Day 59

Okay, no real entries the last few days. I was scrambling to get this sorted and did not want to half-ass the full thing. Also too giddy to actually sit down and write things; I rarely have that.

The short of it is that Sapphire found an internet cable near the edge of my territory. I gave her explicit orders not to damage it in any way, then told Orion to get there and build an outpost. This took priority over everything else.

I imagine my girls were confused by the frantic pace I set. Internet research was given priority so I can interact with the cable properly, too; I know a good bit about software, but hardware is more of a weak point. Thankfully, Abyssal soul voodoo provides once more. My scientist Fairies reverse-engineered the cables from Orion's scans, then we built an extension and an intersection. It is not actually done yet, we still need to connect the stuff, but that is fine. I already have basic computer setups in my comms center, so they should be able to build one from there.

Come to think of it, what do I do for an operating system? I doubt they ship Windows here. Though this goes to show again how ridiculous technology really is. We really stand on the shoulders of giants in every discipline. Or is it 'they' now, considering I am not human anymore?

I guess it does not matter in the end.

I am already preparing more treats for Sapphire; Orion seemed partial to the caramel, but that could just be her being taciturn. Reading her is harder than Sapphire. Ionia remains somewhere in the middle.

At least Hydra is simple to understand, though I do not give her any sweets for safety purposes. Do not feed your dog chocolate, do not give your pet eldritch monster sugar. I may be worried for nothing, but there is no reason not to be careful. Hydra does not seem to care for the caramels either way.

Tomorrow will see our cable-extensions being installed while my scientists put together a proper computer setup and a basic OS. I just need enough to interface with the internet and download another one... probably Linux in some form; that one is freeware after all, even if I have less experience with it.

Day 60

Well, the connection stands. I have a computer. The OS will still take more time. Abyssal Fairies were not meant to delve into the abyss that is software engineering. I could give them some pointers to the concepts I recall from lectures, but that is all the help I was.

Sapphire returned as well and got her reward; another full bag of caramels. I figure I should be sparing with big ones like that, but finding the Internet deserves one. It probably helped drive home to Ionia what she did wrong, too; she still has her candy-privileges revoked after all.

This is going slower than I like, but maybe I should temper my expectations. My scientists create outright miracles with how fast they research new technologies. I am still giddy, but it started to normalise by now.

Also, I tried a caramel of my own after all. Still not my cup of tea, even in a new body. Too sweet.

Day 61

While I have nothing new on the internet situation, my Demons finished gestating today. They came out at the same time, as if the first waited for the second.

Let me tell you, Demons are different from normal shipgirls. Not only are they taller, they also have a palpable aura of strength. It is a little similar to when I talked with Frostbite, though the Abyss denies doing it on purpose. It seems to be a side-effect of the dense soul-voodoo used in their creation. And yes, I will keep calling it that for lack of a better term; it perfectly describes what goes on here.

The battleship looks similar to me, though she has an actual hourglass figure. I think. Never quite understood how that looks like, but I can see the general shape. She is a bit shorter, too. More like 180 centimetres instead of my two metres. Her sister is slender instead, but no less tall. They made quite the pair, even freshly born.

The carrier took a knee about as soon as they waded from the pools; the battleship bent at the waist to bow. It felt a little odd, none of my other ships acted so reverent to me when we first met.

"We have arrived, Princess," was what the carrier said first. "Aircraft Carrier Demon and Battleship Demon at your service; whom are we to destroy?"

She kept her eyes on the ground until I told them both to rise. The battleship's mouth remained shut, though she wore a faint smile of some sort. I do not think she said more than ten words this whole day today. Shy, perhaps? Or introverted? She is definitely not mute.

"We don't have anyone to fight right now," I told them. "You two are the guardians of my territory, that's your job. Anyone who tries to take it or attack us, you destroy them."

A twin response of "Understood" was all they gave me in return, though. They are both quite serious. At least I learned that Ariel's voice is pretty soft.

Ah, right. Names. I had to think a bit; there was a shortlist of names I made in preparation, but these two were different than what I imagined my Demons to be like. The battleship I thought would be more like Frostbite, queenly and proud. Perhaps boisterous. She is none of that, at least not so in my face. She likes to stay quiet and in the background but keeps having some sort of serene air about her. Thinking of demons also made me think of angels, so I named her Ariel.

The carrier was a bit more difficult. She seems to like her knightly spiel, taking a knee to greet me every time; Ariel stopped bowing after I told her she does not need to, but her sister keeps doing it. I thought about grabbing a name from the arthurian myth but decided against it, that feels a bit too cheap. Her name is Jeanne now. No points for anyone who can guess how I got there from King Arthur via pop culture associations, that is too easy.

In retrospect, I realise it is slowly becoming a habit to meet my new ships as they come out. That is fine, though. It gives all of them something more personal. I am also pack-bonding again, I guess.

Either way, I got twins just like I wanted; they look quite alike outside of their body types, both with the same pitch black hair and piercing red eyes. Even the horns on their head are the same, winding around the sides to almost meet in the back like crowns. I am incredibly glad about not having any of those, it would be horrible to maneuver my head around.

They somehow fill the cliché of the active and the timid twin; Jeanne is the former, Ariel the latter. Maybe they distributed extrovert and introvert energy exclusively instead of sharing evenly. Jeanne took an interest in the kitchen and my baking supplies, Ariel in the laboratories. I guess it is good for them to find hobbies early? After all, I do not expect to be attacked often.

The rest of the day was spent introducing the twins to Haven and the crew. Ionia was reverent upon meeting them, Sapphire exuberant. In fact, Sapphire gets along well with Jeanne so far.

Day 62

It was a little weird to have Ariel watch me cook; I bore with her attention for a bit before waving her over and teaching her some basics. She really does not talk much, but is an attentive audience. And knowing that there are people out there who can mess up even simple dishes, I made sure to point out that shortcuts are not a thing in the kitchen. You do not put something in the oven at double temperature for half the time and it comes out well; it will be burnt. If you have no experience with a dish, get a recipee and adhere to it.

Speaking of getting stuff, that fledgling OS is working. I used it to access the internet today, but that took several hours and was frustrating; at least my Fairies learn a lot faster than any human would, so they could fix issues in good time. My playing around with the machine definitely attracted attention, too; first I only had Ariel watching but, over time Jeanne, Sapphire, and Ionia all joined in. They asked me what exactly I was doing and I told them they will see. Then Jeanne and Sapphire were quietly chattering among each other.

We finally managed to get access and download all the files we need. My teams are examining them over night and adjusting the hardware to prevent issues.

Day 63

Guess who has the Internet under his fingertips?

Indeed, it is I!

It took some more fiddling today, but we finished setting up a fully operational computer that directly connects to the Internet. I set up a few things while four Abyssals and the Abyss were looking over my shoulder. Web browser and a proper directory were first, though I do not know what to do with this yet. I admit I had a bit of decision paralysis.

In the end the first thing I really introduced them to was Wikipedia. An incredible amount of human knowledge, all easily accessible. I am not entirely sure, but I do not think they really knew what to make of this. They were definitely not as enthused as I expected them to be.

But no matter. I got the setup done and checked on other stuff.

Apparently, Frostbite skirmished with shipgirl forces in her own territory; some girls made it out, meaning that her position will be known soon. She bought upgrades for fuel efficiency and armour from me, focussed on stretching her stockpiles as far as possible and keeping her veterans alive.

I wished her good luck and to call if she needs anything else.

Day 64

The Internet was a mistake.

On the upside, Ariel had enough initiative to approach the computer on her own; she was already browsing when I got up. On the downside, she looked up Abyssals and found porn. That was a conversation I do not want to repeat. At least, thankfully, sexuality does not seem to be something Abyssals have; thank the Abyss for small mercies.

It turns out Ariel and I are rather similar in that she thinks a lot, though. When I asked what she was looking for, she told me it is about getting an idea of how humans work; so that she can understand our enemies better. She started with biology and moved on to pop culture. I am faintly worried she will get absorbed, but at the same time I have no reason to deny her. If my Battleship Demon turns out to be a nerd, so be it. Although Jeanne may tease her mercilessly about it.

I also just got a message from my science team; maybe the Internet was not a mistake after all. Their access to so much human scientific knowledge cut down time and cost for a lot of my tech trees. Turns out you do not need to reinvent the wheel if you can steal it from elsewhere. Although, is it stealing if the data is freely accessible? I do not think so.

Then again, they probably do not expect Abyssals to browse around here.

While Ariel was busy filling her head with knowledge, Jeanne explored the island with Sapphire and Hydra. My little submarine showed her new friend all the interesting spots she found before.

I also talked to Frostbite, who is about done with her preparations for battle and just waiting for the enemies to come her way. Which also reminds me of something she said; it was just a mention of her weather interfering with comms because she actively makes the storm worse. That reminded me of the other thing I knew but forgot about Abyssals: Princesses control the weather. Yet I have clear skies here and had them since the day I woke up.

The Abyss says weather control is instinctual and does not limit to storms or rain. It is actually in one of my self-improvement tech trees, though the base form was already unlocked by default. Never really noticed, or maybe I just skimmed over it because there was so much to look at.

That bears investigating.

Day 65

We had rain today. The first one I saw in almost three months. I just needed to will it into being, though saying that does not really do it justice. It is easier and harder than that, more like a muscle you never realise is there until you try to use it on purpose.

I spent most of today perched in a little hole in the wall my drones dug, practicing. First I made soft rain, then transitioned to a downpour and back. I could probably have transitioned quickly, but kept the changes slow in case this actually did something harmful to the atmosphere. Abyss says it does not, though the Abyss also does not know everything.

My girls were watching me at first. Everyone except Ionia vanished once it became clear I was not doing anything interesting. Ionia herself stayed to watch the rain with me, though. Another beloved pastime of mine that I could finally indulge in again.

I probably could have walked through the rain as I was without risking illness, but this was enough for now. I think Ionia enjoyed it too; she only left once it was time to head out for another job. I made certain to disperse the clouds in the evening, though.

Truth be told, some part of me aches a bit from the exertion. I need to repeat this practice to get good at it. Maybe the constant changes to the weather are what made this harder; either way, I once again confirmed that I have all the powers of an Abyssal Princess. I just never realised I unconciously kept the weather stable by not telling it to move.

Saying it like that makes me appreciate a little more how powerful an ability this is. Demons have a more localised form of it too, but they can not override a Princess.

Thinking about the matter a little more, this is actually an incredibly useful tool; from what I recall, Abyssal Princesses always have a heavy storm around their strongholds. Me not having one means nobody will suspect me here. Maybe that is why the previous shipgirl convoys did not notice me? But on the flipside, not deploying a storm means regular human fighter planes can aim for Haven if they do find me. It is a bit of a tightrope I am walking.

The plan is to keep upgrading for now; I have to wait for how Frostbite's battle goes either way. Honestly, I am not sure which result I prefer. If she wins, shipgirls will keep operating in the area; if she loses, they will think the local Abyss destroyed and move on. But I like Frostbite; she is a nice neighbour to have, down-to-earth and no-nonsense. Also willing to build combat forces where I rather stockpile my resources for tech. And she is a customer, too.

Analysing costs and benefits does not really help me here, I know that. Maybe if we never met, but I talk to her basically every day of late.

Day 66

I thought of something right before falling asleep. Maybe it was a bad idea to do, but it sounded good to me at the time: handing out more tech upgrades for free to help Frostbite would send a torpedo into my own business position. You can not 'lend' a technology unless it is in a specific device.

But what I can lend are troops.

So I called her up and asked if she has the resources to support two more. There was silence for a time until she said she would appreciate whatever I could spare. In retrospect, me not saying who I was going to send probably made her think I was being cheap there. I definitely surprised her when she asked me to name a price, though: "Nothing beyond whatever the twins need, fuel, ammunition, and any potential repairs. I won't complain if they get damaged, but you better not let them sink."

Yep, I just sent her my Demons for free. What Frostbite does not know is that I have effectively infinite resources, so I can easily give her a freebie like this. She got more interested when I told her they are a battleship and a carrier, if young.

All Abyssals know how to fight, though experience makes them better; that is how I even got the idea. If those two are supposed to be my guards, I want them to be as good as possible. They both took their deployment with grace, too. A simple nod from Ariel and a fanged grin from Jeanne. I also told them to get along with Frostbite, but not tell her anything vital about our troops, or lack of them as it were.

Sapphire was... not happy when I refused to let her go as well. I told her that I specifically do not want to risk her life because she is so much easier to kill than those two. She barely did not throw a tantrum, I think... just clenched her fists and ran off.

Jeanne had watched and shook her head at me after the whole scene. "Just remember, Princess," she told me before sallying away. "We are of the Abyss. Giving our lives to help kill them all is our purpose. To advance the plan, to protect the Princess. I appreciate that you want us to survive the ordeal, but denying our purpose to wage war wholesale is impossible."

Those words still repeat in my head even now. What do I do about this?