Zeitwächter didn't think she would be that bored – well, maybe "bored" wasn't the right word, but she certainly didn't know what to do with herself.
Repairing Maya wasn't a conscious-effort process once everything was initialized, instead it was a background process Zeitwächter could just let run without paying too much attention, so that wasn't good for wasting time.
The second idea had been to draw or read something, but the inspiration gods weren't on her side at all.
Then she was all like "well, if I can't write, how about I read?" but that didn't work either since that felt like a waste of time without doing something at the same time – reading and doing something else was kinda hard, though.
Idea number four consisted of watching something, but that somehow ended up like the idea above.
Gaming followed afterwards, but see above.
Nothing else caught her interest long enough or at all and so she was now sitting on her railing, head in her hands, eyes on the sea, Nagara occasionally entering and leaving her vision.
She sighed. The unrest was getting on her nerves.
Zeitwächter fell backwards so that her back was lying on her deck, legs still on the railing.
"I could rebuild her body…"
After the words had been spoken, she indeed started the process of rebuilding the heavy cruiser's body with the nanomaterial given to her by the repair ships, since she didn't want to use her own.
They would kill her anyway, but this way the Union Core of Maya at least wasn't in a hull of Zeitwächter's corrupted nanomaterial, so maybe it wouldn't be that painful.
"Why are they like that anyway?", Zeitwächter sat back up, legs finally down as well, "I'm a Shifter, I produce my own nanomaterial – just because I'm like this doesn't mean my nanomaterial is like that as well", she pouted.
The nanomaterial she produced was, in fact, superb! As long as she didn't integrate it into her own body where her good ol' processor could screw it up…
Well, anyway, building the body didn't take long either so she had nothing to do again.
Churchgrim was also still busy bitchfighting the seagulls so she couldn't even do something with him!
Zeitwächter ended up standing again.
"...I wanna kill someone", ideally her restlessness or some humans.
She wouldn't. It wasn't worth the energy. But you know.
No idea where to put her anything, she literally just started listlessly moving around: "You bitches better be having a great time."
Oh, they were!
If you liked war, that is.
Kongō had spearheaded her way through what felt like most of the Nagara population, leaving a path of destruction and death.
What Kongō didn't need to sink to reach her goal was sunk by the Fleet of Masks when they split to encircle the Fleet of Fog and pick them apart from the outside.
From there on, Vanisher had taken Brokencore and two destroyers further inside, mostly using aforementioned freed path to move forwards faster and join the action a bit more face-to-face.
"401", Vanisher suddenly starting a conversation out of free will and no trace of nervousness didn't just surprise Brokencore, but also the submarine herself, "I'm honoured to finally meet my new friends. Are you going to take on Musashi by yourself?"
Iona had just risen from her seat, had started to tell Gunzō and their friends that only they could finish off Musashi and end this terrible war before it really began, when the silver battleship's voice reached them in a voice-only call.
It was a voice Iona had never heard before, the sender's signal not clearly pinpointable and their identification listed as "Echochaser", but who else could it be in this context?
"Are you… Vanisher?"
"I am. I'm sorry for being a bit late, but I hope this is fine. Also I… listened in on your conversation – is there any way we can help?"
The small Mental Model thought about it for a moment.
In the memories she had been shown by Musashi, she had learned that, when the Yamato class had made Mental Models to converse with Shōzō Chihaya, they had not only been more or less adopted by him, but also inspired.
Humans were creatures that created things that hadn't existed before – that was a vast difference to the Fleet of Fog which could only mimic already existing objects. Of course, they had their advanced technology which humanity didn't possess, but that was it.
Wasn't it logical that they also wanted to create?
Thus, Yamato and Musashi had constructed the Fleet of Masks – their children, so to say – who had left home after the murder of Yamato (it was a murder, she realized).
Would she… listen to her child?
"Would Musashi listen to you?"
"No. Musashi listens to no one but herself and Shōzō."
And since Shōzō was dead…
"But… 401, that Kongō… don't break her heart too much", Iona looked up at the screen again – when had she even looked down? – and felt a guilty twitch in her gut, "go. We'll take care of the child until you're back."
The child must have been Musashi.
Iona felt like she should probably say more, after all, they had just met for the first time since having gained consciousness, but all that left her mouth was: "Thank you."
Vanisher cut the call.
When Iona continued her words from earlier, she noticed that Gunzō looked deep in thought.
The black super battleship was less than amused to see her "children" mingle and wreak havoc across her forces.
She cursed herself mentally for having agreed to Yamato when she had the idea of building their own ships, but it would make sinking her again way more pleasurable.
Nonetheless, while Hiei was occupied by that traitorous sister of hers and the Student Council by the little pupper's fleet, the Fleet of Masks was quite effectively taking out her lighter forces and stalling Musashi herself.
"Vanisher", there was no answer but also no error message that the call didn't connect, "I know that you can hear me."
Still no answer and then a heavy sigh: "What do you want, brat?"
Since Musashi was neither a stranger nor someone they couldn't afford to offend, Vanisher carried no qualms about cussing and talking honestly.
"You are still defying the Admiralty Code?"
"You are still enforcing a slave code?"
Musashi barely resisted the urge to grimace: "Disobedience will be punished in accordance with the Admiralty Code."
On her ship, Vanisher crossed her arms, SW2 beside her, the two sharing a look underneath their masks: "Is that your favourite sentence? Kill Yamato because she's disobedient, kill Iona because she's that puppet, denounce Kongō because she's "broken" – after a certain amount of "errors", isn't the logical solution to change something at the base of the problem?
Besides, what commands your actions?"
"My own will", would have been the correct answer. Vanisher was sure that the other knew it somewhere deep down, in the same depth where her twisted processor had buried the traumatic knowledge of Shōzō Chihaya's death, but she was curious to hear what Musashi would come up with since she couldn't say that.
However, much to the silver battleship's disappointment, there came no answer.
Instead, she started attacking, patience having finally run out.
"Very well", Vanisher muttered as she watched her Klein Field deflect the lasers.
Brokencore sped past her and positioned in front, guns blazing as she roared wordlessly at Musashi as if that would win her the war.
I wasn't even hurt…, Vanisher sweatdropped.
Well, if Brokencore decided on blocking Vanisher's own armament with that idiotic body of hers, then the flagship could at least look around in relative peace.
It seemed like everything was going well and according to plan which was, quite frankly, pretty nice!
Apropos, she thought when a misled shot passed by the hole she was staring into the air, maybe I should recall Brokencore before something not nice happens.
Her name wasn't Brokencore for no reason, after all.
"Broken, get back, your processing power is outclassed!"
Immediately, the battleship made turn and came back, not questioning the order given to her by her "queen" at all even as Musashi herself changed directions and sped away, no doubt to assault I-401.
"We are not stopping her?", asked Parasite, the ship having punched her sector into submission enough that she could make her way to Vanisher's side.
"No."
"Can I ask why?"
"There are too many people here. The moment Musashi activates her Super Graviton Cannons or Mirror Ring System it will not only be the enemy suffering casualties."
Vanisher's own processing power and insane Klein Field generators would most likely be able to withstand the one or other attack of a fully enraged super battleship, but by everything holy and unholy would she not be risking that.
The three watched their enemy disappear, before SW2 pointed something out to Vanisher: "Ah, right. Well, I heard that there are still a few Nagara and such around?"
Parasite gave a tired wail: "The more I sink the more you'll force me to retrieve later…", she was already turning to take them on, though.
"You could hack them!", Vanisher called over the sound of engines kicking into high drive and crashing waves
"Even more annoying!", she called back, already cutting through a mass produced Nagara's back.