Intermission 2
- Liam's island base, the now named 'Outer Heaven' -
September 7th, 2023: Akashi's workshop-
"...Nnyyyaaa...~!"
*Tap, tap, tap*
"Alright, if we can keep the margin of error within these range of values then... hai! I think we'll have a winner, nya!" Akashi muttered to herself after finally pulling the all-nighter she needed in order to finish running the latest and, hopefully last, batch of simulated activation tests for the AI programs she and Metis developed to be implanted into the synchronized wisdom cube integrated combat androids the pair finished prepping before Liam and the others left for their mission. "But seriously though, I'm amazed we really could 'prime' the wisdom cubes so that they could be used later, nya. Still, we never would've known that if Shikikan hadn't suggested we try it out first and see what happened... Anyway, now that we've come this far, all that's left to do is to go and do the real thing and pray there aren't any issues..."
"That is all well and good, my lady, but would not now be a fine time to mayhap take a break then? Thou hast gone a whole day and night without sleep already, no?" kindly suggested a tall shipgirl dressed in a loosely military themed red and black outfit in a quiet, polite voice filled with worry for the cat eared verdette who pushed herself too hard in order to make the impossible, possible.
"...Nya...? Oh, York-san...~? A break huh? *yawn...~!* I'd like to, really I would, but I'm just so close to, so close to... Zzzzz...~"
And, the instant she stopped working, her body decided to make the choice for her and follow Duke of York's suggestion whether she wanted to or not. Said Duke of York, meanwhile, simply smiled while remembering the request her dear Lord made of her before he left.
"Just, look out for Akashi since me and Eldridge won't be around to keep her in line, alright? That brat has a tendency to get completely absorbed in whatever project she has going on and tends to overwork herself to the breaking point in order to see it through."
"My Lord was right. You really do need someone to look after you..," quietly remarked the reddish, orange haired vampire knight as she gently picked up the now fast asleep and slightly drooling catgirl to put her to bed.
xxx xxx xxx
Outdoor training ground number four-
"...HAAAAHHH!" King George V cried out as she leaned in for another charge, officer's sabre in hand.
""Not so fast! Take this!" Prince of Wales replied as she prepared to meet her sister's attack head on.
*CCLLAAAANNGG!*
Sparks flew and metal clashed again as two real, crimson eyed, blonde beauties dressed similarly in red, white and black - incidentally the same colors of the Royal Britannian Islands' military - moved about in a deadly dance of slashes, thrusts, parries, and too close for comfort dodges. Yet, even in the midst of such intense combat, the two couldn't help but smile in spite of themselves. Then again, this was pretty much the norm for the two knightly Royal Navy battleships since 'waking up'.
...
"...Ugh...!"
Off to the side, however, were three petite, identical looking shipgirls with waist length, straight snow white hair and bright green eyes dressed in light purple, blue and green outfits respectively, reluctantly carrying out their assigned duty to observe and record their fellow fleet sisters' sparring matches to share and go over with the others once they got back.
"Hey, they've tied like, four or five times by now, right?" asked the middle, slightly rebellious sister, I-401.
Both her younger and older sister nodded, equally annoyed at the situation.
"...Yup."
"Indeed they have."
"Then, how long are they planning on going? I mean, these fights are cool and all, but seeing hot chicks beating the crap out of each other gets boring really fast, like after the second bout even. Actually, why are we even watching them do this again?" I-401 asked, wondering why they were here doing this instead of patrolling the island or training themselves.
"We're supposed to be record combat data for Shikikan-sama and the others while they're out on their mission, remember?" replied I-400.
"Okay, yeah... but haven't they gone on long enough already? And why aren't we leaving it up to Metis-chan's trash cans to do that or something then?" countered I-401, not at all seeing the point why they needed to personally record their fights.
"...Sis has got a point y'know. Why are we here if we've got drones to take care of stuff like this?" asked I-402, finally joining in on the conversation.
I-400 just sighed. "...Because after their matches end, whenever that'll be, we still have our own sparring matches to take care of too, that's why. I agree the two of them are dragging this out but, do either of you have any bright ideas for trying to get them to stop...? Because, I'm not going to even think about getting in the middle of that hot mess."
"Then why haven't you three said anything?" asked the reddish orangette heading over to join them after having finished putting Akashi to bed while wearing an amused smile at the submarine triplets' 'plight'.
"...Uh.."
"...That's, er... see we, um... Crap."
"...Okay, yeah. We're stumped, okay? And shy of getting in the middle of that... Fuck."
And such were the triplet submarines' dilemma. Now, if they could split them up and take each one on two against one then maybe, but... what are the chances of that?
"I'm guessing you were just too into the show until it got boring, right?" cut in their savior and answer to all their prayers, Duke of York, enjoying the sight of the three of them dumbly nodding with silly looks on their cute little faces. "Ah, I do have a most excellent idea that will not only save thee from this little predicament, but 'spice things up' as well. Not only wilt thou get to vent thy frustrations and accomplish thine own assignments, but thou wilt surely get to see something... most enjoyable indeed by the end, I promise!" added the capricious vampire with a devilish smile.
"I'm in," I-401 said, agreeing immediately to whatever Duke of York had in mind if it meant finally getting to move on. After all, doing something was always better than doing nothing at all.
"Same," followed I-402.
"...Sigh. Alright, might as well," added I-400 with a sigh and a resigned shrug.
"Really?" York asked, happy they agreed but a little surprised by how quickly they did.
"Yeah, I mean... like, four or five matches already, remember?" I-401 reminded. "We just want them to pick a winner already."
"That, and some payback would be nice," appended I-400.
"So? What's the plan, York-san?" asked I-402, just wanting to move things along.
Duke of York, her electric blue eyes now alight with mischief said, "Simple. We take advantage of them not paying any attention to anyone but themselves to split them up, wear them out even more, and then finally beat them down."
The Vampire, for all her eccentricities, was actually a very simple and straight forward kind of shipgirl... very straight and to the point, almost to a fault sometimes.
"...Are you really suggesting that we.. actually fight them?" a wide eyed I-400 began.
"Seriously? But, I mean... that might be the only way to handle it though, huh. Besides, I really want to get in a few good hits in on them for making us sit through that for so freaking long! An hour and a half wasted even!" I-401 followed up, practically drooling at the though of getting some revenge.
"Oh, so we're gonna turn the whole thing into a brawl then? That's fine by me! Bring it on I say! My ass is numb from sitting around for so damn long anyway..," I-402 concluded, eyes sparkling at the idea.
Duke of York nodded, satisfied that the triplets were on board and more than ready to go.
"Good, good! Then what say we get a move on then, yes?"
"Let's... GO!" (x 3)
Seeing her fleet sisters so fired up, she couldn't help but outright grin as she bade them wait to tell them the last, and arguably most crucial part, of her overall plan... something sure to give them a decisive edge too.
"Ah, right. Before we begin though..."
xxx xxx xxx
Two blurs flitted about the training field, the sounds of clashing metal that left sparks fly about everywhere in the process as one knight battled fiercely for supremacy over the other once and for all. Well, at least until they heard an unexpected yet very familiar voice call out and finally get the two knights to stop, if only for a moment.
"Ah,such Passion! ...Do mine eyes deceive me!? The way you two are so focused only on each other is enough to make a girl blush with envy even! What, pray tell, would our dear Lord think and say were he to learn his beloved knights were engaged in such... intimately physical and illicit debauchery...! ... *gasp!* ...Scandalous...!"
"...!"
"...York!? Wh, what are you implying!?"
Oh yes, there was not a single doubt that Duke of York was absolutely enjoying every second of this
'Ah, I knew that would do the trick! Hook, line, and sinker! They're just too, too easy!'
Duke of York couldn't help but snicker with unadulterated amusement at seeing just how effective her words tripped up her all too serious and straitlaced sisters, even reducing them into wide eyed, blushing wrecks with their mouths rapidly flapping open and closed in utter shock and disbelief at the supposed insinuations... which created the perfect opening to exploit and take advantage of... one a certain trio of very motivated and irritated submarines were not about to waste either.
"Get 'em!" suddenly 'cried out' I-400 in an utterly flat tone while gripping a large, single bladed broadsword faintly covered in a light purple aura whose total length was actually longer than she was tall with surprising ease.
"Oooohhhh!" followed up I-401, her green eyes ablaze with the flames of determination to whoop a bitch while tightly gripping her own (thankfully much smaller) broadsword covered in a faintly glowing with a blue light.
"Here I come, you blonde, big tiddied holsteins!" far too happily exclaimed I-402 with an uncharacteristically wide, almost feral grin, her own two handed blade covered in a faintly glowing a bright green.
"...I beg your pardon!?" Kng George V protested while weakly covering her well endowed chest in what could only be a vain and half hearted attempt to try and hide her ample bosom.
"AHAHAHA! Now that's how you make an entrance! Ah, wonderful!" chirped up the ever free-spirited vampire knight as she summoned not just one, but two of her beloved ebony blades before moving in to join the others. Meanwhile, King George V and Prince of Wales were finally able to recover from their sister's rather effective mental surprise attack just in time to just barely intercept and defend against the sudden ambush headed their way.
"...Yorkie really got one up on us, didn't she?" King George V whispered to her fellow blonde to her right.
"...Aye, that she did... And is it me, or do the little ones look especially motivated?"
"They most certainly do, yes. But, wow. seeing such cute and petite shipgirls brandishing those large swords feels... really odd, for some reason. I'm not really sure why though..," King George V observed, eyebrows quirked with a sense of confusion that she just couldn't quite understand.
"Ah, well... we can dwell on that little mystery later; look, here they come again!" Prince of Wales replied.
Just then, and even managing to actually catch the two blonde knights off guard with how quickly it happened, I-400 vanished in a burst of speed the two blondes were clearly not expecting only to reappear right in front of them barely an instant later with her giant blade coming down on them blindingly fast... accompanied by a complete and utterly flat joke of a 'battle cry'.
"...Eeehhh...!"
Thankfully, none of that was enough to stop the two Royal Navy knights from reacting just in time to evade the little stoic submarine swordswoman's surprisingly savage slash.
'...Well I'll be damned! To think she could use so much power despite being so... tiny!' noted a wide eyed King George V as she took in the sight of such a petite shipgirl gouge out the ground where she and Prince of Wales were just standing not even a moment ago so easily. But, luckily for them, I-400 seemed to have put in much more energy into that attack as she was forced to stop and try to pull out her large blade that found itself buried halfway into the concrete. Unfortunately, however, neither she nor her fellow blonde could take advantage of that unexpected opening since there were two other submarines and their dear Yorkie left to deal with yet, and they weren't wasting any time picking up the slack either. Meanwhile, several strategically placed 'trashcans' had picked up recording the battle in place of the now preoccupied submarines.
"...That's what you get for trying to show off and kill steal sis," admonished I-402 as she dashed in to deliver a quick and simple horizontal slash at Prince of Wale's barely defended midsection while I-401 and Duke of York focused their own efforts on a now very much on the defensive King George V. "Anyway, just hurry up and get over here!"
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
"Tch! Cheeky little brat! Fine! If that's how you want to play then I'll kindly oblige and show you just what your big sister's really made of!" Prince of Wales declared as she went on the offensive. 'Still, they're a LOT faster than I expected. Then again, I'm not sure what I was expecting in the first place really, considering this was the first time seeing them in action and all. Heh, quite a pleasant surprise though since they turned out to be so skilled!'
A few exchanges and one too many close calls later, the two blonde knights finally spotted an opening when the three attacking submarines paused to catch their breaths, likely from overexerting themselves with that little blitz of theirs, to pull back and regroup.
"Hah! That's what you little brats get for charging in like bulls in a china shop!" King George V taunted as she took the chance to counterattack alongside a smirking but slightly still slightly winded Prince of Wales...
"Oh no you don't, my dear sisters!"
...only to be stopped dead in their tracks by Duke of York holding two ebony blades in each hand.
"...Dammit!" King George V cursed under her breath. 'And since when could she dual wield?'
"What!?"
"Tsk, tsk. Language, language my dear," Duke of York playfully admonished with an amused gleam in her electric blue eyes and a wave of her finger, much to the two blondes' annoyance.
"Since when could you do that!?" asked a very shocked Prince of Wales in utter disbelief at seeing her sister's newest little trick. Worst of all, that little stunt made them briefly forget that they weren't alone, a fact Duke of York was all too happy to remind them of.
"Instead of worrying about that, I think you should be paying more attention to them, no?"
"What are you talki-"
*BOOM!*
- With one of the nearby Metis(partition) controlled 'trashcans' observing the battle -
'Hmm. It was simply a conjecture, but it seems they can partially manifest their riggings to fight even on land just fine. Still, I didn't expect the submarine types to be the best at it though,' Metis(partition) observed as she noted the triplets' partially manifested riggings fire at the two shocked blonde knights before they hastily called out their own riggings to defend against the (admittedly scaled down) torpedo fire headed their way. 'And, not only can they partially manifest their riggings while controlling their weapons' output, it seems they also get a small but noticeable boost when deploying them too! Also, while they might not be able to move as gracefully or as fast as they can on water, they're still much faster than any human or combat android if the numbers I'm seeing are accurate. Hm, I wonder how Akashi and I can use this data with regards to our own project?'
It was impressive really, to see the training ground being torn up by low powered artillery fire gouging chunks of concrete while six shipgirls moved about with inhumanly fast speed trying their level best to take out the other side as sparks flew from ether charged metal striking ether charged metal. Metis(partition), for her part, couldn't help but marvel at just how much power they could do in the span of less than five or so minutes yet, somehow, managing to keep the overall damage to only the immediate area of their fight.
'..You girls might not know it, but this little tiff of yours will really come in handy when we finally activate and begin testing our modified combat Dolls. More importantly though, I wonder how much of that performance I'll be able to replicate once I get my own body?' the AI mused while she ran countless hypothetical simulations in her nonexistent head about all the cool things she'd be able to do. '...I really can't wait to see...!'
Just then-
[Incoming priority message: Metis(main body) to Metis(partition): Prepare to receive footage of our first engagement against Siren forces along with the accompanying combat reports]
'...Oh? Well now.'
...
[...90%... 95%... 98%... 99%... Download complete: now extracting file packets]
'Better make sure to edit and suare this with the others when I'm done too...'
- Back with triplets, the vampire, and the knights -
'...At this rate.. Wales and I might actually lose to that cheeky Yorkie and those surprisingly tough triplets,' mentally griped King George V as she once again managed to get away from I-400 and I-402 while Prince of Wales was busy dealing with a grinning Duke of York and I-401. 'And they managed to split us up again too,' she added, unable to keep from smiling a bit before taking a glance at how Wales was holding up.
"Hey, pay attention!" I-402 admonished while swinging her blade in a wide, horizontal slash and leaving King George V just enough time to jump back... and land right behind a now fairly worn out and panting for breath Prince of Wales.
" ...So. What do you think Yorkie did to get them to come at us so fiercely?" Wales quietly asked just loud enough for her sister to hear.
"Who knows, but whatever it was must have been really effective to get these results."
Prince of Wales nodded. "Indeed, but we still have some fight left in us yet, right?"
"Yes!"
Just then, the mastermind behind this sudden, hard fought battle spoke up... and with no small amount of pure, proud smugness in her beautiful voice too. Incidentally, the three snow white haired submarines behind her just rolled their eyes at the vampire's theatrics and need for attention.
"My my, do my dear and lovely sisters need a break? Or would you two like to surrender, perhaps?"
"...Ugh." '...Really? Must she be so damn... Ugh!' Prince of Wales couldn't help but twitch in annoyance.
"...Surrender? What makes you think we'd ever even consider that?" King George V asked with narrowed eyes. 'I'm really not going to like her answer though, am I?'
Duke of York's playful smile suddenly turned outright vile when she heard her beloved sister's reasonable but silly, silly question. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked!"
"...Great. Now look what you did!" Prince of Wales remarked with a groan.
"Oh hush!" '...I'm sure it'll be fine, right?' "Ad you! Just spit it out already!" King George V did her best to not let it show but even she could admit she didn't like that smile on York's face, nevermind that mischievous glint in her now crimson red eyes.
"Impatient, aren't we? Well, fine." Duke of York's smile only grew as she proudly spread out her arms wide. "It's all about having the right incentives my dear sister, that's all."
"What, do you mean by 'incentives'?" Prince of Wales asked even though she was probably very sure that wouldn't like the answer.
"Oh, I just added a little prize to liven things up, that's all. Well, it's really more of a 'punishment' for the loser I suppose, but it was more than enough to get these three lovely ladies on board. You see, I told them that if we won then not only would we earn the privilege to spend a whole day with our dear Lord once he returns, but the loser will have to..."
Oh how Duke of York enjoyed the attention and frustrated looks on her normally ever composed and dignified sisters' beautiful faces.
"...The loser has to what...?" King George V repeated, wondering just what sort of evil scheme her younger sister had come up with.
"The losers... will have to serve the winners and our dear Lord while wearing nothing but a maid themed two piece bikini of the incredibly revealing kind, for the entire day!"
By the time she finished, Duke of York's smile had become downright evil and filled with a perverse glee while her already glowing red eyes were positively sparkling with delight at the thought of seeing her ever regal sisters' beautiful bodies exposed for all the world to see as they served their every need. Worse, the triplets didn't seem to react at all to that ridiculous penalty despite the fact that it could very well be them to suffer such indignities should they end up the losers. Honestly, the absurdity of the whole situation had all but crashed the two blonde knights' proverbial operating systems for a good thirty or so seconds when they tried but failed to process the possible reality presented to them.
...
"...I'm sorry, but could you... could you repeat that?" was all that a barely functioning King George V could finally ask. Prince of Wales, however, still needed a little more time to reboot.
"The loser of this last bout will attend to the winners and our Lord's every need wearing nothing but a skimpy, maid themed two piece bikini... for the entire day," Duke of York restated in a slower, almost sing-song tone while her shit eating grin only grew wider and wider with each and every word she uttered. Oh yes, she and the triplets absolutely loved watching as the two proud knights' usually composed and elegant features slowly morphed into expressions of utter horror and embarrassment at the very thought of being forced into such humiliation, indecency and servitude. Well, to be fair, it would've been fine had Liam been the one to ask them to do it but this... Well, this was nothing short of pure and utter disgrace of the highest order.
"Nonononono...! But, you... what if you're the ones who lose? You would all have to do the same, wouldn't you!? York aside, would you three really be willing to subject yourselves to such...depraved debauchery!?" King George V all but shrieked while looking at the three triplets, her widened, panicked eyes all but pleading that they weren't seriously okay with this madness.
...Unfortunately for the blonde knight... reality was a cruel mistress sometimes. Like right now, for instance.
"...Meh," I-401 simply shrugged before adding. "We wouldn't mind even if the loser had to serve Big Brother completely naked with dildos stuffed up their cunts or had butt plugs shoved up their asses. Ah, but both at the same time would be fine too though."
"What!? You, you can't be serious!?"
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Have you girls no shame!?"
"Pfft! Shame? Are you kidding me?" I-402 scoffed, completely dismissing the blonde's appeals to their maidenly modesty. "Big Brother's already seen us naked when we were constructed and has been at the mercy of the other big sisters for awhile now, and that's not even taking into account the 'nightly sleepovers' everyone has. If showing off some skin and being a little more daring(lewd) gets us what we want, then so be it. And honestly? We'd be perfectly okay losing too if it makes you feel any better. Well... not this time, but that's only because we just really wanna beat you. Any other time after this is fair game though."
"Oh, and by the way, the whole 'serving us naked' thing was the original plan actually," I-400 flatly clarified before looking over at Duke of York... who was now busy clutching her sides and howling with unrestrained laughter. "But sis there said that'd be too much and too soon for you, so we decided to scale things back a bit."
...
"...Bu, butt plugs... and d, dildos!?"
"Such, shameless indecency...!"
Sadly, and just as the triplets and Duke of York guessed, revealing the loser's fate was just too much for their pure and virginal minds and so had stopped paying attention ... Oh well.
"Ahahaha! Priceless!" Duke of York noted before wiping a tear from her eye and getting back to business. "Right then, time to play dirty and finish this up while they're still out of it, yes?"
The three I series submarines simply nodded and moved in for the kill without any hesitation, pity or a hint of mercy. After all, they had a date to win or bikinis to put on, whichever came first. Meanwhile, it looked like King George V and Prince of Wales would need a little longer to recover, let alone act.
xxx xxx xxx
Later on, in the fleet dorm's common area.
"...Hmm?" Algerie wondered aloud as she saw the priority notice on her tablet that suddenly popped up while reading an adventure ebook she'd found earlier and piquing the interest of the petite and energetic raven haired destroyer sitting on the couch next to her.
"What's that?" Hatsuzuki asked.
"Not sure yet. Give me a second," Algerie calmly replied before opening the notification. "Oh."
"Well? Well? Is it something good?"
"It's footage of our sisters' first battle against the Sirens along with the accompanying battle reports and combat logs," Algerie said as she waited for the footage to finish loading. "... Oh? It seems they even fought a Siren Elite too."
"What, really!? But they...-"
"-only just left this morning, oui."
"...Whoa...!"
"Anyway, could you be a dear and go get Azuma? In the meantime, I'm going to let everyone else know what's happening over the 'Joint Tactical Network'."
Hatsuzuki nodded before hopping off the couch, her long, lustrous raven black hair accented in red swaying gently behind her with each and every lively step. "Just remember not to start the show until me and Azuma-nee get back, 'kay?"
"Don't worry, I won't."
- A little later, after Hatsuzuki returned with Azuma in tow -
"Alright, since you're both here and everyone else is synced up with me through the 'Joint Tactical Network', I'm going to go ahead and press play now."
"Hai," Azuma quietly and politely replied.
"Yup!"
With that, Algerie started up the now Metis(partition) edited combat footage.
Between the dorms common room and the outdoor training grounds, the ten shipgirls that remained on the island saw the highlights of the battle.
From Eugen, Strasser, and Saratoga's fleets using divide and conquer tactics, the Liberty firing off its main cannon at the Siren Elite only to be blocked and hit right back, the three fleet leaders breaking off to fight off the Siren Elite herself after the bulk of the Siren forces retreated, to finally the sudden submarine surprise attacks that ultimately let the Siren Elite escape too.
"...Wow..." (x3) whispered/gasped the three white haired submarine triplets.
"So That's what a Siren Elite is capable of...," King George V whispered, followed by many other similar awed reactions.
...And those were just some of the reactions that were going around after the recording finally ended.
Needless to say, everyone would have a LOT to say and ask their Commander and fellow fleet sisters when they returned.
xxx xxx xxx