Tenryuu and Tatsuta were sitting down with the manifestation of their souls in their little metal world, this time being the interior of a private jet known as a Gulfstream G650 private jet with well-lit, milk-white walls, the muted whir of the plane motors outside the fuselage along with barely detectable tremors indicating flight which almost couldn't be felt from the inside.
The four of them were lounging on the sofas, !Tatsuta lying on a couch in a 'Draw me like one of your French girls' pose and Tatsuta being seated on the other end, while Tenryuu looked down at what was on the table before her.
A professionally-made meal consisted of cheese-baked rice with shredded chicken and peas added to it, along with a cupful of orange juice along with mango jelly and a baked potato as side dishes, !Tenryuu sitting before her with the same dishes on her tray while Tatsuta was in the midst of reading a book.
She focused her attention on her own doppelganger as !Tenryuu leaned in to ask, still looking as pale as ever with her ivory skin, bleached hair and white samurai clothes like a ghostly apparition, which was not an entirely inaccurate comparison.
{So, what brings you back to us, Tenryuu?
We'd think that by giving you the upgrade blueprints to your weapons and extra mana in order to power said upgrades, you wouldn't be back this soon in order to keep us company.
Well, not that we didn't enjoy our time together, but there has to be a point to this visit, right?}
Tatsuta lowered the book she was reading, a copy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra while Tenryuu asked.
"Wait.
How are we even here in the first place, wasn't our inner world supposed to be the ocean that's filled with lotus flowers and had a full moon?"
{We thought it would be rather boring if we were to spawn in the same ol' location and look at nothing but ocean all the time now, right?
Besides, this is our inner world and not unlike a dream, why shouldn't we be able to change it up a bit in order to spice things up?}
"Fair enough."
Tenryuu agreed with !Tatsuta's reasoning as she tried the cheese-baked rice and savored the sensation of cheese softening in her mouth with, the rice being what she chewed on for the most part aside from the meat sprinkled inside with mushrooms adding some variety, and she found herself truly enjoying its taste as she recalled what they were last doing.
"Hey, this tastes delicious.
We were flying on a plane which was headed back to Tokyo before flying towards Kamogawa in Chiba, and the Project Psyche admins reserved a private cabin so that we could get in contact with you all in mid-flight.
I suppose this food, while tasty, isn't really going to feed me now, is it?"
!Tenryuu nodded, leaning back as the plate armor which she wore clicked with her every movement, answering her as though stating the obvious.
{Well, no shit.
Just because you ate a five-star meal in a dream doesn't mean that you did so in real life, although I guess you can find some solace in that the mental experience of eating five-star airplane food alone is more rewarding than eating the trash that is real-life commercial airplane food.}
Tenryuu lifted an eyebrow in agreement as she continued, and Tatsuta took the stage as she leaned forward and asked,
"We're here for answers.
I'll post a few right now, and they should be easy enough to answer.
What are we ship girls?
Why are we created?
Who made us?"
!Tatsuta's eyes narrowed, and she retorted.
{We would be able to answer that question, if our programming allowed us to do so.
Whoever our creators were, they certainly didn't want us to tell you what's important until the time was right.}
"So did whoever create you forbade from sharing information with us?"
Another irritating tilt of the head and lift of the eyebrow in a cryptic and knowing gesture was observed as !Tenryuu answered.
{Not really, it's just designed us to speak in riddles regarding anything truly important, I guess.}
"So you admit to holding out on us?"
{Hm, we can at least give a definitive 'yes' to that.
It's up to you to find out to what extent.}
Tenryuu was irked by that brutally honest response from her mirror image, and she demanded an answer from the manifestation of her soul, whom she assumed was supposed to the most forthcoming between the two Tenryuu-Class doppelgangers.
"Hey, why's that so?
I thought you were on our side, and that you'd help us fight the Abyssals?"
!Tatsuta lifted an eyebrow, looking to Tatsuta as the spectre pointed out.
{Well, Tatsuta-chan here's certainly been taking anything we say without a mountain full of salt at her disposal, not that she does with anything others say, especially with - }
"No."
Tatsuta's voice contained an edge which was directed at her own doppelganger with a trademarked Tatsuta glare and snarl, but none of the sickeningly sweet tone she used to maintain her facade, and !Tatsuta relented with a tilt of her head and the lift of her left eyebrow.
And in response to Tenryuu's questioning,
"What?
What're you two talking about?"
She only got a cheshire cat-like smile along with an enigmatic response from her sister's doppelganger,
{Hmm, nothing.
We were just expecting a chance of rain in the days to come.}
Tenryuu pouted as she took a hearty bite of the potato, slightly annoyed that everyone was being so goddamned pretentious around her by making vague references which flew over her head and spoke in riddles so as not to give a straight answer, but she kept her frustrations to herself as she focused on the taste of the pudding after finishing the potato, because damn, was this food delicious.
!Tenryuu shrugged as she looked down, making herself comfortable and reassuring the Twin Dragons that there was nothing to worry about; that their arrangement would be upheld on their end.
{Well, it's not as if we're unwilling to help you, it's just that we're designed to feed you puzzle pieces like a trail of breadcrumbs and allow you all to figure it out for yourselves.
We won't lie to you, that's for certain.
But then, it wouldn't be fair for us to give you all the answers when we likely didn't for the Abyssals.
Here's the answer to one of your question.
Perhaps not the one you needed, but instead one which you might have wanted all along.
Have you heard of the tale of Pygmalion and Galatea in Greek mythology?}
Tatsuta answered before Tenryuu could, and perhaps it was for the best as Tenryuu did all her research as part of her chuunibyou phase and would rather not state her past interests, and she silently listened to her younger sister describing the tale of the crafter who fell in love with his own creation.
"The sculptor Pygmalion?
He was uninterested in human women, but fell in love with his own creation that was a female statue, crafted from ivory stone by his own two hands and named Galatea.
He prayed to a goddess at a lover's festival to make her real, and said goddess granted him his wish by bringing his statue to life, and they both lived happily ever after.
I take it the Galatea in this case would mean us, and the Pygmalion would be whoever our creators were, no?"
!Tatsuta nodded as she made the obscure yet fitting comparison between the ship girls and even the Abyssals with Galatea as being brought into this world not through childbirth, but rather by a maker's hands.
{Yep.
Our exterior perfection in both talent and looks are all artificially crafted, sublime and far beyond anything humans could hope to achieve in another millennium.
To be borne from metal and fuel and be granted life everlasting from the roots of mankind, of which are tainted in war and bloodshed, to blossom and be reborn as something purer and greater anything that has ever existed on God's green earth.
Even so, are we not happy to live as the humans do, to forgo everything that we can become for the sake of experiencing life as they do, like living in peace, falling in love and the like?}
Tenryuu scrunched up her face as she pondered over that story and the logical conclusion to reach upon thinking about it all.
"So we're like, the ultimate waifu warrior race for mankind to rally behind and oogle from the sidelines?
I really don't like the sound of that because of how icky those implications are, and how we were all created thanks to someone messing around and trying to create the ultimate waifu for themselves."
!Tenryuu raised an eyebrow in amusement as she responded, resting her cheek on her left fist in the process.
{What's wrong about it?
We not only kick major Abyssal ass, but we do so in style as Amazonian beauties with superhuman abilities.}
"Yeah, but…
I mean, we could have been created as the 'ultimate super-warrior' without all this extra baggage, right?"
Tenryuu bashfully squeezed her shoulder and arms together in order to accentuate her breasts, since they sometimes got in the way of her movements and occasionally strained her back (thank goodness for their superhuman bodies as well as the existence of docks!), and her cheeks colored as both Tatsuta doppelgangers giggled at how embarrassed she was of her female assets while !Tenryuu answered with a bemused smile.
{Hmm, I suppose there is always a price to pay for the sake of aesthetics.
Besides, I suppose fuel has to be stored somewhere, right?}
Tenryuu puffed out her cheeks as she folded her arms, but upon finding that folding them under her chest only served to push up her sizable breasts for the three other occupants to ogle at, she turned away from them in an embarrassed manner, especially since she knew how touchy-feely Tatsuta could be.
Double Tatsuta meant double trouble.
But !Tatsuta answered another one of their questions,
{As to what we are, exactly, we're supposed to be the next step in human evolution, in which we have conquered death and are eternally youthful.
To overcome one human hurdle that is death is a large step towards being a superior being, for to die as a ship girl means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Even sinking is merely a setback for us to reincarnate on the other side, and yes, you may quote me on that as a confirmation that ship girls reincarnate into Abyssals, and vice versa.
What else could be so beautiful as the sight of a being of war fulfilling her purpose, to fight on even in her next life, and the next, and the next and the next…}
Tenryuu could feel that her spirit was sinking as she listened to how they were essentially doomed to a life of fighting, and while she felt at ease on the battlefield, the loss of comrades and fatigue took its toll on any ship girl, and in response to !Tatsuta's remark,
{However, in contrast to the Abyssals, who can be interpreted as efficiency and industrialization of mankind, we are their emotional and humane side which allows us to socialize and bond with each other.}
She couldn't help but snark,
"Wow, that sounds pretty corny.
I mean, like, the Abyssals are cold, efficient armada of killers like Skynet and its Terminators, and here we are, with our 'Friendship is Magic' bullshit?
How's this balanced?"
{Honestly, I don't think it's supposed to be, but build a bridge over your river of tears and get over it.}
Tenryuu couldn't help but feel a little triggered by that comment, resorting to her tried-and-true tactic of looking away and scratching her temple with her middle finger, hearing everyone sigh upon seeing her throw that out.
Nailed that retort.
!Tatsuta continued on in !Tenryuu's stead by elaborating on how the two sides differed in perspective and methodology.
{Both sides are different representations of mankind's strengths, for we all aspire to become stronger by holding different views on mankind and walking down different paths as a result.
Abyssals aim to become stronger by purging themselves of anything which is perceived as weakness, like emotions, sentiments and even a sense of self to enforce 'strength in numbers' and to act as one, with one will and goal that is exterminating mankind.
Ship girls become stronger by accepting their weaknesses and turning them into strengths, so that emotional highs coupled with the right motivation can allow a destroyer to fight with the strength of one hundred battleships.}
"But why?
Why target mankind, and why all of it?"
{First ask yourselves; why do humans fight?
A myriad of reasons which are all beneath us ship girls and Abyssals, like revenge, resources, race, ideology, nationalistic pride, wealth, territory, religion, or simply due to the inability to tolerate the mere existence of the opposing side.
Allow me to explain a little more about how things work on the other side of this war.}
"Oh boy, Tenryuu-chan.
Make yourself comfortable, because this is going to take a while."
!Tenryuu turned her head to give Tatsuta a slightly annoyed look before continuing.
{The Abyssals look down on mankind for its hedonistic and ignorant ways of 'bread and circuses' while destroying the very planet which they live on, wiping out several animal and plant species every year and showing no signs of stopping.
Many of them also cling onto their old ways like tradition and religion, never daring to move out of the safety of the darkness in order to step into the light.
And then we come to the greatest joke that is politics, it's all just a high-school drama played out on a global scale.
The rich and powerful countries like the USA, Russia and China can be substituted for influential kids, the 'problem child' countries of the Middle East, terrorist groups and North Korea causing trouble and breaking rules, cliques formed everywhere with names like NATO, UAE and ASEAN, and the drama.
Oh my god, the drama.}
!Tenryuu lowered her face into her left palm in exasperation, and !Tatsuta continued the monologue in her sister's stead as she got up from her lying position into a sitting one.
{Countries get together or break up, secret deals are made behind closed doors as you quarrel and disagree on everything while never focusing on what's important in a self-sabotaging manner.
As a unified alien race who's looking in from the outside, 'high-school drama' really is the best way to describe your laughable yet pitiable situation, and I suppose global extermination is, in some twisted way, their way of putting you all out of your misery before you off yourselves.
Essentially, their mission to wipe all of mankind out is no different from a gardener pulling weeds due to how harmful it is to the rest of the garden.
As mankind's hatred distilled and turned back on them, they may hate mankind for every reason under the sun, but I'd say the ultimate source of their hate transcends all reason, and they hate mankind for simply being human.}
Tatsuta sharply inhaled at the purity of their hatred, and even Tenryuu had to admit that that was cold to the point where it was inhumane to the point of being alien to them (which likely went both ways), hearing Tatsuta point out about how mankind's fate was tied with Earth.
"Well, don't the Abyssals know that should this war continue, countless forests, jungles and cities would be devastated in the ensuing fight?
Without us, nuclear plants would break down and infrastructures will begin to fail without our constant maintenance, while millions of domesticated animals would die without our care?"
Before !Tenryuu leaned forward with a dour expression as she pointed out the futility of appealing to the Abyssals, a force of nature unto themselves.
{Well, those are sensible points to make and use when appealing to enemies who give a damn.
But using these to stop the Abyssals is like stopping an impending hurricane or tidal wave with words, it's impossible when they have it out for mankind, in which anything and anyone standing in their way are all acceptable targets.
Besides, they come from another world, so if they destroy this world in order to exterminate you all, why should they give a shit when they can fuck off back home through their underwater portal?}
Fuck, why was it that they could come up with all these eerily accurate and haunting answers to all their questions?
Tatsuta moved on to the next topic regarding their future goals from here on out.
"Regarding the previous comment about being the next step in human evolution, what goals do we have to work towards in order to take the next step?
I mean, we are physically superior and only need a dip in the docks to heal from most illnesses and injuries, so my guess is that we need to work on improving and enhancing our mental state?"
!Tatsuta nodded as she leaned on the back rest of the couch tilted her body closer to Tatsuta in order to pick up the book that was Thus Spoke Zarathustra before explaining what made an ideal ship girl.
{Yes, and to do so is to become the ideal ship girl, a similar concept to the Ubermensch.
Many things make up an ideal ship girl's mental state, but three points are the most important.
One, she should accept everything about her past and present in order to carve out a future, for it is only when accept our true nature as human weapons can we overcome ourselves with self-discipline and channel our drives into pursuits with terrifying effectiveness and ruthlessness.}
Tenryuu's interest was piqued by this discussion because it involved becoming strong, and that was something which she could get behind as she requested for a clarification.
"I don't exactly get it, but the 'effectiveness and ruthlessness' part matches that of the 8th Fleet.
If so, I certainly don't like where this is going."
But even though !Tatsuta shook her head at the inaccurate comparison, she went along with using the controversial fleet in order to compare and contrast what an ideal ship girl should be.
{Yes, and no.
For one step the 8th Fleet takes, they take two steps back.
Many of them are self-loathing, which is the opposite of what an ideal ship girl should be like since one must be able to accept oneself, strengths and weaknesses as well as one's past and present in order to move towards the future.
Something which the 8th Fleet also lacks is the mastery of their destructive impulses as they let loose in battle in order to sate their destructive tendencies, despite using these impulses to strive towards positive goals.}
She couldn't help but agree with that logic, since Unryuu, Hayasui and Akitsu Maru's self-loathing was almost legendary in Yokosuka and was a unifying factor which brought most of the 8th Fleet's members together as well as how most of them indulged in their sadistic whims in combat, and this comparison was used to segue-way into the next point.
{However, they excel in the second point, hence the 'one step forward' part.
Second, it is imperative for us to create values distinct from the goals of the masses for her to uphold and fight for, such that even in the nihilistic cycle of war, death and reincarnation, we can still stand by these new values and uphold them through our own will and strength for they are ours, and not have our purpose in life be given to us by a higher power a la mankind.
To rise above petty concerns, changing the world through our own values and methods instead of the default values programmed within us to become a force of nature powered by our will.
Because to have human values pre-programmed into us means that we'd reject our violent nature due to our lifestyle being fundamentally different from mankind's, like how human values condemn violence and possessing a warlike nature as being 'barbaric' despite both traits being ingrained into us and are quintessential to our survival.}
"So by 'own values and methods' instead of the 'default values', what does that mean?"
{We are conditioned to accept human values as our own, like 'killing is bad' or 'don't enjoy fighting - because it's bad'.
This means that ship girls condemn the desire to fight and the ease in which they slaughter Abyssals, and dissociating yourselves from the violence within you all if no longer needed in peacetime, and thus feel guilty for possessing these qualities, but should a weapon feel guilty for carrying out what it was designed to do, even if it is for the sake of the greater good?
An egregious case of this is if all of mankind dies out in the end, and since our primary directive is to defend mankind, should we roll over and die since we have nothing left to protect?
Of course not.}
An interesting point, Tenryuu choosing to interject by asking curiously,
"But to rise above conventional morality, I hope that doesn't mean we'll be reduced to violent killers who can't tell right from wrong."
{Hell no.
To rise above the conventional 'good' and 'evil' label is not to do nasty things for the sake of it, just that you do not allow these generic and broadly applicable terms to limit yourselves to what you should and should not do as you walk your own path.}
Tatsuta was now fully absorbed in the conversation as she leaned in and rested her chin on her right fist with her right elbow on the folded left kneecap, asking for the final step.
"So there are three steps, one is the complete understanding, acceptance and absolute mastery of self, the second is the formation of values and morals which differ from the masses and carrying them out with one's will.
What's the third step?"
{This leads into our third point, that a ship girl, or Abyssal, must be neither slave nor master to anyone else, not to bow to external control or have her purpose granted to her by an outside source, she must also not seek to control others as she previously was.
Instead, she should be in full control of herself, to give her own life value and create her own set of morals in order to become a force of nature which either changes the world in the wake of her own pursuits as stated in the first point.}
"Why is that a weakness?
We work with the humans, and we know better than to get drunk on our power by allowing the humans to give us orders, being more long-lived as a race and mostly wiser as a result."
{The world's most powerful slave, without the capacity to break free from the control others hold over her, is no more powerful than its weakest master.
The greatest obstacle which prevents us from transcending our present selves is our crippling reliance on mankind to give us our purpose in life as well as our orders, and it is only when we break free can we choose to follow mankind's orders instead of being compelled to do so all the time.
To be free of mankind's golden cap is one of the final steps towards greatness, to be free to create our own set of morality and values and be free to act on them without mankind's rules, values and decrees holding you back, you will instead influence them to follow you towards greatness in your wake, that is the ideal ship girl.}
Tenryuu thought about it all as !Tenryuu finished the monologue about their ideal state, attempting to digest it all before shrugging her shoulders in resignation, only bothering to comprehend the cliff notes version as she remarked.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy, but…"
But…?
She could only stick to her guns in the face of such pretentious philosophical rambling, striving to cut through anything which stood in her way as she continued her sentence.
"But I'll keep on fighting anyway, because that's what I've always done, and I'll keep doing it until the end.
It doesn't really matter what our past is, only our present and future, and with my sword and my comrades, I'll build our future atop the corpses of our enemies.
If they want to come to a ceasefire and fuck off, whatever, but I just want the violence to end, and I'll cut through to the future with Ezekiel, as cheesy as that might sound."
{I'd expect no less from you, Tenryuu-chan.
But you know, I believe, and you need to know that my beliefs are but an extension of your beliefs, that anything ugly and self-destructive can always be salvaged and nurtured into something better, something greater if enough effort is put in.}
Tenryuu raised an eyebrow at !Tenryuu's personal beliefs being shared, and her mirror image gave her a warm smile as she leaned in on her fist and answered her unspoken question.
{Oh, I don't know.
The bloodiest war in human history, all of its violence, bloodshed and loss did produce all of you ship girls.
And amongst them, I have you, my cute little chuunibyou master.}
Her cheeks flushed upon hearing that come out of her mirror image's mouth, looking away bashfully and doing her best not to feel elated upon hearing others praise her, because a real hero would have played it cool instead of haughtily basking in the spotlight, which her past self was prone to doing, Tatsuta leaning with a slightly apprehensive expression plastered on her face.
"You know, you soul manifestations would make brilliant and utterly terrifying politicians, because for all the talking you two have done, I feel like the both of you never really said anything useful.
And for all the progress we made so far, why does it feel as if we've walked in a huge circle the entire time?"
!Tatsuta shrugged off Tatsuta's insinuations as she answered, Tenryuu now also looking suspicious of how they wanted answers, and instead got a spiel about the fundamental nature of a ship girl-slash-Abyssal dynamic and their highest ideal.
{Like we said, there isn't much of a choice on our part, since we were all programmed to withhold information from you all.
Besides, what we say, while not explicitly useful, isn't entirely useless now, hmm?}
"Well, when you put it that way…"
Tatsuta didn't look convinced by a long shot, and Tenryuu suddenly started feeling bad about how the Abyssals would likely make the first move before they reacted, this being how everything worked other than assaults on the Pacific Ocean, which never really accomplished much other than whittle down the Abyssals' numbers which they eventually replaced, the chills causing her pulled-in shoulders to shake as she asked.
"This is it, isn't it?
The end of human civilization, and our previous way of life."
!Tenryuu shivered along with Tenryuu at the feeling of an impending storm which was headed their way and sending chills up their spines, and her doppelganger's gaze softened in order to display genuine concern on her part as she responded sympathetically.
{Don't make me repeat things you already the answer to.
You know it from the bottom of your heart, and so do I.
This is the beginning of the end.}
It was 8.15 a.m. on the 10th of May when American President Robert Miller was pulled out of the start to a meeting which he secretly dreaded, and he knew that if they had to pull him out of meetings to handle something else, it had to be serious as the usual Secret Service agents ushered him out of the room, having been through the motions enough times to know that the Abyssals were likely the cause of the interruption again.
Politicians and aides left and right were receiving phone calls and pager messages, and although some would have questioned what was up in the past as he was escorted by the Secret Service agents who were brushing people aside, but it now turned into the 'same shit, different day' kind of mentality which permeated those who were in charge of overseeing the Abyssal War.
That notion would be proven wrong very soon.
Walking up to his friend and secretary Oliver Haydn, he noted that his friend was wearing the same dark-blue working man's business suit with a black tie to complement his hawkish demeanor and lean physique, a trait picked up in his military brat days while the horn-rimmed glasses fitting him to a tee as someone who was a constant in the hectic and ever-changing landscape that was Washington D.C., unafraid to work every man to the bone in a utilitarian manner in order to produce results.
He gave Haydn a small, tired nod as he joined his army friend on the long walk down the White House's alley, asking with no small amount of weariness about the situation at hand.
"On a scale of '9/11' to 'End of the world', how bad is it going to be this time, Haydn?"
Haydn raised an eyebrow at the scale used and one of the two extremes being a national tragedy.
"I'd just say Cuban Missile Crisis, just hotter.
Nuclear hot.
Besides, I don't think that using that measurement to assess disaster levels is appropriate for the situation, but…"
Robert raised a palm in order to show that he wasn't in the mood to care about political correctness when lives were at stake here, and they took big strides down the white hallways of the similarly-colored White House as he clarified.
"You mean that the Abyssals are nuking us this time?
With the hydrogen bombs that they tested in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?"
Oliver lowered his head despondently, hating to be the bearer of bad news despite it being his job.
"Yes, sir.
We pulled you out the instant we detected the distinct heat signatures of ICBMs being launched, and we already got the Secretary of Defense into the PEOC even before then for him to coordinate and prepare our defense systems when the island Beast appeared near our East coast."
Robert rubbed his face and felt the leathery texture of his own skin, as it was marred by years of army service as part of the family tradition before moving on to politics.
And the strange thing was, he'd rather be out there taking cover alongside his fellow countrymen on the battlefield, who bled and died for this country, rather than playing mind games with politicians, which was like managing a kindergarten at times while fending off the vampiric reporters, even if he could potentially change more with one policy than a soldier ever could in a hundred battles.
"Well then, are we heading down to that blasted Emergency Operations Center and hunker down until everything blows over, or up into the sky in Air Force One?"
"Well, we determined that being in the air would be leaving you too exposed to a possible blast wave which could easily reach beyond several hundred kilometers.
Not that we doubt the integrity of the White House's infrastructure, but we also couldn't rule out the possibility of the blast wave causing a building collapse if we were to camp out in the Situation Room.
Our best bet is Presidential Emergency Operations Center, which was built to withstand nuclear attacks.
This way, please."
Nodding and acquiescing to his bespectacled friend's request for him to move down a flight of stairs which led underground with one hand held out for him, he asked for their intended targets in order to do some quick damage assessments in his head and plan ahead for the future, deploying the National Guard along with the Red Cross while preparing for an international address all included in his thought process.
"Alright, do we know where these ICBMs are headed?
We need to start using every single defense system we have to stop those missiles, and I'll bite and ask this even if I know the answer, but is there enough time to evacuate the citizens around the targeted areas?"
A shake of Haydn's head was all that was needed for him to secretly start praying to a higher power, now understanding why Obama quit early in order to allow a sharper and more war-oriented politician with his heart in the right place to take the reins.
Shit like this occurring several times a year was why.
"According to our best analysts, we predict that the ICBMs are headed for New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Miami and New Orleans.
And as for the latter, I'm afraid there's simply no time for evacuations, sir.
We began the nation-wide broadcast for citizens to stay indoors in their basements with all available rations on hand, because while a hydrogen bomb produces less fallout than an atomic bomb, the blast wave and fallout's still dangerous to the point of being lethal for humans to be exposed to.
Besides, along with the ICBMs that are headed our way, the Abyssals have just been confirmed to be moving towards our coasts on the ocean bed like an army of ants, and we believe that this might be the opening move to usher in Apocalypse before their infantry marches on our coasts."
"Bloody hell, I didn't think that they'd start this early.
And what else are we doing in order to stop these ICBMs?
We must have something left over from the Cold War days in order to stop this, and don't tell me we didn't expect something like this to happen after they invaded us in the '07 blitzkrieg, right?"
"Fortunately for us, yes.
We've deployed all our available jet fighters around the targeted areas as well as the Aegis Defense System on our destroyers in order to take out the ICBMs that are headed for the coastal cities, and we're even utilizing the Ground Missile Defense System in Alaska to intercept the missile headed for several locations.
Right now, we need you to decide where to focus our efforts and time on to ensure the highest odds of success - "
"Hold up, hold up."
President Robert nearly gave himself whiplash by halting his fast stride in order to turn and face his friend a frigid stare,
"Look, Haydn, I know that this might be the logical thing to do, to sacrifice some lives in order to save others.
But do you agree that our anti-ICBM technology is woefully outdated even with the help of the Fairies, no?"
" … Yes sir."
"And given the measly success rate of our missile defense systems, stopping these missiles is more of a Russian Roulette, involving skill and prayer more than anything else.
So until such a time comes when focusing all our efforts on saving one particular city actually improves our odds of success, we will do our best to save as many cities as we can."
Oliver looked back down at him, finally nodding and respecting his opinion as he answered his boss.
"Yes, sir.
Luckily for us, the Secretary of Defense thought so too, and he already gave the go-ahead for all the military bases to spare no expense in stopping them."
"Is that so?
Well, it's nice to see that our two parties can still come together on some issues."
The President's demeanor relaxed as he knew that their parliament had always been a house divided, but winning the Abyssal War was a bipartisan issue which both Democrats and Republicans could work on without quarreling over every single issue which cropped up.
Entering the PEOC as the doors closed behind him, he could see his workers, agents and advisers all stand up to greet as a form of respect due to him being the most powerful man on earth, but he didn't want to distract them from the task at hand as he raised his hand for an idle wave.
"Gentlemen, as you were."
Everyone got back to work, Robert sitting himself down on the chair that was reserved for him and spotting his Secretary of Defense, Anthony Campbell, sitting down and speaking with several military advisers in order to discuss something on one end of the briefing table, giving him a quick nod as one beleaguered worker would to another by virtue of suffering through the daily grind together.
The Secretary of Defense was a stocky man who carried himself with dignity and passion for his job, his slicked-back graying hair and slight wrinkles on his head and face being an inaccurate indicator of what the aging Secretary of Defense was still capable of, and Robert appreciated his management of the ship girls in order to press the attack with his straightforward attitude, although even that appeared to be a ruse with the unexpected curve-balls he could throw, which put him above other candidates during the recruitment process.
The Vice-President, Waylon Tells was nowhere to be found, although asking one worker got him the information he desired, that he had to be driven here from downtown D.C..
He leaned in to ask Haydn,
"So what is the situation regarding the island Beast?"
"Our ship girls are sortieing in the hundreds in order to try and take it out, but due to its size, its overwhelming defenses and unknown capabilities, we can't exactly sail up to it without being extra cautious of what it's capable of.
And even though it's daybreak and we have the jet fighters on our side, should that turtle Beast start crash-diving, the resulting vortex is theoretically capable of pulling in about two dozen fleets' worth of ship girls, easy."
"Jet fighters?
Warships with cruise missiles?"
We're sortieing every available asset right now, but it'll take a while for them to reach the target, and we intend to coordinate our forces such that they'll assault the enemy as one."
He nodded in order to acknowledge the fact that the various branches of the military needed time in order to sortie and arrive at their destination, and due to the more immediate threat of the ICBMs headed for their country's cities, defending them took precedence over attacking an unknown enemy who could potentially decimate their fighters.
Someone in the PEOC then announced,
"We've got an incoming transmission hailing us, Mr President!
It appears to be originating from the turtle Beast itself, and it wishes to open up a two-way communication channel!"
Both Robert and Anthony stood up, and Robert saw that his S.O.D. shot him a hesitant sideways glance as if to say,
'I know what you're thinking, and I don't encourage it.'
And he lifted a fatigued eyebrow in a grim answer.
'Well, how much worse can it get than this?
It's just a call.'
Anthony raised his eyebrow in surrender as he turned away and flippantly waved his hand for Robert to do as he pleased, and he leaned forward to ask of the worker who announced the detection of the mysterious signal as he observed the crew-cut blonde, mostly likely a college graduate who got hired as fresh meat.
"How secure is the line?
We can't afford to get infected with something should we accept the call."
"Hang on, working with the techies in the Situation Room in order to secure the line.
… And there we go."
Whipping his mouse over to the 'accept call' button, the speakers in the room came to life while the projector screen displaying the source of the call along with the identification tag reading,
'UNKNOWN CALLER'
And since there was apparently no one speaking up on the other side of the other line in order to kick off the conversation, he decided to do the deed himself as he greeted their alien caller.
"Hello, who is this?
You're calling from where the enemy is headed, so I suppose this is nothing more a courtesy call after what has transpired in the last hour."
[Hello, Mr. President.]
Robert narrowed his eyes in order to ascertain who that voice was despite his memory pool of IJN ship girls being rather limited, and he looked to his secretary in order to help decipher anything regarding the voice, giving the direct route a shot as he asked for a name.
"I certainly wouldn't want to offend you by constantly referring to you as 'girl' or 'lass', so would you be so kind as to give us a name to work with?"
[Sakawa.
And I'll make it easier for you by saying that I was part of Operation Crossroads, you know, that one in which you fucking nuked me?
Payback's a bitch, ain't it?]
Oh dear.
This was quite the conundrum, and the screen now flashed with information being brought up, Haydn speaking into his ear so as not to allow Sakawa to hear them speaking.
"Sir, the information we're receiving about this Beast and the Abyssal appears to have come from the Japanese.
One of their naval bases, Yokosuka, lost a ship girl named Sakawa several years ago, and according to what they've provided, this Beast is themed after nuclear power perhaps as an ironic twist of fate and is slated to be part of Apocalypse."
"Oh, that's just great.
An enemy who knows how to kill with irony, that really drives the nail in, doesn't it?"
His S.O.D. Anthony sidled up to Haydn and looked down at the hard-copy screenshot of a ship girl's memory file, jogging Robert's memory as a light cruiser who now had some sort of white circle on her chest, a black marker circling it before leading an arrow from it and writing,
'POWER SOURCE'
Turning back to the screen, he asked curiously.
"So is this what you've been working on, Sakawa?
[Yep!
I mean, there's really no other way for a girl to make an entrance and one hell of an impact, amirite?]
He could only raise an eyebrow upon hearing that, but he really felt a little at grinding his gears at the amount of smugness in the light cruiser's voice as she gloated and held one of their greatest failures over their head.
[We also invaded your country's Eastern Coast in 2007 in order to steal your poorly-guarded nuclear nuclear warheads and study your missiles, and as we found them painfully outdated since they were mothballed after the Cold War, it fell upon us to improve on your flawed designs in order to show you what you were missing out on.
Our weapon designs for Apocalypse have all been based on what you've created but simply done better, so I suppose this would be called 'Hoist by your own petard' now, hmm?]
"You're talking about millions of lives lost here!"
Anthony made the occupants in the PEOC jump along with the stationery on the table as the Secretary of Defense slammed his fist on the briefing table in a righteous fury, shortly before he looked around at his startled companions in the bunker, his gaze turning sheepish as he uttered an apology.
"Sorry.
It's just…
You aren't just talking about a world war.
This will become a total war, which we will retaliate with the appropriate force!"
The response was nonchalant, as though the speaker on the other end of the line was simply talking about squashing an ant which crawled on her arm.
[Oh, ok, I guess.
You seem to forget that should we win, there will be no more mankind, for we will give no quarter and will require no human slave labor for what we will build atop your ashes.
Captured humans will be exterminated and subjugated ship girls will be Abyssalized, and we are fully prepared to destroy everything around you in order to starve you out.
Hell, me nuking civilian-heavy cities, which counts as strategic bombings, already counts as a declaration of total war due to a breach of the Geneva Conventions, pyon?]
There was no way for them to find a counter-argument to that, and Robert asked a question which he wanted a genuine answer to come from the lips of an Abyssal, and now that he was talking to a high-ranking one, why the hell not?
"I'd like to ask you something, as one who has spent time studying your motives and tactics…"
[I'm flattered, and intrigued at the same time.
Shoot.]
"You certainly don't seem to want to destroy us like one would kill a snake by decapitating it, because you didn't choose to target Washington D.C..
I couldn't help but detect a hint of sadism in your movements as you play with your food, but only because you would suffer from the same problem we do, perhaps worse.
At least we are fragmented enough as a race to still have someone else to fight, but as a wholly unified alien race, should we humans die out, you'd have no one else to fight but yourselves, and that's not happening anytime soon.
So while we humans and ship girls are your worst enemy which you want to exterminate, our complete annihilation would give you quite the existential crisis as weapons with no one left to fight, hmm?"
There was nothing but soft chuckles on the other end of the line as it resounded throughout the silent PEOC, Sakawa finally saying something in order to explain what she found so damn funny regarding the situation.
[Oh, Robert, Robert, Robert.
You really are too smart for your own good, it's really too bad you're a disgusting human.
We are one of two forces of human nature, in which ours is to destroy everything mankind in lieu of the ship girls' desire to defend all of it.
Our confidence in our ability to put you all down if need be is unmatched, but as living weapons, should we not take the time to smell the roses as we wipe you all out one human at a time, the chances to experience this fulfillment would become increasingly limited as we whittle you down, no?]
He could almost feel the Agano-Class light cruiser shrugging apathetically and speaking as if stating a fact, although he knew better than to take their word without a pinch of salt, no matter how true it may sound right now.
[After all, the world's wrath was turned upon itself in the both world wars and even during peacetime, where even the defenders had to take up arms and lose themselves in the violence while the people's innocence was lost and civilians slaughtered.
So isn't it rather poetic that we Abyssals, who embody that hatred and violence, would use everything that mankind has created for the sake of waging war in order to destroy all of mankind?]
He was sadly familiar with the friction which could occur between countries due to a myriad of asinine reasons, and he was well-studied enough on war history to be acquainted with the bloody and dark history of the USA itself in Philippines, Vietnam, Iraq and the Middle East in general, but to think that the Abyssals embodied that hatred and directed it back at them…
Was it all karmic in some sense?
A sigh threw up a grainy hiss of static which was caught by the microphone, and Robert could hear the exasperated tone which was used as though lecturing an obstinate child on the faults of clinging to the illusions one held in childhood.
[It's just that…
You humans and ship girls really believed that there was a light at the end of this tunnel, the darkest before the dawn?
I'm afraid I'll have to shatter those illusions of yours and wake you up, preferably with a 50 to 100 megaton payload dropped on your heads and bringing about dawn.
Several times, teehee ~ ]
Robert noticed Haydn walking over to his side before leaning in to speak in a subdued tone, praying to a higher power in a rare show of desperation that it was good news which he brought.
"Sir.
The two ICBMs headed for Los Angeles and Seattle have been successfully intercepted, one by the Ground-Based Interceptor missile and the other by our upgrades to our THAAD and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system, thanks to the Fairies.
Thank goodness their '07 invasion drove us to upgrade both of them in order to prepare for today, otherwise…"
A larger sigh of relief had not left his lips before today, and taking this stressful job into account as the commander-in-chief who led the ship girls and the world against the Abyssals with curve-balls thrown at them left and right, this was quite the claim as he muttered a quick,
"Thank you."
Before he turned back to an expectant crowd in the PEOC and relayed the message.
"Gentlemen, our boys have just saved Los Angeles and Seattle."
The operation room burst out into cheers, hoots and claps as Robert kept on his weary but relieved smile and motioned for them to keep at it, but one particular clap resounded throughout the room and silenced everyone as it came from the speakers, producing a slight burst of static with every clap.
Sakawa's voice was congratulatory with little derision in her tone as she commented on their tenacity.
[Woah!
I knew that you humans certainly had some safeguards in place and wouldn't go down without a fight, but that was brilliant!]
Robert allowed himself a sigh in order to unwind from the tension which stiffened his aging body, and he gave a defiant answer.
"That goes without saying.
You didn't expect us to sit around and dwindle our thumbs after the Abyssal War started, and especially since you stole almost all of our nukes in 2007, no?"
[Yeah, but to see you all go about it so competently, now that's quite the shocker!
Seeing how you humans quarrel amongst yourselves over every damn issue, I half expected you all to still be in the contemplative stages of upgrading your missile defense systems, pyon!
Now then, let's put your new missile defense to the test a la Missile Command, shall we?]
The threat behind that last line was all but subtle in a demand for a duel to the death between worlds, and Robert had to struggle to keep his cool in spite of the falling nukes outside, as well as conversing with an omnicidal maniac (also likely insane) who wanted nothing more than their complete and utter extermination, holding no reservations about fanning the flames of war in order to roast them alive by recreating Hell on Earth for the third time.
Oliver turned away from the monitor as though afraid of the Abyssal spotting him through the screen and picking up his weakness by smelling his fear, putting down his mobile phone as tremors plagued his shoulders and back, whispering shakily into Robert's ear.
"We've lost New Orleans, sir.
The ICBM was intercepted and knocked off-course, but the diminished explosion wiping out a portion of the city and the nuclear fizzle, the radioactive fallout, is the final nail in the coffin for our people in New Orleans."
Damn.
He knew that this was coming since it was highly improbable for them to successfully destroy all eight ICBMs, Sakawa picking up on the silence which the PEOC slipped into upon receiving an update on the partial success of her ICBM, gloating about the success of her missiles.
[Oh, look!
New Orleans is pretty much lost, so I suppose that's one point in my favor, hmm?
And even if the yield wasn't as powerful as I thought, it still wiped out a good chunk of the city and poisoned the land around it, so I still win!]
Robert wasn't in the mood to say anything right now as he struggled to comprehend just how many people had perished in the blink of an eye while turning away from the silenced crowd, which allowed him some time to gather his thoughts as did the Abyssal, strangely enough.
All those lives, so rich in potential yet fleeting in their time on this earth, and now, all atomized and returned to nothingness…
He felt so small of a sudden, now feeling the weight of their successful actions in stopping two of these blasted weapons and saving so many lives in the process as it pressed down on him, ignoring how the operation room was buzzing with the sounds of machinery without human voices drowning them out as they intoned their chorus of electronic hums and whirs, putting his train of thoughts back together, with a chill running down his spine as he dared to ask.
"Then, as two individuals speaking on behalf of their own worlds, shall I take that last act as well as your provocative words as a declaration of war?
Or at least, a true world war?"
And all he got was a jovial answer from the ecstatic Abyssal,
[Yeppers!
Oh, I suppose now's a good time as any to tell you that our forces are sailing up to your coasts as we are for the rest of the world, although if your intelligence-gathering capabilities are anything to go by, you already know that, hmm?]
Robert heard Anthony attempt to get a word in edgewise, remarking on the invading force which was headed for both their Eastern and Western shores even as they spoke.
"Well, you certainly didn't make any attempt to keep your intentions hidden, what with sending so many enemy units towards our coasts to the point where we detected them as one big swarm."
[Oh, don't you worry about us keeping our intentions hidden.
After all, didn't we keep Apocalypse a secret from you all for almost eight years before you even began to investigate into these rumors?]
Anthony inhaled sharply and raised his head since he likely felt threatened by that quip, and Robert backed him up by responding.
"Keeping your intentions hidden isn't too hard when you're hiding out at the bottom of the ocean.
Besides, didn't you keep this such a tightly-contained secret only because you screwed up the last time and leaked the Princess plan to us before pushing it out?"
"Ohh!"s and "Roasted!" were whispered amongst his subordinates, and he could see his Secretary of Defense look thankful for his support in that verbal sparring session, everyone now hearing static in the form of sharp inhalation as Sakawa stated in an affably evil tone.
[You know, you're sorely tempting me to fire another ICBM at your country.
But I'll be the better man and say I'm above that, although being by virtue of being an Abyssal, it's arguable that I am the better man.
Pya, technically it's the better woman, but whatevs.]
President Miller still felt her threatening presence seeping through the screen even without a face-cam displaying her face, and with five more airborne ICBMs hinging on the effectiveness of their missile defense system, he got to preparing the military for follow-up action in the wake of New Orleans being nuked, turning to Oliver while Anthony was speaking with his own aides.
"Get the ship girl army looking for survivors in New Orleans, and arm our men with whatever we have in order for them to do their job.
Hazmat suits, gas masks, anything and everything."
"Already on it.
And sir?
There is a side effect of the hydrogen bombs dropping on us.
Apparently, several dozen reports are coming in right now about the ship girls who were in Operation Crossroads are now suffering from panic attacks across the country.
Arkansas, Hughes, Nevada and Anderson, amongst others are all incapacitated by meltdowns, which is the last thing we need right now.
We should have prepared for this."
Drat.
Turning back to the computer screen, his tone was incredulous yet awed by how ingenious this plan was to use nuclear warfare as a psychological attack on their ship girls.
"Did you plan for this as well, Sakawa?
To disable several of ship girls via traumatic flashbacks to Operation Crossroads before invading the mainland?"
In which the jovial light cruiser responded, being a part of said nuclear test and was now ironically the one who turned their weapons of mass destruction back on them.
[Well, of course!
I mean, Nagato-san and Saratoga-san suffered through this, why not have everyone join in the fun as well?]
Anthony shuffled up to him, looking similarly devastated yet even more determined to take up arms in order to defend themselves as soon as possible.
"Robert, our people need us, and they need us now.
We need to prepare for a national address, to comfort our people and - "
"No."
Both Anthony and Haydn looked confused at Robert cutting them both off, but he only did so in order to correct Anthony's statement about this only being a national address.
"This will be an international address, because there is no more distinction between countries.
Everyone is just as much of a target as we are, and they know it.
We'll have to speak to them all in order to rally the world under one cause and retaliate together, just as we Americans did during Pearl Harbor and 9/11, but now on a global scale."
Turning back to the screen, Sakawa apparently picking up on their words as she responded, maniacally announcing to the occupants in the PEOC.
[Heehee, you go ahead and do that!
Just as the last world war ended with a bang, let's start this world war with one, shall we?
The Spear versus the Shield, the rest of my missiles against your defense system.
Let's see who's left standing.]