Every kansen needs to choose their own technician, or that was what we were told. The why or how was never explained, and yet a group of us ratings were selected and herded into a room. They ordered us to stand at attention, and then the Commander left, his secretary clutching his arm.

He was nice enough to everyone, though the scope of his command was so vast that we hardly ever saw him. That, and I heard that Graf Spee almost monopolized much of his free time… though if I was in his shoes I'd certainly be taking advantage of that as well!

We stayed still, not speaking. Yet when she entered the room her presence was known immediately. It just felt… different. There was a power that wasn't here before. Her soft sigh was audible, as though she was disappointed with the selection of petty officers before her.

"Anyone here actually work on torpedoes?" The shipgirl said, coming to a stop in the center of the lineup.

She didn't even introduce herself, though she almost looked bored, like… she wanted to be doing anything but this. Her thoughts were obviously elsewhere, and she just wanted to get this done and over with. She looked at everyone carefully, then repeated her question.

"Do any of you have any experience with torpedoes?" She asked again, her voice a little more firm than before. Someone else raised their hand along with mine. For a moment, she considered who she would call on.

Her rigging seemed small, almost delicate, but I could see the large torpedo tubes hanging at her side. Honestly, it was hard to look away from her, especially with so much skin on display…

I quickly glanced at her, noting her exposed midriff and short skirt. I swallowed and focused on her rigging.

"You, you have experience?" Ayanami looked at the other rating.

"I'm a gunner's mate on…" he began, but she turned away and walked over to me, not even bothering with his explanation or reasoning.

"Hmm, what about you?" She looked at me. I relaxed a little, something in her demeanor just… put me at ease.

I nodded, "Yes. Second Class Torpedoman."

She nodded, "Ok, then I'll pick you. Come on." She turned to leave, and I stepped out of formation, following the kansen out of the room under the withering stares of the others. When it came to destroyers, only one technician was needed, though just recently I had been an auxiliary on the Battleship team. They always had a lead, but it took more than a few people to properly maintain those behemoth riggings.

"I want to go play video games, so you can fix this up," she said as we entered the shipyard, bringing me to the destroyer yards. She positioned herself over the automated rigging retrieval system, or 'pirate', as they were colloquially referred to, and I pressed the button, letting the system raise and detach her rigging.

"I'm sorry, but you didn't even tell me your name," I said, and she looked at me blankly before a spark flashed through her eyes.

"Ah, right… I am Ayanami, of the Sakura Empire. Anyway, this is my rigging. See you later," she turned and left without saying another word. I was to be Ayanami's technician? There wasn't really a guide, so I looked around the shop and saw a few other people working, a couple with their kansen beside them.

I went over to a pair, and the fierce-looking destroyer turned to face me, "You dare to bother Yukikaze the Great? If my rigging isn't perfect, then I won't be lucky and could lose!" She huffed and turned back, watching her technician work closely.

"Ah, sorry… she's really sweet, once you get to know her," he turned after he finished cleaning a torpedo tube, smiling.

"I am not some little pet!" She retorted, but her affection was obvious. The way she stood close to him… For a moment the thought of a more intimate relationship entered my mind, but I quickly pushed those thoughts away.

There were no direct prohibitions, but…

"I've heard of you," I addressed her, "You truly are an amazing shipgirl." She blushed and turned away at my words, confident in her demeanor yet shy when directly complimented. I turned to my fellow technician, "I see the tools and everything, but Ayanami kind of dumped me here and I'm at something of a loss…"

"Then Yukikaze will help you! Hey, Connor, help him!" She said, then ordered her technician. We walked over, Yukikaze watching us intently as the PO1 assisted me.

I quickly learned how to properly clean the rigging, and then we began taking it apart piece by piece. The day passed quickly, and I learned it takes between 8-10 hours to fully clean and repair a damaged rigging. Maintenance took about six hours after a normal action.

Short exercises required less cleaning and maintenance and required about three hours of work. Once every three months two full days, about twenty hours of solid work, was required to perform its quarterly maintenance.

"Sometimes it can seem like it's too much, but remember that kansen rely on these for their survival," Connor told me as we were finishing up.

"You've spent the entire day helping me… would you like me to help you with Yukikaze's rigging?" I offered, grateful for his assistance.

He shook his head, smiling, "I was about finished anyway, and Yukikaze is picky about who touches it. I appreciate the gesture, though! I could go for a Monster, though."

I nodded, a small price to pay for his invaluable assistance. Now I knew what I had to do, and soon it would become second nature, or so I was reassured. I tracked down the energy drink at the exchange and returned with it, handing it off again before returning to my work-center, polishing up Ayanami's rigging.

"Ayanami… is so tired… oh, you've finished?" Ayanami went over to her rigging, walking past me. A hint of something floral hit my nose, but it was gone as soon as she passed me. She looked over her rigging, inspecting it so thoroughly and with such speed it seemed at odds with her usual lackadaisical approach thus far.

Apparently she truly was a demon on sortie.

"I received some pointers and tips today from…" I turned, but the other two were gone. I shrugged and turned back to Ayanami. "Anyway, why'd you choose me?"

She shrugged, "You didn't lie."

"That's it?"

"Are you unhappy with my decision?"

"Oh, god no! It's an honor to be chosen, it was just quite different from what I expected," I explained.

She favored me with a small smile as she turned to face me, "You seem nice, and not like some of those other weirdos. There were eight of you, right? Well, only two of you had the decency to not stare at me like a piece of meat, and only you had the kind of experience I wanted. I'm outfitted with oxygen torpedoes, yes?"

"Oxygen torpedoes? That's incredible! Well, I'm always available if you need me. I am your technician after all," I returned her smile.

"Thanks, Isaac," she said, running her hand gently along the empty torpedo tubes on her rigging. Her expression may have been impassive, but her eyes were alight with a certain fire as she caressed the steel of her rigging.

That image stayed with me later that night as I relaxed, though not even the new RPG I was playing could distract me from the intensity she displayed. This beautiful shipgirl, whether or not she cared to admit it, relied on me.

I just hope that one day I would be lucky enough to consider the enigmatic kansen a friend.

I wished Ayanami good luck as I helped secure her rigging, careful to ensure it was inserted securely into her lower back. I was careful with my hands, avoiding touching her exposed skin, though I couldn't help but notice how low on her butt her skirt rode, showing off a good couple inches of her cleft.

When I released the restraints, the rigging settled onto her as though it were another appendage. She turned to me and nodded. She seemed pleased, and I stepped back, letting her make her way out of the destroyer yards and towards the docks. I could see the Commander in the distance, greeting them. Yukikaze's technician came to stand beside me.

"First time seeing her off, yeah, Bain?" Hollins came to stand beside me. "It never changes. You see them off to battle, and the Commander gets all the glory."

"You sound displeased," I remarked.

"No, he's a good man, I respect him, as should you. We have a sole kansen's rigging to take care of, while he has all of them. You're new, but you'll learn quickly. His decision to commit himself to Graf Spee was not an easy one, but he adores her and pays the price for his decision daily. There are many kansen who covet him," Hollins stopped and sighed, "but it's all too much for me. I'm happy to be of use to Yukikaze."

"Just of use?" I said, a small smile turning the corner of my lips.

"A little advice, there are some things that are never spoken of," He warned, an edge to his voice.

"My apologies," I said instinctively.

"No worries, you'll learn to see the signs soon enough. It's more common with destroyers and light cruisers, at least with the ones that don't look like little kids. The technicians for them are almost always women, or… well, father-figures. Chiefs and such that never got married," A soft chuckle followed this.

I shook my head, "That's fair, I suppose."

"Yeah, well, we need to make our way to the repair ships, follow me. Outlaw will meet us there," he motioned for me to walk alongside as we took off for the docks. I watched Ayanami as she spoke to the Commander briefly and then joined Yukikaze and Z23 in the vanguard.

"Outlaw? Didn't know enlisted had callsigns," I said, chuckling.

"Ha! That's his actual name, if you can believe it. He's an alright guy, and Nimi is pretty cool. Keeps him in line, believe it or not," Hollins pointed to one of the repair ships.

It was a large vessel, joined by a munitions ship that was pulling away from the pier. I saw the submarines playing in the water a few hundred yards out, and Hollins saw me watching them before the ship obscured them.

"Cute, aren't they? Dangerous, too. Don't let their size fool you, and don't dare to think you can lay a finger on them! Especially if you want to have a chance with Ayanami," Hollins stopped as we stood on the quarterdeck, saluting.

"Petty Officer Bain requesting permission to come aboard," I said, and Hollins echoed.

"Permission granted, welcome aboard," The watchman said, and dropped his salute first. We walked past him and leaned against the rails, watching the girls speak with each other prior to their engagement. It was to a be a routine Siren suppression mission, but everyone was taking it as seriously as they would any other engagement.

"So, Bain, what did you do before coming here?" Hollins asked.

"Ammunition ship," I said.

"Fair, no one cares to talk about that work."

"Anyway, you mentioned something about having a chance with Ayanami. I thought you said…"

"I don't remember saying anything like that, Bain. Don't put words into my mouth. We don't care too much about rank here but…"

"I get it, Hollins," I sighed.

"Good."

"Ah, it's the nub!" A hand clapped my on the back and I winced.

"Hey Outlaw. Nimi saved your ass again, didn't she," Collins laughed, and turned to the new arrival. I turned as well, not surprised to see an absolute mountain of a man smiling down at me.

"Outlaw, huh? Damn, you look like you could bench press a battleship. I don't mean to pry, but how did you become a technician for a destroyer?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "Man, that question again." His laughter boomed, but he explained, "I was asked to be Bismarck's technician. I refused, she was pissed, I told her to get over herself, and that she wasn't my type. Oh, stuff it Hollins, not everyone is as secretive as you and Yukikaze. Ah yeah, don't let him get on you too much about that stuff."

I glanced at Hollins, who sighed but stayed quiet

Outlaw continued, "Anyway, Nimi comes in and tries to defuse the situation. I was smitten, and asked to be her technician. She said yes."

"Yeah, that's the whole story and nothing else happened," Hollins laughed.

"Well, it's not my fault I'm Nimi's type. Man, the stories I could tell…"

"That's enough, Outlaw…"

I snorted, but then they both turned to me, Outlaw speaking, "A word of caution. You are now the closest person to Ayanami. Over time that might end up being more… yet she is still a kansen. She looks human, acts human, smells human… but she is not. Treat her with respect and take nothing she does for granted."

I nodded, "I understand, and thank you."

They nodded, smiling. We passed the time after the shipgirls tore off and began their engagement. They had a video game console set up in the work-center, and after a few hours of getting my ass kicked the alarm sounded and we went to meet our shipgirls.

Whatever they had just endured, it was not a standard engagement! Ayanami stumbled onto the ship, nearly falling into my arms with exhaustion as I helped her to the ARRS. I got her set up as fast as I could, her smoking rigging safely removed from her and fire-suppression systems armed.

I caught her as she fell, cradling her in my arms and turning to the others. They looked at me in surprise.

"What do I do?" I asked, at a loss.

"Kansen medical, deck 2, frame 80!" Hollins called out, and I took off, making my way down the ladder, ratings and officers alike jumping out of my way as I burst into medical, a team waiting for me.

"Put her on the table and back away," Vestal ordered, the kansen taking charge of the situation quickly.

I complied and backed away. No one asked me to leave, so I stayed, but I couldn't see what they were doing. It felt like forever, but couldn't have been over twenty minutes until Vestal returned to me.

"She will be fine, thank you for bringing her here. This is what, your second day with her? She likes to take risks, but I think you're a good fit. We'll take care of her from here. Why don't you return and fix up her rigging? I'll let her know you were here, ok?" She smiled, resting a hand on my arm.

"Thank you, Vestal… you're a treasure," I said, genuinely grateful.

She nodded and turned back to her work. I went back up and sat down at my workbench, taking a deep breath. A burly hand plopped down a Monster, and I opened it, taking a long swig.

"If you're up here, it means she's ok. Nimi and Yukikaze already told us what happened. She protected them, but we all have a lot of work to do, so let's not dwell on their problems. We need to focus on our own," Outlaw patted my shoulder, and I stood, turning to the smoking rigging.

It was in terrible shape, and I had to extricate the loaded ordinance before I could even begin. Easier said than done, but I was soon unbolting and arranging parts on the bench, fetching spare parts and replacing things as needed.

Hours passed, and by the time we were pulling into port, I had it mostly back together. A special transport team arrived to transfer it to the shipyard while I joined Outlaw and Hollins for dinner at the mess hall.

It surprised me when the kansen joined us, Ayanami looking much better now. Nimi sat very close to Outlaw, and Yukikaze was a handful for Collins, but his eyes couldn't hide his affection for the destroyer.

Ayanami sat next to me, "Isaac… thank you."

"Of course, I'm just happy to see you doing ok," I told her.

She rested a hand on my arm for a moment before she turned to her dinner, and I saw the other two looking at me for a moment.

"I'm sorry… I created a lot of work for you," she said a little while later.

"It's no problem. You're the one fighting," I said, surprised at her apology.

"Yes, but… she was there, and I lost control…"

"Who was there?"

"Observer. I hate her."

I didn't know how to respond, but I had the feeling she wasn't looking for one.

When we finished, we went our separate ways, and I returned to continue working on her rigging, though eventually I had to set down my tools. Tomorrow would be another day.

"You're still up? I don't need it tomorrow…" Ayanami's voice made me jump despite how soft it was.

"Ayanami! I'm surprised to see you here…" I wiped my forehead as she sat down in my chair.

"You like video games?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do!"

She scribbled something on a piece of paper, "This is my handle, add me ok?"

"Ahh, sure! You'll go easy on me, right?"

"Not a chance."

"Heh…"

Still, I would not pass up the chance to game with a kansen! She poked about her rigging before pushing me away from it, "Come on. Enough work for tonight!"

"All right, all right…" I agreed, and we walked back in silence. She waved goodbye as the path split and she went to the kansen dorms and I returned to my BEQ. The nice thing was I got my own room after Ayanami chose me. A rare luxury!

She was already online when I got back, and by the time we finished playing, I realized I would only get a few hours of sleep.

Worth it!

I wiped the sweat from my brow as I set down my tools and began wiping away the grease on Ayanami's rigging. It had taken six hours in addition to the work from yesterday, and I was bushed.

"Aaaand… done," I said as I took care of an errant piece of grease. I flopped into my seat, and the others took a break to come join me.

"Looks like she's already taken a liking to you. That's good! You've got a knack for this stuff too. You must've been here quite late," Hollins said, drinking from a large thermos of coffee yet still looking exhausted.

"Yeah, it was a long night. Ayanami showed up and gave me her handle… ended up playing video games all night once I got back to my room," I admitted.

Outlaw laughed, "Ha! She came out just to give you that… she must like you. Well, take care of her, ok?"

"Take care of who?" Ayanami walked in.

Outlaw choked and busied himself with Nimi's rigging once again. Hollins shook his head, suppressing his laughter.

"Your rigging, of course! Just finished up a few minutes ago if you'd like to have a look," I made a small flourish, showing it off.

"Hmm… I approve. I have prepared a lunch for you, here you are," Ayanami produced a bento box and handed it to me. "It is my favorite."

"Thanks! Care to join us?" I offered.

"I can't, Javelin, Laffey, and Nimi invited me to a picnic. See you," Ayanami said.

"Have a good one, and thanks again!" I said. She looked at the others and favored me with a small smile before she left.

We were quiet for a few minutes as I cleaned my tools.

"Oh, boy…" Outlaw breathed, "I can imagine why the four of them are going somewhere quiet…"

"Oh, come on, Outlaw!" Hollins sighed.

"Of course they want to talk to her about Bain," he defended.

"Oh, come on… it's been three days…" I sighed, "she just feels bad about yesterday, but she was the one in the medical bay so…"

"Dense."

"Dense."

The two of them said to each other. I rolled my eyes, "Come on…" I unwrapped the bento and saw a lovely arrangement of tuna and yellowtail sashimi on a bed of rice, along with takoyaki, and oshinko. Four pieces of yakitori were there as well, two shishito and two beef.

"Damn… that's quite the spread! Hope you like Sakuran food," Hollins remarked.

"I love it, actually…" I felt myself drooling, and dug in with the chopsticks she provided. They weren't cheap ones either.

Outlaw looked over to Hollins, "Hey, lets order some food. Ning Hai and Ping Hai's stall is open, if you want pork buns."

"Sounds good!" Hollins made the call, and soon they were eating alongside me as we talked and joked as sailors are wont to. I was glad to have made some fast friends at my new assignments, and the kansen I was assigned to care for…

Well, let's just say I felt pretty lucky.