Disclaimer: Indy best girl
So uh. I was writing the fluff, but then, I realized that this chapter had to come first in order to make sense.
Again, I'm bad with promises. Sorry.
Reviews:
The One: All Saratoga Merch comes with a special handwritten card and no refunds!
Severak: Yup! Portland is coming next chapter and I certainly hope I can laze around and just write about Indycon for the rest of my days. We do have 6 months until Portland gets back to service.
John: It is confirmed: Portland is now the Batman of the Eagle Union
Essex's POV:
"Yo Essex." Cleveland barged into my room. "Something important came."
"What?" I quickly shoved my Enterprise biography beneath my desk and started on the paperwork.
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Cleveland raised her eyebrows before wisely deciding to let it go. "Did you order anything?"
"I'm not sure." I shrugged. "I would like some curry though."
"Well there's a package outside." Cleveland pointed.
"Oh, the body pillow." I went up to pick them up. "If you want me to lend-"
"I mean way outside." Cleveland directed me outdoors.
I walked over to the window and looked at the field. On the pavement was a large shipping crate carefully being rolled to the middle of base. Rings of ships gravitated towards the container as it made its voyage through the base. Alarmingly, traces off smoke were being emitted into the atmosphere. Not really something you want to see come out of a cargo crate.
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"Do we shut them down?" I picked up my coat from the floor and began to zip it up.
"Well…" Cleveland clicked her tongue. "It's best that you just see."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I took my bow and followed her down the stairs.
"It has to do with Enterprise." Cleveland grabbed my hand as I walked back up to put on deodorant. "And she is not here."
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"Start with that." I turned back around. "So what does this have to do with Secretary Enterprise?"
"She apparently sent the training devices back here." Cleveland led me outdoors where Curiosity hopped onto the top of the crate, being lifted up by Independence.
"May I have your attention please?" Curiosity shouted through a megaphone. "I've got some gifts for all of you!"
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I took a brief glance at the container. It seemed a bit foreboding. I got a whiff of an industrial odor. Is it really that safe? I walked to the side of the plaza and looked at the harbor schedules. There didn't seem to be a package from Enterprise coming. I glanced at my watch. Yeah, It's four fiftee-
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Wait. I have to go on a commission tonight. Starting at six, it will last until nine and by the time I finish dinner, It will be time to go to sleep. Enterprise's body essence is supposed to come at five thirty. If I spend more than an hour checking the safety of this container, I will not have enough time to prepare the commission while guarding the package (1).
I bit my lip. Ah, this sucks. I'm the Secretary and Commander of the Pacific Reserves. Am I going to irresponsibly potentially sacrifice the health of the Pacific fleet just for Enterprise's perfume?
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"Well, then I suppose it's safe." I turned to go back to the office.
"Hold it." Cleveland grabbed my tie.
"Wouldn't Enterprise be disappointed if she saw that you overlook several public concerns?"
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Screw you Cleveland.
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"Why?"
"Just making sure you do your job." Cleveland grinned
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I'm not going to get the odors until tomorrow, am I.
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"How do we know that Enterprise sent these back?" I groaned at Cleveland during Curiosity's generic sales pitch.
"We don't." Cleveland blocked my path of escape. She knew what I was doing. "The Siren just said it was from Enterprise. You might be reprimanded if you don't go and check on it~" (2)
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I hate you.
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"Fine." I pushed my way upfront. "I'll do my job as the moral overseer I am."
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"Oi." I walked up to her as she began to place tables across the pavement. "Do you have a permit for this?"
"Just watch." Curiosity muttered as she pulled a box from the industrial grade shipment crate.
"You still need a licence for this." I pressed, knocking on the table to try to speeden up the process. Enterprise can't wait forever. "What's inside?"
"Fine." Curiosity walked over to the crate and took out a box. "This is something we use in the deep see. It's called Siren Modifications."
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"This looks like a safety hazard." I took a peek inside and took out a bomb from my coat. Inside the box was a shimmering dark grey fluid. I slid the box back and forth, and the liquid swirled around like tar. Well, the look was good enough reason to destroy it. The faster it's gone, the faster I can get my Enterprise time.
"These are Siren modifications." Curiosity grinned, taking the box from me. "This is brand off the line technology that will be incredibly useful in any fight. Watch this!"
Curiosity flipped the container over her head, the slippery black oil covering her whole body and luxurious clothes.
"Curiosity!" I took the crate away from the drowning Siren. Oh no, she got into her demonstration phase. For Enterprise's sake, this is going to last forever.
"Bam!" She hopped up away from my hands. The inky liquid covered the metal plating of her turrets, dyeing it dusk black before crumpling it into goo and circling around her. "Pretty cool right?"
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Did the turret just disappear?
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"Curiosity, this seems very dangerous." I set aside Enterprise for a bit weighed the destructive power of this … rare metal. If this got onto my flight deck, would it be smashed too? If this touched Enterprise...
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I looked at the massive volume of the cargo container that the Siren brought. "Curiosity, is the whole crate this ... substance?"
"Well yes…" Curiosity tilted her head. "But it gets really cool, I promise!"
"I would rather not have such dangerous materials at base." I began to load my bombers. Okay. If I destroy this, not only will I protect the safety of our fleet, but I will also get back to Enterprise faster. Win win then. "In the wrong hands, this could destroy not only our hulls, but our naval fortress as well. Please take your science experiment somewhere else."
"Wait!" Curiosity scrambled at me. "You don't get it! This is a good thing!"
"How?" I launched my planes into the sky.
"Watch this." Curiosity jumped into the sky, the trail of black goo erupting from her feet. "You know how it takes like 2 years or so to build a carrier?"
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I glared at her from the ground. It seemed like the black metal glued to her feet and the ground, allowing her to stand in the sky.
"Well, with this - " Curiosity pointed to the liquid. "You don't need to wait!"
The black metal began to rapidly shift shapes. "Need a landing deck? We've got it? Want larger caliber guns? Why not, it shall be done!" Curiosity began a series of timid golf claps that abruptly stopped when nobody else joined her. "Basically, this can give you like twice the power capacity. Cool, huh?"
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I examined the ominous black substance.
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"How will we know this is safe?" I asked her as she returned back to ground level, the modifications slowly condensing back into a turret.
"I mean, I did it." Curiosity shrugged.
"But you are a Siren." I pointed out. "And these are Siren modifications. How do we know this is safe for regular ships?"
"It has health benefits." Curiosity avoided the question. "And it can turn a trusty drying pan into a frying pan?" (3)
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"Answer me." Maybe Cleveland was right. I should shut this down. Can we really trust these anyways? The goo itself was questionable enough, but what would this do to you? If every ship could instantly become powerful, what would happen? I only manage to keep order because I am the lead Carrier. If everybody became as powerful as the law enforcement, what would happen to our order? Would it just break?
I looked at the questionable substance. Is this really good for the Eagle Union? A chilling thought entered my head.
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Why would Curiosity even want to give this away? These weapons are of the same caliber of magic to us. There must be some underlying reason that she would want us to take these substances.
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What side effects could these ores contain?
I know that the Sirens used to work with the Sakura Empire. Why have they stopped. What did they do to them?
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What atrocit-
"These modifications can tailor make you attractive to any ship, including Enterprise." Curiosity offered.
I took the liquid and poured it over my head.
Cleveland's POV:
"Moral Overseer." I quoted as I walked past Essex. Other ships began to try on these new modifications after the Secretary's flamboyant display of trust. I'm not really confident about these materials. If Portland hates Sirens that much, there must be a reason, right?
"What?" Essex stopped playing with the new gadgets and narrowed her eyes. "I see you're holding a modification yourself."
"This is different." I defended myself, lying. "I'm bringing this to Vestal and Portland to take a look."
"Oh really?" Essex questioned my motives. "So you're not going to use it?"
"Yes." I nodded my head.
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"You know they lose potency as time goes on." Essex smirked. "Any longer than half a day, and it will turn into goo."
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They do?
"No they don't." I called her bluff.
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"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Essex teased. "Either you wear it, or you'll give it to somebody else. I'm certain several destroyers would be willing to accept this power."
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"There's no expiration date for this." I continued nervously.
"I could confiscate it and give it to somebody else." Essex pressed sadistically. "You can't bully me for using it, can you?"
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I gulped.
"Aniki." Montpellier walked up to me, the liquid metal in hand. "How do you use this."
"You got one?" I looked at her, tilting my head. "I thought they ran out."
"I just barely got one." Montpellier advanced on me. "Aniki, you know how to use this right. You have it on, right."
"Yeah…" I glanced around for Essex. Nowhere in sight. Good.
I mean, I can wear it, right? I'm not responsible for public safety.
It's not wrong for me to want to improve, right?
So wearing these shouldn't be that much of a problem.
"I got it a few hours ago." I nodded.
"What do you do with this." Montpellier pushed the box into my hand.
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"You want to put this on?" I made sure that was her intention.
"Yes." Montpellier nodded her head.
I narrowed my eyes.
What was going on? Montpellier doesn't talk this often, nor openly at all. And these hand gestures. What has gotten into her?
I cupped my hand on her forehead. No fever. That's odd.
Is she just excited for the new modification?
No, I don't think so. What could cause this?
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"These modifications can tailor make you attractive to any ship, including Enterprise." Curiosity offered.
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That makes sense. For the longest time, Montpelier has this obsession over me. Who can blame her, I'm just this smokin' hot.
I mentally winced.
"Alright then." I decided not to let my mind stray any further and took the bucket away from here. "Let's get this over with.
"Thank you, for taking my first time." Montpellier hugged me.
"Calm down." I pushed her away from me. Montpellier closed her eyes and spread her arms out wide open. The inner demon in me might have just left her there. I snorted internally before pouring the goo on top of her.
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The Siren Modification cascaded around Montpelier.
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What?
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For some reason, it repelled. The metallic liquid poured all around her, slowly dripping off in a perimeter of an imaginary bubble. It drained into the ground as I pressed my hand against the shield-like radius.
"What is this?" Curiosity ran past me directly to Montpelier, pulling out a pen. "Is this a barrier of some sort?"
Montpellier opened her eyes in shock. She placed her hand on the other side of the invisible wall.
"Aniki?" She whimpered.
"Woah." Curiosity circled around her beforing tapping the outside of the ring. She jolted her hand back in pain. "It's real!"
"Aniki, what is happening?" Montpellier looked desperate at me.
"I've never seen the Siren Modifications reject somebody before." Curiosity picked up some of the goo from the ground, winded up, and slung it like a baseball at Montpellier. It disintegrated into smoke as Montpelier ducked. Curiosity narrowed her eyes at Montpelier. "Yeah, I don't think you can use this."
"What?" Montpellier began to sway side to side in disbelief.
"Sorry." Curiosity bit her lip. "You can't use this."
"But... You promised that..." Montpelier pointed, shivering.
"Promises are meant to be broken." Curiosity shrugged. "Sorry."
Montpelier slowly backed away before running in the other direction.
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"What did you tell her about these modifications?" I warned Curiosity as she disappeared.
"I keep confidentiality." Curiosity clicked her tongue. "But it was something very intriguing about you."
"You're a jerk." I walked away. Curiosity fed a bunch of lies to Montpelier, didn't she. She's so naive as well.
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Curiosity did not bother to respond.
Footnotes:
(1): Once, Essex lost an Enterprise's bathwater to Porch Pirates. It was retrieved at the lost and found.
(2): Cleveland might be a sadist. Who knows?
(3): Brock would be proud
Okay. Next week fluff
Indy simp, Cleveland Simp, maybe even Enty simp.
I promise.
(That's probably a bad omen ngl)
Anyways, See you next week!