Disclaimer: I don't own either of the franchises here, so don't sue me please!
AN: Okay, RL has been rough, but I'm still slogging through it. Here's a part I think you've all been looking forward to!
Bold: Loud noises!
Italics: Other languages or inflections
Leviathan grumbled as she flicked her fingers through page after page of data, opting to center her thoughts on her job rather than on cheeky, voyeuristic prowlers who would continue to go unnamed. As she thumbed her way through the data however, the cruiser grimaced at how… one dimensional it was. Now, part of her had been expecting that while a planet that supposedly hadn't gotten far past its own orbit wouldn't have multiple sources for mapping the stars other than at a national level, Levi had been hoping that they'd have slipped up and given her maps that would allow for accurate details to show as to how far away the stars in it were. Sadly, that didn't seem to be the case, as most of them were marked as 'estimated between such and such many light years'... Which was an absolute stupid thing to count on when it came to actually navigating the stars, or indeed any real navigation. Admittedly, it did allow the starship-turned-woman to see if she could match it to her own ragged charts, trying to compare positions of estimated stars with what ones she did know. The results were… mixed. Between Levi's and Hephaestus' attempts at guessing stellar drift or positioning, they were able to at least reliably say that they really were within spitting distance of the Epsilon Eridani system… or at least something they called it. They were able to push a few other things together to make a somewhat rickety map that they hoped would get them to Reach, but it was also FAR too close for comfort. As much as Leviathan wanted to get back home, even to a burnt and sundered one, she didn't like the idea that the Covenant were within arm's reach of yet another world… They'd have to see about plotting a more roundabout route.
Saving her progress to her internal databases, Leviathan checked on her engineers. She'd tasked them the day before to start looking into harvesting one of her MAC rounds to make kinetic penetrators for her Rampart point defence guns, as while the normal HE rounds were good for anti-fighter or lightly armored Abyssals (something she laughed at internally), the heavier Abyssals were still able to shrug it off. This made sense of course, as her PDCs were made for intercepting missiles and fighters, not slugging it out with another ship, and the fact that her Archers were far more expensive to produce with the meager resources she'd gotten her hands on so far meant she needed a middle ground. Oh, what she wouldn't have given to get back her old Spitfires...
Setting that aside, Leviathan then turned to the books on the desk. Given Umbra's comments, the prowler had already gone through them, so she shouldn't have too much to worry about in terms of it being just propo-... No, no THAT kind of thinking wouldn't be a good idea to fall into at this point. Umbra herself had admitted that it'd only been a few days, which wouldn't be enough time to fully dissect anything. Still, without anything else, Levi would just have to take the salt along with the sugar, and see what she could find within them. So, pulling up the book that her sneaky new sidekick had recommended first, the cruiser started to binge-read...
"So… Please tell me that these are the most obvious typos in your career, and that there aren't in fact seven digits to our visitor's tonnage… Pretty please?" Admiral Hitoshi Goto said as he looked up at his two medical experts, only to get a sigh and a shaken head in reply.
"I'm afraid not sir. And no, that's not based on just Leviathan's claims. Akashi was able to convince her to let her fairies on board for inspection and… well, suffice to say the next several hours were enlightening in more than one way."
Goto looked down at the papers in front of him, swallowing as his mouth was suddenly drier than he had thought. "And they were able to see all of her?"
The pink-haired repair ship shook her own head. "Ie. I'll need days to go over every bit of her… And while I will be doing so as long as she doesn't say otherwise, I can already tell you that it's going to be well beyond my means alone to do anything more than catalogue or guess at most of what we see."
The man sat back in his chair, rubbing his fingers over his eyes in an effort to push back the headache he knew was coming. "Let me guess… You want to bring in some assistance on this aside from the usual suspects?" he asked, looking over to the repair ship herself.
"Hai. She's got so many systems that are just too… modern, and most likely post-modern, that I'm going to be at wit's end trying to find something to compare it to. At the very least we'll need someone good with computers and high-end electronics as well as a metallurgist. I was barely able to get a sample of her hull, which she claimed was titanium instead of steel, only to find that it wasn't one whole plate. And no, before you ask, it wasn't just spall plating on the inside, but… well it looked like a sandwich of different materials…"
That got Goto to raise an eyebrow, before he turned to Wainwright again. "And from a medical standpoint?"
"I managed to get a blood and saliva sample as well. While cautious, our new friend seems just as curious as we are as to what's different about her, and asked to be informed of any results as well."
"Huh… okay, that's new then. And if that really is the case then I'll see who I can get. Yuubari was literally dragging at Ooyodo's ankles to get in on it too, so I may have to wear some earbuds when I give her the go ahead. I'll also ask around if we have anyone on hand from the other repair crews, see if Parker has anyone that'll pass through his checks. Anything else you can tell me that won't break my views of reality further?"
Akashi sighed. "Not really. Like I said, I still need more time. Even with setting aside confidentiality for security purposes, there's just so much to cover. Tomorrow I plan on going over her hangar and flight deck in detail to see what I can find out there as well. Actually…"
"What?"
"...I'm still trying to figure it out, but when I say 'flight deck', there really didn't seem to be much of one. She's got hangars, but it honestly looked more like the fighters just get kicked out the door and left to their own devices. Either they're all VTOL craft or the like, or she's got some other trick up her sleeve, because my faeries couldn't see anything like a catapult system…"
Goto gave a thoughtful hum as he digested that. "Well, if she is a spaceship, maybe they don't need one? I mean, it's not like shuttles use them when visiting the International Space Station."
The pinkette blinked at that. "Maybe… But under combat conditions? Or while on planet? I get that in zero-gravity there'd be no need for it. But in the air, wouldn't she need some way to get them up to combat speed in a hurry?"
"Hmmm, that is something to ask, indeed…" he replied as his lips tightened. "Still, the fact that she's letting you and your faeries get this close… I really hope that this is as good a sign as it seems."
Seeing the expression on her admiral's face, Akashi grimaced. "The Diet are still reeling I take it?"
"The idea of an alien coalition looking to kill us all? That would send anyone looking for cover. An interplanetary government that they've never heard of looming above them that may or may not care about what one little nation wants, however, is how they're phrasing the 'real' worry," Goto said with sarcasm.
"The Nationalists you mean."
"Yup. They still haven't shut up, even after what happened back during Year One," Goto half-snarled, before turning to Wainwright. "Back on topic though, anything on your end?"
"Well, she does seem to have a similar sort of set-up as the girls we have, while only having a few of the signs of Abyssal blood poisoning, which may be a reflection of her mentality, or vice versa," Wainwright said before turning thoughtful again. "The only thing I can find that's odd about it is that the ratios are off."
"Hmmm?" both Akashi and Goto looked curiously at that.
"All shipgirls have what looks like normal blood at first, even the Abyssals if you disregard the color. It's only when you look under the microscope that things start changing. Shipgirl blood has structures that resemble white and red blood cells, with plasma that acts more like oil and coolant rather than just a carrying fluid. In Leviathan's case though, I'm seeing a severe lack of oil-equivalent, and a much higher concentration of coolant."
"She did say that she was nuclear-powered, or fusion if you want to get technical, so it's likely that her physiology needs the coolant more…" Akashi mentioned.
"Yes, but it means that her 'blood type' is going to be incompatible with any stocks we have on hand, at least from what I'm seeing. We'd have to strip it out or separate the components in it to make it usable, or find a usable substitute for giving her any transfusions."
'Abyssal blood poisoning' was just a turn of phrase for what was a very little understood facet of Abyssal physiology. When examined under a microscope, Abyssal blood and tissues seemed to be suffused with what could best be described as 'fines', similar to those of Martian dust. Noone knew if the correlation was coincidence, or definite, but those exhibiting Abyssal traits would have larger and larger concentrations of them within their bodies, which acted as a bit of a warning sign to those who knew what to look for, even if early cases didn't outwardly exhibit the physical or mental traits yet. Some in the know theorized that these fines acted as a sort of 'antennae' for whatever forces the Abyssals used, mystical or otherwise, but it was shown that if a shipgirl could be kept in good mental and emotional health, then these 'fines' would work themselves out of one's system rather quickly. It threw most scientists for a loop, since like many things involving magical bullshit, it basically thumbed its nose at conventional medical knowledge and physics in general.
"But other than that, she seems to be in good health? No space-AIDS or anything?" Goto asked, only to be replied to with a snort.
"No. Aside from needing repairs to her rigging, she seems fit as a fiddle, though a little on the lean side. Nothing that a good restaurant or two couldn't fix."
The admiral shuddered at that. "Given the dimensions you listed, that's not going to be an exaggeration, I think… Alright, good work you two. Keep me informed as best you can, okay?" he asked, to which he received a pair of nods before dismissing them.
Umbra suppressed a chuckle as she watched the men and women in their cubicles tap away at their keyboards while she sat on top of the desk across from one of them. The Prowler had left her counterpart to stew in her own mortification as she further explored Yokosuka, and like she had before, Umbra had been pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to slip into otherwise secured locations. Not that there was anything necessarily WRONG with how the base's security measures were put into place, they were just never designed to counter someone who could become invisible at will. It was child's play to wait until one of the clerks had come from a donut run and slip in behind him, and then simply stayed out of the way of foot traffic while looking over as many shoulders as she could! Admittedly, some acrobatics were necessary, something which Umbra found herself blissfully talented in it would seem, much to her delight...
Overall, it was certainly an interesting experience, in her mind. She was used to watching people from a distance while they were ignorant, but it was another thing entirely to do so from such close proximity… and at such a personal level. Umbra's crew had had experience with transporting agents who specialized in such infiltration, but none had actually done it themselves, so the stealth ship was treating it as both a mission as well as a learning experience.
Still, the corvette-girl couldn't help but smile as she watched the man in front of her scan over a list of damage assessments, ammunition expenditures, patrol routes, and fuel shipments before filing them and sending copies out to those who Needed To Know. The beating heart of military communication at work… Meanwhile, Umbra herself had her 'crew' and her own systems memorizing each of the passwords, usernames, directories, and programs that were being accessed as she literally watched over the navy bureaucrats' shoulders. Since coming into contact with the 'internet' as this planet's data network was called, the prowler had been fashioning translation codes to make the local programming languages compatible with select systems and data terminals in her hull, allowing her to browse it without compromising her own internal network. It was still a work in progress, as there were many programs and languages that were still foreign, but she'd picked up enough to be workable. Umbra wasn't sure how Levi's own… 'crew'... had managed to do something similar, but then again, she had over a thousand 'faeries' working for her, as opposed to the handful that the ONI spy-ship had, so perhaps she just had an advantage there? Food for thought...
As the raven-haired prowler memorized the layout of the menus and programs that the clerks were using, her mind continued to drift back to her fleetmate and their current circumstances. To say that it was strange was an understatement of course, but for some reason she found it amusing. Was this normal for humans, or was it simply her? More data was needed likely, before she could really say for certain, but for the moment the novelty of things was starting to become more wonder than frightful. Raising an invisible hand up in the air, Umbra could only marvel at the results of her transformation. What could have possibly caused such a thing? What were the limits of it? Could it be replicated with other objects? Such things were of a high priority, which is why she'd made certain to research as much as she could on the subject with what limited time she'd had in the last few days here in Japan after she'd followed the investigative team from Manicani back to the archipelago.
Admittedly, most of that had also been taken up with creating false identifications for herself and Leviathan, in case they'd needed to hide amongst the populace for any period of time longer than a day or so. She'd done fine work with it too, if Umbra had been honest with herself… Which made it all the more annoying that the chances of it being used were near zero after Leviathan had damn near put up a neon sign saying 'Here I am!' at Manila. Really, it was like noone ever thought about laying low when in a new environment instead of rushing off like a Moa with its head cut off! Lousy Navy bunglers with their 'big guns and big hulls' attitude… And they wondered why ONI tended to get more shit done than them? Maybe if Levi had thought about more than just throwing herself headfirst into a major conflict, they'd have been more prepared, but nooooooo… THAT would have been too passive for the Admiral's favorite, wouldn't it have been?
Inwardly sighing to herself, Umbra had to admit that she was mayhap being just a teensy weensy, itsy bitsy, tiny whiny, liiiittle bit over-sensitive about it. I mean, Levi was SUPPOSED to go after humanity's enemies. If she'd stayed back, then the chances of someone asking rather pointed questions if they'd found out the cruiser had been there and NOT acted to defend the city would have been much higher, and THAT would have had some rather nasty political consequences… And the prowler was under no illusions that when it came to politics, Leviathan likely had just as much, if not more, experience as she did. True, it was at a different layer of the game, but enough overlap would have occurred to clue in Levi as to what would have been disastrous and not.
The door to the office opened, and one of the other intel weenies came in, carrying with him a portable drive of some kind from the looks of it. Feeling herself grow curious, Umbra slowly made her way over the empty cubicles towards the desk he'd stopped at, using her gravitic repulsors allowing her to 'float' above them so that she didn't have to stumble along the narrow walkways and thus stay hidden. She couldn't move too quickly of course, or she'd be spotted, but the way that the spook was whispering to the clerk made her too curious to ignore it.
"...nd this needs to make it through to the guys in Pearl as soon as possible. They're already breathing down my neck for the analysis, along with the notes on Juliet's condition. See that it's sent out with the next batch, okay? I want to get a response from them before eight in the morning, and it's already getting late," the rather anxious-looking man said, his shirt's collar loose and bearing the marks of someone who'd just spent most of the day hunched in front of a screen with no air conditioning.
The clerk took the drive from his counterpart with a look. "You really think that she's being up and up with the brass? I've never heard of it happening before…"
"Doesn't matter what we think, you know that. That's for the brass and ONI to decide."
'Well now, what do we have here?' Umbra thought to herself as she focused in on the two. Oh, it wasn't hard to equate the nickname 'Juliet' with Leviathan, what with the classification they'd given her of 'Ju-class' before, but ONI itself was here? Or was it just a coincidence that an organization with the same name was apparently interested in navy intelligence? As the spook left, the prowler kept his face locked in her memory for later even as she hovered near the clerk's desk now.
"Damn squirrels. 'Do this, do that, don't tell anyone and we won't tell you anything either'," he muttered to himself as he put the drive next to him. Sliding a hand behind the computer's tower, Umbra plugged an extension into the back of the computer, a device the size of a thumbnail that contained one of her dumb AI software crackers, with a directive to infiltrate the system while staying invisible to it. As the clerk plugged the drive in, said AI then moved between the processor and the communications bus, masking itself as another operating system process. This was where Umbra was worried she'd have a hiccup occur, as any Intelligence service worth its salt would have a security setup that would prevent tampering and copying, but she was betting that that only applied to the drive itself, and not the data. As her unwitting accomplice put in the password for the portable data storage and accessed the contents, she held her breath… only to release it slowly when no alarms seemed to trigger and the man's actions didn't deviate from his previous semi-bored routines. Again, the spy-ship memorized the methods by which the clerk accessed and uploaded the files, while her AI copied and stored the raw data itself in its unaltered form within its own micro-sized memory banks. She'd break the code on it later, assuming that she didn't have to rewrite her translation program for the operating system again… But if she did, so what?
After a few minutes, the clerk sent the report as asked, uploading it to the satellite communications station on the roof, while Umbra's AI spy kept its own copy while quietly backing out of the system. Idly, she watched as the man set a deletion and data scavenger program to erase the drive's contents from the computer itself, then turned and reached for a donut. Taking the moment of distraction, the prowler pulled her digital eavesdropper from the tower and slowly drifted away, slipping the device into a pocket where one of her fairies was waiting.
An hour or so later, a change in shift occurred, giving Umbra the opportunity to slip out again, already grinning at having pulled her first true 'heist' of the locals' network and heading back to where she'd set up a hidey hole on the base to spend the night going over everything...
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kobe Works, Kobe, Japan
August 24, 2022
Thursday, 08:00 hours.
Six days after Manila.
The chamber was large, with gantries built over where the water would later be flooded into, a graving dock chosen on the off chance that those called from within would take the form of their old hull first. Metal lattices sprawled over the area, catwalks that could be drawn up or down away from the center junction like drawbridges above the water while power lines fed in through the roof towards the device located in the middle of it all. A slanted and padded platform, similar to a morgue's slab, sat above a series of runes and sigils carved into the flooring and surrounded by a myriad of devices… Lamps, projectors, shrines, symbols of a half dozen faiths along with pictures, medals, flags, a saber, a trumpet, and more surrounding the more technical apparatuses… It was as eclectic collection of artifacts to say the least, but no one knew which would be the keystone to a successful summoning.
Below the platform, there were piles of steel beams and girders, barrels of fuel and crates of electrical wiring, neat stacks of shells and armor plate all placed in the rough shape of a ship at the dock's bottom, just waiting for use. All around this, against the walls and the entrance near the shore, were rows of seats and viewing platforms and speakers mounted on the walls.
Admiral Mayuko Yashiro sighed as she looked upon the sailors and soldiers attending, along with the priests and engineers. Manicani's loss was still hitting everyone hard, but that didn't mean that they could afford to slack off with the state of the war as it was. The woman adjusted her hat atop silky black hair that was kept short, just trailing to the bottom of her jaw in length while her hazel eyes flicked sharply across the assemblage once more. She had only been promoted a year ago, yet in that time she'd had performed fairly well, if she said so herself. Being in charge of Kure's Naval base was both an honor and a heavy responsibility, yet it was one that Yashiro was determined not to fail at…
The doors to the chamber opened once more and two columns of sailors came in, covered caskets upon their shoulders in solemn march, stairways along the near end of the dock allowing the procession to make their way to the setup below while their fellows saluted. Reverently, the sailors placed the caskets in amongst and atop of the gathered supplies, giving one last bow or salute to those within before marching back up to take their place in the stands.
Finally, the catwalks lowered to allow the last of the procession to cross towards the center platform, the metal grating creaking slightly under the boots of those chosen to carry the three remaining coffins to rest around the slab in the center. As these soldiers left, giving a final salute to the fallen, Admiral Yashiro stepped to the railing and looked back at all of those present.
"Today, we gather here to bring hope to our world. In this time of need and uncertainty, we all cling to that which we find comfort in. In our pride, our dignity, and in the skills that we have worked hard to achieve. In our families... and in each other. We have all known loss over the last five years of this war, and despite the tragedies that we have endured, we have not bowed. We are facing an enemy, determined in its pursuit of our extinction. But in our own determination, we hold the line!" she said, her voice carrying out over the gathered crowd, their backs straight and chins held high. "Yet we are not alone… For in our darkest hour, in our darkest moment, our sacrifices did not go unheeded! For when we refused to go quietly into the night, when we refused to let the enemy push us aside, the seas answered our sacrifices!"
After pausing a moment for effect, Yashiro then continued. "In generations past, our forefathers took to the seas themselves. For pride, for country, for their loved ones… And blood was spilled. For reasons both noble and selfish, just and unjust, humanity waged war on one another upon the waves. And as the fallen sank into the deep, they hoped and prayed that they would be the last to do so in such a way. These men and women fought in the greatest conflicts known to history, and the ships that carried them bore the same prayers and wishes… And in the name of those prayers, when the darkness came upon us in the present, those same ships answered the call to arms.
"All here know the story of how the Fleet Carrier Akagi sent her planes against those of the Abyssals during the attack on Tokyo Bay. We all know of how the Battleship Iowa snapped her moorings and sailed into the Battle of Los Angeles. Of how Warspite smashed the raiders of the Thames. And others too who first appeared during the maelstrom that became known as Blood Week… These kami who ruled the seas in days past came to us when we needed them most, and continue to fight at our side… But it isn't enough."
Turning to the caskets set on display, the Japanese admiral motioned to those assembled to look upon them themselves. "Today, we commit the bodies of our fellows to this endeavor, to summon forth these kanmusume, our comrades in arms, from the rest they earned. Today, our fallen give a final sacrifice in order to breach the barrier of life and death, so as to keep the Shinigami's blade from the necks of our loved ones yet another day, and bring forth another ghost of our past to stand with us once more..."
At a signal from Captain Uchida, one of her subordinates, the graving dock's locks opened partway, allowing sea water to pour inside, covering the tons of steel and shells with a layer of salty spray. The sailors watched as the coffins too were given a watery burial, disappearing beneath the foam as others began to start up the machinery around the chamber. Priests and shamans chanted and held onto their personal icons, bibles, or beads, while others attended monitors and readouts to ensure that the esoteric machines were at least theoretically working as they should… As a sensation of static filled the air alongside the hum of generators, Admiral Yoshino stepped up to the railing in front of her once more, looking out towards the pool and the sea beyond the chamber's doors.
Spirits of those the sea has kept,
We beseech you: protect us.
An enemy is at the door!
Your homes, our homes are in danger.
You who are our sword, our shield,
We call you from your slumber.
Be our sword, our shield once more,
We beseech you: protect us!
We show these to you, our valiant dead.
They who in their sacrifice, attained victory!
They who in their deaths, offered themselves to you.
We beseech you: let their sacrifice not go to waste!
The enemy is at our door.
They care not who they fight,
They love not any nation,
They want not any peace.
We beseech you, forgive us our sins against you,
We who are fallible, we who are flawed.
We who in our shortsightedness, wronged you,
For without you, there will only be death.
We beg you, fight once more.
Not for country,
Not for ideology,
But for peace!
You who slumber, we bid you awaken.
You who the sea keeps, we ask you to return.
You, dutiful soul, commit to your duties,
And help us to bring in another day!"
A band began to play as the machines continued to build up charge, various instruments watching over the area while a net of energy, both electrical and (hopefully) spiritual descended on the graving dock. As the music continued along with the building atmosphere, Yashiro stood at attention, her thoughts and hopes reaching out to the beyond, hoping that someone would answer…
"2-4-11 of Love, My heart is beating rapidly! Even docks can't cure me! What I'm going to do?"
Yashiro's eyes widened before they snapped to the side, boring into the face of Captain Uchida, whose hand was fumbling with his uniform's pocket to silence the device within. Normally having the song of the 'Fleet's Idol' would have been fine to add, as it likely would have increased the odds of a successful summons to have one of their own call for their sisters to join them, but THAT song…
To his credit, the captain seemed to understand it just as well as the Admiral did herself. The man finally managed to get the device out of his pocket, only for the phone to bounce off the grated walkway and fall into the turbulent brine below, letting out a small splash as it continued to play its cheery little tune down to its watery grave… Uchida had the decency to look remorseful at his bungle, looking now more like a man about to face a firing squad… Something that he might prefer rather than face his superior's wrath later, if the expression she was giving him was anything to go by.
Ignoring the man's gulp of nervousness, Yashiro let out a breath to steady herself, focusing once more on the hopes and prayers that she'd held in mind beforehand. The lights in the area seemed to dim even as the lamps surrounding the center platform brightened, and the runic arrays glowed in radiance. The scent of ozone continued to build as the world around them grew heavier, the humming of the generators reaching a pitch that nearly matched the volume of the singing sailors around them…
And with an ear-splitting BANG! The air seemed to rush inwards towards the center platform, the water below lifting up and sucking itself towards the slab, mist and light blocking it from view while the sailors braced themselves against the rails in front of them. Yashiro grabbed at her hat to make sure that it hadn't come off of her head, letting the wind wash over her as mist and spray tickled at her face. Looking again to the dais, the officer hoped to see a sign that their efforts had borne fruit. Not all summonings were successful after all, but those that weren't usually didn't have such an effect as this…
"A-ano… Is anybody there?"
Smiling to herself, the Japanese admiral called out to the voice that timidly spoke from within the mist. "Welcome back ma'am. Can you tell us your name?" she asked.
A young woman stepped off of the slab to gingerly stand on her own feet, a series of funnels clinking around her ankles that only partly hid the calf-high socks and sensible shoes she wore. An orange dress with white ruffles over a dark skirt were further ornamented with a torpedo launchers on her hips, and dark opera-style gloves dotted with turrets, alongside a crane that rode from the girl's right bicep. Long brown hair held back with a green bow allowed those assembled to see her hazel eyes and slightly nervous expression on her pretty face. "Ah.. J-Jintsuu… Light cruiser Jintsuu, Sendai class. Did… Did you all ask for me?"
Stepping towards the main gantry as it lowered to accommodate their newcomer, Yoshino walked over to give the girl a salute. "Welcome back sailor… It's good to have you home again."