Chapter Ten
"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."
― Arthur Conan Doyle
AN: Right, this chapter started back in April as an omake- which somehow ended up being its own chapter when we fleshed it out. Upon adding story development, we'd kept changing the chapter numbers. Anyways, please enjoy!
Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Alexander Kraus, technical ex-officer of the US Navy, 2nd in command of the entirety of the Fleet(s) of Fog, was in a precarious position. He knew this, and part of his mind was going into DefCon 1. He was terrified of what was about to come, and there was no way to stop it.
Once it began, everyone around him would suffer, and there would be no escape.
What could cause his rational part to panic in such a way? Simply put... boredom. This was a very dangerous state of mind, for the sake of all around him.
It had been a long journey, and they were only halfway through their final leg; Hawaii to San Francisco. The skies were clear, the waves were calm, and there was nothing for him to do.
He lounged aboard the bridge of Kongou, laying on a couch he had materialized, trying to relax. He cursed his ability to go without sleep, something onset by his "becoming a Mental Model after nearly dying". If he had brought himself to lift his head, he would see most of the Resupply fleet, along with the wake of the surfaced I-401 and the newly rebuilt and resupplied Takao. And that was it.
There was nothing else out there. No enemy attackers- human, Fog, or even seagulls- within a hundred miles!
Yes, he was very bored.
Thus, it was a mistake when the mental model of Kongou approached him on his sofa, face devoid of expression. "Admiral, I have checked the scans twice over, and received confirmation from the others; there is nothing in the sensors. Do you have other orders, Admiral?"
Kraus sighed at the news, before tensing and sitting up. "Kongou. Did….since when did you call me 'Admiral'? You started saying that after our duel, right?"
Kongou, normally stoic at all times, felt a tremor of panic run through her. 'He's interested in something. He's about to do something, but what?' She barely avoided gulping as she answered the question directed at her.
"Yes, that is correct, Admiral."
His face lit up with an epiphany, quickly traversing through multiple expressions, before he settled on one of... catlike contentment- eerily similar to Hyuuga's.
"Very well. Thank you, Kongou, very much." Around him, indigo hexagons popped into existence as he began rummaging through the Joint Network. Screens were popping up for a few seconds before closing.
The Fast Battleship stood there, unsure what to do, as he did this for several minutes. Finally, she gathered the courage to speak up, "Is that all, Admiral?"
He grinned, "No, that is not all. Kongou, from now on you are to replace the English word 'Admiral' with the Japanese word…'teitoku', I believe?"
Not one to question orders again, she complied. "Very well, Teitoku-sama."
"Oh no no no, that just won't do. Just Teitoku, Kongou. Afterall, you are my right hand in the fleet!"
"Hai, Teitoku." She then made her second crucial mistake. "Is there anything more you would ask of me, Teitoku?"
His grin widened, revealing his perfectly white teeth, now surpassing even Hyuuga's cheshire grin. "Yes, there is. Come join me on the couch, I have something to show you… I want to see if you can emulate something for me... as part of your discipline, of course."
Simultaneously, Aboard the bridge of I-401
It was just another day for the Blue Steel Fleet. The sun was shining, the waves were calm, and the seagulls that would normally swoop down to rest (and poop) on Iona were gone.
In hindsight, that should have been warning enough that something was amiss.
That was to say, the Fog submarine was brimming with its usual chaos.
All systems were green, and not a single enemy was in sight. Compared to the havoc the last few weeks had brought him, for Gunzou Chihaya, CO and partner of I-401, this was heaven. He didn't show it, of course, as his 'silent and stoic' face could rival even that of Kongou. On the platform next to his Captain's Chair, Iona sat, pinning Hyuuga with her knees, who had just attempted to… examine her for damage.
"Nyoooo~ Iona-nee-sama! You must let me check you over, it would be most horrible if something had happened to you, and I, Hyuuga, am the most worthy here, ufufu ~ Gwueh!" She coughed at the end, eyes widening with pleasure as Iona hogtied her with thick rope, only to be interrupted from her imaginings.
"What about the resupply ship that is behind us?"
It was Kyohei, the weapons operator, that interrupted. Normally he would be fine with Hyuuga getting beat up by Iona, but normally they wouldn't be trapped in the same room for hours when nothing was going on. Not to mention the excuse couldn't even be used for that same reason.
Screens popped up, and Takao's 'stern' face glared at Hyuuga. "Yeah, it's not like you should be the one examining someone! Iona would be fine, she was repaired and checked already. Now, my Captain is a different story. Who knows what sinking to the bottom of the ocean did to him!"
She said this, forgetting - or ignoring - that he was checked over by the doctors at Pearl Harbor.
Hyuuga, not one to be one-upped, glared back. "Hyu~huhue, you are just jealous that you can't be here without leaving your hull for no reason!"
"SHUT IT, cat face! Don't make me come over there myself!" Takao said, once again ignoring the obvious facts that she couldn't.
The air brimmed with electricity as the two 'women' glared at each other. By now, Hyuuga had all but forgotten the fact that she was now tied up, Iona preparing a pulley above their heads.
Shizuka, at her Sonar station- from where she was actually listening to Jpop- gave a small frown. She turned to the first mate, Oribe Sou. "Neh, Sou-san. I've been hearing strange things, but can't quite place what it is. Do you mind listening in?"
He nodded, and she sent the most recent audio files to his mask- thus interrupting his AC/DC.
He listened through the files once, then twice, and then a third time. He frowned back at the Sonar Operator. Realizing that she couldn't see his frown from under his mask, he asked, "Ano... where did this come from, Shizuka-san?"
She shrugged, "I heard it on my sensors. Do you think we came across some sort of long-range Japanese TV station, thousands of miles across the ocean?"
He hummed, giving it thought. The very reason the crew of I-401 had been given this mission was because of the fact that communications and travel across the oceans had been cut off. This, this sound, was something they should not be hearing out here.
"I don't know. Oi, Kyouhei-kun, you recognize this, right?" he asked, sending the audio file to his station. Which in hindsight was a mistake, as it relied on speakers, broadcasting it into the air.
"K….Kongou-Dess! It's a pleasure to m-meet you!"
The whole bridge went silent. Not even Hyuuga, who was hogtied from the ceiling above Iona's head, stirred. This continued for another 40 seconds, facial expressions of amazement and confusion evident even on Haruna's face.
The outbursts started with Kirishima, still in her teddy bear form. "What? Was. THAT?!"
Kyouhei facepalmed. Gunzou sweatdropped. Haruna grimaced. Iona...stayed the same, if not for a tiny twitch of her right eyebrow. The screen that had depicted Takao was now empty, with retching sounds coming off-screen serving as the only clue anyone needed to know what was going on on the other side. Above them, Hyuuga whimpered through her gag, and then the door to the bridge slammed open.
Watanuki Inori, 'Chief' Engineer (i.e. the only engineer) burst in, face too complicated to read.
They all sat there, various emotions raging through them faster than the Spanish Flu of 1918.
This went on until a voice came on over the communications channel. "I-401, this is Admiral Kraus. Is something going on? You appear to have lost speed."
Finally, Gunzou managed to put his gaping jaw to work, cleared his throat. "*Ahem*. Yes, we are...okay, Admiral. Something odd just came up though, but it's nothing to worry about." He glanced at his Engineer, then said, "It seems Iona got the hiccups, and her engine shorted out. I'm sure it's all Hyuuga's fault, so don't worry."
Ignoring the protests of the now gagged and suspended Hyuuga, he nodded at Iona, who promptly swatted Hyuuga like a pinata.
"Oh, would you like me to have Red Oak take another look at her to double check that everything is fine?"
Kyouhei, unable to take it anymore, rested his head against his console, 'accidentally' putting the audio file on playback for Admiral Kraus to hear.
"K….Kongou-Dess! It's a pleasure to m-meet you!"
"Oh, that voice...I recognize it from my teenager days. How did you all get an audio file of the Kongo sisters? Nobody's seen that show in ages, not since the Fog attacked."
Kirishima, once again, shouted. "KONGO SISTERS?! W-w-we would never say anything like that!"
"Kong-'o', not Kong'ou'; slight differentiation, but that matters here. They were from a show that was played back in the early 2010s. I enjoyed it quite a bit before I joined the navy, and continued to do so when I got bored. It was one of the first tastes of Japan for me."
Kyouhei spoke up, eyes wide in his orange-tinted goggles, "Wait a minute, hold up! You mean to say that you, an Admiral of the United States Navy, watched anime?"
"Well, yes. There's nothing wrong with that, right? We did more than run drills all day. Also, as I said, I started before I joined the navy." They could almost hear the irritation in Alexander's voice as he replied.
He cleared his throat, a habit he didn't actually need since he was a mental model, "Anyways, that show had Kongo, Haruna, Hiei, and Kirishima as standout characters. Kongo, in particular, acted that way. Perhaps you would like me to find it for you through the Joint Tactical Network's data on human culture?"
"Ah, no thank you. Perhaps give it to Kyouhei sometime, but I'm afraid it might cause more problems for Iona's performance. So again, don't send it if you please," Gunzou said, trying to get over the fact that the Admiral would nonchalantly pirate anime off of the Joint Tactical Network(!).
"Alrighty then, it's your call. I bet I can get Kongou to enjoy it though~." Kraus' voice came through with a hint of smugness. "Well, if there's anything else, let me know. I'll be staving off boredom with this. Kraus out."
The channel cut off. Mere moments later, a resounding sound of dull 'thuds' echoed throughout the bridge.
Above them, Hyuuga had finally chewed through her gags, belly-up from getting hit like a pinata. "Umm, would anyone mind cutting me down now? Hello? Iona-nee-sama~? Humans? Anyooone?!"
"Brother, I'm hungry," A female voice complained.
"Well sister dearest, maybe you shouldn't have chosen a cargo container for us to hide in. Besides we are surrounded by MRE's, you can eat some of those," A pubescent male voice whispered back.
"Akela, Jacob, keep it down! We need to avoid detection 'till we reach the continent where it will be too late for them to send us back safely," a second female voice hissed out in exasperation.
"You can shut up, Ali!" The other girl, Akela, snapped, "We've had this talk before. You may be the granddaughter of a top military leader, but-" Her voice raising in pitch was halted when a hand slapped her from behind.
"Hush, all of you. I hear someone." A third female, with a lethally quiet voice, whispered from near the darkened corners.
Argument halted, they all strained their ears just in time to catch a soft pitter patter. Silently, they moved back into hidden positions within the cargo container.
Kirishima was examining the container of human food with no small amount of caution. She had been walking to the storeroom to fetch some sweets for Haruna and Makie, but that was when her close range passive scanners picked up five human life forms inside.
Had this happened mere few weeks ago, she would have simply blasted down the door, or even vaporize the whole room, but now...it would have been a waste of resources. That, and her current form didn't allow for much space to have spare nanomaterials, for repairs or equipment.
She jumped up, kicking aside the locking mechanism of the container.
Inside were dozens of crates, boxes, and...and a lantern.
She flicked her thermal sensors and squinted (adorably) at 5 distinct heat spots.
"Oi!" She squeaked, jumping atop one of the nearest crates. "I know you are there, puny humans. You either come out now, or I will make you come out!"
Her diminished sensors could only hear comic-like whispers as the humans, whoever they were, debated.
"Hey, d-don't ignore me! I may not look it, but I've got the firepower of a Fog Fast Battleship. FEAR ME!"
...Silence.
"Huh, she squeaked."
"I expected nothing less from a lethal plush toy who wouldn't hesitate to vaporize us all~."
"...oi, why'd you make me sound like a monster?" She asked, peering over the next stacked crates. "No, wait! Stop your whispering and come out or I'm gonna-"
Something pitch black in the already darkened container apparated inches from "Youtarou's" nose, and…
"SQUEEEE~!"
...the world went dark.
Back on the bridge of Kongou
"Would you like some more tea~ Teitoku-Dess?"
"Ah, why indeed I would, Kongo. Your Earl Grey is absolutely scrumptious! I say, this is quite a refreshing change in atmosphere."
Atop the observation platform, Admiral Kraus was sitting at a table, not unlike the table used in the Joint Tactical Network 'conversation room', with a matching tea set and everything. The aroma of black tea wafted through the air, mixing with the smell of freshly baked scones.
"Now~, I hope this isn't permanent, Dess~. I find it to be very uncomfortable~, teitoku~! When can you return me to normal, desuu?~" The mental model stood next to him, dressed in a modified white and red set of Miko robes and a set of thigh-highs.
Kraus didn't bother looking at her face, which happened to be cheerful agony- similar to holding a cute puppy and drinking expired milk at the same time. He knew exactly how she felt about this, which made it all the greater.
"Oh don't worry Kongo, as soon as I ask the Admiralty Code on what to do about this, I'll let you go back to normal. Until then, know that I appreciate your sacrifice, as does the world." Kraus was grinning from ear to ear as he took a mouthful of scone. He groaned in delight as he tasted England incarnate. In his pleasure- and Kongo's displeasure- the Admiralty Code went unnoticed, standing in the corner with her arms folded.
'Oh dear, what ever should I do? Even I don't know enough about humans to choose.' She shook her head, translucent hexagons appearing around her. Her processors computed for a thousandth of a second (a long time for one with her amount of processing power) and composed a message.
Dear readers,
Yes, I am speaking to you, whoever you are. I cannot see you, but I know you are there. Really, you should expect this after the last few times. Alexander doesn't need to know I'm asking this though, so if you are capable of speaking to him, please keep it our little secret~. I've been meaning to ask you several things, so I'll start with this.
I've a bit of a dilemma; I want to please Admiral Kraus, but it would be at the cost of Kongou's sanity. Does this warrant giving a separate Core for Kongo, the alternate Fast Battleship? This is not something to take lightly, as the resources to create whole new cores are difficult to procure at times. Or, perhaps I can let her deal with this split personality herself? Finally, I could just nip this at the bud; as you can see, this new Kongo would cause quite a few problems for the rest of the Fog! After all, I'm not sure on how I should feel about another anime about warship girls invading my story...
...
Well, now that that is out of the way…
I feel embarrassed at this part, but it needs to be asked, for Alexander's sake.
Who do you 'ship', as humans on the internet put it? Part of me wants nothing more than to erase all of the other mental models, and possibly the entire world, to keep our dear Admiral to myself, but if there's anything I've learned in my years among humans, it's that the choice should always be offered. I suppose I do not mind sharing, and even giving my place to Kongou for Alexander's sake... but I leave that up to you, dear reader.
With cordial friendship,
Admiralty Code
She look up from her message after rechecking it, and nodded. 'That will do the trick.' Sparing one last glance at the duo aboard the Fast Battleship, she turned and walked out the open door. Stepping off the deck, she blew away in a pile of dust, scattering in the Pacific breeze.
Editor's Note: CabooseHelpsU here. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. I know I did...over SIX months ago. This chapter was pushed ahead more than a few times. You know, Hawaii is a beautiful, wonderful place to visit, even for a couple of weeks. But months? No, I'll pass.
Some Army buddies in the 26th Infantry agree with me. Anyways, this was a fun chapter. It's good to be free of Hawaii. I hope you caught the references to 'Of the Devil and the Sea' in the previous chapter, we may revisit that.
Oh, be sure to review, to Code's questions in particular. While Kitsune and I write for the sake of writing a fun, intense, well developed story, we also appreciate the non-flaming opinions of others!
I want to say more, considering how long we've had this chapter, but I'll stop for now~
Caboose out!