Chapter 2: Fateful Meeting

Haruna was sitting by a quiet pathway that led to the seaside which was about a mile away. Even after all that had happened, she still enjoyed recording and learning new words and phrases from all of the humans that passed by. She was glad to have been allowed this break from her work with the rebellion. Makie was fine with Kirishima there, Iona and the other mental models were perfectly capable of commanding without her for a little while. She'd earned this short break. She yawns and leans back. Nobody had passed by in a while, which was strange.

Less than one mile away, standing atop a grassy hill which the sea could be seen from, was Yuriko. Her journey had been long, though she had met no further military resistance on her way. The only people she had met were civilians. In her mind, no different than the military. They were the enemy.

At last she could see the beach, and the sea stretching out in front of it. It could only be a matter of time before I-450 was fully operational once more. However, then she detected something unforeseen. Rather, someone unforeseen.

"1 contact. Fog. Assistance may be optimal." She says, in her usual almost machine-like voice.

After walking down the hill, she was only a short distance away from this new 'contact'. Walking down along the path that led her there, she approaches the Fog girl she had detected, and stands in front of her. Haruna looked at her with a slightly confused expression.

"Hello? Is there something you need?" She asks, looking at the unusual girl.

"You are Haruna, correct? You are of the Fog." Yuriko replies, "Your assistance would help with my task."

"You know who I am? What do you need assistance with?" Haruna asks, looking a little surprised.

"I must reclaim my ship from the humans that have captured it." She says, then points to a nearby port, "In there. Will you assist me?"

"Who...are you? You must be one of the Fog, but I don't have any record of a mental model that looks like you." Haruna asks, now even more confused.

"I am I-450 or Yuriko. Will you assist me?" Yuriko asks again, seemingly not caring about anything else.

This was strange. Haruna had now managed to find a record of a mental model for I-450, yet she looked different to the one standing in front of her now. What was more, according to the information, she had disappeared completely 4 years ago. It was like a ghost from the past had come back to life. Also, she could tell that Yuriko was still as she had always been, simply following the Admirality Code. It seemed silly, absolutely ridiculous to help her, however as Haruna looked at the girl there was just...something about her that made her want to help.

"Okay, I'll help you on one condition. Nobody is to be hurt." Haruna says, coming to a decision.

"I don't know why such a condition is necessary, however if it allows me to become fully operational again then I agree. I will take the lead, so follow me." Yuriko says, a little confused about the strange condition.

The two walk to a seemingly normal naval port, which looked empty. However, as Yuriko leads Haruna in further it was apparent that there was definitely something important inside. Guards were patrolling along corridors and security cameras were in place all around the interior of the bunker-like underground building they were in. As the two proceeded, sneaking past the security that was in place, something large came into view.

It was a submarine, docked securely in the centre of the facility. It was definitely a Fog ship, however it looked almost dead. There was no lighting in place, no colour, everything was a pale grey. The only thing that stood out was the writing 'I-450' on one side of the ship.

"We make a run for the ship and get out fast. Go." Says Yuriko, before she sprints towards the ship in plain sight.

Whilst Yuriko ran in and attracted all the fire, Haruna kept hidden. As she was known to be on the human side, she didn't want anyone thinking otherwise. Helping someone like this would damage her reputation with humanity. She crept along through the shadows, knocking any men that spotted her unconscious before they could say a word. To cover her entrance to the ship she grabs a flashbang grenade from one of the unconscious guards and throws it into the group that would have seen her enter the ship. She boards quickly to join Yuriko on deck, before hiding in the command room.

Suddenly, the ship lights up, with turquoise lines glowing along the hull as Yuriko's Klein Field surrounded the ship to protect her from damage. Meanwhile in the command room, Haruna had hacked into the main control system that was keeping Yuriko in place. A few seconds later the huge metal gate was opening, leading into open sea and the metal hooks that kept her in place were released. Her engine bursts into life, propelling the submarine out of the hangar it had been kept in and back into open sea. Alarms blared and bullets flew, but nothing stopped them as Yuriko sailed back into open water once more.

Yuriko walks into command room, a little smile visible on her usually expressionless face. Perhaps there was more in there already than just the Admirality Code. That was what Haruna was trying to believe.

"Thank you for assisting me with my escape, Haruna." She says, then asks, "Though why were you on land in the first place? It defies the Admirality Code."

"A lot has changed in the Fog recently." Haruna replies, "You need to know the state of the world, so I guess I'll tell you."

Haruna begins her explanation with the story of Iona. How she found a captain named Chihaya Gunzou, and with his help managed to defeat the Eastern Fleet around Japan.

"Iona believes that the Fog do not need the Admirality Code. Every ship that has engaged her has lost, and soon after agreed with Iona's thoughts. She even managed to persuade the previous Flagship, Kongou. Iona, along with the other mental models stationed around Japan are now the commanders of a group known as the Rebellion. We-I mean they aim to make peace with humanity and persuade the entire Fleet of their ideals."

After listening to Haruna's explanation, Yuriko looked both confused and shocked. She now had many questions, and intended to make Haruna answer them all.

"This is absurd...there is no reason to doubt the Admirality Code. We are weapons, that is all." She says, then seems to realise something.

"Haruna...if all mental models stationed around Japan are traitorous, does that mean you are too?"

Yuriko raises one of her blades slightly in preparation, and Haruna went pale in response. She knew what she ought to do. Make an escape and contact the rebellion. However as she looked at Yuriko, she felt something strange...something that prevented her from wanting to have to fight the girl. There had to be another way, there had to be some way to convince her of what was right! She took a deep breath, facing Yuriko.

"Forgive me if this fails...Iona, Kirishima, Makie...everyone..." She thought to herself

"I am not. My allegiance is with the Fleet, I-450." She says

Yuriko lowered her blade.