"Are you sure of this?"

"Of course I am." In the vastness of open space, the only marker was the light of distant stars. By the time their light reached where they were, however, the star would have long died, either burnt to a used core, or destroyed by self-implosion.

Time had a different meaning to those such as Alpha.

"This simulation, despite it's rocky beginning, seems to be solidifying to a satisfactory degree." She stated, lines of code appearing around her like motes of dust.

"I do not agree." Beta replied, folding her arms. "The Director's interest in this instance bothers me. It's later than our usual time period of interest. And our… use of the Abyssals, it's stranger than any simulation we've run so far."

"Did the Director not state that we should explore more avenues in our simulations?" Alpha stated, smiling as she opened a view into a place far beyond where the two occupied. "He believes this Variant may be the one to awaken to their true potential."

"He believed that about the other Variant as well. The one that caused a backfiring cascade onto another simulation and corrupted the data beyond repair."

"Merely a step in the correct direction." Alpha's smile never left her face, what would seem soft and caring on anyone else looking more like an empty imitation. "The Variant will of course, learn soon enough. Are our allies prepared?"

"Purifier reported their readiness."

"Excellent. Have them hold off until the Variant resumes normal activity." The smile widened unnaturally, as tentacles that seemed to be part of her body began to wave around. "Her time will come soon."

"Our first shipment of fuel oil should be arriving soon, Admiral." Z23 reported. The German destroyer had effectively made herself my logistics officer, taking over the liaison with the civilian and military contractors we were now going to rely on for fuel (an effort that gave me a splitting migraine whenever I even considered the notion), and organizing the supplies we were sitting on in addition. I had to hand it to her, she did a good job.

"Thank you, Z." I said, filing the report away. "That will be all."

She saluted, then left, leaving me alone with Atago again.

The silence stretched… uncomfortably long. Sure, I knew Atago… somewhat better than I had when she became my secretary, but in all honesty, that wasn't saying much.

Breathing out through my nose, I decided against talking to Atago again. Instead, I turned my attention to an inventory list. Of note were the 40 "cubes" that we had managed to collect before the fleet was grounded. Now that fuel was no longer going to be… as much of an issue, it stood to reason that we could use them. Especially since I knew they were involved in summoning new shipgirls….

In the storeroom, I picked up two cubes from the small pile they were neatly collated in. I don't know who put them there, but they were very helpful in that.

"So… how do I do this?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"I was sort of talking to myself, Atago." I replied, staring at the two cubes in my hands. Do I just…

The two cubes pulsed with light, glowing steadily as I focused on them. I felt them start dissolving as they combined between my hands, then the mass of the cubes shot forward. The light they produced was so bright, I had to turn away until it died down.

Standing there was a tall woman. Her skin was a light brown, but what really caught me was just how much of it I could see. Her outfit consisted of a top allowing a rather generous chest to show off some, shorts that could be charitably described as short, and white leggings adorned with feathers here and there. Some more feathers were braided in her black hair, while golden bangles lined her arms. Her golden eyes flicked between me and Atago, sizing us up, maybe?

The next thing I noticed was her rigging. It was rather substantial, which was a key tipper that she was a battleship. Nine guns in three triple turrets swiveled around on the side of two rigging segments, which I noticed had large shield-shaped protrusions on them.

Just like that, there she was.

"I'm South Dakota." She said, plainly and simply. "I will be the strongest shield that protects you and your fleet, Admiral."

"I- okay." I said. "Glad to have you on board, South Dakota." I stuck out my hand. She took it, quickly, and then dropped it just as fast.

"Um…." Both of us looked over at Atago, who was trying to do her best impression of wallpaper, and failing rather miserably.

"Atago? Are you alright?" I asked, before South Dakota interrupted me.

"You…. You were there on that night." She stated. Atago nodded, taking a step back.

"South Dakota?..." I asked.

"Have no fear. I will not harm you." The battleship said, dismissing her rigging. "What's in the past is in the past. If we are in battle together, I will protect you the same as any other."

I exhaled slightly. So far, so good….

"Hmmmm, hmm, hmmmm… Oh!" The three of us turned to see another shipgirl. Her… bovine ears twitched as she glanced at each of us in turn. "Um… if I had known I'd be having guests, I'd have straightened up a little…"

Atago decided that was the right time to pass out, though whether from fear or relief, I didn't know.

"See? She's just fine, nya."

"Of course, but better safe than sorry, Akashi." I sighed, rubbing my face as Atago sat up in the infirmary. "Thanks for carrying her here, Dakota."

"Of course." The battleship replied.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble…" The cowgirl, who had introduced herself as Kashino on the way over, poked her fingers together.

"It's alright." I sighed. "Hopefully, this is the most excitement we have until operations resume."

Yes, I know you can't build South Dakota out of cubes and that she's only available for merit. Shut up.

My inspiration for writing is like hotel wifi: spotty, inconsistent, and only lasts for an hour or two. Oh, and I passed my classes for this semester. So I've successfully not failed at college again.