Haze Gray 110

"As I see it, we have two options. We can swing out to near enough Bikini and talk to Simmie, then swing over to the east coast of Asia, up through the Aleutians, then down along the west coast of North America. Take our time, make a few port calls if the situation looks friendly enough. This has the advantage of settling the Simurgh situation as much as it will get settled and allowing us to put sensors on the probable area of hostilities.

"The Second options are sort of a reverse of the first." Taylor declared at the planning meeting.

Fargo, a Chinese cruiser, put in "We will have to watch the weather closely, perhaps be prepared to flex to either as a storm builds and when we get a good track on it."

Taylor nodded "Oh hey, just in commission?"

Fargo blushed and nodded "Just in time for the slavers."

Amy nodded "One a week from each national group after the first big slugs of them. The British, German, and French are building now. The Cubans and the Hispaniola battlegroups are getting close as well. Escort heavy. No BBs. Carriers though."

Taylor was handling Fargo "Not sure we need BB's. Hun are you like solid? Wow, you are firm!"

Vicky sighed "Still smooshiest." Crystal grinned at her. That she had double the durometer reading of Vicky had pleased her nearly as much as it disappointed Vicky. Vicky had started a exercise program. It was hard trying to get her power to stay off long enough for her to get in a good workout but she was getting there.

Cassidy asked, "The fishing boats?"

Taylor shrugged "SSGMBS speed works on them, at least it did with me."

"So, some of us ride them and some ride the mixed passenger and freight liners that are coming." Cassidy nodded.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "This is getting to be quite the fleet."

Amy laughed "It will only get bigger Babe. They are building docks and buying portals all over the world."

Tess nodded "Which we need to talk about. Some of those portals went to odd places where they don't exactly treat women well."

Taylor blinked "I'd like to see them try to abuse a ship girl, even Juggernaut, bad example, uh, well, there are no weak ship girls. Might be the best thing to happen for females in general in those countries."

Leslie looked around "So no one else huh? OK, a girl without support, starved of supplies, there are other ways to manipulate girls than brute force Taylor. And that's if they don't simply use her family or loved ones against her."

Taylor blinked, opened red eyes, then growled. Tess nodded "No connection to our docks for those."

Noelle drummed her nails on her crossed arms "Where exactly did those portals go?"

Tess opened her mouth and Taylor waved her off "One problem at a time. For now, no dock no connection, and I mean no dock with a manager from us. Or a store with a manager of ours. These we have control of. Let them copy our methods all they want, if they can get a girl to ship we will go make sure she is OK, or send a squadron. So far no one has finished outside one of our docks."

The ship girls all turned to look at her, she sighed "Except me." Amy patted her on the arm she was holding. The girls snickered. Taylor pouted.

Jennifer appeared with her notebook. "Meeting over? Good, deadline coming up."

Stephanie huffed "You have a deadline every thirty minutes."

Jennifer nodded "Lots of work, lots of money to though. Freelancing for networks that pay in like kopeks and stuff."

Lucy Johns walked in "Taylor, can I speak with you?" Taylor looked around the sea of big-eyed anime faces.

She grinned "Sure. Jenifer talk to Alina. Nobody has the tentacle monster of Detroit story so far."

Alina shuddered "So many tentacles."

Tarawa chuckled "So much napalm mixed with containment foam." Jennifer arched a brow, Tarawa leaned forward "Makes the napalm extra sticky."

Taylor moved off with Juggernaut and Kim leading her escort. One of the Chinese LHDs launched A10s and Alina shot a cap.

Lucy rolled her eyes. They were such a pack! She looked around and sure enough dogs led, paralleled, and trailed them. "So, I have noticed some changes." Taylor looked at her wide eyed and nodded. Lucy huffed "But I am nearing a certain age." Taylor tilted her head and frowned. Lucy snorted "I want children."

Taylor had an owl-like face "Uh, you would have to talk to Maria."

Lucy scowled at her for a moment then broke up laughing. "Your father is a remarkably interesting man. Maria has a keen eye. I have no desire to pit my eventual air group against an air defense specialized heavy cruiser, or my paper thin hull against her two hundred and three millimeter rifles. All that aside from them being a spectacular couple. Plus, Alexander is much more my age. This is important for a father I think."

Taylor blinked "Uh, does Alexander know? I mean you are talking about the association Alexander, right? Really, Alexander?"

Lucy gave her a mild glare "And what is wrong with Alexander?"

Taylor shrugged "He's a bit old?"

Lucy chuckled "For you, yes."

"I'm really not, well…" Taylor sighed "Why me?"

"You are la Dona. The Admiral, the First Ship. Do you know what I was in the place I came from? I'm actually quite proud, I was the personal assistant to a minister of finance. You can read that as I did his work, my work, and on occasion got quite personal with him." She looked at Taylors face and chuckled "American women of certain means and backgrounds. You have no idea how it works out in the wide world. You live lives swaddled in cotton wool. Not all of you of course, as you know, you did trigger after all. Enough though, enough that you can get that offended face even though you did trigger. I enjoyed my life Dona. I had an apartment that would make your head swim. Clothes, a car if I wanted. Anything I desired could be mine. Except one thing. I could never be, well, La Dona. I would never be able to claim the work that was mine. And when my idiot fell so would I and some other sharp, smart, pretty girl would rise with the idiot she had pinned her star too.

"Your little university children who think they have it so bad and this world is so horrible, I could give you a list of beautiful places to send them. A few might survive. You should consider it.

"You though, you are a puzzle. You know exactly what is possible, you know that people, normally, given the opportunity, will do the wrong thing and enjoy the doing. Yet here you are. A shining example of what is possible. Can you even be beaten? Do you even fear these beasts you have fought?"

Taylor studied Lucy for a long moment. "Thinking you can't lose is the best way to lose. If you want to take Alexander on fine. Remember though it's the whole thing. You totally commit. If, no, when he screws up, he will be fixed. When you screw up, you will as well.

"How is it going to go with you being a ship, a girl, and a mom. None of us know, not yet, but we will be there. We'll figure it out together."

Lucy nodded "And now you know why Alexander is a good choice. He is never going away from the home port. Not for long anyway. Neither am I. A sortie or two fine, but I am a European, not made for the Pacific. And the First Ship will be near."

"You need to go lay in the dock. If you stuff anymore super carrier in that body you're going to sink through a two foot landing slab." Taylor eyed her. "I wasn't made for the Pacific either."

"And scare Alexander even worse? He is like a stray cat now. I can hold out. And you were built all ocean all weather. Americans all are. You have both oceans on developed coast. We have the Baltic and Black on developed coast and the pacific on a vast wilderness.

"Meanwhile, having been in the second layer of the Russian government and closely observing and communicating with the first. I can help our intelligence section and the admirals.

"Oh, and the state bank too. I did after all take very much of their personal money as I left. They were just wasting it on bleach and caviar." Amy looked at Lucy's platinum blond roots and snorted. Lucy shot her an arched brow "I have of course gotten in on the ground floor of the Union with some investments, the Yard in Brockton Bay as well, the civilian side. Alexander must have a place to work after all."

Taylor shook her head "None of that means of production in the hands of the people stuff then."

"I am not people? I set up the share program and screened the investors. They are all people, no corporate entities." Lucy said firmly.

Taylor reached out and snagged Lisa as she was sinking. Lisa sighed "All that money has to go somewhere. You're the majority owner of all the civilian yards and the stores."

"And all the operations they run! Everything we do ends up making money! Even the environmental cleanup, which should have lost money hand over fist makes money on the stuff we clean out of the ground then when we sell the ground, at least the parcels that are taxed at some outrageous rate in cities we make millions of dollars! Where are you going to put that money? We have all the farmland we could possibly need now." Taylor asked her.

Lucy cleared her throat "The US Post Office loses quite the amount every year."

Taylor frowned thoughtfully. In Washington, the Postmaster General of the United States shuddered violently "Now that was a big cat walking on my grave."

Back on the base down near the docks Lucy looked at Taylor "You could accessorize more, that cost a lot of money."

"Hire an Italian shoe making team." Amy offered, then blushed spectacularly. The other girls looked at her and chuckled. Taylor blushing turned that into roaring laughter.

Taylor huffed and when they settled nodded "So just keep buying up farms? I mean we will sell them back to relatives, or our folks if we can ever get them over the La Dona owns the land thing. What is that even, like I want to be the Lord of the Manor and have serfs? How did they even get that idea? What happened to the American dream?"

Kim shrugged "Government regulation." The girls all frowned.

Taylor finally nodded grudgingly "Maybe? I mean it is a pain and I have thousands of people doing paperwork all day every day."

Johnston offered "Maybe we get the government to join the computer age. That would make the paperwork easier, maybe make some of our folks interested in having their name on the blame line and should lose us a cracker load of money. You know tilting at windmills and making the government efficient are pretty quixotic. We need our windmills too." Everyone stopped and looked at her. Taylor hugged her. She sighed. Then squirmed out of Taylors grip, or tried to for a moment, before she settled back in it and smiled. Amy snorted. She had seen Johnston eyeing up a Russian Benham, who had returned the favor. Torpedo envy maybe? Admiration?

Taylor brought everyone back on track "Fine, ship when you are ready but be aware you might do it spontaneously before you think Alexander is ready."

Lacey walked up "Alexander? Oh no honey, he would be ready if you turned into a PT, tanker, tender, Haven, anything really. He's a gonner." Lucy smiled and pinked nicely. Lacey continued "You go ahead and ship. Mark and Juanita will be mad about not getting to play with Russian hit men but they will get over it." Taylor turned to her and Lacey waved her down "Don't take peoples hobbies away Taylor. They get bored then. Juanita loves scaring the faff out of those idiots. Besides you blew up most of their support taking down the Vory. She is already whining, or was, until we pointed out the cartel idiots and those MS 13.3 morons. Why point three? I don't get it."

A Gearing from the USH rolled her eyes "They started after news from Aleph. They pattern themselves on what the news reports of MS 13 in Aleph America. They tried to get on the island. The Safety Keepers stomped on their balls. Literally. The Abuela gave them lumber. They made a big raft thing and left."

Taylor blinked "Uh, did we warn everyone? Oh, OK, yes, all the local governments warned. They are being watched. Apparently one of them can sail, they are headed for Central America? I bet that doesn't go well."

Consuela, the Gearing, laughed "Yep, not well is a good description of ending up in one of our jails someone leased."

Haze Gray

Nancy read the reports coming in, young minority men being sexually tortured now. This cold hearted, black handed, regent must be exposed. She picked up her phone and dialed a reliable reporter. "This is-"

"Yeah Nancy don't bother. She wasn't even there; she was off in America. Her black police force caught a bunch of black young men, who had apparently come ashore illegally, trying to round up a bunch of her black girls.

"They got their balls stomped. Then they got taken in front of a bunch of black Grandmothers, who in their wisdom had them marooned, or the reverse equivalent of marooned. They were set adrift in a boat of their own making. If they hadn't done that, they would have been dropped in the crocodile enclosure.

"Not sure they took the best option, but we have sent a boat out and gotten close enough to them to watch them fishing. It's a bit lord of the flies on the ocean but there you are, they are alive. For now.

"And no, we don't dare get close enough to talk to them, we don't want to be killed and eaten or raped, killed and eaten. These are not 'misunderstood minorities.' On that island they would have been part of the majority population.

"We are keeping watch for what happens when Lung finds out though. We'll get video from a long way off from that. Easier to sensor the gory parts out.

"Meanwhile we aren't going to volunteer to be the next GNN. I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut about it too, but we all know how you are when you get a couple of drinks in you."

Nancy held her phone out and blinked at the dial tone. "What?" Who do these people think they are! I'm the leader of the party! They are simply the organs of public education!"

She looked up at the young handsome staffer she had brought with her and he nodded vigorously. While sighing heavily inside, was any job worth this?"

Haze Gray

Michelle grinned viciously and waved a copy of the report she had emailed Barack and dragontalk called him about. He read it and sighed. "Don't mess with the Abuela?"

Michelle cackled "Or a Safety Keeper patrol led by a mother with daughters. Taylor should give her a medal for not stuffing their twigs and berries in their mouths."

"Hispaniola isn't Cuba and Taylor frowns on that." Barack replied on automatic.

"Yeah, we'll have to work on that." Michelle replied. Then huffed at the Spock eyebrow she got from Barack. "So should you be telling me about these two plans for Taylors fishing trip?"

Barack shrugged, "Not a secret, I mean she, or her PAO rather, briefed the broad strokes outlines and that is all we have. Aside from the notice they were going to talk to the Simurgh. This Jennifer girl is apparently accompanying them and acting as a stringer for every network and agency in the world. Sort of an imbedded reporter supplying pool data and asking pool questions. Making a fortune. Still not changing her major from agronomy but her minor is journalism, agricultural journalism but Taylor owns a few farms." Michelle fell out of his view, or her cameras view really, laughing.

When she recovered, she sighed "All the farms you mean. And her solution to the petrochemical fertilizer problems are huge tractors dragging hoses applying poop to everything."

Barack nodded "Dry manure spreaders too. Hundred ton jobs on coal truck bodies. Fling chicken poop a mile they say. Turkey, ostrich, emu, all the birds. Doesn't do well in lagoons apparently. She just put hundred ton tanks on some with agitators for the lagoon stuff. The briefing team got in some retired and a newly graduate agronomist. They wax poetic, literally."

Michelle nodded "Some of the close grazers who poop pellets too. She got the portals set up everywhere and now excess poop, yard litter, organic matter remnants from any process really, including sewage treatment plant solid material, goes through, gets mixed, then gets spread twenty four seven. Crews live on those trucks like Jawas on sand crawlers. And it drags a roto tiller injector thing that breaks up hard pan, so it doesn't fling poop anymore, even the dry one, its all incorporated in the top thirteen inches of soil. They incorporate it at about a mile an hour in an acre wide strip. Apparently, that's how they are doing Qatar.

Barack blinked and did some quick math "Twenty five acres an hour? Six hundred acres a day! She has hundreds of those trucks from the mines we gave her! They were worn out and supposed to be scrapped!"

Michelle cackled for a moment then nodded "Well you know the yard, and they needed them to get some N P and K in those mines after they filled them. That top layer was all stuff from their garbage mining process. Pretty good but give it a boost, Connie's seeds, and Amy's stuff and boom! Instant orchard, future hardwood lumber, and six seasons of row crops in the first year."

Barack sighed "Some republican is going to figure out we gave her three million acres of old land fills someday and they are going to come for me with a noose."

Michelle grinned "Hundreds of millions of tons of resources which she used or sold or is in the process of selling too. Well, let me talk to Maria about sharing the second husband." Barack pouted. Michelle smiled "She only has about a hundred of them running and people pay her for 'custom tillage' so she is only doing three thousand or so acres of her own a day."

Barack grumbled "While selling a million tons of whatever anyone wants a day. How ever many somebodies. She is nearly the sole supplier of lead. Over a thousand dollars a ton and we just gave her millions of tons of it."

Michelle waved him off "She pays her taxes, and they spend them on international airports in Amish country that get two flights a day. The republicans love you and her. It's the liberals you have to worry about. They thought industry in America was dying. Don't know how they planned to pay for all their pie in the sky idiocy, legalized marijuana maybe, but they are the ones who are going to try to lynch you as soon as the food runs out. Which it will be never because Taylor and her farms. Let her go a year and she will feed the planet. Child has a phobia. Skinny as she is too. Girl must be eight or nine percent body fat. No idea how she still has periods."

"OK honey got to go." The screen went blank.

Michelle's chief of staff laughed "You are mean."

Michelle waved her off "He has girls. He has to get the idea in his head at some point. Besides with Taylor and the Havens the healthcare act is really going to work. Her doctors accept Medicare so accept the health care act plans."