On the morning of August 20, 2017 sisters Amelia and Francine Murphy arrived at the branch location for the Office of Naval Parapsychology in Seattle for an examination that many young women have been through since the start of the Abyssal Crisis. As the two are twins, their numbers for the "Special Draft" were the same. The tests indicated that Francine did posses the capacity to become a Fleet Girl, while Amelia did not. And yes, this article will be using the term "Fleet Girl". The author is aware that there are some women well into adulthood who take issue with being called a "girl"- though this position is hardly universal- and also that the more colloquial "Ship Girl" is quite common.
The results of this test were considered the best possible result. Francine, as generally described by the people who know her, is a confident and self-assured woman, while Amelia is generally described as "neurotic", "timid", "pessimistic", and "panicky"; not the sort of person you want going into battle. The overall rarity of women who are compatible has generally led navies to adopt a "take what you can get" attitude- see, for example one Finley Bellingham (USS Wahoo), whose death sentence has been suspended due to her current work with the USN- so Francine was seen as a promising candidate.
One week after the test, the United States Navy auxiliary vessel USS Lasetter departed from the mainland, escorted by two Fleet Girls of the USCG. Their destination was a nondescript point of ocean seven miles from the mainland. Both of the Murphy sisters were aboard. At 1000 on August 27, Francine's Metamorphosis into a Fleet Girl was induced. The exact means by which this is done remain a closely-guarded secret, with the Navy's official stance being that that the process is extremely complicated and dangerous for anyone who is not properly trained to even attempt, though it's generally believed to involve certain practices generally seen as "magical"- the drawing of complicated diagrams and formulae, burning of special candles, chanting and so on.
The secrecy is understandable, as one thing that is known for certain is that trying to induce a Metamorphosis in a woman who is not compatible is an incredibly bad idea. Some of the less nightmarish of such incidents have involved the unfortunate woman in question drowning as her lungs filled with fuel oil or having her blood turned to steam. The less pleasant ones involve massive explosions with death tolls in the double or triple digits. At the risk of sounding cliché: do not try this at home.
Francine's Metamorphosis lasted for thirty minutes. This is generally on the lower end of metamorphosis times; the record remains eight hours. Metamorphoses are universally a difficult experience; the nascent Fleet Girl has added to her brain knowledge of all aspects of operating her respective ship, from navigation to engineering to gunnery to kitchen management. In the case of ships that carried planes, from carriers to seaplane tenders to cruisers that had a single seaplane for reconnaissance, they also gain all knowledge relating to the repair, maintenance and piloting of relevant models of planes. She also gains many of the memories of the people on those ships, which had crews ranging in size from around 200 for destroyers to crews of more than 2000 for some capital ships. Finally, they gain a sort of "memory" for the ship as its own entity, overlayed with emotional reactions that make it more comprehensible to the human mind, such as recalling a sort of combat rush (or panic) when calling general quarters, or remembering damage to the ship as if it were a traumatic injury she suffered.
This is, as you can likely imagine, an incredible amount of information to have added to one's brain. And while I laid it out in a neat list, that is not how it actually comes to a woman undergoing a metamorphosis; the information comes as a massive, chaotic jumble that forces itself in at an inconsistent rate. Even at its best, this process is extremely distressing and disorienting. Managing this resulting distress is important. Failure to do so will lead to the incipient Fleet Girl instead becoming an Abyssal Princess, which are almost universally aggressive to humanity and powerful on a scale beyond common Abyssals. The Navy's recommended procedure focuses largely on managing a girl's emotions through this process. Give them a comfortable place to sit down with relaxing lighting and soothing music. Offer them food they like, though there's considerable debate as to whether coffee should be offered or not. Engage them in casual conversation. Try to avoid unpleasant topics. Use their name frequently. Try not to make a fuss if they start yelling about spotted periscopes or try to call general quarters. If they start to exhibit more pronounced physical changes, like a change in hair color, eye color, height, or facial structure, just try to ignore it.
It's standard procedure to invite friends, family, and/or romantic partners to provide emotional support for a Fleet Girl undergoing her Metamorphosis. Francine asked that Amelia accompany her.
Francine made it through her Metamorphosis with no issue, and was christened as the return of the USS Anzio (CVE-57). Our readers are most likely familiar with Fleet Girl Anzio, as accounts of her actions at the Battle of Corpus Christi are numerous. And this is where her primary role in this story ends. What is germane to this account is Amelia.
Testing negative was largely a boon for Amelia. Not having the potential to become a fleet girl also meant that she was not at risk of a spontaneous metamorphosis, a serious possibility for any woman spending an extended time around the ocean. Her negative test cleared her for maritime work, and she was thus able to find work on the R/V Daedalus. The Daedalus was to put to sea in November of that year to conduct a survey of marine life in the northern Pacific. Her course would take her through what was generally considered "safe" waters not far from the North American coast, and would be escorted by three Fleet Girls of the USCG. Amelia's position as the ship's cook wasn't particularly auspicious, but any job at sea commands a far larger paycheck than it once did.
The Daedalus departed from Seattle on November 22 of 2017. From what survivors of the Daedalus have said, Amelia was generally liked by the rest of the crew. She was competent at her job and was friendly towards the rest of the crew. At least, when she could muster the courage to hold a conversation.
The problem began at 0600 on November 28. Amelia began to complain of a severe headache. She did not have any history of medical issues, but she was directed to the ship's infirmary as a precaution. It was on the way to there that the true nature of the problem became apparent. Crewman Mariano Lucas, who was escorting Amelia, asked her when she died her hair. There was a strip of hair running from her temple that appeared to be blond, despite Amelia's hair naturally being a dark brown. She responded with confusion, saying that she hadn't done anything with her hair.
The testing process currently used by the navy was selected because it is cannot produce false positives. It can, on very rare occasions, produce false negatives.
Amelia was undergoing a Metamorphosis. This was a crisis in the making, as failure to manage her Metamorphosis would mean they would have an Abyssal on board with them. They had no way of knowing exactly what type of Abyssal Amelia could become, but even "weaker" destroyer- or submarine-type Abyssals are extremely dangerous to a baseline human in close quarters.
Still, this was a situation that was manageable. Captain Leonard Braxton, like any captain putting to sea these days, had to have know how to manage a Metamorphosis. This was the fatal decisions that lead to the infamous incident. Rather than even attempting to help Amelia, Braxton ordered her thrown over board and for the ship to make the highest speed possible away from her.
Amelia, already losing lucidity, offered little resistance. Fortunately for her, the Daedalus was not a tall craft and she did not apparently suffer any injuries from the fall. The crew of the Daedalus were not so lucky.
The fog that morning was heavy, and they lost sight of Amelia quickly. The plan seemed to have worked. Some of the crew attempted to plead with the captain to go back for her- or, at least, some surviving members of the crew claim that they did so. The captain was not persuaded.
The fog had cleared by the afternoon, unfortunately. At 1500 that day one of the escort Fleet Girls reported radar contact with something in the air. As they quickly found out, that "something" was two dozen Abyssal dive bombers. The Daedalus began evasive maneuvers while the escorts provided anti-air fire, but neither proved effective. The Daedalus was struck by a bomb at 1517 and had sank within ten minutes. Of the three dozen people still onboard, twenty were killed including Captain Braxton.
The survivors were able to deploy one life raft, and their escorts were able to tow them back to land. While there were several close calls due to hypothermia, there were no further deaths from the incident.
News services were quick to publicize the story, and controversy quickly followed. The perpetrator of the attack was technically unknown at the time, but one explanation was widely accepted: Amelia survived, completed her metamorphosis- becoming an Abyssal due to the extremely stressful situation she was in- and attacked and sank the Daedalus. Several of the survivors defended their actions as a necessity to save the ship, an argument that rings hollow given the ship was not saved. Among elements of society who are wary of Fleet Girls, they were given praise. Perhaps too much.
Anzio was quite open with her outrage, accusing them of murdering her sister and denying the possibility that Amelia was responsible for the attack. Amelia was legally declared missing. With no new developments, the matter faded from public consciousness.
Things began moving again February 17, 2018. An operation to repel an Abyssal force near the Philippines encountered a previously-unseen aircraft carrier Princess. She was captured two days later, purified, and recommissioned as the new USS Gambier Bay. There were certain suspicions as to her true identity almost right away; she was a dead ringer for Anzio. The suspense didn't last long. During her debriefing at Tacloban, Gambier Bay confirmed that she was, indeed Amelia Murphy and that she was the one responsible for the attack on the Daedalus.
Amelia has since been stationed at Sasebo, as part of what is ostensibly a multinational force but is about 94% Japanese. If she has returned to the US at all, it has not been publicized. She is seen by many people as a victim of circumstance, and under current US law is not considered liable for her actions as an Abyssal. There are nonetheless those who consider her a murderer.
What do we make of this incident? Is the lesson that Amelia should never have been allowed on board the ship? That would have prevented this incident, but it would not be without its own cost. There has been a movement since the Abyssal Crisis began to ban all women from any job that might take them near the ocean. Many people, mostly women, have been fiercely opposed to this. The Abyssal Crisis has been disastrous for the economy in much of the world, and people are desperate for any job that can be found. Moreover, while false negatives are possible they are incredibly rare.
What should have been done is that the crew should have followed known protocol and tried to help Amelia. Their callousness to her in the name of trying to save themselves led to multiple deaths and Amelia having to carry a significant burden with her going forward.
The Abyssal Crisis has been going on for years at this point and may go on for years more. It has seen mass migration away from coasts and dealt a heavy blow to economies around the world. Many of us live in a state of massive stress. But we cannot, as some people have, try to ignore what we do know about how to deal with this situation. This is the strangest time in human history. That observation has been made so many times over by this point that it has become a tired cliché, but that does not make it less true. Avoiding danger by trying to hold a conversation with somebody who is undergoing a metamorphosis is not what we would typically expect to be an effective method, but history has proven time and again that it is effective. Diana Kratchovil (USS Johnston) has credited her younger brother John with helping her get through her Metamorphosis simply by holding her hand. Akiko Katou (Akatsuki) famously got through her Metamorphosis after her teacher ruffled her hair and reassured her that he thought she was a good girl.
It was, by his own later admission, a wild idea he considered unlikely to work. It still went better than things did aboard the Daedalus.
Author's Note: Behind The Name-dot-com has a random name generator, which I used quite a bit for this story.
I was going for a story that felt like a newspaper article, though it turned out to have a pretty heavy editorial slant.
