Ah, the beach; the beating sun; the rolling waves crashing against the sun-baked sand; a nice break from the time in the bunker, and from all this time spent working and thinking and monologuing. It took me some time to convince Haruna that humans need some sunlight to stop greater health issues, but I did it, admittedly after she confessed that she was having problems convincing the rest of my faction that I was still alive. So I guess we killed a bunch of birds with the same stone here, since I took this time to allow 50% of the base to also have this beach day off, with the other 50% getting I.O.U.s for the next beach day. It seems everyone was satisfied with that arrangement, with half of the human and Shipgirl personnel having a blast, and the other half being on "guard duty" in and among the beach-goers, helping out with beach volleyball games, or keeping watch at the snack bar.
For me, I am lying back on a beach chair under an umbrella. My naturally fair skin became a pasty white after months of living the troglodyte life, and any direct exposure to the sun would probably cause greater problems. Haruna is right beside me, of course, on duty as my personal body guard. Don't let her white bikini under an unzipped white parka fool you - as per video game logic, that makes her faster and increases her evasion. We are lounging together, ice cold lemonade in hand, keeping watch over the beach-goers' antics. I find my gaze constantly wandering over to her, to her silky smooth thighs, up her elegant frame, to meet her hazel eyes. We pause, then giggle a bit as if we were a young couple who had only just started going out, and then go back to taking in the sights and sounds of other people having a good time.
A bunch of pretty impressive sandcastles are being made; a bunch of human staff are being built into pretty impressive sandcastles; submarines are refereeing breath-holding competitions; I think we spotted a few romantic advances, most being rejected. A few Shipgirls and human personnel come by to check on how I have been doing, and I happily shoot the breeze with them to assure them that I am alright and that order will be restored in due time.
As noon turned to evening, we see a bunch of mobile grills being rolled out. I guess it is time for a nice seaside barbecue. Haruna guesses that I am hungry, so she offers to go help out with the grilling and getting my food exactly the way I like it: cooked with love! Of course, I accept, and promise to holler if I need help. And with that, she goes off to join the grilling.
I use this time alone as an opportunity for introspection, to get lost in my thoughts as I always tend to do when alone. As my mind stews in the juxtaposition between this idyllic existence and the escalating coup, I become vaguely aware of someone approaching me from behind. I turn my head to notice some woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail wielding a sheathed katana coming towards me. She is also wearing an absolutely outrageous white one-piece swimsuit but that isn't important.
"Can I help you?" I ask half-heartedly.
"Admiral Johannes Siegfried Krauss, I am here to finish the job my sister gave her life for. I am Takao from High Command, and today I shall put an end to this foolish insurr..."
She is cut off, just as a red spot starts forming right between her massive breasts. her hand limply moves towards her katana hilt, barely managing to unsheathe an inch of it before she crumples to the ground, choking on her own blood.
"Loose lips sink ships, Teitoku," chirped my darling.
"Yeah, if this is the best those morons are sending over, I'm surprised we even lasted so long against the Abyssals," I quip, knowing the actual thinking is being done by the frontline personnel.
Haruna kneels over to calmly yank her signature knife out of the body with one hand, as the other is holding a plate with 2 burgers.
We sit down to enjoy our meal, over which we discuss how dispose of the body. The commotion has drawn some attention, and some people come over to check out what's going on. We casually explain the situation, and a few of them volunteer to watch over the body while we decide the future course of action. In the end we chose to drag the body some distance off shore and dump it there.
The personnel on guard duty went to prep a speedboat, while some Shipgirls got their equipment to escort the boat out. One of my men came back with me to me with a pair of binoculars to let me confirm the body is properly dispatched.
I watch as the speedboat sailed out about 500m before dumping the body wrapped in a tarp. The tarp floats. Damn, she is still alive. I overhear some chatter coming from the walkie-talkie on a maintenance officer near us. I catch something about them being lucky they have some heavy guns on hand, before seeing the boat and the Shipgirls move away from the body. A searchlight on the speedboat illuminates the body, as one of the taller girls, most likely Nachi, fires a salvo. There is a magnificent report, but the body shows itself just barely above the water as the shell splashes die down. Another girl fires a single torpedo, and with another magnificent spout of water, the tarp finally slips beneath the waves.
All of them come back and finish stowing their equipment just as the fireworks begin. And it is under the dazzling display and the oohs and aahs of the crowd that Haruna's hand reaches out to mine. Our fingers intertwine as I once again find my eyes wandering to meet hers, and unlike the cliches in anime, words aren't needed to convey our feelings for each other.