Disclaimer: ReamOfEmptiness and Andivia don't own Kantai Collection and/or Armored Core. We would like for it to be true however.
Noblesse Oblige First Arc: Part 1
While his charge may be considered reckless Noblesse Oblige used the small time window before engagement to classify the targets out on the sea as 'Hostile', the respective marks on his HUD turning red in response, and to observe them.
There were four of them: and while the previous whale-like creatures were confusing, those currently shooting at him were downright bizarre.
The first two were a pair of identical girls with white hair and glowing red eyes. Wearing a mix of normal clothes and some kind of strange black armor, they had two tail-like appendages coming out of their backs and rising above their shoulders with a three-barrel cannon at the end of each of them.
Behind them was another girl with similar appearance, but instead of armor and tails she had a long coat wrapped over her shoulders, three two-barreled cannons coming out from behind each of her hips.
Finally, moving closely and behind the third girl, was what Noblesse could only describe as a giant metal sphere. A vaguely female upper body, pale and bloated, was hanging out from an opening on one side: it was wrapped in a black torn cloth, the head was covered by a helmet shaped like the upper half of an eyeless creature and the arms were bolted on the sphere's surface behind the body. He couldn't help but compare it to the possible result of a particularly gruesome torture.
Nonetheless. Even if their appearance was bizarre and unlike the enemies he was used to face, there was no doubt they were that: enemies. Their weapons were firing at him, and while he couldn't be absolutely certain they were in league with the whale-like creatures that were at the city, it was definitely more likely than not.
That meant it was his duty was to defeat them.
While dodging the, in his eyes, slow-firing cannons Noblesse took aim with his rifle and fire a couple of shots at each girl. He ignored the metal sphere for now: it was not attacking, so it was likely to be an unit with a different purpose than combat. If so he could afford to give it a lower priority.
Each shot soundly hit the target. The twin girls had holes being blown in their main body, from which flew out metallic debris and a black substance whose density, as far as he could tell, stood a bit below oil; reinforcing their artificial nature. However, in the case of the girl behind them most of the damage from the bullets was prevented by a crimson field of energy.
Noblesse's first thought was to classify the crimson field as Primal Armor. If that made the enemy some kind of unorthodox NEXT he wasn't sure, after all Primal Armor was also deployed by other crafts. In any case, that only one target had access to it made the whole task easier.
"Too easy." He muttered while advancing past the enemy bombardment, the arm holding the rifle lowering. They were too slow, as things were even with that Primal Armor he could simply pick them off one by one.
Unfair. There was no honor in that strategy. Neither of his Partners would have approved.
[ Play - Guilty Gear X2 OST Pride And Glory (Kliff's Theme) ]
His Over Boosters ignited and propelled him forward faster than the speed of sound. He reappeared in front of one of the twin girls, her cannons still smoking from a shot he actually dodged before even boosting.
The laser blade once again came to life as he swung it, too fast for the girl to react. The weapon moved through the target without facing resistance and completed its movement just as Noblesse stopped behind her. One moment later she exploded, the NEXT's own Primal Armor flaring blue as it protected him.
"Petty bandits. Allow me to show you the pride of Rosenthal!"
A warning tone blared within his helmet, his HUD immediately highlighting incoming indirect fire. It seemed something was adding its guns to the fray from beyond the horizon, he just happened to be sitting right in the middle of their killing zone.
He considered if the target was him or his current enemies. The first one was unlikely, the attackers would lack a reason for hostility due to the lack of previous interactions between him and them. He only regained awareness recently, and wherever this place he was sure he has never been there before. Certainly he couldn't exclude the possibility those firing somehow knew he was there and had a reason to attack him...but it felt contrived. Too complicated of an explanation to be likely.
The second one, that the third party was targeting his current enemies, instead made more sense. After all before he interfered those units were committing a naval bombardment on a city full of civilians, so it was logical for the local military force, if there was one, to sooner or later receive notice of the events and send their own units to engage. In that case, either their systems couldn't tell him apart from the other hostile units...or they could, but chose to ignore it.
'I will have to inquire on which case it is.'
Noblesse thought dispassionately. Then immediately evaded the projected target of the first shell, abandoning a head on charge of the second twin in favour of avoiding the deadly projectile. An instant after the decision was made a shell crashed into the waves, exploding with force enough to stagger his target and launching a miniature wave of saltwater that obscured his view. It mattered not. Before his adversary's optics could adjust Noblesse burst through the thin obstruction with the glowing orange blade brandished before him. Lunging forward, the blade pierced deeply within his enemy's cannon. A brief glance at his radar, and he aborted a killing blow in favour of tearing his blade out and moving to interpose the disarmed foe between himself and the next exploding shell. She took the worst of it, and a single swing made quick work of any last embers of life.
Turning to the side at the last two enemy units Noblesse found himself locking eyes with the girl wearing the long coat. There were no emotions in those red orbs, but a sort of awareness: that he was the biggest threat to her continued existence.
He praised her judgment. Then he accelerated towards her, avoiding both the long-ranged fire and her own with lightning-fast side movements. Once they were both within range, she and the strange sphere behind her, and not before the six long barrels on his back spread out, going from a wing formation to a battery of six deadly laser cannons.
They fired at the same time.
Six blasts of concentrated laser energy pierced through the enemy shells, vaporizing them. Then they did the same with the red barrier, the girl and finally the sphere.
[ Stop Playing - Guilty Gear X2 OST Pride And Glory (Kliff's Theme) ]
Even with the last enemies dead and the bombardment having come to a stop Noblesse didn't allow himself even a brief moment of respite, his boosters reduced to the minimum setting that would allow his systems to cool down but still enough to keep himself suspended above the water. He hadn't been built specifically for sea battles, but he thanked Rosenthal for being prudent enough to enable rest without needing a solid surface.
His HUD picked up two approaching signals, with another two standing a fair distance behind. They were, without a doubt, the ones behind the previous long-distance fire.
Turning his head to the side he got his first good look at the mysterious third party. The first unit had the appearance of a human girl, the skin a normal coloration, with short purple hair and a single yellow eye, the other covered by an eyepatch. On both sides of its head were some sort of fins, probably antennas for communication. Noblesse's attention was drawn by the blade in her hand: physical and one-edged, more similar to an oversized knife than a proper sword. Instead of armor she wore civilian clothes, a cardigan and skirt combination, though the presence of a tie suggested the possibility of an uniform of some sort. He wasn't aware of many organizations where the uniform for female officers include a skirt, but some were registered within his database. The only odd pieces of her attire were strange metal bars coming out of her boots and a contraption of some sort on her back housing two small cannons.
The second unit was similar to the first one: skin with a normal coloration, purple hair if a few shades lighter and purple eyes. Above her head hovered a metal ring Noblesse couldn't identify the function of, let alone how it stayed up without support.
'Maybe magnetic force?' He wondered, the oddity of it making him wary.
Her weapon was a glaive, and on her back was a contraption similar to the one possessed by the first one, if more elaborated and equipped with three-barreled cannons.
Before he could initiate communications the one with the eyepatch anticipated him, or as he remember one of the technicians working on him saying, 'beat him to the punch'.
"This is Tenryuu-sama's attack! Yosha!"
He felt the muscles of his face -the fact he had a face, probably under the head part of his armor, was filed away for later- move, lifting by two centimeters the area above his left optic, or rather his eye. If he had to guess it was an instinctual reaction to the odd battlecry, or maybe because the rather amateurish way she held that sword grated on his pride. If you equip a weapon you must be able to use it at least to the level of a trained soldier or not equip it at all: having a tool without knowing how to use it is more dangerous that not having it during times of need.
Then he heard the second unit's following words: "What a pity, it's just clean-up duty." After that she pointed her cannons at him and fired, a small and pleased smile on her face.
'I do wonder...is this what humans call annoyance?' Noblesse wondered, dodging the shells well in advance before boosting in front of the first unit. Without even giving her time to react his blade ignited, severing the upper part of her sword. Then as the inertia pushed him past her it was followed by the barrels of the two cannons.
Another Overboost and he was standing in front of the second unit, the barrel of his rifle dangerously close to her face.
"I don't appreciate being treated like garbage, and especially not being attacked without a valid reason. Cease your hostility immediately, or I will make you."
The second unit slightly reeled back, no doubt taken by surprise at the reversal of roles, mouth opening and eyes widening...when suddenly, as if only then recognizing an important factor that put everything under a different perspective, she closed her mouth while her eyelids began to move up and down quickly. Almost as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"My sword! My cannons!" The first unit cried behind Noblesse. Knowing he crippled her offensive potential the NEXT didn't turn around, trusting his radar to detect in time any attempt at retaliation. "You prick! Stay away from Tatsuta or-!"
"Tenryuu-chan, please wait." The second unit said with a collected but firm tone, causing the first unit to fall into silence. Then she seemed to relax before looking into Noblesse's eyes, or at least where she likely believed they were situated. "I'm sorry, but can you please talk again?"
Noblesse tilted his head in confusion at the strange request. "Very well. In exchange, however, I ask that you explain your reasons for demanding that, and why you and your allies attacked me." Seeing a chance to initiate peaceful contact he lowered his rifle, freeing her visuals but aiming instead at the center of her body.
"What?! A man?" was the startled shout coming from the unit identified a Tenryuu.
"Wow. So I was right." The unit identified as Tatsuta brought one hand over her mouth. "You talk, you're male and your rigging is weird as hell-" What did she mean with that? He was a state of the art NEXT, he was not weird. "You are not an Abyssal, are you?"
"I do not know what you would classify as an 'Abyssal', but I have never been be referred to as such." He replied. "But, if it is something you expected to find while coming here, then I assume it refers to the hostile units that were attacking that civilian city before I engaged them."
"Yes, that's quite right." She closed her eyes, the stretching of her facial muscles suggesting she was smiling behind her hand. "To answer your question in a simple way, they are our enemies. After receiving a distress call we came here to fight them, and we may have mistaken you for an Abyssal since, well, you were the only one there."
They were given a target and the area where it could be found, only for someone else to arrive first and eliminate the target without their knowledge. Yes, Noblesse could see how those circumstances may lead to misleading conclusions, especially if they also assumed their earlier long-range bombardment managed to take down a lot of targets.
"There is no reason to fight among ourselves, so would you be willing to engage in cordial talk?"
Noblesse considered the proposal. Unlike the 'Abyssals' Tenryuu and Tatsuta seemed honorable people, even if their manners left something to be desired. That they were willing, or maybe just able, to communicate was a bonus he could use to gather much-needed knowledge about his surroundings.
"...I accept." He finally replied, lowering his rifle until the barrel was aimed at the water below. If it was a trap he could lift it up fast enough to shoot her at point-blank if he kept a minimum distance, or shoot the water to create a distraction, but he judged the probabilities of that to be low. His boosters gently moved him back and to the left in order to form a triangle with the two girls, a formation which allowed him to keep both in sight.
"Oi Tatsuta!" Tenryuu waved her fist at her comrade in irritation. "You should ask me first before proposing something like that!"
"I apologize Tenryuu-chan. I just wanted the negotiations to be successful."
"Then why-Wait a sec! What are you implying Tatsuta?!"
'They must be long time partners to banter so casually with each other.' Noblesse mused. It may seem contradictory, but he had witnessed allied pilots exhibit the same behavior during battle. If he was not mistaken, using something called 'familiarity' humans were able to convey their true feelings to each other despite using false or misleading words. Kind of like an IFF system used by an unit camouflaged with the enemy's colors.
"Tenryuu-san! Tatsuta-san!" Came a cry from afar. While they were talking the two other units approached their position. "Is it safe now?"
"Yes! Come on closer!" Tatsuta waved at them. As they comply with the invitation Noblesse was finally able to see the units clearly: both had brown hair and eyes, their similar physical characteristics suggesting they are of the same model. They shared a different uniform, white and brown and more civilian-looking, and over it wore a strange armor with five huge double-barreled cannons surrounding them on all sides and a radar array on their back.
The still smiling girl turned back to Noblesse, though now she seemed embarrassed. "Dear me, I forgot to introduce myself. Light cruiser Tatsuta, second ship of the Tenryuu-Class. Nice to meet you." She finished with an elegant bow.
"Tch. I'm the name ship of the Tenryuu-Class, Light cruiser Tenryuu! Remember that!" She finished while waving her broken sword at him.
At that moment a new window opened up on his HUD:
"Remove headgear? Y/N"
Indeed, it would be impolite to keep hiding his face when his interlocutors were showing theirs. After selecting 'Y' Noblesse felt something come loose around his next area. With a slight hiss, which told him the pressure was different between outside and inside, his helmet was removed by minute servomechanisms before being slotted on his back.
The removal of the helmet revealed short and unkempt black hair set above a stern face with quite a few scars, and piercing green eyes. He stood straight and confident before proudly declaring: "Collared's rank five, representing Rosenthal Industries: Noblesse Oblige. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Don't break formation!" The short girl with long, straight black hair wearing a hakama over a green kimono warned when seeing one member of the fleet straying from the designed path.
"Sorry Hatakaze-san!" The other girl replied with a military salute and a wink before correcting her course.
"Why is Hatakaze-san so serious?" The girl next to her asked with a bored expression. "This is just a scouting."
"Even a simple scouting mission must be taken seriously." She replied. "This strait of the sea has been lost since the start of the war, we don't know where the enemies may be located, or how many ships they have."
At the same time, many miles away from the girls' position, a pair of eyes slowly opened, revealing blood red and glowing pupils, before narrowing. They moved around until they settled upon a distant point on the horizon.
Three large, metallic masses began to move.
"Even so, can we relax for now or not? It's not like we are going to get ambushed." The fourth girl, the final member of the fleet, spread her arms. "I mean, look around. Nothing but open water for miles."
The next instant she was consumed by a large detonation of blinding light.
For a few moments the other three Shipgirls remained paralyzed, unable to understand what happened right in front of their eyes.
Then another one of them was instantly torn apart by another explosion.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Hatakaze screamed as she and her last comrade began to accelerate in different directions. "The enemy?! Where it is?"
"I-I don't know." The other girl replied in a panic. "Both the radar and the sonar report no-" She managed to say before meeting the same end.
Hatakaze, fifth of the Kamikaze-class destroyers, felt the awareness of being the last one alive gaining physical weight as her body lost the will to move. Crying, empty eyes stared at the empty sea. "Who..."
Her brain managed to register a single, last frame -a minuscule pinpoint of light appearing above the horizon- before it and the rest of her body ceased to function.
The blood red eyes closed again. From the beginning until the end, they displayed nothing but cold indifference.
We're so very sorry! A combination of writer's block and work kept both of us away from this story, but no more!
Not to say updates from now on will come out at the speed of light, but both me and Andivia are definitely back on action!
For Noblesse's appearance, he's based on Colonel Io from Broken Blade.
The following chapters will center around Nineball Seraph, so Glint and Noblesse will be absent for some time, so Glint and Noblesse will be absent for some time.