Son of a Ship
AN: Harry meets his first girl, the surprise!
Chapter 3: Meet the first.
It has been a month since Harry moved in with his mother, and the headaches had started to abate the third day, and now he no longer got them. He was constantly amazed by how nice most people seemed on the base... even Kaga who for some reason terrifies anyone that looks under ten, even when she's being nice. No, make that especially when she's being nice. (EN)
He was wearing a rather plain outfit of a black t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a waterproof backpack.
He still won't be in the same room as her alone, along with some others, not because they are mean to him, but something about them terrifies him.
Sitting on the pier he was about to set up his laptop to get a jump on the next week's schoolwork, he had no idea why he was so behind, but he was catching up fast when he spotted...her.
He had no idea why his attention was gripped by the girl. The girl was over twice his age and had milky white skin, black painted toes, and fingernails, short white hair, with a fang of blue hair on her right side, and slightly glowing blue eyes. (EN2)
She was wearing a black collar with a blue X on the front and what looked like a hook up for a leash, a white dress, that came to mid-thigh in front, and to the back of her knees in the back, thick white rings on her wrists, and a rather flat expression.
Something about her caught his eye and kept it. Packing his computer up again, he approached the girl.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Dreamweaver frowned. She was sent here to find the source of the strange energy, but so far she has had no luck and didn't want to press her luck by trying to sneak into the base, as she was pretty much the only siren not well known by humanity.
She felt someone tug on her dress, and she turned to the source, and then looked down.
She paused, captivated by the young boy as their eyes met.
"I haven't seen you around before, can I help you with something? Granted I'm still trying to find my way around myself but..." the boy asked.
She gave a small shake of her head, still shaken for some reason she couldn't explain.
She was so shaken that she didn't recognize that the sensor module she had been given was pinging.
"Would you like to play for a while?" she was asked by the innocent boy.
She couldn't help but nod and found herself being dragged to the nearest beach.
Several hours later of making sandcastles and just being around him, she received a communication telling her to return, she made an excuse to leave.
"Will I see you again?" Harry asked.
"I hope so," she replied softly in her monotone way.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
A week later, Observer was frowning. Dreamweaver seemed to be distracted. Her work was still being done, but something seemed off, so she looked at the recordings from when her fellow siren went to the base and noticed how she abandoned her duty almost as soon as she had met that strange boy.
"Purifier," she started.
"What do you want?" came a cheerful and slightly psychotic voice.
"Kill this boy, he's an unnecessary complication."
"Oh, okay! This will be fun!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
A Day later Purifier attacked, and she started her attack in the center of the base, and a lucky shot disarmed Enterprise.
Enterprise's bow flew back and landed near her son.
"Sorry Enterprise, I have job to do, you'll live though."
Enterprise cursed their location, this area was possibly the worse place for her to fight without her bow. Tall buildings and her bombs would probably kill her son if she used them so close.
Standing she moved in between the siren and her son, even though she knew it was fruitless.
"Sorry Enterprise, but orders are orders!" The Siren said cheerfully.
The siren looked like a woman that looked between eighteen and twenty-two. She had long light purple hair, gold eyes, and an athletic figure. She was wearing black and white mid-calf length boots, a short sailor-type top that exposed her stomach, and a pair of tight hot pants. She had hovering above her a large black with a yellow trim machine with three turrets, and two floating double turrets.
"Purifier, I won't let you harm him," the carrier said purposefully.
"do you really think..." she started, and then was interrupted by a yellow bolt that slammed into her chest.
"What the... NO WAY!" she started confused and ended in a surprised shriek.
Enterprise looked behind her only to stop and stare.
Her son, a normal human, had her bow, with another shot already prepped.
"Well now, that's interesting..." Purifier stated, then she noticed her new sensor module acting up.
The odd energy that they had been interested in... was coming from that boy, the same one that had activated Enterprise's bow rigging.
"Observer, take a look at these readings and images."
Observer looked at the reading and images in shock, then made a decision.
"Purifier, abort. This boy is too interesting to kill. We'll send Dreamweaver back once in a while to observe him since she already got close to him. Assuming she can do her job at the same time."
"Let me try something first, I want to make sure that him hitting me with that wasn't a fluke."
Out loud the siren said, "Hey boy if you can hit me again, I'll leave."
Harry didn't respond, his focus was entirely on the one in front of him, and a flickering golden light in his eyes, as he let loose another shot, hitting the siren in the arm, blowing it off with a surprising lack of blood... before he fainted.
"Purifier!" Enterprise snarled.
Picking up her arm the siren responded, "I'm going, I'm going. Tell the boy his pale friend will be back once in a while to play!"
Enterprise blinked. The siren had attacked, then left with her obvious objective incomplete, and what did she mean by a friend?
Did Harry actually meet a siren and not tell her? Or did he meet one and not know?
And how the HELL did he use her rigging?
She needed answers... and the only one that might have the majority of them literally just flew away.
She'll have to check the security cameras, perhaps she might be able to find the siren... and figure out what to do.
But for now, she needed to get her son into the infirmary.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Unknown Location.
"Dreamweaver."
"Observer."
"You will be able to continue seeing that boy, as he is the one that radiates that interesting energy, but you are to pass along any data you obtain...and you are to do your work properly."
Dreamweaver ducked her head, as she thought about her performance the past week, then went back to her job, the faintest traces of a blush on her face.
Then a thought struck her, a bit of an experiment, one that should be safe for Harry. "Observer, since Harry seems to have the ability to use rigging, would you have a problem seeing whether we could adjust a wisdom cube to allow him to merge with a ship?"
Observer's eyebrows rose as she ran the question through her mind. It was an interesting concept. "Only if we make the ship for him."
"I'll ask them if they figure out what I am, and don't shoot me on sight."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Enterprise looked at the security footage, that was paused on the scene of her son meeting a girl. This wasn't unusual, despite many parenting books suggesting that boys tend to have trouble with being friends with girls, using odd words like cooties.
Back to the girl, Enterprise didn't recognize her... at all. But she did look a lot like someone she had met before.
The siren Compiler.
Watching the multi-hour interaction between the suspected siren and her son, she couldn't figure out why the siren was there, it was almost as if Harry had derailed her plans.
Just like with what happened with Purifier, although it seemed like Purifier was more told to leave and gave an excuse.
Sighing she decided to kick it up the chain of command, and so went to find the Commander after finding out that her son was just suffering from exhaustion.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Several hours later, after explaining the situation to the Commander, she awaited his decision.
"Let me get this straight," the man started. For some reason, almost nobody, even his ship-girl wives, could remember his name anymore, so he was known just as 'Commander'. "Your new son spent several hours playing with a suspected new siren, and nobody noticed? And this attack was to kill him? And then he used your rigging, which caused them to back off, and say that that other siren would be back to play? Did I miss anything?"
"No sir, you got the situation correct."
The man leaned back and pulled his white cap over his eyes. In truth, he was as perplexed on what to do as Enterprise. On one hand, it's a siren. On the other...
on the other...
He smirked.
"This may be a golden opportunity."
"Sir?"
"When she shows up again, have her come here. Tell her she won't be harmed."
"Sir, why?"
"After several decades of fighting the sirens, we know so little about them. Now we'll have one wandering about the base, so why don't we have someone supervise her and your son? We will explain to her that visits are allowed under two conditions, one we are warned that she is coming, and two that we have someone supervise to keep her out of areas that they don't belong."
"I see..." the carrier replied uncertainly.
"Don't worry, Harry will be fine, I'm just taking advantage of a happy coincidence, the observer will be told that it's a do-not approach unless he's in danger of she's invited' duty," the man reassured the still new mother.
"So, you're using her visits to ferret out any information you can get?"
"Exactly, and taking proper precautions with a visiting enemy is just common sense."
"I hope this works out."
The man just smiled.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Dreamweaver was once again on the base a few weeks later looking for her... friend?
She really didn't know what that boy was to her, just that there was something almost magnetic about the boy, something that drew her gaze and mind to him. She also had Harry's new cube with her, only she was going to wait until she was discovered before offering it.
"Excuse me," a voice stated from behind her.
Turning around she saw Enterprise and had a sinking feeling.
"The Commander wishes to speak with you before you visit Harry," the strongest ship of Eagle Union stated.
She just nodded, slightly confused by how things were going, she was expecting to get attacked on sight if she had been discovered.
She was soon lead to a spare office, that the Commander was using for this meeting, both because it was close to the entrance to the base proper, and so as not to show a potential enemy where he spends much of his time.
Looking at him as he ordered Enterprise to shut the door, she saw a well-built man that looked in his late thirties, wearing pure white military fatigues with a white cap and black visor. A liberal amount of medals adorned his chest.
"So you're the Siren that played with Enterprise's son. You are probably confused as to why we aren't attacking you right now, and to tell you the truth, we won't as long as you accept certain conditions to your visits," the man said sternly.
Tilting her head in confusion, Dreamweaver asked, "Conditions?"
"They're simple, and shouldn't pose any problems. First, warn us you're coming. Second, you will not harm anyone. Third, you will avoid any restricted areas. Lastly, you will be watched. These will be the conditions that you are required to accept if you wish to continue visiting Harry," the man stated calmly.
"I accept, but there is something I wish to offer Harry," the siren stated.
"And that is?" Enterprise asked.
Dreamweaver pulled out a box, and pressed a button, revealing what looked like an almost standard wisdom cube, although one that was more a turquoise color than that standard green.
"A wisdom cube?" the Commander asked.
"It has been calibrated for him and would be compatible for a ship we'll build him. Based on the fact that he could use Enterprise's rigging we theorized that he could use a wisdom cube if it is properly calibrated."
"This isn't like the black cube from the Orochi incident right?"
"No, that one was special in its own right."
Enterprise looked at the Commander for help, and he made a gesture to the ship that he's leaving it in her hands.
"Ask him next time," Enterprise said. At the siren's questioning glance, she explained, "I'll explain about wisdom cubes, and Kansen by then. (EN3) I want him properly informed before making such a decision."
Dreamweaver nodded, and asked, "Who's our watcher today?"
"I am," Enterprise said, "It'll let me spend some time with my son."
The siren just nodded and followed the other ship-girl out of the office.
"Interesting, very interesting indeed," the Commander stated as he stood up and left the room.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
End chapter.
EN: In the anime, Kaga terrified a young destroyer by telling her to be careful.
EN2: I bumped up her physical age a bit. Possible Spoiler: Some of you that play the game might notice that I used TB's description, there's a good reason for it. Compare Dreamweaver and TB, and you'll notice that, take Dreamweaver's coat and rigging away, and they look IDENTICAL. Same hair, same eyes, same dress, same collar.
EN3: Kansen is a term I saw for the Ship-girls in the PS4 game Azur Lane: Crosswave, so I figure that would be a good "Official" term for them.