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Aboard the Free Planetary State of Yiziba Starship Normandy, currently between Remnant and Uru in the Noukiite Outmarches, the fourth Thursday of November in 2012, one hour after midnight Pacific Time (Kyjív time: An hour before lunch; Tōkyō time: Suppertime)...
"You make insanely good time, Michiko!"
The brown-haired Oriental with the chestnut brown eyes behind reading glasses giggled as she stepped off the materializer pad, hand out to grasp that of one of the geniuses who made United States Starship San Francisco — said version of the fifth New Orleans-class "treaty" heavy cruisers was floating alongside the replica of the SSV Normandy SR2 from Mass Effect, they headed in the general direction of the Oniboshi system — a working reality. "As soon as President Bartlet heard about the people 'rescued' by this lar'beke Captain Pot'ómkina's crew found, he practically ORDERED me to get the Consul over to see Her Majesty right away, Isaac," Michiko Norton said. "I'm curious as to why you wanted to meet up with me before I headed out there, though..."
"I'm sending Yáng Xiǎo Lóng to be my point person, Michiko," the native of Queens who was the Wise Lone Sage of Yiziba, Raer'buo Erba ("Doctor Renaissance"), announced. "Should be here in a minute. Given Incubator AND Niphentaxian involvement in the literal rebirth of all those people — puella magi and normal — the sooner we get someone with a considerable level of metahuman battle experience there to look things over..."
"The safer you'll personally feel," the reborn "Frisco Maru" from before and during the Second World War finished, her eyes twinkling with that annoying glitter that all cruiser shipgirls in Isaac's experience ALWAYS showed when they allowed their own observation skills a chance to shine. "Also, given Miss Xiǎo Lóng's issues with her temper, keeping her away from causing a massive incident on Uru is just being smart in the end, especially when one takes into account the sheer scale of the trap people are preparing for the horn-head blue bloods right now around Earth. Even better, Miss Xiǎo Lóng was one of the Consul's more willing students, so having a friend he can trust at his side when he reunites with his old lover is just being humane in the end."
Isaac Thomas shook his head. "You cruisers are a scary lot, you know that?"
"No? Really? I honestly did NOT know that!" the adopted native of the City by the Bay and nearby Vallejo where she was built during the Great Depression — known now on the World of the Forge as the Crown Princess of the Bay, Francisco-r'buomem ("San Francisco") — wondered in turned before she winked playfully at him.
"I'm here, Boss!"
Both Americans immediately turned as a blonde, amethyst-eyed native of Patch stepped into the materializer room, the heavy hitter of Team RWBY then slowing down on seeing the stranger with her primary metahuman teacher even if Yáng Xiǎo Lóng's well-developed Aura-sensing ability was quick to determine what the cute Terran Oriental woman really was. "She's Master Gaius' transportation, Teach?"
"Indeed she is," Isaac affirmed before doing introductions.
Michiko and Yáng politely shook hands, then the latter faced the man who had effectively saved her PLANET over the last few months. "As you know now, Yáng, a very close friend of the Consul's was just found alive and well by the Ukrainians yesterday. While Captain Norton here can confirm same, I'm sure that he's pleased to learn there's ANOTHER from his specific time period who lives in this life beyond Rittmeister von Taserich. Since he took a shine to you when he willingly agreed to teach you old Roman ways of combat, I'm sure he'd appreciate having someone other than President Lincoln at his side when he reunites with Her Majesty."
The current incarnation of the Raging Berserker, Duobyato ("Fortitude"), nodded in understanding. "I can guess how happy he is, Isaac," Yáng mused. "When we were training under Master Gaius before we moved to clear Salem off Remnant, he just went on and on about Queen Cleopatra. Even if he suspects now that their son was actually the child of one Master Gaius' old troopers from the Legio XI Claudia in Gaul, he always cared for Caesarion as if he was his own child before he 'died' when the Undying Lord made him immortal."
"Centurion Titus Pulo," Michiko provided, making both normal-borns gaze with surprise at the adopted Californian. "He did duty in Legio XI Claudia during the Gallic campaigns right to Alesia, then he switched to Legio XIII Gemina before the invasion of Rome itself after the Senate condemned the Consul as a traitor to the Republic." Here, the reborn cruiser crossed her arms. "Bit of a shit-disturber at that."
"But a rogue with a heart of gold," Isaac finished.
"Still, I've got to ask something," Yáng noted.
"What's that?"
"Are we in some comic book universe now, Isaac?!" the native of Patch wondered. "I mean, all these people coming back from the DEAD like that?! Margo Black's going to FREAK when she finds out!"
The two Americans chortled at that blunt observation from the Valean. "Good point," Isaac noted as he shared a knowing look with Michiko. "So, since I'm more than sure that you understand why I'm pulling you off duty on Uru for the time being, I need you to go with Captain Norton, the Consul and the President to rendezvous with Panteléjmon." As a cute pout answered him, the New Yorker added, "You've got a lot of street smarts earned from your life on Remnant, especially given who your mother and uncle are." As said frown immediately turned into a determined look, the Wise Lone Sage added, "I need your readout about how prepared these people are to accept all the changes that's about to crash down on their heads. We're dealing with THREE effective heads-of-state from Egypt, Japan and Russia; a crown princess from Qīng China; the most famous spy of World War One; France's most famous heroine; America's first European-descent child AND one of the most famous aboriginal natives of the land; two well-known privateers from the Golden Age of Piracy..."
His personal administrative assistant then buzzed, making him pull said device from his belt. Noting it was an audio-only call, he tapped the control crystal before putting that device to his ear. "Hey, Hal! What's wrong...?"
Both girls in the materializer room then winced on faintly hearing the frantic reply. "RIE DID WHAT?!" their host then exclaimed. "I know she was working on trying to help Thomas and Albert with creating Replicants of X and Zero, but to actually get Cyber Elves of them right after they died...?!" He paused as the caller added something else before moaning, he pushing the goggles away from his blue eyes to pinch his nose. "Various allies of X and Zero killed in the Elf Wars and the Four Guardians...?" he groaned before nodding on seeing the reborn cruiser guide the Raging Berserker onto the pad before the former pulled out her own PAA to beam them over to the San Francisco. "What made Rie think of that?! It makes things easier, but why didn't she ASK me...?!"
As Michiko and Yáng fully vanished from the Normandy, Isaac moved to head out of the materializer room. "So she got the idea from how Enoshima Junko and her friends were brought to this world?" he wondered, grimly nodding. "Good thinking...huh?!" His eyes widened. "She revised Iris as well?! Alright! Once Bass, Mega Man and Proto Man calm things down, let her know she won't be in trouble! But REMIND her to ASK next time she comes up with something like that! She should know how much Margo Black feels about that sort of thing, Hal!"
After ending the call, the blond hyper-genius polymath proceeded to the main bridge to get Normandy back on course for Uru. "Things get even MORE interesting day by day," he mused as he stepped into a turbolift. "Main Bridge!" he barked before crossing his arms. "Better warn Thomas and Albert about this..." he added...
Aboard Kosmíchnyj Pántsernik Svjatíj Panteléjmon Tsilítel', beyond the frontier of the Noukiite Coremarches nearly 1700 light-years from Sol, minutes later...
A moan escaped the reborn imperial Russian pre-dreadnought as she gazed on the amused face on her view screen. "Oleksándra Heórhievna, why in the name of God are you doing this to me?!"
An amused chuckle escaped the reborn Italian-built Greek armoured cruiser which had served through three wars now gazing upon Hályna Hólykova-Pot'ómkina. "Much that you did encode that message to Isaac warning him of what your crew discovered, anything that has even a HINT of involvement by the Incubators is considered high priority in the Earth Defence Force; such is AUTOMATICALLY decoded for the attention of all naftikés kopéles such as we," Alexandría Avérof reminded the adopted native of Chizóvo near Moscow (birthplace of her first namesake Prince Grigórgij Potjómkin), Mykolájiv near the Black Sea (where she was built) and İzmit near Istanbul (birthplace of her modern namesake). "Once I saw your whole 'guest list', I relayed it immediately to our magical ministry as well as the President. Guaranteed, anyone else who read that message would do the same."
The silver-haired shipgirl moaned again as she recalled reading the effective standing orders — drawn up with precision by all the shipgirl "commodores" from nations who possessed starships commissioned into or being built at a certain massive space dockyard now opposite the Sun from Mars; chief among them were Itō Yoiko and Yvonne Swanson, aircraft carriers THG Yonaga and USS Enterprise — before she shook her head. "I forgot that," she admitted to the reborn armoured cruiser KD Geórgios Avérof, who was now in her cabin aboard her starship-self; that ship was presently doing a "mortar shot" flight to join the Panteléjmon within the hour. "I've been too busy drilling the crew in every type of manoeuvre I can conceive of to prepare our forces for eventual deep space deployment. We were plain lucky that we chanced on that lar'beke's ship like we did."
"How are they?" the azure-tinted blonde tomboyish armoured cruiser that had frequently been called a battleship in her own right by her people over the years wondered.
"What does one expect, Lésja?" Hályna asked in turn. "Believing they were soon to pass into what they saw as their afterlives, then waking up in something that made Dante's Inferno seem pleasant." She shrugged. "Still, they seem a resilient lot. The telepathy and empathy they gained from their new bodies helped them bridge social gaps as vast as Siberia in places! Given what Néftyda Gébovna had in mind for her 'guests' as Kleopátra Auletévna and Kassándra Príamovna discovered when they mind-probed the snake, it's a good thing; it should help them adjust to what they're about to be literally dumped into." Pulling out a sailor's pipe she received from her old fleet mate Galína Grígorova-Jurkévich to put into her mouth, Hályna loaded some tobacco into it before using her own powers to light the device up; fortunately, her private quarters was equipped with high-powered air fresheners to chase away the stench. "Whether or not we'll see Giftings come out of this — much less any of them moving to places our American friends discovered through the Stargate — well, I can't say."
"To answer the question I can tell you want to ask, President Papoúlias wanted to ensure that Her Majesty was secure from potential harm by those people across the Mediterranean who might object to an honest-to-goodness pharaoh of all things coming back from the dead," the adopted native of Métsovo in Epirus (birthplace of her namesake), Livorno in Tuscany (her place of construction) and Palaió Fáliro near Athens (where she had been docked as a museum ship) warned. "Given how much Egypt has changed in the TWO MILLENNIA since the Ptolemys ruled that land — especially what happened after the Muslims decided to spread their faith after they absorbed Arabia the way they did — a lot of people doubt Her Majesty will be safe in the Middle East."
"Something to keep in mind." Here, Hályna stretched herself before reaching over to tap controls on her computer. "Ah! I'm going outside to get out of this cabin! I'll see you in an hour, Lésja!"
"Naturally!"
The link with the Avérof was cut as the silver-haired battleship stood. Mentally patting herself on the shoulder when it came to ensuring modifications to her starship-self were installed before she was commissioned into the Vijs'kóvo-Mors'kí Sýly Ukrajíny on the anniversary of her launching a century ago, Hályna stepped into an airlock that led to the port-side pilotage wing; thanks to the ten-to-one scale used when Panteléjmon was built, what would have been a mere observation deck was now crammed with all sorts of equipment that would keep the starship safe no matter which environment she found herself in. Included in that was a simple flying platform that allowed the reborn first generation battle doll infused with the living spirit of Imperial Russia's eighteenth battleship a place to get out and take a detailed look over this incredible machine modelled very much after her, said craft meant to aid her adopted homeland and all of humanity itself expand into the stars.
Walking to the forward edge of the space overlooking the forecastle deck and Turret "A" with its two 120 inch 52 calibre Pattern MK-3/12-pov rifles, she nodded on noting that the huge gun tower was still bearing on the now-empty ha'tak where she and her crew had made their incredible discovery not a day before. While this particular sector of space was effectively unclaimed as the Noukiites saw it — thinking of those people, Hályna tried not to groan; they were more than helpful, but the utterly simpering behaviour they demonstrated to shipgirls like herself was so aggravating! — the "children of the gods" clearly didn't respect same even if there wasn't any potentially habitable world for at least a hundred light-years towards the centre of the galaxy.
Breathing in the soothing fumes from her pipe — the area of the observation deck was automatically cloaked in a magnetically-sealed atmosphere when she came outside — the adopted native of Chizóvo scowled as she recalled what she and her fleet mates learned from Nephthys and her advisors before they were culled for consumption. Given that the System Lords were still jockeying for position in the wake of the death of their supreme ruler four years ago, it didn't surprise anyone that the namesake of the Egyptian goddess of the night was attempting to stake her claim in parts of her late boss' territory, much of which had been left to wilt when the stupid snake had been atomized by Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson on Abydos. Making use of Avalonian bioroids — whom one of her people captured from a Niphentaxian trading ship a couple years ago; details were still being dredged from Nephthys' computers — would have better secured things, especially when one factored in Goa'uld scientists like Nirrti, who had long quested to create her own corps of loyal metahumans fighters.
But now that Nephthys effectively dead...
In the starship's wardroom, that moment...
"She can actually go outside like that? I thought it wasn't safe to do that!"
Hearing that question from the wide-eyed child now gazing out over the port beam of the Panteléjmon towards the pilotage, the reborn name-ship of the Chapáev-class light cruisers smiled before sipping her caravan tea. "What are you seeing now, Little One?" Vasílissa Chapáeva wondered as she gazed on Virginia Dare.
The last survivor of the Roanoke colony blinked before she gazed wide-eyed at the adopted native of Cheboksáry on the Volga east of Nízhnij Nóvgorod (birthplace of her late namesake) and Sankt-Peterbúrg (where she was built). "Miss Hályna's standing outside in space by the bridge, Miss Vasílissa!" the kindergarten-aged child of the Elizabethan Era who could help answer questions concerning the fate of her parents and the other members of England's first attempt at colonizing the New World stated, pointing forward. "You and Miss Dóroti said that wasn't a safe thing to do since there's no air to breathe in space."
"Da, that's true, Virdzhínija Anániovna," the blue-eyed, azure-haired shipgirl affirmed as she reached over to draw the little brown-haired sprite — who had literally twisted the whole crew of the star battleship around her little finger with just a cute smile — off the couch by the windows to sit in her lap. As Virginia giggled while her awakening Avalonian telepathy probed into Vasílissa's complex mind — like all those such as she, the cruiser's very soul had been forged from the fusion of memories of people involved in her existence as a warship: The builders to the crew to even the fishermen of Múrmansk who often came to where she had been sunk as a breakwater in the 1960s — to see the wide array of memories she possessed. "But as we've told you, people like myself can survive in space since the person who created these bodies ensured they could do that when it came to dealing with the false angels like the one who 'rescued' you and your friends long before we rescued you all. No doubt, the old revolutionary's thinking very hard about the situation we're all in. It's a very different world you, especially people like Tsarítsa Kleopátra, Tsarítsa Khímiko and Velíkaja Knjazhná Anastasíja." Here, the old Soviet cruiser shook her head. "To believe those old legends about that poor girl were true...!"
Virginia gazed on the older-looking teenager. "About Ánna surviving when her family was killed?"
"Da! In that, we can thank those Incubators for turning her into a volshébnaja dévochka in the first place." Here, Vasílissa shook her head. "It'll be quite the mess in Moskvá, though."
"Why? Because Ánna could be Empress of Russia?"
"Exactly that, Virdzhísha."
Sensing the cruiser's worry, Virginia smiled as she gave her a warm hug...
The admiral's cabin near the aft main turret...
"It might have been better if I had died with my family..."
A hand landed on Anastasíja Románova's shoulder. "God willed this to happen, Your Majesty," the woman known to history as Pocahontas — though she had been properly addressed by the star battleship's crew by her birth name Matoaka from the moment she stepped aboard — affirmed as she gave the native of Sankt-Peterbúrg a sympathetic look. "Yes, what happened to your family was a crime. But as long as you live, you spit into the face of their murderers and those who support their cause. Even if the people of your homeland elect to stay with their current form of government, you can serve as a symbol for those who never want such demonic darkness to happen again. Remember what we were all tricked into being empowered to do, ma'am."
Hearing that from the woman who had been baptized as Rebecca Rolfe when she married John Rolfe in 1614, the youngest daughter of Russia's last emperor smiled as she reached up to grasp the Tsenacommacah warrior maiden's hand. As their minds touched again from that contact — after several times doing such over the last day, neither Anastasíja nor her sister puella magi just rescued from Nephthys' people felt overwhelmed by the thoughts, memories and knowledge their peers held in their souls — another hand squeezed her free shoulder in support. "Matoaka-san is right, Anastasíja-san," Himiko affirmed as she gave the younger woman a sympathetic look. "True, our kingdoms are gone, but the descendants of our subjects live on, even those of Lady Matoaka's people, tragically few as they are. Keep in mind the darker sides of what old Russia was like, but always honour the good that existed in your homeland. As your people recover from this 'communist' era that so readily condemned your whole family like they did, they need a reminder of the decent things in their society."
"If the fool magicals don't force us to hide ourselves, of course."
A snort escaped one of the two veteran pirates in their group. "Tart, if it comes to that, we can get our adopted people to build us a good ship, then head out and explore," Anne Bonny declared as she gave Jeanne d'Orléans a smile, reaching over to squeeze the shoulder of the veteran of the Hundred Years War. "Especially with these 'gods' acting like they were the Spanish during the times of the damned Inquisition. You saw what the captain did to that monster after we got pulled out of our coffins by those skirmishers serving her." Here, the native of Cork in Ireland gave her dearest friend and long-time fighting companion a knowing look while the French warrior madly blushed from that contact; despite her experiences fighting puella magi and eldritch witches alike to keep France free of the Plantagenets, the native of Domrémy-la-Pucelle wasn't used to the rough-and-tumble lifestyle Anne and Mary Read experienced when they sailed under Jack Rackham three centuries later.
"Maybe we should take a page from the book of our 'goddess' and actually liberate some of the poor sods whose ancestors were yanked off Earth long before the first pharaohs rose in Egypt and China got its first real start," Mary Read added, her own eyes twinkling in amusement. "How about it, ma'am?" she asked that ancient land's last pharaoh. "Want to head out, claim a planet for yourself and all of us, then settle down finally?"
Cleopatra chuckled. "I'm not sure what to do with myself now, Mary," she noted as she sat back in her chair, enjoying the lovely tea that had been introduced to her and her peers by their hosts. "Given what I saw of yours and Anne's skills when you dealt with the fools that tried to keep you captive, we might ally with those nations fighting the pséftiki theá to send them all to their well-deserved fates in Hades!" She looked at the others of her particular group of reborn refugees spanning over four millennia of history. "What say you, Lady Mùlán? Would you be willing to go forth to put down such monsters like you did back in the days of your own kingdom?"
Huā Mùlán hummed. "I am very tempted, Highness. With Lady Cassandra here, we have a seer who can predict the future now that she's well beyond the grasp of the fool divinities who dared play with her life." Here, she gave Cassandra of Troy an amused look, making the native of the Bronze Age metropolis overlooking the Dardanelles blush. "For that, we can thank both whoever it was that saved her soul from final death and the interference of the Undying Guardian of Rjázan' himself for putting such a petty creature into his proper place. Besides, both Mistress Anne and Mistress Mary are right. There are thousands and more out in the Heavens screaming for freedom. If we have the ability to see to it they are freed, let's go forth and do it."
"I honestly doubt the government in Kyjív will allow us to borrow this ship for such a quest, Mistress Mùlán," Kawashima Yoshiko wryly warned as she exchanged a knowing look with Margaretha Zelle before she gazed on the other girls seated at the table; like Matoaka, she was getting used to using her birth name Àixīnjuéluó Xiǎnyú once more in public given the insistence of their hosts in using same, Avalonian, Terran and adopted Yizibajohei alike. "Thus we should follow Captain Bonny's and Captain Read's suggestion of having our own ship built where this one was. I'm sure our adopted people will be quite happy to do that for us."
As Anne and Mary blushed on being called "captain" by the native of Běijīng, a knock was heard. Everyone watched as their steward — a "Terran-form Avalonian", one born on the great ark from where their people ultimately arose — opened the door, then stepped back as a silver-haired woman stepped in. "Gosudáryni," the reborn German-built Soviet heavy cruiser later adopted by Estonia when she was reborn as Dóroti Vrángel'-Ljúttsov politely greeted, clicking her heels together in the proper Prussian style as she bowed her head.
"Dóroti Pétrovna," Anastasíja affirmed as she, Cleopatra and Himiko — the three senior people in the room by traditional European royal ranking — nodded in turned. "What news do you bring us?"
"We will be joined in the next hour by three more starships, Gosudárynja," the reborn fourth of the Admiral Hipper-class cruisers announced. "Two ships from Hellás..." — she used the ancient way of saying the name of Greece in lieu of "Elláda" — "...and one from the United States. They should be here within the hour."
"Is there some reason they're coming here, Capitaine von Lützow?" Charlotte de Corday asked.
"Given the incredible level of changes that have befallen certain countries since you walked on Earth last, the government in Athens believed it was prudent to place additional protections around your people beyond what this ship and those such as myself can do to keep all safe, Sharlótta Fransuáovna," Dóroti answered. "Thus, we will be joined by the heavy cruiser Geórgios Avérof and the destroyer Themistoklís."
Cleopatra nodded in approval. "They named a ship after him?! Wonderful! I approve!"
"What about the other ship, Captain?" Mary wondered.
"As to why San Francisco is coming here, I can't say," the reborn cruiser that was head of Estonia's small corps of shipgirls warned. "When I asked her, Mitíko Dzhóshuovna was annoyingly tight-lipped about it. All she would report is that there are two very important persons aboard and they want to see you all."
The people in the admiral's cabin blinked in confusion...
Aboard United States Starship San Francisco, now transiting beyond the Galactic Barrier over the Noukiite Coremarches, that moment...
"We should be with the Panteléjmon in about forty minutes, Mister President."
"Thank you, Captain," the near-immortal sixteenth president of the United States known to magicals and mystics worldwide by the respected term "Rail-Splitter" stated as he gazed through the main bridge windows at the expansive forecastle deck of this huge replica of the fifth New Orleans-class heavy cruiser. Relaxing as he enjoyed some coffee while sitting in the admiral's chair set up specifically for him, Abraham Lincoln relaxed himself, focusing on the main gun towers forward of San Francisco's superstructure, each containing three 80 inch 55 calibre Mark 12S naval rifles; said weapons were now capped with tampions to ensure the wide barrels wouldn't ingest any stray meteor or other object while the ship was travelling at high warp. Smiling as he imagined what damage such weapons could unleash — even if he saw himself even now as a man of peace than of war, he had always been fascinated by weapons, such prompted by both his lifelong war against vampires as well as his desire to see the armies of the Union properly equipped to put down the Confederates during the Civil War — he took a deep breath before gazing over. "Major, have there been any further signals from our Ukrainian friends concerning the state of Captain Hólykova-Pot'ómkina's quite unexpected guests?"
The magical cavalry officer assigned as personal assistant to the Rail-Splitter at the suggestion of the woman who was Lincoln's companion during the Score and Four after his "death" at the hands of John Wilkes Booth pulled up the PADD. "Those believed to be eldritch witches are being kept in their gestation chambers, Mister President," Connor Mills answered. The native of Mobile in Alabama was part of 2nd Squadron, 72nd Cavalry Regiment (Magical); while he had not fought in the Wars of Liberation concurrent with World War Two, his father had topped out as squadron sergeant major. "Since none have been pre-Gifted, it's just being wise. Right now, the intelligence personnel assigned to Panteléjmon are being cautious when it comes to mind-probing them, sir."
The youthful-looking vampire hunter from Hodgenville in central Kentucky nodded. "How do you think Colonel Quahog and his advisors will react to the idea of learning that Miss Dare and Miss Matoaka are still alive? Given the obvious involvement of the Incubators in their rescue — never mind the involvement of the Niphentaxians and the Goa'uld, of course — how could such affect the maintenance of the Statute?"
Mills grimaced, his face turning very dark as he considered that; seeing that sort of contemplation, Lincoln was reminded of this man's esteemed predecessors in the brigade-sized 7th Magical Regiment of the United States Coloured Troops, raised mostly from foreign volunteers to help put down Adam Sewell's rebellion in the Civil War; by that age, daywalker vampires had gone out of their way to cull African-descent no-maj-borns before they could be invited to the Union's then-three magical schools at Ilvermorny, Salem and Seven Hills. "Personally, if revelations about Young Mistress Dare and Princess Matoaka are pitched to emphasize the alien aspects over the magical, it should be no problem at all, Mister President. After all, the Incubators are aliens and have been on Earth causing trouble for centuries. They're known to your own patron even if they avoided attracting the Rittmeister's direct attention in all that time. And given the number of puella magi who've been Gifted since Mistress Nu'utam and Master Aara'a rescued Mistress Mami three years ago..."
The Kentuckian and adopted Illinoisan frontier lawyer-turned-vampire hunter gave the younger man one of his wry smiles. "Statute of Secrecy versus the Specialized Warfare Treaty, you mean?"
"Yes, sir," the Alabamian hit wizard affirmed with a nod and a smirk of his own.
"How do you feel about that, Connor?"
Hearing his given name used, the fourth-generation descendant of slaves that had been rescued by the Rail-Splitter's war against the daywalkers sighed. "If you ask me, Uncle Abe, the Statute's going to be a goner sooner than later; I can't predict when but it'll happen. With what Miss Katabarbe's been doing over the last decade — never mind those who stepped up to help out — talk about metahumans of all sorts is getting out all over the planet. This is way bigger than what Dad said about how people reacted to mystery men going out to do their thing in the '30s. And with shipgirls like Captain Norton there effectively leading the way..." Here, he nodded to their host, now in the captain's chair as she scanned her own PADD while monitoring ship's systems.
"Well, I think I'll make a small recommendation to Mollie when I see her next."
That made Mills blink. "What would you recommend to Professor Bean, sir?"
"That students from Ilvermorny spend time on these ships learning how to work on them, just like our good neighbours up north do even now that Bill Harlan's arranged to build starship versions of his 'daughters'. After all, even if you're far beyond Earth at this time, has your magic been affected?"
"No, sir, not..." Here, the magical cavalry officer gaped as his brain caught up to his ears. "They made starship versions of the battleships of the First Squadron?!" he exclaimed, that making Michiko Norton stare wide-eyed at them. "Damn!" the native of Mobile breathed out as he imagined how the International Confederation of Wizards would take THAT news. "News of that gets to Geneva, they'll have puffskeins, Mister President!" he then warned, crossing his arms. "There's no way in hell that they'll go for the Canadians doing THAT!"
"Oh, I'm sure Dean will have a word or two with Professor Akingbade about that sort of thing, Connor," Lincoln assured him with a cool smile, his words making the people on the vast bridge all chuckle as they imagined what would happen when the leader of the International Confederation of Wizards that had been elevated to take Albus Dumbledore's place wound up facing the former leader of the War Hawks concerning that sort of issue. "After all, where le Service Magique de la Marine Royale Canadienne sails, the Royal Australian Naval Magical Service and the He Tauhokohoko Maori Moana o Aotearoa automatically follow," he then added with a wink.
"It's only just being safe."
Eyes locked on the reborn USS San Francisco. "How so, Michiko?" Lincoln asked.
The adopted native of the City by the Bay waved to the vast panorama of stars forming a "sea" of sorts below her namesake starship's keel as the quartermaster of the watch began the necessary course corrections which would allow the heavy cruiser to descend through the Galactic Barrier once more within the next few minutes. "Magic is known in many places in the galaxy, Mister President. The Vosians, the Noukiites and the Yehisrites have open magical communities. And magicals also exist on Yiziba." Here, the adopted daughter of the self-proclaimed "emperor" of the United States — whose ghost haunted the Presidio of San Francisco — shook her head. "Still, I never really understood the need for that sort of treaty back when I was sailing on the oceans."
"How so, ma'am?" Mills asked.
Michiko shrugged. "Well, Admiral Thompkins is a magical, Major! She fought with the War Hawks! Wound up being the head of your wing of the UN after it was all over. People all over Earth know about her."
Lincoln laughed. "I think it's because Heather was totally self-taught, Michiko," he noted. "Atop that, thanks to that delightful incident on Independence Day in 1938 when she helped the Liberty Legion put down Josef's first student of that generation like she did, normal people came to think 'metahuman'."
"Sooner or later, they're going to do that with all magicals, sir."
Everyone turned as a certain powerful FISS-type stepped onto the bridge. "Ah, Miss Xiǎo Lóng!" Lincoln bade, waving the Valean huntress-turned-metahuman warrior over to where he was relaxing. "How's Gaius?"
"Nervous as a long-tailed baby leviathan that was turned into a chew toy for a whole pack of Roman Reigns' spirit-wolves, Mister President," Yáng Xiǎo Lóng affirmed with a twinkle in her amethyst eyes as she came up to stand beside the Rail-Splitter, holding up a PADD she had been loaned by her host's crew as soon as she stepped aboard the American starship. "Just came in from the Panteléjmon. Identities of the eldritch witches that were found when the Ukrainians encountered that lar'beke yesterday. Look at THAT name."
She pointed to one entry. Lincoln gazed on what was there, then he sighed. "Dear Lord...!"
"Damn!" Mills hissed. "We're definitely rewriting a ton of history books now..."
To Be Continued...
EDITOR'S NOTES
Now, time to introduce the shipgirls who have appeared in this story so far. First, from the previous chapter:
Kapitán I Ránhu Hályna Jevhéniovna Hólykova-Pot'ómkina VMSU (formerly Kapitán Pérvyj Ránga RIF) (Pántsernik Svjatýj Panteléjmon Tsilýtel' [pennant 005], formerly Eskádrennyje Bronenósets Knjaz' Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij [pennant 018])
Mereväekapten Theodora Petra Wrangel, Freiin von Lützow, also known as Dóroti Pétrovna Vrángel'-Ljúttsov EM (formerly Kapitän zur See KMDR, then Kap1 VMFSSSR) (Eesti Mereväe Laev Tallinn [pennant R2], originally Kriegsmarineschiff Lützow [pennant K95], then Tjazhólyj Kréjser Petropávlovsk [pennant 162])
Colonel Klementína Maksimiliánova Shul'ts FARM (formerly Kap1 RIF/VMFSSSR) (Croazier Ușor Cahul [pennant C1], originally Zaschischónnyj Kréjser Kagúl, then Zaschischónnyj Kréjser Pámjat' Merkúrija, then Zaschischónnyj Kréjser Komintérn [pennant 138])
Kapitán Pérvyj Ránga Vasílissa Vasíl'evna Chapáeva VMFRF (formerly VMFSSSR) (Ljókhkij Kréjser Chuvásh, originally Ljókhkij Kréjser Chapáev [pennant 163])
As ships, these ladies originally belonged to either the Imperial Russian Navy (Rossíjskij Imperátorskij Flot [RIF]) or the succeeding Soviet Navy (formally, Voénno-Morskój Flót Sojúza Sovétskikh Sotsialistícheskikh Respúblik [VMFSSSR], "Military Maritime Fleet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"). Dóroti Vrángel'-Ljúttsov (EML Tallinn) was originally built for Germany, thus her first service is the War Navy of the German Reich (Kriegsmarine des Deutschen Reiches, short-form KMDR). Today, these girls respectively serve in the Ukrainian Navy (formally, Vijs'kóvo-Mors'kí Sýly Ukrajíny [VMSU], "Military Maritime Fleet of the Ukraine"), the Estonian Navy (Eesti Merevägi [EM]), the Moldovan Air Force (Forțele Aeriene ale Republicii Moldova [FARM]) and the Russian Navy (formally, Voénno-Morskój Flót Rossíjskaja Federátsii [VMFRF], "Military Maritime Fleet of the Russian Federation"); the reason Klementína Shul'ts (CU Cahul) doesn't bear naval rank is because her adopted homeland has no seashore, thus no need for a navy.
As all four shipgirls were large warships, they bear equivalent ranks of navy captain. Such are addressed as Kapitán I Ránhu in the Ukraine and Kapitán Pérvyj Ránga in Russia; both mean "first rank captain" and are short-formed Kap1. As she's an air force officer, Klementína is ranked Colonel. Dóroti bears the Estonian rank of Mereväekapten ("naval captain") and the honorary German rank of Kapitän zur See ("captain at sea").
In Parts Six and Twelve of Book One, Russian/Soviet warships turned into shipgirls were listed with a three-digit pennant system allotting broad warship types a series of numbers; battleships were granted 001-049 and cruisers got 100-299. Once everyone switched to new services, they went to the standard European pennant system, which allocates a "superior letter" to a hull number to denote type. In Estonia, cruisers get pennant superior R (Ristleja) while Moldova uses pennant superior C (Croazier); as an aside, German cruisers get pennant superior K (Kreuzer). The Ukraine make use of the same three-digit system as Russia, but gives its own allotments of numbers. Also, most ex-Russian/Soviet ships use type prefixes in lieu of a universal ship prefix code with their ship names, like PN (Pántsernik, "armoured ship"), EB (Eskádrennyje Bronenósets, "squadron battleship"), TKR (Tjazhólyj Kréjser, "heavy cruiser"), ZKR (Zaschischónnyj Kréjser, "protected cruiser"), CU (Croazier Ușor, "light cruiser") or KRL (Ljókhkij Kréjser, "light cruiser"). Estonia uses EML (Eesti Mereväe Laev, "Estonian Navy Ship") and Nazi Germany used KMS (Kriegsmarineschiff, "War Navy Ship").
Physically, Hályna Hólykova-Pot'ómkina (PN Svjatýj Panteléjmon Tsilýtel') resembles fan art done of her by Ryan Greythorn, which can be seen at Pixiv under ID #80489095. Dóroti Vrángel'-Ljúttsov (EML Tallinn) takes after the Azur Lane version of her sister Catarina von Savoyen-Carignan (KMS/USS Prinz Eugen). Both Klementína Shul'ts (CU Cahul) and Vasílissa Chapáeva (KRL Chuvásh) resemble their Azur Lane selves.
Appearing or spoken of in this chapter, from the United States:
Captain Yvonne Claudia Swanson USN (United States Ship Enterprise [CV-6])
CAPT Michiko Francine Norton USN (United States Ship San Francisco [CA-38])
Yvonne Swanson (USS Enterprise) resembles the fan art done of her by RealMBW as shown on Danbooru at entry #1705675. And Michiko Norton (USS San Francisco) resembles the version of her presented in the Kantai Collection fan work Pacific, though she is Oriental in descent in mark to the version of her appearing in the fanfic Belated Battleships by TheJMPer.
From Japan:
Itō Yoiko-taisa DNTK/DNTR (Tennō Heika Gunkan Yonaga [KB-11])
Based on the namesake ship from the late Peter Albano's The Seventh Carrier, Itō Yoiko (THG Yonaga) resembles the Warship Girls interpretation of her sister Itō Shizuka (THG Shinano) save for black hair fringed in grey, grey eyes and standing a head taller than her sister Yamato-class ships. As noted in Part One of Book One, Japanese warships get the universal ship prefix Tennō Heika Gunkan ("Warship of His Majesty The Heavenly Sovereign"), short-formed THG. Due to Yoiko's rather unique origins, she is seen as BOTH a captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy (Dai-Nihon Teikoku Kaigun [DNTK]) AND a colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army (Dai-Nihon Teikoku Rikugun [DNTR]). Her hull code KB means Kōkū Bokan ("Aircraft Carrier").
And from Greece:
Ploíarchos Alexandría Georgía Avérof PN (Katadromikó Geórgios Avérof [pennant K02])
Antiploíarchos Vasilikí Francine Knox PN (formerly Commander USN) (Antitorpilikó Themistoklís [pennant A45], formerly United States Ship Frank Knox [DD-742])
Greece's naval service is called the Polemikó Naftikó ("War Navy"), short-form PN. The nation uses both type prefixes before names and pennant superior numbers which most often match; Alexandría Avérof gets the type prefix KD and pennant superior K, both meaning Katadromikó ("Cruiser") while Vasilikí Knox gets the type prefix AT and pennant superior A, both meaning Antitorpilikó ("Destroyer"). Cruiser shipgirls are ranked as Ploíarchos (the title for a captain) while destroyer shipgirls are ranked Antiploíarchos (a naval commander).
Alexandría Avérof (KD Geórgios Avérof) resembles fan art done by Jmantime-is-Here at DeviantArt, which can been seen at ID #721024919. Vasilikí Knox (AT Themistoklís) takes after her Warship Girls interpretation; she's listed there under her American name).
Time wise, this part takes off after Part Thirty-one of Book One of the main story.
Translation list and source language: Legio XI Claudia — Claudius' Eleventh Legion (Latin); Legio XIII Gemina — Twin Thirteenth Legion (Latin); Pov — Short for Povýshennaja ("Enhanced") (Russian); Tsarítsa — Empress (Russian); Velíkaja Knjazhná — Grand duchess, daughter of a ruling emperor/empress (Russian); Volshébnaja dévochka — Magical maiden (Russian); Gosudáryni — Your Majesties, made singular as Gosudárynja (Russian); Service Magique de la Marine Royale Canadienne — Royal Canadian Naval Magical Service (French); He Tauhokohoko Maori Moana o Aotearoa — Sea Magical Warriors of New Zealand, AKA the Royal New Zealand Naval Magical Service (Māori).
Titus Pullo was mentioned in Gaius Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico ("Commentaries of the Gallic War") written from 58-49 BCE. The character also appeared in the 2005-07 HBO series Rome; the interpretation of him is based on the character that appeared in the television series.
Jeanne d'Orléans' nickname "Tart" comes from the manga Puella Magi Tart Magica: The Legend of "Jeanne d'Arc", composed by the manga-ka circle Golden Pe Done, composed of Masugitsune and Kawazuku.
The history of Abraham Lincoln in the universe of these stories is best described in Fred's Magic and Canada.
Certain terms used here are modified to mark magical or alien origins. Someone having puffskeins would be a magical equivalent of "someone having kittens". Long-tailed baby leviathan turned into a chew toy would be the Remnantian equivalent of "long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs".