Portland's POV:
"Saratoga." I waved to the muttering carrier as I approached the staff room. "How are you?"
"Fine!" Saratoga stopped her pacing and ran over to hug me. "Portland, how have you been!?"
"Great." I scratched the back of my neck. In the year or two since I've last seen her, I almost forgot how short she was. "What about you?"
"Oh it was splendid!" Saratoga twirled around as her skirt shimmered like a disco ball. "I got to spend a hot steamy year with Enterprise and it was just splendid! Mmmmmgh…"
"Did you make any progress?" I wiped some of the drool off her chin. "Have you crossed the barrier?"
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"No." Saratoga crossed her arms ruefully. "One of the only bad things about Enterprise is just how DENSE she can be! Like, There's this super cute Kawaii Idol here and she doesn't even pop this cherry ya know?! I am on the verge of buying aphrodisiacs from you and force feeding it down her mouth!"
"Oh I feel you." I nodded. "I mean, you have done a lot for me. I might forget to check if a bottle from my stock went missing, if you know what I mean."
"I can't do that yet." Saratoga shook her head. "I will make Enterprise fall for me completely naturally! After all, True Love will always be awakened!"
"But what about Essex?" The sheer mention of the Deputy Secretary evoked a growl from Saratoga. "If you don't do anything soon, she might take Enterprise for herself."
"Heh." Saratoga snorted. "Her? I have no doubt that Enterprise's affection for me will stand any test!"
"But weren't they holding hands the other day?" I glanced at the set of chairs where Essex advanced on Enterprise.
"Just a mere coincidence!" Saratoga puffed her chest out.
"And isn't Essex madly obsessed with Enterprise?" I reasoned.
"I don't care about what that pig thinks." Saratoga's confidence began to falter.
"And doesn't Enterprise value Essex enough to make her the second in command?" I put the pieces together for Saratoga..
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"You know what, I might need some drugs." Saratoga rubbed her chin, the cheerful demeanor dropping into an ominous glare.
"Sure." I shrugged. I should pay her back for the favors she did for me, after all. "I've got Love charms, Perfume, Ling-"
"No." Saratoga's eyes glittered red. "For Essex."
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For the first time since Guadalcanal, a genuine terror shivered down my spine.
Disclaimer: I certainly hope you didn't oath Enterprise cuz Saratoga is coming for you!
Wait.
I oathed Enterprise.
Does that mean that I'm in Enterprise's Harem?
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You know, thinking about it, that's not that bad...
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What?
Reviews:
Rick Astley: You know, I never thought that Portland could be laundering money! That's another crime I have to add! Hehehehehhehe
Severak: Perhaps the Plot was the friends we made along the way!
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Wait. That was supposed to be a joke bit it actually kinda makes sense.
War Corgi: No! Stop it! I'm already dead! NOOOOOOoooOOOooo...
Enterprise's POV:
"What's going on, Portland?" I noted as she walked into the room with Saratoga. "You seem a bit pale."
"I'm fine." Portland avoided my eyes.
"Enterprise!" Saratoga ran up to me and jumped in my arms.
"Saratoga…" I gently let her drop to the floor.
"I hope you have been loyal to me." Saratoga pulled me in closer and whispered in my ear. "Or else…"
"I know, I know." I shrugged her off. "But we can discuss that later. We need to plan for an offensive on the Sakura Empire."
"What about that wench Essex?" Saratoga gossiped, locking arms with me. "Don't you think she's a bit too touchy feely for your liking?"
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"Essex is a valuable member in the Officier corp." I decided to ignore the blatant hypocrisy.
"But she isn't that great of a fleet carrier." Saratoga mouth-fed me propaganda as always. "I mean, I've heard stories about her. She is actually crazy."
"Well, I can validify those rumors at a later date." I ended the conversation with a now rather frustrated Saratoga. "We have some business to do."
"I guess." Portland walked up. I wouldn't admit this out loud to anybody else, but Portland somewhat frightens me. Her devotion and tenacity is nearly unmatched, which is made more concerning since she doesn't have her sister to pamper and absorb her attention anymore.
"Who are we waiting for?" Saratoga pouted. "Let's hurry up!"
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"We're waiting for Essex." I clicked my tongue.
"What does being late say about her responsibility?" Saratoga slandered my deputy. "Just between me and you, she doesn't deserve you."
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"Eh…" I pretended to let the comment fly past my head.
"Sorry I was late!" Essex conveniently burst through the doors behind me and slid into a seat, with water dripping from her hair.
"You're going to get the maps wet." Saratoga condescendingly threw a towel in her face. "Have you no tact?"
"Saratoga. Don't." I ordered.
"Anything for you, Enterprise~" Saratoga smiled.
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"Saratoga is right, though." I rubbed Essex's hair dry to the displeasure of a certain idol on the other side of the war table. "Why is your hair even this wet?"
"Your bedroom just smells so nice." Essex admitted. "Before I knew it, I found myself spraying myself in your aromatic bathroom fluids."
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"Enterprise." Saratoga menacingly stepped towards me.
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"I let her borrow some deodorant!" I backed up to the wall. If Portland frightened me, then Saratoga straight up terrorized me.
"Sleeping with you was fun though." Essex sniffed the towel.
"SLEEPING BAG!" I pulled a chair in front of me.
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"Enterprise." Saratoga cracked her knuckles, hey eyes glowing ruby black. "Do you need a lesson, you carrier playboy?"
"Saratoga, you know I would never do anything to hurt you." I violently shook my head.
"Do I need to punish you?" Saratoga ignored my explanation, pulling out a whip from her bag.
"Essex, please tell the truth." I cautiously backed from the rouge carrier while tapping Essex furiously.
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"Essex?" I turned to face the drooling carrier.
"Please punish me." Essex instinctively bent over and presented her rear end to Saratoga's whip. (1)
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I-
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Wha-
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"Essex, get up." Portland stood in between the two carriers, stopping Saratoga's punishment. To be frank, the only person being punished is probably me having to watch this … thing.
"Saratoga, put that weapon away." Portland ordered as Essex reluctantly stood back up. Saratoga sighed before stuffing her whip back into her purse.
"Now, shall we get started?" Portland gave me back control.
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"Yes." I straightened my tie and used all the mental power I had stored in me to bleach those memories. "Let's get started."
"The issue on the table is the formation of a war plan against the Sakura Empire." I took out a stick and began to point at several key locations.
"Our end goal is to force the Sakura to capitulate." I hovered the pointer over the Sakura headquarters. "We need to force them to surrender with whatever means necessary. Understood?"
I gave them a brief pause to which all three of them nodded their heads.
"Now, does anybody have any suggestions?" I opened up the discourse.
"We could invade through the islands around the North." Portland pointed out, bringing our attention to several small islands. "If we hop from Midway to Marcus Island to Iwo Jima, we could set up effective bombing strikes to strangle the Sakura war machine without risking any major engagements."
"It would be quite hard for us to keep a healthy supply line for an invasion of the Sakura Empire." I noted. Bypassing Sakura Strongholds certainly has its own advantages; however, if we skip around and solely spearhead through the Pacific islands, we run the risk of overextension.
"Perhaps we could invade the Philippines and then push south towards Singapore in order to remove any connection between the Sakura Empire and the Low Counties's Indonesia." Saratoga offered. "Furthermore, we would be able to link up with the Eastbound Royal Navy in order to conscript their help."
"But that doesn't help with our objective much." I denied the plan. "It would take too long and give the Sakura Empire more time to fortify their defenses."
"But what about the Royal Navy?" Saratoga pointed out as she threw a coin at Ceylon. "If we don't meet up with them, then we can't recruit their support against the Sakura Empire!"
"That may be true, but we can deal with the Sakura Empire by ourselves." I guestered the vast amount of carrier chips on the table. "Besides, the Royal Navy is only adjusted to fight against submarines. They haven't faced the Sakura Doctrine of rapid air strikes yet."
"Neither have the vast majority of our carriers." Portland pointed out. "If we were to send them out now, it is highly plausible that they could be killed by the more experienced Sakura Empire."
"Which is even more reason to bring the Royal Navy on board!" Saratoga twisted the argument for her side.
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Saratoga did have a point. Our carriers may be powerful, but can they wield that power?
"What about the Sirens?" Essex took off a grey button from her cape and threw it onto the center of the war map. "Can't we count on them?"
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"I would caution against sending the Sirens to do our fights." Portland warned. She was right. Thinking logically, the Sirens have no reason to help us. They have some ulterior motives, so it is best to be wary around them. And no matter what, we certainly can't become reliant on them to fight our battles.
"But the Sirens have been our allies for a while now." Essex mentioned, pooling several carriers around the Siren token on the map. "Surely, we can trust them?"
"They worked with the Sakura Empire and turned their backs on them when things went south." Portland countered, taking the marker and placing a carrier token on top. "If we rely too much on the Sirens, we risk being betrayed as well."
"Even so, the Sirens jumped ship once the Sakura Empire was destined to lose." Essex took the group of carriers with the siren and pooled them across the war map over to the Philippines. "We are not going to lose and thus not run the risk of being betrayed."
"You don't know that." Portland took the Siren chip and quarantined it away from the rest of the fleet. "The Sakura Empire was winning when the Sirens betrayed them. We should fully expect they could do the same." (2)
"Enterprise, what is your call in the matter?" Essex pulled the Siren token from the corner and put it in my hand.
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Portland was right.
At the time, it seemed like a good idea to let the Sirens in. They promised weapons, support, and most importantly ships. Without their cooperation, we would have not been able to bring back Lexington and the majority of our lost vessels from the grave. Without their help, it could have been likely that the Sakura Empire would overrun our forces all the way back to the mainland. Certainly, partnering with the Sirens have procured results.
But one thing always troubled me.
The Sirens were obsessed with returning to the Surface. The same surface where we live.
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I initially avoided thinking about the topic. But as time went on, the more I realized eerie the situation was.
The Sirens have already implanted modifications in most of our new off the line ships. If it was not for Saratoga's Idol Corp policy, the Sirens would have infected the frontline fleets.
The Sirens are on the cusp of taking control of the Eagle Union. In fact, they could probably take over now if they wanted to.
Portland poised the question I didn't want to face: Do we keep ignoring the Sirens?
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I cautiously looked around. The stacks of bookcases and dusty wooden walls stared back at me. As soon as I was sure that there were no prying eyes amongst the Acacian surfaces, I silently snapped the grey button in half.
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Portland nodded her head in agreement. Saratoga stared wordlessly. Essex retrieved the two halves in acceptance.
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"The Royal Navy has some experience fighting Sirens in the Atlantic." Saratoga noted. "Perhaps we should learn from them before the fight with the Sirens."
"We can't send too many ships there or else the Sirens will suspect something is going on." Essex added on.
"Then we will send only one there." I nodded. "Which of you three would like to volunteer?"
"Only us three?" Portland raised her eyebrows.
"The more people we involve, the larger the risk of the plan leaking." I responded, pulling the rest of the chips on the war map off the table.
"I will go." Portland volunteered.
"You have to stay." I immediately denied the request. "The Sirens already suspect you."
"Then that leaves two." Portland turned to the other Carriers.
"I have to be here as an Officer corp member." Essex declared. "Without my leadership, Enterprise might struggle with logistics and organization."
"That's not fair!" Saratoga whined, slamming her hands on the table. "I should be with Enterprise because I am a massive boost to Morale!"
"I am more valuable in the front lines." Essex stated.
"But I am more for the front lines!" Saratoga complained. "You just want to play with Enterprise!"
"That's not true!" Essex violently shook her head. "You've had your time with Enterprise anyways! Why don't you learn to share?"
"Enterprise is MINE." Saratoga growled, hugging my arm.
"Enterprise is her own self." Essex grabbed my other arm. "You can't hog her forever!"
"Try me, pig!" Saratoga grunted as she pulled on my sleeves.
"Gladly!" Essex panted in anticipation. "Bring out your whip, see if I care!" (3)
"Why don't you let Enterprise decide?" Portland once again interjected.
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"Who do you want with you?" Portland glared into my eyes. Saratoga and Essex soon followed.
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I took a deep breath.
Both sides have their own merits. If I kept Saratoga here, then Essex would most likely be able to accept it. Saratoga also does have a lot of experience in the field, something well lacking in our new carriers.
...However, Saratoga's weak hull might become a liability in the future. And Essex would be a massive help in leadership…
I don't want to choose between either of them.
But if I were to choose…
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"Essex will stay with me." I eventually decided.
I locked eyes with Saratoga. They began to water. And the Idol silently stormed out of the room.
Footnotes:
(1): Never have I agreed with Essex more.
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What?
(2): Portland is right on the money. Unfortunately, she's not on the Indy...
Too soon?
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Too soon.
(3): Join us next time on: Reverse Phycology 101 with Essex!
Procrastination [proh-kras-tuh-ney-shuhn]
Noun:
The act or habit of putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention
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Example: If you procrastinate with writing your fanfiction, you will be forced to stay up until 1 to finish it!
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"Saratoga?" I gently knocked on the Idol's door.
"Go away." She shouted back.
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"May I come in?" I slowly twisted on the locked door handle.
"Go away, you stinky unloyal jerk!" Saratoga yelled back.
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I took out my master key and silently unlocked the door. When I entered the room, I was greeted with several torn photos of us together next to an equal amount of empty frames.
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"Saratoga..." I sat down next to a mass of blankets on the bed which I could only assume to be the Idol herself. "Can I talk to you?"
"I don't want to listen to your two-faced voice!" The mass of blankets turned the other way.
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"Saratoga, I'm very sorry." I apologized. "I ... uh, I'm not good with words. But me sending you away isn't because I don't like you. I actually like you alot. You're funny, helpful, and valuable. You always have a large space in my heart waiting at any time... But just this once, I need you to go to the Royal Navy for me. How about I promise to go on a date with you after the war is over? Will that be equal?"
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"Actions speak louder than words." Saratoga scoffed after a pause. "You sing milk, honey, and sugar, but in the end, you just want to get rid of me, right? I'm just a liability that you would rather not have to deal with, right!? That's why you're shipping me off for the rest of the war!"
"That's not true." I tranquilly claimed.
"Then prove it." Saratoga jeered.
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I leaned closer and firmly hugged the mass of blankets.
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"Jerk..."