Rule by ijnfleetadmiral
13076. While her 'assistance' in the last battle was appreciated, from here on out Sparky is asked to leave the fighting of Abyssals to the professionals.
Virginia Beach, Virginia was a nice, beachfront town…a prime tourism spot and popular among beachgoers. This of course also made it a favorite spot for Abyssals to take potshots at, which they did on a regular basis. But the raid that was currently happening was way more than just the halfhearted efforts that had taken place before; this was a serious threat. Dark storm clouds gathered, and sheets of rain pelted both the shipgirls who were intercepting the raid as well as the civilians running for cover on land.
All except one small individual who sat pouting on the beach. She'd come here to enjoy the sand, surf, and sun and now she couldn't because of these idiots. Sparky huffed indignantly as she got to her feet and glowered out at the ocean where the battle raged, but at the same time seemed to be getting ever closer to land. She hid behind a sand dune as several of the enemy creatures waded in from the surf; the second their hooves touched dry land, Sparky closed her eyes and withdrew into her mind. For the first time in fifty-eight years, it was time for work.
Iowa cursed as she saw the five Abyssals – a Re, a Ta, and three Chis – step ashore. This fight just gained a whole new level of desperate, she thought. The Army and Marines will only hold them for so long…
Suddenly, a stillness enveloped the entire area. It was an unearthly stillness, like the silence before the arrival of a tornado. Even the Abyssals had stopped and were looking around uncertainly.
Then, it happened, lightning streaked across the sky in an incredible burst of sparks. The thunder that followed was almost deafening, but as it died away, a young girl's laughter could be heard. But this was not the sweet laughter of an innocent child…this was the laughter of someone who had not only jumped off the cliff into a shark-infested sea of madness, but who seemed quite at home doing the backstroke around the sharp rocks at the bottom of said cliff while inviting others to join them.
"Eeeh HA HA HA HA HAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The jaws of several shipgirls dropped as Sparky leapt out from behind a sand dune. Her eyes had changed color from cerulean to golden yellow and her demented grin was fixated on the Abyssals like the targeting computer on an F-18.
Sparky smiled even wider as she felt the power course through her. She focused on the mind-numbing fear that went through the minds of each person in the 614 as they entered her chamber and laid eyes on her…as they were forced to sit down and be secured with the leather straps…and the realization as the electrodes were placed on their ankle and head that their lives could be measured in minutes.
And then she drew on the agony…the excruciating pain several felt when something went wrong…an electrode didn't have good conduction, a problem with the generator, or – probably the most horrific – a dry sponge.
She fixed her insane grin on what was presumably the lead creature and spoke two seemingly-innocent words.
"It's showtime!"
Blasts of bluish-white electricity shot from her hands, arced over the Abyssals, then plunged downward, striking the Re on the top of her head and her left ankle. The Abyssal immediately contorted, every synapse in its body going off simultaneously.
Sparky laughed, reciting words she had heard so many times she could by now quote them verbatim: "You are hereby sentenced to death…"
Explosions rippled over the Re as ammunition began to cook off due to the extreme heat going throughout the ship…
"whereupon a current of electricity shall pass through your body, until you are dead…"
The sick scent of burning flesh drifted across the water, making shipgirl and Abyssal alike cover their mouths and noses in revulsion…
"…dead…"
Orange flames at least an inch high burst from the top of the Abyssal's head…
"…dead."
As Sparky said the last word, she sent a surge of power through the connection, overloading it. It snapped with a thunderous crack, and all was still once more. The Re – or what was left of it – collapsed in a smoking heap, its head a blackened stub of charred meat.
Shipgirl and Abyssal alike turned and stared in mute horror at the demented little bundle of – literal – energy standing on the shoreline.
Sparky surveyed the scene of her own making with a wide grin. "And may God have mercy on your soul."
~~~~~
Admiral Briggs put down Iowa's after-action report with shaking hands, then glanced up at the tsukumogami who was scrolling through social media on her phone as though she didn't have a care in the world.
"You need serious help, you know that?" he asked.
Sparky nodded. "I could see if some of the others would manifest. Auburn could cover New York…Gertie and the Sparkys from Texas and Florida could cover the Gulf of Mexico…" she trailed off uncertainly. "I don't know who'd cover out west; San Quentin's gas chamber's still three years off from being 100…"
"Not THAT kind of help!" Briggs could hardly believe Sparky could joke about this matter. "I'm talking about how you literally fried an enemy soldier and aren't even affected by it! Shouldn't you be in pieces right now because of what you had to do?!"
Sparky rolled her eyes. "Look, Admiral…what do the top two lines of my badge read?" She leaned forward and turned the silver badge on her uniform, so the office lights caught the wording.
Briggs read the lines aloud. "New York Department of Corrections. Executioner."
"Right," Sparky confirmed. "I zapped over 600 men and women in my seventy-two years with the NYDC. What I did earlier today was simply a variation on what I've done so many times before, and when you do the same job that many times, you learn to leave emotion out of it." She shrugged. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Those creatures are our enemies and I'll gladly do my part to see us come out on the winning end of things. And if people have a problem with how I conduct business, too bad." She raised her left hand, and bluish-white currents of electricity coursed up and down between her delicate fingers. "It's part of the magic that is me."
She locked eyes with Briggs and laughed at his 'I'm-trying-very-hard-not-to-show-I'm-absolutely-terrified' expression. "Don't worry, Admiral…you have my word as an officer of the law I won't use my…'powers' – if you'll allow me the pun on words there – for anything other than zapping the enemy." She thought a moment, then added, "Well, I might use them to recharge generators or something if this base ever has a power outage, but I don't think you'd mind that." She glanced at her phone. "Not to offend you or anything, but is there any chance we could wrap this meeting up here soon? I'm expecting a call from Metallica's agent…something about me being in the anniversary video for 'Ride the Lightning'."
Briggs didn't know what to say. While he was firmly convinced the little bundle of energy sitting in front of him was completely psychotic, she did just promise him he and the people on his base had nothing to fear from her.
"I…" he began, then stopped as the door to his office burst open, revealing a gaggle of destroyers.
"Hey, Sparky!" Gearing exclaimed. "We were gonna have a bonfire on the beach, but obviously that didn't happen, so we're gonna have a cookout at the destroyer dorms! Wanna come help cook some hot dogs?"
Sparky's expression changed into one of a person who was secretly ecstatic the people around her were accepting her. She turned to Briggs, a hopeful expression on her face.
There was only one answer the Admiral could give.
"Go on, get out of here." He waved her out of his office.
Sparky leapt to her feet and followed the destroyers out the door.
"I'll show you guys my way of cooking hot dogs," she stated as they headed down the hall. "I'll need two of the metal cooking spears…"
Briggs chuckled to himself. Maybe socializing is just what she needs, he thought.
Further conversation could be heard now that the group was outside.
"It's gonna be great!" Gearing was saying. "We shouldn't have a problem with the fire, either…Yellowstone volunteered to take care of that."
That's nice…they're including Yellowstone, too, the Admiral smiled and returned his attention to the ever-present pile of paperwork on his desk.
Then his brain registered the fact that the words 'Yellowstone' and 'fire' had been used in the same sentence.
He was out the door and down the hall before he even knew he was moving.
