendrils sprouted was a turret. The figure itself, shadowed by the big monstrosity on top, wore a long cape behind her and was standing with a black walking stick place in front. She looked at him with her glowing blue eyes.
The man, clearly shocked and intimidated by her presence, just stood on the edge of the deck doorway. He surveyed the situation again. There was no sign of fight or violence on the deck. It was safe to assume that the ship wasn't attacked. But if that was true, then he feared another possibility. A much worse possibility.
The figure then took a step toward him. Then it changed into a steady walk. With each passing seconds, the figure went closer and closer to him. The intimidating aura the figure emitted went much more intense with the distance between him and the figure get closer. But instead of running away, the man just stood there with his sport bag slung on his shoulder. Although his grip was becoming tighter, he didn't show any more sign of being afraid.
After reaching just a few steps away from him, the figure stopped and once again placed the walking stick in front of her.
"Wo is expecting you." The figure spoke with a calm feminine tone. The man pointed to himself with a rather confused look on his face. Noticing that, the figure nodded slightly, making the monstrosity on her head wobbled its tentacle.
"Who is this 'Wo' you're speaking of?" asked the man with a strangely calm tone of his own.
"Wo is Wo," answered the figure. Clearly wasn't satisfied at that answer, the man frowned a bit toward her.
"Are you 'Wo'?" He asked again. He received an answer in a form of yet another nod. "So, why are you expecting me?" At that question, she tilted her head slightly.
"You aren't afraid of Wo?"
"Afraid?" The man shifted his leg and assumed a much relax stance. "The moment I saw you, it has passed the state of afraid. This time I am more on the curious side."
"Interesting." She put one hand on her chin. "Just as the report stated."
"Once again, may I ask the reason?" Ignoring her muttering, he asked the same question.
"Wo can only answer if you follow Wo."
"Where?"
"To Wo's base."
"Where is it?"
"Wo can't answer that." She shook her head slightly. "You have to follow Wo first."
"I see." He thought to himself for a few seconds. Inside his mind, he tried to find any possible action besides following her. But if she is really what he thought, then the chance of him getting out of this situation with his life intact would be practically zero if he refused to follow her command. Arriving at that conclusion, he gave a sigh. "Very well, I'll follow you."
"Good." Then one of the tendrils on the monstrosity moved and produced a respirator. The tendril put forward the respirator toward him. "Put this on." The man, although looked to be hesitating at first, grabbed the respirator. "You're not going ask Wo what is that for?" The one called 'Wo' asked him again.
"There's no point in asking. I'll know it sooner or later." After saying that, he put the respirator on. The moment he put it on, he felt dizzy as he realized that gas started to invade his lung. As his body rapidly became weak, his knee buckled and he fell forward. But just before his body hit the floor, he was kept hanging, inches away from hitting the floor by the tendrils. After that, the last scene he saw was the figure's glowing eyes. And he lost his consciousness completely.
"You have retrieved the package?" A voice came from behind the figure. She looked back to face the speaker.
"It was faster than Wo expected." With the tendrils wrapped gently to the man's body, the monstrosity lifted the man slowly. Another tendril reached for the man's sport bag that lay on the floor. She walked toward the speaker who was standing near a strange object that resembled a giant black case with glass cover in the front. Strange looking hose and pipe was attached to the object's side. "But he was just as the report stated."
"Really now? Now I'm curious." The other party then pushed a button on the top part of the case. It then opened, releasing a small amount of gas. The tendrils than placed the man gently inside the case. The sport bag was also put inside the case. It then pushed the glass cover again to enclose the man. A slight 'click' was heard and then the case glowed with purple light. "Let's go now. Ru-kyuu has said that she spotted a few fleet girls patrolling around here."
"Understood. Wo will carry the package." After saying that, she lifted the black case effortlessly with the monstrosity's tendrils. "Wo will get back straight to base. You inform Ru-kyuu to get back too. Don't forget to remove the evidence."
"Roger that."
With that last conversation exchange, the two figures jumped off from the edge of the deck and then sunk into the blue ocean. A few moment of silence came over the empty vessel after that. Then the last thing that happened to the ferry ship was loud explosions that came from each side of the hull. It then sunk rapidly into the ocean.
"So he's the one?"
"Yes, he is."
"You sure?"
"Wo-kyuu said so. And judging from the picture, he is the one. Why do you look so unsure?"
"Uhm, I thought that it was supposed to be a woman. You know, because of the name."
"Oh, that." The figure nodded once. "I thought the same at first. But then I read the report once again. The report stated that it is actually a man."
"Guess I should read the report more carefully later. Ah, he's waking up."
The man slowly opened his eyes. He was awoken by the sound of chattering voice near him. As he woke up, he noticed that he was wearing a respirator. Slowly trying to remember the event that happened to him, he also noticed that he was enclosed in some case. At first, panic attacked his mind, but then he took control of his mind and calmed his mind. He looked forward and saw two figures looking at him.
"Oh, yeah, you can't open this thing from the inside." After saying that, one of the figures pushed the button on the case. The sound of moving mechanism was heard as the glass case slowly opened. After opened completely, the man stepped out of the case with careful step. His first step was difficult as he was trying to familiarize himself with the environment. The second step was much better, although he was still feeling kind of dizzy and disoriented. Rubbing the back of his head to lessen the dizziness, he looked around him to know the situation. He was currently in a small room with a lot of pipes and wiring sticking on to the wall. The source of light was a single fluorescent lamp placed on the ceiling. There's no window and only a single door on one side. In a simple term, this was probably a prison or a holding cell. After digesting the environment, he looked forward to face the two figures.
"And you are?" He asked them with a slightly muffled voice thanks to the respirator.
"He's calm and composed." The figure on the right commented. "Impressive."
"I take that as a compliment."
"Well, it is supposed to be one." The figure then walked closer. "I'm Battleship Ru-kyuu," said the one dressed in complete black.
"And I'm Battleship Ta-kyuu," said the one wearing the white serafuku top. "You can take off the respirator if you want to."
"Understood." The man then removed the respirator. Feeling slightly better after that, he took a deep breath. The feel of air filling his lung comforted him a bit. But he was far from being completely relaxed as he knew the two figures. He didn't really know 'who' they are. He knew 'what' they are. "And why does the shinkaisei-kan, the Abyssal Fleet, wanted to see me?" Yes, they are the forces that threat the humanity. Donning in black armor and outfit, equipped with monstrous armament, and also intimidating presence, the shinkaisei-kan, the Abyssal Fleet, is something that seemed to be stuff taken straight from nightmare. While asking that, he wore his usual calm attitude. That wasn't because of his bravery. That was because taking that attitude might lengthen his life in the nightmare inducing fleet's base, even if only for a few moments.
"We can't explain that to you here." Hearing the same answer from the one called 'Ta-kyuu' angered him a bit inside of his mind. But he managed to cover that up with his poker face. "You'll have to follow us first."
"…Understood." For him, that short reply of his was the best answer he could give at the moment.
"Let's go then. Wo-kyuu is waiting." Ta-kyuu stood next to him and pointed to the exit with her hand. "Right this way."
He nodded once. Before he took another step, he remembered his luggage. Although only a single sport bag, it contained valuable stuff for him. He looked back into the case he was in few moments ago. His sight immediately searched the interior of the case and found the object he was looking for. An immediate wave of relieved filled his mind. But before he could reach out to the bag, another hand has already reached the bag. He looked to the owner of the hand and found it was Ru-kyuu's.
"I'll carry it for you." A simple statement came out of the black outfit wearing shinkaisei-kan. It was delivered with no expression whatsoever on her pale face. "Is there anything else?"
"…No, there isn't." With just that simple gesture from her, he knew that they were being cautious of him. Of course that was to be expected. He scolded himself mentally for not realizing that fast enough. "Shall we go then?" Ta-kyuu gestured to the door as she was already standing near it. The man nodded and followed her with Ru-kyuu behind him.
As they walk along the hallway, he noticed that the place was quite vast but lack activity. On their journey to the destination unknown to him, he didn't meet anyone or anything else. The dark hallway that was illuminated by rows of small fluorescent lighting fixtures on the bottom and top part of the wall looked really quiet and eerie. The dark bluish color also didn't help in lifting the atmosphere. With each step they made closer, sound of metal being hit was made as the floor was made out of metal plate.
Being inside a shinkaisei-kan's base for the first time, the impression of the place has surely been a bad one for the man. But he has to put that aside and focus on the situation he was in at the moment.
"We're here." Unfortunately for him, his time to prepare himself has run out with the announcement from Ta-kyuu. The three of them stopped in front of a big metallic door. Next to the door was a hand print scanner. Ta-kyuu walked near the scanner and then placed her hand on top of the scanner. A silent beeping sound was made as the scanner processed the input. Seconds later, the door split in half and began to slide open to each side. "Let's go." She gestured inside and then went in herself.
Not knowing what else to do, he followed the white haired shinkaisei-kan. Ru-kyuu followed him short after.
"Welcome." A voice greeted him from the inside of the room. "You take much longer time than Wo expected." It was the girl she met on the deck of his ferry not long ago. But this time she didn't wore that tendrils-sprouting-monstrosity, revealing a long flowing white hair similar to Ta-kyuu's.
The man looked around the room and it has a very different look from the rest of the base the man has seen. Instead of a metallic wall, the wall seemed to be made of wood. The flooring was also done the same way as the wall too. And instead of an industrial looking lamp, a simple looking chandelier hung on the middle of the ceiling. All of that made the room had a simple, yet a much comfortable atmosphere for him.
"Forgive me. I'm not quite used in breathing knock-out gas." The man said with sarcasm dripping in his tone. But even though his tone was far from friendly, his face still retained the same calm and cold expression.
"Wo understands that now. Wo also understands that you have many questions."
"Correct." The man nodded once at her statement.
"Then let's hear your question." She walked toward him and stopped just a few steps away from him. "Wo will try to answer your question if Wo can."
"…Very well." Still feeling a bit weird hearing her way of talking, the man straighten his back and looked at her eye to eye. "First is the most important one. What is your reason for doing…all these?"
"Just as Wo expected." The girl called Wo-kyuu nodded once and then continued. "The Administration wants to do an experiment."
"Experiment?" Hearing that word has made him a bit uncomfortable inside. Although worried that he might regret asking, he pushed on with the question. "What experiment?"
"An experiment to understand the way of the fleet girl."
"The way of the fleet girl? You mean their way of fighting?"
"Not just that." She shook her head slightly after hearing his comment. "The way they live, the way they think, the way they fight, and other aspect of their life. The Administration wants to learn that."
"All of their aspect of living? That's….one big experiment."
"Wo thought the same too. But since it's the Administration that ordered us, we have to do it."
"Then about the experiment. What is it that you do in this experiment?"
"The experiment is," Wo-kyuu casted her down slightly while tapping her chin, "How do Wo say it? Replicate their way of living?"
"Huh? Replicate their way of living?" Certainly didn't catch what she meant, the man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"What Wo-kyuu mean is that we, as the one doing the experiment, will try to live the same way the fleet girl live their life." Ta-kyuu who was standing next to the man explained further.
"We will simulate their way of living. Right here in this base." Ru-kyuu added to the previous explanation.
"…That's really something strange to do." Scratching his head, he asked another question. "What is the purpose of this experiment?"
"The purpose is to be able to counter the fleet girl more effectively in the future." Wo-kyuu gave her answer without showing any changes in her face. "For long time, we've been defending our territory. But as time went on, we have been pushed back. It is a shame to say it, but we are on a deadlock with the fleet girls."
"And by doing the experiment, the shinkaisei-kan hopes to find some things that can be used to give advantaged in the future battle." He looked to Wo-kyuu as he stated his conclusion from their conversation. He received a nod from her. "Then let's move to the next question. Why me?" At the start of his experience in the strangely empty ferry, that question popped into his mind more times than he could count.
"Why you, indeed." She paused for a few seconds and then continued. "Lieutenant Ren Kagome, you have served as the navy Logistic Officer for quite some time. Provision for maintenance, crew and ship replenishment, financial management. They were all just a small part of your work. They were all done flawlessly. Both efficient and effective in managing, you are known to be able to handle many difficulties, both offshore and onshore."
"Your information is quite detailed, Wo-kyuu-san," said the man after being read of his information, feeling a slight suspicious at where the direction of the conversation will go to.
"Judging from this information, you are deemed to be suitable to the experiment."
"Deemed to be suitable?" She nodded once at his question. "For what?"
"Lieutenant Kagome, do you understand the requirement for us to hold the experiment?" Ru-kyuu's voice was heard behind him.
"The requirement?" Looking back at the black wearing shinkaisei-kan girl, he started to think. "Uhm, you want to replicate the fleet girl, right? So you need at least a base similar to theirs."
"Correct." Wo-kyuu replied. "This base is built with that in mind. Although different in appearance, it holds the same functionality as theirs."
"Okay, so next you need willing participant." He looked at each of them. "I presumed you three are the one?"
"Once again, correct."
"Then what else do you need?"
"We need similar chain of command as them." Ta-kyuu said to him. "We need an Admiral."
"Ah, I see. You need the same chain of command." Ren paused slightly. He digested the meaning of that statement. After his mind finished compiling the information he just received, a possibility of the direction the conversation lead to surface. His expression darkened as he realized that. "Uhm, do you mean…you kidnapped me because…" Cold sweat poured out of his forehead as he couldn't finish his sentence.
"Correct, Lieutenant Kagome." Wo-kyuu nodded. She lifted her walking stick and pointed at him. "According to the order from the Administration, we need you to become the leader of the experiment and act as our Admiral."
"…Y-Y-Your A-A-Ad-mi-mi-mi-ral!?" Both shaken and surprised after being revealed to the reason, Ren stuttered so much that his sentence was barely understandable.
"Don't stutter so much, Lieutenant Kagome. That's unbecoming for a man of your caliber." She paused a bit, and then continued. "Although, that made you a bit cute~" Ta-kyuu commented with a slight teasing tone.
"Ta-kyuu!" Ru-kyuu quickly scolded her comrade for teasing him. "Be respectful!"
"Okay, okay." The target of scolding just waved her hand lazily, clearly didn't take that statement seriously. "So, how about it, Lieutenant?"
"Wa-Wait a damn minute!" He shouted that immediately. Although his mind was not on the best state to think clearly, one thing was clear for him. He couldn't do that. "Are you asking me to betray my comrade and defect to your side!? That's insulting!"
"Betray your comrade?" Wo-kyuu tilted her head as she heard that statement.
"Of course! I will not betray my–"
"Even if your comrade betray you first?"
"…What?" Shocked by Wo-kyuu's words, Ren shut his mouth immediately.
A wave of silence swept the room, leaving only the sound of each and their own breath audible. Ren, recovered from his previous shock, looked up to Wo-kyuu with a slightly annoyed look.
"Care to explain what you mean by 'they betray me first?" asked the man as he gestured toward her, using all his strength to keep himself as calm as possible.
"Lieutenant Ren Kagome, known to have a clean record and proven to be a very skillful officer in your division. And yet," Wo-kyuu paused and walked closer to him, "you are not a lieutenant anymore."
Ren stood still without uttering a single word. His hand on each side started to curl into a fist.
"You didn't get promoted nor demoted. You have no rank whatsoever at the moment. Why is that?"
Hearing that, his fists went tighter as his knuckles started to become white and his body tensed up. But despite all of that, his expression remained unchanged.
"That is because you are fired." Wo-kyuu paused a bit. She tapped her chin. "No, that's not correct. You resigned. Or should I say, forced to resign?"
"Enough." His voice, although only sounded a bit louder than a whisper, it carried strong force that could be felt by the three of them. Different than the other two, the one who stood in front of him let out a small smile, as if expecting that from him. "How much do you know?"
"Some higher officials are involved in a case of embezzlement. Unfortunately, the case was found out. Although they have no evidence of your involvement, they placed their blame on your division. The burden of the whole case was on you as you are the leader of the division. Because of that, they forced you to resign or they will fire you officially. And the one that did all of those to you was actually the very culprit that framed you." Wo-kyuu tilted her head as she finished her explanation. "Did I get that right?"
She didn't receive any answer. Ren stood there with his fists clenched tight and his eyes looked at her without moving an inch. "…Why do I have to hear this again?" He muttered under his breath.
"Wo will presume that Wo is right, Lieutenant Kagome."
"Don't use that name again." Ren said to her. "Just as you said, I don't have any rank."
"Very well, then would you be interested in the rank of Admiral?"
"Maybe you mean the Abyssal Fleet Admiral."
"That's fine if you want to call it that. But an admiral is an admiral, don't you think?" A small smile crept on her face again, making her presence a bit more disturbing for the brown haired man.
"And don't you think that I will probably sabotage this experiment of yours?"
"Wo only does what Wo was told to do." She walked back to her previous position. "The same goes with the two of them."
"If the Administration told us to recruit you, then you are the right person for this job." The long haired shinkaisei-kan beside him added. "Once again, we're just following order."
"But if we may give our opinion, just from your data only, you are a really capable officer. For this experiment, a capable officer is a very important requirement." This time, it was Ru-kyuu that voiced her opinion.
A moment of silence came over the room once again. As many information entered Ren's mind, he was weighting each possible decision.
"I am grateful for your praise and all, but I have no intention of defecting to the other side." He waited for their response as he finally came to that conclusion.
"Even if you are considered dead by your government?"
"Even if I am considered dead by my…government…" That later part of his reply was delivered with a lower voice than before. He felt cold sweat coming out of his head again while he was in the middle of trying to swallow what she just stated. "…Sorry, what did you say? I seem to have misheard you."
"Ah, forgot to tell you that there's a slightly bit of problem going on about that." Ta-kyuu said while rubbing the back of her head. "The ferry you used was no more."
"…Don't tell me," Ren looked at her with a slight look of worry, "you sank the ferry?"
"Uhm, I didn't mean to at first, but it has sank nonetheless," she replied with an awkward tone. "Sorry about that." His face quickly paled after hearing the news. "Ah, but don't worry. There's no one there."
Ren went quiet before he realized another thing. "Wait, did you just say that there's no one on board that ferry at all?" He received the answer with a nod from the white haired shinkaisei-kan. "So that ferry was a trap you set up all along?"
"We didn't set that up. Somebody else has."
"And how can you be so sure of that?"
"We've check the transportation data in their server." Ru-kyuu said to him. "There was none except you board the ferry."
"Oh dear Lord." He felt weaker after hearing that from Ru-kyuu. That would mean that the shinkaisei-kan has access to all the data in the navy. If that is true, they aren't only able to see the data, they would also be able to manipulate the data to their liking. "The higher will be in panic if they heard this."
"But unfortunately, Lieutenant Kagome," Wo-kyuu lifted her cane and pointed at him, "you can't tell the higher ups anymore."
"And why is that?" He feared that he wouldn't like the answer since he already heard her for the first time, but he asked nonetheless.
"That is because to the higher ups, you are dead." Ta-kyuu answered him instead of Wo-kyuu. "No, to the whole world, Lieutenant Kagome is dead. Your appearance will bring you nothing but harm."
"And you are the one who did that!" He shouted at them. Finally unable to hold his feeling, he poured out his anger into his word. "Thing would not become this messed up if–"
"If what?" Wo-kyuu cut his sentence. "If you didn't meet us? If we didn't kidnapped you? Should Wo tell you the whole thing?" She looked at him with her blue eyes, as if glaring straight at his soul. Although wanting to refuse hearing another explanation, he felt that he needed to hear her.
"Where are you going with this?" He used his remaining strength to hold him from shouting.
"Lieutenant Kagome, please listen again to the few fact regarding your ferry." Ta-kyuu walked forward and stopped when she was beside him. She looked at him and continued. "Your ferry has no one on board even before we met you. And the data on the server also stated the same. Why is that?"
"Wait. Wait." He waved at her after hearing her again. He thought for a while. With confused look on his face, he looked at her. "When I board the ferry, there were a lot of people. There are at least twenty or so at that moment, not counting the crew." This fact made him unsure of their information.
"That's correct. But the information we received prior to the mission was that there would only be a single person aboard the ferry. The fact that you are alone on the ferry even before we board the ship confirms that information."
"Huh? That is utterly impossible!" He shouted his reply as he refused to believe them. He was sure that he didn't make a mistake about counting the number of passenger on the ferry. "You are just trying to trick me!"
"Then why don't you look at this for now?" Wo-kyuu snapped her finger once. What followed after that surprised him. A hole opened on the ceiling and a screen fell down. There was nothing on the screen except buzzing at first. But then the buzzing stopped and a figure appeared on the screen. She wore a neat looking suit and behind her was a picture of a burning object on the sea.
"We bring you the headline. A military ferry was attack moments ago and it was believed to be an attack from the shinkaisei-kan." She paused for a moment and then continued. "Unfortunately, there was no survivor. Among the deceased is an officer in the navy, Lieutenant Ren Kagome."
"W-What!?" He couldn't believe what the news broadcaster has announced.
"The Lieutenant was originally tasked to move to a different base starting tomorrow. But sadly, his ferry was attacked by the shinkaisei-kan before he could assume his new task."
"Tasked to another base? I've never heard of that!" He shouted at the screen. After that, the screen showed different people giving their sympathy and word of grieve after losing such a talented officer, most of them was people wearing navy uniform and ranked much higher than him. "But they fired me! I was going back to my hometown because they fired me!"
"Wo guesses that's enough." Wo-kyuu snapped her finger once again. The screen shut down immediately and it rose up to the hole it came from. "Now did you understand?"
He didn't answer to her. He just stood there while trying to digest the whole torrent of information he just received. He held his head low with one hand while the other hand was curled to a fist.
"Lieutenant Kagome, it is true that we were trying to make the ship disappear, but we didn't want to blow up the ferry and sink it." Ru-kyuu said to him.
"…Why is that?" He asked with a weak voice, not knowing what else to do.
"Because we can reused the material on the vessel. But the moment Ru-kyuu tried to steer the ferry, at least two explosions happened on different side of the hull." Ru-kyuu said to him. If that information was true, Ren could thank his instinct for not doing that very act or he would bring himself to his own demise.
"…How can I trust you?" He looked up to them and looked at their eyes.
"We didn't kill you." Wo-kyuu stated that to him shortly. "The one who wanted to kill you was not us, but your superiors."
"I still can't trust you."
"Lieutenant Kagome, do you not realized that you have no choice?" Ta-kyuu voice seemed to be filled with deadly intention. "What choice do you have up there, huh? You are dead to the whole world for all you know." The black haired shinkaisei-kan beside her told her the very thing that he was still tried to deny.
"…." He couldn't give any answer to her statement.
"At least with you in here, you can still support your sister back home."
Hearing his sister being mentioned, a drastic change happened to him. He rushed forward toward Wo-kyuu without any warning. But before he could do anything more, both Ta-kyuu and Ru-kyuu grabbed him and pushed him to the ground. Their strong hand pinned him to the floor below, making a loud thumping sound that resounded in the whole room. Hissing and groaning with inhuman voice, Ren stretched his arm as if trying to grab her neck to kill her. The fact that he was also glaring at her with bloodshot eyes made the scene rather fierce.
"YOU! ARGHHH! LET ME GOOO!" He howled as his body was being held strongly by the two shinkaisei-kans.
"Once again, as Wo expected, you will react strongly to the mention of your sister, Lieutenant Kagome." Looking down to the man who was pinned down, Wo-kyuu looked a bit too calm than one supposed to be in such a situation. Still using the jet black walking cane as her support, she threw a question at the one below her. "So it is right that you have a sister, Lieutenant Kagome. Only a bit younger then you."
"Don't involve Kiyoko!" He kept struggling. "Let go of me!" He shouted again and again.
"Calm down, Lieutenant Kagome. We are only reminding you that you still have someone to live for."
"I said don't involve Kiyoko!" The moment he shouted again, a loud bang came into the room. And with that bang, Ren founded the tip of Wo-kyuu's cane only inches away from his face.
"And Wo said that you have to calm down." She reminded him again, this time with a much sterner tone. Realizing the situation he was at the moment, his mind slowly calm down, although his bloodshot eyes still remained. "That's a bit better. So once again, here's the offer, Lieutenant Kagome." She bowed down to be able to look at him closer. "You can help us in our experiment in here and act as our Admiral. Of course, you will be paid handsomely. Wo can guarantee it."
"How can I trust you?" He let out the same argument again while bearing his anger at her.
"Wo has nothing to say about that as you also have nothing to make us trust you except the fact that you are the one deemed worthy to lead this experiment by the Administrator." She reminded him again of the situation. "Wo will also remind you that the moment you have entered this base, we have shown you a secret from our side."
Hearing that, he became quiet. Although he has ceased struggling, both Ta-kyuu and Ru-kyuu still viewed him as dangerous and refrained from letting him go.
Wo-kyuu straightened her back and then looked at the man on the ground again. "Now what is your decision, Lieutenant Kagome?"
A few seconds passed as there was no response from anyone in the room. The silence was heavy as each party kept their own judgments in mind. After another few seconds gone, one of the parties spoke.
"I'll do it." The reply came from the one who was still pinned on the ground. "But I have few conditions."
"Although Wo can't guarantee anything, you can tell Wo about it. Wo will send your conditions to the Administrator. They will be the one to decide on that matter."
"…I guess that's the best I can get in this situation." He let out a sighed after that. "I have three. First, don't involve my sister. I…just don't want her to be involved in anything like this."
"Okay, next?"
"Let me see her once in a time. It doesn't have to be long. Only a few hours is already a blessing for me."
"Next?"
"Please let me refrain from killing anyone. That's the last thing I want to do." He looked up to Wo-kyuu. "If I can have all three of those, I'll gladly be the leader of this experiment of yours and give it my all."
"Once again, Wo can't guarantee anything." She shook her head. "But Wo will try to do it."
"Thank you very much. You have my gratitude." He bowed his head a bit.
"Release him." Wo-kyuu ordered the other two to let him go. They nodded at her command and helped him stood up. As he brushed his clothes, Wo-kyuu approached him. "So you will be our Admiral then?"
"…..I can't believe this, but," he looked to the three of them and gave a sigh. "Yes, I will be your Admiral."
"Can Wo, no, we trust you on that?" She asked him with a tone filled with seriousness.
"Yes, you have my word for it."
"Then please change into this." Wo-kyuu tapped her cane twice on the floor. A clicking sound came from above them as the same hole where the screen appeared moments ago opened. A platform was lowered down. After stopping only a few inches from the floor, Ren could see that on top of the platform was a suitcase. "Please opened it and change into it."
A few moments passed as Ren changed into the clothes inside the suitcase. Of course, the three shinkaisei-kan girls turned around to give him a moment of privacy.
"Okay, done." After he said that, the three turned to face him again.
The three of them gave different reaction at the sight of him. Ta-kyuu gave whistle with a smile on her face. While Ru-kyuu was silent, although from her face, one could notice that she was a bit impressed. And the last of them, Wo-kyuu, nodded with satisfaction on her face.
The man in front of them was dressed in very different clothes than before. The former lieutenant was dressed in a black suit. The top resembled the high collar jacket of a navy officer with difference in the many intricate golden trimming near the collar and cuffs. The usual place near his chest where medal usually hung was replaced with a single black pearl that gave a strange purple shine. The black pants also had trimming with similar design as the top. To top it off was the hat he wore has a double trimming made from silver colored thread. From top to bottom, his entire outfit really resembled his usual navy uniform, only with different color and ornament.
"This outfit...Suited suspiciously well for me" He commented on his outfit as he looked at himself. As he moved his arm slightly, he felt the sense of irony in his mind. The moment he was officially stated as dead in the world, he reached the highest rank he could ever imagine, although it was on the enemy's line. As he put on his hat, he gave another heavy sigh.
"You sigh a lot, you know?" Ta-kyuu said to him while leaning forward a bit.
"A lot has happened in a short time." He repositioned the hat slightly, looking for the best position for it to stay on his head. "I'm sure I deserved at least a few." He received a respond in a form of a shoulder shrug accompanied with a shaking head from the one who threw the question.
"Then this is the last thing you need." Wo-kyuu approached him and put forward her hand. On her hand was a small tablet. "This is yours."
"What's this?" asked Ren after receiving the gadget.
"Put your palm on the screen and you'll know." After saying that, Wo-kyuu walked back to stand in line together with her comrade.
Hesitating at first, he eventually put his palm on the screen. The moment he did that, the screen glowed with a green light. Then a line of light scanned his hand.
"State your identification." A mechanical voice came from the gadget, startling him slightly. He looked at the three shinkaisei-kan girls in front of him. Wo-kyuu nodded at him.
He sighed again and then stated "Ren Kagome" with a clear voice.
"Ren Kagome. Identification received. Please wait for the process to be done." With that last statement, the light on the whole room flickered exactly three times. Unlike him who once again surprised by that, the other three looked far from being startled. After that, another announcement came from the device. "Identification confirmed. Please remove your hand." The moment he pulled back his hand, the glowing stopped and soft light came from the screen. "Welcome to the base, Admiral Ren Kagome."
"…Being called admiral, is kind of…" As he trailed off his sentence, the other three said different word from each other.
"Excited?" "Honored?" "Empowering?"
"Weird." He said while still holding the gadget on one hand and scratching his temples with an awkward look on his face.
"You'll get used to it." The black haired shinkaisei-kan said to him. "Then I guess you are our admiral now?"
"Pretty much."
"Oh yeah, Wo-kyuu-chan, show him the office." Ta-kyuu said to her while nudging her slightly on her side.
"Hmm, very well." Wo-kyuu turned around and used her cane to point at some place near the back of the room. "Could you please move over there?"
"Huh?" Although not knowing her reason, he followed her direction and walked straight to the position she pointed to. "Here?"
"A little to the left, if you please."
He moved a bit as he followed her direction. "Here?"
"Perfect!" said Ta-kyuu with a smile on her face. She then clapped his hand twice. Seconds later, the whole office was filled with loud sound that came from under the floor and behind the wall. The whole room also trembled quite fiercely.
"W-W-What's happening here!?" While trying to hold his ground, he looked around and noticed a few spots on the room started to open up, scaring him even further. After the many holes have opened completely, objects started to arise from under the hole. "What the?"
The rumbling continued for a few seconds together with the many objects that raised from bellow the floor. It stopped after the room was filled with furniture that made the barren room changed completely. A big desk made from metal and wood was placed in the middle of the room, complete with a metal chair fashioned the same as the desk and also a set of high tech looking computer set on top of it. On one corner of the room one could see two metal cabinets that one usually found in an office. The room has changed into a fully functional office that even has a big antique clock near the door.
"That was surprising." He muttered under his breath. A sound of tapping was heard, making him looked at the source of the sound.
"Admiral Ren Kagome." Wo-kyuu said his name while standing in the middle of the other two, although a bit forward than them. "As of now, the three of us and the whole base are under your direct command." After saying that, the three of them gave him a salute.
He returned their salute with one of his own. "Looking forward to work with you all."
"Thank you, Admiral." Wo-kyuu bowed at him. "Please check your tablet for any incoming task the Administration will give you regularly."
"The tablet?" He shifted his gaze to the device in his hand. On the screen a picture of an exclamation mark kept flashing. Under the icon, the words 'Click to read' appeared. He followed the instruction and tapped on the icon. The screen then showed a window that has several points. One of it was a glowing text with the words 'Secure Supply' on it. "…I have bad feeling," said the newly appointed admiral as he tapped his finger on the words. The gadget responded with showing a popup window. "Collect and secure the source to maintain the base on daily basis." He read the text inside the popup window while frowning a bit. "Does it mean that I need to contact the supply and logistic division of this base?"
"No, Admiral." Wo-kyuu shook her head to showed disapproval at his suggestion. "That is just not possible."
"Huh? Why is that?" He questioned her more as he felt that was the only possible course of action.
"It is not possible due to the fact that there is no supply and logistic division here in the base."
"Oh, I see. That sure made it impossible to do, right?" A slight pause came into his sentence after his reply. For a few seconds, the sound of ticking from the clock was the only thing that one could hear in the room. "…Could you say that again?"
"There is no supply and logistic division here in the base." Wo-kyuu stated that again as if replaying a recorded voice.
"No logistic division? Then who's the one been managing supply in this base?" The thought that a base this size has no division that is in charge of something so crucial sounded so crazy for him, he refused to believe her words.
"There's none, Admiral." Instead of Wo-kyuu, the other white haired shinkaisei-kan girl answered him. "Didn't you know that the entire crew assigned into this base has all gathered here?"
"Assigned into this base? The entire crew?" He felt cold sweat poured from his forehead as he steeled himself for another question. "So the only ones inside this base are…"
"Us three and," Ta-kyuu pointed to him with a smile on her face, "you the Admiral."
"Four? Only four?" She leaned to the desk to support his body that was getting weak as he heard that answer. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"No, Admiral. That is true. …Unfortunately true." Ru-kyuu who was silent for some time finally added the last touch to his already worrying state of mind.
"Ugh, my head…" He fell down to his knee while still trying to hold the edge of the desk. "What have I gotten myself into?"
*In an unknown part of the world
N: Ugh, cold. So cold!
C : I'll turn on the heater, sir.
N: Yes, yes. Quickly, Camera-kun.
C: Please wait, sir. Uhm, where is the button for this?
N: Camera-kun! Hurry!
C: Y-Yes, sir! Uhm, ah, here it is! *pushing the button
N: Ah, it's getting a bit better. But still…why can this place be so cold?
C: I don't know, sir. But it seems that this part of the ocean is very cold. Considering the lack of light and the depth, it is quite understandable.
N: So…we're supposed to do our show here?
C: Aren't we?
N: Unfortunately, yes, Camera-kun. … Let's just start right away.
C: Very well, sir. Okay, camera ready!
N: Good! Good day, everyone! We are in the end of the show, so this is our small corner for small talk! I'm your host, N-san. And as usual, we have my ever diligent assistant with us, Camera-kun!
C: Hello!
N: And for now, we will focus on– W-What was that!? Why the red light and the alarm?
C: Sir, we're under attack!
N: We're under what!? From who? Why?
?: Unidentified submarine, stated your identification or we are going to consider you a threat!
C: Sir, quickly! Use this!
N: W-What!? Uhm…Err…W-We are a submarine under the task to report the shinkaisei-kan base. We are not an enemy.
?: Unidentified submarine, who send you?
N: Who send us? C-Camera-kun?
C: Uhm, what is the name? Uhm, err….
?: We repeat, who send you?
C: Err, i-it's the…Ah, the Administration!
N: The Administration! We were sent by the Administration!
?:… Do not move from your position. We are checking your identification.
C: …What now, sir?
N: I…honestly don't know. I guess we wait.
C: And pray?
N: And pray…. Eh, someone's knocking?
C: S-Should I open it, sir?
N: We have no choice. Open it, Camera-kun. And…be careful.
C: Y-Yes, sir. *opening the door.
?: Ah, excuse me.
C: AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!
?: W-What? What?
N: What happened, Camera-kun? Who's the one knoc-AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
?: What is it!? Something on my face?
N: Wait, wait! Who are you?
?: Who? Me? I'm Submarine Ka-kyuu. Nice to meet you.
N: Submarine? Wait! Are you one of the shinkaisei-kan?
K: Yes, I am. Sorry for the previous action. But you have to understand, we are not exactly in a time of peace and tranquility.
N: Ah, yes, yes. I understand that. Please forgive us to for not introducing ourselves before entering this ocean. You too, Camera-kun.
C: Ah, yes, yes. Please forgive us.
K: That's okay. So…you're the one the Administration told to cover the story of our base?
N: Yes. Although we have never meet them face to face. We only been ordered from our higher up.
K: Understood. Then please continue your work.
N: W-Wait! Ka-kyuu-san, please stay for a while.
K: Huh? Why?
N: You see, this is the part of our work where we interview one of the personnel of the base. And since you're already here, how about you do it?
K: Uhm, really? I mean, I'm not exactly the best person to describe the base since I'm only been on patrol.
N: Don't worry about it. I believe that everyone here has a different story to tell. No matter what they tell, it will surely be interesting and eye opening.
K: You have way with word…Uhm, sorry, I don't know your name.
N: Ah, yes, yes. Sorry about that. I'm N-san, the host of this show. And this guy is Camera-kun, my assistant.
K: Nice to meet you. So what do you want to know? I'm sorry, but since this is a sudden request, I can't stay for long. I have to get back to patrol.
N: Very well, let's just settle with two questions for now. First, what is your daily task, except patrolling the ocean around the base?
K: For now that is all. Since this base is new, I have not received another task except that.
N: Oh, okay. Then since you're in a hurry, let's move on with the second and last one.
K: I'm sorry for that, N-san.
N: Don't worry about it. Now, have you met your new admiral?
K: No, I haven't. The base has still a lot of preparing and it seems that the proper introduction will be made later on. Actually, maybe it will be the new admiral's decision. If he doesn't want to, then we can only follow his order.
N: I see. That's quite a dedication, Ka-kyuu-san.
K: Thank you for the compliment.
N: Well, thank you for being here, Ka-kyuu-san. Although our first meeting is not the best one, I hope we can work together with you in the future.
K: Thank you, N-san. And sorry for scaring you the first time. I mean, this is our uniform, you know?
N: It is us that is supposed to be the one to ask for forgiveness for our rude manner.
K: That's okay. Well, sorry for this, but I have to go now. Farewell for now.
N: Farewell! Ah, there she goes. What an amazing character she is. Don't you think so, Camera-kun?
C: Yes, sir. The very proper example of a dedicated soldier.
N: Agreed, Camera-kun. Well, this is the end of the show. Since this is the first one, we have no letter to read. But please send us your comment (aka Review). Thank you for watching, have a nice day, and stay healthy, everyone! Bye!