Ding!
Battered steel doors, with a loud groan of long unused mechanisms in desperate need of oil and maintenance, slid open long after it was shut, allowing rays of spotlights to shine down on the dim chambers.
"We-We-Welcome, BB-61," Droned an automated voice from somewhere in the ceiling. "To t#* highest sec-security labora-ra-ratory: Origin-0."
"Well, rather fancy sounding." Nandor's remark broke the silence that fell on us as the doors fully disappeared into the walls. It got a snort of amusement from me as I agreed with him on that, naming a laboratory with such a name.
"Right, let's go." So I found myself leading our little group in. Looking around, one fact made itself immediately obvious: this place is pristine. A lighter coating of dust all around, but compared to the rest of the underground it was a huge difference.
The chamber we found ourselves in is a circular space, the white and blue painted walls curving smoothly around. I figured the place was big enough to comfortably accommodate maybe eight Shermans, the floor space being mostly covered in tables and varying equipment very similar to what I've seen labs had in them from documentaries I've seen, if much more futuristic looking. There are shelves and cabinets against the walls with books and folders on them I can see when I point a light their way. And as I looked more towards the center of the room I spied a large circular object suspended from what looked like the base of a pillar jutting from the ceiling.
With an excited chirp our manjuu companion hopped onto a nearby table from one of my turrets and waddled over to a blueprint displayed there. Several more excited chirps came from him, gaining mine and the explorer pair's attention to join the manjuu in looking. Looking at it now myself I too got infected by the manjuu's excitement, Nandor's low gasp of awe and Indigo's cursing in what sounded vaguely Arabic telling of their similar feelings.
What lay before us was the blueprint of a warship almost sixty thousand tonnes in displacement, that when built would have featured six four-hundred fifty-seven (or eighteen inch) guns and cruise at a maximum of thirty-three knots. It wasn't the only blueprint we found, for after dusting off more of the table several other designs were uncovered. More battleships, a few destroyers, several aircraft carriers, cruisers, designs for all ship classes except submarines were there and on nearby tables as well. The carrier designs in particular enraptured Indigo, the man muttering furiously to himself as he took pictures with a camera. Nandor liked the big gunned ships more, though he found it odd how little air defenses some of the designs had. Manjuu Foreman loved them all, darting to and fro and gushing at every single detail with cute chirps and wild waving of his sign.
Meanwhile my attention was taken by the weird hanging object in the middle. So after giving a spare lantern from my holds to a grateful manjuu I walked on, past more tables covered in dusty science-y tools and advanced computers until I found myself standing in front of a console, and beyond it, a big hole on the ground. Its sides were lined by a mix of piping, what looked like shielded components and inactive lights. Oh, and the hole was filled with water, which explains the object hanging above it which turned out to be a submersible with grabber arms.
"Huh." I let out, my curiosty peaked by the whole thing. I then looked down on the console, which was a big flat screen held up to nearly chest height by a solid steel stand. Displayed on it, glitching out every few seconds, was the blinking logo of Azur Lane.
Now by this point what I wanted the most in the world was answers. I've recalled being summoned out of nowhere in the middle of the ocean, snatched away from the nice and safe Earth into the world of Remnant. Inserted into the body of a shipgirl, fought some grimm and now found a decrepit naval base that had evidently been ruined by the Sirens so long ago. No explanations from a ROB or something, just: boom, you're a battle boat now. And now here within reach, I may finally have some answers.
So I pressed the blinking icon.
Activating...
Result - Kansen: USS IOWA (BB-61)
Searching user databases...
Result - No previous record
Initiating lockdown proto- Pause... New directives detected - Order Priority: Gold
[The next non-Siren aligned kansen to attempt access will henceforth be given Administrator access to the facility. - C]
Authenticating... Processing... Saving... Complete!
The AL logo disappeared the moment my finger touched the screen. At the same time a tiny red light blinked into being at the top right of the screen as a circular loading icon popped up. Nothing much happened for a few seconds as I stood there hoping that this one doesn't BSOD after so long without maintenance. I have no idea how to fix computers so if I wrecked this one I would be very pissed.
After a bit of waiting though the red light turned green, and the loading circle faded back into the Azur Lane logo with new text appearing below it.
[Welcome, user IOWA]
It then faded to show a different screen, this time showing a couple of paragraphs with the underscored title on top:
PROJECT: SCOOP OF AKASHA
Akasha... the Akashic records? What were the scientists doing over here?
Reading further, there was a lot of scientific and technical jargon the meaning of which I had no idea of regarding the project. Further understanding dawned on me after reading through the introduction and several more sections as my curious side took over and my shock and awe rose with it as the magnitude of this project's importance became clearer. And then I got to the final few lines and I couldn't stay quite any longer.
"No way these guys found a way to just get Wisdom Cubes!" I exclaimed in awe, and maybe just a hint of jealousy. Grinding for those things when I played the game was painful at times. But now theres this pool in front of me that can just pop them out, and all that's needed is the submersible hanging up front to scoop them out. I have to try this out!"
Fiddling with the console, with heavy help from several instruction messages, let me figure out how to access the controls for the whole setup in front of me. Thankfully, there's somehow still enough power in this whole place for me to send the submersible in one dive before the back-up batteries get too low for me to do another. So focused I was in setting up the operation that I didn't notice the other guys had walked up and were trying to get a look on the console as well which was made difficult by my deployed rigging. Manjuu Foreman just jumped onto one of my turrets to get a clear view.
As the process went on the machinery for the Akashic Scoop began spooling up to readiness, lights turning on and machinery long gone unused whirring into action once again. With a cracking to lighting, beneath the pool an ethereal light began emanating, further lighting up the area and the submersible's engine turned on. Smoke and dust was blown from its exhausts on its rear, and a diagnostic report of the little vessel's readiness showed itself on the screen.
"I sure do hope you know what you're doing Iowa." Nandor spoke up then, startling me out of my total focus. Looking at him let me see the slight unease he expressed. "What's all this machinery for?"
Manjuu Foreman chirped for attention, all of us turning to the manjuu visibly vibrating in happiness to read his sign. (You've found the Fountain of Wisdom!)
"The what?" "Fountain of Wisdom?" Nandor and Indigo reacted respectively, the former bemused and the latter alarmed, though both were also very excited as well. But I really don't have the attention to spare answering their questions in detail as the operation is nearing its most important moment.
"Not really a fountain and more of a well." I decided to be concise, still manipulating the console so that the submersible is now being slowly lowered into the pool. A switch was activated to start raising a glass barrier to shield us from any... effects from within as a Breach is achieved. "Submersible goes under and comes back with Wisdom Cubes, square things that hold... data about warships. Said cubes are then used to make more girls like me."
A hush fell over the explorer duo as they contemplated the implications of my words, at the same time the submersible touched the water and quickly disappeared beneath the still-smooth water. The hissing of air as the glass barrier fully sealed is when the questions came again. The look Indigo sent my way was wholly serious as he spoke first.
"What are you, really?" Man, tough question. As the operation for the next twenty minutes is automated I can leave the console as I thought on what I'll say.
I was a human at first, living as a regular girl until I was suddenly and inexplicably tossed into the open ocean in the body of the near century-old USS Iowa, veteran of several wars with all her memories and mindset included. I sighed, racking my head as I tried to come up with something ok to say before just deciding to stick with the veteran side.
"I am the battleship BB-61 USS Iowa." I began, turning to face them fully, though careful to keep my guns pointed up and away. "Commissioned eighty years ago, fought in a war that spanned the world and saw millions dead and two cities annihilated within minutes. Have been decommissioned and relegated to being a museum ship after decades of service, having done my duty and was no longer needed by my nation in the world of Earth."
The glow from the pool behind me intensified, no doubt casting my face in shadow but really lighting up those of Nandor and Indigo. It let me clearly see the comprehension dawning on them as they listened.
"I had no purpose left then. But now I found myself here, to a world in need of all the help it could get." I let myself smile then. Sure this world has been classified many times by fandom and internet in general as a death world, but I am a battleship. I was made for this, and with the enemy this time being a hoard of shadow creatures intent on killing all humanity? No more doubts, no more agonizing over killing humans and other ships like during my time in service. There can be no more righteous cause than this.
I realized then, at that moment. That my human self also wanted this... this sense of purpose. A mundane life, finding a job and growing old to then pass away like any other. That cannot be compared to now. I matter now, more than I did before. I could do so much more.
And with a carefree shrug I finished my little speech, cocking my hip to rest a hand on it. "And so I thought, how about a fleet of shipgirls to make safe the grimm-infested seas of Remnant?"
Just then, the ethereal glow began dying down and the sounds of several winches hoisting up the submersible sounded out. A nice little beep from the console indicated the end of the operation and I smirked. "Satisfied?"
Manjuu Foreman immediately clapped his little flippers in a show of support for me. I flashed him an appreciative smile.
The explorer duo didn't respond right away, assuming thinking poses as they thought over my words. It looked like Nandor got over everything first as he regained most of his regular upbeat manner, sending me a smile and a wink as he replied.
"Hey, beautiful walking warships are a big positive in my books."
Indigo made up his mind as well shortly after with a nod my way as he shared his thoughts.
"Far be it for me to say no to the help of a grand old lady like yourself." I pouted in response, not liking the label he put on me. That title rightly belonged to Warspite, someone battleships around the world held in high regard. Her well-earned reputation precedes her that much. He tipped his hat my way with a slight smile, the dastardly old man.
A hiss and a metallic clunk from behind had me turning to see the submersible had returned, and not empty handed. For there, nestled on the steel mesh of a net between it's grabber arms were seven softly glowing Wisdom Cubes. The glass barrier began retracting then, and the submersible was maneuvered towards the console, stopping until the net was held within arm's reach.
Reverently I slowly grabbed hold of one Cube, marveling at the wondrous object I held in my hands. What was once a product of fiction is now something that will be instrumental for the future. Ok, how did this work again...
"Two for a heavy ship, one for a lighter one." I muttered, thinking about the possible combinations for my future fleet-mates. I absently noted two of the cubes being taken by the explorer duo as I deeply thought on the possibilities. Then I remembered my younger sisters in the class, and my excitement grew to new heights. The thought of fighting alongside them once again was an exhilarating one.
I could be with my family again.
A-N. : The lab deals with the creation of artificial wisdom cubes through methods separate from Sirens. Many are failures, except experiment no. 743. Codename: Scoop of Akasha.
[Removed due to Author reason: What was I thinking what the heck. Also, Scoop of Akasha will be undergoing tweaks.]
A-N. 2: Grammar fixes.
