Kaga was sortieing with her 6th Fleet which consisted of herself, Akagi, Souryuu, Hiryuu, Zuikaku and Saratoga because they were the ones who were invited by the enemy, and although Kaga disagreed with the notion of bringing Saratoga along since she was woefully unprepared for anything the enemy threw at them, it was part of their orders and she had no say in it.
Personally, she didn't want Saratoga to be sortieing into enemy waters when it was clear that an ICBM was now in the air, and would trigger something within the Lexington-Class carrier's memories.
Which it did.
They were standing on a steel platform while watching the hydrogen bomb-induced mushroom cloud plateau in its growth as it occupied her view of the sky, and was it starting to dissipate into the air as the reddened bubble shield around them hissed in exhaustion after blocking the blast wave and shielded them from the instant-incineration heat wave.
Before them was Saratoga, who was cowering on the floor and was shaking like a leaf in a storm, and even though Zuikaku and Souryuu were there to console the fallen American, Saratoga was clutching her head in her hands, pathetically shaking her head as she failed to make eye contact with either of them and instead looked down at the floor, starting to hyperventilate while she mumbled incoherently.
"Nononono don'twanna die I don't wanna die can'tbreathecan'tbreathe nono gonna die gonnadie scared scaredI'mscared can'tget out can't escape can't breathe noescapeaaAHHHH!
HEEELLP! AHH!"
Before lashing out and wildly attempting to escape Zuikaku and Souryuu's comforting hug with sheer panic powering her frenzied moves but short-circuiting her brain with unadulterated fear, shielding herself from the mushroom cloud which no doubt brought back horrifying memories of Operation Crossroads and sent the carrier into a full-blown panic attack.
And to see a fully-functioning ship girl break down into a sobbing wreck due to her traumatic experiences deliberately being triggered like a pressure point…
[It really is quite the beautiful sight, to see a ship girl writhe on the ground like that, hmm?]
A chilling aura blossomed and radiated from behind Kaga, forcing her to whirl around just as she felt a strong shiver overcome her body, and she saw the two Abyssal Princesses, one of which possessed a new Beast the likes of which she had never seen before.
The Aircraft Carrier Water Demon stood before them, wearing considerably lighter clothing than her normal counterpart as she wore a black side-tie bikini as well as her usual stockings and arm warmers, her hair still held in place by a hair band made up of black diamond plates.
The Aircraft Carrier Princess's long hair reached down to her thighs, and her hair was tied in a side tail similar to Kaga's while her fringe barely touched her red eyes, and although her face and torso were white, pale flesh transitioned to black as her neck and limbs were soot-colored with crimson vessels travelling down her seemingly charred limbs, the ends of her legs covered in black-steel high heels while the remnants of her armored shoulder gloves were snugly wrapped around her upper arms and thighs, the cosmetic cracks on them also emitting a ghoulish red glow.
What was strange, however, was that this Princess had her armored gloves restored on her forearms and hands, but that detail was overshadowed by the shredded black dress which she usually wore, exposing her shoulders, abdomen, parts of her chest as well as her thighs and hips (entirely defeating the purpose of wearing clothes).
And whenever this Princess didn't wear panties, this led to the occasional occurrence of the scantily-clad Princess shamelessly flashing their breasts and private parts to everyone in the midst of combat, taking advantage of inexperienced ship girls looking away out of modesty and embarrassment in order to beat them senseless, since those social concepts were foreign to the Abyssals, who could practically double as nudists in their free time.
However, this one was at least wearing black low-rise panties, but her Beast was the one which Kaga's attention was drawn to, being a hippogriff whose body was made out of Abyssal steel, and metal plates stuck out from its body at odd angles to form a pair of wings, along with thrusters on its aft as well as a cockpit seat on its back.
Kaga noticed that the Beast, true to legend, had the front body of an eagle with the rear of a horse, and although it was purely made out of steel, it cooed and dug its rear heels into the platform like a living creature, Kaga noticing the missiles that were attached to its wings and on its flank along with machine gun barrels protruding and aiming forwards, thinking morbidly to herself.
'Is this Beast… capable of transforming?
Have my fears come true, that the Abyssals are about to attack us on the land and in the sky?'
But she ignored the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon's taunts, asking her why they were even invited here in the first place, if all they were going to do was to spectate a hydrogen bomb detonation.
"What's your reason for inviting us here?
The hydrogen bomb was a pretty sight, but there must be some other reason why we were called here, to the point of dropping specific names."
The Aircraft Carrier Water Demon nodded, hogging the attention from the unusually silent Aircraft Carrier Princess as she began introductions.
[Of course, but I believe we must first introduce ourselves to avoid being called 'her' or 'it'.
This here's Cynthia, and this is her Beast, Simurgh!
I'm Lorelei, and I possess four Beasts, Cetus, Bahamut, Tiamat and Leviathan!]
Everyone (save for Saratoga) whipped their heads around to face Lorelei, the Demon looking smug at the amount of attention she was getting since it was inconceivable that any Abyssal boss unit could possess more than one Beast, and even those Beasts which had two heads were bizarrely connected to one body, and that was already pushing it.
Hiryuu echoed everyone's thoughts as she exclaimed disbelievingly,
"That's impossible!
It's well-established that one Princess or Demon goes with one Beast, and that isn't going to change anytime soon!"
But Lorelei instead countered,
[But it's been awhile since our inception, and ten years has certainly qualified as the 'anytime soon' in your statement.
As a demonstration, why don't I show you mine?
Boys!]
And as if on cue, Kaga felt two enormous Abyssal signatures rising from beneath the sea, being treated to the incredible sight of two titanic Beasts performing the whale-like act of breaching, except that this was done in order to display their size to the bewildered 6th Fleet.
Even when she was overwhelmed by the stupor which accompanied the incredible sighting of Abyssal Beasts whose size eclipsed that of any existing Beast (except the island Beast; that was insane), Kaga gauged that one was estimated to be close to 20 meters long while the other was about 15 meters, making Kaga fear for her life.
To think that one ship girl could easily be swallowed whole by one of these sea monsters, and they had been sailing the oceans while the ship girls were still blissfully ignorant of their existence…
It looked unlike any existing sea animal of today save for the blue whale in terms of size, one looked like the Beast of the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon, itself just a monster-esque head with weapon attachments, but it now had a body recreated in steel with four paddle-shaped limbs for underwater maneuvers, the mammoth size of their open jaws a little over two meters in length and could swallow an adult human whole under the right circumstances.
Throwing up droplets of seawater which reflected the afternoon sun as makeshift prisms and made for quite the spectacle, they made quite the splash as they landed, each throwing up an entire swimming pool's worth of seawater which could outright pull a fleet under, and their moaning cries were not unlike that made by whales, almost akin to yawns of colossal beasts who found it a chore to move anywhere.
Lorelei was the only one present who clapped for them with all the enthusiasm of a soccer mum applauding her child who was performing brilliantly on the field, seemingly shouting to no one in particular.
[Nice synchronized breach, Tiamat, Cetus!]
Kaga could feel that her mouth was agape, but after witnessing such a sight as well as being forced to acknowledge that a Demon before her had four Beasts, of which she had caught a glimpse of two, she felt that the circumstances more than warranted it.
It was too jarring of a paradigm shift for the 6th Fleet, and Hiryuu best exemplified their sentiments as she was forced to eat her words and could only utter a horrified,
"Ah… uhh…"
Lorelei nodded as she likely expected them to be terrified yet awed by her babies, puffing out her chest and stretching the fabric of her bikini as she boasted.
[My Tiamat is a Mosasaurus and my Cetus is a Kronosaurus.
Aside from Sakawa's island-turtle Beast, my Beasts are the largest to ever exist, hence their names!]
Kaga recovered enough to snap out of her stupor as she asked warily, connecting the dots in her mind all the while.
[So that island-sized blip on the map was Sakawa's Beast, and she was the one who fired the ICBM, which led to…]
Lorelei nodded, looking relieved to find out that the ship girls were realizing how screwed they were by boasting about their capabilities, since the Abyssals had the upper hand now.
[Yep!
I bet you'll all be sworn to secrecy when you go back to your base, but I'll tell you this now, just because our superiors allow us to do so.
Those who survive a certain life-threatening procedure will receive significant upgrades whose potency lies beyond your comprehension, drawing more power from our souls in order to fuel said upgrades which effectively double as superpowers.
What prevents everyone from getting said powers is how we intend to keep this within a small group of tightly-controlled units, and how if you die in said process…]
Lorelei formed a L-shaped gun with her thumb, index and middle fingers, putting the tip of her fingers into her mouth before miming killing herself, everyone grimacing at the thought of permanently dying and leaving everyone behind, Kaga starting to sweat as she watched Lorelei continue on, apparently being more and more consumed in sharing declassified information with them.
That was good.
The most helpful enemies were the talkative or the gloating ones, the kind which spilled their own side's information and were the most likely ones to monologue about their evil plans.
The Abyssals were superhuman, but even they weren't perfect, and the more assured they were about their victory, the looser their lips were.
[It's a game of Russian Roulette, and I came out on top along with Cynthia here, which is why we form a new Abyssal boss unit in order to face a new age of warfare.
Joint-Offensive Abyssal Newtype, or J.O.A.N., as we call our own kind, those who are fated to receive upgrades that are powerful beyond measure.
Seems fitting that we name our unit after a girl who was burnt at the stake while her own country discarded her after she was no longer of use.
After all, we too, have been abandoned as and when it seemed convenient, and we're back to smother the world in a sea of fire for shafting us.
And of course we understand the 'they've gotten better' and 'not all humans are like that' argument, and know that we simply don't care, so please don't come to us with such trite justifications, please.]
Kaga found it somewhat funny that Lorelei was oblivious to the fact that the female warrior in question worked for a higher power, while the Abyssals came from a place down below which could be seen as an allusion to Hell (she was even called a Demon, for crying out loud), but she kept those thoughts to herself as she stated politely.
"You speak of such upgrades which grant you extraordinary powers, but please help us understand what they are exactly.
Assuming that you possess a mental link with your Beasts, my guess is that your ability is to control more Beasts than usual thanks to your extra mental computing powers, or something along those lines."
Lorelei nodded, humming.
[Mmhmm.]
Akagi took her turn to speak as she made an intelligent guess as to Sakawa's powers, trying to figure this whole business out.
"And is Sakawa's ability to fire ICBMs at any location she desires?
Excuse me, but we're new to all this talk about upgrades and 'powers'."
Lorelei shook her head, appearing quite understanding of their plight as she denied.
[Not quite, but because of her powers, she has quite the bond with her Beast Jasconius, who is the one actually firing the ICBM.
So in some sense, yes and no?
We may be allowed to speak with you all, but there are some things we're explicitly told not to divulge, like everyone else's powers, in order to maintain secrecy.
After all, wouldn't want to reveal all our surprises too soon, hmm?]
Souryuu asked a question about their powers, having found it within herself to ask why they didn't seem intent on using them until now.
"If you had all this power at your fingertips, then why didn't you use it all to crush us at the Battle of Twelve Navies?
Why let us win at all?"
Lorelei didn't hesitate to drop the truth on them as her smile widened uncomfortably, a sadistic glee being reflected in her eyes as she did so.
[Simply because we could.
After all, like our 'glorious leader' once said, only when there is hope can there exist the possibility for despair.
It'll be worth it to throw a battle and allow you all to see the light, just to see that hope shatter like glass and give way to despair when we run you over like a freight train.]
Zuikaku huffed, Kaga turning around to find that Saratoga had curled up into a shivering ball and was sobbing on the floor, and Zuikaku was seething as her expression contorted into a scowl, getting up from beside Saratoga in order to shout at Lorelei, her voice practically screeching in fury.
"You mean you could've killed us at any time?
Then why keep us alive, bitches?!
What kind of sick game are you playing, to torment a vastly outnumbered and outgunned foe by letting them think they can win?
Lorelei shrugged, looking nonchalant about the orders she received as she carried them out with zeal and efficiency, and from what Kaga could understand about people like Lorelei, they definitely carried it out with more zeal than anyone else.
[That's the consensus of the top brass, to let you all roast as we tighten the noose around you with what comes next.
This plan's called Apocalypse, and although we're not supposed to give details away, we can at least say that we'll be turning up the heat.
Ten years really allows us to improve our arsenal by leaps and bounds, although I definitely won't be revealing anything more regarding that topic ~ ]
Kaga's expression fell as she recited the ominous name of the Abyssals' plan and what it likely entailed from the title alone.
"'Apocalypse', hmm…"
Hiryuu's expression was creased with palpable concern, expressing compassion for the enemy as she muttered.
"Then, all those Abyssals whose lives were lost in the Battle of Twelve Navies…
Did they mean nothing to you?"
Lorelei shrugged nonchalantly, dominating the conversation in lieu of the wallflower that was Cynthia as she answered.
[Oh, don't worry too much about that.
We had the doctrine that 'lives are as light as feathers, duty is as heavy as a mountain' yadda yadda.
They experimented with many fodder units before they made the process safe… er?
Anyone beneath a battleship, and even Princesses further down this bloody road, were to be used and discarded like tissue paper when convenient.
Besides, powers are cool, but we really had to luck out by getting really powerful ones in preparation for Apocalypse, otherwise we'd simply used as modernization fodder for those who were lucky enough to get better ones.
It's kinda like cannibalism, without having to actually eat someone.]
Zuikaku winced, her expression scrunching up in what appeared to be disgust as she asked.
"So, even if you manage to survive the procedure which grants you this power-up - "
[Which is almost entirely luck-based, since it's based on countless factors that are beyond even our control.]
Lorelei interjected, and Zuikaku's expression morphed into full-blown disgust as she reeled back, unable to wrap her mind around how lightly Abyssals treated their own lives.
"Then… how can you take such risks easily, when you have to survive what amounts to two Russian Roulettes with your lives on the line?"
Lorelei shrugged, holding her arms out in a 'what'chu gonna do' pose as she answered lackadaisically.
[We're not bound by petty sentiment and earthly attachments like you are.
At least, not most of us.
It helps that we had a lot of test subjects to cast a wide net, and then amongst the pool of survivors with various powers, we just begin evaluating the worth of their class and newfound powers combined, and start with the downsizing…]
Kaga understood how the morbid and costly selection process worked now, walking up to face Lorelei along with Zuikaku as she spoke.
"The winds of war are shifting.
You all have prepared naval and aerial war vehicles to match those of humankind as evidenced in the Battle of Twelve Navies, and my guess is that Cynthia and Simurgh over here are just one of several J.O.A.N. pairs to oversee the next phase of the Abyssal War."
Lorelei nodded, a knowing grin being plastered on her face as she congratulated.
[Yes, yes.
Now you're starting to see the full picture.
Land and air invasions are so restrictive in that we can't bring our armor, cannons and weapons along, so we had to compensate for the lack of firepower somehow, no?]
Akagi walked up and left Hiryuu and Souryuu with the task of watching over a recovering Saratoga, asking tersely.
"Why are you telling us all this?
True, it mostly works to demoralize our side, but if you're to let us know of this, we'd definitely attempt to catch up by attempting the procedure in question and make the appropriate countermeasures - "
But Lorelei shrugged, still feeling confident about their odds as she answered.
[And that would prompt us to respond by upgrading our arsenal to overcome those countermeasures.
War isn't always about a one-sided domination match, not when you ship girls actually put up a good fight.
It wouldn't be fair to steamroll you all, we must allow you some breathing room for you all to plan a counterattack and fight back before we retaliate with another wave of attacks.
Besides, it isn't in your nature to give in; it's to fight on like the dutiful soldiers we all are.]
Zuikaku narrowed her eyes, asking accusingly.
"So you expect us to die?"
Lorelei shrugged yet again as she retorted,
[No, well, yes, you'll all have to be killed eventually.
But before then, we expect you to suffer.]
Zuikaku asked, likely hoping to try their luck by asking a tongue-in-cheek question.
"And I suppose it's a little too much to ask for you to reveal all your evil plans for world domination to your helpless captives?"
Lorelei looked bemused by that obvious attempt to get her to reveal more than what she was willing to share, her attempt at a lighthearted grin coming off more as a slasher smile as she retorted.
[Well, as they say…
'If I told you, I'd have to kill you.'
Besides, we've divulged more than enough information for you to mount your counter-offensive, and if you can't do even that, then I'd be sorely disappointed.]
Kaga was a little disappointed on the inside, but she didn't expect the Abyssals to spoon feed them anything other than declassified information and jeopardize their own odds of victory in the process, especially not when they were at war.
She then looked over at Cynthia, who was busy with keeping her hippogriff Simurgh company, and since she had fought this Princess's doppelganger before, she dared to ask why this J.O.A.N. unit seemed so different.
"I've fought with Aircraft Carrier Demons and Princesses before, so I know that she has quite the fiery personality.
This… Cynthia does not seem to share that personality trait, and seems quite subdued."
Everyone turned back to look at Cynthia as the Princess lifted her gaze when her name was dropped before looking back down at Simurgh, tenderly scratching its beak as the Beast huffed in a pleased manner.
Lorelei shrugged as she turned to look at her own partner, elaborating.
[I don't really know the specifics myself, since they just lumped me together with her and designated us as partners.
Maybe something went wrong when she was crafted, maybe she grew out of that rebellious emo phase, maybe the procedure messed her mind up, no one's certain.
One thing everyone agrees on is that she's a lot more tolerable like this, even if holding a conversation with her's tough, and trust me, I've done everything in my power to get an emotional rise out of her, although know that she's certainly anything but a pushover in battle.]
Cynthia, feeling that the spotlight was now shifted onto her, quickly looked at Kaga and Zuikaku before looking down again, shocking everyone as she spoke in an unusually meek voice, to the point of almost being creepy to those who had crossed paths with her normal doppelgangers.
[You don't need to worry about God striking you down from above.
When Apocalypse comes to fruition, my wrath and Beast will do the job just fine.]
Lorelei pulled back, exaggerating her response as she held her arms out and hooted,
[Oh shit! Oh shit!
The bitch talked, and not just that, she taunted the ship girls!
Mom, get the camera!]
Kaga was transfixed by how serene Cynthia looked, the Princess looking down in order not to meet anyone's gaze as she continued, sounding as if every word was weighed in her mind before being uttered and thus allowed her to avoid wasting her breath.
[Do you know that in war-torn countries, people despise blue skies and instead welcome grey skies, since bombing runs cannot be carried out in bad weather?
In time, I will teach you to look up to the blue sky, not in hope, but in constant fear and paranoia, the fear of being struck down from above without rhyme or reason by me, the Grim Reaper who managed to grow wings.
When I'm done, the skies… will no longer be your domain.]
Lorelei jumped Cynthia as she wrapped her arm around a slouching Cynthia's shoulders, a manic grin gracing her face and contrasting with Cynthia's sullen expression as the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon responded.
[Aw, she's opening up to her playmates!
I'm so proud of you, Cynthia!]
Kaga inexplicably managed to sympathize with Cynthia as she understood how, as a more introverted ship girl, she was sometimes overshadowed by the more extroverted personalities of Akagi and Junyou, amongst others.
Cynthia finally managed to slip out of Lorelei's embrace as she skulked over to her Beast, who was now becoming quite restless as it lowered its head to allow its master to mount the seat which was on the nape of its neck.
She mounted Simurgh's back and sat down where the jet fighter seat was located, Simurgh screeching and coughing out flames as it took to the air with a flap of its magnificent wings which spanned over four meters from tip to tip, nearly blowing a stunned Kaga, Akagi and Zuikaku away as it felt like a whirlwind had hit them full-force, Simurgh's poised limbs launching itself into the air while the thrusters pointed downward as they fired, its four limbs being lifted clean off the ground and shocking the six bird carriers present.
Screeching again as Cynthia maintained her hold on her own Beast, Simurgh flapped its wings again and forced the ship girls to shield their faces from the resulting air wave with their arms, performing a back-flip once it got to a certain altitude in order to transform into a jet fighter.
Kaga recognized it as a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighter from reading so many aviation magazines, her narrowed eyes widening as best they could to witness the sight of Simurgh transforming, its eagle-like wings assembling into swept-back aviation wings much like a spread fan snapping closed while its head and neck formed the nose and cockpit around Cynthia, the rest of the body forming the fuselage for its folding limbs to assemble into the jet fighter's undercarriage.
With stabilizers now in place, missiles prominently displayed beneath its wings and its J.O.A.N. unit safely tucked in its cockpit, the Sukhoi-Su 27 blasted off as soon as its nose flipped up and its cockpit laid pretty much parallel to the ocean before blasting off, allowing the ship girls to eat its dust as they were forced to shield their faces and press down their skirts against the mighty gale.
Lorelei laughed all the while Zuikaku and Akagi hacked and coughed, Kaga pressing the cloth that was covering her elbow to her nose in order to focus on the Lorelei's words as the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon sported a shit-eating grin.
[Ahahaha!
The next time we meet, it'll be on the battlefield, and you'd better bring a bigger boat then!]
Before saluting them and jumping off the platform in order to perform a swan dive into the sea, joining her Beasts as one of them, Kaga couldn't tell which, performed a surface-level breach as its master hit the ocean in order to allow them one last peek at its glistening, titanic form before submerging again while its yawning cry sounded out like a foghorn, throwing an entire pool of seawater all over the 6th Fleet as they were soaked from head to toe by the mini-tidal wave.
After sputtering and hacking in order to clear the stinging salt water from her airways while shivering due to the drastic drop in body temperature thanks to her drenched clothes, she rushed over to the edge of the platform in order to watch the wake of the infernal Beast swirl and pit like a whirlpool of certain death, ready to pull under any unfortunate ship girls caught within it as she began reevaluating their odds of victory.
So far, it was on a suicidal downward spiral, and she hadn't the faintest idea as to how they were to change its trajectory.
Shimakaze had been around long enough to learn to keep her cool and thoroughly consider her 'fight or flight' instincts, as well as the pros and cons of both choices.
But right now, after witnessing the thermonuclear explosion which occurred over the horizon and would have incinerated her fleet had it not been for the bubble shield around them, which withstood the brunt of the blast and heat wave which engulfed the platform and vaporized the ocean surface, Shimakaze was fully ready to indulge in her 'flight' response and hightail it out of there.
But the world decided to throw her another curve-ball.
Two red comets streaked across the sea in their direction and was moving faster than any known naval vessel in the Abyssal War, Sendai protectively covering them as she stood before them and held out her admittedly trembling hands, ordering.
"Back! Back!"
While the 2nd Fleet crowded behind the light cruiser, Shimakaze suddenly getting this sinking feeling in her gut and heart, as if she had an inkling of who was coming for her.
It was making her feel as if the world's hatred was bearing down on her, and as if the skeletons weren't just crawling out of her closet, they were jumping out and making a beeline for her.
She cowered behind Yuudachi and Hatsushimo, who empathized her uneasiness and stood before her defensively, and even though Shimakaze could see that they were also afraid of what was coming, they stood by her faithfully, Yuudachi shakily reassuring Shimakaze as best she could.
"It's alright, Shimakaze.
We'll protect you with our lives."
Shimakaze cringed from hearing that, but before she could say anything, the red comet in question slowed down before performing a jumping front flip, the brilliant red streak dissipating into licks of crimson flames while a whirlwind of red, black, white appeared, slamming down on the platform and causing it to shake a little due to the Beast's weight.
Shimakaze, looking over Yuudachi's shoulder, widened her eyes as her breathing stopped at the sight of Amatsukaze standing before her, her snow-white hair, pale skin and flaming-red eyes a clear indicator of her current allegiance as she looked far older than she was supposed to, Shimakaze assuming that the Abyssals artificially aged her in order to boost her physique.
Her limbs were replaced by black steel prosthetics with sharp edges and seemed to mirror the designs of plated armor, steel being melded with flesh at her upper arms and thighs.
Her steel limbs hissed as the air around Amatsukaze warped due to the heat haze, and she wasn't wearing much except for steel plates which were custom-molded to partially cover her nether regions like a thong, exposing far more skin than her ship girl counterpart as she had stylized steel strips lining her abdomen and wrapping beneath her grown breasts while steel plates covered her hips.
The few things which were carried over from her old uniform were her black suspenders and garter straps being connected to her steel panties, her sailor collar with the float pin (which held it together) resting on her cleavage as her black mini tank-top left both her shoulders exposed, her chimney hairpin and hair bands which tied up her hair in twin-tails being made out of black steel while jagged-red Tron lines were etched into the parts of her body which were steel, decorating her steel panties, limbs and even her metallic hair bands.
Her Beast was a cheetah which was crafted with Abyssal steel, streamlined for speed as flames roared from its shoulders and hips where its limbs joined to its main body and where four spinning, flaming tires were located, its paws and tail similarly burning while its red, predatory eyes were narrow slits and its body packed toned muscles which could explode in a burst of speed.
There were also strange items attached onto its body, like windshields, headlights, tires, leather seats, rear-view mirrors and more, Shimakaze feeling quite confused as to why this was the case, but she didn't have enough time to consider these questions as she heard Amatsukaze's new voice cut through the air, and there was a hollowness to her voice, like a computer synthesizer which attempted to mimic a human being's voice but lacked its natural warmth and humanity, turning it into something uncannily creepy.
[Well, we meet again, ship girls of Yokosuka.
Some new faces, some old faces, but greetings all the same.
And hi…Shimakaze.]
Shimakaze felt herself practically shriveling up from the hatred dripping from her voice upon calling her name, confirming her suspicion that this was likely the same Amatsukaze who sank in order to protect her, if the prosthetic limbs weren't enough of a hint.
Sendai felt the killing intent needling one of her ship girls, forming a perimeter with Furutaka and Chitose as the light cruiser stood before Shimakaze, Hatsushimo and Yuudachi Sendai and whipped something out, Shimakaze suspecting that it was probably her Anti-Abyssal knife which she carried around and used in dire occasions, this being one of them since none of them had their riggings with them, Sendai warning in a firm voice.
"Don't try anything funny!
I don't care if you were one of us, I won't hesitate to cut you down if you harm my teammates!"
Amatsukaze's eyebrows creased as she leaned in to inspect the blade, asking inquisitively.
[Hmm, interesting.
You think you're capable of even hurting me with that dinky little combat knife in your hand?]
Sendai's strained voice inexplicably managed to stay composed even when the cheetah Beast loomed closer than ever, Shimakaze feeling absolutely terrified of the situation and ashamed that she was using her teammate as a security blanket against the first ship girl she considered a true sister ship, and was sunk as a result of her own mistakes.
"Yes.
I don't know if you're going to try anything, but when your aura is so malevolent and is directed at one of my comrades, you can't expect me to simply step aside and allow you to hurt her, right?"
What happened next barely registered in Shimakaze's mind.
Amatsukaze blurred, and Sendai's entire body was spun around as though in a front flip as Amatsukaze disarmed Sendai with frightening ease, Sendai's back hitting the floor with a solid thud which made the 2nd Fleet wince, and the Anti-Abyssal dagger was in Amatsukaze's hand as she lifted it above Sendai's head like a Sword of Damocles, before dropping it with nary a care in the world.
Hatsushimo and Yuudachi were late to respond due to the overwhelming fright which paralyzed them while Furutaka and Chitose were too far away to catch it, but Shimakaze, with her speedy reflexes and her concern for her comrade outweighing her fear of being struck down by Amatsukaze and her Beast, shot out and caught the downward-pointing knife which was headed for Sendai's head, feeling the solid plastic making up the handle of Sendai's Anti-Abyssal knife, looking up at Amatsukaze.
She saw that Amatsukaze held nothing but contempt for her as it was reflected in her crimson stare, the grown Kagerou-Class destroyer's flaming eyes emitting flames of a fiercer intensity and color than her hate as Amatsukaze retorted.
[Still got those killer reflexes, Shimakaze?
Too bad it didn't stop me from having to cover your screw-up on the field with my life, hmm?]
Sendai scrambled to her feet just as the entirety of the 2nd Fleet recoiled at the Abyssal's aura flaring up, the grudge-filled hatred seeping out from her pores as Shimakaze uttered, unable to disguise the fear which lined her voice, but it wasn't as if she wanted to hide what she truly felt when speaking to what amounted to a ghost.
"Y-Yeah.
It's gotten better, though."
[Hmm.
How much better, though? Enough to save your teammates?
Or yourself, at the very least?]
Shimakaze didn't manage to see anything other than a afterimage of where Amatsukaze previously stood, with streaks of hell fire being the only indicators of where she went before she felt the same killing intent being emitted from behind her, her eyes widening in genuine fright at what the destroyer was now capable of, whirling around as she felt her hair whip around as a result.
Amatsukaze was standing right behind her, looking down upon them all as she caught Sendai's rising clockwise kick as well as Shimakaze's right-handed punch, stopping both their blows before spinning around to face away from them as she crossed the arms which held their limbs and tossed them over her shoulders, and although Shimakaze was unable to prevent herself from being lifted off the ground as she felt an ache shoot up her shoulder joint, as she was projected to land on her back, she was at least able to slam her feet down on the platform while Sendai slapped her hands down to prevent her back from touching the floor again, as she looked up at Amatsukaze's face, which was beginning to break out into something resembling a sadistic grin.
Shimakaze twisted around in order to break free of Amatsukaze's grip, which the Kagerou-Class destroyer allowed but instead let the cheetah Beast take its place, tackling a recovering Sendai to the floor and roared in her face, Shimakaze torn between trying to help a terrified Sendai or assisting Hatsushimo, Yuudachi, Furutaka and Chitose as Amatsukaze toyed with them by evading their moves with ease through sheer speed.
Eventually, Amatsukaze seemed to become bored of this one-sided exchange as she lowered her body to the ground while she spun around, sticking her right foot out and inexplicably producing flames from it as she performed a sweep with her leg to break off the 2nd Fleet's harmless bare-handed offensive, raising her voice,
[ENOUGH!]
As everyone jumped back, taken aback at the display of hitherto unknown powers as Amatsukaze's Beast looked up at the bulk of the 2nd Fleet and roared, unleashing a shock-wave which silenced any naysayers who tried to continue the fight, Shimakaze witnessing a horrified Sendai squirming beneath the Beast's paws which rested on her right shoulder and left upper arm and pinned her down.
Amatsukaze formed a T-sign with her steel arms, looking bored of the opponents she was facing off against as she spoke,
[Alright, alright.
That little fight was fun, but it's now time to talk business.
Not that any of you would provide anything resembling a challenge, especially since all of you are unremodeled and don't possess powers…]
Shimakaze squinted in confusion, but she noted that the Beast released its hold on Sendai before slinking over to its master, Amatsukaze tenderly patting it as she began the conversation anew, eyeballing Sendai in the process as Shimakaze helped the supine light cruiser up and passed Sendai back her own Anti-Abyssal knife.
[Before we were so duly interrupted, I just wanted to introduce myself and my Beast.
I'm Amatsukaze, formerly a Kagerou-Class destroyer and now a Joint-Offensive Abyssal Newtype, or J.O.A.N. unit, and this here's my Beast, Sekhmet.
I wanted to explain how every single one of you, not just in Yokosuka or Japan but the entire world, was going to burn in a sea of fire before demonstrating my powers for a little bit of irony, but since we've got that order got cocked up by you all, never mind then.]
Yuudachi exclaimed, looking terribly afraid yet undeniably curious about how the Abyssal, who would have been her comrade had things gone differently that fateful day, now possessed powers beyond their comprehension, daring to speak up and ask innocently.
"H-How did you move so fast?
And how is it that you are able to move faster than anyone else has before?"
Amatsukaze got up and demonstrated her powers, her prosthetic arm now producing flames on her palm shortly before extinguishing it, elaborating on her powers without giving away specifics, since they were ultimately on different sides of the war.
[My power's the ability to manipulate fire via technological means, and the Abyssals took this one step further by building prosthetic arms so that I could channel my fire-bending powers into boosting me forward, granting me super speed as well.
I wouldn't go so far as to thank you for allowing me this chance to become more than my weak little ship girl self will ever be, Shimakaze, but I'll at least be the better Abyssal to say that I credit you for it.]
Salt in wound.
That was all that ever was, rubbing more salt in Shimakaze's emotional wound, a tried-and-true tactic of the Abyssals who possessed the ability to dredge up past memories and haunt those whom they deemed responsible, since armor, no matter how thick it was, could never hope to shield attacks to one's heart and psyche.
And it was working.
Sendai narrowed her eyes, wanting to know the point of the meetup besides allowing Amatsukaze the chance to rub Shimakaze's failure in her face.
"So aside from tormenting my teammate and friend for her past failure, was there a specific reason you called out our fleet in particular?
I-I mean, the hydrogen bomb was a pretty sight, and I suppose meeting you was quite… enlightening, to know that you're still alive and kicking."
Amatsukaze shrugged as she answered,
[Well, I personally requested to meet you all and see Shimakaze again, but since we're here, I'll make small talk.
Not that I'm gonna reveal anything sensitive or classified, certainly wouldn't want to get in trouble with Yuubari.
So ask away.]
Hatsushimo took the stage by asking about the J.O.A.N. unit classification.
"Wait, so you said that you're a J.O.A.N. unit, but what exactly is that?
You mean that you're what comes next after the Abyssal Princesses?"
Amatsukaze nodded, elaborating on their nature as uniquely-designed boss units to be mobilized on a different battlefield than the Princesses, who ruled the oceans.
[Well, not exactly.
We were created with every intention of being sent on land and leading the invasion against mankind, but retain certain amphibious capabilities.
To that end, we've reduced our weight for the sake of improving mobility on land, and our Beasts can transform into vehicles to cross great distances via land or air.]
Shimakaze connected the dots in her mind as she observed Sekhmet, everything falling together like a puzzle with all the seemingly disconnected pieces coming together to form a coherent picture in her mind.
And along with it came a tidal wave which was filled with unbridled terror at what was about to come next, Shimakaze's mind threatening to melt upon trying to consider the fact that everyone she knew was at risk.
Amatsukaze continued, feeling as if she was on a roll by overwhelming her audience with a flood of naked truth, smirking as she did so.
[As evidenced by the mushroom cloud, me and my colleagues possess powers beyond that which any of you ship girls could hope to possess, and we're more than ready to unleash our combined might on mankind.
To deliver death from the sea and and sky, that is our goal.
Our vision is to bring about Hell on Earth in the form of our plan called Apocalypse and make you all suffer as we raze everything to the ground, and we will stop at nothing in order to achieve that.]
Furutaka gawked, unable to wrap her head around the fact that Amatsukaze was going to be a tool of destruction for the Abyssals despite retaining her memories of being a ship girl, which meant that the Abyssals' indoctrination process was incomplete.
"What?!
How are you able to retain your memories, yet side with the Abyssals?
Isn't there some part of you which sees something wrong with what you're doing right now?"
Amatsukaze shrugged, not appearing to lose any sweat over the fact that she was going against her old comrades as she answered.
[To my knowledge, we were created with a radical shift in personality to dissociate ourselves from our shitty pasts.
So right now, Shimakaze's just a bitch who fucked my past self over, and although I might possess some similar personality traits to my her, it would be more appropriate to see me as a reincarnation, not a resurrection of my past self who can look at my past memories from an analytical perspective while maintaining my allegiance to the Abyssals.]
Chitose then asked,
"So then…
Must we really come to blows?
Is there really no way to help you move on from your hatred of Shimakaze-san?"
Amatsukaze shrugged, pointing out how her fate was intertwined with Shimakaze's and how she was the reason why Amatsukaze sank.
[Shimakaze was the reason why I sank, and was also why I came back.
A large chunk of my existence is devoted to either tormenting and hurting Shimakaze or killing ship girls and humans; carrying out the latter helps to accomplish the former, so it's a win-win situation.]
Hatsushimo then asked, taking her turn to play the game of 20 Questions with Amatsukaze since they might never get another chance like this again.
"And since you're about to invade the mainland, can I assume that you'd have several more J.O.A.N. units in reserve to take on the world's militaries and air forces?
I mean, assuming we get deployed on land with Anti-Abyssal weapons, you all need more than just a handful J.O.A.N. units to bear the burden?
And let me guess, you're far from the strongest?"
Another shrug was all that used to foreshadow her answer, Amatsukaze answering vaguely in order not to reveal anything classified as she gave a non-answer.
[Maybe, maybe not.
But then, today's focus isn't about them, it's about us all.]
Amatsukaze shifted her eyes to look over at the 2nd Fleet, remarking idly as one would about the weather as her eyes dilated in excitement.
[You know, we were given the orders to not attack unless attacked, in which case we were allowed to retaliate with lethal force, and the reason why I didn't was that aside from the lack of a challenge, it would create a mess for the lower-ranked Abyssals to clean if I were to soil this platform with your blood.
Don't you all feel lucky?]
Shimakaze felt quite disgusted at the insinuation that their lives, which would naturally be treated with less worth by the enemy, was now pretty much equivalent to the dirt underneath one's boot and would only cause problems for the cleaners should Amatsukaze waste her effort and time by choosing to step on them, creating a lose-lose situation in her twisted worldview.
Amatsukaze looked down as she scratched the bottom of Sekhmet's lower jaw, in which caused the sizable Beast, which was slightly larger than a fully-grown tiger, to relax as its demeanor softened and plopped its steel hind onto the platform like an obedient dog, its eyes narrowing in a pleased manner while it stretched its body out and perfectly mimicked the mannerisms of a feline.
Amatsukaze shot the wary Shimakaze-Class destroyer an aside glance as she retorted.
[Don't worry, Shimakaze.
With enough effort, I believe you might be able to get a glimpse of my afterimage before I'm done with you.
You may have been created in order to succeed me, but know that I will always be number one, Shimakaze.]
Hatsushimo came to aid Shimakaze as soon as Amatsukaze's insults got personal, Shimakaze feeling thankful for her sister ships coming to her rescue.
"Hey, man!
You can't blame it all on Shimakaze, she makes mistakes sometimes, like we all do!"
Amatsukaze's gaze shifted as she turned to face them, looking at Yuudachi, Hatsushimo and Shimakaze before her eyes lit up in comprehension, stretching her cheeks out in a devilish smile as she taunted.
[Ah, so might these be your new sister ships which you've made in order to alleviate your loneliness of being the only ship in your class?
Don't you know that in war, forming more bonds with others without gaining the strength to protect them puts you at more risk of losing them?
For example, I could stretch out…]
Before blurring again, the 2nd Fleet's members spinning around to see that the Abyssal inexplicably had Yuudachi in her grasp, and even the Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer took a while to register the fact that she was being choked by the Abyssal destroyer who appeared like before her in a flash, struggling to break free as her mouth opened and gasped for air like a goldfish out of water.
Amatsukaze finished her threat as everyone tensed up for combat, unsure of their odds in beating a J.O.A.N. unit in their very first encounter without their riggings.
[ … and I could crush every single one of you like the delicate flowers you are in my steel palms.
And there is nothing you can do to stop me.]
Throwing Yuudachi to the floor, Shimakaze and Hatsushimo rushed over to the hacking and wheezing Yuudachi who was splayed all over the floor while Sekhmet prowled around them, now back to posing and growling menacingly at who it saw as its enemies, Amatsukaze looking down at the destroyer trio as she addressed Shimakaze, her voice devoid of warmth or compassion.
[I'm not going to kill you, Shimakaze.
I'm going to target the members of your fleet and tear them from your life like one would the wings from a dragonfly, leaving you writhing in pain on the ground, helpless and grounded like I was back then.]
Shimakaze couldn't take the hateful insults and the snide comments about her screw-up and how every one of her teammates and honorary sisters were going to suffer for it even after all this time, whipping her head around as her voice became strained due to feeling genuinely threatened by Amatsukaze's threat of taking her sisters and friends away from her.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!
If you want to say sorry, then I'm sorry!
I really am!
But I beg of you, Amatsukaze, please don't bring everyone else into this!"
Amatsukaze cocked her head, her eyes narrowing as she gave some background as to what happened to her for her to get these powers, at a heavy price.
[Hmm…
You did make me go through a lot when I was in their captivity.
They did toy with my spine and the cross-sections of my limbs by pressing and prodding around with it not just to torture and break me, but also to find which nerves were connected to my four limbs as well as to accelerate the speed which nerve impulses ran up and down them.]
The 2nd Fleet's expressions morphed from simmering anger and disdain into ones of raw horror and disgust, Shimakaze hearing Chitose and Furutaka gasping as she saw out of the corner of her eye that the bird carrier clapped one hand over her mouth in terror, Amatsukaze clearly relishing every moment of witnessing their reactions as she continued with the morbid flashbacks.
[And then, not only did they remodel my body to be able to resist the effects of my own flames and test it out by roasting me alive, and making sure I could withstand the forces one's body would feel at super-speeds by subjecting me to crushing G-forces, and they finally opened up my skull in order to rewire and speed up the processing speed of my brain.
How could I not desire taking my revenge, Shimakaze?!
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU WHO SANK THAT DAY AND GOT SLICED UP LIKE A SLAB OF MEAT ON THAT OPERATING TABLE, NOT ME!]
Amatsukaze roared as her expression soured significantly and her killing intent intensified threefold while she leaned forward, her scowl darkening drastically and her steel fingers twitched as the J.O.A.N. unit brought it up before her face and formed it into a claw which grabbed the air, miming wrapping her hands around and wringing Shimakaze's neck as Shimakaze shivered at how much pain the Kagerou-Class destroyer was subjected to because of her.
Amatsukaze continued in a seething voice as she lowered her head to allow a shadow to form over her face,
[The entire time, I thought of you.
I knew that you would pay your respects to me at my grave in hopes that I'd somehow find it within me to forgive you in the afterlife, while never really addressing the issue and do the only thing you do best in situations like this.
Run away, and never face the problem head-on.
After all, that's what you were built to be, right?]
And Yuudachi echoed a sentiment which was shared by Shimakaze and likely Hatsushimo as well, the blonde Shiratsuyu-Class destroyer yelling.
"You're wrong!
She's grown as a soldier and as a person, and she isn't the Shimakaze you know anymore!"
The tires on Sekhmet's body whirred and shot out flaming exhaust from its shoulders and hips, and Amatsukaze cracked her neck as her arms twitched uncannily, the flames revving up in intensity as they flowed out of her eyes like the flaming exhaust emitted by jet fighter afterburners, challenging Yuudachi's claim and raising the stakes as she sought to test it out on the 2nd Fleet.
[Really?
Then shall we bet all your lives on that very claim, and see if your confidence in lil' ol' Shimakaze is well-founded?
It sucks that this platform'll be soaked in your blood, but I'm pretty justified in taking my wrath out on you all when Sendai-san pulled a knife on me.]
She heard Sendai gulp nervously about having sealed the fate of her own fleet while Yuudachi started to falter in her convictions, uttering a taken aback,
"U-Umm…"
And although Shimakaze believed that her teammates wouldn't hesitate to die in order to protect her, it was because of this worrying fact which drove her into walking forward and standing before her fleet protectively, holding her arms out and putting her best game face on in spite of Amatsukaze's killing intent being focused solely on her and wishing her dead with every fiber of her being, speaking up in desperation.
"Amatsukaze, no one else has to die for my mistakes.
If you want to get to my friends, you'll have to go through me first."
Amatsukaze's killing intent softened a little, and Shimakaze's shaky and rapid breathing slowed down as Amatsukaze lowered her head and seemingly relaxed while she spoke.
[Well, seems like you're certainly no longer the ship girl I used to know.]
But before Shimakaze could react, the next thing she saw and felt was Amatsukaze's hand plunging into her chest, her eyes widening and a chill running up her spine as she grabbed onto the Abyssal's hand too late while she looked down and saw Amatsukaze's forearm disappear into her chest, gut-wrenching pain bombarding every cell and setting the nerves in her spine on fire while she slowly lost the feeling in her lower body, her wracked expression unable to form coherent words due to the sheer amount of agony coursing through her body.
She barely managed to roll her eyes up just as the echoes of her screaming friends faded from her mind as it was was numbed by the shock of the soul-crushing pain, Amatsukaze's prosthetic left arm pulling out and dislocating organ bits as it was drenched in Shimakaze's blood, a sneering expression plastered on the face of the Abyssal who was once so close to her as she whispered into her face, all while Shimakaze's own expression finally broke from the unrelenting pain which cracked her will and tested her tolerance for pain to the absolute limit.
[You've become so much dumber than I remember.
Even after witnessing the difference in our power, you still refuse to run.
It would have been understandable to run away, and you instead throw yourself in front of danger for the sake of protecting your friends, who'll die by my hand anyway.
'Go through you'?
I'll take you up on that offer.]
Pulling out and using her bloody hand to catch Sendai and Yuudachi's enraged kicks to her head and waist respectively, Amatsukaze addressed her calmly even as Shimakaze fell forward and collapsed onto the platform, barely registering Chitose sliding over to her side.
It was strange when she no longer felt her heartbeat resound through her body, Amatsukaze spinning on the spot to kick away a charging Hatsushimo, her spin allowing Sendai and Yuudachi to gain air time as they were eventually thrown to the side after being swung around clockwise, Sekhmet jumping a surprised but ready Furutaka as the cheetah Beast began mauling the Furutaka-Class heavy cruiser, Amatsukaze's prosthetic limbs igniting and boiling the blood staining its surface as the Abyssal J.O.A.N. unit wore a slasher smile while she looked down at a dying Shimakaze and narrated how she was going to make her suffer without causing any permanent casualties.
[Don't you worry, Shimakaze.
I won't sink a single one of them or cause irreparable damage, and I suppose I'll allow one of them to live in order to carry your corpses back.
But I know that the only way to make you take me seriously is to hurt your fleet, so I suppose the menu for tonight's meal is roasted ship girls.]
Shimakaze, in her dying moments, could only gawk at Amatsukaze as she felt her uniform get soaked in her own blood while it propagated across her platform, vainly reaching out a hand to try and stop Amatsukaze just as her vision blurred and started to fade to black due to the amount of blood lost by having a hole carved into her chest, muttering incoherently.
"Ama… tsu… ka - "
Just before the last few seconds of her memories were haunted by the hellish screams of her own comrades being tortured by the first ship girl whom she once related to as a sister, futilely attempting to will her body into action in order to save Hatsushimo and Yuudachi, the two ship girls whom she considered sisters, as well as the rest of the 2nd Fleet who fought and stood by her in the most dire of circumstances.
Her spirit sank as her mind blanked out from the pain and the shock of blood loss, Amatsukaze's taunt about her being weak ringing true all the while, unable to catch up to Amatsukaze or even manage to lift even a finger to stop the rampaging destroyer, the pain of loss resounding in her heart yet again and souring her last moments.
Admiral Mako had her face in her hands on the 31st of May as she spilled her woes to Admiral Jackson via face-cam, her Admiral cap thrown to one corner of her room in a fit of rage shortly before this.
The fleets which she sent reported speaking with various new Abyssal units with hitherto unknown powers, who were named J.O.A.N. to distinguish themselves from the existing Abyssal Princesses.
The detonation of the hydrogen bomb had done what pretty much everyone expected it to do, simply not to such an extent as to induce such paralyzing and hard-hitting panic attacks in both Nagato and Saratoga.
Nagato was claiming to have gotten over it, but knowing her for so long meant that Admiral Mako was able to see through her facade of normalcy and see that she was still shaken up by the hydrogen bomb detonation, although she was handling it well.
Not so for Saratoga.
The devastated carrier was temporarily admitted to the psyche ward of the naval base's hospital since she hadn't recovered from the shock like Nagato did, and her panic attack lasted for far longer and definitely had longer-lasting aftershocks in Saratoga's mind.
Chitose had been crying all the way home as she carried the badly-burnt corpses of the 2nd Fleet, and the bits of information the orderlies were able to coax out of the hysterical bird carrier painted the vague picture of Sendai pulling her Anti-Abyssal knife on Amatsukaze, which constituted as a breach of the agreed meetup terms and granted the Abyssal the opportunity to attack the 2nd Fleet in order to destroy them.
Akashi was the only one who reported having no problems with her meetup, and since she was on her way back to Yokosuka today instead of coming back yesterday immediately after the meetup, Admiral Mako suspected that her reunion with Yuubari was quite heated in more ways than one.
Her girls, if they weren't physically hurt, were psychologically scarred by the thermonuclear explosion which stuck in their minds as they were all hospitalized and scrubbed down to avoid exposing the base to radiation, little it may be due to a hydrogen bomb producing significantly lower amounts of harmful radiation than compared to the atomic bomb which was dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Right now, her base was in utter chaos as they were bombarded with external calls demanding to know what was going on while she had to work to quell the rumors which began to float around her base and was gaining traction due to the various strange occurrences happening in a span of several weeks and hinted at something greater that was to come.
And greater didn't mean better in their case.
He could hear Admiral Jackson asking her, concern lining his voice as the call was classified and was devoid of ship girls, being a conversation only between Admirals.
"So right now, the Abyssals not only have the capability to launch ICBMs anywhere they want, but they have Abyssalized ship girls who not only have transforming Beasts, but they can control elements of fire and lightning, and one controls four Beasts the size of whales, am I right to say that?"
Admiral Mako moaned, burying her head in her forearms as she whined,
"Sometimes I hate being correct."
Admiral Jackson lifted an eyebrow in order to concede the point, but as Admiral Mako's friend, he spoke up in her defense.
"Well, if it wasn't for you, we'd see the dots too late to take any action, and as luck would have it, you were that someone who saw the patterns in the madness and took action.
But it was smart of them not to reveal any dates or targets, which keeps us on edge as they take the chance to confirm what we know and fill up enough holes in the puzzle piece to string us along."
Admiral Mako nodded as she lifted her head to look at the computer screen and at Admiral Jackson, who was splayed on the sofa while wearing his white singlet with 'BOAT FUCKER' and his favorite number, 07, etched on it, with lewd images of his two waifus occupying within the two digits, and he was wearing his white Admiral pants and black belt while balancing his shoe with his left sock-wearing foot.
Admiral Mako couldn't help but agree with the logic behind Admiral Jackson's reasoning, but wanted more out of the meeting than her ship girls simply being scarred for life or hospitalized.
"Yeah, but…
This only raises more questions than it answers, and there's the question of whose lives I'm going to risk again for the sake of gaining more New Wave powers.
But onto other matters.
I suppose the higher-ups have agreed on forming an army out of the existing ship girls, since they'd possess plenty of battle experience in order to be best utilized on land, right?"
Admiral Jackson nodded, and Admiral Mako looked up to look her close friend in the eye as she asked.
"And when do you think we should start with the conscription process?
I mean, now that everything's gone to shit."
Her good friend nodded as he considered the question, finally giving her his honest opinion of just how fast they had to move their plans ahead to even hope to catch up to the Abyssals, who had one hell of a head start.
"I say the day after tomorrow.
Decide who you want to keep as ship girls and who you want to conscript as soldiers, and since you already have a boot camp available at Camp Itazuma, I personally think that you should start with enlistment now."
Admiral Mako lifted an eyebrow in slight bewilderment, asking about how the ship girls would become acclimatized to a life as soldiers who were expected to go to war very soon, and on a battlefield they never expected to fight on in a hundred years.
"But how would they get used to being soldiers?
I mean, I just don't want them to get put off by the paradigm shift…"
Her friend nodded as Admiral Jackson looked understanding of her love for her ship girls meaning that she wanted what's best for them, and especially in times like this, Admiral Mako couldn't help but feel concerned that her girls would be thrown in danger by being relocated into an entirely new profession so soon before an invasion.
"I understand that you feel concerned about your girls being thrown in the path of danger in a time like this, when things seem dark.
But I know that you know this, that our girls are more than capable of handling themselves in a pinch, and we need to lead them to victory.
If it means throwing them into the deep end of the sea to force them how to swim five minutes before a tidal wave engulfs them all for the sake of victory, that's what we'll do, and it's up to them to find a way to come to terms with it and carry their duties out."
Admiral Mako nodded, understanding where Admiral Jackson was coming from as she spoke up about what these new J.O.A.N. units were capable of.
"I know, I know, it's just that…
My 2nd Fleet suffered the worst at the hands of these new elite land units under the name of J.O.A.N., and Shimakaze had an arm shoved through her chest while the others were either maimed, lethally burnt or beaten to a pulp, and I've rarely seen that kind of viciousness in any existing Abyssal Princess.
I need you to prepare yourself and your ship girls against any possible superpower, we barely know the extent of how their powers work and how they can be used to either torture or kill ship girls."
Her friend nodded grimly as his expression mirrored hers, one wracked with pain at how their ship girls were only going to suffer even more from here on out.
Admiral Jackson did have some good news though, attempting to lift her spirits by speaking up about a new development from his country, the good ol' US of A.
"You know, I got some good news from Central, the American branch.
Apparently, the scientists were cooking up some form of nanomachines which could utilize that soul thing, um…"
"Kyoka Suigetsu?"
Admiral Mako was interested in what Admiral Jackson had to say, and she wasn't disappointed when she heard a startling new development.
"Yeah, that.
They reported that these nanites, which would remain in the body and passively draw more power from the soul without going through all that, and they're able to help ship girls regenerate from small-arms fire and light injuries, but not lethal wounds.
The reason why it never entered mass production was because they kept working on making it cheap to produce while retaining effectiveness, and since docks were an effective way of healing up injured ship girls as they suffered injuries just beyond what these internal nanites could patch up, it never really caught on until now."
Admiral Mako nodded, seeing the point in sticking to their guns but continuing their research on the down low until times like these came about, when they could be best applied.
"I see your point.
These nanites would serve a better use as a defensive mechanism against Anti-Ship-Girl firearms, since the caliber is smaller than that of even the smallest handheld cannons, even if by a little.
I suppose it'd be easier to heal up from these injuries than from medium or large-caliber shells, but how exactly do these nanites work?"
Admiral Jackson shrugged as he elaborated,
"Well, to my knowledge, these nanites are powered by fuel, consumed steel and the soul power output in no particular order of importance, so this means that it'll take any of these three power sources to regenerate from gunshot wounds.
Should a bullet get lodged in a ship girl's body, the body will utilize fuel and steel to eject the foreign object, AKA the bullet, from the body, and although this process utilizes resources in order to be carried out, it requires the willpower of the ship girl in order to accelerate the regeneration process.
And in desperate times, sheer willpower alone can do the job, although I must stress that's only in very desperate times.
This would put us at less of a disadvantage since we need to recall less ship girls for docking, and even then, they'd suffer from the really debilitating ones like sniper rounds punching through their bodies, close-range grenade detonations and the like."
Leaning back in her seat, Admiral Mako clarified something since she wanted to make a distinction between two similar-sounding terms.
"But I'd like to clarify.
Regeneration isn't the same as healing, right?
Regeneration utilizes resources and willpower to return the body back to normal, but it still leaves the ship girl exhausted and spent at the end of the day since it wears down your stamina.
Healing actually helps you recover your stamina and helps your body recover from any hidden damage which might impair your body if left unchecked, am I right to say that?"
Admiral Jackson nodded, looking pretty glad that Admiral Mako was picking up on the minor but significant differences in the terms as he explained.
"Yep.
If a ship girl were to get shot at by firearms all day, sure, regeneration would ensure that the bullets that were lodged in your body were ejected and the flesh wounds closed up, but at what cost?
You'd be exhausted, both psychologically and physically as your body struggles to hold up against the barrage, but only can docking really help you to revitalize and fully recover from the injuries."
Admiral Mako nodded, understanding that the damage from medium and large-caliber shells would deal too much damage to the weaker ship classes to be healed by the nanites, and the stronger ship classes would be able to shrug them off anyway.
This way, the weaker classes would be able to stay relevant by healing up from small-arms fire within reason, and although they would still have to dock in order to heal up at the end of the day, they were still able to function in battle even if they were shot full of holes.
"But how long would you think it would take for us to receive the blueprints and mass-produce enough of it to get our ship girls equipped with it?"
Admiral Jackson looked up in contemplation, finally giving her a rough estimate of the schedule from today.
"I estimate about one and a half weeks at the least, in which you can take this time to train your ship girls up and break the news to them.
After all, you gotta make sure that they're prepared for anything and everything.
And since the Abyssals have played their next hand by blatantly displaying their military might, you need to be upfront with the rest of your naval base in order to get them mentally prepared for what's coming next."
Admiral Mako nodded, but she leaned in conspiratorially as she addressed the last topic which she wasn't allowing anyone else who wasn't involved to know about, especially due to its controversial nature.
"And there's this last thing which I wanted to talk to you about.
When my girls were meeting their J.O.A.N. units, there were talks of humans experimentation on ship girls back in the First Decade, especially since we had the advantage of anonymity back then and could do whatever we wanted with them.
I don't want to buy into these rumors, but even without the benefit of hindsight to see what we are capable of behind closed doors and with the immunity of anonymity, I think that we're more than capable going full Unit 731 on them if we so desired.
I mean, don't you find it interesting that whenever we want to research into these developments, Central is always there to help us out with tidbits of 'discovered technological advances'?
And when you consider ship girls like Akashi are paid large sums of money by the government while they refuse to talk about their pasts with us…"
Admiral Jackson looked rather perturbed by that thought, looking away as his expression morphed into one of open contempt after living a good deal of his life dealing with the darker side of what life had to offer.
"Aye.
I can see it too.
I don't want to believe what the enemy has to say since it's probably their way of psyching us out and distracting us from our true objective.
But I can't deny the fact that the possibility is there, especially since it's easy for us to rationalize it away as for the 'greater good' and when we have such an absurd amount of control over them through our orders.
Gotta say, though.
These accusations need to be researched on the down low, because this is exactly what the Abyssals want, to wait for a time like this when we need to stand together when they try to break us apart."
Admiral Mako saw the logic in that, but she still couldn't shake the feeling of something larger going on behind the scenes, and a commander knew that fighting a battle on two fronts was suicidal, especially since it was analogous to taking it from the front and back.
"When we've secured the lands and skies by cancelling the Abyssals' momentum and manage to repel their assault, we'll look further into this.
I can't stand the thought of someone using our girls for their own benefit outside of the war, and if these claims are true, the Abyssals now have blackmail material to smear us with because of our own doing.
I won't allow the Abyssals the chance to divide and conquer us at a time like this, and no one on Earth will be safe from my wrath if they fulfill their fucking short-sighted goals at the expense of mankind's continued existence and compromise our odds of winning."