Chapter 4
* I know sounded like I knew what I was talking about yesterday, but if I'm being totally honest here... everything I 'know' about managing a fleet, making up plans, and all this other Shipgirl related stuff either came from video games, stuff I read, or whatever else Akashi taught me before we got the 'Construction Site' up and running... In other words, it's all half-assed and/or incomplete knowledge!
Don't get me wrong. I'm well aware that all of this is my fault, and I can't take any of it back now that it's come this far. Seriously, I'm fucking scared out of my mind that I'll fuck all this up and get these girls killed because my dumb ass just didn't want to die all alone stranded on some hidden island out in the middle of nowhere! There's no way in hell I could handle that! I mean, being alone fucking sucks!
...I really didn't expect any of this to go as far as it did, but here we are. In the end, I'm glad that I didn't have to try and hide this shit from them. Well, the alcohol probably helped, but yeah.
...
...Still, if I'm gonna go through all this sci-fi turned reality bullshit and risk life and limb then I think I deserve getting a harem out of the deal goddammit! AND FUCK ANYBODY WHO DISAGREES!
...Besides, I promised them all that we'd get through all this together! *
xxx xxx xxx
August 29th, 2023 - Early afternoon.
In a recently discovered, large building located on the west side of the island.
"...What, exactly, am I staring at?" Liam asked with slightly widened eyes and mild awe in his voice as he took in the sight of the large metal monstrosity in front of him, Akashi, Eugen, and Eldridge.
"...Big ship," was the little blonde zapper's instant and simple reply, eliciting giggles from her fellow shipgirls as she hopped up and down in front of the strange ship while Liam just gently patted the excited, smaller girl's head.
"Very true, but what I was asking though was... just what the hell kinda ship is this thing supposed to be?"
Swiping past a few 'pages' on her tablet, Akashi soon found the info she was looking for and spoke up. "...Nya, nya... According to the files I was able to access, it's the third 'Aerial Combat Support Carrier' of experimental 'Hyperion Class' airships."
"...Wait, Azur Lane seriously built something as ridiculous as that!?"
Akashi nodded while skimming through her table a bit more. "Apparently, it was a joint development project between the Azur Lane Alliance's armed forces, SNRI(Strategic Naval Research Institute), and the privately contracted Fairchild Group; one of the largest internationally well known manufacturers headquartered in the Eagle Union. These airships were designed to be mobile command, transport, and support craft that Commanders could use to oversee and assist their Shipgirls during field operations. Not counting the Commander and maybe a small support crew, they're large enough to carry up to fifteen Shipgirls, or two full standard fleets accompanied by either a full submarine support fleet or three reserve standard fleet Shipgirls. They are protected by thick plates of specially made reactive armor with shield nodes laced throughout the hull. Armaments include several ether based and standard solid shell heavy batteries and smaller CIWS for defense.
"...Uh, not that having such a cool ass airship wouldn't be super useful to have around, but... how I have no clue how to pilot/fly something like that. I was just a plain ex-office grunt, remember?" Liam muttered while still looking up at the docked airship. "Still, I bet we could've at least put up a halfway decent fight against the Sirens if we had these things in the field. Maybe even won if you girls could've been deployed too... Oh well."
"Perhaps, but there's no point in dwelling on any of those far off 'what-ifs'. Besides, we're here now," Eugen said with a confident smirk as she patted her Kommandant on the shoulder before throwing a glance over to Akashi. "By the way Fraulein Akashi, what's this ship's name?"
"Oh, right. Not counting the class's namesake ship, the other two are named 'Liberty' and 'Amaterasu'. Apparently, each of them were named in the country they were built in. For example, the Hyperion was built in Europe, specifically in the Britannian Royal Islands. This ship, the Liberty, was built in the Union before being sent here while the Amaterasu was built on the main island of Sakura Empire, nya," Akashi explained with a hint of pride after learning that her homeland also built one of these technological marvels. "However, it seems only the Hyperion was put into active service before the Sirens won. The Amaterasu, on the other hand, wasn't finished when Azur Lane fell while the Liberty was left behind the island was abandoned for whatever reason."
"Okay. I get that good luck is a thing, but this is fucking ridiculous. I mean, what are the chances that I'd not only luck out in 'constructing' you Shipgirls, but then find a freaking aerial battleship carrier too! I mean, is this real? Like, really real?"
...
*ZAP!*
"...GGGYYYYAAAAHHHH!"
"...Oh my~"
"Nyahahaha! ...Seriously!?"
"...Commander?"
"...Ye, Yeah...? Wh, What can I help you with Miss Eldridge?" Yeah, Liam didn't want to get zapped again.
"Real?" cutely asked the petite, blonde zapper as she knelt by her beloved twitching, still shocked Commander.
"...Yeah, I guess this is real. But did you really have to zap me?" Eldridge replied simply, all the while smiling ever so innocently.
"Look at this way, mein Kommandant. Just think of all this as making up for having led such a boring life until now," Eugen reassured teasingly into the poor zapped man's ear, sending a shiver down his spine with each and every word.
"...Okay..," was all the shocked and flustered fool of a man could say as he shakily picked himself up off the ground.
"So, now that we've gotten all of... whatever that was out of the way. Should I go get the other girls in here so we can all check out the ship together, nya?" Akashi asked, rolling her eyes at her fellow fleet sisters' antics before looking back down at her tablet. "Oh right, I think the new girls should be about ready to 'wake up' soon too so you should probably go get them, Shikikan." Akashi then proceeded to get in touch with the others who were still in the middle of exploring the island themselves.
"Right, leave it to me."
"And don't you worry Shikikan! I'll be sure make you feel all better later to make up for the zapper being so mean to you, nya~!" suggestively teased the cat-eared verdette as Liam made his out. Naturally, her intentions did not go unnoticed to those present, especially Eldridge.
"...Hmph!" was the little blonde's reply, followed by a light shock aimed at her best frenemy.
"...Nya!? ...Dammit! Hhhiisss! How dare you! Get back here!
- fifteen or so minutes later, Lab XIII's third subbasement 'Construction Site' -
Just a minute or two after the room cleared of the characteristic white smoke of a finished 'construction', Liam found himself greeting the latest batch of newly arrived Shipgirls. Well, most of them anyway '...Wait a second, is one of them actually asleep on the floor!? And naked!?'
"...Zzzzzz..."
"...Okay, I don't actually mind her sleeping there like that I guess. But, couldn't she have at least put on some clothes?" Liam muttered, not exactly sure how to react to the little bunny themed girl curled up in a ball and sawing logs on the floor. "...Anyway... Leaving her aside for now," the young man began with a resigned sigh before turning his attention to the other two in the room. "Nice to meet you. I'm Liam Archer and, er... I guess I'm the, Commander around here...?"
The first to respond, and standing to the left of her companion was a short, fair skinned girl with bright sky blue eyes and slightly past shoulder length lilac colored hair done up in a bushy, pineapple high ponytail dressed in a sailor uniform styled outfit colored in white, grey, and cobalt blue with matching boots. All in all, she gave off the look and feel of an energetic, affectionate girl in her mid teens. "Oh ho~? So you're our Commander, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you too! I'm Royal Navy Destroyer Javelin!" she then pointed over to the equally short and petite beauty on her right with long, straight light blonde hair and amber eyes who was busy trying to wake up the still sleeping, and very naked, bunny(?) girl behind them. "The quiet one there is Sakura Empire Destroyer Ayanami, while the sleepy one behind us is Laffey, an Eagle Union Destroyer! We might've only just met but I can tell that we'll be the best of friends!" Ayanami simply nodded in response to the purplette's words while the still snoozing Laffey just rolled over, swatting the quiet blonde's poking hand away. Liam, for his part, just chuckled at the trio's antics.
"Javelin, Ayanami, and Laffey huh? Alright, got it," Liam replied with a nod. Then, without another word and fighting back every evil, vile, and lewd thought Laffey's naked form and cute expression was undeniably eliciting, he took off his heavy jacket and gently wrapped it around her before lifting her into his arms bridal style. "Now, that the introductions are out of the way, let's head up to the dorms and see if we can get sleeping beauty here to wake up before doing anything else."
- In the Dorms' first floor common living area -
"...Yyyaaawwwnnn..!" Rubbing her sleep filled eyes awake as she slowly sat herself up on the couch she found herself on, Laffey only had one thing to say. "...Whatever smells so yummy, I want some...!"
"Holy shit it worked!" Liam exclaimed nearby, extra large plate of curry and rice in hand.
"Told ya so!" Javelin proudly declared, hands on her hips and puffing out her modest chest. "Nobody can resist the smell of awesome and well made food!"
Belfast, who made the food, was happy for another job well done and the compliments. "Very kind of you to say, Miss Javelin."
Meanwhile.
"...Um, hey, Miss Laffey...?"
"...Mm?" *nom, nom, nom... swallow* "...What's up? ...Seconds?" Laffey asked, looking up at her Commander after wiping out half the plate she all but snatched from his hands.
"...I, um, hate to interrupt you while you're eating, but can you please put on some clothes? I mean, you can do that weird materialization thing too right? Like with your rigging and weapons?" Liam half asked, half pleaded while doing his best to not give into his lower half and ogle the cute and naked girl on the couch savoring every bite of her meal without a care in the world. Incidentally, the only thing she was wearing were a pair of bunny ear hair clips she used to keep her hair up in two big and fluffy mega twintails.
"...Huh?" Swallowing another bite of food, Laffey took a moment to look down at herself in her current state of undress before looking back up at a flustered Liam who was doing his damnedest to not look her way... even if he really, REALLY wanted to. "...Oh. Right. Sorry about that." And, without another word, Laffey's body was soon covered in a bright, light purple light that lingered for but a moment before receding as quickly as it came. "...Better?"
Liam, grateful that his willpower won out, nodded. "Much."
And then, Laffey decided to take that moment to smash that resolve with a sledgehammer.
"...Y'know. I really didn't mind if you wanted to enjoy the view for a bit longer, Commander..." Liam had no clue how to react to that and just stood there while Laffey, for her part, just kept digging into her second (or third maybe third?) helping of curry. As for the other Shipgirls...
"...Laffey's so bold~!" declared a very excited yet embarrassed Javelin. 'Dammit! I should've tried something like that!' Inward, however... Ayanami, on the other hand, just gave her equally odd and eccentric fellow destroyer a hearty thumbs up.
"Oh my," commented Belfast, slender hand to her mouth, very much amused at the scene.
"Oh she's good, that one..," Eugen quietly observed. 'With sisters like her around, it seems like I might need to work a bit harder myself. Not that I mind sharing per se mind you, but I want first dibs!'
Akashi and Eldridge, on the other hand, were too busy eating and messing with each other to pay too much attention, otherwise there would be a lot more zapping. Not like there wouldn't be any later though.
- Later that afternoon, back inside the Liberty's dock -
"...Are we really gonna be using that? I mean it's really cool and all, but isn't something like that gonna make us stick out like a sore thumb?" Alabama asked in her usual relaxed and easygoing tone.
"True," Liam conceded. "But it isn't like the Sirens aren't gonna notice us anyway when we end up having to fire on each other, so I'm pretty sure we're gonna stick out either way. Just saying."
"Okay, fair point. Still, that leaves the issue of actually getting this ship to move."
"No need to worry about that, nya~!" Akashi energetically spoke up, her ever trusty tablet in hand. "While Belfast-san was busy making us a super tasty lunch, I managed to find just the thing that could help us operate the Liberty, nya~! That's right! That's right! Feel free to heap on the praise for yours truly! Nyahahaha~!"
...
*...Zap*
"Nyanya!? ...Hhiisss! Wh, What was that for!?"
"...Green Cat. Bad!"
"Killjoy."
Liam quickly moved to stop these two ever bickering best frenemies from derailing things with another of their now usual bickering spats. "Now, now. That's enough of that, okay?" He then gently put his hands on, and gently pat, both shipgirls' heads before steering things back on track. "So, what was that you were saying, Akashi?"
"...Nnnyyyaaann...~" Akashi narrowed her eyes in delight as her feline ears twitched ever so slightly. "...R, Right... So, like I was saying... I managed to find the server containing the Liberty's AI. It was created and designed to help Commanders as something like a personal assistant while running more of the carrier's more process heavy functions in the background and/or assisting as a tactical forecaster when necessary, nya."
"...And just when in the hell did science and technology get so far goddamned advanced anyway..!?" Liam wondered aloud, really more to himself than anyone else.
"Well, it's pretty much like what happened with how we Shipgirls were conceived, nya." Akashi replied.
"...Huh?"
"I mean, until the discovery of the 'Origin Cube', which later led to the creation of the 'Wisdom Cube' along with the inclusion of modern alchemy, mankind couldn't create us Shipgirls. It's the same thing here. It wasn't until just VERY recently that the Azur Lane Alliance, and mankind as a whole, had the technology to create something like flying battle ships and true AI... Ironically, it was because of the old Siren tech that scientists managed to get their hands on during the final years of the First Siren War decades ago too."
Eugen couldn't help but chuckle after hearing that. "So, another case of humans shamelessly and desperately 'fighting fire with fire' then, hmm? Well, not that I mind. I actually rather like that about humans though."
"I agree, nya. Besides, it'd be weird if humans 'didn't' do everything they could to beat the Sirens. I mean, we're living proof of that truth. Anyway, the brilliant minds at the SNRI eventually succeeded in reverse engineering at least some of that captured Siren tech and derived both the float system and material for the reactive armor used to construct the Liberty and her sister ships. The AI, however was created using programming code based on the psychological and personality profiles of us Shipgirls that was later loaded onto Siren tech derived 'black boxes'. Though, for all their genius and creativity, those scientists had really crappy naming sense, nya..," continued the verdette catgirl, finishing her explanation.
"So what's it called?" Liam asked, wondering if the name was really as bad as Akashi believed.
"Her full name is... 'Navigator: The Bridge', or 'TB' for short...," Akashi unhappily replied.
"...Wow, that really is a crappy name," Liam readily agreed.
"See? Anyway, come on," Akashi motioned. "We'll need to head aboard and wake her up so we can connect her to the island's main server first before we do anything else."
- Inside the Liberty, main connecting server room -
*Tap, tap, tap, tap*
"I'm really glad the Liberty's connecting server runs on a separate energy circuit line from the rest of the ship, nya," Akashi said cheerfully as she busily ran through window after window setting everything up.
*Tap, tap, tap... TAP!*
"...And, that's it! All done, nya~!"
Visibly impressed by the electronic sorcery the cat-eared verdette was using to bring the aerial battleship to life, Liam and the others stood behind her with bated breath and no small amount of excitement as her final key strokes signaled the activation of a special holographic display system went online.
"So what do you think this Tb will look like?" Liam asked.
"No clue, but I really think we should give her a new name," Sara replied. "I mean, what girl wants a name like 'The Bridge', ugh. Not Sister Sara, that's for sure. Anyhoo, good luck, Commander~!"
"...but, I really suck at naming things," Liam countered.
Saratoga giggled. "Maybe, but I'm sure you'd still do a better job than the 'The Bridge'." The other girls, Akashi included, nodded.
While in the midst of their little chat, the ship's holographic projection system finished booting up and quickly created the image of a young, barefoot and pretty girl with a slender build who stood about as tall as Saratoga. The expressionless looking projected AI girl wore a simple yet still somehow fancy looking one piece white dress with no sleeves and ended just a little past her thighs, a pair of fluffy looking wrist cuffs and, lastly, what looked like a strange cross between cables and a scarf around her neck. Her voluminous hair reached just a bit past her ears styled in a loose bob with bangs covering her right eye. What stood out the most to everyone, however, was her near total lack of color. As in, she was almost as white as her dress save for her black painted nails and scarf(?), her beautiful electric blue eyes, and the single tuft of equally electric blue hair that hung loosely with the bangs covering her right eye. All in all, she possessed an almost ethereal, otherworldly beauty that, coupled with her slightly transparent holographic body, seemed as fragile as delicate glass and would shatter at the slightest touch. Honestly, everyone in the room was rendered speechless as they just spent a whole minute just staring at each other before the soon to be renamed AI spoke up in a quiet and soft voice; her gaze fixed squarely on Liam.
"... Are you my Commander?"
'Oh wow. Her voice is really pretty,' Liam thought before making sure the AI girl was actually speaking to him. Yeah, he was still kind of dumb like that. "You mean me?"
"...Who else would I be asking about? After all, you're the only male present," deadpanned the surprisingly snarky and blunt AI.
"...Urk. Um right. Forgot about that little detail." The other girls just giggled. "Then, yeah. I guess I am your Commander. Name's Liam by the way; Liam Archer. Anyway, nice to meetcha!"
"TB, and likewise," greeted the surprisingly hyper life-like AI in return with a slight yet warm smile barely gracing her near expressionless, doll-like face. She then turned her attention to the assembled Shipgirls. "And you all are? Other than Kansen, I mean."
"I'm... Ayanami, Sakura Empire Destroyer, yes. Um, I don't really understand all the complicated stuff about you being an AI and whatnot, but still, it's nice to meet you," said the slender blonde by way of introduction. Honestly, so much was happening today that she could barely keep up and was secretly glad she could actually contribute something today, mentally fist pumping while slightly smiling brightly on the outside.
Next up was the petite magical idol girl themed pinkette, complete with some kind of cute intro pose. "I'm Sister Sara, Eagle Union Aircraft Carrier~!"
Followed by the ever reliable (super) maid with a deep and elegant, practiced bow. "Royal Navy Light Cruiser and Master's ever loyal Head Maid, Belfast. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"...Eldridge. Um, Eagle Union Destroyer," monotonously greeted the little blonde, all the while occasionally emitting little sparks here and there around her.
"Yo. I'm Alabama, Eagle Union Battleship."
"...Eagle Union Destroyer, Laffey. I, um, like cola, fighting, Commander... and sleeping..." She then turned to look up at said Commander. "...Speaking of sleep. Wanna take a nap with me later, Commander...?"
"...Um, sure? But let's get talk about that later, okay?" Liam replied, gently ruffling the barely awake Shipgirl's super soft hair while she just nodded lazily in return, eyes narrowed in utter contentment like all was right with the world. Liam didn't know it, but he had unknowingly discovered Laffey's fifth most favorite thing in the world... headpats.
"Oh? Are we sharing hobbies too then? Well then, Guten tag. I'm Prinz Eugen, Iron Blood Heavy Cruiser. Charmed," casually greeted the buxom, curvaceous and ever teasing silver haired beauty. "Now, as for hobbies? Messing (sometimes lewdly) with people I really like, scheming, and drinking." Incidentally, that last bit about drinking really piqued Laffey's interest while Belfast, who knew the silver haired beauty very well by now, just quietly giggled at her dear fleet sister's easygoing introduction.
"...Did she seriously just say scheming, nya?"
"...But, isn't Green Cat the same way?"
"...Only with Shikikan, nya!"
*...Zap!*
"...Hhiiss! Oh don't act like you aren't the same blondie!"
"Hmph!"
"...Oh? You like a good drink too...?" Laffey asked the taller and bustier twintailed shipgirl.
"Sure do little rabbit."
"...Good to know..." Striking common ground, the pair moved off to the side and started chatting away, surprising everyone, minus TB, at how much (marginally) more lively and energetic the usually perpetually sleepy bunny had become.
"U,Um. He, Hello," timidly cut in a shy purplette holding her stuffed Uni snugly to her chest. "I, It's nice to meet you! I'm R, Royal Navy Light Aircraft Carrier U, Unicorn...!" After that, her much more energetic fellow purplette went to introduce herself next.
"Heya~! I'm Royal Navy Destroyer Javelin~! Let's get along, yeah?"
"And last but certainly not least is me~! Sakura Empire Repair Ship and tinkerer extraordinaire, Akashi, nya~! Oh, and I'm the one who found and woke you up by the way."
"Thank you for waking me up and allowing me to fulfill my intended purpose. Now, before we continue any further, I have a request of you, Commander."
"...Request?"
The AI nodded at her Commander's question. "Yes, and don't worry, it shouldn't be anything too difficult."
"Oh okay, then what's up?"
"Could you, as my newly registered Commander, please suggest a new personal identification code for this TB unit?"
"...Wait, so 'TB' isn't your name then?"
"...No, of course it's not," replied the AI like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "'Navigator: The Bridge', or 'TB', is simply a placeholder until such time as I was to be formally and officially registered to a new Commander and his attached fleet. Seeing as this situation more or less follows that protocol, then it is only natural that we move on to the next step: giving me my own personal identification code or, put more simply, I request that you give me my own name to fully register me as a member of your fleet. This act also serves as the final verification step needed for me to fully access all the currently locked functions I will need to better assist you and run this aerial carrier from now on."
Liam turned to an equally surprised verdette as she was busy skimming through her tablet. "Did you know about that, Akashi?" However, before she could answer.
"That little detail isn't recorded in any of my related documentation as it was decided that, for various reasons, that only I and my sister AI's would, circumstances permitting, share once we properly went online. This method also served as a final security measure in the event that the person we met with proved to be untrustworthy and/or wholly inadequate to be our Commander."
"...And what would you have done if you decided I was untrustworthy and/or inadequate then?"
"Simple. I would've deleted any and all sensitive material before locking down every system I currently had access to. I would then enter deep sleep mode until such time as I was successfully reactivated. However, seeing as I've properly acknowledged you as my Commander, there is no need to worry about any of that."
"...Holy crap we seriously lucked out, nya!" Akashi exclaimed, echoing everyone else's, and especially Liam's, thoughts.
"Yeah, we really did..," Liam agreed with a sigh of relief. "So right, about that name... I do have one idea lined up, actually."
"Oh?" The curious AI couldn't help but wonder just what sort of name her new Commander would give her.
"Metis."
"As in the oceanid nymph from ancient Greek mythology and the mother of Athena whose name is also related to 'wisdom'? That Metis?" She didn't really let it show but the AI, now named Metis, was rather impressed and pleased with the name Liam chose for her.
"...Er, yeah? I dunno. It just sorta, seemed like a perfect fit for you, I guess? ...No good?"
The ghost like, electric blue eyed girl shook her head. "Not at all. It is a very good name. So yes, I will now register 'Metis' as my personal identification code."
"Sweet!" Liam was very happy he didn't screw this up and made the AI very happy as well.
"...Hoh~? I didn't know you had an interest in subjects like mythology and history," Prinz Eugen observed teasingly. "Didn't you say that you were just an ordinary office grunt before now?"
Liam nodded. "I was, but I always liked stuff like this. Not really big into reading but whenever I played a new RPG or something, a lot of them tended to use ancient mythology as an inspiration or as a direct reference in their world settings and lore so sometimes I got really curious about the source material they drew from," he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Ah, so you're the type who only puts his all into things when the subject interests you, huh?" Saratoga remarked, playfully ribbing the older and taller man lightly in the ribs.
"...I guess so, yeah. Haha."
"...As interesting as learning that little tidbit was," Metis cut in having suddenly appeared closer to them without anyone noticing. "I must ask what your current plans are if I am to better carry out my duties."
"Huh? Oh, right. Well, you see...-"
From there, Liam and the other Shipgirls gave Metis a fairly detailed yet summarized rundown of everything that happened after he arrived on the island.
- One hour later -
"I see. So you're building up your fleets to soon begin scouting runs in order to train up said fleets, gather intel on Siren activity, and hopefully secure external supply lines to get whatever you might need that can't be produced on the island with the overall long term goal of waging a war against the Sirens under the assumption that you aren't likely to get any reinforcements any time soon since the Azur Lane Alliance, and mankind as a whole, lost to the Sirens. Am I understanding all this correctly, Commander?" Metis calmly asked in her usual quiet, soft-spoken voice.
"...Yeah, pretty much," Liam, not quite as confidently as he would've liked, confirmed. "Like I told the others, I'm not an expert with all this military planning stuff but here I am. I mean, it's already way too late to turn back now... That, and I owe you and these girls too much to not even try, y'know?"
"...Owe us? What do you mean?"
"Okay maybe not 'owe', exactly, but I'm responsible for bringing these Shipgirls to life and waking you up. I dunno, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can't really do all that and 'not' be there for you guys, right?" Liam clumsily tried to explain.
"...And, is that all? Is it merely obligation then?"
"What? No, no of course not. Okay, not 'just' that anyway," Metis couldn't help but slightly raise a curious eyebrow. "...Well, they're all really pretty and badass, and I want to stick with them til the end..." The assembled Shipgirls couldn't help but smile at their almost too honest and awkward Commander.
"...Hmm." Metis, not giving away what she thought behind that expressionless, pretty face of hers remained quiet as she fully digested and thought over what Liam has said so far. And then, after nearly a full minute of silence. "...Well I can think of worse reasons for wanting a real life battle harem I suppose."
"...The fuck!?" Out of everything Liam thought she'd say, that was not it... and, it didn't help that the his shipgirls weren't even trying to deny what Metis called them.
"What? That's what a Commander's fleet essentially is," Metis bluntly said before almost carelessly adding. "...Huh, I guess that includes me now too, doesn't it?"
"I like this girl!" Eugen declared. "Oh I think we're going to get along just fine~!"
"Thank you, Prinz Eugen. I feel the same way. Anyway, let's work on making these plans happen," Metis said after making her first friend in the buxom, silver haired Iron Blood girl. "And, I think we should start by getting me, or rather the Liberty that is, launched as soon as possible."
xxx xxx xxx
Dorms: Ayanami, Javelin, and Laffey's rooms.
* ...Today, was really rough. Like, not so much hectic as it was... hard to keep up with? Yeah, that's it. Way too many tings over my head... Ugh, whatever! All I need to know how to do is fight, protect my sisters, and follow my Commander to the very end! Yes!
Oh, but TB, sorry I mean Metis, was really cool! Not sure how I feel about humans using Siren technology, but then again, we were born from Wisdom Cubes and literal magic, so I guess it's okay? Again, I don't really get it either, but yeah... Anyway, I'm just glad she's on our side. Hmm, I wonder if she'll get a real body like we did? I hope so. And speaking of fighting and Sirens... I can't wait to show them why I was known as a 'Demon'! Yes! *
* ...Commander is a lightweight, but makes a good pillow. Eugen is... a kindred spirit, for spirits. But forget all that. This bed, is RREEAALLLLYY comfy...! *
* So many new sisters! I got to meet Commander! Everyone was super, SUPER nice!
Then there was also that flying ship he showed us too! Oh, and Metis! Omigosh, so much happened today that I can barely wrap my head around it all...!
Okay, okay! Deep breaths Javelin, deep breaths! If you wanna show Liam how much of a mature lady you are, then you gotta work on keeping calm and, and...oh, but wasn't Liam so cute whenever he got all flustered though? No! Stop spacing out!
Dammit girl! What did I just say about showing off how mature you are!
...Right, journal, so yeah, never mind then. Honestly, I guess I'm just too excited for our upcoming sortie! And I can't wait to see how we put the Liberty into action either!
Hmm. I guess that's really all I wanted to say. Man, I'm really glad we have these, though I'm definitely never gonna let anyone else see this though..!
Anyway, goodnight! *
xxx xxx xxx
A/N:
And that's ch. 4 down!
I wanted to post this at the end of October but the editing/clean up, as usual, takes forever. Sorry about that.
I plan to roll out Ch. 5 later this month though, so there's that I guess.
Welp, today's second fleet shipgirls were some of the starters! I, actually hadn't planned for that so much as I just really liked these three. I blame the cuteness that is 'Slow Ahead' So much cute wholesomeness!
Oh, and there was also TB, or Metis in this world.
I wanted to see her more involved in the main story so yeah, here she is. I also wanted to show that mankind would use anything and everything to give them an edge against the Sirens since they barely won against them the first time so many decades ago. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out and mankind lost the second time the Sirens came. Yeah, they learned their lessons and took their time in order to win this time around, not that mankind didn't try their damnedest though.
But, as Liam has and, hopefully, is showing... humans don't like giving up and aren't afraid of using whatever they can find to hopefully win the next time around.
But yeah, next chapter will see everyone's first foray into the wider ocean beyond!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and see you next time!