The Runner
by BCE
An Arpeggio of Blue Steel fanfic

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Title: Mission Set
Prompt: n/a
Word Count: 3k+
Rating: T
Summary: Runner greets his crew and "stretches his wings" before they are released for duty.

Disclaimer: I do not own Arpeggio of Blue Steel

Notes: Nothing to say yet, check notes at the end.

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I relax at the top of the conning tower, feeling the sunlight warm my body as we power north along the West Coast. It's a wonderful sensation, even if my processor cataloges it clinically as 'solar heating of Mental Model nano particles", and I took pains to make sure I had a couple hours every day to find a place on my deck and enjoy the sun. And so I can take in the open ocean from above the waves instead of under them.

It took a week between choosing our crew and their arrival, and it was the same day as their arrival that I tested both their and my combat abilities.

[afternoon, three days earlier]

I followed Williams to the gangway between the dock and my deck, eyeing the crew we'd agreed on and internally calling up their basic files.

/Sonar Operator and Communications: Ensign Elizabeth Macon...
Weapons: Ensign Laura Ibsen...
Engineering: Mr. and Mrs. Micheal and Karin Loder
CMO: Dr. Carl Boothby
XO: LT. Erin Donnol/

The Loders would be the only civilians, and were obviously married, though Mr. Loder had once been navy. The others all came highly recommended by Garrick, and neither I nor Williams could find any reasons to reject them. They were the best picks, and the fact Garrick had flagged them for me was something I'd have to get over.

The way the Loders reacted as they saw me was a touch unnerving, setting off a faint feeling of familiarity I couldn't place. For a moment Mrs. Loder had flash of emotion, but the expression was gone so quickly I couldn't identify it and I brushed it off. Mr. Loder, however, maintained a solidly neutral expression that made me feel like he, and not I, was the 'ship's computer'.

I turn my attention to the rest of the crew, but I get little from their expressions and posture. Not a surprise, as they're all military, though for the ensigns it's probably from nerves and not habit.

"Relax," I call, a moment later echoed by Williams. It's not a surprise they hesitated, I'm still in my civilian clothes I'd generated for the meeting with the admirals, "My name is Runner, as you probably saw in your assignment packet, and my ID is SS-275.

"When speaking directly to or about me," I continue, placing one hand against my chest, "address me as Runner. Otherwise, my ID is fine. Captain Williams?"

"Welcome aboard the SS-275. Runner is it's mental model, and the controlling consciousness. You got the details in the packet, so you already know about the Blue Steel fleet." Williams stands relaxed, hands now in his pockets. The packet he mentions being the one I put together with information I thought relevant for someone who would be my crew, "He and I have come up with a loose arrangement. Treat both of us as captain, with me having the final say. As far as Regulations go, I'm being more lax than I was on my old ship, but still require you to be professional."

"Engineers, I've set up a paired terminal in my engine room. I'm essentially copying I-401's layout where I can, so I hope none of you studied the old Gato deckplans. Sen Toku-class won't be much help either," I admit, gaze directed to them, then turn to the pair of ensigns, "Weapons, you'll need to coordinate the loading of torpedoes with Naval supply. Sonar and comms are already set up, but get familiar with the layout."

"Sirs," the XO pipes up, voice having an odd gravely quality for a man looking in his mid-twenties, "Why isn't there a helmsman?"

"That's my job." I answer, grinning when he blinked, "I am the ship, so I control both helm and Klein Field, which is my shield."

"Understood."

I watch them for a moment, and seeing no other questions I summon steps up to my deck. Who needs a boarding ramp, and I might as well start with the 'shock-and-awe'.

"Like Williams said, welcome aboard." So saying, I make my way up to the deck and back inside.

000000

[same day]

I stood in the center of the bridge, on a small circle of raised flooring perhaps a foot above the rest of the deck, surrounded by the hum of power in my hull. William's chair is slightly behind and to my left, with Erin's station opposite the Captain's. Directly in front of me was Elizabeth's weapons station, ahead of whom was the main monitor, and to its left was Laura's combined sonar and comm station.

As the crew filed through the hatch and I pointed them to their stations, Mr. Loder leaned his head into the bridge.

"Runner," his calm baritone matches his slightly craggy face and greying hair, and I turn to him as he continues, "which way is engineering, we've never been on a submarine before."

With a nod I hop down and walk out of the bridge to lead the older couple to engineering. Only now, up close, do I really realize they must be in their late fifties. Stepping into the corridor, I spot and gesture for the doctor to follow as well, pointing out along the way the crew quarters, galley, and Carl's med-bay where the doctor leaves us to inspect his area.

Reaching engineering, I pointed out the side-by-side desks and called up my engine specs on the screens, granting the terminals access to my power-grid and associated systems.

/grant engineering access to crew {SamuelLoder} and {MarthaLoder}...
...
Access granted.../

Leaving them to learn -both were listed as accomplished engineers with multiple specialties- I made my way back to my chosen place on the bridge.

000000

"Runner, we're cleared to depart the harbor in an hour," the XO alerted me as I stepped back on what I was privately calling my 'stage', "Once they finish loading the torpedoes that is. They are requesting we open the loading hatch so they can begin."

"Roger, opening hatch." And so saying, I focus on my forward deck and mime opening a book. The confused looks I get over my action brings a grin to my face as I then explain, "Miming an action similar to what I want helps me focus."

"Whatever floats your boat," Ensign Laura says, using the stylus to direct the cranes and internal rails to methodically move the torpedoes from the loading hatch to the magazines, the terminal converting her commands into actions in my forward hull, "uh, sir."

"No worries ensign." I brush off her comment with a chuckle, idly directing part of my processor to watching how she organizes the munitions. It's rather like tasting the food as you swallow, I absently notice.

/Access munitions delivery invoice...
...
Accessed, invoice follows...
[Final load: 20 standard warheads, 8 corrosion warheads, 6 sonic warheads, 6 decoy torpedoes].../

"Impressive," I note aloud, drawing William's and Erin's gaze, "I didn't know we had any corrosive warheads."

"Those are probably the ones I-401 gave us," William says, "Going to be hard to get more, so I'm hoping we can get a shipment of those new vibration warheads Captain Gunzou brought us."

"Leave a footnote for Admiral Garrick," Elizabeth jokes, "bet the ONI-oni already plans on us getting part of the first batch."

"ONI-oni?" Erin's stern voice has Ensign Elizabeth straighten in her seat before she answers, and I spot the embarrassment on her face reflected by the monitor in front of her.

"Oh En Aye, are the same letters for the Japanese word for demon, sir" I grin at the comparison as she continues, "considering the admiral's reputation, I thought it was an apt comparison, sir."

"Carry on." I say before Erin or Williams can say anything, letting her get back to checking my comms, all of which are fine, and I devote a bit of my processor to checking her work as well. she's set up hot keys for several frequencies and quick checks for known sonar signatures, both of which will make her job easier.

Bored, I decide, is the best way to describe me at this point. Setting up a couple extra monitoring programs with a thought, I tell Williams I'm going to talk to Hyuuga and might not immediately notice him call for me. He mutters an acknowledgement and I call up the concept comm.

000000

This time, instead of 'melting' from one 'place' to the next, it is a sudden and seamless change. I find myself in the pavilion, a small table and two chairs present in the middle as if anticipating myself and the one I want to talk to.

"Hyuuga." I murmur, and I wait only a moment before the Battleship blinks into view on the other side of the table.

"Ah! 275!" She smirks, "you're settling in, yes? Here to seek my wisdom are you?"

"It's Runner," I say, and give a 'after you' gesture towards the chair on her side of the small table with two cups of tea waiting for us, not failling to notice the smirk that crosses her face when I say my chosen name, "I... had a question..."

"Oh?" her expression turns curious, and she takes the offered chair and a sip of tea, absently commenting on the drink, "chamomile."

"Is there anything left of the original Fog persona in my processor?" I say after taking a sip of my own honey-sweetened earl grey tea, "anything?"

"Well," she pauses, her eyes distant as she thinks, "I did have to leave large portions of programming so you'd be able to use your hull without problems. But I'm relatively sure I scrubbed the personality from the union core thoroughly."

"So the bits of memory I'm getting are just logs, not leftovers of the old SS-275?" I sip my tea again, and Hyuuga does the same before replying.

"I admit, I didn't bother with the logs, so it's possible you'll get impressions and knowledge for what seems to be no reason. Being aware of it, you could even pull up information you need." Logical, clinical, I wish she'd be this way more often than the hyper and obsessed self she had around Iona, "And remember, I ran a complete check using both our processors before unlocking your control of your ship."

"Thanks." I murmur, staring into my now empty cup, before looking her in the eyes, "thank you. And I'm sorry for the other day. I shouldn't have-"

"Don't." She cut me off, "You had every right, if I understand humans like I believe I do, to react as you did."

"Doesn't make it right."

"No, it doesn't." She agrees, and I wince, "but I forgive you. I know it was a shock, and perhaps we didn't reveal it in the best way."

"Still, I wish I'd handled it better." I sigh, preparing to depart as I vaguely hear Williams address my Mental Model, "and thank you. I'll use this chance to the fullest."

"See that you do." She smirks, "we might be running out of good luck, between Takao bringing back Sister Iona, and then our reviving you."

000000

I open my eyes on the bridge, taking a deep breath and acknowledging Williams calmly despite the unease from Hyuuga's statement.

"Loading complete," I say after checking the programs I had running in the background, "clear to cast off for shakedown cruise."

"Alright, Runner, take us out," Williams commands, leaning back in his chair, "ahead five knots, you set the depth."

"Aye captain, ahead five knots, setting depth." I echo, deciding to slowly dive to ten meters as I make for the harbor mouth, "We'll exit the harbor in five minutes."

I stretch my mind, getting a better feel for my sensors as Ensign Elizabeth continues to make adjustments. I'll be relying on her to detect threats, which will allow me to allot more processor power to reaction time for my Klein Field and maneuvering. Already I'm noticing an increasing in speed for my other programs.

Honestly, it unnerved me how easily I employed all these various programs. It's like splitting my attention, or multi-tasking, but subtly different all the same. I wasn't ready to complain, not so soon after promising to use everything to the fullest, and it did make things easier... But it was still disturbing on a level he couldn't quite place.

"Sirs," Elizabeth hesitates, "I'm getting engine sounds from outside the harbor, possibly Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers..."

"It's Sumner. Displacement, 3500 tons; three, twin turreted 5in guns, and ten torpedoes tubes." checking through the logs left by Hyuuga only purging the personality, I easily recognize the signatures on my senses and call up their stats, "counting four inbound, line-abreast. Looks like we're the target. Clearing the harbor now."

"Four torpedoes inbound!"

"Crash dive, load decoys in tubes seven and eight," Williams calls and I immediately switch the lighting to minimum as we dive, leaving only the glow of the monitors and my triple green rings of data, "Load standard warheads in tubes one through four, and a corrosive in five and six,"

"Torpedoes inbound, fifteen seconds to impact. No Thanatonium reading detected." I inform, bringing the tactical overlay up on the main monitor, "Loading launch pattern into warheads."

"Launch decoys!" Williams yells, "Bring our nose up, snapshot tubes one through four and target the center two destroyers with the corrosives."

"Snapshots and decoys away!" Laura finished tapping her board, a program taking her input and directing the loading and launching, "Corrosives away!"

"Two torpedoes are changing course, targeting decoys." Elizabeth confirms, "snapshots have hit one torpedoe; fourth torpedo still inbound, impact in ten."

"Deploying Klein field." I announce, "Brace for impact in seven seconds."

"Our torpedoes are on target, impact in ten." Elizabeth calls out, "Sumners are maneuvering port and starboard to evade, Klein fields detected."

"Too late," I announce, crouching to take the shock of the following hit to my Klein field, "impact in three!"

The detonation of the torpedo is minimal, compared to a corrosive hit at least, and while it slams my frame it does not shift anyone from their seats. Though I do lose my balance, my face bouncing off a hasty barrier that, while it keeps me on the platform, hurts.

"Both targeted Sumners have been hit amidships, they are sinking," Elizabeth reports, jerking back a second later, "Additional torpedoes in the water, inbound from port and starboard! Five from both directions, twelves seconds to impact."

"All ahead full! Point us at the starboard Fog destroyer." Williams orders, "load tubes one, two, seven and eight with standard warheads. Corrosive warheads in tubes three and nine."

"Aye aye, bringing us around." I announce, "Thanatonium detected. Two corrosive torpedoes, one each from remaining Sumners."

"Fire standard warheads and the corrosive in tube nine," once more, Williams snaps to action, "crash dive one hundred feet, then point us straight at the destroyer ahead of us and fire tube three."

"Torpedoes away, ready to fire tube three!" Laura calls out.

"Impact in six seconds," Elizabeth reminds, "outbound torpedoes are on target, aft corrosive will hit the target in ten."

"Klein field is holding at eighty percent of maximum," I state, "I can handle both corrosives if need be, but I will have to drop the field after to discharge the trapped energy."

"Bow on target! Firing tube three."

Laura launches the corrosive, and despite both Fog ships attempting to avoid our fire, the patterns I'd dumped into our torpedoes' guidance systems has both of them being hit amidships by my corrosive warheads. Our maneuvers cause nearly all the enemy torpedoes to miss us, though a single normal warhead and a corrosive do reach us. The impact at first is like before, obviously the normal torpedo, but a second hit and surge on my senses registers as the corrosive. The hit shoves my hull to the side, slamming everyone into the side of their chair and station and knocking me around the small space of my 'stage'. It rattles for a couple seconds before a second smaller shove is felt and the blast dissipates. I rub the side of my head as I check my hull and sensors, noting at the same time that Elizabeth announces the sinking of both remaining Sumner destroyers.

"All targets are sunk," I say, bringing up the lighting to normal, "Nothing in detection range. Securing from battle stations. No damage to hull, discharging energy from Klein Field."

"San Diego Harbor Control is contacting us." Elizabeth calls, "Vid feed from Admiral Hathaway's office."

"Answer it."

"Captain Williams," Garrick greets us, standing to Hathaway's left when Ensign Elizabeth accepts the transmission, "Good to see you're all well."

"I'm assuming your Fog detection systems are exceptional," Hathaway half glares at Garrick before turning back to the monitor, "we didn't detect those Fog Destroyers until shortly after they opened fire on you."

"Fog destroyers, like their submarines, are equipped with anti-detection gear," fishing for information. While annoying that she won't just ask me, I find no harm in humoring her, "They most likely only knew I was here because they would've seen me exit the harbor before I dived."

"Indeed, and now that your shake-down is over," Garrick speaks up, that unnerving smirk on his face, "I need to you head out for the Panama Canal, and make best speed through it and up to one of our naval bases in Florida."

"Which base?" I and Williams voice at the same time, and I nod for him to finish, "We'll pull back into harbor and reload what we spent out here before going."

"Please do," Hathaway shoots a glare at Garrick, "You'll detour north first, head for Washington. Dock at Whidbey Island, they should have a load of vibration warheads for you by the time you arrive."

"I should tell you that once you have the warheads make best speed to the Key West Naval Fortress." Garrick says, blithely ignoring Hathaway, "While you're docked here, I'd like to come aboard and properly brief the two of you."

Williams glances at me, and I nod once before answering, "Of course, I'll generate a conference room."

"Splendid, see you in a half hour." And with that, Garrick reached out across Hathaway's desk and the screen switched to the tactical display as the signal cut.

This promised to be... Interesting...

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A/N: More of "The Runner". I've got a good start on what will be the third chapter, and holy hanna are they promising to be long -compared to my normal 2k word norm- chapters. I could have broken it up into smaller posts, but then it wouldn't flow right, so I hope you enjoy them as they are.

Where am I going with this? Well, at first it was a fun "What if?" scenario -almost a self-insert really- that I never really intended to post, but now I might just write it along a similar vein to what I feel from Dartz-IRL in his "Yours Truly 2032" Bubblegum Crisis story. A human finds themselves trapped in a machine body and must adapt to their new situation and lack of memory, struggling to find out "Who am I?".