Well, this was it, this was goodbye.
We had traveled up the Mekong river into the night, passing more than one burnt-out town and village on the way to Long Xuyen, any further and we'd pass the border into Cambodia. We stopped a few miles from the city, last Chitose had heard it was still under human control, and the last thing we needed was for Chitose's return to be greeted by getting shot at by the local military. The houseboat, our home for the last few weeks, came to a gentle stop as I hit reverse before cutting the gas, Hakone dropping the anchor as Countess laid on the roof watching the stars, the girl liked the rain, it seemed, as she didn't seem to mind the now-gentle downpour that fell on her hull.
Chitose stepped to the edge of the stern, hand on the rail as she looked at the shoreline briefly, before looking back to me with a smile. "I guess this is it, huh?" I nodded, moving to stand beside her. We both fell silent for a moment before Chitose spoke again. "So, you have my number right? remember, all you need to do is call in a week or so and the reception desk should patch you through to me." I nodded silently as she continued, starting to wring her hands. "I left the seaplane Kai in the hold, they are more yours than mine anyway, and I doubt anyone would let me keep them, remember that Countess will need to eat soon, she always tends to forget until she's really hungry so make sure you ask okay?" She was starting to babble now. "And make sure Hakone keeps up with her flying lessons, I know she only has the few flying-fish bu-" I cut her off with a hug, though the fact I was about half her size meant I basically just latched onto her leg. Chitose froze at that, before she started to sniffle as she knelt down into the embrace. "I'll miss you Georgia, as crazy as this ride has been, and as traumatizing as some of the things we've done were. I don't think I'll ever forget this adventure we've had, or the friends I've made." Hakone came over then, bawling her eyes out as she wrapped her arms around us.
"I'll miss you too Chitose-Sama!" She cried through sniffles, as Countess, not really understanding what was going on but wanting to be included. Wrapped us ALL within her long arms, lifting the works of us a good solid five feet off the ground in a massive bear hug.
"Countess! Stahp! Please!" I cried, feeling my external pressure spiking as Hakone and Chitose's hulls ground against me. Countess set us down again with a small groan.
"Uhhhhhrr..." I patted the ship's leg comfortingly as I caught my breath.
"D-Don't worry about it Countess." I looked over at Chitose. "Sure you don't want the Kai? they were pretty useful to you, right?" But the tender shook her head, stepping out onto the water. I stood there with Hakone and Countess as the girl I'd come to know turned with a final wave goodbye that we all returned. And began to cruise up-river towards Long Xuyen where I could see light's in the distance. As Chitose's silhouette gradually disappeared into the dark I sighed, as Hakone turned to me.
"What now Georgia-Hime?" This again?
"Just Georgia Hakone, you know that." Hakone startled before looking a bit sheepish as I continued. "We'll head back to Mae's I guess, see if we can get any more work from her, we should probably check some of the bombed-out ruins we passed on the way here, might be some stuff in the ruins we can use, appliances and the like, that we can haul electronics out of for Countess." Hakone nodded before going to haul up the anchor, leaving me alone with Countess. The big girl laid a hand on my little shoulder as I gazed at where Chitose had disappeared to.
"Ruuuuuuuggh?"
"I'll be fine Countess, but thanks for asking," I said before I turned to enter the wheelhouse.
Elsewhere:
Dark shapes watched from the far shoreline through the ferns as what was unmistakenly a Kanmusu left the unfamiliar abyssal ship, speaking to the ship-hulls onboard with familiar tones before cruising towards their enemy. They had been keeping an eye on this river, to report any ships that dared sail downriver to offer aid from Cambodia
"Kyahaha... liiig an koota kit, aaaaah?" One of them gestured towards the other, Speaking in its primitive proto-language.
"guu, guu..." Replied the other, as the third called in what they had seen over the radio.
Ri-class POV
"Radio duty might well be the most boring thing I have ever done." the Ri-class thought, sitting in her assigned chair in the communications tent. She was a new-construct, sold to the Battleship-Hime by the Supply-Depot-Princess two years ago, and she hadn't seen so much as a single battle in her time alive. It was hard to be a lowly cruiser in a war dominated by aircraft and artillery. The most she had contributed other than being a glorified gopher was briefly contributing to the artillery fire on Saigon with her 8"'s last year, when Jersey-Hime had finally broken through the meager defenses in place. Other then that, it was patrol duty, guard post duty, bulldozing abandoned houses. (To be fair at least that one let her stretch her arms.) And listening in on those DAMN Imps screech at each other in their stupid made-up language over the radio.
"Iiiie! Iiiie! ku tuka ni pallaaah!" Case in point. Ri-012 (Who the Hime had never bothered naming, leaving her to use her production number) Answered lazily.
"This is operator oh-twelve, patrol seventy-eight, if you want to say something slow down. You know I can't understand you little bastards if you talk too quickly, over." Normally she was more polite, but normally she didn't have to talk to Imps, just connect them when they wanted to natter-on to each other. The fact this one wanted to pass a message up the chain was unusual...
" . .pallaaah" The Imp said more slowly, enunciating each word, well why didn't she just say thaaaaa...t.
"I'm sorry, are you suggesting Abyssals are working with the Humans?" Ri-012 asked incredulously. Sure, maybe her creator, Mae Crizzette let humans serve her, but here? under New Jersey? No one would be that stupid, right?
"Kaa! Liig pupu nittakoh dessik!" The sounds of two more PT-Imps screeching in the background told her this wasn't just one suicidal Imp trying to take the piss with her.
"No, I'm not calling you a liar, just, hold on, let me write this down." The Ri foraged for a writing utensil as the 'ree-ing' from her headset continued, it was all she could do once she found a pen to keep up.
The Ri approached the main HQ nervously, papers clutched like a lifeline as she passed bombed-out houses that still hadn't been torn down for resources. The battleship-princess was in no hurry to clean up the city obviously, skeletons marked where bodies had fallen a year ago, untouched other than to move them out into the open air of the streets where they would rot to the bone faster. She had learned quickly to ignore the smell, and after a while the bugs and vermin of this land along with the humid climate had taken care of the problem.
Plantlife had started to overtake the suburbs, and a bit of the inner city, grass shooting up through cracks in the streets as hedges and decorative tree's grew wild. A few of the skeletons were nailed to the street-lamps or walls by bored Abyssals, though some of the more 'inventive' sculptures had been destroyed by the Hime herself, dismantling the Abyssals responsible in one of her frequent fits of pique.
The Ri entered the courtyard of the City Hall, passing the destroyed statue out front. The two Tsu-class guards at the door let her through without delay, though one said Jersey was in the middle of something, and to wait outside her office. As the ship approached the battered oaken door she could hear voices, Jersey-Hime clearly arguing with someone, she stopped beside the door and couldn't help but listen, as the Hime raged.
"I don't C̶̙̩̀͠Ā̷̡͓̮̈́̍̾R̷̮̒̒̕͘E̴̤͍̲̪͒ if it's too early! the bastards started on the 30th early, why the hell can't we?!" The Battleship shouted, shuffling inside marking the nervousness of the Ta-class guards most certainly present.
Patience, Jersey, patience, they will die. But what you ask of me requires a certain... p̵͖̆ú̵̦n̷͉̒c̸͚̀t̷̿͜u̸̗͑ȁ̴̟l̶͍̈́i̸̺͝t̵͙͋y̴͚̏. The Ri had never heard that voice before, she sounded... off. speaking in calm tones but with a certain, wrongness, like when Jersey-Hime was particularly angry. The voice continued. "If we begin too early, few will be called, we must wait until the second of march if we wish to be successful, the hatred and rage felt will boil over then, and you will have your army." The voice paused, as if in thought. "But that is a conversation best had another time, you have a visitor, good day, Jersey." "Don't you Ď̸̝̗̭̜̊̿͗̾̒͝Ả̸̼̘̲̬̠̜̯̃̒̐̀̽̿̂Ŗ̶̐̉̓E̵͎̲̞̝̔̊̊͊ do that dissapea- ̵̭͠Ȃ̸̲Ả̵͕A̵̱̔Ä̷̰̤́̓͛R̵̤̄̿̿̕ͅG̶̰̲̍̉́͘G̸̦̠̓͊̒͠Ḧ̵̜̩̀̍͝ͅ!̸̧̥̝̕"̷̧̘̈́̈́̔͗ͅͅ
"J-Jersey-Hime will see you now." The Ri hesitantly stepped inside, the desk, an old oaken thing, lay smashed upon the floor, Jersey heaving breaths as she stared at an empty spot of floor, empty save for a spot of black soot. Her head snapped to her, and the Ri wilted under her gaze.
"Well, w̷̕͜h̷̨͒a̸̹̍t̷̳͒ ̷̼͘ţ̵͑h̷͕̿e̵͊ͅ ̶̧̓h̶̋ͅe̵̩̾l̸̩͋ḻ̷̈ ̵͎̂d̵̤͛ŏ̷̬ ̷̧̀ȳ̴͓o̴̹̾u̸͓̍ ̴͜͝w̵͉̑á̶͓n̷̼̓t̴̗̋?̸̧͊!̵͈͘"̵̬̇