Akitsu Maru sighed heavily to herself as she carefully pulled herself up onto the high docks of the Kitakyushu LSC base. She wasn't sighing because she was back at the base. On the contrary, the LSC base was where she had been built and was always like home to her. She was sighing because of everything she had been learning recently, and just how ridiculous it made everything seem.
If the abyssal ships had first been mindless and created for the sole purpose of grabbing human's attentions, they had been great at it. But now that they had sentient and minds of their own, was it possible for peace between them?
The obvious answer was no, not because it was impossible, but because the humans at this point would not let it be possible. They had ruined Japan's livelihood and killed thousands. Even if it was explained to them, the humans would demand so much that it would be impossible for the abyssal to accept, or they would just refuse without any thought.
It was a despairing revelation knowing that peace was possible and yet completely impossible. The abyssal Hime's and Onis had no desire to fight; they just wanted to keep the thing that made them locked up. If humans knew about it though, how would they react?
They could both understand it and leave it alone, letting the Himes keep it; an unlikely but good action. Or they would use it as a rallying cry and attempt to destroy it, which was far more likely a possibility.
No matter what possibility or way of explaining the information she had, Akitsu Maru could see no way of it being useful without causing more despair and destruction. Even with all the information she now had, she could think of nothing to break the situational deadlock, and it worried her.
If Battleship Symbiotic Hime was going to convince the other Hime and Oni to not move through the sea of Japan, it would still leave numerous other weak abyssal there, but it would make things safer and reopen trade with the mainland, even if a little. If she was lying though and Akitsu Maru reported that the Sea of Japan seemed devoid of Hime's and Onis, the destruction would be great.
Akitsu Maru wanted to believe Battleship Symbiotic Hime and Seaport Hime. She wanted to believe what they said, not because she felt bad for them, but because if what they said was true, then it meant that everything had been a misunderstanding in simple terms, and misunderstanding could be fixed over time. if they were right, it also meant that japan could get back onto its feet, but if they were lying . . .
Akitsu Maru shook her head. She would believe them, it was the only real choice she had. They had given her information that could undo and destroy them, and honestly seemed to have no reason to lie. If they were lying, it was extremely well done.
"You look like something is on your mind."
Akitsu Maru turned to the voice and smiled as she looked over from her position on the docks edge to see here fellow LSC ship Yamato standing nearby. Because LSC ships like themselves were individuals and unable to have copies made, there was a strange sisterly bond between all of them. That bond, of course, existed between Akitsu Maru and Yamato as well, just like it did for all LSC ships between them and it made Akitsu Maru feel like she had come home.
"Yeah, I guess there are a few things on my mind, but it doesn't matter. How have you been as of late?"
"Oh, I've been fine. Because of the resource shortages we haven't been sent out very often. Though I heard that Musashi and I would be sent off to help a base that does well in the current large scale operation. It feels kind of lazy honestly, especially since the reports we've been hearing have been saying their targets seem to be toying with them."
Akitsu Maru remembered the groups of Hime's and Onis she had seen leave and giggled quietly. Just imagining them running away was something that seemed surreal. "That's no good; maybe you'll be stuck on being ready to sortie without ever going."
"Yeah, it is a little annoying, but I understand it since I use so much fuel and ammo in combat. How about you, I heard you're doing some work for R&D, yeah? I hadn't heard that you transferred out of the supply base."
"I, um . . . didn't. The R&D head is just having me do some small minor missions for them."
"Are they low on people or something? The way I understood it, the R&D department was one of the best staffed so that new weapons against the abyssal could be made."
"I don't know, no matter how I asked or complained he never told me anything" Akitsu Maru said, her tone stiff as she remembered the reason and objective to what her missions given by R&D were, and how badly she was skirting them.
"Your mission is what is worrying you, isn't it?" Yamato asked after a moment, motioning for Akitsu Maru to follow her over to the bottom of a nearby crane.
"What, n-no, not really."
"We may not be sister ships, but all of us LSC's are like sisters. I can tell when you're bothered, Akitsu Maru. There not much point in trying to hide it."
Akitsu Maru looked at Yamato and followed her over to the crane, letting out a sigh as she sat down on a knee high slab of cement. "Yes, it's what is bugging me. My missions, well they haven't gone exactly as I had expected."
Yamato looked at Akitsu Maru, "I can tell you shouldn't tell me about it, but if you are really that worried about it, I'm always here to listen to you."
Akitsu Maru was silent for many moments as she mulled over in her head what to do, before she finally could not contain herself any longer, " I- you might not believe everything, but, well- I'll start from the beginning for you."
And so Akitsu Maru told Yamato what had happened to her. Everything from Leo Yomi giving her the mission, to meeting the abyssal on her last mission and everything in between. She left out no detail about anything, Leo Yomi, the abyssal, or her own feelings. She told her everything and then after what seemed like an eternity of speaking, Akitsu Maru took a deep breath and released a sigh of relief. It felt good to get it all off her chest.
As Akitsu Maru seemed to bask in the afterglow of letting everything go, Yamato had a confused look on her face. She wasn't confused by Akitsu Maru's words, as she knew that Akitsu Maru would never lie to her, she was confused about how she should react to the information she now had too, and how it would affect what she currently was supposed to do. "So, what is your plan then, to do with what you know I mean."
Akitsu Maru took a deep breath and let it out slowly, smiling to Yamato as she did. "I'm not sure yet, but I know I have to report at least some of it to R&D. I'll probably do that then decide, I guess."
Yamato nodded as she stood up and looked to Akitsu Maru with a smile. "Then you'd best get going. If R&D found out that you had arrived back in Japan and did not report to them immediately, they would be quite upset with you, I would think."
"Ah, your right. I'm sorry we didn't get more time to talk, maybe we'll have a chance sometime."
"Yes, that would be nice. Have a safe drive back to the capitol." Yamato said as Akitsu Maru leapt off the cement and ran off across the base, toward where she had parked her truck.
Watching her run off Yamato sighed and walked over to a hidden box and donned her equipment which lay inside. It was time for her to head on the mission she had gotten from R&D.
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Akitsu Maru groaned as she stretched her arms getting out of her truck. The drive from the Kitakyushu LSC base had been a long one, and such long drives were always hard on her muscles. Grabbing her order folder she walked away from her truck and over to the warehouse, hoping to get an order from the supervisor.
Entering the warehouse however, Akitsu Maru found it eerily quiet, and as she walked down its length, she noticed that not a soul was in the building, and all of the lights were out. Because she slept in the warehouses' back the lights were never turned off, and even with it being the evening, it wasn't late enough for the warehouse to be empty.
Throwing the folder onto her desk Akitsu Maru turned around and listened silently, hearing nothing. "Strange, did everyone go home early or something?"
"That is one way you could look at it."
Akitsu Maru looked up to see the owner of the now familiar voice, Leo Yomi, step out from behind a shelf of metal crates. With the lights out in the warehouse it was difficult to see his face, but from the way he stood before her, Akitsu Maru could tell something was off. And it made her very nervous.
"Oh, Admiral Yomi! I got the routes of the few Abyssal ships I saw out there and-."
"You can quit that pointless façade. I have already discerned your true colors."
"W-what are you talking about?"
"You know what I am talking about, about you being an abyssal covert agent. Take her."
On Leo's words a dozen ship girls came out of the shadows, all of them aiming their armaments at Akitsu Maru's body and head, some at nearly point blank range. None of them seemed to show any remorse, and their glares were like cold steel on Akitsu Maru's skin.
"W-what?" Akitsu Maru said in surprise and shock, unable to react to what was happening around her.
"You look confused. Did you not think I would not notice abyssal energy on those shells you supposedly returned? Once we discovered that energy, it became clear that you could be alongside the abyssals. But we needed proof. Proof we acquired when our scouting planes out of Kitakyushu watched you dive under the water's surface, as only an abyssal could!"
"What? No, that's not what happened! The abyssal had found the shells yes, but they returned them and-"
"And why would the abyssal fleet, our enemy, return experimental shells to you? Unless you were with them from the beginning and needed to increase your trust with us. They should have just kept them, and killed you! Your argument does not hold up very well, turncoat."
"That . . . they are not what we believed them to be! They used to be controlled by something else, but they aren't now! That's why the severity of their attacks against our fleets has lessened!"
". . . . . . . and what was controlling them then, if you're so keen on making us believe what you say."
Akitsu Maru Looked at Leo Yomi and could feel a cold sweat run down the back of her neck as she spoke. "A- a giant underwater monster, it's chained deep underwater."
Leo Yomi glared at Akitsu Maru, his eyes nearly shining in the minimal light filtering in from the warehouses entrance as he let out a long and exasperated sigh. "It is clear to me that you are now just desperate. I hope the ride to your prison cell will give you time to fabricate a more, believable, story to tell us. And maybe the admiralty board will like it better than your current one."
"I'm not lying! I swear I'm-" Akitsu Maru said as she took a step toward the admiral, and quickly found the end of a gun barrel swung into her face, sending her to the ground with a hard thud.
"What you believe is the truth is irrelevant when you spout such impossible and unbelievable words. You'll have time to think over your side of the story on the way to your cell. Pick her up and put her in the truck. We are done here!"
