Haze Gray 21

"Boat."

"Hmmm?"

Amy sailed in close and shoved Taylor taking the idiots in the twenty three footer between them. She giggled at their faces. They turned from her to look back and found themselves staring at a pissed off Glory Girl who put her hands on the transom and shoved them to the nearest police boat at speeds even the hopped up three hundred horse Evinrude had never reached. Where officers were waiting cuffs in hand. It had been declared a exclusion area before dawn until school started, like it was every day.

"Taylor pay attention!"

"It's a lot to get through Amy, Tess, Lisa, and Leslie, had their systems running all up the whole time, then the doggies came in. There are twenty four of them and they like to run in a pack, so while their range isn't that great, twenty miles or so, there is near infinite detail from the overlapping sensors. Rachel is no slouch either twenty four K at least. Plus, I think they were planning for her to shoot those ERGM or BTERM things."

"Which we don't have to get through before school."

"We're going to school?"

"Yes, there is nothing wrong with us."

"Oh, OK."

Bam Bam Bam Bam

"Taylor!"

"Hehehe got all of them."

"Why do you hate seagulls?"

"Poop."

"Poop?"

"Fucking poop everywhere. Jonathan Livingston shitsack."

Bam Bam Bam Bam "Ack, now you got my crew doing it!"

Bam "Your guys missed one."

BaBoom "You missed a whole flock."

"Nice shooting with the five-inch Rach, prox fuse? I didn't know that would work on them. Willie Pete too, never thought of that. How you like those mark 41's?"

"Oh my god the fish are eating them." Leslie gave the impression of holding up a skirt she wasn't wearing.

Taylor nodded "Fish are nasty."

"Crew likes them, accurate, takes less guys with the upgrades. Until you empty a drum no guys. Taste good. Dogs like to roll in dead fish though, stinks." The girls all nodded then wrinkled their noses at Rachels comments.

Leslie got serious "Better get a bus Taylor, the dogs are going to want to ride with us to school. Plus, we need to pick up the girls."

Taylor nodded "We better get moving to the beach too. We're pretty far out here. Why I wasn't expecting idiots in teeny little canoes."

They talked as they skated, and the dogs ranged ahead and to the flanks, now charging speed boats paralleling the lane to the beach at the boardwalk barking furiously and scaring the piss out of their drivers.

When they got to the beach, without killing more gulls, Rachel had put the fear of five inch in them apparently, Amy turned and looked at Taylor "What?"

"Where is the cute buss?"

"The Studebaker? You like those? We still have them; this one is a ninety pack though and I figured we needed the seats. Late model, government sells so much stuff."

"Hmmm, OK."

By the time they got to school Taylor was exhausted. Lucy and Amanda were locked wide open. Then she and Amy got passed around after Rachel, Lisa and the pups left on the bus. First the dogs had to be face mushed, all of them, several times each. They were goofy dog excited about it. Rachel was not. Then she couldn't take a step without being surrounded, Neither could Amy. Leslie just grinned. "OK, what the actual?" Taylor asked.

Amy looked around then huffed "Like I would let her come to school if she wasn't fine."

Taylor nodded "The Docs cleared her too. Oh, hey Kim, you good?"

Kim nodded and then shook her head "It could happen again?"

They then had to explain 'it' to everyone which got oooohs and awwwws. Lucy snickered "Yeah, that would be about four hundred pounds of gold, depending on the spot price."

Brandy Detwiler shook her head "Kaiser sent a check, cheap ass, did it clear?"

Taylor shrugged "Don't know yet, he better hope so. Lisa is setting up a fund for those girls." She listened as the girl's lives were planned out for them. With funding strategies included, all the way through ivy league schools then a little nest egg. They were never going to make that much interest, were they?

Haze Gray

Danny walked past, listened to the giggling for a while then looked at the screen Lisa was looking at. "Oh yeah that will work. Gold is steady going up. That laddered fund will work too, are you sure about that one? Cotton? How about oil?"

"Only as a short. We're going to do about ten percent of domestic supply over and above the oil we use. That's if these numbers don't increase and the thing is steady getting better at whatever the hell it is doing. Tess improves that refinery and we will be killing the oil companies. Even with the oil sands guys buying and blending the bakken stuff and our light fractions. Stoddard solvent especially, since they haven't used it for dry cleaning in forever, its good for thinning oil, keeping it from waxing too.

"From what she says we can go at that rate essentially forever, or until people get smart and stop throwing trash in the ocean. Which even then we've been ocean dumping forever so have what. two hundred years of cleaning up to do.

"And then, apparently, we could use this other stuff that is half the raw material input to the processes, methane clathrate, which is formed naturally in the oceans for fuel. I'd go look, its supposedly in a narrow band starting at about three hundred meters, but I don't need to as her thing works which proves it's there?

"Steel? Copper, manganese? Oh, no, Tyrone said we are getting tons of all that." Danny said. "Silver and gold too. Coinage, some bars but not like any I ever heard of. Kind of primitive looking."

Lisa nodded "Maybe from wrecks, there are thousands of them out there. Which is where we are getting some oil? their are estimates that billions of barrels have been spilled or were in ships that were sunk. Then leaks from wells and natural seeps. Yeah, need that railyard up and more ships. We're in the commodity business now."

"Bulk carriers. There was a bulk commodity dock. Have to look at it." Danny wandered off.

Lisa opened a new browser page 'Hey.' "Aren't you supposed to be helping Tess Slide Rule? Not a bad idea though, it was a commercial shipyard and we do have all these people, and we are built and fitted out right? So short of repairs... got a design in mind?" 'Hey' "Seawaymax oil, bulk, ore, self unloader? Oh, they can use the Panama Canal too, and with a turbine running fully loaded and cogeneration they can be cheap. Nice. Say, this will fit on the ways too, they built T3 Tankers on those during the war and jumboized them after. Think those cranes still work?

Can we do a lot of this in carbon fiber and resins? Have to get the tinkers on it" 'Hey hey hey hey. Hey hey' "OK, Clara then, you got it, might get them to look it over after? I mean if we can save weight it means more paying weight right? Eight meters isn't a lot of draft. I see what you mean though, Lots of room for oil or refined products in these corners because of these bulk tanks. let's get to work."

Haze Gray

"Thanks." Rachel said.

"I like dogs." Noelle replied. She was helping Rachel with all the dogs not just the water dogs. "So, think Tattletale will be able to do anything?"

"Usually can. Your boys need to be good, not make trouble."

Noelle nodded, unsmiling "Oh, they will.

"This afternoon Amy will look at Jess?"

"Yeah, if the dock hasn't fixed her by then." They both looked toward the dock where Marissa was watching Jess in the water and Oliver was sitting on a dry step near them. Rachel looked at the girls helping with the water dogs and nodded. Noelle smiled. Then looked for Krouse and Luke. If she had to get up to go find them... She grinned and launched a drone. Wow that thing was quiet.

Haze Gray

Taylor came in the door on the caisson and hopped down to the water. She smiled as she was charged by dogs and girls. How the hell did the girls swim that fast? Amy and Leslie came in behind her and got charged too. They smiled as well. Taylor got everyone herded to the end of the dock and sat listening to everyone's day. Only a little bit at the same time. It helped she had a CIC to keep up with everything. Speaking most of the languages involved she had sort of become the center of it all.

Still she could kiss whichever CS Chief thought to get the workboats loaded with snacks out running around. Some DUKWs on the hard too. Danny walked down and sat on the first dry step waiting, when he got a lull in the conversations he asked "Good day?"

Taylor nodded "Yep. Up to now anyway. I expect I am about to hear a million reasons not to shoot Kaiser and Lung in the dick, that may ruin it but, ah well."

Danny nodded "Well, you and the President will get to hear them together." He grinned, he had timed that perfect and Taylor was frozen with a apple in her mouth like a pig at a luau. He sighed, he should have brought a camera. He heard the click and laughed at the "LISA!" the chase got underway immediately. Lisa cheated and dove. Taylor got a crafty look and Danny interrupted "Before you torpedo your friend. Maybe you want to get ready? Malia and Sasha get out of school about now so you probably got about forty five minutes before Marine or Army one lands on the pad we painted in the parking lot in front of the DWU."

Taylor smirked and six torpedoes hit the water "Practice warheads, no explosives." Lisa surfaced screaming and ran off. Danny sighed as the chase ascended the catwalks. Then he laughed at the dogs pouncing on torpedoes that were just to far under for them to get to. The girls had, very wisely he thought, got up on the last wet steps and were yelling encouragement, instructions? Something. Anyway they were having fun. The workboats were up there with them. It was to shallow for the topedoes to feel safe?

Taylor came back down out of the catwalks with Lisa over her shoulder "Not the only camera in here you know." Lisa huffed.

"Jeff knows better, besides the girls would skin him. No posting on PHO, or anywhere else." Taylor sat her down "Now get your wet laptop and a projector and lets do this." Taylor tilted her head "Roger." Her helicopters took off as did Leslie, Rachel's, and a stream of them from Noelle.

Lisa frowned and then nodded "Good idea but his are different colors? Not haze gray and black. Oh, huh. He has some coming in from Dwight and Hue's group his pilots can drive. They could drive ours." She shrugged "Trust thing, OK. They're paying for gas and parts so its fine. Might hold us up a little, doubt he has ever seen ASW birds fully loaded with live ordnance.

"So anyway, while you were napping-"

Haze Gray

Emily, wearing a visor with a HUD got out of the PRT Van and walked in the dock, or to the door where she was greeted by a Chief boatswains mate and then piped aboard a loudspeaker announcing "PRT Brockton Bay Arriving!" She smiled and stepped forward through the sideboys and then stopped to salute the absolutely enormous flag hanging from the overhead cranes "Permission to come aboard?" She asked Taylor who was in a spotless set of service dress blues.

Taylor smiled "Granted, sorry, need to get the practice in." She looked at the visor "Busy?"

Emily smiled "Enjoying the show really. your people are thrilling the crowds and driving the air traffic controllers out of their minds. Leslie and Noelle out on the bay with all the dogs and Rachel is holding peoples attention as well."

Taylor nodded "They had to be outside to put up their aircraft, well they didnt have too but Noelle doesn't have that much practice yet so its better for them out there.

"Rachel wanted to work on the dogs tactics."

Emily nodded "Harriers, heard those were a handful."

Taylor nodded "Don't know. I'm still waiting on my suit before I can fly."

Emily blinked then moved on into the dock following Taylor it was still a hive of activity though perhaps not quite as loud as normal "Not shutting down?"

Taylor rolled her eyes "I got told 'there's a war on' in so many heys. Then I went and found somebody who made sense and they explained a lot of our processes are continuous and timed for the steps to go in order and on time. Everyone is trying to be as professional as possible. I still dont have a good handle on all the stuff we are doing but everyone is busy all the time?"

"Professional curmudgeons then?" Emily asked. Taylor smiled. "I'll find my way to the start of the tour." Taylor nodded her thanks and went back to the door.

Emily watched as the President 'came aboard' ruffles and flourishes and all, and then the whole thing dissolved in squeals as Malia and Sasha grabbed a hand apiece and dragged Taylor off to find the other Ships. She stepped up in time to hear Mr. Hebert get the tour started and see Mouse Protector introduce the independent heroes, Parian, Pelter, and Hard Light. And if that worked she would, nothing, because it was going to work like a charm. People were amazing.

Parian had needed to come in from the cold with the Empire taking hits like it had, Pelter was already pounding on criminals, if anyone was going to be a battle ship it was her. Girl could toss a marble and have it hit like a freight train.

The President went down the line and Armsmaster introduced Gully, who they were lucky to get and who Los Angeles had lost their mind letting go, along with Flechete, same thing except New York had lost their minds in her case. Both good, stable, powerful parahumans, who could read and understand procedures and regulations. Gully had found those tunnels of Thomas's in minutes and Flechete had impressed even Armsmaster doing whatever it was she did to his halbeard, berd. She chuckled, she needed coffee. The image she gave herself of Armsmaster charging that door chin first. She shook her head.

Of course she was going to have to "Emily, I understand you got one of our problem citizens out of the way?"

"Sorry sir, I never contemplated him taking the action he did."

"You should have seen the faces on the people in the situation room, looked like a troop of surprised monkeys when that shot went off. Still we got into his systems. Think we got it all?"

"No. He was a slippery bastard and had been in and around the PRT for twenty years, there will undoubtedly be more surprises sir, and if he really was a simurgh bomb there is no telling what she has had him up to. I can't discount the possibility even though it just occurred to Tattletale that day. She didnt get that name because it's cute. The PRT thinkers are working on it though, as I am sure Director Costa Brown has told you sir."

Barack nodded "Well, we will just have to be ready. I like your transferees. Should let us get on top of this mess."

Emily nodded "Certainly levels the playing field."

"OK, enough work to satisfy the secretaries, now lets look at this place, its amazing."

Emily had to admire the way Danny Hebert smoothly stepped in and led the tour on. Even allowing time for everyone to look at the ships now standing on the dock waters talking to the first daughters and all the trafficked girls with the First Lady. She chuckled at the wince the First Lady's look drew from her husband. Mama was not happy. Someone was going to get to share that in the near future.

Haze Gray

Taylor caught up with the tour by bringing everyone with her and washing the strap hangers away from the president. The Docents were happy to give their normal spiels and answer questions. They watched as a hull was laid up in a mold, then the carbon fiber frames and stiffeners added and covered in several layers of fabric soaked in resin by a robot. Further down the line one was being bagged by another set of robots and last one was being put in an giant autoclave with vacuum lines hooked to the bag. The President turned to her "I've seen boats built, they usually don't have frames or at least that many of them. The vacuum bagging and baking I've seen before. They didn't have those structural members either, or the metal members for mounting engines I assume?"

Taylor nodded "They probably aren't laid up in fifty three different layers that are all one piece woven in place but the fibers in each layer are oriented in a slightly different direction and from four of five different fibers either sir. These boats are copies of the dogs. They can take twenty five millimeter fire and they can operate at high speed in any sea state short of a category four hurricane. And they can do it for years.

"They can be repaired, the dogs will repair, or heal, themselves in the dock.

"So how much is one of these going to cost me?"

Lisa grinned "Three point seven million dollars without weapons and their systems. It will have really good navionics though, and it gets great fuel mileage. For an eighty foot boat anyway. Apparently we have a hundred and eleven foot hull as well."

Barack blinked as Michelle asked "And can we customize it? While that dark gray deck and haze gray hull look good on the dogs I'm thinking its going to be a bit hot?"

Haze Gray

Narwhal looked at Tess "Holy moly, you're a Tribal!" Tess looked at her friend, and superior in the Guild, and scowled. "Sorry, its just, it doesn't hit you until, Bam Tribal! The aircraft carriers and the battle cruiser, well I never knew them. You and Panacea though, well, its just surprising, and you sort of just catch it from the corner of your eye sometimes unless you are all out on the water." Tess gave an exasperated laugh and hugged her. "So joined the second trigger club then?"

"No one has figured it out yet. If so, what was Taylors first trigger?" Tess asked.

"Eh? Master obviously, can you not see the thousands of little minions running around? That aren't little all the time? I'm thinking Master nine, maybe ten, good thing it doesn't effect humans or we would be putting her on the list. So powerful master and powerful changer. Odd how she makes all of you changers." Tess blinked

"Echidna was a bad one, she was going to end up on the list. She is nothing like reports too, no huge bloated body with a hundred heads all trying to bite you. Those Russian mobsters must have been on some serious drugs. Probably killed each other when they were high then concocted this BS about that girl and her friends. What does her power really do, besides assault carrier?"

Tess shook her head "Make Marines who are insanely loyal out of sea life as far as we can tell."

"Two masters. You girls need watching. So, how do you think this briefing is going to go?"

"How would it go given to you Jen?"

"Ah well, not to well I reckon. Tough to put enough hurt on those two cunts in town though eh? Have to catch them out. I tell you one thing though. The lizards days of sitting out Endbringer attacks are over. She shows and he doesn't and he is done for win lose or draw for her." Tess blinked. Jen huffed "He capitulated. He can't let her do poorly or the rest of the villain's in the world will come for his card see?

"Kaiser, he's just a lying little, well, he talks out of both sides of his mouth. Nobody expects any less from him. Iron Rain? Crazy, but she was a believer you know, talked the talk and walked the walk."

Tess nodded "Taylor thinks a lot like you."

"Oh? Well, that's good then." Tess looked at Jen skeptically.