Antics of an Alcoholic

by drunkenAustrian

Embrace humanity, embrace madness.

1. Chapter 1

Well, this is certainly awkard, but all things will have to start off somehow, I guess... The whole thing here isn't really all too well as of the moment, probably some plotholes in the first chapter. Also the fact that I suddenly change the narrator's perspective form first person to third won't add up to the continuity, but I felt limited by doing it that way.

Don't expect any fluff and such, maybe a bit, but with this story I will probabyl go all guns blazing with the violence and sexual content, things may get out of hand later on, depending on how the MC will handle things. Don't expect a normal Kancolle fic with a new admiral coming to the base, as things here will most likely go haywire from a certain point on. Before writing I pondered on the idea of how things would play out on RL with the whole ship girl shit, so I decided to add more military development from a different perspective to this story, meaning crazed cyborgs(MC+others), mad mutants and transgressing technology will play a big role here.

First and foremost I would like to thank all authors here in the KanColle section for giving me enough motivation to finally do something for myself through their endeveours! Additonally I thank the Kaiserreich Modding Team for creating the Hoi IV Kaiserreich mod which to some extent(America) influenced this story. KanColle and any other brands that get mentioned in this story are not mine and I own nothing besides my own OCs in this story.

Hopping for you to get some enjoyment out of this,

Schnitzel.

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Chapter One: Arrival and Alcohol

Should I get another drink? I pondered around, swinging an empty glass through the air, trying to make the time go by faster. But time was a fickle entity, so much that time straight out acted against you all time. So instead of annoying activities passing by faster and the enjoyable moments lasting longer, the opposite happens. While a school day can feel like an everlasting eternity, sitting the whole night in front of your PC can feel like mere moments. I am someone who has been trying to get behind this phenomenon since he was a little child, but it seemingly ignores the laws of physics. And I am pretty sure that enjoying something won't increase or decrease relativistic mass to such an extent. If it were so then boy oh boy, we most wouldn't even exist. It's probably just something psychological, so I shouldn't worry about it too much. But I should make a mental note, so that I can look it up on the internet later on.

But for what am I even waiting and what kind of frustration am I trying to wash away with alcohol? The first question is a rather easy one when talking about answering it. To make it short, I am currently on a plane flying from the New German Empire to Japan. Pretty short, but it is summing up what I am currently doing, but the longer version would answer questions, which the shorter creates. Here goes nothing then: My name is Scipio, not my real name, but the one I am currently going by. I chose it at the start of my military career, as he is one of my favourite generals from antiquity. I currently hold the rank of Admiral. A very prestigious position, even before they arrived, but now it is even more important since pretty much most of the maritime trade is dependant from the marine now. You see, five years ago new beings arrived on planet earth. These beings are called the abyss, looking like the mad fusion of women and a hentai lovers wet dream. In the first months global trade came to an end, then the financial system completely imploded in itself, followed by global revolutions. The USA got hit pretty bad, after everything went down and the government acted in an incompetent way it felt like Europe 1848 all over again. What I mean by that are country wide revolutions, leading to what one could call the New States of America. Four major powers sprouted out from this chaos and took over the US. The Pacific States got together in a Union, reigned by a liberal congress. Then there is the south, all the former states of the Confederation got enough of the Yanks and raised their CSA flags. The northern parts, around Chicago and Detroit were taken over by a socialist-workers movement. New England was annexed by Canada in a quick military exercise and the former US government remained to exist in the inner mainland of the north American continent. The area around Washington and New York was declared a DMZ and is now being ruled by a Republic.

South America and parts of Middle America fell into complete mayhem. Combining the instable position of many states there with a global financial crisis was enough and the black powder box exploded. Only a few states got a hold on themselves by now and are slowly getting back to normality, if you can call it this. Africa pretty much split into two unions, the northern and southern union. The northern one is being led by Egypt and the southern one by South Africa. The middle east is now locked in a three-way cold war between Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran. Mainland Asia got away pretty much unscathed and took an isolationist stance. China, oh boy China got hit as bad as the US and pretty much the same happened there. Incompetent management and revolution. The country is split into north and south. While the northern part remained socialist, the southern part with Shanghai as its capital took a liberal approach. Japan, the place I am heading towards now, has been taken over by the Emperor himself. So, they are now back to pre-1945. The first thing they did was helping out South Korea in the second Korean War, but then Japan used the power vacuum to install a puppet government.

Europe was able to handle the crises a bit better and was quicker to adapt. The first that happened was the dissolution of the EU. It wasn't really smashed into pieces by a big revolution, but by more and more members leaving it. The first one to leave was Germany. In the years before the abyssal incursion the refugee crisis was hitting new heights, with more and more Germans being discontent with the actions taken by the government, the elections of 2017 gave rise to an authoritarian party. Combining liberal views on economics with a more efficient way of handling political affairs it achieved to get a majority of the votes. The first thing they did was to unconditionally leave the EU. They did this since Germany was paying a lot of money to sick countries like Greece or Spain. This pretty much cast the EU in a down-ward spiral, which resulted into more and more members leaving. By autumn 2018 the EU was history. 2018 and 2019 were years of complete chaos in Europe. France was hit by many revolutions; the bigger cities became warzones between nationalistic gangs and the self-proclaimed Islamic state of France. With the lack of payment many soldiers started to desert and soon the state had no army. The police force was completely overrun by these rioters and many of them joined either of those two afterwards. The same happened to most of southern Europe too, as those states were unable to run their countries without the payment from other EU members.

In the year 2020, after stabilising most of the domestic affairs and establishing a self-sufficient economy, Germany took a more expansionistic stance looked towards Austria. The alpine republic was heavily damaged by the lack of imports, leading towards a state of near collapse. In the treaty of Linz Austria was annexed into Germany. At first many Austrians were enraged by this rash decision, but after monetarily aid and supplies arrived, parts of the Austrian populace began to rethink their stance on this issue. Then the region of Alsace-Loraine, a former part of the German Empire, now part of France was the integrated into the Germany. In exchange France received military aid so that they can get out of their quasi civil war status. The Czech Republic was hit as hard as the other Slavic states, but in the treaty of Pilsen was integrated as a half autonomous region into the German State. The final steps were directed towards Poland. Due to complete failure of their state, German minorities in Schlesien and Pommern were being persecuted and discriminated. With the new nationalistic view of the German State an ultimatum was being sent towards Poland. Make sure the German minorities can live a, for this time, adequate live or face military actions.

Since the polish state was unable to make a follow up, the German State started a coup et tat and replaced the polish government in a swift action with a puppet government. The regions of Schlesien, Pommern and old Prussia were reintegrated. With domestic and external affairs secured for now, Germany renamed itself into the New German Empire. The government was reformed into an authoritarian system with publicly open parliament. The former head of state, the Bundespräsident was replaced by the new Kaiser of Germany.

In order to secure resources and allies a trade union between various European states, including Russia was established. Russia in itself wasn't hit as hard as the other two super powers, but a serious of pre-abyssal sanctions and import bans have severely hurt the former super power. The now weakened country was quick to sign the free trade treaty. This treaty helped both countries, as Germany now had access to the vast resources of Russia and Russia could use the money from the trade to rebuild infrastructure and upgrade their military.

Germany also used this age of strife to rebuild their military. At first the Bundeswehr was renamed to Deutsche Streitkräfte, then a national conscription for six months was established. Also the job of being a soldier was now being better paid then before. Deals with Kraus-Maffei and Heckler&Koch were struck, leading to an expansion of both infantry and armoured forces. In order to combat the Abyssal threat, the marine of Germany was upgraded and expanded.

And this is where I start to play a role in this whole affair. I joined the army's officer academy with the age of twenty in the year of 2017, three years late I completed my education and had my baptism of fire in the second battle of Jutland. I was given command of a land based artillery battalion, which had the order to fire on any Abyssal ships that are coming to close to the shore.

One day before the operation was about to start, the complete command chain had to take part in a final briefing, but due to me having a constant guard order, I had to remain near the coast. My orders would have come late over radio. But then, everything went south. Somehow the Abyssals managed to decrypt our coded signal and knew of the meeting. We weren't prepared for the sudden attack of bomber planes and the follow up land attack. After the attack happened I was the highest up in command, who was in a fit enough condition to lead the forces. The first thing for me to do was to get rid of the abyssal land force. I got intel on their location via satellite and issued a bombardment order onto the beach head the Abyssals made. The landing devices were completely destroyed and, so they were trapped on the mainland.

While those creatures were able to walk and operate on land, they had to switch their gear for such operations. After having studied the limited courses on abyssal biology they had in the academy, I was quick to see that those landing devices also held their maritime gear. Afterwards the seventh Panzer-Division destroyed the land forces with a barrage of AP-shells.

With the land secured, I could now commence the with the real operation. The goal of this mission was to protect ships that would place a large layer of mines into the sea corridor between Denmark and Sweden. The mines would allow the combined navy of Germany, Russia and the Scandinavian countries to completely monitor the naval movement in this area, thus making the Baltic sea safe enough for trade. But the forces of the abyss would surely have something against this and so it was now my duty to protect these ships. I had a fleet of screening ships at my disposal, but also the support of land based artillery. Since the Abyssals had their own air force that was extremely deadly for slower flying planes and helicopters, depth charges couldn't really be used. I could only rely on precision strikes from multirole fighters.

The problem was that if the enemy managed to get towards the mine ships, they would easily dismantle them with their advantage in agility. I took this into consideration and created a plan, where a ``lent´´ fleet of civilian ships would lure the Abyssals towards them. I signalled the radio team, to send a message through the channel the enemy used to gather information of the meeting. Keeping it short, my plan succeeded, and I had the Abyssals flocked up at a position where I could bombard them with everything we had. With my formerly established connections to the Research and Development department, I knew about an experimental anti matter bomb. The researchers were keen upon getting a chance to test their weapon and attached the bomb to a Eurofighter. Not too much was promised, and the bomb showed its calculated effect, the whole fleet had been wiped out by the blast and the mine ships were able to lay a carpet of deadly explosives.

Afterwards I was awarded many military decorations and was granted the rank of admiral, partly to the now apparent lack of leading personnel. While we were securing the Baltic sea, the Japanese took over the reins in the pacific due to a military breakthrough. It was nothing short as a wonder, since it gave them the ability to fight the enemy on equal footing. The called them Fleet Girls. Humanoid, but the manifestations of spirits from WW2 Era war ships. And they wanted to trade this technology with us, but not for free. Japan had the means to beat the abyss, but lacked something fundamentally. The lacked the experience. So for exchange of my humble self and some of our research, we would get a machine that could create the so called Fleet Girls. I had no choice but to agree.

And so, we find ourselves back in the plane. It was a military transport plane, an American C-17 Globemaster to be specific. It would take me and military hardware to Tokyo, where I would be stationed at Yokosuka-Naval Base. I found myself pondering again about getting a drink, the flight would still take an hour and I was too lazy to just read something. Sleeping was out of question, a military plane of this type isn't known for its comfort and I am not even tired, so I would just try in vain. I made a decision, to further my alcoholic addiction and so I indulged myself into the next beer, conveniently the crate of beer was standing right besides me. Over this nine-hour flight I managed to waste about one and a half crates of beer, meaning around 36 bottles. 36 divided by two equals 18. So I drunk 18 litres over the course of nine hours? Well, I had to visit the toilet pretty often during the flight, leading to the pilots asking me if I was sick. Drinking this much alcohol could be considered sick, but I am hard to get drunk, so I am just trying to reach new heights. Well considering that 18 litres of beer equal 0.9 litres of pure ethanol, I got pretty drunk over the course of this flight and I just left the state of being wasted recently. Getting drunk to work isn't something that would be appreciated, so this will be last beer. For the course of the flight.

I mentioned military hardware earlier on. I am talking about various research prototypes, vehicles and guns. But, there is also a rather big cargo crate in the middle of the plane. This one belongs to, it includes the essentials allowing my puny existence daily survival. I am not talking about medical machines or livers, I am talking about three things. Food, alcohol and my computer. These three things are essential. How would I be able to make it through the day without my Hungarian salami or my beverages or my rig? I am certainly not going to eat cheap imitates of good sausages or drink bad beer. And the computer? How would I be able to rest at night without looking at my proud collection of anime girls, playing my favourite video games or write shitty stories? Absolutely impossible! I am a man of culture; thus I need those things.

With every minute our arrival drew closer and I began to feel something foreign. Was this nervousness? Probably, being ripped from your new position, including a healthy pay check isn't something enjoyable. But there are also a lot of good things. For example, I will be able to attend the Comiket and visit Akiba. As a proud degenerate those things mean a lot to me. So I am more than nervous. I am thrilled! A new experience to enlighten me! But I should not overreact, this is not vacation, but a military mission. Therefore I need to show them what the New German Empire is capable of.

The speaker of the cargo bay turned on: `` We are approaching the airport, take your seats and fasten your seat belts!´´ I was already sitting, so I only needed to fasten the seat belt, a quick motion of my hands and the deed was done. I put on a smirk. We are soon there and this meant one thing, I was closer to defeating more of the abyss. The feeling, which I felt after defeating them. After all the defeats we suffered at their hands, it was simply exhilarating. I want more of it, tasting this forbidden fruit of pleasure is now my new thrive.

But I shouldn't let my feelings and emotions take over control of this body that I call mine. Unguided actions and rash decisions only to certain downfall, not befitting a recently made Admiral. I need to be very considered in my decision-making, otherwise I will only bring shame onto myself and the Empire. This will be the perfect opportunity to gain the technology to face the enemy on the open field. While I am confident in my tactical ability, I know that my victory at Jutland was mostly done by luck and the enemies incompetence. A mistake they will now try to avoid.

The effectiveness of those Abyssals against our ships and planes is not what bugs me the most, but rather that they were able to break our codes. Either they have some first-rate code breakers or someone leaked them. Both options have valid points, but in these times, we need flexibility and stiffly fixating on one of those is not wat I would call flexibility.

The landing procedure of the plane ripped out of my train of thought and I was cast back into reality. The plane touched the ground in a gentle manner and we landed safely on the run way. It took a few more moments for the plane to come to a halt, I applauded to the pilot and took of my seat belt, then making a few steps towards the still closed ramp of the transport plane. With slow tempo and a creaking noise the thing opened, letting the fresh, maritime air of the night greet me. 1 a.m. I just looked at my watch to confirm my date of arrival. The ramp continued to slowly lower itself, I spent the time in thought, only for it to be interrupted again, as the pilot signalled that the ramp reached its temporary location. With vigour in my steps, I walked it down graciously, taking into view the two soldiers who are supposed to escort me towards the naval base.

I walked towards them, both instantly straightening up and saluting to me. I nodded at their salutation and signalled them that it was okay to be at ease.

`` Welcome, Admiral Scipio! We hope that your flight was enjoyable. If you would please follow us to the transport vehicle, Admiral Shiro is keen on meeting you. ´´, he said to me.

`` Let us not waste time then, but what about my luggage? Will it be brought to the naval base in due time? ´´, I asked them.

`` Absolutely, Admiral! The transporters are already on their way. ´´, he replied.

I nodded in acknowledgment and followed them to my transport vehicle. It was a black Mercedes, S-class giving off a very luxurious atmosphere. As we arrived one of the soldiers opened a door for me, I took the invitation and entered the car in the back row. A driver was already in the car, so we started immediately after I buckled up. The ride was rather unspectacular, considering that I didn't get much to see, but also since I was reading a report on my smartphone. Apparently, the technology for creating Fleet Girls arrived in the Empire and our scientists were eager to test it out. The one who wrote me this message was a high-ranking member in the R&D department, but also an old friend of mine, whim I had known since grammar school. His name is Gregor Schröder and he joined the army at the same age as me, but was there for different reasons. While I aimed for commanding positions, he got recommended from a university for his gift of analytical thinking. When the abyssal first attacked, he was pushed into R&D to analyse their behaviour.

It was good hearing from him again, he was also the one who informed me about the anti-matter bomb, therefore I hold him in high regards as a live saver. He will also be the one to compilate a list of the Fleet Girls abilities and faults in order to make suggestions for the augmentation teams.

The ride took about more than half an hour and we finally arrived at the naval base. Before I was even unbuckled, the door to my right was opened by a Japanese soldier. I exited the car and he saluted towards me, which I acknowledged and without further ado he lead me towards the office of Admiral Shiro. While we were walking I let my gaze wander around the base, but since it was night, I didn't really see anything spectacular besides a few tired guards playing a game of poker. Fitting in with the situation I unbuttoned my jacket and took out a small bottle of brandy. My guide got wind of the aroma and turned his head around a little. I could the see the longing in his eyes and after I took a sip, I offered him the bottle. He accepted it whole heartedly and also took a sip, the returning it to me.

`` Thank, you very much Admiral. ´´, he said.

`` No problem. It must be very stressful here, I guess? ´´

`` Correct, sir. This base was just renovated a month ago and with a lack of personnel things are bound to get hectic. Not only that, but some of the newcomers here are a bit…, let's say unbefitting. ´´, he replied, letting out a sigh.

`` You mean the Fleet Girls? But I can relate to what you just started. After we lost a considerable amount of commanding personnel all hell broke loose, since we had to deal with a wave of unexperienced officers, fresh from the academy. ´´

`` Correct, Sir. ´´

After our small chat, we arrived at the office of Admiral Shiro. The soldier who brought me here, told me to enter without him since he was needed elsewhere. I opened the door in front of me and entered the white building. The building was very silent and I only saw a few officers still working, probably dealing with arduous paper work. The room of the Admiral was at the end of the corridor, which I found rather easily. I knocked at the door and waited for a short moment, until someone said Enter judging from his voice Admiral Shiro was in his forties, probably sprouting a few grey hairs.

My judgment was correct and he appeared to be as described. Short, black hair with a hint of grey in the centre and the a few wrinkles under his eyes. The man stood up and walked towards me, then stretching out his right hand. I returned the gesture and shook his hand with mine.

`` Welcome, at Yokosuka naval base, Admiral Scipio. I hope that your ride towards here was sufficient enough, since everything here right now is a bit stressful. ´´

`` There is nothing to complain, Admiral Shiro. Everything was to my satisfaction, I am thankful for you having me here. ´´, I returned to him.

`` No, no, we need to thank you. ´´, he replied to me, `` Having an individual with your experience here will certainly turn the tide. ´´

`` You are flattering me´´, I told him while I scratched the back of my head, then I took something out from the bag that I carried by my side: `` This is for you, a personal favourite of mine. ´´

The object in question was a 700 ml bottle of pear Schnapps from an Austrian distillery, which I held in high regards. The shape of the flask was relatively broad and its high was comparable to a standards issue ruler. With 46% the sting of this liquid can be quite unfamiliar for a beginner, but the amount of alcohol will make sure that the aromas of this treat are delivered well enough.

The admiral in front of me smiled at the gesture and took the bottle with a smile. Afterwards he placed it into the cabinet behind him and took out a bundle of keys, he placed them in front of me and gestured to take them. I looked at them with interest and guessed that they were for my apartment, but also various different buildings.

`` Sadly I wasn't able to find a gift for you, so those keys are the only thing I can give you for the time being. These keys are as you surely guessed not only for your apartment, but also for most of the buildings here at the naval base. ´´, he made a short pause and pulled out two sheets of papers, `` These here will help you get around the area. ´´, he showed me the first paper. It was an Excel table, with various names and an accompanying number. `` Here are the numbers indicating, which key is for which building. Every key has a number graved into it, so don't worry about not knowing which key you need. ´´

He gave me the first sheet and then showed me the following. This time it was a detailed map of the base, giving information about most of the buildings. `` A simple map, not much to say I guess. ´´, he added as he handed it over to me, accompanying the action with a yawn.

`` Long day? ´´, I asked him.

`` Yes, the paper work is pretty demanding. Most of it should have been done already, but the mechanics told me that there were many things missing in their arsenal, so now I need to wright about twenty letters of request to the higher ups. ´´

`` Sorry that I interrupted you then. ´´, I said apologetically.

`` No, no! You brought some much-needed distraction, otherwise I would have gone mental here with this constant writing! But I should now return to this arduous task and you must certainly be tired after your long journey. ´´, he replied with a grin.

`` Well, I won't take more of your time then. One final question, has my stuff already been brought to my apartment? ´´, I asked him while I stood up from the wooden chair.

`` Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you that. Luckily, we had a free transporter and were able to bring it over here, but if you don't mind my curiosity, what is in this container? ´´

`` No problem in telling, it's just a bunch of personal stuff and consumables, including whisky, beer and some European specialties. ´´, I replied to his question, putting on a friendly smile.

`` Hahahaha, the youth, I guess. Well, I wish you a good night then, Scipio-san. ´´, he said back to me.

`` Wish you a good night too! ´´, I returned to him while leaving the room.

I walked back the same course as route as I before and found myself quickly outside of the big building. The first thing I did was taking a look at the map and checking out my current location. After a quick search I found the office of the admiral, therefore getting a hint of where I actually was. Immediately afterwards, the other sheet was drawn that had the different buildings and their numbers written onto it. The number of my apartment was 31 and therefore relatively low on the list. Discarding the second sheet, I refocused onto the other one in order to find out where I would be spending upcoming months.

The building was located relatively quickly, but I doubted that I would be able to reach it with the first try. I sighed, giving me a guide would probably had been asked to much, considering that most people at this time of the day were sleeping or had some annoying, but important jobs to do. This problematic situation was a callsign for me to take another sip from my brandy, so I took out the small glass bottle out of my brown leather jacket and gulped the remaining fluid down.

A small burning sensation was left in my throat, as I swallowed it and I felt mildly refreshed from the situation. Next I took another gaze at the map and sighed again. `` Here we go then. ´´, I muttered to myself with little enthusiasm.

I turned to the right, entering an alley between to buildings that were located besides the office. Keeping a steady pace I walked along the dark way before me, every step drowning me more and more into thought. Walking along this alley, then after leaving it turn right again until I reach the dock, then walk along them with the sea to your right and viola, you reach your stay at the sea.

Following the rather simple instruction, I navigated through the naval base until I reached the aforementioned stay. I was mildly surprised to see that it was actually a bungalow and that I wouldn't have to keep the volume of my music down. I also found the thing quicker than expected, since the container was staying in front of it.

`` I am not really tired, so I can actually start to carry this shit into my bungalow, I guess. ´´, I said out loud and shrugged my shoulders.

But before I was able to start with this mindless task, a figure stumbled into me from behind and threw me of balance. Threw me off balance is not the best term to describe this exactly, I rather felt like a fucking car hit me full throttle, so therefore my body was catapulted away, and I flew a few meters into the distance. I was quick to react and stretched my hands towards the ground before crashing into it, resulting in me doing a nice forward roll to lessen the blunt impact.

I got up quickly and, expecting some kind of attack, turned around in a hasty fashion, therefore facing my supposed attacker. But to my surprise there wasn't an enemy soldier or some devils sent abyssal in front of me. The being that crashed into me was a gorgeous woman, being rather tall, having long black hair, red eyes, wearing some kind of traditional clothing and a strange mast-like thing on hear head. Ship Girl, I thought in succession.

The woman looked rather distressed, afraid that she hurt someone with her sudden appearance, but luckily for her, I was unharmed. But soon after I reckoned a wet spot on my shirt, investigating it I opened my jacket and looked at the mess. Besides the former emptied bottle of brandy, I also carried a small bottle of vodka in my jacket. I somehow managed to break that damned thing and now my fucking expensive leather jacket is torn apart.

I looked at the woman with a bit of anger in my eyes and she seemingly shuddered at the revelation that my jacket was damaged. Seeing that my gaze was unnerving her more than intended, I let loose and said to her: `` Geez, I am not asking why you just fucking ran into me or how you didn't see me, but the least you could do now is helping me with that container over there. ´´, I pointed at the container in front of my current stay.

My seemingly livid reaction was not becoming her good, she had a very nervous aura, but in the end the Ship Girls managed to utter some words: `` I-I am d-deeply sorry, sir. H-helping you out is the least I can do. ´´

Someone needs to tell her to relax a bit more around people, seriously this is not good for her. But at least this means that I am going to be finished sooner with this fucking mess over there. With a hand sign I waved her to follow me and took her to the container. While walking this few steps, I heard her mutter something like `` Why do I have to be so unlucky? ´´. Wonderful, now she only needs puppy eyes and I would adore her, but actually, if you could turn this into a weapon, it would be devastating on the battlefield.

I opened the container and took a step inside of it, looking how everything was arranged and devising a strategy for the most efficient way to get this stuff into the house. I know that I have a rather large storage room, since I made this a condition of mine for coming here, so storing the beer will not be problematic. The liquor won't be a problem, compare to the beer it only takes half as much space. Some of the salami will go into the fridge, but I also need like a permanent ten beers or so in the fridge.

I turned around to the Ship Girl, which was determinately awaiting my orders, looking like she was about take part in an attack and needed confirmation in her actions. Her stiffness at this time of the day, combined with not actually being on a mission, made me sigh. Afterwards I will give her a cold beer or so.

`` You see all of those crates of beer in the container? ´´ She nodded at the question.

`` Fine than move them into the storage room in my house, I will enter first and open the door to it and you will then carry them there. Understood? ´´

`` Yes, sir! ´´

I nodded in approval and took the first crate of beer into my hands, I walked towards the entrance and opened the door towards the bungalow with the correct key, while resting the crate against my upper leg. The key fitted perfectly, so after I turned it around in a quick motion, the door was primed to be opened. A follow-up hand swoop pushed down the lever of the door and the thing fell back in a circular motion. Since it was currently deep night, the first room to enter was expectedly dark and I spent ´quite some time finding the damned light switch. After I finally found that plastic thing, I switched on the juice and the entry room was lightened up. Nothing special, just a normal antechamber. Hooks here and there to store your jackets and a carboard for your shoes. I stumbled towards the next, the woman in already at my back, waiting for passage. The following door was quickly opened, but this quick pace was abruptly stopped, for I had to find another light switch. After this thing was finally turned on I was able to take a look at the living room slash kitchen. Remined me of an apartment in which I had the pleasure of living. First thing for me to notice was the rather larger kitchen, with the abnormally huge fridge. Good, I can easily store a whole crate in there.

The living room was also quite nice, spotting a large couch and a flat screen TV and also some quite nice furniture like lamps. Three doors remained, sleeping room, bath and the much asked for storage room. I placed the crate of beer unto the ground and checked every door, two of them were besides each other, bed and bath room expectedly. The third door was unmistakably leading to the storage room then, judging from the character of the house and the shape of wall behind the door, i guessed that it was actually underground. Confirming my guesswork, I opened the door and had again the pleasure with the constant fiddling that comes with the quest for the light switch. Hammering the thing this time out of annoyance, the juice came running into it and the light was turned on and a stair way laid in front of me. Cellar, just as guessed. The next thing in mind, thinking about the supposed size of the room, I walked down the stairs and soon found myself to much delight in a rather larger, but plain cellar. Just as wished for.

`` You can place the crates down here, I will deal with the rest from the container. ´´

`` Yes, sir! ´´, the girl yelled down from above.

I waited for her to get down here, so that I may climb the stair way, since there was still a ton of shit left in the container. After a few moments of patient waiting, the Ship Girl descended with a crate in her hands and I showed her with a motion as to where she could place the beer. Leaving her to her task, I climbed the stairs up and found myself again in the living room, focusing at the task at hand, I checked out the bed room to a much greater extent, finding a plain, but welcoming bed in the room. To the right of the bed was a pretty large cupboard, certainly enough space for my clothes. The window was to the left of the bed, an air conditioning droning over it.

I walked outside again and revised the living room. Not enough space. I made my final decision, the PC will be placed in the cellar than. Makes it cooler in the summer, so it was a hot contender in the first place. Having a task at hand it walked back, but made a stop in the kitchen, as I was remembered of the crate of beer that was still standing there. Beer comes first. Opening the fridge, I was greeted by the cold and misty feeling coming from inside and placed all of the bottles into it, two of them were placed in the accompanying freezer. While I was doing this, I could hear the Ship Girl heaving the next crate of beer down the stairs. Not paying it more attention, I walked out of the bungalow, heading for the container. Entering the metallic storage box the second time, I found my PC rather quickly, since I placed the thing as one of the last objects there, so that I could get it easily after opening the container. Taking the most precious thing from the container into my careful hands, I could feel the cold texture of the metal parts of the case. Carrying it with ease but also care, I walked into the bungalow, coming to face with the helping woman. She begged me to let her help, but I said that it was not as heavy as it looked and continued with my quest.

Taking a sharp turn the right, I found myself in front of the devious stairs, but after having dealt with more fierce adversaries, I walked it down bravely and in the end kept myself from crashing for the second time. Arriving in the cellar, I searched for the desired LAN outtake. Finding it besides the electrical outtakes just like expected. I placed my gaming rig in front of it and ascended the stairs again. Screen, key board and mouse, plus all the accessories are still up there, wasting no time, I found myself back at the container. Finding what I searched for with ease and crossing ways with the woman, I took the screen under my right arm, the bag with not only the cables, but also my headset, was wrapped around my head, so that I could carry keyboard and mouse in the left. Carefully making my way through the house, afraid of damaging the expensive screen, I made it back to the cellar, starting the complex task of connecting all of these. Finishing it quickly, since it isn't really complex for those who work with computers a bit more, next thing on the list is the salami and the liquor. Whisky being my favourite alcoholic beverage, I took the first few bottles from the container. Them being a Bowmore 15 YO Darkest, Glendronach 18 YO and a Lagavulin 16 YO, but with still many more having to follow suit. In the end, I had to walk this route for about ten times over and over, since I had about 30 bottles of the scotch nectar with me. But there was still a lot more, you could say.

The Ship Girl just finished her thirteenth round, but was still not finished with the beer. I also had to probably another ten laps ahead of me, while I loved Whisky with all of my heart, I still fancied other liquors like Gin, Vodka, Schnapps and Brandy. Wasting no time with thoughts about my addiction, I started all over with the mission. On my way back from the container I faced the dark-haired woman for the, I think 15th time, but this time she had some kind of concerned gaze on her face. Don't tell me she is worried about my consumption of alcoholic beverages. There is nothing to worry about, my liver is as resistant as a battleships hull armour! I paid it no mind and continued, soon coming to and end with the arduous task of walking the same way all the time. But I shan't talk about relaxation, there was still salami that had to be stored in the fridge and my clothes, which had to be stored in the cupboard.

Another object of my love came into view as I entered the now half empty container, that thing being the Hungarian salami. I also love the Milanese, but after a long time of thinking, I decided for the former. On the one hand Salami Milano is the best salami for Pizza, but I strongly doubt that I will be indulging myself with this Italian dish all the time. Hungarian Szalami on the other hand is just perfect for a small dish, combine with a slice of bread and I will be satisfied. Putting the food into the fridge I was still kept in the thoughts about food, since my fridge was pretty much lacking everything else. Shopping is going to be the first thing that I will after my well-deserved sleep, breakfast won't be a problem since frequently just leave it out and therefore have a bigger dinner.

Things went on as planned and I just finished storing all of my clothes, beauty products and some kitchen utensils. Just as I was done with this whole ordeal, the Ship Girl came to me: `` Sir, I have finished storing the crates. Again, I am deeply sorry for running into you. ´´ A deep blush accentuated the embarrassment she felt from the whole situation.

I felt like a goddam parent that just punished his child with cleaning up his room, but before this gets even more awkward, I'd rather just break the ice. So I put on a smile and said to her with a bright and up-beat tone: `` No problem, it was late at night and I should have been a bit attentive too, not enjoying a shot of brandy. ´´ Then I pointed to the refrigerator and added: `` Probably cost you more time than it will take me getting this fixed. I will get us something to drink, see it as a new beginning. ´´

She nodded at my offer and I walked over to the fridge, opening it and getting two bottles of beer out of the freezer. The coldness of the recently cooled bottles is being picked up by my senses upon touch, a small filament of water building itself up on the surface. Then I walked over to one of the kitchens cupboards and pulled out two glasses. Each of them being able to store about a bit more than half a litre, perfect for the standard size of beer bottles. Getting out my pocket-hold capsule popper and taking the first bottle into my hand I quickly opened it. The CO2 reacting with the 02, the fluid began to fizz and I slowly poured it into the first glass. Doing that is hard if it is our first time, but after a while you naturally find out how it works, or you just google it that's always an option. Holding the bottle and the glass relatively flat, ensures that you won't overfill the glass with the beer foam. After two thirds have been poured in, you flip both glass and bottle into an upward position, allowing the rest of the brew to turn into the well-known beer foam. Repeating the same process again with the other glass, carefully pouring it so that pretty much everything is done the correct way.

Having finished with both beers, I strolled over to the table where the Ship Girl was sitting. I placed the beer a few centimetres away from, giving the aroma the opportunity to fill up her nostrils, but not to cause a sensorial overload. The beer I selected is one of my all-time favourites, Franziskaner Bräu from Munich. This here is wheat beer, having a distinct difference in taste, being much sweeter than normal beer and having some kind of banana-like taste.

`` Here you go, a glass of Munich's finest beer. ´´

`` Thank you, Sir. ´´

`` Well, shall we break the ice? '', not really waiting for a response, I continued: `` My name for the time being here is Scipio, the new Admiral from Germany, who was sent here under premise of technological exchange. Nice to meet, ya! ´´

I stretched out a hand towards her, hoping for the woman to return the gesture, but I was rather dumbfounded by her reaction towards me. Not out of impoliteness or rudeness, it was rather the opposite. Immediately after hearing that I am the supposedly new Admiral, she jumped up and bowed in front of me. Her shuddering and cold sweat came along naturally at that time, leaving me a bit perplexed.

I sighed and shook my head. `` At ease, girl. You did nothing wrong, you couldn't have known that I am the new Admiral here and now stop with those formalities, go on and drink your beer. ´´

`` B-but Admiral, my i-impolitness can't go by unpunished! ´´, she exclaimed.

`` Ah, god. FYI, I don't care, we aren't in active duty right now. Ease yourself up, drink your beer and at least tell me your name. See it as an official order to relax if you need one. ´´, I returned.

After consoling her the second time she let go of a part of her stiffness and sat down again. Taking a sip from the beer, I think she tried to get some courage from it, but the sudden sweetness of the wheat beer seemingly surprised her.

`` I-I am Fusou, first ship of the Fusou-Class Battleship series. It is an honour to meet you, Admiral Scipio. ´´, she replied trying to be formal, while also hoping to have a bit of a chilled aura to her. But her tactic wasn't really working, supressing a trademark sigh, I tried to give her a bit of a reassuring response: `` Good, good. That's much better Fusou. I hope this isn't too personal for you, but what in the gods name did you do at 2 a.m. for you to literally run into me? ´´, I asked her with a smirk in my face.

For a question that literally came out of nowhere for her, but was at the same time to be expected, she behaved in a predictable way. A flush of red starting to be appear on her cheeks, a little shuddering and a gaze that slowly wandered away from me. I kind of knew that this will probably happen, but the girl need some serious conversation training and as the Admiral I need to take care of my personnel. So I found myself mildly surprised when she actually gave me a proper response instead of a bit of stammering and muttering.

`` W-well it is pretty embarrassing, but if my Admiral orders it, I can not refuse. ´´ I mentally face palmed at her statement, but let her continue. `` Today I was out on a patrol, so that a merchant fleet of vital convoys could pass safely to the harbour, but after we were about to finish the mission, a lone abyssal aircraft encountered as and well… ´´ She seemingly struggled for a bit, but soon after was able to give me the answer I was looking for: `` And then it dropped a bomb to create an aversion, so that it could flee. Unfortunately, it hit me on my mast and I was damaged lightly, not heavily enough so that it could be classified as heavy damage, but I still had to go to the repair docks. ´´

She paused again, something will be coming I guess, getting hit by a stray bomb isn't really embarrassing. I could really see her growing more and more anxious, the flush of red in her face growing darker, her hands fidgeting around and the teeth that bit on her lips. But with a determined resolve she continued the story and went on: `` Well, then I fell asleep in the repair docks and woke up just before! When I looked at the time I was shocked, for how long I slept, so I had to quickly return to the dorms. That is when I ran into you, Admiral. Ughhh, it is so emberrasing….. ´´

It took me some time to meld this information into my brain, this was it? I thought it was supposed to be really awkward. But this? It was nearing night time at that moment and she just slumbered a bit, wouldn't call that embarrassing. If she were at duty, it would be a different case, but the girl just fell asleep after she was hit nonetheless. Geez, she is really unsocial and shy, I guess then, but Rome wasn't built in one day, so I have enough time to get her to leave her shell. I won't try to deal with you if you just aren't interested in social interaction, but she is clearly being hindered by this behaviour. A cheeky answer is needed.

`` My god, that's nothing to be uncomfortable about! Can happen to everyone, Fusou, so don't kill yourself over it. It was late, you came back from your mission and I guess the repair docks must be really comfortable then. ´´

`` B-b-but Admiral, this act of laziness was undisciplined! And if I hadn't been so tardy, your expensive jacket wouldn't have been ruptured! Punish me, as you see fit! ´´, she got up again and bowed in front of me.

Mental sigh number two. `` At ease, sit down again and don't act like this. Yeah that you crashed into me and that my leather jacket was ripped isn't nice, but it wasn't your intention. You saved me a lot of time with the beer crates, so I am actually grateful to you. The jacket can be sewed together, so it is no problem Fusou. ´´

She wasn't really experienced with handling such a situation, you could really see it. She was probably trying to come up with some kind of task for her to do that will act as an apology. Well, if it does make her feel better, I won't deny it.

`` Then let me at least sew your jacket back together, Admiral! ´´, she exclaimed.

I was quite surprised, not from what she said, but from how she did it. Actually raising her voice from semi-quiet muttering to normal conversation volume, is quite something, I guess. Smirking back at her comment, I replied: `` Fine, take it with you when leaving. ´´

She nodded at my response, seeming a bit happy from it. With the conversation being at least some kind of success, I took a sip of my still untouched beer. The edge of the glass touching my lips, the cold fluid flew down into my mouth. A sweet aroma intensified upon touch, a hint of banana in the taste. Truly one of my favourites. Swallowing the first take from the glass, a gulping sound made its way from my throat, as the foamy liquid made its way down to my stomach. Fusou followed suit, also taking a sip, but a larger one then mine. Is she trying to impress me, or what? Trying hard won't get you anywhere with me.

But the large gulp was actually more then just one, the ship Girl just downed the whole thing while I wasn't really looking. Expectedly, I crowned my face with a surprised expression, but soon took on her behaviour head on, emptying the whole glass in one go. I put the glass back on the table and threw my gaze back at her, still a bit shy, but more opened up by now she returned it with her eyes. Seeing this development as positive, I said to her: `` Want another round, got enough beer here for nuclear winter. ´´

`` Yes Admiral! ´´, she returned quite sternly.

The answer causing me to smirk, I took her glass into my right hand and walked over to the fridge. Repeating the same course from about ten minutes ago, I filled up the two glasses again and headed back to the table. I took my seat and pushed the glass in my left hand over to her, the Ship Girl took the glass gleefully, so much that she enjoyed way too much on the first sip. I smirked at her action, taking a sip as well and thinking back to my own beginnings with drinking.

`` Fusou, pray tell, how much do you normally drink? ´´

She pondered a bit on the question, not being able to find a right answer for quite some time, she implied that she wasn't really experienced with alcoholic beverages. But sooner or later the answer came as she mentally reassured herself and replied: `` W-well, Admiral normally I don't drink, only on occasions like a birthday or so. ´´ She then looked at the beer in front of her and continued: `` I am not really a fan of beer, but this is something different, Admiral. I never expected this beverage to be so sweet. I am really fond of its taste, thank you very much for this opportunity, Admiral. ´´

Smirking back at her I said back: `` Don't sweat it, I am always happy to share a few beers. I am glad you like it, for it is one of my favourite. If you are in a mood for trying, I got some more different and interesting things stored here. ´´

`` Very well, Admiral if you so, I will follow suit. ´´, she answered with a serious, but somehow cute face.

Drawing a smile upon my face for the reaction, I gulped down another mouthful from the wheat beer. Taking some time to find a new topic for conversation, I fiddled around with my fingers, but Fuosu waited patiently until I said something. `` Since you told me something you considered embarrassing, I now have to uphold my codex of equal exchange and tell you an awkward story about myself. ´´

My words startled her again, she shook around her hands in a negating manner and added with an overstressing voice: `` B-but Admiral that is totally not needed, I-I mean I destroyed your jacket! You don't have to give me anything return. ´´ Her face never lost the flush of red, growing only stronger with the induced alcohol.

`` No no no, I need to do this, otherwise I won't be sleeping well. Just listen and laugh at it, I do it myself all the time. ´´

`` Admiral, I could never laugh at you. ´´, she returned with a stern face and strong-willed gaze.

That's new, I guess.

Still smirking, I summoned up the story from the depths of my mind, thinking back to easier times, times when there weren't any Abyssals and I went to a Grammar School. Yes, it is a story about being drunk on a school trip.

`` Back when I was seventeen or so, we went to the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. The city was very beautiful and there was some seriously astonishing architecture there, I reckon a bridge in my mind. But this isn't the part you should be normally laughing at. We stayed there in a pretty cheap hotel, shitty beds, toilets and equipment. But at least we had acceptable WIFI and the food wasn't as bad as the hotel. If you find yourself in this city and visit a local supermarket, you will find that the price of the beer and the other stuff was dirt cheap. We used this opportunity, since most of the cashiers weren't interested in our age, we bought a lot of cheap beer, liquor and food. After leaving the store, we smuggled everything back into the hotel and pretty much killed ourselves with the stuff. We have a phrase back in Germany, being Sich die Kante geben. You say that when you drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol for any kind of purpose. Well the thing was that after quite some time of partying, I somehow managed to throw my phone out of the window. Fortunately, we were just in the first storey and the floor beneath us was some kind of garden, so it fell into a bush. Well, in my drunken wisdom, I thought it would be a good idea to climb the whole route down from the balcony, thinking that I would be able to make far enough, so that I could fall down the rest. ´´ I chuckled at myself, reciting this story, but Fusou still listened intrigued. `` Well I somehow managed to follow through with the first half of the plan, but when I let myself fall, I landed in a pile of dog shit and slithered into a rose bush! I was bloodied, bruised and full of dog shit! Ahahahahaha! ´´

I laughed at my own stupidity, but when I looked at the ship girl I did not see her laughing, not even chuckling, but rather facing me with a gentle, somewhat pitying look. I couldn't believe my eyes, everyone whom I told that story at least chuckled a bit louder. Maybe she had no sense of humour, but I quickly discarded that idea. I switched my gaze back at her and found something, the first thing were the contractions at her cheeks, implying that she was trying to hide a, in her eyes, improper reaction. Then I also noticed how she just bit her self into the inner cheeks, now it was definitely clear to me, she was holding it back and the story was funny, for god's sake. But there was still the issue of the woman holding back her emotions. I needed to do something.

Standing up, I made myself go to her chair in a quick follow-up of steps, to be more precise behind her. Acting before she could react, I started to tickle her in the sides of her belly, making the whole situation of holding back the laughter impossible for her. Therefore she erupted into a true storm of laughter, the situation good only more severe as tear started to flow down from her eyes. But, being the relentless man I am, I continued on with my assault, quenching out every laugh and tear that is left in her. She needs to be more at ease, not just a bit, but a lot more. While discipline is a key factor in combat, the individual soldier who only acts when commanded, being completely unable to perform independent action, is only cannon fodder. I told the officers and soldiers under my command to be stoic, but also to be full of wit and cunning, to take actions on their own, if there is not opportunity to tell your commanding officer. Action in combat must be quick and decisive, trapping the enemy, before he can react. To achieve this, soldiers need to show bravery, discipline in combat and intelligence. Sweat saves blood. Blood saves lives. Brain saves both. The words of my idol Rommel sum this principle up pretty well.

After the mental justification of my acts, I slowly stopped the onslaught, moving my hands away from her body, so that she can regain her composure. I smiled at her with a wicked smirk, I probably overdid it, she was sweating like she ran a marathon, her head completely red from the non-stop laughter and there were still some tears on her cheeks. `` I will say this for the last time, loosen up girl! If you keep this on, you will just end up harming yourself with it. I'll tell you something, back in class 1-4 in grammar school I acted the same fucking way. Not laughing about funny things, having an edgy attitude therefore being something else, but not myself. After having spent a complete summer in thought about doing so, I accepted who I really was. No more hiding, no more masks to wear, I am going to be myself from now on and everyone who has a goddam problem with it can go to hell. ´´ I paused as I took a good look at hear. She was slowly getting back to being able to normally hold a conversation, but at the same listened carefully to me. Appreciating the development, I went on.

`` At first it was hard coping with it, people grew distant since I acted different towards them, some even stared to dislike me for acting in a certain way, but after some time I regained a long since lost happiness. I was happy to be just alive, happy to be who I am, happy for just existing. And this newly gained feeling is something that I still hold dearly today. It motivates me to fight on, drives me to new highs and helps me overcome hardships. And for you, I want the same thing. Don't lie to me, I can see how troubled you are, keeping up this attitude made you shy and submissive. ´´, looking at her face confirmed this statement, she looked downwards, her eyes casting a sad look into her face. A little more pushing and I had her. `` You hunger to be yourself, yearn for recognition and acceptance. You dream of being someone who people can look up to, someone who your friends and comrades can rely on. But what you are doing, will not help this. ´´ I stretched out my hand towards her and carried on. `` I will aid you in achieving these goals! You just have take this chance! ´´

Adding a smile to my short speech, the effective was critical. She looked up to me, tears forming in her eyes and her buddy shuddering, but she still took my hand. Upon contact I felt the hand of someone who was not sure what to do, but who was determined to do something. With a quick motion she was being lifted up to her feet, following up I gave her a hug, which she gratefully accepted. After a minute of embracing each other and her sobbing, I cancelled out the hug. The sobbing stopped, and her expression went from kicked puppy into determined opportunist. Appreciating her sudden change in demeanour, raised a thumb up and putting on a smirk, furthermore encouraging her.

I wanted to ad a witty comment, but the Ship Girl cut me off with a rather loud voice that had a lot of will behind it: `` Thank you, Admiral! ´´, she reformed her mien into a more joyful one and continued: `` What you just told me, it really touched my heart. Not only the things regarding me, but also what you said about yourself. Being able to talk so openly to someone without even really knowing them, a person like me, who lived her life mostly in seclusion, can only admire you. I look forward being a proud ship under your command, Admiral! ´´

`` I am happy to hear this, Fusou. Shall I get us something to celebrate your new-found determination? ´´

She nodded, implying that I was really time to get drunk. Sorry, I meant to celebrate things, of course. So I walked towards the cellar door, opened the white, wooden door and started my descend downwards to get the good liquor. After the first steps, being out of sight, I started to chuckle. My plan was successful. I immediately saw the problems with that Ship Girl, she was unable to make decisions on her own and lacked confidence in her actions. For her to be a competent member of my fleet, I need Fusou to change these antics. While short patrol missions won't be problematic, longer campaigns would be undoable if she breaks down under the pressure. Further actions must be taken, for now I have broken through the shell, but I shall spend these next day's improving what I created. I doubt that she has friends to do so, if Fusou had, these problems wouldn't have been so sever. For now I will keep up this friendly behaviour, also a bit of flirting, making her compliments will help her and bolster her confidence.

Spending most of my perception locked into thought, I nearly fell over a randomly placed crate of beer. But luckily for me, my sixth sense kicked in just right in time and I jumped over it, landing safely a meter away from that damned thing. I will tidy up this mess tomorrow, can't blame her for not doing it perfectly. Did I say tomorrow? I mean today of course. Finished with my nit-picking thinking, I found myself in front of a make-shift arrangement of Whisky. Picking the right thing for the right moment is normally really hard for me, sometimes I tend to spend more time choosing than enjoying. But since Fusou is a beginner, I can't overwhelm her with a strong and peaty Islay Whisky, the classic beginner Glenfiddich 12 YO would be better suited, but I couldn't fathom that I would be introducing a newbie to the best beverage in the world. Sighing I continued my process and after a not so long search I found an unopened bottle of Glenfarclas 15 YO. A bit more mature, but the sherry is very enjoyable. The 46 percent might sting a beginner, but it is worth it. I picked up the still packaged bottle and returned to my waiting guest. When I returned from the short ascendance of the stairs and fell into her sight, for the door to the cellar was still open, she threw a quick smile at me. I smirked back and proceeded towards the kitchen, opening yet another kitchen cupboard, so to pull out two noosing glasses.

The noosing glass is the only way to truly experience and cherish whisky, the tulip form of the glass having the perfect shape to lead the whisky's aromas into your nose, the elongated glass shaft perfect to not accidently heat up the beverage. Some would say that we connoisseurs are overexaggerating and petty perfectionists, but I say that they have either never tasted it this way or are just ignorant! Cutting of the connection to the imagined rant, I came back to the real world, back to drinking exclusive alcohol. With two glasses in my right hand and the whisky in the left, I returned to the kitchen table. I placed the glass in front of Fuosu, who was waiting patiently. After placing my glass, I impatiently opened the packing and pulled out a bottle, coloured in brown and evenly shaped. On the paper wrapping around the bottle, the scripture of Glanfarclas and an old picture of the distillery were printed onto. I moved my hands towards the top of the bottle, where the cork was waiting for me. To further give off an aura of elegance and to protect the cork from being unemotionally popped out during transport, a special sealing was applied to it. I placed the nail of my thumb under a certain position on the wrapping and pulled it off with a quick motion. After having get rid of the last defence, I popped out the cork. A faint smell of fruits like apple and pears filled the room, which both I with my experienced noose and Fusou with her enhanced sense recognized.

`` Apples and pears, am I right? ´´, I asked her with a confident smile.

`` You are right as always Admiral. ´´, she returned with a gleeful look in her face.

Having had the first sample of the superb taste, I went on with the real thing now. Pouring in the whisky carefully, another wave of aroma hit me, furthermore increasing my delight over this beverage. After having finished Fuosu's glass I continued with mine, repeating the same process all over again. But this was certainly not a chore that would become annoying after doing it repeatedly, no, whenever the delicious came into contact with air and the glass, a faint, but delightful smell entered my nostrils. But having a dram is even better, so I quickly finished filling up the glass to the official marking and pushed the cork back into the bottle. Finishing the process of putting the bottle back into the packing, I took a seat and wrapped my hand around the broadened base of the noosing glass.

`` Pick it up like me, you don't want to heat up the drink with your body warmth. ´´

She followed up, taking the glass at the intended end and waiting for further instructions.

`` From TV you might have seen people drinking whisky from a so-called tumbler, I mean the wide and short glass. But that is just there to look cool, a real whisky glass is closer to a wine glass. Being more elongated and having a tulip form. This is for the aromas to wander up to your noose and concentrate there, giving you a better result from the noosing process. The most important thing about a whisky and what certainly takes most of the practising is the noosing process. It is a bit of a bumpy road in the beginning but believe me it is worth it. ´´

I followed up with a demonstration and lifted the glass towards my noose, also tilting it into the perfect position. A wave of fresh sherry hit my nostrils, recognizing the smell immediately from my mind. It wasn't as overwhelming as a young Glendronach, but still packed a punch. The forte of this whisky lies in his maturity, which was old enough to give you more complex aroma, but still had a bit of fire in it. The 46 percent of alcohol were noticeable, but this is intended, as alcohol acts as a hauler for the scent and the palate.

The ship girl watched me carefully, studying my every move that I demonstrated so passionately and after a few moments of watching, she began on her own. Carefully leading the glass to its determined goal line and also tilting the glass with a faint motion, she began to inhale the whisky. The intense aroma of the fine 15-year-old beverage, aged in oak and sherry casks, exploded towards her nose. At first, I could see her pinch away, the 46 percent hitting her stronger than she expected, but after she grew accustomed to it, a smile began to from on her face. She liked it.

I felt contend about her reaction, for it is one of my favourite whiskies, but I wouldn't call it a beginner, since it had 46 percent of alcohol. A first, rejecting expression would be acceptable, but she took it braver than I took my first with so much alcohol. Well my first 46er was a young and peaty Islay whisky, comparing them to a soft and tender highlander is out of the realm of possibilities. Leaving her to her own experiences, I returned to my glass and sniffed again, letting the welcomed fragrance enter my nostrils and accepting its warm embrace. Passion is the one word many people have associated with me when whisky is concerned, but for a good reason that is, as I can talk hours about this subject. Comparing different regions, their trade mark differences and what a good whisky is made of. The processes of making whisky, its history, the founding stories of distilleries and how whisky became so popular, these things I can keep talking on for hours.

I returned back to my beverage, leaving my thoughts behind with the prospect of creating a power point presentation just for the purpose of introducing more people to this god-like drink. The strong scent of the trademark sherry was still there, carving its way into my mind, where it was linked to apples and pears. But just being contend with such a small feat is not my way, I seek for more. Putting more ferocity into the process, I rediscovered new fragrances. A hint of oak appeared, faint and fragile, then hints of orange came to my mind as the aromas opened themselves up more and more. Finally, cinnamon came into being, reminding me of Christmas eve before the Abyssals arrived.

Delight was what I felt, the feeling of something coming back to you, nostalgia was added to it. I concluded what I started, lifting the glass up more, the golden fluid rand down the wall of the noosing glass, right into my mouth. A known flavour, a well-versed palate spread through every part of my eating organ. I flushed into every creek in there, the taste of the drink entering every receptor in my mouth. And what was it that I tasted? A well-known sherry, similar to the noosing process, but slightly different, for the method of sampling was different. Then oak entered the fray, adding to the maturity of the dram. A quick swallowing and the taste of Christmas orange came into being, refining it even more. This composition of a true master of the malt found its end with the long-lasting aftertaste of oak coming into being.

Opening my eyes, I found Fusou evenly delighted, having liked her first experienced, I was happy too. Drinking a dram of whisky is grate, but doing so with a friend, tops all of it. As I was pleased with how the night came out in the end, I offered her another glass. The battleship gladfully replied positively and I carefully filled up her glass again, but not adding to mine, for I want to save this dram for the hours after my soon, but late awakening from the slumber I still had to take. Taking the not existent exhaustion from travelling into thought, I ought to sleep eight hours at least, meaning that if I got to bed at 3 a.m. I will be up and ready by half past 11 a.m. That is a good time, in my teenager years I tended to often just wake up at 12 a.m., having finished my morning business even later.

Wanting to free myself from any suspicion of false time measuring, I confirmed the local time. Half an hour, then I would appreciate the embrace of a blanket. After having spent most of bed time with mere six hours and often less in academy, I came to appreciate the eight hours of sleep that I could now spare as an admiral. But these thoughts are outlandish right now, on of my ships sits in front of me and I should be spending more time with than with my thoughts. So, I returned to what currently transpired and found myself with a pleases ship girl. She smiled at, I returned it. But it was currently late, I don't want to act impolite, but I need her to kindly leave. For everything that happened, I still need to take a refreshing shower and brush my teeth. And there also is that phone call, which still need to make.

I stood up from my seat and took both, her and my glass with me as I walked to the kitchen sink. I left the glasses there with the beer cups, which I placed there be forehandedly. I returned back to the table and said with an amused voice: `` This was a nice evening, I should rather say night, but sadly I think that both of us have a strenuous day coming towards them. ´´

The words being enough of a kind signal to leave, the ship girl slowly stood up from her seat, but to my surprise, fell immediately over. I rushed to her aid instantly, catching the falling girl with my hands. When I looked at her face, I found something that was to be expected, if she were a normal woman that would be, but I thought ship girls were more resistant to pretty much everything. So, these models just have damage resistance, but not to intoxication. Maybe it is just alcohol, the creators wanting them to have parties like humans or so.

I sighed at the development, now after spending the last half an hour or so with her, having a fine time chatting and drinking, helping her with her personal problems, I end up with a drunken ship girl at my hands.

But she acted faster than expected and talked first: `` Huhuhu, A-admiral you *hicks* look very handsome….. ´´

`` You've got to be kidding me! ´´, I facepalmed at her words, not having the nerves to deal with this right now, I was keen on coming up with a quick response plan. Moving her to girl's dorms would be preferable, but I doubt this will be doable as easy as it sounds. She uncapable of walking in straight line and I have no clue or whatsoever where those damned dorms are supposed to be. Also as important is the fact that she was clearly hiding her drunkenness from me, speaking from experience, I know that alcohol needs some time before kicking in, with some it takes longer, others get hit in shorter times spans, but nobody gets wasted instantly. Probably thought that another glass wouldn't be so harmful, than the first drinks kicked in and she only prolonged the effect by downing another. At least this will have some life lessons on drinking for her.

`` Fusou, listen you are in a pretty bad shape right now and I would not only endanger your life, but also the lives of others, if I were to tell you to go home by yourself. So, I made the decisions for you to crash the night on my couch. ´´, I added as I told my quick, but hopefully solid plan.

For a reasonable person this plan would be acceptable, but drunks aren't really people to reason with, something I now just to good from my own experience. `` H-hhe A-aadmiral why cannd I sweep in your bed with youuu…´´, so she replied in a different way, a way I didn't really expect for her to reply with. I calculated different outcomes, taking in her current acting and normal personality, even expected her to barf onto my floor, but I was flabbergasted despite all of my mental bracings.

Facepalming a second time, I felt the light burn on my front, a shade of red coming to live on it, but I had to carry on and say something.

`` Uggh, I can't fool around with an employee on the first day, you are really taking things to far here. If I were to agree, you wouldn't be able too properly look into my eyes for the next days, putting future missions at risk and that is something I can not tolerate. Taking me up on my offer will be the best course of action for this night, believe me Fusou. ´´

At first with hesitation, but then steadier with every second she agreed with me and slowly nodded, not stressing her intoxicated body. Having her affirmation, I wrapped her tender arm around my shoulder and proceeded to hoist her up. With quick motion, a safe ascend was made and thanks to the help I gave her, she was somehow standing on her legs again, a bit shaky, but she was upright once more.

`` Fusou, now comes the hard part. Follow my footsteps, at least try it, if possible. Then we will have you over to the couch on no time at all. ´´, I did my best to encourage her, hoping that she could at least walk a few steps on her own.

Starting of with the first step, my right foot wandered about 30 centimetres towards the couch, with the second following instantly up. To my delight, the feet of the wasted battleship were catching up quickly and we were able to walk at a steady pace, but with the down-slowing effect of her intoxication, it was still quite distance, with the current circumstances, to cover. At every moment her stomach could rebel, leading to several types of damage, collateral and mental. But the show must go on, as they tend to say. The arduous journey went on, step after step we covered more and more of the journey, coming ever closer to the sought-for couch.

A few moments, steps our feet had to take and we would be there, meaning that I could do the things that I still had on my list, including an important phone call. If she decides to throw up in these last seconds, I will be her R. Lee Ermey for the next weeks, hitting her full on with the full metal jacket. Sadly for the god of misfortune, nothing of that sorts happened and we were able to safely make it to the couch. Proceeding with the task at hand, I removed my arm from her shoulder, only for it and its left counterpart to relocate to her waist region. I made sure not to tickle her, but she still giggled when I did so, probably for different reasons, but I had different things at hand. Fearing that this damned giggling would lead to a Friday-night hurling session, I acted with even more care. Ending up with a displeased Fuous, still in her drunken maze and hoping for sudden sexual intercourse and a happy Scipio, who was glad for not having to clean puke for the second time in this week.

Soon after, the ship girl was placed with utmost acre onto the couch, having her choose a comfortable position seconds before, but after she wanted told me, that the most enjoyable sleeping position for her would be besides me, I stopped the advance and let her make the decision on her own. While she made herself at home, I went to the bed room in order to get a blanket. Pillows were already placed there, while not being worthy to be called sleeping pillows, they were still incredibly soft and fluffy. I returned with the bedspread in my hand, anticipating some kind of stupid sentence being thrown at me, I entered the room, but found her sleeping to my surprise.

Being thankful for the way this whole ordeal ended, I smiled at the scenery, Fusou looked really cute while sleeping, the first morning after would be a different story then, I guess. But I shouldn't spend my time thinking about situations, which carry no weight in the worlds theatre, they are better dealt with spontaneously. I still one task ahead of me, before I could finally hit the bunks. A call had to be done, a very important one.

I left the kitchen, walked into the foyer, where I put on my military boots. I left my jacket, for it was just a fashion accessory and not really needed. When I opened the door, a cool autumn breeze hit my face, I thought about the date, at the moment it was the 21st of October, Halloween would be in a week, a good opportunity to waste yourself, but right now my thoughts were needed somewhere different. I had to look for a safe place to start the call, the call can't be detected, traced or hacked, we made sure of that. But someone could overhear it, which would cause a heap cataclysm to come for us.

My gaze made a full 360, locking onto an isolated ship yard crane. The figure of the crane was imposing, easily towering 40 metres over me. A perfect place. Having set my target, I sped on, leaving only dust behind me, but running with the graze of a gazelle, not making a sound. On my way, I passed a few buildings, one of them being some kind of restaurant, interesting, I will check it out later on, maybe even eat something there. I didn't plan on going to the cantina that was in the other direction, preferring to eat a meal in solitude or with good friends. While I could easily put on the act, doing so isn't to my liking. As I went on with my thoughts, my ocular receptors saw the construct of my desire coming closer and closer to me, meaning that I soon had to climb.

Having done a kilometre in a few seconds and being close to the crane, I used the build-up moment of the dash to catapult myself onto the crane, leaving only dust as a witness behind. Of course, I made sure that no one was watching me, having the best sensors in the world surely is something. Landing on top of the crane, the gravitational force cancelling out my acceleration, I made a safe, but most importantly silent descent. My feet touched the metal floor of the machine and I could feel the increasing intensity of the wind upon my synthetic skin.

Having reached the targeted location, I pulled out a phone, but not a modern smartphone, but a rather heavy looking one with keys instead of a touch screen. While it certainly didn't look more technically sophisticated than a modern smartphone, it definitely was. Having the most secure systems in the world packed into a phone is only in the realm of possibility, if it has a rather cumbersome form. The piece of electronic ingenuity had a diameter of 13 centimetres and a thickness of about 2. 52 centimetres, or an inch in retard units, lel. Putting the jokes aside, it had the precise look of three modern smartphones being glued together, but with keys. These took about two thirds of the surface area, not being overly large like the ones on the phones for old people, but since it had so many of them, the space is direly needed, they even were rather small.

Small intersection ran between them and broader ones with more depth separated the different sectors like numbers and letters. Still sporting the red and green colours for the phone buttons, the special phone had something comparable to a normal one. Also included was a headphone jack, which wasn't really one in fact, as it was a bit wider in diameter than a normal 3.5. In fact, it was an adapter to the phone that covered itself as a headphone jack. With the fitting adapter, data could be easily transferred, but it also served as hardware for the included hacking software.

Finishing the review, I tipped in the numbers 198-7-518 and pushed the greenish phone button. A short ringing tone occurred, only for me to be transferred to a waiting line. On the other end of it, a member of our group who had the right organisation level and was currently at hand would pick it up. Waiting patiently, a few moments passed by, the theme of a German military song playing on the phone, slightly distracting me from the arduous process that I was currently partaking in. Then a peep of someone picking up the call was being perceived by my synthetic ear drums, signalling that I could finally fill in my report.

`` Ob's stürmt oder schneit….. ´´, a familiar voice sung into the speaker. Knowing what to answer, I replied: `` Ob die Sonne uns lacht! ´´

Having accepted the right line of the familiar song, the man on the other end of the line said: `` Having a good time over there, Hermann? ´´

The familiar voice belonging to the earlier mentioned Gregor Schröder, a friend and fellow member of your conspiring group named Gespensterdivision, after the legendary 7th tank division of Erwin Rommel.

`` Well, it could be better, but compared to the welcoming party the abyssals threw for me at Jutland, this is rather relaxing. I met a ship girl that seems to be part of the fleet that I will be commanding these next months. You see I invited her to beer and whisky, but since she had the resistance of a paper wall, you can certainly imagine what happened next, my friend. ´´

`` Got drunk, showed signs of vomiting and now she is sleeping on your couch. Am I right? ´´

`` After having had to deal with those situations billions of time, we both know what to expect from people that get into it for the first time. ´´, a smile appeared on my face as I remembered the shit I did back then. `` But I should have known better. Just because they are ship girls they won't automatically be as resistant to booze as us veterans. ´´

`` Since you mentioned ship girls, Hermann. Our initial tests were a success and we now fully comprehend the technology the have sent us. ´´, the German scientist replied.

`` Pray tell then, I am all yours. ´´

`` It sounds a lot easier said then done, the process in itself being a bit more akin to magic than to science, I have to admit that even I don't really understand every process, some of our quantum physicians would be better suited for the job. ´´, Gregor replied a bit embarrassed.

`` If I wanted the full report I would have asked for the documents. There is no problem with not having the gist of it in your case, as you have to deal with a ton more shit than just the Flottenmädchen project, Gregor. ´´, I said back reassuringly.

`` Ja eh, you are right Hermann, but with the pressure that is being put on us right now, it feels like that I have to live up to every expectation there is. ´´, he hastily said: `` Coming back to the real issue here, boiled down the process sounds rather simple. Choosing the ship you want to reincarnate, we chose Bismarck for this procedure. Afterwards you need to feed a computer with information about the ship, the next steps will be taken into creating some sort of personality, similar to our Künstlicher Mensch A.I. program. Following up are many test runs with the created persona, subconsciously stimulating it and pitting it in stressful situations. If everything works out in a good way, we can begin the actual construction. The materials they are being build of are similar to yours, but since they are more or less directed to mass production, their rig is lower than yours, so don't feel like that you will be replaced by a new generation. ´´, he laughed at the last sentence, a comedic action which I quickly joined.

`` I think it is a bit too early for me to retire, I don't want to look like an anti-social pest, feeding of a non-existent social system. ´´

`` I doubt that you ever will Hermann, that would be really shameful of you. Reminds me of the stuck-up brats at college, thinking everything will be handed towards them, because they never had to really work for something. And when the prospect of having to work in a shitty job comes closer because the took a gender studies course, they scream out for a communist revolution. ´´, added Gregor with a hint of anger in his voice.

`` I do not envy you for having to deal with such a situation. Had a few SJWs at my school back then, just a bunch of posers with no opinion behind their words. But after life got increasingly harder for everyone, they suddenly vanished from the scenery, showing that this movement was just a farce. ´´

`` The only good thing about the Abyssals then, I guess. ´´ Both of us shared a giggle about the statement. But Gregor soon continued: `` Talking about good things, the naval rearmament program has been finished. ´´

`` With every second of this phone call, I get livelier and happier. ´´

`` That you can say! Do you know what that means? I bet you do, but I will just ask to be sure! ´´, an over eagerly voice replies.

Already knowing the answer, I replied: `` My own fleet. When will it arrive here? I think we already have made a deal with the Russians for a transfer using the northern route, have we? ´´

`` Correct in any way Hermann. Not only have we made advances with them diplomatically, but since we build the Ladoga canal in a joint project, we can now shorten the traveling distance immensely, sparring us the way around Scandinavia and further abyssal harassment. ´´

`` Then tell me, when will it arrive? The naval personnel here will be surely flabbergasted when grasping our imposing advances in maritime prowess. ´´

`` I estimate the journey to take about one week or so, we still have to do some life demonstrations before we can let it head out. ´´, he responded to my question.

`` Has anything changed with my fleet composition or will I still get the full package? ´´, I inquired further on.

`` Full version it is, nothing short of absolute firepower. One supercarrier, two missile cruisers and many escort ships. I have already seen the carrier in action and let me tell you, this thing rocks! Buying the carrier that the US Navy had stationed in on of our ports after the fall was a good decision, money and engineering time was well spent. ´´

Most of us knew of that purchase, it was made very suddenly, being a more opportunistic approach to things. While the Abyssals were surely a pest to deal with, precise missile and air strikes could very well harm the, as many air raids and my actions in Jutland showed. Therefore the German Navy had to reform itself extensively, changing from coast protection to offensive doctrine. Besides the purchase of a super carrier we also made a deal with the Russian Federation in consideration with naval matters. In exchange for hardware and a manual labour force the gave us blueprints for the Kirov class missile cruiser. We took those plans, studied them and developed our own vessel, the Preussen class. Frigates and destroyers were also constructed on mass, as capital ships need proper escorting. For this sake 30 brand new frigates had been constructed, mostly being a modernised version of the Sachsen class. Since the German navy completely lacked destroyers, the development department had to begin from scratch in creating a new platform. While there were old blueprints still available, those models were completely outdated and therefore many advancements had to be made in this area. After three years of careful development and testing, a new destroyer with the class name Pommern was released. Being modelled as a next generation ship, it included only the most modern equipment. A special Radar was also created during this time, primarily for the Pommern class, but other escort ships will soon follow suit.

The new carriers we had constructed were dedicated to the legendary Prussian militarist Moltke the older, therefore bearing his name as Moltke class. We modelled them after the image of the Nimitz carriers and while they looked similar on the outside, we made many changes to the inside. The nuclear generator for the Moltke class was a completely new model, rivalling the one in the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier. Instead of the standard issue steam catapult, a linear electro magnetic catapult had been installed. It not only had a greater output, but the strain that was projected onto the frame of the aircraft is reduced, due to the smoother acceleration. Living quarters were also improved, meaning that these carriers are slightly longer than the Nimitz class. The former American supercarrier had a length of 332 metres with a displacement of 97.000 tons, the Moltke class meanwhile was 360 metres long and had a displacement of 100.000 tons. It would have been a lot more if not for the magical material that carbon fibre is. Beneath the flight deck is the hangar for the planes, including the flight deck it was possible to carry about 80 planes. Concerning the planes, the Euro fighter platform was reconstructed for naval usage.

Returning from the prolonged and thoughtful explanation, I returned to the conversation to clarify the amount of ships: `` So that means 15 frigates, 8 brand new destroyers, a Preussen class missile cruiser and the Moltke class aircraft carrier. ´´ I paused shortly, but soon returned: `` Have my capital ships already been named or is it still for debate ´´

Gregor laughed shortly, then complied my question: `` Well it was quite a hassle naming them, hundreds of prolonged discussions with many ideas, but too many participants. While the first ships of their classes respectively got their classification as name, we had a lot of argument with the tow later ones that were to come. But in the end, we managed to come to a good solution. Hindenburg for the aircraft carrier and Barbarossa for the missile cruiser, I think we made a good choice. ´´

`` A legendary war hero and an emperor, well-chosen indeed. That means I will be commanding Hindenburg and Barbarossa, I am definitely looking forward to this. I remember back in the days, when I played Hearts of Iron 4, I have always been looking forward to every fleet that would be under my command. Now, now I will not be able to command my own battle fleet with massive capital ships, but also a quick fleet of ship girls. Fate is truly fickle, at one moment you stand knee deep in blood, while at the other you can be filled with bliss to no end. ´´, I replied to the naming of the two ships with a smirk.

After I uttered my words, a relatively loud yawn was being made by the man on the other end of the line. I reckoned that he had never went to sleep in the first place, so after I got my information, I said: `` Boy, oh boy. Seems like sleeping is not something being a primary target of yours. ´´

`` Ahhhhh, you are damn right! 48 hours, no sleep only caffeine! Instead of drinking coffee, we take small amounts of caffeine and mix them up with a glass of water. Gets the kick faster and better than from the normal route. Hmmph, one guy even injected the stuff into his veins when he was about to start the process of coding. ´´

`` Sounds more like addiction to me, but that's coming from the guy who drinks as much alcohol in one week as a normal person drinks in half a year. ´´, I replied adding a lough to the conversation, putting up the act of me not having a problem. Well, for me the problem is not really severe, since a cyborg can't really get harmed from it and the drunken haze is only a simulation, but a really good one. Praise where praise is deserved. Drifting back into matters at hands, I concluded that I had to insist on Gregor hitting the bunks, for sleep deprivation will eventually kick your bucket, leading to total failure.

`` Gregor, while short absence from sleep is not that harmful, doing it on the long run will fuck you up severely. I am speaking from personal experiences here, back in schoolin' I got two to three hours of sleep per day after the new Monster Hunter was released. Coffee, gaming and no effort in school was the outcome, putting me out of commission for a few days. ´´

`` Man, I know what you're talking about, seriously. And yes, I know the effects, as I have personally made acquaintance with them, wasn't a fun week, believe me. But the current situation calls for those longer shifts, especially with the new ship girl technology, but also with the studies on abysalls that we have to do right now. Writhing those damned reports for Gespensterdivision is not entertaining at all, like writing a shitty fanfiction for example. ´´, he scowled, ending the last sentence with a sigh. `` Hermann, I think that I am close to torpedoing the shit out of the fragile transport ship that is my current mind. Breakdown incoming soon. Afterwards I will get some booze. ´´

I only know his situation to good, to much shit being thrown at you from all sites, without any regard from any of the attackers, ignoring the rules of war. `` Gregor believe me, I am not unfamiliar with what you are going through right now. The first weeks in the division were an absolute nightmare, fitting in, overcoming the burdens of and trying to revaluate yourself, not only while doing life threatening missions, but also officers academy at the same time. I'll tell ya, making up the excuses for absence were often the hardest things. ´´, I answered his plea for comfort. `` But you have to pull through it. I know you very well, having fought off undebatable and entitled social justice worriers at university, stress must be not something new to you. Hear my words, you will pull through like always! ´´

I heard a quiet, laughing voice, indicating that Gregor took my words of pity well. He then responded: `` Danke, Hermann. You really are a good friend and comrade. But I sadly think that I have to call quits now, some guy just messaged me on Email that they needed another report. And since HQ is calling, I can't put it off. ´´

`` No problem, friend. Another thing I must add, if you are interested there is still some high-quality Grappa in my cupboard, take it if you want. ´´, I added with a grin.

`` You just made my day, you know that? ´´

`` Yes and you made mine, I am hyped for the fleet. ´´

`` Then let me continue to make it even better, Ragnarök is coming. ´´

A flabbergasted look was being portrayed onto my face, eyes widening, the jaw dropping and a slinet ahhh sound escaping my mouth. `` You are kidding me, aren't you? ´´

`` Nope! ´´

Yes! Finally, my baby is coming towards me. The hype reaching new heights, I reformed my gasping expression into a shit eating grin. Ragnarök is coming, not the end of the world in a direct sense, but surely for our enemies. While I officially was a cyborg super soldier in our organization, I was also very well rooted into the R&D department and held influential connections there. Gregor being one of them for example. As I always want to reach for new stars, I sought out the combat and weapons department there and came up with an idea. Creating a combat suit for me. It would amp my battlefield prowess immensely. I wouldn't just be faster and stronger, no, I would get some overpowered sci-fi abilities. Proposing the project with the arguments that this suit would be perfectly suited for defending our interests against the forces of the abyss, the rest of the ruling committee quickly agreed. The development began one year before I left for japan, creation a few months ago and now I will soon receive it. I personally thought that it would take longer, but the boys back at base shouldn't be underestimated when it is about doing something very quick, but also keeping up in the quality sector.

`` When? ´´, I simply inquired.

`` Final testing needs to be done, it will come with the fleet. Should I wrap it for you? ´´

`` You better do, just donated some quality liquor. ´´, I replied laughing.

`` Fine then, but now I really have to go. Tschüss! ´´

`` Have your fun then with the writing, Tschau! ´´

I pressed the red button that was beside the one with which you would normally accept calls, ignoring my incompetence of not knowing the right term for this button, I redirected my gaze at the night sky, taking in its beauty. Staring at the ceiling of stars has always been a hobby of mine, not with a telescope or so, no just gazing at it for some time. It always gives me something to live off, to see that there are now boundaries for growth and evolution. I want to actually visit one, not in a 3d simulation or virtual reality program, I long for taking a space ship, leaving this world behind me and fly towards a massive, favourably blue star. But as it currently is, this notion of my mind is out of reach. For now. Who knows what the future will bring, only time will tell. Leaving the astronomical dreams behind, I returned to planet earth and my current situation. While my main mission is really to act here as an admiral, I also have the side quest of collecting information on the ship girls for my organization. But for now this task is not the of utmost importance, I need a structured web of information sources and good connections at first, which the girls will surely give me. After waking from my soon to be slumber, I will scramble up my fleet and have a meeting with them, for I need to get a good picture of them, excluding Fusou, since I already made her acquaintance and now she is sleeping on my couch. Wonderful. I can read the newspapers saying: Naughty Admiral takes advantage of obedient ship girls.

Reality taking up more and more of my view, I realised that for all of these to actually happen, I need to climb down this fucking crane and get to bed. I can skip showering and tooth brushing, for a cyborg doesn't need those things, but still normally do them, keeping up my pre-war routine. `` Old habits die hard.´´, I muttered to myself.

Looking at the task at hand, I kept these thoughts in the back of my mind and walked over to the metal ladder that was in front of me, directly besides the driver's cabin. Slowly walking over, as I didn't find a reason to hurry this process, I gradually made process on covering the distance, but sooner or later, I arrived at the metal structure, which would guarantee my safe, but more importantly silent descent. I could always jump down, but that would only create a commotion. And loud noises that will certainly draw attention are not something that I long for, keeping this whole ordeal on the crane a secret is number one priority right now. Backing up those words with action, I moved towards the ladder, turned quickly around, my back facing the circular metal cage behind me and made my first steps. While doing so, my hands grabbed the rusty metal that was the keeping all the ladder pieces together firmly, the cool autumn air making the good conductor that metal is very cool, but not so cold that it would someone who was climbing down it. As a cyborg weather and temperature in all of their forms aren't a problem to concern myself with, as I can always cool down or heat myself up with relative ease. The distance to cover was actually very long, but even a normal human wouldn't have a problem covering it, if were to be in his prime state, but I reckon that after a long day of work, one could be overtaken here with tiredness and fall down, but exactly to prevent such accidents, there was a metal railing to my side, where one could hook in a carbine. He would need to take it out of the different interactions and hang it into the next one, but better safe then sorry. I began my descend, slowly climbing down the ladder, inching closer to the ground with every step that I made. After a few moments of monotone climbing, I was halfway through, the process being sped up the lack of security gear. My grip was firm, far firmer than a normal human can hop to achieve, the tests we did back at the headquarters showed that with the new upgrade of my robotic body, I could now even crush steel if I wanted to. And with the Ragnarök suit I would easily top this achievement, its strength would be incomparable to anything the Abyssals have shown us. Leaving the 20-metre check point behind me, I continued with my safe, silent and swift descendance. The ground coming closer with every made motion and before the monotony of this chore could get me mad, I finally reached it. To be honest I let myself fall down the last two metres as it wouldn't really make much noise.

Landing on the floor, not even flinching or budging from the impact, I inspected the area around me. I made scans beforehand and found no anomalies, but one cannot be overcautiously in such situations. If a ship girl were to discover me, I would have to knock her out and hide the girl in my cellar. Not to pull a Josef Fritzl on her, but to hack her operating system and erase her memories. Then I would proceed with putting her in an alley and cover her up with booze. That would be a hassle, one I would be glad to not do, especially since I need to waste some good spirit to make it look like she wasted herself. But I felt relatively safe, for my sensors should easily be able to spot them kilometres away. I should've had them activated from the beginning, then the now drunken battleship wouldn't have crashed into me, but sadly I can't change the past, so it is not so damn important. Leaving the faults of earlier actions behind me, I redirected my focus to the present and the ways ahead of me. The kilometre of distance that I would need to cover to reach my house would done again in the silent run mode.

I looked around to set my paranoid tendencies at ease, but instead of ensuring mental peace, I ended up with confusion. Standing here at a naval base, highly specialised with a new super weapon and in newly renovated, but there were no guards walking around. Before I went to the crane to call my friend, I expected that I would need to sneak around like in a stealth shooter, but I found myself mildly surprised with the lack of threats. Maybe I am the only one here in this area and there is nothing to guard here, thinking back there was a checkpoint that I saw before I entered this section of the base, but still, the enemy could easily use this as a landing point for infiltrations. Hmmm, could it be? I spiked up my senses, not increasing the scan area, but rather the intensity of the searching process. Then everything became clear to me, my bungalow wasn't placed in some kind of unused junk yard, but at the barrack section. Not for the soldiers, there would still be guards lurking around, but for the ship girls. If something would dare to attack here, they would be facing something different than a normal sentry unit. I also identified some hidden radar units, HQ would immediately send them a signal and if they are similar to me, then they could quickly get up on short notice and be deployed in quick succession. If I were the commander here, I would still order some of them to patrol thou.

Without a warning something popped up upon my scanner, I came closer with a fast speed, comparable to someone running for their life. It came from the direction of my house. I scanned again, this time for further information about the subject. Gaining the intel, I found out that it was no human, but also not an Abyssal, meaning that it could only be a ship girl. But what would she be doing at this time? Did she saw me on the crane and now wants to confront me? I took the worst option as a base for further action and went into combat mode.

Activating Combat Operating System

0%...50%...Complete

Starting 360° view

Deploying electro-magnetic sensor field

Hyper Threading activated

I drew my trusted combat knife and face the charging girl, ready for a potential fight. The knife was specially crafted for my needs, made out of an alloy that includes titanium and tungsten, furthermore strengthened with carbon fibre and directly linked to my body, so that I could apply static energy to it, if needed. In preceding battles it has proved to be an invaluable item, as this knife was easily capable of piercing abyssal body armour, that was impervious to normal rifle rounds. Even the rounds had a hard time passing by and most of the time just ricochet of, instead of piercing. But this knife proofed itself in past battles, as some of my tasks considered of infiltrating bases in close vicinity. After the second battle of Jutland, I was deployed to clear the enemy naval base on the island of Helgoland, where it saw a lot of use. Killing the enemy from stealth positions became the standard procedure. While I could fight one in a normal hand to hand battle, it would be more complicated, if tens of them would surround me. So I kept up with this standard procedure and hid behind some convenient crates that were standing besides me.

The signature came closer with every inch, my sensors flaring up with the incoming signature, I prepared myself for the, hopefully not, incoming threat. Five hundred meters, that was the distance my sensors told me that the enemy was away from my location. While these numbers just meant that she was a certain distance away from me, there was certain tactical value to this gap. There were two options for me to take, the first one would be a direct confrontation, jumping out from the cover when she is about to pass my location. The second one would be to continue the hiding and attack her from behind. Option number two sounds better at the first glance, but if she is already aware of my position, then she could expect me to pull off something like this and trap me. Taking option one seems to be the better way here, I have no doubts that I will be able to defeat one ship girl in a fair fight, for I managed to do the same with different Abyssals.

I rushed out from cover, facing the empty space that was in front of me. The sea was to my left side, meaning that I could always make a quick escape if needed, in a normal battle of course. But the ship girl would be far deadlier on water than on land. I could theoretically dive down and hide underwater, since I don't need to breath and my inner fusion reactor can use the hydrogenium from the water to create energy. Flaring my vision with an increased energy output to life, I got a closer look on the incoming girl. She was relatively young, looking like sixteen or seventeen. She wore a orangish dress that was accentuated with the use of the usage of white fabric being put atop of the orange fabric at the ends of the wear, being arms and the opening at the neck respectively. These white parts were modified with black straps being put onto them. Moving down to the mid-section, one could see that her dress made a drastic change from the formality that it hade before and split up in a flower like shape, which partly covered the black and simple skirt that she wore underneath it. Both arms were being covered by long, black gloves and there was a kind of black tie around her neck, which belonged to the main dress. Moving from accessories to the head, I saw here carrying mid length hair, with twin tails on both sides of the head. Finishing the picture of the girl were two brown and lively eyes.

Summarizing from her looks, I now doubt that she saw me, since her running attitude is to carefree. Her expression is one of joy and not the one you carry when you want to confront someone. This lead me to believe that she was coming back from some kind of activity, but she was certainly not out to attack me. But I still remained here with caution, the knife being hold in my trousers and since I placed it close to my back, she wouldn't be able to see it and I would have and advantage in battle. She covered the remaining distance quickly and halted in front of me like some kind of speed bump was placed in opposition to her. Better than being rammed down, I guess. She looked carefully at me, taking in my features that were being presented to her. At the time I was simply clothed in one of my black t-shirts and wore a pair of jeans, so nothing special.

To my surprise she put on a smirk and said to me: `` What do we have here? A foreigner wandering around so late at night, looks suspicious to me. Are you trying to attack some of the girls while sleeping or are you just a normal voyeur? ´´

I quickly saw through her act, she was just trying have some fun and being offered a chance to partake in this game, I joined: `` I need your clothes, your boots and your motor cycle. ´´ I uttered the words with the most monotone voice I could muster and hoped that she actually saw Terminator, otherwise this scene would be awkward not just since I already wore clothes, but also because I would be asking a girl. I shortly imagined me wearing this outfit and mentally frowned at it.

But as it seemed, she knew the quote very well and chuckled a bit, then went on: `` So you must be the new admiral here. My name is Sendai, name ship of the Sandai-class light cruiser family. ´´

`` I am Scipio and as you guessed I am not the Terminator. I am intrigued by your appearance here, I thought everyone was already sleeping. Would you mind enlightening me? ´´, I asked her with a curious gaze.

Her smirk grew wider and she replied with a haughty voice: `` Doing the best thing in the world of naval combat. Night battles, of course! Just came back from beating up some weak abyssal patrol ships! ´´

`` So you're a specialist, focusing on night battles. Did you complete this task alone or were you accompanied by allies? ´´

`` All alone this time, Admiral. The enemy was just a bunch of snotty patrol ships, no further assistance was needed, for I am strong enough to deal with them on my own. And as you can see I got now scratches on me. ´´, she proudly boasted. `` While I certainly love to fight with my sisters, the sadly don't see the grace of the night. Admiral, you surely know what I mean, do you? ´´

Her sudden questions, threw me back into memories and I was reminded of my first night time mission. It was supposed to be an easy one, get into the facility, secure the data and piss off. But misfortune struck me, the data was being held in some kind of laboratory and in this room an abyssal was currently being constructed. I got the hint on this too late and I ended up fighting a freshly made one in the successive battle. Fresh from the factory and probably being some new kind of species, she was pretty strong, but lacked experience. In the end she fell prey to my trusted sword and I chopped of her head. Not wanting to waste to much time in my thoughts, I returned to the topic of the conversation. Indeed, I like the night time, especially once the time went past the 24-hour mark. At this time, nobody expects things from you, meaning that you can have your peace from the daily hassles. Also, the night sky looked fantastic, if no clouds obstructed the view.

`` Positive, me walking around here shows my affection for it. At night things can be so silent and graceful, but it also means that some predators come out from hiding and ready themselves for attacks. Fighting in the night means that you have to quickly seize chances and opportunities, meaning that a huge amount of stress is being put onto your back. The adrenaline kicks in and you begin to feel alive, truly an experience to not forget quickly. ´´

Sendai literally jumped three metres into the air and was about to yell something out, but was reminded that everyone else was sleeping already, so she controlled herself and talked to me in a more normal voice: `` Finally, someone knows what I mean by it! Everything you just said, these aspects make the battle at night so much more interesting than a normal one. The thrill from not knowing were your enemy could be keeps you primed and the look in their eyes when you surprise them is just magnificent. ´´

When I was at her age, night time activities were either drinking or gaming, the latter being the case most of the time, but often accompanied by the former. But I have regressed from this behaviour, but not since I lack the motivation and capabilities, I can pull an all-nighter after another in this current state. The reason for stopping is the lack of time that I currently have or had, depending on how much work I have here. Back in Germany, when I was not doing missions, I was either in the R&D department, helping the developers with combat feed back and my own ideas for new weapons, or spent my time doing the job of being an Admiral. Since there were still missions to do, I sometimes had to postpone certain duties, which I then had to obviously do in over time. All in all, this meant that I only had limited free time and since I am fond of drinking, free time was mostly spent in a bar with my friends. But if I managed to get a day or two, free from work and missions, I would spend them playing video games all day long. People were often wondering, if I actually sleep, since I was seen all day out and doing something. And while I don't really need to have a good slumber, I am still fond of it, since I can get rid of the weight upon my shoulders, even if it is just for some hours.

I was ripped from thought by Sendai as she said: `` It was nice meeting, a fellow being that is fond of night battles and knows of their beauty. But I need to stop the chit chat now and return to the dorm, otherwise my sisters will complain about me not getting enough sleep n'shit. ´´ She picked up her speed from before and darted away from my position but added with a wide grin: `` Bye, Admiral! Next time, we can have a night battle together! ´´

I turned around and waved her goodbye, then the weight of her last words hit me square into the face and I realized what she meant by it. `` Dafuq, this is the second time now today. Night battle? They are getting more creative every time. ´´

I made my standard sigh and continued muttering: `` Well, in school I saw even more stupid advances then the one she just made. Taking her up on the offer, can't probably bring it, being the new one here. If something like this were to leak, I would probably be in trouble and all the other ship girls would not look at me with a straight face. In Fusou's case it is even worse, since she is drunken, and one portray it in a wrong way. Even if nothing comes out in the end, the lack of cohesion woman like Fusou would have afterwards would be harmful to combat performance and not good for relations in particular. ´´

Finishing the uneventful walk to my new home, I spent my time mostly thinking of every day things. The issue of my next meal was the one, which I wrestled most with, as I couldn't seem to make a final decision about the meal I would be eating. Food probably being something, in that I tended to be on the more indecisive side compared to military decisions, I often wasted more time then needed when I concerned myself with the question of eating. Would it be something light? Something fatty? Or would I just go to a restaurant? Even ordering pizza is an option, as I found out earlier that there actually is a pizza service in this base. But even after I would have eventually made a choice, there was still another thing on which to decide upon, said entity being of relativistic tendencies and often being ignored when it comes to meetings. The time as to when I would consume my soon to be supper, is often a fickle thing to resolve on. Back in Germany, I went along for dinner with friends at a certain time or just firmly held on to a date on which I formerly settled on. But when I had free time on my hands and I spent a day's worth of time playing video games, eating became something akin to a nuisance, so I kept it in the back of my mind. This cycle of reliance on set dates and friends, but also the total neglection during gaming sessions, made me forget my inconsistency that I had with food in general. I like cooking, but when being presented with too many choices, I tend to overthink it, just like a kid in a toy store with 100 bucks at its disposal.

So, in order to nail things down and finally get it over with, I took out a one-euro piece from my blue jeans. After the dissolution of the European Euro, the New German Empire still used the Euro as a standard currency and refrained from changing back to the Deutsche Mark. Reasons for doing so were the problematics a change of currency would bring in such times of peril and the easier process of trading with other ex-EU states that also retained the Euro. So, I decided on coin tossing as a method for resolution. If it would land on its head, eating outwards would be my choice and tails meant that I would be cooking something after going shopping. I looked at the coin, head was being represented by the sign on the back of the coin, showing a picture of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, meaning that it was from Austria. On the other side, a picture of the former European Union was etched out from the coin and a 1 showed that it was worth exactly 1€. Back in my teenager years, one could be a beer or two with this amount of money. Or half a litre of coke, if you weren't interested in the famed alcoholic beverage. Energy drinks were also being favoured among us, but they couldn't keep up to the feeling of gulping down a cold beer, after having to deal with annoying teachers that keep on nagging during hot summer days. Seriously, I harboured murderous intentions for some of them.

Keeping further chit-chat away from the focus, I tossed the coin into the air. The metal object was being accelerated by my thumb, which was pressed under the index finger. With a quick motion, the potential Kinetic Energy was being released and catapulted the coin with a strongly restrained F=m*a into the air. It reached a height of roughly 30 centimetres above my right hand, before loosing momentum and being overtaken by the forces of gravity. The influence of 9.81 m/s² was quite strong and the coin raced down into the open palm of my right hand, where I caught it perfectly, closing the palm and slamming it onto the back of my left hand. Letting go of it, the coin was unveiled on my left hands back and the portray of a certain musician from Salzburg stared me reactionless into the eyes.

`` Aye, eating outwards it is then. Hope they have some good food there. ´´

While I underwent the process of playing around with a coin, making a choice for a relatively unimportant thing, I continued to undertake the process of walking to my bungalow. With the results at hand, I found myself only being a few hundred metres away from it and the angle from which light was being reflected from it, allowed me to again take in its structure. Normal look, white colour and looking alike to the two bungalows to its sides. Nothing special, but also nothing to complain about. Spending the few hundred metres in mental solitude, not finding something to think about, I went on with it. Ending a thoughtless voyage, I reached the door of the house fitted the key into its hole and after turning it around, I finally entered it. Only placing my pair of boots into the fore chamber, I quickly went on and walked into the living room, the kitchen being to my left side. I spared a glance to Fusou, who was in deep, alcohol induced slumber. I discarded the thought of showring and toothbrushing quickly, not because it would wake her up, for she was in such a state of sleep that only an explosion could wake her. I rather threw it out of the window for the sake of time. Throwing away the unnecessary excuse, since laziness was the prime motivation, I wandered the short path to my bed. But before I entered it, I still found my eyes wandering to the sleeping figure of Fusou. For a short amount of time a predatory, rather primal overtook me and forced the image of me raping her into my mind. I felt my skin tensing on, my fingers shudder from excitement. Then it continued, I saw myself desecrating her lifeless body, chopping of the extremities and indulging myself into the taste of her flesh.

`` Not. Fucking. Now. ´´, I silently muttered, pressing my artificial finger nails into the palm of my right hand. All four of them, index, middle, ring and pinkeye buried themselves shallowly into the man-made flesh of my cyborg body. Breathing. I needed to breath for a bit, a quick motion towards my jeans brought forth a small bottle of cheap brandy, which I quickly emptied. 100 millilitres of liquor later, the murderous feelings went off and I could take in the air at a normal pace again. When I mentioned killing my teachers earlier, this wasn't just a figure of speech or so. No. I really wanted to kill some of them. Back in Latin classes I often imagined myself, suddenly jumping up from my place and ramming a pair of scissors into the throat of my teacher. The same could be applied to some of my former class mates. But back then it was just a feeling hidden in the depths of my mind.

Until I started killing, then this primal urge became reality and I started to let loose, to indulge myself into the frenzy of killing in battle. When I command troops, I am clear minded and goal orientated, but when I do the fighting myself, it became something different. Lately, I started to see killing as something like a kind of art, making it gruesome would only increase its worth. Yes, I was clearly out of overdoing it, but after missions, is stayed put. But when I returned from a mission two years ago and had time off, I started to get these overthrowing, sensual attacks of murderous intent, making the form of a brutal murder appear in my mind. With every kill these images get more intense and worse, my last job was a week ago, meaning until we would be able to launch infiltration missions from here, I would need to control myself. At least I have the alcohol at my hands, in order for it to be kept at bay. But sooner or later, I will have to kill something or someone. Maybe, I can keep myself contend with killing animals? It could be helpful, but if it does not satisfy me, I could end up on a frenzy.

Hoping to find some kind of relieve in sleep, I opened the door to my sleeping room and walked into it. After I closed the entrance off, I started to open up my pair of jeans. At first, I removed the black leather belt from it, unbuttoned it and afterwards pulled down the zip. Now standing there with only boxers and a shirt, I started to get rid of the latter and pulled it over my head, which slightly destroyed my hair style, but after a quick hand motion, it was returned to its former glory. Only thing left were the boxer shorts that were also quickly discarded, making me stay here naked , in all of my glory. With two steps, I was before the rather larger bed and sat down on its right side, taking in what happened before. I decided to not worry too much and moved my legs in succession into the bed. A fitting black blanket to the white bedwear was pulled over me and I closed my eyes, quickly drifting into sleep without recounting the things that happened today.