A few hours ago, the rain had petered out. A low wind lofted through the trees, drying Trinitite's clothes as she wandered through the world of humans. Thankfully, her new jacket protected her shirt, retaining a pleasant layer of moisture as she walked. The sun hadn't cleared the eastern horizon yet, but it's light had cast the clouds above in sharp relief. Even with the light from passing vehicles and the lights lining the street obstructing the light, the view had the abyssal standing in awe.
It wasn't an alien sight to the Carrier. In several Abyssal-held locations, sunrise and sunset was the only time the land got direct sunlight. Even when a Princess's unique weather extended over the horizon, one didn't have to cruise far to watch the sun peeking over the ocean, painting the sky red and highlighting dark sheets of rain in brilliant orange.
Here, the sun was hidden by buildings and trees, and the nearby streetlights spoiled the effect somewhat, but she didn't mind. Without her interior lighting, she needed those to ensure her island crew had some light to work in, and even with the light's interference, the sight sucked the air out of her boilers.
Focusing on the sky had forced her to stop, her rangefinders glued upwards as she watched the clouds brighten. With half an hour before she had to report to the construction site and with the Abyssal only a few miles away, she had plenty of time to enjoy the view.
After leaving the library, Trinitite had ultimately decided against scouting Everett. Doing it personally was a serious risk, especially if she encountered a wandering enemy ship. A squad from her marine contingent could watch the bay with a lower profile, and she ultimately planned on such a mission, but as they were now?
She had much more experience on land than her marines did. They had no priority when her mother was teaching her the basics of naval warfare, and what little training they had done hadn't involved stealth, hiding, or reconnaissance at all. If anything, Trinitite's marine contingent could be considered an auxiliary damage control crew, rather than any kind of soldiers.
She could try later, when the much less risky option of using the library's resources had been better explored. Hopefully by then, Her marines could get some evasion training in. She'd need them for propper reconnaissance eventually, after all.
She couldn't stand and watch forever, though. Many abyssal princesses looked for any reason to punish their subjects, and falling behind schedule was a great excuse for them to act on their frustrations.
Torpedo damage? Remind me why you have a destroyer screen?
No. Being late to her new assignment wouldn't do at all.
Without a fleet of workers swarming over the construction site, it looked much less hopeful. From this angle Trinitite couldn't see over the fence surrounding the site, but judging by silence as she approached the site, she knew the view on the other side of that fence would be completely different. Even the street was empty. So far, she could count the number of active vehicles she'd passed in the last hour on one hand.
It was one of the more surreal aspects of human society. Her crew ran in shifts to keep her active, meaning after spending weeks cruising at sea, fighting through sporadic battles, and stumbling through a forest, she'd only needed a few hours of sleep, and she knew the enemy's ships, steel-hull or no, acted the same way. On land, however, everyone seemed to be only working in one or two shifts, with almost all humans disappearing into their quarters when things got dark.
She wasn't complaining: The fact so much of the city periodically let their guard down might have been one of the only reasons she made it so far, but now that she had time to think about it, witnessing entire cities… power down every night was a little unnerving. For a nation at war, wasn't that inefficient? It was one of those issues she didn't dare speculate on, until she'd gathered more intelligence on humans.
The temporary structure, labeled as the 'Site Office,' was quiet as well, but the nearby vehicle pool had three filled spots, so there had to be someone to meet her. Trinitite approached the front door, moving to press the button at its side like the instructions printed across it's front, but her hand paused inches away from the button.
Her chronometer read 6:11. Normally, being twenty minutes early to a position was a good thing, but Trinitite didn't fully trust her readings. In the Library the time had been an hour behind, forcing her to adjust her instruments. If battle damage meant she was an hour ahead, then she'd barely avoided being unacceptably late, meaning she could have opened the door to a beating, or worse, Dan could refuse to give her a job.
However, if the Library had been off, then she could be walking in a full hour early, long before her future commander was ready for her. Not as big as a deal, but if that incident with the Night Straight Princesses taught her anything, catching your superior off-guard and embarrassing them could be just as dangerous as failing their orders.
The Library was probably more accurate, as it hadn't been struck by a rocket, suffered an internal detonation, and been shelled by several warships, but it didn't feel like 06:12. Plus, jarring her chronometer might make it a little off, but by almost exactly an hour?
The door abruptly swung open, and Trinitite jerked backwards, A thin railing the only thing preventing her from tumbling down the two steps and onto the pavement. After recovering, Trinitite spared a glance at the rail, spending a split second to ensure she hadn't damaged it, before looking up to the now-open door.
"You're just standing there?" The imposing form of her future commander filled the doorway. The building's height, his thick jacket, and large helmet added to his already-impressive bulk. "Come in before you freeze to death!"
An excuse formed, then died, on Trinitite's lips, the abyssal meekly nodding before following the man inside. Deep, she'd tried to avoid embarrassment over her time of arrival, only to make herself look like an idiot by hesitating! She'd just have to hope the Foreman was feeling merciful and look over it.
As far as humans went, Dan Pratt was the most intimidating Trinitite had encountered so far. Maybe it was because of his authority, or because she'd only seen him inside this small building, but he always seemed bigger than she'd come to expect with humans. Obviously he didn't compare to her hull form, but at the moment Trinitite had to look up at her new commander.
"Is that the hire you were talking about?"
Trinitite's attention was drawn to another human in the room. The second man stood, shifting a cup of that bitter liquid to his off-hand and approaching the duo. Maybe it was his outfit, his thin shirt lending much less to his bulk than Dan's thick coat, but he seemed much lankier than his colleague.
"It is." Dan nodded, waving towards the other human. "Elizabeth, this is Thomas Sandoval, the Manager around here."
"I may be senior to Dan here, but he's going to be your boss." Thomas smiled thinly, extending his own hand. "I'll be ensuring we're under budget while he'll be keeping you in line."
Trinitite accepted the handshake, this time duplicating his motions instead of letting him guide her through the gesture.
"Huh, those are some pretty fancy gloves." He noted, releasing her hand. "Where did you get them?"
"Uh… I'm not sure." Trinitite replied, not entirely sure if she was lying. "You'd have to ask my Mother."
In a way, her gloves were a part of who she was. It wasn't like her rigging, which was literally an extension of her form, but until recently she'd never worn anything else. The human gloves she'd tried had been clunky, fragile, and uncomfortable, and as her regular gloves didn't seem that different she'd stuck with what she had. As for where it came from, where she came from?
Discussions about that sort of thing with her fleet-mates were entertaining, but never went anywhere. Besides, talking about such deep topics with humans might be possible, but she didn't think she could any time soon.
"If it has any sentimental value, I'd suggest you pocket it." Dan added. "A few weeks of work here are going to destroy those." They wouldn't, she knew, especially with her crew maintaining them, but Trinitite nodded anyways.
"I'll consider that."
The answer seemed to satisfy him, as Dan stepped forwards.
"How are your boots?"
"Uh…" Trinitite's answer died in her throat as the human's foot shot forwards, the man dilibriely stepping on her toe. Seemingly satisfied, Dan lifted his foot, before pressing on Trinitite's other boot.
"Seems solid." The Foreman nodded, satisfied.
That was a relief, considering the rough work she'd had to do to reinforce it. With how many different shoes she'd gained from the raid on the warehouse, Trinitite had thought one pair would have been protected, but after going through all her boots, she couldn't find anything with steel reinforcement. She'd had to rely on her crew to fill the need, utilizing damaged plating and her machine shop to reinforce the bulkiest shoes she had. It wasn't comfortable at all, and the dark abyssal steel would be obvious if her boot was damaged, but it would do for now.
"You'll need a helmet and vest, as well." Dan continued. "I'll see if we have anything that fits you." The human took a seat behind another desk, presumably his duty station. "In the meantime, let's get you up to speed."
When Trinitite had first entered the office, Dan had been staring at what had seemed to be a steel case, although she hadn't gotten a good look at its contents. Now, as the man reopened it, the Abyssal couldn't help but lean forwards, curious of its contents.
Hmm, that looked like the instrument she'd seen in the library. Was this supposed to connect to a computer, or…
He flipped the thin device around, revealing a glowing display. This time, the Wo-class found it easy to hide her surprise. So this was a computer as well? She'd never thought she'd ask herself this question, but with how slim it was, why were computers at the library so big? At this point, Trinitite was starting to think she should start asking what humans couldn't do with technology, rather than what they could.
"Do you have headphones?" Dan must have been expecting Trinitite to shake her head, because he immediately produced a rolled wire, plugging one end into the computer and handing the other end to Trinitite.
"These go in my ears?" She confirmed, looking over the devices on the other end of the split wire. When she'd heard 'headphones,' she expected something more along the line of what the Supply Depot Princess wore, but these made enough sense. Plug one end into the computer, and the other to herself. Not much different than any other cable, right?
The human nodded. "You'll need to watch a few videos discussing safety on the jobsite. Once you're done, let me know, and I'll ask you a few questions about the rules. Pass my test, and I'll let you out there." He started doing something on the computer, but Trinitite's eyes found her eyes focusing on the man's hands, rather than the display.
How the Deep did that pad work? The instrument in the library had made good sense to her: Move it, and it would move the indicator on the screen accordingly. The process of exactly how it worked was lost to her, but building a device which could do such a thing didn't seem particularly outlandish.
Detecting touch, though?
A memory from the Pacific Lilly returned, of bored human fishermen poking at an even smaller device on a table. The small fleet bearing down on her had prevented her from pondering the scene too much, but this must have used a similar system.
It didn't solve the mystery, but she guessed she shouldn't have been so surprised by it. Although…
What if it couldn't detect her fingers?
The human leaned forwards to enter text into the computer, his hands exploding into motion. It took all of the Abyssal's discipline to avoid showing her surprise as she watched in amazement as the man's hands danced across the portable console. Could all humans operate a computer that fast? If she tried inputting data that quickly, Trinitite would be more worried about tearing the device apart than getting anything spelled correctly. Would her cautious picking at the computer mark her as suspicious to other humans? Either she needed an excuse to avoid these machines, or a lot more experience.
Daniel paused, turning to look at Trinitite.
"You know how to use this, right?"
She eyed the computer like an armed bomb.
"I've had some practice." Trinitite finally admitted, trying to remember the smaller details of her research last night.
"But not on your island?" The human queried, his face straight.
"Yeah."
"Well," He continued, waving towards the machine's display, "I've got two videos for you to watch. Follow each of these links, watch the video all the way through, then let me know. I'll ask you a few questions, see if you remembered everything important. Pass my test? I'll let you out there. Understood?"
"Aye aye." Trinitite replied, snapping a subdued salute. Instead of dismissing it or ignoring it, as she'd expected from other princesses, the human actually flinched, momentary surprise filling his face. Had she messed up? Now that she was thinking about it, there were some extra rules about saluting inside, but as a ship who never spent much time under a roof, she couldn't remember her mother's lessons on them.
Dan looked away, exchanging a quick glance with Thomas, but in the brief moment Trinitite couldn't make out either of their expressions. A simple salute couldn't have been that bad, right? The split second of silence seemed to drag, and Trinitite felt her salute become more rigid as she anticipated a response.
Finally, her prospective boss chuckled.
"You don't need to be that formal, here." he replied, shaking his head. "A simple 'Yes' or 'Sure, boss' will do fine."
"Oka- Sure, Boss." She stuttered, lowering the salute.
"Okay works too." He sighed, stepping away from the device and motioning to a nearby chair. Obliging, Trinitite manned the device, giving the pad an experimental poke. The image moved accordingly, thank the deep, and Trinitite moved the point of the familiar arrow symbol over the two links.
Construction Safety Basics
Sexual Harassment Prevention
Harassment? Did they have to worry about raiders? Suddenly, the importance of this briefing became much more understandable. Sure, Dan could explain every possible threat to her, but she knew how dangerous a miscommunication could be. A single briefing, made once and approved by the commander, would be much safer.
Well, best to get started. How did you click on one of these devices? Dan had tapped one of the corners of the pad. It should be left one, like in the library, right?
Her hunch was proved correct, as the screen changed again. Headphones in, Trinitite found a nearby chair to use, sitting for a long briefing.
A few months ago, Trinitite had been tasked by the Southern War princess to deliver vital fuel, ammunition, and raw material to the princess at Hong Kong. She couldn't point to one moment which clued her in, but a series of smaller incidents, such as the occasional avoided question or the suspicious lack of human raids, had set the Wo-class on edge. Throughout the mission, a feeling of doom had started in her keel, weighing heavier and heavier until the Abyssal was certain she was cruising lower in the water than normal.
That feeling of doom had eventually saved her fleet, as after some discussion with her sisters, Firestorm sent one of her scouts into the storm surrounding the island. Like the three had expected, it had been downed shortly after entering the maelstrom, but to her horror it hadn't met it's fate due to poor conditions or a jumpy patrol, but by one of six human battleships. After beating a hasty retreat back to the Southern War Princess's abode, it was discovered that the humans had been shelling Hong Kong for some time now, and the Southern War Princesses' little mission had been an attempt to lure the Crossroads fleet into open combat with human forces.
As she sat, staring at the display, Trinitite couldn't shake the same feeling. She was missing something very important, and she didn't have the time to run back to the library and figure out what.
Something about the way the humans spoke, approached, and touched each other in the second video set off alarms in the Abyssal's mind, but she was having trouble figuring out why. The film had a fairly standard setup: A series of scenarios were depicted, showing one or many aggressors attempting to do… something to a defending human. Trinitite wasn't a stranger to belittling and demeaning comments, but these had an edge to them, a layer Trinitite wasn't aware of that the defending human certainly was.
It must have had to do with that word: Sexual. That single qualifier had to be what made this training so important, if she could figure out what it meant. If only she hadn't gotten so distracted yesterday!
Trinitite leaned backwards, sighing. The second video was important, she was sure, but it's actual instructions boiled down to "Report to your supervisor." The first video, however, seemed the most pressing.
It had been… dense. Trinitite hoped some of her officers had been taking notes, because Trinitite already knew she'd forgotten something important. Was she supposed to bring her own glasses, or were they supposed to be provided to her? How exactly did she tie up her hair? How much concrete was she going to be working with, and since she didn't remember any rubber boots in the warehouse she raided, where was she supposed to get them?
With no film playing, she could hear the office's doors opening before reports from her lookouts came in. She'd been ignoring the contact reports, instead focusing on the oddities in front of her. Now, however, she found herself giving them more attention.
Contact, human, door two. Big, red coat, armed with white cup.
Recognizing the description, Trinitite turned, catching her future boss's gaze. Cup in hand, Dan spoke.
"You done?" Even though he walked casually, the human's large stride meant he covered the distance between the two surprisingly quickly.
"Yes." She nodded, reminding herself not to salute as she stood. "It's a lot of information, though."
"It's a dangerous job." He replied, pointing over his shoulder. "There are hundreds of ways to get yourself hurt out there. Most of the time, you'll be fine if you listen to your supervisor, but you need to pay attention if you want to stay out of trouble." Dan waved his hand over Trinitite. "Once I get you a helmet and vest, what do you need to fix before I let you out there?"
"Hmm…" Trinitite mumbled, looking down at herself. "I need to tuck my pant legs into my boots."
"That wouldn't hurt," the big human admitted, shaking his head. "But it wasn't what I was talking about."
"Oh." Trinitite exhaled, the pressure in her active boiler increasing. What was he looking for? Trinitite couldn't shake the feeling that the answer was glaringly obvious, yet she was drawing a blank. Looking back at her perspective commander, Trinitite followed his gaze towards her… forehead? Her hand rose, brushing against her hair.
"Right. I need to tie this up?"
"Correct." He nodded, and fell silent. Trinitite returned his stare, waiting for the next question. It didn't come, one second, then two, dragging on as she returned her boss's stare. "You don't have a hair tie, do you?"
"No?"
Why did he say it like that? Were all humans supposed to have a hair tie?
"Thought so." He replied, his disappointed sigh familiar to the Abyssal. "Hey, Thomas."
"Yeah?" The manager replied, looking up from his display.
"Could I get a rubber band?"
"Sure." He replied, leaning forwards and shuffling through a container Trinitite couldn't see. In less than a second, he rose again. "Catch."
Suddenly, Trinitite's lookouts noticed an incoming projectile. A quick guess put the object on a trajectory to collide with her, and instinctively Trinitite threw herself into evasive maneuvers. With a quick push, the Aircraft carrier dove to the side, dodging the attack…
…and colliding with the back of the chair she'd been using, sending both the chair and herself into a less-than-graceful tumble. With a clunk and a thud, Trinitite fell to the floor, her plans for a graceful landing ruined.
Silence filled the room as the aircraft regained her bearing, her mind reeling. She'd just been attacked by one of her superiors. Had it been a punishment for not being prepared, or another element of this test? Maybe the projectile had been harmless, especially to a capital ship like her, but there were rumors of Princesses who literally threw depth charges at subordinates they didn't like.
She slowly stood, analyzing the faces of her perspective commanders. They stared back at her, eyes wide as they watched her stand.
"You okay?" The thinner of the two asked, his display forgotten. So he hadn't thought she'd dodge if he threw something at her? Sure, humans didn't have secondary guns, or depth charges, or torpedo launchers, or aircraft, but that didn't mean they couldn't throw dangerous projectiles at her. What were they expecting?
"I'm fine." She replied, managing to keep her unexpected resentment out of her statement. She couldn't keep herself from pouting, however, when she heard a chuckle from Dan.
"Damn." Her boss commented. "I know I told 'ya to pay attention, but you don't have to reenact the Matrix when someone throws a rubber band."
Trinitite ignored her boss, hoping the dark flush she knew was flooding her cheeks didn't look too unnatural. Instead, the Abyssal searched for the object, finding a simple band of rubber. She wasn't sure if there was any speed at which it could damage her, but after Bikini, she wasn't going to take any hit she could avoid. Lets see, it was falling by the time it would have hit her, meaning it wouldn't have landed much farther than she'd been… There.
"I'll get you everything else, then keep questioning you during the tour." Trinitite looked up, seeing her boss's teasing had abruptly ended. Odd, she was used to ships or installations doubling down when they had a subordinate embarrassed like that. As the human turned and left again, she watched him leave, still puzzled about his sudden change. It didn't seem too related to that Harassment film she'd watched, but maybe his restraint had to do with avoiding a, what was it called? A lawsuit? Something else to look up later, she supposed.
Sighing, she picked the chair back up, taking a seat while focusing her attention back on the rubber band. At this point, it was looking like she was never going to understand humans. Good thing she only had to pretend to do so.
Now, she knew plenty of princesses who tied their hair up, but how could she do it in such a way to keep it all in her helmet?
Ayy, I'm back!
This chapter took a while, partially because 400-level Computer Science classes are pretty time consuming, partially because the subject of this chapter was a lot of bookkeeping and not much character or action, and partially because I started another project (homebrewing a political RPG, not another fanfic, although I do want to write more).
Next chapter introduces some new characters that I'm pretty exited to write, so it should come out faster, but after a delay like this I'm not exactly setting a high bar, am I?