Somewhere in the Virachey National Park, Cambodia.

With Lao:

I stood awkwardly by the small stream nearby, searchlights still trained on the disarmed Ta-Class Battleship as I held my 5" Cannon, loosely slung, with the barrel pointed vaguely in the crying ship's direction.

I'd volunteered, along with the nearby Abyssal ships, Anne and Hakone, to watch our... 'Prize ship', while Georgia backtracked with Chitose and Diane to pick up the pieces of her Rigging that had been shot out from under her.

By a god-damn Re-Class. I was still trying to get my head around that one, one of Jersey's- actually, scratch that, one of THE most dangerous Abyssal variants discovered. Defeated, no, more than defeated,absolutely destroyed. Along with its support fleet oftwo Battleships and five Cruisers, by us.

"Well, mostly Georgia, I hardly did a damn thing." I thought, a little morose as I shifted to my other foot idly.

I hadn't had any real impact on the 'battle', such as it was. All-told, the Dreadnought-sized Submarine accounted for most of the enemy casualties, in one way or another. It wasn't truly surprising, in this canopy, planes were practically suicidal to launch, so even Chitose, as amazing as she was, was only able to take down a Light Cruiser with the help of Hakone. But it was still embarrassing, to be so damn useless. Anne had dismantled the Cruiser that had me pinned down, and had paid a heavy price for it. I definitely owed the normally quiet ship. No matter what she looked like, she'dbeaten a Ri to death with its own ripped-off arm to help me.

Said-ship was currently leaning against her cane, looking into the jungle as she stood next to the pile of turrets that we'd plucked out of the Ta. She seemed disinterested, and aside from the occasional glance in our direction, seemed to be ignoring everything around her. Her turrets however, had their guns trained squarely on the captured Battleship, it was honestly still deeply-disturbing, seeing so many surface guns on what had visibly once been an Essex, or at least, the design-successor of one, I wasn't sure how true to the original design whoever had made Anne's original body had been.

For all I knew, she'd been a long-hulled Ticonderoga variant originally! There was just too much-repaired damage and added parts to tell, and I certainly wasn't about to just up and ask for her blueprints.

From the botched sex-ed talk I'd unfortunately walked in on a few days ago, I was half-certain the naive ship would actually show me if asked.

Anne glanced at me curiously as I shifted uncomfortably. I waved her off, and she returned to her silent vigil.

Hakone, meanwhile, was sat down next to the Ta-class, she had her arm awkwardly slung over her shoulder in what I assumed to be some kind of comforting gesture, but I could tell it only seemed to unnerve the ship further.

"Come on, things'll get better!" The Cruiser said, smiling, "Georgia's a great Hime! She's always looking out for us, fixes us when we're hurt, and even lets us go to sleep with her, even though she doesn't sleep herself!"

The Ta sniffed, snorting back something analogous to snot as she tried to wipe her eyes, "...She killed all three of my Sisterships, and did... this, to me." She gestured downwards to her lower body, the Ru-Class's legs folded under her, slightly limp.

I was fairly certain that it would be a while before the ship could even try to walk unaided, let alone make an escape attempt. One thing was obvious, she'd never have to worry about capsizing. The thick armor-belt of the keel from the Ru gave the formerly sleek Queen's-Elizabeth a slightly bell-bottomed look, her main hull practically swimming in the larger Standard Battleship's keel.

Hakone pouted, "They were enemy ships trying to sink us though! And look at it this way: You have a bunch of new sisters now! One even has the same hull as you!" Hakone shrugged somewhat sheepishly, "...well, mostly, anyway." She gestured at the Ta's Ru legs.

I was fairly certain Hakone didn't quite grasp the concept of a sistership.

The Ta looked down forlornly at her new addition, "Ta-04..." She looked up at Hakone, "A-Are you... the same?"

Hakone tilted her head curiously, reminding me of some of the stray dogs I'd seen in Xuyen, "Same as what?"

"Were you always one of Georgia-Hime's ships? Constructed by her?"

Hakone shook her head, a flash of understanding crossing her face, "Oh! Nope!" She smiled at the Ta, and I leaned in slightly, interested in hearing a little bit more of the history of the Abyssal Cruiser that had been forced into my life. "When I first met Georgia I tried to sink her!" Hakone said, happily.

"What?" I thought, before remembering what Chitose had told me.

"What?" The Ta said, looking at the friendly Cruiser in slight shock.

"Yup!" Hakone grinned, clutching her crossed feet with both hands as she rocked backward, "Well, not me, obviously, it was the ship I used to be!"

"That... doesn't make any damn sense," I said, both ships looking over as I broke my silence.

"Of course it does!" Hakone argued, knocking her bridge with one hand, making a faint clanging sound, "Georgia told me all about it when I asked, she said I used to be a part of a Prada's Armada, and that I was a Pirate looking to sink Georgia and Chitose and steal all their stuff!" She frowned, "My hull's previous owner was a jerk."

The Ta looked as confused as I felt, and though I still wanted the Abyssal on the bottom of a sufficiently-deep body of water, I couldn't help but feel a strange kinship with her in that moment.

"Y-you must mean, Pratas? Right? That's the only group of Abyssal's I know of nearby with a name even close to that."

Hakone blinked innocently, "I guess?" She shook her head, "But anyway, Georgia sank that me, then made me me." She finished, before quickly adding on, "Chitose was there, too."

I turned to look at the Ta, who wasn't crying anymore, at least, "Pratas?" I asked warily. I wasn't aware of any Abyssal groups other than Jersey's bitches, well, and Georgia's fleet, now, I guess.

The Battleship nodded, "Hmm, it's a disorganized mess of New Constructs, some of our-" She interrupted herself, eyes flickering downwards, "Jersey's ships used to fly flags from there, they were forced into her fleet when she killed a few of their leaders."

"They just... changed sides? Just like that?" I asked, a little disbelievingly. I really wasn't one to talk, I'd been passed around by world powers more than once as a steel hull, but this just seemed so... arbitrary? Cowardly?

"Jersey challenged them for control over their fleet through radio when our fleet's were close enough to engage each other, and they accepted, rather than committing to a full-scale Naval engagement." The Ta said slowly, as if trying to remember something someone else had told her.

"I dunno, it just seems..." I tried to articulate my words, "Why would they even accept that? New Jersey is a damn Iowa, they had to have known they wouldn't win." I finished.

The Battleship nodded, "I asked the same thing, Jersey-Hime wasn't well known in the South-China Sea, then, she'd just come blazing in from the Indian Ocean at the time, hadn't made a name for herself locally. It didn't help that she challenged them on open comm's, the entire fleet heard it. If the other Flagships had refused..."

I narrowed my eyes, "They'd have seemed weak to their followers. She practically forced them to accept, a one-on-one duel with an Iowa." I shook my head, "No wonder her fleet was so damn huge back then."

"I wasn't commissioned until years afterward, but I'm told that's how she got the other Hime to follow her." The Ta said, less warily, as I'd lowered my turret, for what good it would have done against Battleship armor anyway.

Other Hime? Now, this wasn't something I could pass up, intel like this was gold, and Chitose, spy-handler like she was, would appreciate me doing some light interrogation work for her, I bet! "What Princesses does she have now?" I asked, "I know they have a Cruiser Princess, but-"

"Galveston-Hime." Came the abrupt response, cutting me off, "Her fleet was forced into Jersey's without a fight, due to being so small. They were mostly commerce raiders off the coast of Vietnam beforehand. She sank about a week ago, near the Mekong Delta, Jersey was-" The Battleship gulped, brushing a hand against a small contusion on her hull, "Upset."

I was going to ignore the implications there, "And the rest?" I inquired. It was good to know the bitch that helped sack Can Tho was Galve, though it still stung to get confirmation.

I'd served with her during the American war, as USS Absecon as well as RVNS Pham Ngu Lao. I hadn't had the chance to meet Jersey, who'd been stationed off Tiger Island, but I'd met Galveston in passing. She'd seemed nice enough, though a little stern.

Damn the Abyss, for making such monsters out of them.

"There's only three more, two of them are Destroyers, Maddox and Turner-Hime, they-"

I held up a hand, "Wait, Maddox and Turner Joy?" This was the first I'd heard of those two in... a long time.

The Ta hesitantly shook her head, "You are correct with Maddox-Hime, but... forgive me, but I've never heard Turner called 'Joy'" She looked off in the distance, before shuddering slightly, "I don't think it an apt name, regardless, that girl has not a shred of 'Joy' in her."

"What do ya mean by that?" Hakone said, rocking forward from where she sat easily next to the Ta.

"Whenever she's entered Jersey's presence she... she seemed, empty," the Battleship rubbed her thighs, as if trying to work some feeling into them, "honestly, I'm not sure she would ever do anything if Kitty-Hawk-Hime was not around to tell her what to do."

If I'd possessed blood it would have frozen in my veins, as it was, I could feel my pumps cavitate slightly from the sudden stress, "I'm... I'm sorry, fucking who?!" Please god let me have heard that wrong, then again, those F-4's at Xuyen...

The Ta flinched at my tone, before looking up at me through her eyelashes, "K-Kitty-Hawk-Hime?" She slowly continued as I just continued staring at her, "She's a Carrier-Princess, she was picked up along with the others when Jersey-Hime passed through, after the Bangkok raids."

I'd heard of that, precise Abyssal airstrikes had taken out key defensive emplacements, followed by a surface bombardment that had left the Thailand Capital struggling to recover.

It had been shortly-after followed by brutal raids along the smaller coastal settlements, as the military was drawn away to protect the city.

"But... Kitty Hawk?" I managed to choke out. I looked at the others, expecting the same shock, only to be met with mildly confused looks. It reminded me that I was the only ship here who had been made by human hands, they wouldn't know MY history, let alone hers, "She wasn't commissioned until the sixties!" I said.

"...So?" Hakone asked after a short pause, scrunching up her face in confusion.

I was about to argue that a ship that modern couldn't possibly have come back, but then my mind went to Georgia, who hadn't come into service until the eighties.

"...Shit."

"What's the matter?"

"What's the matter?!" I whirled around, "Didn't you just hear what sheeEEEAAAH!!"

...

"You really gotta stop being so skittish!" Georgia called up after me, holding something metallic in her arms.

I just clutched the branch I was clinging to tighter, glaring, "You do that on purpose!" I accused.

The Abyssal Submarine gave me her customary, shark-like, grin, "I dunno what you're talkin' about!" She started walking over to Anne, followed by Chitose and Diane, I sighed, "...Also, I can see up your skirt!" Georgia called back, not even looking at me.

I tucked my legs together tightly, "Eep!"