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Yokosuka, the Naval District Headquarters, Thursday 25 May, two hours after supper...
"Fujiko-chan, are you SURE you want to do something like this?!"
Hearing that pained plea from the converted battlecruiser she had always admired, the lead of her class of destroyers took a deep breath. "It has to be done, Anna-sempai!" Fubuki then calmly stated, crossing her arms. Everyone had returned to the main conference room to discuss what was being planned now, with the shipgirls having enjoyed one of the best meals that could be made by the culinary staff. "Hai, I realize that given what happened to those poor girls like your sisters' lovers, there is the chance I could be raped." As many of the shipgirls in the room blanched on hearing that blunt observation escape the first true modern destroyer, the brown-haired adopted native of Maizuru added, "But when I was summoned back, I took an oath to ensure all the people who couldn't fight the enemy would be able to live their lives in peace and harmony. The girls of Saint Maria Christos were DENIED that...and supposedly, all for US! I can't let that stain on our honour remain!"
"Spoken like a true samurai, Fujiko-san."
Eyes locked on Yonaga, then Akagi groaned. "Yoiko! Don't encourage her!"
"Yoiko-san is right, Anna-san. What happened to those girls was 'meant' for all of us, so we have to do something to aid them. Yes, the healers of the Tōmagun and 'W' Commando are trying their best, but putting them so close to us..."
Eyes locked on the brown-haired, caramel-eyed pre-dreadnought battleship that had been summoned by Harry Potter and Ono Natsume three years ago when an Abyssal attack penetrated into the inner part of Tōkyō Bay. "Are you thinking we should move those kids somewhere where there aren't shipgirls present, Captain Tōgō?" Gotō Kiichi then asked the flagship of the Combined Fleet at Tsu-shima. "It was noticed right away by Alexander-sensei that these girls needed to be close to shipgirls given what happened to them when they were at school; that explains why they were so dull and lifeless in the period after Arisugawa-san and Hirato-san moved them from their school to Nerima. Yes, it runs the risk of incidents like what nearly happened to Yū-chan and what just happened to Zita-san and Paola-san, but to take them away now..."
"I wish I realized that earlier on after I got them moved to Nerima."
Mikasa looked over at the girl with the tapered ears in the surplus army pants and T-shirt now standing by one window gazing out at the lower reaches of Tōkyō Bay. "Stop that, child," the adopted native of Nara (her namesake mountain), Kagoshima (her beloved admiral's home town) and Barrow-in-Furness (the place she was built) bade as she walked over to squeeze Arisugawa Yui's shoulders, making the former cultural observer shudder. "You did what you thought was best. Yes, there were mistakes, but you're no trained healer. You saved them from a potential threat — multiple potential threats, in fact — and kept them alive until you could safely approach all of us to get help. You completed the mission admirably, little admiral..."
"Shipmistress-prime."
People perked. "That would be the Sagussan term for an admiral," Kaga then concluded.
"Hai, Kei-san," Yui said.
"So when you've spoken to sisters in the Dreamscape, you've been talking to people in the Main Dockyard, right?"
That was Hirato Yūko, who was giving her old schoolmate a knowing look. "What main dockyard?" Enterprise asked as many there exchanged confused looks before they focused on the bespectacled woman who helped Yui rescue her friends.
"When the Avalonians got busted out of jail, Kasuga Ayumu and Suzumiya Haruhi found an abandoned Fourth Sagussan Republic fleet of starships in orbit over a dead planet close to one of the homeworlds of one of the Urusians' allies in the Galactic Federation," Yūko declared as slight smiles crossed the faces of Gotō and his counterparts in Sasebo and Taranto, John Richardson and Jacobella Bergamini; even if THAT project had remained above top secret from any shipgirl for the last six months, they knew their subordinates would love to hear of what was now being planned. "Along with that was a massive factory satellite that once served as the main dockyard and construction yard for their defence forces; it had been moved there when the people rebelling against the jerks who liked the idea of chopping up clones of people for spare body-parts decided to deny the bastards any space attack capabilities." As people winced on hearing that curt statement from the banker's daughter — the story of planet Sagussa thirteen millennia ago often sounded close to what had been written about planet Krypton in a miniseries by the man who had helped revamp the whole story of Superman in the late 1980s after the (in)famous Crisis of Infinite Earths maxi-series — the former member of Class 1-W at "M.C. High" then added, "Fortunately in all this time since that war ended, the factory stayed in perfect shape; self-repair 'droids inside it kept it going strong all these years. To make sure it couldn't be stolen by anyone, the Avalonians had it brought over and parked it on Mars' orbit at the third Lagrange point between it and the Sun. Once the Academician put an updated cloaking device around it and whatever ships the Avalonians parked here, there was no way that the aliens that were being allowed to visit Earth at the time could see it."
"That's where these starship versions of ourselves are being built," Yonaga noted.
Gotō tensed. "Yoiko-san, how...?" He then stopped himself, chuckling. "Right. Patricia-sensei and her friends told you."
"Indeed they did, Teitoku," the seventh carrier of Operation Z declared.
"Your mother's people are willing to do that for us, Yui-san?!" Fubuki asked.
Yui gazed at her. "We all watched you go out there and fight these things, Fujiko-chan," she said as she walked over to gently place her hands on the destroyer's cheeks, making the adopted native of Maizuru blush. "Even if our masters were under direct orders to not do anything to interfere in your fight against those things, we all felt your pain. We felt it when Mutsuko-chan lost Kyōko-chan." She gazed on Mutsuki and Kisaragi, both of whom blushed at that show of caring from the adopted native of Nagoya. "We felt it when Sumiko-san lost Shōko-san." Here, she looked at one of the monitor screens, displaying an image of Zuihō and Shōhō in their new quarters at Sasebo. "We felt it every time you were hurt and nearly killed all over the world. We WANTED to help you guys! Screw the Non-Interference Treaty! If the leaders of the Federation were ready to toss it all aside to prevent the Ipraedies from invading Earth, then they needed to learn what was really going on here!"
"Why didn't they, Yui-chan?" Haruna asked from beside Kongō.
"It's because Ōgi didn't want them to learn it, Harumi-san."
Eyes locked on the image of Moroboshi Ataru, who was now travelling on a Shinkan-sen train with Roma from Sasebo via Hakata in Fukuoka to Shin-Yokohama, where they would transfer to a local line to come to Yokosuka. "Shit! Let me guess!" New Jersey snarled from Richardson's office in Sasebo, crossing her arms. "Ataru's 'wife' would get into some shit because of the Abyssals — or us — then he'd sweep in to save the day, plus save her from the 'great evil', right?"
"On the nose, Kathy-san," Ataru affirmed.
"Please tell me you KILLED this monster," Yonaga snarled.
"No, Yoiko-san. I did much worse." Ataru sat back in his chair; Gotō knew that the last host of the Earth Angel would have secured himself in a private "green" cabin so he and Roma could enjoy time alone as they travelled. "When we hit the Phentax system to liberate the Avalonians, I asked Ayumu-chan to yank him out of his office in Lumukyō and have him teleported to the flagship of Nassur-san's father Ninsur-gensui, who was then in orbit over Vos so he could be tried for that bio-war attack on Lecashuto six years ago." As people gaped in horror at him, he shrugged. "He said he wanted to target the Mikado — he's Vos' current dictator — for trying to kill Lum and his family. He wound up killing five million innocent people instead. According to Ayumu-chan's friend Mizuhara Yomi-san, Ōgi honestly didn't care for how many died just as long as the Vosians were taught a lesson in humility. Right now, that bastard's rotting away in prison on Vos for the rest of his life."
"So the foolish brat's karma will be destroyed before he sees what awaits him in the next life," Mikasa snarled as many others in the room grimly nodded at such a fate. "Good. A monster like that deserves no less. No matter your own feelings for Lum, Ataru-kun, you have to agree with me that she certainly didn't deserve a mass murdering stalker chasing her all the time."
"I knew that all along, Mihoko-onēsan."
As the pre-dreadnought blushed at being called "big sister" by the last host of the Earth Angel, Yui pulled herself away from Fubuki, then reached into the cargo pouch of her surplus army combat pants to draw out what looked like an iPad. Walking over to the end of the main meeting table, the raven-haired former cultural observer then tapped a point on the slate quartz-like crystal. The shipgirls present all gasped as a beautiful hologram appeared over the screen.
"May I present...Tennō Heika Uchūkan Fubuki!"
Everyone instantly crowded around the image...
The destroyer dorms, nightfall...
"Fast...I'll be the fastest thing in the GALAXY...!"
Hearing Shimakaze chant that as she danced around the main common room, the other destroyers all shook their heads. Attending this meeting atop Fubuki and her fleet mates from Yokosuka (save the slowly-recovering Yūdachi, who was listening in over radio from her room) were Shimakaze's sisters from Korea, the six members of the Sixth Canadian Destroyer Squadron as well as the three destroyer members of Taffy Three. Given that all destroyers worldwide belonged to the "Tin Can Mafia", a worldwide information network shared by all of their kind, the news of what Yūko revealed in the main meeting hall would get out to every nation possessing shipgirl destroyers within hours. Already, faerie communication crews within each girl present here was transcribing what had been discussed for immediate data transmission to their friends worldwide. As the first modern destroyer to answer the call to arms as a kantai musume, Fubuki was often seen as the overall "flagship" of the Tin Can Mafia. "You must be pretty excited, Sumie-chan," the first of her class then said to her old classmate.
A slight burst of wind saw the blonde destroyer lean right into her fleet mate's face. "Are you KIDDING me, Fujiko?!" Shimakaze demanded. "Do you realize what Warp 20 MEANS?!" As Fubuki shook her head, the lead member of her class stepped back. "It's twenty to the fifth power! That's 3,200,000 times the speed of LIGHT! Almost a TRILLION kilometres a SECOND!" She leapt back as her three gun turret familiars squealed. "Allen-sensei, MOVE OVER! You got competition!"
Her Korean sisters all cheered their "ŏnni's" delight; as they had been planned as a follow-on group to Shimakaze's design, their starship-selves would have the same general capabilities. "I still don't understand why Yasuko-san didn't seem to like this, nanodesu," Inazuma then commented, which instantly sobered everyone up. "Even if we're powerful, our capabilities now are totally planet-bound. If we can get out into space, we can make the meanies out there go away as well!"
"It's the whole thing with Star Blazers, Inoue," Hoel stated, which made the Japanese destroyers wince; Yamato's disapproval of many aspects of Uchū Senkan Yamato was well-known to many affiliated with the shipgirls, especially when it came to the whole Wave Motion Gun concept. "Even if the Avalonians aren't putting the anti-proton cannons old Sagussan capital ships possessed into them, the weapons our version of a starship Yamato will be equipped with could devastate a continent. The whole concept of 'weapons of mass destruction' will have to be seriously revised once we get those things into commission." As others winced, the adopted native of Butler County in Ohio shook her head. "Doubt the idiots who organized that shit last year with that whole Tag Race idiocy would like us getting hold of those ships. It was as clear as mud in a ballroom. They're so scared of us, they'll do anything to put us down and keep us suppressed. Look at what that Redet bitch did to Ataru!"
Grunts and nods from the other Americans and Canadians in the room. "Ne, Madelyn-a. It still amazes me that Ataru-ssi actually likes that girl," T'aekp'ung said before she breathed out into the cup ramyŏn she got for herself from a nearby vending machine. The adopted native of P'ohang — all of the Korean Project V6 destroyers were now seen as part of the overall Yŏn'il Sŭng clan, thus considered the industrial town in Kyŏngsangbuk-to their hometown and home port — shook her head. "Why?"
"Ataru-kun's always been very forgiving of those who honestly do care for him, Sŏnghan-a," Fubuki said. As a verbal slap in the face to the militarists who loudly hated the idea of Japanese-designed destroyers serving in the United Korean Republic Navy, most Japanese shipgirls — Aso being the most well-known exception — always used Korean honorifics with their would-be fleet mates. "Despite the original lie and her being so overbearing at times, Lum-san did care for him. He always saw her as his only true friend in that town. Shinobu-san effectively dropped him when Shūtarō-san joined their class and Chigaiko-san was just too scared to press her own desires for him after that curse hit her that made everyone forget her name."
Nods all around. "So what do you plan to do now with your 'girlfriend', Fujiko?" Gatineau then cooed, making her squadron-mates all gaze knowingly at the first modern destroyer. As Fujiko squawked, the adopted native of her namesake city in Québec across from Ottawa sat back in her chair. "You have to admit, volunteering for a 'kiss upgrade' via those poor girls our Forester friends are watching over now on the island was quite bold, especially for someone like you."
"You could get into trouble, Onē-chan," Hatsuyuki warned. "Look what Kagurazaka-sensei was prepared to do to Yū-chan."
Others winced. While there was a definite sort of mistrust between destroyer and submarine shipgirls — given that the former type of warship was made to hunt the latter during the world wars, while the crews of the latter type considered all surface ships legitimate targets to be sunk if the mission called for it — the idea of someone as nice and as professional as the former German U-boat known officially as Ro-500 being RAPED by a woman who was well into her late twenties would make any sensible person cringe. "It's only just a kiss, Hatsue-chan," Fubuki said as she waved her sister down. "Zita-sempai and Paola-sempai reported that once the upgrade was underway, Rei-san and Akira-san were allowed to regain control over themselves. With what the healers are saying now, both of them are recovering like Keiko-sensei and her friends down in Sasebo did after Jane-sensei and Patricia-sensei moved to help them recover from upgrading Sonia-sempai and the others."
"Did Yoiko-sempai get a kiss from the girl who went after her?" Ikazuchi asked.
"No, she hasn't, Ikue-chan!" Akatsuki declared. "An elephant lady..."
"'ELEGANT!'" everyone else screamed at her.
The first of her class of destroyers winced...
The carrier dorms, that moment...
"AH-CHOO!"
"Bless you, Onē-sama! Are you alright?!"
Yonaga moaned before she wiped her nose. "I'm fine, Yasuko. Young Tsukiko was speaking of me as an 'elegant lady' again."
Laughter filled the room from the others attending this mass meeting of carriers and battleships — along with one certain missile cruiser — in the main lounge of the carrier dorms. "She does mean well, Yoiko," Kaga noted. "Though she needs to learn her English better. 'Elephant lady'? That's an insult to someone like yourself, old friend." As the others in the room laughed again, the converted battleship sighed. "Fujiko-chan seemed very eager to volunteer, didn't she?"
"That's the thing I've dreaded for years now!" Nagato hissed out. "Even if their crews were almost all men at the cusp of adulthood — thus more than happy to enjoy such intimacy — the destroyers are only NOW going into puberty...!"
Saratoga squeezed her lover's shoulder to stave off another embarrassing Nagamon episode. "Nonetheless, Fujiko-chan was right, Reiko-san," Yamato noted. She had always been very sympathetic to the first modern destroyer given how much Fubuki was willing to help the first Japanese super-battleship get chances to deploy as witness what happened in the prelude to Operation MI. "What happened to those girls is a stain on our honour, our combined karma. Naomi-chan needs the chance to detect where this yakuza is so Onē-sama can get the vengeance our guests on the island deserve for all the things they've gone through. If Fujiko-chan is willing to help out — and it can be done in controlled circumstances — let it be done!"
"Before we even think of doing that, let's ask people who actually HAVE become 'special boatswain mates' this way about their own opinions," Enterprise proposed, which made people gaze at one of the view screens projecting an image from Sasebo.
Tosa and Akagi's battlecruiser sisters gazed upon their lovers; they now sat together in an old classroom at Kōkai Junior High School. "It was okay, Yvonne-san," Tōgasa's lover Horiguchi Junko stated. "Yes, I was forced into this mess by Murata-hakase. I never had a 'choice' in choosing who would be my life-mate because of what he did. But I gave Tokiko the chance the be human and break away from Satan's grasp. God was the one who brought Tokiko into my heart. His Will be done."
"I can only agree to that," Matsuhara Keiko added; she was now seated beside Arizona in the lounge, having come with her new girlfriend to the general meeting at Yokosuka thanks to phoenix travel as arranged by Long Beach. "Yes, I was forced into this mess...but a more kind and noble person I could never ask for as a wife." She smiled as the younger of the Pennsylvania-class battleships turned an interesting shade of red. As others laughed, the nurse shrugged. "She has her imperfections and eats too many doughnuts to be healthy, but her kisses are simply divine and her hull is so WARM!" The raven-haired nurse then snuggled up against the martyr of Pearl Harbour, making Arizona squawk in shame-faced embarrassment.
"Hey! Free love! Seriously cool!" Long Beach chanted from her place by the main doors, she leaning against the wall.
"NAOMI!" Arizona shrieked. "DON'T ENCOURAGE THINGS, YOU SILLY GIRL!"
Laughter filled the room; seeing the quite prudish standard battleship so publicly flustered like this was always worth its weight in gold. "Still, I don't like this," New Jersey then commented from John Richardson's office. She and Iowa had been joined by Mutsu, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Mississippi while the commander of American naval forces in Japan was dealing with an issue Prinz Eugen reported to him just as this particular private meeting of capital ships began.
"Oh, finally! She learns proper behaviour!" Arizona snapped.
"HEY!" the second of the Iowa-class snarled.
"No one should ever like this, Kathy," Mutsu said as she moved to moderate. "Still, it doesn't surprise me that Fujiko-chan was willing to volunteer. She's always been the eager beaver. No insult to our Canadian friends, of course."
Laughter filled the air. "I will not stand by and allow Fujiko-san's honour to be tainted because she showed proper determination in the face of this damned stain on our collective karma," Yonaga coldly declared. "She seems wise enough to understand when to stop this before it gets too far and her innocence is truly destroyed in that manner. Given what happened to Sonia-san, our returned fleet mates and our guests from Italy, whoever is so honoured to become Fujiko-san's special boatswain's mate should recover quickly. When they are in a 'normal' state of mind, the ladies of Saint Maria Christos are well-behaved, honouring their upbringing; even an 'eccentric' such as Yūko-san knows the proper conventions and adheres to them when not alone with Chiyo-san." As the others laughed on hearing that — to see a straight-laced woman like Chōkai bed someone like Hirato Yūko had surprised many — Yonaga added, "The healers know the potions regime that Patricia-san came up with to help Keiko-sensei fully recover herself. Sawako-sensei, Junko-sensei, Haruka-sensei and Michiko-sensei were able to recover once they gave our returned fleet mates such 'upgrade kisses'. Junko-san here is preparing the necessary potions for Rei-san and Akira-san. Once we make necessary preparations, the operation should proceed ahead with no issues."
"That's cold, Yoiko-san," Nagato muttered.
The carrier's eyes narrowed. "Reiko-san, all the victims of Unit 731 scream for vengeance!" she icily declared. "This yakuza made use of studies his grandfather and his co-workers in that unit carried out during the Greater East Asia War to press on the Black Dragon Society's insane moves to win the metahuman war against our returned friends from North America and Raeburn-shihan's fighting troop. As long as he is free and able to hurt others, they will never be appeased."
"Agreed," Musashi noted.
Grim nods from many of the others in the room. "Even in death, they deserve proper justice, Commander Yamamoto," Mississippi breathed out, shaking her head. "Young Junko has the rights of it. No matter how it happened, it's God Will."
"His Will be done," Tennessee lamented.
A hum then escaped the second of the Yamato-class to become an aircraft carrier. "What is it, Shizuka-chan?" Yamato asked.
Shinano squawked, then she blushed. "It's nothing, Onē-san...!"
"Having ill-designs for young Harry, Shizuka?" Yonaga wondered, a knowing look crossing her face.
Three...
Two...
One...
Blast-off!
"SHIZUKA-SAN! HOW DARE YOU EVEN CONTEMPLATE SUCH THINGS ABOUT MY SON?!"
As Shinano wailed while a huge demon head-like formed from Nagato, Yonaga and Long Beach shared a knowing look...
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo, that moment...
"Jesus H. Christ! Are these idiots SERIOUS?!"
"Very much so, mein Admiral," Prinz Eugen said as she tried not to shiver too much at the idea of some fool coming along and attacking the members of the Black Maidens — especially her own adopted countrywoman Anna Wittmann — for something they had been completely exonerated from years ago. Given the sheer stupidity of the whole situation and her outrage at such, her native German was slipping into her normally perfect speech. "Fortunately, from what Oberst Graves told me before I came here to relay this from Oberstleutnante Wittmann, enforcement of these sorts of decrees is always a local affair; the Confederation has no independent enforcement wing that could teleport into a nation to carry out this type of arrest warrant. Since the Eight Commanderies would automatically refuse to support this given the decree issued by Seine Kaiserliche Majestät, this is a hollow threat as long as the Erstes Bataillon remains in Japan. But if they try to return to Europe..."
"There are still people there who wish vengeance on Anna-san and her friends for what they did during the Wars of Liberation, John-san," Professor Hata Kayoko then warned. The headmistress of the Dejima School of Wizardry and Witchcraft and the leader of the Kyūshū Magical Association had apparated over from Nagasaki as soon as she got a copy of the decree from the International Confederation of Wizards from Percival Graves before he went to confront Anna Wittmann at the Chiiori House. "You'll note people representing nations who voted in support of the Treaty of Reconciliation signed on to this madness once it was brought up in the chambers in Geneva, most likely in a closed session of Akingbade's allies. Which defies their oaths to serve their nations well, including respecting all magical decrees issued by their heads of state. The Treaty of Reconciliation was adopted because of those decrees, especially in nations whose representatives to the Confederation voted against its clauses concerning the Schwarze Mädchen being exonerated for what they were made to do because of their oath to Hitler."
John Richardson groaned. "Oh, fucking hell...!" He then gazed on the lone Marine in the room. "Would the people in the Magical Congress go along with this, Master Guns?" he asked Thomas Beckett. "We did have one American in that brigade..."
"Almost all the people Sergeant Major Mitchell went after before she was evacuated to Europe were stalebloods who wanted to basically make American magical society a mirror of what had existed in Europe over the centuries, Admiral," the Chicagoan veteran of the War of Liberation answered. "Most of them were killed off in 1942 when the Übermenschen attacked Manhattan. Those that survived had to keep their heads down WAY low as the reformists got in there in the wake of MEO 9010. The whole thing about pardoning Sergeant Major Mitchell's actions before the war was seen as done when President Truman passed his MEOs accepting all the clauses of the Treaty of Reconciliation. 'Regina's Revenge', it was called in the papers back then." He sighed. "Sure, the stalebloods who want to reimpose Rappaport's Law as it was done between the Panic of '14 and the Übermenschen attack in '42 have been gaining some ground in recent years in the Congress, especially with the Abyssal issue hanging over us. But most people these days view Sergeant Major Mitchell as a heroine for standing up for no-maj-born rights back then." He shook his head. "Both General O'Brien and General Bean would never go along with this. Since all security matters were turned over to them after Colonel Quahog declared a state of war against the Abyssals and we were mobilized, the DMLE would have no reason to go after Sergeant Major Mitchell if she ever goes back Stateside."
"Even after the war?" the Virginian asked.
"Even after, sir. Besides, thanks to the Post-9010 Generation who came out of Ilvermorny after the war, most American magicals really don't care about European attitudes, especially if they stem from Britain."
Richardson blinked. "Why is that?"
"Because Britain wasn't occupied as other nations were, John-san," Hata answered. "They never suffered the destruction that the Magische Reichsarmee unleashed wherever they marched. Yes, there were raids on the country to keep the magicals there off-balance, plus the raid on their ministry to engineer the loss of their magical colonies as done by Elizabeth-chan and her friends in 1942. But they weren't cowed like the the rest of the Continent was by the time the war turned fully against Gellert-sensei and Svetlána-sensei's people began sweeping in from the east, followed by Molly-sensei's people coming in from the west. As the whole mess with that Riddle fool proved, people on that island never really learned the lessons of that war. Albus-sensei has tried his best to push reforms through, but he's been fought back every step of the way."
"Again, the thing with the Abyssals just scared them too much," Beckett added.
Richardson nodded. Being a Virginian who had been taught the torturous history of the Old Dominion when he had been in school, he understood well how conservative political thought could twist public discourse around at the drop of a dime. He himself had no care at all about such idiot attitudes; he was engaged to marry a very beautiful adopted native of Hiraizumi in Iwate, never mind her being a SHIPGIRL of all things. But he knew there were enough Americans on the normal side of the magical security divide that wanted to see Jim Crow brought back and descendants of Africa put down back into their "place". Given what he had heard from his own superior officer at Kitsap concerning the fiancée of the namesake of the Evergreen State, racism was alive and well on the magical side. "Well, this ought to make things interesting for Harry when he comes of age to go to university. It's a good thing Headmaster Dumbledore has allowed his students to learn normal subjects as well in self-study periods. Harry won't be stunted once it comes time to go to the National Defence University for his commission."
"If the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth doesn't steal him first, sir," Beckett warned.
Hata laughed. "Oh, the screams will be wonderful!"
Richardson looked at her. "What does that mean, Major?"
The former staff officer of the Greater East Asia Liberation Army's Third Brigade smirked as she sat back in her chair. "Neither you nor Kiichi-san fully realize this, John-san, but the fact that young Harry has been raised here in Japan away from the influence of the 'learned leaders' of Britain still has people in that country screaming for his permanent return. This latest episode concerning that two-faced liar Umbridge was just one sign of it. Even if Harry has won the sympathies of his fellow magical lords, his remaining here in Japan will be a contentious issue, especially if Tennō decides to remind people that we're legally not bound to the Confederation. Hai, the truth of what happened to Riddle is getting out, but he's still their 'darling'..."
"What could be done to break that? He IS effectively my nephew, Professor..."
Hata nodded. "Hai, I understand." She then hummed. "I'll have to think about it. The simple solution would be to ask Heather-san to take him on as an apprentice. Given that her own fame is quite widespread..."
"Admiral Thompkins?" Beckett asked.
"Hai, Thomas-san. Remember, she never attended the Institute of Sorcery and Magic; she learned her magic all on her own with her parents' sterling help in the 1930s given that her mother was a third-generation nimmib. Heather-san also did do much to rebuild the credibility of the Confederation after the war, which earned her admirers from all sides. Hai, there are those who don't care for her because of her affiliation with Raeburn-shihan and her friendship with the Soul-Eater..."
"Master Guns, could you get a letter out to the admiral for me?"
Eyes locked on Richardson. "Aye, sir, easily enough," Beckett vowed.
"Good. I'll write something to her about this issue to pique her interest. In the meantime, Commander von Savoyen, keep an eye on Colonel Wittmann and her command. Do whatever is necessary to make sure if some moron tries something stupid..."
The lone shipgirl present nodded. "Jawohl, mein Admiral!"
Yokosuka, the Hamachaya near Café Mamiya by the main gate of the Naval District, an hour later...
"Oi! Why are you guys so down?!"
Yamato perked on hearing that concerned question from Fujinami Ryūnosuke, then she blushed. She was currently seated at one table of the newly-opened tea shop with her fiancée and several others, including Yonaga, Arizona and the standard battleship's current girlfriend. "Sumimasen, Ryūnosuke-san. We just learned of several things that rather overwhelmed us." She then gazed on Yonaga. "You were wise to keep these things secret from us, Onē-sama." A scolding look then crossed her face, even if her lips quirked into a smile. "But why on Earth did you do that to poor Shizuka-chan?! Hai, she cares for Harry-chan a lot, like the others who've been very close to him since Reiko-san saved him from those horrible relatives of his..."
"It was both for Shizuka's and Reiko's benefit, Yasuko," the seventh carrier said as Inu Chigaiko came over with some tea for her, Arizona and Keiko; Ryūnosuke's old classmate — along with the other girl who had fled Tomobiki High School to make a life for themselves away from the madness that had haunted them all over the last year, Tsuruya Rumiko — had volunteered to help out at the Hamachaya during evening hours. "Reiko needs to seriously curb those 'Nagamon' tendencies of hers. I've heard of the times young escorts have been nearly traumatized by her losing control like that." As others nodded — indeed, because of Nagato's erratic behaviour when confronting something insanely cute, Canadian escort ships visiting Japan often preferred to stay in Sasebo or at Eta-jima when they moved to recover before returning home — the carrier added, "Much that I understand Shizuka's debt when it comes to how young Harry helped her become a proper fleet carrier, she must learn to not take too many liberties. Do not think that my support of Fujiko-san's plan to seek out a special boatswain's mate blinded me to her level of emotional maturity. By her calling Anna here 'sempai' all the time, even now..." Here, she gave Akagi a knowing look, earning her a giggle from the converted battlecruiser and knowing smirks from the other fleet carriers of the Kidō Butai.
"Still, Fujiko-san's exuberance is always a good thing," Kaga noted before she sipped her own tea. "It's been inspiring to all of us. She has done much to improve herself since she was summoned, especially after she came down from Maizuru to be formally trained. 'I will always do my best'," she then quoted the first modern destroyer. "Hai, she's scared of what could happen if things get completely out of control, but her sense of honour and fairness will drive her through."
"It's a pity her soon-to-be girlfriend could be then seen as 'enslaved' to her," Rumiko noted, gaining nods from the others in the café. "No offence to you, Sensei, but having your own choice of future wife stolen from you like that..."
Keiko smiled. "Arigatō, Rumiko-chan. Don't worry about me. If Naomi-sama is as wise as she seems at times despite her weird language, I'm sure the one who wins Fujiko-chan's heart will be the right sort of girl for her." She then hummed. "At the same time, we have to remember Mutsuko-chan, Kodachi-chan and even Kyōko-chan. Given how close all of them are, especially given what happened to Kyōko-chan, it wouldn't be fair to upgrade Fujiko-chan's systems and not the others."
"Shit! That will start a massive tidal wave if you're not careful," Ryūnosuke warned. "The other destroyers would want to be in on that the instant those girls get upgraded. If the oceans aren't cooled down enough when they do that..."
"The enemy might see it as a chance to strike," Sōryū finished.
Grim nods all around. "The real threat is the Ogasawara Islands and that one oni there," Yonaga then declared. "Sonia-san, do you feel ready to make use of those Harpoons you now can fire from your canister launchers?"
Arizona perked before she nodded. "The systems seem simple enough to operate, Yoiko. I've been receiving transmitted instructions on their use from Darlene. I would still like to get the chance to work myself up properly."
The carrier nodded. "Do so as quickly as possible. From what I've sensed, that particular installation has done nothing to earn any respect from any of her peers, so she's all alone. The one down in the Kazan Islands can be left alone for the time being. Let her consider either pressing a campaign or coming to terms with us as Wanko-san did. All that's vital in that sector is what's left of Mahōtokoro. That school was shut down in 1930 by Yomigawa-gensui to concentrate all wand magical training at Dejima, plus remove all local resistance and any influence from the International Confederation to her plans to restore traditional magical training to the remainder of Asia." She then perked before she gazed to the west, her ears twitching.
The others sensed her shift of mood. "What is it, Onē-sama?" Musashi asked.
Yonaga blinked, then she smirked. "The Soul-Eater appears to be having something of a feast at this time, Mutsuko."
People perked. "General Dover?" Enterprise asked.
"Who's General Dover?" Yorktown asked from beside Haruna and Rose Potter.
The others stared at the first of her class before Kaga sighed. "Remember, she was lost at Midway, everyone." As the others blushed on remembering that Yorktown recovered her memories thanks to Sundown and one of the would-be Obscurials of Nakanotori-shima just days before, the converted battleship gazed at her old opponent. "Jessica Dover is a metahuman whose soul is bound to a zhar-ptýtsja, a Slavic version of a phoenix, Ellie-san. This being was transformed into a literal consumer of evil souls by the Undying Lord. It was trapped by Master Koschéj in a mesonium crystal, then passed down over the years to be taken to Canada by Dover-shōshō's mother. Thanks to all that mesonium in the Canadian Shield, Dover-shōshō was able to bond with that thing in the mid-1930s, then began hunting killers and rapists in her home province until she came to the attention of the Ministry of Magical Affairs after an Obscurial tried to attack a magical enclave near Winnipeg. After the war began, she joined the RCAF Women's Division, then fell under the command of Raeburn-shihan in her special unit to fight the Übermenschen, the War Hawks. You might remember news of the first engagements just after we attacked Pearl Harbour."
Yorktown blinked, then she nodded. "Ah! Right! That girl who chased away those valkyries that one of Hitler's idiots called down to press that first attack on Washington back in April of '42, right?" As the others nodded, the raven-haired carrier shook her head. "Yeah, my crew thought that was just awesome! Especially that guy who had that M1 who picked off some of those flyers from over a mile away! No one knew a Garand could shoot that damned far! Who was he?!"
"Here, Lieutenant."
A book was placed down before the carrier, it showing a beautiful painting of four of the most famous yet mysterious Canadians ever to live, such over the title The War Hawks: The Unofficial History of Canada's First "Mystery Men". Blinking, Yorktown looked right and up to see a blonde carrier in the pearl grey skinsuit of the Royal Canadian Navy standing beside her table, the pendant R31 on her upper thighs. As she was now ashore, the seventh of the Colossus-class carriers had on a black naval combat jacket, her pay rank of captain (navy) on her shoulders and her wavy blonde hair — done now in a proper bun — was under a black beret with the Naval Operations Branch anchor-and-wreath of maple leaves hat badge. Up close, people were quick to note the slight Latin tan to her skin and the olive eyes that marked Warrior's years of service in the Armada de la República Argentina as ARA Independencia. "Um...th-thanks, Captain," Yorktown said with a nod.
"Ara! Freida-san! Are you here for karaoke?" Hiryū teased.
Warrior chuckled as she moved to sit beside her old trainers. "A little spot of evening tea before we raid Mister Hasegawa's delightful parlour, Hiyoko," the adopted native of Belfast (her place of construction) and Edmonton (through her namesake corps in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets) said as Ryūnosuke came to take her order. After a cup of Earl Grey was requested, the flagship of the Canadian Pacific Fleet smiled, winking. "Are you forcing your old fleet mate there at sword-point?"
"We're not sure if she can do karaoke, Freida-chan," Zuikaku said before she gazed on Yonaga. "Oi, Yoiko! You ever go visit a karaoke bar after you got turned into a kanmusu with Patricia-san and her friends? The way you sang Winged Hussars at Sasebo after you reported there shows you can carry a tune. Makes me wonder if Nahoko-chan won't get jealous of you!"
"It did go viral on YouTube, Captain," Warrior warned.
Yonaga blinked. "I have fans...?!"
Jaws dropped. "And she learns this NOW?!" Enterprise asked.
People gaped before laughter filled the room...
...then running footfalls from outside made people perk, then turn just as a panting destroyer ran in, nearly keeling over after sprinting here at flank. "S-s-Sempai-t-tachi..." Mutsuki sputtered. "Ataru-kun...R-r-Roberta-semp-pai...!"
Everyone quickly scrambled out to see what was happening...
On the playing field of the Naval District...
"Chaos...!"
Moroboshi Negako didn't react as the dapper-dressed twenty-something man with the stylish black hair and the dark eyes of a hunter came up to stand beside her. "At least your vocal chords have recovered from the removal of that curse, Renato," the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu noted as she gazed upon the World's Greatest Hitman, who was dressed in his normal black business suit with dark gold shirt, black tie and gold-trimmed black fedora hat. "How goes Tsunayoshi's training?"
"He's got quite the family assembled around him now," Reborn stated as he gazed at the incredible light show in the middle of the field. As a massive crowd of shipgirls and normal personnel streamed out of the dorms to see what was going on, he shook his head. "Damn! Roberta's going full active on her Flames! Was Ataru trying to keep it held back ever since Daniela warned him that most of the old Regia Marina veterans might have the ability to tap Dying Will Flames?"
"I gave him the initial warnings when he first travelled to Taranto and Tariko sensed the number of metahuman mafiosi in the area," Negako explained as footsteps heralded the arrival of the crowd from the Hamachaya, not to mention a platoon's worth of Foresters. "Make sure the standard metahuman notice-me-not fields are set up!" the grandmaster immediately barked to the sergeant in command of that particular platoon, making the crowd of running Canadian magicals stop as they listened to her commands. "There are doomsday cultists who have placed themselves in areas close to the Naval District grounds! If they see the extent of Ataru's and Roberta's power as they bond, there could be a future attack! Move!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the sergeant barked out, then he got his people to work.
The shipgirls who came from Hamachaya gaped while the transplanted natives of Tomobiki blinked. "What the hell's this crap about doomsday cultists, Negako-san?" Ryūnosuke demanded as the carriers readied bows — or in Warrior's case, a C1A1 battle rifle with C2A1 thirty-round magazine — to launch patrols to scan around the grounds for potential attack.
"One of the darker sides of this whole situation, Ryūnosuke," Negako stated as she watched the brilliant blue-silver of Rain flames start to erupt from every place on Roma's human body and from all over her now-deployed rigging. "There are those now living on Earth who are convinced that humanity is doomed to extinction and wish to hasten that eventuality by any means possible, including launching attacks on defenceless civilians recovering from an Abyssal attack."
All of Ataru's old classmates gaped. "That's a JOKE, I hope!" Chigaiko hissed.
"It is no joke, Chigaiko-san."
Eyes locked on Yamato, even Yonaga. "Negako-sama, please tell me if there are any of those cowards close by," the seventh carrier snarled out. "If they are so crazed to die, I'll be pleased to send them on their way!"
"You can't do it normally, Yoiko," Negako stated...
...before a scream of delight escaped some of the destroyers as a burning bird-like creature leapt away from Ataru to start flying around his lover's beautiful flame aura. "PHOENIX!" Shiratsuyu howled from off to one side.
"Not a phoenix, Miroko!"
Eyes locked on Negako. "That's a windrider, Thoughtmistress-prime?!" Arisugawa Yui demanded before she gaped once more on that glowing creature as it seemed to dart in and away from the tips of Roma's flames like a hummingbird.
"Indeed it is, Yui,"
"Poi! What's a windrider, Sensei?!"
People gazed on Yūdachi, who had been carried out of her room at flank speed to see this by Shigure and Harusame. "A mythological creature on Sagussa whose existence even outlasted the Clone Rights War, Kodachi," Negako explained. "They kept what few animals that escaped the devastation of the planet alive by guiding them telepathically to oases where water and food could be obtained. Even when the Daishi'cha were drawn there by the Gatherer, the windriders guided them, even shielding them from those who sought to destroy them. One even teleported itself to Yiziba to have Josef directly intervene, saving the lives of all those who had befriended Ataru before he took the Promise all those years ago."
She reached over to massage a place on the back of Reborn's neck just as a burst of energy from Roma caused the legendary hitman to shudder slightly as he felt that incredible aura. "Harmonization?" Yorktown automatically asked.
That made him jerk before he gazed intently at the first of her class. "Quale famiglia sei?" he demanded in Italian.
She looked at him in confusion, then she sighed as something came to her. "Tomaso and Beccio. I doubt I'll have that gift..."
Reborn blinked, then he chuckled. "You are fanciulle della flotta, Signorina Livingston. Even if your crew's blood was far removed from the homeland, the gift carried over even to America. It will happen to you one way or another."
"Harumi hopes that Reborn-sensei will come when Ellie-chan's flames do awaken."
The hitman blinked, then he turned to see the steely gaze of the fourth of the Kongō-class landing on him. "Of that, you can place a winning wager, Signorina Chihaya," Reborn vowed as he tried not to sweat; as powerful as he was, he wouldn't win against a broadside of eight 36 centimetre 45 calibre 41st Year Type rifles, especially at the point blank range he was at now.
"Harumi, stop!" Rose Potter then gently scolded. "Remember, Master Renato is forever under the vow of Omertà. He cannot violate his own ethics and loyalties — such as they are — just on a whim, even to help Miss Eleanor!"
"Oh, you both hush!" Kongō snapped. "Don't interrupt this!"
Haruna gasped. "Onē-sama!"
She and her sisters gaped on seeing the rosy aura that just descended upon the first of their class. "To see such a display of BURNING LOVE!" she then swooned before waiving at the glowing figures out on the track field. As romantic music echoed out of nowhere and sakura petals showered over the scene, Gotō Kiichi's would-be wife could only shudder from her keel to her foretops at the wonderful display off her bow. "Look at that! To see such love from Ataru-kun and Roberta-chan, expressed so openly among friends and family! It makes me feel so happy!" Instantly, the British-born fast battleship locked her eyes on the handsome man watching this from his place by the administration building. "TEI-...TO-...KU!"
Before she could race over to do her flying leap and tackle move on the leader of the Fleet Shipgirl Project, a hand snared her by her top and yanked her right off the ground. "HEY!" Kongō screamed out before she looked over. "YOIKO!"
An icy smile crossed the face of the fifth of the Yamato-class. "Anne-san, you did say there should be quiet, remember?"
That made Kongō gape at the carrier before she blushed...
"It's started!"
Eyes locked on Kirishima, then they gazed out towards Roma...
...before people gasped on seeing her rigging start to melt and transform. Using their special sight, all the shipgirls watched as the whole very form of the third of the Littorio-class battleships became something quite modern. Her raked bow gained a bulbous projection under the waterline to increase speed. The small lower quarterdeck behind her third turret was enclosed with a new transom stern containing an internal hangar deck for two AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin anti-submarine helicopters, complete with magnetic lift to the flight deck. The four triple OTO Melara 152 millimetre 55 calibre Ansaldo Modelle 1936 wing turrets vanished, replaced by four single OTO Melara/Breda 127 millimetre 64 calibre lightweight rapid-fire guns. All of Roma's tertiary and anti-aircraft armament vanished, replaced by four Dardo twin Breda/Bofors 40 millimetre close-in weapons systems and four 64 cell SYLVER A-70 vertical missile launch clusters for the Aster 30 anti-air missile and the Storm Shadow SCALP-EG cruise missile. Naturally, all sensor systems were updated to accommodate the new missile systems, including the same MFRA active electronically-scanned radar system that two of her fleet mates had just received thanks to their "upgrade kisses" earlier in the evening, that now perched on Roma's forward superstructure. Seeing that, all the shipgirls could only guess what was happening inside the hull of their friend; given how fast a Littorio-class was...!
"They even out-shoot the Iowas," Musashi muttered to Yamato.
"Mutsuko!"
The ash-haired battleship winced on sensing Yonaga's disapproving look. Everyone then perked as the just-upgraded Roma dispersed her rigging before she squealed as she lunged into swamp her lover with a very wet kiss. "Whoo! That's the style, Ataru-kun!" Rumiko cheered as all the shipgirls and a lot of the base staff whooped in delight on seeing such an open expression of love between the last host of the Earth Angel and the third of the Littorio-class battleships.
As Ryūnosuke also applauded that — with the two bonded now, there was no way in Hell that Redet Lum would have any moral right to come back to Earth and screw up lives anew — she then perked on seeing a sad look cross Chigaiko's face. Remembering how much Ataru had done for the "ghost" of Class 2-4, Ryūnosuke then reached over to squeeze her shoulder. "He still cares for you, you know," the tomboy whispered to the former basketball team centre, making Chigaiko blink.
Hearing that, Chigaiko sighed. "Yeah...!"
Zuikaku's hand squeezed her other shoulder...
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL...?!"
"Chill, Lois Lane! Like, you got a BIG scoop to cover now!"
Eyes locked on the field close to Ataru and Roma...
...where four confused shipgirls of the Sixth Cruiser Squadron — who had been in the Solomon Sea not seconds before — looked around in confusion. Fortunately, Aoba was quick on the uptake...and clearly knew about the world's first nuclear-powered surface warship having been turned into a shipgirl. "Huh?! What big scoop are you talking about, Mama Cass?!" the adopted native of Maizuru and Nagasaki demanded as she leaned up to stare into Long Beach's eyes.
Long Beach helpfully pointed over, making the shipgirl reporter look...
...then she squealed as she instantly started making pictures of Ataru and Roma, now cuddling each other and in the post-bonding bliss Avalonian couples always experienced whenever they came down from the incredible mental high of merging their souls temporarily when they marked each other as one's marei'cha. As Furutaka, Kako and Kinugasa all whooped in delight, Nagato sighed...though she herself was quite moved by such a sight. She then perked as someone pulled on her thigh-highs, making her look down to see a smiling Hoppō gazing up at her. "It's alright, Mama," the child-shaped princess assured her. "Now that Ataru-niichan and Zia Roma are together, he won't have to put on that death armour anymore."
Nagato blinked before she knelt down to pull her adopted daughter into her arms. "May it be so, Hoppō-chan," she whispered as a song that Ataru himself chose once to represent all the shipgirls' struggles echoed in her mind...
Soldiers write the songs
That soldiers sing the songs
That you and I won't sing.
Let's not look the other way;
Taking a chance!
'Cause if the bugler starts to play,
We too must dance...
Rajdhani on Tahupraemiku, an hour later (local time: The 25th Day of the Eighth Month, two hours before supper)...
"I honestly want to throw up now..."
Hearing that comment from one of her oldest childhood friends, Oyuki of Neptune sighed as she reached over to gently squeeze Redet Lum's shoulder. "Don't give them that satisfaction, Lum-cha," the crown princess of her people whispered. "Yes, it was something that would have probably made your husband spit fire even when he was under the influence of all these creatures that haunted Tomobiki all these years. But as long as the Academician's shield remains..."
"They won't give up, Oyuki," Shigaten Benten warned, shaking her head. "Moroboshi went to the fucking You Know Whos to get help keeping aliens off his planet. That's a collective kick in the ass to Yethis and his idiots, not to mention our so-called 'most faithful'. Especially with them now totally cut off from Earth and having lost their 'robot slaves' at the same time. They're not going to let the 'great evil' get away with that, especially with him being the Chosen One, too."
The warlord's daughter from Onishuto grimly nodded. Logically speaking, what Moroboshi Ataru had helped instigate behind the scenes over the last year had been the right and proper thing to do. Once he realized how badly the threat to his home planet was, he moved to immediately eliminate it. In that, he was lucky that there were a large adopted group of They Who Must Never Be Named on Earth who could help out, the primary one being the leader of the Circle of Thought, the Academician herself; Lum didn't know the American woman's real name, but she knew that woman and her twin sister — the current incarnation of the Untamed One, Mustang — lived closed to Los Angeles. Even more so, the two most powerful reality warpers among the metahumans of That World were natives of Japan, so they had more than enough reason to make sure the aliens stayed off Earth, especially with what Lum's "most faithful" had hidden in the Tomobiki Ginza for nearly a year. And now that the Avalonians were free and had full access to their creators' technology — which was MILLENNIA ahead of anything any of the local powers possessed, even Vos or Dominos — they could help keep Earth closed from outside intrusion.
As far as Seq Yethis and Fangi t'ndai-Marthon were concerned, that would not be allowed to stand whatsoever.
Moroboshi Ataru would be made to pay for his "defiance" of his betters.
As would his people.
Hello, Mother of All Fight Scenes, Round Two...!
Lum shook her head. She was just tired of it all. Having effectively been able to avoid the issues that had haunted her while she was on Earth pursing Ataru — where she didn't have to live as the "marble woman" as Urusian trash info-net networks always called her — she had been literally thrown into the emotional black hole that had once ruled her life when she was forced to decamp from Tomobiki and return home. While there hadn't been any casualties when it came to trying to test the shielding system at Ceres — for all her reputation, the current Academician appeared to be a humane person in the end — there had been losses of ships who tried the normal "close slingshot" move around Sol to head towards Gomiana or Toshitto when they passed through that particular solar system; those crews who were caught by it were teleported off their destroyed ships and sent to Tengsei — "Jiyū" to Urusians — and were in the process of being repatriated by the Noukiite authorities. For fairness' sake, the couple of times cloaked Ipraedies warbird-class stealth destroyers had tried to penetrate to Earth had been treated in the very same way, with the same results. Which seemed to follow the traditional path Earth's lost worldwide defenders, the famous "Men In Black" of the United Nations Special Committee of Alien Activities, had always pursued until they had disappeared; Lum now knew they had been all killed off in an Abyssal attack on New York City some years ago.
No wonder idiots are so emboldened now...!
"You okay, Lum?"
Hearing Benten's concerned question, Lum sighed. "You want to know what I'd want to do right now, Benten?" she asked.
"Other than take Moroboshi to bed?" the Fukunokami biker-babe asked with a leering smile.
That made the warlord's daughter laugh as the crown princess of Neptune giggled at that comment. In the last few days as Lum's alien friends took a step back to think about what just happened to them all, the horrid truth of what had befallen her "darling" sank in hard and made them realize how close Lum had come to her own destruction via many means, the least of which being her own would-be sister-in-law Moroboshi Negako...never mind that darker side of Ataru that first came out at Morningstar Plain thanks to some hellish deity — from the world of the Maidens of the Eternal Voyager of all places! — who picked the poor man out to serve as a sort of mortal avatar. While that ultimately DID get rid of all the non-corporeal spirits that loved to play havoc with Ataru's life, it had also completely shredded what sense of trust the man had in anything, most of all being Lum herself. Given that the Noukiites ultimately added salt to that wound to make sure Ataru would NEVER consider reuniting with Lum, that just made the pain even worse; if she only got the chance to explain everything to him...!
No! Can't think of that now...! the warlord's daughter sighed to herself before she smirked. "Find some way to contact Tariko and ask her to go on a nice 'walk' down the streets of Onishuto. Preferably to visit certain people's offices..."
Jaws dropped. "Are you fucking SERIOUS?!" Benten demanded.
Lum gave her a pained look before her shoulders seemed to deflate. "Benten, if one thing that happened to Darling in the last year proved anything to me, it's time I took on my own responsibilities for what I did to him and his people...and what I can do to prevent a real disaster from wrecking everything in the cosmos. You heard Yethis down in the main hall. Those demands are something that are MEANT to provoke a war! If Darling is as powerful as some people are now saying he is..."
"With very good reason," Oyuki cut in.
Eyes locked on her. "What do you mean, Oyuki?" Aruka Ran asked. While not a real close friend to Lum, Benten and Oyuki, the daughter of one of Redet Invader's late allies in the Urusian Union Congress had come along as moral support.
"If the Eternal Voyager itself is something to judge by, the power of the Avalonians' creator race could probably only be matched by the Shōzoki." That comment made the others in the room frown; the Shōzoki were a fabled reptilian-descent humanoid race said to live beyond Zephyrite space and who possessed levels of technology that seemed like magic, that not matched by any sort of self-control when it came to distributing it to less-advanced species, as many had learned fatally to their cost. "The Goa'uld and what might be left of the 'Four Great Races' won't be an issue here given what the Americans on Earth were said to have been done." Learning the secrets of the United States Air Force's Stargate Command had been quite hard for observers from Phentax Two to obtain, but it had been finally gathered shortly after the command was disestablished with the onset of the open war with the Abyssals five years ago after the Slayer of Ra, General Jack O'Neill, was appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That particular factoid, Lum now knew, had been deliberately masked from the Urusians at the direct order of Ōgi ot'ndai-Zkuhsbagh after he became President of the Niphentaxian Union six years ago; no doubt, it would allow him to have the final advantage should he ever feel it necessary to "rescue" his "goddess" from whatever threat faced her while on Earth. "Take the size of that ship: The size of a major city anywhere in the local cluster. Armed with planet-level annihilation cannons in the bow, plus particle pulse weapons and anti-ship missiles that could devastate whole solar systems. If this is TYPICAL of the old Sagussans, I shudder to think of what the Avalonians — who have more than enough of a grudge with us because of what our Niphentaxian 'friends' did to them — would be capable of unleashing on anyone who tries to suppress them. And they've got things in the inner part of the system behind the Ceres barrier."
"How could you tell?" Ran asked.
"They may be using cloaking devices to mask what's there, but one can't disguise the very minute shift of gravity fields that we can detect from monitor units beyond the Ceres line, Ran-cha," Oyuki supplied. "We think the bioroid factory is at the third libration point between Sol and Earth itself. But there's something much more massive — on the scale of a very small planetoid — at the third libration point between Sol and Mars. Given the physical scale of the Voyager..."
"Some sort of construction spacedock?" Benten mused.
"Most likely, Benten. Given the few images of Avalonian ships defending that planet in the neutral zone between ourselves and the Dominion close to Spotak that they claimed for themselves, this was probably where their old fleet had been stored."
The biker-babe shook her head. "Shit...!"
Everyone then perked as footfalls echoed from the outside, then they turned as their host came into the lounge. "How are you people?" Lupica then asked as Lum and her friends got up to their feet in respect of the leader of Tahupraemiku.
"Tired," Lum admitted as the raven-haired Arab-like princess waved them back to their chairs before taking her own seat. "And worried. If Darling's holding ace chips back to deal with the likes of Yethis and Fangi..."
Lupica grimly nodded. The representatives at that morning's meeting gladly voted down the Urusian/Niphentaxian demand to launch an invasion of Earth to "remove the anti-Federation forces" from the planet and reopen the whole of the planet and allow full unregulated contact with member-states of the Federation. Of course, the sheer extent as to what had been marked by Yethis and Fangi as "anti-Federation" had been just unbelievable. All the Avalonians resident on Earth were to be re-enslaved to the Niphentaxians if not outright destroyed, all of Earth's metahuman population (native and Yizibajohei-descent) were to be removed and a policy of mass-sterilization of Earth's large hidden magical population pursued! Not only that, if it was possible, shipgirls and Abyssals were to be removed from the planet as well; if they resisted, they were to be destroyed "by any and all means possible"...which would include everything up to and including any sort of weapon of mass destruction.
As to how the "normal" people of Earth were to be treated...!
Unfortunately, though...
"It's a pity that Darling and his friends didn't eliminate the factory satellites that the Niphentaxians had created to help build up their fleet during the Liberation," Lum then noted. "I know he did that to ensure the rebels under Miree would have the ability to defend themselves against the Ipraedies in case they decided to be stupid, but Yethis could easily send a task force to the system to seize them and turn them over to Fangi's control. If only General Lana would order his dismissal...!"
Wry smirks crossed the other people's faces as they considered that one particular quirk of Urusian politics. Much that the third world of Oniboshi was ruled by a military junta, its current leader couldn't rule by fiat; to keep things stable, the three main political parties had to be appeased and have influence in the government. It was only just ill-luck that had brought a radical right-wing conservative maniac like Seq Yethis into the position of chief of staff, which gave him operational control over the Urusian Defence Forces. What was worse, Lum now knew, key posts in the defence command hierarchy were being held by Yethis' allies in the Imperial Round. With just a few whispered orders to the right ear, total war could be unleashed and there was nothing that the nominal president of Uru could do to stop it before lives were lost at levels no one could begin to imagine; not even the infamous Mother of All Fight Scenes twenty-five decades before could match up to that.
"LUM-SAMA!"
Lum squawked as Lupica winced. "Oh, Fates...!"
Running feet heralded the arrival of her new "most faithful", the acting president of the Union of Phentax Two. Seeing the leer on that older man's face, the warlord's daughter gargled...before her eyes widened.
Damn it! If Darling can do this, so can I!
At the top of her lungs, she then screamed the most feared word in the galaxy:
"YIZIBA!"
Shrieks of mortal terror filled the room from everyone there and who were racing madly to gaze upon their "goddess"...!
"ACME TIME!"
Lum blinked as hope billowed in her heart...
KK-KRUNCH!
The jaws of all the girls who had been in the lounge at the time all dropped on seeing the big anvils — and yes, they were Terran iron anvils, all with ACME written on their flanks! — having smashed down the small crowd of Niphentaxians who had been racing in at top speed to see their beloved Lum-sama. Blinking in surprise on seeing that, Lum then sighed. "Tariko!" she called out, looking around. "Don't tell me you've been binge-watching too much on Looney Tunes anime!"
"Well, if Onii-chan liked it, why can't I?!"
At the head of his delegation, the dazed Fangi gasped...
...before his voice caught in his throat and his bowels let go as a flash of energy allowed a woman in a snow-white jumpsuit with black belt and boots, trimmed on the sides with grey animal fur-like striping, to appear in the room. As her back was turned to the acting president of Phentax Two, the man who looked like an alien-born elder version of Aisuru Megane couldn't see the coyote's head insignia on the chest of the Trickster of the Great Show of Life. "Besides, all the jokes and punch lines are so SAME these days!" the woman known also on Earth as Moroboshi Tariko then breathed out dramatically as she came over to place herself beside her would-be sister-in-law, turning around to wrap a protective arm around the shoulders of the warlord's daughter from Onishuto. On seeing that, all the dazed Niphentaxians screamed in horror on realizing that one of the most dangerous beings in the Universe was now effectively holding their own living goddess HOSTAGE...!
Fortunately, Ran was quick on the uptake. "I take it you're not into death scenes. Are you, Tariko-chan?" she asked.
Tariko blinked. "Ran, do I honestly look like Doctor Death?!"
"Nah!" Benten cut in. "Uniform's wrong, there's no cape and hood and you'd be melting Lum's body by just touching her."
"Hey! There's someone who reads the story bible!" the reality-warper who in her past life had been the central icon of the Mother of All Fight Scenes then moaned. "Can we keep her, Lum? She's pretty cute for a norm...!"
"NO! MERCY! PLEASE, TUYUKI-SAMA! MERCY!"
Tariko blinked, then her face scrunched up. "'Mercy'? What's that? Is it good to eat?" As the women who interacted with her adopted brother gaped at her, she shrugged. "I hung around with Hiei a couple times! She's got weird taste-buds!"
"Is she the one who can poison the whole of the Yokosuka Naval District with just her curry?" Lum then asked, grateful for once that her "most faithful" had been willing to update her on EVERYTHING concerning the shipgirls when she got back to Onishuto and asked them. "Second of the Kongō-class battleships? The 'Quacky Quartet', they're called? Older sister's chasing her admiral, third sister's a closet psychopath and the fourth sister befriended an enemy aircraft carrier?"
"Yeah!" Tariko stated before an impish smile crossed her face. "Oh, Lum! Just remembered now! You have to hear this song Anne's pillow scene partner once came up with a couple seasons back! It's SO cute to listen to! This kitsune Onii-chan told me about down in Yokosuka overheard it once, then put it out on YouTube! Pity these same lovers who blocked you from seeing all the good stuff on that blocked that as well! The look on Anne's face was just so CUTE to see...!"
Yokosuka, the Ono Shrine, that moment...
Meditating, Ono Haru perked as her tails suddenly appeared and her face changed.
There was only ONE being in the Cosmos who could make the four-tailed kitsune react THAT way...
And given that she was her adopted homeworld's version of the ultimate kitsune...!
"Anne-chan!" she barked out, throwing ki into her voice so she could be heard at the post-bonding party being held at the nearby Hamachaya on behalf of the adopted brother of the Trickster of the Great Show of Life upon the Seeker's Forge.
"What is it, Haru-san?!" Kongō's voice echoed back.
"Tariko-chan's speaking about the song Kiichi-kun made for you to Lum-chan!"
"Eh?! Why would Tariko-chan do that?!"
"She's probably saying lewd things about you and your hubby, Anne!" Ataru cut in.
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
"MOROBOSHI TARIKO! STOP TRYING TO CURSE MY PURSUIT OF BURNING LOVE WITH TEITOKU!"
«Honestly, Anne!» the voice of a certain reality warper then echoed over the scene all the way from another planet. «It's okay to talk about pillow scenes! Kiichi is sweet pillow scene bait for sure! If you don't want him...!»
"AH! YOU STAY AWAY FROM TEITOKU, YOU CRAZY COYOTE!"
«Anne and Kiichi, sitting in the tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G...!»
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! TEITOKU, DON'T LISTEN TO THAT...!"
"Tariko, cease that."
Haru blinked before she sighed.
"Thank you, Negako-sama...!" a moaning Gotō Kiichi groaned.
Yeah, there had to be the party pooper...!
"Relax, Tariko-chan!" Ataru then called out, which made Haru perk as she sensed that he wasn't letting this gag go. "I'll do my best to teach Anne-chan and all others who need to understand the true sanctity of a pillow scene...!"
"ATARU!" Kongō shrieked. "STOP THAT! IT'S LEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWD...!"
As screams echoed from Kongō's sisters, Ataru added, the mirth in his voice apparent, "We can't leave it all to Onē-san!"
«True! We don't want to traumatize those poor kids! Hey, Sarah!»
"Eh?! What is it, Tariko-chan?" Hiei called out; she had come to Yokosuka with Arizona and Yonaga earlier.
«Someone just begged for mercy from me! Is that good to eat?»
Haru could immediately imagine the icy grin now crossing the face of the second of the Kongō-class fast battleships. "No, Tariko-chan! They're trying to do a grovelling scene with you now!"
«Ah, right...!»
Haru smirked as she tried not to roll on her butt laughing while she picked up Kongō's embarrassed wailing in the background.
Yizibajohei!
You can't ever hope to live with them...
...but DAMN if you just can't stop watching their brand of CHAOS!
Meanwhile, back on Tahupraemiku...
A look of pure mayhem was now on Tariko's face. "You trying to start a GROVELLING SCENE with me, SAME?!"
Sensing his doom coming, Fangi shuddered before he screamed out, "LUM-SAMA! SAVE ME!"
As the others of his party wailed for help from their "goddess", Lum hummed, then she sighed. "Tariko-chan!"
The Trickster of the Show gazed calmly at her. "Yes, Lum?"
"Do with them what you want! Oh!" the warlord's daughter then perked as she held up a finger, which made all the Niphentaxians nearly pass out on realizing their "goddess" wasn't going to protect them. "If anyone from my planet who's not Lara-chan or any of her friends tries a grovelling scene with you, do with THEM what they want, too!"
Here, she then looked to her right, a lethal smile crossing her face...
...where a white-faced Seq Yethis was now standing in front of the other Urusian delegates, staring in total disbelief at her.
To Be Continued...
WRITER'S NOTES
For those who are wondering, I base the human version of THG Mikasa (Tōgō Mihoko) on her Azur Lane version without the ram's horns on her head. For those who don't know, Azur Lane is a Chinese-made knockoff of KanColle with a much more egalitarian list of shipgirl characters...with many of the shipgirls being therianthropes to boot! Go figure...!
The mini-series concerning Krypton referenced to in the narrative in the first scene is World of Krypton. This is the second series of the name, published in 1987-88 as a four-issue volume and written by the man who had revamped the Man of Steel's whole myths in the wake of the shakeup unleashed by Crisis on Infinite Earths, John Byrne.
Translation list: Tennō Heika Uchūkan — Space Warship of His Majesty the Heavenly Sovereign (short-formed THU); Ŏnni — Elder sister (as addressed by a woman); Ramyŏn — Korean pronunciation of "rāmen", representing a more spicier version than the average Japanese variant; Kyŏngsangbuk-to — North Kyŏngsang Province; Seine Kaiserliche Majestät — His Imperial Majesty; MEO — Magical Executive Order (pronounced alphabetically); Quale famiglia sei? — What family are you?; Omertà — The code of silence practised by the traditional mafia of Sicily, which demanded no "snitching" to authorities if one was caught; Dardo — Dart; SCALP-EG — Short for Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée — Emploi Général ("General Purpose Long-Range Standoff Cruise Missile"); Zia — Aunt.
The number of Korean family names in actual use in both the South and the North number about 280 according to Wikipedia. The family name Kim (김 [hanja 金]) was used by nearly one-fifth of the whole population of South Korea as of the year 2000. To better tell where someone comes from, those bearing the same family name are sub-divided into pon'gwan ("native root"), named after the general ancestral home of these clans. The term "clan" itself is translated as "ssi" (pronounced [s͈i], with the consonants sounding similar to the English "s" but with a stiff tongue and glottal opening of the vocal folds in the larynx); yes, this is the same word used as the Korean version of the Japanese "-san" suffix honorific. Hence, you get something like Yŏn'il Sŭng-ssi (연일 승씨 [延日 承氏], "Sŭng Clan of Yŏn'il") for someone like TKK T'aekp'ung (Sŭng Sŏnghan).
Many thanks to Zulaq at Sufficient Velocity for his suggestion concerning the type of Dying Will Flames that MM Roma (Roberta Ansaldo) would manifest when she bonded with her lover. For the information of fans of Katekyō Hitman Reborn, MM Zara (Zita de Lerici) is a Sky while MM Pola (Paola de Lerici) would have a mixture of Storm and Lightning flames.
Yizibajohei euphemisms and terms introduced here (so one doesn't need to read The End of the Circle):
Death scene — Self-explanatory, usually very dramatic.
(One) who reads the story bible — A person who fully understands the situation.
Norm — Someone without paranormal or metahuman powers, a normal person.
Pillow scene — Sexual intercourse.
Season — A solar year.
Same — Member of a race whose people share the same paranormal ability. Viewed VERY negatively on Yiziba; the common belief there is that sames are genetic dead-ends, only destined to go extinct.
Sweet pillow scene bait — A very handsome man/beautiful woman, immediately desirable for sex.
Grovelling scene — When someone begs for mercy (which, by the way, is NOT a word in Yizibajohei).
As for Gotō Kiichi's personal song for THG Kongō (Chihaya Anne), go to YouTube and search for "Kongō Bongo".
Shipgirls introduced in this part:
JAPAN
THG Harusame — Hamamoto Hideko