Day 81
Thinking about what Frostbite told me took a while. I did not get as much sleep as I would have liked, so I will keep today's entry short.
Quite frankly, this is culture clash; maybe more than that because I am still human in mind if not in body. The Abyss has refrained from remaking me as an Abyssal. I imagine it defeats the purpose of this exercise.
At least I finally start to understand why I am still me. It is the same reason Abyssals still resemble humans and shipgirls, instead of being fully monstrous. The Abyss was born of human cruelty and callousness; or rather, its hivemind was. It continues to be human-adjacent and adapts human concepts for its own use. Abyssal shipgirls conform to similar types than human ones. Only the barely sapient or fully mindless creatures are completely inhuman.
My role in this is to be the Tech Administrator. I remember I picked the title myself, but it definitely fits what I am supposed to do. The Abyss gave me everything I could ever ask for and more to industrialise its adapting nature. Through me, it pulls upon more and more of humanity's technology, adapting it for itself step by step. Ingenious, as well as incredibly dangerous.
I am the linchpin of a war that is on the cusp of turning bad. Not sure if that is flattering, though. The moment I die, everything I researched will go to every other Abyssal. The longer I live, the more I can research. I am a living, self-compounding bomb of knowledge.
I am also surprisingly calm about this. Then again, do I necessarily have to care? Humanity has no idea of my significance and neither has the rest of the Abyss. I will be fine unless I let something slip.
There is still some worry about some sort of self-destruct to set off the spread of tech, but what was true before still is: thus far the Abyss was really good to me. I am not going to start distrusting it out of paranoia. We both know it can earn even more tech in the long run by letting me do my thing, too. I will need at least decades to complete everything, let alone whatever new things may be added over time.
Day 84
I had a few calm days to interact with my little fleet and talk to Frostbite. We shared bits about our respective philosophies; I can tell Frostbite does not agree with me, but she is respectful of my stance as long as I offer her the same courtesy.
I decided to talk to my five ships as well after some thinking; their input was interesting if nothing else. The warships each have little qualms in regard to battle or killing. They listened to me, but respectfully disagreed for the most part. Mind, I already knew any moral argument would not work, so I followed up with practical concerns. Stealth is more relevant than victory until our cover is broken. Even then, we are still better served researching further because I am the only one in this faction who can do that.
Yes, I know. I just talked about not letting anything slip in the last log entry, but my ships are my ships. I told them to keep this secret with their lives and they readily agreed. Then I explained my intended role, sans my originally being human. I am happy that they believed me regardless of how wild it sounded, but I have to remember not to start bullshitting them. I also left out that everyone else will get my techbase if I die, just in case.
In addition, Ionia gave me a knowing look the whole time I talked about staying hidden. I guess I deserved that. At least the girls are more amenable to my preference for stealth now; Sapphire apologised too, for pressuring me away from 'my duty' as she called it. I told her it was fine, but she took an actual hug to calm down.
This also reminded me that I can hug any of them whenever I want now; I still feel awkward and like I am bothering them, but still. Progress.
Otherwise, I traded more tech with Frostbite. She told me that some of her scouts found another human convoy dodging around her territory, but aiming straight for mine. I turned down her offer of striking their flank after Sapphire spotted them earlier today.
Because quite frankly: this is not just a convoy. Half a dozen battleships and assorted escorts, two aircraft carriers keeping fighter screens up the whole time. I worried a little that they would wheel around to invade Frostbite's domain. I also kept Sapphire ready, in case they came for me. But they just passed through.
There was one weird thing, though. Some of those airplanes were cruising over Haven when the convoy passed by. I told everyone to bunker down and stay out of sight, glad the original factories were already relocated inside. The scouts found only an empty island.
I can not tell if this was just a routine check for potential harassers or if Akatsuki talked. They are leaving the area as I write this, though; if nothing else, I should be fine for now.
Day 90
Nothing much to say. There was another attempt to root out Frostbite, but she has her own Demons now. Two of them plus my three made for a nasty surprise. Sapphire gushed about how she snuck around below enemy lines without ever being spotted. She definitely made me proud, even if she ran out of torpedoes in her enthusiasm and had to retreat. Double-tapping each of her marks was just sensible as far as I am concerned.
I feel compelled to make these small entries after a few days, but life is good and nice lately. The girls are each starting to pick up hobbies. Orion got interested in interior decorating and from there sewing. Jeanne likes to cook. She started trying to make meals out of the small selection I figured out how to synthesize by now. Although I also noticed her planes scouring the area for ingredients and fish.
Jeanne in particular seems curious about my tech powers as well; I caught her studying physics on the Internet yesterday.
Meanwhile, Ariel is just rooted to the computer; she got upset that it did not do everything she wanted and began learning how to code. So I pointed her at some tutorials, with a warning that she will need math for that. She did not mind and generally seems to love absorbing aspects of human life. She also got into playing games recently. My battleship is a nerd, now confirmed.
Sapphire is still happy carving with whatever materials I can give her. Between her and Orion, my home base looks more like a castle than a cave. She recently got interested in painting as well, but even more so in working with Jeanne in the kitchen. Only that Sapphire is more about baking than cooking.
Ionia is the least interested in picking up hobbies like these. I still think we are somewhat similar, so I had my Fairies build her something like an e-book reader; an integrated one she can take along while ferrying resources. She seemed content with that, but I am still waiting to hear anything concrete from her.
I am mostly just glad the girls all picked up a hobby or two. I know they get a little stir-crazy with nothing to do, same as me. Something else they share with humans. Having something to pass the time helps alleviate that.
Day 99
Frostbite complained at me.
The week before last, Sapphire visited her submarines again; she does not mind the visits, but it turns out that the talk of hobbies spread. Sapphire thankfully did not say anything about us having the Internet, but a number of Frostbite's girls were interested in all these ways to pass the time. Now they are badgering their Princess as much as they dare to let them come play with Sapphire.
Suffice it to say, she is less willing to spend so much fuel on playdates; I only have to supply one or two after all, she has a good bit more. She calls me generous to let my girls come over whenever they want, still unaware I am literally cheating.
At the same time, even Frostbite herself seemed interested in all the things I know but she does not. She is no fan of idle time, either. The Abyss never even realised that it can improve stability by providing anything in regard to entertainment over our racial memories. Though I get the impression that some Abyssals came up with simple games to play elsewhere; most of them were just sunk before these things could spread. They constantly reinvent the wheel.
Well, I guess I know what I am doing the next little while. Some preparations need to be made, then I will pay a first visit to my fellow Princess's domain. That will hurt my reserves, but if I make like Prometheus and bring them games they were since denied, I figure I should do it in person. And after writing this I have to hope I did not jinx myself to a similar fate; I would prefer not to have a bird eating my liver every day for the rest of eternity.
Day 109
It took a while to prepare everything. I mostly looked up rulings and put the pair of Sapphire and Orion onto the detailwork; making boards and cards, preparing figures and tokens. I carefully printed rulesets on waterproof paper and ink. And over it all, my scientists kept studying a particular tech I spotted and immediately grabbed.
If I go to see Frostbite, then I will take as much worth out of it as I can.
That said, teleportation completed yesterday.
It is called Abyss Transference, but effectively is what I said first. I need a station to send and one to receive, each of which is damned expensive; the maximum range is limited, but far enough to reach Frostbite. I can increase it later with more research. More to the point, a single teleportation chamber can target any other in range. There is an upgrade to use them as relays, meaning I need only a single teleport to reach any destination.
Like I said though, a single station is incredibly expensive. I have enough stockpiled to build two, but only barely so. Orion already set her drones to build my station here. On second thought, maybe I should send her and Ionia on their own to save fuel? I could not use Frostbite's station to get back anyway, unless I stay for three days or so.
Also, yes, I am planning to gift Frostbite an expensive teleportation device. All in the name of spreading some humanity among her troops. It will help us if we can just send envoys and convoys through there, too. Transfer is free after the thing was built.
I am definitely going to build another at some hidden spot, just in case. But that is for later.
Day 110
Much to my surprise, she did look that gift horse in the mouth. When I asked her permission to send Orion over to build something, she wanted to know details. Once she had the details, well. At first Frostbite was blown away by the concept; she only calmed down after a discussion about its limitations and reach. Her strategic planning never stopped, though.
She also refused to let me foot the bill.
"After hearing of such a thing existing, I want to trade for it either way. As kind as it is of you to gift this many materials, I will provide my own. Send your ships and name your price."
That was that, I guess. It is nice to have a good neighbour like her. The cost for that particular set of blueprints was steep, but Frostbite hardly even hesitated; I have not gouged her on prices yet, after all. We agreed to send the payment over the teleporter while Orion personally hands over the blueprints. This also allows Frostbite's own Mi-Class girls and drones to help out, reducing construction time from three days to one.
Maybe I should have more builders. But I keep thinking that when I build something big every once in a blue moon.
I am sending Orion out tomorrow morning.
Day 111
I am incredibly happy that Ariel reminded me to send an escort with Orion. She ran into another convoy soon into Frostbite's territory; were it not for Sapphire sinking their transports from within their midst and sending them scrambling, they would have sunk Orion. As in, she came so close to being destroyed that Frostbite estimated two months until she is fully repaired.
That was too close for comfort; I think I was near a panic attack when Sapphire radio'd in that they were under attack. She dragged Orion all the way to Frostbite's main base for the other Princess to check her over.
I did not talk much with Orion, but neither of us is one for many words. I appreciate her presence, not to mention that she was the first shipgirl I built. Losing her would have been bad. I do not think I even care that Sapphire sunk several shipgirls and will probably bring heat in our direction. I am just glad Orion will recover.
One downside of this is that she can not build in her state; Frostbite was sparse with details, so I do not even want to imagine how Orion looks right now. With the most experienced drone commander unavailable, we are back to an expected two days of construction time.
I sent Ionia and Ariel to pillage those sunk transports. Whoever went after my girl will pay back the damages in their resources.
Day 112
Okay, first off: it was Americans.
How I know this? Ionia did me one better and recovered not just the contents of their loading bays, no. This insane girl used her improved engines to tow back every single sunk ship, one by one. I saw the flags on what was left of their rigging. Did not even really register that human shipgirls can be transports before seeing them.
Then again, the sight was not pretty; Sapphire did precise work slicing right through their achilles heels and lower backs. That was my first time seeing actual corpses, too. The memory of how still and plain odd they were makes me shiver a little.
At the very least I now know roughly where I am. Japanese ships come from one side, Americans from the other. We are somewhere in the Pacific ocean, hopefully not near Pearl Harbour. I have no idea what the place looks like, or if it is still under human control, but that would be a bit high-profile for me to be comfortable around.
I have the wrecks in storage right now; their payload was a number of various things including foodstuffs, which immediately went into the freezer. I can synthesize a decent number of things, but my science teams should be able to do it better with the actual materials at hand to test on. Yes, I am still on the hunt for good food. My diet consisted mostly of nothing for over four months now; I never liked fish much and caramel was always too sweet for my tastes, too. So any progress on that end is great progress.
In other news, Orion continues being a workaholic. Instead of taking it easy in the baths, she abused radio to start instructing Frostbite's construction crew remotely. My fellow princess commended her spirit, completely collected despite coming so close to death. I just felt exasperated when I heard about that.
At least this cuts down construction a bit; not as much as if Orion was there in person, but it shaves off a few hours.
Day 113
They will complete the gate tonight. I already agreed with Frostbite that we will run a test with drones tomorrow, just to make sure it works as intended. Then I will pay her holdings a visit, introduce all the things I prepared to her fleet, receive the payment for Frostbite's new tech, and take Orion back with me when I return. Frostbite did offer to see to her recovery, but it just does not feel right to keep Orion away from home. My repair bath is just as suitable for her to stay.
This brings me to another matter I was thinking about. Thus far I ignored any techs to improve the spiritual power of our repair baths. There was no reason to when not expecting any battle, but that skirmish reminded me how times have changed.
I am not entirely sure how to feel just yet, either. I should be angry about almost losing Orion, but at the end of the day she will recover. My emotions have already mellowed out, as they usually do. I still do not want to jump into the war just like that; any chance to get along, no matter how miniscule, goes out the window if I turn around and start attacking. This was clearly an attack of opportunity, not them targeting me in particular.
It has been one and a half months since Akatsuki left Haven. I do not know exactly how long naval expeditions need to prepare, but at this point I feel somewhat certain it will be fine. Either she said nothing, or they decided to at least wait and see.
On another note, I decided to use the sunk transports as a resource base for Ionia's rebirth. She told me she does not need to be a Demon, but I asked her to undergo the process anyway. If nothing else, it will make her more durable. Orion will get the same once I am done figuring out if doing this while injured will affect her. So far the Abyss says no. With the resources I saved on not funding that second portal, I can afford ascending her as well.
I put Ionia into the pool just an hour ago. She did not say much beyond "Good night" while the half dozen dead transports dissolved around her, then ducked under the surface.
A few small things need to be prepared tomorrow morning, like cooking fresh food, but then I will leave Haven for the first time since becoming an Abyssal. I am a little excited, to be honest.